Not really. There have been a number of MMOs which have been turn based. Doofus (full on turn based strategy game), Wizard101 (turn based card battle system), ect... Not to say they will go that route but it isn't impossible.
Fair enough. I guess anything turn-based would start to feel a lot like the card game, which doesn't seem to be their goal.
I have to say, I have a hard time seeing planeswalkers as really engaging PCs. As an MMO, it has to be in real time. In every other platform, being a planeswalker often amounts to summoning creatures and letting them do the dirty work. At that point, it would be much more of an RTS than anything else. I suppose there's potential if they base it more on the Creative Team stories where the characters throw around a bunch of spells and tend to get into the thick of things themselves. It's also hugely important that players be able to make their own characters. Even if they have to be grouped into a few classes, I think just the visual distinction is important so it doesn't become another "Hey, look at the characters you're getting tired of if you pay attention to the story. Are you less tired of then now?"
How have you been testing it? I only see 3 cards mainboard that work with Soul-Scar Mage, at which point I'm not super sure he's worth it. I'd be all about him plus Sweltering Suns against any aggro deck, though. Get him one other prowess trigger, and he even survives it by himself. I like Throne of the God-Pharaoh as a way to push damage through, but how well does it end up working for you to just attack with the tokens? Do enough of them survive to do it again? Finally, how has Decimator Beetle been working for you? It seems good when it gets rolling, but also that it takes until turn 6 to really do that.
Real quick: What does everyone think of Heroic Intervention? Are there enough board wipes running around for it to be useful? Probably add Chandra, Flamecaller to that list. Beyond her, is it useful enough to save single creatures against spot removal? Or to save just your tokens against a Sweltering Suns? I haven't been able to play much lately, but it occurred to me as a potentially multi-purpose card.
I would almost certainly swap at least 1 Dunes for one Abbey. It just wins games and it's not that hard to turn on. A lot of your numbers look similar to mine. How have you been feeling about Throne of the God-Pharaoh? I'd considered it, but it struck me that getting tapped tokens to stay on the board might be tricky (due to being blocked and killed). Also curious if you feel like that's enough removal. I've been running 4 Splendid Agony and 1 Never in my budget version, and I often wish it was a little more flexible/powerful.
Habit mostly. Tend not to run playsets of utility lands. Seems like it's worth trying, though. I think I've only actually used it twice since I put the deck together.
Update: Managed to get a t5 Ormendahl against BG delirium. Gained a ton of life (~50), such that even after he ulted new Liliana and made me sacrifice it with To the Slaughter, I was able to make more tokens and make another Ormendahl. Ended up decking himself since he rezzed Ishkanah twice (so much reach), but he couldn't fight through my life total.
tl;dr: Westvale Abbey definitely does work and is not hard to turn on. Definitely gonna try upping the count.
@residualshade
Heads up, Llanowar Wastes is no longer in standard. Not sure if it was a typo, supposed to be something else, etc., but thought I'd let you know.
The removal and lack of duals are me being stubborn about spending money on MTGO. Overall, I'm surprised at how wide this goes. Nearly beat a t5 Ulamog with a nut draw (with Champion of Rhonas, so no on cast). Blisterpod is almost never ramp and mostly serves as counter fodder that doesn't cost a creature, so I could see trying Festering Mummy. Also surprised by the deck's ability to run without a token maker. Channeler and Exemplar both do alright keeping their own counters, and Blisterpod and Duskwatch Recruiter give me a few other places to put counters from the biggest baddies.
Due to aforementioned cheapness, I haven't tried Cryptolith Rites or Decimator of the Provinces but both seem even better now that I see how many tokens we're often making.
I would suggest looking for a way to run more (and more powerful) 2-drops and slightly less 3-drops so you can feel happy playing Nest and something else with only 5 mana.
A quick Gatherer check turned up some interesting ideas. Duskwatch Recruiter seems like my favorite. Two drop, gets us gas; if it transforms, we start playing 5/4s for 2 and that's just silly. Greenwheel Liberator seems like something you only wanna play on turn 5 with another counters creature, but would be really good in that situation (i.e. lose a token to your Plague Belcher and then add a 4/3 to the board too). Relentless Dead plays real nice with Plague Belcher. Triggers the life loss, goes back to your hand, and can bring dead Belchers back with it.
