|   | 
 
 
 
| Author | 
Message | 
 
Rate this article!
  
| 5 (Best)   | 
 
|   [ 5 ]  45% | 
 
|   | 
 
| 4   | 
 
|   [ 0 ]  0% | 
 
|   | 
 
| 3   | 
 
|   [ 3 ]  27% | 
 
|   | 
 
| 2   | 
 
|   [ 2 ]  18% | 
 
|   | 
 
| 1 (Worst)   | 
 
|   [ 1 ]  9% | 
 
|   | 
 
 Total Votes : 11 | 
 
  | 
 
| physcosick | 
 Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:59 am | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
Location: 
 | 
Type 4 In The Works!
 
By Physcosick
 
 
Last month, I introduce my current favorite format to the CobraCards community: Type 4. Not exactly sure how popular it was at the time. No one really understood the purpose of it. Why was it fun? Well like I said in the past, it’s very hard to express the joy of this format in words. However, since I aim to please, I figured I’d try to do my best.
 
 
The following is not an introductory article, it’s for strategies directed more towards a beginner. If you are unfamiliar with the format, check out my article from last month to learn the basics. Now lets move on to the article.
 
 
A.	Personal Update
 
Like it has been said, the joy of building this deck is watching it grow. It’s sort of like your own child, so to speak. It starts off slow, small and with a lack of power. After a few weeks, the deck begins to grow and mature and the power level slowly increases. Then, your child may grow up to become a very strong male/female but because of his or her own insecurities they want plastic surgery to appear more attractive, so you start an excruciating attempt to foil out your deck.
 
 
My deck also has grown significantly. This is my most recent deck (although I am sure it will change a lot by the end of the month):
 
 
COUNTERMAGIC
 
Absorb
 
Annul
 
Arcane Denial
 
Assert Authority
 
Cancel
 
Commandeer
 
Controvert
 
Counterspell
 
Decree of Silence
 
Delay
 
Discombobulate
 
Dismal Failure
 
Dismiss
 
Disrupting Shoal
 
Dissipate
 
Dromar’s Charm
 
Exclude
 
Fervent Denial
 
Foil
 
Fold into Aether
 
Forbid
 
Frazzle
 
Hinder
 
Induce Paranoia
 
Last Word
 
Memory Lapse
 
Pact of Negation
 
Pyroblast
 
Red Elemental Blast
 
Remand
 
Remove Soul
 
Rewind
 
Spell Blast
 
Spelljack
 
Suffocating Blast
 
Swift Silence
 
Time Stop
 
Vex
 
Voidslime
 
 
 
MASS REMOVAL
 
Akroma’s Vengeance
 
Balance
 
Balancing Act
 
Catastrophe
 
Damnation
 
Decree of Annihilation
 
Decree of Pain
 
Dwarven Catapult
 
Flowstone Slide
 
Hour of Reckoning
 
Inferno
 
Jokulhaups
 
Kirtar’s Wrath
 
Obliterate
 
Plague Wind
 
Rout
 
Savage Twister
 
Soulscour
 
Squall Line
 
Starstorm
 
Wrath of God
 
 
 
LANDS
 
Academy Ruins
 
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
 
Dark Depths
 
Maze of Ith
 
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
 
 
 
DIRECT DAMAGE
 
Backlash
 
Beacon of Destruction
 
Pulse of the Forge
 
Riddle of Lightning
 
Sudden Impact
 
Urza’s Rage
 
 
 
ARTIFACTS
 
Aladdin’s Ring
 
Citanul Flute
 
Door to Nothingness
 
Empyrial Plate
 
Fireshrieker
 
Grinning Totem
 
Jester’s Cap
 
Legacy Weapon
 
Mind’s Eye
 
Mindslaver
 
Mirari
 
Mourner’s Shield
 
Nevinyrral’s Disk
 
Oblivion Stone
 
Panacea
 
Planar Portal
 
Soul Foundry
 
Sword of Kaldra
 
Sword of Light and Shadow
 
Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang
 
Thought Dissector
 
Tower of Eons
 
Tower of Fortunes
 
Umezawa’s Jitte
 
Vedalken Orrery
 
Worldslayer
 
 
 
ENCHANTMENTS
 
Armadillo Cloak
 
Armistice
 
Curse of the Fire Penguin
 
Future Sight
 
Imperial Mask
 
Necropotence
 
Pernicious Deed
 
Planeswalker’s Scorn
 
Protective Shield
 
Soothsaying
 
Wild Pair
 
 
 
REMOVAL
 
Agonizing Demise
 
Barrin’s Spite
 
Barter in Blood
 
Betrayal of Flesh
 
Chastise
 
Chill to the Bone
 
Condemn
 
Crosis’s Charm
 
Cruel Revival
 
Dark Banishing
 
Death Rattle
 
Desert Twister
 
Diabolic Edict
 
Disembowel
 
Expunge
 
Fissure
 
Grab the Reins
 
Heat Ray
 
Judge Unworthy
 
Mortify
 
Phthisis
 
Putrefy
 
Second Thoughts
 
Slaughter
 
Swords to Plowshares
 
Terminate
 
Terror
 
Twisted Justice
 
Wing Shards
 
Wreak Havoc
 
 
 
GRAVEYARD MANIPULATION
 
All Suns’ Dawn
 
Beacon of Unrest
 
Miraculous Recovery
 
Reaping the Graves
 
Reclaim
 
Recollect
 
Stir the Grave
 
Zombify
 
 
 
ARTIFACT/ENCHANTMENT REMOVAL
 
Altar’s Light
 
Creeping Mold
 
Disenchant
 
Dismantling Blow
 
Krosan Grip
 
Molder
 
Naturalize
 
Orim’s Thunder
 
Oxidize
 
Rain of Rust
 
Ray of Distortion
 
Scour
 
Seed Spark
 
Smash
 
Tel-Jilad Justice
 
Tempest of Light
 
Wreak Havoc
 
 
 
CONTROL MAGIC
 
Confiscate
 
Control Magic
 
Dominate
 
Ensalve
 
Evangelize
 
Flash Conscription
 
Insurrection
 
Persuasion
 
Take Possession
 
Threaten
 
Treachery
 
Word of Seizing
 
Yavimaya’s Embrace
 
 
 
SPLIT CARDS
 
Order//Chaos
 
Trial//Error
 
 
 
DECK MANIPULATION
 
Chord of Calling
 
Congregation at Dawn
 
Demonic Collusion
 
Eladamri’s Call
 
Fact or Fiction
 
Mystical Teachings
 
Opportunity
 
Promise of Power
 
Reviving Vapors
 
Summoner’s Pact
 
Tooth and Nail
 
Whispers of the Muse
 
 
 
OTHER SORCERIES
 
Acquire
 
Beacon of Tomorrows
 
Bribery
 
Crush of Wurms
 
Heroes Remembered
 
 
 
OTHER INSTANTS
 
Beacon of Immortality
 
Boomerang
 
Boros Fury-Shield
 
Capsize
 
Captain’s Maneuver
 
Cauldron Dance
 
Cremate
 
Deflection
 
Echoing Truth
 
Evacuation
 
Fatal Frenzy
 
Hunting Pack
 
Intervention Pact
 
Recoil
 
Reiterate
 
Repeal
 
Shining Shoal
 
Shunt
 
Wipe Away
 
 
 
