If any of you are like me, you've been itching to dig into the Conspiracy format ever since it was announced. Unfortunately, the unusual nature of the draft (and the fact it won't be on Magic Online) means there probably won't be a lot of analysis of the format from professional players. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and delved deep into the card file to bring you some of my thoughts. I am by no means a professional, but these are my impressions having read over the card file a few times. Hopefully I'm not the only one interested in learning the ins and outs of the format. EDIT: I've added my follow up observations to the post after many drafts of the format.
White
White has always been a color capable of both offense and defense. In CNS, it seems to lean heavily towards the latter, with multiple defenders at common and a lot more toughness than power. CNS in general appears to be a slower format, and the few aggressive creatures that do exist (Silverchase Fox, Ajani's Sunstriker) will quickly find themselves up against Pride Guardians and Plated Seastriders. In general White's gameplan seems to be stalling until it can land a big Apex Hawks or punch through with Unquestioned Authority (or a well positioned Council Guardian), but its lack of good attackers means it will most likely need to be supported by a color with bigger creatures or a better gameplan. An important note about whtie is that it is utterly devoid of removal. There are literally no common white removal spells, and uncommon has only Swords to Plowshares and Vow of Duty.
Individual Notes
Brago's Representative - In addition to being a good defensive body, this card offers up a lot of value for white's many WotC cards. Additionally, it seems like this plus Grudge Keeper is meant to set up a small WotC theme in white and black (the other color with many voting cards). Not sure this is a viable archetype, but it could be a cool subtheme. Obviously great in multiples.
Soulcatcher, Wakestone Gargoyle & Intangible Virtue - There are very obvious archetypes of fliers, defenders, and tokens in WU, RW, and GW respectively. These cards are obvious plants and should be taken accordingly.
Swords to Plowshares - As mentioned earlier, this the only true removal spell in white. It's a damn good one, but it's worth remembering that white will be strapped for removal, especially if its paired with a traditionally poor removal color like blue or green.
Rout - I don't want to talk too much about rares, since this is an analysis for limited, but I will point out that Rout is the only reliable wrath effect in the format (The other two both rely on voting (Magister of Worth and Coercive Portal)
Blue
Blue seems to be a bit more well rounded than White, having a decent mix of defensive and evasive creatures. Blue's biggest strength in CNS is its card draw. With incredibly strong draw power at both common (Brainstorm, Compulsive Research) and uncommon (Breakthrough, Fact or Fiction) Blue seems like it would rather let other people duke it out while it sculpts the perfect hand for the late game. With a clear game plan of winning with powerful fliers like Air Servant or Jetting Glasskite, blue seems like it could pair well with most colors, its greatest weakness (per-usual) being it's lack of hard removal.
Individual Notes
Screaming Seahawk - CNS is full of many ways to utilize extra copies of the same creature. Not only is Seahawk naturally good in a flock, it's bad enough on it's own that it shouldn't be hard to pick up multiples.
Brainstorm - Little needs to be said about the power of brainstorm. I do want to mention that even though there are no fetch lands to shuffle away the top cards, the set does include Parley as well as a number of other top-deck interactions like Wood Sage.
Dream Fracture - This is the only hard counter in the set, and at common you can expect it to come up a lot. Just be sure to remind your opponents that they got to draw a card too, since nothing makes enemies faster than countering spells.
Wind Dancer, Air Servant, & Favorable Winds - If the WU fliers deck exists, these are the cards it wants to have. Wind Dancer in particular seems important as a way to get non-fliers into the air.
Black
Black has a lot of very strong effects, but they're backed up by an anemic creature suite. Few of the black creatures are just plain bad, almost all of them offer a decent amount of value, but their pure size is lacking. They can't really punch through defenders, nor block especially well. This in my mind makes black more of a support color, but it's probably the best one. Removal is weak in this format, but black has the best of it (Tragic Slip, Assassinate, Reckless Spite, etc.). Most black spells are powerful on their own, but have a lot of favorable interactions as well. Black's greatest weakness will probably be it's uncanny ability to make enemies. Syphon Soul and Smallpox may be powerful, but they won't make you very popular.
Individual Notes
Grudge Keeper - As mentioned earlier, this could go well in a WB WotC deck. Unlike Brago's Representative, a 2/1 body won't do much in this format, which means this needs a little more support to really shine. Also, don't forget this triggers on any vote, not just your own.
Altar's Reap & Plagued Rusalka - This set does not feature a whole ton of death triggers, but it does feature a lot of Morbid, which is where these cards will shine. As mentioned before, most black cards are playable on their own but interact well with others, and these two are prime examples.
Victimize - Black has a lot of ways to get creatures into graveyards, and a lot of ways to get them back to its hand, but not a lot of ways to simply reanimate them. This is the only mono-black reanimation card in the set, so use it wisely.
Red has always been a troubled child in multiplayer. The standard philosophy of "kill fast or die trying" doesn't quite work when there are multiple opponents. Ironically, it appears that Red is going to be one of the more political colors in CNS. While lacking in much of its traditional direct damage (Brimstone Volley and Orcish Cannonade the only real burn spells), Red has many ways of controlling the pace and flow of battle (Boldwyr Intimidator, Heckling Fiends, Uncontrollable Anger, Wrap in Flames, etc.). Red is going to be a real mover and shaker in CNS, but it's up to the player to convince everyone else to join in. Red's decently sized creatures makes it a good match with just about every color, though its synergy with blue does leave something to be desired.
Individual Notes
Grenzo's Cutthroat - Dethrone is an ability that shows up on a number of cards in Red and Blue, but the cutthroat seems by far the best, given how strong a 2 mana 2/2 first striker is. Dethrone creatures get better in a group, since swarming the "throne" means more of them are likely to survive and attack another day, but I think any sort of "dethrone deck" needs to start with this guy; I don't think Enraged Revolutionary and Marchesa's Emissary can do it on their own.
Vent Sentinel - This is the backbone of the RW defender deck. Granted, Red has only two defenders (the other being Cinder Wall) so it's unlikely that the deck will be as focused as it was in RoE draft. Still, being defensive is hardly a bad idea in a multiplayer game, and having a way to kill people while turtling is even better.
Trumpet Blast - I think it's important to mention here that this card does not say "you control." This means it can be used to pump another player's team during their turn. Not sure if this makes Trumpet Blast amazing, but it certainly gets a good deal better.
Sulfuric Vortex - This is a card that's impossible to ignore. It steps on the gas pedal and almost ensures action. It's also the kind of card that attracts a lot of attention and creates a big target. In general, I think it's important to remember this card exists and play accordingly.
Green
For the most part, Green is business as usual. It has a solid curve with the best top end of any other color. CNS overall seems pretty weak, which means having decent creatures gives green the opportunity to out number (Squirrel Nest, Selvala's Charge) and overpower (Charging Rhino, Pelakka Wurm) almost everyone else. Though green has a decent number of Parley cards, most of what it does isn't political or multiplayer oriented. In short, green can speak softly with its big stick, or become the playground bully. Green is a solid color that seems like it could be supplemented by all four others, though each in a different way.
