There’s a bunch of stuff I want to bring up from my time at Worlds… But this week, we’ve got a job to finish. For those of you who just can’t get enough Alongi on the Internet, you can go to the Sideboard’s Worlds coverage (www.sideboard.com) and check out the articles; I had the most fun with Sullivan v. Creech (round 3) and the two team drafts I covered (Round 19 Sweden v. Hungary, Round 21 Sweden v. Canada… I just couldn’t get enough of those craaaazy Swedes!). Since I covered the quarterfinals where David Williams was disqualified, I may also have a thought or two on that in the future. I’ll watch the Internet for the next week and see how much mustard there is out there for talking about this sort of thing. For now, it’s enough to say I did not enjoy watching this man go down, whatever the truth of the matter.
For the last time, here is what the”funky animal” parts mean:
- Rattlesnake, for its ability to warn off opponents;
- Gorilla, for its ability to smash the board;
- Spider, for its ability to bait and surprise into card advantage;
- Pigeon, for its feeding off of large groups of people; and
- Plankton, for their general willingness to supply the entire animal kingdom with sustenance.
LANDS
While not too many lands gain very much from multiplayer, the few that do are rather spectacular. I list ten here. That’s twice as many as last time, and if you count the similar cards, I think this is probably the part of the Hall that has seen the second most revisions. (The most revisions are in gold, below.)
Because of the nature of lands – they are so easy to play, and not necessarily easy to get rid of – few, if any, have significant”gorilla” effects. More often, they have rattlesnake effects that demonstrate a minor capability. Don’t expect sky-high ratings from any of these cards.
One Honorable Mention, Karakas, deserves a quick pitch, since it gives you the ability to return target Legend (creature only) to its owner’s hand. With legends more abundant than ever, you should at least be aware of the card.
Enhancements and countermeasures for these cards are typically moot. Awakening helps them all; Ruination (and a million other non-basic land hosers) wrecks them all. I only mention one or two additional ideas with each land, in the main text.
10. GLACIAL CHASM
[Cumulative Upkeep: Pay 2 life. If this would come into play, sacrifice a land instead. If you do, put this into play. If you don’t, put it into its owner’s graveyard. Skip your combat phase. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you.]
Rattlesnake: *
Gorilla: 1
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 2
Not exactly your best second-turn play, in the late game the Chasm can lock out your last few opponents from turning their attention to you. It does have some limited application in the early-to-mid-game, if you have a combo lock pending and you just need a few extra critical turns of peace and quiet while you play with yourself.
I’m not horribly high on this card, since its most obvious companion is white (i.e., instant speed) lifegain; but since it renders 90% of negative attention moot, I can’t exactly ignore it, either.
9. TREETOP VILLAGE
[This comes into play tapped. Tap: add G to your mana pool. 1G: This becomes a 3/3 green creature with trample until end of turn. It still counts as a land.]
Similar cards: There are many man-lands; Mishra’s Factory and Stalking Stones are among the best. Another Legacy man-land, Spawning Pool, works much like the Village on defense. You can also turn the land of your choice into a 5-power creature permanently, with Living Terrain. See also Natural Affinity and related cards, in green.
Rattlesnake: 5
Gorilla: 2
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 1
As the only man-land with natural trample, the Village is one of the best first-turn lands in the game. By the third turn, you have a”free” 3/3 creature that’s really hard to get rid of. It works a bit like Propaganda, warning off potential attackers and benefiting from additional players who would rather worry about each other than the guy who’s stunting his development to keep the Village ready.
The Village, like all man-lands, benefits tremendously in combination with kill-all effects like Wrath of God or Nevinyrral’s Disk. For most opponents, the only way they’ll get rid of it is to Bolt or Terror it while it’s”alive.”
8. WINDING CANYONS
[Tap: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. 2, Tap: Until end of turn, you may play creature cards at any time you could play an instant.]
Similar cards: Griffin Canyon lets you put Griffins into play at instant speed. Kjeldoran Outpost lets you generate 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens at instant speed.
Rattlesnake: 6
Gorilla: 2
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 2
Plankton: 1
Very expensive to operate – it basically adds three to the cost of the first creature you have in your hand. The Canyons are still an excellent way to give your enemies pause before stepping up to the edge of the cliff. What will suddenly pop out? Attack us and find out.
Since you only have to pay the Canyon’s operation once per turn, the more creatures you can lay down in a turn (and preferably the end of your last opponent’s turn), the better… So cheap weenies will usually be the way to go. Since good players you face will know this, the Canyon is less effective as a defensive threat, and more effective as a retaliatory threat for anyone foolish enough to tap out against you.
7. THE TABERNACLE AT PENDRELL VALE
[All creatures have”At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature unless you pay 1.”]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 3
Plankton: 2
One of very few lands with a sustained, global effect, The Tabernacle is a free enchantment that a few years later ended up costing 3U to play (Pendrell Mists). The fact that Mists is not on blue’s list at all (albeit very close), while this is in top ten for lands, gives you a sense of how rare it is for a good multiplayer land to show up.
This card is a Legends rare, and is not cheap. You still want it in your Stasis deck, so seek to trade for it when you can.
6. MAZE OF ITH
[Tap: Untap target attacking creature. Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by that creature this turn.]
Rattlesnake: 4
Gorilla: 3
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 2
While solid in multiplayer, the Maze is way, way better in duel. This is usually the first card that teaches”adolescent” players (those in the game for between six and twelve months) that tapping in multiplayer is bad. More seasoned players will recognize this as primarily a treat for the player sitting to the Maze controller’s left – the Maze, if still untapped by then, will almost certainly tap a random defender’s potential blocker so that the active player can attack successfully.
What happens less often is using the Maze to save an attacking or blocking creature that suddenly realizes it has bit off more than it can chew. If someone plays Might of Oaks or Righteousness on their squirrel token, you can save your precious Shivan Wurm or Doomsday Specter. Not exactly your preferred use of the Maze, but handy nonetheless.
