The Casual Planeswalker

Author: zach

  • Killer Combos – “A Zombie in the Hand”

    Killer Combos – “A Zombie in the Hand”

    …isn’t nearly as good as one in the graveyard. But what is the quickest way to get him there?

    This week we’ll be looking at a couple of fun combos to try while M11 and M12 are both in Standard. When the rotation occurs with the arrival of Innistrad (check out spoilers here), these fun combos will be gone as well.

    Traumatizeplus signVengeful Pharaohplus signVisions of Beyond

    First, please keep in mind that all of our combos are meant for casual play, not made to be tournament winners. They are fun little mechanics to build a casual deck around, and while they may not stand up to Caw-Blade at FNM, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be a kitchen-table hit.

    Rage Nimbus

    This combo in particular is one that will please players who like to win big. There aren’t many good reasons (other than some psychological troubles that we’re not going to get into) to hit yourself hard enough to induce memory loss, but that’s exactly what we’re asking you to do in this combo.

    The procedure here is simple, use Traumatize to dump (hopefully) two or three Vengeful Pharoahs into your graveyard. Then, sit back and just see if your opponents are willing to attack.

    Once half your library is in your graveyard, Visions of Beyond becomes Ancestral Vision
    Ancestral Vision     allowing you to draw (and discard) more Pharaohs, hit your land drops and draw into Sorin’s Vengeance
    Sorin’s Vengeance    , or to refill your hand with Mana Leaks
    Mana Leak    .

    Reassembling Skeleton
    Reassembling Skeleton     would love to find his way into the dustheap this way as well.

    Throw in a few Tormented Souls
    Tormented Soul     and you’ll have your opponent on a clock. Or, to ensure that you’ll be bringing your Pharoahs back from the dead, play R/U instead of U/B and let Rage Nimbus force your opponent’s creatures to attack.

    Untap, Swing, Fling, repeat.

    All this combo brainstorming makes me want to brew this thing up myself… Any thoughts about what else to include? Leave us a comment.

     

     

     

  • Looking Forward – AvNB, Innistrad, and Graveborn

    Looking Forward – AvNB, Innistrad, and Graveborn

    The dust is just beginning to settle on M12. The visual spoiler is complete, the pre-release and release have come and gone, and our Guide to M12 is currently on sale.

    Note: For those of you anticipating the release of M12 on MtGO, I highly recommend picking up our guide.

    It’s time to look to the future of Magic. We have seen that future, and the future is awesome:

    Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas

    First up, chronologically, is AvNB, the latest in the Duel Decks series.

    What we Know: This product will consist of two 60-card decks, based around the two eponymous planeswalkers. The basis of this battle royale is the storyline from the novel Alara Unbroken which chronicles the fierce leonin’s pursuit of vengeance against the terrible, legendary dragon.

    Presumably both decks will contain a more or less equal distribution of the component colors of their respective planeswalkers – that’s R/W for Ajani and U/B/R for Bolas. If the deck strategies are based on the abilities of the planeswalkers, then Ajani’s will likely be an aggressive burn/weenie deck, while Bolas is likelier to have a drawn-out, control-based strategy.

    While the abilities used by Nicol Bolas are much more powerful than Ajani’s, it will be a serious chore just to get him into play without any mana acceleration.

    We only know two of the 120 cards to be included as of right now, and those are the planeswalkers themselves, though even that little bit of information is exciting when they come with new art.

    Release Date: September 2, 2011

    Innistrad – “Horror Lurks Within”

    The upcoming release that the TCP crew is most excited about is the newest “large set” to be released, and the beginning of the latest 3-set block. Previously codenamed “Shake”, we can now plainly refer to Wizard’s newest offering as Innistrad, a 264 card set that will be replacing the Zendikar block in Standard.

    What we Know: Actually, quite a bit. Or at least we have some good hunches.

    Our Innistrad spoiler page has already been populated with the latest in speculation on the set. Check it out, and check back often in the coming weeks for updates:

    https://casualplaneswalker.com/innistrad-visual-spoilers/

    Based on the promotional art released with the formal announcement of Innistrad (below), we can also predict that Liliana, who was apparently slighted in M12, will be back and will likely have a new card with new abilities.

    We’re also betting that the zombie/vampire theme which was supported in M12 will be continued in Innistrad, along with a strong graveyard focus, based on the spoilers we have thus far (and our deepest hopes and dreams).

