Speaking of acceleration, have people's thoughts changed at all about Elven Spirit Guide or Simian Spirit Guide even for a mono-white deck, instead of Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond?
I remember back during the early green splash testing, and even mono-white before that, I played around with ESG briefly, and it had some pros and cons to it:
Pros:
Mana ability isn't taxed by Thalia
Can surprise and frustrate Daze players when you can pay 1
Can be vialed in on 3 if you're desperate, can hold a sword, and dodges Massacre
Doesn't cost an extra card like Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond does
Isn't a terrible top-deck, unlike Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond
Cons:
Only produces G, which is effectively generic in a mono-white deck
Can only be played with a Cavern on "Elf", or a Vial on 3 (or Show and Tell/Eureka if you're up poop creek)
Like Lotus Petal, can only be used once for it's mana ability
Yet another 3-drop
Can't do awesome stuff like T1 Ancient Tomb, Lotus Petal, THC
Just spitballing, but if we're worried about Sanctum shutting off StP at one, there's always Journey to Nowhere and Declaration in Stone at 2 CMC. Both have their drawbacks, but there's options out there.
I'm terrified to think how much this is going to cost, my wife is already grumpy at my Recruiter pre-order.
As someone who literally just finished making this deck, I'm kinda salty about them printing another staple so soon.
Yeah, but what a staple. Don't be salty, be ecstatic!
I've messaged Maro at least once a month for the last year or so asking him if a white Recruiter was within the realm of possibility. Guess I need to find something else to bug him about now.
Oh. My. God. It's happening. It's really happening. Article coming later tonight.
Pre-ordering for a whopping <strike>$20</strike> $15 on SCG. Can't decide if that's overpriced considering how much the set will be opened, or if it's a bargain considering it's an on-color Imperial Recruiter.
Either way, I'm grabbing a paper bag to breathe into.
Can you link the preorder page? original conspiracy was in small supply around here
Oh. My. God. It's happening. It's really happening. Article coming later tonight.
Pre-ordering for a whopping <strike>$20</strike> $15 on SCG. Can't decide if that's overpriced considering how much the set will be opened, or if it's a bargain considering it's an on-color Imperial Recruiter.
Either way, I'm grabbing a paper bag to breathe into.
I absolutely hate it, it's a weaker Piledriver without pro blue that costs one more, and the "Other Goblin creatures you control attack each turn if able" text is atrocious. I want to be able to dictate when I attack, and not be forced to attack. Other than that, it just gives you a token each turn.
There are plenty of better Goblin 3-drops. Unplayable.
The idea of adding a couple GQ in place of Cavern of Souls and something else (Horizon Canopy or a Plains, probably a Plains) is highly tempting since you can GQ any land and they have to have basics to replace it. Seems like a good play against a lot of decks, though it also reduces our consistency with mana, which worries me.
Eh, Ghost Quarter seems to be a bit too iffy and cutesy for me. At the store I play at the most often, between the influx of Painter and Sneak 'n' Show decks (which pack Blood Moon), Wasteland-heavy decks, and Path to Exile in a decent amount of sideboards, a majority of the decks I've seen have at least one or two basic lands in the deck.
I've finally gotten my feet wet with PucaTrade, and had a few bumpy experiences with it, so I wanted to share my experiences with others before they jump in with PucaTrade.
When I traded here, out of almost 40 trades, there was only *one* trade where the cards were not in the stated condition, and I got some freebies for my trouble. I never once had to file a BTR. The traders here were excellent at grading cards, and sending on time.
My biggest gripe about PucaTrade is that, despite the fact that you can only list Near Mint cards, people seem to be absolutely atrocious at grading cards, even with the card-grading page as an example. People seem to see, "Wow, someone actually wants this card, and I can get points for it? Let's just throw this in an envelope and make some points!" Maybe I've just had a rash of bad luck, but here are some stellar examples:
Received a Serra's Sanctum in moderately played condition; when I filed a report, the user didn't even dispute that fact. Furthermore, the card was sent in a top loader with no tape, and another card in the same envelope fell out of the toploader and got creased as a result. The entire trade was sent in a plain white envelope. Who sends $35+ cards in a plain white envelope?
Received an Intuition three weeks after the trade was initiated, also in moderately played condition, also in a plain white envelope, so we couldn't track what was taking so long. Even though it was sent in a plain white envelope, I had to send it back with tracking, losing $3 on the deal. Wasted my time and my money.
Received a NM- Academy Rector, that was covered in grime. No scuffing, no border wear, just a ton of dirt on it. At least I was able to clean it off, but still - ew.
Received a Geist of St. Traft -- finally, a card actually in Near Mint condition! It was, however, also only sent in a plain white envelope, in a toploader with no tape; miraculously, the card didn't slip out.
Received a Rishadan Airship for my pauper cube -- it was just tossed in an envelope, no toploader, sleeve or anything. I get it, it was a 15 point card, but who spends 70 cents in postage on a 15 point card, and then doesn't protect the card in any fashion?
Received a Flickerwisp with multiple severe fingernail dents in the card face; that's one of my biggest turn-offs for a card, but since I got it using the free points I got for signing up, I just wrote it off as "oh well". It wasn't worth sending back, and I wasn't aware you could get partial points refunded at the time.
Since you can only block users, or file administrative complaints, there's no real way to rate users or transactions, or protect yourself from problem senders until after you've had a bad experience with them.
On Magic Salvation, people seemed to take trading very seriously; the infractions for a bad trade were pretty severe. Out of 20 trades on PucaTrade, at least 6 trades had problems, three of which required moderator intervention.