5. BALDUVIAN TRADING POST
[If this would come into play, sacrifice an untapped mountain instead. If you do, put this into play. If you don’t, put it into its owner’s graveyard. Tap: Add R1 to your mana pool. 1, Tap: This deals one damage to target attacking creature.]
Similar cards: The theme I want to stress here is manipulation of creatures during combat. You can try Desert, which deals one more easily to an attacking creature at the end of combat; Island of Wak-Wak, which sinks the offense of flyers; and Pendlehaven, which gives 1/1 weenies a +1/+2 blessing.
Rattlesnake: 6
Gorilla: 2
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 3
Plankton: 3
One damage here or there during combat can do an awful lot. Flying creatures are particularly fragile; if you have both a Pendelhaven and a Trading Post, your Cloud Sprite can block, kill, and survive a Thunder Spirit or Razorfoot Griffin.
On a good day, you won’t need to use the Post in your own defense, and can simply use it to finish off attackers and blockers in other battles. Unlike many cards based in red, it can actually have a slowdown effect on the game. (Note that it is based in red, not red itself. Damage from the Post, and any other land on this list, is colorless.)
4. KELDON NECROPOLIS
[Legendary. Tap: Add one colorless mana to your pool. 4R, Tap, Sacrifice a creature: This deals 2 damage to target creature or player.]
Similar cards: Rath’s Edge will let you deal one damage to any target for a similar price. If the sacking of a creature is what you’re after, you can try High Market, which allows you to sack a creature for life; or Phyrexian Tower, which lets you do the same for mana. (Don’t forget Diamond Valley, which I would put in the Top Ten personally – The Ferrett, who doesn’t kvetch too much because he doesn’t have the time to write these things)
Rattlesnake: 7
Gorilla: 3
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 3
Plankton: 3
Now this is more like it. Instead of confining ourselves to combat situations, why not use lands that are built for use anytime? The Necropolis and Edge are precious cards in limited situations; and usually, any card that works like them (allowing you to use other cards for”free” damage) is a boon in the late stages of a multiplayer game.
Before the late game, though, none of these lands are all that impressive on their own. Your deck needs to have triggered-ability creatures like Abyssal Gatekeeper, False Prophet, or Bogardan Firefiend to allow for some fireworks earlier on. Adding cards like Bottle Gnomes or Yavimaya Elder does less to help your cause: Don’t pay for redundant abilities!
3. RAINBOW VALE
[Tap: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. An opponent gains control of this at end of turn.]
Rattlesnake: 2
Gorilla: 1
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 8
Land abilities are generally not worth getting into group fights over, so here are some basic rules to keep in mind. It stays in its tapped/untapped state as it passes (so normally, it doesn’t untap until the beginning of that player’s turn). You can’t gain control of an opponent’s Vale by casting Twiddle or Mana Short (since it’s not being tapped for mana). Nor does Conquer keep it under your possession. You can’t tap the Vale for mana and then keep control of it by casting Shimmering Mirage on it. You choose the receiving player when you tap it for mana (and then you actually pass control at end of turn).
Even with all of those qualifiers, the Vale is just plain fun to bounce around.
2. VOLRATH’S STRONGHOLD
[Tap: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. 1B, Tap: Put target creature card from your graveyard on top of your library.]
Rattlesnake: 8
Gorilla: 4 (increases over time)
Spider: 4
Pigeon: 2
Plankton: 2
The Stronghold is the card that makes me feel like I haven’t done enough with the rating system, yet. Somewhere out there, there is an animal that exemplifies the benefits of taking small, productive steps over and over. (There are actually millions of such animals, of course; I’ll entertain ideas from readers on what animal aspect might work here for next time around.) Volrath’s Stronghold gets an”11″ for that rating, whatever it is.
In the meantime, the rattlesnake aspect does a good enough job in illustrating how the card works. It is mighty depressing to go through the trouble of killing a creature when you know that your opponent will be getting it back in his hand the next turn. And the”time walk” aspect to the card (it must be your next draw) is almost not a drawback at all, since the controller can do the trick when she feels her hand is good enough to sustain a small pause in draw continuity. In fact, the Stronghold is a decent card to throw in against mild milling strategies. (It won’t, however, help you against a Stroke of Genius where X=357,048.)
If the rest of the board is locked up, a Stronghold almost always puts you in control of the pace of the game. You, after all, can now afford to lose creatures where others cannot. Naturally, a Howling Mine or other cantrip strategies will help. In a late game, why not cast Urborg Uprising, target two creatures in your graveyard, then target a third with the Stronghold in response, and have it on top of your library to draw? The only strategy beyond land destruction that can stop you is graveyard hosing – and it’s hard for most decks to muck around with opponents’ graveyards and win the game at the same time.
1. SHIVAN GORGE
[Legendary. Tap for one mana. 2R, Tap: This does one damage to each opponent.
Rattlesnake: 8 (decreases over time)
Gorilla: 5 (increases over time)
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 3
A one-land late game, the Gorge is not a card you lay down on turn three, or even four, unless you absolutely need to. It is best played when everyone (except maybe you) are at less than ten life, and when you have three other mana ready to go. Like the Stronghold, its advantage is small to start, but gradually becomes more oppressive over time.
In team play, the Gorge is stellar, geared at opponents only so that all of your teammates gain relative strength. When combined with cards like Sizzle, or even the more symmetrical Plague Spitter (to provide some creature control), you are giving yourself a natural advantage in the race for life.
GOLD
Of course, Invasion block’s lasting effect on multiplayer Magic will be its gold cards, which set a completely new standard for color-sharing cards. Very, very few cards from Legends and other pre-Invasion sets can hold a candle to the power and versatility of what we’ve seen in the past year.
