Flashback! - The best of Knowledge Pool in 2011

The Knowledge Pool is a team of bloggers (authors of this blog including) who work hard to give you the best casual Magic: the Gathering content on the net.  Today I present you the highlights these guys produced in 2011 in an all-mighty Flashback.

"What is Casual"
by Daryl Bockett on Muse Vessel
The best definition and analysis of casual Magic: the Gathering so far.  Daryl tries to define what casual is about - and what not.
Other famous articles from Daryl include:  “Security Curve Theory” (Part I and Part II) and “Worst Rule in Commander”.

"Make your Own Rules"
and "Real Talk Redeux"
by Andy aka GHoooSTS on CommanderCast.com
These two podcast episodes feature Q&A with Alex Kenny aka Ban-ki-moon, a member of the MtG: Commander Rules Committee.  He explains many of the reasons why Commander is the way it is today.  He also gets across some motivations behind banning or not-banning certain cards.

“Trading In The Smartphone Age”
by Dominik Schönleben on CompletelyCasual.net
This article explains how trading Magiccards has changed recently through the diffusion of the smart phone.  Dominik explains how haggling and “the good deal” have been lost through technology.

“Politics, Complexity and Multiplayer Strategy” (Part I,  Part II and Finale)
by Daryl Bockett on Muse Vessel
A sweeping blow about the diverse angles of politics that can happen in MtG: Commander. He separates politics from strategy and gives an in depth analysis.
"The Battle to Defend the Peaks"
by Owen aka Zimagic on The Crazy 99
This little short story illustrates how an MtG: Commander game could look like when told from a narrative angle.  Owen uses his imagination to tell the story that lies behind any match.

“Life is Worth Living!”
and “Who Died and Made You F##king King of the Zombies!!!”
by C. R. Russell on Three To The Face!!!
If you like checking out decks for exotic Generals to get inspired, like us, C.R. Russel is your man.  These two pieces about [card]Daughter of Autumn[/card] and [card]Balthor the Defiled[/card] are his highlights from 2011.

From the “Generally Speaking” series: “Homura, Jedi Knight”
and “Erayo, Clockwater Ascendant”
by Imshan aka Sinis on CommanderCast.com
Comparing these two articles could not be more controversial.  In this article series Imshan normally surprises us with a wacky non-Magic related theme.  [card]Homura, Human Ascendant[/card] aka Obi-Wan Kenobi as a prime example for this, stands in stark contrast to his very competitive variants of [card]Erayo, Soratami Ascendant[/card].

“Horde Magic: A New Way to Play Magic and Survive Zombie Invasions”
by Peter Knudson on QuietSpeculation.com
After the Epic Design Fail form Kenneth Nagle in 2011, “Horde Magic” is taking over as the only viable one-vs-many variant Magic: the Gathering has to offer.  In this article Peter Knudson explains the basics of his newly developed variant and how to built your own Horde-Deck.

“If I Can Podcast, So Can You”
by Andy aka GHoooSTS on CommanderCast.com
You always thought CommanderCast is produced by a brilliant team of 20 professionals to be as awesome as it is - we have to disappoint you.  Here Andy, the hard working producer behind the best MtG: Commander podcast on the Internet, explains to you “how to make your own podcast”.  If you ever had the desire to get out there, follow his lead.

“I Hate Sol Ring and All that it Taps For”
by Brandon Isleib on Muse Vessel
Brandon does not like people who tell him what he has to play.  Staples like Sol Ring are no exception. Find out why the obvious choice is not always the right one.
Other famous articles from Brandon include:  “Decktagon” and “One Thing Leads to Another”

“Whiskey Identity”
by Sean Patchen on ManaDeprived.com
If you thought Magic: the Gathering and alcohol should not be combined, Sean proves you dead wrong. Sean, a true bon vivant, presents to you an exhaustive list of finer Whiskeys to go with each specific deck you have.

“Goblins and From the Vault: Legends”
by Cassidy Silver
This article relives a moment from Cassidy’s youth, where he had the one dream fulfilled every Magic: the Gathering player has (apart from winning the Pro Tour maybe): Meeting Richard Garfield, creator of the game we love. If you want to know why Richard Garfield first picked [card]Gobblin Digign Team[/card] in a Sixth Edition draft you must check out this piece.

