Before you start the Hall (which begins today), read this primer so you know how to get the most out of its new, interactive features! Damn, we’re starting to look good on this site. Also, Alongi’s leaving soon, which should also boost our image.
Time For A New Hall To Come!
My oldest and favorite tradition on Casual Fridays has been the Multiplayer Card Hall of Fame. Five iterations of the Hall have come and gone, and every two expansions sees another one. This cycle is no different, and so I’m pleased to present the sixth edition. This edition (sorta like Sixth Edition of the actual game!) brings significant change with it. Answers to probable questions follow.
What’s with the spreadsheet?
I’ve generated the Hall on a spreadsheet. This means the lists you’ll read (a few of the columns pasted onto the page) are only half of the product – the rest is in downloadable form, so that you can have it on your own computer and do whatever fancy tricks you like. Sort by different criteria! Add your own cards! Change my formulas! Just use discretion – the Multiplayer Card Hall of Fame is an Alongi and starcitygames.com creation, so please don’t pass it off as your own. If you post your own editions, give credit where it’s due. I worked hard on this, and The Ferrett did too. Naturally, all relevant aspects of the actual game of Magic are the properties of Wizards of the Coast.
Do I have to wait two months for the whole Hall, like last time?
No. I’ve already selected and ranked the cards, brushed up the database, and written all of the text and stories that will accompany each color. So we’ll take seven days (one for each color, and one each for gold cards and artifacts/lands) and push right through, starting today. At the end, I’ll provide a full downloadable spreadsheet so you can mix cards among colors.
What if I don’t have Microsoft Excel?
Okay, I’m going to be nice here, so don’t abuse this. First, really try to find a computer that can do it (I recommend the boss’s computer at work). If you’re a college student, I don’t even want to hear from you – go to the lab, dammit.
If you are honestly stuck – and I’m going to want to read documentation of your efforts prior to asking me – then yes, you may email me at [email protected] and I will take a moment to translate the spreadsheet in any format my computer can handle. (Hint: pick a spreadsheet format.) I cannot guarantee immediate turnaround on such requests, but I will get it to you.
What’s with all the numbers?
Because spreadsheets work better with numbers, and also to push my own thinking, I’ve gone back to the numeric system of rating animal elements:
0 | Nonexistent. | Antithesis of element. |
1 | Very low. | Element rarely applies. |
2 | Low. | Element may apply in special cases. |
3 | Medium low. | Element has some presence. |
4 | Medium. | Element available fairly readily. |
5 | Medium high. | Element applies easily. |
6 | High. | Element defines card |
7 | Very high. | Exceptional at element. |
8 | Ultimate. | Best in color for element. |
Riiiiight. Um, what’re the animal elements again?
These are my preferred way of thinking about multiplayer cards – what makes them good and why. Animals just make ’em fun, and easier to remember:
- Rattlesnake cards warn opponents away from you or your permanents. They may threaten punishment (e.g., Grave Pact) or revel in unassailability (e.g., Solitary Confinement). Either way, it’s easier to decide to hit someone else.
- Gorilla cards pound the board and directly affect multiple players or permanents. A card may get some gorilla aspect for simply being strong (e.g., Penumbra Wurm); but to get higher than 4, the card has to really say something to everyone.
- Spider cards are bait and trap cards. Almost by definition, they are instants. (Permanents rate 3 at best and sorceries 4, with rare exceptions.) Good ones will get you some strong advantage. The best ones will net you cards.
- Pigeon cards mooch off of greater numbers of people. To get over 3, the card must have an actual mechanic that translates into clear and obvious advantage with each additional player.
- Plankton cards give multiple players access to an obvious, traditional benefit (e.g., drawing cards, playing abilities). While any card might help someone someday, that just means a 2 here. The benefit must be clear/inherent in the card.
- Cockroach cards are persistent. They repeat effects easily, and at their best provide some measure of card advantage. Very few instants or sorceries make it past 2. Permanents start at 3 and rise based on cost and rate of repetition.
So what’s the COM?
Combined average, of course, but with a twist. Most readers know that I believe rattlesnake and gorilla elements are the most effective in group play. So if you look at the formula, you’ll see some weight toward those elements. Spider and cockroach got the lowest weight, since I wanted to minimize bias for or against permanents. (Instants still kinda get the shaft, since most rate low in rattlesnake as well.)
