Clan Contest #5 is an open-ended creativity exercise: it is up to your clan to decide what they want to submit! Anything within reason is permissible, be it Magic-related, Clan-centric, or From Deep Space.
Sign-ups closed 12AM Monday, September 22 Alaska Time.
Submissions closed 12AM Monday, October 13 AKDT.
Votes were due by 12AM Monday, October 20 AKDT.
Edit: You know Dimir has been the first to sign up for every contest so far this year.
Welcome to this week’s article.
Today we have something that I doubt any of you could have expected, with previews for the next set starting next week and all the excitement of returning to Ravnica we decided that we could maybe show you one card a bit early. If you don’t want any spoilers for Restoration of Ravnica then you best close this article now.
I’m serious.
Last chance.
Alright here we go.
That’s right a Dimir Planeswalker, now will Restoration of Ravnica have a cycle of Mythic Rare guilded Planeswalkers? Only time will tell but in the mean time here is a bit of Sceron’s story:
Sceron was quite confused with the goings on; he had never had to work with two other members of Dimir at the same time. He went to the appointed location on time; he sat on the bench two blocks from Orzhova on the route to Prahv. After fifteen minutes he finally got the signal he had been waiting for, he was surprised be who it had came from, a man wearing Azorius robes and an Orzhov signet tripped in front of him and followed it up with a specific string of curses. The man was quite famous he was one of the few members of the Orzhov bloodline that joined another guild and a high ranking member of the Azorius senate, his name was Trebor, Sceron would never have imagined Trebor to be a member of Dimir too. Sceron quickly shoot up from the bench and helped Trebor up, “That was a nasty fall, let me help, I’m a doctor.” Trebor quickly turns around to look at Sceron, for a moment he can see a look of evil joy in Trebor’s eyes but his facial expression quickly changes to rage, “Just because I am a member of the Orzhov it does not mean that I need to be fawned over by you damn Simic, just because you want a little grasp at our money.” Sceron feigns being taken aback by the outburst “I apologize I hadn’t even noticed that you were a member of the Orzhov I only saw your Azorius robes.” Trebor “calms” himself down “Fine, I shall be on my way then I have places to get too.” Trebor begins rushing off to leave; Sceron takes some steps after him and places a gentle hand on his shoulder “If you don’t mind, I will come with you to Prahv make sure that nothing serious happened when you fell.” Trebor glares at Sceron “Fine! But don’t expect any payment.”
After several minutes of walking Trebor turns and glares at Sceron “So you’re the one they sent to help, I guess you’ll be useful. We’re going to need to hurry if we hope to meet Pinrov in time for the plan to work.” Sceron was confused he didn’t know the rest of the plan after he met with Trebor; he however quickened his pace to stay caught up with Trebor. A sudden wave of realization hit Sceron, Pinrov is a Rakdos… or at least pretends to be one, a lot of innocent people were going to die, Sceron did not feel bad about the loss of life he merely preferred to do things in a less violent way.
Upon reaching the front gates of Prahv Sceron saw a large group of people looking in horror towards one of the fountains. Once he got closer he saw why, there were dead bodies all over the place. Trebor interrupted Sceron’s admiration of the work with a sharp whisper “find a way to make contact with me.” With that Trebor rushed towards the fountain “YOU RAKDOS CEASE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IMMEDIEATLY!” Suddenly one of the dead bodies jumps down from the fountain “Oh, you saw me too bad, I guess I’ll have to kill you.” A look of sadistic glee crosses Pinrov’s face as he licks his lips and draws a crudely made sword, he lunges at Trebor and begins pulling mana into his sword, Sceron quickly jumped in a tackled Trebor to the ground. Pinrov throws his sword into the air and it explodes violently, Sceron watches the explosion as his life flashes before his eyes, what the hell is the purpose of this plan all three of them were going to die. Suddenly Sceron feels as if he is falling when the feeling passes he sees that he is back in the Undercity along with Trebor and Pinrov. Trebor looks at the other two “Well that as rather unexpected, we were supposed to sneak back here through back alleys what happened?” Sceron had no idea how to answer the question but he felt a sense of power that he has never felt before.
Don’t forget to check out the site all next week for all sorts of new information on the upcoming set.
Restoration of Ravnica Prerelease Sept 29 2010 Restoration of Ravnica Release Oct 7 2010
"Hello! I've come to serenade you. I can't play guitar. I can't play this accordion either, but I thought it'd be less obvious."
Dylan Moran, Black Books
Today we have something that I doubt any of you could have expected, with previews for the next set starting next week and all the excitement of returning to Ravnica we decided that we could maybe show you one card a bit early. If you don’t want any spoilers for Restoration of Ravnica then you best close this article now.
I’m serious.
Last chance.
Alright here we go.
That’s right a Dimir Planeswalker, now will Restoration of Ravnica have a cycle of Mythic Rare guilded Planeswalkers? Only time will tell but in the mean time here is a bit of Sceron’s story:
Sceron was quite confused with the goings on; he had never had to work with two other members of Dimir at the same time. He went to the appointed location on time; he sat on the bench two blocks from Orzhova on the route to Prahv. After fifteen minutes he finally got the signal he had been waiting for, he was surprised be who it had came from, a man wearing Azorius robes and an Orzhov signet tripped in front of him and followed it up with a specific string of curses. The man was quite famous he was one of the few members of the Orzhov bloodline that joined another guild and a high ranking member of the Azorius senate, his name was Trebor, Sceron would never have imagined Trebor to be a member of Dimir too. Sceron quickly shoot up from the bench and helped Trebor up, “That was a nasty fall, let me help, I’m a doctor.” Trebor quickly turns around to look at Sceron, for a moment he can see a look of evil joy in Trebor’s eyes but his facial expression quickly changes to rage, “Just because I am a member of the Orzhov it does not mean that I need to be fawned over by you damn Simic, just because you want a little grasp at our money.” Sceron feigns being taken aback by the outburst “I apologize I hadn’t even noticed that you were a member of the Orzhov I only saw your Azorius robes.” Trebor “calms” himself down “Fine, I shall be on my way then I have places to get too.” Trebor begins rushing off to leave; Sceron takes some steps after him and places a gentle hand on his shoulder “If you don’t mind, I will come with you to Prahv make sure that nothing serious happened when you fell.” Trebor glares at Sceron “Fine! But don’t expect any payment.”
After several minutes of walking Trebor turns and glares at Sceron “So you’re the one they sent to help, I guess you’ll be useful. We’re going to need to hurry if we hope to meet Pinrov in time for the plan to work.” Sceron was confused he didn’t know the rest of the plan after he met with Trebor; he however quickened his pace to stay caught up with Trebor. A sudden wave of realization hit Sceron, Pinrov is a Rakdos… or at least pretends to be one, a lot of innocent people were going to die, Sceron did not feel bad about the loss of life he merely preferred to do things in a less violent way.
Upon reaching the front gates of Prahv Sceron saw a large group of people looking in horror towards one of the fountains. Once he got closer he saw why, there were dead bodies all over the place. Trebor interrupted Sceron’s admiration of the work with a sharp whisper “find a way to make contact with me.” With that Trebor rushed towards the fountain “YOU RAKDOS CEASE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IMMEDIEATLY!” Suddenly one of the dead bodies jumps down from the fountain “Oh, you saw me too bad, I guess I’ll have to kill you.” A look of sadistic glee crosses Pinrov’s face as he licks his lips and draws a crudely made sword, he lunges at Trebor and begins pulling mana into his sword, Sceron quickly jumped in a tackled Trebor to the ground. Pinrov throws his sword into the air and it explodes violently, Sceron watches the explosion as his life flashes before his eyes, what the hell is the purpose of this plan all three of them were going to die. Suddenly Sceron feels as if he is falling when the feeling passes he sees that he is back in the Undercity along with Trebor and Pinrov. Trebor looks at the other two “Well that as rather unexpected, we were supposed to sneak back here through back alleys what happened?” Sceron had no idea how to answer the question but he felt a sense of power that he has never felt before.
Don’t forget to check out the site all next week for all sorts of new information on the upcoming set.
Restoration of Ravnica Prerelease Sept 29 2010 Restoration of Ravnica Release Oct 7 2010
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Break, O Earth.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
Welcome, gentle reader, to a tale in verse to edify children everywhere. Read of a young girl whose father heads off to the Amazon to study its most primitive people. This little girl is left only with a token of her father, an idol from one of the dark and savage corners of the world. But with father gone, and mother dipping into the laudanum, this little girl has nothing to occupy her precocious interests! In her boredom, she seeks out new friends and new games, including a very powerful one called "Magic." She finds herself whisked off to the strange land of Phyrexia, not knowing what dangers or adventures awaits her. You are encouraged to read this tale aloud to your children to warn them of the consequences of practicing the dark arts and also to more richly appreciate the rhyme and meter!
April Ann Daisy thought it was crazy,
her daddy was going away.
"Six months in the jungle - enough time to unjumble
their ludicrous heathen ways!"
He'd return there to study and tell everybody
about manners and language absurd.
So he bent down and told her, "You'll understand when you're older"
and that, dear, is the final word.
He gave her a trinket and said not to think it
that he might never return,
leaving April with Mother, who loved like no other
but showed April little concern.
On the following Monday, (which wasn't a fun day)
April was thoroughly bored.
She asked mama dear, but no answer, I fear
was returned but the gentlest of snores.
With no sister or brother, to play with some others
she went just across the street.
Nearly heathens they were, one could clearly infer
from their refusal to eat any meat.
There was sickly Stan, and Lily Rotann,
And the redheaded MacCarthy twins
So they bid her enter and asked her who sent her
with impishly crescent-like grins.
"I've just come to play for a day like today
is a ceaselessly dreadful bore.
My name's April Ann Daisy and don't think me lazy,
that I haven't been over before."
"No, not at all, and you'll find there's no small
measure of fun to have here.
There's a game we've been playing, and everyone's saying
it's the best that we've found all this year.
I'm Lily, he's Stan, and those two twins can
make a stoic man scream and shout."
