Yeah, who thought Narset would be the star of the set. No one blinked an eye when she was spoiled. Definitely missed that boat. She's being played in all major formats.
There was lots of talk about her almost immediately at my LGS. But we have a lot of various blue cantrip decks, and many who also play cantrip-heavy Legacy decks, so she seemed like a hit from the getgo. We all saw that it would hose our decks and be great in the mirrors.
I'm just happy she's an uncommon, so she is dirt cheap and widely available.
Hmm, asking since I'm not sure what to do..
Are the jap alternate art walkers a limited thing. Or are they eventually going to flood the market? If they are going to be limited in print, I'm getting one now. But will wait if the print run would be large. Thanks.
They are supposed to be in upcoming FNM promo packs that are replacing whatever the current giveaway system is.
The Mono Blue Aggro with Curious Obsession? It has been around for a while, but I think the New Drake put it over the top, as it gave you an early drop that you could enchant and turn into a real Threat later on.
I knew it was around (I was playing versions of in last summer with M19) I mean did Wizards had seen a version of it in their FFL. I don't know if internally they like a mono-colored deck being one of the best in a standard meant for multicolor.
Much like every other modern deck, Bitterblossom is probably a little bit too slow. You have much better sideboard options (like Choke) if you are really having a control issue.
In the end, if you really want to play with this card in paper... just buy it now. I did it with mine and I was finally happy to have them in my pauper deck. I know I've spent even more money on even dumber cards that I never even ended up playing. Hell that's how I ended up with Ponza in modern.
Is this 100% final? Seriously? I wanted to go to more GPs next year, but there are barely any in Europe. Not even one in Poland? Great job, Wizards.
There are 11 GPs in Europe next year. There are 4 in all of APAC.
At least they are going back to Taipei again this year after skipping 2 years. No GPs in China for the first time in...a while. I think China had at least 1 every year this decade. And that one is during Dragon Boat Festival where everyone has a long weekend...this is going to be nuts.
bob versus tracker discussion is not so easy really...When i tested a list like yours it was a disaster compared to the classic jund. Obviously play brutality instead of bob give you a better MU against burn, i loose 80% of my G1 against burn and win 80% of my post SB because i have 3 brutality instead of my 3 bob.
I am surprised about the 24 lands in your list (4BBE + 3 tracker) and in the top 8 list (4 BBE+1 chandra).
And one advice for you, you seems to focus a lot of unlucky points, that's will not help you to anything.
The guy which make top 8 with jund, is he a pro player or a random guy ?
I focus on the bad beats stories because they are more fun to talk about than just I won here, lost there. I think things would have gone better if I had the Grudge over the Spellbomb, but who knows? I didn't get to say my favorite story in the modern side events after the PTQ: I Pulsed my Grafdigger's cage to grow Goyf to beat a storm player. That match was probably the most fun I had against any opponent this weekend.
I don't think the Jund guy was a pro player, but he did come in with 2 byes. Looking at the pictures now, I remember him because saw him walking to the arena at the same time as me during the typhoon, with luggage in tow, looking very freaked out. Alot of the Japanese pros who were supposed to come pulled out at the last minute, so there were fewer pros at the event besides the MTGMint Card people, who were on a bunch of different decks (Bridgevine, Humans, and a couple played regular Bant Company decks.)
It was a very unique experience to be stuck in a mall, with a huge typhoon going on outside. There were two leaks in the roof in the event hall, one raining on people playing in the PTQ. The judges got a big piece of styrofoam, picked up the mats with the games, and moved them a couple tables over very quickly.
So I'm back home from GP Hong Kong. I went 4-4 in the main event. With no byes, I started 3-0, then lost 4 in a row. 3 of those matches in a row to topdecked Arcbound Ravagers (2 of those 3 for exact damage through pumping Balista,) which is a bad feeling. The biggest decks there were BY FAR UW/Jeskai control, followed by Bant Spirits and Humans, then Affinity and its multiple versions. Very little in the way of GY decks like Hollow One or Bridgevine. I did change my SB a little for the event compared to what I said...
My records for the GP matchups...