Copperhorn Scout - It should be noted that in a multiplayer setting, this card may not be horrible.
Sporecap Spider, Plummet - Blue and White both have a lot of powerful fliers, and it's more than likely a payer will be "the fliers deck", which makes these cards better than normal, and both were fine before.
Echoing Courage - This card has always been fine: a serviceable pump spell with some incidental advantage. Here, it's even better, fitting perfectly into the tokens deck and the "multiples" deck.
Provoke - There's no fighting in CNS, which means this is as close to non-flier removal as green gets. This is an important point to remember when drafting green alongside other removal light colors like white or blue.
Respite - Like Trumpet Blast, the ability to use this on another player's turn increases its value.
Sakura-Tribe Elder - The elder has always been a solid creature, but don't forget its hidden ability to trigger morbid.
Multicolor
In recent years, Wizards has begun using uncommon gold cards to shape the draft, giving each two color pair its own archetype. CNS is no exception, and I'll use these cards to talk about the different strategies that appear to be available.
Sky Spirit - The WU archetype is Fliers, using cards like Favorable Winds and Soulcatcher. This one is pretty straightforward, and while I think it can vary in intensity of how many "flying matters" cards you have, the general defensive stats of White and Blue's ground creatures means that flying is almost always going to be the win condition of this pair.
Extract from Darkness - UB is a color pair that feels a bit mismatched in this format. While both have powerful spells, they don't seem to have much synergy. Even the "mill and reanimate" plan that Extract seems to suggest is suspect, since little of either exists at lower rarities. The idea of a UB "graveyard deck" is certainly possible, but it would rely heavily on key rares such as Academy Elite, Drakestown Forgotten, and Dimir Doppelganger.
Spontaneous Combustion - BR in CNS is definitely a control deck, using removal and sweepers like this one to keep the board clear. There's a small sacrifice theme in Black (not so much in red as there was in say SoM or INN), but this card in particular helps clear away the small guys for Black's edict effects to really hit home.
Fires of Yavimaya - Red and Green are the colors with the best attacking creatures. RG is set up well for an aggressive midranged deck, and while this strategy is reliable (since it doesn't require specific support cards), it's also dangerous to play in a group situation. I have a feeling RG beats is going to be a strong deck, just a hard one to manage in a political game.
Mortify - this card has little to do with WB as a deck, which I believe is a defensive control deck that wants to abuse Will of the Council with Brago's Representative and Grudge Keeper. The good defensive creatures of white and the good removal of black (along with mortify) do combine well, but the deck may be stuck with no way to win. Then again, a savy player just weather the storm as their opponents kill each other, and vote manipulation is a good way of doing so.
Marchesa's Smuggler - UR is set up as the "dethrone" deck, which isn't bad, but doesn't seem all that great either. This card in particular would be a much welcome addition, as getting your dethrone creatures up to size means compounding bonuses. The main problem with dethrone is that your creatures have to get over the "hump" of those first 2-3 attacks. Once their big enough, their size alone means they can effectively battle. This card definitely helps with that, and is more than fine without other dethrone cards, but I think the entire idea might end up being too cute to be practical.
Deathreap Ritual - Morbid is very strong with more players in the game, and this card fits right into a BG deck. The nice thing about morbid is that, while building around it is possible, it's not necessary. Morbid cards are pretty much all good solo, so any additional synergy is just gravy.
Flamewright - It's rare for RW to be a defensive deck, let alone a deck built specifically around defenders, but here we are. This card seems great in the defender deck, but also fine without it. Red and White both have enough decent cards that a RW deck could definitely end up being not defender based. Still, that won't stop me from trying to live the defender dream.
Wood Sage - The GU "deck" is pretty subtle, but interesting. I believe the general idea is that the GU deck wants to have as many copies of a certain creature as they can, most likely Screaming Seahawk or Howling Wolf. Not only do they combo with themselves and Wood Sage, but also with the many Hidden Agenda conspiracies. I don't know if this deck is real or just a pipe dream, but it definitely seems like something worth trying out. (Outside of this deck, Wood Sage seems very hard to use well, though it does mill you.)
(Normal) Artifacts
There's not much to say about the "normal" artifacts in the set. Warmonger's Chariot is a nice card for the defender deck (especially on Cinder Wall), and Spectral Searchlight has some obviously interesting applications in multiplayer. I wanted to make this a separate section though to emphasize the point that "cogwork" creatures (the artifact creatures that affect the draft in special ways) appear in the same slot as conspiracies, not as a normal card. These cards (what I like to called "Stamped" cards, due to their stamp watermark) replace the basic land slot, meaning one appears in each pack. Like DFC, these cards work on their own rarity, meaning its possible to get both a normal rare and a "stamped" rare.
"Stamped" Slot
The unique "Stamped" cards are the most interesting part of CNS as a draft format. There are two types: Artifacts (and lands) that do things during the draft itself, and the Conspiracies that take effect once the game has started. The fact they appear only once per pack means you probably wont see a lot of duplicates, but rarity still does play a large factor here.
At common, Whispergear Sneak and Cogwork Spy both seem underwhelming. They provide fun effects and are marginally playable otherwise. Cogwork Librarian seems like an incredibly powerful card, allowing you to take two cards from a pack at any point in the future. The fact that it's put into the pack when its used means you'll most likely get to pick one up late in each pack to use early in the next one. If you get stuck with it at the end, it's still a reasonable creature. Lurking Automaton has potential, but it is also easy to counterdraft. Still, getting this up to a 4/4 or 5/5 makes it big enough to tangle with most creatures in the format, and as a common it's likely you'll find at least one more copy. Common conspiracies are all reasonable, with the best IMO being Brago's Favor. A one mana discount on potentially 3 or 4 copies of a creature can be huge. It's important to note that 4 of the 5 common conspiracies are Hidden Agendas, and all of them deal with creatures. This makes the "multiples" plan somewhat of a safe bet, since it's likely you'll get at least 2 or 3 HA's over the course of the draft. Sentinel Dispatch is a nice card for the defender deck.
Uncommon has only two cogwork creatures, and neither is super exciting. Agent of Acquisitions looks fun, but it seems worse than the Librarian; the probability of getting a "perfect pack" are far less than getting one with just two cards you want. Cogwork Tracker is a little better than he looks given how small most creatures in the format are (a 4/4 for 4 is pretty efficient) but the downside is real. Uncommon conspiracies include Double Stroke and Iterative Analysis, which could lead to a fun spell based deck if it were not for both being uncommon (making it far less likely to see both, let alone multiples of each). Unexpected Potential seems excellent as simply a free splash. I would be careful with multiples of Advantageous Proclamation though, as games can run long and having too small of a deck could start to become a liability.
The rares have varying levels of playability, but all seem incredibly fun. Some, like Backup Plan are obviously powerful. Others, like Lore Seeker, are a bit of a crap shoot until we can play with them ourselves.
