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Awakening Zone vs. From Beyond

12/30/2015

by Shawn Leonardo, CommanDollar

One of my favorite cards from the recent Battle for Zendikar set is From Beyond, an enchantment that spawns Scion tokens. While definitively a spitting image of Awakening Zone from Rise of the Eldrazi, it makes you question: which is better?

It all depends on the play style. Both enchantments offer you tokens that can be sacrificed for a colorless mana each, ramping you just a little more each turn. However, there the similarities end.

Awakening Zone can be played one turn earlier than From Beyond, giving you a quicker boost in mana/ramp. The trade is that you get 0/1 Spawn, leaving you no real option other than to use as chump blockers or for their mana. From Beyond, while more expensive, seems to be far more versatile. That one extra mana gives you tokens with 1 power, making up for the lack of power that Zone has. The extra sacrifice ability on the bottom of Beyond is also enormous-rather than losing so much to a simple Naturalize, you can pay the 1G (and get a colorless from one of your Scions!) and get any Eldrazi from your deck, be it a Blisterpod, All is Dust, Eldrazi Conscription or even Emrakul, the Aeons Torn!

So, is From Beyond better than Awakening Zone? Perhaps; the more aggressive cost and simplicity of Awakening Zone may be overlooked, even left alone as a non-threat, while From Beyond can cause your opponent(s) to use a counter or removal to deal with how threatening it may be-searching. It all depends on the deck(s), the board state, and the draw.

Do you believe one is truly better than the other? Comment below!

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He resides in northern New Jersey, where he plots world domination.

Why EDH/Commander?

12/26/2015

by Shawn Leonardo, CommanDollar

Propaganda artwork by Clint Cearley

It’s Game Night, and your friends gather together for a night of chaos and entertainment; two games later, the night is over, everyone packs up and goes their separate ways. For those unaware of the format, only playing two games in one night sounds both grueling and boring. Why would people play a format that takes so long? If you have been skeptical or downright against playing EDH/Commander, I would recommend giving this a once-over.

The EDH/Commander format is, like all other Magic: the Gathering formats, an acquired taste. There certainly are aspects of the format’s culture that can attract or repel players, though it deserves explanation before making a final judgement.
I have been playing EDH/Commander since around fall of 2011. My first deck was hastily assembled with Darigaaz, the Igniter at the helm; I was also the first player removed in my first game, and that almost made me abandon the format. Obviously, I stuck with it and now enjoy a good match. But what draws a player who was at first scorned?

The Singleton Strategy

Unlike most formats, EDH/Commander is highlander specific-meaning that only one copy of a card aside from basic lands can be in the deck. While cards with similar effects can make their way into the 99, the sheer number of cards makes getting one specific card far more difficult-and statistically improbable-than hoping to draw one of a playset from a 60-card deck. The game becomes a longer strategic bout from that, as well as the increased life totals and pool of cards players can access. While there are staples and ban lists in all supported formats, including EDH/Commander, The 15,000+ cards and 600+ legendary creatures allow for a diverse combination to be seen at every table-and rest assured, games often do take up the whole table!

Multiplayer Glory

The foundation of EDH/Commander was in a social multiplayer experience, and while the typical 1-versus-1 matches (commonly known as French Commander or Duel Commander) have interest, the roots of the game grow deep. The joy of multiplayer magic comes in both inclusiveness and politics, which soon brought me back to the table, eager for another shot. Even if someone claims to “ignore politics” within a game, that itself warps the other players’ play style in the match-up. In the end, who won, who betrayed who, the fatal plays-and misplays-create an experience worth repeating. Your deck may be the sloppiest 100 pieces of paper ever assembled, yet can have the capability to claim victory, thanks to the chaos of multiplayer magicking. Also, with the incredible amount of possibilities EDH/Commander can create, each match has the potential to be unique-in the haunting words of the Hunger Games, “May the odds be ever in your favor!”

