You really just need to embrace the rage. I keep a small colony of hamsters next to my computer and every time I lose a match to mana screw I throw one against the wall.
We had a 6-man draft at buddies place. I took it down 3-0 with B/R semi bloodthirst, semi-spirit, semi-elemental brew. Too often I see people on here bicker over archetypes. I successfully mixed 3 to get a nice little agro deck with a little card advantage.
Seeing Sene's cool deck with Algae, I wanted to try myself if the draft went that way. And it did, got to pick up two.
The deck:
However, I lost on time due to the Algae getting gigantic. Is there any way to speed this up? I had the game, but it was just trigger, trigger, trigger..
Tried one more, went 3-0:
Glassdust Husk really saves the day. Getting cranial on him with an artifact played was huge.
IF you right-click the trigger, should should be able to select "always yes" and "always yield" to have it automatically add the counters without pausing or prompting you.
I finally drafted an undefeated Spirits deck, but it was only because, among other things, I drafted 3 Swans, a Profane Command (that stole a couple games I shouldn't have won), 4 Arrests, and 4 Waxmane.
Turns out that the best synergy Swans has with the Spirits archetype is that you can probably kill it with Nameless Inversion.
They did a really bad job with spirits. When the deck comes together it it's obscenely powerful, and almost unbeatable. When it doesn't, it's an embarrassing pile of trash. There's not really any way to know whether it is coming together or not until it's too late. This is not a positive quality for a limited format.
Overall, I like MM2, although it's not as good as the first. They just didn't do near as good a job selecting "themes" for the various color combinations.
I think I would like to marry bouncelands. It's been such a long time since RGD that I'd forgotten quite how terrific they are. Yet they frequently come to me like 7th or 8th, which always make me very happy.
Overall, I'm enjoying this format a fair amount. I liked the first Modern Masters better too, but not by an enormous amount. Though right now my opinion is colored by me winning a lot (sitting at just under 90% right now, which is obviously not possible to maintain).
@Algae Gharial and triggers: Yeah, Dorvan is right. Right-click, "always yes", right-click, "always yield". Then don't press F3 (which removes all auto yields).
I've had some reasonable success drafting UR control decks this past week. The sample size isn't the best (three drafts total, 2 drafting UR splashing other colors), but with everyone on Gx tokens/domain/stuff I'm finding it pretty open.
Certainly this deck was helped by opening some pretty enormous bombs, but I found I was winning most of my games without them. One mistake looking back was including Artisan of Kozilek instead of Spikeshot Elder or something.
Here is the second one, this time with a bit of an elemental sub-theme.
I don't think Hikari was correct to include here. Double white just doesn't work in this deck and it probably should be a Smash to Smithereens or another Telling Time.
Anyway, Blue based control can definitely still work, though I think you need to pair it with at least Red or Black to accumulate some removal.
I did say that I love karoos, but six of them is probably pushing it. Four-five I'd think is the max. Anyway, I don't love that deck; the removal is pretty clunky, and the Gharials don't seem like they synergize with your deck all that well. I also haven't loved Mana Leaks in the 5CC decks so far.
I'd have thought that Sundering Vitae is better than Terashi's Grasp, by the way, especially considering that Grasp is on the splash. I like being able to pick off random equipment mid-combat, and with two counterspells in your deck, having as many instant speed plays as possible seems good.
3-0'd my last two drafts with GRwub decks. A lot more fun to play than the GW and GB archetypes I'd been forcing lately. I think that this deck is pretty under drafted, as a lot of these cards go late, allowing you to grab removal as it goes early. Being able to take ALL of the artifact removal that goes around also gives you some great game against the inevitable affinity deck.
I did say that I love karoos, but six of them is probably pushing it. Four-five I'd think is the max. Anyway, I don't love that deck; the removal is pretty clunky, and the Gharials don't seem like they synergize with your deck all that well. I also haven't loved Mana Leaks in the 5CC decks so far.
I'd have thought that Sundering Vitae is better than Terashi's Grasp, by the way, especially considering that Grasp is on the splash. I like being able to pick off random equipment mid-combat, and with two counterspells in your deck, having as many instant speed plays as possible seems good.
Heh, disagree on a lot. I think 6 Karoos here are fine, especially because I have so many two drops. The removal is anything but clunky, it's a fantastic suite in this deck, with lot's of early removal to go along with unconditional late game removal.
