Magic: The Gathering (repost)

[RJDiogenes]

Well, this has all the makings of a Twilight Zone or Tales From The Darkside.

[Unicron]

I finally got my Magic collection sorted properly and counted. The total is actually higher than I thought - I guess that's what I get for being lazy in sorting.

Colorless & Multicolors - 1,279
Black - 1,515
Blue - 1,543
Green - 1,656
Red - 1,605
White - 1,590

Grand Total - 9,188

Not bad for a 10 year long run, though. Ironically enough, even though I wasn't initially interested in the new 2012 Core set (core sets tend to be a lot of reprints), I might wind up getting it. It's not all recycled, and I'm interested in the new Hexproof mechanic. It's similar to the older Shroud mechanic, in which a creature has immunity to all targeted spells, but Hexproof only screens out those controlled by an opponent. You can still cast your own benefits on a Hexproof creature, where a Shroud creature can't receive them.

[RJDiogenes]

You can't stop now-- you're almost to 10,000!

[Unicron]

Yeah, having no life is fun while I can afford it. I got some stuff from the new 2012 core set the other day, as well as some mixed older cards from my local comic shop. It's probably about 500-600 cards overall, so that'll put me pretty close to 10k. I'm meeting a friend tomorrow for some gaming, and perhaps I can playtest this new one a bit more. My working name is Venom Blades, and it's primarily a green elf/beast deck.

Deck size: 65 cards
Lands: 20

m=mana
TH = threshold
IN = infect. Creatures with this ability damage other creatures with -1/-1 counters and opponents with poison counters. If a player gets 10 counters, they lose.
SH = shroud. Immunity to targeted spells and abilities.
> = tap

Spells: 15

1 Flourishing Defenses (global enchantment. Whenever a creature gets a -1/-1 counter, put a 1/1 elf warrior token into play. 5m)
1 Raking Canopy (global enchantment. deals 4 damage to any flyer that attacks you. 3m)

2 Spider Umbra (aura. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and reach. If creature would be destroyed, instead prevent the damage and destroy Spider Umbra. 1m)

4 Muscle Burst (instant. Target gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is 3 plus the number of Muscle Bursts in all graveyards. 2m)
4 Pistus Strike (instant. Destroy target flyer and give its controller a poison counter. 3m)
1 Explore (sorcery. Play an additional land this turn and draw a card. 2m)
1 Far Wanderings (sorcery. Put a basic land into play tapped from library, then shuffle. TH - put three lands into play instead. 3m)
1 Skyshroud Claim (sorcery. search for two forests and put them into play. Shuffle library. 4m)

Creatures: 30

2 Nimble Mongoose (1/1 SH, TH - gets +2/+2. 1m)
2 Werebear (1/1, >: add 1 green to mana pool. TH - gets +3/+3. 2m)
2 Bramblewood Paragon (2/2 elf warrior, each other warrior you control gets +1/+1 and trample. 2m)
1 Civic Wayfinder (2/2 elf warrior druid, search for a basic land and put it into hand. 3m)
3 Mycosynth Fiend (2/2 horror, gets +1/+1 for each poison counter opponents have. 3m)
3 Elvish Warrior (2/3 elf warrior, 2m)
2 Tel-Jilad Fallen (3/1 elf warrior, protection from artifacts, IN. 4m)
4 Viridian Betrayers (3/1 elf warrior, gains IN as long as any opponent has a poison counter. 3m)
3 Ambassador Oak (3/3 treefolk warrior, put a 1/1 elf warrior token into play. 4m)
2 Metamorphic Wurm (3/3, TH - gets +4/+4. 5m)
3 Cloudcrown Oak (3/4 treefolk warrior, reach. 4m)
1 Talara's Battalion (4/3 elf warrior, trample, play only when you've played another green spell this turn. 2m)
1 Phyrexian Swarmlord (4/4 IN. At upkeep, put a 1/1 insect token into play for each poison counter on opponents. 6m)
1 Phyrexian Hydra (7/7 IN. When the hydra would take damage, instead prevent that damage and put a -1/-1 counter on hydra for each 1 damage prevented. 5m)

It's an advanced deck with two distinct mechanics (infect and trample/buff), but if managed properly I believe it can be very powerful. I got another Elvish Warrior in my expansion, so if I make any small modifications I might take out a Muscle Burst or Far Wanderings, but it might just work well as is. There are several powerful combos that can be exploited if I can get the right cards available. Any creatures that can Infect are more dangerous with a Bramblewood Paragon and Flourishing Defenses in play, and the Phyrexian Hydra can generate a bevy of extra elf warriors even if it launches an attack that deals mortal damage. Its self-weakening ability becomes a great advantage here. Both Paragons and Defenses active equals seven 3/3 trampling elves!

