I think that so far BNG is better than Dragon's Maze. The cards are much more interesting and I think a lot of them have potential that we just aren't seeing yet. Once the whole sets spoiled it will be easier to evaluate. Dragon's Maze had only a few obvious powerhouses like Aethering, Voice and Blood Baron, but then just had mostly pure jank after that. I also think Theros was a pretty good set so I don't see how THS and BNG are the "worst sets in MTG history"
I think Dissolve is fine and will see play in this upcoming Standard. Dissipate saw plenty of play this year and Dissolve is arguably better in a meta where the graveyard doesn't matter as much.
Can anyone explain why Magma Jet is so compelling? What am I missing. It is good in matches where we already have very strong game such as mono red. Against G/W aggro it doesn't kill anything efficiently (ie. kills one-drops for two mana). Against midrange I guess is can be used with a mortars to take out an X/6 (or again, inefficiently, a mana dork) and against control it is completely useless. I am not advocating that it should be completely cut, a 2 of has tested quite nicely, but I think that an auto 4 of is a bit crazy. Magma Jet was great back in the day, but creatures have grown much larger and more effecient since then and only scrying 2 is not worth it. Remember that in competitive Magic there are no sacred cows.
Magma Jet has been invaluable to me so far in testing. The scry 2 is very important, that along with the scry lands helps keep the deck flowing and not run out of gas. Even if you're not killing something, sometimes I think it's perfectly acceptable to just Jet someone for the scry effect if you really need to draw into something. I don't think this deck would function as well without scry effects.
Is everyone sold on using the Whip/Obzedat plan? Seems like most people here are trying out at least 1 whip. I will probably test it out this weekend but I'm not sure what to cut for it.
Also, I tried out 2 Descration Demon and thought they were great. I feel like this deck needs a solid 4 drop and Demon is a great choice. I didn't have a problem with the double black, probably since I'm running 2 of the Rakdos Keyrunes.
First off all, I love the deck. It is definitely a control style midrange and with the amount of cheap removal spells, discard and scrying I can keep my opponent off cards until I draw my finishers.
The only thing that I found somewhat underwhelming were the sin collectors main. I understand why most people here seem to them, but for me I feel like they should be more sideboard material. I'd love to run something more akin to Vampire Nighthawk in that slot; I'm actually considering Desecration Demon as I think with the 2 keyrunes the mana won't be too much of an issue. I thought the keyrunes played well, they helped me ramp and fix my man while also becoming a threat on a empty board. I do want to try out Haunted Plate Mail at some point as that card seems interesting.
I'm also thinking of dropping the 2 Duress and replacing them with another Thoughtseize and something else. One card that gave me trouble was Aethering and I really want to fit in something like Pithing Needle to deal with that.
EDIT: Dropped the 2 Duress and the 1 Sin Collector in the board for 2 Pithing Needle and a third Thoughtseize
I also really liked the 3 Tithe Drinkers. They are great to come in against mono red or white weenie to trade with their creatures while gaining some life but they also can come in against slower decks and get some damage in.
Anyways, I will continue to test this deck and probably end up buying the rest of the cards for it, as I love playing it and I feel that it will end up becoming one of the most powerful decks in the format.
Well, the good news is that I can just play guildgates and not worry about spending money on more duals. The bad news is that mana fixing just got a lot worse and 3 color decks just got a whole less viable
I like this card a lot, the exile seems as relevant as ever with these indestructible gods coming out. With Detention Sphere and Ratchet Bomb it becomes an unconditional exiling wrath, which is very strong. If not you could always have an Omenspeaker or 2 to block some of their 2/2s.
I don't think that this is necessarily better than Augur, but I do think that it will most likely take Augur's place once it rotates. The three toughness is big as it can stall the small aggro creatures like BTE and Ash Zealot. I'm happy that this is a common so it will be super easy to find, I swear finding Augurs this year was harder than finding certain rares.
I'm a big fan of Archangel of Thune, it's a very solid card for midrange decks. Gains you life while getting bigger and pumping your other creatures. It also combos really well with Obzedat, Ghost Council and will be an all star in my Obdezat EDH deck.
I think he would fit in RDW sideboards for midrange matchups. Like Golden said, most of those decks rely on having bigger blockers to stabilize after your initial assault. You just gotta make sure not to take too much damage and have cards like Reckoner that can make good trades.
"It's only 90 cards in," they said. "Wait for all rares/mythics to be revealed," they said. "I'm sure there will be more competitive cards released," they said.
Lol, very true. There does seem to be more than usual catering to EDH, which is fine, as long as they give us standard playables as well, but in this case.....yeah GTC is disappointing for standard players. With all but 3(?) rares left, we know that most of the rest of the set will be limited-only uncommons and commons. And that's fine, that's how most sets are.
For my money, I won't be buying a box like I originally planned. I just don't think it's worth it, especially with the prices of boxes rising higher than normal due to how much RTR sold. I'd rather just buy the shocklands I need and pick up a few strong uncommons and dollar "sleeper" rares that I like rather than be disappointing by opening janky mythics and overcosted rares.
