The Grey Merchant is nuts. Even just playing reasonable stuff, he's trouble. I mean, Demigod of Revenge is already a card you'd actually play, and the same goes for all sorts of recursion shenanigans (this is black, after all), so you can basically just jam him into your black MP decks and cash in. Sick, sick card. (Side note: anyone want to bet that this is the next card to start showing up on house rule banlists?)
The Fanatic is also crazy good. Red still has plenty of problems, but one-sided global burn like this is a really powerful tool.
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- Carom
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Member for 11 years, 6 months, and 4 days
Last active Thu, Sep, 28 2017 22:33:30
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Oct 17, 2013
Carom posted a message on A second look at Theros in Multiplayer (now with actual experience!)Posted in: Cz Blog -
Oct 14, 2013
Carom posted a message on Commander 2013 Multiplayer Set Review (51/51)Posted in: Cz BlogQuote from CzAt first I thought that you were mistaken about how the card worked. Then, to my horror, I slowly realized that you were talking about abusing her ETB ability. I sat there in panic for a few minutes trying to come up with an alternative solution for the sake of my personal sanity. "Nah, no one could build a deck that bad, I must be missing something."
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You've ruined me :nod:.
But don't you see the possibilities? You could cast all the cards! Don't you see how awesome it would be? DON'T YOU?
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Oct 14, 2013
Carom posted a message on Commander 2013 Multiplayer Set Review (51/51)My first thought about Jeleva was that half the Johnny's I know are going to spend two months trying to build janky Shrieking Drake combos with her.Posted in: Cz Blog
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Sep 6, 2013
Carom posted a message on Multiplayer Theros Review (249/249) - Part 1Yeah, I don't understand why the Temples are rare. Scry 1 is a fine enough ability to get for "free," but it doesn't feel like the difference between common and rare to me. Odd choice.Posted in: Cz Blog
I generally like Monstrosity in multiplayer. There are some decent effects there, and I like being able to drop my creature at a decent point on the curve, and get some extra value out of it later. Bestow seems okay, too, especially since you aren't opening yourself up for a blowout like you ordinarily are with enchantments. -
Jan 15, 2013
Carom posted a message on Multiplayer Gatecrash Set Review Part 4 (103/249)Blind Obedience seems like a good implementation of the extort mechanic. The other effect of the enchantment is strong (perhaps strong enough to play on its own), and extort is a nice add-on for using some spare mana over the course of the game. I think it's also clever that the tapped effect doesn't hit lands, since messing with people's lands is the surest way to get everyone upset.Posted in: Cz Blog
Assemble the Legion seems pretty good, too, especially in metas without enchantment removal. Recurring sources of creatures are good, and it's not hard to buff them. -
Nov 26, 2012
Carom posted a message on Stretching your Multiplayer DollarsThe dollar rare binder (or whatever the equivalent at your LGS) has been a win for me for a long time. I've noticed a bit of a drop-off with the rise in popularity of EDH, as some solid multiplayer cards are finally getting noticed by a broader playing population, but even then, this is a premium place to pick up solid multiplayer cards - even crazy multiplayer stuff like Taurean Mauler and Lurking Predators shows up here.Posted in: Cz Blog
If you have more time, it can be worth digging through bulk uncommons at your LGS, too - it's a painstaking process, but you can often turn up playable multiplayer uncommons for incredibly low prices. This isn't necessarily an easy way to build up your collection, but it can certainly save you a bit of money, and in situations where every cent counts, it can be worth the time. -
Nov 26, 2012
Carom posted a message on Counterspells in MultiplayerI agree with this pretty much entirely. The other "counterspell" that I find viable in multiplayer is Desertion, although I think it's best not to think of it as a counter, per se, but more as a "control magic" effect that nets you one of someone else's best creatures. It can still counter game-ending effects like Exsanguinate and Insurrection, and, although it's not great value as a counterspell at 5 mana, I think it's pretty fair for a decent control magic effect that can also stop some other random game-ender on occasion. The only real downside is that it's a $7 card, so it's hard to really recommend it for most people - still, I think it's worth picking up if it suits people's budgets and playing styles.Posted in: Cz Blog
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Nov 18, 2012
Carom posted a message on A Look at Lifegain in Modern MultiplayerPosted in: Cz BlogQuote from Cz »Personally the card that has me the most interested is Malignus. It sucks at killing the "last" players but man does it ever truck the rest of the table down. He's slow, has no evasion and isn't easy to protect though. As such, he seems lackluster at best, though not useless.
