M14 is Changing the Standard Landscape

     Yesterday it was revealed in Sam Stoddard's article that the core dual lands first unveiled in M10 were not returning.  While many were dreading their reprinting for two reasons, namely, boredom and low price, the announcement still came as a shock because it meant that changes are looming in the horizon.  For instance, it might not be as easy to build a three-color deck come October if the cycle of mana-fixing lands in Theros always enter the battlefield tapped.

 "So long, farewell, I hate to say goodbye."

     I was one of those taken aback by the decision to leave off the signature lands in M14.  While it wasn't bad per se, it boded ill of the days ahead, which Mr. Stoddard termed the end of something good.  He added that players would soon be reduced to two-color decks because assembling a decent manabase in Standard post-rotation wouldn't be a cakewalk. 

     After learning of this major development, I resolved to appreciate the embarrassment of riches in mana at this point in time as you should, too.  We might never experience something like this again for a long time so it behooves us to enjoy our three to five-color concoctions while we still can.

Muta-game

I like how Wizards has been changing the game subtly and adroitly over the last couple of years.  One of the things they've done is to insert cards in core sets that affect the metagame for a couple of months before everything rotates in October.  This year, they've reprinted Mutavault, a card that came out during Lorwyn block.

Yes, I know it is meant for Modern but I can't help think that it was always designed to be in Innistrad block. Placing it in M14 allowed other cards to shine temporarily but it also fleshes out the theme of a tribal set by having the premier man-land appear at the most appropriate time.  Now I can add this to a human or zombie deck for more fun and power.  It'll give control decks fits and allow for more innovations to surface.  Goblin deck anyone?

Mo' Writing, Mo' Problems (But It's Okay)

This year I would like to launch several columns on MtG finance, game strategy, and community issues (sort of like an Op Ed piece).  The only thing stopping me is the commitment required to meet deadlines and more importantly, produce quality work consistently.  I'd probably think it over this weekend but I must say it's intriguing to try and match the articles from Channel Fireball and Starcity Games.

I have always loved a challenge so this is right up my alley: a one-man show of sorts.  I'll end up exhausted every week but I believe the effort is worthwhile.  May my current readers support this endeavor.

Taking Kaalia for a Spin

Last Tuesday at the SM North food court, I played Commander with my friends Garry, Ernest, Simion, and Lippy.  We completed four games, enjoying each one for the variety of situations it presented and the challenges inherent in defeating a diverse group of generals.  Garry had Kaarthus and Sygg, Ernest Grand Arbiter Agustin, Simion Reiko and Lippy Tajic.  I went with Kaalia, of course.

Against Garry and Simion

My opening hand included Master of Cruelties and Cataclysm.  On the fourth turn, I landed Kaalia and luckily no one had removal.  The next turn I cast Cataclysm before attacking Garry.  This triggered her ability and the Master came down to put him at one life.  After drawing nothing relevant for two turns, Garry and Simion conceded.

Nothing beats the Commander format for fun.

Against Garry, Simion, and Ernest

Once again, Master of Cruelties made an appearance but this time via a Quicksilver Amulet.  With the first striking, deathtouch demon on the battlefield, I eliminated both Ernest and Simion.  Garry, however, was able to gum up the ground with several merfolk lords including Sygg.  I tried to lock Garry out of cards with a Sire of Insanity but he drew way better than I did and he eventually bounced my creatures with an overloaded Cyclonic Rift to attack for exactly lethal.

Garry is deciding where to send his dragon army.

Against Garry, Simion, Ernest, and Lippy

Lippy got off to a quick start, building an army of tokens with Assemble the Legion.  This worried Ernest and he took it upon himself to patrol Lippy's movements.  On the other hand, Simion, Garry and I were just content to develop our board and sculpt our hand.  When the opportunity arose, I cast Kaalia and equipped her with Lightning Greaves before I attacked Garry.  He was nonplussed by this because he had a bunch of big creatures to defend him.  My general dropped Hellkite Tyrant onto the table and the trampling dragon dealt combat damage to him which meant that I would gain control of his Gilded Lotus, Sol Ring, and Quicksilver Amulet.  The extra mana his artifacts provided enabled me to fetch my combo comprised of Grand Abolisher, Cataclysm and Faith's Reward with Diabolic Revelation.  At this point, everyone had left their mana open to counter and disrupt my finishing move.  However, I used the Amulet to cheat the Abolisher into play and resolved my combo unimpeded for the win.

