Card of the Week: Basalt Monolith

Basalt Monolith has long been one of my favorite illustrations from Magic. I mean, look at it!

A Find in the Jungles

It was long ago when I first came across the monolith. My search for ley lines had brought me to a remote island in the tropical seas far from my homeland of Alsoor. After weeks on the boat, surrounded by uncouth sailors whose mere tolerance of my passage cost me more gold than I care to admit, it was a relief merely to stand on solid ground again. In my eagerness, I had leapt from the landing boat into the crashing surf and slogged my way onto the dry land before collapsing to the sand. Content merely to feel the cool sand beneath my face and to not feel the boat pitching underneath me, it was some time before I rose.

I've always imagined that the Basalt Monolith was somewhere on the Tropical Island—the palm trees on both look the same. Of course, this might be because Jesper Myrfors painted both.

Though the beach stretched as far as I could see to either side of me, it ended a mere dozen yards or so in front of me. As soon as they were safe from the tides, the palm trees seized the land and made it their own. Though the sun was bright, few rays dared intrude on the darkness beneath the canopy. Even from where I stood, I could see that exploring the land would be difficult—the trees crowded close to each other, and the scant space between them was choked with vines and other undergrowth.

As I stared at the forbidding thicket, the captain of the ship came up behind me, followed by several of her crew. My gold had bought me not only passage, but guidance as well. I did not like the idea of them intruding on my as I communed with the land, but I liked the idea of clawing my way through the jungle without their machetes even less. While others set a camp on the beach, I allowed them to lead me into the trees.

The ley lines of the island were easy to follow, and after a few hours of laborious progress I had already found several places to stop. At some I drank from the springs or ate the fruit I found, at others I burned candles or shed blood into the black soil. At each, my actions bound the ley line to me ever more tightly. It would take more exploration and study for me to call upon it even from elsewhere on Dominaria, much less from another plane, but the sun was sinking towards the horizon and it was nearing time to return to the camp.

But instead of turning back, several members of the crew were excitedly talking and pointing further into the trees. While I had been submerged in my rituals, they had scouted ahead and found something other than more forest. I conferred with their foreman and decided to see for myself, and they led me to it.

I could feel it as we drew nearer in how it warped the ley lines. Before we had gone even a hundred paces, the palm trees fell away like a sail cut loose from the mast. It stood in the clearing before us like a great fist thrust up from the ground, a great tower of black rock silhouetted against the yellow skies and blood-red clouds of dusk. I knew that I had to study it. Sending the crew back to the camp without me, I made a camp of my own in its shadow. I studied it by firelight throughout the night, and by the morning had learned its secrets.

Lore

Another time, another land, another monolith.

In my studies, I have found little about the origins of these Basalt Monoliths or how they function. Most of what little I found seems fanciful to me—that these structures were standing at the dawn of humanity and that they were even responsible for its eventual civilization. I have found nothing in my own study of them that even hints at such a purpose; these accounts are likely to be mere ghost stories and superstition.

Use and Application

The obvious use of the Basalt Monoliths is to store and release mana. In ordinary usage, this is an equal transaction: a mage can place a quantity of three mana in the monolith and later reclaim it, presumably at a time when the mana set aside can be used alongside whatever mana the mage can gather on his or her own to fuel greater spells. This method of use, while potentially powerful, is slow. In sorcerous combat, where time is often short, this delay often negates whatever advantage the additional mana provides.

The key that unlocks the Monolith.

In the great conflict between the brother artificiers of ancient Terisiare, the mages and artificiers of the time discovered a spell to ease the use of artifacts. With the spell they developed, they could empower their war machines with less mana than they normally required. As knowledge of their Power Artifact spell spread, other mages began using it on other artifacts and found that it worked just as well on them as on the war machines. It was probably not long before some enterprising mage cast it upon a Basalt Monolith and discovered a most powerful interaction. With the spell in effect, it became easier to store mana in the Monolith while the effort to withdraw it remained the same. In short, an empowered Monolith could produce limitless mana!

This discovery spread like wildfire among the battlemages of the multiverse, who quickly honed it into a potent weapon. By using the limitless mana to power spells that, like Fireball, scaled in power according to how much mana was used to cast them, these mages became capable of defeating any rival in the blink of an eye...as long as they managed to set up the interaction properly, oftentimes easier said than done.

