WPN events Aug-Sept

WPN August Events
    Magic: The Gathering
    Commander: Pick your favorite stack of 100, or 5 of them, and bring them all to throw-down in multiplayer commander format.
    Tuesdays: 2,9,16,23,30; 5:30-9:00pm

    Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Casual atmosphere geared towards 60 card constructed decks and newer players.
    Wednesdays: 3,10,17,24; 5:30-9pm

    Friday Night Magic: Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. 2 packs into prize pool per player. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
    Fridays: 5,12. 5:30-9:00pm

    Friday Night Magic (modern): Try your hand at this exciting non-rotating format that allows any card printed after 8th edition or Mirrodin block for use, excluding cards on the Modern banned list. Come enjoy this wonderfully diverse format. $20 entry. Flexable prize. Singles or Eternal Masters packs may be available to some finishers.
     Friday: 26th 5:30-9:00pm

    Magic GAME DAY!: Experience the power of play. NDC Butler to host a Magic Game day. This event is open to all players. Entry $10.00. Standard constructed. First place gets a championship mat. Exclusive promos to be handed out to all participants and additional promos to be handed out to the top 8 finishers.
    Saturday: 13th 11:00am registration opens. 12:00-noon start time.

    Friday 19th – From the Vault: Lore Release
    Friday 26th – Conspiracy, take the crown Release

WPN September Events
    Magic: The Gathering
    Commander: Pick your favorite stack of 100, or 5 of them, and bring them all to throw-down in multiplayer commander format.
    Tuesdays: 6,13,20,27; 5:30-9pm

    Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Casual atmosphere geared towards 60 card constructed decks and newer players.
    Wednesdays: 7,14,21,28; 5:30-9pm

    Friday Night Magic: Standard constructed event. $7.00 entry. 2 packs prize pool per player. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
    Fridays: 2,16th. 5:30-9pm

    Friday Night Magic - Draft. $16. 2 packs prize pool per player. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
    Friday 9th. 5:30-9pm.

    Friday Night Magic - Modern. $10. Try your hand at this exciting non-rotating format that allows any card printed after 8th edition or Mirrodin block for use, excluding cards on the Modern banned list. Flexable prize. Singles or Eternal Masters packs may be available to some finishers.
    Friday 23rd. 5:30-9pm.

    Kaladesh Prerelease: Come experience the newest set of Magic with this sanctioned sealed deck pre-release. Our first exposure to the plane of Kaladesh. Once again NDC is proud to host an officially sanctioned pre-release event. Please note the times and prices below.
    Saturday, 24, 11:00 registration; 12:00 start. $30 sealed deck.
    Saturday, 24, 4:15 registration; 5:15 start. $30 sealed deck.
    Sunday, 25, 11:30 registraiton; 12:15 start. $30 2-headed giant sealed deck.

    Kaldesh Launch Draft - Our allways special and allways popular 4 pack draft format for an official launch. $20 entry.
    Friday, 30th; 11 reg; 12noon start.

    Modern Constructed: As a special offer we are running a $20 modern event. This is a launch event for Kaladesh. A sealed booster display goes to first place with 12 or more players.
    Saturday October 1st: 12:15 start.

To Defeat a God

To Defeat a God

I play a land, and brace myself. Xenagos flips 2 Ecstatic Pipers. A 2/2 that reads "when this enters the battlefield, Xenagos Ascended attacks this turn if able. Hero's reward - When this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 2 life."

Xenagos Ascended represents the only way I can win here. A 6/5 that reads "This can't leave the battlefield as long as a reveler is on the battlefield." and "When this leaves the battlefield, each player wins the game." Taunting me with a solution to the problem, but putting it behind the iron barrier of a strange ability that makes it better than indestructible.

I have however nothing except a tapped scryland, so I eat 6 and go to 14. On my following turn I draw a card, play another land, and manage a sylvan caryatid.

Xenagos flips a Rollicking Throng - 1/3 When it enters reveal the top card of Xenagos's library and Xenagos casts that card. It turns over another Rollicking Throng. The next card is Xenagos's Strike, a sorcery that burns each player for 4. I'm at 10, and Xenagos still has one more card this turn. It's a Maddened Oread. 4/2 - As long as 5 or more revelers are on the battlefield, it attacks each turn if able. Hero's reward - when it leaves the battlefield, each player gains 3 life.

At this point, there are 7 Revelers on the battlefield, 4 Rollicking Throngs, 2 Ecstatic Pipers, and the Oread. Fortunately for me the Oread is the only thing that would attack - but it's not going to because of summoning sickness. Still I'm at 10 life and starting my third turn. Overall, things are not looking good.

The "Defeat a God" challenge deck is the third and possibly final challenge deck issued by Wizards of the Coast. It asks us to defeat the mad planeswalker turned god Xenagos to restore some semblance of balance to the world of Theros.

Like the other challenge decks that came before it "Defeat a God" is a unique deck, with non-standard backs. It represents a special scenario for solo play. The primary puzzle of this scenario is to destroy or remove Xenagos Ascended, a 6/5 that remains in play as long as he is accompanied by revelers - a special creature type assigned to about half the cards in this deck.

The challenge deck itself is capable of some pretty brutal plays. The example I illustrated above is not uncommon and I can say from personal experience is very rough to deal with. I feel like the decks that will do best in this challenge are midrange decks that can trade creature-for-creature early.

Control decks have a decent chance of dying before they can wipe the board. Applying that release valve may not even help that much. If Xenagos casts a Rollicking Throng or Ecstatic Piper, you may find yourself back behind the 8-ball.

Aggressive decks should be able to handle all the smaller revelers in the deck. The problem being that Xenagos Ascended is himself a 6/5, and that can be a big body to deal with in a traditional aggro-burn deck.

So far in my play testing this has proved the most difficult challenge deck. Don't forget that on Journey into Nyx Game Day (5/24/14) you can attempt to defeat a god yourself at your local magic store. Check out the event locator (link) to find a location near you. If you do manage to take down a god, there will be a cool promo hero card waiting for you.

Magic the Gathering - The Hydra (pt2)

=== New Hydra Rules

    Before we dig into interesting rules we could add, I want to take a moment and look very closely at the Hydra's turn. What the Hydra does in it's turn ties very closely to the alternate rules that it uses.

    On a basic level the challenge deck does only 2 things during its turn. (1) cast a card, and (2) deal damage based on the number of Head cards on the battlefield.

    The first item involves revealing a card from the library and provides the same basic function as drawing a card in normal magic.

    The second involves dealing damage to each opponent, and serves the same basic function as attacking with creatures in normal magic. In the challenge deck's case, this damage occurs outside of combat near the end of the turn however - and the following turn sequence reflects that:

Beginning Phase
    Untap: The Hydra untaps any tapped permanents.
    Upkeep: The Hydra has no Upkeep.
    Draw: Reveal the top card of the Hydra's library. The Hydra casts that card without paying its mana cost.
Main Phase: The Hydra has a main phase, but performs no actions in it.
Combat Phase: The Hydra has no Combat Phase.
Main Phase 2: The Hydra has no second main phase.
End Phase
    The Hydra deals 1 damage to you for each untapped card named hydra head it controls, and 2 damage to you for each untapped elite head it controls.   
    Any "At the beginning of the Hydra's End step" triggers are put onto the stack, and are resolved.

    You may be wondering why I gave the Challenge deck a Main phase if it performs no actions in it.

    Without this main phase, the Hydra only has turn based actions and triggers to resolve - as a result the allied team only has limited chances to play instants on the Hydra's turn. Namely, during it's main phase (which we added), or at the end of the turn with triggers waiting on the stack. Without allowing the players to cast instants on that main phase, a large number of instants and flash spells become about as useful as a sorcery. I felt it was important to maintain tactical differences between the two spell types. Also it will become handy later when we consider how to ramp up the Challenge deck.

    Also note my interpretation of the draw step and hydra damage is that these are turn-based actions. Turn based actions occur automatically during certain phases of the turn, and cannot be responded to as they do not use the stack. Fair warning: others may choose to interpret them as regular triggers which DO go on the stack and can be responded to.

= Drawing Cards

    One of the simplest things you can do to make a challenge deck more difficult is to give it multiple cards a turn. Think about this: in a 3 player game (3 heros against the Hydra), on each hero turn the heros draw 3 cards (1 per player), while the Hydra reveals and casts 1 card. Card advantage is of course a resource that is integral to the game as land or life.

    So how many cards should the Challenge deck get for its draw step? The obvious minimum is one. I have had successful tests adding an extra card draw at 4 players, and a third at 6 - so that's what I'm going to recommend. Whatever number you choose for your group, insert it into the following rule as N.

