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Editor: Audrey C Quan. Tuesday 30 September 2003.
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Tools of the Trade
It has been a while since my last column but I'm sure this 6 part series will more than make up for it. With GP Sydney looming on the horizon, players all over Australia are quickly trying to come to terms with Mirrodin so they wont be caught with their trousers down come October 4th. The first review only covers equipment cards but hey, I can't write these things that quickly! Also I waited till I had played in the prerelease before writing this as I did not want to write a whole lot of waffle about "this card is good in theory" (OK I may have done that a little bit) without actually playing with or against the cards. I will be drafting a lot more over the coming weeks so my later reviews will be more accurate - well I hope they are anyway.
In past reviews I have used different methods from reviewing everything (what a mistake that was!) to doing just the commons. I have decided to review both the commons and uncommons this time around and I may even throw in my thoughts on a few of the more interesting rares. At this stage I would like to introduce my co-reviewer, partner in crime and veteran of the Sydney magic scene - Paul Ross. Those of you who have been playing for some time in Sydney will know Paul, he has just come back to Magic after a year off and is ready to dust off his drafting gloves.
[PR] Thanks, Mr Turner. Wonderful to be here. Read an interesting rant on misetings recently which insisted that any strategy article should be accompanied by the rating of the author(s) so I will confess that my limited is currently hovering around 1775, but it is my solemn intention to return to the giddy heights of the 1900s in the not too distant future. Since you've already written most of the article, I'll just dart in and out with witty and insightful comments. Much like a Rampaging Roy Slaven to your HG Nelson.
Mirrodin is unlike any other Magic set - there are over 140 artifacts and most draft decks will be playing with a lot of them. It is a hard set to draft as artifact destruction is aplenty and there are many artifacts geared towards specific colours, along with the usual bombs and broken rares in each of the colours. Oh and there also is the equipment... Most of you by now should know how equipment works so I'm not going to waste your time by telling you.
So, the big question is how much equipment do you play with in a draft deck?
Well I wouldn't build my deck around it, but I'm thinking 3 or 4 seems about right (obviously it depends on the equipment). This means that most decks will have smaller creature counts (14/15 creatures could well be the norm now) as slots will be taken up with equipment, removal (this includes artifact destruction), mana accelerators and other spells.
[PR] I agree with your counts. I normally err on the side of playing more creatures and less tricks (unless the tricks in question put your opponent's permanents in the graveyard) so 14/15 creatures, 3/4 equipment and 4/6 removal sounds about right. Note that Green's protection from artifact creatures can and do mess with the ratios if there are sufficient quantities of them.
When should it be drafted?
Ah, now that is the tricky part. The only piece of common equipment which comes close to a first pick is the Bonesplitter but even then there are usually going to be better cards to draft in the pack. Most of the others are midrange picks but you will even see some of them go around the table. Here is my list for the commons
Bonesplitter is by far the most useful piece of equipment in the common slot, as it is cheap to equip, and works well with cards like Leonin Den Guard (a 4/4 attacker on the 3rd turn!), Skyhunter Cub (a 5/3 flyer on the fifth turn), Goblin Striker (3/1 first striker on 3rd turn), all of the Nim creatures and Spikeshot Goblin. On a Spikeshot it becomes a 3 point pinger on the 4th turn - how obscene! You probably don't want to play more than 2 Bonesplitters though (unless you have a lot of Spikeshots!) but it is suited to a R/W deck.
Viridian Longbow gives any colour a pinger! The longbow is good but it is the equip cost that keeps it out of the no. 1 slot. Still it is very useful as it nails a lot of creatures - mana myrs, most of the Nim, Auriok Transfixers and can do double duty (or even more) if you enough mana/targets to equip it with.
Vulshok's Gauntlets - I played with these at the prerelease and wasn't 100% satisfied with them but I do see the potential for them to be devastating if put on the right creature. Leonin Den Guard anyone? A 6/6 beat stick that doesn't tap to attack - I think so! How about on a Yotian Soldier? or a Goblin War Wagon? However don't be swayed by their pure power because if you don't have a "tricky" creature to play them on you are going to find yourself continuously equipping/re-equipping your creatures each turn, thus losing a lot of tempo.
