Monthly Archives: April 2017

Anointed Procession Makes the Next Infinite Combo

Anointed Procession
It might not look it at first glance, but Anointed Procession is going to enable infinite everything.

Sensei’s Diving Top – Banned in Legacy!

“Sensei’s Divining Top gets no hat tip from me. There are very few cards — probably zero in the history of Magic — that have cost as many human lifetimes as Sensei’s Divining Top.”
-Patrick Chapin

Patrick and MichaelJ open on a tearful* goodbye to Sensei’s Divining Top. While the Top has drawn some bad press due to eating up the clock in recent years, there is no denying its contribution to a number of impossibly inventive decks. Cards from Kodama’s Reach to Shrapnel Blast to Counterbalance have all reached the top of the metagame.

Speaking of Banned Cards…

What will be obvious to you listening to this podcast is that the boys recorded “Anointed Procession Makes the Next Infinite Combo” before this week’s last minute addendum to the Banned and Restricted list.

So yes, Patrick does a little Felidar Guardian + Liliana brewing… But there are still lots of other great nuggets in this episode (we think).

For instance:

Going Infinite with Anointed Procession

Anointed Procession + Eldrazi Displacer + Drowner of Hope is an infinite combo.

How does this work?

With Anointed Procession on the battlefield, Drowner of Hope will make four 1/1 tokens rather than just two.

It costs three total mana to activate Eldrazi Displacer; three mana will blink Drowner of Hope, putting the aforementioned four tokens into play. That means that you can net one token per cycle (again assuming Anointed Procession is there).

This combination gives you as many Icy Manipulators as you would like… Except they can also attack for infinite damage.

The advantage of this combination is that Eldrazi Displacer and Drowner of Hope are actually “good cards” rather than just combination pieces. After all, even if Anointed Procession is not part of your equation, Drowner of Hope is seven power across three bodies for “just” six mana.

Even without the Eldrazi, Anointed Procession is a surprisingly effective card.

How interested would you be in Nissa, Voice of Zendikar into this enchantment? Making two 0/1 Plant tokens per activation seems like a heck of a defense. How about good old Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Anointed Procession at the same time? Did the best card of the previous format get even better?

We shall see!

Put another way, if your deck is full of token makers, Anointed Procession will increase the impact of one and all.

No, this podcast is not mostly about this cool new combo. There is also Patrick’s argument that Zombies will be Tier One, Mike’s continued love of cycling, and of course some misplaced metagaming around Felidar Guardian.

Give “Anointed Procession Makes the Next Infinite Combo” a listen now:

Direct Download

* Okay maybe not that tearful in Patrick’s case.

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If They Tap Out for Drake Haven… Kill ’em!

Drake Haven
Drake Haven will be a defining card from Amonkhet

Drake Haven might be Mike’s favorite card from Amonkhet…

.. Whatever that means.

Sure, it’s Lightning Rift-like (or Astral Slide-like, if you prefer). It screams to collaborate with tons and tons of cyclers printed in the vary same set. Untap with Drake Haven in play, and you have a ready-made source of defense, card advantage, and damage all at once. Mike thinks that Drake Haven could be a centerpiece of the new Standard… After all, it can counter and overwhelm Gideon, is highly synergistic with your own sweepers, and can chase down many Planeswalkers in the air, (at least when you have a turn).

But almost by definition, many playing this card will give you a window to attack.

Turn Three Kills

Flameblade Adept + Noose Constrictor + Shadow of the Grave

There are multiple variations on this kill, and some variability based on play or draw. The simple scenario works like this:

  1. Game Trail + Flameblade Adept
  2. Attack for 1 (19), Swamp + Noose Constrictor
  3. On your draw you have five cards in hand [on the play]. If you discard all of them but one, Noose Constrictor becomes six power, and your Flameblade Adept goes to five power; now use your last card (Shadow of the Grave) to re-buy the four cards you discarded. Discard them again and Noose Contrictor becomes 10 and Flameblade Adept goes to nine. Good thing you pinged for one last turn!

