Why don’t cryomancers get any love?

Magic is full of pyromancy, flame, incineration, and blaze, but there are very few cards that directly represent ice and icy beings. However, perhaps even more importantly (Fire // Ice notwithstanding), is water.

That’s not to say these elements don’t have a bit of space in Magic expansion sets, but it’s nowhere the space of fire. Have you ever tried to build a geomancer deck? Neither have I, but Koth of the Hammer is rightly disappointed. Earth Servant, Earthquake, and Spitting Earth are all reasonable. Greater Stone Spirit and Jaws of Stone are pretty good, and I guess you could delve into the old Flowstone stuff. And how about that Stonehands?

I think a lot of the problem comes in that fire is just so easy to use for burn spells—it’s basically fire and lightning. (Hmm, interesting. Ever heard of Premium Deck Series: Fire & Lightning?) Contrariwise, blue has a ton going for it other than its measly elemental components. It has card-draw, Djinns, Spirits, artifacts, æther, Shapeshifters, and so on to worry about. And what is an air spell supposed to do? How about a water spell? Do they just tap things? What does ice do other than freeze stuff?

It’s easy to see why Wizards of the Coast sends us all this fire stuff when direct-damage spells are already known as “burn.”

But today, I want to play to the struggle between the two iconic elements with a Duel Decks of my own design: Water vs. Fire.

"The Hydromancer"

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Blizzard Elemental
• 1 Brine Elemental
• 1 Hydromorph Gull
• 1 Quicksilver Gargantuan
• 1 Rushing-Tide Zubera
• 1 Tidewalker
• 1 Wall of Water
• 1 Wave Elemental
• 2 Aquamorph Entity
• 2 Fathom Seer
• 2 Sea Spirit
• 2 Water Servant
• 2 Watercourser
• 3 Hydromorph Guardian

• Spells (15)
• 1 Gush
• 1 Hydroblast
• 2 Griptide
• 2 Hydrosurge
• 2 Rushing River
• 2 Tidal Bore
• 3 Tidal Wave
• 1 Breaking Wave
• 1 Devastation Tide

• Lands (24)
• 19 Island
• 1 Lonely Sandbar
• 1 Moonring Island
• 2 Halimar Depths
• 1 Dark Depths

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So, there’s the water deck I came up with. Note that when I say “water,” I’m not talking about Aquaman summoning the bests of the sea. There are no Giant Sharks, Coral Reefs, Island Fish Jasconiuses, or Lorthos, the Tidemakers in this deck. Think more of the Spider-Man villain Hydro Man or of waterbenders from Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you could create and shape water, what Magic: The Gathering spells would you have access to?

I fudged a little with a few cards, which I was avoiding, but I wanted to make sure the deck had cool cards and was playable. Griptide and Devastation Tide seem to be playing with ætheric magic despite their aquatic trappings, and Sea Spirit and Rushing-Tide Zubera are Spirits despite their watery appearances. Blizzard Elemental treads into the domain of ice, and Quicksilver Gargantuan is from Mirrodin’s metallic sea—though it is a sea nonetheless. Dark Depths really has nothing to do with hydromancy, but who knows what secrets a wayward wizard could uncover while studying the aquatic arts? (Yes, I know Marit Lage is in a glacier; get off my back!)

This deck’s game plan is to stall as long as possible, using your watery powers to tap things, bounce things, and throw crashing Tidal Waves at the opponent’s creatures. Once the opponent has burned himself or herself out, clean up with a 5/1 Aquamorph, an unstoppable Blizzard, or a 7/7 aquatic Shapeshifter.

"Pyromancer"

• Creatures (18)
• 1 Blistering Firecat
• 1 Crazed Firecat
• 1 Fire Servant
• 1 Firestorm Phoenix
• 1 Flame Elemental
• 1 Flamecore Elemental
• 1 Living Inferno
• 1 Savage Firecat
• 2 Flame Spirit
• 2 Scorchwalker
• 3 Chandra's Spitfire
• 3 Pardic Firecat

• Spells (19)
• 1 Ember Shot
• 1 Flame Javelin
• 1 Pyroblast
• 2 Searing Blaze
• 3 Flame Burst
• 1 Fireball
• 1 Firecat Blitz
• 1 Flame Jab
• 1 Ghitu Fire
• 1 Heat Shimmer
• 1 Wrap in Flames
• 2 Flame Slash
• 1 Braid of Fire
• 1 Fiery Mantle
• 1 Quest for Pure Flame

• Lands (23)
• 21 Mountain
• 2 Smoldering Spires

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In my opinion, pyromancers are a bit played out. They even have an Ascension. (Pyromancer Ascension is among my favorite cards, but still . . . )

As it turns out, there are a lot of firecats. Once I realized the number of Cats that were present, I looked for a way to make the tribal theme a mechanical one, but the best options were Adaptive Automaton and Coat of Arms (both of which play nicely with Firecat Blitz), but I felt that they push the theme out of bounds too far. It’s too bad there’s no firecat lord.

