Theme League 2011

[Mark Ortego]

...

[SilverFirePrime]

I'll be posting the theme game for the upcoming months.  With a few exceptions, I am going to try and have games that don't require a specific deck build.  I would like to get an EDH/Commander game going later on in the year, and maybe other one game that requires a specific deck build.  Also, through the course of the year I may playtest a theme or two before we play it as an official theme game.


January's Theme Game - Highest Life

This is played like a traditional chaos multi-player game, with the exception being you can only attack and deal direct damage to the player with the highest life total.  If multiple players are tied for the highest life total, then they all can be attacked/damaged.  Effects that damage all players (like Pestilence or Last Laugh) still damage all players normally.

- No Unglued/Unhinged
- Standard Deckbuilding Rules apply.

[mooseman]

- Standard Deckbuilding Rules apply.

So is this minimum 60 cards, no more than 4 of any one card.....

[Evernevermore]

I thought our magic decks were minimum 75 cards

[Mark Ortego]

Only for MML game play

[SilverFirePrime]

- Standard Deckbuilding Rules apply.

So is this minimum 60 cards, no more than 4 of any one card.....

Yes.

[SilverFirePrime]

February's Game -

Lich Magic

Deck Construction Rules

1) 60 Card Decks only. No more, no less
2) No Unglued/Unhinged
3) Other than that, standard deckbuilding rules apply


Play is like normal, with the following exceptions:
1) The number of cards in your deck is your life total
2) When you are dealt damage you mill that many cards from the top of your library into your graveyard
3) When you gain life, take that many cards from your graveyard starting with the topmost card and place them on the bottom of your library.
4) For any card that refers to life totals (Reverse the sands, Biorhythm, ect) you refer to how many cards the players have in their library, and adjust library sizes respectively.
5) Loss of cards follows decking rules. For example, if you are the recipient of a Lightning Bolt and have three cards in your library you are ok until you need to draw/mill again.  Two cards or less and you are out of the game. 
6) Other win/loss conditions (like poison counters or through the card Coalition Victory) are valid.

[Mark Ortego]

If "Gaea's Blessing" isn't banned I WILL abuse the hell out of it!
LOL!

Card Type: Sorcery
Casting Cost: 1G
Card Text: Target player shuffles up to three target cards from his or her graveyard into his or her library.

Draw a card.

When Gaea’s Blessing is put into your graveyard from your library, shuffle your graveyard into your library.


ZOIKS!

[azureknight]

You also may want to ban Feldon's Cane. Not only is it too powerful, it also is very cheap to play (1 colorless).

[Mark Ortego]

Feldon's and several others like it are one-shots, the Gaea's Blessing (and especially multiple ones) make the deck potentially renewable every turn you take damage. Infinite if there's no opponent to get rid of it.

[mooseman]

Ban the Blessing.....

[Mark Ortego]

Agreed, I already made my deck and played the card that says my graveyard can't be the target of spells or abilities (shh, secret tech).

Blessing has-to-go

[Rootwalla]

is it safe to assume that wheel of sun and moon is also banned

Wheel of sun and moon
G/W G/W
Enchant player
if a card would be put into enchanted players graveyard from anywhere, instead that card is revealed and put at the bottom of that players library

I can see this being as broken in this theme as you can get. If it is not banned I plan to run a deck of 4 plus counterspells and enchantment protection.

[SilverFirePrime]

After some consideration, I am banning the following cards:

Gaea's Blessing
Wheel of Sun and Moon
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Kozelik, butcher of Truth
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Mnemonic Nexus
Temporal Cascade
Time Reversal
Time Spiral
Timetwister

Also, I am considering placing a limit on the  number of cards players can have that have a single player shuffle their graveyard into their library. Feldon's Cane I'm not too worried about, but there are a number of blue sorceries that shuffle the graveyard into their library.

[Mark Ortego]

Maybe a temporary "errata" on any card that would have a player shuffle their graveyards into their library?

"Exile this card after it resolves. If a card would have any player shuffle their graveyard into their library then that player chooses 1 card from their graveyard and shuffles it into their deck and exiles the rest of their graveyard from the game. The exiled cards cannot return to the game."


maaaaaaaaaybe.......