That's awesome!
Best of luck with that and gogo girlfriend!
Update: I took all but my 5-Color deck apart this afternoon.
In the works:
T2: W/U/b control
Extended: Trying to scrape together Dredge-a-tog.
Legacy: Nothing currently, might make Goblins
Casual: Cowardice Control with Ravnica cards.
Thanks, she's already a really good player (she learned to play the night before the prerelease, which was her first tournament) I expect she'll be better than me sooner than later.
I was getting out of magic (I thought Kamigawa signalled the end) when I sqaw the Ravnica spoiler, and I was like "this is NICE!" Then, I taught my girlfriend to play, and between us we're making a deck for each guild. The breakdown is this:
I agree with the thread maker here. Orzhov will definetly be the first guild I try when GP comes out. Here's how I saw Ravnica, and how I currently see GP:
-Boros: Aggro. Go in, beat down, kill, ask questions later.
-Dimir: Sneaky, calculating, then go in the for kill. A bit slower than Boros, but it gets the job done.
-Selesnya: Overwhelming the opponent with a ton of enemies. Charge up for an attack, then attack. Sort of a mix of Boros/Dimir. They calculate, but it is out loud, where the enemy can see the attack, but they go right in without regard for safety like the Boros.
-Golgari: Reanimate and attack. They bring in hitters of all shapes and sizes, with no regard for the amount of cards left in their library, since they have plenty of reanimation spells. That leaves them open against the Dimir, though, as the Dimir actually take their cards and put them in the grave.
How I see GP:
-Gruul: The Boros of Guildpact. Heavy creatures that do nothing much but attack, and they put burn spells in there for the destructive power.
-Izzet: A "Johnny" guild of sorts. Crazy abilities that can leave their opponents in ruins. Problem is, they come at a price. Usually life, but other prices are there also.
-Orzhov: The Dimir/Golgari of Guildpact. They have life gain, reanimation, and creature destruction thrown together in something that seems stupid, but is actually a call from the grave to destroy the enemy. I really think that the Orzhov might be the dominant guild of GP.
Couldn't have said it better.
also, I can't view thumbnails, but if someone could embed the image of Teysa into a PM, I may be able to translate some of it (I speak decent Italian)
Before hearing this news I figured that she may do something phyrexian arena-esque, maybe "when ever you play a black spell, pay 1 life and draw a card, whenever you play a white spell, gaqin two life". Maybe that could becombined with creature generation somehow, ala skullclamp?
Sorry for double posting, I couldn't find an edit button, but I didn't realize we have a picture. Can anyone actually embed the pic into a PM for me? I am pretty good in Italian, so if it's somewhat readable I could have a rough idea in a few minutes.
Apparently I can't view pictures at all
Edit button is next to the quote button on the bottom right of every post you make.
I've noticed that most people on this forum seem to think Orzhov is the weakest of the guilds to be featured in Guildpact. I have to say I heartily disagree. I find Orzhov, which I think, just as Dimir was "the library guild" and Selesnya "the token guild", could be called "the life guild", to possess an arsenal of spells and creatures which, while weak on their own, combine to form a very deadly overall strategy. Here's how I see it:
Pillory of the sleepless: A creature enchantment for that essentially is a pacifism with wanderlust attached. Now, I don't expect this card to win me the game. However, I do expect that many a Gruul player will be annoyed when they drop a third turn slum, only to find that it is now dealing them 2 damage a turn. That's nothing to sneeze at, especially when it costs you a one time payment of to accomplish.
Mortify: I'm pretty sure that nobody here thinks this is a bad card, to remove a creature or enchantment at instant speed with no real restrictions sounds like quite the deal to me. It'll come in handy after my opponent finally draws the naturalize to get rid of my pillory of the sleepless.
Angel of despair: for , this thing is a vindicate with a 4cc flying 4/4 attatched. Can't argue with that.
Blind hunter: This is actually one of my favorites from the guild, and I expect that it, while not a kill card, will be a staple in Orzhov decks, much like smabling shell to many Golgari players. For :symw:, you get a 2/2 flier. Now, anyone who plays aggro knows that a blocker tends to screw up your strategy, especially if it can trade with one of your attackers. Not only does this beauty trade with, oh, skyknight legionnaire, but it also syphons their life. But wait, there's more! When it goes into the graveyard, it haunts any creature on the board so that, if that creature dies, even more of their life goes to you!
Orzhova, the church of deals: One thing the guild lands have made me appreciate is an overcosted ability. Now, let's face it, 6 mana to syphon one life from your opponent is hardly efficient. However, it is also ridiculously hard to stop, and combined with the life loss from pillory of the sleepless, blind hunter, and the council (i'm getting to that) and the guildmage (ditto) can be a good finisher.
