When you want to madness cards and turn lands into 1/1 creatures, who you gonna call…? The Bloodline, apparently. The new art by the talented Magali Villeneuve makes this one FNM Promo card one you won’t want to miss out on!
Angels can certainly have tempers, especially when gripped with madness. This guy does not look like he’s having a good time, not at all. You, however, will be having a great time if you manage to pick up one of these awesome FNM Promos coming up in November. Fiery Temper has already shown itself to be an important part of Standard every time it’s printed, so being able to bling out your standard deck seems pretty good. Also, if you don’t pick them up, it might cause you to lose your temper. And no one wants that.
Ever since Brago got stabbed in the neck, I know you’ve been excited to play this set. All the weird draft mechanics and fun multiplayer action from the first set are back and better than ever.
Though this format is deep enough to support more than one archetypes per color pair, we’ll be looking at the most prominent ones for the enemy color pairs today. In Part 2, we’ll look at the allies.
Without further ado, let’s get archetyping!
Key Commons: Wings of the Guard, Deputized Protestor, Goblin Tunneler
Key Uncommons: Custodi Soulcaller, Grenzo’s Ruffians, Akroan Hoplite
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Adriana, Captain of the Guard
Attacking is red-white’s bread and butter, so it’s no surprise to see that again here. Melee is the new twist—it’s a keyword which buffs your attackers based on the number of people you’re attacking.
I won’t deny that attacking three people at once sounds fun… until all three of them attack you back. This has always been red-white’s Achilles heel in multiplayer. Aggro is effective in one-on-one, but struggles when more people join the table.
My suggestion is to leave one player unattacked each game and do your best to form an alliance with that player. If you’re at a four player table, taking on two players is certainly more doable than taking on three—especially if that third player helps you out every now and then.
Key Commons: Kiln Fiend, Garbage Fire, Repulse
Key Uncommons: Guttersnipe, Into the Void, Besmirch
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Charmbreaker Devils
Though there’s a decent amount of goad cards in this color combo, the spells path has the bigger payoff. Expect to have a lower creature count with this deck. In game, my guess is you’ll lay back until someone seems vulnerable, then blow them out with three or four spells in one turn. Sounds pretty sweet.
However, the funny thing about multiplayer is, people’s imaginations scare them even more than what’s actually on the board. So if you sit there doing nothing and playing no creatures, there’s a fair chance your opponents might attack you out of fear of what you might have.
My suggestion is to leave everyone alone—unless they attack you. When that happens, drop a Garbage Fire on their dude. Do that a few times and people will probably stop attacking you. And then you can go back to building for your big turn.
And remember those goad cards I mentioned? You’ll want to prioritize them. Since you won’t have many creatures, cards that divert attackers to other players are going to be lifesavers.
Key Commons: Assemble the Rank and Vile, Borderland Explorer, Orchard Elemental
Key Uncommons: Pharika’s Mender, Smuggler Captain, Keepsake Gorgon
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Assemble the Rank and Vile
Of all the color pairs, I find this one the most difficult to nail down. There’s not a lot of synergy here, but that’s made up for in raw card advantage. Assemble the Rank and Vile replaces anyone who dies, Pharika’s Mender revives both creatures and enchantments, and Smuggler Captain functions as a nifty tutor.
In general, look for creatures which serve dual roles. Squeaking out added value whenever you can is a big deal in multiplayer, so I expect this color combo to be pretty strong, even without big synergies.
Key Commons: Voyaging Satyr, Opaline Unicorn, Lay of the Land
Key Uncommons: Explosive Vegetation, Manaplasm, Coiling Oracle
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Expropriate
This one’s pretty simple: search up some lands, tap ’em, play big stuff. There’s a good number of monstrosity creatures in green just waiting to munch on some delicious mana, plus a few more in blue.
I like this color combo because there’s enough mana fixing to get you into a third color for a big bomb. If you’re lucky enough to open Birds of Paradise, for example, you have access to any color. If not, Opaline Unicorn is a serviceable substitute. Look out for bombs with high costs or unusual mana requirements such as Subterranean Tremors, Protector of the Crown, or Leovold, Emissary of Trest. While other drafters might fear these cards and pass them, you can snag them and smile. Just don’t look too smug.