CREATURES
 
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
 
Ana Battlemage
 
Angel of Despair
 
Arashi, the Sky Asunder
 
Arcanis the Omnipotent
 
Armored Gaurdian
 
Autochthon Wurm
 
Avatar of Woe
 
Aven Fateshaper
 
Azorius Guildmage
 
Bane of Living
 
Blazing Archon
 
Body Double
 
Bogardan Hellkite
 
Boldwyr Intimidator
 
Bosh, Iron Golem
 
Bringer of the Black Dawn
 
Bringer of the Red Dawn
 
Bringer of the White Dawn
 
Chainer, Dementia Master
 
Cognivore
 
Colossus of Sardia
 
Darksteel Gargoyle
 
Deep-Sea Kraken
 
Desolation Giant
 
Dosan the Falling Leaf
 
Draining Whelk
 
Duplicant
 
Eternal Dragon
 
Eternal Witness
 
Exalted Angel
 
Firemane Angel
 
Furnace Dragon
 
Garza Zol, Plague Queen
 
Genesis
 
Glory
 
Godo, Bandit Warlord
 
Greater Morphling
 
Haazda Shield Mate
 
Hoverguard Sweepers
 
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
 
Intet, the Dreamer
 
Intrepid Hero
 
Izzet Chronarch
 
Jareth, Leonine Titan
 
Jushi Apprentice//Tomaya the Revealer
 
Kaervek the Merciless
 
Karn, Silver Golem
 
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
 
Kodama of the North Tree
 
Krosan Cloudscraper
 
Laquatus’s Champion
 
Mageta the Lion
 
Magus of the Disk
 
Magus of the Library
 
Masticore
 
Masumaro, First to Live
 
Memnarch
 
Mindless Mass
 
Mischievous Quanar
 
Mortivore
 
Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
 
Myojin of Cleansing Fire
 
Mystic Snake
 
Nezumi Graverobber
 
Nicol Bolas
 
Plated Slagwurm
 
Platinum Angel
 
Protean Hulk
 
Quicksliver Dragon
 
Razia, Boros Archangel
 
Rhox
 
Rimefeather Owl
 
Rimescale Dragon
 
Sabertooth Nishoba
 
Seizen, Perverter of Truth
 
Serendib Sorcerer
 
Silklash Spider
 
Sisters of Stone Death
 
Smokespew Invoker
 
Stuffy Doll
 
Symbiotic Wurm
 
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
 
Teneb, the Harvester
 
Thorn Elemental
 
Verdant Force
 
Vesuvan Shapeshifter
 
Visara the Dreadful
 
Voidmage Prodigy
 
Vorosh, the Hunter
 
Willbender
 
Withered Wretch
 
Yixlid Jailer
 
 
Ok so that’s my deck, but what about building you a deck?
 
 
 
B.	Some things to keep in mind
 
 
-	Play [almost] every counterspell you can get a hold of except for ones like Mana Leak, Force Spike, Condescend, etc… infinite mana, remember?
 
-	Be careful with your creatures. Some creatures can simple wreck any game and single handedly win. Also, remember the infinite mana rule and avoid running creatures like Skeletal Vampire and Mischievous Quanar unless you errata them.
 
-	Try not to run sorceries unless they do something awesome. Wrath of God, Damnation, Twisted Justice, Acquire, Bribery, etc are all great sorceries that are acceptable. However, you wouldn’t want to run… say… things like Concentrate or Sorcery speed destruction; those cards tend to be very subpar. But I admit, I do run a few sorcery speed destructions, myself. Why is this bad? Well as you know, you can only play one spell a turn. Yeah, you can spend your turn playing a sorcery and then move on to your opponents turn. But as a deck builder, you don’t want your deck with too many sorcery spells. The greatest thing about the one spell a turn rule is being able to play spells during each of your opponent’s turns or inresponse to one of their spells. You have anywhere from 1-5 opponents (usually 3, 4 people total) so why fill up your deck with sorcery speed spells when you have all those turns you can take advantage of?
 
-	Try to avoid playing lands as much as you can. Don’t get me wrong, lands are an important part of Type 4 and it adds variety and challenges. The thing is, when you play lands, things tend to get a little tricky. There is plenty of LD out there but it is rather hard to find adequate instant-speed LD. Again, don’t get me wrong, there are some out there, and I run a few, but I can get away with only running a few instant-speed Land spot removal due to the fact I only run 5 lands (One of them being Dark Depths). 
 
-	Nezumi Graverobber and Azorius Guildmage are two of the best creatures in the game…
 
-	Try to maintain a balance. It will take a few games for you and your friends to realize what is missing. Make cuts, add cards that will help, play some more, repeat until it seems balanced.
 
 
 
C.	Thoughts before a draft
 
 
-	Know what cards are bombs (a.k.a. First Picks). Examples: Nezumi Graverobber, Azorius Guildmage, Vedalken Orrery, Legacy Weapon, Memnarch, Necropotence, Planeswalker’s Scorn, Planar Portal, Door to Nothingness, etc
 
-	Draft a lot of counters! Don’t pass Bombs/First Picks in order to get counterspells but don’t be afraid to take counterspells as a first pick in a pack, especially if there is nothing better,
 
-	Make sure you can deal with Artifacts and Enchantments. There are a lot of artifacts and enchantments that tend to be hard to deal with and can, literally, win the game if you don’t have an answer quick.
 
-	Be able to deal with opponent’s creatures. There are a lot of spells in the form of Confiscate, Treachery, Bribery, Jester’s Cap, as well as mass removal and spot removal. After a few picks in every pack, there will tend to be several cards like Boomerang and Wipe Away hanging on. I always pick them up because you never know when someone drafted Dark Depths before the pack got passed to you. A 20/20 indestructible flier is a scary thing to see, unless of course you have one of the many answers to deal with it… which if you have been drafting correctly, won’t be a problem.
 
 
 
D.	Setting up a draft
 
 
-	Get a group of players together. The minimum you would want in a game is 3 players but you maximum depends totally on the size of you deck. I tend to cap off the maximum number of players at 6.
 
-	Each player grabs a stack of cards and deals out 3 piles of 15 cards in front of them and puts the rest back where they came from (more than likely a big deck box). These piles are the person’s packs. 
 
-	When everyone is ready, each player picks up one of his or her packs. Looks through the pack, picks a card and passes the pack to the person to his or her left. After the final card is picked from each pack. The process repeats with the next pack. The only difference is the second pack is passed to the right instead of to the left. The third pack is, following the trend, passed to the left. 
 
-	Be careful to not mix up the packs with your picks. Don’t pick up the wrong pack; try to keep the packs in order. Make sure you don’t accidentally pick up another player’s deck mistaking it for a pack… all the cards are in matching sleeves (in my case, the color purple) so it can get confusing, especially if some players are slower than others.
 
