Had a fun 3-0 with UR surge/aggro that featured a couple of highlights:
1. The best manabase I've had yet: Mirrorpool, Wandering Fumarole x 2, Blighted Gorge, plus some of the colorless/5c lands from Oath. SO much value in having that many lands that functionally put you up a card later.
2. The Mirrorpool enabled one of my favorite moments from this format. I'm up against a more controlling UB build that has gotten way ahead in the game, I have a few smaller dudes out (maybe 6 power total on the board) and he has a bunch of big bodies. He swings out and puts me down to 1 after a chump block, he's at 15. He then taps out to cast Dread Defiler, so I'm dead as soon as he untaps. Except...I've been holding Press into Service all game just waiting for this moment where his shields are down, as I have enough mana to cast it AND copy it with Mirrorpool, allowing me to steal/create enough power to win the game on the spot, taking him from 15 to -6.
Probably one of the best decks I have ever drafted, Crush of tentacles pack 1, pick 2(!!), Jori-en late (6th pick?) in pack 2... pretty sure I didn't build the deck right, but had an easy 6-0, 3-0.
I built a deck capable of activating General Tazri, haha and I did it in multiple games. haha. I went 1-1-1. The draw had my opponent on 1 life with a Kalastria healer in play didn't draw an ally for the kill in the three turns. I then lost to Encircling fissure when I went for lethal :/.. followed by top deck weapons trainer. So close... to pulling off a 3-0 grr.
So I drafted 10 lands last FNM, played 9 of them and went 3-0 (I was unable to get an Eldrazi with a CMC of 7 or more to make Sanctum of Ugin worth playing). Pack one, pick one was Sylvan Advocate and I managed to snag an Embodiment of Insight as well as a ton of red removal. Then pack 2 pick 1 was Wandering Fumarole which I decided to risk taking since I was already in red, then when BFZ came around I snagged two Evolving Wilds and a Blighted Woodland as well as a few other fixers which allowed me to comfortably snag all the converge commons and uncommon a that circle the table in BFZ.
I'm also beginning to think that Gruul in OGW, OGW, BFZ draft is OP.
As a format progresses and you start to get sick of it, you start (if you're anything like me) to view various ideas and archetypes as achievements. Early on, you'll give yourself the very mild achievement of taking a rare you're unsure about over a common you're certain about, which is simply solid advice: you'll get to play with the rares less, so you'll have the best feel for their power levels if you take and play them early. Then you'll start to gently force archetypes, and then you'll develop favorite archetypes and try to seriously cut it one draft, and then as you progress through feeling comfortable with pick orders you'll start taking weird build-around rares or forcing very narrow (but powerful-seeming) archetypes, and then by the end of a format you're goof-grabbing Etched Monstrosity 1st-pick to see if you can draw 3 cards, darn it.
We're getting into the later stages of my sustained interest in OGW/BFZ drafting, so I'm going through the latter categories now, and I thought I might start a thread to see where other people at and hear about some silliness!
Achievement Unlocked: Under the Mono-lith
- Make the finals after forcing (lightly or otherwise) a mono-color deck Difficulty: Easy
I did my first draft yesterday. In my first pack I pulled a Mystic Gate expedition. Going into it I basically knew nothing about drafting beyond the rules. I was picking random "good" cards in every color for a while before realizing that wouldn't work and ended up with this:
In the first round, I got crushed by a BW deck with a lot of removal. In the first game I never managed to build up a board presence because my creatures were all smaller. I managed to Stonefury my opponent's Eldrazi Displacer early on, but that was about it. In the second game my opponent led with a Carrier Thrall and I played a Hedron Blade turn one and Kor Sky Climber on turns three and four. The first one got Tar Snared and the second was removed with Smite the Monstrous after I equipped it with Hedron Blade. I think I drew a Hedron Crawler and a Reality Hemorrhage but flooded after that point and lost.
In the second round, I played against another BW Allies deck (half of the people in the six-person pod were playing BW) and in the first game I got lucky since my opponent barely drew any creatures and I got a Weapons Trainer and a Hedron Blade out. I was able to play a creature basically every turn and my opponent was only able to chump block while pinging me for 1 every turn with a Kitesail Scout. In the second game my opponent mulliganed to 5 and he never came back from the setback.
