I did think I had more than 15 decks, with 7 more on the way, though. All completed decks are still active and see minor changes as new sets come out. It's been a while since I updated my sig, too, lol
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - I haven't even built it yet, but my all-bird, "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute," tap-your-stuff Woodsy Owl deck is going to be one of my favorites.
3. I hate this new "let's make no symmetrical or downside cards!" because it babies players, and I think it makes people more whiney. Seriously. I LOVE downside cards, because you have to actually THINK about them, they don't just do everything for you. Makes games intense sometimes.
THIS, THIS, THIS x1000!
I remember starting out with my very first black deck (that later morphed into an awesome Zombie deck), and it had Maggot Carrier in it. I remember thinking "why do I keep running this trash card, it makes me lose a life!" but I never took it out.
Now, after years of playing and learning, I consider Maggot Carrier to be one fine card.
IMO, Slivers were never meant to be asymmetrical "baby-ing" creatures, either. I didn't play them til I learned how they worked, and if you can properly play Slivers, you can properly play quite a few decks. Slivers forced me to get better because I had to consider the symmetrical "drawback" before I played. They taught me to slow down and consider turns. The new M14 Slivers have completely lost that because there's no downside whatsoever. Despite running some in my Overlord EDH, I find them to be rather bland and uninteresting.
Cards that are symmetrical seem bad in theory but in practice it's really not that bad. You're the only one who builds his or her deck with the symmetrical card in mind so really you should be getting the brunt of the advantage. It's the same reason why Balance is/was such a force. Anyone else who benefits from this card in a game will only do so incidentally and thus shouldn't be winning the game off of it 99% of the time. Yes, the 1% of the time they do win because of your card will suck for you. But it'll also be a great story.
I agree. Slivers are the exception, but good players would learn how to use their Sliver deck against another Sliver deck. Even so, topdecking was very important. The game needs more symmetrical effects like this.
On Planechase: Agreed, some games get bogged down in planes that aren't fun, but we push through it. On the whole, everyone sees at least one plane that helps their deck. And since we're fairly evenly matched most of the time, that randomness helps us break deadlocks and vary up the games a little bit. In the times where one of us ends up playing a deck the others don't like and end up in an Archenemy scenario (but without the cards, since I don't have any yet), they can be an equalizer for them instead of a gang-up loss.
Try 12 person 9 on 3 Archenemy EDH games, with 3 archenemy decks. Game lasted 5 and a half hours.
The game with the single greatest Commander moment I can remember ran on the order of 5-6 hours. No Planechase.
Sliver Overlord (me) vs. Zedruu (Friend 1) vs. Mimeoplasm (Friend 1's Girlfriend) vs. Rhys the Redeemed (Friend 2) vs. Riku of Two Reflections (Friend 3) vs. Horde of Notions (Friend 4).
Friend 1 had most of the board locked down with Embargo+Celestial Dawn for most of the game (I think it was Dawn, there's another card that does a similar thing). Friend 4 killed it, then locked me down with Timbermare. Friend 2 lost and went to bed, Friend 3 got knocked out after Embargo left. Friend 1's Girlfriend kept wailing on me with a huge Lhurgoyf while Friend 1 tried to draw into his win. I finally got the advantage when I killed Horde enough to stop the Timbermare stuff, stuck Mycosynth Lattice and Hurkyll's Recall'ed the girlfriend's board back to her hand. I needed one more turn, so passed.
Nothing major happens, Friend 1 burns his library a little more. His girlfriend comes up, she plays an Island, considers for a bit and her eyes get wide. Friend 1 asks her sarcastically what she can do with one blue mana. She plays Minds Aglow. Friend 4 and I tap enough mana on the join forces to knock Friend 1 out when he can't draw. I won on the next turn, but we still give Friend 1 a hard time about that blue mana comment. It was amazing.
We do Planechase Commander from time to time (I own every plane except Tezzeem - no way I'm paying 40 bucks for cardboard), but it significantly slows the games down.
