ÛßßÜßßÛ ßÛ ßÛ ÜßÛßßßß Vol. #2 Iss. #2 Û Û Û Û Û ßÛßßßÛ ÜÛÜÜ Û Û Û ß Û ÜÛÜ Üß Üß ÜßÜÜÜÜ ÜßßßÜ ßÛßßÜ Û ßÛÜ ÛÜ ÜßßßÜ ßÛßßÜ ÜßÛßßßß Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ÜÜß ßÛßÛß Û Û Û Û Û Û ßÛßÛß ÜÛÜÜ Û ß Û Û ßÜ Û Û Û Û Û Û ßÜ ß Û ßÜÜÜÜß ß ß ßÜ Üß Üß ßÜÜÜÜß ß ß ÜßÜÜÜÜ |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Your On-Line guide to Magic the Gathering. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| ** The Grimore, and its staff are not in anyway officially affiliated with Wizards of the Coast, All items, or products within are the official property of their respective companies, and copyrighted in that way. ** Please do not reproduce or re-post this information without leaving the Grimore staff's names on it! Don't take credit for something you didn't write! ** Please feel free to distribute this 'zine as much, or as far as you want! All we ask is that you leave our header on it. And distribute it free of charge, also if people you give it to without a modem like it, please e-mail us with their feedback. We always want to hear suggestions! ** Copyright Notice This publication includes card names and/or text derived from Magic: The Gathering, a product of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Magic: The Gathering, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Ice Age, Chronicals, and Homelands are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Wizards of the Coast, Inc. does not endorse this product or its use. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Table of Contents ----------------- "Editor's Note" "The Mailbag" "The Grimore Top Ten" "Strategemos" "The Most Under-rated and Over-rated cards in the Game" (Fallen Empires-Homelands) "The Drawing Board" "Trading: How to Avoid Getting Screwed" "Your Complete Guide to Tournament Play!" (Part II, Cheez on the Battlefield) "The M.A.T. (Magic Aptitude Test) I" "Grim-Con: The Proposal" "Rating the Competition" "Reader's Ballot" "Mox Drawing Update" appendix I: "Deck Submission Form" appendix II: "M.A.T. Awnsers" appendix III: "The Complete MTG Fanzine 'Net Address Book Submission Form" "Subscription, and Distribution Site Information" "Looking ahead..." |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Editor's Note ------------- Whew! Welcome to issue #2 (or #5, if you've read the three issues that comprise The Grimore Volume One), the reaction to the 'zine has been great, a lot of people have been submitting decks, and article ideas which is what I hoped for, and the feedback has not all been positive (which is good as I wanted to put one or two negative letters in the Mailbag section so it didn't look like I only replied to kiss-up mail so, if you have a complaint about the mag. or something you think we should add be sure to let us know, the best way to make the 'zine more readable is to play to our readers, hey we're here to serve) so I know what needs improvement. Our subscriber list (that is, the people who get every issue mailed to them) jumped from 7 to 500 in the space of a month!!!!! (shows what giving away a Mox can do :)), making The Grimore the most widely read MTG data fanzine around (at least the most widely read I know of), but that's just the beginning, because here at the Grimore we have GOALS! (we think we've been watching to many of those motivation InfoMercials, but they're just so darn addicting...) And since you took the time to download/read this article we thought we would share them with you, so here goes: The Grimore General Staff'ers Goals (v .001) * To have over 1,000 subscribers by the end of our first 6 months (or 6 issues, which even comes first). * To sponsor a Con this summer (tentatively called Grim-Con) for MTG lovers, here in Utah (Salt Lake City) for players nation-wide (for more info on this see "Grim-Con: The Proposal," later in the issue). * To serve our readers to the best of our abilities. * To come out with a paper-version of The Grimore (#7 or #8) complete with art and everything to be given out at Grim-Con (probably with an admission, since we have to pay for printing fees :( ). * To finally complete our (ok my) Beta Mox set! * To prove that you don't have to fork over $5.00 for a good (or more often lame) MTG 'zine! O.k., I know those are some pretty lofty goals, after all we're just a small data 'zine from UTAH of all places (but hey, we have a lot of wives to help out! :) ), but if we can just reach the first couple we'll be satisfied. So if you know how we can meet them (besides the obvious ways, like buy the last @#$#@$@#ing Mox you need) or know someone who plays and hasn't signed up for his/her (FREE!!!!!) subscription drop them (or us) a line and let them in on our little mag, the last thing we want to be is a secret!!!! Thanks for reading, and as always your comments are welcome. --Zzzayxx **ERRATA** Obviously we that write the Grimore are human (else we would have these nifty opposable thumbs that allow us to type!), and so like most humans make mistakes (sometimes lots of them...see last issue) here are a few that we caught: - There are a LOT more than 10 new MTG fanzines on AOL now, more like 30! - The Chaos Orb, mentioned in the Cornicopia deck should be swapped out for a Zuran Orb. - You cannot deflect Counterspells with a Reflecting Mirror. - In the poll question about tournament types, Type I should be changed to Type II. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| The Mailbag ----------- ** Thanks for all your replys to issue number one!! For the most part they were very kind, because of space limitations we could only print a few here, but keep them coming!!!! Let us know what you like about our little 'zine, and what you think needs improvement (or addition)! Thanks again! ** ---------- Subj: The God Is Back From: JonPKibble To: Zzzayxx I never thought you would be back!!!!! great mag!!!!!!! You are king of the mags!!!!! (Now I am only #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) . p.s. read Library of Leng!!!!! your avid fan, JonPKibble (Jon Prywes) p.p.s. I believe in older player supremacy!!!!!! * Thanks for the kind words Jon, your over-use of the exclamation point lets us know your really sincere :). As for being king of the mags, I don't know if I'd go that far, after all Scrye and Inquest have a lot more readers than us here at the Grimore, but then again they've been around longer, so maybe in a year we'll be able to rival their readership (which is one of the above mentioned goals). As for older player supremacy, I don't know if I am with you on this belief, I got into Magic right after "The Dark", and now about a year and a half later I can routinely crush guys that have been playing since Beta. I think it's more how you play, and the strategy you use than how long you've been playing, or how much $$ you've put into the game (though, at times all the Moxes, Timethings, and a Lotus make up for a lack of a good strategy...unfortunately). Also for those of you wondering, The Library of Leng is an AOL based MTG fanzine (which is reviewed later in the mag). ---------- Subj: SUBSCRIPTION plus mail read this From: EthanAJ To: Zzzayxx I loved your mag. IT is the truely best of the magazines I've ever read. (and I've read every one of them) The articles were more insightful than in InQuest and the likes. Real professional. The overrated, under rated cards were very true and well put, though in my area the colossus is much more on the underrated side. * Thanks for the comparison to (my personal 2nd favorite paper-mag) InQuest, and the "professional" remark, I'd like to think those of us that write The Grimore do it as well (or better) than a lot of paper-zines out there, but that might just be my ego :). After all just 'cause you get this 'zine free, it has no pictures (or wimpy combos) doesn't mean it can't be a quality product! At least we hope it is... I thought the UR&OR (Under-Rated and Over-Rated) were close to the mark also, though with many of the cards being re-printed they have lost their under-rated status (ie Erhnam Djinn, Abu Jafar), but most of the over-rated cards are still just that (in our eyes at least). ---------- Subj: Grimore Zine From: Drool9 To: Zzzayxx Hey Zzzayxx, I am a great fan of your grimore magazine. I have read every single issue since it was released last year. You mentioned you lived in Utah. I was in Utah last winter and I brought my cards along and I am wondering if I met you. I played almost every day at the store, "Comics Utah." There were several good players there and I was looking to pick up my second set of Mox. If that is where you play, then I met you. I am writing because I am part of a group that has created an online consolidated magic magazine. We have 10 writers right now and I believe if you contributed to the magazine it would really be better than the "printed" magazines. The editor of the magazine each month rotates to another person. This means that we are all on equal terms. The magazine is called AOL Magic and many of the smaller magazines dissolved and created this consolidated zine. It was the idea of StupidJock. The first issue of the AOL Magic was good for the first one. I believe it to be lacking in many areas but as mail comes in and we get feedback I believe that it will succeed to be one of the best data zines out there. Tuom * In response to your question, yes the Grimore is located in Utah (Ogden, Utah actually), unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet you, since I play at a local store called Heros & Hobbs, some of the other staff members may have seen you there though since they get out a lot more than I do :). As for your consolidated 'zine idea, I support what you are trying to do. AOL (sorry, Internet subscribers, this probably won't make sense to you unless you have been on AOL recently, has been plagues by 200 line 'zines printing and re-printing the same combos one has seen in paper-mags months (or years!) before. Obviously no one wants to waste time (time they are PAYING for) downloading a fanzine claiming to have Super-Ultra NEW Combos, and seeing Lich-Mirror Universe in it! So I do think that something should be done to limit the number of 'zine uploaded, something like a quality control committee that would read the 'zine then vote whether to allow it or not could be established, but the same committee would have to keep an open mind, and unbiased opinion (something none of us humans have). A more viable solution is instead of writing you own 'zine pair up with a friend, room-mate etc... Or just pop into the MTG conference and ask for people who would like to contribute to a CCG fanzine, not only will the size of your 'zine increase, but so will the quality!! Now for the facets of you (or Stupidjock's) idea I do not support. I have downloaded the last 10 posted 'zines in the Gaming Information Exchange file section, and was pleased to find that the quality of the 'zines is improving dramatically, it looks like those people with little to say, said it over the last few months, and have stopped publishing...however, I also downloaded the recent issue of MegaZine, the first (though re-named) issue of AOL Magic you mention above, and found it less entertaining and a lot less informative than most of the 'zines individuals have published! Admittedly this was the first issue, and I hope it will improve. I also think the idea of multiple-editors