Judge's Den: the Fifth Layer

Welcome back to Wizardden.com's Judge's Den. Continuing our series on layers, today is the fifth layer, otherwise known as the color changing layer. In general this is one of the easier layers to explain and work with. Lets take a look at what we can do on the fifth layer.

There are seven layers in total, each with it's own article link here:

Copy Layer

Control Layer

Text Layer

Type Layer

Color Layer

Ability Layer

Power/ Toughness Layer

The first thing we need to understand is the three parts of a card that determine a card's color. First the mana symbols indicated the cost of the spell. In the absence of a mana cost, a colored card will have a color indicator, a small circle located to the left of the card type. This last one has been replaced by the color indicator. Previously cards that had a different color than their mana cost suggested had a line of rules text that would state so at the top of their text box. The most notable example of this is Pact of Negation. These will no longer change color if the text is changed, thanks to the color indicator in the oracle printing.

Now that we understand what determines color, we can begin to change those colors. There are many color changing effects in magic, I have added a list of them at the bottom of this article. When you apply one of these effects, we must understand that the only characteristic that will change is the color. Take devotion for example. If you control a Nylea God of the Hunt and a Khalni Hydra, and use Moonlace on the hydra your Nylea will still be a creature. Even though the Hydra is currently colorless, allowing it to damage a Mirran Crusader for example, the Hydra still has eight green mana symbols on it. Changing the mana symbols can only be done with text changing effects.

Color changing is really as simple as that. Once you understand what exactly is changing all the layers get fairly simple. The last major point to add is watch for whether the change effect is a set or in addition to. If it says "becomes" without adding "in addition too" then it will cease being any other colors. Thank you once again for reading Judge's Den here at Wizardden.com.

Change to White
Creature:
Aurora Griffin
Cloudchaser Kestrel
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails

Enchantment:
Celestial Dawn

Instant:
Niveous Wisps
Purelace
Heaven's Gate

Change to Blue
Creature:
Disciple of Kangee
Fylamarid
Grand Architect
Indigo Faerie
Metathran Transport
Neurok Transmuter

Instant:
Cerulean Wisps
Sea Kings' Blessing
Thoughtlace

Change to Black
Enchantment:
Darkest Hour
Grave Servitude
Sinister Strength

Instant:
Aphotic Wisps
Deathlace
Defiling Tears
Nightcreep
Singe
Traitor's Clutch
Touch of Darkness

Change to Red
Instant:
Chaoslace
Crimson Wisps
Dwarven Song
Incite

Change to Green
Creature:
Aisling Leprechaun

Instant:
Lifelace
Viridescent Wisps
Sylvan Paradise

Change to Colorless
Artifact:
Mycosynth Lattice
Thran Lens

Creature:
Ersatz Gnomes
Ghostflame Sliver

Instant:
Moonlace

Artifact:
Alchor's Tomb
Distorting Lens

Creature:
Blind Seer
Govern the Guildless
Painter's Servant
Prismwake Merrow
Scuttlemutt
Swirling Spriggan
Tidal Visionary
Vodalian Mystic

Enchantment:
Dream Coat
Sisay's Ingenuity

Instant:
Illusion/Reality
Prismatic Lace
Quickchange
Sway of Illusion

Grand Prix Vegas and Other True Stories I didn't make up.

Last weekend Magic History was made. As you know Channel Fireball hosted a Modern Masters sealed Grand Prix in Sunny Las Vegas. Like many of you, Wizard Den was there and Rogue T3ch was registered for the main event!

The format was new and honestly, we didn’t have much time to prepare. I personally had only done one practiced sealed at the Wizard Den and I feel like my sealed deck in the main event showed that and I’m almost certain I miss built. I was passed a pool that had Ant Queen and Wolfbriar Elemental that was supported by a Noble Hierarch. I also had 6 Ravnica Bounce lands and 2 Evolving Wilds. 3 or 4 or the bounce lands were on color but I was going to play them all and lower my land count to 15. With the card advantage gained from the bounce lands, it made sense to cut from my overall land count. I Also had a few domain creatures in red I wanted to take advantage of and ended with a 5-color ‘good stuff’ deck. The archetype is common and with my mana base it was supported. I was base green to take advantage of my bombs. I was 3-2 when I dropped from the event. I was technically still live for day two but that required I go 4-0 the rest of the day and I was not feeling it as I started with a first round bye and then back to back wins to 3-0(Even recovering from a mull to 4 to win game 3 in the 3rd round!). I then lost back to back to back matches against a really solid R/G beat down deck and then the best U/W Affinity deck I’ve even seen in sealed. He opened with Court Homunculus into Everflowing chalice for 1 followed by rusted relic and a turn 4 Indomitable Archangel to give his board shroud and I’m pretty sure I scooped to that and dropped from the event.

