Sorry for the short halt in my videos, I mean to go back at some point and capture a few of the games played in the last few tournaments. Unfortunately, I left my headset in the states and without it--well the audio is nothing stellar.
Anyway I wanted to share a slightly comedic picture of what I call the ambush Marit Lage it's like 10 ambush vipers but better. I know most folks have a deck, or archetype, that they just can't stand; indeed, they hate this deck. For instance: Michelle_Wong hates red decks, specifically the kind that win really fast and easily with the most efficient curve possible, ML_Berlin hates when I play speed reanimator, I think he secretly hates my storm deck, mostly because he chooses his wrath.dek every time I play that deck and it's pretty much free reign with only 4-5 critters in the deck that all can trip (although I think he abides this one a bit more, because he knows I truly enjoy playing it for the puzzle 100 cards can present to a storm pilot and I also like to think he thinks it's genuinely pretty sweet--if not quite good enough).
Well, the deck I hate the most is easily cloud post...12, 16, or 20 variations (alright I know 20 doesn't exist, but expedition map counts when I'm doing the math). In my most humble opinion, this deck is complete garbage (alright it's admittedly good, but still requires decent play for optimal lines and selectivity for the best build--but the 90% solution with this deck is generally just jamming huge junk really early...), I put these 16-20 cards in my deck and I can cast all of the colorless cards from 6-15 mana on T3-6...the selection of colorless cards ranging from 6-15 is pretty startling, and really even if the player doesn't build with the best of them, their chances of winning in a real game are significant just because they can cast their spells 2-10 turns prior to a point they should actually be able to. The weakness of the deck is that it can fail to top a good enough threat and just flood out (generally it can't miss it's tron though as the cards grow in production with each duplicate copy unlike the modern staple of the urza tron lands), which further puts this deck in garbo territory for me because it feels like an uninspired way to win or lose in a game that one hopes ones own actions lead to success as the result. Obviously, we all come to the game for different reasons, but for me spinning a wheel every game and hoping to randomly win feels pretty miserable--I've played with post and I've definitely played against it and in the few decades I've been at this game, it is definitely the most miserable deck I've ever run with or against :/
Enjoy the "surprise" Marit Lage
--KB
PS- (and yeah I'm playing a 100CS deck in legacy, got to represent )
Very funny that your singleton deck defeated a 60 card Legacy deck!
12 Post Legacy decks used to be a thing in Legacy, but they have dropped out of favor over the last 12 months (at least in the Magic Online Leagues). That doesn't mean that it's not a powerful deck, it can explode into broken plays, and it's still very impressive that you managed to defeat that Post player.
Lowman, may I ask your opinion about Vizier of the Menagerie? Do you believe that it is better overall than a Master of the Wild Hunt or Polukranos or Gonti Lord of Luxury? I know already that the Vizier is worse than Meren or Kalitas but how would you compare it to the Master or Polly or Gonti? (Please assume that the deck is a Green/Black Midrange deck which has a Mirri's Guile and Sylvan Library because I value smooth draws very highly, many thanks).
Yeah I don't tend to think post is excellent in legacy, the prevalance of wasteland, rishaden port, life from the loam, and bloodmoon in 4 of's tends to make the deck a lot worse. I more so just can't stand what the deck does on a theoretical level to the game, both for the pilot and opponent, and tend to think the card cloud post is ill designed.
Vizier of the menagerie is interesting, but I don't think good enough, but it might be at parity with one of the cards on this list.
Vizier vs. Polukranos: On Curve (T4), Vizier promises long term card advantage but does nothing except present a mediocre body on the turn it comes into play (relatively slow); PolyK presents a 4 or faster turn clock and removal, which depending on your color pie choice, ie not B or R, could be crucial and is also card advantage, regardless this card typically spends a few turns being the abyss if it's cast on turn. Late game, you might drop Vizier with plenty of excess mana, but unless you're running 40+ critters in your deck or have significantly reduced your in deck land count (for instance many triggers from a primeval titan, or a high volume of deck manipulation in green (not typical in G [courser, prophet of muld, m guile, sylvan, likely most playable options], and if you're pairing this gentlemen with U, well that fixes your manipulation problem but likely increases your "dead"/non-critter top decks for him). If you play Polyk late game you can always rely on your mana doing something, it will work. The only case where Vizier becomes better late game is if your opponent is holding 1-1 removal and you get to cast a critter off the top...but, think through this sequence, if your opponent is holding late game removal, against a green based deck and they haven't used it to kill your earlier threats, it probably means they're winning because their board is better than yours and you're losing anyway.
