Neato. Medicine Bag? Never heard of it, haha! School's ending in a couple weeks, so I'll have the chance to get some old magic-playing friends together then. I may take a stab at this! I'm sure I have a good variety of cards to use between peasant cube & type 4... though I don't have all the tapland duals. Maybe I'll make some proxies.
@hi-val: I remember you mentioning Wall of Heat in your article. A 2/6 for 2R is really good. I'll have to pick up a copy.
Aladdin's Ring... really? That's 16 mana before I can chuck a Flame Javelin. If it had the same CC as Tower of Calamities I'd probably run it, but I feel like I'd only want to cast it late in the game when I have no better options, and then I'd probably win off of it because it can hit players. If you've played and and it's worked for you I could give it a shot.
Extractor Demon is a pet card of mine. Used to play it in standard back in the day... I'm excited to play with him again, and he fits the DR like a glove.
Have you tried Staff of Nin? It's pretty much Well of Discovery but trading the first draw for a free ping every turn. I've really liked it so far. I'll check out those life gain artifacts, and Sun Droplet seems like it could be a good option as well.
Masked Admirers is going back in, good point. I woudn't mind milling into that card at all.
You gave me the idea for Medicine Bag, I'm looking forward to playing it!
@BetweenWalls: I just use the allied Guildgates from RTR, they are cheaper and easier to obtain in bulk, if a little less flavorful. I have 10 sets of lands sleeved up, in the offchance I can get two 5 Star games going simultaneously. #pipedream
In other news I'm thinking Manaforce Mace needs to go, +5/+5 is nutso. Trusty old Bone Splitter will likely get sleeved up in it's place, I should have been playing it all along anyway.
As discussed above +5/+5 is just too strong for this format, even if it costs 7 mana to play and equip. Bonesplitter is an old classic and will do good work.
Ghost Council had the same problem as Manor Gargoyle, it was impossible to remove. I think the Ooze is going to shine in this format. A 4/3 for 2BB is respectable in a lot of board states, and there are a TON of good activated abilities for it to copy. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before.
That's all for now folks. Check out my list and leave me a comment!
I may have to give this format a go. Did you consider using any levelers from RoE? Is the Level Up mana investment too high for the amount of removal you're using? I'd also be tempted to use the Volvers from Apocalypse (e.g. Anavolver). My reasoning for both groups of cards is that they can be played at most stages of the game and be or become relevant due to their flexibility.
If Manaforce Mace is too good, maybe I'll have to think twice about sleeving up my Power Armor. I think I saw Opaline Bracers in your list, though. Is +4/+4 (with a cheaper equip cost) significantly more manageable?
I may have to give this format a go. Did you consider using any levelers from RoE? Is the Level Up mana investment too high for the amount of removal you're using? I'd also be tempted to use the Volvers from Apocalypse (e.g. Anavolver). My reasoning for both groups of cards is that they can be played at most stages of the game and be or become relevant due to their flexibility.
If Manaforce Mace is too good, maybe I'll have to think twice about sleeving up my Power Armor. I think I saw Opaline Bracers in your list, though. Is +4/+4 (with a cheaper equip cost) significantly more manageable?
Do it man! DANGER ROOM an absolute blast to design and play.
The only leveler I currently run is Enclave Cryptologist. My first draft included Nirkana Cutthroat and Hada Spy Patrol, but I cut them for being too slow. It wasn't really that the mana investment was too high, it's just that I felt I always had better things to do with my mana then level up. If I were to include any other levelers, I'd consider:
Guul Draz Assassin: I think the only reason I didn't include in my first draft was because the website I ordered singles from was out of stock. I like this card a lot, and while I'm wary of repeatable removal, but the fact that a player can only generate BBB in a single turn might just make him balanced.
Beast Breaker of Bala Ged: 6/6 trample would be one of the best ground pounders in the stack. I've been really careful with power/toughness to try and create as many interesting combat steps as possible, however this guy costs 9GGGGG before he becomes huge. Might actually be too slow.