I don't understand the dislike of symmetry in cards like this one.
My playgroup, none of whom are slouches, would be ecstatic for this card. Having to weigh the pros/cons of playing/not playing it doesn't faze us, and most of the time, symmetrical effects like this one lead to interesting board states and memorable games.
Then again, my group will also willingly partake in 4-player all-Sliver Commander games (we didn't like the new Sliver "you control" stuff, but that didn't stop me from putting some in my deck for redundancy purposes).
That said, I agree with both that Doubling Season shouldn't be reprinted so soon, and that expensive staples need to be made available to more people. Not necessarily me, but more people.
Owly the Bant is just... looking to take advantage of the 4 cast flash...
+1,000,000 to you, good sir. I've been trying to figure out what to do for a Bant deck for a while because I personally hate Rafiq's guts (plus two in my playgroup run him consistently) and I wasn't a fan of the other generals.
But your Owly comment got my mind to hit pay dirt.
So now I'm going to build a Bant deck around him, and it's going to run a bird/tap/untap/naturalize theme.
Why?
WOODSY OWL.
My Woodsy Owl deck will be all about touching people in naughty places (the tap/untap theme and I'll hear Mr. Mackey yelling "No Woodsy Owl!" every time) and teaching them to "give a hoot, don't pollute."
Always someone looking for a hand out. You could always just buy the cards and not wait for WoTC to subsidize your hobby.
Would be great that people who want to play decent decks didn't have to spend a significant portion of their disposable income on it. People have other hobbies, too.
But that's not an argument for here.
And I do agree that Tarmogoyf shouldn't be reprinted so soon.
Ghost Council of Orzhova (Cleric/Religion-themed)
Lim-Dul, the Necromancer (Zombie tribal)
Zedruu the Greathearted (mass draw, but will be changing to a political deck)
Kaalia of the Vast (the usual)
The Mimeoplasm (Dredge/self-mill/reanimator)
Riku of Two Reflections (this one doesn't have much of an identity atm)
Ghave, Guru of Spores (Treefolk, Plant, Fungus tribal)
Sliver Overlord (Sliver tribal)
Reaper King (Scarecrow/Myr tribal)
Sharuum the Hegemon (Sculpting Steel combo)
Kresh, the Bloodbraided (Sacrifice-themed)
Child of Alara (Kamigawa/Spirit-themed)
Marrow-Gnawer (Rat tribal, Black Death-themed)
Melek, Izzet Paragon (Instant/Sorcery-themed)
Rakdos, Lord of Riots (Rakdos-themed, group pain, suicide deck)
Vela, the Night-Clad (Under construction - Ninjutsu/unblockable-themed)
Scion of the Ur-Dragon (Under construction - Dragon tribal)
Maelstrom Wanderer (Under construction - based on Primeval TV show)
Grenzo, Dungeon Warden (Under construction - Goblin Tribal)
Nekusar the Mindrazer (Under construction - Draw/Discard/Wheel effect-themed)
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician (Under construction - Bird tribal, based on South Park's Woodsy Owl)
Tariel, Reckoner of Souls (Under construction - still working on identity)
I did think I had more than 15 decks, with 7 more on the way, though. All completed decks are still active and see minor changes as new sets come out. It's been a while since I updated my sig, too, lol
Am I reading Phenax wrong, or does it grant all my other creatures that mill ability while it's an enchantment?
I feel like such a noob right now, but I'm having trouble figuring out what the other part of that combo was :-[
The Mimeoplasm - T-REX HAND.
Kaalia of the Vast - Love the flavor.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - I haven't even built it yet, but my all-bird, "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute," tap-your-stuff Woodsy Owl deck is going to be one of my favorites.
Sliver Overlord - I <3 slivers.
Reaper King - It's harvest time.
THIS, THIS, THIS x1000!
I remember starting out with my very first black deck (that later morphed into an awesome Zombie deck), and it had Maggot Carrier in it. I remember thinking "why do I keep running this trash card, it makes me lose a life!" but I never took it out.
