Category Archives: magic

Magic Theory: Looking Forward To Power Creep

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Magic Theory: Looking Foward To Power Creep

There’s been a bit of hubbub of later of the power creep of creatures and, to a certain extent, the nerfing of counterspells.

Those who have been playing Magic for years understand the ebb and flow of power within the game. The original sets, alpha through to revised, were, in reality, a ‘best guess’ at how the game would work. It’s known the creators never expected decks with four-ofs of any one rare; this assumption proved to be incorrect and the busted cards became known pretty quickly.

And in the beginning, the busted cards were artifacts, instants and sorceries:

* Black Lotus
* Mox Pearl
* Mox Sapphire
* Mox Jet
* Mox Ruby
* Mox Emerald
* Ancestral Recall
* Time Walk
* Timetwister

There were literally zero creatures that could compete with the power level of these spells. Even the lesser instants and sorceries – Dark Ritual, Lightning Bolt, Counterspell, Sinkhole – were highly efficient. Creatures were merely the things you fit around successfully resolving your Recalls and Time Walks.

Yes, there were some lights in the shadow; certainly Savannah Lions set the benchmark for what W would buy you, Ball Lightning in 4th Ed is still a great card today, and Lord of Atlantis is the most effectively costs Lord to date, but overwhelmingly the creatures of that era would not see play today.

When did this begin to change? Erhnam Djinn in Chronicles and Juzam Djinn in Arabian Nights pushed back against Serra Angel in terms of effeciency. But the still could not compete with the power levels of Stasis, Fastbond, Balance, Demonic Tutor, and the many, many other instants, sorceries and enchantments that would steal their thunder for years.

So when did it really start to change? Probably not with the printing of Morphling in Urza’s Saga, which should be seen as a fantastic abberation in a set full of otherwise boring creatures. Probably not Goblin Welder in Urza’s Legacy, which, while powerful, is really more a tutoring sorcery than a creature. A better guess might be Urza’s Destiny, which gave us the 5/5 Phyrexian Negator for 2B and the 4/4 Masticore with a bunch of great abilities for 4.

But the rise of creatures was really precipitated by the printing of two tribes; Slivers in Tempest block and exceedingly good Goblins in Onslaught block. These two tribes allowed creatures to ‘get back in the game’, so to speak. As tribes they were powerful and synergistic. But there’s one thing they weren’t; efficient. As an army, Goblins and Slivers were hyper-powerful, but by themselves they were just as anemic as their older creature cousins. This same efficiency could be seen in Mirrodin block; by themselves the Affinity and Modular creatures were pretty pathetic (7 mana for a 4/4? no thanks!). But as a group they were unstoppable.

It wasn’t really until Ravnica that the modern standards for power/toughness efficiency in creatures was set. Ravnica, of couse, was the home of the ‘Hunted’ cycle: 1UU 4/6 unblockable creature, BB for a 7/7 trampler, 2GG for a 8/4 regenerator, 3RR for a flying, hasty 6/6. Of course, each of these creatures had considerable downsides, in that they gave your opponent permanents of their own, but they certainly set a new benchmark for power/toughness efficiency.

This new realm of efficiency was reinforced by the Gold creatures Ravnica introduced. Watchwolf became the watchword for mana efficiency, the WG 3/3 vanilla creature. Guildpact gave Giant Solifuge, a hasty, trampling, shrouded 4/1 for 2R/G R/G. Rumbling Slum was fantastic at 1RGG for a 5/5 that pinged your opponent – you sure didn’t care about it pinging yourself. And if you were prepared to lose your entire board position, then 3UU for a 8/8 flyer didn’t seem so bad at all.

Timespiral block reinforced this, bringing with it the suspend mechanic, allowing people to spend R to cast a 9/7 or 2U to cast an unblockable 6/6. Spending 1R on a Vanishing 3/3 that was guaranteed to do at least 2 damage was far more impressive than Ravnica’s 3/3 that hung around.

And then we got Future Sight, which certainly lived up to its promise, allowing us to glimpse just how efficent creatures would become. The 5/5 flyer for BB in Tombstalker; the 0 mana 1/1 flyer in Nacromoeba, the 3 5/5 in Gathan Raiders.

And then there was Tarmogoyf. The 1G (possible) 8/9 with no drawback.

With Lorwyn promised to be a creature-focus block with a strong tribal theme, the future for creatures only looked better. Oona’s Prowler was a 3/1 flyer for 1B. Mulldrifter was Divination on a 2/2 flyer. And then their were the blue faeries; Mistbind Clique, Scion of Oona, Spellstutter Sprite, Sower of Temptation, Vendilion clique. Even the aggressively costed Kithkin and Merfolk couldn’t keep up. Doran, a BGW ‘effective’ 5/5 made others look tiny, but wasn’t much use one Sowered away.

By this time huge, efficient creatures were common. A 2RR 7/7 and 8/8? Sure. No-one even played them, percieving the downside too harsh. A 1G 4/3 (Talara’s Battalion)? Not even worth bothering about when your 2/2 ‘vigilant’ Gs (Nettle Sentinel) were doing the job for you, or just helping you combo off.

So there was no need to be surprised when the next block, Alara, featured a 3/3 for G in Wild Nacatl, or a 5/4 for WGR in Wooly Thoctar. Or two 4/4 flyers for 3BRG in Broodmate Dragon. Or a 4/4 for BG in Putrid Leech. And even less surprise when a 5/5 Flying, First Striking, Lifelinking Angel for 3WW turned up in M10, or a 6/6 Flying Trampling Demon for 2BB turned up in Zendikar.

The important thing to note is; are any of these as powerful as a Black Lotus? A Time Walk? An Ancestral Recall? Even a Sinkhole? Probably not. If those cards were in Standard you’d build your deck around them in a second.

Just how good does a creature have to get before you’d run one over Time Walk? I don’t know, but it would have to be pretty close to Tarmogoyf for a single colored mana. Can we expect something like that in the future? Perhaps.

But what’s great about the power creep of creatures is that it clearly gives Wizard’s some comfort in returning some of the older, more powerful spells to us. Sure, we’ve only seen Lightning Bolt and Swords to Ploughshares to date, but how far away can Counterspell or Stone Rain be? If the only way to survive an onslaught of hyper-efficient creatures is through mana denial, spell denial, or highly efficent removal, then it’s going to get printed again.

The only question now is when – and how good will creatures be when they do?

Magic As A Game of Negotiations

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Magic As A Game of Negotiations

Yesterday I said the following:

“Magic is, in a sense, a game of negotiation, where resources are traded depending on the skill of each of the players.”

And I thought I’d elaborate on that a little today.

In Magic both players start with a set of resources built under a particular set of rules. Throughout the game resources are built up, lost, re-gained, until a win condition is met (ie. a life total is zero, a card cannot be drawn, a ‘I win’ card is played).

The resource trading process is, in a way, a series of negotiations, where resources are won or lost on the back of your trading position. For instance, you may choose to trade your Terminate for your opponent’s Baneslayer Angel. Your opponent, as part of that negotiating process, may want to change the terms of that negotiation and play a Flashfreeze in response, and so-forth.

