{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. They contain, at most, eight to twelve rares. 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 Wildfire, Llanowar Wastes, or Birds of Paradise. The decks are also tested by the author, who isn’t very good at playing Magic. His playtest partners, however, are excellent. 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.}
Campaign Promise #2 – I Will Go Budget and Rogue
As I wrote last week, I want one of the two Fan Favorite slots on the Magic Invitational ballot this year. The vote isn’t for a few more weeks, but I’m already out stumping for my name to be the one that you pick. I’ve already promised more cheesecake if elected. Today, I promise that, if you vote me to the 2006 Magic Invitational, I will play a budget, rogue deck for the portion that allows me to bring my own deck. I’ll be keepin’ it real for ya. Word.
The Part about Cards
A week or two ago, I got a very thought-provoking e-mail from John Beltman. In part, it read:
At the top of your articles you always have the disclaimer saying you use cheap cards or staples such as X or Y. I was wondering what cards you considered staples. Assume a beginning player starting their collection. What cards should I be trying to get hold of?
Excellent idea for a column, I must say. I guess I presumed – which you should never do since it makes a “pre” out of “u” and “me” – that you’d know what a staple card was. It’s kinda like art or what a Supreme Court Justice once said about p0rn. I can’t really define it, but I know it when I see it. Lemme see! Lemme see!
Of course, the point of this particular column is to tell you what they are so that you’ll know them when you see them. First, though, I need to set some parameters here.
The Commons and Uncommons
As it says above, From Right Field is a column for people who want to play on a budget but want to play in local tourneys or maybe even some Pro Tour Qualifiers and Grand Prix Trials. I don’t necessarily espouse “peasant” or “pauper” decks, though. (FYI, if you ever see me online, my personal definition of peasant is commons and uncommons only, while pauper is the next step down – commons only.) In fact, step one in setting up your collection for tourney play is to make sure that you have the commons and uncommons you need. The best way to do that is simply to buy so-called “deck sets,” which are sets of four of each common and uncommon from a particular set. You can usually get the big sets such as Ninth Edition, Champions of Kamigawa, or Ravnica, for sixty to eighty dollars while smaller sets like Betrayers or Guildpact are cheaper.
The great thing about doing it this way is that you have exactly what you need as far as the commons and uncommons go. I know that’s stating the obvious, but have you seen what people can get for four Sakura-Tribe Elders when someone needs them at a tournament? I actually saw someone trade a Grave-Shell Scarab to get four Elders a few weeks ago. Think about the uncommons in Ravnica, for example. You’d get four Putrefy, four Lightning Helix, four Watchwolf, and some others that you don’t know you might need later. (Trophy Hunter picks off Meloku tokens real nice-like.)
That, of course, may be the key. For us rogue deckbuilders, well, we’re not exactly sure what we need when things start. Sure, we all wanted Flametongue Kavu, Fire/Ice, Skullclamp, Hand of Cruelty, and Putrefy. Other than Nell McAndrew (who, sadly, does not play Magic), that is. Sometimes, though, it’s not until later that we see the power of certain sideboard cards, like Exile into Darkness. Other times, we just want to see what kind of deck we can build around a card. Who wants to go tracking down four of some common or uncommon? Just get ‘em all to start with, and be done with it.
“But, Romeo, you buy boxes of cards, too. How do you justify that as a ‘budget’ guy?”
I can only say this: sometimes, I’m not very good with sticking to my budget.
I’ll admit it. I like opening packs of cards. I collected baseball cards as a kid. Enough, in fact, to buy myself a new Acura Interga when I sold them all in 1987. A couple of years ago, a local place was blowing out WCW Nitro cards at ten bucks a box. I bought three, because they sold them all to me for only twenty bucks. Three for the price of two? What a bargain!
My Name is Chris, and I am a Pack Addict.
Not for every set, though. Ravnica? Yup. Too much goodness that I can spread around to other folks when I get extras. On the flip side, I have only bought six packs of Guildpact so far. So far…
We’re not talking about, me, though. We’re talking about new players.
“Geez, Romeo, that’s still a lot of money.”
