#card study

A card fell out while shuffling: THE FIGHT Take all of the following through the lens of knowing The Voice is all about standing up for something, believing in something, making actions out of powerful beliefs. It’s about at the very least starting the ripples in the pond, and more commonly, about starting to move mountains after being utterly inspired.

What are 3 important things I should learn about THE VOICE?

THE CHANGE Movement. The journey/growth/power employed by the ‘hero’ at the climax. The Voice is moment of where inspiration and meaning becomes a catalyst for great actions and revelations. [My first thought was also ‘oh, this is a Darkness governed card! So the following comes from that.] The power behind The Voice’s magic sometimes obscures the ‘grey’ or even ‘darkness’ that might be a side effect or under current of what you are doing, and why. It hears no opposition and overwhelms everything. THE RETURN The Voice is about being true to yourself and what you believe (whether it’s morals, a course of action, an oath, etc). It’s power does not fade because it has been ignored or ground down by other factors. It is always something that can be reclaimed. You might be worn down - The Voice’s magic in you, what it once was fueled by, that’s impervious.

THE FLOAT However, The Voice doesn’t HAVE to be about screaming loudly or starting fights - or finishing them. Sometimes it’s a quiet knowing, a low burning tenacious fire, that carries you through rough patches. It can also represent the calm ‘eye of the storm’ within when you truly know where you stand and why. What are 2 things THE VOICE doesn’t condone, believe in, represent, serve as patron for, etc?

[Interestingly, while I was shuffling, exactly 2 cards fell out. I really need to hold on to these better! But I felt wrong replacing them in the deck, so these 2 cards it is!]

THE BUBBLES Passivity. Carelessness. Willful ignorance. Helplessness. The Voice is not a casual or play time card. Her magic is very much about thorough meaning and worth. Again, know where you stand, why, and what you must do because of that.

THE MOVE The Voice is not just about picking fights, forcing others/the world to conform to what you ‘know’ is true (for you). There will be a sense of when this is appropriate - but it frequently isn’t. Be strong and firm, but also flexible. (see: Lesson Number One from Mulan 2 for this in song form) Clow Card teller: THE FLOWER This is a weird teller. The Flower is a persona I take to be very ‘floaty’, very carefree, though still caring and compassionate. There can be more to pretty things than meets the eye though - perhaps she’s more empathetic and thus, more deeply understands others than she lets on?? That said.. with a teller like this I’m inclined to believe these are taken from a very positive look at The Voice. There was only one small detail in here that was ‘negative’ - so I should be cautious of what this DIDN’T emphasize about cons to this card’s power.

Hello one and all:

So sorry to be gone for such a very long time. I will not borer you with the details, but between house sitting out-of-town, medical appointments, online classes, and Internet issues, I have not been able to keep up. Anyways, I am now back, and we have had our second-to-the-last Core set, and started the Khans of Tarkir Block. Great stuff to be talking about, as we go forward.

This week, I have a simple card combo for EDH/Commander for you to try. As many of you are aware Gideon, Champion of Justice

the Planeswalker can become a Creature, that is Indestructible. His only downside is that he does not have reach of Flying. In trying to give him evasion, Equipment and Enchantments work, but fall off, once he returns to being a Planeswalker.My solution is a go back into Magic's past, and pick an Artifact card that grant Flying, but does not need to attach or be bonded to any one card. That card is Flying Carpet,

which gives Flying to a Creature, until end of Turn, by playing 2 and just tapping it. Now you can make your Planeswalkers, who become creatures ans anything else you need quick Flying for, happen. Being colorless is a nice bonus, too.

Back this week, with more little-known or little-used artifacts for your 99 in the a Commander deck. I first want to mention that I normally post on Wednesday’s, but I had some technical difficulties. Never fear, today’s post will be a 3-for-1. Rare in Magic, but oh so sweet!

First up is a great little Red chaos/Green flyer artifact called Bottle of Suleiman.(4th ed.)

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Basically, you have a colorless artifact that says I have a fun risk/reward factor. The upside is that I can get an on-curve 5/5 flying Djinn for 4 in any color, or take five damage direct to the face. Not bad for a 50/50 chance, in my book. The Red deck Chaos player loves coin flip cards like this to add some extra spice/chance (think Scrambleverse). Green has usually only Reach to deal with flyers (not withstanding Hornet Sting, Hornet Queen, and the Cockatrice), so being able to get a 5/5 flyer might be just the ticket to close out a game.

Second card up at bat this week is Pit Trap (Ice Age)

Now let me tell you, having a Pit Trap on the board makes ground meanies think twice about attacking. For 2 colorless, and tap/sac this artifact you can send that Terra Stomper to an early grave. Anything on the ground that either attacks or cam be made to attack, dies with no regeneration clause, whatsoever and with the amount of graveyard recursion for artifacts, this becomes very playable at only two mana a pop.for reuse.

Our closing out the inning, is a small little automaton, called Juggernaut.(m15)

While this has not seen tons of play in the last, few years, it still holds a great place in Magic’s history and versatility. A 5/3 ground pounder trades well, if needs be, but usually gets in good hits before its destruction. Also it has the upside of fitting in any color combo deck, with few exceptions, and cannot be blocked by Walls (not a big deal most of the time, but French Vanilla is better than just Vanilla, in my playbook). Great choice to assist White Weenies or for Artifact Affinity in Esper colors, as well. As added proof, the recent GP Portland had some pros playing this card, so that just goes to show you the card still has relevance in both a tough curve format, such a Limited, as well as Commander.

Aladdin’s Ring (9th. Ed.)

Today, I want to discuss a little-seen played card, that has a unique usage in Commander. Direct damage is usually only found in Red or a color mix, that contains Red (R/W, R/G, R/U, etc.). Colorless artifacts can give unique access to use this power in other colors; Aladdin’s Ring in no exception.

Having a casting cost of 8, and a matching activation cost, is a huge disadvantage. The reasons for this, back at the card’s inception was to limit the abuse/power creep that a colorless source of direct damage could have, over a Red source. Flash forward to today, with a large-format, slower game style, numerous ramp and mana rock resources, and the card now has renewed potential.

This would be a perfect addition to a Green-heavy Commander deck, that has land ramp, and the aforementioned mana rocks. Since Green only has strong support for fight mechanics for creature removal/control, this allows another resource to the toolbox, without having to play another color, like Red. Secondly, taking a beefy Astral Cornucopia, with a bunch of counters, makes the Ring card a 1-2 punch! Splashing Blue, you could Ensoul Artifact the Ring to give you a 5/5 creature, when either you do not have 8 mana free or need a blocker/attacker. I can see this might also fit an Artifact-heavy deck with or without Affinity.