Alright so this is the article of the basics in MTG, for those whom are new to the game and the like, let us begin with the run down of the list of things you'll see more then likely come when you play the game Mana Cost, Creature Type, Card Types such as instant and sorceries, Legendary Creatures, Converted mana Cost, Power/Toughness, so let's go.
Mana Cost - This means how much mana you have to pay, what is mana, it's a source that comes from the lands you play such as Forests, Islands, Mountains, Swamps and of course Plains, each has it's own source and different symbol, each symbol is of course listed on the land card, but each card you play may or may not have different symbols, so let's say you have 2 plains on the field and have Wall of Omens in your hand it's costs are 1 colorless which is anything and 1 plains to cast from your hand, you pay the 2 plains as a cost by tapping them of course and place the card on the field, boom you now have your first creature, mana costs can vary from card to card, some being large and some being small, keep that in mind while the game continues on.
Creature Type - There are lots of different tribes out there in magic the gathering some of the most apparent are vampires, Goblins, Kithkin, Merfolk, Treefolk, and many more, each is listed on the middle of the card telling you what it is and if it's a creature at all, there are some spells that are for one tribe of creature and use that to gain advantage throughout the game, each though is very different as there are dozens of types of creatures and spells out there to play in general, focusing a deck around one of them, preferrably one your used to is not a bad idea.
Instants - Now it's pretty much as the name implies, this means this kind of spell can be played at any point in the game, provided you have the mana cost to play it, more commonly this is placed on counterspells or things that effect the game in the long run such as Cancel and Mana Leak to name a few of the cards in which are most commonly used after the latest core set's release, though there are instant speed cards of each colour, most don't end up lasting more then 1 set sometimes it would appear, except for a few interrupt type abilites.
Sorceries - These are the card types that can only be played during your turn, there are usually a lot of these types of cards from each new set printed for the various colours such as Assassinate and of course Blood Tithe just to name a few of them, of course they all have various effects that take place in game, as well as different mana costs in general, they are one of the 4 essential keys to deck building of course, along with instants, creatures and your landbase.
Legendary Creature - this is of course is it's own rule, it means only one of the same kind of card can be on the field, this goes for planeswalkers which of course i will be discussing later on in the article, or the same type of creature, let's say you have a Doran, The Siege Tower and your opponent decides to play one of his own, now the legendary rule comes into play meaning they both are destroyed upon the second one hitting the field, same goes for any other legendary out there in the game today, if you want to read more on the legendary ruling and such, go ahead, since creatures sometimes end up having a legendary sub text in the middle of the card they are printed on, not all the time, but there is usually 2 or 3 cards that have the legendary keyword printed on them per set most occasions.
Converted Mana Cost - Now this means the total cost of a creature let's say you have a Hellcarver Demon to cast it's casting cost is 3, black, black, black, which would total up to 6 because 6 mana is needed to cast this creature and play it on the battlefield, normally converted mana costs are just totalling up the main cost altogether printed on the top right hand of the card you are using or cards if your playing, it's very simple to understand.
Power/Toughness - Most of the time this is printed on only creatures, actually all the time, with the power of one creature being on the left on the bottom right hand side of the card and the toughness directly after it on the right of that portion of the card, now there are mechanics out there to improve the power toughness of creatures you cast so don't fret, sometimes their original power/toughness can be altered in a big way or for a single turn in some cases with cards such as Overrun and Giant Growth let's provide a example of a creature say you possess a Grizzly Bears and use a giant growth on it, let's look at the basis power/toughness first it's power is 2 and it's toughness is 2 as listed on the bottom right hand side of the card, giant growth merely gives it another 3 points to each category for a single turn meaning you'll have a 5/5 power/toughness grizzly bears in play and usually that's a key point to attack, however when the toughness of a creature reaches zero it's sent to the graveyard straight away, no questions since toughness is it's life total and power represents how much damage it is going to do in general.
Planeswalkers - This is the final thing i wanna touch on in this article, these are powerful spell casters in which you can call to your side, each one has 3 unique abilites, some of them even have 4 unique abilites, 2-3 easy casting abilites and one ultimate ability which shifts the game in a general direction for a turn or two depending of course how you use them Let's look at a planeswalker as a example of in the form of Ajani Goldmane now each planeswalker has a casting cost like a spell, however they are considered permanents on the field and as such are treated as one, they can be attacked, they cannot block and are considered legendary creatures in their own right, this one has two basic abilites, +1 gives you 2 life points to add to your total and the other -1 put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and they gain vigilance till end of turn, now their ultimate ablites depend on the colours you play so for instance this is white, so it focuses on life gain as well as giving creatures power boosts, others do various other colour effects which change the game state dramatically some of the time, Goldmane's ability is -6 you get to put a avatar token with it's power/toughness being your life total, you'll also note the number on the bottom it's the loyalty counters it has, if it reaches zero it's removed from play, it's basic really when coming to use planeswalkers.
Well that's all for this article, hope the sub text and that provides some basic insight into the world of magic and all that, till next time later.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Commonly Used MTG Abilites and how they Work Part 2
So to continue from the prior article where i discussed the major abilites now let's discuss some of the more interesting abilites in which the game possessess, including shroud, protection, first strike, indestructible, double strike, first strike as well as quite a few more so let's go.
Shroud - Now this is pretty basic of a ability, a creature with this ability cannot be targeted by spells or abilites, let's provide a example for this one shall we let's say you got Algae Gharial on the field, he has the ability known as shroud which means he cannot be targeted by anything, spell, ability, he can still be damaged by creatures when he is blocked or when he blocks, however most of the time he's untargetable, it also is the same for you, since shroud can't be targeted by anything, means you can't enchant him, or equip him with anything, this is the only downside to this ruling.
Protection - This ability is labeled as the following [This Creature cannot be blocked, targeted, dealt damage or enchanted by the colour it is protected from], now most would say this is bad, not really it's actually a good ability, it means it cannot be damaged by a source that is that colour, spells of that colour CANNOT target it, as well as pretty much anything else you'd see in the game including enchantments, abilites and the like, so as a prime example let's take Black Knight and use it as a example, if it attacks and all your opponent has is a white side of the board, chances are it's gonna go right through since it's unblockable by white creatures, it can't be dealt battle damage, it cannot be removed from cards such as Path to Exile or enchantments such as Journey to Nowhere, protection is actually a pretty cool ability, however anything else that isn't white can target this creature and remove it, same goes with other creatures with similar protection abilites, one colour may not be able to target it, but other colours sure as hell can.
First Strike - This is actually a combat damage ability believe it or not, a creature with this ability always deals it's damage first regardless, such as Student of Warfare when it is leveled up of course, or perhaps even White Knight which states clear as day [This creatures deals it's combat damage before creatures without first strike] now let's say you had a student of warfare that was leveled up to level 2 and you were using White Knight to defend, first strike wouldn't kick in since both creatures have first strike, meaning it would deal normal combat damage, meaning of course the Knight would die to the warfare due to 3 combat damage and the student of warfare would survive the encounter since it had 1 more point of toughness cool eh?
Double Strike - Another cool combat damage step ability that deals twice the normal number of damage a cool example is when student of warfare is powered up to it's maximum level 7 potential, it gets two abilites, first strike and double strike, first strike i've already explained just a second ago and double strike which would mean it can deal damage to two different sources say you had a creature to defend against this, the student would do it's first strike damage to the creature, killing it off, then it would do the other strike of damage to the player controlling the creature in this case it would be 6, it's a pretty simplistic ability if i do say so myself, though the rules surrounding it are sometimes blurred.
Indestrucible - This is a pretty basic ability, normally when combat damage is dealt to a creature with this state based ability, if it's lethal it's destroyed right, wrong combat damage doesn't apply to a creature with this ability such as Transcendent Master when it is leveled up to level 12 of course, so when it attacks it is pretty much invincible to combat damage or damage in general, meaning most spell cannot do a thing, except for removal spells such as Journey to Nowhere and Oblivion Ring, still it's a pretty unique ability that is hard to come by.
