"SO, wizards is supposed to make gods warp the format, and no one is allowed to have an answer for them? And Slaughter Games isn't unfun? This isn't slaughter games. Dispel. That is all."
Even Jace, the Mind Sculptor didn't get this level of treatment (Despise, Hex Parasite, heh none of these cards stopped it), and I think we can all agree that the Gods didn't do what JTMS did to the format. Playable Gods in a Greek-themed block is a good thing. And only 5/15 really saw play anyways. The frontunner, Thassa, is a 4-of in a deck full of *****ty draft birds, a deck that gets slammed by Control and Mono-Black.
So why are we printing this ***** again?
I* didn't know people could get so upset about a fringe sideboard card that shuts down 0 archetypes. No, this isn't a silver bullet vs anyone since no deck, not even mono blue, relies all that much on having a God out.
I'm upset about it not because I'm a Mono-Blue player or playing 4 Heliods or whatever. I'm just upset because it's bad design. Slaughter Games and its variants are well-designed Magic cards; for 4 Mana and the cost of not impacting the board, you can directly cut a piece of your opponent's strategy. With this card? You're just playing Erase that incidentally picks up all Gods. Yes I realize it costs +1 colorless, however this is an Enchantment block, obviously.
Bad threats, perfect answers, boring Standard. We've been there before.
And what is the problem with that exactly?
I'm of the persuasion that the best answers are focused, rewarding deck-builders who really look deep into things. That's not to say "Control can't have nice things" (Wrath of God variant, 2 O Ring variants, walkers, good draw spells, etc are all fine). Universal answers that are slightly behind the curve make Magic interesting, and add tension to just jamming 4 Hero's Downfall everywhere (although that's still pretty good in this slow meta).
But Deicide isn't even an 100% Control card anyways. It's just premium Enchantment removal (0-1 main, 1-2 side) with additional upside that hoses a major theme of the block that has largely underperformed in Standard. Mono-Black Devotion isn't an Erebos deck, it's a Pack Rat deck with 1 Erebos in it (1 side). Ephara is hailed as trash by all who have played Uw Devotion, slotting in as Bident #3 due to Legendary concerns. Purphoros tanked hard, despite his $30 preorder; Red Devotion couldn't beat a Supreme Verdict or Sphinx's Revelation, and died. Nylea was good in one deck that imploded when it got Thoughtseize'd too many times (GR Devotion). Heliod hasn't done a damn thing. Xenagod sees play as a 1-2 of in GR Monsters, fighting with and losing to Stormbreath Dragon for slots.
And the other Gods? Miserable. Phenax isn't great (1 IQ placing, deck is grisly to behold: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=63772), Karametra is an EDH card, Mogis is low-impact, etc. I was actually excited by the Gods in JOU at first, as WotC admitted in a post that the BNG Gods underperformed expectations. All of them actually looked pretty reasonable. Of them, I'd say Athereos, Pharika and Kruphix were the build arounds (although Kruphix probably isn't playable, just fun), with Keranos and Iroas just being good UR and RW cards to top curves.
So I don't really get it. Of the Gods, if you're optimistic enough to count Ephara/Erebos as format-defining cards, only 3/10 Gods have really done a damn thing. This is likely just red tape for Block. Maybe next Standard is so woefully underpowered that we all find ourselves drowning in 2/1 Cleric tokens (with Vigilance nonetheless) but I can't see it.
Meh, I like it. I'm glad people don't, that means it's a good control piece. And about MUD, Monoblue Devotion isn't, by any means MUD.
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Meh, I like it. I'm glad people don't, that means it's a good control piece. And about MUD, Monoblue Devotion isn't, by any means MUD.
Terminology changes. MUD in the context of a standard discussion now means Mono Blue Devotion. Saying "Please don't use that term" is a waste of a comment. Forcing others (like myself) to waste comment space to correct you and prevent you from wasting further space is bad. MUD is mono blue devotion. Deal with it...
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Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
- Manite
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You will not remember my face, your name, or your journey, but in the end...
You will accede my every command.
Meh, I like it. I'm glad people don't, that means it's a good control piece. And about MUD, Monoblue Devotion isn't, by any means MUD.
MUD is a pretty appropriate abbreviation for Mono blUe Devotion. I dont see whats appropriate about the legacy deck. They should just call their deck Mono artifacts or something like that since that makes more logical sense.
At the pre-release I was lucky enough to open two of the same god (albeit, it was Kruphix) in one pool (through the many other events I also opened another two gods...also two Kruphix :/). I was living in fear of this god-killer every time I set one of the two Kruphix down and was facing white. I mean, I played them more so for the coolness than anything else...so I didn't want them getting exiled before I could put all of their excess mana to use.