is kinda lacking, yes it does make you all equal. But also it gives the mag. a kind of jumbled look, this is just my opinion of course, but it may be shared by others (and it may not...). In summation, I think MegaZine will be a quality download once it has been tuned (of course, all the publication magazines need to be tuned, paper or data, the one your reading now included!) a little more, I like the idea, but some of the parts are (in my eyes) lacking. Also, if your even in Utah again stop by Heros & Hobbs in Ogden (40th and Washington) I'll meet you then :). ---------- Subj: Re: The Grimore Vol. 2 Iss. 1 From: DaknBlkbld To: Zzzayxx Thanx for putting me on the list. I already got ish 1 w/ the mail you sent last week but I guess it would be a lot of trouble since I was already on your mailing list. I read it as soon as I got it. I was glad to see that it kept a lot of the feel of the origonal Grimore but without being an exact copy. With the new decks section which, while a little lengthy, is the best format I've seen, and the twenty page full price guide thankfully gone, the new Grimore has the potential to become one of the best. With all the new competition it may not get the 700+ downloads it got a year ago, but it will be leading the pack. DaknBlkbld * Sorry about the double-mailing, you weren't the only one to get it (and if your getting a double dose of this issue drop me a line and let me know!) unfortunately, I don't have time 'till after Christmas to go through and erase the 10 or so double e-mail addresses I have on the list. I agree with you on the deck submission section, it is the best I've seen (data-wise, no print 'zine offers you the chance to submit decks) but it is long, if I didn't have to work in ASCII and could layout the 'zine on PageMaker, or Word I could shrink the text, use italics, organize into columns and all sorts of neat stuff, unfortunately many of our readers can't view that type of text so for now I guess I'm stuck with the long-hand version :(. I agree the deletion of the price guide did save space, though another Grimore Sponsored Price Guide will see print later this month, not as a part of the 'zine itself, but as an add-on put up for download on GIX, the Etext site (/zines/Grimore), and sent out to all subscribers, because (and this might be just me) all the current price guides seem to be out of touch with what a card really costs! As for not getting the 700+ downloads, I'm not to worried about it, if only 200 AOL'ers pick up my magazine that's fine, I'm more interested now in expanding the 'zines readership to Internet, where no MTG fanzine (at least none I have seen) has gone before. ---------- Subject: Re: \*\* Win a Mox of your choice!! (No strings) \*\* From: joh6@lehigh.edu (Jon Ho) To: zzzayxx@aol.com (Zzzayxx) Hi- I'm interested in a free subscription of Grimore. What exactly is Grimore, are they published? Well here's my address: ** Address Withheld ** * The Grimore is a data based fanzine, so all of you subscribers that sent me your snail mail address I really didn't need them, but didn't make it clear in my posting I guess. Also, the subscription is FREE!! Let me repeat that FREE!!!!!!!!! I have had almost 50 e-mails asking me to tell them if it really was free or not and it IS!!!!!! (I still have one guy e-mailing me to tell him if it's free when I've told him 3 times!) I guess nothing is given away on the Internet, but we're willing to do it to increase our reader-base, and do not plan to charge for subscriptions as long as the 'zine stays in data format (which it will for the foreseable future). Of course contributions are welcome :) ---------- Subj: Re: The Grimore Mailing List Test! From: phil@miracle.com (Phil Hill) To: Zzzayxx@aol.com ('Zzzayxx@aol.com') 1) If you are going to send this in MIME format, don't name the file *.DOC. It is a plaintext file so should have the extention .TXT. .DOC implies Microsoft Word or Word Perfect or some other word processor format. You document looks awful in MS word. 2) Lose the ASCII graphics. You can't count on people reading the file with under DOS. If people don't have the correct font, it looks like garbage. The same goes for most of your indentations and tables, they look awful in a proportional font. 3) Unlimited/Alpha/Beta ------------------- #1 Black Lotus #2 Mox Ruby #3 Mox Jet #4 Mox Emerald #5 Mox Sapphire #6 Mox Pearl Why break the Moxes down, later on you say things like 'sacrifice lands' and lump them into a single slot. Besides, we all know the order is Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Jet, Emerald. The only other fast mana white has is Trade Caravan, and that's a joke. Blue only has Apprentice Wizard and High Tide. Red has Mana Flare, GoM, and the Sisters. Black has Dark Ritual, and Sacrifice. And Green has so much fast mana (Elves, Birds, Druids, Wild Growth) that often a Mox is too slow! (With a Orcish Lumberjack, a Forest becomes 4 mana for 0 casting cost, better than a Lotus!) 4) Legends ------- #1 Mirror Universe #2 Mana Drain #3 Thunder Spirit #4 Moat #5 Nova Pentacle #6 All Hallow's Eve #7 Underworld Dreams #8 Firestorm Phoenix #9 Acid Rain #10 Disharmony Mirror Universe?? One of the most over-rated cards. You've got to be kidding. I've never seen All Hallow's Eve do anything useful. Most of the time it ends up helping your opponent as much as you, the rest of the time it gets Disenchanted before it counts down. And Firestorm Phoenix??? For the same casting cost, I could get a Shivan! 5) Homelands --------- #1 Marjhan #2 Faerie Noble #3 Baron Sengir #4 Abbey Gargoyles #5 Autumn Willow #6 Ihsan's Shade #7 Mystic Decree #8 Willow Priestess #9 Joven's Ferrets #10 AEther Storm I'm still rolling on the floor laughing! You are completely off here. Marjhan is just another big-ugly blue creature with a too-high casting cost and a gross untap cost. It's better then Leviatian, but not as good as Deep Spawn It doesn't even belong on the list. What about Primal Order? It's the best card in Homelands, and you didn't even put it in the top ten. And Death Speaker, a 1 casting cost creature that can safely block that Juzam *forever* (while you opponent is still taking the 1 damage per turn from his own Juzam) And Sea Sprites, a 2 casting cost flying creature that will totally neutralize that Shivan coming down your throat. And Spectral Bears!!!! 2 casting cost 3/3. Even if you don't attack with them, they are a wonderful blocker. And with a single Deathlace, they become totally lost their minor drawback. 6) Underrated & Over rated. Natural Selection is a waste of time. There are plenty of other effects that allow you to look *and* rearrange the top three cards, and they are all pretty much useless! Dark Sphere - I'm incredibly surprised more people don't play with these wonders! Not only is the casting cost just right (0), its ability is one of the better ones in the game. How many times haven't you wanted to half that 10 point fireball? Or with multiple spheres reduce it to 0?!?! ... You can't reduce damage to zero with multiple Dark Spheres. The first one would reduce 10 to 5, the second from 5 to 3, the third from 3 to 2, the fourth from 2 to 1, and the fifth+ would have no effect. (Remember round UP, and the effects happen sequentially.) Reflecting Mirror - Possibly the MOST under-rated card in the game, the only thing that makes the mirror even close to clumsy is its casting cost (4), but its still a easy 2nd round card. More useful now than even now that Wizards has seen fit to give red a potential of 12 (!!!!!!) lightning boltish things in a single legal deck! Not to mention the chance of reflecting something big like a 15 point fireball with the use of Basalts, Mana Vaults, and a High Tide or Two! Even Counterspells can be reflected, mind twists, hymns to tourach and many more! While not good against a creature deck the Reflecting Mirror should find a comfortable place in many decks. If you can reflect back a 15 point fireball (total cost 32 mana) why don't you just take all that mana and blast your opponent back to the stone age with your own fireball?? You can *not* reflect Counterspells. Counterspell targets a spell you are casting, not you. * WOW!!!!!!! Now that's what I call a long e-mail :), thanks for putting the time in on it even if it does point out my many mistakes (even if I already noticed some of them, see the Errata). Because of the size of your mail, and the number of questions I will take them sequentially: 1) .DOC and .TXT files are used interchangeably here in Utah (maybe we're just a back-water state), so I didn't even think of changing it from .DOC (Document) to .TXT (Text), both are ASCII and if one implies the other and I didn't know about it I am sorry, but perhaps .DOC doesn't imply the same thing for all people (is there some guy in Hong Kong trying to view this 'zine on his Atari, because there .DOC stands for "Only viewable on machines made before 1980," its a possibility). But just for you, I'll send the rest .TXT, I don't think anyone will mind. 2) I like the ASCII graphics, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but since it appears the ASCII divider was a pain to view I've compromised by switching it to DOS text (not weird characters), but left the "The Grimore" header at the beginning. 3) The Moxes are separated because locally (and I can, for now, only go off local trends) Duel Lands, and Sacrificial Lands are valued about the same no matter what type they are, while Moxes are valued more by color (it takes a Pearl + Duel lands to get a Ruby out here). As for your own ratings, I could probably poll 50 players and get at least 25 different variations, we all have our own priorities. Your's lie in mana production, (by they way you only get three mana per Forest with Orcish Lumberjack) where as mine lie more in the favorite colors, more people (sorry to break it to you) play Red than Blue, Black than White and so the more played Moxes are in higher demand. 4) I don't think Mirror Universe is over-rated at all (ok maybe a little) it does exactly what it says, lets you switch life with your opponent, now THAT is an ability. Sure it has to stay out for a round, and COULD be Disenchanted but even if it is 2 out of 3 times that 3rd time is going to make all the difference in the world. All Hallows Eve is a very specific card, but with Jokluhapps (that is spelled wrong I am sure), and Nether Voids paired in decks it might be the only way you ever get something out!!! Also, with the growing popularity of creatureless decks All Hallow's is still useful, as for it being disenchanted, just like Mirror Universe above, that 3rd time makes all the difference. I agree with you on Firestorm Phoenix, I don't know what I was thinking putting it on there it is a hard-to-find collectors card but useless in playing. And remember just because you haven't seen something used well, or at all, doesn't mean it can't be or isn't. 5) Well I had hoped you would discount at lest 4 of our choices for Homelands Top 10, when you told me I was totally off...but one it ok I guess... I personally like Marjhan, that is only requires 2 blue make it easy to bring out early in the game (with Basalt Monoliths, Moxes, Loti, etc...), its upkeep is the easiest to pay of all the big blues (think...Breeding Pit, or Homarid Spawning Bed to get the token creatures), it has a great special ability and is 8/8!!!! It's not for every deck but deffinatly suited for more than you're giving it credit for. Primal Order is a nice sideboard card, but if you play in an area devoid of anything but all green decks, or if you yourself play more than 2 colors it looses a lot of its playability. Death Speaker is a good creature, especially for white weenie, but in comparing it to a Juzam Djinn your assuming your opponent who took the time to get 4 Djinns is playing all black, with no pyroclasms, swords to plowshares and/or lightening bolts and didn't plan on playing against someone using protection from black creatures? somehow I think not... Sea Sprites will save you from that Shivan, for one round, then he just comes back bigger! Hope you have a lot of Sprites. I also like Spectral Bears, but if your slotting in Deathlaces just to make them useful you make them worthless in a tuned deck, by requiring 2 colors of mana to use them effectively. 