Going Aggro
Why is this so important in this format? Quite simply because the high number of two-power two-drops in Champions means that you can find yourself very far behind your opponent if you fail to do anything relevant on the second and especially the third turn of a game. Many games see opening starts like ‘Turn two Wicked Akuba, turn three Nezumi Ronin” or “Turn two Kami of Ancient Law, turn three Ronin Houndmaster”. If you’ve lost the coin flip and you don’t do anything on your second and third turn you’ve probably already lost. Missed land-drops can be equally painful unless you have enough low-costed creatures or spells to be able to weather the storm until you start drawing into some lands.

The importance of the good two-drops can’t be understated. There have been times when I’ve taken a two-drop over a better, but more expensive card just because of the need to have some. You’ll see the effect this has on the red and black pick orders but I thought it was worth stressing this point strongly as I’m sure some of the positions might look a little odd to some people.

引用元
GETTING AGGRESSIVE Posted in Limited Information on November 22, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/limited-information/getting-aggressive-2004-11-22

『神河物語』ドラフトにおける黒と赤を分析した記事です。他の色は過去（※１）に取り上げました。

『神河物語』は、2マナパワー2が多い環境であることから、アグロよりのようです。その中でも、黒赤は最速とされています。

2マナパワー2で、回避能力も備えた《鼠の殺し屋/Nezumi Cutthroat》を筆頭に、《浪人の犬師/Ronin Houndmaster》などの優秀なアタッカーが揃っています。

他、2マナのスピリットも粒ぞろいなので、スピリットクラフトも活用できます。《火の咆哮の神/Kami of Fire’s Roar》や《欠け月の神/Kami of the Waning Moon》の能力で、最後の攻撃を通しやすくなるでしょう。



※１
神河当時 - 『神河物語』ドラフトの青白
https://researchofkamigawa.diarynote.jp/202008110100194728/
神河当時 - 『神河物語』ドラフトの緑
https://researchofkamigawa.diarynote.jp/202010152313371202/



2021/03/09 追記
日本語訳を見つけました。
攻撃的に行こう――神河物語 での赤黒ドラフト
https://web.archive.org/web/20041217002237/http://www.hobbyjapan.co.jp/magic/articles/files/20041124_01.html

「ザ・リスト」にあるカードはセット・ブースターにおいて、パックの最後の枠にて約25％の確率で出現します。「ザ・リスト」にはコモン、アンコモン、レア、神話レアが含まれますが、各種が適切な割合で出現するでしょう。「ザ・リスト」に記載されていても、それがスタンダードで使用できるとは限りません。それらはもともと使用可能であるフォーマットにて使用可能です。カードはマジックの27年の歴史のあらゆる場所から選ばれうるものです。「ザ・リスト」の計画としては、セットごとにわずかな変化を加え、それを封入するセットで意味があるものにしたいというものですが、ほとんどは変わることなく、したがって皆さんは「ザ・リスト」にどのカードがあるかを把握しやすいでしょう。

《山崎兄弟》 『神河物語』
《鼠の墓荒らし》 『神河物語』
《根走り》 『神河物語』
《金之尾師範》 『神河物語』
《悪忌の守護神》『神河謀反』
《手裏剣》『神河謀反』
《永遠の統制》『神河救済』
《常在精神》『神河救済』
《碑出告の第二の儀式》『神河救済』

引用元
お知らせ 2020.9.19 「ザ・リスト」のカード
https://mtg-jp.com/reading/publicity/0034365/

『ゼンディカーの夜明け』のセット・ブースターには、過去のカードが封入されることがあります。この記事では、それらのカードのリストを紹介しています。

その中に、神河関連のカードは全部で9枚です。

伝説ルール関連の《山崎兄弟》、反転カードの《鼠の墓荒らし》、マナコストのない連繋カードの《常在精神》などです。

ただ、神河の一大部族であるスピリットが《根走り》《悪忌の守護神》2枚というのは少々寂しい所です。また、スピリットから選ぶにしても、他にも有名なカードやトーナメント実績の高いカードなどはあるでしょう。ドラゴン・サイクルはその一例です。もしかしたら、それらは既に特殊なセットに収録された（例：『Modern Masters』の《降る星、流星》）から、わざわざここで入れるまでもないと判断されたのかもしれません。

というのも、ここで収録されているのは、再録されていないカードばかりだからです。唯一、《鼠の墓荒らし》だけは『統率者』の構築済みデッキ「貪食と増強」に再録されていますが。

あるいは、今後もこうした試みがあったときのために、スピリットカードは取ってあるのかもしれません。

Q: My opponent has Pain Kami in play, and no cards in his graveyard - he sacrifices his Pain Kami and tries to do 1 damage to my Nezumi Graverobber. Can I target the Pain Kami now in his graveyard paying when the damage is on the stack in order to flip my Nezumi Graverobber and save him? --Daniel T.