Will Pickett getting deck advice from his round 3 opponent Josh Utter-Leyton

None of us made day two or had an “Insane Pool” or pulled “Crazy Value” A few of us were better tested than others but we did our best and all in all the trip was great! I heard some complaints about the events running poorly or taking to long but with upwards of 9,000 people trying to play in drafts/constructed/etc all at once I have to say I was impressed with the judge staff’s performance as a whole and with the exception of one incident in a Modern grinder I was participating in, I was fortunate to experience no such issues.

Picture I took from the Roof of the parking garage of the El Cortez on Fremont ST

Now, anyone that knows me will tell you I don't like sealed. The value gained from playing in the main event was too high for me to skip it and grind constructed side events for prize tickets(That was my original plan). I do have to say though, even with my dislike of sealed, Modern Masters 2015 sealed is fun format with numerous available archetypes and deck choices. If you haven't had a chance to do a sealed event, I highly recommend drafting the set while you still can. Only one rival for "Best draft format" in my eyes and that was vintage masters draft online (You got to draft Blue/Black storm in that format. What more do I have to say?).

As none of us found fame, glory or riches in the Nevada desert, There's not much more for me to say about the GP. Modern Master 2015 on the other hand? I have a few things to say about the set itself. Modern is my "on-again, off-again" favorite format. My feelings for the format Wax and Wane with the meta game and whether I'm enjoying the deck I'm playing and Winning with it (I guess I'm a spike). The decks I'm playing is seriously hindered by my access to the cards in the format. I, like many of you, Have had to make my deck choices based on whether the deck plays Tarmogoyf/Noble Hierarch/etc. I can't say the set is perfect but since it's release I have built two decks I have wanted to build for a while but simply couldn't afford to. First being Abzan. I'm gonna save the second for another article as it's a bit of a brew and still needs testing. Back to Abzan, I don't have Goyf, but I do have Noble Hierarch and that opened the door to the version I really wanted to play.

Wilted Abzan

Creatures:
4x Birds of Paradise
4x Noble Hierarch
4x Voice of Resurgence
2x Qasali Pridemate
3x Loxodon Smiter
3x Kitchen Finks
3x Wilt-Leaf Liege
4x Siege Rhino

Spells:
2x Thoughtseize
4x Path to Exile
4x Lingering Souls

Lands:
4x Windswept Heath
3x Marsh Flats
2x Verdant Catacombs
2x Overgrown Tomb
1x Temple Garden
1x Godless Shrine
2x Razorverge Thicket
1x Wooded Bastion
2x Forest
1x Plains
1x Swamp

Sideboard:
2x Thoughtseize
2x Stony Silence
2x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Back to Nature
2x Zealous Persecution
2x Spellskite
1x Leyline of Sanctity
2x Fracturing Gust

Now, i'm not gonna say the deck is perfect. The fetch lands could be better and the sideboard could be more streamlined against our meta, but, I did get a lot of testing in Vegas and this the 75 I piloted at our Modern tournament last Monday to an Undefeated finish.

Round One
Paired against Blue/Green Tron. For those of you unfamiliar with the Modern Format; "Tron" or "Urza Tron" is a deck that takes advantage of the Cycle of Urza Lands that Wizards of the costs printed in numerous sets through out the years. Urza's Tower, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Mine.

The deck runs cards like Expedition map and Ancient stirrings to tutor the lands as fast as possible and play cards like Wurmcoil Engine, Karn Liberated, and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon as early as turns 3 or 4. The Blue version backs that up with counter spells and early tempo plays. You can imagine this is a rough match-up. I was locked out of the game, game one. Mulligans from my Opponent and early thoughtseizes + timely path to exile on his wurmcoil engine ended game two in my favor. I don;t recall the details of game three but I know I took  the match. 

Whew.

Dodged a bullet.
Round Two
Paired against Red/Blue Splinter Twin combo.
The deck is a R/U tempo/control deck that has the ability to instantly kill you with the combo of Deceiver Exarch/Pestermite + Splinter Twin to make infinite copies of the chosen creature and swing for lethal.

This is actually considered a favorable match-up for me. The mainboard Qasali Pridemage and Path to exile gives me main-board ways to disrupt the combo and early threats, some of which are uncounterable(Love you loxodon smiter), allows me apply threats to the board early and hold up(or fake) an answer for the combo. This plan worked perfectly game one as a turn two loxodon smiter off of a Noble Hierarch attacked with exalted trigger until his life total was 0. Sideboard yielded the additional thoughtseizes and a pair of spellskite. Some players tend to sideboard the combo out entirely. I don't know what my opponent did as I went Hierarch into Smiter into "Attack until one of us dies". SPOILER: I went undefeated, so, he died. Not me.