Eternal Change

The financial aspect that drew me back into playing EDH/Commander was the lack of rotation-something that instantly made me drop playing standard and swapping over to something more financially applicable. While decks can be worth anywhere from $20 to several thousand, you have the capability to upgrade them over time, learning strategy and deck tech along the way. Formats like standard may have decks worth slightly less, yet the rotation involved in the format makes everything add up in a shorter period of time. Trading/buying cards for EDH/Commander is often a purposeful investment, a slow but steady progression to building the deck you truly will be satisfied with-though that rarely happens. Decks are built, come apart and are rebuilt as often as a child builds with and destroys Lego sets. If someone does set in stone a deck they enjoy however, that deck can remain unchanged for as long as they wish; the rare card being banned may occur, however as stated before, the sheer volume of cards to choose from as replacement make all the difference.

The Biggest Reason of All

EDH/Commander is great and amazing for all the aforementioned reasons, yet there is one final piece as to why the format is incredible, though only for a small portion of the crowd. Something special. Something like getting to say…

So play. To have fun, to include a massive amount of people, to have to change very little (or a lot), and to play that one card that you never could play anywhere else. Happy gaming, folks.

* This post was originally published at CommanDollar on Tumblr.

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He resides in northern New Jersey, where he plots world domination.

In the Beginning: The Wild (Wild) West of Commander

12/22/2015

By Shawn Leonardo, CommanDollar

Every now and then, when sounding the call (”who wants to play some EDH?”), someone asks “What’s E-D-H?”; that question throws it back to before the summer of 2011, when Elder Dragon Highlander was taking its first few steps towards becoming the format we all love-or hate.

What was it like back in the old days? Were they the Golden Years of EDH, or are we experiencing that now? We’ll briefly take a look at how it was in the beginning, how the format has changed, and the potential positive/negative aspects of its evolution from a fan format to a Wizards of the Coast-supported format.

The Early Days
No Command Tower. No Opal Palace. No Kaalia of the Vast. No Oloro. In the beginning, there was no product, no guidance, no meta. And the creators said, “Play anything; Play everything”. And so it was, and it was good.

Elder Dragon Highlander was born out of a desire for a more casual, social/multiplayer way to play Magic: the Gathering, likely whilst using cards you would never otherwise use. A haven for the Timmy’s of the world, playing cards such as Greater Gargadon and other cards that had a high converted mana cost (CMC) was encouraged due to the high life total and typical length of games.

The Onset of Commander

Eventually the format started appearing at tournaments, with players like Sheldon Menery bringing it to Pro Tours, and Wizards of the Coast saw the potential, and in June of 2011 the first product, called Commander, was released. Five different preconstructed decks slammed onto tables across the globe, with brand-new cards and generals nobody had ever seen before included. Fairly well tuned and incredible in raw power, these decks swept through kitchen tables, upping the challenge the format posed. Now, rather than simply throwing cards that matched the color identity of the general you happened to have lying around, the edge of your metaphorical stick began to get sharpened-the format taking its first major steps towards a meta, as well as seeing more product in the future.

Four and a half years, and two (soon to be three) products later, Commander is as easy to find players for as any of the other WotC-supported formats; The Rules Committee silently lurks, watching the online meta to bring relative balance to the format, and Wizards now takes into account how cards will be utilized in our beloved format when creating sets. We see many cards now hitting each opponent rather than just a single target opponent. But is that a good thing?

The Good

For those who play/have played Tiny Leaders, they know that it may never get the support that EDH did due to lack of traction and popularity. Had EDH never gotten a product out, it may not have evolved into what we all enjoy (or despise), and we may not even be playing it at all. While it’s uncertain if WotC took a calculated risk when creating and releasing the first Commander decks, their entrance into the stage of the game certainly upped the ante on how it would be played.

Similarly, releasing new pre-con decks gets players new and old interested in the format. Rather than having to go home and build a deck, they can buy a “starter deck” for the format, and morph it to something more desirable. New cards come with each release, prompting collectors and players alike to buy decks, only to devour it for a few cards they could use to level up their current decks.

EDH/Commander is an eternal format-there’s no rotation, and very rarely does the mighty Rules Committee come out and ban/un-ban cards. Even if they do, house rules are mightier around the kitchen table; though if someone wants to run Griselbrand as a commander, watch out!

