[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Xander's Pact
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Rorseph Compleat Fool
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I actually really like Zhalfirin Void because I'm a fan of the Temple cycle and I always wanted that effect available for mono-colored decks.
"From void evolved Phyrexia. Great Yawgmoth, Father of Machines, saw its perfection. Thus The Grand Evolution began."
—Phyrexian Scriptures
Aurelia | Maelstrom Wanderer | Primer: Thassa | Uro | Primer: Volrath
—Phyrexian Scriptures
Aurelia | Maelstrom Wanderer | Primer: Thassa | Uro | Primer: Volrath
Not something I've ever included, but, I suppose I would in an entirely colourless deck.
I could see it going into the right kind of deck, like Rashmi, Eternities Crafter.
- hyalopterouslemur
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Besides New Benalia, you mean.
I like scry in singleton formats. If you also like scry, this card is for you. Though in a more cutthroat environment, this is probably one of your last nonbasic land picks, just because it has to compete with things like Strip Mine.
Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for the avatar!
Zhalfirin Void is a fine card for colorless decks - scry 1 is a relevant upside over Wastes, and it still enters untapped.
However, I wouldn't play it in a colored deck - obviously outclassed by Temples in 2+ color decks (tapping for multiple colors is more important than entering untapped), and even in monocolor decks, there are a lot of colorless utility lands I would run before I considered Zhalfirin Void.
I won't say it has no home though - it may be worth consideration if you really care about the top card of your library, such as Aminatou, the Fateshifter, Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, or Elsha of the Infinite. May also be worth consideration if you plan to replay it multiple times - The Gitrog Monster and Mina and Denn, Wildborn come to mind. Those are all sort of a stretch though.
However, I wouldn't play it in a colored deck - obviously outclassed by Temples in 2+ color decks (tapping for multiple colors is more important than entering untapped), and even in monocolor decks, there are a lot of colorless utility lands I would run before I considered Zhalfirin Void.
I won't say it has no home though - it may be worth consideration if you really care about the top card of your library, such as Aminatou, the Fateshifter, Rashmi, Eternities Crafter, or Elsha of the Infinite. May also be worth consideration if you plan to replay it multiple times - The Gitrog Monster and Mina and Denn, Wildborn come to mind. Those are all sort of a stretch though.
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Rorseph Compleat Fool
- Posts: 147
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Yeah, I always forget about that one.
"From void evolved Phyrexia. Great Yawgmoth, Father of Machines, saw its perfection. Thus The Grand Evolution began."
—Phyrexian Scriptures
Aurelia | Maelstrom Wanderer | Primer: Thassa | Uro | Primer: Volrath
—Phyrexian Scriptures
Aurelia | Maelstrom Wanderer | Primer: Thassa | Uro | Primer: Volrath
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Every time I see this outside of Traxos or similar, I always think "why not Tower of the Magistrate?" The land that literally is a nonbasic Wastes except that one clutch moment in one game you will always remember.
Is it? Is it really, though? I'm not entirely convinced of this.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
- toctheyounger
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Agreed, it's case by case. The option of entering untapped is what makes shocks so much better than BFZ duals. Different decks need different things, and entering untapped is not to be underestimated, especially if your deck runs low to the ground and needs a strong start.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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It's ironic I say this when I champion the Tango and Bicycle duals too. I guess that's more because of land types than anything else though.toctheyounger wrote: ↑4 years agoAgreed, it's case by case. The option of entering untapped is what makes shocks so much better than BFZ duals. Different decks need different things, and entering untapped is not to be underestimated, especially if your deck runs low to the ground and needs a strong start.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
- toctheyounger
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I've never known where the Tango name comes from. At any rate, where I run these I run them for the same reason. In most cases Tango>Bicycle, but there are exceptions.3drinks wrote: ↑4 years agoIt's ironic I say this when I champion the Tango and Bicycle duals too. I guess that's more because of land types than anything else though.toctheyounger wrote: ↑4 years agoAgreed, it's case by case. The option of entering untapped is what makes shocks so much better than BFZ duals. Different decks need different things, and entering untapped is not to be underestimated, especially if your deck runs low to the ground and needs a strong start.
In this instance? I would play a temple over Zhalfirin Void in almost every instance.
More broadly, I would say that it is hard to weigh the value of an untapped land that provides worse fixing against a tapped land that provides better fixing. Untapped is better than tapped, and more fixing is better than less fixing, but the two are ultimately on different scales.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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It's because "it takes two to tango" (these come in untapped with 2+ basics).toctheyounger wrote: ↑4 years agoI've never known where the Tango name comes from. At any rate, where I run these I run them for the same reason. In most cases Tango>Bicycle, but there are exceptions.
I can agree with this. Apples to Oranges.Mookie wrote: ↑4 years agoMore broadly, I would say that it is hard to weigh the value of an untapped land that provides worse fixing against a tapped land that provides better fixing. Untapped is better than tapped, and more fixing is better than less fixing, but the two are ultimately on different scales.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
- toctheyounger
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I was today many years old when I learned this. The more you know.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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And knowing is half the battle.toctheyounger wrote: ↑4 years agoI was today many years old when I learned this. The more you know.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
- Posts: 4865
- Joined: 4 years ago
- Pronoun: he / him
- Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Oh hey, it's a colorless utility land I would almost always run over Zhalfirin Void.
