Fire Sprites: A request (OS /95)

Very few constants have survived over the years, but green not getting fliers is one of the most constants. While a few hhave appeared here and there, as far Mark Rosewater is concerned, it's not part of green's color pie. I never liked that, because small flying creatures (insects, birds) live in woodlands, and more importantly, all assortments of fairfolk. However, I'm not here to talk about the color pie, but instead


In the recent debates of a 1/1 flier for two, and which one is the best, Fire Sprites is almost never discussed, and in fact, Emerald Dragonfly is probably constantly better then it. However, it does have one unique advantage to the butterfly, and in the fact, Homelands got some fairy support. With a request from Stan to review this card, I will do my best to be objective in reviewing it for both the conventional OS format, as well as the 95 format.

"Dear Stan, I wrote to you but you still ain't calling..."

Playability: A LGS has free MTG Tuesday, which has evolved into "Tribal Tuesday". With my package of Planechase cards, I allow multiples of casual standard players earn promo's by playing a sanction-able format. For this, I needed some tribal decks, and one of these I've considered was mono-green fairy's (it turns out I only owned two nobles). Fire Sprites actually made it into the initial list, over the Leprauchaun and Brownie, because it had flying (always a good ability).

The fact it filters into red is very interesting, because it allows one to splash red, in a format with difficulty fixing colors (especially on the cheap). With this, it could allow a zoo variant to run the likes of Bloodlust and Earthquake, or since my fairy deck would be almost exclusively flyers. Combine this with the usual green combat tricks.

Still, it lacks behind the likes of Emerald Butterfly, Scryb Sprites,  Birds of Paradise, and arguable even Willow Faeries if you are playing the 95 format. Still, an interesting green creature none the less, and it gets a point for some tribal synergy and for having a interesting filter effect. 3/5


Art: Unfortunately I couldn't find a stand alone piece. Julie Baroh was one of those early artists who you either really enjoyed the simple style, or you disliked it. While Underworld Dreams and Clone are rather famous, some art pieces are a bit more obscure, including Fire Sprites. The art piece, shows some mischievous sprites sitting in what appears to be a fire, whether a fire place, or a bonfire, is unclear, and honestly, unnecessary.  While a rather basic painting, it's noticeable enough to stand out in a pack, and well enough to make a small impression. It's background is nice to, with the darker fire contrasting with the lighter fairies and black background that much more impressive. 3/5

Flavor: The weirdest part of the card. I guess the green mana for the ability represent kindling, they set on fire for the red mana, and it makes sense they would be cheap, weak, and could fly. I never understood why Fire Sprites would be green though, since they are often depicted as being literal mischief makes of fire. However, I suppose every fairy until Homelands was green, and it would make sense they would be as well. Plus I think the mechanic as it stands, would be really weird on a red card (as in filter G: for R). Though odd, I'll still give the flavor of it as a 3/5.


There you go, three 3/5. In my opinion a completely average, unusual, and magical card. Not amazing, not unusually bad, not amazingly unusual. Which is fine.

Wall of Heat, or None Like it Hot!

"At a distance, we mistook the sound for a waterfall..."

For those of you not currently in the United States, we've been gripped by a massive heat wave, and to put it bluntly, it sucks. Which came as the inspiration for todays article. While I was going to do something written about Baron Sengir, or about War Mammoth, I ultimately decided that Wall of Heat was the most appropriate decision for this.

Which brings up an interesting question? How do I judge walls? They actually have some unique qualities about them in OS (such as being able to block Basilisk without fear of death), tribal support, and under costed value, with the various infamous drawback of not being able to attack. I was surprised when I realized, despite my general love of them, I never actually reviewed a wall.

 



Card: Wall of Heat is a 2/6, for 3. If not for its wall status, it'd be a powerful, but uninteresting vanilla. However, since it's a wall, it losses one point for that drawback. It has 6 toughness for three, which isn't that unique in the color, since Ywden Efreet has the same thing, with an additional point of power, Wall of Stone is tougher, and Wall of Dust, while weaker, comes with a more useful ability. Sure, 6 toughness is pretty good, after all, who wants to fight the heat, but there are just better options. 2/5

Art: I always loved Richard Thomas wall art. This one is no exception. His images of a wizard (or maybe a planeswalker) standing behind a wall of their creation, are often rather ingenious and fascinating. This one's contains a woman, holding a sun like orb, and radiation heat around her. The constant changes in color, though is the best part of the art is the constant changes in color, particularly where the color's fail to appear, hinting at the appearance of the woman.

