I'm doing fine in my meta, taking 1st place pretty consistently. I've been running a heavy tokens build with favors Butcher of the Horde and Sorin, Solemn Visitor heavily. My meta is largely midrange and control decks, which is exactly what Mardu prays upon in a more aggressive build. At least in my meta, I take out the Seeker of the Ways to up the count on Raise the Alarm and Dragon Fodder, and have 2 Sorin, 2 Outpost Siege, 4 Butchers, 1 Ashcloud Phoenix. The midrange decks don't have the removal space to handle both the tokens and the flyers at the same time, while control just gets stomped against anything halfway aggressive. What removal I do have is to take out those heavy-hitters they are relying on to beat me. I've had people just scoop to Crackling Doom.
My very first game of commander (after having not played magic in nearly 20 years), playing the Kaalia precon, she got hindered and we had to stop for 20 minutes while I *****ed about it.
That sounds more like a problem with you than anything else. Your friends must be saints for putting up with that childishness.
I exaggerate for effect.
But suppose: Your friends invite you to play this new type of magic they've hyped up where you get your commander all the time and if it gets removed you just recast it, and then the first game (with a hugely flavorful, cool commander) it gets tucked, and they've got to explain that "Oh, well, not if it gets removed this way."
Also, you're extremely skilled at flaming in a way that flies just under the radar. I find this sly little personal attack to be the childish move.
Now you see? That first paragraph actually addresses the topic at hand. I was merely intending to point out how little simply saying you complained about something supports or refutes a point. Admittedly, as a new player that would suck, but old players know Kaalia is a 'must kill now' general. She's seriously one of those problem generals the format's tuck rule was covering for. If someone was there when you were buying it, they really should have mentioned that.
My very first game of commander (after having not played magic in nearly 20 years), playing the Kaalia precon, she got hindered and we had to stop for 20 minutes while I *****ed about it.
That sounds more like a problem with you than anything else. Your friends must be saints for putting up with that childishness.
This past week, we ended our FNM quickly as people were coming for the midnight prerelease instead, end everyone wanted to start a draft. To get one going (and make it interesting) the storekeeper offered a $10-per-person draft where each person could choose to use any three packs the store had to sell (which went back to Avacyn Restored and the most monetarily viable was probably conspiracy). There was still prize support, but it was KTK. All 8 drafters, excluding one hold-out, wanted to do it. People even offered to pay the guy's entry fee, but, alas, that one hold-out meant we were stuck doing another week of KTK.
Did a two headed giant, choosing to partner with one of the newer players in our store. We actually managed to take 2nd, tying only once at time with lethal on board. Assignment was randam for factions to keep people from choosing one faction. I got Temur seeded pack while my partner took the Abzan one. Admittedly, our pool was very good. For him, we ended up with a concentrations of smaller, solid creatures in black and white, including Herald of Anafenza, Merciless Executioner, Daghatar the Adamant, Rally the Ancestors, and Tasigur, the Golden Fang. Also were three Sandblasts and three Sandsteppe Outcasts, Abzan Charm, etc. Admittedly, the pool in black and white was so good, he didn't even use much green, which really helped me. In general, the deck topped out at 4-mana with a few morph creatures like Abzan Guide. With all his tokens, Merciless Executioner proved to be an absolute recking ball.
Overall, the two decks worked very well together. His put down small creatures to either rush the opponent or hold down the fort while I either ramped or smoothed my draw with Write into Being to put big fat into play. My partner's deck had basically all of our hard removal, but, with the various manifest cards to make the most of Bloodfire Enforcers, flash creatures like Hungering Yeti, amazing pump spells, and just solid, overall fat, the two worked extremely well together. In one game, on the draw, it went...
The problem with your argument is that you are stopping at week 2. Week 1 people run this guy, week 2 they adjust as you suggested...then what? If people start running those sweepers then we see aggro/mid go bigger with larger individual creatures/walkers in week 3. Then more controlling strategies adjust and start playing more of the 5-mana true wraths and more expensive/powerful targeted removal in week 4 to adjust to those new threats...leaving them vulnerable to a flood of smaller/cheaper threats again.
I don't think it's too easy to Adjust to this girl, as she has early, mid and Lategame aplications, while it's pretty easy to answer her in the early Game (except the Stoke the Flames Scenario maybe) it will be pretty hard to prevent your opponent from using her abiltys in the mid or lategame without a significant Tempo loss).
