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Ephara's Enlightenment - Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

1/27/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Ephara, God of the Polis is an interesting card. Ephara’s Enlightenment, on the other hand, is a bit underwhelming. For 1WU (1, White, Blue), Ephara’s Enlightenment places a +1/+1 counter on the enchanted creature and gives that creature flying. Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may return Enlightenment back to its owner’s hand.

While this is by no means a terrible enchantment, and is certainly playable in a Heroic deck (especially with Hero of Iroas), it’s hardly game-breaking. The Ordeal enchantments are considerably better than this. This isn’t bad in Limited, but it hasn't seen much Constructed play outside of Block Constructed blue/white Heroic brews and a few rogue Commander decks.

Drakestown Forgotten - A Magic the Gathering Conspiracy Rare Card Review

1/27/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Drakestown Forgotten is a black Zombie creature card with a lot of Commander potential. When he enters the battlefield, he enters with X +1/+1 counters on him, where X is the number of creature cards in all graveyards. It’s essentially a Lhurgoyf, except that it only checks graveyards when it enters and its statistics don’t change based on the state of the graveyards afterwards. For a 5-drop that requires only a single Black (4B) that’s pretty decent. But it’s his second ability that truly makes him good. You may pay 2B and remove a +1/+1 counter from Drakestown Forgotten and give a target creature -1/-1 until end of turn.

In a multi-player draft format, this guy can hit the board with a fair number of counters put onto him. Also, while his removal ability is perhaps not the most efficient in the world, it is certainly usable. This was a fairly good card to draft, but this can slot in a good number of Commander decks, as well. Its ability scales particularly well in a multiplayer Commander environment.

Being a Zombie makes him a solid play in tribal decks such as Grimgrin, Corpse Born. Being able to play this card potentially for zero mana with Rooftop Storm is pretty sweet. Also, because he is based around +1/+1 counters, any Golgari deck or Ghave, Guru of Spores deck that plays around with counters could find room for this guy. There are plenty of ways to make him very big and be a useful way to pick off little utility creatures on the board.

Unfortunately, Drakestown Forgotten is a card that has been forgotten by many players now that the Conspiracy set is no longer in print. However, it’s a solid card that can still find a home in some Zombie-centered and other Commander decks.

How would you use Drakestown Forgotten?

Armageddon - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

1/27/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Armageddon is one of the oldest cards in Magic, hearkening all the way back to Limited Edition Alpha and being reprinted up through Sixth Edition. Most recently, it was included in the From the Vault: Annihilation limited edition product as a foil variant for the first time. It is still the most powerful land destruction spell in the entire game, costing a mere three and one White mana. Pay four mana and there goes every land in play.

It’s still a very, very powerful card, and there are mean Commander players that will play it in combination with cards like Faith’s Reward that allow you to bring back every permanent that you had sent to the graveyard during that turn. If you happen to have copies of this card lying around, be sure to keep them safe and away from people that may want to use them against you!

Impact Resonance - Magic the Gathering (MTG) Commander 2014 Card Review

1/25/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Impact Resonance is a card exclusive to the Commander 2014: Built from Scratch deck that was released in November of 2014. That deck is full of some other very powerful cards such as Daretti, Scrap Savant, Dualcaster Mage, and others. So, it's easy to overlook a card like this that could potentially change the tide of a game out of nowhere.

For 1R (1 red mana, 1 colorless mana), Impact Resonance is an Instant spell that allows you to deal X damage to any number of target creatures. In this case, X is the greatest amount of damage dealt by a source to a permanent or player this turn. In a multiplayer format like Commander where plenty of damage is being dealt all the time, playing a card like this to take out any number of problem creatures can be highly useful. The damage doesn't have to even be caused by you in the first place. With this card, you could have really powerful mass removal in your hands.

So if this card can be so destructive at such a low mana cost, why does no one play it? Truthfully, there are many cards like this that in theory are quite good. But in the current Commander meta, Impact Resonance is a bit too situational to be given a deck slot where it would be used consistently. It's a well-designed card, but while it's a really sweet trick, it just isn't going to impact games often enough to be worth it. It's more of a cheap trick, although it can make for some major game changes. This obviously is why it was designed in the first place.

The only popular Commander who would seem to want this sort of effect is Heartless Hidetsugu, who is notorious for his extremely damaging ability. His ability deals damage to half of each player's life total (rounded down). This card would be a nice way to clear the board of creatures that may pose a problem to the Heartless Hidetsugu player. It's not an auto-include, but in playgroups that like creature-heavy decks, I can see it being a useful "tech" card.

What do you think of Impact Resonance?

Magic the Gathering - Pauper Commander / EDH (PDH) - Baleful Strix

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Pauper Commander, also known as PDH, is a variant of the extremely popular Commander (EDH) format. Like Commander, you choose a creature to be your Commander, then play 99 cards that share a color with that creature (including the colors of casting costs required to use its abilities.) Except instead of using a Legendary Creature, you instead use an uncommon (or even common) creature as your Commander. The rest of your deck must be commons, or have been printed at common at one time or another. (For example, Doom Blade was printed at uncommon in one expansion, but has been printed at common before, so it is legal.)

Today, we look at one of the most powerful Pauper Commanders, a powerful Legacy-playable card called Baleful Strix.

Baleful Strix is a very strong creature first printed in the Planechase 2012 deck: Night of the Ninja. It was most recently re-printed in the Commander 2013 deck, Mind Seize. It’s a 1/1 flyer with deathtouch for one Black and one Blue (BU) and draws you a card when it enters. It also happens to be an artifact, which is quite relevant in the two formats that it’s mostly played in, Legacy and Commander.

As a Pauper Commander, Baleful Strix is repeatable card advantage on a stick. The deck that is typically built around it usually cares about tempo, playing many of permission spells, counterspells that still allow players to cast their spells for a cost. There is also a suite of black removal and discard cards. Here’s a fantastic list from Vitriol on Tappedout.net.

Creature (22)

    1x Archaeomancer
    1x Basilica Screecher
    1x Cavern Harpy
    1x Chittering Rats
    1x Crypt Rats
    1x Dimir House Guard
    1x Drift of Phantasms
    1x Gray Merchant of Asphodel
    1x Man-o'-War
    1x Mnemonic Wall
    1x Mulldrifter
    1x Nightscape Familiar
    1x Ninja of the Deep Hours
    1x Ravenous Rats
    1x Scrivener
    1x Sea Gate Oracle
    1x Spire Golem
    1x Stinkweed Imp
    1x Stormscape Familiar
    1x Trinket Mage
    1x Twisted Abomination
    1x Ulamog's Crusher

Artifact (7)

    1x Aether Spellbomb
    1x Bonesplitter
    1x Dimir Signet
    1x Executioner's Capsule
    1x Flayer Husk
    1x Nihil Spellbomb
    1x Viridian Longbow

Enchantment (2)

    1x Pestilence
    1x Tortured Existence

Instant (22)

