Im guessing there will be one of the 5 land cycles future sight introduced in lrowynn block at least for the allied pairs. My guess would be the Nimbus Maze cycle. Horizon Canopy and Grove of the Burnwillows are a bit too similar to the painlands which they have in tenth. Graven Cairns and River of Tears has flavor text that doesnt fit with the block. That leaves Nimbus Maze as the leading candidate theoretically for dual land cycle in this block
Really? I think River of Tears's flavor text is very fitting for Lorwyn. Of the 5, only Cairns is really out of the question because of flavor. And Canopy and Burnwillows are both better than core set painlands.
EDIT: i know its not the deck in qustion. i was just wondering what u thought about it
It's OK. Spirit Loop and the Coronet are wasting space, I think, and Cho-Manno, Revolutionary is an absolute must. Anyway, test it out if you wanna see how good it is.
Yay, so i am finally staring at a neat list. Hooraay!
The board seems like pancakes though, not much versatility in there.
Also, Lightning Helix (stated before) should be somewhere in the deck. The deck is slow, and that's all the reason there is to play a Helix in a WR deck.
NO HELIX! NO PALADIN! NO FAST SPELLS! Please, this is a controlish deck, its slow but it doesn't need stuff like that. And, again, the 8 Pariahs are there to maximize combo probability and act as a barrier against removal.
However, Bottled Cloister is much better than Wheel of Fate for this deck. Thanks, fencer. Also, I like the idea of 2-3 Kher Keep.
Anyway, here is my dilemma: I don't actually have the physical cards of this deck. All these trials were online. Again, I strongly believe this to be a competitive deck, and I would ask anyone willing to take it to a tournament. There are only about 2 months left until Rav cycles out, leaving the deck unshielded. It needs at least one serious performance before then.
Here's how it works: Early games are handled with an abundance of mass removal (***, and, if need be, Pyrohemia) and Protection (Story Circle). Stuffy or Cho-Manno then comes out, and Pariah or the shield follow soon thereafter. Ensuring the combo is crucial. That is why there are 8 Pariahs in the deck (this also helps against trace amounts of removal. Ultimately, the deck plays Pyrohemia for the win. Then, as a counter to SB Artifact/Enchantment Removal, PP is brought in, the Encampment is used against control, the Hellion in any case where an expensive instant win is necessary (e.g, Project X), Demonfire against control.
Test Results: (Best of 3 against some decklists in this forum)
NOTE: admittedly, these are pre-10th decks, and they may be weaker than their corresponding post-10th decks.
Bridge Dredge: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Pyrohemia utterly pwns Zombie armies. One of the easiest match-ups.
Gruul Aggro: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Tin-Street Hooligan successfully slowed me down several times, but the fact that most aggro decks cant deal with the combo after it is established superceded that.
Korlash Control: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Again, no answer to the resolved combo. Rise // Fall is effective, but, ultimately, not enough to warrant a victory.
MGA Snowy-Scryb: 2-1-0
COMMENTS: Extremely fast, MGA was a valiant opponent, but a Green Story Circle and mana screw-via-pyrohemia overcame it.
Mystical Teachings Control:1-2-0
COMMENTS: Hard counters are no fun for Dollhouse. The sole victory resulted from a miraculous hellbent demonfire on Dralnu, Lich Lord, which cleared the board.
Perilous Storm: 2-1-0
COMMENTS: Game 3 should have been a loss (Ignite Memories would have killed me by picking any of 3 cards in my 5-card hand only once. It hit one of the 2 lands all 3 times.) It was not. The Circle proved effective here, although Repeal provided the opponent with a potent solution. Again, few answers to the resolved combo.
Project X: 2-0-1
COMMENTS: Pyrohemia, again, saves the day here. Also, on a strategic note, without Hellion, this deck cannot defeat an infinite-life Project X. Thus, the goal becomes to play Stuffy Doll on oneself, thereby forcing a draw with Pariah.
Solar Flare: 0-2-0
COMMENTS: Angel of Despair is extremely, frustratingly effective against Dollhouse. It won both games with the help of Phyrexian Totem.
Yes, I know, I don't have any tourneys with this deck. I'm not a tournament player, and I would strongly ask anyone willing to bring this deck into serious competition, as it clearly has a strong chance.
In fact, for your theory to work, Urza block would have had to be artifact themed (it wasn't, it was enchantment themed), and Kamigawa/Masques block would have had to have been "suck-ass" themed (this is the only area in which you may have a point ;)).
-E
Urza's did have a strong artifact presence, even if it wasn't so much a central theme. It was still overpowered. Also, the biggest evidence of the pattern is the Invasion-Ravnica relation... spooky. Lorwyn's likely tribal theme may also evidence a continuation of the pattern.
And, on an odd note, what if doom-saying predictions like these give the twisted minds at Wizards motivation to continue the pattern? What if Rock block will be an overpowered artifact block simply because we worry that it may be?
W CoP: Red and CoP: Black. I mourn for you, just as I mourned for CoP: White/Green/Blue. Luminesce is nothing compared to the CoPs. Story Circle... just isn't the same.