1 Bant Spirits (2-0) 1-0
2 Burn (2-0)
3 Affinity (2-0)
4 Jeskai Control (1-2) 3-1 (This one was even more heartbreaking than the affinity matches. I could feel the game slipping away game 3 when they were empty-handed with 6 mana up, I have only K-Command in my hand. I try to draw step discard/return BBE, and they got a Cryptic to counter. I drew a land next turn and they flipped an Azcanta to seal the deal)
5 Harden Scales Affinity (1-2) 3-2 (also a hard one. I won game 1, and had Shatterstorm in my hand with only 1 red mana game 2 for 3 turns.)
6 Harden Scales Affinity (1-2) 3-3
7 Affinity (1-2) 3-4
8 Affinity (2-1) 4-4
After Saturday, I switched a Spellbomb with an Ancient Grudge for the PTQ. Of course, I never faced any Affinity, which is exactly what does happen when you make that switch. It was only 5 rounds for the PTQ, but I went 4-1 for 22nd place out of 175. Everyone in the top 8 of that started 4-0 and IDed. Matches there...
Looking at the Jund list that T8 the main event, you may be talking about Grim Flayer, but I would be looking at the sideboard for why they made it. Maybe the Chandra as well. Walking around the top tables on Sunday, there was only 1 Jund player, so it must have been him. Deglamer and CoBru were excellent additions because Welding Jar was everywhere, and bringing in ways to get around Artifact regen and Selfless Spirit was the way to go.
Overall, I still agree with my take that Bob is not where you want to be right now against the field. You need a creature that can attack profitably, and Flayer or Tracker fit the bill while still giving you card selection/advantage. I never lost a match against burn this weekend and I attribute that all to this decision to cut Bobs and maindeck Brutality - its like I've already sideboarded against them.
I'm planning on going to GP Hong Kong next week. I've been practicing on Jund ever since the BBE unbanning. I know it is probably not the best deck right now, but I don't feel comfortable enough switching to UW Control in this short amount of time. I just switched over to the Tracker version of Jund...
But I still feel like so many matchups are based around the SB lottery. Playing in a couple larger tournaments in the past month in Taiwan, I kind of expect more people to be bringing UW/Jeskai along with UW/Bant Spirits, and some Hollow Ones.
Hence the 2 PWs in the board along with the Needle. The one thing I am concerned about is my Affinity matchup with no Ancient Grudge. I could be dropping the Baloths for a Grudge and Engineered Explosives because I'm not sure if a Baloth is good in the Hollow One matchup because people board out Inquiries against Jund. An EE may also be needed if I think Bogles could also be back. Who the hell knows in a tournament of 800 people, and me with no byes? Any other comments on my maindeck (24 vs. 25 land, 3/1 Lili split, no 2nd Maelstrom Pulse) is appreciated.
So Pro's are simply more lucky at dodging match ups? I dont buy that for a moment.
They also get to dodge the true out-of-nowhere matchups that could happen in rounds 1-3. But success breeds more success. Needing to go 10-2 is alot easier than 13-2.
There were around 20/75 cards in the Modern Event deck at rare or higher. for some god-only-knows reason, they want to make rarity levels matter in precons. So what decks can you build around that rare & mythic: common and uncommon ratio? 8 Rack or Pox seems like a good fit. Throw 2 Liliana of the Veil in there and it would sell itself. Any Tron deck could be the same if you include 2 Karn.
They are supposed to be in upcoming FNM promo packs that are replacing whatever the current giveaway system is.
I knew it was around (I was playing versions of in last summer with M19) I mean did Wizards had seen a version of it in their FFL. I don't know if internally they like a mono-colored deck being one of the best in a standard meant for multicolor.
There are 11 GPs in Europe next year. There are 4 in all of APAC.
At least they are going back to Taipei again this year after skipping 2 years. No GPs in China for the first time in...a while. I think China had at least 1 every year this decade. And that one is during Dragon Boat Festival where everyone has a long weekend...this is going to be nuts.
I focus on the bad beats stories because they are more fun to talk about than just I won here, lost there. I think things would have gone better if I had the Grudge over the Spellbomb, but who knows? I didn't get to say my favorite story in the modern side events after the PTQ: I Pulsed my Grafdigger's cage to grow Goyf to beat a storm player. That match was probably the most fun I had against any opponent this weekend.
