After reading all of the Casual Challenge "Top Three Multiplayer Enchantments" entries this week, I am noticing a lack of some of the greatest enchantments in my favorite format. I have played Magic since Beta (Bah the nightmares I still wake up remembering trading a Beta Black Lotus for two Swamps and a Royal Assassin and yes I still have that assassin!).
But to really analyze the challenge, I need to set up the criteria I would use for picking my three greatest enchantments. I will rate each of the cards selected from 1-10 in each of four categories to come up with my list of the greatest enchantments. I am also going to try to eliminate lesser versions of cards - the ones that function very much like others.
What's important is that a deck list must not be necessary for the card to be good. If an enchantment is only good when combined with another specific card, I will not include it, mainly because most casual players tend to stick with the same deck for a long time. If you get the deck list put together and people start to hate the enchantment you play, it's time to go.
- They must not pose a threat to everybody at the table, causing all forms of damage to be directed at you. (This is rated by how small of a threat it poses, or at least apparently poses.)
- They must give you an advantage that can help lead you to victory - this really gets averaged against how much of a threat is seems to pose. (Most multiplayer requires you to eliminate several players at a time, so permanents are king - unlike dueling, where sorceries and instants are king.)
- They must be versatile. Relying on a single path to victory in multiplayer is a sure way to loose. The ability to be reusable at all will get you above a five.
- Any card that lets you break fundamental rules in Magic has vast possibilities for brokenness.
In all of Magic, the most versatile thing is to be able to search your library for a card, draw it, and shuffle your library. (Putting the card on top of your deck is nice, but in your hand is better.) So this list of enchantments you to search and get something.
- Survival of the Fittest: (Quite possibly the greatest enchantment of all time - tons of decks were build based on this card alone!) Puts a card in your hand, but only a creature, and only if you have a creature in hand. (9, 9, 7, 9) 34
- Wild Research: You have to discard a card afterwards, but at least it goes to your hand. (8, 7, 7, 8) 30
- Sterling Grove: Goes to the top of your library, but it does let you search for an enchantment. (9, 6, 5, 5) 25
- Parallel Thoughts: Costs five mana, but does net you seven cards, but you do have to draw them. (And you lose them if it's Disenchanted - T.F.) (8, 8, 6, 9) 31
- Oath of Druids: Again, this puts a card directly into play, without paying it's casting cost; admittedly, it's only a creature but that's very powerful. However, a deck needs to be specifically built to take advantage of this. (7, 7, 7, 8) 29
- Land Tax: Allows you to search library for lands, and put them in your hand, only allows basic land search, and you must have fewer lands in play. (9, 8, 6, 7) 30
- Sylvan Library: Does not allow you to search, but it does let you filter through your deck quickly. (8, 8, 8, 7) 31
Of this list, I am going to have to go with Survival of the Fittest. Of course, it works in almost any creature deck. Then again, if you're worried about the raw power causing a massive beatdown to rain upon your head, you might realize that Parallel Thoughts lets you get anything, does not look like a real threat, and is very useful (especially for setting up a combo). The only thing holding Parallel back is the fact it costs five mana.
Next, the cards that let you break fundamental rules in Magic cannot be overlooked - drawing more cards, putting more land into play, taking extra turns, and so forth.... .
- Mana Flare: Everybody likes extra mana, so this will not paint a target on your forehead and is very subtly useful. (9, 9, 7, 9) 34
- Holistic Wisdom: Allows you to draw cards out of your graveyard, letting you abuse anything you want just about. (8, 8, 8, 8) 32
- Fastbond: So good it is restricted in any format it can be played in (including a 5-Color, a largely multiplayer format!) (9, 9, 10, 9) 37
- Future Sight: Lets you effectively draw an extra card per turn. Sometimes more. (9, 9, 8, 8) 34
- Necropotence: Again one of the most powerful enchantments in Magic. It lets you break the rules and draw you far more cards than normally allowed. Unfortunately, this breaks the big rule of "avoiding people's attention." (1, 1, 10, 10) n/a
- Battle of Wits: Again, the biggest problem is you must build a deck specifically around this - but if you do and get it to go off, you win the next turn (which could come a lot sooner if you have a Time Walk effect). (0 or 10, 0 or 10, 0 or 10, 10) n/a
- Compulsion: Allows you to draw more cards per turn. (7, 7, 8, 8) 30
- Dream Halls: Very effective, very powerful, but it requires a deck to be build around it to take advantage of it. (8, 10, 6, 8) 32
I have to give Fastbond the ticket here. It can be splashed in any deck playing green - and what deck doesn't want to put more land into play? A close second is Mana Flare, but it gives your opponents an advantage as well. And in third place is a tie, basically because a deck needs to be built around these cards Holistic Wisdom and Dream Halls - maybe you can even put them in the same deck.
