Stoneforge Mystic and the choice of equipment - A situational choice

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As a Legacy player you have many choices what cards you want to play.
As I mentioned in my Forum Recap #1 I play 3 equipments in my Esper Deathblade.
 Sword of Fire and Ice, Sword of Feast and Famine and Batterskull
Sword of Fire and Ice is often called the best of the cycle and it's great, no question, but the answer to the question 'which equipment do I search with my Stoneforge Mystic?' is always situational.
  • What cards do I have in my hand?
  • What cards are on the battlefield?
  • How many cards have I and my opponent in hands?
  • What deck plays my opponent?
After  asking yourself this question you can fetch the best one for this situation.

Batterskull:

my foil Batterskull
When do I search for Batterskull ?
It's not  that hard.
Do I have other creatures in my hand ? Are they good in hitting with equipment like Sword of Fire and Ice or Jitte?
Especially True-Name Nemesis is your attacker with equipment. A Stoneforge Mystic or a Deathrite Shaman can do this job too, of course, but they can be blocked and killed easily.
Batterskull is a 4/4 on its own and a great start early in the game to create some pressure and momentum.





Umezawa's Jitte:

Jitte is often considered as the strongest equipment. It triggers on combat damage unlike the Swords which only trigger on damage to a player.
I play Jitte in my sideboard because control decks dominate the format, but I change it with Sword of Feast and Famine in certain match ups like: Elves, Delver, Death and Taxes...

Sword of Feast and Famine vs. Sword of Fire and Ice:

Now the hardest part: When do I get SoFaF and when SoFaI?
First of all we look at the cards:

Sword of Feast and Famine:

Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from black and from green.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card and you untap all lands you control.
The discard is only useful while your opponent has cards in hand and the untap only as long as you can play cards. This doesn't mean that the sword is only good if both players have 7 cards in hand.
The perfect sitation is an opponent with 2 cards in hand and you with some removal or counterspells.
You can play a creature or a cantrip; attack; untap; and you will have mana to control the game in your favor.
Overall Sword of Feast and Famine is the better choice when you are one or two steps ahead the opponent. You can close the game and extend the gap between you and the opponent and forcing him into the topdeck while you have all mana up to answer spells.

 Sword of Fire and Ice: 

Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from red and from blue.
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, Sword of Fire and Ice deals 2 damage to target creature or player and you draw a card.
Sword of Fire and Ice shoots a Shock and draws a card. One hit with SoFaI can trade 2:1 or add pressure on the opponent. The card allows you to gain control of the board and the game again after losing it. You can remove creatures [often Deathrite Shamans] and draw cards to comeback from disadvantage.
Overall Sword of Fire and Ice is the better choice when you are one or two steps behind the opponent. You can turn the game and close the gap between you and the opponent and find answers while you add pressure or clear the board.


Summed up Sword of Feast and Famine forces the opponent into topdeck while creating extending the gap in gamestate to your favor. Sword of Fire and Ice can do this also but it's better as Sword of Feast and Famine if you need to close up and find answers.





This is all my personal opinion and experience on the cards and the way I play the game.
That doesn't mean that this is the only way or the right one.
Players are all different and have different opinions.  


 

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