Part Two, choosing a region

This is the second article in a series. If you’ve already chosen a region and are only interested in what I may have to say about building the deck, then you may choose skip this part of the series. The planned blocks are:

Part One, the basic structure. – posted
Part Two, choosing a region. – current
Part Three, creating a strategy/theme.
Part Four, going for efficiency.
Part Five, countering the opposition.

While choosing the region you will play in Magi-Nation is usually the first thing you do, I have put this series together in nearly the same order I learned the game, plus offer a general listing of the different regions and what they do (something I will probably refer to later).

Before you pick a region, you may want to figure out your style of play. If you already know, or have a good guess, then you can skip right ahead to picking the region. Otherwise, you may want to find some people with different decks that you can borrow for a few games. They may even help you play the deck as you become familiar with it. After the game, or during the game if it is already evident, you should ask yourself how feel about the region. First, was it fun? Was the strategy something you really liked? Did you like the creatures? Were the powers/effects to your liking? Do you like the relics? Did you like the spells? Too defensive for you? Too aggressive? Was there something else you would’ve rather done?

Even if you lose, you should enjoy your chosen region. Just because a deck can win, doesn’t mean that you’ll enjoy playing with it. While many may argue about whether the regions are balanced or not, it should be possible to build a winning/fun deck with any of the regions. Once you’ve chosen a region you can work on acquiring the cards to make the deck that can do what you want.

Following the main section of this article is a brief description of each region and some of their strengths and weaknesses. It is my hope that players may be able to find something in these summaries that will help in choosing a region to play. If there is a tactic you prefer but you don’t see any sort of reference to, then ask another player. It would make this article much longer than it already is to list everything about the regions, and how they can be combined (and even that would be just what I know).

For a better look at a region, find a player who has a deck to match and ask if they’ll let you borrow it for a game or two. If that is a problem, you can search the deck sections of DeckTech and look for decks that match what you are interested in. Players on DeckTech may be able to point you to some decks in particular. For the decks posted on the internet, you’ll want to pay special attention to the strategy section and the reviews, as this might give a better feel for how the deck works.

After reading a few decks, a summary of the region, or playing a few games, hopefully you’ll have found the region that suits you. With that choice made, you’ll want to get started on that region. Buy the appropriate starter deck and some boosters, or find a player with extras from the region that you can acquire. While booster packs may provide some of the cards you want for your deck, it will mostly provide you with cards you can trade with other players. Trading for the cards you need/want is often crucial.

Once you’re started, you will build your first deck(s). When beginning, I highly recommend you focus on one region. Though there are some good mixed region decks, it is easier to start with decks that focus on one region. For recommendations on the deck size and basic structure, you should read “Building a Deck - Part One, the Basic Structure.” The next few articles will hopefully help a player rapidly learn to apply the basics presented there.

For those of us that try to help others get started into this game, here’s a few suggestions.

If appropriate, ask what other games they play(ed) and the way they like to play them. Use that to try and match a similar region. Even knowing what they didn’t like about the other game(s) can help. Even if it turns out that they would rather play another region, it can be somewhere to start. The questions and answers could lead to the correct region.

Or, after going through a game or two, basically ask them the very questions I suggested for the new player in this article. By asking them what they liked and would have rather done differently, you might be able to guess what region they’ll enjoy. If you know of someone with deck that represents what they might like, try and arrange for them to experience it.

A third method is to summarize the regions. If they are not sure what appeals to them, you could try and list the various regions and what they can do. Sometimes, something will stand out and appeal to them as you go down the list. It may be necessary to combine this third method with either of the first two suggestions.

Any way you go about it, the goal is to get started on a region. Any of these methods you use, you probably want to be familiar with the various regions. The following summary of the regions is intended for both selecting a region to play, and as a general overview of the regions in preparation for the remaining sections for this series of articles. You may choose to skip it.