Build Your Own Baneslayer Angel

While maybe not the best against Drake Haven decks directly, White Weenie decks seems to be getting a boost from Amonkhet. Always Watching was always a powerful card to play with the little white men, but combined with the new exert mechanic? Nothing but undercosted, potentially advantageous, attackers!

Glory-Bound Initiate is a perfect option. It comes down on turn two (a turn before Always Watching) and can help you build your own Baneslayer Angel.

Glory-Bound Initiate
Glory-Bound Initiate can become 4/4 on its own, but may have to slow down. Enter Always Watching
Dozens of cards are explored in this podcast. Mike and Patrick can’t wait to play Amonkhet!

Direct Download

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Nissa, Steward of Elements Will Get You for 10

Nissa, Steward of Elements
Nissa, Steward of Elements breaks — or at least bends — many rules

What an interesting Planeswalker!

What a glorious set of abilities!

A perceptive mage might even point out that Nissa’s casting cost is itself kind of a special ability… It is after all something special, something we haven’t seen before, at XGU.

For one thing, you can cast Nissa, Steward of Elements for a mere GU. This is not a typical play, though, as Nissa will go directly into the graveyard if you do so… But maybe that’s okay. Maybe you’re on the Delirium track and you are okay spending two mana to put the Planeswalker type into your graveyard. Or maybe you’ve previously cast an Oath of Gideon or Oath of Ajani, letting you get away with that cheat.

But even at 1GU Nissa is part of the rare breed of “three” mana Planeswalkers. The original Jace Beleren, as well as a number of Lilianas, have proven tournament Staples due to being only three mana. Nissa can come down for 1GU and immediately tick up with the [+2] to “start” at three loyalty (while giving you a nice look at the top of your library).

[+2] : Scry 2.

Nissa’s “plus” ability is perfectly serviceable. It’s not the most exciting plus ability, but it does a couple of things well in her context. As we’ve already said, starting the three mana version of Nissa at three loyalty is potentially solid. Especially early, the ability to add two loyalty to Nissa can act as a proxy for defending herself.

Separately, Scry 2 is extremely synergistic with Nissa’s second ability. Because it goes two deep you can know what you will hit, even after your next draw step, meaning you can theoretically ensure a 100% hit rate.

[0] : Look at the top card of your library. If it’s a land card or a creature card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of loyalty counters on Nissa, Steward of Elements, you may put that card onto the battlefield.

Nissa’s second ability is erratic, but potentially powerful. If you use the Scry 2 ability, you can ensure a hit… But you don’t 100% need to. If Nissa is already at very high loyalty you might be able to hit even a big fatty like Ulamog or Torrential Gearhulk. Your worst case is of course using Nissa blind and missing, but on the low(ish) end you can also just use this as a mana ramp ability.

It is not out of the question to use Nissa, immediately [0], hit a land, and have five or even six mana available the next turn. A more consistent play pattern might be to reveal two lands with [+2], draw one of the lands, and [0] the other into play. Three straight to five!

Nissa is probably going to draw fire for “not protecting herself” but that isn’t 100% the case. The [+2] gives Nissa a bit of resiliency, but the ability to even sometimes land a creature to block is also a measure of defense (though, again, not super consistent).

[-6] : Untap up to two target lands you control. They become 5/5 Elemental creatures with flying and haste until end of turn. They’re still lands.

This ability is what sets Nissa, Steward of Elements apart.

Who cares if she doesn’t defend herself if your intention is not to keep Nissa, Steward of Elements around? For the bargain price of eight mana (6GU) you can just Fireball your opponent for ten! Take ten in the air! Blammo!

The “take ten” [-6] is not the most flashy or powerful Ultimate in the history of Planeswalkers, but its speed is like nothing we have ever seen before. A Ramp deck can land this ability out of nowhere. We can even imagine consecutive turns of ten plus ten, winning with no non-Nissa-Ultimate damage.

