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Hello folks! Welcome to the next article in the CasualNation column!
Two weeks ago saw a bit of a resurgence in my StarCityGames article, Revelations of a Magic Writer. I was honestly touched when Mark Rosewater chose it as his favorite of all time. I have received e-mails and messages from a lot of people since, including some big names in the game (and some regular people too!) I just want to say that I thank all of you for your warm thoughts and kind words.
When I agreed to write for ManaNation, one of the things I realized that I may have to do is not make assumptions about my audience. How many people would transfer from SCG to here? How many people would be brand new to my column? I honestly didn't know.
With that in mind, my first four articles have been your normal fare. My casual review of Scars was a bit more newbie friendly, and my Archenemy articles were developed from multiple angles and interests. Each of my first four articles wrote themselves.
What about now? I'm past writing about Scars and Archenemy. Now I can write on anything I want. Any product, any format, any variant, any card – they are all in bounds. That leads me to consider my audience. What about the new readers? Shouldn't they get something?
I think they should. After consideration, I think an article on basic multiplayer strategy is in order. There are several important reasons why I think this is a good article to write. Firstly, I've never written this article before! Also, players new to multiplayer can get something from it. Finally, I think experienced players are never hurt by reviewing the basics. This is an opportunity to know the basics of multiplayer, neatly tucked away in one article.
I love multiplayer! It's my favorite way to play Magic. Magic is a social experience. It is one of a very few games (like Dungeons and Dragons or Diplomacy) that transcend the game and become a tool for conversation and socializing. Multiplayer helps to facilitate that. You sit around a table with 5 or 6 of your friends and talk, laugh, watch TV, catch up with each others' lives, listen to music, and more – all while playing Magic.
Since it's a game, I figure you might as well try to win. Sometimes people get this confused with me. They look and me and tell me I'm so competitive. They think I don't like it when I lose. That's actually not true. I can play a whole evening, and never win, and still have a blast. I don't feel bad when I lose, I'm fine. I do feel even better when I win, though.
Winning is the goal. How do you win in multiplayer? There are a lot of strategies out there, and some I have enumerated at length. Today I want to specifically discuss three basic strategies for constructing and playing a deck for multiplayer. They are: Card Advantage, Versatility and The Rattlesnake Effect.
Card Advantage
Let's talk about Cancel. Cancel is a card that costs three mana and counters a target spell. This is a very good card at doing something you need to do. Every foe has some plans that you want to stop, and the best way to stop them is to counter the spell before it does anything. There are entire formats defined by one's ability to counter spells.
Let's talk about Stone Rain. There have also been formats defined by land destruction and cards like Lay Waste, Avalanche Riders and Strip Mine. For three mana, the ability to destroy any land is quite powerful. Since it takes one full turn to play a land, destroying it is essentially a land oriented Time Walk against that person. You are skipping ahead in mana development one full turn against them. This is a very powerful spell.
Let's talk about Swords to Plowshares. For the entire history of Magic, Swords to Plowshares has been the gold standard of creature removal. It's a great card because it costs just one mana and exiles the creature. The life gain that it gives has long been accepted as worth the price. STP is a very powerful tool, and it has found its way into decks as the backbone of every format in which it is legal.
Let's talk about Duress. Originally released in Urza's Saga, Duress was the first one mana Black discard effect that resembled Coercion. It's a one for one trade that can devastate a hand. It has come to dominate many formats and has been one of the key cards in a lot of matchups. Duress can strip out counters, card drawing, combo pieces, mana acceleration, and many other cards. It is one of the most powerful tools in the game of Magic.
One of the hardest things for players new to multiplayer to get is this:
Many of your old cards suck here. Many of the most powerful cards of all time are bad in multiplayer.
Counterspell? Strip Mine? Thoughtseize? Terror?
There is a very simple reason for this. In a duel, you are drawing an even number of cards as your foe. It's a 1:1 ratio. Therefore, cards that give you a 1:1 trade have value. In multiplayer, you are getting outdrawn significantly. If there are 5 players at the table, then you are getting outdrawn 4:1 every single turn. If you play Duress here, then sure, you get a good card from someone. The result is that you've traded one card for one, while the other three cards go unanswered.
Does that mean there is no place for simple, cheap 1:1 removal? No. You just cannot rely on old 1:1 strategies to be your path to victory.
Take countermagic. There is nothing in the game that can do what Cancel and its ilk do. You have to be able to counter some threats. However, if you rely on countermagic to win the game, then you've lost. In duels, you can have a deck of 28 counters, 4 creatures to win, and a few card drawing instants. You can win with that deck. That's not the case here. That deck will get steam rolled in multiplayer. A few counters, for emergencies, are a great idea. 20 counters as a strategy is a losing idea.
Similarly, a few land destruction effects are a great idea to stop a lot of land based problems in multiplayer. Dedicated land destruction decks with 22 land destruction spells will get clobbered.
