{From Right Field is a column for Magic players on a budget or players who don’t want to play netdecks. The decks are designed to let the budget-conscious player be competitive in local, Saturday tournaments. They are not decks that will qualify a player for The Pro Tour. As such, the decks written about in this column are, almost by necessity, rogue decks. The author tries to limit the number of non-land rares as a way to limit the cost of the decks. When they do contain rares, those cards will either be cheap rares or staples of which new players should be trying to collect a set of four, such as Dark Confidant, Birds of Paradise, or Wrath of God. The decks are also tested by the author, who isn’t very good at playing Magic. He will never claim that a deck has an 85% winning percentage against the entire field. He will also let you know when the decks are just plain lousy. Readers should never consider these decks "set in stone" or "done." If you think you can change some cards to make them better, well, you probably can, and the author encourages you to do so.}
Prologue
As you might have figured out, the past two or three weeks haven’t been very good ones for me. I didn’t/couldn’t go to Regionals. That was due to a combination of financial and family problems as well as not wanting to squeeze myself into, over, and around people to play. In fact, the second so outweighed the first that I’m not sure I would have played even if I hadn’t had the first set of problems. From what I hear from two of the three people with whom I was going to go, I was actually the lucky one. (The third was Evan Erwin, who narrowly missed Top 8. Of course, he had a good time.)
The other thing that happened was a recurrence of my vertigo. It happens a couple of times per year. It doesn’t normally last long, usually one day or overnight, and can be solved by a good, long night’s sleep. Once every couple of years, though, it kicks my wide Italian ass. When it does that, I’m down for a long nine count. This time, it was over two weeks.
And, my gawd, what a boring freakin’ disease. Obviously, I can’t drive when I have it. You’d be safer on the road outside of Wrigley Field with a bunch of bleacher bums who left after the seventh inning than beside me on the road when I’m like that. So, I’m stuck at home. Sweetness, right? Wrong. The attendant motion sickness, to which I’m sensitive even on good days, is horrendous. That means that I can’t watch movies or TV shows that have much action or wacky graphics because I get easily nauseated. I tried watching the All Fair and Even News Channel, but they have this news crawl at the bottom of the screen. I found myself falling over sideways as it moved from right to left. (Heh. I wonder if they get that.) I can’t read because the back-and-forth motion of my eyes sets me to whirling like I was an acrobat in Cirque du Soleil. Yup, that means that writing this column became a chore that I did in one-minute spurts. Do you know how agonizingly long it takes to write something like this when you have to stop after every two sentences? I suffer for my art and for you, dear reader.
You’re welcome.
Interestingly, there were two things that I could do on my computer, though, without getting too sick. I could play FreeCell, and I could play Magic Online. Go figure. Apparently, there’s not as much on-screen motion involved in MTGO as I thought. So, I spent most of my waking hours playing Magic and listening to music or the news. "But hey! Enough of my yakkin’. Whadaya say? Let’s boogie!"
Dr. Romeo’s First Three-Set Time Spiral Block Constructed Deck
As a writer whose mandate is to come up with cheap decks, I spend a lot – if not most – of my ponderin’ time asking the question “Why not?” That’s exactly how this column’s deck came about. For eight months now, I’ve asked myself, “why isn’t anyone playing with Phantom Wurm?” The answer I usually got was “Because Spectral Force is better.” As you might expect, that didn’t satisfy me. First of all, it’s not an either-or proposition. They can both go into the same deck. The Force costs five mana, and the Wurm costs six. That’s a nice mana curve. Moreover, “better” is relative. How do you mean “better“ exactly? One-on-one in combat? Sure, the Force Tramples over four damage. However, a Wurm and some random 2/X Elf blocking your opponent’s Force means that your opponent loses a Force while you only lose that Elf. There’s also this trick with another creature… well, I’ll tell you about it later.
The bottom line was that the “Force is better” argument wasn’t holding water with me. I could use both, and I would. Why? Well, why not? Heck, they’re even both members of the same genus: one’s a Phantom; the other’s Spectral. They “go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong.”
