Lotus Cobra, Lotus Cobra, wherefore art thou Lotus Cobra?
Deny thy set, refuse thy block
Or if thou wilt not, be but my sworn love
And I’ll no longer be a Level 45 Battlemage
Our story began innocently enough. We met on a warm spring day in April at my local shop through a friend, Patrick Chapin, who introduced us after an exhaustive search for a pinch hitter in my RUG deck. We hit off after only a few games, and I knew I had found my trump. Technology was shared, and Brad Nelson, Cobra, and I had a great time in a Magic Online Championship.
Sometime later, I had the opportunity to meet up with even more friends and took a trip to San Juan for the Pro Tour. I gave Cobra a ring, and we all met there and danced all week (though Cobra spent the most time with Josh Utter-Leyton and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa). After that, the group split up, and it was just me and Cobra. We saw each other constantly via MODO, with best buds Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Misty Rainforest, and Scalding Tarn always at our side providing us with the magic we needed to keep going. Finally, we decided to see each other in person and take a trip to Worlds in Chiba, Japan.
Our performance was simply grand, and the whole world witnessed our combined might at Grand Prix Dallas soon after (I still can’t believe Jace and Preordain were two-timing us!). All good things must end, and the event schedule told us that our time left was short. We pledged that we would make the most of what we had left. US Nationals and Grand Prix Pittsburg would be our last tournaments together, and we would go out with a bang.
Then our whole world was shattered, when Jace’s mom, WotC, dragged him back home kicking and screaming in the middle of playtesting, leaving Cobra and I to explain to the crew in tears that our star player was gone forever. Everyone disbanded after that, but Cobra and I remembered our pledge and stuck together, determined to figure out a plan for US Nationals.
Cobra and I tried to get that old fire back, even calling up old flames Oracle of Mul Daya and Avenger of Zendikar for some talks around the monitor glow, reminiscing about all the good times we had together. Some sparks were had, but we could both tell it just wasn’t working out. The possibility of breaking up with Cobra before it was too late for both of us came up more than once and put a huge damper on our relationship.
Halfheartedly browsing decklists at 2 am with a can of Arizona Energy drink in my hand, my addled brain filtered through the chaff to see a familiar pattern emerge from a decklist by some guy named Olivier Ruel. Preordain, a 2/1 green two-drop, three colors, Misty Rainforest, Acidic Slime, Titans… I had seen this type of deck before! Quickly, I scrolled to the bottom to see who their vanguard was and saw… Birthing Pod.
Of course! Why had I not thought of this earlier!? Four mana, a permanent providing immense card advantage and selection and nearly impossible to remove. All the signs had been staring me in the face the whole time, and I had let a little thing like Phyrexian mana get in the way of a winning combination. Patrick Chapin was also looking for a decent team, and with his help, we rounded the whole group up for our run to the top. Patrick got ninth at Nationals, and with little time before Pro Tour Philadelphia, we both ran it back to top 4 and top 16 performances in Pittsburgh.
This past week was spent on Magic Online Standard Dailies, reliving just a few more sleepless nights in the world of one-month-delayed-from-paper-Magic before Cobra moves to Extended, too far away for me to pursue a long-distance relationship. Teary eyed, I desleeved Lotus Cobra for what would most likely be the last time and remembered all the good times we had together. Nostalgia overwhelmed me, and I resolved to do whatever it took to find a partner to replace the one I had lost. Scanning Innistrad for a cost of two and green, a single card rose above the rest. Only one fit the bill, and I gave it a go to see if I could get that same mojo going.
I rolled up to Kessig Wolf Run, where Mayor lived, to find his home damaged and the front door in pieces on the front lawn. Waving a greeting to the Village Ironsmith on the way in, Mayor and I discussed a possible joint venture into Standard. The mayor has some locals that he wants to get in on the deal, so I reluctantly came to a gathering the next day to find:
Creatures (19)
Lands (24)
Spells (13)
+4 Reckless Waif | Merciless Predator [Not yet in the database –LL]
Sadly, it did not take long to show the problems with the local help. Drawing cards, finishers, and attacking were all things I was well versed in, but this bunch looked like it could only attack. Grim Lavamancer couldn’t get anything done, no matter how many Gitaxian Probes I bought him. Reckless Waif and Mayor were just sitting around waiting for something to happen, and Hero of Oxid Ridge was whining about not getting through enough. Stromkirk Noble wasn’t even a Human! Crestfallen that this new group was just not what I was looking for, I stepped outside to think about what else to do.
After wandering for a bit, I saw a sign that read:
Avacyn’s going away party for Lotus Cobra, sponsored by Tomoya Fujimoto
Brushing a tear from my eye, I moved closer to inquire about the party. Underneath the sign, an Avacyn Pilgrim was preaching to a Leonin Arbiter about something or other. The Leonin Arbiter had the strangest T-Shirt on that said Will Ghost Quarter on the front and For Strip Mines on the back; he walked away in obvious disgust from the Pilgrim when I neared.