There are, however, plenty of fine gold creatures that you’ll see in”old-school” groups: Nebuchadnezzar, Nicol Bolas, and so on. Once you know what you like in a creature, go through some old Legends card lists and see if there’s anything there you like. They’re worth trading for, as long as you pay attention to price guides and know what you’re doing. I am content with the few Legends creatures I have, many of which are the (less valuable, but equally playable) white-bordered version.
White and black each had a single creature enchantment on their lists (Coalition Flag, Takklemaggot). This list contains the third. The rest of this list is a somewhat even balance of creatures (nine), sorceries (five), global enchantments (five), and instants (four, plus one of the creatures).
There is one”split” card on the list. While technically not gold, the fact that it doesn’t make the list without both halves pretty much gives it nowhere else to go. We’ll give it a nice home, here.
There is a void at #1, because Void is no longer there…
25. SLIVER QUEEN
[WUBRG, 7/7 Legend. Counts as a sliver. 2: put a 1/1 colorless sliver token into play.]
Rattlesnake: 4 (+2 with Crystalline out, +1 for each Muscle Sliver)
Gorilla: 4 (+3 with Crystalline out)
Spider: 0
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 0
The Sliver Queen absolutely needs the Crystalline to be anything more than a shadow of Verdant Force; but then again, a Verdant Force casts a pretty big and dark shadow. The Queen involves virtually no surprise value at all, as soon as your opponents see a Winged or Muscle Sliver, they will be shocked if you don’t play the Queen.
The Queen absolutely wrecks other sliver players, since you have just locked them out of generating their own sliver babies and yet you still get every advantage they have conferred with their own Muscle, Winged, and other slivers.
Enhancements: The annals of sliver combinations are full of cards ranging from Worship to Coat of Arms. Aluren doesn’t help the Queen get out, but it sure does bring out her cousins mighty quickly. For the Queen herself, you might try a Dragon Arch, but that is probably more appropriate for non-sliver decks (e.g., Coalition Victory based decks).
Countermeasures: The fact that the Queen is every color both helps and hurts her. Any creature with any sort of protection (unless it’s protection from kavu) can block her. Plenty of Invasion cards, even Essence Leak, can make life annoying for the controller.
As for her army, not even the Crystalline Sliver can stop global solutions such as Inferno or Cataclysm. (Making the controller choose the Crystalline or Queen is much more fun than just casting Wrath of God.)
24. VINDICATE
[1BW. Destroy target permanent.]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: *
Spider: 5
Pigeon: 2
Plankton: 2
One-off removal has an uphill climb in multiplayer. But something this flexible – as with Creeping Mold in green – has to have a place on the list. No matter what kind of permanent you face, if it’s targetable, Vindicate can get rid of it.
As a purely reactive card, the gorilla rating depends entirely on what you’re getting rid of.
Enhancements: Again, as a reactive utility card, Vindicate won’t use enhancements.
Countermeasures: Permanents like Masticore and Legacy Weapon are futile targets for Vindicate. You can also get around permanent removal, if you’re that terrified of it (and you shouldn’t be), by relying more on sorceries and instants. Like the next card…
23. DEATH GRASP
[WBX Sorcery. Deals X damage to target creature or player. You gain X life.]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 6
Pigeon: 2
Plankton: 2
Hey, look — white life gain I can stand! Of course, it had to be blended with black, which gives this card its purpose: Providing a sorcery-speed, but still often surprising (and always devastating) life swing that lets you punish your primary tormenter, and give you the fuel you need to finish off the others.
Drain Life (or Corrupt) nearly always makes the list for black, but the color is too well-developed to let single-target sorceries like that in. In gold, a card like this deserves recognition. And honestly, so does the strategy, even if it uses white: Life is a precious resource in multiplayer, and I guess we can’t completely blame some players for wanting more of it… Can we?
Okay, yeah, we can.
Enhancements: Razor Pendulum, or Barbed Wire, can help you finish off those players that you don’t have enough X for.
Countermeasures: It’s a shame that if you want to apply the damage to another creature or player via Misdirection, the caster still gets to gain life. So use Mana Barbs, too, so the net effect is indeed negative for the jerk. (And how cool is it that you didn’t tap a thing?) Of course, an Ivory Mask will keep this and a great many other Hall cards directed elsewhere.
22. SLEEPER’S ROBE
[BU Creature Enchantment. Enchanted creature can only be blocked by black or artifact creatures. Whenever enchanted creature deals combat damage to an opponent, you may draw a card.]
Similar cards: Quicksilver Dagger is the latest card-efficient creature enchantment; it allows your creature to ping players and draw a card each time.
Rattlesnake: 5
Gorilla: 1
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 2
Fear and Curiosity, individually, are decent as far as creature enchantments go. Put together, they create one of the very few local enchantments that any player would consider worthy of their time and mana. The key to the Robe (and the Dagger) is their near-immediate card replacement ability, and their potential for incredible card advantage. As soon as the Robe is fixed on a creature, you are nearly guaranteed to win your investment of a card back. With a Dagger, you are in fact guaranteed that card upon resolution.
The Robe still gets to name the slot instead of the Dagger, since the Robe typically allows you to deal more damage. You do, after all, have to work your way through multiple opponents. One life at a time, one player at a time, won’t cut it.
Enhancements: It might be nice to be able to cast the Robe at instant speed, before blockers are declared (and after any opponent can opt to tap your creature to prevent it from attacking… Although they can still fizzle the target through instant burn, etc.). Rootwater Shaman is an old favorite creature of mine. You should also consider small, one-drop creatures like Manta Riders and Sarcomancy tokens to get a head start on your card advantage.
Countermeasures: As with all creature enchantments, it is typically enough to fizzle the target. Killing the enchanted creature later on is also acceptable. Of course, if you have instant black removal, you probably also have black creatures, and you may just want to hold off for a turn or two and let the enchanted creature deal damage elsewhere. But don’t wait too long; eventually the card advantage will make life difficult for you.
