So, much time has passed since I last wrote about underappreciated cards, but it has now been a full year since Dragon’s Maze joined us as far as a set to be played. By and large, the reception for Dragon’s Maze was lukewarm at best despite having all the flash and dazzle of being the final set for the Return to Ravnica block. However, the set was rife with cards that are geared for EDH and multiplayer formats with only a few staples that would get seriously added to the pool of competitive cards. It did allow for the full Return to Ravnica block draft, which was also very challenging and tons of fun, but constructed players were deeply saddened by the near unplayable cards and fringe options the set yielded. However, this set was a veritable gold mine for casual players of all stripes. Today, I’ll be going through my selections for some underappreciated cards at each of the 4 rarity slots (common through Mythic) that you might want to slide into a deck the next time you sit down to play at your next Casual Encounters.
Dragon’s Maze gave us a full set of 10 Maze Runners, champions for each guild that would negotiate the Maze and dominate Ravnica. However, while it would seem that the Maze Runners were going to be the most powerful cards printed in the set, the reality was that many of them were clunky and poor at best. No, the most powerful cards were creatures like Voice of Resurgence, Aetherling, and Blood Baron of Vizkopa and a select few spells like Advent of the Wurm. However, while the Maze Runners weren’t much fun to play with, and these select high priority spells cost a small fortune to acquire a play set, there are still plenty of viable cards at all 4 slots that can bring some variety and fun effects to your next game.
Each of the 5 colours had a Gatekeeper for 4 mana. These 2/4 creatures were serviceable bodies in their own right but hardly exciting unless you controlled a pair of guildgates, in which case you were able to reap some sort of benefit. Now let’s be honest with ourselves. In draft were you likely to EVER be able to grab a pair of guildgates? Not likely. In any form of constructed format, were you likely to even THINK about playing guildgates, much less these guys? NOPE. In EDH you are only likely to have a pair of guildgates, at best, among your 100 cards which means you would be unlikely to be keen to run these cards either. No, these gatekeepers fall firmly in the realm of casual players looking to do something silly with them. Of their abilities, they are pretty standard (ie. Blue draws a card, Black gives target creature -2/-2, Red gives a threaten effect etc) and only impact the board when they enter play…but if you’ve read some of my previous articles I LOVE making these effects recur by finding ways to get my stuff to leave play and then re-enter the battlefield. Also, as a Casual player, I’m very apt to play guildgates because they are very functional (if unexciting) ways to help smooth out your mana. Particularly in a multiplayer game of some sort where things may be a little slower, the requirement for the correct colours is key and you may be spared the punishment of having lands come into play tapped by the slower pace of the multiplayer environment. These 5 guys are solid additions with decent bodies and good upside. Give them a second look and see if you can make them fit into a deck the next time you sit down to play.
If you’ve been reading my other articles, you might have got the sense that I’m big on the shenanigans that +1/+1 counters can do for you in Return to Ravnica block. Scavenge and Evolve are both super interesting mechanics and the ability to then turn around and draw cards off of those counters is super fun. In a previous article about Gatecrash I attempted to describe how Zameck guildmage can be abused to draw all sorts of cards off those counters…but with Give//Take you don’t even need a Zameck in play to go card crazy. Perhaps my most favorite play is to land Prime Speaker Zegana on the battlefield and draw cards equal to her power. This can usually be a fairly solid number of cards because having her be at least a 5/5 is no real stretch. However, on your next turn, cast both halves of Give and Take and turn all those +1/+1 counters into cards and suddenly your card advantage has gone bananas. In a multiplayer casual variant this is totally possible and means that you now have a significant edge over the opposition because of the resources available to you. Let me assure you, it’s fun and your opponents will be doing their utmost to prevent this from happening since they don’t want to get caught behind in the race for resources…and when you pull it off it’ll be amazing! Try it out for yourself!
