I feel like I still owe you three more Top Tens, so I decided to come up with the rest. The first was suggested multiple times over the last week. The second popped into my head when I was reviewing some of those memories, and the thirdâ€”I’m actually not sure where the third came from.

After those three lists, we’ll get to the Farm Theme deck I mentioned from Gen Con. David shipped me his list, so I thought it’d be fun to go over it.

Favorite Cards of All Time

There are easily fifty or a hundred cards that could go on this list. I didn’t think so much about this list as felt about it. Instead of doing analysis, I just went from the gut.

Bloodbraid Elf: Even in EDH, where most of the casting costs are well higher than four, getting two-for-one and spinning the wheel in the Cascade carnival are always fun. I wouldn’t run him in Kresh (who wants a turn 4 Fling?), but I can see impact in other decks.

Command Tower: So far, it’s the only card virtually unplayable in other formats, and it’s become the flagship card for EDH. Now dreaming up Super Command Tower.

Goblin Bombardment: Mini-Fling that just sits there and dares you to Wrath the board.

Greater Good: 1) Keeps your hands off my stuff and 2) draws cards while filling up my graveyard for the inevitable Living Death.

Living Death: If I were to commission new art for it, there would be Zombies kicking the crap out of Vampires (the tragically hip Emo kind).

Lord of Extinction: I really wasn’t that much of a fan of it until I heard Ben McDole call it “Boom Tube.” The rest, as they say, is 52 to the face.

Lurking Predators: How do you not love getting stuff for free?

Scragnoth: Back in the day when EVERYONE was playing some kind of blue control deck, my Scragnoths ruled. Screw you, Counterspell. Screw you, Capsize with buyback!

Withered Wretch: Graveyard recursion is the best strategy in the format. Withered Wretch keeps those graveyards from getting out of hand.

Woodfall Primus: There are mean cards in Magic, and Woodfall Primus blows up nearly all of them.

Favorite Cities Magic Has Taken Me To

Austin, Texas (multiple events): Deep in the heart of conservatism lies this outpost of liberal thought that could just as easily be somewhere in the Pacific Northwestâ€”it’s cultured, urbane, upscale, and simply interesting. Had a $32 margarita there onceâ€”it was not $32 well spent. On the other hand, we found Lambert’s Downtown Barbecue.

Bruxelles, Belgium (multiple events, but especially Worlds 2000): I lived in Belgium for six great years, and the number of times the game took me to the capital city is in the dozens. A great memory unlisted from last week was Sunday night of that 2000 Worlds, sitting on the veranda of the hotel smoking Cubans (hey, they’re not illegal here!) and singing Simpsons’ songs (it was “See My Vest” that got it all started).

Essen, Germany (multiple events): Gen Con is something every gamer needs to see. Spiel, held annually in Essen, is Gen Con on steroids. Every year we went to this great steakhouse just a few blocks from the convention center (and unlike the US, great steakhouses aren’t a dime a dozen in Europe). One of the last years we were there, we went into the place and Babylon 5’s Claudia Christian was in there, dining with someone whom I assume was her agent. She said “cool, you guys speak English; maybe we should hang out!”

London (multiple events): My first impression of London was that if you didn’t pay attention to which side of the road they were driving on, you’d think you were in New York. I give a fair amount of grief about New York City (especially in the presence of Brian David-Marshall), but it’s one of the most interesting places in the world. Ditto for London. I think the food there is severely underestimated. I saw the premier of The Matrix at the Warner Village Cinema in Leicester Square.

Paris (Worlds 2006): The City of Lights brings out the sentimentalist in me. It is truly magical. Standing on any of those bridges on that river, you can fall in love all over again.

Rome (Worlds 2009): We taught the world how to eat, you know.

San Francisco (Worlds 2004): One of the fine bastions of American culture (that’s not the bad stereotype of American culture). The site of the ’04 (and this year’s) event is the Fort Mason Center, which is not far from Ghirardelli Square. The restaurants are world-class, and it’s near Napa Valley.

Seattle (multiple events): It’s not just the fact that the WotC offices and many, many friends are there. Seattle is just a great city, where culture is deep and rich, and the ballpark has Ichiro in it.

Toronto (Worlds 2001): Toronto seemed like the perfect blend of US and Canadian cities, a laidback sensibility with all the trappings of upscale culture.