Sometimes I get the feeling that people just use PucaTrade as a dumping ground for their junk binders, regardless of condition, hoping that the recipient doesn't complain or doesn't care. I've got almost enough points saved up for a Maze of Ith, but considering it's from a really old expansion, I'm not holding out much hope that the card I eventually receive will be in good condition.
I really appreciate what the creators of the site are trying to do; it's nice to be able to just send off cards and earn credit, and then receive cards as you receive points. And yes, I've had some good trades, but after the last two administrator interventions, I'm starting to lose faith in the community. Just keep that in mind before you dive in.
Idea! Each user can specify a certain point threshold, and if someone tries to send them a card that is worth more than that point threshold, the sender has to send the recipient pictures of the card, both front and back, for the recipient to approve before it is sent. If this feature were available, I would have rejected a lot of my problem trades outright before they ever started.
Pile B is a few dollars more by TCG mid prices, but Academy Rector, Intuition and Land Tax have all been steadily declining, and the cards in Pile A have all been steadily going up up up.
What the heck is up with the Royal Herbalist, Version 2 card? TCG Player has one at $2.99 for LP, then NM start at $4.96 and go all the way up to $26.50! Version 1 sits at a dime.
Is this some sort of joke that was dreamed up on Reddit? Should I be searching my boxes of commons for this thing?
The real question is, WHY would the card have a phone number on the back? If it's a cube draft set, are they forcing people to sleeve the whole thing up in colored sleeves before it can be drafted?
I can't tell if you're being serious or not.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I remember back during the early green splash testing, and even mono-white before that, I played around with ESG briefly, and it had some pros and cons to it:
Pros:
Cons:
Just some early morning brainstorming.
I'm terrified to think how much this is going to cost, my wife is already grumpy at my Recruiter pre-order.
http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/conspiracy-take-the-crown-preview-sanctum-prelate/
Hint: You pick "1" every time.
I think I'm going to have a stroke.
Yeah, but what a staple. Don't be salty, be ecstatic!
I've messaged Maro at least once a month for the last year or so asking him if a white Recruiter was within the realm of possibility. Guess I need to find something else to bug him about now.
For Blue and Taxes players, this guy picks up:
Linky linky: http://sales.starcitygames.com//carddisplay.php?product=1259875
Pre-ordering for a whopping <strike>$20</strike> $15 on SCG. Can't decide if that's overpriced considering how much the set will be opened, or if it's a bargain considering it's an on-color Imperial Recruiter.
Either way, I'm grabbing a paper bag to breathe into.
That has to be some sort of record, even for here.
There are plenty of better Goblin 3-drops. Unplayable.
Eh, Ghost Quarter seems to be a bit too iffy and cutesy for me. At the store I play at the most often, between the influx of Painter and Sneak 'n' Show decks (which pack Blood Moon), Wasteland-heavy decks, and Path to Exile in a decent amount of sideboards, a majority of the decks I've seen have at least one or two basic lands in the deck.
I guess it depends on your meta.
When I traded here, out of almost 40 trades, there was only *one* trade where the cards were not in the stated condition, and I got some freebies for my trouble. I never once had to file a BTR. The traders here were excellent at grading cards, and sending on time.
My biggest gripe about PucaTrade is that, despite the fact that you can only list Near Mint cards, people seem to be absolutely atrocious at grading cards, even with the card-grading page as an example. People seem to see, "Wow, someone actually wants this card, and I can get points for it? Let's just throw this in an envelope and make some points!" Maybe I've just had a rash of bad luck, but here are some stellar examples:
Since you can only block users, or file administrative complaints, there's no real way to rate users or transactions, or protect yourself from problem senders until after you've had a bad experience with them.
On Magic Salvation, people seemed to take trading very seriously; the infractions for a bad trade were pretty severe. Out of 20 trades on PucaTrade, at least 6 trades had problems, three of which required moderator intervention.
Sometimes I get the feeling that people just use PucaTrade as a dumping ground for their junk binders, regardless of condition, hoping that the recipient doesn't complain or doesn't care. I've got almost enough points saved up for a Maze of Ith, but considering it's from a really old expansion, I'm not holding out much hope that the card I eventually receive will be in good condition.
I really appreciate what the creators of the site are trying to do; it's nice to be able to just send off cards and earn credit, and then receive cards as you receive points. And yes, I've had some good trades, but after the last two administrator interventions, I'm starting to lose faith in the community. Just keep that in mind before you dive in.
Idea! Each user can specify a certain point threshold, and if someone tries to send them a card that is worth more than that point threshold, the sender has to send the recipient pictures of the card, both front and back, for the recipient to approve before it is sent. If this feature were available, I would have rejected a lot of my problem trades outright before they ever started.
Pile A
Pile B
Pile B is a few dollars more by TCG mid prices, but Academy Rector, Intuition and Land Tax have all been steadily declining, and the cards in Pile A have all been steadily going up up up.
It's been discussed before: http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/search?search-thread-id=179856&search-forum-id=&forum-scope=f&prefix=&display-type=0&search=sword of light and shadow&search-type=0&by-author=&begin-date=&begin-time=&end-date=&end-time=&min-posts=&min-views=&prefix=&display-type=0&submit=y
Umm... it's literally the last 10 or so posts directly above yours.
Is this some sort of joke that was dreamed up on Reddit? Should I be searching my boxes of commons for this thing?
I can't tell if you're being serious or not.