    1x Agony Warp
    1x Capsize
    1x Condescend
    1x Counterspell
    1x Deprive
    1x Diabolic Edict
    1x Echoing Truth
    1x Exclude
    1x Ghostly Flicker
    1x Grim Harvest
    1x Gush
    1x Impulse
    1x Last Gasp
    1x Memory Lapse
    1x Miscalculation
    1x Muddle the Mixture
    1x Mystical Teachings
    1x Peel from Reality
    1x Recoil
    1x Repeal
    1x Soul Manipulation
    1x Think Twice

Sorcery (9)

    1x Compulsive Research
    1x Deep Analysis
    1x Disturbed Burial
    1x Evincar's Justice
    1x Hymn to Tourach
    1x Merchant Scroll
    1x Ponder
    1x Preordain
    1x Treasure Cruise

Land (37)

    1x Barren Moor
    1x Bojuka Bog
    1x Command Tower
    1x Dimir Aqueduct
    1x Dimir Guildgate
    1x Dismal Backwater
    1x Evolving Wilds
    1x Halimar Depths
    1x Haunted Fengraf
    13x Island
    1x Lonely Sandbar
    1x Polluted Mire
    1x Remote Isle
    1x Seat of the Synod
    9x Swamp
    1x Terramorphic Expanse
    1x Vault of Whispers

This particular list plays many “value” creatures that provide some sort of card advantage, either by netting you a card, retrieving a card from your graveyard, or forcing your opponent to discard. You could choose to play more instants and sorceries over creatures, but this list is quite balanced and allows for a wide range of plays.

Blue and Black are powerhouse colors in regular Pauper (which is a Legacy format) because of the power level of many of their commons. So it’s not really a surprise to see a Blue/Black deck that has a Commander which provides a free card along with it be potentially one of the top decks in the Pauper Commander format. Also, with each passing set, there are more cards that become eligible to be played in this deck, meaning more options to tweak your list.

How would you build a Pauper Commander deck led by Baleful Strix?

Magic the Gathering (MTG) - Pauper EDH / Commander - An Introduction

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

As a major aficionado of the EDH/Commander format, I greatly enjoy finding Commanders and strategies that aren’t commonly employed. One time, when I was doing a little research for a Magic 2015 article, I stumbled across a new format that I was only vaguely aware of: Pauper EDH. As it turns out, one of the cards reprinted in Magic 2015, Garruk’s Packleader, is a very popular Commander in that format. Let me explain why.

The only difference between Pauper EDH and regular EDH is that instead of using a Legendary Creature to command your deck, you use any Uncommon creature (you could also use a Common creature if you’d like). Then, your other 99 cards must be all of common rarity.

In the case of Garruk’s Packleader, you would play all Green or colorless cards. He’s popular in that format because there are plenty of creatures with power 3 or greater at common, especially in green, and card draw is always awesome.

The awesome thing about Pauper EDH is that it opens up possibilities that regular EDH doesn’t offer. Think of all of those cool uncommon creatures that just never served any purpose in Constructed decks. If you can find enough commons that thematically support it in a singleton format, go for it!

One awesome thing about Pauper EDH is that many EDH staples are in fact commons: Command Tower, Darksteel Ingot, the various Signets, and many more. The power level of cards is nowhere near traditional Commander and you don’t end up with a lot of the super expensive lists that you may find in regular Commander.

In the near future I’ll be going over some popular and powerful Pauper Commanders. While you’re at it, though, take a look at your collection and see what Uncommon creatures you may want to build around. Remember that color identity rule is exactly the same in Pauper EDH as it is in regular EDH. This means that abilities that call for different colors of mana than those in the creature's mana cost will you to play cards of those colors in your deck, as well.

For the complete Pauper Commander rules, check out the PDH Homebase!

So who will be your Pauper Commander?

Magic the Gathering - Pauper Commander / EDH (PDH) - Ascended Lawmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Dragon’s Maze is known as one of the weakest overall sets in recent years, at least as far as rares were concerned. There were a couple of decent mythics: Voice of Resurgence and Blood Baron of Vizkopa. Master of Cruelties has seen play in Commander, as well. But as a draft set, Dragon’s Maze was pretty good. It had a good number of playable commons and uncommons. One of those very playable uncommons was Ascended Lawmage.

Ascended Lawmage has seen some fringe Standard play and has been a favorite among those who have played Return to Ravnica-block Limited. The Lawmage is a 3/2 flyer for 2WU that also has Hexproof. The Hexproof is what really counts here. As a Pauper Commander, you suit him up and send him in for the kill. In Pauper Commander, you don’t always have to deal 21 Commander damage as in regular Commander; some playgroups set it as low as 15-18.

In some ways, Ascended Lawmage is like the Bruna, Light of Alabaster of Pauper Commander. While he doesn’t have the ability to simply have a bunch of enchantments thrown onto him, the deck is built to out-tempo opponents while suiting the Lawmage up to be able to deal lethal damage. Dealing with Hexproof Commanders is very hard to do in Pauper, as you might imagine.

There are a couple of ways you can build an Ascended Lawmage deck. One way is to build a deck that focuses more around having multiple Hexproof flyers to complement the Lawmage. A decklist I found on MetaMox, Swift Peasant Justice, does just that. It complements the Lawmage with Hexproof creatures such as Aven Fleetwing and Benthic Giant, as well as Elguad Shieldmate, which gives both herself and whoever she Soulbonds with hexproof. Then there are tempo creatures such as AEthersnipe, Mist Raven and Voidwielder, which can bounce opponent’s creatures back to their hands. There are some Bestow creatures to power up your Hexproof creatures, including the Lawmage, and Exalted creatures to give your Lawmage an extra boost when attacking alone.

The rest of the deck includes a bevy of Auras to beef up your Commander and his escorts, as well as other Enchantments to deal with getting problem creatures out of the way. Many great Auras exist at the common rarity, some from much older sets, that you may not even know about until building Pauper EDH lists.

Here is that list that I found on MetaMox. There may be a few tweaks I would make here and there, but overall it’s a really solid list.

Swift Peasant Justice

Commander

Ascended Lawmage

Lands (37)
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Bant Panorama
1 Drifting Meadow
1 Esper Panorama
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Halimar Depths
1 Haunted Fengraf
10 Island
1 Kabira Crossroads
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 New Benalia
1 Opal Palace
10 Plains
1 Remote Isle
1 Secluded Steppe
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Soaring Seacliff
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures (27)
1 Akroan Skyguard
1 Angelic Page
1 Auramancer
1 Aven Fleetwing
1 Aven Squire
1 Æthersnipe
1 Benthic Giant
1 Dawnglare Invoker
1 Deepwater Hypnotist
1 Elgaud Shieldmate
1 Floodtide Serpent
1 Glimmering Angel
1 Guardians of Akrasa
1 Hopeful Eidolon
1 Impaler Shrike
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Mist Raven
1 Mulldrifter
1 Nimbus Naiad
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Nyxborn Shieldmate
1 Nyxborn Triton
1 Observant Alseid
1 Oreskos Sun Guide
1 Sphinx’s Disciple
1 Stealer of Secrets
1 Voidwielder

Non-Creature Spells (35)
1 Aqueous Form
1 Brilliant Halo
1 Cage of Hands
1 Call to Serve
1 Capashen Standard
1 Celestial Flare
1 Divine Verdict
1 Eel Umbra
1 Empyrial Armor
1 Ethereal Armor
1 Excoriate
1 Flight of Fancy
1 Ghostly Wings
1 Hands of Binding
1 Hyena Umbra
1 Infiltrator’s Magemark
1 Into the Roil
1 Kjeldoran Pride
1 Knightly Valor
1 Last Breath
1 Last Thoughts
1 Narcolepsy
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Ocular Halo
1 Ophidian Eye
1 Pacifism
1 Ray of Dissolution
1 Revoke Existence
1 Rhystic Study
1 Spectral Flight
1 Steel of the Godhead
1 Triclopean Sight
1 Vapor Snag
1 Viscerid Armor
1 Way of the Thief

The other way to build an Ascended Lawmage deck would be to focus more on the Control element, using more card filtering such as Ponder, Preordain and Brainstorm, and more counterspells such as Logic Knot, Mana Leak, Rewind (most recently printed at Uncommon, but originally printed at Common), among others. The more creature-heavy builds are the ones I would personally favor, however, especially in a format that definitely favors board presence more than traditional Commander, as board-wipes simply don’t exist in this format.

