It’s official! Spellstutter Sprite will be the FNM Promo for February 2011.

Join us on Saturday for the Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease! We’ll be running two sealed tournaments on Saturday. There will be two different prerelease promo cards for the prerelease and players will receive one based on the faction chosen (while supplies last).

Held one week before each new Magic card set goes on sale, Prereleases  provide a way to play in a large-scale event in a low-stress  environment. You get to play with the cards before you can buy them,  special promotional cards are given out to attendees and the top players  can win even more cards. So have fun!

Prereleases are sanctioned by the DCI, which is the governing body for  all Magic tournaments – from the smallest local events up to the  multi-million dollar Pro Tour. Playing in a sanctioned event means your  results are recorded and begin to give you a player rating among the  thousands of Magic players worldwide. If you don’t have a DCI number  yet, the event staff on site can provide you with one. For many players,  Prereleases are a fun and easy way to play in their first sanctioned  events.

At Prerelease events, the emphasis is on casual play with a high degree  of sportsmanship. You don’t need to know the rules well, but you should  always be polite and respectful to your opponents. If there is a  disagreement, or a question about a ruling, please call a judge

The Game Academy
5671 East Fowler Ave
Tampa, FL 33617

Call us @ 813.914.7000 for any questions

Click Here For A Map To Our Store

January 28th, 2011 (Friday)

05:30 PM             Registration for Friday Night Magic begins
07:00 PM             Friday Night Magic begins

January 29, 2010 (Saturday)

SEALED TOURNAMENT #1
Time: Registration opens at 9 a.m., with the tournament starting at 10 a.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Mirrodin Besieged Sealed. Players will receive three regular Scars of Mirrodin booster packs and their choice of three Mirran boosters or three Phyrexian boosters. This is something we’re doing especially for the Mirrodin Besieged prerelease. The set will be released as mixed boosters only so the prerelease will be the only time you’ll be able to get these faction booster packs.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Mirrodin Besieged
3-1: 5 packs of Mirrodin Besieged
2-2: 1 pack of Mirrodin Besieged

SEALED TOURNAMENT #2
Time: Registration begins at 2 p.m., with the tournament starting at 3 p.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Mirrodin Besieged Sealed. Players will receive three regular Scars of Mirrodin booster packs and their choice of three Mirran boosters or three Phyrexian boosters. This is something we’re doing especially for the Mirrodin Besieged prerelease. The set will be released as mixed boosters only so the prerelease will be the only time you’ll be able to get these faction booster packs.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Mirrodin Besieged
3-1: 5 packs of Mirrodin Besieged
2-2: 1 pack of Mirrodin Besieged

Join us this Saturday and Sunday for the Scars of Mirrodin Release! We’ll be running two sealed tournaments on Saturday and one on Sunday. All participants will receive a Steel Hellkite Promo (while supplies last).

Launch parties are sanctioned by the DCI, which is the governing body for all Magic tournaments – from the smallest local events up to the multi-million dollar Pro Tour. Playing in a sanctioned event means your results are recorded and begin to give you a player rating among the thousands of Magic players worldwide. If you don’t have a DCI number yet, the event staff on site can provide you with one. For many players, Prereleases are a fun and easy way to play in their first sanctioned events.

At launch parties, the emphasis is on casual play with a high degree of sportsmanship. You don’t need to know the rules well, but you should always be polite and respectful to your opponents. If there is a disagreement, or a question about a ruling, please call a judge.

More info about launch parties can be found on the Magic the Gathering website.

The Game Academy
5671 East Fowler Ave
Tampa, FL 33617

Call us @ 813.914.7000 for any questions

Click Here For A Map To Our Store

October 1st, 2010 (Friday)

05:30 PM Registration for Friday Night Magic begins
07:00 PM Friday Night Magic begins

October 2, 2010 (Saturday)

SEALED TOURNAMENT #1
Time: Registration opens at 10 a.m., with the tournament starting at 10:30 a.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Scars of Mirrodin Sealed. Players will receive six (6) packs of Scars of Mirrodin to build a forty-card deck.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
3-1: 5 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
2-2: 1 pack of Scars of Mirrodin

SEALED TOURNAMENT #2
Time: Registration begins at 3 p.m., with the tournament starting at 3 :30p.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Scars of Mirrodin Sealed. Players will receive six (6) packs of Scars of Mirrodin to build a forty-card deck.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
3-1: 5 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
2-2: 1 pack of Scars of Mirrodin

October 3, 2010 (Sunday)

SEALED TOURNAMENT #1
Time: Registration opens at 10 a.m., with the tournament starting at 10:30 a.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Scars of Mirrodin Sealed. Players will receive six (6) packs of Scars of Mirrodin to build a forty-card deck.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
3-1: 5 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
2-2: 1 pack of Scars of Mirrodin

Join us next Saturday and Sunday for the Scars of Mirrodin Prerelease! We’ll be running two sealed tournaments on Saturday and one on Sunday. All participants will receive a Wurmcoil Engine Promo (while supplies last).

