Category: Articles


Charmed! Dimir Charm

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Charmed!, Gatecrash by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 28, 2013

dimir-charm-gatecrash-uncommon

Today on Charmed, we take a look at one of the best Charms in the Return to Ravnica block: Dimir Charm. It’s a perfect little tool for a control deck. It offers three great options: counter target sorcery spell, destroy target creature with power 2 or less, or look at the top three cards of target player’s library, then put one back and the rest into that player’s graveyard.

The first option certainly can come in handy when you need a counterspell, and just don’t happen to have another one in hand. Then again, Negate is better for this function, and doesn’t require the black component – only a blue and a colorless. Most of the time, you’ll be using the other two options.

There are plenty of creatures that you’d want to destroy with power 2 or less: Fiend Hunter, for example. In the current meta-game, there are certainly plenty of them. Instant speed removal is always good, especially in the current Standard meta-game, so this is a pretty good option.

However, it’s the third option that makes this card especially interesting. It essentially can rid your opponent of getting that perfect top-deck. Being able to “fate seal” your opponent, as well as potentially send two useful cards to the bin is pretty helpful. Then again, against certain decks like Reanimator, this isn’t too great. But against many decks, especially the more aggressive decks that want to keep drawing gas, this is a pretty good way to buy yourself an extra turn or two.

All in all, this is a pretty straightforward card that does a variety of things well. It may not have as big of an impact as a Boros Charm on the game-state, but it can give you decent one-for-one options, with a potential two-for-one option. Pretty good card.

 

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Charmed! Rakdos Charm

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Charmed!, Return to Ravnica by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 22, 2013

rakdos-charm

At first blush, Rakdos Charm doesn’t appear all that impressive. Remove all cards from an opponent’s graveyard? Okay, nice little sideboard against Reanimator, but Tormod’s Crypt does the same thing for zero, although this can do it at instant speed in response to an Angel of Glory’s Rise trigger. Destroy target artifact? Okay, but not as relevant in the current Standard format (besides the pesky Grafdigger’s Cage sideboards). So what about it’s last effect? Each creature deals 1 damage to its controller. Hmm, now that’s interesting!

Why is that you say? Isn’t that going to hurt me, as well? Well, yes, but think about it. Rakdos Charm is the perfect sideboard against token decks, and in decks that already inflict lots of damage (Rakdos and Jund), this is a pretty sweet way to finish off an opponent that thinks that they have the same in hand. For only 2 mana, you can potentially deal a finishing blow to your opponent on their turn! It’s also a fantastic sideboard in Modern against Splinter Twin decks (let’s see you go infinite now, buddy! Infinitely dead!)

So why is Rakdos Charm simply not good at the moment? Well, it sort of is, and it sort of isn’t. We still have Thragtusk in the format. There’s still Sphinx’s Revelation. Not only that, you still have Huntmaster of the Fells, Cathedral Sanctifier, and Centaur Healer to give you life-gain. Burn damage isn’t quite as relevant right now. The only reason Rakdos and Boros can win right now is because they’re often quick enough to take out the mid-range decks before they can muster a comeback. Yes, this card doesn’t help versus control, but that’s what Rakdos’ Return is for!

While Rakdos Charm is certainly not the best of the Charms, it’s useful against certain archetypes in your sideboard. When Innistrad block rotates out of Standard and people start throwing a lot of Gruul and Boros aggro decks at you, you can make them pay (as long as this card doesn’t kill you in the process!)

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Generally Speaking – Bartel Runeaxe

Filed under: Articles, EDH - Commander, Legends by solemnparty — 2 Comments
February 18, 2013

bartel runeaxe

Yay, more Legends generals… I know they were trying to have lots of legendary creatures in the set, but I wish they were better.

Bartel Runeaxe is a 6/5 for 3GRB with vigilance and protection from auras. Honestly, the greatest part about this guy is the flavor text.

Thundering down from Hammerheim, no foe could slow Bartel’s charge.

This would have made a lot more sense if he had trample instead of vigilance… The only other thing of note about Bartel is that he cannot be the target of enchant creature spells, so he can’t be the target of Aura-based removal such as Prison Term, etc. Otherwise, he’s pretty plain, and nothing to build around.