The problem with your argument is that you are stopping at week 2. Week 1 people run this guy, week 2 they adjust as you suggested...then what? If people start running those sweepers then we see aggro/mid go bigger with larger individual creatures/walkers in week 3. Then more controlling strategies adjust and start playing more of the 5-mana true wraths and more expensive/powerful targeted removal in week 4 to adjust to those new threats...leaving them vulnerable to a flood of smaller/cheaper threats again.
I don't think it's too easy to Adjust to this girl, as she has early, mid and Lategame aplications, while it's pretty easy to answer her in the early Game (except the Stoke the Flames Scenario maybe) it will be pretty hard to prevent your opponent from using her abiltys in the mid or lategame without a significant Tempo loss).
I agree, I was responding to the earlier post wrt to adjusting metas. He was concerned that the meta adjusting to this would make things untenable for all aggro, my point was simply that the meta doesn't adjust and then just stop...it continues flowing and will probably circle back around to a point where the red aggro he likes is good again.
Well, the point is, after that ramp up, where does it cycle to? More than likely, it will cycle between more Jeskai Tokens, more Midrange Control, and less Jeskai Tokens, less Midrange Control. Considering both those options generally have lifegain and extremely heavy amounts of removal in the works, I currently see no option were traditional aggro strategies aren't heavily handicapped. There needs to be another hyper-aggro or anti-lifegain card to balance this out.
You didn't answer my point. And, if you don't like seeing midrange decks, too bad, because you will be seeing a whole lot more of them, especially control variants, as straight control is dead, and traditional aggro soon won't be an option. A single deck getting more powerful cards isn't necessarily a good thing. The best deck now costs between $100 and $200 more, and there will be a whole meta designed around beating it.
If a 2 Mana Creature MUST be removed, if opponent doesnt want to be dominated , then its evidence for being a good card.
Dies to Removal . . . i can also say that Removal dies to threat.
This is exactly why I hate this card. Jeskai Tokens and Jeskai Burn are already highly competitive decks. This has to be killed the turn after it is played, or your opponent is going to be dominated. If this hits the board and stays, on turn 4, after plopping down either Hordling Outburst or Goblin Rabblemaster turn 3, you can cast a Lightning Helixed Stoke the Flames with Buyback once a turn. It goes insane with Jeskai Ascendency. It's going to be the most format-defining card since Voice of Resurgence, except this is more easily castable. It could warp the format even further against hard aggro than Azban Midrange already has. I hate when Wizards does blatant cash grabs in the mythic slot like this.
That's kinda my point. This provides another deck with a huge source of lifegain and a crazy threat to the current meta. The best answer to this threat is Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods. Thus, more decks are going to be running those 2-and-3 toughness wipes main bored, and more decks are going to run lifegain. This means, on two fronts, traditional and sligh aggro are being hated out of the new meta. It pushes everything to favor heavier midrange and more low-cost boardwipes. You can't just look at the cards, but what sort of ripple effect they create around them. When cards are powerful enough, the entire meta shifts around them, which is unhealthy.
I play Mardu aggro, and I would take the Butcher of the Horde nearly every time. They both have life gain, and both have similar roles to play in the deck. However, one is good as a topdeck, and gets better the more creatures you have. The other is ok as a topdeck, and almost relies on other creatures to be relevant. In either case, you will need tokens to make them truly shine, but Butcher is a more resilient body that plays better on an empty board.
I'm just of the opinion that interesting and potentially powerful Mythics add value to the overall cost of the set, making the value of a box or even a random pack potentially higher, which is a good thing. They only ever make a few chase Mythics in a set, and it's nice to see ones that have the potential to retain and/or gain value over time. I'd much rather have this card and ones like it than more cards like Ugin's Nexus, because I like the idea of my 100$ box netting me an equivalent value in singles. But that's just me.
Also, demonstrate this trend of card prices getting more and more expensive. It sounds like an opinion that has no factual basis. You realize that in the last five years there was a card in Standard that cost almost 100$? This is pretty tame compared to that. Hell, look at the value of a good chunk of the Mythics in Khans and you'll see that people opening a ton of boxes actually has positive effects on the price of singles. Making a set desirable to open increases card availability, which eventually brings prices down.
You know, economics.