Orzhov guildmage: Ok, i'll admit, it's not as flashy as the Izzet guildmage, but, that said, I consider this a solid card. If you're like me, you tend to dump your hand mid-late game. after that's done, you're left to topdecking or using the bailities of your permanents in play, and that's where this shines. Late game, if you don't play anything that turn, this can make each player lose 2-3 life, or give you 2-3 life. and the best part is that either ability is pretty hard for your opponent to stop.
Ghost council of Orzhova: Even without knowing this thing's power and toughness, I can already tell you this is going to be incredibly useful against aggro. Say, for , you get a 1/1 council. The turn prior you just played pillory of the sleepless on one of your opponent's creatures. They attack with their remaining two creatures, you block with your blind hunter and the council. You pay :1mana:, sacrifice the hunter, and remove the council from the game before combat damage is dealt, haunting any creature on the board. Without taking the blind hunter's haunt ability into consideration, you just syphoned 4 life from them, have 2 more as soon as one of their creatures dies (mortify, anyone?) and made them lose a life from the pillory. That's not too bad, especially since the entire combo can't be boros fury-shielded.
Debtor's knell: Some people on the board asked what this has to do with the whole mafia feel of the guild. My take on it is that, if you owe the Orzhov, not even death can save you from paying them back. I mean, that would royally suck, you've just been mortified, but instead of just enjoying eternal oblivion, the next thing you know you're in undead servitude to the very jerks who killed you! But, as far as actual gameplay goes, this just rocks with the excellent haunt cards and comes into play abilities possessed by the Orzhov (blind hunter and angel of despair come to mind, respectively), especially when combined with the council. With the angel, you get to syphon them for one life and destroy a permanent every turn, whereas with the blind hunter, you could easily syphon 3 life a turn, which, if you've been playing your cards right (piun intended) should have them dead in no time.
Thank you for reading my analysis of the Orzhov. If you are currently thinking that I have no life, you'd be right.
Thanks, she's already a really good player (she learned to play the night before the prerelease, which was her first tournament) I expect she'll be better than me sooner than later.
Me: Golgari, Selesnya, Orzhov, Senate, Simic
Her: Dimir, Boros, Gruul, Izzet, Rakdos
Couldn't have said it better.
also, I can't view thumbnails, but if someone could embed the image of Teysa into a PM, I may be able to translate some of it (I speak decent Italian)
Sorry for double posting, I couldn't find an edit button, but I didn't realize we have a picture. Can anyone actually embed the pic into a PM for me? I am pretty good in Italian, so if it's somewhat readable I could have a rough idea in a few minutes.
Apparently I can't view pictures at all
Edit button is next to the quote button on the bottom right of every post you make.
We'll see about that when the Azorious senate is preventing damage left and right. Then you'll come crawling to Orzhov.
Sorry, wasn't aware such a forum existed. I've only been reading the rumor mill for a day.
Pillory of the sleepless: A creature enchantment for
Mortify: I'm pretty sure that nobody here thinks this is a bad card,
Angel of despair: for
Blind hunter: This is actually one of my favorites from the guild, and I expect that it, while not a kill card, will be a staple in Orzhov decks, much like smabling shell to many Golgari players. For
Orzhova, the church of deals: One thing the guild lands have made me appreciate is an overcosted ability. Now, let's face it, 6 mana to syphon one life from your opponent is hardly efficient. However, it is also ridiculously hard to stop, and combined with the life loss from pillory of the sleepless, blind hunter, and the council (i'm getting to that) and the guildmage (ditto) can be a good finisher.
Orzhov guildmage: Ok, i'll admit, it's not as flashy as the Izzet guildmage, but, that said, I consider this a solid card. If you're like me, you tend to dump your hand mid-late game. after that's done, you're left to topdecking or using the bailities of your permanents in play, and that's where this shines. Late game, if you don't play anything that turn, this can make each player lose 2-3 life, or give you 2-3 life. and the best part is that either ability is pretty hard for your opponent to stop.
Ghost council of Orzhova: Even without knowing this thing's power and toughness, I can already tell you this is going to be incredibly useful against aggro. Say, for
Debtor's knell: Some people on the board asked what this has to do with the whole mafia feel of the guild. My take on it is that, if you owe the Orzhov, not even death can save you from paying them back. I mean, that would royally suck, you've just been mortified, but instead of just enjoying eternal oblivion, the next thing you know you're in undead servitude to the very jerks who killed you! But, as far as actual gameplay goes, this just rocks with the excellent haunt cards and comes into play abilities possessed by the Orzhov (blind hunter and angel of despair come to mind, respectively), especially when combined with the council. With the angel, you get to syphon them for one life and destroy a permanent every turn, whereas with the blind hunter, you could easily syphon 3 life a turn, which, if you've been playing your cards right (piun intended) should have them dead in no time.
Thank you for reading my analysis of the Orzhov. If you are currently thinking that I have no life, you'd be right.