Halimer Wavewatch: I think this card may actually be too strong for this format for two reasons. 1: The level up has no color requirements. 2: Everyone will eventually have an island. An inevitable 6/6 unblockable beater feels a bit too scary for what I'm going for.
Kabira Vindicator: This card may actually be playable. A 2/4 for 4 isn't great but it provides a solid blocker right out of the gate. Once it reaches the higher levels it gets bonkers. Might be too slow, too mana intensive, or even too strong. Not really sure but I'd playtest it if I can find a 4 drop to cut.
Hedron Field Purists: Of all the levelers I've discussed this one excites me the most. After one level it's a solid blocker and provides a great effect. My only concern is that preventing damage to your dudes might give too much of an advantage on offense. I'll definitely test this guy out though.
I'm glad you brought up levelers. I kind of glanced over them briefly when I built the danger room. Upon closer look their might be some solid DR worthy creatures in there. I'll definitely test out the Assassin and the Purists.
The volvers aren't a bad idea, but there are a couple things I don't like about them:
1: While they are scalable, they will almost always be played with both kickers. A 1/1 for 1W is NEVER relevant, and there is usually plenty to do in the early turns. That said, when maxed out they are all really good creatures. I especially like Degavolver, a 4/4 regenerating first striker for 2BWR can create some real havok on the field.
2: CASCADE. All the volvers would totally suck to cascade into, and I play just about every playable cascade spell. This honestly would probably be what keeps them out for me, but they are respectable beats for sure.
Manaforce Mace just dominated the entire field when it came down. I play powerful equipment (Unscythe, Killer of Kings, Behemoth Sledge) but +3/+3 first strike and +2/+2 trample lifelink don't have the same effect on a game as +5/+5. At least in my opinion. I may have to cut Unscythe anyway. I definitely wouldn't sleeve up Power Armor in my DR... it's pretty much a better version of Manaforce Mace. That said, one could definitely design a DR where permanent p/t buffs of that size are totally acceptable, it's just not the speed I'm going for. I cut Opaline Bracers for the same reason (for Travel Preparations) in my most recent update. It's good to have a couple bomb equipments, but I'd rather those bombs have interesting effects on games as opposed to just ending them ASAP.
A couple cards I'm thinking of adding (in addition to those two levelers):
Brontotherium: Are the stats not good enough for 6 mana? Is provoke too strong on a creature with 5 power? Will it die too often to be relevant, or single handedly wreck the opposing defense? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I'm going to test this beast and find out.
Kathari Remnant: Super lame stats, but a regenerating flyer could be an excellent wall. Plus... CASCADE! My only concern is that people wont ever cast him because his stats suck so bad haha. Still, there aren't many dudes in the DR that can stand up to an Extractor Demon in combat and live... and she CASCADES.
Vulshok Battlegear: The high end of p/t buffs for equipment. This will probably end up being the third most powerful piece in the DR behind Unscythe and Sledge.
Angelic Armaments: Can turn little guys into scary big guys. Not insane but will probably be pretty balanced here, if the cost doesn't prove too prohibitive.
Selesnya Charm: Does everything, including pump. I just cut it from my cube for Voice of Resurgence but I figured I'd give the charm a try in this format. I expect it to be good.
Martial Law: I'm a sucker for interesting enchantments. This seems like a lot of fun but may be too strong. I will keep my eye on it.
OUT: Martial Law. Too strong. The main reason I had to cut it is because it survives most board wipes.
We have realized that multiplayer free for all doesn't work that well with this format, at least with how I've designed my DR. There is too much lifegain/defensive focus and an intentional lack of excellent finishers. Games drag on forever. On the other hand, 2HG and 5 star work great and are a ton of fun.
Liliana's Reaver: The DR needs a few more scary beaters. This guy seems to fit the bill. His 3 toughness really balances him against all the 3 power three drops I run. Maybe he'll end up being the DR's version of Grave Titan :D.