    * Replace Draw step: Reveal the top N cards of the Hydra's library. The Hydra casts those cards without paying their mana cost [Cast the spells in the order they are revealed].

    The other thing you might be interested in including is the following rule which allows the challenge deck to take advantage of cards such as Howling mine or Font of Mythos. Thus far my testing is inconclusive on this. Currently we think the rule might be too strong for the challenge deck.
   
    Optional* If the Hydra would draw a card, instead reveal the top card of the Hydra's library. The Hydra casts that card without paying its mana cost.

== Creatures

    As we mentioned before the addition of creatures to the Challenge deck has somewhat limited utility. The challenge deck never gets an attack step, thus creatures that are good to include in the challenge deck are effective blockers, or creatures that we can use for their triggered or activated abilities.

    If you put non-head creatures in a Challenge deck, you'll need some rules to determine when the Challenge deck uses their abilities or uses them to block.

Activated Abilities
    * The Challenge deck can activate any activated abilities only once per turn.
    * The Challenge deck will activate relevant activated abilities: Hero's beginning of combat step, Hero's End of Combat step,  Hero's End step, and the Challenge deck's main phase - and at no other time.

    Playtest note: I personally feel that these guidelines for activated abilities need improvement. The trouble is that activated abilities are so diverse, it's hard to come up with rules that will cover most of them.

Declaring Blockers
    * The Challenge deck will declare blockers to protect elite heads only.
    * The Challenge deck will block creatures with the most power to least power.
    * The Challenge deck will not assign multiple blockers to a single attacker, unless it has to (menace).
    * If the Challenge deck can declare blockers in such a way as to deal lethal damage to one or more attacking creatures, it will do so for as many creatures as possible.

= Non - heads as Heads

    Let's face it, it would be pretty awesome if you could run whatever creatures you wanted in a challenge deck and they simply counted as heads. There is however one chief concern if you want to go this route. The 'Heros reward' that is printed on the default heads is actually a vital piece of the challenge deck experience. It serves 2 important functions.

    First, it provides the heros with some life points as they kill heads. Without some incremental life gain in the early to mid game the challenge deck would actually eliminate the poor heroes a lot easier. Second, they provide some back-and-forth swings that provide for interesting gameplay. As a result this is a feature that we wish to preserve when we start turning non-heads into heads.

    Let me point out that it is entirely possible to use any combination of Challenge deck heads, creatures that count as heads, and creatures that don't count as heads (discussed above). However, whatever rules you implement for your custom challenge deck determines how you build it. That is - you should determine what counts as what before building the deck.

    If you choose to use this option, then these creatures (who do not have head printed on them), gain errata to have the creature type 'Head' and gain Heroes Rewards abilities as follows:

    This is my current, largely experimental configuration.   

    All Commons => Standard Hydra Head. When this leaves the battlefield, each opponent gains 2 life.
    All Uncommons => Standard Hydra Head. When this leaves the battlefield, each opponent gains 2 life.
    All Rares (including Mythics) => Based on Converted Mana Cost (CMC).
    CMC <=3: Standard Hydra Head. When this leaves the battlefield, each opponent gains 2 life.
    CMC 4-5: Elite Head. When this leaves the battlefield, each opponent gains 2 life, and draws a card.
    CMC >=6: Elite Head. When this leaves the battlefield, each opponent gains 4 life and draws a card.

    If you have only creatures counting as heads in your custom Challenge deck then do the following to set up your game:
    *Shuffle the Challenge deck. Starting on the Bottom, remove the first N creatures that count as a standard head. N = the number of heads you wish to start with for this game. Put those heads onto the battlefield, and shuffle the remaining cards. Those cards become the Challenge deck's library.

    Also keep in mind when building your Challenge deck using this option, at least half the creatures in the deck should count as standard heads, and you should remain around 35% heads (or 22 cards in a 60 card deck).

= Instants

    The hydra Challenge Deck does not include any instants. Because the challenge deck only casts spells during its main phase, the additional utility of an instant (the ability to play it at any time), is lost. However, I see no reason why to exclude instants from your custom challenge deck.

    If you do include any instants in your custom challenge deck, they essentially will take the place of, and function identically to a sorcery.

= Land

    The hydra Challenge Deck does not include any land. Because the challenge deck casts it's spells for free, the addition of any land to the deck only serves if the deck can spend that mana (say on activated or triggered abilities), or the land provides some utility function beyond simply tapping for mana.

    There is another issue I would like to address here however, and that is abilities that "reveal cards from the top of their library until they reveal a land card" that appears on Mind Funeral, Undercity Informer, and Consuming Aberration. These abilities create awkward moments when they are played against the default challenge deck.

    Because no lands are in the deck, the entire library is revealed, and put into the graveyard. This does not win the game on the spot (The heroes only win if the challenge deck has no heads at the end of any turn) - but it does make the game a lot shorter.

    So, no. You are not allowed to put land into any challenge deck. To put it another way, Land are illegal cards for challenge decks.

    Although the rules implications of this are far from clear, it is my personal opinion that if lands are illegal, the action of "revealing a land" from the library becomes an impossible action. If you recall, the challenge deck simply ignores illegal or impossible actions or effects.

= Mana

    If we prohibit land from being in the Challenge deck, we still have to answer a question about mana. Players new to the game often mistake land for mana. These two are actually different things. Land are the physical cards (plains, island, swamp, etc). Mana is the mystical magical energy that players use to cast spells and pay for costs. Land usually makes mana, but there are lands that do not generate mana, and non-lands (such as llanowar elf) that can generate mana.

    * The challenge deck never pays 'X' costs in any spell or ability. X is always 0.
    * The challenge deck automatically pays any imposed costs. Examples: Rystic Study, Mana Leak, Propaganda, Leonin Arbiter.
    * If a card has an additional finite cost- the challenge deck pays that cost. Examples: Kicker
    * If a triggered ability asks for a mana payment, the challenge deck may pay that cost. Examples: Echo
    * The challenge deck can pay for any activated ability that requires mana that also uses the tap or untap symbol. 

    The following rule is entirely optional, but allows the challenge deck to pay for 'X' costs, or activate abilities that don't have the tap/untap symbol.

    Option * Setup - put a die (such as roll-down d20) on '1' next to the challenge deck.
    * At the beginning of each challenge deck turn, increment this die by 1, and the challenge deck has that much mana to spend. This mana does not drain out of the mana pool as phases or steps end. It does go away when the Challenge deck untaps the following turn. This mana is any color, and can only be spent on the following items:
    - Pay 'X' costs.
    - Activate abilities
    - Pay additional costs on spells it casts.
    - Pay for any triggered abilities.
    - Pay for any schemes, planes, or hero cards that the challenge deck may have access to.

= Life Gain

    By default the Challenge deck does not have a life total, and therefore cannot gain life, lose life, or pay life for various costs. Personally I feel as if attempting to give the challenge deck a life total causes the entire experience to loose focus. The challenge deck is a unique scenario that is quite a bit different than normal magic. Attempting to give the challenge deck a life total for any reason makes the experience a bit too much like regular magic - which isn't the direction we should move in.

    For those fellow customizers who want to play in this realm, I think the following rule is necessary:

    * A challenge deck never gains any benefit from any 'heroes reward' ability.

    I want to note something that my playgroup tried - and it didn't work. I toyed with the idea of turning any lifegain the challenge deck would receive into activations of Reito Lantern or Soldevi Digger. Both of these artifacts basically take cards in the graveyard, and put them onto the bottom of the deck.

    So as I mentioned, It didn't work. After we changed the deck to be 35% heads, the challenge deck does a good job of maintaining pressure throughout it's whole library. If the deck can also reliably send cards from its graveyard back to the deck, then players may get a sense in the middle to late game that the scenario can actually last indefinitely. While I never tested it, I'm pretty sure that with enough constant life-gain or reshuffle effects, It may be possible to create a scenario that is in fact unbeatable.

    This is obviously not the end goal, and is not a lot of fun. So I give this word for the wise for others who want to experiment with their own challenge decks.

=== More Challenge decks to come.

    Hopefully I've provided enough tools and options for people to continue to have fun with their challenge decks for quite some time. I'm quite a fan of this alternative way to play the game. I also would like to encourage others out there to share their own experiences with the challenge deck (modified or not). Playtesting custom builds can only improve the knowledge base.

    I also fully expect that as future challenge decks come out (we're expecting the next one in February) we may gain more tools to customize our individual challenge deck experiences. Until then, make sure you are having fun!

Magic: The Gathering - The Hydra (pt1)

Magic: The Gathering - The Hydra (pt1)

In the following paragraphs I hope to (1) Introduce the Hydra to people who perhaps know something about Magic, but not about this particular product. (2) Identify the various dials and variables in this particular game mode. (3) Give readers a toolbox of options for modifying their own challenge deck experience.

