Brain Here

Me: Hello brain, Roger speaking here.

Brain: Yes this is brain, go ahead.

Me: What the fuck brain! You had one job, one job. Not say anything stupid. And this is what you do!?

Brain: Look, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Me: How did dead baby jokes seem like a good idea? In what universe was that ever a good idea at this point in time?!

Penis: SEX!!

Brain: Shut up penis. Look, she had a quirky sense of humor. Besides, she started it.

Me: She started with a Nazi joke. A Nazi joke! Nazi’s are accepted! They are up there with lawyers in that you can do horrible things to them without people minding.

Brain: Oh, thanks for us reminding. We also know a very good dead baby lawyer joke. Mouth, hello?

Mount: Mouth here, speak to me.

Me: DON’T YOU DARE BRAIN!

Brain: Calm down man, Jesus. Mouth, belay that order

Mouth: Ok, shutting up.

Penis: SEX!!

Me: Shut up penis. Look, maybe we can salvage this. Brain, give me a complement.

Brain: Right! “You have very pretty eyes you know”

Me: SHE’S BLIND!

Brain: So, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have pretty eyes. Come on, look at them

Eyes: Agreed. Even we are a little jealous down here.

Me: I know that, but I think that might be just a little to sensitive after offending her.

Brain: What, you got something better?

Me: We could say something about her hair.

Brain: Ok, and what do you want to say about her hair, uh.

Me: It’s… very wavy?

Brain: Riiiiiight. Why not just admit you are trying to change the subject.

Me: Look, I don’t like it either, but we need to say something.

Ears: Damn it people, she’s starting to ask why we aren’t saying anything.

Brain: Oh shit, oh shit. Euhm, wait… No…

Me: Hurry, hurry!

Brain: Don’t push me, don’t fucking push me!! You know I don’t work under pressure!

Me: We gotta do something, say anything. I don’t mind. Just anything!

Mouth: You want me to say something?

Brain: I… I just… I’m trying to…

Penis: SEX!!!

Mouth: Got it “SEX!!!”

Brain: Shut up penis! Wait… did we just…?

Me: Yeah, I think we did.

Ears: We can confirm that we did.

Me: Shit! Shit!! Shit, shit, shit!!

Brain: ABORT!! ABORT!! ABORT!!

Me: We need to get out of here.

Legs: Aye, Aye captain. Full steam ahead!!

Ears: We are hearing cutlery falling sir.

Me: Forget them, just run!

Brain: ABORT!! ABORT!! ABORT!!

Penis: SEX!!

Everyone: SHUT UP PENIS!!!

Fallout 4

War, war never changes. They are always fought by men and women who have a vision. A vision of how the world should be. They will go around, sharing their vision, inspiring others to join their cause, making this world conform to their vision. In some ways, it is the most selfish action possible. To bend the world to your whims

But then they will meet another vision. One that shows another tomorrow. And they will try to reason with it’s followers. Show them the error of their ways. How the world that they envision is the right one and The Others are misguided. And somewhere during these conversations, the reality dawns on both sides: These visions are incompatible. It’s “either/or”, not “and”.

But of course their own vision is the correct one and The Other’s are wrong. Because otherwise, that means They were right and you were long all along. And that just can’t be.

At some point, one side will believe that their vision is worth fighting for, dragging the others into the conflict. And so the old adage becomes true. War becomes Diplomacy continued with other means. They will preform the most heinous of acts, slaughter countless of Them. And they will do it all (they say) not so they can live in the world they want, but for some higher “ideal” that they decide to hang their banner on. For freedom. For survival. For a better tomorrow. But in the end it’s all the same: An excuse to help them sleep, as they try to force their vision onto reality.

---

I finished Fallout 4 yesterday. I enjoyed my time with it tremendously, the gameplay was about what I wanted from it. But what I really liked were two parts of the story of the main questline.

This is not a review. The game has it’s problems, but I won’t talk about that. It’s just me thinking out loud, about things I felt during the game. And it goes without saying, but FULL TOTAL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

In Fallout 4, you fail. It took me a while to realise that, but you fail at what you set out to do. After your spouse gets killed and your son Shaun is kidnapped, you vow to your deceased husband/wife that you will find your son and make those who did this pay.

I tore through the Commonwealth, looking for my son. I helped were I could, but whenever someone stood between me and my son, Hell on Earth was unleashed. I would do anything to make what little family I had left in this Wasteland whole again.

And as I finally got into the Institute, I found him. There he was, a few years older, but still a child. Still the son I knew. And when Father walked in, I was ready to blow his head off. This monster, how dare he kidnap my son. Have my wife killed!

And then the other shoe drops. Father was the real Shaun, the kid just a duplicate. The son I once knew is now an old man, in charge of the Institute and dying to boot.

At first, I thought I could still save him from the Institute, show him how I saw the world, teach him unconditional compassion. But as we worked together, it dawned on me. I was too late. The Institute had gotten to him and had made him into the man he was now and there was no way to change that. I had failed. The Shaun I knew was gone forever.

Even so, I kept trying. As Shaun brought up my involvement with the Railroad, I wanted to explain to him why I was with them, how the way he was treating the Synths was wrong. I told him, honestly, the Railroad were my allies. No more lies.Despite that, he ordered me to kill their leader. And I knew that was the point of no return. As the conversation ended, I said to my empty room: “Goodbye Shaun. I am sorry I couldn’t save you son.” That was the last time we talked as family.

I love what Bethesda did with Shaun. Not only is the reveal completely unexpected and does it still make total sense, but it puts the main character in such a strange conflict. Congratulations, you have found your son. But at the same time they are no longer that son anymore. So now what? What do you do when the son you came to save no longer believes in what you believe? No longer even exists? Do you come around, just to perserve your family, or do you go against your own flesh and blood?

Either way, you have to face the fact that you lost. Even if you decided to follow in Shaun’s footsteps, you only get a brief time together before he dies and you can’t save him. You could say killing Kellog is revenge for your spouse and some form of succes, but seeing who he was and why he did what he did, I couldn’t help but understand him. He was trying to be the man his father never was. Actually take care of is wife and child. Sure, he killed people, but he did it to provide for his family, to give them a life they deserved. In many ways, he was just like me.

---

 

But that wasn’t the only moment that hit me. As I said, I worked with the Railroad throughout the story. They were a natural fit for me, as I value freedom to make one’s own choices very highly. I was hoping to free the Synths and get them out with as little violence as possible. I believed naively I could do it with minimal conflict.

Then the Brotherhood attacked.

I still don’t know exactly why they attack Railroad HQ. I guess it was because The Railroad were helping Synths escape the Commonwealth, out into the wider population. The Brotherhood feared the Synths, thought they would destroy humanity from within and take over. They thought they were saving the world.

After I fended off the attackers, Desdemona told me about her plan to stop the Brotherhood from attacking: Go up to their base and blow the whole thing sky high.

I wouldn’t have any of it!

I wanted to save the Synths, not get into a bloody war with a faction that was trying to do the right thing, in their own misguided way. But she pointed out, rightly, that if we didn’t strike, they would just attack again and again until we were all dead. We really had no choice.

And that’s when it hit me. War really never changes.

As things spiraled out of control, each horrible step made sense. Of course we had to blow up The Prydwen. No way the Brotherhood would just leave us alone. Of course I had to blow up the Institute. If we saved the Synths, no way the Institute wouldn’t come after us in full force, trying to get back what they believed they owned. I realised I was being dragged into a war I didn’t want to be in. But in many ways, it had been unavoidable from the very start.