Art 3/5


Flavor: There are so much strange about the flavor of this. It's power and toughness makes sense, but why doesn't it fly, is it that localized of a spell? Why can some drunk dwarves blow up an abstract. Finally, I never, once, understood the flavor text of the card. I'm giving the flavor on this one 2/5.


There we have it, 7/15, rounded down, makes it a 2/5. Another one from Legends I suppose. I guess, just like the Heat itself, none like Wall of Heat.

The controversial history of mulligans.

Recently I got into a discussion over random variance,  and card games with a colleague of mine. His argument insisted that bad players like variance, because it allows them to occasionally beat good players. He insisted on the fact that the most skill intensive,  least variant formats, tournament attendance is down. 

I double backed, saying if the choices are me playing.a deck that I dislike, or not playing, I (like many) have other hobbies outside Magic, and variance is the spice that makes Magic enjoyable.

As many of you know, Magic is introducing a new Mulligan rule "London Mulligan", in an attempt to attack mana screw/flood, as well as making the lay lines more consistent. While many a magic players have shown this to be a terrible idea (who's ready for the next combo winter?), WotC has insisted no such thing will happen, and we will continue to get the amazing tournament experience we crave, with more casting spells, and less mana screw. 

However, as everyone knows, the idea of mulligans isn't new, in fact, it's as old as revised edition, and possibly unlimited edition. So if random variance is important,  why create a way to subvert it, well for fun of course, but it should always come with a draw back.

Ante Mulligan: Something I know exists only in theory. Though not an official mulligan rule, there was once a ante rule, where youd shuffle your hand in, draw seven, then ante an additional card. I've personally never seen it, but a few have told me it once existed, and I felt it interesting enough to include. The faults of this rule is obvious,  since it only works with ante, which was always technically optional anyway.

Original Mulligan (Seattle Mulligan/no lands&all lands): One of the most remembered rules of pre-6th. Introduced in Revised edition, the mulligan worked if you had a land of all lands or no lands, you would reveal your hand, shuffle it into your deck, and draw seven new cards. For tournament play, you could only do this once. In my opinion, this is the best rule particularly for 93/94. Library, Maze, and Strip wouldn't be nearly as broken if they forced you to keep a bad hand.  Sure they kick the storage lands in the nad even more, but hey, that's they way the game works sometime.

Paris Mulligan: Originally conceptualized by Pro Tour player Matt Hyra, it was accidentally put into the rules for Pro Tour Paris in 97, and the name stuck. In this, it's simple, you shuffle your hand into your deck, and draw one fewer card. It was formally introduced with Classic 6th edition, and became a major component of the design process. Most famously, a Darksteel card called Serum Powder directly interacted with the mechanic, which is important, remember that.

Vancouver Mulligan: Introduced with the expansion Magic Origins, Vancouver worked similar to the Paris Mulligan, except before you drop lay lines, anyone with a lower hand size then 7 can scry 1. Some interesting rule questions come up with this and Karn liberated, but it's for it's worth, is functional and gets the job 

London Mulligan: Tested in Arena and Mtg:O. London Mulligan allows you to draw 7, then pick and choose which cards you wish to put on the bottom of your deck. For example, you are on you second mulligan, you got that Leyline to kill dredge, you simply put two cards on the bottom, thus having a hand of 5. 

Magic_Aids has abused this with Serum Powder to consistently win on turn 3. You can look up the video on YouTube.

A similar issue has come up with OS, allowing a player to drop numerous free/cheap spells on turn 1, just to timetwister, guaranteed a 7 card hand regardless. 

"Magic the way Garfield intended"--Magic_Aids.

However the biggest crime of this isn't the fact it hyper powers hate cards and combo players, but instead removes the most important aspect of the game, the variance.

Tonight I was in a booster draft, and while sitting I could overhear another (much experienced) player talking to one wet behind his ears about how mana screw is bullshit. He states only Pokemon and MtG have this problem, and its complete shit, and then he starts listing off other games "that have solved this" like Vanguard and Vs System, and Duel Masters.  I yell at him "the difference is all those games are dead", but he didn't respond. 

It's something I truly stand on, Magic reliance on luck, and Garfield's open embrace of it in his design, is Magics biggest gift for its longevity.  It's been the cause for David and Goliath outcomes, amazing comebacks, and bad beat stories. 

I later spoke to him while he was lighting a smoke and said "Dont listen to them, mana screw is part of Garfield's mathematical perfection". He laughed, said he almost never gets screwed, because he knows how to build decks, and went on to win first. 

I guess in conclusion: Magic needs variance, both in decks being played, and in luck of the draw. If I wanted to play a game where everyone had the same cards, I would play poker, if I want to play a game with a foregone conclusion, and a guaranteed set of rules, Chess certainly has more prestige then MtG.

Chandra: The importance of consistent character design.

 

 

While a good chunk of my readers pay little to no attention to spoilers, and spoiler season, it's something I've yet been able to give up on, and while the chances of me playing with these cards slowly but consistently diminish, it's still something I check out.

Recently, spoilers of Chandra Nalaar, one of the original Lorwyn 5, and magic's premier pyromancer, has come out, with a set largely set on her past. This included, not one, but three Planeswalker cards, each around her, before her debut in Lorwyn, however, there was something, off about these cards, mainly the way she looked.

(Art: Anna Steinbauer)

This came with many questions on 'why does she look Asian?' After all, Chandra was always depicted with red hair, occasionally freckles, and largely Caucasian features. Now I understand different artists will have different styles, and occasionally styles don't mesh. However, if this was the only case of this, it would probably not have been noticed, or became something of a joke, instead it was followed with this:

(art: same as above)

Both Chandra's clearly have Asian features, which don't fit the decade and a half of art other cards depicting her show.

 

All these different arts, all drawn over the course of a decade, all have a few telling things in common (even child Chandra), Chandra has pale skin, bright red hair (sometimes that is on fire), she typically wears armor (but isn't a must for the character), and she has goggles (with this being absent on child Chandra).

To further this inconsistency, the box art for the set (Magic 2020) has Chandra looking like a man.






However, this isn't a recent trend, in fact, its the opposite. Gideon's general appearance and skin tone has changed so much, he's basically a meme at this point.




However with the recent inclusion into digging deep into MtG's past, for content, many characters have gotten cards, with effects that don't make sense to the character (Xantcha was a terrible sleeper agent, that was the point), have effects that defeat the point of cards they are based on  (General Varchild), or literally seem like different characters they simply attached names and art to (Tawnos, Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist).

For a company that claims so much about wanting Magic to evolve beyond a TCG, and become a multimedia franchise, they sure don't understand the importance of consistency in character design. Well, at least now, I think for the best example, look at Gerrard Capashen. Despite numerous cards featuring his name, his likeness, and quotes by him, his depiction is ALWAYS consistent, even with the reference to him in Dominaria. In fact, most of the weatherlight crew is depicted accurately, even two decades after their story has ended (Mirri being the one current exception).

However, none of this is as bad as what they did to my favorite coward walker, Serra.

Artist: Matthew Wilson

 

Artist: Rebecca Guay

Serra had two consistent designs, one from the vanguard, which also appears on the card art for Humble, and the Rebeeca Guay's depiction of Serra, which appears on numerous cards, as well as the Homelands comic. Instead, we get a depiction of Serra, from the Urza Saga card Worship, granted not the Serra as it looks two images above, which is the statue of her, but instead the person worshipping in front of it, assuming Serra is her. Now I have no issue with shit talking Serra, it's like a hobby of mine, but I still like her, and the depiction, showing her as a character who literally worships herself, is a bastardization of probably the most famous female character in MtG.

Character consistency is the most important part of any IP. No one ever depicted Darth Vader with a katana, no one ever made Optimus Prime a a Volkswagon Bus. The only time a character is changed, is the time it shows the fan base to move on (look at Harry Potter). WotC, please get your art department together and consistent.

Tl;dr: Get your IP together wotc.

Farmstead: Home Sweet Home

"When father bought the farm we sold the farm.

Mistook his blood for rustic charm

Sold his ghost as an antique to the city"

 

 

There is very few agreements in OS Magic. Most people say power is good, so is Library. Then they say Farmstead is one of the worst cards in the game. With it being two mana for one life, being an enchant land, costing literally 3 white mana to cast, and having a very restrictive ability, it's no wonder Farmstead hasn't been seen since Revised edition, and why it's often labeled as one of the worst cards in the game.

 

 

"Kids today can't hold a spade

Rest In peace your weary trade

In the world there is no place, such a pity..."

 

 

Is farmstead honestly as bad a card as they say? Especially in this format, where consistent repeatable life gain is difficult? Where Lich can turn it into a draw engine? I, for many reasons, shall look into it to find out.

 

 

"Well the barman shakes his head, and fills my glass

says 'we're living in the past, why preserve a dying craft and it's misery?'"

 

 

 

Playability: At 3 mana and a local enchantment, Farmstead has a lot going against it. Enchant lands are particularly the worst, whether your format has a playset of Strip Mine or not. It also doesn't guarantee anything the turn it comes out (unlike many local enchantments), and it's effect is one life. While I did say repeatable life gain is nice (it is). I know life gain gets a lot of hate in modern magic, but one of the most important things about winning is not losing, and this card excels in that department. I'd say sadly, the biggest hurdle for farmstead is, not one, but two cards have done this better, Fountain of Youth, and Caribou Range (if you're playing 95). In it's defense, mono-white often needs mana dumps in the late game, and while I may enjoy it, I can't honestly give it a higher rating then 1/5.

 

 

"Come sit down we are lamenting, about yesterdays sad ending.

About the water in my whiskey, the brass passed off as gold/

/of a day when wood was wood, silver was silver, gold was gold,

sweet home was home"

 

 

 

Art: One of my favorite Poole pieces, Farmstead is probably the most 'American' piece of art in the game. It wouldn't look out of place as the set to a 50's/60's American rural television show like Little House on the Prairie or Bonanza. While the piece doesn't show any humans, it does show numerous things that would be seen on a Farmstead. Most prominent are the axe, which rests on a stump, and the house itself, a simple stone cabin with a hey roof. Whats easy to miss is the anvil, which is necessary, even today, for the use of making horse shoes, but in a setting like projected, could be used to make almost anything necessary. It's just a small detail that's easy to miss. Then you have the 'road', naturally worn from the surrounding grass, which suggests frequent passing of feet, free range chickens, as well as cattle (assumable cows). However, the best detail, is the tree in the corner of the image, with a shadow it's given over the 'road'. It's easily my personal favorite part of the piece, and also shows the light source fairly well. The background, which is pines, a lightly cloudy sky, and a few wild birds, fill  in the blanks extremely well. Art gets a 5/5 from me.

 

 

"'Son these tools are artifacts, endangered species left it's tracks.

So wrap me up in plastic wrap in the city.

There is no going back for me, this antiques rustic eulogy

shall be sold as folk on the street', such a pity..."

 

 

Flavor: Living in old country isn't for the faint of heart. You work day and night, however the results, can be great. This represented well in the idea of gaining a life, but having to spend to get it. The two white mana represents upkeep, strained labor, and risks, it takes to maintain such an operation.

 

Some of the things you can plop a farmstead on it also notable, for both being strange and hilarious. You can open shop next to the Library of Alexandria, in a Desert, on a Strip Mine (really any lands from Antiquities is hilarious), in the City (of Shadows or Brass), on a Quay, in some dirty ruins, and even an Ice Floe. However, just as flavor would suggest, it's most effective if you enchant it on a plains.

 

 

Flavor 4/5.

 

 

Final rating 3/5: Sure it might blow, but is it memorable and oddly strange. It's art is easily its strongest selling point, with everything else being mediocre in comp.

 

 

"Well I'll never understand, why they long to use those hands, to build a stand that would always stand in old time country,

but settle on white rooms, and hollow doors

paper ceilings, padded floors

luxury boxes where your stored, in old time country"--Erik Petersen, Olde Tyme M'mery

 

RIP the NYStyle Ranch (2006-2018)



Ashnod's Transmogrant: The Second Twiddle.

Many months ago, I described Twiddle as the swiss army knife of Old School. It's a versatile thinking mans car, with the ability to surprise even the most convincing foe. It can be used, both aggressively, and defensively, and is as versatile.

Sure, it doesn't have the surprise appeal, being forced to be in play, and it can only target creatures, but outside of these, it's a close second for the most versatile card in the format.



Offensive Uses: Powering up the power of a beater (obvious).
                           Turning an opponents creature into an artifact to disenchant/shatter/Detonate/Divine Offering them. (Divine Offering can also become an amazing life gain spell if you hit the right fatty).
                           Making your Guardian Beast nearly invincible (as long as it remains untapped).
                          Allowing it to be thrown by any of those two amazing two drops from Antiquities.
                          Stealing a creature with Scarwood Bandits/Alladin/Steal artifact
                          Getting a two mana clone in the form of Copy Artifact


Defensive Uses: Keeping a creature tapped with a relic barrier/Phyrexian Gremlins
                           Protection one of your creatures from Terror (since it turns into an artifact)
                           Protection from The Abyss (since it's an artifact).
                           Allowing your Pixies/Treefolk of Argothian variety to block a creature all day.
                           Saving that one point of damage from Bolt for your 3 toughness (or Efreet in response to an ill fated psionic blast).
                           Finally, the mind game of bluffing so your opponent's game is off.


While short, I hope this encourages a few people to try this odd ball card from 4th in their deck.

Mana Batteries: Rating them

The mana batteries were a casual popular table card. I've known more then a few old school players (including my older brother) who swore to them. Last years, while most of my cards were in storage I threw together a EDH around Garna, the Bloodflame. Built out of foreign cards I had an what I was willing to buy out of common boxes, it included a consume spirit and drain life, and as a result, a Italian Black Mana Battery.


In this article, I will rate each mana battery, both in the form of playability, and in the form of art. However the flavor is always the same:


Flavor: They are batteries. The rules of conservation states it takes more energy to charge a battery, then a battery can release. In this regard, two mana to generate one mana at a later time makes sense. In fact, the only issue is they can always supply a single mana without charging. For this, they get a universal 4/5.

Art

 

Blue Mana Battery (#5)

 



The blue mana battery shows what appears to be rocks in the ocean. The idea is they work like energy collectors. The idea is they sit in the ocean, and collect mana. Amy's piece isn't bad, her work is always very well for larger promotional stuff, but it always falls shy in the cardboard. I largely blame the nature of the small shapes of cardboard. I'll give it a solid 3/5.

Green Mana Battery (#4)

 

 



Rush never disappoints, this is no different. His staff had some nice touches on it, like the same symbol as the mana symbol on the staff itself, with the simple background of emerald green. It's a nice piece, but doesn't look much like a mana battery, so much as art piece of another card. While a good piece, it's not good for the card it was on. 3/5.

White Mana Battery (#3)



The white mana battery actually showed up in the old Armada comics, being utilized by a white planeswalkers I can't exactly remember the name of. It based off this art, a large literal battery attached to the land. In a smiliar way to Webers blue battery above. This one, has atmosphere, not usually seen on white related cards. An unusual light/darkness composition, with a single light source, and a dark stormy sky above. 3/5

Plus it's drawn by Anthony Waters, my eventual VAC deck.

Black Mana Battery (#2)



Anson Maddocks is the king of Magic horror art, and this piece show cases it perfectly. A skull, mutilated, with various poisonous berries, bones, a voodoo doll, and even a snake. The whole piece has so much going on for it, that it encompasses everything that is black. Honestly, I could sit here all day talking about all the little details on this simple piece. 4/5

Red Mana Battery (#1)

 

 



The relic of Jared Carthilion (the Shadow Mage), the Red Mana Battery was an heirloom. This shows the powerful relic as a relic, it's atmosphere is it. It looks to be sitting on a shelf, with candlelight in the back. If Tedin is good at one thing, it's details and atmosphere. Especially for artifacts, as he has drawn most of the classics.  This is no exception, showing the glow of the mana battery. 5/5

Jarad being burned by the 'mana well'. I couldn't find a proper image.

Playability

 

 

Green Mana Battery (#5)

 

 

 





Easily the worst mana battery. Green has more than enough ramp, to make this useless. Combine with a lack of X costs and mana dumps, and Green Mana Battery comes at the bottom of the list. 2/5.

White Mana Battery (#4)

 

 

In a similar vein to Green Mana Battery, white is usually cheap spells, or easily splashable. However, white often has a need for mana dumps, and with Alabaster Potion and Guardian Angel, there is at least some interesting X white spells in the format. Still not enough to put it past 4.
2/5

Blue Mana Battery (#3)

 

 



Blue is the most powerful color in the format. While better four mana drops exists, especially in blue, the ability to spend unusued mana into storing mana makes for an interesting tech, and blue can always use more open mana. This being said, Braingeyser, Spell Blast, and Power Sink all make for good X blue spells. Further more, a single charge counter, allows for you to tap out while leaving mana open for a counterspell/mana drain. I will admit, it sits less on the merit of itself, and more on the merit of others, but don't all cards? 3/5.

Red Mana Battery (#2)



The color of X spells, Red Mana Battery is one of the most useful. In a color with little/no ramp outside of artifacts, RMB is the most useful, whether boosting a fireball, a catapult, or an Earthquake, RMB is easily one of the most useful. Further, it can be used for reds other effects, like Bloodlust and firebreathing. 4/5.

Black Mana Battery (#1)

 

 



Drain Life, Howl from Beyond, Shade Effects, Regeneration, Word of Binding. That's just off the top of my head. BMB is easily the most powerful card of the cycle. It's only draw back is it costs 4, and expensive commitment, but it's powerful. Just once, kill someone from a charged Black Mana Battery with Drain Life and you'll understand. 5/5


So combining the two, the list goes like this, white (9/15), Green (9/15), Blue (10/15), Black (13/15),  Red (13/15).

Do you agree with my list? Do you disagree? What's your favorite mana battery.