This guy is so simple in terms of design and so mindlessly powerful that he gets overlooked. A 2/2 indestructible creature for 4 mana means he’s likely too expensive for a Constructed format (and to trip his Battalion ability takes WAY too much set up cost), but in a casual environment this guy is a true menace. It is very conceivable to see this guy get his Battalion ability triggered and be a MONSTROUS 7/7 wrecking ball of hate smashing around…and he’s indestructible meaning he’s wildly difficult for your opponents to deal with. If nothing else he becomes a reliable blocker and suitable target to dress up with auras to pump him with because you are unlikely to get 2 for 1ed off of an exchange. But here’s the thing, more than a few people in my play group will just flip right on by Tajic in favour of other creatures…and every time I ask “WHY? ARE YOU SICK? PLAY THAT DUDE!”. He crushes face, is hard to deal with, isn’t unreasonably costed and is in perhaps the most aggressive colour combo available…making him a perfect bulldozer in your next game. Trust me…you won’t regret it.
As always, the mythic slot is hard to pick because they are all powerful. Dragon’s Maze was no exception and the planeswalker of the set seems like a dead obvious place to start when picking a card, but Ral was spoiled with great fanfare. His ultimate, of flipping coins and taking extra turns, is hilarious and immediately caught the attention of the Magic playing community…only to hit the ground at release with a resounding THUD! He was unplayable in competitive Standard, and cost too much to play any Eternal format. His first two abilities are reasonable, but hardly awe inspiring, and the ultimate leaves a lot to be desired. Basically, he was very quickly resigned to his role of coming off the bench for Casual Magic and I’ll happily pick him up to pinch hit for me!
If nothing else, the ultimate ability on Ral Zarek just SCREAMS Casual all-star. When you think of playing Casual Magic you think of splashy cards, crazy abilities, and full on shenanigans…well…here you go! All of these things are rolled into the flip of coins as part of Ral Zarek’s ultimate. Also, his +1 ability of tapping and untapping various permanents just leads to soooo many ridiculous plays that it is almost impossible to list all the possibilities. Basically, Ral Zarek opens up loads of fun and innovative options that will totally take your opponents by surprise that I think he’s well worth the time to pick him up and give a try.
So, no article highlighting underplayed cards would be complete without some sort of deck showcasing some of the cards and today is no exception. Now, if I asked you how do the vast majority of games get won and lost, what would you say? If you said attacking with creatures, you would be right. Sure, sure, there are some people who prefer combo or mill or locking out your opposition with a control deck, but let’s be real, you play Casual Magic to cast fat creatures, turn them sideways and see what powerful interactions you can dream up. Now, let’s change the axis on which you are prepared to engage your opponent and instead of you using YOUR creatures to kill your opponent, why not use HIS creatures to kill your opponent.
Let’s see what I’ve got today:
The game plan with this deck was inspired by that older brother who used to take your hand and smack you in the face with your own hand…and then say “Stop hitting yourself!”. So, your opponent is expecting you cast creatures and attack, but in reality you are waiting for them to cast creatures and then use Act of Treason and Traitorous instinct to take their creature and smack them in the face. However, what made this deck really sweet was the addition of Smelt-Ward Gatekeepers who is an Act of Treason attached to 2/4 body…and if it is attached to a body it can be recurred. So, the ability to have Roaring Primadox return Smelt-Ward Gatekeepers to your hand and cast it again for the recurring Threaten effect. Ubul-Sar Gatekeepers is basically a Dead-Weight on a stick and Saruli Gatekeepers gains you a huge pile of life that can quickly put things out of range, but they aren’t the real threats. Now, after you’ve taken the creatures with the Threaten effect, most opponents won’t block because they don’t want to block their own creature, when they know that they will be getting the card back shortly so they eat the damage and hope to move on. Before you return the creature, nothing is more hilarious that sacrificing it to one of the numerous Sacrifice outlets in the deck for a) more damage b) cards c) to mill them d) attack their hand e) gain more life. The options are endless and drive your opponent bonkers because they are expecting to get the creature back. As an additional way to close out the game Crackling Perimeter allows you to tap the large number of gates in your deck to do damage to your opponent and close out the game. All in all, this deck is a funny way to punch your opponent in the face with their own creatures and to reap the benefits.