So I finished with a 2-1 record. I have no idea if I just got lucky or if my deck was actually any good since round one I just got blown out. I played RW in the Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease so I guess that prompted me to eventually go for those colors. Looking back on it I passed a few creatures that might have been good like Akoum Hellkite and Kazuul's Toll Collector. My record was enough to get me second in my pod and I got two Battle for Zendikar boosters, one of which had a Drana, Liberator of Malakir. So I really got my money's worth from the $10 draft.
On the next turn I had 5 lands which was only enough to cast one spell. If I killed or blocked the devils they would kill me since I was at 2 life, so how could I get out of this? It felt hopeless but I kept going.
I cast Welcome to the Fold on one of the devils to take control of it (it was still tapped, though), blocked his 2/2 the next turn with my bigger creature taking 1 from his remaining devil unblocked, and after my opponent created a 2/2 zombie on his turn, the following turn I cast Gone Missing to exile the remaining devil. Still at 1 life a bit later I cast Confirm Suspicions and with 3 clues from that and 2 from earlier spells I built a big board advantage winning the game (after luckily he did not draw any burn during the next half-dozen or so turns) with a Goldnight Castigator (who cares if damage to me is doubled, I was at 1) and a 10/11 trample Pyre Hound.
I just had a near perfect sealed pool, here is the full list of cards. This is the only time I've ever bothered writing a list of every card in my sealed pool.
So two mythic rares and two $10 non-mythic rares and just a bunch of "mythic" uncommons. Every rare was playable and I could find reasons to play every color, but nothing was stronger than my GW and I couldn't resist playing Descend Upon the Sinful and Seasons Past in the same deck. I called the deck "Sinful Past".
The highlight of my night was sacrificing 5 creatures to Westvale Abbey when I had a transformed Pious Evangel (Wayward Disciple) on the battlefield. I then cast Seasons Past on my next turn and got most of the creatures I sacrificed back. My opponent said that it felt like he was playing a sealed deck against a standard constructed deck, I agreed and said I'd feel the same way I if I had to play against my deck.
I still only went 3-1 because I flooded hard and drew 6 lands in a row in 2 of the 3 games of my first match.
Once managed to draft both Melira, Sylvok Outcast and Black Sun's Zenith and got to play them together in one game. That was fuuun. My opponent didn't think so of course. He ran around the rest of the day grumbling about it to his friends.
Beat someone with this combo:
Inquisitors ox + gyrffs boon + uncaged fury. He had an angel blocker to block my other flying werewolf but didn't see that combo coming.lol
I did surprisingly well playing RW aggro in a SOI sealed FNM considering that I opened 9 rares and only three of them were RW playable (9 rares because two were double faced and one was a foil) I went 4-0 thanks my uncommons and commons giving me an extremely aggro curve. I didn't expect this list to go 4-0 but luck was on my side in a number of the games and Village Messenger was my turn 1 play in at least three of the games.
This absolutely qualifies as unconstructive, but I am very pleased nonetheless:
I have again reached 2020 in Limited rating on MTGO. The Shadowmoor and Cube gods have been kind to me. After 15 3x SHM, 9 SHMSHMEVE and currently 11 Cube drafts, I am left with 23 3-0s. All in the single elimination queues, for what it is worth. The total W/L is 83-12, if my quick math is right.
In Shadowmoor drafts, I don't think I have any in-depth wisdom beyond "try to go for monocolor, possibly with a light splash. Monowhite and monored are clearly the best, and the former can support two good decks". That format will not return for another year or so at minimum, so I do not think my thoughts are relevant to any great extent.
In Vintage cube, prioritize mana highly. Mana is the limiting factor of any Vintage cube deck, and the acceleration and silly-good fixing is what allows you to do all the other broken stuff. Exceptions are made for monored and monowhite, but I personally do not feel comfortable taking the risk of drafting either deck, as either deck cannot really support two players. Two-cards combos with interchangeable pieces are the best ways to win unless you are either of the aforementioned decks, but early planeswalkers work too. The most typical two-card combos are Kiki/Twin and basic mana-cheating (Reanimator/Show&Tell/Channel/Welder/etc.).
