Welcome back to another installment of casual planeswalker supporter Josh Pearsall’s versus series.
Today, it’s 4 color burn taking on bant flash. Does the burn have what it takes to stop bant? Find out below.
Author: Joshua
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Finding Casual Play: Part 2
Hey guys!
Yesterday, I started talking about how Reese’s candy and Magic were related. You’ll want to catch that article first before going into this one.
Check it out here: Finding Casual Play: Part 1
The point that I am getting at with this whole crazy idea is that we should approach Magic the same way that we’re eating candy. Simply eating the candy and being present in the moment of joy it brings can result in a number of things- namely a bunch of fun ways to eat peanut butter cups (I swear, I’m going to buy a box of these things after writing this. I really want them now, haha).
What if we went into every game knowing that it’s going to end, and we approached it as explorers- searching for the way that the ending comes. Not needing any specific ending, but knowing that certain things you do along the way will take the game in different directions. Sometimes, your move will guarantee that your opponent will win, and sometimes the opposite.
In my experience, this sort of detached observing can lead to some really awesome discoveries and card interactions. Not to mention that my blood pressure isn’t going through the roof as I panic over whether or not I’m making “the right move.”
You see, whenever we seek out “the right move,” we naturally create a “wrong move” in the process, and our brains punish us for having done something wrong. Think about it this way:
A right move -> A wrong move -> stress
Now, nobody wants to play Magic to get stressed. I don’t care who you are, you’re looking for the same thing you find in a Reese’s candy. Finding that space in your head where you can enjoy every game of Magic is going to go really far in extending your career as a casual player.
Approach magic as an explorer searching through an unknown world, and you will not only have more fun, you’ll become WAY better than you ever thought you would be.
Remember that time you did “the wrong move” and just started tilting? Tilt is a poker term that some magic players have borrowed, bee tee dub. It means that you’re focused on something that happened in the past, and are no longer playing as well as a result.
You don’t tilt when you play as an explorer. That’s because there’s nothing to tilt over. Only learn.
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Finding Casual Play: Part 1
Today, I’ve been mulling around the idea of casual play and what it means. Honestly, it means something different to every person who reads it. That’s the conclusion that I’m coming to right now.
As you know, The Casual Planeswalker is a site geared toward the casual player, and I’m always trying to find things that interest casual players in their pursuit of fun, happiness, and that one really sweet combo.
The question always seems to come to a head at one point though. When is casual too competitive, and when is it not competitive enough?
You see, if everyone simply “didn’t care about winning” in the sense that we’re told to think about it, the games would be boring and lame. We’re told, to be happy with having played the game and that “sore losers” (and bad winners) are no fun. How are you supposed to want to play a game that you don’t care about winning though?
This concept is something I explore in my Magic: The Winning Mindset book more, but I want to take some time today to talk about mindsets and how we approach the game.
You see, there’s no right way or wrong way to go about playing Magic. That’s what makes it such a beautiful game. There is a way to take your opponent’s life total to 0, and there’s a way to mill your opponent, and there are victory-condition cards that end the game. I like to think about it like the late 90s Reese’s candy commercials. “There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s.” That statement has a dirty little secret that we don’t often think about.
If there truly is no wrong way to eat a Reese’s, then there is no right way to eat a Reese’s. The funny thing about the devilishly delicious little candies is that, despite having no right or wrong way to consume them, we still find great pleasure there.
How can that be?
Well, what the wonderful marketing department at Reese’s discovered was that the joy of candy doesn’t come from the way the candy is eaten, but from the process of eating it.
“Yes, Josh, I understand Reese’s candy are irresistible pieces of joy, but what does this have to do with casual Magic?!?!”
More on that tomorrow 😉
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Video Feature: Jund Aggro vs Bant Control
Watch as TCP fan and follower Josh Pearsall and friend play through games showcasing brews of Jund Aggro and Bant Control.
These guys have some good insights into playing these decks as well as some cool ideas for construction.
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Theros Card Talk: Shipwreck Singer
I’m always interested in multi-ability cards in new sets.These seem to be the places where the absolute most broken combos are found, and rarely am I disappointed in this venture.
I’m not saying every mulit-ability card is a winner, it’s just that it’s pretty frequent that there are a few of them that turn out to be sad faces for your opponents.
Today, I want to talk to you about Shipwreck Singer.
She’s not exactly hearty at 1/2, but she’s not really going to be used in aggressive decks.
Clocking in a UB for casting cost, she can be a bit tricky to get out turn two without a good draw, but I’m seeing her as a real hit in limited.
Now that I’ve had some more time to play around in drafts, it’s been more and more clear that these games are going long, and I’m seeing a lot of 1/1 white soldiers thanks to Evangel of Heliod among other tokens.
