[Free Article] Innistrad Type 4 Set Review

[JACO]

The full Innistrad spoiler is now out, and that means it’s time for set reviews from everybody and their mother. But this is no ordinary set review, this is a set review specifically for Type 4! Woohooooo!

For the uninitiated, Type 4 is a casual game with a shared stack/deck of cards, infinite mana, and the ability for each player to cast up to only one spell a turn (one on your turn, one on player 2′s turn, one on player 3′s turn, etc.). The full rules and an introduction can be found here, courtesy of our very own Stephen Menendian.

Ultimately, each builder of a Type 4 stack will determine the flavor and play style of their stack by how it is constructed, with the delicate balance of creatures, tutors, removal, counterspells, and everything else. They will also dictate the power level by what spells are deemed acceptable or too powerful. No matter how your stack is constructed each new set ultimately brings forth a few new interesting cards. With the Innistrad spoiler now in the wild, join us as we review all of the top contenders for slots in your ever expanding Type 4 stack!

http://www.eternal-central.com/?p=2211

As usual, your comments and thoughts are welcome here or in the comments section on the article itself. Enjoy!

[Bardo]

Moved to Community.

[JustPAT4]

Type 4 is my FAVORITE format and I love you for taking the time to do this.

I'll jump right in to what I believe were some notables from INN that weren't mentioned:

First and foremost, Olivia Voldaren. Masticore plus Memnarch for dudes seems like an auto-include. Plus she grows infinite if there is an indestructible on board...otherwise she's just huge when she drinks your new vampiric team down to 1 away from lethal...each turn. If it's too strong for your stack or you think it's too strong in general, I think it should at least be noted. It's absolutely in for me.

Others: Snapcaster Mage. This guy is a counterspell, a removal spell, a wrath effect, card draw, etc. (Of course this presupposes that you play flashback as an alt cost, as I do.)

Mirror-Mad Phantasm. With the right draft pool this guy can be INSANE. Has ridiculous synergy with Twilight's Call, Living Death, Praetor's Counsel, or an active Nezumi Graverobber or Sedris, the Traitor King. And is also great with cards with the flashback and unearth mechanics. For extra-spiciness, if you draft an Eldrazi Legend you can rinse and repeat until you get the right yard without risk of decking yourself.

EDIT: I'm starting to realize that you absolutely don't play flashback as an alternate cost. Otherwise Past in Flames would be savage for you as it is for me. And Grasp of Phantasms and Sever the Bloodline would get some love as well.

I suppose there is division in the community over what constitutes alt-cost and what doesn't. I play that any spell not cast by paying the cost in the top-right corner FROM ITS OWNER'S HAND, doesn't count toward the 1 spell per turn limit. If you haven't tried it. Totally worth it.

I have my card choice quibbles over Victim of Night. Terminate is the cut-off for me on the vanilla "destroy target creature" front. Plus it Doesn't hit Phage, Thraximunder, Vampiric Dragon or Sedris--gasp!

This is incredibly awesome that you are writing these articles and exposing more people to the format. Keep it up and I hope you'll drop me a response when you get a chance!

Cheers,

Pat

[JACO]

Pat,
Thank you for your valuable feedback! When reading the spoiler I thought Olivia said "target creature or player," and I'm not down with Firebreathing so I skipped right over that. I have since updated the article and added Olivia, and appreciate the heads up.

In regards to the others (Snapcaster and Past if Flames) I definitely don't play alternate casting costs, but rather that Flashback still counts as your spell for the turn. I have edited the article to mention that variant as well as those cards, and in future Type 4 reviews I will keep that variant in mind though (similar to Chaos Stack), and look to at least mention those. As I mention in the updated article, I think Past in Flames would actually be too good if you play alternate casting costs, and I probably would remove it from my stack due to power level concerns. I don't think Sever the Bloodlines and Grasp of Phantoms are good enough to play, because they're both Sorcery speed and just deal with one creature with no additional benefit (similarly, I don't think I even play Chainer's Edict for this reason, as it's basically the same thing as these, but Sorcery speed removal is pretty weak and is nearly always the last pick in our drafts).