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Generally Speaking – Aurelia, the Warleader

Filed under: EDH - Commander, Gatecrash by solemnparty — Leave a comment
February 18, 2013

The problem with doing these in alphabetical order is that when new sets are released, I have to go back and do them.

That being said, I’ve been gone for quite a while. Between school and having a life, I haven’t really had time. But I’m back, though my reviews will be a little sparse and I’ll still be very busy with stuff.

So I’m coming back with a good card!

aurelia

Aurelia, the Warleader is the new leader of the Boros Guild, and she’s pretty impressive on her own. Flying, Vigilance, and haste with free combat phases? It’s pretty great.

Though, she’s a 6 drop, and 2WWRR is not very appealing for just a 3/4, but it’s her ability that makes her very impressive.

Whenever Aurelia, the Warleader attacks for the first time each turn, untap all creatures you control. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase.

Better than Seize the Day, Aurelia’s ability to produce extra combats is very impressive, especially as she doesn’t even have to get through in order to have the extra combat/untap trigger. Though, I prefer Hellkite Charger and Sword of Feast and Famine for extra/infinite combat steps…

Personally, I like Aurelia, but not as a commander. If you really want to play Aurelia, go ahead, but I’ll stick to Gisela for that.

Cards to play with Aurelia:

  • Seize the Day
  • Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
  • Sublime Archangel
  • Hellrider
  • Inferno Titan/Sun Titan
  • Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

Decks to play Aurelia in:

  • Kaalia of the Vast
  • Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
  • Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran
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Game and Mechanics – Legendary Impediments Part I – Grandeur

Filed under: Game Mechanics by solemnparty — Leave a comment
February 16, 2013

While we here at Win Target Game have been doing the “Generally Speaking” series in alphabetical order, we run into cards that aren’t usable as EDH Generals or just are terrible choices, especially those with mechanics that simply won’t work in EDH.

One of these mechanics was an interesting one called Grandeur. It was a mechanic introduced in Future Sight within a cycle of 5 legendary creatures that we’ll cover today. Grandeur is an instant-speed ability that can be used at any time, in which you discard another copy of the same card (for example, if you control Baru, Fist of Krosa, you may discard another Baru, Fist of Krosa from your hand) to trigger whatever ability the creature has. The Grandeur mechanic exists only on these five Legendary Creatures. First up, the green Legend, Baru, Fist of Krosa:

Baru, Fist of Krosa is the first of these Grandeur creatures; a 4/4 for 3GG. His first ability is a static ability that triggers every time you play a Forest, giving all of your green creatures +1/+1 and trample until end of turn. Then his Grandeur ability lets you discard another Baru to create an X/X green Wurm creature token, where X is the number of lands you control. As a  General, he could work, but his ability isn’t the best around to build around. You could build a fun casual deck around him in Constructed, though.

Korlash, Heir to Blackblade is the black creature in the cycle. For 2BB, you get a creature whose power and toughness are equal to the number of swamps you control. Assuming you’re playing mono-black, Korlash is a great ramp card at instant speed, boosting himself +2/+2 if that’s the case. On top of that, he has Regenerate for 1B, making him even more impressive. Out of the entire cycle, Korlash is generally the best of them, especially as a General!

linessa-zephyr-mage

Linessa, Zephyr Mage is a nice looking card.  She costs 3U to cost and her ability is ok. For X plus 2U and a tap, you can return taret creature with converted mana cost X to its owner’s hand. It’s a decent effect if you really need it, and Linessa certainly can fit into an Azumi, Lady of Scrolls deck if you just had to find another Wizard to put in there. But her Grandeur ability bounces a lot more than that. If you discard another Linessa, target player returns a creature, an artifact, an enchantment, and a land of their choosing to their hand. This sounds pretty good, except that the choice is that of the target player. So she’s not really amazing. As a general, she’s fairly meh, as well.

oriss-samite-guardian

Oriss, Samite Guardian is playable in EDH simply for the effect to prevent all damage that would be dealt to a target creature that turn. A 1/3 for 1WW isn’t terrible, either. However, the Grandeur ability on Oriss is pretty silly. If you discard a copy of her while another Oriss is on the battlefield, target player can’t play spells or attack for that turn. I’d be fascinated to get a control deck that utilizes 4 copies of her, but obviously, this is one you won’t be playing as a general (although, it is possible if you love Oriss that much.)

