I first played Magic: The Gathering in high-school in the late 90s and stopped playing for a couple of years when I went to university, then when I tried to play again there were too many new rules that didn’t let me play with the cards I had. So let me clear: I don’t care that my deck is not tournament “legal” or this and that; I play with the original rules; if you want don’t want to play that’s fine; but let people who just want to have a good time, have a good time.
The Two Cards I Really Wanted
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about the one MTG deck I have left; a red-and-white combo supported by ancient artifacts, devastating spells, and quick creatures.
I was looking to add some newer cards but I don’t like the contemporary design and the 30th-anniversary boosters Wizards of the Coast released are just ridiculously priced; so I opted for buying a limited number of cards, I couldn’t afford or never had a chance to find when I was playing.
Black Lotus – The one card to rule them all! Every MTG player dreams of having one; it only took me 30 years to get one but it fits perfectly in my deck
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale – A friend of mine had one; I loved that land but never saw anyone else using it but I could see how useful it could be.
Lands
Lands are key to my success; my whole playstyle relies on using very few lands so the ones in the deck need to be as versatile as possible and allow me to get the most out of them.
Mishra’s Workshop – My deck relies quite a bit on artifacts so being able to get a lot of mana to summon them is more than welcome.
Maze of Ith – I don’t have a lot of creatures so being able to stop the most ferocious ones from attacking is needed.
Lotus Vale – A heavy cost to pay but as my strategy is based on having less land than my opponent(s), this is the perfect addition.
Reflecting Pool – This is the most versatile land I’ve seen after the original dual lands.
Scabland – It’s like a dual land but with damage attached to it; still versatile enough to be playable.
Red Cards
They’re red cards; their sole goal is to hurt the opponent and his/her creatures; all the cards I was looking to add were chosen for how much and how fast they could deal damage.
All this while keeping a very low invocation cost. One thing to understand is that the core cards of my deck are already chosen to be the most efficient possible; the cards chosen here are really to be used for adapting my deck to specific situations.
Caverns of Despair – This is the perfect card to hinder a creature deck from ruining a game I participate in.
Smoke – This does the same but in a slightly different way. Not sure I would use them as core cards in my deck but they can be useful.
Spells
Pyrokinesis – Does a fair amount of damage and its invocation cost can help control my hand; it’s a good thing.
Earthquake – I do love X spells and with the Urzatron; it can be a lot of fun.
Thunderbolt – It’s not as good as the whole-time favorite Lightning but it’s good enough.
Creatures
Volcanic Dragon – It comes and attacks fast; that’s all I need.
Suq’Ata Lancer – It does exactly what I’m looking for in a creature.
Mogg Fanatic – This one is a creature that can act like an instant; it’s kinda cool.
Artifacts
Artifacts are a cornerstone of my deck and the ones in it need to fulfill what other cards are: helping me handle small sources of mana and help me regulate the opponent(s) play.
Mox Diamond – One of the coolest artifacts released past the uncommon era and living up to its mox name.
Time Vault – What’s more fun than playing two turns in a row? This is a card I knew existed but never saw.
Sunglasses of Urza – Turning white manas into red is one ability that can definitely found a place in my deck.
Meekstone – When surrounded by creatures this little gem makes sure the bigger ones cannot be threats.
Mana Vault – This is a great source of colorless mana that can work greatly with the numerous X-spells I use.
White Cards
When it comes to white cards; the way I use is very simple; they’re here to help prevent damage with spells and creatures which have a defensive purpose.
The more I looked into MTG cards the more I noticed that the younger a card is the less useful it is: a lot of newer cards are less powerful versions of older cards.
Festival – I’ve got other cards like “Holy Day” that do something similar; it’s good to have options and a variety of cards to play.
Eye for an Eye – The ultimate “I will hurt you as much as you hurt me” card; it’s a blast to use.
Spells
Visions – The best way to control outcomes is to know what the future holds; this card does just that.
Reverse Damage – Using damage to gain life is one of the best things you can accomplish with a white color card; this embodies it.
Honorable Passage – This is quite similar to Reverse Damage in concept but with a twist if the source of the damage is red.
Creatures
Abu Ja’Far – A very unassuming creature that can take down big ones thanks to his disease.
Avenging Angel – One of the most interesting angels I’ve seen that isn’t a ripoff of a Serra Angel.
Benalish Knight – A creature that can be used as an instant which is rare with white creatures but common for my red ones.
