As I might be dealing with this deck soon, I hope you guys will consider a question from the enemy. Does Grafdigger's Cage do anything against the deck, or is it not even worth the slot of bringing it in?
hey, maybe I am just crazy, but...
what do you think of Utopia Sprawl instead of Ancient Stirrings? Or in place of Seal of Primordium. Utopia Sprawl helps vs Blood Moon and ramps.
Just to get some new ideas.
As I might be dealing with this deck soon, I hope you guys will consider a question from the enemy. Does Grafdigger's Cage do anything against the deck, or is it not even worth the slot of bringing it in?
Thanks!
No, sir, we play fair Magic here. We pay the full mana cost on all our cards. Also, Pact does not put the creature directly into play like Pod or Chord or GSZ.
No, sir, we play fair Magic here. We pay the full mana cost on all our cards. Also, Pact does not put the creature directly into play like Pod or Chord or GSZ.
Heh. Amuses me greatly that a deck that can (at least in theory) make lethal attacking power worth of Primeval Titans on turn 2 can be called a "fair" deck... but in a certain sense it is.
That's some great article there and I believe statistics won't lie!
Amulet Bloom
Top Decks prevalence: 4.1%
Deep Dive prevalence: 4% (76)
Deep Dive matches: 250
MWP: 60% (p=.002***)
vs. Abzan: 54.5% (6/11)
vs. Affinity: 42.9% (6/14)
vs. Burn: 77.3% (17/22)
vs. Jund: 28.6% (4/14)
vs. UR Twin: 64% (16/25)
vs. Grixis Delver: 61.1% (11/18
Imo, Jund was set to that low MWP due to the land hate they bring, which is ofc expected from that deck. But overall, wow. Man, I need to get better in piloting this deck!
snippet:
Yeah, Amulet Bloom is still probably the best deck in Modern. We are up to 250 matches and the MWP is only getting crazier. Now it’s 60%, a full 10% points over the MTGO-wide average, with a jaw-dropping statistical significance of P = .002. This means Amulet isn’t just at the upper end of expected variance. It’s a legitimate overperformer in another MWP league relative to the competition. This also aligns with our more qualitative experiences of the deck. Amulet Bloom is perhaps the most difficult combo deck to interact with in Modern, and also one of the most linear. It punishes decks that don’t interact with it, and very hard to interact with for decks that try. This matches all other available data on the deck, all of which suggests Amulet is the real deal and the hand’s down victor for highest MWP in Modern.
From a metagame perspective, Amulet Bloom sees a solid amount of play but nothing too overwhelming. It’s about as common as Merfolk, RG Tron, and Jund, which feels odd given how crazy its overall MWP is. Why aren’t more people playing this deck? It has positive matchups everywhere, it has a strong gameplan, and it punishes opponents who either don’t interact with it or screw up an interaction. Why is it underplayed? The big reason is a perceived skill floor. People think this deck is really hard to play, which scares prospective pilots. Is it actually as hard as people think? Yes and no. The deck has a lot of internal nuances to figure out and many play lines you need to consider. But it’s not much harder than Tempo Twin variants or Affinity in that respect, and those decks see a lot more play. That said, most players don’t believe this to be the case, which is why so many of them don’t run Amulet. Those running it online are extremely experienced with the deck: many have been playing it for years, and the deck has the lowest ratio of unique players to matches of any top-tier deck. This is reflected in all the matchups. Those win-rates aren’t just Amulet Bloom showing its power. It’s the players themselves showing their experience. Amulet is both a deck that rewards player mastery, and Amulet players on MTGO tend to be very experienced with the deck.
As a final note on this, I think both the Twin and Abzan matchup are closer to 50% than the numbers are indicating here. In both cases, there is a player experience effect at play that increases the Amulet Bloom win rate. These guys know their stuff and have been playing for a long time. But it’s also a feature of the deck itself. When you screw up against most decks, you don’t instantly lose. A misplay against Amulet, however, is often game over, and Amulet gives lots of opportunities for opponent misplays.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Not sure if this card is gonna get banned sooner or maybe later...
Please don't make crap up. This is such an obvious word vomit it's ridiculous. Something about the internet and people thinking they need to say something to fit in..
This is to everyone here - but specifically Kanister, if you can help...
I know you said Sigarda mana is hard to come by, and I do agree. You also said that you loose the games where you face 1-2 thoughtseize AND 1-2 fulminators. Again, completely true - I just lost to jund thanks to the fulminator effect.
My question is simple...
whats the answer? I feel like I have a sideboard slot or 2 to play around with, but don't know how to combat jund. Its on the rise, and runs fulminators a lot easier than junk does. At the minute, I've gone a similar route to Cohen/Black, with 2 thragtusk and a hornet queen. I don't feel like that's enough.
Do you have a suggestion for a slot or 2? I have the 3 leylines already! Cheers folks
If Jund becomes too popular, we can use one of the flex in the sideboard for Crucible of Worlds. I dont find the BGx match up that bad. We take the "bigger" midrange approach; a few extra thragtusks/Sigarda/etc and we just go over top of them while still having the chance of a turn 2 Titan attacking for 16.
I am actually favouring Bloom right now in the current meta; counter heavy decks are on the decline and people are going more greedy and less interactive which i think is the perfect meta for us.
@ the Leyline of Sanctity discussion; they are really good in the meta right now; Burn, Grixis Delver, BGx etc. I think changing Gruul Turfs into Selesnya Sanctuary is the correct move. Most decks only need 1R for a few pryoclasms/Firespouts in the sideboard; but I think Sigarda/Leylines are just to good in the meta and being able to hardcast them easier is good.
That's some great article there and I believe statistics won't lie!