I would have loved a option in the game to talk everyone down, make them sit their asses down and hash out a treaty. But I think Bethesda made the right choice in not allowing that. Because it drove their main motto home way better. That no matter what you do, what you believe in, war never changes.

As the nuke went off and the ground buckled under the Institute’s demise, I realised fully how I had failed. I hadn’t found my son,just a man I never really knew. I hadn’t killed the cold-hearted monster I thought killed my wife, just a shell of a man. And I hadn’t created the Commonwealth I wanted to live in, just destroyed the people who stood in my way.

Another Day on the Job

It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted something, very sloppy. I’ve been working a lot in RPGmaker lately and haven’t really written anything, so here is a short story that I still want to turn into a book someday.

 

“I don’t care what the manual says!” Shane yelled through his earpiece “I’ve got two Serks who want to make necklaces out of my intestines. We lift off the moment I’m on board!”

“Very well master” Second responded “I will await your return with anticipation”. “Lair” Shane thought.

He returned his focus to the task at hand, getting out of this wretched swamp. His boots were dirty and wet, while his skin was covered in small insect bites. He constantly had to watch his step, to not get his leg caught in the mire. He should probably slow down, but couldn’t risk it. Even above the croaks and chirps of the bog, he could hear their screeching.

This wasn’t the first time he had beat the Dardak brothers to the prize. Last time, the weren’t to happy about it and today didn’t seem any different. Worse still, this time they had the homefield advantage. The sleek, amphibious Serks were born for hunting in this warm, damp mess.

Suddenly, Shane felt himself drop to the floor, slamming his head in the cold, wet grass, the bag he was carrying sliding a few feet ahead of him. He tried to get up again, but found his foot was stuck. He looked down and saw his boot had sunken into the mud. He tried pulling it free, but that only seemed to make it sink deeper. He quickly looked around, scanning for something he could use to pull himself out. Sadly, Shane had gotten stuck in the one part of the swamp devoid of trees. “Typical” he noted. He could hear the screeching getting closer and knew he had but one option.

Running through the swamp on a boot and a sock made keeping his balance even harder, but he had no time to take off his other boot. In the distance he could hear the engines of his ship grumbling to life, but the Dardak brothers were only a few meters behind him. He started wondered how he was going to get on board without the brothers following, but stopped himself. He’d have to cross that bridge when he got to it.

Running into the clearing, he saw the box-shaped form of The Maiden resting in the middle of the field. He could see Second’s slight frame standing at the top of the ramp, kindly waving at him. “Close the ramp! Close the ramp!” Shane yelled. “But you are not yet on board master” Second called back, just loud enough to hear. “I don’t care! Just do as you’re told, you fucking drone!”.

Second pushed a button to his side and the ramp started to rise up, faster than Shane had expected. He sprinted across the clearing and leaped up, barely grabbing the edge of the ramp. Shane looked over his shoulder for a split second and saw one of the brothers jumping towards him, the sleek, clawed hands heading his way. With the last of his strength, he pulled himself onto the ramp, sliding down the other side. He heard a loud thud followed by a pair of claws grabbing the edge of the ramp, trying to gain some leverage to pull their owner inside. Luckily, the ramp was all the way up and the fingers were crushed. Shane could hear a pained shriek coming from outside, even through the ramp itself. 3 long, clawed fingers slid down the closed ramp, oozing blood. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Those gentlemen will not be joining us, master?” Second asked. Shane shot him a glance. They said drones didn’t have emotions, but he wasn’t so sure. He sometimes suspected Second was mocking him.

Shane got up, slightly panting. He towered over Second by at least half a head, standing almost 2 meters. Second, like all drones, was exactly 1,75 high. His face had the vague, basic shape of a human, yet far more minimalistic. He lacked both ears and a nose, having small holes where these were supposed to be. His mouth lacked teeth and his head was completely devoid of hair. Second was a drone, a biological robot, engineered to serve. Shane had seen mechanical robots in his youth and missed those times. With metal robots you could clearly tell they weren’t real people, but Shane always felt uncomfortable around drones. They resemble humans just a bit to much for his taste. Still he couldn’t deny their usefulness.

“Go to the engine room and check the levels, I’m taking us into orbit. We don’t want to wait around for the ‘gentlemen’ to get back to their ship.” Second made a slight bow and walked to the end of the cargo bay, heading for the engine room. Shane took a moment to pry his other boot off and went up the ladder towards the bridge. He stopped briefly halfway up when one of his legs slipped. He held back a swear. The last thing he wanted was Second coming up and asking him if he could be of any service.

After reaching the top of the ladder, he went through the kitchen into the cockpit. He fell into the pilot chair and dropped the bag in his lap. All that fuss over some stupid plants. Still, they were illegal and thus highly sought after.

Shane spotted the small patch of pink fur hanging from the ceiling. He briefly touched it for good luck, like he always did before take-off, then pulled the flight stick towards him. The ship started slowly rising above the trees, sending birds, or at least birdlike creatures, flying in all directions. Once The Maiden had risen high enough, Shane extended the wings and gunned the main engines. The ship moved forward at great speed. Shane made the ship rise higher and higher until they were above the clouds, flying towards a setting sun. Still the ship went higher, the blue of the sky slowly turned darker and darker until little points of light started to appear. As the dark blue made way for black, the stars came into full sight.

Shane remembered the first time he watching the sky turn black like that. He had been in awe, seeing all the different constellations unveil themselves before him. He believed, back then, that he would always be amazed by it, no matter how old he’d get. He had been wrong, of course. As Shane plotted a course for Jics III, he didn’t even pay attention to them, they were merely a fact of life.

After plotting the course and feeling satisfied they wouldn’t be splattered like a bug against an errant moon, he powered up the Anti-Stein drive. The ship started shaking wildly and a panel above Shane fell open. He ignored it. Looking at the sensors he saw a small blip slowly rising from the planet’s surface. He couldn’t resist flipping it off. “Sorry guys, maybe next time.” With a last violent shake, the stars themselves faded as The Maiden was propelled at super luminous speeds.

The Void

I was feeling a btit down, so I decided to write and see what would come out.

A black void slowly filled with more and more things. None of these things are useful or of value. They are but junk. Broken toys, faded photo’s, all manner of objects that no longer fulfill their function. And in the center of it all is me. I sit, I watch, sometimes I walk between them. Looking, never touching. Afraid to hasten their decay. But even so, they decay all the same.

Time goes by and more objects arrive, yet the void is never full. There is always more space, more eternity to fill. And here they all sit, objects forgotten by time, by the world, wasting away, unused and unloved.

But then I find an object that fasinates me. It is broken like the rest, but even so, it is beautiful. How someone could throw this away, let alone forget it, is beyond me. Such simple, yet elegant beauty and still such perfect function. Suddenly I realize that it is exactly like all the other objects in the void. This does not tarnish its beauty, but shows the beauty in all the others. They are forgotten by all, but they are still here, with me in the void.

And so I build, I create. I use the objects lost to the world and rearrange them, pose them, give them new meaning. They become useful and desired again. And even though more objects keep joining me in the void, I do not despair. I return to them what they returned to me: Purpose.