 
 
E.	Draft Simulation
 
 
So I sat down with my pen and paper with 2 friends to enjoy a “nice”, “friendly” game of Type 4. The draft went well (even though I had to write a lot, which severely slowed down the draft) but once the game started, lots of angry words started appearing in what was supposed to be a “friendly” game…
 
 
Round 1
 
 
Pack 1: Creeping Mold, Miraculous Recovery, Second Thoughts, Diabolic Edict, Heat Ray, Firemane Angel, Dwarven Catapult, Cancel, Last Word, Curse of the Fire Penguin, Oblivion Stone, Rout, Swords to Plowshares, Altar’s Light, Cremate
 
 
I opened this up slightly disappointing. This isn’t exactly a stellar pack. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of good cards but nothing stands out. The deck contains 2 powerful counterspells, great removal, instant speed animation, and one creature. Since there are only 2 players, I can assume that I will be passed a counterspell next time around, so I pay no attention to them. I don’t want Curse of the Fire Penguin, it’s fun but I’d rather draft cards that do more productive things. So I pay no attention to that card for the rest of the draft. Dwarven Catapult is a Wrath of God, which doesn’t destroy your creatures… fantastic. Spot Removal usually last till around pick 3, so I don’t have to consider them yet. I’m almost sure that someone will draft a counterspell so there is one other pick I have to worry about before I see this pack again. Will the Catapult come around? Prolly not. Firemane Angel quickly caught my eye. Life gain isn’t that important but it’s a decent creature that constantly comes back. But that’s not the best part, the recursion on the upkeep does not count as your spell for the turn! I have to start out strong and I just have to hope that I get passed Dwarven Catapult. 
 
 
Pick 1: Firemane Angel
 
 
Pack 2: Delay, Balancing Act, Ana Battlemage, Red Elemental Blast, Disenchant, Exalted Angel, Teneb, the Harvester, Spell Blast, Grinning Totem, Inferno, Bribery, Sword of Light and Shadow, Bringer of the Red Dawn, Arcanis the Omnipotent
 
 
The cards that stand out right away to me are Spell Blast, Bribery, and Grinning Totem. The pack has 2 counters so there is a chance I can get one later one and there is nothing else that stands out to me. Ana Battlemage is extremely strong and I hope it can last till 3 circles around so I can pick it up (deals damage and opponent discards 3 cards… come on). So I narrowed it down to 3 cards so lets analyze them real quick. Spell Blast is a hard counter but kind of lacks diversity. I can get counterspells later, so it’s not a big deal. Bribery is great cause I can steal my opponent’s best creature and have a good old time. However, Grinning Totem has the same effect but is more diverse. I can counter a threatening spell, get removal, or get a creature… whatever I want!
 
 
Pick 1: Grinning Totem
 
 
Pack 3: Echoing Truth, Wrecking Ball, Chastise, Sisters of Stone Death, Mirari, Fact or Fiction, Draining Whelk, Shunt, Citanul Flute, Oxidize, Armistice, Plague Wind, Tower of Eons
 
 
This pack is pretty impressive. There must have been some prettttttty good cards for some of these guys to get around. Tower of Eons is awesome; type 4 loves reoccurring effects but I think there are better things out there for me. Fact or Fiction is a great draw spell and I know there aren’t too many of them in the deck. I can pretty much narrow my focus down to Citanul Flute and Draining Whelk. However, the way I see it, Citanul Flute is only good when you play Teferi and… well… I don’t have teferi yet and I can only hope my opponents didn’t draft any yet. However, Draining Whelk is ALWAYS good. So I have to pick it in hopes that someone plays an Autochthon Wurm and I begin to regret that I never bought that foil Gleemax.
 
 
Pick 1: Draining Whelk
 
 
Pack 1: Creeping Mold, Miraculous Recovery, Second Thoughts, Diabolic Edict, Heat Ray, Cancel, Curse of the Fire Penguin, Oblivion Stone, Rout, Swords to Plowshares, Altar’s Light, Cremate
 
 
So like I thought, someone has drafted one of the counterspells and left me with the remaining one. Lots of removal is still left though, so I can start picking those up later on. I don’t have any mass removal yet but I’m debating whether or not I need it. Oblivion Stone is insane and it looks beautiful foil and Rout’s instant speed Wrath effect is nothing to turn your head about. But if I don’t draft a counterspell, the guy who took Last Word will steal Cancel, too. I can’t let that happen. Counterspells are extremely important if I want to win this thing.
 
 
Pick 2: Cancel
 
 
Pack 2: Delay, Balancing Act, Red Elemental Blast, Disenchant, Exalted Angel, Teneb, the Harvester, Inferno, Bribery, Sword of Light and Shadow, Bringer of the Red Dawn, Arcanis the Omnipotent
 
 
Wow! What happened to Ana Battlemage?! Someone drafted that slightly higher than normal… I could have sworn that was going to last till pick 3 and someone would take Bribery. I was thinking about going after Arcanis since it is practically untargetable with infinite mana but now that I was passed Bribery… I can’t refuse…
 
 
Pick 2: Bribery
 
 
Pack 3: Echoing Truth, Wrecking Ball, Chastise, Sisters of Stone Death, Mirari, Shunt, Oxidize, Armistice, Plague Wind, Tower of Eons
 
 
Not very impressive anymore. Tower of Eons is probably one of the better cards. However, life gain really isn’t a big deal unless it’s Beacon of Immortality especially when it’s in the form of a destructible artifact. So looking at the pack there is a lot of removal and a bad draw spell. Someone else can play Armistice, not my problem. And I can get creature removal and artifact destruction later on. But Sisters of Stone Death… now that a very intriguing critter… it seems kind of counter productive to take a creature in a pack full of destruction… but  I plan on picking up a few of those later on. Sisters of Stone Death is just to good to let go. Sure, it can be dealt with but if it isn’t bad things are on its way. 
 
 
Pick 2: Sisters of Stone Death
 
 
To sum it up…
 
Miraculous Recovery, Exalted Angel, Wrecking Ball, Sword to Plowshares, Delay, Chastise, Altar’s Light, Balancing Act, Mirari
 
 
Round 2
 
 
Pack 1: Putrefy, Barter in Blood, Sudden Impact, Soul Foundry, Spelljack, Treachery, Stuffy Doll, Boomerang, Jester’s Cap, Persuasion, Soulscour, Promise of Power, Jushi Apprentice, Yavimaya’s Embrace, Catastrophe
 
 
Alrighty… lets see here. First off we have one powerful counterspell; one of the best. Some useless cards like Sudden Impact, Soul Foundry, Boomerang, etc I’ll pay attention to them later. But what catches my eye is the 3 enchant creature cards… Persuasion, Yavimaya’s Embrace, and Treachery. I’m bound to get one of these so I can just wait to next round to take care of that. So what do I see next? Jester’s Cap. This guy to my left has been talking since pack 1 about all of these great cards he had… saying “Wow… I just got the best card in the game”… hmmm I wonder what that is… someone has a target on his head. Jester’s Cap will be wonderful against him. He may have gotten lucky and got bombs, unlike me so far (at least in my opinion) but I’ll do my best and get rid of them all.
 
 
Pick 1: Jester’s Cap
 
 
Pack 2: Kodama of the North Tree, Voidmage Prodigy, Reaping the Graves, Savage Twister, Yixlid Jailer, Phthisis, Obliterate, Suffocating Blast, Aven Fateshapper, Vorosh, the Hunter, Wreak Havoc, Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Nicol Bolas, Confiscate
 
 
This pack isn’t too impressive. I know that someone has been drafting a lot of counters and I don’t have too many of them yet. I don’t know how many are going to be coming and I should probably pick them up before I have to start battling for some later on. I know that looking at the pack I definetly want some of these cards in my deck: Savage Twister, Shapeshifter, and Confiscate. But for now, I have to get the counterspell.
 