Amulet Bloom
Top Decks prevalence: 4.1%
Deep Dive prevalence: 4% (76)
Deep Dive matches: 250
MWP: 60% (p=.002***)
vs. Abzan: 54.5% (6/11)
vs. Affinity: 42.9% (6/14)
vs. Burn: 77.3% (17/22)
vs. Jund: 28.6% (4/14)
vs. UR Twin: 64% (16/25)
vs. Grixis Delver: 61.1% (11/18
Imo, Jund was set to that low MWP due to the land hate they bring, which is ofc expected from that deck. But overall, wow. Man, I need to get better in piloting this deck!
snippet:
Yeah, Amulet Bloom is still probably the best deck in Modern. We are up to 250 matches and the MWP is only getting crazier. Now it’s 60%, a full 10% points over the MTGO-wide average, with a jaw-dropping statistical significance of P = .002. This means Amulet isn’t just at the upper end of expected variance. It’s a legitimate overperformer in another MWP league relative to the competition. This also aligns with our more qualitative experiences of the deck. Amulet Bloom is perhaps the most difficult combo deck to interact with in Modern, and also one of the most linear. It punishes decks that don’t interact with it, and very hard to interact with for decks that try. This matches all other available data on the deck, all of which suggests Amulet is the real deal and the hand’s down victor for highest MWP in Modern.
From a metagame perspective, Amulet Bloom sees a solid amount of play but nothing too overwhelming. It’s about as common as Merfolk, RG Tron, and Jund, which feels odd given how crazy its overall MWP is. Why aren’t more people playing this deck? It has positive matchups everywhere, it has a strong gameplan, and it punishes opponents who either don’t interact with it or screw up an interaction. Why is it underplayed? The big reason is a perceived skill floor. People think this deck is really hard to play, which scares prospective pilots. Is it actually as hard as people think? Yes and no. The deck has a lot of internal nuances to figure out and many play lines you need to consider. But it’s not much harder than Tempo Twin variants or Affinity in that respect, and those decks see a lot more play. That said, most players don’t believe this to be the case, which is why so many of them don’t run Amulet. Those running it online are extremely experienced with the deck: many have been playing it for years, and the deck has the lowest ratio of unique players to matches of any top-tier deck. This is reflected in all the matchups. Those win-rates aren’t just Amulet Bloom showing its power. It’s the players themselves showing their experience. Amulet is both a deck that rewards player mastery, and Amulet players on MTGO tend to be very experienced with the deck.
As a final note on this, I think both the Twin and Abzan matchup are closer to 50% than the numbers are indicating here. In both cases, there is a player experience effect at play that increases the Amulet Bloom win rate. These guys know their stuff and have been playing for a long time. But it’s also a feature of the deck itself. When you screw up against most decks, you don’t instantly lose. A misplay against Amulet, however, is often game over, and Amulet gives lots of opportunities for opponent misplays.
im thinking of getting this "legacy lite" deck just worried about bans is all
Kanister - I came up with something really similar... so, if I already side in 2 thragtusk, 1 hornet queen and 3 leyline - would you make sigarda your "spare" sideboard card or dismember? I'm basically looking at the two, and having to pick 1! I like that dismember is good vs infect and twin, but sigarda is good vs U-decks. I also think a 3rd thragtusk is possible option - being good against anything midrange/slow.
Sigarda is good in any matchup where you need more bodies because they are removal heavy; Abzan, Jund, Grixis Delver, anything running 4 paths etc. the only match up i think Thragtusk is better than Sigarda is Burn, where I like the extra life gain. The format is very light on non-damage based sweepers, so getting her off the board when she has landed is almost impossible right now and 5/5 blocks everything (other than 5/6 goyf)
So, while the Gifts Ungiven package has been working pretty well for me, I am going to have to cut it from my sideboard for a more traditional sideboard plan. With the rise of the Collected Company (Podless Pod) decks, I have received splash damage from the increased graveyard hate that people are playing to combat that deck. It was fun while it lasted. Oh well.
I like to think of myself as being decent enough with search effects and the decks that play them. I like to think that my weaknesses are in other areas – like not playing around Blood Moon, or playing too much around Blood Moon, or having a large Johnny-inspired attraction to the most complicated decks in a format. The third one is what inspired me to put down Four Color Gifts for a bit and pick up this deck. I’ve practiced for a couple months with mostly positive results – highlighted by a PPTQ Top 8 – none of which I commented about because I felt I was still playing largely sub-optimally and had a few lucky topdecks, things I didn’t feel were worth sharing. Also lurking's pretty fun.
This time, it’s a little bit different. I still had the occasional lucky break and I can’t say I was perfect or pressed into making a clutch play, or even that I made any clutch plays. But no matter the stakes, a 5-0 at a mostly-competitive LGS is still a 5-0, so here are my thoughts on that:
It’s not much to write home about, I suppose. The lack of leylines in the board are mostly budget reasons left over from assembling the deck. I mean, I have one, but that’s obviously not enough.
Some other notes:
Like kannister, TheNoob and others before them, I am also considering a switch from three Turf / 1 Sanctuary to two and two for similar reasons that they mentioned.
The lone Spellskite in the sideboard was supposed to be a second Pyroclasm, but the full-art one I ordered didn’t arrive in the mail in time and I wasn’t about to buy another for a Regular REL tournament.
I have a Ghost Quarter over the second Cavern of Souls in the main-deck mostly because I have been expecting more Tron decks than blue decks. Also, like Leyline of Sanctity, I don’t have more than one.
II. The Matches
Match One: Joeseph with U/B Mill
I recognize this guy’s face, but only from prereleases, so I have no idea what he’s on. I lose the die roll (0 for 1).
This “not knowing” continues into the first few turns as he plays Creeping Tar Pit into Island. Then he starts casting Surgical Extractions on my cantrips. Annoying, to be sure, but it doesn’t stop me from casting Hive Mind and killing him. He does get the “last laugh” as he reveals a hand of triple Archive Trap, so we mill each other for thirty-nine, but he still can’t pay double green or force me to draw three more cards, so we move on to game two.
My reasoning was that I didn’t need to kill him quickly, I just needed to kill him, so I boarded in some marginally better cards, shuffled up and presented.
I’ve played Scott before with other decks, all of which have sub-par Infect matchups. This one, though, is probably the worst. I’m already dreading this match, though it would allow me to test out Melira, as others have done before me.
I lose the die roll (0 for 2)
Fame one, Scott is “helpful” enough to mulligan to four, which makes him just slow enough to lose to Hive Mind.
Side note: Even after this game and Cohen/Bursavich in Washington DC, I’m still amazed at how close Infect can make a game with very few resources.