Green's air weakness is also well-covered in this setup, with Raking Canopy being the big hitter and supporting spells like Pistus Strike and Spider Umbra making the skies very unpleasant for enemy fliers. Cloudcrown Oaks can form a defensive anchor as well, and Spider Umbra goes well with creatures like Ambassador Oak or Metamorphic Wurm.

[RJDiogenes]

Trampling Elves. What a way to go.

I also get a kick out of the Nimble Mongooses. That sounds like an unpleasant encounter.

[Unicron]

Nimble Mongoose is actually what I'd call a somewhat average creature, in that it relies on threshold to get pumped and you can't cast anything on it because of shroud. There's a newer mechanic called hexproof, which functions like shroud but only screens out effects cast by an opponent. You could therefore still enchant a hexproof creature, but a shroud creature is immune to all targeted effects. Only global effects would work.

Here's a red deck I threw together for a friend. It's a medium deck in its current form, not overly advanced but still quite fun. Red's all about aggression, and that's what this deck is suited for. If you're lucky enough to get a Fire Servant or two out early, or get Geosurge for that sort of thing, then the minor damage spells like Volcanic Hammer and Flame Burst can get pretty powerful for a very cheap mana cost. Goblin Wardriver is also very useful, and makes a good pumping combo with Goblin Chieftain.


Red Deck "Fireburst"

Deck Size: 65 cards
Lands: 20

Battle Cry - whenever this creature attacks, other attackers get +1/+0 till end of turn.

Bloodthirst - if an opponent was damaged this turn, this creature enters play with an equal number of +1/+1 counters on it

Haste - can attack and tap the turn it enters play

Vigilance - can attack without tapping

21 spells

3 Claws of Valakut (target creature gets first strike and +1/+0 for each mountain you control, 3m)

1 Dogpile (deals damage to target player or creature equal to the number of attackers you control, 4m)

4 Dragon Fodder (put two red 1/1 goblin tokens into play, 2m)

4 Fencer's Magemark (creatures you control that have enchantments get +1/+1 and first strike, 3m)

4 Flame Burst (deals X damage to target player or creature, where X is equal to 2 plus the Flame Bursts in all graveyards, 2m)

1 Geosurge (add 7m to your mana pool, to be spent only on artifact and creature spells, 4m)

4 Volcanic Hammer (deals 3 damage to target player or creature, 2m)

24 creatures

4 Blood Ogre (2/2 ogre warrior, first strike, bloodthirst 1, 3m)

3 Fire Servant (4/3 elemental, damage from red instants and sorceries you cast is doubled, 5m)

2 Goblin Chieftain (2/2 goblin, haste, other goblins you control get +1/+1 and haste, 3m)

4 Goblin Wardriver (2/2, battle cry, 2m)

1 Horde of Boggarts (*/* goblin, where * is the number of red permanents you control, and must be blocked by at least two creatures, 4m)

4 Mudbutton Torchrunner (1/1 goblin warrior, deals 3 damage to target player or creature upon entering the graveyard, 3m)

4 Pardic Firecat (2/3 cat , haste, counts as a Flame Burst in the graveyard, 4m)

2 Windseeker Centaur (2/2 centaur, vigilance, 3m)

[RJDiogenes]

The Horde of Boggarts conjures up an interesting image.

[Unicron]

Actually, I'll admit I'm rather fond of Pistus Strike in the green deck not only for its power, but for the imagery of the card art. The pistus is a sort of diminutive fly, and they are known to attack prey in large swarms. So casting Pistus Strike on an enemy flier is analogous to summoning a hungry swarm of flies that'll devour the strongest attacker and poison its controller. It's a very useful way of dealing with things like dragons.

I'd like to clarify a few things I mentioned earlier, particularly about artifacts and colorless cards. This might seem a strange sort of addition in a game like Magic, where the colors usually dictate strategy and elements of play. Functionally, artifacts are similar to many enchantments even though they're not spells, and artifact creatures are considered to fall into both categories. They function like mechanical versions of living creatures, but are also vulnerable to any effects that would destroy or remove artifacts. The main advantage of lacking a particular color is that it gives artifacts a range of flexibility. They can be added to any deck and played with a generic combination of mana, and many artifacts are designed to benefit one or more colors.

I also mentioned tokens as being represented by whatever's convenient. More recently they have begun using separate token cards, because of a new breed of artifact with the Equipment subtype. Such artifacts can be equipped on a creature for an extra mana cost and function much like an aura does. However, unlike an aura (which is normally dispelled if its target dies or is removed), a piece of Equipment doesn't get destroyed and simply goes back to being an unequipped artifact. Token cards resemble traditional creatures but have their own template and lack things like the rule descriptor and mana cost.

[RJDiogenes]

Sounds like the lines are blurring between the different card types.

