This article will focus on:
If you’ve been reading sites like this for a while, you may have noticed that there are a lot of articles out there regarding the ever-elusive concept of “getting better at Magic.” Me? I’m here to promote good play the best way I know how: bad play – more specifically, pointing out opportunities for bad play. You may recall reading somewhere that, for each gamestate, there is only one correct play and everything else is a mistake. Well, I’m personally quite familiar with everything else. I have, at some point, bungled a game in pretty much any way you can imagine. It’s not that I’m a particularly bad player – I like to think I’m actually fairly decent – but if you play long enough and aren’t careful, it’s inevitable.
The short version of the story is this: I read Chris Romeo’s article. I was intrigued. I thought of a few cards I might have tried out myself. I kept thinking of cards. I thought of more cards. I thought to myself, “Self, there are a lot of cards that could get played in a mono-Black deck.” So many, in fact, that one could probably build three separate, respectable mono-Black decks from the available Standard card pool without topping four of any given non-Swamp card. Now, I’m not feeling quite that ambitious, but you get the idea: there’s a lot out there. Today I’m going to focus on the evolution of one such deck that proved to be surprisingly good in testing.
Kamigawa Limited hasn’t really encouraged blocking – but that’s about to change, and unless you’ve been living under a proverbial rock, you know why: Ninjutsu. Any unblocked creature could turn out to be a Ninja in disguise, so it’s time to start thinking more about that Cruel Deceiver and whether it’s worth your Kami of Ancient Law, because a Throat Slitter might be lying in wait to knock him off anyway. But does the danger of a Ninjutsu smackdown make blocking your default option?
It’s that time again. It’s time for the release of a new set, full of plenty of new cards waiting to be sprung upon the magic populace. New cards are, fundamentally, a cool thing. New toys to play with means more fun for everyone, right? And better yet, if those new cards have a new ability, some interesting mechanic to tinker with and build around, that creates even more possibilities! Every keyword added to the game gives players more options for deckbuilding, more choices of what direction to go. Keywords are an all-around good thing. This is Wizards of the Coast’s attitude, and I agree with them. To a point.
With Dampen Thought-based Limited decks getting talked up a lot these days, the splice mechanic is getting the spotlight thrown on it in a big way. When drafting, as long as you know which cards are useful, the deck practically builds itself. Take the best card for you and pass; when it comes time to build your deck, you have all the pieces in front of you. In Block Constructed, the decisions aren’t quite as easy. With access to whichever cards you want, deciding which to run (and in what quantities) can be just as difficult to figure out as getting the draft version of the deck to come together.
What I’m trying to do here is to compare Champions of Kamigawa to previous sets, looking for similarities in the play of Limited games that might help lay down some basics for the new Limited format. Particularly, I’m looking for the existence of some form of “fundamental play” in the new set. You’re all giving me funny looks, so I’ll explain what I’m getting at. Cue the wavy screen and flashback music… [This is one of the better Limited Fundamentals articles we’ve received in some time, and is highly recommended for anyone looking to get a jump on drafting the new set. – Knut]
This story begins way back when Darksteel first came out, when a little Artificer that goes by the name Vedalken Engineer caught my eye. He said to me, in the same crooning voice that he used to speak to so many others, one thing:”Turn 2 Gilded Lotus.” Yes, this little man, with an assist from Chrome Mox, could put a Gilded Lotus on the table just about as fast as a Tinker and leave you with more mana on the next turn than you would know what to do with. I had to have it.
So Ben Bleiweiss thinks White is in the crapper, that it has been maligned by Wizards and given the shaft in its mechanics. According to him, White is the worst color of every format, the victim of ruthless undermining from within and generally anemic in every way. He goes about examining the claims that Randy Buehler made in a February 2003 article concerning what White would and would not be doing in the future, and concludes, based on examination of the current Standard format, that the promised”goods” have not been delivered. As I understand it, there are a number of people who agree with Mr. Bleiweiss, but I’m not one of them. Want to know why? Good, you’re in the right place.
Some of you may be thinking of tearing up cards that go to the graveyard, but that’s not what I’m talking about – that’s a different”Ironman.” This was an equally crazed version of normal Magic: Five-hundred card decks of all five colors, ten card hands and a hundred life, played at a table with as many opponents as you could find. And one more thing: Every single card, basic lands excepted, was restricted.
I’ve already said that Cabal Interrogator is stronger than you might think, so let’s talk about a card I actually had: Unburden. Man, did I mess this card up. In this format, there’s a lot of expensive stuff cluttering peoples’ hands and discard can take out their biggest threat before it hits the table. I cycled this one more than I cast it, and had it cast against me many times to good effect, so I’m going to say I played it wrong. Draft this one, and cast it as often as you can.
This is an account of Day 1 of the two-day extravaganza that was the Pittsburgh Scourge Prerelease – and for those of you who didn’t get to one, a look at a few of the new cards in real play. For those of you who did get to a Prerelease, this may offer some insights about cards you didn’t see (there were plenty I didn’t) or just another perspective. Plus, you get to see the other half of Jeremy’s deck!
Well, it’s happening again: One of Magic’s trademark cards is going to be tossed out the window. Those of you following the”Selecting Eighth Edition” promotion going on at magicthegathering.com know what I’m talking about; either Birds of Paradise or Llanowar Elves, two little critters that have carried the torch for green since the beginning of Magic, are about to be sent the way of the Lightning Bolt.
