Disciple of the Cards
May 2012
28 posts
April 2012
48 posts
Bennie Smith's Bruna, Light Of Alabaster Commander Article →
starcitygames.com
Bennie Smith makes a Bruna, Light of Alabaster deck. The obvious theme is auras, of which he packs plenty into the deck.
I would have liked him to have expanded on the spirit-theme idea he alluded to at the end of the article. Voltron is the obvious build for her, so building off of the non-obvious build would have been cool to see. Still a great article, though.
Friday Flashback... Build-a-Card: Aura Drift
Last fall I had to give up writing for this blog regularly. When the summer came to a close and my duties as a graduate student became greater with the new school year, I simply didn’t have the time to write as often as I had gotten myself into. I continue to post to the blog occasionally, and these posts have gained me even more followers than previously. As much as followers have the ability to look back on the archives of those they follow, there’s a lot there, and I know they don’t really have time. I still don’t have a whole lot of time to write weekly articles with any regularity as I used to, but for now I’d like to provide something regular on here, even if it is a “Best of Disciple of the Cards.” There are some posts as well as card designs that I’m really proud of, and reposting them should make it easier for newer followers to check out my past work. I started by reposting the details of Booster Cap Magic, a constructed format I created, to make it easier for my brother and his friends to find. From now until the summer, when I may have time to get back into writing more regularly, I would like to continue to repost some of my favorite work (with edits) during these Friday Flashbacks.
Friday Flashback this week and every other week until the summer are cards I designed using Magic Set Editor. They were previously posted along with the descriptions of 15-30 other cards I’ve designed, so it was easy to lose the gems amidst the chaff. Instead, I’d like to showcase the cards each week one at a time, where, standing alone, they can shine all the brighter. May I present to you…
Extra Credits Talks About - Harassment →
extra-credits.net
While not strictly Magic the Gathering related, I think every person who plays games online or in person (like Magic) can take something away from this video. Please watch it, and reblog with your comments, or use Disqus on this page’s permalink to have a conversation about it.
Not strictly Magic related, no, but very very relevant to Magic. There are far too many Magic players that feel that being sexist, racist, homophobic, or just plain asses is okay, and it shouldn’t be. It chases away people from the game, which is bad in general, but it also is hurting people, which is just awful.
I actually just finished a game with one of these people. While nothing he said was sexist, racist, or homophobic, it was nonetheless extremely and unnecessarily rude behavior that shouldn’t be tolerated. When I made a play he thought was less than adequate he tried to make me feel like I was an idiot. When I asked him why he had to act that way, he said he was an asshole, and was surprised I didn’t know that. He was proud of this fact. That is the same way the trolls that this video talks about act; it’s not just limited to online gaming.
These people are insidious to the community, and something needs to happen about it for the gaming community at large - not just video games, but trading card games as well.
Racism in Hockey Fans
Like It’s one thing to be sad because of a loss but damn hockey fans..damn.
You referring to this? I don’t follow hockey, so I had to look it up. It’s a real shame that there is any form of bigotry in this country. We’ve made so much progress, but have so far to go.
I reblog this, because incidents involving bigotry over who someone is and/or what they look like have recently made Magic headlines as well. It’s everywhere still, and people need to do their best in being vigilant against it. And because I thought the link would be helpful for other people who don’t follow hockey.
Not bashing anyone, but...
Before a set is fully spoiled:
“OMG THIS SET IS SO AWESOME! LOOK AT ALL THE AWESOME CARDS! IT’S ALL JUST SO POWERFUL! MIRACLES WILL BREAK THE FORMAT!” etc. etc.
After a set is fully spoiled:
“What? That was it Wizards?? That was a disappointing set!”
e_e
/rant
Agreed. I want to hear less complaining, particularly ones that re-hash old complaints like “Why aren’t there werewolves / double-faced cards.” But particularly the new one, “There are too many angels, screw the flavor of the flavor-matters block!”
It’s a good set. It looks a blast to draft, it continues the great undying mechanic and brings two great new mechanics. The complaints about the issues with miracles are unfounded because good players won’t do this, and everyone else will probably learn quick - just like with double-faced cards in draft. The set brings great new cards to casual 60/4s and casual Commander players. And the flavor, as with the other two sets in the block, is fantastic. So stop acting like it’s the worse set ever released by Wizards.