I'm upset that this not only is an unneeded answer to very cool cards, it also prevents the gods from ever shining. They've barely seen play this standard, but I was hoping they might shine after rotation. But good luck building a deck around any of the Gods now, this card will just wreck you. Their was sufficient answers already to the gods. Plus we already have a cool, epic, flavourful, god-killing cards In the form of Godsend.
I'm upset that this not only is an unneeded answer to very cool cards, it also prevents the gods from ever shining. They've barely seen play this standard, but I was hoping they might shine after rotation. But good luck building a deck around any of the Gods now, this card will just wreck you. Their was sufficient answers already to the gods. Plus we already have a cool, epic, flavourful, god-killing cards In the form of Godsend.
They think its better to have safety valves than to not have them and that they have learned from their past mistakes. Faeries dominated Standard because they were no safety valves in the block for them. It took an entire year until Volcanic Fallout got released to fight them.
And since we are talking about indestructible enchantments which are not easy to get rid of they had to print hate for them. If they see no significant play because of that then so be it.
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Modern: UW Control
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I'm of the persuasion that the best answers are focused, rewarding deck-builders who really look deep into things. That's not to say "Control can't have nice things" (Wrath of God variant, 2 O Ring variants, walkers, good draw spells, etc are all fine). Universal answers that are slightly behind the curve make Magic interesting, and add tension to just jamming 4 Hero's Downfall everywhere (although that's still pretty good in this slow meta).
But Deicide isn't even an 100% Control card anyways. It's just premium Enchantment removal (0-1 main, 1-2 side) with additional upside that hoses a major theme of the block that has largely underperformed in Standard. Mono-Black Devotion isn't an Erebos deck, it's a Pack Rat deck with 1 Erebos in it (1 side). Ephara is hailed as trash by all who have played Uw Devotion, slotting in as Bident #3 due to Legendary concerns. Purphoros tanked hard, despite his $30 preorder; Red Devotion couldn't beat a Supreme Verdict or Sphinx's Revelation, and died. Nylea was good in one deck that imploded when it got Thoughtseize'd too many times (GR Devotion). Heliod hasn't done a damn thing. Xenagod sees play as a 1-2 of in GR Monsters, fighting with and losing to Stormbreath Dragon for slots.
And the other Gods? Miserable. Phenax isn't great (1 IQ placing, deck is grisly to behold: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=63772), Karametra is an EDH card, Mogis is low-impact, etc. I was actually excited by the Gods in JOU at first, as WotC admitted in a post that the BNG Gods underperformed expectations. All of them actually looked pretty reasonable. Of them, I'd say Athereos, Pharika and Kruphix were the build arounds (although Kruphix probably isn't playable, just fun), with Keranos and Iroas just being good UR and RW cards to top curves.
So I don't really get it. Of the Gods, if you're optimistic enough to count Ephara/Erebos as format-defining cards, only 3/10 Gods have really done a damn thing. This is likely just red tape for Block. Maybe next Standard is so woefully underpowered that we all find ourselves drowning in 2/1 Cleric tokens (with Vigilance nonetheless) but I can't see it.
Avatar by DarkNightCavalier
You will not remember my face, your name, or your journey, but in the end...
You will accede my every command.
Terminology changes. MUD in the context of a standard discussion now means Mono Blue Devotion. Saying "Please don't use that term" is a waste of a comment. Forcing others (like myself) to waste comment space to correct you and prevent you from wasting further space is bad. MUD is mono blue devotion. Deal with it...
- Manite
Avatar by DarkNightCavalier
You will not remember my face, your name, or your journey, but in the end...
You will accede my every command.
MUD is a pretty appropriate abbreviation for Mono blUe Devotion. I dont see whats appropriate about the legacy deck. They should just call their deck Mono artifacts or something like that since that makes more logical sense.
There are alreay many enchantments being played. Underworld Connections, Detention Sphere, Courser of Kruphix to name a few.
This will see play and straight up replace the copies of Revoke Existence that were being played.
If you listen to the podcast with Aaron Forsythe you will know why they made this card.
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/brainstormbrewery-podcast-042514-brainstorm-brewery-98-research-and-development/
They think its better to have safety valves than to not have them and that they have learned from their past mistakes. Faeries dominated Standard because they were no safety valves in the block for them. It took an entire year until Volcanic Fallout got released to fight them.
And since we are talking about indestructible enchantments which are not easy to get rid of they had to print hate for them. If they see no significant play because of that then so be it.