Key Commons: Throne Warden, Thorn of the Black Rose, Garrulous Sycophant
Key Uncommons: Knights of the Black Rose, Palace Jailer, Ghostly Prison
Sweet Bomb You Want to Open: Queen Marchesa
Purely from a fun standpoint, this might be the best archetype in the whole set. I love the game-within-the-game aspect the monarch token presents. Plus, now we finally have an excuse to wear a crown during a game of Magic. Thanks, Wizards!
Why would you want to play this archetype? So you can say “Garrulous Sycophant” repeatedly, of course. Also, being the monarch produces a tremendous amount of card advantage; at the beginning of your end step, if you’re the monarch, you draw a card. Though any player can become the monarch, you’ll benefit most from it thanks to cards such as Throne Warden and the aforementioned Sycophant. Plus, if you’re lucky enough to draft Ghostly Prison, it’ll be extra hard for your opponents to steal your crown.
But let us not forget the dangers of being a monarch (just ask King Joffrey). Everyone likes drawing cards, so players won’t hesitate to steal your monarch token. Therefore, be conservative with your attacks and leverage those extra cards for a late-game win.
Which archetype are you most excited to draft? Let us know in the comments below. And don’t forget to come back when we take a look at the ally color pairs.
Until then, watch your back. There’s a conspiracy afoot!
By Kyle A. Massa – Play the Ten Drop
You can reach Kyle at @mindofkyleam on Twitter or through his site www.kyleamassa.com
Finally Wizards of the Coast has provided us with the awesomeness which is this years From the Vault offering with the full preview of Lore !!! Be sure to check out our spoiler post HERE to see all of the amazing cards…
The ranks of the dead rise from the dark watery abyss this October! October’s FMN Promo is Rise from the Tides! Sling your spells left and right to up the count of sorcery and instant cards in your grave, then throw down this card for a horde zombies to overwhelm any adversary. With an army of zombies at your command, it will give your opponents a new meaning of “sink or swim”.
Oh boy, oh boy! It’s Christmas in July! Ok, maybe not, but it has been a very fun spoiler season for Eldritch Moon. From the return of Emrakul, awesome Planeswalkers, the final Oath, a pile of neat, new flip cards and even Meld, this set is shaping up to be loads of fun and something that is going to leave us all with something to talk about. Who needs Core Sets in the summer when you get things like this?! It’s been a blast and today I’m going through my top 10 cards from Eldritch Moon with an eye towards what Casual players are going to enjoy. Here we go:
10. Mind’s Dilation: I’m not sure how truly good this is going to be, but the effect is very unique and seems very fun. The idea of casting the spells off my opponent’s deck for free is extremely appealing and could make for a totally fun and unpredictable card. Maybe you get a board wipe? A card draw spell? A Fireball (which would actually suck)? Something else that I haven’t conceived of yet?! This gets even more fun in a multiplayer format where you will get multiple triggers as each player takes a turn making this something really spicy. This sounds like it has SO much potential and is going to be loads of fun around the kitchen table.
9. Prey Upon: This isn’t that spicy a card, but the new art is so cool. The original Innistrad gave us Prey Upon and the art had a Werewolf attacking a soldier. Well, in this iteration the tables have turned and now the Werewolf is being hunted by an Eldrazi Horror Werewolf. It is just such a great new art that harkens back to our first visit to Innistrad and I’m excited to see it. It is call backs to things like this that make me love this block so much.
8. Emrakul, The Promised End: If the titular bad guy of the set doesn’t make this list I’m probably doing something wrong. So many people have passed judgement on this card that one more opinion by little old me is not going to matter, but here is what I know: she is going to be the lasting image of this set. If you remember nothing else about this set you are absolutely going to remember the set where Emrakul reappears. Beyond just the sheer iconic imagery of the final titan arriving on Innistrad, her ability to Mindslaver your opponent remains to be something that I yearn to do. I managed to cast Worst Fears in Theros block and that was cool, but that doesn’t come with a 13/13 spaghetti monster with it. This sounds MUCH better and I can’t wait.
7. Spirit of the Hunt: This is for all the Werewolf Tribal players out there. Tribal Werewolf decks now have another way to save all their guys as a combat trick by flashing this guy pumping all your dudes with a little more toughness to fight off that pesky Languish or other potent sweeper. It isn’t super special, but it is on theme and is vastly preferable to Ulrich because Spirit of the Hunt matters to all your other wolves and werewolves. I know my tribal deck will be looking to pick up one or two of these guys and I suspect I am not alone in that regard.
