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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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| World's Greatest Spellbinder Combo This is no joke. I just found the greatest combo ever with the new Darksteel card, Spellbinder. And you know what card that is? Any guesses? First, let's talk about Spellbinder for a second. When I first saw it, I didn't grasp its true potential. I even went as far as to think it should be an uncommon. Now, though, I'm having second thoughts. I started looking for potential combos, ones that didn't work with the friend of the common Magic player, Isochron Scepter. Don't get me wrong, Isochron is a great card (especially the old, boring, effective Moment's Peace or Counterspell on a stick.), but it has one major drawback. The two-mana limit. What sets Spellbinder apart is the lack of a limit for the imprinted instant. Any instant works. And when you equip it to an Escape Artist, the possibilities are endless. Let's look at those possibilities. Searing Wind. For 4 mana, paid only once, an attacking Escape Artist deals 1 damage to target player and another 10 damage to target creature or player!!! But who said it had to be Escape Artist? A Thorn Elemental works just as well. But we're assuming that you live in a world where you buy cards with money, so we'll assume the equipped creature is an Escape Artist. Other burn spells are good too. For a chaotic game, imprint Spellbinder with an Inferno. :) Decree of Savagery. All your creatures get 4 +1/+1 counters. Every turn. That might be a tad disheartening... Boil. This and a Quicksilver Fountain really screw the board over, especially for those blue control or blue disruption decks. Natural Selection. Ever get the feeling that your deck is working against you? With a card like this, you can play God. "Well, it seems you have a Krosan Cloudscraper coming up. How about an Ornithopter instead? I don't think you need that Cloudscraper in play quite yet." But what's the best instant to imprint on a Spellbinder? Second Sunrise? Vampiric Tutor? Firestorm? Perhaps we'll never know... But I know. Without a doubt, the best instant ever for this combo, is none other than the friend of the red mana-acceleration deck, Seething Song. (Pause for Effect) You heard me right. With this card, you can deal infinite damage with an Escape Artist. And of course, Aggravated Assault. This card aggravates, and assaults, players to this day. And its ability conveniently matches the mana produced by Seething Song. Here's the situation: It's turn 3. You brought out a Suntail Hawk on the first turn, and your opponent has no fliers. You have 3 mana, and you play Aggravated Assault. Your Seething Song and Spellbinder are in your hand. Your opponent attacks you with a Thorn Elemental, and he hopes to dissuade you from opposing him. You are now at 13 life. You then untap your permanents and insult your opponent with choice four-letter words. (I don't mean mana flip either.) You enrage your opponent, and cast your Spellbinder, imprinting Seething Song. Then it's his turn. He untaps his permanents, and... Alternative ending 1: Your opponent plays Might of Oaks on the Thorn Elemental, and you lose. But we won't take this route. Alternative ending 2: Your opponent attacks you with T.E. and a Bartel Runeaxe, which appears in a flash of thunder. A vortex appears, and out of the center shoots Sylvan Might, giving Bartel Runeax +2/+2 and trample. Hey, it's my article, I can do what I want. Anyway, you block with an Ornithopter, which you have conjured up through your magical powers. You prevent 1 damage to you from Daru Healer, which is brought out as an instant because a 3rd player has Aluren and Mass Hysteria. He responds using the ability of Amok to give it +1/+1 as he discards the last card in his hand. You use Bandage to prevent 1 damage. He casts Shock, and you play Last Word by tapping your last land, Tolarian Academy, with four artifacts in play. The attack resolves, leaving you alive because of a bandage and because you got the last word in. The point is, you're at 1 life, and your opponent has a frickin' Thorn Elemental. You're not afraid, though. You equip Suntail Hawk with Spellbinder. Now, whenever Suntail Hawk deals combat damage, you add RRRRR to your mana pool. You attack your opponent, deal 1 damage (he has no fliers), and add 5 red mana to your mana pool. You spend the 5 mana to use Aggravated Assault's ability, and untap the Suntail Hawk. You attack your opponent, deal 1 damage (he has no fliers), and add 5 red mana to your mana pool. You spend the 5 mana to use Aggravated Assault's ability, and untap the Suntail Hawk. You attack your opponent, deal 1 damage (he has no fliers), and add 5 red mana to your mana pool. You spend the 5 mana to use Aggravated Assault's ability, and untap the Suntail Hawk... So congratulate yourself, and your 1/1 unblockable. It just won you the game. James Griffith March 12, 2004 |