What if I don’t like your stinking formula, Alongi?
Make your own. You’ll find the weights at the bottom of the database. Try to have the numbers add up to 100. It takes some doing before you’ll really knock lots of cards too far up or down. (Thanks to Todd Petit for his guidance with this feature, and for other little bits of help with this version of the Hall!)
So do the lower-ranked cards suck, or what?
Not at all. If your favorite card is ranked 34 or 35 (note that the lower ranks are on top and #1 is at the bottom, to preserve that bit of suspense as you scroll down!), it doesn’t mean I hate you. The differences between slots are tiny. Think of them in”whole number groups,” if it helps ease the pain. Generally, cards ranked lower than 3.0 have some one thing about them that makes them pretty darn efficient in multiplayer. Cards ranked 3.0 or higher generally find multiple efficiencies in group games. Cards ranked 4.0 are typically what you or I would call the”automatics” – we all see them and say,”yeah, that’s a beating in multiplayer.” I just go two decimal places to make ranking them a bit easier on my stomach and eyes.
What’s”jist of text”? Why not just real rules text?
The spreadsheet just gives the jist of the rules text, for time and space reasons. In future editions, I should have time to add the full rules text. Meantime, the article lets you click on the link if you want to see the exact card.
Will you add [insert idea here] in the next Hall?
Could be! I will be looking to add more bells and whistles in future editions, and I’ll take ideas. The”staple cards” I mention in the text for each color will probably get put in cells, as will block/expansion information for each card. I’m likely to separate out similar cards from notes, so that they’re more easily seen. And I may even provide full suggested decklists for favorite cards. Like I said – I’m open to suggestions.
So why did you do all of this?
Well, first off, it made for better writing. I could do my writing for each color all at once, and not force myself into the artifice of something interesting for every card. Let’s face it: Serra’s Blessing is not a very interesting card. But it is good in multiplayer, and everyone kinda knows why, and we don’t need to spend a paragraph or a haiku on it, right? Of course, it also means that future editions of the Hall can come out more readily and easily.
Hey, you missed [insert card here]!
Well, see, there’s another reason why the Hall is like this. I can have higher expectations of you now. I will want to know how you would rank the card, and how it rates against a couple of the cards I’ve shown. On the spreadsheet, bottom right corner, there’s a place for you to test your ideas. Be honest with yourself – is the card really that high on each rating? How do I rate similar effects on different cards?
I do miss good cards – even no-brainers like Dual Nature and Diamond Valley seemed to slip my mind until this edition – but I don’t just want to hear that”X is a good card in my group.” I want to hear you defend it, buster. If you provide a good case and don’t super-inflate the ratings, you may just see the card next time around!
I’m gonna work on this spreadsheet and then send you MY version of the Hall!
Er, please don’t. I’m sure your version will be fabulous. But if you think about it, you’re asking me to open an unsolicited attachment… And that wouldn’t be very smart of me, right? So just tell me about it, if you want to share. I’d love to hear your thoughts, in our forums. Thanks.
I think that’s all the orientation you need. Enjoy –
Wait! I’ve got more questions!
Quiet, you. Enjoy the Hall! (Green’s first.)
Time For An Old Writer To Go!
No one short of The Ferrett and Pete Hoefling is happier to see the amazing evolution of Star City’s web site than I am. As one of the authors that threw in their lot with this site even before The Dojo died, I’m proud to have been part of the best and hardest-working independent Magic site in existence.
There are three reasons why I’m ending the role of Casual Fridays in that legacy, and all have to do with time. First, time is more precious to me than ever nowadays: I won’t bore you with the details. Second, time moves on: there’s a new generation of strong casual and multiplayer writers on this site, and they deserve the same level of recognition I’ve enjoyed over the past couple of years. Third, it’s time to go: I believe leaving the right way means doing it while it’s still meaningful.
For now, I will continue my weekly presence over on magicthegathering.com, and the”Break this Card” contest will move there soon so that readers can still enjoy the fun of that tradition. Also, I will continue to update the Hall of Fame here at starcitygames.com with every expansion, as long as management is willing. (We will be – The Ferrett) After all, the main reason I put it into spreadsheet form was to make future editions easier to do!
