Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week we’re going to take a look at what could only be described as the upcoming Reflecting Pool metagame, take a look at the latest Shards of Alara spoilers, and detail my plans for attending the Magic Cruise in February and a last ditch effort to reach Germany. Let’s go!
Okay, so as this section’s title may have tipped you off, the combination of Shards of Alara with the hybrid-filled world of Shadowmoor has inevitably given us a Reflecting Pool metagame. As I’ve watched the spoilers of Shards of Alara come into focus, I’ve noticed more and more that my deckbuilding would almost always begin with 8-12 Vivid lands, and four Reflecting Pool.
If Mutavault was the flagship card of the Lorwyn Block Constructed format, then get your Reflecting Pools now because they are going to be ludicrously expensive as the days roll on. As more and more powerful multicolor cards are discovered, from monstrous Mythic creatures such as Empyrial Archangel to the cycle of powerful uncommons like Rhox War Monk and Sprouting Thrinax, you can bet that mana fixing will be at a premium. And while the new comes-into-play tapped lands are certainly cute and will be utilized, the mana-fixing provided by those, the new sacland variants and tri-color-producing Obelisk artifacts are just not good enough in Standard when you have Vivid Lands and the Pool at your disposal.
This realization does two things: First, it means that Magus of the Moon is ridiculously missed. This was a great equalizer card that kept the multicolor madness of Standard in check. And it’s not like he wasn’t answerable either, as plenty of Faerie and Five-Color Control players were packing cards like Murderous Redcap to deal with it. Though Mono Red was dropping him from decklists by the end of the season for faster cards like Boggart Ram-Gang, he had his place and nonbasic land hate is simply in dire need right now.
Second, the focus on Vivid lands slows down the format by a turn. This is good for fast aggro decks, such as Kithkin and Mono Red, but those decks will begin to falter as the power of having every color at your disposal can quickly shore up any problems you may be facing in the early turns.
With the release of Shards of Alara I expect these trends to only grow. The loss of Magus of the Moon will cause aggro players to create the most blisteringly fast versions of their deck possible, trying to knock the other player out of contention before his Pancake Flippers (Rhox War Monk) and Wrath of Gods come online.
The power of the Charm cycle is also not to be underestimated. Two in particular are head and shoulders above the rest. They are, of course, Blue-based. Bant Charm is simply one of the best Charms ever, countering Cryptic Commands, destroying Loxodon Warhammers, and putting annoying creatures like Demigod of Revenge and Kitchen Finks on the bottom of their owner’s library.
Likewise, the other best Charm in the cycle, Esper Charm, has been testing incredibly well. Mind Rot at Instant speed, Counsel of the Soratami at Instant speed, or Disenchant your Bitterblossom. Seems good. I expect foil versions of this powerful spell, much like Flame Javelin, to hit the $5 mark pretty quickly.
For an example decklist, here’s something I’ve been kicking around for a few days:
Before we begin, allow me to correct myself from last week. Since last week’s episode we’ve come to find out that Rafiq of the Many is actually a 3/3 and not a 3/4. This is very important, as that means that the most popular removal spells in the format, such as Incinerate, Lash Out, and Nameless Inversion now kill this incredibly powerful legend. Earlier this week when playtesting I quickly found out why he wasn’t a 3/4: If you didn’t have a Shriekmaw or Flame Javelin, you were probably dead.
The power in this deck is in its incredible versatility. That of course comes from its absurd manabase consisting of no less than a dozen Vivid lands, a number that is probably incorrect but the spells in it are so damn good it doesn’t matter. First, you’re playing eight Wrath of Gods, in both the White and Blue variety, along with eight Charms, allowing you to draw cards, make them discard cards, Disenchant at will, and deal with any creature on an individual basis.
One of the cards that stood out in this deck was the Pancake Flipper himself, Rhox War Monk. At just three mana this 3/4 lifelinker hitting the board on Turn 3 is the Real Deal, stopping Mono Red and Kithkin decks in their tracks. This guy demands removal or a 2-for-1 and quickly. Turn 3 War Monk into Turn 4 Rafiq of the Many is No Joke, people. Can you imagine double striking Pancake Flipping Madness? Ka-pow!
Stoic Angel has also proven as Constructed-worthy as my buddies assured me. This gal stops onslaughts like no other and, like most other creatures in the deck, work great with Rafiq of the Many. Luckily this girl actually is a 3/4, so they’ll need a Flame Javelin or Shriekmaw in order to handle her. Meanwhile we have Mulldrifter in here because... um... have you played Mulldrifter? It’s nice. Seriously.