Compared to buying a Carcassonne, sure. Or compared to any game where you can buy one box and be done with it. That’s part of the genius/evil behind Magic.
Think about this. If you never lose an Uno card, never have one torn to bits, how many Uno sets will you ever have to buy? One. Or Uno, if you prefer. So, how can they make money on the thing? Different versions. I have Uno. The Simpsons Uno. Family Guy Uno (“It’s freakin’ sweet!”). That’s all that they can do with that game.
Magic has planned obsolescence built in. So, we’re going to be spending money if we’re planning on playing in tourneys. We’re just trying to spend as little as we can.
Some might argue that you should just buy exactly what you need. That’s not actually too efficient when it comes to commons and uncommons. Just take this example. It’s nine months before Kamigawa Block rotates out of Standard, but I’ve finally decided to play a deck with Sensei’s Divining Top. If I’m willing to use slightly played versions from Star City (and those are fine with me; Ben & Co. do a great job grading these things hard), that’ll be sixteen bucks. Plus, I need them shipped by the tournament on Friday night. So, twenty-two bucks. That’s in addition to the several dollars I spent the Spring before getting those four Sakura-Tribe Elders shipped.
Buy ‘em in bulk right from the start, and be done with it. Worst case scenario: you can play peasant and pauper decks without spending another penny. Except for, you know, tourney entrance fees.
The Staple Rares
These are the rares that, in my not so humble opinion, you need to be saving your money to get if you plan on playing in tournaments, based, of course, on the colors you like to play. Some people would say that any good rare that’s in a top tier deck is a staple that you should be trying to get. It’s hard to argue with that. Meloku is good, period. The thing is, though, if you’re not the type of player who wants to play the kind of deliberate control deck that best utilizes Meloku, it’s not good for you. Keiga, on the other hand, is a big, Blue beater. You may not agree with any of the cards on this list. You may disagree with all of them, or hate that a certain one was left off. Voice your opinion in the forums so that the folks who need to know can decide if they think they should really consider a certain rare a staple. As usual, this is just one man’s opinion. That man, however, is Chris Romeo.
Ninth Edition Staple Rares
Ninth Edition – White
Glorious Anthem – If you play White Weenie, you can have a darn good deck even if this is the only rare in it. Possibly the first White rare beatdown players should get.
Savannah Lions – Savannah Lions is the classic White weenie one-drop. If you like playing White Weenie, you need four of these.
Wrath of God – If you’re playing Control with White, you need this. If you have a slower deck that needs to rid itself of the faster weenies, you need this. If you play White, you need this.
Honorable Mentions: Worship; Serra Angel; Blinding Angel; Ivory Mask – Against certain decks, if you cast Worship, they simply have to concede. It didn’t make the staples for me only because it is not the end-the-game card that some folks think. You can still lose with this on your side. Life loss isn’t stopped by Worship. It’s also useless if the other guy plays Wrath first. Blinding Angel is the forgotten Angel. A lot of folks completely ignored that she was again in the base set. Control or beatdown, she rocks: making the other guy skip combat is a mighty fine thang. Serra Angel’s only real downside is that others have eclipsed her. Sure, she has Vigilance. For six mana instead of her five, though, you get Kokusho, who not only kills Serra in combat but also does all sorts of other silly tricks. Finally, while Ivory Mask looks like a sideboard-only card, it can easily be in the maindeck almost every time. Most decks are targeting you in some way, whether it’s with burn or discard or even Gifts Ungiven. I’d even suggest, if your design can handle it, two in any maindeck with the other two in the sideboard.
Ninth Edition – Blue
Mahamoti Djinn – It’s fat. It flies. It’s a 5/6 for six mana.
Temporal Adept – Permanently keeping the other guy’s stuff of the board is an excellent, Blue strategy.
Sorry. That’s it. Blue’s staples seem to be loaded in the commons (Mana Leak, Boomerang) and uncommons (Rewind, Confiscate, Thieving Magpie), not the rares.
