Bonjour! Welcome to this week’s entry into the continuing catalogue of articles dedicated to casual-ness. I hope you have been enjoying your week!
Sometimes I get a little writer’s block. I had two hours to kill this morning and I figured I would use it to write my next article, and then I couldn’t come up with anything to write about. I decided to check out my laptop, because about 3-4 years ago, I jotted down some article ideas in a word document there. I found it to see what articles I once wanted to do, and there were five great articles there. Unfortunately, all five were already done. However, I came across three cards that operate together as the nucleus of a deck idea, that I had never touched. Well, that sounds like karma, so I thought expounding on it might be a really keen idea, so I’ll build a deck around it, and then talk more at length about last week’s article. Specifically, I’ll talk more about the awesomeness of White in casual and multiplayer Magic.
Here is what my article said: “Holy Nimbus, Lynx with Totem.”
Do you see the deck idea? Maybe not. Here is what I saw.
In Magic, there have been a handful of cards that have been printed with activated abilities that can be triggered by opponents. Going all the way back to Arabian Nights with Ifh-Biff Efreet, this has been so. Some of those cards everyone will want to activate, like Squallmonger. Others will only want one person to activate them, like Zerapa Minotaur. Zerapa Minotaur is a perfect example of this sort of card. It’s normally a 3/3 first strike for 22R, but your opponent can pay two mana to remove first strike from it.
There are some other cards that have this ability. Mercenaries, from Ice Age, is a good example. It has been Oracled to an activated ability. Of course, Mercenaries sucks because it’s a Hill Giant with a disadvantage, and rare to boot. Ugh. Rares like that hurt my eyes.
Another example are the vertical “Flailing” cycle in Masques. Flailing Ogre, Flailing Soldier, and Flailing Manticore all can be pumped by colorless mana, but your opponent can reduce their size by using colorless mana as well. Flailing Solider would be great otherwise, as a one drop 2/2.
The Monger cycle from Masques are another example. I’ve already mentioned Squallmonger, but Warmonger, Wishmonger, Sailmonger and Scandalmonger all can be activated by anyone.
Okay, so you’ve got the warm-up, now here’s the pitch. There are a few cards that prevent your opponent or everyone from activating abilities. One of them, by the way, is NOT the recently printed Linvala, Keeper of Silence. She only shuts down activated abilities by creatures your opponent plays, not your own. Anyway, this is where things start to get interesting. If you shut down your opponent’s ability to play these cards, suddenly, there is a lot of power here.
My note originally referred to Cursed Totem, a two-mana artifact that shuts down all creature activated abilities. It only stops creature abilities, and shuts down activated abilities by everyone, even you. Damping Matrix would include artifacts, but still shutdown yourself. You could Pithing Needle your own card, I suppose. Suppression Field would slow people down in using your abilities but not shut them down totally. You could Voidstone Gargoyle your card.
But basically, Damping Matrix and Cursed Totem are where it’s at. Because of this, cards like the Mongers won’t have value, because no one will be able to activate
What I want to do today is build a few decks around the Cursed Totem-ish cards and creatures like Zerapa Minotaur.
Creatures (18)
- 2 Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
- 4 Glittering Lynx
- 4 Glittering Lion
- 4 Knight of the Holy Nimbus
- 4 Voidstone Gargoyle
Lands (26)
Spells (16)
This deck uses the Glittering kitties and Knight of the Holy Nimbus plus Cursed Totem/Damping Matrix in order to have a bunch of creatures out that will not take damage. That’s great in and of itself, because by adding Cho-Manno, I can seriously have creatures that will survive damage and combat.
In typical Abe fashion, I add some Earthquake style effects to keep our dudes alive while also sweeping opposing ground critters. I seem to regularly be playing Red/White decks that rock Light of Sanction or Mark of Asylum or Pro Red creatures or whatever. Well, this time it’s this cute little combo.
Damping Matrix is better in this deck because it might hassle opposing artifacts, but it costs more mana so I added just two. You might want to drop down to just four of the Totem/Matrix cards and then add Privileged Position, in order to really protect your dudes and artifacts.
Voidstone Gargoyle can swing in the air for serious damage, turn off anything that is annoying you from Carrionette to whatever else, shut off a Glittering Lion from being used by your opponent, and generally acts as backup for your guys, an Earthquake immune flyer and another beater.
I added Lightning Bolt, but the more I look at it, I’m not sure it just shouldn’t be Swords to Plowshares or something similar. Orim’s Thunder is the default removal spell for Red/White decks, because it is just that awesome. Play something if you want too, but it rocks.
More on White
I talked last week about how White can do things other colors do, like remove graveyards (Stonecloaker) or kill creatures (Swords to Plowshares) or Disenchant (Umm….Disenchant) or gain life or Fog or Giant Growth or… etc. Really, the only things mono-White can’t do are deal damage (who cares), bounce (barring jank like Excommunicate), counter spells (but that may be changing), destroy a target land instead of all lands, and discard. Everything else, White has. Other colors have serious weaknesses that they have to shore up by adding another color or else they can be exploited. But White? Oh no, not White.
In that article I talk a lot about some of the hits of the color in casual and multiplayer, from Akroma the First to Return to Dust. What I want to point out this week is that I didn’t even scratch the surface of White’s awesomeness. Take the above deck, for example. In my articles, you see me talk about Cho-Manno or Commander Eesha or the new Wall of Omens or Eternal Dragon and whatnot, but what about Voidstone Gargoyle? Nope. I just haven’t had enough space, and yet here is someone who freakin’ rocks. Do you need to shut down any card at all? And you aren’t playing Black for Cranial Extraction? Would you like to essentially make Cranial Extraction a 3/3 flyer for one more mana against a lot of cards?