Zurich (GP Zurich 1997): Zurich was a 7-hour drive from where I was living in Mopertingen, Belgium. The GP started Friday, so naturally we left on Tuesday. We drove 2 hours to Trier, Germany, explored Roman ruins, ate, drank, and stayed overnight. The next day we drove 2 hours to Strasbourg, ate, drank, and stayed overnight. The following day, we drove 2 hours to Basel, rinsed, lathered, and repeated. The last day, we drove the last hour to Zurich, where the GP was kind of an afterthought.

Note that Baltimore probably would have made the list had I not grown up there. It didn’t feel right to call it a place Magic took me to, although the Baltimore I grew up in is rather different than the Baltimore of today. Â

Lists I Didn’t Do

Favorite Cheaters of all Time

The Rashad Miller Hotel Roommate Hall of Distinction, Snorers Wing

Great Films by Michael Bay

Most Enjoyable DQs

Toby Elliott Laundry (a Retrospective)

Why You Don’t Understand Sorrow’s Path, He’s Different When He’s with Me

The Herberholz Diaries

DCI Judge Swimsuit Calendar

Kibler and Kaopectate: Nine Ways It Didn’t Work

Things I Found in Yokohama Vending Machines

The Farm Theme Deck

When David suggested the deck in the forums some time back, I told him that if he put it together, I’d feature it. He did even better than thatâ€”he brought it to Gen Con. Here’s the list:

Reaper King

ARTIFACTS (3)
Gruul War Plow
Crucible of Worlds
Sol Ring

CREATURES (21)
Avenger of Zendikar
Blazethorn Scarecrow
Budoka Gardener
Diligent Farmhand
Elvish Farmer
Goblin Gardener
Grim Poppet
Mistmeadow Skulk
Mycologist
Nantuko Cultivator
Noble Hierarch
Offalsnout
Orcish Farmer
Orcish Settlers
Pallid Mycoderm
Rampaging Baloths
Scarecrone
Spike Tiller
Sporesower Thallid
Wispmare
Workhorse

LEGENDARY CREATURES (2)
Sapling Colfenor
Sekki, Seasons’ Guide

ENCHANTMENTS (12)
Compost
Doubling Season
Earthcraft
Farmstead
Heartbeat of Spring
Night Soil
Rites of Flourishing
Rowen
Seed the Land
Shivan Harvest
Sterling Grove
Utopia Vow

INSTANTS (8)
Grim Harvest
Ovinize
Reach of Branches
Reap
Rootgrapple
Second Thoughts
Seed Spark
Swords to Plowshares

SORCERIES (11)
Clear the Land
Cultivate
Diminishing Returns
Explosive Vegetation
Life from the Loam
Mulch
Reap and Sow
Regrowth
Seeds of Innocence
Weed Strangle
Worm Harvest

LANDS (12)
Command Tower
Evolving Wilds
Exotic Orchard
Forbidden Orchard
Gaea’s Cradle
Irrigation Ditch
Khalni Garden
Murmuring Bosk
Petrified Field
Secluded Steppe
Terramorphic Expanse
Tranquil Thicket

BASIC LANDS (30)
17 Forest
3 Island
3 Mountain
4 Plains
3 Swamp

Reaper King

David

Test deck on 08-28-2011

Commander

Creatures (24)

Lands (42)

Spells (34)

This is the first deck that actually has a thematic use for Sol Ring, the sun being a necessary element in farming. Other ideas for bringing The Sun into play include Captured Sunlight, Second Sunrise, Serene Sunset, Sun Titan, and Sun’s Bounty. There are other “sun” cards, but they don’t seem to fit.

Diminishing Returns is clearly David’s commentary on the plight of the small American farmer. Clearly, Plow Under deserves a spot, but David said that it’s not the kind of card that he wants to play. Abundance seems like it deserves a spot. The seasons could come into the equation: Harbinger of Spring, Rites of Spring, Midsummer Revel, Summer Bloom, Autumn’s Veil, and Edge of Autumn. I know Seedborn Muse is an overplayed card, but it could get some serious consideration.

As far as animals go, Workhorse was an inspired choice. Every farm needs goats, so Springjack Pasture seems like a natural fit, along with Springjack Shepherd to tend them, though other Shepherds don’t see to fit too well. It might be that Ovinomancer could go with that Ovinize. This is certainly a deck where I’d consider allowing Un-cards so that there could be chickens as well.

