Don't know if anyone else noticed this today but combo duals like Volcanics and Seas went to 300 over the weekend on SCG. A few other cards like Stifle and the sol lands are now double what they were a few weeks ago.
I had time to play a daily this week and played this list to 3-1. My first three rounds were against various iterations of different control strategies and I ended up losing R4 to Melira with the help of some misclicks and poor draws against a good opponent. I don't own Tarmogoyfs on MTGO anymore however I would surely play them over some number of one drops if I had them. Most likely Steppe Lynx, because it can just be too inconsistent for my taste. Additionally, I haven't been able to play paper magic in quite sometime now and I'm sure my list would change if I were able to.
One thing I will say is that the deck is very fast if met with little to no resistance. The deck has the ability to race most combo in the format that aren't Pod oriented. Ironically, not playing Tarmogoyf or Snapcaster allows me to play RIP which I really like having access to. I don't really like the Negates and I'm sure I will replace them with something else soon. I like the Thalia's except sometimes they can be a nombo with all our spells but a Storm/UWR player has to spend the entire to turn to deal with it most of the time and sometimes that's all you need. I would certainly find room for more Pod hate, possibly a Torpor orb or two and/or a cage. Also, I do not like the Overgrown Tomb, I think it may be better suited as a Godless Shrine, but Tomb turns on both Ape and Lion.
Going forward I would certainly change the sideboard a little bit, but for you Lantern it might be a good start since this is a relatively budget zoo deck minus the mana base for mtgo.
I've played with the card a little bit in a BUG deck recently. One thing I can state, is that Ashiok gets attacked a lot. I think people are unsure how to play against it or that sitting opposite to it is that big of a threat because of its potential after a few turns. I haven't successfully used it to cast anything yet because it dies so frequently and like people have mentioned sometimes it just does nothing.
I've used it to deck a dredge player, assuming you last that long against dredge, the ultimate hits their graveyard as well. It definitely won't come up very often, but an easy way to steal a game.
I've recently only started playing Modern consistently in the past year. I don't have much time to play paper magic anymore so most of my games are now played on Magic Online and that weighs heavily on which decks I like/dislike. With that being said, I dislike playing against Soul Sisters the most because of the excess amount of triggers ALL THE TIME, especially when games go long due to board stalls, etc.
Otherwise, I don't have too huge of a problem playing against anything else now that most of the pure non interactive decks are gone.
Dismember is good against opposing Tarmogoyfs, Batterskull, man lands, and other random big toughness creatures that are harder to attack through all for 1 mana. Pillar is good against the pod decks because it kills their enablers and Finks/Redcap while hurting their Reveillark attempts later on. Being a sorcery for Tarmogoyf doesn't hurt either.
My one question is that I have Gruul Zoo built on Magic Online and the Domain Zoo deck in paper but not vice versa. Can anyone that has played both in a similar meta give their opinions on which they like better?
With Maverick ceasing to exist, you should just play Chain Lightning. It was useful at killing mana dorks, Mom, Thalia, and Dryad Arbor. The extra points of damage really add up in your other match ups.
Against Miracles, which I think is a very tough match up, Sulfuric Vortex has always been my all-star. People always forget about Krosan Grip when it comes to Counterbalance. I don't really like the card because of its mana cost, but it is an answer that works the majority of the time. Also, Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast is a good hard counter for match up, and you can save your Forces for their win-cons when they cast them if necessary.
The daily's are a fairly good representation of what is doing well or the most consistent. Lots of small improvements to decks or sideboards come from MTGO. I think the MTGO metagame and paper metagame are much closer now than the old "2 weeks" rule though. There are 4 or 5 daily's of each format that we no longer get access to decklists and the metagame evolves a little slower.
I try to use black borders for all my cards unless they are dual lands where Revised is fine. If I was sold on a certain color combination for life, I might would upgrade them to a foreign version. I do however use white bordered Swords to Plowshares because its my favorite art for the card. The beta version is just so hard to come by and not really a feasible upgrade for me when the cost could go towards another dual land for a different deck, etc. I use unhinged basics if the decks run any and I typically shy away from foils unless that's all I have of a certain card.
Magic is expensive to play regardless of format.
The biggest hoax wizards has pulled is by fooling people into thinking that they created modern so that there would be an "affordable eternal format." Wizards doesn't care how much you pay for cards, they are a business that wants a piece of the action. In 2 years time when Zen fetches are $60, shocklands are $30, Thoughtseize are $50 and Tarmogoyfs are $100 and all the new players are *****ing about the cost of Modern, do you think wizards will flood the market with reprints or make a new format for them? The only reason wizards is pushing modern so hard is so they can cash in.
Batterskull and Sword of Feast and Famine are the big ones IMO. Depending on what you consider "staples" there are cards like Dismember, Surgical Extraction, Gut Shot, GSZ, Wurmcoil Engine, Tezeret, Go for the Throat, Thrun, Mental Misstep(For vintage), and a few others that are playable depending on your deck.
