January Sale

Grab yourself a bargain... Its time for Gordon Vader's Famous January Ebay Card sale...


have a look HERE


Tomorrow we'll be looking at double pumping insane broken leiges and duel coloured lords...

At last My Cow General....

Folowers of the blog may or may not be aware that I have secretly been buidling a Barnyard beatdown EDH / Commander deck..

And Last night at FNM I sucessfully obtained my general. Guys, I got to tell yiu this bovine based deck has proven quite the challenge, but finnaly I have the missing piece and next week I shall present the completed and devastating natural beauty of....

FARME FATALE

Featuring as the general....

Uril the Mistsatlker... it's just a big cow really... look it's even got horns....

Now at my local club its EDH night next week, so I have exactly 6 days to ready the deck for battle and I need as many bovine suggestions as possible in green, red and white...

Please send your ideas to Gordon Vader at gordonvader@hotmail.co.uk

As long as a card has SOMETHING to do with farming or livestock it can go in....

Think.....Pillarfield ox, farmstead, land tax, taurean mauler, arouchs..clock work horse... anything... so please send those ideas in...

Knowing my club I don't have much chance of winning, but you never know, maybe with your help? I'd love to beat some insane $3000 grand deck with a herd of cows....

.

Super Knights

So making Dark Knight,  I wondered what it would be like to do a Standard mono white version with just knights ...I still think that there is room for black and white and that once Mrridon Beseiged comes out that there may a B/W knight powrhouse deck, but if I had to make a mono white knight deck, I'd do it like this...

So Ladies and Gentlemen I give you my new deck and I call it...

Superknights
Why?
Because it's faster than a speeding bullet...

You will need...

4 x student of warfare
4 x caravan escort
4 x kemba's skyguard
4 x knight exemplar
3 x sun titan
3 x time of heroes
4 x ajani goldmane
3 x contagion clasp
3 x journey to nowhere
4 x brave the elements
4 x emeria, the sky ruin
4 x tectonic edge
16 x plains


And here's the list withoutn all the photos....

4 student of warfare
4 caravan escort
4 kemba's skyguard
4 knight exemplar
3 sun titan
3 time of heroes
4 ajani goldmane
3 contagion clasp
3 journey to nowhere
4 brave the elements
4 emeria, the sky ruin
4 tectonic edge
16 plains

The time of heroes in this deck replaces the honor of the pure as the standard weenie boost.  because having just a single counter on your critters will get them a hefty +2+2... And with Time Of  Heroes  in play that means just 2 mana can get either the student or the escort  to the hallowed ground of 4/4 and out of the range of standard burn spells....

Contagion clasp will  help you level them further and at instant speed and it also works as the removal...  The Knight Exemplar  doesn't need any help as you are unlikely to be  swinging n with it and the fliers should sail over the tops of defenders..

Time of heroes helps this deck where it needs most, at the start...

The deck will be very quick due to the 8 one drop knghts ... and like I always say, you need tect edges in today's game to stand a chance against anything..

Sun Titan can retrieve pretty much anything in the deck (incluidng emeria and the tech edges) but probably most imprtantly it cam bring back the exemplars... which could be a nasty surprise late game...

A neat trick here is use the clasps to proliferate both the level counters on the student and caravan escort AND the plus one counters from Ajani...

So why contagion clasp over normal levelling?

Well, remember you have both options, but with the clasps you can do something other level decks can't do!

What's that?

Level at instant speed and this tricksy little move may win you games...

 Here's a play to show you how fast this deck can be..

Turn one - Student
Turn two - caravan escort - swing for 1-  level student
turn three - second student - level escort - swing for 3
Turn four - time of heroes level student twice - swing for 12 -
Turn five - play ajani -level student swing for 18


Now that's just nasty....Of course this is without any resistance,  but it just goes to show how quickly things can add up...

LORDY LORDY

Today we are going to talk about the Lord... Now before you try to bolt the door and hide behind the sofa, I should say I’m not talking about God.  If you’ve been following things here at Adventures in the Meta, you’ll know that today is the day we talk about the many multi-purpose creature pumping dudes in the world of magic.

I doubt anyone could trace back to where we started calling them lords, but for whatever reason, someone did and the name stuck. I like to think it was because of this guy and in fact he remains the only actual creature type ‘lord’ in the game...

