(This podcast originally aired January 19, 2006 at MTGCast)

Intro

Storm in my Heart by Scarred IV Life.

A look at the comprehensive rules for banding and bands with other.

History of Banding

Banding was once integral to Magic, but has since been replaced.

Banding helped to influence a "cooperative" effect (tapping a creature to give a bonus to another creature - ex. Wyluli Wolf and Nantuko Disciple) as well as the en-Kor ability.

Similarly, creatures that can deal damage to an attacking or blocking creature have a heavy banding feel to them (ex. D'Avenant Archer, Crimson Manticore, Tor Wauki, Lady Caleria). This ability was a red mainstay for a while with cards such as Balduvian Trading Post, Dwarven Sea Clan, Lava Storm, and Rockslide. This ability has pretty much shifted into white to replace banding, with cards like Crossbow Infantry, Heavy Ballista, and Hail of Arrows.

Banding even left its mark by becoming spells and enchantments like Defensive Formation. Check out how banding still influences the game today with spells like Master Warcraft.

As the card pool grew, banding was also more powerful. Later banding cards seemed to increase in mana cost (see Kjeldoran Escort, Kjeldoran Skycaptain, and Urza's Engine), and ultimately the ability was left to history.

We're Getting the Band Back Together!

Banding was one of the first linear designs in Magic, and thus rewards you for playing lots of banders. (An explanation of linear design can be found here.)

How to Stop Banding
In most cases, you won't win a combat against banding head on. Look for ways to evade and outnumber the banders, and remove the opponent's creatures with spells instead.

Favorite Card and Decklist
Benalish Hero, for being small but effective.

The deck uses small banding creatures alongside some vigilant angels to bowl the opponent over in combat. Glorious Anthem and Leonin Sun Standard add more size to your creatures, and the instants in the deck allow you to play offensively while still having a deceptive defense.

A particularly interesting combo arises between Adarkar Valkyrie and any banding creature. Simply band them in an attack or use them together to block, then assign all damage to the banding creature and use the  Valkyrie's ability to get the bander back after it dies of combat damage.

Feel free to modify this deck as needed for removal spells or whatever else you might need. This is only a rough deck to get you started.

Thanks for reading / listening to this show. Be sure and let me know what you thought of this podcast in the MDV Forums! - Jesse

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