Warning, the following material is intended only for the geekiest of Magic players.
Welcome to Play-by-Play Tuesday
Whenever a new set comes out, one of the things I like to do is see how the set performs using the very wacky limited format known as DC-10.
How to Play DC-10
In this format, two players each open a booster pack, shuffle the cards without looking at them, and then play a game with them. Different groups play DC-10 with slightly different rules, but in my group, each player begins the game with one hundred of each basic land in play on their side. If a card like Worldpurge forces you to return all your land to your hand, or a card like Armageddon destroys all your lands, those lands are destroyed or returned to your hand just as though they were real cards. Each player begins with no hand, and the player who goes first DOES get to draw a card. The rest of the rules are regulation Magic, most games are won by reducing a player’s life to zero. I have to admit that losing the game because you run out of cards in your library happens much more often in DC-10 than in other formats. The game is called DC-10 because it was invented by some players while they were on a commercial jet flying to a Magic tournament somewhere. I like the format because it allows, in an admittedly random way, a new set to really flex its muscles in an environment where there are virtually no mana restrictions whatsoever.
Good Cards Can Be Broken in DC-10
Corrupt, for example, is a very good uncommon from Shadowmoor, but in DC-10, it can be an immediate win, since you have one hundred Swamps on your side of the board. Creatures that pump themselves can win the game the first time they manage to attack unblocked. Shadowmoor has commons like Rune-Cervin Rider, Firefox Oak, plus uncommon pumpers in several different colors. Torture lets you kill just about any creature the turn you play it, and Howl of the Night Pack puts a minimum of 100 2/2 wolves into play. Memory Sluice mills away at least four cards, which is more than a fourth of your opponent’s entire library in a game of DC-10. Eventide has its own insane pumping creatures like Restless Apparition, and the common creature enchantment Scourge of the Nobilis gives a creature the ability to pump its offense.
I Expected Eventide to Beat Shadowmoor
I was sure that Eventide would kick Shadowmoor’s bat-winged expansion symbol butt. The results surprised me.
If you thought the geeky part of this blog entry was that I like to play DC-10, then you were only half right. There is another sort of Magical sickness that I occasionally wallow in. I like to detail the play-by-play of Magic matches.
Below are the detailed play-by-play of a best of seven DC-10 contest between Eventide and Shadowmoor. Before each game, a new pack of each set was opened and shuffled. For the first game of the series, a die was rolled and Shadowmoor won the opportunity to play first in game one. After that, the losing player chose to play first in the next game.
I have been told that as bad as playing DC-10 is, and as unbelievably geeky as writing down the play-by-play of Magic play, that the real crime of this article is in imagining that anybody else would possibly want to actually read and review the sordid details of such games. My friend told me that such inflicting such horrors upon the good people of the internet was the “most offensive and indulgent” thing he had ever heard of. I respect my friend a great deal, but I figured that with the blog being so much more personal than some other information streams, that I could finally open up and share this kind of minutiae with whoever it might amuse.
GAME ONE
T1 Shadowmoor draws Memory Plunder.
T1 Eventide draws Hotheaded Giant.
T2 Shadowmoor draws and plays Slinking Giant.
T2 Eventide draws and plays Hoof Skulkin.
T3 Shadowmoor draws and plays Scrapbasket, attacks with Slinking Giant blocked by Skulkin.
T3 Eventide draws Edge of the Divinity, plays Hotheaded Giant.
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Smolder Initiate, attacks with Slinking Giant and Scrapbasket, Scrapbasket blocked by Hotheaded Giant (16-20).
T4 Eventide draws and plays Shorecrasher Mimic.
T5 Shadowmoor draws and plays Smash to Smithereens targeting Hoof Skulkin, Eventide activates Skulkin targeting Mimic one hundred times (13-20).
T5 Eventide draws Unmake.
T6 Shadowmoor draws and plays Elvish Hexhunter, attacks with Slinking Giant, Eventide plays Unmake targeting Slinking Giant, Shadowmoor activates Smolder Initiate (12-20).
T6 Eventide draws and plays Wickerbough Elder, attacks with Mimic blocked by Smolder Initiate.
T7 Shadowmoor draws Turn to Mist, plays Memory Plunder choosing to play Unmake from Eventide’s graveyard without paying its casting cost targeting Wickerbough Elder, attacks with Hexhunter (11-20).
T7 Eventide draws and plays Deity of Scars.
T8 Shadowmoor draws Puncture Bolt.
