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Quote from TevI don't see Vedalken Shackles anywhere. Maybe I overlooked it but it seems pretty much like an auto-buy for anybody who wants to invest in mono U -- multiplayer or otherwise.
Quote from Xyx Your writing is not unnecessarily flowery; everything that is said is said for a reason. However, I do feel as if roughly the same points could be made with half the words, leading to a higher retention overall. Either way, the guide comes across as a big wall of text.
Quote from XyxMost of the chapter introductions seem very generic, and appear to be copy/pasted across all your various color guides. This dramatically reduces their value in anything but the first guide I read, turning from informative general advice into low-value platitudes and truisms that I have to comb through in case they're not [I]completely[/I] copy/pasted.
Quote from XyxGlancing over the guide as a whole, I have trouble predicting where I'll find a card such as Preordain listed. It's not persistent, destructive, scaling, defensive... but it [I]is[/I] very good, and I'd even go as far as to say that every blue deck should run it unless there are clear reasons not to.
Quote from XyxWhat is the reason for this kind of structuring? I agree that any structure is better than no structure, but I don't see the value of dividing cards into, for instance, "repeatable" and "one-shot". That is not how I build decks. I'd rather see some sort of menu structure like "threats", "defense", "mana" and "value" where I could pick some things from each category and end up with an OK deck.
Quote from XyxI also wonder why the Synergies and Strategies section is down near the bottom. Feels like it belongs in the introduction; a quick run-down of what makes blue blue. It even opens with "Now that we've gone over the most prominent multiplayer card choices", which suggests that I have to read a 200-card list just to get ready for truisms like "blue draws cards!"
Quote from Xyx[B]1. Introduction[/B] I disagree with the severity of the premise in the second paragraph; while it is true that better decks have better chances, the difference is [I]extremely[/I] mitigated. This week's session I once again won a round with Pauper and lost the next with Power. It only takes a few experienced players to identify the long-term threats and get everyone to gang up on them.
Quote from XyxThe only way to win by force alone is to take on [I]all[/I] other players at once, like some sort of Archenemy without schemes. That's usually how the endgame plays out, but up until then it's rarely apparent who will get to be the archenemy.
Quote from XyxThe term "politics" is ambiguous. Does it refer to wheeling and dealing, underhandedness, secret pacts and explicit (if temporary) alliances? Or just common strategic sense where weaker players will gang up on a stronger one? My playgroup never makes deals, so we're a-political in that regard. However, we're good at threat assessment, so we just sort of naturally gang up on whoever is threatening to dominate.
Quote from XyxNot all multiplayer games are huge Chaos games. I rarely see a game with more than 4 players, and many metas have rules restricting who can attack who. Two-Headed Giant is technically also multiplayer, in addition to being a duel.
Quote from XyxIt is also important to note that, in a casual environment, most people will play the same deck regardless of the number of opponents. I've seen many 1-on-1 oriented decks in 5-player games, including Affinity, Goblins, Burn and Land Destruction. Decks that are set up entirely for the long game can get knocked out before they even get going. The one delivering the KO is generally the next to go, but that is sore comfort if you were the one that ate a Signal Pest wearing Cranial Plating just as you were about to start dropping haymakers. I value early defense highly.
Quote from Xyx[B]2a. Persistent Cards[/B] You list several cards as "resilient" that have an activated ability that costs mana. My experience is that such abilities "force" you to keep up mana night and day. People will bend over backwards to "get you" as soon as you drop your guard, just because they can, with little regard to how relevant the card even is.
Quote from XyxFor instance, I would not consider Arcanis the Omnipotent very resilient, despite his self-bounce ability. He's such a high-value target that you're forced to keep open 2UU at all times, and even then the whole table will be conspiring to force you to tap out, so you probably need 4UUUU for actual discouragement. Nobody I know is going to Doom Blade some other creature just because Arcanis' controller still has 2UU open. They'll just wait. This seriously detracts from Arcanis' value, since if he comes with four to eight self-inflicted Stone Rains, he's suddenly not all that great anymore.