Odd effects cards in Magic don't necessarily break rules, but give unique or specialized effects. These are effects that you can't easily duplicate other ways, and they can allow you to do some fun/interesting/powerful effects.
- Copy Artifact: Very versatile; it is the most powerful artifact out on the table at the time. Anything that copies what another player is doing is good! (10, 9, 9, 9) 37
- Pernicious Deed: Wipes the board, a great effect. Unfortunately, it gets you targeted quickly in multiplayer. (Who cares? But even if he's wrong, which he is, Pernicious Deed is out for this week - T.F.) (5, 8, 5, 9) 27
- Dance of Many: It allows you to copy the most powerful creature in play - same as copy artifact, but a creature instead of an artifact. (8, 9, 8, 9) 34
- Sneak Attack: Very nice effect - but again, it seems to need a deck specifically built around it to really abuse it. (6, 7, 5, 9) 27
- Moat: Many cards stop people from attacking you, but none are as effective as this one. (5, 8, 9, 8) 30
- Mirari's Wake: Two great effects that go together; tons of mana, and it makes creatures bigger. Very versatile can be part of a combo or just added to a good creature deck. (8, 9, 10, 10) 37
- Recurring Nightmare: A reusable Animate Dead. Allows you to re-use 187 creatures. Great enchantment... but again, you need to build the deck around it. (8, 8, 7, 8) 31
- Earthcraft: A very broken effect. Playing this tells everyone that you are playing a combo deck. (1, 5, 5, 10) 21
- Enchantress's Presence: Drawing cards is good, but a deck really needs to be built around it to fully take advantage of it. (7, 8, 10, 8) 33
I am going to have to go with Mirari's Wake here, as it has an effect that does you good from both sides. It's hard to splash in a deck with a two-color requirement, but multiplayer is all about playing a buncha cool colored cards, right? Copy Artifact is great, but it is only as good as the best artifact in play, meaning it's only as good as your opponents. Ideally, you want to be better.
Last up are a bunch of utility cards that help keep you alive; they don't tend to win you the game but they keep you alive, and most players realize they are not that great fairly quickly.
- Worship: Keeps you alive as long as you have creatures. Defensive cards are not as bad in multiplayer as they are in most Constructed formats, since other people will do the killing for you. Unfortunately, this scores low on the "affecting the game" score. (8, 5, 8, 7 28
- Blood Moon, Conversion, Back to Basics: All of these enchantments can hose several people. Unfortunately, they do not lead you to victory and can lead you to being a target. (5, 8, 8, 8) 29
- Color Hosers (Deathgrip, Gloom, etc.): Wizards created a bunch of enchantments to lock down a color. They are great if everybody is playing that color, but otherwise you wind up with grievous enemies who will target you first in every game from then on out. N/A
- Circle of Protection effects: They only stop you from taking damage. (9, 5, 5, 9) 28
These cards don't really ever "win" you a game - they just stop you from losing. Of this bunch, Worship is the most useful, while Story Circle is the most adaptive.
Notice I just did not give the top three point-earners my picks; I took one from each section. For my money, the most enjoyable decks to play are ones that beat an opponent with their own stuff - so just for kicks, here is the multiplayer deck that I play. It's not perfectly tuned, but every game I play is different.
Thanks,
Fred Myers
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