    Innistrad appears to be the name of an all-new plane, but only time will tell exactly where we’ll be in the next block, how Liliana got there, and who that dead guy is at her feet.

    Also, Innistrad-related events will span the month of October, leading up to a Game Day over Halloween weekend. What could be spookier?

    Release Date: September 30, 2011

    Liliana Vess

     

    Premium Deck Series – Graveborn

    Finally, we’d like to mention the next installment of the Premium Deck Series. This one is called Graveborn and it has the potential to be our favorite one thus far. 

    Premium Deck Series are 60-card, all foil decks which include 8 rares, and are centered around a prominent archetype or theme (Slivers, burn, and now graveyard recursion).

    In the announcement for Graveborn, we were promised (obliquely) that we’d see the standard reanimator fare: Entomb
    Entomb    , Exhume
    Exhume    , Reanimate
    Reanimate    . Along with an all-color suite of ginormous creatures just begging to be cheated into play.

    While the price tag on the Premium Decks has always been a little bothersome to us (typically in the $35 range), this particular offering will be a good way for newer players to experience the fun of graveyard-based mayhem after receiving their introduction in necromancy from M12 and Innistrad.

    The probable inclusion of Entomb, Exhume, and Reanimate, also indicates that these cards will NOT appear in Innistrad, which is a bit of a disappointment to Swamp-things.

    Release Date: November 18, 2011

  • Killer Combo – “Ring Around the Rosy”

    Killer Combo – “Ring Around the Rosy”

    If you haven’t already heard the historical interpretation of that children’s rhyme, make your day a little cloudier and read up.

    We’re really excited about M12 here at The Casual Planeswalker. We’ve been preparing for the release of the Core Set for quite some time and we’ll have a big announcement pertaining to M12 later this week. Stay tuned!

    Core Sets are a great way for new and inexperienced players to play with classic cards and play in a Limited environment which is easier to learn and understand than standard expansions.

    White, in M12, has some great enchantment support, so a red/white enchantment build make for a really fun casual deck. Consider making this combo a fun centerpiece of that deck.

    Manabarbsplus signPersonal Sanctuary

    First of all, let me just say that I love the flavor text on Manabarbs. As much as I admire the sentiments of Kamahl, pit fighter, a central character from the Odyssey block, I’d rather have a way to turn that double-edged sword into a strictly offensive weapon.Kamahl, Pit Fighter

    Personal Sanctuary is a great way to do just that. It allows you to tap your lands without feeling the burn during your turn.

    Unless your opponent is packing green/white enchantment removal, this is going to be a hard combo to break up. Add in an Aegis Angel
    Aegis Angel     to protect one of them and you’ll test just how tolerant your opponents really are.

    If you continue to build around this combo, feel free to throw in a few Auramancers
    Auramancer     for extra insurance, a Mesa Enchantress
    Mesa Enchantress     for card draw, and you’ve got a fun, casual enchantment-based deck.
    We’ll keep the M12 combos coming this week, along with some addition discussion of the newest core set and what’s coming next!

    Look for Innistrad spoilers to start later this week!!!

     

     

     

  • Three’s Company: The “Other” M12 Mythic Rares

    Three’s Company: The “Other” M12 Mythic Rares

    M12 Preview Week continues with our discussion of the “other” mythic rares in the newest Core Set….

    We’ve known for quite awhile that M12 was slated to have 15 mythic rares. The first five (we assumed) were revealed when the M12 promo photos first appeared along with the promo video starring Gideon. The image of Gideon, Sorin, Garruk, Chandra, and Jace more or less confirmed that those five planeswalkers would be reprinted and that Liliana and Ajani were out. Rest assured they’ll be back, though – Ajani in a duel deck with Nicol Bolas, and Liliana (likely a new incarnation) in Innistrad.

    It wasn’t long until the second series of five mythics was spoiled by the appearance of the titans in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. This left only five mythic rare slots left and, as you likely know by now, the final one was spoiled today. Let’s take a look at them now…

    My Condolences…

    First of all, let me just say that I feel for those of you who were less than impressed with the arrival of the final mythic rare in blue this morning. When every other color got a new mythic, many assumed that the same would be true for blue even though the open slot suggested that, alphabetically, a card beginning in “time” was likely.

