I've been trolling a few local events, and it's getting apparent that standard is becoming just as dull and boring to play as it was when arcbound ravager was legal. The competitive scene is nothing but wolf run ramp, the games being decided by the die roll and who draws more ramp spells. There's literally not a deck in the format that can come close to even 50% odds against it, save maybe tempered steel. (which gets obliterated by slagstorms)
Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, and the format is a lot healthier in a broader sense. but I can't see many decks being able to deal with a turn three uncounterable primeval titan that allows for turn 4 karn with mana to spare.
What's someone supposed to do in a format where one deck beats everything else, and the mirror is a random draw?
I'm with you on this one. The titans have been ruining standard for 2 years. If they are reprinted in M13 I will flip some tables
A simple question. Given China's atrocious human rights record should we boycott things that where made in China?
That raises another question is this even possible. Maybe if we westerners put some pressure on our governments then maybe they will pressure China into democracy.
I do not understand why Libya is making the news and China who is at least as bad as when it comes to human rights is going under the radar. We should really be against oppression wherever it is in the world.
What are your thoughts?
It sounds like you believe that the government actually gives a crap about non-Americans getting killed anywhere in the world.
Money is pretty much the only discriminator, and we literally can't do without China's.
There will always be a blocker. Whether it's a flashed in snapcaster mage, or a couple of Midnight Haunting tokens, or just a flat-out better guy from some aggro deck, Geist is incredibly unlikely to survive when attacking on the ground(I've seen some arguments for a deck with him and Angelic Destiny, which might have merit, but that is another story).
And saying that Stalker is good because of equipment is just a short-sighted argument. Is he? Of course. But you will not always have said equipment, unless you're playing an awful deck like Puresteel. For the most part, you're probably just running some Swords and hoping to get there. But that is a foolish plan in Standard right now. Artifact removal is everywhere.
Snapcaster and Haunting are the only flash creature, that is, the only two cards that will ever be able to surprise kill the Geist (and how much will Haunting be played anyway). Besides those you will always know what you are attacking into. So no, there will not always be a blocker. And even if there is one it will be a trade plus some damage in the air. But I don't have to convince you that Geist is good, it will prove itself very soon. (Same for Liliana)
And who would play any significant amount to artifact removal main deck risking having so many dead cards??
I think that Liliana will be better after SoM and the Titans rotate. Right now her abilities just don't do enough. Discarding a card isn't necessary a liability for the person casting Liliana, but it also isn't guaranteed to be one for your opponent. Aggro decks will usually have extra land to throw away, and plenty of decks will just discard flashback cards, or be able to recur their cards in some other way(Unburial Rites, Snapcaster Mage, Sun Titan etc). Her -2 is extremely hit/miss as well.
@TomAlso: You seem kind of clueless, honestly. Invisible Stalker is only good when it is equipped with a Sword. Any other time, it's a 1/1 that cost 2 mana. And Geist is good as a SB card in a Control v. Control mirror, but that is pretty much the only time. The rest of the time, he will just die on the ground while your token hopefully deals 4 damage in the air before getting exiled.
So you are saying that Stalker is only worth killing when it is equipped? I think a more competent player would rather take care of it before he gets hit with a sword. Because all the decks that play Stalker will also have equipment, that goes without saying. Geist will not always die, or are you implying that there will always be a 3/3 blocker on the other side? What if it carries a sword? You don't seem to have given it much thought
I think she's horridly overpriced, but apparently that's just me. Every time I look at her +1, I think "Here's Liliana! We both discard, but wait, I paid 3 mana and used 2 cards so my opponent could discard 1? Sigh..." Her -2 won't hit grave titan, doesn't really affect wurmcoil, and likely won't hit sun titan. Doing it right after she comes leaves her vulnerable. If she dies, she just became a 3CMC geth's verdict (luckily not many manlands, eh?). Her -6, although game changing, lets the opponent keep what they want. I guess that's good for a 3CMC planeswalker, but I don't want to discard my entire hand to do that.
This may sound stupid, but maybe she'll be seen in B/R vamps to replace gatekeeper and force the opponent to discard after they've run out of cards themselves (level the playing field). I don't think that one deck warrants such a high price though.
I also loved Chandra Nalaar, so take from that what you will.