Putting it All Together

While the use of the Power Artifact spell on Basalt Monoliths is an extremely powerful weapon, it is also a fragile one that can be difficult to assemble. To counter this weakness, a mage looking to rely on it takes great care to ensure its creation and survival. Most mages rely on the maximum number of Basalt Monoliths and Power Artifact spells to make themselves more likely to be able to bring both into battle, and seek to better the odds further by relying on Transmute Artifact to twist other artifacts into Monoliths. Those able to draw upon black mana tend to rely on the Demonic Tutors to do the same.

Casting Power Artifact on a Basalt Monolith is only the beginning, though. Once an opponent is aware of the threat, he or she is likely to do everything possible to disrupt it. All it takes is one Disenchant or the like to bring it to ruin. The Power Monolith-using mage must protect both the enchantment and the artifact long enough to put them to use, and thus relies on Counterspell and other countermagic to negate his or her opponent's threats. Physical damage from creatures is also a threat to the mage, and spells such as The Abyss, Moat, and Arborea are often used to prevent them from getting close enough to do harm.

When a mage finally has the Power Artifact-enchanted Basalt Monolith ready and has successfully protected it, he or she must channel its endless mana to overpower his or her foe. Fireball is the traditional choice—a raging torrent of fire potentially large enough to swallow an entire plane is certainly one way to defeat an opponent. But a Braingeyser to flood his or her mind to the breaking point is just as deadly, if more subtle. A Rocket Launcher also works, but is slower than the other options.

If only I had the cards to build this in real life...

Danatoth of Alsoor (Dan Hyland)


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

2019 Summer Savannah and the Lure of Artifice

The Lure of Artifice

It would be a lie to say that artifice was my first love as a planeswalker, but it would not be much of a lie. Soon after discovering my magical abilities, my love of green and white magic gave way to the lure of those constructs that seemed to break the rules of magic. Some were powerful beyond belief—I was in awe of those slightly more experienced than myself who possessed Moxen or even Loti. Some were versatile—that I could use the destructive power of Nevinyrral’s fabled Disk with green mana just as easily as I could with red was impressive. And some were just fascinating—just what was the story behind these Brass Men, who seemed so lifelike but needed regular infusions of mana to function?

And so, I began a quest to acquire enough artifacts to go to battle relying only on them. Color was too easy to use, I told myself—it’d be far more impressive to eschew its use entirely. Hence, I also determined that I would draw no mana from the usual lands. Initially, I determined that I would instead rely on Moxen, never mind that they too produced colored mana: they were artifacts and thus okay. There was only one small problem with this idea: Moxen were even then rare and costly to acquire at the then-princely sum of around $80 apiece: far more gold than my youthful income level could provide. (Now, of course, I only wish I could buy as many as I possible for such a comparatively paltry sum.) Furthermore, the use of more than one of each of them soon became frowned upon during civilized dueling anyway.

My plan was soon revived when I discovered the Deserts of Rabiah: here were lands whose leylines provided colorless mana! After asking around with my fellow mages, I soon learned of many such lands: those of the legendary artificers Urza and Mishra and those that resulted from their great conflict, other fabled locations of Rabiah, and Shadowy Cities from the darkest days of Terisiere. Even better, some of these lands could do other things besides provide mana! I bound myself to a set of Urza’s famous works as soon as I could, and I also tracked down a pair of Mishra’s Factories and a Strip Mine. (Unfortunately, I did not manage to find any of his Workshops then, and still have not to this day. Nor did I make the pilgrimage to the legendary Library in Alexandria, which I regret almost as much.)

An approximation of my artifact deck circa 1995. You're not trembling with laughter, you're quaking with fear...right?

Armed with my newfound colorless leylines, I collected artifacts to build with them, and soon took to the field of battle. Needless to say, my haphazard collection of whatever artifacts I could get my hands on was not very effective, even for the standards of the young mages I fought against. Yet I would not give up on the idea, even after being beaten time and again by my sister, the Dread Lady Shade. I knew no shame. No humiliation was enough to deter me. My artifacts were my pride and joy, and I would live or (far more likely) die by them!

