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Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Shadowmoor. I'm so much happier to be in this grim and frostbitten world of eternal winter than the posy-sniffing, mind-numbingly PG world of Lorwyn. Cards I feel have more flavor, mechanics seem to be complementing each other wonderfully, and new cards in the set seem to be opening up the meta-game (I'm looking at you Faeries). However, the one thing I absolutely DID NOT appreciate was the lack of multi-player minded cards that the set presents us with. I suppose it makes sense on some theoretical level; multi-player magic is everything that is light-hearted, charmingly mischievous, and casual about the game which seems to be exactly opposite the themes given to us in Shadowmoor. So without any further ado, here are some of my favorite multi-player cards running around the world of Shadowmoor.
Why I like this card: Blowfly Infestation is flat out a fun card. I'm one of those guys who loves it when a card plays in accordance with the flavor it evokes. When you play this card, it feels like you are holding the leash of the Bubonic Plague. A board with one toughness creatures can be absolutely devastated by the smallest token being put into play. Being able to knock down creatures as if they were dominos is a wonderful and amazing experience as a magic player. As a side note, in drafting, this card is a diamond in the rough that often can be snatched up 7th or 8th pick.
Decks this card would work in: A control deck with a -1/-1 counter removal theme. I could see Serrated Arrows really making things painful for your opponents along side Blowfly Infestation. There are so many good cards in Shadowmoor that deal with -1/-1 creature control (see: Grim Poppet), Blowfly Infestation could definitely be something to anchor around in board control. While looking through magic's history I noticed there are a lot of other cards that play nicely with Blowfly Infestation and would be worth looking into if thinking about making a -1/-1 counter/control deck. Giant Oyster, Harbinger of Night, Aboroth are just to name a few.
Why I like this card: What's more fun than seeing the look on your friends face after you wipe out his big carry creature he just put into play? Watching his jaw hit the ground as it hits the board again… under your control! Cemetery Puca offers this delightful opportunity to you in a conveniently priced three-drop package. The power of Puca is two-fold: first, it doesn't target a specific graveyard so your creatures and each of your opponent's creatures are fair game. Second, it's a repeatable effect as Puca's ability transfers over to the creature's form that it takes. If you like a creature that hit the yard better than the one you currently have Puca set to, tap one measly colorless mana and that creature is yours.
Decks this card would work in: Frankly, Puca is a utility card. There isn't really too heavy a theme with the card (although I'm sure someone is going infinite with it on turn 15 somewhere somehow) and really the only condition you need to have in your deck in order for it to be very effective is having lots of removal or at least to get creatures into the yard.
Why I like this card: The most annoying multi-player decks, for me, are ones that loop life gain and eventually reach critical mass by going infinite. Well friends, they're day in the sun has come to an end thanks to arrival of everlasting torment. It such a sassy little global effect and if your opponent is running life gain/damage prevention, they're toast (hopefully they aren't running too much enchant removal). What's also nice is the wither ability it grants all of your damage sources. So now all of your Tims can deal with larger scale threats and direct damage nukes have their utility value increased. When put up with Blowfly infestation (pointed out earlier) this card can really wreak havoc.
Decks this card would work in: Something aggressive. Very aggressive. And certainly nothing that cruxes on life gaining at any point. The counter-synergy there is too powerful to try and work around. If you don't have something fast to work with in a deck that runs Everlasting Torment you are going to be running into problems. This enchantment hitting the board is in a sense closing off an out to your opponent who is already on their heels from tempo you have generated. At least, this seems to be the desired effect in the most powerful scenario created by Everlasting Torment.
Why I like this card: Bread and butter R/G aggro board sweeper (read: hurricane and earthquake). It's so excitingly versatile as well, especially in a R/G deck where you have the potential option of activating only one side of the destruction coin that is firespout. Another great thing is how this card fits in terms of casting cost. Being able to tailor a pyroclasm effect, with one more point of damage for one more mana, and being able to splash it into green is good, very good. The power of this card is certainly evidenced in how highly it is taken in draft. I think at my weekly draft (another shout out to First Pick!) firespout is taken right below incremental blight in terms of draft picks.
