Bonjour! Je ne parle pas beaucoup francais, j'etudie a quatre ans. Je n'etudie pas francais a tres ans.
Don't ask me why I just went french there, I honestly don't know. I don't even think that was proper french from a spelling or a gramatical standpoint... Anyways, moving on...
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas is a card that you better be excited for. He is an incredibly narrow planeswalker, just like his prior version, along with Nissa Revane, Koth of the Hammer, and Venser the Sojourner to a degree. Those guys are nuts when they work, but suck when they don't. Nissa suffers from this the least, because she tutors every turn, but she still places some serious restrictions on your deck if you want to include her. Obviously, Tezzeret AoB must be played in a very heavy artifact deck to function (the absolute minimum being 12 because 60/5 = 12), but we're in the middle of the artifact block so this won't be a problem. I already posted Mark's control deck (and my aggro deck was bad and I will update that soon), so I want to bring out the combo side of Tezzeret. Obviously not as good as Tezzeret the Seeker in terms of finding combo pieces, you can still fetch 5 deep every turn for that 1 card you're missing. Here's the list:
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4x Leaden Myr
4x Silver Myr
4x Myr Galvanizer
4x Steel Overseer
4x Perilous Myr
4x Shimmer Myr
2x Myr Battlesphere
4x Myr Turbine
2x Preordain
2x Mox Opal
2x Swamp
2x Island
4x Tectonic Edge
3x Dread Statuary
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacombs
3x Creeping Tar Pit
This is a Tezzeret list at its finest. There are 32 targets for Venser every time he goes +1, so you have an average of 2.6 artifacts to choose from. Your key artifact to make the deck combo off is Myr Turbine. After the Turbine, Shimmer Myr is nice to make your opponent second guess every play they make. How do we combo off? If we have 5 Myr in play and the Myr Turbine, we can tap those Myr to grab Myr Battlesphere, which puts another 4 token Mr into play. If we have Tezzeret at 4 or more, we can -4 him for lethal. 5 Myr + Myr Turbine + Myr Battlesphere + 4 tokens = 11 artifacts, so Tezzeret hits them for 22. If you don't have Tezzeret in play, you still have Myr Battlesphere, which is a beating (and you can fetch another one whenever you want), and if that doesn't work we have Steel Overseer and Myr Galvanizer to make all our mana myr hit for 3 or more. The only thing this deck is missing is resiliancy against Day of Judgement. With Tezzeret you can draw 2 cards a turn to refill the board, and you can use Myr Turbine to make tons of tokens, but in the sideboard I may consider putting in Spell Pierce or Mana Leak. Against a beatdown deck I should be fine unless they are packing Bolts and Blades, although I feel Go for the Throat (still awkward to say) is going to be the industry standard.
Speaking of Go for the Throat, how about re-inventing the Abyssal Persecutor deck? Now we have Consuming Vapors, Go For the Throat, Black Sun's Zenith, and Jace TMS as cards to eliminate the Persecutor. Even without big Jace, we could have some Corrupt shenanigans going on for our mono-black bash face deck. How about this?
4x Abyssal Persecutor
4x Gatekeeper of Malakir
4x Skinrender
3x Grave Titan
4x Go for the Throat
4x Consuming Vapors
4x Inquisition of Kozelik
3x Corrupt
4x Sign in Blood
2x Mind Sludge
24x Swamp
We have Gatekeeper and Skinrender to punish Aggro decks bad, and we have Inquisition and Mind Sludge to wreck the control decks, and we have 15 ways to get rid of our Persecutor (including Gatekeeper).
These 2 decks are both those that I esentially have completed! For the Myr deck, I need 2 Shimmer Myr and 3 Tezzeret. For BDW (black deck wins) I need 1 Persecutor, 1 Consuming Vapors, 1 Grave Titan, and 3 Go for the Throat.
That is all for today, until next time, stay classy!
Monday, January 31, 2011
FNM, Pre-release, and drafts OH MY!
Hello everyone! I have played an INSANE amount of Magic this weekend, and it's only going up (Legacy event tonight!). Between the FNM, Pre-release, 2 drafts, and hanging out at Mark's house, I have more to talk about then I could possible fit in one post.
FNM: 7pm - 12 am 3-2
Prerelease: 12am - 4am 1-2
Draft #1: 4am - 7am 2-1
Draft #2: 7am - 10am 3-0
Sleep: 11am - 7pm
Hang out with Mark: 7pm - 2am
Yeah, it was pretty epic. So here is the abbridged version of 4 tournament reports:
FNM
I knew it was going to be a grind to stay up all night for the pre-release, so I decided to play a brainless deck. Deck of choice? UW Level Up. I had a UB version but the deck would simply auto-fold if I never drew Venerated Teacher because Zulaport Enforcer and the other black level up creatures costs 3 or 4 to level up. White gives me Student of Warfare which is simply a beating. I honestly won a couple games with only the Student. In addition to Student, you also get Time of Heros which is insane! Here is a play that happened a couple times for me:
T1: Student of Warfare
T2: level up twice, attack (17)
T3: Time of Heroes, Skywatcher Adept, attack (12)
T4: Venerated Teacher, attack (3)
So I was simply being aggressive all night, which is a very nice departure from all the control I have been playing. Round 1 I was against Casey with his mono-green beatdown deck, but I won 2-0 on the back of Emerge Unscathed giving my huge beaters protection from green and made his life total dissapear. Round 2 and 3 I played against UW control which should be a nightmare matchup for me, but in the first match my opponent never drew any of his 4x Day of Judgement both games, so I handily won 2-0. Oh, and at one point I had 3x Time of Heroes and a lvl 7 Student of Warfare or a 10/10 double striker =D. The second round though, I got hit with DoJ 3 times and ultimately lost. Round 4 I was against Jimbo with his boros deck. Ultimately he had more control AND aggression than me so it was a bad blowout. Round 5 I was against Ron with his MG Eldrazi Ramp deck which was quite easy as he had no removal and I put him on a clock faster then I could ramp, soi quickly 2-0ed.
Pre-Release
I naturally picked Phyrexia and opened up nothing. I was sitting across from Mark, who was Mirran, and we both opened up Koth of the Hammer at the exact same time, which was epic. However, I was going for poison and he was going for damage, so his Koth was far better then mine. I played a Jund bad stuff deck and he went boros. I had no finishers in my deck, and after getting a first round by I quickly went 0-2 and dropped. Mark on the other hand finished in 15th place (Defo got 14th) out of 62, so they both won 4 packs. Theres really nothing I can say about this, because my deck had no finishers and a bad mana base. It didn't last too long...
Draft #1
I don't remember much about the actual picks, except this: I got a treasure Mage 7th pick pack one, and then I got a Steel Hellkite 4th pick in pack two. I still have no idea why it made it all the way around to me... My deck was basically Ub draw-go. I had Go For the Throat, 3x Bonds of Quicksilver, 2x Disperse, Stoic Rebuttal, and a Volition Reins. I won round 1 by stopping everything I saw, sticking a Steel Hellkite and going to town. Round 2 I was against the nuts poison deck that won the whole thing. It was unstoppable! Round 3 I was against a guy who misplayed all day, and I ultimately stuck the Hellkite and won. This draft had a ton of money in it including Sword of B+M, Green Sun's Zenith, Glissa the Traitor, Phyrexian Crusader, and Mimic Vat. My round 3 opponent was the one with the Sword and he peaced out before the backdraft with the sword, which everyone was pissed about. Regardless, I finished third and grabbed my Phyrexian Crusader. And in case you were wondering, I already have a full set of Phyrexian Crusaders. I backdrafted that 1 and traded for 3 others.
Draft #2
I drafted a really bad USA deck that had Red for Slagstorm, Shatter, and Scrapmelter, White for Sunblast Angel and Divine Offering, and Blue for Darkslick Drake and Lumingrad Drake. I somehow went 3-0 with this deck, although in game 3 of round 1 I won because of a Jedi Mind Trick/Misplay. My board was Ghalma Warden, Silver Myr, Gust Skimmer, and a 2 power non-artifact creature. My opponent was at 10 life, 1 mana up, with only Rust Tick up for blocking. I had a Vulshock Replica in hand and 6 lands. I was something like 1 or 2 life and he has 4 creatures attack me the previous turn so I have to win right now or else I lose. I tanked and then started yelling and turned all my guys sideways erratically as if I was just giving up. But then I sighed, untapped everything, started counting my mana and said something to the degree of "with the Myr I have just enough mana." At that moment, he tapped my Silver Myr with the Tick. I dropped my Replica, which activated Metalcraft, attacked for 8 and then sacked the replica to hit for the last couple damage. Rounds 2 and 3 weren't eventful and I won both 2-1. The other 4 guys in the draft did the first 2 rounds among themselves but messed up. Instead of having the 1-0s play eachother and the 0-1s play eachother, they ultimately had 2 2-0s and 2 0-2s. After solving the mess, the other 2 2-0s besides me played eachother and I played an 0-2. When the dust settled I had the bad tie breakers so I was placed in second. AKA I didn't get the Thrun. I can't even remember what I got, but it was a $10 card to play for my draft.
At this point I decided to go to Mark's house and sleep from 11am until 5 or 6pm. Upon waking up we decided that we absolutely didn't play enough Magic, and so we decided to play with actually good cards and did some standard constructed. I was once again looking to up my infect deck, and so I decided to drop green from the list. I was splashing green for Garruk, Putrafax, and Gigantiform. Garruk -4 = win. Gigantiform dude not immediatly killed = win. Putrafax = usually win. However, these effects cost 4 and 5. That is a lot for a beatdown deck. I used the new slots to try out Adventuring Gear and I used the improved mana base to run 8 fetchlands. What's the result? I almost couldn't lose! I played against UB Control, Valakut, and GW Quest. The easiest matchup was Valakut because no matter how fast he ramped it simply wasn't enough. GW was half and half. I tried to be the control deck, but it's hard to beat Vengevine without Journey or Condemn. UB Control was the hardest to play against, but was not by any means unwinnable. I think the percentage was slightly in Mark's favor, but it wasn't bad enough to warrent throwing out the deck. Here's my list:
4x Plague Myr
4x Plague Stinger
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Phyrexian Vatmother
4x Hand of the Praetors
3x Skytheriszzxsktht, the impossible to spell Dragon
3x Insquisition of Kozelik
3x Adventuring Gear
3x Go for the Throat
2x Doom Blade
2x Sign in Blood
4x Inkmoth Nexus
3x Tectonic Edge
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Marsh Flats
9x Swamp
Vampire's Bite is this black's Giant Growth. I am considering cutting 3x Skittles to bring 3x Vampire's Bite into the maindeck. Skittles costs effectively 6 or 7 when the rest of the deck curves at 4.
This deck has the capability of being mind-blowingly fast! Here's the line of play that happened a couple times against Mark:
T1 - Land, Adventuring Gear
T2 - Land, Plague Myr/Stinger
T3 - Equip, Verdant Catacombs, Attck, pop fetch, hit for 5 infect.
Now, you probably have a 4th land in hand, so you can hit for at least 3 more on turn 4, or maybe you had 2 Vampire's Bites in hand and won T3? Of course you can't bank on that, because Mono-green "Oops I Win" was dreadful.... This deck has some real quality creatures that MG Infect never had like Hand, Crusader, and Vatmother. The manland was great too, although I found myself attacking with it far less than I expected. I found Tec Edge incredible against control. Once I had a board position, keepign them off their Titan mana and man-lands was very relevant and Tec Edge is naturally good against Valakut.
After several hours of playing against Mark I eventually decided to go back home for the first time since I left for work friday, 42 hours prior. Did I have enough pre-release fun for the weekend? Of course not! I wound up doing another draft this afternoon, which was quite fun. We only had 4 people, and the store had 6 boxes of pre-release product left over, so we decided to have a mono-mirran draft. All 4 of us got 2 mirran packs and 1 scars pack. Naturally, all 4 of us were in red, and 3 were in white. The odd man out went Grixis and finished 4th. I had a very redundant deck with doubles of almost everything, and a ton of battle cry cards. I also had a Red Sun's Zenith which I wound up casting 8 times in 6 games.
Because this was a 4-man draft, we just had 2 rounds. Round 1 I played Jarred in the Boros mirror. He had pulled Hero of Bladehold but didn't draw it and I won, although I can't remember if it was in 2 or 3 games. The next guy I played against for first place was INSANELY GOOD at pulling lands. I was watching his games after beating Jarrod, and he had 10 lands in play of his 17 by the time he won. Against me, the games ended with him in the double digits for lands all 3 times. By the way, top decking lands when getting hit for 5-7 a turn isn't ideal. I finished in first place and got the Hero of Bladehold and a Mimic Vat as the fruit of my labor. Everyone who drafted recieved a promotional Hero of Bladehold, and I had traded for 2 promo Heros previosly, so I had a full set: 3 promo, 1 regular. There was a guy that offered me promo for normal strait up which I accepted. I finished my set of pre-release Heroes and he got his 3rd regular one. IWe were both quite satisfied.
Getting a set of Heroes was just the icing on the cake for me though, here are the cards of note that I got this weekend:
4x Hero of Bladehold (all pre-release version)
4x Myr Turbine (1 foil)
4x Phyrexian Crusader
1x Mirran Crusader
1x Phyrexian Vatmother
2x Shimmer Myr
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (ok, I bought it, I didn't rip or trade for it)
I can't wait until the set is actually released and rocking some hot new decks. Considering I have my set of Heroes, I may run Knights at the next FNM. I have a couple Accorder Paladins and Leonin Skyhunters, so even if I don't get all the Crusaders, the deck will still be almost perfect.
Anyways, that is all for me! Stay tuned, for next time I have a combo Tezzeret deck (by the way, that beatdown deck was trash. I forgot Steel Overseer... fail...) that drops Myr Battlespheres in at instant speed for 0 mana! Yeah, I'm excited too! Until next time, stay classy!
FNM: 7pm - 12 am 3-2
Prerelease: 12am - 4am 1-2
Draft #1: 4am - 7am 2-1
Draft #2: 7am - 10am 3-0
Sleep: 11am - 7pm
Hang out with Mark: 7pm - 2am
Yeah, it was pretty epic. So here is the abbridged version of 4 tournament reports:
FNM
I knew it was going to be a grind to stay up all night for the pre-release, so I decided to play a brainless deck. Deck of choice? UW Level Up. I had a UB version but the deck would simply auto-fold if I never drew Venerated Teacher because Zulaport Enforcer and the other black level up creatures costs 3 or 4 to level up. White gives me Student of Warfare which is simply a beating. I honestly won a couple games with only the Student. In addition to Student, you also get Time of Heros which is insane! Here is a play that happened a couple times for me:
T1: Student of Warfare
T2: level up twice, attack (17)
T3: Time of Heroes, Skywatcher Adept, attack (12)
T4: Venerated Teacher, attack (3)
So I was simply being aggressive all night, which is a very nice departure from all the control I have been playing. Round 1 I was against Casey with his mono-green beatdown deck, but I won 2-0 on the back of Emerge Unscathed giving my huge beaters protection from green and made his life total dissapear. Round 2 and 3 I played against UW control which should be a nightmare matchup for me, but in the first match my opponent never drew any of his 4x Day of Judgement both games, so I handily won 2-0. Oh, and at one point I had 3x Time of Heroes and a lvl 7 Student of Warfare or a 10/10 double striker =D. The second round though, I got hit with DoJ 3 times and ultimately lost. Round 4 I was against Jimbo with his boros deck. Ultimately he had more control AND aggression than me so it was a bad blowout. Round 5 I was against Ron with his MG Eldrazi Ramp deck which was quite easy as he had no removal and I put him on a clock faster then I could ramp, soi quickly 2-0ed.
Pre-Release
I naturally picked Phyrexia and opened up nothing. I was sitting across from Mark, who was Mirran, and we both opened up Koth of the Hammer at the exact same time, which was epic. However, I was going for poison and he was going for damage, so his Koth was far better then mine. I played a Jund bad stuff deck and he went boros. I had no finishers in my deck, and after getting a first round by I quickly went 0-2 and dropped. Mark on the other hand finished in 15th place (Defo got 14th) out of 62, so they both won 4 packs. Theres really nothing I can say about this, because my deck had no finishers and a bad mana base. It didn't last too long...
Draft #1
I don't remember much about the actual picks, except this: I got a treasure Mage 7th pick pack one, and then I got a Steel Hellkite 4th pick in pack two. I still have no idea why it made it all the way around to me... My deck was basically Ub draw-go. I had Go For the Throat, 3x Bonds of Quicksilver, 2x Disperse, Stoic Rebuttal, and a Volition Reins. I won round 1 by stopping everything I saw, sticking a Steel Hellkite and going to town. Round 2 I was against the nuts poison deck that won the whole thing. It was unstoppable! Round 3 I was against a guy who misplayed all day, and I ultimately stuck the Hellkite and won. This draft had a ton of money in it including Sword of B+M, Green Sun's Zenith, Glissa the Traitor, Phyrexian Crusader, and Mimic Vat. My round 3 opponent was the one with the Sword and he peaced out before the backdraft with the sword, which everyone was pissed about. Regardless, I finished third and grabbed my Phyrexian Crusader. And in case you were wondering, I already have a full set of Phyrexian Crusaders. I backdrafted that 1 and traded for 3 others.
