Persuasion, Procedure, and Planeswalkers: The Protocological Rhetoric of Magic: The Gathering

Kevin Brock

Sample Starter Game: Kevin v. Trevor

Kevin (Infernal Intervention) vs. Trevor (Flames of the Dragon)

The game progression for each player in each turn is explained in the below table, with a gallery of images following each overall turn to illustrate the actions taken by each player during that turn.

Turn	Actions	Play-by-play Reflections
Kevin T1	Opening Hand (Mulliganed to 6) Blastfire Bolt Mountain x2 Nightfire Giant Swamp x2 First Main Phase Played Mountain	I’ve seen this deck in action so far, and it’s not promising. Still, I’ve had a semi-decent run with the few games I’ve played to this point, so maybe there’s something nifty I can do with it to achieve victory. Also, I think this is the first game I’ve played so far that makes use of Red cards. So we’ll see what that’s like!
Trevor T1	Opening Hand (Mulliganed to 5) Mountain x3 Sacred Armory Shrapnel Blast Draw Phase Juggernaut First Main Phase Mountain	I need starting mana after this mulligan!

Kevin T2	Draw Phase Mountain First Main Phase Played Swamp Hand at end of turn Blastfire Bolt Mountain x2 Nightfire Giant Swamp	Got to first build up to a decent land allotment, I suppose...
Trevor T2	Draw Phase Ornithopter First Main Phase Played Mountain Played Ornithopter Hand at end of turn Juggernaut Mountain Sacred Armory Shrapnel Blast	Okay, not a bad way to start: a free flying blocker!

Kevin T3	Draw Phase Mountain First Main Phase Played Mountain Hand at end of turn Blastfire Bolt Mountain x2 Nightfire Giant Swamp	Yep, expanding that real estate. Hopefully, I’ll get an early-game creature soon (the Nightfire Giant is just too expensive to play yet).
Trevor T3	Draw Phase Island First Main Phase Played Mountain Played Sacred Armory Hand at end of turn Island Juggernaut Shrapnel Blast	I finally have enough mana out to cast my Shrapnel Blast!

Kevin T4	Draw Phase Carrion Crow First Main Phase Played Swamp Played Carrion Crow Hand at end of turn Blastfire Bolt Mountain x2 Nightfire Giant	And there one is! Sweet. At least I have a bit of initial offense/defense.
Trevor T4	Draw Phase Hoarding Dragon First Main Phase Played Island Hand at end of turn Hoarding Dragon Juggernaut Shrapnel Blast	I really need more offensive creatures, or more spells to blast with.

Kevin T5	Draw Phase Swamp First Main Phase Played Swamp Played Nightfire Giant Combat Phase Attacked with Carrion Crow Trevor blocked with Ornithopter Trevor played Shrapnel Blast (sacrificing Ornithopter in the process before its death was resolved) on Nightfire Giant Hand at end of turn Blastfire Bolt Mountain x2	And now I have enough to play Nightfire Giant! Plus, two creatures means I can go conservative on the attack, since I can save something for Trevor’s inevitable counterattack. (After Trevor’s Shrapnel Blast) Nooo! Not the giant! He was just about to be awesome.
Trevor T5	Draw Phase Island First Main Phase Played Island Played Hoarding Dragon Searched for and exiled Juggernaut as part of playing this spell Hand at end of turn Juggernaut

Kevin T6	Draw Phase Swamp First Main Phase Played Mountain Played Blastfire Bolt on Trevor’s Hoarding Dragon (the exiled Juggernaut goes into Trevor’s hand) Combat Phase Attacked Trevor with Carrion Crow → Trevor at 18 life Hand at end of turn Mountain Swamp	I feel pretty sure I’m going to lose now, since my heavy hitter is gone and Trevor has a freaking dragon on the table. But we’ll see how it goes.
Trevor T6	Draw Phase Glacial Crasher First Main Phase Played Juggernaut Hand at end of turn Glacial Crasher Juggernaut	Ok, now I have a big monster, the dragon, and now is when I need to attack.

Kevin T7	Draw Phase Swamp First Main Phase Swamp Combat Phase Attacked with Carrion Crow → Trevor at 16 life Hand at end of turn Mountain Swamp	Things are not looking good—Trevor has a Juggernaut on the board, and another one in his hand (note: the Juggernaut exiled by Hoarding Dragon was revealed to all players). I have the feeling that this game is going to end in two to three turns, tops. Frankly, I’m kind of amazed that I’ve lasted this long, given my luck with draws.
Trevor T7	Draw Phase Mountain First Main Phase Played Mountain Played Juggernaut Combat Phase Attacked with Juggernaut → Kevin at 15 life Hand at end of turn Glacial Crasher	Okay, now it’s crushing time!

Kevin T8	Draw Phase Typhoid Rats First Main Phase Played Mountain Played Typhoid Rats Combat Phase Attacked with Carrion Crow → Trevor at 14 life Hand at end of turn Swamp	Okay, the Typhoid Rats are a good start, but I have to get something that can take down one or two of his beasts. Otherwise, it’s futile.
Trevor T8	Draw Phase Bronze Sable First Main Phase Played Glacial Crasher Combat Phase Attacked with Juggernaut Kevin blocked with Typhoid Rats Attacked with Glacial Crasher → Kevin at 10 life Hand at end of turn Bronze Sable	Well, the Juggernaut wasn’t so unstoppable, but it helped me get rid of the Typhoid Rats. Now my Glacial Crasher can finish the job.

Kevin T9	Draw Phase Swamp Kevin concedes. Hand at end of game Swamp x2	Having drawn a Swamp, I decided to concede; I just could not get the right card to block or otherwise deal with everything that Trevor could throw at me.