Okay, the real “why” is because, even in Time Spiral Block, you can power out a third-turn Force followed by a fourth-turn Wurm, and that’s Helen Wheels for your opponent to deal with. For those who like roadmaps, it would look something like this:
Turn 1: Pendelhaven or Forest, Suspend Search for Tomorrow
Turn 2: Forest, Edge of Autumn for a land or Wall of Roots
Turn 3: Play Suspended SfT, play a land, cast Spectral Force
Turn 4: Swing for 8 with the Force, play a land, drop Phantom Wurm
This can then turn into the silly fifth turn of playing a Scryb Ranger, untapping Spectral Force, sending the Force and the Wurm at your opponent.
The Wurm wasn’t the sole inspiration, though. I also wanted to play Spirit Loop. One of the mantras that we’ve been hearing a lot of for the past twenty months is that “the four life that the Loxodon Hierarch gains for you can often put the game out of the opponent’s reach.” Well, if that’s true, then how about the six from Phantom Wurm plus Spirit Loop, followed by another five or six (depending on if the Wurm got blocked or not). Spirit Loop on Spectral Force? Please, thanks, can I have another? Bonus ability: Spirit Loop comes back to your hand when it goes from play to the graveyard. Not when the creature it Enchants goes bye bye, but anytime the Loop does. So, even if the critter it’s on it removed from the game, you get the Loop back.
Don’t Believe the Hype
Sadly, the Spirit Loops didn’t make the final cut. They were there until I got a suggestion from a guy who goes by the handle of Sam de Cat. Sam had noticed something about some of the other cards in the deck. When I mentioned that I wished I could play them over and over, he said “Then why not add Stormfront Riders?” Yeah. What a great idea. Except that they were a tad expensive. I often wanted to bring a guy back and recast it that turn. Enter Stonecloaker.
Over and Over and Over Again
If you can quote Bryan Adams, well, you must have something going for you, huh?
So, what are these guys that I might want to play over and over? First off, obviously, is Phantom Wurm. When he’s about to lose his last counter, making him a 2/0 and, thus, dead, I might want to cast Stonecloaker and save his huge, Green behind.
Then, there’s Riftsweeper. She was a late addition to the deck, but she’s become the MVP. Honestly, I was just looking for another 2/X body to put out there to keep the game in hand until the big boys showed up. She ended up proving that her talent could not be measured by her size. Here’s what she does. She hoses up about seventy percent of the strategies in this Block. You have an Aeon Chronicler drawing you cards? Not anymore. Oooooo, Greater Gargadon coming in a few turns? Sorry. I’d love to let him hit, but her ability doesn’t say “may.” I gotta make someone shuffle something into their library, and your Gargadon’s the winner. “Is that a Suspended Lotus Bloom, or are you just happy to see me?” asks Riftsweeper. Obviously, they aren’t happy to see her, though.
Possibly the best thing she does, though, is help you win the Spectral Force race. From my completely unscientific studies, I’ve found that the two most popular first-turn plays in this Block are dropping a Terramorphic Expanse and Suspending a Search for Tomorrow. Those are far and away the number one turn 1 plays. Riftsweeper allows this deck to Suspend its own Search while taking away the other guy’s on turn 2. Sweet like honey in your tea.
Finally, I can bring back Thornscape Battlemage. Initially, he was in the deck because two Green direct damage is hot. When I decided to add White for Spirit Loop (and then Stonecloaker), it just meant that I could kill of Prismatic Lenses, Lockets of Yesterday, and Akroma’s Memorials. Plus, there’s that trick I was telling you about.
I will often swing my 6/4 Wurm into my opponent knowing that he’s going to block with his Spectral Force. Really, why wouldn’t he? Take six damage versus stop the guy cold. Most people stop the Wurm unless they’re still at twenty (or more). So, the Force has taken six. You then drop the Battlemage with the Red kicker and off the Spectral Force.