6) Actually only Portent does what Natural Selection does, Visions lets you re-shuffle but that's far from rearranging, what other cards were you thinking of? Useless?!? I beg to differ, anything I can do to keep you from drawing that lightening bolt when I'm at 2 is worth it to me! The text on Dark Sphere reads "T: Sacrifice Dark Sphere to prevent half of the damage rounded down done to you by a single source" one of us was reading the card wrong, and it wasn't me (this time), or maybe my Dark Spheres are just special? You might not be playing red, so you wouldn't have a Fireball (there are 4 other colors out there you know), and no it cannot reflect Counterspells, I noticed that error the day after I sent it out (see the Errata) good to see I wasn't the only one who picked up on it. ---------- Subject: Re: The Grimore Mailing List Test! From: barth@wam.umd.edu (Doctor Demento) To: Zzzayxx@aol.com Comments on THE GRIMORE 2:1 ---------------------------- First of all, thanks for letting me know about "The Grimore". I read it over and generally was positively impressed by it. Since you complained about not receiving any feedback to the 1st edition, I would like to take the time to offer you my thoughts about the fanzine. SPECIFIC COLUMN COMMENTS ------------------------ Top 10 Lists ------------ This has been done to death in every magazine from Scrye to InQuest. While you make an original departure by doing your list on a set-by-set basis, I have to wonder whether this list is going to change enough on a monthly basis to make it valuable as a continuing column. In addition, you should make it more clear why the cards you choose are on the list. For most of the magazines, the reason is clear - be it reader opinion, the reports of national vendors, or whatever. Since you and your staff are doing this alone, some indication of what you are doing will be more useful than just a list of cards. *** Strategemos ----------- Not bad. Essentially this is information that will be of use to beginners more than experienced players, I feel, but that's not a bad thing in and of itself. You succeed in not talking down to your audience, and the information you provide is quite good. You might consider demonstrating your points using one or two specific decks of the type being featured, so players can get the "big picture." *** Overrated/Underrated -------------------- Nice concept, but once again I have to question whether this is going to change sufficiently to make it a regular feature. I like the way you explain WHY you list each card, and some of the explanations are quite novel. You might consider offering full text and/or summaries of the less common cards, so those without extensive knowledge of Legends, say, will understand what you are talking about. *** Drawing Board ------------- Please, please, PLEASE reformat this. It was impossible to read without going back several times. Place the general ratings, colors, and price together at the beginning or end of the article so someone who wants to skim through can do a quick and dirty comparison of the decks that are listed that month. Limit your comments to the end - they are rather distracting to keep breaking into the main text. *** Tourney Guide ------------- Nothing I haven't seen before, but you said as much. Looking forward to next month's column. *** Rating the Competition ---------------------- Much too short - you missed all of the zines I read on a regular basis. Where do I get information about subscribing to these zines? All in all, efforts made to rate competitors tends to make you look petty - this may not be a great idea for someone trying to publish a zine, although it would be very welcome as something standing alone on the net. *** Reader's Ballot --------------- Pretty Generic. Most zines are doing something similar, but it makes for an outlet for reader feedback. Maybe some more controversial questions would be interesting. GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS -------------------- Formatting changes would be nice to increase legibility. The lengthy strings of ASCII characters which you used to separate the sections did nothing to add to the document's legibility, and in fact cluttered it up. You might try adding regular formatted headers to the sections to make it easier to search for section headers. An HTML version of this would be really nice, also - it seems that this fanzine would be admirably suited for distribution on the WWW. You should also look at doing more of interest to the collector. Not all collectors are players, so the occasional article aimed at the collector (such as the upcoming "trading" article) would be welcome. I would even be interested in writing such a column if you are interested in having it. Let me know and I can work up a proposal. Kevin "Demento" Barth * Geez! Another long letter (not that I'm complaining, I like to get them!!!), thanks for the mail Kevin allow me to awnser/respond to some of your questions: Top Ten Lists - I agree that this has been done to death, and while I like my set-by-set breakdown better than an overall list it probably won't change to often (until 5th Ed. or Chronicles II) but, also I have to remember that we will get new readers with every issue (at least I hope we do!) so I want to give them an idea of what we think is hot, that's why I keep the list in...Starting next issue (#3) we will begin explaining why we choose the Top 10 we do (I would have gone back an done it this issue but your mail arrived about an hour before this is scheduled to go out, and I'm lazy), mostly its just our opinion and that of local shop owners, I'd love to get feedback from players/retailers from all over though so e-mail your suggestions!!! Stratagemos - I hope I don't talk down to my readers, a good author doesn't (though that's about all they do in InQuest), but there is another reason I try not to, that is that I don't know everything!!! It's hard to be conceited when you realize that you may know 1,001 uses for Nether Void, but couldn't build a good land destruction deck to save your life...As for including decks I will try to put one or two of each type talked about in Stratagemos in the "Drawing Board" section from now on. Over Rated/Under Rated - This isn't an ongoing feature, it concludes this issue, and will be replaced by the one-issue-spanning feature "The Just Plain Stupid!" in #3, while I don't feel that I've covered all (or even a fraction) of the useful, and useless cards out there, OR/UR will probably appear again around issue 5 or 6 with some new ideas (and hopefully a new expansion to discuss). As for people not knowing what certain cards do, since some of them are obscure this could be a problem, I guess I'm just spoiled with my Spoilers list, similar lists that detail what the cards do and their casting cost can be found all over the 'Net, I'd include one in the 'zine itself, but the sheer length would kinda eclipse the articles, and besides some subscribers may not need it. If you need a list like this (not you Kevin, anyone reading this) just check any of the MTG newsgroups for FTP or WWW addresses, should be no problem to find one. Drawing Board - I agree on the formatting, issue #1 was out first "test-run" of the new format and it got more than a little messy, it has been cleaned-up and re-done hope its easier to read! Tourney Guide - Like I said, and you re-stated nothing I say about tournament play is going to be new to everyone (perhaps anyone), or original but hopefully it'll help a few readers out, and provide a few insights or laughs for competent tournament players. Rating the Competition - Because this is an on going column I limit myself to reviewing only 2 magazines per issue. As for being petty I guess it is, the concept was to rate other home-brew 'zines on AOL (which is choked with 100-200 line commentaries, repeating things over and over) with one print mag thrown in to make it something Internet readers could stomach, I tried to point out both pro and cons and explain my complaints. I wanted to review other 'zines the way I would want The Grimore reviewed with enough commentary to give the Editors an idea of how to make their 'zines more reader friendly, though I doubt the guys over at Wizards of the Coast or Wizard Press are going to take much notice. Also beginning next issue I'm going to try and compile the "Complete MTG 'zine Address Book" listing all the fanzines print run, subscriber #, where you can e-mail for an subscription and a little 3-5 line write-up by the editors. Reader's Ballot - Yeah, it is REALLY generic, the favorite color question among others was pretty lame. I thought the question about the creation of a MTG association to rival the Duelist's Convocation was semi-controversial but that's about it. Check this month's ballot for more in depth questions. GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS - The ASCII divider has been replaced as per your (and other reader's) request. I would love to set up a Grimore Web Page, but running off AOL I don't think I can!!! I'll look into it though... An (as yet unnamed) 'zine will be published beginning in January for those people interested in collecting/trading (the trading article in this issue will be the last to appear in the pages of The Grimore, all the rest will appear in our sister 'zine), I understand that some collectors aren't players, and some players aren't collectors and want to cater to both sides of the fence, so look for that publication in the near future (now if I could only think of a good name....)... ========== That's it for "The Mailbag" this month, hoped you enjoyed reading it, and I hope my responses weren't too vague, keep those letters coming it's the best way we get feedback to serve you better! |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| The Grimore Top Ten ------------------- ** Remember, the ranking expressed below are based on the views of the Grimore staff (usually based more on play use, than hype, picture, or $$$ value...though the first and last seem to go together), and players in our area, if things are different where you play and would like to make a suggestion on a new card to add or slot change for a card that has already made the list feel free to e-mail us with your suggestion! ** Unlimited/Alpha/Beta ------------------- #1. Black Lotus #2. Mox Ruby #3. Mox Jet #4. Mox Emerald #5. Mox Pearl #6. Mox Sapphire #7. Time Walk #8. Time Twister #9. Ancestral Recall #10. Forcefield Arabian Nights -]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] #1. Juzam Djinn #2. Ali from Cairo #3. Jihad #4. Diamond Valley #5. Ring of Ma'Ruf #6. Iff-Biff Efreet #7. Singing Tree #8. Serendib Djinn #9. Old Man of the Sea #10. Elephant Graveyard Antiquities ----------- #1. Candelabra of Tawnos #2. Mishra's Workshop #3. Argivan Archeologist #4. Gaea's Avenger #5. Power Leech #6. Citanul Druid #7. Urza's Miter #8. Might Stone #9. Martyrs of Korilis #10. Mishra's Factory (Snow/Fall) Legends ------- #1. Mirror Universe #2. Mana Drain #3. Thunder Spirit #4. Moat #5. All Hallow's Eve #6. Underworld Dreams #7. Acid Rain #8. Tabernacle at Pendrall Vale #9. Nether Void #10. Greater Realm of Preservation The Dark -------- #1. Preacher #2. Tracker #3. Maze of Ith #4. Exorcist #5. Psychic Allergy #6. Knights of the Thorn #7. Reflecting Mirror #8. Frankenstein's Monster #9. Hidden Path #10. Dark Sphere Fallen Empires -]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] #1. Hand of Justice #2. Ebon Praetor #3. Icatian Town #4. Icatian Skirmishers #5. Fungal Bloom #6. Breeding Pit #7. Orgg #8. Deralor #9. Elvish Farmer #10. Thrull Retainer Revised (3rd & 4th) ------------------- #1. Multi-Lands #2. Vesuvan Doppleganger #3. Fork #4. Shivan Dragon #5. Nightmare #6. Royal Assassin #7. Ball Lightening #8. Mahamoti Djinn #9. Serra Angel #10. Sengir Vampire Ice Age ------- #1. Deflection #2. Jester's Cap #3. Jester's Mask #4. Marton Stromgald #5. Icy Manipulator #6. Enduring Renewal #7. Zuran Orb #8. Ice Cauldron #9. Energy Storm #10. Ghostly Flame Homelands --------- #1. Baron Sengir #2. Autumn Willow #3. Primal Order #4. Marjhan #5. Faerie Noble #6. Apocalypse Chime #7. Koskun Falls #8. Abbey Gargoyles #9. Eron the Relentless #10. An-Zerrin Ruins |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Strategemos ----------- Even more popular than Direct Damage decks (discussed last issue), are decks that rely on big creatures coming out fast supported by Direct Damage, and Permission spells. A typical deck of this type will be played with a lot of fast mana (Dark Rituals, Orcish Lumberjacks, Lotus, Moxes), and big creatures, usually with only 1 (or less) colored mana required to cast (Deralor, Ernham, Juggernaut). Once the player has a creature on the board (usually round 2 or 3 at the latest) he will attempt to keep it alive while stopping his opponents creatures with Counterspells, Lightening Bolts, Pyroclasms, Mind Twist, or Hymns to Tourach. Land Destruction and Hand Destruction spells really help this type of deck, as do Nether Voids, Blood Moons, AEther Storms, Feroz's Ban, or Invoke Prejudiced anything that slows your opponent down (and you, but only after you have a creature or two on the board) will work here, single cards are the best, double card combos may be slow in coming (ie Relic Barrier/Winter Orb) but since a lot of them don't hurt you they might not be a bad idea. Stay away from any combos over three cards (not just here, but in an competitive deck!!!). This deck type, while being quick has damage from varied sources (both creature, direct, and artifact) almost assuring you some damage during the game. The fact that it can encompass almost any combination of colors makes it hard to sideboard against. Add to this the fact that this deck type can be either Type I or Type II makes it one of the most versatile around. A Type I deck of this genre could include; 4-5 Moxes, Lotus, Juzam Djinns, Chain Lightenings, Nether Voids, Relic Barriers, Seredib Djinns, Ali From Cairo, and the Blue spoilers. While a Type II version can be just as deadly by combining; Orcish Lumberjacks, Incinerates, AEther Storms, Winter Orbs, Goblin War Drums, Smokes, Winters Chills and Dark Spheres. Of course these Types can be combined into a number of crushing combinations. All that coupled with the fact that this deck type doesn't rely on 3 or 4 certain cards to make it work (making it Jester's Cap proof), and the varied colors make sideboard really effective allowing the player to deal with virtually every situation! The major fear one needs to have when playing a deck like this is land oriented. The fact that Mana/Card ratio tends to be low makes tuned Land Destruction a threat. Primal Order and Blood Moon can hurt, but Disenchants and Tranquilites can take care of them no problem. Another big fear is playing another deck of this type, when this happens the game is more a matter of luck and play skill than cards. Forgetting to attack for even 1 point one round may cost you the game. This deck type is incredibly effective, hard to play, and even harder to beat. Effective side-boarding is a must! The White, Red, and Green utilities (Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Smoke, Goblin War Drums, Ali from Cairo, Tranquility, Primal Order etc...) are a must. While playing this deck in Type I is VERY expensive Type II variants should be easier to make, and be just as effective (if a round ot two slower). Overall possible the best deck type out there! ** In "The Drawing Board" the first to decks profiled "Steel" and "Null and Void" are good examples of Type I takes on this theme, check them out!** |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| The Most Underrated And, Overrated Cards In MTG! ------------------- (FE-Homelands) Fallen Empires -]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]] ---------- Over-Rated ---------- Fungal Bloom - While its hard to find anything really over-rated about Fallen Empires (it's the most under-rated expansion out there!) Fungal Bloom does qualify in the "it-looks-good-at-first" category. Sure Fungal Bloom is great for putting that last minute spore counter on your Spore Flower, or maybe giving you a couple extra life via your Elvish Farmer (eating it, not making it, he is not a fungus after all!), but in a tournament level game, while Thallids aren't a bad idea, Fungal Bloom usually is. It has the right casting cost (GG) allowing it to come out early, but its activation cost (also GG) and the fact that it can only effect a target fungus make it almost useless unless you have 6 mana to spend every round fogging your opponent. The only time I have seen Fungal Bloom used effectively is in an all Green tourament (where most of the damage comes from creatures) in an all Thallid deck, the game was probably in its 40th round, and they guy had about 500 Thallids in play (of course his opponent had Spore Flowers, Fogs, and Spore Clouds in reserve so it was more like a boring stand-off) and couldn't do ANYTHING with them (he refused to sacrifice them for life of course), see preceding parentheses. Not the most fortunate of situations, so while the Bloom can be useful (rarely) it is usually just a slot in your deck where a Craw Giant, or Ernahm Djinn could have gone. Hand of Justice - Like the Fungal Bloom, Hand of Justice falls into the "it-looks-good-at-first" category, I mean who wouldn't want to destroy any creature in play just for tapping 3 white creatures and the Hand? But, playing with a HoJ (Hand of Justice) in your deck you might never get to kill anything with him! First theres the problem of getting the 3 creatures out needed to use his ability, no problem with White Weenie right? Wrong, with Lightening Blots, Fireballs, Pyroclasms, Jovial evils, and Winter's Chills all avalible for you opponents deck or sideboard the chances of him/her letting you have three creatures on the board (especially with a few Crusades and/or Jihads in play) are slim to say the least. Then theres the fact that HoJ very slooooooooow to get out, his casting cost (one White, 5 colorless) keeps him in your had for a least the first 3-4 turns, so hope you opponent isn't playing a quick deck! Then, what if your opponent isn't even playing creatures? HoJ looses a lot of its playability right there. But ok, lets say your opponent is at 1, has an Ali from Cairo (with Anti-Magic Aura) out against your Red/White weenie hoard and you have a Lightening Blot in your had, it doesn't help against Ali but wait! You just drew a HoJ, you cast him out with a grin and declare you turn over, next turn you can use the HoJ and finish your opponent off. But if you think your opponent is going let that HoJ live until your next turn (or just kill off all but 2 of your creatures) you've been playing for too many straight hours my friend! If its in the other players power the HoJ is dead, he's even a bigger target in Multi-Player (Melee) games!!!!!! But hey, 2/6 isn't a bad (if expensive) blocker... ----------- Under-Rated ----------- High Tide - While it's true this card isn't incredibly useful in the first 2 turns of the game, nor after about round 6. For the in-between rounds High Tide adds something Blue doesn't have a lot of, speed mana. Sure there is Black Lotus, Mox Sapphire, and Apprentice Wizard, but the first two are kicked out because of scarcity and the fact that most players haven't been in the game since Unlimited, and don't have the money to buy them at current prices and Apprentice Wizard isn't the mana producing stud some people hype him to be, he only produces colorless, and his casting cost requires two blue making him hard to bring out on turns one and two. High Tide however is easy to get (its a common!) but just like the Wizard useless in the first two rounds, but then round three rolls around, how just a Juggernaut sound? Round four, a Mahamoti? Round 5 a Marjahn? And so on, the fact that High Tide is an instant make is useful for countering that 14 point Fireball with a Power Sink, or Spell Blast. In a color like Blue with little fast mana, High Tide is a must especially with creature decks, and when playing against Winter Orb-Relic Barrier combos, or Nether Voids. Who says Fallen Empires was a Useless expansion? Spore Flower - A great sideboard card for almost any type of deck (assuming it has Green in it of course!). Who wouldn't want a fog every three rounds? The fact that more than one of them in play (assuming you put them in play in the right order, that is one on turn two, one on turn three, and one on turn four) can give you a fog every round! While Spore Flower is easy to kill with Lightening Bolts, Fireballs etc.. it is not so easy to get rid of with say, Royal Assassins. Still having one on the board makes it a target (sometimes a Disenchant target if your playing someone inexperienced) for all kinds of things, so Spectral Clock wouldn't be such a bad idea! This card is especially effective in all creature tournaments because of its ability and the fact that it is hard to kill with the creature-killing staple Royal Assassin (whoops, repeating myself there). Not for everyone (but what card is?) but still a nice card that not a lot of people use. Ice Age ------- ---------- Over-Rated ---------- Jester's Cap - Now I'm not saying this card isn't useful, it is! Really useful in some cases, but not every case and infact not more than a few. For example, if your playing someone with a discard deck and the only damage in the deck is Racks, then a Cap is great for getting rid of three of them, and taking little or no damage the entire game, same thing goes for Vices. But in most cases deck strategies are varied enough to allow someone to remove three cards from your deck without ruining it. The point is that all the hype that has been going on about this card is not deserved, play a tournament level, competitive deck and the Cap won't do much to hurt you (unless your opponents Archeologist brings it back again, and again, and again etc...). Wizards knows this (that's why the Cap hasn't been restricted yet), and by making the Cap they have tried to make deck strategies more varied and not let them rely on just one or two cards. Also, adding to the ineffectiveness of the Cap is that most people that use them don't know how to use them (redundant isn't it?). The Cap usually comes out late in the game (it really isn't a card that needs to come out and be used in the first 5 rounds) so can be used the turn it is brought into play, if you opponent is smart he will go for the sideboarded cards, and/or utility cards (Ghostly Flame, Disenchant, Pyroclams, Swords to Plowshares) that can hurt his deck or one-of-a-kinders (Underworld Dreams, Timewalk, Ancestral). But most players will go for creatures (removing 3 creatures from an all creature deck won't hurt it!), direct damage (he can get rid of 3 of your 12 lightening bolts!), or $$$ (its round 30 and he decides to toss out 3 Moxes...whew!). So while at first glance Jester's Cap might look like a God card, upon closer inspection one finds it deffinatly is not... Elder Druid - Now this is a card I need explained to me, I can see hundreds of uses for it, but with its high casting cost, and high activation cost in a quick game who has the mana? In an all Green deck it is possible to get the Elder Druid out by round 2 or 3 since his casting cost includes a lot of colorless (3 colorless 1 Green), but most Green decks rely on speed, and supporting this guy for 3G a round doesn't exactly speed up a deck! The fact that he is 2/2 only makes him more susceptible to Lightening Bolts and other creature killer things if you even do make him useful. It seems simple Ley Druids, Icys, Relic Barriers etc... would be a lot more useful, and mana economic than the Elder Druid. While it's true most people don't play with them, some people do (for some unknown reason). I can see it being in demand because it's an Ice Age rare and needed to complete sets, but can't see another reason anyone would put one in a deck... ----------- Under-Rated ----------- Jester's Mask - While still in demand (more for its trade power, than playability) the Jester's Mask seems to spend a lot of its time in its twin's (the Jester's Cap) shadow. Why? The main reason is that the Mask is even harder to use than the Cap. What if you give you opponent exactly what they want? Or what if they draw the card to make their new hand work? What if there isn't anything you can give them they don't already have in their hand?!?!?! There are a lot of variables when using the Mask, and so most people don't bother with it. But in many cases the Mask can slow your opponent down a lot more than the Cap. The Mask's 5 colorless casting cost make it easy to bring out by turn 3, it comes into play tapped so unless you have a twiddles or (god forbid) an Elder Druid in play it'll probably be a big Disenchant/Shatter target until your next turn. But should it survive, the Mask is a great one for making your opponent sweat. Just leave it untapped until you do a Wheel of Fortune, Armegeddon, Jokkulhaups etc... use the Mask as a fast effect and replace his hand with whatever you want (all mana, no mana, etc...). But still one runs into a problem with a lot of tournament decks, they are the same all the way through! So while you may have gotten rid of your opponents Fireball for now, it will probably be back in short order. When this is the case it is best to wait and use Jester's Mask after your opponent draws and gets that evil gleam in his/her eye, when you see it (or hear him chuckling under his breath) use the Mask (hope he doesn't have an instant!) and replace it. That should give you at least one round of safety if not more. Other strategies include filling your opponents hand with a all his/her good cards and Mind Twisting them away. But instead of going after the 3 Shivans and 4 Juzam's go for his land (especially if he plays a lot of multi-lands), then choose one color, ie Red, fill his hands will all Red producing lands then Mind Twist or Wheel of Fortune them away, you won't have to worry about Lightening bolts, Shivan Dragons, or Disentigrates anymore... Urza's Bauble - One of the best (and least played) cards from Ice Age, especially for tournament play! Slotting in four Urza's Baubles can turn your 60 cards deck into a 56 card deck no problem. While that might not be useful for big creature decks, or denial decks. For direct damage, and land destruction there is nothing better for getting you to the card you need fast (except perhaps Jalum Tome). The Bauble's casting cost is perfect (0), it ability to let you look at one card in opponent's hand sucks, but that's not why your using it! Urza's Bauble is the first deck-overdrive card printed (Brainstorm and Portent could be also, but they are to color specific and have a casting cost), and while it remains to be seen if Wizards will print more cantrips, if they do tournament decks will deffinatly be speeding up! Not only that but Urza's Baubles are nice to sideboard out when needed since they take little (except speed, which isn't important if your being crushed!) out and open a slot in your deck. Homelands --------- ---------- Over-Rated ---------- Feast of the Unicorn - Sure the +3/+0 isn't bad, but it isn't great either. First of all the casting cost is high (3 colorless 1 black), sure with Black's Dark Rituals its not hard to get 4 mana by round 2, but you have to decide what you want to do, have a first round Juzam or a second round 3/1 Will-o-Wisp? If that weren't bad enough Feast doesn't increase a creatures toughness, making that 5/2 Black Knight an easy Lightening Bolt target. Lets face it Unholy Strength a better addition to your deck, not only is it cheaper, it provides all the bonuses Feast does (minus +1 to power and plus +1 to power) for 3 mana less!!!! Feast may have a place in some decks, but just hope you play against them, not with them! Primal Order - This card is a great addition to any sideboard, with the abundance of all multi-land decks, Mazes of Ith, Librarys of Alexandira, Arenas, and Legendary Lands. Primal Order could do some serious damage to your opponent. But it's not all its cracked up to be, since in most competitive tournaments both you and your opponent will probably by playing at least a few non-basic lands, also since White is the most popular "support" color for tournament play the Order will probably just end up being Disenchanted before it can do any read damage. Primal Order becomes even more useless in Type II tournaments, when the only none basic lands include the Fallen Empires lands, Ice Age pseudo-multi's and the Homelands triple lands (*gag*), needless to say these are the most played with card out there. So while Primal Order (like almost any other card) is great in specific situations slotting it into your deck may just lead to you holding a useless (or harmful) card in your hand for the entire game... ----------- Under-Rated ----------- Marjhan - O.k., lets face it no new expansion would be complete without an all new big Blue creature, and for Homelands Marjhan is it. But unlike Leviathan and Polar Krakan, Marjhan's upkeep isn't lethal. With Merfolk, Breeding Pits, Hives, Homarid Spawning Beds etc... you can keep token creatures coming to feed him forever! No only are his 8/8 stats impressive but he even has a cool ability, and doesn't even enter play tapped!!!! Deffinatly one of the best cards in Homelands, and potentially one of the best Blue creatures avalible, pair him with a High Tide and give your opponent a round 4 surprise. Back to the upkeep, no only is it (relatively) cheap but if don't (unlike Leviathan and Polar Kraken) pay it Marjhan stays in play and does no damage to you!! While he may not pack the punch of his bigger forebearers Marjhan makes up for this heavily in raw playability!! Faerie Noble - You've probably got boxes of extra Scryb Sprites, Shelkin Brownies, Aisling Leprechauns, Argothian Pixies, and Fire Sprites sitting around somewhere, and with the addition of Willow Faeries and Sea Sprites to your army you've got the makings for a competitive deck! Not only all are the creatures low casting cost (from 1 to 4 mana), all but 1 of them is Green which (as everyone knows) means fast mana, fast mana means fast creatures, and fast creatures means a fast kill. Toss in 4 Faerie Nobles (which is the card we're here to talk about) some Willow Priestesses, a few Cockatrices (for that annoying Shivan), and some Counterspells (just incase) and you've got everything you need. With the avalibility of Faeries (28 total), the Faerie Noble is effective no matter when he's brought out, the permanent toughness bonus he gives (and the fact that they are cumulative) helps to foil the ever threatening Pyroclasm, the power bonus can make Vampires run from your innocent little Brownie, and the fact that a good number of these Faeries fly makes them great for getting through unblocked (having trouble, just throw in some Goblin War Drums). A few Giant Growths, Fanatical Frenzies, a Berserk, and of course 4 Stampedes and your unstoppable Faerie hoard will make your opponent wish he hadn't made that "Oooooh a Scryb Sprite I'm sooooooooo afraid" crack after the first turn! The Revised (3rd-4th) --------------------- ---------- Over-Rated ---------- Nightmare - O.k. O.k., I know Nightmare is HUGE when you get him out on like round 30, with an Aggression and Fear on him, but lets face it how many tournament level games do you play that even go to round 30!?!? (how many do you play that go to round 15?) Nightmare is a classic "wow" card, when a new player sees on he goes (appropriately) "wow!" and tries to trade his 5 mint Giant Growths for it, when really he should be keeping the Giant Growths because they will be a lot more useful to him than this over-glorified pony. Nightmares high casting cost make him hard to get out (even with Black's Dark Ritual) before the 3rd round, and even then he's just Lightening Bolt fodder until round 4 or 5. Hypnotic Specteres, or Sengir Vampires would be better for a deck, not only are they cheaper but they have a useful ability to boot. Nightmare is just a waste of card stock (unless you can trade him off for a Shivan Dragon), and remember anything that can be killed with a Magical Hack is probably lame... Royal Assassin - More a sideboard card than an deck card (unless your playing in an all creature tournament), this little guy is in high demand now since everyone want to get four of him. But is he really worth it? In most cases, no, lets face it if your opponent has a way to get rid of the Assassin he will whether it be Lightening Bolt, Pyroclasm, Paralyze, Drain Life, Control Magic, Counter Spell, Brainwash etc... if the Assassin poses some threat. Unfortunately with the advent of creatureless or low creature decks the Assassin might just end up being another 1/1 creature for 3 mana. Sure he is great with an Icy Manipulator to back him up, but lets face it that doesn't happen often in duels (though it seems to pop-up more and more in Multi-Player, and Melee games). You almost need an Anti-Magic Aura on the Assassin to protect him at all and even that doesn't work for a lot of "mass effect" spells. While the Assassin is great in some situations (all-creature, multi-player) he's downright useless in most others... ----------- Under-Rated ----------- Zombie Master - There's this big craze over all Faerie decks, but so far I haven't seen an all Zombie deck. This was understandable when the only Zombies out there were Scathe (ick) Zombies, but with Ice Age we got Gangrenous Zombies and Lim-Dul's Cohorts (not to mention the Dark's addition of the Drowned) while this only gives us 15 Zombies max, along with 4 Zombie Masters (giving all our undead Regeneration and Swampwalk), a few Evil Presences, some Paralyzes, Drain Lifes, Dark Rituals, Unholy Strengths, Thrull Retainers, and Feasts of the Unicorn (ugh!) you've got yourself one kick-ass All Zombie deck with enough Swampwalkers to inflict damage and some defense thrown in to boot. The fact that Zombie masters aren't exactly in high demand (people give them away locally!) makes them easy to get, and considering all the Zombies printed so far are common they should be no problem to acquire also. While the deck might not be tournament level it should at least provide a few fun duels to teach beginners, or at least a good multi-player game or two. Who says Zombie Masters are useless?? Mijae Djinn - Someone explain this to me, the Mijae Djinn is a 6/2 for three Red. Why don't more people play with them?!?! They can come out on the second round with no problem (third max.), and while they do have their drawback (he's prime Lightening Bolt material), and he only hits your opponent roughly half the time. But still his low casting cost and high power make him a great tournament card (even if you just use him as a blocker). Toss on an Aggression and/or a few Blood Lusts and he becomes a rolling death-machine, much easier to outfit than that Shivan. While I'll admit he might not be useful for everyone in every deck, he sure is a lot more useful than people give him credit for...don't be scared away by flipping a coin... That's it for Over Rated/Under Rated, obviously we didn't cover all the cards we could have (in both categories), but we think we covered a good number of them. Next issue this space will be filled by one-issue-spanning column "The Just Plain Stupid", so be watching for that. Also OR/UR will return sometime around issue #6, so if you have a suggestion about a card we should include (Under or Over Rated) drop us a line and let us know! |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| The Drawing Board ----------------- ** Note: The format has been changed a little to make this feature more reader-friendly, hope you enjoy. And if you have a killer tournament deck submit it (see appendix I), we'd love to see it! ** This month we present 3 decks for your perusal, feel free to build and play them yourself, tell us how they do!! Ratings: -------- * - You based this deck on a combo you saw in Conjure didn't you? ** - A 3 year old, who has been playing for 2 weeks could come up with this much depth in a deck! *** - You actually had to use a brain cell for this one! **** - Hmmmmm, this just might work. ***** - We bow to you oh great Magic god!!!! Deck Name; "Steel" Overall Rating; *** Primary Colors; Black, Green Support Colors; White, Blue Win-Loss Ratio; 5 to 1 Average # of Rounds to kill; 5 Fastest # of Rounds to kill; 3 Artifacts; Mox Sapphire Mox Emerald Mox Jet Mox Pearl Black Lotus Mana Vault x4 Enchantments; Sylvan Library Instants/Interrupts; Counterspell x4 Disenchant x2 Swords to Plowshares x4 Dark Ritual x4 Sorceries; Demonic Tutor Regrowth Creatures; Derelor x4 Erhnam Djinn x4 Juzam Djinn x2 Sengir Vampire x4 Lands; Mishra's Factory x2 Bayou x4 Tropical Island x3 Underground Sea x3 Tundra x3 Scrubland x3 Savannah x2 Total Cards; 60 Sideboard; None Provided Total Sideboard Cards; ? -= Comments =- Pro; This deck is a perfect example of what is becoming more and more popular in tournaments (it is also a good example of deck types discussed in Stratagemos this month), its main weapon is speed, and lots of it. The Lotus, Moxes, Rituals, and Mana Vaults make a creature first round almost guaranteed, and the fact that the aforementioned creature will be at least 4/4 takes it out of Lightening Bolt range, at least for the first round. The Swords to Plowshares, Disenchants, and Counterspells beef up the defense and provide a few early rounds of dominance. This deck is very well tuned, a lot of the extra cards that could have been added haven't, and some staples of quick creature decks (ie Juggernauts) have been cut to make room for more versatile attackers (ie Vampires). The use of the Mishra's Factories is good also because they are cheap blockers, and if push comes to shove can inflict a few points of damage. Con; This deck's primary weapon is speed, and if it looses momentum it really gets bogged down. A few well placed Terrors, Swords to Plowshares, or Abu Jafars and the attackers that are supposed to be inflicting mucho damage are in the graveyard with nothing but one Regrowth the bring them back. Also, all the damage is creature based, what about Island Sancturarys or Moats? (remember only a 1 in 30 chance of drawing that Disenchant) Relying only on one specific type of damage to kill you opponent always leads to trouble. If this deck gets going early on, and is unopposed for the first couple of rounds it works incredibly well, but once slowed down it stays slowed down. Suggestions; Move 2 of the Swords to Plowshares into the Sideboard, and replace them with the final 2 Disenchants. Instead of Counter Spells use Power Sinks, you've got more than enough mana! Replace the 4 Mana Vaults with 4 Eurekas (if possible) this will really make the first round interesting. Toss in some direct damage, Psionic Blasts, or a Hurricane or two, nothings worse than pummeling your opponent down to 3 life and then loosing the game because none of your creatures could get through! Try replacing 2 of the Vampires with Serra Angels while you can't Dark Ritual them out as fast they offer both defense and offense. Also replacing 2 of those Deralors with two more Juzam Djinns wouldn't hurt either :). ---------- Deck Name; "Null and Void" Overall Rating; **** Primary Colors; Black, Red Support Colors; White, Green Win-Loss Ratio; 5 to 1 Average # of Rounds to kill; 6 Fastest # of Rounds to kill; 4 Artifacts; Black Lotus Sol Ring Jalum Tome Zuran Orb Feldon's Cane Enchantments; Nether Void x3 ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]Underworld Dreams Instants/Interrupts; Lightening Bolt x4 Incinterate x4 Dark Ritual x4 Disenchant x2 Sorceries; Chain Lightening x4 Demonic Tutor Wheel of Fortune Regrowth Mind Twist Eureka x2 Fireball x2 Creatures; Juggernaut x3 Serra Angel Sengir Vampire Ernham Djinn x2 Deralor x2 Lands; Bayou x4 Plateau x4 Badlands x4 Taiga x4 Total Cards; 60 Sideboard; Arboria x3 Disenchant x2 Terror x2 Swords to Plowshares x2 Pyroclasm x3 Forethought Amulet x2 Tabornacell at Penderall Vale Total Sideboard Cards; 15 -= Comments =- Pro; While this deck lacks the speed of "Steel" above, but it still has its fair share. Also, the fact that this decks damage comes from more than just creatures (or just direct damage) make it harder to deal with, couple that with the Nether Voids (guaranteed to slow your opponent down) make this deck pretty well rounded. Another perk is that this deck can make for a really fast game when it gets rolling, and if needed it can slow down to "Permission Deck" speed if needed. Also the sideboard covers all the normal bases, which is always a plus. On the whole a really well-rounded, competitive deck. Con; Timing is important with this deck, if you bring out the Nether Void to early it will probably hurt you more than it hurts your opponent. Also, if you enemy is playing a weenie deck the Nether Void probably won't effect him/her at all. Blood Moons are a big problem also, since the only think that can save you from it is the Lotus (after it is cast of course). CoP: Red may be annoying also, in the direct damage area but shouldn't be too big a problem if you can get big creatures out early. Suggestions; If you can, get the Moxes to go with the 4 colors your playing, a few Juzams wouldn't hurt either. Think about putting in one Ernahm and taking out a Juggernaut both can come out on the first or second round but the Jug. is a lot easier to kill. Replace the Forethought Amultes with Simulacrums and/or Reverse Damages, they are more of a surprise and don't take a 3 mana upkeep. Think about swapping the Jalum Tome out for a Sylvan Library, no discard. Something cool to add to this deck would be Chains of Mephistopheles and Howling Mines (this would be better for multi-player games however). One more Eureka wouldn't hurt either. ---------- Deck Name; Mind Games Overall Rating; *** Primary Colors; Blue, White Support Colors; Black, Green Win-Loss Ratio; ? Average # of Rounds to kill; 30 Fastest # of Rounds to kill; 30 Artifacts; Black Lotus Sol Ring Mox Sapphire Mox Emerald Mox Ruby Mox Jet Mox Pearl Jayemdae Tome x2 Disrupting Scepter x2 Chaos Orb (Replace with Zuran Orb, or N's Disk) Enchantments; Instants/Interrupts; Counterspell x4 Mana Drain x4 Psionic Blast x4 Swords to Plowshares x4 Disenchant x2 Ancestral Recall Sorceries; Mind Twist Demonic Tutor Recall Regrowth Balance Timetwister Time Walk Creatures; Serra Angel x2 Lands; Library of Alexandria Maze of Ith Tundra x4 Scrubland x3 Underground Sea x3 Savannah x3 Tropical Island x3 City of Brass x2 Total Cards; 60 Sideboard; Moat x3 Blue Elemental Blast x4 Control Magic x2 Disenchant x2 Tranquility Lifeforce x3 Total Sideboard Cards; 15 -= Comments =- Pro; Talk about a slow down deck, this apparatus looks like it has a lot of possibilites. The slotted cards, along with the balanced sideboard make it very versatile. Damage is little, but varied enough to make it hard to deal with. All the Moxes and a multitude of dual lands make it hard for you to get mana screwed in any game. The sideboard is really well done, and should be useful when facing any type of deck. Con; This deck seems to rely WAY to much on Blue, while its true Blue is one of the harder colors to hurt, it's still a bad idea to stake so much on one color. The fact that you only have 8 Counterspells, 2 Serras, and 16 points of direct damage (in the form of Psionic Blasts) limit what you can and can't do quite a bit. Land destruction decks (especially if they get going on round one) can be a real pain, as can over run decks (Moats in the sideboard help, though Disenchants and Tranquilites can take care of them quite easily). You side board is really color specific to Red and Black, but what about Green and White? Those are the chief weenie colors and you should have some defense against them (Holy Days? Fogs?). Suggestions; Replace the Jayemdae Tomes with Jalum Tome, while they require discarding they are cheaper to cast and to use. Why the Disrupting Scepters, while its nice to make your opponent discard, Amnesias will do this better, or you could just throw in 2 more Angels. Swap the Mana Drains for some other type of Counterspell (Power Sink for example, or even better Deflection) excepting the Serras, and Tomes you have no place to put the mana. Move 2 Swords to Plowshares to your sideboard (loose the Lifeforces there, Black shouldn't be a huge threat with Moats out), and replace them with 2 Mahamoti Djinns (or some other big creature) with your quick mana these guys will come out quick and are a lot more effective than Serras. Vices or Racks might be a good idea also. If you want to slow down the game nothing works better than Nether Voids, or (since you Mana/Card ratio isn't very high) the old Winter Orb/Relic Barrier combo, with Disrupting Scepters this is devastating. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Trading: How to Avoid Getting Screwed ------------------------------------- ** This article really shouldn't be here, but we promised it last issue and so we delivered. We want to cater to collectors as well as players, and to do this a sister 'zine to the Grimore dealing just with trading, selling, and market trends will be coming out in January about the same time Grimore #3 hits you mail box (this 'zine will also include a price guide for those people e-mailing me to include one in The Grimore) this way if you don't want one or the other 'zine you don't have to get it. ** An interagal part to the game of Magic is trading, because A) You probably don't have the $$ to buy all the cards you need, and B) The specific cards you need change often, sometimes weekly! And so in writing this article we will assume you have traded some, for those of us reading this there are to major places we trade in person (at a store, Con, wedding, wherever...) and on the Internet (in newsgroups, or IRC). In both venues you need to do things a little differently to avoid getting ripped off, or sending 8 dual lands for a Timewalk and never getting them back!!! (not that I'm bitter...), and to get the best trade possible. They include: In Person - Trading in person is the easiest most reliable way to get cards without getting ripped off, because you see the cards first and get them without waiting for them. The only real danger is that the cards are either counterfieted, in which case you should do what WotC tells you look for inflexible card backs, thicker cards, and creases. Or stolen, you can never really tell if a card is stolen or not (by looking at it) so you just have to play this one by ear and hope the guy/gal your trading will isn't a jerk. Other than those ways, trading in person is pretty safe. Sure you might end up giving more than you wanted to for that fourth Eureka, but if you want it bad enough, and the deck works well enough you'll get over it. Via Computer - In moving from Person-to-Person, to Person-to-Modem-Network-Modem-Person you loose a lot of security. Because there are people out there looking to rip unsuspecting people off, and they do do it often. There are several ways to aviod getting screwed via the 'net though; References - While these can be faked (or even the same person's other alias!) they still are pretty reliable. Mail one or two of them at random, tell them you have a trade in the works with so-and-so and should you do it. They'll probably respond yes (why else would he have named them as references?) but it's still a good idea to make sure they exist! Verify - Make sure to get the person's address AND telephone number (with area code), call and make sure they exist not only does this give you some reassurance, it also makes it hard for the person to avoid you (since you'll be calling him all the time) if he does stiff you. Contact - Make it, and keep it. It would be ideal if the person your trading with lived 10 miles away and you could meet to make the trade but unfortunatly this is usually not the case. Make initial contact through the phone (see Verify above), and keep it via e-mail even if your talking about first round kills, or side-boarding. Not only will this give you a chance to remind the person of the trade (something like "P.S. Still eagerly awaiting that Beta Shivan!") it will also allow you to make sure Mr. X doesn't all of the sudden cancel his account! Sending - Ideally the person your trading with will send his cards first, then once you've received them you can send yours. But, since everyone that has traded extensively on the 'net has probably been shafted at least once this probably will not happen. Suggest alternate sending methods like sending one-half the cards then when you get what your trading for send the other half. Send at the same time, this isn't guaranteed though since some people will wait until what you sent "at the same time" arrives before they send. Send your cards certified mail, this way you can make sure Mr. X got them (and it counts as evidence if he scams you). Finally if you are paying for your cards instead of trading for them you can wire the money via Western Union, and set a password on the account. The person will get a letter telling him WU has his cash but he needs the password to get it out, all he has to do is send you the cards to get the password. This should only be used in extreme cases (like when you shell out $2,000+ for 4 Mox Sets), and it costs money ($25-$35). Suspicion - O.k., not everyone who wants to trade with you over the modem is going to be out to get you (probably). But if you suspect everyone, you will take enough precautions to ensure that you don't get scammed. Be especially wary of people posting or sending messages saying things like "Trade with me I have EVERYTHING!!!", "Looking to trade Moxes for Fallen Empires" and "My Lotus for your 5 Dual Lands". Also watch out for people who are willing to make incredible deals fast, while you should be looking for a good deal you probably won't get an outlandish one just because you go into a chat forum. People making trade offers on multiples of the same card (especially if that card is restricted or banned) should also be watched either he's going to turn someone down, or he really needs that 5th Chaos Orb. Threats - As a last resort, if you haven't gotten your cards after 2 weeks, or if you got them and they were counterfeit, make threats (this only works if you have his real name, home address, and verified phone number). Not coming through on trades is Mail Fraud, and because he scammed you via the modem over state lines he has just committed a Federal offense that at the very least carries a stiff fine. If he still doesn't respond notify his local Police (only if your looking at near or over $100 in losses, anything less and you'll just be wasting their time) they won't send in the S.W.A.T team, but a uniformed officer giving him a visit (especially if he's a teenager) will probably be enough to get him straightened out. If the cards you received were counterfeited notifying the Police probably won't help, instead notify Wizards of the Coast themselves via phone call or e-mail. They have been working to stop card counterfeiting for awhile now and will help you if they can (again only do this if you have his real name, address, and verified phone number). Hope these tips help, scamming over the Internet is an everyday occurance and is killing trading! The more we can do to prevent it the less people will try it and the greater your chance will be of getting the desired card. The Internet is the best place to trade because of the variety and avalibility of cards, don't let a few jerks ruin it! |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Your Complete Guide to Tournament Play II "Cheez on the Battlefield" ----------------------------------------- The ultimate "Cheez" combo has been eliminated!!!! *waits for applause to die down* Yup, Channel/Fireball is gone, does that mean all "Cheez" will follow??? Doubtful... The banning of the cheez'd out cards Chaos Orb and Channel are just making cheezheads think more creatively, not getting rid of them all together. But is Cheez all that bad? The awnser to that has two parts, if you are playing a "fun" game with friends or a kid that's been playing for a week bringing out your all Lightening deck isn't the best idea, it shows a lack of creativity and will probably get you ganged up on. In a tournament situation however Cheez can be a matter of life and death. If everyone else is playing their first round kill deck there is no reason you shouldn't, when you want to win and win quick nothing works better than a healthy serving of Cheez. The best idea is to keep two decks handy, your "fun" deck and your "competitive" deck (or if ante is heavily played in your area your "4 Dark Pact, 4 Demonic Attourny, 4 Demonic Consultation, 48 Swamp Deck" might be a good idea also), this will enable you to play both types of game without dismantling and re-building a new deck for each game. Most of all don't let yourself be talked out of playing Cheez, what is considered Cheez at your local comic shop's daily ante tournament is probably considered fair game at major Cons. And more than likely the guy trying to talk you out of playing will be playing something just as Cheezy or worse, if it works play it, if it helps you win play it, if it makes another person loose and feel worthless well...buy their cards when they decide to quit. I know it sounds harsh, but you don't think you local champ got to the top by playing his semi-fast all Dwarf deck do you? While Cheez is scorned all over (and different brands of Cheez are scorned in different areas) it does have its place. To Be Continued in "The Art of the Game"...wherein the author will discuss playing tips, bluffing, and how to get your opponent mad/irritated enough to make mistakes (which is also Cheezy, but hey, it works!)... |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| The M.A.T. (.001) ----------------- ** This is a new ongoing feature, you think you know everything about the game? Test your skills against the Grimore staff, see if your a REAL Magic-Fanatic!! ** ------------------------------------------------------ Rate yourself! Each question is worth one point: 15 You either work for Wizards of the Coast, or took this test with reference material in hand. 10-14 Not bad, you know your stuff! 5-10 Average, your not a complete idiot. 0-5 You took this quiz without reference material, and apparently without a frontal lobe... ------------------------------------------------------ 1. How many creatures have Protection from Red? A. 5 B. 3 C. 4 D. 6 2. What creature is the hardest to kill, without inflicting any damage? A. Shivan Dragon B. Black Knight C. White Knight D. Granite Gargoyles 3. Which of the following cards stops Mountainwalk? A. Gauntlet of Might B. Smoke C. Crevasse D. Caverns of Despair 4. Which Legend has Legendary Landwalk? A. Livonya Silone B. Pavel Maliki C. Ramses Overdark D. Lord Magnus 5. Rampage originated with what expansion set? A. The Dark B. Antiquities C. Arabian Nights D. Legends 6. Lord Of Atlantis gives all Merfolk +1/+1 and which special ability? A. Regeneration B. Islandwalk C. First Strike D. Trample 7. According the Duelist Convocation rules you may use Ring of Ma'ruf to get cards from where during a tournament? A. Anywhere! B. Inside your deck. C. Your Sideboard. D. Both B & C. 8. Righteousness give attacking creatures what bonuses? A. +7/+7 B. +3/+3 C. +4/-4 D. None of the above 9. How many Enchant World cards can be in play at any one time? A. None, they are banned B. 1 C. 2 D. There is no set limit 10. How many cards have the word "Mana" in their name? A. 5 B. 7 C. 12 D. 9 11. If you have 2 Kobold Drill Seargents in play along with 3 Taskmasters, 1 Overlord, and one normal Kobold what is that Kobold's power, toughness and special abilities? A. 3/4, First Strike, Trample B. 3/4, First Strike, Trample, Mountainwalk C. 3/3, First Strike, Trample D. 3/2, First Strike, Trample 12. Red is to Blue as White is to... A. Blue B. Red C. Black D. Green 13. Can you Disenchant a Chaos Orb once is has been activated, but before it is flipped? A. Yes B. No 14. What abilities does Moorish Cavalry have? What is its power and toughness? A. 4/4, First Strike, Trample B. 3/2, First Strike C. 3/3, Trample D. 4/4, First Strike 15. How many creatures are Avatars? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 ** Awnsers are given in Appendix III ** |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Grim-Con: The Proposal ---------------------- Recently I went to a local Con, to play in their Type I tournament (lost to a Zuran Orb! Damn that card!). I have been to Cons in the past (mostly for Role Playing) and while since I live in Utah I haven't been in any of the really big/prestigious ones (ie Gen-Con, Origins), I have gotten around a little bit. One think I notice about these events, while on the whole they are pretty well run (with a few hitches) but they try to cater to a really wide variety of people and so alienated some of us. So back to the recent Con, after it I got to thinking that while this Con wasn't geared toward Magic enthusiasts we were in the majority, and while comic and collectable dealers abounded the ones that got the biggest crowds sold MTG or MTG related items! So, I thought why not organize an all MTG Con!!! If they can do it so can we (this is also the line of thinking that brought me to write The Grimore after seeing Scyre and Conjure, so maybe it's not such a good idea...), and so we are. Grim-Con will be held in Salt Lake City, in one of two convention centers either the Delta Center, or the Expomart. It will be a 2-3 day event (in these early stages everything can change though, plans will be firmed up 3 months prior to the event), centering mostly on the Master's Tournament (see below) with enough contests, dealers, and other stuff to keep people who are waiting for their matches or already eliminated busy. Entry will be about $10-$15, that'll get you entry into all 3 parts of the tournament (it will be reduced if you don't want to play), Get you a free copy of the Grimore (paper!!), and get you in (of course). The Master's Tourament will be a point based system consisting of three parts, probably held one a day the parts are: Type I Tournament Type II Tournament *Variable* In the variable slot can go anything from a one-of-a-kind tournament, to sealed deck, to single color (it's pretty much up to you readers). Points will be awarded for how far you advance, with the winner of each tournament being awarded the highest amount of points. Prizes include (so far) a complete set of dual lands, and an UL Black Lotus (this is the "prize pool" prize packages will be awarded for the top 3 point getters). We are planning to ask retailers from across the country to "sponsor" this event, by donating prizes, the bigger the prize the bigger the plug they get during the Con, and in The Grimore. Dealers interested in coming will be able to rent tables for $25.00 each. What do you think? This is the first time I've tried this and am hoping I can pull it off!!! Not only would it be great to meet some of my readers, but I'd love to see how different regions compete against one another. Also you will not need to be a Duelist Convocation member to play (since some MTG players aren't), give me your opinions what can we do to get this idea off the ground? Those people who want to come can RSVP me starting in April, and I'll get complete map packets, air fare info, and hotel info to you ASAP. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Rating the Competition --------------------- ** This column is meant to rate other Magic the Gathering 'zines out there digital and paper. Remember, this is all in OUR opinion if you don't agree and just love X 'zine drop us a line and tell us why, you might even convince us, ** Rating System ------------- * = A waste of paper/hard drive space. ** = Might help mentally retarded beginners. *** = One or two redeeming qualities. **** = Worth the $$ (or download time). ***** = A must read!!! InQuest - Pro; The people that brought you Wizard strike again! Their foray into Gaming (Collectable Card Gaming to be specific) is not only an enjoyable read but also informative (something you can't say for a lot of 'zines out there!). The Wizard staff carries its humor and irreverence over to this mag well, and while it doesn't have near the readership Wizard does, chances are it will sooner or later. Their price guide is the most reliable (though that isn't saying a whole lot) of those put out in paper 'zines. Overall a quality publication. Con; Unfortunately the "irreverence" while entertaining can sometimes venture into the pompous side, add to this the fact that almost all InQuests "Combos" are either copied from old issues of Duelist or things everyone has heard off months before. Also for a mag. that claims to be a guide to "collectable card games" it sure has a lot of computer, and misc. fantasy articles (like the recent Werewolf one). Now these things are good reads, but not what I bought the magazine for! Also, why the artist reviews? We get enough of those in Duelist, if they need something to fill pages slap in another contest (god knows they have the $$ backing to do it!). Still one of the best mags out there but Wizard Press needs to decide if InQuest is going to be a CCG Mag. and Computer Mag, or a Fantasy RPG Mag. Not all three!! Overall Rating; **** Library of Leng - Pro; This 'zine is very well presented and deffinatly one of the top data 'zines out there (for info on how to subscribe see next issue's "The Complete MTG Faznine 'Net Address Book"), this mag not only has some work put into it (the last issue was about 25 pages long), but, more importantly, it actually has some original thought! Worth taking a look at! Con; Now it might just be me, but it seems the Editor of LoL has a chip on his shoulder (or he did in the issue I'm basing this review on), it's understandable considering something of his was plaugerized (though it is just a copyright thing nothing big) and he got bashed in another 'zine. But still it's not very professional to rage on for 200 words yelling at someone and bragging about subscriber lists, # of downloads etc.. I know the guy, and I am sure it won't happen again he's a nice fellow. The 'zine has some PC graphics that I can't read, and if he wants to expand to a broader audience he might want to think about putting the 'zine in straight ASCII. The articles are nice, but short and could use a little fleshing out. The fiction is entertaining, but kinda simplistic. A little more tuning and this 'zine will be better than a lot of paper ones your shelling out $3.50 for! Overall Rating; *** |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Reader's Ballot --------------- ** Got an opinion? Wanna voice it? Just fill out the ballot below, cut and paste it into mail and send it off to us (zzzayxx@aol.com) with "VOTE" in the title line, results of each ballot will be posted in the mag the issue after it is presented. Also please use extra space in your e-mail to awnser the "Why" portion of the question if necessary we want to hear your views. ** ? #1 ---- If you had the choice between being on a date with a hot male/female, or playing Magic for 4 hours which would you do? Why? ? #2 ---- Should Wizards make the change complete and only sponsor Type II tournaments? ( ) Yes Why?: ( ) No ? #3 ---- Should the "Duelist's Convocation" be the only international association of MTG players? ( ) No Why?: ( ) Yes ? #4 ---- What is your favorite Magic Munchie? ? #5 ---- What is the longest stretch of time you've ever played Magic continuously? |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Mox Drawing Update ------------------ The drawing for the Mox of your choice will be held Jan. 1, 1996. Current chance to win is 1 in 451. Good luck! |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Appendix I: Deck Submission Form (for the "Drawing Board" column) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Deck Submission Form -------------------- Deck Name; Primary Colors; Support Colors; Win-Loss Ratio; Average # of Rounds to kill; Fastest # of Rounds to kill; Artifacts; Enchantments; Instants/Interrupts; Sorceries; Creatures; Lands; Total Cards; Sideboard; Total Sideboard Cards; |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Appendix II: Magic Aptitude Test Awnsers ---------------------------------------- #1. A #8. D #15. D #2. B #9. B #3. C #10. D #4. A #11. A #5. D #12. C #6. B #13. A #7. D #14. C |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Appendix III: The Complete MTG Fanzine 'Net Address Book Submission Form ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** Do you write for or or Edit an on-line MTG fanzine? Do you want to broaden your subscriber base? Just fill out the form below and send it it Zzzayxx@aol.com, and you'll be included in next issue's 'Net Address Book!! ** 'Zine Name: Editor: Subscription Service Mail Address: Current Issue: Average Length (in pages): Format: Frequency: Brief Description: |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]Subscription, and Distribution Site Information ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]----------------------------------------------- Subscribers: We have started a mailing list, recipients get the 'zine over e-mail the day it's released, they will also get updates about Grimore sponsored tournaments, contests, and will be entered in our year-end drawing for a Mox (winner's choice of color). If your interested in subscribing simply drop us a line at Zzzayxx@aol.com with SUBSCRIPTION in the title line, you'll be notified ASAP of your addition to the list! Submissions: We here are Grimore would be very happy to get all the submissions we could. However there have to be a few guidelines (as always). Therefore we suggest you submit you idea for an article, or perhaps a short excerpt from it, we'll let you know if were interested and ask you to send us the whole thing or complete it. We are always looking for consistent contributing authors, and as long as you've put some thought into your article, and it doesn't have to much profanity ( :) ) it'll probably see print. Please no articles about card selling, or magic variations. However articles on card trading, magic related fiction, tournament play, current card/deck building trends etc.. are accepted whole heartedly. Just send your proposal with SUBMISSION in the title line and we'll get back to you within 48 hours. |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=| Looking Ahead... ---------------- Whew!!! Done with issue #2, and just in time for Christmas! Be on the lookout for next issue, in which we plan to; include "The Complete MTG Fanzine 'Net Address Book", comment on the dumbest cards ever made for Magic. We ask ourselves why? WHY? WHY!?! Zuran Orb? Explore ante games, and how to make a profit at Magic (possible?). Also (of course) Your Complete Guide to Tournament Play, Stratagemos, The M.A.T. and all out other on-going columns return better (we hope) than ever, until then see you in 30... |=-------------------------------------------------------------------------=|