- Pseudofate
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lugger posted a message on 3 Cards from Hour of Devastation - Nicol Bolas, Black Sorcery and Samut PlaneswalkerI've had sneezes (I have allergies) that have had more impact on a table of magic than this Samut will ever have.Posted in: The Rumor Mill -
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SimicNuggets posted a message on Planeswalkers of AmonkhetCrucius, please.Posted in: Speculation -
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Posted in: Standard ArchivesQuote from Pseudofate »
Current SBMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Creatures
4 Bomat Courier
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Heir to Falkenrath
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Bloodhall Priest
Spells
4 Fiery Temper
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
4 Smuggler's Copter
2 Key to the CityLands
4 Foreboding Ruins
9 Mountain
9 SwampSideboard
4 Transgress the Mind
2 Chandra
4 Galvanic Bombardment
3 Weaver
2 Kalitas
Vs. Delerium
IN: +4 Transgress, +2 Chandra
OUT: -4 Priest, -2 Courier
Priest can't smash through Ishkanah, and its trigger will only really kill an early Grim Flayer or Spider Token. Courier tends to get blanked on the ground early, so it can be tough to get value. I don't like cutting Courier too much since it makes our apprentices less reliable.
Vs. WU Flash (midrange/spirits)
IN: +3 Weaver, +4 Galvanic
OUT: -3 Courier, -4 Heir
Vs. WU Flash (control)
IN: +4 Transgress, +2 Chandra
OUT: -4 Flow, -2 Key
What is good and bad in this matchup really depends on if UW is more of a control shell, with Avacyns and Gearhulks as their main creatures, or more of a spirits midrange deck with Thraben Inspector, Reflector Mage, and so forth. Against a control version, it really depends on how many creatures they are running. If they are running Queller, I'm more likely to want to cut Heir rather than Flow.
Vs. Vehicles
IN: +4 Bombardment, +2 Kalitas, +3 Weaver, +2 Chandra
OUT: -4 Copter, -4 Courier, -2 Key, -1 Apprentice
Basically, you want to be the control deck. I think siding out Copter when we are the control deck is likely right. We are cutting back on a lot of our threats to add more removal, and so having pilots can be tough to manage. Copter isn't the greatest on defense either, since it forces us to tap down one of our blockers. Its close between whether or not we should cut Heir or Courier. I think keeping Courier might be better. Hier is not great on defensive either. Most of the time we are looking to trade, and we will have to discard to get to that point. Add the fact that RW will have 4/4 copters half the time. And cutting Courier along with the rest of our 2-drop artifacts makes Apprentices pretty bad, which is otherwise a decent defensive 2/3. One thing in Heirs favour is that it gives us a way to madness our Tempers and Priests, even after we've cut Key and Copter.
Vs. Mirror
IN: +4 Bombardment, +2 Kalitas, +2 Chandra
OUT: -4 Courier, -2 Copter, -2 Key
Similar to RW, but I think Heir gets the edge here since we can actually trade with a Copter with it. Your build likely has the edge due to the Priests, so I would likely just play the control game on both play and draw.
Vs. Aetherworks
IN: +4 Transgress
OUT: -4 Disintegration
Disintegration doesn't really kill anything except for Cranes, and it really isn't worthwhile for that alone. Game plan is to stay aggressive as possible and use Transgress to hopefully buy yourself a couple of turns.
Vs. Zombies
IN: +2 Kalitas, +4 Galvanic
OUT: -4 Disintegration
This choice is probably fully dependent on what kind of Zombie deck we are talking about. If they are running the big flip vampire, then keeping Disintegration looks a lot better (maybe cut Courier). Otherwise, I think you want to swap it for cheaper removal to keep yourself on tempo to race them. Flow is one of our best cards and should be targeting their Haunted Dead and Scroungers when possible, but taking out and Amalgam is also good.
OUT:?
Vs. RG NRG
IN: +4 Transgress, +4 Galvanic
OUT: -4 Scrounger, -4 Flow
I'm not really sure what the best plan is for these guys. Transgress seems like a given to take out a Hydra before it resolves. I think maybe bringing in Galvanic over Flow is correct, as we want instant speed interaction where possible. I think cutting Scrounger might be the right call since we are not looking to go long and it cannot block. The plan is to kill their main threats as they cast them and have some sort of tempo like pressure like Copter while we do so.
