702.91b If a player chooses to reveal a card using its miracle ability, he or she plays with that card revealed until that card leaves his or her hand, that ability resolves, or that ability otherwise leaves the stack.
and
* You can cast a card for its miracle cost only as the miracle triggered ability resolves. If you don't want to cast it at that time (or you can't cast it, perhaps because there are no legal targets available), you won't be able to cast it later for the miracle cost.
My question is this: Say I reveal a Miracle card during my draw step. I intend on using it. Do I have to cast it then? Or can I wait and say cast it during my 2nd main phase or during the declare blockers step (assuming it's an appropriate time based on the card type). I'm not understanding when the trigger actually resolves or when you can actually cast it..
If I cast Ancient Grudge from my graveyard for it's flashback cost, can it be countered by Mental Misstep since I am only paying 1 green mana for the spell?
My opponent has a Geralf's Messenger that has just died in combat. Can I respond with a Purify the Grave to stop the undying trigger from bringing it back?
I have 2 doomed traveler in play. I cast a angelic destiny targeting a doomed traveler. My opponent responds by vapor snag on that doomed traveler. Does angelic destiny get to attach itself to my other doomed traveler that was in play?
My Geralf's Messenger has died already and returned with a +1/+1 counter from it's Undying ability thus making it a 4/3. Can I cast a Black Sun's Zenith with X = 3 in order to basically get my Messenger back again?
2. If I have a Leyline of Punishment in play and attack with a red creature say Goblin Guide. My opponent blocks with a Kor Firewalker. Does the Firewalkers protection still prevent the combat damage even with the leyline in play?
3. Can I shuffle away a card I have revealed off a Delver of Secerts transform ability before I draw it?
I am very happy with the Legacy ban of MM. The format will open up some and become more diverse again.
As for modern though..Blah. Why are they banning cards that can fit in several decks instead of the real problem cards? IE ponder, preordain, and GSZ. They should have banned pyromancer ascension, and swath as ponder and preordain fueled those two engines...
I normally post on the source but it seems to be down? I've been playing legacy rock for over a year now and have seen a lot of success with it. Recently though I found the need to update the traditional rock build since the introduction of GSZ.
I want to stress a few points here. I play a more traditional build of rock. A deck that goes for incremental advantages over each turn. I've stuck to the traditional color build as well (3 colors g,b,w). I posted on source that I was going to test and re-test a variety of different rock builds to see which I felt was the best. I've finally finished and arrived at my current decklist that I am quite happy with.
Versions of rock that I test included - Traditional with GSZ, traditional with a full SFM package. 4 color (adding red), Junk Depths, Traditional plus the hexmage combo, and also a traditional with a full loam package.
I tested against 4 archtypes which were UB Stoneblade, Fish, NO Rug, and Zoo. I play a little over 20 games with each version of Rock against each archtype.
First a few high level comments on the archetypes I built and tested.
Traditional with GSZ
I could never get any rock lists with GSZ to run like I wanted it to. It's an extremely powerful effect, but rock is generally creature light. GSZ seems to shine when you run more creatures. Ultimately I decided GSZ didn't belong in a more traditional rock build. It may still work as a 1 or 2 of though.
Traditional with a full SFM package
When the deck worked, it worked well. Having 3-4 SFM was overkill though. Being able to cheat in a batterskull against Fish or Zoo was always a GG. However the deck lost the incremental advantages it always had over other decks. I cut 1 creature here or there, to squeeze it in, or I went lighter on the discard. Either way to fit in 3-4 SFM with a minimum of 2 equipments was simply changing the deck to much, and made it less consistent.
4 color Rock
This was simply a horrible idea. It was too shaky, and to easily disrupt-able. This is a shame since I loved the 4 color loam decks. However in testing this deck it did later cue me onto what I now consider a great idea which was Loam.
Junk Depths & Traditional plus hexmage combo
For starters I am not a fan of running the wish version. Which is why I switched over to traditional plus the combo. I ran 4 hexmages and 4 darkpeths, plus loam. To be honest I might be able to make this work even better. The Junk Depths that is rotating around though again takes away the incremental advantages aspect of Rock and tries to go for a quick kill. I got blown out too many times when it was online. For reference I'm not a closed book on going more traditional with it. Here is my current traditional list with the Hexmage Combo.
Important things about traditional plus the combo. You want to drop the wish and add in life from the loam. There is way to much synergy between loam, stronghold, hexmage, and dark depths to pass up. Honestly there is way to much synergy in loam with traditional rock period to pass up. You want to keep 3 mox diamonds in this build as it lets you toss an extra dark depths if your hand is flooded with them. If your opponent is able to answer the combo with say a swords the stronghold and loam enable you to reset yourself back up. This was key in the match ups I had previous lost with the Junk Depths list. Like I said, I can get behind this build, but it still needs a little more tweaking. Maybe adding in a Urborg or witness, not sure yet. One last coment is that this decklist preformed the best against Stoneblade. Having access to 4 hexmages in the main made Jace no issue at all.
