The Dark Art of being a combo planeswalker

[matelml]

So, I have cast a fair amount of Tendrils' and Ad Nauseams and lately a question has been bugging me: what the hell am I supposed to be doing when I cast one of these, except from winning?

I can see myself thinking very deeply, learning something from my teachers while getting magic mana from my deep dark waters, then performing some pagan rituals creating so much power that... I can go crazy and mutilate myself, followed by something weird killing someone?

Does anyone know what Tendrils or Ad Nauseam is flavor-wise? Does it have anything to do with the story-line? Does the storm mechanic have anything to do with the Scourge story?

Just so I can enjoy the next times I cast them even more, it becomes kind of tiring after so many times, even-though it wins.

[mujadaddy]

It's like playing Guitar Hero...with evil.

[quicksilver]

Sounds like a good time to give up combo and play real magic.

[Nihil Credo]

http://uploads.ungrounded.net/198000/198225_4z.swf

Go to "Scene Selection" and choose "He's a Smooth Operator".

[herbig]

Sounds like a good time to give up combo and play real magic.

Or find a girlfriend...

[Aggro_zombies]

http://uploads.ungrounded.net/198000/198225_4z.swf

Go to "Scene Selection" and choose "He's a Smooth Operator".

I have no idea how this answers his question, but boy did I laugh.

Thanks, Nihil. This made my day.

[emidln]

You're drawing power from your very essence (your life points) and using it to destroy all in your path. Tendrils is actually pretty flavorful in that you are reaching out to steal your opponent's essence to further your own power.

[nodahero]

and as for the flavor aspect of the storm mechanic it is actually very relevant to the story line although this fact dosn't become known until the Timespiral block.

To make a long story short what is happening is... the time space continum is collapsing in on itself due to all of the time experiments performed at the Tolairan Academy by Urza, Barren, Karn, and Co. in an attempt to prevent the Phyrexian Invasion.

As for the Ad Nausem aspect due to the meaning of Ad Nausem I would wager you are essentiall reading alot of damned information either from some book you conjured or from some dark part in your mind and you can't stop (until we kill the other guy).

[porcupinetreeman]

Sounds like a good time to give up combo and play real magic.

QFT

[Ectoplasm]

Ad Nauseum means repeating something until it's tired and worn out (or literally until it makes you sick) so I guess that kind of explains itself.

[HdH_Cthulhu]

And you have always some Tutors. They teach you how to make the great Dark Ritual.!

[leander?]

Its rather funny though that you need those tutors every game again to do exactly the same trick
It seems that Combo Planeswalkers have pretty bad memory..

[matelml]

Or find a girlfriend...

Check

You're drawing power from your very essence (your life points) and using it to destroy all in your path. Tendrils is actually pretty flavorful in that you are reaching out to steal your opponent's essence to further your own power.

I didn't think of it that way yet, thanks! I'm just sucking power from other planeswalker, to become even greater.

and as for the flavor aspect of the storm mechanic it is actually very relevant to the story line although this fact dosn't become known until the Timespiral block.

To make a long story short what is happening is... the time space continum is collapsing in on itself due to all of the time experiments performed at the Tolairan Academy by Urza, Barren, Karn, and Co. in an attempt to prevent the Phyrexian Invasion.

How does this translate to the storm mechanic?

Sounds like a good time to give up combo and play real magic.

The problem with real magic is that you can't rely on winning, you need things as "luck".

Its rather funny though that you need those tutors every game again to do exactly the same trick
It seems that Combo Planeswalkers have pretty bad memory..

Well I guess your memory gets worn out from mutilating yourself to near (un)dead.

[Ozymandias]

The "I am a Planeswalker and" side of Magic has all sorts of flavor discontinuties. In general, the more linear a deck, the less discontinuties it will have. For instance, for Elves, Goblins, Merfolk or Affinity, you are an elf, goblin, merMAN! or robot planeswalker. For Dredge, you basically drive youself crazy every game and use your lost brains to fuel and army of zombies, who of course love brains. For Burn, you like fire.

Thresh or combo on the other hand has very little thematic unity. Of course, I doubt that that's what most folks go in to combo for.

I guess storm copies represent temporal duplicates created by fragmeting timelines.

[mujadaddy]

The "I am a Planeswalker and" side of Magic has all sorts of flavor discontinuties.

It really is a very tenuous glue holding an incoherent multiverse together.

[Skeggi]

Storm on Tendrils of Agony simply means, that, the more spells you have played, the more tendrils will sprout from you onto your opponent. Why this happens? Special magic, I guess; you can't really explain this thing because it's magic. That's the point.

[Dark_Cynic87]

Here's how I think of my storm list in general:

I start thinking (brainstorming, pondering), and divining answers with my top. I seek council with my friend, the mystical tutor, or once in a while my Infernal Tutor, seeming to completely ignore what my challenger is doing. When I see what I need to do to kill my opponent, be it through my thinking, divining, or my time spent with the tutors, I begin chanting or duressing my adversary, confusing them and blocking them out of my mind. Then, if you can mentally see it as I see it, I start performing, with near-primal dancing around a bonfire glowing green with magic to a deep drum, rituals from which I derive my energy to perform these essential spells. With my rituals I pull from thin air and with terrific force the spells I know I need by sacrificing myself. Then with nigh-unstoppable power, Tendrils shoot from my chest into my opponent's head and chest, draining their essence to end them while revitalizing myself, and remain prepared for the next foolish wizard to challenge the darkness that is a storm shaman.

Or something like that...

Pce,

--DC

[Bryant Cook]

^ Does anyone else find this wierd?

[Jak]

Lmao

[Nihil Credo]

Here's how I think of my storm list in general:

I start thinking (brainstorming, pondering), and divining answers with my top. I seek council with my friend, the mystical tutor, or once in a while my Infernal Tutor, seeming to completely ignore what my challenger is doing. When I see what I need to do to kill my opponent, be it through my thinking, divining, or my time spent with the tutors, I begin chanting or duressing my adversary, confusing them and blocking them out of my mind. Then, if you can mentally see it as I see it, I start performing, with near-primal dancing around a bonfire glowing green with magic to a deep drum, rituals from which I derive my energy to perform these essential spells. With my rituals I pull from thin air and with terrific force the spells I know I need by sacrificing myself. Then with nigh-unstoppable power, Tendrils shoot from my chest into my opponent's head and chest, draining their essence to end them while revitalizing myself, and remain prepared for the next foolish wizard to challenge the darkness that is a storm shaman.

Or something like that...

Pce,

--DC