The round of 16 was pretty interesting with a couple of really good matches. I'm not a big Owen Turtenwald fan so seeing Watanabe systematically destroy him was entertaining, and Lee Shi Tian's win was awesome. Everything from the semifinals on was about as amusing as watching paint dry though. The nonstop Siege Rhinos really reminded me of the trainwreck that was Thragtusk standard. I guess this is what happens when control isn't really a viable option so there's nothing to keep the midrange decks in check.
Honestly it didn't even bother me that much that so many of the games were landslide wins by whoever drew better. It seems almost like that was the game plan. Both players just Thoughtsieze everything relevant and then wait to see who topdecks better. It doesn't make for very entertaining Magic.
I'm working on Mardu as well but I was going more aggro. I really think thoughtseize and or despise may be the only real option. I'm also tempted to try stain the mind. (yeah a turn 3 siege rhino really sucks I'm not sure there really is an answer for that. I think the fact that The Azban players consistently drew multiple copies is what made the decks so strong. (If I didn't know better I'd swear there was more than 4 in the deck.)
I'm working on Mardu as well but I was going more aggro. I really think thoughtseize and or despise may be the only real option. I'm also tempted to try stain the mind. (yeah a turn 3 siege rhino really sucks I'm not sure there really is an answer for that. I think the fact that The Azban players consistently drew multiple copies is what made the decks so strong. (If I didn't know better I'd swear there was more than 4 in the deck.)
The problem I'm running into is in balancing getting rid of their threats (discard/destroy/exile) while having enough of my threats survive their removal, plus getting through their remaining big bad threats. It's an uphill battle that's totally showcased by the top 8. Luckily, I just play local FNM, but with everyone essentially running some kind of Siege Rhino deck, it's frustrating to have to build around that.
I didn't really think McLaren slow-rolled the Mantis Rider. You're on the potential last turn of the pro-tour. You know what you just drew wasn't what you were looking for, but you also might not be dead. You're going to run through every possible scenario before you make your play and say go. You have to think of any and every possible sequence that leads to you getting to untap.
I'm working on Mardu as well but I was going more aggro. I really think thoughtseize and or despise may be the only real option. I'm also tempted to try stain the mind. (yeah a turn 3 siege rhino really sucks I'm not sure there really is an answer for that. I think the fact that The Azban players consistently drew multiple copies is what made the decks so strong. (If I didn't know better I'd swear there was more than 4 in the deck.)
The problem I'm running into is in balancing getting rid of their threats (discard/destroy/exile) while having enough of my threats survive their removal, plus getting through their remaining big bad threats. It's an uphill battle that's totally showcased by the top 8. Luckily, I just play local FNM, but with everyone essentially running some kind of Siege Rhino deck, it's frustrating to have to build around that.
I'm running butcher maybe i need to think more about act of treason/harness by force/jeering instigator
The funny thing is, a deck playing a card like fated retribution would have been nuts in that top 8. The Abzan deck runs like 9 threats in total, 5 walkers and 4 Rhinos.
Also why the f is Ari Lax playing white bordered basics.
To tilt people. Tilt might be a big word but some people hate whiteboarded cards so much that seeing a whiteboarded basic land, from 6th edition with the ugliest logo, can upset them/throw them off. Could also be to piss of spectators in which case his plan seems to be working.
Personally I don't really hate Lax or anything like that, but his behaviour is not making me a fan either. Then again what does he care, he's there to win the PT not to win over an audience.
No idea if it’s even possible to “tilt” someone just by playing white borders; honestly, if it actually does legitimately bother you to the point you misplay, you deserve to lose anyway.
That said, there's an immediate reason I can think of to make them white-bordered other than this idea of tilting; it sets them apart from the rest of the deck. In my Urzatron deck in Modern, I deliberately got the 5th Edition Urza lands because due to their White border and old style, they were set apart from everything else in the deck (which were all Black-bordered and mostly in the new style). Well, that and I think they just look better than the other printings, but I still do like how they stand out from the rest of the deck due to the different border.
Another possible reason is to make them easier to spot while fetching; I've known people who do that just to shave a few seconds off of their match times.
The white border basics and fetching thing some players do makes me groan to be honest. Up there on the MtG-Science scale with fetchlands and deck thinning.
One of these is personal preference and possibly a minor mental shortcut. The other is basic statistics. You may figure out which is which on your own.
The funny thing is, a deck playing a card like fated retribution would have been nuts in that top 8. The Abzan deck runs like 9 threats in total, 5 walkers and 4 Rhinos.
Fleecemane Lion, Wingmate Roc and Elspeth are definitely threats in my book.
A 3/3 on turn 2 and a potential indestructible 4/4 later on. 6 power of evasive beats on two bodies. And infinite tokens that threaten to become 3/3 flying.
Interesting. The next few weeks are going to be interesting to see how standard evolves. I hope Abzan isn't just a flash in the pan since i'm all in on it...
I think Abzan will definitely take over the Metagame, at least for the next few weeks. If that's the case start buying end hostilities and perilous vault since people will be playing it to counter Abzan.
