Playing with the Limited Infinity format

Looking for a quicker game of Magic, one that still has the epic feel of Commander but with quick turns and insane action on turn one? Tired of waiting for your opponents to shuffle because they've been ramping and tutoring for the past five turns? Give Limited Infinity a try!

You can read more about the format over on my Limited Infinity page. The gist of the format is this: players have infinite mana, but each player may play only one spell per turn.

This sounds crazy if you haven't tried it, but it's a lot of fun and makes for some really big plays.

I built a half-stack for this format recently and played a few quick test games. Nothing in my stack is worth more than $1 and the format really opens up the design space for cards that otherwise wouldn't see play. There's something awesome about every card you rip off the top being a massive fatty or game-changing spell. And knowing that you can cast them all!

Spells that in other formats you wouldn't think anything of can be downright scary in this format. Take this guy for example:



Anywhere else, you might look him over. But in this format, where you have infinite mana? Now, how does he look?

Or, what about this guy?



Sure, it's a dragon. And dragons are awesome in every possible way. But, he's even more awesome when you have oodles of mana.

You would think that these creatures are too crazy to include in the stack. But, give it a try. With the right mix of removal and counters, these creatures are the bombs you'd expect them to be without ending the game in a sudden and unspectacular fashion. Fireball, on the other hand, is not in my stack.

For those of you who are wondering about the Hellkite Charger, he is on my "watch list" since he has haste. As it turns out, infinite combat phases is pretty good. But, my card stack is chock full of even bigger flyers, including lots of dragons. So, even though the Hellkite Charger can in theory attack over and over, if he's running into bigger blockers he's not going anywhere.

Where are the green, legendary promos?

I was flipping through some cards and started to see a bunch of green cards printed as promos of one kind or another. This got me thinking, are there enough green promos to make an entire commander deck?



After a quick search over at magiccards.info, it looks like we are close. Would it be the best deck ever? No, but it would probably work. Here's a link to the deck list over at tappedout. There's still way too much land and I had to add a few colorless (lands and artifacts) to the mix to get anywhere near a reasonable count of promos... not counting forest promos.



There is a definite "elf" theme going on here with a few beasts thrown in for good measure. Ramp spells are present, too. Skull Clamp and Staff of Nin would fit here. What else am I missing? Are there any other green or colorless promos that would round this deck out?

Speaking of which, where the heck are the green, legendary promos? From what I can tell, there isn't even one to choose from for the commander slot. The whole idea goes out the window if the centerpiece of the deck isn't a promo. Maybe in Theros.

Amping up Braids / Eldrazi

My blue deck, Arcanis Brings Eldrazi, has a faster, scarier side when Braids steps in for Arcanis.



I've got a list of cards going for adding a little oomph to the deck and giving it more of a theme than just "Eldrazi!" As I look through the cards, I still haven't settled on if I want to slow my opponents down or help them speed up.

Blue Braids is one of those cards that make the other Timmy players at the table light up. They have a deck full of big monsters, so they see Braids and think things will work out for them. Of course, even though they have big creatures, my Eldrazi are usually bigger. That said, there are a handful of cards that work something like Braids and can give other decks trouble at the same time.




Gate to the AEther and Omen Machine side-step casting costs, but they also restrict what can be played and when. For example, the Gate only helps a player if the revealed card is an artifact, creature, enchantment, or land. The Omen Machine, on the other hand, makes it so that players can't draw cards (take that!) and makes is to that the card must be cast right then and there. No hidden information. No tricky tricks. It just is.




Shimmer and Back to Basics seem like cards that will give someone a bad day. I run into quite a few 3- and 5- color Commanders where I play. These guys run very few basic lands. Back to Basics mid-game after a tap out will put the breaks on them for a least a couple of turns until they work a way out. Against the mono-color players, Shimmer looks like an effective way to shut them down every other turn (but you know who they will be gunning for). It also looks like a good way to make sure that my annihilator triggers actually hit good stuff.



Rush of Knowledge is a good way to grab a fistful of cards. Most of the time, I'm looking at 6 or more cards when I cast it. Walking Atlas lets me drop land after land. Spine of Ish Sah and Phyrexian Ingester make quick work of whatever juicy targets are out on the field, while Diluvian Primordial does the same for Instants and Sorceries in the graveyard. Finally, a Cyclonic Rift on overload probably spells game over for at least one unlucky opponent when the ancient ones are wandering around.

Keeping Up With Griselbrand

Have I mentioned how not cool it is that Griselbrand is banned? At 8cc mana, he shows up right on time to refill my hand. You know what happens now when I hit 8cc mana? A whole lotta nuthin. Reiver Demon, sometimes.

Anyway, I made some changes to the Demons Deck. I still swap in Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis when playing "for real" and swap out Griselbrand so that the deck is legal.