Draft #2
I drafted a really bad USA deck that had Red for Slagstorm, Shatter, and Scrapmelter, White for Sunblast Angel and Divine Offering, and Blue for Darkslick Drake and Lumingrad Drake. I somehow went 3-0 with this deck, although in game 3 of round 1 I won because of a Jedi Mind Trick/Misplay. My board was Ghalma Warden, Silver Myr, Gust Skimmer, and a 2 power non-artifact creature. My opponent was at 10 life, 1 mana up, with only Rust Tick up for blocking. I had a Vulshock Replica in hand and 6 lands. I was something like 1 or 2 life and he has 4 creatures attack me the previous turn so I have to win right now or else I lose. I tanked and then started yelling and turned all my guys sideways erratically as if I was just giving up. But then I sighed, untapped everything, started counting my mana and said something to the degree of "with the Myr I have just enough mana." At that moment, he tapped my Silver Myr with the Tick. I dropped my Replica, which activated Metalcraft, attacked for 8 and then sacked the replica to hit for the last couple damage. Rounds 2 and 3 weren't eventful and I won both 2-1. The other 4 guys in the draft did the first 2 rounds among themselves but messed up. Instead of having the 1-0s play eachother and the 0-1s play eachother, they ultimately had 2 2-0s and 2 0-2s. After solving the mess, the other 2 2-0s besides me played eachother and I played an 0-2. When the dust settled I had the bad tie breakers so I was placed in second. AKA I didn't get the Thrun. I can't even remember what I got, but it was a $10 card to play for my draft.
At this point I decided to go to Mark's house and sleep from 11am until 5 or 6pm. Upon waking up we decided that we absolutely didn't play enough Magic, and so we decided to play with actually good cards and did some standard constructed. I was once again looking to up my infect deck, and so I decided to drop green from the list. I was splashing green for Garruk, Putrafax, and Gigantiform. Garruk -4 = win. Gigantiform dude not immediatly killed = win. Putrafax = usually win. However, these effects cost 4 and 5. That is a lot for a beatdown deck. I used the new slots to try out Adventuring Gear and I used the improved mana base to run 8 fetchlands. What's the result? I almost couldn't lose! I played against UB Control, Valakut, and GW Quest. The easiest matchup was Valakut because no matter how fast he ramped it simply wasn't enough. GW was half and half. I tried to be the control deck, but it's hard to beat Vengevine without Journey or Condemn. UB Control was the hardest to play against, but was not by any means unwinnable. I think the percentage was slightly in Mark's favor, but it wasn't bad enough to warrent throwing out the deck. Here's my list:
4x Plague Myr
4x Plague Stinger
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Phyrexian Vatmother
4x Hand of the Praetors
3x Skytheriszzxsktht, the impossible to spell Dragon
3x Insquisition of Kozelik
3x Adventuring Gear
3x Go for the Throat
2x Doom Blade
2x Sign in Blood
4x Inkmoth Nexus
3x Tectonic Edge
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Marsh Flats
9x Swamp
Vampire's Bite is this black's Giant Growth. I am considering cutting 3x Skittles to bring 3x Vampire's Bite into the maindeck. Skittles costs effectively 6 or 7 when the rest of the deck curves at 4.
This deck has the capability of being mind-blowingly fast! Here's the line of play that happened a couple times against Mark:
T1 - Land, Adventuring Gear
T2 - Land, Plague Myr/Stinger
T3 - Equip, Verdant Catacombs, Attck, pop fetch, hit for 5 infect.
Now, you probably have a 4th land in hand, so you can hit for at least 3 more on turn 4, or maybe you had 2 Vampire's Bites in hand and won T3? Of course you can't bank on that, because Mono-green "Oops I Win" was dreadful.... This deck has some real quality creatures that MG Infect never had like Hand, Crusader, and Vatmother. The manland was great too, although I found myself attacking with it far less than I expected. I found Tec Edge incredible against control. Once I had a board position, keepign them off their Titan mana and man-lands was very relevant and Tec Edge is naturally good against Valakut.
After several hours of playing against Mark I eventually decided to go back home for the first time since I left for work friday, 42 hours prior. Did I have enough pre-release fun for the weekend? Of course not! I wound up doing another draft this afternoon, which was quite fun. We only had 4 people, and the store had 6 boxes of pre-release product left over, so we decided to have a mono-mirran draft. All 4 of us got 2 mirran packs and 1 scars pack. Naturally, all 4 of us were in red, and 3 were in white. The odd man out went Grixis and finished 4th. I had a very redundant deck with doubles of almost everything, and a ton of battle cry cards. I also had a Red Sun's Zenith which I wound up casting 8 times in 6 games.
Because this was a 4-man draft, we just had 2 rounds. Round 1 I played Jarred in the Boros mirror. He had pulled Hero of Bladehold but didn't draw it and I won, although I can't remember if it was in 2 or 3 games. The next guy I played against for first place was INSANELY GOOD at pulling lands. I was watching his games after beating Jarrod, and he had 10 lands in play of his 17 by the time he won. Against me, the games ended with him in the double digits for lands all 3 times. By the way, top decking lands when getting hit for 5-7 a turn isn't ideal. I finished in first place and got the Hero of Bladehold and a Mimic Vat as the fruit of my labor. Everyone who drafted recieved a promotional Hero of Bladehold, and I had traded for 2 promo Heros previosly, so I had a full set: 3 promo, 1 regular. There was a guy that offered me promo for normal strait up which I accepted. I finished my set of pre-release Heroes and he got his 3rd regular one. IWe were both quite satisfied.
Getting a set of Heroes was just the icing on the cake for me though, here are the cards of note that I got this weekend:
4x Hero of Bladehold (all pre-release version)
4x Myr Turbine (1 foil)
4x Phyrexian Crusader
1x Mirran Crusader
1x Phyrexian Vatmother
2x Shimmer Myr
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas (ok, I bought it, I didn't rip or trade for it)
I can't wait until the set is actually released and rocking some hot new decks. Considering I have my set of Heroes, I may run Knights at the next FNM. I have a couple Accorder Paladins and Leonin Skyhunters, so even if I don't get all the Crusaders, the deck will still be almost perfect.
Anyways, that is all for me! Stay tuned, for next time I have a combo Tezzeret deck (by the way, that beatdown deck was trash. I forgot Steel Overseer... fail...) that drops Myr Battlespheres in at instant speed for 0 mana! Yeah, I'm excited too! Until next time, stay classy!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Post #100!
Hello everyone! I signed on today to write about some recent happenings, like epic trades, new decklists, and about how I drafted Rise of the Eldrazi last night, and I saw on my little info tab regarding this blog that I had 101 posts. Oh No! I missed recognizing an awesome milestone! I quickly looked through the history of all my posts, and is it turns out that there were 2 posts I started in late October that never got published. One was the draft of my remix of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha, and the other was a semi-theory article about the value of haste and enters the battlefield abilities on creatures (I think Zvi did one first). So, with those 2 out, there were only 99 posts published, making this number 100!
So, with my self-praise aside, I'm going to start with the ROE draft because that requires me to use my memory, something that can dissapear as I'm watching epic videos from my facebook wall and watching the news. I had never drafted ROE before, but always wanted to. I didn't discover Toys until the M11 Pre-release, by which point Eldrazi was no longer the current draft format. But word got out about a couple people wanting to draft Rise, and I jumped right onto the bandwagon! It wound up being a 4-man draft, and my deck was pretty sweet. I first picked a Pelaka Wurm, but no one was in red, so got 3 Heat Rays and 2 Staggershocks, and finished with Ulamog's Crusher, Spawnsire of Ulamog, and Pathrazer of Ulamog (with another in the board), but Ulamog himself decided not to show up. I also happened to have a Kargan Dragonlord as a random epic dude. I don't remember the other decks, although one guy went the mono-level up route and even got a Training Grounds to make the deck awesome!
We simply had everyone play everyone, and after a heartbreaking topdeck-5-lands-strait-when-almost-any-spell-would-make-me-win game 3, I went 4-0 from there, putting me in 2nd at 2-1 (we had 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3 so we had no stupid tiebreakers). The only money in the set was the Kargan Dragonlord, which I missed out on. However, as soon as we finished backdrafting, I turned to the guy who picked the Dragonlord and prompted a trade. He settled on a Wurmcoil Engine + Consuming Vapors, which I was satisfied with.
I wound up setting up a trade that got up to $31, and I knew he wanted a Vengivine from me, but he said he had no others. So instead I wound up trading nothing overwhelmingly important and I acquired Eldrazi Monument among others. With another guy, I got many fun cards including Grave Titan and FTV: Relics Isochron Scepter. That last one was an interesting trade as when we put down what we wanted, we were off my $4, but the only card each of us could go for were $8 each! So after 2 rounds of upping the trade, I just grabbed a short stack of foil lands and took a short loss because everyone was waiting for me to finish trading so we could draft XD.
I want to take a moment to talk about Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. I talked about how he is awesome, but I never made any decks. Mark took the liberty of making this control list:
Creatures:
2 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Lodestone Golem
3 Wurmcoil Engine
Spells:
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Mindslaver
2 Everflowing Chalice
4 Preordain
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Go for the Throat
2 Mana Leak
2 Black Sun Zenith
3 Stoic Rebuttal
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Lands
4 Creepting Tarpit
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Tectonic Edge
1 Verdant Catcombs
1 Misty Rain Forest
4 Islands
3 Swamps
This deck uses Tezzeret as another card draw card until you can burn for some damage or push through lots of damage with the -1 ability. After all, what's better than getting Wurmcoil Doom Bladed, and then making the tokens 5/5s?
Just now as I copied that from our facebook thread I realized that there aren't any Brittle Effigys, which solve the Wurmcoil issue that many decks will face soon. Maybe cutting a Phyrexian Revoker? We added 2 over the course of our conversation, but as always, the list is liquid. Since he took care of the control side of the spectrum, I feel like he can be an aggressive planeswalker as well. I made a "mono-white" deck with metalcraft a couple months ago, but the only reason it was white was for Tempered Steel, and a couple Myrsmith to get more value (and probably Indominable Archangel in the board) but it was either win by a little or just lose. aka BAD. However I feel like Tezzeret can push it over the top. The mana isn't good enough to go Esper, but here is my take on UB artifact aggro:
4x Etched Champion
3x Silver Myr
3x Leaden Myr
2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Grave Titan
4x Lodestone Golem
3x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
3x Go for the Throat
2x Brittle Effigy
3x Into the Roil
4x Preordain
4x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacombs
2x Tectonic Edge
5x Swamp
5x Island
Now this isn't perfect, but it's interesting trying to max out on artifacts while staying aggressive because typically artifacts are just toolbox cards that assist your real goal. I would talk more about cool decks (how about droppign free Myr Battlespheres every turn?) but it's snowing and I need to wake up an extra 2 hours early =(. So until next time, stay classy!
So, with my self-praise aside, I'm going to start with the ROE draft because that requires me to use my memory, something that can dissapear as I'm watching epic videos from my facebook wall and watching the news. I had never drafted ROE before, but always wanted to. I didn't discover Toys until the M11 Pre-release, by which point Eldrazi was no longer the current draft format. But word got out about a couple people wanting to draft Rise, and I jumped right onto the bandwagon! It wound up being a 4-man draft, and my deck was pretty sweet. I first picked a Pelaka Wurm, but no one was in red, so got 3 Heat Rays and 2 Staggershocks, and finished with Ulamog's Crusher, Spawnsire of Ulamog, and Pathrazer of Ulamog (with another in the board), but Ulamog himself decided not to show up. I also happened to have a Kargan Dragonlord as a random epic dude. I don't remember the other decks, although one guy went the mono-level up route and even got a Training Grounds to make the deck awesome!
We simply had everyone play everyone, and after a heartbreaking topdeck-5-lands-strait-when-almost-any-spell-would-make-me-win game 3, I went 4-0 from there, putting me in 2nd at 2-1 (we had 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3 so we had no stupid tiebreakers). The only money in the set was the Kargan Dragonlord, which I missed out on. However, as soon as we finished backdrafting, I turned to the guy who picked the Dragonlord and prompted a trade. He settled on a Wurmcoil Engine + Consuming Vapors, which I was satisfied with.
I wound up setting up a trade that got up to $31, and I knew he wanted a Vengivine from me, but he said he had no others. So instead I wound up trading nothing overwhelmingly important and I acquired Eldrazi Monument among others. With another guy, I got many fun cards including Grave Titan and FTV: Relics Isochron Scepter. That last one was an interesting trade as when we put down what we wanted, we were off my $4, but the only card each of us could go for were $8 each! So after 2 rounds of upping the trade, I just grabbed a short stack of foil lands and took a short loss because everyone was waiting for me to finish trading so we could draft XD.
I want to take a moment to talk about Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. I talked about how he is awesome, but I never made any decks. Mark took the liberty of making this control list:
Creatures:
2 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Lodestone Golem
3 Wurmcoil Engine
Spells:
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Mindslaver
2 Everflowing Chalice
4 Preordain
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Go for the Throat
2 Mana Leak
2 Black Sun Zenith
3 Stoic Rebuttal
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Lands
4 Creepting Tarpit
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Darkslick Shores
4 Tectonic Edge
1 Verdant Catcombs
1 Misty Rain Forest
4 Islands
3 Swamps
This deck uses Tezzeret as another card draw card until you can burn for some damage or push through lots of damage with the -1 ability. After all, what's better than getting Wurmcoil Doom Bladed, and then making the tokens 5/5s?
Just now as I copied that from our facebook thread I realized that there aren't any Brittle Effigys, which solve the Wurmcoil issue that many decks will face soon. Maybe cutting a Phyrexian Revoker? We added 2 over the course of our conversation, but as always, the list is liquid. Since he took care of the control side of the spectrum, I feel like he can be an aggressive planeswalker as well. I made a "mono-white" deck with metalcraft a couple months ago, but the only reason it was white was for Tempered Steel, and a couple Myrsmith to get more value (and probably Indominable Archangel in the board) but it was either win by a little or just lose. aka BAD. However I feel like Tezzeret can push it over the top. The mana isn't good enough to go Esper, but here is my take on UB artifact aggro:
4x Etched Champion
3x Silver Myr
3x Leaden Myr
2x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Grave Titan
4x Lodestone Golem
3x Phyrexian Revoker
4x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
3x Go for the Throat
2x Brittle Effigy
3x Into the Roil
4x Preordain
4x Creeping Tar Pit
4x Darkslick Shores
4x Drowned Catacombs
2x Tectonic Edge
5x Swamp
5x Island
Now this isn't perfect, but it's interesting trying to max out on artifacts while staying aggressive because typically artifacts are just toolbox cards that assist your real goal. I would talk more about cool decks (how about droppign free Myr Battlespheres every turn?) but it's snowing and I need to wake up an extra 2 hours early =(. So until next time, stay classy!
Monday, January 24, 2011
TNT Legacy Event *2nd place 2-1*
Hello everyone! For the first time in a while, we had a Legacy event fire off at Toys this past sunday. I was equipped with my usual Reanimator, so I was all set to go! There were 6 people there including me, and here were the decks being played:
Reanimator (me)
Mono-red
UB Myr Combo (UB control list that make an infinite mana combo to drop an insane Exsanguinate)
UG Colonnial (Take control of everything you opponent has. As Benzo put it, it is the best deck to play while eating greasy saucy buffalo wings)
GW Tooth & Nail
Naya Zoo
I didn't have a pen (or so i thought) so I couldn't take notes of any of the matches, so here is how I remember things going:
Round 1: UB Myr Combo
I started on the play with a turn 1 Thoughtseize and I honestly had no idea what I was up against. I saw some mana Myr and lands and a Countersquall. I figured the Myr wouldn't be a problem as I could counter the relevant spell they powered out, so I took the Countersquall. After a couple turns of getting hit with mana Myr, I was able to reanimate an Empyrial Archangel. He noticed it only stopped damage, so he went infinite and laid down a massive Exsanguinate, but I had a Force of Will to close that game down. Game 2 went in almost the exact same fashion as I once again opted for the Archangel, but this time he didn't have the Exsanguinate.
2-0
1-0
Aside
{
I actually thought this deck was an interesting concept, but if I were to build it, it would be UR and look like this:
4x Silver Myr
4x Iron Myr
4x Myr Galvanizor
4x Paladium Myr
4x Tezzeret the Seeker
4x Banefire
4x Counterspell
3x Brainstorm
3x Personal Tutor
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Valcanic Island
4x Steam Vents
3x Ancient Tomb
4x Island
3x Misty Rainforest
In this build, Tezzeret can -X for whatever combo piece you're missing, you can Personal Tutor for a Banefire, and you can power out everything faster with Ancient Tomb. I think I may make this deck and play it at the next Legacy event, so when everyone brings their Tormod's Crypt and other assorted Reanimator hate, I can go infinite on them.
}
End Aside
Round 2: Mono-red
This guy's deck was based off of the Fire & Lightning deck that I never bought. Honestly though, the deck isn't that bad, I just think it's overpriced (as do many people when they are hard to sell at 2/3 MSRP). Ultimately, I felt this would be a great matchup for me as I got a turn 3 Blazing Archon on board and was able to force one of his 2 Lightning Bolts he directed at it to swing for 5 a turn while he had no cards in hand. Game 2 was also pretty straitforward., although more dramatic I got a quick Iona, Shield of Emeria in play naming red while he had no creatures in play with life totals at me: 7 him: 20. I thought I had the game all locked up, so I just went though the routine draw-attack-go. However, he had a Ghitu Encampment in play which was able to swing back. I did the math out, and if I cracked no fetches, I would win at 1 life, and that is exactly what happened.
