Card analysis for multiplayer Magic is generally a two-step process:

1. What is the power level of the card in regular Constructed Magic?
2. Is the power higher or lower if you have multiple opponents in the game?

A card like Seedborn Muse is handy in one-on-one Magic, but it truly shines in multiplayer. Magmatic Force is a low-power-level card in one-on-one, but in multiplayer, it can be an absolute machine.

Spotting high power level in multiplayer is relatively easy. If something references each upkeep or all opponents, you are probably going to receive an extra benefit (or particularly harsh downside) that ups the value of the card.

Some cards aren’t nearly that obvious since the idea of power level can’t accurately describe their abilities. For me, the poster child of this sort of card is Edric, Spymaster of Trest.

Edric is different. You are not receiving an obvious, straightforward benefit with the Spymaster. Edric says, “I’m like Windborn Muse, but instead of offering a downside for attacking me, I offer an upside for attacking others.” If Edric and Windborn Muse were your parents, Windborn Muse would be grounding you for being bad, while Edric would be rewarding you for being good.

So, how does Edric reward good children? He does what every good parent (and crafty spy) does: He offers bribes. Attack someone else, and you can have more cards. This sort of ability makes the power level of the card difficult to determine. How will your opponents react to Edric? If they react the way you want them to, the card should be considered a powerhouse. If they don’t react as you hope . . .

It was at this point that I realized why this card is relatively unique in Magic. Edric attempts to change the basic strategy of multiplayer Magic. Let’s use a standard five-player game of multiplayer to illustrate this change. Theo is The Threat on the table. He has strong creatures on the battlefield, seven cards in hand, and about the same amount of mana as everyone else in the game. Vinny is the Vulnerable Guy. Vinny has a creature out, but it is a Birds of Paradise. He only has a few cards in hand and has slightly fewer lands than everyone else. Average Avery (are you seeing the trend here?) is pretty much in the middle of the pack. She has not quite seven cards in hand, some good defense, and a couple of decent attackers, but nothing too special. You and I are also playing this game. We are pretty much on par with Avery.

Given this situation, what do You do? You can attack or hope to be ignored. I would normally counsel You to try to be ignored, but Theo’s position of strength is growing, and if he is left unchecked, he will kill us all. In spite of that, You could still try to hide and hope everyone else attacks Theo, leaving You to reap the benefit later. Of course, if you have miscalculated and your strength was required to beat Theo, You may have just cost yourself the win. In the end, You have decided that attacking is the correct option. In this case, I agree with your logic. You are clearly an excellent tactician!

So, who do You attack? Attacking Me seems pointless. We would bash each other until we were both as vulnerable as Vinny. What is the benefit there (he says with a devious smile on his face)? Attacking Avery will produce the same results. That leaves You with the choice of Vinny or Theo. If you attack Vinny, you could probably take him out of the game. If you attack Theo, he will probably become “disappointed” with you and decide you need to be taken out.

Many players tend to think that reducing opponents is a Good Thing. There are times when I agree with that assessment, but this is not one of those times. Unless Vinny starts playing as Theo’s pawn, simply doing whatever Theo says in an effort to stay in the game, I’m going to let Vinny leave. Vinny may be of some help taking out Theo. With Theo as The Threat, why would you attack anyone who could be of some help in taking out Theo? The only smart move is to attack Theo.

Let’s throw Edric into our theoretical game. Let’s say that I play the Spymaster. Does anything change for You? While attacking was the better choice before, it is definitely a better option than sitting back. You could draw cards! Who should You attack? Attacking Avery may draw you some cards, but the end result will probably be the same. Attacking me won’t draw you any cards, but if You can take me out, or just Edric, no one else will be drawing cards either. Attacking Vinny will probably mean You are losing an ally against Theo, but You are now wondering how helpful Vinny really is. Perhaps drawing many cards and attacking Vinny is the best way to stop Theo. Attacking Theo used to make the most sense, but attacking him means You won’t be drawing many cards.

For anyone who has played multiplayer for a while, you’ll understand that our theoretical game is rather simplistic, and so many other things play into your decision-making (your deck, other players’ decks, the abilities of your opponents, your ability to kill Edric, splitting your attack so you are hitting more than one player, and so on), but my point is that the basic strategy of killing or weakening the strongest opponent can be changed by Edric. Edric alters the fundamental strategy of the game in a way most other cards do not. This subtlety gives Edric power that is not obvious at first glance. Consider some of the options.

If You Have Edric under Your Control

The first consideration when you are running Edric is whether it is a good time to cast Edric at all. If you are playing Edric, you want a card that will discourage others from attacking you and give you a way to draw more cards. If your opponents are going to attack you anyway, one of those benefits is lost. Playing Edric when all of your opponents have very tough defenses means that his benefit to them is minimal.

