“That card is broken!”  It has become the totally ubiquitous descriptive term, sort of like proclaiming two people have ‘hooked up’.  Which means anything these days from a casual date, to full-on… well, let’s just say the term covers all the bases (and I think you know exactly which bases are being referred to here).  Broken is a catch-all term, and floods every internet board, friendly discussion, and Magic article these days.  The term is so universal, its hard to ignore, especially when its roots are so specific.  It is time to take a closer look at this latest MTG trend.

First and foremost, the definition of the term broken, as found on dictionary.com: “not functioning properly; out of working order”.  As it relates to Magic, this means a card that was designed poorly, in a way that makes the game unfair, or not fun.  Cards like Time Walk, and the rest of the P9  are good examples of cards that were not properly thought out, and thus are not functioning properly.  But many more recently produced singles such as Baneslayer Angel have also been called broken, in part as a descriptive term that means, basically, this card is awesome.  But also, often, in an attempt to claim that BSA is simply too good, meaning in a problematic way.  Most players might agree that the Mythic Angel shouldn’t be banned, there is a loud minority who believe it should.  Does this make it broken?

Since broken has become an umbrella term for everything both good and illegal, it is necessary to draw the line between those two.  For example, Umezawas Jitte is a great card, while Skullclamp has been banned in every format.  The reason, the latter works too well with other cards, producing an effect that distorts the game in a negative way.  The Jitte is darn good, but not that good.  So, do cards need a specific use to be considered truly broken, or can they be too good?  The most glaring contemporary example is Jace, the Mind Sculptor, a card that has a fairly devoted group asking for its banning.  Why?  Because it is broken, of course!

At the heart of everything is this, why are cards banned?  And more specifically, are they always banned for being broken, or not functioning the way they were intended.  Dark Depths was never banned, despite clearly being format defining in a way that could never have been imagined pre-Vampire Hexmage.  But Depths was never banned, or even restricted (conspiracy theorists can claim the changes to Extended replaced having to ban DD, but that is only a theory).  One of DD’s Extended peers, Sword of the Meek, has been banned in it’s current format instead.  The original combo, along with Thopter Foundry were not nearly as destructive as the Hexmage build, yet now show up on the black list.   What is the difference between these two cards?  How was one combo broken, when it’s more-dominant brother was not?  Neither were functioning properly, so what is the distinction?  What does it mean to be really broken?

The aforementioned BSA and Jace 2.0 have been as powerful and format defining as any cards in recent memory, yet they also remain fully legal.  Thus they must not be broken.  Not really.  So the query remains, why are some banned and others not?  In a recent article WotC developer Tom LaPille wrote that they chose to ban Mystical Tutor, ‘because it was making the format unfun.’  Is the line that blurry, that even WotC can’t define exactly what causes one thing to break the game, and another to be only an excellent card.  Perhaps intention is what matters most, and the practical effects are secondary.

Either way, despite all the clammering to the contrary, WotC has done an excellent job keeping most contemporary cards fixed.  Leaving the rest of us with the confusing task of deciding what we mean when duelists shout ‘BORKEN!‘ after pulling a Grave Titan at an M11 Sealed tournament.

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Here is the tastiest new sampler from the WotC platter, the first completely spoiled Mythic of Scars of Mirrodin.  An upgraded take on Mitotic Slime, a very upgraded take.  For updated spoilers as they are revealed, keep checking up on the GatheringMagic.com Scars of Mirrodin spoiler page.  You won’t be disappointed.

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One day after clandestine sources leaked the entire list, Duel Decks: Elspeth vs Tezzeret’s contents were released by WotC on the official site.  From the moment of its announcement, the has been the most highly anticipated DD (the FtV: Exiled of Duel Decks) and the card lists don’t disappoint.  A solid mix of of utility cards, and a few old favorites with brand new art thrown in for kicks.  So, how does the most talked about Precon decks maybe ever produced rate?  Let’s find out (in four categories), and take a closer look at the two ’spoiled’ Scars of Mirrodin cards included.

The Title Characters – Not much to judge here, Elspeth, Knight Errant was/is one of the most popular and valuable Planeswalkers in the multiverse.  She appears in most variations of top builds like Mythic Conscription, Naya, UW Control, and Fauna Shaman.  And her star is on the rise, as Elspeth 2.0 has already been confirmed in SoM.  Tezzeret the Seeker has never been on that level, but has a loyal following, especially in more casual formats.  Formats perfect for products like Duel Decks.

Originality – If there is one slip in the giddy-up of DD: EvT, it’s this – these decks are pretty boring creatively speaking. Tezzeret’s deck looks an awful lot like the Doomsday pre-con from the Archenemy product, an awful lot.  Most players have enough copies of Juggernaut and Everflowing Chalice.  But the real shame here is on the White side of things, another boring soldier deck including the likes of Glory Seeker and Kor Hookmaster.  In this very space, not two weeks ago, we begged for a more original theme (Knights anyone?  Seriously…. anyone!?).

Old school flavor – With each DD pack WotC allows a certain number of old-guard type spells to be reprinted, spells with a certain cache. Past DD examples include Fact or Fiction, Fireblast, and Phyrexian Arena.  With Elspeth v Tezzeret, the hits keep on coming – Swords to Plowshares, Crusade, and Mishras Factory.  All with sparkling new artwork.  After the Planeswalkers, this is the next best reason to pick up a pre-con, and WotC succeeded in making it more enticing.