Her constructed viability seems rather light, since I don’t see her fitting into any big decks that exist right now, and there doesn’t seem to be any chance of a UB deck needing her somewhat expensive (by constructed standards) ability.
I don’t see many constructed decks lying around with two extra mana on turns 3/4/5, and her -1/-1 ability will be far outclassed by the late game in constructed formats. The taunt is cute, but it’s not going to win any serious matches.
Back to limited though… I think she’s just the right kind of utility to get you through to your late game heavy hitters.
Slowing down any aggressive deck long enough for you to draw into your wins is exactly what she will do, and she can taunt a low-power creature with deathtouch into attacking, preserving your larger threats.
She just simply locks down any 1/1, as it can no longer attack unless she tells it to, and any 2/x or 3/x 4/x becomes a lot less scary when she’s singing your victory song on the battlefield.
Shipwreck Singer may not be a first pick in my book, but I’m definitely going to be eyeing her pretty hard for 2nd or 3rd turn picks- and certainly grabbing her if I’m even remotely considering U/B in my colors.
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Killer Combo: Doing the (un)Tap Dance
Hey Planeswalkers,
I was playing around with some cool ideas in Theros drafting, and I came across this little gem of a drafting combo. I haven’t decided where the color-power lies completely in Theros yet, and I’ve started some ideas. I’ll let you guys know when I’m ready to come out and make them public!
Until then, I think you’ll get a kick out of this:
Just saw a Prophet of Kruphix in your pack 1 or 2? Of course you’re going to windmill slam that guy down, if not for your current draft, for the commander deck that you just saw a great fit in (hey, I know rare drafting gets poo poo-ed, but we all do it sometimes so take a breath and sit back down). Now you have a question going through your mind- what are the best ways to optimize this card?Of course, untapping the lands every turn is insanely powerful, and being able to play anything from your hand is good (don’t forget, play a creature in response to them trying to kill the prophet), but what’s the BEST way to optimize this?
Well, my brother in drafting, the answer to that question is common. Literally, it’s a common. Thassa’s Bounty. These cards are very expensive card draw, and hard to justify normally, but now that you’re untapping on your opponents’ turns, rock on! Spend that mana safely, knowing that you can just play out any necessary creatures on HIS turn! Now, I’ll buy that for a dollar.
Of course, you’re going to have to watch out for any removal from your opponents when you play the bounties, but it’s okay. If they want to play a slow game, you’ve got them there too because you’ll just play out creatures on their turn as well thanks
to the prophet.Obviously, any card draw is going to be powerful, but the Prophet of Kruphix actually turns marginal card draw (Thassa’s Bounty) into viable strategy!
I don’t know about you, but I’m always up for some extra card advantage a-la previously-unplayable common. How about you?
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Theros Card Talk: Stormbreath Dragon
In case you haven’t heard, the word is Stormbreath Dragon among aggressive red mages. He’s hasty, he’s flying, and he’s even going to evade those annoying white spells that always get in the way.I’ve heard a few people complain about the 4/4 and the fact that he’s in prime Mortars territory, but yeah. What card doesn’t have a vulnerability or two (Go away Thragtusk, you don’t count anymore)? We’re getting crazy-awesome value for 5 mana otherwise, and nobody is really complaining about a 4/4 flier for 5 in red anyway. I can’t think of a better way to top off the mana curve of an aggro deck than with this guy plopping down and making things silly.
Now, I wouldn’t bet on his monstrous ability to make it in a multiplayer game (those kinds of things generally tend to attract unwanted attention and cause a few unwanted, unfriendly alliances in a hurry), but in any sort of constructed standard format, you’re going to be smiling when he hits the table.
I know personally that a few LGS favorites, Azorius Charm, Detention Sphere, and Banisher Priest are shooting blanks at him. Have fun banishing my Goblin Diplomats while I fly over and deal 4, haha.
The thing about the dragon that we haven’t even gotten into yet is what I like to call the sleeper/finisher, monstrosity! Yes, it’s expensive, and yes, it’s going to be a huge problem for your opponent when you make this guy monstrous. It’s not likely that you’ll be dealing much direct damage, unless your opponent has some form of Esper/Control with good draw. Then you’re punishing him all the more. Just be mindful of his mana, and whether or not he has a response to your monstrous trigger. Stormbreath Dragon has to be on the battlefield when his ability resolves to actually trigger the ability.
Remember, you can use monstrosity any time you have the mana up, so look for a time when your opponent is tapped out/doesn’t have an answer in hand to use it. At the very least, it should stop your opponent from using any Sphinx’s Revelations while he’s out. Effectively wasting that card until he can deal with your dragon.
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Limiting M14
I’ve been playing quite a few M14 drafts lately, and I thought I’d drop in and give you guys some of the things I’ve noticed.First off, if there were any set that I described as being “bomby,” this would definitely be one. There doesn’t seem to be that many ways to answer the bombs of the set. I’ve watched as multiple drafts have been won by simply casting Shivan Dragon.