I was at the last Legacy open in Orlando, it had a relatively small turnout. This could be their reasoning for most of it. Kind of sad since its a close one.
Well, I had a rather lengthy post written out until I looked at some of the prices of duals on SCG(controller of the market) and discovered they are climbing again. So I had to have a small change of tune. I do imagine though that the price hike is because GP Denver is this weekend. I am shocked to see that some of duals upwards to $20+ more than what they were six months ago. Which is a healthy increase, but given the price of the cards to begin with, its not really that much.
My usual thoughts of people wanting to get into the format stays the same though. People who grind standard just aren't willing to sell out of their standard decks into Legacy. The end. Most of the people I know who don't have legacy decks or have shown some interest in legacy and not made the plunge all have relatively extensive standard collections(can build multiple "Tier 1" decks at once). Yet, they complain about Legacy being "too expensive."
The only legacy I've been able to play over the past year outside of testing, is at GPs and SCG events. So I definitely can console with those of you who don't have the communities to play locally. I don't think that just reprinting cards is always going to be the answer, because this creates price fluctuations on things that aren't getting reprinted(See Zenn fetches). Also, the allure of Modern and the ban list volatility trickle down because many cards just scream speculation target(see JtMS). Which would make the "Modern is too expensive" thread in their neck of the woods.
So I think that as legacy players we are going to have accept that at some point our format might die or cards become "too expensive." The best thing that we can do is enjoy our format the best we can while we still can.
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Marsh Flats
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Plains
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Steam Vents
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Kird Ape
4 Loam Lion
4 Steppe Lynx
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
4 Boros Charm
4 Path to Exile
4 Tribal Flames
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Rest in Peace
2 Molten Rain
1 Destructive Rivalry
2 Back to Nature
2 Negate
I had time to play a daily this week and played this list to 3-1. My first three rounds were against various iterations of different control strategies and I ended up losing R4 to Melira with the help of some misclicks and poor draws against a good opponent. I don't own Tarmogoyfs on MTGO anymore however I would surely play them over some number of one drops if I had them. Most likely Steppe Lynx, because it can just be too inconsistent for my taste. Additionally, I haven't been able to play paper magic in quite sometime now and I'm sure my list would change if I were able to.
One thing I will say is that the deck is very fast if met with little to no resistance. The deck has the ability to race most combo in the format that aren't Pod oriented. Ironically, not playing Tarmogoyf or Snapcaster allows me to play RIP which I really like having access to. I don't really like the Negates and I'm sure I will replace them with something else soon. I like the Thalia's except sometimes they can be a nombo with all our spells but a Storm/UWR player has to spend the entire to turn to deal with it most of the time and sometimes that's all you need. I would certainly find room for more Pod hate, possibly a Torpor orb or two and/or a cage. Also, I do not like the Overgrown Tomb, I think it may be better suited as a Godless Shrine, but Tomb turns on both Ape and Lion.
Going forward I would certainly change the sideboard a little bit, but for you Lantern it might be a good start since this is a relatively budget zoo deck minus the mana base for mtgo.
I've used it to deck a dredge player, assuming you last that long against dredge, the ultimate hits their graveyard as well. It definitely won't come up very often, but an easy way to steal a game.
Otherwise, I don't have too huge of a problem playing against anything else now that most of the pure non interactive decks are gone.
My one question is that I have Gruul Zoo built on Magic Online and the Domain Zoo deck in paper but not vice versa. Can anyone that has played both in a similar meta give their opinions on which they like better?
Against Miracles, which I think is a very tough match up, Sulfuric Vortex has always been my all-star. People always forget about Krosan Grip when it comes to Counterbalance. I don't really like the card because of its mana cost, but it is an answer that works the majority of the time. Also, Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast is a good hard counter for match up, and you can save your Forces for their win-cons when they cast them if necessary.
Best post yet.
My usual thoughts of people wanting to get into the format stays the same though. People who grind standard just aren't willing to sell out of their standard decks into Legacy. The end. Most of the people I know who don't have legacy decks or have shown some interest in legacy and not made the plunge all have relatively extensive standard collections(can build multiple "Tier 1" decks at once). Yet, they complain about Legacy being "too expensive."
The only legacy I've been able to play over the past year outside of testing, is at GPs and SCG events. So I definitely can console with those of you who don't have the communities to play locally. I don't think that just reprinting cards is always going to be the answer, because this creates price fluctuations on things that aren't getting reprinted(See Zenn fetches). Also, the allure of Modern and the ban list volatility trickle down because many cards just scream speculation target(see JtMS). Which would make the "Modern is too expensive" thread in their neck of the woods.
So I think that as legacy players we are going to have accept that at some point our format might die or cards become "too expensive." The best thing that we can do is enjoy our format the best we can while we still can.