In General: Turn One

It's been said that: "one good turn deserves another". In a game, when you have a big turn, you are making it more difficult for your opponent to respond in kind. If you play a big threat and are close to a win, then your opponent not only needs timely removal, but also needs a threat of his own to turn the tables. But what if we change up the phrase a bit. What if instead of 'one good turn' we made our own 'turn one good'?

For the purpose of this article let's assume you aren't winning or losing on turn one. How do you use it? What is the best thing your deck can do? The first turn is often written off. People don't take it seriously or don't take full advantage of it. Let's look at some typical turn one plays in Commander and evaluate their strategic potential.

LAND, GO.

This is by far the most common opening that I see. The 'big mana' nature of the format unfairly slants people away from making cheap plays that are less powerful. Using your first turn to play a ETB tapped land is what I consider to be the standard play in the format. You give up the ability to present any interaction on this turn to make it easier to interact on future turns by fixing your mana. This is almost always telegraphed to your opponent, especially through body language. Some players tank on their mulligan choice, eventually keep and do nothing for three turns, slouched in their chair. Don't...do that. If you don't care about your posture at least care about posing a threat to your opponent. Make them think you have a game plan, a good hand, a card to play. This is the big difference between a tapped land and a fetch land. It presents potential interaction. You will actually need to have it in order for your opponent to respect it. So play lands that enter the battlefield untapped and play cards to take advantage of that. If your opponent is slumped in his chair throwing tap lands at the table go on the aggressive (or disruptive).

ROCKS.

This is a very strong opening. I don't just mean Sol Ring and friends. Expedition Map, Wayfarer's Bauble, and various spellbombs are all good openings. These are enablers, they let you get on to bigger and better things. They speed you up, change the angle of attack, or show off your theme. I titled this category to refer to any old random artifact, but it is slightly more inclusive than that. The point here is that you are doing something that isn't necessarily easy to interact with.


MANA DORKS

I don't support playing mana dudes in the general case. They are so bad against board sweepers (and board sweepers are so common) that you need a special reason to be playing them. I consider one drop mana dudes to be 'smoke' cards. They indicate fire. Their deck is chock full of juicy three drops like Birthing Pod, they have tribal synergies, their general is typically a three drop or a voltron candidate, maybe they're packing anthem or overrun effects. This is a weaker opening than an artifact because it is subject to more removal, but it should tell you something about your opponent's deck. There is a reason that they are playing ostensibly inferior cards: they either need them or can take advantage of them.

DISRUPTION

This is my personal favorite way to open a game. I happen to have the advantage of playing against some greedy opponents. They lean heavy on their Kodama's Reach or their early Brainstorm. When you take away this key resource it becomes abundantly clear that they should have mulliganed. Unfortunately, a lot of players just aren't skilled enough to evaluate their opening hands in conjunction with an opponent's typical openings. Playing against me you learn to do this quickly. Losing isn't always bad, but losing in a painful and shameful way because of a mistake you made before the game even began really seems to grind peoples gears. My advice is this: "turn fear against the fearful." Then your playgroup will be the ones having Duress-induced nightmares instead of you.

DRAW FIXERS

This is a pretty decent way to open a game. Fixing your cards is just like fixing your mana. You give up tempo now so that later you can have the right pieces in place to capitalize. The trouble with this is Preordain, Ponder, and Brainstorm are some of the hardest cards in the game to play correctly. Making bad decisions on how and when to play them can cost you the game. Not to mention that you actually have to make the best possible decision while resolving the spell. As I mentioned above, cards like this tend to put greedy people on the edge of terrible decisions. Greedy keeps are only one notch better than outright awful keeps and the line between them is sometimes blurry. With all that behind us, I play the bricks off of this card and others like it. It is a fantastic top deck and it glues together your early game. It finds what you need and that is what you really needed all along. It is your best card and the card you have been looking for.

AGGRO

This usually means playing a pint-sized beater. Some of them are good. Some of them are embarrassingly bad. I can recommend some if you are feeling frisky, but I like to stay away from stuff like this. It is good, but it just isn't going to be good enough against the best decks. Forty life is a lot to tackle without backup. As I have said before Aggro isn't really a thing in this format. As I have also said, Aggro-Control decks are the best of the 'fair' decks. Getting down a few attackers and backing them up with counterspells and land destruction is an easy way to steal a win. The faster you can set this up the better so start early. 

The main lesson here is to think hard about what your deck's first turn looks like. What is the best thing you can be doing? What happens on average? What are you vulnerable to? What can you take advantage of?

Final thought: According to Husky Starcraft, "Every game has an early game, but not every game has a late game." Put them to the sword on turn one and you might just save yourself some grief later.

GG

In General: Powerful Threats, In Theory

Tip o' the cap to ya Zoners. Your Old Grandpa Growth here.

We have been talking about making a handful of changes around the blog. One of which is that I am going to spend more time focusing on top level issues: metagame strategy, game theory, design and development questions, player psychology, and fundamental play skills (mulliganing, reading, etc.).

Given that bit of information, it would seem like the perfect time for a new installment of In General...you know, the series where I talk about the game in general.

