Some corrections:
Chiyo is Eitoku's superior, not the other way around.
Nagao is grievously wounded and presumed dead, but he survives as revealed in the next book.
In the final scene, Toshi sends Choryu the water wizard and friend of Michiko to Hidetsugu (not Chiyo the soratami).
- Myrmadillo
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Nov 30, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemI generally never read or comment on these things, but I don't think this post is appropriate as a front page article. The article doesn't explain who Jeremy Hambly is, what he has said or did, who is criticizing him, what they are saying about him, and it only gives a minimal amount of information about Christine Sprankle. As a result, I barely have a clue of what the article is supposed to be addressing. The article makes so many assumptions about prior knowledge that it's almost unintelligible. On top of that, the article is packed full of biased political statements, which makes me wonder why it was even permitted to be posted.Posted in: Articles
I come to these forums for Magic: The Gathering, not politics. If this article actually informed me about what is apparently major event in the Magic community and made a clear statement about how to correct the issue without resorting to belittling, politically charged statements, it could have actually been a worthwhile article. -
Oct 11, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on Playing Paper PauperFor those interested, I went through the 37 problematic cards listed in the article above. Only allowing cards that are legal in Modern that have been printed at common level reduces the problematic list of cards to five that need banning:Posted in: Articles
Cranial Plating
Empty the Warrens
Goblin Grenade
Grapeshot
Merchant Scroll -
Oct 10, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on Playing Paper PauperRather than deal with all these exceptions, wouldn't it be easier to simply play Modern Pauper? If the card is legal in Modern and it has ever been printed at common, it would be considered legal.Posted in: Articles
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Based on the feedback I received (Thanks Zygous and shenabagananins!), I made the following changes to my deck:
Removed
Faithless Looting - Doesn't provide card advantage.
Mad Prophet - Doesn't provide card advantage.
Smash - Viashino Heretic added below as repeatable artifact hate.
Added
Seer's Sundial - Card draw and synergy with lands (especially Ghost Town).
Tormod's Crypt - Graveyard hate.
Viashino Heretic - Artifact hate.
Questions
How imperative is haste? I'm running Swiftfoot Boots, but Anger and Lightning Greaves are outside my 50 cents per card budget. Are there any other budget cards worth considering? I have Ring of Valkas, Crimson Mage, Mark of Fury, and Strider Harness. Are any of these worth playing (in this deck or any other)?
Aside from the 8 I included in the deck (see spoiler below) I have the following:
Kher Keep, Madblind Mountain, Phyrexia's Core, Rogue's Passage
Does anyone have any good rules of thumb for an appropriate ratio of basic Mountains to non-basic colorless mana producing lands?
Are any of these 4 lands worth including?
Is Kher Keep worth including if I don't own Skullclamp?
Updated Deck
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Creatures (14)
1 Firewing Phoenix
1 Kuldotha Phoenix
1 Magma Phoenix
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Charmbreaker Devils
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Hound of Griselbrand
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Rage Thrower
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Thopter Assembly
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Wojek Embermage
Equipment (6)
1 Butcher's Cleaver
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Gorgon Flail
1 Gorgon's Head
1 Magebane Armor
1 Swiftfoot Boots
Miscellaneous (6)
1 Codex Shredder
1 Distorting Lens
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Scuttlemutt
1 Sun Droplet
1 Trading Post
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Fire Diamond
1 Mind Stone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Foriysian Totem
1 Pristine Talisman
1 Sisay's Ring
1 Ur-Golem's Eye
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Grinning Ignus (Removed)
1 Burnished Hart (Added)
Card Draw & Filtering (8)
1 Browbeat
1 Crystal Ball
1 Mindmoil
1 Moonring Mirror
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Seer's Sundial
1 Sorcerer's Strongbox
1 Tower of Fortunes
Damage/Destruction Spells (6)
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Brittle Effigy (artifact)
1 Fissure
1 Grab the Reins
1 Devil's Play
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Reverberate
1 Ricochet Trap
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Tormod's Crypt (artifact)
Enchantments (3)
1 Burning Sands
1 Pyrohemia
1 Vicious Shadows
Lands (38)
1 Buried Ruin
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Dormant Volcano
1 Ghost Town
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Hellion Crucible
1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Ghost Quarter
30 Mountain
Thopter Assembly, Wojek Embermage,
Grinning Ignus, Burning Sands, Tormod's Crypt, Viashino HereticPossible Additions - Cards I own.
Avarice Totem - If this deck can consistently reach 10 mana.