A: Yes, you can. Here’s how it goes down.
1 Your opponent plays the Pain Kami’s ability. He puts the ability on the stack, and pays its costs: “, Sacrifice Pain Kami”. This puts the Pain Kami into his graveyard.
2 You put Nezumi Graverobber’s ability on the stack, targeting the Pain Kami card that was just put in the graveyard.
3 The stack resolves last-in first-out, so Nezumi Graverobber’s ability resolves first. It removes the Pain Kami from the game, and the Graverobber turns into Nighteyes the Desecrator.
4 Finally, Pain Kami’s ability resolves, dealing 1 damage to Nighteyes, who laughs. Or perhaps chitters.

引用元
GP BRISBANE FIELD TRIP Posted in Feature on November 20, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/gp-brisbane-field-trip-2004-11-20

恒例のQ&A記事です。

といっても、先週の分は見当たりませんでした。この時期は、アーカイブに残っていないものがあるらしく、記事の日付が飛び飛びです。

《苦痛の神/Pain Kami》の能力起動に対応して、《鼠の墓荒らし/Nezumi Graverobber》の能力を起動することで、反転できる、というQ&Aがあります。こういうテクニカルなプレイは、マジックの醍醐味の１つでしょう。



2021/03/09 追記
日本語訳を見つけました。
オンラインルール学校#36――神河物語 #4（Saturday School 2004/11/13～2004/11/20 より）
https://web.archive.org/web/20041210085526/http://www.hobbyjapan.co.jp/magic/articles/files/20041210_01.html

THE WARRIOR’S CALL
Creature (30)
4 Tel-Jilad Chosen
4 Sosuke, Son of Seshiro
4 Akki Avalanchers
4 Crazed Goblin
4 Orochi Sustainer
3 Kashi-Tribe Reaver
4 Orochi Ranger
3 Matsu-Tribe Decoy

Instant (8)
4 Glacial Ray
4 Kodama’s Might

Land (22)
12 Forest
10 Mountain

60 Cards

bad boy himself. You have eight 1-drops and eight 2-drops, so your curve is certainly capable of this. Usually you would want more in both of those slots, like 10-12, but the available warriors are slim…I mean we are already using Crazed Goblin here!

In order to help you in tough combat situations, I have included 3 cards that can break through – Glacial Ray, Kodama’s Might, and Matsu-Tribe Decoy. The Might and the Ray obviously have a bit of synergy together, and I recommend waiting until you can splice until casting them when possible, but sometimes the Crazed Goblin just refuses to wait.

引用元
THE WARRIOR’S CALL Posted in Building on a Budget on November 19, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/building-budget/warrior%E2%80%99s-call-2004-11-19

《せし郎の息子、そう介/Sosuke, Son of Seshiro》がもつ戦士シナジー能力を活かした、戦士デッキです。

また、蛇に対してもパワー修整を与えるので、蛇が多めに入っています。ただ、蛇デッキにおいては、《清められし者、せし郎/Seshiro the Anointed》のロード能力が圧倒的すぎるため、採用実績は乏しいです。その分、せし郎にない戦士シナジーで、差別化したいところです。

Inversion 1.0
Robby Bullis decided it was high time someone broke Strange Inversion (or at least put it to good use), and that someone would have to be him. With Slagwurm Armor and Ensouled Scimitar running around, a creature could get to 11/1 or bigger without too much trouble. Defensive creatures like Kami of Old Stone or Silent Arbiter could bog down the game to a point where you could accumulate enough equipment, Strange Inversions (or just one and a spell to splice it onto), and fling effects to win the game from out of nowhere. Robby’s original deck was Online Extended and featured Tireless Tribe and Order/Chaos. My riff on it is Standard, though it does miss the Falter effect that the Chaos half of the split card provided.

STRANGELY POWERFUL
Creature (18)
4 Bloodshot Cyclops
4 Kami of Old Stone
4 Leonin Den-Guard
2 Myr Quadropod
4 Silent Arbiter

Instant (12)
3 Blessed Breath
3 Glacial Ray
2 Grab the Reins
4 Strange Inversion

Artifact (6)
3 Ensouled Scimitar
3 Slagwurm Armor

Land (24)
10 Plains
10 Mountain
2 Blinkmoth Nexus
2 Mirrodin’s Core

60 Cards

引用元
DOCTOR STRANGEWOMBAT Posted in Feature on November 18, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/doctor-strangewombat-2004-11-18

《古石の神/Kami of Old Stone》や《沈黙の調停者/Silent Arbiter》のような高いタフネス・クリーチャーを、《奇妙な転置/Strange Inversion》で高いパワーに変換して攻撃し、《血まなこのサイクロプス/Bloodshot Cyclops》や《手綱取り/Grab the Reins》でさらに大ダメージのダメ押しをする、コンボデッキです。

