Planeswalker Libraries [Magic, the Gathering]

[Narric]

Faced a very interesting deck today. By the players description, seven planeswalkers, only five basic lands, and a regular ability to Scry his deck.

Had to face Ashiok very early on in all my games, followed usually by Ugin. Its a good thing my deck has such a high card count, but repeatedly I lost y own planeswalker, either to being Exile-Milled by Ashiok, or when I actually had her in my hand, my opponent would look at my hand an send her to the Graveyard.

Another opponent got me by having a plentiful supplyof low-drop creatures, particular note being Typhoid Rat which he managed to get up to about 8/8, and had flying, which hindered my defence as my high defence creatures don't have flying.

I had bought five booster packs (2x Tarkir Dragons, 2x Khans and 1x Fate. Should have bought another Fate ) and I've now organised my deck to have the non-aligned cards seperate from my aligned cards. (not sure if there is a proper word for it, so I'm sticking with that until I'm corrected.) My Tri-colour now leans more towards Jeskai tactics, which suits me better as I prefer blanket effect cards and Prowess boosts the effectiveness of my sorceries and instants.

My new deck is posted up to Tapped Out here.

[Narric]

Looks like the next set for Magic will be "Magic Orgins." Coming out Mid July. I'm looking forward to this, as hopefully I'd be able to attend this launch!

[Masked Thespian]

Yep.  Magic Origins is the final Core set that Wizards are making.  When September rolls around, we're going to return to the adventure world of Zendikar that had eldritch horrors released upon it the last time we were there in Battle For Zendikar.

[Narric]

I was curious when I read Kiora's backstory in the Elspeth v Kiora Duel Deck box set. I personally haven't really devled much into Magic's lore, so this will be interesting for me

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Zendikar? Isn't that the whole Eldrazi thing?

[Narric]

What is the whole Eldrazi thing? Evil Planeswalkers?

[The Man They Call Jayne]

Lovecraftian abomination that lay waste to any plane they come across. One of the biggest threats, if not THE biggest threat around.

I am currently working on an Eldrazi deck.

[Masked Thespian]

The Eldrazi are the only creatures native to The Blind Eternities, the maelstrom of energy that exists between planes.  Planeswalkers and Eldrazi are the only beings that can move through the Blind Eternities without being utterly destroyed.  There are three known major Eldrazi, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, , Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre.  They are gigantic eldritch abominations that move from plane to plane devouring everything they find before moving to the next one.

Around 5000 years before the current timeline, three Planeswalkers banded together to trap the Eldrazi on the plan of Zendikar: Sorin Markov, Nahiri the Lithomancer, and Ugin the Spirit Dragon.  But, a short while ago (five years in real world time, probably less in-universe), three Planeswalkers accidentally opened the Eye of Ugin where the Eldrazi had been trapped: Jace Belaren, Chandra Nalaar, and Sarkhan Vol.  The Eldrazi are now free to resume devouring the multiverse one plane at a time.

Battle For Zendikar, this autumn's main release, will likely cover the return to the plane of Zendikar and the battle against the Eldrazi and their spawn.  Several Planeswalkers have been searching for aid in these battles, including Kiora, who visited Theros to find giant monsters, and Gideon Jura, who visited Ravnica to find allies but got caught up in the politics of the Guildless (citizens of Ravnica who don't belong to one of the ten Guilds).

[Narric]

Bought my first Fat Pack today. Dragons of Tarkir (obviously). Didn't get either of the Planeswalkers, but I did get Dragonlord Kolaghan. Not sure which Dragon deck I could/should make

My Khans of Tarkir collecton box is slowly filling up. i'm roughly 50% full now.
[spoiler=picture so people know what i'm talking about][/spoiler]

Really wanting to grab a Fate Reforged Fat Pack off Wayland right now as well.

[Narric]

Is no one doing muc in the Magic scene?