Monday Night Gamer and Armada EDH League regular Keith Bogart mentioned that he thought the idea cool enough to piggyback on it and build the Grocery Store deckâ€”the Butchers (Butcher Orgg, Butcher of Malakir, Faceless Butcher, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, Rustrazor Butcher, and Smoldering Butcher) being the start. We’ll see if he comes up with enough for a deck out of it.

LEAGUE UPDATE

A few weeks into League 11, the gang really seems to like the new, flatter prize structure. Everyone who shows up gets a booster of the latest set, then we use the points system for determining table winners in each round. Top two (each round) get a pick from the Binder of Promos. Attendance has gone up even more, but the best consequence has been a much friendlier series of games. “Let’s play the whole 2 hours” has been the mantra instead of “let’s kill the table quickly.” There’s still some rough play, but the feeling of the room has improved over what was already pretty good. I like that there is less administrative overhead for the already-overworked Armada staff, and I don’t think we could have a better atmosphere.

Side Note, Card That Kept People Alive In A Casual Game Edition: Equal Treatment.

I continued with the idea that I had at Gen Con, having whomever I was sitting with choose which deck I play. This past week, in Round 1 I sat with Josh (Teneb, the Harvester), Markus (Momir Vig, Simic Visionary), Todd (Glissa, the Traitor), and Keith (Kresh the Bloodbraided). They wanted me to play Animar, Soul of Elements, a deck that I definitely have some fun with (but could use Lightning Greaves!).

Todd’s Glissa deck is 100% Standard legal, and it’s still very good. He got Glissa and those cheap artifacts going and was the early threat.

Keith’s deck is all about giving other people token creatures so that Kresh gets giant when they die. He played Turn 2 Varchild’s War-Riders and kept it going until someone Wrathed.

Starting Turn 3, I cast Animar, Fertilid, Mindless Automaton, and Novijen Sages, but my big Animar couldn’t get through the token weenie hordes. I get Garruk’s Horde going but only cast a couple of things off of it. Josh, who is mana-stalled, fortunately gains insane amounts of life from Grim Feast, which probably goes on a Hidden Gems list somewhere.

The game lasts the whole 2 hours and finishes in a fashion fitting with the mindset of the players in the League. On the very last turn, Josh casts Exsanguinate for enough to kill only Toddâ€”giving Todd the point for being the first one out, which was enough to tie him with me for tops at the table. There was nothing in it for Josh since the kill didn’t catch him up (and there are no compiled League standings this time), so he did it just to even out things.

In round 2, Nate (a definite Gets-the-Format-Guy) asked me to play Kresh since he’d read about it but never played against it in any of our games. Nate has Zedruu the Greathearted; Josh is again at my table, and Wayne has Vorosh, the Hunter.

Nate’s fast start of land, Sol Ring, Fellwar Stone gets undone several turns in by a board wipe, although I’ve had the chance (and need) to cast Kresh three times before that happens. It’s again a friendly-but-no-pulled-punches game. Wayne gets a little threatening with Zombie Infestation and Slithermuse and gets killed for it by Josh about an hour in.

Josh then gets Painful Quandary and Wound Reflection going, not to mention No Mercy to keep creatures off his back. He’s at 56, but I think I might be able to kill him with my 16/16 Hamletback Goliath, since Stalking Vengeance and Kresh are on the battlefield as well: attack for 16, No Mercy kills it, dealing 16 more, buffing up Kresh for a repeat of the same move.

Unfortunately for me, he drops Mystifying Maze, wrecking that whole plan. Nate tries to help by stealing the Maze, but Josh follows that up with setting him to 10 with Sorin Markov (which kills him at end of turn with Wound Reflection). I pull no answers and die a few minutes before time expires. Nate is a little miffed with the Sorin/Wound Reflection kill (I’ll admit that it is kind of anti-climactic to an otherwise good back-and-forth game), and I suspect that he’ll remember Josh for a while. Finishing tied at each table, I get my picks from the binder, taking Bloodlord of Vaasgoth and Syphon Mind, which I don’t seem to have a foil of.

I’m not sure if I’ll get to it in the next week, but I haven’t forgotten promising Amber (of the cool Elder Dragon Lord playmat) that I’d build the “Your Tears Sustain Me” deck. It will be Grixis colors, so if you have ideas on how I might Embrace that Chaos, to include who to command such an army, ship them.