Heroic is still a great strategy its just going to be different with JOU. Before you wanted to get one heroic guy out and just keep triggering it. Now you want to have 2-3 heroic creatures out and trigger all of them.
We have only seen about 1/3 of the new set but I don't think WR will be as dominate as it was in triple Theros and BTT. For one you won't be seeing that many ordeals with only one pack of Theros so the turn 2 ordeal plan won't happen as often. White got a lot of its power from Theros as well. Now with only one pack you need to lean on Red more and it was bad in Theros. It did make up ground in Born of the Gods but seems subpar in Journey so far.
I think the build is definatly WG. The only thing is you could splash red for Akroan Conscriptor
and Fall of the Hammer. Those are two of reds best cards and I think the risk may be worth it.
Even if you cast whip and swing with hearld you are dead. That puts you at 8 and they whip back their Herald and hit for 9 in the air with agent and hearld. The best play I see would be to hold back your hearld and Hero's downfall his agent. You could risk drawing and hitting a land so you have both Hero's downfalls available but I wouldn't in case he does hit removal.This may give you another turn depending on what they have.
I still don't understand. He is punished for doing someone legal. He didn't show their faces nor did he say any names. 18 months is too long. Very disappointed in the selective punishment.
What some find as aceptable others will find unacceptable. This is the case here. The powers that be found that it was hurtful to the game. As for the lenght of the ban I am going to say that is more in line with them wanting to send a message to others out there that this behavior won't be tolerated. Sure it seems a little extreme but it will make people think about their actions at future events.
For gameday I visited a shop i have never played at before. This shop had 4 people working behind the counter during gameday. All 4 people also played in the event, taking 4 out of the top 8 final standings. Is this a normal thing? I have been to a few shops before, but I have never seen so many on the clock employees played in non-FNM event and take such a large hold of the winnings. According to regular to the shop it is a pretty much regular occurrence for the owner to take first place in his events and keep the prizes, and has employees do the same and keeps the prizes as inventory.
Is this a normal thing at larger magic shops?
First of all, I do believe it is against the rules for Owners to play in the events they sanction. Secondly, that is seriously messed up, I would be leaving that store if I was a regular.
I do know a judge can't play in an event they are judging. For FNM the store owner or employee is usually the judge at these events so that could be a problem. If another employee is sanctioning the event then it shouldn't be a problem at this level of play. I have seen store owners play in PTQ events with someone else sanctioning the event and that was fine.
Minus the Rares Green and Black are weak 1st pack in BTT. Red and White looks to be drafted heavy followed by Blue then Green/Black. This actually helps the Control GB and hurts UB. Most players will splash blue with white if red isn't there cutting Griptides, voyage ends, and low cost creatures that UB needs. This may eventually change but both green and black seemm to be open almost every draft I do. I have seen a pick 5-8 Overlord or Grey Merchant in packs 2-3 a couple times now.
Drafting on MTGO is great and all for figuring out a format but if you want to practice for real card play then don't get use to seeing what you draft. This is actually a big deal when doing a live draft. You need to remember where you are on your curve and if you are weak on creatures or not. It can be a hard thing to pick up on when you only get to review between packs and takes a lot of practice to get down.
Hey all. So the PT has wrapped up and some of the games were awesome. So much play skill an really exciting.
But.....
I can't help feeling disappointed. So they banned deathrite shaman and all we got was the same decks basically from 2 years ago. How is this banning promoting innovation?
So how was it for all you?
How did your "specs" pan out? Bitter about bitterblossom? Wild about ncatl? Where were the "cheaters"? What happened to the "old guard" pros? Why is Paulo such a whiner? LSV' winning days are over?
I don't think Deathrite needed a ban, but I am glad they undid Bitterblossom, even though I don't (and probably won't) play it. Modern needs some bands, but neither BB or Deathrite are on that list.
Did it not pan out? Given the shot in the arm Modern has got recently, I am pretty happy with how things went.