2-0
2-0
Round 3: Naya Zoo
Game 1 started in a peculier fashion when I had Sphinx of the Steel Wind land, and Reanimate in hand, so I decided to just draw and discard it. However, I was on the play, so it took a bit longer (although the game started out very humerously). Regardless, I was able to reanimate my Sphinx and ended the game in 4 swings. On the next game, I was met with a huge wave of creatures including 2 4/5 Goyfs, a Kird Ape, and a Loam Lion. I only had a Reanimate in hand, and the life loss prevented me from ever getting the big guy on board. Game 3 started with him getting a turn 1 Tormod's Crypt (the cool FNM one) that I had no counter for. I happened to have 2 Entombs, a reanimate, and an Exhume in hand though, so I was feeling fine. I Entombed a Sphinx, knowing I could still get the job done with Archon, and when I tried to Reanimate he popped the Crypt in response as expected. So I Entombed again for Archon, but never drew a second land for the next 5 turns and fell to a Goyf + Kird Ape.
1-2
2-1
Overall I was satisfied with my performance, although it always sucks to lose in the finals due to land skrew. I earned $10 after $5 buy-in for finishing in second, so I can't complain. I used the money I earned plus a little more to get myself a bunch of cards for my 5 color Cromat deck (EDH):
Bringer of the Blue Dawn
Joiner Adept
Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
Godless Shrine
Sacred Foundry
Tsabo Tavoc
Golgari Signet
Dimir Signet
Empress Galina
Also, over the course of the evening I had some great trades which got me:
Asian Frost Titan
FTV: Exiled Mystical Tutor
Shape Anew (I'm just waiting for this to triple...)
Visara the Dreadful
Foil Obstinate Baloth
Gemstone Mine
Breeding Pool
Overall, I had a great night! If you want to get into Legacy but are overwhelmed by the price of staple cards, fear not! One of the staples of Legacy is the perfect mana base you can get by having Fetch Lands (from Zendikar or Onslaught) grab Duals to provide any color on the pie. Duals are very expensive, but the Ravnica block shock lands, whch are the closest reprint ever made, are just 16.3% of the price (or about 1/6)! Here is how they compare:
Color Pair Revised Name + Price Ravnica Name + Price
UW Tundra 75.93 Hallowed Fountain 12.38 84% off!
UB Underground Sea 92.32 Watery Grave 8.76 91% off!
BR Badlands 42.57 Blood Crypt 8.20 81% off!
RG Taiga 56.47 Stomping Ground 9.82 83% off!
GW Savannah 49.40 Temple Garden 7.91 84% off!
WB Scrubland 41.65 Godless Shrine 8.60 79% off!
UR Vocanic Island 55.59 Steam Vents 9.25 83% off!
BG Bayou 53.29 Overgrown Tomb 8.15 85% off!
RW Plateau 39.81 Sacred Foundry 7.26 82% off!
UG Tropical Island 78.00 Breeding Pool 10.68 86% off!
(smaller text used to avoid wrap-around awkwardness)
So an amazing way to save a TON of money to make your legacy deck is to invest in Ravnica "shock" lands as opposed to Revised Duals, your wallet will thank you =D
That is all for today! until next time, stay classy!
Reanimator (me)
Mono-red
UB Myr Combo (UB control list that make an infinite mana combo to drop an insane Exsanguinate)
UG Colonnial (Take control of everything you opponent has. As Benzo put it, it is the best deck to play while eating greasy saucy buffalo wings)
GW Tooth & Nail
Naya Zoo
I didn't have a pen (or so i thought) so I couldn't take notes of any of the matches, so here is how I remember things going:
Round 1: UB Myr Combo
I started on the play with a turn 1 Thoughtseize and I honestly had no idea what I was up against. I saw some mana Myr and lands and a Countersquall. I figured the Myr wouldn't be a problem as I could counter the relevant spell they powered out, so I took the Countersquall. After a couple turns of getting hit with mana Myr, I was able to reanimate an Empyrial Archangel. He noticed it only stopped damage, so he went infinite and laid down a massive Exsanguinate, but I had a Force of Will to close that game down. Game 2 went in almost the exact same fashion as I once again opted for the Archangel, but this time he didn't have the Exsanguinate.
2-0
1-0
Aside
{
I actually thought this deck was an interesting concept, but if I were to build it, it would be UR and look like this:
4x Silver Myr
4x Iron Myr
4x Myr Galvanizor
4x Paladium Myr
4x Tezzeret the Seeker
4x Banefire
4x Counterspell
3x Brainstorm
3x Personal Tutor
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Valcanic Island
4x Steam Vents
3x Ancient Tomb
4x Island
3x Misty Rainforest
In this build, Tezzeret can -X for whatever combo piece you're missing, you can Personal Tutor for a Banefire, and you can power out everything faster with Ancient Tomb. I think I may make this deck and play it at the next Legacy event, so when everyone brings their Tormod's Crypt and other assorted Reanimator hate, I can go infinite on them.
}
End Aside
Round 2: Mono-red
This guy's deck was based off of the Fire & Lightning deck that I never bought. Honestly though, the deck isn't that bad, I just think it's overpriced (as do many people when they are hard to sell at 2/3 MSRP). Ultimately, I felt this would be a great matchup for me as I got a turn 3 Blazing Archon on board and was able to force one of his 2 Lightning Bolts he directed at it to swing for 5 a turn while he had no cards in hand. Game 2 was also pretty straitforward., although more dramatic I got a quick Iona, Shield of Emeria in play naming red while he had no creatures in play with life totals at me: 7 him: 20. I thought I had the game all locked up, so I just went though the routine draw-attack-go. However, he had a Ghitu Encampment in play which was able to swing back. I did the math out, and if I cracked no fetches, I would win at 1 life, and that is exactly what happened.
2-0
2-0
Round 3: Naya Zoo
Game 1 started in a peculier fashion when I had Sphinx of the Steel Wind land, and Reanimate in hand, so I decided to just draw and discard it. However, I was on the play, so it took a bit longer (although the game started out very humerously). Regardless, I was able to reanimate my Sphinx and ended the game in 4 swings. On the next game, I was met with a huge wave of creatures including 2 4/5 Goyfs, a Kird Ape, and a Loam Lion. I only had a Reanimate in hand, and the life loss prevented me from ever getting the big guy on board. Game 3 started with him getting a turn 1 Tormod's Crypt (the cool FNM one) that I had no counter for. I happened to have 2 Entombs, a reanimate, and an Exhume in hand though, so I was feeling fine. I Entombed a Sphinx, knowing I could still get the job done with Archon, and when I tried to Reanimate he popped the Crypt in response as expected. So I Entombed again for Archon, but never drew a second land for the next 5 turns and fell to a Goyf + Kird Ape.
1-2
2-1
Overall I was satisfied with my performance, although it always sucks to lose in the finals due to land skrew. I earned $10 after $5 buy-in for finishing in second, so I can't complain. I used the money I earned plus a little more to get myself a bunch of cards for my 5 color Cromat deck (EDH):
Bringer of the Blue Dawn
Joiner Adept
Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
Godless Shrine
Sacred Foundry
Tsabo Tavoc
Golgari Signet
Dimir Signet
Empress Galina
Also, over the course of the evening I had some great trades which got me:
Asian Frost Titan
FTV: Exiled Mystical Tutor
Shape Anew (I'm just waiting for this to triple...)
Visara the Dreadful
Foil Obstinate Baloth
Gemstone Mine
Breeding Pool
Overall, I had a great night! If you want to get into Legacy but are overwhelmed by the price of staple cards, fear not! One of the staples of Legacy is the perfect mana base you can get by having Fetch Lands (from Zendikar or Onslaught) grab Duals to provide any color on the pie. Duals are very expensive, but the Ravnica block shock lands, whch are the closest reprint ever made, are just 16.3% of the price (or about 1/6)! Here is how they compare:
Color Pair Revised Name + Price Ravnica Name + Price
UW Tundra 75.93 Hallowed Fountain 12.38 84% off!
UB Underground Sea 92.32 Watery Grave 8.76 91% off!
BR Badlands 42.57 Blood Crypt 8.20 81% off!
RG Taiga 56.47 Stomping Ground 9.82 83% off!
GW Savannah 49.40 Temple Garden 7.91 84% off!
WB Scrubland 41.65 Godless Shrine 8.60 79% off!
UR Vocanic Island 55.59 Steam Vents 9.25 83% off!
BG Bayou 53.29 Overgrown Tomb 8.15 85% off!
RW Plateau 39.81 Sacred Foundry 7.26 82% off!
UG Tropical Island 78.00 Breeding Pool 10.68 86% off!
(smaller text used to avoid wrap-around awkwardness)
So an amazing way to save a TON of money to make your legacy deck is to invest in Ravnica "shock" lands as opposed to Revised Duals, your wallet will thank you =D
That is all for today! until next time, stay classy!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Go Big or Go Home!
Hello everyone!I had an epic day of Magic on Thursday, but never got a chance to write about it because I wanted to get the FNM report in first. On Thursday, I was hanging out at Toys for several hours, and aside from all the games I played (poison is really pulling its weight) there were many trades of note, and I was throwing around new deck list ideas with some of the guys. I want to start with a couple trades I had. I recently decided to try and trade out my Valakut Ramp deck as I feel deck can't really get better and every other deck has a hate plan for it. I put 1 Primeval Titan in my binder, and moved the other 3 to UGb Genesis Wave (black for Ob Nixilis).
Well, that Titan didn't last long, as it was quickly traded for a smattering of cards, which I never wrote down and can't completely remember... But I know there was a Fauna Shaman, 3 of the promotional Kor Duelists that look awesome, Coralhelm Commander, Shape Anew (more on this card later), Memoricide, and a foil Putrafax. I know there were other cards in the trade (Kargan Dragonlord?) but I know I didn't rip myself off. The trade I want to talk about more, however, is this one I did with Brendan. What we valued the cards at are in (parenthesis) and their real price is beside it.
My:
4x Summoning Trap (12) 14
Kozilik (9) 9
Ulamog (9) 10.50
Emrakul (9) 10
2x Eye of Ugin (10) 7
4x Eldrazi Temple (12) 16
(61) 66.50
His:
Venser (16) 16
Gideon (20) 20
Garruk (6) 7.50
Lodestone Golem (3) 2
Maelstrom Pulse (8) 11
Inferno Titan (8) 7.50
Japanese Cruel Ultimatum (5) English is 1.50, so Japanese will be 2
Inquisition of Kozilik + Acidic Smile (1) 2
(67) 68
He knew he was off by a couple dollars when we established the trade, but he wasn't concerned. However, after checking the real prices, his margin of loss was actually much lower than anticipated. Overall thouh, I am very satisfied with this trade. Brendan was getting the pieces to rebuild Eldrazi Green, if you didn't notice, which I feel isn't a viable deck. The hate is too good, and the deck often loses to itself because it needs to draw the right cards in the right order. With that being said, Green Sun's Zenith from Beseiged is going to make the deck far more consistant, but I still don't like it. With the rise of Aggro that is certain to happen after Beseiged comes out, Eldrazi Green won't be able to go off fast enough as it doesn't run any removal.
A third trade I want to bring light to was a much smaller one. A guy named Ron and I were trying to put together a trade on Monday,but things just weren't working out. I felt like he waas trying to lowball me by marking everything I had down, and he felt probably like I was too stingy with my cards. So when I saw him on thursday, I really wanted to get a good trade in with him to help move on from all the bad things that happened Monday. He picked out a Stoneforge Mystic from my binder, and I picked out a foil Mindbreak Trap. He picked out another $8 card, but everything that I picked out wasn't working for one reason or another. Finally he said, "How about I trade this one card for your 2 and I pay for your dinner. I'm wicked hungry!" I realized I hadn't eaten anything for dinner either, so I gladly accepted. We grabbed burgers and fries, chatting the whole time about deckbuilding and coming up with crazy and different strategies. The food was awesome, and the conversation was lively the entire time, so I feel my mission was accomplished of reconciling with him.
But let's move on from trades and let's set our minds forward a week or 2. Next week is the pre-release, and I am pumped! I will obviously be playing Phyrexian at the midnight pre-release, although I may go Mirran at second pre-release just to get that sexy alt-art Hero of Bladehorn. Here is what I'm hoping my 6 rares are: Skittles, Putrafax, Hand of Praetors, Phyrexian Vatmother, Creeping Corrosian, Black Sun's Zenith. Is it going to happen? No. Would that be sick? YEAH!! It is a little unfortunate that there is probably only 1/3 infect of all the Phyrexian cards, so the Infect deck isn't a garuntee in Sealed. The week after that is the official release, and our FNM will be beseiged with all kinds of cool decks! I have to different infect decks that I plan on bringing: the BG one that I have been talking about a bunch (which I am thinking about cutting a Putrafax and 2 Skittles from to lower the curve with Vatmother. 5 toughness is difficult to get by). Here is the other deck:
3x Wall of Omens
2x Blightsteel Colossus
4x Master's Call
4x Shape Anew
4x Preordain
4x See Beyond
3x Jace Beleran
3x Jace TMS
3x Day of Judgement
3x Mana Leak
2x Stoic Rebuttal
4x Inkmoth Nexus
4x Seachrome Coast
2x Glacial Fortress
4x Celestial Colonnade
3x Plains
3x Island
4x Tectonic Edge
When I showed Shape Anew on my blog way back when, I said:
"Continuing with the theme of blue and artifacts, we have what can really just be considered the artifact version of Polymorph. I don't think this will see play though, as there are no cool targets from Zendikar Block or M11. Obviously that will change with SoM, but even getting a Platinum Emporian only goes so far (it has no evasion to put your opponent on a clock with). Also, how can you make this card consistant? I don't think there is an artifact token maker right now that isn't an artifact itself ever, so no deck in any format will be able to support this card."
The 2 reasons I said this card wasn't playable (non-artifact card makes an artifact, no good targets) has changed. While we did technically have a couple non-artifact cards that made artifacts (Tuk Tuk, the Explorer, Dread Statuary), they weren't actually that good. In beseiged we have Master's Call, which if you don't remember is an instant for 2W that puts 2 1/1 Myr artifact tokens into play. Also, we have Inkmoth Nexus which you can pay 1 to turn into a 1/1 flying artifact creature with infect. On the targets side, we have upgraded from Myr Battlesphere or Platinum Emporion toDarksteel Blightsteel Colossus. Obviously this deck is very comparable to Simic Polymorph, which I played last year, but I feel this deck is better for a couple reasons:
1. The mana is better. Instead of having Misty Rainforest and Terramorphic Expanse, I can use the ally colored duals, which are always better because many come into play untapped and they can switch back and forth with what they provide.
2. This isn't a pure combo deck. In Polymorph, if your combo didn't go off, you had no other way to win. If your combo was disrupted, or if you were under too much pressure, you might never go off. With this deck, you stop pressure with Wall of Omens and Day of Judgement, and if they Memoricide Shape Anew, you can still get there with Celestial Colonnade or Jace -12.
3. Blightsteel kills in 1 swing. While Emrakul attacking is typically game over, it isn't a garuntee. You opponent could still rip Journey to Nowhere or Oblivion Ring to remove Emrakul and then try to go from there. While that usually didn't happen, the possibility was there. With Blightsteel, you win in 1 swing (even if they block, you should have their poison status be 1 or 2 already with Inkmoth Nexus anyways).
4. Better sideboard. I feel like UW has the best sideboard options amidst all the colors. Black has Memoricide, which is huge, but aside from that UW has counterspells and removal that are cheap and efficient. Also, you could chose to have a transformational sideboard. You can get away with just changing out 6 cards (4 Shape Anew + 2 Blightsteel Colossus) and you can change your win condition completely by bringing in the Planeswalker suite or maybe some Titans. If I get Memoricided G2 for Shape Anew, I would probably do the transformational sideboard.
I don't actually have a sideboard contemplated at all, but I have been perusing the web for ideas relating to the Shape Anew deck, and I heard some people mention Phyrexian Rebirth and Darksteel Axe. Phyrexian Rebirth is Day of Judgement except you pay an extra 2 mana, and you get an X/X artifact Horror into play where X is the number of destroyed creatures. I considered putting that into this deck as a 1-of, but I don't think it's worth it. The deck curves out at 4, so having a random 6-drop isn't what I want to do. Regarding Darksteel Axe, some were saying you could have 4x Stoneforge Mystic and 4x Trinket Mage to fetch the Axe, which can't be destroyed by an opponent's Shatter in response to Shape Anew. That is a viable point, but I don't like it simply because Stoneforge and Trinket Mage are using valuable space for underpowered cards. Yes, having an indestructable artifact to Shape into an indestructable Colossus is better, but my list just needs to have counter backup. If you are wondering about why I have 3 big/3 small Jaces as opposed to 4/2 it is because my opponent NOT having Jace TMS is more important than me having him. if they do have their big Jace, they can bounce the Colossus. If I lead with a little Jace, I have preemtively removed their Big Jace from messing up my plans.
A couple more cards have been released, but I am only going to talk about the new Mythics here. How about that new Sword, the one of being well fed and starving?
I really like this card! I think this and the Sword of Body and Mind are atill both weaker than Fire/Ice and Light/Shadow, but this is more powerful than Body/Mind. The black ability on this one is nice to make any creature you have into a Specter. Specters are quite powerful, but are often held back by their tiny size. This equipment makes your 0/1 plant into a 2/3 specter with evasion. The green ability, untap all your lands, is nice but is not going to be as important. Mana empties at the end of steps and phases instead of turns, so you can't use this as a ramping ability. This is obviously a very powerful weapon against BG infect, but that's why we're packing Nature's Claim. This, Sword of Body and Mind, and Sword of Peace and Chaos (my guess at what the RW will be called) make an ugly tag team together. Especially when you add either the Mirran or Phyrexian Crusaders.