Round Three

The match my deck was designed for. My opponent was running traditional Abzan Midrange with Liliana of the Veil, Tarmogoyf, Inquisition of Kozilek, etc. 

Well, this opponent doesn't have Liliana. I learned this after the match. He did run 1-2 Dark Confidant in his 75, Either way, I was happy with the pairing. He stumbled game one and I curved out quickly to take the game. Postboard I take out my Thoughtseizes and board in Zealous persecution to win the Lingering Souls war. This game was a slug-fest and ended in a top-deck war that he ultimately won. I didn't sideboard for game 3. He opened on a pre-game Leyline of Sanctity. I found this odd as it seemed likely I would board out my hand disruption but you never know I guess. With him on the draw but down a card as the leyline did literal nothing against me I just followed my curve. Traded removal early and ended in another top-deck war. I had spirit tokens and a gavony township that I drove to the finish line. 

Yay! Victory was mine! It was awesome, I did a lot of trading to finish this deck in Vegas and winning with it right of the gate was awesome and solidified the time and effort that it took to get it together. 

I don't think this is the "Best deck" or anything. I mean, this was just a Modern 8man tournament. I do however think the deck is sweet and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to cast Siege Rhino in modern but can't afford 'Goyf and Lilly for the Traditional Midrange version as I consider this version to be on-par in power-level. 

A different Animal, but, still the same Beast

(Thanks Kobe!)

Thanks again,

Until next time.

-Christian

Judge's Den: The Fourth Layer

 

It's back! Judge's Den has returned after a week off for Grand Prix Vegas and an unfortunate day spent sick. Picking up where we left off on our layers discussion, today we are covering the Type Changing layer. This layer is the one players get confused by most often. Cards like Blood Moon, Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, and Dryad Arbor come up a lot in modern. Links to the previous articles can be found here at Wizardden.com. With that, lets break down how these cards interact.

There are seven layers in total, each with it's own article link here:

Copy Layer

Control Layer

Text Layer

Type Layer

Color Layer

Ability Layer

Power/ Toughness Layer

The first thing to understand about the type layer is what exactly can be affected. The type line has three parts that can be present. Type which can include; artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard. Super Type which can include; basic, legendary, ongoing, snow, and world. Lastly Subtype includes any other text printed on the type line of a card. Subtypes are tied to their types, for example, if an elf stops being a creature then it also is no longer an elf.

Type changing effects will apply in one of two ways, setting or adding. Blood Moon for example sets nonbasic lands to be mountains overriding any preexisting subtypes. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth however only adds an additional type of Swamp. Unlike other subtypes basic land subtypes have an added effect giving the permanent a mana ability corresponding to that subtype. This mana ability will override any other abilities if the type change effect is a setting effect.

Where things often get most confusing is when types are changing on something with multiple types. Lets take Dryad Arbor for example. Dryad Arbor has both a land type and a creature type, each with a corresponding subtype of forest and dryad respectively. If Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth enters the equation then the Dryad Arbor is now a Creature Land - Forest Swamp Dryad. This means that it taps for either a green or black mana. Now if we add a Blood Moon a few things happen. First Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth loses its swamp making ability when it becomes a Legendary Land - Mountain. Dryad Arbor becomes a Creature Land - Mountain Dryad. Notice that it is still a creature. Blood Moon's effect only applies to land subtypes though it will remove any other abilities the lands may have, it will not remove it's other attributes such as power and toughness.

I hope this clears up a lot of the confusion surrounding type change effects. To keep it simple, ask yourself what exactly it is changing and realize it is not changing anything other than that. Spreading Seas does not change names, types, or supertypes, it only changes land subtypes. Next week we will talk about color change effects. Thank you for reading here at Wizardden.com.

Double-Header Modern PPTQ weekend is UPON US!

Hello all you magic playing folks! Modern season is UPON US! And once again www.Wizardden.com and www.PhoenixFireGames.com are teaming up to bring you the best experience possible!

This upcoming weekend (June 13-14th) is a double header Modern PPTQ. You can either play in one event ($25 entry), or play in both for $40! (you can pre-pay at either store)



First Event: 
Wizard Den - June 13th - Modern - Registration 11am - FACEBOOK EVENT
$200 First Place travel stipend or a Box of Modern Masters 2015
Other prizes based on participation

2139 Broadway #102
Boise, ID 83706

Second Event:
PhoenixFire - June 14th - Modern - Registration 11am
$200 First Place travel stipend
Other prizes based on participation

44 E Fairview
Meridian, ID 83642


Hope to see you all there! Getting TWO PPTQs in the same weekend doesn't come up very often!