About the Author: Dan Regewitz is a certified level 1 magic judge, and tournament organizer. For 5 years he has been keeping things fair and fun in his local community. He is a firm supporter of casual play, commander, and variants.

=== What is the Hydra?

    The Hydra is the first challenge deck issued by Wizards of the Coast. By far the most interesting part of this product is that it supports solo or cooperative play for 1-4 players. The hydra deck not only uses a specialized deck of 60 cards (MSRP 11.99), but also a set of scenario-based rules that only apply when playing against it.

    Hero cards are special promotional cards, released earlier this year, specifically designed to be used against the Hydra. They are totally optional, but if you use them, you may bring up to two into a game with you. The effects of these cards vary, but they essentially sit in the command zone and give you the option for some small advantage each turn.

    Currently, there are 7 of these promos. 5 different ones attached to the five different colors for the Theros prerelease. One promo for solving a visual puzzle on launch weekend, and a second for defeating the hydra on Game Day. According to our best information, an equal number in a similar distribution will be available through Born of the Gods events early 2014.

== The Hydra Rules

The hydra uses special scenario rules that changes setup and play. These rules only apply when facing the hydra.

Setup
    * You may start with up to two hero cards on the battlefield.
    * Choose a starting number of heads, take that many cards named "Hydra Head" From the challenge deck and put them on the battlefield. Shuffle the remaining cards to form the Hydra's library.

Gameplay (players)
    * You go first.
    * You follow all regular Magic rules with the following exceptions:
    * You can attack heads directly with your creatures. Any number of creatures can attack a single head.

Gameplay (hydra)
    * Whenever a head leaves the battlefield, reveal the top two cards of the Hydra's Library. Put any heads onto the battlefield, and any sorcery cards into the Hydra's graveyard.
    * At the start of the Hydra's turn, untap any tapped heads.
    * Reveal the top card of the Hydra's library. The Hydra casts that card. When that spell resolves, if a head - put it onto the battlefield. If a sorcery, follow its instructions and then put it into the Hydra's graveyard.
    * At the end of the turn, the Hydra deals 1 damage to you for each untapped card named hydra head it controls, and 2 damage to you for each untapped elite head it controls.
    * If the Hyrdra would be dealt damage or lose life, instead deal that much damage to a head of your choice.
    * Ignore effects that would cause the hydra to draw or discard cards, or any impossible actions.
    * If a head would move to exile, instead put it into the Hydra's graveyard.
    * You make any choices for the Hydra.

Winning 
    * At the end of any turn, if there are no heads on the battlefield, you win!

I will also take a moment to point out the Official Hero's Path FAQ by Dave Guskin.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/HerosPathFAQ#challenge

== The Hydra Deck

As previously mentioned, the Hydra is a specialized Challenge deck filled with 60 cards that are unique to it alone. I have compiled a deck list, complete with notes on card text for future reference and consideration.

= 18 Heads
11 Hydra Head - 0/3 when this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 2 life.
4 Ravenous Brute Head - 0/6 when this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 2 life, and draws a card.
1 Savage Vigor Head 0/8 At the beginning of the Hydra's End step, reveal the top card of the Hydra's library and the Hydra casts that card. When this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 4 life and draws a card.
1 Shrieking Titan Head 0/8 At the beginning of the Hydra's End step, each player discards a card. When this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 4 life and draws a card.
1 Snapping Fang Head 0/8 At the beginning of the Hydra's end step, this deals 1 damage to each player. When this leaves the battlefield, each player gains 4 life and draws a card.

= 42 Sorcery
6 Unified Lunge - This deals X damage to each player, where X is the number of heads on the battlefield.
5 Distract the Hydra - Each player may sacrifice a creature. Each player who sacrifices a creature this way chooses a head and taps it. Each player who didn't sacrifice a creature loses 3 life.
5 Disorienting Glower - Players can't cast spells until the Hydra's next turn.
5 Swallow the Hero whole - Each player exiles a creature they control. Until the Hydra's next turn, when a head leaves the battlefield, return the exiled cards to the battlefield under their owner's control.
4 Hydra's Impenetrable Hide - Each head gains indestructible until the end of the Hydra's next turn.
4 Noxious Hydra Breath - Choose one - This deals 5 damage to each player, or destroy each tapped non-head creature.
4 Torn Between Heads - Tap up to two heads. They don't untap during the Hydra's next untap step. This deals 5 damage to each player.
4 Grown from the Stump - Put exactly two cards named hydra head from the graveyard onto the battlefield. If you can't, reveal cards from the top of the Hydra's library until you reveal a head card. Put that card onto the battlefield and the rest into the Hydra's graveyard.
3 Neck Tangle - if there are 5 or more heads on the battlefield, tap 2 of them - they don't untap during the hydra's next untap step. Otherwise, reveal the top card of the Hydra's library, and cast that card.
2 Strike Weak Spot - destroy target head, if that head was elite, the hydra takes an extra turn.

=== Digging deeper

    The pre-constructed experience of the Hydra challenge deck is a unique one, and I feel the base experience actually does a decent job of accomplishing what it set out to do - namely make a solo (or cooperative) magic experience that provides some game tension, back and forth play, yet remains simple enough to run itself.

    However in my play tests with and against the Hydra this gameplay experience starts to break down when you push it's limits. With 1-3 players, I think the base deck delivers what it promises. However starting at 4+ players, the Hydra as a much lower chance to reveal (and cast) heads, or regrow lost heads, resulting in it not applying enough pressure in the mid to late game.

    The other arena where it breaks down is adjusting to opposition of the decks brought to bear against it. Anyone who is familiar with competitive magic knows that there is a world of difference between something you might pull out for casual play, and a deck you would play in a tournament.
There can be just as big a difference between that deck you bring to your weekly Friday Night Magic, and that deck you bring to a Grand Prix (large events with thousands of players and cash prizes).

    So if you intend to use the Hydra for 1-3 players against decks that are roughly as strong as an "Event Deck" product - congratulations because I feel like that is the exact sweet spot for creating really good interesting games with the Hydra. If not, we are about to dive into the rabbit hole together and see where it leads.

    Before we go tearing apart the base hydra deck, I feel it is important to know what we can about how it was built and published. Fortunately, there is an article about just that "Building a Hydra" by Sam Stoddard. I encourage anyone who wants to modify their hydra experience to review this.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/ld/270

    Fundamentally, we can tweak our challenge deck by doing one of two things to it.
(1) Build our own Hydra Deck.
(2) Change or introduce rules that create a different 'scenario' for facing the hydra.

    Our goals in this article are thus two-fold
(1) Suggest modifications that will allow the challenge deck to support higher player counts. The challenge deck should provide a functional experience for 1-6 players.
(2) Suggest modifications that will allow the challenge deck to support stronger or more competitive decks, or decks from alternate formats (such as commander).

    Consider anything I may present to you my humble suggestions. Try it out for yourself, and if it makes your challenge deck experience more fun - great. If it does not - don't use it! Also, if you do choose to use any of the tools and options I present in this article for your challenge deck, make sure that any players playing against it are aware of the variations from normal magic.

=== Building a Challenge Deck

    As I mentioned previously, one of the issues the Hydra deck has is that it does not provide sufficient challenge when pitted against decks that are significantly stronger than an event deck. This is largely a design decision to make the Hydra difficult, but not impossible to beat in casual play. That's a great choice by the way, as the Hydra is targeted to that audience.

    This doesn't help us if we want to fight the hydra with our modern, legacy, limited (draft or sealed deck) or commander decks. I think the best way we can create a fun experience in these situations is to build our own challenge deck.

= Card Pool

    The first question we've got to ask ourselves is what cards can the challenge deck include. The most basic answer is that when we build a challenge deck, it can include any cards that the decks it might face could include. Thus, if we construct a challenge deck for the modern format, the Hydra deck must run modern legal cards (8th edition or Mirrodin or more current, excluding any currently banned cards). This limitation can be based on any current format sanctioned or casual.

Wizards resources on formats.
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/tcg/resources.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/resources/formats

    However, the cards from the actual hydra deck are not part of any format. With their non-standard backs, they are not - strictly speaking- legal cards. The intent of the challenge deck is that these cards can and indeed must (in the case of heads) be included.

    * A custom challenge deck may always include cards that were printed in an official Wizards challenge deck, such as the Hydra.

The other thing that is strange about making your own Hydra deck is that the default deck includes more than 4 copies of certain cards, thus breaking a rule that has been around since the early days of tournament magic. For "Hydra heads" I believe this is necessary, less so for other cards.