"Yes, it's quite true," said Sickly Stan too,
"It's a great game - you should try it out."
Cards in his hand, the shuffling began
and the four of them sang the game's praises
"You can play it for power, or feel good for an hour,
or use it to get your dad raises."
"We'll show how it's done, how the big kids have fun.
And we will leave you impressed.
With the power we wield, you will certainly feel
Magic's presence, so don't think we jest!"
The children all chanted and incense decanted
as Lily made signs with her hands.
"Come forest and seas and listen to me
give power to all of my plans."
The twins then spoke up, and fairly abrupt,
they called out for darkness to show:
"Phyrexia's might, let us taste with delight
the evil no mortal mind knows."
Just then and there, the trinket rose in the air
and suctioned them off and and away.
And they opened their eyes, which were wide with surprise
that the sky was so dark during day.
But poor Stanly stuttered and choked out "M-mother!"
as his eyes rolled back in his head.
For the air was quite heavy and with asthma and a bevy
of allergies, Stanly was dead.
They all stood in wonder at their occultish blunder
that led to their friend being croaked
in a land dark and dreary, making them leery,
and rain leaving all of them soaked.
"Wow, this is brutal," said Lily "And futile!
We had not a chance to save him.
But death comes to us all, it was his time to fall,
and to quote the man, 'thus spoke the raven.'"
"I need a smoke," and as soon as she spoke
she lit up a Marlboro Light.
For this girl was both Wiccan (so you know she's a sick one)
and smoker despite her small height.
But the country of flavor returned her the favor
and Lily screamed "I am aflame!"
For the rain soaking through was oily and blue
And her cigarette torched her the same.
At first they were shocked, but then the twins rocked
the landscape with echoing laughter.
Their actions were cruel, those giggling fools,
and ones they'd regret ever after.
For the laughing attracted some beasts that enacted
a search to find out what was up.
And in seeing three children, the thoughts that had filled them
was to open their mouths and to sup.
The mechanical dragons had taken to dragging
screaming redheads to their maws.
And April Ann Daisy, convinced she was crazy,
ran off from their bloody steel claws.
In the din of bones crunching and metal jaws munching
April had managed to flee.
And she ran and she ran thinking thoughts of Rotann
burned alive just as plain as can be.
Then she shuddered for Stan, who just lately began
his laborious breathing in vain.
And his body turned blue, sinking down in the goo,
as his limbs twitched with horrible pain.
But when April grew tired, she looked and admired
a strange place she found herself in.
It was far she had run, and when panting was done
her sobbing was sure to begin.
For she thought of her home, and of being alone
in a room with these blue glowing portals
And, expressing these doubts, the room shouted out
"Speak where you'd go to, you mortal!"
"Please take me to earth, it's the place of my birth
if you would, I'd be ever so grateful.
For I feel God-forsaken, and I'm awfully shaken
as the death of my friends was unfateful."
So the portal she entered and found that it sent her
magically whizzing towards home
Where she scurried inside - and how mother did chide!
April's lashings would serve to atone.
Then she crept off to bed, scary thoughts in her head,
but the warmth of the house helped to soothe her
And the roar of the fire, which she'd always admire
as she sank into sheets so much smoother.
So she nodded to sleep, but then jumped a great leap
And her tiny wee frame started trembling
Clutching blankets around her she saw them surround her:
these monsters of mechanical rumbling.
Seems April (unknowing) had just finished showing
these monsters a way to find earth.
Then this girl of but five, bravely mauled there alive,
was sent off for Phyrexian rebirth.
Half an hour to the close of deadline. There will be a 24-hour extension before I lock the thread; late entries will be accepted during this time but points docked.
Plans A + Plan B went astray, so Plan X was effected. Warning: If you have a weak stomach, or if mummification offends you, please look away!
I was clearing the jungle one day when I met a new friend in some dense leaf litter.
A mummified rat! Yay.
[ARD]'s entry. It's an article. A looooong article...
An Alliance of Rogue Deck Builder. The simple concept is an interesting one, one that ARD has supported since its creation. Our 8 generations have kept firm beliefs in the power of a rogue deck, in line with JMS, Chris Miller, and others in that vein. Yet, this time around, we’re really thinking about makes a card rogue. We eventually did come up with a list of 40 cards that we consider prime examples of rogue-ness, but let’s clarify the idea of a Rogue Deck.
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re a Johnny. While it is true, Johnny has a penchant for cards rogue’s like us like, all Rogue means is not using a net deck.
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re limited to crap cards. Sure, the occasional uber Johnny takes cards at the bottom of the barrel, but most of us like building decks that aren’t used.
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re always going to be Rogue. Every deck idea at some point was Rogue. What makes ARD truly Rogue is that we recognize that and strive to better our decks because of this. It’s a feedback reaction that creates magic. Some characters strive to make their net decks, some strive to copy those deck, Rogues continually build, continually build upon their deck building skills.
So without further ado, let’s get on with the Top 40 Cards You Should Build a Rogue Deck around Sometime (numbered and spoilered by color for reading ease).
2 - Convalescence/Convalescent Care: The challenge in building around these cards is finding a reliable way to get down in life without completely spiralling out of control. For this, I find Black has plenty of tools to "customize" your life total. Cards like Foul Imp and Serpent Warrior are good for lowering your life and giving bulky weenies, while Carnophage and Sangrophage allow you to drain your life slowly whenever needed. I also enjoy dropping a few Phyrexian Arenas for some extra card draw, and with a Convalescence out, it's basically a free card each turn. White plays it's part in maintaining a decent life total with cards like the Convalescence's, Pulse of the Fields and Keeper of the Light. The key to making all these work together comes in skillfully stacking the upkepp triggers; if you're sitting at 6 life with a Convalescence, Phyrexian Arena, and a Convalescent Care out, you'd want to stack the Convalescence first, then the Care, and finally the Arena. Thanks to "first in, last out," the Arena will drop your life total to 5, allowing the Care to trigger when otherwise it wouldn't have. Of course, there's always Platinum Angel, which allows you to be as reckless as you want with your life total.
3 - Light of Sanction: Seeing how white has never been big on hurting itself, this has always been viewed as a very odd card. However, to me at least, it's pairing with red has always been glaringly obvious. With cards like Bloodfire Colossus, Hammerfist Giant, Wildfire, Pyroclasm, etc., red has always been all about board sweeping, and Light of Sanction is perfect for making the effect more one-sided. Throw in some pro red creatures like Paladin en-Vec for situations where the Light doesn't show up, and your good to go.
4 - Three Dreams (and other Aura supporters): Most competetive decks tend to gloss over Auras, because of their built-in card disadvantage. The main exception in recent memory was the Ravnica "spelle nchantments" (Galvanic Arc, Flight of Fancy, Fists of Ironwood, and Faith's Fetters) due to their additional effects. Oddly, That same set gave Aura's plenty of other great tools. Three Dreams is great for grabbing whatever Auras you need. Auratouched Mage one-ups most tutors and puts the card right into play, regardless of color (hello, Mythic Proportions). Flickerform allows you to abuse the Mage and the spell Auras, as well as any creature with a great CIP effect. Imagine a Bramble Elemental with Flickerform and Fists of Ironwood on it; for 2WW, you can get six 1/1 Saproling tokens! A flipped Kitsune Mystic is just icing on the cake.
5 - Second Sunrise: I first got into Magic in the months leading to Mirrodin's release, and the one card that always intrigued me was Second Sunrise. I always wanted to find some way to abuse such an increadible effect, but my limited knowledge of the vast cardpool made this nigh-impossible, since MIR certainly didn't provide the tools needed to abuse the card.
The challenge comes from finding some way to make the effect one-sided. This can be solved with most forms of graveyard hate, the best choices being Leyline of the Void and Tormod's Crypt. A simple Wrath of God or Akroma's Vengence are great for clearing your opponent's side of the field, but that feels too... simple. My personal pick to finish the combo is Forbidden Ritual. Coupled with other forms of board control, you can easily have more permanents than your opponent, allowing you to ravange their life total and hand as well. Simply float :3mana::symw::symw::symb::symb: (or more), play the Ritual sacrificing your whole board, then play the Crypt to eliminate your opponents graveyard, and play the Sunrise. Combined with CIP creatures like Nekrataal and Highway Robbers, you can easily put yourself in a winning position.
6 - Tezzeret the Seeker: Tezzeret's new, but he's probably the most powerful of the five blue cards we chose, and possibly the most powerful out of the whole forty. His first ability has a sinister combo with Time Vault, allowing for infinite turns in Legacy - and, conveniently, he can even fetch Time Vault with his second ability, making the combo finish as soon as he hits play. His first ability is useful in all sorts of other contexts, too - Ur-Golem's Eye works well with it, as do all of the Obelisks, and especially Basalt Monolith. Untapping also lets artifact creatures have vigilence or use activated abilities twice. The second ability is a cross between Reshape and Tinker: you can't fetch Darksteel Colossus with it, but anything under 4 mana can be fetched right away [for standard, Master of Etherium is probably the good fetch] and anything over it can be ramped up to while you untap artifacts. Tezzeret's final ability takes 5, so you can do it the turn after he hits play, and it's pretty much the same as Garruk's Overrun - only it takes your inanimate artifacts and makes them 5/5's, too. Extremely powerful, Tezzeret's just waiting to have a home.
7 - Battle of Wits: Battle of Wits is the original 'build a dumb deck around me!' card. It's a win the turn after you play it ... if you have over 200 cards in your library. The problem with this is that most decks are extremely streamlined, and generally theory dictates that you run as close to the lowest number of cards [in Magic's case, 60] as you can. But if you have an environment with a lot of cards that are analogues of each other, or close enough [see: Nameless Inversion, Agony Warp], then you can make a redundant deck with a hard-to-stop win condition. Decks featuring Battle of Wits have won some Type 2 Regionals, though it is always as a rogue deck. It encourages creative deckbuilding, and strong deckbuilding - making a 250 card deck [or so, but enough over 200 that you can still win even after you get Battle] redundant and powerful enough to work takes some serious skill.