Gonti Lord of Luxury: I don't have a ton of experience with this card, or rather I've played against it a fair bit but haven't played with it. I do tend to favor it vs Vizier because on curve it presents a decent body for the cost, but more importantly it "can" trade up, allowing you to deathtouch away their most relevant threat if they're swinging for the fences, or hanging back while they attack with fewer threats to trade at parity...either way this works in your favor because it's buying you the time and place to cast whatever was best in their top 4 cards on the following turn (assuming on curve). Late game, Gonti still presents a roadblock for big dumb G dudes that don't fly and with enough mana allows the pilot to use removal to break board parity and begin their own offense or get a back breaking PW or critter to do the same whether through value or just more big dudes. Either way I think the critical difference is the ETB, which Vizier does not have, giving Gonti greater upside, and even the reduction in body is fine because deathtouch will be more relevant in the sort of deck that wants to play Gonti. The other half of the argument lends itself to synergies with ETB, for instance recurring nightmare on Gonti and someother ETB critter is a value train. I think the biggest reason you don't see more of this critter is likely the double BB CMC, which in the decks this gentlemen wants to be played in is fairly restrictive and 4's just tend to be competitive in general due to their inefficiency.
I think the two cards that come closest are Vizier and Master of the Wild Hunt. Vizier is far worse in the early game, neither does a thing when they come into play for 4 mana on T4, albeit Master dies to a lot more red based removal, it will always have an effect the turn following its resolution, you can hope for vizier to "hit" after you've tapped out for it on curve, but in the best of cases it's 50/50, but probabley more like 40/60 in your favor. Late game vizier "could" be more powerful if you have a large amount of mana available and have been able to get a consistent source of deck manipulation; but I personally think you could find far more powerful things to do in the late game with a boat of mana and library manipulation than either of these cards. The thing that's made master special for so long, and it's still a staple in many cubes, is the fact that it offers a consistent source of card advantage, you're getting 2/2's, and means of removing opposing threats. It's inherent weakness, sunk 4 mana, that dies to bolt, is in my opinion a nod to good clean design. I still like master better here, but there's definitely more room for argument depending upon how you build. The sad truth is, I think power tends to pay off over synergy in 100CS; synergy is great and should be sought wherever you can make it, but it should generally be with cards that can stand on their own value, ie how bad is timevault without voltaic key or tezzeret...this is why some extrememly powerful vintage decks can lose to decks that cast 2/1s for 1 mana
Hope this helps.
Take it easy--KB
P.S. power or power-level may be ambiguous, but I think it lies somewhere in the opaque space between rate of presentation in time, relevance over a flexible range of board states or vice the highest presentation of archetypes.
For instance I wouldn't personally call draco a powerful card, I wouldn't even call emrakul of the aeons torn a powerful card because in a standard game it doesn't present itself in a relevant place in time to have desired impact, as a counter to this I would say that through the breach and sneak attack are high power-level cards, or show and tell.
I think the funny thing is everyone wants to have the tank when they're in battle, what they don't know is that it takes 4 humans who've been trained in specific positions in that platform (Driver, Tank Commander, Gunner, and Loader [the replaceable guy/gal]) for 9 months to acquire any sort of proficiency on that system, that the system costs 8 million, but likely expends just that much or more over the 9 month period in parts, fuel, and time. That the main gun can't vertically manipulate to greater 14-15 degrees, making it hopelessly engaged against threats elevated above it in mountainous or urban terrain without significant standoff. Couple this with the fact that if the livelihood of one of the critical crew members is ended, the 8 million dollar war machine comes to a halt. This may seem like random diatribe, but it's analogous to the calculus of power, in a platform that's designed to do one thing really well (in this case fight through the rolling open terrain), it will do that one thing really well, but it's fragile. I'd far rather have a pistol, knife, or grenade, because they're simple to use, they're innocuous and can be hidden, they can go where the course of any human interchange will take me (okay my grenade won't work under water, and my gun won't work in outer space, but those are fairly extraneous), and they can always be applied with limited need for maintenance, coordination with others, and within a moment's notice. Magic is no different in this regard. (and for Michelle specifically, it's the reason I beat your ruination, ie if you could have presented actual threats over denial in a timely manner I would have lost [that's not to say that ruination is bad, but I think most of us need to embrace efficiency to a higher extent])
You have convinced me to avoid the Vizier of the Menagerie.
Dear Vizier of the Menagerie, it sucks to be you. Sorry, but you have been slammed by Lowman02! You are useful to escape a blood moon lock (I will grant you that much), however that interaction rarely occurs, roughly once in a . . . blue moon! And despite your contempt for the snakes, the chainsaw community clearly favors the Lotus Cobra over you! (see attachment in this regard).
Ha yeah lotus cobra beats the crap out of that card, matter of fact I think it's the second strongest green 2 drop creature (but what about goyf? Goyf is really a cross-dressing blue card, but yeah its status as beef stick supreme cannot be denied). The unholy quintuplet of the 2's (critters) is definitely: tarmogoyf, snapcaster mage, thalia, guardian of thraben, young pyromancer, and dark confidant. These cards all rock, most of them are format defining or archetype defining cards, the only one that falls short is lotus cobra in most "real", non-100card formats, because goyf and deathrite shaman are things and they're just faster.
--KB
PS-Moonlock in a base green deck, meh, just run mana dorks, you only need the first 1-2 colored mana then you can run all the colors, how does 4CBlood beat moon (the dorks )
For all that are interested in HoMM III (Heroes):
It's now available for 3 Euro in GOG.com summersales(66% rebate)! I don't anybody who didn't like HoMM III for the full price at release! So, if u have not played it before, I think I can guarantee there is no better way to spend 3 bucks! And you get Rebel Galaxy for free on top(Summersale Bonus).I don't know that game, but hey it's free, so no risk:-)
P.S. Fantasy General is now( for 24h) completly free, just go on their website and claim the free gift.
