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[Ephraim]

Greetings, Community!

I know it's been a while since I've been especially active, but I've been hanging around, reading the occasional thread, and jumping in when the muse was with me.  I earned my membership as a Community Adept at least in part because of my contributions to the Card Creation Forum.  It seems fitting that my inaugural post to this nifty, new, Adept Weblog forum reflect my opinions on the CCF.

Many of you know that I was a prolific creator of cards at one point.  There was a time when I had a moderator solely dedicated to closing and adding my cards to the Master List.  I was even given moderator privileges in that forum to help facilitate that closing and adding process.  Like Matt and Jacob and Bram before me, I discovered that managing the CCF is a lot of work!  It isn't difficult, per se, but it requires one's attention and consumes a lot of time.  I have to confess, part of me wondered, "Is this really worth it?"

As fun as creating cards was, my answer was, ultimately, no.  I began to see something in Ravnica block and the unfolding of Time Spiral block has really driven it home.  We can't create the same way that Wizards does.  I don't just mean that we can't use their design and development processes (Obviously we don't.)  Our end product will always be a reflection of what Wizards has created.  We are as children, playing an adult game, who can't even agree upon what the rules mean.  This comparison is a little bit harsher than I would prefer, but it is the best analogy that I can draw.

What I saw in Ravnica and Time Spiral was vision.  I've seen and worked on the TMD set and it is fundamentally limited.  At best, it could be a Coldsnap -- a clever standalone with close ties to the past.  We lack the vision, the central management, and the procedure to create a coherent set that could stand with what WotC creates.

Furthermore, as good as our cards might be, we are always a step behind.  The rules are always what Wizards has shown us and we lack the authority and the wisdom to break them the way that WotC does.  I am guilty of it myself, but we sometimes hide behind the argument, "Wizards would never print that."  We can't help it.  Wizards breaks the rules with deliberation, consensus, and planning.  Creating cards singly, as we do, we can only hope to break them in small ways that don't destroy the game "as we know it."

There is hope, but not in the way things are.  If we really want to create sets and not just cards, we need to establish a vision and to build toward that vision.  Cards from the Master List might fit in or they might not, but I think that creating cards and then trying to build a set out of them is like using 12-year-old technology.  If we want to be serious about a TMD set, I think the answer lies in being really serious about it.  I'd certainly be eager to try a design/development approach with dedicated teams, discussions, and visions.

[Machinus]

I agree with this, and I think it all a great idea. However, I know that the development process involves a lot of small pieces being put together with the bigger ones. There are many cards in each set that do stand alone, and many of the best cards are just those individual pieces.

[Ephraim]

We have occasionally discussed the possibility of infusing a creative theme into TMD Set 2 if we ever made it that far.  The two themes that generated a lot of excitement, as I recall, were the Aztec theme and the Atlantis theme.  I don't recall that we ever did much with the Atlantis theme, except that we lamented that WotC had stolen our idea when they created Ravnica.  The Aztec theme, on the other hand, got quite a bit of attention.

Looking back, I don't know if we were pursuing that set in a sustainable way.  We had some good ideas regarding two alliances:  red and white versus black and green with blue playing a neutral and invasive culture.  Especially in light of the stunning execution of Ravnica, though, our R/W culture was okay, but our B/G culture needed some work.  Nonetheless, I think that the Aztec theme still shows a lot of promise as the backdrop for an exciting set.  If we could aim for something on par with Mirage in originality and technology, I think we'd be doing a fine job for amateur set-builders.

We can still work in the alliances, I think, but it is my opinion that they need to be played down.  For example, if this were to be a "large" set of approximately 300 cards, we might devote 8-12 cards to each of the alliances.  That still leaves approximately 30-35 cards in each of the four alliance colours for spells related to the broader South American theme.  8-12 blue cards could be devoted to the "conquistadors," as well.  (If my maths seem off, it is because I'm erring to make room for lands and artifacts.

Why, you may ask, am I posting this thread here in the Adept section, rather than in the Card Creation Forum?  It's because this idea is still fragile.  It's exciting enough that I think a lot of people would dive into it enthusiastically and it would be crushed under the weight.  I'd like to know whether the leaders and pillars of the community agree with my opinions.  If this idea is going to succeed in any incarnation, it is going to require concerted effort.  I think that the Aztec set is a good vision for us to pursue.  Now, I think we need to work on establishing direction.  I'm willing to take up the reins as project manager, if nobody objects and/or if nobody else wants the job.  I have ideas about how I'd like to see this goal accomplished, but I want to know first whether I'm on the right track.