Kalonian Tusker: Watchwolf has proven that a 3/3 for two mana is formidable in the early game. This card might might actually be worse though. In order to drop him on turn 2 you need to stick a Forest and either a Gruul or Selesnaya Guildgate. My DR isn't color balanced and slightly favors esper colors, so not being able to set up for a turn 3 blue or black spell could be difficult. I'll probably sleeve him up anyway and see.
Seraph of the Sword: Might be too good, but I serves as an great blocker and a great beater. If the art is really cool I'll probably pick one up.
Young Pyromancer: I'm probably going to include this guy in my cube and redundancy would be the only reason I wouldn't include him here as well. He does a lot for a two drop.
So my group played our first danger zone tonight with my thrown together list. One 2 player game, then 1 4 player game. I'm still trying to find a good balance, and I think I might focus on block danger rooms, like an Alara room.
A couple of minor tweaks we played with:
1. The lands are played from the command zone. Anything that would make them leave the battlefield for any reason returns them to the command zone.
3. I included 3 cards that could affect your mana: Rosheen Meanderer. If you get a fireball, you can do a maximum of 13 damage. I thought her limiting to X spells will balance her. Also Dark Ritual and Simian Spirit Guide. I agree that there should be no permanent mana acceleration (again, I like Rosheen as an exception since she is so limited.) but I like the trade off of Spirit Guide for 1 extra mana. Less happy with dark rit and will probably cut it.
Simian Spirit Guide is not a bad idea! Let me know how he plays and I may give him a shot. Some of the red rituals could work as well. Is there a particular reason you want to try block DR's? It's a good idea, and would certainly make assembling a list a piece of cake. Do you think you'd run into any issues keeping it a singleton format?
I like trying things like block cube, and block DR seems to fit the nostalgia for old limited.
I'm not too worried about pressure to break singleton, most blocks that I've tried to cube never felt like they needed more then one. The only card I can think of from recent sets would be Moonmist, because I think wolves might have a hard time flipping in an environment where your hand is always real cards, and mana never fails.
Yea, in my experience with DR so far it's been extremely rare that you have no cards in hand. You'd think that because mana is fixed you play through your hand faster which I guess you do, but you aren't drawing lands which more than makes up for it. Moonmist would probably be a card you want multiples of if you put together a Innistrad block DR. If you get any block DR's together post your list, I'd be interested to see how it works out.
Swap (out--->in):
Sangromancer ---> Serra Avenger
Lifegain is important in the DR, but I've had two games so far where Sangromancer has gained more than 30 life. TOO MUCH! Serra Avenger is basically a cheap 4 drop. I expect her to do good work.
???? ---> Albino Troll
Ramping up number of creatures that can provide early pressure. 3 Power, 2 mana, the all powerful regeneration ability. This guy does it all. I just need to figure out what to cut for him!
Game Report:
Last night I played what was probably the most challenging, engaging, and fun game of magic I've ever participated in. It was a 2HG game that lasted 15 turns and 90 minutes. We started out behind but managed to stabilize and chain a Flayer of the Hatebound 4 times to get them within striking distance. They had 4 life, we were sitting on a Lightning bolt, but for 2 turns couldn't find a way to deal 1 damage to get them in bolt range. Eventually they stuck an Essence Warden and stabilized. Then they took over. One turn we took 11 to a Mageta the Lion strapped with Griffin Guide and Armadillo Cloak and buffed with a Warped Phisyque. We managed to blow up the board and I stuck a Necrotic Ooze. At this point of the game there were at least 15 activated abilities in the yard and I was able to use Jhessian Balmgiver's ability to sneak an Indrik Stomphowler through their defenses a couple times while leaving regeneration mana open to protect the Ooze (thanks to Kathari Remnant). Both teams were sporting single digit life totals and the board was pretty complex. I pinged them a couple times with the Ooze (thanks Gelectrode) before he got burned out and we managed to close out the game with a timely counterspell, Canyon Wildcat, and Trigon of Rage.