 
Pick 1: Suffocating Blast
 
 
Pack 3: Blazing Archon, Backlash, Zombify, Induce Paranoia, Silklash Spider, Jokulhaups, Beacon of Destruction, Pact of Negation, Withered Wretch, Rimescale Dragon, Colossus of Sardia, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Sword of Kaldra
 
 
Hmmm… there are some pretty good creatures in this pack and I haven’t gotten too many big beaters yet. However, I can get some later, Type 4 is full of them. What I realize right away is that counterspells are beginning to be passed… I am curious as to why… well, without too much thought, I realize that I am taking the lead in the counter-war… and I want to continue my lead. And since Pact of Negation isn’t as good as Induce Paranoia in T4…
 
 
Pick 1: Induce Paranoia
 
 
Pack 1: Putrefy, Barter in Blood, Sudden Impact, Soul Foundry, Treachery, Stuffy Doll, Boomerang, Persuasion, Soulscour, Promise of Power, Jushi Apprentice, Catastrophe
 
 
Well, Spelljack is, of course, gone and the best creature enchantment in the pack is gone (Yavimaya’s Embrace). So… since nothing else really stands out as better, I think the best move is to get the better of the 2 creature enchantments. Either I get the better one, the worse one, or a chance of neither… so… Treachery is the same thing as Persuasion… but if I can get a decent land latter on, Treachery is better… also would rather have the untap clause then give it to a potential opponent.
 
 
Pick 2: Treachery
 
 
Pack 2: Kodama of the North Tree, Reaping the Graves, Savage Twister, Yixlid Jailer, Phthisis, Obliterate, Vorosh, the Hunter, Wreak Havoc, Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Nicol Bolas, Confiscate
 
 
So looking at the pack it seems Voidmage Prodigy and Aven Fateshapper have gotten drafted. The 3 future picks of mine are still present: Twister, Shapeshifter, and Confiscate. I really want Savage Twister, Shapeshifter can wait, but Confiscate is dragging me down. Who knows what my opponents have been drafting before I see the packs. Confiscate can almost deal with anything… Savage Twister can’t…
 
 
Pick 2: Confiscate
 
 
Pack 3: Blazing Archon, Backlash, Zombify, Silklash Spider, Jokulhaups, Pact of Negation, Withered Wretch, Rimescale Dragon, Colossus of Sardia, Godo, Bandit Warlord
 
 
What has gotten into these two people? They are practically giving me this thing… why aren’t they drafting counters? Counters are usually gone by round 3 of the pack when I play against these guys… whatever… I’ll take it!
 
 
Pick 2: Pact of Negation
 
 
To sum it up…
 
Jushi Apprentice, Vesuvan Shapeshifter, Jokulhaups, Stuffy Doll, Savage Twister, Withered Wretch, Boomerang, Kodama of the North Tree, Backlash
 
 
Round 3
 
 
Pack 1: Beacon of Unrest, Azorius Guildmage, Terror, Krosan Cloudscraper, Pernicious Deed, Controvert, Flowstone Slide, Demonic Collusion, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, Stir the Grave, Dark Banishing, Reiterate, Beacon of Immortality, Riddle of Lightning, Tower of Fortunes
 
 
Hmmm… Azorius Guildmage is arguable the second best creature in Type 4… moving on… If you don’t know why it is… just think a little harder…
 
 
Pick 1: Azorius Guildmage
 
 
Pack 2: Damnation, Terminate, Fissure, Mystical Teachings, Intervention Pact, Darksteel Gargoyle, Chill to the Bone, Wipe Away, Molder, Remand, Mischievous Quanar, Verdant Force, Smash, Word of Seizing
 
 
The pack is less than impressive. The cards that stand out to me are obviously (at least to me) Mischievous Quanar, Remand, and Mystical Teachings. I have a lot of counters and I am assuming my opponents haven’t drafted many of them since I have been drafting a lot of them. So it’s down to quanar or teachings. Remember back in the intro article last month that Quanar is errata’d, you can only use him once a turn. Regardless, I’m not going to see him again. He’s going to be gone by the time I see this pack. Will teachings come back? Probably; however, the pack is nothing great so it may be the best card when it comes around to the guy on my left. I think I made a mistake here, honestly. I probably should have gotten the Quanar but instead I figured “hey, I have a lot of instant cards!” So my mentality said to me: “I have to make sure I get teachings so I can do some things, I have a lot of instants… I would rather draft it than have my opponents draft”. But I honestly think I made a bad pick here  
 
 
Pick 1: Mystical Teachings
 
 
Pack 3: Rimefeather Owl, Hinder, Summoner’s Pact, Annul, Desolation Giant, Decree of Annihilation, Hour of Reckoning, Willbender, Wild Pair, Counterspell, Disembowel, Future Sight, Balance
 
 
Lots of cards pop out at me: Hinder, Willbender, Counterspell, and Future Sight. Everything else can be passed for one or two picks. The only reason Future Sight stands out is because I love that card! But I can pick it up later. Hinder is better than Counterspell, so Counterspell gets knocked away (I would obviously rather want cards on the bottom of my opponent’s library than in their graveyard). So it’s Hinder or Willbender. I could see Hinder again; they have not been drafting many counters. Willbender will not make it around again… He is good but if they haven’t been getting many counterspells, they may want to jump on as many as they can on the last round of the draft. So to keep my persona as the control player, I feel that I must take the counterspell.
 
 
Pick 1: Hinder
 
 
Pack 1: Beacon of Unrest, Terror, Krosan Cloudscraper, Pernicious Deed, Flowstone Slide, Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion, Stir the Grave, Dark Banishing, Reiterate, Beacon of Immortality, Riddle of Lightning, Tower of Fortunes
 
 
Ok… nothing stands out too much to be besides the two Beacons and Reiterate. I know reiterate isn’t going to be coming around again. The guy to my left is going to pick it; I know this because it happens to be his favorite card in the deck. In fact, he was watching me move through the cards in this pack, watching what I was drafting… cheater! But it doesn’t matter. He can have it, I can counter it all day and there goes the buyback! So, I can counter all day but I need a win condition. I need to have some more threats. But since I’m going to be countering a lot, nothing is a better win condition for me right now than Beacon of Unrest. So as I move Beacon of Unrest from the pack to my hand, the guy on my left yelled at me. Turns out, he wanted the Beacon… I guess he can settle for his favorite card, instead  
 
 
Pick 2: Beacon of Unrest
 
 
Pack 2: Damnation, Terminate, Fissure, Intervention Pact, Darksteel Gargoyle, Chill to the Bone, Wipe Away, Molder, Remand, Smash, Word of Seizing
 
 
Nothing much left here. Mischievous Quanar is gone, of course. That scares me slightly. But what beats Mischievous Quanar? Destruction? Damnation? Counterspells? Well… all of them, pretty much. The thing is, I’m the control deck… so any of them would work. Since I don’t have many threats, I don’t mind my opponent having destruction spells… they’ll just waste them on each other. When the time is right, I’ll lay a threat, if they can’t deal with it immediately, they lose… pretty much. So let’s stick with the control! 
 