8 - Sway of the Stars: Sway of the Stars is the original blue board resetter. Costing 10 mana, Sway was never in a competitive deck, but there were a couple casual decks [and/or rogue type 2 decks] built around it. The basic idea is that you make the resetting of the board bent in your favor in some way: for this reason, Momentary Blink-type effects work really well with it. Unlike cards that have similar effects, like Worldpurge, Sway reset life totals at 7, and reset the graveyard status of each player, meaning that if you were to Blink a large, hasty creature, you could end the game in a swing. In the end, though, the card still costs much too much mana to see any general use.
9 - Uyo, Silent Prophet: Uyo is, quite simply, Twincast. Only repeatable. This effect has been used numerous times afterwards by Wizards, always with drawbacks that make it nearly unplayable - see Sigil Tracer. But out of all of the repeatable Twincast effect cards, Uyo is the most playable. Not only is Uyo a 4/4 even without the ability, but the ability costs 2 mana of any color, making it easy to repeat and repeat. It does bounce the lands to your hand, making it necessary to restrict the Twincasting to a single massive turn, and even during that turn you can only Twincast until you run out of lands. But you can do it five or six times - without any real problems, even. Want to cast Glimpse the Unthinkable for 60? Well, it will cost you 10UB, but with Uyo you can do it.
10 - Dralnu's Pet: Dralnu's Pet is perhaps the most vanilla of the spells we have in this section. It's a 2/2 for 1UU: but if you pay an extra 2B and discard a creature card, Dralnu's Pet gets flying and +x/+x, where X is the spell's CMC. This works particularly well with cards like Draco that can be cast for less than their converted mana cost. You can also use this to get cards like Nether Shadow into the graveyard, where they can do better things than if they were sitting in your hand. If you have a way to use the +1/+1 counters, or desperately want a creature discard spell that has some beef of its' own, Dralnu's Pet is a good choice.
11 - Nzeumi Graverobber: A classic black card, as a powerful revive engine this could see some play in any deck, not just a rouge one. If you drop this guy on turn 2, and remove a card turn 3, this guy flips and swings for 4 on turn 3, which isn't terrible in itself. But the hard-hitter is Nighteyes' ability. 5 isn't too much for recursion, Zombify is only one mana less, and it can't target opponent's creatures. Throw this in a deck with stuff like Shriekmaw and Nantuko Husk and they have an army no more. What they used to be swinging with will end up on your side. In multiplayer this card is fantastic, someone is bound to have very few cards in the yard when this hits, and someone is bound to have a dead fatty when it flips. Even in the late game it can still do well not flipped, it can hate graveyard recursion while being a streamlined 2/1 for 2.
12 - Final Punishment: You're playing black, the classic lean back and watch the opponent suffer to your removal colour. Seeing you don't generally swing for much early, you want to hit for a lot late, with cards such as Demigod of Revenge and Korlash, Heir to Backblade. These guys swing for a lot, but it often isn't enough to kill them that turn, so that is where Final punishment comes in. It can easily, in the right deck, take down the second half of their 20. Killing them in an efficient and quick way, once you get round to it, is crucial, as you are steadily losing life to their threats and your own stuff that ebbs away your total, like Night's Whisper, so you don't want to bash their face for too long. Final Punishment almost always takes an entire turn off the game. And them having annother turn is bad news for you, see Time Walk.
13 - Cairn Wanderer: The classic 5 mana 4/4 flying, fear, first strike (well, not if it allready has double), double strike, deathtouch, haste, every type of landwalk, lifelink, protection from everything, reach, trample, shroud, vigilance, if you can get it to work properly. Running a dredge engine to dump things in the yard, and loads of 1 offs with a myriad of abilities, like Akroma, Angel of Wrath, you could get this guy close to his real potential. Then it could attack unblockably for 8, gaining you 8 life, and block anything the turn after it, without dying and always taking down an attaker, while giving you annother 8 life. A new turn comes, do it all again! Sounds nice, doesn't it?
14 - Pestilence: Recurring mass removal? Nice, in anyone's book. Even with anything with reasonable toughness (Indomitable Ancients deserves a mention) you can keep the rest of the board clear, clearing the path for your late game fatties while ebbing your opponents life away. But with Rite of Passage this card really shines. Not only does it take out your opponents life and creatures, it doesn't kill yours, it makes them STRONGER. With any kind of a team, you should be able to win like this easily on turn 5. And a triskelion just makes things funny. Did I mention its not terrible, even if you kill everything on the feild? And that it can make the opponent curse, even more than he was allready, that he was playing Stone Wall?
15 - Pit Spawn: A 7 mana 6/4? Even with first strike and its other ability that makes sure it never dies in combat, 7 mana seems a bit excessive, even for something as powerful in play as PitSpawn. Two mana per upkeep, however, isn't going to be too hard as you allready have 7. Mana cost aside, this is almost the best combat creature in the game, when it comes to fighting it out against other creatures. There is almost nothing it dies to in combat except other first strikers with 4 or more power. Being black and having more than 3 toughness means that it dies to hardly any of the removal in the environment. But its mana cost keeps getting in the way, so take the easy way out, and put it in a deck with a dredge engine and plenty of revive spells. Flashing this out with Makeshift Mannequin and the like, and the opponent will make an interesting face as he sees his Darksteel Colossus dieng to a mere 6/4.
16 - Confusion in the Ranks: The first time I saw this card, my immediate thought was: "Why would anyone want to swap permanents with an opponent?" Then I realized how it could hurt your opponent late in the game, and understood that strength can quickly become a weakness, and vice versa. This, to me, is a Johnny/Spike card, and I try to do it justice.
The main strategy I employ for single player is to pass along permanents that would normally smack me around. To this end, I'll play :symb::symr: with singleton heavy hitters such as Minion of Leshrac, Ebonblade Reaper, either the original or morphing kings of the Pit, and either the Sith Lord or Apprentice of Black Enchantments. When your opponent attacks, make sure to keep them in the dark, and they'll soon be dying to give you your cards back.
17 - Thieves' Auction: I've always viewed the Auction as an expensive, Red Balance, as it redistributes the wealth of lands, creatures, etc. This can throw a wrench in all sorts of plans, even when your opponent thinks they have the game locked up.
In single or multi player games, the strategy is the same for me. I always leave some mana floating when I open the Auction, usually one or two, to cast a follow-up after the spell resolves. Smoke is a classic favorite, though dropping a Meekstone on the board after your opponent(s) takes all the larger creatures is even more amusing. Nothing like getting that army of scrawny goblins to breeze past a useless Darksteel Colossus for the win.
18 - Rolling Thunder: Of the five Red cards, this one has probably had the most mainstream exposure. For everyone who had ever wanted to split the damage from Fireball to multiple targets, either unevenly or without paying a lot of extra mana, this card was our hero. But, this is the Alliance of Rogue Deckers, and I see some extra potential.
The idea of Rolling Thunder is to be able to hit multiple targets simultaneously, but how can that be used to your advantage? What about dropping a Rite of Passage into play? You can damage your opponent, eliminate some of their creatures, and make your own critters larger at the same time. Say the opponent has managed to make their creatures indestructible - Timber Protector and Elspeth, Knight-Errant are recent methods. Then you need to show your opponent that there are repercussions to that sort of behavior. Further, hitting multiple targets has an advantage when you take the time to smell the roses... or, in this case, the brimstone. Each target takes an additional point of damage, stretching your mana even further.
19 - Shah of Naar Isle: I can honestly say I have never used this card in a deck. That being said, though, I can already see two different approaches to using this creature. The first is as a sacrifice outlet; the other as a pain draw.
The sacrifice altar is primed, and Fling and Stalking Vengeance just walked onto the dais. Actually, having the Vengeance in play first, and then Flinging the Shah at your opponent's head is a massive 12 point smack, but the mana needed seems a bit steep. Well, without cheating the Vengeance into play, anyway. Brion Stoutarm is also a solid option over Fling, in that you'll also gain life. Plus, it never hurts to keep throwing creatures at people's heads.
Pain draws go all the way back to Legends, and the unforgettable... um... wait, I just had it. Maybe I should sleep on it... Anyway, the concept has had some support every few years since then, such as in Visions, Planeshift and, most recently, in Shadowmoor. Personally, none of these match up to the fact that the original does not harm you, and, since you're playing :symb::symr: anyway, after they draw those three cards, you really should be able to tell them what to play. *sigh* I miss the days of smacking someone with their own Fireball.
20 - Radiate: Welcome to Fork on acid. This :3mana::symr::symr: Instant turns your opponent's Vindicate into a game reset. Yes, I have done it, and still managed to Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning my way to a win.
Radiate can do wonders, both offensively and defensively, when combined with the right cards. Vindicate was one example, and which an opponent would not expect. Sometimes, your opponent can have just the right spell that you want to copy. I've been overheard laughing when someone has played Donate or Rescue, and I just tell them "In response..." Of course, much like Vindicate, no one in their right mind would expect you to Radiate Recoil... unless you have a violenttemper.
21 - Incoming!: What could be greater for a rogue deck than taking your entire deck, and flipping it onto the play area? Aside from the blatant usefulness of this un-card, there's more ways to build a deck around this card than you can shake a stick at. However, my personal favorite is very simple: deck your buddy.
I'm serious! Okay, here's how it goes. :symu::symg: deck. You hold him off early game, then pop Incoming! -- so what happens next? Well, you'll bring out Words of War, 4x Howling Mine, 4x Anvil of Bogardan ... 4x Riftwing Cloudskate, 4x Æthersnipe, maybe a Venser, Shaper Savant, and some Voidmage Hushers just to keep them from trying any silly tricks of their own. (Remember, you're the active player, you choose what order triggers hit the stack). So what happens next? Well, it's quite simple. While they were quite foolhardy in emptying their library, that'll provide quite slim pickings for them to draw when they discover next turn that thanks to your eight artifacts, they now have to draw eight cards, while you can use all your lands to skip your draws, thanks to Words of War, handily burning off any pesky bits in the meantime. If you want to add insult to injury, toss in some Spiteful Visions. Then, if you put four of those in play, they'll draw twelve cards, and take fourty-eight damage. Isn't math fun?