Your decks must have plans to massively overcome the card disadvantage inherent to the format. There are several ways.
- Mass removal. Look at cards like Wrath of God not Swords to Plowshares; Shatterstorm not Shatter; Whirlwind not Wing Snare; Purify not Disenchant; Innocent Blood not Cruel Edict; and so forth. By enabling your deck to handle many cards in one go, you empower yourself to overcome the massive card advantage issues.
- Add additional removal options. Look at ways to increase the number of permanents you can destroy. This is sort of like above, only with less sweeping effects, but still more bang for your buck. Take Rack and Ruin for example. It costs one more than Shatter, and it destroys two artifacts instead of one. Why even play Shatter at that point? It may not have the oomph of Shatterstorm, but often you don't want to sweep, because you'll hit your own stuff. Cards like Rack and Ruin are much better in those decks.
- Add a cantrip version. Look at cards like Recover, Dismiss, and Hobble. When you are playing a spell that you really need, why not look for one that draws you cards?
- Add creatures that get you cards. Card advantage does not end at spells. Creatures like Mulldrifter, Multani's Acolyte and Phyrexian Gargantua are great ways to increase your card drawing while not hurting your red zone opportunities.
- Multiplayer friendly mass card drawing. There are a lot of ways to get you a ton of cards in multiplayer, but they will usually put a target over your head. Great examples include Mind's Eye and Rhystic Study. Understand that if you play them, you invite wrath.
- Raw card drawing. In addition to all of your usual ways, you can play basic spells like Harmonize, Jace's Ingenuity, Fact or Fiction and Stroke of Genius. There's nothing wrong with raw card drawing.
- Repeatable spells and effects. There are a lot of ways to get more bang from your card. You could have cards with flashback or buyback. Giving a card another chance to shine gives you more power per card. Take Shattering Pulse. You can play it again and again, destroying many artifacts, and just buying it back each time. Tapping an Avatar of Woe to destroy a creature is great fun, especially when you get to untap and repeat as you wish. Getting multiple uses from your cards is one of the ways you can get some serious card advantage.
- Mass permanents. An often overlooked way of netting card advantage is to play a card that nets you several permanents. Take an entwined Tooth and Nail. It pulls two creatures from your deck and puts them into play. That's clearly card advantage. There aren't too many of these cards around, but they are there. (such as Temporal Aperture). Another example of mass permanents is the token maker. Mobilization can make a lot of 1/1 soldiers, and thus be a source of never ending card advantage. Even a spell like an entwined One Dozen Eyes can really alter the board state.
- 187 creatures. Creatures that enter the battlefield, destroy a permanent of some type, and then stay there add to your card advantage. Take a look at stuff like Manic Vandal, Nekrataal, and Cloudchaser Eagle.
Above are recommended ways to build card advantage into your decks. You have to constantly fight to keep your head above water, and these strategies can help you win.
Versatility
Along with considering the card advantage of various cards is the versatility of various cards. Consider this, which is the better card in multiplayer:
If you said Oxidize, then I am very disappointed in you. Prior to playing the game, do you know if your opponent will be rocking artifacts? Enchantments? Planeswalkers? Dangerous lands? Then why limit your removal? Obviously, you sometimes have to play cards with a more limited scope due to cost or instant-ness, but we should seek to minimize that. Do you want Terror or Vindicate? Do you want Shock or Firebolt?
This is the reason that I think Orim's Thunder is the best disenchant effect in Magic. If you are playing Red/White, then you had better be playing this. I sometimes play it to destroy a nasty artifact or enchantment, and just kill a creature on the side. I sometimes play it to destroy a nasty creature, and just kill a big enough artifact or enchantment to do the job. Usually, I play it to take out two nasty permanents. It's an instant that takes out two permanents (card advantage) and it hammers the three permanent types that most need an answer. (creature, artifact, enchantment)
You need maximum flexibility. How do you know if the main threat at the table will be an aggressive creature based deck, a removal control deck, or a combo deck? Since you don't, you need to be able to handle all three (and more).
How about these two cards – which is better?
If you said Mortify, again, you disappoint me (but not as much J). I acknowledge the usefulness of instants as a trap to capture opponents. However, I would rather run a more versatile card that happens to be a sorcery over an instant with a smaller number of targets. There are five types of permanents, and Mortify only answers two. Vindicate answers then all. To my mind, that is a clear victory for Vindicate. I guarantee that the number of times you have a Mortify and wish it was a Vindicate will far outweigh the number of times you have a Vindicate and wish it was a Mortify.
Let's take a look at another one:
Ah, we start to get interesting. True, Naturalize vs Desert Twister is just like Mortify vs Vindicate in that each features a card that destroys two permanents vs one that destroys them all. However, they have a real difference in casting cost. While I think there are roles to be played by each of these, I think you could go with either here. Here's another one:
If you said Naturalize, you disappoint me. Flexibility is not just about which permanents can be targeted. Having split second prevents counter magic, Deflection and other spells, and most importantly – it stops the targeted artifact or enchantment from being activated in response. Sometimes that's just annoying – like in the case of an Aladdin's Ring that taps for damage. Sometimes that's downright awful – Nevinyrral's Disk or Mindless Automaton. Versatility is important, wherever you can find it.