5 minute stories

There is a writing exercise I have done only once before, but I still really like it (‘Why have you not done it since then?’ Hush you). You push the random button on wikipedia until you find a page that inspires you. You then have 5 minutes to write a short story about it. In such a small timeframe you really don’t have any time to check spelling or rethink your course. Below are four of these. The first two I wrote sometime last year and the other two I just wrote before posting this. The titles are the actual wikipedia-pages used:

Glory of Heracles
There he sat, gorging himself on meats, wines and expensive spices. The speed with which he ate was almost godlike. This was quite accurate considering he was a half-god. Ever since beating the Hydra, Heracles had been hailed a hero. Carried by the people of Athena’s he was drowned in gifts and the finest of food.

Though some would have expected him to deny such presents, Heracles received them gladly. And why not? Had he not earned this? Had he not saved thousands of lives? This was what heroism was about, right? Why would anyone do something just from the goodness of their heart?

But as Heracles grew sedated and fat, the people started to rebel. Why was he not setting an example for their children. Why did he not show them how much better he was? Instead of the hero everyone looked up too, people started looking down on the fat hog in the chair. They started choosing their own ways and in some way Heracles had set an example.

Phoenix Inferno
O for fuck sake!!” Magnivus yelled as the walls around him started to catch fire. “Really Sam! How stupid are you? I get you’re immortal, but can you please for one sec pay attention! There are other people living here you know.”

Magnivus ran for the door as the flames started closing in on him. He slammed through the door into a blazing hot hallway. The air was like out of a toaster. He grabbed one of the buckets of water that had be put down for these occasions and doused the flames blocking his exit. As he headed through the door outside, he could see that his other roommate, a Cyclops named Bob, was already on the lawn.

“What did he do now?” Bob asked Magnivus “I don’t know” Magnivus answered “He was up in his room when it happened.”

Right at that point there was a loud bang from the house behind them and a streak of flame shot up into the sky. As it neared the clouds, it changed direction towards Bob and Magnivus. Just before it reached them it stopped and turned into a burning bird of legend

“Sorry guys” Sam the Phoenix said “I tripped on a piece of soap”

Empress Zhang (Wenhuan)
Entering the Empress’s throneroom was a harrowing experience for Lee. Probably because he came in through the skylight window. As he got up, holding his hurt leg he could see a dozens of eyes looking at him with astonishment. ‘Morning’ Lee said weakly. ‘What is the meaning of this?!’ A booming voice demanded. Lee looked up at the throne, right into the eyes of Empress Zhang. Though he had been told her beauty rivaled the night sky, right now he only saw an Abyss. He knew that his chances of surviving this little ordeal were now practically zero. Never the less he approaced the Empress holding up what he had just stolen from one of the towers. ‘I have come bearing gifts Lotus Bloom of the East.’ If he could keep up appearances for just a little bit, he might be able to escape without so much as a scratch.

Five minutes later, Lee was beheaded in the throne room. Really, don’t underestimate royalty, they have been trained to see through a fib.

Artamonov (crater)
As Shawn walked on the moon, gravity barely weighing him down, he slowly approached the crater. Artamonov was considered a mystery in the scientific world because of it’s strange shape. As part of a greater mission, Shawn had managed to get NASA to alocate some time in which he could investigate this crater. It had been a long and grueling treck, not to mention convincing his bosses to allow him to do this. But Shawn had been presistent. He knew that his future as a astronomer was likely to be found in his crater. Maybe it had been caused by a unique type of impact with a asteroid. Maybe only part of an asteroid that had broken off moments before. Or even better, an impact of two asteroids at the same time. As he got closer to the crater, his mind started racing with the possibilities.

However, Shawn was not prepared for what he actually found there. In the middle of the crater was a large yellow sheet of what looked like paper. At the bottom of it was an enormously long number, at least 200 digets. Aboved that was a simple message. ‘Sorry, I ran into your moon with my ship. Please call this number so that we can exchange insurance numbers.’

The idea of this exercise is not to be perfect, far from it. It’s to make something without having time to really think about it. You have to follow your gut and nothing else.

Guess who’s back in town!?

More than two years. That’s how long I haven’t posted on this blog. Honestly, it feels way longer, almost a lifetime ago. I guess time is relative to experiences after all.

Now before you start cheering that Budget Deck Building is back, I have to disappoint you. It’s not. I might come back to it in the future when I have more time, but don’t get your hopes up. However, I have this blog and I figured it could serve another purpose.

I’ve been durdling around with writing for a while now. Recently I dropped a short poem I had to get out of my head on a forum I frequent, which prompted the question if I had a blog. I figured sharing some of my stuff here would be a good excerise and could only help me grow as a writer. I’ll be dropping some off my older stuff first and eventually I’ll transition into writing new material. Maybe I can even set up some sort of schedule. No promises. As a nice start, how about said poem.

I have many faces.
One for friends
One for work
One for family
And innumerable more
I do not wear them as masks
There is no true face
They are all a true side of me
I am more like a sphere of faces
Turning to show the appropriate side
At the sphere’s core there is one face
But that face only I can see.

Additionally, I’ve gotten into streaming games recently. I’m really enjoying it as it combines my love of video games and my desire to entertain. I’ve played some Magic (Holiday Cube FTW!), but I will mostly be playing other games. I plan to post here whenever one of my stream replays hits Youtube (Channel name is ‘Vedalken Treehouse’, what else). We started Shadow Warrior yesterday and it’s proving to be quite the hoot.

Finally, since you last heard of me, I got my Master’s Degree in Science Communication. I’ll probably drop some science related stuff on here too. Don’t fear though, it’s kinda my job to make science accessible for everyone. So even if you know nothing of science, hopefully you’ll find it interesting.

And who knows, maybe I’ll feel the need to write about something completely different or even something personal. We’ll just have to wait and see. Still, it’s good to be back!

 

It’s not You, It’s Me

Some of you may have noticed that I missed another update last Sunday. Well, I have an explanation for that, but your not going to like it.

I’m going to have to quit doing Vedalken Treehouse. Now, don’t think Wizards had anything to do with this, because that isn’t the case. I simply don’t have the time to do it anymore.

I started Vedalken Treehouse because I missed old school budget deckbuilding. And if something isn’t on the internet, then the best way to solve it is to make it yourself. But I knew from the start that there would be a time that I would be to busy to update the blog. I just didn’t expect it to happen this fast.

Between my classes, job, D&D campaign and other projects, I simply don’t have the time. But before I say my last hooray, I want to ask you something: Please, Create!

I might have had a very short, rocky blog, but I have no regrets. I don’t know if I’ll ever return to this blog, but I created something and I’m very proud of that. All over the internet there are always people telling you your wrong or that what your doing is lame, in the most immature way imaginable. These are people who don’t create. They just sit there behind their PC’s, never creating something themselves because they are afraid to be judged. Don’t be like them! If you’re thinking about doing something on the internet, Go Do It! Yes, you’re not going to be great right away and you’re going the get quite a bit of negative feedback (if anyone reads/watches your stuff at all). But you know that you created something and you could do so again.

And that my friends, is it’s own reward.

Rednightmare, Out.

All By Myself (Solitary Fiends week 3 of 4)

Ok, I need to apologize, I missed a week there. College has started again and I got a bit swamped with work, but I’m back on schedule now. Last time we left with this deck.

Solitary Fiends 1.4
8 Island 16 Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Crypt Creeper 4  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 3  Fume Spitter 15 creatures	2  Doom Blade 3  Duress 3  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Predator’s Gambit 1  Ring of Xathrid 2  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells

I think I can safely make a few changes right now, before we start a few more games.

Out:

2 Frost Breath: This card can really help when you’re trying to race your opponent, but I think I would rather remove 1 creature for good then buy me some time. I am going to miss it though.

