Review: Infect & Defile Magic: The Gathering Event Deck

The Mirrodin Besieged: Infect & Defile "Grab and Go" Event Deck is one of two new upcoming Magic: the Gathering products by Wizards of the Coast (the other being Into the Breach), which go on sale this Friday, February 25th, 2011 for an msrp of $24.99.

Each Magic: the Gathering "Grab and Go" Event Deck features a full 60 card deck and 15 card sideboard that is "Perfect for Friday Night Magic." Also included are a deck box, collectible die, "how to play" guide, and a "playing the deck" insert.

Infect & Defile
Creatures (15)
4 Necropede
4 Plague Myr
4 Corpse Cur
1 Hand of the Praetors
2 Phyrexian Vatmother
Other Spells (22)
3 Preordain
2 Contagion Clasp
2 Mana Leak
1 Doom Blade
2 Smother
2 Deprive
4 Foresee
2 Consuming Vapors
4 Corrupted Conscience
Lands (23)
2 Drowned Catacomb
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
10 Island
7 Swamp
Sideboard (15)
3 Deathmark
3 Flashfreeze
4 Negate
1 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
2 Smother

According to the included "playing the deck" insert:

"To win with the "Infect & Defile" deck, you'll need to be patient. Your deck is not designed to be aggressive, and if you simply cast your creatures and attack with them, you may find yourself quickly outmatched. Your deck has two primary advantages: first, a potent long-term plan--that is, given enough time, you'll draw more cards, have more creatures, and cast more spells. Second, you can effectively ignor your opponent's life total. Your deck is packed with creatures with infect. Every damage dealt to opponents from these creatures takes the form of poison counters, and a player with ten poison counters loses the game.

Early on, use cards like Smother, Mana Leak, and Necropede to stall the board and trade with your opponent's creatures, getting in a point of damage here and there. It's okay to let some of your early creatures die; you can get them back later with Corpse Cur. Then, use spells like Forsee and Consuming Vapors to pull ahead after the initial assault has been blunted.

One important thing to remember is that, if your opponent lets his or her guard down, you can win with shocking speed. Say you've just cast a Phyrexian Vatmother, and your opponent taps out next turn for a Baneslayer Angel. Even if you haven't attacked once this game, a single Corrupted Conscience on the Angel will have your opponent facing down a lethal attack the very next turn. So look for opportunities to put your opponent on the defensive when he or she least expects it.

Your main deck is designed to compete against an open field, but your sideboard gives you backup against a variety of opposing strategies. Bring in cards like Go for the Throat and Doom Blade against faster creature-based strategies. On the other hand, if your opponent is also playing for the long game, Negate will ensure that their most powerful spells never see the light of day.

You may choose to evolve the deck, taking it in one of several possible directions. One route would be to focus on adding more creatures with infect like Phyrexian Vatmother and Phyrexian Crusader to assume a more proactive approach. Alternatively, you could focus on controlling the long game with countermagic like Mana Leak and removal like Black Sun's Zenith, polishing the opponent off with huge finishers like Consecrated Sphinx.

Wizards of the Coast sent an early copy of the Mirrodin Besieged: Infect & Defile "Grab and Go" Event Deck for our review, and there are several things we loved about it.

First and foremost is the packaging. The deck box in the new Magic: the Gathering Event Decks is a significant upgrade from the deck box that was in Premium Deck Series: Fire & Lightning. After unwrapping the plastic and sliding the cover off of the product, we were treated to a beautiful green cardboard deck box featuring "Magic: the Gathering" on the top, the "Mirrodin Besieged" logo on the front, and the Phyrexian symbol on the back. Inside the box there is plenty of space for a sleeved copy of the Infect & Defile Event Deck. There's also a convenient green cardboard tab to separate your deck from your sideboard, and a slot to the left for dice and other counters.

One cannot fairly compare the new Mirrodin Besieged: Infect & Defile Event Deck to the Scars of Mirrodin Phyrexian Poison or Mirrodin Besieged Path of Blight Intro Packs because it is in an entire power level of its own. Playing with blue in an infect based strategy without Thrumming Bird seemed a little counter-intuitive, however we found that the controlling elements in the Infect & Defile Event Deck complemented this poison deck perfectly.

While the Mirrodin Besieged: Infect & Defile Event Deck plays great out of the box, you'll most likely want to improve it with a few upgrades in order to make it more competitive.

A full playset of Inkmoth Nexus is a natural inclusion. Two copies of Black Sun's Zenith (as suggested in the "playing the deck" insert) will really help make the Mirrodin Besieged: Infect & Defile Event Deck feel more controlling. A lone Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon can make your late game have a little more oomph when an opponent doesn't have anything great to steel with your Corrupted Conscience. We also recommend dropping Forsee in favor of Jace Beleren or (if your budget allows) Jace, the Mind Sculptor.

Whether you decide to upgrade it or not, the Infect & Defile Magic: the Gathering Event Deck is fantastic product for anyone looking to play Standard. While you might not win a Friday Night Magic event without a few improvements, the Infect & Defile "Grab and Go" Event Deck is the perfect choice for someone looking to have some fun and enter a tournament. It also makes a great tool for DCI judges and store owners to use.

Although we personally preferred playing with the Mirrodin Besieged: Into the Breach Event Deck, both of the new Magic: the Gathering Event Decks are a welcome addition to the Magic product line. In our opinion they are both a "must have" product for every Magic: the Gathering player, and we'll be looking forward to seeing future Magic: the Gathering Event Decks with each new set.

Pros:

• Great for someone who doesn't have a Standard deck and wants to play in Friday Night Magic.
• Is a tight list that plays well and isn't just a random mess of cards showing the new abilities like most Intro Packs.

Cons:

• Cost. Could purchase two different Intro Packs for the same price, or a Duel Deck, or play in two drafts (depending on your shop's entry fee). While we believe the product is well worth the price, some may shy away from the $24.99 price tag.
• Needs additional modification to become a real tournament caliber deck.

Mirrodin Besieged
Red Sun's Zenith, Black Sun's Zenith, Myr Turbine, Corrupted Conscience, Blue Sun's Zenith, Spine of Ish Sah, Victory's Herald, Blightsteel Colossus, Myr Welder, and Thrun, the Last Troll are just a few of the new Magic: the Gathering cards from Mirrodin Besieged.

Also check out Mirrodin Besieged spoiler list, Must Own Rares, War Leagues, New Art, and Booster Packs.

Magic: the Gathering - Tactics
Black Lotus, Rain of Arrows, Black Knight, Elite Archer, Head of the Gorgon, Force of Nature, Polymorph, and Silence are several of the Magic: the Gathering cards from MTG Tactics.

View the entire MTG Tactics White card list, Blue card list, Black card list, Red card list, Green card list, Artifact card list, Promo Card list, Keyword Abilities, Store, and Auction House.

Win a free draft set from Magic On A Budget
MagicOnABudget.com has teamed up to sponsor the Monthly Magic: the Gathering Giveaway for all qualified subscribers. Be sure to check out their large inventory of singles.

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