I don't think the Jund guy was a pro player, but he did come in with 2 byes. Looking at the pictures now, I remember him because saw him walking to the arena at the same time as me during the typhoon, with luggage in tow, looking very freaked out. Alot of the Japanese pros who were supposed to come pulled out at the last minute, so there were fewer pros at the event besides the MTGMint Card people, who were on a bunch of different decks (Bridgevine, Humans, and a couple played regular Bant Company decks.)
It was a very unique experience to be stuck in a mall, with a huge typhoon going on outside. There were two leaks in the roof in the event hall, one raining on people playing in the PTQ. The judges got a big piece of styrofoam, picked up the mats with the games, and moved them a couple tables over very quickly.
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Languish
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Choke
1 Shatterstorm
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Surgical Extraction
If you're gonnna hate, go big right?
Maindeck
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Raging Ravine
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Stomping Ground
1 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Collective Brutality
1 Dreadbore
2 Fatal Push
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Thoughtseize
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Tireless Tracker
My records for the GP matchups...
1 Bant Spirits (2-0) 1-0
2 Burn (2-0)
3 Affinity (2-0)
4 Jeskai Control (1-2) 3-1 (This one was even more heartbreaking than the affinity matches. I could feel the game slipping away game 3 when they were empty-handed with 6 mana up, I have only K-Command in my hand. I try to draw step discard/return BBE, and they got a Cryptic to counter. I drew a land next turn and they flipped an Azcanta to seal the deal)
5 Harden Scales Affinity (1-2) 3-2 (also a hard one. I won game 1, and had Shatterstorm in my hand with only 1 red mana game 2 for 3 turns.)
6 Harden Scales Affinity (1-2) 3-3
7 Affinity (1-2) 3-4
8 Affinity (2-1) 4-4
After Saturday, I switched a Spellbomb with an Ancient Grudge for the PTQ. Of course, I never faced any Affinity, which is exactly what does happen when you make that switch. It was only 5 rounds for the PTQ, but I went 4-1 for 22nd place out of 175. Everyone in the top 8 of that started 4-0 and IDed. Matches there...
1 Bant Spirits (1-2) 0-1
2 Burn (2-0) 1-1
3 Humans (2-1) 2-1
4 Burn (2-0) 3-1
5 UR Wizards (2-0) 4-1
Looking at the Jund list that T8 the main event, you may be talking about Grim Flayer, but I would be looking at the sideboard for why they made it. Maybe the Chandra as well. Walking around the top tables on Sunday, there was only 1 Jund player, so it must have been him. Deglamer and CoBru were excellent additions because Welding Jar was everywhere, and bringing in ways to get around Artifact regen and Selfless Spirit was the way to go.
Overall, I still agree with my take that Bob is not where you want to be right now against the field. You need a creature that can attack profitably, and Flayer or Tracker fit the bill while still giving you card selection/advantage. I never lost a match against burn this weekend and I attribute that all to this decision to cut Bobs and maindeck Brutality - its like I've already sideboarded against them.
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Raging Ravine
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Snow-Covered Mountain
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Stomping Ground
1 Treetop Village
1 Twilight Mire
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Collective Brutality
1 Dreadbore
2 Fatal Push
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Thoughtseize
3 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Tireless Tracker
But I still feel like so many matchups are based around the SB lottery. Playing in a couple larger tournaments in the past month in Taiwan, I kind of expect more people to be bringing UW/Jeskai along with UW/Bant Spirits, and some Hollow Ones.
The sideboard now...
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Languish
3 Fulminator Mage
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Nissa, Vital Force
1 Pithing Needle
2 Obstinate Baloth
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Surgical Extraction
Hence the 2 PWs in the board along with the Needle. The one thing I am concerned about is my Affinity matchup with no Ancient Grudge. I could be dropping the Baloths for a Grudge and Engineered Explosives because I'm not sure if a Baloth is good in the Hollow One matchup because people board out Inquiries against Jund. An EE may also be needed if I think Bogles could also be back. Who the hell knows in a tournament of 800 people, and me with no byes? Any other comments on my maindeck (24 vs. 25 land, 3/1 Lili split, no 2nd Maelstrom Pulse) is appreciated.
Seconded. Living in APAC makes it next to impossible to get. Or paying another 100 bucks for shipping.
They also get to dodge the true out-of-nowhere matchups that could happen in rounds 1-3. But success breeds more success. Needing to go 10-2 is alot easier than 13-2.