People are under-estimating pirates just like they did spirits. They are gearing them towards Tempo, and Tempo is one of the hardest to play and work with decks out there. I personally play tempo to death and pirates has the tools to potentially beat aggro easily. The problem isn't the removal as much as the number of hours one has to practice to do it right.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
People are under-estimating pirates just like they did spirits. They are gearing them towards Tempo, and Tempo is one of the hardest to play and work with decks out there. I personally play tempo to death and pirates has the tools to potentially beat aggro easily. The problem isn't the removal as much as the number of hours one has to practice to do it right.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
Yeah, Vraska's Contempt is neither efficient or playable, but is the only option black has at instant speed. Kitesail Freebooter seems playable, but it's so fragile. In multiples, it will be decent, but more of a nuisance than owererful.
People are under-estimating pirates just like they did spirits. They are gearing them towards Tempo, and Tempo is one of the hardest to play and work with decks out there. I personally play tempo to death and pirates has the tools to potentially beat aggro easily. The problem isn't the removal as much as the number of hours one has to practice to do it right.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
Yeah, Vraska's Contempt is neither efficient or playable, but is the only option black has at instant speed. Kitesail Freebooter seems playable, but it's so fragile. In multiples, it will be decent, but more of a nuisance than a powererful.
The freebooter has the same problem Spell Queller had, in that you end up playing protect the queen to avoid letting them get their card back. I suppose there is Deadeye Tracker...
In any case, the freebooter is still probably the best fit in the deck as it stands. What is the worse case that happens? Usually it goes into a play of "opponent attempts to shock/bolt grabby creature, player flickers it and draws a card, giving the opponent back the spell he wants, but then loses another spell". Then, they bolt it again, they get the old spell back, but they had to use two burn spells on the same creature to get back their one spell and the player isn't down any cards from it.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
People are under-estimating pirates just like they did spirits. They are gearing them towards Tempo, and Tempo is one of the hardest to play and work with decks out there. I personally play tempo to death and pirates has the tools to potentially beat aggro easily. The problem isn't the removal as much as the number of hours one has to practice to do it right.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
Yeah, Vraska's Contempt is neither efficient or playable, but is the only option black has at instant speed. Kitesail Freebooter seems playable, but it's so fragile. In multiples, it will be decent, but more of a nuisance than a powererful.
The freebooter has the same problem Spell Queller had, in that you end up playing protect the queen to avoid letting them get their card back. I suppose there is Deadeye Tracker...
In any case, the freebooter is still probably the best fit in the deck as it stands. What is the worse case that happens? Usually it goes into a play of "opponent attempts to shock/bolt grabby creature, player flickers it and draws a card, giving the opponent back the spell he wants, but then loses another spell". Then, they bolt it again, they get the old spell back, but they had to use two burn spells on the same creature to get back their one spell and the player isn't down any cards from it.
True, but you're down cards. I think the Deadeye Tracker is good. It isn't as good as Cryptbreaker, and crypt breaker had to have good cards supporting it or it was just a token generator. The tracker won't build you an army and the cost is high for a 1/1 counter. It's the best black creature in the set, though. The black pirates are interesting tricks, but cards like Rigging Runner, Captain Lannery Storm, Captivating Crew, and Rowdy Crew are going to be the best pirates supported by blue counters and counter creatures. The black pirates are too mana intensive for mediocre rewards. Oh, and Wily Goblin. The red creatures offer the most card advantage and won't kill tempo. But, I see no reason to put black in unless you're a glutton for punishment.