+1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast, +1 Firespout, +1 Pyroclasm, +1 Spellskite, +2 Nature's Claim, +1 Ghost Quarter
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Radiant Fountain, -1 Hive Mind, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Cavern of Souls, -2 Ancient Stirrings
In retrospect, this is probably a bit over-boarding, especially if I keep a lot of Inkmoth Nexus hate and he plays any other creature. Thoughts?
Game two starts off with more of the same, this time a mulligan to five and a remark that this is the first time he’s ever led with Breeding Pool tapped, go. I stall at four lands, Amulet in play, and three Primeval Titans in hand, though after he pumps a Blighted Agent to get in for six poison, I top-deck the Summoner’s Pact I need for Melira, and he can’t really do anything after that.
2-0 (4-0 total), 2-0
Match Three: Erik with Collect Call/CoCo/That One Junk Deck/Whatever
I recognize Erik from earlier tournaments, so we spend our shuffling chatting about that. I lose the die roll (0 for 3).
In game one, he ramps up with creatures while I manage two Amulets. Erik’s turn three consists of Collected Company. Mine consists of swinging for thirty-two.
+1 Pyroclasm, +1 Firespout, +1 Hornet Queen, +1 Dragonlord Dromoka
-1 Hive Mind, -1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Simian Spirit Guide, -1 Cavern of Souls
I’ve yet to have this match-up come down to anything but a resolved Pyroclasm/Firespout, and it’s not like they have much other interaction.
In game two, I lead with Ancient Stirrings instead of Serum Visions, which sends my Pyroclasm to the bottom of the library. That plus the his timely Reclamation Sage into Thoughtseize lets the rest of his two-toughness-or-less creatures clock me until I die.
Game three he doesn’t do anything of importance as I land a second turn Azusa into third turn Titan.
2-1 (6-1 Total), 3-0
Match Four: Jack with Five-Color Aggro
Not Tribal Zoo, mind you. It’s closer to Liege Rhino/Wilted Junk/That Other Junk Deck, except it splashes for Mantis Rider and Rhox War Monk. It’s been working well enough for him at this level, especially when all the Lightning Bolt decks lose in rounds one and two.
I lose the die roll (0 for 4).
Jack, like Scott, is kind enough to mulligan to four in game one, though Jack gets the style points for announcing his intention to keep before actually looking at his four. His Ancient Ziggurats do little to pay for the Hive Mind into Slaughter Pact.
+1 Dragonlord Dromoka, +1 Hornet Queen, +1 Sigarda, Host of Herons, +3 Thragtusk
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Simian Spirit Guide, -1 Cavern of Souls, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Hive Mind
I don’t normally like boarding out both Pact of Negations, but I couldn’t really find space otherwise. Probably another sign of over-boarding, but I think I’d rather the third Thragtusk over a single Pact here.
In game two, I have a large number of fatties in hand, and set up a Summer Bloom while his clock is small enough to be manageable. He Abrupt Decays my Amulet, and suddenly I’m left without a green source next turn. Multiple Siege Rhinos make sure that I don’t get a second chance.
On the play for game three, I manage an early Summer Bloom this time, which turns into an early Hornet Queen, and he never really catches up after that.
2-1 (8-2 total), 4-0
Match Five: Shreyas with Tezzerator
In essence, Shreyas’ deck is the old artifact deck from Zendikar/Scars Standard, except updated a bit to better suit Modern. I had seen him go Ashiok into Tezzeret and Wurmcoil Engine into Cyclonic Rift in earlier rounds, so I knew kind of what to expect.
He says, “High roll?”
“Actually, can we do low roll? I haven’t won a die roll all night.”
He rolls a three.
I roll a ten.
0 for 5.
In game one, he gets a Tezzeret out on turn four, while I struggle to get anything going. I die to a Darksteel Citadel and a Torpor Orb.
The Ghost Quarter is for some number of Blinkmoth Nexuses (Nexi? Blinkmoths Nexus?) I saw in his previous matches. Everything else I hope is self-explanatory.
Game two sees a Cavern naming Angel, and he durdles around a bit too much to deal with the resulting Sigarda and the follow-up Primeval Titan.
-1 Nature’s Claim, +1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
I remember that he’s mostly noncreatures, and that he’s more likely to target something indestructible with Tezzeret.
Game three sees basically a repeat of game two, as I jam threat after threat. He doesn’t have any interaction of note (If I remember properly, there was a Cyclonic Rift on Primeval Titan, which I just recast), and I had a Pact of Negation to deal with any that he had, so he dies in short order.
2-1 (10-3 total), 5-0
III. Aftermath
Overall, I’m happy with how I did – it’s hard not to be. There are still some mistakes I need to iron out, and I’d like to be able to remember to pick up a land without prompting a bit more often, and also just play a bit quicker when executing a known line, but only my fifth match went to time, so time doesn’t seem to be that large of an issue.
I enjoyed having mostly good matchups, with the bad matchups and other Blood Moon decks either losing to other people or starting with a small enough hand for me to make a game of it.
In the future, I’ll be replacing a pair of Ancient Stirrings with Sleight of Hands (Sleights of Hand?). I don’t think I want to cut the Stirrings entirely – sometimes you just need that karoo, but I’ve noticed multiple occasions where it would have been much better to have the cards on top of my library stay on top.
Anyways, thanks for reading 1845 words of beginner dreck. I hope it was at least a little entertaining, and if you’re going to Columbus for the Open/Invitational, I hope to see you there!
A turner of phrases quite pleasin'
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Grats on the finish and welcome to the thread. Don't worry about any missed lines of play or being a "noob" with the deck, I dont think its is actually possible to play 100% through a whole tournament with the deck; there are just too many lines of play and most often none are obviously correct over the other.
How do you find DL Dromaka? I still dont see how it is better than some of our other options, but more and more people are playing it so maybe I am missing something.
Keep up the good work, the more people in the thread reporting results, the better tune the deck will be
Grats on the finish and welcome to the thread. Don't worry about any missed lines of play or being a "noob" with the deck, I dont think its is actually possible to play 100% through a whole tournament with the deck; there are just too many lines of play and most often none are obviously correct over the other.