Held one week before each new Magic card set goes on sale, Prereleases  provide a way to play in a large-scale event in a low-stress  environment. You get to play with the cards before you can buy them,  special promotional cards are given out to attendees and the top players  can win even more cards. So have fun!

Prereleases are sanctioned by the DCI, which is the governing body for  all Magic tournaments – from the smallest local events up to the  multi-million dollar Pro Tour. Playing in a sanctioned event means your  results are recorded and begin to give you a player rating among the  thousands of Magic players worldwide. If you don’t have a DCI number  yet, the event staff on site can provide you with one. For many players,  Prereleases are a fun and easy way to play in their first sanctioned  events.

At Prerelease events, the emphasis is on casual play with a high degree  of sportsmanship. You don’t need to know the rules well, but you should  always be polite and respectful to your opponents. If there is a  disagreement, or a question about a ruling, please call a judge

The Game Academy
5671 East Fowler Ave
Tampa, FL 33617

Call us @ 813.914.7000 for any questions

Click Here For A Map To Our Store

September 24th, 2010 (Friday)

05:30 PM             Registration for Friday Night Magic begins
07:00 PM             Friday Night Magic begins

September 25, 2010 (Saturday)

SEALED TOURNAMENT #1
Time: Registration opens at 9 a.m., with the tournament starting at 10 a.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Scars of Mirrodin Sealed. Players will receive six (6) packs of Scars of Mirrodin to build a forty-card deck.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
3-1: 5 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
2-2: 1 pack of Scars of Mirrodin

SEALED TOURNAMENT #2
Time: Registration begins at 2 p.m., with the tournament starting at 3 p.m.
Entry Fee: $25.00 per player.
Format: Scars of Mirrodin Sealed. Players will receive six (6) packs of Scars of Mirrodin to build a forty-card deck.
Structure: Four rounds of Swiss.
Prizes:
4-0: 8 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
3-1: 5 packs of Scars of Mirrodin
2-2: 1 pack of Scars of Mirrodin

We would love to see you for our Friday Night Magic (FNM) tournaments every Friday ! Details below:

FREE FOR EVERYONE!!!!!

Tournament Details:

Format: Standard

Prizes*:

GUARANTEED Booster box of the latest set for the Top 8 finishers!

Top 2 Finishers will receive a FNM Promo!

Random Door Prizes will be given away throughout the night.

Entry Fee: $0 (FREE!!!)

Registration starts @ 5:30 PM

Tournament Starts @ 7:00 PM

If you have any questions, please call 813-914-7000

Gatekeeper of Malakir FNM Promo for November 10′

Click Above for More Details

Magic the Gathering’s Banned Card Update: Implications for EDH and Beyond

On June 18th, Wizards of the Coast posted their biannual announcement outlining the changes to the banned and restricted list. These announcements typically have a severe but limited impact on the formats for which certain powerful cards are either banned or restricted. Occasionally and most recently, we have watched as a number of potent cards have experienced their release from the prison of banned or restricted cards. Notable cards that have had their sentence in exile commuted include Dream Halls, Entomb, and the newly emancipated Grim Monolith.

As a fan of Magic’s older formats, I typically stay up like a kid on Christmas Eve awaiting the presents that might be revealed. The last couple of banning announcements have had significant metagame and thus financial implications. The legacy format shifted with each unbanning in 2009. At Grand Prix Tampa, I was chatting with Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin about the implications of the newly unbanned Entomb on the legacy format. He noted that there was a pretty sick reanimator deck in the works that abused the process of dumping large, game-winning creatures into the grave and bringing those creatures back in the very early turns of the game via the Entomb, Mystical Tutor, and Reanimate. The deck had served a tenure in the gaming days of past and was ripe for rebirth.