So you just name the three creatures that are not affected by her -2 ability and conclude that she is bad? Talk about a biased account. What do you say of Invisible Stalker or Geist of Saint Traft? Two of the best cards from Innistrad that will clearly see a lot of play. Liliana can answer them and stay alive to do some more wreckage. The +1 ability is not great, I'll admit, but knowing that you're about to use it and given that you constructed the deck with Liliana in it, it will hopefully still give you a bit of an edge. The -2 is just insane. If you manage to -2 twice, which is really not that hard, the game will look easy after that. And come on, if you can't win the game after having your opponent sacrifice half of his permanents then you were screwed to start with.
Summarizing: Liliana abilities certainly are not overpowered, but they will turn the game in your favor in 3-4 turns. Against any deck that is not RDW she is extremely efficient and will likely be one of the best cards in the match-up. $30 is probably not warranted, but don't expect the price to drop anytime soon because she will be played. A lot.
I've been playtesting MBC a lot with three Liliana's. From what I have seen, basically she replaces a kickied Gatekeepr of Malakir in the 3 mana spot. That's it. Not that that's a terrible thing, but it's no game changer. You pay 3 mana, play her, they sac a creature, she dies next turn.
Unless your opponent only has one creature. In which case she stays alive long enough to kill another one.
Simple question: I control a Goblin Arsonist enchanted with Curiosity. The goblin dies and I direct the damage to my opponent. Do I get to draw a card? Thank you guys
You guys realize that Dismember kills every creature in the format except for titans? So is hero of Oxid Ridge good? Guess not, cause he costs 4 and dies to Dismember. Wonder why it's played in every RDW
It did get better!! Just image a red based deck with Goblin Grenade, Brimstone Volley and Molten-Tail Masticore! That's a lot of damage to the face! Plus, needless to say, you can know discard spells with flashback like Think Twice or Desperate Ravings. The format will be a lot slower and I expect Masticore to show up here and there
I would try playing 4x Brimstone Volley and 2x Molten-Tail Masticore. Along with Goblin Grenade that's a lot of direct damage (that is, burn to their face) which is hard to escape from. That way our little goblins only need to go half of the way.
I'm with you on this one. The titans have been ruining standard for 2 years. If they are reprinted in M13 I will flip some tables
My bad, I meant to say it doubled since the beginning of the tournament. It was $12-13 on Friday
It sounds like you believe that the government actually gives a crap about non-Americans getting killed anywhere in the world.
Money is pretty much the only discriminator, and we literally can't do without China's.
Snapcaster and Haunting are the only flash creature, that is, the only two cards that will ever be able to surprise kill the Geist (and how much will Haunting be played anyway). Besides those you will always know what you are attacking into. So no, there will not always be a blocker. And even if there is one it will be a trade plus some damage in the air. But I don't have to convince you that Geist is good, it will prove itself very soon. (Same for Liliana)
And who would play any significant amount to artifact removal main deck risking having so many dead cards??
So you are saying that Stalker is only worth killing when it is equipped? I think a more competent player would rather take care of it before he gets hit with a sword. Because all the decks that play Stalker will also have equipment, that goes without saying. Geist will not always die, or are you implying that there will always be a 3/3 blocker on the other side? What if it carries a sword? You don't seem to have given it much thought
So you just name the three creatures that are not affected by her -2 ability and conclude that she is bad? Talk about a biased account. What do you say of Invisible Stalker or Geist of Saint Traft? Two of the best cards from Innistrad that will clearly see a lot of play. Liliana can answer them and stay alive to do some more wreckage. The +1 ability is not great, I'll admit, but knowing that you're about to use it and given that you constructed the deck with Liliana in it, it will hopefully still give you a bit of an edge. The -2 is just insane. If you manage to -2 twice, which is really not that hard, the game will look easy after that. And come on, if you can't win the game after having your opponent sacrifice half of his permanents then you were screwed to start with.
Summarizing: Liliana abilities certainly are not overpowered, but they will turn the game in your favor in 3-4 turns. Against any deck that is not RDW she is extremely efficient and will likely be one of the best cards in the match-up. $30 is probably not warranted, but don't expect the price to drop anytime soon because she will be played. A lot.
Unless your opponent only has one creature. In which case she stays alive long enough to kill another one.
Double posts merged and warned.