Vector Asp Strikes an Idea

First of all, I like the new Vector Asp creature. It's kinda meh, but it's a good concept.

But, its real value is humor. So, we have a Vector Asp. A vector is, as we know from mathematics, a line originating at the origin with definite direction and length. And an asp is a snake. Now, that's not that great, until you think about linear algebra and realize that the span of two independent vectors is a plane. That means if you have two unique Vector Asps, you have, by a literal interpretation of the name, two snakes in a plane. That's right, folks, for the low low price of two Vector Asps, you can have Snakes on a Plane.

Now, that got me thinking. Are there enough unique snakes (read: enough decent unique snakes) to make a deck revolving around playing Snakes on a Plane? It'd be really cool for the opponent to say he was sick and tired of your snakes.It'd presumably have to be Green/Black, but I don't know if there are enough snake creatures. Hope so, though.

That's all for today's mad ramblings. Hope they make someone chuckle.

~The Planeswalker

PS - check out my avatar and laugh

Spending Money; Building Dreams

Okay, so maybe the heading is a little bit too inspired.

Basically, I just ordered some cards. Like... 50 of 'em, mostly full playsets of cheap commons.

For Kiln Fiend deck:
4 x Lightning Bolt
4 x Mana Leak
1 x Distortion Strike (brings me up to four, I think)

Because cheap, effective removal rocks and cheap, awesome counters are awesome. Also, Unblockable Kiln Fiend for the win.

For an Elf Deck I want to make:
4 x Llanowar Elves
4 x Khalni Heart Expedition
4 x Nissa's Chosen
4 x Arbor Elf
4 x Nissa's Chosen
3 x Wildheart Invoker (have one already)
4 x Might of the Masses
4 x Fog (it's a running gag with my friends, so it was necessary)
2 x Asceticism
4 x Pelakka Wurm
4 x Engulfing Slagwurm

So, there's a new deck-to-be. Basically, mana ramp (once I get me some Joraga Treespeakers!) into huge things and smash. Also, swarms of elves. Also, Ezuri, Renegade Leader from Scars if absolutely necessary, to make said swarm more powerful and Trampling. Yay.

So, once those cards arrive, I'll puzzle over assembling them into a deck. It'll be fun to play, I think, since it's pretty much just quiet turtling until it gets big nasties out and crushes the enemies beneath them like roaches.

All this, for ~$12. I call it a win.

So: what am I missing for an Elf deck? I want Wellwishers and Archdruids and Fauna Shaman, but they're pricier than I like. Budget decks are my thing. Heh. If there's anything that costs, like, a quarter, that would make this better, lemme know.

Until next time, good gaming.
~The Planeswalker

Weekend Summary

Well, the weekend went pretty well.

First off: Two drafts later, Scars of Mirrodin is... well... kind of becoming a bit meh. Infect remain incredibly annoyingly powerful, and Blue is fairly crappy, and, well, I can't really think of many things I'd like to do with the set. I certainly liked my draft decks (Elves and RDW with some Control) but neither was extraordinary. Further, I see the same basic decks forming and dominating, which is rather lame but I suppose inevitable. Oh well. I've got more Scars cards, which leads to...

A playtest or twelve of the Kiln Fiend deck! It works, and fairly well, even without decent cards. No Surrokar Spellblades or Mana Leaks or other probably awesome additions, but it was fun to win with it on turn seven of its first game since adding Black. It was my mistake, though. Should've been turn five, but I miscalculated and only dealt nine Poison Counters with my first attack. Oh well. The deck has a long way to go, but it's definitely a blast, and definitely a keeper among my decks. I look forward to watching it mature and get refined.

Looking eagerly toward more Magic, and toward maybe getting some cash in the ol' account so I can keep up my habit (fingers crossed on New York TAP actually going through any time soon to get me my refund from college). As always, comments are appreciated, and may the Mana-Balance be with you.

~The Planeswalker

Our Ceramic Making Friend, The Kiln Fiend

I've recently fallen in love with the idea of a deck designed around Kiln Fiends, and Scars of Mirrodin has only made it better.

As you may know, the Kiln Fiend gets +3/+0 every time you cast an instant or sorcery. Which is good on its own, but hey, it gets even better: What if you made it unblockable? You could smash the enemy in the face for quite a bit of damage. But hey, let's make it even better. Let's give the Kiln Fiend Double Strike. Double the damage, double the fun! Now, we could make it even more absurd: let's make the Kiln Fiend deal poison counters. Now, you're probably saying, "that's excessive and absurd," and you'd be right, but man do I bet it's fun to pull off.

So, how do we do it? It's important to stay Standard Type II Legal, for ease of access to cards.
For starters: Kiln Fiends. 4 of them. They're the meat of the deck's awesomeness.
Unblokable comes from Distortion Strike (and an additional +1, and Rebound in case you... uh... miss?).
Double Strike comes from Assault Strobe, a new single-red sorcery in Scars.
Infect (for poison counters) is from Tainted Strike a single-black sorcery from Scars, and also gives +1/+0.


Now, what does that put us at? Kiln Fiend has a base 1/2. +1/+0 from Distortion Strike, +1/+0 from Tainted Strike, and +9/+0 for casting three instants/sorceries. Grand total: 12/2 Unblockable Infector with Double Strike. That means 24 poison counters. Given it takes 10 to kill, you're operating at incredible efficiency. You don't even really need the Double Strike; just any instant or sorcery, but I like Assault Strobe.

And yes, this does create a hilarious turn three win. If your opening hand is a Swamp, a Mountain, an Island, Kiln Fiend, Tainted Strike, Distortion Strike, and Assault Strobe, you should definitely not Mulligan.

Now, I know that there's the chance of removal, and the deck suffers in late-game, but given it's a UBR semi-control aggro deck, you should tend to be okay. Of course, if the enemy isn't dead by, like, turn seven, it's often time to just give up. I personally love the deck idea, especially if supplemented by Leyline of Anticipation, Surreal Memoir, and Mnemonic Wall. Surrokar Spellblades can also be rather hilarious for later game, but beware decking yourself. That's generally bad.

Comments greatly appreciated; after Scars' official release, I intend to build this for trying my luck at the quick-kill. Hope others like it too.

~ The Planeswalker

PS - My girlfriend says Kiln Fiend looks like a kitty, and that with Lightning Greaves it's Puss in Boots.
She's cute like that.

First Steps; Testing the Waters

This blog is a new thing for me. I figure it could be fun. let's hope so, shall we?

So, the idea is, I'm going to come up with random thoughts about Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering trading card game, because it's awesome. Let me state this first and foremost: I make no claim to own intellectual property posted herein; all of the cards are trademark Wizards of the Coast and all that. That doesn't mean, of course, I won't link images and such, because it's not exactly hidden content.

So. I've been playing Magic for awhile now (well, probably only a little while, in the grand scheme) and I have some fun deck and/or combo ideas. I'm gonna post 'em here, and maybe elsewhere. If you have any comments, post away. I'm happy to receive feedback. I'll also probably be posting shenanigans I perpetrate with my friends at college, as we take on Friday Night Magic tournaments and explore the new sets as they come out. Should be fun. And, of course, the many HouseMemes we create as we're playing.

I'll come up with a bit more of a content-filled post in awhile, once I figure out which of my many fun ideas merits first mention. Until then, cheers, readers.

~The Planeswalker