Friday Flashback... Quest for Renewal: Chaos Magic
Last fall I had to give up writing for this blog regularly. When the summer came to a close and my duties as a graduate student became greater with the new school year, I simply didn’t have the time to write as often as I had gotten myself into. I continue to post to the blog occasionally, and these posts have gained me even more followers than previously. As much as followers have the ability to look back on the archives of those they follow, there’s a lot there, and I know they don’t really have time. I still don’t have a whole lot of time to write weekly articles with any regularity as I used to, but for now I’d like to provide something regular on here, even if it is a “Best of Disciple of the Cards.” There are some posts as well as card designs that I’m really proud of, and reposting them should make it easier for newer followers to check out my past work. I started by reposting the details of Booster Cap Magic, a constructed format I created, to make it easier for my brother and his friends to find. From now until the summer, when I may have time to get back into writing more regularly, I would like to continue to repost some of my favorite work (with edits) during these Friday Flashbacks.
For this week, I’d like to revisit a post I wrote on one of my favorite Magic variants. Chaos Magic is an older variant that was co-opted by Wizards into their Planar Magic (read: Planechase) variant that was released a couple of years ago and is getting an update this upcoming summer. While similar, there are reasons to choose one over the other; I find Chaos Magic more enjoyable as it is far more customizable than Planar Magic is. If you like exploring different variants of Magic, read on.
Anonymous ask - how to beat Akroma?
I’m fairly new to mtg and I got a cocky brother in law that has a deck with akroma, angel of wrath as his commander and ofcourse it’s nothing but a white deck… Point is I was building a deck using Kaalia the vast as my general and now I come to find out Kaalia won’t stand a chance because his commander is immune to black and red… Point is I need help building a deck that would embarrass him… I’d like to keep it under 200 is it possible?
This sounds like a fun project. :) Building a deck that can take on Akroma for less than $200 should be no problem. If anyone has any comments or recommendations, please read on or leave a reply. :)
How to defeat Akroma, Angel of Wrath with a W/B/R deck. Well, it’s not as bad as if you were just Black/Red.
Addicted to EDH mentioned adding “some other land destruction spell.” How about Desolation Angel? Cast Kaalia, next turn hard cast Desolation Angel kicked, attack with Kaalia and still get your Angel/Demon/Dragon into play without needing those lands. That should shut down the Akroma player.
Prison Term is a good card for Kaalia against Akroma; you enchant whatever small creature they cast you don’t want attacking or blocking, and then they’re discouraged from playing Akroma until they destroy Prison Term. If you want to get really mean, cast Exclusion Ritual targeting Akroma.
Also, for attacking through Akroma, there’s Whispersilk Cloak, Spirit Mantle, and Unquestioned Authority. If you don’t care about dealing damage with Kaalia and just want creatures from her ability, there’s Darksteel Plate, General’s Kabuto, and Reconnaissance. The last one is by far the coolest because it’s rarely played by other players.
Matching Magic Decks to "Tribute to the Gamer" Artwork
In this picture, Tribute to the Gamer, what decks would each of the players really use?
I’ve never seen this before, cool!
Master Chief would probably run soldiers with a heavy equipment package to represent the Spartan’s armor. Loxodon Warhammer to take the place of a stolen Brute hammer.
The grunt would run goblins, specifically Goblin Grenade, since the goblins sacrifice themselves. Really surprised a grunt and Master Chief are in here; a different character in the art from a different franchise would have made sense. Still a good picture, though. If it were for me, I’d switch Yoda with the grunt, and you can still have him standing on books.
I don’t know enough about the other characters. I’d say ninjas for Ezio, but there’s also enough good assassins for an assassin deck. Obvious? Maybe, but it fits. So ninjas and assassins maybe?
I have no clue about the last guy.
Nayaboy MTG: Geist of Saint Traft →
nayamtg.tumblr.com
I thought about making a Geist of Saint Traft deck, but it was going to be a Voltron deck, so it was a little different. I don’t know why I never considered Divine Reckoning for it. Complete lapse in judgment there. There are a ton of good ways this card can lend itself to a Voltron build (most also applicable to Rafiq, admitedly, such as with Sovereigns of Lost Alara), but that’s not applicable here. I’ll have to switch gears a little bit.
The first thing I think of when I see Geist of Saint Traft is Sundial of the Infinite. If you don’t mind having to do all of your non-instant-speed spell casting during your first main phase, then Sundial of the Infinite let’s you keep that 4/4 angel when you attack. Maybe that’s more important for Voltron decks, but you still might consider it for here. Also a hold-over from my Voltron build you might find useful: Deepchannel Mentor. Traft might have hexproof, but he’s still only 2/2 and an easy kill. Making him unblockable saves him every time you want to get that 4/4 token into the red zone. Plus, you have enough other Blue cards that make it worth it, and since you probably won’t only be attacking with just one creature, the merfolk is even better in your deck than it would have been in mine.
I would replace the Negate and Essence Scatter. They only cost 2, but I only run cards like that when they have a specific purpose. For instance, I have a deck that’s all about attacking with unblockable creatures that runs Negates (it’s a 60/4 deck, not Commander) to counter counter spells and kill spells aimed at my win condition creatures; since my deck isn’t mono-Blue, Counterspell was an iffy choice. In your deck you have specific Counterspells for both creature and noncreature, so it’s clear you aren’t running them to target a specific type of threat. I would replace those two with more universal and more final counterspells. First, I would add Faerie Trickery since unless you see a ton of faeries in your metagame, it’s the same spell as Dissipate, which is a good choice I see you have. Hinder and Spell Crumple are both good replacements for the other; at least in my meta, graveyard recursion is more popular than tutoring, and of course they hit nasty commanders. Some people find that unfair, but I think a few of them deserve it (Zur, Rafiq, Uril, Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, Eight-and-a-Half-Tails… a lot of them). If you like them both, then maybe you can find room for both instead of just one.
I would at least run Relic of Progenitus over Purify the Grave. It doesn’t need the flashback because it works every turn, and is still instant speed, you just have to have it in play already. It also has the second ability, which Purify the Grave does not. An alternative, lesser-played card I’ve been pushing lately is Mnemonic Nexus. It doesn’t exile cards like Relic of Progenitus does, but it still attacks graveyards universally. Relic of Progenitus is still probably the better call, though, but I point out Mnemonic Nexus because I saw Archangel’s Light, so I know you don’t mind shuffling away your graveyard, and this does it at instant speed without having to be in play as protection from Rise from the Grave effects.
I’m not sold on Festival of the Guildpact and Shelter. While it doesn’t cantrip, Safe Passage does what Festival of the Guildpact does for only 3 mana. It’s done me wonders in my Luminarch Ascension deck. As for Shelter, I’d prefer Emerge Unscathed or Redeem the Lost. Emerge Unscathed doesn’t replace itself by cantriping, but allowing you to freely attack next turn into someone with a homogeneity of creature colors. Redeem the Lost has the potential of going back to your hand. There are even better permanents that have effects like this, like Eight-and-a-half Tails, but these are good instant options.
Finally, I suggested Oath of Lieges for your other deck, and I will suggest it here. I really think all White decks should run it if they have mana issues, as non-cutthroat metas tend to warm up to the occasional Group Hug card.
Momir Basic →
gatheringmagic.com
Bruce Richard tells the story of a game of momir basic that he played in real life!
This is fantastic. I wish I could play it, but I’d need someone with a few hundred more cards than I have. I also wish it were feasible to up Momir Live to MoJhoSto Live.
Nayaboy MTG: Mayael, The Anima →
nayamtg.tumblr.com
A Naya deck, very fitting! I love this girl. She’s less broken than Uril and might even be more fun.
First off, I see a 2x in there. Is one of the Spearbreakers supposed to be a Spellbreaker Behemoth?
Since you’re running Mayael and it’s a Naya deck, I would suggest really pushing the “power 5 or greater” theme just because there are some pretty good cards under that theme. I would at least add Drumhunter, which gives you (unfortunately colorless) mana but also cards each turn. Bloodthorn Taunter grants haste, so might be better than one of your nonpermanent effects since you’ll have the chance to use her twice. Mosstodon grants trample, and that’s amazing. And Paleoloth recurs creatures, which is nice.
