The Commander’s Chair #5 Tool Time

“Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.” – Thomas Carlyle

I am in the middle of reading the Desden Files from start to finish.  I had read a few of these in the past, but this is the first time I will read them in sequence.  Harry Dresden, the main character, has some strong opinions of the power of mages.  He believes that, while not the most powerful being around, they can take on anything if they have time to prepare.  Magic the Gathering is the same way.  There is an answer to any play.  You just have to be prepared.  Building a toolbox into your Commander deck will help you deal with most of the problems that you can expect to come across in a game.

The Commander’s Chair #4 – What does that do?

I have been getting an increasing number of requests, from friends, on advice for their Commander decks.  I realized that there were cards that I was regularly using and recommending that I believed were well known among Commander players.  Several of my friends and players I have played against started asking about these cards. I think it might be appropriate to cover some of my favorites, and what I like to use them for.  Maybe they are not as well known as I assumed.

The Commanders Chair #3 – Ominous Teachings

Last week, I mentioned the combination of Prismatic Omen and Vedalken Shackles. There was a comment posted this weekend inquiring if a deck could possibly be built around Prismatic Omen.  I started to type up an answer when I realized that the response was going to be an article in itself.

I have been using Prismatic Omen in my Commander decks for some time.  I started including Prismatic Omen in five color decks alongside Mycosynth Lattice as a major mana fixer.  After all, what could be better than not having to care which land you tap for mana.  Prismatic Omen even lets you tap lands like Eye of Ugin for mana.  I would include large, normally difficult spells to cast like Cruel Ultimatum.

Path to Casual #1 – Introduction to Tribal Wars

Howdy folks, Amanda here to tell you guys about Tribal Wars. Tribal Wars is a format of Magic: The Gathering that challenges the player to focus more on the creature aspect of the game than any other spell type. Another fun aspect of Tribal Wars is the fact that allows you to loosen up and delve into all the flavorful areas of MTG.  Instead of the focus purely being on the best cards to win the game, Tribal Wars is more about the best creatures to get you to the gold.  And with the “creature creep,” Wizards push to make creatures “good”, Tribal Wars is growing to be a stronger and stronger format. Below the fold are a  few rules for this format that I will share with you guys. Keep in mind, these are Wizards of the Coast‘s  rules.

The Commander’s Chair #2 – Off Color Remarks

Blue mages are notorious thieves.  They have an extensive list of tools they can use to steal permanents from their opponents.  But, what do you do if you are not a fan of tapping islands?  Today, I am here to let you know that you aren’t stuck destroying and exiling creatures.  You can be a thief too.

When you are not playing the blues, your options are limited.  The control magic you can use will take a little more effort to get to work.  The advantage you have to using non-blue control magic is you get to have the surprise factor on your side.  Who doesn’t like the look of surprise and confusion on your friends face when you do something completely unexpected?

Journey to Nowhere #1 – Other Side of the Table

I suppose introductions are in order.

My name is Dan, and while you don’t know me yet, I’m confident that you know someone just like me. They may not have started when I did (back in ’94, when The Dark was released). They may not have left the game and come back the same number of times I have (left after Homelands, back for Invasion, left after Saviors of Kamigawa, back for Time Spiral, left after Lorwyn, back for M10, left for . . . wait, still here). They may not even have spent the same amount of money as I have on the game (. . . don’t even want to think about that).

Thran Utopia #1: Galvanotherapy and Galvanorehab

Galvanotherapy and Galvanorehab

Hi there and welcome to Thran Utopia. My name is Stijn and I’m from Holland. I’m a casual player at heart – always was, always will be. I started playing early 1999, having no idea at what rate sets came out. My first product was a set of Portal-cards, and a friend taught me the game. Since then, the game has always been a big part of my life. I play with friends once or twice a week and I make sure to visit each prerelease. Having a masters degree in communication design, it should come as no surprise I like writing about Magic.