Keep Mobilization. Tokens are good in Ertai. The cost to produce each token is a little much, sure, but it's a mana sink -- for when you didn't have anything to counter in a round about the table. It's there to ensure your mana is always getting you value.
Crawlspace is a little less necessary. You've got plenty of attack-deterrents already; I don't think another will help. If someone is intent on hitting you with creautres, **** his **** up. Ruin his board. Combo him out. Whatever strikes your fancy. Keep in mind, you have a lot of control over the creatures on the board thanks to Grave Pact and Martyr's Bond. If no one has creatures to attack with, why bother trying to protect yourself from attacks, y'know?
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- madhatter00o
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Mar 14, 2015
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Ertai the CorruptedKeep Mobilization. Tokens are good in Ertai. The cost to produce each token is a little much, sure, but it's a mana sink -- for when you didn't have anything to counter in a round about the table. It's there to ensure your mana is always getting you value.Posted in: Bur
Crawlspace is a little less necessary. You've got plenty of attack-deterrents already; I don't think another will help. If someone is intent on hitting you with creautres, **** his **** up. Ruin his board. Combo him out. Whatever strikes your fancy. Keep in mind, you have a lot of control over the creatures on the board thanks to Grave Pact and Martyr's Bond. If no one has creatures to attack with, why bother trying to protect yourself from attacks, y'know? -
Mar 14, 2015
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Ertai the CorruptedYou've got plenty of counters/removal. Actually, I'd take out Mindbreak Trap. Yes, it exiles spells, which is nice for removing things you don't ever want hitting the field, but don't discount the effecacy of tempo-counters (counters that aren't necessarily permanent, but hinder an opponent's major plays... like Remand or Memory Lapse). Your opponent has lost the element of surprise, and other opponents might be more willing to gang up on him before he tries to cast the same thing again. Besides, 4 for Mindbreak Trap is a little steep for my tastes.Posted in: Bur
15 Stick-able instants are more than enough.
You don't need O-Ring; you've got instant removal, which is always better. If you felt the need for exile-removal in enchantment form, go with Detention Sphere, since it at least has the possibility of also taking out swarms. Like O-ring, D-sphere costs 3 and can be recurred with Sun Titan. -
Mar 14, 2015
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Ertai the CorruptedY u no Martial Coup?!Posted in: Bur
Also, the new Secure the Wastes is perfect here.
I don't know what you should take out, though. Maybe Sphere of Safety? You already have Ghostly Prison, Propaganda, AND Moat... of the 4, Sphere is the weakest. -
Feb 7, 2015
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Ertai the CorruptedCut:Posted in: Bur
Fog Bank: You've got plenty of better pillowfort in there already. You don't really need Fog Bank.
Utter End: You've already got Vindicate, and Utter End is on the expensive side for spot removal. Rather than use 4 to exile it, I'd rather use a bounce spell to throw off their tempo for using the problem-permanent.
Containment Priest: Too specific of a hoser, unless there's a serious problem of cheating creatures into play in your meta. I never saw the appeal of it.
Night of Souls Betrayal: It costs 4... and it could kill your token army... I'm not too sure about this one, but if you're using it in a clever way that I'm just not seeing, then you should keep it. If it's just there to hose, you should take it out for better things.
Counters:
Besides Memory Lapse and Remand, there aren't a lot of good 2-shop counters. Sure, these aren't hars counters, exactly, but they do set your opponents really far behind if they'e trying to drop fatties or make major plays. Trust me, a well-timed soft counter can screw up a combo or ruin someone's battlecruiser plans. Plus they can totally be imprinted on Isochron, so they effectively become hard counters at that point.
One you get into 3-drop territory, it can become difficult on the colour requirements. Still, Render Silent and Undermine have always had a little place in my heart. -
Feb 6, 2015
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Ertai the CorruptedTo Add:Posted in: Bur
Swords to Plowshares: I saw PtE, but not its older brother.
Claws of Gix: Free sac outlet. Lets you hit any permanent, which combos well with Martyr's Bond.
Skullclamp: Don't know why you have swords in over this. Doing tokens? Use the Clamp.
Academy Rector: Even without Omniscience, there are enough necessary enchantments to warrant it.
Replenish: Because someone's gonna kill your shiny enchantments eventually.
Gate to Phyrexia: Artifact kill on a stick that doubles as a sac outlet. Such a handy card.
High Market: Sac outlets with Grave Pact/Martyr's Bond let you make people sac things on your time.
Vampiric Tutor: If you can afford one, it's worth having. Search for *anything*...