Lifelink - Another basic ability which doesn't state much, but lifelink is simple, when you attack and the creature hits anything in general let's say you have a Rhox War Monk since it has lifelink and your opponent has Totem-Guide Hartebeest combat damage of course resolves when the two clash, one dealing 3 damage and the other dealing 2 damage to the other in return now the attack power of the monster you attacked with aka the war monk hit something right, well you get it's attack power back added onto your life total, meaning you just gained 3 life by attacking with a single creature, there are lots of cards with this ability on it, it's more common then most would think.
Defender - It's a simple state based ability meaning a creature with this cannot attack, but merely defend, it is more common in current standard then most since there are a lot of cards out there in which have this state based ability, most of the time though there is usually one or two instances in which defender can be dropped, i need not really explain this ability since of course it's basic enough to figure out, most cards though will be pretty obvious in stating it.
Haste - A creature with this ability can attack right away with this ability for example Goblin Guide which has haste can attack right away, you'll see this on more red cards then anything since red is the most common colour to have this state based ability, so if you are on turn 1 and holding a haste creature in hand play it, it won't get beaten up and you'll get a free damage bonus outta it on it's first turn.
Vigilance - This is another pretty straight forward ability meaning a creature with this as when it attacks attacking does not cause it to tap meaning it can block the very next turn, so for example let's say you got a Serra Angel on the field which also has another state based ability which i will discuss later on in this article, when it attacks it does not tap, meaning you still get to block with this creature even after the attack step is declared, not bad huh?
Trample - Another during combat damage stated ability, more or less green's pick of the litter as you'll see this on more green cards then anything, including Duskdale Wurm and spells such as Overrun and even as a ability on planeswalkers such as Garruk Wildspeaker, it's pretty basic it means after a creature is destroyed and a creature has this ability, the remaining points of damage is dealt to the opponent as damage points, so for instance if you have a duskdale wurm attacking say a Llanowar Elves 1 point of damage is already absorbed due to the elves blocking, but the remaining points of damage in this case which is 6 is dealt as life total damage to the opponent player.
Well that covers the state based abilites on current standard and such, tommorow i hope to bring you the types of spells you'll encounter as you play the game, till next time ciao.
Shroud - Now this is pretty basic of a ability, a creature with this ability cannot be targeted by spells or abilites, let's provide a example for this one shall we let's say you got Algae Gharial on the field, he has the ability known as shroud which means he cannot be targeted by anything, spell, ability, he can still be damaged by creatures when he is blocked or when he blocks, however most of the time he's untargetable, it also is the same for you, since shroud can't be targeted by anything, means you can't enchant him, or equip him with anything, this is the only downside to this ruling.
Protection - This ability is labeled as the following [This Creature cannot be blocked, targeted, dealt damage or enchanted by the colour it is protected from], now most would say this is bad, not really it's actually a good ability, it means it cannot be damaged by a source that is that colour, spells of that colour CANNOT target it, as well as pretty much anything else you'd see in the game including enchantments, abilites and the like, so as a prime example let's take Black Knight and use it as a example, if it attacks and all your opponent has is a white side of the board, chances are it's gonna go right through since it's unblockable by white creatures, it can't be dealt battle damage, it cannot be removed from cards such as Path to Exile or enchantments such as Journey to Nowhere, protection is actually a pretty cool ability, however anything else that isn't white can target this creature and remove it, same goes with other creatures with similar protection abilites, one colour may not be able to target it, but other colours sure as hell can.
First Strike - This is actually a combat damage ability believe it or not, a creature with this ability always deals it's damage first regardless, such as Student of Warfare when it is leveled up of course, or perhaps even White Knight which states clear as day [This creatures deals it's combat damage before creatures without first strike] now let's say you had a student of warfare that was leveled up to level 2 and you were using White Knight to defend, first strike wouldn't kick in since both creatures have first strike, meaning it would deal normal combat damage, meaning of course the Knight would die to the warfare due to 3 combat damage and the student of warfare would survive the encounter since it had 1 more point of toughness cool eh?
Double Strike - Another cool combat damage step ability that deals twice the normal number of damage a cool example is when student of warfare is powered up to it's maximum level 7 potential, it gets two abilites, first strike and double strike, first strike i've already explained just a second ago and double strike which would mean it can deal damage to two different sources say you had a creature to defend against this, the student would do it's first strike damage to the creature, killing it off, then it would do the other strike of damage to the player controlling the creature in this case it would be 6, it's a pretty simplistic ability if i do say so myself, though the rules surrounding it are sometimes blurred.
Indestrucible - This is a pretty basic ability, normally when combat damage is dealt to a creature with this state based ability, if it's lethal it's destroyed right, wrong combat damage doesn't apply to a creature with this ability such as Transcendent Master when it is leveled up to level 12 of course, so when it attacks it is pretty much invincible to combat damage or damage in general, meaning most spell cannot do a thing, except for removal spells such as Journey to Nowhere and Oblivion Ring, still it's a pretty unique ability that is hard to come by.
Lifelink - Another basic ability which doesn't state much, but lifelink is simple, when you attack and the creature hits anything in general let's say you have a Rhox War Monk since it has lifelink and your opponent has Totem-Guide Hartebeest combat damage of course resolves when the two clash, one dealing 3 damage and the other dealing 2 damage to the other in return now the attack power of the monster you attacked with aka the war monk hit something right, well you get it's attack power back added onto your life total, meaning you just gained 3 life by attacking with a single creature, there are lots of cards with this ability on it, it's more common then most would think.
Defender - It's a simple state based ability meaning a creature with this cannot attack, but merely defend, it is more common in current standard then most since there are a lot of cards out there in which have this state based ability, most of the time though there is usually one or two instances in which defender can be dropped, i need not really explain this ability since of course it's basic enough to figure out, most cards though will be pretty obvious in stating it.
Haste - A creature with this ability can attack right away with this ability for example Goblin Guide which has haste can attack right away, you'll see this on more red cards then anything since red is the most common colour to have this state based ability, so if you are on turn 1 and holding a haste creature in hand play it, it won't get beaten up and you'll get a free damage bonus outta it on it's first turn.
Vigilance - This is another pretty straight forward ability meaning a creature with this as when it attacks attacking does not cause it to tap meaning it can block the very next turn, so for example let's say you got a Serra Angel on the field which also has another state based ability which i will discuss later on in this article, when it attacks it does not tap, meaning you still get to block with this creature even after the attack step is declared, not bad huh?
Trample - Another during combat damage stated ability, more or less green's pick of the litter as you'll see this on more green cards then anything, including Duskdale Wurm and spells such as Overrun and even as a ability on planeswalkers such as Garruk Wildspeaker, it's pretty basic it means after a creature is destroyed and a creature has this ability, the remaining points of damage is dealt to the opponent as damage points, so for instance if you have a duskdale wurm attacking say a Llanowar Elves 1 point of damage is already absorbed due to the elves blocking, but the remaining points of damage in this case which is 6 is dealt as life total damage to the opponent player.
Well that covers the state based abilites on current standard and such, tommorow i hope to bring you the types of spells you'll encounter as you play the game, till next time ciao.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Commonly Used MTG Abilites and How they work
Now through the course of this article for those who are my normal readers, i will be examining the most commonly used abilites in today's standard and extended enviroment, these are the most commonly printed abilites and such. Flash, Reach, Flying, Deathtouch, Swamp, Island, Mountain, Forest and Plains, Nonbasic Landwalk, Landfall, Cascade as well as many others so let us begin.
Flash - No it's not the flash from DC comics, it's quite the opposite a card with this printed ability such as Spellstutter Sprite has the keyword ability flash, which allows it to be played at any point during the ability, let's look at this keyword of course (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.) which means a card with this ability is the same as a instant spell which i'll discuss later on, meaning it can be played as a interrupt spell, during your blocking step and hell during your attack step to do something nasty there are quite a few cards with flash as a keyword ability printed on them including a legendary creature called Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir which also has this keyword printed on him, so this is just another way of using instant speed spells which are placed at your disposal.
Reach - Most commonly used as a keyword to block flyers, this ability states as follows [A creature with this ability is able to blocking flying creatures] so you'd think a creature listed with this ability is good right, well sorta it's not a very good keyword ability in fact it's usually given to creatures in which are very common or worthless such as Giant Spider which costs 2 and a green mana to produce and has a power/toughness ratio of 2/4, it's one of the more useless abilites listed in this article and most people would pass by one of these unless they have no other option.