21. LIGHTNING ANGEL
[1UWR, 3/4 Creature. Flying. Haste. Does not tap to attack.]
Similar cards: Charging Troll is another non-tapping gold creature that has regeneration instead of haste and flying.
Rattlesnake: 5
Gorilla: 3
Spider: 5
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 2
The Angel combines three terrific abilities for group play – it comes out ready to strike, which throws off your opponents’ math. It flies, which gives you a wider choice of defenders to assault. And it doesn’t tap to attack, which gives you a ready defense after doing damage. More than just about any other white or blue (but not red!) creature, it convinces opponents to look elsewhere to attack.
Enhancements: As a near-automatic target for black removal, you need to use the three colors the Angel needs to protect her. Cho-Manno’s Blessing and Diplomatic Immunity may be worthwhile creature enchantments. If she meets resistance in the air, Flaming Sword will give her one of the few abilities she doesn’t already have – first strike.
If you’d rather not risk the card disadvantage, simple bounce will allow you to save the Angel in risky situations. Cloud Cover will do, as will the more basic Rescue or Withdraw. After all, you can just play her again, and swing immediately next turn.
Countermeasures: Even with bounce backing the Angel up, she is as easy to remove as any other creature. Given the creature’s haste, your Emerald Charms make you feel even better prepared when you have that G open and one of these things comes streaming out.
20. FIRES OF YAVIMAYA
[1RG Enchantment. Creatures you control have haste. Sacrifice this: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.]
Rattlesnake: 7
Gorilla: 4
Spider: 4
Pigeon: 2
Plankton: 3
While having creatures on the board is better than threatening them for next turn, this enchantment’s presence will give your enemies some pause before they target you. The Fervor ability alone, however, is not enough: The ability to sack and pump a creature gives the Fires some much-needed late game utility, and makes redundant copies actually useful.
Enhancements: Do not bother finding creatures with haste. Find creatures with trample, flying, or first strike to maximize the chances that their sudden assault will get through on the first try. Preventing blocking with cards like Stun will also help you get the beef through.
Countermeasures: Slightly more conservative play should be sufficient defense. The Fires controller wants to get through for damage. He will find a player who is more reckless than you. But you may want to be prepared for mass removal, before an attacking force comes through: Have creatures that you can play at instant speed, or even put Aluren on the board.
19. SOL’KANAR THE SWAMP KING
[2BRU, 5/5 Creature. Swampwalk. Whenever a player plays a black spell, you gain one life.]
Similar cards: In gold?!?!? Um, lessee, Slinking Serpent is a 2/3 beast with forestwalk, and…eh, forget it.
Rattlesnake: 5
Gorilla: 4
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 4
How many players have failed to remember this little gem in an age where R/B/U decks are all the rage? Well, don’t feel bad; I forgot it to, for quite a while. Even now that I’ve remembered it, I need to find the right kind of deck for it.
But it shouldn’t be difficult. Not many pre-Invasion gold creatures had a power and toughness equal to their casting cost (at least not without an obnoxious upkeep cost). Piled on top of that are two useful abilities in multiplayer – you’re bound to find another black mage or two with swamps, and spells to play.
This may make Sol’kanar look like he’s out to hose black mages; but in fact, he comes out early enough that you should be using him to pound on the rest of the table. Leave the swamp controller for last – that’s a nice bicycle ride downhill, after you manage to clear the rest of the table. (You’ll also gain more life this way.)
Enhancements: The usual swampwalk enhancements, the best of which is Blanket of Night, will give Sol’kanar a wider field to play in.
Countermeasures: Now is a good time to play Spreading Algae on other players’ swamps (not Sol’kanar’s controller, yet). You may get them to tap those lands, just to be rid of them, which means you get to hurt them as you help them. As Bill McNeil once said on NewsRadio…”How de-lissh-ious!”
18. QUESTING PHELDDAGRIF
[1GUW, 4/4 Creature. G: This gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Target opponent puts a 1/1 green Hippo token into play. W: This gets protection from red and black until end of turn. Target opponent gains 2 life. U: This gains flying until end of turn. Target opponent draws a card.]
Similar cards: The original (and legendary) Phelddagrif got pump instead of trample, and could be returned to hand instead of given protection from black and red, and flying was over in white instead of in blue, and… Well, it was just different. But it still had a hippo on it.
Rattlesnake: 6
Gorilla: 5
Spider: 1
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 6
A solid multiplayer card across multiple dimensions, the hunting hippo is a slightly higher quality, much better-looking, and occasionally more Greek cousin of the first anagram of Garfield, Ph.D. (After yet another educational moment with Omeed Dariani of the Sideboard, this is how I now remember that the thing has two D’s and only one F.)
Enhancements: To prevent the baby hippos from coming back angry at you, you could use any one of a dozen or so spells: Dueling Ground, Aether Flash, Propaganda, Caltrops, etc. (Collective Restraint, though more expensive, generally works better than Propaganda because you’re usually guaranteed to have at least three basic lands – The Ferrett) If you come under baby hippo attack, you might also consider Reins of Power (steal someone else’s hippos). Congregate is tasteless but effective here (as it is anywhere else).
The lifegain is not usually worth trying to build a strategy around; you’ll only protect occasionally, and the ‘Grif does more than enough damage on a swing to make up for it. The card drawing, of course, might put you in the mind of Viseling/Prosperity-based decks, or – heaven help your mana – Underworld Dreams.
Countermeasures: Coat of Arms will keep the Phelddagrif at a very manageable 4/4. Since white or black removal won’t kill it, and even concentrated blue pinging won’t prevent it from pumping, why not use white”vengeance” removal like Repentance or Wave of Reckoning? (No matter how high the creature pumps, he can’t avoid killing himself.) And how about that Mirror Strike, eh?