Pirates are the tribe that will work the best out of the box right now. Been trying to make dinosaurs work and while it is possible to make a good mid-range build, they aren't really tribal in any sense of the word. The "Tribe" is actually split in two different sides: The natives who are on the lower end of the curve that have ramp and other abilities with dinosaurs, and then there is the dinosaurs themselves sitting on the high end. The best dinosaurs by far are Ripjaw Raptor and Carnage Tyrant. The rest of the slots are sort of all over the place. Three drops are pretty cluttered right now in Naya with the likes of Rhonas the Indomitable, Gideon of the Trials, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Resilient Khenra, etc, without even going into support cards. Two drops are a bit more open, but it's hard to beat Glory-Bound Initiate and Earthshaker Khenra. One drops are mostly existing support spells like Blossoming Defense, Shock, Magma Spray, etc.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
I don't think you can go full dinosaur aggro/midrange without support. Also, I don't think you can throw in random energy creatures and cards and expect the same type of results as g/r and temur. Naya ramp, with the bottom end filled with copious amounts of burn, may be the best way to go. Single target and relatively efficient sweepers should be main along with hour of Hour of Devastation at the top end of your removal. I'd also make it with chandra, glorybringer, and some Walking Ballista to dump your mana into late. Hell, I could even see a Jund version being good, with a splash in black for discard, push-ed, and never to return. But naya seems like the strongest option all around. The big white dino and the naya dino are too good to pass up.
Pirates don't seem good enough to compete. The red removal is way too good and there is way too much for the little terds to see play. I know what waizards was thinking, though. They probably expected a control deck(u/w), a midrange deck(dinos), and pirates. Pirates will fill the role of anti control... But, red decks already fill that role well enough and pirates lack something, actually, they lack a lot of things. Blue/red pirates may be better than a grixis version. U/R would have better tempo, too.
red pirates don't seem great to me. if you want to play the aggresive rdw deck you play runap red, not pirates. Blue/black tempo/hand disruption: that's where pirates will shine. ARRRR
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Pirates are the tribe that will work the best out of the box right now. Been trying to make dinosaurs work and while it is possible to make a good mid-range build, they aren't really tribal in any sense of the word. The "Tribe" is actually split in two different sides: The natives who are on the lower end of the curve that have ramp and other abilities with dinosaurs, and then there is the dinosaurs themselves sitting on the high end. The best dinosaurs by far are Ripjaw Raptor and Carnage Tyrant. The rest of the slots are sort of all over the place. Three drops are pretty cluttered right now in Naya with the likes of Rhonas the Indomitable, Gideon of the Trials, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Resilient Khenra, etc, without even going into support cards. Two drops are a bit more open, but it's hard to beat Glory-Bound Initiate and Earthshaker Khenra. One drops are mostly existing support spells like Blossoming Defense, Shock, Magma Spray, etc.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
I don't think you can go full dinosaur aggro/midrange without support. Also, I don't think you can throw in random energy creatures and cards and expect the same type of results as g/r and temur. Naya ramp, with the bottom end filled with copious amounts of burn, may be the best way to go. Single target and relatively efficient sweepers should be main along with hour of Hour of Devastation at the top end of your removal. I'd also make it with chandra, glorybringer, and some Walking Ballista to dump your mana into late. Hell, I could even see a Jund version being good, with a splash in black for discard, push-ed, and never to return. But naya seems like the strongest option all around. The big white dino and the naya dino are too good to pass up.
Pirates don't seem good enough to compete. The red removal is way too good and there is way too much for the little terds to see play. I know what waizards was thinking, though. They probably expected a control deck(u/w), a midrange deck(dinos), and pirates. Pirates will fill the role of anti control... But, red decks already fill that role well enough and pirates lack something, actually, they lack a lot of things. Blue/red pirates may be better than a grixis version. U/R would have better tempo, too.
red pirates don't seem great to me. if you want to play the aggresive rdw deck you play runap red, not pirates. Blue/black tempo/hand disruption: that's where pirates will shine. ARRRR
Usually, simple deck designs win more than complex, mana hungry designs. The black pirates aren't quite as good as jamming a Rowdy Crew and getting lucky. Ramunap red is a testament to that, all the deck needs is proper sequencing to be effective. RDW is a simple formula, u/b pirates is trying to be cute and will often times get smashed by strategies that rely on simply attacking and playing removal.
Look at blocks like Mirage, Kamigawa, Theros and Amonkhet. None of these settings happens on Earth, and yet they all have a very strong vibe from our world: Mirage is Africa, Kamigawa is Japan, Theros is Greece and Amonkhet is Egypt. So why wouldn't Ixalan be Central America? Ixalan should feel like a Meso-American set because it was marketed as one: both from the name and art. Instead we got Jurassic Pirates.