    * A custom challenge deck may include any number of cards of the same name that were printed in an official Wizards challenge deck, such as the Hydra. [A custom challenge deck may include up to 4 of any other card.]

Because our custom Hydra deck will potentially include standard magic cards, we need the following rules:

    * A custom challenge deck must be prepared in opaque sleeves with identical card-backs.
    * Draw Step: Reveal the top card of the Hydra's library. The Hydra casts that card without paying its mana cost.

    Any other considerations for deck building that I have not mentioned are normal.

= Card choices.

    It should go without saying, but the rules I've outlined for building your own challenge deck certainly allow you to consider more cards, but some (cards with X in the cost, cards with activated abilities requiring mana) are virtually useless for the Hydra.   

    The best cards for the Hydra are ones that effect each opponent, all players (the Hydra is one player facing 1-6 players so most of these are good), all creatures / enchantments / lands / artifacts.

    Also the addition of non-head creatures is somewhat dubious as there is nothing in the base rules that allows those creatures to attack. However, since the player's turn is 'normal' you could interpret that the Hydra can declare blockers. This is a stretch however, and opens up additional complications as what the Hydra blocks (and with what).

    To make use of a large swath of magic cards, you will have to create rules that will allow them to work.

= Add Heads!

    If there is one recommendation I will make to others attempting to make their own Challenge deck, it is to include more heads (cutting spells in the process).

    At 18 Heads in a 60 card card deck, the Hydra is exactly 30% heads, 70% spells. The more heads in the deck the larger the threat from the Hydra becomes, as it can regrow heads easier, cast more heads during the game, and apply pressure to the heroes who face it for longer stretches.

    You can start with 2-4 heads on the field. The thing about this is that the more heads start on the field the chances of getting a head as the top card actually reduces. Starting at 2 heads, heads now make up 27% of the 58 remaining cards. Starting at 4 heads? We're down to 25%. While this does make the Hydra a LOT more dangerous in the early game, it makes it easier in the mid-to-long game, and makes for a weaker challenge (assuming you survive).

    So how many heads do you want in a challenge deck? The answer is likely to vary based on exactly what environment you plan on playing your challenge deck in. However heads are pretty important for the challenge deck as they represent both the victory condition of the scenario and the primary way the challenge deck can actually win. My testing indicates that the challenge deck should be somewhere around 35% heads - or 22 cards in a 60 card deck.

    Playtest note: My playgroup did try a higher 'saturation' of heads. At 40% heads the challenge deck was still beatable, but the scenario was less forgiving and higher pressure. At 45% heads the challenge deck beat us soundly to the point where it seemed unlikely we could ever muster enough board presence to stabilize - let alone win.

    Another relevant question is how many heads you want to start with. The default setup of between 2 and 4 actually has worked in most of my games. However I would recommend adding an extra head at higher player counts. Thus for 4 or more players play with 3-5 starting heads.

A Tale of Two Decks

A Tale of Two Decks

In this series of articles I discuss two Commander decks I built, and some of the decisions that I made while building them. If you are unfamiliar with commander, I wrote an series of articles introducing the format [here] {http://butlerwpn.blogspot.com/2011/03/commander-introduction.html}. If you are interested in some of my typical deck building process for commander I wrote about that [here] {http://butlerwpn.blogspot.com/2011/03/its-all-in-cards.html}.

Part of what I enjoy about Commander is the amazing possibilities that can brought to bear. In many ways the restrictions on deck-building on the format are not-restrictive enough when building a creative deck. So I obviously create more restrictions for myself.

Niv-Mizzet the Firemind - All commons and Uncommons (the only rare is the commander).
Scion of the Ur Dragon - The entire creature base is multicolored legends.
Zedruu the Greathearted - Group-hug, functions off a lot of every player draw and damage.

But all of my commander decks followed the same self-imposed rule: Don't be a greedy bastard. Now this rule translated into me avoiding various 'infinite' combos in my deck, as well as avoiding mass land destruction, extra-turns, tons of counter-magic, and tucking generals - because let's face it none of these things I find fun when I'm faced with another deck that does them to me.

So I thought to myself, what if I take this rule away. What if, I built a deck where the sole purpose is to be that greedy bastard.

Disclaimer: I do not support or condone this style of deck or deck-building. I firmly believe that commander is first and foremost about fun. By stepping outside of my usual bounds, I have created not one, but two decks that actively take fun away from my opponents. I strongly encourage other players to avoid this whenever possible.

I have several commander decks now, and they slowly rotate into the box that I take with me to Tuesday casual play (when we do commander). As they rotate into and out of that box, I tend to revise the decks. Sometimes it's a simple tweak, sometimes it's something more major. Most of my decks are rather stable and resistant to change because they are designed to do something, attempt to do it well, and only when a card is good (or too good) for that particular strategy can it push out something already on the list.

I've had mixed feelings/results with my Grixis deck, led by Thraximundar, for some time now. Every time I revise that deck I have to cut or put aside a large chunk of cards that are really quite good or fun. So I decided that I would take apart the entire deck, and rebuild from the ground up.

I had to come up with how the new deck would come together though. I thought of a few possibilities, but I eventually settled on a strategy that wins by casting (sometimes repeatedly) very high cost, very broken spells (usually sorceries). But I had a few questions that needed answering

(1) How to make infinite mana.

There are actually so many ways to make an arbitrarily large amount of mana in magic, that the question was not if I was going to do it, but how. I settled to put two different ways into the deck, and got a third as a bonus.

Palinchron + Mana Flare; Generate 14 mana (with 7 lands), play and bounce Palinchron for 11, untap all 7 lands and you net 3 mana with each iteration.

Deadeye Navigator + Zealous Conscripts + Gilded Lotus; Pair the Navigator with the Conscripts, generate 3 mana with the lotus, then use 2 of that mana to blink the conscripts, which untaps the lotus. Generate lots of blue, then do it more to generate whatever other colors you need.

Gravy? Deadeye Navigator can be paired with Palinchron to net 5 mana every time you blink the illusion.

(2) Powerful spells.

I imagined myself winning by repeatedly casting Cruel Ultimatum. Cruel Ultimatum, at 7 mana and a sorcery, would often decide a game if resolved during it's life in standard. However, this being a singleton format, I needed to find other cards on that level (that could turn the game on resolution).

I found quite a few, actually:

Time Warp - Because taking additional turns is the most broken thing you can do in commander.
Bribery - My personal favorite, what is yours becomes mine and all that.
Insurrection - I've seen this card suddenly end games more than any other.
Banefire - Because when you are packing endless mana, endless damage is a good thing to spend it on.
Exsanguinate - Is simply too good in multiplayer to pass up.
Diabolic Revelation - To find goodies, that can end the game.

(3) The Second Tier

At this point I knew I was running a suite (ended up being 12) of suitably broken instants or sorceries. and Infinite mana, and the presence of Deadeye navigator means that I could take advantage of enters-the battlefield abilities.

What I was looking for now was cards that supported that strategy and/or had synergy with the cards I already picked out.

I needed to bring back instants and sorceries, so I could cast them over and over. So I grabbed support cards like Izzet Chronarch and Mnemonic Wall, as well as Charmbreaker Devils (a personal favorite). I wanted to get extra value when I did cast those spells, so I included cards that can copy spells like Echo Mage, Malek, Izzet Paragon, and Nivix Guildmage (who by the way gives me any number of copies of a given spell with unlimited mana).

I also was looking for ways to spend unlimited mana. In addition to potentially blinking EtB creatures like Solemn Simulacrum, Rune-Scared Demon, or Chancellor of the Spires, I also included Azure Mage to help me draw cards, and Havengul Lich to grab creatures out of graveyards.

(4) The Third Tier

With the core functionality of the deck down, I had a limited number of slots remaining to add utility cards. Utility cards are simply cards that don't necessarily fit your strategy or theme, but remain useful.

Propaganda to discourage attacks
No less than 4 'board wipes' (Damnation, Evacuation, etc).
A few cards to destroy troublesome artifacts and/or enchantments (Shattering Pulse, Steel Hellkite).
At least one way to deal with a difficult general (Chaos Warp).
Boseiju, Who Shelters All - to make my broken spells uncounterable.
Tectonic Edge - to deal with any troublesome lands.

(5) The Commander

Sometime around the half-way point of actually building this deck, I realized I did not want Thraximundar to be at the helm anymore. Absolutely none of the new deck asked anyone (myself included) to sacrifice anything. At that point, Thrax would simply sit on the sidelines and provide me access to my selection of colors - only rarely acting as a 7+ mana removal spell.

Unfortunately, there aren't too many choices for Grixis commanders (10 to be exact), and almost none of them line up with my theme. Only Sol'Kanar the Swamp King even remotely cares about the casting of spells (and even then only black). He would have been my first choice, but I didn't have a free copy, so Crosis, the Purger became the Commander.

