Magic Cards Blog

Magic the Gathering (MTG): Black & White Enchantment Deck

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:47:47 +0000

Created to be mainly a multiplayer deck, this black and white collection uses a few odd cards that you don't often see in play, most notably Hecatomb. I'm also fond of The Abyss, and this combination gives it a place to call home. The deck contains no creatures, other than tokens generated by the enchantment, Sacred Mesa. It also uses only a few artifacts, which are quick, very low cost, mainly for giving a boost of life.

Strategy:

For a fast start, try to get Land Tax and/or Library of Alexandria in play. It's also quite nice to get Ivory Tower or Zuran Orb up quickly, which makes an awesome combo with Land Tax. Then, get Pestilence out ASAP to start dealing with crowd control. Next, once you have a few mana, play Sacred Mesa. Circle of Despair is the key card for keeping your teammates (and, possibly, yourself) alive.

Now, that the game is moving along quickly, cast Wrath of God, Disenchant, Death Pits of Rath, and The Abyss. Make sure the only player that has access to creatures will be you (and, your partner)! Finally, play Hecatomb when everything is under control and start burning down your opponents. Play Blanket of Night to amplify this ability.

Notes to keep in mind as you play...

Remember, you can use Sacred Mesa to quickly create a creature after you have destroyed all other creatures in the game. This will allow you to keep Pestilence in play. The point of the Sacred Mesa is not to create an army...it fuels Hecatomb, Pestilence, The Abyss, and (very importantly) Circle of Despair (keep your partner and his/her key creatures alive!).

I like the flexibility of a 65 card deck, and most of my decks end up being around this number.

Cards:

65 Cards Total (25 Mana)

Optional: 1x Kormus Bell. This is a tough combo to get into play, but if you can get both Hecatomb and Blanket of Night out there, this little artifact will allow you to wipe out everyone else's land (yes, they will hate you).

Enjoy!

Magic the Gathering (MTG): Special Lands Deck

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:46:23 +0000

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...

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!

Introduction to Magic the Gathering (MTG)

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:44:04 +0000

First, let me preface with a premise. You must have passion in life to do something really well. The Magic the Gathering card game is no exception to this rule. People are interested in Magic for different reasons. Some are simply want to play casually, some play in competitive tournaments, and some simply love to collect the cards. I have a passion for all of these aspects!

History

One of the most intriguing characteristics of the Magic experience is the fact that the game has been around for so many years now. I started playing back in the early 90's, and at that time, our little gaming group really only owned a handful starter decks and boosters. The game grabbed our interest and soon, we were all addicted. And, I think, over time, the game has improved. So many cards now exist, offering such a myriad of untold possibilities for deck combinations. Over time, I have acquired a passion for coming up with crazy new deck concepts that I have seen no one else use, sometimes powerful, sometimes, just a bit wacky. I build decks that are FUN to play.

Multiplayer

Probably my favorite way to experience Magic the Gathering is by playing as teams, or multiplayer. It is just incredible to work together with partners to try to defeat powerful opponent alliances. In team play, it commonly comes down to one team picking off a single opponent player at a time. It's not really a matter of picking on one person, but simply a good strategy to eliminate a player, making it much easier to claim a victory for your side. You have to understand this will happen, and don't get discouraged! It can be intensely satisfying to survive a brutal assault from multiple enemies, remain alive, and pull out a win. It's also rewarding to do everything you can to save your partner when they have been targeted as the designed victim.

A word of advise about multiplayer Magic. You may find the rules for such a bit sketchy. Come up with some house rules and keep it simple! One rule that we play with in our gaming group is that you never discuss anything unless you can see it on the table or if something has been revealed to everyone. It's not fair to give hints to your partner(s) about what may or may not be in your hand.

Collecting

Most people that are "into" Magic the Gathering are really just interested in playing to fun. Many have a lot of cards, but don't really "collect". They simply have a pool of unused cards to grab for decks and to trade with others. If you are really interested in collecting, it can be a bit of a daunting undertaking to embark on at this point. The very old sets (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian Nights, Legends) are rare. And, some of the cards are now quite valuable.

Purchasing Cards

There are links on this site to purchase cards. The links only take you to items that are being auctioned and display only those items that have at least one bid. This helps a GREAT deal to weed out the garbage and show you the HOT items that others have already found worthy enough to place their bid. All auctions are handled through eBay, so you know your bids are SAFE and it is a site you can TRUST.

Summary

So, what is your level of interest in the game? Come up with new ideas for card combinations and decks? Try to collect complete sets? Compete in tournaments? Gather for huge multiplayer sessions (my favorite!)? The possibilities are endless. Whatever your preferences when you embark on your Magic the Gathering journey, work at it, don't give up, and do it with passion!

Enjoy it!