22 - Form of the Squirrel: What could be better than a squirrel? I mean c'mon; they're small, furry, and if you're not careful they'll bite your ear off. Form of the Squirrel is the penultimate card in a squirrel deck, enabling you to hold on to it until the critical moment, drop Coat of Arms, and smash face with your own squirrely incarnation.
23 - Ageless Entity: The originalCradle of Vitality. The possibilities here are massive. It turns Healing Salve into a permanent Giant Growth in addition. It turns Martyr of Sands into the biggest permanent creature boost I've ever seen for :1mana:. I mean ... everyone loves life gain anyways, right? Unless, of course, you're playing against it, that is ... so why not have a giant beat-stick to show for it? After all, barring Test of Endurance, life gain won't win you any games all by itself.
24 - Hystrodon: Lesson one of Magic: Card advantage is Good. Lesson two of Magic: Combat tricks are good. Lesson three of Magic: Combining the two is a very good idea. Ohran Viper was a beast for the time it was in standard. Saying "I'll kill your dude unless I can draw a card" is very good. Saying "I'll kill your dude AND I'll draw a card" is better. Plus factor in that the Hystrodon is out of Incinerate range, and that he can be swinging at full-force on turn three (with Llanowar Elf acceleration) makes him a force to be reckoned with.
25 - Magus of the Vineyard: If there's one thing that Green does well, it's going stomp. Green is the foot of that giant monster that's about to step on you. However, in order for someone to dump their hand and go berserk like that, there's one simple thing you need, and that is mana. Green naturally has alot of sources, with Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradise and all, but for pure acceleration out of the gate, I gotta say that I'm desperately in love with the Magus of the Vineyard. The sheer ability to drop an Uktabi Drake on Turn 2, along with 3x Might of Old Krosa to swing for 14 is huge! Toss in all the other fun tricks, and occasionally forcing your opponent to manaburn themselves is just gravy. Looking for a great way to accel into an Incoming!? I think we've just found ourselves a winner.
26 - Zur the Enchanter: It’s a real shame that Zur wasn’t able to shine in the new Meta Standard with its fancy mana fixing. His one man tool box, was really only used once and it’s disappointing, because the dude is an engine. Combing the best elements of White, Blue, and Black, he’s a clear powerhouse. If an enchantment block ever comes around, expect to see this guy at the center of it. Until then, be worried when one of your friends picks him as a General in EDH. Enchantments are very deadly, and with the right deck, nigh unstoppable. Toolboxes remain powerful in decks for sheer versatility and Zur always has the right tools for the job. Card draw, creature pump, permanent protection, and variance of the sheer joy of being prepared for everything.
27 - Dakkon Blackblade: The Original Blackblade comes with a simple ability. Out shadowed by both greener and newer counter parts, why would someone ever want to play the original? Well, he’s awesome, and when you think about it, white, blue, and black are good at land manipulation for a reason. At 6 mana you could do worse, and just the mere fact his flavor is beautiful should be more than enough. The original, the only, the best: Blackblade, poster child of Legend, and another good rogue.
28 - Research/Development: Spilt cards give the powerful option of choice. Dissension spilt cards offer the powerful option of powerful effects. The best example is Research and Development. It acts as a powerful tutor that allows you to sideboard mid game, or a way to get advantage via critter tokens or cards. Best part is a secret MaGo told us: It’s imprint-able on the famous Scepter. And you can use both sides. It’s a unique card, even out of a unique style, and definitely worth a second glance.
29 - Strombind: Efficient removal in both green and red is hard to come by. Combine it with a nasty discard engine, and the ability to aim at the face, it makes it a cool card with more synergy than you could shake a finger at. Enchantments like these don’t come around too often, and that’s because when used properly it will hose any deck. Cards for damage never looked so sweet. It's simple, effective, but always useful and helps with some of the weaknesses for both colors.
30 - Spiteful Visions: Any good player will tell you Howling Mind is jank. It’s strict card disadvantage from here to Neverwhere. However, people still play it because it does get you cards, and sometimes that’s all you need. Visions improve upon the design, by doubling the cost, increasing its potency, and adding a ‘drawback’ in the form of damage. Suddenly, Blue players can’t draw, and RDW can refuel. Sure, it can backfire, but it wouldn’t be black and red if it didn’t. It’s a solid draw engine with a unique twist, which you will see around sometime, just because it’s powerful. It’s a worthy successor to the Arena and definitely has some utility value, as well as combo potential.
31 - Goblin Charblecher: Landless decks? The chance to deal an arbitrary large amount of damage? Yeah, the Charblecher has seen play in decks, but it doesn’t change that it never did reach net deck level. Either way you look at it though, it’s an absurdly powerful card that begs to broken and will cause stories that will amaze. Mainstream it may be, but it’s quirky, fun, and just begs to have another deck built around it.
32 - Legacy Weapon: One color of each mana: Remove a permanent from the game. It’s a simple equation, and one with a near insolvable clause attached. There is a reason why, Urza made such a weapon, and that was so it could be used. The Coalition used it long ago, and now as a fledging Planeswalker, enjoys your repeatable removal and slowly scratches away at the board. It’s worth every bit of mana you sink into it. Decks used it, but not to it’s full potential. It’s certainly something you can gawk at.
33 - Phyrexian Ironfoot: Who says Rogues don’t like efficiency? Possibly the only uncommon on the list, it earns this place for being both snowy, powerful, and an absolute house. The card speaks for itself and it worth getting a set of Snow Lands just to play this monster. Resistant to removal, cheap to play in the beginning, but not a dead draw later in the game, its existence proves that Rogues have a bit of Spike in them.
34 - Draco: Conversely, Draco proves the Timmy side of the Rogue. With the biggest mana cost, and ungodly stats, this card may never be hard cast, but it has plenty of uses for a reason. Domain decks love it, any card with the words Converted Mana Cost do, and Reanimator. Trust us; nothing is more satisfying than having this Dragon wreck the field. Eractic Explosions, Riddles of Lightning, Dranlu's Pets. The hefty body does more than enough to compensate to.
35 - Triskelavus: This little hybrid is a 7 mana 4/4. It also comes with an addition to make little Fanatics, and turn +1/+1 counters into damage. It’s the perfect fusion of its predecessors and a worthy one at that. Like all other artifacts here, if you have the means enjoy pumping the card and letting lose your fighters. With Lorwyn here, you'll be like a comandeer with all the fleets you could be amassing.
36 - Miren, the Moaning Well: Or for you old-schoolers, a more updated (and somewhat nerfed) version of Diamond Valley. Definitely not a card you would try to build a deck around, but if you have the right deck to begin with, this card fits right in. First thing to remember, creatures are going to die, be it from Char, Wrath of God, or just good ol' fashioned combat damage. If you have a way to make some sort of use of those doomed creatures going to the graveyard, why not use it? Not to mention when coupled with recurring creatures or creatures that like going to the graveyard, the effect is even better and can even be proactive and you have several new strategies that unfold.
37 - Svogthos, the Restless Tomb: So many decks don't utilize the graveyard at all. And that's fine. When Magic was first invented, very few cards actually interacted with the graveyard, other than to just recur lost cards. The graveyard was just a discard pile--a place to put the cards you had already used. Not so today. As Magic has progressed and "evolved," several aspects of the game now play a more vital role than they did 15 years ago, including the graveyard.
As games progress, the graveyard invariably gets larger. Just as we talked about using dying creatures to our advantage with Miren, why not use a full graveyard to our advantage as well? Svogthos couples the versatility of a man-land with the raw power of an inevitably huge creature. Just like with Miren, in the right deck, this card can save games as a huge finisher.
38 - Mouth of Ronom: Coldsnap really brought a revolutionary idea to the world of Magic with its snow-mana concept. The idea of having a different type of mana that was categorized differently than just color opened up quite a lot of design space. Mouth of Ronom, in addition to being a source of snow mana, is pretty much straight up creature removal. Colorless, uncounterable creature removal. The great thing about it is the fact that any deck that can run a snow mana base can support it. This is where the interesting options come into play.
The best uses for this card are in the decks where creature removal is necessary but practically non-existant. Consider the Mystical Teachings deck that was running rampant about a year ago. Tolaria West (another excellent utility land) was often used to fetch a Mouth of Ronom to outright kill a creature that it couldn't otherwise deal with. And quite often, its target was an opposing Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, simply because the effect couldn't be countered outside of a Trickbind.
39 - Winding Canyons: When my friends first introduced me to tournaments, the one technique that took me forever to comprehend was that you don't need to play your spells if you don't have to. Basically, play as many things as you can at the end of your opponent's turn. Why is this so important?
First of all, it doesn't commit you to anything. It forces your opponent to make the first move. Lots games end up being a war of attrition and the first player forced to make a move can end up losing. By making sure your opponent has to make the first move, you can adapt your strategy to best combat whatever it is they do.
Furthermore, there's always the element of surprise and the element of the bluff. Leaving your mana open can sometimes send a signal that you're holding a counterspell or combat trick. I almost never play a land during my first main phase simply to give some sort of illusion that I may have a playable card in hand. Winding Canyons greatly aides in these strategies by allowing you not to commit to anything on your own turn.
40 - Thawing Glaciers: Yes, there actually is a lot of combo-potential with this land (I'm looking at your, Stone-Seeder Hierophant...) But I don't really want to talk about that. I want to talk about what this land actually does--fetch you more lands. While it may seems simple and innocuous, fetching lands out of your deck can actually increase your chances of winning.
How so? Think of it this way. Let's eliminate skill from the picture for the moment. In a duel, the person who draws the better cards, or at least more of the better cards, wins. Unfortunately, luck sometimes gets in the way via mana screw/flood. You just can't help it right? Wrong. If you have a way to remove the cards you don't want to draw, usually lands, then mathematically, you have a better chance of drawing the cards you do want to draw.