Ernest is the papa of all grand arbiters.

Against Garry, Simion, and Lippy

Simion came out of the gates quickly with a Dragon Broodmother.  Garry then used Kaarthus to steal the baby dragon-making machine.  Uncharacteristically, I took on the role of control player by resetting the board with Akroma's Vengeance.  Then I sent Gisela and Aurelia to work on Garry's life total which went down precipitously.  But Simion killed my angels so I wasn't able to finish off Garry.  It was Lippy who did.  Simion was defenseless against Lippy's onslaught and succumbed soon thereafter.  I tried to gain the upper hand with a Living Death and succeeded.  To put Lippy away, I plunked down Havoc Festival and Wound Reflection but he topdecked Austere Command to save himself.  We battled back and forth to a standstill with him at one life and me at three.  Unfortunately for him he didn't have a flyer and Kaalia was able to strike at him from the air. 

Simion always has a cute combo hiding somewhere.

Upon reflection, I discovered how vital Grand Abolisher, Quicksilver Amulet, Cataclysm, and Master of Cruelties were to get around countermagic, to put an opponent on life support, and to destroy everyone's resources while leaving enough for me to win.  Also, my manabase left a lot to be desired.  In two of the games, I missed land drops which put a lot of pressure on me to catch up with the others.  Lastly, I needed more means to draw cards or tutor for them.

My Dragon's Maze Prerelease Experience

I decided to enter Neutral Ground's midnight prerelease last April 27 which was why I ended up waiting in line with more than fifty other people impatient for the whole thing to begin at Eton Centris.  When it did, we cracked open our packs, put on our guild badges, and started building forty-card decks to battle with in the hopes of reaching, if not solving the Implicit Maze before the others.  My affiliation was Gruul and my secret ally was Rakdos.

So how would you build this sealed pool?

1  Hired Torturer
1  Tavern Swindler
2  Bane Alley Blackguard
1  Drainpipe Vermin
1  Deviant Glee
1  Daggerdrome Imp
1  Maze Abomination
1  Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
1  Stab Wound
1  Slaughterhorn
1  Battering Krasis
2  Phytoburst
1  Naturalize
1  Mutant's Prey
1  Spire Tracer
1  Alpha Authority
1  Mending Touch
2  Maze Rusher
1  Gore-House Chainwalker
1  Rubblebelt Maaka
1  Bloodfray Giant
1  Splatter Thug
1  Explosive Impact
1  Act of Treason
1  Traitorous Instinct
2  Punish the Enemy
1  Mugging
1  Tin Street Market
1  Foundry Street Denizen
1  Homing Lightning
1  Primal Visitation
1  Burning-Tree Emissary
1  Zhur-Taa Ancient
1  Ruination Wurm
1  Rubblebelt Raiders
1  Cryptborn Horror
1  Spawn of Rix Maadi
1  Augur Spree
1  Rakdos Ringleader
1  Morgue Burst
1  Drown in Filth
2  Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1  Plasm Capture
2  Give/Take
1  Krasis Incubation
1  Beetleform Mage
1  Selesnya Cluestone
1  Simic Cluestone
1  Izzet Cluestone
1  Azorius Cluestone
2  Orzhov Cluestone
1  Gruul Cluestone
1  Razortip Whip
3  Riot Control
1  Haazda Snare Squad
1  Sunspire Gatekeepers
1  Bronzebeak Moa
2  Alive/Well
1  Unflinching Courage
1  Wear/Tear
1  Gleam of Battle
1  Haunter of Nightveil
1  Fluxcharger
1  Nivix Cyclops
1  Murmuring Phantasm
1  Hidden Strings
1  Opal Lake Gatekeepers
1  Wind Drake
1  Lavinia of the Tenth
3  Deputy of Acquittals
1  Jelenn Sphinx
2  Dimir Guildgate
1  Izzet Guildgate
1  Steam Vents
1  Gruul Guildate
2  Rakdos Guildgate

I had read Gavin Varhey's article on the mothership so I organized everything by color and guild.  This led me to design a relatively fast Jund concoction bent on attacking, stealing, burning, bloodrushing and scavenging.  Although I had some sweet blue and white cards that I could have paired with my green, this deck gave me better chances at punishing those who would have mana problems or would depend on late game bomb creatures to win.

