No Vanilla for me, thank you.

[Spiderman]

Well, my favorite deck is my Manabarbs deck but I haven't touched it in a while; it's built for single-player and I've been playing MP for a couple of years now (plus, Manabarbs isn't exactly MP friendly ), and because I play so infrequently (barely once a month), I try to use other cards and different decks in the limited time I have. So I haven't really thought about what cards I could use in a Manabarbs deck that haven't been created yet.

For that matter, in any deck I've played... I haven't played in about two months (although hopefully I can this weekend)

 

[Oversoul]

I think I still have my Barbs, although I haven't used them in years. The last deck I had them in was this odd deck that used Pestilence, Urza's Armor, Bubbling Muck, Ogre Enforcer, etc.

I like the idea of using Manabarbs with Urza's Armor, so maybe a card could be made that complimented that...

There were some cards (mostly in Prophecy and many were red) that took advantage of the opponent having untapped lands or your not having untapped lands (something that could be easily abused with Manabarbs and some sort of card that acted as a mana sink). Those cards were pretty bad though. It would be nice to see that mechanic taken to a more potent level...

 

[Spiderman]

Hm, interesting ideas. I had always gone for the Winter Orb/hit them with "weenies" early to bring down their life total so it'd become a tough decision of whether to cast that spell later on and lose even more life. If I ever get serious about updating it, I'll try to remember your take on it.

 

[Oversoul]

Winter Orb. Hmm...

I haven't built a new deck for quite some time now (excluding the bad highlander deck I just built).

Perhaps I should get two more Winter Orbs and try them out with Manabarbs. What else do you like with Barbs?

 

[Spiderman]

Well, my idea was soft-lock them with mana denial and hit them with "weenies" so that their life total became low enough that casting ANY spell would be a problem (around 10 was pretty good). And non-land mana for me so I wouldn't have that problem

So I had a green base of BoPs and at the time, Quirion Elves who could give me red and white mana, Fellwar Stone (instead of Diamonds because I wanted to use it right away and really just cared it was mana, not a specific type)(and this would have been a Sol Ring if I didn't try to keep it Type 2 at the time), red damage like Bolts/Incinerates (usually 1-2 cc), weenies that had double duty like Soul Warden, Mogg Fanatic, the green dogs that cycle?, another Mogg from 1R that could only attack if another attacked, stuff like like, Armageddon for the land-sweeper, and tried to throw in some efficient mid-range guys for some staying power late in the game (I think I used Delror? that black thrull and Dirtcowl Wurm). Also threw in two Mana Leaks as a "surprise". If I kept it Vintage, I would have had Land Tax, the aforementioned Sol Ring, Ivory Tower, I think Savannah Lions, and other old goodies. I think later I got some G/W enchantment that protects other enchantments and does a tutor for them, but never really played with them to see if it worked.

 

[Kode]

You shouldn't split this off. It's a source of ideas.

How about these cards:

[barbs at once][2R][Common]
Sorcery
For each tapped land target player controls, this deals that amount of damage to that player or a creature he or she controls.

[super mana barbs][1RR][Uncommon]
Enchantment
Whenever a land is tapped for mana, you may sacrifice a land to deal 1 damage to target creature or player.

[forced barbs][Uncommon]
Instant
Tap all lands target player controls. For each land tapped this way, add one mana of any color that the land tapped this way could produce to that player's mana pool.

[hate counter][2UR][Rare]
Instant
Counter target spell. This deals an amount of damage to that spell's caster equal to that spell's total mana cost.

[mana production card][2][Rare]
Artifact
Skip your next untap step, tap: add 3 to your mana pool. Play this ability only if all lands you control are tapped.

 

[Spiderman]

They look interesting. Forced Barbs looks very much like Mana Short except you don't get the mana in the end. I might price it higher for that kind of effect.

but that's the only one that stands out as one with a "grossly" weird cc. Everything else looks fine at first glance.

 

[Kode]

Doesn't Mana Barbs say something like "whenever a player taps a land for mana..."? Or is it just whenever a land is tapped?

 

[Spiderman]

It reads taps for mana. But with Forced Barbs, the way the wording is now, it can be argued that the effect is not causing the player to tap for mana (I think there's some other cards that read the same way).

And it's still similar to Mana Short so it should probably cost a bit more.

 

[Kode]

Do you play Mana Short in your Barbs deck? It seems like you almost play all colors in it. I'll take it is a casual deck?

For the Forced Barbs, I guess it has no much purpose other than being an undercosted Mana Short. I was hoping to "combo" it with Mana Barbs though.

[Mana Barbs compliment][3R]
Enchantment
Sacrifice 2 lands: ~ deals 3 damage to target creature or player.

If you use Winter Orb with Mana Barbs, this card would compliment it a lot and can bring about a much easier kill, whether killing creatures or dealing the finishing blow. Did you ever consider Fire Blast in your deck? or Acidic Soil? or Psychic Venom? or Mana Sink? and since, if I fathom correctly, they keep a lot of cards in their hand due to the Mana Barbs/Winter Orb combo, how would Sudden Impact or Storm Seeker interact with the deck? Force Sphere? What about those Red creatures from MM taht gain +1/+1

Can I see a decklist please, or at least what you can remember of it? I'm interested to see what you have in there. You can post it in the deck section.

For some reason Stasis/Sudden Impact/Complimentary cards suddenly hits my mind.

 

[Spiderman]

No Mana Short because it isn't really worth it with the Winter Orbs; my stuff generally doesn't cost a lot either so if I use when almost all of their lands are untapped, I'm not really going to have a place to put the extra mana.

