Saviors of Kamigawa.
Ah, those words bring a certain soothing peace to my ears - because like every other Magic player out there, I know that it is just filled to the brim with multiplayer goodness. So when I was asked to pick the three best cards for multiplayer, picking two was tough.
"Why only two," you ask? Well it's because there's only one card that is the definite number one - that card is none other than One With Nothing. I mean, it has so much potential. You just play it when you're the target of Duress or other discard and they do nothing, and you can laugh at your opponent's wasted spell. You can discard your hand in response to Obliterate and laugh at the people who still have hands! You can nail it to a sign and picket Wizards' home office in Seattle! And most importantly, you can use it with Collector Protector.
Since, however, One With Nothing is such an obvious choice, I've picked three slightly different cards (you know ones with actual uses) that I'll hope you enjoy as much as I do.
First one up: Briarknit Kami. A 3/3 for five mana is nothing to get excited over right? If you agree with that statement, then you've never heard of Morphling. Wizards was pushing blue when they made Morphling, and now they're pushing green.
While Briarknit Kami really isn't as powerful as Morphling, he does a lot of little things that make a big difference - and since he isn't winning you the game right away you tend to draw less attention as well. You see the thing that makes his spirit craft so useful is that it creates a permanent boost, and latter in the game that could mean the difference between having to chump block a Darksteel Colossus or making the Colossus look like a chump. To make the most of the spiritcraft, I went with the idea of using the Phantom creatures from Judgment (because they like their +1/+1 counters) and with some other Kamigawa goodness for more spirit craftiness.
Next up on our list of the best Saviors' cards for multiplayer is Kagemaro, First to Suffer. Not only does his name sound like someone was lying to us, but it also sounds like a boss in Saviors of Kamigawa Unleashed - now available for the PS2!
All jokes aside, Kagemaro is a very versatile creature. He can beat down, he can take out weenie swarms if you wait, he can take out pretty much everything if you wait a little longer, and he can make attacking you look like a very unsexy option (although the art on this card should have already hinted at that aspect).
To abuse Kagemaro to its fullest, however, you need to have a way to restock your hand aside from the card you get each turn. It is for this reason that I reference Oversold Cemetery, one of the best enchantments for multiplayer for the perfect combination. Kagemaro will be killing a lot of creatures if you have a large hand, and Oversold Cemetery restocks your hand while providing a way to get Kagemaro back. Throw in some other mono-black staples, and you have a deck.
We round out our top three with none other than Jiwari, the Earth Aflame. Not only is he a "Surprise, I kill your all your creatures" guy, but also when played as a creature he can pretty much click, drag, and drop the creature of your choice to the nearest graveyard. To top off his powers, he also can screw around with blocking math all day.
Unlike the first two cards, he can pretty much fit himself into any red deck that could use a decent five-drop. So I decided that some of his best uses would come from a deck that could reuse his channel abilities, and have enough mana to use his powers effectively in the first place. Naturally I went with a green and red deck, but instead of running the spirit theme I tried a nice little mix of Survival of the Fittest and Repercussion.
Bonus Section: The Actual Use Of One With Nothing
As stupid as it sounds, the real use for One With Nothing is to just cast it with no other combo in mind because Wizards wants you to inflate your ego.
"What? That can't be possible; he must be on crack!" you say to yourself.
But if you take the time to think about it, how great would it be if you did cast One With Nothing and went on to win the game? You would have bragging rights beyond the amount any mortal man has ever had. After your opponent gets over his fits of laughter and realizes he was beaten, he will feel like the dumbest noob to ever walk on this planet. On the off chance you actually lose when you cast One With Nothing (which is not too hard, since you have no hand) then no harm's done, just blame it on the card.
So in summary, One With Nothing encourages us to become egotistical unsportsmanlike-like jerks in order to better promote a healthy Magic Community. Thank you, Wizards!
Andrew Lubich
| 