I am happy to answer any questions
Edit: Aaaaand I lost in the first round. It seems the 2020 is not meant to be broken.
I've argued with people over the number of cards in a deck many times, and I feel that having a high number of "good cards" is better than having a small number of "really good" cards. I laugh at the people who argue that with a smaller deck you're more likely to draw what you need, because if you get in that situation you're gonna NOT end up drawing it many many more times than you would.
I just finished making a foil proxy of Mox Jet and Obsidian Fireheart for my sister as she named her cats off of those two cards. Mox and Obsidian. Im very happy with my ability to do this. Is there a way to make proxies without foil cards?
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#TeamChimneyImpForMythic
I am trying to get better at making decks. I have had trouble creating more competitive decks as I only really build with the cards I have. I dont have that many value cards, in function or expense. I (almost) never play at FNM type events so its not like im playing against $2k decks. If I do usally play at one, Its a draft or limited game. Any advice on building decks is greatly supported! DMs are appreciated.
Thank you!
To put it more simply, it's like saying, "I can prove Jesus is real and loves you. See? Here's my Hispanic friend Jesus. He's had a crush on you for a long time. Tell em' Jesus."
Here's a joke! Whats the internal temperature of a Taun-Taun?
Triple Scars of Mirrodin is rivaled by only Rise of the Eldrazi as a deep, interactive, instructive, deceptively complicated format. I played 14 single elimination drafts over the past week of flashbacks and my numbers are just completely absurd: I outright won 9 of them, made the finals of 2 more, and lost in the 2nd round of the other 3. Only 2 of my opponents ever correctly chose to draw first -- both of them beat me in the second round with solid decks that had an extra card (the third time I lost to a timely Razor Hippogriff in game 1 and a timelier Neurok Replica in game 3, both cards I completely adore).
The below screenshot is one of my favorite limited games I've ever played. It perfectly outlined what was so great about this format: races were interesting, competitive, and -- lest we forget -- often decided by one extra card. I've pulled out the graveyards, and you can actually piece together almost exactly how the game played out (Ed. Note: Well, not exactly. The chat log would have helped. I had Blackcleave Goblin equipped with Darksteel Axe and Fume Spitter on the battlefield, at 5 life, with Untamed Might and a Forest in hand. My opponent, at 4 poison counters, cast Tumble Magnet, tapped my Goblin, and swung out. I blocked Tyrannax and put a counter on the Berserkers that already have a counter from Instill Infection, which meant I dropped to 2 life. It seems clear to me now in hindsight that if he just taps my Fume Spitter, I actually probably don't win this game, given that I have to block Tyrannax and still have to Spit the counter at something to stay alive. Obviously, my opponent's follow-up is the second Berserkers, and when I draw Putrefax I realize that I will win, exactly tapped out, my opponent exactly tapped out, from 1 life, for exactly 10 poison counters. And scene.)
In another game, I started the game by casting 4 straight 2-for-1s: Arc Trail into Instill Infection into Oxidda Scrapmelter into Turn to Slag targeting an equipped creature: I don't have a screenshot for that one, and it was certainly way less fun for my opponent that I imagine the screenshotted game was, even if he lost.
<3 you, Scars of Mirrodin. Can't wait to ruin your majesty with splashed Fangren Marauders galore.
It's probably because you're lucky, not because you're good. Winning 65 matches out of 100 happens because you are good. Winning 9 out of 14 probably means you are lucky. You can actually come close to 50/50 game win percentage and still win 9 out of 14 events (lots of 2-1s).
Unless you really are good, but we won't know that until you announce that you've won 65 out of 100.
I get that there is a very distinct difference between "lucky" and "good", but you seem to argue a very though case. OhDaisy! has, according to his post, a 34-5 record (this is single-elimination). You have a very far-fetched definition of skill in Magic if you do not think that indicates that someone is "good" in a particular format.
By your standards, he needs to perform worse than 50/50 for the next 60 matches until he can call himself "good". If 3xSoM queues were up for another two weeks, I am sure they would be happy to oblige.