T8 Eventide draws Springjack Shepherd, attacks with Deity of Scars, when no blocker is declared, Eventide activates Deity removing a -1/-1 counter to regenerate Deity (11-14), plays Springjack Shepherd.
T9 Shadowmoor draws and plays Wildslayer Elves, plays Puncture Bolt targeting Springjack Shepherd, attacks with Hexhunter (10-14).
T9 Eventide draws and plays Quillspike, attacks with Deity blocked by Wildslayer Elves, before damage is dealt Shadowmoor plays Turn to Mist targeting Deity.
T10 Shadowmoor draws and plays Gloomlance targeting Quillspike, Quillspike is destroyed and Eventide is forced to discard Edge of the Divinity.
T10 Eventide draws Noxious Hatchling, attacks with Deity blocked by Hexhunter, Eventide plays Noxious Hatchling.
T11 Shadowmoor draws and plays Ghastly Discovery drawing Medicine Runner and Faerie Swarm, discards Faerie Swarm, plays Medicine Runner removing a counter from Deity.
T11 Eventide draws and plays Monstrify targeting Noxious Hatchling, attacks with Deity and Hatchling, Hatchling blocked by Wildslayer Elves, Deity blocked by Medicine Runner.
T12 Shadowmoor draws Guttural Response, CONCEDES.
EVENTIDE WINS GAME ONE, LEADS SERIES 1-0
GAME TWO
T1 Shadowmoor draws and plays Morselhoarder.
T1 Eventide draws and plays Riverfall Mimic.
T2 Shadowmoor draws and plays Chainbreaker with mana from removing two counters from Morselhoarder, attacks with Morselhoarder (14-20).
T2 Eventide draws Puncture Blast.
T3 Shadowmoor draws Strip Bare, attacks with Morselhoarder blocked by Riverfall Mimic, after combat is over Eventide plays Puncture Blast targeting Morselhoarder.
T3 Eventide draws Favor of the Overbeing, at end of turn Shadowmoor activates Chainbreaker removing a -1/-1 counter from Chainbreaker.
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Drowner Initiate, attacks with Chainbreaker (12-20).
T4 Eventide draws and plays Harvest Gwyllion.
T5 Shadowmoor draws and plays Puresight Merrow, activates Drowner Initiate milling the top two cards of Eventide’s library into their graveyard, Hoof Sulkin and Springjack Shepherd.
T5 Eventide draws Fetid Heath, at end of turn Chainbreaker removes a counter from Chainbreaker.
T6 Shadowmoor draws Sapseep Forest.
T6 Eventide draws Unnerving Assault.
T7 Shadowmoor draws and plays Deep-Slumber Titan.
T7 Eventide draws Chaotic Backlash.
T8 Shadowmoor draws and plays Advice from the Fae, looks at the top five cards of his library (Briarberry Cohort, Scarsdale Ritual, Sootwalkers, Intimidator Initiate and Sinking Feeling), keeps Briarberry Cohort and Sootwalkers and plays both cards, activates Drowner Initiate to mill Unwilling Recruit and Clout of the Dominus into Eventide’s graveyard.
T8 Eventide draws Beckon Apparition.
T9 Shadowmoor draws and plays Last Breath targeting Harvest Gwyllion (16-20), attacks with Chainbreaker, Puresight Merrow, Sootwalkers, Briarberry Cohort and Drowner Initiate (5-20), activates Puresight Merrow, looks at top card of his library (foil Mountain) and removes it from the game.
T9 Eventide draws Monstrify, CONCEDES.
SHADOWMOOR WINS GAME TWO, TIES SERIES 1-1
GAME THREE
T1 Eventide draws and plays Shell Skulkin.
T1 Shadowmoor draws and plays Thornwatch Scarecrow.
T2 Eventide draws and plays Oona’s Grace targeting himself and drawing Recumbent Bliss, plays Recumbent Bliss enchanting Thornwatch Scarecrow, attacks with Skulkin (20-17).
T2 Shadowmoor draws and plays Rustrazor Butcher.
T3 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (21-17), draws and plays Dream Thief.
T3 Shadowmoor draws Toil to Renown.
T4 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (22-17), draws Fire at Will, attacks with Dream Thief (22-15).
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Whimwader.
T5 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (23-15), draws Gift of the Deity, attacks with Thief (23-13).
T5 Shadowmoor draws Consign to Dream, attacks with Whimwader blocked by Shell Skulkin, Eventide plays Fire at Will targeting Whimwader, when combat damage is on the stack, Shadowmoor plays Consign to Dream targeting Whimwader, replays Whimwader, plays Toil to Renown gaining ten life (23-23).