Yeah, it's mostly because I'm a little stubborn when it comes to Gifts Ungiven decks, so I don't really know how to respond when new people come over to the 4CGifts thread. Especially now that there's actual discussion going on, and I have to struggle to remind people that just because bad cards are good against certain decks doesn't make them any less bad [/rant] [/hypocrisy]
How do you find DL Dromaka? I still dont see how it is better than some of our other options, but more and more people are playing it so maybe I am missing something.
I didn't play against any decks where I would want the silence half, except maybe Tezzerator in round five, where she protected a lethal attack from double cyclonic rift or something stupid. The other times I boarded her in, it was because she's another big dumb beater with lifelink and sometimes you need those. She replaced the Batterskull I had in there, so that much didn't change.
Yes, she can be Terminated or Pathed, etcetera, and that can make you sad, but I'd rather interpret that as, "Does the value you get when you untap with Dromoka outweight the tempo loss of a removal spell?" I haven't tested it enough to determine the answer yet, but I'm hoping the answer is "Yes."
A turner of phrases quite pleasin'
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
How do you find DL Dromaka? I still dont see how it is better than some of our other options, but more and more people are playing it so maybe I am missing something.
Summoner's Pact grabs any green creature, including Dragonlord Dromoka. Dragonlord Dromoka has a big booty and is very hard to deal with in aggro apart from his ability which gives control a hard time. Dromoka is an all-in-one for a good cmc. I usually SB him in against any combo deck except for affinity and infect.
How do you find DL Dromaka? I still dont see how it is better than some of our other options, but more and more people are playing it so maybe I am missing something.
Summoner's Pact grabs any green creature, including Dragonlord Dromoka. Dragonlord Dromoka has a big booty and is very hard to deal with in aggro apart from his ability which gives control a hard time. Dromoka is an all-in-one for a good cmc. I usually SB him in against any combo deck except for affinity and infect.
I understand the theory behind DLD, but I just dont think it is better than our other options. I will break it down by ability on the card:
1) Uncounterable - it is a great ability; but DLD is not our main threat and you have to land her (him?) before you can start playing Titans (see below), which is not what we want to be doing. If you want uncounterable, Cavern of Souls is better as it can be set to human, help us land Azusa, than bounced to name Giant to land Prime Time. Cavern also helps us land other creatures we board in, like Thrag, Sigarda, Melira etc
2) Flying - Evasion is always nice. As no one plays Flying only removal, having it is always better than not.
3) Lifelink - is great especially when attached to a 5/7. But lifelink means you have to do damage with the creature and without haste, means DLD has to swing, which is not happening until next turn (unless you somehow have her out with a Garrison and Stronghold, but this only seems likely if you have already resolved a Titan, in which case you are already ahead). If I am pacting for a creature because I need life (and Fountain plus bounce isnt enough) than I need that life right now and Thragtusk is better. Thragtusk also means that even if they remove it before my next untap, I gained the life and still have something left over, unlike DLD.
4) No spells on your turn - this is a great ability but again, it seems win-morey to me. If I am worried about counters, Cavern is better. If I am relying on it to stop a combo deck from going off, a more specific hate card is probably better. If I am worried about removal; Thragtusk and Sigarda have that covered already, much more effectively.
5) The body - 5/7 is simply amazing. It kills almost everything seeing play in Modern (Wurmcoil, Prime Time, Emrakul and supersized Goyf are about the only things it cant kill). The 7 toughness is nice but again, Sigarda is more resistant to removal (hexproof).
6) What DLD does not offer - immediate impact beyond her No spells on my turn ability. All of our creatures (Prime Time, Thrag, Sigarda etc) have immediate impact on the board. Resilience to removal; while her 7 toughness does make it hard to remove for damage, the format has an obscene amount of non- damage removal right now (Terminate, Murderous Cut, Path etc) so its not as good of protection than Hexproof or leaving a token behind.
I guess what I am trying to say is; DLD does not have the impact I want from my sideboard cards. If we were not limited to 15, than sure, DLD would easily have room. But as of right now, my sideboard is so tight I can not justify giving her a spot over other options. Sigarda, Thragtusk, Elderscale Wurm and Melira are all much better at their specific match ups and have more general application than DLD.
1. i'm thinking of droping 3 leyline of sanctity for multiple reasons. I think it doesn't do enough in certain match-ups that are already very good imo (scapeshift, burn...), it makes you keep bad hands "just because you have the leyline", its one of the worst top deck and its almost impossible to cast if you top deck (you often need to wait to have "6 mana" in play to have 2 source of W and at that point you might as well cast your things)
Standard:GWRU 4C Collected Company Modern:GUWRB Bloom Titan Legacy:BUG SHARDLESS BUG
EDH : GR BORBORYGMOS ENRAGED GU PRIME SPEAKER ZEGENA UWR ZEDRUU THE GREATHEARTED UBR MISHRA ARTIFICER PRODIGY B SHEOLDRED WHISPERING ONE R ASHLING THE PILGRIM
I guess what I am trying to say is; DLD does not have the impact I want from my sideboard cards. If we were not limited to 15, than sure, DLD would easily have room. But as of right now, my sideboard is so tight I can not justify giving her a spot over other options. Sigarda, Thragtusk, Elderscale Wurm and Melira are all much better at their specific match ups and have more general application than DLD.
It's weird. I agree with all of your points, but I still like the card. I think it's because it specifically replaced Batterskull in my sideboard as the "Lifelink Fatty with Resiliency" (Batterskull's obviously better in the "Just try and destroy me", though of course it's smaller and isn't green for Pact. Maybe I just overvalue Summoner's Pact then?). The only real reason I can give for even having a slot like that is because I don't run Leyline of Sanctity, so that's two to three free slots I have for random silver bullets and other potentially dangerously cool things (see: Ruric Thar).
Again, I'll continue testing Dromoka (the good one) and see what I think. I think it's a bit too early for me to be drawing conclusions just yet.
• • • • • •
Speaking of cards that people have started playing, all the lists that Star City Games articles use for examples have this one-of Oracle of Mul Daya main-deck. From what I can tell, Chris VanMeter is spearheading this change citing the fact that Oracle can be pacted for as a primary reason (I'd give a link, but I'm lazy). The only result I could find was Micah Greenbaum's second place finish last week at the Premier IQ in Worcester. Does anyone here know anything about this? I understand partly why it's there, but almost any other card in that slot seems better. I'd rather someone explain it in more detail. Is this just normal SCG nepotism?
