Quick clarification on Temporal Fissure: you do not have to bounce your own permanents. You just target your opponents' permanents more than once. Works fine with your discard punishment wincons
I'm in Stockholm, Sweden. Play casually with 4-5 other people. There is a developing DC community (at places like Dragon's Lair and I believe Alphaspel) here but work makes it hard to find time to check them out.
You guys understand though that banning Vial or Partner in your playgroup just makes it a tiny bit harder for them to get banned in the future right? If a lot of playgroups do this and start banning Vial on their own, this can affect its showings on MTGTOP8 and therefore keep him out of the range of dominance where a ban is inevitable. I mean, by playing in an environment where Vial is "illegally" banned, you're just making it harder for it to really be banned.
Of course, Vial has risen to ~13% in MTGTOP8, so I don't think this is affecting it, yet. But if more groups adopt a custom banlist, it may hinder the whole process.
Well, none of us play in any tournaments - we just get together at the bar, get drunk and play magic, so I'm not super concerned about how my group's decisions affect tournament data for decision-making on bans.
I've changed my thought about Vial.
Vial is not the problem; if you play Vial alone is good but not op. The real problem is the partner mechanic.
Every decks that use Partner have too many resources from their colors and mostly have 1 more castable card than you from their starting hand.
It's really hard for 1 general, with its colors, deal with 2 generals and all their resources.
Vial+Kraum, Akiri+Bruse, Thrasios+Tymna, Bruse+Vial, Bruse+Rehyan, Vial+Thrasios etcetc
This is my thinking too. We banned the partner mechanic in my group for the exact reasons you mentioned.
What's y'all's opinion on Nightscape Familiar and Goblin Electromancer? I don't run Bubbling Muck or High Tide in my list (not enough duals to consistently get the swamps or islands I need to make them good), and often find myself in a pinch with regards to mana.
The 2-mana rocks are too slow IMO to replace Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond in this kind of deck. It's fine in big-mana decks or "artifacts matter" decks, but I don't think it makes sense here. If I were to copy a list (but not have access to Chrome Mox or Mox Diamond), I would likely just add a one-drop (probably a colored-mana-producing mana dork, though maybe also a flexible 2/X for 1 like Dryad Militant or Rakdos Cackler) and a land.
Agreed. Even if you don't want to add blue, there's no reason not to run a partner (Kraum, I guess) plus a few lands to be able to cast it. If VS dies, i'd often rather spend my 5 mana casting a 4/4 flying haste beatstick than recasting VS, or at least have the option to do so, even if I wasn't really running any other blue cards in my deck.
Hi MagicMasterJr! Welcome to commander, and I hope you're having fun despite getting slaughtered at your lgs
You've got a protection/evasion plan that seems decent, which tells me that a central piece of your game plan is smash with Yidris, cast spells and get value off cascade. I imagine that this is why you have your X-spells and copy spells. Smash with Yidris, cast Villainous Wealth with X=10, and cascade into Twincast. Seems good.
But think about this: you're only running 11 instants/sorceries, 4 are copy spells and 4 are X spells. The "cast X spell and cascade into copy spells" plan is extremely fragile with those numbers. And when you cascade from big creatures into Reverberate or Rolling Thunder, then you didn't get any value off your cascade. It just ends up being a wasted opportunity.
I'd consider running spells that have some kind of utility both in hand as well as when you flip them as part of a cascade trigger. Cryptic Command and Mystic Confluence come to mind. I would also consider running some of the sick delve spells, like Treasure Cruise, Dig through Time, etc. You can often cast these at a severely reduced cost, plus you have an opportunity to cascade into something very big.
Looking at your creatures, you could consider adding some that have some kind enters-the-battlefield effect. Rune-Scarred Demon, for example, let's you Demonic Tutor while also enabling a big cascade. Reclamation Sage kills an annoying artifact or enchantment, while Bane of Progress destroys all artifacts and enchantments and leaves you with a big threat. These are just a few ideas.
Thanks a bunch!
Changes:
3 Song of the Dryads
1 Magnus of the Candelabra
9 Nullstone Gargoyle
5 Sage of Ancient Lore
4 Hedron Archive
2 Coldsteel Heart
5 Titania, Protector of Arogoth
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
4 From Beyond
5 Tamiyo's Journal
2 Tsabo's Web
2 Cursed Totem
0 Mox Opal
1 Tree of Tales
3 sword of feast and famine
4 nature's will
2 Warping Wail
3 Reclamation Sage
5 Acidic Slime
3 Courser of Kruphix
4 Master of the Wild Hunt
5 Tornado
6 Multani, Maro-Sorcerer
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Lignify
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Expedition Map
There were two other cards removed, but I don't remember which they were. Sorry about that.
Comments/criticisms definitely welcome!
One question: How do you win if Khamal is removed somehow?
Well, none of us play in any tournaments - we just get together at the bar, get drunk and play magic, so I'm not super concerned about how my group's decisions affect tournament data for decision-making on bans.
This is my thinking too. We banned the partner mechanic in my group for the exact reasons you mentioned.
You've got a protection/evasion plan that seems decent, which tells me that a central piece of your game plan is smash with Yidris, cast spells and get value off cascade. I imagine that this is why you have your X-spells and copy spells. Smash with Yidris, cast Villainous Wealth with X=10, and cascade into Twincast. Seems good.
But think about this: you're only running 11 instants/sorceries, 4 are copy spells and 4 are X spells. The "cast X spell and cascade into copy spells" plan is extremely fragile with those numbers. And when you cascade from big creatures into Reverberate or Rolling Thunder, then you didn't get any value off your cascade. It just ends up being a wasted opportunity.
I'd consider running spells that have some kind of utility both in hand as well as when you flip them as part of a cascade trigger. Cryptic Command and Mystic Confluence come to mind. I would also consider running some of the sick delve spells, like Treasure Cruise, Dig through Time, etc. You can often cast these at a severely reduced cost, plus you have an opportunity to cascade into something very big.
Looking at your creatures, you could consider adding some that have some kind enters-the-battlefield effect. Rune-Scarred Demon, for example, let's you Demonic Tutor while also enabling a big cascade. Reclamation Sage kills an annoying artifact or enchantment, while Bane of Progress destroys all artifacts and enchantments and leaves you with a big threat. These are just a few ideas.
Also: run Fact or Fiction