[PR] And straight away we're into some good old-fashioned dissension in the ranks. No doubt these commons are the top three, but I would value the Gauntlets above the Bonesplitter. Shocked gasp! Yes, even though every self-appointed web reviewer is insisting that the Splitter is the best common equipment, I remain unconvinced. From what I've seen so far, Mirrodin Limited is about taking what are, for the most part, painfully average creatures and equipping them into powerhouses. And the Gauntlets house significantly more power than the Splitter, even with their drawback. By way of illustration, I had two Splitters in my prerelease but one of my opponents had a single pair of Gauntlets which he threw onto a Wizard Replica (which he couldn't even activate - he was just playing it as a 1/3 flyer for 3) and proceeded to knock the snot out of me. 6 mana per turn isn't outrageously expensive for a Lava Axe with buyback.
[PR] Where the Longbow fits in amongst the other two is trickier. My inclination is actually to value it highest of all. Even in the crazy world of Mirrodin, pingers and their ilk should never be too far away from first picks. Particularly when, as you say, there are multiple obvious targets (mana-Myrs, Nim, etc) and the ability to go double or triple per turn with enough mana. Again, using the buyback analogy, if you have three creatures out and you've managed to equip the Longbow to one of them by the time you hit six mana (and none of that seems outlandishly improbable) then you have Arc Lightning with buyback.
Neurok Hoversail - I like this card. It is straightforward, no nonsense cheap equipment. Most of you would have played in a prerelease and realised there are not many flying creatures in the set. In fact the only "real" flying commons are Skyhunter Patrol, Neurok Familiar, Somber Hoverguard, Chimney Imp, Nim Shrieker, Clockwork Condor and Cobalt Golem. Well the Chimney Imp and familiar are crap so that leaves 5 flyers and the Tel-Jilad Archers. There are plenty of good creatures to play the hoversail on but my favourites include:- Nim Lasher (make sure you have plenty of artifact lands!), Loxodon Punisher, Woebearer, and Hematite Golem. It also works well with green creatures but I probably don't need to tell you that....
[PR] I agree these are the next two, but could possibly be inclined to change the order. It just feels like boosting an average creature into an above average creature (however slightly) might be a better play than sending the average creature into the skies. But with the low number of fliers in the set, it's too close a call.
Slagwurm Armor - Oh yeah go the slag. My opponent played a Plated Slagwurm against me at the prerelease and I was holding a Soul Nova in hand thinking to myself "of all the creatures in this set he had to play that.." Well it would have been a different story if I had the armor. I think this is a sideboard card but it will often make the cut of draft decks as filler. At the end of the day it is pretty cheap and will give you a super blocker, but it is nothing to write home about.
Vorrac Battlehorns - I just don't like this. I played against it a fair bit at the prerelease and was not impressed. Predator's Strike is such a better card and I don't think I would ever maindeck this. Not my cup of tea at all.
[PR] And, yeah, the trampling equipment is rubbish and the Armor only playable in emergencies (or perhaps in Nim.dec?)
So that is the commons, now for the broken stuff...
Loxodon Warhammer is by far the most powerful piece of equipment in the set. It gives its bearer +3 power, trample and spirit link for 3 mana!) and you gain life whenever the creature deals damage, not just in combat. Spikeshot Goblin and Triskelion spring to mind here and even if you haven't drafted Mirrodin before it doesn't take a genius to work out this is a first pick.
[PR] Time for a Ross Rant (tm) Why print something like this? It's just Armadillo Cloak all over again, but without the inherent potential for card disadvantage of a local enchantment. Thankfully, it has at least become an uncommon. But, really, a card like this has no place in an alleged game of skill. My grandmother could recognise this as a first pick and win a game with it.
Fireshrieker is a real pain in the backside as you opponent will either have to make unfavourable blocks or face taking a massive amount of damage (Somber Hoverguard or Nim Lasher look like good targets to me). If your opponent plays this you better have some artifact removal ready because the game won't last long.
Vulshok's Battlegear - Like the warhammer, Vulshok's Battlegear cost 3 and has an equip of 3 which is the most you really want to pay for equipment as anything above this can really tie up your mana if you need to constantly give it to other creatures. The battlegear is still very strong and better than any of its common counterparts, it just isn't that fancy but sometimes good old fashioned beatdown will do the job nicely.