Follow Up Observations
I've been able to draft the format quite a few times now. I'd say the vast majority of what's in the OP still holds true. There are a few things I've picked up in my time with the set that I can share.
- Mid-ranged creatures are generally good. They allow you to apply offensive pressure while not being a lightning rod for removal. On the ground that usually means 4/4s and 5/5s, enough to breach through the Vent Sentinels and Plated Seastriders. In the air, a 3/3 is very solid (Custodi Squire is an all-star)
- Every game is different of course, but certain archetypes are almost inevitable (especially if the entire table is playing in the same game). There's almost always a dedicated Fliers deck, which makes cards like Plummet always live, but usually only against a single person. Depending on your play group you may or may not get to sideboard (if you're playing multiple rounds) so keep that in mind.
- Hidden Agendas are incredibly strong, but to maximize their power you have to draft accordingly. A HA will always be decent, but if you have the choice between two similar cards, it is far better to have 4 of one and 1 of the other than to split the difference. Additionally, the "pack" cards (Howling Wolf and Screaming Seahawk) are fine, but not amazing. Yes they combo well with conspiracies, but their base stats are bad enough that rarely is it worth it to go all in for that express purpose. Basically, HA's are good enough with multiple copies of any card that you don't really need to prioritize these two creatures highly.
- There are a few archetypes that aren't mentioned in the OP. I think the most notable ones are White/x voltron, Red/x burn, and Black/x removal.
White voltron piles auras on a creature to make a large, evasive threat. Unquestioned Authority and Vow of Duty are an incredibly strong combination, especially on the incredibly resilient Council Guardian.
Red burn just kills through cards like Vent Sentinel (which is great even outside of the dedicated defender deck), but the real combo is Mana Geyser (already great on its own) with Deathforge Shaman. The important thing to remember here is that this is not EDH: people start at 20 and usually only go down from there. Late game it is very easy to snipe people.
Black removal just stock piles Assassinates and Tragic Slips and just plays the table, dispatching threats in return for favors from other players. Given how hard it is to make friends in black thanks to your devastating WotC cards (and Smallpox), playing hit man for the table is a good way to keep the target off your back. Plus, the lack of good removal in the set (the two aforementioned cards being some of the only good kill spells) makes you very valuable.
A couple of notes on individual cards:
The rare +1/+1 counter cycle: In case you were doubtful: yes, they are very good. Played correctly they range from solid creature to game-ending bomb.
The land cycling cycle: These are also very good, as pretty much all of them can serve as win conditions.
Custodi Squire: Probably white's best common, the combination of flying and card advantage (even if it's sometimes lackluster) is very strong. As I said, a 3/3 in the air is plenty in this format.
Reckless Scholar: It's worth noting that this can let other players loot, which is an excellent tool for diplomacy
Plated Seastrider: This is probably one of my favorite cards to draft, mostly because it comes around late and goes excellently with conspiracies. It blocks everything early game and can even wear auras well. This is not a strong card, but I mention it because in Conspiracy, cards like this that are usually bad have the potential to be all stars.
Reign of the Pit: There are enough 1/1s in this format that this is often underwhelming. That said, it's far from bad.
Syphon Soul: Probably black's best common, even more so than the two removal spells. It only takes a few copies and a few conspiracies (Double Stroke) for this to make you nigh unkillable.
Typhoid Rats: deathtouch blockers are invaluable in this format.
Squirrel Nest, Pelakka Wurm: These two cards put me in Green; they represent what Green does well in this format and can easily go in the same deck. I don't know if I need to convince anyone these two are great, but they weren't in the OP so I thought I'd mention them.
Deal Broker: This has been very underwhelming for me. Perhaps the people drafting it haven't gone enough out of their way to use it well, but in the 4 or 5 times it's shown up I don't think a single trade has been made.
Lurking Automaton: This has over preformed for me. It's rarely smaller than a 6/6 (which is pretty big in this format), but the combo with Agent of Acquisitions is powerful enough that this card is incredibly dangerous.
Cogwork Librarian: Far and away the most useful draft ability. Some of my friends take this as early as first, and while I wouldn't go that far I do think it should be drafted and used aggressively, as the more time it spends in a pack the greater the chance you'll be seeing it come back. It is worth noting that a 3/3 is a lot smaller than a 4/4 in this format, which means this'll rarely see play main deck.
Brago's Favor: One of the best HA's, it's important to remember this while deck building. Figure out what card to name and use it's new reduced cost to determine your curve, rather than building your curve and applying the Favor later.
Secrets of Paradise: I consider this to be the most powerful HA, easily first pick-able over all but the most powerful bombs. It ramps and fixes your mana, making bad creatures good and good creatures better. If you're drafting intelligently you can easily have 4 to 5 mana creatures, and I feel that opening a late Secrets is one of the main reasons to draft multiples of cheap creatures even without other conspiracy support. You'll never actually have to make this choice, but I'd probably pick it over other top-tier conspiracies like Backup Plan or Double Stroke
Conspiracy still continues to excite me, and I may be inspired to write a full limited set review if I find the time. Let me know if you have any further questions or your own observations to share, there are many things I don't know just from drafting with my play group.
Hope you enjoyed this early look into the Conspiracy draft format. Let me know if you have any other ideas of if there's something I've missed.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
I almost agree with every point you made, except for one:
Dethrone.
Dethrone is the ability I think everybody is skeptical about, but will do well (like the B/U mill plan in INN). Dethrone makes your creatures a bit stronger every time as long as you attack the person with the most life. So it turns into potentially a "politics-less" advantage. Normally, attacking causes people to react negatively. In a setting where you get more benefit for attacking a specific player (who might change each time, of course), it can be significantly easier to convince the table that you're "just attacking the player with the most life for my ability". It's "cute" at worst, but perfectly applicable and deadly without painting a giant target on your head.
I think the same can be said for Parley, but I'm not completely sure if all the effects are powerful enough for that ability.
Taking another look, I do think I undersold Dethrone a bit. That said, I don't think it's really going to be a "politically neutral" action. While most players will be glad you're not attacking them, it won't stop them from recognizing that your creature is getting bigger and bigger. At best you might convince everyone that attacking the throne is a good idea, but at worst you're attracting attention to yourself by creating a threat that will eventually be turned on them. Let's also not forget its many downsides: you have to attack the throne for the bonus, and if the throne has better blockers you're not going to be getting too many triggers. If you're the throne, it does nothing. I could see it working out well sometimes, but it seems far too situational to be a reliable strategy IMO.
Private Mod Note
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It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
I do see your point, and I admit that there will be times that you'll be stuck with a perhaps sub-par card. Even worse is if/when you ARE the "throne". That being said, I feel that it's important to maintain board neutrality. I've played so much multiplayer that I'm in the firm realm of awareness on this situation. I do respect your points, though, and I believe I might be overselling Dethrone. However, attacking a player is always a bad thing in the early stages of a game, and Dethrone at least somewhat helps mitigate that problem.