Quote from XyxI don't understand why Guile is in this list. Because he gets shuffled back in? I personally consider that as good as gone.
Quote from XyxWhat follows is a huge list of "Constant and/or Repeatable Effects". This list contains some narrow cards (such as Attunement) that don't just go into every blue deck, and many weak cards (such as Scepter of Insight) that I would not advise anyone to run, ever, because there are better alternatives for comparable $$$ and mana.
Quote from XyxI think the biggest obstacles to practicality and education are: Too much text. Half the text is generic advice that isn't particular to this color. I suggest moving all the generic stuff to a separate, generic guide.
Quote from XyxReversed order of sections. First there's long lists of stuff, only then is the color's identity discussed. The Conclusion should have been the Foreword.
Quote from XyxImpractical categorization. I don't build decks thinking thoughts like "now all I need is some scaling cards and a trap or two!" Instead I look for cards to execute my game plan (beaters for a beatdown deck, millers for a mill deck, clones for a copycat deck) and cards to facilitate that plan (ramp, draw, defense/lifegain.)[/list]
Quote from XyxHope it helps!
Quote from XyxGilded Drake is "tech" against Show and Tell and to a lesser extent Reanimator, and is good in Commander. All three of those have gained tremendous amounts of popularity over the past few years.
Quote from OfenOlafCoiling Oracle is a nice gold card for Simic decks. The combination of either ramp or card advantage is exactly what UG stands for.
Quote from GibletsGlad to see the Blue guide up before summer's end. I'm going to list some cards that I don't think were mentioned: Wash Out, Azami, Lady of Scrolls, Dominus of Fealty, Oona, Queen of the Fae, Bribery, Control Magic, Rebuild, Cryptic Command, [CARD]Minamo, School at Water's Edge [/CARD]. If any of these were in fact in the guide, I apologize for the oversight.
Quote from GibletsAs far as deck ideas, Sage of Fables+Glen Elendra Archmage wizard tribal has been relatively successful at my table. You should probably have a sample blue Urzatron/12post artifact deck as well, Fabricate, Master Transmuter, Copper Gnomes, into Blightsteel Colossus, Sphinx of the Steel Wind, Darksteel Forge, etc, as these decks are quite potent.
Quote from Xyx Next time I'll go over what appears to be the most important part of the primer; Synergies and Strategies.
Quote from CadaverousBl00m A few to add that did cross my mind (but damn, they were hard work to find)...
Quote from CadaverousBl00mProbably want to mention Phyrexian Metamorph somewhere. Couldn't find him in my sweep (other than in the creature curves), and I've no idea where he properly fits, but bomb card is bomb card.
Quote from CadaverousBl00mOh, and my inner Grammar Nazi picked up that Reins of Power was misspelt somewhere (you had "Reigns" instead).
Quote from Indalecio Of course, most of the text is repeated between the guides, but just skip it to what is most interesting to you.
Quote from IndalecioI´m going a bit rogue in this post, but to come back to the Blue guide, I´d like to know what the reasoning behind putting Meloku the Clouded Mirror in the guide is. I also believe the card is great but does it have any application in MP? I have it in one of my decks for bouncing Glimmerpost or getting Landfall on my Roil Elemental. Was it something else you were thinking of in particular? I mean, this is a very unique effect indeed and I am simply wondering if you had ever made an application of the Illusion tokens bearing in mind we´re talking mono-U here. (Please don't say Skullclamp, lol)
Quote from IndalecioEDIT: Did I miss good old Mulldrifter in the guide?
Quote from MooncrowAlso, are you interested in deck suggestions, and if so, would you like them posted here or PM'd to you?
Quote from NuggyPsychosis Crawler seems like a real good blue card. It and any draw spell are pretty powerful. I used to play a deck with High Tide, Blue Sun's Zenith, Psychosis Crawler, Lab Maniac. It won quite often.