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Magic: Theros Expansion - Face the Hydra Challenge
Face the Hydra is the next step in the heroes path. From the 24th October until 28th October 2013 you will be able to take your legal standard deck to your local magic event and face the Hydra for great rewards.
Face the hydra is a 60 card deck consisting of Heads (creature cards) and sorcery spells. In order to be victorious you will need to illuminate all of the hydras heads from the battlefield. Think it’s easy? Think again! Each of the hydras heads is difficult to kill in its own right. Some heads are a simple 0/3 that gives each player 2 health when they are illuminated and some heads are 0/8 and cause a player to discard a card at the end of the Hydras end step.
As you can imagine, this would be very hard just with the heads but then the hydra throws in some brutal sorcery spells such as Disorienting Glower which stops players from casting spells until the Hydra’s next turn, Grown from the Stump which allows the Hydra to put two heads from the graveyard onto the battlefield and worst of all Unified Lunge which cause X amount of damage to each player where X is the amount of heads on the battlefield (6 of those in the deck).
The gameplay is different to how you would normally play Magic. Firstly, you can choose up to 2 hero cards to put on the battlefield, secondly, you go first but do not draw a card and then the Hydra takes its turn and so on, and thirdly, when a head leaves the battlefield the Hydra reveals the top two cards from its library and any heads revealed this way can go straight onto the battlefield but sorcery spells have to go into the graveyard.
Face the Hydra is especially hard without any heroes but also very fun. Hopefully you would have already started your heroes path and been to your local Magic events but if not, you should definitely go and get involved in this challenge.
Review By Wicket2961
Magic: Theros Expansion - Inspiring Heroics Event Deck
Inspiring heroics is the newest release in the Theros expansion from Wizards of the coast. An aggressive and very controlling deck when used to its full potential that is perfectly built so you don’t have to.
The event deck contains
60 card deck
15 card sideboard
1 spin-down life counter
Theros box
Inspiring heroics is legal and ready to go right out of the box and contains a solid selection of cards, including 10 rares. Because of the Theros theme I expected to see more heroic creatures, including a god, but even though these are not there for the taking, you still have a great deck that can offer some great advantages.
Inspiring heroics can help you get quick off the mark with 1 drops such as ‘Soldier of the Pantheon’: a 2/1 with protection from multicoloured that will give you 1 life every time an opponent casts a spell, and later opens up the game with a few harsher creatures like ‘Lavinia of the Tenth’: which is a 4/4 with protection from red that also takes control of your opponent creatures with mana cost of 4 or less and ‘Frontline Medic’:, a 3/3 that when attacking with two other creatures will make your creatures indestructible. Just from the few cards mentioned you can see how powerful this deck can be but on top of the great cards mentioned, you will have your mana life made slightly easier thanks to ‘Azorius gate’: which allows you to tap the card and add 1 white or blue to your mana pool.
When going through the deck I was also excited to see ‘pacifism’ from Magic 2013. For the cost of 2(white) you can enchant a creature and stop it from attacking and blocking. ‘Pacifism’ is a great card that has both won me a lot of games as well as lost me a lot of games. Our love/hate relationship will continue through the Theros expansion, I’m sure.
One thing to bare in mind when playing with your Inspiring Heroics deck is that your creatures are quite vulnerable to burn spells and anything else that can cause small amounts of damage to the masses. It is very frustrating to have a great board of creatures only to see your opponent pull out a card that does damage to everything on the table, leaving you powerless and having to rebuild your strength. Just be careful if you’re one of those that tend to overplay!
Overall, Inspiring Heroics is a great deck that will help new and old players get on track with Theros. Inspiring Heroics allows you to challenge and be a challenger against anything you may find yourself up against and all for just £19.99. Definitely consider this event deck if you like the Theros theme.
Review By wicket2961
Magic The Gathering - Theros Expansion
Theros is a Greek themed expansion with a huge play on the Greek myth tales that we are all familiar with. Theros is the first set to take place on the ‘plane of Theros’, a place governed by the gods of Nyx.
The fat pack contains
Player’s guide – Contains beautifully detailed art work, card information as well as stories to give an insight into each of the characters within the Theros story. The book was a great surprise to me because I wasn’t expecting it to be as professionally put together and as easy to read and enjoy as it was.