I think banning Deathrite was the right call. Not because it was broken it was that every top 8 in modern had 7/8 of the decks playing the card. Its a card that defined the format and that is a bad thing. I don't think the PT was really a true test of the format. Most players just played what they knew instead of taking a chance and playing something different..
After doing mainly limited for the last few months I threw together a cheep mono black deck today and went 3-1. Only ran 2 Thoughsiezes and I added 4 Hearled of Torment to it. I think the decks was about $20-$25 to make $10 of it being the thoughtsiezes. The only reason I went 3-1 was because my matchups in round 1 and 2 was also mono black. Round 3 and 4 I ran into Naya both times. The only reason I won against this in rnd 3 was because I drew perfect hands with all my removal to keep them off their game. Round 4 I drew less removal and had no chance at keeping up with all the threats that deck has. The only way you can really win against that deck with mono black is get a early start and keep it up. You let it get to turn 5-6 and its over for you.
This thing seems to show up every draft I do. In my experince its usually an okay card to run in control decks. I usually just play it with the threat of stealing something but never actually want to use it. I haven't tired in in aggro because it sees a 3rd-5th pick and there are usually better options for aggro at that pick. I can see it being good here because you are likely ahead. Like you pointed out this is a card you don't want to see if already behind on board.
Its more than like player run bots that end up running out of tickets and don't refill them daily. When they do add them its probably 50-100 and that can go quick depending on the cards they buy. I usually just deal with the well know store bots that keep tickets stocked.. This way I know my credit will be there when I come back. Sure I may get a ticket or two from other bots but I don't want to take the risk.
Why is Brainstorm considered a pillar of Legacy? The pillars of Vintage were cards defined as enabling separate strategies to exist and thrive in the format, with each one clearly corresponding to a archetype. Brainstorm's a generically good glue card that fits in a variety of Blue decks that all play very differently. It'd be like calling Underground Sea a pillar of the format.
I don't play Legacy but if you have blue land in your deck you play it. It lets you get a card and also set up your next two draws. Anyone will tell you that knowing what you draw next turn is a huge advantage in how you play the current turn. It also lets you cycle cards that are unplayable in your hand for better cards. Then you use a shuffle effect to get rid of the cards you don't want to play.
Ok Siren isn't a first pick from what I have saw so far. Most of the time its a 4/4 which isn't bad but can be delt with. I haven't played Raised by Wolves yet so that could be a first pick here probably wheeling the badger. Tromokratis is great if you get him out but thats hoping blue is open and its usually drafting high.
The safe bet would be Akroan Skyguard or Bolt of Keranos.
Maybe its me but I value Unravel the AEther between a 5-8th pick and the other two a later pick than that. Right now I see a lot of people forcing heroic decks. The flipside to that is other people grabbing enchament removal to deal with them. Once the format settles most of these will probably start to wheel.
and Fall of the Hammer. Those are two of reds best cards and I think the risk may be worth it.
What some find as aceptable others will find unacceptable. This is the case here. The powers that be found that it was hurtful to the game. As for the lenght of the ban I am going to say that is more in line with them wanting to send a message to others out there that this behavior won't be tolerated. Sure it seems a little extreme but it will make people think about their actions at future events.
I do know a judge can't play in an event they are judging. For FNM the store owner or employee is usually the judge at these events so that could be a problem. If another employee is sanctioning the event then it shouldn't be a problem at this level of play. I have seen store owners play in PTQ events with someone else sanctioning the event and that was fine.
I think banning Deathrite was the right call. Not because it was broken it was that every top 8 in modern had 7/8 of the decks playing the card. Its a card that defined the format and that is a bad thing. I don't think the PT was really a true test of the format. Most players just played what they knew instead of taking a chance and playing something different..
I don't play Legacy but if you have blue land in your deck you play it. It lets you get a card and also set up your next two draws. Anyone will tell you that knowing what you draw next turn is a huge advantage in how you play the current turn. It also lets you cycle cards that are unplayable in your hand for better cards. Then you use a shuffle effect to get rid of the cards you don't want to play.
The safe bet would be Akroan Skyguard or Bolt of Keranos.
.