 
Pick 2: Remand
 
 
Pack 3: Summoner’s Pact, Annul, Desolation Giant, Decree of Annihilation, Hour of Reckoning, Wild Pair, Counterspell, Disembowel, Future Sight, Balance
 
 
HELLO! This pack is pretty much the same deal as the last pack. Balance is fantastic with my control theme if it wasn’t for the discard clause since I doubt I will ever have fewer cards in hand. If you remember, I had a 5th pick Balancing Act in Pack #1. So I have the balance effect. I don’t NEED two. Wild Pair… useless. I’m afraid of opponent’s artifacts and enchantments since the only thing I recall having for them is Altar’s Light. However, I think Annul can make it around one more time *crosses finger*. Nothing else screams pick me to me except for maybe Disembowel. I could use some mass removal but I think I can get 1 or 2 later on. So.. why stop with my recent pattern? I’m sure you knew what I was going to pick from the second you read the card pool! Viva la… ummm… control deck? Yo no hablo espanol bien.
 
 
Pick 2: Counterspell
 
 
To sum it up…
 
 
Beacon of Immortality, Wipe Away, Future Sight, Stir the Grave, Fissure, Balance, Dark Banishing, Chill to the Bone, Wild Pair
 
 
Alright guys, this is my deck!
 
 
Creatures: 10
 
Azorius Guildmage
 
Draining Whelk
 
Exalted Angel
 
Firemane Angel
 
Jushi Apprentice
 
Kodama of the North Tree
 
Sisters of Stone Death
 
Stuffy Doll
 
Vesuvan Shapeshifter
 
Withered Wretch
 
 
Artifacts: 3
 
Grinning Totem
 
Jester’s Cap
 
Mirari
 
 
Enchantments: 4
 
Confiscate
 
Future Sight
 
Treachery
 
Wild Pair
 
 
Counterspells: 8
 
Cancel
 
Counterspell
 
Delay
 
Hinder
 
Induce Paranoia
 
Pact of Negation
 
Remand
 
Suffocating Blast
 
 
Instants: 13
 
Altar’s Light
 
Backlash
 
Beacon of Immortality
 
Boomerang
 
Chastise
 
Chill to the Bone
 
Dark Banishing
 
Fissure
 
Miraculous Recovery
 
Mystical Teachings
 
Sword to Plowshares
 
Wipe Away
 
Wrecking Ball
 
 
Sorceries: 7
 
Balance 
 
Balancing Act
 
Beacon of Unrest
 
Bribery
 
Jokulhaups 
 
Savage Twister
 
Stir the Grave
 
 
I decided not to make any cuts; there aren’t any bad cards in the deck! It’s looking great! I have a good number of powerful creatures… a lot of counters… just a lot of good stuff! This deck is looking fantastic… it’s time to start goin crazy!
 
 
 
F.	Let’s Get This Game Going!
 
 
Before the game begins, everyone rolls a die. The person who rolls the highest number goes first. The proceeding turns continue in a clockwise fashion. Each player also has the option of looking through his or he drafted deck and make UP TO 5 cuts (at least 40 cards). Everyone starts off with 30 life. Each player draws 5 cards for a starting hand. There are no mulligans, it would be pointless and not fun if there were. The person playing first also gets to draw a card because there are more than 2 players playing (a normal multiplayer rule). Infinite mana, one spell a turn, defensive rule, etc… you probably know the rules (assuming you refreshed your memory via my article from last month). 
 
 
We shuffle up, cut, and drew our cards. My friend Quincy won the die roll. The turn order is Quincy, Myself, and Andrew. We all talked about starting hand size and decided that we would just draw 7 cards instead of the normal 5. 
 
 
My starting hand is:
 
 
Confiscate
 
Future Sight
 
Savage Twister
 
Dark Banishing
 
Beacon of Unrest
 
Induce Paranoia
 
Fissure
 
 
*Quincy’s turn*
 
Quincy: “Alright… I’ll play Armistice and say go, sir!”
 
Me: “Wow, I can’t believe you wasted a pick on that trash, I thought you were better than that, Higgins” (Higgins is a Family Guy reference that some of my friends refer to each other as)
 
Quincy: “Don’t worry, I got this, Higgins. Just wait.
 
Me: “alright, whatever. I’m gonna draw now.”
 
 
*My turn- draw Jester’s Cap*
 
Me: “Higgins!”
 
Quincy: “Higgins!”
 
Me: “I have something, that will totally knock this guy out of this game on turn 1! *Pointing at Andrew* But I need to have some kind of back up in case he has a counter.”
 
Quincy: “Well… you do what you want, sir”
 
Me: “Ok… well… lets go for it! I play Jester’s Cap…”
 
Andrew: “WTF! I hate you guys”
 
Me: “I’ll activate it targeting you.”
 
Andrew: “Oh my god, I hate you so much!” 
 
*Andrew threw his hand down onto the table in anger*
 
Andrew: Yet again I draft… like… the best deck and I have to have that **** happen to me”
 
*I search through his deck and RFG the following: Nezumi Graverobber, Legacy Weapon, Planeswaler’s Scorn. These just happen to be his 3 first picks and 3 of the top 10 cards in the deck!*
 
Andrew: “Well that’s pretty much it for me… whatever.”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
*Andrew plays a Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion and a Colossus of Sardia*
 
Me: “Dude! Stop complaining, that is a good first turn!”
 
Quincy: “Wait! No, Spell Blast!”
 
Andrew: “COME ON!”
 
Me: “Haha”
 
Quincy: “Haha… alrighty… let’s see here”
 
 
*Quincy’s turn*
 
Quincy: “Kyle!”
 
Me: “Higgins!” 
 
Quincy: “Your going to like this”
 
Me: “Orly?”
 
Quincy: “Yeah rly”
 
*Quincy plays Mindslaver*
 
Me: “Q-Q” (QQ means sarcastic crying. Translates to “cry some more”)
 
Quincy: “Q-Q”
 
Me: “Not really, Induce Paranoia with black”
 
Quincy: “Higgins!”
 
*The top 6 cards of Quincy’s library is put into his graveyard: Dismiss, Echoing Truth, Captain’s Maneuver, Beacon of Destruction, Reiterate, Demonic Collusion*
 
Quincy: “Oh way to go, you got rid of Beacon, there goes half of my win conditions!”
 
Me: “Really? Wow, you suck! Wait… you drafted Reiterate? I thought you would get that…” *pointing at Andrew*
 
Andrew: “No I passed it for some reason, whatever.”
 
Me: “How’s Jester’s Cap treating you?”
 
*Andrew gives me a very angry look*
 
Me: “Ok so… I guess I’ll go, then?”
 
Andrew: “Yeah I got nothing”
 
 
*My turn- draw Withered Wretch*
 
Me: “Withered Wretch GO!”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn- plays Sword of Kaldra and passes*
 
 
*Quincy’s turn- draws and passes*
 
 
*My turn- draw Wild Pair*
 
Me: “I’ll attack Quincy with Withered Wretch”
 
Quincy: “Before damage… Riddle of Lightning”
 
Me: “Inresponse, I’ll remove from game everything but Colossus of Sardia and Mindslaver”
 
Andrew: “Why bother?”
 