But that's the issue: Kamigawa, Theros and Amnokhet are top-down designs that started from the idea of translating a region/culture to the game's multiverse (Kamigawa and Theros were pure examples, Amonkhet was mixed from early on with the concept of a Bolas-world). This is well-documented. I'm less certain about Mirage though considering Arabian Nights, Ice Age I feel that Mirage is a similar case of a real-world culture exploited as a theme with only light recognizable mechanical integration.
Kaladesh and Ixalan are the counterparts of mechanically defined set (Artifacts! Creature types!) which in the process of figuring out the details got a veneer of theme based on a real-world culture. It is present in the art and style, but less integrated mechanically.
Now for Ixalan the story is a little more complicated as the theme started roughly as "Natives vs. Conquerors" and evolved into "Four-way conflict involving tribes"/"race to the hidden city".
From the very concept you start with the fact that the natives never necessarily needed to be Meso-American, though you get a greater focus on things that emphasize the "native" aspect e. g. using land/nature rather than technology than more specific Meso-American aspects (though there are plenty of examples where the representation comes through).
I personally also have worked enough with Meso-American flavor to know that the well is not as deep as you might think due to the fact that many archetypes of meso-american culture are also familiar from other cultures and often even more associated with other cultures, and the more unique traits are often not something the public is aware enough to make grokkable.
I think the sun/night theme we get hints of might play out as an hommage that is actually well-done, but many people are not even especially aware of when it comes to the culture.
The first art we got from Ixalan featured pirates and dinosaurs as well as a meso-american attire on the dinosaurs and associated humans, so it is really unfair to say it was marketed as Meso-American from the art and in the same breath complain about "Jurassic Pirates".
Really what you need to acknowledge is that as a "Natives vs. Conquerors" theme only half of the set actually is supposed to be representing the native Meso-American-inspired culture; the other half is focussed on the foreigners: Conquistadors and Pirates. And to make the factions distinct those have to be different in tone/flavor.
This distinction (even if Merfolk elementalists and Vampire conquistadors were introduced only later) has been present from the very beginning with the first art revealed featuring Vraska and her pirates across the dinosaur natives. If you expected more than 50% of the saturation in Meso-American tropes you mislead yourself by focussing on your own wishful thinking rather than the actual ideas hinted at from the evidence in front of you.
You should cherish partial delving into the culture over multiple planes (Ixalan, Alara, ...) over a single focussed plane that uses all the possible themes. At least now you have two different takes on the subcontinental cultures and two planes that might give you more on the topic on a potential return.
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Planar Chaos was not a mistake neither was it random. You might want to look at it again.
[thread=239793][Game] Level Up - Creature[/thread]
People are under-estimating pirates just like they did spirits. They are gearing them towards Tempo, and Tempo is one of the hardest to play and work with decks out there. I personally play tempo to death and pirates has the tools to potentially beat aggro easily. The problem isn't the removal as much as the number of hours one has to practice to do it right.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
Yeah, Vraska's Contempt is neither efficient or playable, but is the only option black has at instant speed. Kitesail Freebooter seems playable, but it's so fragile. In multiples, it will be decent, but more of a nuisance than a powererful.
The freebooter has the same problem Spell Queller had, in that you end up playing protect the queen to avoid letting them get their card back. I suppose there is Deadeye Tracker...
In any case, the freebooter is still probably the best fit in the deck as it stands. What is the worse case that happens? Usually it goes into a play of "opponent attempts to shock/bolt grabby creature, player flickers it and draws a card, giving the opponent back the spell he wants, but then loses another spell". Then, they bolt it again, they get the old spell back, but they had to use two burn spells on the same creature to get back their one spell and the player isn't down any cards from it.
True, but you're down cards. I think the Deadeye Tracker is good. It isn't as good as Cryptbreaker, and crypt breaker had to have good cards supporting it or it was just a token generator. The tracker won't build you an army and the cost is high for a 1/1 counter. It's the best black creature in the set, though. The black pirates are interesting tricks, but cards like Rigging Runner, Captain Lannery Storm, Captivating Crew, and Rowdy Crew are going to be the best pirates supported by blue counters and counter creatures. The black pirates are too mana intensive for mediocre rewards. Oh, and Wily Goblin. The red creatures offer the most card advantage and won't kill tempo. But, I see no reason to put black in unless you're a glutton for punishment.