Burnished Hart - RampDruidic Satchel - Ramp
Walking Atlas - Ramp
Smash - If I find that Viashino Heretic is overkill in my meta.
Phyrexian Furnace - If I find that Tormod's Crypt is overkill in my meta.
Scrabbling Claws - If I find that Tormod's Crypt is overkill in my meta.
Ring of Valkas - Haste and possibility of producing inferno proof creature over time.
I had not realized that Viashino Heretic could still damage players with indestructible artifacts. That's pretty awesome!
Yes, that counts. I have Darksteel Plate, Steel Hellkite, and Blasphemous Act in my deck, each of which I acquired for less than $0.50. The restriction is primarily to prevent me from spending too much money, but also to prove that fun, fairly effective EDH decks can be built on a budget. Additionally, it's a fun challenge that forces me to use different cards than standards that get played all the time.
Looks like one I'll have to add to my wants list. Hopefully, it costs less than $0.50.
Colossus of Akros - Added to my wants list.
Fortune Thief - This one that seems a bit difficult to use. Most of the spells and effects in my deck that damage me would also kill her (Jaya's inferno, Pyrohemia, Magma Phoenix, etc.).
Elixir of Immortality - Not sure I like one-shot nature of this card. Plus, it also loses me access to my graveyard and my deck has several cards that take advantage of the graveyard. I think I'll stick with Sun Droplet and Trading Post for now.
I still haven't gotten a chance to look at the lockdown cards you mentioned.
Thanks for the comments! They helped me confirm some of my suspicions. I used to play Incendiary Command and Shattered Perception to complement Moonring Mirror, but most of the time I drew them I didn't have Moonring Mirror in play and my impressions matched your statements.
The one time I got Mindmoil in play, it was incredibly useful to me. It also helps search out Moonring Mirror, which results in a huge amount of cards drawn, enabling me to quickly refill your hand. Teferi's Puzzle Box is on my wants list, but I couldn't find one for less than about $2.50, which is out of budget for my deck.
Re: Browbeat
Every time I play this card, I draw 3 cards. No one in the group I play with is willing to take one for the team and absorb the 5 damage. I don't know if this is because they're overly selfish or my deck just isn't enough of a threat to bother, but this card has been outstanding for me. (It's probably because they are more worried about the blue player who is drawing 1600 cards per turn trying to set up his combo and me drawing 3 cards will only help us shut him down.)
@Zygous
You have a good point about Barrin's Codex being underrated. Likewise, let me defend Sorcerer's Strongbox as being underrated since drawing 3 cards with Barrin's Codex is statistically similar to Sorcerer's Strongbox.
Barrin's Codex - Costs 8 mana and must be in play for 3 rounds to get 3 cards.
Sorcerer's Strongbox - On average, costs 8 mana and must be in play 3 rounds (assuming you tap it the turn it comes into play) to get 3 cards.
The difference is that Barrin's Codex has the opportunity to yield more than 3 cards if drawn early in the game and allowed to sit for longer. Sorcerer's Strongbox has the opportunity to instantly yield 3 cards late game if you're lucky on the first coin flip. Also, Sorcerer's Strongbox has a synergy with Jaya as I frequently hold back 2 mana for Jaya's incinerate (particularly when equipped with deathtouch equipment). If I don't need the incinerate, I can pump it into the strongbox. The downside is that Sorcerer's Strongbox could, in theory, take an infinite amount of mana and never yield any cards.
Based on your recommendation, I'm going to replace Mad Prophet with Seer's Sundial. As you pointed out, Mad Prophet gives no card advantage, plus he gets nuked by Jaya's inferno. I left Seer's Sundial out of my deck because it wasn't raw drawing power to fuel Jaya's discard since it forced me to drop a land to get a card. However, it has good synergy with many of my lands (particularly Ghost Town) and it's rare for me to have too much mana on the table.
I also like your point about Faithless Looting. I'll look into replacing it with either artifact or graveyard hate. I really like Viashino Heretic, but left him out due to concerns about getting nuked by Jaya's inferno. Have you had problems with Jaya killing him frequently?
The reason Jeska, Warrior Adept is ideal is not only the first strike (with Butcher's Cleaver) but also the deathtouch (with Gorgon Flail and Gorgon's Head). She's the only first-striking pinger I'm aware of.
Thank you for all the suggestions!