Following the sage advice of Patrick, I set out on a journey to secure as many copies of the newly unbanned Entomb as possible. Earlier in the year, I had dropped $12 dollars on a playset of unbanned Dream Halls. The cards made an eventual appearance in the top 16 of a Starcitygames Legacy 5K, and my investment grew 5 fold. When there are whispers on the wind of an exciting new deck in an environment, you should: 1. Consider the source of the rumor 2. Do some evaluative thinking for yourself, and 3. Research prices on your speculative investment. If these three factors align to your liking, jump on the chance to own the cards, pilot the deck, and to make a solid investment. I purchased my two copies of Entomb at $7, my next two copies at $14, and the next four copies at $20 dollars each. The cards currently have an estimated value between $30-45.

This trend inspired me to await each possible opportunity to scoop up unbanned cards early and often. On June 17th, I stayed up late. I had to be at work the next day by 7am, but still felt it would be an awesome opportunity to await the announcement and make some quick decisions based on the outcomes. I have both good and bad news. I purchased a couple of copies of Grim Monolith for a low number, but the other announcements would have a far, far greater effect on the playability and financial value of my Magic collection. The announcement outlined the following terms:

The following card sets are permitted in Extended tournaments:
• Time Spiral (until October 1, 2010)
• Planar Chaos (until October 1, 2010)
• Future Sight (until October 1, 2010)
• Tenth Edition (until October 1, 2010)
• Lorwyn
• Morningtide
• Shadowmoor
• Eventide
• Shards of Alara
• Conflux
• Alara Reborn
• Magic 2010
• Zendikar
• Worldwake
• Rise of the Eldrazi
• Magic 2011 (effective July 16, 2010)
• Scars of Mirrodin (effective October 1, 2010)

The following cards are banned in Extended tournaments:
• Hypergenesis
• Sword of the Meek

My wife and I had only recently made our venture into playing competitive Extended tournaments. Over the last 8 months we picked up an additional play set of Tarmogoyf, play sets of each of the shock lands, and any number of tournament viable staples including Dark Confidant, Umezawa’s Jitte, and the recently popular Dark Depths. By the conclusion of the 2009-2010 extended season, Tarmogoyf was slated to reach $90 while Dark Depths were selling for $160 a foursome. We had been a huge fan of Extended Zoo decks that packed Tarmogoyf, used fetch lands to grab shock lands to even out the complicated casting cost of the deck’s many creatures and spells, and our particular version which sported Tribal Flames. This card rewarded particularly complex mana bases. For 2-casting cost, you could burn your opponent for each land type you controlled.

On the back of the most recent bannings, this deck and those sorts of rewards will be nearly extinct. I feel that the biggest loss to the format will be felt in the interaction between fetch lands and the shock lands. Building decks with the shock lands allowed for a different kind of magic. There was a distinct deck style available in Legacy and Extended than could be found or created in the Standard format. You were able to play a number of cards that “cared” if your dual-color producing lands (duals) were stamped with a basic land type. Underground Sea is both a Swamp and an Island. Watery Grave is both a Swamp and an Island. Underground River, Secluded Glen, and Drowned Catacombs are neither. The importance and convenience of fetching the former cards with a Polluted Delta (or other relevant fetch land) made the cards vastly more playable and superior to the latter for a wide array of decks. Those days appear to be gone in Extended along with that deck building freedom and “color-screw” liberation. Splashing extra colors is not as viable, playing a vast mix of cards will be result in slower and possibly less efficient decks. Consider the difference between the speed of the aforementioned Tribal Zoo and 2008’s 5-color control. The sheer number of come-into-play-tapped lands can really slow down a deck that relies on a complicated mana base.

Additional implications beyond the general loss of the fluid, complicated mana bases are the pure execution of some other deck types. Zoo was the rush deck type that worked to keep combo decks in check. Decks like Thopter Foundry, Dark Depths Combo, and Hyper Genesis were generally offset by the possibility of a speedy death at the hands of a skilled or lucky zoo player. With Zoo decks being eradicated, it appears that Wizards simply axed or put a tight time limit on the viability of popular control decks. Play your Dark Depths one last time in October, and then ship them off to legacy land. Sword of the Meek will R.I.P. along with the explosive starts and finishes provided by Hypergenesis.

What will be left when the dust settles? I imagine that players will find themselves immediately drawn to Faeries or one of the Tier II combo decks like Pyromancer’s Ascension.dec looming in the background. Aside from the obvious, it is likely that the format will morph and shift into something satisfactory, but at the expense of some great cards and good times.

Bannings In EDH: The Good, the Bad, and the Low Cost of Newly Banned Cards

Following the trend set by Wizards of the Coast, the Elder Dragon Highlander Rules Committee drops banning updates parallel to the mother ship. There were several shocking and non-shocking editions to the updated banned list. After generating a great amount of forum buzz and internet publicity around the Channel-Eldrazi deck, it seems that our best efforts to employ awesome, powerful, Eldrazi spells using mana ramp will be thwarted by the RC.