    While Time Reversal is a ton of fun, it isn’t as fun as a new card, and experienced blue mages who already have had their way with this card were probably hoping for a new toy. As we’ve said a couple times before on this blog, it’s very likely that Innistrad will focus on graveyard manipulation so a possible reason for the lack of innovation on the part of Wizards R&D could be the utility of this card in the blossoming Standard environment.

    I guess the last thing I’d like to say about this card is how much the flavor text offends me. “Pessimists see the world as it is”? Really? That’s not just a little biased? All that statement does is characterize the view of the speaker (and depress people who don’t realize this). Just turn that into a “fill in the blank” and you have a philosophical typing test: “Nihilists see the world….” “Heaven’s Gate cultists see the world…” etc.

    Anyone else ever compelled to dislike a card on account of its flavor (text, art, design)? Let me know if you’re picking up what I’m putting down here.

    Proof of Conspiracy…

    Bloodlord of Vaasgoth is just one more piece of evidence in an increasingly well-known conspiracy between Stephanie Meyers and the WoTC higher-ups (see Top Dorks if you don’t get the inside joke).

    Seriously though, the Bloodlord is a fantastic late-game bomb (or turn 3 if you’ve got the ramp) for black, especially in what looks to be an increasingly vampire-heavy Standard. Bloodlord of Vaasgoth is important to M12 for a couple of reasons, the first being that he’s the foil promo that you’ll receive for playing in an M12 Pre-Release this weekend. His alternate art is pretty awesome too, if I do say so myself.

    The second reason that the Bloodlord is a great representative card for M12 is because he has, and gives to his fellow vamps, the returning mechanic “Bloodthirst”. This is a great mechanic for new players because it trains them to play creatures in the second main phase (after combat). Having bloodthirst 3 means that Bloodlord of Vaasgoth will likely be entering the battlefield as a 6/6 flier. If only it had lifelink…

    He’ll also make topdecking a game-ender much easier on account of his ability to give your 2-drop vampires (or any of them to be exact) a +3/+3 buff.

    Touched by an Angel

    Angelic Destiny is the new mythic, planeswalkers aside, which I am most excited about. I’ve mentioned before on Facebook that I thought the art was fantastic, but I really like the flavor of the card as well. Despite the fact that the idea that humans (or dog, or those little Precious Moments figurines) turn into angels when they die is theologically unsound, in the Magic multiverse angels are much more… corporeal beings and the idea of my favorite Kithkin or Rhino transmogrifying into an angel is pretty cool.

    Angelic Destiny is only the third enchantment to be made at the mythic rarity level, and it’s my favorite thus far. I’m not a big blue player, so Cast Through Time just really didn’t do it for me. I think this card is prime for a B/W deck bolstered by the heavy focus on sacrificing and graveyard manipulation that we’re likely to see in Innistrad.

    Attach this card to any creature with a significant “sac this creature, x” ability and you’ve got a recipe for greatness. I think that Angelic Destiny will be the most sought after card in this series, with the possible exception of Primordial Hydra, which I am saving for last.

    Hell Hath No Fury…

    …Like a big, crazy dragon. But you’ll have to ask yourself: How big is too big? If you can resolve Furyborn Hellkite after wounding your opponent earlier that turn you’ll have a creature with power and toughness that some Eldrazi will envy.

    I have all sorts of visions already of how to cheat this bad boy into play: Kaalia of the Vast, Zirilan of the Claw, Dragon Storm, and Sneak Attack all come to mind. The only problem is that he’s just one form of evasion short of being a game ender. You’re going to have to find a way to give Furyborn trample because I don’t think a Whispersilk Cloak will fit him. Of course, if all else fails, Fling is returning in M12…

    On account of his high casting cost and lack of evasion, Furyborn Hellkite will likely not be seeing much play in Standard. In Legacy he might be a serious bomb, and he’s a great addition to your Dragon-centered Commander decks. Despite the fact that blue was the only color to get a reprinted mythic rare in this series, I think red got the short end of the mythic stick. However, I got my Goblin Grenade back, so I’m not saying a word.

    The Bigger They Are…

    …The bigger they get. At least that’s the case with Primordial Hydra, the newest, fattest fatty in green.