You may think our friend above has some baffling powers and as such deserves his unglued/hinged status, but there are even more bizarre examples of aristocracy out there and we’ll get to them later...

Now to make it clear what I’m talking about, I’m not going to be discussing creatures that are simply called lord or have lord in their name. I am only going to be looking at lords that give creatures of a type or a colour a bonus. It needn’t be  +1 +! and it needn’t be much, but if they have an effect, your other critters can benefit from then they count..

Here’s a photo of what I am not talking about... 

Yep that’s my ALPHA Lord of the Pit and it’s for trade if you’ve got anything good...

There are so many lords it’s hard to k now where to start, but as that has to be somewhere, we’ll have a look at the global lords first... 

 http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=122487

A global lord will affect ALL creatures of a certain type or colour, not just your own and are therefore a little bit riskier than the others to play.

Some obvious examples Goblin King, Elvish Champion, Lord of Atlantis, but here are a few others too.

Ascendant Evincar, Aven Brigadier, Balthor the Stout,  Celestial Crusader ,Chainer, Dementia Master , Crovax, Ascendant Hero, Field Marshal, Kangee, Aerie Keeper (I use Kangee as a general in EDH just for fun), Zuberi, Golden Feather and Verdeloth the Ancient and this guy is a double lord…

Some of them need a little kick to get them started, but in essence they are still lords like… Orc General

  

And if you thought I was joking about weirder lords than the donkey lord at the start of this article just check these guys out..

So why global and then why did things change? Well for a start it makes more sense giving only your critters a boost, and there was nothing worse than a mirror match where your opponent had better goblins than you, but the real reason I suspect, was the introduction of the changeling...Changelings popped up in Lorwyn and were special becaus they every creature type.

It’s a bit disconcerting to be clearly winning until an opponent drops a Chameleon Colossus which suddenly has haste trample and forest walk...

and that my friend is where we are going with this little adventure...

At the end of of lord’s research I’m going to help you put together the meanest, nastiest, five colour multifunctional-do anything-Swiss Army Knife of an EHD/Commander deck using the best of the lords and the best of the changelings

So after having a look at some of the Global lords are there any that look good for our EDH / Commander deck? Well, as it says at the start they can be a bit risky, but I think there are two that jump out... So get digging for....Balthor the stout. (all barbarians get +1 +1 and target barbarian get firebreathing) and Chainer Dementia Master - All Nightmares get +1 +1 (and who plays nightmares?) and she has an awesome raise dead ability too!

After a wee bit research I’ve decided to make this a weekly feature as frankly anything else would be a dissertation. 

So now we’ve had a look at some of the global lords and next week we’ll have a look at the leiges..

I’m putting a disclaimer in here by the way... There are over 11,000 different card to chose from... So if I miss a lord or two sue me..

.

Caling all lords

Lord Almighty

We all like a boost and there’s nothing like strong leadership to inspire and empower. Of course in magic we also like making numbers get bigger and there’s no better way to do that than to stick some lords in your deck.

Lords?

Yep it’s a colloquial name for any creature that gives a particular race (or a colour) a unique bonus, usually but not always +1 +1... EG... Lord of Atlantis, Goblin Chieftain, Scion of Oona etc. etc.

Tomorrow, we’ll be having a look at some of the best and worst and we’d like to hear your thoughts on the matter. So if you have a favourite or if there’s one you hate then please let us know. The email as always Gordonvader@hotmail.co.uk

Here’s one of my favourites to start us off...

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...

The Tardis

I like Scars, I  mean Scars of Mirrodin ovbiously I wasn't coming out of the sexy medical fetish cabinet. I 've always liked the idea of Artifacts, whether it be little robot myrs scurrying around the landscape or a special bag of peanuts that can reverse time (this one I made up, so please don't waste your time looking for it on Gatherer... but if you are a research bod at Wizards R&D then please make it and call it Vader's Magic Nut Sack)

Obviously being on Mirrodin I'm spoilt for choice for bobbits and trinkets and indeed fetishes and it got me thinking.

What's better then a lot of artifacts?

Well since you asked... Lot's more artifacts...


And so to the deck Ladies and Gentlemen

This is The Tardis (google it if you don't know the Arcronym) because it's a lot bigger inside than it looks.

You will need...