I was fortunate enough to play in a CNS draft yesterday as my LGS was opening packs for singles to have ready for sale on Friday. There were 5 participants in the draft, myself and the 4 staff members of the store. Not ideal, but still fun! The draft portion itself was a bit of a grind as we all had to wrap our brains around some of the "draft face up" cards.
I ended up going Dimir and I don't think that was the best idea. I had a decent amount of creatures in my deck, 18, but nothing overly powerful. Efficient removal is pretty well non-existent, so I had difficulty trying to control anyone else's board, let alone 4 opponents. Going forward, I'll be trying to draft big/dumb creatures as they're always a constant threat and aren't easy to deal with.
I also noticed that while Dethrone seems like a good mechanic in theory, it wasn't great in practice as so many creatures hit the table and stick until they're actually removed by crashing into other creatures. Your Dethrone creatures rarely have a chance to get more than one +1/+1 token before they die.
One of the best strategies I saw was having a fair amount of voting cards + Grudge Keeper or other hurt all opponents cards like Infectious Horror as they can do tons of work. That being said, you won't make many friends at the table with cards like that
The political aspect of the game is really interesting and adds a great dimension to tournament play. That being said, I got to play with friends, and it might not be nearly as fun when you're playing with a group of strangers and you're forced to stab them in the back.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
We had our first Conspiracy drafts today (16 people, two full pods) - I managed to play two games and watch several others. Some random things I noticed (most of which concur with spiral8's observations):
* The ground clogs up very quickly and before you know it, you're at the Mexican standoff, where there are no good ways to attack anyone (for example I had 14/4 Realm Seekers on the board on turn six and attacked with them only two times during the whole game, because blocking duty was way more important). Any form of evasion - be it flying, landwalk, protection or whatever, even pingers like Vent Sentinel - is at a premium here.
* Dethrone is generally overrated for reasons stated above - unless you have some form of evasion, your small creatures simply won't be able to connect.
* Most of conspiracies are pretty weak but there are a few that are worth considering (like Brago's Favor or Immediate Action). In the right deck Double Stroke could be awesome - I've seen it copying Tyrant's Choice with Grudge Keeper on the table and it made a ton of work for its caster.
The release notes only talk about drafting the Lore Seeker with the agent. I was talking about drafting the Lore Seeker, then using the agent to grab the entire new pack of 15 for yourself (instead of having to share it with the other players). Granted, this is not an amazing interaction, it's just one I missed when I first talked about the card.
Thanks for your input Vysogota! Do you have any insight on the draft-effect cards? Those seem to be the hardest to analyze without experiencing them first hand.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Do you have any insight on the draft-effect cards? Those seem to be the hardest to analyze without experiencing them first hand.
You mean the artifact creatures? Well, as far as I remember, only six of them appeared at my pod: Cogwork Grinder (quite good in the first pack, so-so in the second, plain bad in the third), Cogwork Spy (filler 2/1 flyer for 3, nobody cares about his ability), Cogwork Tracker (not that good, the ground is usually too stalled for him), Lurking Automaton (decent when passed late, bad when drafted early), Whispergear Sneak (more than useless, easily the worst of them all), and Cogwork Librarian (good in first two packs, much worse in the third).
I got Deal broker in two drafts, and no one traded me anything that good. To be fair, in the first Draft I had Worldknit and planned to play my craziest cards, and in the Second one i had Cogwork grinder so most of my pool was not actually in my pool. It's still fine as a 2/3 looter. A strategy with him might be to offer something worth a few dollars, or offer a nice looking foil. I had a foil Nature's Claim, but I was too tired to really think of offering it.
I started as UB... pack one but I just had removal tyrant's choice which seemed really underdrafted I had 3 and card draw, I am not quite sure what the win for for U/B will be but draw removal and flyiers seems good enough. I opened the Magister and toed the line between the UW flyiers and BW control decks I ended up facing. I rode air servant to victory with the magister arriving just time to win the game.
courier hawk was really good for me... I had muzzio's preparations naming it.. it just prevented my UW flyier opposition from doing anything against me 2/3 to his 2/2's
The landcyclers are some of the best cards in the format. There's not many big creatures, so a 3/4 or 4/5 will dominate the board. If you pick up an early Victimize or [/card]Extract from Darkness[/card] reanimator is definitely possible, blue draw to find your reanimation spell and landcyclers to give you a target. I went G/B with an early victimize and splashed blue for Extract and won my games, having 4 landcyclers meant it was easy to get powerful targets in the graveyard to reanimate.
I'd also like to point out that Vow of Duty has proven phenomenal in the format. It's a sideways method of putting pressure on your opponents (And keeping it off of you), as well as a great late buffer when it's down to you and one other opponent. I personally think anybody playing white would benefit greatly from having some number in their deck.
After getting to play in a couple of conspiracy drafts, I think most of this analysis holds up pretty well. The only card I may have undersold a bit was Lurking Automaton, which was easily a 7 or 8 most of the times I saw it. Perhaps that's just people being unadjusted to the format, or maybe it's just that good.
Something you may add is that Sentinel Dispatch gets significantly better in black decks. You can usually pick it up late, and provides a free body for the rusalka, altar's reap or victimize.
Also, most conspiracies are worthy of being picked up early (1-3 picks) imo. They always have a use regardless of the deck you end up with, and getting beefed up minions or extra cards\copies of spells for free is amazing.
Thank you. I agree that the Conspiracies proved to be incredibly strong, especially the Hidden Agendas. While all of them were great, the stand out for me was Secrets of Paradise. It fixes your mana and ramps you for free, and both of those things are very good in this format. Needless to say, the Hidden Agendas all scale with how many of the named cards you have.
The landcyclers are some of the best cards in the format. There's not many big creatures, so a 3/4 or 4/5 will dominate the board. If you pick up an early Victimize or [/card]Extract from Darkness[/card] reanimator is definitely possible, blue draw to find your reanimation spell and landcyclers to give you a target. I went G/B with an early victimize and splashed blue for Extract and won my games, having 4 landcyclers meant it was easy to get powerful targets in the graveyard to reanimate.
The land cyclers were definitely powerful, but I never saw them as amazing. I would definitely main deck all of them, but in my experience the format is focused much more around 6 or 7 power guys (one of the many reasons Pelakka Wurm is insane). Then again, I guess it depends on how big the game is and who's playing in it.
I'd also like to point out that Vow of Duty has proven phenomenal in the format. It's a sideways method of putting pressure on your opponents (And keeping it off of you), as well as a great late buffer when it's down to you and one other opponent. I personally think anybody playing white would benefit greatly from having some number in their deck.
I agree, vow of duty even gets better as a normal aura thanks to the increased value of vigilance in a multiplayer game.
I'm definitely in love with this format, and I may go back and list out what I think are the best commons and uncommons at some point.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Any updates? I'm about to get my first Conspiracy draft in and I'm wondering what the main draft deck archetypes are for this format. Even high level ideas would be great since drafts can be overwhelming even without all the additional shenanigans that this set adds. Can't wait to try it!