The best part about this deck that it would probably cost between $5-10 to build, the majority of that being Hyena Umbra and Rhystic Study. Most of these cards you probably have laying around or are cards you could acquire extremely cheaply.

Would you ever consider playing this sort of deck? Or are there other Azorius (Blue/White) builds that you would prefer? Personally, I think this is one of the stronger decks in the format.

Magic the Gathering - Disdainful Stroke (February 2015 FNM Promo)

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Disdainful Stroke is a very useful counterspell. With the February Friday Night Magic promo version, now players could foil out their copies. It was a sideboard option in pretty much any deck playing Blue in Standard format at the time. There were some control decks even played it in the main deck. This was due to the number of 4 mana or greater cost spells being played in the current format. It's not a bad sideboard option in Modern, either.

Players could also look forward to March's promo, Hordeling Outburst, and April's promo, Suspension Field, both of which are very useful and playable cards. Wizards of the Coast was doing a very good job with identifying cards that players would like to have promotional copies of in order to "pimp" out their decks and collections.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Simic Guildmage VS Zameck Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

In the final installment of Mages of the Guild, we take a look at the Simic guild. The blue/green guild is one of the more interesting guilds mechanically – although from a Constructed standpoint, only recently as Simic been able to stand alone as a semi-competitive deck thanks to the Evolve mechanic. In the past, blue/green was a combination that required a third color, usually white or black, to be widely successful.

To be fair, Simic Guildmage is probably one of the more under-powered of all the Guildmages. His two abilities are quite interesting, but a bit underwhelming. The first costs 1G (1 colorless, Green) and it allows you to move a +1/+1 counter from a target creature onto another target creature with the same controller. This can be an interesting, if not a bit awkward combat trick.

The second ability is actually rather fascinating: for 1U (1 colorless, Blue) you attach target Aura enchanting a permanent to another permanent with the same controller. That’s actually an interesting ability, considering that Bant Enchantments has been a deck for a very long time. Where this would find a spot in that deck is a bit beyond me, however. It’s borderline playable in a Commander deck, especially if it’s running a lot of enchantments and +1/+1 counter shenanigans, in which he could prove to be a useful piece.

Not only is Zameck Guildmage strictly better than his Dissension counterpart, but he’s even seen some fringe Standard play in Tier Two Simic Evolve decks. What’s so great about this Guildmage, in addition to being an Elf Wizard (like his predecessor, actually), he has the ability to both pump your creatures and draw you cards.

Each of his abilities costs GU (1 Green, 1 Blue). The first is an ability that you would play before playing any creatures, as each creature you control enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. This also works for creature tokens. The even better part about this first ability is that because it mentions “additional”, you can stack this ability multiple times if you have the mana to do so. It interacts with Flash creatures, as well, since it doesn’t have to only be played on your turn.

The second ability allows you to remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control to draw a card. Drawing a card for only 2 mana is pretty awesome, and the fact that you can play this at instant speed means that you can draw cards off of a creature that is in the process of being destroyed in combat or by removal.

This match isn’t even close. Simic Guildmage does two interesting things that are not exactly incredibly relevant from a competitive standpoint and are extremely situational. Zameck Guildmage, on the other hand, pumps up your forces and draws you cards. The winner is fairly obvious here.

Winner: Zameck Guildmage, and it’s not particularly close.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Selesnya Guildmage VS Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Selesyna is an interesting guild, with some very powerful and aggressive creatures. The green/white guild has seen quite a power boost since its return in the Return to Ravnica block. Today on Mages of the Guild, we’ll see how the newer guildmage stacks up to the older one. First, we take a look at our old friend, Commander token-lover favorite, Selesnya Guildmage.

While Selesnya Guildmage’s abilities do not at first appear to be incredible powerful, in the right deck, they are definitely relevant. There’s a reason he’s been reprinted in both the Commander 2011 and Commander 2013 products, as well as in Archenemy and Modern Masters 2015.

Any deck that runs a bunch of little creatures can benefit from having this Elf Wizard around. The first ability for 3G (3 colorless, 1 Green) puts a 1/1 green Saproling creature token into play. This is a mediocre, but usable mana-sink in Commander for sure. It’s sub-par for Constructed purposes, though. The second ability for 3W (3 colorless, 1 White) gives all creatures you control +1/+1 until end of turn. This is the stronger of the two abilities by far.

In a deck that can swarm the field with creatures, this is a fine addition. It’s not a fantastic card by today’s Constructed standards. But it still has a home in anything that runs a ton of tokens, especially ones based around producing lots of Saprolings.

Return to Ravnica brought Selesnya players great creatures like Loxodon Smiter and Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice. The new guildmage, though, Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, is a bit underwhelming.

The first ability for 4GW (4 colorless, 1 Green, 1 White) simply puts a 3/3 green Centaur creature token onto the battlefield. That’s very pricey token generation. The second ability for 2GW (2 colorless, Green, White) allows you to Populate, or put a token onto the battlefield that’s a copy of another creature token you control. That ability is slightly better. With Voice of Resurgence running around as of Dragon’s Maze, the Populate mechanic can be quite relevant.

It’s a tough call here between these two, that each have their place in Commander decks, but Selesnya Guildmage is a bit better simply for being able to pump creatures for a turn. Neither is highly Constructed playable, but Selesnya Guildmage wins by a bit here. Despite the Populate ability with the Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage, the original Ravnica guildmage is just a tad more versatile.

Winner: Selesnya Guildmage, by a bit

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Rakdos Guildmage VS Rix Maadi Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

"Mages of the Guild" takes a look at the Guildmages from the original Ravnica block and comparing them to the new Guildmages from the Return to Ravnica block.

So, for Rakdos, who will win?

Rix Maadi Guildmage is a very interesting card. While he hasn’t ever seen much Standard play at all, he has a couple of very interesting mana abilities. He can give you combat advantage, and deal a little extra damage, as well.

While you might say that “target blocking creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn” doesn’t sound like a big deal, it can indeed be so. While it’s not the most impressive mana sink ability around, if you have open mana, it can actually save you a burn card later. It also lets you save valuable removal cards like Dreadbore or Hero’s Downfall for something more threatening. It also means that you can get through just a little more often.

