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Title: A Snow-Covered Question

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 1:22pm

Boyachi

Posts: 1553
Joined: 02-Nov-11

When I first made a shade deck years ago, the two shades I focused on were these:
Darkling Stalker: 3B, Shade Spirit, B:+1/+1 until end of turn, B:Regenerate, 1/1
Dungeon Shade: 3B, Shade Spirit, B:+1/+1 until end of turn, Flying, 1/1

Later I found:
Chilling Shade: 2B, Snow creature - Shade, (Snow mana):gets +1/+1 until end of turn, Flying

A Dungeon Shade for 1 less to cast? That means I can do a first turn drop with a Dark Ritual! So I slowly switched all my Swamps in the deck to Snow-Covered Swamps and thought everything would be great.

Until I looked at my Cabal Coffers.
Cabal Coffers - Land, 2T: Add X amount of B to your mana pool, where X is equal to the number of swamps you control.
Yes, I know SCswamps are still Swamps. My problem was: Coffers is NOT snow-covered. More often than not, my victory was hinged upon using the mana of just one of the three coffers I have in my deck. Having a hard to block shade that cannot use that mana means I am that further away from winning.

Thus I started looking at ways to make Cabal Coffers make snow mana. So finally HERE IS MY QUESTION:
If I use Unstable Frontier (T: Target land you control becomes the basic land type of your choice until the end of turn) and then Arcum's Weathervane (2T: Target nonsnow basic becomes snow.) What happens?
Do I get a snow covered Cabal Coffers at the beginning of the next turn?
Do i get a permanent Snow-Covered Swamp that replaces my Cabal Coffers?
Can I not even target the UFed Coffers with the Weathervane?

If it doesn't work, I'm currently going to have to look at different unblockable options (either back to Dungeon Shade, adding an Undercity Shade or two, or looking into things like Tawno's Wand and Rogue's Passage).

TL;DR: Can I make a Snow-Covered Cabal Coffers using black/colorless cards?

Thank you for your time and input.

Edit: changed Weathervane text to that of Gatherer.

[Edited by Boyachi on 2/Feb/13 at 2:58PM]

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 4:01pm

Academic

Posts: 1305
Joined: 29-Mar-12

So long as it's a basic land when you make the card a snow type, it remains a snow type afterwards - but it has to be a basic land when you use the weathervane. People used to use this trick with Blood Moon to achieve the same ends.

While Shades are the topic, though - have you considered the Nantuko Shade? It's my favorite, bar none, a 2/1 for two mana that shades without any special requirements.

There's also the one-drop Slithering Shade, a shade wall that loses defender when you empty your hand. I love shades, and I love cheap creatures - those two are some of my favourites.

(Along those lines is the Shade of Trokair, a rare white shade that can drop for one mana and three turns. All fun cards.)

I like shades, is all. ^_^

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 4:14pm

knarf_the_dwarf

Posts: 1370
Joined: 30-Nov-11

"Unstable Frontier's ability doesn't change the affected land's name or whether it's legendary or basic."
So the Cabal only gets basic land subtype (e. g.mountain) but not basic land type, therefore it won't get 'snow' by the wheathervane.
"Blood moon" won't work, too: "Non-basic lands that are turned into Mountains with Blood Moon are still non-basic." (http://magiccards.info/query?q=Blood+Moon&v=card&s=cname)

The Owl will make it work. If you don't splash blue then animate the Owl.

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 4:26pm

Academic

Posts: 1305
Joined: 29-Mar-12

There we go. I'd forgotten the 2004 revision - it was determined that changes to a card type don't affect it's super type. Thanks for the links, sped.

There's an answer for you, Boyachi - if you want to add a CMC7 (two blue) blue creature to your speed black deck, you can do that.

Seriously, though, Nantuko Shade. It's pretty boss.

[Edited by Academic on 2/Feb/13 at 4:28PM]

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 8:00pm

Boyachi

Posts: 1553
Joined: 02-Nov-11

I was afraid that owl was the only real way. Good idea with animating it into play.
The problem with that is the deck is already heavy, and even going as far as to add the Weathervane and Frontiers it was straining itself.

Believe me, Nantuko Shade was the reason I wanted to make this deck, however back then, it was an expensive rare and I was jobless. I kind of assumed it would always be expensive. Apparently that is no longer true.

I am using Slithering Shade. They are the first turn drops I needed.

I would like to have at least one flier back, Which means a good ol' Dungeon Shade returns. I'm also going to nab a Crypt Ghast or two.

One of these babies is going to replace my Nirkana Revnant that I worked so hard to get, sure it is a 4/4, but it costs 1B more and doesn't have Extort.

I was going to go with an Undercity Shade (Shade with intimidate) but I'm going with a cheaper option: Whispersilk Cloak

The best thing about not having to use Snow-Covered Swamps is that I get to go back to using the hand picked Swamps I was using (The pink flowering one from Onslaught and the hazy moon one from Mirage, one of which is French. Also a Chinese first set with all those branches!)

Thanks again!

Date Posted: Sat Feb/02/13 at 8:48pm

Academic

Posts: 1305
Joined: 29-Mar-12

I love using foreign-language mana. :D Something about using the Kamigawa cards with Japanese atop it just feels right.

It sounds like you've got a great mix. Be sure to post a deck list when it's done. :D

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