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(This podcast originally aired February 20, 2006 at MTGCast)
Intro
Storm in my Heart by
Scarred
IV Life.
The comprehensive rules for both vanishing and fading, and
a closer look at the differences between them.
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502.60a Vanishing is a keyword that
represents three abilities. "Vanishing N" means "This permanent comes into
play with N time counters on it," "At the beginning of your upkeep, if
this permanent has a time counter on it, remove a time counter from it,"
and "When the last time counter is removed from this permanent, sacrifice
it." 502.60b Vanishing without a number
means "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent has a time
counter on it, remove a time counter from it" and "When the last time
counter is removed from this permanent, sacrifice it."
502.60c If a permanent has multiple instances of
vanishing, each works separately.
502.20a Fading is a keyword that
represents two abilities. "Fading N" means "This permanent comes into play
with N fade counters on it" and "At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a
fade counter from this permanent. If you can't, sacrifice the permanent."
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Special note: Stifle, Trickbind and Voidslime can actually
stop vanishers from going away.
Time Spiral Cards with Vanishing
Aven Riftwatcher
Calciderm
Chronozoa (a wacked out Phantom Monster?)
Deadly Grub (part Cocoon, Deadly Insect, and Penumbra)
Deadwood Treefolk
Keldon Marauders
Lavacore Elemental
Reality Acid (the blue Vindicate)
Tidewalker
Waning Wurm (possible use with Sutured Ghoul)
Fading into History
The
roots of these abilities may have started with Clockwork Beast, Divine
Intervention, Lord of the Pit and Stasis. Magmasaur was likely a huge influence
to the creation of vanishing and fading. Cumulative upkeep, echo, phasing and
even suspend have similar elements to vanishing and fading.
Fading Cards from the Past
Static fading cards have a basic countdown
Blastoderm
Cloudskate
Parallax Dementia
Rejuvenation Chamber
Rusting Golem
Skyshroud Behemoth
Skyshroud Ridgeback (a Kird Ape wannabe)
Tangle Wire
Adjustable fading cards let you remove counters for more effects
Ancient Hydra
Defender en-Vec
Jolting Merfolk
Parallax Nexus (likely an influence for Nightmares)
Parallax Tide
Parallax Wave (likely the influence for white blink cards)
Phyrexian Prowler
Saproling Burst
Woodripper
There's also Parallax Inhibitor to alleviate faders.
Using Vanishing and Fading Effectively
Due to their limited lifespan, you have several options
here:
- Play fast and aggressive with cheap and efficient damage or
mana production.
- Use bounce or blink effects - Temporal Adept, Clockspinning,
Ghostway, Safe Haven, or Blood Clock are some examples.
- Use reanimation (normally found in black) - Hell's
Caretaker might be a powerhouse with fading or vanishing.
Here's some other cards that use time counters:
All Hallow's Eve
Tourach's Gate (might be fun with Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder)
Infinite Hourglass
Time Bomb
Stopping Vanishing and Fading
Forget bounce and blink spells, that will only encourage
your opponent!
Also, don't fall into the trap of using AEther Snap,
Ferropede, or Spinal Parasite. Use strong, basic tactics instead and try
stopping whatever is allowing the opponent to abuse the cards.
Favorite Card with Decklist
Blastoderm/Calciderm for great power in a non-rare form.

Here's a Standard-legal deck that uses bounce and blinking
to reset your time counters.
This is a basic control deck, so play defensively until you
can clear the way for your finishers. There's a lot of synergy here, as Dust
Elemental or Ghostway can save your side from Wrath of God, and Temporal Adept
with Reality Acid is great for all-purpose removal. Sage of Epityr really helps
to smooth out your draws, especially when you can use it repeatedly throughout a
game.
Thanks for reading / listening to this show. Be sure and
let me know what you thought of this podcast in the MDV Forums! - Jesse
You can discuss this article in the MDV forums
here.
Find other articles by this author here.
Find other articles from this series here.
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Articles
Spotlights from 2007:
Lorwyn Theme Week Intro & Schedule of Events Blink And Bounce: Timing is Key Going Blind: XCB Metagaming - A Prolonged Conclusion. The Science of Magic: Genetic Engineering, Part Two. Shifting Lineaments: Casual Metagaming (Pt. 2). The Dungeon Of Malefict: Pure Evil! Land Week Introduction & Schedule. Combofusion: Legends Timeshifted. One Card to Rule Them All: Coastal Piracy Irrational Love: Chimeras. The Lego's of Magic.
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