Now please, keep in mind, this is just a general concept. I'm not saying every deck should be packing 4 Journeyer's Kites. But cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder that can swing and still thin your deck, or Thawing Glaciers itself which only costs to use, can actually help improve the consistency of your deck (just a side note, deck-thinning is a very useful tool in limited.)
Rogue decks aren't limited to being based around these cards. You have thoughts about cards you think we left out? Then say so. This is just a starting point for a massive list. It has history, power, and most importantly, an inspiring start.
This is ARD, and may you experience the joy of making your own deck.
OK, The [Pack] is still hoping to get their submission in on time, we've just suffered a setback: our esteemed clan rep, Seth Dracovitch, has had a crisis and is unable to post our submission for us. With any luck, I'll be able to cobble something together from what the rest of us have got and post it here on his behalf, is this OK?
EDIT: OK, here it is:
Presenting: The [Pack] Theme Deck!
The wind stirs, and you can palpably feel the power emanating from the wolf's den before you. Enter at your own risk, and you may discover powerful arcane secrets. This is the Pack, and this is our hunting ground... A new theme deck that's bursting at the seams with powerful new Legendary Creatures and other all new cards exclusively designed by the members of the [PACK] on the online forums MTG Salvation, Enter, The [PACK] is something you DON'T want to miss!
Sign-ups closed 12AM Monday, September 22 Alaska Time.
Submissions closed 12AM Monday, October 13 AKDT.
Votes were due by 12AM Monday, October 20 AKDT.
[499] won!
Entries posted by deadline:
Pages
House Dimir
Izzet
the Called
499
Late entries from:
the Greek Alliance
ARD
the Pack
Edit: You know Dimir has been the first to sign up for every contest so far this year.
Welcome to this week’s article.
Today we have something that I doubt any of you could have expected, with previews for the next set starting next week and all the excitement of returning to Ravnica we decided that we could maybe show you one card a bit early. If you don’t want any spoilers for Restoration of Ravnica then you best close this article now.
I’m serious.
Last chance.
Alright here we go.
That’s right a Dimir Planeswalker, now will Restoration of Ravnica have a cycle of Mythic Rare guilded Planeswalkers? Only time will tell but in the mean time here is a bit of Sceron’s story:
Sceron was quite confused with the goings on; he had never had to work with two other members of Dimir at the same time. He went to the appointed location on time; he sat on the bench two blocks from Orzhova on the route to Prahv. After fifteen minutes he finally got the signal he had been waiting for, he was surprised be who it had came from, a man wearing Azorius robes and an Orzhov signet tripped in front of him and followed it up with a specific string of curses. The man was quite famous he was one of the few members of the Orzhov bloodline that joined another guild and a high ranking member of the Azorius senate, his name was Trebor, Sceron would never have imagined Trebor to be a member of Dimir too. Sceron quickly shoot up from the bench and helped Trebor up, “That was a nasty fall, let me help, I’m a doctor.” Trebor quickly turns around to look at Sceron, for a moment he can see a look of evil joy in Trebor’s eyes but his facial expression quickly changes to rage, “Just because I am a member of the Orzhov it does not mean that I need to be fawned over by you damn Simic, just because you want a little grasp at our money.” Sceron feigns being taken aback by the outburst “I apologize I hadn’t even noticed that you were a member of the Orzhov I only saw your Azorius robes.” Trebor “calms” himself down “Fine, I shall be on my way then I have places to get too.” Trebor begins rushing off to leave; Sceron takes some steps after him and places a gentle hand on his shoulder “If you don’t mind, I will come with you to Prahv make sure that nothing serious happened when you fell.” Trebor glares at Sceron “Fine! But don’t expect any payment.”
After several minutes of walking Trebor turns and glares at Sceron “So you’re the one they sent to help, I guess you’ll be useful. We’re going to need to hurry if we hope to meet Pinrov in time for the plan to work.” Sceron was confused he didn’t know the rest of the plan after he met with Trebor; he however quickened his pace to stay caught up with Trebor. A sudden wave of realization hit Sceron, Pinrov is a Rakdos… or at least pretends to be one, a lot of innocent people were going to die, Sceron did not feel bad about the loss of life he merely preferred to do things in a less violent way.
Upon reaching the front gates of Prahv Sceron saw a large group of people looking in horror towards one of the fountains. Once he got closer he saw why, there were dead bodies all over the place. Trebor interrupted Sceron’s admiration of the work with a sharp whisper “find a way to make contact with me.” With that Trebor rushed towards the fountain “YOU RAKDOS CEASE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IMMEDIEATLY!” Suddenly one of the dead bodies jumps down from the fountain “Oh, you saw me too bad, I guess I’ll have to kill you.” A look of sadistic glee crosses Pinrov’s face as he licks his lips and draws a crudely made sword, he lunges at Trebor and begins pulling mana into his sword, Sceron quickly jumped in a tackled Trebor to the ground. Pinrov throws his sword into the air and it explodes violently, Sceron watches the explosion as his life flashes before his eyes, what the hell is the purpose of this plan all three of them were going to die. Suddenly Sceron feels as if he is falling when the feeling passes he sees that he is back in the Undercity along with Trebor and Pinrov. Trebor looks at the other two “Well that as rather unexpected, we were supposed to sneak back here through back alleys what happened?” Sceron had no idea how to answer the question but he felt a sense of power that he has never felt before.
Don’t forget to check out the site all next week for all sorts of new information on the upcoming set.
Restoration of Ravnica Prerelease Sept 29 2010
Restoration of Ravnica Release Oct 7 2010
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
spanglegluppet dot com
"Hello! I've come to serenade you. I can't play guitar. I can't play this accordion either, but I thought it'd be less obvious."
Dylan Moran, Black Books
Many thanks to:
Sig: CharlieD at Limited Edition Signatures
Avvy: XenoNinja at HotP Studios
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
Introducing out new set!!!
[Left Play Designs][Coffeehouse][DeviantArt]
Winner MTGS Weekly Sig/Banner Contest
Weeks: 37/85/87/94/135/159/160/226
Today we have something that I doubt any of you could have expected, with previews for the next set starting next week and all the excitement of returning to Ravnica we decided that we could maybe show you one card a bit early. If you don’t want any spoilers for Restoration of Ravnica then you best close this article now.
I’m serious.
Last chance.
Alright here we go.
That’s right a Dimir Planeswalker, now will Restoration of Ravnica have a cycle of Mythic Rare guilded Planeswalkers? Only time will tell but in the mean time here is a bit of Sceron’s story:
Sceron was quite confused with the goings on; he had never had to work with two other members of Dimir at the same time. He went to the appointed location on time; he sat on the bench two blocks from Orzhova on the route to Prahv. After fifteen minutes he finally got the signal he had been waiting for, he was surprised be who it had came from, a man wearing Azorius robes and an Orzhov signet tripped in front of him and followed it up with a specific string of curses. The man was quite famous he was one of the few members of the Orzhov bloodline that joined another guild and a high ranking member of the Azorius senate, his name was Trebor, Sceron would never have imagined Trebor to be a member of Dimir too. Sceron quickly shoot up from the bench and helped Trebor up, “That was a nasty fall, let me help, I’m a doctor.” Trebor quickly turns around to look at Sceron, for a moment he can see a look of evil joy in Trebor’s eyes but his facial expression quickly changes to rage, “Just because I am a member of the Orzhov it does not mean that I need to be fawned over by you damn Simic, just because you want a little grasp at our money.” Sceron feigns being taken aback by the outburst “I apologize I hadn’t even noticed that you were a member of the Orzhov I only saw your Azorius robes.” Trebor “calms” himself down “Fine, I shall be on my way then I have places to get too.” Trebor begins rushing off to leave; Sceron takes some steps after him and places a gentle hand on his shoulder “If you don’t mind, I will come with you to Prahv make sure that nothing serious happened when you fell.” Trebor glares at Sceron “Fine! But don’t expect any payment.”
After several minutes of walking Trebor turns and glares at Sceron “So you’re the one they sent to help, I guess you’ll be useful. We’re going to need to hurry if we hope to meet Pinrov in time for the plan to work.” Sceron was confused he didn’t know the rest of the plan after he met with Trebor; he however quickened his pace to stay caught up with Trebor. A sudden wave of realization hit Sceron, Pinrov is a Rakdos… or at least pretends to be one, a lot of innocent people were going to die, Sceron did not feel bad about the loss of life he merely preferred to do things in a less violent way.
Upon reaching the front gates of Prahv Sceron saw a large group of people looking in horror towards one of the fountains. Once he got closer he saw why, there were dead bodies all over the place. Trebor interrupted Sceron’s admiration of the work with a sharp whisper “find a way to make contact with me.” With that Trebor rushed towards the fountain “YOU RAKDOS CEASE WHAT YOU ARE DOING IMMEDIEATLY!” Suddenly one of the dead bodies jumps down from the fountain “Oh, you saw me too bad, I guess I’ll have to kill you.” A look of sadistic glee crosses Pinrov’s face as he licks his lips and draws a crudely made sword, he lunges at Trebor and begins pulling mana into his sword, Sceron quickly jumped in a tackled Trebor to the ground. Pinrov throws his sword into the air and it explodes violently, Sceron watches the explosion as his life flashes before his eyes, what the hell is the purpose of this plan all three of them were going to die. Suddenly Sceron feels as if he is falling when the feeling passes he sees that he is back in the Undercity along with Trebor and Pinrov. Trebor looks at the other two “Well that as rather unexpected, we were supposed to sneak back here through back alleys what happened?” Sceron had no idea how to answer the question but he felt a sense of power that he has never felt before.
Don’t forget to check out the site all next week for all sorts of new information on the upcoming set.
Restoration of Ravnica Prerelease Sept 29 2010
Restoration of Ravnica Release Oct 7 2010
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
**************************************************
Welcome, gentle reader, to a tale in verse to edify children everywhere. Read of a young girl whose father heads off to the Amazon to study its most primitive people. This little girl is left only with a token of her father, an idol from one of the dark and savage corners of the world. But with father gone, and mother dipping into the laudanum, this little girl has nothing to occupy her precocious interests! In her boredom, she seeks out new friends and new games, including a very powerful one called "Magic." She finds herself whisked off to the strange land of Phyrexia, not knowing what dangers or adventures awaits her. You are encouraged to read this tale aloud to your children to warn them of the consequences of practicing the dark arts and also to more richly appreciate the rhyme and meter!