I was wondering how much love red would get in terms of Battle Cry, and this guy is the answer. Mono-red just got SO much better.
4/2 body: meh
Haste: that's nomal for red
Battle Cry: yeah, it pushes more damage through
Creatures with power 1 or less can't block this turn: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! (as Coach Serino would put it)
You see, that last ability might as well just say "Whenever this creature attacks, control players cry". This guy is a hero for red deck! Wall of Omens? Sea Gate Oracle? Nice cycling.... Until something like Plumevail comes back, this card is a staple in red decks, probably as a 4-of. I also want to point out that this card is a knight, so maybe our mono-white Knights deck can become Boros splashing red for Hero, Goblin Guide, and Lightning Bolt. Here is the new list:
4x Student of Warfare
3x Goblin Guide
3x Hero of Bladehold
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Knight Exemplar
4x Mirran Crusader
4x White Knight
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Emerge Unscathed
4x Honor of the Pure
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
11x Plains
5x Mountain
Here is a mono-red list using Hero of Oxid Ridge:
4x Goblin Guide
4x Plated Geopede
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Kargan Dragonlord
3x Goblin Bushwacker
4x Goblin Wardriver
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Burst Lightning
4x Panic Spellbomb
3x Koth of the Hammer
4x Arid Mesa
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Teetering Peaks
2x Smoldering Spires
10x Mountain
It looks like I have a lot of proxying and testing to do! That is all for today! Until next time, stay classy!
Well, that Titan didn't last long, as it was quickly traded for a smattering of cards, which I never wrote down and can't completely remember... But I know there was a Fauna Shaman, 3 of the promotional Kor Duelists that look awesome, Coralhelm Commander, Shape Anew (more on this card later), Memoricide, and a foil Putrafax. I know there were other cards in the trade (Kargan Dragonlord?) but I know I didn't rip myself off. The trade I want to talk about more, however, is this one I did with Brendan. What we valued the cards at are in (parenthesis) and their real price is beside it.
My:
4x Summoning Trap (12) 14
Kozilik (9) 9
Ulamog (9) 10.50
Emrakul (9) 10
2x Eye of Ugin (10) 7
4x Eldrazi Temple (12) 16
(61) 66.50
His:
Venser (16) 16
Gideon (20) 20
Garruk (6) 7.50
Lodestone Golem (3) 2
Maelstrom Pulse (8) 11
Inferno Titan (8) 7.50
Japanese Cruel Ultimatum (5) English is 1.50, so Japanese will be 2
Inquisition of Kozilik + Acidic Smile (1) 2
(67) 68
He knew he was off by a couple dollars when we established the trade, but he wasn't concerned. However, after checking the real prices, his margin of loss was actually much lower than anticipated. Overall thouh, I am very satisfied with this trade. Brendan was getting the pieces to rebuild Eldrazi Green, if you didn't notice, which I feel isn't a viable deck. The hate is too good, and the deck often loses to itself because it needs to draw the right cards in the right order. With that being said, Green Sun's Zenith from Beseiged is going to make the deck far more consistant, but I still don't like it. With the rise of Aggro that is certain to happen after Beseiged comes out, Eldrazi Green won't be able to go off fast enough as it doesn't run any removal.
A third trade I want to bring light to was a much smaller one. A guy named Ron and I were trying to put together a trade on Monday,but things just weren't working out. I felt like he waas trying to lowball me by marking everything I had down, and he felt probably like I was too stingy with my cards. So when I saw him on thursday, I really wanted to get a good trade in with him to help move on from all the bad things that happened Monday. He picked out a Stoneforge Mystic from my binder, and I picked out a foil Mindbreak Trap. He picked out another $8 card, but everything that I picked out wasn't working for one reason or another. Finally he said, "How about I trade this one card for your 2 and I pay for your dinner. I'm wicked hungry!" I realized I hadn't eaten anything for dinner either, so I gladly accepted. We grabbed burgers and fries, chatting the whole time about deckbuilding and coming up with crazy and different strategies. The food was awesome, and the conversation was lively the entire time, so I feel my mission was accomplished of reconciling with him.
But let's move on from trades and let's set our minds forward a week or 2. Next week is the pre-release, and I am pumped! I will obviously be playing Phyrexian at the midnight pre-release, although I may go Mirran at second pre-release just to get that sexy alt-art Hero of Bladehorn. Here is what I'm hoping my 6 rares are: Skittles, Putrafax, Hand of Praetors, Phyrexian Vatmother, Creeping Corrosian, Black Sun's Zenith. Is it going to happen? No. Would that be sick? YEAH!! It is a little unfortunate that there is probably only 1/3 infect of all the Phyrexian cards, so the Infect deck isn't a garuntee in Sealed. The week after that is the official release, and our FNM will be beseiged with all kinds of cool decks! I have to different infect decks that I plan on bringing: the BG one that I have been talking about a bunch (which I am thinking about cutting a Putrafax and 2 Skittles from to lower the curve with Vatmother. 5 toughness is difficult to get by). Here is the other deck:
3x Wall of Omens
2x Blightsteel Colossus
4x Master's Call
4x Shape Anew
4x Preordain
4x See Beyond
3x Jace Beleran
3x Jace TMS
3x Day of Judgement
3x Mana Leak
2x Stoic Rebuttal
4x Inkmoth Nexus
4x Seachrome Coast
2x Glacial Fortress
4x Celestial Colonnade
3x Plains
3x Island
4x Tectonic Edge
When I showed Shape Anew on my blog way back when, I said:
"Continuing with the theme of blue and artifacts, we have what can really just be considered the artifact version of Polymorph. I don't think this will see play though, as there are no cool targets from Zendikar Block or M11. Obviously that will change with SoM, but even getting a Platinum Emporian only goes so far (it has no evasion to put your opponent on a clock with). Also, how can you make this card consistant? I don't think there is an artifact token maker right now that isn't an artifact itself ever, so no deck in any format will be able to support this card."
The 2 reasons I said this card wasn't playable (non-artifact card makes an artifact, no good targets) has changed. While we did technically have a couple non-artifact cards that made artifacts (Tuk Tuk, the Explorer, Dread Statuary), they weren't actually that good. In beseiged we have Master's Call, which if you don't remember is an instant for 2W that puts 2 1/1 Myr artifact tokens into play. Also, we have Inkmoth Nexus which you can pay 1 to turn into a 1/1 flying artifact creature with infect. On the targets side, we have upgraded from Myr Battlesphere or Platinum Emporion to
1. The mana is better. Instead of having Misty Rainforest and Terramorphic Expanse, I can use the ally colored duals, which are always better because many come into play untapped and they can switch back and forth with what they provide.
2. This isn't a pure combo deck. In Polymorph, if your combo didn't go off, you had no other way to win. If your combo was disrupted, or if you were under too much pressure, you might never go off. With this deck, you stop pressure with Wall of Omens and Day of Judgement, and if they Memoricide Shape Anew, you can still get there with Celestial Colonnade or Jace -12.
3. Blightsteel kills in 1 swing. While Emrakul attacking is typically game over, it isn't a garuntee. You opponent could still rip Journey to Nowhere or Oblivion Ring to remove Emrakul and then try to go from there. While that usually didn't happen, the possibility was there. With Blightsteel, you win in 1 swing (even if they block, you should have their poison status be 1 or 2 already with Inkmoth Nexus anyways).
4. Better sideboard. I feel like UW has the best sideboard options amidst all the colors. Black has Memoricide, which is huge, but aside from that UW has counterspells and removal that are cheap and efficient. Also, you could chose to have a transformational sideboard. You can get away with just changing out 6 cards (4 Shape Anew + 2 Blightsteel Colossus) and you can change your win condition completely by bringing in the Planeswalker suite or maybe some Titans. If I get Memoricided G2 for Shape Anew, I would probably do the transformational sideboard.
I don't actually have a sideboard contemplated at all, but I have been perusing the web for ideas relating to the Shape Anew deck, and I heard some people mention Phyrexian Rebirth and Darksteel Axe. Phyrexian Rebirth is Day of Judgement except you pay an extra 2 mana, and you get an X/X artifact Horror into play where X is the number of destroyed creatures. I considered putting that into this deck as a 1-of, but I don't think it's worth it. The deck curves out at 4, so having a random 6-drop isn't what I want to do. Regarding Darksteel Axe, some were saying you could have 4x Stoneforge Mystic and 4x Trinket Mage to fetch the Axe, which can't be destroyed by an opponent's Shatter in response to Shape Anew. That is a viable point, but I don't like it simply because Stoneforge and Trinket Mage are using valuable space for underpowered cards. Yes, having an indestructable artifact to Shape into an indestructable Colossus is better, but my list just needs to have counter backup. If you are wondering about why I have 3 big/3 small Jaces as opposed to 4/2 it is because my opponent NOT having Jace TMS is more important than me having him. if they do have their big Jace, they can bounce the Colossus. If I lead with a little Jace, I have preemtively removed their Big Jace from messing up my plans.
A couple more cards have been released, but I am only going to talk about the new Mythics here. How about that new Sword, the one of being well fed and starving?
I really like this card! I think this and the Sword of Body and Mind are atill both weaker than Fire/Ice and Light/Shadow, but this is more powerful than Body/Mind. The black ability on this one is nice to make any creature you have into a Specter. Specters are quite powerful, but are often held back by their tiny size. This equipment makes your 0/1 plant into a 2/3 specter with evasion. The green ability, untap all your lands, is nice but is not going to be as important. Mana empties at the end of steps and phases instead of turns, so you can't use this as a ramping ability. This is obviously a very powerful weapon against BG infect, but that's why we're packing Nature's Claim. This, Sword of Body and Mind, and Sword of Peace and Chaos (my guess at what the RW will be called) make an ugly tag team together. Especially when you add either the Mirran or Phyrexian Crusaders.
I was wondering how much love red would get in terms of Battle Cry, and this guy is the answer. Mono-red just got SO much better.
4/2 body: meh
Haste: that's nomal for red
Battle Cry: yeah, it pushes more damage through
Creatures with power 1 or less can't block this turn: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! (as Coach Serino would put it)
You see, that last ability might as well just say "Whenever this creature attacks, control players cry". This guy is a hero for red deck! Wall of Omens? Sea Gate Oracle? Nice cycling.... Until something like Plumevail comes back, this card is a staple in red decks, probably as a 4-of. I also want to point out that this card is a knight, so maybe our mono-white Knights deck can become Boros splashing red for Hero, Goblin Guide, and Lightning Bolt. Here is the new list:
4x Student of Warfare
3x Goblin Guide
3x Hero of Bladehold
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Knight Exemplar
4x Mirran Crusader
4x White Knight
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Emerge Unscathed
4x Honor of the Pure
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
11x Plains
5x Mountain
Here is a mono-red list using Hero of Oxid Ridge:
4x Goblin Guide
4x Plated Geopede
3x Hero of Oxid Ridge
4x Kargan Dragonlord
3x Goblin Bushwacker
4x Goblin Wardriver
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Burst Lightning
4x Panic Spellbomb
3x Koth of the Hammer
4x Arid Mesa
4x Scalding Tarn
3x Teetering Peaks
2x Smoldering Spires
10x Mountain
It looks like I have a lot of proxying and testing to do! That is all for today! Until next time, stay classy!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
TNT FNM 1/21/11 *3-2*
Hello everyone! Tonight, I played in the FNM for the first time in probably a month. I have been thinking so much about Beseiged that I proxied all of my decks for post-Beseiged except for UW Control, so that is what I had to work with. I didn't even have a sideboard, so I threw together some Jank at the last minute that looked something like:
3x Spreading Seas
2x Negate
1x Mindbreak Trap
3x Celestial Purge
3x Luminarch Ascension
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Devout Lightcaster
So with such a great sideboard against UB control: Devout Lightcaster, Luminarch Ascension, Spreading Seas, Celestial Purge, Negate, guess how many times I faced down a swamp in 5 rounds? 0.
Round 1: Mono-White Life Gain
He won the die roll and started with Plains, Soul's Attendant. I was a little confused as to what I was facing, but I rolled with it anyways. Game 1 included very few creatures on his side, so I was ablt to take control of the game almost instantly and got him locked down with Venser, Elspeth, and Jace TMS teaming up together. Game 2 however was a different story. His lifegain simply could not be stopped for several turns. Finally when I cast Day of Judgement I was able to stabalize with him at 57 life! Gideon + Baneslayer + Colonnade = 15 damage a turn though, so I was able to come back in 4 turns to close out the game, which just so happened to be the same turn I popped Jace for -12!
2-0
1-0
Round 2: UW Control
As soon as I realized I was in the mirror, I just groaned. I didn't want to have to grind out long games, but this match didn't get over until there was 1:30 left. Game 1 I was able to come over the top on with a Planeswalker suite of Elspeth, Gideon, and Big Jace. Game 2, however, was insane! He was on the play and stuck a turn 2 Luminarch Ascension. I played my Luminarch Ascension on my turn 2 so I could try to with with more mana and tokens. He had War Priest of Thune though, but I top deck ANOTHER Luminarch Ascension! So I play my Luminarch, 2 turns behind and after a couple turns He has 3 counters on his, I have 1 on mine (Wall of Omens bought me the time) and when I pass my turn he missed his trigger so I was able to catch up with my Luminarch Ascension. We proceed to into a Luminarch Ascension battle while I fog with the likes of Gideon in order to get my Ascension online. I have way more mana than him though and I can make 4 Angels a turn to his 2. However, he has another War Priest, which stops me cold. From there I simply couldn't come back from the waves of Angels. Game 3 we had to play a little faster, but I stuck a turn 2 Luminarch Ascension and simply went to town with it. I noticed I played Luminarch Ascension very differently. If I have a choice between Baneslayer and 2 tokens, I always go with the tokens. However, my opponent seemed to be much more in favor of using his last couple mana to make Angels as opposed to using it as his primary win condition. After this match I realized maybe Into the Roil wouldn't be a bard card to bring into my board. I can hit Planeswalkers.
2-1
2-0
Round 3: Wb Knights
The first thing I though when my opponent sat down is that he looked striingly similar to Kai Budde, only a teenage version. When i saw he was playing White Weenie, I just had to laugh a little. His deck was very powerful, and I am a firm believer of Knight Exemplar after this match. That card ruins Day of Judgement and calculating combat! The games went much as you would expect from a aggro vs Control matchup except that he never burnt out. Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin both did fantastic jobs of keeping his board full, although I feel I completely misplayed when I forgot about the Sky Ruin and I had Tec Edge + 1 up. He brought back Exemplar which was simply too much.
1-2
2-1
Round 4: RUG
I was against Peter in this match, someone who is always a solid player, and has played RUG every time I have FNMed against him since rotation. These games were absolutely insane, and alot of the craziness simply had to do with mana. Obviously his 3 color deck has a shaky manabase, so when I hit him for double spreading seas on 2 Raging Ravines leaving him with 5 islands and a forest, he though it was GG. Some savage rips later, all of a sudden we're back in a counter war over his Inferno Titan. Ultimately the game came down to be being 1 mana short of animating a Colonnade to block and playing Day of Judgement to clear his board, and I lost. Even though I play against RUG from time to time, I still can't identify its weakness, except that I feel it tries to do too much so it doesn't really excel at any one thing. It tries to control, but only plays 4 Jace 4 Mana Leak. It tries to ramp, but only plays 4 Explore 4 Lotus Cobra. It tries to remove threats but just plays a couple Bolts. So I am not a fan of the deck despite its complexity and ability to do anything, at the same time I feel it does nothing.
1-2
2-2
Round 5: GW Quest
I don't like Quest decks, but I do like GW beatdown. This guy I was playing against had a GW beatdown splash Quest style deck, which actually posed a bigger problem then I thought it would. out games were insanely Swingy, and even despite my 4 or 5 for 1s with Day of Judgement, Vengevine NEVER went away! Ultimately double Baneslayer Angel is what was able to pull me out of the hole game 3 facing triple Vengevine + enough friends to hit for 20. I was able to block 2 Veggies, which gained me 10 and blocked 8, so I only was hit for 2, and I could stabalize from there with Day of Judgement (this time he had no cards in hand) and I Jace +2ed him so he only ever got lands.
2-1
3-2
I really like UW Control, and I feel it will be the control varient of choice. As I said, I think Beseiged will make aggro much better, which UW has a better chance of beating as its board sweepers are better. Even as I say that though, Black Sun's Zenith is nuts!
This could be the card that keeps UB Control the better option as it is an incredibly powerful board sweeper, and whatever it doesn't kill is seriously crippled. The entire Zenith cycle has been revealed, and the 2 most powerful are definitely this one and the Green one. The red one is Blaze, which is dissapointing, and the blue and white ones cost triple color, so they aren't as powerful. Here is how I rank the Zeniths:
1. Black
2. Green
3. Blue
4. White
5. Red
Anyways, I can talk more about Beseiged previews in my next post (Sword of Feast and Famine!), I want to keep this one focused. So until next time, stay classy!
3x Spreading Seas
2x Negate
1x Mindbreak Trap
3x Celestial Purge
3x Luminarch Ascension
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Devout Lightcaster
So with such a great sideboard against UB control: Devout Lightcaster, Luminarch Ascension, Spreading Seas, Celestial Purge, Negate, guess how many times I faced down a swamp in 5 rounds? 0.