His second ability is actually fairly relevant, too. Say you have one card in hand and it’s not anything you’ll use on this turn. While you may not want to tap out to use Rix Maadi’s ability, making a player lose 1 or 2 extra life can indeed be relevant (it will be more in the future). He’s not the best of the guildmages, but you have to watch out for him.

So let’s compare the new Guildmage to his old counterpart, Rakdos Guildmage. Pretty freaky looking guy, isn’t he? While his abilities aren’t good enough for Constructed play today, they are interesting. His first ability is a nice little combat trick. For 3B (3 colorless, 1 Black) you discard a card and target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. At the cost of a card in hand and four mana, though, it’s clear that Rix Maadi’s ability is actually a bit better. So the new Guildmage has the advantage here.

However, this older Guildmage has a very interesting second ability. For 3R (3 colorless, 1 Red), you can make a 2/1 red Goblin creature token with haste onto the battlefield, which you then have to exile at the beginning of the next end step.

In Commander, you can make a lot of little hasty Goblin guys to annoy your opponent, certainly. Infinite mana equals infinite tokens, as well. But what’s most interesting about this ability is that you can create chump-blockers on your opponent’s turn. You can also create potential problem hasty attackers on your own turn. Still, though, the ability is a bit more costly, and you have far more effective removal in the formats in which this Guildmage is legal.

Overall, Rix Maadi Guildmage is a bit more useful than his older counterpart. While he’s not flashy, the Return To Ravnica version is a bit more flexible in combat situations, and has a useful ping ability. From a Constructed standpoint, I have to go with the new kid on the block here. However, in Commander, the Rakdos Guildmage is actually a Goblin-spewing combo piece for infinite mana shenanigans.

But there is one more thing about Rix Maadi Guildmage that gives him the slightest edge. In Commander, while it's hardly a staple in any particular deck, players lose life on a regular basis. So his second ability to make a player lose an additional life for only 2 mana is fairly efficient.

Winner: Rix Maadi Guildmage, just because he's slightly better in Commander.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Orzhov Guildmage vs Vizkopa Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today, on Mages of the Guild, we take a look at the Guildmages from Orzhov, the black/white guild of Ravnica. First, here's the original Orzhov Guildmage.

Orzhov Guildmage hails from the set of Guildpact. He also saw a reprint in the original Commander pre-constructed product in 2011. He has two interesting abilities. The first for 2W has target player gain 1 life. The second ability has each player lose 1 life. There are cases where this ability could prove rather relevant, especially in Commander where you have a lot of mana floating around, and plenty of ways to abuse life gain and life loss effects. However, from a Constructed standpoint, Orzhov Guildmage doesn’t do a whole lot.

Vizkopa Guildmage, from Gatecrash, on the other hand, is a part of some particularly nasty infinite combos, one of which is with an Enchantment from Avacyn Restored called Exquisite Blood. Vizkopa Guildmage has two abilities, both which cost 1WB (1 colorless, 1 White, 1 Black). The first gives a target creature lifelink until end of turn, which seems nice enough. But the second ability says “Whenever you gain life this turn, each opponent loses that much life.”

That Enchantment, Exquisite Blood, costs 4B, and reads “Whenever an opponent loses life, you gain that much life.” Since Vizkopa Guildmage’s second ability and Exquisite Blood’s ability work in tandem, as soon as you deal 1 damage or gain 1 life, it creates an infinite loop which runs until every opponent is at zero life and you win the game.

There are some other infinite life combos that the Guildmage can also turn into a win condition. Boros Reckoner has a very nifty ability that many people might be aware of: whenever he is dealt damage, he deals that much damage to target creature or player. If you find a way to make the Reckoner indestructible, give him lifelink, and target him with a card that deals damage (or if he’s blocked by someone unaware you have the combo), it creates the ability to target himself an infinite number of times. As long as he’s indestructible, you can deal as much damage as you want off of a single target, since his ability will trigger endlessly, giving you infinite life.

What Vizkopa Guildmage in this case can do is one or two things. First of all, the Guildmage can give a creature lifelink until end of turn, which is an important part of the combo, although there are certainly other ways to do this. But when you do pull off the combo, if you activate the Guildmage’s second ability, that infinite life combo also becomes a win condition, draining your opponents down to zero. (Note that Guildmage’s ability says “each opponent” so this win condition works in multi-player, as well.)

It’s fairly easy to see who wins here. You might play Orzhov Guildmage in a Commander deck, even one with this combo in it, but Vizkopa Guildmage is the enabler. This is an easy win for the new kid on the block.

WINNER: Vizkopa Guildmage, for enabling infinite combos that lead to win conditions.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Izzet Guildmage VS Nivix Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today on Mages of the Guild, we’re going to switch things up. That’s right, we’re looking at the old guard first! Let’s take a look at the senior Guildmage, Izzet Guildmage from Guildpact!

Izzet Guildmage MTG Guildpact

Izzet Guildmage from Guildpact

Izzet Guildmage is a very good creature with two very good abilities. For 2U (2 colorless, 1 Blue) you can copy target instant spell you control with converted mana cost 2 or less. You’re also able to choose new targets for that copy. Then, for 2R (2 colorless, 1 Red) you can do the same thing for a target sorcery spell you control. Copying spells is nice, but what’s even better is that with a little one-drop Blue Enchantment called Training Grounds, those abilities become only 1U and 1R, respectively.

Having these abilities able to be used at a significant discount is important. Cards like Desperate Ritual, Rite of Flame, and Manamorphose suddenly are playable for free! You can create infinite mana with the Ritual and Rite of Flame, since they remain on the stack to copy. With that mana, you just cast Banefire, burning them infinitely for the win.

In fact, Rite of Flame is so powerful in this combo that it’s banned in Modern! Izzet Guildmage Combo was a real deck at one time in the now-defunct Extended format. This is why Wizards was so quick to ban Rite of Flame in the Modern format early on. The combo is still playable in Modern with the other two cards, but the deck now only mostly sees fringe play in Legacy. Talk about a combo enabler!

So the new kid on the block, Nivix Guildmage, must be better then, right? For 1UR (1 colorless, Blue, Red), you can draw a card, then discard a card. Woo-hoo, card filtering! But the second ability, oh, wow, it’s just like Izzet Guildmage‘s ability, except that it’s 2UR! Actually, that one extra mana means a lot. Sure, there’s Goblin Electromancer around to cheapen your instants and sorceries a bit and there is Training Grounds. But the only combo you can really make in 60-card Constructed with Nivix Guildmage is infinite card draw with Manamorphose. He can help you get to the Izzet Guildmage combo, and little more.

In Commander, Nivix Guildmage is a tad more versatile, and that first ability is more relevant to filter dead cards out of the hand. Also, like Izzet Guildmage, he can also create infinite mana, but it requires a lot more initial mana investment. The infinite mana combo revolves around Turnabout from Urza's Saga. You use Nivix Guildmage to copy Turnabout, tap all of your lands for mana, and let the copy of Turnabout untap all your lands. Then, keep copying Turnabout without ever letting the original Turnabout resolve. It's similar to the classic High Tide & Palinchron combo, but it's much slower.

