And my turn to check in again, as well. I had a temporary job handing out transit passes but that's wrapped up. Time to make some big bangs in preparation for RTR!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
CommanderUR Melek, Izzet Paragon
When asked how much power is required, Izzet mages always answer "more".
Prerelease in a week! I'm getting pumped! I'm getting a Niv-Mizzet, Hypersonic Dragon, and every other Izzet card I can get my experimental-gauntletled hands on! Who's excited?
Also, my overling, Ratoly, hasn't been online in almost a year. So, I'm not sure what to do with that...
He's caught in a temporal vortex, or some similar situation. What was the last experiment he was working on?
Who else is planning on making a deck involving replicate cards and Nivmagus Elemental? I mean, hell, that's broken. Even for the Izzet League and the Firemind.
School... oh, I remember school. God I'm getting old.
Seriously though, try to make the best out of it. You'll look back and wished you'd had more fun (even if you had a little too much sometimes!).
Yeah... graduate seminars are rough, though "Fun" never really factors into anything. But I will be continuing my research, so I'm pretty stoked about that.
Anyways, enjoy the pre-release, it should be a blast! Oh, and if you don't go Izzet, you get kicked. Just a friendly reminder.
I will. In fact, my epic return to Standard will be under the glorious colours of our Firemind, our Dracogenius- Niv-Mizzet. I will enter the LGS with fanfare, pomp, and circumstance; lightning will emanate from my deck as shuffle and regale my opponent with tales of experimentation and discovery in the steam vents and blister coils. Yet nothing will prepare him for the shock of concentrated and volatile plasma that shall spew forth from my deck. I will laugh maniacally as he reels in awe of the Izzet League and conclude the superiority of the blue-red compulsiveness that defines our guild. As I play more and more games, the uncontrollable amounts of awesomeness that shoot from my deck will blast comics from the shelves and ricochet off the glass display cases until little remains of the store except blackened and crumbling walls. Accepting my prizes and the admiration of all those present, I shall flash a dazzling smile before I ride atop a weird pulled by teams of goblins that will herald my victories to all passerby and take me back down into the warm, steamy depths of the earth to continue my plans for world domination... er, I mean, my research into energy resources. Yeah.. energy resources... >_>
I will. In fact, my epic return to Standard will be under the glorious colours of our Firemind, our Dracogenius- Niv-Mizzet. I will enter the LGS with fanfare, pomp, and circumstance; lightning will emanate from my deck as shuffle and regale my opponent with tales of experimentation and discovery in the steam vents and blister coils. Yet nothing will prepare him for the shock of concentrated and volatile plasma that shall spew forth from my deck. I will laugh maniacally as he reels in awe of the Izzet League and conclude the superiority of the blue-red compulsiveness that defines our guild. As I play more and more games, the uncontrollable amounts of awesomeness that shoot from my deck will blast comics from the shelves and ricochet off the glass display cases until little remains of the store except blackened and crumbling walls. Accepting my prizes and the admiration of all those present, I shall flash a dazzling smile before I ride atop a weird pulled by teams of goblins that will herald my victories to all passerby and take me back down into the warm, steamy depths of the earth to continue my plans for world domination... er, I mean, my research into energy resources. Yeah.. energy resources... >_>
That was too epic O.O
I actually can't go to the prerelease this weekend :/// I have t go to a college day thing. It's sucks :/ oh well...
I am actually considering getting back into standard, but in a little of a competetive sense. I was looking int drafting up a Izzet deck idea, but everyone I talked to is saying, delver and snapcaster IS the way to go with Izzet. I'm sick of those two guys. I may just use any good Izzet card for my Commander deck. Speaking of that, I'm having a ball with Jarad AND Niv Mizzet. I think I'm going to take a break from commander since a lot of my friends aren't to shabby about it (they will soon... Muhahahahahaha!) so I figured I'll just do standard and casual.
I'm going to write a primerish thingy soon on U/G aggro. Any suggestions? I'm testing Shardless Agent like crazy right now.. She's just not working :/ but still (: I'm thinking of doing R/G aggro for standard. Mayyyybbeeee splash blue for Izzet shenanigans? Who knows... I'll figure out a way to make Izzet work in standard without Snapcaster and Delver. How is everyone's weeks going?
