All kidding aside I think creating random rules for no reason sucks all the fun out of this challenege.
All kidding aside, the first 5 pages of this thread are filled with "Just mill them out with Mind Grind" or "So, just ratchet bomb and win?" comments that 'sucks all the fun out of this challenege [sic]'.
For all intents and purposes, this is a Fancier, Long-Term Hellvault. If you don't want to participate, then don't. Odds are the prize at the end isn't going to be a foil Tarmagoyf, so if you don't want to do it fer teh lulz, then, just don't. There will still be Prereleases, and game days, and launch days, you just won't need a binder page full of gimmick cards for a promotional event
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Modern: Dominium Eminens
Legacy: UB Tezz (Check out My Primer at TheSource)
Vinitage: Oath
Since we didn't get a casual product over the summer I'm guessing this is our replacement. While I will get one or two hydra decks, I'm hoping the remaining challenge decks are more interesting.
Nightmare mode: two different challenge decks at once
Hell mode: three different challenge decks at once
WTF mode: the challenge decks set schemes into motion at the start of their turn
"A rich man thinks all other people are rich, and an intelligent man thinks all other people are similarly gifted. Both are always terribly shocked when they discover the truth of the world. You, my dear brother, are a pious man." - Strahd von Zarovich
All kidding aside I think creating random rules for no reason sucks all the fun out of this challenege.
It's just supposed to be fun. Maybe it's not for you - I'm not going to it either, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate that it's kind of a cool thing that they're doing. There are a lot of different audiences for this game and this promotion appeals to some and not others.
This is just an official rip off of the zombie apocalypse format that was floating around for a while
Yes, it has been said that this is the first official Horde deck (Horde being the more common name of the "zombie apocalypse format" you were referring to). Horde can be played with any token creature, not just zombies.
I have a Vampire horde deck. Let me tell you, gathering that many vampire tokens took a while.
Assuming all of the cards in the deck have a CMC of 0, Chalice of the Void set at 0 auto-wins the challenge.
I'm pretty sure all these pedantic spike musings will be met with simple diversions to the rules to make them unsuitable. The hydra is not a player or opponent, you can't target it with mill. The hydra doesn't cast spells, it puts them into play avoiding draw-go and other counter locks. The hydra heads aren't tokens and have a cmc of X inane number dismissing Ratchet Bomb (or the deck gets fixed to contain only hydra heads so blowing a bomb leaves you with twice that many heads for being an *******).
That would actually be pretty funny, a 100 card hydra heads deck, 50 basics and 10 of each elite.
Limited (each player gets 3 packs and basics to build a deck with)
2-Headed Hydra would be difficult
Standard (whatever Game Day turns out to look like)
4-Headed Hydra I'm assuming will be difficult
Modern (after we get clearer understanding of the rules/procedures and think up any seemingly necessary alterations/banned lists even)
9-Headed Hydra would be fun/flavorful and Hell's Balls might be an Actually Awful Challenge
Legacy (face it, even after trying to fine-tune and balance the format, "Hypercompetitive Legacy decks!" are super busted)
I would say the Hydra needs 12 Heads to face down Legacy
Vintage (shut up.)
20-Headed Hyrda?
Two-Headed Giant vs. Hydra vs. Two-Headed Giant! "A random Hydra appears and attacks a normal Two-Headed Giant Game"
50-Headed Hydra? o.O
Commander: "So a 100-Headed Hydra and some Hekatonkheires walk into a Game Shop...."
Archenemy: "Hello Players. This is my 666 Headed Hydra. Die Now!"
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
Hydra starts with 4 heads in play, one of them being elite. Meaning its opponent takes at least 5 damage Turn 1.
So if you don't kill one by Turn 4... you die.
This is easy how?
You attack the heads directly, so basically for this to be the case you have to do nothing for four turns. Is there a deck you'd want to play in current standard that can't kill a 0/3 you attack directly by turn 4?
All of the heads also give you life when they die. The elites typically draw you a card in addition. Also, remember that only untapped heads deal damage.
