Good to point out that Phantasmal Image isn't an ETB effect, I know a lot (A LOT) of players don't often understand how that is exploitable. (ie. laughing at Torpor Orb)
Hey y'all. I've been playing Humans on MTGO for a while and I'm wondering how everyone has felt facing Tocatli Honor Guard or Torpor Orb out of the sideboard It's so demoralizing to see it turn 2, especially after I've played a Champion of the Parish, haha.
I've replaced the Reclamation Sages in the board with Qasali Pridemages to handle the growing number of Torpor Orb out there. So far, no issues in casting it. I also like the fact that it allows for keeping Aether Vial on the (imo) optimal number of two counters and the additional exalted triggers are appreciated by Mantis Rider. Having the ability be activated also allows the Cat Wizard to come out earlier to get some extra damage in where Reclamation Sage tends to rot in hand waiting for a target.
Tocatli Honor Guard is a bigger concern with only 1 Dismember being able to answer it, but given that its (mostly) contained to Hatebear decks I don't see it being utilized consistently enough against us to really worry about.
Hey guys, I want an opinion on a play I made and was unsure if I made the right call or not. I'm currently 7-1 this past month with a stock list and a mistake may have what caused the one loss. Here's the scenario:
- Opponent is on GR Eldrazi and on the play.
- Turn one he plays Grove of the Burnwillows. I play Cavern and a Champion.
- Turn two he plays Eldrazi Temple. I assume he just top decked it or else he would have played it first. If he played Grove first I assumed he had bolt in hand to kill my turn 1 creature but didn't. He plays Matter Reshaper and passes turn.
This is where I might have messed up:
- My turn two I play Meddling Mage. At the time my hand was two Mantis Riders, a P Image, and two lands (don't remember which ones, but I could cast anything in hand).
- My train of thought at the time was to name Thought-Knot Seer since it was next on curve and possibly easier to cast over BBE. However, thinking back my hand could have handled the TKS pretty well. My second pick was Reality Smasher, but because of the top deck Temple I didn't think he was going to cast in next turn, although my hand was pretty weak to one if he did drop it turn 3, so I name TKS.
- Turn 3 he drops a second Temple and drops a Smasher and swings. I figured I still had a chance.
- My turn 3 I top deck another Image. I played Image copying Smasher, thinking my next turn I would copy it again for more value. His turn 4 he plays a second Smasher and bolts my copied Smasher, putting himself pretty far ahead on the board which I couldn't beat.
So I guess my question is, with the information I had, was calling TKS the right call, or was it Smasher? TKS was next on curve but wouldn't have disrupted my hand all too much but Smasher would have, but probably wasn't going to come down for another turn when I had two Mantis in hand for him to race against and an Image to copy a Smasher if needed. I think I pilot the deck very well, but sometimes I think my Meddling Mage calls are pretty bad.
Question : did you have mana for Mantis by Turn 3 ?
I think a good plan would've been to Med Mage for Bolt, see if he responds by killing champ, if not your champ can grow big enough to be bigger than TKS, maybe Smasher at some point, and overall stick with the beatdown plan with 2 Mantis in the air (immune to Bolt thanks to Med Mage). Images can copy Mantis if you are ahead in the race, or any big Eldrazi in order to get ahead.
With Med Mage by T2, if he bolts your champ, you can now name TKS (which is a good choice since you have 2 Mantis in hand and wanna protect them).
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
Have you read Cedric Phillips' Humans article on SCG? It's an excellent breakdown of Humans. He also says 'Sin Collector is busted', and if you want to beat Jeskai you should play 4 going forward, so he's in agreement with you there.
Nope, I don't have premium. There's not even a first paragraph available.
Everybody plays almost the same SB, which was pretty easy to figure out when the format hadn't shifted anti-Humans yet (until April). Now it's the deck to beat (who would've figured ?), the SB must adapt, but I ain't sure what config is best. Instead of looking at what decks we want SB cards for (which is how we used to build our lists), we better figure out what decks are our predators, and prepare for them first, then fill the rest of the SB with what seems more likely to be popular in a given metagame.
Don't know if it’s a bug, or I got lucky, or maybe Premium articles get free after some time, but I got to read all of Cedric Phillips' article here.