For all that are interested in HoMM III (Heroes):
It's now available for 3 Euro in GOG.com summersales(66% rebate)! I don't anybody who didn't like HoMM III for the full price at release! So, if u have not played it before, I think I can guarantee there is no better way to spend 3 bucks! And you get Rebel Galaxy for free on top(Summersale Bonus).I don't know that game, but hey it's free, so no risk:-)
P.S. Fantasy General is now( for 24h) completly free, just go on their website and claim the free gift.
May I ask your opinion about the new card Ranumap Excavator, in the context of our chainsaw event? Specifically, do you think he is more powerful than the Courser of Kruphix or Tireless Tracker or Nissa Vastwood Seer or Eternal Witness?
In any case, I am now going on a mission to live the dream of resolving the following combo: Ranumap Excavator + Tireless Tracker + Knight of Reliquary (which will tap on the following turn to find my Wasteland). The Tracker is not necessary for this combo, but it is extra explosive with Tracker.
Thank you stsung for your helpful thoughts, they are kindly noted.
You present a good case that Ranumap Excavator may be weaker than all the 4 other cards which I mentioned. However, I expect that I will still need to react like the person in the attached picture when I see my opponent resolve a Ranumap Excavator and I don't have removal in my hand.
This might be a first, Stsung and I disagree on a card evaluation :/ . In regards to Ranumap Excavator, I think this card is on the level with courser of kruphix, I tend to think it's a better midrange card than nissa (the little one), although there is certainly an argument that she is a stronger card in ramp, I think this card is of a lower power level than tireless tracker, but it's close.
I think the first thing most folks will see is a recursion engine for LD, but if you're enacting this T3-4, you're likely getting beat to death by the faster decks of the format, or jamming this card into counter magic or removal (mass by the time you're passing it back) from the more controlling builds. Might it happen, sure, maybe you'll get your LD combo on by tutoring this little snake-man up and locking the opponent out, but I'd offer if they can't present a clock or control the board by T4, well you're winning the game anyways--swing for the fences and put them out of their misery. This format like legacy requires calculated play T1-4; what happens after initial keep may inform play but typically you're playing to your top deck after setting conditions for your strategy after the first few turns (or for more controlling strategies playing to outs or setting conditions for longer term plays, ie mystical confluence, maybe upheaval [why doesn't anyone play this card?]).
So why is this card great--it's a G/x card at heart. Points in favor of it vs. courser are two fold, one it's only got one G mana symbol in its casting cost--which means that it plays best in decks that utilize green for fixing, which also utilize a higher volume of fetchlands to fix mana, which means this card if cast on T4, should be a 2-1...even if they remove it (unless you do something silly like pass priority or they timestop you with fetch on stack). I can't say how many times I've seen players jam courser or tireless tracker on T3 while not under pressure, and it's fairly disheartening, because realistically the way these cards win you the game is by being 4 drops. This card is no different, it's a 4 drop at heart, that allows flexibility the turn it is cast to resolve a second spell--in a lot of ways all three cards play a lot like gush or rather they enable the winning of games through a similar philosophy, they just make mana or cards from different zones than the hand. I can't tell you how often, I enjoy setting up one mana removal on a courser or tracker turn; if you somehow have lotus cobra in play (I recommend this ) then you can cast 2 and 3 mana removal or cast a whole other critter all while gaining life and/or cards. The other benefit to the excavator is that it does not randomly die to enchantment removal, I've often found that reclamation sage, q pridemage, golgari charm, or dromoka's command can just blow people out playing courser--this is a double edged sword of an argument, however, as I too note that excavator does not pass the bolt test--so, it's a give and take argument and really matchup or meta dependent. To make the argument that courser does more by filtering the top of your library is true, and with fetches it's a nice ability to be able to "cycle" your TD 1-2 times before having to draw it, or use sylvan library to make "free" cards and life; however, both cards in and of themselves offer the same advantage, although one of them, the excavator, does so in the form of hidden knowledge. Excavator essentially does the same thing once you've generated recursion of a fetchland, by providing virtual card advantage off the top ropes, which has the same effect as courser on the game--the obvious disadvantage is that you don't know when to fetch and when not too based upon seeing the top card...this can't be completely claimed as a loss however, because your opponent is also denied this information too. The other upside to using the graveyard zone, is that you'll always hit a land drop if you want with this card, the same cannot be promised with courser.
I don't think either card is as comparatively strong as tireless tracker as neither is a grow style threat that presents a clock that needs to be answered while providing gross card advantage, but they all certainly work very well together and have high synergy with other cards that are in the format, or could be reintroduced into the format: lotus cobra, oracle of muld, crop rotation, harrow, fetchland, three vis/nature's lore, exploration (alright maybe this is too deep, but it's a thought).