This week on the mother ship, Sam Stoddard wrote an article about what makes a card "powerful" in limited and, in fact, what the word powerful even means within the context of limited magic. Because it is used to often and with such a variable definition, it is easy to see how some confusion has grown up around this term.

You can check out the article by clicking on the word: Purple.

I think he did a great job of breaking it down for all the folks at home and he inspired me to talk about the same concept in the context of Commander.

Powerful takes on a whole different meaning. Things are just on a whole new scale. There are cards and situations you simply won't find any where else. Wish me luck as I try to answer the question: What makes a threat powerful in Commander?

Threats

I have prepared a short check list of things that I want a threat to do in my deck, listed in a loose order of importance, but the more of these things that a card does the better. 

1. Ends the game by itself.
 This means that this is the only card you need to win. You play it and proceed to the win phase. That simple.

Lots of cards can win the game. Merfolk of the Pearl Trident could get there, but I am talking about the realistic likelihood of stealing a win. How many outs does your opponent have? What kinds of cards do they need to stop you and how easy are those cards to come by.

Many heavy-hitting cards like Rise of the Dark Realms can easily win, but the chances of this happening without set up and protection are less good. This is why I prefer win-cons that come straight over the top and generally can't get trumped by anything that comes after. Mindslaver locks, infinite turns, Jace TMS ultimate, etc. Things that go infinite, but can be broken up like Kiki/Pestermite or Mikaeus/Triskelion are still good, but not the choice cuts.                                                  

2. Progress the game to an un-lose-able state.
These cards put you farther and farther ahead while you are on your way to a win. The longer you keep this around the more solid you are and the harder time your opponent has coming back: think Eldrazi or Consecrated Sphinx. Typically, these cards either present you with a consistent source of some resource or constantly disrupt your opponent.Threats like this obviously need protection while they do their thing, but they WILL win if left untouched.
  
3. Interact favorably with answers.
#1 just wins. #2 wins if it doesn't die. #3 is all about leaving you with an advantage even if your opponent has an answer.

Maybe the creature demands a specific, narrow answer like say, the ability to exile an indestructible permanent. Perhaps the threat is a creature that requires triple blocking like Guile.

The point here is that you opponent has to use more resources to deal with the threat than normal; multiple cards, special removal, unfortunate blocking arrangements, etc. The Titan cycle is a good example of a creature that leaves you with a little bit of a resource advantage even after your opponent answers them. Combining #2 and #3 is even better, like Ulamog, for instance.

4. Threaten a kill.
Why is threatening an immediate kill not as good as #2? This is very similar, but doesn't leave you ahead in the long run or the short run.

If it is answered you aren't any better off than you were before and you don't get closer to winning the longer you have a threat like this. Now granted, as the game naturally progresses, players will expend more of their resources. Hands will be empty, libraries will shrink, life totals will dwindle.

Ball Lightning isn't an EDH power house, but when your opponent is at 6 life, it will get the job done just fine. In this late game state, even weak threats have potential to close the game. If your opponent used all their removal beforehand it doesn't really matter how weak your Rakdos the Defiler is to removal.

The best threats in this category threaten a kill even early on in the game. Huge monsters, like the token from Ajani Goldmane's ultimate, aren't resilient, but it is usually a one turn clock. It goes without saying that combining #3 and #4 is pretty sick as well: Blightsteel Colossus.

5. Adding functionality/changing the angle of attack.
It's always nice to get a little something extra. Vorel of Hull Clade isn't what I would call a beater, but it does something you don't see very often. It adds utility to your deck and if your opponent is unaware of the plan or unable to interact with you, you can take games by simply being unorthodox.

This is what I mean by changing the angle of attack: take the battle to a different game zone. If they protect their life total, attack their hand. If they give up tempo to set up staunch defenses, wait them out while their library empties. If they pack their deck full of expensive spells get trigger happy with your Wasteland.

What I have just explained is disruption, not threats, but they don't always have to be different. I have won plenty of games just by having a turn one Duress. Believe it.

Look at the times, though. We are living in a golden age of creatures. They do it all now. Sin Collector, Banisher Priest, Snapcaster Mage, Deathrite Shaman, Solemn Simulacrum. These critters don't look like all that much in a fight, but they just do work. They pressure your opponents life total, protect yours, and attack another resource all at the same time. That is a lot of value for just a creature.

I will conclude with a little bit of a thought experiment. You have to choose one of the following theoretical creatures. It is the only card in your hand.

Your opponent has nothing on board, 30 life, and 2 cards in hand.

Which would you rather have:

• A 22/22 Trampler
• A 13/13 Haste
• A 2/2 Flier that let's you draw four cards when it comes into play.
• A 4/4 that destroys all but one of your opponent's lands when it comes into play.

Bonus question: How much mana would you say these cards are worth? Are their costs equal?

GG

Ten Cards I'm Playing From M14

It's Thor's Day once again folks, and JC's off today- so you've got another dose of Landdrops.

And another dose of m14. Man, that sounds like I'm either killing you or handing you a secret government super-soldier serum. Or an actual M-14. I don't know which yet. That's up to you.