"A rich man thinks all other people are rich, and an intelligent man thinks all other people are similarly gifted. Both are always terribly shocked when they discover the truth of the world. You, my dear brother, are a pious man." - Strahd von Zarovich
Legacy (face it, even after trying to fine-tune and balance the format, "Hypercompetitive Legacy decks!" are super busted)
I would say the Hydra needs 12 Heads to face down Legacy
I run Burn, Shardless BUG and Death & Taxes and I'm fairly certain, if you remove the spells that actually damage the hydra and replace them and some of the basic heads with elite heads, even they may find it troublesome to defeat a 4 headed hydra. You're ignoring a lot of the hydra's rules bending. When you can't tax it, can't mill it, can't counter it and it's placing more and more creatures that hit your life points directly (or spells that basically read 0 This spell can't be countered. Exile target Tarmogoyf) on the board every turn, this thing will be a challenge.
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Yes sir, I take fantasy art and character design commissions, PM me for rates.
I'm pretty sure all these pedantic spike musings will be met with simple diversions to the rules to make them unsuitable. The hydra is not a player or opponent, you can't target it with mill. The hydra doesn't cast spells, it puts them into play avoiding draw-go and other counter locks. The hydra heads aren't tokens and have a cmc of X inane number dismissing Ratchet Bomb (or the deck gets fixed to contain only hydra heads so blowing a bomb leaves you with twice that many heads for being an *******).
That would actually be pretty funny, a 100 card hydra heads deck, 50 basics and 10 of each elite.
Considering the current hydra deck as 42 non-head cards ratchet bomb is pretty good but tweaking the numbers can make it much stronger.
I want to know how fast a tuned Legacy Dredge deck could kill the hydra. Having to be all combat would be rather unfortunate since you only get one attack step on your turn. But two The Harvesters would do all the shenanigans.
If you could go off turn 1 consistently, reanimating Kuro, Pitlord before or after your attack would let you do silly shenanigans against the hydra heads and all that extra life.
I'm not privvy to what that deck needs to operate, but Kuro is the only real inclusion I can come up with that seems hyperrelevant.
^ this
I'm thinking a wg weenie strategy, maybe token swarm with populate
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
The Hydra Deck is designed to interact with Theros-legal Standard Decks. It is designed to be an easy to moderate challenge - future Challenge decks will (supposedly) have more difficulty.
The Heads are not Tokens. The Hydra Deck Controller is not a Player, nor are they an Opponent. The Player wins when there are no Hydra heads left at the end of the Hydra's turn.
Player no (probably), opponent yes. From the Hero's Path FAQ:
Q: Can many players play at the same time against the Challenge Deck?
Yes. The Challenge Decks are designed to function equally well against one player or many. If many players play together against the Challenge Deck, they are on a team against the Challenge Deck as their single opponent.
Player no (probably), opponent yes. From the Hero's Path FAQ:
Q: Can many players play at the same time against the Challenge Deck?
Yes. The Challenge Decks are designed to function equally well against one player or many. If many players play together against the Challenge Deck, they are on a team against the Challenge Deck as their single opponent.
That isn't rules text. The planechase FAQ said that the planes couldn't be affected by anything in the game. While that's generally accurate, it isn't true 100% of the time. There's corner cases like choosing sources or cards like Painter's Servant. Most likely, the hydra isn't an opponent or a player in rules terms. Otherwise, we have another format like Archenemy where it's broken beyond reasonable repair. (the schemes are still cool for power multiplayer where everyone gets a free spell on their turn)
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All kidding aside, the first 5 pages of this thread are filled with "Just mill them out with Mind Grind" or "So, just ratchet bomb and win?" comments that 'sucks all the fun out of this challenege [sic]'.
For all intents and purposes, this is a Fancier, Long-Term Hellvault. If you don't want to participate, then don't. Odds are the prize at the end isn't going to be a foil Tarmagoyf, so if you don't want to do it fer teh lulz, then, just don't. There will still be Prereleases, and game days, and launch days, you just won't need a binder page full of gimmick cards for a promotional event
Modern: Dominium Eminens
Legacy: UB Tezz (Check out My Primer at TheSource)
Vinitage: Oath
I used to judge alot.
Nightmare mode: two different challenge decks at once
Hell mode: three different challenge decks at once
WTF mode: the challenge decks set schemes into motion at the start of their turn
It's just supposed to be fun. Maybe it's not for you - I'm not going to it either, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate that it's kind of a cool thing that they're doing. There are a lot of different audiences for this game and this promotion appeals to some and not others.
*DCI Rules Advisor*
Yes, it has been said that this is the first official Horde deck (Horde being the more common name of the "zombie apocalypse format" you were referring to). Horde can be played with any token creature, not just zombies.
I have a Vampire horde deck. Let me tell you, gathering that many vampire tokens took a while.
