Hello there reader! It’s been a while! With all the new stuff that I’ve been working on lately, Raiding the Dollar Bins almost seems like a long-lost dream, doesn’t it? It’s been a while, that’s for sure. Hopefully though, everyone who’s been missing Raiding the Dollar Bins is reading John Streetz’s One Card to Rule Them All series, and Chris Newton’s Memories of an Old Magic Player series. If you haven’t checked out their latest contributions, you probably should. You’ll enjoy yourself, I promise.

School is over (or almost over, depending on where you go). Everyone is prepping for the summer that’s just around the corner. Whether you’re laying around and having a good time for the next few months, or you’re getting a summer job, things are definitely taking a change in pace.

Magic is prepping itself for a change of pace as well – 10th Edition is right around the corner, which means that the 10th Edition Release events will be coming to local stores sometime soon. The release of 10th Edition to stores coincidentally coincides with Magic Game Day, a new annual event where game demos, tournaments, and other exciting events will be held. If you’re interested in getting black-bordered, amazing looking Core set product, these tournaments are definitely the way to go – they’ll have prizes and a special release card - Reya, Dawnbringer. Plus, there are rumors that all sorts of amazing cards will be in 10th – it’s going to be quite the exciting ride, don’t you think?

Along with all the 10th Edition goings on and the MSS – Magic Scholarship Series is happening the week right after US Regionals! That’s where all you Magic players under the age of 18 get to play your favorite Standard decks for a chance to win scholarships, and an invite to the MSS championship! If you’re under 18, you should definitely check this one out.

Coming right after 10th Edition release is the PB&J block, Lorwyn. Lorwyn is interesting because it promises to go back to Fantasy’s roots with a Celtic style setting that’s got a large part of the community excited.

But for now, let’s focus on the present. There’s a ton of great stuff coming around the corner, but why not enjoy the cards you already have? I mean, you just got some Time Spiral stuff, didn’t you? And I’m sure you’ve gotten a hold of some Ravnica cards by now. Well, now it’s time to use them, in a deck that likes to return things to their owners hands.

This is an interesting deck because it doesn’t necessarily want to bounce your opponent’s creatures. To be honest, I never said whose hand they wanted to be returned to! The MVP of the deck is Azorius Aethermage. With her, you can net all sorts of extra cards doing normal stuff. Got a bounceland you want to play? With Aethermage in play, just tap the land you’d normally bounce when the land comes into play, then you get to draw another card! All of the cards in this deck, with the possible exception of basic lands, are able to do some sort of bouncing around.

To deal with pesky creatures, Cage of Hands and Jilt were added to the deck. Jilt is nice because you can kill an opponent’s creature and bounce another one, or bounce one of your own guys. Mark of Eviction pulls double duty, as it keeps opposing creatures off the board, and with Aethermage in play, nets you an extra card every other turn.

Angelic Shield can bounce opposing creatures, or give your critters a boost in toughness to help them make it through combat damage alive, and Boros Signet helps you pay the kicker on Jilt, as well as make sure your Petrahydrox comes through on time.

Windreaver and Petrahydrox are you primary win conditions. Petrahydrox’s ability to stay out of trouble can be really handy when you’re making a card off of every time someone bounces him to your hand. Windreaver is great because it’s a good finisher, and it has the ability to return to your hand if things get a bit too heavy for it to handle. Its return to hand ability makes things far more interesting, and its power-toughness switching abilities make it a good way to end a game.

The cards are pretty cheap this round, with the most expensive card being Windreaver, clocking in at a hefty 79 cents at www.cardshark.com. You should be able to build this deck for under seven dollars, if you can get the Windreavers for a dollar or less.

Things to Remember

1) Jilt is a multipurpose tool. Use Jilt to destroy opposing weak critters like Savannah Lions or Priest of Titania. Use Jilt to take care of gigantic opposing creatures. Use Jilt to tack an extra two points of damage on to an opposing blocker while returning the lethally damaged attacker back to your hands after combat damage. Jilt is a toolbox built into one card, so always try to think of the best ways that you can use it.