Have you had much success with these? With the exception of the Book of Rass, the Staff of Nin seems like a more powerful option (I may have break my rule and just buy the Staff). Health is not easy to come by in this deck, so I'm hesitant to start paying life for cards. Angelheart Vial could be nice as it also gives health back, but it seems so inefficient. I already own the following, but they all have certain drawbacks:
Seer's Sundial - Must play a land to draw a card.
Phyrexian Portal - Focused on card filtering rather than straight drawing power.
Jar of Eyeballs - Deck is low on creatures.
Culling Dais - Deck is low on creatures.
Rummaging Goblin - Looting, not card draw
Darksteel Pendant - Scrying, not card draw.
Incendiary Command - Replaces hand, not card draw.
Shattered Perception - Replaces hand, not card draw.
For this reason, I went with options that gave me a burst of cards in one shot:
Browbeat
Dreamstone Hedron
Reforge the Soul
Sorcerer's Strongbox
Tower of Fortunes
I don't know if this is a good approach. I'd love to hear what others would select using some combination of any of the cards mentioned above, plus Crystal Ball, Faithless Looting, Mad Prophet, Mindmoil, and Moonring Mirror.
I skipped Alpha Brawl because it is so expensive. It seems similar to Mass Mutiny, which I own, but haven't been able to use effectively yet... Flowstone Slide is one I see the potential in, but not having any mana doublers I think my deck would struggle when trying to eliminating large creatures with it, and it seems like they'd be the most likely targets for the card. I do have Brittle Effigy in the deck to take care of indestructible creatures.
For graveyard hate, I own Tormod's Crypt, Relic of Progenitus, Scrabbling Claws, Phyrexian Furnace, and Junktroller. Tormod's Crypt is probably the best, though fielding both Scrabbling Claws and Phyrexian Furnace might be an option, but I'm not sure what to sub out for any of them.
I skipped Aftershock because I own Fissure and Lava Flow (which I left out in favor of Brittle Effigy). I don't like giving up life and red has lots of ways to handle artifacts, but a lot of people seem to like Aftershock, so I feel like I'm missing something here.
For artifact destruction, I own Viashino Heretic, Vandalblast, Into the Core, Icefall, Fissure Vent, Shatterstorm, as well as the two already included in the deck Shattering Pulse and Smash. Again, I wasn't sure what to include and what to sub out.
I own all of these except the Star Compass, but I think I have enough mana rocks that I'm okay without it. What would you sub out for the other three?
I'll have to look into the Lockdown and Staying Alive cards you mention. I don't have any of those.
I almost picked up Kamahl, but without first strike he wasn't nearly as effective wielding the Butcher's Cleaver as Jeska...and again, what do I cut to put him in? When I started playing Commander, I never thought I'd have the problem of not being able to fit all the cards I wanted to into a deck!
@WyvernSlayer
I doubt we've met. It's just that, aside from Weebo, you've been the largest contributor to the continuation of this thread, so I've appreciated your comments.
The third largest contributor is Zygous, so here's my shout out to him!
My main concern would be the loss of all my artifacts. On the plus side, this is another way Red can remove enchantments and the card draw is nice.
After more thought, it seems that the only time this would go off is when a minority (1-2) of players are obviously in the lead. It's more of a catch-up mechanism than a game winning card and if you're the one in the driver's seat, it could backfire. I'd much rather field Nevinyrral's Disk and have full control of when the board wipe goes off.
One of my favorite things about multiplayer EDH/Commander is that politics help balance out gaps in monetary investment. Those playing ultra-powerful decks get focused, giving those of us with less expensive decks the opportunity to stay alive and enjoy the game. My Jaya deck (below) has won more than its fair share of games solely because it is rarely the biggest threat at the table, but once the most dangerous players have been eliminated it has just enough damage output to finish off the survivors.
My deck is built as what I call an "Ultra-Budget Deck," meaning that I've restrict myself to spending no more than 50 cents on any given card. There are a few gems that I picked up cheap (15 cents for Darksteel Plate) or in a favorable trade (Blasphemous Act, Steel Hellkite), but these should be considered an exception to the rule. I would greatly appreciate feedback on how I could improve my deck while maintaining my 50 cents/card monetary restriction (or at the very least, keep recommendations under $1 per card).