Card advantage engines on 3 are still strong, obviously it's no dark confidant, but excavator I believe is very playable, whether you're chasing the WL lockout, Timmy dream, or if you're just spiking sick 2-1 advantage and grinding your opponent out of removal cards while going up on cards. I have to disagree and say that this card is a hit and should be played in the format and likely will in G/x midrange archetypes of the 3-4 color variety. But, we'll see.
Take it easy all
--KB
PS-And I definitely think all of these cards only get stronger in tandem, how disgusting is it to have tireless tracker in play with lotus cobra or courser--pretty disgusting if you haven't experienced it. Now imagine if you miss on TD with courser or you don't want that lan-o-war elves on the top and you get to pull a fetch from the gyard and change your draw next turn, etc. These cards all have high synergy; it's almost like playing fetchland, brainstorm in a color that should never have had this kind of draw or deck manipulation
I have decided to sleeve up this little Naga when he becomes legal (sorry Vizier of the Menagerie, I am not referring to you!). To my future chainsaw opponents I say: "Prepare to be drilled, hammered, excavated and other less polite things of this nature!"
Thanks also to Leila Pari for making this week's beautiful trophy, and congrats to Golden Lin for taking down the tournament with the power of W.
Unrelated to 100CS, but equally sweet, the MTGO vintage cube is back up. Below I've hung a pic of one of my 2 decks I drafted, and frankly the most fun cube deck I've played in a while. SugarDaddy if you still jump on forum you'd be proud because I essentially recreated 5C reanimator...I unfortunately missed the eldrazi, but otherwise this deck was amazingly cool. Unfortunately, this deck dies to copious counter magic, so I went 2-1 with it losing my last round against U/R delver (yeah opp literally played delver in cube ). But definitely cool, if you enjoy singleton, then try cube; it's great
Also, stsung, yeah I think some of the nuances of the tracker, courser, and cruiblesnake get lost, and outside of tracker, they're not the most efficient threats, ie they don't end games rapidly. But, what they offer you in the mirror, or in courser's case being a dual purpose munition against aggro and midrange (really control too), is so much grinding advantage because true midrange fights are card to card, whenever you get up one on the opponent you are grinding toward inevitability. Where you're right they do languish is vice more controlling builds that seek burst advantage through global or mass effects, ie ***, Sphinx's Rev, or extremely powerful incremental tools like JTMS. I tend to cut these types of cards off for my own builds at the 3 drop slot, typically including e wit, sylvan library, courser, and lotus cobra (I'm fairly convinced lotus cobra is actively bad vs control, because of the increased efficiency it provides, it so often forces buffoonish decisions in regards to dumping hand to uphold mana efficiency into an opposing T3-4 wrath; vice midrange it wrecks shop though [this is also where walkers are nice]). I limit these type of mirror breakers to the 3 spot and ensure they don't comprise more than 10-15% of the decks critters (I don't and likely won't play oracle of muld, even though this card is awesome) because I think it also pays to close games out quickly which means you need to prioritize clock capability of a card, vice it's flexibility in matchup. Which, you're right on, these cards really are there to shore up grindfests in the midrange arena, except tracker, that card is just dumb it's pretty much good anytime
Are you able to edit Page 1 of this forum thread to upload the new banner which Leila Pari made a week or two ago?
Thanks.
Hi Michelle, I think you must empty your cache!
The new banner will not be uploaded unless you did that.
If I remember right, you must hit F6 ,while the page is open in Gatherling(please, tech nerds, correct me if it was another F button).
I had the same problem with Gatherling... Or did I get you wrong and you want me to add the picture to the first post?!
Different to the old wizard.com forum, I can only add graphics here that have a URL( so LeilaPari would have to upload it somewhere).
But I think, the idea is great.
Decided to try a video recording without headset, the sound quality is fairly poor (and you'll need to turn up your speakers), but here is a recording of yesterday's Chainsaw Massacre, managed to catch most of the matches: 24 JUN 17 CSM 5CReanimator .
Just an idea, and perhaps our prize pool isn't big enough to support it. But, I was wondering what people thought of nominating, let's say, a brewer's challenge card...for instance Cadaverous Bloom, Food Chain, Descent Into Madness, Aggressive Mining, or any other nonsense card that is kind of unique in mechanic, and then establishing a special prize pool for players that use said card. Might only be one ticket for playing with a brewer's challenge card, but it would be pretty cool, as folks who play for tickets could walk away with a tik even if their "sweet" brew didn't do so hot vs. more spikey builds. I know Kumagoro does this with Tribal, so I thought it was worth putting the idea out there for fielding. Let me know what you think.
My opinion is: Playing with (and sometimes winning with) sweet cards and brews brings its own rewards. I don't see any need to add complexity to the prize structure. I don't think that a single ticket will motivate people to bring sweet new brews to shake-up the meta.
Just an idea, another idea that would be fun is a pauper or PD 100CS event, likely PD would be the most effective for a cheap, inclusive event. This might have to be a separate challenge series run through challonge with prize structure from outside. But I think something like this would be equally as sweet. The spike I am, I'd be looking to break .01 or commons in either event, but I think it would be a refreshing experience and look through MTG's common or historically cheap but powerful cards over time.
--KB
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Made trophy anyways.
