Just finished a long local league (19 games), finished 15-4 tied for 1st place, but ended 2nd due to tiebreakers.
- Wins against Boggles x2, Martyr proc, Jund, Abzan, Merfolk, Amulet Titan, Ponza, Burn, BR Hollow One, Jeskai, Esper control, GR Hollow Vine, RG Eldrazi, WO.
- Lost against Humans, Jund, BR Hollow One, UR Storm
Overall, the deck felt very good. Several of my losses were due to Anger of the Gods from Jund, Storm and Hollow One, while Humans defeated me with Meddling Mages naming my key cards.
I had a high % of T3-T4 wins, which IMO is key in modern while also you need to be able to grind against midrange decks like Jund, Mardu or Control. Against storm I felt very unfavoured, in G3 my own Eidolon prevented me from winning with the combo assembled in table and a chord in hand
After all the games played, I would make the following changes:
MD:
- 1 Noble Hierarch
- 1 Walking Ballista
- 1 Tireless Tracker
+ 1 Qasali Pridegame
+ 1 Shalai
+ 1 Selfless Spirit
- 2 Razorverge Thicket
+ 1 Swamp
+ 1 Overgrown Tomb
- Play Children and sac to gain 36 life again, use ogre again (floating 12xR, 1xB)
- Cast Manamorphose for BG (10xR, 1xBG)
- Use RB to tutor for Reanimate and cast on Children again, gaining 73 life, use ogre again x 24R) (32xR, 1xG)
- Cast Regrowth for Manamorphose, now for UB (29xR, 1xUB)
- Cast Mystic Retrieval for Demonic Tutor (26R, 1xB)
- Tutor for Agent of Stromgald and cast it (24R)
- Cast Retrieval flashback on D.Tutor, use Agent ability to turn all the R mana into B (21B floating),
- Tutor for Increasing Ambition and cast on a second reanimate spell (Animate Dead for example). to use on children again (12B floating)
- Sac Children and gain back 108 life, use ogre for 36R mana (36R, 12B)
- Flashback Increasing Ambition (29R, 11B) for a reanimation spell and Comet Storm, gain back 216 life, get 72R mana, cast Comet Storm for a lot killing the table. Alternative tutor for Aetherflux Reservoir and kill the table with the 216 life gain, as this is a storm deck.
Hi, pretty straightforward question,
I have a walking ballista with 2 counters, and removed both of them targeting scavenging ooze (ooze without counters), can the ooze eat ballista in the gy to survive?
Or due to state-based actions both creatures die?
My guess here is that after removing the second counter targeting ooze, the ballista will go to the graveyard based on SBA before the ooze controller's get priority, and with ballista ability on the stack, ooze could eat the ballista and survive.
So, given MOL limitations, all broken 1v1 commanders are also banned as cards in the 99, which is the thing I most dislike about the list (you know Strip mine will get the axe sooner or later).
Cards like Rofellos, Braids and Erayo are not allowed, but you can play Oloro just fine
Hi guys, need your help there, recently bought a candelabra on ebay that looked legit from the pictures (very aged, played, dot pattern on it looked similar to other cards I own), after receiving the card overseas, I did the following tests:
- Light test against a real card.
- Smooth rosette and dot pattern.
- Checked black layer was printed last.
- Checked Antiquities symbol was printed corrently.
- Magenta dots in the green mana symbol of the back (in specific, 4 points shaping a "L").
- Bend test.
- Feel test.
All of them passed, but then I got a couple of cheap artifacts from ANT, and 2 thing called my attention:
- Colour variation between the 3 are noticeable (statue is lighter than the amulet, which is lighter than the candelabra). Candelabra is more copper/reddish on the back also.
- Rosette pattern is the same in the other artifacts, which differs from Candelabra.
As for the UNL Volcanic, did the same tests as before, and when compared to a real underground sea, the rosette pattern is very different from both of them. I checked all other dual lands from UNL I own, and the rosette pattern is the same as the sea. http://imgur.com/a/qSP8I
Can you help me indicating if both looks real?? To my understanding, all cards from ANT should have the same rosette pattern, as the print run was small. I'm aware also of colour variation at those times, but I'm not sure at what point is acceptable or this is one of the infamous "dark beta" cards.
At some point I think fastbond is a safe card to unban when compared to what other cards are legal. The obvious interactions are fastbond + crucible, which is a 2 card combo (3 if you considers fetch/strip mine/zuran orb) that:
- Doesn't go infinite.
- Doesn't win on the spot.
- It's enchantment + artifact, so it's more difficult to assemble than regular 2 card combos.
Sure fastbond is a card that can put you 2 turns ahead when drawn in the first turns but mana crypt and sol ring already do that, and with wheels and the likes can go out of control, but yawgmoths will, ad nauseam, and other broken things can do the same and worse. Fastbond is a card that will definitely let you combo out easier when drawing a lot of cards.