[Ephraim]

Ephraim's FNM Experiences -- Creativity WITHOUT Boundaries

I've recently taken up going to Friday Night Magic every couple of weeks and it's been a really enjoyable experience.  I've realized that I like playing with new cards, just for the sake of variety.  Furthermore, you don't find a much more laid-back environment than FNM.  The owner of the store goes to great lengths to make the event accessible.  The entry fee is $8 and every player gets two booster packs just for playing.  If you were to buy the packs at retail price, once you factor in tax, they'd cost more than $8!

The upshot of this is that I get to play any deck that I want and not feel bad about it.  Okay, so I do have to conform to Standard legality, which some might consider to be a huge boundary, but I find that it affords me plenty of room to stretch out.  So far, I've played B/W control, which wasn't too bad.  Last week, I played a B/R madness deck which would be fun in casual play, but which does altogether too little when faced with Soltari Priests and Calciderms.  This week, I'm playing something absurd involving hordes of Saprolings, Essence Warden, and Searing Meditation.  We'll see how that goes.

So what if it's Standard?  I was going to play with my new cards anyway.  I am having the time of my life.  This is the format about which I have always dreamed.  It's like a casual game for closet Spikes, like me.  I'm getting the best of both worlds: playing what I want AND playing to win.

[Ephraim]

Much Rejoicing

I had a great time at the card shop last Friday.  The evening was simply full of a variety of good times.  Here are some of the highlights.

I won two matches and lost two matches with my goofy deck.  That's better than I expected to do.  I'd had visions of Damnation, Wrath of God, Orzhov Pontiff, and Pyroclasm ruining my fun, which didn't happen.  Granted, I lost my first two matches, so my two wins were in the "loser bracket" but I'm not going to complain.  Really, I consider 50% to be a good target for a casual deck and it isn't as though I've been gunning for first place.  That said, I think I'll play W/B control again next week.  It'll be novel to have a shot at Top 8 again for a change.

On a brighter note, I got a lot of compliments about the deck.  Even though it wasn't the most successful deck anybody had ever seen, I think that a lot of people were amused and impressed by the novelty.  The deck has a lot of surprises.  I think that word has gotten out that Tamanoa interacts with Searing Meditation.  People were not expecting, however, that Tamanoa interacts with painlands and that having a Warden (Soul or Essence) and Searing Meditation in play let me pick off x/2's as they came into play. (Fortunately for the guy with the Groundbreakers, he also had Plaxmanta.)

I was accused of being aggressively friendly.  In other social circles, I'm frequently anxious and bashful, so I am pleased to have somebody take note of my efforts to be more outgoing.  The same fellow also told me that he always looks forward to seeing what bizarre idea I'm going to visit upon FNM.

One fellow there was new to the game.  He knows the basics, but I got to instruct him a little bit regarding timing rules and strategy.  He and his opponent commented that I was a good teacher.

Overall, that was a fantastic game day.  An experience like that in any venue is satisfying.

[Ephraim]

The Other Side of the Table:  Playing Against Combo

I've noticed a recent trend in the MWS/Apprentice Horror Stories thread.  Here's a summary of a lot of the games I've seen posted there lately:  A random player, frustrated with Hulk Flash, shouts an insult at the TMD guy playing Flash and then quits the game.  Although I can't endorse the shouting and the quitting, I have to admit that I am familiar with the frustration.  I know that I don't like seeing the same deck being played by half of the opponents that I pick up.  I like variety.  The situation is made worse when I know that it's a deck that I am not equipped to beat.

"But, Ephraim!" my readers shall protest, "if you know that half of the field is represented by a particular deck, why don't you play something that can beat it?  Or if it's really that good, why aren't you playing that deck?"

I could, don't get me wrong.  I would probably even enjoy myself in the process.  If I adopt the combo deck, though, then I'm forcing my next opponent to address the same dilemma.  I'm not solving the problem.  I'm pushing it off on somebody else by becoming part of the problem.  Combos are part of the game; I can't change that.  It usually isn't much fun, however, to play against them.  I have more fun when my opponents are also having fun, so for this reason, it behooves me not to play the combo deck.  It is because I have gone through this thought process that I can be a gentleman about seeing the same combo deck over and over.  (In the case of my Standard experience, it's a deck that dredges its library into is graveyard, sacrifices some creatures to get a slew of Zombie tokens from Bridge from Below, and then reanimates a Flame-Kin Zealot to make them all hasty.)