A turner of phrases quite pleasin'
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
1. i'm thinking of droping 3 leyline of sanctity for multiple reasons. I think it doesn't do enough in certain match-ups that are already very good imo (scapeshift, burn...), it makes you keep bad hands "just because you have the leyline", its one of the worst top deck and its almost impossible to cast if you top deck (you often need to wait to have "6 mana" in play to have 2 source of W and at that point you might as well cast your things)
I don't run Leylines either. Mostly for the reasons you mentionned. With the spare slots, I run Boil and Osbtinate Baloths. As always, I strongly recommand Boil. It may seems narrow, but it's so damn good. It's pure gold against Twin and anything blue (U-Tron, Scapeshift, UWR, etc.) When they cast Exarch at the end of your turn and you play that in response, that's just beautiful. Since the card doesn't see a lot of play, they never see it coming. If you are really unlucky, they may have only Sulfur Falls on board, but most of the times, you just destroy 2, 3 lands and all their blue mana sources because they run a lot of Islands/Steam Vents and always fetch for those (partly because they want To Blood moon you ^^). That usually gives you enough time to win. A Boil at the end of their turn also forces them to counter, so you can play whatever you want on your turn.
Regarding Reclamation Sage : I don't see myself pacting for a 2/1 that doesn't do much once on board. And hoping for your 1 Forest, a resolved Pact and a resolved Reclamation Sage to beat Blood Moon seems optimistic. I'd rather rely on our usual Swan Songs, Claims, Seals. Indrik Stomphowler is a little bigger than Sage in that same role, but it's not good enough either in my opinion.
[...] don't be shy in removing both your pact of negations in the faster match-ups. I know you said you don't like doing it, but it's a very rare case where the right play (in a fast game) is to fetch pact of negation. [...] All I would add, an opening hand with pact of negation in these fast match-ups always feels a bit crappy, unless your other 6 are perfect. That's why I drop them pretty fast.
I get that, it's just that I've noticed occasions -- both pre- and post-board -- where I'm working towards Hive Mind and they already have four mana, two of it green. I guess any combination of pacts would do it at that point though, so I see where you're coming from.
The other reason for my stubbornness to keep a Pact of Negation in is just sort of an anecdote. I was going for the thirty-two damage kill (is there a nickname for that/better way to phrase that?) and found myself with an extra Tolaria West in hand and mana to use it. The only way he could prevent his demise was double removal spell, so naturally I wanted a Pact to close that line off. To my "horror," I discovered that I had boarded both of them out for that game. It was kind of a wash because he didn't have _any_ interaction, but I still often prefer one just as a hedge. If you couldn't tell by my report, my LGS, despite being fairly competitive, also has a lot of weird decks. Even established decks play random one-of card choices (One of my friends who plays Twin always runs a pair of Trickbinds in his sideboard). So I'm sort of hesitant to open myself up to those.
I'll work on this at a less competitive, but also more aggressively-tuned LGS this Friday.
Secondly - on the Dromoka discussion. [...]
I have pacted for Dromoka twice: The first was because Thragtusk, while the five life was relevant, wouldn't have actually stabilized without zero interaction from my opponent and running Thragtusks off the top (this was Game Two against Jack, when he had multiple Siege Rhinos and an assortment of other creatures). So, since I was relying on zero interation anyways, I went and got a Dromoka for the lifelink instead. He had the Path.
The other time was to lock game three against Shreyas. By all rights he was dead anyways - I had Titan + Ruric Thar + Pact of Negation in hand, and he was at seven, but like I said about Pact, I've seen a lot of random one-ofs, and I had no idea what he was playing, so I went and got Dromoka just to be sure.
These are just anecdotes though. Like I said before, nothing substantial yet.
Third - the Oracle of Mul Daya [...]
I don't currently value the extra lands over an impulsive player slamming a Kolaghan's Command or Electrolyze (both of which will almost certainly be brought/kept in), but I mean, I guess that works. Nice to know I'm not (too?) crazy, though.
Fifth - you asked if you over-sideboarded a couple of times. [...]
Sure. I don't mind trimming numbers, it's just that I sometimes goldfish interlocking combo decks (Doomsday, The Epic Storm, et al.) and I'm terrified of diluting my decks too much. With the other decks I actually play, it's not a problem because there are five or six bad/mediocre cards in each matchup and the deck is modular enough to deal with that, so this is my first time in non-Casual REL otherwise.
A turner of phrases quite pleasin'
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
As for the Jund matchup, I'll be testing out additional Eternal Witness in both main and sideboard, for a total of 3-of. The witness seems to be one of those cards that has a value similar to Snapcaster Mage - specifically for our deck since most of the time we cast everything in sorcery speed.
Moreover, I'm starting to dislike Simian Spirit Guide in the deck that's why I'd rather play more green creatures. Has anyone tested Mystic Snake?
Please don't make crap up. This is such an obvious word vomit it's ridiculous. Something about the internet and people thinking they need to say something to fit in..
Thanks!
Modern - GB Elves, UW Ojutai Control
Legacy - BWG Junk Stoneblade
Gay and Proud
#MakeAmericaGreatAgain
No, sir, we play fair Magic here. We pay the full mana cost on all our cards. Also, Pact does not put the creature directly into play like Pod or Chord or GSZ.
|
|
Big Johnny.
--Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., who is up in Heaven now. EDH WUBRG Child of Alara WUBRG BGW Karador, Ghost Chieftain BGW RGW Mayael the Anima RGW WUB Sharuum the Hegemon WUB RWU Zedruu the Greathearted RWU
WB Ghost Council of Orzhova WB RG Ulasht, the Hate Seed RG B Korlash, Heir to Blackblade B G Molimo, Maro-Sorcerer G *click the general's name to see my list!*
Imo, Jund was set to that low MWP due to the land hate they bring, which is ofc expected from that deck. But overall, wow. Man, I need to get better in piloting this deck!
snippet:
If Jund becomes too popular, we can use one of the flex in the sideboard for Crucible of Worlds. I dont find the BGx match up that bad. We take the "bigger" midrange approach; a few extra thragtusks/Sigarda/etc and we just go over top of them while still having the chance of a turn 2 Titan attacking for 16.