Here's another one. Which one is better:
If you said Terror, then boo on you. Having a spell that you can use to draw a card if you don't need it is great. Cycling is a wonderful way to build in some flexibility. Whether you are cycling spells like Expunge, creatures like Barkhide Mauler, or lands like Secluded Steppe, having an option is great.
How about this one:
I think it's clear that having the ability to deal your damage to multiple creatures in any amount makes the Arc Lightning much more flexible (and devastating). You can still deal three damage to a creature if needed, but you can also split it – as you choose.
I have another for you. Which is better:
The Feast costs one more for an instant and to make a token creature. It's clearly more versatile. Playing cards that do more than one thing is a great way to add to your flexibility. (Just like Orim's Thunder)
Here one more example. Which is better:
Even if you never use the time counter ability of Fury Charm, the fact that it can Shatter, or do something else, makes it much better. Especially since it costs the same amount of mana to play, and both are instants. You are losing nothing by playing Fury Charm, but you are gaining options. That's why I love the split cards and charms. Take a look at cards like Jund Charm and Assault/Battery.
Winning multiplayer strategies encompass many routes to victory. In order to stop them, you need to have a flexible game plan. This versatility in your cards can help you win.
The Rattlesnake Effect
I was looking at talking three different ways about cards in my three different sections. In the first one, I have you consider the value of traditional 1:1 cards. In the second, I compare two cards together in order to prove my point. I really like that second way of doing things, so I am going to continue it here.
The Rattlesnake Effect basically states that players will change how they play based on information available to them. If you give them that information, you may save yourself. Consider the following two cards – which is better:
If you said Shock, then try again. The Seal of Fire is great because it gives you a one drop, and allows you to tell people what's coming. Imagine a four player game. On turn two, I play a Stigma Lasher. It's turn three. Who do I attack?
Jenny has out a Wall of Omens, and two tapped lands
Steve has out a Seal of Fire and two tapped lands
Omar has out nothing, but has two Mountains untapped.
Any answer other than Omar is a rough answer. If I attack Jenny, the Wall blocks it, and it gets a couple of counters but lives. If I attack Steve, the Seal is sacrificed and my Lasher dies. Therefore I attack Omar. Omar spends a Shock to kill the Lasher, while Steve still has out his Seal for later use.
Consider the following, and which is better:
I hope you said the Naturalize. This was actually a trick question. The Seal of Primordium keeps people from playing their best stuff in the hope that someone else will force the sacrifice, and then they play their Mirari's Wake or Mind's Eye or whatever. They won't do that with Seal of Fire. Not every piece of information is good to give out. That's where the Rattlesnake Effect comes into play. Which is better:
Avenger en-Dal, in addition to being repeatable, is also more desire-able because it keeps attacking creatures away from you. Another good example is Lieutenant Kirtar.
Permanents that warn off people and send them to another player are very effective as Rattlesnakes. There are two ways to be effective as a Rattlesnake. Seal of Doom or Ghitu Fire-Eater represent one way.
Another way is to threaten more than one card. Rattlesnakes like Pernicious Deed and Nevinyrral's Disk are very potent ways of keeping people off your back. I've seen a Deed be active for a long time because no one wants to attack into it, so everybody just ignores the person with the Deed. Don't forget the power of cards like Mageta the Lion and Oblivion Stone.
Together
One of the things you'll note is that a lot of these strategies conflict with each other in selecting your cards. For example – which of these should you play:
All of these cards are better than Shatter. Whichever best fits your deck (and your card pool) is the way you should go. What are you looking to do with your deck? For example, a burn deck that wants to play aggressive creatures and clear the path, but needs some artifact removal would love Smash to Smithereens. A control deck with a lot of time and mana would love Shattering Pulse. A creature light deck looking to add some more creatures to the team wants Manic Vandal. Someone with no artifacts of their own may love to drop the sweeping Shatterstorm. A creature based midrange deck may want the Giant Growth-ish opportunity of Fury Charm. A deck lacking a lot of card drawing may want Smash.
On and on it goes.
What I gave you today were principles I want you to consider when building a multiplayer deck. Exactly how you balance these principles will change the way your deck plays. It will also take a lot of experience before you know for sure which way you want to go with your decks. Most of the cards you choose will be deck dependant. Some of the cards will be metagame dependant. (Based on what you usually see at your table)
I hope you enjoyed today's article. Next week we'll take a look at some more strategies for multiplayer. I want to give you a good footing for success. I haven't decided yet if it's going to be politics or just more strategies, but it should be one or the other.
See you next week,
Abe Sargent
