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You CAN Play Type I #89: It’s Official – Roland Bode Broke The Metagame!

Certainly something was broken in Growing ‘Tog, and it cannot be denied that the sheer size of its men made so many decks unplayable. If restricting Gush is your solution, though, you have to justify it due to synergy with other cards since it just isn’t that powerful on its own. (The closest analogy is Frantic Search.) The problem, however, is that you have no other alternative except for Psychatog, unless you want to ban Fastbond, which is impossible because Tolarian Academy, Memory Jar and Yawgmoth’s Bargain would have to go first… And it may well be that restricting Gush still doesn’t stop the deck.

(Editor’s note: In an ideal world, this would have been up on Monday, when it was a blazingly-new issue. However, in an ideal world I would also be dead, since I would have taken my vacation. As such, Oscar would like you to know that although some of these thoughts have been said elsewhere in the meantime, he did have this ready on Sunday – The Ferrett)


D’Avanzo Is Still Alive And Still A Savage Miser

Congratulations to New York Neutral Ground’s Matt D’Avanzo for two recent achievements: First, he split a Mox Pearl and Beta Counterspell when the dust cleared after a Type I event a couple of weeks ago. Second, he just got nominated for my”Deck Title of the Century” citation, most probably stumping JP”Polluted” Meyer:


My-typeII-pile-beats-J.P.’s-type-II-pile.dec, Matt D’Avanzo, Winner, Neutral Ground Type I, May 24, 2003


Spells (26)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Time Walk

1 Fact or Fiction

4 Mana Leak

4 Mana Drain

4 Force of Will

2 Misdirection

2 Cunning Wish

4 Brainstorm

3 Swords to Plowshares


Creatures (8)

2 Gorilla Shaman

4 Ophidian

2 Goblin Trenches


Mana (24)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Emerald

1 Sol Ring

1 Library of Alexandria

1 Strip Mine

3 Wasteland

4 Polluted Delta

4 Tundra

4 Volcanic Island

2 Island


Sideboard (15)

1 Forbid

3 Red Elemental Blast

1 Blue Elemental Blast

2 Disenchant

1 Hurkyl’s Recall

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Light of Day

5 other cards


Apparently, someone is still alive and not lost to Dark Age of Camelot, though the latter may have undocumented side effects as the above list may imply.


Roland Bode Broke The Metagame

May 29 was a big day for Type I.


It was May 30 here in Manila, and it was the last day of my law internship. I took a walk to the nearby mall – one I don’t visit because of the distance from my house. The conversation was admittedly more interesting than the games.


I go Merchant Scroll for Ancestral Recall, and the guys watching go”Ooh” and”Aah” not because I just tutored for a card worth more than one of their decks. They applaud and go,”Hey, it’s the MVP card!”


(Mental note: Write to someone at Wizards about that curious Sideboard series. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be a walk down memory lane or some indirect promotion for the upcoming Type I Grand Prix. If it’s the former, then it’s wonderful and I enjoy it, but I was hoping for even a slight connection to 2003 competitive Type I. Personally, I was slightly disturbed when the choices for the next feature were Balance, Erhnam Djinn, and Icy Manipulator. Red/Green Erhnam Burn’Em, Erhnamgeddon {Erhnam Djinn + Armageddon} and Prison {Icy Manipulator + Winter Orb + Relic Barrier} were very memorable, but Maysonet Rack-Balance was the broken one. It’s probably just me being annoyed about some teenager’s first reaction to seeing an Ancestral now being comparisons to Giant Growth and Healing Salve. Well, I had an incredible laugh over the Misetings headline,”Ancestral Recall Good, Sideboard Reports.” /end rant)


I stopped rolling my eyes at the next line, though: Hey, Gush was just restricted in Type I.


Now, I just checked the net the previous evening, so I didn’t see anything. I checked my watch, and apparently, April had long since passed. So I confidently said everything short of,”R&D hasn’t been hit by a bus yet.”


Then I get home and found that e-league judge Benny Meyers a.k.a. Dancing J (from Chicago) e-mailed the link with the words,”Good job, buddy :P” Then, Stephen Menendian, a.k.a. Smmenen of the Paragons, was on AIM with the news.


It hit me like a ton of bricks: Roland Bode had officially broken the metagame.


The DCI just turned back the metagame clock by six months.