I actually can't go to the prerelease this weekend :/// I have t go to a college day thing. It's sucks :/ oh well...
I am actually considering getting back into standard, but in a little of a competetive sense. I was looking int drafting up a Izzet deck idea, but everyone I talked to is saying, delver and snapcaster IS the way to go with Izzet. I'm sick of those two guys. I may just use any good Izzet card for my Commander deck. Speaking of that, I'm having a ball with Jarad AND Niv Mizzet. I think I'm going to take a break from commander since a lot of my friends aren't to shabby about it (they will soon... Muhahahahahaha!) so I figured I'll just do standard and casual.
I'm going to write a primerish thingy soon on U/G aggro. Any suggestions? I'm testing Shardless Agent like crazy right now.. She's just not working :/ but still (: I'm thinking of doing R/G aggro for standard. Mayyyybbeeee splash blue for Izzet shenanigans? Who knows... I'll figure out a way to make Izzet work in standard without Snapcaster and Delver. How is everyone's weeks going?
People I'm talking to about Standard say Izzet delver won't work, and I have to agree. Mana Leak, Gut Shot, Vapor Snag, Ponder, etc. are gone and the Izzet Charm alone isn't enough to snapcaster back. Splashing black to make grixis control is apparently the way to go because of the new terminate in rakdos, but I want to stay in the UR scheme, myself. I might try something with Talrand spell-slinger... That could work as part control, part aggro... hm.. that could work well, indeed >:3
I have!!! I've been having so much fun with him. Your primer is helping me out so much, thank you!! It's so awesome, I've never had a awesome general like this guy and I also am working on a Niv-Mizzet deck, because it's the right thing to do
Awesome bro, I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Amazing Avy & Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios [4/22/11]
My opinion on the new guild mechanic, Overload: All sorts of fun, especially in the late game when you've got plenty mana spare and a few Electromancers out and my new best friend in play. Downsize is essentially a blue Fog when Overloaded, which again is a save-your-butt combo.
Unfortunately, no Nivvium Elementals were to be had for love or money at my local prerelease, so I can't report on that.
Non-Izzet mechanics: (NOTE: I did not play against a dedicated Azorios or Golgari deck) Detain is annoying, but spells and static abilities can easily circumvent that. Scavenge is unavoidable. Rather cook any of them before they hit the graveyard. Populate is potentially horrible, but careful and selective application of counterspells and burn will take care of any infestation, and finally, Unleash. If you get the chance to use hybrid Unleash cards, do it. The extra boost comes in handy on the attack, and it's absolutely hellish (appropriate, I guess) in a dedicated Rakdos deck. Downpours and Hover Barriers are your best friend to survive them.
All of the above is just this Test Subject's observations. Conditions may differ in under different laboratories (prereleases).
My LGS decided to do the guild packs, so I grabbed a box for the Izzet League. Besides the bloody amazing Hypersonic Dragon promo, Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius was in the guild booster. The general reaction when I dropped him t6? "Oh... crap..." >:3
Best spell: Izzet Charm. A little situational, but it was versatile enough to work still. Counters a noncreature (a good pairing with the Backlash Essence), clears a small and annoying creature, or filters through the deck. For 2. Backlash Essence is a close second, but it needed 2 Electromancers to work well enough for my taste.
In the non-guild boosters, I pulled a ton of Selesnya stuff... Pretty rough. But I ended up with enough of a mix of instants/sorceries and creatures that played well with those that the deck worked pretty well.
Anyways, I won 2 packs and pulled (of note) Mizzium Mortars and that awful 6-drop blue enchantment... Conjured Currency. Anyways, it was a pretty good experience and it gave me confidence in the Izzet Standard deck I'm making.
I didn't drop a game until the sixth round, when I was paired against my friend Adam. He chose Rakdos, but ended up playing a Bant deck featuring 2x Loxodon Smiter, Angel of Serenity, and Archon of the Triumvirate. Yikes. I sided out Viashino Racketeer and Cobblebrute for 2x Paralyzing Grasp so I'd have a chance against his uncounterable 3-mana 4/4s. (Also, having Cobblebrute bounced by Skymark Roc is extremely frustrating.) Game two was close, but I pulled it out because he got land flooded and never saw his bombs (whereas me getting land-flooded just means drawing extra cards with Inspiration). Game three he got color screwed and I wiped the floor with him.