The Bad

While still considered a casual format, nobody can deny the power creep that has come into the game-something that was unavoidable with the support WotC provided. The format has become far more competitive; what started out as a six-shooter turned into an Uzi, then a cannon, and now a submarine carrying nuclear payloads. Prices of common “staple” cards used in the format have gone up, making it more difficult to get into. Net decking, while not necessarily a bad thing, has become more prevalent in searching for how to make a deck/commander more efficient. Just as the wild west evolved into part of the United States, so has EDH evolved into Commander.

WotC swings hard for the format; sometimes it’s a home run, while other times it’s striking out. Cards such as Griselbrand, Worldfire, and Sylvan Primordial were experiments likely designed to give Commander players even more support; the Primordials were meant to replace the Titans, especially Prime Time, who had recently gotten ban-hammered. Looking at all these names on the ban list, you can tell they didn’t work out. What they did do, however (in addition to the first Commander product) was show Wizards where how far they could go before they break the wheel.

In the End

How the format has changed over the years has been in no small part due to players doing what they do best-playing. Uncountable hours spent testing, searching and building has resulted in a greater understanding of the game and how incredible it really is. Just as life is, the nature of the format is to change, grow and expand over time, otherwise the same decks would exist with the same meta, creating a boring format which would eventually fall out of interest. The continuing product support and cards in sets allow Commander to constantly shift, keeping players on their feet for new opportunities to improve and play.

So, if you ever sound the call and someone asks “What’s E-D-H?”, don’t be afraid to tell them of the times before support, when the cards that would land on the table could be anything and every game was completely different-like today, but far more wild.

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He currently resides in Idaho, where he plots world domination.

Endbringer from Oath of the Gatewatch (MTG) - An EDH Value Engine?

12/22/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Endbringer is a fascinating Eldrazi from Oath of the Gatewatch. A 5/5 for 5C (5 generic, 1 colorless) doesn't seem all too exciting, but the fact that it untaps during each other player's untap step is pretty cool. Plus, he has 3 rather decent tap abilities. The first one deals 1 damage to target creature or player, the second stops a target creature from attacking or blocking that turn, and the third ability allows you to draw a card.

This might be borderline playable in Standard. But it's playable in Legacy Eldrazi Stompy decks and has seen play in Eldrazi Tron decks in Modern. However, Endbringer's best home is likely in Commander.

Producing true colorless mana is rarely an issue in Commander and the abilities are powerful enough that they can fit into a Commander deck fairly easily.Many Commander players were excited about this card when it was first spoiled. But many competitive EDH players were not.

This card seems like a staple for Commander, though, doesn't it? Colorless card draw, in particular, is especially useful. Tap your Sol Ring or other colorless mana rock and tap this guy, free card! Best of all, while colorless mana is required to cast him and use two out of three of the abilities, it's such a small cost and pretty much any Commander deck can use him. In a four-player game, you're often going to be drawing 1-3 extra cards before it's your turn again. The colorless requirement does balance it out a bit, but this guy is pure card advantage. At the very least, he can ping, which is not nothing.

The great thing about Endbringer is that his abilities can fit into another deck. It's all about just finding a slot for him. Early on, Animar, Soul of Elements (who can cast him for a single Colorless mana on many occasions) and Kruphix, God of Horizons are the two Commanders were mentioned as solid homes for this rare Eldrazi. Really, though, he can go just about anywhere.

While some Animar and Kruphix lists indeed play him, he hasn't become widely adopted by those Commanders. For the most part, he has only found consistent homes in Eldrazi Tribal decks, such as Kozilek, the Great Distortion, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, Emrakul, the Promised One, and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.

Could he ever become a new staple in the format? Even as a 6 mana creature, that seems possible. Like many of his colorless Eldrazi buddies from Oath of the Gatewatch, this guy should make himself known in the format for quite some time.

Updated 12/26/16

Why You and Your Children Should Play Magic: the Gathering

12/21/2015

by Shawn Leonardo, CommanDollar

“Untap, upkeep, draw. Tap for 3. Take 5. Pass.”