Theros storage box - Can hold up to 400 cards which again is crafted to perfection with a lovely feel and art design on the side.
9 booster packs – Each pack Contains 15 cards and are always exciting to open and piece into your favourite deck
80-card basic land pack - In my opinion, 80 land is a little too much and unnecessary but at least you’ll never run out of it. It’s a shame that there is no new land artwork either.
Spindown life counter – Special Edition with a rich, sea blue colour with white speckles.
Two deck boxes - Theseare very handy but nothing more than cheap cardboard boxes with nice art on them. I really hope that Wizards release expensive feeling deck boxes that are similar to how the 400 storage box feels and work ie two separate pieces that interlock and hold well. This would make the fat pack that much more appealing to the Magic fans.
Theros plays Magic a little differently to how we’ve done it before and the gods are one of the reasons why. Gods of Theros are represented by 5 cards and are indestructible enchantments with mighty abilities. Gods (as well as some other cards) offer huge rewards in the way of ‘devotion’. Make sure you have enough of the specific colour on the battlefield and the god will have extra abilities which could decide the outcome of the game.
Some of the monsters of Theros have an ability called ‘Monstrosity’. It allows the creature to power up once per game enabling it to be an extreme threat. All creatures get a +1/+1 counter when the monstrosity ability is activated and as well as dealing ridiculous amounts of damage some also have unique abilities such as being able to destroy permanents.
This is a great addition that can really bring on the best and intense moments in a game that only Magic can give you.
Heroes have an ability named ‘heroic’, which enables your creatures to benefit when being attacked. This twist in gameplay ranges from counters, to drawing cards and is a brilliant way to bring the best out of your creatures, especially if you have aura cards due to their ability to target specific cards.
Enchanted creatures are also in the Theros expansion to throw yet another spanner into the mix, with the ability ‘Bestow’. You can cast a creature as it is or use the bestow ability allowing that creature to turn into an enchantment that can be placed on another creature. This adds a counter of ‘X amount’. Bestow is brutal, and can really mess up an opponent’s game plan should you use it to enchant your already powerful beast.
Apart from being a brilliant game that requires real skill and tactical awareness (a rarity in games these days) Magic offers some of the greatest art work FULL STOP… Not just in games. Theros is no exception and as a Greek myth fan I really enjoyed going through each card and seeing what the artist’s personal impressions were of some of the most famous creatures. One of my favourite is the ‘Ordeal of Heliod’ which is Theseus preparing to kill the Minotaur.
Overall the Theros expansion is great. It’s filled with epic creatures and very powerful magic which you will use to create some of the best stories and battles ever in all of the Magic series. Whether you favour beasts, gods or champions, black, white, green, red or blue, there is something for you.
In my opinion, Fat packs are the absolute best investment if you’re a magic fan or want to become one. On top of that, Theros offers a great story and fun way to play Magic and contains everything you need. Fat packs work out a fair bit cheaper than if you were to buy all of the bits separately, so if you have a spare £30.00, this is definitely what you should go for.
For more info on Theros go to wizards.com
Review By wicket2961
Review By wicket2961
Magic The Gathering - Theros - Favors From Nyx Intro Deck
This intro deck includes
2 card booster packs – contain 15 cards from the Theros expansion
60 card ready to play deck
Learn to play guide
Strategy insert
“Favors from Nyx” consists of cards from the powers of Black and White. It is a brilliantly well thought out build designed for the player that enjoys casting enchantments. Mainly focusing on the mechanic ‘Bestow’, Favors From Nyx is a deck that will use minimal creatures that are constantly being built up into huge, powerful, hard to kill beasts.
The story of Nyx
When mortals sleep and dream on Theros, they are said to "visit Nyx," the proverbial land of night and the home of the gods. Therefore, dreams are seen as gifts from the gods. When the gods appear to mortals, each is "infused" with Nyx itself. Where the god's features or form would be shadowed, instead the night sky is visible, as though the gods occupy the daylit world and the nighttime world at once.
Favors From Nyx contains two rare cards:
Foil ‘Celestial Archon’ a 5/2W flying, first strike +4/+4 creature or pay for 7/2W for Bestow and turn ‘Celestial Archon’ into a +4/+4 enchantment adding the abilities flying and first strike on any creature currently on the battlefield. This card is absolutely brilliant and can be very frustrating for your opponent, especially if you pair it with the other rare card….
