Magic Cards Blog

This has been my "main" deck since I started collecting Magic the Gathering cards back in the early 90's (around the time Revised was released). As time went on, cards were added, replaced, and phased out. The deck continues to evolve often, more so than any of my other decks (I like to keep my opponents guessing!). Here it is as of today.

The basic theme of the deck is to take advantage of some of the most exceptional lands the game has to offer. As it contains three colors (blue, black, and green), we start out by including twelve duel lands (the good ones, from Revised or before). The Library of Alexandria is the key card, and if you can get it into play early on in the game, you will be able to cycle cards and take control. Diamond Valley comes in handy, a free safety card to make sure you have enough life to survive if things get tough. The Maze of Ith is one of the best cards ever released (in my opinion), and is simply a fantastic card for almost any deck. Island of Wak-Wak is a fun little land that few people use, but fits in nicely with this theme. The Jungle Basin, Coral Atoll, and Everglades are also key, as they can produce two mana. The Skyshroud Claim and Gaea's Bounty are valuable as they allow you to retrieve two forests from your library (Note, eight of the duel lands, above, are considered forests.).

These lands are significant by themselves, but the potency of the deck comes from the combination of the lands and the creatures. The four Argothian Elder cards allow you to untap two lands per turn. Think of the potential here. Use it to untap Library of Alexandria an extra time, and conceivably draw three cards per turn! Untap Maze of Ith and/or Island of Wak-Wak to put a stop to large creature assaults. And, the mana begins to flow when used to untap lands that produce two mana. This union can make for an exceedingly rapid start for a deck that contains eight creatures with a converted mana cost of six.

Now, let's discuss the creatures. The four Mahamorti Djinn cards are 5/6 flying beasties, potent assailants even by themselves. However, the strategy here comes when combined with the four Storm Elementals. The Storm Elementals serve two purposes. First, they can basically put an end to any threat from enemy flyer attacks. Second, you can tap out all of your opponent's flying creatures, allowing yours to penetrate from the air unhindered. Expect that these creatures will be targeted often, so try to keep Diamond Valley ready to get some life in the event of their deaths. And, even better, use the Vodalian Illusionist to phase them out when they become targeted. In any case, you have four of each, so don't worry too much about their inevitable demise. Finally, I have always enjoyed having a titanic, monstrous, beast of a creature in this deck, hence, the Avatar of Woe. It's a powerful card, both from it's special power to destroy a creature, and it is a difficult card for opponents to block it in combat.

As a fun note, years ago, I used to use Lord of the Pit to strike terror into the hearts of my enemies. He was powerful. He integrated well into the deck. As a good pet-owner, I was able to feed him properly (poor Birds of Paradise). But, in the end as it so often happened, he would devour me as well.

Keep in mind as you play...

During multiplayer games, the Argothian Elders can be used to untap your partner's lands. The Maze of Ith, Island of Wak-Wak, Time Elemental, Vodalian Illusionist, and the Storm Elementals can also be used to protect your ally. All of these cards can be used for either offensive or defensive purposes. If possible, try to keep mana available to take advantage of the special abilities of the creatures.

Cards...

• 1x Library of Alexandria
• 1x Diamond Valley
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Island of Wak-Wak
• 1x Soldevi Excavations
• 4x Underground Sea
• 4x Bayou
• 4x Tropical Island
• 1x Jungle Basin
• 1x Coral Atoll
• 1x Everglades
• 1x Forest
• 1x Island
• 1x Swamp
• 4x Mahamoti Djinn
• 4x Storm Elemental
• 4x Argothian Elder
• 4x Birds of Paradise
• 1x Time Elemental
• 1x Skeleton Ship
• 1x Vesuvan Doppleganger
• 1x Vodalian Illusionist
• 1x Avatar of Woe
• 4x Desert Twister
• 4x Counterspell
• 2x Vitalize
• 1x Skyshroud Claim
• 1x Gaea's Bounty
• 1x Regrowth
• 1x Soul Exchange
• 1x Tranquility
• 1x Howl from Beyond
• 1x Braingeyser
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Vision

65 Cards Total (About 23 mana from lands + lots of creature mana potential)

Optional: If you can manage to acquire the cards, replace the 4x Counterspells with 4x Mana Drain. This will allow you to use the mana from the spell you countered to cast your own spells the following turn...a powerful (and expensive) card!

Enjoy!

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