The overall reception and impression I got from hanging out at prerelease last week and in talking with GG and JC is that this set just "isn't that good."

When Kramer says, "Sell," I get it. You sell.

I'm not saying I disagree- but I think this has a lot to do with the Sliver Stigma. As a creature, they're a famous and "somewhat tired" sounding card type to me, which I think is why it's been kind of a lackluster buzz so far.

However, after I learned to ignore all the Sliver nonsense in the Spoilers, it was much easier to be a little more objective of this year's Core Set.

Here's a mixed bag of some of the stuff that's going to be coming for me next week. A few of these GG talked about, some he didn't. I tried to put this list together full of things I'm looking forward to trying out, but we're also going to do a little review if it's something GG didn't talk about.

10. Staff Cycle

I hated the previous cycle of these cards, and I don't think I'm alone. I thought they really, really, really stunk. Wurm's Tooth, Kraken's Eye, etc. I said a couple of their names in case you forgot which cards you passed at drafts or just immediately threw away after you opened your booster pack and sulked a little into the wrapper.

However, I'm much more receptive to these. The design feels slightly improved, so I bit. It was a $.50 investment, so I don't feel bad.

Greel makes a lot of basic land drops and plays a lot of spells- which means it loses quite a bit of life. I am playing the Sign In Blood/Ancient Craving suite after all.

I don't mind pitching a card like this either, which is why the Black Staff is nice for that deck. I think it could get the job done here as a supporter option for my only other life gain outlet, Pristine Talisman. Cause that's how hardasses roll.

I will try it in a few other decks too. I have one of each mono-colored deck right now, and I'm notorious for running a crap ton of basics. So I could be gaining 1-2 life per turn. Through the course of an EDH game, that might be relevant. Won't know until I try though. 

I'm not saying they're great. This is very under-under-the-radar-thought-thoughts. They've gotta prove themselves.

I foresee that I'll probably cut them pretty quick solely based on the fact that they cost 3 to cast. This might be overpayment. I wish they were common, honestly. Pauper would love this stuff they way they just eat up Pristine Talisman. OM NOM NOM NOM. The value menu is so tasty.

9. Windreader Sphinx

Let the silly threat cheating begin!

I've put Llawan on hold for a while, so Braids and the BBH can stay in business a little longer. I'm heavily invested in Sphinx power, and though I'm really not up on this art or the CMC or its lack of power, I do love flyers and drawing cards.

So we're doing it. I'm in in the process of switching out some of my other threats for more Sphinx Power. We'll see what happens. I'm optimistic.

Back to Windreader- The selling point was that he doesn't have to attack to trigger the card draw. I like that in a card.

On the fence with this one, but I don't dislike it nearly as much as I did in my first impression.

8. Strionic Resonator

I like GG's assessment on this card a lot. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a lot like Mimic Vat too.

This is why I think Resonator has the potential to be better than Illusionist's Bracers and Rings of Brighthearth. I'm not really a fan of either, I've mentioned, because I don't play them particularly well.

Strionic Resonator feels like a fresh start. It's cheaper, lighter, and can sneak into the game early on when there's not a lot going on.

Realistically, the big thing I'm worried about with this card is the capacity to want to abuse the value out of it. That sounds weird, but what I mean is that I don't want to deliberately gum up the works and wait until I can cast things for double value when single value is just fine.

This is the best way to explain what I'm trying to say. Back when I played 60-card I had an Enchantress-based deck I liked to call "Arrested Deck-velopment," which won by abusing Sigil of the Empty Throne, Luminarch Ascension, and stalling out opponents with O-Ring, Pacifism, and Journey to Nowhere.

One of the worst parts about this deck was having to wait until Turn 3 to play an Enchantress, or Turn 5 to drop Sigil so you could go to work with all your auras and O-Rings for value. I played Paths, but it was just annoying to have to wait and wait and wait and not get angels.

Giving your opponent that many extra turns is enough for even a beginning Magic player to just own you. Bad deck is bad.


Ergo, This is why I don't play Rings of Brighthearth, and what I'm thinking is going to be the reason I'll be cutting Resonator shortly after I put it in the deck.

And it's a shame. I love the sensory perception of the artwork. The actual art itself is fairly simple, but the colors and soundwaves connect to me on a wavelength that's so silent it's almost hypnotic. It's why I bought this card. It told me to. Gonna try it in Yeva and see what happens.

7. Celestial Flare

Is there better removal? Yes. I'm not disagreeing with GG, but sometimes, I just want more. Wing Shards. It's good. I really like it. I love instants. I want more.

This is a nice budget answer to Uril or Rafiq if these guys are flying around your local metagame, and I'm sure that they are.

I play the crap out of Diabolic Edict. I see no reason not to play a white version. That'd be reverse discrimination.

Sidenote: Gideon Flavor Text. Feels weird. I guess he's the combat guru in the White P-Dubs family, but I just don't think he's the kinda guy that would be on a card called "Celestial Flare." Seems more like Ajani or Elspeth to me.

6. Dark Prophecy

"Shh! I'm hunting Wabbitz."
                              -Elmer Fudd

Okay, I got a copy of this card, but funny thing- I don't have a home for it yet. I just knew it'll be good.

