Duplicant and Panharmonicon, what all happens here in regards to Duplicant's creature type(s) and, far more importantly, it's p/t? Do you just get the most recent imprinted card?
So many decks end up just not quite working out. For me the largest disappointments have been: Aggro (especially voltron), and Superfriends. And I've never been able to keep a bant deck from being 110% miserable whether it's agonizing to play or hell to play against.
Aggro is mostly a meta-call mixed with personal play style. I like to have a flexible game plan able to react to or prevent whatever my opponent's decks try to do so all my aggressive decks end up being pulled in too many directions as I try to cram too many tricks and answers in and end up being unable to reliably win with the beatdown, or the deck ends up being to linear drop->swing and I don't find enjoyment in playing regardless of how the game goes. Combine that with a meta that is decently competitive and leans more combo and/or control and it's just not my cup of tea.
I have had multiple iterations of superfriends decks and they're a blast to play when the deck is going perfect, unfortunately the line is just way too narrow. 99% of the time you are either unable to do ANYTHING at all because all the 'walkers are getting pummeled to death regardless of their worth or power OOOORR you have the game under such a backbreaking value engine that you're essentially playing solitare because you drew right and keep burying your opponents under wraths and 'walker ults. I love so many 'walkers that just don't quite make it into non-superfriends decks for any number of reasons but I have yet to have any build of superfriends stay enjoyable for more than a handful of games.
Bant... I love so many cards that fall under Bant but all the decks end up all-in aggro/voltron and I can't stand piloting them or I go alittle overboard on the control or pillowforting and the games become misery incarnate for everyone as I can't let them do anything so I can win but none of my wincons are anywhere close to fast. This depresses me the most as I really do love so many UW/GW/ and UG cards and Finest Hour is still one of my all time favorite cards.
*snip*
Regardless, Dark Ritual is very good, especially in Erebos where it's never a dead card. Jusstice is wrong about his application of the critical turn here. Yes, EDH is slower than other formats and consequentially the critical turn(s) will be later, but churning out bombs like Necropotence, Caged Sun/Gauntlet of Power, Myojin of Night's Reach, Mind Twist, or a kickedSadistic Sacrament early is incredibly powerful. Rituals ultimately accelerate your critical turn(s) which typically translates into winning more games.
*snip*
A turn-1 Sadistic Sacrament can break a combo deck's soul. It doesn't necessarily need to cripple the deck to be completely tilt-inducing.
Caused by Me:
I'm pretty well known as a combo player at my LGS and we have a weekly commander league, after a few weeks of losing to my Riku Spellslinger deck one of the regulars shows up with a grixis extract-effect.dec control deck and spends all game making me discard cards and removing cards straight from my deck. I had all of my combo pieces removed and he was starting to remove other I-win type cards like Rite of Replication. After sitting for about an hour of having my deck ripped apart every turn I won by double Briberying him for his kiki-jiki combo. The hypocrisy was not lost on him, but the fit he threw was glorious to watch after sitting through that game.
Me:
My first playgroup blacklisted me, but instead of talking to me they spent an entire evening deliberately ignoring me in conversations in and out of games, dog-piling me in-game, and whispering behind my back. To be fair, I was very bad at understanding power-level boundaries so I was constantly making my decks as powerful as possible and making very unfriendly but tactically valuable moves but there definitely could've been better ways to handle the situation. After a very nasty evening the playgroup was permanently fractured in half.
Being instant speed and unrestricted as to what it can destroy as far as permanent type and colors are concerned I've found Abrupt Decay to be stellar. The thing is, there is so many things worth nuking in the 3-cmc and under range that either break up combos/synergistic value or create huge tempo hits that it is completely worth it's slot. Add in that it cannot be countered means that it is especially great for hitting combo pieces.
Box 1: About S250 in worthwhile cards, about half of which is in the foil Liliana of the Veil. Next highest value cards were Verdant Catacombs and then Blood Moon. Still waiting to crack my second box until this weekend when we can draft it.
My friend's box, cracked right after mine, came to about $120 in worthwhile cards almost entirely in two fetches (catacombs and flats), goblin guide, and foil serum visions.
I have seen 11 boxes cracked open and every single one had at least one foil signet in it. Terribly small sample size I know, but I found it very amusing... and lucrative, I now have 7/10 signets foiled out. Declined to pick up the foil Azorius Signet from MM3, I'll shell out the $5 extra for a Rav block foil and actually get white-blue art.