These phrases are commonly spoken during games of Magic. Is there really any value gained out of playing this game though? When searching Google and typing in “Why Magic the Gathering”, the first result that comes up finishes the sentence with “Is bad”. Many of its players have been subjugated to bullying, shame and exclusion; parents and professionals typically demonize the game as taking away from valuable time that could be spent doing school, sports or other activities. The issue with these views is that they lack knowledge of what Magic provides to its fans. Without knowing, Magic players expand their math and social skills, learn about the reality of making tough choices, and practice values that can-and often are-utilized away from the kitchen table. While there is certainly a fine line between too much, as with all good things, the focus is on the positive affect Magic: the Gathering has on its community.

The typical game of Magic has two players who each have a sixty card deck, and a “life total” of twenty. Through playing and battling with cards, players “lose life” until one of the players ends up at zero, upon which the other player is declared the winner. It may sound simple, however that’s an extremely simplified description of what goes on. The cards that players draw from their deck determines how the game goes for them-the better cards they draw, the more likely the game will turn in their favor. It all depends on if they draw the card they need, and as the game goes on, the deck size lessens. If this sounds vaguely familiar to you, the word probability might turn on a light bulb.

Let’s say, for example, that a player starts a game with a sixty card deck. The first thing to do is draw cards-you draw seven for your opening hand. The likelihood that you will draw a specific card in your deck, on the first card you draw, is 1/60. Simple so far, until you learn that you can have 4 copies of any non-land card (if that doesn’t make sense now, it will later on), turning up the probability to 4/60, or 1/15. As you continue drawing your opening hand, the chances of you drawing a specific card increases. Now, let’s go ahead and say that you draw your entire opening hand of seven cards, and you don’t get that one card you were looking for. There are now only 53 cards in your deck-so the chances of drawing that card are now 4/53. On your next turn, you draw a card-and sadly, it is also not the card you’re hoping for. That means you’re now down to a 4/52 chance, or 1/13. A quick ask on the mighty Lord Google reveals that probability is taught around the middle-school ages; Magic: the Gathering is recommended for ages 13+. That’s probably not a coincidence-it’s allowing teenagers the ability to apply what they learned, practice it, and most importantly, enjoy it. This is all just on probability! There’s basic math skills applied (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), algebra (solving to X comes to mind) and other pulls from mathematics. It’s also not limited to smaller numbers either-some games involves doing math into hundreds or even thousands!

Typing in “geeks are social” in Google yields one highlighted result: “Why geeks are socially awkward”. It yields over 95,000 results (stigma perhaps?). Much like the discussion over cell phone usage, Magic can be branded as an anti-social medium. From personal experience, I have seen this to be completely false. I’ve taught friends to play this game, as well as children that I counsel during my months at summer camp. The effect it has is astounding. Magic becomes almost its own language, speaking about games and strategies that only other Magic players will fully comprehend. If someone doesn’t know how to play, the first words out of someone’s mouth usually are, “Do you want to learn how? I can teach you!” (source: 5 summers at camp supervising Magic: the Gathering players during free time). Point being, Magic players want their friends to learn and share in this experience with them. It becomes a medium for those to gather (hence the name including “the Gathering”!) similar to poker night or game day-though that’s not to say those activities can all be going on! Playing is also highly inclusive-though typical games include only two people, it can more than welcome plenty more than that.

One of the more enchanting aspects of magic is how it can teach handling tough choices. Since each card is different and you don’t get to see your opponent’s hand (unless a card allows you to do so), there is a major element of strategy involved in guessing what your opponent(s) have. There’s also countering-when someone plays a card, another player can play a “counterspell” to negate that card and put it in the “graveyard”, where it is discarded and is rendered useless. Each time they play a card, they take a small risk of something unexpected happening. There is also the issue of land. Land produces mana, which players need to “cast” spells. They are one of the types of cards that you can find in a player’s deck, and can take up over 1/3 of the deck in some cases. A player often constructs the deck(s) they play, so they must choose which cards they can include and which they cannot. As of February 2015, there were 14,728 different cards, which gives each player a massive variety on what they want to put in their custom-built deck. After they’ve built it, they naturally want to test it out-to play a certain card, witness an interaction between two or more cards, and see if they have both luck and skill!