Unlike negotations in the real world, where most often the wisest thing to do is seek the “win-win” outcome where both parties walk away happy with the contract, the Magic the goal is to seek the “win-lose” negotiation, where one party comes out definitively worse.

However, in order to be successful in any negotiation you need to prepare properly. In order to do this you need to understand what ‘currency’ you have.

The concept of ‘currency’ in negotiation theory is, simply put, all the things you have to trade away. In Magic these are known as resources. However, there is a scale of resources not immediately apparent from the game rules. Here’s a list of resource tiers you may find interesting:

Tier 1: Starting Resources

* Life total
* Cards in Hand
* Cards in Library
* Cards outside of game

Tier 2: Battlefield Resources

* Permanents in play
* Creatures in play
* Basic land types in play
* Enchantments in play
* Artifacts in play (Affinity)
* Tokens in play

Tier 3: Gameplay Resources

* Creature types in play (Tribal)
* Mana symbols in play (Chroma)
* Mana symbols in graveyard (Chroma)
* Mana symbols in hand (Chroma)
* Card types in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Lands in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Nonbasic lands in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Instants in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Sorceries in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Creatures in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Enchantments in graveyard (Lhurgoyf)
* Power of creatures in play
* Toughness of creatures in play
* Mana Generators in play
* Counters on permanents in play
* Cards in Graveyard (Threshold, Dredge)
* Top card of your deck

Tier 4: Meta Resources

* Mulligans
* Time / Turns left
* Deck ‘power’
* Deck tempo
* Deck consistency
* Deck threat diversity
* Deck threat response
* Deck card interactions
* Knowledge of own deck
* Knowledge of opponent’s deck
* Knowledge of opponent’s hand
* Knowledge of top card of opponent’s deck
* Knowledge of top card of your deck

Yesterday’s story of cracking a Terramorphic Expanse to fetch a Swamp on Turn 1 when I was playing a White/Blue deck, was an example of trading a Meta Resource (Knowledge of own deck) in order to mislead my opponent in future negotiations.

Another example from the same draft was in a game where I had led with a Turn 1 Elite Vanguard, and my opponent had responded with a Turn 2 Runeclaw Bear. Knowing that my deck would do better the more time (a Meta Resource) it had to negotiate, I was happy to swing into the bear with my Elite Vanguard. My opponent had the opportunity to either agree to a trade or reject a trade. He agreed, we traded creatures, and the negotiation went better for me: I came out one mana spent ahead and was given more time to find my Baneslayer Angel.

Yesterday’s post also included an example where I was happy to trade card after card so long as I could maintain a positive trade advantage in terms of time, knowing that time was fast becoming my opponent’s most valuable resource. My opponent did not realise this series of negotiations was going on until far too late, by which time he could not extract himself from a negative trading position and lost the match.

Understanding all the resources available to you, how to access them, how and when to maximise your resource expenditure, and how to ensure a series of ‘win-lose’ negotiations throughout the game is critical to winning in Magic. Over the next few weeks I’ll explore these topics in terms of deckbuilding, gameplay and negotiation strategy. I’d also be very interested in your feedback in regards to this, especially around and resources that I may have missed, or holes in the philosophical approach. Feel free to comment, hit me up on wrongwaygoback@yahoo.com or on Twitter.

Thinking Originally vs Playing by Rote

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Thinking Originally vs Playing by Rote

There are lot of articles floating around at the moment that teach you Magic playstyle ‘best practice’. These are the types of tips such as “crack your Terramorphic Expanse at the end of your opponents turn”, “make sure to crack your fetchland to thin your deck”, “never Lightning Bolt your opponent in your own main phase turn 1″, “always wait to the last possible moment to do something”.

These tips – which are usually quite servicable play styles – help you to learn how to play by rote.

Here’s the funny thing: playing by rote is a terrible way to play.

For example, let’s examine our pieces of ‘best practice’ above.

1. ‘Crack your fetchland at the end of your opponent’s turn”.

In a Standard environment, where Stifle does not see play, there is no possible way of preventing the activation. Therefre the theory here is that by waiting you deny your opponent information until the past possible moment.

Here are two reasons why you may like to crack that Terramorphic expanse as soon as you get it.

(a) You wish to give your opponent misleading information.
(b) You wish to give your opponent the impression you don’t know how to play ‘well’.

In terms of (a), here’s a real-world example. In a recent draft I was playing a WUb deck. My deck had a single Swamp with which to splash Doom Blade. My starting hand was Plains, Island, Terramorphic Expanse, Stormfront Pegasus, Palace Guard, Pacifism, Horned Turtle. With no turn-one play, the Terramorphic Expanse is exactly the right play – but what to fetch? With a Plains and and Island in hand, the only missing colour was a Swamp. Now I was running a number of double-white costed cards, but I knew I was going to fetch the Swamp. This would give my opponent I was playing a completely different build to what I was actually running. Yes, I would reveal White on turn 2, but the information about blue would certainly wait until turn 3 or 4. My player would firstly think I was running Black, then think I was running BW, and would not know I was really WU until much later.

In terms of (b), I don’t mind giving my opponent the impression I play worse than I really do. If that makes him play a little looser, whether by overcommitting resources, or running his best creatures into removal unnessarily, that’s fine by me. And if it puts my opponent on tilt when this ‘bad player’ beats them in game 1, thereby making game 2 an easier game to win, that’s fine by me as well.

2. Make sure to crack your fetchland to thin your deck

The advice here is that my cracking your fetchland, you can thin your deck and “draw more gas” (a terrible turn of phrase, if you ask me). The necessary counterexample is when you actually want to draw more land.

Every time you crack a fetchland you reduce the chance you’ll draw another land. That’s all fine and good unless you want to be drawing into lands.

For instance, I play a semi-casual deck (all my decks are only ever ‘semi’-casual, coz I want to win, goddamnit) called ‘Team Grixis’. Team Grixis has two issues; big spells and complicated mana costs. Often I run a couple of fetches out in the first two turns, but I don’t crack them. This way I increase my chances of drawing into lands. Once I have then lands I need, then I crack the fetches. I only crack a fetch when I need to cast something with urgency, or to enable the drawing of more spells and find land that way.

3. Never Lightning Bolt your opponent in your own main phase turn 1 (wait until the end of their turn)

Ah, how we mock the “T1, Mountain, Lightning Bolt – go” play. Until you witness the following scenario.

P1: Mountain, go.
P2: Island. At EOT, P1 plays Lightning Bolt and P2 responds with Spell Pierce.

Now, you might argue that P1 now can get two mana open and play a better spell without worrying about P2 countering it. Sure, if that’s P1′s plan. But maybe it’s not. Maybe P1 only has a three drop after that. Maybe P1 only intended on playing another Lightning Bolt, and intends to use that on his opponent’s next End Step anyway. Whatever the reason, P1 is able to make a decision that gets a very early, uncounterable, three-damage in. That 3 damage may end up deciding the game.