17. SEER’S VISION
[2BU Enchantment. All opponents play with their hands revealed. Sacrifice this: Look at target player’s hand and choose a card from it. That player discards that card. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.]
Rattlesnake: 2+*
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 6
Combining Telepathy with Coercion was a great idea. Normally, you’ll just play this as a”sorcery,” giving everyone a glimpse of each other’s hands (except yours) and then sacking it almost immediately to get rid of the worst threat. This is because there are just too many barn-busting cards out there to just leave it out for long. But if you feel it would help, you could always leave it out, and trust that other players will look at each other a bit suspiciously.
Enhancements: Cards that supplement discard, as usual, will be helpful. (Actually, a Bottomless Pit would be great, since you’ll get to see the choices people make as they go down, card by card… And you’ll get to leave the Vision out for longer as a result… And if someone topdecks a Disenchant, you’ll be less concerned for your Vision, since the Pit will probably take the heat.)
Countermeasures: You could try to have more than one really, really good card in your hand when Vision comes out. Preferably instants.
16. SUFFOCATING BLAST
[1UUR Instant. Counter target spell and deal three damage to target creature.]
Rattlesnake: 0
Gorilla: *
Spider: 10
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 1
Only consistently good along one dimension, it is very, very good along that dimension. Blast is one of two spells on this list (no prizes for guessing the other one!) that actually give countermagic a fighting chance in multiplayer. The opportunity to gain actual card advantage (e.g., Blast a Giant Growth and an opponent’s defending creature to foil a double-block, send both defenders to the graveyard, save your own creature, and waste his green instant) practically demands the Blast in any red-blue deck that can afford the unique cost.
Another really cool thing about this card is that it can’t be a target for Misdirection (as it has more than one target).
Enhancements: There are two problems with this card, and they both involve the red aspect. First, without a creature to deal damage to, you can’t cast the Blast. This won’t always be a problem, but you could use Varchild’s War Riders to assure yourself of targets. A more common problem will be the toughness of the creature you’d really like to remove. (I mean, really, you want this thing to be a 1UUB spell that just Banishes… But let’s not get picky.) Instead of wasting those three damage points, supplement them with Mogg Fanatics, Seals of Fire, Ticking Gnomes, and bloodfire creatures.
Countermeasures: Keeping creatures off the board in the first place might be nice. And while you can’t stop the counter effect by sacking a creature already targeted, such a creature will at least give you a benefit as it dies. The toughness of your creatures is also an obvious issue, as is their ability to regenerate.
15. MYSTIC SNAKE
[1UUG, 2/2 Creature. May be played any time you could play an instant. When Mystic Snake comes into play, counter target spell.]
Rattlesnake: 2 (first time played, after that +4 each time)
Gorilla: *
Spider: 10 (first time played, after that –2 each time)
Pigeon: 3
Plankton: 0
When you play Mystic Snake, if there is more than one spell on the stack already, do not announce which one you are countering. (Sometimes it will be obvious, but not always.) Then let other players do whatever they’re going to do. If the stack allows the Snake to resolve, it then comes into play. That’s when you decide what to counter. (Don’t worry, the Snake cannot counter itself, since once in play it is no longer a spell.)
Enhancements: Given the awesome bounce blue has (Man o’ War, Repulse, Sunken Hope, Equilibrium, Tradewind Rider, Sunder), and the remarkably cool comes-into-play creatures green has (Wall of Blossoms, Spike Weaver, Blastoderm), the Snake is almost invariably in a deck that is capable of returning creatures to their owners’ hands. One idea along those lines that I haven’t had the chance to test yet: Aether Mutation. (How slick is it that you can play this the turn after the Snake comes out?)
Countermeasures: While you may not be able to stop the Snake from coming into play and putting its ability on the stack (short of your own Counterspell), you could have instant removal ready for the moment that geek tries to put it back in their hand.
14. FIERY JUSTICE
[WGR Sorcery. This deals 5 damage divided any way you choose among any number of target creatures and/or players. Target opponent gains five life.]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 6
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 6
Solid but unspectacular, this former #1 resident of the Hall has been the biggest loser in the presence of far superior cards for multiplayer. But it is distributable damage, serves as a sort of super-Arc Lightning, and keeps alive a player whose continued survival you may find useful. As one of the early open recognitions by Wizards (if you can call Ice Age”early”) that some of the Magic community played games with more than two players, Fiery Justice will always have a place in the Hall. It just won’t be as lofty a place as it used to be.
Enhancements: Humility would let you find five otherwise inaccessible creature targets. Who cares if an opponent gains five life if you can take down a Morphling, Multani, Verdant Force, Bloodfire Colossus, and Thrashing Wumpus with one card and three mana? (Hey, it could happen.)
Countermeasures: A little pump goes a long way.
13. ORDER/CHAOS
[ORDER: 3W Instant. Remove target attacking creature from the game. CHAOS: 2R Instant. Creatures can’t block this turn.]
Rattlesnake: 1/1
Gorilla: 3/6
Spider: 8/8
Pigeon: 2/6
Plankton: 5/5
There are four split cards in Invasion block that have consistent usefulness in multiplayer on both sides of the card: Spite/Malice, Assault/Battery, Fire/Ice, and this one. None of them will be as consistently useful for you as Order/Chaos. Chaos is the superior side: With so many weakening players building large defensive fronts to warn off attackers, a simple investment of three mana can eliminate at least one opponent in a single stroke. But Order is also a fantastic companion card: As controller of a white/red deck, you will be able to burn the 1/1s that hold back and ping, and/or the black weenies with protection from white. What’s left are the huge, green, trampling regenerators; the elegant flyers with high toughness; and the white weenies with protection from red. Together, these two cards form an excellent combination for any group game.
