An Other Article

Written by ShadowS on June 08, 2007

by ShadowS

Other category or "The other white meat” is a rarely played subdivision here on magic-league. I’m hoping by the end of this article I can convince at least a few people, and hopefully some regulars, to give these formats a try.

Why Other?
I know a lot of people here on magic league are here for the express purpose of playing competitively as to improve their own skills and test decks for upcoming tournaments and Friday Night Magics. There is a lot of stress and headaches that can come with these games, and personally myself, I need a break from that if I want to continue to play this game.

I don’t expect people to take Other categories seriously; that would defeat the purpose. The point is to have fun. Does anyone remember when they *first* started playing magic, how cool the art was, how badly you played your first game and probably got decimated by the person teaching you. I remember how cool I thought Phyrexian Hulk was. It was this 5/4 ominous artifact creature. I like to play Other formats because they can give me that feeling that the game was new and fun again, and most importantly, not serious at all. (Even though, I probably do take it a tad too serious anyways!)

My Favorite Other Formats:
Chaos and Mindmaster

Although these two formats are completely different from one another, they do have two common things that are great when it comes to Other formats. First, they both *have* to use Apprentice. Secondly, you can learn them while you are playing them. You may stumble through, like those days of yore in our first games of casual magic, but you don’t have to sit down for any length of time and read about them to start playing. There are other formats in Other that I do enjoy and would like to try, but with the mini’s being pretty tough to fill, I like to do these user friendly formats. By the time you are done reading this article, you will know more than necessary to get going.

Chaos
Every time I start a Chaos Mini, someone asks me, what is Chaos? Well, if you don’t already know, and you have a copy of Apprentice, I would suggest at this time you open up your Apprentice, Go to Options -> Preferences, and put a checkmark beside Chaos Mode. That’s right, it’s built right in. Now you will see a series of icons along the top bar. These are your gateways to insanity.
CS: This is the Chaos Roll. You will be rolling this a lot.
PL: Player Land. Effectively this button does nothing unless Chaos Rolls tell you to press it.
EWL: Enchant WorldLand. This button is pressed once before a game, and then any time Chaos Rolls tell you too.
WL: Wacky land, again, you only press it if Chaos Rolls tell you too.
The point of Chaos is to have little to absolute no control over what’s going on in a game. It’s the most luck based game you will experience. In chaos, everything plays like a regular game of magic, and therefore you can add it on to any pre-existing format. It is probably the easiest of all the Other formats to initially learn, as all you have to do is pick a deck, then hit a button and see what happens.
The first thing you do, is roll, decide who is going first, and draw. Now for the first instance of Chaos to take effect. The active player rolls Enchant WorldLand. The point of the Enchant World Land is to put an enchantment that effects how the game is played. Many popular enchantments and artifact from magic are in here. Such examples include:
EnchantWorldLand Roll (#15): ''City of Solitude'' - Each player may only play spells and abilities during their turn.
EnchantWorldLand Roll (#2): ''Mana Flare'' - All lands produce an additional mana of the appropriate type, when tapped for mana.
EnchantWorldLand Roll (#10): ''Aluren'' - All players may play creatures with a casting cost 3 or lower whenever they may play an instant and without paying the casting cost.
As you have no idea what is going to be rolled here, it is very hard to make a deck that works with any one Enchant World. These enchantments are controlled by no one, but they are still enchantments, and are affected like any other enchantments are.
The next part about Chaos is the new phase added to the game, aptly named, The Chaos Phase. This phase starts before the untap, and since the first player starts in the main phase, he wont get to have one of these. However, from the 2nd turn and every turn there after, 1 roll will be made that will have some effect on the game. You can’t play spells or abilities during this turn, so you are just going to have to sit back and watch. These rolls can do about anything, destroy permanents, drop free stop from your hand or graveyard into play, discard cards, draw cards, or make more rolls or roll on other lists.
The last thing to know, and very often forgot, is the spite roll. When you die in chaos, you don’t *die* die. No, you are instead given another chance at life. When you die, simply go to zero life, and roll on the chaos list. If it gives you life, then you are still in the game.

Chaos Strategy
1.    Don’t play control decks that rely on counterspells. Not only is there an Enchant WorldLand that will completely hose you, but you can’t respond to anything in the Chaos Phase anyways. If your opponent is give a free creature from his library/creature/hand, no counterspell is going to save you.
2.    Play stuff worth getting for free. If good luck shines your way, you are going to want the ability to abuse it.
3.    Untargetability is awesome! Chaos effects can’t even touch it. While everything is getting blown up, you can sit back and laugh.
4.    Pack enchantment removal or bounce to get rid of Enchant WorldLands that hose you.
5.    Pray.