At least we got a couple of thousand hits on the YouTube channel and finished a three part series on the deck before it was banned to the stone age. I cannot say that it was unexpected. The synergy between the Spawnshire of Ulamog and Channel prompted a near-instant rules update to clarify what “outside of the game” entailed in EDH. If you were every privy to blowing out an opponent using the very lucky draw (or fortunate ability to search up Channel using any of a dozen cards) using Channel and unnamed giant Eldrazi, then you surely realized that the days of the easy, early Eldrazi were numbered. I am just glad that they did not ban the Eldrazi. That would have been a hard ban to accept. In any case, these are the updated bannings for EDH as of today:

There is a lot about this list that sits well with the player base. However, I think we should consider revisiting the Tolarian Academy banning. Tolarian Academy was always very, very strong. It was a sort of win condition among blue purists. The Azami deck will still be able to win games, but they will not be able to combo off quite as easily without the academy. Some players are complaining that Arcum Dagsson is dead and players will not be able to finish so effectively with Zur. I guess I am comfortable with these changes. Sharuum decks have always been a sort of sore spot and now they will have a tougher road to hoe. In general, many, many blue decks have just had their power dimmed. However, it seems likely that the next level of mono-blue decks will rise to take their annoying place atop the local metagames. Niv-Mizzet and Vendillion Clique are largely unaffected by the Tolarian Academy banning and will be new, most-hated generals.

On the topic of most-hated and feared generals, we must play a swan song for the little elf that staged a year long triumphant comeback from his previous banning. Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary will be sorely missed. I felt like the banning of the abused, obscure artifact was simply enough. The deck should have survived without the Staff of Domination. It was a good compliment next to blue decks and offered green-lovers everywhere a pure option. Now I fear that mono-green decks might dwindle to the power level of other non-blue mono colored decks. In the long run, I feel like the fear of early Eldrazi hitting the board will scare the RC into banning too many cards.

Future Implications

The next line of relatively awesome cards is set to fill the void left by the latest bannings. The front line has been shot down, but the battle wages on as the cards march like revolutionary war soldiers into the metagame. If players still want to pursue the dream of having an untimely, annihilating Eldrazi god break dancing across the gym floor. There are plenty of cards that will having you shouting, “You just got served” at your weeping opponent. Gaea’s Cradle comes to mind. The interaction between the increasingly expensive Grim Monolith and Power Artifact also springs to mind. You are not going to be able to ban enough mana ramp and acceleration to keep people off of the Eldrazi forever. Hopefully, the RC will realize this and will take Tolarian Academy off of the list. My wish is for a return of Rofellos and the Academy, but until then I am sure players will find new and awesome ways of doing tricky and conniving plays.

Check out our upcoming videos on YouTube where we carry on more of the discussion around the EDH bannings, the “improved” values of the recently banned Extended cards the implication on your EDH decks, and more hated generals. We will also explore some decks using alternative ways to power out your Eldrazi spells! Keep checking us out right here on www.thegameacademyonline.com and on YouTube at Elderdragonhighlandr.

Building a New EDH Archetype with Eldrazi and Annihilation (Part 3)

The e-mails have piled up.  The IM requests, facebook comments, and private messages on YouTube all converged on a single request:  WE WANT THE LIST!  In this article we are picking up with the final bits of commentary on card inclusions, the awesome new synergies, and tech that make the Eldrazi Tribal deck so powerful.  Players have watched the YouTube video and have begun making their own lists.  Today, we will satisfy the requests and will publish the entire deck list.  If you have just joined us, make sure to check Parts 1 and 2 which lay the foundation for the genesis of the deck, the engines and card that make it run, and some of the debates we have started while searching to be the among the first to map out the newest EDH archetype:  Eldrazi Tribal.

Haste/Eldrazi

There are several great options in red that allow us to give our fatties haste.  The ability to hit the board running and kick on the early Annihilator cannot be underestimated.  We include haste promoting cards including Anger, In the Web of War, Sarkhan Vol and Madrush Cyclops.  We are looking at various ways to keep our guys attacking on the turn that they hit the board.  The best way to stop Eldrazi spells  will be counters and nontargeted removal.  Ulamog is indestructible.  Therefore cards like Hallowed Burial will be better than cards like Wrath of God.  However, players are going to need to pack as much as possible to deal with this deck.

