What caught my attention/why did I start playing: My cousins and sister were playing the game and wanted to join. They were having fun, so I wanted to see what was up.
I play magic because its fun when I have my friends all together playing.
I don't know why I keep playing. I'm an on and off player. More off than on these days. I read about it more often than i'm playing it.
I had an Alms beast in 2 sealed pools i've done recently.
First time I played it, I needed breathing room from an aggressive opponent. It did the trick.
After pecking them down to 12 life with an Assault griffin once stabilized, I threw a madcap skills on it and stole the game.
Funny thing is, every time i've played it, I played it in a naya deck that splashed black. I was not disappointed in the card at any given time. So few creatures can reliably block it.
Convoke vs Populate: In terms of gameplay, I think convoke worked out better, and had that feel of "community" that selesnya wanted to promote. Populate was cute, but that was about it. At least for both of these designs, they could be put on multiple card types, and open design space is always nifty.
Replicate vs Overload: Replicate. I felt the spells were fairly (if almost too fairly) costed, and it always feels good to get more mileage out of your spells. Overload just felt too "all-upside" and boring. Limited on card types, but I guess that's the price of being a UR ability.
Transmute vs Cipher: Transmute. Tutor abilities are fine when they are limited in what they can find, I think. Cipher just felt like they were trying a bit too hard. Cipher depending way too hard on creatures really disappointed me.
Dredge vs Scavenge: DREDGE. No contest. I don't care if dredge made a whole broken deck archetype, its still the most fun I have with to this day. I think it's fine in what it wanted to do, and was happy that it could be placed on any card type. Scavenge really bothered me with how narrow it felt in design.
Radiance vs Battalion: Can I choose neither? Creature metalcraft is really lazy design, and radiance was just awkward to play with. I guess Radiance would win over due to it simply having more variety to expand on, but it would really be a narrow victory.
Bloodthirst vs Bloodrush: I think both were good. Bloodthirst was simple in what it conveyed, and I think it went with how aggressive the guild was. The only thing I dislike is how narrow Bloodthirst really is, and bloodrush has a lot more design space going for it.
Haunt vs Extort: Extort. It was a much more flavorful version of what the Orzhov did (even if it felt cheesy), and it had the added benefit of not confusing the ever living crap out of new players. Both had the space available for design, even if Haunt could theoretically do more. Though it kind of begs the question, if Haunt was too complicated, why was Cipher made...? But moving on.
Hellbent vs Unleash: Hellbent. Unleash, while flavorful, felt incredibly narrow and never did anything creative with it's design. It was just dudes get bigger and better when you unleash em. Hellbent still felt rakdos, and had much more room to grow in design, even if it's just a threshold mechanic.
Graft vs Evolve: This one is honestly a toss up. Both really do what simic wants to be doing, the only difference is Graft didn't really have the support I think it deserved. Evolve had a lot going for it, and had a lot of little synergies that existed, as well as cards worth playing. I do wish they weren't so creature oriented, but oh well. They're both really well done, and I applaud them for doing a good job both times.
Forecast vs Detain: Can I choose neither? Detain is "flavorful", but I didn't really enjoy playing with it. Forecast didn't make much sense to me, but it played interestingly. I think forecast probably gets a little ahead for how open its potential design is. Also don't like how most detain only hit creatures.
Hey supersonik, just saw this thread and had a good read. I figured maybe you'd want to take a look at a list i've been working on. Surprise, it's based around Epic Experiment. I figured I wanted to actually make the deck pure spell based, which in turn helps with getting the most out of Epic Experiment itself.
The basic idea wants to stick Riku, and then chain mana untapping spells + Copy with Riku, and get off a big Experiment, preferably copied. The land destruction is to make sure that if you don't hit an extra turn effect, you can still win off of cards like Hunting Pack. Eternal Dominion is in the deck because it's a pet card of mine, and it's pretty deadly when copied a few times after resolving a mass land D effect/time walk. I'm still very unsure about crush of wurms, as it never really feels necessary. Thinking about cutting it for more card filtering. Empty/Grapeshot/Ignite/Temporal/Mind's Desire are the typical storm effects that are going to win after resolution.
The ramp wants to get you out of being fair and putting only one land down per turn. I wanted a healthy amount of ramp, and further encouraged the basic land package. They're all pretty generic ramp spells.
The copy effects are for getting extra mileage out of your spells, ramp and card draw/time walk effects/untapping effects. Spitting/Rite can just steal the best creature on the board for your own.
Recursion just gives you a second shot at an Epic Experiment, sometimes buying back a ramp spell in dire need.
The card draw and tutors are pretty standard. The only one that stands out is Firemind's Foresight, a card I personally wanted to try for myself. Last time I casted it, I grabbed Early Harvest, Autumn's Veil, Increasing Vengeance. It just helps you get what you need, and since we're ramping so much anyway, the cost is relatively negligible.
