Momir Basic, part 1

I am going to continue the casual series. This time I will tell you more about format which is available only online - Momir Basic. The funniest format ever, where every game is different. That’s what makes Momir Basic so great. It requires an absolute minimum of investment, and your deck is competitive with every other deck in the tournament. First, let’s review the rules. Momir Basic decks consist of the following: exactly 60 Basic Lands (Swamp, Island, Forest, Mountain, Plains) and exactly 1 “Momir Vig” Vanguard card. No snow lands, no dual lands, only 60 basics allowed. No sideboard. The most leeway you have on this is that your lands can be from any set, and have any artwork.

For those unfamiliar with Vanguard magic, the concept is that you pick one avatar card that gives you some additional ability, and then build your deck with that ability in mind. The Momir Vig avatar allows you to start with 24 life, and grants the following ability: X, Discard a card: Put a token into play as a copy of a random creature card with converted mana cost X. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery and only once each turn.

I would like to emphasis that creatures put into play are tokens. It is very important. Any ‘bounce’ is equal to removal. Creatures trigger goes to graveyard effect when they die, but they do not stay in the graveyard, so reanimation is a bust (sorry Reya). Remember that you can only use this avatar once per turn. Even if you somehow draw X extra cards, they will be pretty useless.

While the format may seem trivial or impractically random, there is a surprising depth to the strategy involved. Next part is going to be about strategy.