If your opponents are coming up with solid removal, then you can punish their efforts with annihilator on the next recruit to your board.  There are not too many instant speed removal cards that put a hasty attacker on the bottom of the deck or remove them from play.  Path to Exile and Swords have always been popular, but they will not stand up to the continual threat of your Eldrazi if you keep them coming.  If you like to pimp out your haste, try the inclusion of the FNM Lightning Greaves.

Mana Ramp/Expensive Spells

Most of our deck is Green.  Green provides some traditional advantages of some of the other colors in the fact that it gives us mana acceleration.  With new mana ramp spells like Growth Spasm to match with classics like Explosive Vegetation, Yavimaya Elder, Sakura Tribe Elder, and Seedguide Ashe, you have a really solid way to both fix and juggernaut your mana row.  We have selected lots of cards that search for basic land along with cards that throw forests directly into play.  I like cards like the lesser know Seedguide Ashe because he gives you a substantial body along with 3 forests when he “leafs” play.  The cool thing about cards that throw forests into play (versus a basic land) is that you can shop for and place dual lands right out of your deck.  Bayou, Overgrown Tomb, Taiga, and Stomping Ground all allow you access to forests while fixing your mana.  These cards are awesome and give you a great advantage as well as pairing with the fetch lands in the deck.  If you do not have the original duals, we found that the deck play tested well with the tap lands, vivid lands, and new man land duals as well.  You might just want to adjust what type of ramp sources that you choose.

It is also possible to take the deck build in a slightly different direction.  We are packing Sol Ring, but there are certainly more artifact based mana accelerants.  Further, we already mentioned Cabal Coffers and could also pack Gaea’s Cradle.  I have not noticed if these cards would be amazing, but you have search for lands in uncharted Territories making them an option.  I have become a little shy with my more expensive artifact mana ramping due to the high number of artifact sweepers that are played locally.  I traditionally have shown love to Coalition Relic and Gilded Lotus.  Those cards might still be acceptable.  However, I have not been such a fan of little dudes like Llanowar Elves or Birds of Paradise.  They are small-timing it in a big environment with lots of card value and too much board sweeping.

Cheating the Fatties into Play!

We have the mana ramped up, we have ways to give the Eldrazi haste, but we also want to see these guys early and often.  After receiving some feedback on the forums, we have made some adjustments to our strategies.  We are now packing a few ways to get the big guys on the board.  These strategies trade off the benefits of casting the Eldrazi (which in some cases you simply want to do i.e., Kozilek) for early beatings and early game annihilation.  Annihilator is a really tough mechanic in EDH.  However, its potency diminishes as the game progresses.  Players are flopping lands, making tokens, and building their board.  A turn 16 annihilation for 4 is likely to be met with a shrug from an opponent that simply sacs off a couple of tokens and some lackluster lands.  However, if you can toss a couple of annihilators into play on turn 6, 7, or 8, then you have a different story.  Some opponents will sacrifice half of their lands, their entire army, or the engines that attempt to make their own decks work.  That is where cheating guys into play can really pay off.

The Eldrazi drones and spawn naturally work to make the tribe hit the board early.  However, Magic offers some other options.  You might not have thought of some of these cards but you will quickly see how strong and synergistic they can be.

We are going to include Sneak Attack.  Sneak attack is an enchantment.  I have stated before that few EDH players pack enough enchantment hate.  This makes good enchantments better, and great enchantments backbreaking.  Sneak attack cost 1 red and 3 colorless.  Once you make that investment, a single red mana can toss an Eldrazi into play with Haste.  Sure you have to sacrifice it at the end of turn, but throwing down a copy of It that Betrays can sure pay off.  You might snatch some lands from an opponent or capture some of their other sacrificed goodies.  The biggest threats from your deck will just shuffle them back in allowing you to redraw them or search them out later.  However, the annihilation damage will be done.

Other super options for this type of early game Eldrazi satisfaction include Cryptic Gateway and Belbe’s Portal.  Cryptic Gateway works well with your Eldrazi spawn.  The spawn share a creature type with their gods and you can play a Dread Drone, tap the two spawn tokens and summon a fattie.  This seems pretty silly and wildly fun.  Belbe’s Portal (2/3 of the great EDH cards specific to Belbe) also lets you put Eldrazi into play for the low cost of 8 mana.  Emrakul offers you a Time Walk for 7 more mana, but you might want to simply have access to a sort of Progenitus with annihilator 6 on turn 8.  Maybe I am just greedy, but these cards fit the theme and capitalize on the Eldrazi size and strength in the early game.  Late game they become less impressive, but I imagine you can appreciate the inclusion.  I love packing unused and “junk” rares that fit with the themes of my decks.