Although I am a gentleman about my losses, I nonetheless lament the lack of variety when I try out my FNM decks.  No doubt, I will find some tech that will give me better matchups against that deck.  The situation will improve as my win/loss ratio returns to equilibrium.  If the deck catches on at my local store, though, I can't help but imagine that Fridays will be a little bit less fun as a result.  Next time you wallop some poor scrub with Hulk Flash, remember that he's probably seen it a half-dozen times already that  day and that he'd give his eye teeth just for a change of pace.

[Matt]

The thing to remember is that not everyone uses MWS for the same reason. Some people use it not for fun but for testing. It would do those people no good NOT to be playing Flash.

You could try to get a server going that's for casual only. casualmws.net or something.

[Ephraim]

It's Good Not to Be King

Playing FNM in the Twin Cities has been a humbling experience for me.  I lose a lot more games than I win.  Back at the store at which I frequently played in Cleveland, there was nothing but pride on the line and most of the store's regulars were five or more years younger than I was.  There, I won a lot more games than I lost.  There was an upside to this.  I could play any wacky deck that I wanted and, through skillful play, I could pilot it to victory.  This was a pretty good deal for me because I believe that I am much better at handling a deck than I am at building one.  Those games, however, seldom hinged on subtle plays.  I had to play carefully to overcome the obvious obstacles with which my opponents presented me, but it never really felt like mental calisthenics.

FNM is a wildly different experience.  Even though FNM probably represents the most casual tournament setting outside of a pre-release, I am barely keeping my head above water.  To wit, I played my strongest Type 2 deck last Friday and I still only scraped up a 1-2 record.  I will not, however, soon forget the first game of my third match, despite having lost.  I will the first to admit:  I lost that game because I made a mistake.  I had an opportunity to destroy a critical permanent and instead I destroyed a card that was merely important.  That game lasted approximately 40 minutes and it was some of the most intensely skill-testing Magic I have ever played.

Back in Cleveland, my B- and C-grade decks and my B-game were sufficient for me to win a lot of games.  Now, my A-grade decks and my B-plus-game allow me to eke out a match here and there.  As it turns out, I kind of like it that way.  There's room for me to grow here.  I can buy better cards if I want and I certainly think there's room for improvement in my game.  I'm good for a casual player, but that isn't saying very much.

I was proof-reading the previous paragraph and something occurred to me.  It probably isn't accurate to call any of my decks A-grade.  The difference between my B/W control deck and Fungusfire is considerable, but I think that the gap between my B/W control and the weakest "playable" deck in the format is probably larger.  Even though that B/W deck is the best offering I have at the moment doesn't make it A-grade.  To be honest, I've probably been playing B- and C-grade decks (relative to the format.)  Not that I don't intend to improve my game as well, but I suppose if I'd ever like to make it to the Top 8 on Friday evening, better cards will definitely have to be part of my strategy.

That said, I'm playing something absurd again next Friday.  I've wanted to build a deck around Evacuation and Biorhythm for a long time and I believe that Scryb Ranger and Sprout Swarm give me the tools that I require to do so.  Previous incarnations of the deck required me to either play a creature or activate a manland on the same turn that I was playing Biorhythm.  That's difficult because Biorhythm already costs eight mana.  With instant-speed creatures at my disposal, however, I can play the creature after Evacuation resolves.  In the case of Scryb Ranger, this lets me combo out with "only" seven mana available.  We'll see how it fares!

In the weeks that come, I'm not entirely sure what avenue I will pursue.  I think that the most likely option is that I will build one really good Standard deck that I will play on alternating weeks and then I will continue to build less competitive decks to use on off weeks.

[Matt]

You should totally take my mono-red pile and smash some face. Live the dream of Torchling Beats!

[Ephraim]

You should totally take my mono-red pile and smash some face. Live the dream of Torchling Beats!

Write up that deck in the casual forum.  I remember that it had Torchling, Rite of Flame, and Seething Song, but I don't remember any other details.  Maybe I'll just come up with something similar, myself.  I bet that Simian Spirit Guide and Grinning Ignus have a place in this deck.