最近だと、パワータフネスの置換よりは、タフネスに等しい点数のダメージを与える、というカードの方が主流でしょうか。《策略の龍、アルカデス/Arcades, the Strategist》や《突撃陣形/Assault Formation》ではファンデッキも組まれました。この場合は、高いタフネスを活かせます。一方で、パワーが上がった訳ではないので《投げ飛ばし/Fling》系との相性は悪いです。一長一短でしょう。

Masking Tape
My second take on the card was to bring that combo into Standard. The same effect can be achieved with Uba Mask and Vedalken Mastermind. Instead of phasing out the Mask, I bounce it to my hand during my opponent’s draw step and replay it during my main phase—after I’ve drawn my card for the turn. It’s more expensive on a per-turn basis, more fragile, and there are fewer redundant combo pieces—but on the plus side, now it’s just a 2-card combo and there’s no phasing involved. The tricky part is gaining board control. So much of this deck is dedicated to the combo that it’s possible your opponent can beat you with just his first ten cards. There’s also not much room for a victory condition. I strongly considered Blind Creeper since its drawback seems pretty safe once you lock your opponent out of drawing any new cards, but I went with Nezumi Shortfang instead since it can win you the game without ever needing to attack.

SIT, UBA, SIT
Creature (8)
4 Nezumi Shortfang
4 Vedalken Mastermind

Sorcery (13)
2 Diabolic Tutor
3 Fabricate
4 Mind Rot
4 Serum Visions

Instant (7)
3 Echoing Decay
4 Echoing Truth

Artifact (8)
4 Talisman of Dominance
4 Uba Mask

Land (24)
9 Island
2 Blinkmoth Nexus
7 Swamp
4 Salt Marsh
2 Stalking Stones
60 Cards

引用元
DOCTOR STRANGEWOMBAT Posted in Feature on November 18, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/doctor-strangewombat-2004-11-18

お互いのドローを追放してしまう《姥の仮面/Uba Mask》を、《ヴィダルケンの黒幕/Vedalken Mastermind》でバウンスすることによって、相手のドローだけを一方的に追放してしまうそソフトロックデッキです。

ここで引用したスタンダード・デッキ以外にも、フェイジングを利用した下環境でのコンボも紹介されています。

また、同様に《姥の仮面/Uba Mask》と《ゴブリンの溶接工/Goblin Welder》でロックをかけ、自分は《Bazaar of Baghdad》で大量ドローする、「Uba Stax」というデッキが、公式記事（※１）でも紹介されています。

上記のデッキはスタンダード版「Uba Stax」と言えるかもしれません。

※１
岩SHOWの「デイリー・デッキ」 2016.7.13 岩SHOWの「デイリー・デッキ」：Uba Stax（ヴィンテージ）
https://mtg-jp.com/reading/iwashowdeck/0017136/

Bottle Ten-Pack

For your reading pleasure (and since this format was such a hit a couple of weeks ago): the Top Ten Expansions you should remove from the game with World-Bottling Kit, and why:

10) Unhinged. Because the irony is delicious.

9) Homelands. Because even 4x Apocalypse Chime may not be enough to get the bad taste out of your mouth.

8) Prophecy. Because it doesn’t even have Apocalypse Chime to help out.

7) Champions of Kamigawa, the latest breakthrough Magic: the Gathering set from your good friends at Wizards. Because Scott Johns, our editor, demands I mention the latest expansion at least once in every article I write, or I don’t get a cookie.

6) Mirrovasion. Because if you’re going to play in a format like Unhinged, why not bend a few more rules?

5) Torment. Because it’s a great hoser against black.

4) Judgment. Because it’s a great hoser against blue – er, I mean, green and white.

3) Ninth Edition. Because people will think you must have gotten your hands early on some Ninth Edition product before it’s released, or else why would you mention it? Good for you, stud.

2) Unglued. Because you thought this would be #1, didn’t you?

1) Promotional Card. Because it’s an elegant way to get rid of that Nalathni Dragon that annoying geek in your local store keeps showing off in his super-rare-and-foil deck.

引用元
BOTTLED UP Posted in Serious Fun on November 9, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/serious-fun/bottled-2004-11-09

『アンヒンジド/Unhinged』のレビュー記事にて、指定したエキスパンションのカードを追放できる《World-Bottling Kit》がレビューされました。

そこで、追放したいエキスパンションのトップテンの中に『神河物語』が7位にランクインしています。

とは言っても、『神河物語』に問題があるという訳ではなく、最新のエキスパンションについて触れるように言われているというだけの理由です。

ジョークセットの記事ですから、真面目な理由でない方がふさわしいかもしれません。



2021/03/09 追記
日本語訳を見つけました。
ビン詰め攻撃――世界ビン詰めキットで選ぶべきセットは
https://web.archive.org/web/20041114043223/http://www.hobbyjapan.co.jp/magic/articles/files/20041110_01.html

Drafting Green
The best green common is almost universally agreed to be Kodama’s Reach. There’s no questioning that it’s a nice card, but compared to Befoul, Cage of Hands, Teller of Tales and Glacial Ray it really doesn’t actually impact the game by itself. It allows you to cast your more powerful spells earlier, and it allows you to play spells from different colours but by itself it does nothing to help you win the game. If you haven’t drawn your powerful spells then the Reach isn’t going to help you out. Some people will cite the deck thinning aspect of the card improving your draws over a long game, but really this isn’t likely to provide a tangible advantage until (typically) 10-15 turns later.