4. Always wait to the last possible moment to do something

Again, another trope repeated endlessly but not necessarily correct.

For instance, your opponent is playing UW and gets down a Baneslayer Angel with no further mana open; do you wait until your opponent untaps and declares attackers before you Terminate it? Your UW tapped out last turn; do you wait until the end of their next turn to Flash in your Teferi, just because it’s the last possible moment you can do so?

Immediacy counts for a lot in Magic, as does the freedom to perform an action unmolested. A good player may wait until the last possible moment, but a great player will sieze the opportunities presented.

The UWr draft I was playing was on Magic Online. Although my deck was fine – Baneslayer Angel is not a bad card, apparently – I was having a lot of trouble against my Round 2 opponent. The first game went long – about 30 minutes – due to my opponents RUg deck with an endless supply of removal and a Merfolk Looter I could do little about (Pacifism won’t help me there). Eventually my opponent won Game 1, and we moved onto Game 2. Slowly the board built up, me with Baneslayer, him with Entangling Vines, me with Captain of the Watch, him with Magma Phoenix. We were totally stalemated, but without Baneslayer I was destined to lose. That’s when I noticed the time. I still had about 13 minutes on my clock, while my opponent only had 7. I decided that my win condition lay not on the board, but on my opponent running out of time. This is not a win strategy available in paper Magic. It was also clearly not a strategy my opponent had picked up on.

I decided to play well enough to stall, but not well enough to win or take board control – anything to stop my opponent conceding and moving onto game 3. This included some ludicrously bad plays like Unsummoning my Captain of the Watch rather than the Baneslayer to keep the board stalled. But replaying the Captain would buy me 4 life of a Soul Warden, as opposed to making my opponent concede. As the minutes ticked down I got closer and closer to winning the match – online, the player who runs out of time loses not just the game, but the entire match.

My opponent hit the four minute mark and played his second combo piece; Prodigal Pyromancer with Gorgon Flail on the board. I had held back a Doom Blade the entire time. That was too much, and was forced to Doom Blade it, and my opponent finally conceded, but it was too little to late.

With three minutes left on his clock, and 8 on mine, he need to kill me fast. I kept a perfect control hand – two plains, an island, a Horned Turtle, a Pacifism, a Solemn Offering and a Holy Strength. My opponent apparently had the god hand. T2 Gorgon Flail. T3 Prodigal Pyromancer. T4 Borderland Ranger. T5 Goblin Artillery. And a Seismic Strike in there somewhere. However, between my Solemn Offering on his Gorgon Flail, a Horned Turtle with a Holy Strength on it, and a timely Negate for his Seismic Strike, I accomplished what I needed and ran my opponent out of time. It wasn’t a winning hand for beating my opponent in the red zone, but it was for beating my opponent with the clock.

Magic is, in a sense, a game of negotiation, where resources are traded depending on the skill of each of the players. Spells are one of these resources, but so is information. You can use the judicious trading of information to both inform or mislead your opponent. You can use it to lead your opponent down a path from which they cannot recover. But you cannot do this if you play as your opponent expects you to, by rote, predictibly. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to unlearn your play habits and start to think about why you play the way you play, and how you might play differently.

A New Philosophy: "Full Art, Whenever Possible"

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A New Philosophy: “Full Art, Whenever Possible”

In my MtG hits & missing of ’09 post there was one hit I failed to talk about: Zendikar full-art lands.

Lets take a look at some of these:

They are fantastic additions to the Magic toolkit, a real upgrade on the normal Magic lands. They compare only to the full art un-lands.

There have been few full-art cards printed to date, which I believe is a massively missed opportunity on behalf of WotC.However, there are hints they are looking aheaed in this regard. For instance, here are some full-art creatures from the Future Sight set:

Now, I’m not sure if the template is the best it can be – I am sure WotC probably thrashed around a dozen or so versions before chosing this one – but the artwork really drives home a point. For instance, take a look at the two functionally equivalent cards:

Now while I’m sure Ramal, sage of Westgate is an intelligent guy, and his words should be closely listened to, the face here is that a picture really does speak a thousand words. Which Courser (a fantastically well chosen title, by the way) is the more bad-ass Centaur Warrior; the Nessian or the, er, other Centaur? Ramal’s opinions aside, it has to be the Nessian version.

Magic art has come a long way since Alpha – the art director’s budget must have grown considerably. Just compare these two angels:

The transition from a 80′s ‘fantasy’ art to neo-classical/realist style is really paying dividends for Magic. The sets have never look better – or more flavourful. I would argue that the current successes on flavour are less due to the flavour text and more due to the amazing artwork that WotC currently produces.

So here’s a proposal: let’s push WotC to a philosophy of ‘Full Art Whenever Possible’. This means any card that doesn’t require explanatory text (eg. Mechanic, Keyword, Ability) should always be present as full art. There are two types of cards that would be immediately impacted by this; basic lands and ‘vanilla’ creatures. I believe all basic lands and vanilla creatures should be printed full-art, regardless of the set. I recognise that WotC have pulled out something special for Zendikar with the ‘Lands Matter’ theme, but there is simply no reason to continue the practice of non-full art lands.

WotC seem to have put some planning into a major artwork change in the future. The Zendikar full-art land template looks great and has clearly been designed with the Future Sight full-art template in mind. The Future Sight full-art template has clearely been designed with Magic Online in mind – for example, the icons in the upper-left corner of the Future Sight cards are the same as the in-game icons of Magic Online.

I believe the use of icons can be pushed further. A good graphic design team could probably design icons for most of the Keywords within magic – just off the top of my head, a wing-icon for flying, a sword-icon for first strike, a crossed sword-icon for double strike – which would allows a far greater amount of flexibility for the use of larger artworks on cards.

WotC have led the way in the CCG market for a long time. They must recognise the power of artwork to produce an emotional response that a short piece of flavour text cannot (there seem to be no Ernest Hemingway’s writing at the moment, though I admire the ‘continues to burn’ line from Obsidian Fireheart). Here’s hoping the WotC continue to maximise the use of an capitalise on the brilliant art they’re producing at the moment, and that a philosophy of “Full Art, Whenever Possible” becomes established.

Possible Mirrodin Cards in M11 and Zendikar Block

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Possible Mirrodin Cards in M11 and Zendikar Block

M10 will be rolling out soon enough and M11 rolling in. By including Fetchlands in Zendikar, WotC seems to be signalling they want a consistent cardpool in Extended. However, a large chunk of highly playable cards in Extended will disappear as Mirrodin block rotates out of extended.

As such here’s an analysis of played cards and what we may be likely to see in M11 or Worldwake/Rise of the Eldrazi.

Definite NOs

  • Banned/Restricted Cards (Skullclamp, Disciple of the Vault, Cranial Plating, Aether Vial): Three of these cards are already banned in Extended, and Cranial Plating has been banned in other formats. These are all far too overpowered to be allowed in the current Standard environment.
  • Affinity Cards (primarly Thoughtcast, Myr Enforcer, Frogmite, Spire Golem): WotC made the mistake of affinity once, and aren’t likely to do so again. Affinity, we will miss you.