The only black deck I'm playing right now is Greel, and I draw a ton of cards there. I want to say I've netted about 15 extra cards a game off Geth's Grimoire and any combination of Ancient Craving's and Sign In Blood's. Then there's all the Reanimation. It's a combo player's dream, basically.

That said, GG's assessment of using this as a way to 'Rattlesnake' seems cool. I didn't think about that, but I like it. I'll just be particularly worried about what happens when someone Wraths my Army of the Damned. It'll hurt, might even cost me the game- but at least I'll go out doing something I love. Drawing cards.

Seriously though- the real reason I want to talk about this one is the art.

I've always thought that smiling is the scariest thing any monster could do in a horror film. Smiling through a window. That's like the perfect quintessential slasher scare.

This one gets close. I'm freaked out by this card. Not as disturbed as I was the first time I saw Brood of Cockroaches, but close. Real close. He's just too damn happy killin' rabbits.

5. Ogre Battledriver

Okay folks, this is a big one. I'm scared about the double-red, but this is one I've got picked out to try in Animar.

It feels like value. I've been trying to find other haste outlets besides Maelstrom Wanderer to increase tempo in the mid-game, and Wizards might've just conveniently placed one right on my lap.

Like GG, I love the design. WotC's printed a few Red cards I like these days, and they seem to have a better understanding of our favorite "stepchild" in the color pie.

Can't say enough about how excited I am though. It's a good one. I'm glad the text box is right. Maybe soon the art will match it, like it does on blue cards.

4. Elite Arcanist

 This. This is not a wizard, or the work of Wizards.

I can't be certain, but I'm pretty sure this is the gorram Sith. Sure looks like one. Sure has the power of one.

Yay. Word play. I know you're looking at that P/T. Maybe you'll get it now.

Contrary to the dark origins I've made up for him, this guy seems awesome. I'm pretty happy to have a "bad" Isochron Scepter.

But really is this "bad?" He's basically workable in every color deck on up to five, and if you play as many instants as GG and I try to play, I'm fairly certain this is going to get out of hand really quickly. 

However, I'm not enthralled at all by the fact that Azami Wizards got another Ertai, Wizard Adept, but I'll let the hate flow through one ear and out the other for now.

Kewl art. Kewl card. Get this one. You'll thank me later.

3. Liliana's Reaver

Gorram Reavers. They'll getcha.

I've only got one of this card coming in the mail this week, but I'm thinking that might be a huge mistake.

The card advantage and value is just oozing out of this guy. Specter/Zombie triggers, so he likes chump blocks. Deathtouch, because again, he eats chump blocks.

The dude is card advantage machine.

And 4 power- because, you know, the secret to power creep is also being creepy. And he sure is creepy

Go buy all the copies in your local gamestores, Zoners. Scare your little sisters so they have nightmares, then play them in your decks so your friends will also have nightmares.



2. Sporemound

This is a fist-pump-worthy card if I ever saw one. A total victory for Pauper and token-lovers everywhere.

Now, I'm guessing the brown is the actual "sporemound,"
and that was something I didn't expect.

I thought it would look a little more lively, considering it's a creature. Honestly, it doesn't look like a creature.

But I like mystical yellow flares that make things look like something special's going on.

Cause in this case, something special is kind of going on in the text box below, and I can't wait to play him.

This a bonafide home run for me. Commons shouldn't be this good.

1. Colossal Whale

"If the right built the anchor, 
and the wrong have set sail, 
I'm a whale, I'm a, well, I'm a whale." 
-Daro, Coppertank Island

And my number one is probably no surprise to anyone, but it's da big Whale. But he's more to me than just ginormously hilarious.

The flavor is awesome, and the art is reminiscent of a real-life "Wailord" for you Poke-Nerds (like me) out there who wondered what that would look like.

Hell, it even appeals to our literary friends who love Ishmael or little kid Bible stories about guys named Jonah.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I'll be mentally singing the chorus to my favorite Fair to Midland song every time I cast him (see caption).

We now have a Magic card that supplements a sentimentality from multiple pop culture references. I liked Aladdin, and I can only hope we get a bunch of sweet Greek stuff like this in Theros. FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!

My final though here- BEWARE OF THE WHALE. I get to play him for basically nothing in Animar, thereby eating everyone with his immense value and potentially unblockable damage.

As always, we'd love to know what cards you like. So comment below.

I don't have any good sign off this week, so I'ma let Fair to Midland play us out. That way, you can enjoy good music, and get what I'm talking about.

Heerre's Daro and friends!


I'm a whale.
-UL

Reviewing M14: Utility and Mana

Welcome to the exciting conclusion of The General Zone's review of Magic 2014. As always, I am Grandpa Growth. Be sure to check out the first two parts where we discussed all of the exiting new threats and answers from the set.

Today we are looking at everything else essentially. A new land, a new equipment, a couple investichantments, you know the regs. Let's see what we've got.

