I use Mutilate in Orzhov Control/Combo, since I run 10 swamps and 4 Godless Shrines. Not a solution for everyone. I'm also considering Merciless for sideboard.
For general purpose, I would say Terminus would be the best, with Supreme Verdict just behind it.
I use 3 Tribute in my sideboard, but I'm a grindy Control deck if I'm not Comboing them to death, so giving them life back goes entirely against my win condition.
Plus I'm a little skittish after seeing a player use Devour Flesh on a field of Restoration Angel and Ghost Dad, watched his opponent eat the Dad, gain 5, then drop the other one from his hand for a total 9 point swing. Feels bad man.
In Orzhov Combo/Control, I MB Orzhov Charm, Liliana of the Veil, Liliana of the Dark Realms, and Mutilate, with Ultimate Price and Tribute to Hunger in SB.
Our local organizer runs the old rating system for a bit of fun within our group.
(Everyone starts on 1600, k value = 8 for MNM/FNM, 12 for prerelease)
If you're keeping those sorts of records, this is a very fun way to make beating the better players more exciting/relevant for the up-and-comers and also for them to track their progress.
Although we have a very small group, every match can be relevant - even for those who rarely win.
For us... every 12 weeks after a new set, I keep track of the standings (W-L-D, weighted, and appearances). At the end of the 12 weeks, the top 8 players play a single-elimination seeded playoff at the store on Saturday for prizing out of the stores pocket (last time 1st got a From The Vault: Realms for winning). I also pay for pizza and soda, and those who made it get to celebrate.
Appearances award more than anything (8 or more appearances increases that bonus by 75%), so its to award people who are willing to come to our little shop and play, and also put the effort into their decks to make it that far. By the end of Season 1, 4 of our 8 were players that had never played Magic before at the start of the season, but improved their game with decks built on the cheap because they had a goal worth striving for.
If I am doing anything illegal, please tell me.
OT: While it would be nice to see honesty in the reports section, removing players for misinformed opinions seems like a bad move.
The card is one of the most clear cases of absurd win more. The only way of this not be 3 mana Volcanic Hammer is if you trigger it at least twice. To trigger it twice you need to cause creature combat damage TEN TIMES which means you won the game already.
A deck at my locals ran 3 of them in a RDW Goblin deck (Due to his inability to acquire Hellriders). One game against a Bloodrush based Aggro deck went
1: Mountain
2: Mountain, Krenko's Command
3: Mountain, Fervor
4: Clifftop Retreat, Krenko, Mob Boss, use effect (He ate 14 this turn from a bloorushed Dreg Mangler)
5: Mountain, Five-Alarm fire, Krenko's Command, Krenko effect, swing with board, remove 10 counters for 10 extra damage. Opponent takes 22.
Not saying this a top table combo, but in RDW or Goblins, don't underestimate the work it can do at locals.
I hadn't played standard since DA (I was judging my local shop instead), so when I got to play first FNM of GateCrash (Since I love Orzhov), I put my result (4-0, going 2-0 except for the finals where I went 2-1). I rotate off with another judge, and will be playing this friday as well.
I plan to always post results, even if they are poor.
EDIT:
My store averages 18-22 people per tournament, minimum 15 max 28. We have two players that have winning records at SCG Opens (One went 6-2-1, the other went 5-4). We do have 4-6 new players and about 6 more than can't afford great cards. Everyone else pilots fairly decent decks (this season, anyway).
I also keep track of everyone's current season record and all-time records (we use Season records for a separate thing).
We wouldn't have to ban cards like Seething Song for crying out loud. Combo would be kept in check which would allow aggro to thrive. That in turn would allow them to give better cards to Control to deal with aggro.
We'd have a true rock/paper/scissors with all decks viable and a banned list of maybe 15 cards.
That ONE card would fix this format and it wouldn't turn it into a degenerate mess.
ONE card.
Because Blue can't be part of an aggro deck, right?
If FoW did come back, Aggro decks would use as much as control. Combo would be what it is in Legacy (Do you have Force? No? I Win. Yes? You win. Game 2).
