The unfortunate bit of all this is that the set was broken before, so retailers had a lot of incentive to open boxes. That means that the majority of these cards will be opened by retailers, which makes the "You could open a mox!" bit a little less special. Basically, it is rewarding singles sellers.
You know what? As a casual player, I love the hell out of these. Much better than the ravnica lands, when 2 life can really matter. I really do hope these are $5 because I would love to pick up multiple playsets.
I don't like removing damage from the stack. I see why they did it, but I don't like it. Whenever I tought new players, they were always confused that a creature could do things after it was dead. However, as an experienced player, it cuts into a lot of options.
I don't like the lifelink stacking, but again, I see why they did it. Multiple instances of lifelink were degenerate, and the only people that liked it were the ones gaining over 20 life per swing. I was usually that person.
The deathtouch thing... who cares. I can't ever remember stacking multiple instances of deathtouch to get around regeneration shields. However, I don't like it being the only one able to distribute damage without being lethal. For example, I attack with a 3/3 and my opponent blocks with three 3/3s (I know, why, but bear with me on this). I assign one point of damage to each of them, then pyroclasm on the post-combat main phase. According to the new rules, I can't do that, I could only kill one of them.
Yes, the "end of turn" and "play/into play" things are incredibly confusing. Remember when they had to errata the urza's untap creatures to "played from your hand"? I got that one, but even after playing since 1993 the end of turn thing still confused me.
I like the Time Spiral suggestion. I had forgotten how many good cards there were. Crookclaw Transmuter <3. However, looking at Ice Age and Time Spiral, there really aren't that many decent creatures. Which sets would be good to pick for blue creatures?
I am entering into a new sealed league where your deck can consist of packs from any set. I thought it would be fun to base the deck on control magic, so I looked up which sets got it the easiest, and I think the answer is Ice Age. Both Binding Grasp (U) and Ray of Command (C). Coupled with a common counterspell, brainstorm, portent, power sink, etc. Ice Age has some great commons. However, I don't want to build entirely from one set.
What other sets have the best commons, or more specifically the best blue commons? Keep in mind, I haven't opened any packs yet, so I am not necessarily going to open any of these cards, but I would love to hedge my bets by picking sets with good commons.
Hello Gentlemen. I am playing in a league called Type P (rules at http://mtoggweiler.tripod.com/P_Magic0109.pdf not necessary for this but fun), and I would greatly appreciate assistance in building my new sealed pool. This is off of 1 shards, 1 conflux, and 3 alara reborn. I have had a tough time building, I'm up to my 4th rebuild, and I still don't know what colors are the strongest.
Theres a lot of good cards in every shard, but not enough to be solid with anything. I like the solid creatures in Naya, but having 6 counterspells is awfully tempting. Im going with a non-black build right now, but it is way heavy on the 5/6 drops, with almost nothing in the middle. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I think this card is going to be the backbone of a new U/G deck. Between this, lorescale coatl and vedalken heretic, U/G picked up some very strong cards. Where does nulltread gargantuan shine? Turn 6, with counter backup. He is a threat that is large enough to be relevant late game while still leaving you mana for counterspells.
Can I get a hell yes? This was back in shadowmoor. My opponent's deck was mono-red. He had 2 gougers, a boggart ram gang, 2 flame javelins, basically every good red staple. He had 4 bomb red rares (the only one I remember now is furystroke giant). I beat him, but only because he was a bad player. I asked to look through his sideboard, and he showed me a mess of cards at the bottom of his backpack "Sorry, I already tossed them in with the rest of my cards."
Sorry, did I forget to mention the kicker? This wasn't a draft, it was sealed.
I talked to the store owner, and they said they couldn't do anything about it. That pissed me off.
The two weaknesses that I see with the proposed builds are guaranteeing that the angel hits and things to do once she does.
We know she can't be terrored, nameless inversioned, or gotten rid of with other common removal spells, so Path To Exile is the big one to worry about. Swerve and Hindering Light both take care of it nicely, but require you to have 7 mana open to play the angel. Aerie Mystics also works, but is even more expensive. Im going to go out on a limb and say the answer is Favor of the Mighty. Any deck with the mana searching to hit 5 colors is also going to accelerate, so there is a damn good chance that your angel will be the biggest baddest mofo in play. In addition, this guarantees that your dude gets in.
As for the spells to play, I think there are 3 that bear mentioning. Time Stretch is the big one, letting you get two turns of beatings in. This is important because you can alternate between playing draw spells and playing time stretch, so you will always have one available. The other two are Flow of Ideas and Corrupt/Jaws of Stone. Flow of ideas guarantees you keep seeing time stretch, and corrupt keeps the health totals unfair if you dont. Note: This assumes that Prismatic Omen is in play.
Long story short, I loaned the deck out, and they said "This deck is quintessential Jund!". That gave me an idea: I am going to make a deck for each shard, then loan them out for a Star format (You kill the two people furthest away from you to win, 5 players). Then... I started trying to build the decks, and realized I didnt have a good idea for the theme of the other decks.
Bant obviously will include a large majority of shards, as Exalted isnt in any other set. However, I'm running a blank on other things to include. Are there any older cards that work well with Bant? What is the finisher?