I am actually favouring Bloom right now in the current meta; counter heavy decks are on the decline and people are going more greedy and less interactive which i think is the perfect meta for us.
@ the Leyline of Sanctity discussion; they are really good in the meta right now; Burn, Grixis Delver, BGx etc. I think changing Gruul Turfs into Selesnya Sanctuary is the correct move. Most decks only need 1R for a few pryoclasms/Firespouts in the sideboard; but I think Sigarda/Leylines are just to good in the meta and being able to hardcast them easier is good.
im thinking of getting this "legacy lite" deck just worried about bans is all
decks playing:
none
Sigarda is good in any matchup where you need more bodies because they are removal heavy; Abzan, Jund, Grixis Delver, anything running 4 paths etc. the only match up i think Thragtusk is better than Sigarda is Burn, where I like the extra life gain. The format is very light on non-damage based sweepers, so getting her off the board when she has landed is almost impossible right now and 5/5 blocks everything (other than 5/6 goyf)
Legacy: Infect, Lands, Eldrazi, Storm
Modern: Infect, UW Eldrazi
This time, it’s a little bit different. I still had the occasional lucky break and I can’t say I was perfect or pressed into making a clutch play, or even that I made any clutch plays. But no matter the stakes, a 5-0 at a mostly-competitive LGS is still a 5-0, so here are my thoughts on that:
I. The Ever-Important Decklist
2 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Primeval Titan
1 Simian Spirit Guide
3 Hive Mind
2 Pact of Negation
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Serum Visions
4 Summer Bloom
1 Boros Garrison
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Golgari Rot Farm
3 Gruul Turf
1 Khalni Garden
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
3 Tolaria West
1 Vesuva
1 Firespout
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Hornet Queen
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
2 Nature's Claim
1 Pyroclasm
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Spellskite
1 Swan Song
3 Thragtusk
It’s not much to write home about, I suppose. The lack of leylines in the board are mostly budget reasons left over from assembling the deck. I mean, I have one, but that’s obviously not enough.
Some other notes:
II. The Matches
Match One: Joeseph with U/B Mill
I recognize this guy’s face, but only from prereleases, so I have no idea what he’s on. I lose the die roll (0 for 1).
This “not knowing” continues into the first few turns as he plays Creeping Tar Pit into Island. Then he starts casting Surgical Extractions on my cantrips. Annoying, to be sure, but it doesn’t stop me from casting Hive Mind and killing him. He does get the “last laugh” as he reveals a hand of triple Archive Trap, so we mill each other for thirty-nine, but he still can’t pay double green or force me to draw three more cards, so we move on to game two.
+1 Ruric Thar, +1 Swan Song
-1 Azusa, -1 Slaughter Pact
My reasoning was that I didn’t need to kill him quickly, I just needed to kill him, so I boarded in some marginally better cards, shuffled up and presented.
He was a little bit faster out of the gates this time, with Shelldock Isle into Glimpse the Unthinkable into Extraction targeting Summoner's Pact, but none of it stops me from landing Hive Mind and setting up a Pact of Negation kill.
2-0 (2-0 total), 1-0
Match Two: Scott with Infect
I’ve played Scott before with other decks, all of which have sub-par Infect matchups. This one, though, is probably the worst. I’m already dreading this match, though it would allow me to test out Melira, as others have done before me.
I lose the die roll (0 for 2)
Fame one, Scott is “helpful” enough to mulligan to four, which makes him just slow enough to lose to Hive Mind.
Side note: Even after this game and Cohen/Bursavich in Washington DC, I’m still amazed at how close Infect can make a game with very few resources.
+1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast, +1 Firespout, +1 Pyroclasm, +1 Spellskite, +2 Nature's Claim, +1 Ghost Quarter
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Radiant Fountain, -1 Hive Mind, -1 Pact of Negation, -1 Cavern of Souls, -2 Ancient Stirrings
In retrospect, this is probably a bit over-boarding, especially if I keep a lot of Inkmoth Nexus hate and he plays any other creature. Thoughts?
Game two starts off with more of the same, this time a mulligan to five and a remark that this is the first time he’s ever led with Breeding Pool tapped, go. I stall at four lands, Amulet in play, and three Primeval Titans in hand, though after he pumps a Blighted Agent to get in for six poison, I top-deck the Summoner’s Pact I need for Melira, and he can’t really do anything after that.
2-0 (4-0 total), 2-0
Match Three: Erik with Collect Call/CoCo/That One Junk Deck/Whatever
I recognize Erik from earlier tournaments, so we spend our shuffling chatting about that. I lose the die roll (0 for 3).
In game one, he ramps up with creatures while I manage two Amulets. Erik’s turn three consists of Collected Company. Mine consists of swinging for thirty-two.
+1 Pyroclasm, +1 Firespout, +1 Hornet Queen, +1 Dragonlord Dromoka
-1 Hive Mind, -1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Simian Spirit Guide, -1 Cavern of Souls
I’ve yet to have this match-up come down to anything but a resolved Pyroclasm/Firespout, and it’s not like they have much other interaction.
In game two, I lead with Ancient Stirrings instead of Serum Visions, which sends my Pyroclasm to the bottom of the library. That plus the his timely Reclamation Sage into Thoughtseize lets the rest of his two-toughness-or-less creatures clock me until I die.
Game three he doesn’t do anything of importance as I land a second turn Azusa into third turn Titan.
2-1 (6-1 Total), 3-0
Match Four: Jack with Five-Color Aggro
Not Tribal Zoo, mind you. It’s closer to Liege Rhino/Wilted Junk/That Other Junk Deck, except it splashes for Mantis Rider and Rhox War Monk. It’s been working well enough for him at this level, especially when all the Lightning Bolt decks lose in rounds one and two.
I lose the die roll (0 for 4).
Jack, like Scott, is kind enough to mulligan to four in game one, though Jack gets the style points for announcing his intention to keep before actually looking at his four. His Ancient Ziggurats do little to pay for the Hive Mind into Slaughter Pact.