April Ann Daisy thought it was crazy,
her daddy was going away.
"Six months in the jungle - enough time to unjumble
their ludicrous heathen ways!"
He'd return there to study and tell everybody
about manners and language absurd.
So he bent down and told her, "You'll understand when you're older"
and that, dear, is the final word.
He gave her a trinket and said not to think it
that he might never return,
leaving April with Mother, who loved like no other
but showed April little concern.
On the following Monday, (which wasn't a fun day)
April was thoroughly bored.
She asked mama dear, but no answer, I fear
was returned but the gentlest of snores.
With no sister or brother, to play with some others
she went just across the street.
Nearly heathens they were, one could clearly infer
from their refusal to eat any meat.
There was sickly Stan, and Lily Rotann,
And the redheaded MacCarthy twins
So they bid her enter and asked her who sent her
with impishly crescent-like grins.
"I've just come to play for a day like today
is a ceaselessly dreadful bore.
My name's April Ann Daisy and don't think me lazy,
that I haven't been over before."
"No, not at all, and you'll find there's no small
measure of fun to have here.
There's a game we've been playing, and everyone's saying
it's the best that we've found all this year.
I'm Lily, he's Stan, and those two twins can
make a stoic man scream and shout."
"Yes, it's quite true," said Sickly Stan too,
"It's a great game - you should try it out."
Cards in his hand, the shuffling began
and the four of them sang the game's praises
"You can play it for power, or feel good for an hour,
or use it to get your dad raises."
"We'll show how it's done, how the big kids have fun.
And we will leave you impressed.
With the power we wield, you will certainly feel
Magic's presence, so don't think we jest!"
The children all chanted and incense decanted
as Lily made signs with her hands.
"Come forest and seas and listen to me
give power to all of my plans."
The twins then spoke up, and fairly abrupt,
they called out for darkness to show:
"Phyrexia's might, let us taste with delight
the evil no mortal mind knows."
Just then and there, the trinket rose in the air
and suctioned them off and and away.
And they opened their eyes, which were wide with surprise
that the sky was so dark during day.
But poor Stanly stuttered and choked out "M-mother!"
as his eyes rolled back in his head.
For the air was quite heavy and with asthma and a bevy
of allergies, Stanly was dead.
They all stood in wonder at their occultish blunder
that led to their friend being croaked
in a land dark and dreary, making them leery,
and rain leaving all of them soaked.
"Wow, this is brutal," said Lily "And futile!
We had not a chance to save him.
But death comes to us all, it was his time to fall,
and to quote the man, 'thus spoke the raven.'"
"I need a smoke," and as soon as she spoke
she lit up a Marlboro Light.
For this girl was both Wiccan (so you know she's a sick one)
and smoker despite her small height.
But the country of flavor returned her the favor
and Lily screamed "I am aflame!"
For the rain soaking through was oily and blue
And her cigarette torched her the same.
At first they were shocked, but then the twins rocked
the landscape with echoing laughter.
Their actions were cruel, those giggling fools,
and ones they'd regret ever after.
For the laughing attracted some beasts that enacted
a search to find out what was up.
And in seeing three children, the thoughts that had filled them
was to open their mouths and to sup.
The mechanical dragons had taken to dragging
screaming redheads to their maws.
And April Ann Daisy, convinced she was crazy,
ran off from their bloody steel claws.
In the din of bones crunching and metal jaws munching
April had managed to flee.
And she ran and she ran thinking thoughts of Rotann
burned alive just as plain as can be.
Then she shuddered for Stan, who just lately began
his laborious breathing in vain.
And his body turned blue, sinking down in the goo,
as his limbs twitched with horrible pain.
But when April grew tired, she looked and admired
a strange place she found herself in.
It was far she had run, and when panting was done
her sobbing was sure to begin.
For she thought of her home, and of being alone
in a room with these blue glowing portals
And, expressing these doubts, the room shouted out
"Speak where you'd go to, you mortal!"
"Please take me to earth, it's the place of my birth
if you would, I'd be ever so grateful.
For I feel God-forsaken, and I'm awfully shaken
as the death of my friends was unfateful."
So the portal she entered and found that it sent her
magically whizzing towards home
Where she scurried inside - and how mother did chide!
April's lashings would serve to atone.
Then she crept off to bed, scary thoughts in her head,
but the warmth of the house helped to soothe her
And the roar of the fire, which she'd always admire
as she sank into sheets so much smoother.
So she nodded to sleep, but then jumped a great leap
And her tiny wee frame started trembling
Clutching blankets around her she saw them surround her:
these monsters of mechanical rumbling.
Seems April (unknowing) had just finished showing
these monsters a way to find earth.
Then this girl of but five, bravely mauled there alive,
was sent off for Phyrexian rebirth.
Half an hour to the close of deadline. There will be a 24-hour extension before I lock the thread; late entries will be accepted during this time but points docked.
I was clearing the jungle one day when I met a new friend in some dense leaf litter.
A mummified rat! Yay.
Here it is playing in some jasmine.
Good crop of lemons this year, hey rat?
Time for a nutritious snack!
All that playing has made us sleepy. . .
See you next time!
I am locking the thread at 12am AKDT Tuesday 14th October; late entries will be accepted up until that time but points docked.
The Greek Alliance Entry
Apologies for having to use RS, I just couldn't think of another way to get the entry submitted in another form.
Many thanks to:
Sig: CharlieD at Limited Edition Signatures
Avvy: XenoNinja at HotP Studios
The creator of Maro's Magic 8-Ball!
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re a Johnny. While it is true, Johnny has a penchant for cards rogue’s like us like, all Rogue means is not using a net deck.
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re limited to crap cards. Sure, the occasional uber Johnny takes cards at the bottom of the barrel, but most of us like building decks that aren’t used.
-Being Rogue doesn’t mean you’re always going to be Rogue. Every deck idea at some point was Rogue. What makes ARD truly Rogue is that we recognize that and strive to better our decks because of this. It’s a feedback reaction that creates magic. Some characters strive to make their net decks, some strive to copy those deck, Rogues continually build, continually build upon their deck building skills.
So without further ado, let’s get on with the Top 40 Cards You Should Build a Rogue Deck around Sometime (numbered and spoilered by color for reading ease).
2 - Convalescence/Convalescent Care: The challenge in building around these cards is finding a reliable way to get down in life without completely spiralling out of control. For this, I find Black has plenty of tools to "customize" your life total. Cards like Foul Imp and Serpent Warrior are good for lowering your life and giving bulky weenies, while Carnophage and Sangrophage allow you to drain your life slowly whenever needed. I also enjoy dropping a few Phyrexian Arenas for some extra card draw, and with a Convalescence out, it's basically a free card each turn. White plays it's part in maintaining a decent life total with cards like the Convalescence's, Pulse of the Fields and Keeper of the Light. The key to making all these work together comes in skillfully stacking the upkepp triggers; if you're sitting at 6 life with a Convalescence, Phyrexian Arena, and a Convalescent Care out, you'd want to stack the Convalescence first, then the Care, and finally the Arena. Thanks to "first in, last out," the Arena will drop your life total to 5, allowing the Care to trigger when otherwise it wouldn't have. Of course, there's always Platinum Angel, which allows you to be as reckless as you want with your life total.
3 - Light of Sanction: Seeing how white has never been big on hurting itself, this has always been viewed as a very odd card. However, to me at least, it's pairing with red has always been glaringly obvious. With cards like Bloodfire Colossus, Hammerfist Giant, Wildfire, Pyroclasm, etc., red has always been all about board sweeping, and Light of Sanction is perfect for making the effect more one-sided. Throw in some pro red creatures like Paladin en-Vec for situations where the Light doesn't show up, and your good to go.
4 - Three Dreams (and other Aura supporters): Most competetive decks tend to gloss over Auras, because of their built-in card disadvantage. The main exception in recent memory was the Ravnica "spelle nchantments" (Galvanic Arc, Flight of Fancy, Fists of Ironwood, and Faith's Fetters) due to their additional effects. Oddly, That same set gave Aura's plenty of other great tools. Three Dreams is great for grabbing whatever Auras you need. Auratouched Mage one-ups most tutors and puts the card right into play, regardless of color (hello, Mythic Proportions). Flickerform allows you to abuse the Mage and the spell Auras, as well as any creature with a great CIP effect. Imagine a Bramble Elemental with Flickerform and Fists of Ironwood on it; for 2WW, you can get six 1/1 Saproling tokens! A flipped Kitsune Mystic is just icing on the cake.
5 - Second Sunrise: I first got into Magic in the months leading to Mirrodin's release, and the one card that always intrigued me was Second Sunrise. I always wanted to find some way to abuse such an increadible effect, but my limited knowledge of the vast cardpool made this nigh-impossible, since MIR certainly didn't provide the tools needed to abuse the card.
The challenge comes from finding some way to make the effect one-sided. This can be solved with most forms of graveyard hate, the best choices being Leyline of the Void and Tormod's Crypt. A simple Wrath of God or Akroma's Vengence are great for clearing your opponent's side of the field, but that feels too... simple. My personal pick to finish the combo is Forbidden Ritual. Coupled with other forms of board control, you can easily have more permanents than your opponent, allowing you to ravange their life total and hand as well. Simply float :3mana::symw::symw::symb::symb: (or more), play the Ritual sacrificing your whole board, then play the Crypt to eliminate your opponents graveyard, and play the Sunrise. Combined with CIP creatures like Nekrataal and Highway Robbers, you can easily put yourself in a winning position.
