Archived from groups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy (
More info?)
"Mateusz "Watman" Wata" <watman@SPAMFIGHTERinteria.pl> wrote in message
news:1vb20shztapwt$.1oqad8hlmzh4h.dlg@40tude.net...
> To summon a deamon called Kevin you must know the following incantation:
>>>> SB: 3 ???
>>> zo-zu's fit well here
>> Definitely, and they might go up and replace the War Elementals in the
>> main.
>> Luckily, 3 is exactly what I have of Zo-zu, so I'm good to go there.
>> I'm wondering, how much LD is too much? Would 4 Moltens + 2 stone rains
>> sound
>> about right? Ahh, where's Pillage when I need it?
>
> yup, but if you run zo-zu's main, you shoul up the number of land-d
> spells - i'd run 8-10 of them - 8 rains and possibly 2 demolishes...
For comparison, the following is a black-red LD deck from about three years
ago (I think Judgment was the most recent set looked at) for type 1:
Black/Red Nether Void LD Deck
4 Swamp
2 Mountain
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Tainted Peak
4 Sulfurous Springs
4 Badlands
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
2 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Choking Sands
4 Stone Rain
4 Pillage
4 Sinkhole
2 Nether Void
1 Dwarven Miner
2 Army Ants
3 Gorilla Shaman
1 Demonic Tutor
2 Ankh of Mishra
1 Black Vice
4 Incinerate
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Chain Lightning
Sideboard
1 Icequake
1 Wasteland
1 Choking Sands
2 Gloom
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
2 Price of Glory
2 Pyroclasm
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Planar Void
While LD has been out of vogue for a few years now in Type 1, in other
formats such as Type 2 it can be pretty nasty. In Invasion/Odyssey/7E
Standard I ran an approximation to this, running about a dozen burn, 16 LD
(4 were Befoul so they could also count as creature removal) and a pair of
Braids as my Nether Void equivalent. Sengir was used as my main win
condition, and I did quite well locally.
If you plan on running LD as a deck style, you will need at least four each
Stone Rain and Molten Rain, and I'd suggest either Shatter, Heart Kami,
and/or Demolish for artifact removal. (The Kami is good because it's still a
2-power creature for two mana even if your opponent runs no artifacts.) Add
about a dozen removal spells - burn is a good option if it's efficient and
can be tossed at the dome as well as a creature. Ankh of Mishra is always
good, and Zo-Zu might not be a bad substitute.
Since we're on the topic of lands.. a typical Standard deck (and this seems
to be true in Vintage as well) runs around 24 mana slots. If you run a more
control-oriented deck (such as the deck above - Nether Void isn't an
aggressive card, for sure), then you will want to increase your mana count
to compensate, as being able to play spells on your opponent's turn is often
just as important as on your own. Assume you get a Chrome Mox on the board
on your first turn. That means killing land turn 2, and again on turn 3 with
a card like Shock or Orcish Spy to back it. Even if you don't have the
Chrome Mox, a turn 1 Spark Elemental followed by a turn 2 Akki Avalanchers
with Shock in your hand for your opponent's creature will defintely slow
their development, and then turn 3 LD.. well, your opponent is now under a
lot of pressure to develop his or her position fast. Just remember to try
and save your spell- and ability-based answers for THEIR turn instead of
yours - which means you want to drop more land than they do so you can
respond easier. And this is also part of where Wayfarer's Bauble fits in
nicely. More land in play so you can play more answers and threats of your
own - and bigger ones too - and more chance of drawing the answer you need
when you need it.
Part of the problem I think with War Elemental is you get a 1/1 body for
RRR, and you have to hit your opponent's life somehow first. Sure, Red can
put counters on it fast, but when it dies to a simple Tim ability like
Vulshok Sorcerer or Orcish Artillery (both the same converted mana cost) or
any of Red's burn spells.. well, for RRR it's too fragile. Chlorophant was
better than this (yes, I know it's a different colour), and even so I don't
recall it ever seeing much play - and it could be accelerated out turn 2
consistently with Elves and Birds and whatnot.
(Incidentally, I see one major problem for the above deck - Oath of Druids
running Darksteel Colossus - and I'm considering running Paralyze in the
sideboard to deal with it. Maybe even maindeck. Obviously this is a slow,
patient deck compared to most of the Type 1 decks out there, but I think it
still has a chance apart from the Oath-Colossus combo as is.)
One last thing. Adding a second colour is often a good idea. While it may
disrupt a consistent mana base somewhat, it doubles your list of options and
allows you to run answers to problems you might otherwise encounter. Green
and Black both are the most common additions. Green allows you cards like
Naturalize and Oxidize, additional mana acceleration, and quite often
bigger/better bodies for beatsticks. Black, on the other hand, has more
out-and-out creature removal, discard, and search/draw as tempting options,
as well as being able to bring out fat creatures sooner - at a cost, of
course (think of hardcasting Grinning Demon, or Wretched Anurid as
examples). If you decide to stick with a single colour, your mana base is
more stable, but you have less options available. Black can find a way to
deal with Darksteel Colossus (Barter in Blood, followed by Cranial
Extraction if necessary); mono-red runs into difficulty covering the same
issue.
Boy I ramble a lot
But I hope it's given you something to think over. In
formats outside Standard, LD often is relegated to being a supplementary
disruption strategy (in Vintage, Strip Mine + 4 Wastelands + 4 Sinkhole can
be enough to stop one or more colours in an opponent's deck), but in
Standard I often find that it's worth considering in a more prominent role.
Best of luck!
Erich
and might be a reason to put a 3rd Kumano in the
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