tarox-bladewing

Tarox Bladewing is a nice card for the Dragon fans out there to collect, but without his Grandeur ability, he’s just a 4/3 flyer with haste for 2RRR. That’s obviously not awful, but most certainly not General material. His Grandeur ability is not too special, either. If you discard another Tarox Bladewing, the Tarox on the board gets +X/+X where X is its power. Considering that its power could be boosted in a number of ways, this ability could obviously become more than a simple +4/+4 boost, but still, it’s the weakest of the Grandeur abilities. If you want to build a Red EDH Dragon Deck around him, be my guest, but there are far better choices for Generals out there.

You can bet that someone out there has built EDH decks around these five potential generals, but for now, we’ll consider these reviewed.

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Mages of the Guild: Sunhome Guildmage vs Boros Guildmage

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Gatecrash, Ravnica: City of Guilds by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 15, 2013
Sunhome Guildmage Gatecrash uncommon

Sunhome Guildmage Gatecrash uncommon

Today on Mages of the Guild, we continue yesterday’s Boros theme with Sunhome Guildmage and his earlier counterpart, Boros Guildmage. While both certainly have their strengths, one is clearly better than the other.

So we’ll start with the newer Guildmage first. Sunhome Guildmage has a casting cost of 1 red and 1 white for a 2/2. Pretty standard. His mana abilities are good, but not great. For 1RW, creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn. As it’s not a tap ability, you can activate it as many times as you have the mana. It’s not a bad ability, but that mana is perhaps better invested in one of your haste creatures like Skyknight Legionnaire or Hellrider, etc.

His second ability is a bit underwhelming. For 2RW you get a 1/1 red and white soldier creature token with haste onto the battlefield. Now that 1 damage may be enough to put the game away, but for 4 mana, especially in Boros, you will have better options (heck, just play a Searing Spear for 1R if the game’s that tight.)

Overall, Sunhome Guildmage may be an OK card in Limited, but in Constructed he’s one of the weaker Guildmages. He’s not even really great in EDH, unless you find someway to get infinite mana to pump your creatures infinitely. Doable, but there are far better combos. Then again, if you can find a way to get that infinite mana, you could also get infinite tokens. One to think about, but again, far more efficient ways to do so!

Boros Guildmage Uncommon

Boros Guildmage Uncommon

Boros Guildmage, on the other hand, from the original Ravnica block, is actually hands down a better card. She’s been played in EDH for quite some time (hence her inclusion in the Commander pre-constructed decks released a couple of years ago, shown above.) First of all, her casting cost is easier, because of the hybrid red/white mana cost. So you can get stuck on one color and still play her turn two.

But her casting cost is far from the best part about her. Her activated abilities are just plain silly. For 1R, you can give target creature haste until end of turn. So say you play a Balefire Dragon or something big that doesn’t have haste. Well, for 1R it now does. Goodbye opponent’s creatures (as Balefire deals damage equal to his power, usually 6, to all of that player’s creatures). There are plenty of creatures that you would not mind paying 1R to have haste and swing for game. That ability is just fantastic. That and you can use that ability on Guildmage herself (although you probably wouldn’t.)

Her second ability, while more tactical, is also incredibly good. For 1W you can give a target creature first strike until end of turn. This can lead to some interesting blocking situations. If you have the open mana, some players simply will let your attack through because giving first strike a lot of times will kill their creature and not yours. It’s also a fine combat trick for when they do block. While not quite as exciting as giving something haste, it’s a great ability that can serve probably just as well.

The only issue is now that Boros Guildmage isn’t in Standard. I don’t know if any Modern Boros lists are running her, and perhaps in Constructed while those abilities are pretty darn good, you won’t often use them until much later in the game since they are what players like to call “mana sink” abilities. The best application for her is in Casual and in EDH, where you often have mana to spare on many turns, and giving things haste in EDH can be a potential Win Target Game depending on what creature you’re giving it to. So she’s a really good card to have.