2 Into the Void: This card is actually worse then Frost Breath in my opinion. Often it only removes the creature for 1 turn instead of 2. And if it has a “enter the battlefield” ability it even works against me. Out it goes.

In:

2 Go for the Throat: I want some more hard removal and the best way to do this is with a 2/2 split between Doom Blade and Go to the Throat. Go for the Throat is more expensive then Doom Blade in tickets, but seeing as I have barely reached the 12 ticket mark, I think I can spare the tickets.

1 Predator’s Gambit: I really like this card on my Loners. It improves their power and with both flying and intimidate that makes it one really hard target to block. I have seen several games where I wanted this on my creature and didn’t have it. That’s always a great reason to add more of a card.

1 Homicidal Seclusion: This has been great for winning with a lone creature and I just want more of it. I might be going overboard with 3, but I feel good about this choice.

Solitary Fiends 1.5
8  Island 16  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Crypt Creeper 4  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 3  Fume Spitter 15 creatures	2  Doom Blade 3  Duress 3  Essence Harvest 2  Go for the Throat 3  Homicidal Seclusion 3  Predator’s Gambit 1  Ring of Xathrid 2  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells

I know my deck is now very heavily black, but I’m keeping the current lands mix, because I am afraid to not draw Islands when I need them. Now lets see how this works, because I think we’re close to the finished product.

Game 26 G Aggro

I drop a Ring of Xathrid, Demonic Taskmaster and Predator’s Gambit. He drops a Llanowar Elves and uses Increasing Savagery and Wild Defiance to beat some serious damage. But my Taskmaster is faster, especially as I drop a Alchemist’s Apprentice to chump and by a turn.

W:L 11:15

Game 27 G/W Humans

She drops a Champion of the Parish and follows it up with Mirran Crusader. I drop a Fettergeist to trade with the Crusader so my Demonic Taskmaster can go nuts. My opponent however just keeps dropping more and more humans. I Go for the Throat the Champion of the Parish, but a Champion of Lambholt keeps beating. Even Homicidal Seclusion can’t save me from that horde.

W:L 11:16

Game 28 B/U Zombie

He mulligans all the way down to 4 cards. I drop a Duress on the first turn to find that he’s only got lands. Thus, I drop my Demonic Taskmaster and start beating. He plays Ponder and Divination back to back to get back in the race. I drop another Duress and see a Call to the Grave and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. The Call is out and I keep back a Go for the Throat for Grimgrin. It drops, but I wait for another creature, as he can’t attack without a sacrifice. When he drops a Phyrexian Crusader and sacrifices it, I just Go for the Throat Grimgrin and this draws a concede.

W:L 12:16

Game 29 W/U Control

I mulligan down to 6 into a rather crappy hand. I have good draws though and have all parts for a great rush, but I know my opponent has Mana Leaks at the ready. I try to bait one out with Doom Blade, be she doesn’t go for it. After a bit I manage to get down a Fettergeist, but it get’s Vapor Snagged. All this time my opponent gets down more and more Restoration Angels. I drop the Fettergeist again when my opponent empties her hand and I see I can race back next turn. A topdecked Vapor Snag ruins this for me though and the trio of Angels beats me down to zero.

W:L 12:17

Game 30 W/B/R/G Humans

This deck had a lot of different strategies built in. It had a reanimation theme with Angel of Glory’s Rise and Unburial Rites. There was a Human theme in there with Mayor of Avabruck and a Werewolf theme as well. I get off to a good start and get a Demonic Taskmaster down on turn 3 and start beating. 1 eventually dies to a Nightfall Predator, but another just takes it’s place. I equip it with a Ring of Xathrid so it can’t die to that again. My opponent does manage to hard cast a Angel of Glory’s Rise, but by that time I’m still at 20 and the humans can’t possible do that much damage in 2 turns.

W:L 13:17

It’s going better and better. I’m not winning all games, but most of the time the deck has a clear plan and sticks to it. I think I’m nearly done with this deck, as I can’t see a lot of points for improvement. I do want to plug a few gaps in the deck.

Out:

3 Fume Spitter: Though there’s nothing wrong with this fellow, the deck really doesn’t need him that much. Even if he comes down, it’s only for a short time. At least Alchemist’s Apprentice gets me a new card, this is just very small removal.

1 Crypt Creeper: This goes double for Crypt Creeper. It’s power/toughness is good, but the effect is minimal (though great against flashback), but I either need to play more or drop this loner (see what I did there). I want to try a different card out, so it has to make room for now.

1 Essence Harvest: This is still a great card to win a race or turn one around, but I think I need other cards more then this one. Two seems just fine, so I don’t feel bad about removing one.

In:

3 Negate: Playing blue means having access to counter magic and I think I could use some help in that department. Negate stops plainswalkers and pesky removal spells to name a few.

2 Mutilate: The deck is currently running no rares and has been doing so for quite some time. I checked the bots and could get a pair of Mutilates for a little over 2,6 tickets. As the deck is at a cost of 12 tickets at most (all the cards separate, from bots, is around 2,2 tickets, but I’m counting on people having bought the Intro Pack at the store) I feel justified in adding them. It will really help with match ups where I am getting swarmed by smaller creatures.

Solitary Fiends 1.6
8  Island 16  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 4  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 11 creatures	2  Doom Blade 3  Duress 2  Essence Harvest 2  Go for the Throat 3  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Mutilate 3  Negate 3  Predator’s Gambit 1  Ring of Xathrid 2  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells

I’m now only running 11 creatures and I hope that’s enough, but I guess there is only 1 way to find out.

Game 31 B/W M13

This deck seemed to only use M13 cards. That’s not to say this game was easy. I got of to a shaky start with a 6 cards hand and not loners. He used Mind Rot and Ravenous Rats to make that worse. I get beaten to single digits, but an Alchemist’s Apprentice with Homicidal Seclusion keeps me in the game. Just when it all seems over I sacrifice the Apprentice to give me one last shot and I draw a Fettergeist. This allows me to slowly beat myself back to health, despite the two Battleflight eagles, one with Dark Favor on it. He drops some more flyers and Dark Favors, but I know when to attack and when to hold back to keep myself in the game. In the end another Homicidal Seclusion and a Ring of Xathrid gives my Fettergeist enough of an advantage to win the game.

W:L 14:17

Game 32 B/U Trading Post

I keep a hand with no creature but with all the other cards for a quick start. I manage draw and get down a Fettergeist on Turn 4, but my opponent is well on her way by then. She has played a great number of pieces to lock me away. Contagion Engine seems to have me pinned, but I manage to bring her down to 7. Tumble Magnet stops me from sealing the deal and I get infected by Inkmoth Nexus and the Engine does the rest.

W:L 14:18

Game 33 U/B Good Stuff

This deck was filled with very powerful cards. Luckily I manage to get out a Duress and take out Liliana of the Dark Realms and start beating with Demonic Taskmaster. With the second Duress I take out Staff of Nin, leaving Karn Liberated in his hand, as I think it won’t hit the table on time. I was wrong. He accelerates with Pristine Talisman and Karn completely blows me out of the water. That was a clear misplay from me and I take full blame for this loss.

W:L 14:19

Game 34 B/W/U/G Something

This deck had a lot of colors and seemed to use the good parts of them all. Open with Duress and remove a Pacifism from my opponents hand and I get down an Demonic Taskmaster early on. Once I play Homicidal Seclusion, the Taskmaster gets Murdered. I get beaten up quite a bit, but play a second Homicidal Seclusion and later get a Fettergeist with Essence Harvest down, but this comeback get’s foiled by another Pacifism. I don’t draw an out for that and get beaten into the ground slowly.