+1 Dragonlord Dromoka, +1 Hornet Queen, +1 Sigarda, Host of Herons, +3 Thragtusk
-1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Simian Spirit Guide, -1 Cavern of Souls, -2 Pact of Negation, -1 Hive Mind
I don’t normally like boarding out both Pact of Negations, but I couldn’t really find space otherwise. Probably another sign of over-boarding, but I think I’d rather the third Thragtusk over a single Pact here.
In game two, I have a large number of fatties in hand, and set up a Summer Bloom while his clock is small enough to be manageable. He Abrupt Decays my Amulet, and suddenly I’m left without a green source next turn. Multiple Siege Rhinos make sure that I don’t get a second chance.
On the play for game three, I manage an early Summer Bloom this time, which turns into an early Hornet Queen, and he never really catches up after that.
2-1 (8-2 total), 4-0
Match Five: Shreyas with Tezzerator
In essence, Shreyas’ deck is the old artifact deck from Zendikar/Scars Standard, except updated a bit to better suit Modern. I had seen him go Ashiok into Tezzeret and Wurmcoil Engine into Cyclonic Rift in earlier rounds, so I knew kind of what to expect.
He says, “High roll?”
“Actually, can we do low roll? I haven’t won a die roll all night.”
He rolls a three.
I roll a ten.
0 for 5.
In game one, he gets a Tezzeret out on turn four, while I struggle to get anything going. I die to a Darksteel Citadel and a Torpor Orb.
+1 Sigarda, Host of Herons, +1 Dragonlord Dromoka, +2 Nature’s Claim, +1 Ghost Quarter
-1 Hive Mind, -1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking, -1 Simian Spirit Guide, -1 Radiant Fountain, -1 Slaughter Pact
The Ghost Quarter is for some number of Blinkmoth Nexuses (Nexi? Blinkmoths Nexus?) I saw in his previous matches. Everything else I hope is self-explanatory.
Game two sees a Cavern naming Angel, and he durdles around a bit too much to deal with the resulting Sigarda and the follow-up Primeval Titan.
-1 Nature’s Claim, +1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
I remember that he’s mostly noncreatures, and that he’s more likely to target something indestructible with Tezzeret.
Game three sees basically a repeat of game two, as I jam threat after threat. He doesn’t have any interaction of note (If I remember properly, there was a Cyclonic Rift on Primeval Titan, which I just recast), and I had a Pact of Negation to deal with any that he had, so he dies in short order.
2-1 (10-3 total), 5-0
III. Aftermath
Overall, I’m happy with how I did – it’s hard not to be. There are still some mistakes I need to iron out, and I’d like to be able to remember to pick up a land without prompting a bit more often, and also just play a bit quicker when executing a known line, but only my fifth match went to time, so time doesn’t seem to be that large of an issue.
I enjoyed having mostly good matchups, with the bad matchups and other Blood Moon decks either losing to other people or starting with a small enough hand for me to make a game of it.
In the future, I’ll be replacing a pair of Ancient Stirrings with Sleight of Hands (Sleights of Hand?). I don’t think I want to cut the Stirrings entirely – sometimes you just need that karoo, but I’ve noticed multiple occasions where it would have been much better to have the cards on top of my library stay on top.
Anyways, thanks for reading 1845 words of beginner dreck. I hope it was at least a little entertaining, and if you’re going to Columbus for the Open/Invitational, I hope to see you there!
-r
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
How do you find DL Dromaka? I still dont see how it is better than some of our other options, but more and more people are playing it so maybe I am missing something.
Keep up the good work, the more people in the thread reporting results, the better tune the deck will be
Yeah, it's mostly because I'm a little stubborn when it comes to Gifts Ungiven decks, so I don't really know how to respond when new people come over to the 4CGifts thread. Especially now that there's actual discussion going on, and I have to struggle to remind people that just because bad cards are good against certain decks doesn't make them any less bad [/rant] [/hypocrisy]
I didn't play against any decks where I would want the silence half, except maybe Tezzerator in round five, where she protected a lethal attack from double cyclonic rift or something stupid. The other times I boarded her in, it was because she's another big dumb beater with lifelink and sometimes you need those. She replaced the Batterskull I had in there, so that much didn't change.
Yes, she can be Terminated or Pathed, etcetera, and that can make you sad, but I'd rather interpret that as, "Does the value you get when you untap with Dromoka outweight the tempo loss of a removal spell?" I haven't tested it enough to determine the answer yet, but I'm hoping the answer is "Yes."
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Summoner's Pact grabs any green creature, including Dragonlord Dromoka. Dragonlord Dromoka has a big booty and is very hard to deal with in aggro apart from his ability which gives control a hard time. Dromoka is an all-in-one for a good cmc. I usually SB him in against any combo deck except for affinity and infect.
I understand the theory behind DLD, but I just dont think it is better than our other options. I will break it down by ability on the card:
1) Uncounterable - it is a great ability; but DLD is not our main threat and you have to land her (him?) before you can start playing Titans (see below), which is not what we want to be doing. If you want uncounterable, Cavern of Souls is better as it can be set to human, help us land Azusa, than bounced to name Giant to land Prime Time. Cavern also helps us land other creatures we board in, like Thrag, Sigarda, Melira etc
2) Flying - Evasion is always nice. As no one plays Flying only removal, having it is always better than not.
3) Lifelink - is great especially when attached to a 5/7. But lifelink means you have to do damage with the creature and without haste, means DLD has to swing, which is not happening until next turn (unless you somehow have her out with a Garrison and Stronghold, but this only seems likely if you have already resolved a Titan, in which case you are already ahead). If I am pacting for a creature because I need life (and Fountain plus bounce isnt enough) than I need that life right now and Thragtusk is better. Thragtusk also means that even if they remove it before my next untap, I gained the life and still have something left over, unlike DLD.
4) No spells on your turn - this is a great ability but again, it seems win-morey to me. If I am worried about counters, Cavern is better. If I am relying on it to stop a combo deck from going off, a more specific hate card is probably better. If I am worried about removal; Thragtusk and Sigarda have that covered already, much more effectively.
5) The body - 5/7 is simply amazing. It kills almost everything seeing play in Modern (Wurmcoil, Prime Time, Emrakul and supersized Goyf are about the only things it cant kill). The 7 toughness is nice but again, Sigarda is more resistant to removal (hexproof).