Interesting article. I'll probably drop my Deputy of Acquittals for Restoration Angel after reading his article. I was on a long winning streak at my LGS with Humans, until this week, when I got defeated by Eldrazi Tron and some CoCo Combo deck with Devoted Druid, Vizier of Remedy, Duskwatch Recruiter into Walking Ballista.
Maybe it’s time for me to get Damping Sphere in the SB to deal with Tron. Endbringer with Basilisk Collar got me game 1. T2 Rider into T3 Rider won me game 2. But Ugin on turn 4 is so impossible to deal with, and I lost game 3.
Against that CoCo deck, I lost 0-2. Game 1 was quite long. I had 2 Meddling Mages on Vizier and CoCo, but Chord of Calling allowed the opponent to Combo anyway (and I had no flying creatures to push damage through a complicated board). Game 2 was over on T3, as he played Druid T2, Vizier on T3 for infinite mana, followed by Recruiter (in hand) and Ballista (throught Recruiter's activation). Only thing I could have done was MedMage on T2 naming Vizier, or Dismember to break the Combo. But I didn't mulliganed aggressively, something I should have done. Lessoned learned.
Thanks for the answer
Do you think that going for 4 is mandatory to gain benefit from the noble
We feel that 2 isn't enough
For what it's worth, know that multiple Hierarch do stack with each other. Mantis Rider can attack as a 5/5 with 2 Hierarch on the battlefield. Even without multiples, a few trigger of Exalted can win a game. You won't realize you win because of this, because you'll think you won with that Mantis Rider, while it's really because of those 2 extra damages dealt on turn 2 and 3.
Not only that, but Exalted allows you to go aggressive while you would probably have refrained from attacking at all. This does not just translate into an extra damage, but a lot more than that. Ex. : T1 Champion into T2 Hierarch, attack for 3. Would you have attacked at all without Exalted (Champion as a 2/2) if opponent had a bear to block with? Exalted is worth 3 damage in that case. In the mirror, 4/4 Exalted Rider can attack into opposing 3/3 Rider (Exalted worth 4 damage). Against Mardu, a 2/3 Exalted Freebooter can attack into a pair of 1/1 Spirit tokens, but wouldn’t have done so as a 1/2 (Exalted worth 2 damage, or forces opponent to chump block). With Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Exalted means she can, as a 3/2 first strike, attack into any x/3 blocker without fear of dying. In the end, Exalted pushes a lot of damage in opponent’s face, or forces a trade when attacking would have been pointless otherwise.
Hey, I've won games against Control playing T1 Hierarch into T2 double Hierarch, attacking non stop with a 3/4 starting on turn 2 (3 x Exalted), until opponent got fed up (half his life later) and spent a removal and a sweeper to remove my 0/1 creatures. After which it was time to play the better cards I saved in my hand.
Also, Hierarch is the only Human that can attack for damage against Ensnaring Bridge, and she helps tremendously fixing the color requirements of our 3 drops and Phantasmal Image. I wouldn't play the deck without 4, but then I bought my playset at 60$/each, before price spiked at 80$.
Question : did you have mana for Mantis by Turn 3 ?
I think a good plan would've been to Med Mage for Bolt, see if he responds by killing champ, if not your champ can grow big enough to be bigger than TKS, maybe Smasher at some point, and overall stick with the beatdown plan with 2 Mantis in the air (immune to Bolt thanks to Med Mage). Images can copy Mantis if you are ahead in the race, or any big Eldrazi in order to get ahead.
With Med Mage by T2, if he bolts your champ, you can now name TKS (which is a good choice since you have 2 Mantis in hand and wanna protect them).
Yes, I was able to cast Mantis turn 3 on curve.
What you say makes sense, I just thought he would have bolted Champ turn 1 but not doing so makes sense if he was waiting for something else to come down.
Even if he has Bolt and will kill your Champ, I think it's the right line to Med Mage and force your opponent. If they think for a while, you can even expect them to have a Bolt but thinking whether they want to use it. At this point it's a mind game and they can bluff too, but it's worth it. If the opp has Bolt, your Champ will die anyway, or something else. I think it's always worth it, since it also preserves your tempo.
On a side note, Eldrazi playing their Grove may be a way to bluff a slow start, or bluff a Bolt. It may as well be a misplay (they have a TKS but miss the point they could topdeck then 2nd temple they need).