4/5 of the enemy color ability dudes cycle. The blue one seems kind of weak but all of these guys have relevant abilities and good bodies for the cost. My three drop slot is a bit glutted with walls at the moment so these will be a welcome addition.
A couple random cards that I like. I expect Zephyr Charge to do a lot of good work. Goblin diplomats... "your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!" plus it's a great card. I expect good things from young pyro as well. Grim return is just a good effect that I already have but want more of.
I'm on the fence about Banisher Priest. I'll probably include him as this kind of spot removal tends to be more interesting than a Terror/StP variant. Fiend Hunter has played really well, and I don't think another copy (ish) could hurt anything. I just don't want too much spot removal.
I have no idea what I'm going to cut for these cards... but I'll let y'all once I figure it out. Are there any cards I'm including that you guys think suck? Or am I missing any cards that you feel merit inclusion? Give feedback
Thanks for reading. Build a DR and have all of the fun!
EDIT: Vastwood Hydra seems like it'd be a fun and interesting fatty. Good beef on the field that can make your team even scarier when it dies. Going to test this one out as well!
Theros is looking to be a sweet DR set so far! Monstrous and Bestow look like amazing mechanics. I can't see Heroic or Devotion adding much to the meta though.
Here are some cards I'm already interested in:
Monstrous cards: Hundred Handed One - Amazing wall. Potentially too good. Stoneshock Giant - Beefy dude without going monstrous. One of the biggest creatures in the DR with a one shot way to close out a game once it ticks. Keepsake Gorgon - Great wall with the possibility for unconditional removal. It's expensive but this kind of effect on the board adds a great layer of strategic game-play. It might be too expensive, but I'll give it a shot.
YES, each player has their own graveyard. Makes cards like Geralf's Mindcrusher super good! I've also added random artifacts like Codex Shredder that add incremental value to your resource pool throughout the game. Let me know how your DR turns out.
I've specifically built mine to foster complex board states and reward skilled playing and planning. I tend to value incremental advantage and more choices over raw power in the cards I select. That's just me though. The format can really be anything you make it to be.
Since we play with our own libraries in practice, I'm easing up on the "nothing that puts something on top of a library" rule.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I write a free, no-BS, no-ads newsletter for my site with weekly MTG Financial content. When you sign up, you'll get our ebook with five articles about speculating and trading Magic cards.
Oh that's interesting. We still play with a central stack, and I actually added a few cards that put things on top of the library intentionally. Nevermaker is my personal favorite, and can really make a stir when someone's bomb gets sent to the top and everyone is trying to find a way to draw a card before the turn ends haha.
Fling effects were sadly missing from the DR. In the few games we played, both of these cards were fun and performed well.
Jinxed Choker: Jinxed Idol has been a huge hit with my play group and we were looking for more effects of that ilk. The Choker is BRUTAL and a blast to play with. I'm considering Jinxed Ring as well.
A while back I significantly reduced the amount of lifegain in the DR as games were dragging on to infinity... but I think I cut a bit too much. Some lifegain makes the race more interesting. I'm thinking I'll add Alabaster Mage back in, and maybe one or two more lifegain spells. Crimson Mage is also a card I've been thinking about for a while as I want to incorporate more haste..
...and while I was searching magiccards.info I discovered Aethermage's Touch which looks awesome so I'll probably pick up a copy of that as well haha!
I've picked up Fling and the Cyclops, I'll try them out! Have you tried any Planeswalkers? I see them as fun but possibly really, really dangerous since games go on so long. Ral Zarek doesn't actually tap peoples' lands for a meaningful time but I do not like that he gives you an extra mana. Vraska looks interesting, for example. Jace Beleren is mostly benign. Chandra, The Firebrand also looks fun - cloning spells is great.