Enhancements: If you want to play Chaos during another player’s turn, you’ll want to do it before he declares attackers, so he can see all the opportunities. That means you’ll need something to warn him off of you. A standing force won’t do, of course; instead, invest in visible methods of removing attackers, such as No Mercy and Avenger en-Dal. For your own attacks, mass pumping such as Vitalizing Wind or Glorious Anthem will help you make a killing blow.
As for Order, you could induce a shy creature to attack with a Bullwhip. Note on timing: If the creature is attacking someone else, you can always feel free to wait until damage is on the stack before getting rid of it. In that case, Ghitu War Cry is a nice touch.
Countermeasures: If you’re worried that a Chaos might be played, be more aggressive with your mass removal. Invest in instant capability, such as Rout or Fault Line. To save a creature from Order, you need to remove it from combat. You can do this with Liberate or Soul Sculptor (since attackers that leave play or stop being creatures are removed from combat); or if you’re worried beyond all reason, use Elvish Scouts and Goblin Cadets to attack. (Of course, this raises the legitimate question: Why would anyone freak out so much that they’d Order an Elvish Scout or Goblin Cadet?)
12. AURA SHARDS
[1WG Enchantment. Whenever a creature comes into play under your control, you may destroy target enchantment or artifact.]
Rattlesnake: 5+*
Gorilla: 7
Spider: 4
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 6
The * in rattlesnake depends on the strength of the enchantments or artifacts on the board when you first play Shards. Aura Shards has the potential to be enormous, filling opponents’ hands with pretty much dead cards while creatures (and we would prefer it if it were your creatures, I think) rule the board.
Enhancements: Play your creatures at instant speed, like Mystic Snake. Rith’s Charm can give you three Saprolings at instant speed; this lets you rip through three troublesome permanents at once.
Countermeasures: Aura Shards is a one-card reason to play Disenchant in your combo decks. Even better, of course, would be an Aura Shards of your own.
11. SAVAGE TWISTER
[XRG Sorcery. This deals X damage to each creature.]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: 8
Spider: 5
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 2
A blend of Hurricane and Earthquake, but without the player damage. If direct damage is not your goal, the Twister is a respectable card to play in a red-green deck that wants to simulate a Wrath of God. Of course, red-green decks are typically creature-based, so some fancy footwork may be in order…
Enhancements and Countermeasures: Regenerators and creatures like Cerulean Wyvern and Crimson Acolyte all survive the Twister.
10. SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
[1BR Instant. As an additional cost to play this, sacrifice a creature. This deals 3 damage to each creature.]
Rattlesnake: 1
Gorilla: 7
Spider: 10
Pigeon: 5
Plankton: 3
A board-clearer from tempest days, this is a card guaranteed to surprise your group. It simply doesn’t see that much play any more – but it’s incredibly efficient, especially when compared to, say, Bloodfire Kavu. Combustion is a great example of a card where Wizards must first have learned that cheap, high-powered cards can work… If you require a little bit of mana mixture.
Enhancements: A Massacre, either before or after the Combustion, can typically finish off whatever’s left out there. Attacking patterns are also important: If you send respectable attackers at multiple opponents, they will likely block with their largest creature. Wait until combat damage is on the stack, and then let one of your creatures blow up in everyone’s face.
As far as the creature you sack, I’ve mentioned Abyssal Gatekeeper a few too many times here in the Hall; but it’s hard not to bring it up once again. Another choice would be Disease Carriers, which endows the fattie of your choice with -2/-2 when it goes to the graveyard.
Countermeasures: This would be an excellent time for a Reflect Damage.
9. TREVA, THE RENEWER
[3UWG, 6/6 Creature. Flying. Whenever this deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2W. If you do, choose a color. Gain life equal to the number of permanents of that color.]
Rattlesnake: 5
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 9
Plankton: 2
On the last Hall gold list, all five younger dragon legends were stuffed into the same slot. But now that we’ve all had a bit of time to look at them more closely, we can filter out a couple. Two do not make this list; three do.
The first of these three, Treva, does not hurt your opponents (relative to the other flying 6/6s, that is) as much as annoy them. Actually, she is representative of the kind of life gain I don’t mind so much: It occurs after a warning, generally happens in digestible amounts, and also gives you a path to victory as you fortify your position.
Of course, the reason she is on the list is because of the”pigeon” rating: More players means more possibility that you can choose a color with excellent lifegain potential.
Enhancements: Color manipulators such as Shifting Sky or Sway of Illusion will be helpful, but you could also just ensure your own supply of weenies with Liege of Hollows or Breeding Pit.
Countermeasures: If you’re holding the Swords to Plowshares back because you’re afraid of allowing Treva’s controller a six-point life gain, wake up. Retire the lizard.
8. POWERSTONE MINEFIELD
[2WR Enchantment. Whenever a creature attacks or blocks, this deals 2 damage to it.]
Rattlesnake: 8
Gorilla: 8
Spider: 2
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 3
I’ve discussed much of this dynamic with Caltrops in artifacts. This is Caltrops on steroids, with a nasty swing at defensive creatures, as well. I recently wrote elsewhere that with a Minefield out there, a Pouncing Kavu takes it on the chin from a Jungle Barrier. Weird.
Enhancements and Countermeasures: Karn, Silver Golem is the best soldier you have. First strike creatures are still good – there aren’t many creatures, beyond the Jungle Barrier, that can withstand a Pouncing Kavu. And while Lashknife Barrier isn’t quite as helpful here as it is with Caltrops, it’s still pretty helpful.
In Apocalypse, Wizards was kind enough to provide Fervent Charge, which gives any attacker you control +2/+2 until end of turn. And you only have to splash black to use both the Minefield and the Charge! How convenient.
7. DROMAR, THE BANISHER
[3BUW, 6/6 Creature. Flying. Whenever this deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2U. If you do, choose a color. Return all creatures of that color to their owners’ hands.]