    It seems as though Wizards R&D have been experimenting with hyrdras over the last couple years, but here they finally broke the mold. Feral Hydra was good, Khalni Hydra was better, and I thought Protean Hydra was as good as it could good, but once again Wizards has outdone themselves.

    Primordial Hydra doubles in size every turn, and after the release of the “Counterpunch” Commander deck there are now plenty of awesome ways to use his counters (or just give him many, many more). Also, unlike many of the earlier hydras, this one has trample, making him a nearly unanswerable threat if you can manage to make him hexproof.

     

    Well, that’s my 2 cents on the M12 non-planeswalker, non-titan, mythic rares. What do you think? Are you a die-hard fan of Time Reversal? Skeptical about Angelic Destiny? Let us know in the combox!

     




  • New M12 Planeswalkers

    New M12 Planeswalkers

    We finally have pictures of all three of the new Planeswalkers in M12. It’s been a long time coming and we’ve had a fair amount of speculation, especially following our spoiling of the new art for all three, but now we’ve got official confirmation from Wizards on the text for all three upgrades to our old favorites.

    First, we have the new Jace. This is Jace 3.0, or Jace, Memory Adept. We showed you this card last week, but for those of you who haven’t seen him yet, leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

    Next we have Chandra, The Firebrand, a fantastic new brew for Chandra, one of my favorite planeswalkers. DJ wrote a great article on her last Friday, be sure to check it out.

    And finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. We finally have Garruk 3.0. He’s bigger and badder than ever, still a beast-maker, but also a pretty beastly source of card advantage – something Green often struggles with.

    I know that this post is brief and to the point, but we want to know what YOU think. Comment to let us which planeswalker you’re looking forward to in M12 and why. Then, check out our podcast for our in-depth analysis of the planescape of M12.

  • Killer Combo – “Join Them, Beat Them”

    Killer Combo – “Join Them, Beat Them”

    Throughout this week we’ve been giving you Killer Combos that directly involve the primary commanders of the five new pre-constructed decks which debuted last weekend. We’re continuing that trend today with Zedruu the Greathearted, commander of the “Political Puppets” deck. We’ll finish up tomorrow with “Devour for Power”‘s The Mimeoplasm.

    If you haven’t already, check out our review of “Political Puppets”, then you’ll see exactly what Zedruu is up to and why.

    Zedruu the Greatheartedplus signBazaar Trader

    “Political Puppets”, as we mentioned in our podcast this week, lived up to its name at the Commander Event. The goal of this deck is to lull your opponents into a false sense of security while you secure yourself a superior board position, ensure that you are gaining life and drawing cards at an absurd rate, and draw one of your game-ending cards, like Insurrection
    Insurrection    . Dominus of Fealty

    While Zedruu is a great way to accomplish this goal, Bazaar Trader is going to get you there even faster. While the goblin appears to do almost precisely the same thing as Zedruu (though Zedruu can hand off ALL permanents and do so multiple times per turn) there is one key difference between the two. Bazaar Trader’s ability reads “target player”, while Zedruu’s specifies “target opponent”.

    This means that if you’ve taken control of a creature via Dominus of Fealty (or for any other reason), Bazaar Trader gives you the option of “regifting it” to yourself. For example, if you’ve grabbed someone’s Avatar of Woe
    Avatar of Woe     with the Dominus, Bazaar Trader’s can target YOU as the player and the Avatar of Woe as the creature and give you the avatar permanently (or at least indefinitely).

    So, not only does Bazaar Trader speed up what Zedruu already does, but he’ll give you a way to make creatures you’ve borrowed for a turn into creatures you control for the duration of the game.

     

  • M12 Planeswalkers – Jace Has Been Spoiled!

    M12 Planeswalkers – Jace Has Been Spoiled!

    Last week we brought you what we think/hope will be the new Garruk.

    Along with that mock-up, we showed you the “confirmed” artwork for the new Jace and Chandra incarnations.

    Now, we have absolute assurance that the art we showed you was indeed a spoiler of what you’ll get in M12, but we also have confirmation of Jace 3.0, or as you’ll call him henceforth, Jace, Memory Adept.

    Here is the picture that we have, along with a text rendering of his abilities:

    Jace, Memory Adept – 3UU
    Planeswalker – Jace (Mythic Rare)
    +1 Loyalty – Draw a card. Target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
    0 Loyalty – Target player puts the top ten cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
    -7 Loyalty – Any number of target players each draw twenty cards.