Magic is a medium-meaning that it in itself is not inherently amazing nor terrible, and that those that utilize this medium set the standard. Many a magic player has had moments where they reveled in joy and sank away in shock due to interaction with other players. There are different ways to win in Magic- the more accessible ones being that you can reduce your opponent’s life to zero, or you can make your opponent run out of cards to draw from their deck (known as decking out or “milling”). Those are the official means to win a game, yet there are different kinds of players, and “winning” can take on different forms. For some, playing the one card in their deck is all it take for them to “win”. Others wish to truly win, but in a strange method rarely seen. Still others build their decks like MMA fighters-a consistent means to take control of the game and achieve total victory over their opponent. These are all broad examples of the kinds of players you can meet, but not of the interactions you could have. In reality, some people are sore losers and sore winners, who don’t handle things going precisely the way they wish them to or don’t fully comprehend the responsibility of good sportsmanship.

The spectrum of players is much like that of the world itself, both in diversity and attitudes. Chances are, each Magic player will encounter someone who fits into the description of a “sore loser” or “sore winner”, and having to handle whichever situation you’re in will be difficult. This has often been the reason people “quit” magic-extremely negative interactions with players that set a poor example on the entire community. When people enjoy something and feel like they’ve been attacked, assaulted or otherwise affronted while trying to have a good experience, they’ll want to stray from that to ensure they don’t have another negative experience. This is part of growing in our social skills abilities-learning how to handle if you run into a person like this, understanding how to have the best experience and maybe even teaching others that their interactions are not the standard they wish to set-upon themselves or others.

This may seem like a lot-and you’d be right in thinking so. Magic: the Gathering has grown to a social experience that includes players, regardless of whatever diversity they happen to represent, in an inclusive manner. It teaches skills typically learned by making terrible mistakes in the form of a game that strengthens bonds between strangers and friends alike. Critical thinking, problem solving, advanced planning, teamwork-all inherently incorporated into a single game. Magic: the Gathering-don’t you or your children learn or play it if you think these skills or values are important.

* This post was originally published at CommanDollar on Tumblr.

Shawn Leonardo is a casual Magic: the Gathering blogger, and mainly discusses the EDH/Commander format as well as budget solutions. He resides in northern New Jersey, where he plots world domination.

Blazing Mirror Force - Yu-Gi-Oh Dimension of Chaos Card Review

12/14/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Mirror Force was once an absolute staple in just about every Yu-Gi-Oh deck there was. While it still sees play today, it's no longer nearly as popular as it once was. The Dimension of Chaos set brought into play a secret rare that has an interesting - and deadly - twist on the original Mirror Force.

Blazing Mirror Force destroys all of your opponent's Attack Position monsters, just like the original, but adds a very important and potentially game-ending effect. You must take damage equal to the half of the combined original ATK points of those destroyed monsters. The best part about this, however, is that you inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent. Used strategically, not only can this turn the tables on your opponent, destroying their attack force, but it can put their own life points to a point where either you can finish them on your next turn, or even right then.

Jason Imasogie included 2 copies of Blazing Mirror Force in his 1st place Regional Winning Burning Abyss deck in Birmingham, England. It marks the first time that this card has been a part of a major tournament winning deck. Burning Abyss is a strong archetype and it's surely not the last time Blazing Mirror Force will be included in this type of deck. Unlike the original Mirror Force, however, the timing of unleashing this trap is critical. Nevertheless, having such game-ending potential is what should make a Secret Rare Trap Card, and the designers of Yu-Gi-Oh definitely got this card right.

Is Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower the Most Powerful Blackwing Monster in All of Yu-Gi-Oh?