The plethora of fire-based Magic: The Gathering cards meant I didn’t have to fudge much here, but Heat Shimmer I suppose could be blurring the line. It’s “heat” instead of “fire,” although I think I would have accepted Heat Ray without question. The problem, similar to Griptide and Devastation Tide above, is that it’s flavorfully doing something that fire couldn’t really do. I suppose an adept pyromancer could shape a fiery simulacrum of anything, so maybe that’s a good excuse. The only other blur of the line is Quest for Pure Flame. It’s not a fire spell, but hey, who can’t go on a quest?

The game plan, of course, is to beat in with a bunch of blazing, high-powered creatures, burn away attacks, and send extra burn to the opposing hydromancer’s face. Braid of Fire is a cool enchantment that builds up the heat over time and generates mana that can be used for instant burn and for pumping up firebreathing for Fiery Mantle and Flame Spirit. I think the dream here is a late-game, Braid of Fire–fueled Ghitu Fire for the win. Also playing to the build-up-the-heat plan are Pardic Firecat and Flame Burst.

Elemental Clash

What good are Duel Decks if they don’t duel? I decided to become the hydromancer and square off against the heat.

Game 1

I passed after playing another Island, my opponent played a Braid of Fire but still no third land, and I played a fifth mana-producing land and cast Sea Spirit. It ate a second Flame Burst with a bit of Braid of Fire mana in the upkeep, but my opponent had no other play.

I played a sixth mana-producing land and passed, my opponent passed back, and I forgot to remove 2 ice counters. Despite my spells, I simply passed again, seeing whether I could make a 20/20 before my opponent played a third land. The turns passed in that fashion for a couple cycles until I had my Marit Lage token and subsequently attacked for 20.

Game 2

In the next game, my pyromancer opponent went first. Mountains and Islands faced off against each other on the battlefield until my opponent played a Chandra's Spitfire and I played a Watercourser. It ate a Flame Javelin, though, and I took 1 from the attack.

I played another Watercourser, which was Pyroblasted, and I took another 1. I cast a Hydromorph Gull, hoping the pyromancer would be out of burn for one of my few flyers, and it seemed he was, as the opponent Heat Shimmered it, and I took 3.

I attacked with the Gull again, putting my opponent to 14, and played a freshly-drawn Dark Depths. I took another 1, the Quest gained a counter, and my opponent cast Flame Elemental. I removed 2 ice counters and drew another Island, allowing me to Griptide the Flame Elemental while keeping 3 mana available for another Dark Depths counter removal.

I attacked my opponent down to 11, took 1, dropping to 12, and the Quest went up to 3. My opponent cast Scorchwalker, and I removed an ice counter. I played Halimar Depths and attacked with the Gull. My opponent attacked with Chandra's Spitfire and Scorchwalker, and I summoned a Tidal Wave to jump in the way of the bloodrushing Elemental. The Quest for Pure Flame went to 4, and my opponent recast its Flame Elemental. I removed an ice counter at the end of its turn.

I Hydroblasted the Elemental and attacked my opponent down to 5. It put a Fiery Mantle on Chandra's Spitfire, firebreathed a bit, and attacked for 3, putting me to 8. I removed 2 more ice counters end of turn and then attacked for 3 again.

It was then when the computer froze up, apparently trying to decide what to do. Pumping up the Spitfire with five Mountains and doubling its damage with Quest for Pure Flame could have meant victory that turn—except for the Hydrosurge I was holding. I’m not sure what else the computer had in its hand, but I’m pretty sure I had that one.

Game 3 – the Swap

Keeping with the fire deck’s mana-screwed trend, I didn’t play a fourth land, and I passed back. Again with the infinite wisdom, the computer played a face-up Fathom Seer. I hit a Chandra's Spitfire and cast it, and at the end of my turn, the computer returned a land to its hand in order to cast Tidal Bore, tapping my Spitfire.

The Fathom Seer attacked, and I took 1. I drew a fourth Mountain and played it, and I attacked for 1 with my Spitfire. On its turn, the computer cast Rushing River to return my creature to my hand. Fathom Seer attacked for 1 again, and I took it again.

I recast Chandra's Spitfire and passed back. The computer cast a morph and attacked with Fathom Seer; this time, I blocked with the Spitfire. I drew Fiery Mantle, enchanted my Spitfire, pumped it a couple times, and attacked for 3, putting the computer at 16 to my 18.

The computer morphed up Aquamorph Entity as a 5/1 during its upkeep and subsequently attacked for 6, dropping me to 12. During my upkeep, I spent 7 mana from Braid of Fire to firebreathe my Chandra's Spitfire. I drew a perfectly-timed Mountain, played it, Heat Shimmered my Spitfire, Searing Blazed my opponent and its Aquamorph for 3 each, triggered the Spitfires, and attacked for 15. That’s how this deck—and Braid of Fire—is supposed to work!

Canceling Out

Okay, so maybe this computer was not the best of opponents, but I was able to see how the water and fire decks played against each other. It felt weird that water creatures could die to fire and that all the firecats weren’t just extinguished by the water Elementals, so maybe this thought experiment in flavor wasn’t super-successful, but I still enjoyed the premise. I also think the decks could be pretty fairly matched with competent players—just don’t Gush and Tidal Bore away all your own lands.

Andrew Wilson

@Silent7Seven

fissionessence at hotmail dot com