Here are some Type 2 decks that abuse these qualities, including the one I have been using for the last six months and am practically undefeated with:

Aqua Ramp
Main Deck		Sideboard
1 Triskelavus 1 Simic Sky Swallower 2 Panglacial Wurm 2 Sacred Mesa 4 Call of the Herd 4 Loxodon Hierarch 4 Wrath of God 2 Faith's Fetters 1 Krosan Grip 2 Compulsive Research 4 Repeal 2 Edge of Autumn 2 Farseek	4 Search for Tomorrow 4 Temple Garden 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Breeding Pool 1 Prahv, Spires of Order 4 Forest 2 Flagstones of Trokair 2 Plains 1 Island 1 Pendelhaven 4 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree 3 Terramorphic Expanse	1 Compulsive Research 4 Quagnoth 4 Tormod's Crypt 4 Giant Solifuge 2 Faith's Fetters

This has been my pride and joy. If anyone remembers my Mana Ramp deck that was featured in dv8r’s article, where he got 7th in his regionals as well as it getting a few t4 trial presences, this deck is based completely off of it, only red turning into blue. While Mana Ramp is terrible in the current type 2 meta, Aqua Ramp’s strength in Chaos is still legendary. Being able to sac a creature and search your library for a creature of the same color makes vitu-ghazi and SSS a favourable combination. Having to name a CMC and reveal cards and put that into play? Well pick 7; there are 4 creatures it could hit. Free artifact from the library? How about Trisk. Removed cards come back to the graveyard? Well, I’m sure COTH will understand. Annoying Enchant WorldLand in your way? Well, repeal has something to say to that. This FS improved deck now comes with the enjoyable combination of Edge of Autumn + Flagstone + Panglacial Wurm.
Another deck, a modified version of PV’s trial winner:

BW Aggro
Main Deck		Sideboard
5 Swamp 2 Plains 4 Caves of Koilos 4 Godless Shrine 2 Orzhov Basilica 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4 Flagstones of Trokair 2 Ghost Council of Orzhova 4 Dark Confidant	4 Savannah Lions 4 Castigate 3 Ronom Unicorn 4 Mortify 4 Withered Wretch 2 Phyrexian Arena 4 Ravenous Rats 3 Stonecloaker 4 Calciderm	2 Shadow of Doubt 3 Aven Mindcensor 3 Tormod's Crypt 4 Damnation 3 Tombstalker

This deck is upgraded with 4 Calciderm, the untargetable chaos beast, and Ronom Unicorn, a very useful creature in the face of evil Enchant WorldLands. The deck may not be optimal, but the rough idea of it should be quite effective in Chaos. As Calciderm is a very strong and smart creature for chaos due to its untargetability, feel free to add it to other white aggro decks like Boros or Zoo. Same for Ronom. So feel free to grab a deck here and jump into a Chaos mini the next time you see one.

Mindmaster
Although I am posting this format second, it is my first favorite format. It has a bit more rules editing than Chaos and might have a tad higher of a learning curve, but it is an amazing experience that in some ways makes me feel... this is how magic was originally supposed to be played.

I found the format on an article at www.magicthegathering.com, by a writer whose name I can no longer recollect. His version was a tad different, especially how it was made for real life play, not online. His basic idea was for each player to pop open a booster pack, and to play lands once a turn and play what you got. He left some game analysis for the games he played. Once I read that article, I was quite determined to bring it to magic-league. While I had a minor setback with Gerrardfo who refused the format, bringing it to Nico’s eyes seemed to have done the trick, and I got the permission I needed to run minis. While I *did* steal the concept, I have defiantly made it more competitive and logical of game.

Mindmaster is a limited format, sort of like drafting and sort of like sealed. That being said, you don’t have to show up to the mini with a deck. If you can handle Sealed or Drafts, you can handle this. But there are still some things that vastly separate Mindmaster from your conventional limited formats.

The greatest part of Mindmaster is that you can’t be mana-screwed. That’s right: the mana flow in this game is regulated to one land a turn. You can put land in your deck, but you don’t need to. You still can only play one a turn, and you get a basic for free each turn. Your games will never come down to being mana screwed or flooded. The second greatest thing about it, you start with your library in your hand. Bad draws simply do not happen in Mindmaster, you both start with all your weaponry. And lastly, one does not *roll* to see who goes first. That wouldn’t be fair, and also implies someone might get lucky. You do not get off that easy, you need to bid life. And just to make it fun, you bid anonymously, rather than like in an auction.

This is why I like the format, when I’ve had a long day of mana screws and floods, opponents playing 4 color draft decks with double costs in each color and stone drawing it and beating me, watching myself lose *every* dice roll for the last week, or watching some guys top deck is take my hard earned win away, I like to run off to a format where it’s me, it’s you, and it’s skill, may the better man leave victorious.