Decks this card would work in: Preferably something R/G. This way you have the option of tailoring your firespout to whatever creatures your opponent is throwing at you. While R/G in and of itself doesn't have many fliers, having the option to only remove all non-fliers is still something to keep in mind when considering the options this card gives you.
Why I like this card: Do you even have to ask??? A 4/4 flyer hitting the board and effectively disabling all of your opponents armies for five flexible hybrid mana is insane. Really there isn't much else that needs to be said about the card, the power should be just that obvious.
Decks this card would work in: I could see the Godhead fitting in decks that run pretty far along the control end of the deck spectrum. Casting Godhead just screams of counter and board control. And don't underestimate the ability of a 4/4 flyer to carry you home all on its own (especially when all the other flyers have been reduced to 1/1). See Brian Weissman's The Deck if you are having a difficult time believing me.
Why I like this card: Punishing your opponents for having no cards in hand while simultaneously rewarding yourself if you end up in that unfortunate situation is nice. Besides that, it is a very efficiently priced black creature. It avoids terror effects and pesky things like Sudden Death. There are very few cards out there that effectively deal with 6 toughness creatures quickly and effectively. Black is not known for being a bargain basement creature casting costs but honestly, a 7/6 for 7 mana is not bad.
Decks this card would work in: Any basic rack decks where you can piggy back damage onto discard. Another thing that I love about The Rack is its value in multi-player in that it does not target opponents but rather includes everyone in the fun. Having a 7/6 beat stick attached to discard damage normally used to finish your opponents off in rack decks also gives you another win condition and is very tough for your opponents to deal with.
Why I like this card: All of a sudden, Serrated Arrows is handing out Pacifisms like it was the Salvation Army. Working this card into a deck focused on control in the form of -1/-1 counters would be very menacing. Not only that but the card itself actually dispenses out -1/-1 counters because it has wither. And it flies over for three. Not to mention the art is incredibly sexy. Seriously, do you need more reasons?
Decks this card would work in: Similar decks that Blowfly Infestation would work with. Decks that run board control in the form of -1/-1 counters.
Why I like this card: Options, options, and more options. It's great to disable creatures early in the game and even better as the game goes on because it forces your opponents to think one creature a head. The fact that you can use this card to jump between creatures regardless of controller is sick and is something that will come in handy numerous times in a multi-player game. Also, this card is a wonderful political pawn as you can choose to move it or not depending on whom you are playing to stop and who you are in cahoots with.
Decks this card would work in: Anything white. Seriously. This card has an incredible range of playability. Its ability is so simple yet so powerful.
Why I like this card: Evacuation effects have always made me smile. It always has seemed to be that blue is the kid that has been left out at the lunch table in the cafeteria of mass removal. With Worldpurge you get some nice parting gifts short of literally removing the creatures. Forcing your opponents to discard to seven immediately forces them to make painful decisions. I'm not sure exactly how the mana pool emptying will play out as you can only cast it at sorcery speed, I'm sure somebody knows why that's good too.
Decks this card would work in: Decks that are similar to the ones that would work with the Godhead of Awe. Something control heavy that operates on shutting down combat and preventing your opponents from carrying out their poorly thought out plans.
Those are some cards that I could see really making an impact on a table with three or more people sitting around it. I would also like to mention that specifically for EDH, Oona, Queen of the Fae and Sygg, River Cutthroat are PHENOMENAL Generals. Unfortunately, in the world of Shadowmoor, Wizards printed the sexiest generals for EDH in the same colors. I've already seen a milling deck that runs around Oona courtesy of my friend Ben (he swears it has milled 300 cards in a match before). And for the longest time, some kids at first pick were dying to crack a foil Sygg to have a nice shiny General to lead their troops into battle.
Now there are a few cards that I did not mention that I think would do just fine in a multi-player environment, Mass Calcify is a good example. The cards I presented above were some of the ones that I would imagine as fun to play in a multi-player environment and provide some open-ended possibilities for deck design.
As for me, I have finals next weekend so I may or may not be able to deliver another timely multi-player/EDH article for next week. If I do find time buried between Arabic and Public Policy textbooks, I'm hoping to write another deck profile and give another detailed play report the following week.
Until Then,
Trent