[Ephraim]

A Brief Lament About Casual

Casual means wildly different things to different people.  People have different ideas of what is fun to play, obviously, but I guess I just take some things to be given.  Playing on MWS today, I encountered a couple of casual decks that make me not want to play casual games on MWS anymore.  Powered Landstill, I can understand.  It's a bygone deck in Vintage and, while the jewelry and the card selection make it formidable, it probably still qualifies as casual.  The other deck I played, however, while sporting a very casual theme (Beacon of Immortality into Test of Endurance) had played two Mox Emeralds in about the six turns it took him to win.  He almost certainly had more in the deck.  It bothers me that casual, to some people, means an implicit license to ignore common sense rules.  If a card is good enough to be restricted in a wickedly fast, competitive format, adding four copies to your casual deck "because you can" is going to make the game drastically less fun for your opponent.

One solution, of course, is to advocate Legacy legality in casual games.  I don't know if I'm crazy about that idea, though, for a couple of reasons.  One, given that a deck is more Johnny than Spike to begin with, I can't object to the likes of Vampiric Tutor, Goblin Recruiter, or even Timetwister.  Two, I have a weakness for UN cards.  I don't want to tell people they're not allowed to splash Emcee into their casual decks.  I suppose that I'd be okay with it, though, if the understood casual rules were "Legacy with UN sets."  That would probably work, although I would miss Demonic Tutor.  (Diabolic Intent to the rescue!)

Sadly, this still leaves the door open for people to play whatever tournament-winning Legacy decks that they want, but hopefully, the [casual] tag is enough to gently urge people away from the road well-traveled.

On another note, the Casual Players Alliance boards have a forum for Single Card Strategies.  That's frequently the way that I find inspiration for decks (by trying to do something interesting with one particular card.)  Presently, I have articles over there for Greater Gargadon; Rhystic Study; Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper; and Toshiro Umezawa.  If anybody has suggestions for cards that they think would be interesting to play as the central focus of a deck, let me know and I might write up a "Let's Break..." article about it.  (It doesn't necessarily have to be the absolute focus of the deck either.  The Rhystic Study discussion focused on a multiplayer deck that would be especially good with Rhystic Study in play, even though it's hard for a deck to be centered around Rhystic Study.)

[Ephraim]

I am holding in my hands a relic from the not-so-distant past.  On 25 September, 2005, I sealed up a deck of Magic cards and labeled it, "Do not open until 09/25/2007."  I am going to keep them out of play until then, but today, I am going to crack open that time capsule and share with you the contents of that deck, which hasn't seen the light of day for almost two years.

My first impression as I sort through the cards, preparing to post a deck list, is that this deck is legal in Peasant Magic.  That was much more important to me two years ago than it is to me today.  These days, I'm more likely to start with a rare card and build around it.  It is also a tribal deck (I remembered that, though.)  Zombies are one of the few tribes that I have ever loved.  I've pulled three Midnight Rituals out of boosters, so once I decide to start revising this deck again, maybe I'll give up Peasant-legality for some extra token-creating goodness.

Here is the deck list:

Creatures (28)
4 Maggot Carrier
4 Carnophage
4 Wretched Anurid
4 Blind Creeper
4 Shepherd of Rot
3 Undead Warchief
2 Putrid Raptor
3 Gempalm Polluter

Spells (12)
4 Dark Ritual
4 Vicious Hunger
4 Brush with Death

Land (20)
20 Swamp

***

I must have grown as a deckbuilder since then.  I cringe when I see that 20/60 land ratio.  The mana curve is pretty low, but this deck would still probably benefit from a few more lands.  I may have to cut a few things after I've toyed around with the deck as-is for a week or two.

When I saw the Dark Rituals, I was reminded of the coolest thing I ever did with this deck.  I had drawn a perfect hand.  It was so perfect, in fact, that when my opponent told me he was going to mulligan, I told him that he could search his deck for any seven cards he wanted, go first, and draw a card on his first turn.  He shrugged, figuring I was crazy, picked out the cards that he wanted and started with Forest, Llanowar Elves.  Not too shabby.  I'd played against his deck before, so I knew he was setting up a second turn Trinisphere.
Here was my opening play:  Swamp, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Undead Warchief, Undead Warchief
Facing down two 5/3 creatures on the first turn, he just shook his head in disbelief, picked up his cards, and walked away.

[Ephraim]

A while back, in Dr. Sylvan's excellent commentary on The Color Wheel, I mused about what Magic would be like if Wizards of the Coast had never printed the likes of Mana Drain, Counterspell, or even Cancel.  Suppose that there were a little bit of efficient card drawing, but that it was dispersed enough that you might actually consider playing Jayemdae Tome sometimes.  To be succinct, what if you needed discipline to play a blue deck?  (Bear with me.  I understand that Vintage brings discipline back to control, but I consider that a function of the environment.  You have to be disciplined to correctly assess risks and beat a Vintage combo deck.  If you pit an old-fashioned 4cc deck against anything less than a Tier 1 Legacy deck, you could play on autopilot.)  In fact, it turns out that if one ignores the best handful of card-drawing spells and counterspells in Standard, you actually get a vision of blue that is actually something like this.