Flying - This is perhaps the most common ability in all of magic the gathering, a creature with this is able to go above non flying blockers and attack directly as stated, unless the creature is blocked by another flyer or a creature with reach which can block flying, so for example if a 3/3 Teller of Tales was to declare an attack on a opponent and the opponent could do nothing to block it, the opponent would thereinfore take 3 damage, however if the opponent say had a reach creature such as Giant Spider, it would be able to block the damage and prevent it entirely, or if another flyer such as Kinsbaile Balloonist was to block it, the balloonist would die but the combat damage would be prevented, there are many situations in this usually occurs more common then not these days with this keyword ability.
Deathtouch - The rules to this have been revised as of late, the creature with this only needs to deal 1 point of damage to anything it touches, killing it instantly, which is deathtouch itself, so for example say we have a Greater Basilisk going up against 3 creatures such as 3 Chandra's Spitfire now the Basilisk would only have to deal a single point of damage to each of these so the attacker declares 1 damage is dealt to each blocking creature, killing the spitfires and leaving the basilisk alive for another day, since of course the basilisk would survive the 3 points of combat damage in return it is being dealt, there are lots of prominent examples of this being used, this of course is one of many examples for this ability.
Swamp, Island, Mountain, Forest and Plainswalk - These five abilites are simple as they say, when a land of the type your ability is being controlled say if you have Islandwalk on a Halimar Wavewatch and your opponent has a island on his side of the battlefield it can go straight over and deal 6 damage regardless of blockers, since the island is on the opponent's side creating a sort of bridge, the other lands are pretty similar and that causing the same sort of thing to happen, it varies from set to set of course with certain creatures, however it is not common on most sets these days with few creatures receiving it.
Nonbasic Landwalk - It's pretty basic, anything that isn't a basic land can be used to your advantage, it's similar to basic landwalk which is the five main colours of the game, but it's not commonly used, so this is not much to talk of.
Landfall - Now it's pretty basic of course when the zendikar set came out, it means when a land hits the board it causes a effect which of course is a good thing when the game is going on, i've already covered landfall in my zendikar set review which is here ---->; Zendikar Set Review
Cascade - Now this is a fun ability to use, when a card with this ability is cast such as Bloodbraid Elf it means you get this creature, provided it is not countered and the ability to search for a nonland card that costs less then this, meaning it can cast 3 converted casting cost cards for free, think of it's ability as getting a free spell for a fact.
That's all i am going to be covering for now, stay tuned for part 2 when i explain the remaining 7 or 8 abilites in some form, bye for now
Flash - No it's not the flash from DC comics, it's quite the opposite a card with this printed ability such as Spellstutter Sprite has the keyword ability flash, which allows it to be played at any point during the ability, let's look at this keyword of course (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.) which means a card with this ability is the same as a instant spell which i'll discuss later on, meaning it can be played as a interrupt spell, during your blocking step and hell during your attack step to do something nasty there are quite a few cards with flash as a keyword ability printed on them including a legendary creature called Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir which also has this keyword printed on him, so this is just another way of using instant speed spells which are placed at your disposal.
Reach - Most commonly used as a keyword to block flyers, this ability states as follows [A creature with this ability is able to blocking flying creatures] so you'd think a creature listed with this ability is good right, well sorta it's not a very good keyword ability in fact it's usually given to creatures in which are very common or worthless such as Giant Spider which costs 2 and a green mana to produce and has a power/toughness ratio of 2/4, it's one of the more useless abilites listed in this article and most people would pass by one of these unless they have no other option.
Flying - This is perhaps the most common ability in all of magic the gathering, a creature with this is able to go above non flying blockers and attack directly as stated, unless the creature is blocked by another flyer or a creature with reach which can block flying, so for example if a 3/3 Teller of Tales was to declare an attack on a opponent and the opponent could do nothing to block it, the opponent would thereinfore take 3 damage, however if the opponent say had a reach creature such as Giant Spider, it would be able to block the damage and prevent it entirely, or if another flyer such as Kinsbaile Balloonist was to block it, the balloonist would die but the combat damage would be prevented, there are many situations in this usually occurs more common then not these days with this keyword ability.
Deathtouch - The rules to this have been revised as of late, the creature with this only needs to deal 1 point of damage to anything it touches, killing it instantly, which is deathtouch itself, so for example say we have a Greater Basilisk going up against 3 creatures such as 3 Chandra's Spitfire now the Basilisk would only have to deal a single point of damage to each of these so the attacker declares 1 damage is dealt to each blocking creature, killing the spitfires and leaving the basilisk alive for another day, since of course the basilisk would survive the 3 points of combat damage in return it is being dealt, there are lots of prominent examples of this being used, this of course is one of many examples for this ability.
Swamp, Island, Mountain, Forest and Plainswalk - These five abilites are simple as they say, when a land of the type your ability is being controlled say if you have Islandwalk on a Halimar Wavewatch and your opponent has a island on his side of the battlefield it can go straight over and deal 6 damage regardless of blockers, since the island is on the opponent's side creating a sort of bridge, the other lands are pretty similar and that causing the same sort of thing to happen, it varies from set to set of course with certain creatures, however it is not common on most sets these days with few creatures receiving it.
Nonbasic Landwalk - It's pretty basic, anything that isn't a basic land can be used to your advantage, it's similar to basic landwalk which is the five main colours of the game, but it's not commonly used, so this is not much to talk of.
Landfall - Now it's pretty basic of course when the zendikar set came out, it means when a land hits the board it causes a effect which of course is a good thing when the game is going on, i've already covered landfall in my zendikar set review which is here ---->; Zendikar Set Review
Cascade - Now this is a fun ability to use, when a card with this ability is cast such as Bloodbraid Elf it means you get this creature, provided it is not countered and the ability to search for a nonland card that costs less then this, meaning it can cast 3 converted casting cost cards for free, think of it's ability as getting a free spell for a fact.
That's all i am going to be covering for now, stay tuned for part 2 when i explain the remaining 7 or 8 abilites in some form, bye for now
Sunday, July 25, 2010
MTG Set Review #3 Zendikar
Now let's delve back into this year's starter block set the Zendikar set which brought us the following abilites, Landfall, Traps and a new tribal type labeled Eldrazi, which i explained about here Rise of the Eldrazi Set Review so let's go.
Landfall - Now as most of this set, there are a lot of cards with the trigger ability which activates when a land comes into play, providing a boost to a creature for example on Ob Nixlis, The Fallen whenever a land comes into play when he's on the field he is provided a +3/+3 boost if you make a target opponent lose three life that is, great ability is it not, let's look at another card called Steppe Lynx in which whenever a land hits the board due to landfall it gets a +2/+2 pump until end up of turn even though it starts off as a measly 0/1 it's still quite a good card you just gotta play around this, now it's not just limited to creatures, it's also provided on enchantments which reward landfall effects as well such as Sunspring Expedition which reward sacrifical effects such as lifegain as long as it has the necessary quest counters, how do you get these quest counters it's simple, you get them when lands hit the field when this is on the field, not bad huh well that pretty much explains it, oh and landfall for you only triggers on your turn not when a opponent's land hits the field, just to note.
Traps - Now most of this your thinking is from Yu-Gi-Oh well your wrong this is nothing like that game, in fact it's more magic like these days, with certain effects which can turn the game out in a good or a bad way, let's provide a example of a trap, personally my favorite of this new card type is Archive Trap due to it's effect as when a opponent searches his/her library you get to cast this for free when it's in your hand.not bad huh. Let's look at another which is also a nice addition to this set Needlebite Trap which costs one black mana if your opponent gained life this turn, it basically turns that life and gives it to you, not bad for a trap which is 7 mana converted originally to cast huh, traps can be used in all sorts of situations, pick and choose which ones you feel will work for you in the long run and work around them with your deck.
