Friday, August 06, 2004

Deck Concept: Trinity

The Trinity is a deck idea as old as Magic itself. It combines three powerful concepts, land destruction, land searching, and big creatures. While your opponent is in the stone-age mana-wise, you're laying down some monsterously big creatures. This was the first deck I made once I had enough cards to build a real deck(a friend of mine gave me thousands) before I'd ever heard of the term "Trinity" or even realized that there were standard types of decks(except creature theme decks). Obviously red is included in this deck type. From there you can leave it solid red and go straight land destruction, or add black(which also has some powerful land destruction cards) for general destruction. To make the trinity you need to add green, but splashing black is not a bad idea(Especially if you have a Demonic Hordes lying around). I originally included black solely to include my Vaevictus Asmadi but later I included his descendent, Darigaaz, the Igniter, which is a perfect fit. This deck is so flexible, it'd be impossible to list every card that could be included, so I'll just list some of my favorites. Frenzied Tilling obviously works in the deck, although I find Plague Spores a bit pricey(you want to be playing creatures in the late game). Gurzigost also works very well(your graveyard fills with sorceries). Harrow is great in this deck, as is Orcish Lumberjack and Tinderwall for the early game. Don't forget to deal with all of your opponents creatures with a well-timed Pyroclasm. Often times, when you have so many more lands than your oponent in the late game, a good Fireball will finish him off, or, if you prefer, a Natural Affinity. The possibilities are endless, and the gameplay is very fun even if it doesn't win as well as some less exciting decks.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Card of the Day

The card of the day is Teferi's Puzzle Box. The Box makes each player put his hand on the bottom of his library and draw that many cards during his upkeep. The first thing you think to do when you see this card is think "that's kinda crazy" and then immediately toss it to the side for cards that actually DO something. I mean, seriously, it doesn't help with card advantage, and it works for both players, what's it good for besides a Shrapnel Blast? Well, here's some possibilities. This blue-tasting card meshes surprisingly well with chaotic decks. It hurts counterspell decks by making it impossible to hang on to a card. Any deck where you often think to yourself, "If I only had the right card..." is yearning for a Box. Also, any time you have more cards in your hand than an oponent, a Box will help. The one or two enchanment or creature removal cards in a deck that never seem to come out will come out with a box. Simple, tightly constructed decks basically ignore this card, so most opponents won't be able to take advantage of The Box. It also helps with decks that build from little to big(hang on to your little stuff to trade it for the big in the late game) and combo decks(when you get one piece, wait for the rest to come out in The Box). This card favors the cool, complicated decks and the ones that need luck to work, which makes for interesting play and favors creative decks that would otherwise fail. (One idea is to play as if a Box is out, like a Vanguard card). At first it seems just an oddity, but I reccomend you try it out if oyu ever get your hands on one; it's a truly cool card.