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Editor: Michael Mason. Friday 18 June 2004.
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 On Face Value: Skullclamp
Hello, and welcome to my first attempt at a semi regular set of articles I want to call On Face Value. The idea of On Face Value will be to look at new card ideas myself or others have had and see what they do for the game. For my first trick err... article; I will discuss the many different texts Skullclamp could have had to avoid it being banned. In the wake of the Skullclamp banning, I believe it is safe to assume that the magic community is divided on the issue, whereas some people are up in arms saying it shouldn't have been banned; there are others who are happy/ecstatic/content with the banning. Now, I haven't been playing magic for long enough to know if they (Wizards) actually do this kind of thing or not, but I think it would have been interesting to see what would have happened as a result of the text of Skullclamp changing instead of just banning it.
Like I said, I don't know if Wizards would ever change a card's text to avoid it being banned, but it seems to me to be an interesting thing to do. Let's see how the card changes when it no longer reads "Equipped creature gets +1/-1. When equipped Creature is put into a graveyard, draw two cards"
How about a half draw?
The most obvious change to me is to change the number of cards drawn to 1. I have been speaking of this to some people that I know, and if this happened, it is clear that Skullclamp becomes rather overrated. Sure, Ravaffinity gets its nice advantage Combo-ing with Arcbound Worker, but the card advantage is smaller. To get any real advantage, you need to clamp multiple times in a turn, costing valuable mana. So, while it retains its combo ability with Disciple of the Vault, this rendition of Skullclamp is decidedly weaker, but no longer worth it. I believe the aim here is to change it into an unbroken playable version of the card. So, onwards to another variant.
How do you put this thing on?
Another idea, whether you could tell from the heading or not, is to increase the equip cost to 2. The first advantage to this is aesthetic. A Skullclamp like that seems complex to pick up and jam into your head, so two mana makes sense. I mean, if I was jamming something into my head, I'd damn well want two mana for it. Moving into game terms, it will also reduce the number of times you can do it per turn, slowing down ravagers yet further. However, on the flip side, White Weenie benefits madly out of this, with Auriok Steelshaper still able to knock it down to 0 quite easily. So, while the card remains in its powerful state, it is harder to get out. It does, however, make white weenies outstandingly powerful. This is in my opinion, not the best solution to the clamp. So, we press forward.
Ever Heard of Clampsplitter?
A third alternative is to turn the card into a Skullclamp/Bonesplitter combo. +2/+0 and Draw 2. At first glance this card seems absolutely broken, perhaps even more so than the original. All for just 1 to play and 1 to equip? Brilliant! However, +2/+0 looks awful familiar to me, now where have I seen this before? Oh Yes! This is exactly what Skullclamp does to Leonin Den-Guard, Raksha, Auriok Steelshaper, Auriok Glaivemaster, Loxodon Punisher and probably a couple of others. This is a very good effect to use in decks such as White Weenie, because it turns out very well for White Weenie Equip, if you manage to lose a creature, then well and good, but if you don't, then you still have a good creature. For everyone else, however it's the same thing, just less powered. I believe this makes it too good, and we end up where we were at the start, with a banned Skullclamp. Which leaves me one last alternative.
A Reversal of Fortunes.
My first instinct when it came to changing Skullclamp follows the old adage "your first guess is often your best guess" and so it remains here. My ultimate proposal that I spoke about to everyone that would listen was to change the +1/-1 to +1/+1. I thought it was pure brilliance. Genius in its plainest form. Of course, it was shot down in flames when I was informed about the potential nastiness when used with Krark-Clan Ironworks, Disciple of the Vault and Myr Retriever (you know the unlimited damage and unlimited cards one). Nonetheless, here is a solution that works well for all concerned: it retains it advantage in card-drawing, it doesn't make White Weenie overly powerful, and it is scaled down so that you can't just "flit" about and clamp 1 toughness creatures all you like. You get a reasonable, yet not broken advantage with +1/+1 for 1 to cast and 1 to equip, but to get the extra advantage you must throw away a creature to an attack. I think it's rather balanced. I think it's all good. Would people play it? That's your decision. I'd play this variant in my black cleric deck. I only clamp stuff I don't need, so if I still don't need it, I'll attack. What do you Ravager players think? Is it still worth it? You can get off the nice combo of clamping say a Worker, then sacking to Ravager for two counters and two cards. This is what I think Skullclamp should have read.
Now that we've looked at a few of the better/worse/broken alternatives for Skullclamp, I'll run through some potential decks for each variant. If one is too good, then that variant is obviously broken. But first I'd just like to share with some of you a little idea I had regarding card-drawing sans Skullclamp.
The Poor Man's Clamp.
An interesting card I found when hunting through my black cards was Skulltap. A Scourge Common and for those who don't know it reads:
Skulltap
Sacrifice a creature? I thought - no way. When I came across Skullclamp, however, I immediately realised the potential I saw. Clamp a two toughness creature then tap (Skulltap, not turn it sideways) it for four cards. I loved this little combo and named it SkullSex due to its lack of creativity. This combo won me many games, as four cards for one creature was a great idea, I thought. Dross Golem goes away when a land, a Terror and two clerics to help out Dark Supplicant comes to play. Now that clamp is gone, I'm filling the void left in my deck with Skulltap. It's not as versatile as the clamp, but it can get you cards in a pinch. I'm interested as to who else would use this card..... What, it's just me?
The Decks
Now that I'm done rambling on about Skullclamp, here are a few decks to try out if you want. All revolve around a different clamp idea I had.
Try them and see if my clamp ideas are good/bad/ugly/broken!
Clamp and Tutor are the only things that don't cost more than two, and AEther Vial can let you put down free creatures while you free up mana for spells. Moonvessel can start the ball rolling with the infinite damage, and pay for your next clamp. The two Echoes are there for a little control before you can get it all out.
This is another relatively cheap deck. Makes use of low toughness creatures Ornithopter and the Worker to hurry through to Broodstar. Lands and equipment will make the bulk of Broodstar's effectiveness.
This is an interesting variant of White Weenie. The clamp works very well, effectively giving you 8 Bonesplitters. Raksha is there if the game goes on too long and Hallow and Awe Strike provide protection from Shrapnel Blast and Tooth and Nail decks. Test of Faith may also be an interesting card to side in here.
This is a slight variant on your standard Ravager Affinity, really. If not, it's the standard Ravager Affinity. Skullclamp here makes only one difference: an extra Leonin Scimitar when used on ravager-pumped creatures. But still, +1/+1 makes no real difference to Ravager, but it does make the card more balanced.
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