I see either of these two as an advantage. If I saw an unknown player reveal a Thraximundar commander, I would expect an oppressive sacrifice-based deck, and play accordingly. There's no real stigma or tell about either Crosis or Sol'Kanar. Unless you've seen my deck in action, you don't really know what your in for until I'm resolving Blatant Thievery.

=== The Other deck

After my deck had been sleeved and eliminated it's first table of players (Exsanguinate, never got infinite mana) I returned to all the cards that did not make it into the deck. I was honestly disappointed, there were a lot of awesome cool cards in there that I now would not be playing with. Particularly, Thraximundar looked at me with puppy-dog eyes (Which is something that is quite disturbing coming from a Zombie Assassin).

Of course, I would make another deck, and it would be Blue-Black-Red, and this time Thraximundar would be large and in charge.

(1) The General

At this point I already knew who was going to represent the deck, Thraximundar. So really the only question is what themes or effects do I play with Thrax?

Well, obviously Thrax likes it when creatures are sacrificed, and he doesn't care who does it. So that means I need creatures to sacrifice, ways to sacrifice them, and ways to make my opponents sacrifice creatures.

If creatures are getting sacrificed, Thraximundar can get fairly large. I will probably want ways to protect him. Also I should consider the possibility that at 6/6 minimum, I can probably take out a player with commander damage with some effort.

That sounds like a main focus, and a potential subtheme- so it's time to start picking cards.

(1) Making Creatures

The first thing I needed was creatures to sacrifice. Now, keep in mind that I am attempting to do this is Blue-Black-Red. That is to say, not white or green, which are the principle colors for making tokens. Yet despite this limitation I found many cards that could give me creatures to work with.

These types of Cards came in three flavors. The first flavor were cards that actually just made token creatures; see Rakka Mar, Bloodline Keeper, Grave Titan. The second flavor were cards that grabbed creatures from my opponents such as Roil Elemental and Insurrection. Lastly were creatures that I could get more than one use out of because they rarely stay in the graveyard such as Mortus Strider and Reassembling Skeleton.

(2) Sacrifice Outlets

Once I had a handful of creatures to potentially sacrifice, I went looking for ways to get rid of them.

A constant go-to for this role is Claws of Gix, which has the advantage of being a sac outlet for any kind of permanent. Viscera seer tosses creatures looking for whatever I need. Finally, spawning pit serves double duty. It both functions as a sacrifice-outlet, and a maker of new tokens.

(3) Grave Pact

Once I had some cards that made creatures, and some cards that got rid of them, I went looking for cards that care about creatures dying. Thraximundar himself fits into this niche - except that he specifically cares about when a creature is sacrificed.

Some examples of cards that care about creatures dieing or being sacrificed include: Black Market, Prince of Thralls, and Skirsdag High Priest.

Thus far it seemed like creatures were going to die - a lot. So I also started looking for cards that could somehow take advantage of stocked graveyards. Nezumi Graverobber (flipped), Sheoldred, and Oversold Cemetery all fit this bill.

(4) What about the general?

Earlier, I mentioned that protecting my general and attempting a general-damage win could be in the cards. Well, it kinda is - but not by much. I decided upon a 3-card equipment suite to make this possible, but at only 3 cards it's unlikely to be very consistent.

Darksteel Plate - To make troublesome creatures like Thrax and Sheoldred more troublesome.
Nim Deathmantle - To get reuse out of any of my creatures.
Loxodon Warhammer - Extra life gain and also pushes damage through with trample.


=== Mirror Mirror

So two decks, same colors, but designed in two entirely different ways. One mostly commander centric (what can I do to abuse Thraximundar?) the other designed around individual spells, and how to abuse them. It may come as some surprise that these two decks have a few similarities besides simply the land. That is what I want to go back and look at. What cards did I deem so useful that I put them in both decks?

Land: Aside from the obvious swamp, island, and mountain cards - both decks feature a suite of color-fixing lands in the form of the ravnica bounce-double lands, rupture spire, crumbing Necropolis, Crosis's catacombs. Also both decks contain non-basic utility lands such as tectonic edge and Reliquary tower.

Board wipes: Both decks ended up running 4-5 board wipes. What's interesting is that they both share 3: Disaster Radius, Plague Wind, and Nevinyrral's Disk. The first two, while expensive, provide a wrath-like effect that does not affect one's own board position. The disk is in both decks because although it clearly transmits your intention to wipe the board, and gives your opponents a turn before you can pull it off - it is one of the few ways this color arc can deal with enchantments.

Card advantage/ramp: While both decks have different ways to draw cards and put more lands onto the table. Three cards fill this role that they share: Solemn Simulacrum, Rune-Scarred Demon, and Azure Mage.

Here are some other cards that both decks share, and their intended purpose

Venser's Journal - incremental life gain. It's very quiet also, typically the rest of the table doesn't even notice your at 60+ until someone lands a suitable attacker.
Phyrexian Metamorph - Get their best creature. Or artifact.
Steel Hellkite - It's very conditional, but Steel Hellkite can sweep tokens or get rid of pesky artifacts or enchantments in a pinch.
Exsanguinate - Simply because it can turn a game on it's head, or end it out of nowhere.
Insurrection - See Exsanguinate
Shattering Pulse - Reusable removal (even or especially for artifacts) - their should always be room for that.
Propaganda - I think I've lost count to how many times this card has saved me from a big attack because the opponent played one too many spells in their first main.

WPN Events July, August

WPN July Events

Friday Night Magic - Extended! Thanks to recent changes in Wizards Policy, it is now permissible to run extendend format for FNMs. The extended format includes all cards from Lorwyn Block forward. Come try your hand at this interesting format! Here you rule. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday, 1; 5:30-9:00pm.

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome. Explore alternate formats such as teams, highlander/commander, planechase, archenemy, etc.
Tuesdays: 5,12,19,26; 6:00-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays: 8,22,29; 5:30-9:00pm.

Magic 2012 Core Set Prerelease!: Come experience the newest core set of Magic with this sanctioned sealed deck pre-release. $30.00 entry. DCI sanctioned with prize support. Hosted by Dan Regewitz. Open gaming available. Draft to follow main event ($16.00 entry).
Saturday, 9th: 11:00 registration; 12:30-5:30 main event; Draft 6:00-9:00.

Magic 2012 Launch Draft!: Come celebrate the official release of the Magic 2011 core set with a DCI sanctioned Draft. $16.00 entry. Prizes based on attendance. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday, 15: 5:30-9:00.

Grand-Prix Trial: Our Century-3 location is proud to sponser annother Grand-Prix Trial, this time for Grand-Prix Pittsburgh. $10.00 standard constructed event. Every player who enters who finishes swiss rounds gets 1 booster pack. First place to receive 3 round-byes at GP-Pittsburgh. Additional prizes based on attendance. Head Judge: Dan Regewitz.
Saturday, July 23rd at NDC-C3;

WPN August Events

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome. Also frequently run odd formats such as planechase, archenemy, commander, emperor, multiplayer, etc.
Tuesdays: 2,9,16,23,30; 5:00-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays: 5,12,26. 5:30-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic - Draft: Join us for our monthly draft. We expect to draft M11 core set. $16.00 entry. DCI sanctioned. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday: 19th 5:30-9:00pm

Magic GAME DAY!: Experience the power of play. NDC Butler to host a Magic Game day. This event is open to all players. Entry $10.00. Standard constructed. Exclusive promos to be handed out to all participants and additional promos to be handed out to the top 8 finishers. Additional prizes will handed out for this event! Here, you Rule!
Saturday: 14th 10:00am registration opens. 1:00pm start time.

Highlander / Commander: Participate in the most awesome format ever. Elder Dragon Highlander AKA Commander. 100card singleton commander format. Multi-player with victory points. $10.00 entry. Prizes to be distributed as store credit.
Tuesday: 30th 5:00-9:00pm

Future Events
2011-05-29 -11-05-2858077 -From the Vault - From the Vault:Legends (releases Aug 26th)

12 tips for the aspiring Commander

= 12 tips for the aspiring Commander

In my continuing quest to educate the masses about the Highlander/Commander format and the many joys of playing, I have devised a short 12 item list. This list is not intended to be complete or definitive. It's simply 12 strategies that work well in almost any Commander deck. I highly recommend considering including these strategies when building a deck or otherwise making card choices. They are in no particular order save the order I wish to discuss them in.