Been doing a fair amount of building, rebuilding and just plain messin' about with my cards. Have ended up doing a couple Dragon Clan, and Ravnica guild decks :3

[spoiler=Clan Silumgar]
Creature (23)
[spoiler]1x Ancient Carp
1x Custodian of the Trove
1x Deathbringer Regent
2x Hand of Silumgar
1x Hand of Silumgar
1x Minister of Pain
1x Palace Familiar
3x Qarsi Sadist
2x Ruthless Deathfang
1x Sidisi's Faithful
3x Silumgar Butcher
1x Silumgar Sorcerer
1x Silumgar Spell-Eater
1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death
1x Ukud Cobra
1x Wandering Tombshell
1x Youthful Scholar[/spoiler]

Instant (10)
[spoiler]2x Butcher's Glee
3x Coat with Venom
2x Foul-Tongue Shriek
1x Gravepurge
1x Learn from the Past
1x Ultimate Price[/spoiler]

Sorcery (1)
1x Defeat

Land (27)
[spoiler]2x Dismal Backwater
11x Island
13x Swamp
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth[/spoiler]

Enchantment (5)
[spoiler]1x Illusory Gains
3x Mirror Mockery
1x Virulent Plague[/spoiler]

Acquireboard
[spoiler]Acid-Spewer Dragon
Dutiful Attendant
Marang River Skeleton
Necromaster Dragon
Profaner of the Dead
Rakshasa Gravecaller
Silumgar's Command
Silumgar's Scorn[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Ravnica Guild - Rakdos]
Creature (16)
[spoiler]1x Bladetusk Boar
1x Bloodfray Giant
1x Corpse Hauler
1x Dead Reveler
1x Deathgaze Cockatrice
1x Goblin Arsonist
1x Grim Roustabout
1x Maze Abomination
1x Necropolis Regent
1x Nightwing Shade
1x Ogre Jailbreaker
1x Rix Maadi Guildmage
1x Sire Of Insanity
1x Splatter Thug
1x Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
1x Vampire Warlord[/spoiler]

Sorcery (8)
[spoiler]1x Cleaver Riot
1x Flames of the Firebrand
1x Mind Rot
1x Rise of the Dark Realms
2x Skull Rend
1x Slaughter Games
1x Toil / Trouble[/spoiler]

Instant (3)
[spoiler]1x Chandra's Fury
1x Grim Contest
1x Searing Spear[/spoiler]

Enchantment (7)
[spoiler]1x Dark Favor
2x Deviant Glee
1x Grave Betrayal
1x Mark of the Vampire
1x Stab Wound
1x Underworld Connections[/spoiler]

Land (26)
[spoiler]1x Jungle Hollow
11x Mountain
1x Rakdos Guildgate
1x Scoured Barrens
1x Scoured Barrens
11x Swamp[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=United guilds of Ravnica]
Creature (27)
[spoiler]1x Ajani's Chosen
1x Archweaver
1x Bronzebeak Moa
1x Brushstrider
1x Centaur Healer
1x Centaur's Herald
1x Doorkeeper
1x Faerie Impostor
1x Fencing Ace
1x Giant Spider
1x Gobbling Ooze
2x Kraken Hatchling
1x Loxodon Smiter
1x Lyev Skyknight
1x Messenger Drake
1x New Prahv Guildmage
1x Opal Lake Gatekeepers
1x Rubbleback Rhino
1x Selesnya Sentry
1x Seller of Songbirds
1x Suntail Hawk
3x Vassal Soul
1x Wind Drake
1x Woodborn Behemoth[/spoiler]

Sorcery (9)
[spoiler]1x Coursers' Accord
1x Enlarge
1x Horncaller's Chant
1x Hunt the Weak
1x Inaction Injunction
1x Lyev Decree
1x Mind Sculpt
1x Seek the Horizon
1x Slime Molding[/spoiler]

Enchantment (5)
[spoiler]1x Bred for the Hunt
2x Knightly Valor
1x Sphere of Safety
1x Verdant Haven[/spoiler]

Artifact (3)
[spoiler]1x Azorius Cluestone
1x Selesnya Cluestone
1x Selesnya Keyrune[/spoiler]

Instant (9)
[spoiler]1x Aerial Predation
1x Chorus of Might
1x Dramatic Rescue
2x Druid's Deliverance
1x Giant Growth
1x Pay No Heed
1x Swift Justice
1x Unsummon[/spoiler]

Land (34)
[spoiler]2x Azorius Guildgate
2x Evolving Wilds
12x Forest
6x Island
7x Plains
1x Thornwood Falls
4x Tranquil Cove[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

I'm growing of the opinion that decks centred around a common watermark (be it a Guild, Clan or similar) that a strong deck can be developed. Of course its not something everyone needs to follo, but they do sign post a potentially strong deck for a player to use, especially when the cards are properlly used and combined. Not sure if I'll collect anymore Racniva Block cards. i do have an Izet Guild Deck as well, but I haven't put it online yet.


Something that came to mind the other day was howdoes MtG's mechanics relate to its narrative? A friend stated that the player is basically a "Planeswalker," and the deck being called your "Library" made me think of how the game Mechanics relate to Game Narrative.

