Magic 2011 is coming soon! I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to the prerelease, am I? Now I've been around since the dawning of Beta and was at the Homelands prerelease in New York City way back in the day and while the prerelease has gone through several changes, anticipating new cards has not. What really got me into the reminiscing of cards I've long forgotten was Magic Online and the Masters Edition sets and a recent discussion of M10's Baneslayer Angel. These recent discussion prompted me to think about my favorite Magic card(s) of all time.

Back when I opened my first booster of Beta, my friends and I picked decks based on color. We chose those colors by our individual personality and not by any game mechanic or strategy. I was actually given a stack of black cards by a friend of mine in addition to the boosters I just ripped. What I wanted MOST of all, was the Demonic Tutor. Such a beautiful card, in its original design, I wanted one and couldn't find one. My friends worshiped their Shivan Dragons and Serra Angels, which have been thought of as some of the most beautiful pieces in the MTG Vault. I enjoyed playing the game with my Drudge Skeleton + Unholy Armor combo to several thrilling victories. However, I was still finding myself complacent and not in possession with the Demonic Tutor.

Then came Arabian Nights, in my opinion, THE most attractive and powerful sets EVER to see the battlefield for Magic: The Gathering. I was completely enthralled by Ali From Cairo, not for his abilities but the artwork. Everyone and their mothers raved about Juzam and the Library of Alexandria, but I couldn't help but to be mesmerized by that darn amulet that Ali was holding. I became a hoarder of the set and it's individual cards. A trader if you will :)

Later on, I read in the Duelist that there was a prerelease party for Homelands in New York City and that there would be a tournament with many of the worlds "pro" players participating. At the time, I had already played college baseball as well as being one of the Northeast's most accomplished amateur players in the game of Pool and Billiards so celebrities, pros and hustlers in any game weren't anything that could intimidate me. So, a bunch of us decided to make the 2 and a half hour trip to the city and fling some cards. The line to get inside was very long and it was very cold outside. Once you were inside, you took an elevator up and entered through a maze of the 5 elements that is Magic. THAT was fun, albeit a little corny! However, it was for DCI players ONLY and I was unable to play. In this set, Autumn Willow and Baron Sengir were the cards to look for and since it was a small set, it wasn't too hard to find them. All comers were given a gift bag with an assortment of soon-to-come WOTC games as well as a booster of Homelands to rip for enjoyment. In addition, gunslingers featuring WOTC execs and R&D geeks would pit you in a game and the loser gave a card from their respective playing deck to the winner. Yes folks, gambling has ALWAYS been a part of Magic! Plus, if you beat the WOTC guy, you were given a booster to add to your collection.

Later, a few guys from the city of Tallahassee Florida, would introduce me to one of THE best decks of all time featuring, the dreaded, Necropotence. Man, did I love that card! It was so thrilling to drain my life only to gain it back in one way or another to snatch a victory. However, with success comes those who will attempt to copy your success and the matches became much more intense and "luck based." While I don't believe in luck, it just seemed like the appropriate term. So, one must evolve to be better...

It wasn't until the rise of Ponza (Mono-Red), in the Standard format, that I would find my favorite card. Mono-Red was dominating the format on the tail end of Necropotence's dominating era, and if you couldn't beat either one then you probably weren't getting far in your tourneys. So, I tinkered with this little concoction:

[cardlist]4 Savannah Lion

4 White Knight

4 Repentant Blacksmith

4 Mana Leak

4 Crusade

3 Abbey Gargoyle

4 Sea Sprite

4 Sleight of Mind

4 Swords to Plowshare

3 Armageddon[/cardlist]

This little diddy performed relatively well in PTQs with quite a few top 8s but it was the Sunday cash tourneys at New Wave Inc would hold that really put the deck in the spotlight. While I know many people ran the "Sleight Knight" deck theme, it was the Sea Sprites that really made the difference for me. Those little faeries would fly over ground stalls and take advantage of my Crusades for White creatures and be changed to Blue for thrilling victories over and over. Many people dubbed me "The Best Sunday Player in the World". Unfortunately, I couldn't make a Pro Tour Sunday to cement that title forever. Anyway, on the back of the Sea Sprites, the deck could overcome creatures who were Pro White in both Black or Red such as the Black Knight or the Wildfire Emissary...

The Sea Sprite was reprinted to appear in a base set for a temporary return to the spotlight, but was never as powerful as she was teamed with Sleight of Mind which was deemed too powerful for Magic. While I would disagree that it supports blue's control motif and makes an opponent think much further into the possibilities for you the blue mage. For the 1U and 1 colorless cost to get a 1/1 flyer WITH protection from red, the Sea Sprite easily becomes one of my greatest creatures of all time. She pwns Shivan Dragon, she drop kicks Siege-Gang Commander and she won me lots and lots of DCI points... Oh where did the Sea Sprite AND those DCI points go?

What is your favorite Magic: The Gathering card? Is it for the picture, like Serra Angel or Juzam Djinn? Or, for the Power, Tarmogoyf comes to mind here? Or maybe it's for the name, "Stone-Throwing Devils" was always a cool name I felt... Nothing, however, beats "Sea Sprite Lee" -- Thanks for reading!