Does that mean that the set is broken? Well, not exactly. It just means that you simply have to play limited with a different mindset than you may go into other sets with.
What I’m saying is that you’re going to find a very basic approach is going to be the best here- “back to basics” more namely. This means that you’re going to have to win this the way that classic sets were often won. How is that you might ask?
FLYING!!
Yes, simply flying over your enemy and having some basic removal is likely going to be the ticket in this set. I can’t say it’s not a viable strategy in nearly every core set, but this one in particular has very few other alternatives. You’re not going to get many crazy combos off here (not to say there aren’t any), and you’re definitely going to have a hard time drafting any sort of weenie deck.
In what I’ve found, nearly every uncommon and common 1, 2, or 3 drop is severely outclassed by almost any 4, 5, or 6 drop in the set. This has a few implications for tempo, and also whether or not you want to be on the play or the draw here. I’m not going to say that you definitely want to take the draw in this set yet, but I’m definitely starting to think that the draw might be the more opportune position without early game threats to worry about.
Going back to the only ability in this set that seems to have any influence, flying, I’m forced to say that blue has a clear advantage here. Having 90% of the flyers in the set plus having most of the removal and card advantage is, in my opinion, an advantage that no other color even compares to.
I’m noticing that blue is drying up more and more in recent drafts though (as other players are undoubtedly starting to notice), so splashing another color is becoming more and more important.
I have just been watching for signals from my side and trying to cut red whenever possible, but I haven’t really found a clear advantage in other colors yet. I just like red, and it’s a style that I can relate to (BURN BABY, BURN!!!!).
Just make sure that you’re pulling removal and flyers with as many cantrips as you can pull off. With this slower format, you’re going to want to start loading up on answers, and that means cards in hand.
Keep it casual
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Killer Combo – “Clear Your Mind… and Your Library”
Do you, like myself, wish for the day when you could slap a Glimpse the Unthinkable
Glimpse the Unthinkable down on the table and watch your opponent wince slightly at the thought of having to throw 10 cards straight into the graveyard?I longed for those days until I saw this new little diddy that we have to play with in M12. All you have to do is add equal parts Jace’s Archivist to Jace’s Erasure.
Most people recognize that the erasure is annoying, but it doesn’t really give you too great of an edge over your opponent as your library is dropped by the same cards that they lose.
What if you could get a little edge, and speed the whole thing up? Well that’s exactly what Jace’s Archivist does for you.
You get a fresh 7 cards, and your opponent gets a fresh 7 cards, but your opponent also has to mill 7 more cards. Now, you’ve just turned Jace’s Erasure into something of an annoyance.
You just put your opponent on a 3-4 turn clock, and, as a blue mage, you have nothing but answers in your hand every turn thanks to Jace’s Archivist.
Building a deck around this gem is all too easy since it just takes 4 Mana Leaks
Mana Leak, 4 Unsummons
Unsummon, and 4 Negates
Negate to ensure that you won’t have to worry about too many things.The Unsummon works like an effective counter since they are discarding their hands. For added fun, throw in Phantasmal Image
Phantasmal Image to ensure that any creature coming out finds itself staring down its own barrel.
Also worth mentioning, if you happen to have any merfolk mesmerists, you could put those in just for some added color. It will also help when you didn’t have to do anything defensive and have some extra mana to burn at the end of your opponent’s turn. I know two isn’t a huge gain, but it will put their clock down to three turns if you’re playing with the combo out.
See what kind of fun things you can do with these guys, and let us know what you think! -
Your Journey Begins… Here
Welcome to the first of many posts on Magic: The Gathering with your new source for what’s hot, Josh. Together we will uncover the hot, the not-so-hot, and the downright newsworthy things happening in the Multiverse. I imagine that most people here have found this site thanks to a deep appreciation of Magic and its ability to offer hours of endless fun and enjoyment with like-minded individuals. That is, like minded assuming that you aren’t the only Timmy playing in a group of Spikes. In that case I weep for you and my soul reaches out to you. My advice? Find some new friends (just kidding… sort of).
I have been mulling back and forth between topics to enter the blogging community (it’s no easy task deciding how to enter a new world), and I found inspiration from Mark Rosewater’s two part series, Fun-Off part 1 and part 2 from a few weeks ago. The theme of those articles reminded me of the ideals on which The Casual Planesalker was founded. Good times with good friends (and of course some caffeinated beverages and pizza). This blog will be focusing on things that we at The Casual Planeswalker find fun and interesting for not only you and your playgroup but us as well. I sincerely hope that you enjoy making the journey with us. We are growing fast so be sure to check back soon for all sorts of fun new things from your new source for casual Magic: The Gathering pleasure!