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EnigmA Amiga Run 1997 July
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EnigmA AMIGA RUN 20 (1997)(G.R. Edizioni)(IT)[!][issue 1997-07 & 08][EAR-CD IV].iso
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Alliance.Guide
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Amigaguide Document
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1980-05-09
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11KB
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195 lines
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,;;; ;;;; ;;;;;. T h e G a t h e r i n g (TM)
,;''' ;;'' ```````` PLAYER GUIDE VOL 1
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Top 10 most powerful Alliances cards for Magic: The Gathering
@{ " Introduction " Link "intro"@}
@{ " Top 10 Cards " Link "top10"@}
@{ " Alliance Colours " Link "colors"@}
@{ " Back to Main Menu " Link Main @}
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@endnode
@node Intro
Inquest Feature: A League of their own
Top 10 most powerful Alliances cards for Magic: The Gathering
The best expansion set...ever? That's what some players argue. What all
players do agree on is that Alliances has some of the most powerful cards
ever produced for Magic: The Gathering. From the monstrous creatures with
lightning-fast casting costs to the crushing spells with NO casting cost,
InQuest played them all and separated the men from the boys to present
the 10 most powerful Alliances cards.
Copyright 1996 Gareb Shamus Enterprises, Inc.
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@node top10
Balduvian Horde
Well, every expansion has at least one card that has people saying,
"What the heck were they thinking?" Judging from the Balduvian Horde,
Wizards of the Coast wasn't thinking about much. At four mana for a 5/5
creature, who cares if you have to discard a card when you cast it? The
Horde might be the biggest playable creature to come out since Arabian
Nights. With a Tinder Wall, you can get it out on the second turn, it
doesn't do a point of damage to you every turn and it
doesn't cost seventy bucks. As good as a Juzam? Try "better."
Lim-Dul's Vault
Yikes! And you thought Demonic Tutor was useful. With Lim-D
l's Vault,
you can find just about any card in your library for only a few life.
But wait, there's more! Why just settle for one good card on the top of
your library when you can have as many as five? Let's face it, most of
the time you play Demonic Tutor, you don't REALLY need that card right
away. Lim-D
l's Vault lets you get a bunch of useful cards at the top of
your library, and it's an Instant! If we have to explain why this card
rocks, go back to playing your all-Homarid deck.
Force of Will
The guy across the table says, "Okay, I won the coin toss so I go first.
I play a Lotus, a Mox Emerald, a Mox Ruby and a Land, and I tap it all to
play a Shivan." Has this every happened to you? If so, then your first
inclination was probabay to beat the guy senseless and rip up his cards.
Using your better judgment, you kept quiet and prayed for a Swords to
Plowshares so you could give him five life. Now, with Force of Will, the
solution is much simpler. Just counter the damn thing! And if you're
tapped out? No prob! Just chuck a Dandan to let you counter any spell for
free!
Helm of Obedience
A lot of people play creatureless decks in tournaments...a lot of people
are gonna have to come up with a new deck. Wizards of the Coast has been
trying to discourage creatureless decks with cards like Autumn Willow,
and now Helm of Obediene puts the nail in the coffin. "Not playing with
any creature? Okay, I Millstone you for eight...every turn!" And if your
opponent is playing with creatures? "Hey, is that a Polar Kraken in your
deck? Put that puppy into play on my side!" Who knows...people may start
playing with Demonic Hordes in an all-blue deck just so your opponent
gets control of it.
Diminishing Returns
Noticing a theme yet? We've already got a Juzam and a Tutor, so why not
throw in a Timetwister? Diminishing Returns is the mass-card-drawing tool
everyone's been waiting for, and it's every bit as good as its out-of-print
cousin. Sure it costs one more mana, and you have to chuck 10 cards from
the game, but that doesn't change what the card does. Only have one card
in your hand? Grab seven new ones. Yup, that sucks.
Yavimaya Ants
What do you get when you cross a Ball Lightning with a Hungry Mist?
A misty ball of hungry lightning? Not quite. The combination looks more
like the butt-kicking Yavimaya Ants. With all of green's fast mana, the
Ants are just as easy to play as a Ball Lightning, do almost as much
damage AND they stick around for a while. Even if you can only pay the
cumulative upkeep once, 10 damage in two turns ain't too shabby.
Ritual of the Machine
What's up with taking control of your opponent's creatures without having
to worry about getting thwarted by a Disenchant? There's Helm of Obedience
False Demise and, of course, Ritual of the Machine. "Ooh...that's a lovely
looking Serra Angel you've got there! Think I'll put my Thrull through
this little machine here..." It's like a Terror, only better. Hey, this
card's almost as cool as Changeling!
("Magic: The Creations," InQuest #7.)
Ya think those guys over at Wizards of the Coast are reading InQuest?
Lake of the Dead
How would you like it if each of your swamps could produce five mana?