2) Azorius Aethermage does more than you might think. Azorius Aethermage’s triggered ability is what makes this deck tick. It’s an ability that can be a little confusing as to when it triggers. The Dissension FAQ has this to say – “[Azorius Aethermage’s] ability will trigger whenever any permanent, including a token creature or Azorius AEthermage itself, is returned to your hand. It doesn't matter who controlled the permanent or if it had ever actually been in your hand before.“ That’s some handy information, so keep it in mind when you’re using Ninjutsu or Angelic Shield.

3) Never play Windreaver with five mana sources available. You shouldn’t play Windreaver if you’ve only got five mana sources because Windreaver has that convenient self-bouncing ability to keep it out of trouble. I suggest playing Windreaver and leaving an Island untapped, so if a Dark Banishing or a Wrath of God comes your way, you can get him out of the line of fire. Sure, you’ll have to play him again next turn, but losing a turn due to Dark Banishing is most often times better than losing your best creature.

Card Suggestions

If you’re looking for more bounce spells, staple cards like Boomerang and Upheaval are out there for you to use. Wipe Away is a good choice as well, since you can bounce at super-instant speed. If you want to get more bouncing bang for your cardboard buck, try out Aether Burst. It’s good in the early game, and potentially gaming winning in the late game. Chain of Vapor might also be a good choice, simply because with Azorius Aethermage on the board, no one is going to want to sacrifice a land so you can draw another card. Mistblade Shinobi also does the trick, returning opposing creatures while bouncing creatures of your own – making it so that you can have your cake, and draw an extra card too!

Speaking of Ninjas – this deck could definitely splash Black instead of Red for cards like Okina-Gang Shinobi – a powerful Rat that wants to make your opponent’s hand a little more manageable. If you want to go back to Black, you’ve also got cards like Warped Devotion, which allows you to turn your bounce skills against your opponents. By turning around the bounce, you can make a little card advantage both ways – through extra card draw from Azorius Aethermage and discard through Warped Devotion. Watch out that you don’t use Petrahydrox or Ninjas if you use Warped Devotion – they hurt more than help.

If you’re looking for ways to make your manabase a little more stable, cards like Adarkar Wastes and Hallowed Fountain do a great job. You could possibly use some Steam Vents or Shivan Reefs to make things a little easier. Nimbus Maze, the new White and Blue dual land can definitely be of some use as well, and you won’t ever have to take damage from it.

One nifty little combo involves using Azorius Aethermage along with Words of Wind to clear out your opponent’s side of the board. By paying 1 mana after bouncing one of your own permanents, you can draw a card – but then you can pay another 1 mana to bounce a permanent you control and a permanent an opponent controls. This starts the cycle over again, so you can pay 2 to bounce another two permanents. If you want a game ender, this would be your stop.

Another combo you might be able to add to the deck would be Cloudstone Curio with Reality Acid. With the amount of creature enchantments, like Cage of Hands and Mark of Eviction, and with copies of Angelic Shield, it'll be really easy to bounce your own Reality Acids, as well as all of your creatures, making it possible to get some really ridiculous tricks going on with all your Ninja friends. It's an idea that sounds like a lot of fun, so it might be worth a shot to change this deck a little.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this article. Visit the forums and tell me what you think, and as always, send me suggestions for decks. I’m always open to suggestions! Until next time, remember – casual Magic bliss is only a dollar bin away.

~Death_By_Beebles

Alex Hoffman has been parading around with the pseudonym of Death_By_Beebles for three years now. He’s a writer for Magic Deck Vortex, and can often be found tinkering with his latest decks while working on 3CB scores. He is the author of Raiding the Dollar Bins and Going Blind series at MDV, and the recent startup series Pauper Chronicles. Alex likes kittens, reading, and generally enjoying life. He doesn’t like Brussels sprouts. You can send him deck ideas, combos and suggestions at deathbybeebles@yahoo.com.

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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.