Technically you aren't, because the cards you used to spend on protecting it cantrip. The bolts don't. So basically, the objective of the Freebooter is to make your opponent waste options they have to deal with it. It's not always the best play and sometimes that card really is worth the two cards they spent to get it back, but it does work.
Also, the price to performance ratio on pirates is insane right now even on pre-order. This feels like spirits mark 2 all over again and it may be a budget deck that punches above it's weight. Dinosaurs unfortunately are the complete opposite. They got a few good pieces, but it really feels a bit too casual to win via the strategy wizards is pushing. Limited looks nuts for dinos though.
Also, I'm probably running mostly blue in the pirates deck because I'm working with tempo plays like Ice Over and Galestrike.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Pirates are the tribe that will work the best out of the box right now. Been trying to make dinosaurs work and while it is possible to make a good mid-range build, they aren't really tribal in any sense of the word. The "Tribe" is actually split in two different sides: The natives who are on the lower end of the curve that have ramp and other abilities with dinosaurs, and then there is the dinosaurs themselves sitting on the high end. The best dinosaurs by far are Ripjaw Raptor and Carnage Tyrant. The rest of the slots are sort of all over the place. Three drops are pretty cluttered right now in Naya with the likes of Rhonas the Indomitable, Gideon of the Trials, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Resilient Khenra, etc, without even going into support cards. Two drops are a bit more open, but it's hard to beat Glory-Bound Initiate and Earthshaker Khenra. One drops are mostly existing support spells like Blossoming Defense, Shock, Magma Spray, etc.
Pirates are crazy on tempo and aggro. Not only did they get some good support cards in Kaladesh block, the cards that work with them are aggressively costed and extremely good.
Yea I agree I have Ben working on dinosaur tribal edh
Well it may be possible but missing some stuff.
Hopefully "rivals of ixalan" will fill in the blanks of the tribe.
Also going to say that I think Legion's Landing is one of the best one drops in the format hands down. It's Sacred Cat, except it can make more Sacred cats. Also I really like Deadeye Tracker. The tracker is the real Scavenging Ooze of the format right now, just it also lets you filter the top of your library and get extra lands.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I'll just say that while Ixalan isn't perfect, it's a sign IMO that things might be taking a more decent turn in terms of how Wizards is designing Standard sets, and I expect that Dominaria will up-end it in some way for multiple reasons.
It's looking to be one of the most expensive sets in a while as well. With no lottery cards, the value is going to be higher across the board on all the other cards in the set, and Carnage Tyrant may actually hold at 20 usd for a long while.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Heck, Naya felt more like a Meso-American set than the entire Ixalan. It's a similar problem with Kaladesh. It was supposed to be an Indian-inspired set but all I see are fancy artifacts.
Who says Ixalan has to feel like a Meso-American set? No one except people who thought Ixalan would end up looking like a Meso-American set. They ended up being only sleightly right. Ixalan should feel like Ixalan and not Earth.
Look at blocks like Mirage, Kamigawa, Theros and Amonkhet. None of these settings happens on Earth, and yet they all have a very strong vibe from our world: Mirage is Africa, Kamigawa is Japan, Theros is Greece and Amonkhet is Egypt. So why wouldn't Ixalan be Central America? Ixalan should feel like a Meso-American set because it was marketed as one: both from the name and art. Instead we got Jurassic Pirates.
Should feel like? Who decides this if not Wizards of the Coast?
And Wizards of the Coast decided that Ixalan should feel the way they made Ixalan feel.
That's fine, but imagine Wotc said: hey the next set is Roman-based! And you are like: great, I can't wait to build my gladiator deck! And then when the set finally shows up, there are only like two gladiators in the whole set. Basically, I had certain expectations from Meso-american set, expectations that weren't met.
From the very concept you start with the fact that the natives never necessarily needed to be Meso-American, though you get a greater focus on things that emphasize the "native" aspect e. g. using land/nature rather than technology than more specific Meso-American aspects (though there are plenty of examples where the representation comes through).