Opponent: Down one Spectral Force
You: Lost no cards, have an extra creature on board, and are down a single +1/+1 counter
Nice.
What’s Not in the Box?
Before I show you the decklist, I’m going to mention some cards that aren’t in here, cards that a lot of folks said that they thought should be in here or that people just expect to find in G/w/r Block deck.
Thornweald Archer: Thorny was in here from the beginning but lost his spot when I realized that he just sat there doing nothing. Okay, it wasn’t “nothing” as in “not a thing.” He kept some beef handcuffed, that’s for sure. But that simply meant that the beef was back to block. It also meant that one point of damage cleared the way for that beef to come through. Instead, he got cut for another Sam de Cat suggestion: Disintegrate.
Gaea’s Anthem: It’s really cute to have a Phantom Wurm that never dies to damage. On the other hand, I found it be more impressive to cast another beater or throw a lot of damage at someone. If I was running a Green/X weenie deck in Block, I’d have this in there. I’m not. So, it’s not.
Harmonize: This was the toughest one to explain to anyone, and, frankly, I couldn’t do a good job of it. I only know this. No matter what I took out for Harmonize, I almost never wish that I drew a Harmonize when I did. In fact, the only time I ever really wanted Harmonize was in a long game when I had plenty of mana and I drew more land. Of course, I wouldn’t be taking land out for this guy. So, I’m not sure how that would help. Anyway, before you just pooh-pooh this deck simply because Harmonize isn’t in here, play the deck a few games. Then, take out whatever you want for Harmonize. I think you’ll find the same thing that I did.
Edge of Autumn: This is another card that was in the deck until one of the last versions. As with Harmonize, I didn’t want it every time I drew it. In fact, I never wanted it late, which is interesting because you’d think that Cycling ability would be great later in the game. Again, I pretty much wanted anything else when I drew it. On turns 2 or 3, though, it was great. Of course, on turns 2 or 3, Wall of Roots is as good, and the Wall blocks too.
Sulfur Elemental: Of the cards not in this deck, the Sulfur Elemental is the one for which I wish I could find a slot. It was in the deck during the middle set of versions. It was in the Scryb Ranger’s slot. However, I just couldn’t deny the powerful synergy between the Ranger and, well, pretty much any other creature.
Living in a Box, Living in a Cardboard Box
So, what exactly is in this great deck? Check it out:
Creatures (28)
- 4 Wall of Roots
- 4 Thornscape Battlemage
- 4 Phantom Wurm
- 4 Scryb Ranger
- 4 Spectral Force
- 4 Stonecloaker
- 4 Riftsweeper
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
Sideboard
You should easily be able to build this deck from the ground up for less than $35, depending on whether you’re willing to buy “slightly played” rares. As I write this SP-condition Spectral Forces sell on this here site here for five bucks each. Deserts also go for five dollars apiece. While they aren’t required for the deck to play well, those Deserts handle some pretty common creatures. The only other rares are the Timeshifted reprints, all of which were originally printed at common or uncommon. In other words, this is indeed a cheap deck.
The sideboard is, as always, a work in progress. Hurricane – excuse me – Squall Line had been in the Temporal Isolation slot. I love wiping out a line of fliers all at once, especially when (a) Squall Line can end the game because it damages players, too, and (b) neither of the Akromas have Protection from Green. Temporal Isolation, though, does this neat trick, though, where it prevents Bogardan Hellkite from dealing its comes-into-play damage. I like that better.
Acid-Moss is my anti-Urza’s Factory card. I can’t think of anything more entertaining than that. When I see the Factory, I figure the game is gonna get out of hand in favor of the other guy at some point. In come the Acid-Mosses.
Krosan Grip should be self-explanatory. Mr. Grip?
“Thank you. Thank you very much for this opportunity to explain myself. I kill artifacts and, more importantly in this deck, Enchantments. And your opponent can’t stop me. Nanny nanny boo boo. Chris?”