Asking about the party’s location led into an extended talk about how much he worked for the benefits of humans and that the Mayor of Avabruck and he went way back. The nice man gave me directions to Gavony Township, and I decided to give Mayor a call to see if he wanted to go to the bash. Apparently the Mayor had disbanded he R/G group shortly after I left, complaining that he was being treated like an Adaptive Automaton and that he was better than that. The two of us went to honor Cobra one last time.
We arrived to find the place filled to the brim with Humans, which Mayor got on with quite well.
Creatures (26)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 2 Mirran Crusader
- 4 Hero of Bladehold
- 3 Blade Splicer
- 4 Skinshifter
- 1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
- 1 Mentor of the Meek
- 2 Fiend Hunter
- 1 Champion of the Parish
- 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (24)
Spells (6)
+2 Garruk Relentless | Garruk, the Veil-Cursed
Champion of the Parish seemed a little out of place, persistently pestering the Mayor about his dream of one day being a Wild Nacatl. I wasn’t buying it, and it looked like the Mayor didn’t either. Everyone seemed to be getting along swimmingly, even though Blade Splicer and Mirran Crusader gave each other dirty looks all night. When Gideon came to talk to the Mayor about being Human and Garruk spoke for hours about Wolves, I knew it was time for me to go.
This seemed like the best place for Mayor of Avabruck, but not me. Something was missing; I just couldn’t pinpoint what. Bidding everyone a fond farewell and good luck in Standard, I started the long, winding journey back to square one. What could replace Lotus Cobra in my heart of hearts? After about twenty turns of walking, it hit me like a Vision from Beyond. It wasn’t Lotus Cobra’s greenness, its small stature, or even its mana producing abilities that I was so attracted to.
It was POWER. The feeling you get when you untap with a card, that there is just no way you’ll lose. Titans, planeswalkers, and Lotus Cobra all shared this quality.
Did Innistrad have a card with the power I sought, craved, needed?
Google tells me that Patrick Chapin says there is.
Gerry Thompson seems to have incredible luck with women, so I asked him to use his contacts to set up a meeting with Liliana at Seachrome Coast (his favorite land). At a distance, I could see Patrick Chapin description was spot on. Card advantage, removal, endgame ultimate, the complete package. She even had hot tattoos on her face! Mental missteps were avoided as my greetings were formed in my mind, but the planeswalker started before I could.
“Hi! I am Liliana of the Veil; I hear you deal in finishers. I brought my BFF Snapcaster Mage with me; I hope you don’t mind!”
POOF
A mage dressed all in blue with glasses suddenly appeared and bowed. Silently cursing Gerry for not warning me, we talked about our plans for Standard domination. It turned out Snapcaster Mage had some pretty revolutionary ideas on recycling that could prove quite useful, as Liliana was a well-known litterer. Their synergy, and more importantly, their POWER, would shape the future of Standard for years to come. All they needed was someone to close out games quickly and efficiently.
Addicted, all I wanted was MORE Liliana and Snapcaster, in my brews. Deck editor to the rescue, I searched for creatures that cost six or more. Rune-Scarred Demon? Too slow. Sphinx of Uthuun? Closer with Snapcaster synergy, but still no cigar. Consecrated Sphinx? Doom Blade-able. Grave Titan? Ugh. Giving up, I went to close the program when I saw:
Fortunately Sun Titan was on Facebook, and I checked his profile to see if he had any plans for Standard. In big bold print I saw:
In a relationship with Phantasmal Image
I sent a message that we should talk. He was adamant that Phantasmal Image be included in any plans, which was agreed upon. Maybe Image could pick up some good habits from Snapcaster Mage.
All the players were together for an all-star team, but something was still missing. Sun Titan costing six meant there was a gap at turns four and five that Snapcaster was hard pressed to hold on his own. Something would need to bridge the gap or Sunny D would be too late. Thinking there was no point in losing sleep, I decided to go to bed and think on it more in the morning. It being a day that I planned on sleeping in, my phone was turned off before drifting off to sleep…
Awareness returns in some sort of Isolated Chapel. Feeling the need to go downstairs, I enter the Drowned Catacomb and use Forbidden Alchemy to make a Doom Blade. Hearing a sound behind me, I Go for the Throat a shadow. Dismembering it takes quite a bit of time. I have to go out back to the Nephalia Drownyard to bury the remains. Just as I finish the deed, I hear laughter and turn around to see a Phantasmal Image. Spooked, I go through the Unburial Rites and retrieve the remains, where I am horrified to discover it is a Sun Titan! Running away from site, I arrive back at a Glacial Fortress, to see myself in a bed on the first tier.
I woke up with a start. Everything was coming together as the dream’s twisted pieces fell back into my consciousness. This was the power I sought. Bleary eyed, I turned on my phone to tell Liliana the good news, when I noticed four missed calls.
“Let’s all meet up tonight at your place in Darkslick Shores; I got a plan to take over the World.”
Creatures (9)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (22)
Mana Leak, Despise, Duress, Day of Judgment, additional Drownyards filled my minds with possibilities, but that would await a later planning stage.
“By the way, do you know a guy named Kothophed? He called me four times last night.”
Liliana replied, “I’ll take care of it.”
No one can fight the tide forever.
DarkestMage