I swapped out the Darksteel Pendant for Phyrexian Arena. I love the Pendant, for sure. But, most of the time I just want the extra card no matter what it is.




I'm also testing out Jet Medallion over Barren Moor.





This sounds crazy, but I swapped out Loxodon Warhammer and Nihil Spellbomb for Lashwrithe and Bonehoard, both of which are Living Weapons.





The Warhammer is undeniably awesome, but I often found myself needing a creature to put it on. When it works, it really works. Otherwise, it just sits there. The Living Weapons come into play with a 0/0 germ attached, so they pull double-duty. And even though neither piece of new equipment adds trample or lifelink, they both do a decent job of turning one of my demons into a must-deal-with threat when equipped.

As for the spellbomb, it's one card. I do have tutors to go and get it, but I can get the Bojuka Bog instead if I really need to get rid of a graveyard. I'm weak to lots of things, so I'm okay with being weak to graveyard recursion, too. Adding the Sepulchral Primordial to the mix gives me a way to grab creatures anyway. Too bad it's not a demon, but a little flexibility on the theme seems justifiable.

Speaking of flexibility, I'm considering slots for Massacre Wurm, Wurmcoil Engine, Phyrexian Obliterator, and Spreading Plague. The first three look pretty savage. The last one looks like a card that would complement the deck nicely and reminds me of Painful Quandary in that it causes opponents to make tricky decisions.




Finally, I found a spot for Liliana Vess by dropping Mimic Vat. I already had Liliana of the Dark Realms in there and I like the idea of Liliana / Demons (Griselbrand!) being the theme of the deck. If I ever end up with Liliana of the Veil, that would be sexy too.




Future cards I'm looking at include Rise of the Dark Realms at 9cc and Shadowborn Demon at 5cc (replacing Bone Shredder).

1st Place at Commander Tournament

Better lucky than good.

Due to a string of lucky events, I took first place at a Commander tournament today at my local gaming store. I played a modified version of Demons (decklist below).

Lucky event #1:

• The store was hosting a Modern Masters tournament today, so we only had 10 players in the Commander tournament. The "hardcore" players were playing in the other tournament.

Lucky event #2:

• No one was playing combo during my first round (pod, table, whatever).

I was able to control table one long enough to knock out one player and sit behind my Forcefield and Maze of Ith while forcing damage through with my demons.



Lucky event #3:

• The winner of the first round at the table on my left decided to drop. He was playing Chieftain and would have likely won. This left me and the winner from the table on my right, playing Zur, to fight it out 1-vs-1 in the final round.

As it turns out, mono-black control does well when I can kill Zur every turn. He was able to drop Swiftfoot Boots into play followed by Zur at one point. He chose to use Zur's ability to get Prison Term for my Rune-Scarred Demon instead of making Zur indestructible. But I topdecked Decree of Pain to kill Zur for the 3rd time.

Like I said, better lucky than good.

Creature (19)

• 1x Abyssal Persecutor
• 1x Bloodgift Demon
• 1x Bone Shredder
• 1x Carnifex Demon
• 1x Disciple of Bolas
• 1x Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis
• 1x Harvester of Souls
• 1x Kagemaro, First to Suffer
• 1x Lord of the Void
• 1x Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
• 1x Pestilence Demon
• 1x Pilgrim's Eye
• 1x Reaper from the Abyss
• 1x Reiver Demon
• 1x Rune-Scarred Demon
• 1x Sepulchral Primordial
• 1x Sheoldred, Whispering One
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Steel Hellkite

Land (39)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Strip Mine
• 31x Swamp
• 1x Thawing Glaciers
• 1x Urborg
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Wasteland

Instant (4)

• 1x Dismember
• 1x Grasp of Darkness
• 1x Murder
• 1x Rend Flesh

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Dauthi Embrace
• 1x No Mercy
• 1x Painful Quandary
• 1x Phyrexian Arena

Sorcery (17)

• 1x Ambition's Cost
• 1x Ancient Craving
• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Black Sun's Zenith
• 1x Consuming Vapors
• 1x Corrupt
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Hellfire
• 1x Infest
• 1x Mutilate
• 1x Profane Command
• 1x Promise of Power
• 1x Syphon Mind

Artifact (15)

• 1x Armillary Sphere
• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Bonehoard
• 1x Elbrus, the Binding Blade  ^Flip
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Forcefield
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Lashwrithe
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Thran Dynamo

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
• 1x Liliana Vess

Paying Attention

I play Magic once a week - if I'm lucky. That's not by choice, exactly. It's just that once a week on Saturday is when the card shop I go to has a Commander tournament. Otherwise, other things take priority during the week. This is in stark contrast to playing Magic 15+ years ago, every day, all day, and most of the night too. Let's just say that I got in more practice back in the day.