Round 1: Mono-White Life Gain
He won the die roll and started with Plains, Soul's Attendant. I was a little confused as to what I was facing, but I rolled with it anyways. Game 1 included very few creatures on his side, so I was ablt to take control of the game almost instantly and got him locked down with Venser, Elspeth, and Jace TMS teaming up together. Game 2 however was a different story. His lifegain simply could not be stopped for several turns. Finally when I cast Day of Judgement I was able to stabalize with him at 57 life! Gideon + Baneslayer + Colonnade = 15 damage a turn though, so I was able to come back in 4 turns to close out the game, which just so happened to be the same turn I popped Jace for -12!
2-0
1-0
Round 2: UW Control
As soon as I realized I was in the mirror, I just groaned. I didn't want to have to grind out long games, but this match didn't get over until there was 1:30 left. Game 1 I was able to come over the top on with a Planeswalker suite of Elspeth, Gideon, and Big Jace. Game 2, however, was insane! He was on the play and stuck a turn 2 Luminarch Ascension. I played my Luminarch Ascension on my turn 2 so I could try to with with more mana and tokens. He had War Priest of Thune though, but I top deck ANOTHER Luminarch Ascension! So I play my Luminarch, 2 turns behind and after a couple turns He has 3 counters on his, I have 1 on mine (Wall of Omens bought me the time) and when I pass my turn he missed his trigger so I was able to catch up with my Luminarch Ascension. We proceed to into a Luminarch Ascension battle while I fog with the likes of Gideon in order to get my Ascension online. I have way more mana than him though and I can make 4 Angels a turn to his 2. However, he has another War Priest, which stops me cold. From there I simply couldn't come back from the waves of Angels. Game 3 we had to play a little faster, but I stuck a turn 2 Luminarch Ascension and simply went to town with it. I noticed I played Luminarch Ascension very differently. If I have a choice between Baneslayer and 2 tokens, I always go with the tokens. However, my opponent seemed to be much more in favor of using his last couple mana to make Angels as opposed to using it as his primary win condition. After this match I realized maybe Into the Roil wouldn't be a bard card to bring into my board. I can hit Planeswalkers.
2-1
2-0
Round 3: Wb Knights
The first thing I though when my opponent sat down is that he looked striingly similar to Kai Budde, only a teenage version. When i saw he was playing White Weenie, I just had to laugh a little. His deck was very powerful, and I am a firm believer of Knight Exemplar after this match. That card ruins Day of Judgement and calculating combat! The games went much as you would expect from a aggro vs Control matchup except that he never burnt out. Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin both did fantastic jobs of keeping his board full, although I feel I completely misplayed when I forgot about the Sky Ruin and I had Tec Edge + 1 up. He brought back Exemplar which was simply too much.
1-2
2-1
Round 4: RUG
I was against Peter in this match, someone who is always a solid player, and has played RUG every time I have FNMed against him since rotation. These games were absolutely insane, and alot of the craziness simply had to do with mana. Obviously his 3 color deck has a shaky manabase, so when I hit him for double spreading seas on 2 Raging Ravines leaving him with 5 islands and a forest, he though it was GG. Some savage rips later, all of a sudden we're back in a counter war over his Inferno Titan. Ultimately the game came down to be being 1 mana short of animating a Colonnade to block and playing Day of Judgement to clear his board, and I lost. Even though I play against RUG from time to time, I still can't identify its weakness, except that I feel it tries to do too much so it doesn't really excel at any one thing. It tries to control, but only plays 4 Jace 4 Mana Leak. It tries to ramp, but only plays 4 Explore 4 Lotus Cobra. It tries to remove threats but just plays a couple Bolts. So I am not a fan of the deck despite its complexity and ability to do anything, at the same time I feel it does nothing.
1-2
2-2
Round 5: GW Quest
I don't like Quest decks, but I do like GW beatdown. This guy I was playing against had a GW beatdown splash Quest style deck, which actually posed a bigger problem then I thought it would. out games were insanely Swingy, and even despite my 4 or 5 for 1s with Day of Judgement, Vengevine NEVER went away! Ultimately double Baneslayer Angel is what was able to pull me out of the hole game 3 facing triple Vengevine + enough friends to hit for 20. I was able to block 2 Veggies, which gained me 10 and blocked 8, so I only was hit for 2, and I could stabalize from there with Day of Judgement (this time he had no cards in hand) and I Jace +2ed him so he only ever got lands.
2-1
3-2
I really like UW Control, and I feel it will be the control varient of choice. As I said, I think Beseiged will make aggro much better, which UW has a better chance of beating as its board sweepers are better. Even as I say that though, Black Sun's Zenith is nuts!
This could be the card that keeps UB Control the better option as it is an incredibly powerful board sweeper, and whatever it doesn't kill is seriously crippled. The entire Zenith cycle has been revealed, and the 2 most powerful are definitely this one and the Green one. The red one is Blaze, which is dissapointing, and the blue and white ones cost triple color, so they aren't as powerful. Here is how I rank the Zeniths:
1. Black
2. Green
3. Blue
4. White
5. Red
Anyways, I can talk more about Beseiged previews in my next post (Sword of Feast and Famine!), I want to keep this one focused. So until next time, stay classy!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Green + Card Advantage = DEATH
Hello world! As we have come quite accustomed to by now, each color on the pie have inherant strengths and weakness. For example, blue has great card advantage, but it lacks the raw power to go over the top. Red has efficient spells, but lacks strength the longer the games go on. Green is mono-dudes, which lends itself to a whole array of issues, like that there Day of Judgement. One of the reasons I like enemy-colored decks is because what each color lacks, you can usually find on the other side of the wheel, so the colors capitilize on their inherent strengths to create an ideal deck (read: Eventide is crazy!). Right now, the current Standard mana screams ally colors only, as the only enemy colored "duals" are Zen fetches, compared the the 12 good dual lands, and the 4 additional Refuge duals in case you are casting all triple colored spells.
So I want to make an epic G/x deck, but the mana isn't solid enough for GB or GU (note: my GB infect deck is mono-black splashing green for Garruk, Putrafax, and Gigantiform. Updated list will be at the end). So now we have to choose between GW and GR. Before we get into splash colors, let me talk about why I am so set on having a G/x deck:
Vengevine
Fauna Shaman
Garruk Wildspeaker
Thrun, the Last Troll
Green Sun's Zenith
Lead the Stampede
Yeah, you know the cuteness that is Vengevine + Fauna Shaman, and we already saw Thrun for all his epicness, and Green Sun's Zenith makes the deck even more consistant, but what is this Lead the Stampede?
Yes, that basically reads: 2G draw 3-5 cards. One of the problems with Vengevine is that you need 2 creatures to activate, and green doesn't have any card draw to allow multiple recursions. However, with Lead the Stampede, we can get our Veggies right back in no time! Right now, the only deck that Vengevine is played in is GW/Bant Quest, so I'm going to start by looking at White:
Squadran Hawk
Stoneforge Mytic + Living Weapon (not creature spells, but more pressure = more fun)
Kor Skyfisher
Mirran Crusader
Hero of Bladehold
I think Quest is far too inconsistant of a decent plan for your deck to use as a win condition, so I am going to cut Glint Hawk, Ornithopter, and Memnite for now, although Memnite may make it back in if we have some extra slots. Here's a sample list:
4x Vengevine
4x Fauna Shaman
3x Thrun, the Last Troll
4x Kor Skyfisher
4x Squadran Hawk
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Hero of Bladehold
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Lead the Stampede
2x Journey to Nowhere
4x Razorverge Thicket
3x Stirring Wildwood
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Tectonic Edge
5x Plains
4x Forest
With 27 guys in the deck, that means 45% of our deck is dudes. In terms of Lead the Stampede, that's 2.25 creatures per use. Even though we will only get 2 cards in hand, which makes this more Divination than anything else, we do also get to ship lands we don't need to the bottom. In addition to Lead the Stampede, we have good ol' Squadran Hawk and Kor Skyfisher to bring bak Vengevine all by themselves. This curves out at 4, although it is pretty heavy up top. Here is the curve:
1 - 0
2 - 14
3 - 8
4 - 14
Obviously this is a completely untested deck, but I like all the 4 drops, so maybe adding Birds of Paradise can make the deck curve out faster. Even without Vengevine online, the other 4 drops in this deck are all scary. Basically this deck is all threats, all the time. Day of Judgement obviously hurts, but here is where we get even more card advantage: Vengevine comes back as always, and Thrun never dies, so they can Day, and we can just keep on entering the Red Zone.
On the flip side of the coin, we have GR, which I feel will be a much more aggressive version of the deck, although it will not make as great use of Vengevine without the fliers. Here are some red cards for the deck:
Goblin Wardriver
Goblin Guide
Goblin Bushwacker
Goblin Shortcutter
Lightning Bolt
I was on the fence about listing the Shortcutter, but his ETB ability can be such a blowout if a control deck hopes their Wall of Omens/Sea Gate Oracle will buy them enough time to start dropping Titans. Imagine T3: Shortcutter, Guide, bring back Vengevine, attack for 6? Now I don't know how the Vengevine got into the bin, but work with me here, this is Magical Christmasland! Here is a list:
4x Goblin Guide
4x Goblin Bushwacker
4x Goblin Wardriver
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Vengevine
3x Thrun
4x Goblin Shortcutter
4x Lead the Stampede
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Burst Lightning
4x Copperline Gorge
4x Rootboung Crag
4x Raging Ravine
2x Tectonic Edge
5x Mountain
4x Forest
This version has a much lower curve which looks like this (Bushwacker is considered a 2-drop)
1 - 10
2 - 16
3 - 4
4 - 7
Becausse this version has a much tougher chance at coming back after Day of Judgement, it is less preferable. However, if aggro takes over, this is the faster of the 2 options, so I feel it would be preferred. But that is something that I will have to look into in the coming weeks.
Random notes:
For the Knights deck: a reprint of Leonin Skyhunter has been confirmed, which is a 2/2 flying Knight for WW. Definitely an auto-include (and the new art looks almost exactly the same as the original)
Current Infect deck I am running:
4x Plague Myr
4x Plague Stinger
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Putrafax
3x Skittles
4x Phyrexian Vatmother
3x Garruk
2x Gigantiform
2x Contagion Clasp
3x Doom Blade
3x Inquisition of Kozelik
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Terramorphic Expanse
11x Swamp
6x Forest
Right as I am about to sign off, the midnight threshold was passed, so I might as well talk about the new spoilers for a moment. In Flores's article, he previewed a land that is going strait in as a 4-of into the infect deck about 4 lines up ^^. That card is so sick! Now we have an infect manland! The Knowledge Pool is nutty and crazy, so I have no idea what to say about it, akthough playing Doom Blade in response to a crazy spell and pulling out Mana Leak sounds very fun!
Until next time, stay clasy!
So I want to make an epic G/x deck, but the mana isn't solid enough for GB or GU (note: my GB infect deck is mono-black splashing green for Garruk, Putrafax, and Gigantiform. Updated list will be at the end). So now we have to choose between GW and GR. Before we get into splash colors, let me talk about why I am so set on having a G/x deck:
Vengevine
Fauna Shaman
Garruk Wildspeaker
Thrun, the Last Troll
Green Sun's Zenith
Lead the Stampede
Yeah, you know the cuteness that is Vengevine + Fauna Shaman, and we already saw Thrun for all his epicness, and Green Sun's Zenith makes the deck even more consistant, but what is this Lead the Stampede?
Yes, that basically reads: 2G draw 3-5 cards. One of the problems with Vengevine is that you need 2 creatures to activate, and green doesn't have any card draw to allow multiple recursions. However, with Lead the Stampede, we can get our Veggies right back in no time! Right now, the only deck that Vengevine is played in is GW/Bant Quest, so I'm going to start by looking at White:
Squadran Hawk
Stoneforge Mytic + Living Weapon (not creature spells, but more pressure = more fun)
Kor Skyfisher
Mirran Crusader
Hero of Bladehold
I think Quest is far too inconsistant of a decent plan for your deck to use as a win condition, so I am going to cut Glint Hawk, Ornithopter, and Memnite for now, although Memnite may make it back in if we have some extra slots. Here's a sample list:
4x Vengevine
4x Fauna Shaman
3x Thrun, the Last Troll
4x Kor Skyfisher
4x Squadran Hawk
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Hero of Bladehold
3x Garruk Wildspeaker
4x Lead the Stampede
2x Journey to Nowhere
4x Razorverge Thicket
3x Stirring Wildwood
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Tectonic Edge
5x Plains
4x Forest
With 27 guys in the deck, that means 45% of our deck is dudes. In terms of Lead the Stampede, that's 2.25 creatures per use. Even though we will only get 2 cards in hand, which makes this more Divination than anything else, we do also get to ship lands we don't need to the bottom. In addition to Lead the Stampede, we have good ol' Squadran Hawk and Kor Skyfisher to bring bak Vengevine all by themselves. This curves out at 4, although it is pretty heavy up top. Here is the curve:
1 - 0
2 - 14
3 - 8
4 - 14
Obviously this is a completely untested deck, but I like all the 4 drops, so maybe adding Birds of Paradise can make the deck curve out faster. Even without Vengevine online, the other 4 drops in this deck are all scary. Basically this deck is all threats, all the time. Day of Judgement obviously hurts, but here is where we get even more card advantage: Vengevine comes back as always, and Thrun never dies, so they can Day, and we can just keep on entering the Red Zone.
On the flip side of the coin, we have GR, which I feel will be a much more aggressive version of the deck, although it will not make as great use of Vengevine without the fliers. Here are some red cards for the deck:
Goblin Wardriver
Goblin Guide
Goblin Bushwacker
Goblin Shortcutter
Lightning Bolt
I was on the fence about listing the Shortcutter, but his ETB ability can be such a blowout if a control deck hopes their Wall of Omens/Sea Gate Oracle will buy them enough time to start dropping Titans. Imagine T3: Shortcutter, Guide, bring back Vengevine, attack for 6? Now I don't know how the Vengevine got into the bin, but work with me here, this is Magical Christmasland! Here is a list:
4x Goblin Guide
4x Goblin Bushwacker
4x Goblin Wardriver
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Vengevine
3x Thrun
4x Goblin Shortcutter
4x Lead the Stampede
4x Lightning Bolt
2x Burst Lightning
4x Copperline Gorge
4x Rootboung Crag
4x Raging Ravine
2x Tectonic Edge
5x Mountain
4x Forest
This version has a much lower curve which looks like this (Bushwacker is considered a 2-drop)
1 - 10
2 - 16
3 - 4
4 - 7
Becausse this version has a much tougher chance at coming back after Day of Judgement, it is less preferable. However, if aggro takes over, this is the faster of the 2 options, so I feel it would be preferred. But that is something that I will have to look into in the coming weeks.
Random notes:
For the Knights deck: a reprint of Leonin Skyhunter has been confirmed, which is a 2/2 flying Knight for WW. Definitely an auto-include (and the new art looks almost exactly the same as the original)
Current Infect deck I am running:
4x Plague Myr
4x Plague Stinger
4x Phyrexian Crusader
4x Putrafax
3x Skittles
4x Phyrexian Vatmother
3x Garruk
2x Gigantiform
2x Contagion Clasp
3x Doom Blade
3x Inquisition of Kozelik
4x Verdant Catacombs
3x Terramorphic Expanse
11x Swamp
6x Forest
Right as I am about to sign off, the midnight threshold was passed, so I might as well talk about the new spoilers for a moment. In Flores's article, he previewed a land that is going strait in as a 4-of into the infect deck about 4 lines up ^^. That card is so sick! Now we have an infect manland! The Knowledge Pool is nutty and crazy, so I have no idea what to say about it, akthough playing Doom Blade in response to a crazy spell and pulling out Mana Leak sounds very fun!
Until next time, stay clasy!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Darksteel Infect, Oh and an Epic Planeswalker Too!
Hello out there! Since I wrote my last post 16 hours ago, 2 more Mythics have been released, and they are both insane! So what are we waiting for, let's check it out!
I first heard about this card via txt from Mark. He wasn't all to pleased with it, but I think every Planeswalker needs serious evaluation before getting passed off. Let's take a look at the Planeswalkers we have seen so far:
Ajani Goldmane (5)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, in B/W tokens
+1 rarely used
-1 primary purpose
-6 never used
Ajani Vengeant (6)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, USA Superfriends
+1 used more to raise loyalty than for ability
-2 used primarily
-7 never used, but only because he never lasts up to 7 loyalty. Used whenever possible
Chandra Ablaze (4)
CMC: 6
Played: No
+1 bad
-2 bad
-7 pretty good, although I have survived it before
Chandra Nalaar (3)
CMC: 5
Played: 1-of in UR Control
+1 used primarily to increase loyalty
-X primary use
-8 used whenever possible, although that doesn't happen often
Elspeth Tirel (14)
CMC: 5
Played: 1-of in UW Control
+2 only used to up loyalty
-2 primary use
-5 rarely used
Elspeth, Knight-Errant (20)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, UW Control
+1 used heavily
+1 used heavily
-8 used whenever possible, although opponent is often by then
Garruk Wildspeaker (7.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, RUG, Elves
+1 used heavily
-1 used heavily
-4 used heavily
Gideon Jura (20)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, UW Control
+2 used heavily
-2 used heavily
0 used heavily
Jace Beleran (8.50)
CMC: 3
Used: Yes, U/x Control, Faeries, Pyro Ascension
+2 only used to up loyalty
-1 primary use
-10 never used
Jace the Mind Sculptor (96)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, U/x Control, Faeries, G-Wave
+2 used heavily
0 used heavily
-1 used frequently
-12 used heavily
Koth of the Hammer (25.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, Red Deck, Valakut
+1 used heavily
-2 used rarely, doesn't fit with red deck plan
-5 primary use
Liliana Vess (4.50)
CMC: 5
Used: No
+1 used to up loyalty
-2 primary use
-8 I only use this in multi-player
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker (15)
CMC: 8
Used: No
+3 Primary Use
-2 Used to close out games
-9 Used whenever possible
Nissa Revane (9.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, Elves, Eldrazi Green
+1 primary use
+1 used only when all Chosen are in play
-7 used whenever possible
Sarkhan the Mad (7)
CMC: 5
Used: No
0 used sparingly
-2 primary use
-4 used to close out games
Sarkhan Vol (8.50)
CMC: 4
Used: No
+1 primary use
-2 used to close out games
-6 used whenever possible
Sorin Markov (12.50)
CMC: 6
Used: I don't think so, but I heard he is now played in UB control and Vampires...