Also, I think I prefer to name Bolt in this MU because our sequences of creatures can beat theirs. I feel it's more important to ensure Champ and Lieuts to grow big rather than preventing Smashers / TKS while Med Mage would eventually die to a Bolt later (or Dismember).
The toughest card to beat I can think of is Walking Ballista, which has always been my #1 priority VS colorless Eldrazi.
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
To go back to what the game state was, when my Mage hit the field he was tapped out with a Matter Reshaper, so technically he couldn't respond if I named Bolt. I think even with the info I had it was still a very tough call and I couldn't have predicted a double Smasher turn 3 and 4.
At least I beat him with a Torpor Orb on the field that was put on turn 2 in the second game. Thanks double Hierarch + single attacking vanilla Reflector Mage.
Look at the end of this article for the author's take on Smuggler's Copter. Funny, because I was just about to post something about trying Copter in the Human deck. Is the Ziggurat argument serious enough to stop us from trying it out?
Copter is certainly immuned to most sweepers (except Settle the Wreckage), and that includes Ugin (because Copter is colorless). Considering the rise of Jeskai Control and the like, this argument is worth considering.
Most importantly, could Copter's filtering ability be what we need to fine tune our cards for the specific matchup we're facing? Digging our deck for that Human that would disrupt opponent’s play, or win us the game? It certainly could make our SB cards more reliable, by showing them up more often. And I wouldn't mind cycling that extra or late Vial for another card, and Copter offers a certain flood protection while also helping getting to that 3rd or 4th needed land.
The fact that it has flying and can attack for a reasonable 3 per turn starting on turn 3 is not negligible.
My main deck is the usual 60 cards with Kessig Malcontents in the flex spot, and I play 2 Deputy of Acquittals instead Restoration Angel (with Thalia and Image down to 3). If I would play Copter, I think it would be instead of those 3 cards. Instead of relying on the heavy costed Angel to get an extra ETB trigger, I would simply dig for the right Human. Also, considering that I'm very likely to discard lands while looting, getting to the 4th land to cast Restoration Angel is not the most likely scenario.
But I'm not entirely certain, and always in doubt... what do you guys think?
Q : someone knows what happens when Image copies a Copter while it's crewed?
A : Phantasmal Image will be an uncrewed and non-creature Smuggler's Copter, that can still be crewed to become a creature, but that will never have the Illusion type (even when it becomes a creature as part of the Crew ability), and that is still sacrificed whenever it is targeted.
So this may just be confirmation bias rearing it's ugly head, but has anyone else struggled versus tron as of late? I'm on your traditional vial list with a 1/1 split between Resto and Whirler Rogue, and have dropped my last three matches to Tron. What are your thoughts on the matchup, and what have been some sideboard cards that have helped you?
I'm considering shaving the four drops in favor of Kessig Malcontents as to go a little lower to the ground, and possibly go under decks like Tron better.
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EDH GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG UBRNicol Bolas and his SuperfriendsPawnsUBR
Modern UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW WUBRGHumansWUBRG BGMidrangeBG
It's the kind of deck that runs wraths and PWs, so I like to compare it to Jeskai control or Boros Prison : tough. You either go fast and disrupt a couple spells, or you get buried. In this specific MU, Damping Sphere can pull some weight. However I played the card in UB Tezz and it's not engouh to beat Tron.
I recommend to always keep Ref Mage and hope to out tempo them if they draw their creatures instead of their PWs. I never attack their PWs when they have one, and hope to topdeck Mantises... :/
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Pioneer - A bunch of stuff Modern - Humans Legacy - Grixis Phoenix / Death & Taxes
For what it's worth, Martin Juza piloted Humans to top 8 at GP Vegas, playing no Restoration Angel in the 75 (Malcontents in the flex spot, and -1 Thalia to add a single Dark Confidant).
Against Tron, I guess Martin would have sided Reclamation Sage, and Kataki on the play. Tron plays 20+ artifacts, so I guess Sage is always ok. Kataki on turn 2 can tax Expedition Map and prevent assembling Tron on turn 3. He didn’t played Damping Sphere in the SB, but I guess he would now be tempted to do so after losing to Ramsey's Tron in the semifinals. The way I see it, his SB was mostly geared for the mirror and Hollow One decks, with the occasional splash for the other matchups.