However below is the deck I ended up with. It's very versatile, sticks to what makes Rock a good deck, and does it well.
There is A LOT I can say about some of the interactions. The first is I did decided to fit in a bare bones SFM package, and a singleton Loam. I did this because I hate getting multiple Tops, they are pointless when you have more then 1. I found going down to two acceptable however I needed to still generate some CA. This is where Loam comes in. Loam enables me to further maximize my value of Mox Diamonds, Wastelands, Stronghold, Dryad Arbor, Goyf, and Knight.
Previously I ran 2 Jittes, and cut 1 for the batterskul, and cut a Mox diamond for a singleton SFM. I didn't need run 2 since the SFM acts as the tutor.
I was one of the first to advocate the use of Stronghold in Rock and will continue to do so. It's great and when your opponent can finally answer it, if you have the Loam it's just a blowout. I liked the more functional lands that 4 color loam ran so I included a copy of Riftstone Portal to help with the mana, and stick with the GY theme.
I've toyed around adding in some of the cycling lands and threshold lands, but I didn't think about it till to late in testing.
Basically in this package you have the singleton SFM and when it hits it's great, however you still have the core strong package of Rock to rely on. It's ran excellent for me, so I encourage you to sleeve it up and try it.
Here is the list I plan on taking to Providence. The deck seems well positioned (everyone is going to be playing with Misstep... here is a hint... its not that good against us.) and playing a "fair" game is something that is good in an open meta.
Anyway, I currently am playing 24 land and feel that maybe I cut one but I'm not sure. Looking for help and ideas!
I won our GPT for Providence with a similar list, I posted my deck and results a few pages earlier. I would HIGHLY recommend you drop the Horizon Canopy for Volarth's Stronghold. I would also drop the single Inquistion of Kozilek for a Jitte. Maybe consider going to 3 swords since you have 2 Deeds main, and fit in the 4th Vindicate as a result.
I would move Karakas to the side or cut it all together, it's darn near ineffective at this point. The decks that do run Emerakul, do so outta the side, and can play around Karakas fairly well. Rely your hand disruption instead. You could either consider running 1 bogs main which I think is the right call for the GP, or run the traditional 23 lands which is still fine and then you could put another good card in the main. Personally I am a fan of 2 Jittes
The Jitte I believe had 1 or 2 counters on it already. I can't remember if there was a noble in play, I don't believe so. Talking about it on another forum too.
Yesterday it was mainly for 1, but I like the flexibility because there are times when I need to go either 2 or 3. The key is to look at the whole board, and make sure you are thinking it out right. Good example of how that could have played out was tonight in th scg open. The junk played used his deed at the wrong time with a Jitte out. He should have equipped it to his bird, and swung. Then let bob draw him a extra card and see if he needed too then. He probably should have continued to use the Jitte to eat fish, but it was the end of a long day.
and
* You can cast a card for its miracle cost only as the miracle triggered ability resolves. If you don't want to cast it at that time (or you can't cast it, perhaps because there are no legal targets available), you won't be able to cast it later for the miracle cost.
Source: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/activity/947
My question is this: Say I reveal a Miracle card during my draw step. I intend on using it. Do I have to cast it then? Or can I wait and say cast it during my 2nd main phase or during the declare blockers step (assuming it's an appropriate time based on the card type). I'm not understanding when the trigger actually resolves or when you can actually cast it..
2. If I have a Leyline of Punishment in play and attack with a red creature say Goblin Guide. My opponent blocks with a Kor Firewalker. Does the Firewalkers protection still prevent the combat damage even with the leyline in play?
3. Can I shuffle away a card I have revealed off a Delver of Secerts transform ability before I draw it?
1.) How does MTGO work with Planeswalker or Pro points? Does it even? If not, why, and does anyone know if this is going to change?
2.) Do the results tie back to your DCI#? I want to be able to see my match history like I can with my real life events.
Thanks!
This is what I said later in this thread, and completely agree.
As for modern though..Blah. Why are they banning cards that can fit in several decks instead of the real problem cards? IE ponder, preordain, and GSZ. They should have banned pyromancer ascension, and swath as ponder and preordain fueled those two engines...
I want to stress a few points here. I play a more traditional build of rock. A deck that goes for incremental advantages over each turn. I've stuck to the traditional color build as well (3 colors g,b,w). I posted on source that I was going to test and re-test a variety of different rock builds to see which I felt was the best. I've finally finished and arrived at my current decklist that I am quite happy with.
Versions of rock that I test included - Traditional with GSZ, traditional with a full SFM package. 4 color (adding red), Junk Depths, Traditional plus the hexmage combo, and also a traditional with a full loam package.