12/14/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower is an extremely powerful Synchro Monster from Yu-Gi-Oh's Dimension of Chaos set. As someone who loved playing Blackwings in my Yu-Gi-Oh playing days, this is a monster that I would have loved to have at my disposal. It's a Level 7 Synchro monster, just like the famous Blackwing Armor Master. However, this Winged Beast is far more powerful. Its very presence on the battlefield can lead to a one-turn kill (OTK) for the Blackwing player.

Unlike many Blackwing Synchro monsters, Raikiri does not require Blackwings in order to be played. However, if you happen to use a Blackwing monster as Synchro Material for Raikiri, he becomes a Tuner monster himself. While this makes him able to help players summon higher level Synchro monsters, this is hardly the best thing about Raikiri.

Once per turn, Raikiri has an effect that allows you to target a number of cards your opponent controls up to the number of other "Blackwing" monsters you control. You then can destroy those cards. With a field full of Blackwings, this means you can destroy up to 4 cards per turn. If that seems incredibly unfair, well, it is. Essentially, your opponent needs either an immediate answer to Raikiri's summoning or some way to negate the activation of his effect.

Raikiri the Rain Shower is probably the most powerful Blackwing monster ever printed. Will Raikiri propel Blackwings back into the Yu-Gi-Oh competitive spotlight?

Best Games to Play in the Car (Fun and Simple Road Trip Games)

12/8/2015

by Lyn Lomasi; Co-owner of Brand Shamans & Write W.A.V.E. Media

Image © Parker Knight; Flickr.com

Road trip games should be low maintenance, cheap, and easy for everyone to participate in. Sometimes the driver cannot participate, but that's OK because the driver's eyes should be on the road. Here are some of the best road trip games for kids or adults to play in the car. These are appropriate for ages 3 and up and many can be adjusted for skill level.

Best Paper and Pencil Games to Play in the Car

Paper and pencil games are some of the simplest games to play in the car and minimal supplies are required - just a notebook and pencil.

Tic Tac Toe Car Game - Pass the paper and pencil back and forth for a car game version of this.

Word Search Race Car Game - Print out a copy of the same word search for each person ahead of time. Have a timed race to see who can find all the words the fastest. These can be easily found on any free printables website or hand written and copied ahead of time.

Drawing Contests as a Car Game - Drawing contests in the car are especially challenging because of the bumpy ride.

Best License Plate Games to Play in the Car

License plate games are a classic during car rides. It can be fun to come up with different variations and see who is up to the challenge.

Numbers to 20 - Seeing numbers on license plates sounds easy enough until you start trying to find the double digits.

Spell This Word - Each player gets a word from the one who played before him to find all the letters for by looking at license plates. The letters must be found in order.

Alphabet Challenge - This car game is like Spell this Word above, but instead all the letters of the alphabet need to be found. This can be done as a team or one person at a time.

Best Puzzle Games to Play in the Car

Puzzle games can take a great deal of time to solve, making them perfect for car games. The best puzzle games for road trips are those with minimal pieces, such as those listed below.

Rubik's Cube - All varieties of the classic Rubik's Cube make great car games because they are are only one piece and can keep a person occupied for hours.

Slide Puzzles - Remember those puzzles that required sliding tiles around to create a picture or number pattern? They're very cheap to come by and usually come in a package of 6 or more.

Best Road Sign Games to Play in the Car

Like license plate games, road sign games are a long-time tradition when it comes to the best car games. Here are a couple of the best ones for road trips.

Find the Word - In this game, the assigned word needs to be in whole and on a road sign.

10 of This or That - Travelers are given a topic and need to find 10 related words on road signs. For instance, if the topic was lakes, travelers might see "Lake Ontario" and "Lake Michigan" as part of their 10 words.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

Toon Barrel Dragon? Why Did Yu-Gi-Oh Never Make This Before?

12/5/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Barrel Dragon gets a Toon makeover in Yu-Gi-Oh's Dimension of Chaos set.

As someone who used to be absolutely obsessed with Yu-Gi-Oh, when I came across Toon Barrel Dragon, a major wave of nostalgia hit me. For those unfamiliar with Barrel Dragon, in the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh, that monster could take down any card on the field - if you got 2 heads out of 3 coin flips.

