Planechase Spoiler 1

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We are taking a brief respite from our review of the Magic 2010 core set to have a quick look at Planechase news.

More to add to the Planechase spoiler. We know that there will be four 60-card decks and 40 new plane cards expected out in September, 2009. Here are images of the four new decks with some of the planescards now spoiled.

Planechase Decks

(showing only four of the 10 planescards to be included)

Elemental Thunder
Velis Vel (Lorwyn / Shadowmoor), Murasa, Isle of Vesuva (Dominaria), Feeding Grounds

Metallic Dreams

Sanctum of Serra (Serra's Realm), The Maelstrom (Alara), The Hippodrome, Panopticon (Mirrodin)


Strike Force
Glimmervoid Basin (Mirrodin), Academy at Tolaria West (Dominaria), Izzet Stream Maze (Ravinica), Stronghold Furnace (Dominaria)

Zoombie Empire
Pools of Becomming, Raven's Run (Lorwyn / Shadowmoor), The Fourth Spere (Phyrexia), Grixis (Alara)

Some skinny on the corporate -
MSRP of $19.99 : Quantities are limited.

Organized Play
* Launch Parties (with exclusive plane card for participation)
* Wizards Play Network “Featured Format”
* Exclusive plane card to be given out at Zendikar™ Prereleases
* Organized play events scheduled for 2009 will support attendance with exclusive plane cards.

KEY SELLING POINTS
* Planechase is a fun new multiplayer format for Magic: The Gathering. Plane cards represent different worlds in the Magic Multiverse. As the game moves from plane to plane, it has a fun and exciting impact on game play.
* Players can use plane cards with their own magic decks or the powerful 60-card decks that come with each game pack.
* The Planechase set has four different game packs available, each one with 10 unique plane cards and a 60-card preconstructed Magic deck.
* Each 60-card deck that comes with the Planechase game pack is composed of popular cards from throughout magic’s history and is tuned for multiplayer play. Each deck contains a 8 rare cards – the same total number that appear in Duel Deck releases.
* Each of the four 60-card decks also contains a different preview card from the October 2009 Magic set, ZendikarTM.

Stay tuned - See you around !

What I'm Playing 3

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You may recall this POST back in October when I gave you a look at the unimaginatively-named 'GhastLord' deck. AS I had indicated in the post at that time - these casual decks are always evolving. To this end, we have another update to provide on this deck.

During the Shards of Alara spoiler season, I had become rather interested in the big FUN factor promised with Quietus Spike . . .

Quietus Spike, Artifact - Equipment
ALA Rare / Cost : 3 Mana
Equipped creature has deathtouch.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses half his or her life, rounded up.
Equip 3 Mana



I contemplated just how nasty this card could get if equipped to an unblockable creature. After installing this evil component into the GhastLord deck which runs several unblockable creatures, I felt satisfied that it may provide a good showing at FNM. Well, I was just a bit off base, the new inclusions provided a GREAT showing at FNM with four straight match wins to bring us to top 8 at which point in time I got my butt kicked - - I give my evening with Quietus an 'A+' based on the fun-factor.

Lands
10 x Swamp
10 x Island

Creatures (in order of casting cost)
4 x Oona's Gatewarden
4 x Tidehollow Strix
4 x Inkfathom Infiltrator
3 x Sygg, River Cutthroat
4 x Wasp Lancer
2 x Oona, Queen fo the Fae
3 x Ghastlord of the Fugue

Other Spells
4 x Spell Syphon
4 x Helm of the Ghastlord
4 x Quietus Spike

Sideboard
Again - I am embarrassed to mention as it is currently a mess. I will admit that there is some damage control with Silvergill Douser.

I will be posting another 'What I'm Playing' soon - this time my take on a 'Bant Crasher' deck.

MTG Budget Deck

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Building a Budget Deck - First off . . . Some general rules of thumb.

Rule # 1 : A chase-rare bomb and the most expensive card or deck does not guarantee a match win.

Rule # 2 : Use uncommons and commons as the foundation to your deck and add the rares only as accessories.

Rule # 3 : Think 'outside the box' by developing new or underused synergies and combinations.