2  Rakdos Guildgate                             
1  Gruul Guildgate                                 
5  Mountain                                       
5  Forest
4  Swamp
17 lands
                                      
1  Stab Wound
1  Phytoburst
1  Explosive Impact
1  Act of Treason
1  Traitorous Instinct
1  Punish the Enemy                      
6  spells

1  Maze Abomination
1  Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
1  Slaughterhorn
1  Battering Krasis
1  Maze Rusher
1  Gore-House Chainwalker
1  Rubblebelt Maaka
1  Bloodfray Giant
1  Splatter Thug
1  Burning-Tree Emissary
1  Zhur-Taa Ancient
1  Ruination Wurm
1  Rubblebelt Raiders
1  Cryptborn Horror
1  Spawn of Rix Maadi
2  Varolz, the Scar-Striped
17 creatures

My first match was against Icy who quickly went on the offensive in our first game with a Wind Drake.  He got me down to 9 before Battering Krasis, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and Rubblebelt Raiders overwhelmed him completely.  It was during this time that I realized just how powerful a Threaten effect was when coupled with a sacrifice outlet like Varolz.

This + Traitorous Instinct = Angry Opponent

I was feeling pretty good in the second game having Battering Krasis, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and Rubblebelt Raiders, Rubblebelt Maaka against Icy, who was clinging perilously to 5 life.  He had an Isperia, Supreme Judge in play which I assumed would block but instead attacked thus cluing me in that he had a fog effect in hand.  Sure enough he stymied my alpha strike with Riot Control while drawing a fistful of cards due to Isperia's ability.  I cast a Maze Rusher post combat, heaving a sigh of relief that he didn't have Aetherize to bounce my guys and slow me down considerably.  Unfortunately, he had Lavinia of the Tenth to lock down my guys on his turn.  It didn't take long for the Azorius' guild master and champion to bash my face for lethal.

This is how you stop a swarm of creatures.

Game three was better as I dropped creature after creature to pressure him.  He managed to stem the bleeding with that blasted Riot Control but I stole a blocker with Traitorous Instinct and the +2 power ended up being relevant.

This + Act of Treason = Dead Opponent

The second match turned out to be against my friend Vince.  I used the same strategy as before just piling up the damage via creatures.  Even when he tried to clog up the battlefield with a quartet of 1/1 goblins, Battering Krasis' trample proved deadly as he couldn't chump block profitably.  Moreover, Jarolz's ability allowed me to scavenge the creatures he killed to make them tougher.  And when he tried to stabilize by summoning blockers I just stole them with Act of Treason and Traitorous Instinct.

MVT = Most Valuable Trampler

For the second game he replaced a lot of his cards which meant that he had added removal to deal with my early beaters.  I was right in my assessment as he destroyed Jarolz right away.  Battering Krasis, however, lived to deal 5 damage buffed up by a bloodrushed Slaughterhorn.  Consequently, the Cryptborn Horror that came down--a 5/5 with trample--meant that the Krasis would also evolve.  When I tapped to attack, he killed a bunch of my creatures with Willing, an instant that granted his creatures deathtouch and lifelink.  He couldn't pay for the Ready part of the fuse card so his critters died, too.  Having cast Phytoblast before combat on the Krasis meant that I negated the lifegain and brought him to 10 life.  I played a Rubblebelt Raiders as my only creature post-combat.  He tried to protect himself with a 3-power creature but that only helped me as I stole it with Traitorous Instinct.  Attacking with the two creatures gave my Raiders two +1/+1 counters and the +2 to the stolen creature's power added up to ten, which was enough to take the match.

Yes, it has trample. :-)

The third round was frustrating because I had gotten my opponent Marco to 9 life despite a mulligan in game one.  He had an unblockable creature in play with four power and another one enchanted with a Stab Wound.  My hand consisted of an Act of Treason and Punish the Enemy.  But I was down to six with him having four creatures to my lone Ruination Wurm, which he had been blocking with a Lotleth Troll.  The idea was to steal the unblockable guy and have it deal 4 damage.  I would then cast Punish the Enemy to kill another creature and deal 3 to him to bring him down to 2 life.  The Stab Wound would then kill him at the beginning of his upkeep.  But he had the counter and that stopped my nefarious plan.