The life gain from Terashi's Grasp is better than the instant speed of the Vitaes, in my opinion.
This certainly isn't the bets Gharial deck, but I was short win conditions, and it's still a strong enough card that you want it in most every deck.
Regardless, like I said, the deck was just okay. It had a fantastic removal suite, but lacked raw card advantage outside of the Karoos, the creature package was unexciting, and it didn't have any bombs. I wouldn't expect this deck to win an 8-4, and it didn't.
I lost in 3 to a R/W deck. I lost game one, where he dumped a bunch of living weapons and I ran out of removal for his dorks before I could find a finisher. Again, something that will happen without the requisite card advantage. Game two I wrecked him after boarding in all the artifact removal. Game 3, I lost to a turn 5 thunderblust after I'd tapped out to kill something on his turn, followed by an Apostles blessing when I tried to nameless inversion it after he declared attackers the next turn.
This 3-0d, beating a very good affinity deck where the guy conceded way too early both games I won, a bad 5 color deck in the second round, adn then the first good looking graft deck I've seen in the format in the finals.
This deck lost in the finals, in a 3 game set where it didn't see one Savage Twister over 70 cards seen. This deck was very good, and should have 3-0d.
I didn't want to join a MM2 draft because of how expensive it is, but my store decided to do one instead of the planned DTK draft so I figured I might try it at least once in my life. I got to admit it was a lot of fun, I even got to 3-0 with WB spirits, the deck I wanted to draft the most. The deck itself was unreal, I kept looking at it in disbelief after the drafting portion was over.
The draft portion was a little weird. Pick 1 Mulldrifter, pick 2 Blinding Souleater, and then some affinity cards and a Hikari. I see packs empty of anything good other than Waxmane Baku so I pick them and end up with like three after the first pack. Affinity felt like it dried up very quickly, yet the bakus were coming in second-to-last pick, so I keep my eyes opened for the spirits. Pack 2 is like pack 1 on crack, three more Bakus, two Hikari, and three Moonlit Strider, at this point I'm monowhite spirit maybe splashing blue for Mulldrifter. Then pack three I get passed a terrible pack that has a Thief of Hope inside, decide to pick it in case I get lucky and what do you know, I get passed two more and a Nameless Inversion!
I faced a bunch of ridiculous bombs like my round 1 opponent playing Ulamog's Crusher and Ulamog itself both games, and my round 2 opponent playing Mirror Entity both games and Hellkite Charger the second one, and they spent the whole night tapped down. My last opponent was the only one to give me trouble, and he was playing a UG graft deck of all things! (To be fair, it was a pretty insane deck with five Thrummingbird and the rest of his creatures being essentially mono-graft.) What gave me trouble was a pair of Vigean Graftmage and a Plaxcaster Frogling that made it extremely hard for me to tap things, even causing me to lose game 2. But in the end I won thanks to Nameless Inversion that killed his stupid Graftmage (and like three other creatures thanks to soulshift)
Looking at my decklist now, I realize I had only 5 uncommons and not a single rare or mythic. I feel like I've reached the height of the Modern Masters 2 draft experience on my first try!
4 Hikari seems really awkward. I had a deck with 3 and often had the awkward double draw. If your opponent has a tapper or something it's really depressing.
4 Hikari seems really awkward. I had a deck with 3 and often had the awkward double draw. If your opponent has a tapper or something it's really depressing.
As I drafted, I forgot about the whole being legendary thing (I guess I wasn't used to it being relevant in limited) when I remembered it later, I replaced one Hikari for a Conclave Phalanx, but later realized how great he is in this deck (he's pretty much the only attacker) and how being free to trade with him liberally was great. I put him back in and was not disappointed even when drawing multiple. And I was the one with all the tappers, so it's fine!
Played against G/B tokens. Game 1 I kept an action light hand, and ended up flooding out badly. I boarded in the Gharials and drew both of them game 1 and, there was basically nothing he could do. Game 3, I never drew a 4th land. Oh well, the rares made it a free draft anyway.
Opened Cranial Plating, and decided to blindly go all in on affinity. This deck seems like it's missing the actual affinity cards that make the deck explosive, but double All is Dust seems like a pretty reasonable way for me to win with Plague Winds.