Searching for Eldrazi

There are tons of great search effects that we can use in our deck.  We, after all, are playing black.  More search effects make a deck strong.  There is no doubt.  However, there is a balance that I seek in deck construction in this format.  The reason that we are playing EDH, in many cases, is the love of the highlander nature.  One hundred varied cards often implicate a high degree of variance.  If I want super consistency and a deck that does the same thing each game, then I would stick to my 4-ofs in standard constructed.  However, in EDH I like to have a deck that offers a different play experience each time that I sit down.  Therefore, I am going to play a little light on Tutors.

You make the shell work for your style of play.  We have access to Demonic Tutur, Vampiric Tutor, Grim Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, Liliana Vess, Worldly Tutor, and others.  Beseech the Queen and other cards can work well in these spots as well.  I have chosen to make tutors 4-6% of my deck.  You can go less or more, but this will help you hit the right card for the right situation when you get into a tight spot.

The Deck List

General:  Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

Colorless Eldrazi  (11)

All Is Dust

Artisan of Kozilek

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Hand of Emrakul

It That Betrays

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Pathrazer of Ulamog

Skittering Invasion

Spawnsire of Ulamog

Ulamog the Infinite Gyre

Ulamog’s Crusher

Other Eldrazi Spells (8)

Awakening Zone

Brood Birthing

Corpse Hatch

Dread Drone

Emrakul’s Hatcher

Growth Spasm

Kozilek’s Predator

Rapacious One

Mana Ramp (10)

Sol Ring

Yavimaya Elder

Sakura Tribe Elder

Life from the Loam

Hunting Wilds

Wooded Elves

Seedguide Ashe

Explosive Vegetation

Solemn Simulacrum

Garruk Wildspeaker

Haste-makers (5)

Sarkhan Vol

Anger

In the Web of War

Madrush Cyclops

Lightning Greaves

Search Cards (6)

Buried Alive

Demonic Tutor

Liliana Vess

Realms Uncharted

Vampiric Tutor

Worldly Tutor

Card that Cheat Fatties into Play (4)

Sneak Attack

Cryptic Gateway

Belbe’s Portal

Channel

Creature-Based Engines (Search, Fog, Recursion) (8)

Survival of the Fittest

Squee, Goblin Nabob

Genesis

Eternal Witness

Spike Weaver

Acidic Slime

Restock

Yawgmoth’s Will

Removal/Board Wipe (6)

Decree of Pain

Damnation

Pernicious Deed

Terminate

Duplicant

Woodfall Primus

Other Card Advantage/Utility Spells (7)

Bloodbraid Elf

Harmonize

Sylvan Library

Baneful Omen

Sensei’s Divining Top

Skullclamp

Overrun

Mana Base (50% Green, 20% Red, 20% Black, 10% Colorless) (34)

Eye of Ugin

Temple of Eldrazi

Temple of the False God

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Phyrexian Tower

Strip Mine

Taiga

Badlands

Bayou

Stomping Ground

Blood Crypt

Overgrown Tomb

Fire-lit Thicket

Graven Cairns

Twilight Mire

Auntie’s Hovel

Gilt-Leaf Palace

Karplusan Forest

Sulfurous Springs

Llanowar Wastes

Rootbound Crag

Dragonskull Summit

Raging Ravine

Lavaclaw Reaches

Wooded Foothills

Bloodstained Mire

Verdant Catacombs

Evolving Wilds

Savage Land

Reflecting Pool

2 Forests

1 Mountain

1 Swamp

The archetype is bran new and we have only been testing this build for a couple of weeks.  I am sure that this is a really outstanding shell for the deck.  We built the deck with multiplayer in mind, but 1 vs. 1 testing had proven that it is about a 50/50 match-up against Rofellos!  If it can hang with that kind of ramp and huge dudes, then it should hold its own against other archetypes.  I had originally wondered if we should just play the Eldrazi out of the Rofellos shell, but I am convinced for both fun and the diversity in tricks you get with the additional colors that the Jund style build is just fine.

There are some card inclusions and tweaks in this list that vary slightly from the video that we posted.  User comments and some play testing led us to cut some cards and add others.  Most folks might not initially like some of the lesser, colored Eldrazi themed cards like Kozilek’s Predator, Dread Drone, and Corpse Hatch, etc.  However, we are keeping them for two reasons:  we like the Eldrazi theme over an Eldrazi splash, and the cards actually play into our ramp/cheat big dudes into play strategy.

