Cryptic Command and the poor man's Brainstorm, Serum Visions.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Restoration Angel. Deciding whether to flash it in during combat to save a creature, at the end step, or to abuse an enter the battlefield effect can be difficult.
I was about to post about Lightning Bolt but I wasn't sure if I'd be laughed out for it.
You don't just shoot Bolts without thinking things through, at any rate. Learning when and where to Bolt greatly improves the quality of your game play.
Clique for the reasons stated already, and in certain games, Dark Confidant.
Usually you just drop the latter on turn 2, but sometimes you draw one late, at low-ish life, and you need to calculate probabilities, work out various routes the game could take, analyze your opponent's actions for tells that indicate how likely they are to have burn, and come up with contingencies under which you will get your own Bob killed.
Holding bolts is a very noob/nonred player thing. You just throw em at the face till they're dead.
I disagree. I find that mindlessly flinging Lightning Bolts at an opponent is also a very noob/non-red player thing. If you don't know when to hold up removal for potential threats, then you don't know how to play the deck.
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Eternal Masters 2015 Legacy Champion. Has an unnatural love towards perfectly reasonable respect for Lightning Bolt.
Why so much debate over lightning bolt? It's probably the most versatile and powerful 1 mana spell in the format. If you've been playing magic for longer than 6 months, you should know what to do with a lightning bolt. Deciding when to cast bolt and what to target with it is usually the easiest decision I'll make in a game when playing a deck with lightning bolt.
Flickerwisp because with Vial at 3 there's about a million things I can do with it.
I'm pretty biased but I'll second this. I've played with thoughtseize and wisp a while (btw using tidehollow scullers like seize but harder to get right) and vialing wisp is far and away the hardest choice to make. Pretty sure there's a valid argument for using it on any step at any given time.
Why so much debate over lightning bolt? It's probably the most versatile and powerful 1 mana spell in the format. If you've been playing magic for longer than 6 months, you should know what to do with a lightning bolt. Deciding when to cast bolt and what to target with it is usually the easiest decision I'll make in a game when playing a deck with lightning bolt.
Bolt is more skill testing than that.
You are on the draw. Opponent casts turn 1 Noble Hierarch, do you bolt it? That depends a lot on what you are playing yourself, what else you would do with the mana, and what your strategy to win this game is. (The answer is usually yes in this scenario).
Taking one that is less straightforward - you are playing a Twin variant that splashes black for maindeck Thoughtseize. Your opponent casts turn 1 Loam Lion off a Temple Garden. Your only red source available is a Scalding Tarn, and your hand is Serum Visions, Exarch, Twin, Tarn, Island, Island, Bolt. Do you go Tarn - Mountain - Bolt, Tarn - Blood Crypt - Bolt, Island - Serum Visions, or something else?
Finally, there's the case of 'do I bolt the 1 drop or wait for a 2 drop?'.
There's a lot of tough decisions around running Bolt, and even more around Path to Exile.
Why so much debate over lightning bolt? It's probably the most versatile and powerful 1 mana spell in the format. If you've been playing magic for longer than 6 months, you should know what to do with a lightning bolt. Deciding when to cast bolt and what to target with it is usually the easiest decision I'll make in a game when playing a deck with lightning bolt.
I play against opponents on Cockatrice who play UWR Control (or UWR Midrange leaning towards Control) who Bolt my head when I'm not that close to being dead and I have targets on the battlefield that die or lose loyalty counters to Bolt. (One of those said opponents actually won.)
Anyway, I've found that Voice of Resurgence is possibly the most skill-intensive non-combo piece creature in Pod. I almost have to memorize which match-ups I have to keep it alive, which ones I can freely throw it to the attacking or Liliana wolves, and which ones where I actually should feed it to my own sac outlet ASAP.
Scavenging Ooze is a bit skill-intensive, too--I normally won't let it into Bolt range (but I let Goyf into Bolt range), but I feel like I'm sometimes doing it wrong. I also have to keep G up all the time against Tiago more often.
Pod and Twin combos are also skill-intensive. I tend to only go off with them if I'm about to die, a piece is about to die, or I can fend off one removal spell immediately.
Why so much debate over lightning bolt? It's probably the most versatile and powerful 1 mana spell in the format. If you've been playing magic for longer than 6 months, you should know what to do with a lightning bolt. Deciding when to cast bolt and what to target with it is usually the easiest decision I'll make in a game when playing a deck with lightning bolt.
I play against opponents on Cockatrice who play UWR Control (or UWR Midrange leaning towards Control) who Bolt my head when I'm not that close to being dead and I have targets on the battlefield that die or lose loyalty counters to Bolt. (One of those said opponents actually won.)
Just because some people are stupid doesn't mean that Bolt is a particularly skillful card.
Anyway, I've found that Voice of Resurgence is possibly the most skill-intensive non-combo piece creature in Pod. I almost have to memorize which match-ups I have to keep it alive, which ones I can freely throw it to the attacking or Liliana wolves, and which ones where I actually should feed it to my own sac outlet ASAP.