There is always the possibility of a more regular return, if circumstances allow. But for now, I’ll keep the good-bye fairly clean.
I am deeply grateful to the other players of our play group – past, present, and future. They sustain me in many ways, and I hope I’ve returned the favor by passing on their collective enthusiasm and Magic wisdom to as many people as I possibly can. I am also, as I said above, proud to have been a weekly presence on a site as high-caliber as what The Ferrett and Pete Hoefling (and, in his time, Omeed Dariani) have produced. They are good, good people – and you should buy lots of cards from them if you have enjoyed Casual Fridays even just a little, once.
Finally, to you the reader: Thank you, over and over, for all of your conversations around this column. You helped keep Fridays casual! I will continue to be at the email address [email protected], and I will always look forward to hearing from you.
Once again – enjoy the Hall!
Green is an excellent color to start the Hall, for at least three reasons: First, it’s many casual players’ favorite color, since it provides smashmouth creatures and opportunities for fun things like squirrel tokens. Second, it does a unique job of illustrating a couple of my animal elements – especially plankton and cockroach. Third, it is probably the color with the most cards that feel like they’re missing – especially strong creatures like Rhox or Cockatrice, not to mention some finesse cards such as Sylvan Safekeeper.
Let’s get the last one out of the way now: I have no doubt that there’s a card or two that could sneak past – say, Greater Good or even Hunted Wumpus. But the quick test to run before you go too crazy here is what I’ll call the”2-4, 4-2″ test. That is, if a card would rate 4 (and 4 is pretty darn good) along two of the elements, and only 2 along all the rest, then it’s got lots of company… And not just in green. Rhox, Cockatrice, and Sylvan Safekeeper all have two 4s and four 2s (though in different places) – so they simply didn’t slide under the cut.
(Greater Good probably wouldn’t have, but Bennie Smith keeps lobbying for it, so I’m giving him one moment of glory in the Hall. Enjoy, Bennie, while it lasts!)
Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with a card like Rhox – it’s a hell of a beast, and often does at least as good a job as Hunted Wumpus or Beast Attack. But both of those cards have other interesting elements about them that make multiplayer games truly interesting.
Let’s look at the list, ranked from lowest to highest as you read down. Most recent cards (Judgment and Onslaught) are in italics.
# |
CARD |
RS |
GO |
SP |
PG |
PL |
CK |
COM |
35 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2.70 |
|
34 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2.85 |
|
33 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2.90 |
|
32 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2.94 |
|
31 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2.95 |
|
30 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
2.98 |
|
29 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
3.07 |
|
28 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3.10 |
|
27 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3.11 |
|
26 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3.14 |
|
25 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3.24 |
|
24 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
3.27 |
|
23 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3.32 |
|
22 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
3.40 |
|
21 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
3.52 |
|
20 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
3.53 |
|
19 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
3.61 |
|
18 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
3.66 |
|
17 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
3.76 |
|
16 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3.78 |
|
15 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3.80 |
|
14 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3.85 |
|
13 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
3.91 |
|
12 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3.94 |
|
11 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
4.16 |
|
10 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
4.23 |
|
9 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
4 |
4.24 |
|
8 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4.27 |
|
7 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
4.27 |
|
6 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
6 |
4.33 |
|
5 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
4.42 |
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
4 |
4.46 |
|
3 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
3 |
4.53 |
|
2 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
4.54 |
|
1 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
6 |
4.81 |