Vs. Jeskai Control
IN: +4 Transgress, +2 Chandra
OUT: -2 Key, -4 Flow
I like cutting Flow more so than cutting Disintegration. Disintegration can be a pretty backbreaking play when they are trying to flash in an Avacyn to stablize the board. Granted, it is awkward if they do not have a target. Flow generally is just going to go to the face though, so I think the tempo play is more valuable.
Vs. Dynavolt
IN: +4 Transgress, +2 Chandra
OUT: -2 Key, -4 Disintegration
Here, cutting Disintegration is definitely the right call, since they have far fewer targets. If they are running Thing in the Ice, you might still want to use the Jeskai plan. -
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There are a several options. The first four listed below are played in most successful deck lists.Posted in: Standard Archives
- Trangress the Mind - One of the more versatile sideboard cards. Good against control, Marvel, and bigger midrange decks.
- Galvanic Bombardment - Good against other aggressive decks like RWx.
- Chandra, Torch of Defiance - Good against control. Varies against certain midrange. Can come in if you side into control vs aggro. Versatile enough that it is mainboardable.
- Kalitas, Traitor of Ghett - Comes in against aggro for the lifelinke. The exiling effect is also good against dredge/zombies.
- Lighting Axe - Decent removal if you need extra ways to kill large threats.
- Reckless Bushwhacker - Generally would come in against a control deck playing sweepers
- Magmatic Chasm - Can be effective against BG midrange decks looking to lock up the ground.
- To the Slaughter - Can be a blow out against RG Pummeler under the right circumstances. Sometimes hard to setup though.
- Collective Defiance - Good against UR spells style decks as well as spell heavy control.
- Call of the Bloodline - Interesting end game engine vs Grixis and UR spells, who likely cannot remove it.
- Weaver of Lightning - Good against RWx and Spirits.
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Hardened posted a message on Coming to Terms with TermsOr, "Words Have Meanings."Posted in: Limited Archives
There have been a couple of threads recently which either started with or devolved into what amounted to arguments about Semantics (sorry, I mean semantics) or definitions. As a linguaphile, I would love to gather around and agree on some definitions... since interweb forums are entirely vocabulary based, I feel it's pretty important to have our terms mean the same thing as much as possible. Now, I'm not the kind of guy that points out when people are using the words "ironic" or "peruse" wrong, but I know that language is a powerful tool for thought- without the proper words we have a difficult time forming thoughts.*
I can update this first post as new terms are added or agreed upon, or slink back into my corner if nobody cares.
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
BOMB. First, the elephant in the room. "Bomb" doesn't have a solid definition, but the word loses meaning the looser one defines it, so I prefer a strict definition. A card which, on its own, will end the game in a few turns and is difficult to deal with. Also, the card must be castable in a reasonable number of games. Now this will always be a matter of semantics, but, like mayonnaise, it is best reserved for when it's definitely good, and not slathered over everything in sight.
ALTERNATIVES: Finisher- a card with 4+ power/toughness, or 3+ power and evasion. There's no doubt Air Elemental is a fine finisher.
Powerful- a card that can swing the game quickly in certain board states. Or a card that can end the game in a few turns but can be dealt with in the normal means. Or a card that stabilizes you immediately. Or any number of things. Stop putting mayonnaise on Shiv's Embrace.
BEAR. A "bear" is a creature that costs two mana (generally, including at least one colorless) and has two power and two toughness.
That's it.
ALTERNATIVES: Goblin Piker- Two mana 2/1.
Grey Ogre- Three mana 2/2.
Hurloon Minotaur- Three mana 2/3 (we don't say this much.)
Hill Giant- Four mana 3/3.
Wind Drake- A three mana, two power flier. Toughness is generally two.
CARD ADVANTAGE. This is a strict definition. If an action increases the number of cards you have available for use, or decreases the number of cards your opponent has available for use by more cards than the action cost you, then it is card advantage. Card Advantage can refer to inherent or potential qualities. For example, Divination is card advantage, whereas Doom Blade can provide card advantage.
REMOVAL. A card or action which removes or negates a resolved threat from the battlefield. As distinct from counters and bounce spells.
Finally, in an attempt to seem like less of a hard-ass, here's a link to my favorite MTG card.