‘Gift of Immortality’: An Aura enchantment that (when attached) allows a card to be returned to the battlefield under the control of its owner as well as allowing the card itself ‘Gift of Immortality’ to be returned at the next step. As you can imagine, this card paired with the other rare ‘Celestial Archon’ can be a real and constant threat to your opponent. Without a discard or destroy spell, you’re pretty much guaranteed to cause some serious problems.
On top of the combination mentioned above, there is another that I feel will be used a lot because of its great benefits. If you can attach ‘Gift of Immortality’ to ‘Auramancer’, you’ll be able to bring back some very important cards from the grave pile, for example, ‘pacifism’ which will then allow you to stop your opponent from attacking and blocking with their greatest creature. If they manage to destroy the enchantment, guess what, It comes straight back and is ready for use on another creature right away. Gift of mortality can give a huge tactical advantage if you play it at the right time!
‘Blind Obedience’ makes a return in the Theros expansion and is welcomed greatly! Blind Obedience allows you to tap your opponents creatures as they enter the battlefield and gives all of your spells ‘extort’ which allows you to pay 1W/B, causing each player to lose one life and you gain one for each lost.
Favors From Nyx brings ‘Bestow’ into play. ‘Bestow’ is a great ability because it allows you to have stronger creatures without the worry of your opponent killing two creatures with one blow, this is due to their enchantment conversion ability. And that is how they should be played to gain maximum benefit. If a creature with a bestow enchantment dies, the enchantment returns immediately as a creature, meaning you have had its power twice under two different circumstances. This is one of the reasons people will love the Theros expansion and this intro deck in particular!
Favors From Nyx is a well crafted, tactical enchantment deck that is a must for any fan of Black’s and White’s. If you’re only going to own one Theros intro deck, make it this one!
For more info on Theros go to wizards.com
Review By wicket2961
Magic: Theros Expansion - Heroes Vs Monsters Duel Deck Pack
To further add to the brilliant Theros expansion Greek myth theme, Wizards are now happy to offer the Heroes Vs Monsters Duel Deck pack.
The pack consists of:
Two 60 card decks
Two deck boxes
Learn to play and strategy guide.
Heroes Vs Monsters let’s you and a friend each take the side of either the monsters or the heroes in an epic battle that will end in blood-shed. Each consisting of 60 cards including a foil rare, the duel deck is a quick and cheap way to get into Magic with the added diversity of being able to use one or the other in battle. On top of this, each deck cleverly brings out the new strategies that you’re being pushed to play ie monstrosity and heroic, with hope of getting you to use each deck to its full potential.
The hero deck consists of red and white and is made up, generally, of low mana cards so that you can get the army out and ready for the beasts to come. The hero deck is great for throwing out quick cards but it is also too quick to come to a halt. If you don’t win the game quick you’ll probably struggle to keep up with the punishment that your opponent will be dealing to you. Luckily you can modify the deck to suit a slightly better play-style and with that in mind, you could create a deck that is a beast in its own right, but, this is not ideal.
The monster deck is similar to the hero deck in a sense that it’s good, but it could be better. The monsters vary in size and style but auras are there to back you up just when you need your creature to become a bit stronger, but to be honest, bearing in mind this is a monsters deck from the Greek myth theme, I would have liked to have seen some humungous beast variations of medusa and a constant counter +1/+1 on everything it does, minotaur type creature. Sadly, this is missing and can pull you out of the theme and question what you know of Greek myth beasts.
The duel decks aren’t all bad news though. There’s the lovely new art and a few of the cool new cards such as Anax and Cymede which has first strike, vigilance and heroic, Polukranos - world eater which has a huge monstrosity value, and an old favourite of mine, Beast within, which will come in handy should you need to rid a large threat off of the table in exchange for a 3/3 beast.
Heroes Vs Monsters is a nice intro into the Theros expansion especially at £19.99 but the decks themselves need modifying for them to be great. The deck boxes are a little cheap and tacky which has bothered me for a while because wizards need to up their game in this area but hey, at least you get a couple of boxes, right?
Buy this duel pack if you want to get to grips with Theros, what is has to offer and if you have a friend that would like to get into Magic, but, if you just need one good deck, definitely consider the event deck which is more consistent and features great cards and a life spin-down counter.
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