Now, after years of playing and learning, I consider Maggot Carrier to be one fine card.
IMO, Slivers were never meant to be asymmetrical "baby-ing" creatures, either. I didn't play them til I learned how they worked, and if you can properly play Slivers, you can properly play quite a few decks. Slivers forced me to get better because I had to consider the symmetrical "drawback" before I played. They taught me to slow down and consider turns. The new M14 Slivers have completely lost that because there's no downside whatsoever. Despite running some in my Overlord EDH, I find them to be rather bland and uninteresting.
I agree. Slivers are the exception, but good players would learn how to use their Sliver deck against another Sliver deck. Even so, topdecking was very important. The game needs more symmetrical effects like this.
On Planechase: Agreed, some games get bogged down in planes that aren't fun, but we push through it. On the whole, everyone sees at least one plane that helps their deck. And since we're fairly evenly matched most of the time, that randomness helps us break deadlocks and vary up the games a little bit. In the times where one of us ends up playing a deck the others don't like and end up in an Archenemy scenario (but without the cards, since I don't have any yet), they can be an equalizer for them instead of a gang-up loss.
The game with the single greatest Commander moment I can remember ran on the order of 5-6 hours. No Planechase.
Sliver Overlord (me) vs. Zedruu (Friend 1) vs. Mimeoplasm (Friend 1's Girlfriend) vs. Rhys the Redeemed (Friend 2) vs. Riku of Two Reflections (Friend 3) vs. Horde of Notions (Friend 4).
Friend 1 had most of the board locked down with Embargo+Celestial Dawn for most of the game (I think it was Dawn, there's another card that does a similar thing). Friend 4 killed it, then locked me down with Timbermare. Friend 2 lost and went to bed, Friend 3 got knocked out after Embargo left. Friend 1's Girlfriend kept wailing on me with a huge Lhurgoyf while Friend 1 tried to draw into his win. I finally got the advantage when I killed Horde enough to stop the Timbermare stuff, stuck Mycosynth Lattice and Hurkyll's Recall'ed the girlfriend's board back to her hand. I needed one more turn, so passed.
Nothing major happens, Friend 1 burns his library a little more. His girlfriend comes up, she plays an Island, considers for a bit and her eyes get wide. Friend 1 asks her sarcastically what she can do with one blue mana. She plays Minds Aglow. Friend 4 and I tap enough mana on the join forces to knock Friend 1 out when he can't draw. I won on the next turn, but we still give Friend 1 a hard time about that blue mana comment. It was amazing.
My playgroup, none of whom are slouches, would be ecstatic for this card. Having to weigh the pros/cons of playing/not playing it doesn't faze us, and most of the time, symmetrical effects like this one lead to interesting board states and memorable games.
Then again, my group will also willingly partake in 4-player all-Sliver Commander games (we didn't like the new Sliver "you control" stuff, but that didn't stop me from putting some in my deck for redundancy purposes).
That said, I agree with both that Doubling Season shouldn't be reprinted so soon, and that expensive staples need to be made available to more people. Not necessarily me, but more people.
+1,000,000 to you, good sir. I've been trying to figure out what to do for a Bant deck for a while because I personally hate Rafiq's guts (plus two in my playgroup run him consistently) and I wasn't a fan of the other generals.
But your Owly comment got my mind to hit pay dirt.
So now I'm going to build a Bant deck around him, and it's going to run a bird/tap/untap/naturalize theme.
Why?
WOODSY OWL.
My Woodsy Owl deck will be all about touching people in naughty places (the tap/untap theme and I'll hear Mr. Mackey yelling "No Woodsy Owl!" every time) and teaching them to "give a hoot, don't pollute."
:-)!
Would be great that people who want to play decent decks didn't have to spend a significant portion of their disposable income on it. People have other hobbies, too.
But that's not an argument for here.
And I do agree that Tarmogoyf shouldn't be reprinted so soon.