*Did you know that some cultures lack a subjunctive form of their verbs (i.e., would have, should have, etc.) and as such are more practical as a people and have a hard time processing thoughts such as "If you had paid your bill, you wouldn't be in debt?" Neat! -
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Phyrre56 posted a message on SKYPE DRAFT NOW!!Posted in: Limited ArchivesQuote from Mtg2005mtgSo all of you that think I just suck might want to reconsider and on top of that I've been drafting since 03. So I highly doubt you've had more success then me since I just went 3-0 on an 8-4 draft. So nice try. Getting flooded two games with land despite having 6-7 drops isn't unheard. And I know two plays I could have made better i game two.
And to the poster above that it was his turn 2 ratchet my turn 1 had just passed. He was on the play the first two games.
OK let's all just chill out. Let me give you a quick piece of advice that listing your achievements as proof of your credibility NEVER goes over well. You've been drafting since 2003? Awesome -- I've been playing since 1994 but I don't think that makes me a great player. You went 3-0 at an 8-4 table? Cool but most people here have done that. (Plus, ya know, doing it once can be a fluke.) Unless you've been on the tour for years, I'm just saying you're not more accomplished than the bulk of this community.
The reason people are questioning your skill level is because frankly good players don't usually rant about bad luck so much. After a while you just learn to move on. Complaining about bad luck is a hallmark of a newer player. For instance, I don't think you lost one particular game just because of bad luck. If I'm understanding the recap, your opponent had 3 consecutive counterspells for your creatures -- that's going to put a lot of people behind on the board. It was bad luck that you drew an above average number of lands, but you also have to give some credit to your opponent for having the right cards to not let you stabilize and draw in.
I'm just saying this stuff because it sounds like you want feedback, it sounds like you want to get better, but from years of being on these forums, with your current defensive attitude, no one is going to want to discuss anything with you. -
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Ryoin posted a message on Modern Masters Draft OpinionsYou can't just look at individual colors here (outside of G, really). Furthermore, blue isn't really very good at "control." It's good at tempo and card drawing, but there aren't a whole lot of controlling cards in the format for them to be drawing, lol.Posted in: Limited Archives
Anyway, you have to look at it by archetypes. I'll start with white and work around.
White:
Affinity: Very strong with Homunculus being common (and my personal pick for strongest common card in the set). You can easily draft over 3 Homunculi if you prioritize them. Path if you get it, Bound in Silence if you get it, every Frogmite you see, Myr Enforcers after that, and a mix of the 1 and 2 drop arcbound creatures. Top off with Bonesplitters and Runed Stalactites. Has cross synergy with the white rebels and the Kithkin/Stalactite combo (which I think you should aim for any time you draft white in this set. It's pretty much standalone awesomeness). My favorite color pairing for it thusfar is red, namely for Shrapnel Blast and other burn (the deck could use reach).
Rebels: Probably a tier 2 strategy, but one which will be wide open, allowing you to make a good t2 deck that can beat the slipshod t1 decks everyone was fighting over. I'd say the pick order on them is BiS/Path > Seekers > Scouts > Avian. Really only gets support from Black Rebels, but again, that should be wide open. All in all, you'll be able to spend your mana easily in order to get your hits in, and you have a boatload of removal (albeit bad removal. Most of it in this set is) to help.
Both of the above decks should probably be fighting for Meadowboon, as its evoke is an anthem, and even cast normally, it's a solid body (there are very few sweepers in this format, so it's not likely that you'd be screwed by casting it instead of evoking).
Giants: Typically more of a red deck that tops off with White creatures and uses Kithkin Greathearts. From white, you get Cloudgoat and Feudkiller. Ivory Giant and Hillcomber make decent filler. You'll want to be banking on the uncommons, so opening Thundercloud, Cloudgoat, or Feudkiller is a good start. Most of the giant commons are really "meh" and work only because they act as filler which can hold against most other archetypes' good cards. Crush Underfoot is extremely good as removal, the KGH combo is solid as always, and you have changelings in both R and W to fill space (I'd argue that the red changeling is better than your other 4 drop options, anyway, due to first strike).
