MTG Salvation

Apparently 42 of our users managed to update their systems manually and cripple their computers. Oops... Still better than it could have been!

Otherwise, previous post still applies.

http://vil.nai.com/vil/5958_false.htm

Looks like official fixes are out. The gist of fixing it yourself is booting into safe mode, deleting the bad DAT, and restoring the deleted file from Quarantine or another source.

My uni internally manages its DAT file forwarding and stopped this one before sending it out, so no computers were affected at the University of Texas at Dallas. Glad it's the case as we have some 10,000-odd users.

Definitely agree with the GRE vocabulary sentiment. The antonyms were easiest since anything I remembered being on a red card was instantly identifiable. Snagged a 610.

First Class Parcel is 1.39 for less than 2 oz. Delivery confirmation is an additional 0.80, for 2.19 total. Bubble mailers are cheap in bulk; I recommend 3M or Duck brand and advise you buy them online if you're going to trade a lot.

For larger amounts of cards to send, cheap plastic deck boxes when properly wrapped and "filled" with padding work great. Otherwise, I just reuse old white boxes, precon deck boxes, tournament packs, etc. Just reinforce the package and wrap the cards in saran wrap to make them water resistant.

http://www.trollandtoad-europe.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=95&Itemid=37

The JingHe Age Tokens look to be hard to get and ~15-20 USD each.

Agreed to woogerboy21. On all of my envelope-sends that aren't padded, I write NONMACHINABLE. It costs extra postage, but adds a bit of safety. Make sure EVERYTHING is snug in a paper envelope to prevent issues.

Given that you're sending the card to me, allow me to give some advice.

You usually want to put the card in a random sleeve and THEN also in a top-loader. If you're sending in a paper envelope, attaching the top-loader to cardboard is advised. It's more advised to use a padded envelope, especially on larger or valuable trades.

Quote from Trancebam

I had played that as long as it was a blanket effect, damage or no didn't matter. Earthquake would kill things with pro red as readily as things without. It's a good thing that never came up for me in a tournament...

Lets take Thermal Glider as an example.

"Flying. Prevent all damage dealt to Thermal Glider by Red sources. Red creatures cannot be assigned to block Thermal Glider. Thermal Glider cannot be the target of Red spells and abilites. Thermal Glider can't be enchanted by Red enchantments."

This means that Termal Glider is completely unaffected by cards like Rolling Earthquake because all damage from Red sources is prevented. However, cards like Obliterate will kill Thermal Glider because there's no damage to prevent.

This is what I ran last Friday and I just wanted to take a moment to discuss my findings...



One: Pyroclasm is nice against Elfball but instant speed boardsweepers are always better. If I were running Volcanic Fallout instead of Pyroclasm, I would have a much better time against Ball Lightning and Bloodbraid Elf.

Two: Four lords are not enough. Anytime my opponent drew a Magma Spray or Lightning Bolt for my Goblin Chieftain, I was dead in the water and lost quickly. I'm adding another 3 Mad Auntie and cutting the Banneret down to 3. I might also cut back on Murderous Redcap and Profane to keep the mana curve healthy due to less Banneret.

Three: Banneret is only good if mana costs have colorless in them! Prowling with them was top notch but sitting on Goblin Deathraiders hurt. They shouldn't be cut by any means, but nicer options should be included (Squeaking Pie Sneak). Fueling Banneret with Sensation Gorger would be amazing.

Four: I really need Auntie's Hovel and Mutavault.

I'll post my next week build a bit later!

Don't forget Syphon Life is in Standard. It with retrace might be pretty potent.

I'm going to run the following tonight at my very casual FNM. I'm also very curious about Shared Animosity and will try it in a more aggressive build once I get Mad Aunties in the mail. If I went all out ultra-aggressive, I'd run a playset of the good Goblin Rogues and add in a playset of Stinkdrinker Bandits. On a random note, if you have Auntie's Hovels or Mutavaults for sale, PM me.



If I were to tweak this further, I'd probably run the following:

Sending anywhere but Canada, a First Class International Parcel costs 3.02 USD to ship, period. This is without customs, duties, top loaders, packaging, or anything else. 10-20 cards will always fall in the 3 oz bracket (the price quoted) in a bubble mailer.

Fresh packaging costs an additional 50 cents to a dollar (reusing is simply the price for new labels and tape) and the gas to go to a Post Office is 50 cents to a dollar.

Five dollars flat rate is very reasonable, especially since the seller is going BELOW MOTL prices. When I send internationally, I'll try to get it down to four, but it's never cheaper than that anywhere in the world.

If I'm not mistaken, once the stack is clear, the active player gains priority. Once passed, the defending player gains priority. If that player chooses to pass priority once more, you do not regain priority. Rather, you immediately move on to the next phase (first main, to combat, to second main, to end of turn, etc.).

Again, once the stack is clear, you must use your priority then.

Edit: digging the triple-answer.

Don't forget Regal Force to fill your hand back up. You might only want to run two, but if the game lasts that long, you'll want ways of filling your hand with creatures to drop.

I guess now would be a good time to post my "opposite" build, with tons of discard. It absolutely dominated my control-oriented FNM meta, though I'm still not entirely sold on some choices.


Necrogenesis was absolutely stellar against any variant of Reveillark or anything with Firespout or Wrath of God. Not only was it useful to help neutralize enemy Cruel Ultimatums by removing their creature and providing a sac outlet, it also served as great board-sweeper recovery.

My favorite use was when Wrathed, I floated Elf and Bird mana, remade 3 to 4 tokens, and overran with Garruk the following turn with 4 creatures (land included).

The only card I'm thinking about is Hypnotic Specter. It really helped me out in every matchup other than Faeries (of course). However, I strongly believe that it would be best swapped out for Garruk number 3 and 3 Profane Commands.

Heavy discard rock is definitely food for thought.