More seriously, Tower of the Magistrate is an interesting tech card. Can occasionally be useful if you expect your opponents to be playing a lot of artifact creatures, or artifact-based interaction such as Executioner's Capsule or Vedalken Shackles. A far more common usage, however, is turning off equipment - protection stops a creature from being equipped. This means the land can shut down some equipment-based voltron strategies by itself, assuming the creature in question isn't able to acquire hexproof or shroud.
It is a bit niche for a colorless utility land, so I wouldn't run it in most decks, but it's pretty high-impact if you expect to be playing against a lot of equipment. Even if you aren't, Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are both common ways to protect generals, and this shuts them down (assuming you hold open mana to stop the first equip), which makes it much easier to sling other removal.
Also some extremely niche uses alongside Mycosynth Lattice and Liquimetal Coating, I suppose.
More seriously, Tower of the Magistrate is an interesting tech card. Can occasionally be useful if you expect your opponents to be playing a lot of artifact creatures, or artifact-based interaction such as Executioner's Capsule or Vedalken Shackles. A far more common usage, however, is turning off equipment - protection stops a creature from being equipped. This means the land can shut down some equipment-based voltron strategies by itself, assuming the creature in question isn't able to acquire hexproof or shroud.
It is a bit niche for a colorless utility land, so I wouldn't run it in most decks, but it's pretty high-impact if you expect to be playing against a lot of equipment. Even if you aren't, Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves are both common ways to protect generals, and this shuts them down (assuming you hold open mana to stop the first equip), which makes it much easier to sling other removal.
Also some extremely niche uses alongside Mycosynth Lattice and Liquimetal Coating, I suppose.
Heh, I have fond memories of using this to "borrow" creatures with Willbreaker in my budget Tromokratis deck in 2015. That list also unironically ran Tolaria for the same reason. That said, its applications in regular EDH waters are quite narrow - sure, you can make equipment fall off, but that's the main use and probably not worth a colourless land slot in most mana bases.
It's a nice anti-equipment land, but I rarely run it. It's very narrow, and has precious few other applications, almost all of which are reactive. Maybe Embercleave will tip the balance into me wanting to run it again, but I don't think enough players really play red in my group.
I have fond memories of just killing creatures with it using Horobi, Death's Wail.
The second most humiliating way I ever lost due to equipment falling off.
1. That time my buddy Goblin Welder'd my sword of feast and famine into a wayfarer's bauble costing me the game because I had to pass tapped out.
2. that time 8.5 tails developed an allergic reaction to all his pants simultaneously and didn't have enough mana to protect himself, due to forgetting tower of the magistrate.
1. That time my buddy Goblin Welder'd my sword of feast and famine into a wayfarer's bauble costing me the game because I had to pass tapped out.
2. that time 8.5 tails developed an allergic reaction to all his pants simultaneously and didn't have enough mana to protect himself, due to forgetting tower of the magistrate.
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void_nothing Look On My Sash...
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A truly strange card, but the niche of giving stuff pro-artifacts is much bigger than you could imagine. Can't recommend TowMag enough.
Psst, check the second page of Custom Card Contests & Games! Because of the daily contests, a lot of games fall down to there.
The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)
Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type
The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)
Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type
- hyalopterouslemur
- Posts: 3218
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Mycosynth Lattice says hi! (Another reason spells aren't always worse than permanents.)
I like this card. More mundane uses include make my guys harder to block and laugh at equipment decks all day.
I like this card. More mundane uses include make my guys harder to block and laugh at equipment decks all day.
Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for the avatar!
I don't know many decks that have few colors enough to not worry about mana as a downside for one time use. But it's certainly one of the lands i really like hitting with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden - outclassed by hideaway lands though.
Tower of the Magistrate would be a lot less cuter and a lot better if Voltron were an actual thing in EDH - that's the world i'd like to live in.
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Tower of the Magistrate is interesting in that you'll play 50 games where it doesn't do anything, but the one time it's relevant it wins you the game. My favorite use ever was in a Tromokratis deck to make him unblockable by any opponent who happens to control an artifact creature. There's also the play where you prevent an opponent from putting Lightning Greaves on something, ruining their whole turn. Fantastic card, I wish more of my decks had room for it.
So, actual Voltron decks aren't really a thing anymore, but most decks run some sort of equipment, artifacts with targeting abilities or artifact creatures. Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Thousand-year Elixir, Swords of X and Y, Wurmcoil Engine, etc.NoNeedToBragoBoutIt wrote: ↑4 years agoTower of the Magistrate would be a lot less cuter and a lot better if Voltron were an actual thing in EDH - that's the world i'd like to live in.
Truth is I find this land useful in almost every game I see it and in some cases it completely shuts down some winning combo.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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- Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