Another hit Ashiok! You definitely hit homeruns on Innistrad,really capture the feel. I have a few personal questions for you that I'll hit you up via PM.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may search target player's library and exile a card from it face down. If you do, that player may search your library for a card and exile it face down.
Flying, lifelink.
~ gets +1/+1 for each card in all players' exile zones.
Note: Another play on the exile zone, the neutrality of this legend is a testament to UB’s lack of true allegiance while benefit from all’s losses.
I really do like this design Cyberium, all I would change is adding the bold font.
Face down to add some mystery?
For the most part yes, the other part being Riftsweeper and Pull From Eternity see much more play than they probably should by a few people with an irrational fear of having combo pieces exiled.
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may search target player's library and exile a card from it face down. If you do, that player may search your library for a card and exile it face down.
Flying, lifelink.
~ gets +1/+1 for each card in all players' exile zones.
Note: Another play on the exile zone, the neutrality of this legend is a testament to UB’s lack of true allegiance while benefit from all’s losses.
I really do like this design Cyberium, all I would change is adding the bold font.
But if I were to be able to create my very own legendary it would be The Soulfire Grand Master.
That, or
Fickle the Dream God UBR
Legendary Enchantment Creature- God
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to blue, black, and red is less than nine, Fickle isn't a creature.
Spells you cast cost 1 less for each spell you've cast this turn.
Whenever you cast a spell, if it doesn't share a card type with the last spell you cast you may draw a card.
Whenever you cast a spell, if it shares a card type with the last spell you cast discard a card, if you cannot then tap Fickle and you lose X life where X is the number of spells you've cast this turn.
If Fickle becomes a creature, sacrifice all other creatures you control.
Damn, I wish that Spy Kit was Trinket Mage-able, because that U/B spykit-Eradicate combo sounds like all sorts of fun in the jankiest way possible. Hmm... To Brewing!
If you already had that infinite combo, you probably better to save it if you see the table is currently having fun and interactive game going on. Don't be a party pooper by dropping the infinite combo and end the game right away!
See, I understand where you're coming from with this but nothing, absolutely NOTHING, pisses me off in any game than someone slow-rolling the game. Especially when the combo is something they can do at instant speed. Because, most times it turns out that it is perfectly acceptable to combo off the moment where they are at risk of losing. I much rather die to combo on turn four than die to one they were sitting on for 7 turns until they were actually threatened.
Now, the ideal of not vigorously working towards the combo to try and get it ASAP is completely cool, and the way I prefer to play with the buddys. You can have combo decks that can only win via comboing off still be fun to play against and in a timely manner when it isn't all tutors and digging.
Lastly, and this is, and always will be, an issue is that your meta can vary. Some metas are very cutthroat and live for the challenge of trying to stop a fast and powerful deck. Some people find it completely cool to bring in cards like choke or boil against certain people's certain decks, others do not. One of the largest problems is the broad blanket expectations people have. I have a very competitive playgroup, we all aim to win and try do so as efficiently and crushingly as possible, but there are silent gentlemen's agreements on what is and isn't acceptable to play to keep from creating a nuclear arms-race. That works for us. It helps that there is a lgs with a bi-weekly EDH league that has formed the backbone to the group's ideals. My other playgroup fits in the pizza-and-beer magic kind of ideals and while our card options are very powerful we tend to have derpy concept decks or glass-cannon-all-in strategies and have some obnoxiously complicated game states without caring who really ends up on top. You can have both. I've played the same decks at both places and had enjoyable games.
This format truly boils down to being entirely what you make it, and every playgroup is going to be alittle different. You simply can't make global statements.
From the vault: exiled
Aggro is mostly a meta-call mixed with personal play style. I like to have a flexible game plan able to react to or prevent whatever my opponent's decks try to do so all my aggressive decks end up being pulled in too many directions as I try to cram too many tricks and answers in and end up being unable to reliably win with the beatdown, or the deck ends up being to linear drop->swing and I don't find enjoyment in playing regardless of how the game goes. Combine that with a meta that is decently competitive and leans more combo and/or control and it's just not my cup of tea.
I have had multiple iterations of superfriends decks and they're a blast to play when the deck is going perfect, unfortunately the line is just way too narrow. 99% of the time you are either unable to do ANYTHING at all because all the 'walkers are getting pummeled to death regardless of their worth or power OOOORR you have the game under such a backbreaking value engine that you're essentially playing solitare because you drew right and keep burying your opponents under wraths and 'walker ults. I love so many 'walkers that just don't quite make it into non-superfriends decks for any number of reasons but I have yet to have any build of superfriends stay enjoyable for more than a handful of games.