Sorry, I don't want to play in a format where Geist of Saint Traft is beating me to death with Force of Will backing it up.
Regardless if the deck is good or not, with your manabase you can add 4 Misty Rainforest and 4 Verdant Catacombs for Consistency. The deck looks super cool and like it could do work. How has it been testing?
I will take that under strong consideration.
In testing against Eggs and Elf Combo, if Heartbeat comes down on 3 I will win on 4, but they get a turn with double mana. Elf deck could murder me in that case. If Heartbeat drops on 4, I can win on that turn about 67% of the time (Lotus Cobra in play make that closer to 95%). Every game is a win on 5. Problem is living that long is such a fast format.
[b]WHAT IS HEARTBEAT OF THE STORM?[/b]
Heartbeat of the Storm was a standard deck back in Kawigawa/Ravnica. It utilized the extreme mana pumped out by Heartbeat of Spring and Early Harvest to generate either a instant kill by itself, or playing eye of the storm and creating an endless loop of mana and damage that way.
[b]HOW DOES THE DECK FUNCTION[/b]
We are a G/U/b deck, with Cultivate, Harrow, and Lotus Cobra generating the mana needed to drop Heartbeat of Spring. Preferably with enough left over to finish the job, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Time of Need goes and finds our finisher, Maga, Traitor to Mortals, nice because he is essentially a Exsanguinate you can tutor for, and even continue the combo with.
[b]DO YOU NEED EYE OF THE STORM?[/b]
No. Heartbeat + Early Harvest should be enough (assuming 5 lands, or 4 lands with a cobra). Eye is there as an alternate way to make sure the combo gets through.
[b]WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE CARDS YOU DID?[/b]
Well, first of all, the lands have to be basic because Harrow and Cultivate only find basics, and they're a huge part of the combo.
[b]WhyDelayover Remand[/b]
Because of the few times they get a turn while HoS is out. Delay stops their spell cold, with no chance of coming back, since the combo should kill them long before the 3 turns run out.
[b]Why Dosan, The Falling Leaf?
I'm not white, so Grand Abolisher can't help me, and Dosan can be fetched with Time of Need, and can stop my opponent from making use out of my combo if he has mana available.
[b]SIDEBOARD[/b]
Still a work in progress as the new modern scene shapes up.
Right lets just pair him with undying evil and we'll be unstoppable! (I like undying evil more than most)
I like it too, though I don't use it. Saw a player drop Craterhoof, undying evil it, sac it with bone splinters, watched it undie, then attacked for 53 with Behemoth, a Strangleroot Geist, a Blood Artist and 2 Vorapedes.
Here's my whacky prediction: At the end of the tunnel we find a part of the old Guildpact that is an "reset button" that will reinstitutes the Guildpact. There the guild champions are faced with the decision, restore corrupted Guilds or let the Guild Wars and Guildless overwhelm them.
As far as deaths, here is my list in order from most likely to least likely:
Niv-Mizzet - He's right at the top. As soon as he finds what he's looking for, Lazav will take him out. Aurelia - She's in that perfect place as the Guild Leader most likely to be kicked out of power, so naturally she'd be whacked at the same time. Borborygmos - He's only at #3 because he'll likely be killed off screen, but the aging leader of the Gruul is so likely to be usurped by Domri or one of the other Clan Leaders, he's likely a done deal Rakdos - The Demon managed to die in the original block, so I see him doing it again this time around too, just killed, not gone for good mind you.
Isperia - As the leader of the Azorius, she's near the top of the list for the Guildless, not to mention the Rakdos aren't so keen of the Azorius.
Trostani - The Selesnyans are one of the top guilds to be attacked, so Trostani is a big target. The only outside opinion I have is that the Selesnyans aren't as huge of targets for the guildless as much as the other guilds, so he isn't as high.
Obzedat - Yea, the Ghost Council is already dead, but they don't strike me as being in a position where they are vulnerable
Zegana - The Simic have just returned from the dead, or wherever they were, but my opinion of the Simic is that they aren't looking to make many enemies, so the likelihood Zegana is wacked is low.
