Well its that time of year again... Dark Ascension is upon us....

Appart from sounding like a dodgy goth night... We ask the obvious question is it any good and will it be fun or broken?

Well we'll have more ideas after the pre release, but here's what I'll be looking for...  for long term projects at any rate....

This card makes me sad... but despite this I shall be doing all I can to get as many as possible on Saturday... It will be an  absolute must for commander / edh and is frankly more wrong than snogging yer granny...

For those of you who don't speak foreign, it basically reads as... I spent £20 on this card so I can break the game of magic and labour under the impression that I'll look really cool in the process...or counter target spell
and play one that shares a type with it from your hand without paying its mana cost.. or in other words... sit smugly back with nothing but open lands and do nothing until you eventually get to 6 mana then win the game with what ever over powered uncastable bollox is currently doing the net deck rounds...It's not like drawing cards or digging is hard in blue... Well done... Wizards of the coast you have reached a new low....

Here's the actual text...

Counter target spell. You may cast a card from your hand that shares a card type with that spell without paying its mana cost.

and if that wasn't bad enough...

They've dropped this monster on us as well...

Curse of Echoes
Enchant Player
Whenever enchanted player casts an instant or sorcery spell, each other player may copy that spell and may choose new targets for the copy he or she controls.

No 1 pick for every EDH Commander deck from now on (at least in EDH it might be funny...)

Ok so we've gotten past the fun killers how about the rest of the field?



Well one might think that Wizards may have learned what happens when you make cards with flash back cards that cost less mana to cast from t he graveyard? Well like I asid you might think...

The whte mana here is almost not worth having.. I  mean don't; get me wrong...in a black and white deck it would be even stroinger, but as a card that reads pitch me and get two 1/1 white fliers for my mono black deck it doesn't seem bad at all.. hell 2 flliers for 3 in mono white isn't horrendous...



Staying with white.

With old spethy still in the top decks this guy is a must have... and for any token deck... tap to add a 1/1 is nuts... this could get broken...

I haven't had a real chance to go through the cards in great detail, but in black there are a couple that jump out...

Ignore the basic reprint of master's call on the left.... I'm talking about the Tragic Slip.. there aren't many situations where -13 -13 won't save your neck and it's not hard to have something to kill in  black... I can see this card getting some play....

and whether this bad boy sees play is a moot point.... I'm just glad it exists..
.

Increasing ambition is good too and double tutors in EDH are always good...

In red I love...

Card draw in red is tricky and add flash back and this is great...

For the Jonny Combo in all of us this could be a very quick clock...

Especially if you add it to

Increasing savagery 3 double green

Put five +1/+1 counters on target creature. If Increasing Savagery was cast from a graveyard, put ten +1/+1 counters on that creature instead.
Flashback
Ii mean sure its double green, but then we remember this...

See I'm at it already...



OK so I'll mention a couple more....

Ok so my favourite over powered monster is this... I mean how many abilities does a card need?
I can see this in the counterlash deck...I'm just glad folks don't like playing blue white control decks... Oh wait...

And for sideboard card of the set... I reccomend...(it's also good if you want to make enemies in EDH) or want to take up Legacy... These last two cards are going to go up in value

But the meta figher in me will always try and find some sneaky cheap way to win games and still have money for beer and my tip to this end is this curious little number...

I reckon this this jank rare is more playbale that in looks...  I can see it in a red aggro deck with elements of control... It could save spent blockers and zapped attackers early game and late game there ain't much it won't stop... and that ulitmate could be a game winner... 


update 26th... thanks to Brighton's James Tann for reminding me of this little bit of insanity....

http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/magic_single_card.asp?cn=Havengul%20Lich&ref=hover

another top pick for saturday... How he'll do in sealed I don't know but in constructed he could be  a gem...

And what about the Palneswalkers?

And I have to mention this geezer... I sincerely doubt he's going to keep the silly price tag because his abilities are just a little bit tame compared witth others....

 

Dark Knight

What would Batman be without Robin?  Wayne without Garth? Bart without Millhouse? Abbot without Costello? Double acts are exactly that, they support each other and make the finished article just a little bit better. Without the funny guy all you have is an accountant, but without the straight guy you’re left with the overweight kid who got bullied a lot at school....

Magic is full of great double acts, what would Windbrisk Heights be without Spectral Procession, Eldrazi Conscription without Sovereigns of Lost Alara, Game of Chaos without Krark’s Thumb or Poly Morph without Emrakul?  Sure the cards would all work without their favourite dance partners, but would they have they made centre stage?  I don’t know for sure, but I think at least a few of them would still be waiting in the wings...