Had a great time on Saturday playing at the out-of-town prerelease I went to, we went 5 rounds in a 21 person pool. I chose Izzet and steadfast wanted to make the deck UR, but my initial reaction to my guild box was one of disappointment: my regular packs included another Hypersonic Dragon and a Mizzium Mortars and my guild booster ended up with another Mortars. I was stuck without any Guildmages, or Keyrunes, or... anything else super flashy.
I'm not usually strong at limited: I really think I need help in terms of learning where to streamline since I end up wanting to include so many things that are/seem good!
With that said, I left the first game of the round one match, against Azorius, super confident at a 1-0 lead dominated by my Hypersonic. Game 2: mana flood. Game three? Again, leaving the round 1-2. Archon of the Triumvirate came out and gave me trouble for the first time in the later part of this match.
Round two was guild mirror match against Izzet and my land problems didn't abate. It was a complete write off.
Round three was against a Golgari deck which I remember being close to winning in game 1 but was humiliated in game 2 thanks to Grave Betrayal: the finishing stroke in that match was by my own creatures, one of which was the Minotaur hasty first-striker.
My luck finally turned around (right when it doesn't matter anymore for tops, eh?) at round 4, against a Rakdos player. I totally sympathise with him since his issue during our match was the mana flood issue I was having earlier. He elected to play somewhat defensively one he was able to finally get something out, avoiding Unleashing any creatures.
The Selesnya-Azorius mashup I had to face for round 5 was the most satisfying matchup in the tournament for me. He had access to Rest in Peace and two Sphere of Safety and an Archon for first game (aka I lost), and managed to briefly get out his Grove of the Guardian, which I was able to destroy thanks to Survey the Wreckage, in another. Game three was really close: I had brought my opponent down to five, but his board state eventually included three Centaur tokens boosted with the +3/+3 enchantment, and he had twice "fogged" my ability to deal damage and forced me to block until only one Goblin Electromancer remained. I mitigated his all-attacking stampede that turn with an overloaded Downsize and proceeded on my own go to directly burn the rest of his life with Annihilating Fire and attacking with the GE.
I had also bought the Izzet intropack for the intention of playing Open matches, but I never really had much time to do so. (In that I believe I pulled RIP and a Jarad's Orders from the boosters. The deck itself includes... more Dragon and more Mortars, but also the other things that I wish I had in Sealed. C'est la vie.)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
CommanderUR Melek, Izzet Paragon
When asked how much power is required, Izzet mages always answer "more".
I had also bought the Izzet intropack for the intention of playing Open matches, but I never really had much time to do so. (In that I believe I pulled RIP and a Jarad's Orders from the boosters. The deck itself includes... more Dragon and more Mortars, but also the other things that I wish I had in Sealed. C'est la vie.)
What (of note) came in the intro pack? I'm trying to get stuff for my Izzet Standard, but I don't want to spend a lot of money, so if I can get a whole bunch of things in one place for a (relatively) low price, that would be ideal.
Don't know why I haven't posted here before, but can I join? (is that how it works?)
I've been a long time Izzet fan but never got around to joining this clan. Now seems as good a time as any.
I was mostly prompted to join because I wanted to talk about Izzet things, mainly my incredible frustration that Nivmagus Elemental is not a weird. I mean, come on, really? (Also, am I the only one who hates the word "Chemister"?)
In other news, my Izzet prerelease was by far the best, delivering to me two steam vents, Mercurial Chemsiter, Epic Experiment, and the Dragon Genius himself.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Yo, MOON-E! I remember working on Archester with you. How's that going?
I think the one thing these prerelease testimonials prove is that I got a useless bunch of cards, except for two Hypersonics (I think I'm trading in my drake for one of those) and an Electromancer. Nevertheless I traded up for two more Electromancers, two Guildmages, a couple of Teleportals and a Guttersnipe. That along with two Charmbreaker Devils and my new Chandra the Firebrand should make quite a nice Izzet deck for standard.
Would anybody mind if I upgraded myself from 'test subject' to 'Blastseeker'?
Archester is going pretty well. Things have slowed down quite a bit though, for some reason our team is a lot less creative with our rares so we have to push hard to get those finished. Hopefully things will pick up when we complete the set and start testing/the second set.