I will say one thing for this set though, at least they didn't have as many (if any) strictly unplayable rares like RTR had. I mean, Search the City? Come on man. At least the bulk rares in GTC are all mostly good in limited, many good in EDH, and are less disappointing than opening something like Guild Feud. If this is a new trend, then I am 100% for it.
Overall, set for limited looks like a lot of fun, set for EDH looks great, but for standard.....sorry
Definitely Gruul the first time. I've always liked and had success with RG in the past, and the Gruul cards seem very powerful for limited. Not to mention you can easily splash white and have access to strong boros cards like Boros Charm.
If I play 2 pre-releases then I will probably go Dimir the second time. Their cards also look very good for limited, seeing as how mill is arguably at it's best with 40 card decks. Dimir would also be a playstyle that I'm not used to at all, I've never once drafted a "mill deck" nor played one in constructed, and it would be cool to try something new.
Magma Jet has been invaluable to me so far in testing. The scry 2 is very important, that along with the scry lands helps keep the deck flowing and not run out of gas. Even if you're not killing something, sometimes I think it's perfectly acceptable to just Jet someone for the scry effect if you really need to draw into something. I don't think this deck would function as well without scry effects.
Is everyone sold on using the Whip/Obzedat plan? Seems like most people here are trying out at least 1 whip. I will probably test it out this weekend but I'm not sure what to cut for it.
Also, I tried out 2 Descration Demon and thought they were great. I feel like this deck needs a solid 4 drop and Demon is a great choice. I didn't have a problem with the double black, probably since I'm running 2 of the Rakdos Keyrunes.
4 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Stormbreath Dragon
2 Sin Collector
1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
Enchantments
3 Chained to the Rocks
Sorceries
3 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Thoughtseize
1 Rakdos's Return
Instants
4 Magma Jet
2 Doom Blade
3 Warleader's Helix
2 Rakdos Keyrune
Lands
4 Godless Shrine
4 Blood Crypt
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Temple of Silence
3 Temple of Triumph
2 Mountain
2 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Mutavault
3 Anger of the Gods
2 Wear // Tear
2 Lifebane Zombie
2 Pithing Needle
1 Thoughtseize
1 Rakdos' Return
3 Tithe Drinker
1 Assemble the Legion
First off all, I love the deck. It is definitely a control style midrange and with the amount of cheap removal spells, discard and scrying I can keep my opponent off cards until I draw my finishers.
The only thing that I found somewhat underwhelming were the sin collectors main. I understand why most people here seem to them, but for me I feel like they should be more sideboard material. I'd love to run something more akin to Vampire Nighthawk in that slot; I'm actually considering Desecration Demon as I think with the 2 keyrunes the mana won't be too much of an issue. I thought the keyrunes played well, they helped me ramp and fix my man while also becoming a threat on a empty board. I do want to try out Haunted Plate Mail at some point as that card seems interesting.
I'm also thinking of dropping the 2 Duress and replacing them with another Thoughtseize and something else. One card that gave me trouble was Aethering and I really want to fit in something like Pithing Needle to deal with that.
EDIT: Dropped the 2 Duress and the 1 Sin Collector in the board for 2 Pithing Needle and a third Thoughtseize
I also really liked the 3 Tithe Drinkers. They are great to come in against mono red or white weenie to trade with their creatures while gaining some life but they also can come in against slower decks and get some damage in.
Anyways, I will continue to test this deck and probably end up buying the rest of the cards for it, as I love playing it and I feel that it will end up becoming one of the most powerful decks in the format.
Lol, very true. There does seem to be more than usual catering to EDH, which is fine, as long as they give us standard playables as well, but in this case.....yeah GTC is disappointing for standard players. With all but 3(?) rares left, we know that most of the rest of the set will be limited-only uncommons and commons. And that's fine, that's how most sets are.
For my money, I won't be buying a box like I originally planned. I just don't think it's worth it, especially with the prices of boxes rising higher than normal due to how much RTR sold. I'd rather just buy the shocklands I need and pick up a few strong uncommons and dollar "sleeper" rares that I like rather than be disappointing by opening janky mythics and overcosted rares.
I will say one thing for this set though, at least they didn't have as many (if any) strictly unplayable rares like RTR had. I mean, Search the City? Come on man. At least the bulk rares in GTC are all mostly good in limited, many good in EDH, and are less disappointing than opening something like Guild Feud. If this is a new trend, then I am 100% for it.
Overall, set for limited looks like a lot of fun, set for EDH looks great, but for standard.....sorry
T1: Champion of the Parish
T2: Mayor of Avabruck
T3: Champion of Lambholt
T4: Increasing Savagery on Lambholt
T5: Silverblade Paladin, Rancor, or Sublime Archangel, etc.
Pretty magical christmasland but certainly not impossible in a straight up humans deck.
If I play 2 pre-releases then I will probably go Dimir the second time. Their cards also look very good for limited, seeing as how mill is arguably at it's best with 40 card decks. Dimir would also be a playstyle that I'm not used to at all, I've never once drafted a "mill deck" nor played one in constructed, and it would be cool to try something new.