I've built a deck around this idea and it turns out that it's good enough to win games and the discipline required to play it makes for some very tense, exciting games.  Because of the principles that underly the creation of this deck, I simply call it "Discipline."

Discipline

Creatures (27)
2 Boreal Druid
3 Birds of Paradise
4 Sage of Epityr
3 Willbender
3 Rimewind Taskmage
4 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Heidar, Rimewind Master
4 Mystic Snake
2 Razormane Masticore
1 Platinum Angel

Spells (8)
4 Ovinize
2 Mind Stone
2 Phyrexian Vault

Land (25)
3 Mouth of Ronom
2 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Yavimaya Coast
12 Snow-Covered Island
6 Snow-Covered Forest

***

The first edition of this deck, which I built before the Lorwyn rotation, did not have quite so much emphasis on the Wizard theme as this edition does.  I had access to Coiling Oracle, Simic Sky-Swallower, and Peel from Reality at that time.  The current edition seems to work just fine, though.  I miss Coiling Oracle, but Rimewind Taskmage is a worthy replacement.  Simic Sky-Swallower is a hard loss, but I think that Razormane Masticore and Platinum Angel are adequate.  Peel from Reality worked great with Coiling Oracle and Mystic Snake.  Ovinize is probably better removal, though, and I have 4 additional Wizards in the deck that work with Voidmage Prodigy, so losing the interaction with Mystic Snake is tolerable.

The strategy of the deck is to manage the board just enough to get a win condition on the table.  I have frequently been below 10 life by the time that I stabilized.  On the upside, tight play will win games with this deck and they'll be very satisfying victories.

One of the thing that has pleased me most about this deck is how consistently well Voidmage Prodigy has played.  It has been a hard card to use effectively ever since it was printed and I think that the current environment has enough Wizards with sufficiently strong synergies to make it playable.  Phyrexian Vault has also been a surprisingly useful card.  Being able to negate the card disadvantage of spot removal and chump blocking means that I can eke every bit of utility out of my creatures.  I would probably be better off with something like Think Twice, but that would be contrary to the principle behind the deck.

I believe that I'm going to take this to Friday Night Magic next week to see how well it plays in real games.  It is certainly not the best deck that I could put together, but I think it will be great fun to try to win a tournament with blue, as it should have been.

[Anusien]

Very interesting.  The numbers are incredibly weird though.

No Scrying Sheets?  For a card that does nothing but help you get lands (in most decks) it is incredibly potent.
I would also look at Into the North as a tutor for both Sheets and Mouth, as well as Rampant Growth.  With the reprinting of Mogg Fanatic, most environments are rather Birds-hostile.

[Ephraim]

Anusien, you're not the first person to recommend Scrying Sheets, so I'm trying it out.  I only own one copy, though.  Because I don't see it being a card that I could use very often, I intend to run just that single copy.  I gave Into the North very brief consideration as a replacement for Boreal Druid but never for Birds of Paradise.  I can understand the rationale but I think that I would rather lose a Birds of Paradise to an early Mogg Fanatic than to lose a Voidmage Prodigy later on.  Nonetheless, especially with the addition of just one Scrying Sheets, I can probably cut one copy of Birds of Paradise for one Into the North.

I just noticed that Scrying Sheets plays nicely with Sage of Epityr.  That's a pleasant bonus.

I have also decided to increase the number of win conditions.  I'm replacing Platinum Angel, (1) Sage of Epityr, and probably one other card (not yet decided) with Serra Sphinx.

By the way, what about the numbers is so peculiar to you?

[Anusien]

It's possible you have good reasons for 2 Boreal Druid, 3 Birds of Paradise, 2 Mind Stone for example, but those aren't readily apparent.

I really like the Wizards and the Snow themes, and it never occurred to me how well they overlapped.

Are you trying to keep to T2?

[Ephraim]

The deck demands early acceleration, so I play 7 accelerators.  It also doesn't like missing land drops, though, hence the slight glut of land.  The result is that I will frequently get enough mana early because of the accelerators and then have unnecessary mana production later in the game.  Mind Stone recycles itself while Birds of Paradise and Boreal Druid become chump blockers that I recycle with Phyrexian Vault.