I just don't like that they're "must-answer" cards for the most part. I try to avoid those in my stack.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I write a free, no-BS, no-ads newsletter for my site with weekly MTG Financial content. When you sign up, you'll get our ebook with five articles about speculating and trading Magic cards.
I haven't tried walkers, and honestly haven't thought about it until now. With the power level I support, I bet these ones would fit well and not be OP:
I feel like Vraska would be oppressive and Ral could just dominate the board... but you got me thinking. If the price is right I could see myself testing some of these in my DR. I do love me some planeswalkers.
Im currently working on a DR stack using the snow covered basic lands and the coldsnap equivalent of the invasion duals. Not a huge difference, but it allows a snow sub theme and lets some of the more interesting snow mana abilities to be played.
I'm only just building a list for a stack right now, but theres about 10 or so creatures so far that the snow mana is relevant with.
You could also play Skred. I like the idea of adding snow lands. Of the cards you mentioned Chilling Shade is probably the scariest, and Stalking Yeti gets points for awesome. Glad to hear you are building a DR!
Aladdin's Ring... really? That's 16 mana before I can chuck a Flame Javelin. If it had the same CC as Tower of Calamities I'd probably run it, but I feel like I'd only want to cast it late in the game when I have no better options, and then I'd probably win off of it because it can hit players. If you've played and and it's worked for you I could give it a shot.
Extractor Demon is a pet card of mine. Used to play it in standard back in the day... I'm excited to play with him again, and he fits the DR like a glove.
Have you tried Staff of Nin? It's pretty much Well of Discovery but trading the first draw for a free ping every turn. I've really liked it so far. I'll check out those life gain artifacts, and Sun Droplet seems like it could be a good option as well.
Masked Admirers is going back in, good point. I woudn't mind milling into that card at all.
You gave me the idea for Medicine Bag, I'm looking forward to playing it!
@BetweenWalls: I just use the allied Guildgates from RTR, they are cheaper and easier to obtain in bulk, if a little less flavorful. I have 10 sets of lands sleeved up, in the offchance I can get two 5 Star games going simultaneously. #pipedream
In other news I'm thinking Manaforce Mace needs to go, +5/+5 is nutso. Trusty old Bone Splitter will likely get sleeved up in it's place, I should have been playing it all along anyway.
Manaforce Mace ---> Bonesplitter
As discussed above +5/+5 is just too strong for this format, even if it costs 7 mana to play and equip. Bonesplitter is an old classic and will do good work.
Ghost Council of Orzhova ---> Necrotic Ooze
Ghost Council had the same problem as Manor Gargoyle, it was impossible to remove. I think the Ooze is going to shine in this format. A 4/3 for 2BB is respectable in a lot of board states, and there are a TON of good activated abilities for it to copy. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before.
That's all for now folks. Check out my list and leave me a comment!
If Manaforce Mace is too good, maybe I'll have to think twice about sleeving up my Power Armor. I think I saw Opaline Bracers in your list, though. Is +4/+4 (with a cheaper equip cost) significantly more manageable?
Do it man! DANGER ROOM an absolute blast to design and play.
The only leveler I currently run is Enclave Cryptologist. My first draft included Nirkana Cutthroat and Hada Spy Patrol, but I cut them for being too slow. It wasn't really that the mana investment was too high, it's just that I felt I always had better things to do with my mana then level up. If I were to include any other levelers, I'd consider:
I'm glad you brought up levelers. I kind of glanced over them briefly when I built the danger room. Upon closer look their might be some solid DR worthy creatures in there. I'll definitely test out the Assassin and the Purists.
The volvers aren't a bad idea, but there are a couple things I don't like about them:
1: While they are scalable, they will almost always be played with both kickers. A 1/1 for 1W is NEVER relevant, and there is usually plenty to do in the early turns. That said, when maxed out they are all really good creatures. I especially like Degavolver, a 4/4 regenerating first striker for 2BWR can create some real havok on the field.