I don't like it, but that's not a big surprise. I can easily see you turning both halves of this into an advantage, though. It costs exactly what an anthem should cost, which is great, and you get a little bit of value every time you smash face. The real problem with this is that it is kind of a win more. If you are ahead on life and smashing you are most likely in the drivers' seat. When you are behind on board and behind on life this card does zero actual things. So what is the lesson here? Win all the time and your cards will look great? I like to do more of a 'play good cards and don't worry about this kind of stuff'. My opponent's life total is irrelevant in nearly every deck that I play because EDH revolves around card advantage not racing.



This card has real applications in Pauper Commander. Giving your Crusher a lift is a big game. It's a shame this isn't colorless, because many Blue creatures already have Flying, but I think you are going to see it doing big boy work all the same. Sporemound is my favorite common from M14, but this isn't that far behind.

Aww jeez. Here we go. I can hear them now. The trolls...shouting into message boards: "It's Fecundity." "It's Necro!" "It's better!"

Don't get me wrong. I really like the card. It is vying for the title of my favorite card in the set. It's just raw value. It's a low investment in terms of mana and almost always card-neutral at worst. It protects your guys from removal and it provides a steady stream of card advantage throughout the game. That is pretty sick for a three drop.

I don't really agree with buying a new hammer when your old hammer will do, but they did need to solve the plurality problem of Llanowar Elves. That all being said, having another Green 1 drop accelerator does impact the format dramatically. Aggro-control decks like Edric now have a better chance of powering out their general early. The same goes for Rafiq and other voltron style decks. Everywhere you saw Ll E you will see this guy. It is sometimes cool when you get an extra copy of a solid card in your deck to help add consistency and redundancy. Sometimes it isn't cool when your consistently so far behind your opponents curve because they always have a one drop. Such is life.



This would appear to be a dramatically inferior version of Oracle of Mul Daya. A somewhat different version of Rowen, perhaps. Even when this is good, it really isn't that good. It costs four and at most accelerates you by one mana a turn after that. I think we can do better than that for a rare.

Also, I believe the perspective in this art is being viewed through a kaleidoscope.

I have mixed feelings about this card. I don't know what kind of deck I really want to play it in. Do you play it with a bunch of dudes to get even more dudes...is that what they needed? You have Lurking Predators. You have Wild Pair. Do you want this? Let's look at a Commander build of Bant Hexproof. When you slam an enchantment you get to safely make a guy bigger. That seems pretty cool and relevant to the format. The life gain is pretty marginal (even though this can easily gain a BUNCH of life). Do you play a mix and just try to get out in front on any of three key resources in a race: more dudes, bigger dudes, more life? Is this worth a card? Do decks want this? You guys tell me. I am honestly stumped, but six seems like a reasonable price for two 3/3's and 9 or so life when you are on the defensive.


This is so much worse than Tatsumasa that it makes me want to cry. That being said...I LOVE IT. Haunted armor is cool flavor; classic D&D/fantasy. Equipment that can attack and block on it's own when you don't have something to put it on is great utility. Much like Tatsumasa this is a terrible piece of equipment. Unlike Tatsumasa you don't get the equipment back if they kill the dude (and the dude is smaller and can't fly). Unfortunately, I can't see any real reason to play this.

Planar Portal is underplayed. I don't know if we have to stoop this far, we could probably just play the original. If your deck needs tons of repeatable tutoring in order to win, what you really need is better tutor targets, not more junk like this. I don't see this card solving any problem in the current format and there are plenty of better options to choose from.

This looks like it has the right price to accrue value. The real trick to solving this card is going to be finding a combo that can really abuse it. I don't typically go in for the combo decks in the format, so I can't tell you if this is the next wave waiting to break. I do like incremental advantage and I feel like this can get you some.

My original comparison was to Rings of Brighthearth, but UL pointed out to me that it just really isn't that similar.

I am thinking now that this seems more like a scaled down version of Mimic Vat. After all, the most abusive things to stick on the Vat were beaters with ETB triggers. In that context this card seems to be pretty lame. You really need a critical mass of triggered abilities in your deck for this to have any meaning. It's a shame you can't point it at an opponent's stuff. Goal (Pipe dream): Copying Annihilator triggers!

Wow, we really got a string of them here don't we? This isn't inherently worse than Tectonic Edge. For instance, if they are stuck on less than for lands, you can still use this to get even further ahead. However, this comes at the cost of a huge price tag for activating it in the first place. This makes it much harder to abuse with things like Crucible of Worlds. I think this is worth including in decks that play Tectonic Edge, but between Strip Mine, Wasteland, Tec Edge, and Dust Bowl, you could be hitting the ceiling on how many redundant copies of this effect you really want to play. Colorless lands are tough on the mana in multicolor decks. They can even be trying in Mono White and Black where there are strict color requirements at key spots on the curve. I like that R&D is experimenting with new ways to make land destruction feel more fair, but I think they pushed this too far down the power curve. Still, expect it to see moderate play, particularly in budget lists where Wasteland and Dust Bowl aren't realistic options.


Well there you have it. It has been fun chaps. I hope you enjoyed it. There are certainly plenty new things to be excited about in M14. Let me know how I did in the comments and be sure to stay tuned to TGZ as we return to our regularly scheduled content.