Rattlesnake: 6
Gorilla: 8
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 4
The second of the three younger dragon legends in the Hall, Dromar suffers mainly from his tendency to return himself. Against a single opponent, that may be worth it… But in a group, opponents know that you’ll prefer to name green and/or red as much as possible. Anyone with a substantial white, black, or blue army will just sit tight and keep their head down, waiting for the instant removal card that will help them. That means you have to hit them with Dromar, and if you’re afraid of retaliation, name the color that best helps you defensively. Ergo, Dromar develops an ongoing love ’em, leave ’em, love ’em again relationship with your hand.
Enhancements: Again, the color thing. Also, more than any other 6/6 flyer from Invasion, Dromar would like a Dragon Arch to get him back into play quickly.
Countermeasures: Raging Kavu and Skizzik can redeploy quickly. You can also make Dromar’s controller think twice about bouncing your favored colors, if you have an Equilibrium, Pandemonium, or Aura Shards out.
6. RITH, THE AWAKENER
[3WGR, 6/6 Creature. Flying. Whenever this deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2G. If you do, choose a color. Put into play a number a green 1/1 Saproling tokens equal to the number of permanents of that color.]
Rattlesnake: 7 (+1 for each successful attack)
Gorilla: 7
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 10
Plankton: 2
While more susceptible to old-school black removal, the presence of Terminate puts the younger dragon legends on more or less equal footing. The edge that Rith gets over Dromar? The green-centered fellow generates creatures, which stay independent of what happens to Rith. And the longer Rith does stay, the worse the situation gets, since the Saprolings he generates count toward the total of new reinforcements.
A large, beefy green creature that generates Saproling tokens – and the more players there are, the more he tends to make. Sound familiar? If he were mono-green, Rith would be comparable (if still inferior) to Verdant Force. Here in gold, he is certainly the best creature on the list.
Of course, by deduction, readers can now realize that neither Crosis nor Darigaaz made the Hall. This doesn’t mean they’re not good in multiplayer. (In fact, the only dragon legend I’m currently using in a deck is Crosis – he is a beast and a half.) It just means that there are gold cards that take much better advantage of the multiplayer environment. Treva, Dromar, and Rith are among them.
Enhancements: As with Treva, you want to make sure you have a decent starting pool of creatures in a given color. You can afford a Varchild’s War Riders, and even a Coat of Arms in the same deck, if you’re feeling frisky.
Countermeasures: Usually Rith will depend on lots of small creatures of the same type (like squirrels) to grow the first batch of Saprolings. Bloodfire Kavu or Extinction are your silver bullets against such a strategy.
5. SPINAL EMBRACE
[3UUB Instant. Play this only during combat. Untap target creature you don’t control and gain control of it. It gains haste until end of turn. At end of turn, sacrifice it. If you do, you gain life equal to its toughness. If you do, laugh cruelly at the hapless fool who donated you your lunch for the day.]
Rattlesnake: 2
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 9
Pigeon: 6
Plankton: 4
Rule U.U.B3, subsection AA, of our group’s multiplayer charter clearly states:
“When a player in our group has six mana open, at least two of which are blue and at least one of which is black, do not attack that player.”
Horrible, awful things happen to you when you do. You lose Tsabo Tavoc in the middle of your attack, who blocks and kills your Verdeloth the Ancient, and who then disappears to give the defender four life. That’s at least a 15-point life swing, not counting all the Saproling tokens that shrunk between the point of first strike damage resolution and normal damage going on the stack. And those legends are not all that unusual to see in group play (though it’s more likely that Tsabo will be borrowed from a different player than the one with the Verdeloth-Saproling deck).
Embrace is far, far better on defense than offense. But it’s still nice on offense, if your opponent only has one viable blocker and you’d like to get some use out of it before killing it.
I have an awful time remembering that this can only be played during combat. Its spider value would be 10+ if you could do it any time.
Enhancements: Why not a Spirit Weaver to pump the toughness of the green or blue creatures you steal? (I don’t mean that very seriously; this would take a ton of mana to really be worth it.) Perhaps Phyrexian Splicer, so you can steal a high-toughness groundpounder and still block that flyer coming at you. Having enough mana at the right time is often an issue, and opponents will seek to take advantage of those moments when you have only three or four mana: Use High Tide or Bubbling Muck to punish them for their miscalculation.
Countermeasures: To combat any instant that depends on targeting, the use of sackable creatures is highly recommended. Also a good idea: Multiple small creatures, since the Embrace is too unwieldy a tool to stop all the damage (and may not even get life out of the deal).
4. VOID
[3BR Sorcery. Choose a number. Destroy all artifacts and creatures with converted mana cost equal to that number. Then target player reveals his or her hand and discards from it all nonland cards with converted mana cost equal to the number.]
Rattlesnake: 2
Gorilla: 9
Spider: 5
Pigeon: 7
Plankton: 5
(Get it? – The Ferrett)
3. BREATHSTEALER’S CRYPT
[2BU Enchantment. If a player would draw a card, instead he or she reveals it, then draws it. If it’s a creature card, that player discards it unless he or she pays 3 life.]
Rattlesnake: 6
Gorilla: 9
Spider: 3
Pigeon: 7
Plankton: 5
A variation on Zur’s Weirding, the Crypt does not allow players to interfere with drawing decisions, but it does severely punish those who depend on creatures to get the job done.
Enhancements: Vile Consumption almost made the gold list. It’s a worthwhile investment here, too, since it reinforces your anti-creature strategy. Or, you can complement the Crypt with spells meant to stop direct damage, such as Misdirection and Reverse Damage; and countermagic meant to break other creatureless decks’ strategies, like Suffocating Blast and Undermine.
You can, of course, play plenty of creatures in your Crypt deck, discard every single one, and then bring them out with Living Death and/or Twilight’s Call. You’ll need a Tormod’s Crypt or Rapid Decay to blow out the worst fatties from opponents’ graveyards, as well.