“Call of the Nerd”
by Bruce Richard on Muse Vessel
No best-off list for 2011 would be complete without an response article to Alyssa Bereznak’s Gizmodo article about her date with World Champion Magic player Jon Finkel.  Bruce gets on his soapbox and speaks up for the “nerds” she disses.
Other famous articles from Bruce include:  “Standing Up for Sitting Back” and “Are you Done Yet?”

That’s it for Knowledge Pool in 2011.  I hope you liked being flashbacked.

Keep it also casual next year, though 2012 it might be the end of days.  

Yours Dominik Schönleben (Completelycasual.net)

Sad Panda Time: Islands

We're all very happy about Consecrated Sphinx. Well, all of us who play Islands are happy about Consecrated Sphinx, those of you who hate that little drop of water probably loathe "Mind's Eye Sphinx". While everyone was looking at ways to draw silly amounts of cards with the Sphinx (Windfall, Wheel of Fortune etc.), others were pondering what would happen if two copies of Consecrated Sphinx were in play simultaniously under the control of two different players whether it be two original copies or some sort of Clone of the original.

What happens is this:
A player draws a card.This triggers the draw ability of both Player A & Player B's Sphinxes. Both draw 2 cards off his Sphinx's triggered ability. This, in turn, triggers the ability of the other conrtroler's Sphinx, who can draw up to 4 cards, and so on, and so on until one of the two players chooses to stop drawing cards. This will repeat every single time any player draws a card. Sad face for everyone else in the game.

Consecrated Sphinx is not the only offender for this sort of silly trickery. Imagine a similiar situation where the two players in question don't control Consecrated Sphinx but instead each has a fully levelled up copy of Lighthouse Chronologist.

Here we go again:

Chronologist A player takes his turn and announces that it's finished. Then Chronologist B player takes their extra turn. When that's finished, they pass the baton back to Player A, and so on, and so on until one wins the game.

The only little problem with both the double Chronologist and the double Sphinx situations is that they are both creatures and, as we all know, creatures are pretty fragile in EDH/Commander. That said, both situations are potentially very easy to set up and anyone looking to avoid these situations needs to keep their wits about them to avoid "EDH Mafia"-type situations developing.

Things that are harder to contend with are locks like Erayo, Soratami Ascendant and Arcane Lab and a new, nefarious lock featuring Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and Knowledge Pool. I mentioned in my review of the Mirrodin Besieged artifacts that someone would probably find a way to break this otherwise annoying chaos card. Lo and behold, it's now officially broken.  

Here's a resume from Sinis on the MTGcommander.net boards:
1. Knowledge Pool exiles spells as they are cast from hand as a triggered ability.  Exiled spells do not resolve. This triggered ability is more involved than a mere exiling of spells cast, it allows you to cast a spell exiled by knowledge pool without paying it's cost.

2. If Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is on the table, opponents of the Teferi controller can only cast spells when they could cast a sorcery. This means that you can only cast a spell when the stack is empty (i.e. there are no spells or abilities on the stack already, and it is your main phase).

3. The triggered ability from Knowledge Pool is still on the stack when you are selecting a spell to cast without paying its mana cost (after your initial spell from hand is exiled). Because that triggered ability from knowledge pool is still on the stack, Teferi expressly forbids casting a spell under these circumstances (the stack is not empty, no spells for you) unless you are the controller of Teferi. If you are not: Sad Panda Face.

All is not lost, there are outs: Ancient Grudge, Bash to Bits and Ray of Distortion, Ulamog, the infinite Gyre and a few others will help you but you need to be both running these and have them in the correct zone when you need them. The combo doesn't stop cycling, activated abilities, spells cast from the graveyard, Commander Zone or exiled (with rebound or suspend) but again you have to have all these in the right zone at the right time which makes your ability to respond to this combo quite narrow.

While this is not the straw that broke the camel's back, it is the third card in 3 non-core sets that gives Blue based Commander decks an extra tool and makes a mockery of interactivity. If we keep getting cards that slot too easily into blue-based decks, the oft joked about suggestion of banning Islands may gather pace.

What do you guys think?