I am trying to keep to Standard.  In fact, I intend to play this or something very like it at Friday Night Magic this week.  I would be interested to know whether anybody sees good opportunities to blend Lorwyn into the deck.  Ringskipper, for example, may be a worthwhile consideration in place of Willbender.  I've looked through the available wizards, but it's possible that I've missed something.

Now that I look, Balduvian Frostwaker might not be bad.  As noted above, I often have excess mana in the late game, which is just when a few extra flying creatures could help me pin down the game.

[Dr. Sylvan]

I'd say cut the three Birds and the Phyrexian Vaults at least---that still leaves you with 29 mana counting the Mind Stones and Boreal Druids, and if you cut the Boreals for Mind Stones, you'd stay at 29 with less of a late-game glut. Vault doesn't go well with Voidmage Prodigy IMO; it competes for sacrifices when surely there must be a better option for seeing more cards, even if it's Citanul Woodreaders, Harmonize, or Keen Sense. Vault requires five mana and a sacrifice before you even see the first card; Harmonize is one less for triple that.

Some possible replacements include Aethersnipe, Mulldrifter (which is Blue draw; I don't know if that subverts your design intent), Commune With Nature, Edge of Autumn, Garruk Wildspeaker, Heartwood Storyteller, and Venser, Shaper Savant. Maybe even Puppeteer. It all depends on which direction you'd like to go.

[Ephraim]

I like Boreal Druid because it opens up the possibility of an active Rimewind Taskmage on turn 3.  One question that I think I need to ask, though, is whether green is the right second colour for this deck.  If I take out Birds of Paradise, all that I am left with is Boreal Druid and Mystic Snake.  I would not be averse to using a different splash colour or with making the deck mono-blue.

Venser, Shaper Savant seems fair, although I'm not sure that I really appreciate what he contributes.  Under the design philosophy of the deck, I could probably replace Mystic Snake with any 4-cc counter or any soft counter, of which there are plenty in Standard.  If I am switching to mono-blue, then Controvert becomes an interesting possibility.  In the mid- to late-game I can get my counters back when I sacrifice Wizards to Voidmage Prodigy.  As far as card-drawing goes, I think that Mulldrifter also falls within the design philosophy (It is not efficient, single-minded card-drawing like Think Twice.)

[Ephraim]

I will update this post tomorrow after Friday Night Magic.  I just wanted to note that I will be trying mono-blue.  I've considered the recommended changes and I'm going to use the following:
Controvert to replace Mystic Snake
Mind Stone to replace Boreal Druid
Ringskipper to replace Birds of Paradise
Mulldrifter to Phyrexian Vault
And the REALLY exciting change:  Guile to replace Razormane Masticore and Platinum Angel
Obviously, the mana base will be converted to Snow-Covered Islands.  Ill probably end up using (1) Scrying Sheets, (3) Mouth of Ronom, and (21) Snow-Covered Island.  Since I'm planning on buying a box of Lorwyn anyway, there's a decent chance I'll also spring for copy #2 of Scrying Sheets

Here is the list that I ended up playing, warts and all.  There were a few cards that I was not able to get my hands on at the last minute.  Overall, I'd say that this experiment was an unqualified success.  I lost matches, but the deck handled very consistently and just as I expected it to.  Ulitimately, I was done in by blue's tragic weakness: the inability to handle permanents.  Oblivion Ring and Story Circle kicked my butt all evening.  My solution will be to remove ~7 cards from the list below to make room for (4) Oblivion Ring and (3) Wispmare.

Most importantly, though, I had a LOT of fun playing this deck.  It demanded careful decision-making and I never felt like the games that I played were foregone conclusions.

Creatures (23)
4 Sage of Epityr
3 Ringskipper
3 Willbender
3 Rimewind Taskmage
4 Voidmage Prodigy
2 Mulldrifter
2 Guile
1 Serra Sphinx
1 Heidar, Rimewind Master

Spells (12)
4 Mind Stone
4 Ovinize
4 Controvert

Land (25)
2 Scrying Sheets
2 Mouth of Ronom
1 Terramorphic Expanse
20 Snow-Covered Island

Props:  Controvert is a very good card.  It plays especially well with Voidmage Prodigy.  I expect that since I plan on adding more Mulldrifter and Wispmare to the deck, it will continue to be a strong card for me.  Voidmage Prodigy allows me to counter spells even when Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is in play, which is very useful.  Rimewind Taskmage is quite useful.  Being able to tap any permanent helped me to aggravate colour screw and to compensate for this deck's slower tempo.

