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by Lickquid
Top 10 Stronghold cards for Limited
I've been all over the Web looking at Magic pages. You see Mana Vault's top
10 list for Stronghold, LOD's top 10 Stronghold cards, and so on, and so
forth. Well, I think it's fine time someone looked beyond Constructed play.
This is the "Top 10 Stonghold cards for Limited Play". Note, this does NOT
say what the set's best cards are, merely which ones you should draft or play
in Sealed Deck.
- 10. Spike Soldier. This is a combo card, which is why it's this low. But
it's here because it's great on it's own, too. The combos that come to mind
are Spitting Hydra "Hmmm... I'll kill your Skyshroud Elves, your Youthful
Knight, and while I'm at it, let's get that Foul Imp too." and Mindwarper "You
can discard, oh, let's say 5 cards from your hand. And meanwhile, your
Ensnaring Bridge assures that I won't be attacked soon.".
-
- 9. Dauthi Trapper. Either make a guy unblockable, or make one very blockable.
You choose. It's like an Updraft/Vertigo in creature form. Very useful where
the shadows live.
-
- 8. Volrath's Laboratory. Expensive, yes. Useful, yes. This thing lets you
get creatures of a color you aren't playing, which can be useful against some
of the color hosers out there, and of a type that doesn't even need to exist!
That's fun. Once, I beat someone in a game with Smurf Tokens.
-
- 7. Skeleton Scavengers. These guys have the BEST ability in Limited:
Regeneration. And they get bigger every time their ability is used. The only
problems with it is that it's expensive. It costs 3 mana, which is never a
good thing for a 1/1. It also gets more expensive, the bigger it gets. I
actually saw a guy Elven Rite one of these just so his opponent couldn't
regenerate it anymore.
-
- 6. Volrath's Stronghold. This one's more of a no-brainer. You play black.
You pay 2 mana and tap the funny new land. You get a creature back. This
thing is even better since it has what I've learned to call the Outpost factor
after the card that made the ability famous: It is a land. Lands cannot be
Counterspelled. Lands may be killed by only a few cards that most people
don't use, especially in Limited where special lands are in short supply.
-
- 5. Temper. This card is basically, "When your opponent casts direct damage on
your stuff, that creature gets +X/+X, where X is the amount of damage dealt to
the creature." Useful, useful, useful. Use this on the small dudes, make
them big. Use this on the big dudes, make them a living nightmare for your
opponent.
-
- 4. Lab Rats. A buyback creature. This card is insanely fun in Sealed, where
5 1/1 guys can make all the difference. Expensive, true. But it's worth
every mana. And those rats can add up quickly, too. Just ask my one friend
who saw 15 of them at his throat before he could see otherwise.
-
- 3. Smite. Good creature control, especially if you use Lab Rats. The only
problem is finding a blocker, but with all these neat Stronghold creatures
around, it shouldn't be a problem.
-
- 2. Shaman en-Kor. The Traffic Director can make all your creatures live
nearly forever if you have a regenerator out.
-
- 1. Pursuit of Knowledge. The Sylvan won't help this thing usually, but it's
still the best. Think about it. OK, 4 mana and 3 card draws for 7 cards? In
White? Pursue this knowledge at all costs in drafts. Besides, those other 3
draws won't matter, probably.
-
- Honorable Mention: Shard Phoenix. Great in draft, slightly less than
mediocre in Sealed. In draft, you can get the Mountains out to buy him back,
and his Earthquake rips shadow to shreds. In Sealed, however, he's a 2/2
flyer with a 2 pt Earthquake for 5 mana, which is just too expensive.
-
- Worst: Sword of the Chosen. Ugh. What were they thinking? This card is the
WORST Limited card IN THE GAME. And it's close to the overall worst. "Target
Legend". The good Legends. Hmm... That would be Autumn Willow and Selenia in
Limited. That's 2. And pulling 2 specific rares is not in good odds. I hope
that WotC realizes their mistake and I don't get a Shield of the Chosen at the
Exodus Prerelease in June.
Lickquid
i***u@o***a.com
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