In a normal environment, fastbond will be a better exploration, a good card in the 98/99, and it won't be actively searched actively via tutors like a tooth and nail or something that can win you the game on the spot.
Finally m.tutor ban!! Being realistic, the power level of the card is near V.Tutor considering the huge card pool and the card quality.
Terminus + M.Tutor interaction is the icing on the cake.
how much removal are you playing at the moment?? I'm playing oblivion ring, banishing light, council's judgement, unnexpectedly absent, swords to plowshares, song of the dryad.
would oust, lignify, darksteel mutation, journey to nowhere and path to exile be worth including??
I think the new unbans favoured other decks more than sisay herself:
- MW + top: busted
- GAA + winter orb: busted (I remember orb was banned because GAA was too dominant against other control decks, like Zur!! and Geist), I guess they will try to balance MW buff with GAA new toy.
- Entomb is a weird ban, but it was either entomb or Griselbrand IMO, also, with crucible unbanned, both can't be together.
- Titania + Crucible is interesting, also as it was mentioned, assemble DD+TS will be easier (byebye loam). I already upped the basic count, so anti-wasteland lock protection is guaranteed.
- Food chain: targeted both MW and Prossh.
- Fastbond: It can't be together with crucible, simple.
My prediction is that GAA will run rampant. Top + Orb without any nerf will make it top tier again.
As you, I hope Tasigur doesn't get banned, he is a really interesting general and it was a long deserved good control general in BUG colors (damia is way too slow).
- Wins against Boggles x2, Martyr proc, Jund, Abzan, Merfolk, Amulet Titan, Ponza, Burn, BR Hollow One, Jeskai, Esper control, GR Hollow Vine, RG Eldrazi, WO.
- Lost against Humans, Jund, BR Hollow One, UR Storm
Played the following list:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Devoted Druid
4 Vizier of Remedies
3 Duskwatch Recruiter
3 Eternal Witness
3 Kitchen Finks
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Walking Ballista
1 Viscera Seer
1 Tireless Tracker
4 Chord of Calling
4 Collected Company
Lands
4 Windswept Heath
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Forest
1 Plains
2 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
2 Razorverge Thicket
2 Horizon Canopy
2 Gavony Township
3 Path to Exile
3 Postmortem Lunge
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
2 Worship
3 Voice of Resurgence
2 Selfless Spirit
Overall, the deck felt very good. Several of my losses were due to Anger of the Gods from Jund, Storm and Hollow One, while Humans defeated me with Meddling Mages naming my key cards.
I had a high % of T3-T4 wins, which IMO is key in modern while also you need to be able to grind against midrange decks like Jund, Mardu or Control. Against storm I felt very unfavoured, in G3 my own Eidolon prevented me from winning with the combo assembled in table and a chord in hand
After all the games played, I would make the following changes:
MD:
- 1 Noble Hierarch
- 1 Walking Ballista
- 1 Tireless Tracker
+ 1 Qasali Pridegame
+ 1 Shalai
+ 1 Selfless Spirit
- 2 Razorverge Thicket
+ 1 Swamp
+ 1 Overgrown Tomb
SB:
- 1 Qasali Pridemage
- 3 Postmortem Lunge
- 2 Selfless Spirit
- 1 Voice of Resurgence
+ 3 Abrupt Decay
+ 2 Sin Collector
+ 1 Tireless Tracker
+ 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
T1, T2 tutor for Transguild Courier (this one is easier as it can be searched via artifact or any creature tutor). Pay like 30 life to cast Ramos and Transguild Courier, pay at least 6 life to help paying Conflux, leave at least WB floating, search for Children of Korlis, Demonic Tutor, Manamorphose, , Regrowth and Mystic Retrieval:
- Play Children and sac to gain 36 life again, use ogre again (floating 12xR, 1xB)
- Cast Manamorphose for BG (10xR, 1xBG)
- Use RB to tutor for Reanimate and cast on Children again, gaining 73 life, use ogre again x 24R) (32xR, 1xG)
- Cast Regrowth for Manamorphose, now for UB (29xR, 1xUB)
- Cast Mystic Retrieval for Demonic Tutor (26R, 1xB)
- Tutor for Agent of Stromgald and cast it (24R)
- Cast Retrieval flashback on D.Tutor, use Agent ability to turn all the R mana into B (21B floating),
- Tutor for Increasing Ambition and cast on a second reanimate spell (Animate Dead for example). to use on children again (12B floating)
- Sac Children and gain back 108 life, use ogre for 36R mana (36R, 12B)
- Flashback Increasing Ambition (29R, 11B) for a reanimation spell and Comet Storm, gain back 216 life, get 72R mana, cast Comet Storm for a lot killing the table. Alternative tutor for Aetherflux Reservoir and kill the table with the 216 life gain, as this is a storm deck.
