I also think that furnace celebration is a little slow for what a mono-red aggro-burn deck is trying to do. 3 mana to put out + 2 to activate in addition to the cost of the sacrifice of the critters this deck has is too much.
Now, for the R/G eldrazi spawn version of the deck, I'm also toying in my mind with trying out Sylvok Lifestaff- at least in sideboard. Vs. fast aggro, it allows you to spend 1 more for each sacrifice, and gain 3 life. In addition, if you're about to stabilize, but low enough on life you fear being burned out, or somehow haven't fished up a furnace celebration yet, with this equip out, you basically can sac all your spawn tokens for free to gain 3 life each. Being able to occasionally sneak in 1 extra point of damage from the equip is just gravy.
I like this, too.. lotus cobra is a good play here. And, again, this decklist is all permanents... I might run something very close to this... but again, I would cut 1 Garruk and 1 mimic vat for genesis wave. Genesis wave with lotus cobra in play would immediately give you extra mana for more craziness.
Obviously, I'm sold on Genesis Wave. The only time I'm hesistant is vs blue control - i obviously don't want to sac tokens and sell out on mana just to see the spell countered.
Can't wait for full release to really start testing and see how furnace celebration plays out in general as a deck, and how good or bad Genesis wave can be in it.
I really like this deck... very much along ths lines of what I'm thinking. The only suggestion I'm making, is remove the spawning breath for awakening zone, as suggested above. After that, this is a deck with a good ability to produce green mana, access to lots of colorless mana, and is almost entirely made of permanents. This maekes me think of throwing in 2 copies of:
I can't be the only one thinking B/G infect already, am I?
Black is obvious... the rest of infect is in Black.
But Green.. gives you the best pump. Giant Growth on this bad boy is nearly game over by itself. Infect was made to interact with pump spells on purpose.
G/B infect is gonna be hot... in block, if not in standard, at the very least.
Excellent point. This card is really stupid in limited too and when it hits the table especially in sealed it will let lesser players beat better players
It will also let better players beat lesser players. And ok players beat other ok players. It will let your cat beat your dog, or your dog beat your cat, assuming they both know how to play magic.
That's why this is a rare. It will not happen every draft, and when someone does land this thing in a draft, it's still up to them find the rest of the cards necessary to keep them alive long enough to use it.
I'm really glad you said Crab Umbra, I think that's a brilliant line of thinking, like you said take out the need for TWO cards out of 60 that you can only have a total of FOUR in the whole deck! And I'm not just stroking your ego because you agreed with me!!
Looking more into it...Clone seems like the better choice, only because Crab Umbra costs 3 to untap your Galvinizer. So you need a total of at least 5 mana being procuced from your Myr sources for Crab Umbra to work.
Someone also offered up Splinter Twin as a possible part of the combo. I like Splinter Twin a lot for this, because once your Galvinizer loses summoning sickness, drop Splinter twin and get your second usable Galvinizer (haste) out right away (sort of snake in the grass if your opponent knows about the infinite mana combo, but overlooked a potentially hasted 2nd Galvinizer).
Once you drop splinter twin on a non-sick galvanizer with at least 1 mana myr in play, the opponent needs instant removal or you win. You don't need to generate infinite mana, no need for a finisher... galvanizer+splinter twin+any mana myr = win that turn with a mighty myr attack(again, unless they have instant speed removal).
Myr galvanizer is one of those cards that seems to lend itself to combo. It's not quite intruder alarm level, but it's still very high on the combo-licious meter.
As I'm sure has been stated previously, Possible Combos:
2 Galvanizer (1 can be rite of replicationtoken or clone), myr capable of producing 2 or more mana (2 1 mana myrs, 1 of the double mana myr)
1 Galv + Splinter Twin + Any mana myr
1 Galv + 1 Crab Umbra + myr capable of producing more than U2 at a time
There are enough options for what to put in the "mana myr" slot and how to clone/aura the galv, the only real fragile/hard part it casting and keeping the first galv. A proper combo deck, with multiple of these options enabled, and a few blue deck searchers/tutors, should pretty much be in a position where if they ever get to untap with at least 1 living galv in play, the game ends that turn 90% or more of the time.
Technically a 5 card combo as you need a card to use the mana with. Wizards did not miss this, lol, you people are silly. It's been tested, and it's not broken. I just don't see it being too viable if your deck is nothing but mana myrs, these, and a Fireball.
Cool card though, and I hope it can be good enough to be made into a deck as it'll be nothing but commons and uncommons.
I like the direction razorgore is going with U/R. Includes multiple combos. Perhaps some of the U deck thinning cards (ponder) as a turn 1 play to increase our ability to get the pieces and go off on turn 4?