Honorable Mention: Mind Bend; Clone; Evacuation – There aren’t a lot of Honorable Mentions for Blue because a lot of the Blue rares are too deck-specific. Battle of Wits, for example, is only good in a deck that is built to win with BoW. Cowardice, one of my all-time favorite Blue cards, has to be in a deck with a lot of (preferably permanent-based) targeting. Mind Bend is incredibly good, but only as a sideboard card or in a deck designed to twist color words. The guy to use when you can’t afford the cards that the other guy can, Clone also has great synergy with lots of creatures with comes-into-play (a.k.a. CIP) abilities. Cloning a Nekrataal, for instance, usually means another dead enemy critter. Leaves-play abilities can also be used. Cloning an opponent’s Kokusho will negate the ten point life swing. In the right circumstance, you can use it to clear the way for the win. Evacuation is the Blue “Wrath,” of a sorts. It doesn’t actually kill the stuff, but it does make your opponent start over. However, it’s probably not too good if you’re also playing with a lot of creatures.
Ninth Edition – Black
Hypnotic Specter – I hate the random effect, but I love a flying discard machine. While Abyssal Specter was legal, I rode it to many a victory. Although it’s a tad more fragile, this costs less mana and has a potentially more devastating effect
Grave Pact – The thing that makes Grave Pact so devastating is that you don’t have to build your deck around ways to get your guys to die. Sure, having sacrifice abilities in your deck makes Grave Pact even more powerful, but your guys are going to die anyway. So, this is either great or awesome.
Mortivore – He’s huge. He gets bigger. He regenerates. Trifecta!
Nightmare – At first glance, she seems pretty bland. Look more closely, though. She gets bigger and bigger as your game goes on, and she flies. She’s a finisher in a Mono-Black Control deck or a Mono-Black Beats deck.
Persecute – “Sometimes, you face an opponent that needs to have their entire hand ripped from them so that you can do what needs to be done. Those times call for Persecute.” <Cue theme music>
Phyrexian Arena – Drawing cards is good. Doing it over and over is better.
Honorable Mentions: Royal Assassin; Mindslicer; Lord of the Undead; Hell’s Caretaker – Not many guys are going to attack with an active Royal Assassin on board. Why would they if it’s gonna die? Mindslicer is a real deterrent to combat if the other guy wants to keep his hand. Of course, if you want to keep yours, too, he shouldn’t be on board at all. The Lord of the Undead is just begging for a Zombie deck to be built, and he will always be good, at least for fun, because Magic will always have Zombies. Hell’s Caretaker is probably the one closest to being on the staple side of the fence. The synergy with Grave Pact is too tight to ignore.
Ninth Edition – Red
Goblin King – He’s the king. He’s a Goblin. He will always be good.
Magnivore – Mortivore’s less resilient cousin, this guy is still too big for most decks to deal with. That Haste cuts down on the window of opportunity, too.
Shard Phoenix – Recurring creatures are great. Recurring mass damage is awesome. So, what do you call a recurring creature that also packs mass damage?
Shivan Dragon – Large, Firebreathing fliers are great finishers. (This might also be a good time to grab four Two-Headed Dragons. If they ever get reprinted, you already have them. If not, they’re fun at the kitchen table.)
Wildfire – Possibly the best Red control spell ever . . . or at least since I’ve been playing. The fact that this was in Urza’s Saga, reprinted in Seventh Edition, and is back again in Ninth Edition tells me that R&D thinks this is perfectly costed. I agree, even though I hate sitting across from it.
Honorable Mentions: Relentless Assault; Rathi Dragon; Flowstone Slide; Blood Moon – Relentless Assault keeps getting reprinted for good reason: it can be such a devastating effect. Sadly, it always seems to be overshadowed by whatever the current block’s Assault clone is. (See Godo, Bandit Warlord.) Rathi Dragon has never been reprinted before it was in Ninth Edition, but a 5/5 flier for four mana, even if you have to sacrifice lands, is very good. As for Flowstone Slide, right until I submitted this, it was on the list of staples. Red has never had a way to kill creatures with Protection from Red using just one card. Red mages could do multi-card tricks like cast Flaring Pain and then Earthquake. This is a card that does it all by itself. No damage. No targets. Just dead. Finally, there’s Blood Moon. As long as Wizards keeps giving people really good nonbasic lands, you’ll want this to hose them. It might even end up being a maindeck card someday.