6. Eldritch Evolution: This card just feels broken. It kind of feels like it is way to try and fix Birthing Pod. I still think this is too good for Constructed because it just allows you to tutor up whatever answer you need at that time. Don’t get me wrong, it is absolutely going to get abused in Constructed, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this gets banned fairly readily. However, it will be yet another fine addition to degenerate Kitchen Table Magic games everywhere. The possibilities are endless and the choices are ridiculous. I just can’t believe they are printing this card.
5. Docent of Perfection: The ultimate evolution of Delver of Secrets! I am very interested in seeing this card in action because we have now traced the development of this card through three iterations and each one has been super sweet. This final version is pretty wild because the Prowess trigger makes dudes, the dudes get pumped, and it makes yet MORE dudes. Who needs Thing in the Ice? This is flavourful, fun, and makes Tribal Wizard totally a thing.
4. Shreds of Sanity: This feels super powerful because there are lots of powerful Instants and Sorceries out there in Kitchen Table land and the ability to get them all back seems totally busted. Sure, you have to discard one, but with Madness still being a thing, is that even really a problem? I might be totally off my rocker here, but could there be a chance that a Storm deck is looking for one more spell to cast to buy back something, maybe as a form of insurance, to help them go off? I’m not sure, but I read this and could only conclude that this was extremely powerful.
3. Bruna, the Fading Light: Of the two Angels that make up Brisela, Voice of Nightmares, this is the one I expect to make a big splash casually. Gisela, the Broken Blade is a mini Baneslayer Angel and will get lots of play in Constructed. However, Bruna and her ability to buy back a creature and put it directly into play is insane. Think of all the really powerful reanimation targets? Angel of Serenity, Craterhoof Behemoth, Griselbrand (although I’m not sure where you’re playing these two together exactly), Prime Speaker Zegana, and on and on and on. Now, someone is going to say that she is pretty expensive at 7 mana. You’re right. However, this ability is usually very expensive. Defy Death, from Avacyn Restored was a 5 mana Sorcery for a similar ability. Emeria Shepherd is also an expensive creature and requires an 8th land to even get an effect. You’re getting your Defy Death plus a 5/7 flier for 7 mana…I’m not about to complain. She’s going to be an awesome Kitchen Table card that is just going to make your opponents weep…or have Nightmares…whatever.
2. Tree of Perdition: Is anyone surprised? This one is ridiculous because in formats that have more than 20 life you’re tapping this to deal a whole pile of scary damage. People have pointed out correctly that in Commander that tapping this essentially deals 27 points of damage. Assault Formation or Doran, the Siege Tower makes this a hilarious card that is just going to be abused. Oh, and I’m just going to say Triskaidekaphobia. The end.
1. Harmless Offering: Much like the tree, this is just waiting to be abused much the same way Donate was abused. Demonic Pact is the most obvious place to start, but I bet there are loads of other fun ideas. I’ll leave the particulars of that up to you. On top of the fun little combo, that cute little kitten is worth her weight in gold, but don’t look too closely at her tail and see that tendril sneaking around. Once again, a complete and utter flavour win and the card that I am most excited about in Eldritch Moon.
Ok, ok…I know. No Liliana. No Tamiyo. No Gisela. These are all awesome cards, but there is no doubt in my mind that these will all see extensive constructed play because they are among the most powerful cards for their casting cost in the format. However, the cards I’ve highlighted today are the sorts of things that people around the kitchen table dream about playing and using to maximum effect. That’s why I selected a number of cards that are a little off the beaten path. They might be cards you overlooked, discounted, or forgot about but will get good mileage around a kitchen table some Saturday night with your buddies. Give them a try and see for yourself.
Did I miss something? Is there something else that you have your eye on? Let me know by leaving a comment down below or finding me on Twitter. Good luck to all of you at your Prereleases and be sure to stop by next time for another Casual Encounter.
Bruce Gray – @bgray8791
Wizards of the Coast’s newest Judge Promo is definitely geared towards the Commander crowd. Whether you’re a Timmy, Johnny or Spike, Azusa will not fail to please. Azusa can help drop your fatties early, enable combos and even lock out your opponent from the game. The new art is a beautiful piece by Winona Nelson, who also did arts on cards such as Avacyn, Guardian Angel and both sides of Arlinn Kord. It’s also awesome to see WotC give some love to a card from the Kamigawa block, which was Azusa‘s only printing.
