#multiplayer magic theory

Originally published in Serious Fun on Daily MTG, January 29th, 2002

There are three kinds of power in multiplayer Magic: the power you project, the power you consolidate, and the power you have over opponents. (There’s also the carbo-power you and your friends can only get from rewarmed Tacquitos and leftover salsa, but that’s a different article.) Not every color uses all three powers effectively. Black, on the other hand, maxes out on all three. You don’t have to go any further than Torment’s own card list to see examples:

Projected power is your direct show of force: swinging with creatures, cleaning off the board, locking down the situation, whatever. It is your active participation in your own victory.

In every expansion, black has at least two black cards that project enormous power – typically some variant of Pestilence, some enormous and impractical fatty, and another efficient weenie for a rapid-deploy army. Torment is certainly no different, offering up three Pestilence-style cards (Last Laugh, Mutilate, and Sickening Dreams), a clearly angry pet in Hypnox, and the ultra-quick Nantuko Shade.

Consolidated power: If projected power is the kinetic energy of Magic, consolidated power is the potential energy. Your resources – particularly cards and life – need replenishment.

Again, black has made a long career of doing both. With Drain Life, Syphon Soul, and Subversion to provide life fuel, and Necropotence as the king of card advantage vehicles, you can restock your supplies very easily in this color. Add on black’s penchant for recurring creature cards, and the resources can seem endless.

Torment’s take on this advantage comes through three incredibly powerful recursion cards: Dawn of the Dead; Chainer, Dementia Master; and Ichorid.

Note that the very act of playing mono-black does carry one large burden that sucks away your projected and consolidated power: your inability to deal with enchantments and artifacts. No matter how many removal cards you draw, fat creatures you recur, or life you gain, Light of Day or Nevinyrral's Disk often presents massive problems for you. Faced with these elements, you need someone to help out.

Manipulative power is your power over other opponents, to get them to do what you want them to. While many players mistake “staying quiet” for the best way to win a group game, in truth the most effective and reliable way for reaching your goals is to play actual spells and permanents that pave the road.

While it has enough scary creatures and permanents – the type seen in projected power above – to divert many sorts of attacks, black also has had more “subtle” cards, such as Plague Dogs and Mindslicer.

Torment adds to this list with Shambling Swarm and Faceless Butcher, which many opponents may find more useful alive than dead. A manipulative strategy using these cards requires your opponents to play superior creatures; but in a casual group game that should happen all the time. [...]

Wizards didn’t put in a ton of pro-black creatures into Odyssey and Torment just for white and green tourney mages to stick in their Block Constructed sideboards. If you are part of a multiplayer Magic group, you can reasonably expect at least one half of your friends to sport at least one mono-black deck within the next month or so. What do you think you should do about that?

I don’t need to go through a comprehensive list of “protection from black” cards right here. A simple search engine anywhere on the Internet will give you what you need. I would point out a couple of particularly efficient choices, such as Mystic Enforcer and Paladin en-Vec. And the Paladin isn’t just good because of the dominance of black…

Any grizzled multiplayer veteran worth his salt will see his group paying a great deal of attention to black, playing pro-black creatures and such… but no pro-red. And why should they? There is scant mention of that ability in Odyssey block, perhaps one or two cards at most. Many casual groups tend to play the newest and most exciting cards, letting older expansions fade out of memory here and there. How quickly we forget Ghitu Fire, Illuminate, and Prophetic Bolt. How easily our spoiler-happy eyes will slip over Violent Eruption and Devastating Dreams (well, perhaps not that easily).

And so it may seem that red, in fact, gets the largest advantage because of black’s dominance. Until you consider that red’s reckless manner in casual play plays right into blue’s patient hands…and also that Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor just got six more subjects to play with.