The Bonds After Battlebond

Drawing a key removal spell or a finisher (see Tidespout Tyrant for details) can make all the difference, so a card thats just as good as drawinganythingworks.

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May you become champion wherever you compete.

We havent seen Land Tax in a long time, but its an incredible way to make mana happen.

After drafting, youll use this in Commander and lands matter decks.Land Tax is awesome in a format like Commander, where finding mana and hitting your land drops add up over the longer games. Like with Two-Headed Giant, having multiple opponents means you have multiple chances that someone else has pulled ahead in the land countgiving you the basic lands you need to keep going.

After drafting, youll build a combo deck to totally break bouncing permanents.Lets say you have a Zacama, Primal Calamity and Tidespout Tyrant hanging around. Cast anythingmaybe just Divinationto draw some cards and return Zacama to hand. If you have plenty of lands in play, which you will if you have both Zacama and our Tyrant hanging about, then you can tap all of them to replay Zacama and net whatever extra mana you make.

It also ensures you can catch up on lands if you fell behind, a handy trick to keep things fair for you.

That anniversary set also reached back beyond both Standard and Modern card legalitywhich is whereBattlebondgets to shine, too.Magics long history is full of powerful cards fitting for formats from a table among friends to Commander at a Grand Prix, like this potent enchantment:

There are a few primary different ways you can build Magic decks. One common way is to build around general deck archetypes or themes. For example, aggressive or controlling. In an aggre…

Diabolic Intent is another card fromMagics past returnedand this time it doesnt comewith the touch of Nicol Bolas.

There are plenty of new and exciting things to try, but teaming up for Two-Headed Giant fun is just the beginning of what you can do withBattlebond.

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An extra way to get your most powerful card is never an unwelcome addition when youre building a strong deck.

Stybs has played Magic the world over, writing and drafting as part of the event coverage team and slinging Commander everywhere his decks will fit.

Its true: Magic players dont agree on a lot of things. Should you play aggro or control? Is Draft or Constructed the better format? But, if I know the internet, then I know one thing t…

Dan dives into our database to share comments from the designers during the creation of Core Set 2019.

The beauty of a set likeBattlebondisnt just the unique experienceTwo-Headed Giant drafting is quite different than what most of us have done beforebut also that it brings a wide range of cards and options to use afterward. Taking the leap into another format (or even just a step into more Two-Headed Giant) begins with finding something that interests you.

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Youll draft Diabolic Intent because its absolutely bonkers.With a few token-making cards, any tiny creatures too small for combat, or even a now-useless creature locked down under an enchantment or tap effect works: sacrifice it away, then go find exactly what you want from your deck. While its probably not thebestidea to just splash it as your only black card, its a choice thats totally powerful to make.

Of course, not every deck or draft calls for going big. What if there was a card that was always a copy of the next best card in your deck? Theres one diabolic way to do it:

The battle was gloriousand rewarding.

If you played in aDominariaPrerelease and cracked packs afterwards, you probably heard about Standard. Its one of the biggest ways to playMagic, and something you can count on seeing weekly at just about every local game store you can find. Maybe you saw theMasters 25drafting and heard someone sayI need this for Modernanother format you can play at stores all the time.

Opportunities to try new strategies and see cards youve never seen before abound inBattlebond. As long as you have a trusty partner at your side, theres nothing to be afraid ofbefore and after drafting.

Zombies are rising from the dead to devour opponents in Standard, and Paulo seizes opportunities from Core Set 2019 to make them even hun…

Have another spell? Make more mana. Throw in a Capsize paying buyback to really break things up. (Dontactuallydo this, but you can see where this is going.)

After drafting, youll still slam it into any deck you can.Diabolic Intent was an homage to Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor, two ofMagics most powerful ways totutorfor a card you want. Whether its more Two-Headed Giant, Commander, or something else entirely, any time you can use a card like Diabolic Intent its probably a strong choice to do so. Theres a lot to be said for the (planned) randomness and excitement of Commanders variety of cards, but when you need to pull out the stops, its a tutor effect like this youll go to.

Take, for example, this stadium standout you can draft:

Yes, I agreeNo, I want to find out more

Similarly, if building 60-card anything goes decks with friends is something you enjoy, then Land Tax is a perfect enchantment when you build around lands. It turns out when you want to always have a land to play, your deck that asks you to play a land every turn gets better. (Weird!)

You won. Its over. Victory was claimed. After drafting your way through packs, building decks together, and defeating all opponents, you and your partner are triumphant.

Whats harder is ensuring you have both the triple-blue mana andeightmana in total to cast it. In Two-Headed Giant, you need to cooperate with your partner. Having a plan to play a longer game with their helpyou play early defense, Ill go over the topmeans setting up something this big is possible.

Now what do you do with all these cards?

Posted inCard Previewon May 22, 2018

Youll draft this inBattlebondto fix mana and hit a land drop every turn.Land Tax looks at all opponents to check whether you can search up basic lands. Ifeitherof the opposing heads in Two-Headed Giant has more lands in play than you, you get to go digging. Setting up the perfect basic lands to cast your most powerful (and expensive) spells gives your team an edge against any adversaries.

We havent seen Tidespout Tyrant since ourfirsttrip to Ravnica, beforeReturn to Ravnica, but its good to see it again here.

Consult the archives for more articles!

Youll draft Tidespout Tyrant when youre already solidly in blue.The ability to turn every spell into a bonus Boomerang (realBoomerang, that can return even lands to their owners hands) is a great way to end games. Attached to a solid 5/5 body, casting a spell to clear the way and attack is an obvious battlefield decision.

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