- Push creatures through (evasion)

The board can get fairly clogged in a commander game. By that I mean that it can be littered with creatures. In such a situation no player wants to attack because they risk loosing creatures and/or making themselves a target of retaliation. A creature that can both attack and block is therefore valuable (creatures with vigilance don't tap to attack, and are therefore available to block). Likewise a creature who cannot be blocked by an opponent is also a suitable attacker. Abilities that make creatures harder to block are loosely called "evasion" abilities, and include such things as flying, intimidate, landwalk, etc.

Flying and Trample are both evasion Abilities

- Deal with creatures (single target removal, board wipes).

A board wipe is any spell or ability that effectively gets rid of all creatures. Because creatures pose a threat in the form of attacking damage (not to mention useful abilities). Thus, it is very useful to have a 'release valve' that can reset the board. Remember, the probability of board wipe is 1. Some creatures can be very potent threats, and therefore it's also a good idea to have a few effects that can take out a single creature with pinpoint accuracy - for those situations where you need to deal with a threat right now.

The most traditional Board Wipe.

- Build for trouble (artifacts, enchantments)

Just as creatures can pose a significant threat, so can artifacts and enchantments. You can almost certainly find a few artifacts and enchantments to help your deck along it's path to victory. If you happen to be running some sort of combo deck, chances are one of your key combo pieces is an artifact or enchantment. If you can find some useful tools for your deck, then so can your opponent. Come prepared to remove a few of each type.

Hates Artifacts or Enchantments.

- Scale it up (play some higher cost spells)

Commander games take longer than normal games of magic. Partly because players start with 40 life, partly because decks are 99 cards deep, but also partly because players opt to play cards that (on average) have higher costs than decks in other formats. When building a deck it's a good idea to keep in mind that in most commander games your going to have a little extra time to get some mana, and cast spells that are 5-7 mana range (or higher). Cards like Darksteel Colossus are generally considered unplayable in standard, but are quite playable in Commander.

Really large spells can be worth it.

- Permanents are King (repeatable effects rule)

To illustrate a point I want you to look at two cards. Boomerang, and Temporal Adept.

Boomerang

Temporal Adept

Both of these cards perform the same function. Namely, to return permanents from the field to owner's hand (or 'bounce'). Boomerang as an instant has a certain surprise factor because your opponent doesn't know you have it until it comes out of your hand. Temporal Adept on the other hand can Boomerang every single turn for only one more blue mana, and tapping it, for as long as you can keep it on the field. Partly due to the fact that Commander games are longer, many players will prefer Temporal Adept. The Adept provides an advantage that can be maintained over several turns.
This is not to say that you shouldn't play instant and sorcery spells, just that a permanent is often better than a spell that performs the same function.

- Friend or Foe: Planeswalkers

Planeswalkers can be very useful cards because they are permanents that provide once-a-turn effects (see above). There are also limited options for dealing with them, mostly attacking and redirecting burn spells. Because of this, they are often attractive cards to include in a deck. However, fielding a planeswalker without adequate defense typically means that it will simply die after one effect. Also they tend to "draw hate" from the rest of the table - by which I mean that other players really don't want you to activate the last, often called the "ultimate" ability of any planeswalker, and will take active steps to fight it.
Be mindful if someone resolves a planeswalker. Who is it and what are they doing with it? If it's a Garruk and they spend two or three turns untapping land to play some more spells - well let's just say you better be prepared for an overrun.

Planeswalkers are a double-edged sword, sometimes.

- Use the graveyard (bring stuff back)

Any deck is filled with resources. When these resources are spent (by casting or in combat), they are sent to the graveyard. Which is why it's often a good idea to bring them back and use them again. Because you can only play one copy of any given card in a Commander deck, it's a very good idea to be able to dig through your graveyard and bring cards that are useful in the current situation back. This includes mass effects like Elixir of immortality, but also targeted effects like Regrowth or Raise dead.

Reuse the graveyard, somehow.

- Land ho (non-basic lands)

Most lands generate mana, but some lands don't have to. There are lands that can bring back creatures, prevent or deal damage, become creatures for a turn, give a creature a temporary boost or ability, or give you no maximum hand size (one of my favorites). Lands are just another resource for your deck, and while they are there to provide mana for spells - there is nothing wrong with some of them also doing something else, or a few of them doing something instead of that whole mana thing!
Which is why it's a good idea to include a card or two that can destroy a land (or two). Just as artifacts or enchantments can create enough trouble to be worth getting rid of, so can land.

The most classic of the hated non-basics.

- Gain some life

You might think that 40 life is a lot. The thing is with life, is that it can't hurt to have a little more. Including some way to gain life (or prevent damage) can keep you in the game and playing for longer. This should enable you to see more cards of your deck, and interact more in the game.
Conversely, keep in mind the rules about commander damage (which say that if you take 21 points of accumulated damage from a single commander you loose the game). These rules exist to keep the game interesting and preventing players from being able to play with a deck that gains so much life it can't loose.

Life is the stuff of life.

- Draw some Cards.

Just as gaining a bit of extra life will help you in a long game, so to will drawing a few extra cards. This goes back to the whole concept of each card in your deck being a resource. If you are drawing multiple cards in a turn, you acquire multiple resources a turn. This gives you a wider or better selection of possible plays on the subsequent turn. Also it allows you to see more cards in your deck over a set number of turns, which means you will simply see more cards that you want or need.

Be generous (or greedy) with cards.

- Dueling Grounds

No, not the card. I'm actually referring to land. Land is the primary resource. Without it, all of your other resource spells go to waste. Thus, it is important to get land, get land in the right color(s), and get enough land to fuel all the fun things you want to do in a game. Thus it is often a good idea to find spells or abilities that allow you to search land out of your deck and put them someplace useful (like your hand or the battlefield). Artifacts can also serve the same purpose as land. There are many "Mana Rocks" in the game - artifacts with abilities that can add mana to one's mana pool. Mana filtering (changing one color of mana into another) is also relevant in 3-5 color decks.

Explore new Lands!

- Have Fun!

Repeat after me: If you aren't having fun, your doing it wrong!

Commander: Testing

= Commander: Testing

I did mention testing, so I'm going to talk just a bit about how to do that. First of all, you can start testing in your own home.

- Test hands
The first method of testing the deck you just put together is to look at an opening hand. If you don't like the look of the first one you see, feel free to shuffle and take seven more. For each hand that you look at consider the following: Do you have enough land? Do you have the right colors? What's the earliest you could play a spell using just those 7 cards? Would you keep this if you were sitting down to a game with a real, live opponent?

Commander decks are naturally slower than other smaller constructed decks, so take this into consideration. I frequently look at sets of 10 cards (representing my first three draws) to determine if the deck has draws that I'd like to see and can play with.



This looks like a good hand to me personally. No spells to cast, but I have a first-turn reliquary tower, which is always a good sign, and plenty of land and all three colors.

- Goldfish
A "goldfish" is basically a solitare game that you play against no opponent. You simply draw cards, play land, cast spells, and repeat this process. The goal is to see if the cards you picked are doing what you expected them to do. Is your deck following your strategy? Are the expected synergies there? In the right quantities? At any point do you want some effect that simply isn't in your deck?



After a particularly extended Goldfish, I decide to debate prior card choices. I wanted more Auras during the game, so here I consider two I previously cut (left) for some less synergistic enchantments from my deck (right)

- Live test
Of course some of the best feedback you can get for any deck is to take it to a game table near you and play it against another player playing one of their own decks. It forces you to deal with threats, interact with what your opponent has on the field, plus get another player's opinion on how, how well, and why your deck works (or doesn't).

- So is it done?
Of course not! Yes you have a playable deck, and it might even be reasonably good. But you can learn more about magic, you can become a better player, and you can become a better deck builder. As you grow, so can your deck. You can revise it to make it better. Or you can revise it to make it more fun. Or you can revise it so that it focuses on a different theme or sub-theme. Or you can build a new deck (one of my favorites).

Whatever it is you do, have fun slinging some spells!

Commander: It's all in the cards.

= It's all in the cards.

If you've never built a Commander deck before, it kinda goes without saying that your going to need cards to build with. Even someone like myself who's a big fan of the format with multiple decks under my belt, goes out of their way to acquire cards when attempting to build a new Commander deck.

You're going to need a lot of cards.



Ok, maybe not that many. Although you can build with every card ever printed, remember the limitations of the Commander format. You have to stay in-color with your chosen Commander, you can only run one copy of any given card. You can also start picking your effects now. Running black, but creatures not a big part of your game plan? Don't grab Raise Dead or similar effects. Also low cost creatures (without abilities) are dead draws in Commander as a format



Ah, that's more like it. This is where my last 2 Commander decks started. As approximately 400 loose cards. It took me roughly 4 months to accumulate the selection you see before you by trading with other players, as well as with my FLGS (friendly local gaming store). I spend a good deal of store credit and some cash both locally and online to get this selection of cards to build from.

