Subject: Stronghold, a strong set? Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 17:58:17 -0500 From: "Henry C. Horner" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Hi Frank, I`ve just been reading an analysis of stronghold, many of which are written by people who haven`t attended the pre-release, and many of whom are overlooking some of the cards in the set and calling it weak, not via-able etc. The response from the players in Boston to this set was phenominal, many of the cards in the set have extrodinary power in the environments of Type 2, extended and Type 1. You really have to play some of these cards to realize how strong they are. I came back from the pre-release and there was a Tempest sealed deck about to go into the top 8 section, I challenged any of the top 8 contenders to beat my pre-release deck, one player accepted and after mauling him with ease the excitement of just how good some of the cards are grew! So lets have a quick glance down the list and I`ll tell you the cards that the players here were talking most about. Volraths stronghold, has potential in many decks for getting back the key creature you know is giving your opponents trouble, wether it be a tradewind rider, nevkrataal, Maro, pro red creature or frenetic. Very easy to splash in to any deck as well. The multicolour slivers are looking particularly good, and a reanimated Sliver Queen is a definite possibilty, (5 life for a 7/7 that creates tokens and gets bonuses) The En Kor creatures from white have to be one of the biggest cards of the day, they are so tough to kill without a direct creature kill spell, and the casting cost of them is very reasonable, the possibility of using these with any token generator and they become unkillable with damage as you redirect it ll to the token. Smite, is a tremendous card for white, replacing swords with some draw backs but again with token generators (outpost, spirit mirror) this card is tremendous. Scapegoat, has much potential for card advatage against wrath, disk and earthquake, and could become a card to splash in weenie decks. Sacred ground, is the really big one, this card has so many implications in all the main formats, standard, extended and classic. Geddons, waistelands all become useless untill this enchantment is dealt with, mishras are just incredible with this in play. Hidden retreat has great possibilities in a control deck with howling mines, If you can tie up their creatures then this card could tie up the game for you, as well as helping to avoid decking or helping you get better cards, if you use a library manipulator. Pursuit of knowledge was made to go with sylvan library I`m certain, and has to be very strong in control decks, it could certainly appear in many of the formats. Bandage, to many will look like nothing, but with mog fanatic being so popular at the moment this is a great answer plus its a cantrip. Red got some really good stuff, Ruination is the big one that everyone was talking about, this has some implications in a Type 2 as a sideboard card but in extended is really going to make its mark, and could be given much consideration in a sligh deck. Mob justice is also a great card for sligh decks, and in sealed is simply a killer, again this could be a card splashed into some decks, especially used with snake basket. Mogg Flunkies are big, fat and cost two, what can you say! Fling was a hot card in the conversations with many people talking of its use with ball lightning. Furnace spirits, are certainly good in sealed but I am a little unsure of how good they`ll be in the main formats, "It`s basically a running fireball!" is what one player described it as! =) Fanning the flames, I got this card in the pre-release and went on to fireball my first 5 opponents into the ground. This card is seriously bad in sealed deck, much like imperial armor from weatherlight, if you have it the odds are hugely in your favour that you`ll win. Someone told me the black one was better? Simply no. In one game my opponent used the black one 6 times to try to kill me during a stand off, I drew the flames and killed him in one shot. There is no comparison between these two cards. Will this make it into type 2? well 1 or 2 may be viable in a R/U counter burn deck I would have to playtest it to really know. If you use this on your opponent only in sealed its very hard to get rid of. Green didn`t get anything is all I keep reading, Oh sorry to say but green got plenty. As a regular 5CG player I can see lots that spring to mind. Volraths Gardens is life gaining for weenie, a weenie deck with repeated use, you could hold an opponent of for a long time. The spikes are`nt the new thallids and I doubt very much that they will haunt the commons boxes. They have so many possibilities and become a real problem for red, as they transfer multiple tokens from one to another. I think these could certainly be played in stompy as that extra element of uncertanty for your opponent. Skyshroud archers, I personally feel are a great card, with the armored chicken decks being popular, and also tradewinds beingout of bolt range, this could be the card to stop them. Again it will need play testing, but at G for the casting cost its a weenie with a handy ability. Primal rage has good place in stompy as well. Endangered Armadon is greens new ernham, it has drawbacks, but played along side Maro in MaroGeddon decks this creature has a lot of potential. Awakening is great for anti winter orbs, static orbs and stasis, but the casting cost makes me think we wont see that much of it. Burgeoning, is a must for 5CG especially as it allows you to replay undiscovereds during your opponents go, could be a vital