W:L 14:20

Game 35 U Delver

I get down only a Swiftfoot Boots as I’m stuck at 3 mana with no Islands and all Blue cards. Short defeat.

W:L 14:21

Well that was a wash. I lost all five games back there and I think I know why. Time to fix this deck some more and hopefully start winning again.

Out:

2 Essence Harvest: The biggest problem with Essence Harvest, the one I have ignored because I liked it, is that it doesn’t do anything by itself. It needs a creature on the board and otherwise it doesn’t do squat. Time for it to leave.

1 Ring of Xathrid: The +1/+1 counters on my black creatures is cool once in a while, but after getting beaten by Pacifism, I realized that the equip is in here to protect my creatures from spells, not other creatures. The boots do this way better then the ring.

In:

1 Swiftfoot Boots: That’s why I’m upping my Boots count to 3. Hopefully I will have one most of the time so those pesky removal spells don’t ruin my plan.

2 Vampire Nighthawk: In many of my games, I have lost because I don’t have a creature on the board. I have been thinking about adding the Nighthawk to the party for a while, but I think it will serve it’s purpose well. Its power might not be that high, but it has its own lifelink build in, which should help me with the race.

Let’s hope this gets me back to winning before I rap this version of the deck up.

Game 36 R Goblin

I get of to decent start with Alchemists Apprentice, but my opponent starts beating with a few goblins, some of them enchanted. I take some hits and then use the Alchemist to chump block and get down a Demonic Taskmaster the next turn. When I try to equip a Swiftfoot Boots however, it gets hit by Searing Spear. Had I not played a Negate the turn before, that could have been prevented. I get out another Taskmaster, but it drops in to late to be of any difference.

W:L 14:22

Game 37 R Control

I never get down a creature for more then a turn. Had I waited until I had enough mana I could have covered my creature with a Negate, but I wanted to play the deck to fast. Sometimes caution really is the better part of valor.

W:L 14:23

Game 38 B Control

I get out a good opening with a Duress and see that my opponent has only one swamp. I therefore leave the Mutilate and Duress to discard her Sign in Blood, so it will take her longer to get to her later cards. I get a Demonic Taskmaster down, but it get’s destroyed when I try to equip it with a Swiftfoot Boots. The second one sticks though and I manage to put two Predator’s Gambit on it so I can ride it to victory before my opponent gets enough mana.

W:L 15:23

Game 39 W/B Mimic Vat

I mulligan to 6, but end up with a hand without a Loner. I do get down a Demonic Taskmaster though, but it get’s hit by a Go for the Throat. I then have to wait for another loner to show up, but my opponent pounds me to the ground with Demonic Taskmaster tokens she creates with her Mimic Vat.

W:L 15:24

Game 40 W Artifact

I get down a quick Demonic Taskmaster, but my opponent uses Palladium Myr to get out a really early Batterskull. We trade damage for a turn and then Spellskite comes down. Then a Phyraxian Metalmorph means another Batterskull. I have Homicidal Seclusion down by now, but I’m still 1 power behind my opponent. I try to attack, but Dispatch removes that threat for my opponent. Once Sword of War and Peace drops it’s curtains for me.

W:L 15:25

Ok, let’s all be honest: That deck wasn’t really good. The fact that I had only one creature that got destroyed all the time and almost no way of keeping it safe was what ended me. But maybe if I had gone the control route back in week 2, maybe the deck would have been better. Well, lets find out. Next week I’m returning to the build right before I went the Aggro way and change it towards a Control deck. Hope to see you then.

Me, Myself and I (Solitary Fiends week 2 of 4)

Last week I worked on improving the Solitary Fiends Intro Pack. We got a little bit underway, but no big decisions were made yet. This week, we will definitely get to them. This is what we left of with last week.

Solitary Fiends 1.2
12  Island 12  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Corpse Traders 1  Crypt Creeper 3  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 2  Fume Spitter 1  Lone Revenant 2  Mist Raven 2  Renegade Demon 19 creatures	2  Crippling Chill 1  Demonic Rising 2  Doom Blade 2  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 1  Predator’s Gambit 1  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 17 other spells

Lets play some games and see what’s still wrong with this deck.

Game 11 G/U Graveyard Filling

I keep a slow hand but eventually manage to drop Fume Spitter and Demonic Rising next turn. I then sacrifice my Fume Spitter to drop another Demon. Sadly, this isn’t happening in a vacuum. My opponent is self-milling like crazy with cards like Trackers Instinct, Mulch and Armored Skaab. Splinterfright I manage to kill with Doom Blade, but a Kessig Cagebreaker does get through and kills me the turn before I win with my Demon tag-team. The Rising did surprise me as a very good card in this game.

W:L 2:9

Game 12 R Control Change

She played an incredibly interesting deck. It revolved around taking control of my creatures with cards like Act of Treason, Treacherous Blood and Metallic Masterity (with some help from Liquimetal Coating) and then sacrificing them with effects like Fling or Infernal Pact. She also played Crush and Manic Vandal to take out any (non-)creature threat with the Coating. She never used it on my lands though, which I found really classy. I started the game out really bad, having mulliganed to 4. I though I was a goner from the start, but played anyway. She was taking a lot of time to get started and in that time I managed to get back into the game. Problem was that whenever I dropped a creature, she just got rid of it by stealing and sacrificing or turning it into a artifact en then killing it. Meanwhile, any Red Sun’s Zenith brought me closer to death. This went on for quite a while, until I drew Lone Revenant. It’s hexproof meant my opponent couldn’t mess with it and seeing as I had been stockpiling removal, blocking wasn’t going to happen. I eventually rode the Revenant to a victory in turn 23.

W:L 3:9

Game 13 G/W Tokens

My opponent gets of to a quick start with 2 Doomed Travellers and a Gavony of Township. I get of to a faster start. I drop Demonic Taskmaster on turn three, follow up with a Predator’s Gambit plus Essence Harvest on turn 4 and swing in. This puts my opponent at 8 life immediately. He plays a Parallel Lives and passes. I beat one turn more and my opponent drops Geist-Honored Monk dropping a lot of flying power. This doesn’t change anything however, as the Taskmaster has Intimidate thanks to the Gambit and finishes my opponent off in the next turn.

W:L 4:9

Game 14 B Trading Post

This was a really long game of back and forth. I was drawing almost all my Islands this game and was really strung for creatures. I did quite a lot of damage, but she just kept regaining life over and over again with Trading Post. At some point I got down Demonic Taskmaster with Homicidal Seclusion just as I am about to die. But then a Go for the Throat swoops in and that was it for me.

W:L 4:10

Game 15 R/G Big Value

I didn’t really see a theme in this deck, aside from the slight soulbond theme. Most of the cards had some great power though. I got off to a great start with Fume Spitter, Alchemist’s Apprentice and Demonic Taskmaster. This got me going very fast, especially when I managed to kill a Lightning Mauler before I had to sacrifice the Spitter. I just kept hitting with the Taskmaster and stalling him with Frost Breath and the likes. When I drew Predator’s Gambit, I knew I had him on the ropes and finished the game the next turn.

W:L 5:10

Those games were really interesting and important for the deck moving on. In game 11 and 12 we got a look at how the deck would play if it was more of a control approach. Game 13 and 15 were the opposite. I won those because the deck got out of the gate really fast and won before my opponent knew what hit them.