I've argued with people over the number of cards in a deck many times, and I feel that having a high number of "good cards" is better than having a small number of "really good" cards. I laugh at the people who argue that with a smaller deck you're more likely to draw what you need, because if you get in that situation you're gonna NOT end up drawing it many many more times than you would.
I get that there is a very distinct difference between "lucky" and "good", but you seem to argue a very though case. OhDaisy! has, according to his post, a 34-5 record (this is single-elimination). You have a very far-fetched definition of skill in Magic if you do not think that indicates that someone is "good" in a particular format.
By your standards, he needs to perform worse than 50/50 for the next 60 matches until he can call himself "good". If 3xSoM queues were up for another two weeks, I am sure they would be happy to oblige.
Well I went 28 - 3 in games once during a stretch of RTR. I can't remember what that worked out to in matches won but it must have been 80% at least. My rating during that time managed to exceed 1800 for the only time in my life.
It was just a stretch of good luck. I was no better then than I am now, and I'm barely scraping 1600 these days. If you flip enough coins, you will hit heads 10 times in a row sometimes.
(For context, I am bji_until_I_quit_again, different account name)
I did have a great deck (Drana, Liberator of Malakir and Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim for example). Along with some timely removal and trades these three dudes were my MVPs in this game -> Ondu War Cleric, Spawnbinder Mage, and Stone Haven Medic.
1. The best manabase I've had yet: Mirrorpool, Wandering Fumarole x 2, Blighted Gorge, plus some of the colorless/5c lands from Oath. SO much value in having that many lands that functionally put you up a card later.
2. The Mirrorpool enabled one of my favorite moments from this format. I'm up against a more controlling UB build that has gotten way ahead in the game, I have a few smaller dudes out (maybe 6 power total on the board) and he has a bunch of big bodies. He swings out and puts me down to 1 after a chump block, he's at 15. He then taps out to cast Dread Defiler, so I'm dead as soon as he untaps. Except...I've been holding Press into Service all game just waiting for this moment where his shields are down, as I have enough mana to cast it AND copy it with Mirrorpool, allowing me to steal/create enough power to win the game on the spot, taking him from 15 to -6.
I had no blue I used Unknown shores to get it. I was splashing red for fall of the titans and Mina and Denn, wildborn
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
I'm also beginning to think that Gruul in OGW, OGW, BFZ draft is OP.
We're getting into the later stages of my sustained interest in OGW/BFZ drafting, so I'm going through the latter categories now, and I thought I might start a thread to see where other people at and hear about some silliness!
Achievement Unlocked: Under the Mono-lith
- Make the finals after forcing (lightly or otherwise) a mono-color deck
Difficulty: Easy
Achievement Unlocked: 2 Spells, Surge Cost, Can't Lose
- Win with both Jori En, Ruin Diver and Pyromancer's Assault on the battlefield.
Difficulty: Medium
Achievement Unlocked: Crazy 8s
- Control more than 1 Octopus token at any time.
Difficulty: Extremely difficult.
(I actually knocked the last one out at the prerelease, which is both hilariously anticlimactic and counter to the whole idea of this post.)
9 Plains
2 Weapons Trainer
1 Hedron Crawler
1 Goblin Freerunner
1 Valakut Invoker
1 Akoum Flameseeker
1 Kitesail Scout
2 Kor Sky Climber
1 Maw of Kozilek
1 Eldrazi Aggressor
1 Endless One
1 Kozilek's Channeler
1 Hedron Blade
2 Reality Hemorrhage
1 Consuming Sinkhole
1 Stonefury
1 Shoulder to Shoulder
1 Smite the Monstrous
1 Tandem Tactics
In the first round, I got crushed by a BW deck with a lot of removal. In the first game I never managed to build up a board presence because my creatures were all smaller. I managed to Stonefury my opponent's Eldrazi Displacer early on, but that was about it. In the second game my opponent led with a Carrier Thrall and I played a Hedron Blade turn one and Kor Sky Climber on turns three and four. The first one got Tar Snared and the second was removed with Smite the Monstrous after I equipped it with Hedron Blade. I think I drew a Hedron Crawler and a Reality Hemorrhage but flooded after that point and lost.