Scavenging Ooze is a bit skill-intensive, too--I normally won't let it into Bolt range (but I let Goyf into Bolt range), but I feel like I'm sometimes doing it wrong. I also have to keep G up all the time against Tiago more often.
Pod and Twin combos are also skill-intensive. I tend to only go off with them if I'm about to die, a piece is about to die, or I can fend off one removal spell immediately.
It's weird for a skilltester card in that a good 80-90% of the time Ravager can win you a game the right play is pretty obvious, but the other 10-20% of the time, it's extremely important to play it perfectly.
You played JESUS?!?! I heard none of his guys stay in the graveyard, and once you think you have him beat he ALWAYS comes back to win within three turns. I like...WORSHIP him.
Two more I want to add are Snapcaster Mage and Restoration Angel. At times it's totally valid to flash them in without targets. I know I was taken aback the first time I saw someone do that, but I've learned a lot since then.
GWUB 4C Gifts Control
Commander:
GWU Derevi
BGW Ghave
BUG Muldrotha
Tiny Leaders:
BGW Doran
BGU Leovold
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Lightning Bolt is fairly skill testing.
You don't just shoot Bolts without thinking things through, at any rate. Learning when and where to Bolt greatly improves the quality of your game play.
Usually you just drop the latter on turn 2, but sometimes you draw one late, at low-ish life, and you need to calculate probabilities, work out various routes the game could take, analyze your opponent's actions for tells that indicate how likely they are to have burn, and come up with contingencies under which you will get your own Bob killed.
an unnatural love towardsperfectly reasonable respect for Lightning Bolt.The Kiwi third of The Salt Mine Podcast: An Australian Legacy Podcast
That is not how any deck except for Burn that runs Bolt works.
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
I'm pretty biased but I'll second this. I've played with thoughtseize and wisp a while (btw using tidehollow scullers like seize but harder to get right) and vialing wisp is far and away the hardest choice to make. Pretty sure there's a valid argument for using it on any step at any given time.
Bolt is more skill testing than that.
You are on the draw. Opponent casts turn 1 Noble Hierarch, do you bolt it? That depends a lot on what you are playing yourself, what else you would do with the mana, and what your strategy to win this game is. (The answer is usually yes in this scenario).
Taking one that is less straightforward - you are playing a Twin variant that splashes black for maindeck Thoughtseize. Your opponent casts turn 1 Loam Lion off a Temple Garden. Your only red source available is a Scalding Tarn, and your hand is Serum Visions, Exarch, Twin, Tarn, Island, Island, Bolt. Do you go Tarn - Mountain - Bolt, Tarn - Blood Crypt - Bolt, Island - Serum Visions, or something else?
Finally, there's the case of 'do I bolt the 1 drop or wait for a 2 drop?'.
There's a lot of tough decisions around running Bolt, and even more around Path to Exile.
I play against opponents on Cockatrice who play UWR Control (or UWR Midrange leaning towards Control) who Bolt my head when I'm not that close to being dead and I have targets on the battlefield that die or lose loyalty counters to Bolt. (One of those said opponents actually won.)
Anyway, I've found that Voice of Resurgence is possibly the most skill-intensive non-combo piece creature in Pod. I almost have to memorize which match-ups I have to keep it alive, which ones I can freely throw it to the attacking or Liliana wolves, and which ones where I actually should feed it to my own sac outlet ASAP.
Scavenging Ooze is a bit skill-intensive, too--I normally won't let it into Bolt range (but I let Goyf into Bolt range), but I feel like I'm sometimes doing it wrong. I also have to keep G up all the time against Tiago more often.
Pod and Twin combos are also skill-intensive. I tend to only go off with them if I'm about to die, a piece is about to die, or I can fend off one removal spell immediately.
pod, clique and gift ungivens
and
arcbound ravager!!!!!!!!!!!
Just because some people are stupid doesn't mean that Bolt is a particularly skillful card.
Why do you let Goyf get bolted?
Storm Crow is strictly worse than Seacoast Drake.
Yeah I was forgetting Ravager.
It's weird for a skilltester card in that a good 80-90% of the time Ravager can win you a game the right play is pretty obvious, but the other 10-20% of the time, it's extremely important to play it perfectly.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
I like slamming Goyfs on Turn 2 too much. It tends to work for me. Goyfs in Bolt range get countered instead surprisingly often.
it's stupid. counter should be valued more than removal.
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btw, imo,
snapcaster mage and liliana of the veil
My 180 Modern Bordered Only Cube
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
(btw my vote goes to Gifts Ungiven - if you don't go for the reanimator couple-)
- L
"The problem isn't when Scissors says Rock is overpowered, it's when Paper says it is."
-Mark Rosewater
I value my removal more than my soft counterspells (Leak, Pierce, etc.). Removal can hit manlands and whatever leaks through the counter suite.