Sorry for the short halt in my videos, I mean to go back at some point and capture a few of the games played in the last few tournaments. Unfortunately, I left my headset in the states and without it--well the audio is nothing stellar.
Anyway I wanted to share a slightly comedic picture of what I call the ambush Marit Lage it's like 10 ambush vipers but better. I know most folks have a deck, or archetype, that they just can't stand; indeed, they hate this deck. For instance: Michelle_Wong hates red decks, specifically the kind that win really fast and easily with the most efficient curve possible, ML_Berlin hates when I play speed reanimator, I think he secretly hates my storm deck, mostly because he chooses his wrath.dek every time I play that deck and it's pretty much free reign with only 4-5 critters in the deck that all can trip (although I think he abides this one a bit more, because he knows I truly enjoy playing it for the puzzle 100 cards can present to a storm pilot and I also like to think he thinks it's genuinely pretty sweet--if not quite good enough).
Well, the deck I hate the most is easily cloud post...12, 16, or 20 variations (alright I know 20 doesn't exist, but expedition map counts when I'm doing the math). In my most humble opinion, this deck is complete garbage (alright it's admittedly good, but still requires decent play for optimal lines and selectivity for the best build--but the 90% solution with this deck is generally just jamming huge junk really early...), I put these 16-20 cards in my deck and I can cast all of the colorless cards from 6-15 mana on T3-6...the selection of colorless cards ranging from 6-15 is pretty startling, and really even if the player doesn't build with the best of them, their chances of winning in a real game are significant just because they can cast their spells 2-10 turns prior to a point they should actually be able to. The weakness of the deck is that it can fail to top a good enough threat and just flood out (generally it can't miss it's tron though as the cards grow in production with each duplicate copy unlike the modern staple of the urza tron lands), which further puts this deck in garbo territory for me because it feels like an uninspired way to win or lose in a game that one hopes ones own actions lead to success as the result. Obviously, we all come to the game for different reasons, but for me spinning a wheel every game and hoping to randomly win feels pretty miserable--I've played with post and I've definitely played against it and in the few decades I've been at this game, it is definitely the most miserable deck I've ever run with or against :/
Enjoy the "surprise" Marit Lage
--KB
PS- (and yeah I'm playing a 100CS deck in legacy, got to represent )
Very funny that your singleton deck defeated a 60 card Legacy deck!
12 Post Legacy decks used to be a thing in Legacy, but they have dropped out of favor over the last 12 months (at least in the Magic Online Leagues). That doesn't mean that it's not a powerful deck, it can explode into broken plays, and it's still very impressive that you managed to defeat that Post player.
Lowman, may I ask your opinion about Vizier of the Menagerie? Do you believe that it is better overall than a Master of the Wild Hunt or Polukranos or Gonti Lord of Luxury? I know already that the Vizier is worse than Meren or Kalitas but how would you compare it to the Master or Polly or Gonti? (Please assume that the deck is a Green/Black Midrange deck which has a Mirri's Guile and Sylvan Library because I value smooth draws very highly, many thanks).
Yeah I don't tend to think post is excellent in legacy, the prevalance of wasteland, rishaden port, life from the loam, and bloodmoon in 4 of's tends to make the deck a lot worse. I more so just can't stand what the deck does on a theoretical level to the game, both for the pilot and opponent, and tend to think the card cloud post is ill designed.
Vizier of the menagerie is interesting, but I don't think good enough, but it might be at parity with one of the cards on this list.
Vizier vs. Polukranos: On Curve (T4), Vizier promises long term card advantage but does nothing except present a mediocre body on the turn it comes into play (relatively slow); PolyK presents a 4 or faster turn clock and removal, which depending on your color pie choice, ie not B or R, could be crucial and is also card advantage, regardless this card typically spends a few turns being the abyss if it's cast on turn. Late game, you might drop Vizier with plenty of excess mana, but unless you're running 40+ critters in your deck or have significantly reduced your in deck land count (for instance many triggers from a primeval titan, or a high volume of deck manipulation in green (not typical in G [courser, prophet of muld, m guile, sylvan, likely most playable options], and if you're pairing this gentlemen with U, well that fixes your manipulation problem but likely increases your "dead"/non-critter top decks for him). If you play Polyk late game you can always rely on your mana doing something, it will work. The only case where Vizier becomes better late game is if your opponent is holding 1-1 removal and you get to cast a critter off the top...but, think through this sequence, if your opponent is holding late game removal, against a green based deck and they haven't used it to kill your earlier threats, it probably means they're winning because their board is better than yours and you're losing anyway.