7 - Battle of Wits: Battle of Wits is the original 'build a dumb deck around me!' card. It's a win the turn after you play it ... if you have over 200 cards in your library. The problem with this is that most decks are extremely streamlined, and generally theory dictates that you run as close to the lowest number of cards [in Magic's case, 60] as you can. But if you have an environment with a lot of cards that are analogues of each other, or close enough [see: Nameless Inversion, Agony Warp], then you can make a redundant deck with a hard-to-stop win condition. Decks featuring Battle of Wits have won some Type 2 Regionals, though it is always as a rogue deck. It encourages creative deckbuilding, and strong deckbuilding - making a 250 card deck [or so, but enough over 200 that you can still win even after you get Battle] redundant and powerful enough to work takes some serious skill.
8 - Sway of the Stars: Sway of the Stars is the original blue board resetter. Costing 10 mana, Sway was never in a competitive deck, but there were a couple casual decks [and/or rogue type 2 decks] built around it. The basic idea is that you make the resetting of the board bent in your favor in some way: for this reason, Momentary Blink-type effects work really well with it. Unlike cards that have similar effects, like Worldpurge, Sway reset life totals at 7, and reset the graveyard status of each player, meaning that if you were to Blink a large, hasty creature, you could end the game in a swing. In the end, though, the card still costs much too much mana to see any general use.
9 - Uyo, Silent Prophet: Uyo is, quite simply, Twincast. Only repeatable. This effect has been used numerous times afterwards by Wizards, always with drawbacks that make it nearly unplayable - see Sigil Tracer. But out of all of the repeatable Twincast effect cards, Uyo is the most playable. Not only is Uyo a 4/4 even without the ability, but the ability costs 2 mana of any color, making it easy to repeat and repeat. It does bounce the lands to your hand, making it necessary to restrict the Twincasting to a single massive turn, and even during that turn you can only Twincast until you run out of lands. But you can do it five or six times - without any real problems, even. Want to cast Glimpse the Unthinkable for 60? Well, it will cost you 10UB, but with Uyo you can do it.
10 - Dralnu's Pet: Dralnu's Pet is perhaps the most vanilla of the spells we have in this section. It's a 2/2 for 1UU: but if you pay an extra 2B and discard a creature card, Dralnu's Pet gets flying and +x/+x, where X is the spell's CMC. This works particularly well with cards like Draco that can be cast for less than their converted mana cost. You can also use this to get cards like Nether Shadow into the graveyard, where they can do better things than if they were sitting in your hand. If you have a way to use the +1/+1 counters, or desperately want a creature discard spell that has some beef of its' own, Dralnu's Pet is a good choice.
12 - Final Punishment: You're playing black, the classic lean back and watch the opponent suffer to your removal colour. Seeing you don't generally swing for much early, you want to hit for a lot late, with cards such as Demigod of Revenge and Korlash, Heir to Backblade. These guys swing for a lot, but it often isn't enough to kill them that turn, so that is where Final punishment comes in. It can easily, in the right deck, take down the second half of their 20. Killing them in an efficient and quick way, once you get round to it, is crucial, as you are steadily losing life to their threats and your own stuff that ebbs away your total, like Night's Whisper, so you don't want to bash their face for too long. Final Punishment almost always takes an entire turn off the game. And them having annother turn is bad news for you, see Time Walk.
13 - Cairn Wanderer: The classic 5 mana 4/4 flying, fear, first strike (well, not if it allready has double), double strike, deathtouch, haste, every type of landwalk, lifelink, protection from everything, reach, trample, shroud, vigilance, if you can get it to work properly. Running a dredge engine to dump things in the yard, and loads of 1 offs with a myriad of abilities, like Akroma, Angel of Wrath, you could get this guy close to his real potential. Then it could attack unblockably for 8, gaining you 8 life, and block anything the turn after it, without dying and always taking down an attaker, while giving you annother 8 life. A new turn comes, do it all again! Sounds nice, doesn't it?
14 - Pestilence: Recurring mass removal? Nice, in anyone's book. Even with anything with reasonable toughness (Indomitable Ancients deserves a mention) you can keep the rest of the board clear, clearing the path for your late game fatties while ebbing your opponents life away. But with Rite of Passage this card really shines. Not only does it take out your opponents life and creatures, it doesn't kill yours, it makes them STRONGER. With any kind of a team, you should be able to win like this easily on turn 5. And a triskelion just makes things funny. Did I mention its not terrible, even if you kill everything on the feild? And that it can make the opponent curse, even more than he was allready, that he was playing Stone Wall?
15 - Pit Spawn: A 7 mana 6/4? Even with first strike and its other ability that makes sure it never dies in combat, 7 mana seems a bit excessive, even for something as powerful in play as PitSpawn. Two mana per upkeep, however, isn't going to be too hard as you allready have 7. Mana cost aside, this is almost the best combat creature in the game, when it comes to fighting it out against other creatures. There is almost nothing it dies to in combat except other first strikers with 4 or more power. Being black and having more than 3 toughness means that it dies to hardly any of the removal in the environment. But its mana cost keeps getting in the way, so take the easy way out, and put it in a deck with a dredge engine and plenty of revive spells. Flashing this out with Makeshift Mannequin and the like, and the opponent will make an interesting face as he sees his Darksteel Colossus dieng to a mere 6/4.
The main strategy I employ for single player is to pass along permanents that would normally smack me around. To this end, I'll play :symb::symr: with singleton heavy hitters such as Minion of Leshrac, Ebonblade Reaper, either the original or morphing kings of the Pit, and either the Sith Lord or Apprentice of Black Enchantments. When your opponent attacks, make sure to keep them in the dark, and they'll soon be dying to give you your cards back.
17 - Thieves' Auction: I've always viewed the Auction as an expensive, Red Balance, as it redistributes the wealth of lands, creatures, etc. This can throw a wrench in all sorts of plans, even when your opponent thinks they have the game locked up.
In single or multi player games, the strategy is the same for me. I always leave some mana floating when I open the Auction, usually one or two, to cast a follow-up after the spell resolves. Smoke is a classic favorite, though dropping a Meekstone on the board after your opponent(s) takes all the larger creatures is even more amusing. Nothing like getting that army of scrawny goblins to breeze past a useless Darksteel Colossus for the win.
18 - Rolling Thunder: Of the five Red cards, this one has probably had the most mainstream exposure. For everyone who had ever wanted to split the damage from Fireball to multiple targets, either unevenly or without paying a lot of extra mana, this card was our hero. But, this is the Alliance of Rogue Deckers, and I see some extra potential.
The idea of Rolling Thunder is to be able to hit multiple targets simultaneously, but how can that be used to your advantage? What about dropping a Rite of Passage into play? You can damage your opponent, eliminate some of their creatures, and make your own critters larger at the same time. Say the opponent has managed to make their creatures indestructible - Timber Protector and Elspeth, Knight-Errant are recent methods. Then you need to show your opponent that there are repercussions to that sort of behavior. Further, hitting multiple targets has an advantage when you take the time to smell the roses... or, in this case, the brimstone. Each target takes an additional point of damage, stretching your mana even further.
19 - Shah of Naar Isle: I can honestly say I have never used this card in a deck. That being said, though, I can already see two different approaches to using this creature. The first is as a sacrifice outlet; the other as a pain draw.
The sacrifice altar is primed, and Fling and Stalking Vengeance just walked onto the dais. Actually, having the Vengeance in play first, and then Flinging the Shah at your opponent's head is a massive 12 point smack, but the mana needed seems a bit steep. Well, without cheating the Vengeance into play, anyway. Brion Stoutarm is also a solid option over Fling, in that you'll also gain life. Plus, it never hurts to keep throwing creatures at people's heads.
Pain draws go all the way back to Legends, and the unforgettable... um... wait, I just had it. Maybe I should sleep on it... Anyway, the concept has had some support every few years since then, such as in Visions, Planeshift and, most recently, in Shadowmoor. Personally, none of these match up to the fact that the original does not harm you, and, since you're playing :symb::symr: anyway, after they draw those three cards, you really should be able to tell them what to play. *sigh* I miss the days of smacking someone with their own Fireball.
20 - Radiate: Welcome to Fork on acid. This :3mana::symr::symr: Instant turns your opponent's Vindicate into a game reset. Yes, I have done it, and still managed to Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning my way to a win.
Radiate can do wonders, both offensively and defensively, when combined with the right cards. Vindicate was one example, and which an opponent would not expect. Sometimes, your opponent can have just the right spell that you want to copy. I've been overheard laughing when someone has played Donate or Rescue, and I just tell them "In response..." Of course, much like Vindicate, no one in their right mind would expect you to Radiate Recoil... unless you have a violent temper.
I'm serious! Okay, here's how it goes. :symu::symg: deck. You hold him off early game, then pop Incoming! -- so what happens next? Well, you'll bring out Words of War, 4x Howling Mine, 4x Anvil of Bogardan ... 4x Riftwing Cloudskate, 4x Æthersnipe, maybe a Venser, Shaper Savant, and some Voidmage Hushers just to keep them from trying any silly tricks of their own. (Remember, you're the active player, you choose what order triggers hit the stack). So what happens next? Well, it's quite simple. While they were quite foolhardy in emptying their library, that'll provide quite slim pickings for them to draw when they discover next turn that thanks to your eight artifacts, they now have to draw eight cards, while you can use all your lands to skip your draws, thanks to Words of War, handily burning off any pesky bits in the meantime. If you want to add insult to injury, toss in some Spiteful Visions. Then, if you put four of those in play, they'll draw twelve cards, and take fourty-eight damage. Isn't math fun?
22 - Form of the Squirrel: What could be better than a squirrel? I mean c'mon; they're small, furry, and if you're not careful they'll bite your ear off. Form of the Squirrel is the penultimate card in a squirrel deck, enabling you to hold on to it until the critical moment, drop Coat of Arms, and smash face with your own squirrely incarnation.
23 - Ageless Entity: The original Cradle of Vitality. The possibilities here are massive. It turns Healing Salve into a permanent Giant Growth in addition. It turns Martyr of Sands into the biggest permanent creature boost I've ever seen for :1mana:. I mean ... everyone loves life gain anyways, right? Unless, of course, you're playing against it, that is ... so why not have a giant beat-stick to show for it? After all, barring Test of Endurance, life gain won't win you any games all by itself.
