When someone playing Tolarian Blue hits with a Braingeyser, it’s usually game over. Ditto if someone pops a Memory Jar with two copies of Megrim on the table. Recently I played a game where both of these things happened, but neither one of the players who pulled these moves off won. In fact, the player piloting Megrim was beaten to death with Abbey Gargoyles.
The format they were playing in is one where the most powerful decks ever created often don’t stand a chance: Massively Multiplayer Chaos.
Games with more than seven players and no targeting restrictions are difficult for many tournament players to wrap their minds around. Picture this: a Grand Prix level event where day one consists of Standard Constructed Swiss rounds where you play four-player games. Day Two is Rochester draft but instead of individual games, all eight players at the table shuffle and draw for a chaos game. Admittedly, this is unlikely (though new official multiplayer rules would make it possible)... but if it were to happen, my guess is that most of the world’s best players would struggle to keep up.
Notice I said “most." I’m sure there are Pros who can deal with a royal-rumble style game and come out with a good record but in my experience, most Spikes can’t deal with the format, because it has monumentally different strategy and deckbuilding paradigms. Not that those differences are harder to grasp, but a large portion of being a Spike is research and testing; if nobody is writing about the format, they may struggle to stay afloat.
One of the hardest things to overcome is winning percentage. If everything was equal, then players would win 50% of their duels. Better players can realistically expect to win the majority of their duels. With ten players, all things being equal a given player will win 10% of their games. Better players can expect to win roughly a quarter of their games.
These are difficult numbers to accept for many players, and it is hard to realize that a good record in a large group will still consist of a majority of games lost. If players can get over the shift in what numbers are good, then they are on the path to enjoying the chaos experience.
The second step is learning the new rules. Not new game rules (though it is nice that Wizards is finally creating multiplayer rules), but the new styles of play and deckbuilding.
Dominating the game is much harder in chaos. Often things that would give you a clear advantage in a duel will simply make you The Target against a large number of players. For example, let’s say you utilize a Mox Diamond as both mana acceleration and Tinker food to end your second turn with a Sundering Titan on the table. In a duel, you may have all but won the game, but in chaos all you’ve accomplished is transforming the game into you against a team of seven players. By your next turn, you will probably not have a Titan to swing with, nor will you have a high life total. The psychological effects take quite a while to wear off when you execute a play like that... and they probably won’t before you are out of the game.
So we get to our first lesson: Don’t be the first threat.
Another lesson connected with this one has to do with building your deck. This one I’ll say flat out: going rogue makes life easier. This may vary based on your playgroup and knowledge of tournament decks, but essentially breaks down like this: turn 1 play Disciple of the Vault, turn 2 play Arcbound Ravager, turn 3 stare at the Disciple in your graveyard and wonder why you’re at such a low life total.
Using a known powerful deck (or using pieces that make it appear that you are) will make you The Threat and get you killed quickly, regardless of your ability to actually beat everyone else.
So how do you build a deck when anything powerful will get you killed? Well you start by redefining powerful. Akroma, Angel of Wrath will get in a couple swings, and get you killed for being The Threat, while two Voices of All will deal roughly the same amount of damage (coming out earlier), stay alive much longer, and make you appear much less powerful than you are. A consistent amount of medium-size threats will be much more useful than a small amount of large ones.
(I've actually found this depends on the group — against novice groups, it's better to go for the throat, but in an experienced group pure power tends to be met with an overwhelming counter-reaction — T.F.)
So, now the deck (assuming it uses creatures, burn, or life drain as its kill) has to accommodate more slots for kill conditions. How do you fit this in? Easy; take out most of your answers. Try to focus on being able to deal with things that you know are your big weakness. You don’t need Wrath of God, Pacifism, and Disenchant if you really only have to worry about enchantments. In a duel you should be able to deal with anything, but in chaos you don’t have to. Put Erase in your deck, and assume someone else will pack Oxidize, Mutilate, or Frozen Solid. I’m sure the Spikes out there (assuming any of them got this far) will appreciate being able to use lower-cost specialized spells, and rely on Timmy to Decimate when things get out of hand.
Combo Players
Combo has a tough time in this format. Combos in massive multiplayer games usually only get one shot. What this means is "infinite" is the name of the game. Storm-based combo, Pandemonium with Saproling Burst, or any other combo designed to deal twenty to forty damage when you have an opening won’t do well against more than two people. In this format, your combo must be able to deal two hundred points of damage and Millstone six hundred cards, split between multiple targets, with much more disruption to block your way.
The Combo player does have one advantage, though. If you can put up a small defense (walls or any other future creature with defender will work), you can rest comfortably in the middle of the field. Usually at least one player is looking for someone to hit with a “deals combat damage to a player” trigger creature, so you can’t be completely open... but a small defense will ward this off while allowing you to build up your combo.
Designing that defense requires subtlety. You need to be relatively safe, but strategies that will interfere with other players (e.g. Meekstone or Rule of Law) will make you The Annoyance of the table. If life were fair, people would go after The Threat and leave you alone... but unfortunately, this is not the case. Also remember that there are many other targets to go after. People are more likely to go after someone else than pay for your Propaganda, but they will find a way to punch through an Ensnaring Bridge, then go after you just to make sure you don’t live long enough to play another one.