2: CASCADE. All the volvers would totally suck to cascade into, and I play just about every playable cascade spell. This honestly would probably be what keeps them out for me, but they are respectable beats for sure.
Manaforce Mace just dominated the entire field when it came down. I play powerful equipment (Unscythe, Killer of Kings, Behemoth Sledge) but +3/+3 first strike and +2/+2 trample lifelink don't have the same effect on a game as +5/+5. At least in my opinion. I may have to cut Unscythe anyway. I definitely wouldn't sleeve up Power Armor in my DR... it's pretty much a better version of Manaforce Mace. That said, one could definitely design a DR where permanent p/t buffs of that size are totally acceptable, it's just not the speed I'm going for. I cut Opaline Bracers for the same reason (for Travel Preparations) in my most recent update. It's good to have a couple bomb equipments, but I'd rather those bombs have interesting effects on games as opposed to just ending them ASAP.
A couple cards I'm thinking of adding (in addition to those two levelers):
Brontotherium: Are the stats not good enough for 6 mana? Is provoke too strong on a creature with 5 power? Will it die too often to be relevant, or single handedly wreck the opposing defense? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I'm going to test this beast and find out.
Kathari Remnant: Super lame stats, but a regenerating flyer could be an excellent wall. Plus... CASCADE! My only concern is that people wont ever cast him because his stats suck so bad haha. Still, there aren't many dudes in the DR that can stand up to an Extractor Demon in combat and live... and she CASCADES.
Also, I'm looking to include 1-2 more p/t buffing spells. Right now I'm running Might of Alara, Gaea's Might, Colossal Might, and Ghor-Clan Rampager. I'd like something a little more interesting than Giant Growth... anyone have a suggestion?
In:
Guul Draz Assassin: See discussion above.
Mother of Runes: Need I say more?
Will-o'-the-Wisp: Sick blocker for cheap.
Saffi Eriksdotter: Thanks for the suggestion, hi-val.
Hedron-Field Purists: See discussion above.
Kathari Remnant: See discussion above.
Brontotherium: See discussion above.
Vulshok Battlegear: The high end of p/t buffs for equipment. This will probably end up being the third most powerful piece in the DR behind Unscythe and Sledge.
Angelic Armaments: Can turn little guys into scary big guys. Not insane but will probably be pretty balanced here, if the cost doesn't prove too prohibitive.
Angelic Renewal: Thanks for the suggestion, hi-val.
Vines of Vastwood: Sweet card. "interesting" pump effect.
Selesnya Charm: Does everything, including pump. I just cut it from my cube for Voice of Resurgence but I figured I'd give the charm a try in this format. I expect it to be good.
Martial Law: I'm a sucker for interesting enchantments. This seems like a lot of fun but may be too strong. I will keep my eye on it.
OUT: Martial Law. Too strong. The main reason I had to cut it is because it survives most board wipes.
We have realized that multiplayer free for all doesn't work that well with this format, at least with how I've designed my DR. There is too much lifegain/defensive focus and an intentional lack of excellent finishers. Games drag on forever. On the other hand, 2HG and 5 star work great and are a ton of fun.
Cards I'm thinking about from M14:
Goblin Diplomats: Alluring Siren on 'roids. Yes plz.
Liliana's Reaver: The DR needs a few more scary beaters. This guy seems to fit the bill. His 3 toughness really balances him against all the 3 power three drops I run. Maybe he'll end up being the DR's version of Grave Titan :D.
Kalonian Tusker: Watchwolf has proven that a 3/3 for two mana is formidable in the early game. This card might might actually be worse though. In order to drop him on turn 2 you need to stick a Forest and either a Gruul or Selesnaya Guildgate. My DR isn't color balanced and slightly favors esper colors, so not being able to set up for a turn 3 blue or black spell could be difficult. I'll probably sleeve him up anyway and see.