Likely NOs

  • Pulse Cycle (Pulse of the Fields, Pulse of the Grid, Pulse of the Dross, Pulse of the Forge, Pulse of the Tangle): These cheap, repeatable cards are so incredibly broken with the Cascade mechanic that I can’t see them getting into the Standard environment at the moment.

  • Beacon Cycle (Beaon of Immortality, Beacon of Tomorrows, Beacon of Unrest, Beacon of Destruction, Beacon of Creation): The only card in the set that sees regular play is Beacon of Immortality. Beacon of Tomorrows has been somewhat overtaken by Time Warp being reprinted in M10, and the rest are merely mediocre cards. Unlikely to see reprinting any time soon.

  • Scry Cards (Serum Visions, Magma Jet, Condescend): Although Scry is an interesting mechanic, I’m not sure WotC believe it should be in the core set. It’s a difficult mechanic to explain to a layperson, so I think it’s unlikely that these cards will be reprinted.

  • Imprint Cards (primarily Chrome Mox, Duplicant, Isochron Scepter): I can’t see these getting up at the moment, largely due to the keyword. But in regards to Chrome Mox, here’s quick test – can you think of a single mana accelerant artifact costing 2 mana or less in Standard at the moment? That should say everything you need to know about Chrome Mox.

  • Sword of Fire and Ice/Sword of Light and Shadow: Great cards, probably too powerful to see play in Standard. WotC seem to have been nerfing equipment of late (see Grappling Hook and Bone Saw for some real do-nothing cards), and I see no reason why that trend won’t continue.

  • Tooth and Nail: If it weren’t for the Entwine mechanic, I think it might stand a chance. But it’s unlikely that WotC will reprint Entwine, and therefore Tooth and Nail is likely to be out of Extended for a while.

  • Rude Awakening: Again, if it weren’t for the Entwine keyword, I would think Rude Awakening would be perfrect for Zendikar block. However I believe it’s probably more likely out than in.

  • Engineered Explosives: Although it’s a great card, and not overpowered, it has one little feature that will see it not reprinted – the keyword Sunburst. Again, another complicated mechanic that’s unlikely to be reprinted.

  • Thirst for Knowledge: Currently restricted in some formats, WotC have really beaten down on the card drawing of late. I doubt this one will see another reprint.

  • Seething Song: Reprinting this in M11 wouldn’t cause any problems, but wouldn’t it be just the perfect flavour for Worldwake? Fire! Lava! Eruptions! However, as it was just reprinted in 9ED, it’s unlikely to reprinted again, as it’s safely in the Exteded pool regardless.

  • Darksteel Colossus & Platinum Angel: They’ve just been reprinted, so I think they’ll fall out of M11.

  • Troll Ascetic: I think that Cudgel Troll being printed for the first time in M10 put the nail in Troll Ascetic’s coffin for a while. Turns out that Troll Ascetic doesn’t have shroud for other trolls.

  • Serum Powder: A janky kinda card that sees play in particular combo decks, I simply see no reason to bring it back.

  • Vedalken Shackles: Although I’d love to see it back, it’s all wrong in the flavour of the moment. I don’t think we’ll see it again for a while.

  • Lightning Greaves: Although it’s not overpowered, and could happily see play, I just don’t think it will be reprinted this soon. Matches the ‘adventuring’ flavour of Zendikar block though, so if it does appear, it will be in block, rather than core.

  • Memnarch: Memnarch loses for one reason – he was integral to the flavour of Mirrodin at the time. As such I don’t think we’ll see him making a return.

  • Trinisphere: WotC have publically state they want players to ‘have fun’, and that ‘having fun’ is not equal to ‘sitting around not doing anything because of cards like Trinisphere’. Apparently, dying in the first six turns of the game to a bums rush of geopedes is fun. As such, no Trinisphere for you.

  • March of the Machines: In Core set it would be a janky card like Hive Mind. In Block it would probably be amazingly overpowered. With no balance, no reprinting.

  • Crucible of Worlds: A land set with land recursion would be awesome. But it would be massively overpowered in block with Fetchlands, and as it saw reprinting in 10E, it’s unlikely to find it’s way into Standard any time soon.

Possible M11

  • Echoing Cycle (Echoing Calm, Echoing Truth, Echoing Decay, Echoing Ruin, Echoing Courage): The cycle isn’t overpowered, and introducing the concept of cylces into the Core set would be great of newcomers. It also means Extended keeps some answers for some really obvious problems around.

  • Death Cloud: Death Cloud would be a great Mythic for M11. It’s a huge effect that keeps an entire archtype alive in Extended. I think we’ll see it stick around.

  • Icy Manipulator: It’s been a staple of the core set for years, and the current rampant run of creatures and Jund means control options like this a desperately needed. I think we’ll see it again in M11.

  • Eternal Witness: It’s a great card. I’m not sure how broken it would be with Cascade in Standard, but I think it could happily be reprinted in M11 to give Green a way to race against Gravedigger.

  • Chalice of the Void: I think this would be great to see reprinted as a Mythic Rare in M11. It’s the type of tool control badly needs to retain in Extended, and could also provide a thorn in the side of Jund. There’s really no reason not to reprint it either, so here’s hoping WotC get it into M11.

  • Loxodon Warhammer: With Behemoth Sledge in Standard, and Warhammer reprinted in 10E already, I can’t see a reason to reprint this anytime soon.

  • Staff of Domination: Another Mythic Rare candidate for M11, the printing of Obelix of Alara shows WotC aren’t afraid to stick multiple effects on a splashy artifact like this one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it reprinted in M11.

  • Mindslaver: Probably the most controvertial pick of this list, but I think Mindslaver would also make a fantastic Mythic Rare in M11. My fingers are crossed, but I’m not holding my breath.

  • Viridian Shaman: It’s a good card for Limited, and really deserves to see play again. The only thing holding it back is probably Kor Sanctifiers.

Possible Zendikar Block

  • The Artifact Lands: I think the current “land cycle” would be a great time to bring these cards back, although I do think it’s rather unlikely. If the Eldrazi prove to be artifact creatures, perhaps we’ll see them in Rise.

  • Modular Cards (Arcbound Ravager. Arcbound Worker): Again, if Eldrazi is a artifact themed set (and that’s a BIG ‘if’), I don’t think these cards are too broken to see play again. +1/+1 counters are pretty popular at the moment, and without damage on the stack, Ravager’s effects aren’t too overpowered to see play in Standard. After all, no-one plays Scarland Thrinax, and he’s very similar in the current environment.

  • Molten Rain: I think this is a very hot card for reprinting. Zendikar is a land-themed set, and one thing a set like that needs is specific, on-theme removal. That would be Molten Rain. I’d be very surprised not to see it reprinted, and if it isn’t, WotC will have clearly signalled their intention to not make land descruction viable again in Standard for a very long time to come.

  • Blinkmoth Nexus: It’s a great little card, hardly overpowered, and the only thing that will keep it out of Zendikar is flavour.