I've been able to draft the format quite a few times now. I'd say the vast majority of what's in the OP still holds true. There are a few things I've picked up in my time with the set that I can share.
- Mid-ranged creatures are generally good. They allow you to apply offensive pressure while not being a lightning rod for removal. On the ground that usually means 4/4s and 5/5s, enough to breach through the Vent Sentinels and Plated Seastriders. In the air, a 3/3 is very solid (Custodi Squire is an all-star)
- Every game is different of course, but certain archetypes are almost inevitable (especially if the entire table is playing in the same game). There's almost always a dedicated Fliers deck, which makes cards like Plummet always live, but usually only against a single person. Depending on your play group you may or may not get to sideboard (if you're playing multiple rounds) so keep that in mind.
- Hidden Agendas are incredibly strong, but to maximize their power you have to draft accordingly. A HA will always be decent, but if you have the choice between two similar cards, it is far better to have 4 of one and 1 of the other than to split the difference. Additionally, the "pack" cards (Howling Wolf and Screaming Seahawk) are fine, but not amazing. Yes they combo well with conspiracies, but their base stats are bad enough that rarely is it worth it to go all in for that express purpose. Basically, HA's are good enough with multiple copies of any card that you don't really need to prioritize these two creatures highly.
- There are a few archetypes that aren't mentioned in the OP. I think the most notable ones are White/x voltron, Red/x burn, and Black/x removal.
White voltron piles auras on a creature to make a large, evasive threat. Unquestioned Authority and Vow of Duty are an incredibly strong combination, especially on the incredibly resilient Council Guardian.
Red burn just kills through cards like Vent Sentinel (which is great even outside of the dedicated defender deck), but the real combo is Mana Geyser (already great on its own) with Deathforge Shaman. The important thing to remember here is that this is not EDH: people start at 20 and usually only go down from there. Late game it is very easy to snipe people.
Black removal just stock piles Assassinates and Tragic Slips and just plays the table, dispatching threats in return for favors from other players. Given how hard it is to make friends in black thanks to your devastating WotC cards (and Small Pox), playing hit man for the table is a good way to keep the target off your back. Plus, the lack of good removal in the set (the two aforementioned cards being some of the only good kill spells) makes you very valuable.
A couple of notes on individual cards:
The rare +1/+1 counter cycle: In case you were doubtful: yes, they are very good. Played correctly they range from solid creature to game-ending bomb.
The land cycling cycle: These are also very good, as pretty much all of them can serve as win conditions.
Custodi Squire: Probably white's best common, the combination of flying and card advantage (even if it's sometimes lackluster) is very strong. As I said, a 3/3 in the air is plenty in this format.
Reckless Scholar: It's worth noting that this can let other players loot, which is an excellent tool for diplomacy
Plated Seastrider: This is probably one of my favorite cards to draft, mostly because it comes around late and goes excellently with conspiracies. It blocks everything early game and can even wear auras well. This is not a strong card, but I mention it because in Conspiracy, cards like this that are usually bad have the potential to be all stars.
Reign of the Pit: There are enough 1/1s in this format that this is often underwhelming. That said, it's far from bad.
Syphon Soul: Probably black's best common, even more so than the two removal spells. It only takes a few copies and a few conspiracies (Double Stroke) for this to make you nigh unkillable.
Typhoid Rats: deathtouch blockers are invaluable in this format.
Squirrel Nest, Pelakka Wurm: These two cards put me in Green; they represent what Green does well in this format and can easily go in the same deck. I don't know if I need to convince anyone these two are great, but they weren't in the OP so I thought I'd mention them.
Deal Broker: This has been very underwhelming for me. Perhaps the people drafting it haven't gone enough out of their way to use it well, but in the 4 or 5 times it's shown up I don't think a single trade has been made.
Lurking Automaton: This has over preformed for me. It's rarely smaller than a 6/6 (which is pretty big in this format), but the combo with Agent of Acquisitions is powerful enough that this card is incredibly dangerous.
Cogwork Librarian: Far and away the most useful draft ability. Some of my friends take this as early as first, and while I wouldn't go that far I do think it should be drafted and used aggressively, as the more time it spends in a pack the greater the chance you'll be seeing it come back. It is worth noting that a 3/3 is a lot smaller than a 4/4 in this format, which means this'll rarely see play main deck.
Brago's Favor: One of the best HA's, it's important to remember this while deck building. Figure out what card to name and use it's new reduced cost to determine your curve, rather than building your curve and applying the Favor later.
Secrets of Paradise: I consider this to be the most powerful HA, easily first pick-able over all but the most powerful bombs. It ramps and fixes your mana, making bad creatures good and good creatures better. If you're drafting intelligently you can easily have 4 to 5 mana creatures, and I feel that opening a late Secrets is one of the main reasons to draft multiples of cheap creatures even without other conspiracy support. You'll never actually have to make this choice, but I'd probably pick it over other top-tier conspiracies like Backup Plan or Double Stroke
Conspiracy still continues to excite me, and I may be inspired to write a full limited set review if I find the time. Let me know if you have any further questions or your own observations to share, there are many things I don't know just from drafting with my play group.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Quick update (I'll add a link to my draft list later if anyone is interested). I drafted a blue-black deck, since those two colors seemed pretty open. Partway through the draft I remembered the possibility of a good Morbid theme deck, but had I missed out on a couple of early cards that might have helped with that. My deck was nothing special with no money rares, but it curved out well and was good enough to survive. In fact due to some shrewd diplomacy (and timely saving of some opponents who repaid the favor) I ended up second in both 5-player games. I found it to be a pretty fun format and am looking forward to drafting again.
Some of my best cards:
Grudge Keeper seemed really fun for getting you way in votes. I wish I had more voting cards to go with it (I only had two).
Altar of Dementia really scared other players since most of us had 40 card decks (especially the guy with the card that let him start with a smaller 35-card deck!).
Drakestown Forgotten was a bomb. His ability to snipe smaller annoying creatures was very useful in playing the political game.
Just want to add my input after 4 or 5 conspiricy drafts that the cycle of rares that enter with +1/+1 counters are nearly always stronger than people give them credit for. Realm Seekers and Ignition Team often ending up being anywhere from 10/10 to 20/20.
Thanks for the input guys. Conspiracy seems to have really gone over well, and I know I'll be shuffling up my left over cards to do even more drafts in the future, so it's great to get continuing feedback on the format.
Not as many of my games have come down to Reito Lantern levels of mill, but then again my play group tends to be more aggressive.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Usually two players get taken out relativity quickly but the last two players often have a massive air and ground clog that sometimes get broken by a large bomb but I've had at least two or three games come down to milling. Altar of Dementia and Deathreap Ritual both speed this up a bit as well.
What have been people's experiences with Defender.dec, I don't think I've ever seen it in my playgroup.
