For Gold & Glory: 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!