    Loyalty 4

    There he is! What do you think? Is this a more fair replacement for Jace, The Mind Sculptor? Does it seem strange to print a third Jace when Wizards just banned the second? Leave us a comment and let us know your reaction to this announcement.

  • Killer Combo – “Infinite Regress”

    Killer Combo – “Infinite Regress”

    Commander, for those of you who are new to the game, is a casual format that used to be called by its player-given name: Elder Dragon Highlander. Anyone who isn’t up on the old-school terms should learn that Elder Dragons were a series of tri-color legendary dragons in the creatively titled MTG expansion, Legends. The “Highlander” part of the name refers to the movies and TV series about Connor and Duncan MacLeod, two immortals engaged in a time-and-space spanning competition to be the last (immortal) man standing. A major “catch-phrase” from the Highlander storyline was “There can be only one!”, which is how it came to be associated with what is now the Commander format.

    What’s really impressive about Riku of Two Reflections is the fact that his ability violates the spirit of the format in a pretty major way. He allows you to copy spells and creatures, providing you with a way to have “multiples” of cards in a format that fundamentally forbids it.

    I’m sure that most people who played “Mirror Mastery” this weekend realized that there is almost no “bad way” to use Riku’s ability. If you’re casting a spell, you would rather have two of it than one – though in same cases the second would be redundant. However, as the decklist suggests, Riku’s ability is best employed when you can copy a creature with a great “comes into play” (now, “enters the battlefield”) ability.

    While I won’t claim that any one sorcery, instant, or creature is the “best” to copy with Riku, I’ve got a couple ideas about cards that would be especially fun for him to multiply.

    Riku of Two Reflectionsplus signChancellor of the Forge

    First, if I could copy any non-mythic rare creature in Standard, I think it would be Chancellor of the Forge. The Chancellors were sort of a lackluster cycle for New Phyrexia, but I think his comes into play ability would be killer in this particular setting. The triple red in his casting cost makes him difficult to play in a more mana-limited setting, but part of the beauty of this combo is the fact that once you’ve paid his RRR, you only need GU to pay for Riku’s ability.

    Archive Trap

    Chancellor of the Forge will give you a fistful of Goblins (according to the number of creatures you have in play), doubling the number of creatures you control. His token-copy will then hit the battlefield and will double that number again. Because most Commander decks contain multiple board wipes, an army of tokens isn’t likely to live long, but the Chancellor’s little buddies have haste so you’re much more likely to get in one good attack.
    I also think that Riku would make a great addition to a Legacy or Commander deck designed to mill your opponent. While it may not be entirely consistent with the strategy of “Mirror Mastery” out of the box, his ability to copy cards like Archive Trap, Traumatize
    Traumatize    , and other mill staples would greatly accelerate the process of eliminating your opponents library.

    That’s all for today’s Killer Combo. Let me know what other ideas you have and look forward to our post on Kaalia of the Vast
    Kaalia of the Vast     tomorrow.

     

  • Latest TCP Giveaway Winner!!!

    Latest TCP Giveaway Winner!!!

    Chandra Ablaze

    You guys have wowed us with your support on Facebook and Twitter. It’s been great interacting with you there, answering your questions, speculating about what’s coming in M12 and beyond, and sharing our love for playing Magic.

    That said, without further ado, let me tell you that Random.org has spoken and our latest winner is…

    Facebook Winner #5 (500 “Like” Threshold):

    Benjamin Wade!!!

    Feel free to take your pick of one of the cards on this page as your prize!!! Comment to claim it!

    Khalni Hydra

     

    Facebook Winner #6 (1000 “Like”Threshold):

    THIS COULD BE YOU! – Comment and let us know

    what you’d like to see as our next big prize!

    Twitter Winner #1 (250 Follower Threshold):

    THIS COULD BE YOU!

    While both our blog and our feeds on Facebook and Twitter provide you with useful information on a daily basis, including things like our FREE deckbuilding guide, what we enjoy best about our online presence is the ability to interact with all of you.  That’s why we’d like your input as what we should give away next!

    Please voice your thoughts below and be sure to “Like” our page on Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter to be eligible to win other great prizes.

    Vorinclex, Voice of HungerEmrakul, the Aeons Torn