Seraph of the Sword: Might be too good, but I serves as an great blocker and a great beater. If the art is really cool I'll probably pick one up.
Young Pyromancer: I'm probably going to include this guy in my cube and redundancy would be the only reason I wouldn't include him here as well. He does a lot for a two drop.
Thats all for now kids!
A couple of minor tweaks we played with:
1. The lands are played from the command zone. Anything that would make them leave the battlefield for any reason returns them to the command zone.
2. I included a very few cards that interacted with lands: Acidic Slime, Vedalkin Planner , Spreading Seas, Kor Skyfisher.
The only one that came out was the Skyfisher.
3. I included 3 cards that could affect your mana: Rosheen Meanderer. If you get a fireball, you can do a maximum of 13 damage. I thought her limiting to X spells will balance her. Also Dark Ritual and Simian Spirit Guide. I agree that there should be no permanent mana acceleration (again, I like Rosheen as an exception since she is so limited.) but I like the trade off of Spirit Guide for 1 extra mana. Less happy with dark rit and will probably cut it.
I'm not too worried about pressure to break singleton, most blocks that I've tried to cube never felt like they needed more then one. The only card I can think of from recent sets would be Moonmist, because I think wolves might have a hard time flipping in an environment where your hand is always real cards, and mana never fails.
Swap (out--->in):
Sangromancer ---> Serra Avenger
Lifegain is important in the DR, but I've had two games so far where Sangromancer has gained more than 30 life. TOO MUCH! Serra Avenger is basically a cheap 4 drop. I expect her to do good work.
???? ---> Albino Troll
Ramping up number of creatures that can provide early pressure. 3 Power, 2 mana, the all powerful regeneration ability. This guy does it all. I just need to figure out what to cut for him!
Memory's Journey ---> Ravenous Trap
I had misread MJ... ha.
Game Report:
Last night I played what was probably the most challenging, engaging, and fun game of magic I've ever participated in. It was a 2HG game that lasted 15 turns and 90 minutes. We started out behind but managed to stabilize and chain a Flayer of the Hatebound 4 times to get them within striking distance. They had 4 life, we were sitting on a Lightning bolt, but for 2 turns couldn't find a way to deal 1 damage to get them in bolt range. Eventually they stuck an Essence Warden and stabilized. Then they took over. One turn we took 11 to a Mageta the Lion strapped with Griffin Guide and Armadillo Cloak and buffed with a Warped Phisyque. We managed to blow up the board and I stuck a Necrotic Ooze. At this point of the game there were at least 15 activated abilities in the yard and I was able to use Jhessian Balmgiver's ability to sneak an Indrik Stomphowler through their defenses a couple times while leaving regeneration mana open to protect the Ooze (thanks to Kathari Remnant). Both teams were sporting single digit life totals and the board was pretty complex. I pinged them a couple times with the Ooze (thanks Gelectrode) before he got burned out and we managed to close out the game with a timely counterspell, Canyon Wildcat, and Trigon of Rage.
So good. Build a DR!
Right away Zephyr Charge jumped out at me. Repeatable flying for a reasonable cost! Woot.
After a short hiatus to get married and spend some quality time with the wife on the beach I'm back with a list of includes from M14:
Fiendslayer Paladin
Lifebane Zombie
Mindsparker
Witchstalker
4/5 of the enemy color ability dudes cycle. The blue one seems kind of weak but all of these guys have relevant abilities and good bodies for the cost. My three drop slot is a bit glutted with walls at the moment so these will be a welcome addition.
Silence
Savage Summoning
Quicken
1 cmc instants whose power is largely determined by the boardstate and skill level of the player casting them. Daddy likey.
Grim Return
Zephyr Charge
Goblin Diplomats
Young Pyromancer
A couple random cards that I like. I expect Zephyr Charge to do a lot of good work. Goblin diplomats... "your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!" plus it's a great card. I expect good things from young pyro as well. Grim return is just a good effect that I already have but want more of.