Malignus seems like a good two-of in red decks - with the lifegain that's going around, it's entirely possible that he could wipe out a couple of players in one swing, especially if you do something tricksy like dump Anger into your graveyard first... -
Nov 18, 2012
Carom posted a message on Squeezing Blood from a Stone.I would say white is possibly the least popular color in my metagame - typically it shows up in U/W control, G/W tokens, or in some sort of R/W build featuring stuff like Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. That said, I don't think white is the worst color - those are three archetypes that can be seriously powerful, and white is often a big part of what makes them tick. Red gets played quite a bit, but the monored decks have been decreasing in relative power quite sharply in the last couple of years - on balance, I would say red is the weakest color in my meta. Even if you aren't going into green or black for stronger stuff, you're probably dipping heavily into artifacts (even if just for Ensnaring Bridge, or what have you) just to make it competitive.Posted in: Cz Blog
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Nov 18, 2012
Carom posted a message on Multiplayer CubingI would certainly be interested in reading a series (or even just one article) on multiplayer cubing. I think the reasons you propose for building one and drafting it resonate with me personally, and I'd be interested to hear your take on card choices in greater depth.Posted in: Cz Blog
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Nov 16, 2012
Carom posted a message on Mastering Multiplayer: The Art of Drawing CardsHow do you feel about Sylvan Library in green? I'm of two minds, personally, because much of the time, it basically reads "look at the top three cards of your library; put one into your hand and the other two on top of your library in any order," which is fine enough, but it's filtering, I guess, rather than draw. And the other percentage of the time, the price for each extra card is pretty steep - although I guess, given the way lifegain has been going lately, maybe 4 life for a card is a decent way to leverage that in green. At any rate, I'm not sure if my desire to cram it into green decks is really based on nostalgia, or if it might have some value, so I'd be interested in what you have to say about it.Posted in: Cz Blog
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Nov 16, 2012
Carom posted a message on A Look at Lifegain in Modern MultiplayerI think this is pretty much right on - I've noticed that incidental lifegain (or "free," as I think you called it) has become much more prevalent in my meta over the last...two years or so. Virtually everyone seems to be gaining nontrivial life as an incidental part of their gameplan - whether it's running 8- or 12- post, or running Exsanguinate in B/x, or just playing Wurmcoil Engine in anything, it's just happening all over the place. I think it's pretty neat that lifegain is getting a push into relevance, partly because it's so attractive to new players - at least now they can gain some life without having to play bad cards to do it, and hopefully learn more powerful multiplayer strategies in the process.Posted in: Cz Blog
The flip side, as you point out, is that it puts some pressure on red - I'm finding it tougher and tougher to not play Sulfuric Vortex in any red deck, because without it, it's possible for everyone to just sneak out of range without even really trying.I mean, Stigma Lasher is a pretty fragile card, but I've started to give it serious consideration in monored, simply to combat the incidental lifegain. I think, too, that red decks almost have to play Sun Droplet at this point, just to get in on the lifegain party in decks where you don't draw the Vortex. I think Havoc Festival was another attempt to put out some tools to combat lifegain, but the festival seems too slow (at least, in my experience) to really be a viable option (plus, it doesn't really do anything for mono-R to begin with). - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
You could possibly stick it on Isochron Scepter? That seems...kind of janky, but maybe there's something there.
I think you might be surprised by just how aggressive this type of deck is. Sure, sometimes somebody Wraths and your hand is empty and then you just lose, but you're going to exert a ton of pressure on the board very quickly. Even if you just go 1 drop -> 1 drop -> 1 drop -> 1 drop -> Grey Merchant, in the absence of substantial lifegain, all of your opponents are really hurting, and if you've got Bloodchief Ascension online by that point, some of your opponents might not even be able to cast a Wrath (or whatever) without killing themselves. Maybe it's worth packing something like Living Death to give yourself some Wrath protection, but this kind of deck can really kill people in a hurry, especially if they're spending their first few turns playing mana rocks and stuff.
I also like screwing around with Torpor Orb, but that card has suddenly become super popular in my meta, and I'm getting tired of seeing it so much, so I've put it on the back burner for a while.
Yeah, I'd probably just build slightly more conservatively, but I don't think that's necessarily "better." I like decks that get a little greedy, even if my instinct is always to pull back a little and trade top-end power for a little more consistency. Out of curiosity, do you mull as far as five (or further, I guess, but this doesn't seem like that sort of deck) to try and get a good opener, or stick at six even if it's not perfect?
Edit: Also, I agree that Whip of Erebos seems good here. I like it better than Basilisk Collar.
The only other demon I'd maybe look at is Xathrid Demon (as a singleton), just because it can give you a little reach around some kind of enchantment pillowfort deck or something like that. It's not great because you can only activate it during your upkeep, but I think running one is probably fine.
I also wouldn't read too much into one game - if you were literally a turn away from comboing off, it's possible that with better draws (not having any idea how relatively good your draw was, obviously), the deck is fine. Sometimes you just lose, even with something close to the ideal list.
I'd almost be tempted here by Shaman of Forgotten Ways, but it's probably not the right choice with so many noncreature spells.
The mana might be awkward on something like Unmake, but it's not terrible spot removal. Complete Disregard is probably too narrow. I understand why you want the lifegain on the Helix, but I'd personally trade the lifegain for the certainty of an unconditional removal spell.