Lightning Greaves - I may have ranked these a little highly but they are so cheap to cast (0 to equip!) and versatile. Any deck will benefit from the greaves as you can re-equip each turn for free whilst constantly putting the hurt on your opponent. However it is probably best suited to fatter green based decks so that your Fangren Hunters and Malachite Golems can attack straight away.
[PR] Again, I think the next three are correct but their relative value is a talking point. Having just bagged them out, I will now compliment Wizards for making choosing between equipment such an interesting proposition (that is, when it's not the brain-dead decision of "to whammer or to whammer")
[PR] I personally love the Greaves out of this trio. Use them as a Fervor to be one turn ahead as you drop your curve and/or protect your game-winner as it wins the game for you. Then I like the Battlegear over the Shrieker. It's worth repeating that Equipment is all about enhancing generally average creatures, and my finding to date is that giving them a fat arse (while simultaneously boosting their power, sorry Slagwurm Armor) is one of the most significant enhancements in this environment. Double-striking average creatures might not live long enough to swing, but arse-fattened ones will. And when you think fat arses, think Vulshok equipment!
Banshee's Blade - This is another card that I undervalued but I'm coming round to it now. It is fairly cheap and gains the counter when the creature deals combat damage and NOT solely by damaging the player so chances are this will be a Vulshok's Battlegear in the mid to late game. I still value the battlegear over this and I may even would draft a Bonesplitter over this if I needed some quick beatdown.
[PR] It's very possible I'm under-rating the Fireshrieker, but I had it pegged around the same level as the Blade. Obviously unimpressive at the outset, the Blade grows rapidly with every swing or block to soon become a Battlegear if not Empyrial!
Mask of Memory - It seems the mask was quite the favourite at prereleases as it works well with a lot of creatures and it is cheap to cast/equip. A nice combo is with Neurok Spy (in fact any equipment is good with him!) as you will be able to draw a lot of cards very quickly. I'm still not too sure when you would draft this sort of card but it looks like a midrange pick to me.
[PR] Drawing cards can only make one's life better, it's just that the Mask really wants to be on an evasive body which makes it just a little too conditional compared to the others.
Golem Skin Gauntlets - I don't really like these as it forces you to play with even more equipment and that is a bad thing, as you will need those slots for creatures/removal. Yes it is similar to Bonesplitter but it is not as good because it costs 1 more to equip and mana is often precious in the early turns. Every time I had this played against me at the pre-release I won but it could be a lot of fun with Loxodon Punisher and/or Vulshok Battlemaster.
Dead Iron Sledge - The only combo I can see with this is the new lure, Bloodscent making your creature a Basilisk for a turn. Duskworker looks like a good target for it but I rather play something more useful instead.
[PR] And I agree that the last two are very ordinary. Any of the cards that only start firing when there are multiple Equipments on a creature are dodgy in the extreme, since you'll only be playing a handful of them.
To be honest with you the rares are mere speculation as I haven't really played with them so I'll just do a brief listing of where I think they fit in
Empyrial Plate is up there with the warhammer in terms of pure power but the Scythe is no slouch either. Apparently in play testing the Scythe gave a creature +2/+1 but Paul Barclay realised if you played it on a Triskelion you could ping your opponent out by removing 1 counter to target them and the other 2 to kill the Triskelion, over and over again. By upping the toughness boost this combo is now not possible! Nightmare Lash is a nice piece of colour specific equipment and the Sword of Kaldara looks nice but you want to be winning by the time you play and equip it. Worldslayer is just too expensive and situational for my tastes.
[PR] The Plate is the obvious stand out, but it's not uncommon to be sitting on a one-card hand before too many turns have passed, so its stock can plummet rapidly, making the Scythe perhaps the surer bet? Good thing I'll never have to choose between them! And the Sword definitely deserves to be mentioned in the same tier, despite its expense. Usually a first pick, and always playable. The Lash, by stark contrast, only really belongs in Drain Life.dec. And the World Slayer is in the ridiculous position of being a reset button that only works when you can confidently land a punch on your opponent, which usually means you don't need a reset button!
So there you have the equipment from Mirrodin. They play an important role in draft decks but I would only play with 4 pieces max otherwise you will be lacking in other areas (ironically creatures). Next week Paul and myself will be looking at the red specific cards in Mirrodin so get ready for the tide of burn and artifact destruction.
Until then, draft well.
Dan Turner.
[PR] And Tonto.
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