Tell me a story about the time a gamble paid off and snatched victory from the jaws of multiplayer defeat.
I'll go first.
Magic 2012 on the xbla. 3 player free for all game, its down to me with an artifact based deck vs a hugely powerful blue-green creature of doom deck. He's got several small creatures, and 1 12/12 indestructible eldrazi with annihilator. I've got two 2/1 fliers with death touch, and a pair of artifact books that make my hand size unlimited and give me 2 life per card every upkeep.
He attacks with the eldrazi and my flier sacrifices itself to kill it. Several turns pass with him adding a small creature each turn and me adding a card to my hand to increase my upkeep healing by two points. Many turns pass this way with me drawing nothing worth playing and not increasing my heal next upkeep, and him unable to get enough creatures down to overcome it.
Then a shift happens, I get another artifact that allows me to make my flier indestructible, I couldn't pass on it so I play and equip it and feel pretty good about my little defender. My opponent plays a card that should return the bird to my hand and give him 1/1 token creatures equal to it's converted mana cost. Instead through some fail of the game mechanics it puts the bird in the graveyard and gave him the creatures. I needed that flying blocker to discourage a 6/6 flying trample shrouded creature he put down a few turns back.
Luckily I had a grave digger in hand, played it and got the bird back, made it invulnerable again. His next attack I sacrificed the grave digger to block in order to make up for the fact that I had played cards and lost healing power every upkeep for it.
Next turn I draw an invulnerable darksteel colossus. My enemy casts that same spell a second time adding 10 more 1/1 tokens to the table. I manage to get the darksteel back out because it went to my hand as it should have, but the opponent's sheer number of weenie 1/1s means that the balance of power has shifted and my healing will no longer be able to keep up with the damage I'll sustain each turn.
After weathering the last attack I can withstand, he's left 2 creatures to block my two. I know that I've got one hope, and I'm going to have to gamble on him show boating. I cast two spells to remove his blockers and damage him to 3 life remaining with my creatures, leaving me wide open to be finished. As soon as the damage resolved he says "thank you, I just won." All he has to do attack with a portion of the creatures he has available, but instead he did exactly what I gambled on.
Instead of simply attacking and finishing me he cast another huge 12/12 creature, which let me cast the counter-spell that includes the last 3 damage I need to win the match. I'm not sure why its so different than when playing the actual card game, but I've noticed that the XBLA magic players seem to have much more desire to toy with their foes or showboat. I was counting on this guy to do it too and he lived up to my best expectations. Most rewarding online win I've had in months.
How about you fellow 'scapists?
I'll go first.
Magic 2012 on the xbla. 3 player free for all game, its down to me with an artifact based deck vs a hugely powerful blue-green creature of doom deck. He's got several small creatures, and 1 12/12 indestructible eldrazi with annihilator. I've got two 2/1 fliers with death touch, and a pair of artifact books that make my hand size unlimited and give me 2 life per card every upkeep.
He attacks with the eldrazi and my flier sacrifices itself to kill it. Several turns pass with him adding a small creature each turn and me adding a card to my hand to increase my upkeep healing by two points. Many turns pass this way with me drawing nothing worth playing and not increasing my heal next upkeep, and him unable to get enough creatures down to overcome it.
Then a shift happens, I get another artifact that allows me to make my flier indestructible, I couldn't pass on it so I play and equip it and feel pretty good about my little defender. My opponent plays a card that should return the bird to my hand and give him 1/1 token creatures equal to it's converted mana cost. Instead through some fail of the game mechanics it puts the bird in the graveyard and gave him the creatures. I needed that flying blocker to discourage a 6/6 flying trample shrouded creature he put down a few turns back.
Luckily I had a grave digger in hand, played it and got the bird back, made it invulnerable again. His next attack I sacrificed the grave digger to block in order to make up for the fact that I had played cards and lost healing power every upkeep for it.
Next turn I draw an invulnerable darksteel colossus. My enemy casts that same spell a second time adding 10 more 1/1 tokens to the table. I manage to get the darksteel back out because it went to my hand as it should have, but the opponent's sheer number of weenie 1/1s means that the balance of power has shifted and my healing will no longer be able to keep up with the damage I'll sustain each turn.
After weathering the last attack I can withstand, he's left 2 creatures to block my two. I know that I've got one hope, and I'm going to have to gamble on him show boating. I cast two spells to remove his blockers and damage him to 3 life remaining with my creatures, leaving me wide open to be finished. As soon as the damage resolved he says "thank you, I just won." All he has to do attack with a portion of the creatures he has available, but instead he did exactly what I gambled on.
Instead of simply attacking and finishing me he cast another huge 12/12 creature, which let me cast the counter-spell that includes the last 3 damage I need to win the match. I'm not sure why its so different than when playing the actual card game, but I've noticed that the XBLA magic players seem to have much more desire to toy with their foes or showboat. I was counting on this guy to do it too and he lived up to my best expectations. Most rewarding online win I've had in months.
How about you fellow 'scapists?