In the Dimension of Chaos set, Yu-Gi-Oh finally printed the Toon version of Barrel Dragon. About time! It has the same basic stats and effect as the original Barrel Dragon, except it has the upside of being able to attack directly if you have Toon World or Toon Kingdom on the field.

Unlike some older Toon monsters, this cartoonish Barrel Dragon doesn't have the drawback of being destroyed without a "Toon World" card being on the field. It also can target any card on the field, and not just monsters, like the original Barrel Dragon. So the Toon version is, in fact, strictly better than the original.

Of course, there are so many Toon monster options today. Konami decided to go ahead and print monsters like Toon Cyber Dragon that have made the deck a bit more competitive. Yu-Gi-Oh continues to give classic monsters the Toon treatment on a regular basis now, recognizing how much people still love the archetype. Of course, Toon Kingdom is the card that brought Toons back into the Yu-Gi-Oh meta-game as a "troll" deck. I wrote a fairly extensive piece about the effect of Toon Kingdom on the competitiveness of Toon decks. It's one of the most popular Gaming articles I've ever written.

While this Barrel Dragon isn't going to cut it in today's Yu-Gi-Oh competitively, it's still a fun card to have simply for nostalgia's sake. Barrel Dragon was a card that many early Yu-Gi-Oh players hold close to their hearts. Today, Toons are pretty much a "troll" deck, as it is. Players basically play them for the sake of being funny, although they can win some games against tournament-level decks at times from the sheer power of Toon Kingdom. The Toon Barrel Dragon may never come out of nowhere in some high-profile tournament. But he's going to be a beloved collectible card for anyone who loves Yu-Gi-Oh Toon Monsters.

Stoneforge Mystic is the Magic the Gathering 2016 Grand Prix Promo Card

12/4/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Today, MTGGoldfish revealed that Stoneforge Mystic will be the promotional card of the 2016 Grand Prix schedule for Magic the Gathering. That means this very powerful creature will soon be in the hands of many more players. While Stoneforge is banned in Modern due to her crazy power level, she is still legal in Legacy and sees plenty of play in Commander. Since being banned during her Standard days for her format-warping ability to put Batterskull into play for only 1W, she's become one of the most recognizable creatures in the entire game of Magic.

With Legacy tournament support dying, it's interesting that Wizards decided to print Mystic now. The art is pretty nice, although I'm partial to the original Worldwake art. What this will do is provide Commander players a much cheaper foil printing to "pimp" out their decks and she is indeed a staple in any Equipment-heavy EDH deck. Non-foil Stoneforge Mystics are about $20-25 as of this writing, but foils are over $100. The promo should be much closer to the non-foil price since there will be plenty of copies of these handed out during next year's Grand Prix tournaments. It's good news for anyone who wants this card, but I think most demand will come from Commander players.

Is Goblin Sleigh Ride the Most Whimsical Wizards of the Coast Holiday Promo Card Ever Printed?

12/4/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Wizards of the Coast has been doing special holiday promo cards for their staff for several years now. They are silver-bordered, meaning that they're not eligible for tournament play. That doesn't stop people from being funny and sticking them into their casual decks or cubes. Some Commander playgroups even allow them, based on how they play.

While the Holiday promos are always worded in ways that you would never see on a tournament-legal Magic card, Goblin Sleigh Ride is more whimsical than most. I mean, first of all, you actually have a creature CLIMB onto it, even though it's a SORCERY. Then you SLIDE THEM ON THEIR MERRY WAY! Here's where it gets really fun. If that creature STAYED ON, it deals damage equal to its toughness to each other creature touched during the slide.

OK, first of all, how exactly does this sliding occur? Do you sort of fling it across the table. Do you attach it to a remote-controlled car? And how do you determine if the creature stays on? What legal ways can you fasten the creature to it? The rules nightmare here is beyond reason... obviously, that was sort of the point. But seriously, if Goblin Sleigh Ride isn't the most whimsical holiday promo card yet, and there have been quite a few of these already, I don't know what is!