I personally also have worked enough with Meso-American flavor to know that the well is not as deep as you might think due to the fact that many archetypes of meso-american culture are also familiar from other cultures and often even more associated with other cultures, and the more unique traits are often not something the public is aware enough to make grokkable.
Just because the initial promo pictures showed Pirates and Dinosaurs, it didn't mean we won't get some juicy Aztec/Mayan tribes/mechanics/flavor. In the end we got nothing. I have nothing against the depiction of the natives in this block, heck I like that they gave them a fantasy look and the Dinosaurs. My problem is that the set focuses too heavily on the Dinosaurs instead of the Sun Empire.
A long time ago, I made a custom Meso-american set (that also featured Pirates) where I had a subtheme of "sacrifice matters" and I just wished that WotC focused a little bit more on that aspect: proud warriors dressed as animals, shamans and priests, temples and sacrificing rituals, traps and prophecies etc.
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Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
Well, the fact is I'm holding my final judgement on this block for when we see rivals coming in the winter. My favorite block released to date is still kaladesh because of the energy and vehicle mechanics, and I am finally going to play Temur energy this coming standard.
I also like tempo a ton and pirates or Merfolk look to be going that direction. I might try a non-tribal list going mono blue that mixes the two.
The one catch to this block is the same as kaladesh with tribal, and that is the dwarf conundrum. Basically, we get spoiled a bunch of really pushed cards that look great on paper, but never make the final cut in the established decks. That is where I feel dinosaurs are at right now. Is ripjaw raptor good enough of a four drop to compete with bristling hydra? Chandra? Hazoret?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I always liked Sagu Mauler and I still to this day try to horn it into casual modern decks (Soulflayer builds, Eldritch Evolution builds). Was sad that it never really caught on, and am sad that this just misses out on sharing a Standard with Eldritch Evolution... to fetch-cheat a 7/6 trample hexproof on T3 after a T2 Bone Picker would be a sweet deal in standard. Take *that*, targetted removal.
While I'm just as skeptical as you are regarding Carnage Tyrant's viability as you are, costing one less G is not to be underestimated, and neither is uncounterability on a creature with few means for interaction. Outside of a vacuum, Tyrant also has a more relevant creature type and smaller competition.
Especially since, in magical Christmas land, he can see play in standard on turn 4 with haste (with the dino reducers). Possibly even turn 3 if you're playing in the magical Christmas Heaven that you go to if you die in magical Christmas land (It might require your opponent to cast Old-Growth Dryads).
Especially since, in magical Christmas land, he can see play in standard on turn 4 with haste (with the dino reducers). Possibly even turn 3 if you're playing in the magical Christmas Heaven that you go to if you die in magical Christmas land (It might require your opponent to cast Old-Growth Dryads).
Against the kind of decks most people would be using it against, having it down on turn 5 is definitely good enough. My favorite card in the set is still a toss up between Legion's Landing and Ripjaw Raptor, though. I think either one could find a home in modern, and I'm definitely trying the landing in my BW tokens deck.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Especially since, in magical Christmas land, he can see play in standard on turn 4 with haste (with the dino reducers). Possibly even turn 3 if you're playing in the magical Christmas Heaven that you go to if you die in magical Christmas land (It might require your opponent to cast Old-Growth Dryads).
Against the kind of decks most people would be using it against, having it down on turn 5 is definitely good enough. My favorite card in the set is still a toss up between Legion's Landing and Ripjaw Raptor, though. I think either one could find a home in modern, and I'm definitely trying the landing in my BW tokens deck.
Yeah, Ripjaw Raptor is pretty damn good. I was always fond of the Phyrexian Obliterator. I don't know if the enrage mechanic works the same as the obliterator. But, if I were to come back to standard, I'd be playing g/r midrange of some sort. While the dinosaurs may not be a complete tribal deck, there are several with Grave Titan level power. So, they should be able to find homes.
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The checklist as I see it:
1 cmc counter spell creature: Siren Stormtamer (don't like it as much as mausoleum wanderer, but I'll take it.)
A self bounce spell with upside: Siren's Ruse
A low cost general counter to spells: Lookout's Dispersal
An on tribe instant speed tap spell with a body: Dreamcaller Siren
An anthem effect for the tribe: Favorable Winds.