Jarad - Also already dead, but so far the Golgari are probably the strongest guild there is. So far they haven't been a major instigator, so the likelihood Jarad is attacked is as unlikely as him actually being targeted.
*Lazav - I have no idea whether he'll die at the end or not, so meh!
Problem with that theory is the person who designed the current non-magical Guildpact (Teysa Karlov). She saw first hand with Argus and Szadek what happens when the original guildpact goes wrong and how easily it could be exploited. Remember, as the essential living head of the Orzhov, no one reads the fine print like Teysa. I doubt she would design the new one to trigger the same mistakes in the past.
By that logic, Trostani swings considerably for every creature you put into play.
That is a terrible assertion that the gain 2 life makes any difference.
You cannot win through lifegain (not in standard anyways). And there was a reason that all the color life charms were newbie-bait in the core sets: to teach new players that gaining life is not as important as getting your opponent's down to 0.
I can understand now why everyone overrates this card to badly: they favor the relative gap in life over the absolute loss of life.
You don't win through life gain. You win WITH life gain. Offsetting the damage dealt to you. Think of it this way: Every time Ghost Dad pops in, he damages your opponent, and undoes the work his Ash Zealot did earlier. Or are you such a l33t-Pr0 that your life total is always 20?
I run the BloodMage combo in my deck, with a 3 of each in a Orzhov Control shell. With blood on the field, Ghost Dad suddenly makes crazy life swings, Extort becomes even better, and Geralf's Messenger becomes awesomer.
The deck is 16-1. In 16 wins, I have hit and killed my opponent with the infinite 8 times, including one situation where I was dead on board (I drew the Guildmage, and fired off the combo).
Do: Re-read Magosi the Waterveil. It doesn't work the way you think it does. In the way you describe, you would be giving your opponents infinite turns, which seems counter-productive.
It doubles the damage your creatures deal, in the same vein as cards like Rage Reflection and True Conviction. There are a lot worse combat boosting enchantments that see play, and I see GratVio in a lot of combat based red EDH decks.
How many instants and sorceries are you running that Oath of Nissa isn't reliably a "G: look at top 3 and draw a card"? It's one mana draw in standard, plus card selection.
For general purpose, I would say Terminus would be the best, with Supreme Verdict just behind it.
Plus I'm a little skittish after seeing a player use Devour Flesh on a field of Restoration Angel and Ghost Dad, watched his opponent eat the Dad, gain 5, then drop the other one from his hand for a total 9 point swing. Feels bad man.
For us... every 12 weeks after a new set, I keep track of the standings (W-L-D, weighted, and appearances). At the end of the 12 weeks, the top 8 players play a single-elimination seeded playoff at the store on Saturday for prizing out of the stores pocket (last time 1st got a From The Vault: Realms for winning). I also pay for pizza and soda, and those who made it get to celebrate.
Appearances award more than anything (8 or more appearances increases that bonus by 75%), so its to award people who are willing to come to our little shop and play, and also put the effort into their decks to make it that far. By the end of Season 1, 4 of our 8 were players that had never played Magic before at the start of the season, but improved their game with decks built on the cheap because they had a goal worth striving for.
If I am doing anything illegal, please tell me.
OT: While it would be nice to see honesty in the reports section, removing players for misinformed opinions seems like a bad move.
Uh... it deals 5 damage... not 3...
1: Mountain
2: Mountain, Krenko's Command
3: Mountain, Fervor
4: Clifftop Retreat, Krenko, Mob Boss, use effect (He ate 14 this turn from a bloorushed Dreg Mangler)
5: Mountain, Five-Alarm fire, Krenko's Command, Krenko effect, swing with board, remove 10 counters for 10 extra damage. Opponent takes 22.
Not saying this a top table combo, but in RDW or Goblins, don't underestimate the work it can do at locals.
I plan to always post results, even if they are poor.
EDIT:
My store averages 18-22 people per tournament, minimum 15 max 28. We have two players that have winning records at SCG Opens (One went 6-2-1, the other went 5-4). We do have 4-6 new players and about 6 more than can't afford great cards. Everyone else pilots fairly decent decks (this season, anyway).