New Tribal Type Eldrazi - This pretty much got us started with the eldrazi tribal type due to one thing Eldrazi Monument now these big and nasty beasts ravaged the world of zendikar in the lore behind this world, leaving these monuments everywhere and were eventually sealed in the Eye of Ugin which confined the massive 20 foot giants thanks to the planeswalkers, Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren and of course Sarkhan Vol if my lore is correct on this archetype, we learn more about them in the two sets to come of this block but i'm interested in the lore of these monsters and how they came to Zendikar.
Top 3's from each color now i will be going over the top 5 from each colour starting in alphabetical order from Black, Blue, Green, Red, White so let's begin.
Black 1) Sorin Markov - The black planeswalker gets the first spot on my black list, due to the fact his abilites are powerful and cause many players to cry and wet their beds at night for a mere 6 converted you get a planeswalker with the following abilites +2 - He does 2 damage to target creature or player and you get 2 life -3 target opponent's lifetotal becomes 10 and -7 you control target player's next turn with a starting cost of 4 loyalty.
2) Bloodghast - A vampire that truly never dies but comes back when it's controller pulls a land and it gains haste with 10 life or less not bad, not bad at all.
3) Vampire Nighthawk - This 2/3 for 3 converted with lifelink, deathtouch and flying is so overpowered, it is crucial for vampires and the like, any black vampire deck will run 4 copies of this and this is probably the best uncommon for black in about 7 months before this set was printed.
Blue 1) Hedron Crab - Mill has a new creature, this 1 blue drop really pulls out all the stops with landfall at 0/2 but it really is worth it at the uncommon level, it earned the name boston crab.
2) Sphinx of Jwar Isle - 6 for this shroud, flyer at 5/5 plus you get to look at the top card of your library, not bad not bad at all, personally i like this card so much, blue has a new bomb come the end of the day.
3) Spreading Seas - Control has a new enchantment which gets a card back to replace it and lock down a dual land, seriously, this is the best enchantment i've ever seen and control decks i know will be running multiple copies of this beast of a card.
Green 1) Lotus Cobra - Who doesn't love mana ramp, not me, i love it to death and this is no exception to this deck type, landfall nets more mana, more mana more power yay.
2) Rampaging Baloths - Landfall creatures are so uber powerful espically when they enmasse pump out 4/4 beasts infintely, with a 4/4 for 6 as well i can see why this is so uber.
3) Harrow - Fetching basic lands not one, but two with this gem is so broken, ramp now has 3 cards that can do it, all listed here of course.
Red 1) Chandra Ablaze - The second of the 3 planeswalkers for this set, this is the red one though so let's go over her abilites +1 discard a card if it's red you deal 4 damage to target player or creature, -2 each player discards his or her hand, then draws 3 cards and finally her ultimate -7 where you get to cast any and all sorcery/instants from your graveyard for free at that at a mere 5 starting loyalty for a 6 converted it's actually a good red card if you know what your doing.
2) Goblin Guide - Free lands when it attacks for a 2/2 haste creature for a mere 1 red mana, it's broken officially since this speeds the land base so far ahead if your playing mono red, not bad not bad.
3) Pyromancer Ascension - What can i say bout this enchantment, it provides free copies of spells as long as it has the necessary counters on it, this has brought along quite a few deck types.
White 1) Day of Judgment - It's a auto sweeper what more do i gotta say, it's the new wrath of god and it is also featured in M11 the latest core set, so it's good, real good.
2) Iona, Shield of Emeria - Control, control, control this is so seriously broken for a 9 converted when you get her out it's not even funny, only downside is the legendary rule.
3) Journey to Nowhere - The newest form of removal for this set, it's like oblivion ring which i won't even bother linking but better i might add and cheaper at 1 and a white mana.
Well that covers it for this article, enjoy and this is vergil signing off.
Landfall - Now as most of this set, there are a lot of cards with the trigger ability which activates when a land comes into play, providing a boost to a creature for example on Ob Nixlis, The Fallen whenever a land comes into play when he's on the field he is provided a +3/+3 boost if you make a target opponent lose three life that is, great ability is it not, let's look at another card called Steppe Lynx in which whenever a land hits the board due to landfall it gets a +2/+2 pump until end up of turn even though it starts off as a measly 0/1 it's still quite a good card you just gotta play around this, now it's not just limited to creatures, it's also provided on enchantments which reward landfall effects as well such as Sunspring Expedition which reward sacrifical effects such as lifegain as long as it has the necessary quest counters, how do you get these quest counters it's simple, you get them when lands hit the field when this is on the field, not bad huh well that pretty much explains it, oh and landfall for you only triggers on your turn not when a opponent's land hits the field, just to note.
Traps - Now most of this your thinking is from Yu-Gi-Oh well your wrong this is nothing like that game, in fact it's more magic like these days, with certain effects which can turn the game out in a good or a bad way, let's provide a example of a trap, personally my favorite of this new card type is Archive Trap due to it's effect as when a opponent searches his/her library you get to cast this for free when it's in your hand.not bad huh. Let's look at another which is also a nice addition to this set Needlebite Trap which costs one black mana if your opponent gained life this turn, it basically turns that life and gives it to you, not bad for a trap which is 7 mana converted originally to cast huh, traps can be used in all sorts of situations, pick and choose which ones you feel will work for you in the long run and work around them with your deck.
New Tribal Type Eldrazi - This pretty much got us started with the eldrazi tribal type due to one thing Eldrazi Monument now these big and nasty beasts ravaged the world of zendikar in the lore behind this world, leaving these monuments everywhere and were eventually sealed in the Eye of Ugin which confined the massive 20 foot giants thanks to the planeswalkers, Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren and of course Sarkhan Vol if my lore is correct on this archetype, we learn more about them in the two sets to come of this block but i'm interested in the lore of these monsters and how they came to Zendikar.
Top 3's from each color now i will be going over the top 5 from each colour starting in alphabetical order from Black, Blue, Green, Red, White so let's begin.
Black 1) Sorin Markov - The black planeswalker gets the first spot on my black list, due to the fact his abilites are powerful and cause many players to cry and wet their beds at night for a mere 6 converted you get a planeswalker with the following abilites +2 - He does 2 damage to target creature or player and you get 2 life -3 target opponent's lifetotal becomes 10 and -7 you control target player's next turn with a starting cost of 4 loyalty.
2) Bloodghast - A vampire that truly never dies but comes back when it's controller pulls a land and it gains haste with 10 life or less not bad, not bad at all.
3) Vampire Nighthawk - This 2/3 for 3 converted with lifelink, deathtouch and flying is so overpowered, it is crucial for vampires and the like, any black vampire deck will run 4 copies of this and this is probably the best uncommon for black in about 7 months before this set was printed.
Blue 1) Hedron Crab - Mill has a new creature, this 1 blue drop really pulls out all the stops with landfall at 0/2 but it really is worth it at the uncommon level, it earned the name boston crab.
2) Sphinx of Jwar Isle - 6 for this shroud, flyer at 5/5 plus you get to look at the top card of your library, not bad not bad at all, personally i like this card so much, blue has a new bomb come the end of the day.
3) Spreading Seas - Control has a new enchantment which gets a card back to replace it and lock down a dual land, seriously, this is the best enchantment i've ever seen and control decks i know will be running multiple copies of this beast of a card.
Green 1) Lotus Cobra - Who doesn't love mana ramp, not me, i love it to death and this is no exception to this deck type, landfall nets more mana, more mana more power yay.
2) Rampaging Baloths - Landfall creatures are so uber powerful espically when they enmasse pump out 4/4 beasts infintely, with a 4/4 for 6 as well i can see why this is so uber.
3) Harrow - Fetching basic lands not one, but two with this gem is so broken, ramp now has 3 cards that can do it, all listed here of course.
Red 1) Chandra Ablaze - The second of the 3 planeswalkers for this set, this is the red one though so let's go over her abilites +1 discard a card if it's red you deal 4 damage to target player or creature, -2 each player discards his or her hand, then draws 3 cards and finally her ultimate -7 where you get to cast any and all sorcery/instants from your graveyard for free at that at a mere 5 starting loyalty for a 6 converted it's actually a good red card if you know what your doing.
