The Casual Planeswalker

Tag: infect

The Changing Plane

Over the course of the set a lot of things have changed in Mirrodin. The Phyrexians, hidden within the core of the plane, have invaded and transformed it into New Phyrexia. The plane of Mirrodin has been corrupted and many of its inhabitants can be seen in these forms in the new sets. New Phyrexia in particular is pretty cool with the number of cards that go back to classic Mirrodin and Phyrexian cards. Here are a few of the cards that have their roots in previous Magic sets.

Compleated Elves

The Elves were the first to fall to the invasion and green has become one of the main colors of the Phyrexians. Many of the elves that have been compleated are reminiscent of the elves as seen in the previous set of Mirrodin. These elves were particularly good against artifacts and they retain that trait in their new forms. For some of these creatures the addition of Infect is the only major change.

Classic Phyrexian Designs

The Phyrexians that took over Mirrodin are not the same that served under Yawgmoth, but there are some designs still within their memory. The Phyrexian Hulk
Phyrexian Hulk is the most obvious example in this set, being a reprint. Mortis Dogs and Hollow Dogs are different cards but it is easy to see the inspiration. Cards like these show that there is some identity to Phyrexia even though it corrupts every other creature with its oil.

Perfected Phyrexians

There are some Phyrexian creatures that have returned to the new plane with some changes. The Priest of Urabrask
Priest of Urabrask is a red Priest of Gix
Priest of Gix. The priest in red will certainly be a welcome addition as a “free” creature that can keep a red deck burning. However the coolest creature that has been improved is sure to be the Phyrexian Obliterator. This new Phyrexian Negator has definitely reached perfection. No longer do you have to weigh risks when playing the Phyrexian Negator, for only 1 extra black mana you can have your opponents sacrificing permanents instead!

Corrupted Mirran Artifacts

The Phyrexian have lent their touch of perfection both to their own designs as well as classic Mirran artifacts. Golems have received a huge boost in power thanks to the splicers that are in white, green, and blue. These creatures come into play with some 3/3 golems and also power up all golems you control. These Phyrexians can further improve even one of their grandest artifacts: Blightsteel Colossus
Blightsteel Colossus. For specific cards that have been compleated in New Phyrexia, you can look toward the Etched Monstrosity. This guy has been beefed up from the uncommon Etched Oracle from Mirrodin into a card at the mythic rare level. What was once a little 4/4 at max that would probably die to draw 3 cards is now a 5/5 that can become a 10/10 if you use it to draw those 3 cards. The Phyrexians have added some awesome new twists to these antiquated Mirran artifacts.

Iconic Lands now Tainted

Remember the artifact lands from Mirrodin? Well now they’re back, but maybe not as you would have hoped. Now they’re back as basic lands corrupted by the Phyrexians. We have received new basic lands from each set in this block, showing us just how much the terrain has changed and the return to these unique lands show that even the great centers of power for the Mirrans have been lost to the Phyrexians. This corruption leads all the way to the very core of the plane. Mirrodin’s Core
Mirrodin’s Core was once a land that allowed you to charge up colored mana but the new Phyrexia’s Core instead eats artifacts for a bit of life. While it is a bit of an odd twist in its mechanics, the name Phyrexia’s Core
Phyrexia’s Core establishes that the plane has been forever changed.

These are some of the cards I found that go back into Magic’s past and bring back what we associated with the planes of both Mirrodin and Phyrexia. There are reimagined forms of these classic cards as well as some cool combinations of what both planes do best resulting from the invasion of Mirrodin. Try to look through your old collection of Mirran or Phyrexian cards and see if you can spot any links between then and now.

May 20, 2011
We’re Baaaaaaaaack – Episode 7

We’re bringing the casual Magic hotness once again, in the form of The Casual Planeswalker Podcast!

Episode 7 kicks off with talking more about entering the plane of Mirrodin; namely, Mirrodin Besieged. We talk about our favorite fatty from the set (Blightsteel Colossus), a very intriguing new card (Knowledge Pool).

We also have a HUGE announcement regarding the Grand Prix in Denver and lots more, so kick back and enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

February 18, 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
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