The protection spells were a bit shaky for me, and am considering cutting many of them down. Blas. act just lets the deck have a wrath vs the many token decks I play against, which is why chain reaction is also in the deck. Autumn's Veil is my out vs blue decks. Pongify/Beast within/K. Grip to get rid of something truly annoying/pesky. I also wanted to run ruination because, well, we're 100% basic, and my friends can get greedy with mana bases.
If anyone has advice on improvements, i'm all ears.
First off I want to say i'm very happy to thumb through this thread, none of the "LOL SCREW BLUE PLAYERS" or "OMG BLUE IS GETTING SHAFTED" that is so common in these types of threads.
As for the questions:
I don't think its a good direction from R&D. As stated previously, I am also in the belief that strong tempo creatures when COMBINED with spells like Mana leak, is what turns it into an issue. I dont think the solution is just to print spells that can't be countered, I think the solution is just not to make so many efficient tempo-y dudes so close to each other for standard play.
No, I highly doubt we will see powerful countermagic in this block or the next. It simply isn't what Wizards wants to be doing with their game. Even if I disagree with it, i'll probably grin and bear it and hope to be proven wrong.
No, I think it is because of the overvaluing of Mana leak. If anything, snapcaster makes these uncounterable spells double the fun. 1UGB for a second Abrupt Decay isn't so far fetched in a set with shocklands (unfortunately, fetches are pretty far away from this block), and 2WWUU for a second wrath isn't so bad late game.
I don't want 3 very good hard counters in standard. I just want one that's very good to use, and some moderate secondary options if the need called. I also just want more Jace's Ingenuity in standard, or maybe Inspiration. I don't want the old mono U draw-go decks to become viable again, I just want a handful of catch-all's for spells that blue normally cannot handle. As for modern/legacy, these spells are gonna be a bit harder to evaluate, as they ain't gonna rotate out if they become a problem.
Seriously, just have early removal and hate for it. Each color has ways with dealing with her. Jhoira doesn't like being terminated, swords, path'd, tucked, beast within'd, putrefy'd, mortify'd, or anything. Jhoira doesn't like the spell coming off of suspension being countered/dealt with.
I play magic because its fun when I have my friends all together playing.
I don't know why I keep playing. I'm an on and off player. More off than on these days. I read about it more often than i'm playing it.
First time I played it, I needed breathing room from an aggressive opponent. It did the trick.
After pecking them down to 12 life with an Assault griffin once stabilized, I threw a madcap skills on it and stole the game.
Funny thing is, every time i've played it, I played it in a naya deck that splashed black. I was not disappointed in the card at any given time. So few creatures can reliably block it.
Replicate vs Overload: Replicate. I felt the spells were fairly (if almost too fairly) costed, and it always feels good to get more mileage out of your spells. Overload just felt too "all-upside" and boring. Limited on card types, but I guess that's the price of being a UR ability.
Transmute vs Cipher: Transmute. Tutor abilities are fine when they are limited in what they can find, I think. Cipher just felt like they were trying a bit too hard. Cipher depending way too hard on creatures really disappointed me.
Dredge vs Scavenge: DREDGE. No contest. I don't care if dredge made a whole broken deck archetype, its still the most fun I have with to this day. I think it's fine in what it wanted to do, and was happy that it could be placed on any card type. Scavenge really bothered me with how narrow it felt in design.
Radiance vs Battalion: Can I choose neither? Creature metalcraft is really lazy design, and radiance was just awkward to play with. I guess Radiance would win over due to it simply having more variety to expand on, but it would really be a narrow victory.
Bloodthirst vs Bloodrush: I think both were good. Bloodthirst was simple in what it conveyed, and I think it went with how aggressive the guild was. The only thing I dislike is how narrow Bloodthirst really is, and bloodrush has a lot more design space going for it.
Haunt vs Extort: Extort. It was a much more flavorful version of what the Orzhov did (even if it felt cheesy), and it had the added benefit of not confusing the ever living crap out of new players. Both had the space available for design, even if Haunt could theoretically do more. Though it kind of begs the question, if Haunt was too complicated, why was Cipher made...? But moving on.
Hellbent vs Unleash: Hellbent. Unleash, while flavorful, felt incredibly narrow and never did anything creative with it's design. It was just dudes get bigger and better when you unleash em. Hellbent still felt rakdos, and had much more room to grow in design, even if it's just a threshold mechanic.
Graft vs Evolve: This one is honestly a toss up. Both really do what simic wants to be doing, the only difference is Graft didn't really have the support I think it deserved. Evolve had a lot going for it, and had a lot of little synergies that existed, as well as cards worth playing. I do wish they weren't so creature oriented, but oh well. They're both really well done, and I applaud them for doing a good job both times.
