I have quite a few casual decks that are fun to play. But generally if a deck is fun to play it isn't fun to play against.
I want to try and make a deck that is the most fun possible for my opponent when I play it. I still want it to be able to win (sometimes) but I really want it to be fun.
Ideas? Either for deck concepts or even just individual cards?
Erayo is probably the card that I have tried to "make work" out of every card I know of in MTG.
Finn's thoughts on Erayo are the same as mine have been most times. Which is to play Erayo in a deck like a Combo, but Erayo is a control card. So it doesn't work.
The other option though is to play it in a deck that relies on card synergy where "every" card interacts with other cards well. Aggro decks are like that usually. So I see Erayo fitting in a Aggro-Control type deck.
And thats what I have been playing around with more recently.
The type of deck I think Erayo works best in is a deck that can flip him later in the game, rather than only on turn 2-3. A type of deck that I think fits this is "FairyNinjaStill".
Thats a deck that can return free casting creatures to play them again, potentially activating Erayo. A deck with Erayo would be a signifiacant variation on FNS, but I would go that direction instead.
- Control early
- If Erayo is in hand setup a 4 spell play
- But the deck needs to work well without Erayo also
- Rebound mechanic is your friend (Distortion Strike)
Me however, I'm letting my brain rest for a while. I'll put my Erayo playset back in my folder and try again in 6 months.
This is a fun deck I have. The goal is to recur turns and stall the opponent until you can drop a win condition. It doesn't look like it does anything amazing, but I often will have taken 10 turns to the opponents 3 turns. And at that point they probably won't get a turn again.
Drop some draw effects. Then stall as much as possible.
Savor the Moment
With a Howling Mine in play, Savor the Moment becomes "Draw 2 cards, play an additional land". With an Ancestral Recall suspended it does even more.
Stasis
Superb at stalling the opponent. Chain of Vapor can be used to return it to hand so you get to untap before the opponent. Also a friend of Ancestral Recall.
Mind over Matter
With a temple bell in play it lets you filter your hand to exactly what you want
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Hard casting Emrakul as a win condition. It doesn't get cooler than that. Also, it can stop you decking yourself with Mind Over Matter.
The main points/benefits of the deck:
- It has card advantage in the form of recursive creatures
- Good discard to hit their hand early
- Smallpox is devestating to your opponent, but the deck can mitigate the effect significantly.
- Gravecrawler + Carrion Feeder can become awesome quick.
- Gravecrawler + Thoughtpicker witch can lock out your opponents draws (if you have another zombie)
- Any recursion + Blasting station is fun
But that's the problem i have, how do you know if it's an errata'd card?
The older the physical card being played, the more likely it is to have an errata (although still not likely). But there isn't a set created cut off point (that I know of). So any card could potentially be errata'd.
If a card has been changed like Stronghold Assassin has (It is printed as only an Assassin but is now considered a Zombie Assassin) is there any requirement to let your opponent know this in a tournament?
Example:
I have only Stronghold Assassin in play and Gravecrawler in the graveyard. I don't think my opponent knows Stronghold Assassin is a zombie and I don't tell them. Then I bring Gravecrawler back, which they didn't know could happen and I win the game from it.
Is there anything against the rules with this?
----
The answer is that there is nothing wrong with the above. If the opponent asks, then you have to answer truthfully, but if they don't ask, you don't have to tell.
I'm relatively new to Legacy Tournaments. I don't have knowledge of every card printed. And it just feels "wrong" that this is allowed to occur.
It makes me want to go to the extent of asking for EVERY card that my opponent plays if there have been any changes on the card, just in case.
In the answer I got, it was compared to an alternate language card, where it is the opponents responsibilty to ask. But in that case there is an indication you need better info about the card. In my example there is no reason you would think you need more info.
How do all of you feel about this? Does it feel wrong to you also? I think cards with Errata should have to be made clear to opponents.
If a card has been changed like Stronghold Assassin has (It is printed as only an Assassin but is now considered a Zombie Assassin) is there any requirement to let your opponent know this in a tournament?
Example:
I have only Stronghold Assassin in play and Gravecrawler in the graveyard. I don't think my opponent knows Stronghold Assassin is a zombie and I don't tell them. Then I bring Gravecrawler back, which they didn't know could happen and I win the game from it.
For the mono-black build there seems 2 main ways to take it.