But, bighaben, 3 cards. I need 3 cards to kill you, and 1 of those 3 can be *any* mana myr.
As I just posted in the Myr Galvanizer spoiler thread in the rumor mill, don't forget about Splinter Twin
1 Mana Myr + 1 Myr Galvanizer + Splinter Twin
Play Splinter twin on galv, tap mana myr for mana, make 1 hasty galv token. use hasty token to untap the splinter twinned galv and mana myr. make new token and new 1 mana. make new galv. repeat.
By the end, if uninterrupted, you have a huge amount of hasty HUGE/HUGE Galv tokens to attack with. GG.
Think about that - splinter twin the galv... make a new hasty galv. use the new galv to untap the splinter twined galv and your mana myr. make new token, repeat.
Attack with an arbitrary large number of arbitrarily large/arbitrarily large hasty galvanizer tokens. Laugh evilly.
Ok, so we all know of the potent Cunning Sparkmage // Basilisk Collar combo. But Sparkmage is not the only Tim, and the collar isn't even the only deathtouch granting equipment. So, I'm thinking about:
So, the question is...should I splash an extra color? And if so, which?
Black gives me access to Blood Cultist, and some sacrifice effects to deal with protection/shroud creatures.
White gives access to Stun Sniper, plus a nice wall to gum up the ground early until i can get a deathtouch pinger on line, and the dude who can fetch equipment (whos name escapes me right now).
Blue adds counterspells, protecting my pingers from destruction and offering card draw, plus a few ways to also gum up the ground.
Green would add some early extra mana to ramp up quicker, plus provide some ways of also holding the line on the ground early enough to get going.
Any thoughts on which colors or even specific cards I should use to round out the deck?
I put together a copy of ahab4208's list, and have been playing it on MTGO the last few days. I am really impressed. I gotta say, before playing this, I under-estimated Ajani Pridemate. Now, after some serious playtesting, he is a bad mofo in this deck.
Is U/W the worst matchup? Vs. almost any flavor of aggro, the lifegain allows me to run away and hide. We sit there and trade blows, 5/5 pridemates and 3/3 students going against vampires, vengevines, BBEs... but after trading blows for a few turns, the scoreboard has them at 5 and me at 19, due to the lifegain.
The one match I had vs conscription, I won 2-0 - both games, they got a conscription on a critter, but i was able to laugh off getting hit for 13 damage, even 2 or 3 times, while i continue to whittle away their life.
So, I'm really looking at this deck with rose-colored glasses at this point. It appears to have at least some game vs U/W control, survives conscription's knockout punch, and runs away from aggro and mid-range decks.
What are the true weaknesses? What deck (emerging or established) do you really see punishing the WW/lifegain theme? Help give me some perspective.
I'm also toying with MBC in my mind seeing some of these cards.
So, allow me some slightly out-of-the-box thinking..
What about some re-assembling skellie + bloodghast in combo with necrotic plague. The grave hoppers hold aggro back and can allow some pressure vs. MUC, MWC, U/W control. Manaleak my bloodghast? Here it comes again. DoJ my reassembling skellie? By then I can probably mind sludge you, but if i need it, i can keep nibbling away with skellies and ghasts.
The necrotic plague helps you start wiping the board vs. aggro, while actually provides removal for almost anything, including emrakul.
(Ruling question - I think I'm right, but let me ask - Emrakul would be protected from being the target of necrotic plague when I cast it, but when I'm putting it back into play attached to something, Emrakul is a legal target at that point, right?)
Anyway, just some food for thought. Would I rather simply pack in infest and chainer's edict? Hell yeah. But to paraphrase a semi-recent basketball coach, Infest and the edict aren't gonna come walking in through that door again.
So, I was thinking about a Green/Red Eldrazi Ramp deck with a bunch of the token makers, some mana accel, and the Eldrazi bad boy himself, Emrakul. And I realized, the same components would easily make a great warp world deck.
I'm not quite up to throwing together a decklist at this point, but the green and red creatures that spawn tokens when they come into play are tailor made for warp world. Extra permanents and/or mana accel?! Warp if you need to, or save up and hard-cast Emrakul.
I look forward to putting something together later, but I was wondering if anyone else was going down this line of thought?
Very basic goblin deck. Question is, what can be done to improve it? I'm under no illusions that goblins can be a top deck in block, but what can be done to make it as effective as possible?
Arrow Volley Trap is IMHO a bad duel card, helping you only while you've nearly lost. Pitfall Trap, considering its clause and amount of decent flyers in Zendikar, is also questionable as a worse (very worse) Condemn. That leaves us with the 4 board cleaners, and 3 sorcery speed spot removal. Not enough to qualify your deck as a control one.