(Well, at least I’m happy since my article on Mind’s Desire, which was also restricted, came out on May 28. The decision to restrict the two cards was made roughly on the 27th, though, and I still haven’t confirmed which Type I players e-mailed R&D and successfully arm-twisted them.


(Also, it may have hit me like a ton of bricks because I’d met up with my co-intern, Joey, and the late night involved frozen margaritas. The amusing thing about this is that Steve Menendian and I played the Growing ‘Tog feature logs that day as a tribute to Roland Bode, at 2:30 a.m. Manila time and with me loaded with tequila. They should be up soon and should be very interesting.)


What Gush Can Do

Gush is effectively the engine of Growing ‘Tog, though I’ve written extensively on its capabilities and limitations in a past column.


To summarize, you lose one card in hand (-1 card), gain two (+1 net card), and lose two land drops (lost in the sense that you can only play one a turn, a fundamental limitation of the game). If you have no land in hand, you can replay a land and cut this loss to one land drop, and get a free mana out of the deal.


The drawback, however, is circumvented by cards like Fastbond and Exploration. This isn’t a new trick – it’s the staple of Turboland – but when Germany’s Roland Bode added Fastbond and Psychatog to a Type I Miracle Grow deck, we got games like:


00:53:22 – — Wompatog says: ”I am ready.”

00:53:22 – — Rakso says: ”Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war”

00:53:25 – Wompatog drew 7 cards.

00:53:45 – Rakso drew 7 cards.

00:53:48 – Rakso says:’go’


00:53:57 – It is now turn 1.

00:53:59 – Wompatog plays Polluted Delta.

00:54:00 – Wompatog buries Polluted Delta.

00:54:01 – Wompatog’s life is now 19. (-1)

00:54:05 – Wompatog moves Tropical Island from Wompatog’s library to tabletop.

00:54:07 – Tropical Island is tapped.

00:54:08 – Wompatog plays Fastbond.

00:54:11 – Rakso says:’hmmm’

00:54:13 – Rakso plays Force of Will.


00:54:14 – Rakso moves Shoreline Ranger from Rakso’s hand to Rakso’s removed from game pile.

00:54:15 – Rakso’s life is now 19. (-1)

00:54:17 – Wompatog moves Opt from Wompatog’s hand to Wompatog’s removed from game pile.

00:54:18 – Wompatog plays Force of Will.

00:54:20 – Wompatog’s life is now 14. (-1)

00:54:22 – Rakso says:’k’

00:54:23 – Wompatog plays Polluted Delta.

00:54:24 – Wompatog’s life is now 18. (-1)

00:54:25 – Wompatog buries Polluted Delta.

00:54:26 – Wompatog’s life is now 17. (-1)

00:54:28 – Wompatog moves Underground Sea from Wompatog’s library to tabletop.

00:54:30 – Wompatog plays Mox Jet.

00:54:30 – Underground Sea is tapped.

00:54:31 – Mox Jet is tapped.

00:54:31 – Wompatog plays Merchant Scroll.

00:54:32 – Rakso says:’k’

00:54:36 – Wompatog moves Ancestral Recall from tabletop to Wompatog’s hand.

00:54:39 – Wompatog moves Tropical Island from tabletop to Wompatog’s hand.

00:54:40 – Wompatog moves Underground Sea from tabletop to Wompatog’s hand.

00:54:40 – Wompatog plays Gush.

00:54:45 – Rakso says:’k’

00:54:47 – Wompatog drew 2 cards.

00:54:51 – Wompatog plays Underground Sea.

00:54:52 – Wompatog plays Tropical Island.

00:54:54 – Wompatog’s life is now 16. (-1)

00:54:54 – Wompatog’s life is now 15. (-1)

00:54:54 – Underground Sea is tapped.

00:54:55 – Wompatog plays Ancestral Recall.

00:55:18 – Wompatog drew 3 cards.

00:55:21 – Tropical Island is tapped.

00:55:26 – Wompatog says:’u floating’

00:55:28 – Wompatog moves Underground Sea from tabletop to Wompatog’s hand.

00:55:29 – Wompatog moves Tropical Island from tabletop to Wompatog’s hand.

00:55:29 – Wompatog plays Gush.

00:55:30 – Rakso says:’!’


00:55:36 – Wompatog drew 2 cards.

00:55:36 – Wompatog plays Underground Sea.