Summaries of the Regions (in alphabetical order as of VotS):

Arderial.
Known for its Shockwave and Cataclysm, Arderial tends to be considered the masters of creature discard. Their creature control is aided by some abilities to return creatures (usually opposing creatures) to the player’s hand. This region can also look at an opponent’s hand/deck and possibly play a spell from there. A common feature is card draw, and Arderial features a few spells, a relic, and a creature that can draw cards. Add in some cards to search for other cards from the deck, or return select cards from the discard pile, and Arderial has a strong draw engine. While generally known for its spells, Arderial has strong attack abilities in all three card types. Able to handle a mix of situations and even play cards to render certain combinations useless, Arderial is a fairly balanced region. For themes, a deck featuring the xyx creature-type is very effective too, a popular Arderial creature type. Arderial may actually be weakest against Arderial, since it also sports several creatures that have extra bonuses against other Arderial decks/creatures.

Bograth.
Creatures galore. This region uses lots of small creatures and either grows them or uses spells and powers that count the player’s Bograth creatures to determine how much damage they do. Card draw in Bograth is mostly a matter of creature powers or relics. There is one magi and a relic that allows players to recycle creatures from the discard pile. There are only a limited number of large Bograth creatures. Any way you go about winning with Bograth, this region usually puts out lots of little creatures. Finishing moves are usually done with a special spell or power dependent on vast numbers of creatures. Bograth can easily grow their small swarm into much larger creatures, and put on a threat in that manner as well. This region is typically weak against mass energy discard (Cald) and mass removal (mostly found in Arderial and Underneath). Fortunately, there is a creature, relic, and magi that can offer some protection from energy discard. Though, it is still vulnerable to mass removal.

Cald.
This is the region most known for “burning” the opponent’s creatures. Spells, creatures, and relics are commonly used to discard energy from opposing creatures/magi. A Cald deck that uses its creatures to attack instead of discard energy is possible, but it is not as common. However, it is common to see a Cald deck without creatures. Yet, their creatures are not to be underestimated. While most regions have one or two cards that either protect against or benefit from being discarded from the player’s hand by an opposing card, Abraxin’s Crown is one of the most devastating since it forces the opponent to discard their hand in retaliation. Cald also has the most selective card for discarding a card from an opponent’s hand in the Heat Lens, a relic. Other than a few spells or powers with secondary effects to prevent opposing creatures from attacking, Cald is not a terribly defensive region and tends to strike very hard using its spells and powers. Cald has very little direct card draw, though a few effects can draw cards under the right conditions. Spells/powers/effects that reduce or prevent the damage Cald can do with their spells or powers can be devastating to this region.

Core.
Currently, if you like to play as the villain, then this may be your region. Many of the magi in this region are formerly magi of the other regions who have chosen to abandon their old ways to embrace the darkness found in the center of their world, and are known as Shadow Magi. Some of the powers or effects of most regions are represented here. While each region usually does their individual specialties better than Core can, Core can easily combine some of these tactics in one deck to devastate the opposition. It is common to use creature stealing spells and powers. These “stolen” creatures are then used against their former controller(s). There is a rare relic and spell that offer possible mass creature removal, while several creatures have powers that can discard energy. Card draw in Core can be done with spells/creatures/relics. Some cards even hinder card draw, or discard cards from an opponent’s hand/deck. There are a few tactics to grow creatures, and Core has a spell that allows a creature to remove energy first instead of simultaneously when attacking. The sharing of spells and creatures between Core and the other regions is somewhat limited. Several Core cards are playable by select other regions, and the Shadow Magi can play select cards from their original regions. Nearly each region has at least one anti-Core creature, or a creature that cannot be affected by Core spells/powers. Even Core has one, and all of these creatures have secondary powers or effects with potentially devastating impact against an opposing Core deck. These creatures usually make a strong showing where Core is commonly played or is thrashing the opposition regularly.

d’Resh.
The Sands of d’Resh can be played like Cald, with creatures and spells discarding energy. It also features several effects/spells/powers that relate to a magi’s starting cards, whether searching for them or gaining “free” energy from a starting card. Card draw in this region is usually tied into the discard pile, reshuffling the deck, or by having no cards in the hand. Although, it is possible for d’Resh to play a few cards from the discard pile under the right conditions. There are two special creature types common to d’Resh, illusionary and recurring. Illusionary creatures that are often twice as big as they cost, and don’t count as being in play for checking to see if the magi is defeated. Fortunately, for the opponent, they can’t attack magi. Recurring creatures on the other hand, have some extra options to come back from the discard pile. In fact, when revealing your next d’Resh magi, you may discard one energy from the magi to take one recurring card of your choice from the discard pile and place it into your hand. One can’t forget the oracles, which mostly have benefits for other oracles in play, including a Magi that is the seventh oracle. While illusionary creatures can make a great defense, an opponent that can remove energy directly from the magi without dealing with these impressive creatures directly can usually defeat such a d’Resh magi.