This is one of my favorite projects in a long, long while and I am sure that you can use this shell as a basis for your Eldrazi deck.  I imagine these decks are going to be popular, so you might also find ways to preserve your permanents and fight of the Eldrazi hordes.  If you are not going to join them and plan to beat them consider the inclusion of Gilded Drake, Hallowed Burial, and even the likes of Jester’s Cap.  See you next week and thanks for leaving your comments and suggestions.

Building a New EDH Archetype with Eldrazi and Annihilation (Part 2)

Last week we started a really exciting project.  The new set released and we wanted to jump on the opportunity to build and play with the Eldrazi Tribe.  We have continually been play testing the build and tweaking the card inclusions.  We have an outstanding shell and ended up making a casual deck that grew in competitiveness.  It turned out that the Annihilator mechanic was very, very powerful and the engines that we used in the deck made it very effective.  After some play sessions, we wanted to highlight some of the sick synergies that we planted in the build and how we came to label the deck….Channel Eldrazi Tribal.

Check out our video on You Tube for a complete visual spoiler of the list, commentary, and game play right here at the Game Academy.  We have a channel featuring other EDH videos and interviews with some of the game’s most interesting and entertaining personalities.  Our YouTube channel is Elderdragonhighlandr.  Oh yeah!  Also check the conclusion of this article next week for the complete published deck list in part 3.

Synergies that Allow the Deck to Compete

Spawnsire & Channel (Colorless Spells/Channel)

This is where the debate begins!  The EDH rules that apply to cards that grab other cards from “outside of the game” are, at the time of this article, ambiguous.  Some folks believe that cards cannot be brought in from outside the game.  When EDH was first developed in Alaska, the original play group banned the “wishes” cycle of cards.  Subsequently, those cards have been removed from the banned list that most folks follow.

This is where the confusion might start.  Last October, the EDH rules were placed, by Wizards of the Coast, into the official comprehensive rules for Magic.  This is an amazing recognition of the alternative format, but introduced some interesting concerns.  When a card in traditional constructed Magic refers to “outside the game” it is generally limited to the sideboard.  Legacy players use Burning Wish and fetch Empty the Warrens from their sideboard while playing Charbelcher, for example.  However, most players don’t play a sideboard in EHD.  The rules allow for play groups to make a 10-card sideboard (which I support), but many playgroups either don’t know this or just don’t use it.

It would seem like you could retrieve exiled cards, but the exiled zone is now part of the game.  Therefore, it does not really exist “outside of the game.”  However, EDH is a casual environment and the developers of Magic keep making cards that grab tools from outside the game.  The intent or “spirit of design” of these cards might just be to whip out your binder, search the collection, and drop in anything that you want!  I think that is pretty awesome.

However, there are several concerns.  While searching the collection is amazing and would allow ridiculously fun game states, highlander formats are confronted with a violation of the core rule of the highlander game:  More than one copy of a card might enter the game.  The single card rule applies to deck building, but is not specific enough to apply, at this time, to cards that might enter the game post construction (during gameplay).

If cards can come into play from the binder and if you can play multiple copies, the Channel-Spawnsire is pretty wackey.  You could have a scenario in which you might draw Spawnsire and Channel (or cascade into channel, or tutor for channel, or tutor for Spawnsire, etc.).  If you have at least 31 life, then you would be able to pay 30 life for 30 colorless mana via Channel.  Ten mana could pay for Spawnsire and 20 for his effect.  Once you trigger the effect, you could go grab a pile of Eldrazi (including shapeshifters) from your binder.  I could imagine a more Spike player sitting with a pile of Emrakul promos outside of the game.  If you cast any odd number of Emrakul copies (accounting for the Legendary destruction if you play out even numbers), then you could take a ton of extra turns and would have some giant bodies that could not be stopped.  Just think of the madness.  Because you “cast” the Eldrazi with Spawnsire’s effect, you are able to capitalize on all of the powerful effects!  This is mindboggling.  Some will think it is cool while others will hate it.  I think it is not that broken and just seems like a solid win condition.  It can be interrupted and puts the Channel player at risk by paying 75% of the starting life total.

In a rules scenario where this interaction is illegal. I think you still play both cards in your deck.  Channeling out an Emrakul seems pretty sweet.  You pay 15 life, take an extra turn and drop in a huge creature who untargetable and mostly unblockable with that nasty dose of annihilator ready to cripple the player playing white.  It is strong.  I like it.  I think players will need to adjust their deck builds to account for it.  There have not been too many cards that actually forced a shift in the EDH metagame.  The Eldrazi might be a good exception to this rule.  These guys are so big and scary that they might cause a disturbance in a mostly unalterable metagame!

