Build a Magic 2013 Intro Pack Contest: Part 5
Splice the mainbrace, we’ve got ourselves a crew, begad! Thanks to you we’re now one step closer to building our Intro Pack for the Magic 2013: Goblin’s Lair set.
For those just joining us, we’re rining in the upcoming Magic 2013 release with a look at the custom set designed by the sharp minds over at Goblin Artisans, a fantastic Magic: the Gathering design website. We’re taking a cue from Wizards, who used the same method to help shape the Burning Sky Theme Deck from the MTGO release of Mirage. In the last few installments, we’ve settled on a colour pair (Blue/Black), theme (Pirates!), rares, and now have ourselves some creatures. You were asked to pick from two lists, one of common creatures and the other some uncommons. Here’s how things shook out:
Top Common Creatures
Scourge of the Seas (15%)
Dark Cove Pirates (15%)
Explorer of the High Seas (15%)
Rishadan Airship (12%)
Tidal Serpent (8%)
Raven Messenger (6%)
Top Uncommon Creatures
Streamtide Philosopher (17%)
Vedalken Plotter (13%)
Cursed Tomb (12%)
Ghostly Mentor (12%)
Bogcurse Schemer (11%)
Neri Sage (11%)
You will now be voting on non-creature spells to include in the deck. For the curious, the Wyeth mentioned in a couple of cards is the Pirate planeswalker, Wyeth Blackboot, though it’s ultimately up to you whether or not they make the grade!
Ertai's Lament 
Sirensong Rapture is a must for the seafaring theme. I also like Disfigure since it’s like giving them an eyepatch or a peg-leg which is pretty Piratey.
Diabolical tutor for me. I also tried to go with card draw and control for the others. Specifically frost breath, avertable future, and divination. I also went with black creature control such as blood in water, wyeths decree, and disentomb
Basically same as hirshyp. Control and draw are themes I voted on. Diabolic tutor is the BOMB!
For commons went with conditional removal spells (Disfigure, Blood in the Water, Wyeth’s Decree) since I felt they fit a pirates theme better than straight “Destroy target Creature” cards. Shimmering Mirage for ‘Land Matters’, Avertable Future for some good old blue card drawing/mill, and Cloak of Mists for some combat tricks plus Raiding Pirate synergy. Was not big on the uncommons, none really stuck out to me. It was either going to be Temporal Glitch or Jace’s Ingenuity. I went with the latter because counterspells just don’t feel right in this deck to me for some reason and drawing cards is akin to hunting for treasure.
Diabolic Tutor, definitely a card I’d want to play with, along with the black control cards hirshyp mentioned.
Commons can pretty much go any way, as long as they work together. I just picked what fit the theme. Also, spy base is uncommon, so I guess I picked 2 of those 😛 also, diabolic tutor, cause pirates have a lot at their disposals.
Thanks for the head’s up on Spy Base- fixed! I’ll happily carry over its vote.
Not a problem!
Both of Wyeth’s cards: cuz they fit the theme
Diabolic Edict: “Yer money or yer life, argh!”
Sirensong Rapture: nothing more dangerous on the open seas than those Sirens
Blood in the Water: feels on theme
Disentomb: grave robbers and tomb raiders?
None of the uncommons felt compellingly in theme, so I just picked Temporal Mastery for the tricky side of it.
For common i concentrated on flavorful aura and diabolic edict for removal. At uncommon i voted for spy base, it’s awesome!
And it’s an aura too…
I common cards having to do with removal/counterspells in mind: Diabolic Edict, Negate, Disperse, Reject, Blood in the Water, Frost Breath. As for the uncommon: Diabolic Tutor. You just dig for exactly what you need!
For commons I chose cards fitting with the land matters theme, plus some removal and tricks: Siresong Rapture, Frost Breath, Blood in the Water, Shimmering Mirage, Wyeth’s Interrogation, Diabolic Edict (seriously, I love this card). Then I voted for Diabolic Tutor, which, although not very fitting from a flavor perspective, is a great card.
Commons: Wyeth’s Decree, Diabolic Edict, Frost Breath, Wyeth’s Interrogation, Shimmering Mirage, Blood in the Water
Uncommon: Temporal Glitch
Diabolic Tutor all the way, best uncommon to choose from!
I picked a combination of good cards and flavourful ones – for black I focused on removal and blue got some control & draw effects. The uncommon wasn’t that hard to pick, because none of them were particulary piratey and Tutor is easily the strongest one.
I focused on flavor, trying to pick cards that fit the pirate theme and support some varied strategies. Blood in the water and cloak of mists were easy commons, and I liked spy base for an uncommon.
Diabolic Tutor can really help you get out of tight spots.
Also, blue without any kind of counter spell is a waste.
I went for flavour (Wyeth’s interrogation), card drawing (Divination), evasion (Cloak of mists, Frosth Breath) and a bit of removal/countermagic (Disfigure and Negate).
The uncommon’s choice was easy, Diabolic Tutor is extremely powerful and doesn’t “break the flavour” too much (we could imagine a Pirate Captain traveling seeking the advice of a demonic spirit, for example)
Removal spells in black (they are needed) and some utility in blue, trying to keep going with the pirate theme. The uncommon, as many other people, Diabolic Tutor, kinda goes with the flavour, and “doubles” the lord as you can search for it. It is always a useful card.
Deathmark feels pretty flavorful, likethe black spot from Treasure Island, but I love the idea of Ghostly mentor and Diabolic tutor in the same deck. Pirates and dangerous advice go together. I like both Evil Presence and Shimmering Mirage for the landwalking theme.
BLOOD ON THE WATER : well, ain’t feeding people to the sharks is waht pirates do?
WYETH’S INTERROGATION and DECREE : both for the effect and the fact that those are pirates themed
DISFIGURE : needs some anti-creatures
CLOAK OF MISTS : unblockable creatures are good
SIRENSONG RAPTURE : sirens are flavourful and the idea to block a creature by reducing its AV and forcing it to attack each turn is fun
DIABOLIC TUTOR was a no-brainer, both for the fact that it’s in itself an awesomely useful text and that it’s quite flavourful (ain’t pirates spawns of the Devil himself?)
I’ve chosen to NOT include any countermagic when deciding which cards to put in. It’s not that I’ve forgotten any, but to me countermagic is not flavourful with the pirate theme AND something i’ll use in a more control oriented deck : pirates will be with a respectable number of creatures, I expect those to have effects that will lessen the need to have countermagic as back-up. But that’s just my opinion.
Uncommon: Diabolic Tutor
Commons: Shimmering Mirage, Wyeth’s Interrogation, Sirensong Rapture, Wyeth’s Decree, Blood in the Water, Divination
Commons, went with flavor for every spot except Divination…sometimes you just need a solid draw spell.
Wyeth’s Interrogation and Wyeth’s Decree are a shoo-in for this theme, because nothing fits in a pirate-centered deck better than spells named after a pirate planeswalker! Blood on the Water and Sirensong Rapture also fall under this list. For the uncommon, Diabolic Tutor seemed like a very useful go-to card in most any situations, which I feel is something an Intro Pack should include given the 2-of limit on rares.
Definitely gonna have creatures swim with the fishies with Blood in the Water! I mainly chose removal and the Wyeth cards.
Cloak of Mists sounds like something pirates would use to secretly board ships!
So when does the winner get notified?
We’ll be posting that later today!
When? Where?