Quincy: “God… he has Beacon of Unrest in hand”
 
Me: “Maybe… scry away!”
 
*Quincy looks at top cards and reveals a Spelljack, destroying Withered Wretch*
 
Me: “Alright, way to play a spell there, Higgins! Second main phase, I’ll Beacon of Unrest… targeting Mindslaver”
 
Quincy: “KYLE!”
 
Andrew: “Hold on, I’m thinking…”
 
Me: “Don’t think, I’m not going to be making any decisions for you if you know what I mean…”
 
Andrew: “…Alright, you got it”
 
Me: “Sweet, good game Quincy”
 
*Mindslaver comes into play under my control and Beacon of Unrest shuffles back into my library*
 
Andrew: “It’s not good game!”
 
Me: “Are you serious? Whatever…”
 
*I laugh on the inside slightly and glance, out of the corner of my eye, the Armistice that is sitting on the table in front of Quincy*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn- plays Citanul Flute*
 
Me: “End of your turn-“
 
Quincy: “I hate you, Kyle… that’s ok… I’m going to screw you over sooo bad”
 
Me: “Q-Q… I’ll sac Mindslaver, targeting you”
 
Quincy: “Inresponse, I do this”
 
*Quincy drew his entire deck*
 
Quincy: “Andrew gains… I don’t feel like counting… it’s about 90”
 
*Andrew is now at 120 life*
 
*Quincy goes to draw a card but his library is empty. Quincy loses*
 
 
*My turn- draw Swords to Plowshares*
 
*I play Future Sight and reveal the top card of my library. My top card is Wrecking Ball*
 
 
*Recap: Swords to Plowshares, Confiscate, Savage Twister, Dark Banishing, Fissure
 
 
Future Sight is the only card in play on my side. Andrew has Citanul Flute, Sword of Kaldra, and Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion*
 
 
Andrew: “End of your turn”
 
*Andrew taps Flute and pulls out an Aven Fateshapper
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “I’ll go ahead and play him now. Look at top 4, too… and… I’ll equip. Your go”
 
Me: “End of your turn, play Wrecking Ball on your Sunhome”
 
*Reveal Chill to the Bone*
 
 
*My turn- draw Chill to the Bone, reveal Grinning Totem*
 
Me: “Hmmm… this is interesting… I could play Totem… yeah I’ll do that”
 
*I play Grinning Totem and reveal Stir the Grave*
 
Andrew: “Ahhh… response… I’ll Flute for… Arcanis the Omnipotent. Look at top 4, again…”
 
Me: “Your go”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Equip Fateshaper, swing!”
 
Me: “Before damage… I’ll sac Totem. Let’s see what you got!”
 
*I search through his library and reveal a couple decent cards but the best thing for the situation turns out to be smash*
 
Me: “I’ll play Smash on the Sword”
 
*Draw Stir the Grave and reveal Vesuvan Shapeshifter*
 
Andrew: “Ok, well you still take 4”
 
*Me- 26 life, Ryan- 120*
 
 
	*My turn- draw Shapeshifter and reveal Jokulhaups*
 
	Me: “Hmmm… I’ll play Jokulhaups! Seems fair!” 
 
	*I play Jokulhaups and reveal Draining Whelk*
 
Andrew: “Yeah... that seems really good… well… I’ll… return Arcanis to my hand. Citanul Flute for… hmm… best thing I got is Krosan Cloudscraper left, haha”
 
Me: “That’s a good sign”
 
Andrew: “Yeah… that freaking Jester’s Cap!”
 
Me: “Always complaining!”
 
Andrew: “And I’ll look at top 4, too”
 
Me: “Stop doing things, Higgins!”
 
*Recap: 
 
My hand is: Savage Twister, Confiscate, Dark Banishing, Fissure, Chill to the Bone, Stir the Grave, Vesuvan Shapeshifter
 
 
I have a Future Sight in play with a Draining Whelk revealed
 
 
Andrew has no permanents in play but has a decent set up in his hand with Arcanis and Krosan Cloudscarper*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “I’ll play this” *face down morph creature
 
Me: “End of turn, I’ll Dark Banishing it!” *reveals to be Krosan Cloudscraper* 
 
 
*My turn- Draw Draining Whelk and reveal Cancel*
 
Me: “I guess I’ll just play Wild Pair”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Wow… well… your just going to counter whatever I play… so I might as well just play Arcanis…”
 
Me: “Yeah, I’ll Draining Whelk that… hmmm alrighty… 7/7 flier! Let’s see if I have a creature that big in here… I doubt it but I might….” *search fails, library shuffles, reveal Delay
 
 
*My turn- draw Delay and reveal Mystical Teachings*
 
Me: “Ummm… I’ll play Vesuvan Shapeshifter copying Draining Whelk…???”
 
Andrew: “Response to playing it, I’ll Heat Ray Draining Whelk for 7 damage”
 
Me: “Hmmm… I guess that works!”
 
*Draining Whelk dies and Vesuvan Shapeshifter comes into play with no other creatures in play and quickly follows Whelk to the graveyard*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Play another morph guy”
 
Me: “Swords to Plowshares” *Mischievous Quanar
 
*Me- 26, Andrew- 123*
 
 
*My turn- draw Mystical Teachings reveal remand*
 
Me: “I’ll pass”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “ Rimefeather Owl?”
 
Me: “He’s little… I’ll remand” *Reveal and draw Beacon of Immortality and reveal Sisters of Stone Death
 
 
*My turn- draw Sisters of Stone Death and reveal Balance*
 
Me: “Sisters of Stone Death?”
 
Andrew: “I’m going to be playing Inferno…” *Andrew plays Inferno*
 
Me: “OK… byebye…”
 
*Me- 20, Andrew- 117*
 
 
*Recap:
 
My hand is: Confiscate, Savage Twister, Fissure, Mystical Teachings, Delay, Stir the Grave, Chill to the Bone, Beacon of Immortality
 
 
I have a Future Sight and a useless Wild Pair in play. Balance is the top card of my library.
 
 
Andrew has no permanents but I expect some soon*
 
 
Me: “I have 8 cards… I’ll discard Confiscate”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “I guess I’ll play Ana Battlemage with blue kicker.”
 
Me: “Hmmm… Should I counter that? This has been sitting in my hand for a while and I have balance coming (Savage Twister)… your going to be playing Rimefeather owl so this guy is bad (Chill to the Bone). Sure…” *I discard Chill to the Bone, Savage Twister, and Mystical Tutor
 
 
*My turn- draw Balance reveal Cancel*
 
Me: “I’ll play balance… I have 4 cards… you have?”
 
Andrew: “7” *Discards Tower of Eons, Obliterate, and Desolation Giant* *Ana Battlemage is sacrificed*
 
 
*Recap: 
 
My hand is: Fissure, Delay, Stir the Grave, Beacon of Immortality
 
I have a Future Sight with a revealed cancel and a Wild Pair in play
 
 
Andrew has nothing, 4 cards in hand, but a Rimefeather Owl on the way*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Rimescale Dragon?”
 