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Watch "The Giant Sharkgate Chronicles"
Watch "Eating Made Easy"
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I'm pretty sure all these pedantic spike musings will be met with simple diversions to the rules to make them unsuitable. The hydra is not a player or opponent, you can't target it with mill. The hydra doesn't cast spells, it puts them into play avoiding draw-go and other counter locks. The hydra heads aren't tokens and have a cmc of X inane number dismissing Ratchet Bomb (or the deck gets fixed to contain only hydra heads so blowing a bomb leaves you with twice that many heads for being an *******).
That would actually be pretty funny, a 100 card hydra heads deck, 50 basics and 10 of each elite.
and also a direct adaptation of the World of Warcraft raid deck concept. I hope we get to play against an automated hydra deck online.
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2-Headed Hydra would be difficult
Standard (whatever Game Day turns out to look like)
4-Headed Hydra I'm assuming will be difficult
Modern (after we get clearer understanding of the rules/procedures and think up any seemingly necessary alterations/banned lists even)
9-Headed Hydra would be fun/flavorful and Hell's Balls might be an Actually Awful Challenge
Legacy (face it, even after trying to fine-tune and balance the format, "Hypercompetitive Legacy decks!" are super busted)
I would say the Hydra needs 12 Heads to face down Legacy
Vintage (shut up.)
20-Headed Hyrda?
Two-Headed Giant vs. Hydra vs. Two-Headed Giant! "A random Hydra appears and attacks a normal Two-Headed Giant Game"
50-Headed Hydra? o.O
Commander: "So a 100-Headed Hydra and some Hekatonkheires walk into a Game Shop...."
Archenemy: "Hello Players. This is my 666 Headed Hydra. Die Now!"
Ultimate Showdown: IT'S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!
People need to read this fanfiction, though:
www.hpmor.com
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
I am betting they are not.
People need to read this fanfiction, though:
www.hpmor.com
I am probably every color-combination it is possible to be, though it's really hard to figure out what it would mean to be 4-colored....it doesn't seem logical to be 4-colored without being 5-colored.
You attack the heads directly, so basically for this to be the case you have to do nothing for four turns. Is there a deck you'd want to play in current standard that can't kill a 0/3 you attack directly by turn 4?
Standard: W/R Aggro
Baseless speculation incoming:
Journey into Nyx might involve slaying a creature similar to this.
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the final challenge is to slay a god.
Or maybe we'll have to destroy an interplanar portal before it allows a god from another world to enter Theros.
Whatever it turns out to be, I'm hoping it's more interesting than the Hydra.
I run Burn, Shardless BUG and Death & Taxes and I'm fairly certain, if you remove the spells that actually damage the hydra and replace them and some of the basic heads with elite heads, even they may find it troublesome to defeat a 4 headed hydra. You're ignoring a lot of the hydra's rules bending. When you can't tax it, can't mill it, can't counter it and it's placing more and more creatures that hit your life points directly (or spells that basically read 0 This spell can't be countered. Exile target Tarmogoyf) on the board every turn, this thing will be a challenge.
Considering the current hydra deck as 42 non-head cards ratchet bomb is pretty good but tweaking the numbers can make it much stronger.
I loathe creatures! Praise Prison and Land Destruction!
My Peasant Cube (looking for feedback)
If you could go off turn 1 consistently, reanimating Kuro, Pitlord before or after your attack would let you do silly shenanigans against the hydra heads and all that extra life.
I'm not privvy to what that deck needs to operate, but Kuro is the only real inclusion I can come up with that seems hyperrelevant.
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
$11.99
^ this
I'm thinking a wg weenie strategy, maybe token swarm with populate
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
The hydra doesn't choose blockers, you attack the head you want to.
Player no (probably), opponent yes. From the Hero's Path FAQ:
Q: Can many players play at the same time against the Challenge Deck?
Yes. The Challenge Decks are designed to function equally well against one player or many. If many players play together against the Challenge Deck, they are on a team against the Challenge Deck as their single opponent.
That isn't rules text. The planechase FAQ said that the planes couldn't be affected by anything in the game. While that's generally accurate, it isn't true 100% of the time. There's corner cases like choosing sources or cards like Painter's Servant. Most likely, the hydra isn't an opponent or a player in rules terms. Otherwise, we have another format like Archenemy where it's broken beyond reasonable repair. (the schemes are still cool for power multiplayer where everyone gets a free spell on their turn)