1) Focus on having a high zombie count. Grave Defiler needs a high count (30+ in my opinion). Also lords are more effective and cards like Unbreathing Horde are playable. Also cards such as Gempalm Polluter get better
2) Use more of the spell advantages that black has. Hymn to Tourach, Innocent Blood, Thoughtseize etc. Cards needing a high zombie count won't work in this build so much.
I was looking at Gravecrawler and thinking it was time for a zombie deck also. But I think mono-black is the direction to go. I'm at work right now, so will piece together my thoughts in a post later.
This is a little hard to explain, as I don't fully understand what I am looking for.
I only play socially with friends, but it's still ok to have "competitive" decks (we have Goblins, Burn, Ravager, Merfolk). Currently no one plays a combo deck. Mainly because of the inherent nature of combos to suddenly just go "I win".
I want to make a "Combo" deck. But I'm looking more for a deck that has mini combos go off multiple times, rather than suddenly just winning (if this happened sometimes that would be ok, but not be the focus of the deck).
Are there any decks that "mini Combo" and kinda go off multiple times?
This version has 63 cards, so needs to be squeezed a bit.
The idea being to have as many creatures that "need" to be destroyed as possible. I've stayed away from the Metalcraft theme and instead gone the Proclamation of Rebirth angle. I was trying to hold onto some "card advantage" engine if possible.
Keep throwing out ideas. Creature ideas or deck adjustments.
I have quite a few casual decks that are fun to play. But generally if a deck is fun to play it isn't fun to play against.
I want to try and make a deck that is the most fun possible for my opponent when I play it. I still want it to be able to win (sometimes) but I really want it to be fun.
Ideas? Either for deck concepts or even just individual cards?
I thought maybe a "Flip Coin" deck...
Finn's thoughts on Erayo are the same as mine have been most times. Which is to play Erayo in a deck like a Combo, but Erayo is a control card. So it doesn't work.
The other option though is to play it in a deck that relies on card synergy where "every" card interacts with other cards well. Aggro decks are like that usually. So I see Erayo fitting in a Aggro-Control type deck.
And thats what I have been playing around with more recently.
The type of deck I think Erayo works best in is a deck that can flip him later in the game, rather than only on turn 2-3. A type of deck that I think fits this is "FairyNinjaStill".
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=172132
Thats a deck that can return free casting creatures to play them again, potentially activating Erayo. A deck with Erayo would be a signifiacant variation on FNS, but I would go that direction instead.
- Control early
- If Erayo is in hand setup a 4 spell play
- But the deck needs to work well without Erayo also
- Rebound mechanic is your friend (Distortion Strike)
Me however, I'm letting my brain rest for a while. I'll put my Erayo playset back in my folder and try again in 6 months.
This is a fun deck I have. The goal is to recur turns and stall the opponent until you can drop a win condition. It doesn't look like it does anything amazing, but I often will have taken 10 turns to the opponents 3 turns. And at that point they probably won't get a turn again.
Drop some draw effects. Then stall as much as possible.
Savor the Moment
With a Howling Mine in play, Savor the Moment becomes "Draw 2 cards, play an additional land". With an Ancestral Recall suspended it does even more.
Stasis
Superb at stalling the opponent. Chain of Vapor can be used to return it to hand so you get to untap before the opponent. Also a friend of Ancestral Recall.
Mind over Matter
With a temple bell in play it lets you filter your hand to exactly what you want
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
Hard casting Emrakul as a win condition. It doesn't get cooler than that. Also, it can stop you decking yourself with Mind Over Matter.
4 Howling Mine
4 Temple Bell
4 Chain of Vapor
3 Noxious Revival
3 Stasis
4 Savor the Moment
4 Time Warp
4 Force of Will
1 Mind Over Matter
1 XXXXXXXXXXXX
4 Chrome Mox
17 Island
4 Ancient Tomb
On MWS it does ok. Obviously it doesn't do great against any high tier deck. but it always gets a few comments, which I like.
Any suggestions? I need to decide what another good kill condition would be.
There are a few other decks threads from way back that do something similar. But rather than pulling up old threads I thought I'd start a new one.
Budget isn't a restriction really. But I like my decks to be fun, which I think this would be.
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Diabolic Intent
4 Smallpox
1 Smokestack
1 Blasting Station
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Ashen Ghoul
4 Carrion Feeder
4 Bloodghast
3 Nether Traitor
1 Thoughtpicker Witch
2 Geralf's Messenger
The main points/benefits of the deck:
- It has card advantage in the form of recursive creatures
- Good discard to hit their hand early
- Smallpox is devestating to your opponent, but the deck can mitigate the effect significantly.
- Gravecrawler + Carrion Feeder can become awesome quick.