1 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Creatures (13)
1 Firewing Phoenix
1 Kuldotha Phoenix
1 Magma Phoenix
1 Shard Phoenix
1 Skarrgan Firebird
1 Charmbreaker Devils
1 Hoarding Dragon
1 Hound of Griselbrand
1 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1 Rage Thrower
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Thopter Assembly
1 Wojek Embermage
Equipment (6)
1 Butcher's Cleaver
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Gorgon Flail
1 Gorgon's Head
1 Magebane Armor
1 Swiftfoot Boots
Miscellaneous (6)
1 Codex Shredder
1 Distorting Lens
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Scuttlemutt
1 Trading Post
1 Sun Droplet
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Fire Diamond
1 Mind Stone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Foriysian Totem
1 Pristine Talisman
1 Sisay's Ring
1 Ur-Golem's Eye
1 Dreamstone Hedron
1 Armillary Sphere
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Grinning Ignus
Card Draw & Filtering (9)
1 Browbeat
1 Crystal Ball
1 Faithless Looting
1 Mad Prophet
1 Mindmoil
1 Moonring Mirror
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Sorcerer's Strongbox
1 Tower of Fortunes
Damage/Destruction Spells (6)
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Brittle Effigy (artifact)
1 Fissure
1 Grab the Reins
1 Devil's Play
1 Red Sun's Zenith
1 Reverberate
1 Ricochet Trap
1 Wild Ricochet
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Smash
Enchantments (3)
1 Burning Sands
1 Pyrohemia
1 Vicious Shadows
Lands (38)
1 Buried Ruin
1 Haunted Fengraf
1 Dormant Volcano
1 Ghost Town
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Hellion Crucible
1 Encroaching Wastes
1 Ghost Quarter
30 Mountain
Comments
Equipment: Butcher's Cleaver is my poor man's substitute for the Loxodon Warhammer (a card I'd love to have), but it works with Kumano, Master Yamabushi, Rage Thrower, Wojek Embermage, and Jeska, Warrior Adept (if I ever get her). The other equipment is there to boost Jaya's effectiveness and/or ability to survive.
Miscellaneous: Distorting Lens, Scuttlemutt, and Glacial Chasm combo nicely with Jaya. Most games I've won came down to the line on hit points, so I added Sun Droplet to buffer the damage I take from Jaya's inferno. Trading Post also helps in this regard as well as converting mana rocks into cards late game.
Mana Rocks, etc: Grinning Ignus is probably the oddball choice here. My thought process was that if I find myself short on mana, he can boost me from 5 mana to the 7 necessary for Jaya's inferno. The Ignus dodges destruction and, in a pinch, can even be used as the discard for Jaya's inferno.
Card Draw & Filtering: This is probably the area that needs the most work in my deck. Jaya's abilities favor raw drawing power over tutoring or filtering and I've found that 3 mana per card is about as good as mono-red can expect. Dreamstone Hedron gives 3 cards for 9 mana and doubles as a mana rock, Tower of Fortunes (while having a high activation cost) gives 4 cards for 12 mana, and Sorcerer's Strongbox (while unreliable) gives 3 cards for ~8 mana, and Armillary Sphere also gives card advantage. In addition, many of the phoenixes can return to hand for 3-4 mana after being discarded by Jaya as an incinerate or inferno. Browbeat consistently draws me 3 cards since no one in my group ever wants to take 5 damage. Moonring Mirror seems like the ideal card to complement Red's looting effects (e.g., Mad Prophet). To complement Moonring Mirror, I originally had both Shattered Perception and Incendiary Command in my deck, but was uncertain about when to use them effectively when Moonring Mirror was not in play, so I took them out. Mindmoil was outstanding the one time I played it and can result in extreme amounts of card draw with Moonring Mirror in play. Unfortunately, Mind's Eye is far to expensive for my budget. Staff of Nin is on my short list, but is just out of my budget restrictions (though I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap one).
Damage/Destruction Spells: Primarily focus on removing big creatures that Jaya can't handle directly. There have been several times when X spells have finished the game for me, so Devil's Play and Red Sun's Zenith made the cut.
Utility Spells: Artifact destruction and redirect/copy/anti-counterspell cards.
Enchantments: Pyrohemia is like a recurring Earthquake that hits fliers. Plus, with Magebane armor or Darksteel Plate you don't have to worry about losing it if you kill every creature on the field. Vicious Shadows is the one card in this deck that can instantly win the game and I'm giving Burning Sands a try since it has a similar synergy with Jaya's inferno.
Lands: My focus here is on lands that can convert into other useful items. Haunted Fengraf, Hellion Crucible, and Gargoyle Castle turn into a creatures, Buried Ruin turns into an artifact, Dormant Volcano in essence gives an extra Mountain in hand for Jaya to discard, and Ghost Town can be returned to hand for Jaya to discard.
Thank you for taking the time to read all this!
EDIT: Added spoiler text to make the post less daunting.