In other news, i'm pretty excited to draft the set solely for the purpose of drafting the Guttersnipe deck.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"In the beginning, MTG Salvation switched to a new forum format.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
What (of note) came in the intro pack? I'm trying to get stuff for my Izzet Standard, but I don't want to spend a lot of money, so if I can get a whole bunch of things in one place for a (relatively) low price, that would be ideal.
I didn't drop a game until the sixth round, when I was paired against my friend Adam. He chose Rakdos, but ended up playing a Bant deck featuring 2x Loxodon Smiter, Angel of Serenity, and Archon of the Triumvirate. Yikes. I sided out Viashino Racketeer and Cobblebrute for 2x Paralyzing Grasp so I'd have a chance against his uncounterable 3-mana 4/4s. (Also, having Cobblebrute bounced by Skymark Roc is extremely frustrating.) Game two was close, but I pulled it out because he got land flooded and never saw his bombs (whereas me getting land-flooded just means drawing extra cards with Inspiration). Game three he got color screwed and I wiped the floor with him.
It was at that moment that I realized: I'm kinda just making these things up. We can just write the rules the way we want them to work. People will have fun, and people will get it.
Don't know why I haven't posted here before, but can I join? (is that how it works?)
I've been a long time Izzet fan but never got around to joining this clan. Now seems as good a time as any.
I was mostly prompted to join because I wanted to talk about Izzet things, mainly my incredible frustration that Nivmagus Elemental is not a weird. I mean, come on, really? (Also, am I the only one who hates the word "Chemister"?)
In other news, my Izzet prerelease was by far the best, delivering to me two steam vents, Mercurial Chemsiter, Epic Experiment, and the Dragon Genius himself.
Sure you can join, but you may have to wait a while until SC , Artifice or AI adds you to the list as a test subject, and gradually move up in the ranks...
Speaking about ranks: Is there anyway RWF Less can get promoted, since all honesty, he is not a fault that Ratoly has been missing.
When asked how much power is required, Izzet mages always answer "more".
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
This is the correct play. Ask Shin, he'd tell you.
School... oh, I remember school. God I'm getting old.
Seriously though, try to make the best out of it. You'll look back and wished you'd had more fun (even if you had a little too much sometimes!).
Anyways, enjoy the pre-release, it should be a blast! Oh, and if you don't go Izzet, you get kicked. Just a friendly reminder.
EDIT:
Also, my overling, Ratoly, hasn't been online in almost a year. So, I'm not sure what to do with that...
edit: thought you said underling my bad
Sig and Avatar Credit: Heroes of the Plane Studios
He's caught in a temporal vortex, or some similar situation. What was the last experiment he was working on?
Who else is planning on making a deck involving replicate cards and Nivmagus Elemental? I mean, hell, that's broken. Even for the Izzet League and the Firemind.
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
Yeah... graduate seminars are rough, though "Fun" never really factors into anything. But I will be continuing my research, so I'm pretty stoked about that.
I will. In fact, my epic return to Standard will be under the glorious colours of our Firemind, our Dracogenius- Niv-Mizzet. I will enter the LGS with fanfare, pomp, and circumstance; lightning will emanate from my deck as shuffle and regale my opponent with tales of experimentation and discovery in the steam vents and blister coils. Yet nothing will prepare him for the shock of concentrated and volatile plasma that shall spew forth from my deck. I will laugh maniacally as he reels in awe of the Izzet League and conclude the superiority of the blue-red compulsiveness that defines our guild. As I play more and more games, the uncontrollable amounts of awesomeness that shoot from my deck will blast comics from the shelves and ricochet off the glass display cases until little remains of the store except blackened and crumbling walls. Accepting my prizes and the admiration of all those present, I shall flash a dazzling smile before I ride atop a weird pulled by teams of goblins that will herald my victories to all passerby and take me back down into the warm, steamy depths of the earth to continue my plans for world domination... er, I mean, my research into energy resources. Yeah.. energy resources... >_>
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
That was too epic O.O
I actually can't go to the prerelease this weekend :/// I have t go to a college day thing. It's sucks :/ oh well...