Right now, the deck can do both a little bit, but what we want is a deck that can do either aggro or control well. Both decks are possible from here on out, but it’s important we choose now, because we can then refine the deck’s plan from here on out.

If we were to go for a aggro build, cards like Demonic Taskmaster, Fettergeist and Predator’s Gambit, trying to get a cheap loner creature out and smacking heads before the opponent catches up.

The control build would probably use Lone Revenant and Nefarox, Overlord of Grixis as its loners and cards like Homicidal Seclusion and tons of control spells to protect them. This deck would play the slower game and try to win with a overpowering loner.

After some consideration, I decided to take the Aggro route. B/U Control is a staple these days and aside from not wanting to do what everyone else is doing, this also means that many of the cards I would want for my deck are popular and thus more expensive. Furthermore, the loners for the aggro build are all uncommon, where as the loners for the control build are rares, another budget reason. Finally, I think the deck is most interesting when it plays the fast game instead of the long game. If I have time left this month, I might show you what a control build would look like, but for now, Aggro we go.

Out:

2 Renegade Demon: Though it has saved my hide a few times, I think this card doesn’t play well with a high speed deck. At 5 mana, I want to be well on my way of winning, not just getting started. And seeing as it is just a vanilla creature, it doesn’t have any synergy with the rest of the deck.

1 Demonic Rising: Again a card that comes down to late for my taste. Plus, what I don’t like about it, is that it turns of any loner cards like Homicidal Seclusion and Predator’s Gambit when the demon comes down and it doesn’t play well with both the Taskmaster and Fettergeist

1 Lone Revenant: Despite being a really cool card, it needs support connecting, as it has now form of evasion built in. And again, at 5 mana this card will be hitting the board at the time that I should already be winning, so out it goes.

1 Corpse Trader: I have no idea how this card plays, as I have draw it only once and then it was nothing more then a 3/3 vanilla creature before being destroyed. Still it’s effect is far more control then aggro, so out it goes.

That clears up our upper curve, let’s see if we can focus a bit more on the lower part of our curve.

In

1 Demonic Taskmaster and 1 Fettergeist: These guys are going to be our main loners, so it feels right to bump these up to 4 each. This means I have 8 cards in my deck that I can ride to victory. This may be to much, but I’m going to try it for now. I can always take them out later.

1 Swiftfoot Boots: The boots are great. They protect our loner, because removal can really but a dent in our 1 creature plan. I am considering switching to either the blue or black ring from M13, but right now I don’t have a favored color. The fact that I don’t have to pay for the hexproof after equipping also helps.

1 Predator’s Gambit: This card can really increase the speed of winning by a lot. And with the boots this hopefully won’t be a card disadvantage nightmare.

1 Essence Harvest: I really love this card. With one of our big creatures out, this is like getting in an extra attack and also staling our opponent for an extra turn. Yes, it requires a big creature on the board, but the pay-off is really great.

Seems like some solid changes. Let’s see how they turn out.

Solitary Fiends 1.3
12  Island 12  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Crypt Creeper 4  Demonic Taskmaster 4  Fettergeist 2  Fume Spitter 2  Mist Raven 17 creatures	2  Crippling Chill 2  Doom Blade 3  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Predator’s Gambit 2  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 19 other spells

Game 16 U/W Control

I get out a very quick Demonic Taskmaster with a Predator’s Gambit on it and get on my way to beating my opponent to a pulp. Then she drops a Tamiyo, the Moon Sage and I am pretty much screwed. Because of the Taskmasters drawback, I can’t get any other creature down for long. When I draw a Swiftfoot Boot, I think I’m saved, but Dissipate bursts that bubble. I concede once she gets down the emblem and uses Disperse. No way I can keep a creature down in those conditions. Mental Note: Get an answer versus planeswalkers.

W:L 5:11

Game 17 U/B Infect

I have a great opening hand with only a third land missing. Of course I then proceed to draw no land at all for 5 turns straight and get beaten to a pulp by 2 Blighted Agents and a Phyrexian Vatmother.

W:L 5:12

Game 18 U/G Control

He gets down two quick elvish visionaries, but I get out a killer curve with Fume Spitter, Swiftfoot Boots, Fettergeist, then on turn 4 equip the boots and enchant the geist with Predator’s Gambit. This uber geist then proceeds to kick ass, aided even more by the Homicidal Seclusion I draw and play on turn 5. A Silklash Spider comes down, but my opponent knows it will only stall him one turn, so concedes.

W:L 6:12

Game 19 B/W/U Tokens

When my opponent drops a Intangible Virtue on turn 2, I know what I’m up against. Still, I have Demonic Taskmaster with a Predator’s Gambit in hand and manage to get that down quickly. I then proceed to pound as my opponent drops tokens. I count that I can win it with 3 life left on turn seven. But when I draw a Homicidal Seclusion on turn six, I seal the deal right there and then.

W:L 7:12

Game 20 G Elves

I get down an Crypt Creeper which trades with a Viridian Emissary . I then drop Fettergeist and ride it all the way to victory. I didn’t draw a single card to boost its power, but thanks to it’s flying and some blocking and removal, I manage to win the race in the end. I might have won a turn early had I swapped out the Geist for a Taskmaster sooner.

W:L 8:12

That went great, except for some bad luck with lands and a nasty planeswalker. I think I can focus the theme some more and get some useful answers in my deck.

Out:

2 Crippling Chill: Yes it replaces itself and gets me some valuable time. But I really like Frost Breath more and I don’t even know if I want to keep that. There is a slight chance that this will return, but don’t hold your breath.

1 Fettergeist: I personally think that 7 Loners is enough for this deck. Choosing between taking out a geist or a taskmaster is easy. The extra power of the taskmaster means it can close games a turn sooner and that is the most important part in my eyes.

2 Mist Raven: This was a tough call.Yes, this card is amazing in some decks, but I’m afraid it’s not working out right now. It has little synergy with the rest of the deck and I already have some big flyers. Of all the cards I’ve taken out, this is the one I could see returning if I end up missing them. But for now, I want to try it without them.

In:

3 Duress: I love this card and was so glad they reprinted it. It allows me to take out Planeswalkers, enchantments and artifacts before they even become a problem and also allow me to snoop in my opponents hand, all for the small price of 1 mana.

1 Fume Spitter: Thus far, these little guys have been great. With Duress added, I don’t think I’ll need 4, but 3 seems quite like a good number.

1 Ring of Xathrid: With black slowly becoming the dominant color again, I want to see if this Ring doesn’t do a better job then Swiftfoot Boots. Yes, the hexproof doesn’t require mana and protects against everything targeting it, but this has the added benefit of keeping it alive through combat and mass removal, plus it makes my attacks even more deadly

I also swap out 4 Islands for 4 Swamps, as my deck now leans heavily towards black.

Solitary Fiends 1.4
8  Island 16  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Crypt Creeper 4  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 3  Fume Spitter 15 creatures	2  Doom Blade3  Duress 3  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Predator’s Gambit1  Ring of Xathrid 2  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 21 other spells

Five more games and then we’ll call it a week.

Game 21 G/W Something

She had a really bad draw. I only saw a Arbor Elf, a Naturalize and a Evolving Wilds, aside from basic lands. I dropped a Demonic Taskmaster on turn 3, following it up on turn 5 with Homicidal Seclusion. After that got Naturalize, a few more attacks and a Essence Harvest ended the game before my opponent could recover. These games can be important too as a deck builder. It answers the question if your deck can capitalize on a bad draw from your opponent. I know my deck can, but that still felt dirty.