I tested against 4 archtypes which were UB Stoneblade, Fish, NO Rug, and Zoo. I play a little over 20 games with each version of Rock against each archtype.
First a few high level comments on the archetypes I built and tested.
Traditional with GSZ
I could never get any rock lists with GSZ to run like I wanted it to. It's an extremely powerful effect, but rock is generally creature light. GSZ seems to shine when you run more creatures. Ultimately I decided GSZ didn't belong in a more traditional rock build. It may still work as a 1 or 2 of though.
Traditional with a full SFM package
When the deck worked, it worked well. Having 3-4 SFM was overkill though. Being able to cheat in a batterskull against Fish or Zoo was always a GG. However the deck lost the incremental advantages it always had over other decks. I cut 1 creature here or there, to squeeze it in, or I went lighter on the discard. Either way to fit in 3-4 SFM with a minimum of 2 equipments was simply changing the deck to much, and made it less consistent.
4 color Rock
This was simply a horrible idea. It was too shaky, and to easily disrupt-able. This is a shame since I loved the 4 color loam decks. However in testing this deck it did later cue me onto what I now consider a great idea which was Loam.
Junk Depths & Traditional plus hexmage combo
For starters I am not a fan of running the wish version. Which is why I switched over to traditional plus the combo. I ran 4 hexmages and 4 darkpeths, plus loam. To be honest I might be able to make this work even better. The Junk Depths that is rotating around though again takes away the incremental advantages aspect of Rock and tries to go for a quick kill. I got blown out too many times when it was online. For reference I'm not a closed book on going more traditional with it. Here is my current traditional list with the Hexmage Combo.
2 Bayou
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
4 Dark Depths
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Volarth's Stronghold
1 Maze of Ith
3 Wasteland
4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Vindicate
2 Life from the loam
2 Sensei's Divining Top
Important things about traditional plus the combo. You want to drop the wish and add in life from the loam. There is way to much synergy between loam, stronghold, hexmage, and dark depths to pass up. Honestly there is way to much synergy in loam with traditional rock period to pass up. You want to keep 3 mox diamonds in this build as it lets you toss an extra dark depths if your hand is flooded with them. If your opponent is able to answer the combo with say a swords the stronghold and loam enable you to reset yourself back up. This was key in the match ups I had previous lost with the Junk Depths list. Like I said, I can get behind this build, but it still needs a little more tweaking. Maybe adding in a Urborg or witness, not sure yet. One last coment is that this decklist preformed the best against Stoneblade. Having access to 4 hexmages in the main made Jace no issue at all.
However below is the deck I ended up with. It's very versatile, sticks to what makes Rock a good deck, and does it well.
3 Scrublands
2 Bayou
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Mars Flats
4 Wasteland
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Swamp
1 Riftstone Portal
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Volarth's Stronghold
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Sword to Plowshares
4 Vindicate
2 Pernicious Deed
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Life from the Loam
3 Leyline of Sancity
3 Leyline of the void
1 Thrun, the last troll
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Qasali Pridemage
3 Engineered Plague
3 Inquisition of Kozelik
There is A LOT I can say about some of the interactions. The first is I did decided to fit in a bare bones SFM package, and a singleton Loam. I did this because I hate getting multiple Tops, they are pointless when you have more then 1. I found going down to two acceptable however I needed to still generate some CA. This is where Loam comes in. Loam enables me to further maximize my value of Mox Diamonds, Wastelands, Stronghold, Dryad Arbor, Goyf, and Knight.
Previously I ran 2 Jittes, and cut 1 for the batterskul, and cut a Mox diamond for a singleton SFM. I didn't need run 2 since the SFM acts as the tutor.
I was one of the first to advocate the use of Stronghold in Rock and will continue to do so. It's great and when your opponent can finally answer it, if you have the Loam it's just a blowout. I liked the more functional lands that 4 color loam ran so I included a copy of Riftstone Portal to help with the mana, and stick with the GY theme.
I've toyed around adding in some of the cycling lands and threshold lands, but I didn't think about it till to late in testing.
Basically in this package you have the singleton SFM and when it hits it's great, however you still have the core strong package of Rock to rely on. It's ran excellent for me, so I encourage you to sleeve it up and try it.
I won our GPT for Providence with a similar list, I posted my deck and results a few pages earlier. I would HIGHLY recommend you drop the Horizon Canopy for Volarth's Stronghold. I would also drop the single Inquistion of Kozilek for a Jitte. Maybe consider going to 3 swords since you have 2 Deeds main, and fit in the 4th Vindicate as a result.
I would move Karakas to the side or cut it all together, it's darn near ineffective at this point. The decks that do run Emerakul, do so outta the side, and can play around Karakas fairly well. Rely your hand disruption instead. You could either consider running 1 bogs main which I think is the right call for the GP, or run the traditional 23 lands which is still fine and then you could put another good card in the main. Personally I am a fan of 2 Jittes