Still, Izzet Guildmage is still the far better card here. Nivix Guildmage is still Constructed-playable, but he's nowhere near the efficient combo enabler of his senior associate. He is simply a useful creature that combos well with Manamorphose (which creates two of any colored mana). Having the Blue/Red combination there hurts it with any of the Red mana producing spells besides that one. Sorry, Nivix Guildmage, but you don’t stand a chance in this match-up.

Winner: Izzet Guildmage, for single-handedly making Rite of Flame banned in Modern.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Gruul Guildmage VS Skarrg Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today on Mages of the Guild, we take a look at the aggressive red/green Guild of Gruul! Our contestants are Gruul Guildmage and Skarrg Guildmage. Continuing the new trend started with Izzet Guildmage of showing the old guard before the new kid on the block, we’ll begin with Gruul Guildmage from Guildpact!

Gruul Guildmage, for how aggressive his guild is, has two fairly highly costed abilities. His first, for 3R, allows you to sacrifice a land to deal 2 damage to target player. Considering that there are cards that deal 3 or 4 damage to a player for less mana without sacrificing any thing makes this ability appear pretty bad. Yes, that ability could help you finish off a player. That non-tap ability can potentially be used many times in a turn, so it's properly costed. But in a Constructed environment, there are just more effective ways to finish an opponent.

The second ability is an expensive pump effect, 3G to give a target creature +2/+2 until end of turn. The fact that both this and the first ability can be played at instant speed is certainly important. Activated abilities are far more difficult to counter than cast cards, so Gruul Guildmage is an okay card overall. In an aggressive deck, both abilities can work, especially if mana flood becomes a problem in a given game, so he’s still a decent card, if only good back in his day. He’s a bit slow now.

Now, Skarrg Guildmage from Gatecrash is definitely a lot more aggressive than his Guildpact counterpart. He has two fairly low cost abilities, and they’re both pretty powerful. Like Gruul Guildmage‘s abilities, they can be played at instant speed. His first ability for RG (1 Red, 1 Green) gives all creatures you control trample until end of turn. This can be declared before combat damage is assigned, too, which is extremely relevant. That’s a lot better than Gruul Guildmage’s comparable +2/+2 pump for 3G, since using this ability could deal far more damage.

Also, Skarrg Guildmage‘s second ability involves lands, like Gruul Guildmage’s first ability to sacrifice a land to deal 2 damage to target player. The good news here is that for 1RG (1 colorless, 1 Red, 1 Green) you make a target land you control become a 4/4 Elemental creature until end of turn that is still a land. You can do this as you enter combat. Potentially, this 4/4 land will deal a lot more damage to a player, especially if given trample with that other ability, than sacrificing that same land would do. Yes, it then becomes vulnerable to creature removal and being destroyed by blocking creatures. But it survives otherwise to stay a land at the end of the turn and going forward.

Gruul Guildmage may have been playable back in the days of original Ravnica block and the abilities are properly costed for what they do. But Skarrg Guildmage has two very underrated and powerful abilities for a far lesser cost that can potentially do far more damage. While he’s been in Standard, though, he’s been relegated to sideboards. It seems that there’s a lot of untapped potential in this creature. While he never became that viable in competitive play, he's clearly the superior card.

Winner: Skarrg Guildmage, by a considerable margin.

Godhead of Awe - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Godhead of Awe is an awe-some card (pun intended) from Shadowmoor. She was one of the first Magic cards I ever played with. I actually opened her in the same draft as my Augury Adept.

The Godhead's ability to make all other creatures into 1/1’s is extremely valuable, allowing her to simply take over a game by herself. Plus, with the enchantment Steel of the Godhead in the same set, this Godhead could deal some serious damage.

Steel of the Godhead obviously has its flavor tied to the Godhead of Awe. It costs 2 colorless and either a Blue or a White to cast. If the enchanted creature is white, that creature gains +1/+1 and lifelink. If it’s blue, it gets +1/+1 and can’t be blocked. Godhead of Awe is both white and blue simultaneously. This means that with the Steel of the godhead she became a 6/6 un-blockable flyer with lifelink. Gaining 6 life every turn while dealing 6 to your opponent is pretty good.

Augury Adept is similarly both white and blue and could benefit from this card, as well. Going unblocked, the Adept could essentially draw me a free card every turn while potentially also gain me life.

With these three cards in my draft deck, I probably should have won more games than I lost. Alas, I drafted very poorly otherwise – as I had never drafted Magic before – and didn’t win too much.

I also didn’t have access to another Enchantment from Lorwyn called Battle Mastery.

I mentioned previously in my Augury Adept review that having double strike on a creature with an ability that triggers upon dealing combat damage is extremely powerful. Being able to grab two cards, while also having a Steel of the Godhead making it a 4/4 with lifelink that couldn’t be blocked was pretty sweet.

Of course, with the Godhead of Awe on board the Adept would only be a 3/3, but you’re playing the Adept for the card draw (technically it’s not drawing cards as its revealing them and putting them into your hand, but it’s essentially the same thing), not the combat damage.

With Godhead of Awe, Battle Mastery helps the Godhead of Awe defeat pretty much anything that gets in its way, and if it were to also be unblocked, you would be dealing 8 damage a turn at the very least. With Steel of the Godhead, you’d be dealing 12 damage, plus gaining 12 life.

In Constructed at the time, you had plenty of counter-magic and Ponder to help set up your draws. It’s hard to believe that a blue/white control deck didn’t ever pop up that took advantage of this combination, especially with all of the Merfolk that were around in Standard to complement the deck.Yes, Godhead of Awe decks were relegated to the casual scene. The Godhead sees play in five-color Commander decks, and has also made appearances in Oloro, Ageless Ascetic lists. But she’s never become part of any top-tier competitive control decks. Why is that?

Unfortunately she’s just outclassed. Augury Adept suffers from a similar issue. People would rather play Geist of Saint Traft for 3 mana, and there are 4 drop creatures in Modern that people would rather play over the Godhead. Yes, the Godhead’s effect is pretty awesome and it would probably play fairly well in the right control shell. The trick is covering those 5 mana symbols, and white/blue decks struggle consistently without having a third color to support them in Modern. White-blue decks work in Legacy, but the only 5 drops they want to play are Force of Will.

Many of the cards that I loved from Shadowmoor never really saw competitive play. Two others that I really loved: Kitchen Finks and Bloodbraid Elf from my first ever Red/Green deck turned out to be decent cards, though.

A control deck based around the Godhead is certainly possible, though. Godhead of Awe has an amazing combination with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, who gives all of your opponent’s creatures -2/-2 and your creatures +2/+2. Even though she herself would become a 1/1 thanks to the Godhead’s effect, your opponent will never have any creatures again as long as the Elesh Norn remains on the board.

There is potential for a Godhead of Awe deck to work in Modern. You have Mana Leak and Remand to hold people back for a turn, and Remand draws you a card, as well. You have the Geist of Saint Traft, as well, obviously, but the Geist doesn’t really work so well with the Godhead – however, the Steel of the Godhead still functions. The problem is figuring out the synergies to make it a well-tuned control shell. It is a challenge I will take on one day.

