Planechase

Planechase brings a new variant to the casual game play of MTG. The back stories of the card expansions and Planechase lends itself to the whole experience.  

There are four game packs to choose from:

                Strike Force

                Metallic Dreams

                Zombie Empire

                Elemental Thunder

What do you get in the packs?

10 Oversized planar cards, 1 planar 6d die, 60 card deck and a strategy/rule insert.

The planar decks set the scene in which the battlefield is staged. However, this is not to say that it remains this way throughout the entire game.

All the planar cards have a global effect, which affects all players at all times. A chaos effect is activated by the chaos symbol if rolled on the planar die. There is also a Planechase symbol which causes you to jump to a new plane, changing how the game may pan out.

If we look at the planar card ‘Sokenzan’ the global effect is ‘All creatures get +1/+1 and have haste’. The chaos effect is ‘whenever you roll [chaos], un-tap all creatures that attacked this turn. After this main phase, there is an additional combat phase, followed by an additional main phase’. As you can see these abilities can make or break your game.  

You get one free roll per turn during you main phase. If you want to try your luck again it costs 1, if you want to try again it costs 2, and if you really aren’t happy with your past rolls it costs 3 and so on and so forth.

This format of play is so much fun and gets even better with more players. With the added effects with every plane, it can turn the game-play in seconds; always keeping it fresh and new. It is fun watching someone spend all there mana trying to Planechase, as it’s not helping their game at all.

My favourite planer cards:

‘Shiv’

The global effect is only good if you have mountains but if you roll chaos you get a 5/5 red Dragon with flying. NICE!

‘Sanctum of Serra’

You could lose it all or gain it all. If you planes walk out, all non-land permanents are destroyed but if you roll chaos, then your life becomes 20. If you’re about to lose, then what have you to lose...

‘Cliffside Market’

If swapping of life totals and creatures doesn’t make the game interesting, I don’t know what would.

‘Naya’

Especially if it’s the first planer card you Planechase to.

If you play multiplayer games a lot then I recommend getting these packs.

Knights vs. Dragons: Duel Decks

You can also read this here: http://www.emotionallyfourteen.com/2011/06/gaming-reviews.html

Duel Decks are mainly themed decks; containing reprints of cards which may not have been seen for years. They are designed to be picked up and played in such a way that it gives each player an even strength. But is this the case?

When I heard that the theme was “Knights and Dragons”, I was ecstatic and could not wait to get my hands on them. In my very first pack of MTG cards I found a dragon, and from that point I wanted to make a dragon deck, six years on I’m still in need of dragons. This makes the want for this particular deck greater.

However, from playing with the decks I must admit I got bored. Not because the decks are badly constructed, but because the thought put into the advantages the cards have over each other results in the games playing out the same way almost every time.

The knights take an early lead, having more “low-power” creatures, with added abilities that are quick to cast; whereas dragons sit and do nothing until you get atleast five lands into play. Once the dragons are out and you still have enough life, you attack with full force in order to do a greater amount of damage. Of course there have been games where this hasn’t been as obvious, but if you analyse carefully structures this way.

Knights Deck List:

                White Creatures:

                                                Skyhunter Patrol

                                                Kinsbaile Cavalier

                                                Zhalfirin Commander

                                                Knight Exemplar

                                                White Knight

                                                Plover Knights

                                                Caravan Escort

                                                Kabira Vindicator

                                                Knight of Meadowgrain

                                                Paladin of Prahv

                                                Kight of Cliffhaven x2

                                                Benalish Lancer

                                                Lionheart Maverick x2

                                                Alaborn Cavalier

                                                Silver Knight

                                                Leonin skyhunter

                                                Kight of the White Orchid

                Other White:

                                               

                                                Mighty Leap

                                                Griffin Guide

                                                Test of Faith

                                                Reciprocate

                                                Reprisal

                                                Oblivion Ring

                                                Harm’s Way

                Multi-Coloured Creatures:

                                                Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers

                                                Knight of the Reliquary

                                                Knotvine Paladin

                                                Heroe’s Reunion

                                                Steward of Valeron

                                                Sigil Blessing

                                                Juniper Order Ranger

                Other Green:

                                                Edge of Autumn

                                                Spidersilk Armor

                Artefacts:

                                                Loxodon Warhammer

                Lands:

                                                Plains x 12

                                                Forest x 6

                                                Selesnya Sanctuary x 2

                                                Grasslands x 2

                                                Sejiri Steppe

                                                Treetop Village

With this deck, there isn’t anything big enough to take on a dragon, but there are the “level-up” creatures with which you can build on as the game progresses, as well as plenty of spells to see that you’re not just trampled on by the dragons.

Dragon Deck List:

                Red Creatures:

                                                Dragonspeaker Shaman

                                                Mordant Dragon

                                                Fire-Belly Changeling

                                                Bogardan Hellkite

                                                Kilnmouth Dragon

                                                Skirk Prospector

                                                Bloodmark Mentor

                                                Cinder Wall

                                                Bogardan Rager

                                                Thunder Dragon

                                                Dragon Whelp x 2

                                                Mudbutton Torchrunner x 2

                                                Voracious Dragon

                                                Shivan Hellkite

                Other Red:

                                                Spitting Earth

                                                Temporary Insanity

                                                Fiery Fall x 2

                                                Cone of Flame

                                                Jaws of Stone

                                                Seething Song

                                                Captive Flame

                                                Punishing Fire

                                                Shiv’s Embrace

                                                Breath of Darigaaz

                                                Dragon Fodder x 2

                                                Claws of Valakut

                                                Seismic Strike

Other Colourless:

                                                Ghostfire

                Artefact Creature:

                                                Henge Guardian

                Artefact:

                                                Armillary Sphere x 2

                                                Dragon’s Claw

                Land:

                                                Mountain x 24

I liked playing this dragon deck a lot, but I think it was just due to my love of dragons; I say this because if I’m honest with the deck, you have to play the waiting game. There are spells to keep you doing something while the waiting to get the big boys out, but there are not enough small creatures to enhance your defence and that is where you will fall. Once you have the mana needed, you will find that getting the dragons out is the easy part, and thus so is the winning.

It was fun the first few times, but the game play you get out of these decks gets old, and fast. This is a real shame as they are well crafted decks. If you’re into playing themed decks, then you may find them fun as stand-alone decks.