Subject: Stronghold:First Impressions Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 18:42:22 -0400 (AST) From: Glenn MacEachern To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com As only a matter of time before Stronghold becomes T2 legal, already I am hearing opinions that Stronghold is a very weak set. I don't think this is the case, it's different than what has came out in previous expansions, but I do believe that Stronghold will reinforce some of the older deck types and bring in new ones. Black: Hand destruction all over the place, with the exit of Hymm, Hand Destruction has always been seen as a complementory deck tool. Now, with the help of a few more HD cards, and Megrim, (Overworld Dreams:) HD is very possible as a stand-alone deck type. Also in black we see more graveyard manipulation, the only land in ST, Volrath's Stronghold, is going to make 5cBlack more powerful, "Do I need Creature Removal, Artifact Removal or Enchantment Removal" Along with other black tools, black has gained alot in ST. Blue: Blue in ST is also very strong, with a few very annoying cards. Evacuation and Reins of Power will help the Big Blue deck design, while Spindrift Drake might make Blue Weenie viable. Some other cards will see utility service in B/* decks. Mask of the Mimic I think could be very strong in almost every deck. Mana Leak is a very good counterspell for 5cg decks. Green: Green is where my heart lies, and unfortunantly I must admit that after Green's resurgence of the last few expansions, I was sorely disapointed with this offering. However, I do believe that a few cards in this could spawn a few more deck types. As I scan the list, I see plenty of cards to deal with Land gathering, Hermit Druid and Mulch allow you to get more land cards into circulation, and Burgoning allows you to play them. This could be strong in reference to one of the artifacts, Horn of Greed (Green?) The whole idea of having lands throwing about, and with the rangers, Quirion and Skyshroud, this could be a powerful card drawing engine. The other card that seems powerful in the new set is Volrath's Garden, it might be the most powerful life gainer since Gerry's Wisdom, 1-for-1 mana to life is GOOD. Wall of Blossoms could see time in decks too, especially for fodder for the Stampeeding Wildabeest, that's some card drawing for ya...heh... Red: umm...Red isn't too bad I guess....Buyback Burn isn't too bad...another 1 mana burn spell too..creature wise nothing catches my eye....Ruination however could be powerful...Flame Wave too... White: The Kor are going to be nasty to try and get rid of, they are going to give burn such a hard time it won't be funny, Pursuit of Knowledge could be VERY powerful, I've heard some very degenerate combos already. Scapegoat could be cool, Sacred Ground COULD be nice..I'm not sure of a few things about it though. Smite is just TOO COOL! :) Samite Blessing seems to be an interesting CE too. Gold: (Slivers:) The new slivers are very good, 5cSlivers could become popular, however for pure Sliver power if you limit it to G/W/R the slivers become fat with a good range of abilities, the other ones could make it in somewheres, the BR one in particular could be cheesy. Artifact: MOX MOX MOX! nah..it's not THAT good...but It'll make a serious splash in 3 4 and 5 color decks, the rest of the artifacts seem rather weak at first glance however, Horn of Greed card drawing and Porticullis locks seem to have the highest potential, although give me a Bullwhip or Ensnaring Bridge in limited...wow! Overall Stronghold makes a few decktypes viable, adding more jank value to MTG, T2 in particular, and really and truly I believe that this is a good expansion for that, I don't want to see the same sligh or necro all the time, odd decks are good for the game, and this expansion makes alot of wacky decks very possible. Glenn MacEachern Glenn on IRC, Effnet or Dalnet