And yes, I've noticed that the Modern crowd is preying on Humans, and Tron is fighting on the Midrange side of the axis, perfect spot to prey on Aggro. Krak Klan Ironworks is fighting on the Combo axis and Humans have a hard time disrupting their Combo. And Control is more removals, less counterspells, so it’s harder for us to deal with. Considering this, our SB cards are more important than they were before, and I still think main deck Smuggler's Copter is the right card to help us dig our library to get to those precious cards.
I'd bet Militia Bugler will be better than Copter at digging (4 cards in one turn VS 1/turn the turn after it was cast.).
Mmmm... I think you may be right. ETB scry 4, pick any Human except Mantis Rider, is most probably better than delayed, conditional looting (albeit repeatable). I wonder however if the 3/3 Flying body (throught crew) is more relevant than 2/3 Vigilance for the matchups we struggle against. Also, Smuggler's Copter is somewhat immuned to sweepers (except Settle the Wreckage), and is cheaper to cast.
Anybody tested Copter yet? Or are we all theorycrafting? I'm going to try 2-3 in the main deck tomorrow and will post my first impressions on the card as soon as I can.
Regarding Deputy of Acquittals: I tested it a lot, and was almost never disappointed to play it. Except against Tron when opponent -3 on Ugin. Restoration Angel would have survived in that case, and I could have flickered Malcontents for an extra trigger. But then, I don't think I had enough mana for the Angel... What I really hate about Angel is how obvious it is for the opponent. Pass the turn with 4 untapped mana and cards in your hand, or put the 4th counter on Vial, and it is super obvious what you're going to play next from the main deck. I guess good players can play around that, to some degree.
Deputy of Acquittals is always a surprise and fits well with Vial on 2. Super good card against Jeskai Control, as it effectively counters a removal and provide Humans with an extra ETB effect. I'll miss this card if I have to cut it. Opinions on Deputy vs Angel?
Has Tandem Lookout ever been considered yet? I'm not even looking at it as a Bob-on-a-budget card. I mean, it's very well possible that we play this and get to draw a card right away (even more so through Vial and paired with an unblocked Human). And maybe two more cards next turn. And all this without taxing our life or having to discard a card.
If threat is removed, we get to pair Tandem Lookout with our next creature on next turn, threatening very serious card advantage. Opponent soon has to deal with Tandem Lookout (the lesser threat) or eventually be buried under card advantage. And if it detracts a removal from our threat before we get to draw a card, it has at least forced opponent to let damage get through, and this plays right into our game plan.
Dark Confidant has to untap to do something (at a price), and this gives opponents time to deal with it (the rest of our turn and theirs). The way I see it, Tandem Lookout is a Human that must be answered right away (90% of the time).
Mangara of Corondor is very slow, and probably rightfully ignored by the community. I'm not saying it's a good card, but it may be the right metagame call in the current environment. Like Quasali Pridemage, it can be played preemptively (albeit on a weaker body and no Exalted). Mangara can disrupt Storm (Baral, Electromancer), Abzan Company (Druid, Vizier) and Krark-Clan Ironworks (exiling target). Of course, Mangara can be removed if he threatens opponent's Combo. But doing so will delay said Combo (extra turn for us to win the game). And if it's done after we've untapped with Mangara, their Combo is even more delayed because they'll also at least lose a land in a 2 for 1 trade. This ability to target lands means Mangara can disassemble Tron, deny Scapeshift the 6th land it needs for Valakut, eat a Celestial Colonnade or Jeskai Control's 4th land (needed for Cryptic Command or to chain Snapcaster Mage and removals).
Like I said, Mangara may be very slow, but it can still be a good call in a Combo/Control metagame that preys on Humans. SB material? One or two slots?
I can't get over the Ziggurat hump with Copter to be honest, it just doesn't seem doable. Maybe as a 1 of? Think you could take note of how often you could cast it on t2? Even if it's not in hand we could probably get some sense of that. The times its cast and is amazing would be far more memorable then the times it rots in hand because there's a Zigg in play, we could easily lead ourselves down confirmation bias avenue.
I might proxy up a couple of Bugler and see what's going on there.