  • Stalking Stones: Another excellent card, especially for Worldwake. It may have been overtaken by the new dual-colour man-lands, however, and will likely not see reprinting for that reason.

  • Goblin Charblecher: There are two things about this card that make me think it would be great to see in Zendikar block – the Goblin theme, and the land theme. This card is perfect for reprinting in the set, and I think will add an archtype back into standard that’s sorely missing – Combo.

  • Shrapnel Blast + Atog: These two go hand in hand, really, again proving viable only if Rise is an artifact based set. However, at the moment there are few artifacts worth saccing for effect, so I’d think currently more likely to be out than in.

  • Trinket Mage: I’d love to see it reprinted, especially if Rise proves to be an artifact-based set. However, there is so little worth fetching with the mage in Standard at the moment that there would have to be a number of decent cards printed before he’d become playable in Standard.

  • Sundering Titan: What does a ‘land matters’ block need but a land descruction finisher? Sundering Titan fits this bill perfectly. I think an almost shoe-in if Rise proves to be an artifact based set, because it’s the perfect overlap of ‘Land Matters’ and ‘Artifacts Matter’.

  • Grinding Station: WotC have been pushing the mill deck heavily lately, so I think there’s a fair chance that Grinding Station may see play. Would be very interesting in a Time-Sieve/Turbo Fog variation.

  • Solemn Simulacrum: Although I actually doubt it’ll see play in Standard again, it’s the perfect landfall enabler. Perhaps a surprise inclusion?

So there you have it. Mirrodin block rotating certainly puts a lot of archtypes in danger – Deathcloud, Affinity, Mindslaver Tron, Charbelcher Combo. It’ll be interesting to see if they go the way of the dodo, or if WotC makes an effort to protect some of them through M11 and Zendikar block.

The Top Hits and Misses of Magic the Gathering for 2009

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The Top Hits and Misses of Magic the Gathering for 2009

With only a couple of weeks until the end of the year, here’s a quick recap of the Year in Magic’s top hits and misses.

Misses:

4. I’ll be the judge of that

I can remember few years that have had as many judging controversies as 2009. The one that immediately springs to mind was the Gindy DQ at Worlds. Fresh on the heels of the Brian Kibler missed trigger screwup that resulted in a ruling that overly rewarded the player, the Gindy missed action screwup resulting in a ruling that overly punished the player. Although there are various points of view on what should of happened, what the gamestates were, and who was really in the right, one thing is clear – a better system of rules around opponents that make mistakes, that doesn’t punish the person who’s playing against them, needs to be instituted. WotC must be aware of this, but has made no noise on the subject to date.

3. Can I buy something, anything?

Probably not. M10, sold out. Zendikar, sold out. Any while it’s a wonderful reflection on the health of the game, the inability to get access to packs undermined confidence of players in the fairness of distribution and the ability for the secondary pricing market to keep within the realms of relative cheapness. Stories of people pre-ordering boxes, only to have the pre-orders revoked and relisted at higher prices abounded. Although WotC could probably be excused for misjudging the reaction to M10 – no core set has ever sold so well – they have no excuse for distribution problems with Zendikar, especially considering they knew full well that the particular promotional strategy for Zendikar would drive the sales through the roof. Here’s hoping WotC get it right for Worldwake and everyone will be able to buy packs when they want to.

2. The rise and rise of Jund

If you thought faeries were bad in the previous standard – and they were a tough ask, certainly – then you haven’t taken a good look at what Cascade has done to the format. The analysis is in, and it’s not good. While the Fae has 20% of the field locked up in the US States in 2008, over 36% played Jund in the US States in 2009, a truly shocking showing. Made possible by the innumerable 2-for-1 cards in RGB (Bloodbraid Elf, Blightning, Bituminous Blast, Maelstrom Pulse, Broodmate Dragon) the sheer card advantage gives even the most hopeless of players hope. I built a fully fledged Jund deck for my 12-year-old son, fired him at an under 16s event, and the kid came out equal 2nd (on points). At least the fae required a fairly competent pilot to manage the constant lifeloss to Bitterblossom and the knowledge of when to pull the trigger on counterspells. Jund is simply “play a cascade card, see what I get, win the game”. Although some tools are around to fight Jund, no killer deck has been developed as Rock to Jund’s scissors, and until that happens Jund will be around to give even the weakest player hope.

1. A girl Called Baneslayer

Ironically, the one thing keeping Jund in check is a mythic rare with a startling pricetag. For 3WW and $50 you too can be the proud owner of a Baneslayer Angel. I’m not sure what Wotc were thinking when they printed this (perhaps ‘Screw you Serra Angel’) but five relevant abilities on a 5 mana creature with 5 power and 5 toughness seems a little extreme. But two factors compounded the issue. Firstly, the fact that Baneslayer is a Mythic Rare made availability a huge problems. Secondly, Baneslayer helped Brian Kibler André Coimbra win Worlds. Suddenly the big Angel wasn’t just relevant in Standard, but in Extended too. A whole new player base was opened up just before Extended season. Prices went through the roof. Until Baneslayer, Mythic Rares seemed to be about the flavour, rather than the power. Big, chunky, impressive spells are often not synonymous with tournament play. But then you get a card that’s simply too good not to run, and that card becomes the first chase Mythic Rare. Luckily Zendikar has avoided this over-exposure, with Lotus Cobra massively hyped and then proving to be too much of a glass cannon. However a repeat performance is inevitable at some stage. The only question is when – and what are WotC doing to prevent it?

Hits

4. A new Core

When WotC declared that they would take a fresh look at the core set it sent a new energy through the magic community. All of sudden the stale, boring core set was going to provide what every Magic player secretly covets – new cards. Although some criticised WotC for skewing the “50% new” target through the counting process (excluding basic lands, including functional reprints), the new Core set was a mammoth hit, with core set being actively, widely and enthusiastically drafted.

3. Magic is Dead! Long live Magic!

As usual, as soon as the M10 rules changes were announced, the usual crowd of naysayers and cynics declared that Magic would die, that they would sell off their collection, that they would never play in another tournament again, that M10 was becoming Yu-Gi-Oh. And as usual they were wrong. The M10 rules changes have come and gone, have improved the quality of some cards (eg. Mana Drain) and nerfed others (eg. Pyroclasm). And sure, you’ll never be able to ping a player with your Spectral Searchlight, but at the same time you’re having to make more choices than less – do I want to do damage with my saccable creature, or do I want the effect instead? The M10 rules changes proved the effectiveness of a continually evolving game that allows itself to be renewed, rather than become stale and by rote (block, damage on stack, sac for effect, etc). Next time the cynics declare the game dead and that they’re selling their collection, don’t forget to make an offer.

2. Let my magic probe you digitally

Less buggy. Less crashes. More events. New PTQs. A revival of the MTGO Championships. And more players than ever. MtGO is going strong in 2009 and looks set to power through 2010 as well. Although complains will always occur when there’s money on the line over the ‘net, WotC’s obvious effort in improving the interface, backend and user experience for MtGO 4.0 can only mean great things. But MtGO is only one success story for 2009. The real story is the remarkable achievement that is Duels of the Planeswalkers for the X-Box 360. Climbing into the top 10 digital download list and stubbornly remaining their since it’s listing, Duels has sold over 200,000 copies. What’s even better, there’s evidence that Duels is pulling people back into paper magic, which is a great success for everyone – WotC, competitive players, and casual fans. Here’s hoping WotC can sprinkle some of what made Duels so successful into MtGO.