Bant... I love so many cards that fall under Bant but all the decks end up all-in aggro/voltron and I can't stand piloting them or I go alittle overboard on the control or pillowforting and the games become misery incarnate for everyone as I can't let them do anything so I can win but none of my wincons are anywhere close to fast. This depresses me the most as I really do love so many UW/GW/ and UG cards and Finest Hour is still one of my all time favorite cards.
A turn-1 Sadistic Sacrament can break a combo deck's soul. It doesn't necessarily need to cripple the deck to be completely tilt-inducing.
I'm pretty well known as a combo player at my LGS and we have a weekly commander league, after a few weeks of losing to my Riku Spellslinger deck one of the regulars shows up with a grixis extract-effect.dec control deck and spends all game making me discard cards and removing cards straight from my deck. I had all of my combo pieces removed and he was starting to remove other I-win type cards like Rite of Replication. After sitting for about an hour of having my deck ripped apart every turn I won by double Briberying him for his kiki-jiki combo. The hypocrisy was not lost on him, but the fit he threw was glorious to watch after sitting through that game.
Me:
My first playgroup blacklisted me, but instead of talking to me they spent an entire evening deliberately ignoring me in conversations in and out of games, dog-piling me in-game, and whispering behind my back. To be fair, I was very bad at understanding power-level boundaries so I was constantly making my decks as powerful as possible and making very unfriendly but tactically valuable moves but there definitely could've been better ways to handle the situation. After a very nasty evening the playgroup was permanently fractured in half.
My friend's box, cracked right after mine, came to about $120 in worthwhile cards almost entirely in two fetches (catacombs and flats), goblin guide, and foil serum visions.
I have seen 11 boxes cracked open and every single one had at least one foil signet in it. Terribly small sample size I know, but I found it very amusing... and lucrative, I now have 7/10 signets foiled out. Declined to pick up the foil Azorius Signet from MM3, I'll shell out the $5 extra for a Rav block foil and actually get white-blue art.
I must have more! What else comes im this bundle of pure value
For the most part yes, the other part being Riftsweeper and Pull From Eternity see much more play than they probably should by a few people with an irrational fear of having combo pieces exiled.
I really do like this design Cyberium, all I would change is adding the bold font.
But if I were to be able to create my very own legendary it would be The Soulfire Grand Master.
That, or
Fickle the Dream God UBR
Legendary Enchantment Creature- God
Indestructible
As long as your devotion to blue, black, and red is less than nine, Fickle isn't a creature.
Spells you cast cost 1 less for each spell you've cast this turn.
Whenever you cast a spell, if it doesn't share a card type with the last spell you cast you may draw a card.
Whenever you cast a spell, if it shares a card type with the last spell you cast discard a card, if you cannot then tap Fickle and you lose X life where X is the number of spells you've cast this turn.
If Fickle becomes a creature, sacrifice all other creatures you control.
3/5
See, I understand where you're coming from with this but nothing, absolutely NOTHING, pisses me off in any game than someone slow-rolling the game. Especially when the combo is something they can do at instant speed. Because, most times it turns out that it is perfectly acceptable to combo off the moment where they are at risk of losing. I much rather die to combo on turn four than die to one they were sitting on for 7 turns until they were actually threatened.
Now, the ideal of not vigorously working towards the combo to try and get it ASAP is completely cool, and the way I prefer to play with the buddys. You can have combo decks that can only win via comboing off still be fun to play against and in a timely manner when it isn't all tutors and digging.
Lastly, and this is, and always will be, an issue is that your meta can vary. Some metas are very cutthroat and live for the challenge of trying to stop a fast and powerful deck. Some people find it completely cool to bring in cards like choke or boil against certain people's certain decks, others do not. One of the largest problems is the broad blanket expectations people have. I have a very competitive playgroup, we all aim to win and try do so as efficiently and crushingly as possible, but there are silent gentlemen's agreements on what is and isn't acceptable to play to keep from creating a nuclear arms-race. That works for us. It helps that there is a lgs with a bi-weekly EDH league that has formed the backbone to the group's ideals. My other playgroup fits in the pizza-and-beer magic kind of ideals and while our card options are very powerful we tend to have derpy concept decks or glass-cannon-all-in strategies and have some obnoxiously complicated game states without caring who really ends up on top. You can have both. I've played the same decks at both places and had enjoyable games.
This format truly boils down to being entirely what you make it, and every playgroup is going to be alittle different. You simply can't make global statements.