+2 primary use
-3 almost never used
-7 used whenever possible
Tezzeret the Seeker (8)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, Vintage, Runeflare Trap
+1 used sparingly
-X primary use
-5 never used
Venser, the Sojourner (17)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, UW Control
+2 used to up loyalty
-1 never used
-8 primary use
I will bet you didn't even read it, and even if you did, you are probably wondering why I just went through all that work. The reason is this: Planeswalkers offer you a toolbox of options that you can use for free every turn. Some options are better than others, and depending on loyalty some may not even exist. There are 2 things I want to draw your attention to on each of the planeswalkers: converted mana cost (CMC for those not in the know) and the number of abilities that are actually used. Then compare these to their price. "Used whenever possible" only appears on ultimate abilities and applies to powerful abilities that are used if possible, but are not the primary function of the planeswalker.
Notice how the cards that offer more abilties that are used heavily (with the best examples being Jace TMS, Garruk, and Gideon Jura) are the ones that are more $$$ expensive. I believe Garruk used to be twice as expensive as he is now, but reprints have pulled down his price. While you can't make a graph and have perfect results to show the relationship between price (which theoretically reflects power) and useful abilities/CMC, you can defenitely see a connection. So from this overanalyzed POV, what do I think of this new Tez? He is awesome!
First, the easy measuring stick: He costs 2UB for a CMC of 4. Lower CMC = better planeswalker. Do you think Jace TMS would be as good is it cost 3UU? But now we have to get into the nitty gritty; are his abilities good?
+1 Look at the top 5 cards of your library. Put an artifact card from them into your hand, rest on the bottom of your library.
Let's start here. I think this is the sole reason to play this Tezzeret. Card draw is always an incredibly powerful tool, as whoever has more and better options typically wins. Not only is this card draw, but it also offers card selection. We can choose what we do and do not draw. 4 lands and an Everflowing Chalice? Probably not what you want to see late game as your top 5, but you can grab the chalice and ship the lands away. Just like with the previous Tez, this guy wants lots of artifacts in your deck. What are some good artifacts?
Finisher - Wurmcoil Engine, Steel Hellkite, Myr Battlesphere, Mindslaver, Molten-Tail Masticore
Removal - Ratchet Bomb, Lux Cannon, Brittle Effigy, Phyrexian Revoker, Tumble Magnet
Mana - Everflowing Chalice, Mox Opal
Powerful Stuff - Eldrazi Monument, Lodestone Golem, Mimic Vat
2x Khalni Heart Expedition
I first heard about this card via txt from Mark. He wasn't all to pleased with it, but I think every Planeswalker needs serious evaluation before getting passed off. Let's take a look at the Planeswalkers we have seen so far:
Ajani Goldmane (5)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, in B/W tokens
+1 rarely used
-1 primary purpose
-6 never used
Ajani Vengeant (6)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, USA Superfriends
+1 used more to raise loyalty than for ability
-2 used primarily
-7 never used, but only because he never lasts up to 7 loyalty. Used whenever possible
Chandra Ablaze (4)
CMC: 6
Played: No
+1 bad
-2 bad
-7 pretty good, although I have survived it before
Chandra Nalaar (3)
CMC: 5
Played: 1-of in UR Control
+1 used primarily to increase loyalty
-X primary use
-8 used whenever possible, although that doesn't happen often
Elspeth Tirel (14)
CMC: 5
Played: 1-of in UW Control
+2 only used to up loyalty
-2 primary use
-5 rarely used
Elspeth, Knight-Errant (20)
CMC: 4
Played: Yes, UW Control
+1 used heavily
+1 used heavily
-8 used whenever possible, although opponent is often by then
Garruk Wildspeaker (7.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, RUG, Elves
+1 used heavily
-1 used heavily
-4 used heavily
Gideon Jura (20)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, UW Control
+2 used heavily
-2 used heavily
0 used heavily
Jace Beleran (8.50)
CMC: 3
Used: Yes, U/x Control, Faeries, Pyro Ascension
+2 only used to up loyalty
-1 primary use
-10 never used
Jace the Mind Sculptor (96)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, U/x Control, Faeries, G-Wave
+2 used heavily
0 used heavily
-1 used frequently
-12 used heavily
Koth of the Hammer (25.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, Red Deck, Valakut
+1 used heavily
-2 used rarely, doesn't fit with red deck plan
-5 primary use
Liliana Vess (4.50)
CMC: 5
Used: No
+1 used to up loyalty
-2 primary use
-8 I only use this in multi-player
Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker (15)
CMC: 8
Used: No
+3 Primary Use
-2 Used to close out games
-9 Used whenever possible
Nissa Revane (9.50)
CMC: 4
Used: Yes, Elves, Eldrazi Green
+1 primary use
+1 used only when all Chosen are in play
-7 used whenever possible
Sarkhan the Mad (7)
CMC: 5
Used: No
0 used sparingly
-2 primary use
-4 used to close out games
Sarkhan Vol (8.50)
CMC: 4
Used: No
+1 primary use
-2 used to close out games
-6 used whenever possible
Sorin Markov (12.50)
CMC: 6
Used: I don't think so, but I heard he is now played in UB control and Vampires...
+2 primary use
-3 almost never used
-7 used whenever possible
Tezzeret the Seeker (8)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, Vintage, Runeflare Trap
+1 used sparingly
-X primary use
-5 never used
Venser, the Sojourner (17)
CMC: 5
Used: Yes, UW Control
+2 used to up loyalty
-1 never used
-8 primary use
I will bet you didn't even read it, and even if you did, you are probably wondering why I just went through all that work. The reason is this: Planeswalkers offer you a toolbox of options that you can use for free every turn. Some options are better than others, and depending on loyalty some may not even exist. There are 2 things I want to draw your attention to on each of the planeswalkers: converted mana cost (CMC for those not in the know) and the number of abilities that are actually used. Then compare these to their price. "Used whenever possible" only appears on ultimate abilities and applies to powerful abilities that are used if possible, but are not the primary function of the planeswalker.
Notice how the cards that offer more abilties that are used heavily (with the best examples being Jace TMS, Garruk, and Gideon Jura) are the ones that are more $$$ expensive. I believe Garruk used to be twice as expensive as he is now, but reprints have pulled down his price. While you can't make a graph and have perfect results to show the relationship between price (which theoretically reflects power) and useful abilities/CMC, you can defenitely see a connection. So from this overanalyzed POV, what do I think of this new Tez? He is awesome!
First, the easy measuring stick: He costs 2UB for a CMC of 4. Lower CMC = better planeswalker. Do you think Jace TMS would be as good is it cost 3UU? But now we have to get into the nitty gritty; are his abilities good?
+1 Look at the top 5 cards of your library. Put an artifact card from them into your hand, rest on the bottom of your library.
Let's start here. I think this is the sole reason to play this Tezzeret. Card draw is always an incredibly powerful tool, as whoever has more and better options typically wins. Not only is this card draw, but it also offers card selection. We can choose what we do and do not draw. 4 lands and an Everflowing Chalice? Probably not what you want to see late game as your top 5, but you can grab the chalice and ship the lands away. Just like with the previous Tez, this guy wants lots of artifacts in your deck. What are some good artifacts?
Finisher - Wurmcoil Engine, Steel Hellkite, Myr Battlesphere, Mindslaver, Molten-Tail Masticore
Removal - Ratchet Bomb, Lux Cannon, Brittle Effigy, Phyrexian Revoker, Tumble Magnet
Mana - Everflowing Chalice, Mox Opal
Powerful Stuff - Eldrazi Monument, Lodestone Golem, Mimic Vat
This is the Phyrexian Revoker. You can find a great review of it here
This is a fantastic toolbox of options! With Tez in play, you can fetch whatever card you may need. Fast! After playing with Lim-Dul's Vault, I can tell you that checking out 5 cards at a time is INCREDIBLY fast. Oh, did I mention that when you have Jace TMS in play you can draw 5 cards a turn? Draw for turn, Brainstorm with Jace, then +1 Tez to look 3 cards deeper than the 2 you put back from the Brainstorm, get an artifact card into your hand, and then get rid of the cards you don't want from your Brainstorm so you draw all fresh cards next turn!
-1 Target Artifact becomes a 5/5 artifact creature
First thing I want to point out about this card is that it makes it a 5/5 permanently. I don't think this ability will get played at a professional level, but this is an insanely complex ability! "No, it just makes an artifact a dude in addition to being an artifact, what's tough about that?" Let me add another card to the equation: Liquidmetal Coating. Now things can get seriously stupid. I already talked about using Liquidmetal Coating + Shatter to destroy anything you want, but now we have more diverse options. If you don't have Shatter, you can Doom Blade or Turn to Slag it (you can animate your opponent's artifacts). Also, you can make your lands or any permanents into creatures, you can even have Tezzeret turn himself into a creature! Imagine your opponent feeling all cool because they have man lands and Gideon and Chimeric Mass all able to survive through your Day of Judgements. Then you slap them with the Tez + Liquidmetal combo and blow up everything with DoJ! With that being said, I think this is Tezzeret's worst ability which will see the least amount of use.
-4 Target player loses X life and you gain X life where X is twice the number of artifacts you control
I really really like this ability! I feel this can be a complete blowout, and a Mark mentioned, it's an instant win with Sanguine Bond in play if you have 5 artifacts in play. That is a lot of ifs, but I can definitely see myself dealing 6 or 8 damage to my opponent with this card in the near future. Obviously it was designed this way, but I like how it synergises with his +1 ability. You can fetch a ton of artifacts, then blast your opponent's face with them. Just imagine yourself dropping Myr Battlesphere and then draining your opponent for 10 or more!
So that is me letting my spike pour out, let's go hang out with Johnny for a bit. Hello Blightsteel Colossus!
11 power, trample, AND infect!!!!?!?!?!?! This guy is INSANE!!!!! Costs 12 mana.... Well hey, Eldrazi cost an insane amount too, but that never stopped anyone before! Let me say this right now, this guy is going to see play from the say he is printed in Vintage. Turn 1: Black Lotus, Mox, Tinker Mox into Blightsteel Colossus, GG (this is why I don't like Vintage). If this guy attacks once you win. How crazy is that!?!?! He kinda feels like Emrakul in terms of how he ends games by himself. Yeah, I went there.
In my legacy deck, I play a single Show and Tell in case my ideal reanimation target is in my hand. However, this guy can't be reanimated, so it has to be dropped into play with the Show and Tell. This obviously requires a very different deck, which I feel would be UG, splashing green for Worldly Tutor. In terms of standard, there is really no way to cheat guys into play, or else we would still be staring down Emrakuls. Maybe we can make a ramp deck with Everflowing Chalice + Proliferate? Maybe we can go GW, using the white for Wall of Omens and Priests of Norn to buy some time and maybe even get a counter or 2 on the opponent to proliferate with. In extended, we could GW Trap into it, but the deck isn't losing because it lacks good targets. Here is a GW Standard list I just came up with on the spot:
4x Wall of Omens
4x Priests of Norn
3x Blightsteel Colossus
4x Explore
4x Cultivate
3x Summoning Trap
3x Day of Judgement
2x Khalni Heart Expedition
4x Everflowing Chalice
2x Contagion Clasp
4x Razorverge Thicket
4x Stirring Wildwood
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Tectonic Edge
9x Forest
2x Plains
Basically you use walls to buy time while you mana ramp with Chalice, Explore, Cultivate, and Khalni Heart Expedition. When needed you can Day of Judgement to reduce pressure. If you ever get the chance, you can try your luck with Summoning Trap to ultimately get the big boy on the table and kill in one swing! The 2 plains are there in case you for some reason never draw 1 of your 12 duals and you have Day of Judgement needing to go off. You can Cultivate or Expedition for 2 plains and get there.
That is all for today, until next time, stay classy!
Beseiged with Spoilers!
It's (one of) the most wonderful time of the year! Spoiler season has officially started for Mirroden Beseiged, and we already have a $20 card! Now, that's probably not the best way to say things are going well, but at least the cards don't suck. You can find the 2 Monday preview articles here and here. Lat me start with those 2 cards. First, Thrun is STUPIDLY POWERFUL!!! Seriously, this guy is absolutely overpowered! A 4/4 for 4 is cool and all, but flipping off the control decks with can't be countered, troll shroud, AND regeneration is nuts! This is the card that is going for $20 on SCG currently. When I first say the card I said to myself "I wouldn't pay more than 8 for him" but I guess some other people will. While I am on the topic of paying an insane amount of money for cards, guess how much Thoughtseize is currently selling for? Come on, take a guess...
$31.72
I kid you not, look it up. I must say, this makes me feel awesome! I have 3. I traded for 2 at 15 each and 1 at 12. So my $42 investment is currently worth $95.16. So if I were to sell them at 2/3 value, I would get $63.75. I'm thinking that wouldn't be a bad choice at all right now. The only question is whether or not Thoughtseize will come back down after it rotates out of Extended. Also, I use the card to much success in my Reanimator deck, which will see play at GP Providence and the SCG Legacy Open. I will have to take some time to consider all of this.
One more financial tip that I can use to segway back into the previews is this: I think Stoneforge Mystic is going to go up as Living Weapon enters the scene. Mark Rosewater's article showed us a colorless Lhurgoyf that simply can not be killed. I think Living Weapon has many more tricks up its sleeves which can really change how decks function. Normally i have thought of Equipment as support spells, but now they are creatures too. Oh yeah, and Stoneforge has that ability to just drop the equipment strait into play so it can't be countered (and can even save you some mana).
So right now the midnight bridge has been crossed, and the Tuesday previews are up. We have a common just for draft, and we have Serious Fun, a column I never read and simply decided to check out the preview from it. Man! What an epic card! The only card that he has ever previewed that I have liked before (as far as I can remember) was Genesis Wave. However, this card is seriously good. Some people say that Control matchups are all about who gets a Jace first because the card advantage is incredible, but that's all false when the Sphinx hits play! Oh, you're brainstorming?! Ok, I will draw 6 as you put 2 back. Don't even get into multiplayer games.... If you are the Emperor with this guy out, you will probably deck yourself before anything happens, you will be drawing so much! Oh, and it's Phyrexian =D
Now, it would be boring if we only got spoilers from WotC, so let's check out what has been poppin up on other sites!
This has been around for just a couple days, but I don't think I have mentioned it. While not an exciting card on its own, it is certainly a very important tool for the Infect deck though. Getting Putrafax on turn 4 instead of 5 is something I never told myself was a bad idea! The fact that this has infect is obviously significant as there comes a time when every man must stand up and fight for their faction, even the mana making slaves! This is an automatic 4-of in the infect deck, which I am even more excited now to sleeve up!
An important part to winning the war it to know thy enemy. Thanks to this card, metalcraft could be lurking around every corner. Be weary when them Mirrans have 2W up as it is pretty obvious they have a trick up their sleeves.
I have heard some complaints saying that Valakut is too fragile of a deck as it needs to draw all the right cards to work. Sometimes Summoning Trap misses and your looking awkwardly at your 6 mana Overgrown Battlement. However, the more I have been playing Reanimator, the more I have been in love with tutors. This is an incredibly powerful tutor, as it can grab Primeval Titan for only a single green as opposed to double (which is important if they are attacking your green sources) for just 1 mana more, which isn't a problem in a ramp deck. Also, if they go for the Brad Nelson (who just went from CFB to SCG) attack the mountains and Valakut route, this can fetch Avenger of Zendikar and take the game from a different angle.
This would be a very cool cycle, and this is a great card as there is nothing quite like recursive removal (Chandra, Gideon). While this doesn't let you kill comething every turn, you can continue to draw this card over the course of the game and get the most for your mana (that feels like it should be a slogan for a Magic shop, like how Market Basket gets you "more for your dollar")
Anyways, that is all for now. I am going to grab some sleep if I can while thinking about the epicness that Thrun and the new Sphinx will bring. Seriously, I stopped everything I was doing for a good 15 seconds when I saw that Sphinx. I think it will appear in my next U/x control deck.
Until next time, stay classy!
$31.72
I kid you not, look it up. I must say, this makes me feel awesome! I have 3. I traded for 2 at 15 each and 1 at 12. So my $42 investment is currently worth $95.16. So if I were to sell them at 2/3 value, I would get $63.75. I'm thinking that wouldn't be a bad choice at all right now. The only question is whether or not Thoughtseize will come back down after it rotates out of Extended. Also, I use the card to much success in my Reanimator deck, which will see play at GP Providence and the SCG Legacy Open. I will have to take some time to consider all of this.