1. Priceless. Treasures.

The first real sign something big was about to happen was a simple tweet by Pat Chapin – “It’s true.” Shorly after that the rumours came flooding in – Alpha and Beta cards in Zendikar Booster packs! I admit I remained in denial for a long, long time, but eventually I came around to the realisation that it was all, actually, for reals. I dragged my buddy out of his home and we drove up the coast to Gosford to participate in the midnight pre-release event. Even though we didn’t crack any treasure, the adrenaline buzz from cracking the packs was extra juiced that night. Of course, one is left to wonder how WotC are going to top this for Worldwake.

So there’s my recap of the best and worst of Magic the Gathering for 2009. Merry Christmas, and may Mark Rosewater sneaks into your house on Christmas and stuff your stockings full of Moxes.

Team Grixis & Pro-active vs Reactive Control

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Team Grixis & Pro-active vs Reactive Control

I’ve been playing a Standard UBR deck on MtGO lately I’ve tentatively titled ‘Team Grixis’. Here’s the list, based on the good work at Affinity for Islands:

4 x Lighting Bolt
3 x Negate
2 x Essence Scatter
3 x Double Negative
2 x Grixis Charm
4 x Terminate

4 x Couriers Capsule

3 x Cruel Ultimatum
2 x Earthquake

1 x Sphinx of Jwar Isle
1 x Sphinx of Lost Truths

1 x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1 x Chandra Nalaar
1 x Sorin Markov
1 x Liliana Vess
1 x Jace Beleren

4 x Scalding Tarn
4 x Verdant Catacombs
4 x Dragonskull Summit
2 x Crumbling Necropolis
3 x Mountain
4 x Island
5 x Swamp

It’s a fun, fun deck to play, especially if you love games that go on for at minimum of ten turns. A recent concession on MtGO where someone quit because ‘it was turn 13′ got my head really spinning. Really? Turn 13 got you down? Have I got a Pickles lock to show you!

For a while I was convinced I needed to play Red Deck Wins as my old age and energy levels couldn’t keep up over the course of an event. Then I realised, hey, you know what I do have? Infinite patience. Which is exactly what you need when playing control.

I remember I took the Fae and 5CC to a couple of FNMs in the last Standard season, and I would always win the mirror. Why? Because the young buck opposite me was determine to make something – anything – happen. Even if that meant losing. I have learnt that I don’t feel that need. I can hold on forever, refusing to yield. So what if we’re both playing draw-go? I dare you to tap out. I dare you.

Meanwhile, playing the deck has got me thinking, though, about the difference between pro-active and reactive control.

Pro-active vs reactive control

Blue is the colour synonymous with control for one simple reason – it engages in pro-active control. The ability to prevent a threat from ever reaching the battlefield through counter-magic has, historically, allowed blue to control the flow of the game, shaping it and moulding it in the right direction for victory. However, blue is at it’s weakest at the moment. It’s strongest counter (cancel) has a casting cost of 1UU, and beyond that it’s left with a bunch of situational spells, most of which cannot cope against the inherent power of the Cascade mechanic.

As a result, control has moved into a far more reactive position. We have red options (Lightning Bolt, Terminate, Earthquake) or white options (Day of Judgment, Path to Exile, Oblivion Ring) and black options (Doom Blade, Infest, Gatekeeper of Malikir). These colours are stepping up their control game in response to the speed of play and card advantage that decks like Boros Bushwacker and Jund Cascade provide, and the gap in speed that blue has left behind.

Is prevention better than cure?

Any doctor will tell you prevention is better than cure. However, in Magic, the gamestate isn’t that simple. The game allows one person to go first, and that person will have an inherent tempo advantage. A three-mana prevention spell such as Cancel is not much use when your opponent has dumped their biggest threats onto the battlefield before you have a chance to cast it.

At the same time, the diversification of threats at the moment means a situational counter such as Negate may sit in a hand unused as Goblin Guide after Goblin Guide hits play, or visa versa with a Luminarc Ascension with an Essence Scatter in hand. Again, blue’s problem is that there is no ‘soft’ counter that can hit anything for a 2 mana casting cost in Standard at the moment.

As counters have progressively been neutered, answers have been getting better. Three good examples are Maelstrom Pulse, that can kill anything and it’s brothers for a mere 1GB, Oblivion Ring, which can do the same for 2W, and Bituminous Blast, that is a two-for-one whenever it goes off.

This means that, as a whole, cards that are reactive answers to generic problems are currently stronger than cards that are narrow, active preventions for specific threats. Why risk running Essence Scatter when you know you’ll hit a two-for-one at least with Day of Judgment?

Counter on the play, removal on the draw?

So, knowing the limitations of our active counters and our reactive answers, perhaps there is a new philosophy to enact – Active counters on the play, reactive answers on the draw.

For instance, ignoring the conditional Flash Freeze, the deck might have choose to play the following on the play:

4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Essence Scatter
4 x Negate
4 x Double Negative
4 x Cancel
2 x Terminate

And this on the draw:

4 x Lighting Bolt
4 x Terminate
4 x Grixis Charm
4 x Earthquake
4 x Spell Pierce
2 x Negate

The first set acknowledges starting mana boost and the philosophy of prevention over cure. The second set acknowledges the need to play catchup, reducing casting costs, looking for the sweep, and planning to remove whatever his the ground.

The conundrum, then, is what to have in the maindeck, where you can never be sure whether you’ll play or draw. At this point, I’d be inclined to use the ‘Draw’ list and always elect to draw in Game 1. Your opponent will rarely elect to draw, so you can be sure you’ll have your optimum decklist. Then, if you lose Game 2 (which you should be relatively set up for), you can sideboard into Game 3 the ‘on the play’ card list, using the tempo boost to maximum advantage.

I’m going to tinker around with this strategy a bit. I’m sure I’ll find a steady balance of proactivity and reaction. After all, I have infinite patience.

Goblins, Goblins, Goblins

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Goblins, Goblins, Goblins

Today I’m going to talk a little about three goblin decks kicking around at the moment.

Here’s the first, which went 4-0 in a recent MtGO daily event.

dbuchan’s Goblins (4-0)
Constructed Standard Event #749420 on 12/06/2009 in Daily Events

4 Ball Lightning
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator

4 Burst Lightning
4 Elemental Appeal
4 Lightning Bolt

3 Arid Mesa
12 Mountain
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Teetering Peaks
3 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle

Sideboard

4 Goblin Ruinblaster
4 Goblin Shortcutter
3 Inferno Trap
1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
3 Volcanic Fallout

Points of interest:
* No less than 8 “elementals” in the mainboard. Although this minimised the impact of the Warren Instigator, it gives the deck some reach that other goblin decks don’t have.
* Shortcutters in the sidebard. Personally, I really like Shortcutters, as a Shortcutter plus a Lightning Bolt almost guarantees a Warren Instigator hit. However, with 8 less goblin cards, Instigator is a little less important in this deck.
* 3 Valakut mainboard and one in the sideboard. I’ve been playing Goblins for a while with two Valakut mainboard, but have never dealt anyone damage with them – the game simply has never gone on long enough.
* 3 Volcanic Fallout sideboard. These are very punishing vs. Boros and help one of your worst matchups – but holding back your dudes is important.
* 3 Inferno Traps for those playing Turbo Fog.