If you can think of any other variants I should keep in mind when reviewing cards please let me know. Also if you have any ideas for Type 4 content let me know and I'll see what I can write about. There needs to be more Type 4 articles out there!

Thanks again for taking the time to read and comment. I will be trying to do a Type 4 review for each new set that comes out now, as it doesn't seem like anybody else is. ;)

[Whippoorwill]

Great article, I'll likely be adding most/all of these to my stack. A couple questions:

-I really like the idea of the Chaos Stack. For this stack do you use any duplicates of what's already in the main stack? Also, could you post a list of your current Chaos Stack (unless its a large list).

-I noticed that Lands were omitted. Kessig Wolf Run is obviously a no, but Moorland Haunt and Nephalia Drownyard seem to have potential in my opinion. Haunt for the ability to create a blocker at instant speed and Drownyard since the 3 cards you're milling will be good cards and it can be useful on yourself if you get mass reanimation like Twilight's Call.

Thanks again for the article!

[Whippoorwill]

Double Post.

[JustPAT4]

Woo! Awesome man! I'm SO excited that I can look forward to a dedicated article about Type 4. Right now I do a little right up for each set for my playgroup just to keep people apprised of what they can look forward to and should expect the next time we play, but decent reading on the subject is few and far between (and what does exist is quite dated now).

Again, thank you.

There's no doubt that if flashback is your spell for turn, Grasp of Phantasms, Sever the Bloodline, and Chainer's Edict simply don't cut it. However, with that addition they are strong, balanced effects (often one-sided wraths).

Past in Flames is surely very strong for me, but since I proxied and tested it hasn't "won games on the spot." It's heavily reliant on having the right kind of graveyard and is often only marginal. One time I hit Brilliant Ultimatum, Fissure, Alter's Light and Opportunity with counter-backup which was ridiculous, but this was only after I milled myself with Jace, Memory Adept. Even still, the board was cleared (4 player game) before I got another turn.

I have tested and toyed with a slew of other variants and few are worthy of note because they tend to be unbalanced: Pack-Wars style; Unlimited Spells 4 card starting hands; 2 Spells per turn.

For balance purposes, I alter starting life totals, starting hand size, and max hand size depending on the number of players in a particular game. If you're interested, I can share those with you.

Also while you imply that you play with a stack of a particular size, I strive for ratios of card types. My ratios are 40% creatures (24% utility, 16% pure beaters), 10% Counter-magic, 10% Wraths, 12% Instant-Speed removal, 10% non-removal/non-counter Instants, 4% non-removal Sorceries, 14% Noncreature permanents (1% Planeswalkers, 2% Lands, 5% Enchantments, 6% noncreature Artifacts)

Here are two alternative ways that I really enjoy:

Two-Headed Giant Type 4. Best with 8 players, 4 teams of 2. Players start with 40 combined life and 5 card starting hands. It's pretty straight forward, operates under regular Two-Headed Giant Rules. I like to randomize the teams after the draft, but Rochester drafting with a teammate can be fun too so long as the drafter's teammate who is in first position drafts from 5th position, 2nd with 6th, 3rd with 7th, 4th with 8th.

Planechase Type 4. Just like classic Type 4 with the addition of Planechase cards for added absurdity. I play that the active player gets one "free" roll during each of his/her turns and up to one additional roll at the cost of his/her spell for the turn. It's also great with Two-Headed Giant. For reference, this is my custom Planechase deck:
Agyrem
Cliffside Market
Eloren Wilds
Panopticon
Sanctum of Serra
The AEther Flues
The Maelstrom
Academy at Tolaria West
Bant (I play with the rule that any permanent bearing a divinity counter is always indestructible for cards like this and That Which Was Taken)
Fields of Summer
Glimmervoid Basin
Grixis
Immersturm
Isle of Vesuva
Lethe Lake
Minamo
Otaria
Pools of Becoming
Sea of Sand
Skybreen
Sokenzan
The Eon Fog
The Fourth Sphere
The Hippodrome
Undercity Reaches

Set reviews are fantastic, but what I'd love to see more of are draft and game summaries. This is the kind of stuff that I feel might intrigue players who otherwise might never have considered Type 4.

Look forward to continue hearing from you.

Cheers,

Pat