I can't remember where I read about this technique, but I started using it a long time ago. You know that moment in a game of Magic where you know you made a play mistake? Like, let's say you missed an attack or tapped the wrong land and cut yourself off from the color of mana you needed later in the turn. Those sorts of mistakes may not cost you the game immediately, but they add up. If you really want to practice with purpose, put a D6 on top of your library. Every time you make a mistake, add one to the D6. Your goal is to not make mistakes. Looking at the D6 before you draw every turn will help you be aware of what you are doing each turn.



Last week, I shuffled up my Braids / Eldrazi deck expecting to get smashed by combo for the umpteenth week in a row. But not this time. This time, I found myself one attack away from winning (the first round at least) and screwed it up big time. This wasn't a D6-type mistake. This one cost me the game. It went something like this.

I'm playing against Sliver-combo - nice guy, but I lost to him last week so I know what I'm up against. I also see Uril sitting across from me, which is never good. And, someone I haven't played against before on my left. It's four of us at the table. On turn 4, I cast Braids expecting to not have her live to make it back around the table to me. But she does. So, I drop Ulamog. I drop a land and tap out for Time Warp, expecting it to get countered. It doesn't. Ulamog goes into the red zone at Slivers and sets him back with the Annihilator 4 trigger. It goes back around again. Braids is still alive. More Eldrazi join the party. Uril attacks me for 20 Commander damage. Here's where I lose.

Uril is tapped. He has no blockers and is tapped out. I have Ulamog, a couple of other Eldrazi, and Braids. I look across the table and see Uril's life counter is at 2. He's using a D20 to keep track at this point. I attack with Braids for what I think is lethal. I swing everything else at the other guy. As it turns out, Uril is really at 5 life. Take a D20 out and turn it over so that you are looking at 5. Now, turn it around and put it across the table from you. See the "2"? My brain certainly did.

I should have asked what his life total was, of course. I should have been writing it down if I was taking this "tournament" seriously. Instead, I expected to eat the Sliver combo on turn 5 and lose without having to do much of anything. I guess the lesson is "pay attention" or something. You can insert your own words of wisdom here.




Speaking of combo. We shuffled up for an unofficial second game after my spectacular failure. The second game is almost always the fun game because people put the combo deck back in the box and take out something "fun." I took out Demons, who without Griselbrand don't really do much except look cool and have lots of black mana symbols and evil-sounding names. One guy had tokens. Someone else had Grimgrin. Someone else had, Geist. No one was playing combo. The game took forever. Hours. Lots of sweepers. Lots of stalling. I missed lunch. I nearly missed dinner. Near the end, I was secretly hoping for a combo kill. There, I said it. Don't judge me!


A couple of fun things to note:


This kept happening. It's a "combo" alright. And it's pretty scary. Just not scary enough to end the game.


At one point, I put a Whispersilk Cloak on Ulamog. Because that makes perfect sense. "Quick! Put this on. No one will notice you that way."


Uril is a beast, and I don't just mean his creature type. With three auras, he was up to 20 power, indestructible, lifelink, first strike, and some other junk. It involved Shield of the Oversoul. This all happened in one turn. Plus, it's Commander damage coming your way.

Spotlight: Wayfarer's Bauble

Oh, Wayfarer's Bauble.




Looks simple, right? Humble, even. It comes out for 1cc mana. It activates for 2cc mana. It's an artifact. And it ramps. This common card deserves the spotlight, though. Why?

Wayfarer's Bauble searches up a basic land and puts it into play. Sure, the land comes in tapped, but it does give you an extra land to untap next turn.

That's good, but what else?

At 1cc mana to cast and 2cc to activate, you can drop it first turn and activate it on the second turn. That way, when you get combo-killed on turn 3, you can at least feel like you actually got to do something during the game other than play lands. But, I digress.

If you draw the Wayfarer's Bauble mid-to-late-game, you can usually find 1 mana floating around to drop it into play. Now, you have a shuffle waiting. That can come in handy if you are running anything like - oh, I don't know - Sensei's Divining Top or Halimar Depths and don't like what you see.



If you are running blue, Trinket Mage is probably close by. I mean, you are running - oh, I don't know - Sol Ring, right? The Mage can get you Wayfarer's Bauble if your Sol Ring is already out or already blown up.



What about landfall triggers? Can't get enough of those, right? Wayfarer's Bauble plops another land into play for only 3 total mana. Ob Nixilis is a huge fan of lands coming into play, what with the hole in his soul and all. Also, Rampaging Baloths get all rampagy when lands come into play. So, watch out for that.



What it comes down to is this: Sit down with your 99 cards and go through them one by one as you ask yourself, "Is there a spot for Wayfarer's Bauble?" If there isn't a spot, why not? It's one of those humble cards that gets the job done. It makes your other cards better. It makes your deck better!