So while neither Boros guildmage is especially fantastic in Constructed, there’s little doubt that Boros Guildmage wears the crown for better card here. Sorry, Sunhome Guildmage, you’re just not quite good enough for me… although you can make those infinite tokens…

 

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Charmed! Boros Charm

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Charmed!, Gatecrash by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 14, 2013
Boros Charm Gatecrash Uncommon

Boros Charm Gatecrash Uncommon

Previously in this series, we took a look at Azorius Charm and its many applications in control decks.  Today in our Charmed series, we’re taking a look at a far more aggressive charm, Boros Charm, one of the hottest cards right now from Gatecrash! Its three abilities are all worth the investment of a single white and a single red mana, so let’s take a look.

The first option is to deal 4 damage to target player. That doesn’t sound like much until you know that you can get your opponent down to 4 or less life. This allows you to be able to know that you won’t have an opponent hanging on at 1-3 life and possibly be able to stabilize and drop a Thragtusk to get back into the game. This just adds that extra damage you might need, and possibly being able to drop 2 or 3 in a turn quite easily means you can pull out some very quick wins.

The second ability is perhaps the most versatile and most useful in both Constructed and EDH. Making all of your creatures indestructible is pretty important. While there is already Rootborn Defenses for that purpose in Standard (which also Populates), it’s one mana cheaper and also has the two other options on it, so if you’re not running any tokens, this is just a better option (you could run Defenses in addition to this if you’d like in any case, but your three mana slots are precious in Boros) Knowing you can make all your creatures indestructible can save you from Supreme Verdict and other board wipes such as Blasphemous Act and Mizzium Mortars (which means you could play one yourself and survive!) This ability to make your creatures survive alone makes it worth playing.

The third option is pretty fantastic, too. Giving a creature double strike is pretty relevant if that creature is a Thundermaw Hellkite, or any creature that will give you just enough damage to “get there.” It also allows something to survive a blocker, but they’re best utilized for pushing for game. Always a good tool to have.

Boros Charm is one of the best Charms ever printed, hands down, and it will be seeing a lot of play for years to come.

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Mages of the Guild: Duskmantle Guildmage & Dimir Guildmage

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Gatecrash, Ravnica: City of Guilds by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 8, 2013
Duskmantle Guildmage Gatecrash Uncommon

Duskmantle Guildmage Gatecrash Uncommon

In this mini-series, Win Target Game will be looking at the Guildmages of the various Guilds in both the new Ravnica block and the old Ravnica block and compare and contrast them.

Oh, don’t we all love the guildmages? Yes, some are far superior to others, and while some of the newer ones have way cooler abilities, let’s just see how much better they are compared to their predecessors in their respective guilds, shall we?

First up, we have the new Guildmage from Dimir: Duskmantle Guildmage. For one blue and one black, you get a 2/2 body with a couple of interesting mana abilities. First for 1UB (1 colorless, 1 Blue, 1 Black), whenever a card is put into an opponent’s graveyard from anywhere this turn, that player loses 1 life. Honestly, with the mill strategies being played in Standard today, that’s pretty relevant, but not only that, it’s a card going to the graveyard from ANYWHERE. So if your opponent plays an instant, they lose a life. if your opponent has a creature die, they lose a life. If they’re forced to mill cards, they lose a life, or potentially more. I will say, a mana sink of only 1UB for that is pretty darn good, especially if you have a way to make them mill a whole bunch of cards.

The second ability for 2UB is a bit underwhelming compared to the first ability. You just mill the top two cards of your opponent’s deck into the graveyard. There are much more effective ways of doing this in Constructed, but it has Limited applications, and if nothing else, you have four mana open to do it, and nothing better to do, it can’t hurt, really. (Unless, of course, you mill a nasty Flashback spell). In EDH, however, if you get infinite mana, you can mill everyone for game (as long as one or more of your opponents don’t play an Eldrazi.) The good news is, if you use his 1UB ability before hand, you’ll probably kill them with the life drain anyway.

