Duel Yammers Fan Tips_In Defense Of Dimension Gate and Natural Snare_cecillbill

In Defense of Dimension Gate and Natural Snare
by cecillbill

If you run a Nature or a Nature Combo deck, then you may have heard people 
say that Natural Snare and Dimension Gate are unplayable cards. The main 
arguments against playing these cards are as follows: 1. Natural Snare is a 
useless card because you give your opponent mana and it isn't as good as 
Darkness removal, and 2. Dimension Gate isn't a sheild trigger that 
immediately changes the field (like say in the way that Holy Awe does via 
tapping) so it's not worth playing. While it's certainly true that you slap 
mana down for your opponent with Snare and that Gate isn't a board changing 
shield trigger, these cards do not suck if you know how to make them 1. 
change the pace of the game, and 2. smoove over the flow & flexibility of 
your strategy. Strategy involves thought more than it does action. Dimension

Gate and Natural Snare are some of Nature's spells for strategists, those 
who "think" before they "do."

Contrary to popular belief, tossing your opponent's fattie that he just cast

or has in play into his mana zone is devasting and doesn't help him nearly 
as much as you think. So what if you give him mana to cast another Bolshack 
on his next turn? If he brings another Bolshack out on his next turn, that 
Shaq has summoning sickness. He can't hit you until next turn. And you know 
what that means--you've bought yourself some time to set up Blockers or 
remove another threat or bring out your fattie who may be able to attack 
sooner giving you a leg up shield hitting-wise. That Bolshack you tossed 
into his mana zone on a turn would have been able to attack you on the turn 
your opponent has to cast another. You've slowed him down a bit and changed 
the pace of the duel. Instead of two Shaqs to deal with, you only have one. 
As the song goes, one is the loneliest number...and better odds for you.

It's a trade off that can work in your favor because of summoning sickness 
and catching your opponent off guard. I've had Urths put into my mana zone 
and it messed up things for me in terms of timing and options because 
anything can happen in that 1 turn you wait to attack with another fattie 
(provided you draw one next turn or have another in hand). What happens if 
my other Urths are buried deep in my deck when the one I have in play is 
Snared? I know the chances of me pulling another are increased when I run 
more than 1, but when he comes out he won't be swinging at shields. During 
the turn before another fattie is cast, your opponent could bring out a big 
blocker or his fattie. If you are playing against Darkness, Snare prevents 
cards like Dark Reversal from bringing back a Snared fattie since he's mana 
now. Snare is also something sweet for those tricky guys that are very hard 
to kill otherwise ie Aqua Knight. Think of Snare as a way to change the pace

of a duel. It can create a turn-long lull in attacks and is beneficial if 
it's triggered so you can use your mana to summon something useful instead 
of hard casting it (it's cheap so it's really no problem to cast). When you 
see Natural Snare in that light, you realize that mana giving via fattie 
removal is not a stupid play. It's the only way in the game right now to say

"bye-bye fattie" for good.

Dimension Gate is also very playable. In a Fire/Nature build I've run that 
gets out some of the game's earliest Double Breakers--Beetle and 
Bolshack--super quick, Gate is a key link in the chain to the deck's speed 
and strategy. The obvious ulitlity of Dimension Gate is it can fish out a 
fattie you need if one hasn't come into your hand early enough through a 
draw. This is especially good if the mana is all there to cast the creature 
you searched for on the same turn you got him out of the deck or next turn. 
By using Gate to fish out a fattie or a creature with removal (Rothus), you 
set up your hand to deliver the madness faster than just relying on draws. 
Let me highlight this again: You set up your hand. Although both you and 
your opponent know what lies ahead in terms of the creature you fished from 
your deck, which some see as another drawback, that doesn't mean your 
opponent can deal with that creature when you bring it out. In a Nature deck

chances are the fattie you fished won't have to wait long to be cast. Early 
threats are good threats, even with all the removal in the game already. 
Being a good duelist means knowing how to work your hand, and Gate can help 
smoove out the kinks of bad draws or slow draws.

Many experienced card gamers know that deck speed via searching/thinning & 
draw power are the facilitators of victory. Gate lets you get a free draw 
outside of the draw phase if triggered. There are better ways to do it in 
the game (Water Civ), but if you run Nature this is a good card to deck. 
This brings me to my next point--the real reason why Dimension Gate does not

suck. By far the most overlooked benefit of Gate, and it's hidden beauty, is

foresight. I'm not talking about just knowing which fattie is going to be 
cast soon. I mean knowing all the cards you have to work with during the 
duel; getting to see your whole deck as you choose which creature to put in 
your hand. Remember that off the bat 5 cards are unavailable to you until 
they are hit and you don't know what they are beforehand. With Gate you can 
see what's in your deck while fishing out your fattie. The "knowing" doesn't

stop there. If you are going to hard cast Gate, gaze over into your 
graveyard first, then check your hand. Now cast Gate and search your deck 
for a creature. While doing this take a mental note of the all cards at your

disposal in your deck. Guess what? You now know what shields you're working 
with even though you don't know their order. If Gate is triggered, just be 
sure to have noticed what cards have been sent to the grave (which you 
should be doing anyway) and search your deck while checking out what's 
available to you. Either way it's the same outcome--you know what you have 
to work with while dueling. If you don't see an Urth in your deck and he's 
not in the grave, don't count on using him just yet. Your friendly Purifying

Elemental is a shield. This usage of Gate amounts to more advantages when 
setting up your strategy or being able to switch gears before it's too late 
if your original strategy is doomed (like if all your fatties are shields). 
It doesn't matter that your deck gets shuffled, now you know if you can cast

a Snare or bring out a Great Horn because you've seen it in your deck or 
not. If you know the contents of your deck inside and out, then this is 
strategy par excellence. You get to think many turns ahead. That's the true 
beauty of Gate.

Before you dismiss a card as being totally unplayable, take the time to see 
how it would even be remotely useful in a deck. Not just your deck, but your

opponent's deck too. Just because you won't run a card to save your life 
doesn't mean you won't be the guy on the other end of the table getting your

Urth pitched into your mana zone like a peeble. Knowing how the cards in the

game work in tandem with others is the key to dechipering your opponent's 
strategy and developing your own. In a Nature or Nature Combo deck, Snare 
and Gate can shine. Yes, there are cards that really don't have justifiable 
playability at this point in time *cough* Seamine *cough.* But, Natural 
Snare and Dimension Gate are not one of them.


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Hum...Crunchy. Feel free to email me with non-flame comments at 
kaiserpso@hotmail.com. I can't possibly see ALL the angles on the subject. 
Opinions about every card vary from person to person.