Welcome to the dungeon. Today, we'll be exploring the art of fighting multiple foes. There are many techniques that can be used to defeat more than one opponent, but today, we'll examine two polar opposites. Changelings seem unassuming at first, but they can easily become the biggest threats at the table with little warning. They may even lure other creatures into their ranks, turning them against their former masters. If you're careful, you can take advantage of the Shapeshifters' subtlety and use it to win your own battles. Of course, subtlety isn't the only option. Some planeswalkers choose to set the world ablaze and hope to still be standing when their enemies have burned to ash. This is a dangerous plan, but it can prove to be extremely powerful. When you have more than one foe to dispatch, how will you prevail?

Changeling Times

Coat of Arms has been a great finisher in tribal decks for many years. Here, it will give your creatures +1/+1 for every other creature on the battlefield, keeping you ahead of the game. Unfortunately, your opponents' creatures will be boosted as well, but if you time it right, they won't get a chance to take advantage.

Ego Erasure can completely remove that boost for a turn, shrinking down the affected creatures' power as well. If an opponent tries to take advantage of your Coat of Arms by attacking you with their pumped up creatures, you can cast this and turn combat grossly in your favor.

Shields of Velis Vel turns an opponent's creatures into changelings as well. This means that as long as you have more creatures than he does, you can steal every threat he has with Peer Pressure.

Mothdust Changeling is a simple 1-drop, boosting your creature count for a small mana investment. It also has an ability that can become quite relevant on a clogged board. Shapesharer is another cheap changeling, but with a powerful ability that can turn any of your creatures into the best thing on the battlefield for a mere 3 mana. In a pinch, you can even use it to take out a dangerous legendary creature permanently.

Avian Changeling's flying will give it a major advantage once Coat of Arms has made everything huge, and Changeling Sentinel has vigilance, letting you attack all you want without fear of leaving yourself open. Mirror Entity is not only a changeling, but can serve as an effective win condition in its own right, giving your creatures a pseudo-Overrun effect to help push through some major damage. Changeling Hero requires a small sacrifice to stay on the battlefield, but its lifelink makes it a great way to win races under a Coat of Arms.

Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero may be partial to Rebels, but changelings work just as well. She lets you play your creatures straight from your deck . . . plus a one-of Bound in Silence in case things get sticky. With her on the battlefield, your opponents will have a hard time keeping up with your steady stream of card advantage.

Vedalken Aethermage is a great dual-purpose card in this deck. It can save one of your changelings from a removal spell by returning it to your hand or you can cycle it away to search up nearly any card in your deck, including a few tribal instants. Crib Swap is another valuable removal spell for when you just need to deal with something, and the Aethermage has no problem searching it up for you when you need it.

In its current shape, the deck looks something like this:

"The Only Constant Is Changeling"

• Creatures (24)
• 2 Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
• 3 Avian Changeling
• 3 Changeling Hero
• 3 Changeling Sentinel
• 3 Mirror Entity
• 3 Mothdust Changeling
• 3 Vedalken Aethermage
• 4 Shapesharer

• Spells (12)
• 1 Ego Erasure
• 1 Shields of Velis Vel
• 2 Crib Swap
• 4 Peer Pressure
• 1 Bound in Silence
• 3 Coat of Arms

• Lands (24)
• 8 Island
• 8 Plains
• 4 Adarkar Wastes
• 4 Skycloud Expanse

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Not So Subtle

Copper Tablet is a very old card, but it's still quite effective at what it does. For only 2 mana, it will slowly take down your opponents' life totals one notch at a time. Spiteful Visions deals twice as much damage each turn and punishes your opponents for drawing extra cards. Although it does provide them with a few extra cards, they will usually be dead long before that matters. If you manage to put a second Spiteful Visions on the battlefield, the damage will triple, dealing 6 to each player on his or her turn. A third copy will add another 6 damage onto that, killing your opponents before they have a chance to react.

Syphon Soul and Blood Tithe keep the hurt flowing while making sure your life total stays above the rest. They become more powerful the more players you're fighting against, gaining you huge amounts of life to ensure that you'll be the last man standing. Exsanguinate requires a bit more mana than the other two, but it can be a huge swing later in the game when you really need it.

Meekstone keeps the big creatures from swinging at you over and over again, and Volcanic Fallout will take care of the small ones. It can also be used to deal 2 extra points of damage to your opponents, hastening their demise. Terminate will clean up anything else that's giving you problems—such as creatures that have vigilance.

Wall of Souls is an excellent way to shore up your defenses, making attacking extremely difficult for your opponents. No one wants to attack, and this wall can often end up buying you a lot of time. Aether Membrane helps deal with flying creatures, and it slows down any assault by returning the creatures it blocks to their owners' hands. With 5 toughness, it's large enough to withstand most midsized creatures.

After adding in a few lands, this mechanism of destruction is fully assembled:

"Fiery Destruction"

• Creatures (7)
• 3 Aether Membrane
• 4 Wall of Souls

• Spells (29)
• 3 Terminate
• 4 Volcanic Fallout
• 2 Exsanguinate
• 4 Blood Tithe
• 4 Syphon Soul
• 4 Spiteful Visions
• 4 Copper Tablet
• 4 Meekstone

• Lands (24)
• 7 Swamp
• 9 Mountain
• 4 Akoum Refuge
• 4 Shadowblood Ridge

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To better test these two multiplayer-minded decks, I've added a midrange mono-white deck into the mix. Let's take a look and see how this battle for dominance plays out.

Destruction drops to 19 from its Tablet and plays a Wall of Souls and a Meekstone for some defense. Mono-White puts a counter on its Shrine and then casts another after taking damage from the Tablet. The changelings hit Destruction for 2 in the air and drop Changeling Sentinel.

Destruction casts Syphon Soul to go back to 20, and Mono-White plays a Hero of Bladehold. Avian Changeling hits Destruction for 2 again, and the Shapeshifters lay down another Avian Changeling and a Shapesharer. Destruction passes the turn with no play, and Mono-White pays 2 life for a Tezzeret's Gambit, drawing two cards and proliferating the two Shrines.

The changelings cast Coat of Arms, and Destrucion casts Volcanic Fallout in response, killing the Shapeshifter army. Destruction then casts Spiteful Visions to accelerate the damage. Mono-White takes 3 and passes the turn, leaving up mana to crack open a Shrine.

The changelings summon a Shapesharer and a Changeling Sentinel, with Coat of Arms boosting them to 4/4 and 6/5. Destruction casts Exsanguinate for 4, and Mono-White succumbs to the damage during its draw step. The changelings can't attack into Wall of Souls, and they die as well on their next turn.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the dungeon. Be sure to come back next time when we'll explore a section of the dungeon that's home to all five colors . . . yet has no color at all.