One more financial tip that I can use to segway back into the previews is this: I think Stoneforge Mystic is going to go up as Living Weapon enters the scene. Mark Rosewater's article showed us a colorless Lhurgoyf that simply can not be killed. I think Living Weapon has many more tricks up its sleeves which can really change how decks function. Normally i have thought of Equipment as support spells, but now they are creatures too. Oh yeah, and Stoneforge has that ability to just drop the equipment strait into play so it can't be countered (and can even save you some mana).
So right now the midnight bridge has been crossed, and the Tuesday previews are up. We have a common just for draft, and we have Serious Fun, a column I never read and simply decided to check out the preview from it. Man! What an epic card! The only card that he has ever previewed that I have liked before (as far as I can remember) was Genesis Wave. However, this card is seriously good. Some people say that Control matchups are all about who gets a Jace first because the card advantage is incredible, but that's all false when the Sphinx hits play! Oh, you're brainstorming?! Ok, I will draw 6 as you put 2 back. Don't even get into multiplayer games.... If you are the Emperor with this guy out, you will probably deck yourself before anything happens, you will be drawing so much! Oh, and it's Phyrexian =D
Now, it would be boring if we only got spoilers from WotC, so let's check out what has been poppin up on other sites!
This has been around for just a couple days, but I don't think I have mentioned it. While not an exciting card on its own, it is certainly a very important tool for the Infect deck though. Getting Putrafax on turn 4 instead of 5 is something I never told myself was a bad idea! The fact that this has infect is obviously significant as there comes a time when every man must stand up and fight for their faction, even the mana making slaves! This is an automatic 4-of in the infect deck, which I am even more excited now to sleeve up!
An important part to winning the war it to know thy enemy. Thanks to this card, metalcraft could be lurking around every corner. Be weary when them Mirrans have 2W up as it is pretty obvious they have a trick up their sleeves.
I have heard some complaints saying that Valakut is too fragile of a deck as it needs to draw all the right cards to work. Sometimes Summoning Trap misses and your looking awkwardly at your 6 mana Overgrown Battlement. However, the more I have been playing Reanimator, the more I have been in love with tutors. This is an incredibly powerful tutor, as it can grab Primeval Titan for only a single green as opposed to double (which is important if they are attacking your green sources) for just 1 mana more, which isn't a problem in a ramp deck. Also, if they go for the Brad Nelson (who just went from CFB to SCG) attack the mountains and Valakut route, this can fetch Avenger of Zendikar and take the game from a different angle.
This would be a very cool cycle, and this is a great card as there is nothing quite like recursive removal (Chandra, Gideon). While this doesn't let you kill comething every turn, you can continue to draw this card over the course of the game and get the most for your mana (that feels like it should be a slogan for a Magic shop, like how Market Basket gets you "more for your dollar")
Anyways, that is all for now. I am going to grab some sleep if I can while thinking about the epicness that Thrun and the new Sphinx will bring. Seriously, I stopped everything I was doing for a good 15 seconds when I saw that Sphinx. I think it will appear in my next U/x control deck.
Until next time, stay classy!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Magic, Creativity, and the Great World Beyond
Hello! I hope you are enjoying yourself, wherever you are. I am currently a nasty mix of tired and really pumped. I'm tired because it's 1am, but I am pumped because I just came back from a great gig. In the nice long 90 minute drive home (which started with me realizing I was tickling the E-bar, so I drove probably 20 miles praying there would be a gas station around the corner. somewhere) I spent a lot of time thinking, and I realized that the way I approach music (I'm a drummer for those not in the know) is the same way I approach Magic, school, and all other parts of my life. It is all about leaving yourself open creativity. In terms of the music I play with my band, Altar the World (check us out on facebook)*, I always try to stretch my drumming into something visibly different every single time we write a new song. As a result the music I play becomes very technical and difficult (and yes, can lead to a lot of mistakes in rehearsal, but it's definitely worth it when it all comes out live). I really don't like it when I just hear someone smashing on cymbals with a snare hit on every 2nd or 4th beat with no creativity in the mix. It feels like I have already heard the song and groove before, so it is a waste of my time to listen some more.
*(check us out on facebook) is not a part of the band name
These same things also apply to how I play Magic. I feel many people net deck instead of innovate. All too often I am asked whose version of said deck I am playing, and I simply respond that it is my own brew (and it almost always is). I may or may nor have mentioned that Patrick Chapin recently posted a Reanimator decklist on his column with was only a handful of cards different from mine (he didn't splash green). Honestly, I find Reanimator to be a deck that is still incredibly good, but just less good than it was when Mystical Tutor was legal. The challenge after Mystical Tutor was banned is to find cards that could still make the deck incredibly consistant, which I have found in Lim-Dul's Vault and Personal Tutor. Chapin did have some other different cards like Careful Study (which I don't like) to solve that problem. If we don't have competeing ideas to solve the same problem and we don't keep on innovating, decks and Magic as a whole will become stale.
Another thing that I have found with music and drumming is that whenever I go to a show, whether it is small bands or big names like Skillet, Family Force 5, Manic Drive, Group 1 Crew, or Fireflight, I always find myself watching the drummer the majority of the show. Maybe it is because drummers are simply cooler, but I think it is because I try to learn from everyone I see (although drummers are simply cooler). Tonight/Last night, however you measure, there were 3 bands besides mine:
1st - Finding North. They were 3 guys playing much heavier music wit the lead singer being the drummer. While there was a lot of basic bashing while the guitars break down, I still really enjoyed watching a singing drummer, as it is something I have always wanted to try (it is insanely hard when you're holding down a funky groove by the way)
2nd - Altar the World. This drummer is one that I can see a lot of my own personal traits in. Oh wait... let's just skip this one (although I really want to video record myself so I can work on same stage presence. Even if the music is perfect, it's the stage presence that makes your shows worthwhile)
3rd - Glenridge. These guys are actually recording an album with Paul Coleman right now which they plan on giving to record lables in the hope of being officialy signed. Their drummer was a stand in for the night, and while he was very night, he didn't push any borders or really ever go nuts.
4th - Scarlet White. Their drummer was a robot, I actually didn't watch him much because the bassist was doing almost every move from Attack Attack's Stick Stickly off in the corner from the Crabcore to the running in place.
I got 3 slightly different styles to watch over the night, although all 3 of them didn't draw me in overwhelmingly (although the first one was definitely the best). In particular Glenridge's drummer showed what it is to be the rock that is reliable. All of these different styles are things I try to absorb to make mylself the best drummer possible. In terms of Magic, there are a ton of different ways to talk about making decks and different styles. I talked in the past about the 4 perspectives: Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Front-Back, Back-Front, and how they affect deck building and playing Dominion. All 4 of these can be amplified with practice. Zvi Marshowitz, the man behind Mythic, explained in the original deck tech how it all started with the mana, and he said that same comment again when he made Beastmaster. With Beastmaster especially, BDM commented on how Zvi was set on working with all the ramp cards without even knowing what he was going to be ramping into yet. But, that's less important because Zvi build the deck with a Front-Back perspective.
By looking at great deckbuilders like Zvi who amplify a certain perspective of the 4 we can further improve ourselves in our deckbuilding capabilities until we are perfect (which never comes. Sorry to bust my own bubble there, but we always strive for perfection because true perfection can never be attained).
In other news, I am really loving legacy! I have a desire to make a ton of decks, which I have none of the cards for any of them. Decks like UW Countertop and BR Land Destruction which attack the game from very atypical angles by being incredbly controlling and incredibly tempo based respectively. Legacy isn't big at all at Toys, but they just acquired a ton of Revised and Unlimited duals, most in M/NM condition! I plan on slowing working on getting at least 1 each of all 10 because they are so awesome! Worst comes to worst I can use them in EDH or as epic trade fodder. Also, Legacy Magic has really exploded in the past couple years, and I wouldn't be suprised if its popularity continues to grow. I have noticed a significant increase in the density of articles for Extended and Legacy across all Magic websites, from the Mothership to the great beyond. If it does get more popular, duals will only get more expensive, so it is a very safe long term investment as well.
That is all for me tonight, I need some sleep! Until next time, stay classy! (and like ATW on facebook =D)
*(check us out on facebook) is not a part of the band name
These same things also apply to how I play Magic. I feel many people net deck instead of innovate. All too often I am asked whose version of said deck I am playing, and I simply respond that it is my own brew (and it almost always is). I may or may nor have mentioned that Patrick Chapin recently posted a Reanimator decklist on his column with was only a handful of cards different from mine (he didn't splash green). Honestly, I find Reanimator to be a deck that is still incredibly good, but just less good than it was when Mystical Tutor was legal. The challenge after Mystical Tutor was banned is to find cards that could still make the deck incredibly consistant, which I have found in Lim-Dul's Vault and Personal Tutor. Chapin did have some other different cards like Careful Study (which I don't like) to solve that problem. If we don't have competeing ideas to solve the same problem and we don't keep on innovating, decks and Magic as a whole will become stale.
Another thing that I have found with music and drumming is that whenever I go to a show, whether it is small bands or big names like Skillet, Family Force 5, Manic Drive, Group 1 Crew, or Fireflight, I always find myself watching the drummer the majority of the show. Maybe it is because drummers are simply cooler, but I think it is because I try to learn from everyone I see (although drummers are simply cooler). Tonight/Last night, however you measure, there were 3 bands besides mine:
1st - Finding North. They were 3 guys playing much heavier music wit the lead singer being the drummer. While there was a lot of basic bashing while the guitars break down, I still really enjoyed watching a singing drummer, as it is something I have always wanted to try (it is insanely hard when you're holding down a funky groove by the way)
2nd - Altar the World. This drummer is one that I can see a lot of my own personal traits in. Oh wait... let's just skip this one (although I really want to video record myself so I can work on same stage presence. Even if the music is perfect, it's the stage presence that makes your shows worthwhile)
3rd - Glenridge. These guys are actually recording an album with Paul Coleman right now which they plan on giving to record lables in the hope of being officialy signed. Their drummer was a stand in for the night, and while he was very night, he didn't push any borders or really ever go nuts.
4th - Scarlet White. Their drummer was a robot, I actually didn't watch him much because the bassist was doing almost every move from Attack Attack's Stick Stickly off in the corner from the Crabcore to the running in place.
I got 3 slightly different styles to watch over the night, although all 3 of them didn't draw me in overwhelmingly (although the first one was definitely the best). In particular Glenridge's drummer showed what it is to be the rock that is reliable. All of these different styles are things I try to absorb to make mylself the best drummer possible. In terms of Magic, there are a ton of different ways to talk about making decks and different styles. I talked in the past about the 4 perspectives: Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Front-Back, Back-Front, and how they affect deck building and playing Dominion. All 4 of these can be amplified with practice. Zvi Marshowitz, the man behind Mythic, explained in the original deck tech how it all started with the mana, and he said that same comment again when he made Beastmaster. With Beastmaster especially, BDM commented on how Zvi was set on working with all the ramp cards without even knowing what he was going to be ramping into yet. But, that's less important because Zvi build the deck with a Front-Back perspective.
By looking at great deckbuilders like Zvi who amplify a certain perspective of the 4 we can further improve ourselves in our deckbuilding capabilities until we are perfect (which never comes. Sorry to bust my own bubble there, but we always strive for perfection because true perfection can never be attained).
In other news, I am really loving legacy! I have a desire to make a ton of decks, which I have none of the cards for any of them. Decks like UW Countertop and BR Land Destruction which attack the game from very atypical angles by being incredbly controlling and incredibly tempo based respectively. Legacy isn't big at all at Toys, but they just acquired a ton of Revised and Unlimited duals, most in M/NM condition! I plan on slowing working on getting at least 1 each of all 10 because they are so awesome! Worst comes to worst I can use them in EDH or as epic trade fodder. Also, Legacy Magic has really exploded in the past couple years, and I wouldn't be suprised if its popularity continues to grow. I have noticed a significant increase in the density of articles for Extended and Legacy across all Magic websites, from the Mothership to the great beyond. If it does get more popular, duals will only get more expensive, so it is a very safe long term investment as well.
That is all for me tonight, I need some sleep! Until next time, stay classy! (and like ATW on facebook =D)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Just Killing Some Time
Hello everyone! I am writing this from my workbench, because for some reason they want me to work a full day even though they told me from the start I don't actually have any work to do all day. So what a better way to pass the time than to think/read/write/text Mark about Magic? So what is on my mind... Hmmm.... Well, I never posted that MW Knight list. I can write about that!
4x Mirran Crusader
3x Hero of Bladehorn
4x Dude whose name I can't remember who is a 3/1 Knight with Battlecry for 1W
4x Knight Exemplar
4x Student of Warfare
4x Steppe Lynx
1x White Knight
4x Honor of the Pure
3x Brave the Elements
3x Journey to Nowhere
2x Adventuring Gear
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
14x Plains
2x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
In the sideboard you can have a couple Devout Lightcasters as a great way to pwn the UB player who curves out into a Grave Titan or Abyssal Persecutor. The problem that WW has always had is that it loses the long games and it auto-loses toWrath of God Day of Judgement. Even if this deck only rocks the casual tables, the efficient creature rush is awesome. The way I see UW vs UB control right now is that UW is better against creature based decks and UB is better against everything else. That is why UB is so much better than UW right now because it can attack your hand and library with Inquisition/Duress and Memoricide respectively. In the MaRo interview I linked to yesterday, he mentioned how WotC will push the power levels of different archetypes and rotate which ones are good and which aren't. Obviously Aggro is the weakest right now of the archetypes, so that is why I think Beseiged will be all about entering the combat phase. As a result of Aggro getting better, so does UW control. Gideon will go up from his current $20, so invest in him.
I think the best way to beat Day of Judgement is to not overextend and get the most damage from the fewest creatures you can. Go T1 Student of Warfare, attack for 3 on T2 (17). T3 play Honor of the Pure and Adventuring Gear (or level once more) (13). If they Wrath, it's a 1-for-1, which you are more than pleased with. If they dont, you can Level up to 7 and bash for 10, or you can equip the Gear, crack a fetch land, bash for 8 (unfortunately you are short 1 mana to equip and level up to 7, or else you could bash for 18). This is all with 1 creature! Also, if you have it, Knight Exemplar is fantastic here because it makes you Wrath-proof (and it makes you bash for more damage!). Basically, this is what I'm sleeving up at the first FNM I get all the pieces.
Ok, that was fun! But I don't take my lunch break for another half hour.... and theres still nothing to be done for work.... A truck did show up, but it was for the Janitors, so any hope of getting busy I had are all gone.... Let's go down the format checklist:
Standard: Just talked about it
Limited: Boring
Extended: I don't play it
Legacy: Sure, why not?
So as my dedicated followers should know very well by now, I play Reanimator in Legacy. The deck can provide some unbeatable draws and by splashing green for some artifact/Leyline of the Void hate. I am currently play Krosan Grip, but I may switch back to Nature's Claim, but more on that later. This deck is awesome because it's a combo deck with the combo cards costing 1-2 mana, the support spells costs 1-2 mana, and the counterspells cost 0. Also, the hoser cards all cost next to nothing, except for 1 thing: Creature removal. Right now I am running Damnation as my creature removal, but when your entire deck costs 0-2 (ok, 0-3 for my singleton Show + Tell) mana and your creature removal costs 4, you are in an awkaward place. I only play 18 lands because there is no need for them... until I am facing down an army of 4/4 Merfolk.
So maybe we don't run Damnation, what else will work? Today on CFB there was article about great legacy cards that aren't seeing play. There was actually a good amount fo removal options listed:
Sickening Dreams
Contagion
Sudden Spoiling
Ghastly Demise
Innocent Blood
Sickening Dreams - I don't like to discard a bunch of cards if I don't absolutely have to. Also, this card doesn't beat Goyf as it is often a 4/5 or 5/6 very quickly.
Contagion - This doesn't actually kill anything as most beatdown creature are tribal, which means they have many lords, and if they aren't tribal they're Zoo which has 3 toughness or more for their 1-drops. Basically this is a fog which doesn't take care of the Merrow Reejery problem unless I give it both counters, at which point I just 2-for-1ed myself.
Sudden Spoiling - nothing but a fog
Ghastly Demise - I often don't have more than 3 cards in my graveyard before going off, so while this can be powerful, it is also not too consistant
Innocent Blood - epic until I play reanimate
Ok, I am going to go to lunch right now, but I will be back to this in an hour.
~~ONE HOUR LATER~~
That was a good lunch. I had a grilled chicken & cheddar cheese quesedilla, a slice of pepperoni pizza, a bad of Cheddar Harvest Sunchips (see this whole "I like cheese" trend going on?), and a sprite. For a grand total of $9.44, I think it was a great price for the amount of food I got. Considering there is absolutely no one here, I was all by myself in a giant cafe. I took the time to notice that 2 people had forgotten their personal sized bottle of hot sauce and another guy forgot his safety glasses on various tables (how do you forget those things?). Oh yeah, I was talking about legacy...
I don't remember where I was going with all that. I guess I was going to theorize how important it is to actually remove the creatures as opposed to just fogging so I can get my boom-booms through. Still, this whole Merrow Reejery thing just keeps coming back....
Money is on my mind... I guess i could talk about that...
If you were trading with me 2 days ago, you probably say something like "This binder is pretty dry and it sucks." Trade with me now, and it's a whole different story. Last night DJ decided to once again become a muggle, so he sold his collection to me which included a set of Vengevine and a set of Fauna Shaman (2 foil), both of which I had 0 of previously. Also included were about 20 lands, 2 Gaea's Revenge, 1 foil, and something like 26 $1 rares. Basically I added about 60 or 70 cards to my binder, and now the thing is huge!