Me: “Oh? He’s different… Cancel”
 
*I play Cancel off the top of my library countering his Rimescale Dragon and I reveal my next top card to be my prized possession… a 40-some dollar foil Exalted Angel*
 
 
*My turn- Draw Exalted Angel and reveal Mirari*
 
Me: “I’ll play a morph, haha”
 
Andrew: “I wonder…”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “I guess I might as well lay down Rimefeather Owl.”
 
Me: “He’ll be a… 4/4? Psh… sure!”
 
 
*My turn- draw Mirari and reveal Jushi Apprentice*
 
Me: “Attack!”
 
Andrew: “Take”
 
*Me- 24, Andrew: 113*
 
Me: “Mirari”
 
Andrew: “Oxidize”
 
Me: “Q-Q, I was gonna do fun things with that…”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn
 
Andrew: “Phthisis your angel!”
 
Me: “Beacon of Immortality!”
 
*Me- 39, Andrew 113*
 
*Shuffle library, reveal top card: Beacon of Immortality*
 
Andrew: “Ice counters on Wild Pair and Future Sight. Swinging for 3…”
 
*Me- 36, Andrew- 113*
 
 
*My turn- draw Beacon of Immortality and reveal Chastise*
 
Me: “I guess I’ll get my foil back… Stir the Grave for Exalted Angel”
 
Andrew: “Yep”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Ice counter on Exalted Angel. Verdant Force! Ok?”
 
Me: “Sure…”
 
Andrew: “Ice counter on Verdant Force and swing for 5”
 
Me: “I’ll block with Exalted Angel. Before damage, Fissure Verdant Force…”
 
Andrew: “Sigh…”
 
*Rimefeather Owl becomes a 4/4 when Verdant Force dies*
 
*Exalted Angel kills Rimefeather Owl*
 
*Me- 40, Andrew- 113*
 
 
*Recap:
 
My hand: Delay, Beacon of Immortality
 
In play: Exalted Angel, Wild Pair, and Future Sight revealing Chastise*
 
 
*My turn- draw Chastise and reveal Beacon of Unrest*
 
Me: “I’m going to Beacon Unrest targeting your Aven Fateshaper. Look at top 4 cards…” 
 
*top 4, in order: Hinder, Firemane Angel, Suffocating Blast, Treachery*
 
*Future Sight reveals Hinder*
 
Me: “Swing with Angel!”
 
*Me- 44, Andrew- 109*
 
Me: “Your go, sir!”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: Yavimaya’s Embrace your Aven Fateshapper…”
 
Me: “I’m gonna hinder it”
 
*Embrace goes on bottom of Andrew’s library and Firemane Angel is revealed*
 
 
*My turn- draw Firemane Angel and reveal Suffocating Blast*
 
Me: “Firemane Angel. Swing with Exalted”
 
Andrew: “Diabolic Edict inresponse to Firemane”
 
Me: “Ok… never mind, then”
 
*Exalted Angel is sacrificed inresponse to Firemane Angel*
 
Me: “Your go”
 
 
*Andrew draws and passes his turn*
 
 
*My turn- Gain 1 from Firemane, draw Suffocating Blast, and reveal Treachery*
 
Me: “Ummm… I’ll swing”
 
Andrew: “Rout”
 
*Firemane Angel is destroyed
 
Me: “I guess I’ll play Beacon of Immortality”
 
*Reveal Treachery*
 
*Me- 88, Andrew- 109*
 
 
*Andrew draws his card and reluctantly passes his turn*
 
 
*My turn- Gain 1 (89), return Firemane Angel from graveyard to play, draw Treachery, reveal Kodama of the North tree*
 
Me: “I’ll play Kodama of the North Tree”
 
*Revealing Bribery*
 
Me: “Ummm… I’ll look with Wild Pair… and it fails… go figure…”
 
*Reveal Counterspell*
 
Andrew: “Did you draft like… every counter?
 
Me: “No, Quincy drafted some, haha. You should have drafted some.”
 
Andrew: “Well… I drafted 2, I think. I just haven’t drawn them.”
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Catastrophe?”
 
Me: “Counterspell”
 
*Reveal Wipe Away*
 
 
*My Turn- (90), draw Wipe Away, reveal Beacon of Immortality*
 
Me: “Hmmm…. Swing for… 10!”
 
*Andrew- 99*
 
Me: “Beacon?”
 
Andrew: “Yeah…”
 
*Me- 176*
 
*Beacon shuffles library and Future Sight reveals Backlash*
 
 
*Andrew’s Turn*
 
Andrew: “Zombify?”
 
Me: “Targeting?”
 
Andrew: “I guess Krosan Cloudscraper”
 
Me: “Sure. End of turn Backlash is”
 
*Future Sight reveals Beacon of Immortality*
 
*Andrew- 86*
 
 
*Recap: 
 
My hand is: Wipe Away, Suffocating Blast, Treachery
 
In play: Future Sight (Beacon of Immortality), Wild Pair, Firemane Angel, and Kodama of the North Tree
 
 
Andrew has a tapped Krosan Cloudscraper*
 
 
*My turn- (177), draw Beacon of Immortality, reveal Stuffy Doll*
 
Me: “I’ll Beacon of Immortality”
 
Andrew: “Controvert!”
 
Me: “It’s about time! I swing at you for 10’
 
*Andrew- 76*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Ummm… Flowstone Slide for 4?”
 
Me: “Suffocating Blast”
 
 
*My turn-  (178), draw Stuffy Doll, reveal Beacon of Unrest*
 
Me: “Treachery your Krosan Cloudscraper?”
 
Andrew: “This is ridiculous”
 
Me: “Q-Q, swing for 10”
 
*Andrew- 66*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Damnation”
 
Me: “Hmmm… seems good right now.”
 
*Krosan Cloudscraper, Kodama of the North Tree, and Firemane Angel are destroyed*
 
 
*My turn- (179), Firemane comes back into play, draw Beacon of Unrest, reveal Bribery*
 
Me: “Well… you go no creatures left so that card is useless…”
 
Andrew: “I suppose”
 
Me: “Beacon of Unrest your Krosan Cloudscraper?”
 
Andrew: “Yeah…”
 
*Krosan Cloudscraper comes into play under my control, Beacon of Unrest shuffles my library, reveal Miraculous Recovery*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Wow… this is the not a good time to not have anything to play…”
 
Me: “That sucks…”
 
Andrew: “You got this… obviously… your go.”
 
Me: “End of you turn I Miraculous Recovery targeting Kodama of the North Tree. It’s a 7/5”
 
*Future Sight reveals Balancing Act*
 
 
*My turn- (180), draw Balancing Act reveal Bribery*
 
Me: “I’ll start by attacking for… 7… 13… 4… 24 total!”
 
Andrew: “That’ll bring me down to 42…”
 
*Future Sight reveals Pact of Negation*
 
Me: “I’ll play Bribery… *searching*… Bane of the Living!!! Wow… that’d of been a good draw!”
 
*Bane of Living comes into play under my control*
 
 
*Andrew’s turn*
 
Andrew: “Sigh… that’s game…”
 
Me: “GG, sir”
 
 
 
G.	Summing it ALL up
 
 
So if there is anything that I want you guys to get out of this (besides some kind of entertainment) is a slight understanding of what to draft while playing Type 4. If you ever have the privilege of being able to sit down and drafting with a group of people, it is important to either read all the cards or at least know what each one does. Remember to think about it’s usefulness when associated with Infinite Mana and only being able to play one spell a turn. 
 