Gonti Lord of Luxury: I don't have a ton of experience with this card, or rather I've played against it a fair bit but haven't played with it. I do tend to favor it vs Vizier because on curve it presents a decent body for the cost, but more importantly it "can" trade up, allowing you to deathtouch away their most relevant threat if they're swinging for the fences, or hanging back while they attack with fewer threats to trade at parity...either way this works in your favor because it's buying you the time and place to cast whatever was best in their top 4 cards on the following turn (assuming on curve). Late game, Gonti still presents a roadblock for big dumb G dudes that don't fly and with enough mana allows the pilot to use removal to break board parity and begin their own offense or get a back breaking PW or critter to do the same whether through value or just more big dudes. Either way I think the critical difference is the ETB, which Vizier does not have, giving Gonti greater upside, and even the reduction in body is fine because deathtouch will be more relevant in the sort of deck that wants to play Gonti. The other half of the argument lends itself to synergies with ETB, for instance recurring nightmare on Gonti and someother ETB critter is a value train. I think the biggest reason you don't see more of this critter is likely the double BB CMC, which in the decks this gentlemen wants to be played in is fairly restrictive and 4's just tend to be competitive in general due to their inefficiency.
I think the two cards that come closest are Vizier and Master of the Wild Hunt. Vizier is far worse in the early game, neither does a thing when they come into play for 4 mana on T4, albeit Master dies to a lot more red based removal, it will always have an effect the turn following its resolution, you can hope for vizier to "hit" after you've tapped out for it on curve, but in the best of cases it's 50/50, but probabley more like 40/60 in your favor. Late game vizier "could" be more powerful if you have a large amount of mana available and have been able to get a consistent source of deck manipulation; but I personally think you could find far more powerful things to do in the late game with a boat of mana and library manipulation than either of these cards. The thing that's made master special for so long, and it's still a staple in many cubes, is the fact that it offers a consistent source of card advantage, you're getting 2/2's, and means of removing opposing threats. It's inherent weakness, sunk 4 mana, that dies to bolt, is in my opinion a nod to good clean design. I still like master better here, but there's definitely more room for argument depending upon how you build. The sad truth is, I think power tends to pay off over synergy in 100CS; synergy is great and should be sought wherever you can make it, but it should generally be with cards that can stand on their own value, ie how bad is timevault without voltaic key or tezzeret...this is why some extrememly powerful vintage decks can lose to decks that cast 2/1s for 1 mana
Hope this helps.
Take it easy--KB
P.S. power or power-level may be ambiguous, but I think it lies somewhere in the opaque space between rate of presentation in time, relevance over a flexible range of board states or vice the highest presentation of archetypes.
For instance I wouldn't personally call draco a powerful card, I wouldn't even call emrakul of the aeons torn a powerful card because in a standard game it doesn't present itself in a relevant place in time to have desired impact, as a counter to this I would say that through the breach and sneak attack are high power-level cards, or show and tell.
I think the funny thing is everyone wants to have the tank when they're in battle, what they don't know is that it takes 4 humans who've been trained in specific positions in that platform (Driver, Tank Commander, Gunner, and Loader [the replaceable guy/gal]) for 9 months to acquire any sort of proficiency on that system, that the system costs 8 million, but likely expends just that much or more over the 9 month period in parts, fuel, and time. That the main gun can't vertically manipulate to greater 14-15 degrees, making it hopelessly engaged against threats elevated above it in mountainous or urban terrain without significant standoff. Couple this with the fact that if the livelihood of one of the critical crew members is ended, the 8 million dollar war machine comes to a halt. This may seem like random diatribe, but it's analogous to the calculus of power, in a platform that's designed to do one thing really well (in this case fight through the rolling open terrain), it will do that one thing really well, but it's fragile. I'd far rather have a pistol, knife, or grenade, because they're simple to use, they're innocuous and can be hidden, they can go where the course of any human interchange will take me (okay my grenade won't work under water, and my gun won't work in outer space, but those are fairly extraneous), and they can always be applied with limited need for maintenance, coordination with others, and within a moment's notice. Magic is no different in this regard. (and for Michelle specifically, it's the reason I beat your ruination, ie if you could have presented actual threats over denial in a timely manner I would have lost [that's not to say that ruination is bad, but I think most of us need to embrace efficiency to a higher extent])
You have convinced me to avoid the Vizier of the Menagerie.
Dear Vizier of the Menagerie, it sucks to be you. Sorry, but you have been slammed by Lowman02! You are useful to escape a blood moon lock (I will grant you that much), however that interaction rarely occurs, roughly once in a . . . blue moon! And despite your contempt for the snakes, the chainsaw community clearly favors the Lotus Cobra over you! (see attachment in this regard).
Ha yeah lotus cobra beats the crap out of that card, matter of fact I think it's the second strongest green 2 drop creature (but what about goyf? Goyf is really a cross-dressing blue card, but yeah its status as beef stick supreme cannot be denied). The unholy quintuplet of the 2's (critters) is definitely: tarmogoyf, snapcaster mage, thalia, guardian of thraben, young pyromancer, and dark confidant. These cards all rock, most of them are format defining or archetype defining cards, the only one that falls short is lotus cobra in most "real", non-100card formats, because goyf and deathrite shaman are things and they're just faster.