If you have any stories about the first cards you ever pulled or played with, I’d love to hear about them.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Golgari Guildmage VS Korozda Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Next up on Mages of the Guild are the black/green guildmages of the Golgari. Will the newer brethren’s skills overwhelm the old mage’s abilities? Let’s take a look.

Korozda Guildmage is the newer of the two and has two fairly decent abilities. The first costs 1BG (1 colorless, 1 Black, 1 Green) and gives a target creature +1/+1 and intimidate until end of turn. This evasion can prove useful, and if you have enough mana to pour into this ability, you could get in for a decent amount of damage in one turn. It can also be used defensively, for the extra power and toughness, which is also useful.

The second ability costs 2BG (2 colorless, 1 Black, 1 Green). You sacrifice a nontoken creature (important that you can’t use a token) and you put X 1/1 green Saproling creature tokens onto the battlefield, where X is the sacrificed creature’s toughness. This is a pretty decent ability that can be used offensively and defensively. You could sacrifice a creature that will be destroyed by removal anyway, essentially negating that removal and getting Saproling tokens to replace it. It’s an even better ability in Commander where there are some creatures with massive amounts of toughness (Ghoultree, Tree of Redemption, etc.) which you can sacrifice for tons of token shenanigans.

He’s also an Elf, so for fans of green/black Elves, he can be fairly useful, especially since his second ability is even more powerful with how strong Elves can become over the course of a game!

Golgari Guildmage has two interesting abilities, but each of them cost 5 total mana. The first costs 4B (4 colorless, 1 Black) and allows you to sacrifice a creature and return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand. This can be a pretty useful ability, especially when this card was first printed back in the original Ravnica block where Dredge was such an important and powerful mechanic. Five mana is a lot for this sort of ability, but it’s definitely useful in Commander.

The second ability costs 4G (4 colorless, 1 Green) and allows you to put a +1/+1 counters on target creature. There are plenty of far better ways, today at least, that can put these counters on creatures at a far lesser cost.

He is also an Elf Shaman, like his newer counterpart, but the abilities are clearly less powerful than the Korozda version. In Commander, I could see both working together. But he is clearly the weaker of the two here, and the disparity between the two cards’ power levels is not even really close .

Winner: Korozda Guildmage, by a good degree!

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Dimir Guildmage VS Duskmantle Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

In this mini-series, we've been taking a look at the Guildmages of the various Guilds in both the new Ravnica block and the old Ravnica block and compare and contrast them. Yes, some are far superior to others, and while some of the newer ones have way cooler abilities, let’s just see how much better they are compared to their predecessors in their respective guilds, shall we?

Today, we take a look at the two from the blue/black guild of Dimir: Duskmantle Guildmage from Gatecrash and Dimir Guildmage from Ravnica: City of Guilds.

First up, we have the newer Guildmage from Dimir: Duskmantle Guildmage. For one blue and one black, you get a 2/2 body with a couple of interesting mana abilities. First for 1UB (1 colorless, 1 Blue, 1 Black), whenever a card is put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere this turn, that player loses 1 life. Honestly, with the mill strategies being played in Standard today, that’s pretty relevant. Not only that, this ability affects cards going to the graveyard from ANYWHERE. So, if your opponent plays an instant, they lose a life. If your opponent has a creature die for any reason, they lose a life. If they’re forced to mill cards, they lose a life for each card that hits the bin. I will say: a mana sink of only 1UB for that powerful of an effect is pretty darn good, especially if you have a way to make them mill a whole bunch of cards.

The second ability for 2UB is a bit underwhelming compared to the first ability. You just mill the top two cards of your opponent’s deck into the graveyard. There are much more effective ways of doing this in Constructed, but it has Limited applications, and if nothing else, you have four mana open to do it, and nothing better to do, it can’t hurt, really. In Commander, however, if you get infinite mana, you can mill everyone for game. Of course, that’s only true as long as one or more of your opponents doesn’t play an Eldrazi in their decks. Then again, the good news is that if you use his 1UB ability before-hand, which would make lots of sense, you’ll probably kill them with the life drain anyway.

Overall, Duskmantle Guildmage is a pretty nice little uncommon. For Constructed, it fits very well into the Dimir strategies, and three mana for a potential major life drain is pretty darn good, I must say. Also, in multi-player formats, EDH especially, that first ability can do serious harm in multiple situations, as it affects any of your opponents.

So what about Duskmantle’s older brother, the original Dimir Guildmage? First off all, he has a hybrid mana cost of 2 blue or black, so he may drop on turn two more often than his newer counterpart on the basis of his more convenient casting cost. After that, though, his abilities are a bit underwhelming. For 3 and a blue, target player draws a card. For 3 and a black, target player discards a card.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad abilities, especially considering that if you have the mana open you can draw and discard a few cards, especially in Commander. However, you can only play them any time you could play a sorcery, as in during your own main phases.

For Constructed purposes, the new Guildmage blows this one away, but I can see this card still being relevant in Commander as a decent mana sink. But not being able to play those abilities at will really makes this card nowhere as good as it would be if they didn’t have that limitation of being only played at sorcery speed.

Winner: Duskmantle Guildmage. He’s just a great solid card and he has great utility in Standard, Limited, and EDH. It remains to be seen how and if he is utilized in other Constructed formats, but in any case, he’s just a great card to have in your deck-building arsenal.

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Boros Guildmage VS Sunhome Guildmage

1/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today on Mages of the Guild, we look next at the red/white Guild of Boros. In the ring today, we have Sunhome Guildmage and his earlier counterpart, Boros Guildmage. While both certainly have their strengths, one is clearly better than the other.

So we’ll start with the newer Guildmage first. Sunhome Guildmage has a casting cost of 1 Red and 1 White for a 2/2. Pretty standard. His mana abilities are good, but not great. For 1RW, creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn. As it’s not a tap ability, you can activate it as many times as you have the mana. It’s not a bad ability, but that mana is perhaps better invested into creatures that have Haste, or three-drop lords like Rageblood Shaman.

His second ability is a bit underwhelming. For 2RW you get a 1/1 red and white soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield. Now that 1 damage may be enough to put the game away, but for 4 mana, especially in Boros, you will have better options. Heck, just play a Lightning Strike for 1R if the game’s that tight!

Overall, Sunhome Guildmage may be an OK card in Limited, but in Constructed he’s one of the weaker Guildmages. He’s not even really great in Commander, unless you find someway to get ridiculous amounts of mana to pump your creatures for a game-winning alpha strike. While that’s doable, there are far better combos. Then again, if you can find a way to get that sort of mana, you could also get ridiculous amounts of tokens. It’s something to think about, but again, there are far more efficient cards that can do these things than this can.

Boros Guildmage, on the other hand, from the original Ravnica block, is actually hands down a better card than Sunhome. She’s been played in Commander for quite some time (hence her inclusion in the Commander pre-constructed decks released a couple of years ago – the reprint which is shown above.) First of all, her casting cost is easier, because of the hybrid red/white mana cost. So you can get stuck on one color and still play her on turn two.

