The Mourning Lands lie south of the falls which spill out from the Great Forest, an expanse of fetid pools and rotting vegetation. Reed stands and moss covered trees dot the marsh, breaking the monotony of the landscape. It is within the great swamps north of the Scarwood that the Necromancer makes his home, in a tower which has stood since the time of the War. That is not all that remains from those dark times. Chained to the trunk of a blackened, scorched oak, he hardly seems human. Wild streaks of white hair splay out in all directions from his face, matted with twigs, mud, drool and blood. His pale blue eyes bulge with madness, and his lithe frame twists and contorts with rage and fury. A tattered loin cloth is his only garment, given to him ages ago by the Marsh Goblins, who regard him as a deity. In truth, he is a fallen Planeswalker, imprisoned here centuries ago. His immense power was his downfall, for now whenever he attempts to tap the lands around him, he falls prey to... Psychic Venom! A simple enough spell, which enchants any single target land, Psychic Venom costs a mere I Blue and I Colourless to bring into play. Whenever the land which this spell enchants is tapped, for whatever reason, Psychic Venom inflicts.2 points of damage on the controller of that land. There are numerous applications for this spell, in a variety of circumstances. One of the more mundane, yet effective, uses for Psychic Venom is in use on lands which your opponent values highly. For example, if a foe is using both forests and mountains, yet 6nly has forests in play, it would be prudent to place Psychic Venom on the first Mountain to reveal itself. Early in the duel, if an opponent is short of mana, Psychic Venom can give an early edge. Combined with the Black Vice, a second turn Psychic Venom can be a painful experience. However, the most popular use of Psychic Venom is probably the most dangerous to an opponent: using it to shut down specialty lands. There are numerous lands which provide benefits beyond mana, or instead of mana, and it is these which are most vulnerable to enchantment. The Library of Alexandria, the Diamond Valley and the Maze of Ith can be rendered next to useless through the use of Psychic Venom. Not only are they incapable of providing mana, but the benefits provided by the Maze of Ith and the Valley are almost instantly negated by the damage from the Venom. Multilands are another common target, and although they provide mana, it won't come without. a cost. Since Venom doesn't destroy land, Equinox is ineffective against it, making Venom a potential addition to a land destruction spellbook. Indeed, placing Psychic Venom on a land enchanted with Equinox is a cruel, yet effective way of speeding up the demise of an opponent. Combined with other spells and artifacts, Psychic Venom can become appallingly effective. While the Winter Orb is in play, using Venom on a few key lands can severely restrict an opponents options. Using them on multilands, for example, forces him or her to concentrate on untapping lands which they would not normally consider. If you're partial to such tactics, you could use land destruction to destroy everything except the lands enchanted with Psychic Venom. Used with the Icy Manipulator or Elder Druid, Psychic Venom becomes even more powerful. Now, you are capable of forcing an opponent to take damage from the enchanted land, when normally you would have to wait. Twiddle, Power Sink, Mana. Short can also be used to accomplish this goal, although they are a little mote limited in this respect, as they can only be used once. Nonetheless, forcing an opponent to take damage is not something one should pass up. Against a Green Mage, an amusing combination involves Psychic Venom and Lifetap. Using Venom on any lands which are not forests, one can force an opponent to use lands which will provide you with life. While not the most practical or effective use, it can be worth the time and effort involved. Psychic Venom, however, is not without its drawbacks. If an opponent has sources of mana other than land, he or she can avoid the worst of Psychic Venom. In addition, since it is highly unlikely that there will ever be four Psychic Venoms out at once, the more land that is in play, the less effective it becomes. As an enchantment, it is also highly susceptible to a large number of spells which can quickly terminate its usefulness. Nevertheless, it can be a valuable enchantment in a wide variety of situations. Once again, the old man focused his attention on the tower in the distance, eyes burning with hatred. His jailer had long ago turned to dust, yet still he remained trapped, his desire for revenge fuelling his determination to escape. Only when the tower was destroyed would he