The Casual Planeswalker

Tag: Grave Titan

  • Casual Friday–The Surge of the Immersturm

    Casual Friday–The Surge of the Immersturm

    Warstorm SurgeThe Planechase format brought about a new way to experience the many places of the Magic Multiverse. We had a look at planes both new and old, from Murasa
    Murasa
     in Zendikar to Cliffside Market
    Cliffside Market
    from the plane in which the set Mercadian Masques originates. The planechase set also gave us a look at planes that have not been used or even seen in any cards before, with the Immersturm of Valla being one such card. Now with M12’s Warstorm Surge, we can harness the power of the Immersturm for ourselves.

    While the plane is very new, the ability of dealing damage when creatures enter the battlefield is not. Pandemonium
    Pandemonium
    is a cheaper alternative that allows creatures to deal damage equal to their power when they enter the battlefield as well. However this card is more like the Immersturm plane than Warstorm Surge, allowing even opponent’s creatures to deal damage. Where Ancients Tread
    Where Ancients Tread
    allows you to deal 5 damage whenever you play a creature with power 5 or greater, appropriate to the theme of Naya. Yet this card isn’t able to truly make use of the power of creatures like Warstorm Surge, which can deal even more damage if you can get creatures that are big enough for it. Immersturm

    The biggest drawback of Warstorm Surge over these other cards is that it costs 6 mana to play. In red that’s a lot of time that could be spent burning your opponent to death, but this is definitely a casual card to build a deck around. A Pyretic Ritual
    Pyretic Ritual
    or two can help get you the enchantment out a little earlier. Otherwise the deck can be filled with creatures. Burn spells aren’t really needed since Warstorm Surge turns every creature into a burn spell. There are plenty of red creatures with tons of power that can utilize the Immersturm well. Even if they have low toughness they can now get through to deal damage. Lightning Elemental
    Lightning Elemental
    can scorch your opponent or perhaps that one creature that is blocking for them. Even a wall can be a deadly opponent in the Immersturm, particularly one made of torches. The coolest card for this from M12 is definitely Furyborn Hellkite. If you dealt damage to your opponent then that means you can get 12 more damage on him from one creature entering the battlefield! So late in the game that should spell the end for your opponent. Furyborn Hellkite

    Warstorm Surge can also be very useful with help from its ally colors, black and green. Green is a clear winner for having the most big creatures to fling damage at your opponent. Garruk’s Horde
    Garruk’s Horde
    is 7 damage right there and it can help you draw into even more creatures for more damage. Doubling Chant
    Doubling Chant
    can get you more damage from some creatures that may have already been on the battlefield prior to the Warstorm Surge being played. In black there are some trickier ways to get damage through with Warstorm Surge. Reassembling Skeleton
    Reassembling Skeleton
    can be a constant source of 1 damage if you’re willing to pay the two mana to bring it back every time. Grave Titan
    Grave Titan
    , a 6/6 himself, also comes with two 2/2s that allow you to distribute damage a little bit. Sutured Ghoul
    Sutured Ghoul
    also has a lot of potential late in the game. You can exile the rest of your graveyard to make him as big as you want, perhaps even beyond 20 to win the game with one attack!

    Warstorm Surge is a great card with an effect that we don’t see on a whole lot of cards. For a little more mana than Pandemonium, it keeps the damage-causing effect to your creatures only. What kind of creatures do you think would fit well with Warstorm Surge? I know I’m itching to make use of Norin the Wary
    Norin the Wary
    with this card!

  • Gather Your Allies and D12

    Gather Your Allies and D12

    Last week saw the release of the latest Duels of the Planeswalkers video game. Just like last year’s game, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, or D12, challenges your Magic skills against the planeswalkers of the multiverse. D12 gives you both regular 1-on-1 games against opponents as well as challenges that force you to try to win the game in one turn given a specific situation just like the last game. The newest addition to this game is a great one for us casual Magic players. D12 adds Archenemy to the mix, allowing you to play 3-on-1 games against the AI or with two human allies. This latest game also comes with a number of new decks to use as well as new improvements to make for a pretty cool game.D12

    The most important part of any game of Magic is the deck, and this time around they are a lot more exciting. I played through most of the game with Gideon’s white deck, which focuses on equipment. Many of the decks include cards from Commander, or even M12, giving you the first chance to use cards such as Gideon’s Avenger
    Gideon’s Avenger
    and Lord of the Unreal
    Lord of the Unreal
    . Through the playing of these decks, it is also possible to unlock new cards for the deck and many of them are now very useful. These all feel like more competitive decks now with good synergy, rare cards, and mythic rare cards such as the Sword of War and Peace
    Sword of War and Peace
    . If these decks are ever printed as pre-cons like the last Duels of the Planeswalkers they are sure to be very fun decks to play.

    The new D12 is improved greatly in allowing greater customization of the decks you build, even though they are still limited to preconstructed decks. Each deck comes with 16 new cards that you unlock by using those decks in the D12 campaign. Unlike the first game, however, you are able to take cards out of the deck rather than just add in the bonus cards. Most Magic players would agree that it is best to have a deck only have around 60 cards in order to allow it to consistently play at its best and now this is possible in D12. Like any pre-con there are a couple cards that aren’t quite the best fit and now you don’t have to suffer through playing them against your opponents. Kiora Atua

    Opponents in D12 include all the newest planeswalkers such as Gideon and Jace all the way up to the baddest dudes including Karn and Nicol Bolas. They have also introduced a new planeswalker, Kiora Atua. She has a U/G deck that puts a focus on creatures which is new for a blue planeswalker. If she makes it to a card then I would expect some awesome merfolk or leviathan decks. All the planeswalkers, except for Nicol Bolas, are a part of the normal campaign made up of 1-on-1 games. You also face these planeswalkers in the Archenemy campaign with Nicol Bolas as the final opponent. The first few games of both campaigns shouldn’t be too difficult because they basically have preconstructed decks, but there are extra challenges for those that find them a little too easy.

    A third campaign, called revenge, has you facing off against the planeswalkers again in rematches with their stronger cards unlocked. This campaign is the real test of your Magic skills and can be a bit tougher even if you are able to utilize your bonus cards. For those looking to further test their skills there are also the one-turn-win challenges. These challenges also serve as tutorials for newer Magic players testing your knowledge of trickier abilities such as trample, flying and reach, and first strike with deathtouch. For Magic veterans the more difficult challenges should still put your skills to the test. One even starts on your opponents turn with one of your creatures about to kill you once your turn starts!

    Frost TitanInferno TitanGrave Titan

    D12 has a lot to offer and whether you like a casual game with friends in 1-on-1, Two-headed Giant, or Archenemy you’re sure to enjoy this game. If you prefer to test your Magic skills there are games against increasingly more powerful AI opponents as well as challenges against decks that use new cards that have only recently been revealed and some that haven’t even been released yet!

    For those that also play the physical card game regularly there are special promo cards for purchasing the game as well! For $10 you can buy D12 online and receive a coupon for a Frost Titan if you bought it on Steam, an Inferno Titan if you buy it on Playstation 3, and a Grave Titan if you bought it on Xbox Live! All these promo cards are foil and look awesome so if you’re looking to get one of these titans you might as well get a cool promo card and a new game to try out other new cards and decks!