hi guys.
i've been thinking a lot about combo decks lately. now i dont realy like playing combo but its interesting brain food. so i thought i'd strike up a discussion on the topic and hope that for once people actualy contribute actively ^^.
so the first quetion probably should be what is combo ?
is Punishing Fire + Grove of the Burnwillows a combo ?
yes and no.
yes becaus by common use of the term you are combing two things. on top of that they are greater than the summ of thier parts.
no because in magic you have to differanciate between combo and synergy. this is a synergy because it is a "combo" that does not win on its own.
is Illusions of Grandeur + Donate a combo?
yes and yes.
its > than the summ of its parts ad it wins on its own.
so we have synergies and we have combos. in this thread i want to talk about combos not about synergies. so the cards that are combined have to be able to win on thier own (in an aceptable amount of time ... the 20 turns to burn someone dead with punishing fire does not count). Sometimes the lines blure sure but in general synergy makes your cards better combo lets you win now (or next turn).
combo is not = combo though. there are several diffrent subtypes. they too sometimes have subtypes. lets take a look at them:
pice combo:
i think everyone can see why these are combos. pice A + pice B + pice C = win. its that simple.
pros
it leaves a lot of room in your deck for other stuff. stuff to find the pices, to protect them or to have a backup plan.
cons
possibly the easyerst combo to disrupt. take away just one pice in the equasion and it wont work.
subtype:
pice lock:
you have a pice combo like above but it violates one of the rules i have set up. it does not win now. it does not win next turn. it might take 20+ turns to win from the turn you combo. so why is it a combo ? simple from the turn you combo your opponent is nothing more that a spectator. he can not do anything and will eventualy die.
Stasis + Kismet + Chronatog is one of the oldest examples.
deck combo:
this type is vastly diffrent from pice combo. so much so that much discussion has been held if its combo or not. virtualy every card in your deck is part of your combo.
pros
it matters what you draw but not nearly as much as it would in pice combo. you are also harder to disrupt.
cons
you have little space in your deck for defence or backup plans.
subtypes:
lock-deck-combo
ok this one is a bit bizzar. there is realy just one example i can think of but there are a lot of diffrent versions with nearly all colors in magic:
Stax
in stax every card in your deck has the goal to stop your opponent from being ablte to do anything. spheers, chalice, smokestack, ensnaring bridge, propaganda, armageddon the list goes on.
now those are the two most basic categories. however the can be mixed with other archetypes like agro or control. both can exisit as a pice or deck combo (like dredge wich i would classifie as a deck-combo / agro deck or affinty wich can classifie as a pice-combo / agro deck [ravager + disciple])
so now that we have a basic understanding of the internal makeup of combo decks and the two big camps that contest for power, would you guys like to here about historic combo decks? detailed examples of every type? ways to play and beat combo? or something totaly diffrent?
the discussion is of course open to all an the more participate the better. if you disagree with what i say (especialy the statement on affinty tends to find disagreement) go ahead lets discuss.
as a final word for now i just hope this is not going to be another thread slippinginto the board oblivion because people feel they have nothing to say or feel they are not expirianced enough to contribute. go ahead give me your oppinion its worth as mch as everyone elses. go ahgead ask questions. the only dumb questions are the ones not asked ...