T6 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (24-23), draws and plays Aerie Ouphes, attacks with Thief (24-21).
T6 Shadowmoor draws Boggart Arsonists, attacks with Whimwader (18-21), plays Boggart Arsonists.
T7 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (25-21), draws Twilight Mire, attacks with Thief (25-19), plays Gift of the Deity enchanting Aerie Ouphes.
T7 Shadowmoor draws Merrow Grimeblotter, attacks with Whimwader, Butcher and Arsonist, Whimwader blocked by Ouphes (22-19).
T8 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (23-19), draws and plays Nucklavee returning Oona’s Grace from his graveyard to his hand, plays Oona’s Grace targeting himself drawing Canker Abomination, attacks with Thief (23-17).
T8 Shadowmoor draws and plays Trip Noose, attacks with Arsonists (21-17).
T9 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (22-17), draws Talara’s Bane, Shadowmoor activates Trip Noose and taps Thief.
T9 Shadowmoor draws and plays Safewright Quest and searches library for a Forest or Plains but does not find one, attacks with Arsonists (20-17).
T10 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (21-17), draws and plays Razorfin Abolisher, Shadowmoor activates Trip Noose and taps Thief, Eventide attacks with Nucklavee blocked by Rustrazor Butcher.
T10 Shadowmoor draws and plays Safehold Sentry, attacks with Arsonists (19-17).
T11 Eventide gains one life from Recumbent Bliss (20-17), draws and plays Hobgoblin Dragoon, Shadowmoor activates Trip Noose tapping Thief, Eventide attacks with Nucklavee blocked by Sentry and Grimeblotter, Nucklavee puts three damage on Grimeblotter, with combat damage on the stack, Eventide activates Razorfin Abolisher returning Nucklavee to his hand, after combat Eventide plays Nucklavee returning Oona’s Grace to his hand, plays Oona’s Grace targeting himself drawing and playing Tilling Treefolk.
T11 Shadowmoor draws and plays Mistmeadow Witch, activates Witch removing each of Eventide’s creatures from play until end of turn, along with his own Thornwatch Scarecrow, attacks with Arsonists and Sentry (16-17), when the creatures return to play at end of turn, Eventide returns Oona’s Grace to his hand when Nucklavee returns, Shadowmoor activates Mistmeadow Witch several times removing each of Eventide’s creatures from play.
T12 Eventide draws Double Cleave, CONCEDES.
SHADOWMOOR WINS GAME THREE, LEADS SERIES 2-1.
GAME FOUR
T1 Eventide draws Hag Hedge-Mage.
T1 Shadowmoor draws and plays Sootwalkers.
T2 Eventide draws and plays Soul Reap targeting Sootwalkers.
T2 Shadowmoor draws Puncture Bolt.
T3 Eventide draws and plays Aerie Ouphes, plays Hag Hedge-Mage, when the Hag’s coming-into-play abilities trigger, Shadowmoor plays Puncture Bolt targeting the Hag. When the Hag’s CIP abilities resolve, Shadowmoor has no card to discard, Eventide puts Hag Hedge-Mage from his graveyard to the top of his library.
T3 Shadowmoor draws and plays Safehold Duo.
T4 Eventide draws Hag Hedge-Mage.
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Safehold Sentry.
T5 Eventide draws and plays Fang Sulkin.
T5 Shadowmoor draws and plays Wild Swing targeting Fang Skulkin, Aerie Ouphes and one of Eventide’s Swamps, when Wild Swing resolves, it randomly destroys the Swamp.
T6 Eventide draws and plays Wake Thresher.
T6 Shadowmoor draws and plays Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, attacks with Safehold Duo (17-20), at end of turn, Eventide taps five lands for mana and takes mana burn (12-20).
T7 At the beginning of Eventide’s turn, Wake Thresher gains +8/+8 until end of turn, Eventide draws Crumbling Ashes, attacks with Wake Thresher (12-11), plays Hag Hedge-Mage returning Soul Reap from his graveyard to the top of his library.
T7 Shadowmoor draws and plays Gleeful Sabotage targeting Fang Sulkin, Eventide resonds by activating Skulkin targeting Hedge-Mage 100 times, Shadowmoor attacks with Safehold Duo, Safehold Sentry and Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers, Cavaliers blocked by Aerie Ouphes and Hedge-Mage, Shadowmoor activates and untaps Safehold Sentry, damage from Cavalier is put on Hedge-Mage, Hedge-Mage and Cavaliers go to graveyards (7-11).