I've only ever had one game go down to milling, but again it can vary wildly based on play style. Our play group tends to let weak players stay in the game longer for the sake of fun, but I could see other situations where the games would drag on much longer. We've never had Altar of Dementia be a huge player so that could definitely be a factor.
I've seen the Defenders deck be very strong, but it takes some work to make happen and can easily be defeated if players realize what's happening and gang up on that player. Flamewright and Vent Sentinel can both take over the game single handedly, but only if the player's flied under the radar enough to start sniping people without becoming a target themselves.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
White
Individual Notes
Brago's Representative - In addition to being a good defensive body, this card offers up a lot of value for white's many WotC cards. Additionally, it seems like this plus Grudge Keeper is meant to set up a small WotC theme in white and black (the other color with many voting cards). Not sure this is a viable archetype, but it could be a cool subtheme. Obviously great in multiples.
Soulcatcher, Wakestone Gargoyle & Intangible Virtue - There are very obvious archetypes of fliers, defenders, and tokens in WU, RW, and GW respectively. These cards are obvious plants and should be taken accordingly.
Swords to Plowshares - As mentioned earlier, this the only true removal spell in white. It's a damn good one, but it's worth remembering that white will be strapped for removal, especially if its paired with a traditionally poor removal color like blue or green.
Rout - I don't want to talk too much about rares, since this is an analysis for limited, but I will point out that Rout is the only reliable wrath effect in the format (The other two both rely on voting (Magister of Worth and Coercive Portal)
Blue
Individual Notes
Screaming Seahawk - CNS is full of many ways to utilize extra copies of the same creature. Not only is Seahawk naturally good in a flock, it's bad enough on it's own that it shouldn't be hard to pick up multiples.
Brainstorm - Little needs to be said about the power of brainstorm. I do want to mention that even though there are no fetch lands to shuffle away the top cards, the set does include Parley as well as a number of other top-deck interactions like Wood Sage.
Dream Fracture - This is the only hard counter in the set, and at common you can expect it to come up a lot. Just be sure to remind your opponents that they got to draw a card too, since nothing makes enemies faster than countering spells.
Wind Dancer, Air Servant, & Favorable Winds - If the WU fliers deck exists, these are the cards it wants to have. Wind Dancer in particular seems important as a way to get non-fliers into the air.
Black
Individual Notes
Grudge Keeper - As mentioned earlier, this could go well in a WB WotC deck. Unlike Brago's Representative, a 2/1 body won't do much in this format, which means this needs a little more support to really shine. Also, don't forget this triggers on any vote, not just your own.
Altar's Reap & Plagued Rusalka - This set does not feature a whole ton of death triggers, but it does feature a lot of Morbid, which is where these cards will shine. As mentioned before, most black cards are playable on their own but interact well with others, and these two are prime examples.
Tyrant's Choice - This seems like a key card for most black decks. Edict effects get better in multiples, which means this goes nicely with Smallpox and Reign of the Pit, but can also pressure life totals along with Grudge Keeper, Infectious Horror, and Syphon Soul.
Victimize - Black has a lot of ways to get creatures into graveyards, and a lot of ways to get them back to its hand, but not a lot of ways to simply reanimate them. This is the only mono-black reanimation card in the set, so use it wisely.
Bite of the Black Rose - Worth noting this as a potential board sweeper (-2/-2).
Red
Individual Notes
Grenzo's Cutthroat - Dethrone is an ability that shows up on a number of cards in Red and Blue, but the cutthroat seems by far the best, given how strong a 2 mana 2/2 first striker is. Dethrone creatures get better in a group, since swarming the "throne" means more of them are likely to survive and attack another day, but I think any sort of "dethrone deck" needs to start with this guy; I don't think Enraged Revolutionary and Marchesa's Emissary can do it on their own.
Vent Sentinel - This is the backbone of the RW defender deck. Granted, Red has only two defenders (the other being Cinder Wall) so it's unlikely that the deck will be as focused as it was in RoE draft. Still, being defensive is hardly a bad idea in a multiplayer game, and having a way to kill people while turtling is even better.
Trumpet Blast - I think it's important to mention here that this card does not say "you control." This means it can be used to pump another player's team during their turn. Not sure if this makes Trumpet Blast amazing, but it certainly gets a good deal better.
Volcanic Fallout - Another 2 toughness sweeper.
Sulfuric Vortex - This is a card that's impossible to ignore. It steps on the gas pedal and almost ensures action. It's also the kind of card that attracts a lot of attention and creates a big target. In general, I think it's important to remember this card exists and play accordingly.
Green
Copperhorn Scout - It should be noted that in a multiplayer setting, this card may not be horrible.
Sporecap Spider, Plummet - Blue and White both have a lot of powerful fliers, and it's more than likely a payer will be "the fliers deck", which makes these cards better than normal, and both were fine before.
Howling Wolf - See Screaming Seahawk above.
Echoing Courage - This card has always been fine: a serviceable pump spell with some incidental advantage. Here, it's even better, fitting perfectly into the tokens deck and the "multiples" deck.
Provoke - There's no fighting in CNS, which means this is as close to non-flier removal as green gets. This is an important point to remember when drafting green alongside other removal light colors like white or blue.
Respite - Like Trumpet Blast, the ability to use this on another player's turn increases its value.
Sakura-Tribe Elder - The elder has always been a solid creature, but don't forget its hidden ability to trigger morbid.
Multicolor
Sky Spirit - The WU archetype is Fliers, using cards like Favorable Winds and Soulcatcher. This one is pretty straightforward, and while I think it can vary in intensity of how many "flying matters" cards you have, the general defensive stats of White and Blue's ground creatures means that flying is almost always going to be the win condition of this pair.
Extract from Darkness - UB is a color pair that feels a bit mismatched in this format. While both have powerful spells, they don't seem to have much synergy. Even the "mill and reanimate" plan that Extract seems to suggest is suspect, since little of either exists at lower rarities. The idea of a UB "graveyard deck" is certainly possible, but it would rely heavily on key rares such as Academy Elite, Drakestown Forgotten, and Dimir Doppelganger.
Spontaneous Combustion - BR in CNS is definitely a control deck, using removal and sweepers like this one to keep the board clear. There's a small sacrifice theme in Black (not so much in red as there was in say SoM or INN), but this card in particular helps clear away the small guys for Black's edict effects to really hit home.
Fires of Yavimaya - Red and Green are the colors with the best attacking creatures. RG is set up well for an aggressive midranged deck, and while this strategy is reliable (since it doesn't require specific support cards), it's also dangerous to play in a group situation. I have a feeling RG beats is going to be a strong deck, just a hard one to manage in a political game.
Woodvine Elemental - GW is set up as a token deck, using this as a anthem-esque finisher. Both white (Rousing of Souls) and green (Squirrel Nest, Predator's Howl, Selvala's Charge) can make tokens, but Intangible Virtue is the only card that really forces you to commit to tokens, while others like Echoing Courage or this card only push you in that direction.