Do you find that you have enough removal? As a Naya deck, your main plan is to just kill the player, so if that’s working out find I can understand not having as much removal as most other decks. For mass removal, I particularly love Planar Cleansing since it will take out planeswalkers, but Phyrexian Rebirth is also great in a multiplayer format. You don’t have Vigor, but if you did, Blasphemous Act and Chain Reaction work amazingly with that creature and is something I suggested to another Naya deck recently, since Vigor was among the 99. But, like I said, your deck may have less need for removal than most. Only it’s pilot would know.
Since you’re running Rites of Flourishing, I can tell you don’t mind helping out opponents. You ramp a lot, so this last suggestion might not be the best: Oath of Lieges. If you ever find you have less land than opponents, it’s helpful. It also makes you the good guy real quick, and just generally speeds of Commander play - which without combo players takes quite a while - and puts everyone in a good mood. Now if you’re always going to have more mana than everyone else, then I can see how you’d be better off without it. But if you think you’d be able to get an activation from it every turn, I’d definitely consider it.
Dear Azami – The Many Have Spoken... →
starcitygames.com
“Sean McKeown’s latest article is about a rafiq of the many deck that poses as a group hug deck, but is really trying to sneak in some big attacks to win.”
I’m not a big fan of that strategy. Unless you are constantly playing with new people or the players you play with aren’t that smart, the strategy only goes so far. And even if it did work, I’m not entirely comfortable with this type of blatant deception in a casual game.
The Other Guys: Fissure & Lava Flow
I really like underplayed cards. I even like janky cards sometimes. I love running cards people didn’t know about, and when they read them they wonder why they hadn’t heard of them before then. Often these cards are really not as bad as their reputation or low ratings on Gatherer make them seem to be. Worse, though, is when even highly rated cards are still not played all that often, if at all, in playgroups. Do players not know about these cards? Or maybe they think the cards are bad, and just haven’t been shown the light? I’m not sure. No matter the reason, this needs to change.
So I’m here to tell you: Some of The Other Guys, they’re better than you think.
Consider…
Although I’m about as busy as ever, I really needed a break from my work, and I felt an itch to write about Magic a little. I made a post a while ago about a janky card I added to my Kaalia of the Vast deck, and in doing so knew I’d probably make more posts like it. This is one I’ve been wanting to write for a while. These cards are perfect examples of underplayed Other Guys.
Red traditionally has been really bad at destroying bigger creatures except for with {X} spells where you’re throwing a ton of mana into it. Even Red/Blue, Red/Green, and Blue/Red/Green decks are weak in this area, although Blue and Green both contribute some of their own janky removal to the available card pool. If you can get the mana for Red’s {X} spells and want the ability to target either a creature or player, those spells certainly are better for your needs. But if your deck can’t do that, then you really should consider these cards.
Yes, they cost 5. Yes, one is even only a sorcery and won’t kill the thing if it regenerates. But they are unconditional creature removal, and can take out pesky lands like Cabal Coffers; Kessig Wolf Run; Emeria, the Sky Ruin, etc. if that’s what you need.
TYPE 2: Tamiyo, The Moon Sage. →
t2mtg.tumblr.com
Is $40 already on Star City Games. Damn….
I almost want to promise that Tamiyo will drop significantly in price once AVR hits shelves. Star City has made a habit of overpricing pre-orders, and I feel like Tamiyo is just the most hilarious example of their pre-release…
It’s just because Jace, the Mind Sculpter actually went down after Prerelease just weeks or a few months before skyrocketing past $100, so Starcity Games and every other speculator/trader doesn’t want to miss out on the next opportunity. Planeswalkers tend to be the most sought-after Mythics, so they get the worst of this price gouging.
If I were to post a few deck lists could I get some advise..
I may even post my commander builds but I feel I would be laughed out of the community.
I like Commander decklists. I can actually offer advice on those, because I play that format and have made a ton of decks (most on tappedout.net, not in actual cardboard form, but it means I’ve been exposed to a ton of Commander-viable cards). Standard/Modern/Legacy, etc., not so much.
Just don’t post only your decklists. The thing about Commander is that the decks are so much about you as a person, it’s important to know what your goals are with the deck. For instance, I have an enchantments-matters deck, and a lot of the cards in it that people would probably suggest cutting for better cards would be enchantments; since I wouldn’t listen to that advice because it would go against the purpose of the deck, everyone else knowing that ahead of time helps. Plus if you give some more information on the deck, it’s easier to see your thought processes when you built it, and that’s cool.