00:55:36 – Wompatog plays Volcanic Island.

00:55:36 – Wompatog’s life is now 13. (-1)

00:55:36 – Wompatog’s life is now 12. (-1)

00:55:38 – Underground Sea is tapped.

00:55:38 – Volcanic Island is tapped.

00:55:39 – Wompatog plays Psychatog.

00:55:43 – Rakso says:’k’

00:55:46 – Wompatog plays Underground Sea.

00:55:47 – Wompatog’s life is now 11. (-1)


Obviously, I played a land and lost the turn after (he cast Mystical Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will, if you must know). That was Stefan Iwasienko, a.k.a. Womprax of the Morphling.de crew; thanks for the beating!


Was Gush broken?

So the magic question: Is Roland Bode’s monstrosity broken?


Growing ‘Tog, Falk Bernhardt, Champion, May 11 Dülmen, from www.morphling.de


Creatures (7)

4 Quirion Dryad

3 Psychatog


Blue (27)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Time Walk

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Merchant Scroll

1 Fact or Fiction

4 Gush

4 Mana Drain

4 Force of Will

2 Misdirection

4 Brainstorm

4 Sleight of Hand


Black (3)

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 Yawgmoth’s Will


Green (2)

1 Fastbond

1 Regrowth


Red (2)

2 Fire / Ice


Mana (19)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Emerald

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Library of Alexandria

4 Polluted Delta

3 Tropical Island

4 Underground Sea

2 Volcanic Island


Sideboard (15)

1 Diabolic Edict

2 Duress

3 Flametongue Kavu

3 Naturalize

4 Pyroblast

2 Waterfront Bouncer


Gush isn’t an indefensible restriction target, but here’s the DCI’s brief, vague statement:


“Gush was one of the best card-drawing cards in the Standard format during its run; it should be no surprise that it has become one of the best card-drawing cards in Type 1. Gush’s alternative play cost often results in players gaining mana, in addition to the two cards drawn.” (Yes, since we don’t have as many tourneys to make bannings self-explanatory, elaboration would be appreciated.)


First off, you have to clarify that the first sentence is misleading. If you’re talking purely about card drawing, Gush isn’t exactly > Ancestral Recall. It’s one card net, and that’s it for the card advantage. The weightier part of the explanation is the second (of two) sentences, which is proven by the above log with Stefan. Growing ‘Tog can make Gush produce cards and mana to keep going in one turn, and that lets it beat down on aggro and combo out combo.


However, the short explanation doesn’t fully satisfy me. First of all, it’s synergy with a restricted card, and stretching the argument might lead you to cry out against Power Artifact (with Grim Monolith), for example. On the other hand, Fastbond is a one-mana spell, and Gush is perfectly good on its own, considering Fastbond was never used in Type I Miracle Grow decks – not by Patrick Chapin or anyone else.


Even if you accept the Fastbond/Gush synergy as more broken than every other combo involving some restricted spell, it still doesn’t solve my second reservation: Fastbond/Gush isn’t essential for winning.


That’s right; Growing ‘Tog doesn’t need to switch into combo mode to win, since it can outmuscle beatdown decks and disrupt all the others with its cheap counters while beating down at a more controlled pace.


Again, while the deck has four tutors, it’s hardly necessary to tutor for Fastbond every game. The basic plan is aggro-control, and it has all the tools to execute this. Gush provides a small reload for a land-light blue-based deck, which is what it does for Fish and Miracle Grow, and does well enough.


Restricting Gush, for me, is a decision that will surely prompt some people to ask whether Turboland, Fish, or Miracle Grow were broken, and it’s difficult to answer yes for any of the three.


The only change we had was Psychatog, and Gush has additional synergy here: 6.5 points of damage (1.5 each from the two land and two cards drawn, and another .5 from the Gush itself). That’s a third of the nineteen points needed to pump Mr. Teeth, and with a fetchland and two cantrips plus Berserk, that’s game. Certainly, the game with Stefan would have been less hopeless had anything but ‘Tog ended his first turn, and the combo kills involve ‘Tog, not Quirion Dryad.


Note that it’s easy enough to pump ‘Tog in Type I that a lot of decks have even dumped the Cunning Wish/Berserk finish.