All achievable T1 with Conflux, Treasonous Ogre, Transguild Courier (or Summoner's Pact), and ways to produce 3R with 3 cards (land, mana crypt, sol ring for example).
Seriously, Treasonous Ogre can give you stupid starts.
- Anger of the Gods & Toxic Deluge: Cheap mass removal against many creature decks.
- Heartless Summoning: You can get most of your deck out on T3 for a very cheap cost.
- Sneak Attack: Free kills
- Patriarch's Bidding & Living death: Free wins
- Greater Good: Excellent vs targeted removal.
- Dream Halls: One of the best cards in the deck. Literally cheat that Ur-Dragon for any card.
- Berserk: Potential to one shot enemies with commander damage or infect via Skithiryx + pumpers or double strike.
- Triumph of the Hordes: Great finisher for the deck.
- Rishkar's Expertise: Great sinergy overall.
- Temur Ascendancy: Others already explained.
- Maelstrom Wanderer, Maelstrom Archangel and Maelstrom Nexus: Good support cards.
- Selvala, Heart of the Wilds: Best acceleration in the deck.
- Shaman of the Forgotten Ways: Acceleration + wincon
I have a walking ballista with 2 counters, and removed both of them targeting scavenging ooze (ooze without counters), can the ooze eat ballista in the gy to survive?
Or due to state-based actions both creatures die?
My guess here is that after removing the second counter targeting ooze, the ballista will go to the graveyard based on SBA before the ooze controller's get priority, and with ballista ability on the stack, ooze could eat the ballista and survive.
Thanks in advance!
Cards like Rofellos, Braids and Erayo are not allowed, but you can play Oloro just fine
- Light test against a real card.
- Smooth rosette and dot pattern.
- Checked black layer was printed last.
- Checked Antiquities symbol was printed corrently.
- Magenta dots in the green mana symbol of the back (in specific, 4 points shaping a "L").
- Bend test.
- Feel test.
All of them passed, but then I got a couple of cheap artifacts from ANT, and 2 thing called my attention:
- Colour variation between the 3 are noticeable (statue is lighter than the amulet, which is lighter than the candelabra). Candelabra is more copper/reddish on the back also.
- Rosette pattern is the same in the other artifacts, which differs from Candelabra.
Detailed pictures here:
http://imgur.com/a/U2s1M
As for the UNL Volcanic, did the same tests as before, and when compared to a real underground sea, the rosette pattern is very different from both of them. I checked all other dual lands from UNL I own, and the rosette pattern is the same as the sea.
http://imgur.com/a/qSP8I
Can you help me indicating if both looks real?? To my understanding, all cards from ANT should have the same rosette pattern, as the print run was small. I'm aware also of colour variation at those times, but I'm not sure at what point is acceptable or this is one of the infamous "dark beta" cards.
- Doesn't go infinite.
- Doesn't win on the spot.
- It's enchantment + artifact, so it's more difficult to assemble than regular 2 card combos.
Sure fastbond is a card that can put you 2 turns ahead when drawn in the first turns but mana crypt and sol ring already do that, and with wheels and the likes can go out of control, but yawgmoths will, ad nauseam, and other broken things can do the same and worse. Fastbond is a card that will definitely let you combo out easier when drawing a lot of cards.
In a normal environment, fastbond will be a better exploration, a good card in the 98/99, and it won't be actively searched actively via tutors like a tooth and nail or something that can win you the game on the spot.
I confirm it
user: massculos
gmt-4
hash: pqj3tqsi
regards!
username: massdiardo
Edit:
hash: q86hg5g3
Terminus + M.Tutor interaction is the icing on the cake.
would oust, lignify, darksteel mutation, journey to nowhere and path to exile be worth including??
- MW + top: busted
- GAA + winter orb: busted (I remember orb was banned because GAA was too dominant against other control decks, like Zur!! and Geist), I guess they will try to balance MW buff with GAA new toy.
- Entomb is a weird ban, but it was either entomb or Griselbrand IMO, also, with crucible unbanned, both can't be together.
- Titania + Crucible is interesting, also as it was mentioned, assemble DD+TS will be easier (byebye loam). I already upped the basic count, so anti-wasteland lock protection is guaranteed.
- Food chain: targeted both MW and Prossh.
- Fastbond: It can't be together with crucible, simple.
My prediction is that GAA will run rampant. Top + Orb without any nerf will make it top tier again.
As you, I hope Tasigur doesn't get banned, he is a really interesting general and it was a long deserved good control general in BUG colors (damia is way too slow).