2) Goblin Guide - Free lands when it attacks for a 2/2 haste creature for a mere 1 red mana, it's broken officially since this speeds the land base so far ahead if your playing mono red, not bad not bad.
3) Pyromancer Ascension - What can i say bout this enchantment, it provides free copies of spells as long as it has the necessary counters on it, this has brought along quite a few deck types.
White 1) Day of Judgment - It's a auto sweeper what more do i gotta say, it's the new wrath of god and it is also featured in M11 the latest core set, so it's good, real good.
2) Iona, Shield of Emeria - Control, control, control this is so seriously broken for a 9 converted when you get her out it's not even funny, only downside is the legendary rule.
3) Journey to Nowhere - The newest form of removal for this set, it's like oblivion ring which i won't even bother linking but better i might add and cheaper at 1 and a white mana.
Well that covers it for this article, enjoy and this is vergil signing off.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
MTG Set Review #2 Worldwake
Alrighty let's begin this second set review this set is 149 cards, this is the middle set bewteen Zendikar and of course the last set i reviewed Rise of the Eldrazi, it features some very broken cards as well as a certain planeswalker that is labeled at this current point in time near 90 dollars as of this posting, so let's go
Multikicker - Let's begin with the basics of this set this one featured 2 new mechanics to come into this one, the first being Multikicker, which allows for spells to be sent several different directions at several targets, for example a card for example is Comet Storm this allows for 1 extra mana per target to be paid along side the regular costs of this card which is usually X which is however you want it to be, So let's say you want four targets paying 4 for X, the 2 red mana and that means you'll have to pay 9 mana for four targets to do four damage, is this useful, yes in some ways and no in the others, a sweeper like Wrath of God is most cost effective and the like, so is this ability truly worth it, maybe it depends on how your playing, it's a good late or mid game ability defintely, early game not so much.
Manlands - These returning beasts come back in the form of Lavaclaw Reaches Creeping Tar Pit Celestial Colonnade Raging Ravine and of course Stirring Wildwood so you may be asking yourself why do i consider this a mechanic, it's simple we've not seen manlands in standard for a god knows how long time, it's nice to see the additions of these beasts, of course they all have abilities and such pertaining to the various colours they distribute out on the battlefield and such and all turn into variously powerful creatures of course, i espically love Creeping Tar Pit, since of course blue players have a blast with this one due to it's special ability of it being unblockable and the like, seems like a good return if you ask me.
Now let's move onto the ten cards that impacted standard from this set, taking some of course from channel fireball's very own LSV luis scott vargas, let's begin with the list and reasons why
1) Jace the Mind Sculptor - What can i not say about this overly broken plainswalker, he's cost effective, esentially has a broken ability at the end to make a opponent's library non existent and the fact he can brainstorm for free? oh did i mention he costs 90 dollars for one nowadays.
2) Treasure Hunt - Creature Decks will have a blast with this beast of a sorcery, 1 and a blue nets you a card drawing machine which as patrick chapin pointed out draws you exactly 1.6 cards which is about 2 cards every usage, so what's not to love about this, with the fact you'll be brainstorming with jace and this, card draw is essential for blue players since they empty their hands so goddamn fast.
3) Urge to Feed - Vampires were waiting for this one, removal plus pump for all your vampires, essentially a sideboard, however could go maindecking into this one if you play vampires for oh say the next 2 months.
4) Abysaal Persecutor - Essentially black's Platinum Angel except it does the opposite of what it is supposed to do it makes it so your opponents can win, you can't win, however you can sure as hell cancel it out with a platinum angel of your own.
5) Basilisk Collar - Most recently featured in Boss Naya find the decklist here --> Boss Naya which used this plus cunning sparkmage to pick off nasty threats such as baneslayer angels and even big ass creatures for pinging with deathtouch and 1 damage each time, this was also fetched with Stoneforge Mystic.
6) Avenger of Zendikar - Plants is now viable due to this beast of a card, even mono green is again workable around this mythic rare, i think most of the time though heavy creature decks would solely rely on more wolfbriar elementals then this, but it's a really good card for lots of lands, who knows it could see future play soon enough.
7) Cunning Sparkmage - The other half of the ping combo i talked about earlier, this beauty of a common's value rose after it was piloted to a seriously contentious win streak, i hope to see boss naya in the future or even a variant of ping bomb it could be viable.
8) Dragonmaster Outcast - Dragon decks alike love this card, mono red loves this card, hell i love this card, producing a 5/5 blocker/attacker every turn with flying and it does it during the upkeep with only 6 lands required, nice indeed.
9) Everflowing Chalice - This made ramp so much more accesible, multikicker aside, saving that essential 1 or 2 colorless for kicker costs made it so much easier with this little beauty, at 0 cost too it could be a turn 2 play to advance the mana flow by just one which is usually essential
10) Kalastria Highborn - Another crucial Vampire card but since vampires won't be in standard for much longer let's not dwell on this card and stick to the basics 2/2 for a 2 black mana and it drains and gives life for when each vampire including it is removed from the battlefield, seriously good here, shame Nocturnus didn't get a reprint this core set, it would have made them viable still for another year, maybe next year. oh wait next year zendikar gets the boot, nevermind
Anyhoo that's all for this article, hope you enjoyed the length of this one and the like, till next time.
Multikicker - Let's begin with the basics of this set this one featured 2 new mechanics to come into this one, the first being Multikicker, which allows for spells to be sent several different directions at several targets, for example a card for example is Comet Storm this allows for 1 extra mana per target to be paid along side the regular costs of this card which is usually X which is however you want it to be, So let's say you want four targets paying 4 for X, the 2 red mana and that means you'll have to pay 9 mana for four targets to do four damage, is this useful, yes in some ways and no in the others, a sweeper like Wrath of God is most cost effective and the like, so is this ability truly worth it, maybe it depends on how your playing, it's a good late or mid game ability defintely, early game not so much.
Manlands - These returning beasts come back in the form of Lavaclaw Reaches Creeping Tar Pit Celestial Colonnade Raging Ravine and of course Stirring Wildwood so you may be asking yourself why do i consider this a mechanic, it's simple we've not seen manlands in standard for a god knows how long time, it's nice to see the additions of these beasts, of course they all have abilities and such pertaining to the various colours they distribute out on the battlefield and such and all turn into variously powerful creatures of course, i espically love Creeping Tar Pit, since of course blue players have a blast with this one due to it's special ability of it being unblockable and the like, seems like a good return if you ask me.
Now let's move onto the ten cards that impacted standard from this set, taking some of course from channel fireball's very own LSV luis scott vargas, let's begin with the list and reasons why
1) Jace the Mind Sculptor - What can i not say about this overly broken plainswalker, he's cost effective, esentially has a broken ability at the end to make a opponent's library non existent and the fact he can brainstorm for free? oh did i mention he costs 90 dollars for one nowadays.
2) Treasure Hunt - Creature Decks will have a blast with this beast of a sorcery, 1 and a blue nets you a card drawing machine which as patrick chapin pointed out draws you exactly 1.6 cards which is about 2 cards every usage, so what's not to love about this, with the fact you'll be brainstorming with jace and this, card draw is essential for blue players since they empty their hands so goddamn fast.
3) Urge to Feed - Vampires were waiting for this one, removal plus pump for all your vampires, essentially a sideboard, however could go maindecking into this one if you play vampires for oh say the next 2 months.
4) Abysaal Persecutor - Essentially black's Platinum Angel except it does the opposite of what it is supposed to do it makes it so your opponents can win, you can't win, however you can sure as hell cancel it out with a platinum angel of your own.
5) Basilisk Collar - Most recently featured in Boss Naya find the decklist here --> Boss Naya which used this plus cunning sparkmage to pick off nasty threats such as baneslayer angels and even big ass creatures for pinging with deathtouch and 1 damage each time, this was also fetched with Stoneforge Mystic.
6) Avenger of Zendikar - Plants is now viable due to this beast of a card, even mono green is again workable around this mythic rare, i think most of the time though heavy creature decks would solely rely on more wolfbriar elementals then this, but it's a really good card for lots of lands, who knows it could see future play soon enough.