Alternatives

Certainly something was broken in Growing ‘Tog, and it cannot be denied that the sheer size of its men made so many decks unplayable, especially aggro and combo. If restricting Gush is your solution, though, you have to justify it due to synergy with other cards since it just isn’t that powerful on its own. (The closest analogy is Frantic Search.)


The problem, however, is that you have no other alternative except for Psychatog, unless you want to ban Fastbond, which is impossible because Tolarian Academy, Memory Jar and Yawgmoth’s Bargain would have to go first. (And the analogy holds because banning Academy and unrestricting Frantic Search doesn’t sound so bad.)


Yes, it can be killed by a number of things such as Swords to Plowshares, Red Elemental Blast, and Diabolic Edict, but you note that few decks have these in enough quantity and the ability to protect them from Growing ‘Tog’s own counters. And yes it’s a creature, even though it’s really a combo card that combos with cards in hand and in the graveyard.


Restricting a creature, first of all, is unheard of, and that’s problematic from the start.


Now, if you disabuse yourself of the”It’s just a creature!” mindset, you still have problems because you’re still not sure the other deck types will become viable again.


First, you have to argue against the fact that Growing ‘Tog decks have been removing Psychatogs, with the German versions now running three, and some others going down to two. If you can get your cantrips and Gushes going, you can defend your creatures instead of running a couple more.


Second, there’s a ready alternative in the Illusionary Mask/Phyrexian Dreadnought combo, a colorless combo that would kill one turn slower and take up a few more slots, but still lethal. (This is a broken combo as well, but the number of Illusionary Masks in the world has made it a less noticeable one.)


Psychatog is the most powerful card individually, but restricting it might end up hurting the control Psychatog builds more, and it’s hard to tell.


Whether Gush was the right choice will be revealed in the performance of two decks come July: Growing ‘Tog without a combo mode and with alternate mid-game card draw such as Accumulated Knowledge, and the control Psychatog build developed by JP”Polluted” Meyer, nicknamed”Hulk Smash”:


Hulk Smash, JP”Polluted” Meyer, July 2003, test deck


Creatures (4)

4 Psychatog



Blue (28)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Time Walk

1 Gush

4 Accumulated Knowledge

3 Intuition

4 Brainstorm

2 Merchant Scroll

2 Cunning Wish



Black (2)

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Yawgmoth’s Will


Green (2)

2 Sylvan Library


Mana (24)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Emerald

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Pearl

1 Library of Alexandria

1 Strip Mine

4 Polluted Delta

3 Underground Sea

3 Tropical Island

5 Island

1 Swamp



Sideboard (15)

3 Duress

3 Back to Basics

2 Pernicious Deed/Hurkyl’s Recall

1 Mind Twist

1 Smother

1 Berserk

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Naturalize

1 Mana Short

1 Lim-Dul’s Vault


Growing ‘Tog, Stephen Menendian, July 2003, test deck


Creatures (6)

4 Quirion Dryad

2 Psychatog



Counters (12)

4 Mana Drain

4 Force of Will

4 Misdirection



Blue (18)

1 Ancestral Recall

1 Time Walk

2 Merchant Scroll

1 Gush

4 Accumulated Knowledge

4 Brainstorm

4 Sleight of Hand/Opt

1 Cunning Wish


Black (5)

3 Duress

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Yawgmoth’s Will


Green (1)

1 Regrowth


Mana (18)

1 Black Lotus

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Emerald

1 Library of Alexandria

4 Polluted Delta

1 Flooded Strand

4 Underground Sea

4 Tropical Island


Incidentally, the value of Gush as a good setup card for Psychatog is somewhat preserved by Merchant Scroll, or even Cunning Wish.


The Butcher’s Bill

In competitive terms, the metagame has more breathing room because decks from Sligh to Reap-Lace can be considered again. However, the casualty is apparently casual play, since most casual players will nevertheless follow the official Restricted list, or risk fights outside the smallest, closest playgroups.


The loudest outcry was heard on TheManaDrain and the StarCityGames Forums from longtime Beyond Dominia regular Mark Acheson a.k.a. Nevyn, who turned Extended Turboland into Type I TurboNevyn. Again, it’s hard to think that deck was broken.


Joining Turboland as collateral damage victims are other playable blue-based favorites, Fish, Miracle Grow, and Stasis. It would be sad, for example, to see Stasis have to go back to Alliances-era tech Howling Mine, which is why a lot of more casual players would have gladly voted to massacre Psychatog instead.