|
avg |
4.0 |
4.3 |
2.4 |
3.4 |
3.6 |
3.9 |
3.67 |
|
CARD |
SIMILAR CARDS/NOTES |
Incarnations make this a house. |
|
Latest and best utility creature for green. |
|
Pound the guy holding Evacuation. |
|
Old, slow, but reaches out of color. |
|
As creatures improve, this gets worse. |
|
Sometimes amazing…sometimes not. |
|
People will forget this card. Not you! |
|
Sim: Seal of Strength, War Dance |
|
Sim: Deepwood Drummer, etc. |
|
Sim: Squallmonger, Whirlwind, etc. |
|
Tough elves, in a new elf-deck age. |
|
Sim: Simian Grunts, Vine Dryad, etc. |
|
Consider Terravore in this deck. |
|
Sim: Saproling Cluster |
|
One of the best one-drops in group. |
|
Deals mana burn frequently. |
|
Got even better during Odyssey block. |
|
Sets up elves beautifully. |
|
For a simpler, sorcery-swinging game. |
|
Add Intruder Alarm for a 7/7 breakout! |
|
Sim: Tranquility, Multani’s Decree, etc. |
|
Sim: Natural Affinity, Living Lands, etc. |
|
Sim: Symbiotic Wurm, etc. |
|
Loses steam in late game. |
|
The beginning of the end for opponents. |
|
“Ach, Hans, a flavor text reference!” |
|
Sim: Creeping Mold, Naturalize, etc. |
|
Innovative, green, cool. |
|
Double comes-into-play creatures! |
|
Sim: Zoologist… In his dreams. |
|
Sim: Vernal Equinox |
|
A great green mage’s party. |
|
Suddenly, the board got crowded… |
|
Try to imagine a greener card. |
As you’ll see as we unroll more colors, 3.6 is very high when it comes to plankton. Not many Magic cards are built to benefit all players, and green certainly has the lion’s share. As a bonus, these tend to have sweeping, gorilla-style effects: everyone untaps all their lands and creatures, everyone can dump permanents on the board until they want to take a nap, anyone with cheap creatures can play them at instant speed. This is game-changing stuff, and decks built around these cards have to take care that their strategy doesn’t backfire.
One card that’s a bit of a risk is Aluren. In our group, we’re all fairly keen on cheap, effective creatures as a pretty fixed percentage of our decks. Even worse, you can almost bet that at least two players are using comes-into-play effects (or immediate activated abilities) fairly readily – so Man o’ War, Goblin Legionnaire, Bone Shredder, and even Llanowar Sentinel all get a free pass. There’s even a full-fledged Equilibrium–Aluren (“Equaluren”) deck roaming around.
Carl took a pretty strategic approach to this danger: He just recently put together an Aluren deck that makes heavy use of the kicker and gating creatures from Planeshift (I suppose he’s feeling somewhat nostalgic about his favorite block). The five battlemages (most heavily Thornscape Battlemage and Stormscape Battlemage) can be cast for free, and then all he has to pay is the kicker. He still has to go five-color, but it’s far more manageable than paying for the entire creature. As a result, he has full access to an incredible range of effects – and the creatures that end up on the board have greater resilience than what a typical Equaluren deck would have.
Gating creatures like Sawtooth Loon and Horned Kavu complete the mix – and save their comrades in times of emergency. There was a highly entertaining moment recently (for Carl, not for me) when I was flat on my back and needed to cast Swords to Plowshares and then Radiate to clear the board. Seeing that his entire army was about to go, Curt cast the one card in his hand – Cavern Harpy (d’oh!) – and then proceeded to work all of the cards slowly back in hand – first Lava Zombie, then replay Lava Zombie to return Thunderscape Battlemage, then pay one to bring back the Harpy, then replay to bring back the Stormscape Battlemage, then replay the Stormscape Battlemage (with white kicker, just to make sure he nets zero life loss from this whole thing), repeat the Battlemage save, and then return the Harpy to his hand.
Then my three copies of Swords to Plowshares got to try to resolve on the empty board in front of him. Ha ha ha.
Beyond The Sea Of Plankton
Green has other strengths, of course, beyond twisting”friendly” cards. Green benefits from having creatures that make strong impressions, including Penumbra Wurm, Voice of the Woods, and Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. These all send warning signals to the board, though each in different ways:
“Wrath of God? Good, I have the only creature on the board – a 6/6, black trampling Wurm…”
“Attack me? I’ll tap my five teeny elves and make a 7/7 blocker. It’ll be swinging next turn…”
“Starstorm for three? Very well, I’ll pump up my army +3/+3, and then turn a couple of your lands into creatures…”
Unsurprisingly, green’s list is heavy with creatures (fourteen), which is more than any of the other four colors (blue has only five). A good portion of them are all trying to cram into the Top Ten at once – Lhurgoyf (heavy pigeon and gorilla) and Genesis (stellar cockroach and rattlesnake) just barely eke out Multani, Maro-Sorcerer and a bunch of others.