Mystical Tutor: Lets you search for your main answers, like board wipes and counterspells/spot removal. Also, you can set up the pseudo-miracle with Terminus, to handle their creatures on the cheap.
Low-CMC mana rocks. Not the crazy 0-drops or anything, but Sol Ring and maybe some of the Talismans.
More counterspells. I would at least include Memory Lapse and Remand because they're annoying. They're also stupid-cheap (CMC), so there's even more reason for you to add Isochron Scepter. (If you do, can you imagine Vampiric Tutor on the Stick? ^_^)
Consider Taking Out:
Frozen Aether/Kismet: 4 is a lot for what they do. If you *must* include this effect, though, just use one of them. If you start the second one while you already have one (in play or in hand) it's a total dead draw, since their abilities don't stack.
Planar Cleansing: I reckon it's not going to be too hard to have a good board position with this build, so having too many board wipes isn't good. I'd give for quality/versatility over quantity. Austere Command is better in the 6-drop wipe slot for the main reason that you can choose what stays on the board.
Wrath of God or Damnation: Again, you probably don't need both. Plus, you're trying to make creature tokens, so killing off your army/sac fodder won't do you any good.
Okay, that's all I can think of for now. If I recall anything else that I remember about the deck, I'll let you know. -
Mar 6, 2014
madhatter00o posted a message on EDH: Toshiro UmezawaBUUUUUUUUUUR! Nice deck. I haven't looked at ISB's list or anything, but it looks like you have a good handle on how to build Toshiro. Just a few things I'd like to get your opinion on.Posted in: Bur
Why no...?:
- Animate Dead
- Damnation
- Grave Pact
- Dark Ritual
- Caged Sun
- Gauntlet of Power
- Jet Medallion
- Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Animate Dead is the main piece to use with Entomb. Plus, it's cheap recursion
Damnation is kind of a staple... I'm just surprised it's not in here. Is there a reason for this?
Grave Pact is some serious Black stax, and it contributes a LOT to devotion, which seems to be somewhat important based on your spells and Nykthos. In any case, it pretty much guarantees the board stays clear when used properly (i.e., with High Market, or any other sac engine).
Dark Ritual is an instant (and can thus be regained with Toshiro) as well as early ramp. Not always stunning in mid- to late-game, but it can boost you to right mana level really cheaply, so you can hang onto some instant-speed removal or drop a bomb.
Caged Sun, Gauntlet of Power, and Jet Medallion are mana doublers and reducers, which is sooo necessary for mono-coloured decks. They can all be recurred with Beacon of Unrest, too. As long as you don't over-extend, which would be unlikely given the nature of the control deck, these are EDH mono-coloured gold. Plus, the Sun and Gauntlet power up your creatures.
Boseiju, I think, is a must for any deck that can't protect itself from counters... I guess it depends on the meta, though. I'm just used to playing against at least 2 other Blue decks at any time O_O;
Cards I'm not so sure about:
Argentum Armor, though excellent removal, costs too much (12, including equip) and you don't have a lot of ways to cheat it out (mostly just Beacon of Unrest.
Burnished Hart is fine ramp if you didn't have access to mana reducers (Jet Medallion, which NEEDS to be in any mono-Black deck) and mana doublers.
Stinkweed Imp is a little weak in comparison to your other creatures. It only really functions as a blocker (which is fine, since it's got flying), and I'm not sure how much you plan to abuse Dredge... I would expect a few more dredge cards at least if you were.
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Overall, though, I really like the deck. It looks fun, interesting, and challenging to play and to play against. Keep us updated with testing results. - Animate Dead
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Apr 1, 2012
madhatter00o posted a message on Trades: My Haves and (Perpetual) WantsYeah... that's actually the point. I don't really want it to be seen. It's just something to which I can refer people should they inquire.Posted in: madhatter00o Blog
Thanks, though.
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HEY! Yeah, it's been awhile since I've updated the thread, but I have been keeping my eyes open for new cards. I'm starting to dabble in Standard a bit, so I'm pretty well acquainted with the new cards.
Monastery Siege is definitely a good Control card. The interactions you pointed out are quite spot-on. In fact, a friend of mine has this in his Nekusar deck, and I distinctly remember being irritated by it... so it seems like a pretty good option for GAA4.