W:L 9:12

Game 22 R/U/B Control

I get off to a shaky start as I mulligan to 5 and have to use a Alchemist’s Apprentice as my one creature, but Homicidal Seclusion gets me going. Once a Demonic Taskmaster appears, things speed up. They don’t speed up fast enough however. I almost manage to win the game, but the lifelink of a Vampire Nighthawk saves my opponent. He then proceeds to lock me down, especially when he drops a Nical Bolas, Planeswalker on the board.

W:L 9:13

Game 23 R/U Talrand

My opponent was completely set to get a Talrand, Sky Summoner into play and use it. I though I was smart by keeping my Doom Blade ready, but a Vapor Snag aimed at Talrand ruined that plan. I try to beat through with a Taskmaster, but it just gets double blocked. I should have waited a turn with that, because that’s when I drew Predator’s Gambit. That could have allowed me to race my opponent as I still had a Essence Harvest in hand a Homicidal Seclusion for when I was doing to draw a fifth land. I’m just going to have to chalk that up as a learning experience: you can always draw the right card.

W:L 9:14

Game 24 B Big Stuff

My opponent had a plethora of removal and mass removal spells that prevented me from getting down a proper foothold. And that is without counting the 3 Liliana of the Dark Realm’s. Plus there were the Surgical Extractions that removed both of my Loners from my entire deck, getting me well and truly out of the game before I could take her out.

W:L 9:15

Game 25 R Aggro

I kept a pretty good had as my opponent mulliganed to 6. Opened with Duress and saw I was up against goblins. I removed a Shock and started to played out a Demonic Taskmaster. This got taken out by Incinerate. I the Ring in hand at this point, but Regenerate wouldn’t have saved him here. Good to remember. Anyway, I get beaten up pretty bad, but manage to get down a Demonic Taskmaster 2 turns before I die and a Homicidal Seclusion 1 turn before I die. This allows me to race back, especially as I use the ring to keep growing the Taskmaster and also a Predator’s Gambit to prevent her Chandra’s Phoenix from blocking. I manage to race all the way back to victory on this giant Taskmaster.

W:L 10:15

The deck is working better and I’m definitely winning more, but I still feel there are some refinements to be made. Join me next week when I fine tune this deck to perfection.

Going Solo (Solitary Fiends – Week 1 of 4)

Last week I talked about a budget deck I built some time ago. Today, we start our first deck evolution. For people who missed my last article, here are the rules I use for budget deckbuilding.

–    Take a Standard Legal Intro Pack
–    Play at least 5 games between making changes.
–    Change no more then 5 cards
–    Stay within 15-20 MTGO tickets.

Seems easy enough. Let’s talk about the deck that we’ll be transforming this month. I looked through the different decks of Avacyn Restored and found Solitary Fiends the most interesting. Having only one creature on the battlefield has several drawbacks, so going in, planning on playing only 1 creatures seems like an interesting challenge. The Soulbond deck also looked interesting, but I think I’ll save that for a later article.

Note that I did not look at the M13 decks. Firstly, when I started with this deck, they weren’t out yet. Secondly, the Core set Intro packs are often not build around a central mechanic/tactic but more around the 2 colors that get mashed up. I might do a M13 deck in the future, but for now I’ll just use the set for its great tools.

 The Deck:

Solitary Fiends 1.0
11  Island 13  Swamp 24 lands 3  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Corpse Traders 1  Crypt Creeper 2  Fettergeist 1  Havengul Skaab 1  Lone Revenant 2  Marrow Bats 2  Mist Raven 2  Renegade Demon 2  Undead Executioner 17 creatures	2  Crippling Chill 1  Demonic Rising 2  Doom Blade 2  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 1  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Peel from Reality 1  Predator’s Gambit 1  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tormentor’s Trident 1  Triumph of Cruelty 19 other spells

 At First Glance:
According to the description of the deck “our nefarious scheme is to have exactly one creature on the battlefield”. How it wants to do this with 17 creatures in the deck beats me. Now every intro pack is a mix of different ideas, themes as I like to call them. Some are large and have a lot of cards working towards it, others have only a few cards part of that theme. A good way to get a feel for a new deck is to try and identify these themes. Your asking yourself, what does this deck want to do? When looking at the Solitary Fiends deck, I see the following themes:

Minor Theme – Loners: It’s kind of our nefarious scheme, so it seems weird that this is only a minor theme. Only 7 cards want us to have just one creature on the battlefield, or lose their drawback when their the only creature (Fettergeist and Havengul Skaab). Now 7 may not seem like much and to be honest, it isn’t. but, granted, a lot of cards are geared towards helping this strategy out. For example…

Minor Theme – Sacrifice: 5 creatures are capable of sacrificing either themselves or creatures in general. This produces some useful effects, but it can also help to bring down the creature count to 1 (in theory). Plus, Undead Executioner doesn’t mind being sacrificed, as it’s also a removal spell. One of many actually.

Major Theme – Removal: Originally, I had the Loners theme pinned as Major, but it looks like a little duckling compared to the removal suite. Mist Raven, Undead Executioner, Doom Blade, Peel from Reality, Into the Void, and, to a lesser degree, Crippling Chill and Frost Breath all take care of creatures your opponent my have played. They can also be used to reduce your own creature count in a pinch, though unless it’s bounce, that seems really bad.

Minor Theme – Big Threat: If your going to put all your eggs in one basket, you better bring enough eggs to put the Easter Bunny to shame. This deck seems to agree with this twisted logic. Several cards enhance a creatures stats. No doubt the plan is to put these all on your one creature and swing with it. I especially like Swiftfoot Boots here. If I’m going to rely on a single creature, I would hate it to see him die to a simple Brimstone Volley.

Price: When using bots, this puppy was an absolute steal! For less then a ticket (in my case, 0.96 ticket) I managed to get all the cards in the deck in one go. Just add basic lands and we’re off. Still I’m assuming you bought this from the MTGO store and sold the booster in it. That should bring the starting cost to 10 tickets.

Games:
Enough talk, let’s see these loners in action.

Game 1: R Burn
I get a Alchemists Apprentice out with a lot of removal in my hand. This however seems useless as my opponent plays a Shrine of Burning Rage. He still plays a few creatures, but even a solo Lone Revenant can’t pull me back into the game. Note: if they don’t play creatures, all that removal is dead weight.

W:L 0:1

Game 2: R/G Werewolfs
She gets off to a good start with a Village Ironsmith that turns into a Ironfang quickly, followed by a Kruin Outlaw and Mayor of Avabruck. I only manage to play Undead Executioner, Doom Blade and Corpse Traders before I am overrun with wolves.

W:L 0:2

Game 3: G/W Golem Ramp
I open pretty weak with only a Alchemists Apprentice, but slowly work my way up as my opponents drops ramp after ramp spell. I expect him to drop some game finisher, so stall his Llanowar Elves with Ice Breath. Once they finally untap, he plays… Phyrexian Hulk? I did not see that coming, but it still needs a solution. At this time Renegade Demon shows up on my side and we stare at each other for a while. In the end I lose this stalemate when my opponent starts dropping Splicers and I realize why it’s a Phyrexian Hulk.

W:L 0:3

Game 4 B/U Control
We both barely play anything until I drop a Fettergeist, which dies to Geth’s Verdict quickly. He then drops three Phyraxian Oblitorators in the course of a couple of turns. I manage to keep them off however, with Frost Breath and Mistraven. This gives me time to use flyers and Essence Harvest to race my opponent before the Horrors stomp me into the ground. Demonic Rising stays in my hand, bit worth playing the entire time.