In the second round, I played against another BW Allies deck (half of the people in the six-person pod were playing BW) and in the first game I got lucky since my opponent barely drew any creatures and I got a Weapons Trainer and a Hedron Blade out. I was able to play a creature basically every turn and my opponent was only able to chump block while pinging me for 1 every turn with a Kitesail Scout. In the second game my opponent mulliganed to 5 and he never came back from the setback.
In the third round, I played a UG ramp deck. In the first game I was able to get Kitesail Scout out turn one, drop a Weapon Trainer the second, and equip a Hedron Blade on the scout turn three. My opponent played two Loam Larva and a Saddleback Lagac supporting it, but for some reason didn't attack while I was getting three damage in with the scout every turn. I played a few more creatures and my opponent played a Blight Herder and a Tajuru Pathwarden but still didn't attack. I think he was trying to go for an alpha strike the turn before I would kill him, but I drew a Smite the Monstrous and won.
In the second game my opponent was able to get big creatures onto the field by ramping with Oath of Nissa and multiple Loam Larva and I lost.
In the third game my opponent went on the offensive early with Saddleback Lagac and other creatures. I played creatures and chump blocked but still took a lot of damage due to getting mana screwed. I held back a Hedron Crawler because I needed mana and eventually got a Weapons Trainer and Hedron Blade on the field, which I equipped to Hedron Crawler. I also got a Maw of Kozilek and Kozilek's Channeler onto the field, but I was at four life at that point. I think the turning point was when my opponent attacked with a 2/4 Loam Larva, 4/2 Saddleback Lagac, 3/1 Saddleback Lagac, and Broodhunter Wurm. I used Tandem Tactics on Maw of Kozilek and Weapons Trainer and tapped my Hedron Crawler to make Maw of Kozilek a 4/3. I used Maw of Kozilek to block the Broodhunter Wurm, Kozilek's Channeler to block the 3/1 Saddleback Lagac, and Weapons Trainer to block the 4/2 Saddleback Lagac. In response my opponent played Vines of the Recluse to make the Broodhunter Wurm trade with my Maw of Kozilek. I take two from the Loam Larva putting me at 4, but the turn ends with me having more creatures. On my turn I play Akoum Flameseeker and attack with my Kozilek's Channeler, putting my opponent at 16. I equip the Hedron Blade to the Akoum Flameseeker. Over the next few turns my opponent just plays chump blockers while I play a Valakut Invoker and attack with Kozilek's Channeler every turn. Eventually my opponent plays a Skyline Cascade and targets my Kozilek's Channeler. Then my opponent gets a Blight Herder out but I use Smite the Monstrous on it, and on my turn I cast Endless One for eight, prompting my opponent to scoop. It was a pretty enjoyable game, so that is why I remember it so clearly.
So I finished with a 2-1 record. I have no idea if I just got lucky or if my deck was actually any good since round one I just got blown out. I played RW in the Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease so I guess that prompted me to eventually go for those colors. Looking back on it I passed a few creatures that might have been good like Akoum Hellkite and Kazuul's Toll Collector. My record was enough to get me second in my pod and I got two Battle for Zendikar boosters, one of which had a Drana, Liberator of Malakir. So I really got my money's worth from the $10 draft.
RGTron
UGInfect
URStorm
WUBRAd Nauseam
BRGrishoalbrand
URGScapeshift
WBGAbzan Company
WUBRGAmulet Titan
BRGLiving End
WGBogles
I managed to draw 3 off Monstrosity twice in a match last week-end at a side-event at GP Bologna and won the draft. Achievement unlocked!
L1 Judge
After my opponent used Malevolent Whispers on my only creature, I was able to stay alive at 2 life due to Jace's Scrutiny. However, my opponent still had two devils from Dance With Devils plus a Ghoulcaller's Accomplice and he was at something like 18 life.
On the next turn I had 5 lands which was only enough to cast one spell. If I killed or blocked the devils they would kill me since I was at 2 life, so how could I get out of this? It felt hopeless but I kept going.