Finally, we have a card that is completely overlooked, and I don’t know why: Hail Storm. Got a rush of Goblin tokens, Saproling tokens, Elves, or Slivers coming at you? Deal them two Green damage. Yeah, I know. You’re gonna lose your Scryb Rangers, and your Phantom Wurms will each lose a counter. Put on your big girl panties, and deal with it. Oh, and don’t forget Pendelhaven. It can save that Scryb Ranger from the Hail Storm. Again, you’re welcome.
Tips and Tricks
First and foremost, don’t play the Riftsweeper! Stop! No! Just don’t do it! Aw, crud. Too late.
Look, the Riftsweeper might be a Grizzly Bear Plus, but it’s the Plus that matters most. Unless you absolutely know that your opponent won’t be Suspending anything later in the game, you want to save the Riftsweeper for putting back into the library something that they were hoping would resolve. Given all of the Suspend spells in this Block, I’d hold that Riftsweeper pretty much all of the time. Remember those two most-common first-turn plays? Terramorphic Expanse and Search for Tomorrow? Guess what number three is. Go on. Guess. You know it. I know that you know it.
Very good! That’s right: Suspending a Greater Gargadon. Riftsweeper just loves ripping that guy out of the aether. In fact, true story time, my first two matches testing this I won when the other guy conceded on turn 2 after I cast Riftsweeper and took a Suspended Gargadon. Yummy.
Don’t be afraid of waiting a turn to cast the Thornscape Battlemage with both kickers. Prismatic Lens is going to be pretty common in this Block. Using the Battlemage to off two of your opponent’s permanents while leaving behind a 2/2 is, um, twice as good as using it to off only one of your opponent’s permanents. Sorry, I’m still kinda woozy, and my similes and metaphors are kinda lacking.
Save the Disintegrates for either ending the game or removing a very nasty creature from said game. This deck gets a lot of mana, and I’ve had enough to use Disintegrate to kill a Spectral Force more than once. Don’t just pop the thing off because you’re anxious and really want to cast a spell. The thing can swing the entire game. Be smart with it.
If your opponent isn’t mucking with his graveyard, sometimes it’s best to use Stonecloaker’s ‘yard-hosing ability to remove something from your own graveyard. That way, if you simply must cast Riftsweeper, you don’t need to give your opponent a chance to draw something that the ‘Cloaker removed from the game. Instead, you actually help yourself. I often found myself removing a Disintegrate so that I could shuffle it back into my library.
Everybody Plays the Game
I want – nay, I need for you to know that the whole Scryb Ranger–Spectral Force mini-combo/synergy was not in the original version of the deck. It just ended up that way because, well, what’s better? This is a very crude example of Stephan Jay Gould’s (and Associates’) Theory of Convergence. Sometimes, so many different things end up looking so similar because that shape, that appendage, that organ, that whatever is the best end result of evolution, no matter what the starting point is. So, I apologize if you find this unoriginal, but it just works. Really well.
Of course, the Ranger works well with other creatures, too, specifically the Phantom Wurm. It’s such a nice trick to swing with the Wurm and then be able to block with him, too. Plus, there seems to be some sort of self-inflicted Jedi Mind Trick with the Scryb Ranger and Spectral Force. I noticed that when I had a tapped Force and mana up, people were wary of the Ranger coming out and untapping the Force. However, they had no problem swinging when the tapped fatty was a Phantom Wurm, even when I had mana up and cards in hand. Go figure.
This is an aggro deck, although someone will point to the Battlemage and the Disintegrates and call is aggro-control. Whatever you want to label it, it wants to swing. The Battlemages and Disintegrates just clear the way. Drop guys. Make damage. Save them with the Stonecloaker when you need to. Heck, you can even *gasp* drop the Stonecloaker at the end of an opponent’s turn in order to get some flying damage through. No. Really. You can. It’s not just for saving your guys! Really!