After returning to magic after my long exile, I knew that artifice alone was not the strongest strategy, at least not in the most ancient of ways. Even so, I was determined to try it again, albeit with as strong a selection of artifacts as I could manage to assemble. This time, I focused on acquiring what I thought would fit a strategy: Icy Manipulators (an old favorite of Lady Shade’s!) and Winter Orbs, Howling Mines and Relic Barriers, and of course Juggernauts and Su-Chis and Triskelions and Tetravi. In theory, I could lock away my opponents’ access to their leylines while freely accessing my own, and then I could build my massive constructs with impunity and use them to stomp anything in my way. In theory, the synergy of Urza’s leylines should allow me to act quickly and win before my opponents could mount a decent defense.

Sixty cards and no sideboard. Smash face; plan B is for losers!

In theory. It was a theory that I was willing to test against my fellow mages at the Summer Savannah. So I assembled my selection, crafted some custom Tetravite parts to use and to share, and told myself that the satisfaction of using my greatest love again would more than make up for however poorly it performed.

I'm happy with the green tetravite artwork, okay with the blue one, and unhappy with the red one (it was a rush job). If you'd like some of your own, there's makeplayingcards.com -compatible files here.

A Gathering of Modern Mages

As it so happened, the Summer Savannah tournament fell on the same weekend as a much larger tournament being held in Parma. This was a tournament of modern magic, sanctioned and official, with actual gold as the reward rather than glory alone. It attracted thousands of mages from far-flung lands. It required vast amounts of skill and the most powerful magic created in recent times to even approach victory. It, of course, held no interest for me.

I realize that the multiverse of magic has grown far larger than it ever was when it was new to me. I do not begrudge those who practice magic in its modern incarnation rather than the ancient ways. I recognize that even were the increased intricacy not a lure to some, there are only so many ancient spellbooks and scrolls to go around. In short, I do not think that these mages of the millenium are killing the old-school magic industry. I understand the appeal of modern magic, but it is not for me.

But this gathering was alluring even if I had no desire to compete in it. By the simple fact of its sheer size, it attracted not only mages but merchants. With the opportunity to sell to the vast crowd of mages, it was certain that they would bring their best wares with them, and it was these merchants that I had business with. To that end, the Dread Lady Shade and I took my daughter to brave the crowds and search through the bazaar and fight a few impromptu battles. When all was said and done, I traded some of my cherished treasures for others that I could not resist, and came away happy with what I had gained if a little regretful of what I had given up. (For her part, Brennatoth of Parma beat back both her father and her aunt with her old-school angels and vampires and convinced her father to buy her some stuff. It was a good day.)

Not a bad haul of loot, if I do say so myself.

The Tournament

(For the official report and all decklists, go to http://northernpaladins.com/2019/09/03/northern-paladins-2019-summer-savannah-tournament-report/.)

After braving the swarms of mages who practiced the modern magics the day before, it was good to once again gather with those who, like me, appreciated the most ancient of spells. Our field of battle was larger this time and we had dedicated service to provide us with sustenance and alcohol, amenities that all served to improve our experience. Before we took to the field, we were all granted a customized spellbook to summon the Lions of the Savannahs—had I selected to wield white magic that day, I would have very much appreciated the chance to use it immediately! As it is, I look forward to using it in the future.

Colin's Mono-Blue Aggro deck.

I began the gauntlet of battle by facing off against Colin, a blue mage allied with countless cadres of Flying Men. To say that it was a rough fight would be an understatement, as he immediately leapt in, Black Lotus in hand, and cast an Energy Flux upon the battlefield—all while being unaware of my artifice-only strategy. Needless to say, I was unable to do much in that battle while his Flying Men chipped away at my defenses and eventually brought me to defeat. Our rematch was a little less one-sided, as I managed to bring forth my Black Vise quickly and crush him until he wiggled free. My Mishra’s Factories attacked and were eventually joined by a Su-Chi, but despite my efforts, his Flying Men once again carried the fight and laid me low a second and final time. (0-1)

Alisa's Mono-Black Aggro deck.