I cast Welcome to the Fold on one of the devils to take control of it (it was still tapped, though), blocked his 2/2 the next turn with my bigger creature taking 1 from his remaining devil unblocked, and after my opponent created a 2/2 zombie on his turn, the following turn I cast Gone Missing to exile the remaining devil. Still at 1 life a bit later I cast Confirm Suspicions and with 3 clues from that and 2 from earlier spells I built a big board advantage winning the game (after luckily he did not draw any burn during the next half-dozen or so turns) with a Goldnight Castigator (who cares if damage to me is doubled, I was at 1) and a 10/11 trample Pyre Hound.
1 Angelic Purge
1 Apothecary Geist
1 Bound by Moonsilver
1 Cathar's Companion
1 Dauntless Cathar
1 Declaration in Stone
1 Descend upon the Sinful
1 Emissary of the Sleepless
1 Inquisitor's Ox
1 Pious Evangel
1 Puncturing Light
1 Silverstrike
1 Spectral Shepherd
1 Strength of Arms
1 Topplegeist
1 Vessel of Ephemera
Blue:
1 Deny Existance
1 Drownyard Explorers
1 Fleeting Memories
1 Ghostly Wings
1 Gone Missing
2 Jace's Scrutiny
1 Just the Wind
1 Lamplighter of Selhoff
1 Ongoing Investigation
1 Pieces of the Puzzle
1 Pore Over the Pages
1 Press for Answers
1 Seagraf Skaab
1 Stormrider Spirit
1 Vessel of Paramnesia
1 Alms of the Vein
1 Call the Bloodline
1 From Under the Floorboards
1 Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
1 Indulgent Aristocrat
1 Macabre Waltz
1 Olivia's Bloodsworn
1 Pick the Brain
1 Rottenheart Ghoul
1 Stallion of Ashmouth
1 Stromkirk Mentor
2 Twins of Maurer Estate
1 Vessel of Malignity
Red:
2 Breakneck Rider (1 foil)
1 Dissension in the Ranks
1 Falkenrath Gorger
2 Gatstaf Arsonists
1 Geistblast
2 Insolent Neonate
1 Mad Prophet
1 Magmatic Chasm
1 Pyre Hound
1 Reduce to Ashes
1 Rush of Adrenaline
1 Sanguinary Mage
1 Senseless Rage
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Aim High
1 Byway Courier
1 Clip Wings
1 Confront the Unknown
1 Equestrian Skill
1 Graf Mole
1 Intrepid Provisioner
2 Lambholt Pacifist
1 Loam Dryad
1 Might Beyond Reason
1 Rabid Bite
1 Seasons Past
1 Soul Swallower
1 Watcher in the Web
Artifacts:
1 Explosive Apparatus
1 Haunted Cloak
1 Runaway Carriage
1 Skeleton Key
1 True-Faith Censer
Lands:
1 Westvale Abbey
So two mythic rares and two $10 non-mythic rares and just a bunch of "mythic" uncommons. Every rare was playable and I could find reasons to play every color, but nothing was stronger than my GW and I couldn't resist playing Descend Upon the Sinful and Seasons Past in the same deck. I called the deck "Sinful Past".
The highlight of my night was sacrificing 5 creatures to Westvale Abbey when I had a transformed Pious Evangel (Wayward Disciple) on the battlefield. I then cast Seasons Past on my next turn and got most of the creatures I sacrificed back. My opponent said that it felt like he was playing a sealed deck against a standard constructed deck, I agreed and said I'd feel the same way I if I had to play against my deck.
I still only went 3-1 because I flooded hard and drew 6 lands in a row in 2 of the 3 games of my first match.
