Magic Deck Vortex: Time for More Time

When I was thinking of the next dollar bin rare to use for my column, I got to thinking about the heavy tournament scene. I’ve learned over the years that PTQs, Prereleases, and Grand Pries are all excellent places to get your hands on dollar rares. My mind wandered to the last PTQ I’d gone to, where I’d picked up quite a few dollar rares. I was rifling through them, and found the card I wanted. It’s so weird, so crazy, that the ideas springing into my head may just be crazy enough to work.

Denying that an extra turn is good is sort of like saying that people don’t need to breath. Everyone loves another turn. I mean, look at Time Walk. You just can’t beat that Restricted status now, can you? That card is good. No, I take that back. It’s so super awesome it’s not even funny. It also costs what, 400 dollars? If the price is indication of how good a card is.... well, you get my point.

Time is so good that 23% of all cards with the word “time” in the title have been restricted in T1 and banned in T1.5 Keeping that in mind, we’re delving back into the Mirrodin block this week to pull out a little dollar bin rare gem that’s part of the other 67%; Timesifter.

This card is great! I love it! I don’t see how this bad boy has been passed up all this time! I mean, all you have to do is... well wait, what does that rules text say again? Could you translate that to English please?

Let’s go over that in plain English. You get extra turns if the top card of your library has a higher converted mana cost than that of your opponent. You remove that card from the game. If it’s a tie, then wash, rinse, repeat. For all us casual folk, that means crazy deck building time!

Basically speaking, Timesifter rewards the few strange enough to play expensive cards en masse, and does so by giving us extra turns, which is nice. The problem is that other players have cards too, so there is always a chance that your opponent could get an extra turn too. That’s not good. Today’s RTDB deck is going to maximize the use of Timesifter, and just really go crazy. And I mean it. Really crazy. Crazier than a Meerkat with a caffeine buzz crazy.

Strange? That’s a yes. Difficult to play? Not necessarily. Fun? Definitely.

The best opening hand usually is a hand with a Top and a Timesifter, and as few high cost cards as possible. Try not to keep hands with Altar of Shadows and Blinkmoth Urns early, since those big cards tend to get in the way. You want those high casters in your deck, not in your hand.

Wayfarer’s Bauble is there to hunt out different land types, since you’ll be using those extra Islands and Forests to play out your Golems earlier in the early game, and to accelerate your mana for the Timesifter. I prefer the Bauble over something like Sakura-Tribe Elder in this deck simply because it’s artifact, which helps out the Blinkmoth Urns, Broodstars, and your Myr Enforcers more than a Elder would. Of course, you give up 3 mana for a land instead of 2, but I think that’s a decision that could go either way.

Altar of Shadows is also player decision, I think, and can just as easily be substituted out for something like Spy Network. If you truly feel like the deck needs it, you could add some Fog to keep the attackers away, or if you want some more creatures, perhaps something like Frogmite or Mycosynth Golem, though in this case, Altar of Shadows fills a nice little niche because it clears out pesky creatures, provides mana for your high casting cost cards, and has that wonderfully high cost of 7. Another great suggestion for the final version of this deck was for Fabricate, brought up by Twinkee in the forums after last week’s article. It gives you an extra 4 copies of the twister, and the rest of your crazy artifact madness. If you are even more interested in speeding out the combo pieces, Vedalken Engineer is a good choice, making your Timetwister accessible on turn 3.

Your early turns exist to pull out A Divining Top, which is where the magic of your deck begins. In the early turns, you can keep the giant casting costs at bay by moving them back into the far parts of your top 3, and in the ending turns, you can make sure that the top of your deck is stocked with high cost cards. It’s a great card for this deck. If you don’t have the Tops, you can always substitute for Darksteel Pendants, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The Top is a much better card for the mana. You’re going to try in this deck to set up the combo as quickly as possible and get the lock online as soon as possible. You’re going to take a beating every turn you don’t have a creature, and let me tell you, all of the creatures in the deck serve only one purpose: Sifter fodder. Sure, you can plop down a Spire Golem on turn 3, but things aren’t normally going to work out like that. Be prepared to take some early damage, and then crush your opponent in the later part of the game. Most of the time, after Broodstar comes out, It’s just a matter of time before your opponent scoops.