Update: Ended up 3-0ing with this. Played G/W tokens round 1, R/G Savage Twister/Banefire/ Overwhelming Stampede round 2, and a bad spirits deck in the finals. Each of the first two rounds was extremely close, I won the finals very easily.
Grand Prixs are the actual worst.
Spirits
3 Nameless Inversion,
1 Plauged Rusalka
2 Scuttling Death
1 Thief of Hope
Bloodthirsty elements:
1 Vampire Outcast
1 Duskhunter Bat
1 Blood Ogre
1 Gut Shot
1 Gorehorn Minotaurs
Elementals
1 Sickle Ripper
1 Incandescent Soulstroke
1 Ghostly Changeling (Spirit payoff too)
1 Soulbright Flamekin
1 Spitebellows
Various
1 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
1 Burst Lightning
1 Fiery Fall
1 Wrap in Flames
1 Vampire Lacerator
1 Wrecking Ball
1 Copper Carapace
Without getting any real bombs (Endrek was great a force for sure) or lightning bolts, Ashenmoor Gouger etc. still pulled off a nice little deck.
23 Cards, 17 Land.
The deck:
However, I lost on time due to the Algae getting gigantic. Is there any way to speed this up? I had the game, but it was just trigger, trigger, trigger..
Tried one more, went 3-0:
Glassdust Husk really saves the day. Getting cranial on him with an artifact played was huge.
Turns out that the best synergy Swans has with the Spirits archetype is that you can probably kill it with Nameless Inversion.
Oh and a few days ago I lived the dream of drafting Sigil Blessing and Precursor Golem.
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
Overall, I like MM2, although it's not as good as the first. They just didn't do near as good a job selecting "themes" for the various color combinations.
Overall, I'm enjoying this format a fair amount. I liked the first Modern Masters better too, but not by an enormous amount. Though right now my opinion is colored by me winning a lot (sitting at just under 90% right now, which is obviously not possible to maintain).
@Algae Gharial and triggers: Yeah, Dorvan is right. Right-click, "always yes", right-click, "always yield". Then don't press F3 (which removes all auto yields).
Here is the Rare Draft - http://www.raredraft.com/watch?d=m2dzz
Certainly this deck was helped by opening some pretty enormous bombs, but I found I was winning most of my games without them. One mistake looking back was including Artisan of Kozilek instead of Spikeshot Elder or something.
Here is the second one, this time with a bit of an elemental sub-theme.
Again, here is the Rare Draft - http://www.raredraft.com/watch?d=lvyjm
I don't think Hikari was correct to include here. Double white just doesn't work in this deck and it probably should be a Smash to Smithereens or another Telling Time.
Anyway, Blue based control can definitely still work, though I think you need to pair it with at least Red or Black to accumulate some removal.
Thought the deck was okay, lost to a bad r/w deck in the first round. Meh, magic.
I'd have thought that Sundering Vitae is better than Terashi's Grasp, by the way, especially considering that Grasp is on the splash. I like being able to pick off random equipment mid-combat, and with two counterspells in your deck, having as many instant speed plays as possible seems good.
2 Etched Oracle
2 Alloy Myr
2 Skyreach Manta
1 Worldheart Phoenix
1 Apocalypse Hydra
1 Mulldrifter
1 Etched Monstrosity
2 Dragonsoul Knight
1 Matca Rioters
2 Vengeful Rebirth
1 Burst Lightning
1 Tribal Flames
1 Fiery Fall
1 Pillory of the Sleepless
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
4 Mountain
2 Forest
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Gruul Turf
1 Burst Lightning
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
2 Narcolepsy
1 Sphere of the Suns
1 Repeal
1 Mana Leak
1 Rampant Growth
1 Electrolyze
3 Skyreach Manta
1 Mirror Entity
3 Dragonsoul Knight
1 Matca Rioters
1 Air Servant
1 Æthersnipe
1 Alloy Myr
1 Ulamog's Crusher
1 Worldheart Phoenix
2 Gruul Turf
1 Evolving Wilds
1 Plains
4 Island
4 Mountain
2 Forest
1 Swamp
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
Heh, disagree on a lot. I think 6 Karoos here are fine, especially because I have so many two drops. The removal is anything but clunky, it's a fantastic suite in this deck, with lot's of early removal to go along with unconditional late game removal.
The life gain from Terashi's Grasp is better than the instant speed of the Vitaes, in my opinion.
