Schools of Magic in MtG - Which do you associate with?

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Psarketos

Guest
Hipsters of the Coast had another fun article today, this one relating to philosophies of different types of magic in Magic. While I would usually associate my interests with Naya or Temur, the author makes a D&D type derivation of magic schools to divide the concepts of Magic that I found very interesting and would relate me more to Bant than anything else, as written.

My interests in Magic are almost entirely found within Eschatomancy and Divination, and I would be interested to hear where the interests of other forum haunts sit. The article feels a bit rushed, which leaves a few weak points in the analysis and spectrum created, so feel free to add your thoughts on those or other points as well.

https://www.hipstersofthecoast.com/2018/02/schools-out/
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Schools of Magic? I'll just leave this here...

But to actually respond to this concept, I notice that Liliana of the Dark Realms is not in their section for planeswalkers and mana acceleration, like Dark Ritual or Elvish Spirit Guide, isn't in their table of different game effects.
 
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Psarketos

Guest
Interesting history there. I did not know that transformational sideboards were already tech in 1996, nor that Blood Moon was already doing work to define the metagame.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I guess I'm Eschatomancy as well. That seems to be the closest to the decks I play.

And with Oversoul's link, I'm probably a combination of the Kim and O'Brien schools.
 
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Psarketos

Guest
My classic School would be Handelman, though I dislike the aesthetics of what I suspect are its Modern descendents, namely Tron and Grixis Shadow. Manaless Golgari Affinity might qualify as a lower power example of the school though, and I do like that.

I recently built a deck with Spell Pierce and Mana Tithe specifically to shut down Thoughtseize, Inquisition, and Torment of Hailfire, with cantrips and Telling Time setting up Terminus and Devastation Tide and keeping the lands flowing to cast Approach of the Second Sun on turn 7, sometimes casting the second from hand on turn 8 while Spell Piercing a Remand or Mana Leak directed at it. I wonder if that constitutes an instantiation of a long game Handelman approach, with Approach being the threat requiring a response or loss and the cheap counters providing the cover to that threat.
 
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