W:L 1:3

Game 5 Mono Green Aggro
Things look really bad as my opponent drops green beater after green beater. My fortune turns however, when I manage to drop Fettergeist with Homicidal Seclusion. I try to race and almost make it thanks to Essence Harvest and Into the Void, but a Miracled Revenge of the Hunted wins my opponent the game, just on the wire.

W:L 1:4

Ok, for the first 5 games that wasn’t bad. The deck pulled back from several bad starts and even won 1 game. It still needs a lot of work however, so I’m going to try and address some things that I noticed.

Out:

2 Undead Executioner: Thought this is a nice card to sacrifice to Corpse Trader, the fact that it can’t remove itself from the board to enable my loners really stings me, especially because there are creatures that do a similar thing but mesh better with the rest of my deck

1 Havenguul Skaab: This really is the worst loner in my mind. A 4/5 for 6 is really easy to get for both black and blue, so the drawback is uncalled for. I could see this working with creatures with comes into play abilities, but right now, this is simple not that kind of deck.

2 Marrow Bats: Though their 4 power is really useful, the fact that they are a 4/1 flyer for 5 mana just makes them way to expensive. Their ability is so pricy in life points that I don’t really see myself using it other then very incidentally. I have a much better 4 power flyer in mind.

In:

2 Demonic Taskmaster: When I first read through the decklist of Solitary Fiends, I was really surprised to see this guy missing. But that’s the fun of Intro Packs. Spotting the flaws in them and improving on them.

He’s a mirror to Fettergiest power and toughness wise, but this is tempered by the fact that the Taskmaster sacrifices your other creatures, instead of just taxing them. Still, this guy can end the game in 5 attacks on its own, even faster with…

1 Homicidal Seclusion: I almost won game 5 thanks to this card. I think lifelink is the best way to effectively race with one creature and this gives that creature 3 extra power to boot. The fact that it doesn’t stick to my creature and thus remains around if said creature dies also helps.

2 Fume Spitter: This one-mana wonder really fits in this deck well. He can come down early, scare some 1 toughness creatures away and then get lost once I want only one creature on the board. Plus, even if he can’t kill his target, he can at least decrease it’s strength permanently.

+0,27 tickets
Total: 10,27 tickets

Solitary Fiends 1.1
11  Island 13  Swamp 24 lands 3  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Corpse Traders 1  Crypt Creeper 2  Demonic Taskmaster 2  Fettergeist 2  Fume Spitter 1  Lone Revenant 2  Mist Raven 2  Renegade Demon 16 creatures	2  Crippling Chill 1  Demonic Rising 2  Doom Blade 2  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Peel from Reality 1  Predator’s Gambit 1  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tormentor’s Trident 1  Triumph of Cruelty 20 other spells

Small changes for now, but I want to check the core of the deck out before I start making major changes.

Game 6 G Beatdown
I see only 3 cards of my opponent, but Dunegrove Elder enchanted with Rancor really ends the game before it actually begins. Primordial Hydra does show up, but that I simply remove it with Doom Blade. In the end I don’t manage to stop the Elder and die on turn 5.

W:L 1:5

Game 7 B/W/G Enters the Battefield deck:
I mulligan down to 5 and get stuck at 3 lands and once my opponent plays Acidic Slime, that goes down back to 2. I concede when it’s very clear I am not recovering. These games just happen. Chalk it up to bad luck and move on.

W:L 1:6

Game 8 U/G/W Control
I manage to get out a Demonic Taskmaster and start swinging, but it gets taken out by Oblivion Ring. This leaves me with a Alchemist’s Apprentice against his Solemn Simulacrum and Cryptoplasm. Eventually I get enough lands out to play Renegade Demon and Homicidal Seclusion. This lets me race back. He tries to stop me with his creatures, but the mass of removal in my hand lets me pull back in this game.

W:L 2:6

Game 9 R Burn
I manage to get out a Fettergeist with Swiftfoot Boots, a perfect weapon against red burn. We go back and forth a lot, but in the end my opponent burns me out with him at 1 life. Had I played Homicidal Seclusion 1 turn sooner, I could have won this one.

W:L 2:7

Game 10 B Control
I get out a few creatures that start pounding on her empty board. She plays Black Sun’s Zenith however, leaving me with none. I then have to watch as I draw lands and Doom Blades as my opponent develops the board. Once Grave Titan comes down, it’s over for me and I get stomped into the ground in 2 turns.

W:L 2:8

Not much better then the first 5 games, but let’s see if we can’t improve that.

Out:

2 Peel from Reality: In a deck with a lot of creatures with “enters the battlefield” effects, this card woul be great. Sadly I am not playing many of those cards and thus this is just a suboptimal Disperse. Plus, it only buys time. The creature will be back next turn.

2 Tormenter’s Trident: Yes, it can make even a simple creature into a decent threat, but the “must attack” part really hampers its use ability. I’ll probably want to use removal, but I’ll look at some useful once later down the line.

1 Triumph of Cruelty: Though it has gained me some card advantage in a few games, the problem with this card is that it doesn’t do anything if I don’t have any creatures. And even if I have creatures, if my opponent has bigger ones, it’s still dead weight. I would rather play something that actually does something when I play it.

1 Swamp: For color shift purposes.

In:

1 Demonic Taskmaster and 1 Fettergeist: I have lost several games where I didn’t have a creature to play, so I want to add a few more. Originally, I thought that the deck had to many creatures, but a lot can get rid of themselves, so it shouldn’t be a problem. More heavily beating loners seemed like something the deck needed right now.

1 Alchemist’s Apprentice: This little fellow has been great every time I draw him. He might only be 1/1, but the fact that he can chump block like a pro really helps. Plus, he almost always replaces himself, which means even if you don’t need him, you can just play and sac to move on. I might end up playing more Crypt Creepers instead of this guy, but for now, my money is on the Apprentice

2 Tribute to Hunger: I lost a game to Dunegrove Elder because nothing in my deck could deal with it. This should help even those odds. I considered Geth’s Verdict first, but realized that it’s double black could be a problem. Also, the life gain can really help win me races or restore some previous damage done. Finally, I want to keep this deck away from M12 and Mirrodin if possible, so it’s still Standard Legal when Return to Ravnica roles in. I won’t let it stand in the way of clearly superior choices, but when in doubt, it might be the deciding factor.

1 Island: See Swamp above.

+0,30 tickets
Total: 10,57 tickets

Solitary Fiends 1.2
12  Island 12  Swamp 24 lands 4  Alchemist’s Apprentice 1  Corpse Traders 1  Crypt Creeper 3  Demonic Taskmaster 3  Fettergeist 2  Fume Spitter 1  Lone Revenant 2  Mist Raven 2  Renegade Demon 19 creatures	2  Crippling Chill 1  Demonic Rising 2  Doom Blade 2  Essence Harvest 2  Frost Breath 2  Homicidal Seclusion 2  Into the Void 2  Peel from Reality 1  Predator’s Gambit 1  Swiftfoot Boots 2  Tribute to Hunger 17 other spells

The deck is still undecided on whether it wants to be aggro or control, but I think I’ll find out next week. Still, I think this entry is long enough as it is.

Will the Taskmasters get along with the Apprentices? Will the Creepers take over the lower curves? And will Nefarox make a guest appearance? I have absolutely no idea, but let’s find out next week, shall we?