And so, my friends, to the point... My friend Melenko from Venezuela follows the blog and asked me to create a Vampire deck. It was going to be mono black, but after a wee bit of research, I discovered what I believe to be another great double act and so Ladies and Gentleman I present my new deck I call it... 

Dark Knight( for reasons that will become apparent soon.)

You will need

4 Arrogant Bloodlord

4 Student of Warfare

3 Pulse Tracker

4 Guul Draz Assassin

4 Knight Exemplar

4 Captivating Vampire

3 Grasp of Darkness

3 Prophetic Prism

2 Grim Discovery

3 Journey to Nowhere 
2 Disfigure

4 Marsh Flats

4 Terramorphic Expanse

4 Tectonic Edge

6 Plains

6 Swamps

Ok so what’s the cunning plan? Ok well this one is pretty simple, but first I want to talk about the cards I didn’t put in. As you as probably aware vampires do exist and not only that, but currently they are one of the forces to be reckoned with. Being one of the top decks means there are lots of opinions on it and more importantly it can affect the price and we at Tragic The Gathering or Adventures in the Meta, whichever way you think of us, will always fly the flag for budget, so for this reason you won’t find any Bloodghasts, Highborns or Vampire Nighthawks in this deck.  Now it’s important to say that these are good cards and they would go well in the deck, but there are over 10,000 magic cards in existence and with numbers like that there’s really no need to play with the same 50.... (Standard... Less cards...Yes I know...Making a point...ok? ... Good... Let’s move on...)   

So now we know what’s not in it, here’s a quick run through the stars that did make the list.  There are two, one drops, Guul Draz Assassin and Student of Warfare, and they are both pretty imposing first turn threats. There are two lords and each has an awesome second ability. Being black and white the deck has the best of removal and Grim Discovery will help you get your favourite critters back and help you sort your colours out by recurring the Marsh flats...

Ok what was all that about a double act? Well the two reasons I went black white with this deck are Arrogant Bloodlord and Knight Exemplar. If ever two cards were meant to go together it was these two, The Bloodlord is a rare creature indeed a 4/4 for 3 and its sole flaw is compensated perfectly by the other 3 drop knight, who not only makes him indestructible but also pumps him... And since we’re adding a knight lord... why not add one of the best one drops and knight in the game, Student of Warfare.

Now this a real word of warning... These cards are cheap now, but they are going to go up and I mean rocket in value. With the introduction of Hero of the Bladehold and the two new cavaliers in the new set, there’s a good chance that knights will be the new white weenie deck and if we remember why we don’t have Bloodghasts in this deck I’d suggest if you haven’t got Students of Warfare or Knights of the Exemplar already you better get onto EBay now.  (Speaking of which you may have noticed the Amazon.co.uk search box at the bottom of the blog... Have you ever searched for Magic the Gathering on Amazon? If not... try it... the results might surprise you)

For the sideboard try Vampire Hexmage (Which could also be worth a shout in the main deck) and as we are in black and white you could add either or both of the leylines, or maybe Inquisition of Kozilek or duress to steal the threats before they hit the table...

Black Knight and white knight also fit the build, but I sincerely think you'll get more value out of the vampires and there are enough to make the Vampire lord's ability resolve and that is a hidoeus trick. Of course the new knghts will also work here but this is a vampire deck for my friend Melenko and when the new set comes out I'll make a knights deck too.

If you have them, then BloodGhasts and the gang fit right into this deck, but what makes this deck special are the lords... 

Captivating Vampire? +1+! to each Vampire and you can steal creatures? 

Knight Exemplar +1+1 and indestructabillity? 

I find the mana is working, ok but if you feel you need more stability you could always add Prophetic Prism. Other options for the main deck could be Journey to Nowhere over the Condemn and Disfigure over the the Feast of Blood.

In my opinion these are two of the best lords wizards have printed, but we'll have the chance to test that theory really soon, as we take a look at the best Lords ever... From the double pumping lieges to the tricksy Reejeries and the frankly bonkers Goblin Riggers...

Fastest Kills in Standard and Extended

Zero Quest

Ok I’ve played the original version of this deck ( quest for the holy relic ) and I have to confess I hate it. If it works and annoyingly, when I play it, it seems to work all the time, its brutal quick and there’s no coming back from the brink.   So in age old ‘Vader’ style I thought, if you can’t beat them... Eat them...