I'm not entirely convinced myself with Copter. It feels too slow. Militia Bugler will most probably be better for us, or even Tandem Lookout. But the Ziggurat argument is wrong, I think. 19 cards can cast it (15 lands and 4 Noble Hierarch). To put that into perspective, only 14 cards (6 lands, plus Hierarch and Vial) can naturally cast Phantasmal Image without giving away information to the opponent (naming Illusion with Cavern or Territory) or potentially screwing our color needs for our next cards. Bottom line : if Copter is not for us, I don't think it's because of Ziggurat (we have plenty of other two drops to play on turn 2 if need be). It will be because there are better choices.
I would not try soulbond in a very removal heavy meta like the one we are in today.
If drawing a card is your goal, Bob, Rogue Refiner and offcourse the newly spoiled Bugler are far better options.
You realize that soulbond is not a one time effect? If a bond is destroyed (before or after the ability resolved, it doesn’t matter), another bond can be attempted each and every time a creature enters the battlefield (it can even pair up with opponent’s creatures if that's what you want), as long as Tandem Lookout isn't paired already.
While Bugler's body is more relevant, and it's ability digs deeper and instantly, it's a one time effect. Tandem Lookout is a problem that must be answered, or else it will take over the game. Bugler's can be ignored or dismissed by the opponent as soon as it resolves, freeing up their removals for our other threats (because Bugler won't be one, most likely).
Isareth the Awakener is very interesting. I'm not entirely sure she's fast enough for Modern. Unlike Militia Bugler, she doesn't have an ETB trigger. And unlike Tandem Lookout, she has to expose herself to trigger her ability (albeit Deathtouch ensures opponent will be forced to trade ; while Tandem Lookout can send an evasive teammate in combat and this, the same turn it's played). Against Control, she'll force you to overextend, which is bad vs sweeper. Xathrid Necromancer actually rewards you for overextending.
Super cool card, but I think she won't be discussed for very long.
Brewing SB for tomorrow... Don't know if it's worthy of a slot in the 75, but Gaddock Teeg can prevent Tron from casting its PW (Karn, Ugin). It's good too vs Control (Supreme Verdict, Cryptic Command, Wrath of God, Settle the Wreckage, Jace, Teferi, Sphinx's Revelation, etc.). I guess Scapeshift wouldn't want us to play this card, too. What else?
Either it makes the cut, or I sell the card. I bought it at 20$ in March, and it's now at 38$. Advice?
I've replaced the Reclamation Sages in the board with Qasali Pridemages to handle the growing number of Torpor Orb out there. So far, no issues in casting it. I also like the fact that it allows for keeping Aether Vial on the (imo) optimal number of two counters and the additional exalted triggers are appreciated by Mantis Rider. Having the ability be activated also allows the Cat Wizard to come out earlier to get some extra damage in where Reclamation Sage tends to rot in hand waiting for a target.
Tocatli Honor Guard is a bigger concern with only 1 Dismember being able to answer it, but given that its (mostly) contained to Hatebear decks I don't see it being utilized consistently enough against us to really worry about.
- Opponent is on GR Eldrazi and on the play.
- Turn one he plays Grove of the Burnwillows. I play Cavern and a Champion.
- Turn two he plays Eldrazi Temple. I assume he just top decked it or else he would have played it first. If he played Grove first I assumed he had bolt in hand to kill my turn 1 creature but didn't. He plays Matter Reshaper and passes turn.
This is where I might have messed up:
- My turn two I play Meddling Mage. At the time my hand was two Mantis Riders, a P Image, and two lands (don't remember which ones, but I could cast anything in hand).
- My train of thought at the time was to name Thought-Knot Seer since it was next on curve and possibly easier to cast over BBE. However, thinking back my hand could have handled the TKS pretty well. My second pick was Reality Smasher, but because of the top deck Temple I didn't think he was going to cast in next turn, although my hand was pretty weak to one if he did drop it turn 3, so I name TKS.
- Turn 3 he drops a second Temple and drops a Smasher and swings. I figured I still had a chance.
- My turn 3 I top deck another Image. I played Image copying Smasher, thinking my next turn I would copy it again for more value. His turn 4 he plays a second Smasher and bolts my copied Smasher, putting himself pretty far ahead on the board which I couldn't beat.