--KB
PS-Moonlock in a base green deck, meh, just run mana dorks, you only need the first 1-2 colored mana then you can run all the colors, how does 4CBlood beat moon (the dorks )
PSS-More Post Hate below #efficiency
lowman donated to Chaos
Undefeated : littlefield -4
Lost once:
BoozeMongoose -1.5
ML_Berlin -1.5
lowman02 -0 (lowman donated to Chaos)
CHAOSBLACKDOOM -3
Doorprize: Armont -1
It's now available for 3 Euro in GOG.com summersales(66% rebate)! I don't anybody who didn't like HoMM III for the full price at release! So, if u have not played it before, I think I can guarantee there is no better way to spend 3 bucks! And you get Rebel Galaxy for free on top(Summersale Bonus).I don't know that game, but hey it's free, so no risk:-)
P.S. Fantasy General is now( for 24h) completly free, just go on their website and claim the free gift.
Thx!
May I ask your opinion about the new card Ranumap Excavator, in the context of our chainsaw event? Specifically, do you think he is more powerful than the Courser of Kruphix or Tireless Tracker or Nissa Vastwood Seer or Eternal Witness?
In any case, I am now going on a mission to live the dream of resolving the following combo: Ranumap Excavator + Tireless Tracker + Knight of Reliquary (which will tap on the following turn to find my Wasteland). The Tracker is not necessary for this combo, but it is extra explosive with Tracker.
Thanks for your thoughts.
You present a good case that Ranumap Excavator may be weaker than all the 4 other cards which I mentioned. However, I expect that I will still need to react like the person in the attached picture when I see my opponent resolve a Ranumap Excavator and I don't have removal in my hand.
Undefeated : Golden_Lin -4
Lost once:
BoozeMongoose -1.5
Socanelas -1.5
ML_Berlin -1.5
lowman02 -0 (lowman donated to Armont)
Armont -1.5
Doorprize: littlefield -1
This might be a first, Stsung and I disagree on a card evaluation :/ . In regards to Ranumap Excavator, I think this card is on the level with courser of kruphix, I tend to think it's a better midrange card than nissa (the little one), although there is certainly an argument that she is a stronger card in ramp, I think this card is of a lower power level than tireless tracker, but it's close.
I think the first thing most folks will see is a recursion engine for LD, but if you're enacting this T3-4, you're likely getting beat to death by the faster decks of the format, or jamming this card into counter magic or removal (mass by the time you're passing it back) from the more controlling builds. Might it happen, sure, maybe you'll get your LD combo on by tutoring this little snake-man up and locking the opponent out, but I'd offer if they can't present a clock or control the board by T4, well you're winning the game anyways--swing for the fences and put them out of their misery. This format like legacy requires calculated play T1-4; what happens after initial keep may inform play but typically you're playing to your top deck after setting conditions for your strategy after the first few turns (or for more controlling strategies playing to outs or setting conditions for longer term plays, ie mystical confluence, maybe upheaval [why doesn't anyone play this card?]).
So why is this card great--it's a G/x card at heart. Points in favor of it vs. courser are two fold, one it's only got one G mana symbol in its casting cost--which means that it plays best in decks that utilize green for fixing, which also utilize a higher volume of fetchlands to fix mana, which means this card if cast on T4, should be a 2-1...even if they remove it (unless you do something silly like pass priority or they timestop you with fetch on stack). I can't say how many times I've seen players jam courser or tireless tracker on T3 while not under pressure, and it's fairly disheartening, because realistically the way these cards win you the game is by being 4 drops. This card is no different, it's a 4 drop at heart, that allows flexibility the turn it is cast to resolve a second spell--in a lot of ways all three cards play a lot like gush or rather they enable the winning of games through a similar philosophy, they just make mana or cards from different zones than the hand. I can't tell you how often, I enjoy setting up one mana removal on a courser or tracker turn; if you somehow have lotus cobra in play (I recommend this ) then you can cast 2 and 3 mana removal or cast a whole other critter all while gaining life and/or cards. The other benefit to the excavator is that it does not randomly die to enchantment removal, I've often found that reclamation sage, q pridemage, golgari charm, or dromoka's command can just blow people out playing courser--this is a double edged sword of an argument, however, as I too note that excavator does not pass the bolt test--so, it's a give and take argument and really matchup or meta dependent. To make the argument that courser does more by filtering the top of your library is true, and with fetches it's a nice ability to be able to "cycle" your TD 1-2 times before having to draw it, or use sylvan library to make "free" cards and life; however, both cards in and of themselves offer the same advantage, although one of them, the excavator, does so in the form of hidden knowledge. Excavator essentially does the same thing once you've generated recursion of a fetchland, by providing virtual card advantage off the top ropes, which has the same effect as courser on the game--the obvious disadvantage is that you don't know when to fetch and when not too based upon seeing the top card...this can't be completely claimed as a loss however, because your opponent is also denied this information too. The other upside to using the graveyard zone, is that you'll always hit a land drop if you want with this card, the same cannot be promised with courser.
I don't think either card is as comparatively strong as tireless tracker as neither is a grow style threat that presents a clock that needs to be answered while providing gross card advantage, but they all certainly work very well together and have high synergy with other cards that are in the format, or could be reintroduced into the format: lotus cobra, oracle of muld, crop rotation, harrow, fetchland, three vis/nature's lore, exploration (alright maybe this is too deep, but it's a thought).
