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Date:    Thu, 2 Jan 1997 01:48:44 -0500
From:    "Robert I. Eachus" <eachus@SPECTRE.MITRE.ORG>
Subject: Re: Arena Deck, Tell me what you think

   Jeff Boes (jboes@QTM.NET) said:

  > *Moderately* useful?  I've been playing a B/r deck with 4 Shadow
  > Guildmages (which have the corresponding "R,T: do 1 pt" ability).

  With the Shadow Guildmage, the Tim ability is definitely the better
of the two.  But with the Grainger, I prefer to use the First Strike
granting ability as a threat.  (I have an untapped Guildmage and one
white.  If you block the creature I attack with, I get to kill your
blocker.)   But then again, I've taken to playing with Benevolent
Unicorns when I have white in the deck.

  > Any B/r or G/r Arena deck ought to include 4 of these guys.

  Make that six to eight for most decks.  I've taken to tricks like a
mono-black deck with Fire Diamonds, or Using Quirion Elves to produce
black in a R/G deck assuming I have a Mountain or two.

  > They are *amazingly* effective in a target-rich environment.  IMO,
  > the other colored abilities are gloss; I'd use them even if they
  > didn't have that other ability (and in fact, I have no Blue mana
  > sources in my B/r deck, so I *can't* use the "unsummon" ability).

  If I had to rank abilities, if would be:

  First Strike (White)
  One and one damage (Red)
  +0/+1 (Green)  (Block a Flanker with a First Striker and come out on
                  top.)
  +1/+0 (Black)  (If your opponent has no blockers, just attack with
                  the Guildmage.)
  Return creature to owners hand. (Blue).

  But since every guildmage has at least one of the top three, there
  are no useless Guildmages.


                                        Robert I. Eachus

with Standard_Disclaimer;
use  Standard_Disclaimer;
function Message (Text: in Clever_Ideas) return Better_Ideas is...

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