I think you don't have enough pressure against slow decks, and are too DoJ dependant against aggro (except the devout for vampires).
The main aggro decks in block are going to be vampires, with some goblin/sligh, white weenie soldiers, maybe some green aggro variant. While all of these decks have fliers, I believe there are enough non-fliers to make pitfall trap viable. In addition, while arrow volley trap is only cheap to cast when you're in a losing state anyway, it's inclusion will clear multiple attackers away even if you have to hardcast it. I think between those and the blademasters/lightcasters, it'll hold out against block aggro decks.
Time will tell, though. I've not had a chance to assemble anything and playtest it yet. I play exclusively online, so as soon as I can get the deck assembled and do some testing, I'll figure out pretty quickly if this deck is viable or not.
Again, though, don't get hung up on the trap part of the trap cards. They're incredibly efficient at the trap cost, but I still think they're playable at hardcast speed (in block - again, in standard or any other format other than block, no way, but in block, I think they're viable)
Now, for the R/G eldrazi spawn version of the deck, I'm also toying in my mind with trying out Sylvok Lifestaff- at least in sideboard. Vs. fast aggro, it allows you to spend 1 more for each sacrifice, and gain 3 life. In addition, if you're about to stabilize, but low enough on life you fear being burned out, or somehow haven't fished up a furnace celebration yet, with this equip out, you basically can sac all your spawn tokens for free to gain 3 life each. Being able to occasionally sneak in 1 extra point of damage from the equip is just gravy.
I like this, too.. lotus cobra is a good play here. And, again, this decklist is all permanents... I might run something very close to this... but again, I would cut 1 Garruk and 1 mimic vat for genesis wave. Genesis wave with lotus cobra in play would immediately give you extra mana for more craziness.
Obviously, I'm sold on Genesis Wave. The only time I'm hesistant is vs blue control - i obviously don't want to sac tokens and sell out on mana just to see the spell countered.
Can't wait for full release to really start testing and see how furnace celebration plays out in general as a deck, and how good or bad Genesis wave can be in it.
I really like this deck... very much along ths lines of what I'm thinking. The only suggestion I'm making, is remove the spawning breath for awakening zone, as suggested above. After that, this is a deck with a good ability to produce green mana, access to lots of colorless mana, and is almost entirely made of permanents. This maekes me think of throwing in 2 copies of:
Genesis Wave
Thoughts? It just seems that this deck is almost already tailor made for genesis wave... 2 copies seem like a good idea to me.
Black is obvious... the rest of infect is in Black.
But Green.. gives you the best pump. Giant Growth on this bad boy is nearly game over by itself. Infect was made to interact with pump spells on purpose.
G/B infect is gonna be hot... in block, if not in standard, at the very least.
It will also let better players beat lesser players. And ok players beat other ok players. It will let your cat beat your dog, or your dog beat your cat, assuming they both know how to play magic.
That's why this is a rare. It will not happen every draft, and when someone does land this thing in a draft, it's still up to them find the rest of the cards necessary to keep them alive long enough to use it.
Once you drop splinter twin on a non-sick galvanizer with at least 1 mana myr in play, the opponent needs instant removal or you win. You don't need to generate infinite mana, no need for a finisher... galvanizer+splinter twin+any mana myr = win that turn with a mighty myr attack(again, unless they have instant speed removal).
Myr galvanizer is one of those cards that seems to lend itself to combo. It's not quite intruder alarm level, but it's still very high on the combo-licious meter.
As I'm sure has been stated previously, Possible Combos:
2 Galvanizer (1 can be rite of replicationtoken or clone), myr capable of producing 2 or more mana (2 1 mana myrs, 1 of the double mana myr)
1 Galv + Splinter Twin + Any mana myr
1 Galv + 1 Crab Umbra + myr capable of producing more than U2 at a time
There are enough options for what to put in the "mana myr" slot and how to clone/aura the galv, the only real fragile/hard part it casting and keeping the first galv. A proper combo deck, with multiple of these options enabled, and a few blue deck searchers/tutors, should pretty much be in a position where if they ever get to untap with at least 1 living galv in play, the game ends that turn 90% or more of the time.
I like the direction razorgore is going with U/R. Includes multiple combos. Perhaps some of the U deck thinning cards (ponder) as a turn 1 play to increase our ability to get the pieces and go off on turn 4?
But, bighaben, 3 cards. I need 3 cards to kill you, and 1 of those 3 can be *any* mana myr.
Myr Galvanizer + Splinter Twin+ Any mana myr
That combo doesn't need a seperate finisher. It will simply overrun you with gigantic tokens.