What to take out becomes the question for me. After the prerelease, I like Plague Belcher a lot. I'd probably cut Defiant Greatmaw first.
I like that list a lot. The Creature vs. Nest conundrum is an interesting one. The three drop slot is definitely crowded. My instinct is that unless you're under a lot of pressure, dropping the Nest first will get you more value over the game.
If getting to 6 mana faster helps, does it want more mana dorks? Naga Vitalist, Druid of the Cowl, and Servant of the Conduit could each take a -1/-1 counter in a pinch and ramp the mana. The other things that come to mind are some sort of 1 or 2 cost mana sink or maybe Champion of Rhonas. That would give you something to do on turn 4 and then an extra creature on turn 5.
I think it depends on how deep you are on the tokens. If you're running 7-8 token makers (Hapatra and Nest of Scarabs) then you've got enough other places to put the counters that removing them isn't that important. At that point, hexproof by itself seems like sideboard material. If you're going more beatdown and only have a few sources of chumps, then it seems better.
Can you please clarify what you mean by Whir of Invention being clunky without Inspiring Statuary? It has improvise naturally.
Fair enough. I guess anything turn-based would start to feel a lot like the card game, which doesn't seem to be their goal.
Update: Managed to get a t5 Ormendahl against BG delirium. Gained a ton of life (~50), such that even after he ulted new Liliana and made me sacrifice it with To the Slaughter, I was able to make more tokens and make another Ormendahl. Ended up decking himself since he rezzed Ishkanah twice (so much reach), but he couldn't fight through my life total.
tl;dr: Westvale Abbey definitely does work and is not hard to turn on. Definitely gonna try upping the count.
Heads up, Llanowar Wastes is no longer in standard. Not sure if it was a typo, supposed to be something else, etc., but thought I'd let you know.
Anyway, here's the quick list I threw together on MTGO.
4 Blisterpod
4 Channeler Initiate
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Exemplar of Strength
3 Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons
4 Plague Belcher
2 Defiant Greatmaw
3 Crocodile of the Crossing
4 Nest of Scarabs
4 Spendid Agony
1 Cartouche of Strength
1 Never
Lands
11 Swamp
10 Forest
2 Westvale Abbey
The removal and lack of duals are me being stubborn about spending money on MTGO. Overall, I'm surprised at how wide this goes. Nearly beat a t5 Ulamog with a nut draw (with Champion of Rhonas, so no on cast). Blisterpod is almost never ramp and mostly serves as counter fodder that doesn't cost a creature, so I could see trying Festering Mummy. Also surprised by the deck's ability to run without a token maker. Channeler and Exemplar both do alright keeping their own counters, and Blisterpod and Duskwatch Recruiter give me a few other places to put counters from the biggest baddies.
Due to aforementioned cheapness, I haven't tried Cryptolith Rites or Decimator of the Provinces but both seem even better now that I see how many tokens we're often making.
A quick Gatherer check turned up some interesting ideas.
Duskwatch Recruiter seems like my favorite. Two drop, gets us gas; if it transforms, we start playing 5/4s for 2 and that's just silly.
Greenwheel Liberator seems like something you only wanna play on turn 5 with another counters creature, but would be really good in that situation (i.e. lose a token to your Plague Belcher and then add a 4/3 to the board too).
Relentless Dead plays real nice with Plague Belcher. Triggers the life loss, goes back to your hand, and can bring dead Belchers back with it.
What to take out becomes the question for me. After the prerelease, I like Plague Belcher a lot. I'd probably cut Defiant Greatmaw first.
If getting to 6 mana faster helps, does it want more mana dorks? Naga Vitalist, Druid of the Cowl, and Servant of the Conduit could each take a -1/-1 counter in a pinch and ramp the mana. The other things that come to mind are some sort of 1 or 2 cost mana sink or maybe Champion of Rhonas. That would give you something to do on turn 4 and then an extra creature on turn 5.