The Graveborn Identity deck that’s been floating around for the last couple of weeks is interesting – but as Jimmy Bean said to me, it plays”Candy Ass” cards like Words of Worship that are absolutely horrid, if somehow – inconceivable as it might seem! – your Muse actually dies. Then all you have is a really bad enchantment on the board that allows you to not draw cards in order to gain life.
With such a limited card pool, what does the face of Diet Five look like? It actually looks a lot like Five normally does. Sure, Jackal Pups and Lightning Bolts have been replaced with Grim Lavamancers and Firebolts; yeah, there are no classic power cards and combo elements have been significantly neutered. The online decks look more similar than normal. But despite taking a big whack out of the Mighty Card Pool of Olde, the format translates well into Magic Online.
That’s right; there’s nothing too earth-shattering. It’s blue, right? Blue sucks in multiplayer. No, there’s nothing too powerful – at least, until you play the Galina, shortly followed by the Unnatural Selection next turn, followed by the red burn to destroy anything I don’t like.
The idea of Earthcraft/Squirrel Nest kept tickling my fancy. Could I possibly make it just mono green? Obviously, Earthcraft demands basic lands, and playing mostly basics would make Wastelands much worse against me. Just how can I compete with the speed of the format with just monogreen?
I know there has been a lot of talk about U/R losing a lot of its luster with one less pack of Lavamancer’s Skills; I think the combination is still viable, but the archetype has changed. I have had some success pairing the Mistform creatures with the blue and red Slivers, like Blade Sliver and Shifting Sliver. 3/1 Mistform Dreamers and 4/1 Mistform Seaswifts present your opponent with a small window of time to find their answers.
People say that the only reason to go green is Living Wish – but Burning Wish doesn’t depend on having Astral Slide already in play and cycling cards in your hand. Your rogue opponent just surprised you with Tranquility after you overextended. How do you win immediately? Burning Wish for Earthquake or Blaze. In short, Burning Wish provides access to more answers, and each one is faster and more efficient in terms of mana cost.
Do you know how hard it is to kill those Phantom guys? A single Phantom Flock stops a flying Wurm not once, not twice, but three times. And then we’ll add Shared Triumph. “Great,” you say. “Shared Triumph makes the Phantoms bigger.” No, Shared Triumph makes Elephants bigger; it makes Phantoms invincible.
Okay, as the last deck in this article – and series – I want to look at my favorite Extended and multiplayer deck at present. Typically I build a new deck every week or so, play it once, then do something else. This deck is staying together – probably indefinitely. It’s a solid deck that loses very little in the transition to multiplayer. It’s Rock.
Before I detail how to play this deck, I should warn you that what you are about to witness is graphic, violent, and could inspire foul language. This deck utilizes two cards that my personal playgroups frown upon and draw instant retaliation the second I put them into play: Pandemonium, and Sneak Attack. They all gun for me, but to quote Jaya Ballard, Task Mage:”You know what? They’re dead.”
So y’all think you’re better at me at predicting what might or might not get played in new formats? Well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is – and win yourself a fabulous prize! Can you pick the fifteen cards that will see the most play at Pro Tour: Venice?
I think the real issue at hand is whether or not Mistform Wall is better than the Mistform Dreamer. For quite some time up to (and possibly including) Pro Tour Chicago, it was the general consensus that the 2/1 flier was better, and I was also under this impression.
In Blue/Red, it is simply the best card; in Blue/Black there is nothing that really fills its slot, and in Blue/Green or Blue/White you aren’t likely to win anyway. Mistform Wall is truly one of a kind in Onslaught, and therefore should be picked as highly as possible. You will find replacements for Ascending Aven in both Blue archetypes – not so for Mistform Wall.
To get an idea what the environment for that tournament will look like, I decided to talk to people who play in the place that runs multiple Standard tournaments every hour of the day and night: Magic Online. I began by asking Matias Gabrenja, who finished 13th at Worlds, what he thought of the online metagame…
When I consider Thieving Magpie, as it was commissioned for Urza’s Destiny and painted by Una Fricker, I see a wonderful painting that is crafted in the naturalist style and pays tribute to a prominent naturalist and painter of the 19th century – John James Audubon.
I told you I’d be back. It was a while ago that I had to take my leave of you, the most wonderful audience a writer could hope for, in order to do a little life maintenance. And now we’re about to find out what I’ve got left in the tank, because a story needs to be told, and I have arrived to do the telling.