speed factor in stompy also. This card combined with randers and undicovereds and horn of greed should allow you to out draw your opponent at a phenominal rate. The walls are simply just great in this set, each is powerfull and undercosted, many really put the brake on a weenie deck and some method of destroying them fast will have to be used to stop them halting a creature rush. Spindrift drake is good fast early damage, but may hinder blue in its quest for early untapped mana, I feal theses creatures could also be good later in the game once you`ve got things tied down. Silver Wyvern, is big and potentially hard to kill, this will probably need playtesting before we find out just how good a card it is but at the moment I would say very big. Rebound is just a very cheap deflection and does nearly exactly the same thing, this is what players tended to deflect in the first place. Ransack the subject of much conversation, first I get control, then I ransack you and give you nothing for two rounds then I meditate! Someone asked for a use for Mask of the Minic, Ok here it is, "I fireblast your tradewind"," Ok I sack it and have a diferent one" SSTTTRRRROOONNGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!! =) Write and tell me if you think I`m wrong on this one!, the advantage over unsummon on this card is that you dont have to recast the original card, and what about the following, I`ll cast (man of war/necrataal) then I`ll sack it and have another. deck thinning and creature removal in one. Mana leak is a great new counter spell, its everything that dismiss would like to be and isn`t. Will definetly be a key replacement for arcane denial in many 3,4 and 5 colour decks. Leap , great picture................then junk it as you did flight and all the others. Evacuation......Hmmmmn it costs a lot and good players dont normally have many out, the best use I can see for this is to get out of a trade wind and his pals. Contempt I think is a card for booster draft, a few of these and your opponent will certainly have problems. Dream prowler, could be a very good companion to tradewinds in a deck, a wall that can attack basically. Dream Halls.........show me it working and I`ll believe its good, untill then I have my doubts. Tortured existence, has strong possibilities in many decks revolving around key creatures, necratog, man of war etc. Revenant , thanks for the free one, with a casting cost like that why is everyone complaining about only black getting it, with the amount of multi coloured lands in use this goes in many creature orientated decks in Type 2. It may only get the bonus from your graveyard but its black (so cant be terror`d, banished or necrataal) and it flies......top, Top, TOp, TOP. Mortuary, is a good way of ot getting decked but thats about it that I can see, let me know if you know something I dont. Mind peel , more expensive than a sceptre and does the same thing, why would you want it? Megrim decks will be a definite for black , it really wont take that long to kill either, thats the sad point, I don`t know that hand destruction promotes the game of Magic any better than Land destruction, the game becomes very one sided and dull. I dont enjoy it when that happens. Lab rats could well be a lead to a new counter post style deck, generally good, great in sealed and may well turn out to be great in other environments too. Foul Imp is just that much better than fledgling Djinn and could well appear in Black weenie decks. Death Stroke, strong card and much talked about........its arch enemy.........the danger ranger! Crovax the cursed...... now correct me if I`m wrong but wizards were trying to get rid of undercosted fat fliers, this guy is necratogs partner in crime and could get very big very fast with a swarm deck or some sort of token generator about. Cannabalize removes something from the game which is usually good when you consider the graveyard manipulation at the moment. but I`m not sure it will get used. I could be wrong but I dont think so. Oddly it may be better on your own creatures to get big shadows. or fliers. Brush with death, will no doubt be put into necro decks and could be a good card there , certainly good in sealed this card has possibilities. Bottomless Pit..........worries me! Sword of the Chosen , now heres a card to add to the pile with Tolarian Serpent and mind bender spores . Why wizards...why, why, why??? Portcullis.....you play a weenie I play a wall.....now i get portcullis.....and your @#@$%$#! This is going to be such an anti weenie deck its unreal. Mox Diamond. Is good, is a mox and the disadvantage is you throw a land, (hard to do with the rangers around!=)) Now this would still be good if it had been produced when the other mox`s had, its a multi coloured version how can anyone say its not good. In extended with Land tax these will be big and in 5CW with tithes and of course 5CG. Horn of greed, you both share so obviously you have to play a deck with it in mind. Could be fun if your opponent has mana severed ......if that ever happens! Ensnaring Bridge.......duh STUPID RED BURN......."What exactly is it about the word BOLT you dont understand!" *8) Bull whip....this card wrecked me in the pre release and is certainly good in sealed, could have its advantages in other formats too. Handy for those frenetics! If they can give us the Hornet cannon then why keep reprinting the hive? This card works great with smite by the way. Ok thats my thoughts on the set and the cards that most of the people at Total Confusion and Boston this weekend thought would turn out good. All the Best. Joules Haigh Team Highlander Visit the Highlander web page at www.sol.co.uk/b/benvierd/teamhigh.htm