Again, we’ll have to see the post-July performance of the above two deck types before handing down a final verdict, and hopefully the Type I Grand Prix will have a solid attendance.


Perhaps the only sure thing here is that it’s great that Mind’s Desire was restricted. I’d already assembled a set for less than six bucks the day my article went up, and I decided to slap together a 1.5 legal deck to show around. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the deck with me last Friday, which is why I never got to play around with it before the restriction announcement!


If you want to amuse people, since they know it’s restricted and can’t complain at this point, here’s a budget build you can have fun with:


Agent Smith’s Desires, Oscar Tan, May 2003, Type I.5 legal

4 Mind’s Desire

4 High Tide

2 Turnabout

4 Merchant Scroll

3 Intuition

4 Accumulated Knowledge

3 Meditate

4 Impulse

3 Brainstorm

2 Brain Freeze

4 Force of Will

4 Sapphire Medallion

19 Island


Do forgive the fact that it was just built in five minutes and hardly playtested, but have fun. Ironically, it can work well enough without Mind’s Desire if it resolves a High Tide and then a Turnabout, but it’s a start. Cunning Wish isn’t even in there, and Force of Will can be replaced by whatever you have.


Incidentally, some people still insist that Mind’s Desire didn’t need to be restricted, or that we should’ve waited to see at the Type I Grand Prix. I said enough last week, but here’s a final word:


09:38:23 – — Scrub says: ”I am ready.”

09:38:26 – — Rakso says: ”Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war ||

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bdominia/files/ControlBible.zip”

09:38:30 – Rakso drew 7 cards.

09:38:35 – Scrub drew 7 cards.

09:38:37 – Rakso plays City of Brass.

09:38:40 – Mox Emerald is tapped.

09:38:41 – City of Brass is tapped.

09:38:42 – Rakso’s life is now 19. (-1)

09:38:45 – Rakso plays Mox Pearl.

09:38:45 – Mox Pearl is tapped.

09:38:46 – Rakso plays Impulse.

09:39:16 – Rakso creates new card: Spells Played This Turn.

09:39:16 – Rakso moves Spells Played This Turn from limbo to Rakso’s hand.

09:39:19 – Spells Played This Turn now has 2 counters. (+2)

09:39:28 – Rakso is looking through top 4 cards of library…

09:39:30 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:39:49 – Rakso plays Mox Emerald.

09:39:52 – Spells Played This Turn now has 3 counters. (+1)

09:39:53 – Rakso plays Mox Ruby.

09:39:55 – Spells Played This Turn now has 4 counters. (+1)

09:39:57 – Rakso plays Black Lotus.

09:39:59 – Spells Played This Turn now has 5 counters. (+1)

09:40:01 – Rakso buries Black Lotus.

09:40:04 – Rakso says:’UUU’

09:40:07 – Mox Emerald is tapped.

09:40:07 – Mox Ruby is tapped.

09:40:09 – Rakso says:’2UUU’

09:40:13 – Rakso plays Hurkyl’s Recall.

09:40:15 – Spells Played This Turn now has 6 counters. (+1)

09:40:19 – Rakso buries Hurkyl’s Recall.

09:40:20 – Rakso plays Mox Ruby.

09:40:22 – Spells Played This Turn now has 7 counters. (+1)

09:40:24 – Rakso plays Mox Emerald.

09:40:25 – Spells Played This Turn now has 8 counters. (+1)

09:40:26 – Rakso plays Mox Pearl.

09:40:28 – Spells Played This Turn now has 9 counters. (+1)

09:40:33 – Mox Ruby is tapped.

09:40:33 – Mox Emerald is tapped.

09:40:34 – Mox Pearl is tapped.

09:40:44 – Rakso plays Mind’s Desire.

09:40:46 – Spells Played This Turn now has 10 counters. (+1)

09:40:47 – Rakso moves Mind’s Desire from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:49 – Rakso moves Hurkyl’s Recall from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:51 – Rakso moves Impulse from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:53 – Rakso moves Force of Will from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:55 – Rakso moves Sleight of Hand from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:57 – Rakso moves Hurkyl’s Recall from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:40:59 – Rakso moves Impulse from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:41:01 – Rakso moves Sleight of Hand from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:41:04 – Rakso moves Mox Sapphire from Rakso’s library to tabletop.

