Magic Theory is what happens when the game becomes something more than just the creatures, the artwork, the cool spells, and the story. It's the "stuff" behind the game, the goings on, the inner-workings, the "what makes it tick" that gets down to what is actually happening when a game of Magic plays out.
It changes a statement like, "I won!" into a question: "Wait, why did I win?" Or more commonly, it changes, "I lost?!" into: "Wait, why did I lose?" There's a reason why we win and lose at this game, and although it can certainly come down to luck, it more often has to do with the decisions we make all throughout the process. Magic Theories are ways of thinking about these decisions that guide everything from deckbuilding (card choices) to the best times to use your spells.
For those of you that are ready for some next level Magic, I have some great news. Plenty of smart people have done a lot of the heavy lifting for us in this area already. For a solid overview, check out this article on ThoughtScour.com: The Best Magic Theory Articles of All Time.
Every article on that page is worth checking out. But I wanted to call out how at least a few of these concepts apply to the Commander format (and 5c control specifically). Let's take a look.
What a control deck does is not immediately obvious to a new player. Or, more specifically, how a control deck wins is not obvious. I've taught Magic to dozens of people over the years, and in my experience there are a couple of fundamental truths for new players. They like creatures and big spells. They like to win by smashing into opponents with those very same creatures. They get frustrated when playing against control.
Here's how a typical match up against control plays out.
You each start with 7 cards. By turn 3, barring anything fancy, you've seen 10 cards: the 7 you started with and the 3 cards drawn for your turns. You've played 3 lands, a couple of creatures, and a couple of other spells. You are just about out of cards by turn 4. The control player is running low on cards, too. He's been playing lands, just like you. He might have even played one or two defensive creatures, or some removal spells. It looks like you've got him on the ropes! He's at 5 life! But wait. Something just happened. It could be a sweeper that kills all of your creatures. It could be an enchantment that effectively stops (or slows down) your assault. Things aren't looking so good, but at least you can keep drawing and overpower him, right? By the next turn, the control player casts something that fills up his hand. Suddenly, you are in top deck mode while he is busy organizing all of the cards he's drawn. When you do draw for your turn, there's a good chance it's a land. When it's not a land, you cast your one threat. He counters it. Or, if it does resolve, he bounces it. Or removes it. Or nullifies it. The game is over. It's been over for several turns. You just don't know it yet. You keep playing, desperate to rip the one card that will turn the tide. But it never comes. You get beat down by something a dozen turns later, doesn't matter what. You lose. But why? Card advantage, plain and simple. Oh, and the fundamental turn. And, knowing just who is the beatdown.
When you square off against just one other deck, you better put up a good defense if you want to make it past the initial rush. In Commander, you are often squaring up against an entire table of decks instead of just one. Some people describe this situation as "politics," and in my experience some of that goes on. "Hey, let's leave that guy alone. He's missed his last three land drops." Or, "Uh oh, it's Azami wizard combo. Get him!" Combo is combo and there are quite a few decks that can win in the first four turns in this format. Even if the table gangs up on that one combo player, there often isn't much you can do about it. But if you are playing with people who want to see how the game develops, you'll see a mid-game and maybe even a late-game. The fundamental Magic Theories still apply, though.
If you've been playing Commander for any length of time, you've probably noticed that Phyrexian Arena and Sensei's Divining Top show up in a lot of decks. Why? Neither of these cards are obviously good to a new player. So, what's the deal then?
Assuming you are going to see a mid-game and a late-game, an enchantment that trades one life for one card every turn is quite powerful. Phyrexian Arena is giving you an extra card every turn it is out. In Commander, that can be a lot of turns and therefore a lot of cards. Remember, only the last point of life matters. The first 19 points (39 in Commander) don't matter, usually. You don't "win more" by having more life points when the game ends. So, anything that turns life (a resource) into cards is something worth looking at. Drawing more cards means having more options. Those options are what you use to win the game.
Okay, Mr. Smartypants - why is Sensei's Divining Top so good then? It doesn't draw you cards every turn. What gives?
At first glance, the top looks like a little effect, but it really packs a wallop. There are lots of tricks you can pull with the top, but even if you simply use it to re-order the top three cards of your library every turn, you are basically setting yourself up to draw "the card you need" out of the bunch. If you can cook up a way to shuffle your library, you get to see three new cards with the top. Over the course of a game, the ability to always draw the best card of the bunch means that you increase your deck's consistency. In a format where you are running only one copy of each card in your deck, increasing consistency is a big deal.
If you bring a control deck to the Commander table, you are already planning to make it past the early combo rush. It doesn't always work out because this is Commander and crazy things happen, but when it does you know that you are the control deck. If you have any doubts about this, check out the "Who's the Beatdown?" article. What does it mean to be a control deck at the Commander table? It means sitting back even more than usual, not picking fights, and diverting attention elsewhere. It means riding the line between being a threat and getting ganged up on. Things you can do to defend yourself at instant speed matter - a lot. Things that stop people from coming at you (without stopping them from going at someone else) matter. It's a twisted version of a traditional, dueling control deck.
To the uninitiated, a 5c control decklist can look deceptively like a pile of random cards. Now that we have some of the underlying concepts out there, I'll take a look at some of the ways to build a control deck in all five colors for the format and what cards fit where.
No comments:
Post a Comment