Mortify - this card has little to do with WB as a deck, which I believe is a defensive control deck that wants to abuse Will of the Council with Brago's Representative and Grudge Keeper. The good defensive creatures of white and the good removal of black (along with mortify) do combine well, but the deck may be stuck with no way to win. Then again, a savy player just weather the storm as their opponents kill each other, and vote manipulation is a good way of doing so.
Marchesa's Smuggler - UR is set up as the "dethrone" deck, which isn't bad, but doesn't seem all that great either. This card in particular would be a much welcome addition, as getting your dethrone creatures up to size means compounding bonuses. The main problem with dethrone is that your creatures have to get over the "hump" of those first 2-3 attacks. Once their big enough, their size alone means they can effectively battle. This card definitely helps with that, and is more than fine without other dethrone cards, but I think the entire idea might end up being too cute to be practical.
Deathreap Ritual - Morbid is very strong with more players in the game, and this card fits right into a BG deck. The nice thing about morbid is that, while building around it is possible, it's not necessary. Morbid cards are pretty much all good solo, so any additional synergy is just gravy.
Flamewright - It's rare for RW to be a defensive deck, let alone a deck built specifically around defenders, but here we are. This card seems great in the defender deck, but also fine without it. Red and White both have enough decent cards that a RW deck could definitely end up being not defender based. Still, that won't stop me from trying to live the defender dream.
Wood Sage - The GU "deck" is pretty subtle, but interesting. I believe the general idea is that the GU deck wants to have as many copies of a certain creature as they can, most likely Screaming Seahawk or Howling Wolf. Not only do they combo with themselves and Wood Sage, but also with the many Hidden Agenda conspiracies. I don't know if this deck is real or just a pipe dream, but it definitely seems like something worth trying out. (Outside of this deck, Wood Sage seems very hard to use well, though it does mill you.)
(Normal) Artifacts
"Stamped" Slot
At common, Whispergear Sneak and Cogwork Spy both seem underwhelming. They provide fun effects and are marginally playable otherwise. Cogwork Librarian seems like an incredibly powerful card, allowing you to take two cards from a pack at any point in the future. The fact that it's put into the pack when its used means you'll most likely get to pick one up late in each pack to use early in the next one. If you get stuck with it at the end, it's still a reasonable creature. Lurking Automaton has potential, but it is also easy to counterdraft. Still, getting this up to a 4/4 or 5/5 makes it big enough to tangle with most creatures in the format, and as a common it's likely you'll find at least one more copy. Common conspiracies are all reasonable, with the best IMO being Brago's Favor. A one mana discount on potentially 3 or 4 copies of a creature can be huge. It's important to note that 4 of the 5 common conspiracies are Hidden Agendas, and all of them deal with creatures. This makes the "multiples" plan somewhat of a safe bet, since it's likely you'll get at least 2 or 3 HA's over the course of the draft. Sentinel Dispatch is a nice card for the defender deck.
Uncommon has only two cogwork creatures, and neither is super exciting. Agent of Acquisitions looks fun, but it seems worse than the Librarian; the probability of getting a "perfect pack" are far less than getting one with just two cards you want. Cogwork Tracker is a little better than he looks given how small most creatures in the format are (a 4/4 for 4 is pretty efficient) but the downside is real. Uncommon conspiracies include Double Stroke and Iterative Analysis, which could lead to a fun spell based deck if it were not for both being uncommon (making it far less likely to see both, let alone multiples of each). Unexpected Potential seems excellent as simply a free splash. I would be careful with multiples of Advantageous Proclamation though, as games can run long and having too small of a deck could start to become a liability.
The rares have varying levels of playability, but all seem incredibly fun. Some, like Backup Plan are obviously powerful. Others, like Lore Seeker, are a bit of a crap shoot until we can play with them ourselves.
Follow Up Observations
- Mid-ranged creatures are generally good. They allow you to apply offensive pressure while not being a lightning rod for removal. On the ground that usually means 4/4s and 5/5s, enough to breach through the Vent Sentinels and Plated Seastriders. In the air, a 3/3 is very solid (Custodi Squire is an all-star)
- Every game is different of course, but certain archetypes are almost inevitable (especially if the entire table is playing in the same game). There's almost always a dedicated Fliers deck, which makes cards like Plummet always live, but usually only against a single person. Depending on your play group you may or may not get to sideboard (if you're playing multiple rounds) so keep that in mind.
- Hidden Agendas are incredibly strong, but to maximize their power you have to draft accordingly. A HA will always be decent, but if you have the choice between two similar cards, it is far better to have 4 of one and 1 of the other than to split the difference. Additionally, the "pack" cards (Howling Wolf and Screaming Seahawk) are fine, but not amazing. Yes they combo well with conspiracies, but their base stats are bad enough that rarely is it worth it to go all in for that express purpose. Basically, HA's are good enough with multiple copies of any card that you don't really need to prioritize these two creatures highly.
- There are a few archetypes that aren't mentioned in the OP. I think the most notable ones are White/x voltron, Red/x burn, and Black/x removal.
A couple of notes on individual cards:
Conspiracy still continues to excite me, and I may be inspired to write a full limited set review if I find the time. Let me know if you have any further questions or your own observations to share, there are many things I don't know just from drafting with my play group.
Hope you enjoyed this early look into the Conspiracy draft format. Let me know if you have any other ideas of if there's something I've missed.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Good job
Thanks!
Dethrone.
Dethrone is the ability I think everybody is skeptical about, but will do well (like the B/U mill plan in INN). Dethrone makes your creatures a bit stronger every time as long as you attack the person with the most life. So it turns into potentially a "politics-less" advantage. Normally, attacking causes people to react negatively. In a setting where you get more benefit for attacking a specific player (who might change each time, of course), it can be significantly easier to convince the table that you're "just attacking the player with the most life for my ability". It's "cute" at worst, but perfectly applicable and deadly without painting a giant target on your head.
I think the same can be said for Parley, but I'm not completely sure if all the effects are powerful enough for that ability.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
I ended up going Dimir and I don't think that was the best idea. I had a decent amount of creatures in my deck, 18, but nothing overly powerful. Efficient removal is pretty well non-existent, so I had difficulty trying to control anyone else's board, let alone 4 opponents. Going forward, I'll be trying to draft big/dumb creatures as they're always a constant threat and aren't easy to deal with.
I also noticed that while Dethrone seems like a good mechanic in theory, it wasn't great in practice as so many creatures hit the table and stick until they're actually removed by crashing into other creatures. Your Dethrone creatures rarely have a chance to get more than one +1/+1 token before they die.
One of the best strategies I saw was having a fair amount of voting cards + Grudge Keeper or other hurt all opponents cards like Infectious Horror as they can do tons of work. That being said, you won't make many friends at the table with cards like that
The political aspect of the game is really interesting and adds a great dimension to tournament play. That being said, I got to play with friends, and it might not be nearly as fun when you're playing with a group of strangers and you're forced to stab them in the back.