Ninth Edition – Green
Early Harvest – You normally think of this in boring combo decks, but Early Harvest is also good for simply giving you lots of mana. Crush of Wurms with Flashback on turn 5, anyone?
Elvish Champion – As long as there are Elves, their Champion will be a staple.
Might of Oaks – There is no better trick in my book than casting this on the only 1/1 that an opponent, who happens to be at eight life let, through. “GG”
Seedborn Muse – Seedborn Muse is yet another versatile creature. She is great in G/W Control decks like Ghazi-Glare, but she’s also a house in beatdown decks. I mean, who wants to see a bunch of Green beef coming at them without being able to swing back because that Green beef is still there to block?
Verdant Force – Like Rathi Dragon, this is the first base-set reprint for this huge beastie. Grab four of this, and he’ll make you happy for years to come.
Honorable Mentions: Biorhythm; Elvish Piper; Silklash Spider; Verduran Enchantress – Biorhythm is a killer against Control decks [at eight mana? – Craig]. Elvish Piper allows you to drop creatures into play that you shouldn’t otherwise be able to get on board. Too bad he’s so fragile. Silklash Spider would be showing up in more Green sideboards, thanks to Meloku, if Arashi wasn’t in print. The Enchantress will always tempt us to make an enchantment-based deck. If only there were more parts…
Ninth Edition – Artifacts
Loxodon Warhammer – Armadillo Cloak was a killer when Invasion was legal, but it had the same problem of all Auras: two-for-one kill if the other guy nailed the critter with the Cloak. This piece of Equipment costs more, but any color can use it. Besides, there’s no two-for-one with this.
Coat of Arms – As long as you want to play Tribal of any sort, this is your card.
Defense Grid – There will always be Control decks. You must punish them.
Howling Mine – Have I mentioned that card drawing is good? Even if it helps your opponent. Just make sure it helps you more.
Honorable Mentions: Disrupting Scepter; Aladdin’s Ring; Millstone; Jester’s Cap – I mention the Scepter and Millstone for two reasons. For one, continuous, uncounterable discard and deck milling is good. Also, Jeff Wiles would kill me if I didn’t mention these. Aladdin’s Ring has to be in here because uncounterable, colorless damage will always be good. Jester’s Cap can often completely cripple an opposing deck’s strategy, a la Cranial Extraction.
Ninth Edition – Lands
All of the Pain Lands: Yes, they’re still expensive, but they’re the best way in Standard to help you make a two-color deck. You really want to make two-color decks, too. It’s not often that a single color can dominate at any one time (Blue notwithstanding). Each color has holes in it, and that’s a good thing for the health of the game. If you like playing Blue and Green, for example, you really should invest in Yavimaya Coasts. The same goes for the other nine two-color combinations.
Having said that, you only need to get the lands that support the colors you play. If you’re never going to play Red and White, why spend money on Forge[/author]“]Battlefield [author name="Forge"]Forges[/author]? Really, that goes for all of the cards on these lists. For example, if you’re never going to play Black, no need to ever get Phyrexian Arena. On the flip side, if you love mixing Red and Green, you should invest in four Karplusan Forests.
Picking Ninth Edition
The Ninth Edition cards were actually pretty easy to pick. In fact, there were almost too many. As many of us have said, WotC did a great job. Ninth is the best Core set in a long time, maybe ever [no arguments here. – Craig]. I looked for cards that had been reprinted before and/or ones that I thought might continue to be reprinted and that had been used in winning decks. Sure, a card might skip a set (like Wildfire did), but these all seem to come back or look to me like ones that will (like Shard Phoenix). A perfect example is the pain lands. I was just positive that they’d all come back for Eighth Edition. Boy, was I wrong. Instead, Wizards decided to reprint the Invasion CIP-tapped lands. So, what did I do? I kept my pain lands in my “Non-Basic Lands” box (yes, I really have one of those) knowing that I’d either be using them for lots of fun, kitchen-table games, using them for Legacy and Extended games, or using them when the got reprinted the next time. Fast forward to last Summer, all ten pain lands got reprinted. Out of the Non-Basic Lands box came the ten pain lands and in went the Invasion CIP-tapped lands.