The main reason why I develop budget decks is rather obvious . . . I have not yet won the lottery. Priorities are to provide the basic essentials for my three kids. After scrapping together a budget deck soon after a set's release, I continue to evolve it by replacing the less-expensive 'downgraded' cards with the more-expensive rares. I then begin to substitute cards and slowly over the months upgrade my deck.

The second reason I really do not mind playing a budget deck is the fun factor. By using wit, thiftiness, and brilliance (which do not come often enough to me), I am able to 'MacGyver' a deck through to a win much to the noticeable chagrin of my opponent who has a deck sets of rare awesomeness which fizzled.

Pulling a desired rare out of a booster pack is something akin to winning a scratch lottery ticket or perhaps (if you are Canadian), like winning a gas-guzzling SUV on a Tim Horton's roll-up the rim to win.

Here is a bit of a break down on the chances of getting that rare you wanted if you did not want to pay for a single or trade with a fellow player . . .

Booster Pack - $ 5 : This nets you one Rare, three Uncommons, ten Commons, and 1 Basic Land. There is a solid chance of getting a foil card in this mix which may be any card from the set.
Sealed Tournament deck - $ 15 : This will typically give you three Rares, ten Uncommons, thirty-two Commons, 30 basic lands
This means that three Booster Packs are roughly equivalent to one Tournament Pack
Remember that Mythic Rares replace approximately 1 in every 8 Rares.

My EPIC WIN . . .
I was playing at an FNM a few weeks ago, got a booster pack which I promptly opened. I like going through the commons first, and then the uncommons. Just like desert after a dinner, I look at the rare (which was decent) and then saw the foil . . . A foil Elspeth, Knight-Errant ! ! The non-foil versions are going for about $ 28 and the foil ones (if you can find any) for almost $ 60. This indeed was winning the MTG lottery.

Here is a bit of a break-down of the more expensive Shards of Alara cards. Remember that, just like any commodity, the prices of these cards are subject to supply and demand and will change and these are approximate prices only.

Sarkhan Vol - $ 30
Elspeth, Knight-Errant - $ 28 (I actually have two of these!)
Tezzeret the Seeker - $ 25
Rafiq of the Many - $ 13
Hellkite Overlord $ 10
Ajani Vengeant - $ 10
Empyrial Archangel - $ 8 (I have one)
Master of Etherium - $ 8
Sharuum the Hegemon - $8
Stoic Angel - $ 8 (I have one)

Hey - On a side note, if you are a store owner / supplier, I am quite willing to plug your business for any of these cards - -> drop me a line at CopySix (at) gmail dot com.

While we are yattering about prices, here is some interesting facts about the values of sets (from Lorwyn foreward) as pegged by StarCity Games. (Prices in USD)
Set Value:
Lorwyn - $ 174.99
Morningtide - $ 134.99
Shadowmoor - $ 184.99
Eventide - $ 139.99
Shards of Alara - $ 224.99


Further on to this discussion of comparison, here is a quick run-down of the number of rares worth more than $ 5 from each set.
Lorwyn - 16 / 80
Morningtide - 5 / 50
Shadowmoor - 15 / 80
Eventide - 13 / 60
Shards of Alara - 15 / 68 (this includes 11 mythic rares)

Naya Behemoths

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For the next few posts, I will give you the skinny on each Shards of Alara 41-card Intro Packs (previously theme decks). These packs come with a foil card, a learn-to-play insert, a strategy insert, and an additional booster pack (w00t!). These are a great way to get into the game. As these decks are all similarly built (mana cost and strength), several players I know enjoy picking these up for casual play . . . so get thee hence to a gaming store !

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Naya Behemoths

The plane of Naya is a paradise of lush growth where elvish and leonin celebrants worship the gargantuan beasts that roam the world. These ancient behemoths are yours to command, an army massive enough to blot out the sun and shake the earth. Other planeswalkers will tremble in your wake.

