This week we're looking at one of the aspects of Magic: the Gathering that differentiates a set or block from the previous one - Mechanics (and not the automotive kind)! While it is true that the setting and flavor of a set is the most easily identifiable characteristic of a set or block, think about what those sets would be like if the game mechanics never changed. That would be like getting a cool Simpsons themed chess set - sure, the pieces all look new to you, but the bishop still moves diagonally, and pawns just move forward. It's still just chess. If Magic: the Gathering were like that, we might get bored with it pretty quickly, and there would certainly be very little reason for new sets.

Fortunately for us Magic players, this is not the case. With each new set that is released, we get a mix of tried and true standbys like Trample, new block and set-specific mechanics like Exalted, and every once in a while even a favorite block mechanic returned for another go around, like Cycling. This week we'll be running a themed series of articles, focusing on some of our favorite(and not so favorite) mechanics. Right this very moment, you are reading the combined intro and my article on Offering, but be sure to check back each day this week for another helping of mechanic mayhem!

The Changeling Face of Offering

Offering appeared only on the five tribal Patrons from Betrayers of Kamigawa, but it is an interesting mechanic, with lots of as-yet-untapped potential. For those of you who missed the mechanic back in the Legendary days of Kamigawa, here is the relevant text from Patron of the Orochi to help explain:

As you can see, the Offering mechanic decreases the casting cost of the Patron, which includes mana color. Offering also allows the Patron to be played at instant speed, which means that an excellent time to use the Offering ability is in response to the destruction of a permanent of the appropriate type.

When it comes to flavor, Offering seems to fit into the color pie pretty well. In White, it represents self-sacrifice for the greater good - you know, "the needs of the many," etc. Green's interpretation is one of survival of the fittest and the natural order of life and death. For Black, Offering represents power at any cost, even the sacrificing of minions. I think Offering's Red flavor is similar to that of Alara's Devour mechanic, but it could just represent that Goblins are expendable. In Blue it means... um... it's tricky and clever, maybe? I guess I just don't see the Blue flavor of Offering.

Despite being printed on only five high mana-cost rares, Offering has still been a potentially powerful and interesting mechanic in competitive arenas. Offering was definitely a player in the Kamigawa Block format, where it was best represented by Patron of the Kitsune as a fat finisher in that block's White Weenie deck:

In Standard, Offering also saw play as Patron of the Nezumi in Black Rat decks and Patron of the Orochi in Green Snake decks. However, the most enduring success of Offering has been anywhere between one and four Patron of the Akki in the sideboards of Legacy Goblin decks, which is not surprising, since Goblins as a tribe are both very numerous and very playable. Connecting with Goblin Lackey to drop a second-turn Siege Gang Commander, which is then Offered up for an end-of-turn Patron of the Akki can be pretty brutal!

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Interestingly, the success of Patron of the Akki leads us in a roundabout way to the major issue with Offering, which is that the other tribes associated with the existing Offering cards are fairly limited. Yes, Goblins are numerous and decent, but Rats and Snakes much less so, and Foxes and Moonfolk are almost exclusively restricted to Kamigawa. So I guess we're stuck using the same old Kamigawa dudes... What's that? A recent block featured creatures that are all creature types all the time? Well then, maybe with the advent of Changelings in Lowryn Block, we can find a new niche for the Kamigawa Patrons!

It looks like Patron of the Moon was the least "successful" of the Kamigawa Offering Legends, so I'll look to putting together a deck or two for the Blue Moon dude. Unfortunately, the Blue Changelings that have been printed are actually fairly underwhelming, the best of them probably being Wings of Velis Vel, which isn't even a creature to help with the Patron offering! However, one promising card to create Offering fodder for Patron of the Moon is Runed Stalactite, which, when equipped, creates a tasty little Moonfolk snack for Legendary Spirit appetites.

Runed Stalactite does double duty, turning Illusions into Moonfolk for Patron of the Moon and turning Moonfolk into Illusions for Krovikan Mist. Ancestral Vision and Mind Spring keep the hand full of cards, and the suspendable Ancestral Vision and Riftwing Cloudskate can help flip Erayo, since suspend spells are actually played when they unsuspend. Pongify and Vedalken Shackles deal with specific threats, and Oblivion Stone is your catch-all response to a losing situation.

Meloku and the Patron work really well together, but other than that, this Illusionary Moonfolk deck doesn't really take advantage of the Patron's land ability. What we really need are tough and nasty Moonfolk that cost four or five mana in a deck that wants to maximize the ability to put extra lands into play. Well, Green plays extra lands, and it has big fat Changelings at the desired mana costs. What if I make a deck to maximize both the Offering and land abilities of Patron of the Moon?

Loaded with some choice rares, the goal here is to ramp into a fast Chameleon Colossus or Meloku. Then, when your opponent goes to destroy your big threat, instead trade it in for a fresh Patron of the Moon. The classic Legacy-legal enchantment Exploration provides extra land drops, and Crucible of Worlds plus a few Explorations is sweet with Wastelands and Ghost Quarters. Note that, with enough extra land drops, Ghost Quarter can accelerate your own mana, but you better make sure to keep track of how many basic lands are left in your deck. You don't want to go searching for that last Forest in your library, when it's already sitting in your hand!

Soratami Cloudskater is Trade Routes on a stick, and this deck can take full advantage of extra land in the hand or in the graveyard. Vinelasher Kudzu is a great early and late threat for this deck, since lands are frequently leaving from and returning to play. The Kudzu also often draws immediate removal, which is fine since that essentially protects the more expensive threats you have on the way. Snakeform isn't really pivotal to the deck, but it makes for a fine bit of combat removal.

If you're wondering how the Blue Patron's Offering interacts with the Green Changelings, here's the skinny: You can still play the Patron with Offering, because the Changelings are indeed Moonfolk. They also reduce the cost of the Patron, but offering the Green creatures can't reduce the Blue mana cost of the Patron, only the colorless mana cost. So, to Offer in Patron of the Moon for Chameleon Colossus, you need to pay 1UU (one colorless and two Blue mana) in addition to the sacrifice.

Should Offering return in a new set, there is a lot of design space that can be used. You could easily have Tribal Enchantments or Artifacts that require an Offering of the appropriate type. Heck, you could even have a slightly less broken version of Affinity by creating a set of "Artifact Offering" cards. Combine Offering with tricky comes-into-play abilities for more crazy fun. Flavor-wise, Offering is still wide open, too. Picture a Knight that requires a Soldier Offering, or imagine a Demon that demands a Minion Offering!

I've only just scratched the surface of what the Patrons can do with Changelings in the mix. Pick out your favorite (my favorite is Patron of the Nezumi) and make a deck, or pull out your old Kamigawa Block deck and update it with some Rat Fox Moonfolk Snake Goblin creatures!

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Articles Spotlights from 2009:
Magus of the Bazaar – Merchant Magic
Parasitism: The Devolution of Magic Players. - by Kozy
Mechanic Week: Kicking a Bad Habit - by Streetz
MTG Theory: Card Design 101 . - by Cashew
Potatobrain's Guide to Token Decks. - by Potatobrain
The Magic of Friday Night. - by hamsandwich
Memories of an Old Magic Player: Recrossing the River Jordan. - by Chris Newton
Mechanic Week: Offering Up Mechanic Week. - by Dan Wright (Drathro)