What's So Special About Contested War Zone?
General forum
Posted on Oct. 24, 2011, 6:19 a.m. by ZaLiTHkA
Card in question: Contested War Zone
Obviously I can see how the "Attacking creatures get +1/+0 until end of turn" would be helpful, but as soon as anybody deals damage directly to you, they take control of Contested War Zone and therefore gain that attack bonus... This would be even more painful in a deck with multiple copies of this card.
Now, whether or not you consider the fact that you don't pay any mana for this card, wouldn't it be safer/better/easier to get this attack bonus in another way, such as 'Battle Cry'? For example Signal Pest (colourless, 1 mana), Accorder Paladin (white, 2 mana), etc.. According to Gatherer, there are 7 creatures with "Battle Cry", almost all of which I would take over Contested War Zone any day.
So, excuse the noobish question, but am I missing something vital here..? Why do so many people seem to like this card so much?
The main reasoning for Contested War Zone being a card people like is simply because it is a great potential finisher for weenie decks, usually in red or white.
Apart from this, the land can be counter productive simply because of it's clause, but that aside, if you manage to get 5 weeine creatures (or tokens) down, and then play this on the turn you want to swing for the win, then it turns a potential game breaker.
Potential cards that make this viable are Kuldotha Rebirth (For Kuldutha Red decks - Before Innistrad came in for standard), Gutter Grime , Eldrazi tokens, white weenie decks might see use for it, and token decks that splurge out lots of weenies cheaply.
Hope this helps to explain why some folk rate this card highly!
October 24, 2011 6:42 a.m.
Wow.. That Kuldotha Red Deck looks a bit insane, just found a page with the evolution of Kulgotha Red. Considering the number of creatures it would spawn and at such a speed, suddenly Contested War Zone makes a bit more sense!
Also makes sense with some sort of Eldrazi Token deck.. I suppose even more so if it includes a couple Broodwarden s. :P Then of course, it probably wouldn't be a 'standard' deck, but that would really hurt...
Thanks guys, couple usage examples I really didn't think of there. :D Heck, it's not really my preferred 'play style', but I'm quite tempted to try put something together around this now.
October 24, 2011 6:58 a.m.
Well, you could go out on a limb and try a red/green Kuldotha deck using Parallel Lives + Artifact Mana Ramp (Sphere of the Suns or either of the wellsprings could prove fun!) + Kuldotha Rebirth , heck even splash some white for Dispatch and Intangible Virtue and see how that goes for explosive 6 creature 3/2 swings come turn 4 (possibly - if done right :)) with that Contested War Zone coming down.
White could also give you access to other token generation in the way of card:Master's Call or Midnight Haunting .
October 24, 2011 7:24 a.m.
I suppose you could say, regardless of the main colour, it would be a very useful in a token deck.. One day, maybe this time I'll try stick to Standard instead of my usual migration to Legacy. :P
Although, currently I'm trying to put together a deck for my girlfriend (she hasn't played in years, but she wants a Red/Black Dragon/Drake deck) and I'm considering a few cards for a Blue/Black Ninja deck for myself... So I'll bookmark that card for later adventures.
Thanks again to both of you, very educational. :D
October 24, 2011 7:36 a.m.
Its also helpful in defensive decks. For example, I run 1 CWZ in my knights which are usually indestructible and flying as well, so I can defend the land and use it when I'm ready. =)
Cheers
October 24, 2011 1:07 p.m.
Contested War Zone is also good because, if you're using it correctly and activating it each turn, your opponent should never have it untapped.
Attack with your weenies, activate CWZ. It taps.
Opponent swings back and gains control of a tapped CWZ, passes turn.
Attack with your weenies, get it back.
It's just a good utility land. It's not a game-changer, but it's right up Aggro's alley.
October 24, 2011 10:49 p.m.
Steimtime, surely that wouldn't work for defending? The card text states "Attacking creatures get +1/+0...", not "Creatures you control get +1/+0...".
Considering that MtG's definitions of 'attack' and 'defend' are very different; to me that means if you attack with your creatures they get a bonus, but not if you defend with them.
October 25, 2011 1:57 a.m.
No no I mean you can defend the land without losing it rather well =P So your opponent doesn't get it.
October 25, 2011 8:46 p.m.
Just thought about it, and Ghost Quarter is a card you will never want your opponent to play if your using this card... if they get an attack in, and get control of it, they could then sac Ghost Quarter and destroy your Contested War Zone , and get a basic land for themselves...
November 25, 2011 5:29 p.m.
Honestly, I think the main appeal of MtG (or at least the main point for me) is the fact that everything in Magic has something that works against it... Everything can be countered with the right cards or combination of cards.
For example, simply having a Tajuru Preserver in play completely nullifies the Eldrazi's Annihilator, put a Canopy Cover (or card:Alexi's Cloak if you run U/G, or Mask of Avacyn for colourless) on it and you're sorted, Purity lets you gain life instead of losing from most of Red's target damage spells, Sanguine Bond combined with Chastise ruins an opponent's "big finishing move" attack (especially using it on an Enchanted and Equipped 12/12 Angel with Flying, Trample, Vigilance and Lifelink... I would know, I've done that...), etc etc.
When I look at each card, there two things I ask: how will it benefit me, and how will it benefit my opponent. If the odds work better in my favour for any reason, then it's worth looking at ways to use it and keep it alive/in play/beneficial.
My point is, any card or combination of cards has both it's benefits and weaknesses.. It's all about weighing up the odds and deciding if you're going to take the chance or not. For me, this card just doesn't do it. :)
November 26, 2011 10:06 a.m.
But you're not thinking about the card as it would be in a game. You're just reading the card.
The reason Contested War Zone is good is because it gives you a free Battle Cry. Then if an opponent attacks, they gain control of a tapped CWZ. Then your army of creatures (which you should have with CWZ) swings and you get it back tapped. With this process, it never goes through an untap step. As long as you have more creatures than your opponent, it's essentially a free pumping spell that your opponent should never be able to use. And who doesn't want an extra 6 damage when you've got 3 Memnite and 3 Glint Hawk Idol s? That sounds worth it to me.
There's a reason why this card popped up in Top 8 lists from big tournaments. The argument that says "it's bad" is invalid here.
November 26, 2011 2:51 p.m.
I didn't ever say that it's a bad card, if I thought that I wouldn't ever have considered it.. It simply doesn't suit my play style, so it's not something I'd use myself...
As I said, it's all about weighing up the odds and deciding if you're going to take the chance or not. For me (that's the important part), this card just doesn't do it. :)
Epochalyptik says... #2
CWZ used to be used in the Kuldotha Red deck pre-rotation. It offered a huge damage boost due to all the tokens the deck produced in the first few turns, when it was unlikely that another deck would have creatures on the field, let alone be attacking you.
It's not a fantastic card, but it has its uses.
October 24, 2011 6:36 a.m.