Opinions on the second best green card are divided. It probably depends upon what archetype you’re trying to draft but in general I think Sakura-Tribe Elder should be taken ahead of Kodama’s Might and the other green creatures. Once again though, you have a creature that isn’t realistically going to win the game by itself. All it can do is help you cast your other spells faster, and more consistently. Sometimes that will be enough to win the game, but that’s not always the case.

So, given that the best green cards are mana fixers it makes sense to draft your green decks to take advantage of this fact. What green does best is allow you to splash other colours and accelerate your mana, so when drafting green you should always be on the lookout for powerful cards in any colour. You also shouldn’t be afraid of playing a few more high-costed cards than you might otherwise do. There’s no point accelerating your mana and then casting a Kami of the Hunt; it’s the powerful creatures like Moss Kami you want to be dropping. If some of your spells merely fix your mana then you’ll typically have less spells that impact the game so you need to make sure the ones you do have are powerful enough to make up for this.

I’ve tried all manner of standard two colour green decks and when these decks do win it’s rarely on the back of the green spells. Having said that, green-black is probably one of my favourite green-X combinations because the addition of black gives you removal, excellent early drops and a decent flyer too. The fat green creatures usually make up the top end of the curve. These two colours go quite well together as the green cards fill some of the holes black has.

引用元
THE FACES OF GREEN Posted in Limited Information on November 8, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/limited-information/faces-green-2004-11-08

『神河物語』ドラフトにおける緑を分析した記事です。

残念ながら、最弱色という位置づけです。もっとも、当時はそれはよくあることでした。除去や回避能力に乏しいからです。

緑最強のコモンは《木霊の手の内/Kodama’s Reach》で間違いないとされます。これは一度に２つの土地にアクセスできるため、ダブルシンボルでもタッチできますし、５色デッキも組むことが可能になります。

ゆえに、黒の優秀なダブルシンボル除去（《忌まわしい笑い/Hideous Laughter》など）、本殿やずべらなどの5色サイクルを組み込むことが有力な戦略とされています。



2021/03/09 追記
日本語訳を見つけました。
緑の様々な顔――神河物語での緑のドラフト
https://web.archive.org/web/20041211020257/http://www.hobbyjapan.co.jp/magic/articles/files/20041208_01.html

Q: I use Kiku, Night’s Flower’s ability on a Wild Mongrel and my friend says that the Mongrel doesn’t die because the damage to resolve... then discards a card so he says the Mongrel lives... why is that? --Tom K.

A: Your friend is mistaken, and his Mongrel is dead. When Kiku’s ability resolves, the targeted creature damages itself based on its power right then. No one has priority to even activate the Mongrel much less wait for the activation to resolve. The Mongrel will be destroyed when state-based effects check after Kiku’s ability resolves.
引用元
EXTENDED WEEK AND PT COLUMBUS MUSINGS Posted in Feature on November 6, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/extended-week-and-pt-columbus-musings-2004-11-06

恒例のQ&A記事です。

《夜の華、切苦/Kiku, Night’s Flower》の能力に、対応して《野生の雑種犬/Wild Mongrel》の能力を起動してもどのみち破壊される、というQ&Aがあります。

こういうのは、対応で生き残れたら、それはそれでテクニカルで面白いと思ってしまいます。ゲームバランスの上ではどちらがいいのかは定かではないですが。




2021/03/09 追記
日本語訳を見つけました。
オンラインルール学校#35――神河物語 #3（Saturday School 2004/10/30～2004/11/06 より）
https://web.archive.org/web/20041211154843/http://www.hobbyjapan.co.jp/magic/articles/files/20041206_01.html

Card Name Card Set
Darksteel Brute Darksteel
Gemini Engine Darksteel
Wirefly Hive Darksteel
Magma Giant Fifth Dawn
Relic Barrier Fifth Dawn
Akki Coalflinger Champions of Kamigawa
Cruel Deceiver Champions of Kamigawa
Ryusei, the Falling Star Champions of Kamigawa
Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro Champions of Kamigawa
Thousand-legged Kami Champions of Kamigawa

引用元
GRAND PRIX YOKOHAMA ARTIST - NOTTSUO Posted in Feature on November 5, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/grand-prix-yokohama-artist-nottsuo-2004-11-05

『神河物語』のイラストを手掛けた、ノッツオ(Nottsuo)の仕事の一覧です。当時のグランプリ横浜04の来場アーティストということで、このような記事が書かれました。

An Aside on the Orchard
I submitted a card for Fifth Dawn design called “Myr Headquarters.”

Myr Headquarters
Land
T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Each opponent puts a 1/1 colorless Myr creature token into play.