Give me 2 weeks to try it out. I reckon it'll probably make the cut, so I'll have to figure out what to take out (...the usual problem >_>)
I've been MIA for a fee days, so sorry, guys. My MtG buddy here in Tokyo is starting work tomorrow, so we've been trying to get in as many games as possible before that. Interestingly, we found a shop that was half card-shop, half bar, where they had special two-tier tables so you could drink and play at the same time. The top tier is glass, so you can set your drinks and stuff on while still able to see through it to the bottom tier, which has playmats laid out.
The most surprising thing about the place was that it wasn't sleazy or trashy, but actually pretty cool and laid back. It was really fun (and prices for cards as well as drinks was pretty good), so I think I'll go back if I'm ever in the part of the city...
Also, while I was there, I *finally* got Vampiric Tutor for my mono-Black deck... for $15!
Also, in spite of how much I play Blue, White is my favourite colour. (Cheap instant removal, ftw!)
The promo version of Path to Exile I've got in that deck is pretty, though. (Jace is also I there. ;3)
Telepathy for everyone!
*ahem*
Anyways, I played Derevi for the first time in about 6 months. She got off to a slow start because I didn't have a Forest to jump-start my mana dorks, but once she got going... damn. That deck can search so hard. Also, a well-timed Static Orb put a collar on my opponents, while Seedborn Muse kept me free to do as pleased.II'll keep working out the kinks, though, because I like having nice decks
Also, Bur isn't a fan of insta-win infinite combos. And I'd agree that Helm of Obedience wouldn't serve any purpose in the deck except as a combo piece, which means it will weaken the power density of the deck in total.
My nefarious plan is working! Let me know if you need help breaking that deck in half!
And speaking of Gaddock Teeg, I found a Japanese one that's perfect for my Japanese Derevi deck, but it's kind of expensive and there's other things I could do with that money. Dilemma, dilemma Q_Q
Q_Q
Why doesn't anyone wanna play GAA4?
But I have all these copies of Telepathy that I don't know what to do with... my playgroup won't let me use them >_<;
But this is how we get to know people!
I can't speak German or French fluently. My German is pretty bad, though I can understand some when I hear it. I have almost no French skills.
Many of you were adamant about the bike accidents, however. Indeed, I have been in no less than 3 accidents with pedestrians while cycling to and from school in Japan. I don't consider myself at fault in any of those cases, though.
Let me say first that I always ride in the street (like cyclists are supposed to) and I do my best not to run into people. So, all three cases happen in the street -- where pedestrians have no business being anyways -- and all of the cases happen after I try not to hit the pedestrians. Also, for those of you who don't know, people in Tokyo really suck at walking. I'm not even joking.
Anyways, 2 happened when I was crossing behind the pedestrians who had crossed in front of me and then they decided to turn around suddenly and walk back the way they came... for whatever reason. In both cases, neither pedestrian was looking around them at any time beforehand and both broadsided me in spite of my actions not to hit them.
The last 1 was actually pretty serious and I almost broke my nose. I was coming around a corner and saw a jogger coming around another corner in the opposite direction (toward me). He was gaping at a huge hill behind him and wasn't looking in front of him... even though he was turning a corner.. in the middle of the street. Because his head was turned (I'm talking about totally, completely turned... not just glancing off to one side), I changed course so that I'd stay out of his way. And because his head was turned, he moved right back in front of me. I moved again, noticing that the distance between us was getting a little too short, and I slowed down a bit. And because his head was still turned, he moved right into my new path. By now, the gap was too small and I'd run out of space to try to maneuver again, so I shouted "HEY!" at him. He finally looked forward and, without stopping, ran his forehead right into my face. (My nose was gushing blood all over the street for a good 15 minutes and the bleeding didn't stop completely until the next day.)
"But, Hatter," you say, skeptically. "Isn't that still your fault? Don't pedestrians always have the right of way?"
"No, silly listener," I reply. "Pedestrians must also take responsibility for their walking/jogging habits. If someone decides to walk/run in the street, they must have their wits about them. Even more so if they are turning blind corners. In all three instances, I attempted to avoid a collision by carefully planning my course. (And in the first two cases, nothing would have happened if the pedestrians had simply maintained their forward routes.) One can only do so much by oneself to stay safe. The rest of that responsibility lies with the other person. If that other party does not exhibit the same level of caution and acts irresponsibly, they cannot possibly be considered a victim.
"Rule #1 of the road is to avoid an accident at all times. This rule isn't just meant for motorists and cyclists. Pedestrians must do their part, too." (/steps off soap box)
The cake.
#4
#2
#2. You trained him ON PURPOSE!
#2.
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I'm not submitting a guess for Bur because I got it pretty easily.