I wonder if a Lavaball trap might not also get the job done against Jund. Regardless, a great deck and one to watch.

Here’s a second Standard deck:

Tim’s Green Goblins
4th Place – Magic Game Day (Standard) – Georgia – Carrollton

4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Chieftain
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Razerunners
4 Siege-Gang Commander
4 Warren Instigator
2 Intimidation Bolt
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Path to Exile
2 Sarkhan Vol
2 Volcanic Fallout

4 Arid Mesa
9 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Rootbound Crag
3 Scalding Tarn

Sideboard

2 Day of Judgment
3 Goblin Ruinblaster
3 Pithing Needle
2 Qasali Pridemage
3 Vines of Vastwood
2 Volcanic Fallout

Tim takes the approach of splashing for Green and White, making it really Naya Goblins. Points of interest:
* 2 Sarkhan Vol maindeck. People hate on Sarkhan, but he really shines in this deck, able to pump tokens, remove a blocker for Instigator, or just win games long term.
* Goblin Razerunners. Very difficult to play around, but not a lot of synergy with Siege-Gang Commander
* 4 Path to Exile. This is the type of deck that doesn’t care how many lands your opponent has, because they’re already dead. Path seems like another good way of pushing an Instigator through.
* 3 Vines of Vastwood. Vines is an excellent “counterspell” vs. removal to protect your Siege Gang Commanders and Warren Instigators.
* 2 Qasali Pridemage. Very interesting choice, but I would of guessed difficult to play.
* 3 Pithing Needle. Needle deals with so much, but shutting down Planeswalkers would be my best guess at to it’s main calling.

I think either splashing Red, White or Black are all doable with Goblins at the moment, but splashing two colours seems a little dangerous. Maybe a Boros Goblins deck is the way to go

And finally, here’s a MtGO Classic goblins deck:

Chaos Goblins
MtGO Classic Deck

4 Goblin Warchief
4 Goblin Matron
1 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Goblin Chieftain
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Ringleader
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Goblin Piledriver
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Æther Vial
2 Pithing Needle

4 Wasteland
5 Mountain
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Stomping Ground
1 Strip Mine
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire

Sideboard

1 Krosan Grip
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Tormod’s Crypt
3 Seal of Primordium
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Pyrokinesis

Chaos has done a fair bit of testing with this build. He tried Instigator, but found it simply wasn’t fast enough! Some notes:
* Goblin Guide is a tentative card. Mogg Fanatic may actually be better in the slot, as it can also shut down Bridge From Below maindeck.
* Pithing Needles maindeck are superstars and are a must keep.
* Tin Street Hooligan is tutorable via Matron and is a silver bullet vs. certain decks.
* The same goes for Sharpshooter vs. decks like Elves!
* The sideboard has some heavy play against Engineered Plague with 3 Seal of Primordium and a Krosan Grip.
* Chalice is a brilliant choice with Æther Vial and can shut your opponent down beautifully.

Goblins are alive and well in both Standard and Classic. Although many will always see them as a Teir 1.5 deck, the moment you forget about the Red Menace, is the moment they secretly have you by the short and curlies.

Loaming Cobra [An Extended Deck]

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Loaming Cobra [An Extended Deck]

Here’s a deck I’m dying to try out, tentatively nicknames Loaming Cobra. It’s a GBW Rock deck that takes advantage of the synergies between Lotus Cobra, Knight of the Reliquary and Life of the Loam.

With the cycling lands cycling out of extended, it doesn’t have the card drawing power it used to. Which is why I’ve gone an bumped up some of the threats (adding Baneslayer and Ob Nixilis), and an couple of extra extra recursion engines (Goglari Thug + Eternal Witness, Makeshift Mannequin + Eternal Witness, Miren + Gogari Thug, Life from the Loam + Gargoyle Castle]

The deck has a lot of disruption, through Raven’s Crime, Ghost Quarter and Maelstrom Pulse – Ghost Quarter being particularly brutal in this deck.

The one ofs represent a toolbox of solutions you can grab from the graveyard.

The longer the deck stays alive, the more likely you are to win, though the endless land destruction and hand destruction, and the endlessly recurring threats.

Here’s the deck:

[19 Creatures]

4x Lotus Cobra
4x Tarmogoyf
3x Kitchen Finks
4x Knight of the Reliquary
1x Eternal Witness
1x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Golgari Thug

[7 Instants]

3x Path to Exile
2x Doom Blade
1x Harrow
1x Makeshift Mannequin

[8 Sorcery]

3x Raven’s Crime
3x Life from the Loam
1x Maelstrom Pulse
1x Worm Harvest

[1 Artifacts]

1x Umezawa’s Jitte

[25 Lands]

4x Marsh Flats
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Overgrown Tomb
3x Temple Garden
1x Godless Shrine
2x Ghost Quarter
1x Treetop Village
1x Gargoyle Castle
1x Mutavault
2x Forest
1x Swamp
1x Plains
1x Miren, the Moaning Well

Bloodchief Ascension Revisited

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Bloodchief Ascension Revisited: Examining the Bloodchief Ascension Deck

I still genuinely believe that Bloodchief Ascension is a card that will help define the new Standard environment. However, it hasn’t quite found a home in a deck yet.

I guess there are two ways to approach the [B] Enchantment – Aggro or Control.
Aggro seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online as quickly as possible by consitently throwing either dudes or burn at your opponent.
Control seeks to get Bloodchief Ascension online slowly and carefully, as once it’s online then you have inevitably behind you.

I’ve put together a list of card that have excellent synergy with Bloodchief Ascension. They are listed, with commentary, below.