As far as Ninth Edition goes, I’d try my darnedest to get four of each of the cards on that list if I was planning on being a tourney player. Barring a weird banning of some sort, all of the cards on the above list will be Standard-legal for another year and a half. In addition, I can see each and every one of them getting reprinted in Tenth Edition. That’s another two years beyond that. Anything that good that will be legal until Fall of 2009 has to be in your four-of box.
Kamigawa Block Staple Rares
I decided against picking any Kamigawa Block rares to add to the Staples list. That wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, I was through with the Black list (and had an extra thousand words in here!) when it hit me: this might be pointless. I say that for a couple of reasons. First, Kamigawa Block will only be Standard legal for eight more months. Chances are that, if you saw some rares that you liked in that block, you would have already gotten them. Besides, you still have to get the Ravnica rares you need. Plus Guildpact just came out. Of course, you also need to pick up Dissension in a few months. How can you afford all of that?
Second and more important, though, Kamigawa Block was just chock full of Legendary permanents and Arcane instants and sorceries. As I understand Wizards’ reprint policy – and lord knows, I could be wrong about it; it seems that we always are with that thing – neither the Legends nor the Arcane spells would ever be reprinted in another set. If they never get reprinted, that would mean that their useful life in Standard, which is the focus of this column, ends in about eight months.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get any Kamigawa Block rares that you don’t already have. If you can see yourself building, say, a Blue and Black deck in the next eight months, there’s no reason not to have Kokusho, Keiga, and Meloku. Just be aware that you only have a few months to use them in Standard. Of course, there’s always Extended. Am I right?
All of this, of course, is not to say that Wizards won’t or can’t reprint any Kamigawa Block rares. Final Judgment isn’t Arcane. Neither are Time Stop, Twincast, or Promise of Bunrei. These are all rares that I would consider Staples. Final Judgment, for example, is Wrath of God with the additional ability of simply removing the creatures from the game. Given how many creatures today have nasty abilities that trigger when they hit the graveyard, keeping them out of the ‘yard is worth an additional two mana. The Promise is one of those cards that I find hard to believe no one has broken. How hard is it to make sure one of your creatures dies? Time Stop is one awesome Blue spell. It even “counters” uncounterable spells. Don’t think it can be done? Ask the Judge if casting Time Stop with Obliterate on the stack stops the Obliterate. Of course, Twincast is just yummy, giving you the ability to copy your own good spells or the other guy’s. Try Twincast on your opponent’s Cranial Extraction sometime. It’s a gas.
Ravnica Staple Rares
“Gosh, I guess if you’re not going to mention Kamigawa Block rares, you won’t be picking any Ravnica stuff. Most of that good stuff is multi-colored.”
This is completely different. Ravnica has over a year and a half to be Standard legal. Moreover, I could envision Wizards reprinting multi-colored cards in Tenth Edition. They’ve hinted at it before. Heck, they brought back Protection from Colors and Trample in Ninth Edition. Even if they don’t, we have a long time to use Ravnica in Standard.
Ravnica – White
Hour of Reckoning – Maybe I’m just a sucker for mass removal. Maybe this really is going to be a huge spell. Either way, I think White mages need four of these. If you plan on playing a White/X deck that makes a lot of tokens, it’s definitely a Staple.
Hunted Lammasu – This is the only one of the Hunted Critters that can actually keep all of the tokens it generates at bay. As a 5/5 flier for four mana, it’s a card any White mage needs in his or her collection.
Ravnica – Blue
Dream Leash – I know how annoying it is to have your stuff stolen. Man, I hate that Eminent Domain deck. Having said that, I still feel that this is the mono-Blue card that you need from Ravnica.