So I guess my question is, with the information I had, was calling TKS the right call, or was it Smasher? TKS was next on curve but wouldn't have disrupted my hand all too much but Smasher would have, but probably wasn't going to come down for another turn when I had two Mantis in hand for him to race against and an Image to copy a Smasher if needed. I think I pilot the deck very well, but sometimes I think my Meddling Mage calls are pretty bad.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
I think a good plan would've been to Med Mage for Bolt, see if he responds by killing champ, if not your champ can grow big enough to be bigger than TKS, maybe Smasher at some point, and overall stick with the beatdown plan with 2 Mantis in the air (immune to Bolt thanks to Med Mage). Images can copy Mantis if you are ahead in the race, or any big Eldrazi in order to get ahead.
With Med Mage by T2, if he bolts your champ, you can now name TKS (which is a good choice since you have 2 Mantis in hand and wanna protect them).
Don't know if it’s a bug, or I got lucky, or maybe Premium articles get free after some time, but I got to read all of Cedric Phillips' article here.
Interesting article. I'll probably drop my Deputy of Acquittals for Restoration Angel after reading his article. I was on a long winning streak at my LGS with Humans, until this week, when I got defeated by Eldrazi Tron and some CoCo Combo deck with Devoted Druid, Vizier of Remedy, Duskwatch Recruiter into Walking Ballista.
Maybe it’s time for me to get Damping Sphere in the SB to deal with Tron. Endbringer with Basilisk Collar got me game 1. T2 Rider into T3 Rider won me game 2. But Ugin on turn 4 is so impossible to deal with, and I lost game 3.
Against that CoCo deck, I lost 0-2. Game 1 was quite long. I had 2 Meddling Mages on Vizier and CoCo, but Chord of Calling allowed the opponent to Combo anyway (and I had no flying creatures to push damage through a complicated board). Game 2 was over on T3, as he played Druid T2, Vizier on T3 for infinite mana, followed by Recruiter (in hand) and Ballista (throught Recruiter's activation). Only thing I could have done was MedMage on T2 naming Vizier, or Dismember to break the Combo. But I didn't mulliganed aggressively, something I should have done. Lessoned learned.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
For what it's worth, know that multiple Hierarch do stack with each other. Mantis Rider can attack as a 5/5 with 2 Hierarch on the battlefield. Even without multiples, a few trigger of Exalted can win a game. You won't realize you win because of this, because you'll think you won with that Mantis Rider, while it's really because of those 2 extra damages dealt on turn 2 and 3.
Not only that, but Exalted allows you to go aggressive while you would probably have refrained from attacking at all. This does not just translate into an extra damage, but a lot more than that. Ex. : T1 Champion into T2 Hierarch, attack for 3. Would you have attacked at all without Exalted (Champion as a 2/2) if opponent had a bear to block with? Exalted is worth 3 damage in that case. In the mirror, 4/4 Exalted Rider can attack into opposing 3/3 Rider (Exalted worth 4 damage). Against Mardu, a 2/3 Exalted Freebooter can attack into a pair of 1/1 Spirit tokens, but wouldn’t have done so as a 1/2 (Exalted worth 2 damage, or forces opponent to chump block). With Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Exalted means she can, as a 3/2 first strike, attack into any x/3 blocker without fear of dying. In the end, Exalted pushes a lot of damage in opponent’s face, or forces a trade when attacking would have been pointless otherwise.
Hey, I've won games against Control playing T1 Hierarch into T2 double Hierarch, attacking non stop with a 3/4 starting on turn 2 (3 x Exalted), until opponent got fed up (half his life later) and spent a removal and a sweeper to remove my 0/1 creatures. After which it was time to play the better cards I saved in my hand.
Also, Hierarch is the only Human that can attack for damage against Ensnaring Bridge, and she helps tremendously fixing the color requirements of our 3 drops and Phantasmal Image. I wouldn't play the deck without 4, but then I bought my playset at 60$/each, before price spiked at 80$.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Yes, I was able to cast Mantis turn 3 on curve.
What you say makes sense, I just thought he would have bolted Champ turn 1 but not doing so makes sense if he was waiting for something else to come down.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
On a side note, Eldrazi playing their Grove may be a way to bluff a slow start, or bluff a Bolt. It may as well be a misplay (they have a TKS but miss the point they could topdeck then 2nd temple they need).
Also, I think I prefer to name Bolt in this MU because our sequences of creatures can beat theirs. I feel it's more important to ensure Champ and Lieuts to grow big rather than preventing Smashers / TKS while Med Mage would eventually die to a Bolt later (or Dismember).
The toughest card to beat I can think of is Walking Ballista, which has always been my #1 priority VS colorless Eldrazi.
