Viability of Island Sanctuary in MP

[Spiderman]

Island Sanctuary
Color=White
Type=Enchantment
Cost=1W
ABUR45(R)
Text(5th+errata): If you would draw a card during your draw step, instead you may skip that draw. If you do, until the beginning of your next turn, only creatures with flying or islandwalk may attack you. [Oracle 2000/10/24]

Is this akin to painting a target on your forehead? Or is it a "safe" defensive card?

I'm thinking Jayemdae Tome to draw cards, and red or blue to handle flyers/put up flyers of my own.

 

[Hetemti]

You'll see too many flyers and pondwalkers to make it viable. That, and to make it work, you need to add draws. It's not efficient enough to either pay 4+4(turns) for Tome, nor to give everyone else free cards with Mine.

But it did win games for me in duel. Course, it was against Green, and Green loses to pretty much anything that can stop a critter, but a win's a win.

 

[Spiderman]

I suppose I should have copied what my "metagame" is from the Deck forum...

but the only flyers I've seen are Kjeldoran Skyknights, Wild Aesthir, Scryb Sprites, and Crosis (or one of the Elder Dragons). So I'm thinking as long as I have burn or flying defenses of my own, I should able to handle the little guys (probably have to bounce or steal Crosis for my own or something).

No islandwalkers from my opponents.

So I'm thinking of putting up some defense (and of course hopefully the others will hit on each other in the meantime or something) and once I get four mana out and a J. Tome, I should be good to go. Also use other blue drawers perhaps to aid in drawing if I need to put out the Sanctuary early, before a Tome.

 

[rkoelsch]

and remember Island sanctuary doesn't remove your draw unless you want it to. You can play it early if you are not worried about enchantment destruction and only use it when you look like the target. Personally I think Howling Mine is great in Multi player. You know you could go for the alternative win condition. With howling mines and millstones, Island sanctuary and Mystic Decree and Ivory Mask makes you untouchable and just mill to you hearts content.

 

[linsivvi]

i had a good time with island sanctuary and a rebel deck. drawing wasn't really needed because i just called all of my creatures. great fun

 

[Spiderman]

I'm a bit leery of stuff that helps everyone... I don't know how it would go over with the group I'm with. I suppose I could try it...

Milling I'm pretty sure would not go over well, especially with Player A. That definitely would get him riled up...

 

[Mikeymike]

I've had the same experience with I.S. as Hetemti had. 2 of my group mates tried playing this card. It did re-direct groundies in a different direction, but written in very very tiny Ivory text on the card it says "All creatures with flying must attack you." Well, at least that's what I think it says b/c that's what always seemed to happen.

It is really annoying with Gravity Sphere too, but that's a $20 Legends rare that really isn't that great IMO when compared directly to Chaosphere.

 

[Spiderman]

Well, as I said, right now my opponents have small flyers which hopefully I can burn or something before they realize what's going on I admit, once it comes out I'll probably be a target (and an Aspected of Wolfed Scryb Sprite is no laughing matter ).

One of my hopes is they might keep them on defense from the third player, who plays with the big Penumbra creatures (and the Statodon, or whatever that armored dinosaur tank is). So there might be a stand-off there.

I guess I'll have to build it and let you guys know what went down

 

[Duel]

Mystic Decree, 2UU enchantment.... All creatures lose flying and Islandwalk.....

I had an island sanctuary deck with these two cards and howling mines and ivory masks and counterspells for a while... it isn't too bad, but after a while, people do target you

 

[CAMDEX]

Land
5 Plains
5 Mountain
2 Swamp
4 Caves of Koilos
3 Sulfurous Springs
4 Shivan Reef
1 City of Brass

Creatures
4 Blazing Specter
2 Hypnotic Specter

Spells
4 Howling Mine
4 Phyrexian Tyranny
4 Island Sanctuary
4 Limited Resources
4 Stone Rain
4 Terminate
4 Mystic Decree
2 Diabolic Tutor

Internal Combos:
Howling Mine+Phyrexian Tryanny+Limited Resources(sorta)=PAIN PAIN PAIN!

Island Sanctuary+Mystic Decree=LOCKDOWN!

After that, use the specters to take away options for the opponent, use stone rains to keep his land down, and terminate flying creatures if you've got Sanctuary but no decree. I also realize that as long as you have Mine out, you can draw until you find what you need.

 

[Spiderman]

This deck is for single player duels, right?

In my group, Limited Resources and the Specters are definite cards telling my opponents to attack me

They got upset when I put a Dirtcowl Wurm out.

 

[Gerode]

How to win the most boring game of your life:

4x Island Sanctuary
4x Humility
4x Nature's Revolt
Self-defense gear (helmet, kevlar, etc)

I've been wanting to try out Sanctuary for a while, but it isn't worthwhile unless you have other means of drawing cards.

 

[Spiderman]

Humility is probably also another good way to get myself marked

I was going through blue cards last night and Treasure Trove might help; I have the potential to draw more than one card and it's blue, one of the original colors I was thinking of pairing it with above.

 

[artifact]

Boy, I wish I lived closer to Baltimore. I would really shake up your multiplayer games. I don't like playing the same deck all the time and it doesn't take long before I am bringing out my newest creation to our multiplayer games.
If wishes were fishes, we all would be fishermen.

 

[Spiderman]

Trust me, you need to have some thick skin to avoid taking Player A (mentioned in Decks) comments and actions personally. It's major frustration when he decides to go after you "just because" you have a creature that he hasn't seen before (which is pretty much anything after Mirage), complicated, or because you killed his creature while it was attacking you. Or try to "fizzle" his Giant Growth by Bolting his creature or do similiar "complicated" rules things

This idea and the two decks in Decks are the first I've made in three years when I stopped playing. Before now, I've been playing decks that I made back then but didn't take apart and were more geared for duels (notably a LD deck). So I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things and use different ideas and stuff.

 

[CAMDEX]

Yup, it is for single-players duels. Most of the decks I have are for single-player duels. I haven't given enough serious thought to multi-player. It's really hard.