Reviewing M14: Answers

Welcome back to The General Zone's review of Magic 2014. I am your host Grandpa Growth. In the last installment we discussed the threats. In today's exciting episode we will be taking a look at the few, the proud, the answer cards. Answers stop your opponents' threats. Pretty simple. Let's dig in.

This a templating update to Fiend Hunter and so similar that I considered not even writing about it, but I don't want to let good cards go undiscussed. Its predecessor sees play, so I would expect this to see play as well.


This is about a million light years behind Wing Shards in power level, but this is a common and edict effects are pretty decent. The typical White attacker/blocker targeting restriction has a lot of interesting play here. It lets you focus in on killing the dangerous creatures in combat, but you won't be able to say...kill a Soul of the Harvest while another creature is on the stack. All together this is a reasonable card and an interesting one at that. I don't think it will see much play even in Pauper lists, but it has some potential.




In the spoiler week article where this card was spoiled...I was betrayed. I was excited. I admit it. There were a lot of comparisons getting thrown around. This was the new Cowardice. The better Cowardice. The art was sick. The card was going to blow my mind, right? And then....this. Seven mana? It doesn't even do anything! Please. I have seen toe nail polish with more Magic than there is in this card. I hesitate to even call it a card.



Answers to answers?! Heck yea, we got that stuff! I really dig this card. Reanimation effects are very powerful and usually not available at Instant speed. It requires a target...a restricted one, but this card still appears to be very strong. Post-Wrath you reclaim the biggest threat on the table. That is reason enough to run something like this I think.



I wasn't sure where to stick this guy. It can be a threat I guess, but the real win is getting to munch on an opponent's best threat. A three power evasive guy is just an excellent bonus. With more players at the table you are more likely to find a good duder to RFG with the ETB trigger. The only comparisons I can really make here are Sin Collector and Vindilion Clique. I like both of those cards quite a bit, even though I only play one of them. 1BB is a much less restrictive cost than 1WB so you should expect to see a little bit more of this guy. If you manage to shanghai a solid creature with this then it's all gravy from there. Suit this thing up with a sword and go to work.



I have mixed feelings about this card. On the one hand: I only ever played Manabarbs in aggressive mono Red decks. Those decks have tons of basic Mountains and not much else so you won't have to take as much damage off of your own lands. On the other hand: this card is much easier for your opponent to play around. It will be completely blank against a small number of opponents and sticking it early lets your opponent(s) fetch/play lands such that this isn't as much of a hindrance. I like that this card made it to print, but I just can't be sure it is good yet. Time and testing will tell.

Oh boy. This art. This flavor text. Does your deck want this? Is your deck ready for this jelly? Is mine? I don't know about you, but usually when I have a creature I want to be beating down with it. This is a solid two drop that shuts down prospective blocks, but if you are the control deck and you want to block their dudes...just...kill it. Like anything else, right?


Sweet! Green removal. Playable in Pauper. That's a win in my book. I would like to see a little bit more bang for my buck here. Compared to Prey Upon we are paying 3 for a +1/+1 counter, but I am willing to overlook that because we haven't yet reached a critical mass of quality fight effects. This shouldn't be cracking into any top decklists, but should be a big hit in Pauper. Might just work its way into my Pauper cube.




This card is cool, but also very strange. It goes off the script for typical anti-counter spell interactions. So you have a threat, right? And you want to protect it, so you play a second, less scary card at the end of their turn. If they counter it you get to resolve your threat. If they don't, now you have a thing that you can do damage with while you wait around for another opportunity to resolve something sweet. With this card you want to play it ahead of your guy to give it Flash and un-counterable-ness. This is a bit different than say Autumn's Veil, where you want to trick them into trying a counter spell so you can 'get them'. The weird thing with this line is that, since they can't counter it, they just have the counter spell for whatever you were going to do on your turn. That may be great. Maybe not. You get a slightly higher upside at the cost of being more situational. These kinds of cards tend to be tough to evaluate because, in any other format, they would be sideboard material, but in Commander they seem to creep their way into the main decks of people who have grudgy/scrubby play styles. The guy you know who really hates playing against counter spells will play this because his sleeping hours are dominated by Cryptic Command nightmares. BUT there isn't really a reason to play this. There are enough quality threats. Just play another threat.

Thankfully, this was a somewhat shorter piece than the previous installment. I expect the third installment to be shorter still. Thanks for sticking with us this far and I hope you'll join me for the thrilling conclusion: Mana and Utility!

Reviewing M14: Threats

Hi, my name is Slim Shady Grandpa Growth! As has been the precedent in our short history here at The General Zone, whenever a new set comes out I, your humble narrator, review the set with a specific focus on Commander playables. Here are the rules: I will review all of the NEW cards (no reprints) that I feel are relevant in the format. The segments, as always, will be broken down into threats, answers, and mana/utility. So, without further ado, I welcome you to The General Zone's Review of Magic 2008 2014.

What is a threat? You should probably know by now that threats are ways to win the game. 'Win cons,' 'beaters.' Often creatures, but not always. Let's take a look and you'll probably get the idea.