As I already wrote the rules for Mindmaster on the Magic-League site, I think I’ll just do a quick copy paste on the basics:

•    Each player drafts 1-3 booster packs of 15 cards. You will do this before each game, and there is no need to save any of these decks. No matter how many booster packs drafted, only move 15 to your deck. This becomes your deck for that game. You will do this before each game, and there is no need to save any of these decks.
•    You may mulligan what you draft. To do this, you redraft your cards. For each time you do this, at the start of the game, you remove a card in your hand from the game.
•    You start with the entire deck in your hand.
•    You no longer have a library.
•    You still have a draw step, however you do not a draw a card in this step. You cannot draw at any point in the game.
•    Players draw their hand before deciding who goes first. Rather than rolling, the players bid an undisclosed amount of health for the right to go first. Whoever bids highest, wins. Only the person who bids the highest amount loses health. In case there is a tie, re-bid until there is a winner.
•    During your mainphase, you can create a basic land card (other than snow) proxy and put it into play. If you are playing Coldsnap, you may create one snow land. You do this once per turn, and up to a maximum of 10 times for the entire game. If a land proxy is destroyed, it is placed within the graveyard like a real land would be. (Rather than RFG for token effects).
•    The rest of the game plays like a real game of magic.

I defiantly suggest reading the last section on the website, entitled “How to play in Apprentice” which details step by step instructions on which buttons to press and when, before pl

aying, but for now I just want you to get a feel for the concept.

The most popular amount of boosters I have found is two. The more you have, the stronger the decks obviously, and the faster play gets pushed. With one, you don’t get to pick and choose which cards go to your hand, you either like it or lump it. Not to say it is a bad thing, as it will defiantly show who can spot hidden synergies and who can’t. It also has the highest amount of combat decisions, as both players should have enough time to build an army before the game ends and removal will be limited. Cards that seem utterly useless make star impressions. I had one game where we were both were locked down by Powerstone Minefield, so we built up to ten lands each, then I cast Life from Life / Death and Devine Light and swung in for the win. The one booster games tend to bring out the most unique situations. With two boosters, you now get the ability to pick which fifteen you want to play. This brings card choice, which is something a lot of limited players enjoy and probably why it is most important and the pace won’t be pushed so high that the game will end in mere turns.

With how Mindmaster works, obviously a lot of cards are now broken or useless. Or are they? I have spent a lot of time coming up with a conversion for rules that don’t work, and changing them so that they do. I made the game as if it was made for Mindmaster. As far as the game goes, and Other formats in general go, failure to notice these rules changes doesn’t really matter. If you and your opponent make some mistake and no one says anything, that’s fine. I don’t expect anyone to memorize the changes anyways. What I *do* suggest, is that when you see a card that seems pointless, you flip over to the link on magic league and take a peek to see what it might actually do. Because barbed shocker isn’t as good as it looks, once the edits take place.

Mindmaster Strategy
It’s no secret that I milked this format to achieve my rating in Other. Considering I was the one who brought it to magic-league, I am the most familiar with the rules. Heck, I wrote them. And while I’m sure the second largest player of it has probably played twenty games or so, I have played around 150-200 games.
1.    Bid high. Going first is huge. I have won many games because my opponent has let me go first for the low price of 4 life. While you may be afraid of losing 5-8 life, you should fear someone having more mana, and larger threats, as well as mana open while attacking you *all the time* more. For a single pack, 5-7 is around what you want to bid. For 2 packs, 7-10 is appropriate. I know how crazy it sounds, but this is experience talking.
2.    Mana Map. This is *very* important to winning. You should be tapping out all your mana each and every turn if you want to win. Sure, you might have gotten Durkwood Balroth as an impressive first turn play, but if your only good second turn play is Knight of the Holy Nimbus, maybe Children of Korlis isn’t so bad after all. And remember, if you are going that route, then you can’t play that third turn Spiketail Drakeling you were planning on. More often then not, plan a route that works with *all* of your mana each turn.
3.    Don’t bother with discard spells. Unless you are using Mindstab to set up a Suspend/Storm combo, it is not worth your time. Using your mana to gain card advantage and no tempo will more than likely cost you the game.
4.    Find the synergy. Suspend and Storm work terrific together, and with all the cards in your hand from the start, and the ability to mana map, you could have a turn with 4 things coming into play at once, then cast a Coal Stoker, a pointless locket of yesterday, then go nuts on the grapeshot or warrens. There are plenty of madness combos available. It is impossible for me to say all the possible synergies, but you will find that Mindmaster creates an environment to draw out ones that were never seen or never useful before.
5.    Play sideboard cards. You might not have idea if you will actually need that Seal of Primordium, Pull from Eternity, or Subterranean Shambler, but heck, throw all three in. If the situation arises, you will be glad you did. If you don’t, well, beat them to death with the other 12 cards then.
6.    Re-evaluate your card choices. Mindmaster is a different environment, one where you can plan to have cards in your hand. Those situational cards that people tell you never to use probably have a place in Mindmaster that they won’t in any other format. Take for instance one of the bigger bombs in Mindmaster, Fallen Ideal. Not a very heavily chosen card in limited and useless in constructed, it turns a Mindmaster weenie rush into an unstoppable shot to the dome on a tapped out opponent. It’s a card you could build a deck around.