The rage behind pushed mythics is what the RNG does the the value of the pack. In sets where you have one amazing mythic with a corresponding price tag, though the average value of a pack goes up, the variance of value increases. What this means is, if one card has a higher value, pushing the mean value of the set up, and is itself VERY rare to see open, the chances of that pack meeting the mean value or exceeding it go down. IE, the chance of you opening a booster box, not seeing this single card, and losing value goes up.
If this were a rare, in a cycle of highly desirable rares, like, say, the fetchland cycle they just printed, then the chances of opening it and other rares of similar quality would be more even. This is why I'm all for mythings if Wizards would stay true to their word and make them awe-inspiring Timmy cards that largely belong in EDH like Godsire or the Praetor's Cycle. They're good, but, even with Elesh Norn, she was only a 1-or-2 of in standard and never went above $20.
Sadly, though, Wizards does not keep to this model of mythic rares. Some of them they make like the Timmies, some of them are jank, and some of them are all-out busted as to be wanted by every standard player, while the cards surrounding it in the slot hold significantly less value. To be metaphoric, for every lucky player that pulls Tarmagoyf this set, the rest of us will end up with Trained Ogg. I hyperbolize, but that is the worst-case scenario for what printing cards like this in the mythic slot does. If they want to keep sets friendly to the regular and borderline casual players, print solid, efficient cards for standard in the rare slot, and Splashy, niche, Timmy cards for the mythic slot. They should do what they promised, but, as said, they really haven't since the introduction of the mythic rarity.
It's going to be the most format-defining card since Voice of Resurgence, except this is more easily castable. It could warp the format even further against hard aggro than Azban Midrange already has. I hate when Wizards does blatant cash grabs in the mythic slot like this.
Monastery Mentor chuckles a little bit that you consider his comrade the main threat in the new format.
Jeskai just looks crazy. Better prepare your Mystic Monasterys, guys
He's a better Young Pyromancer for the cost and a synergistic combo piece. Jeskai tokens will rip the format in half.
Mardu tokens and other aggro decks will probably use it over Stormbreath Dragon. In those decks, Monstrocity does not exist, and either the opponent has instant removal, or they are dead the turn he comes down. Thus, the fact that he needs Dash to have haste does not matter. The dragon alone is 5 in the air, with 1 extra damage per body down before him. He is, functionally, a slightly higher-costed Hellrider.
If a 2 Mana Creature MUST be removed, if opponent doesnt want to be dominated , then its evidence for being a good card.
Dies to Removal . . . i can also say that Removal dies to threat.
This is exactly why I hate this card. Jeskai Tokens and Jeskai Burn are already highly competitive decks. This has to be killed the turn after it is played, or your opponent is going to be dominated. If this hits the board and stays, on turn 4, after plopping down either Hordling Outburst or Goblin Rabblemaster turn 3, you can cast a Lightning Helixed Stoke the Flames with Buyback once a turn. It goes insane with Jeskai Ascendency. It's going to be the most format-defining card since Voice of Resurgence, except this is more easily castable. It could warp the format even further against hard aggro than Azban Midrange already has. I hate when Wizards does blatant cash grabs in the mythic slot like this.
Now you see? That first paragraph actually addresses the topic at hand. I was merely intending to point out how little simply saying you complained about something supports or refutes a point. Admittedly, as a new player that would suck, but old players know Kaalia is a 'must kill now' general. She's seriously one of those problem generals the format's tuck rule was covering for. If someone was there when you were buying it, they really should have mentioned that.
That sounds more like a problem with you than anything else. Your friends must be saints for putting up with that childishness.
T1: Foundry Street Denizen (alternate Frenzied Goblin)
T2: Dragon Fodder (alternate Raise the Alarm)
T3: Hordeling Outburst, Convoke Obelisk of Urd naming 'Goblins'
Best result: Swing T4 for 18 with six 3/3's.
With my deck, I embraced Temur, made a huge use of manifest, and green was the centerpiece. Two Whisperer of the Wilds and two Map the Wastes allowed me to ramp into Whisperwood Elemental turn 4 one game. That one ended turn 7 with a Become Immense on one of his manifests, the turn after a Trumpet Blast hit them for over 20 damage. I also got Hewed Stone Retainers, Icefeather Aven, and Bloodfire Enforcers, the latter of which was a total MVP with a singleton Ethereal Ambush, other instants, and tons of manifest sources like Write into Being. Atarka, World Render was in the deck, but never made an appearance.