I don't want to start things off on a negative note. So: Wayne Reynolds. Clutch. A pillar of the art game. Now that we have that out of the way, I hate Enchantress decks. I really cannot stand them. Gimmicks are lame. If you need a game dev to lead you around by the nose and tell you how to build all your decks then you probably love this stuff. A more expensive enchantress? Bad. A 2/2 token instead of drawing a card? Probably also bad. Getting a 3/3 body for the effort? Let's just leave this one at home boys and girls.

Follow-up question: Isn't Ajani dead? Didn't he battle Nicol Bolas and lose? Maybe it was the other way around. Either way, they have both showed up in sets after the fact. If Superman is dead, he should stay dead.


I am pretty excited for this card. This is out of character for me. I don't like tokens in the current format. I don't really like life gain at all (isn't forty enough?). This is what it would take for me to get on board though. It spirals out of control pretty quickly and will hit hard on the way. I am interested to see if/how fast this card catches on. It could signal a new wave of threats coming out of R&D that don't just bury people under pure card advantage. I hope that is true. I won't be pining for the days Consecrated Sphinx...except there is a new sphinx coming later in this article that kind of shoots my dreams in the foot.

So Slivers are back. That's a thing. I am not going to talk about them all individually because, for the most part, they are just updated wordings of previous Slivers....except for the Hellrider Sliver. That guy would appear to be a moderately sized game. Conversation about the return of Slivers has been polarizing, but I really couldn't care less. As far as EDH goes, it's a theme, but a pretty silly one. It's not a top tier deck and never will be until they make an indestructible sliver...


What I really want to say about Slivers (and M14) is this: it's a shallow cash grab. This set is weak and without a catchy casual theme to help sell the set, no one would ever care. Design seems to have backslid a bit. Slivers are back. The templating of Slivers has changed, but hasn't changed in such a way that it is updated in accordance with the "Double Strike. All other Slivers you control have Double Strike" style that we see on 'lords' these days. And we are even back to quoting real world literature in the flavor text of cards now? What is the deal with these R&D guys? (in my best Seinfeld voice) I was at least hoping we would see Slivers with two abilities. There is always next time, right?

Oh boy, more giant Sorceries! Do you have an army of tokens? Kill your opponent(s). Can't get through? Play Overrun like everyone else. Do not. DO NOT: invoke the Wrath of God.

This is a prime example of a card that would be pretty sweet/lethal if either the tokens got Haste (probably not White) or the card itself is an Instant (probably also not White).


Moreover, White doesn't really need any more ways to make more duders. They already have a bunch.


This card seems very sweet. Hate bears tend to be undersized in a format like Commander, but their effects can be so powerful that they warp the game. This is a strong one that I predict will be seeing play in many formats. Maybe it breaks into EDH, maybe it doesn't, but I am eager to find out. I occasionally have an itch to build a Gaddock Teeg, all hate bear deck and the next time I do, you can be sure that this lady will be in it. It is a little strange though that this card has an oriental flavor in the art. It is out of character with the rest of the set, but fits the card. Perhaps this means something.

AND WE HAVE ARRIVED! UL's favorite card from the new set and probably mine too. Just...look at this thing. It's really not that great. It's kewl. People will play it, but it's a little too expensive to be a real game-ender.

I am interested in this card because it represents an update in in templating for effects like Oblivion Ring. It doesn't appear to have two separate triggered abilities, so my question is: can you Stifle the return trigger or is there no return trigger?


Aww jeez. This guy. This guy right here? Harkens back to one of my favorite game locks: the old Isochron Scepter-Counterspell. This is more fairly-costed, but there is no restriction on what you can stick on this guy. FoF? Got it. Cryptic Command? I'd like three please. A well-protected arcanist will represent long term card advantage. A well-protected arcanist with something sick pinned to it is going to end the game in short order. Time Stop for example.


This card is so high variance that it's practically a crap shoot. I like me an Air Elemental, so I can't rag on this guy all too much, but whiffing on the ETB trigger is going to be demoralizing and it is going to happen a lot. I can't think of a deck that really wants this. You might see a couple floating around in casual-level Wrexial builds, but this guy doesn't have what it takes to be playable in top decks.


I think I can hear VJ salivating. This guy is pretty likely to draw you a couple card the turn he comes into play, which is powerful as is. It doesn't beat down, but it does block reasonably well. I can't see you losing the game if you keep this guy in play for a few turns. In competitive decklists, 4-5 free cards is going to be game every time. In multiplayer games...well this guy dies instantly so I don't know why you'd even bother playing it. BRING IN THE STORM HERD!


A 2/1 Deathtouch that is carrying his own Sword of Body and Famine? I'll take it. I like this card a lot. I can appreciate the trend of moving your threats down the curve to take advantage of all the free tempo being given up by the glacially slow control decks in EDH. This is bananas if you can power it out with Sol Ring. This guy can stand toe to toe with 6 and 7 drops. Take advantage of these new creatures. This is all value and has great stats for his cost. If it were legendary you better believe he would be the hot new general from this set.