I want to say that it's OK to have a list of specific Cards that you want to see in your deck. I strongly urge beginners to not build complete deck lists that they see online. Often these lists include expensive singles and aren't going to fit your play style. If you are picking the cards, then there's a good chance the deck is going to be fun for you!

- The Building Process

Why start with so many cards? Because it's relatively easy to cut cards you don't like or don't want. Also starting with 400 cards and cutting down to 60 (not including land), ensures that you get everything you need (but maybe not everything you want) into the deck. Also I find it preferable to finding yourself a few cards short, and attempting to fill those slots with miscellaneous commons you have lying around that quite possibly aren't going to work for your game plan or be syngeristic with the rest of your deck. Worst case scenario they might even work against you. Whereas if you find such cards in your stack of 400, you can simply cut them from consideration, or swap them out for cards you've already cut - but are better than junk.

- Sort your cards

You need to know what you have, before you can get building. I highly suggest sorting all your cards by color and card type. This gives you an idea of what resources your dealing with. It allows you to review your card choices, revise your overall game plan, find patterns, recognize cards that are going to make just about any cut, etc.

The only cards you should cut at this point are those that you have more than one copy of (a no-no for Commander).



Here I have my collection of cards for Zur spread out in front of me. The first row is Non-basic land, then Enchantments by color. The second row is the Commander (Zur), then auras by color. The third row is non-aura, non-creatures by color. The last row is creatures by color.



Slightly more dramatically the stacks are photographed here (left to right) as: Non-basic lands, Enchantments, Auras, Artifacts, Other spells (instants, sorceries, planeswalkers), and creatures.

- The First Cut

Well, the deck cannot come together unless we start to cut cards. I take time to look at each pile that I've made. Within each card type I sort the cards further. Cards that seem really good or fun go into one pile. Cards that seem strong or interesting go into another. Marginal cards go into a third, and cards that I just plain don't like go in a fourth.

Let's not mince words. Your goal here is to cut cards. You should be as brutal as you dare. I typically scoop up the weaker two piles and return them to the box. Culling close to half of my selection in the first or second go-arround.



First cut complete. Looking at the box of 'cut' cards it looks like I managed somewhere below half, but not by much. Not a bad thing.

- Creatures

Creatures are very important to any Commander deck, as they represent the Aggro part of any deck's strategy. Creatures can slowly and incrementally win you just about any game by attacking. Thus any deck should have a few big fat creatures that can win the game conventionally. It's also a good idea to invest some card slots in creatures that have utility functions like fetching land, killing other creatures, destroying pesky permanents (like artifacts or enchantments), and so forth. This is true even if your game plan is to control & combo.

I mentioned "Card slots" there. Let me explain a bit. A commander deck has to be exactly 100 cards. No more, and no less. So when you commit yourself to running a specific card, you've locked that in. By deciding that Zur wants about 20 creatures, and cutting my pile of creatures down to 20 cards, I've not only consumed 20 of my 100 cards total, but I've consumed 20 of my 20 creature cards total.



My 20 creatures, sorted by casting cost ... for now.

- Cut and Cut some more!

This is a process you repeat and repeat again for each stack. Each time you pick up a stack, you try to cut more cards. You distill the piles of junk into stacks of cards that (1) work with your strategy, (2) work synergistically with your other cards, and (3) you really _really_ like!



This picture I snapped somewhere around my 5th or 6th attempt to cut cards. At this point in time I still had 70-some odd cards on the table, and had to cut another 10-15 to pair it down to my final 60. Why 60? Because you need to run Land, and 40 percent is about right for a Commander deck whose spells typically peak in the 3-5 range, and go up to 10. Also keep in mind that I have limited mana-ramping in my chosen colors.

It goes without saying that each time you go back to cut cards, it's going to be more difficult. You may end up revising exactly how many cards your setting aside for creatures, for example. To make more space for say ... enchantments. Which is something I did for Zur.

It might also help to sort your cards using different Criteria. Sorting them by mana cost is something I like to do when I only have a few cards left to cut. I look for mana costs that have a lot of cards at that cost. I then look at all the cards that cost the same, and try to cut a card or two that aren't worth the mana investment compared to other cards of the same cost. I'm particularly critical of spells costing six or more. With that kind of mana investment I should get something that's going to significantly impact the game.



Some more Zur cards, sorted by cost.

You may also want to sort by color. In a multi-color deck like the one I'm building this helps identify if your relying on one color too heavily, or ignoring another.



Looks like it could be a case of too much white, not enough black?

After agonizing over card choices for a while, you eventually settle on a stack that you feel is playable. I ended up with ... 19 Creatures, 11 Other spells, 15 Auras, and 15 Enchantments. Yeah that's 30 total enchantments, but you have to remember that I am building around Zur. Incedentally 20 of those enchantments are casting cost 3 or less, and thus suitable fetches for Zur's ability.

- Mana Balance.

Land is vital to the performance of the deck. The key to figuring out what kind of land you want to run is figuring out what colors your deck is. I know you know what colors your deck is, but the trick is to run land in the right proportion. This is of course a moot point if you happen to be running a mono-colored deck. It's less of a concern for two-color decks, but I would still recommend this process for them. I find it absolutely necessary to do this for 3-5 color decks of any style.

I've worked out an algorithm that works for me and I use for nearly all my magic decks.

(1) Count the number of mana symbols on each card.
I do this step with pen and paper. Using tally marks to mark how many mana symbols of each color appears on each card. I include mana symbols that appear in rules text also. Hybrid symbols count as both colors. Thus Debtors' Knell adds both 3 white and 3 black tallies to my sheet.

Debtors' Knell

(2) Total the number of symbols in each color, and Total mana symbols overall.
For Zur I had 55 white symbols, 30 blue, and 29 black, the deck has a total of 114 mana symbols.

(3) Find the percent of each color in your deck.
This is the number of symbols in a specific color divided by the total symbols in the deck.
(decimals used for accuracy)
White = 55 / 114 = 48.24%
Blue = 30 / 114 = 26.31%
Black = 29 / 114 = 25.43%

(4) Figure out how many land slots your running.
Zur was going to be running 40 land, but I had 20 non-basics to deal with first. Looking at my non-basics I found 14 that I could effectively ignore because they were colorless, any color, or completed sets of multicolor lands (Ravnica bounce and Lorwyn filters). This leaves me with 26 land slots to fill. Note that 6 of these slots will be filled by my remaining 6 non-basics.

(5) Find the number of mana sources you need of each color.
(Land slots multiplied by the percent of the deck in the color your working with above).
White = 26 x .4824 = 12.54 White sources
Blue = 26 x .2631 = 6.84 Blue sources
Black = 26 x .25.43 = 6.61 Black Sources

(6) Get your Basics.
I substituted 2 plains for a Serra's Sanctum and a Celestial Colonnade from my remaining stack of non-basics, and added 10 Plains. (12 Sources).
I substituted 2 Islands for a Faerie Conclave, and Creeping Tar Pit, and grabbed 5 Islands (7 Sources).
I substituted 2 Swamps for a Bojuka Bog and Dreadship Reef, and grabbed 5 Swamps (7 Sources).

Congratulations, you are now ready to sleeve up your deck and give it a test or two.


Um, please use sleeves. You spent all that time and money making this deck, give it some respect. Plus I cringe when I see people shuffle up without them.

Commander: Having a Plan

= Having A plan

Last week I introduced Commander as a format, this time I'm going to write about how one can go about building a Commander deck.

The reason why I'm writing about the Commander format lately is because I recently completed my fourth Commander deck (well, that and because I enjoy it). Except for my first Commander deck, I have followed a series of steps and phases when building decks of this type. I have worked out a framework for how to build a successful commander deck. Thus far, it has turned out 2 reasonably good decks in my local play group. Hopefully this newest one will be the third. I thought I'd share what exactly this framework entails. Hopefully this will enlighten those new to the format, inspire those who want to get into the format, and encourage those already in the format.

Let's say your interested in putting together a Commander deck, but you don't know where to start. You need to set yourself on a road map, develop a plan, and work out a strategy. Probably the most important question you need to ask yourself is what do you want the deck to do? Or more accurately, what do you find fun in Magic? (Mark Rosewater has written a handful of articles on Timmy, Johnny, and Spike which can help you discover what you find fun in Magic).

Painting in very broad strokes every (successful) deck that has ever been built does some combination of the following.
(1) Aggro: Swing with creatures.
(2) Control: Manage the board.
(3) Combo: Get some subset of cards that do something well together.

