Variant - "Pure" Magic

[Gpallis]

Not entirely certain if this idea has been posited before, but I've been playing with it all day, and it doesn't seems to have any too-horrendous flaws. I mean, other than the obvious.

Pure magic is a variant which changes just three small facets of the game. No minimum deck size, no restricted or banned canned, and no four-of-a-card rule. Yes. Yes.

Now, you may think this is a little unfair on the player who goes second, and you'd be right. That's why pure magic is played over four games, and in all a 2-2, the game's a draw.

You may also think that being able to play an eight card-deck consisting of lotus,lotus,lotus,lotus,channel,kaervok's,demonic tutor, demonic tutor is pretty broken, and you'd also be right - that's a first turn twentytorch every game. But the thing is, pure magic's all about the metagame, and there exists Misdirection.

Mmmf. It might be that this is just flat-out flawed as a format. But it ought to make for an interesting discussion. Any decklists?

 

[Razormouse]

6 forests I would put my deck out, and draw 6 and concede cause I decked myself. Then I would swear and throw a fit on how Magic is so random and rigged that only way to win is cause my opponent has more money then me and can build a real deck. Then I would throw my opponents deck across the room and demand a rematch. Then when I lose again, I will just accuse him of stacking his deck and looking at my hand. Basically just act like a scrub.

 

[train]

I'd run the discard nicol bolas timewalk shallowgrave just to beat the snot out of people...

 

[bryson430]

7-card deck:

6 Black Lotus
1 The Cheese Stands Alone



(We play if you go first, you don't draw on your first go...and I'm aware that if you go second, you've lost...but isn't that the case in this game (probably) anyway?)

Can anyone think of a 5-card way of getting a "you win" on the table? (The other two are for force of will and a random blue card...time walk, perhaps..)

 

[Gpallis]

Hmmm. That's not so hot - It can't go better than 2-2, and if they have a force of will, it won't even go that. Although 6 lotii, cheese, demonic tutor would win both rounds if they were playing a null deck. I actually suspect that the optimum deck size will gravitate to around 20 - A deck simply consisting of 10 force of wills and 10 misdirections would go 4-0 by deckings against every deck suggested so far.

The obvious five-card "you win" would be lotus/lotus/overmaster/channel/kaervok's torch. But that still doesn't beat the 10-10 deck, even with the force-n-chucker.

 

[WickedBoy6]

Come on, 5 card??? I can go one better

Mox Ruby, Channel, Fireball, Black Lotus

 

[Gpallis]

*blink*. If you want to be like that, here's a two-carder that defeats everything posted so far - mox sapphire, ancestral recall on opponent. The point of the overmaster was that it meant two cards in the combo would have to be countered (overmaster and the torch), at the price of one extra card being added to the combo - better value than having to add in a force of will and a chucker to counter the inevitable counter.

For the last time, it's a metagame, yo. So far a deck of 10 force of will and 10 misdirections goes 4-0 against everything suggested so far, which considering such a deck would lose to a sealed-deck pack, is maybe not such a good sign. We must be able to do better than that.

 

[Razormouse]

6 forest still owns all. Noone can win. Me winner 6 forests the best. It owns. It the best noone think of better then 6 forests its pure genius.