Overall, the two decks worked very well together. His put down small creatures to either rush the opponent or hold down the fort while I either ramped or smoothed my draw with Write into Being to put big fat into play. My partner's deck had basically all of our hard removal, but, with the various manifest cards to make the most of Bloodfire Enforcers, flash creatures like Hungering Yeti, amazing pump spells, and just solid, overall fat, the two worked extremely well together. In one game, on the draw, it went...
T1: Herald of Anafenza
T2: Wandering Champion,Whisperer of the Wilds
T3: Herald of Anafenza's ability, Write into Being. They killed the herald at the end of our turn.
T4: Merciless Executioner (sacing his token and my manifest. The opponents each to sacrifice their only creatures.), Whisperwood Elemental, manifest.
T5: Morphed Abzan Guide, MorphedIcefeather Aven, Hewed Stone Retainers, manifest.
T6: Unmorph Icefeather Aven to bounce their largest creature, swing with everything, unmorphed Abzan Guide and played Trumpet Blast
T7: Their board was all but wiped. Become Immense ended it.
Well, the point is, after that ramp up, where does it cycle to? More than likely, it will cycle between more Jeskai Tokens, more Midrange Control, and less Jeskai Tokens, less Midrange Control. Considering both those options generally have lifegain and extremely heavy amounts of removal in the works, I currently see no option were traditional aggro strategies aren't heavily handicapped. There needs to be another hyper-aggro or anti-lifegain card to balance this out.
That's kinda my point. This provides another deck with a huge source of lifegain and a crazy threat to the current meta. The best answer to this threat is Drown in Sorrow and Anger of the Gods. Thus, more decks are going to be running those 2-and-3 toughness wipes main bored, and more decks are going to run lifegain. This means, on two fronts, traditional and sligh aggro are being hated out of the new meta. It pushes everything to favor heavier midrange and more low-cost boardwipes. You can't just look at the cards, but what sort of ripple effect they create around them. When cards are powerful enough, the entire meta shifts around them, which is unhealthy.
The rage behind pushed mythics is what the RNG does the the value of the pack. In sets where you have one amazing mythic with a corresponding price tag, though the average value of a pack goes up, the variance of value increases. What this means is, if one card has a higher value, pushing the mean value of the set up, and is itself VERY rare to see open, the chances of that pack meeting the mean value or exceeding it go down. IE, the chance of you opening a booster box, not seeing this single card, and losing value goes up.
If this were a rare, in a cycle of highly desirable rares, like, say, the fetchland cycle they just printed, then the chances of opening it and other rares of similar quality would be more even. This is why I'm all for mythings if Wizards would stay true to their word and make them awe-inspiring Timmy cards that largely belong in EDH like Godsire or the Praetor's Cycle. They're good, but, even with Elesh Norn, she was only a 1-or-2 of in standard and never went above $20.
Sadly, though, Wizards does not keep to this model of mythic rares. Some of them they make like the Timmies, some of them are jank, and some of them are all-out busted as to be wanted by every standard player, while the cards surrounding it in the slot hold significantly less value. To be metaphoric, for every lucky player that pulls Tarmagoyf this set, the rest of us will end up with Trained Ogg. I hyperbolize, but that is the worst-case scenario for what printing cards like this in the mythic slot does. If they want to keep sets friendly to the regular and borderline casual players, print solid, efficient cards for standard in the rare slot, and Splashy, niche, Timmy cards for the mythic slot. They should do what they promised, but, as said, they really haven't since the introduction of the mythic rarity.
He's a better Young Pyromancer for the cost and a synergistic combo piece. Jeskai tokens will rip the format in half.
This is exactly why I hate this card. Jeskai Tokens and Jeskai Burn are already highly competitive decks. This has to be killed the turn after it is played, or your opponent is going to be dominated. If this hits the board and stays, on turn 4, after plopping down either Hordling Outburst or Goblin Rabblemaster turn 3, you can cast a Lightning Helixed Stoke the Flames with Buyback once a turn. It goes insane with Jeskai Ascendency. It's going to be the most format-defining card since Voice of Resurgence, except this is more easily castable. It could warp the format even further against hard aggro than Azban Midrange already has. I hate when Wizards does blatant cash grabs in the mythic slot like this.