I'm on the fence about Banisher Priest. I'll probably include him as this kind of spot removal tends to be more interesting than a Terror/StP variant. Fiend Hunter has played really well, and I don't think another copy (ish) could hurt anything. I just don't want too much spot removal.
I have no idea what I'm going to cut for these cards... but I'll let y'all once I figure it out. Are there any cards I'm including that you guys think suck? Or am I missing any cards that you feel merit inclusion? Give feedback
Thanks for reading. Build a DR and have all of the fun!
EDIT: Vastwood Hydra seems like it'd be a fun and interesting fatty. Good beef on the field that can make your team even scarier when it dies. Going to test this one out as well!
Here are some cards I'm already interested in:
Monstrous cards:
Hundred Handed One - Amazing wall. Potentially too good.
Stoneshock Giant - Beefy dude without going monstrous. One of the biggest creatures in the DR with a one shot way to close out a game once it ticks.
Keepsake Gorgon - Great wall with the possibility for unconditional removal. It's expensive but this kind of effect on the board adds a great layer of strategic game-play. It might be too expensive, but I'll give it a shot.
Bestow cards:
Thassa's Emissary - Not strictly needed, but I do love me some Curiosity effects. This one is a maybe.
Nimbus Naiad - Kind of like a more flexible Griffin Guide.
Other cards:
Chained to the Rocks - Everyone has mountains. This is great spot removal that can still be removed. I'll pick one up if it's cheap.
Psychic Intrusion - Love this type of effect.
Steam Augury - Yay for reverse Fact or Fiction!
Triad of Fates - Triad of Fun. This is going to be great... maybe I should shell out for an Oblivion Stone!
YES, each player has their own graveyard. Makes cards like Geralf's Mindcrusher super good! I've also added random artifacts like Codex Shredder that add incremental value to your resource pool throughout the game. Let me know how your DR turns out.
I've specifically built mine to foster complex board states and reward skilled playing and planning. I tend to value incremental advantage and more choices over raw power in the cards I select. That's just me though. The format can really be anything you make it to be.
A couple cards I'm hoping to add in the near future:
- Polymorph
- Lone Revenant
- Triton Tactics
.I've made lots of changes over the last few weeks and hopefully I'll be able to update my list sometime soon. Might even set it up on cubetutor.
Since we play with our own libraries in practice, I'm easing up on the "nothing that puts something on top of a library" rule.
New cards:
Fling effects were sadly missing from the DR. In the few games we played, both of these cards were fun and performed well.
Jinxed Choker: Jinxed Idol has been a huge hit with my play group and we were looking for more effects of that ilk. The Choker is BRUTAL and a blast to play with. I'm considering Jinxed Ring as well.
I also added these previously mentioned cards:
A while back I significantly reduced the amount of lifegain in the DR as games were dragging on to infinity... but I think I cut a bit too much. Some lifegain makes the race more interesting. I'm thinking I'll add Alabaster Mage back in, and maybe one or two more lifegain spells. Crimson Mage is also a card I've been thinking about for a while as I want to incorporate more haste..
...and while I was searching magiccards.info I discovered Aethermage's Touch which looks awesome so I'll probably pick up a copy of that as well haha!
I just don't like that they're "must-answer" cards for the most part. I try to avoid those in my stack.
Others that could work but I'd be concerned about power level:
I feel like Vraska would be oppressive and Ral could just dominate the board... but you got me thinking. If the price is right I could see myself testing some of these in my DR. I do love me some planeswalkers.
I'm only just building a list for a stack right now, but theres about 10 or so creatures so far that the snow mana is relevant with.
Phyrexian Ironfoot
Rimehorn Aurochs
Chilling shade
Stalking Yeti
Rimefeather owl
Rimescale Dragon
Those are just a few off the top of my head, but basically free value for using snow lands.
Just figured I'd give my .02 worth on a way to maybe add another dimension.