Ladies and gentlemen this is Zero Quest and it has the fastest potential win of ANY Standard deck (that I know of..)

Its combo based and about as stable as the Euro, but I’ll give you the skeleton and I’ll leave it you to sculpt a T-REX out of it.

You will need

4 Leyline of Anticipation

 4 Memnite

4 Everflowing Chalice

4 Mox Opal

4 Ornithopter

4 Kuldotha Rebirth

4 Goblin Bushwhacker

4 Lightning bolt

4 Goblin Chieftain

4 Chimeric Mass

4 Scalding Tarn

4 Arid mesa

14 Mountains

So... what does it do?

Well it can swing for 12 damage on turn ONE.

Yep, you read that right not turn two... turn one... You’ll need the god hand, but the deck is designed to generate that relatively easily ... So 12 damage on the first turn how? Well you elect to get second if you win the flip, or if your opponent wins you’ll probably be going second anyway. 

What you need in an opening hand is any combination of the following... 0 mana artifacts, mox opal, rebirth and most importantly the leyline...  As long as you have the leyline you opponent is going to have a bad day, just how bad is dependent on your luck...   

Here’s the trick...  Let’s say you have the god hand, and I cannot stress enough you don’t need it.

Leyline, ornithopter, mox opal, kuldotha rebirth, 2 x memnite, goblin bushwacker... Keep the hand and immediately as the game begins lay the Leyline. Now during your opponent’s upkeep step flash in the menites , the ornithopter and the mox opal, then use the opal for one red and sac the ornithopter to play the rebirth. This will give you 5 x 1/1’s before your opponent has even laid a land.

In your FIRST turn, draw and play a land and tap the opal and the land to play the Goblin bushwhacker making everything a  2/1 and allowing you to swing for !2 damage on Turn one in turn 2 lay a Goblin chieftain and that ain’t game, you ain’t playing right.

  

Of course these are god hands, but think about the deck, even if you can’t pull of the ultimate in turn one you could have a any number of battle ready 1/1’s ... 

No islands for leyline? Nope, it’s there for one reason and one reason only, mulligan till you find it.  Like I said this is the skeleton and we at Adventures in the Meta encourage you to make your own decks.   

Sideboard, we’re going to leave this to you to and I suggest that you completely change strategy on game two because a smart opponent will elect to play 2^nd in game two if you beat them game one.

Here are some other ideas to play around the leyline...

 Add Beastmaster’s Ascension and Birds of Paradise... and in your opponents first turn you can flash in the birds off the opal and then in your first turn you can lay a land and play Beastmaster’s Ascension, and swing for 3... In your 2^nd turn that’s game...

There’s even a horrific Extended Combo which is potentially a one turn kill.... again during your opponent’s turn flash in the memnites/ornithopters and then use the opal to play Amulet of Vigor.

In your first turn, play Windbrisk Heights and stick an Emrakul under it... As it comes in un-tapped, thanks to the Amulet you can then swing with 3 memnites and use the opal to activate it, thus ‘casting’ Emrakul and getting the extra turn...  Swing in on the next turn (which is really still your first turn) and that’s 21 damage including the memnites)

So there you have it the fastest kills in Standard and extended, that don’t require any help from your opponent.(You can do nasty things with Summoning Trap, but this will require your opponent to cancel your spells for you.)

Update for Christmas  (you can abuse this build further by the addition of Shared Discoveries ) of course you can now add islands too which will make the leylines work

update Dec 25th... I've been thinking about this concept over and over and I've come to a startling conclussion... If Wizards do introduce an Artifact Land in Mirrodin Besieged then I think we've just invented the new Archetype.

Why? Well for one thing the Mox opal will finally be playable anyway and with both llanowar Elves and Birds of paradise being 1 drop mana producers with leyline ofanticipation in play it could be easy to drop 3 mana on turn 1 - or 2 if that doesn't happen (which let's be fair, is a good plan b)... and that would give you access to a staggering choice of options including tutors, culitvates, turn one ratchet bombs with mana to spare ... the list is endless and you could easily replenish your hand... 

Turn one cultivate  - turn two jace's inginuity... anyone?

Are you a Magic Judge? Do want to earn a bit of cash?

I'v had an email from those Lovely Wizard Retail Researchers Qualvu...And they need some help so... if you are a DCI judge or run FNM magic events they want to talk to you and there may even be some money in it for you.... 
 
lwilson@qualvu.com