Thallids: The only white Thallid is Pallid Mycoderm, but he's a pretty good one, giving you alpha strike potential. White splash also gives you some removal in BiS/Path if you get it, and Meadowboon is, again, amazing. I also think Sandsower, if it has a place, is in the white section of the Thallid build.
Support cards: Test of Faith seems amazing in a weenie deck, upgrading your (for instance) Homunculus from a 2/2 to a 5/5 for the late game, and giving you some reach. Similar arguments apply to Otherworldly Journey. It can open up a hole to swing lethal, or it can be used to put a counter on your guys. Very versatile. The two "charge" effects are decent (not great), and would probably best be used as filler, if at all.
Blue:
Faeries: One of the "obvious" archetypes. The printing of Spellstutter at common makes this a highly fought-over archetype. Due to this, hitting the critical mass of actual Fae is made much more difficult, and without rare support, the effects really aren't worth it. You *need* a Scion to pump your Mothdust Changelings (which are your all-purpose cloud sprites for this build) and your Spellstutters, otherwise you're just playing a bad tempo game without the good stuff that pushes it over the top. As a side synergy, there is the Mechanist/Affinity build of Fae, and I think this has some potential. Be careful, though, because building this wrong is going to get you wrecked. You can't force the "all in" affinity when you're relying on 4 drops for gas, and you won't have time to leave open mana for your spellstutters early game if you're trying to puke your hand onto the field. Very tricky, but I think it could work if you could find exactly what you're including the affinity for, since the two are very different decks.
Affinity: The blue side of this is really just a focus on Etherium Sculptor and Faerie Mechanist, plus a few tempo cards here and there. I, personally, found Sculptor was unnecessary in the first place, and Mechanist, while not terrible, isn't exactly the nuts. I think a splash for either is fine, but White has ridiculously better options, and red/black provide better reach.
Control-esque build: Really, you just grab every counterspell you see, and every kill/burn option you get passed, I guess. Cantrips when available, etc. Finisher of your choice (probably from the rare pile). Not much to say here; I really don't think it's a deck.
Arcane and/or Storm: You want every cantrip you can get your hands on. Eventually, you can use Petals of Insight to chain arcane spells forever (since it returns to hand), and if you have a Glacial Ray, you'll eventually just win. Dampen Thought serves as a backup wincon which will be discussed in a second. Regarding the Storm aspect, use Grapeshot for 2 for 1s, but don't expect it to take a game. With Empty the Warrens, even a storm of 2 is incredible value, so don't think you have to have the perfect hand to "go off," and end up getting killed by your opp while you try to set up a constructed play.
Mill: I've been trying and trying to get this to work, and it just doesn't. I highly recommend against trying to draft this. You need several Mind Funerals to make it work, and while that's not impossible, getting the arcane support you need to support a Dampen Thought engine is going to leave you virtually defenseless to your opponent's creatures. You really need to open Oona and decide that you want to mill immediately, and even if you force it the whole draft, you're still only likely to get a mediocre deck.
Black:
Fae: This is probably, more than anything, what gives Fae the chance to be played: the combination of Dreamspoiler Witches and Peppersmoke, with Thieving Sprites as filler. It's decent, don't let me convince you it's not. Still, things have to work out for this to be "the deck."
Control-esque: The kill spells are here for the taking, as is the discard.
Rebels: Deepcavern makes a decent, tutorable Chandra's Phoenix. The downside may or may not be an issue in any particular game (you may just need the reach, at which point, it's not terrible). Trapper is excellent, allowing you to open up lines to hit people, or just stall out on getting hit. Blightspeaker is the black version of Amrou Scouts, with the additional ability to tap for damage (I personally thought Goblin Fireslinger was excellent in limited, and if he had tutored up other goblins for 4, he would've been a first pick, every time. Not that Blightspeaker is first pick, but he's pretty good, I think).
Goblins: Auntie's Snitch is a decent recurrable beater; Mad Auntie is your lord, and is very good; Facevaulter and Festering Goblin are your early drops, and they mean business. Support with the kill spells, and you probably want to splash red. Maybe even a Warren Weirding, though I don't think that card's going to be very good without a Mad Auntie in play (you can't even use it in response to removal. Blegh).
Rogues: I'm just going to mention that they exist. There aren't enough synergies to do the stupid things that the rogue tribal is known for. You might draft them as a subtheme if you open an Earwig Squad.