While the land would have been a decent fit with the five color theme of Fifth Dawn, we decided we were already “token high”--meaning we had enough token-making cards in the set--so it was left out.

As Champions of Kamigawa was coming together, Randy was asking around for cards to add to the set. I revamped the Headquarters a little so that it gave a token to only one opponent when you used it, hopefully making it more appealing to the multiplayer crowd. It was printed just like that.

In development, talk of using the card with Oath of Druids came up, but quickly passed when it was noted that Oath was banned in every format but Vintage, and (as one of our favorite sayings goes), “Type 1 can handle it.”

引用元
A FINE VINTAGE Posted in Latest Developments on November 5, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/latest-developments/fine-vintage-2004-11-05

ヴィンテージの記事において、《禁忌の果樹園/Forbidden Orchard》の開発秘話が語られています。

元々は『フィフスドーン』の《Myr Headquarters》というカードで、マイアトークンを生成するものでした。『フィフスドーン』の多色テーマともかみ合っています。しかし、トークン生成がすでに過剰であったことから外され、『神河物語』の空いたスペースに入ることになりました。

《禁忌の果樹園》は対戦相手にクリーチャーを与える手段として容易であるため、《ドルイドの誓い/Oath of Druids》と組み合わせたコンボデッキ「オース」の重要なパーツとなりました。もっとも、《ドルイドの誓い》、当時すでにエクステンデッドやレガシーで禁止されていたため、主な活躍の場がヴィンテージのため、この記事で登場したということです。

BUILDING ON A BUDGET: LAW OF THE SWORD
Creature (23)
4 Auriok Glaivemaster
4 Leonin Skyhunter
3 Nagao, Bound by Honor
4 Bushi Tenderfoot
4 Devoted Retainer
4 Samurai of the Pale Curtain

Instant (9)
4 Reciprocate
1 Blinding Beam
4 Awe Strike

Artifact (8)
4 Grafted Wargear
4 Bonesplitter

Land (20)
20 Plains

60 Cards

If there is one thing samurai must do, it is fight evil. These days, that evil is the Affinity Empire. This deck is tricked out to have a great game plan vs. Affinity with cards like Samurai of the Pale Curtain and Reciprocate. Removing things from the game is supposed to be the secret to beating spirits, according to Kumano, Master Yamabushi, but the master never knew that his secret tech would prove so valuable in defeating machines in a world of metal that he could never imagine.

You see, by removing things from the game instead of having them go to the graveyard, you circumvent a number of abilities in Magic from triggering. The most important ones vs. Affinity are Modular and the Disciple of the Vault Trigger. There are many more awesome situations where this comes up, but those two are the important ones.

This deck plays out by casting lots of awesome creatures that are cheap and efficient, and supplementing them with strong Equipment and perhaps the best trick available to white…Awe Strike. You can get an awesome start with Glaivemaster and Bonesplitter – this was one of my favorite decks to draft in limited, and it is still quite powerful in constructed.

One card that I am sure will draw attention is Bushi Tenderfoot, aka the Tendermiser. This creature is all about playing with your opponent’s head. With Awe Strike, he is very easy to flip when on defense – just block with him and another creature, then use Awe Strike to make sure the Bushi lives on to fight another day…and fight he will!

Nagao is likely your biggest threat – he is big, bad, mean, and carries a large sword. He is a 4 mana 5/5 (in combat) attacker that pumps many of his friends like the Pale Curtain and Devoted Retainer. There are only 3 because he takes 4 mana to cast and there are only 20 lands in the deck, plus he is Legendary, making it bad to get two out.

引用元
LAW OF THE SWORD Posted in Building on a Budget on November 5, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/building-budget/law-sword-2004-11-05

侍デッキです。日本モチーフの創作物において、侍は人気ですから、こういうテーマのデッキが組まれるのは当然でしょう。

ここでは古典的な白単ウィニーになっています。直前の『ミラディン』で導入された装備品で補強されています。ロードである《義理に縛られし者、長雄/Nagao, Bound by Honor》を活かして大きな打点をたたき出したいところでしょう。

Reverse the Plunge into Blood Sands
And my look at the Champions of Kamigawa cards Anthony Alongi previewed continues. Next up is Reverse the Sands, which I had only ever considered to be a multiplayer card until Agsded the Defiler took time out of his busy day marauding through medieval Norse villages to send me the combo of Reverse the Sands + Plunge into Darkness. On your opponent’s end step, you Plunge down to 1 life looking for Reverse the Sands, untap, and play it. Voila! Plunge is both the method to find Reverse the Sands and the method to make it into a huge life swing.

Naturally, there are grave risks. This combo isn’t going anywhere unless you have a hefty 8 mana to move those sands around. You might Plunge yourself down to 1 and miss. You might Plunge yourself down to 1 while your opponent is holding a Shock. You might not have a way to deliver the final ping. Agsded suggested Blasting Station, but I like Triskelion here. I also considered Underworld Dreams and Maggot Carrier.

THE BARTER BATTLE BOOK
Creature (4)
4 Triskelion

Sorcery (17)
2 Barter in Blood
3 Diabolic Tutor
4 Night’s Whisper
4 Reverse the Sands
4 Wrath of God

Instant (4)
4 Plunge into Darkness

Artifact (8)
4 Darksteel Ingot
4 Talisman of Dominance

Enchantment (4)
4 Phyrexian Arena

Land (23)
9 Plains
11 Swamp
3 Mirrodin’s Core
60 Cards

引用元
SAME NEW, SAME NEW Posted in Feature on November 4, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/same-new-same-new-2004-11-04

自分のライフを故意に減らして《砂の逆流/Reverse the Sands》で一発逆転を狙うカードです。

《暗黒への突入/Plunge into Darkness》はライフを減らすと同時に、キーカードを探し出すため、一石二鳥と言えるでしょう。

後のカードになりますが、《侵害の魂喰い/Trespassing Souleater》も、ライフを減らすことと、トドメの一撃を兼ね備えたカードなのでコンボパーツになり得ます。

Over the Moon
Now let’s draw cards. RML from NC (New Carthage? Nova Cotia? Nufflewad County? Nearly Canada? Perhaps North Carolina?) suggested the bizarre and slowly explosive card-drawing combo of Moonring Mirror and Teferi’s Puzzle Box. Let’s say you have N cards in your hand at the start of your turn with both of these permanents in play. You draw a card, so you’re at N+1. One card goes under the Mirror. Then the Puzzle Box takes you for a whirl. You still have N+1 cards, but they’re all different, and now there are N+2 cards under the Mirror. Next turn, you swap hands with the Mirror and do-si-do. Bow to your newly drawn card and you have N+3 while the Mirror has N+2, then do the Puzzle Box promenade until the Mirror has 2N+5 cards. Next turn, that number of cards plus one more will be in your hand and the Mirror will have 3N+10. This is, of course, a fantastic way to deck yourself. It’s also just a theoretical number; play or discard some cards and you’ll keep your library shredding somewhat in check. Oh, and to put 3N+10 in perspective, say N is 4. Reasonable number of cards to start out with in hand, right? If so, there are now 22 cards—more than a third of your deck—being hoarded by Moonring Mirror on turn 3 of this action, while you’re holding 14 yourself.

RML’s quandary was what to do next: “I don’t really know what to do with all these cards. I mean, sure, you could just play them, but there’s got to be something more. Maro maybe?” So I forwarded the email to Mark Rosewater, and… ooohhh, he meant the card! Right-o. When I have a ridiculous amount of cards in my hand, I somehow always think of Turbulent Dreams first. Jushi Apprentice came to mind as both a way to get more cards and a way to take advantage of the bounty. Maro and its friend Empyrial Plate are fine choices. I tried combining this deck with Tor-Erik Hokstad’s Zur’s Weirding-Honden of Cleansing Fire suggestion, and while I was able to achieve a lock in a couple of games, it was pretty clunky and expensive to put them together. I thought Hisoka, Minamo Sensei might do something with a swelled hand, but it didn’t seem that useful. In the end, here’s what I wound up with.

MOONACHIE
Creature (15)
3 Graceful Adept
4 Jushi Apprentice
4 Maro
4 Phantom Warrior

Sorcery (4)
4 Turbulent Dreams

Artifact (15)
3 Empyrial Plate
4 Moonring Mirror
2 Talisman of Progress
2 Talisman of Unity
4 Teferi’s Puzzle Box

Enchantment (2)
2 Words of Wind

Land (24)
8 Forest
11 Island
2 Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
3 Mirrodin’s Core
60 Cards

引用元
SAME NEW, SAME NEW Posted in Feature on November 4, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/same-new-same-new-2004-11-04

《テフェリーの細工箱/Teferi’s Puzzle Box》で大量にドローを行い、《月輪の鏡/Moonring Mirror》を誘発させることでカードをため込み、一気に手札を増やすコンボデッキです。

増やした手札は、《マロー/Maro》や《浄火の板金鎧/Empyrial Plate》で打点に変えたり、《荒れ狂う夢/Turbulent Dreams》のコストにしたり、《呪師の弟子/Jushi Apprentice》の反転に活かしたりします。

この手の大量にドローするデッキは、一定のファンがいるように思います。

Hold, Please

Kevin Thompson sent me a combo that I liked a lot. He was trying to break Hold the Line. Sometime after he mentioned Hold the Line-Soulblast and sometime before he mentioned Ragged Veins-Crushing Pain, he mentioned Hold the Line-Ragged Veins. I liked that a lot. I couldn’t figure out what to do with Ragged Veins, and this was a quick way to funnel 21 or so through one of your opponent’s unsuspecting creatures and right into his solar plexus. (Solar plexus, by the way, is one of the strangest body parts ever. Have you ever seen a solar plexus? Do you have a lunar plexus? On second thought, don’t answer that.)

WAITING IN LINE
Creature (19)
2 Bloodshot Cyclops
4 Cinder Wall
2 Samurai of the Pale Curtain
3 Kami of Ancient Law
4 Spikeshot Goblin
4 Wall of Blood

Instant (10)
2 Grab the Reins
4 Hold the Line
4 Incite War

Artifact (3)
2 Darksteel Ingot
1 Surestrike Trident

Enchantment (4)
4 Ragged Veins

Land (24)
8 Plains
2 Swamp
6 Mountain
3 Forbidden Orchard
3 Mirrodin’s Core
2 Urborg Volcano
60 Cards

引用元
SAME NEW, SAME NEW Posted in Feature on November 4, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/same-new-same-new-2004-11-04

《戦線維持/Hold the Line》は、わずか3マナで全体+7/+7修整を与えられることに注目したデッキです。

相手が攻撃しない事には始まらないので、《戦争の扇動/Incite War》で無理矢理にでも攻撃させます。

そうしたら、《戦線維持/Hold the Line》でパンプアップし、高パワーを《血まなこのサイクロプス/Bloodshot Cyclops》や《トゲ撃ちゴブリン/Spikeshot Goblin》、《ほつれた血管/Ragged Veins》でダメージに変換します。

「攻撃したと思ったら、大ダメージを食らって負けていた」という面白い状況を作り出せるでしょう。

Wrapping Up

So, with all that we’ve learned, I have made a little Seshiro deck that isn’t entirely dependent on only Snakes, and yet can do a lot when you do get your snakes going. This deck is legal for Standard, and I hope you like it.

SESHIRO FOR STANDARD
Creature (28)
3 Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
2 Seshiro the Anointed
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Sosuke, Son of Seshiro
4 Orochi Ranger
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Vulshok Sorcerer
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Eternal Witness

Sorcery (4)
4 Time of Need

Instant (4)
4 Magma Jet

Artifact (2)
2 Orochi Hatchery

Land (22)
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
5 Mountain
13 Forest
2 Pinecrest Ridge
60 Cards

Here, the deck uses four Time of Need and two Seshiro to ensure that you’ll be able to generally pop out a Seshiro when you hit 6 mana. Because the mana to get Seshiro is so important, three Sachi are in the deck to help ramp up to that 6 mana. Not including Sachis, there are 18 Shamans, so a Sachi is very likely to help produce a great amount of mana on the next turn.

Magma Jet, Vulshok Sorcerer, and Viridian Shaman (against artifacts) can help keep the table clear. Eternal Witness serves the role of getting back your best-killed cards (like Seshiro) and also getting back more cards to help you get that Seshiro through (like Magma Jet).

Overall, the deck is pretty solid at doing what it wants to do. It does have a lot in common with my Kiki-Jiki deck from last week (and even includes one because of Time of Need), but it is quite capable of creating a situation where it is the Seshiro that is pulling out your wins.

I hope that everyone has a great week. Until next time!

引用元
SESHIRO THE ANOINTED Posted in Feature on November 3, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/seshiro-anointed-2004-11-03

《清められし者、せし郎/Seshiro the Anointed》を中心にした、蛇デッキです。

その強力なロード能力を活かすため、蛇を並べる《大蛇の孵卵器/Orochi Hatchery》が採用され、攻撃を通す＆ボードコントロールのために赤が足されています。

今であれば、《大蛇の大魔導師、かせ斗/Kaseto, Orochi Archmage》が、攻撃を通す能力がある蛇なので、青緑で組まれるかもしれません。

The sad fact is not that Affinity seems to be the best deck in every format from Mirrodin Block Constructed to Standard to Extended, but that a disturbing number of players aren’t approaching it correctly. When you have a deck of such sheer power, such boundless forgiveness, as Affinity, not playing it yourself can be thought of as a handicap (in making a dissenting archetype choice, you are simply denying yourself the best tools for the job of winning a tournament). That said, it is one thing to object to playing Affinity -- there are certainly other viable decks -- but it is another thing entirely to handicap yourself once you have already chosen the dark path of artifice by not playing the basic cards that everyone else has.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, here are the Top 4 decks from last week’s Columbus Last Chance Qualifier:

引用元
TWO TOURNAMENTS, ONE DECK, ONE CARD IN PARTICULAR Posted in Feature on November 3, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/two-tournaments-one-deck-one-card-particular-2004-11-03

直近のトーナメントについての振り返りです。

やはりと言うべきか、親和が話題の中心にあります。それでも、《曇り鏡のメロク/Meloku the Clouded Mirror》をフィニッシャーにした青緑デッキがトップ４にいるなど、神河のカードも活躍はしています。

しかし、最終的に大量の禁止カードが出ることを分かり切った上でこういう記事を見るのは不思議な気分です。

Last Thursday, with a heavy heart, I drove my wife and son to the airport. They were off to Connecticut for my mother-in-law’s 60th birthday, and I was stuck in California... working. Not only did this mean a loss of family time and no vacation, but I was going to miss my 3-year old dressing up as Spider Man for Halloween. Coming back from the airport, I couldn’t help but ponder how I was going to make it through this bitter, lonely weekend...

Thank you, Champions of Kamigawa Release Weekend! Woooooooo hooooo!

Thursday evening, I logged on and prepared to play. My first stop was the Sealed Leagues. I knew that Champions would be available in League play this past week, but I hadn’t realized how differently the Leagues would be run. See, instead of a four-week endeavor with extra boosters each week, the Leagues during Release Week only ran seven days each. If you managed a 5-0 record during that week, you would receive the Eight-and-a-Half-Tails avatar. Oh, and the Leagues during the Release Week were also double prizes.

Once I learned the way Leagues worked, I thought they would be a great way for me to learn the set. Remember that this past weekend was a lot like a Pre-Release tournament for me; I hadn’t played with the cards until they arrived online and I had no idea what was good and bad in Limited play. First task, then, was to dip into Champions of Kamigawa and get to know my way around...

引用元
INTOTHEAETHER DOES KAMIGAWA Posted in Feature on November 2, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/intotheaether-does-kamigawa-2004-11-02

『神河物語』リリース当時のシールドフォーマットのリーグについて、詳しくレポートしたものです。各リーグのデッキリストが掲載されており、かなり長い記事になっています。

WHY SNAKES HAVE ANTHONY’S VOTE THIS ELECTION DAY
Now, I know a lot of you mis-educated, squirrel-lovin’ pipsqueaks and saprolin’-lovin’ saps are going to fire off all sorts of nasty retorts on the boards and email forms. And that’s your democratic right, assuming you live in the right sort of country. But in this three-way race, there’s only one true contender.

We’ll start with a nifty, generic theme deck with virtually no utility. (You could add stuff like Predator’s Strike, I suppose)

SNAKESTHROUGHTHEAGES.DEQ
Creature (32)
4 Orochi Leafcaller
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 River Boa
4 Ophidian
3 Matsu-Tribe Decoy
2 Ribbon Snake
4 Mystic Snake
4 Voracious Cobra
3 Seshiro the Anointed

Artifact (4)
4 Orochi Hatchery

Land (24)
4 Mountain
10 Forest
10 Island
60 Cards

Some neat tricks already – not bad for a creature type that only gets mention in 31 cards’ titles, type, or rules text. Let’s review the assets snakes bring to the generic 1/1 green creature, and how such assets might play out in the future over a broader range of snakes:

引用元
YAY SNAKES! Posted in Serious Fun on November 2, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/serious-fun/yay-snakes-2004-11-02

蛇デッキの紹介記事です。

といっても、記事の本筋は、蛇の生態とそのフレイバー的解釈のようですが。

神河の大蛇人に、その特徴が出ているかと言われると、微妙なところです。純粋な蛇ではなく、ヒューマノイドの大蛇人なので、多少の差異は仕方ないでしょう。

Group #2 – Cards Elegant in Concept But Not In Execution

These are the cards that do something very cool, but are a bit clunky in some way – be it the rules associated with the card, the templating or just the mechanics concerning how the card functions. This is the Ice Cauldron category. At its core, Ice Cauldron is a neat concept. It’s an artifact that lets you store spells on it to use later. But the card is so muddled in execution (mostly due to excessive wordiness and unnecessary mechanical complication), that many players give up long before they understand how to use it. Be aware that Ice Cauldron is the extreme of this category. There are many cards in Magic that put more weight on the concept than the execution. Few of them are as clunky as Ice Cauldron.

This category is the domain of Camp A. The Camp A crowd is willing to put up with a lot to get cool effects. It’s important to note that as R&D’s design technology improves we are finding to ways to turn Group #2 cards into Group #1 cards. For example, several years back both Mindslaver and Time Stop would have fallen in this group (although at the other end of the spectrum than Ice Cauldron). But advances in templating have allowed us to adopt much shorter, cleaner templates.

引用元
AN ELEGANT RESPONSE Posted in Making Magic on November 1, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/elegant-response-2004-11-01

「エレガント」に関する記事です。より正確には、これより前に書かれた「エレガント」に関する記事（※１）へのコメントに対するものです。

「エレガント」なカードをカテゴリー分けして紹介するなかで、《時間停止/Time Stop》が「コンセプトもテキストもエレガントなもの」として登場します。

もっとも、これはルールを整備したからこそです。数年前であれば、「コンセプトがエレガントだが、テキストはそうではないもの」（《Ice Cauldron》がその一例）として分類されただろう、とのことです。

《時間停止/Time Stop》や《精神隷属器/Mindslaver》のような、これまでにない斬新なコンセプトの能力を、簡潔なテキストで表現できるのはまさに「エレガント」と言えるでしょう。

※１
ELEGANCE Posted in Making Magic on October 18, 2004
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/elegance-2004-10-18-48