Still good.  Still deadly.

Game two had me missing land drops and unable to cast my green spells despite using a Burning-Tree Emissary to get Jarolz into play.  This wasn't even close and I suffered my first defeat.

Sometimes burning trees isn't enough.

Round four was against Angel.  I dropped creature after creature and even though he dealt 11 damage in quick order, I used Traitorous Instinct to steal one of his guys and inflict 15 to kill him.  Game two was a mess as he drew removal or blockers to stem the damage coming from my side,  Meanwhile he managed to bring me down to 4 life.  He had a creature with six power at this point and I was top-decking blockers and hoping to draw into Traitorous Instinct which I promptly did.  He was sitting on 7 life when I stole his creature, gave it +2/+0 and sent it into the red zone for the win.

And that was how my prerelease experience went: a 3-1 record and lots of fun memories.  If I were to play the format again, I would still choose an aggressive strategy to take advantage of all those people using guildgates and fuse spells.  However, it just can't be all creatures and burn spells.  What made my deck resilient were the interactions of Varolz and Rubblebelt Raiders with Traitorous Instinct and Act of Treason.  Adding to that was Varolz's powerful ability to scavenge my creatures whether or not I bloodrushed some of them.  And I made sure to play plenty, 17 in fact. 

Best.Red.Spell.Ever.

     The transition to being an organizer hasn't been smooth, not that I expected it to be.  A Magic event has a lot of moving parts and attention to detail is a vital component in ensuring that the players experience fun. The night before a tournament is quite different when seen through the eyes of an organizer.  Before as a player I would worry about my sideboard.  But nowadays I have to check that my venue is available and my players of sufficient number to fire off a tilt.

     It has been a thrill to learn to do these things well even as I miss the simply joys of rocking a homebrew and winning it all.  Sometimes I wonder if I should return to competitive Magic and leave the event management to those who can.  Then I remember that I am one of those who can devote time and energy to making my Magic pals happy to have a place to play and have lots of great people to sling spells with.

     So, I try a little harder at this new role because I love Magic and the friends I've met ever since I shuffled up them cards.  It's my way of showing gratitude for everything the game has done for me.  And I wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of my life.

Mage Hunting

      As a kid, my father always made it a point to have his children hunt for Easter eggs during, well, Easter Sunday.  So I thought it would be fun if the players hunted each other.  I could put a bounty on someone, say a rare card, and if he won the match, he could keep the card.  But if he lost then the bounty would go to the opponent.  It would be a riff on Easter eggs and a way to say thank you to the twenty or so people who regularly attend our tournaments.

They're ready to hunt down some mages.

     The way this worked was that I would choose somebody at random.  Nobody knew who had a bounty on their heads until the pairings were announced, thus keeping the anticipation high and mimicking the difficulty and surprise of looking for and discovering actual Easter eggs.  During the tournament, players with bounties tried their best to save themselves while their opponents worked doubly hard to beat them.  Hence, the theme of bounty hunting served to add a little excitement and danger while providing me with a cool way to reward people for participating.

Who's the hunter and the hunted?

     Twenty-nine mages showed up but it was Brian who went home the champion.  For the third consecutive time. His was an awesome achievement considering that everyone knew what his deck was and that they were gunning for him from round one.  He was undefeated along with Nikki but since his tiebreaks were higher, he ended up with the title.  Nikki also sported a Naya deck but hers was built differently.

Hunting mages is thirsty work.

     Three new DCI numbers were handed out which made us happy because one of our stated goals is to encourage the casual/kitchen table spellslingers to try tournament Magic.  It was for this reason that we went with the flat-prizing structure, to promote a friendly atmosphere and encourage them to dip their fingers into another way of approaching the game we all love dearly.  In a sense, we're like the Marines in that we're searching for a few good men and women to become all they can be...albeit in the Multiverse.

     Since it was Easter we added rare cards to the prize pool for the top nine players to choose from.  This was also to celebrate tournament Magic's resurrection in SM North and to show our gratitude to the magicians whose support, ideas, and camaraderie made Magehunt a fun and memorable event.