2nd place behind Paulo after round 3 of Pro Tour M15
(finished 8-8, but beat Alexander Hayne and Ben Stark)
Inquisitors ox + gyrffs boon + uncaged fury. He had an angel blocker to block my other flying werewolf but didn't see that combo coming.lol
1 Thraben Inspector
1 Town Gossipmonger
1 Village Messenger
1 Moorland Drifter
3 Sanguinary Mage
1 Bloodmad Vampire
1 Cathar's Companion
1 Dauntless Cathar
2 Mad Prophet
1 Odric, Lunarch Marshal
1 Flameblade Angel
2 Not Forgotten
1 Ethereal Guidance
1 Fiery Temper
1 Uncaged Fury
Enchantments (4)
1 Gryff's Boon
1 Nahiri's Machinations
1 Senseless Rage
1 Bound By Moonsilver
1 True-Faith Censer
Land (16)
1 Westvale Abbey
1 Warped Landscape
7 plains
7 mountain
I have again reached 2020 in Limited rating on MTGO. The Shadowmoor and Cube gods have been kind to me. After 15 3x SHM, 9 SHMSHMEVE and currently 11 Cube drafts, I am left with 23 3-0s. All in the single elimination queues, for what it is worth. The total W/L is 83-12, if my quick math is right.
In Shadowmoor drafts, I don't think I have any in-depth wisdom beyond "try to go for monocolor, possibly with a light splash. Monowhite and monored are clearly the best, and the former can support two good decks". That format will not return for another year or so at minimum, so I do not think my thoughts are relevant to any great extent.
In Vintage cube, prioritize mana highly. Mana is the limiting factor of any Vintage cube deck, and the acceleration and silly-good fixing is what allows you to do all the other broken stuff. Exceptions are made for monored and monowhite, but I personally do not feel comfortable taking the risk of drafting either deck, as either deck cannot really support two players. Two-cards combos with interchangeable pieces are the best ways to win unless you are either of the aforementioned decks, but early planeswalkers work too. The most typical two-card combos are Kiki/Twin and basic mana-cheating (Reanimator/Show&Tell/Channel/Welder/etc.).
I am happy to answer any questions
Edit: Aaaaand I lost in the first round. It seems the 2020 is not meant to be broken.
Thank you!
The below screenshot is one of my favorite limited games I've ever played. It perfectly outlined what was so great about this format: races were interesting, competitive, and -- lest we forget -- often decided by one extra card. I've pulled out the graveyards, and you can actually piece together almost exactly how the game played out (Ed. Note: Well, not exactly. The chat log would have helped. I had Blackcleave Goblin equipped with Darksteel Axe and Fume Spitter on the battlefield, at 5 life, with Untamed Might and a Forest in hand. My opponent, at 4 poison counters, cast Tumble Magnet, tapped my Goblin, and swung out. I blocked Tyrannax and put a counter on the Berserkers that already have a counter from Instill Infection, which meant I dropped to 2 life. It seems clear to me now in hindsight that if he just taps my Fume Spitter, I actually probably don't win this game, given that I have to block Tyrannax and still have to Spit the counter at something to stay alive. Obviously, my opponent's follow-up is the second Berserkers, and when I draw Putrefax I realize that I will win, exactly tapped out, my opponent exactly tapped out, from 1 life, for exactly 10 poison counters. And scene.)
In another game, I started the game by casting 4 straight 2-for-1s: Arc Trail into Instill Infection into Oxidda Scrapmelter into Turn to Slag targeting an equipped creature: I don't have a screenshot for that one, and it was certainly way less fun for my opponent that I imagine the screenshotted game was, even if he lost.
<3 you, Scars of Mirrodin. Can't wait to ruin your majesty with splashed Fangren Marauders galore.
Unless you really are good, but we won't know that until you announce that you've won 65 out of 100.
By your standards, he needs to perform worse than 50/50 for the next 60 matches until he can call himself "good". If 3xSoM queues were up for another two weeks, I am sure they would be happy to oblige.
Wait, do you mean to imply that a 14-match sample isn't enough to declare me World Champion of Magic?!?!
<----- Venting thread is thattaway, chief.
Well I went 28 - 3 in games once during a stretch of RTR. I can't remember what that worked out to in matches won but it must have been 80% at least. My rating during that time managed to exceed 1800 for the only time in my life.
It was just a stretch of good luck. I was no better then than I am now, and I'm barely scraping 1600 these days. If you flip enough coins, you will hit heads 10 times in a row sometimes.
(For context, I am bji_until_I_quit_again, different account name)
Just trying to keep Icarus away from the sun ...
But I'm so cloooooooose...
EDIT: He was right, I'm only at 65% in MBS matches