For Esper I was thinking of building around Sludge Strider. Myr Retriever, Myr Servitor, and some artifact mana generation should let me sacrifice just about anything, drain life, and... I don't really have an idea for a win condition. Blind Hunter is going in, but it is hardly a win condition.
Grixis, however, I am lost on. I'm starting with Torrent of Souls, but I have never built on a reanimator strategy before, so I have no idea what to build.
Ok, so we have officially heard the "You are not the target audience, so don't buy them, and stop complaining." argument. While this is partially correct, we aren't the target audience, I think you are missing how this is going to affect us, and why we should complain.
My family knows that I like to game. For birthdays or Christmas, they occasionally forge into the dark depths of the local card store, and buy me packs of "what the guy behind the counter said was the best stuff they had", which usually ends up being Saviors of Kamigawa or 8th Edition. But now, they are doing their shopping at the local walmart, and they see packs of magic hanging out into the aisle. "Excellent!" said family member says, "I get to cross Cottc Cid off my list!" A double win for them, they don't have to go to a card store, they still get my 5-6 packs, and it costs them half as much as before. Yes, friends and countrymen, it is very likely that if you ever received magic as a preseant before, in the future you will be staring at a stack of these instead.
So, now, instead of receiving horrible old packs, you can get crippled versions of new packs instead. This is not a reason to complain?
I have recently taken a break from magic, and upon return found my deckbuilding skills lackluster. I play casual multiplayer, and I thought "Man, I have never seen a measure of wickedness deck." So now I am going to give it a shot: However, I just cant think of anything to put in it.
Obviously, Measure of Wickedness is a 4 of. Vulturous Zombie seems like a natural combo, and maybe Scavenger Drake. Beyond that, some creatures that sac for effects would be great (Sakura-Tribe Elder) but I cant think of anything else. Any good black sac creatures? Any instants/sorceries/enchantments I need to put in? A sac heavy theme would be fun, but I have never tried the heavy control before, so I dont know the auto includes.
I don't like removing damage from the stack. I see why they did it, but I don't like it. Whenever I tought new players, they were always confused that a creature could do things after it was dead. However, as an experienced player, it cuts into a lot of options.
I don't like the lifelink stacking, but again, I see why they did it. Multiple instances of lifelink were degenerate, and the only people that liked it were the ones gaining over 20 life per swing. I was usually that person.
The deathtouch thing... who cares. I can't ever remember stacking multiple instances of deathtouch to get around regeneration shields. However, I don't like it being the only one able to distribute damage without being lethal. For example, I attack with a 3/3 and my opponent blocks with three 3/3s (I know, why, but bear with me on this). I assign one point of damage to each of them, then pyroclasm on the post-combat main phase. According to the new rules, I can't do that, I could only kill one of them.
Yes, the "end of turn" and "play/into play" things are incredibly confusing. Remember when they had to errata the urza's untap creatures to "played from your hand"? I got that one, but even after playing since 1993 the end of turn thing still confused me.
(In before Legions)
I am entering into a new sealed league where your deck can consist of packs from any set. I thought it would be fun to base the deck on control magic, so I looked up which sets got it the easiest, and I think the answer is Ice Age. Both Binding Grasp (U) and Ray of Command (C). Coupled with a common counterspell, brainstorm, portent, power sink, etc. Ice Age has some great commons. However, I don't want to build entirely from one set.
What other sets have the best commons, or more specifically the best blue commons? Keep in mind, I haven't opened any packs yet, so I am not necessarily going to open any of these cards, but I would love to hedge my bets by picking sets with good commons.
Thanks!
Thank you for the advice. I admit, I had not considered dropping green. It certainly seems more consistent.
Pseudofate,
Ordering aside, any tips for construction?
Desolation Angel,
What is the minimum threshhold for number of artifacts? I played master of etherium with 7 artifacts in the deck and he was never over a 3/3.
1x Angelic Benediction
1x Knight of the Skyward Eye
1x Lapse of Certainty
Blue
1x Cancel
1x Esperzoa
1x Frontline Sage
1x Master of Etherium
Black
1x Banewasp Affliction
1x Pestilent Kathari
Red
1x Bloodpyre Elemental
1x Fiery Fall
1x Skeletonize
1x Volcanic Submersion
Green
1x Cavern Thoctar
1x Tukatongue Thallid
1x Wild Leotau
Bant
1x Aven Mimeomancer
1x Bant Sureblade
2x Captured Sunlight
1x Deft Duelist
1x Offering to Asha
1x Pale Recluse
1x Sigil of the Nayan Gods
1x Stormcaller's Boon
1x Valeron Outlander
2x Arsenal Thresher
1x Deny Reality
1x Esper Stormblade
2x Etherium Abomination
1x Ethersworn Shieldmage
1x Fieldmist Borderpost
1x Mind Funeral
Grixis
1x Agony Warp
1x Blood Cultist
1x Blood Tyrant
2x Breath of Malfegor
1x Demonic Dread
2x Double Negative
1x Drastic Revelation
1x Jhessian Zombies
1x Singe-Mind Ogre
1x Skyclaw Thrash
1x Soul Manipulation
1x Spellbound Dragon
1x Veinfire Borderpost
1x Firewild Borderpost
1x Jund Sojourners
1x Marrow Chomper
1x Obelisk of Jund
1x Predatory Advantage
1x Sangrite Backlash
1x Vithian Renegades
Naya
1x Intimidation Bolt
1x Gorger Wurm
1x Naya Hushblade
1x Naya Sojourners
1x Reborn Hope
1x Rhox Brute
Other
1x Armillary Sphere
1x Rupture Spire
1x Unstable Frontier
Theres a lot of good cards in every shard, but not enough to be solid with anything. I like the solid creatures in Naya, but having 6 counterspells is awfully tempting. Im going with a non-black build right now, but it is way heavy on the 5/6 drops, with almost nothing in the middle. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I think this card is going to be the backbone of a new U/G deck. Between this, lorescale coatl and vedalken heretic, U/G picked up some very strong cards. Where does nulltread gargantuan shine? Turn 6, with counter backup. He is a threat that is large enough to be relevant late game while still leaving you mana for counterspells.