So, that’s my selection for underappreciated cards from Dragon’s Maze and a little sample of what you can do with the cards to make a fun and unexpected deck that can really frustrate your opponent. Perhaps I’ve missed something and some of you have other things you would rather play, or cards that I may have skipped over, so I’m always game to hear what others think. Shoot me a tweet and let me know what you thought…or go ahead and build yourself your on deck and see what you can find from Dragon’s Maze to make your next Casual Night fun and lively.
Until next time, keep fun, keep it safe…keep it Casual.
By Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters @bgray8791Welcome everyone to this edition of “My top cards from Standard” pt.1 for Dragon’s Maze.
We see a diverse meta starting to form with the exciting new release of Dragon’s Maze and decks have evolved a lot since my last Top cards from Gatecrash. It’s a small set, but it has a lot of powerful multicolored cards adding tools to decks like Jund, Bant, Junk, and Grixis. Although we see a few two colored decks, three colored decks are preferred as we can see with the results put up so far. We’ll take a closer look at some of the top cards I’ve found for Standard and I’ve pulled up some of this weekends top decks to see them in action. There are more cards then just these that will get played in standard, but this is already quite a lot to look at. I’ll be continuing in part 2.
Sire of insanity: This guy makes coming out the gates strong really pay off, and especially if you’re ahead you can really lock the win once your opponent discard their hand. An especially good tool versus control decks. We see him in almost all Jund builds right now.
Putrefy: Great removal and easier to cast then Murder that can’t be regenerated with the added option of removing artifacts instead like Staff of Nin or Rakdos Keyrune for instance. Another great tool for Jund that’s also in some Junk sideboards.
Jund
Tyler Phelps
2nd Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Creatures (13)
Gaze of Granite: Finally a decent sweeper for Jund and BUG, kind of like a new Pernicious deed that you need to pay for all up front. It’s starting to see some play in some Jund sideboards like this one:
Jund
Danny Li
6th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Deadbridge Chant: I’ve heard a few people wanting to brew with this card. For now we’ve seen copies in Jund sideboards like this next list. They want to abuse it by exiling their graveyard to make sure that they always recur the same spell, like a Rakdos’s Return for instance, each turn. This is a sick card and I’d love to see more decks abusing it.
Jund
Kyle Thomas
4th Place at StarCityGames.com Classic on 5/12/2013
Voice of resurgence: This badboy 2-drop should see a lot of play in this standard meta coming up and those to follow. Will it become on par or even better than others like Tarmogoyf, Dark confidant, Stoneforge mystic and Snapcaster Mage? Only time will tell.
First off two versions of Junk Reanimator, one from Ali Aintrazi with an Angel of Serenity plan using 4 Voice of Resurgence in it’s sideboard in the list right below. The other reanimator uses Immortal Servitude as tech using all 2 drops including Voice of Resurgence.
Next we have two Bant versions: Bant Auras and Bant Flash. Replacing an old favorite one-drop Delver of Secrets with Voice of Resurgence in Bant Auras in the third list. Combining Geist of Saint Traft and Invisible Stalker with Voice of Resurgence in the auras deck makes opponents options awkward when trying to answer your auras. Bant Flash however is also keeping it in its sideboard with the fourth list. You will see further below that Bant Auras and Bant Flash are also using other Dragon’s Maze cards that had high expectations.
Reanimator
Ali Aintrazi
9th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Immortal Servitude
Elliot Smith
2nd Place at StarCityGames.com Classic on 5/12/2013
Unflinching Courage: This new Loxodon Warhammer style aura is quite powerful. When played at the right time you can take over a game even in limited. We find it here in Bant Auras as an easier to cast replacement to Gift of Orzhova. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see another version of Naya blitz using it in it’s side.
Bant Auras
Robert Rusch
4th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Advent of the Wurm: This Awesome 5/5 4-drop is one of my favorite new cards from Dragon’s Maze, except you’re summoning this badboy at instant speed. It allows you to abuse cards like Augur of Bolas and Snapcaster mage like in this Bant Flash list. Who said Sphinx’s revelation was dead yet? I also added a sweet G/W Token list with Advent of the Wurm and Voice of Resurgence.
