The Gibs Are Coming!

When I first started playing Spellfire, I was confronted by three rather oddly-named champions: Gib Ekim, Gib Evets, and Gib Htimsen.
 
It actually took me quite awhile to realize that "Gib" was "Big" backwards, and we were actually dealing with "Big Steve", "Big Nesmith", and "Big Mike" (names of TSR game designers who worked on Spellfire). Over the years, more Gibs have been printed, some of which are among the most powerful champions in the game.

Here's a shot of my current Gib deck, followed by a rundown of what's in it.   

Realms (12): Front Lines, Cormyr, Avanil, Temple of Elemental Evil, Ruins of Zhentil Keep, Tyr, Mithas, Ancient Kalidnay, Euripis, Menzoberranzan, Duchy of Tenh, Urik.                                                 

Champions (12): Gib Drawsemaj, Gib Aklem, Gib Lhadsemlo, Gib Reltub, Gib Sinned, Gib Hcivonad, Gib Irod, Gib Occav, Gib Thiaf, Gib Kcir, Gib Cram, Gatekeeper.

Wizard Spells (9): Disintegrate, Hold Person, Wish, Dissolution, Limited Wish, Estate Transference, Dispel Magic, Spell Turning, Reincarnate.

Magic Items (2): Star Gem of Martek: Clear Crystal, Wyrm of Earthwalking.      

Allies (9): Loup-Garou, Undead Dragonrider, Death Knight, Gnasher, The White Weird, Glass Golem, Skull Tumor, Hero Slayer.    

Events (10): Cataclysm, Good Fortune, Wine of Eternity, The Genie Bottle, Trapped, Deflection, Caravan, Caer Allison, Dodge, Coming of the Phoenix.

Dungeon: Undermountain.

Rule Card: Inverted Pyramid.

Tell me what you think!

Next time: The top 5 cleric spells.

P.S. Check this out for an awesome Gib-related story (start at the bottom of the page). Who IS this guy? http://gibspellfire.blogspot.com/

My Psionicist Deck

Here's a rundown of what's in my psionicist deck:

Realms (13): Realm x7, Menzoberranzzan, Temple of Elemental Evil, Ruins of Iolonia, The Crystal Sphere, Ancient Kalidnay, Avanil.

Champions (12): Bansmareton (Avatar), T'Chaar, Phridge, Mistress of Destruction, Lazarus the Drow, Borys the Dragon, Shadair Mesker, Kronos the Titan, Highmaster Illithios, Lyr of the Mists, Minervan, Gith.

Wizard Spells (5): Dispel Magic, Spell Turning, Limited Wish, Hold Person, Wish.                        

Cleric Spells (3): Dispel, Intercession, Mindkiller.                      

Artifacts (2): Bando's Whitestone, Psychometron of Nerad.                

Ally (1): Loup-Garou.

Events (10): Labor of Legend, Slave Revolt, Good Fortune, The Genie Bottle, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Coming of the Phoenix, Caravan, Treasure Fleet, Cataclysm, Tyranthraxus.

Psionic Power cards: Psionic Disintegration, Domination, Drain Will, Banishment, Destroy Thought, Ultrablast, Inflict Pain, Magnify, Magic Draining Field.

Dungeon: Lair of Dregoth, the Undead Dragon-King.

Note: I do not run a Rule card in this deck.

That's it, tell me what you think.

Next time: The top 3 thieves.                             

My Tournament Deck

Well guys, here it is, the long-promised rundown of my TAV tournament deck. Yes, the deck that went through 7 other quality TAV decks to win the inaugural 2000 tourney in the place where it all began, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, and crown me Spellfire Champion!

You may notice a few newer (sticker set) cards in the deck. Obviously they weren't part of the action back in 2000, but truthfully I don't remember what cards were in their places, and there is no documentation or deck list.

I should mention that this deck had its genesis in the late 90s, when I played Spellfire in Sydney, Nova Scotia with a bunch of guys with names like Manny, Lindsay, Ian, and Clint. Later, in Antigonish, it was a crew including Scott, Chris, Dale, Rob, Paul, and (of course) Hayden.

This deck is about 15 years old, in its various incarnations. It's not unbeaten by any means, but it wins more matches than any deck I've ever seen in person (Please remember that these are TAV matches. The deck is probably useless for Standard, which I do not play).

Here's the card rundown.

Realms (13): Ancient Kalidnay, Sea of Dust, Nibenay, Solamnia, Ruins of Zhentil Keep, Avanil, Picque Moi, Temple of Elemental Evil, The Desolation, The Shadowlands, The Ruins of Iolonia, Menzoberranzan, Mithas.

Champions (14): Manshoon, Delsenora, Korgunard, Lyr, Earth Elemental, Prismal the Outrageous, Helm, Headless Horseman, Erellika, Zakhata, Living Scroll, Cyric, Living Wall.

Wizard Spells (11): Unnerving Aura, Dispel Illusion, Dissolution, Disintegrate, Spell Turning, Hold Person, Limited Wish, Wish, Takhisis' Abyssal Gateway, Dispel Magic, Estate Transference.

Cleric Spells (3): Mindkiller, Intercession, Dispel.

Magic Items (1): Star Gem of Martek: Clear Crystal.

Allies (3): Noble Djinni, Loup-Garou, The Dreaded Ghost.

Events (10): Map of Life, Tyranthraxus, Good Fortune, Unusually Good Fortune, Caravan, Genie Bottle, Caer Allison, Coming of the Phoenix, Pit Trap, Enter Darkness Together.

Dungeon: The Azure Tower of Onad the Fallen.

Note: I do not run a Rule Card or an Avatar in this particular deck.

Well there you have it. I should mention that anyone looking to buy these cards (or any Spellfire singles) should check out Troll & Toad. They have become *the* Spellfire singles retailer on the web.

Comments welcome on my deck. But if you think you can do better in TAV...we should play! :)

Next Time: The best Gib? (no, it's not Cram...) ;)