I also keep track of everyone's current season record and all-time records (we use Season records for a separate thing).
Because Blue can't be part of an aggro deck, right?
If FoW did come back, Aggro decks would use as much as control. Combo would be what it is in Legacy (Do you have Force? No? I Win. Yes? You win. Game 2).
Sorry, I don't want to play in a format where Geist of Saint Traft is beating me to death with Force of Will backing it up.
I will take that under strong consideration.
In testing against Eggs and Elf Combo, if Heartbeat comes down on 3 I will win on 4, but they get a turn with double mana. Elf deck could murder me in that case. If Heartbeat drops on 4, I can win on that turn about 67% of the time (Lotus Cobra in play make that closer to 95%). Every game is a win on 5. Problem is living that long is such a fast format.
[b]WHAT IS HEARTBEAT OF THE STORM?[/b]
Heartbeat of the Storm was a standard deck back in Kawigawa/Ravnica. It utilized the extreme mana pumped out by Heartbeat of Spring and Early Harvest to generate either a instant kill by itself, or playing eye of the storm and creating an endless loop of mana and damage that way.
[b]HOW DOES THE DECK FUNCTION[/b]
We are a G/U/b deck, with Cultivate, Harrow, and Lotus Cobra generating the mana needed to drop Heartbeat of Spring. Preferably with enough left over to finish the job, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Time of Need goes and finds our finisher, Maga, Traitor to Mortals, nice because he is essentially a Exsanguinate you can tutor for, and even continue the combo with.
[b]DO YOU NEED EYE OF THE STORM?[/b]
No. Heartbeat + Early Harvest should be enough (assuming 5 lands, or 4 lands with a cobra). Eye is there as an alternate way to make sure the combo gets through.
[B]Deck List[/B]
6 Forest
6 Island
2 Swamp
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
Creatures (8)
1 Dosan, The Falling Leaf
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
4 Lotus Cobra
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Harrow
2 Time of Need
3 Serum Visions
3 Cultivate
3 Mystical Teachings
4 Early Harvest
4 Delay
3 Forbidden Alchemy
4 Heartbeat of Spring
2 Eye of the Storm
[b]WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE CARDS YOU DID?[/b]
Well, first of all, the lands have to be basic because Harrow and Cultivate only find basics, and they're a huge part of the combo.
[b]WhyDelayover Remand[/b]
Because of the few times they get a turn while HoS is out. Delay stops their spell cold, with no chance of coming back, since the combo should kill them long before the 3 turns run out.
[b]Why Forbidden Alchemy[/b]
Mystical Teachings finds it to continue the combo if EotS is out, and it digs further with less draw back than Thirst for Knowledge at the same cost (since I run no artifacts).
[b]Why Dosan, The Falling Leaf?
I'm not white, so Grand Abolisher can't help me, and Dosan can be fetched with Time of Need, and can stop my opponent from making use out of my combo if he has mana available.
[b]SIDEBOARD[/b]
Still a work in progress as the new modern scene shapes up.
[b]MATCHUPS[/b]
Thoughts, ideas, or is this deck just too old?
I like it too, though I don't use it. Saw a player drop Craterhoof, undying evil it, sac it with bone splinters, watched it undie, then attacked for 53 with Behemoth, a Strangleroot Geist, a Blood Artist and 2 Vorapedes.
Problem with that theory is the person who designed the current non-magical Guildpact (Teysa Karlov). She saw first hand with Argus and Szadek what happens when the original guildpact goes wrong and how easily it could be exploited. Remember, as the essential living head of the Orzhov, no one reads the fine print like Teysa. I doubt she would design the new one to trigger the same mistakes in the past.
On a side note, Teysa better be in DM.
You don't win through life gain. You win WITH life gain. Offsetting the damage dealt to you. Think of it this way: Every time Ghost Dad pops in, he damages your opponent, and undoes the work his Ash Zealot did earlier. Or are you such a l33t-Pr0 that your life total is always 20?
The deck is 16-1. In 16 wins, I have hit and killed my opponent with the infinite 8 times, including one situation where I was dead on board (I drew the Guildmage, and fired off the combo).