Playability – As always, these decks are a little stunted, with so many one-ofs and underwhelming spells (this means you Mighty Leap).  However, because the the simple, read: mono-colored, nature of both of these deck they are fairly easy to play, and evenly matched.  WotC always recommends altering these pre-cons if you are not initially satisfied (and few of us will be with these), but DD: EvT takes only minor alterations to become competent.

Title Characters:	Originality:
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One of the hidden treasures, and another reason to pick this product up, or pre-order it, are the Scars of Mirrodin preview cards.  One for each deck, with only names to go by at this point.  That didn’t stop Gathering Magic from dabbling in our new favorite hobby, dreaming up possible SoM cards with almost no information.  The point?  To get the juices flowing for another spoiler season, and to use our imaginations!  For example:

Honestly, contagion doesn’t sound much like a blue card, and the fact it’s a clasp of some sort makes us think artifact for sure, and likely equipment.  So why not a Prized Unicorn effect?  Or, more accurately, the equipment version of Gift of the Deity.  What do you think?

Not terribly original, except for the art of course, this 2/4 flyer would make a fine addition to Elspeth’s flock of soldiers.  Here are the probable ‘facts’: First, this is a leonin, the feline humanoids from Mirrodin.  Second, because of its inclusion in this deck, she is a soldier.  Third, she will have flying as one ability (wouldn’t be very good at guarding the sky without that).  Do with this information what you will…. we did.

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In a much ballyhooed (not by GatheringMagic.com, but by many others) and lovely ceremony Friday evening, Reinhart left the ranks of the single planeswalkers, to join forces with those duelists among us who can claim a bride (or groom).  That is, to be more precise, he got married.  In honor of such a perfect union, Gathering Magic has decided to break out the happy hearts and discuss some of the best two-card-combos in MTG history.  After all, one beautiful couple, deserves a few more.  In no particular order here is our list.

Channel – Fireball - The original turn-one victory with the right opening hand (a hand that probably would have to contain at least one of the Power-9).  At worst, you must wait until turn three to claim your win.  This twosome has a legacy like no other combo, becoming part of the Magic pantheon, and the muse behind one of MTG’s most popular fan sites.  These days, it might be more practical to call this Channel-Banefire, but somehow that just isn’t the same.

Seismic Assault – Swans of Bryn Argoll - For about a month after the release of Alara Reborn, and before 10th had rotated out, when Seismic Swans was at it’s height, nothing could touch it.  Using cascade to Find Seismic Assault every game, then landing Swans, usually meant game.  Because of its fragile nature, the reign did not last long, but anyone who played during that time, knows how dominant the one-combo deck was.

Entomb – Reanimate - Another old school combo, that inspired a few banning of its own, was the Entomb into Reanimate one-two punch.  Around the turn of the century, when this duo was running wild, the pool of truly game-ending creatures was small.  These days, the Rise of Eldrazi expansion alone gives multiple ways to dominate a match.  With the help of another spicy black number, Dark Ritual, all this could be accomplished on turn one.

Polymorph – Emrakul the Aeons Torn - Speaking of Eldrazi, and their game-breaking might, as soon as Emrakul was spoiled, deck builders everywhere went into hyper-drive trying to find the quickest, and easiest way to get him out on the table.  A condition that almost certainly meant victory.  Lo and behold there was a perfect partner in crime from the most recent core set, conveniently making this combo Standard legal.

Counterbalance – Senseis Divining Top - The most recent competitive combo to inspire an actual banning of a card. Organizing the top three cards of your library at will, as the Divining Top let you do, turned out to be a bit over-powered with the right playmate.  Counterbalance turned out to be the most powerful card to fit in that slot.  The end result was a truly devastating lock-down control deck, and one of the most recently released members of FtV: Exiled.

Kiki-Jiki Mirror Breaker – Pestermite - Going infinite is one of the most challenging, yet satisfying, goals an MTG player can accomplish.  Creating an unending supply of 2/1 flying creatures is one of the more impressive ways to do just that.  Worried about board sweeps?  Don’t be… these creatures all have haste after all.  This two-card coalition is one of the popular uses for Tooth and Nail, one of the most popular casually competitive Magic cards ever.

Quillspike – Devoted Druid - Here is our second stop on the ‘Going Infinite’ tour of Magic conjunctions, but this one has a unique twist.  These two love-birds were designed within the same set!  While certainly not as meta-crushing as Swans, or our final combo, it does seem odd that WotC would allow such ease and limitlessness to be found within a Limited environment.  Perhaps the fact that these two never took off as a serious deck tells us something about their power.  Never the less, a most notable grouping.

Dark Depths – Vampire Hexmage - Taken from a recent Top Decks article, we’ll let Pro-player and WotC guest writer Mike Flores describe this pair: “There are lots of great decks, but it’s fairly unusual that I see one and flat-out wish I had designed it. This is without a doubt one of those cases.  Why?  The Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths combo is too good.  It’s probably better than Illusions of Grandeur + Donate . . . Its opener is the stupidest opener in recent memory. . . Really, I am not over-selling this one bit.“  That sounds about right.

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