T8 At the beginning of Eventide’s turn, Wake Thresher gains +203/+203, draws and plays Soul Reap targeting Safehold Sentry, attacks with Thresher.
EVENTIDE WINS GAME FOUR, TIES SERIES 2-2
GAME FIVE
T1 Shadowmoor draws Boon Reflection.
T1 Eventide draws Invert the Skies.
T2 Shadowmoor draws and plays Rattleblaze Scarecrow.
T2 Eventide draws and plays Tilling Treefolk.
T3 Shadowmoor draws and plays Somnomancer, tapping Tilling Treefolk, attacks with Rattleblaze (15-20).
T3 Eventide draws Trapjaw Kelpie.
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Inkfathom Witch, attacks with Rattleblaze, Eventide plays Trapjaw Kelpie, blocks Rattleblaze.
T4 Eventide draws and plays Rendclaw Trow.
T5 Shadowmoor draws and plays Corrupt targeting Eventide with 100 points of damage.
SHADOWMOOR WINS GAME FIVE, LEADS SERIES 3-2.
GAME SIX
T1 Eventide draws Unmake.
T1 Shadowmoor draws and plays Old Ghastbark.
T2 Eventide draws and plays Nobilis of War.
T2 Shadowmoor draws Scar, attacks with Ghastbark (17-20).
T3 Eventide draws and plays Restless Apparition, attacks with Nobilis (17-15).
T3 Shadowmoor draws and plays Mudbrawler Cohort.
T4 Eventide draws Clout of the Dominus, attacks with Apparition and Nobilis, Apparition blocked by Mudbrawler Cohort, Eventide activates Apparition twice, giving him +3/+3 until end of turn twice (17-10).
T4 Shadowmoor draws and plays Merrow Wavebreakers.
T5 Eventide draws and plays Cenn’s Enlistment putting two 1/1 Kithkin tokens into play, attacks with Apparition and Nobilis, Apparition blocked by Ghastbark, Eventide activates Apparition three times pumping Apparition into a 13/11 creatures (17-5).
T5 Shadowmoor draws and plays Scuttlemutt, attacks with Wavebreakers (14-5).
T6 Eventide draws and plays Banishing Knack targeting a 1/1 Kithkin token, then activates that token’s ability to return Wavebreakers to Shadowmoor’s hand, attacks with Apparition and Nobilis, Apparition blocked by Scuttlemutt, Eventide activates Apparition once, pumping Apparition to 7/5 (14-0).
EVENTIDE WINS GAME SIX, TIES SERIES 3-3
GAME SEVEN
T1 Shadowmoor draws and plays Crabapple Cohort.
T1 Eventide draws Riverfall Mimic.
T2 Shadowmoor draws and play Rhys the Redeemed, attacks with Crabapple Cohort (15-20).
T2 Eventide draws Moonhold, attacks with Mimic (15-18).
T3 During Shadowmoor’s upkeep, Eventide plays Moonhold using both red and white mana, when Moonhold resolves, Shadowmoor will not be able to play lands or creature spells this turn, Shadowmoor draws Fists of the Demigod, attacks with Cohort (10-18).
T3 Eventide draws and plays Shrewd Hatchling, this triggers Riverfall Mimic turning the Mimic into a 3/3 unblockable creature until end of turn, Eventide attacks with Mimic (10-15), at end of turn Shadowmoor activates Rhys the Redeemed creating a 1/1 green/white Elf Warrior token.
T4 Shadowmoor draws Rune-Cervin Rider, attacks with Cohort (5-15), plays Rune-Cervin Rider.
T4 Eventide draws Odious Trow, CONCEDES.
SHADOWMOOR WINS GAME SEVEN, WINS SERIES 4-3.
What Did We Learn?
In the end, what I learned from this particular exercise is that while Eventide feels more powerful, card for card, than Shadowmoor, the average card power may still be greater in Shadowmoor. One reason is that more of the Eventide cards only interact especially well with other cards of the same two color combination.
The other point of the exercise is to just have fun matching one set against another. Massively indulgent? Geeky, I’ll give you that much. But I don’t mean to be indulgent, I’m just trying to look at the game and the cards in every way humanly possible, I’m just trying to leave no part of the meat behind, I’m just trying to use The Whole Buffalo.
Jeff Zandi
Texas Guildmages
Level II DCI Judge
Jeffzandi@hotmail.com
Related to:
Magic: the Gathering