It's actually not really a casual deck; I took it to an Ice Age tournament back in '95 and placed 4th (because I got mana-screwed or flooded during the final 4 match and that was because I played a side-game with it and don't think I shuffled enough afterwards). It was supposed to be one of those "rogue" decks since no one expected Manabarbs

I might have had Fireblast at one point. It probably came out once Tempest was released. Don't think I had Acidic Soil.

My only blue cards were the Mana Leaks and they were for "surprise" value; no one really expected a 4 color deck back then. I didn't concentrate on fully developing the blue through Psychic Venoms and stuff.

I actually did have Storm Seeker/Sudden Impact as some additional damage at some point. Not sure when or if they came out.

I stopped getting cards and playing after the actual Urza's Saga expansion, so didn't get a lot of MM cards.

I think I posted it once in Decks, I'll see if I can dig it up. If not, I'll have to get the deck from home and post it in its current incarnation (although I think I cannabalized some cards for other decks).

Edit: Here it is, but without the Sterling Groves I mentioned earlier.

 

[Oversoul]

This is way off-topic, but it's pretty cool. I was goldfishing with my bad highlander deck and I got Power Surge, Mana Barbs, Citadel of Pain, and Furnace of Rath out. The deck doesn't really use that many enchantments, but I happened to draw all of those...

 

[Kode]

Spiritual Guardian [4W][Common]
Creature - Guard
Whenever ~ deals combat damage, you may prevent that damage. If you do, gain an amount of life equal to the amount of damage prevented this way.
(3/5)

Solitary * [3W][Rare]
Instant
Counter target spell that target's a player other than its caster or permanents other than the ones its caster controls. Gain an amount of life equal to that spells total casting cost.

Release [1W][Common]
Instant
Remove a permanent you control from the game and remove target artifact or enchantment from the game. Gain an amount of life equal to the total casting cost of all permanents removed this way.

Yes, I know it is a radical idea, but it makes sense for White to be able to counter something. It already has countered artifacts/enchantments in Mirage, I believe. Why not give it something more worthy?

 

[Kode]

Deliberation [1U][Common]
Instant
Your opponent names a card, and then you name a different card. Reveal the top 5 cards of your library to your opponent. Put all copies of the card your opponent named into your graveyard. Put all copies of the card you named into your hand. Put all other cards on top of your library in any order.

Fast Forward [1U][Common]
Instant
Play Fast Forward only if you haven't played any spells this turn. If you play Fast Forward, you can't play spells during the turn in which you played it.
Draw 2 cards.

Ascension [2U][Common]
Sorcery
Return a permanent you control back to owner’s hand. Return up to two target permanents back to owner’s hand.

 

[Kode]

Hellbound [3B][Uncommon]
Instant
Target player sacrifices a creature. The first creature that comes into play after Hellbound has been played is sacrificed.

Psychosis [2B][Common]
Sorcery
Target player discards a card at random. That player loses life equal to that card's total mana cost.

Defy Spell [1U][Common]
Instant
Remove any number of card on top of your library from the game. Counter target spell unless its caster pays 1 for each card removed this way.

 

[Kode]

Desist [1U][Common]
Instant
If you have played a spell this turn, you can't play Desist. If you play Desist, you can't play spells for the remainder of the turn in which it was played.
Counter target spell.

Idleness [2U][Common]
Sorcery
Tap up to 2 target permanents. Permanents tapped this way don't untap during their controller's next untap step.

Task Guardian [2UU][Uncommon]
Creature - Guard
As Task Guardian comes into play, choose target player. That player can't play spells during his or her next turn.
(2/4)

Time Loss [3U][Uncommon]
Enchantment
Creatures attacking you don't untap during their controller's following untap step.

 

[Kode]

I do need help on the rarity on most of these. Keep in mind, though, that I'm trying to have good cards, despite the rarity.

 

[Kode]

Fade Out [1U][Common]
Instant
Counter target spell. That spell's caster chooses target permanent you control. Return that permanent back to owner's hand.

Under Control [1U][Common]
Instant
As long as target spell is not the first spell played by its caster this turn, counter it.

Glitch [1U][Common]
Counter target spell. Untap all lands used to pay for that spell’s total casting cost.

 

[Kode]

Paranoia [1U][Uncommon]
Sorcery
Whenever a spell is successfully cast, if Paranoia is in your hand, discard it unless you pay 1.
Target player can’t play spells on his or her next turn.

Schizophrenia [2U][Common]
Instant
Whenever a spell is successfully cast, if Schizophrenia is in your hand, discard it unless you shuffle a card in your hand into your library.
Shuffle any number of cards in your hand into your library. For each card shuffled this way, draw 2 cards.

Distrust [1U][Common]
Instant
Whenever a spell is successfully cast, if Distrust is in your hand, discard it unless you pay 1.
Counter target spell.

Nihilism [XUU][Uncommon]
Instant
Whenever a spell is played, if Nihilism is in your hand, discard it unless you pay 2.
Return X target permanents back to owner’s hands.

Anxiousness [1B][Uncommon]
Sorcery
Whenever a spell is successfully cast, if Anxiousness is in your hand, discard it unless you pay 1 life.
Draw 2 cards, then for each card in your hand, discard that card or pay 1 life.

Nothingness [XBB][Uncommon]
Sorcery
Whenever a spell is successfully cast, if Nothingness is in your hand, discard it unless you sacrifice a permanent.
Each player sacrifices X permanents.

 

[Kode]

Revelation [1W][Common]
Sorcery
Look at the top 4 cards of your library. You may put one of them into your hand and the rest back on top of your library in the same order. If you do, your opponent gains 3 life.

Keeper of the Last Cathedral [WU][Rare]
Legendary Creature – Guard Monk
Remove another permanent you control from the game: counter target spell unless its caster pays 1. When Keeper of the Last Cathedral leaves play, return all permanents removed by it back into play under owner's control.
(1/2)