Now I believe that a good Commander deck will actually do all three of these, but in varying amounts. Each deck is will possess an overall play style or strong focus that will be the deck's core strategy. The deck will contain multiple win conditions which will fit into one of the three strategies. I'll feed you some examples from my own Commander decks.

Thraximundar
The deck itself has lots of spells, only about 20 creatures, and focuses on effects that destroy, sacrifice, or steal cards from other players. It's primary strategy is Control.

Rith, the Awakener
This deck has a decent array of creatures, not as many spells, and focuses on effects that accelerate the game, and pump my creatures. It's primary strategy is Aggro.

Sliver Overlord
This deck is mostly creatures. Even less spells than Rith, and focuses on a wide diversity of creature-based effects. Slivers are creatures, and therefore the deck is most likely to kill by attacking (an Aggro win condition). Slivers however, are inherently synergistic creatures, and the deck does include one combo (that requires 5-7 individual cards) that allow it to explode into unlimited mana/sliver tokens, thus it has a strong synergistic component with a possible combo win condition.


- Choosing a Commander

Choosing who your Commander will be is an important and vital part of building your deck. I can't tell you who to pick as your Commander, but I can tell you that there are a few philosophies behind why people pick the creatures they do.

(1) It's just the color(s) I need.
Sometimes a player knows what color(s) they want to play, but do not have a specific Commander in mind. The different colors in magic specialize in different tasks. You want to play a specific color or colors because it's what you want the deck to do. If you want to sit there and throw burn at your opponent then you're going to be playing red. If that's going to be a primary focus of your deck you may even choose to run Jaya Ballard, Task Mage.

A player can be forced to choose using this philosophy. This occurs most frequently when a player decides on a two or three color combination that include more "enemy" colors than ally colors. For example if you really want to play Blue and Green in a commander deck you have to pick between Experiment Kraj or Momir Vig, Simic Visionary. Similarly, if you want to destroy everything with extreme prejudice in White, Black, and Red - then the only Commander available to you is Oros, the Avenger - At least until the Commander decks come out this summer.

Oros, the Avenger

(2) I'm Building around this commander.

Sometimes a player knows what commander they want, and they simply build around them. In this case, there is some rules text on the card that gives the player a parameter that they want to run with. Sometimes it's as simple as creature type. Eladamri, Lord of Leaves? Looks like mono-green elves!

More often than not the legendary creature has an ability that the player plans on using to their advantage. Sedris, the Traitor King is Blue, Black and Red. However his ability lends him to a creature-based strategy, specifically one that generates extra damage or card advantage out of bringing things back from the graveyard.

Sedris, the Traitor King

(3) This commander goes with my deck..

Sometimes a player has an idea for a deck, or set of cards they want to play, or a type of effect they want to play. The player then has to find a commander that is a "best fit" with what they want to do. Both of my Rith (Naya) and Thraximundar (Grixis) decks mentioned above evolved this way. For each deck I was considering multiple possible commanders before settling on the ones I now use.

In case your curious Rith was once in contention with Johan and Mayael the Anima. Mayael was eventually cut from the deck entirely when I determined the success rate of her ability was too low. The deck still includes a Johan, but Rith's stats I thought were generally superior and more in tune with what the deck's plan was as a whole.

As an example, I will tell you that my latest Commander creation is:
Zur the Enchanter
My planed strategy for this deck is mixed. I hope to stall the game, swing with creatures (specifically Zur), and create some synergistic situations all by using enchantments. My primary focus is to attack (with Zur), and win using Commander damage rules. I choose Zur as a build-around general (Philosophy #2).

Magic Events for March, April

Magic: The Gathering
Events

WPN March Events

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome.
Tuesdays, March 1,8,15,22,29th 6:00-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays, March 4,11,25th 5:30-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic-Draft: Here, you rule. Join us for our monthly Draft. We will be drafting the newest set, Mirrodin Besieged. $16.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday, March 18th. 5:30-9:00pm

Mirrodin Besieged Game Day: Experience the power of play. Standard constructed. Exclusive promos to be handed out to all participants and additional promos to be handed out to the top 8 finishers. Here you Rule! $10.00 entry. Prizes based on attendance. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Sat March 5th 12:00 noon-9:00pm

Commander Event: Participate in the most awesome format ever. Elder Dragon Highlander AKA Commander. 100card singleton commander format. Multi-player with victory points. $10.00 entry. Prizes to be distributed as store credit.
Tues, March 8th 4:00pm-9:00pm

COSCON; Magic Super Standard: Here, you rule. Magic the Gathering returns to COSCON with a massive standard constructed tournament. To occur at Butler Days Inn at 139 Pittsburgh Road. DCI sanctioned. $15.00 entry fee. Massive 5 packs of prize to be distributed per entry makes this a high-prize event. Also sanctioned 8-man drafts to occur alongside this main event. Sponsored by New Dimension Comics of Butler. Hosted by Dan Regewitz. 11:00am registration begins.
Sunday 20th: 11:00am -5:00pm

WPN April Events

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome.
Tuesdays: 5,12,19,26; 5:30-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays: 8,22,29; 5:30pm - 9:00pm

FNM; Two-Headed Giant: Totally not a joke. Enjoy a change of pace with a Two-Headed Sealed event. Each team of 2 will receive 8 packs of Scars/Besieged product. Entry $16.00 per player or $32.00 per team. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! FNM and other promos offered as random door prizes. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday, April 1st, 5:00-9:00pm.

Commander Event: Participate in the most awesome format ever. Elder Dragon Highlander AKA Commander. 100card singleton commander format. Multi-player with victory points. $10.00 entry. Prizes to be distributed as store credit.
Tues, April 5th 4:00pm-9:00pm

Future Events

2011-05-07 -Action Prerelease (sealed)
2011-05-07 -Action Prerelease Side (draft)
2011-05-13 -Action Launch (draft)
2011-06-11 -Action Game Gay (standard)

WPN events Feb and March!

= WPN Events Feb and March
= Monday, January 31st, 2011

We are coming out of hibernation with a packed schedule for the next two months. Highlights include not one but two high-prize events, a commander event, and would you believe two-headed giant sealed deck?

Magic: The Gathering
Events

WPN Feb Events

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome. Also frequently run odd formats such as planechase, archenemy, EDH, emperor, multiplayer, etc.
Tuesdays: 1,8,15,22; 6:00-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays: 11,25; 5:30pm - 9:00pm

Friday Night Magic-Draft: Here, you rule. Join us for our monthly Draft. We will be drafting the newest set, Mirrodin Besieged. $16.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday: 18; 5:30-9:00pm

Mirrodin Besieged Launch!: Celebrate the official launch of the Magic set Mirrodin Besieged in this Draft event. $16.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday: 4th; 5:30-9:00pm.

High Prize Event: As part of the festivities of our newly re-instated Butler-Con, NDC Butler will be hosting a High Prize Event. Standard Constructed. $15 entry. 5 packs of distributed prize per entry! DCI sanctioned, Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Sun: 13th 12:00noon-5:00pm.

WPN March Events

Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering: Casual Play: Here, you rule. Come to play, trade, or build decks for Magic: the Gathering. Decks available for use. New Players Welcome.
Tuesdays, March 1,8,15,22,29th 6:00-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic: Here, you rule. Standard type 2 constructed event. $7.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Fridays, March 4,11,25th 5:30-9:00pm

Friday Night Magic-Draft: Here, you rule. Join us for our monthly Draft. We will be drafting the newest set, Mirrodin Besieged. $16.00 entry. DCI sanctioned w/ prize support! Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Friday, March 18th. 5:30-9:00pm

Mirrodin Besieged Game Day: Experience the power of play. Standard constructed. Exclusive promos to be handed out to all participants and additional promos to be handed out to the top 8 finishers. Here you Rule! $10.00 entry. Prizes based on attendance. Hosted by Dan Regewitz.
Sat March 5th 12:00 noon-9:00pm

Commander Event: Participate in the most awesome format ever. Elder Dragon Highlander AKA Commander. 100card singleton commander format. Multi-player with victory points. $10.00 entry. Prizes to be distributed as store credit.
Tues, March 8th 4:00pm-9:00pm

COSCON; Magic Super Standard: Here, you rule. Magic the Gathering returns to COSCON with a massive standard constructed tournament. To occur at Butler Days Inn at 139 Pittsburgh Road. DCI sanctioned. $15.00 entry fee. Massive 5 packs of prize to be distributed per entry makes this a high-prize event. Also sanctioned 8-man drafts to occur alongside this main event. Sponsored by New Dimension Comics of Butler. Hosted by Dan Regewitz. 11:00am registration begins.
Sunday 20th: 11:00am -5:00pm

Future Events

Friday, April 1st - Friday Night Magic; two-headed giant sealed deck!?