The card-drawing is the real issue though. If you play Edric and your opponents are able to draw several cards per turn from Edric, how are you benefitting? While I generally minimize the value of card advantage in multiplayer, at some point, you need to recognize that giving up overwhelming card advantage—even in a game with several opponents—is probably going to end up with you losing the game. If playing Edric will simply mean you are the last one to lose, you are still losing.

Assuming playing the Spymaster is the correct move, what next? This will mostly depend on your position in the game. If you play Edric while you are The Threat, who do you attack? The usual course of action is to go after the next biggest threat. If you have played Edric, perhaps you want to take out the guy with the unblockable creatures or the guy who is running that damn token deck that is likely to spill out fifteen Saproling tokens every upkeep for the next few turns.

Rather than limiting your opponent’s gains, you could press your advantage even more and just attack whomever is open. If you are The Threat, everyone is gunning for you. This means that your attacking options are wide open. You can attack pretty much anyone since you know they are all gunning for you. Eliminating a vulnerable opponent offers a variety of benefits. First of all, you draw more cards. Other, stronger opponents will not be as amenable to being attacked repeatedly so you can draw cards. This also limits the easy pickings for your other opponents. If you are attacking the weakest link to add cards to your grip, they may be doing the same. Taking out that weak link means they have to start attacking opponents that won’t take lightly to repeated life loss.

Determining the correct play depends on each situation. I’d like to tell you that attacking the weakest player is always the correct option, but every game is a little different. Perhaps the weakest player in your game isn’t particularly vulnerable. Perhaps your position as The Threat only exists if you hold your creatures back to play defense (in which case I’d be asking why you played Edric at all). Perhaps one player in your group has a real hate-on for Edric and will try to take you out of the game no matter what.

If you have played Edric and you aren’t The Threat, things are a little different. As The Threat, everyone is gunning for you, so you can feel free to attack anyone. When you aren’t The Threat, not everyone is necessarily out to get you. You are offering card-drawing to other players, and you aren’t the primary threat. Some players are going to be okay with keeping you alive as long as you aren’t attacking them.

So, if you aren’t The Threat, whom do you attack? I’m assuming you are going to attack since giving everyone else a card advantage when you are in a position where you won’t necessarily be attacked demands that you take full advantage and draw cards of your own. In a regular game, you would attack The Threat, but if that is going to cost you cards, are you sure that is the best move? I recently played in a game in which The Threat was very clearly the dominant player on the board. Everyone else in the game all understood that we would have to work together against The Threat if any of us were going to win. In a situation like that, attacking The Threat makes sense. You may not reap the card advantage, but others on your de facto team will.

Another option is the weakest link. Much like I described when talking about your options as The Threat, taking out the weakest link means you draw cards and eliminate the chances of other players, particularly The Threat, drawing cards.

If You Don’t Have Edric under Your Control

If you are The Threat, you could attack the next biggest threat, the player who played Edric, or whomever is open in an attempt to draw more cards. Rather than go through all three options, I’m just going to lay it out for you: Destroy Edric or destroy the Edric player. As The Threat, everyone is gunning for you. In multiplayer, you are already trying to win a game while drawing fewer cards and having less mana than your opponents. Leaving Edric alone only worsens those odds. While I know there are corner cases in which it’s not true, I’m telling you that most of the time, leaving Edric in play will mean your death. Get it gone and get it gone fast.

If you aren’t The Threat, you will have to consider the game and weigh your options. If you think attacking The Threat is the right play—in spite of a reduced chance at drawing cards—go for it. If The Threat is going to receive the lion’s share of the benefit of having Edric in play, perhaps Edric, or the player controlling Edric, needs to go. If your game situation doesn’t look good but there are cards in your library that can help, attacking a weak ally against The Threat may be the best option.

Card Options

I am not a particularly talented deck-builder. I tend to build decent decks and slowly improve them as I play with the decks. Rather than give you a complete decklist, I thought I would suggest a few interesting cards.

Avenger of Zendikar, Deranged Hermit, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, and Baru, Fist of Krosa are some token-related choices. These are bigger creatures that wreck other creatures that give you many smaller creatures that will get around most defenses.

Rite of Replication. This thing rocks in most decks. Cloning creatures is passé, but cloning several creatures makes drawing cards and defending yourself from everyone else that much easier.

AEther Mutation is a card I was reminded about recently. Bouncing cards and making Saprolings all in one card is a beautiful thing.

Phelddagrif and Hunted Phantasm are two cards that are great when you are among the players fighting The Threat. Giving your allies creatures to get around The Threat’s defenses is a nice thing. Unfortunately, at some point, they are going to be looking at you . . .

Oona, Queen of the Fae could also be included with the token providers, but her ability to mill gives her a little addition. When your opponents know they can be milled, they may think twice about drawing too many cards.

Edric is an excellent card for the strategic player. Take him out for a test drive and enjoy the change in gameplay.

Bruce Richard

Bnrichardhotmailcom

@manaburned