I am actually considering getting back into standard, but in a little of a competetive sense. I was looking int drafting up a Izzet deck idea, but everyone I talked to is saying, delver and snapcaster IS the way to go with Izzet. I'm sick of those two guys. I may just use any good Izzet card for my Commander deck. Speaking of that, I'm having a ball with Jarad AND Niv Mizzet. I think I'm going to take a break from commander since a lot of my friends aren't to shabby about it (they will soon... Muhahahahahaha!) so I figured I'll just do standard and casual.
I'm going to write a primerish thingy soon on U/G aggro. Any suggestions? I'm testing Shardless Agent like crazy right now.. She's just not working :/ but still (: I'm thinking of doing R/G aggro for standard. Mayyyybbeeee splash blue for Izzet shenanigans? Who knows... I'll figure out a way to make Izzet work in standard without Snapcaster and Delver. How is everyone's weeks going?
Epic Signature by the one and only Ace in Ace of Spades Studio
Proud member of the Spirit of EDH
BGW Teneb, the Harvester [Primer]
R Márton Stromgald
WUB Dakkon Blackblade
GR Atarka, World Render
{Writing and Rants}
WUBRG The Primeval Dragon's influence on EDH
People I'm talking to about Standard say Izzet delver won't work, and I have to agree. Mana Leak, Gut Shot, Vapor Snag, Ponder, etc. are gone and the Izzet Charm alone isn't enough to snapcaster back. Splashing black to make grixis control is apparently the way to go because of the new terminate in rakdos, but I want to stay in the UR scheme, myself. I might try something with Talrand spell-slinger... That could work as part control, part aggro... hm.. that could work well, indeed >:3
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Awesome bro, I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Best spell card: Essence Backlash. An excellent counter for those massive creatures, and all sorts of fun even for the smaller ones.
Best Creature: Really, about even between Goblin Electromancer (:symu::symu: Cancel? Yes, please.) and Hypersonic Dragon (Instant speed Mizzium Mortars saved me more than once.)
My opinion on the new guild mechanic, Overload: All sorts of fun, especially in the late game when you've got plenty mana spare and a few Electromancers out and my new best friend in play. Downsize is essentially a blue Fog when Overloaded, which again is a save-your-butt combo.
Unfortunately, no Nivvium Elementals were to be had for love or money at my local prerelease, so I can't report on that.
Best Non-Izzet card? Erm... Uh... Stealer of Secrets provided steady card advantage and Guttersnipe and Pyroconvergence support Izzet very well.
Non-Izzet mechanics: (NOTE: I did not play against a dedicated Azorios or Golgari deck) Detain is annoying, but spells and static abilities can easily circumvent that. Scavenge is unavoidable. Rather cook any of them before they hit the graveyard. Populate is potentially horrible, but careful and selective application of counterspells and burn will take care of any infestation, and finally, Unleash. If you get the chance to use hybrid Unleash cards, do it. The extra boost comes in handy on the attack, and it's absolutely hellish (appropriate, I guess) in a dedicated Rakdos deck. Downpours and Hover Barriers are your best friend to survive them.
All of the above is just this Test Subject's observations. Conditions may differ in under different laboratories (prereleases).
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
My LGS decided to do the guild packs, so I grabbed a box for the Izzet League. Besides the bloody amazing Hypersonic Dragon promo, Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius was in the guild booster. The general reaction when I dropped him t6? "Oh... crap..." >:3
Best creature: Goblin Electromancer. Hands-down nutters. Between the guild booster and the normal RTR boosters, I got 3 of them to use in the sealed draft. Made Inspiration, Traitorous Instinct, and Backlash Essence viable. Guttersnipe was actually really great too.
Best spell: Izzet Charm. A little situational, but it was versatile enough to work still. Counters a noncreature (a good pairing with the Backlash Essence), clears a small and annoying creature, or filters through the deck. For 2. Backlash Essence is a close second, but it needed 2 Electromancers to work well enough for my taste.
In the non-guild boosters, I pulled a ton of Selesnya stuff... Pretty rough. But I ended up with enough of a mix of instants/sorceries and creatures that played well with those that the deck worked pretty well.
Anyways, I won 2 packs and pulled (of note) Mizzium Mortars and that awful 6-drop blue enchantment... Conjured Currency. Anyways, it was a pretty good experience and it gave me confidence in the Izzet Standard deck I'm making.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
I went 7-0 at our 92-person Prerelease.