They got what it takes to do some serious hurt. The question is what spells are left after rotation to fit the archetype. Some people are also using Supreme Will, but I prefer Galestrike since it will bounce the attacker back and net me a card. Also, they do have Kitesail Freebooter. The one thing I hate about black at the moment is that we'll be stuck with Vanquish the Weak as the instant speed creature kill spell instead of murder or hero's downfall.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Yeah, Vraska's Contempt is neither efficient or playable, but is the only option black has at instant speed. Kitesail Freebooter seems playable, but it's so fragile. In multiples, it will be decent, but more of a nuisance than owererful.
The freebooter has the same problem Spell Queller had, in that you end up playing protect the queen to avoid letting them get their card back. I suppose there is Deadeye Tracker...
In any case, the freebooter is still probably the best fit in the deck as it stands. What is the worse case that happens? Usually it goes into a play of "opponent attempts to shock/bolt grabby creature, player flickers it and draws a card, giving the opponent back the spell he wants, but then loses another spell". Then, they bolt it again, they get the old spell back, but they had to use two burn spells on the same creature to get back their one spell and the player isn't down any cards from it.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
True, but you're down cards. I think the Deadeye Tracker is good. It isn't as good as Cryptbreaker, and crypt breaker had to have good cards supporting it or it was just a token generator. The tracker won't build you an army and the cost is high for a 1/1 counter. It's the best black creature in the set, though. The black pirates are interesting tricks, but cards like Rigging Runner, Captain Lannery Storm, Captivating Crew, and Rowdy Crew are going to be the best pirates supported by blue counters and counter creatures. The black pirates are too mana intensive for mediocre rewards. Oh, and Wily Goblin. The red creatures offer the most card advantage and won't kill tempo. But, I see no reason to put black in unless you're a glutton for punishment.
red pirates don't seem great to me. if you want to play the aggresive rdw deck you play runap red, not pirates. Blue/black tempo/hand disruption: that's where pirates will shine. ARRRR
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MaRo confirmed on his blog that this was more of a card for a card's sake, and not to do with wiping out the dinosaurs again.
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Usually, simple deck designs win more than complex, mana hungry designs. The black pirates aren't quite as good as jamming a Rowdy Crew and getting lucky. Ramunap red is a testament to that, all the deck needs is proper sequencing to be effective. RDW is a simple formula, u/b pirates is trying to be cute and will often times get smashed by strategies that rely on simply attacking and playing removal.
But that's the issue: Kamigawa, Theros and Amnokhet are top-down designs that started from the idea of translating a region/culture to the game's multiverse (Kamigawa and Theros were pure examples, Amonkhet was mixed from early on with the concept of a Bolas-world). This is well-documented. I'm less certain about Mirage though considering Arabian Nights, Ice Age I feel that Mirage is a similar case of a real-world culture exploited as a theme with only light recognizable mechanical integration.
Kaladesh and Ixalan are the counterparts of mechanically defined set (Artifacts! Creature types!) which in the process of figuring out the details got a veneer of theme based on a real-world culture. It is present in the art and style, but less integrated mechanically.
Now for Ixalan the story is a little more complicated as the theme started roughly as "Natives vs. Conquerors" and evolved into "Four-way conflict involving tribes"/"race to the hidden city".
From the very concept you start with the fact that the natives never necessarily needed to be Meso-American, though you get a greater focus on things that emphasize the "native" aspect e. g. using land/nature rather than technology than more specific Meso-American aspects (though there are plenty of examples where the representation comes through).
I personally also have worked enough with Meso-American flavor to know that the well is not as deep as you might think due to the fact that many archetypes of meso-american culture are also familiar from other cultures and often even more associated with other cultures, and the more unique traits are often not something the public is aware enough to make grokkable.
I think the sun/night theme we get hints of might play out as an hommage that is actually well-done, but many people are not even especially aware of when it comes to the culture.
The first art we got from Ixalan featured pirates and dinosaurs as well as a meso-american attire on the dinosaurs and associated humans, so it is really unfair to say it was marketed as Meso-American from the art and in the same breath complain about "Jurassic Pirates".
