u/Percemilo34

For those of you scratching their heads how can a magic-user be used without magic, maybe you are not the target audience. And that's perfectly fine!

The magic-user is intended for resourceful players who like to strategize and fiddle around their limitations. Not every character class is equally difficult to pilot. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the fighter, meant as an everyman kind of adventurer who can pick up anything and work with it, but he has no other special capabilities outside his equipment.

Here's some things for the magic-user to consider. For a start, his prime ability is intelligence, meaning he knows lots of languages and can read, write and solve riddles. Maybe even has extensive professional knowledge like history, architecture, legends and lore, etc. Depending on how other players roll, the magic user may be the only one literate in the party!

As for the combat stuff, he can throw a bunch of daggers as a ranged attack. Keep in mind daggers do not disappear when thrown, unlike arrows or bolts which break upon impact. He may also use splash weapons, such as burning oil or holy water. At level 1 all characters have the same shitty base to hit bonus, so it boils down to a small difference based on stats. By the time to hit bonuses become relevant, the magic-user will already have a wider range of magic at his disposal.

A magic-user may set up an ambush or some simple traps when the party hears someone approach, and he can just as well search for traps, hidden doors and hidden features as well as anyone else.

So to sum it up, a magic-user is someone you play if you want a thinking challenge, not a straightforward answer. The harsh limitations are supposed to be a part of the experience. If you are to unravel reality later on with your magic, you need to learn how it operates first, and you do so by getting to know the world through overcoming adversity with wit and ingenuity, not raw power.

Ah, enchantments. Along with sorceries, these are my favorite types of magic cards. Before modern became too focused on creatures and equipment, these two card types used to represent the most powerful magic you could wield. Sure, artifacts offered steady support. Instants offered a reactive element of surprise. And creatures, although individually less powerful back then and more dependent on other types of cards for support, were most often the obvious path to victory. Sorceries were big, splashy effects, magic as we used to envision it in movies and books.

Enchantments, on the other hand, were powerful magical fields that warped the very nature of the game. They weren't always used in every deck and every game, but they sure had dramatic and lasting effects.

I would separate enchantments into four distinct groups, based on how they play and affect the game. This is not an official categorization, it's just something I came up with over time.

The first group are powerful standalone enchantments that offer a great effect just by themselves. Stuff like [[sneak attack]], [[survival of the fittest]], [[recurring nightmare]], [[future sight]], etc. These work well on their own and offer a cornerstone strategy just by themselves, often even becoming a centerpiece of your deck.

The second group is stuff that needs other cards to function properly, more like a heavy support role. I would consider cards like [[reconnaissance]], [[glorious anthem]], [[standstill]], [[food chain]], [[trade routes]] and [[pandemonium]]. They can still be powerful cards in the right circumstances, but they do almost nothing by themselves.

The third group I would say are powerful auras. Auras that almost work on their own and/or have an effect that greatly mitigates the two for one vulnerability mechanically inherent in all auras. Stuff like [[animate dead]], [[control magic]], [[dragon's breath]], [[rancor]], [[flickering ward]], etc.

Finally, the last category includes auras that are either situational or have no real means to mitigate the blowout effect. Cards like [[curiosity]], [[empyreal armor]], [[pacifism]], [[wild growth]], etc. They can still offer very powerful effects, but the nature of their mechanics makes them more situational and risky.

Now, as for myself, I love and cram in as many enchantents as I can. Not drafting disenchants in any of my cubes is a sure way to lose miserably. And while I do try to play all types as listed above, my favorites are the first and third kinds (the strong standalone and strong auras).

How about you folks? Any other enchantment lovers out there, and what kinds of enchantments do you like to play?

Do you have any special pieces of art on cards that really insipred you when you started playing magic? Something that helped pull you into the fantasy of the game and made you wonder about the world being presented in them instead of just looking at the cards like game pieces and how they could be used for optimal strategy. Places where you'd like to treat in or at least see a bigger picture of the world you got yourself immersed in.

For me, it would be the following cards:

]]Badlands|3ED]], [[Underground sea|3ED]]

[[Sol ring|3ED]], [[mana vault|3ED]]

[[Contamination|USG]]

[[Phyrexian gargantua|APC]]

[[Serendib djinn|ARN]]

[[Adarkar wastes|7ED]]

[[Rishadan port|MMQ]]

[[City of brass|ARN]]

[[Penumbra wurm|APC]]

[[Time vault|2ED]]

[[Birds of paradise|7ED]]

[[Untamed wilds|LEG]]

[[Mana drain|LEG]]

[[Kavu titan|APC]]

[[Creeping mold|7ED]]

[[Hidden horror|WTH]]

[[Bog wraith|2ED]]

[Twiddle|2ED]]

[[Enlightened tutor|MIR]], [[Mystical tutor|MIR]], [[Worldly tutor|MIR]]

Howdy fellow old border cubers!

Whe didn't have such an explosion of different effects as we have nowadays, but that only made each new released mechanic even more interesting and unique.

For me, I would say it's flashback, morph, kicker (duh), echo and ironically flying and first strike.

Flashback and kicker are my favorites by far. Morph is something I really like as an idea, but it's certainly a slower/less powerful mechanic. Echo, on the other hand is one of those effects that bring up balance to your games in unexpected ways and offer surprising levels of protection. No cheating into play easily, no stealing without consequences, etc.

Flying can become a real pain if your opponent can't deal with it effectively. I was surprised to see whole blocks on the mana curve for specific colors to have no flying creatures or any way to deal with it. Nowadays it pales in comparison to most newer effects, but it used to be quite the powerhouse, especially in limited.

As for first strike, there's nothing really like it out there, it's a terror in combat. Even today double strike just tacks on first strike as an additional effect.

What would you say are your personal favorite mechanics?