Slops:  Having neither a third copy of Guile nor a third copy of Mouth of Ronom was very annoying.  Mouth of Ronom was my most reliable way of dealing with Teferi, which was a constant bother to me.  Not being able to deal with permanents out-and-out lost me matches.  I could (and probably should) have scooped during my first game because a third-turn Story Circle all but shut me out.  I could play Voidmage Prodigy and Willbender as facedown creatures, but I couldn't hit my opponent fast enough that way to win.  It also turns out that I also have considerably more mana than I need, so I can trim that down in the next revision.

On the bright side, I acquired a third Mouth of Ronom after I dropped.  I also bought a box of Lorwyn boosters, most of which remain unopened.  With any luck, I'll acquire another copy of Guile that way.

As noted above, I think that I am going to clear some space for Oblivion Ring and Wispmare.  Wispmare will probably replace Ringskipper, which never really impressed me tonight.  I will probably also take out (1) Heidar, Rimewind Master, (1) Ovinize, (1) Mind Stone, and (1) Snow-Covered Island to make way for Oblivion Ring.  I am up in the air over whether or not I should replace Mind Stone with Coldsteel Heart.  I'm leaning "no," though.  In most games that I played, any Mind Stones I played eventually outlasted their usefulness and were sacrificed to draw cards.  Of the (19) remaining Snow-Covered Islands, I think that I am going to convert (4) to Snow-Covered Plains and (2) to Boreal Shelf.

Update:
Rats.  I just discovered that Guile doesn't work quite the way that I thought it did.  (Nor, in fact, how everybody at FNM seemed to assume that it would work.)

Guile's second ability replaces "counter [a certain spell]" with "remove [a certain spell] from the game and you may play it without paying its mana cost." You have the option to play it immediately upon its removal. If you choose not to, it remains removed from the game and you don't get another chance to play it. If the spell or ability that tried to counter the spell has additional effects, it then continues to resolve.

Everybody was playing under the assumption that spells countered while Guile was in play sat to the side and could be played as long as Guile remains in play.  This'll be a bit of a shock, I suspect.

[Ephraim]

Teaching new players the game has been a favourite topic of mine for quite some time.  I am especially excited about it now because Wizards of the Coast is making a strong effort this year to acquire new players.  (Article)  I have a lot of confidence that this is going to involve them promoting grassroots efforts for seasoned players to help out.  In the next few months, I expect to be working closely with the owner of the local card shop to establish one or more "Learn to Play Magic" days for the coming year.

I have put together a few decks that I think are packed with evocative cards for new players to enjoy.  I have also assembled goodie bags for each colour.  The goodie bag contains one of each 10th Edition common of that colour, a few useful uncommons, and a pack of land (7 basic lands, 1 Shimmering Grotto, 1 Vivid land, and 1 Manland.)

Here are the deck lists that I'll be using.  I don't have exciting names for them yet, so if anybody has any suggestions, PM them to me.  I'll pick the names that I like best and announce them later.

Deck One
Green Spells (5)
1 Giant Growth
1 Commune with Nature
1 Natural Spring
1 Blanchwood Armor
1 Squall Line

Green Creatures (13)
2 Elvish Berserker
1 Canopy Spider
1 Nessian Courser
1 Civic Wayfinder
3 Llanowar Sentinel
1 Spined Wurm
1 Kavu Climber
1 Craw Wurm
1 Karplusan Strider
1 Enormous Baloth

Red Spells (7)
1 Shock
1 Stun
1 Incinerate
1 Spitting Earth
1 Cryoclasm
1 Threaten
1 Blaze

Red Creatures (10)
1 Duct Crawler
1 Raging Goblin
1 Bogardan Firefiend
1 Bloodrock Cyclops
1 Prodigal Pyromancer
1 Lightning Elemental
1 Fomori Nomad
1 Orcish Artillery
1 Furnace Whelp
1 Shivan Dragon

Artifacts (2)
1 Wurm's Tooth
1 Dragon's Claw

Land (23)
13 Forest
10 Mountain

Deck Two
Blue Spells (8)
1 Peek
1 Unsummon
1 Remove Soul
1 Boomerang
1 Twitch
1 Counsel of the Soratami
1 Flashfreeze
1 Bribery

Blue Creatures (8)
2 Cloud Sprite
2 Sage Owl
2 Blind Phantasm
1 Aven Fisher
1 Air Elemental

Black Spells (6)
1 Recover
1 Assassinate
1 Essence Drain
1 Deathmark
1 Cruel Edict
1 Diabolic Tutor