Will Shattergang Brothers and Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest Be Best Buddies? - Magic the Gathering Commander 2015 Q&A

12/1/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Shattergang Brothers is a powerful Commander from the Commander 2013. Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest is a Legendary Creature from Commander 2015 who can also be a fairly powerful Commander. As the Shattergang Brothers are concerned with forcing everybody to sacrifice a bunch of things, why not take advantage of all those sacrifices by also playing Mazirek alongside? That does seem like a pretty good plan, doesn't it?

This synergy has been pointed out more than a few times recently, but so far, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest has been understudy to Commander 2015 mate Meren of Clan Nel Toth and Shattergang Brothers' good friend, Prossh, Skyraider of Kher. The synergy with Prossh is fairly obvious, as Prossh loves to sacrifice creatures and Mazirek gives him quite an extra boost, effectively doubling his own ability while also benefitting any other creatures you may still have out. But the synergy with Shattergang Brothers appears to be even more obvious, as you're getting 2-4 sacrifices at a time in a typical multi-player Commander game. That's a lot of +1/+1 counters you're racking up all of a sudden.

Shattergang Brothers' decks have plenty of creatures and plenty of ways to make more on a consistent basis. It's just a matter of working Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest into the deck. I'm sure plenty of Shattergang Brothers lists will find a way to incorporate this very abuse-able pump ability in the near future. He's not one of the more popular Commanders in the game, but this combination could make the Goblin Brothers much more of a threat than ever before.

Does Daxos the Returned Work With Zur the Enchanter? - Magic the Gathering Commander Q&A

12/1/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Daxos the Returned is a Legendary Creature from Commander 2015 that I've briefly reviewed before. While Daxos appears to be more of a "build around me" card in that you need to be running a particularly Enchantment-heavy deck, that doesn't stop players from trying to fit him in their existing Commander decks.

In the 99, Daxos the Returned seems like he could be a good ally for Enchantment-abuser heavy-weight Zur the Enchanter. In fact, it's a question I see asked quite a bit. Can they really join forces and benefit one another?

Previously in my brief initial review of Daxos, I noted that Zur’s ability to put an Enchantment directly into play doesn’t synergize well with Daxos’ experience counter ability. That being said, Zur has a great deal of cheap enchantments (converted mana cost 3 or less) in his deck, many of which you will probably find yourself casting at one point or another.

On paper, it does seem like Daxos the Returned could find a little niche to carve out in this deck. Even if Daxos only nets you a small handful of experience counters while he's on the board, creating a bunch of 3 mana Enchantment creature tokens can't hurt. But the issue is that Daxos's ability makes him far better as a Commander, as once he's removed from the board, Zur doesn't really have an easy way to get him back. So while there is some loose synergy as far as how many Enchantments you would end up casting in a Zur deck, the token plan doesn't really mesh with what Zur is trying to do. That is, lock other players out of the game with a bevy of cheap but effective Enchantments and slowly but surely whittle away your opponents with a protected Zur himself.

Are there other Commanders that could use him effectively as an Ally within the 99? Teysa, Orzhov Scion seems like a good fit, as she's often looking for white creatures to sacrifice in order to exile opposing creatures. Also, because the tokens re both white and black, these tokens benefit from her second ability, as well. In sacrificing those tokens, they become replaced with 1/1 white Spirit tokens with flying. So there is some loose synergy there.. But it's unlikely that you'll amass many experience counters as Teysa only runs a modest amount of Enchantments in her decks.

Daxos's mate from Commander 2015, Karlov of the Ghost Council, does like a bunch of Enchantments in his decks, although the synergy outside of the pure amount of Enchantments you'd be casting isn't obvious. There aren't any other decks in either White/Black or White/Black/Blue that are obvious homes, either.

In White/Black/Green (Abzan), however, there are the popular token-happy Commanders Daghatar the Adamant and Ghave, Guru of Spores. Both decks play a fair amount of Enchantments, and Daxos the Returned could prove to be a useful token generator. Still, it's sort of an awkward combination.

Like a good many Legendary Creatures created specifically for the Commander format through the pre-constructed decks, Daxos the Returned is best utilized when built around as a commander.