Welcome back to Magic Puzzles. Before I throw this week’s challenge at you, let me tell you about the unique gift that I got for my most recent birthday. Imagine being able to take a piano lesson from Mozart, or perhaps being given Wushu instructions by Jet Li. The gift I received was in the same vein, but perhaps not so mainstream. The person I took a lesson from is both a world champion and a Guinness World Record holder. The man was Dr. Reverend David Adamovich, and his talent is knife throwing! Believe me when I tell you that learning from The Great Throwdini (his stage name) was one of the most awesome experiences in my life. So in honor of that, this week’s puzzles will be all about knives.
Solution to last week’s puzzle.
This puzzle was very well received, somewhat to my surprise. I’ll make sure to revisit this type of puzzle in the future. Some pretty creative (and weird) answers were submitted in addition to the ones I intended, though they were pretty much all a stretch. I decided to award one point to any non-expected solution. Note that even though a couple people scored fifteen points, fourteen is still a perfect score for prize contention, meaning nine people are still in the running.
Mind Rot (2 points): The first letter of each sentence in the first two paragraphs.
Mire Boa (2 points): The first letter of each word in the first sentence.
Taiga (3 points): Take the incorrect letter from each of the 5 misspelled words gives Taiga.
Addle (3 points): The number to letter encryption of the five bolded numbers.
Darkblast (4 points): The first letter of each word in the last sentence, reversed.
Current Scores
ahandsumguy — 15
Remus — 15
Erf — 14
Gabrosin — 14
IceOnGrass — 14
LoneGoat — 14
massive — 14
noctifer — 14
TheOneEye — 14
carrolln — 8
lord atog — 8
RobRoy — 8
PeteBDawg — 6
wchaug — 6
Vyolynce — 4
cdman79 — 3
dataspot — 1
Le1hargy — 1
This Week’s Puzzle (10 points total)
Contest 4, Week 2 of 5.
Difficulty: 1/5
Remember: do NOT post solutions to the forums. PM me (jefftill) the answers. To be scored, solutions are due Monday at midnight.
You decided to play a casual game against your favorite opponent, Bad Beat Phil. You each brought your newest theme decks to the table. As luck would have it, the decks selected form somewhat of a natural enemy: blades versus shields. Can you, as the wielder of the blades, beat back Phil’s defenses and win the game this turn? It is your first main phase.
You (1 life):
In Play:
2 Island
3 Plains
7 Mountain
3 Swamp
Blade Sliver (equipped with Rakdos Riteknife, which has one counter on it)
Blade of the Sixth Pride
Deftblade Elite
Ebonblade Reaper
Leonin Bladetrap
Hand:
Bladewing the Risen
Flowstone Blade
Kitsune Dawnblade
Mistblade Shinobi
Viashino Bladescout
Your Graveyard:
Bladewing’s Thrall
Rain of Blades
Tarox Bladewing
Phil (1 life):
In Play:
2 Plains
1 Taiga
Haazda Shield Mate
Order of the White Shield (equipped with Pariah’s Shield)
Shield Bearer (enchanted with Briar Shield)
Shield Dancer (enchanted with Floating Shield, naming Green)
Shield of the Ages
3 Shield Sphere
Hand:
Boros Fury Shield (which Phil will NOT play during the declare attackers step, and he will only use to save himself from what would be lethal damage)
Good luck, and enjoy the pictures below!
My First Attempt at Throwing a Knife
My Aim Got Better as the Day Went On
A LOT Better
Being On Stage During the Act Was Also Pretty Exciting