Kybar’s Teeth.
While some regions have a creature bigger than anything currently in Kybar’s Teeth, this region is still known for its selection of large creatures. Few regions have as many, nor do they depend on them quite as much. A Kybar’s Teeth deck usually fields only a few creatures at time because of it. To their credit, a great many of their creatures have the effect invulnerability, allowing them to lose one or two less energy in attacks. Since a Kybar’s Teeth deck will often have fewer creatures in play, being able to suffer less damage in each attack is often crucial to their survival. There are several cards that check and compare creature sizes before adding energy or discarding energy, which can provide another way to try and play this region. In addition, they have a few tricks relating to a creature’s starting energy, and a few ways to reduce a creature to it during the attack step. While lacking much in small creatures, the mid-size Kybar’s creatures can be very useful. Since they usually only have a few creatures in play at a time, and big ones at that, spells and powers that remove all of a creature’s energy, or almost all, can be devastating. Creature discard can be a nuisance for the Kybar’s deck as well, though there is some more protection against this.

Nar.
Like the Cold? This region freezes cards in play or checks for quantity of relics for effects, usually opposing relics. Freezing a card in play increases the cost of its powers, and frozen magi spend one extra on spells. Many Nar creatures have increased effects/powers when they are frozen. So, the Nar deck actually gets better when frozen. Perhaps, in the future, some Nar relics and magi might reflect this as well. Until then, other than punishing opposing magi, or making powers on relics more expensive, freezing relics or magi offers Nar only minor benefits. If not freezing things, they can use a number cards that check the opponent’s number of spells/relics in play to their advantage. Several of these cards are creatures, though there are some relics and spells that can offer punishment for relic intensive decks. Most creature effects apply to when attacking, so it is usually to this region’s advantage to use a spell or power to keep the opponent on the defensive side of things. Decks that can get through Nar fairly easily tend to use effects and are light on their relics, as freezing a card does not alter the effects from the other regions.

Naroom.
Growth is a common theme for Naroom. This is a fairly straight forward region to play, and still powerful enough to win tournaments. With only a few defensive creatures, most of the region’s attack based powers and effects refer to the offensive. Add in a relic that can be used to allow the Naroom creatures to attack more than once, and Naroom delivers a decent punch even under the harshest conditions. No direct discard in their spells, Naroom uses creatures that they can heal with their powers and spells. It is also possible for Naroom to give their creatures a modest energize rate. Card draw in Naroom is somewhat limited, though there are several methods they can use to recycle from the discard pile. Also, Core has invaded Naroom and taken a foothold in this region, so there is strong presence of creatures and magi crossing to Core. Mass discard such as Ormagon and Cataclysm can be devastating to Naroom, since they are very dependant on their creatures. Fortunately, a Naroom player that can get their hands on few rare cards can trim down the danger somewhat by using creatures with effects or powers that allow the player to remove energy directly from opposing magi. Though, a magi that just flipped will have plenty of energy to wreck the day with either of those options.

Orothe.
These may well be the masters of control in Magi-Nation. This region can benefit from, or devastate, opposing actions with energy gain, disruption of card play, or discarding energy. This is in addition to using powers to steal control of opposing creatures or relics. There are several options in Orothe to draw cards, mostly creature based, which the region usually depends on to get to their control cards faster. With some creature discard spells, Orothe can also use their own creatures to discard creatures, usually as they’re being played. Another Orothe trick is the interchanging magi, where they will cycle through all three magi of their own magi without any of them being defeated. This is done in an effort to gain some extra energy, or to switch to the magi best suited to the task at hand. With a wide variety of combos to use, this region is quite defensive with many tricks to master. Frequently, Orothe is teamed up with Arderial for a deadly mix. The easiest way to deal with Orothe is to attempt to overwhelm them, though many Orothe decks are also very dependent on their relics.