Bant Flash
Zachery Byrd
7th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Renounce the Guilds: Interesting new removal tool we see in Bant control’s sideboard, the only permanent you might lose is your Wurm token. This is good against Planeswalkers like Ral Zarek or used like Devour Flesh against Geist of Saint-Traft .
G/W Tokens
Ben Suddueth
17th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Viashino Firstblade: It’s an aggressive 3-drop as a 4/4 when it comes out with haste. This can get hard to manage when you’re facing a deck like this Naya Blitz version.
Naya Blitz
Daniel Battle
5th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed: I imagine this guy must be a beast against decks like Bant Auras and Bant Flash, making it awkward to remove anything once he’s on the board especially if you’re behind at all. This next Naya list went on to win 1st place.
Naya
Justin Tracey
1st Place at StarCityGames.com Classic on 5/12/2013
We see another version of the Naya Blitz list here with 4 Frontline Medic in the main instead of Viashino Firstblade. He also opted for 3 Unflinching Courage in the side, the new Loxodon Warhammer-style aura from Dragon’s Maze.
Naya Blitz
Ben Ragan
8th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Sin Collector: This is a weaker Duress on a stick. We see him in some of the new Junk Reanimator lists. Also used in The Aristocrats deck where he makes a good sacrifice to Falkenrath Aristocrat since he’s human.
Reanimator
Wayne Polimine
12th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Profit // Loss: Can be used as a combat trick for all of your creatures or a sweeper against opponents opposing Falkenrath Aristocrat, their Invisible Stalker or if you prefer take out all there dorks like Arbor Elf and Avacyn’s Pilgrim. You can always fuse it for best results with that all out swing. We see The Aristocrats with one in the sideboard.
Wear // Tear: This versatile fuse card is an answer for artifacts like Staff of Nin or if you prefer to remove an enchantment like Unflinching Courage you can too. This is the second fuse card we’ve found in an Aristocrats deck like this one:
The Aristocrats
Dylan Farmer
13th Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Ral Zarek: The newest Planeswalker in the roster which has neat abilities. His first one can be used to tap an opponents blocker or a land to screw up his answers, then it gets interesting where you can untap a land to ramp up or a permanent to get his effect a second time, like Izzet Staticaster in this next Grixis Control list. Ral Zarek’s second ability is probably one of the most played cards in Magic a Lightning Bolt with two bolts before he croaks. His ultimate ability with an average of 2.5 Time Walk each time will get you so far ahead it will be hard for opponents to recoup, but not impossible.
Far // Away: Another great split card. In this current meta I believe you want to use Far against Bant Auras to bounce an enchanted creature and then Away against his Geist of Saint Traft. Here’s the Grixis Control deck using it in sideboard probably for exactly that.
Grixis Control
Andrew Schneider
83rd Place at StarCityGames.com Standard Open on 5/12/2013
Welcome back to the second part of my EDH // Commander review of Dragon’s Maze. The first installment can be found here. I found such a plethora of interesting cards that it was necessary to split it into two offerings so you wouldn’t get information overload. Like I mentioned before the amount of powerful multicolored cards has helped to make this set very friendly to EDH players and there is most definitely something to pique your interest. So without further ado here is the rest of the best…
Ral Zarek – this guy is screaming at me to be paired up with Krark’s Thumb in a coin flip deck. Since there is still some randomness with him your opponents should only be mildly annoyed with you for taking 5 more turns.
Master of Cruelties – an obvious include in a Kaalia deck as an instawin if both are able to get through unblocked. He is also able to combo with Ninjutsu creatures like Skullsnatcher or Walker of Secret Ways, you just use Ninjutsu after his ability is triggered.
Possibility Storm – I can see this offbeat enchantment as another annoying tool in a Norin deck. If you embrace these types of random effects then you can definitely have fun with it. Could be built around to some extent which would require some very creative deckbuilding.
Blood Baron of Vizkopa – not only is he from a great tribe but his protection can be very relevant as well. Obviously he’s at his best when one of your opponents is 10 life or less, hello Sorin Markov, and remember that nothing is forcing you to attack that particular opponent.
Unflinching Courage – this powerful aura will easily find its way into Uril decks. Armadillo Cloak and Loxodon Warhammer/Behemoth Sledge have always been all-stars.