09:41:08 – Spells Played This Turn now has 11 counters. (+1)

09:41:38 – Rakso buries Sleight of Hand.

09:41:40 – Rakso is looking through top 2 cards of library…

09:41:52 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:41:55 – Rakso moves Wheel of Fortune to the BOTTOM of Rakso’s library.

09:42:02 – Rakso buries Sleight of Hand.

09:42:04 – Rakso is looking through top 2 cards of library…

09:42:08 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:42:10 – Rakso moves Underground Sea to the BOTTOM of Rakso’s library.

09:42:13 – Rakso buries Impulse.

09:42:15 – Rakso is looking through top 4 cards of library…

09:42:27 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:45:47 – Spells Played This Turn now has 13 counters. (+2)

09:45:51 – Rakso buries Impulse.

09:45:53 – Rakso is looking through top 4 cards of library…

09:46:00 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:46:03 – Spells Played This Turn now has 14 counters. (+1)

09:46:07 – Rakso plays Mox Jet.

09:46:08 – Spells Played This Turn now has 15 counters. (+1)

09:46:09 – Mox Jet is tapped.

09:46:11 – Rakso plays Mana Vault.

09:46:12 – Spells Played This Turn now has 16 counters. (+1)

09:46:14 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.

09:46:14 – Mana Vault is tapped.

09:46:18 – Rakso says:’3U floating’

09:46:21 – Rakso buries Hurkyl’s Recall.

09:46:23 – Spells Played This Turn now has 17 counters. (+1)

09:46:31 – Rakso plays Mox Ruby.

09:46:34 – Spells Played This Turn now has 18 counters. (+1)

09:46:36 – Rakso plays Mox Emerald.

09:46:38 – Spells Played This Turn now has 19 counters. (+1)

09:46:39 – Rakso plays Mox Pearl.

09:46:40 – Spells Played This Turn now has 20 counters. (+1)

09:46:42 – Rakso plays Mox Sapphire.

09:46:43 – Spells Played This Turn now has 21 counters. (+1)

09:46:45 – Rakso plays Mox Jet.

09:46:46 – Spells Played This Turn now has 22 counters. (+1)

09:46:47 – Mox Pearl is tapped.

09:46:49 – Rakso plays Mana Vault.

09:46:50 – Spells Played This Turn now has 23 counters. (+1)

09:46:59 – Rakso plays Sleight of Hand.

09:47:01 – Spells Played This Turn now has 24 counters. (+1)

09:47:05 – Rakso is looking through top 2 cards of library…

09:47:11 – Rakso moves a card from Rakso’s library to Rakso’s hand.

09:47:13 – Rakso moves City of Brass to the BOTTOM of Rakso’s library.

09:47:17 – Mox Ruby is tapped.

09:47:17 – Mox Emerald is tapped.

09:47:18 – Mox Jet is tapped.

09:47:19 – Mana Vault is tapped.

09:47:22 – Mox Sapphire is tapped.

09:47:25 – Rakso says:’8U’

09:47:36 – Spells Played This Turn now has 25 counters. (+1)

09:47:37 – Rakso buries Hurkyl’s Recall.

09:47:45 – Rakso plays Mox Ruby.

09:47:46 – Spells Played This Turn now has 26 counters. (+1)

09:47:48 – Rakso plays Mox Emerald.

09:47:49 – Spells Played This Turn now has 27 counters. (+1)

09:47:51 – Rakso plays Mox Pearl.

09:47:52 – Spells Played This Turn now has 28 counters. (+1)

09:47:54 – Rakso plays Mox Sapphire.

09:47:54 – Spells Played This Turn now has 29 counters. (+1)

09:47:56 – Rakso plays Mox Jet.

09:47:57 – Spells Played This Turn now has 30 counters. (+1)

09:48:00 – Mox Pearl is tapped.

09:48:01 – Rakso plays Mana Vault.

09:48:03 – Spells Played This Turn now has 31 counters. (+1)

09:48:08 – Rakso buries Mind’s Desire.


Turn 1? Easy.


Till next week.


Oscar Tan (e-mail: Rakso at StarCityGames.com)

rakso on #BDChat on EFNet

University of the Philippines, College of Law

Forum Administrator, Star City Games

Featured Writer, Star City Games

Author of the Control Player’s Bible

Maintainer, Beyond Dominia (R.I.P.)

Proud member of the Casual Player’s Alliance