Card advantage engines on 3 are still strong, obviously it's no dark confidant, but excavator I believe is very playable, whether you're chasing the WL lockout, Timmy dream, or if you're just spiking sick 2-1 advantage and grinding your opponent out of removal cards while going up on cards. I have to disagree and say that this card is a hit and should be played in the format and likely will in G/x midrange archetypes of the 3-4 color variety. But, we'll see.
Take it easy all
--KB
PS-And I definitely think all of these cards only get stronger in tandem, how disgusting is it to have tireless tracker in play with lotus cobra or courser--pretty disgusting if you haven't experienced it. Now imagine if you miss on TD with courser or you don't want that lan-o-war elves on the top and you get to pull a fetch from the gyard and change your draw next turn, etc. These cards all have high synergy; it's almost like playing fetchland, brainstorm in a color that should never have had this kind of draw or deck manipulation
I have decided to sleeve up this little Naga when he becomes legal (sorry Vizier of the Menagerie, I am not referring to you!). To my future chainsaw opponents I say: "Prepare to be drilled, hammered, excavated and other less polite things of this nature!"
Thanks also to Leila Pari for making this week's beautiful trophy, and congrats to Golden Lin for taking down the tournament with the power of W.
Are you able to edit Page 1 of this forum thread to upload the new banner which Leila Pari made a week or two ago?
Thanks.
Unrelated to 100CS, but equally sweet, the MTGO vintage cube is back up. Below I've hung a pic of one of my 2 decks I drafted, and frankly the most fun cube deck I've played in a while. SugarDaddy if you still jump on forum you'd be proud because I essentially recreated 5C reanimator...I unfortunately missed the eldrazi, but otherwise this deck was amazingly cool. Unfortunately, this deck dies to copious counter magic, so I went 2-1 with it losing my last round against U/R delver (yeah opp literally played delver in cube ). But definitely cool, if you enjoy singleton, then try cube; it's great
Also, stsung, yeah I think some of the nuances of the tracker, courser, and cruiblesnake get lost, and outside of tracker, they're not the most efficient threats, ie they don't end games rapidly. But, what they offer you in the mirror, or in courser's case being a dual purpose munition against aggro and midrange (really control too), is so much grinding advantage because true midrange fights are card to card, whenever you get up one on the opponent you are grinding toward inevitability. Where you're right they do languish is vice more controlling builds that seek burst advantage through global or mass effects, ie ***, Sphinx's Rev, or extremely powerful incremental tools like JTMS. I tend to cut these types of cards off for my own builds at the 3 drop slot, typically including e wit, sylvan library, courser, and lotus cobra (I'm fairly convinced lotus cobra is actively bad vs control, because of the increased efficiency it provides, it so often forces buffoonish decisions in regards to dumping hand to uphold mana efficiency into an opposing T3-4 wrath; vice midrange it wrecks shop though [this is also where walkers are nice]). I limit these type of mirror breakers to the 3 spot and ensure they don't comprise more than 10-15% of the decks critters (I don't and likely won't play oracle of muld, even though this card is awesome) because I think it also pays to close games out quickly which means you need to prioritize clock capability of a card, vice it's flexibility in matchup. Which, you're right on, these cards really are there to shore up grindfests in the midrange arena, except tracker, that card is just dumb it's pretty much good anytime
--KB
Hi Michelle, I think you must empty your cache!
The new banner will not be uploaded unless you did that.
If I remember right, you must hit F6 ,while the page is open in Gatherling(please, tech nerds, correct me if it was another F button).
Different to the old wizard.com forum, I can only add graphics here that have a URL( so LeilaPari would have to upload it somewhere).
But I think, the idea is great.
(I was referring to the first post on this forum, not to Gatherling).
Decided to try a video recording without headset, the sound quality is fairly poor (and you'll need to turn up your speakers), but here is a recording of yesterday's Chainsaw Massacre, managed to catch most of the matches: 24 JUN 17 CSM 5CReanimator .
Enjoy and take it easy.
--KB
Just an idea, and perhaps our prize pool isn't big enough to support it. But, I was wondering what people thought of nominating, let's say, a brewer's challenge card...for instance Cadaverous Bloom, Food Chain, Descent Into Madness, Aggressive Mining, or any other nonsense card that is kind of unique in mechanic, and then establishing a special prize pool for players that use said card. Might only be one ticket for playing with a brewer's challenge card, but it would be pretty cool, as folks who play for tickets could walk away with a tik even if their "sweet" brew didn't do so hot vs. more spikey builds. I know Kumagoro does this with Tribal, so I thought it was worth putting the idea out there for fielding. Let me know what you think.
--KB
My opinion is: Playing with (and sometimes winning with) sweet cards and brews brings its own rewards. I don't see any need to add complexity to the prize structure. I don't think that a single ticket will motivate people to bring sweet new brews to shake-up the meta.
Just an idea, another idea that would be fun is a pauper or PD 100CS event, likely PD would be the most effective for a cheap, inclusive event. This might have to be a separate challenge series run through challonge with prize structure from outside. But I think something like this would be equally as sweet. The spike I am, I'd be looking to break .01 or commons in either event, but I think it would be a refreshing experience and look through MTG's common or historically cheap but powerful cards over time.
--KB