Other Other formats
Peasant, a format where you are forced to use commons, with an allowance of five uncommons between the maindeck and sideboard is a popular Type One variant. The format is surprisingly quick, with sleigh, kobold/tendrils, and madness leading the way. I suggest net decking if you have never played Peasant and want to try it out.
Tribal is a format that was clearly made for its flavor. Gangs of Goblins, Elves, Zombies, Dragons, Angels and who knows what else, working in the naturally harmony that wizards meant for them rather than the perversion that magic players put on these poor creatures. The decks consist of 1/3 of a single creature type. This format is most commonly played in Type Two.

Precon Wars, an up and coming popular format has us pitted against each other with the preconstructed decks made by WotC. The fun is having decks from different blocks all mashed together in a semi-limited, semi-constructed feel.
There are many other Other formats besides these ones as well as full rules for the others previous mentioned, and all can be found at:
http://www.magic-league.com/guide/other_formats.php.

If there's a format on that webpage that I did not feature and you want to play, come to #other and let me know. If you feel strongly about it I’m defiantly willing to try it.
I hope I have convinced some people to join the next Other mini they see. Have fun.
-ShadowS

Back to Magic: the Gathering Articles

by Goji on 2007-06-08 21:32 MST

go Shadows!

by Eliminator on 2007-06-08 22:25 MST

Finally, an alternative to weed-and-coke-laced tournament reports!

by Weedmonkey on 2007-06-08 23:14 MST

If you guys don't start to play Other formats, ShadowS is going to make some small animals cry :)

by Ro on 2007-06-09 00:33 MST

by Strangla on 2007-06-09 00:34 MST

i am always down For PRECON WARS OR TRIBAL OR PESANT

by Via on 2007-06-09 05:27 MST

Rainbow Stairwell!

by DESTRUCTOR on 2007-06-09 07:45 MST

no comments :/

by Spyx on 2007-06-09 08:01 MST

interesting formats

by yho on 2007-06-09 09:15 MST

backdraft

by Shooter on 2007-06-09 10:50 MST

precon wars pwn

by Vlada on 2007-06-09 12:10 MST

GJ on article.

by DS_McWerp on 2007-06-09 13:49 MST

T2 Peasant Rainbow Stairwell is pwnage.

So is tribal.

That is all.

by ChristPunchr on 2007-06-09 13:53 MST

Go go shadows for a great article but omg @ the title.

"AN OTHER article" wtf?

by ShadowS on 2007-06-09 14:51 MST

I thought it was punny =P

by SarcasticRat on 2007-06-09 22:24 MST

Good article.

I would say more, but this was just a test message to see if I was unbanned from posting comments.

by Bozo on 2007-06-10 01:26 MST

Precon Wars > all.

by kobisjeruk on 2007-06-10 03:36 MST

-by Bozo on 2007-06-10 00:26 PDT
-
-Precon Wars > all.

trudat...

A:"just wait 'til i get all my combo pieces..."
B:"wait, precons have combo?"

by ShadowS on 2007-06-10 09:47 MST

I'm glad you all enjoy precon wars but uh, did anyone get intrested in the formats I wrote about? =P

by ShadowS on 2007-06-10 09:52 MST

I'm glad you all enjoy precon wars but uh, did anyone get intrested in the formats I wrote about? =P

by ant900 on 2007-06-10 11:01 MST

I remember a chaos mini a while ago, my finals match took a few HOURS! was pretty awesome tho

I might try mindmaster eventually

by Wiley on 2007-06-10 11:46 MST

Good article, and I'm quite serious that t2 peasant rainbow stairwell is my favorite format

By the way, why am I not yet unbanned from the server?

by TheRedWizard on 2007-06-10 12:03 MST

Best article ML has ever seen.

-Bouncy

by ShadowS on 2007-06-10 16:09 MST

yeah t2 peasent rainbow stairwell was pretty awesome. I wonder what is in the new sets for it.

by Eldariel on 2007-06-10 17:36 MST

Well, due to this article pointing out that all we play is T2 Tribal, I started to have Legacy Tribal-tourneys, so in a way, it affected that :P

by Wiley on 2007-06-10 18:17 MST

Are goblins/slivers banned in legacy tribal?