Random financial tip: I think Primeval Titan can only go down. Right now he is sitting at $40. What is Prime Time used in? Valakut & UG G-Wave. Every deck has an answer for Valakut, whether it is Memoricide, or just Spreading Seas + Tec Edge, or even killing the ramp player before they can go off. Valakut to me is an incredibly powerful non-interactive combo, which always needs a topdeck. UG G-Wave have potential, but let's talk finances. Because of the success of those 2 decks, Prime Time is holding his value. what's going to happen when it rotates out of standard? Valakut seems way too slow for legacy (I would love to play against it with reanimator. T2 Iona, no more green, GG) and the 2 cards that put it over the top in extended (Prismatic Omen + Scapeshift) will rotate out. I plan on moving my Prime Times to my binder ASAP to try and get all my money back and more on them (I spent about $30 for the set, the rest coming from back drafts and trades).
Oh yeah,. one card I wanted to mention for a sideboard against Zoo and Merfolk splash Goyf is Submerge. This card is basically a 0 mana unsummon + timewalk. Yeah, that was a random thing to say, but I just remembered it.
Ok, so my boss just told me I am getting out of work at 4:30, not 5:30. It's 3:00 right now, so I need to type about something for the next 90 minutes... One of the guys brought his laptop today, and he has the movie Meatball in, so maybe we will all take a break and watch that... I texted Mark an hour ago inquiring what I should write about, but he still hasn't responded...
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this blog in general, not just this ranting dumb post, but I really do appreciate having an audience for what I write.
~~Long waiting interlude while I think of something else to write. approx. 15 min~~
So I remember a couple months ago making an MTG parody of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. I think I will go back to finishing it up. As a bit of a taste for what is to come, I did get the chorus down before putting it on haitus:
Don't stop, let's planeswalk
Got you in a Jace lock
Tonight, I'mma fight
Til I see green sunlight [5th dawn reference... it's a bit of a stretch]
Tik Tok
Ges game clock
Hey buddy, please don't play slow
woah woah woah woah.....
I think I have the entire first verse done, a single line or 2 in the second verse, the concept for the bridge, and of course the line that inspired the whole song:
THE PARTY DON'T START TIL I ENTER THE BATTLEFIELD
Maybe that's what I should do for the next hour and a half, fine tune that tune... Although one random strategy regarding Vengevine and Reanimator just came to my head:
When you are on the draw, if you have a land, Reanimation target, Reanimate, you can just draw and pass with 8 cards in hand. Then discard your reanimation target. T2: land, reanimate. Same is true with Vengivine, although you need Memnite + 1 drop to get that combo off on turn 2.
So I now have 1 hour left, and I really have nothing left to talk about. So I am going to hit random on Gatherer and comment here on all the cool cards that come up.
Monkey Cage - I really want to do something awesome with this card. Maybe follow it up with Show & Tell? Maybe put a huge creature on suspend before costing this? The only thing that could really make this a really bad card is if your opponent plays a 0 or 1 mana cost creature during their turn. If they play a 2 drop, you get 2 2/2s for 5 which isn't great by any means but it is at least decent. I think if I come across this card I will trade for it and put it in my commander deck. Why not? It's just a 50 cent card!
Reduce to Dreams - First I thought, "hey this is a great way to beat affinity!" I then slapped myself because it is just Time Warp against them. They just replay their entire hand and keep on going. Also, this is assuming you live to T5 agains them
Steam Vines - It's like a Stone Rain enchantment!
Volcanic Eruption - This being a UUU card makes no sense to me. The entire card, art and all, is all screaming "Make me a red card!" That's alpha for you!
Plaxcaster Frogling - This made me wonder how many frogs there are in Magic. As it turns out there are 16. They are all Black and Green except one is GW. Also, one does sacrifice to add UR to your mana pool
Temporal Extortion - This card just seems really fun and REALLY evil! *stereotypical evil laugh*
Abolish - I think this card should see play in Legacy as an anti-affinity card, or should have seen play as an anti-survival card. If they know you don't run counterspells, they would go T2 Survival and you would just blow it up.
Shahrazad - YEAH
Goblin Trenches - I didn't know Goblins ever went white. This is a cool find
Vernal Equinox - This card feels like it should be blue.... Yeah color pie mess-ups
Ichorid - Remember this guy can help close out games for Dredge, he is good
Epochrasite - I really like the cards with suspend that just keep coming back. I remember buying a random Time Spiral pack once (no I didn't get the Goyf) and I had the white once, whose name escapes me, and who I really don't care enough about to search for, but it prevented you from getting attacked. It was awesome with Luminarch Ascension (Luminarch Ascension is the silver bullet against poison)
Hidden Spider - A 3/5 reach for G!? That's awesome! I think there a dozen or so of these in Urza block
Alright, it's 4:00! I'm almost done for the day!
Knight of Stromgald - It's a mix of Nantuko Shade + Black Knight! I think this guy is better than Black Knight because it has the pump ability should you need to close out games faster
Interdict - This feels like a cycling version of Stifle
Deadly Grub - GAH! This is such a cool card! I really wish I played during Time Spiral block, and this kind of card only re-enforces that!
Temporal Adept - This is such a powerful card! It can now bounce planeswalkers too! While it is fragile, this is still amazing!
Sheltering Ancient - Just Pacify their guy and this card is golden. I am pretty sure this card makes Pacism better than Journey, but this is the only case I can think of
Barishi - 4/3 creature costing 2GG with a graveyard ability? No, I'm sorry, Vengevine you are not
Kismet - This card is cool and powerful and will make your opponents hate you. Trust me, I have been that opponent
Crawlspace - Hey! This card beats Battle Cry! (which Battle Cry is definitely the anti-Exalted)
Folk of An-Havva - Hey a creature that gets pumps when it blocks! Wait a green creature that wants to block? A power boost when blocking instead of a toughness boost? Oh yeah... this is Homelands we're dealing with
Dwarven Shrine - My liking of this card card was progressively reduced each time I read a little more of what this card does (which is actually nothing)
Juggernaut - I'm pretty sure this card was banned for a time because there was a quirky enchantment that said enchanted creature can only be blocked by walls. So on a Juggernaut it made it unblockable.
Nightshade Stinger - Gaddok Teeg (flavor text) definitely hasn't seen Extended Faeries, has he?
Phyrexian Rager - I saw an image somewhere that showed this guy would be in Beseiged!
Ok, well that was a great way to pass the hour. If you are still reading this, you are a champ! Until next time, stay classy!
4x Mirran Crusader
3x Hero of Bladehorn
4x Dude whose name I can't remember who is a 3/1 Knight with Battlecry for 1W
4x Knight Exemplar
4x Student of Warfare
4x Steppe Lynx
1x White Knight
4x Honor of the Pure
3x Brave the Elements
3x Journey to Nowhere
2x Adventuring Gear
4x Arid Mesa
4x Marsh Flats
14x Plains
2x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
In the sideboard you can have a couple Devout Lightcasters as a great way to pwn the UB player who curves out into a Grave Titan or Abyssal Persecutor. The problem that WW has always had is that it loses the long games and it auto-loses to
I think the best way to beat Day of Judgement is to not overextend and get the most damage from the fewest creatures you can. Go T1 Student of Warfare, attack for 3 on T2 (17). T3 play Honor of the Pure and Adventuring Gear (or level once more) (13). If they Wrath, it's a 1-for-1, which you are more than pleased with. If they dont, you can Level up to 7 and bash for 10, or you can equip the Gear, crack a fetch land, bash for 8 (unfortunately you are short 1 mana to equip and level up to 7, or else you could bash for 18). This is all with 1 creature! Also, if you have it, Knight Exemplar is fantastic here because it makes you Wrath-proof (and it makes you bash for more damage!). Basically, this is what I'm sleeving up at the first FNM I get all the pieces.
Ok, that was fun! But I don't take my lunch break for another half hour.... and theres still nothing to be done for work.... A truck did show up, but it was for the Janitors, so any hope of getting busy I had are all gone.... Let's go down the format checklist:
Standard: Just talked about it
Limited: Boring
Extended: I don't play it
Legacy: Sure, why not?
So as my dedicated followers should know very well by now, I play Reanimator in Legacy. The deck can provide some unbeatable draws and by splashing green for some artifact/Leyline of the Void hate. I am currently play Krosan Grip, but I may switch back to Nature's Claim, but more on that later. This deck is awesome because it's a combo deck with the combo cards costing 1-2 mana, the support spells costs 1-2 mana, and the counterspells cost 0. Also, the hoser cards all cost next to nothing, except for 1 thing: Creature removal. Right now I am running Damnation as my creature removal, but when your entire deck costs 0-2 (ok, 0-3 for my singleton Show + Tell) mana and your creature removal costs 4, you are in an awkaward place. I only play 18 lands because there is no need for them... until I am facing down an army of 4/4 Merfolk.
So maybe we don't run Damnation, what else will work? Today on CFB there was article about great legacy cards that aren't seeing play. There was actually a good amount fo removal options listed:
Sickening Dreams
Contagion
Sudden Spoiling
Ghastly Demise
Innocent Blood
Sickening Dreams - I don't like to discard a bunch of cards if I don't absolutely have to. Also, this card doesn't beat Goyf as it is often a 4/5 or 5/6 very quickly.
Contagion - This doesn't actually kill anything as most beatdown creature are tribal, which means they have many lords, and if they aren't tribal they're Zoo which has 3 toughness or more for their 1-drops. Basically this is a fog which doesn't take care of the Merrow Reejery problem unless I give it both counters, at which point I just 2-for-1ed myself.
Sudden Spoiling - nothing but a fog
Ghastly Demise - I often don't have more than 3 cards in my graveyard before going off, so while this can be powerful, it is also not too consistant
Innocent Blood - epic until I play reanimate
Ok, I am going to go to lunch right now, but I will be back to this in an hour.
~~ONE HOUR LATER~~
That was a good lunch. I had a grilled chicken & cheddar cheese quesedilla, a slice of pepperoni pizza, a bad of Cheddar Harvest Sunchips (see this whole "I like cheese" trend going on?), and a sprite. For a grand total of $9.44, I think it was a great price for the amount of food I got. Considering there is absolutely no one here, I was all by myself in a giant cafe. I took the time to notice that 2 people had forgotten their personal sized bottle of hot sauce and another guy forgot his safety glasses on various tables (how do you forget those things?). Oh yeah, I was talking about legacy...
I don't remember where I was going with all that. I guess I was going to theorize how important it is to actually remove the creatures as opposed to just fogging so I can get my boom-booms through. Still, this whole Merrow Reejery thing just keeps coming back....
Money is on my mind... I guess i could talk about that...
If you were trading with me 2 days ago, you probably say something like "This binder is pretty dry and it sucks." Trade with me now, and it's a whole different story. Last night DJ decided to once again become a muggle, so he sold his collection to me which included a set of Vengevine and a set of Fauna Shaman (2 foil), both of which I had 0 of previously. Also included were about 20 lands, 2 Gaea's Revenge, 1 foil, and something like 26 $1 rares. Basically I added about 60 or 70 cards to my binder, and now the thing is huge!
Random financial tip: I think Primeval Titan can only go down. Right now he is sitting at $40. What is Prime Time used in? Valakut & UG G-Wave. Every deck has an answer for Valakut, whether it is Memoricide, or just Spreading Seas + Tec Edge, or even killing the ramp player before they can go off. Valakut to me is an incredibly powerful non-interactive combo, which always needs a topdeck. UG G-Wave have potential, but let's talk finances. Because of the success of those 2 decks, Prime Time is holding his value. what's going to happen when it rotates out of standard? Valakut seems way too slow for legacy (I would love to play against it with reanimator. T2 Iona, no more green, GG) and the 2 cards that put it over the top in extended (Prismatic Omen + Scapeshift) will rotate out. I plan on moving my Prime Times to my binder ASAP to try and get all my money back and more on them (I spent about $30 for the set, the rest coming from back drafts and trades).
Oh yeah,. one card I wanted to mention for a sideboard against Zoo and Merfolk splash Goyf is Submerge. This card is basically a 0 mana unsummon + timewalk. Yeah, that was a random thing to say, but I just remembered it.
Ok, so my boss just told me I am getting out of work at 4:30, not 5:30. It's 3:00 right now, so I need to type about something for the next 90 minutes... One of the guys brought his laptop today, and he has the movie Meatball in, so maybe we will all take a break and watch that... I texted Mark an hour ago inquiring what I should write about, but he still hasn't responded...
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this blog in general, not just this ranting dumb post, but I really do appreciate having an audience for what I write.
~~Long waiting interlude while I think of something else to write. approx. 15 min~~
So I remember a couple months ago making an MTG parody of "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. I think I will go back to finishing it up. As a bit of a taste for what is to come, I did get the chorus down before putting it on haitus:
Don't stop, let's planeswalk
Got you in a Jace lock
Tonight, I'mma fight
Til I see green sunlight [5th dawn reference... it's a bit of a stretch]
Tik Tok
Ges game clock
Hey buddy, please don't play slow
woah woah woah woah.....
I think I have the entire first verse done, a single line or 2 in the second verse, the concept for the bridge, and of course the line that inspired the whole song:
THE PARTY DON'T START TIL I ENTER THE BATTLEFIELD
Maybe that's what I should do for the next hour and a half, fine tune that tune... Although one random strategy regarding Vengevine and Reanimator just came to my head:
When you are on the draw, if you have a land, Reanimation target, Reanimate, you can just draw and pass with 8 cards in hand. Then discard your reanimation target. T2: land, reanimate. Same is true with Vengivine, although you need Memnite + 1 drop to get that combo off on turn 2.
So I now have 1 hour left, and I really have nothing left to talk about. So I am going to hit random on Gatherer and comment here on all the cool cards that come up.
Monkey Cage - I really want to do something awesome with this card. Maybe follow it up with Show & Tell? Maybe put a huge creature on suspend before costing this? The only thing that could really make this a really bad card is if your opponent plays a 0 or 1 mana cost creature during their turn. If they play a 2 drop, you get 2 2/2s for 5 which isn't great by any means but it is at least decent. I think if I come across this card I will trade for it and put it in my commander deck. Why not? It's just a 50 cent card!
Reduce to Dreams - First I thought, "hey this is a great way to beat affinity!" I then slapped myself because it is just Time Warp against them. They just replay their entire hand and keep on going. Also, this is assuming you live to T5 agains them
Steam Vines - It's like a Stone Rain enchantment!
Volcanic Eruption - This being a UUU card makes no sense to me. The entire card, art and all, is all screaming "Make me a red card!" That's alpha for you!
Plaxcaster Frogling - This made me wonder how many frogs there are in Magic. As it turns out there are 16. They are all Black and Green except one is GW. Also, one does sacrifice to add UR to your mana pool
Temporal Extortion - This card just seems really fun and REALLY evil! *stereotypical evil laugh*
Abolish - I think this card should see play in Legacy as an anti-affinity card, or should have seen play as an anti-survival card. If they know you don't run counterspells, they would go T2 Survival and you would just blow it up.
Shahrazad - YEAH
Goblin Trenches - I didn't know Goblins ever went white. This is a cool find
Vernal Equinox - This card feels like it should be blue.... Yeah color pie mess-ups
Ichorid - Remember this guy can help close out games for Dredge, he is good
Epochrasite - I really like the cards with suspend that just keep coming back. I remember buying a random Time Spiral pack once (no I didn't get the Goyf) and I had the white once, whose name escapes me, and who I really don't care enough about to search for, but it prevented you from getting attacked. It was awesome with Luminarch Ascension (Luminarch Ascension is the silver bullet against poison)
Hidden Spider - A 3/5 reach for G!? That's awesome! I think there a dozen or so of these in Urza block
Alright, it's 4:00! I'm almost done for the day!
Knight of Stromgald - It's a mix of Nantuko Shade + Black Knight! I think this guy is better than Black Knight because it has the pump ability should you need to close out games faster
Interdict - This feels like a cycling version of Stifle
Deadly Grub - GAH! This is such a cool card! I really wish I played during Time Spiral block, and this kind of card only re-enforces that!
Temporal Adept - This is such a powerful card! It can now bounce planeswalkers too! While it is fragile, this is still amazing!
Sheltering Ancient - Just Pacify their guy and this card is golden. I am pretty sure this card makes Pacism better than Journey, but this is the only case I can think of
Barishi - 4/3 creature costing 2GG with a graveyard ability? No, I'm sorry, Vengevine you are not
Kismet - This card is cool and powerful and will make your opponents hate you. Trust me, I have been that opponent
Crawlspace - Hey! This card beats Battle Cry! (which Battle Cry is definitely the anti-Exalted)
Folk of An-Havva - Hey a creature that gets pumps when it blocks! Wait a green creature that wants to block? A power boost when blocking instead of a toughness boost? Oh yeah... this is Homelands we're dealing with
Dwarven Shrine - My liking of this card card was progressively reduced each time I read a little more of what this card does (which is actually nothing)
Juggernaut - I'm pretty sure this card was banned for a time because there was a quirky enchantment that said enchanted creature can only be blocked by walls. So on a Juggernaut it made it unblockable.
Nightshade Stinger - Gaddok Teeg (flavor text) definitely hasn't seen Extended Faeries, has he?
Phyrexian Rager - I saw an image somewhere that showed this guy would be in Beseiged!
Ok, well that was a great way to pass the hour. If you are still reading this, you are a champ! Until next time, stay classy!
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