But of course, there is only one #1 creature – and only one #1 card for green. Verdant Force rates at least above average in four of the six elements (strangely enough, a 7/7 beatstick that spits out Saproling tokens for you on every player’s upkeep doesn’t have much in the elements of surprise or friendship). We’re all still trying to imagine the mono-green creature that can top this in group play! (Multicolored cards have had a couple of excellent candidates, as past Hall visitors know.)
The three highest recent additions to the Hall – Genesis, Chain of Acid, and Biorhythm – indicate a very promising direction for green in the future. While Genesis may have not dominated the Odyssey Block Constructed scene as some players expected, it is an incredible group game card, and verges on auto-win if it’s in the graveyard late against the last one or two decks, unless they can remove it somehow. Chain of Acid is an excellent candidate for”green Armageddon,” though it will often start by offing an artifact or enchantment. The way that it rewards superior creature board position is very nice – likewise with Biorhythm, which some Internet writers have remarked doesn’t”act green.”
I don’t quite understand that remark – it acts very green, and is simply a novel twist on a theme Wizards has only haphazardly stressed in the past. Green should be rewarded for connecting with creatures and nature – and other colors should be punished for forsaking them. It is, to borrow Chad’s word,”clever,” especially as far as sorceries go. I haven’t rated any other sorcery in any other color an”8″ in spider – but for at least this version, before people are used to it (and they will get used to it!), I’ve given it the ultimate rating.
One candidate to replace Biorhythm in the spider category is Reincarnation, which I do love but only rates something like 1-2-7-2-3-2, which would get it a 2.64 – not quite good enough. This disappoints me, but you guys have to see that I’m not cheating if you’re going to respect this Hall, right?
Eh, maybe the rattlesnake should be higher…but that can wait until next time!
Staples – Yeah, You’ve Got That!
These power cards are all very well and good, but in green – or any color – there are what we might call”staples” that give you the gas you need to get to your bomb. These cards tend to be less flashy, less expensive, and more common than the cards in the Hall, and they don’t necessarily gain much from the transition from tournament duels to multiplayer games; but they are important parts of your deck. Individual style is important, but if you don’t have four each of the cards below, consider adding them to your collection… And your decks. Nine of the ten are either common or uncommon. In no particular order,
- Wild Mongrel, perhaps the last great green two-drop (though Elvish Warrior ain’t bad),
- Naturalize, obviously green’s best utility card (outstripping Emerald Charm),
- Wall of Blossoms (with interesting cousins Wall of Roots and Wall of Mulch),
- Yavimaya Elder, which thins your deck, gives you land, and draws you an extra card,
- River Boa, an excellent line of defense and worrisome knife in the blue mage’s side,
- Priest of Titania, the best of the mana elves including Llanowar Elf,
- Blastoderm, along with its newest resilient four-drop cousin the Phantom Centaur,
- Rancor, which wasn’t quite outstripped by the respectable Elephant Guide,
- Gaea’s Blessing, still the most intriguing green recursion card, and
- Birds of Paradise, perhaps the most sought-after in-print (and on-line) Magic card.
My seven-year-old daughter saw Wild Mongrel recently and said,”Hey, that looks like Turquoise!”
Now, our dog Turquoise is one cool canine, but I had to set my daughter straight: If you discard a card to our collie-shepherd mix, she will not gain +1/+1. She will not beat down. You will get no closer to threshold, nor increase the chances of casting a Roar of the Wurm later on. Her coat will remain fairly firmly black (okay, it may shed a bit, even in wintertime). And she will stare at you, all stupid-like. Maybe, just maybe, if you are lucky…She will eat the card.
Anyhow, the staples list is not exhaustive. Depending on what you’re trying to do with green in a given deck, you may use most of these or none at all. Regrowth, Pouncing Jaguar, and a bunch of other”duel” cards are all at your disposal. As you see more of these lists with the Hall rolling out more colors, don’t feel pressure just to play what I suggest. The world is your oyster – I’m just pointing out a few of the pearls.
You can download the Exce