- Gravecrawler + Thoughtpicker witch can lock out your opponents draws (if you have another zombie)
- Any recursion + Blasting station is fun
What could be used to make this a bit better?
The older the physical card being played, the more likely it is to have an errata (although still not likely). But there isn't a set created cut off point (that I know of). So any card could potentially be errata'd.
----
Stronghold Assassin
Gravecrawler
If a card has been changed like Stronghold Assassin has (It is printed as only an Assassin but is now considered a Zombie Assassin) is there any requirement to let your opponent know this in a tournament?
Example:
I have only Stronghold Assassin in play and Gravecrawler in the graveyard. I don't think my opponent knows Stronghold Assassin is a zombie and I don't tell them. Then I bring Gravecrawler back, which they didn't know could happen and I win the game from it.
Is there anything against the rules with this?
----
The answer is that there is nothing wrong with the above. If the opponent asks, then you have to answer truthfully, but if they don't ask, you don't have to tell.
I'm relatively new to Legacy Tournaments. I don't have knowledge of every card printed. And it just feels "wrong" that this is allowed to occur.
It makes me want to go to the extent of asking for EVERY card that my opponent plays if there have been any changes on the card, just in case.
In the answer I got, it was compared to an alternate language card, where it is the opponents responsibilty to ask. But in that case there is an indication you need better info about the card. In my example there is no reason you would think you need more info.
How do all of you feel about this? Does it feel wrong to you also? I think cards with Errata should have to be made clear to opponents.
Now that the rules part has been answered, where is the best part for me to discuss the ethical/sportsmanship side of this question?
Stronghold Assassin
Gravecrawler
If a card has been changed like Stronghold Assassin has (It is printed as only an Assassin but is now considered a Zombie Assassin) is there any requirement to let your opponent know this in a tournament?
Example:
I have only Stronghold Assassin in play and Gravecrawler in the graveyard. I don't think my opponent knows Stronghold Assassin is a zombie and I don't tell them. Then I bring Gravecrawler back, which they didn't know could happen and I win the game from it.
Is there anything against the rules with this?
It feels wrong...
1) Focus on having a high zombie count. Grave Defiler needs a high count (30+ in my opinion). Also lords are more effective and cards like Unbreathing Horde are playable. Also cards such as Gempalm Polluter get better
2) Use more of the spell advantages that black has. Hymn to Tourach, Innocent Blood, Thoughtseize etc. Cards needing a high zombie count won't work in this build so much.
Personally, I'm in favor of route 1.
I always loved the look of this card (partly because I love cards with a triple cost of one type of mana).
With Aether Vial, Vault of Whispers, and Chrome Mox (or maybe Mox Diamond) you might have enough artifacts to make it work.
Indestructible is sexy.
(This is just a discussion idea, I'm not necessarily convinced yet)
This is a little hard to explain, as I don't fully understand what I am looking for.
I only play socially with friends, but it's still ok to have "competitive" decks (we have Goblins, Burn, Ravager, Merfolk). Currently no one plays a combo deck. Mainly because of the inherent nature of combos to suddenly just go "I win".
I want to make a "Combo" deck. But I'm looking more for a deck that has mini combos go off multiple times, rather than suddenly just winning (if this happened sometimes that would be ok, but not be the focus of the deck).
Are there any decks that "mini Combo" and kinda go off multiple times?
Grim Lavamancer can be the 1cc creature, there is a 2cc red one and a 2cc red/blue one I think, and then 2 different hasted 3cc pingers, Goblin Sharpshooter is rock n roll with Basilisk Collar.
It would be difficult trying to make the deck fast enough though I think.
Edit:
Something like the below?
4 Goblin Fireslinger
4 Fireslinger
4 Razorfin Hunter
4 Vulshok Sorceror
4 Cunning Sparkmage
4 Goblin Sharpshooter
4 Curiosity
4 Basilisk Collar
4 Student of Warfare
4 Figure of Destiny
2 Soul Warden
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Grand Abolisher
2 Leonin Relic-Warder
2 True Believer
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadown
1 Batterskull
4 Proclamation of Rebirth
2 Scrying Sheets
4 Mox Diamond
This version has 63 cards, so needs to be squeezed a bit.
The idea being to have as many creatures that "need" to be destroyed as possible. I've stayed away from the Metalcraft theme and instead gone the Proclamation of Rebirth angle. I was trying to hold onto some "card advantage" engine if possible.
Keep throwing out ideas. Creature ideas or deck adjustments.