Really what you need to acknowledge is that as a "Natives vs. Conquerors" theme only half of the set actually is supposed to be representing the native Meso-American-inspired culture; the other half is focussed on the foreigners: Conquistadors and Pirates. And to make the factions distinct those have to be different in tone/flavor.
This distinction (even if Merfolk elementalists and Vampire conquistadors were introduced only later) has been present from the very beginning with the first art revealed featuring Vraska and her pirates across the dinosaur natives. If you expected more than 50% of the saturation in Meso-American tropes you mislead yourself by focussing on your own wishful thinking rather than the actual ideas hinted at from the evidence in front of you.
You should cherish partial delving into the culture over multiple planes (Ixalan, Alara, ...) over a single focussed plane that uses all the possible themes. At least now you have two different takes on the subcontinental cultures and two planes that might give you more on the topic on a potential return.
Finally a good white villain quote: "So, do I ever re-evaluate my life choices? Never, because I know what I'm doing is a righteous cause."
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Technically you aren't, because the cards you used to spend on protecting it cantrip. The bolts don't. So basically, the objective of the Freebooter is to make your opponent waste options they have to deal with it. It's not always the best play and sometimes that card really is worth the two cards they spent to get it back, but it does work.
Also, the price to performance ratio on pirates is insane right now even on pre-order. This feels like spirits mark 2 all over again and it may be a budget deck that punches above it's weight. Dinosaurs unfortunately are the complete opposite. They got a few good pieces, but it really feels a bit too casual to win via the strategy wizards is pushing. Limited looks nuts for dinos though.
Also, I'm probably running mostly blue in the pirates deck because I'm working with tempo plays like Ice Over and Galestrike.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Yea I agree I have Ben working on dinosaur tribal edh
Well it may be possible but missing some stuff.
Hopefully "rivals of ixalan" will fill in the blanks of the tribe.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
That's fine, but imagine Wotc said: hey the next set is Roman-based! And you are like: great, I can't wait to build my gladiator deck! And then when the set finally shows up, there are only like two gladiators in the whole set. Basically, I had certain expectations from Meso-american set, expectations that weren't met.
Just because the initial promo pictures showed Pirates and Dinosaurs, it didn't mean we won't get some juicy Aztec/Mayan tribes/mechanics/flavor. In the end we got nothing. I have nothing against the depiction of the natives in this block, heck I like that they gave them a fantasy look and the Dinosaurs. My problem is that the set focuses too heavily on the Dinosaurs instead of the Sun Empire.
A long time ago, I made a custom Meso-american set (that also featured Pirates) where I had a subtheme of "sacrifice matters" and I just wished that WotC focused a little bit more on that aspect: proud warriors dressed as animals, shamans and priests, temples and sacrificing rituals, traps and prophecies etc.
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I also like tempo a ton and pirates or Merfolk look to be going that direction. I might try a non-tribal list going mono blue that mixes the two.
The one catch to this block is the same as kaladesh with tribal, and that is the dwarf conundrum. Basically, we get spoiled a bunch of really pushed cards that look great on paper, but never make the final cut in the established decks. That is where I feel dinosaurs are at right now. Is ripjaw raptor good enough of a four drop to compete with bristling hydra? Chandra? Hazoret?
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
And that is a bit silly, all things considered.
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Fully-powered 600-Card "Dream Cube" https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/dreamcube
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Hahahaha..completely overlooked that guy. That is pretty funny.
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While I'm just as skeptical as you are regarding Carnage Tyrant's viability as you are, costing one less G is not to be underestimated, and neither is uncounterability on a creature with few means for interaction. Outside of a vacuum, Tyrant also has a more relevant creature type and smaller competition.
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Against the kind of decks most people would be using it against, having it down on turn 5 is definitely good enough. My favorite card in the set is still a toss up between Legion's Landing and Ripjaw Raptor, though. I think either one could find a home in modern, and I'm definitely trying the landing in my BW tokens deck.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Yeah, Ripjaw Raptor is pretty damn good. I was always fond of the Phyrexian Obliterator. I don't know if the enrage mechanic works the same as the obliterator. But, if I were to come back to standard, I'd be playing g/r midrange of some sort. While the dinosaurs may not be a complete tribal deck, there are several with Grave Titan level power. So, they should be able to find homes.