[Unicron]

Not really. Artifact creatures have always had that unique distinction, and it's rare otherwise for two specific card types to be blended together. I did purchase a Sword of Light and Shadow artifact recently for about $35, and it's extremely powerful (some might say overpowered ). It does go very nicely with my Sword of Feast and Famine. I don't possess some of the other powerful artifact swords, but I suppose if I can afford it and get very lucky, I might get around to it someday.

[RJDiogenes]

What does it mean, "untap all lands you control?"

[Unicron]

It means that any lands you've tapped to pay for spells or triggered abilities, including the casting cost of the Sword itself, are instantly untapped and free to use again. It resets your resources for another use. Here's another red deck I put together in my last gaming session, and I've tinkered with this one several times since the original version. This one is a bit more advanced and still needs playtesting, but I think the tweaks I've made are viable.

Probably the single best combo in this deck is Fire Servant/Galvanoth, which can theoretically give you some free damage spells that are pumped up for double their normal damage (or more if you have several Servants in play). Warstorm Surge is a fun card despite the high mana cost, and I hope it will mesh well with the Stormblood Berserkers. I'll need to experiment with the Soulbright Flamekin's ability, as it can only be triggered once per round under Stack rules but it's eight extra mana! One of my hopes is that this will make it much easier to get the big dragons out quicker, in conjunction with Geosurge and Seething Song, or to get Warstorm Surge out fast too. The dragons are mainly in the deck to provide flyer defense, as the original version didn't have any in keeping with Red's emphasis on speed and damage. But their specific abilities should be very fun too, if I can figure out the best way to manage the mana curve.

Red Deck "Hellions"

Deck Size: 65 cards
Lands: 20

Battle Cry - whenever this creature attacks, other attackers get +1/+0 till end of turn.

Bloodthirst - if an opponent was damaged this turn, this creature enters play with an equal number of +1/+1 counters on it

Haste - can attack and tap the turn it enters play

21 spells

4 Chandra's Outrage (deals 4 damage to target creature and 2 damage to its controller, 4m)

2 Goblin War Drums (each attacker you control must be blocked by at least two defenders, 3m)

4 Flame Burst (deals X damage to target player or creature, where X is equal to 2 plus the Flame Bursts in all graveyards, 2m)

2 Geosurge (add 7m to your mana pool, to be spent only on artifact and creature spells, 4m)

1 Lust for War (enchanted creature attacks each turn if able, and deals 3 damage to its controller whenever it becomes tapped. 3m)

2 Seething Song (add 5m to your mana pool, 3m)

4 Volcanic Hammer (deals 3 damage to target player or creature, 2m)

2 Warstorm Surge (whenever you play a creature, it deals damage equal to its power to target player or creature, 6m)

24 creatures

4 Fire Servant (4/3, damage from red instants and sorceries you cast is doubled, 5m)

2 Flametongue Kavu (4/2, deals 4 damage to target creature on entering the battlefield. 3m)

2 Galvonoth (3/3, at upkeep you may look at the top card of your library. If it's an instant or sorcery, you may play it for free. 5m)

4 Goblin Wardriver (2/2, battle cry, 2m)

1 Hellkite Charger (5/5, flying, haste; whenever Hellkite Charger attacks, you may pay 7m to untap all attackers and create an additional combat phase after this one. 6m)

2 Mordant Dragon (5/5 flying, 2m: Mordant Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Whenever Mordant Dragon damages a player, it deals equal damage to target creature that player controls. 6m)

4 Pardic Firecat (2/3, haste, counts as a Flame Burst in the graveyard, 4m)

1 Soulbright Flamekin (2/1, 2m: target creature gains trample until end of turn. If this ability resolves three times in one turn, add 8m to your mana pool, 2m)

3 Stormblood Berserker (1/1, bloodthirst 2, must be blocked by at least two defenders, 2m)

1 Volcanic Dragon (4/4, flying, haste, 6m)

[RJDiogenes]

The name "Soulbright Flamekin" is vaguely disturbing somehow. Like an evil child's toy or something.

What's the advantage of the Flame Burst bursting in all graveyards?

[Unicron]

Its damage increases proportionally with each play according to its formula, which makes it a very useful damage spell, and if other players are also using Flame Burst then the exponent increases based on the total count. If I've played 2 Bursts and my next one will do 4 damage (X=2 + 2 base for 4), and one of my opponents plays a Flame Burst on his turn, my count will go up to 5 damage because there's now an extra Burst that was played. His next Burst will do at least 5 damage as well, if not more, according to the number that have already been spent. Pardic Firecat is the other half of this combo since it counts as a Flame Burst when it's slain.

Flamekin is a fancier word for kithkin, and they're the Magic equivalent of hobbits. Most of them are white with a minority appearing in green or red, so I tend to think they're not inherently evil.

[RJDiogenes]

Wow. Those Flame Bursts sound like they could lead to Mutually Assured Destruction.