truly be free to walk the planes yet again. Gathering die fractured remnants of his mind together, he called forth dark powers, attempting to contact the Necromancer by means of a... Diabolic Vision! At a cost of 1 Blue mana and 1 Black, Diabolic Vision allows a Mage to sift through his memorized spells. When this sorcery is used, the caster looks at the top five cards in his or her library, places one in hand, and then replaces the others on the library in any order he or she desires; At such a low cost, this spell carries with it a multitude of practical applications. One of the more obvious occurs early in the duel, when the only land available may be that required to cast this spell. In such an instance, the library can be searched using the Vision, and land put into hand. Appropriate spells for the mana on hand can then be placed back in the library in an order which provides maximum benefit. This obvious strategy can be taken in several different directions, however. Few Magi, for example, consider the applications of Diabolic Vision as a defensive strategy. In many cases, one may find oneself facing a spellbook which makes extensive use of creatures such as Orcish Spy, or artifacts like Millstone. A combination of the above two cards can be particularly bothersome, since it allows an opponent to selectively Millstone your deck. However, casting Diabolic Vision allows you to put the spells in an order most beneficial to you. This requires a bit of thought, but can easily thwart a Millstone when properly applied, Once a card is put into your hand, alternate best spell, worst spell in replacing the cards on*top of the library. For exam, ple, if you are desperate for land, replace the cards in order of land, spell, land, spell. If the opponent chooses to Millstone, you get a land on your draw. If your opponent neglects to Millstone, you are in the same situation. Alternately, you can do the same for spells. This requires a bit of prioritizing in terms of placement, but can save you a great deal of trouble in the long run. Of course, there are far more mundane, yet effective uses for Diabolic Vision. A particular favourite tactic of mine is using it to place something immediately useful in hand, such as Dark Banishing, and then replacing the remainder in the library in an order which derives maximum benefit over several turns. For example, I may replace them in order of Dark Ritual, Hypnotic Spectre, Dark Ritual Foul Familiar. The possibilities are so varied that a complete examination of the permutations would require volumes, but the basic premise is simple: maximize your draws. In some cases, Diabolic Vision can be used to insure an early lock. In one duel, I managed to use Diabolic Vision to bring out Zur's Weirding and Ivory Tower one after another, something which saved both life and provided me with a lock once the Mind Twist in my hand was cast. Diabolic Vision also allows you to avoid the more deleterious effects of discard strategies. Discard relies upon the ability to deprive you of the ability utilize the spells you may have in hand. Most discard,relat, ed spells can only be utilizedduring your opponents turn, which gives you some breathing room to operate. When facing off against Hypnotic Spectres and the Hymn to Tourach, use Diabolic Vision to thin out if your hand as much as possible. you have only a little mana out, and high powered spells in hand, put land in hand and on top of your library. If you have no means of dealing with a Spectre, pull a flyer into your hand and cast it. Discard isn't the only strategy which Diabolic Vision can circumvent. Since the placement of a spell into your hand is not considered a draw, Diabolic Vision becomes even more powerful, as maintained by Morgan Schweers. Using Diabolic Vision, you can gain an extra spell with, out having to face the problems presented by Enduring Renewal, Zur's Weirding or even Underworld Dreams. If Enduring Renewal is in play, you can even use Diabolic Vision to pull a creature into your hand, allowing you to utilize it. Diabolic Vision provides one with an ability which any mage would envy: the ability to know what resources will be available. It allows for longer-term planning, and also allows you to tailor your strategies a little more effectively. If you know that a Dark Banishing is going to made available soon enough, you may not waste that Drain Life on a creature which has been holding up your attack. If you have a Darkness coming up, you may decide to initiate the attack more often. Knowing what you have coming up allows you to plan ahead much more effectively. It wouldn't be much longer ... it couldn't be. He had already waited an eternity. Back to Shadis #21 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com