Main Deck

41 cards

7 Forest
2 Jungle Shrine
Land Uncommon
Jungle Shrine comes into play tapped.
{T}: Add {R}, {G}, or {W} mana to your mana pool.
3 Mountain 2 Naya Panorama
Land Common
{T}: Add 1 to your mana pool.
1, {T}, Sacrifice Naya Panorama: Search your library for a basic Mountain, Forest, or Plains card and put it into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
3 Plains

17 lands

1 Bull Cerodon
4{R}{RW}, Creature - Beast, Uncommon
Vigilance, haste, 5/5
1 Cavern Thoctar
2 Cylian Elf
2 Druid of the Anima
1{G}, Creature - Elf Druid, Common
{T}: Add {R}, {G}, or {W} to your mana pool. 1/2
1 Mosstodon
1 Naya Battlemage
2{G}, Creature - Human Shaman, Uncommon
{R}, {T}: Target creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
{W}, {T}: Tap target creature. 2/2
2 Rakeclaw Gargantuan
2{R}{G}{W}, Creature - Beast, Common
1: Target creature with power 5 or greater gains first strike until end of turn. 5/3
1 Spearbreaker Behemoth
5{G}{G}, Creature - Beast Rare
Spearbreaker Behemoth is indestructible.
1: Target creature with power 5 or greater is indestructible this turn. 5/5
2 Wild Nacatl
{G}, Creature - Cat Warrior, Common
Wild Nacatl gets +1/+1 as long as you control a Plains.
Wild Nacatl gets +1/+1 as long as you control a Mountain. 1/1
2 Woolly Thoctar
{R}{G}{W}, Creature - Beast, Uncommon
5/4

15 creatures

1 Blaze
2 Giant Growth
2 Gift of the Gargantuan
1 Naturalize
1{G}, Instant, Common
Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
2 Rampant Growth
1 Titanic Ultimatum
{R}{R}{G}{G}{G}{W}{W}, Sorcery, Rare
Until end of turn, creatures you control get +5/+5 and gain first strike, lifelink, and trample.

9 other spells

Stay tuned for more intro packs and yummy spoilers.

Deck Types

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As there are 451 magic cards in the Lorwyn block, one would be able to play a multitude of different types of decks constructed around mana colour, card combinations, creature race, or class. Most Magic players enjoy constructing a deck just as much as playing the deck itself.

Whatever you may have strategically incorporated into your magic deck, it may be classified as one of three basic deck types and futhermore into several different subtypes. The three basic types are as follows;

Control Deck - This type of deck contains cards intended to control or interupt your opponents play by a variety of methods such as creature removal or counterspells. The strategy with this sort of deck is restrict your opponent from ever gaining an upper hand and then to produce one or more cards or card combinations to win the game.

Aggro Deck - The name for this deck type is a diminutive for 'aggresive'. As the name suggests, the cards within this deck has been included to deliver the most amount of damage possible. An Aggro deck would typically contain a large amount of creatures which can overwhelm blockers early in the game and begin dealing damage directly to the opponent before they would be able to mount a resistance.

Combo Deck - As you may have guessed, this type of deck uses a combination of cards chosen to deal a large amount of damage to an opponents, often in just a limited number of turns. To be able to bring out the strategic combination of cards quicker, the player often includes cards which allow them to search their library for them. The Lorwyn block provides eight such cards called 'Harbingers'.

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As a singular blog post is insufficient to even attempt to provide exiguous examples of Lorwyn block constructed deck types, I will resign myself to suggesting cards which may lend itself well to these decks.

Control Example: Some colours naturally lend themselves naturally to certain deck types. Blue has traditionally seen itself being considered for inclusion in control-type decks. There are several white and blue Merfolk cards which may be candidates for inclusion in a control deck. One strategy is to 'mill' (from the older Magic card 'Millstone') until all their cards are removed thus winning the game. Some cards to consider here are Drowner of Secrets, Ink Dissolver, Grimoire Thief, and / or Jace Beleren.

















Aggro Example: If you are looking to overwhelm an opponent, there are many cards available which crank out a multitude of tokens which will take care of business. Cards such as Lys Alana Huntmaster, or Elvish Promenade may be considered for this task.









Alternatively, a player may decide to deliver massive hits and include cards with 'trample' which are able to deal damage to their opponent even when blocked. Some examples may include Nova Chaser or Boldwyr Heavyweights.









Combo Example: Some players build a deck around one or two very effective card combinations. Given the size of the Lorwyn Block one can imagine the great number of combinations available. These range from from fairly simple and effective combinations such as coupling Kinsbaile Borderguard and Graceful Reprieve to more complex ones requiring two or more. Another example of a simple and effective combo is Militia's Pride and Dolmen Gate.

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Remember, the deck you decide to build is bounded only by your imagination.