Awakening Zone & Token Generators/Skull Clamp

This will offer your deck the option to either draw a lot of extra cards or simply ramp up the mana.  Drawing a couple of cards a turn is sure to keep your deck fighting and will give players a chance to keep the big Eldrazi coming in the face of counters.  Not much to say here.  Skull Clamp is great with faerie, goblin, solider, and now spawn tokens.  If you can generate them, you might as well play it.

Buried Alive Tool Box

Recursion can be a very powerful trick.  I think most decks should run graveyard disruption.  In fact, many of the Eldrazi have some anti-synergy with setting up a graveyard toolbox or recursion engine, but they are so effective that you can just play it anyways!  If you get an early Buried Alive, then you can sink the Genesis/Squee/Eternal Witness/other dude into your graveyard.  This can help both recursion engines that we mentioned before and can also help you ditch cards to think your deck if needed.

Baneful Omen/Sensei’s Divining Top

The Eldrazi cards just keep making an impact in this deck.  We are going to pack some cards that have great synergy with the high converted mana cost cards in the deck.  The average Eldrazi spell runs at about 9.  Big Eldrazi creatures make up about 10% of our deck.  We are also playing Decree of Pain and quite a few more cards that cost 5 or 6.  The interaction might be obvious, but I will explain for players that are not as familiar with Baneful Omen.  The Omen is an enchantment. I think enchantments are one of the least hated on cards in the EDH format  (next to planeswalkers).  Therefore, you are likely going to get this interaction to stick.

Baneful Omen allows you to reveal a card from the top of your deck.  We will use the Divining Top to keep our most expensive cards on top while drawing the cards beneath those cards and resetting the fatty for the painful reveal.  If you have Divining Top placing an Emrakul in the hurt position, then you can deal your opponents 15 a turn until someone can make you shuffle or otherwise disrupt our combo.  Again, it deals 15 to every opponent at the end of each turn.  Not too shabby.  Triple black mana is a little stretch for our deck, so we made sure to include Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth.  This deck might also be able to play Cabal Coffers with a few tweaks.  More testing might be needed.

Life from the Loam/Uncharted Territories

So you want to fix your mana, you want to play cards for value, you want to reuse fetch lands, or just search up a tool box land, then you are in luck.  Uncharted Territories marks another great card from the Rise of the Eldrazi expansion.  The synergy with Life from the Loam is pretty slick.  It seemed like the perfect compliment to the ramp that we are trying to accomplish to power out our huge Eldrazi spells.

I think that there are a group of players that might abuse this with land destruction.  I don’t mind land destruction (per se), but think that abusive land destruction engines are pretty annoying.  Crucible of Worlds should not really be pulling back strip mine and the ilk.  However, I think there are times when it is appropriate to use a strip mine or tectonic edge to deal with a man land or Maze of Ith.  The best use for our Uncharted Loam combo will be to grab Urborg, Phyrexian Tower, Eye of Ugin, and Eldrazi Temple.  These cards push your deck’s priorities and have pretty solid synergy with ramping and the utility engines that aid your deck function.

Prelude to the Final Deck List

Next week we will conclude our deck construction.  We have crammed several cool new cards into the list.  We are finding synergy and balance and have a few final tweaks before we finish.  We want to find lots of ways of cheating our big guys into play and have some really interesting tech including Sneak Attack.  Further, we are going to lean on our green spells in a big way to provide us with tons of mana ramp.  About 15% of our deck will consist of mana ramping dudes, sorceries, and enchantments so we can “get there.”

The deck is about 2 weeks into play testing and I am sure that this will become a new staple archetype in the environment.  It has applications in 1 vs. 1 play and multiplayer.  A couple of months ago, Magic designer (a big fan of fatties) posed a question on Twitter.  He mused what Sheldon Menery might think about the way that the Eldrazi would change the way that EDH is played.  At first I thought this simply referred to colorless spells, All is Dust working for every color, and throwing down big dudes.  Now I am beginning to understand the full implications of this new tribe.  We are looking at giant dudes, that are “easily” cast in EDH packing come-into-play effects, giant bodies with the brutal annihilator mechanic.  The are metagame warping!

Check us out next week for the most up-to-date list for the deck.  Also, note the fact that you can buy all the singles that you need from The Game Academy.  As of today, there are still some copies of Survival of the Fittest, Sneak Attack, and Ulamog.  Grab yours before the prices go up or the supplies run out!  Check out the game academy’s online store on this site and their listings on eBay for some really juicy EDH foils and rarities.