8 Island
8 Mountain
1 Izzet Guildgate
People (13)
2 Goblin Electromancer
1 Guttersnipe
1 Splatter Thug
1 Stealer of Secrets
1 Vassal Soul
1 Viashino Racketeer
1 Cobblebrute
1 Runewing
1 Hypersonic Dragon
1 Isperia's Skywatch
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
1 Skyline Predator
1 Downsize
1 Syncopate
1 Chemister's Trick
1 Izzet Charm
2 Annihilating Fire
1 Essence Backlash
2 Inspiration
1 Explosive Impact
2 Aquus Steed
2 Doorkeeper
1 Chronic Flooding
2 Dispel
2 Paralyzing Grasp
2 Lobber Crew
2 Dynacharge
1 Pursuit of Flight
1 Survey the Wreckage
2 Traitorous Instinct
1 Blistercoil Weird
1 Nivmagus Elemental
1 Firemind's Foresight
1 Codex Shredder
1 Golgari Keyrune
1 Tablet of the Guilds
I didn't drop a game until the sixth round, when I was paired against my friend Adam. He chose Rakdos, but ended up playing a Bant deck featuring 2x Loxodon Smiter, Angel of Serenity, and Archon of the Triumvirate. Yikes. I sided out Viashino Racketeer and Cobblebrute for 2x Paralyzing Grasp so I'd have a chance against his uncounterable 3-mana 4/4s. (Also, having Cobblebrute bounced by Skymark Roc is extremely frustrating.) Game two was close, but I pulled it out because he got land flooded and never saw his bombs (whereas me getting land-flooded just means drawing extra cards with Inspiration). Game three he got color screwed and I wiped the floor with him.
Round seven, I finally played the mirror; my opponent had Hypersonic Dragon; Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius, 3x Goblin Electromancer (apparently he won a game in which all three were hit by Detention Sphere), 2x Izzet Staticaster, Blustersquall, 2x Inspiration, Traitorous Instinct (kinda ridiculous at instant speed), 2x Essence Backlash, and Cyclonic Rift. This was a hard match. Game one I drew at least three or four extra cards with Stealer of Secrets backed by burn, but most of them were lands, so I died to Hypersonic Dragon and Niv-Mizzet (which were both bigger than my Skyline Predator and awkward Gray Ogre). Game two, he went for a more controlling route, but I knew he had Essence Backlash, so I forced him to use one on Cobblebrute (ow), then cast an EOT Skyline Predator (less ow) to force through Hypersonic Dragon on my turn. He stalled for a bit with Blustersquall and Cyclonic Rift (non-Upheaval mode), but ultimately succumbed to flying beats. Game three, he played a Goblin Electromancer which I promptly Shocked, then we played draw-go for a while, both opting to draw on turn four with Inspiration. When he cast the Firemind himself on turn six, things were looking grim. Luckily, I had the sick rip of my second Annihilating Fire to send our mighty overlord packing. A few turns later, we had both summoned a couple small guys, but my Chemister's Trick demolished his side of the board. My copy of the Dracogenius was the final nail in the coffin.
I wonder how much money I can get for my box.
And now, to do it all again today!
I'm not usually strong at limited: I really think I need help in terms of learning where to streamline since I end up wanting to include so many things that are/seem good!
With that said, I left the first game of the round one match, against Azorius, super confident at a 1-0 lead dominated by my Hypersonic. Game 2: mana flood. Game three? Again, leaving the round 1-2. Archon of the Triumvirate came out and gave me trouble for the first time in the later part of this match.
Round two was guild mirror match against Izzet and my land problems didn't abate. It was a complete write off.
Round three was against a Golgari deck which I remember being close to winning in game 1 but was humiliated in game 2 thanks to Grave Betrayal: the finishing stroke in that match was by my own creatures, one of which was the Minotaur hasty first-striker.
My luck finally turned around (right when it doesn't matter anymore for tops, eh?) at round 4, against a Rakdos player. I totally sympathise with him since his issue during our match was the mana flood issue I was having earlier. He elected to play somewhat defensively one he was able to finally get something out, avoiding Unleashing any creatures.
