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| MTG "Arts and Crafts" |
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| Here I keep all the "arts and crafts" of Magic, those combos you get off the Internet that make you buy all the cards that you need off the Internet just so you can try it out. Don't deny that you don't, either. I know you do, and I do too. These combos may be totally impractical, and cost you money, but that sense of "I just created Magic history in my town" is worth any cost, and any actual odds of getting the cards in play all in a single game. I prefer cards with unique abilities, the "curious" cards like Mist of Stagnation and Quicksilver Fountain that can be devastating in the right circumstances, to all-powerful single cards, like Phage the Untouchable and Wrath of God. I believe in a good combo as opposed to a good card, and find that Phage the Untouchable works just long enough for someone to cycle a card with an Astral Slide. So, here we go. This is Magic Arts and Crafts with James Griffith. |
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| Well, it's time for another article, or so say the critics. Here are the reviews for the last article. "Frickin' awesome." - Norris-MTG Player Weekly "It's OK." - Bradshaw Weekly "I haven't even been to your website." - Wolfe Weekly As you can see, my Spellbinder Article was a hit. And the first thing that I was asked to do was write another article. (*Delusions of being a celebrity overtake trumpeteer519.) Well, I guess I have to keep the fans happy... Seriously, my next article will go back to Mirrodin, and cover a card that seems to surge with opportunity in Darksteel. Before the indestructibles, the Modulars, and the Affinity for basic lands, there was a card called Power Conduit. And even before I saw the Darksteel Reactor, I started looking for ways to use the Mirrodin Uncommon. The first, and most obvious way, to use Power Conduit is within Mirrodin itself. A little rare card called Quicksilver Fountain. For a non-blue deck, they've pretty much got blue mana for the rest of the game. Because all lands are never going to get those flood counters, just everyone else's lands. You're going to switch those flood counters for something you can use, like a +1/+1 counter. And with the newer sets, there are plenty of ways to use charge counters. AEther Vial is always beneficial. Especially if you just don't have the mana for a face-up Scornful Egotist..... I'm sorry, that was an insult to the Vial. Actually, Scornful Egotist is an insult to the game of Magic itself. But assuming you get a Vial on turn 1, a Power Conduit on turn 2, and a Quicksilver Fountain on turn 3, you can have an uncounterable Darksteel Colossus on turn 7 without paying its mana cost. That's far from the only way to use a Power Conduit. Or so the Decree said. Yes, Decree of Silence. Let's see the reviews of this card: "It's like the worst Decree." - Norris Weekly. "It's OK." - Bradshaw Weekly "I haven't even been to your website." - Wolfe Weekly Funny, I think I've heard those last two before. But before Power Conduit, the Decree was a mass Counterspell. "OK, since there are two depletion counters, I'll let it counter my Ornithopter and then play my Krosan Cloudscraper." It was that simple. Or you could cycle it to have a 6-mana Last Word. Note: www.oocities.org/trumpeteer519 in no way recommends the use of an Ornithopter in the same deck as a Krosan Cloudscraper while playing the game of Magic. All references to real decks that have these two cards together in them are purely coincidental, and the person who put them in together either has a real good combo with them or is a total moron. But now, with Power Conduit in play, Decree of Silence reads, "Whenever an opponent plays a spell, counter that spell, tap Power Conduit, and put a +1/+1 counter on target creature." I like that version better. With the new card, Darksteel Reactor, there is a new strategy for winning. It involves Dismantle, Coretapper, and anything else that generates counters. This works with Decree of Silence too, since it generates counters and counters at the same time. And the ever-reworded Decree of Silence now reads, "Whenever an opponent plays a spell, counter it, tap Power Conduit, and win the game in one less turn than you would have before." So, there you are. You can turn all your opponents' lands into Islands, you can counter all your opponents' spells (assuming they don't have an infinite Storm), you can win the game! What can't you do with a Power Conduit? Create mana? Got you covered. Draw cards? Guess again. Create 3/1 red Elementals with haste that you sacrifice at the end of your turn? One step ahead of you. How about take another turn? Beat you to it. Gain life? Deal damage? How about save itself from a Naturalize? Can you say, "Damn! It does that, too?" But that card needs another article by itself. Until next time, keep thinking of combos with the two-mana uncommon artifact that will: Add W,U,B,R,G, or colorless mana to your mana pool Help you draw a card Create creatures Give you extra turns Counter spells Turn all enemy lands into Islands Bring creatures into play from your hand for free Win you the game and..... Put +1/+1 counters on creatures you control. Have a nice day. -James Griffith If you have a combo you would like to share, e-mail me here: trumpeteer519@yahoo.com |