Black Creatures (11)
2 Looming Shade
2 Phyrexian Rager
2 Severed Legion
1 Dross Crocodile
1 Gravedigger
1 Mass of Ghouls
1 Drudge Skeletons
1 Lord of the Undead

Artirfacts (4)
1 Kraken's Eye
1 Demon's Horn
1 Bottle Gnomes
1 Rod of Ruin

Land (23)
10 Island
13 Swamp

***

I also have a mono-white deck, but it's kind of the odd-deck-out in this setup.  I may post it in a future article.  I'm still testing out these two decks, but so far, they seem like a reasonable match for one another.  Obviously, not all of the cards in these decks are good, although I'm pretty sure I avoided any cards that were downright terrible (except the "lucky charms," which new players love almost without exception.)  I think that I've also included plenty of cards that will make these decks exciting for new players to play (Enormous Baloth, Llanowar Sentinel, Shivan Dragon, Bribery, Diabolic Tutor, and, surprisingly enough, Peek, are cards that I expect to generate a lot of buzz.

[Matt]

Nessian Coursier: different frames = sooooo bad for a new player

[Ephraim]

I disagree.  I think that the excitement that all-artwork creatures is worth the small confusion that they might create.  I've always been more technical and precise in the past and I don't think that it's necessarily the right tack.  I'm trying the principle now that teaching Magic is 2 parts excitement, 1 part technical accuracy.  A player who is excited about the game will be eager to discover new information.

[Matt]

I disagree.  I think that the excitement that all-artwork creatures is worth the small confusion that they might create.  I've always been more technical and precise in the past and I don't think that it's necessarily the right tack.  I'm trying the principle now that teaching Magic is 2 parts excitement, 1 part technical accuracy.  A player who is excited about the game will be eager to discover new information.

I would say, leave it in the expansion pack.

[Anusien]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15637.html
Zac Hill built a couple of decks for teaching Magic, and I didn't know if you saw it or not but I think you'd enjoy reading it.

While I hate the new frames with a passion, having them in Future Sight is probably fine in terms of new magic players, because Future Sight is the world's worst set to teach a player on anyway.

Have you experimented with Elves vs. Goblins?  I'm told the decks are incredibly complex, but they're pre-built, pre-tuned and play on an existing, popular rivalry.  Are they playable for new players?  (You could easily build copies, I'm sure).

[Ephraim]

In the near future, I am going to try to start up a multiplayer Magic group.  Reading The Ferrett's articles always gets me excited about the idea about a regular, sociable Magic game that lets me focus on more than what's currently hot in Standard.  At the Morningtide prerelease, I picked up a bunch of cards out of the crap rare bin with hopes that they'd be splashy, exciting rares to top out the ranks of a multiplayer deck.

Biomantic Mastery -- Apollyon has recommended that I pair this up with Firestorm and Stuffy Doll.  I'm going to wait until Time Spiral rotates to pick up 3 more Stuffies, but we'll give this one a shot.

Hex -- It's totally useless in a duel, but I bet it'll be useful in multiplayer pretty often.

Choice of Damnations -- I have no idea how to play this card effectively in any format.  I have a feeling that it's going to make me a huge target, but randomly smiting somebody with my unholy fury seems like worthy fun.

[Anusien]

Thought you might find this old CCF post interesting:
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=25680.0

in light of this card:
Dramatic Entrance[/card]

[Ephraim]

This space reserved for a deck involving
Callow Jushi // Jaraku the Interloper
Budoka Pupil // Ichiga, Who Topples Oaks
Petalmane Baku
and
Gilder Bairn

Other possible inclusions:
Leonin Bola
Paradise Mantle
(Because I need to tap Gilder Bairn to make it useful.)
Curse of Chains
(Which can be used either against my opponents creatures or to get one potential activation out of Gilder Bairn for each player.)

[Demonic Attorney]

What about this?

[Ephraim]

Although I don't usually make a big deal about infinite combos, that one seems right up my alley.  Slow enough not to be stupid, but still relying only on two cards, both of which will be useful in the deck.  I wonder if maybe I should forgo blue, though, and go with some other colour.  I'm not altogether impressed with the selection of blue spirits.  White, on the other hand, offers Lantern Kami, Blinking Spirit, and Waxmane Baku.  I guess its selection of Arcane spells is weaker though.  Because of Gilder Bairn, I might not need quite as many as I otherwise would, but I don't want to be unable to get Ichiga fired up.