At least I beat him with a Torpor Orb on the field that was put on turn 2 in the second game. Thanks double Hierarch + single attacking vanilla Reflector Mage.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
Copter is certainly immuned to most sweepers (except Settle the Wreckage), and that includes Ugin (because Copter is colorless). Considering the rise of Jeskai Control and the like, this argument is worth considering.
Most importantly, could Copter's filtering ability be what we need to fine tune our cards for the specific matchup we're facing? Digging our deck for that Human that would disrupt opponent’s play, or win us the game? It certainly could make our SB cards more reliable, by showing them up more often. And I wouldn't mind cycling that extra or late Vial for another card, and Copter offers a certain flood protection while also helping getting to that 3rd or 4th needed land.
The fact that it has flying and can attack for a reasonable 3 per turn starting on turn 3 is not negligible.
My main deck is the usual 60 cards with Kessig Malcontents in the flex spot, and I play 2 Deputy of Acquittals instead Restoration Angel (with Thalia and Image down to 3). If I would play Copter, I think it would be instead of those 3 cards. Instead of relying on the heavy costed Angel to get an extra ETB trigger, I would simply dig for the right Human. Also, considering that I'm very likely to discard lands while looting, getting to the 4th land to cast Restoration Angel is not the most likely scenario.
But I'm not entirely certain, and always in doubt... what do you guys think?
Q : someone knows what happens when Image copies a Copter while it's crewed?
A : Phantasmal Image will be an uncrewed and non-creature Smuggler's Copter, that can still be crewed to become a creature, but that will never have the Illusion type (even when it becomes a creature as part of the Crew ability), and that is still sacrificed whenever it is targeted.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
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I'm considering shaving the four drops in favor of Kessig Malcontents as to go a little lower to the ground, and possibly go under decks like Tron better.
GWSelvala and the Return to HumanityGW
UWDragonlord Ojutai, Control's Elder DragonUW
UBGTasigur, the God-Pharaoh's Gift to EDHUBG
UBRNicol Bolas and his Super
friendsPawnsUBRModern
UWUW Control/Midrange/Bad JundUW
WUBRGHumansWUBRG
BGMidrangeBG
I recommend to always keep Ref Mage and hope to out tempo them if they draw their creatures instead of their PWs. I never attack their PWs when they have one, and hope to topdeck Mantises... :/
Against Tron, I guess Martin would have sided Reclamation Sage, and Kataki on the play. Tron plays 20+ artifacts, so I guess Sage is always ok. Kataki on turn 2 can tax Expedition Map and prevent assembling Tron on turn 3. He didn’t played Damping Sphere in the SB, but I guess he would now be tempted to do so after losing to Ramsey's Tron in the semifinals. The way I see it, his SB was mostly geared for the mirror and Hollow One decks, with the occasional splash for the other matchups.
And yes, I've noticed that the Modern crowd is preying on Humans, and Tron is fighting on the Midrange side of the axis, perfect spot to prey on Aggro. Krak Klan Ironworks is fighting on the Combo axis and Humans have a hard time disrupting their Combo. And Control is more removals, less counterspells, so it’s harder for us to deal with. Considering this, our SB cards are more important than they were before, and I still think main deck Smuggler's Copter is the right card to help us dig our library to get to those precious cards.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Mmmm... I think you may be right. ETB scry 4, pick any Human except Mantis Rider, is most probably better than delayed, conditional looting (albeit repeatable). I wonder however if the 3/3 Flying body (throught crew) is more relevant than 2/3 Vigilance for the matchups we struggle against. Also, Smuggler's Copter is somewhat immuned to sweepers (except Settle the Wreckage), and is cheaper to cast.
Anybody tested Copter yet? Or are we all theorycrafting? I'm going to try 2-3 in the main deck tomorrow and will post my first impressions on the card as soon as I can.
Regarding Deputy of Acquittals: I tested it a lot, and was almost never disappointed to play it. Except against Tron when opponent -3 on Ugin. Restoration Angel would have survived in that case, and I could have flickered Malcontents for an extra trigger. But then, I don't think I had enough mana for the Angel... What I really hate about Angel is how obvious it is for the opponent. Pass the turn with 4 untapped mana and cards in your hand, or put the 4th counter on Vial, and it is super obvious what you're going to play next from the main deck. I guess good players can play around that, to some degree.
