Drains in Casual

[EnialisLiadon]

So I'll be finally completing my playset of Mana Drains after roughly two years of only having a pair of them.  And since I've been going to vintage tournaments with less frequency these days, I was wondering if anyone had some cool ideas for casual decks that could utilize the power of drains effectively in a crazy cool way...but isn't too overpowered as to drive away my friends.

They play decks like goblins with raging goblins, grenades, etc, and only two piledrivers.  Or U/W control with no StPs, forces or drains.  The fastest combo deck I'd face (unless I lent them my budget storm combo) is a deck that uses Myr Retrivers and Grinding Station (he either goes nutz with Gushes and Archmages and free artifacts, or infinite with 2 Helm of Awakenings, 2 Retrivers and a Grinding Station...broken, ain't it?).

This is a problem I've been struggling with for quite some time.  I want to use my cool and flashy cards, but I don't want to make decks that would completely dominate my friends' more casual-oriented decks.

No-proxy drain-slaver is probably too good...as I was dominating multiplayer games with only 2 drains.  Oath is similarly stupid in casual.  Can you help me think of something?  Thanks for all your help!

[BC]

Dark Depths would be one of the more entertaining ways to use Drain Mana.

[RobPro]

What about Landstill in Multiplayer? Draining into a Disk is always fun, and everyone likes the guy who plays Standstill.

[Harlequin]

A sort of Oath-like deck you could play is to build a deck around one of my favorite casual cards: Proteus Staff.  You can really customize the power level of the deck quite easily... The basic idea is that you run some non-creature ways of creating creatures under your control.  Stuff like Man-lands or creature generators like Nucence Engine, Wire Hive, or Serpent Generator (obviously the cheaper you go, the better the deck gets so you can scale here).  Then you run some choice creatures you want to hit.  The most competative form would run very creature light and run "Oath Creatures" like Akroma, Razia, Simic, Pristene Angel... but you can through in more Multiplayer/casual creatures like Preacher, Seasinger, Old Man of the Sea ... as well as some choice fatties.  This turns the Staff into a sort of creature removal because when you steal a creature and target it with the staff.. it goes to its owners library but YOU do the "oathing."   Very good for mid-level competative magic.  And it is a good sink for drainmana.

You can even Add stuff that allows you the ability to untap your stealers/staffs like Thousand Year Elixier. 

[Ephraim]

I would use your 'Drain mana to do something really out there.  I think that Oath and Landstill don't sound casual enough for your crowd.  Dark Depths seems like a good suggestion, though.  Drawing upon your inner Timmy-Johnny is your best bet, in my opinion.  Reach for Tooth and Nail, Biorhythm, Time Stretch, Earthquake, Hurricane, Djinn Illuminatus, or Tidespout Tyrant.  Use the mana to cast a bunch of little spells to empower Wee Dragonauts or Gelectrode.  Funnel it into a Gemstone Array and find something to do with it later.  The problem is honestly too broad to offer you a really good solution.  Suggest two or three other cards that you'd especially like to use in this deck and we can start hammering out a list for you.

[habragg]

A sort of Oath-like deck you could play is to build a deck around one of my favorite casual cards: Proteus Staff. 

I very much enjoyed playing Proteus Staff with man-lands and a single Desolation Angel.  Stack your deck while taking out a permanent...  slow, but fun. 

[EnialisLiadon]

I would use your 'Drain mana to do something really out there.  I think that Oath and Landstill don't sound casual enough for your crowd.  Dark Depths seems like a good suggestion, though.  Drawing upon your inner Timmy-Johnny is your best bet, in my opinion.  Reach for Tooth and Nail, Biorhythm, Time Stretch, Earthquake, Hurricane, Djinn Illuminatus, or Tidespout Tyrant.  Use the mana to cast a bunch of little spells to empower Wee Dragonauts or Gelectrode.  Funnel it into a Gemstone Array and find something to do with it later.  The problem is honestly too broad to offer you a really good solution.  Suggest two or three other cards that you'd especially like to use in this deck and we can start hammering out a list for you.

That's the spirit, and the response I was looking for!  I really want a two-colored deck, but I'm worried about the mana--getting UU consistently for drain and mana for whatever other color I use.  I do have 6 blue fetches (4 deltas, 2 strands) and 6 blue duals (2 sea, 2 trop, 2 volc)...so I guess I could go UB, UG or UR pretty easily.

Tooth and Nail sounds really cool, though.  What do you think would be the best pair of creatures to pull out?  I really like Platinum Angel and Leonin Abunas.  Sundering Titan is similarly fun.  Maybe I could just throw in a couple of other big artifacts and throw some Welders and TfK's in, too!

Welder Tooth
//Artifact--6
1x Duplicant
2x Mindslaver
1x Pentavus
1x Sundering Titan
1x Triskelion

//Blue--16
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
4x Thirst for Knowledge

//Green--3
3x Tooth and Nail

//Red--3
3x Goblin Welder

//White--2
1x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1x Leonin Abunas

//Mana--30
2x Izzet Signet
4x Pentad Prism
2x Simic Signet
2x Flooded Strand
12x Island
4x Polluted Delta
2x Tropical Island
2x Volcanic Island

Or do you think duals, fetches and forces push it into non-casual territory?

[Harlequin]

Good-ol' onesided wrath probably isn't too good for multi-player:

Mephidross Vampire + Triskellion = infinite creature-only damage.

Plats/Abruna is cool, you could also go for something like:

Stuffy Doll + Stonehewer Giant (with a Pariah Shield in your deck) = after Giant becomes unsick for all damage delt to you is delt to someone else 

[Jonika1]

Well since it sounds like your friends don't play orignal duels then sundering titan might not be incredibely effective. in fact you would just bring him in and he would wreck your duals.  Maybe try Darksteel Collosuss? or is that too overpowered... when i play with tinker and collosus all my friends scoop when it hits the board. sorry i wasnt much help... i think FoW is too overpowered for casual. Making someones mind your slave doesnt particulary smell of casual magic.=)