Paradwyn.
There are almost two separate themes to Paradwyn, dreamwarp and stalk. Dreamwarp creatures alter their starting energy as you play them. While some cards may reduce the cost of playing dreamwarp creatures, or provide other benefits for playing them, you still have to pay for the creature according to starting energy chosen. The advantage comes in playing a normally large creature out as a small one when energy is sparse, or making a small creature bigger to suit your needs. Several dreamwarp creatures have some very useful abilities, usually adding energy. On the other hand, a Paradwyn deck can be centered around stalking opposing creatures. A stalked creature loses one energy before energy is removed whenever it is attacked. Some Paradwyn spells and effects add energy to your creatures when they attack a stalked creature, while other spells and powers add energy to dreamwarp creatures. Most Paradwyn decks will either focus on stalking or dreamwarp, since the two themes can be hard to work together. Perhaps something interesting is the ability to use some powers or spells on an opponent’s turn under the right conditions. The easiest method to deal with the stalk deck is to prevent their creatures from attacking, usually by attacking them instead (a stalked creature loses that one extra energy when defending, but usually not when attacking). Either way Paradwyn is played, like most other regions, it is very dependent on creatures.

Underneath.
Mostly known for burrowed creatures and Ormagon. While there are a good mix of defensive and attack related creatures, it is the spells and powers of Underneath that usually devastate an opponent. It is common for an Underneath deck to defend itself with burrowed creatures. Creatures that are burrowed cannot attack, unless another card allows them to overcome this limitation, and only lose a total of two energy from spells/powers/attacks per turn. Most powerful against non-Underneath, with powers that refer to all non-Underneath creatures in play. Also, card draw is done mostly with creatures. Underneath is commonly weak against opposing effects (can ignore burrow) and direct discard (also ignores burrow). Another problem can be cards that effectively dig up their burrowed creatures so that energy is removed as normal, although it is easier for an Underneath player to deal with or eliminate these. As long as its not facing another Underneath deck, this region can do flip-kills quite easily–eliminating all opposing creatures and all energy from the opposing magi the turn the new Underneath magi is revealed.

Universal
It is sometimes considered the thirteenth region. There are only a few creatures, and very few magi. A Rayje deck is somewhat popular, but will usually use creatures and spells from another region. Mostly composed of spells and relics, Universal provides a wide variety of cards that can be used to complement card draw, energy gain, and discarding energy to name a few. While not necessarily a powerful region on its own, all of these creatures/spells/relics are playable in the other regions without regional penalties and restrictions, unless otherwise stated. For example, Kesia cannot play non-Weave spells, so she can’t play any Universal spells even though she can still play Universal relics/creatures. Currently, you won’t find Universal starter decks. Universal is mostly just what its name implies, although it is treated as its own separate region when using spells/powers/effects that check for the region(s) of a card. As a final note, Universal magi do suffer regional penalties/restrictions for non-Universal cards.

Weave.
Another very creature intensive region, it is often known for building impressive defenses and forcing an opponent to attack it. In addition, many Weave creatures can move energy between each other using the weave effect in attacks, making their wall even tougher to deal with. Even if the wall crumbles a little, Weave has a few options to punish opposing creatures that survived attacking it. These payback cards can keep opposing players nervous and wary of attacking. There are several cards that offer abilities to add energy to the magi or creatures. As for card draw, Weave has most of its card draw built into its creatures, and mostly effect based. While known for its defensive options, Weave can also be turned into a very aggressive region, with some spells and powers turning their creatures into voracious, attacking monsters. Such a Weave deck can be very brutal and hard to stop if left unchecked. Defensive or aggressive, much of Weave’s success will be in the attack step. Regions/decks that devastate opponents in the powers/spells/relics step can chew through most of the Weave, though the region has a little protection from Cald (one such region) in the Stumbling Junjertrug and Weave Hut. Mass creature destruction can still really hurt, as it does for most regions.