Feel free to experiment with your own Vivid land + Reflecting Pool creations as you see fit. With the full spoiler upon us, it’s time to get those deckbuilding juices flowing.
Can’t Shardly Wait
Before we delve into the latest and greatest, let’s fix up our errors from last week. As the very nature of spoilers is volatile, I’m not totally surprised at any of these changes.
Firstly, Manaplasm is three mana instead of two. This makes it “fair,” the dreaded word all tournament players dislike. While the jury is still out on Manaplasm, the difference between two and three mana is a pretty wide chasm in competitive Magic.
Mr. Medallion is even better than I had him, whose actual name is Etherium Sculptor and is a 1/2 instead of a 1/1.
Rafiq of the Many, as noted previously, is now a 3/3 and Dies To Everything. Still a fantastic creature for just four mana.
A typo caused me to list Cruel Ultimatum’s mana cost incorrectly. It’s officially UUBBBRR. The wild hyperbole from last week was caused by me thinking it put the creature from the graveyard into play instead of your hand. And while I thought I overshot how powerful this spell really was, turns out it may actually be that good. Next thing you know, Patrick Chapin’s saying it’s going to change everything. Call me a skeptic.
Let’s get to the new stuff! I’ll cover as much as I can. Here are the cards that stood out to me:
Akrasan Squire looks damn good to me. He’s fantastic on Turn 1, and on Turn 12, he actually has the ability to make a difference in the board state. This is how to design one-drops that can actually impact Constructed formats.
Cradle of Vitality looks really interesting to me. Sure, it’s got Casual Player written all over it, but this basically says that your Kitchen Finks will not only never die, they now have a 1W Kicker that provides them with two +1/+1 counters. Or when they return to play thanks to Persist you can activate Cradle of Vitality to remove the -1/-1 counter and leave it with a single +1/+1 counter. Using this with cards like Battlegrace Angel may make this innocuous enchantment much more powerful than it first appears.
Dispeller’s Capsule was simply made for Trinket Mage to find in Extended decks. Sure the 2W payment may be a bit much, but its usefulness in that format is not to be underestimated.
Knight of the White Orchid was previewed by Mike Flores, and wow, is this guy just fantastic. He’s probably the best pound-for-pound two-drop ever printed in White, and for the first time in a long time he allows the White Weenie deck to lose the die roll and not be completely blown out thanks to the tempo loss. This will definitely be one of the chase rares of the set, and I suggest you get yours quickly.
Scourglass is impressive in that it will provide Esper with plenty of power in the late game. The ability to blow up the world and then play Sharuum the Hegemon and either put Scourglass back into play or another artifact-based monster seems pretty solid to me.
Call to Heel will be a Limited powerhouse. Not only does it make all of your Comes-Into-Play effect creatures that much better, in a pinch you can bounce your opponent’s creature for the alpha strike.
Gather Specimens is much better than people give it credit for. First of all, it’s Control Magic at Instant speed. And it gets better from there. Second, playing this while a Demigod of Revenge is on the stack and one in the yard is tantamount to a kick in the junk. Last, and this is what is most interesting to me, playing this on an opponent’s upkeep is like the most debilitating Orim’s Chant ever: Sure they can play dudes, but you’ll get them. This includes any tokens generated, so you can always play this in response to your opponent activating Imperious Perfect. Definitely a sleeper.
Memory Erosion is so powerful I’m wondering if it might actually making milling a viable strategy. Yes, it’s a mill card so it’s instantly dismissed. But look closer. This doesn’t affect you. Its ability stacks in case you have two or more, and it punishes your opponent just for playing Magic. With a little acceleration you can get this out on Turn 2. With cards like Sanity Grind taking 12-15 cards a whack, all I’m saying is don’t be surprised if your States opponent plays this on Turn 3 and Sanity Grinds you into oblivion on Turn 4.
Soul’s Fire is very intriguing. This card looks like one of those easily passed up, but the deck that makes me curious about it is the RGB Token deck with all-star Nantuko Husk. Using cards like Goblin Assault, Bitterblossom and Sprouting Thrinax, it wouldn’t take long to swing in with an 8/8 or 10/10 Nantuko Husk and three mana later Soul’s Fire wins the game for you. Just sayin’.
Vicious Shadows makes me giggle. Why is this seven mana? Because playing it with three Mogg Fanatics on the board is most likely Game Over. Try powering this out quickly and then self-sacrificing your way to victory.
Feral Hydra has to be the best Multiplayer creature ever. So cool! I love this guy in any format that has more than two players. Just a perfect design here.