My next challenger was Alisa, a wizard from both the far-off western bay where the Beasts hold court and the even more distant land where Fishliver Oil flows freely. Though she had come to challenge those modern mages who had flooded into Parma for the weekend, myself and the rest of the Paladins were very happy that she joined us as well! I was unhappier, however, when I found that she had brought black magic-spawned Underworld Dreams and Hypnotic Specters to our battle—I had already tested my artifice against the black magic of the Dread Lady Shade and found it wanting. True to expectation, Alisa had little difficulty and wasted no time in wracking my mind with the Dreams of the Underworld and slaying what constructs I managed to assemble before her Specter and Order of the Ebon Hand sealed my fate. In our second battle, she once again immediately assaulted my mind with the Dreams, but at least I managed to assemble a Triskelion before she defeated it with her Black Knights. In the end, this time it was the Dreams that defeated me. (0-2)

Cameron's White/Black Hoover Remover—featuring the art of one of the all-time Magic greats!

Reeling from two quick defeats, I expected little when I found that my next opponent, Cameron, had brought more Specters and Black Knights to bear against me. His strategy was different from Alisa’s, however, as he also employed a Meekstone which quickly proved a problem for me. Our first fight started out well, as I was able to draw upon many of my Moxen. My Factory allowed me to press the attack as well as to protect myself from his packs of Tundra wolves, and soon I managed to construct a Juggernaut. He quickly Paralyzed it, then brought out his Meekstone to further inhibit my huge constructs. However, the Paralysis became a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to sneak my Juggernaut past his Meekstone, albeit at the cost of some of my mana, and I rode that Juggernaut to my first victory of the day. In our second battle, Cameron was quick to bring out his Meekstone again, and the Factories I was reduced to relying upon could not hold off his onslaught of Black Knights and Specters. Our final match began late into the proceedings, and while I was able to use the versatility of my Triskelions to make it past his Meekstone and though I felt that I had the advantage in the fight, we ran out of time and were forced to halt our battle. Instead, those judging the day's battles insisted that we settle our conflict by contesting our Chaos Orb-wielding deftness. While my hands may be ancient they were steady as I only missed two attempts out of our ten grueling exchanges, and Cameron fell at last! (1-2)

Dana's Red/Green/White Aggro deck.

I next faced Dana, whose red and green magic contrasted with Cameron’s in that it reduced me to defeat as quickly as I have ever experienced in a storm of lightning and fast creatures. Both of our fights were over almost as soon as they had begun, with his Sprites and Pixies mopping up my smoldering and charred remains the first time and a carefully-summoned Ghazban Ogre finising me off in the second. (1-3)

Justin's White/Red/Green Everything deck.

My final opponent of the day was Justin, who was late in meeting me for our battle due to an unexpected but necessary departure. Rather than taking an unearned victory by default, I opted to battle him when he returned. Our single battle started late enough that we did not finish it before the scheduled end, but in the time we had he fielded green creatures and another Meekstone against me. Though I managed to assemble a number of Juggernauts, the Meekstone prevented me from repeatedly using them, and my Tetravus ran aground against his Cockatrice. Despite having battered him to within inches of his life, I was unable to finish him off before the judges ended the battle. It was also apparent that I wouldn’t have been able to do so anyway before his Cockatrice and Fire Sprites ruined me, so I conceded the victory to him. (1-4)

Despite the poor showing of my artifice-only strategy, I received accolades from many of the others for choosing it. Angelo, who took a break from his streak of Workshop-driven domination for this tournament and instead served as the highest of our judges, even went so far as to call my choice “heroic”—a particularly high honor indeed! Likewise, I was granted the title of “Robocop” due to my reliance on my constructs and was granted the customized blueprints for a Triskelion to reward my dedication.

I originally took the signed Frozen Shade just so I could ransom it to Megan for her Shade collection. Only afterwards did I take the Titania's Song that I actually wanted!

And after all was said and done, was the day of overwhelming defeat worth it? I bested only two other wizards in the rankings, and only bested them on tie-breakers. Although I didn't get a chance to battle her, the Dread Lady Shade placed well above me in the standings, and would likely have gleefully crushed my artifacts yet again even with their modern "good" configuration. But rankings only tell part of the story. I still had a great time playing with my favorite spells and attempting to string them together into an effective machine. Of course it was worth it!

 Danatoth of Alsoor (Dan Hyland)


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.