MBtB: The Best Four Days in Gaming
Abbreviated in the title to ‘MBtB,’ my Quiet Speculation column is Magic Beyond the Box, and on today’s article we go well outside of it! Taking a look at the upcoming Gen Con convention held in in just a few weeks in Indianapolis, Indiana, I muse on the significance it once had to me in my youth. I also mention just a few of the many things to do there, and we announce the winner of the Best Four Days in Gaming Giveaway. Who got the free passes?
Magic 2012: Mystical Might Review (Part 2 of 2)
It’s Sam’s turn to get in on the Magic 2012 action, and she’s selected Sacred Assault as jus tthe deck she’d like to champion. A good thing, too, as so much of Mystical Might relies on taking to the air. With both decks marshalling a solid air force, it’s going to come down to the supporting cast of creatures and cards, as well as solid play and the occasional mise to see it through. Will the Illusion and Soldier ground troops have what it takes to hold off the Green/White challenger? Here are the notes from the match.
Magic 2012: Mystical Might Review (Part 1 of 2)
Having just left the highly aggressive Blood and Fire, a Red/Black bloodthirst-centric construction that used its mechanic to keep ahead of the curve, we now turn to what would seem to be about as opposite on the spectrum as you might get- the Blue/White Mystical Might. Those expecting a soft control deck based on the colours alone, however, might be in for a few surprises. What we have here instead is a creature-minded deck that is an amalgam of three different themes: skies, Soldiers, and Illusions. The question in assessing the deck, then, is this: how well do these three work together? Are there natural synergies, or are they working at cross-purposes. The former will give us an efficiently aggressive 60 card construction. The latter, however, will yield a deck with little sense of itself, with each tactic being advanced at the expense of another.
The poster-child for this latter build is the Phyrexian deck from Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs The Coalition, where you had several different lines of strategy that had little interaction with one another, and each card you drew from one line was one less card you had to advance another. This wasn’t reflective of poor design- instead, it acted as a necessary check to prevent a mono-Black deck from running roughshod over its five-colour opponent, and provided a balanced play experience. That said, there’s a wide gulk between an intro pack and a Duel Deck, so let’s begin our review of Mystical Might with its most concentrated asset- its creatures.
Magic 2012: Blood and Fire Review (Part 2 of 2)
Jimi and I are excited to tear into the Magic 2012 decks and run our first playtest. From the looks of them, there are a few that jump out as looking like they’re a lot of fun to play, and Blood and Fire is one of them. Taking the role of opposition, Jimi selects the Blue/White skies-n-stuff deck Mystic Might.
The question I was most looking to answer is this: how reliable is bloodthirst? With the deck virtually built around it, Blood and Fire would live or die by its ability to deliver steady, consistent damage. As there’s only one way to find out, here’s how we did.
Magic 2012: Blood and Fire Review (part 1 of 2)
By all accounts, Magic 2010 was a resounding success. In one stroke, Wizards completely retooled the concept of a Core Set. No longer would it be a rehashed mishmash of reprints- M10 would contain all-new cards never seen before (even if many of them were functional reprints). A new set every two years? Stale. The Core Set would now be an annual event, giving Wizards greater ability to keep the Standard environment fresh while offering new cards to keep the rest of the playerbase intrigued.
Moving from strength to strength, Magic 2011 kept all the strengths of its predecessor and even added a new innovation- each set would bring back a classic mechanical keyword in addition to the usual crop of ‘evergreen’ ones (flying, first strike, and so on). For M11, that was scry, a mechanic first introduced in 2004’s Fifth Dawn. This time around, we’re going back in time to 2006’s Guildpact, to the Gruul guild’s defining mechanic of bloodthirst.
Bloodthirst has been hailed as a canny choice for a core set because of how it compels novice players to develop the habit of casting creatures during their second main phase. Since creatures with bloodthirst optimise only when your opponent has already been damaged in the turn, that typically (though not necessarily) means waiting until after you’ve swung in with your creatures to start adding reinforcements. Unless your creatures have enters-the-battlefield effects that you need prior to attacking (like an Æther Adept to bounce their best defender), this is generally accepted as correct play- but it’s not always evident to the new player. Bloodthirst gives elegant guidance rather than a stern lecture. Unlike the Gruul, whose colours were Green and Red, this time around bloodthirst is primarily the province of Red and Black, though Green isn’t left entirely out of the party (Black and Red each get four bloodthirst creatures in M12, Green gets two).
MBtB: Which Commander Deck is Right for You?
After a short break to run our Best Four Days in Gaming giveaway, Magic Beyond the Box is back with a new precon article focusing on the Commander decks. For those still waiting to get theirs and undecided as to which deck best fits their playstyle, today’s piece gives some guidance on which one to go for. Wait no longer!
Commander: Political Puppets Review (Part 2 of 2)
In the history of Ertai’s Lament, we’ve never bothered to plot a deck schedule out, rather adhering to the simple rule ‘don’t play one you’ve played before.’ In this manner, we ensure that every deck is a part of two different writeups- the main playtest, where I play it, and another playtest as the opposing deck (Jimi or Sam). And for all this time, that’s been sufficient. So it was without any great thought that we did the same with Commander, and everything ran fine until we got to our final game.
Me: “Okay, I’m playing Political Puppets. Jimi, which deck haven’t you played yet?”
Jimi: “Devour for Power. Which one for you, Sam?”
Sam: “…”
[sinking feeling dawns]
Me: “Sam?”
Sam [softly]: “Political Puppets.”
A tragic oversight, and one that we could do nothing about- a lesson learned in a three-player environment. Without planning, overlap can happen. And so we extend our collective apology for those looking forward to three reviews of Political Puppets- alas, our review series will only showcase it twice.
On the upside, Sam opted to go for Counterpunch, so fans of that deck get treated to an extra dose. As before, we’ll go Attack Left/Defend Right, and die rolls have situated Jimi to my left going first, and Sam on my right.
News: Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas Revealed
Today on the mothership, the box art for the forthcoming Duel Decks: Ajani vs Nicol Bolas was revealed. Also shown are the two new alternate-art planeswalker cards themselves, putting an end to the speculation as to which version of Ajani would drive the deck (hint: Boros).
Head on over and check it out!
Whispers of the Muse: Si’s Counterpunch (Commander)
Reader Si has been tinkering around with the Counterpunch deck from Commander, which features Ghave, Guru of Spores and a host of tokens and effects that use or rely upon them. He’d like to keep the general theme of the deck, but wants some suggestions on how to improve upon it.
Commander: Political Puppets Review (Part 1 of 2)
When I first started playing Magic, as many readers may already be aware, I was a huge fan of defensive-minded decks which defied any attackers from gaining traction. Cards like Island Sanctuary, Righteousness, and Castle backed up by Blue countermagic helped surround me in a virtual fortress, along with a fair number of Walls. I might win through a finisher like Air Elemental, or get clever and drain them out with their own cards via Psychic Venom, Power Leak, Creature Bond, or Feedback. In multiplayer play, I wanted to be the guy no-one attacked, instead moving on to easier and softer prey.
Now moving forward many years to the present day, we find a similar spirit prevailing in the new Commander deck Political Puppets, the last to be reviewed and the one that has me the most intrigued. ‘Group Hug’ strategies have long been viable in the format- decks which take a ‘friendly’ approach to the game giving everyone free cards and other goodies, all the while looking to avoid being a target through excessive generosity. The premise to Political Puppets is simple, but one that has a most unusual twist. Unlike the other four, which have strategies that rely on your skill in the game- this deck also needs a healthy dose of personality to be at its best.
Ertai's Lament 