This certainly isn't the bets Gharial deck, but I was short win conditions, and it's still a strong enough card that you want it in most every deck.
Regardless, like I said, the deck was just okay. It had a fantastic removal suite, but lacked raw card advantage outside of the Karoos, the creature package was unexciting, and it didn't have any bombs. I wouldn't expect this deck to win an 8-4, and it didn't.
I lost in 3 to a R/W deck. I lost game one, where he dumped a bunch of living weapons and I ran out of removal for his dorks before I could find a finisher. Again, something that will happen without the requisite card advantage. Game two I wrecked him after boarding in all the artifact removal. Game 3, I lost to a turn 5 thunderblust after I'd tapped out to kill something on his turn, followed by an Apostles blessing when I tried to nameless inversion it after he declared attackers the next turn.
I would maindeck Sundering Vitae and Terashi's Grasp. I would not maindeck Smash to Smithereens.
This 3-0d, beating a very good affinity deck where the guy conceded way too early both games I won, a bad 5 color deck in the second round, adn then the first good looking graft deck I've seen in the format in the finals.
This deck lost in the finals, in a 3 game set where it didn't see one Savage Twister over 70 cards seen. This deck was very good, and should have 3-0d.
Beat a spirits deck round 1, lost to a B/G deck round two. I liked the deck, just didn't match up well with the G/B tokens deck.
1 Kami of Ancient Law
5 Waxmane Baku
3 Thief of Hope
2 Blinding Souleater
3 Moonlit Strider
4 Hikari, Twilight Guardian
2 Sunlance
1 Otherworldly Journey
1 Nameless Inversion
Artifacts (1)
1 Everflowing Chalice
11 Plains
6 Swamp
The draft portion was a little weird. Pick 1 Mulldrifter, pick 2 Blinding Souleater, and then some affinity cards and a Hikari. I see packs empty of anything good other than Waxmane Baku so I pick them and end up with like three after the first pack. Affinity felt like it dried up very quickly, yet the bakus were coming in second-to-last pick, so I keep my eyes opened for the spirits. Pack 2 is like pack 1 on crack, three more Bakus, two Hikari, and three Moonlit Strider, at this point I'm monowhite spirit maybe splashing blue for Mulldrifter. Then pack three I get passed a terrible pack that has a Thief of Hope inside, decide to pick it in case I get lucky and what do you know, I get passed two more and a Nameless Inversion!
I faced a bunch of ridiculous bombs like my round 1 opponent playing Ulamog's Crusher and Ulamog itself both games, and my round 2 opponent playing Mirror Entity both games and Hellkite Charger the second one, and they spent the whole night tapped down. My last opponent was the only one to give me trouble, and he was playing a UG graft deck of all things! (To be fair, it was a pretty insane deck with five Thrummingbird and the rest of his creatures being essentially mono-graft.) What gave me trouble was a pair of Vigean Graftmage and a Plaxcaster Frogling that made it extremely hard for me to tap things, even causing me to lose game 2. But in the end I won thanks to Nameless Inversion that killed his stupid Graftmage (and like three other creatures thanks to soulshift)
Looking at my decklist now, I realize I had only 5 uncommons and not a single rare or mythic. I feel like I've reached the height of the Modern Masters 2 draft experience on my first try!
As I drafted, I forgot about the whole being legendary thing (I guess I wasn't used to it being relevant in limited) when I remembered it later, I replaced one Hikari for a Conclave Phalanx, but later realized how great he is in this deck (he's pretty much the only attacker) and how being free to trade with him liberally was great. I put him back in and was not disappointed even when drawing multiple. And I was the one with all the tappers, so it's fine!
Played against G/B tokens. Game 1 I kept an action light hand, and ended up flooding out badly. I boarded in the Gharials and drew both of them game 1 and, there was basically nothing he could do. Game 3, I never drew a 4th land. Oh well, the rares made it a free draft anyway.
Opened Cranial Plating, and decided to blindly go all in on affinity. This deck seems like it's missing the actual affinity cards that make the deck explosive, but double All is Dust seems like a pretty reasonable way for me to win with Plague Winds.
Update: Ended up 3-0ing with this. Played G/W tokens round 1, R/G Savage Twister/Banefire/ Overwhelming Stampede round 2, and a bad spirits deck in the finals. Each of the first two rounds was extremely close, I won the finals very easily.