Pro Tour Champion Patrick Chapin blows it all away with an additional observation:

“What if you just play her for nine?”

Nissa and Liliana are joined by Sphinxes, Beasts, and 2/2 flying tokens in “Nissa, Steward of Elements Will Get You for 10”

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Amonkhet Brings NEW PERSPECTIVES

New Perspectives
New Perspectives, from Amhonkhet
MichaelJ and Patrick return for a special bonus episode! Top Level Podcast has an exclusive preview from Amonkhet.

When New Perspectives enters the battlefield, draw three cards.

New Perspectives starts more-or-less the best way a card can: By helping you draw three cards! In.

(Or, at least, we are interested in further exploration.)

Six mana is a bit steep for the ability to draw three cards, but Patrick claims that this card is actually a “draw four” … One of the cards is just a zero mana Fluctuator.

Because New Perspectives is a permanent rather than a sorcery (compare to Tidings), you can pick it up or blink it (perhaps with Felidar Guardian) to draw more and more.

As long as you have seven or more cards in hand, you may pay 0 rather than pay cycling costs.

This second line is what puts the “new” in the name. We aren’t just talking about a Fluctuator… This card is expensive but far more powerful.

For one, New Perspectives will handle colored mana in a cycling cost, not just discount a 2 to 0. It opens the door to some big opportunities. For instance, why not start with Archfiend of Ifnir on five, untap with the Demon still in play, and then run out New Perspectives? Having (or drawing into) just one or two cycling cards — TAPPED OUT — can totally swing the board.

This card represents — we think — a whole new way to play.

Check it out:

Direct Download

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Gideon of the Trials and More Amonkhet

Gideon of the Trials
Gideon of the Trials from Amonkhet
Gideon of the Trials is a splashy new Planeswalker from Amonkhet. There are lots of things going on with this card that are interesting.

First of all, it is only three mana. Like Jace Beleren and Liliana of the Last Hope before it, Gideon is likely going to find a way into appropriately-colored decks, just because it is so cheap. Conveniently, all three of Gideon’s abilities are meaningful and worthy of discussion.

[+1]: Until your next turn, prevent all damage target permanent would deal.

This is Mike’s favorite ability on the card.

Gideon of the Trials can completely shut off threat-poor decks; it is in fact outstanding against one threat at a time.

In addition, the [+1] is, in a roundabout way, a source of card advantage. You can force the opponent to play multiple threats by neutralizing the first one. He can be stuck losing an extra card to Fumigate, only to be stuck again a threat-and-a-half later.

This ability is also great against Heart of Kiran. Not only can you shut it off damage-wise (no matter what mode it is in), the fact that Heart of Kiran is Legendary means that you effectively shut off all the copies that are stuck in the opponent’s hand.

[0]: Until end of turn, Gideon of the Trials becomes a 4/4 Human Soldier creature with indestructible that’s still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn.

If Gideon of the Trials only featured the middle ability, it would be comparable to True-Name Nemesis… a 4/4 “basically unstoppable” 4/4 for only three mana (but doesn’t play defense)? Pretty solid!

This is the most straightforward of Gideon’s three abilities. It’s basically always good any time you don’t want to be using the [+1].

[0]: You get an emblem with “As long as you control a Gideon planeswalker, you can’t lose the game and your opponents can’t win the game.”

Gideon’s emblem is a little tricky. It basically is an emblem that makes present or future Gideons into Platinum Angels. This can be powerful — For example you can lock out (or at least buy a turn from) certain combo decks. But most conventional decks that attack to beat you can attack Gideon instead. Not awful by any means, but not decisive generally, at least not in Standard.

All-in-all, Gideon of the Trials looks like the most powerful white card we’ve seen so far from Amonkhet.

There are lots of other cards discussed, as well, in this week’s episode! Give it a listen:

Direct Download

Oh… And bonus episode tomorrow!

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