Aaaaannnnd we're back, after a two week hiatus. I'm Grandpa Growth. This is Super Secret Sunday. That special time of the week when we sit down to discuss underplayed cards, under the radar strategies, and under-thought thoughts. This week's topic is a sensitive subject for me: investichantments. Cards that just sit in play and don't have much impact on the board, but with the proper amount of support they can generate a huge advantage. Cards like this typically change the rules of the game somehow; mostly by letting you do something you couldn't normally do or by stopping your opponent from doing something they want to do.
Let's start things off with simple example. Forsaken Wastes has fallen pretty far out of favor, being completely blanked by
Sulfuric Vortex. Cards like this are at their weakest in Commander because life totals are already so high. It is tough to see aggressive decks wanting this at all, but it does have applications in concert with the next card.
Interestingly enough, the Enchant World card type is still supported under the current rules. It is unlikely to come up in a typical game, but you should check out the Gatherer rulings anyway. Comprehensive knowledge of the game is a reward all its own you little whipper-snappers.
Okay, so I promised you a combo with Forsaken Wastes...and now I have fulfilled that promise. With these two pieces in play, you cannot lose the game for basically any reason related to your life total. Forsaken Wastes continues to kill your opponent, but you don't care because Transcendence ensures that you aren't going away any time soon. These permanents have to stay in play obviously so you should protect them with something like
Greater Auramancy
W/B is a pretty restrictive color combination, but is a great place to try and set up combos. Enlightened tutor and Idyllic Tutor will help fetch enchantments and you have access to any number of black tutor effects to search for anything else you need. Playing into a three color strategy also adds as well.
So I may not recommend playing these cards in a competitive decklist, but they can at least be fun. This is a card can see doing actual work in Commander. It is a late-late game card draw engine and you probably need to set it up with a large milling effect to ensure it will be effective, but it also has the potential to randomly hose your opponent. Effectively gaining life equal the number of cards in your graveyard can be useful and probably expensive. Compare to something like
Invincible Hymn. This card gets very Interesting with recurring mill effects that can generate value like Mirror Mad Phantasm. Think,
Guild Feud or
Heretic's Punishment.
I am a huge fan of this last card. It is a bit on the expensive side, but it has always been worth the investment in my experience. This is definitely a skill-testing card; it requires your opponent to be able to efficiently manage his resources for the future and accurately predict your game plan. How many cards will he be able to pitch to this before you just bury him in card advantage? How many times can he take the punishment before you can set up a lethal attack? My favorite thing about Quandry is that it recovers the card investment so quickly. Every time they choose not to discard, you get to draw a free
Lava Axe. That may not seem like much value, but if you get two or three of them for free you'll start to see the pain accumulate. This card encourages good strategy habits: constantly pressure your opponents resources and attack them on multiple axes. The best part? It is almost impossible to trade 1-for-1 for this card. If they go to
Disenchant it, you will get another card or a bunch of damage. That is what I call interaction advantage.
Well, that's enough for today, but come back next week for the conclusion of the super secret investichantments!
Draw. Go.
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