Forecast vs Detain: Can I choose neither? Detain is "flavorful", but I didn't really enjoy playing with it. Forecast didn't make much sense to me, but it played interestingly. I think forecast probably gets a little ahead for how open its potential design is. Also don't like how most detain only hit creatures.
1 Riku of Two Reflections
Wincons
1 Epic Experiment
1 Eternal Dominion
1 Hunting Pack
1 Crush of Wurms
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Grapeshot
1 Ignite Memories
1 Temporal Fissure
1 Mind's Desire
1 Decree of Annihilation
1 Jokulhaups
1 Obliterate
Ramp
1 Farseek
1 Rampant Growth
1 Cultivate
1 Deep Reconnaissance
1 Far Wanderings
1 Growth Spasm
1 Harrow
1 Kodama's Reach
1 Search for Tomorrow
1 Explosive Vegetation
1 Boundless Realms
1 Explore
1 Fork
1 Increasing Vengeance
1 Reiterate
1 Reverberate
1 Twincast
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Spitting Image
1 Rite of Replication
Extra Turns
1 Time Warp
1 Walk the Aeons
Untappers
1 Early Harvest
1 Rude Awakening
1 Turnabout
Recursion
1 Regrowth
1 Praetor's Counsel
1 Call to Mind
Draw/Tutor
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Trade Secrets
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Careful Consideration
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Recurring Insight
1 See Beyond
1 Compulsive Research
1 Personal Tutor
1 Firemind's Foresight
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Brainstorm
1 Quicken
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Autumn's Veil
1 Chain Reaction
1 Pongify
1 Beast Within
1 Krosan Grip
1 Ruination
Basic Land Suite
15 Island
11 Mountain
12 Forest
The basic idea wants to stick Riku, and then chain mana untapping spells + Copy with Riku, and get off a big Experiment, preferably copied. The land destruction is to make sure that if you don't hit an extra turn effect, you can still win off of cards like Hunting Pack. Eternal Dominion is in the deck because it's a pet card of mine, and it's pretty deadly when copied a few times after resolving a mass land D effect/time walk. I'm still very unsure about crush of wurms, as it never really feels necessary. Thinking about cutting it for more card filtering. Empty/Grapeshot/Ignite/Temporal/Mind's Desire are the typical storm effects that are going to win after resolution.
The ramp wants to get you out of being fair and putting only one land down per turn. I wanted a healthy amount of ramp, and further encouraged the basic land package. They're all pretty generic ramp spells.
The copy effects are for getting extra mileage out of your spells, ramp and card draw/time walk effects/untapping effects. Spitting/Rite can just steal the best creature on the board for your own.
Recursion just gives you a second shot at an Epic Experiment, sometimes buying back a ramp spell in dire need.
The card draw and tutors are pretty standard. The only one that stands out is Firemind's Foresight, a card I personally wanted to try for myself. Last time I casted it, I grabbed Early Harvest, Autumn's Veil, Increasing Vengeance. It just helps you get what you need, and since we're ramping so much anyway, the cost is relatively negligible.
The protection spells were a bit shaky for me, and am considering cutting many of them down. Blas. act just lets the deck have a wrath vs the many token decks I play against, which is why chain reaction is also in the deck. Autumn's Veil is my out vs blue decks. Pongify/Beast within/K. Grip to get rid of something truly annoying/pesky. I also wanted to run ruination because, well, we're 100% basic, and my friends can get greedy with mana bases.
If anyone has advice on improvements, i'm all ears.
As for the questions:
I don't think its a good direction from R&D. As stated previously, I am also in the belief that strong tempo creatures when COMBINED with spells like Mana leak, is what turns it into an issue. I dont think the solution is just to print spells that can't be countered, I think the solution is just not to make so many efficient tempo-y dudes so close to each other for standard play.
No, I highly doubt we will see powerful countermagic in this block or the next. It simply isn't what Wizards wants to be doing with their game. Even if I disagree with it, i'll probably grin and bear it and hope to be proven wrong.
No, I think it is because of the overvaluing of Mana leak. If anything, snapcaster makes these uncounterable spells double the fun. 1UGB for a second Abrupt Decay isn't so far fetched in a set with shocklands (unfortunately, fetches are pretty far away from this block), and 2WWUU for a second wrath isn't so bad late game.
I don't want 3 very good hard counters in standard. I just want one that's very good to use, and some moderate secondary options if the need called. I also just want more Jace's Ingenuity in standard, or maybe Inspiration. I don't want the old mono U draw-go decks to become viable again, I just want a handful of catch-all's for spells that blue normally cannot handle. As for modern/legacy, these spells are gonna be a bit harder to evaluate, as they ain't gonna rotate out if they become a problem.
Don't really care much about smiter.
I was wondering when the super excitable cards were gonna die down.
Wasn't that Cocoa pebbles deck WRB?