Don't think they'd ever make a card like that? Guess again. Lake of the
Dead takes a couple of turns to get into play, but once it's there, all
your mana troubles will be history. Third turn Sengir Vampire without a
Dark Ritual? No problem. Ihsan's Shade? No problem. Lord of the Pit?
Cosmic Horror?? Baron Sengir??! We're talking serious mana production
here. Now you can get all the stupidest, most expensive
creatures out with no trouble.
Elvish Spirit Guide
Wow! A 2/2 creature for three mana! This thing rocks!!! Oh, wait a sec...
while that may be ALL the Gray Ogre has going for it, the Elvish Spirit
Guide has this one other nifty ability that's worth mentioning. Want to
get a big creature out early in the game? Use the Spirit for an explosive
start. Need some green mana in a pinch when you're tapped out? Once again,
Elvish Spirit Guide to the rescue. Just got Power Sunk for one? Cast the
Spirit Guide and beat the crap out of him.
Scars of the Veteran
Biggest problem with Reverse Damage? You have to save three mana to use
it and it can't even protect your creatures. Not only can you cast Scars
of the Veteran with zero mana and protect your creatures from an untimely
Fireball, you can also make them HUGE in the process. You Fireball my
Serra for four? I make it a 4/8! With its ability to protect up to seven
points of damage for almost no cost, Scars of the Veteran is a must for
any white deck.
Honorable Mention
Stromgald Spy
Speaking of cool, the Stromgald Spy may not be the most powerful card in
Alliances, but his ability is just too funky to not mention. Sure, you
could take the easy route and use a Glasses of Urza and look at your
opponent's hand, but it's so much cooler to send the spy in for a little
bit of espionage. Now all we need is a white Summon Spy card so we can
get the Spy vs. Spy deck going...
Worst Card
Mishra's Groundbreaker
Let's get this straight...with Mishra's Groundbreaker you get to pay
four mana and use up a card to make one of your lands Lightning Bolt bait
This is a good thing? Wouldn't you rather draw a Bog Wraith or a Phantom
Monster? Heck, we'd even settle for a Hill Giant or, gasp, Mercenaries.
Oh yeah, we suppose you could use it to kill your opponent's lands, but,
it just be easier to use a Stone Rain or something? If you didn't have to
sacrifice the Groundbreaker to use its special ability it MIGHT be a
decent card...
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@node colors
Ranking the Colors
1. Red
Big creatures, mass destruction, cards that do damage for zero mana...
red's just about got it all in this expansion. Red still can't deal with
enchantments, but MAN can it handle artifacts and lands. Forget Goblins,
Kobolds and Dwarves...the apes are the big boys in red now. The best
thing about the red cards in Alliances is that there are very few that
are outright worthless. In fact, there are quite a few cards that will
make an impact on the tournament scene.
2. Blue
Between Diminishing Returns, Library of Lat-Nam and Force of Will,
blue has the most powerful cards of the five colors (though fewer of them)
Complemented by a nice mix of countering ability, library manipulation
and creature control, blue's got a nice set of cards. Alliances didn't
really do anything to make all-blue decks viable, but it certainly made
blue a color to be reckoned with.
3. Green
Once again, green gained a bunch of really good creatures. Deadly Insect
and Elvish Ranger may not be very exciting, but they pack a lot of punch.
And although Kaysa's a legend, green finally got a card to give all of its
creatures a boost. However, green got shafted on just about everything
else. Tornado is practically unusable, and the various new enchantments
just aren't exciting enough to put green any higher than third on the list
4. Black
Black's got some really funky new abilities with cards like Ritual of the
Machine and Stromgald Spy. Lim-D
l's High Guard is another useful weenie
(2/1 first strike for three mana) and Dystopia is a horrifically powerful
hoser-a must for the sideboard of any straight black deck. Still, overall
Alliances just doesn't add that much to this color. There are a few really
good cards, but there are just too many that aren't terribly exciting.
5. White
White's got a lot of interesting cards, but nothing that'll really turn
any heads. Scars of the Veteran is funky because of its zero-cost, but
every color's got that. As always, white's got some interesting, over-
priced creatures, but nothing that's going to shake up the play
environment. Of course, white players shouldn't complain. With white
dominating the tournament scene, it's about time Wizards of the Coast
held back a little.
The Other Stuff:
The artifact mix in Alliances is pretty good. There are some worthwhile
artifact creatures, and a lot of twisted new abilities that can be added
to any deck. For the most part, the gold cards are usable, with none
costing more than four man to cast, and no more than one of each color
mana. As for lands, each color got a specific land. Some are great, some
are okay, but none of them suck. It's always nice to see new lands, so no
complaints here.
InQuest editors Jeff Hannes, Pat McCallum & Michael Searle patiently
await the tournament-winning Mishra's Groundbreaker deck.
Copyright 1996 Gareb Shamus Enterprises, Inc.
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