One of the last cards spoiled was Realm Razer. This guy is really, really interesting. The “Mesmeric Fiend” of lands in play, this guy can simply end games quickly. While development made him a fragile two toughness, the ability to wipe out your opponent’s manabase at the end of their turn by Makeshift Mannequin’ing this guy seems incredibly powerful. And again, the power of instant Reanimation rears its ugly head. And hell, even if they do float mana and kill it in response, their lands are still going to be tapped when they come back into play. Can’t beat that.
Overall I really dig Shards of Alara. While I was originally groaning at the thought of Yet Another Gold Set, I can definitely see how this set differs from past creations. There is very little of the “Chinese Menu” design style here, where you pick two different colored abilities and stick them on a creature, and the Shards have tremendous flavor. This is a world as rich and fluid as Ravnica, and I can’t wait to see ‘em up close this weekend. For those who were sick of the storybook / fairy tale world of Lorwyn will certainly be satisfied with Alara. This set is as gorgeous as any Magic set I’ve ever seen. Grixis really looks like a hellscape, and Bant is gorgeous beyond words. Kudos to the flavor masters at Wizards of the Coast on this set: You guys really knocked it out of the park.
Mana Overboard!
Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s official: I’ll be on the Magic Cruise this February, documenting the fun times and the wild ride we have in the Gulf as we make our way towards Mexico. Can you imagine? Five days of pure Conflux Release Event goodness along with a PTQ and plenty of casual events to boot. To make it completely clear, this cruise is not just for those who will fly to Pro Tours just to play in the Last Chance Qualifiers. This is for Magic players of all sizes and statures ready to make the plunge in both a vacation and a hell of a good time for one low price. You can be sure there will be all-night EDH games, Cube Drafts, and Type 4 Stacks to get your casual gaming on at any time of day.
I’d like to invite all of my viewers to head over to the Legion Events website and take a look at the details yourself. I think you’ll be surprised at how kick ass this thing really is.
And lastly this week, my final effort to get me to Germany. While I’ve raised some money, in the realm of $180 or so, I’ll need quite a bit more to get overseas. So as of this week you may now pre-order the Magic Show Nationals 2008 DVD on misterorangeproductions.com for only $14.99.
This DVD will feature both original episodes and over half an hour of unaired footage, including some juicy tidbits from all of my guests and more. The DVD has been edited and is ready to be produced as soon as I get my new logo in place. In an effort to not have to speak with anyone’s legal department, I’ve stripped out any semblance of the “Magic” logo from my show title, and with this comes the extra work involved in such a maneuver.
The DVD content is finished and is ready to be put on discs. The logo switch is coming next week, so I would expect to begin shipping them before next Friday.
Remember: Even if I don’t make it to Germany, your support allows me to cover other events. For example, I’ll definitely be going to Grand Prix: Kansas City this year, and it’s all thanks to your support of the show. If this Nationals DVD is successful, you can be sure there will be more as I travel to larger events around the world. As I’ve found out through these past few years, the longer you do something, the better it gets. So here’s hoping I get a chance to produce another DVD in the future.
So with that said, I’ll leave you with Prerelease dreams. I’m going to be attending the large Prerelease in Nashville, TN this weekend, and hope you guys have fun at your own Prereleases.
Until next time Magic players, this is Evan Erwin. Tapping the cards... so you don’t have to.
Text Only Bonus
Just FYI, the Cube update was pushed to next week.
Here’s a spicy little RGB Token deck I’ve been working on. The manabase is an absolute travesty, but the inner-workings seem good. I believe I’ve found the perfect deck for the Awesome Rare That Has No Home Right Now, Sarkhan Vol:
Bitterblossom andGoblin Assault are a Turn 2 and Turn 3 play that few decks can match, and if you follow that up with a Turn 4 Sarkhan Vol... yeesh. Other powerful plays include Dragon Fodder into Nanutko Husk into Sprouting Thrinax. Block me or take 14? Seems good. Dragon Fodder, while looking a little goofy, really can be quite crushing in the right series of plays. The problem is, of course, making sure that these sequences are the best. Turn 4 Sarkhan Vol into Turn 5 Siege-Gang Commander, however, is just the absolute nuts.
The sideboard was a mish-mash of ideas (Blightning to punish control decks when Mind Shatter may be preferred, etc), but the core idea seems solid.
Evan “misterorange” Erwin eerwin +at+ gmail +dot+ com
dubya dubya dubya dot misterorangeproductions dot com Written wondering why everyone is so hot and bothered over Cruel Ultimatum. I was just making fun of it being over the top. But will it really make an impact...?
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