[spoiler=Headcannon bubble]As a Planeswalker, you're regularly walking between the various planes (duh) and as you do so, you come across the same or similar species and creatures, but they have developed in unique ways regarding the plane they inhabit (example, elves, orcs, humans, etc). Your library is filled with spellsbooks that relate to creatures, individuals, and powers, and from these spellbooks, spellcards are created, allowing the player/planeswalker to summon/cast duplicates of the creatures or powers they witness.

Lands literally represent the lands the player/planeswalker has seen in their travels. Your hand represents how easy it is to reconnect with these areas of powerful magic, sometimes leading to to great and ease to conenct to lands (a starting hand thats all Lands) or great difficulty in reconnecting (a hand filled with nonland cards).
The player draws on the energy of the lands through their spark, which then allows them to use the magic to cast the spells. Sometimes powerful creatures and spells are more easy to connect to, but without enough land also connect, the player cannot cast them.

Unlike a noral creature or power, Planeswalkers are not duplicated, but in fact are temporarily pulled from their own timeline. When the player summons another Planeswalker, the loyalty counter is literal. The Planeswalker likely has other things it wants to achieve. When the summoned Planeswalker is reduced to zero, it isn't killed but instead at the last moment escapes through the planes, possibly to regain their strength (until the player resummons them). The player can't summon more than one of each Planeswalker, becuase the MtG universe is not "paradox space" meaning an indivudal cannot be in two places at once, or in the same place twice. This accounts for multiple timelines of a character (see Narset and Sarkhan from the Khans of Tarkir block) and magic not being strong enough to pull a Planeswalker from its own timeline in more than one point.
Legendary cards (from what I learned today) work in a similar maner, due to the amount of power the individual/creature/location embodies.
[/spoiler]

I've kinda run out of steam with that, but I look forward to hearing other peoples opinions on the matter

[The Man They Call Jayne]

IIRC your library represents your memory as a Planeswalker. Your hand represents the spells that you can remember right now, and you can be hit with spells that make you forget them, mainly blue stuff.  You manifest these spells to battle your opponent.

[Masked Thespian]

Is no one doing muc in the Magic scene?

Nah, been on my honeymoon.  Will be attending Grand Prix Chiba next weekend, though.

Headcannon Bubble

As a Planeswalker, you're regularly walking between the various planes (duh) and as you do so, you come across the same or similar species and creatures, but they have developed in unique ways regarding the plane they inhabit (example, elves, orcs, humans, etc). Your library is filled with spellsbooks that relate to creatures, individuals, and powers, and from these spellbooks, spellcards are created, allowing the player/planeswalker to summon/cast duplicates of the creatures or powers they witness.

Close.  Most Planeswalkers don't actually carry spellbooks; Wizards wants to get away from the stereotypical "Gandalf"-style wizard, so rarely, if ever, shows its spellcasters as having pointy hats, long, grey beards, wands, or any of the other usual accoutrements, including spellbooks.  Your Library represents the total sum of your spellcasting knowledge in your head at the moment of battle.  Your hand represents the spells you can recall at this very moment.  Draw spells represent you digging further into your pool of knowledge to try and recall an appropriate spell for the occasion.  Discard and mill spells represent you assaulting your opponent's mind and forcing them to forget the spells they know, either in the short-term memory (discard) or in the long-term memory (mill).

Your creature spells...  That's changed over time.  Initially, you actually summoned the actual creature to fight for you, but now I believe it's considered that you "remember" a core essence of the creature and summon a construct made of mana around that core essence, essentially creating a copy of that creature that is under your control.

Lands literally represent the lands the player/planeswalker has seen in their travels. Your hand represents how easy it is to reconnect with these areas of powerful magic, sometimes leading to to great and ease to conenct to lands (a starting hand thats all Lands) or great difficulty in reconnecting (a hand filled with nonland cards).
The player draws on the energy of the lands through their spark, which then allows them to use the magic to cast the spells. Sometimes powerful creatures and spells are more easy to connect to, but without enough land also connect, the player cannot cast them.

Lands represent links to natural stores of mana.  Each of the types of mana are considered to naturally pool in places of their basic land type (White mana gathers on Plains, Blue mana gathers near Islands, etc.).  Whenever a Planeswalker travels they can create a mana link to one of these stores of mana and call upon it at a later date.  Land destruction represents the severing of this mana link.