Honorable Mentions: Copy Enchantment; Followed Footsteps – These two were close to being on the Staples list. Copy Enchantment may end up being a powerhouse in Standard. It looks like people will be playing with more enchantments over the next couple of years. If so, get four Copy Enchantments. Followed Footsteps is the kind of card that bubbles under the surface and then breaks out. JMS has already shown how powerful it can be with his Muted Footsteps deck. It’s just this close to being a card that makes it into a Tier 1 deck.
Ravnica – Black
Dark Confidant – It draws cards permanently, and, unlike the case with Phyrexian Arena, Black has a way to easily deal with him if the life loss starts to get to you. Black can just kill it.
Necroplasm – This guy can be a weenie deck’s worst nightmare. If nothing else, at the end of the turn you cast it, all tokens go boom. In this environment, that is golden.
Honorable Mentions: Empty the Catacombs; Helldozer – How can returning all of the creature cards in your graveyard to your hand be bad? Sure, it’s symmetrical. So what? Doesn’t Black have ways of removing stuff from an opponent’s graveyard? I’m thinking Nezumi Graverobber and Shred Memory are pretty good, especially if you have a way (*cough* Stinkweed Imp *cough*) to get more cards in your ‘yard than the other guy. Helldozer, meanwhile, is just nasty. As a 6/5 for six mana, he’s a good creature. With an ability to kill lands and untap when those lands are nonbasic, he’s just super, thanks for asking. (Note: You may want to double check, but I think a lot of decks are running nonbasic lands today.)
Ravnica – Red
Char – As much as I hate that a one-for-one burn spell is a rare, it’s one that you should own. It’s very efficient, even though I still say it should have been uncommon.
Flame Fusillade – It could be that I’m just infatuated with this because of the success I’ve had with it in Limited. I don’t think so, though. This can be a finisher. It can wipe out the weenies on the other side of the board. It can deal the final damage when the game is stalled. And all you have to do is tap all of those lands.
Hunted Dragon – It’s a 6/6 flier with Haste for five mana. So what if it gives the other guy some 2/2 ground pounders? Can’t Red deal with that? I hear Pyroclasm’s good against 2/2 dudes.
Ravnica – Green
Birds of Paradise – If you have to ask…
Chord of Calling – You can get any creature and put it into play. With instant timing. Any. Creature. Instantly.
Golgari Grave-Troll – He’s like Mortivore, but he keeps coming back.
Life from the Loam – There are going to be many, many uses for this (yes, beyond st00pid combos) for you not to have four.
Primordial Sage – Green plays out creatures. This gives you a card when you do that. Is that Some Good or what?
Vinelasher Kudzu – Green also plays lands. That makes this guy bigger. It’s not a conditional thing, like with Scion of the Wild. Even if all of the lands get blowed up good, the Kudzu keeps his counters. Grrrrrr . . . .
Ravnica – Multi-Colored
Before I get to the multi-colored Ravnica rares, I feel that I have to say this. Yes, the Ravnica gold cards are plentiful and good. A lot of them, though, seem to be so narrowly designed that it’s hard to call them staples. So, just because a card isn’t on this list doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s good. It just means that I don’t think it’s one that every player who likes those colors should grab a set of four.
Glare of Subdual – This looks like a pure control card, but, if you think about it, it’s also very aggressive. You can use this along with freshly summoned (ohnohedinnit!) creatures to clear the way for your big, bad beasties. That seems pretty offensive to me.
Gleancrawler – When you have a 6/6 Trampler for six mana, that’s awfully good. When that creature can go into a mono-Green deck, a mono-Black deck, or a G/B deck, that’s great. When it can bring back your dead dudes to your hand, it’s awesome, and you need four of them.
Grave-Shell Scarab – He Dredges. He draws. He’s a must-have.
Loxodon Hierarch – He’s not better than Ravenous Baloth. So what? Arguing about that is like saying that Marisa Miller isn’t as hot as Adriana Lima. You’re not going wrong if you get either one. You want four. Of the Hierarch, I mean. You won’t even get one Miller or Lima. Sorry.