Deputy of Acquittals is always a surprise and fits well with Vial on 2. Super good card against Jeskai Control, as it effectively counters a removal and provide Humans with an extra ETB effect. I'll miss this card if I have to cut it. Opinions on Deputy vs Angel?
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
If threat is removed, we get to pair Tandem Lookout with our next creature on next turn, threatening very serious card advantage. Opponent soon has to deal with Tandem Lookout (the lesser threat) or eventually be buried under card advantage. And if it detracts a removal from our threat before we get to draw a card, it has at least forced opponent to let damage get through, and this plays right into our game plan.
Dark Confidant has to untap to do something (at a price), and this gives opponents time to deal with it (the rest of our turn and theirs). The way I see it, Tandem Lookout is a Human that must be answered right away (90% of the time).
Mangara of Corondor is very slow, and probably rightfully ignored by the community. I'm not saying it's a good card, but it may be the right metagame call in the current environment. Like Quasali Pridemage, it can be played preemptively (albeit on a weaker body and no Exalted). Mangara can disrupt Storm (Baral, Electromancer), Abzan Company (Druid, Vizier) and Krark-Clan Ironworks (exiling target). Of course, Mangara can be removed if he threatens opponent's Combo. But doing so will delay said Combo (extra turn for us to win the game). And if it's done after we've untapped with Mangara, their Combo is even more delayed because they'll also at least lose a land in a 2 for 1 trade. This ability to target lands means Mangara can disassemble Tron, deny Scapeshift the 6th land it needs for Valakut, eat a Celestial Colonnade or Jeskai Control's 4th land (needed for Cryptic Command or to chain Snapcaster Mage and removals).
Like I said, Mangara may be very slow, but it can still be a good call in a Combo/Control metagame that preys on Humans. SB material? One or two slots?
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
https://twitter.com/ElaineChase/status/1009093876743692288
WGUBR 5c Humans
GWR Naya Zoo
Legacy:
GW GW Maverick
R Goblins
If drawing a card is your goal, Bob, Rogue Refiner and offcourse the newly spoiled Bugler are far better options.
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW Bushwhacker Zoo -
I'm not entirely convinced myself with Copter. It feels too slow. Militia Bugler will most probably be better for us, or even Tandem Lookout. But the Ziggurat argument is wrong, I think. 19 cards can cast it (15 lands and 4 Noble Hierarch). To put that into perspective, only 14 cards (6 lands, plus Hierarch and Vial) can naturally cast Phantasmal Image without giving away information to the opponent (naming Illusion with Cavern or Territory) or potentially screwing our color needs for our next cards. Bottom line : if Copter is not for us, I don't think it's because of Ziggurat (we have plenty of other two drops to play on turn 2 if need be). It will be because there are better choices.
You realize that soulbond is not a one time effect? If a bond is destroyed (before or after the ability resolved, it doesn’t matter), another bond can be attempted each and every time a creature enters the battlefield (it can even pair up with opponent’s creatures if that's what you want), as long as Tandem Lookout isn't paired already.
While Bugler's body is more relevant, and it's ability digs deeper and instantly, it's a one time effect. Tandem Lookout is a problem that must be answered, or else it will take over the game. Bugler's can be ignored or dismissed by the opponent as soon as it resolves, freeing up their removals for our other threats (because Bugler won't be one, most likely).
Isareth the Awakener is very interesting. I'm not entirely sure she's fast enough for Modern. Unlike Militia Bugler, she doesn't have an ETB trigger. And unlike Tandem Lookout, she has to expose herself to trigger her ability (albeit Deathtouch ensures opponent will be forced to trade ; while Tandem Lookout can send an evasive teammate in combat and this, the same turn it's played). Against Control, she'll force you to overextend, which is bad vs sweeper. Xathrid Necromancer actually rewards you for overextending.
Super cool card, but I think she won't be discussed for very long.
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.
Either it makes the cut, or I sell the card. I bought it at 20$ in March, and it's now at 38$. Advice?
1st, GP Toronto Sunday Super Series 2016 : Ally Company RWBG
Top 8, PPTQ Shadows over Innistrad : Boros Humans WR.
Use a hypergeometric calculator for your deckbuilding maths,
and use TopDecked to manage your decks and collection on your Apple or Android device.