So, I would say the following decks belong in proven now
Jeskai Tempo
Abzan Midrange
Green Devotion
There's also Dimir Control and Ascendancy Combo but those don't feel like they are as prevalent or as strong as the above decks.
If a deck managed to post good results from several people then it's proven.
This also includes the fact that those people playtested their decks before PT and found them good enough to stick with.
So UB and UB splash W control variants, Ascendancy, Mardu definitely are proven.
Sultai, Temur and nongreen monocolors got the shaft.
Being excited over winning a pro tour doesn't make someone cocky/smug. Honestly people just read whatever into their reactions.
"Tian is unsportsmanlike and childish." "Ari Lax is a huge dick."
It's just their idiosyncracies at work. I rather doubt Lax was sitting there thinking how best to rub his victory into his opponent's face; most likely the guy was just ebulliant... almost as if he'd just won a PT or something. I guess people just need to stop assuming the worst about these players based on very limited evidence.
On a side note, I'm hugely impressed by Mclaren: 4 PT's, one win and one finals appearance, all without even being on a team. What a god.
In Ari Lax's case he's a premium writer on SCG. His attitude is the same in his writings and videos. It's not like people are judging him off of one PT.
Being excited over winning a pro tour doesn't make someone cocky/smug. Honestly people just read whatever into their reactions.
"Tian is unsportsmanlike and childish." "Ari Lax is a huge dick."
It's just their idiosyncracies at work. I rather doubt Lax was sitting there thinking how best to rub his victory into his opponent's face; most likely the guy was just ebulliant... almost as if he'd just won a PT or something. I guess people just need to stop assuming the worst about these players based on very limited evidence.
On a side note, I'm hugely impressed by Mclaren: 4 PT's, one win and one finals appearance, all without even being on a team. What a god.
In Ari Lax's case he's a premium writer on SCG. His attitude is the same in his writings and videos. It's not like people are judging him off of one PT.
Also notice how he mocked his opponents by throwing cards that he's playing on the table and how he smiled and snickered when his opponents had to mulligan.
Seems to me Ari might have been more nervous than an intentional jerk. Keep in mind, he also boarded in Mass Calcify instead of Dune Blast against Jeski in an earlier match. That, and drinking large amounts of fluids, seems to indicate nervousness.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure Jeskai will be played just as much as Abzan during the next few weeks. The actual winning of the pro tour is big, but it was Jeskai, not Abzan that was the real talk of the tournament.
I have a slight bias since (despite playing Abzan myself) I find Jeskai a more interesting deck. It plays control, aggro, burn, it's so hard to pin it down! They even had to make a poll on what to call it since the original name of Jeskai Tempo got called out (correctly) by Buehler as being nonsense. There is nothing interesting going on in the construction of an Abzan list.
So don't oversideboard for Abzan I guess. It's not a deck that's exactly easy to hate out - I wouldn't even say Perilous Vault is even that good against it.
To bad WotC isn't going to support a name with copyright issues. I like the idea of Jeskai Sith (red light sabers) myself. Although it probably would suck, I hope somebody can put together a list with both Siege Rino and Perilous Vault. Would be cool to see a deck called Siege Perilous running around standard.
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Honestly it didn't even bother me that much that so many of the games were landslide wins by whoever drew better. It seems almost like that was the game plan. Both players just Thoughtsieze everything relevant and then wait to see who topdecks better. It doesn't make for very entertaining Magic.
'78 CB750F, '09 CBR600RR
The problem I'm running into is in balancing getting rid of their threats (discard/destroy/exile) while having enough of my threats survive their removal, plus getting through their remaining big bad threats. It's an uphill battle that's totally showcased by the top 8. Luckily, I just play local FNM, but with everyone essentially running some kind of Siege Rhino deck, it's frustrating to have to build around that.
UR ....... WUBR ........... WB ............. RGW ........ UBR ....... WUB .... BGU
Spells / Blink & Combo / Token Grind / Dino Tribal / Draw Cards / Zombies / Reanimate
and i need to pack my sideboard full of abzan hate cards lol^^
I'm running butcher maybe i need to think more about act of treason/harness by force/jeering instigator
Another possible reason is to make them easier to spot while fetching; I've known people who do that just to shave a few seconds off of their match times.
One of these is personal preference and possibly a minor mental shortcut. The other is basic statistics. You may figure out which is which on your own.
If a deck managed to post good results from several people then it's proven.
This also includes the fact that those people playtested their decks before PT and found them good enough to stick with.
So UB and UB splash W control variants, Ascendancy, Mardu definitely are proven.
Sultai, Temur and nongreen monocolors got the shaft.
In Ari Lax's case he's a premium writer on SCG. His attitude is the same in his writings and videos. It's not like people are judging him off of one PT.
GWU Bant Manifest - The Future Is Here. Or it will be at the end of turn. GWU
I don't get the white-bordered land -hate. I genuinely like how they look, but I guess that's not allowed.
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To bad WotC isn't going to support a name with copyright issues. I like the idea of Jeskai Sith (red light sabers) myself. Although it probably would suck, I hope somebody can put together a list with both Siege Rino and Perilous Vault. Would be cool to see a deck called Siege Perilous running around standard.