24 - Hystrodon: Lesson one of Magic: Card advantage is Good. Lesson two of Magic: Combat tricks are good. Lesson three of Magic: Combining the two is a very good idea. Ohran Viper was a beast for the time it was in standard. Saying "I'll kill your dude unless I can draw a card" is very good. Saying "I'll kill your dude AND I'll draw a card" is better. Plus factor in that the Hystrodon is out of Incinerate range, and that he can be swinging at full-force on turn three (with Llanowar Elf acceleration) makes him a force to be reckoned with.
25 - Magus of the Vineyard: If there's one thing that Green does well, it's going stomp. Green is the foot of that giant monster that's about to step on you. However, in order for someone to dump their hand and go berserk like that, there's one simple thing you need, and that is mana. Green naturally has alot of sources, with Llanowar Elves, Birds of Paradise and all, but for pure acceleration out of the gate, I gotta say that I'm desperately in love with the Magus of the Vineyard. The sheer ability to drop an Uktabi Drake on Turn 2, along with 3x Might of Old Krosa to swing for 14 is huge! Toss in all the other fun tricks, and occasionally forcing your opponent to manaburn themselves is just gravy. Looking for a great way to accel into an Incoming!? I think we've just found ourselves a winner.
27 - Dakkon Blackblade: The Original Blackblade comes with a simple ability. Out shadowed by both greener and newer counter parts, why would someone ever want to play the original? Well, he’s awesome, and when you think about it, white, blue, and black are good at land manipulation for a reason. At 6 mana you could do worse, and just the mere fact his flavor is beautiful should be more than enough. The original, the only, the best: Blackblade, poster child of Legend, and another good rogue.
28 - Research/Development: Spilt cards give the powerful option of choice. Dissension spilt cards offer the powerful option of powerful effects. The best example is Research and Development. It acts as a powerful tutor that allows you to sideboard mid game, or a way to get advantage via critter tokens or cards. Best part is a secret MaGo told us: It’s imprint-able on the famous Scepter. And you can use both sides. It’s a unique card, even out of a unique style, and definitely worth a second glance.
29 - Strombind: Efficient removal in both green and red is hard to come by. Combine it with a nasty discard engine, and the ability to aim at the face, it makes it a cool card with more synergy than you could shake a finger at. Enchantments like these don’t come around too often, and that’s because when used properly it will hose any deck. Cards for damage never looked so sweet. It's simple, effective, but always useful and helps with some of the weaknesses for both colors.
30 - Spiteful Visions: Any good player will tell you Howling Mind is jank. It’s strict card disadvantage from here to Neverwhere. However, people still play it because it does get you cards, and sometimes that’s all you need. Visions improve upon the design, by doubling the cost, increasing its potency, and adding a ‘drawback’ in the form of damage. Suddenly, Blue players can’t draw, and RDW can refuel. Sure, it can backfire, but it wouldn’t be black and red if it didn’t. It’s a solid draw engine with a unique twist, which you will see around sometime, just because it’s powerful. It’s a worthy successor to the Arena and definitely has some utility value, as well as combo potential.
32 - Legacy Weapon: One color of each mana: Remove a permanent from the game. It’s a simple equation, and one with a near insolvable clause attached. There is a reason why, Urza made such a weapon, and that was so it could be used. The Coalition used it long ago, and now as a fledging Planeswalker, enjoys your repeatable removal and slowly scratches away at the board. It’s worth every bit of mana you sink into it. Decks used it, but not to it’s full potential. It’s certainly something you can gawk at.
33 - Phyrexian Ironfoot: Who says Rogues don’t like efficiency? Possibly the only uncommon on the list, it earns this place for being both snowy, powerful, and an absolute house. The card speaks for itself and it worth getting a set of Snow Lands just to play this monster. Resistant to removal, cheap to play in the beginning, but not a dead draw later in the game, its existence proves that Rogues have a bit of Spike in them.
34 - Draco: Conversely, Draco proves the Timmy side of the Rogue. With the biggest mana cost, and ungodly stats, this card may never be hard cast, but it has plenty of uses for a reason. Domain decks love it, any card with the words Converted Mana Cost do, and Reanimator. Trust us; nothing is more satisfying than having this Dragon wreck the field. Eractic Explosions, Riddles of Lightning, Dranlu's Pets. The hefty body does more than enough to compensate to.
35 - Triskelavus: This little hybrid is a 7 mana 4/4. It also comes with an addition to make little Fanatics, and turn +1/+1 counters into damage. It’s the perfect fusion of its predecessors and a worthy one at that. Like all other artifacts here, if you have the means enjoy pumping the card and letting lose your fighters. With Lorwyn here, you'll be like a comandeer with all the fleets you could be amassing.
37 - Svogthos, the Restless Tomb: So many decks don't utilize the graveyard at all. And that's fine. When Magic was first invented, very few cards actually interacted with the graveyard, other than to just recur lost cards. The graveyard was just a discard pile--a place to put the cards you had already used. Not so today. As Magic has progressed and "evolved," several aspects of the game now play a more vital role than they did 15 years ago, including the graveyard.
As games progress, the graveyard invariably gets larger. Just as we talked about using dying creatures to our advantage with Miren, why not use a full graveyard to our advantage as well? Svogthos couples the versatility of a man-land with the raw power of an inevitably huge creature. Just like with Miren, in the right deck, this card can save games as a huge finisher.
38 - Mouth of Ronom: Coldsnap really brought a revolutionary idea to the world of Magic with its snow-mana concept. The idea of having a different type of mana that was categorized differently than just color opened up quite a lot of design space. Mouth of Ronom, in addition to being a source of snow mana, is pretty much straight up creature removal. Colorless, uncounterable creature removal. The great thing about it is the fact that any deck that can run a snow mana base can support it. This is where the interesting options come into play.
The best uses for this card are in the decks where creature removal is necessary but practically non-existant. Consider the Mystical Teachings deck that was running rampant about a year ago. Tolaria West (another excellent utility land) was often used to fetch a Mouth of Ronom to outright kill a creature that it couldn't otherwise deal with. And quite often, its target was an opposing Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, simply because the effect couldn't be countered outside of a Trickbind.
39 - Winding Canyons: When my friends first introduced me to tournaments, the one technique that took me forever to comprehend was that you don't need to play your spells if you don't have to. Basically, play as many things as you can at the end of your opponent's turn. Why is this so important?
First of all, it doesn't commit you to anything. It forces your opponent to make the first move. Lots games end up being a war of attrition and the first player forced to make a move can end up losing. By making sure your opponent has to make the first move, you can adapt your strategy to best combat whatever it is they do.
Furthermore, there's always the element of surprise and the element of the bluff. Leaving your mana open can sometimes send a signal that you're holding a counterspell or combat trick. I almost never play a land during my first main phase simply to give some sort of illusion that I may have a playable card in hand. Winding Canyons greatly aides in these strategies by allowing you not to commit to anything on your own turn.
40 - Thawing Glaciers: Yes, there actually is a lot of combo-potential with this land (I'm looking at your, Stone-Seeder Hierophant...) But I don't really want to talk about that. I want to talk about what this land actually does--fetch you more lands. While it may seems simple and innocuous, fetching lands out of your deck can actually increase your chances of winning.
How so? Think of it this way. Let's eliminate skill from the picture for the moment. In a duel, the person who draws the better cards, or at least more of the better cards, wins. Unfortunately, luck sometimes gets in the way via mana screw/flood. You just can't help it right? Wrong. If you have a way to remove the cards you don't want to draw, usually lands, then mathematically, you have a better chance of drawing the cards you do want to draw.
Now please, keep in mind, this is just a general concept. I'm not saying every deck should be packing 4 Journeyer's Kites. But cards like Sakura-Tribe Elder that can swing and still thin your deck, or Thawing Glaciers itself which only costs
Rogue decks aren't limited to being based around these cards. You have thoughts about cards you think we left out? Then say so. This is just a starting point for a massive list. It has history, power, and most importantly, an inspiring start.
This is ARD, and may you experience the joy of making your own deck.
EDIT: OK, here it is:
Presenting: The [Pack] Theme Deck!
The wind stirs, and you can palpably feel the power emanating from the wolf's den before you. Enter at your own risk, and you may discover powerful arcane secrets. This is the Pack, and this is our hunting ground...
A new theme deck that's bursting at the seams with powerful new Legendary Creatures and other all new cards exclusively designed by the members of the [PACK] on the online forums MTG Salvation, Enter, The [PACK] is something you DON'T want to miss!
Land
1 The Den
1 Hall of the Heir
1 Heavensphere
1 Sajem Castle
1 Sanctuary of the Weary
1 Sanctum on the Shoulders
1 The Kashaku Estate
4 Plains (special limited edition art)
4 Island (special limited edition art)
4 Swamp (special limited edition art)
4 Mountain (special limited edition art)
4 Forest (special limited edition art)
Creatures/Planeswalkers
1 Zaph, Phi Predator
1 Tymes, Thrice-Touched by Infinity
1 Whisper, Manic Flittering Servant
1 Kat, Harbinger of Revenge
1 The Flittering Clique
1 QFX, Pyromancer
1 Hand of QFX
1 George of Benalia
1 Benalish Bodyguard
1 Froxplasm
1 Veniz, Weaver of Visions
1 Enneb, Tower of the Boros
1 Olaf, Northern Heir
1 Seth, Lord of Shadowheart
1 Kyle, the Thief Lord
1 Ara Ukiyo
1 Dark Night Cavalier
1 Castle Extinguisher
1 The Undead Dragon Lord
1 Uligutor Staffmaster
1 Airell, Blood Queen
Instants/Sorceries/Enchantments
1 Mystic Dreams
1 Extinguisher's Grasp
1 Gifts of Shadowheart
1 Strength of Teaching
1 Hand of Shadows
1 Neo Ukiyo
1 Sanity Vise
1 Qfxplosion
1 Blessing of the Dragon Lord
Artifacts
1 Goblet of the Guildhall
1 Spell Lock
1 Olaf's Jar
1 Reredrum
1 Namida Kage, Seth's Blade