CREATURES

BLACK

* Vampire Lacerator [B][Aggro]: Probably the perfect Turn 1 drop for the Aggro BA deck. Yes, you will hurt from the downside of the card, but once BA comes online that should all turn around in your favour.
* Dredgescape Zombie [1B]: It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. The unearth is what’s really attractive, being able to push through damage is pretty important in the Aggro version of the deck. However, Dredgecape Zombie has never been good enough to go mainstream, and it’s unlikely that we’ll use him.
* Surrakar Marauder [1B][Aggro]: Another interesting 2 drop, mainly because of the situational unblockability. However, with all the black two-drops running around, including Vampire decks and Putrid Leech, it’s unlikely he’ll make the grade.
* Bloodghast [BB][Aggro/Control]: Bloodghast seems the best card so far. Your opponent will unlikely want to trade and therefore Bloodghast will likely get the counters happening. In a control deck you can play multiple sweepers and bring this guy back with no card loss. Great with Earthquake. Seems an auto-include.
* Gatekeeper of Malakar [BB][Aggro/Control]: Great in both control and aggro. Removal + Dude = Awesome. Should be treated as a 3-drop.
Black Knight [BB][Aggro/Control]: Far more situational, and unlikely to make the cut. Probably a great sideboard card against mono-white Soldiers and Boros.
* Hypnotic Specter [1BB][Control]: Okay, you’re not gonna get this guy on Turn 1, but he’s pretty strong in a format with as little card drawing as the current Zen. Plus, once online, each time he hits and your opponent discards, you get a 4 point life swing as well. To heavily considered in the control deck.
* Vampire Nighthawk [1BB][Aggro/Control]: Nighthawk has so much going for him. A 3 Toughness rump that really matters in the current metagame. Lifegain to keep you at the table. Deathtouch for removing fatties well above his punching weight. Likely an auto-include.
* Vampire Nocturnus [1BBB][Aggro]: A much more situtional card, heavily dependent on the number of Vampires we run. Unlikely as an include, but a good consideration.

RED

* Golbin Guide [R][Aggro]: He’ll be great in aggro, especially considering we’ll run him along side Vampire Lacerator and Blightning, thus making up for the card advantage we lose having him in the red zone.
* Hellspark Elemental [1R][Aggro/Control]: He’s a great dude that sees a fair amount of play. Important to consider him in the Control deck as with sweepers in your deck he can quickly come back from the grave to get another counter on BA.

BLUE

* Hedron Crab [Control]: Probably unlikely to see play maindeck, but a sideboard option.

MULTICOLOURED

* Esper Stormblade [W/B U][Aggro]: 3/2 flyers for 2 mana are pretty insane. Will come down to (a) our ability to turn him on and (b) whether we play Blue maindeck.
* Grixis Grimblade [u/R B][Aggro]: An interesting choice, but one we probably won’t play.
* Jund Hackblade [B/G R][Aggro]: Again interesting, but not good enough.
* Shambling Remains [1BR][Aggro]: This guy seems very suited for an Aggro deck. You don’t care about his inability to block, and he’ll possibly die while your 2/2s that still matter get through. His unearth ability is quite important as well.
* Anathemancer [1BR][Control]: Dome your opponent without even swinging? Perfect for control.
* Kederekt Creepr [UBR][Control]: Probably too slow for aggro, an interesting choice for control. You opponent gets a horrible decision – card disavantage or an other counter on BA.
* Sedraxis Specter [UBR][Control]: Hypnotic Specter on crack. We’ll consider him. Unearth, again, is important.
* Lightning Reaver [3BR][Control]: Unlikely to play, but he’s out there.

DIRECT BURN

* Lightning Bolt [R][Aggro/Control]: The best burn spell ever, an auto-include.
* Burst Lightning [R][Aggro/Contro]: Does exactly what we want, two or four damage to the dome.
* Punishing Fire [1R][Control]: Without some sort of combo, Punishing Fire is probably to slow and low for use in the deck.

REMOVAL

* Disfigure [B][Aggro/Control]: A great removal spell, but probably second place over burn.
* Doom Blade [1B][Aggro/Control]: Again, does the job admirably, but probably comes in second place to Terminate.
* Terminate [BR][Aggro/Control]: Other than Path to Exile, the premier removal spell in Standard. A definite sideboard card, may be needed maindeck depending on the metagame.
* Hideous End [1BB][Control]: A card made for working with BA. The right colour, instant removal, and helps get a counter on BA. Definitely going in.
* Agony Warp [UB][Control]: Great for two-for-one-ing your opponent, may have a place in the deck.
* Bituminous Blast [3BR][Control]: Card advantage and removal all in one. However, does not place nice with Earthquake.
* Earthquake [XR][Control]: Would be ordinary, except it also hits your opponent. This makes it as a premier sweeper in a control deck.

OTHER SPELLS

* Duress [B][Control]: Excellent control card, removing any threats against BA.
* Countersquall [UB][Control]: For BA, a straight-up upgrade of Negate, with a bonus counter for BA.
* Grixis Charm [UBR][Aggro]: A possible include, depending on how deep into blue and aggro buld goes.
* Blightning [1BR][Aggro/Control]: An excellent card for both card advantage and getting another counter on BA.
* Mindbreak Trap [2UU][Control]: Probably a sideboard card in a blue build.
* Archive Trap [3UU][Control]: A win condition with a fully loaded BA, a dead card without it. One to consider.
* Trapmaker’s Snare [1U]: For fetching traps, if we run them.
* Sign in BLood [BB][Control]: One of the best card-drawing cards in the set. An auto-include in a control build.
* Volcanic Fallout [1RR][Control]: A decent sideboard deck against Vampires and Boros, not so much against anything else nowadays.

PLANESWALKERS

* Lilliana Vess [3BB][Control]: Tutors up a BA, or the card you need to control the board. To be heavily considered. Plus, once BA is online, her +1 ability is posively brutal.
* Sorin Markov [3BBB][Control] His +2 ability is perfect with BA, as is his -3 ability. Mana cost is a little excessive, but his ultimate is brutal. A worthy consideration.

All things considered, I’m going to go with a Control build with BA. The build is almost a game of ‘death by a thousand cuts’. You want everything your opponent does to hurt. Play a creature? Have it hideous-ended, lose two life. Play a non-creature? Have it Countersqualled, lose two life. Play multiple creatures? Have them Earthquaked, lose two or more life.

Here’s the build I’m considering:

[1 Mana Spells]

4 x Bloodchief Ascension
4 x Lightning Bolt
2 x Burst Lightning

[2 Mana Spells]

4 x Bloodghast
4 x Countersquall
2 x Sign in Blood

[3 Mana Spells]

4 x Blightning
4 x Hideous End
4 x Vampire Nighthawk

[5 Mana Spells]

2 x Liliana Vess

[X Spells]

4 x Earthquake

[22 Lands]

The deck has a lot of powerful synergies.

Firstly, between Liliana and Bloodghast, it has plenty of card-drawing and tutoring. This gives it a big lead over many of the current decks in Standard that fall quickly into top-deck mode. This also helps assure your capacity to find Bloodchief Ascension.

Secondly, almost every card is capable of turning on the Bloodchief Ascension, including Sign in Blood. In theory, even without BA, you are quite capable of winning, as your ability to win any attrition war against your opponent is pretty high.

Thirdly, there is high-quality interaction between Earthquake and your two creatures, Vampire Nighthawk and Bloodghast. Bloodghast doesn’t mind dying to Earthquake, and Vampire Nighthawk isn’t touched by it. Earthquake is also very good at killing off opposing Planeswalkers.

Fourthly, Vampire Nighthawk is very good at both maintining life disparity with your opponent, as well as fending off any attack against Liliana. Mind you, Liliana is probably pretty vulnerable in this deck.

If I can round up the cards I’ll try playtesting it and see how it goes. Again any and every piece of feedback is welcome.