Sideboarding for Dummies (i.e. That Means Me)
As usual, change the sideboard as your metagame dictates. The online folks I’ve played against dictate this. Acid-Moss comes in to kill Urza’s Factories, and, yes, if you want to try a Factory or two in here on your own, I encourage it. I was going to, and simply ran out of time. Given the fact that I often had enough mana to Disintegrate a Spectral Force, making Factory tokens shouldn’t be a problem.
Krosan Grip came in almost exclusively against Wild Pair and the occasional Teferi’s Moat. Giggle if you want, but I saw. You’re going to see it. It’s too easy to get into play in this Block. Don’t worry about the Grip for anti-your-guy Auras like Temporal Isolation. Stonecloaker will take care of those.
As I said above, Hail Storm comes in against weenie swarms while Temporal Isolation is for those big nasty guys. Truly, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Greater Gargadon, and Bogardan Hellkites hate that thing.
What do you take out, though? Ugh. The worst part of my game. Typically, for the Hail Storms, I take out the Scryb Ranger. Hail Storm kills it if Pendelhaven isn’t online. Moreover, a swarm of seven hundred Saproling tokens doesn’t care about one more “surprise” Blocker from the Ranger.
When I need to bring in the Acid-Moss, it’s usually against decks that don’t have a lot of things for the Battlemage to off. So, as versatile as it is, the TSBM goes away for the Acid-Mosses.
Krosan Grip almost always came in for the Riftsweeper. The two decks most likely to play nasty non-Aura Enchantments didn’t show me many Suspended cards. That could end up being the wrong call in your game, though, so be careful.
Finally, the Temporal Isolation. This one was always a tough call for me. On the one hand, I don’t want to try to race Akromas and huge Draining Whelks and Hellkites and other Spectral Forces. So, I was tempted to take out the Forces or Wurms or some combination. However, Spectral Forces can beat all of those guys in combat. Riftsweeper? Maybe, but those decks often run Suspend cards. This is all to say that it’s an audible. You have to see what else they’re playing. If they have no weenies and no Prismatic Lenses, the Battlemage can go. Sometimes, you drop the Scryb Ranger.
Or you might have a completely different sideboard. In fact, you probably do, and it’s probably better than mine.
Even Cheaper Than Romeo
There’s only two things that I can suggest to make this cheaper and still have what Is essentially this deck. First, you can drop the Deserts for Urza’s Factories. Heck, you might want to try that anyway. I wouldn’t drop any other lands instead, though. This deck is fairly color intensive. It needs that Green, Red, and White mana. Drop the Spectral Force for something. Sulfur Elemental would be one idea. Other non-rare guys too look at in that slot are Havenwood Wurm, Imperiosaur, Ravaging Riftwurm, Tectonic Fiend, and, my favorite, Deadwood Treefolk. The Fiend and the Wurm are fairly expensive, mana-wise, but send the beats. The Imperiosaur and Riftwurm are very efficient. Don’t worry about the Vanishing on the Riftwurm. Stonecloaker can often save this guy for later recasting. Even if the ‘Cloaker doesn’t come along, they still have to deal with a 6/6 Wurm.
The Deadwood Treefolk is my favorite because of that Raise Dead effect. Well, that, and the fact that, unlike many of the Vanishing guys with leaves play triggered abilities, this one doesn’t trigger if-and-only-if he has no counters on him. Yup, just dying will bring someone back to your hand. So, will – I know you saw it coming, but you have to let me say it – bouncing him with Stonecloaker. While Spectral Force is the beef of choice in that slot, if you don’t even want to spend that much, drop in one of those others. My preference is Deadwood Treefolk.
As usual, you’ve been a great audience. As a public service announcement, I have to say that we are out of cards (for now) to send to troops overseas. The latest to contact me was a sailor on the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. Yup, that’s right, a young man on the same ship that my brother was on for five years. It is indeed a small world after all, innit?
Next week, Red and White make Pink. And, since Pink is the new Black, well, I hope you understand what I’m trying to say because I sure don’t.
Chris Romeo
FromRightField-at-Comcast-dot-net