You’ve got two major kill conditions in this deck in the form of Broodstar and Aladdin’s Ring... yeah. Aladdin’s Ring. You’re going to have all those extra turns and a whole bunch of extra mana.... Why not? Really, this is best used with Blinkmoth Urn, which again features in the deck. You’ve got your set from the last deck... if you don’t like that one, or want to change your deck up, you’ve at least got 3 cards for this one. You could (though I don’t really recommend it) use the golems and myr to attack with, but realistically, they’re more for soaking up attacks and staying on the defensive.

Quick Weenie decks and anything even slightly-counter-controlish is going to hurt this deck, simply because you’ve got pieces that are definite needs. You need the Timesifter to take the game, and a simple Counterspell takes away that opportunity. I’ve fiddled around with the idea of counterspells, but I’ve shied away from them in this version of the deck simply because it takes away your high cost cards, and high cost counter spells kind of defeat the point, don’t you think? However, I will give Hinder an honorable mention, simply because you can send one of your opponent’s low cost cards back to the top of his library, and put another turn in the bag for yourself while still never having to deal with that card because of Timesifter. Nothing like a good bowl of double utility for breakfast in the morning!

1) Maximize your efficiency with Sensei’s Divining Top. This is as easy as it gets. Once Timesifter is in play, you’re going to want to use Sensei’s Divining Top at least once each turn to figure out what your next top card is. Remember, Timesifter activates during each player’s upkeep. Stack the card you want to draw on the 2nd spot, and the high cost card on the top. Also, you can respond to Timesifter’s ability, so if you tap out all your mana that turn without using the Top, you can always use it before you reveal a card with Timesifter. That’s handy!

2) Sometimes it’s a good idea to not pop those Wayfarer’s Baubles. Broodstar’s attack and defense lies in the amount of artifacts on your side of the table, so if you don’t need the lands, don’t use the Baubles to get land. A better idea is when you have three lands or low costs right in a row, use the bauble for it’s shuffle effect. Getting at a better top three cards is sometimes the right move, given the situation of the game.

3) Aladdin’s Ring, just like Altar of Shadows, can be used for creature control. Things not going so well? Don’t forget, the Ring and Altar can be played! Strange thought, I know, but they aren’t just fodder for your Timesifter. If you’re in a rough spot, or have a lot of extra mana available, these two artifacts can be good. Don’t forget that Aladdin’s Ring is one of the ways you can win, and with Blinkmoth Urn or access to 8 mana a turn, it becomes a 5 turn clock.

4) The decklist is not written in stone! This should be a given, but remember that some cards may not work well with your casual group. There are tons of high cost cards, and a lot of them work well in different settings. Don’t be afraid to switch out the colors either. You need blue for Broodstar and Fabricate, but Green can be removed for any other color, just as long as the Tangle Golem goes with it.

Besides the cards I’ve already mentioned, The Avatars of Will and Might are good additions at 8 mana apiece, and with their abilities that makes their costs get small under certain conditions, can be nice beef in certain conditions. If you’re feeling even more adventurous, Maybe you’d consider adding Memnarch to the fray. At the cost of 7 mana, he’s a sound choice for the Timetwister, and if every turn you’re stealing things from your opponent till they don’t have anything left.... I like the sound of that.

Another card to think about would be Ancient Ooze. With all these high costs, he’ll get big fast, and he’s got a decent sized cost as well. His lack of trample kinda stinks, but you can fix that with something like Overrun.

A good idea for this deck would to add more draw, or at least some more search utility. If you’ve got the cash, Tinker can be an excellent addition, and it’s quite a bit cheaper now that it’s been banned in Extended. Another addition could be card draw in the form of Thirst for Knowledge. It’ll net you 2 cards for 3 mana at instant speed, and may sometimes be the only way to clear those baubles, lands, and Sensei’s Divining Tops into your hand and off the top of your library.

Well, that’s it for me this week. Visit next week when I delve into the Kamigawa section of the dollar box with a deck that’s sure to surprise! Until then, don’t ever forget; Casual Magic bliss is only a few dollars away.

If you have a supposed junk or dollar rare that you would like Death_By_Beebles to cover in Raiding the Dollar Bins, contact him at : deathbybeebles@yahoo.com