Aggro Players
Aggro deckbuilding translates well to chaos games, but play style is quite different. The first lesson of playing Aggro in a large game is simple: share the love. Unlike Combo, which expects to win in one turn, a deck based on the Red Zone is in it for the long haul. There is a lot more life to eat away in this game, and the lower everyone’s totals are, the better it is for you. Focusing on one opponent can lead to a war of attrition, with you and that other player burning each other out, while the rest of the table basically ignores you and keeps their high life totals. Spreading out the damage you are dealing will accomplish the long-term goal of bringing everyone down, while simultaneously making it appear that you don’t have too much going on.
Over-commitment can seriously ruin your day. You will probably lose some creatures to combat tricks and defensive spells while heaving them around the table... but you should never put yourself in a position where Pernicious Deed completely destroys you. Save a few creatures in your hand, and pack a few more draw spells than you normally would in a deck meant for duels. Never expect your permanents to stay on the table, and always be prepared to replace them.
Alpha-striking should be kept to a minimum, since it clearly displays the actual power you wield and can make you The Threat in short order. Don’t be afraid to leave someone at four or five life; remember that you have a bunch of other players to finish them off for you. Likewise, return the favor whenever possible. Part of your job in the game (and part of your strategy) should be to squeeze in those last three points of damage that other players weren’t quite able to deal. This makes you appear as if you’re helping the community, while at the same time you’re actually executing your dastardly plot to slaughter them all one by one.
Control Players
Control takes on a strange new face in chaos games. With the exception of some ridiculous board positions (usually involving Patron Wizard and Seedborn Muse), the odds are against you actually disrupting everyone else’s game enough to make a difference. Land destruction and discard strategies will have a hard time dealing with a high number of players, and many prison-style setups do not translate well. Hard-locks in duels such as Bringer of the White Dawn with Mindslaver are somewhat useless with more players. A hard lock that can hold down eight people is impressive, but usually needs so many pieces that you’re basically playing Combo. (Tru dat — T.F.)
So what place do Counterspells and spot-removal cards have in a chaos game? Well, if any spell that would ruin your day never happens, and any creature headed your way ends up in another zone, you’re looking pretty good. The key to controlling the chaos is to focus on yourself rather than your opponents. I know that countless articles out there will tell you that “winning” is important and “not losing” is terrible, but that rule is a little hazy in this situation. While you may not have many win conditions, being at nineteen life and having that lone 4/4 flier still on the table when the field has been whittled down to three players is pretty good.
More than any other archetype, the Control player relies on the rest of the table to do their dirty work. The key is to be the psychological aggressor in the situation. You shouldn’t be begging the Aggro player to please leave you alive; they should be begging you to please counter that unexpected Rout. Help your game plan by helping those who are executing it for you. Make friends like the Godfather of the table, and run your game like a protection racket. Most importantly, be ruthless with your inaction. You never “need” to save someone when you can. Saving someone’s board position so they can stay useful is one thing, but remember that you do actually want the other players to off each other.
Back to Everyone
As you can see, the three major deck archetypes play differently in chaos. Usually, a successful multiplayer deck will be a merger of two of them. Another important element to chaos decks (and any deck for that matter) is a backup plan, or redundancy. To give a touch of concrete proof, let me present one of my most successful decks in the chaos environment. A word of warning: This deck was built on a slightly silly idea, but its win percentage in massively multiplayer games is around 35% (remember, that’s good).
Swamp Thing
4 Crystal Quarry
3 Cabal Coffers
17 Swamp
2 Reiver Demon
3 Dross Golem (Swamp Thing!)
3 Maggot Carrier
3 Twisted Abomination
4 Last Stand
4 Drain Life
4 Consume Spirit
3 Mutilate
3 Lingering Death
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Skulltap
1 Syphon Soul
(In case you didn’t notice it, it uses Crystal Quarry to play Last Stand for a fair amount of life loss to someone, and uses Drain Life or Consume Spirit backed by Cabal Coffers to the same effect. Not overly powerful, but really fun to play.)
One of the first things current Standard players may notice is that this deck has no way to destroy artifacts. It packs a board sweepers (Mutilate and Reiver Demon) and slow creature removal (Lingering Death, or pointing the drain spells on a creature), but no way to deal with an enchantment that could shut it down. This demonstrates the specialized nature of answers in chaos decks. It relies on the green, red, and white mages to get rid of artifacts and enchantments, and focuses on its primary concern: too many creatures on the board.
It plays like Aggro-Control, attempting to hit everyone equally except when it can finish someone off, and removing dangerous creatures. It also has the backup plan of beating down with fear and flying. It avoids looking like The Threat except when Reiver Demon is on the table which is why you save that critter for when there are only a few players left to mop up.
I chose to show this deck because it follows the ideas I have set out in this article, but also because of one card it features: Maggot Carrier. The Carrier is almost perfectly designed for massive chaos games. It starts with a small, but even effect, and provides an early blocker. At least the ability seems small. One life to an opponent is tiny in a duel and usually not worth the mana, and nobody will turn to you as The Threat for a single life lost. In a chaos game, however, its triggered ability saps seven to ten life from the group total. That’s a fair amount for a single black mana. This sort of re-evaluation of symmetrical effects can seriously alter the cards you choose for a chaos deck.
Hopefully, this advice will help you out the next time your casual group gets together, or perhaps in some tournament in the distant future. There is strategy in chaos, and it does not automatically exclude Spikes. While there are no official titles to hold in this style of game, there is one important prize that is always on the line: bragging rights.
Trevor Childs
childs1ATuwindsorDOTca
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