The Selesnya-Azorius mashup I had to face for round 5 was the most satisfying matchup in the tournament for me. He had access to Rest in Peace and two Sphere of Safety and an Archon for first game (aka I lost), and managed to briefly get out his Grove of the Guardian, which I was able to destroy thanks to Survey the Wreckage, in another. Game three was really close: I had brought my opponent down to five, but his board state eventually included three Centaur tokens boosted with the +3/+3 enchantment, and he had twice "fogged" my ability to deal damage and forced me to block until only one Goblin Electromancer remained. I mitigated his all-attacking stampede that turn with an overloaded Downsize and proceeded on my own go to directly burn the rest of his life with Annihilating Fire and attacking with the GE.
In other related dealings, I traded one of my Mortars for a Nivmagus Elemental and a Selesnyan uncommon and bought a single Malignus and Tandem Lookout for my commander (whenever I decide to boot my own behind to get it fixed). My other rare pulls from the sealed box were Azor's Elocutors, Hallowed Fountain, and Havoc Festival.
I had also bought the Izzet intropack for the intention of playing Open matches, but I never really had much time to do so. (In that I believe I pulled RIP and a Jarad's Orders from the boosters. The deck itself includes... more Dragon and more Mortars, but also the other things that I wish I had in Sealed. C'est la vie.)
When asked how much power is required, Izzet mages always answer "more".
What (of note) came in the intro pack? I'm trying to get stuff for my Izzet Standard, but I don't want to spend a lot of money, so if I can get a whole bunch of things in one place for a (relatively) low price, that would be ideal.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
I've been a long time Izzet fan but never got around to joining this clan. Now seems as good a time as any.
I was mostly prompted to join because I wanted to talk about Izzet things, mainly my incredible frustration that Nivmagus Elemental is not a weird. I mean, come on, really? (Also, am I the only one who hates the word "Chemister"?)
In other news, my Izzet prerelease was by far the best, delivering to me two steam vents, Mercurial Chemsiter, Epic Experiment, and the Dragon Genius himself.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
I think the one thing these prerelease testimonials prove is that I got a useless bunch of cards, except for two Hypersonics (I think I'm trading in my drake for one of those) and an Electromancer. Nevertheless I traded up for two more Electromancers, two Guildmages, a couple of Teleportals and a Guttersnipe. That along with two Charmbreaker Devils and my new Chandra the Firebrand should make quite a nice Izzet deck for standard.
Would anybody mind if I upgraded myself from 'test subject' to 'Blastseeker'?
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
In other news, i'm pretty excited to draft the set solely for the purpose of drafting the Guttersnipe deck.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Can I point you to the deck list? Second one from the top.
(If we're reserving things, I call "Mimeofacturist" for reasons.)
When asked how much power is required, Izzet mages always answer "more".
Worth it. And thanks for the link. I was too tired (read: lazy) to search for it myself.
Thank you to Rivenor for this awesome banner!
Palladia-Mors of {The Spirit of EDH}
EDH
WLinvala, Queen of the AngelsW
WUThe Prison of the Grand ArbiterUW [Primer]
URNiv-Mizzet, Handcycling ComboRU
UTalrand, Drake-Slinging to VictoryU
WUGDerevi, Tactical ShufflingGUW
BCao Cao, Discard Stax of Absolute MiseryB
Congrats AI! I hope you did as well Sunday as you did Saturday!
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
Comic Book Set
Archester: Frontier of Steam (A steampunk set!)
A Good Place to Start Designing
Sure you can join, but you may have to wait a while until SC , Artifice or AI adds you to the list as a test subject, and gradually move up in the ranks...
Speaking about ranks: Is there anyway RWF Less can get promoted, since all honesty, he is not a fault that Ratoly has been missing.
and Someone needs to update member roster?
Facebook MTG Anti-scam rep
Former Izzet clan Rep.
[Official Tech Geek of [The Crafters]
admin of[SIZE=3] MAGECRAFT:[/SIZE][SIZE=3] a forum for all from Magic to Pokemon!
Decks:GU Evolver, W Modern Knights
Apprentice of Spell Manipulation
Archester: Frontier of Steam
Well , I don't decide, but elections are way overdue for some members/ test subjects in my opinion.
Facebook MTG Anti-scam rep
Former Izzet clan Rep.
[Official Tech Geek of [The Crafters]
admin of[SIZE=3] MAGECRAFT:[/SIZE][SIZE=3] a forum for all from Magic to Pokemon!