6) What DLD does not offer - immediate impact beyond her No spells on my turn ability. All of our creatures (Prime Time, Thrag, Sigarda etc) have immediate impact on the board. Resilience to removal; while her 7 toughness does make it hard to remove for damage, the format has an obscene amount of non- damage removal right now (Terminate, Murderous Cut, Path etc) so its not as good of protection than Hexproof or leaving a token behind.
I guess what I am trying to say is; DLD does not have the impact I want from my sideboard cards. If we were not limited to 15, than sure, DLD would easily have room. But as of right now, my sideboard is so tight I can not justify giving her a spot over other options. Sigarda, Thragtusk, Elderscale Wurm and Melira are all much better at their specific match ups and have more general application than DLD.
2. stupid question. I know most lists are very tight but since i made 3 place in my SB ^^ I really like Summonner Pact as a tool box card (Sigarda, Host of Herons, Thragtusk, Eternal Witness, Hornet Queen, Melira, Sylvok Outcast, Obstinate Baloth, Dragonlord Dromoka...) i was wondering if Reclamation Sage could be a good SB creature? Blood Moon is the worst thing possible. If it ever resolve, we need to pool the mana to destroy it OR we need to find the singleton Forest AND top deck a Nature's Claim/Seal of Primordium. With a Reclamation Sage if you find that forest you can summoner pact into it. I know its narrow but its a tutorable naturalize and this deck is all about those kind of play. So could that be a good SB creature?
ps: sorry for broken english i'm francophone...
Standard: GWRU 4C Collected Company
Modern: GUWRB Bloom Titan
Legacy: BUG SHARDLESS BUG
EDH :
GR BORBORYGMOS ENRAGED
GU PRIME SPEAKER ZEGENA
UWR ZEDRUU THE GREATHEARTED
UBR MISHRA ARTIFICER PRODIGY
B SHEOLDRED WHISPERING ONE
R ASHLING THE PILGRIM
Again, I'll continue testing Dromoka (the good one) and see what I think. I think it's a bit too early for me to be drawing conclusions just yet.
• • • • • •
Speaking of cards that people have started playing, all the lists that Star City Games articles use for examples have this one-of Oracle of Mul Daya main-deck. From what I can tell, Chris VanMeter is spearheading this change citing the fact that Oracle can be pacted for as a primary reason (I'd give a link, but I'm lazy). The only result I could find was Micah Greenbaum's second place finish last week at the Premier IQ in Worcester. Does anyone here know anything about this? I understand partly why it's there, but almost any other card in that slot seems better. I'd rather someone explain it in more detail. Is this just normal SCG nepotism?
Thanks,
-r
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
I don't run Leylines either. Mostly for the reasons you mentionned. With the spare slots, I run Boil and Osbtinate Baloths. As always, I strongly recommand Boil. It may seems narrow, but it's so damn good. It's pure gold against Twin and anything blue (U-Tron, Scapeshift, UWR, etc.) When they cast Exarch at the end of your turn and you play that in response, that's just beautiful. Since the card doesn't see a lot of play, they never see it coming. If you are really unlucky, they may have only Sulfur Falls on board, but most of the times, you just destroy 2, 3 lands and all their blue mana sources because they run a lot of Islands/Steam Vents and always fetch for those (partly because they want To Blood moon you ^^). That usually gives you enough time to win. A Boil at the end of their turn also forces them to counter, so you can play whatever you want on your turn.
Regarding Reclamation Sage : I don't see myself pacting for a 2/1 that doesn't do much once on board. And hoping for your 1 Forest, a resolved Pact and a resolved Reclamation Sage to beat Blood Moon seems optimistic. I'd rather rely on our usual Swan Songs, Claims, Seals. Indrik Stomphowler is a little bigger than Sage in that same role, but it's not good enough either in my opinion.
The other reason for my stubbornness to keep a Pact of Negation in is just sort of an anecdote. I was going for the thirty-two damage kill (is there a nickname for that/better way to phrase that?) and found myself with an extra Tolaria West in hand and mana to use it. The only way he could prevent his demise was double removal spell, so naturally I wanted a Pact to close that line off. To my "horror," I discovered that I had boarded both of them out for that game. It was kind of a wash because he didn't have _any_ interaction, but I still often prefer one just as a hedge. If you couldn't tell by my report, my LGS, despite being fairly competitive, also has a lot of weird decks. Even established decks play random one-of card choices (One of my friends who plays Twin always runs a pair of Trickbinds in his sideboard). So I'm sort of hesitant to open myself up to those.
I'll work on this at a less competitive, but also more aggressively-tuned LGS this Friday.I have pacted for Dromoka twice: The first was because Thragtusk, while the five life was relevant, wouldn't have actually stabilized without zero interaction from my opponent and running Thragtusks off the top (this was Game Two against Jack, when he had multiple Siege Rhinos and an assortment of other creatures). So, since I was relying on zero interation anyways, I went and got a Dromoka for the lifelink instead. He had the Path.
The other time was to lock game three against Shreyas. By all rights he was dead anyways - I had Titan + Ruric Thar + Pact of Negation in hand, and he was at seven, but like I said about Pact, I've seen a lot of random one-ofs, and I had no idea what he was playing, so I went and got Dromoka just to be sure.
These are just anecdotes though. Like I said before, nothing substantial yet.I don't currently value the extra lands over an impulsive player slamming a Kolaghan's Command or Electrolyze (both of which will almost certainly be brought/kept in), but I mean, I guess that works. Nice to know I'm not (too?) crazy, though.Sure. I don't mind trimming numbers, it's just that I sometimes goldfish interlocking combo decks (Doomsday, The Epic Storm, et al.) and I'm terrified of diluting my decks too much. With the other decks I actually play, it's not a problem because there are five or six bad/mediocre cards in each matchup and the deck is modular enough to deal with that, so this is my first time in non-Casual REL otherwise.
Thanks,
-r
Had a penchant for trick'ry and teasin'.
The very last line
Might seem sans design
What I mean is without why or wherefore.
-Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Moreover, I'm starting to dislike Simian Spirit Guide in the deck that's why I'd rather play more green creatures. Has anyone tested Mystic Snake?