7) Cunning Sparkmage - The other half of the ping combo i talked about earlier, this beauty of a common's value rose after it was piloted to a seriously contentious win streak, i hope to see boss naya in the future or even a variant of ping bomb it could be viable.
8) Dragonmaster Outcast - Dragon decks alike love this card, mono red loves this card, hell i love this card, producing a 5/5 blocker/attacker every turn with flying and it does it during the upkeep with only 6 lands required, nice indeed.
9) Everflowing Chalice - This made ramp so much more accesible, multikicker aside, saving that essential 1 or 2 colorless for kicker costs made it so much easier with this little beauty, at 0 cost too it could be a turn 2 play to advance the mana flow by just one which is usually essential
10) Kalastria Highborn - Another crucial Vampire card but since vampires won't be in standard for much longer let's not dwell on this card and stick to the basics 2/2 for a 2 black mana and it drains and gives life for when each vampire including it is removed from the battlefield, seriously good here, shame Nocturnus didn't get a reprint this core set, it would have made them viable still for another year, maybe next year. oh wait next year zendikar gets the boot, nevermind
Anyhoo that's all for this article, hope you enjoyed the length of this one and the like, till next time.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Other Formats and Variants Playable
Now you may be wondering, vergil didn't you discuss a article on drafting and standard yesterday, well yes i did indeed discuss one, this time though we will be delving into the wide world of the other formats that wizards of the coast so offers for magic the gathering, most of them being very expensive for new players and the like, so let's get this on.
Extended - The first is of course type 1.5 aka extended, note there is a banned list for this format which means any and all cards listed on this banned list are not allowed in any format it's banned under that format which can be found here Extended Banned List wizards will usually update that list once every 3 months normally, removing some cards, adding cards and the like, the old extended format was always 7 years worth of sets, not anymore, it's now the last 4 years worth of sets, meaning from Time Spiral to Current Standard sets including the latest core set M11, now the decks most will be playing are variants of decks that were recently seen on the pro tour aka 5 color control, Fog 2.0 with sculptor and of course soon to be Jund, however most will wonder, how much does it cost to go into this variant of MTG, i'll tell you, usually a good 1000 to 1500 just to get started unless of course you have all the cards from prior sets, then of course your set and all that, then your laughing, however most would agree extended is not more of a casual format played at most standard stores, more of a tournament type setting so be prepared if you wanna play extended your gonna have to roll with the big boys.
Legacy - This is perhaps my all time favorite format, you have access to everything ever printed when playing this nasty little piece of work, though it's not cheap most starter legacy decks can sometimes run a good 2000-3000 depending on the style and how it runs, as well as the fact you have everything from Alpha hell even Beta in this format, so again the playstyle you like plus the fact there are some bombs out there ahem Jace TMS and of course Tarmogoyf that can still run you a good chunk for a playset, who knows we may see a legacy deck that isn't black, red or green one of these days, i personally cannot wait to see the next generation of legacy, with the added mixture of this year's latest block, Zendikar/Worldwake/Rise of the Eldrazi, we may see a eldrazi legacy featuring every single eldrazi in existence, the sky is the limit with this format and most end up paying a good chunk of change for cards for a deck, again all these decks can be 80 cards but recommend 60 with a 15 card sideboard.
EDH - otherwise known as Elder Dragon Highlander is perhaps the most intensive format ever made, this is a singleton format which only allows 1 of each card, but it's like legacy, so you have a unlimited amount of sets to choose from, but the deck size has to be 100 cards, there is also another stipulation, you must have a general for the deck, a general being a legendary creature from any of those sets that are in current extended formats, so for example you can choose a legendary creature that suits your deck archetype, aka your strategy, you want stompy, so give it a good old fashioned green stompy legendary such as Kaysa or of course Mayael The Anima the list is endless pretty much for this format and as always there is another draw back you can only have 1 of each art style for lands, but as many lands as you want, including legendary lands, so it's up to you how you build a deck based on the general of your choice, this format is actually the cheapest of the 3 listed thus far you usually only pay a good 500-600 for a deck since it's 1 of each card you need and not a full playset, this is actually a fun multiplayer magic variant.
Well that about covers the 3 most popular formats for MTG, as well as the costs and that for each one of these and the rules can always be found here for these three formats at the link below
Rules and Regulations till next time folks, enjoy and have fun playing magic, i'll see you next article.
Extended - The first is of course type 1.5 aka extended, note there is a banned list for this format which means any and all cards listed on this banned list are not allowed in any format it's banned under that format which can be found here Extended Banned List wizards will usually update that list once every 3 months normally, removing some cards, adding cards and the like, the old extended format was always 7 years worth of sets, not anymore, it's now the last 4 years worth of sets, meaning from Time Spiral to Current Standard sets including the latest core set M11, now the decks most will be playing are variants of decks that were recently seen on the pro tour aka 5 color control, Fog 2.0 with sculptor and of course soon to be Jund, however most will wonder, how much does it cost to go into this variant of MTG, i'll tell you, usually a good 1000 to 1500 just to get started unless of course you have all the cards from prior sets, then of course your set and all that, then your laughing, however most would agree extended is not more of a casual format played at most standard stores, more of a tournament type setting so be prepared if you wanna play extended your gonna have to roll with the big boys.
Legacy - This is perhaps my all time favorite format, you have access to everything ever printed when playing this nasty little piece of work, though it's not cheap most starter legacy decks can sometimes run a good 2000-3000 depending on the style and how it runs, as well as the fact you have everything from Alpha hell even Beta in this format, so again the playstyle you like plus the fact there are some bombs out there ahem Jace TMS and of course Tarmogoyf that can still run you a good chunk for a playset, who knows we may see a legacy deck that isn't black, red or green one of these days, i personally cannot wait to see the next generation of legacy, with the added mixture of this year's latest block, Zendikar/Worldwake/Rise of the Eldrazi, we may see a eldrazi legacy featuring every single eldrazi in existence, the sky is the limit with this format and most end up paying a good chunk of change for cards for a deck, again all these decks can be 80 cards but recommend 60 with a 15 card sideboard.
EDH - otherwise known as Elder Dragon Highlander is perhaps the most intensive format ever made, this is a singleton format which only allows 1 of each card, but it's like legacy, so you have a unlimited amount of sets to choose from, but the deck size has to be 100 cards, there is also another stipulation, you must have a general for the deck, a general being a legendary creature from any of those sets that are in current extended formats, so for example you can choose a legendary creature that suits your deck archetype, aka your strategy, you want stompy, so give it a good old fashioned green stompy legendary such as Kaysa or of course Mayael The Anima the list is endless pretty much for this format and as always there is another draw back you can only have 1 of each art style for lands, but as many lands as you want, including legendary lands, so it's up to you how you build a deck based on the general of your choice, this format is actually the cheapest of the 3 listed thus far you usually only pay a good 500-600 for a deck since it's 1 of each card you need and not a full playset, this is actually a fun multiplayer magic variant.
Well that about covers the 3 most popular formats for MTG, as well as the costs and that for each one of these and the rules can always be found here for these three formats at the link below
Rules and Regulations till next time folks, enjoy and have fun playing magic, i'll see you next article.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
FNM Basics and Starter guide
Now throughout the article i will be explaining the various mechanics from friday night magic and the formats that come along with it, now there are 2 formats this event usually, standard and draft i will be going over both of these variants and the necessities needed to learn how to play as well as the various mechanics to expect for them, so let's go.
Standard - This is as it suggests this is a bring your own deck format, which pits itself against other popular decks in the current type 2 metagame, most of it being jund as of this article decklists here Jund Discard Jund Aggro and of course Magic Online Championship Series Jund as you can plainly see there is usually several different variants of a popular deck, with decks such as zvi moshowitz's Mythic and of course other deck types such as Red Deck Wins and Super Friends which are famous from most of the current pro tours, expect to see lots of players plioting these decks to some serious conditions come standard of these events, but the format of course is best 2 out of 3 and there is usually 4-5 rounds depending on time constraints as obviously stated before, the winner usually gets the FNM card offered for that month, whatever it may be as the month's FNM card changes from time to time, so keep checking for the latest news on FNM foils, the final thing about these sorta events, there is no judge usually at these since they may be sanctioned but the judge doesn't always need to be there to make it official as it's up to the store owner how he/she does things, that about covers it for the standard portion of this article, so my best suggestion is just keep playing and one of these days you may end up on a winning tear.
Draft - Now since you may be thinking, wait vergil isn't this sealed draft, wrong, this is how the pros draft, pick one card from one pack, pass it around the table till all that pack of cards is gone, then repeat the process for another 2 packs, which sounds simple right, not really, depending on the format, which has switched over to the newest core set M11, there are lots of things to consider when competing, firstly you need to figure out your strategy based off your first card, say you end up with a pack full of good commons and uncommons and a suck rare, consider your options and such quickly for example
Say if your drafting M11 and you end up with a pack of let's say Mana Leak, Jace's Inguenity, Greater Basilisk, Arc Runner, Assassinate, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, Brindle Boar, Blinding Mage, Celestial Purge, Acidic Slime, Child of Night, Combust and Conundrum Sphinx as your rare chances are your gonna draft the rare, wrong, don't always rare draft unless it suits you or helps you in the long run, as a lot of these cards are good, let's see from this pack you'd be able to draft 5 cards more then likely, springing into lots of decks for example. Let's say you draft Mana Leak ok, that leads you into Blue/Black, Blue/White and of course Blue/Green even if some are enemy colours, however this will usually affect how you draft, remember to always draft in the same manner, not always rare drafting unless you get say a mythic that does something extreme, which is like ultra rare, or helps your strategy.
Usually the person sitting besides you always usually goes one variant or the other, depending on what he/she drafts which is more common then usual, say you need like 3 key cards, you get 2 of them and the third one is in your opponent's grasp or the other drafter's grasp, are you screwed no, just adapt and keep playing which will lead to a win almost 80% of the time, which means you have a better shot at the prizes at stake which are usually FNM foils as well, plus store credit for some stores, usually there is always 4 rounds to this variant with of course best 2 out of 3 played, to determine who faces who for the next round, which sometimes varies but depending on the situation you may end up facing a exact mirror match or something your deck hates, don't get discouraged, just keep playing and have fun.
Anyhoo that's about it for this article, remember FNM's are about fun and having a laugh with your friends, not to get discouraged or anything, just keep playing and you'll get good in no time, so till next time, this is vergil signing off.
Standard - This is as it suggests this is a bring your own deck format, which pits itself against other popular decks in the current type 2 metagame, most of it being jund as of this article decklists here Jund Discard Jund Aggro and of course Magic Online Championship Series Jund as you can plainly see there is usually several different variants of a popular deck, with decks such as zvi moshowitz's Mythic and of course other deck types such as Red Deck Wins and Super Friends which are famous from most of the current pro tours, expect to see lots of players plioting these decks to some serious conditions come standard of these events, but the format of course is best 2 out of 3 and there is usually 4-5 rounds depending on time constraints as obviously stated before, the winner usually gets the FNM card offered for that month, whatever it may be as the month's FNM card changes from time to time, so keep checking for the latest news on FNM foils, the final thing about these sorta events, there is no judge usually at these since they may be sanctioned but the judge doesn't always need to be there to make it official as it's up to the store owner how he/she does things, that about covers it for the standard portion of this article, so my best suggestion is just keep playing and one of these days you may end up on a winning tear.
Draft - Now since you may be thinking, wait vergil isn't this sealed draft, wrong, this is how the pros draft, pick one card from one pack, pass it around the table till all that pack of cards is gone, then repeat the process for another 2 packs, which sounds simple right, not really, depending on the format, which has switched over to the newest core set M11, there are lots of things to consider when competing, firstly you need to figure out your strategy based off your first card, say you end up with a pack full of good commons and uncommons and a suck rare, consider your options and such quickly for example
Say if your drafting M11 and you end up with a pack of let's say Mana Leak, Jace's Inguenity, Greater Basilisk, Arc Runner, Assassinate, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, Brindle Boar, Blinding Mage, Celestial Purge, Acidic Slime, Child of Night, Combust and Conundrum Sphinx as your rare chances are your gonna draft the rare, wrong, don't always rare draft unless it suits you or helps you in the long run, as a lot of these cards are good, let's see from this pack you'd be able to draft 5 cards more then likely, springing into lots of decks for example. Let's say you draft Mana Leak ok, that leads you into Blue/Black, Blue/White and of course Blue/Green even if some are enemy colours, however this will usually affect how you draft, remember to always draft in the same manner, not always rare drafting unless you get say a mythic that does something extreme, which is like ultra rare, or helps your strategy.
Usually the person sitting besides you always usually goes one variant or the other, depending on what he/she drafts which is more common then usual, say you need like 3 key cards, you get 2 of them and the third one is in your opponent's grasp or the other drafter's grasp, are you screwed no, just adapt and keep playing which will lead to a win almost 80% of the time, which means you have a better shot at the prizes at stake which are usually FNM foils as well, plus store credit for some stores, usually there is always 4 rounds to this variant with of course best 2 out of 3 played, to determine who faces who for the next round, which sometimes varies but depending on the situation you may end up facing a exact mirror match or something your deck hates, don't get discouraged, just keep playing and have fun.
Anyhoo that's about it for this article, remember FNM's are about fun and having a laugh with your friends, not to get discouraged or anything, just keep playing and you'll get good in no time, so till next time, this is vergil signing off.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
M11 Thoughts after Release
Ok as everyone knows it's about that time for my final thoughts on M11 as a whole here are the top ten cards i feel from this set that will impact standard at least for the time
Lightning Bolt - This is no question the best burn spell in existence 1 Red mana for 3 damage to anything, best burn ever, anyone who is playing red or some variant of it, 4 copies is always recommended for quick devestation in the game.
Mana Leak - Quite possibly the most busted ass counter spell ever printed, 1 and a blue mana for countering unless the opponent pays 3, great i like it, as a blue player of course i love counter spells no question the best thing in existence since well time warp, too bad that's not coming back but there is another variant of it returning
Birds of Paradise - Who doesn't love mana ramp anymore, not me, with the 12th incarnation of this card green has a reason to branch out again, could we see the G/W ramp into baneslayer angel perhaps, it's always possible, speaking of baneslayer it's next
Baneslayer Angel - With it's return it finally drops in price from 50 dollars to 30, good about time, now all i gotta do is pick up a playset which is cheaper now, same busted ass card, same bat time, though i could see this not getting reprinted a 2nd time perhaps?
Call to Mind - Why does this set remind me of ass kicking combos, this with pyromancer ascension and time warp, see the article here ----> Article which explains this combo in further detail, this seems like the key combo card everyone was waiting for, though this one will only be legal for 2 months since time warp didn't get reprinted, sucks to be M10 players, but better for M11.
Time Reversal - Why this set has 4 good cards in blue IMO of course is beyond me, but i'm not complaining, this little gem in conjuction with just about anything makes for a sick game, literally i would think wizards was on crack when designing this set, coming up with this busted card, then printing it as a mythic rare, can we have 100 dollars now seriously that's how much the playset is for this card, not cheap if i do say so.
Primeval Titan - The power level of this set just jumped from insane, to mind boggling, personally if you've got a playset of these, keep em, green needs this power boost for sure, trample for a 6/6 that fetches any land including legendary land, extended is going to have a field day with this beast.
Obstinate Baloth - Perhaps the perfect answer to jund ever printed, let's see 4 life when it comes into play, when it's caused to be discarded it comes back to the battlefield, 4/4 with only rare value, seriously Jund is screwed for the next 2 months due to this, mono green has nothing to fear but fear itself.
Jace's Inguentiy - Seriously brainstorm for 5 except you don't discard, seriously this seems like the kind of thing no one expected, possibly the best late game draw spell ever printed, plus this happens to be a ability of a certain 80 dollar planeswalker.
Gaea's Revenge - The last big card of this set i feel that is worth it, shroud plus haste for a 8/5 for 7 that can't be countered, i can see that wizards was smart and made the colour balanced, i like it good really good just beater card.