I cannot stress enough the importance of counterspells in Type 4. Don’t draft everyone you see but make sure to try to be the deck with the most counterspells. Mass removal is important but you only need a few forms of it because Spot Removal is usually more versatile and you will often find everyone destroying and countering enough to where spot removal will, essentially, be the same thing as mass removal. Beacons are also clutch! The shuffling clause makes it key because a lot of games go on until your library is running out of cards but Beacon keeps you alive, just look out for counterspells. Follow those few tips and you will do perfectly fine!
 
But what does this have to do with you? How can this possible help you? Well, I for one know for a fact that drafting Type 4 has helped me Draft actual packs. Why? Well if you think about it, when drafting Type 4, you have to constantly read signals from opponents. Did they get the best cards? Are they getting a lot of counterspells? Etc… Signal reading is very important to drafting successfully. Another useful tool is getting use to remembering cards in certain packs, that way you can pick up on what cards are missing when the pack comes around next time. One good thing is, while drafting Type 4, you have to pay attention to what your deck’s strengths are… what are it’s weaknesses… what types of cards are you missing… what kind of cards do you need… what types of cards are being drafted by my opponents? Answers to questions like these are thoughts that should be going through your mind constantly while drafting Type 4. If done successfully, you can realize what types of cards you need to begin drafting to create a strong, balanced deck. When it becomes balanced and powerful, you have a very competitive deck! All of these suggestions can be applied to drafting booster packs, as well, and drafting type 4 will help you draft booster packs. On top of that, you will have some of the most fun you have ever had playing magic! I guarantee it! If you play Type 4 a few times and you don’t have a great time, you can track me down online and flame me all you want!
 
 
I hope you guys enjoyed this article! It took me FOREVER to write… 29 pages long on Word… it was a lot of work. Writing out an entire, an up to date deck list, copying down all the packs and picks, writing down everything that happened during the match, turn after turn, and than typing up all of it on Word. I hope my work serves it’s purpose. I’m proud to end the article contest with this piece of work. Unfortunately, this will be my last article I ever write for CobraCards. I’ve had some good times… and some bad times. Overall, though, it’s been a great! I’ve been able to help out some players, increase my knowledge of the game, practice writing, the store credit has provided me with a great advantage to greatly improve the quality of my trade binder/collection, and I got to make fun of ElfLvr (I’ll probably always remember I <3 Elves). 
 
 
I admit I owe a lot to my current Magic status to these article contests. Without CobraCards, I would probably be borrowing decks from people like I use to a year ago. Never really use to own many cards or at least not enough to make a competitive deck. However, in that year’s time, a combination of CobraCards, a low paying job, and the contributions of a couple of my friends, my binder has slowly become very impressive. So I realize now, as I walk away, how much CobraCards has helped me become a better magic player and helped me develop my collection to where I can actually play good decks and build good decks for my friends to play. 
 
 
I hope that you guys reading this article have a great life, be healthy, and keep getting better at Magic!  So now I begin my walk away from CobraCards but before I do… I sign off on another article… 
 
 
-this has been physcosick. You stay classy, CobraCards! | 
 
Physco's Like List: Felipe Musco, Elflvr, yerkamig, theOmnipotentOne, AgentDrake
 
 
Physco's Ban List:
 
NBarden | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| c3poquino | 
 Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:07 am | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Posts: 47
Location: 
 | 
| I liked this one way better than the lst one, but I don’t know if it was the card pool or something, but the game didn’t seem very fun to me... I dunno, perhaps with a bunch of people it’s cooler, but I wouldn’t play it with 3 people after reading your article... | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| corvus | 
 Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:25 am | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 1696
Location: Roaming, but dangerous!!!
 | 
That was not so fun....   
 
 
I mean.... ok you did a fine work with teaming the cards, but....
 
Sorry to tell you mate, i think you are a great guy and all from your posts i’ve seen, but to be honest, i don’t really like your fofmats... Plus you NEEDN’T have analysed the match so much... Sorry m8. | 
 
Click here if you want to trade some foils away  
 
Far, Far beyond the island we dwelt in shapes of twilight
 
Through draught and weary days 
 
Through grief and endless pain | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| Felipe Musco | 
 Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:29 am | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
 | 
| I don’t know, I liked the match analysis, although I think the DRAFT analysis was the most important part... Then again, the match didn’t sound all that fun it was supposed to be. Although, granted, that first loser did a fine job at messing around your match. I think you should play another one, with more sportsmanlike guys, and write about THAT one. | 
 
| I don't like YOU. | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| qwestion | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:19 am | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Location: 
 | 
| Ive seen this format (or forms of it) on occasion and have been coerced into playing a few games myself -- and i can safely say after reading the article ( the deck being a bit more well rounded than the one i played with) that the analysis and card explanations make alot of sense and anyone planning on making a deck around this format should go over this for sure. | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| mr.otto | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:46 pm | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 26 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: 
 | 
| personally, I thought that the play by play was good in the way that it revealed some of the possibilities that this format has.  I thought that the draft part of the deck is still kinda off though.  Also you never addressed expanding your format beyond the very expensive super powerful deck that you had (which was what limited me from playing in the first place).  I don’t know if this really adds much to your previous article.  I mean we all know how to draft/analyze cards and how to play only 1 card per turn.  Overall though the play by play did show me how much fun the super powerful cards can be. | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| veBu | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:48 pm | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 313
Location: Finland
 | 
Neat article, well-written so what else could i say 4 or 5, especially because of those awesome match analysis   | 
 
veBu's LotR & Vs. System Trade Lists - CC References
 
 
Untamed Karhu - strongest in its breed.
 
Open when it's frosty cold and enjoy the full taste.
 
Karhu is a full-bodied beer.   | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| mojo | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:13 pm | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 09 Aug 2006
Posts: 32
Location: your mom
 | 
| well type 4 is a hard  format to grasped and especially drafting for noobs to the game.  i liked how u explained each scenario and each carda nd how you went step by step. i liked how you explained in great detail so even a noob to the game can pick up on  the format. i’d say its a 4 or 5. | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| Barry Gibb | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:40 pm | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 27 Jan 2007
Posts: 15
Location: 
 | 
WOW i was bored a few weeks ago and i saw cobra on my bookmarks said ill give a stop by and there  and saw a few articles posted and wanted to come back at the end to c the rest . they were worth my time to read. This seems like a very interesting format that i might give a try with my friends. I think we have/can get a lot of these cards. I like how you showed a real game gives a good feeling you even had wht everyone was saying lol. You must of spent long periods of time on this and i like to see effort with articles i stopped going here cuz this one guy did not reward me for my effort. This article turned out great and was very helpful along with involving work. Great job sadly this is last article    | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
| gustavcf | 
 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:30 pm | 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| 
Joined: 01 Jul 2007
Posts: 2
Location: cabo frio
 | 
| I don’t think this deserves such a high grade, since the author already won a contest with an article on the same subject, making this a mere completion article | 
 
 | 
 
 
 | 
 
 
| Back to top | 
 | 
 
 
| 
 | 
 
 
All times are UTC - 4 
| 
Page 1 of 2 [15 Posts] | 
 
Goto page: 1, 2 Next | 
 
 
 | 
  |