Her casting cost is far from the best part about her, as her activated abilities are just plain silly. For 1R, you can give target creature haste until end of turn. We’ll use a good example from Commander. Say you play a Balefire Dragon or something else big that doesn’t have haste. Well, for 1R, it now does. In the case of Balefire: goodbye, opponent’s creatures – as Balefire deals damage equal to his power, usually 6, to all of that player’s creatures. There are plenty of creatures that you would not mind paying 1R to have haste and swing for great effects or for game. That ability is just fantastic. You can use that ability on Guildmage herself, although you probably wouldn’t.

Her second ability, while more tactical, is also incredibly good. For 1W, you can give a target creature first strike until end of turn. This can lead to some interesting blocking situations. If you have the open mana, some players simply will let your attack through because giving first strike a lot of times will kill their creature and not yours. It’s also a fine combat trick for when they do block. While not quite as exciting as giving something haste, it’s a great ability that can serve you probably just as well.

The only issue is now that Boros Guildmage isn’t in Standard. I don’t know if any Modern Boros lists will ever be running her, considering how easy it is to remove her. In Constructed today, while those abilities are pretty darn good, you won’t often use them until much later in the game since they are what players like to call “mana sink” abilities. The best application for her is in Casual Boros decks and in Commander, where you often have mana to spare on many turns, and giving things haste in Commander can be a potential Win Target Game depending on what creature you’re giving it to. So she’s a really good card to have.

So while neither Boros Guildmage is especially fantastic in Constructed, there’s little doubt that Boros Guildmage wears the crown for better card here. Sorry, Sunhome Guildmage, you’re just not quite good enough, although you can make a whole bunch of tokens…

Magic the Gathering - Mages of the Guild - Azorius Guildmage VS New Prahv Guildmage

1/23/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today, on Mages of the Guild, we take a look at the blue/white Ravnica guild of Azorius, a pesky one with a couple of interesting Guildmages. Which one is better in the long run? Let’s take a look.

First, we’ll take a look at the newer kid on the block, New Prahv Guildmage. He costs one each of the Azorius colors to cast (Blue and White), and is the typical 2/2. His first activated ability for WU (Blue, White) gives a target creature flying until end of turn. Especially in a Limited environment, that’s quite a useful ability. It’s also a Commander-relevant ability. It’s not quite good enough for other competitive Constructed formats, though, but it’s not terrible.

The second ability is good, but a bit high on the cost (3WU). This ability allows you to detain target non-land permanent an opponent controls. This means that if it’s a creature, it can’t block or use its activated abilities, even mana abilities. If it’s an enchantment, planeswalker, or artifact, it simply can’t be used unless its effect is not activated, such as an enter-the-battlefield trigger. But 5 mana is a huge investment for that sort of effect. Then again, because it’s a repeatable and not a tap ability, it makes sense that the cost would be intentionally fairly high.

Overall, the main reason to use New Prahv Guildmage is to give your bigger creatures flying. The detain ability will only be used if you get mana flooded and need something to sink it into. It could save you here and there, but it’s not an ability to rely on.

Not only does the original Azorius Guildmage from Dissension (the Commander reprint is pictured above) look more interesting, being a Vedalken Wizard, but it may be a bit more useful. While this Guildmage doesn’t give creatures flying, it has two abilities that are similar to the New Prahv Guildmage‘s second ability. This Guildmage can tap a target creature for 2W and counter a target activated ability for 2U (although it can’t touch mana abilities).

So which of these is actually better in the long run? The fact that the Azorius Guildmage can react to an activated ability rather than simply detain something may be a bit more useful. Then again, tapping a creature rather than giving your own creature flying may not be as good.

From a Limited perspective, New Prahv may be better simply for the flying ability and the ability to detain whatever it wants (even at that steep of a cost). Azorius Guildmage has more utility in a format like Commander where tapping the right creature and countering the right ability is more important.

The battle here looks to be a wash. They’re both very good, but the hybrid mana cost of Azorius Guildmage and the ability to counter an ability rather than detain something might allow it to win this round. But it’s very close.

Winner: Azorius Guildmage, by a hair.

Let me know if you agree or disagree and why!

Magic the Gathering Card Review - Game of Chaos from Ice Age

1/14/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today we take a look at Game of Chaos, a rare card from Ice Age. It’s a red sorcery costing RRR to cast (triple Red). It was later reprinted in Fifth Edition with much more readable text. Here is the official Oracle entry for Game of Chaos:

“Flip a coin. If you win the flip, you gain 1 life and target opponent loses 1 life, and you decide whether to flip again. If you lose the flip, you lose 1 life and that opponent gains 1 life, and that player decides whether to flip again. Double the life stakes with each flip.”

Obviously, a card like this wouldn’t be printed anymore, but this effect is actually quite fascinating. If you can keep winning coin flips, this card can be pretty powerful, especially since the life stakes double with each subsequent flip. Risking everything on coin flips is pretty silly, though. Then again, do remember in the early days of Magic: the Gathering, there were actually more than a few cards like this.

No offense to Drew Tucker, who has done plenty of great Magic art over the years (including the awesome Deathbringer Liege from Eventide), but I do prefer the art by Thomas Gianni on the Fifth Edition reprint:

That is some beautiful card. To be fair, the best card he did artwork on was Tower of the Magistrate (I personally love his artwork on Seht’s Tiger from Future Sight!)

Game of Chaos is yet another one of those cards from a very early time in Magic where crazy things could and did happen that made no logical competitive sense. I absolutely love reviewing these and enjoying some classic old-school, old-bordered Magic cards!

Magic the Gathering Card Review - Goblin Diplomats from Magic 2014

1/14/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Goblin Diplomats is a card that I’ve always been a fan of, even if he’s not so solid in Constructed. The ability to force an opponent to attack is actually underrated. It’s certainly very important in Limited.

At one time, I considered that Boros Aggro could play a singleton of the Diplomats to force opponents to run into their Boros Reckoners or first-strike Ash Zealots, but that dream never came true. That being said, he wasn’t a bad card in Magic 2014 Limited (which was a brutal format, in my experience). He just is a bit weak for Constructed play, as he’s not as aggressive as you want a Goblin to be.

However, in Commander, it’s a different story. Causing chaos on the board is some thing red players love doing in Commander. Forcing an opponent to make their creatures attack is pretty mean. It can cause a lot of drama in a multiplayer game. Goblin Tribal decks often can find room for this guy, and he was an auto-include in my Krenko, Mob Boss deck. That is the Commander deck in which the Diplomats see the most play.

He also happened to be the rare Top 8 foil promo for Magic 2014 Game Day… oh, how exciting!

Oh, don’t they look precious!? Actually, this is a promo that fetches a few dollars online, believe it or not. Hive Stirrings was the promo that everyone got. Despite how cool that card looks, neither that or Diplomats wasn’t enough of a reason to come out for a Game Day tournament. To be fair, the best part about that Game Day was the Chandra, Pyromaster Champion play-mat! That being said, Goblin Diplomats a good enough card for Commander that picking up a promo isn’t a terrible idea for the binder or Commander toolbox.

Essence of the Wild from Innistrad - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

1/13/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Essence of the Wild is a very fun mythic rare. When it was first released, I saw it as a card with plenty of potential. Considering that this card automatically makes every creature that hits the board under your control into a 6/6 Essence of the Wild Avatar, there are plenty of ways you can abuse it.