1 Mana Myr + 1 Myr Galvanizer + Splinter Twin
Play Splinter twin on galv, tap mana myr for mana, make 1 hasty galv token. use hasty token to untap the splinter twinned galv and mana myr. make new token and new 1 mana. make new galv. repeat.
By the end, if uninterrupted, you have a huge amount of hasty HUGE/HUGE Galv tokens to attack with. GG.
Myr Galvanizer + Any Mana Myr + Splinter Twin
Think about that - splinter twin the galv... make a new hasty galv. use the new galv to untap the splinter twined galv and your mana myr. make new token, repeat.
Attack with an arbitrary large number of arbitrarily large/arbitrarily large hasty galvanizer tokens. Laugh evilly.
The Regular Tims:
The DeathTouch Equipment:
So, the question is...should I splash an extra color? And if so, which?
Black gives me access to Blood Cultist, and some sacrifice effects to deal with protection/shroud creatures.
White gives access to Stun Sniper, plus a nice wall to gum up the ground early until i can get a deathtouch pinger on line, and the dude who can fetch equipment (whos name escapes me right now).
Blue adds counterspells, protecting my pingers from destruction and offering card draw, plus a few ways to also gum up the ground.
Green would add some early extra mana to ramp up quicker, plus provide some ways of also holding the line on the ground early enough to get going.
Any thoughts on which colors or even specific cards I should use to round out the deck?
Is U/W the worst matchup? Vs. almost any flavor of aggro, the lifegain allows me to run away and hide. We sit there and trade blows, 5/5 pridemates and 3/3 students going against vampires, vengevines, BBEs... but after trading blows for a few turns, the scoreboard has them at 5 and me at 19, due to the lifegain.
The one match I had vs conscription, I won 2-0 - both games, they got a conscription on a critter, but i was able to laugh off getting hit for 13 damage, even 2 or 3 times, while i continue to whittle away their life.
So, I'm really looking at this deck with rose-colored glasses at this point. It appears to have at least some game vs U/W control, survives conscription's knockout punch, and runs away from aggro and mid-range decks.
What are the true weaknesses? What deck (emerging or established) do you really see punishing the WW/lifegain theme? Help give me some perspective.
So, allow me some slightly out-of-the-box thinking..
What about some re-assembling skellie + bloodghast in combo with necrotic plague. The grave hoppers hold aggro back and can allow some pressure vs. MUC, MWC, U/W control. Manaleak my bloodghast? Here it comes again. DoJ my reassembling skellie? By then I can probably mind sludge you, but if i need it, i can keep nibbling away with skellies and ghasts.
The necrotic plague helps you start wiping the board vs. aggro, while actually provides removal for almost anything, including emrakul.
(Ruling question - I think I'm right, but let me ask - Emrakul would be protected from being the target of necrotic plague when I cast it, but when I'm putting it back into play attached to something, Emrakul is a legal target at that point, right?)
Anyway, just some food for thought. Would I rather simply pack in infest and chainer's edict? Hell yeah. But to paraphrase a semi-recent basketball coach, Infest and the edict aren't gonna come walking in through that door again.
Thoughts?
I'm not quite up to throwing together a decklist at this point, but the green and red creatures that spawn tokens when they come into play are tailor made for warp world. Extra permanents and/or mana accel?! Warp if you need to, or save up and hard-cast Emrakul.
I look forward to putting something together later, but I was wondering if anyone else was going down this line of thought?
14 Mountain
3 Smoldering Spires
3 Teetering Peaks
Goblins - 24
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Shortcutter
4 Warren Instigator
4 Goblin Roughrider
4 Torch Slinger
4 Quest for the Goblin Lord
4 Burst Lightning
4 Punishing Fire
4 Searing Blaze
Very basic goblin deck. Question is, what can be done to improve it? I'm under no illusions that goblins can be a top deck in block, but what can be done to make it as effective as possible?
Some cards I've considered:
The main aggro decks in block are going to be vampires, with some goblin/sligh, white weenie soldiers, maybe some green aggro variant. While all of these decks have fliers, I believe there are enough non-fliers to make pitfall trap viable. In addition, while arrow volley trap is only cheap to cast when you're in a losing state anyway, it's inclusion will clear multiple attackers away even if you have to hardcast it. I think between those and the blademasters/lightcasters, it'll hold out against block aggro decks.
Time will tell, though. I've not had a chance to assemble anything and playtest it yet. I play exclusively online, so as soon as I can get the deck assembled and do some testing, I'll figure out pretty quickly if this deck is viable or not.
Again, though, don't get hung up on the trap part of the trap cards. They're incredibly efficient at the trap cost, but I still think they're playable at hardcast speed (in block - again, in standard or any other format other than block, no way, but in block, I think they're viable)