Sorry, did I forget to mention the kicker? This wasn't a draft, it was sealed.
I talked to the store owner, and they said they couldn't do anything about it. That pissed me off.
We know she can't be terrored, nameless inversioned, or gotten rid of with other common removal spells, so Path To Exile is the big one to worry about. Swerve and Hindering Light both take care of it nicely, but require you to have 7 mana open to play the angel. Aerie Mystics also works, but is even more expensive. Im going to go out on a limb and say the answer is Favor of the Mighty. Any deck with the mana searching to hit 5 colors is also going to accelerate, so there is a damn good chance that your angel will be the biggest baddest mofo in play. In addition, this guarantees that your dude gets in.
As for the spells to play, I think there are 3 that bear mentioning. Time Stretch is the big one, letting you get two turns of beatings in. This is important because you can alternate between playing draw spells and playing time stretch, so you will always have one available. The other two are Flow of Ideas and Corrupt/Jaws of Stone. Flow of ideas guarantees you keep seeing time stretch, and corrupt keeps the health totals unfair if you dont. Note: This assumes that Prismatic Omen is in play.
I put together a fun deck based around Scarland Thrinax and Sprouting Thrinax. Make lots of tokens with Mogg War Marshall, Fists of Ironwood, and Sprout Swarm, then finish with things like Mycoloth and Furystoke Giant.
Long story short, I loaned the deck out, and they said "This deck is quintessential Jund!". That gave me an idea: I am going to make a deck for each shard, then loan them out for a Star format (You kill the two people furthest away from you to win, 5 players). Then... I started trying to build the decks, and realized I didnt have a good idea for the theme of the other decks.
Bant obviously will include a large majority of shards, as Exalted isnt in any other set. However, I'm running a blank on other things to include. Are there any older cards that work well with Bant? What is the finisher?
For Esper I was thinking of building around Sludge Strider. Myr Retriever, Myr Servitor, and some artifact mana generation should let me sacrifice just about anything, drain life, and... I don't really have an idea for a win condition. Blind Hunter is going in, but it is hardly a win condition.
Naya will be zoo. Wooly Thoctar, Watchwolf, Wild Nacatl, BoP, etc.
Grixis, however, I am lost on. I'm starting with Torrent of Souls, but I have never built on a reanimator strategy before, so I have no idea what to build.
Any advice would be appreciated.
My family knows that I like to game. For birthdays or Christmas, they occasionally forge into the dark depths of the local card store, and buy me packs of "what the guy behind the counter said was the best stuff they had", which usually ends up being Saviors of Kamigawa or 8th Edition. But now, they are doing their shopping at the local walmart, and they see packs of magic hanging out into the aisle. "Excellent!" said family member says, "I get to cross Cottc Cid off my list!" A double win for them, they don't have to go to a card store, they still get my 5-6 packs, and it costs them half as much as before. Yes, friends and countrymen, it is very likely that if you ever received magic as a preseant before, in the future you will be staring at a stack of these instead.
So, now, instead of receiving horrible old packs, you can get crippled versions of new packs instead. This is not a reason to complain?
At least for winning things. I opened stupid packs: Ajani Vengeant, Sarkhan Vol, Voracious Dragon, Charnelhoard Wurm, Stoic Angel, Cliffrunner Behemoth, Oblivion Ring, and Path to Exile. Yes, it was rediculous. Yes, I went 4-0.
On top of that, I won the door prize for a box of conflux. Adding in the fact that the wave included free pizza and soda, it was pretty excellent.
-9: Gain control of target player. (You make all decisions for that player until the end of the game.)
Obviously, Measure of Wickedness is a 4 of. Vulturous Zombie seems like a natural combo, and maybe Scavenger Drake. Beyond that, some creatures that sac for effects would be great (Sakura-Tribe Elder) but I cant think of anything else. Any good black sac creatures? Any instants/sorceries/enchantments I need to put in? A sac heavy theme would be fun, but I have never tried the heavy control before, so I dont know the auto includes.
Thanks in advance!