One option that was popular when Essence of the Wild was in Standard was to use it as a 6-drop in Birthing Pod decks. It makes all of your little utility creatures into big beaters, and short of a board-wipe it could be game over. To be honest, this wasn’t a popular strategy, but there are those that did it.

The better option that I had once considered was to play Essence of the Wild in a token based deck, like with Hero of Bladehold and any other cards that create lots of tokens. It would’ve been especially fun with Garruk, Primal Hunter and Garruk Relentless, whose tokens now become 6/6. Needless to say, having 6/6 beaters is pretty fun.

The main issue is this Essence of the Wild’s 6-drop cost, with a triple Green requirement. In Standard, this heavy leaning towards Green proved to be a bit awkward. In any case, Essence of the Wild is especially fun in Commander, with all of the token creation available in the format. This was never the mythic rare you wanted to pull out of Innistrad (why couldn’t you be a Liliana of the Veil!?) but it’s still a good card to try and include in a fun Commander strategy.

I’d still love to see a Modern ramp deck run Essence of the Wild. Now that would be fascinating. I'm not sure it would ever happen, but this is a powerful mythic rare on paper.

Gilded Lotus - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

1/13/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Gilded Lotus was first printed in Mirrodin, and reprinted in the Magic 2013 Core Set and Dominaria. It was also included as a premium foil in the highly popular From the Vault: Twenty product.

Ah, mana fixing. In a set like Magic 2013 that saw a bunch of baffling reprints, such as Battle of Wits, Gilded Lotus is one of those cards you’ll never mind opening. It does cost 5 colorless mana to play, but it essentially only costs 2 because it immediately has the ability to give you three mana of any color.

It was a great color fixer back in the days of the Mirrodin Block (a few years before my time). It's also a very popular card in Commander, and has seen some fringe play in Modern Tron decks, as well. It’s a solid card. With its Dominaria printing, it's now far more available for those that want to use it as part of their mana ramp package.

Jor Kadeen the Prevailer from New Phyrexia - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

1/13/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

To this day, I’m a big believer in good old Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer. Even at the New Phyrexia pre-release, Jor Kadeen was identified as a fine choice for a Commander - back before the format even became popular. All you would need to build is an artifact-heavy deck built around Metalcraft, a mechanic which activates when you have 3 or more artifacts in play. Jor Kadeen's Metalcraft ability gives all of your creatures a +3 power boost, including himself, which is pretty ridiculous.

With Metalcraft, Jor Kadeen alone is an 8/4 with first strike for 3RW (3 colorless, Red, White). If you can build an army of small creatures around him, you can end up with an unstoppable force never afraid to make an Alpha Strike.

There was a deck floating around in Standard not long after New Phyrexia's release that featured this guy. It revolved mostly around Kemba, Kha Kegent, Goblin Gaveleer, and a janky enchantment called Bludgeon Brawl.

Goblin Gaveleer is a little Goblin with Trample that got much, much bigger the more enchantments that you stuck on it, and Kemba, Kha Regent (a very popular Commander in her own right) puts out a Cat token for each Equipment attached to it during each of your upkeeps. Jor Kadeen is essentially the finisher, making all of your Cats into 5/2 beaters and increasing Kemba’s and the Goblin Gaveleer’s power. Immolating Souleater, which can get very big if you pump enough mana (or life) into it, was another big beater in that deck that could combo with Bludgeon Brawl.

As cool as that kind of deck was, however, it was pretty inconsistent. On the other hand, with so many amazing artifacts in Commander, that sort of deck certainly be fun and have a load of win conditions if Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer is leading it. If you love playing artifacts, but like to also play aggressively, Jor Kadeen a great Commander to consider. He’s also very good in decks like Mayael the Anima, who can take advantage of his 5 power.

Basically, any Commander deck with Boros colors that’s aggressive can use him, due to the fact that having three artifacts under your control is pretty easy to do; Sol Ring, Darksteel Ingot, and Boros Signet are all you need in play. Any Equipment that you can play also helps. Artifact lands such as Ancient Den, Darksteel Citadel, and Great Furnace are another cheap way to get Metalcraft online. The fact that Jor Kadeen pumps your whole team makes him a game-changer. He’s definitely a super solid card for Commander, even if he never had his potential realized in Constructed.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind from Gatecrash - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

1/13/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

While he is certainly not the premier Ravnican guild leader in Gatecrash, Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is an extremely interesting card for Dimir decks. For 2 blue and 2 black mana, you get a 3/3 Hexproof Shapeshifter Legendary Creature with a fairly awesome ability. Similar to the Shapeshifter from Shadowmoor, Cemetery Puca, he can copy creatures as they leave play and hit the graveyard, and can then choose to become another creature that hits the graveyard later.

The major differences between Lazav and Cemetery Puca are where this guy really shines, however. First of all, Lazav can copy a creature when it is put into a graveyard from anywhere! This includes being discarded from the hand, being milled from the top of the deck, or even being sent to the graveyard (like by a Life’s Finale effect) that sends creatures from your opponent’s deck to the graveyard. Also, unlike the Puca, his ability costs you nothing, where Puca’s ability costs you one colorless mana each time. Finally, the copy that Lazav becomes gains hexproof, which is especially interesting.

About the only downside to this card is that the name remains Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and it is still Legendary. So, you can only have one on the board at a time. To be honest, though, to have an ability as great as his, being Legendary is perfectly fine and understandable. Keeping the name is just a part of that Legendary aspect. Also, because of the Legendary rule change from Magic 2014, an opponent can’t simply get rid of Lazav by playing a Clone effect or another Lazav (as you could when he was first released). The idea that Lazav can copy not only your best creatures and your opponent’s best creatures, but also has hexproof makes this a pretty valuable weapon in any blue/black control deck, including Grixis (red/blue/black).

Lazav is especially great if you plan to use him in as a Commander. You may have your Sheoldred, Whispering One hit the graveyard and have Lazav copy her. Because of the fact that the new Sheoldred is actually called Lazav, you then have a way for Sheoldred to come back. Suddenly, you have two Sheoldred triggers every turn! In Commander, he just has so many ways to copy your own Legendary Creatures’ effects, including being able to potentially control two Olivia Voldarens (in a red/blue/black deck) or two Oona, Queen of the Fae. There’s a lot of shenanigans that can go down with this guy.

While his double blue and double black casting cost may not make him quite as versatile as his Modern counterpart, Cemetery Puca, they could certainly complement one another in a Modern deck. Lazav hasn’t yet found his way into a Standard deck, however. There’s a possibility, though, that he may see play with Phenax, God of Deception, as he provides 4 devotion and can actually copy Phenax or other Gods like Thassa, God of the Sea and Erebos, God of the Dead! He could be quite the force in that sort of deck, allowing you a bevy of options that you could have only before imagined. He’s still one of the most underrated mythic rares in Gatecrash, and he’s a greatly under-utilized Commander card, as well.

Don’t be surprised if he shows up in blue/black Tempo/Control in Modern at some point. After all, who doesn’t want two Vendilion Cliques? Probably won't happen, but it would be pretty neat!

Photo used under Creative Commons from Parker Knight