Guildpact came out, which means everyone's gibbering about how good it is, how it's the next Legions, or why the new Ravnica Duals cost so much. As a casual player, you really don't care. You're looking for some fun new cards to try in various formats you play. I play Type 4, and this is a list of what people have automatically included into their Type 4 stack from Guildpact:

Angel of Despair
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Izzet Chronarch
Debtors' Knell
Seize the Soul
Mortify
Yore-Tiller Nephilim
Mizzium Transreliquat

We got some splashy stuff, some combo stuff, and a little bit of plain good in that list. My personal favorite would be Debtors' Knell, because recursion is fun. But as a casual player I want fun stuff, and things that create interesting situations or plays. I'm certain someone will make some sort of Type 4 primer including most of the above, and it'll be boring because the reasoning for the inclusions can be summarized quite easily.

“Angel of Despair is a 5/5 flyer with Vindicate; this is awesome. Niv-Mizzet draws cards; this is awesome. Izzet Chronarch is like an Eternal Witness; this is awesome. Mizzium Transreliquat copies Towers and Aladdin's Ring; this is awesome.”

That is another article on Type 4 and Guildpact, and I'm sure it'll give you good reasons why things must be included. My article, however, will suggest five cards that could go into a Type 4 stack. As every stack is different, some of the suggestions may be too weak or too strong within your stack. My criteria for mentioning these picks is not thinking of power, but cards that make games interesting and maybe even selections you wouldn't have thought of.

It should be noted that my suggestions are mostly Timmy- or Johnny-flavored – so unless your player base has a large amount of Spikes, someone's going to enjoy these cards. Some of these cards are going to drive Spike mad, which is fun in itself. Some play groups will love the suggestions, but others might not. Hell, in my playgroup I know someone who drafts Hex highly in Type 4…

Sword of the Paruns
Sword of the Paruns is equipment, which is noteworthy because it isn't an enchantment that's going to die. Bosh, Iron Golem occasionally flings these things, and Godo, Bandit Warlord will let you grab this. This piece of equipment pumps all your attackers up, which can matter if you've gone the token creating route or if you just happen to have three creatures coming at somebody. It also lets you beef up your utility creatures so that they're harder to kill with a cycled Decree of Pain, or it can just stop a few extra points of trample damage coming from the beef that is flying about.

The above sentence is really just an introduction as to what Sword of the Paruns possibly can do. Its real purpose is the fact that it says you can untap the equipped creature. In fact, you can untap that creature as much as you want, as many times as you want. I know a few Type 4 stacks that include Mind Over Matter, which costs a card to untap a creature. This is free, searched up by Godo, and happens to combo nicely with any creature that taps to do stuff. Arcanis, anyone? Visara, perhaps? My personal favorite is from Guildpact itself: Niv-Mizzet.

Parallectric Feedback
Burn is fun in Type 4, because it's generally ridiculous to play it in Standard or Extended. Aladdin's Ring, Urza's Rage, and Searing Wind are the typical compliment in a stack. I suggest Parallectric Feedback become a fourth, as it is just as crazy as Searing Wind but with a lot more malleability. Most of the time, Parallectric Feedback will do seven or eight damage, but occasionally you'll hit the Draco jackpot.

There isn't much that can be written about burn, but regular Type 4 players will know the power of burn. The more burn in a stack, the more dangerous it is. People can easily be pushed out of a game by casting a large spell with you waiting with Parallectric Feedback. By the by, the “X” in an X spell on the stack does count towards its converted mana cost… So beware casting Starstorm for a billion, only to take a billion damage.

Storm Herd
Life gain is good in Type 4, and this is a spell that relies on life. If you draft this, it improves any Tower of Eons you pick up during the draft. It makes multiple flying creatures, which makes Storm Herd a very dangerous offensively or defensively, as players generally can't defend against multiple attackers with the limitation of one spell per turn.

Sure, Wrath of God destroys your Storm Herd – but it also destroys every other player's creatures as well. Storm Herd allows you to cushion any attack by dangerous creatures, chump block for a long time, and it's really hard to stop fifteen flying 1/1 white Pegasus tokens when all you have is Darigaaz.

And did I mention that these tokens have only one point of toughness? I heard Skullclamp loves things with a toughness of one.

Sky Swallower
This is a card that will drive Spike insane, so that means it's already super awesome. As much as you look at it, Sky Swallower is terrible – and this means Timmy is going to have a field day trying to break him (may I suggest Illusions of Grandeur?). In a Type 4 stack, his drawback is negligible, as most of the time when he hits play, you give up nothing.

All he does is destroy the Castle strategy, and will occasionally give a permanent up. Sky Swallower will make games interesting for all participants. For all his drawbacks, I hear he flies and is able to kill and survive Kamigawa Dragon Legends, Invasion Dragon Legends, most Legends Elder Dragon Legends, most Onslaught Pit Fighter Legends, and all sorts of things that people have naturally included in their stack. Don't bash this guy; he's good.

Thunderheads
Replicate is a fun mechanic that begs for players to play with it in Type 4. Unfortunately, many Replicate effects are simply too good; you can draw infinite cards, deal infinite damage, and copy a spell infinite times. Thunderheads is an example of a Replicate card that is not broken in Type 4, but can shatter some players completely.

Thunderheads does not trigger graveyards at end of turn, which is okay. What it does is completely Fog the board (barring Thorn Elemental-style effects, of course), and destroy all attacking creatures. The dying Thunderheads, as well as the creatures they've blocked, will trigger graveyard effects if anyone cares about them. I personally would settle for a Fog that destroys all attacking creatures, but some players like to be super greedy.

I've included a list of cards I've also included from Guildpact below, but I've essentially mentioned all the good ones. I just hope that this list convinces you to try a few more cards in your stack you wouldn't normally think of. You won't know if it's awesome until you try!

Other Guildpact Cards:
Repeal bounces most permanents and cantrips. You are guaranteed a one-for-one, but the best is perhaps hitting a creature that's about to be enchanted or getting rid of a token. This is a simple, effective spell that isn't really splashy.

Frazzle is an excuse to throw another counterspell into a Type 4 stack. Unfortunately, a lot of broken things seem to be blue or partly blue. This makes Frazzle a Remove Soul on steroids, which isn't saying much. It's a workhorse card; nothing truly splashy.

Petrified Wood-Kin is splashy, but it hasn't proven itself to be very good. Honestly, I am thinking of pulling it out of my stack. It can be insane, but it's really bad when a creature spell must be cast at the right moment.

Exhumer Thrull will fetch your dead utility creatures or beef - whichever is necessary – and will be an excellent excuse to chump block for a haunting. Once that creature dies, you get to fetch another creature. If it's used to Raise Dead up some comes-into-play creatures, the Thrull (which is a Thrull!) can generate severe card advantage.

Vacuumelt is Plague Wind and Upheaval's love child, bouncing all creatures you don't control. This seems like a pretty good Wrath of God effect, as Upheaval and Plague Wind both are played. Short of a Time Stop, Vacuumelt will be uncounterable if it's Replicated enough times.

Tyler Savoy
Email tyler.savoy@NOSPAMgmail.com