Since you will be revealing every draw, don’t expect anything you do to be a surprise. In fact, try to use this to your advantage: Prefer cheap instants when you can find the slots for them.
Countermeasures: Green has a few ways of putting creatures directly into play from a library – for example, Oath of Druids and Natural Order. You can also use creature token generators, like Kjeldoran Outpost or Squirrel Wrangler, to give yourself more creature punch for each card.
2. CAPTAIN’S MANEUVER
[XRW Instant. The next X damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn is dealt to another target creature or player instead.]
Similar cards: Reflect Damage will take an entire source’s worth of damage and throw it back to the controller. And Mirrorwood Treefolk, which is not a gold card but one I would have liked to remember back in green, keeps the dynamic alive in creature form.
Rattlesnake: 4
Gorilla: 6
Spider: 11
Pigeon: 4
Plankton: 4
Reflect Damage was always a great spell, but the fact that the amount of damage was unadjustable, and could only go to one target (the controller), provided some limitations. Captain’s Maneuver is a far more flexible form of payback: You harness the amount of damage you feel is about right, divert it from the creature you care most about (or yourself), and throw it wherever you like. It will usually be more expensive than Reflect Damage – and probably less satisfying in some situations – but ultimately, it’s more efficient.
Tell you what. If you still really like Reflect Damage, put them both in the same deck. There. Better?
The Maneuver joins Misdirection in the exclusive”it’s 11″ club, at least for spider rating. You want all of your defenses to be down, looking horribly scared, mana-flooded beyond all reason…
Enhancements: Getting lots of mana into play is critical. Land Tax will at least ensure that you have as much as your opponents. Artifact and elf accelerators are a great idea. By turn six, you want to be reasonably confident that you can punish an attack by smashing a quality creature. By turn twelve, you want to be pretty sure you can take a player out of the game.
Of course, if you have a Repercussion out or a Fork in your hand, you can do both at once.
If you don’t expect the Maneuver to handle all of the damage, but still want to play it and figure you can spare, say, two white mana, add an Eye for an Eye, which will duplicate the residual damage onto the player of your choice.
Countermeasures: Like Mirror Strike and other”vengeance” spells, the Maneuver is very, very hard to stop. Not even a weenie rush will help, since the damage a player might prevent to herself can be assembled across multiple sources. And going from creature damage to burn, of course, won’t help you. Loss of life (e.g., Brush with Death) and milling are the only foolproof methods of avoiding the Maneuver. Otherwise, you should count your defender’s mana very, very carefully, and compare it to your own life total.
1. PERNICIOUS DEED
[1BG Enchantment. X, sacrifice this: Destroy each artifact, creature, and enchantment with converted mana cost X or less.]
Rattlesnake: 10
Gorilla: 10
Spider: 6
Pigeon: 7
Plankton: 5
Let’s take a quick walk through everything the Deed is/can do:
- Nevinyrral’s Disk: It can reset the entire board, leaving mana intact for easy renewal.
- Propaganda: It can warn away massive armies.
- Pyroclasm: It can destroy a mass of weenies, at sorcery speed, for three to five mana total.
- Purify: It clears out the noisiest of enchantment/artifact combinations, allowing creatures (once they reappear) to operate freely.
- Plague Wind: It can wax everyone else’s creatures, leaving your own expensive (or regenerating) creatures intact.
- Ruination/Armageddon: It doesn’t come up a ton, but it’s possible, so man-lands and green mages who like to play with Natural Affinity actually have to watch out.
This is where I immortalize one of those wild and crazy moments that I’ll have to explain away about a year from now, when I’m not so young and brash, and say that Pernicious Deed is probably the Best Multiplayer Card Out There. Nothing else has its range, its scope, and its weight, put together. It slows down the game, or accelerates it. It sweeps the board, or does a surgical cut. It plays as a sorcery, or an enchantment. It makes me BLTs, or leaves off the tomato and puts on extra bacon. I’ve been playing this thing so much that Theo’s actually got a deck with four Interdicts in it, just to stop the thing from going off. That’s nuts.
Enhancements: While the natural companion is Spiritmonger (both for its high casting cost and regeneration capability), you can be more creative with, say, Jolrael Empress of Beasts. Or play your own man-lands… Just time their activation carefully.
I’ve been thinking of turn five Deed (to threaten small effect immediately), turn six blow it, turn seven Desolation Angel with kicker… But part of the appeal of the Deed, for me anyhow, is that it leaves lands intact. If that doesn’t appeal to you, well, then, G/B/W it is.
Countermeasures: The Interdicts have only stopped a Deed from blowing once, but it’s enough to make me pause for a moment. Your own regenerators, of course, will be fine. And one good thing about the Deed hanging around as a”danger” signal is that smarter players can adjust what they keep in their hand to account for the inevitable game change.
Some players feel that the best way to deal with the Deed is to just go after the guy controlling it, and make him blow it right away so you can get about the business of rebuilding, rather than tearing down everyone else but the Deed mage. This”rip the bandage off” school of thought has its merits. It’s an easier school to attend if your hand is strong, and your board position slightly weak.
HALL DENOUMENT: THE BACK ALLEY EXIT
(and yes, we’re still four floors up, so watch your step)
This concludes our tour. Thanks for walking through the renovated Hall!
This took a great deal of effort, and I continue to welcome any feedback readers have (the way the cards are presented, agree/disagree with specific choices, etc.). Thanks to those who sent suggestions for this one, both before and during. As I’ve said before, I do keep all Hall-related suggestions in a special email folder, and review everything before I renovate again. I’d say about half the email I get on the topic (and 99% of the corrections) has an impact on what I write next time. So fire away!
COMING SOON: Some of you may have noticed that #100 is coming up soon! No doubt, I will think of something spectacular. But even if I knew what that was, I wouldn’t give it away…
Peace,
Anthony Alongi
[email protected]