One card I think I may have undervalued a bit was Agent of Acquisitions. I still think it's more situational than Cogwork Librarian, but it does have some neat interactions with other stamped cards like Lurking Automaton or potentially Lore Seeker.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
The release notes quite clearly states Agent of Acquisitions is a nonbo with Lore Seeker.
* The ground clogs up very quickly and before you know it, you're at the Mexican standoff, where there are no good ways to attack anyone (for example I had 14/4 Realm Seekers on the board on turn six and attacked with them only two times during the whole game, because blocking duty was way more important). Any form of evasion - be it flying, landwalk, protection or whatever, even pingers like Vent Sentinel - is at a premium here.
* Dethrone is generally overrated for reasons stated above - unless you have some form of evasion, your small creatures simply won't be able to connect.
* Most of conspiracies are pretty weak but there are a few that are worth considering (like Brago's Favor or Immediate Action). In the right deck Double Stroke could be awesome - I've seen it copying Tyrant's Choice with Grudge Keeper on the table and it made a ton of work for its caster.
GWU Derevi, the Prison Queen UWG
The release notes only talk about drafting the Lore Seeker with the agent. I was talking about drafting the Lore Seeker, then using the agent to grab the entire new pack of 15 for yourself (instead of having to share it with the other players). Granted, this is not an amazing interaction, it's just one I missed when I first talked about the card.
Thanks for your input Vysogota! Do you have any insight on the draft-effect cards? Those seem to be the hardest to analyze without experiencing them first hand.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
You mean the artifact creatures? Well, as far as I remember, only six of them appeared at my pod: Cogwork Grinder (quite good in the first pack, so-so in the second, plain bad in the third), Cogwork Spy (filler 2/1 flyer for 3, nobody cares about his ability), Cogwork Tracker (not that good, the ground is usually too stalled for him), Lurking Automaton (decent when passed late, bad when drafted early), Whispergear Sneak (more than useless, easily the worst of them all), and Cogwork Librarian (good in first two packs, much worse in the third).
GWU Derevi, the Prison Queen UWG
I started as UB... pack one but I just had removal tyrant's choice which seemed really underdrafted I had 3 and card draw, I am not quite sure what the win for for U/B will be but draw removal and flyiers seems good enough. I opened the Magister and toed the line between the UW flyiers and BW control decks I ended up facing. I rode air servant to victory with the magister arriving just time to win the game.
courier hawk was really good for me... I had muzzio's preparations naming it.. it just prevented my UW flyier opposition from doing anything against me 2/3 to his 2/2's
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
This is true.
Thank you. I agree that the Conspiracies proved to be incredibly strong, especially the Hidden Agendas. While all of them were great, the stand out for me was Secrets of Paradise. It fixes your mana and ramps you for free, and both of those things are very good in this format. Needless to say, the Hidden Agendas all scale with how many of the named cards you have.
The land cyclers were definitely powerful, but I never saw them as amazing. I would definitely main deck all of them, but in my experience the format is focused much more around 6 or 7 power guys (one of the many reasons Pelakka Wurm is insane). Then again, I guess it depends on how big the game is and who's playing in it.
I agree, vow of duty even gets better as a normal aura thanks to the increased value of vigilance in a multiplayer game.
I'm definitely in love with this format, and I may go back and list out what I think are the best commons and uncommons at some point.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
- Mid-ranged creatures are generally good. They allow you to apply offensive pressure while not being a lightning rod for removal. On the ground that usually means 4/4s and 5/5s, enough to breach through the Vent Sentinels and Plated Seastriders. In the air, a 3/3 is very solid (Custodi Squire is an all-star)
- Every game is different of course, but certain archetypes are almost inevitable (especially if the entire table is playing in the same game). There's almost always a dedicated Fliers deck, which makes cards like Plummet always live, but usually only against a single person. Depending on your play group you may or may not get to sideboard (if you're playing multiple rounds) so keep that in mind.
- Hidden Agendas are incredibly strong, but to maximize their power you have to draft accordingly. A HA will always be decent, but if you have the choice between two similar cards, it is far better to have 4 of one and 1 of the other than to split the difference. Additionally, the "pack" cards (Howling Wolf and Screaming Seahawk) are fine, but not amazing. Yes they combo well with conspiracies, but their base stats are bad enough that rarely is it worth it to go all in for that express purpose. Basically, HA's are good enough with multiple copies of any card that you don't really need to prioritize these two creatures highly.
- There are a few archetypes that aren't mentioned in the OP. I think the most notable ones are White/x voltron, Red/x burn, and Black/x removal.
A couple of notes on individual cards:
Conspiracy still continues to excite me, and I may be inspired to write a full limited set review if I find the time. Let me know if you have any further questions or your own observations to share, there are many things I don't know just from drafting with my play group.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Some of my best cards:
Grudge Keeper seemed really fun for getting you way in votes. I wish I had more voting cards to go with it (I only had two).
Altar of Dementia really scared other players since most of us had 40 card decks (especially the guy with the card that let him start with a smaller 35-card deck!).
Drakestown Forgotten was a bomb. His ability to snipe smaller annoying creatures was very useful in playing the political game.
I was skeptical when the set was first spoiled, but it seems like it's a very fun set if you have a good playgroup.
Other observations:
-Soulcatcher has always been a really nasty threat.
-Silverchase Fox nearly always has a valid target. Forcing a player to sacrifice their Pernacious Deed when you want them too it brutal.
-Mana Geyser is really powerful as a common when combined with a card like Deathforge Shaman or even a Skitter of Lizards.
-Elvish Aberration is really solid.
-I now pick Reito Lantern quite highly as far too many games have come down to being milled out.
-Don't get Secrets of Paradise confused with Unexpected Potential, it is embarrassing when you splash a card then realize you can't play it.
-Unhallowed Pact often ends up working like a Pacifism as they don't want a trick to blow them out.
Are you designing commons? Check out my primer on NWO.
Interested in making a custom set? Check out my Set skeleton and archetype primer.
I also write articles about getting started with custom card creation.
Go and PLAYTEST your designs, you will learn more in a single playtests than a dozen discussions.
My custom sets:
Dreamscape
Coins of Mercalis [COMPLETE]
Exodus of Zendikar - ON HOLD
Not as many of my games have come down to Reito Lantern levels of mill, but then again my play group tends to be more aggressive.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
What have been people's experiences with Defender.dec, I don't think I've ever seen it in my playgroup.
Are you designing commons? Check out my primer on NWO.
Interested in making a custom set? Check out my Set skeleton and archetype primer.
I also write articles about getting started with custom card creation.
Go and PLAYTEST your designs, you will learn more in a single playtests than a dozen discussions.
My custom sets:
Dreamscape
Coins of Mercalis [COMPLETE]
Exodus of Zendikar - ON HOLD
I've seen the Defenders deck be very strong, but it takes some work to make happen and can easily be defeated if players realize what's happening and gang up on that player. Flamewright and Vent Sentinel can both take over the game single handedly, but only if the player's flied under the radar enough to start sniping people without becoming a target themselves.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing