The Casual Planeswalker

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Pre-Pre-Release Inklings – Phyrexian Mana Splashing

I’ve already mentioned how much I love the flexibility that Phyrexian mana gives to pumpable creatures like Moltensteel Dragon and Immolating Souleater, however, there is much more to Phyrexian mana than just a 10+ damage on the third turn from a 2-drop common.

Casual players who are thinking about drafting or playing in the Sealed Deck tournament tomorrow should know going in that New Phyrexia is going to allow you do things in Magic that you may never have done before. Things like putting a counterspell in your Red deck, using PropagandaPropaganda-like control in Black without splashing, and returning creatures from the dead using only Blue mana and a shaving off your life total.

How does this magic happen? Why all this can be yours for the small price of handing over your immortal soul (or at least two lives) to Phyrexia. I’ll avoid giving you the full catalog of cards that possess this added flexibility and narrow it down to my Top 10. If you’d like to look at the full line-up yourself, head on over to our Visual Spoiler for New Phyrexia.

So, without further ado, the Top 10 Phyrexian-powered cards we think you should play tomorrow no matter which color(s) you’re drafting. Never has being colorblind felt so morally troubling…*

Top 10 Phyrexian Powered Cards to Draft, Regardless of Color

1. Tezzeret’s Gambit – Three mana for two cards and a proliferate thrown in. This top ten is in “no particular order”, so I’m not saying that Tezzeret’s Gambit is the best thing out there, but it allows colors like Red and White to fill their hands late in the game.

As far as planeswalker-associated spells go, this is one of my favorites. Jace’s Ingenuity
Jace’s Ingenuity is instant speed and a three-draw, but with a converted casting cost of five, it is a bit much for me.

Flavor-wise, I wonder what’s going on with this card. The art makes me excited about getting into the storyline of New Phyrexia, though it’ll be awhile before I get my hands on a Fat Pack. Heck, I’m still catching up on the novels from the Lorwyn block.

2. Pith Driller – Especially in Draft and Sealed Deck, versatility and card advantage are key. In Legacy, and even Standard, where it is almost taken for granted that you have four of each “power” card in your deck, you can get what you want and need because you’ve built your deck that way. That isn’t the way with Limited – you have to pick cards based on their versatility and the possibility of card advantage.

For four mana Pith Driller’s got a decent power and a hard-to-deal-with toughness, plus there is a good chance that his ability permanently handicaps or eliminates one of your opponents creatures. He’s a great way to kill that annoying Suture Priest
Suture Priest or Vault Skirge
Vault Skirge. Elimination is key in Limited formats and to be able to take out one of your opponents creatures AND put one of your own into play with the same card makes Pith Driller a must-include. For Draft he’s a good first and GREAT second pick. If you have a chance to grab a Pith Driller, and because he’s a common I bet you will, I highly recommend it.

3. Noxious Revival – Normally, I don’t think a card like Noxious Revival would catch my eye. With the Phyrexian mana symbol, however, I was willing to give it a second look. It would allow any mage a 2-life resurrection spell, which, because it puts the creature on top of your library, isn’t great in most circumstances. It is just TOO slow.

However, there are a lot of big, fantastic creatures in New Phyrexia which your opponent is going to have to work hard to eliminate. Imagine the look on his face after he shells out four life to Phyrexian-cast Dismember (see below) on your Moltensteel Dragon and you put it back on top of your library at instant speed.

Similarly cards like Blind Zealot which have a special effect if sacrificed after combat damage, could be (ob)Noxiously Revived and put back into action quicker than you can say Xenograft.

4. Act of Aggresson – Words cannot express how much I hate cards like Act of Aggression. You’ve probably been playing against Act of Treason
Act of Treason and Corrupted Conscience
Corrupted Conscience for some time now, so you know how painful it is when an opponent loses to your fatty in game one and then sideboards in three or four of those things. Well, be prepared to encounter Act of Aggression in decks of every color. There are plenty of sweet creatures to swipe in New Phyrexia and some of them are game enders – especially if you can find some way to give them Infect.

Oh, and P.S. it’s INSTANT SPEED, which means you could really ruin somebody’s day by stealing one of their beefier creatures to block another, hopefully eliminating both threats in the process. Because this monstrosity is an instant and could be cast for only three generic mana, I think it has the utility and surprise factor to be a heavy hitter in Limited, if not beyond.

5. Porcelain Legionnaire – Despite his… lavatorial name, Porcelain legionnaire is a great buy at two generic plus two life for a 3/1 with first strike. In most cases this, comparatively rare, ability will allow him to survive conflicts with even some of the larger Infect creatures. His toughness of one makes him vulnerable, but in most cases your opponent will struggle to justify using his creature elimination to silence a common that you cast on turn two.

If you come up against him, however, you’ll be glad you drafted Pith Driller who won’t even need to waste his ability on the little shrimp because he can withstand the three first strike damage and hit back. I always struggle with making predictions about commons because we all know that some commons are more common than others (A whole box of M11 and only one Llanowar Elves
Llanowar Elves, come on! Not a single Goblin Bushwhacker in the WHOLE BOX!!!), but hopefully you’ll have ample access to this guy as he is a solid second or third round grab.

6. Phyrexian Metamorph – I’ve been looking at Phyrexian Metamorph for a long time. This card, with alternate art, is what you’ll be getting at the actual Neal Patrick Harris (NPH) Release. At first I wasn’t overly impressed by a CloneClone with a Phyrexian mana symbol, but read it again. He can come in as an ARTIFACT as well. He’s always an artifact in addition to whatever creature type, so he’s helping with your Metalcraft. The versatility that comes from his ability to imitate a creature or an artifact in the world of Mirrodin makes him a pretty incredible addition to any deck.

Add to all that flexibility the chance of putting him into play on the third turn and you’ll find your opponent wondering how to deal with his own bomb. Use him in a Red deck with Priest of Urabrask
Priest of Urabrask and cast him for free. After answering your opponent’s best creature from the early game, bring him back with Noxious Revival to mirror a late-game fatty.

7. Dismember – As I’ve mentioned before, removal is key in a Limited environment and Dismember is about as good as removal can get – especially when you’re playing Blue or Green! For one mana (and four life) you can knock dragons and angels out of the sky. At instant speed you can grind into the ground that monster that your opponent tapped out on the fifth or sixth turn to play.

Because Dismember is an uncommon it will likely be in quite a few decks tomorrow and it seriously ought to be in yours. While there are a few creatures in New Phyrexia that could live through a Dismembering, the times that you’re up against a Chancellor of the Annex
Chancellor of the Annex will easily be offset when you take out the one Phyrexian Obliterator
Phyrexian Obliterator in the entire tournament without dealing it a single point of damage.

The fact that Dismember is going off at instant speed will also prevent someone from using Urabrask the HiddenUrabrask the Hidden or Act of Aggression to hit you with haste before you can respond.

8. Norn’s Annex – When PropagandaPropaganda first made its debut, my playgroup (which at that time still didn’t understand the concept of “the stack”) experienced our first control deck. I craftily traded “terrifying” creatures like Craw Wurm
Craw Wurm (thank God for the introduction of the rarity coloring system) for Counterspells, Boomerangs, and Equilibrium
Equilibrium, then threw in Propaganda and proceeded to make everyone hate me and quit playing for a couple weeks…

Now, this isn’t a course in how to lose friends and alienate people, but we all know that “attack tax” in whatever form is major irritation. Provided your opponent isn’t playing white, Norn’s Annex takes that irritation to a whole new level, making your opponent pay two life for every attacker. The fact that this irritation can begin on turn three makes Norn’s Annex something that you at least won’t want to be passing on to the next guy.

9. Thundering Tanadon – This card has been a favorite of mine since New Phyrexia was first spoiled. He’s straightforward, he’s simple, he’ll be running over whatever flimsy defenses your opponent has set up by the fourth turn and soon be dealing enough damage to make your own sacrifice in playing him pay off.

Five power makes Thundering Tanadon capable of squashing almost everyone in his league, and four toughness makes him immune to most damage based removal, though not, of course, Dismember.

Finally, I love him because he’s a common. Hopefully you’ll be able to get your hands on a couple Tanadons allowing you to have a Bash Brothers thing going on. I also highly recommend intro music for this guy. If you can’t guess what his favorite AC/DC tune is, then you don’t deserve to call yourself a sweatpants-wearing planeswalker.

10. Mental Misstep – Have I saved the best for last? To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure, and really I don’t think anyone else is either. While Mental Misstep is possibly going to make a significant impact on the Standard and Legacy scenes, I don’t know that this card is your best bet for a first pull in the drafts tomorrow.

While a “free” counterspell, especially in a non-Blue deck, is not something to be scoffed at, the limitation placed on its use will make Mental Misstep difficult to effectively employ. Within New Phyrexia there is a very limited number of spells that it can counter.

There is, on the other hand, the delightful possibility, indicated by the flavor text, of using this bad bad even BEFORE your first turn. However, after that initial opportunity goes by, you might be holding onto this card for awhile. Mental Misstep has drawn a LOT of attention and I don’t think you should underestimate it’s impact on the game. So, grab your playset tomorrow if you can, but, speaking personally, I think there are several cards on this list that I would grab in a draft before Mental Misstep.

Conclusion:

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this brief discussion of the joys of Phyrexian mana. Despite the versatility Phyrexia provides there are obviously downsides: You could quickly get yourself into a sticky situation if you get too greedy about playing these cards at the earliest possible moment, but that’s what Phyrexia is all about – using masochism to increase one’s sadism.

Best of luck tomorrow! I’ll leave you with a few cards that didn’t make our list, but deserve your consideration once the Limited festivities are over.

Honorable Mentions: Gitaxian Probe, Rage Extractor, Cathedral Membrane

These are some fine cards that I think would be highly enjoyable in some Constructed situations (though only Gitaxian Probe is likely to see serious Standard play). Rage Extractor has to be mentioned simply because it ensures that in a Phyrexian mana dominated deck your opponent is suffering at least as much as you are when you cast your spells. Cathedral Membrane is similarly situational. I don’t know if anyone would be silly enough to actually through their fatty at it to die, but I can imagine that there would be ways to exploit its “each creature it blocked” ability in casual Legacy play. I suppose if your opponent had it in play it would make a hilarious target for Act of Aggression…

*Moltensteel Dragon was disqualified to heavy participation in yesterday’s post.

May 6, 2011
Pre-Pre-Release Inklings – Phyrexian Firebreathing

Everyone here at the Casual Planeswalker is eagerly anticipating our trip to Denver’s Pre-Release for New Phyrexia, hosted by Front Range Magic. While there’s a lot to look forward to in the new set, including the Praetors
March of the Praetors Post, a whole menagerie of new Living Weapons, and more Infect than you can shake a Staff of the Ages
Staff of the Ages at, there are few things about the set that have occurred to us as being a little less obvious, but nonetheless significant.

One factor that we think might play a game-changing role on Saturday is the phenomenon we’ve affectionately dubbed “Phyrexian Firebreathing”.

There certainly isn’t an abundance of creatures with this ability, but there is the potential to use Immolating Souleater to deal 10+ damage on the third turn and that’s nothing to sneeze at. While Ogre Menial might not exactly look appealing, he’s got Infect built in and will only need half as much pumping for the kill-shot.

Of course, the most obvious member of this elite club is Moltensteel Dragon. Under most circumstances you’ll be able to use Phyrexian mana to power Moltensteel Dragon onto the battlefield on the third or fourth turn. Because this format will be light on fliers (with the exception of some over-priced Blue drakes) Molty will be that much more likely to go unblocked. Then, pump ad nauseum (your own) and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you are using the luxuries provided by Phyrexian domination to the fullest.

But wait, folks, that’s not all. There are few ways to take Phyrexian Firebreathing from good to great. In addition to the obvious compliment provided by Green in pumping and life gain, there is the possibility of lending your Firebreathers Infect via Triumph of the Hordes.

Similar to employing life gain to bring yourself back from the brink is the use of Phyrexian Unlife which would allow you to utilize ALL of your life total for pumping, leaving you open to death by poison, but probably within range of the win.

Of course mana acceleration in the form of GeosurgeGeosurge would allow you to deal the damage your need without borrowing so hard against your life total. Priest of Urabrask, the red-headed stepchild of Priest of Gix
Priest of Gix, similarly pays for himself but with the additional benefit of mana-fixing.

Finally, the presence of both Moltensteel and Souleater in the Life for Death Intro Pack makes it one of our favorites as far as the New Phyrexia pre-cons go. These aggressive creatures combined with life gain and great defenders like Cathedral Membrane
Cathedral Membrane, make us super-excited to play with this new deck. More than likely we’ll make “dibs” on Life for Death the consolation prize for being the first guy to drop out off his respective event.

As with any great new ability, there are a myriad of ways to get your jollies using Phyrexian Firebreathing. We think it’s going to be a significant, or at least enjoyable, aspect of our gameplay this coming Saturday, but we’d love to hear what you think.

May 5, 2011
March of the Praetors

Unless you’ve been living in a desert bunker for the last ten years, you know that the bad guys have won – well, maybe not on this plane, but the Mirrans (God rest their souls) have finally succumb to the Phyrexian invasion.

Personally, I know that the TCP playgroup was definitely Pro-Phyrexia at first. We never liked the original Mirrodin block and were anxious for the jerks who invented Skullclamp
Skull Clamp to get what was coming to them. However, the Event Decks for Mirrodin Beseiged won us over. And by us, I mean me, because no one likes losing to Goblin Guide
Goblin Guide/Bushwacker
Goblin Bushwhacker repeatedly.

You’ll be happy to know, though, that the Phyrexian Occupation Coalition is just as cute and cuddly as any bladegrass-stomping Loxodon. I for one welcome our new Phyrexian overlords…

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

-OR-

A Quick and Dirty Rundown on the Praetors

The word “praetor” comes from an office of the Roman Empire. The praetors were magistrates who were chosen by the emperor to oversee various aspects of the civil order – the military, gladiatorial games, immigration, etc. In New Phyrexia the praetors are given full authority by the resident planeswalker to make your opponent weep.

Each of the praetors is a legendary creature and the only mythic rare in their color with the exception of Phyrexian Obliterator
Phyrexian Obliterator in black. Let’s take a look at each one!

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Each of the praetors has an ability that aids your game while handicapping your opponent with an equal and opposite burden. Elesh Norn is going to be a bomb in a lot of casual weenie and a lot of block White infect decks. Having a total of seven mana for a converted casting cost is going to make him tough to play, but the only praetor coming at a lower price is Red’s Urabrask the Hidden. Vigilance and a toughness of seven is going to guarantee that once this dude is on the board he won’t be leaving any time soon.

His flavor text reminds us of the evangelical charity of the Phyrexians, who are happy to bring their steam-punk, do-or-die sadism to all those in need.

Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur

Blue sports a couple of new Flash creatures in NPH (am I the only one who thinks of Neil Patrick Harris every time they type this?). Jin-Gitaxias is by far the biggest and baddest thing going on in your opponents main phase. He also wins the title of “Most Hated Praetor” – at least until I topdeck (no other way) a Corrupted Conscience
Corrupted Conscience.

Jin’s toughness of four makes him immune to Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt, and the likelihood that his controller is loaded with counter spells makes this guy the Sultan of Scoop. However, a converted casting cost of ten ensures that you won’t be seeing this guy pop-up too often – that is until my buddy Brad puts him in his Sneak Attack
Sneak Attack deck as a sneak-able Greater Good
Greater Good.

Sheoldred, Whispering One

This baddie is going to be a casual play favorite in no time! Not only does he Reanimate
Reanimate/Diabolic Edict
Diabolic Edict every turn, but he’s a 6/6 Swampwalk in a format that is simply loving Black. Also, he’s the promotional card (with alternate art) at the upcoming pre-release, so I’ll be snagging at least one copy of this bad boy on Saturday.

Unlike Jin-Gitaxias, who provides you with infinite resources and ensures that your opponent will be sitting around empty-handed praying for the right draw, Sheoldred is going to be easier to respond to, especially if you’re playing multiple creatures per turn and your opponent’s graveyard isn’t as full as they’d like it to be. However, there are plenty of ways to fill a graveyard, and plenty of cards like Corpse Cur
Corpse Cur that could accelerate your necromancy.

Urabrask the Hidden

Finally, we come to Red’s praetor. Red has been an especially strong color in this block and Urabrask is a great addition to an already powerful arsenal – at least flavor-wise. With the lowest casting cost of the praetors, Urabrask is more likely to hit the board in draft and sealed decks. Not only does he accelerate your game, but he ensures that your opponent will be taking an additional turn to acquire eligible blockers.

Red has been such a Mirran-pure color that I think some flavor-nuts were hoping that Urabrask would somehow support the failing/failed cause of the resistance. His flavor-text is still a little obscure to me, but it might indicate that the Mirrans are as surprised as the rest of us.

Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger

Green is used to high-cost, high-power fatties, so as far as beatsticks go, Vorinclex isn’t great. A 7/6 trample for eight mana isn’t exactly a deal. Also, his man-acceleration ability isn’t going to be much of a game changer once you have eight mana anyway, unless you can keep your hand full.

Again, I can see Vorinclex finding his way into casual play, perhaps in a certain Sprout Swarm
Sprout Swarm/Seedborn Muse
Seedborn Mused deck I know. Like his brother praetors his color-flavor is great – increasing your mana production while asserting some classic Green control.

Conclusion and Challenge

We here at TCP love our fatties and the praetors are no exception. We’re looking forward to pulling them at this weekend’s Pre-release and we wish you luck in your quest to do the same.

I’m pumped to see each of these bad boys enter play for the first time, but I’ll issue a special challenge here: The first player to let me know that he had (by any means) two praetors under his control at the same time, wins a Mirrodin Besieged card autographed by the artist. Let me know if you hit these guys or any other sweet pulls this weekend!

May 2, 2011
5 Reasons to be Excited for Mirrodin Besieged

So this weekend saw the release of the newest Magic set: Mirrodin Besieged. Full scale war has broken out between Mirrodin and the invading Phyrexians. A new set always brings new cards and a small set like Mirrodin Besieged is able to create new decks and expand upon any decks that already exist, especially for those that use a lot of themes and abilities from Scars of Mirrodin. Here are a few of the coolest things that you will see in the new set.

1. More awesome artifacts to play. I think it is really cool to have another set that is in Mirrodin because a visit to this plane always comes with some brand new artifacts. Artifacts are my favorite types of cards because they are permanent; they stay on the battlefield and have all sorts of really cool abilities that will stick around, sometimes changing the way the game is played. My favorite artifact in this set has to be Knowledge Pool which totally changes the game by exiling each spell a player casts and forcing them to choose from one of at least 6 other spells instead. Shimmer Myr can allow you to play artifacts whenever you want, leaving your opponents guessing when you can leave a lot of mana open on your turn. For those that simply prefer crushing their opponent, Blightsteel Colossus is happy to oblige by being an 11/11 that is indestructible with Trample and Infect. This guy can completely poison an opponent in one turn, even if you aren’t playing an Infect deck!

2. The Phyrexians are advancing, and evolving. With the release of Mirrodin Besieged, it’s all out war between the Mirrans and Phyrexia. In Scars of Mirrodin the balance of these two forces was heavily in favor of the Mirrans, a majority of the cards having their watermark. The Phyrexians have spread across the plane, even into other colors bringing the abilities of Infect into white and Proliferate into green and black. This is great for any player that enjoys Infect and Proliferate as it makes them a lot more versatile. You can also find plenty of new cards to provide a nice power boost to any of your decks made from Scars of Mirrodin.

3. Equipment can now act on its own with Living Weapon. While the old Phyrexian abilities of Infect and Proliferate have spread to new colors, they also have a brand new ability unique to equipment artifacts. Phyrexian equipment comes into play with a 0/0 germ token and attaches itself to that token. These weapons are real great because you no longer have to choose between playing a creature to defend yourself and playing some equipment that will just be sitting around until your next turn. Living weapons make good blockers because they are just 0/0 creatures that came free with your equipment.

4. The Races of Mirrodin have united to combat the Phyrexian horde. With Mirrodin Besieged, the Phyrexian threat to the plane has been realized by its denizens. The Mirrans are no longer fighting against each other and have become a unified force. The new Battle Cry ability demonstrates this very well. When creatures with Battle Cry attack, each other attacking creature gets +1 power until the end of the turn. This ability really encourages decks that can make huge armies and will surely be very useful for anyone’s token deck. Battle Cry appears mostly in red and white, colors that can really appreciate having tons of creatures out at once, but there are also colorless creatures with Battle Cry that allow you to create any color deck you please while still making use of this cool new ability.

5. Fight for the fate of the plane of Mirrodin. Many of you have probably taken a look at the cards in this set and Scars of Mirrodin and noticed the watermark in the text box of nearly every card. Now that the conflict between Mirrodin and Phyrexia has escalated, it is time to make use of those watermarks and pick a side to fight for the fate of the plane. At the prerelease each player had to choose a side and received special Mirrodin Besieged booster packs that only had cards from their chosen side. Friday Night Magic events will encourage players to take part in the war with a poster that keeps a tally of each victory for Mirrodin or Phyrexia themed decks against an opponent’s themed deck. The war will be decided in the next set, but two different sets have been announced. The next set will be Mirrodin Pure if Mirrodin wins or it will be New Phyrexia if Phyrexia is the victor. Who will decide the outcome of the war? I’m hoping that the players will have some influence on the future of Mirrodin.

These are just a few of the reasons to check out the latest Magic set. There is also a brand new planeswalker but I’m not sure what to think of him yet. I am certainly looking forward to using all the awesome new cards. This set brings a lot of new stuff to the game, did I miss your favorite card of the set? There are awesome new artifacts and the war between the armies of Mirrodin and the Infect decks of Phyrexia makes for two totally different ways to play Magic. I hope that you are also excited to pick a side and fight the war for Mirrodin!

February 9, 2011
The Power of Proliferate

Counters are pretty nifty little things in Magic: The Gathering. There are counters that have special effects, like those from Liege of the Tangle that turn lands into huge 8/8 creatures. There are simple +1/+1 counters that can give a useful boost to any creature. With Phyrexia invading Mirrodin once again, -1/-1 counters and poison counters are sure to be in abundance. As a Phyrexian ability Proliferate is a really cool ability that can add counters to any permanent or player, which also allows for a lot of neat tricks, going quite well with Infect as well as other artifacts in the set and beyond.

When Proliferate is activated that player chooses any number of permanents/players, adding one counter for one type of counter already on it. If a permanent has multiples types of counters on it, like some charge counters as well as +1/+1 counters, you don’t add a counter of both those types. Only one counter can be placed on each permanent when you use Proliferate. This is an important rule to keep in mind if you start getting all sorts of crazy counters on your cards.

It’s also important to know how +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters work. A permanent will never have both of those counters on them at the same time. If both of these counters are on a permanent at the same time, you remove one of each until one type of counter is gone. Since these types of counters cancel each other out, don’t be targeting the wrong kind of creatures or you might end up helping your opponent get some huge creatures!

So with some of the finer aspects of the rules out of the way, what are the coolest ways to use Proliferate? Even looking at just Scars of Mirrodin there are tons of ways to use this ability. Infect, the other Phyrexian ability, is probably the most obvious way to use Proliferate. This ability adds a bunch of poison counters and -1/-1 counters, why not use Proliferate to multiply those effects while still keeping your creatures safe from harm? Proliferate can finish off your opponents’ creatures hit by Infect by piling on some more -1/-1 counters until they reach 0 toughness and are thrown into the graveyard.

Aside from manipulating the counters of creatures, there are a whole bunch of cards in this set and others that use charge counters. Maybe you want to give some of your Infect creatures a big power boost? Normally black doesn’t allow something like this but with a Trigon of Rage handy you can add +3 power to these guys at any time! Normally you would want some red mana so you could recharge the Trigon, but it is here that you really see the power of Proliferate. With something like a Contagion Clasp you can pay 4 mana to Proliferate every turn, adding poison counters to your opponent, -1/-1 counters on their creatures, and charge counters to the Trigon all at the same time!

Looking beyond the set there are all sorts of cool counters that are real nice when you can add them up at an accelerated rate. Planeswalkers are nice targets for Proliferate, being able to give them more loyalty counters, allowing them to perform their ultimate abilities much faster. There are also quest counters from Zendikar. The rare ascension enchantments like Archmage Ascension have really cool effects but they can take a long time before you can make use of them. Proliferate can help you, for example, draw any card you want in only a few turns.

My last tip comes from the Rise of the Eldrazi set with its level up creatures. Those guys can cost a whole lot of mana if you want them to reach the top levels, especially if you have a deck made up of mostly those creatures. Now with Proliferate you potentially only have to pay to level up each creature once. You can then use Proliferate to add level counters to these creatures, even using it to level up multiple creatures at the same time!

These are just a few of the many uses of Proliferate. Any counter at all can be multiplied through the power of Proliferate. Counters that change power and toughness are pretty common in a lot of sets and those can be manipulated with this ability. Charge counters and loyalty counters are usually a great opportunity to use Proliferate and those appear in multiple artifacts and all planeswalkers respectively. Even if you just play Scars of Mirrodin an Infect deck is a great place to add some Proliferate cards to quickly have your opponents succumb to a poisonous defeat!

January 14, 2011
Heavy Metal(craft)

Metalcraft is a new ability used by the Mirrans in order to unite against Phyrexia. It gives extra abilities or other bonuses if you control three or more artifacts which can include power and toughness increases, new abilities, or extra effects from spells. The nice thing about Metalcraft is that it always requires 3 artifacts so it is easy to take a quick look at the field and see if they are activated or not. The bonuses are also pretty nice, always being something that you would have to otherwise pay a bit more to use.

Probably the coolest use of Metalcraft is to surprise your opponents with powerful spells when you don’t have a lot of mana open. While counterspells usually cost 3 mana these days you can be ready for anything your opponent casts for 2 mana if you have three artifacts on the field and Stoic Rebuttal. I really like galvanic blast, which can deal an extra damage for the price of a lightning bolt. A lot of creatures are built around the 3 damage that lightning bolt can deal and an extra point can make a difference of life or death.

There are a few powerful spells with Metalcraft and their upgraded effects can really change the game but there are ways around it. Spells and triggered abilities with Metalcraft only occur if that player has three artifacts as they resolve. If you are facing someone that uses one of these abilities, try to melt away some of their artifacts. If you can get them down to two or less, you may have saved yourself and wasted some of your opponent’s cards!

If you are using an artifact deck with Metalcraft then you certainly don’t want this to happen to you. Once you’re at three artifacts it’s important to keep playing more, ensuring that Metalcraft triggers aren’t in jeopardy. This is important in decks with creatures like carapace forger that can become real threats around a lot of artifacts. Some good artifacts for this are those made of darksteel that are always indestructible. Other artifacts with Metalcraft are good additions to a deck, counting themselves when looking for artifacts. If you only have 2 artifacts on the field then a cool trick is to cast darksteel sentinel or another artifact with flash to activate Metalcraft and give a big boost to your creatures that will quickly give you the upper hand in many situations.

The Mirrans with Metalcraft, although it is their only ability in this set, are more than a match for any opponent. With the help of only 3 artifacts, many cheap creatures and spells become much more potent. But having just 3 artifacts will just leave your position vulnerable to the shatters and naturalizes of an opponent. Continue building a strong force of both artifacts and Metalcraft abilities to make a powerful united force that can stand up to anything!

December 21, 2010
Fighting Infection

So Scars of Mirrodin has been released for quite a while now and you’ve probably been trying out all the new cards. Like any new set Scars of Mirrodin introduces a few new abilities to the mix and this time some of them are quite nasty. Metalcraft gives yours cards bonuses for having other artifacts on the field and Proliferate adds more counters to things, but this week I’d like to talk about the most terrifying new ability in this set: Infect.

Infect is one of three new abilities to premiere in Scars of Mirrodin, but it may seem familiar to longtime players of Magic: The Gathering. A creature with infect deals damage to other creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters, much like Wither from Shadowmoor. I’ve always been a little wary when fighting against someone that can put these counters on my creatures. -1/-1 counters are permanent and once a creatures hits 0 toughness, there is no way to save them. A creature with 0 toughness is put right into the graveyard. Not even indestructible or regenerating creatures can stand up to the poisonous effects of -1/-1 counters. Infect is a threat to everyone’s biggest creatures and some may choose to just take the damage rather than weaken their biggest threats.

Taking damage from creatures with Infect is a whole new threat because the poisonous effects of these creatures can now be spread to you as a player. Poison counters were a relic of the ancient game of Magic: The Gathering last played over 10 years ago! They made a brief return in Future Sight’s time-shifted cards and their predictions are now coming to pass with Infect. While creatures with Infect deal damage to other creatures with -1/-1 counters, if they manage to deal damage to a player, they deal damage in the form of poison counters. A player with 10 poison counters loses the game, so be careful! It’s important to keep an eye on your poison counters because poison counters can never be removed.

So Infect seems like a pretty scary ability, how do you fight against it? Well the first thing to keep in mind is that Infect replaces normal damage with -1/-1 or poison counters. So if your opponent is playing with only a couple creatures with Infect then you can probably take some poison counters for a couple turns until you find an appropriate response to get rid of them. This also means that if your opponent’s deck is made up of tons of infect creatures, there probably isn’t a whole lot in their deck that can damage your life total.

But no matter how many creatures with Infect are in the deck, there will reach a point where you have to put your creatures up against them. The best way to get rid of Infect creatures, other than destroying them yourself, is to pit them against creatures with First Strike or Double Strike. These creatures can attack before their enemy gets a chance to get a swipe at them, allowing them to stay nice and healthy.

There are few ways to get around Infect without causing some damage to yourself, so what are some simple strategies to keep Infect creatures from poisoning you? You are going to lose creatures: you want as few creatures with Infect on their side of the board as possible and to do that you need to block, a lot. The early game can be crucial against a player with Infect because if you let their 1/1 keep at it from the third turn those poison counters are going to add up. Realize that Infect creatures will not be as big as regular creatures, and in the late game should have something big that can deal with two or more of their little guys at a time. My last tip can apply to any situation, but you want to try to have an answer for the occasional trick your opponent will pull. There are cards that can cause a card to gain Infect at instant speed or they may just beef up an Infect creature with something as simple as Giant Growth. Against Infect kill spells can be real handy because if they don’t have creatures, they don’t have anything that can Infect you!

With these tips in mind I hope you have a better understanding of Infect and how to deal with it. Again, don’t be afraid to block these creatures, yours are probably bigger anyway. They will eventually succumb to death by -1/-1 counters but only at great cost to your opponent. It is their noble sacrifice that will lead to victory against the Infected hordes of Phyrexia!

November 24, 2010
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!

April 5, 2010
Ten Reasons to be Excited about Zendikar Part 2

So lets continue the countdown with another power player that many people are happy about…

6. Harrow

This one card alone deserves its own recognition. Harrow has been around the block before but this is the first time that I can think of where it can be used not only as accel but as a trick too. The landfall mechanic only cares that you play lands, not where you played them from, which makes the dudes who get bigger with lands happy when you have Harrow mana open. Oh, did I forget to mention it’s an Instant, meaning you don’t have to cast it on your turn alone? That makes a huge difference when you consider how much land means in Zendikar. Not only that but the lands come in untapped so you could potentially chain more spells, maybe even another Harrow. The amount of acceleration this card provides is just nuts. Be sure to keep an eye out for this in standard, I’m sure it will make an impact.

7. The Explorers Cards

Let’s play Simon Says. Simon Says have some creatures die. Done? Here’s a big dude for you. That’s pretty much what happens when you play Quest for the Gravelord, one of the cards from the five color cycles of Explorer cards. Each Explorer Card, from the common Expeditions, the uncommon Quests and the rare Ascensions has a specific trigger to gain counters.

Some are easy to attain like playing lands, some are not so easy like not losing life. Once these cards are online however they delivery some serious power, except for maybe the blue Explorer cards, which are seriously lacking when compared to the other colors. The flavor that they each represent is also phenomenal, so let’s pack up the gear and get to exploring!

8. The Uber Spells

This cycle of cards is rightly called Uber because of the effects they attain when they reach the kickers they have. Each color’s Uber spell is just right for those colors. Conqueror’s Pledge is great white token making, and game breaking if kicked. Rite of Replication is essentially a Clone until kicked where it becomes 5, all at the low mana cost of 9. Sadistic Sacrament is just that, sadistic. Lobotomy Effects can hurt a strategy but if you hit kicker on this one you can rip every possible threat the opponent has left. Elemental Appeal is typical red, creating a Ball Lightning with an extra boost in power but gives it a HUGE leap if kicked. Gigantiform is probably the only one of the spells that doesn’t have to be kicked to be hurtful, turning a lowly dork into an 8/8 trampling nightmare, and if kicked allows you to share the love with another dork. All of the Ubers are good but each are brutal when you hit them late game.

9. The Mythics

Now when Mythics were introduced many people started nay saying them, making the argument that they would eventually print utility cards at mythic thus driving up prices for single cards. While I do think it’s still possible for them to do this, so far Wizards have kept their word. That’s not to say that the cards they have printed aren’t incredibly strong, some bordering on utility but they still require some kind of dedication to the card itself.

The legendary creatures are huge, from Iona who says NO to a specified color, Lorthos who can tap down so many things its nearly impossible to block him or Kalitas who as a vampire lord can kill other creatures and make you vampires to serve you. The baddest legend though is definitly Ob Nixilis, who not only sucks life from your opponents when a land comes into play but also gets bigger by doing it.

The three planeswalkers we’ve received this time around each embody its colors perfectly. Sorin is a vampire so he sucks away life and manipulates the mind so he can control you, just a black mage’s cup of tea. Chandra on a bad day will do everything she can to blow you away, just what any angry red mage would do. Nissa is about the Elves, so it’s only fitting that she benefits from them, gaining you life or searching down her brethren to serve your cause.

White got an interesting alternate win condition attached to a very nasty body with Felidar Sovereign. There’s also the flavorful Obsidian Fireheart, who makes lands themselves burn their controller. Eldrazi Monument is another mythic which just overflows with flavor and power, making your creatures into Supermen just by martyring another one each turn.

Lastly there’s green, with Rampaging Baloths and Lotus Cobra, who have landfalls triggers that are so amazing it’s possible for green to be the best color in standard. Cracking open one of these cards is not only a good thing for your collection but possibly even for your own deck.

10. Full Frame Lands

The last thing I want to talk about is the full frame basic land cards that every single booster pack and Fat Pack provide. Those familiar with the joke sets Unglued and Unhinged know how beautiful having no text box is, and these ones are no exception. The lands are stunning, from the floating geode bowls of an Island or the levitating trees of a Forest. I personally would draft the land before one of the set’s filler cards. If you get the chance to acquire these lands do so, it will be worth your time.

Well that’s it, my ten reasons to be excited about Zendikar. I’m sure each of you has your own reasons to purchase this wonderful set, whether it’s to get those powerhouse cards or just to admire the sheer loveliness of the art. One thing is for sure; Zendikar is here, so buckle up, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

October 9, 2009
Ten Reasons to Be Excited About Zendikar (Part 1)
By Alex McLaughlin

So we are fresh into a new set, one filled with so much it’s really hard to process this much awesome. I personally think this set is on the power level of the Urza Saga, which if any of you who are reading this are familiar with the set know how much it impacted the game. So let’s start off with the most obvious thing we are all chirping about…

1. Enemy-colored Fetchlands

At long last we have the other half of that oh-so-loved cycle from Onslaught. Both seasoned veterans and new players alike can appreciate the importance of a good land base, and these lands provide not only the land you need but act as what I call “hollow” cards, which means essentially that you are running a smaller deck because it automatically replaces itself with a land from your deck.

This also makes it so you don’t have to run as many copies of different land cards to cover a multicolored deck, making turn one plays of mono-color cards easier. If only to get these lands you should get Zendikar, especially since they are twice as common as the original fetches with the new Mythic card rarity.

2. Vampires

Oh the Twilight jokes that were said at the release events about the “vampire” players. Joking aside however Vampires in Zendikar do so much more than many of the vamps we’ve seen in the past, and across all the rarities. In the commons we got Vampire Lacerator and Guul Draz Vampire, two extremely potent cards for the low mana cost of a single black mana.

At uncommon we have 4 heavy hitters, three of which are dudes and the last is the most awesome “tribal” removal I’ve ever seen.Vampire Nighthawk and Gatekeeper of Malakir do what black wants to do, force someone to make a bad decision. Vampire Hexmage is the best answer I’ve seen yet to deal with planeswalkers as well as being a first striker. Lastly, Feast of Blood is great removal for the Vampire tribe since it not only nukes any creature but also gains you life. There will rarely be a time in a dedicated Vampire deck where you could not cast it. The all-star of the Vampires however has to be Malakir Bloodwitch, which is immune to a lot of removal because:
- It’s black so most of its own removal can’t hit it
- It’s pro-white so no Path or Oblivion Ring, and
- It has four toughness, so burn is usually a 2 for 1 situation in your favor.
All that, combined with 4 power, a triggered effect that brings the end game that much closer and all at the easily attained cost of 3bb is everything this tribe needs to be top dog.

3. Traps

When the Trap card type was first revealed many players tried to say that this was Wizards trying to be more like a certain anime-inspired card game. I disagreed from the beginning and have been proven right. Traps in this set function no differently than any other spell you could cast, but with some very potent results if the trap’s “snare” cost is reached.

Three really come to mind when I think about the strength of Traps: Mindbreak Trap, Summoner’s Trap and Needlebite Trap. Mindbreak Trap is THE solution to storm and cascade. Even decks that can’t run blue could effectively run this in the board just to deal with those decks. Not only that but it can deal with uncounterable things like Great Sable Stag and Volcanic Fallout. Summoner’s Trap is green’s revenge for all the years that blue has been keeping it down, both digging and putting a dude into play at a reasonable cost to begin with but with an alternate cost that makes the blue mage think twice about countering.

Needlebite Trap just oozes with flavor and with power. An instant speed ten point swing for a converted cost of 7 is ok, but if your opponent gains even 1 life then you can punish them severely for practically no drawback. With the amount of lifelink that is running around I wouldn’t be surprised to see this card in the sideboard or main deck of any black mage’s arsenal.

4. Kicker

The return of this mechanic is a godsend in the current meta, where it’s either the aggro deck wins right away or the control deck wins after a long while. By giving a deck the flexibility of having one card hitting two spots on the mana curve you give yourself more options thus it allows the control player to have some aggression while allowing the aggro player a chance to combat back with a powerful play. So lace up those cleats, let’s get to kickin’!

5. Landfall

Probably one of the best mechanics I have had a chance to experience. Landfall rewards you for doing what practically every deck has to do; play lands. It’s that simple. Play lands, make profit. There are creatures that benefit from it, enchantments that help you for doing it and even equipment that makes dudes bigger just play dropping a land into play. Combined with the fetches and the next reason in the list Landfall will definitely rock the formats old and new.

Come back next time for Part 2!
October 7, 2009