This thing is awesome. It’s way more than a Meddling Mage. You can’t activate it, so no trickses with anything from Sensei’s Divining Top to Skullclamp to Cursed Scroll to Nantuko Shade to Ajani Goldmane. You also can’t activate it elsewhere, so no dealing with jank like activated abilities in the hand, graveyard or even the library if they make one.
You can certainly see how there are times when it’s just a Phantom Monster Meddling Mage, since nothing with activated abilities is around to shut down. However, even as a Phantom Monster Meddling Mage — isn’t it still really good?
Creatures like Spirit of the Hearth, Beloved Chaplain, Mother of Runes, Soul Warden and Auriok Champion, Temple Acolyte, and Stonehewer Giant.
Let’s take a look at just cards printed recently. Feudkiller’s Verdict is awesome —gain ten life and almost always make a 5/5. Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile can clear out blockers or attackers when you aren’t even in combat. Her ability to influence the board is massive. Twilight Shepherd can save your team and serve for a lot of damage in the air.
Look at stuff like Austere Command and Scourglass and Martial Coup and Hallowed Burial and Planar Cleansing. That is awesome stuff that can be used to abuse and destroy. It’s more than just simple Wraths.
This is the color of Mirror Entity, Indomitable Ancients, and Reveillark. You have Transcendent Master and Luminarch Ascension. You are getting amazing power in just the last few sets. From Lorwyn on, White has had the best cards ever printed, like Baneslayer Angel, Path to Exile, Archon of Justice, World Queller, Wall of Reverence, Wall of Omens, Elite Vanguard, Deathless Angel, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Ajani Goldmane, Emeria Angel, Guardian Seraph, Honor of the Pure, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Spectral Procession, Nomads’ Assembly, Ranger of Eos, Loam Lion, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Crib Swap, and Mass Calcify.
That list of cards is just the White cards I didn’t mention above. Those are tons of amazing and powerful cards for casual and multiplayer. Add in all of the cards I talk about, like Mirror Entity and Spirit of the Hearth and Stonehewer Giant and you have a list that would take forever.
And that’s just since Lorwyn. That does not include Yosei and Eternal Dragon, or Dawn Elemental, or even Akroma. Time Spiral block has tools like Aven Mindcensor and Seht’s Tiger and that above mentioned Voidstone Gargoyle and Dust Elemental.
Ever since the first set there have been very powerful White spells and creatures. Serra Angel was one of the best from the set, and you had Wrath of God and Armageddon and let’s not forget Balance, plus Swords to Plowshares and Savannah Lions. Then we saw cards like Land Tax and Moat. White was just very powerful all along for casual play and multiplayer, and it always has been. Every time they print a new Day of Judgment, they make White better in formats where you play the cards you own. The kitchen table is just such a format.
Whether we are talking about Serra Avatar or Abeyance, Academy Rector or Replenish, Enlightened Tutor or Orim’s Chant, Humility or Exalted Angel, Test of Endurance or Worship — White has had the power and the tools for a very long time.
Let’s not forget that while talking about the power of White’s control, it also can be a very powerful aggro. I included cards like Honor of the Pure and Elite Vanguard in my above lists, but White can be a very powerful aggressive color — one of the best.
Anyway, I just wanted to talk more at length. I could seriously grab all of the good cards of White, and create like a ten part series of articles talking about each of them at length. White has also gotten significantly more stuff in the last year.
I don’t have a favorite color or anything, so it’s not like I have a horse in the race.
Anyway, let’s just build a quick EDH deck for mono-White around a card which I really like:
1 Lieutenant Kirtar
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Akroma’s Vengeance
1 Planar Cleansing
1 Rout
1 Martial Coup
1 Austere Command
1 Hallowed Burial
1 Mass Calcify
1 Wall of Omens
1 Kor Cartographer
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Magus of the Disk
1 Eternal Dragon
1 Decree of Justice
1 Exalted Angel
1 Pristine Angel
1 Deathless Angel
1 Baneslayer Angel
1 Commander Eesha
1 Dawn Elemental
1 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Spirit of the Hearth
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Feudkiller’s Verdict
1 Serra Avatar
1 World Queller
1 Ajani Goldmane
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Blinding Angel
1 Archon of Justice
1 Blazing Archon
1 Twilight Shepherd
1 Cauldron of Souls
1 Emeria Angel
1 Transcendent Master
1 Guardian Seraph
1 Mother of Runes
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Wing Shards
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Path to Exile
1 Crib Swap
1 Oblation
1 Iona’s Judgment
1 Return to Dust
1 Resurrection
1 Breath of Life
1 Karmic Guide
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Stonecloaker
1 Prismatic Strands
1 Seht’s Tiger
1 Memory Jar
1 Radiant’s Judgment
1 Akroma’s Blessing
1 Shelter
1 Kor Haven
1 Maze of Ith
1 Windbrisk Heights
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Drifting Meadow
1 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Quicksand
1 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tectonic Edge
28 Plains
And there we are, a rocking mono-color deck that gives you tons options, with creatures from the one-drop all the way up to nine! I hope you enjoy it!
Until later…