With Momir back in the 2-man Queues I felt like this was relevant enough to repost. For fans of alternative formats, this is a brisk (re)read; more of a prompt to shuffle up some lands and let the hair and scales fly at random! And with Eldrazi entering the fray, there’s more incentive than ever to hold off for those high-end daddies!
We hope you this little Sunday ‘Blast from the Past!’ Pick up a Momir Avatar and get your hands dirty! – Travis R. Chance
If you are asking yourself what the big difference is playing online compared to playing “real life” Magic, Avatars definitely fall under this umbrella. Used to not only represent yourself in the online environment with a physical appearance in game, they can also be used in a special format called Vanguard. Every new account starts with 5 Avatars. There are many more in the game, some of which are quite rare (Platinum Angel currently being the most expensive).
There is however one that stands out among the others with an entire format named after him: Momir.
The Momir Avatar allows you to play “Momir Basic,” a very interesting format which consists only of basic lands and the Avatar itself. The Avatar allows you to pay 3 mana and discard a card to put generate a random creature token with a casting cost equal to the amount of mana used on to the battlefield. If you tap 5 land and discard a card you could generate a Serra Angel, a Siege-Gang Commander, or even something a Sliver Queen! This is the beauty and the fun of the format: it’s totally random!!!
Any player looking for an interesting and thought-provoking game should invest in a Momir Avatar. He is quite expensive (about 8 Tickets ), but is well worth the investment. You only need 60 basic lands beyond the Avatar to have hours of fun. Just make sure to get the Avatar, not the actual creature card. Some players even like to combine Momir with the Jhoira Avatar; she works similarly to Momir, only for instants and sorceries. Here are two articles that describe the format in detail and give some strategic advice:
The Momir Basic Primer
Momir Basic with Frank Karsten
and finally a short Momir Basic video that shows the fun behind this format