Notion Thief – I’m dreaming about some sort of Donate deck that runs him and Consecrated Sphinx for instant death. Just give away the Thief while you have a Sphinx in play and draw a card. Since the ability is not a may your opponent will be forced to draw which will trigger Sphinx again forcing him to draw which will trigger Sphinx again forcing him to draw…you get the point.
Debt to the Deathless – this one is just blatantly obvious especially if you are already running Crypt Ghast and Nirkana Revenant to ensure an amount of X that’s sure to close games very quickly in your favor.
Renounce the Guilds – this excites me very much for mono-white aggro builds like in an Isamaru deck where you won’t take any splash damage. I like that it hits permanents instead of specific types and should be able to get something from everyone that way.
Deputy of Acquittals – seems like there’s definitely a way to abuse his ability with Riptide Labratory to gain infinite amounts of extra value out of from bouncing your non-wizards with into play or leaves play (but not to the grave) abilities.
Voice of Resurgence – this card when pushed into a Doubling Season deck with a ton of token creatures will single-handedly push a game from ridiculous to insane. Also can have similar effect if you can stick him to a Mimic Vat popping his tokens each turn.
Korozda Gorgon – repeatable removal which definitely wants to be in a Doubling Season shell. Should be able to slip into a Ghave deck which is almost certain to have all the counters you need to use him to the fullest.
Renegade Krasis – this guy can provide some serious shenanigans when paired up with Doubling Season, but any deck that tries to monopolize on +1/+1 counters will find him a powerful tool.
Bred for the Hunt – this should have interesting uses in a Doubling Season deck that focuses on adding counters and could definitely work in Zegana.
Zhur-Taa Druid – WOW !!! A mana dude with the added benefit of pinging all of your opponents. Sure one little point isn’t all that much but if you add Grafted Exoskeleton or even Phyresis then this little guy can end games even quicker just on his own.
Maw of the Obzedat – could probably find a spot in a junk tokens deck to use some of those small guys to pump up the team. Easily eats blocked creatures to push extra damage through with the rest of the assault. The kind of card that makes blocking miserable and leaves them asking if there’s any way to block where they won’t die.
Profit // Loss – this one might be useful in junk tokens as an additional Zealous Persecution, with value on either end but fuse to max effect.
Ready // Willing – this is just an absolute blowout. Not only are you going to thwart an attack with surprise blockers, not only are you going to gain a bunch of life instead of possibly dying but indestructible deathtouchers to sweep the army of your opponent is priceless. A must include in every junk deck.
Catch // Release – there is so much value gained with this card that I would find room for it in Ruhan. Obviously you’re able to deal with the most problematic permanent, as long as it’s not protected, but you can also work around it with cards like Flagstones of Trokair, Hostility, Mycosynth Wellspring, Hatching Plans or Reveillark. Just be sure you’re ready for a backlash since this will not make people very happy.
Breaking // Entering – I can see this in Sedris with value gained from both halves, fill your grave with unearthables and reanimate the biggest card in any graveyard. You might find a slot in Thraximundar but mostly for the Entering half.
Pontiff of Blight – I can totally see this guy as a top end bomb with some zombie hordes. Giving extort to all of your creatures will tend to end games rather quickly in your favor but also put the bulls eye squarely on you and him.
Blood Scrivener – has two relevant types with zombie and wizard, although I’d imagine in a wizards shell you’d be in trouble if his ability was triggering. Ends up very powerful in a low curve aggro deck that tries to empty its hand every turn.
Wear // Tear – not the most powerful spell but very versatile and will always have bothersome targets to take care of.
So there you have it, another amazing release with tons of great possibilities. Were there any cards that you think I missed? What cards have you been adding into your decks or what new deck ideas have sparked from the Dragon’s Maze? Don’t hesitate to tweet me about it, I love to talk magic and I’m sure there’s some new ideas that I can learn from. Also, feel free to email me your decklists and I’m sure to enjoy reading about your new found synergies. Thanks again and see you next time.
– Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on twitter
ejseltzer@hotmail.com