2 Mumble Tagnets
4 Prototype Portal
2 Myr Propagator  
1 Myr Reservior
1 Myr Galvaniser
4 Perilous Myr
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Everflowing Chalice
2 Elixir of Immortality
4 Throne of Geth
1 Voltaic Key
4 Ratchet Bomb
4 Kuldotha Forgmaster
1 Lux Cannon

So what's on the agenda? Well this one is a combination of a few of my favourites plays. and has a sneaky trick to deal with the obvious sideboard card.

So how does it work?


Welll your first port of call should be either an everflowing chalice or a ratchet bomb. The bombs and the perilous myrs will be your removal and as the deck progresses you'll find it pretty easy to recurr them, so don't be affraid to blow up anything you don't like the look of.  Your own threats are a never ending supply of robotic myrs that will start off as annoying and soon become earth breakingly devastating.

The deck itself is situational and has a few tricks depending on who you are up aggainst, but it won't take a detective to point out that the deck has many ways to create excess artifacts and also to proliferate. There is also a tutoring element and once you get to that level you are going to be having a lot of fun with this deck.

So  basically...

A section of the deck makes artifacts...
Part of the deck sacrifices artifacts to proliferate...
Another porton of the deck brings back artifacts from the graveyard.
Another little bit Tutors artifacts into your hand...

I'll explain each section...

Making artifacts -  Well this one is easy you are doing two things here for two reasons. Firstly most of the artifacts in the deck can be used in mass amounts so if you get a portal you can imprint pretty much anything you like and it will serve you well (including the portal itself...)

As artifact hate is still a sideboard card in Standard you are pretty safe to drop these willy nilly and not think about the consequences.  Like I said, almost everything works and later you will be tutoring artifacts up left right and centre so just imprint the first thing you see and remember what ever it is it will serve the portal's second function well.

Second function? Oh yes, the hidden agenda is to build some towers of babel, which in turn willl fulfil two other secret functions. Put simply, in creating artifacts you are making more fuel for the fire.

What fire? Well like I said there are two... the first is the old devil proliferate which you do in this deck with the Throne of Geth and that demands a sacrifice every time you do it... The second is the Forgemaster which again require sacrifices to tutor up an artifact.

Proliferate, why and what's to proliferate?  There are three obvious targets and a less obvious techie target in this deck. It won't take a genius to spot that Lux Cannon, Tumble Magnet and Everflowing Chalice all work well with the mechanic, but there is another target that can pull off a sneaky trick, so be cautious as to why, when and how you proliferate the Ratchet Bomb...  What?  Well let me put it another way, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do something... Particularily if you want to make your opponent think you've missed a trick...

What I'm trying to say is that if this deck behaves and you take the first game your opponent is probably going to sideboard in ratchet bombs aggainst you and they are going to race them to 4 mana to take out the portals, and your best defence is to feign ignoramce, because if they think you've missed the trick they are going to try and set the bomb off as they hit 4 counters and you are going to use your throne to proliferate it to 5 at instant speed.  Of course if they aren't playing bombs zap em as high as you can get them . Don't underestimate this little Jedi Mind trick. and speaking of which why not have some fun with the land.. I reccomend Dread Sanctuary and Raging Ravine (which you can also proliferate)but appart form that its any colour so pick anyone you like.

Recurring Artifacts - this deck does this in two ways, Firstly the reservior (which should be one of the first things you get with the foregmaster) will keep bringing back the collection of myrs.. Perlious for removal, palladium to ramp, propagators to increase the threat and battlespheres fot the win... At the same time if you lose anything too valuable, you can always use the deck's second method of recursion, elixir of immortality, to get it back in the deck...  

Tutoring... Ok this is simple, use the token artifacts you've generated to find the pieces you need to win the game, by saccing them to the Forgemaster.

Strategy? Get your bombs out early get the first one up to the threat level yu expect for  your opponenets deck... 4 for blue white control, 6 for eldrazi ramp, 3 or 5 for elves... (as we mentioned ealrier it may be wise to pretend not to notice that you can proliferate the bombs, particularily if you don;t need to)

Tutor for the resevior or the propogater early to get some defence and the battlespheres will be your game winner....Once you get the tutor engine up and running get a glavaniser on a prtoal and then get a battlesphere on another...

As the new set comes in save a space for Thopter Squadron as it will fit in here perfectly...