Subject: Re: Common-card-deck Date: 29 Apr 1998 22:21:29 GMT From: "Lee A. Cooper" Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc Jean-Paul De Wnter wrote: : So, why don't you suggest a common-card deck from SH/T/V/WL.... 4 Mogg Fanatic 4 lightning elemental 4 rolling thunder 4 lightning blast 4 Suq'Ata lancer 4 bloodrock cyclops 4 fireslinger 4 mogg flunkies 4 flowstone giant 4 furnace spirit 20 mountain Sideboard 7 swamps 4 dark banishing 4 diabolic edict The deck loses to COP red (sometimes). There are still enough creatures in the deck to outswarm them. It can also do some early damage before the COP comes out. The deck loses to Freewind falcon - emperial armor - En Kor deck. Hence the unorthadox sideboard. I normally never have basic lands in the sideboard. But going mono-red in the main deck allows for the low land ratio. Why no disturbed burial? Because the deck should already be winning by that point. The original deck, which includes some mirage and portal cards, is faster than this though. So it might be worth testing. The key to this deck is a good mix of creatures and burn. Burn the blocker, attack. Burn the blocker, attack. This is superior to a straight burn deck, because you are doing damage to the player (on the attack) and getting rid of his creatures. While with total burn, you can only do one or the other. With total creatures you will stall once the opponent has multiple blockers out. The deck also loses when an opponent drops a Moat. But that only happened to me once. Celerity creatures (no summoning sickness) are underrated. Look at the lancer. It is a 2/2 flanker for 3 mana, that attacks on turn 3. This is just as fast as a 2/2 creature for 2 mana, which would also attack on turn 3. Which in red, is the ironclaw orcs. Instead of an advantage (flanking) they have a disadvantage. Now how about the Talruum Minotaur. 3/3 for 4 mana that attacks on turn 4. For the same speed, you would need a 3/3 for 3 mana, which is the bloodrock cyclops. Again the cyclops has a disadvantage. Of course, there are times when you will only have 3 mana. But the surprise value of these creatures is great. Every turn your opponent decides his attack based on the blockers you have out. If you have out a 1/1 and he has a 3/3, he should attack. You will take 3 and only deal 1 to him on the next turn. But instead you drop a minotaur and deal 4. If he had known this, he may have wanted to hold his 3/3 as a blocker instead. But he won't know. Unless he has looked at your hand (coercion, lobotomy). Okay, the lancer and ball lightning are highly rated. But my point is that the other celerity creatures can also be viable, especially in an all commons format in which ball lightning will not be applicable. Lee