You know what I say about big sorceries, right? Well, this one actually does pretty much win. I play a lot of Army of the Damned. It demands a Wrath immediately or they are going to be bleeding. I think this costs a bit too much to be considered truly bonkers, but take a look at the other things you can do for 9 mana. It's probably better than Artisan of Kozilek, Inkwell Leviathan, Kuro, Reya, the Red and Green Bringers, and maybe even Myojin of Life's Web. If you are in the same ball park as Iona and Plague Wind you are doing pretty well. Definitely in my Top 5 CMC Niner's. I even like the flavor text. VICTORY.


We all know a guy who has a Relentless Rats deck. Is this better? Worse? Silly? Someone will try it.

2-for-1's are still very strong in EDH. A giant, Flying Nekrataal represents a relevant threat. The drawback isn't that big a deal in Black or in Commander either. It will turn off eventually.

My real concern with this card is in the templating. Rosewater discussed this card in a recent article (the one he regularly does when a set is spoiled, talking about the design of individual cards in the set).

In this article he talks about the short history of Demons that destroy non-demon creatures, stating that it doesn't make good flavor sense for the demon to have to kill itself with its own ability.

In the same article, Rosewater talks about the updated Nantuko Husk, which reads: "Sacrifice another creature." The reason this change was made is because it doesn't make good flavor sense for a creature to sacrifice itself to an ability that is 'feeding' the creature. So, my question is this: if we have to feed the demon creatures until it has a full tummy, why can we sac it to itself? This is people's exhibit #5409843 in why R&D's logic is not internally consistent.

Dear Wizards,

The last time you printed a card that is absurd with Skullclamp I asked politely that you never do it again because the clamp was a mistake and abusing the clamp hurts the development of children and happiness everywhere. Since it hasn't been that long since my last request I am going to assume that this card was already designed and it was too late to change anything.

P.S. if this happens again things are going to get violent.

Sincerely,
Your Old Grandpa Growth





Engine decks already have enough working parts, but they have been printing pretty good ones lately. I like this card. It pushes tribal themes and it is decent value all on its own; the only con that I can see for Commander is that it doesn't play all too well Mikaeus, the Unhallowed (Black Mike) or Endrek Sahr. These are the two premier generals for the Black token/sacrifice decks, so having no synergy with them means that this card's uses have been severely limited.


Who is excited for new Chandra!? I agree with nearly all of Evan Erwin's thoughts on this card:

1. It wasn't quite juiced enough.
2. The +1 ability is very similar to previous Chandras, which is kind of lame. Each time it has gotten better, but this still isn't quite getting there. 2 damage would be too much for Standard or Modern, but 1 isn't enough for any format (except Pauper).
3. The 0 ability is sweet, but completely Blue. I do like that Red is finding new ways to get card advantage/selection these days, but it needs to be color appropriate, even at the highest rarity.
4. The ultimate is not really that ultimate. You need to be playing a ton of Instants and Sorceries (that aren't counterspells or narrow scope removal) and three copies isn't that much cooler than one copy unless the thing you hit is disgusting. If you hit Cruel, one copy would be enough to win, so the other two are irrelevant. If you hit something lame like Bolt, three copies isn't even really getting you anywhere. High variance, pretty lack luster. This will see limited play in multiple fomats, but won't break into Cube, Legacy, or high level Commander.

I am very fond of In the Web of War. The card is just a legit beating. This is cheaper and also attacks. I would define this as a pure victory for Red players every where. A critical mass of cards like this, Hell Rider, and Hero of Oxid Ridge will make Red aggro an archetype in Commander. Can you just imagine this guy with a Hostility in play? Lava Axe is now a kill condition.

Oh snap, big Garruk is even bigger now! This is a pretty strict down grade over previous editions, but it has brand new functionality and some interesting abilities. I am a bit disappointed that the -3 is restricted to Green creatures, but I guess settling for slamming a Terastodon on 6 is going to to have to do. I have said before that I like where some of the new planeswalkers are sitting on the power curve and this Garruk fits in with that crowd. It's just a shame that the old planeswalkers make them seem a bit lackluster by comparison.

I am very happy to see that they have printed a hydra that is:

1. Not Silly.
2. Doesn't have X in its casting cost.

It would appear that this card will be a solid beater in the format. You can expect this guy to show up in Commander. Have I said how much I like this new batch of midrange threats?

This guy needs a little help: Lightning Greaves, Aggravated Assault maybe. I don't see this cracking into any of my top decks, but I expect to play against it plenty.

Oh boy...we may be on to something here! Hexproof is just so powerful and so easy to underrate. It always turns out to be better than we expected.

This is a cheap early play that can grow out of control. The timing is key here; resolving this means that now control players are going to want to cast their removal and card draw at sorcery speed, which should allow you to resolve even more threats.

Keeping this monster alive into the late game will leave you with a substantial advantage.

Three drops occupy a strange space in EDH, most decks won't want to overload on them, but voltron style decks like Rafiq will find plenty of ways to abuse a cheap and powerful attacker like this guy.

Well, that's a wrap for the fresh beaters from M14. If I missed anything be sure to let me know. I'll be back in the next installment with the answer cards.