Alright well that's the ten however there is a lot more in which i want to discuss, firstly the amount of cards most would think that are worth in this set are actually more then what was listed, there are possibly 30 good cards in this set, i just listed my top ten i can see people disagreeing, agreeing and somewhat meh on the list, because there are far better on the set list then i listed. However it also seems like when drafters manage to draft this set, it turns into a rare draft format, since of course everyone decides to put 2-3 rares from this in their draft decks, which is not recommended, i'll make another article on the draft format for this soon enough, just gotta come with some unique idea or something of that nature, till next time peace.
Lightning Bolt - This is no question the best burn spell in existence 1 Red mana for 3 damage to anything, best burn ever, anyone who is playing red or some variant of it, 4 copies is always recommended for quick devestation in the game.
Mana Leak - Quite possibly the most busted ass counter spell ever printed, 1 and a blue mana for countering unless the opponent pays 3, great i like it, as a blue player of course i love counter spells no question the best thing in existence since well time warp, too bad that's not coming back but there is another variant of it returning
Birds of Paradise - Who doesn't love mana ramp anymore, not me, with the 12th incarnation of this card green has a reason to branch out again, could we see the G/W ramp into baneslayer angel perhaps, it's always possible, speaking of baneslayer it's next
Baneslayer Angel - With it's return it finally drops in price from 50 dollars to 30, good about time, now all i gotta do is pick up a playset which is cheaper now, same busted ass card, same bat time, though i could see this not getting reprinted a 2nd time perhaps?
Call to Mind - Why does this set remind me of ass kicking combos, this with pyromancer ascension and time warp, see the article here ----> Article which explains this combo in further detail, this seems like the key combo card everyone was waiting for, though this one will only be legal for 2 months since time warp didn't get reprinted, sucks to be M10 players, but better for M11.
Time Reversal - Why this set has 4 good cards in blue IMO of course is beyond me, but i'm not complaining, this little gem in conjuction with just about anything makes for a sick game, literally i would think wizards was on crack when designing this set, coming up with this busted card, then printing it as a mythic rare, can we have 100 dollars now seriously that's how much the playset is for this card, not cheap if i do say so.
Primeval Titan - The power level of this set just jumped from insane, to mind boggling, personally if you've got a playset of these, keep em, green needs this power boost for sure, trample for a 6/6 that fetches any land including legendary land, extended is going to have a field day with this beast.
Obstinate Baloth - Perhaps the perfect answer to jund ever printed, let's see 4 life when it comes into play, when it's caused to be discarded it comes back to the battlefield, 4/4 with only rare value, seriously Jund is screwed for the next 2 months due to this, mono green has nothing to fear but fear itself.
Jace's Inguentiy - Seriously brainstorm for 5 except you don't discard, seriously this seems like the kind of thing no one expected, possibly the best late game draw spell ever printed, plus this happens to be a ability of a certain 80 dollar planeswalker.
Gaea's Revenge - The last big card of this set i feel that is worth it, shroud plus haste for a 8/5 for 7 that can't be countered, i can see that wizards was smart and made the colour balanced, i like it good really good just beater card.
Alright well that's the ten however there is a lot more in which i want to discuss, firstly the amount of cards most would think that are worth in this set are actually more then what was listed, there are possibly 30 good cards in this set, i just listed my top ten i can see people disagreeing, agreeing and somewhat meh on the list, because there are far better on the set list then i listed. However it also seems like when drafters manage to draft this set, it turns into a rare draft format, since of course everyone decides to put 2-3 rares from this in their draft decks, which is not recommended, i'll make another article on the draft format for this soon enough, just gotta come with some unique idea or something of that nature, till next time peace.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
M11 Draft Recommendations and Ideas
Now you may be wondering where is the usual FNM article for this week, there isn't going to be one due to the fact the prerelease is only 4 days away as of this point, now i wanted to touch on the newest core set, M11 or as most call it Magic 2011, which features 249 cards, with 26 of them lands, so let's begin with the calculations of the amount of rares you are gonna get starting with the basic gold rares you find at the end of each booster pack.
Now for every booster you get 1 Rare card in it, 2 if you get a foil rare, which is 1 in every box at least, but most of the time they will be basic lands and such, so keep this in mind when drafting, since the odds of getting what you want are 6 in 52 for normal rares and for the mythics of this set it's always gonna be 1 in 15 for each 6 packs, due to their being 36 packs per box, rounding it out to a official number of 6 per box sometimes, now for those rare drafters this means getting the card you want and need for a deck is usually 1 in 52 since you got a slim chance to get the card your deck needs to run effectively, most of the times though it's gonna be a junk rare keep that in mind when drafting.
Now let's also talk FNM standard drafting, 3 packs means you get 3 rares in those three packs the odds of getting a rare you need are halved in general standards, so this means .5 out of 52 times you'll get the card you want passed to you, which is like almost impossible to draft correctly, usually most drafters only take 2 rares at the maximum, with the 3rd on the sideboard for emergencies, meaning of course your deck will have 2/40 slots filled already, with at least 18 different lands in a deck, sometimes 16 to 17 depending on the mana curve.
Since that's outta the way let's talk prerelease drafting then, since prerelease drafting is a bit different from the regular FNM drafting most are used to, you get your standard 6 packs for entry into the event, which usually is held at a local retailer store, being in your neighbourhood or something like that, if your retailer decides to place a limit on the amount of entrants like mine do, at a limit of 64 people, it's understandable since the size of the shop depends on how many show up, but usually a lot show up for the event and to get their hands on some sweet new cards wizards created for this game.
Finally i wish to touch on the deckbuilding aspect, now the majority will go for the most powerful, most aggresive archetype for this set, some will tend to go for control, some might even go for fast victories in the form of burn/lifegain, whatever the deck you decide to build for the event, ensure to yourself you've got a solid strategy for it, if it is a green aggro with splashing black, it's all good, since you got the weaknessess of each deck color covered if you get the right cards, remember don't always rare draft, if it's a good rare that works with the deck you get, then use it, if not set it aside in your sideboard and see how the deck works without the card in question, but from a fellow magic player, i wish everyone playing the best of luck for this tournament and whatever the outcome is have fun.
Now for every booster you get 1 Rare card in it, 2 if you get a foil rare, which is 1 in every box at least, but most of the time they will be basic lands and such, so keep this in mind when drafting, since the odds of getting what you want are 6 in 52 for normal rares and for the mythics of this set it's always gonna be 1 in 15 for each 6 packs, due to their being 36 packs per box, rounding it out to a official number of 6 per box sometimes, now for those rare drafters this means getting the card you want and need for a deck is usually 1 in 52 since you got a slim chance to get the card your deck needs to run effectively, most of the times though it's gonna be a junk rare keep that in mind when drafting.
Now let's also talk FNM standard drafting, 3 packs means you get 3 rares in those three packs the odds of getting a rare you need are halved in general standards, so this means .5 out of 52 times you'll get the card you want passed to you, which is like almost impossible to draft correctly, usually most drafters only take 2 rares at the maximum, with the 3rd on the sideboard for emergencies, meaning of course your deck will have 2/40 slots filled already, with at least 18 different lands in a deck, sometimes 16 to 17 depending on the mana curve.
Since that's outta the way let's talk prerelease drafting then, since prerelease drafting is a bit different from the regular FNM drafting most are used to, you get your standard 6 packs for entry into the event, which usually is held at a local retailer store, being in your neighbourhood or something like that, if your retailer decides to place a limit on the amount of entrants like mine do, at a limit of 64 people, it's understandable since the size of the shop depends on how many show up, but usually a lot show up for the event and to get their hands on some sweet new cards wizards created for this game.
Finally i wish to touch on the deckbuilding aspect, now the majority will go for the most powerful, most aggresive archetype for this set, some will tend to go for control, some might even go for fast victories in the form of burn/lifegain, whatever the deck you decide to build for the event, ensure to yourself you've got a solid strategy for it, if it is a green aggro with splashing black, it's all good, since you got the weaknessess of each deck color covered if you get the right cards, remember don't always rare draft, if it's a good rare that works with the deck you get, then use it, if not set it aside in your sideboard and see how the deck works without the card in question, but from a fellow magic player, i wish everyone playing the best of luck for this tournament and whatever the outcome is have fun.
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