Shadow of a Doubt – I think this is pretty awesome. Get it? It seemed like I might have just a “shadow of a doubt” about this card. Really, though, I don’t. Even the most budget-conscious decks are searching themselves today. (See Sakura-Tribe Elder, Kodama’s Reach, Rampant Growth, Farseek, Civic Wayfinder, Kate Lawler.) Telling them that they can’t is harsh for them. This card is so much card advantage that I can’t measure it. It’s huge, though.
Tolsimir Wolfblood – Card advantage, at its most basic, is when you get more than a one-for-one trade with a card. This guy makes other creatures. One card equals two creatures. That’s good. When the token he pumps out is a 4/4, that’s beatdown good times. (Yeah, I know that it says it’s a 2/2, but, as long as T.W.’s in your house, the Voja token’s a 4/4.)
Vulturous Zombie – Again, a card like Glare of Subdual that looks like it should just be in one type of deck but that works in almost anything that supports the colors. Your opponent will have cards going to the graveyard. Like when you kill the stuff. This guy will get out of hand quickly, and it flies.
Honorable Mention: Bloodbond March; Razia, Boros Archangel; Circu, Dimir Lobotomist – Bloodbond March is going to take a bit of work to become a must-use card because it’s symmetrical. I just don’t think it’s going to be that hard what with Nezumi Graverobber and Shred Memory in Black. Razia is simply a monster to deal with. An excellent finisher in R/W beatdown decks. Circu has that combo feeling what with decking your opponent and all. Still, the card is removed from the game.
Ravnica – Artifacts
Plague Boiler – This block’s Oblivion Stone, you need this when the colors you play have a hole in the kind of permanents it can deal with.
Sunforger – R/W decks never had it so good.
Honorable Mention: Crown of Convergence – Even if you aren’t playing G/W, this is Glorious Anthem. Sometimes.
Ravnica – Lands
Overgrown Tomb; Sacred Foundry; Temple Garden; Watery Grave – They’re expensive because they’re worth it. If you have the money and like the colors, you need four of that land. If you don’t have the money, save for them.
Guildpact Staples
I’m not going to touch this since I just did a set review. Suffice it to say, you need the Shock lands for any of the sets of colors you play. That should go without saying. So, I shouldn’t have said it. I’m a bad, bad boy.
The Stapliest Staples
“Romeo, that’s really a lot of cards. Shouldn’t staples be fewer in number?”
I love to cook. One thing you learn quickly in cooking is what staples you should always have on hand. That way you can always whip up a meal of some sort. In addition, having those staples on hand means that, with just a few bucks spent on some fresh stuff as you head home from work (fish, beef, the young lady scanning your meat), you can make something impressive. That list of staples, though, is pretty darn long. There are about eighteen spices, milk, eggs (or eggbeaters for me), sugar, flour, olive oil, and the list goes on and on.
Making decks is like cooking. You always want some basics on hand just in case.
You’re right, though. That’s a lot of cards. I truly believe that you want to get four of each of them. Whittling it down, though, the short list – the cards you should get first – would look like this:
The Top Twenty
Birds of Paradise
Coat of Arms
Dark Confidant
Elvish Champion (if you like playing Elf decks)
Glare of Subdual
Gleancrawler
Glorious Anthem
Goblin King (if you like playing Goblin decks)
Golgari Grave-Troll
Grave-Shell Scarab
Hunted Lammasu
Lands – Pain or Shock, for the colors you like to play
Loxodon Hierarch
Loxodon Warhammer
Mortivore
Phyrexian Arena
Seedborn Muse
Shard Phoenix
Wildfire
Wrath of God
The Final Caveat
I can’t stress enough that it’s only a staple if it’s a card in a color that you’d play. If someone was allergic to tomatoes, I’d never suggest they have a can of diced tomatoes in their pantry, even though it’s a staple in mine. Likewise, if you know that you’re never, ever gonna play White, there’s no need for you to have Wrath of God. The real question is: are you absolutely, positively sure that you’re never going to play that color?
As usual, you’ve been a great audience. Happy Valentine’s Day. I luv you!
Chris Romeo
CBRomeo-at-Travelers-dot-com