Dredge/Rock: This is a hard archetype to pull off without Life from the Loam, but the basic system revolves around ripping apart your opponent's hand with Raven's Crime. Drakmor Salvage helps with this a ton. You also need to be able to stick an early threat so you can kill them while they lose their turns (because you keep taking their hand). The one that immediately jumps to mind is the 2 drop Thallid. It can block their early drops while you try to set up the engine, and it can produce threats over time. A few of those, and you'd be good to go. Also note that Worm Harvest is a backup wincon, but is harder to pull off without LftL.
Red:
Giants: From here, we get our removal, Crush Underfoot. In the form of creatures, we have Thundercloud (first pick), Stinkdrinker Daredevil (second pick), and then a bunch of filler giants which are all pretty mediocre and probably tied for third picks. Not much to say; it's pretty self-explanatory.
Goblins: Tar Pitcher, Stingscourger, Empty the Warrens, and Mogg War Marshal are all great additions to your black goblins. The burn is pretty nice, too.
Arcane/Storm: Glacial Ray, Lava Spike, and Desperate Ritual. These are the cards you want to be doing unfair things with, and they supplement the blue cantrips pretty nicely.
Suspend: A very strange archetype, it basically revolves around dropping Rift Elementals and getting good stuff out faster. Its Green splash is probably best, though if you draw the nuts and go Jhoira into Progenitus, you might be winning. Rift Elementals and Fury Charms are really all that matter in red at the non-rare level, though, since Red's only non-rare suspend card that's going to take a while is the dragon, which is kinda meh anyway.
Green:
Suspend: If you have the Rift Elementals, the Fury Charms, and need something to do with them, look no further. Durkwood Baloth and Giant Dustwasp are here to help you out (yes, the support for this archetype really *is* that limited).
Fatties: Here's where green stands alone. It has the most efficient creatures in a format with pretty weak removal. Thus, drafting any green cards with a toughness greater than 3 is a reasonable plan. Penumbra Spiders should be close to first pick, Imperiosaur if you're not planning to go ham on non-basics. Walker of the Grove makes a decent top end, and can be evoked early for a body that simply outclasses most of the rest of the format.
Thallids: One of my pet archetypes. I'll give you my personal ratings of each. Here are your options: Thallid (3/5. Not amazing, but not bad). Thallid Germinator (1/5. Awful, and really nothing more than jank filler. Use Woodreaders over these). Thallid Shell-Dweller (5/5. This archetype sits around and waits for its army to show up. Having a 2 drop 0/5 wall is a good way to not die while waiting). Sporoloth Ancient (5/5. Great p/t, and he reduces the Saproling cost of your other Thallids to two, allowing for a quicker army). Sporesower Thallid (4/5. Not quite as good as Ancient, IMO. Same p/t, one mana less, but doesn't give cost reduction. On top of this, he's an uncommon while Ancient is a common. I'd pick him highly, but I wouldn't take him over ancient, and I wouldn't pick him over Shell-Dweller unless you already have several). Non-thallid options: Citanul Woodreaders (3/5. They make a fine 3 drop due to their nice toughness and the defensive nature of the archetype. Kicking them is just gravy). Penumbra Spider (5/5 omg yes. If you're drafting green, you should be taking this over anything that doesn't win the game on its own). Reach of Branches (2/5. It gives you a late-game wincon, but you should already have an army built by this point). Echoing Courage (5/5. The real wincon. What happens to people who get hit by 10 3/3 Saprolings? We haven't found enough of the remains to analyze them and answer that question just yet).
Beyond that, there are a few archetypes that have been mentioned by LK (namely his domain control and sunburst builds). I can't seem to get them to work, but if he'd like to write a description, that'd be nice. There's also the really, really funny changeling build I mentioned earlier. Basically, go Grixis, and take Facevaulters, Tar Pitchers, and Spellstutters, plus anything else that gets a creature type bonus, and fill the rest of your deck with the U and R changelings. Not guaranteed to work every time, but if you just want to draft a lulzy deck, it's available.
Edit: That awkward moment when I realize you can target the other player with Warren Weirding. So, ya, that's a solid option...
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So every color got a board wipe but green?
Still waiting for my "All creatures become forests" wrath.
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7 mana honestly isn't asking a lot for a bomb rare.
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