Unlike a noral creature or power, Planeswalkers are not duplicated, but in fact are temporarily pulled from their own timeline. When the player summons another Planeswalker, the loyalty counter is literal. The Planeswalker likely has other things it wants to achieve. When the summoned Planeswalker is reduced to zero, it isn't killed but instead at the last moment escapes through the planes, possibly to regain their strength (until the player resummons them). The player can't summon more than one of each Planeswalker, becuase the MtG universe is not "paradox space" meaning an indivudal cannot be in two places at once, or in the same place twice. This accounts for multiple timelines of a character (see Narset and Sarkhan from the Khans of Tarkir block) and magic not being strong enough to pull a Planeswalker from its own timeline in more than one point.
Legendary cards (from what I learned today) work in a similar maner, due to the amount of power the individual/creature/location embodies.

Pretty much.  A Planeswalker card represents a Planeswalker who is a friend or is otherwise in your debt.  The spell you cast (the Planeswalker card) represents you sending a message saying, "Hey, I'm calling in that favour.  I need your help, NOW!" (which is also why the Planeswalker card can be countered, because you counter the spell that sends the message).  Hence why Planeswalkers have "Loyalty counters" - they literally represent how loyal they are to you.  When the Loyalty counters are all gone, the Planeswalker isn't literally dead, but goes, "Sod this for a packet of biscuits," and leaves you to your own devices.  Different Planeswalker cards represent different facets of the character, whether through the progression of time (Ajani started as his angry RW version Ajani Vengeant, moved into his White personae Ajani, Caller of the Pride and Ajani Goldmane, moved into his GW persona on Theros as Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, and has finally come out the other side of the Theros story as Ajani Steadfast) or by how much power they feel like granting you access to at any given time (Jace, the Mind Sculptor is Jace bringing his full power to bear, whereas his other versions are probably when you called him whilst he was having a shower and is annoyed at you for disturbing his personal time).

Again, Legendary cards used to be like other creature cards, that you summoned the actual creature to fight for you, but the newer interpretation muddies the waters a bit.  Now, it's the same "core essence" idea but that doesn't give quite as concrete a reason as why you can only have one at a time.  I think the current interpretation is that Legendary Creatures' "core essence" is so taxing that your "core essence" memory can only support one of them at a time.

[Narric]

Woohoo, wasn't far off in a few aspects Thanks for the corrections. I was curious, as card games like YUGIOH and Duel masters often have some sort of story that explains how the mechanics work narratively, and so far as I've seen, Magic didn't have that.

Speaking of libraries, my collection has almost filled the Khans of Tarkir collection box I bought just after Xmas. I have my Jace Deck, a new untested Kiora Deck, a Birds Deck, and currently working on building up a Elemental Deck, Boros/Rakdos Deck, and a Pure Black Vampire themed deck :3

I need to sort out my collection though. I currently have only so much set aside from the mono-coloured cards, such as the Khan and Dragon Clans and Ravnica guilds, along with Artifacts, Gold Cards, and Non-Basic Lands. Thinking of seperating the various Blocks out, so i have Return to Ravnica Block and Theors Block, and then all the stuff that is in standard.

One thing thats been fun is finally attending some Friday Night Magic nights. Have to go to the Birmingham night in Forbidden Plane,t but the Waterstones in Solihull is looking to start their own one soonish :3  I poked Jayne about joing me and my friends at the local library, but maybe FNM would be more rewarding for him to come to?

[Masked Thespian]

The only thing I'm going to say about going to FNM is that you need to be prepared to lose.  You will be going from a very insular environment, where you and your friends are all used to each others' decks and will likely have formulated strategies against them, but at an FNM you will likely going up against strategies that you've never even considered before.  You'll be the proverbial small fish moving to a very big pond and it can be quite surprising when you do.

Also, you'll possibly come up against jerks who won't hesitate to try and make you feel bad for your homebrewed decks and/or sub-par card choices.  Ignore them; they're just bigger (yet just as mature) versions of school bullies, trying to bring other people down in order to make themselves feel better.

Also, FYI...

Speaking of libraries, my collection has almost filled the Khans of Tarkir collection box

The proper name of that is the Khans of Tarkir Holiday Gift Box, if you were interested.

[Narric]

I've had my arse thrashed by more experienced players before. It makes a nice change from facing the same thing.

Speaking of libraries, my collection has almost filled the Khans of Tarkir collection box

The proper name of that is the Khans of Tarkir Holiday Gift Box, if you were interested.

Meh, Collection box for me as i keep my collection in it