Overall, Duskmantle Guildmage is a pretty nice little uncommon. For Constructed, it fits very well into the Dimir strategies, and three mana for a potential major life drain is pretty darn good, I must say. Also, in multi-player formats, EDH especially, that first ability can do serious harm in multiple situations, as it affects any of your opponents.

Dimir Guildmage Ravnica City of Guilds Uncommon

Dimir Guildmage Ravnica City of Guilds Uncommon

So what about Duskmantle’s older brother, the original Dimir Guildmage? First off all, he has a hybrid mana cost of 2 blue or black, so he may drop on turn two more often than his newer counterpart on the basis of his more convenient casting cost. After that, though, his abilities are a bit underwhelming. For 3 and a blue, target player draws a card. For 3 and a black, target player discards a card. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not bad abilities, especially considering that if you have the mana open you can draw and discard a few cards, especially in EDH/Commander. However, you can only play them any time you could play a sorcery, as in during your main phasess. For Constructed purposes, the new Guildmage blows this one away, but I can see this card still being relevant in Commander as a decent mana sink.

Winner: Duskmantle Guildmage. He’s just a great solid card and he has great utility in Standard, Limited, and EDH. It remains to be seen how and if he is utilized in other Constructed formats, but in any case, he’s just a great card to have in your deck-building arsenal.

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Charmed! Azorius Charm from Return to Ravnica

Filed under: Articles, Card Reviews, Charmed!, Return to Ravnica by elspethftw — Leave a comment
February 7, 2013
Azorius Charm - Return to Ravnica Uncommon

Azorius Charm – Return to Ravnica Uncommon

In this new series, Win Target Game will be looking at the various Charm cards from Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash, and will also look back at Charms from earlier sets, as early as Mirage!

Azorius Charm is a pretty sweet card. As with all Charm cards, it can do any one of three different things that you can choose from. For only a single blue mana and a single white mana, you can have all creatures you control gain lifelink until end of turn, or draw a card, or put target attacking or blocking creature on top of its owner’s library.

Let’s analyze these possibilities one at a time. The first one is particularly noteworthy, as if you have a good number of creatures on the board, the potential lifegain can be well worth the two mana investment. It can give you the life to be able to stabilize and stay in a game you would otherwise be out of, and counteracts many burn strategies. In EDH, this card can gain you a disgusting amount of life, as well.

The second possibility is pretty simple: draw a card. We already have Think Twice in Standard for this at 1 colorless and a blue, and that card has Flashback for 2 and a blue. Depending on just how badly you need card draw, it’s probably worth it once in a while, but there are better options for card draw. If you happen to know just what card you’ll draw, say off of Index, or in Legacy you play Brainstorm, Ponder, or Preordain and want to dig for that card, by all means, this is a way to do it. But it’s the weakest of the three options on this card.

The third option can be very relevant. The great thing about this option is that you can put either an attacking or blocking creature on top of its owner’s deck. There are many great applications for this option and is perhaps the one you will utilize most often. In EDH, I shouldn’t have to explain why this is good (who doesn’t want to put an opposing general on top of its owner’s deck or interrupt a potential game-ending combo?) In any Constructed format, this allows you to save one of your own creatures, if need be, but most often you’ll be doing it to put back an attacking creature and force your opponent to have to draw it next turn (perfect for control purposes.) You could also potentially put away a blocker in your final push for game. In any case, it’s a perfect compliment to any control strategy because now you know what your opponent will be drawing for turn, and if you put back an insignificant creature, it may buy you a turn or two to stabilize or draw the cards you need.

Azorius Charm is one of the better Charm cards out there and is a card you want to collect and play. Believe it or not, though, there are Charms in this series that actually do far more to the game-state than this one, so stay tuned!

NEXT UP: BOROS CHARM!

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Free Magic the Gathering Cards on Listia!

Filed under: Articles by elspethftw — Leave a comment
January 4, 2013

Don’t know if any of you have ever used Listia. It’s a great place to give away Magic cards you don’t need in exchange for credits to get cards you do need or want! I’ve got a lot of MTG and Yu-Gi-Oh stuff up there, and I’m adding new stuff all the time. Check it out.

Here’s the link to my profile: http://www.listia.com/profile/84747

I’ll be posting on this site when I have new and interesting things up there. You’ll want to check them out.

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