U Oh, I wish I could just Rewind back to the days of glorious blue control. But I no longer can. If I may not Mana Leak, then I shall leak from my eyes.
10th brought a lot of fun stuff. The renewed borders, more flavor text (at least it seems to me), and, most importantly, strong cards that don't break the game. Even the colors that didn't get so lucky in 10th have strong points (I really like white in 10th, others don't). The balance is maintained. A lot of big, fun cards in the set, too (not necessarily tier 1 material). Very few junk rares.
6th is notable for being the start of a new era in magic, with new rules and so on. It was big. Also strong.
9th, I like, although it is nothing that special.
Same for 7th, although I don't like it as much.
8th was horrible, and it also gave us colorless color symbols (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?).
You may as well run Barren Glory in the deck, since a lot of decks can eliminate Gargadon very quickly. Timecrafting might help to speed things up, and Lightning Axe is removal worth considering, as it is a hand-thinner.
EDIT: Actually, you may choose to drop the discard theme completely, since the right build can narrow hand size down to 0 anyway. Also, you should use Wheel of Fate for draw and Wrath of God for removal.
The 8 Pariahs have come in handy a lot. Without them, the combo is less likely to occur and much easier to stop. So too have the 4 circles. And please, I need a way to deal with hard control. Perhaps Ghitu Encampment or Forbidding Watchtower?
Really? I think River of Tears's flavor text is very fitting for Lorwyn. Of the 5, only Cairns is really out of the question because of flavor. And Canopy and Burnwillows are both better than core set painlands.
It's OK. Spirit Loop and the Coronet are wasting space, I think, and Cho-Manno, Revolutionary is an absolute must. Anyway, test it out if you wanna see how good it is.
4 Scrying Sheets
4 Paladin-en-vec
4 Veteran Armorer
4 Soltari Priest
4 Mistral Charger
4 True Believer
4 Suntail Hawk
3 Mistmeadow Skulk
3 Serra Avenger
3 Stonecloaker
3 Blade of the Sixth Pride
4 Glorious Anthem
4 Enduring Renewal
3 Calciderm
4 Pithing Needle
1 Mistmeadow Skulk
2 Whitemane Lion
And, yes, it works.
That is a completely different deck. I'm not saying it is worse, just that it is not the deck in question. And I still prefer a control build.
Oh, and also, if you all don't think online testing is meaningful, try this deck out yourself however you want. Please.
NO HELIX! NO PALADIN! NO FAST SPELLS! Please, this is a controlish deck, its slow but it doesn't need stuff like that. And, again, the 8 Pariahs are there to maximize combo probability and act as a barrier against removal.
However, Bottled Cloister is much better than Wheel of Fate for this deck. Thanks, fencer. Also, I like the idea of 2-3 Kher Keep.
Anyway, here is my dilemma: I don't actually have the physical cards of this deck. All these trials were online. Again, I strongly believe this to be a competitive deck, and I would ask anyone willing to take it to a tournament. There are only about 2 months left until Rav cycles out, leaving the deck unshielded. It needs at least one serious performance before then.
Dollhouse.dec
3 Cho-Manno, Revolutionary
4 Pariah
4 Pariah's Shield
4 Pyrohemia
4 Story Circle
4 Wheel of Fate
4 Wrath of God
4 Boros Signet
4 Forbidding Watchtower
4 Flagstones of Trokair
5 Mountain
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Battlefield Forge
2 Boros Garrison
2 Plains
4 Privileged Position
4 Ghitu Encampment
3 Demonfire
Here's how it works: Early games are handled with an abundance of mass removal (***, and, if need be, Pyrohemia) and Protection (Story Circle). Stuffy or Cho-Manno then comes out, and Pariah or the shield follow soon thereafter. Ensuring the combo is crucial. That is why there are 8 Pariahs in the deck (this also helps against trace amounts of removal. Ultimately, the deck plays Pyrohemia for the win. Then, as a counter to SB Artifact/Enchantment Removal, PP is brought in, the Encampment is used against control, the Hellion in any case where an expensive instant win is necessary (e.g, Project X), Demonfire against control.
Test Results: (Best of 3 against some decklists in this forum)
NOTE: admittedly, these are pre-10th decks, and they may be weaker than their corresponding post-10th decks.
Bridge Dredge: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Pyrohemia utterly pwns Zombie armies. One of the easiest match-ups.
Gruul Aggro: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Tin-Street Hooligan successfully slowed me down several times, but the fact that most aggro decks cant deal with the combo after it is established superceded that.
Korlash Control: 2-0-0
COMMENTS: Again, no answer to the resolved combo. Rise // Fall is effective, but, ultimately, not enough to warrant a victory.
MGA Snowy-Scryb: 2-1-0
COMMENTS: Extremely fast, MGA was a valiant opponent, but a Green Story Circle and mana screw-via-pyrohemia overcame it.
Mystical Teachings Control:1-2-0
COMMENTS: Hard counters are no fun for Dollhouse. The sole victory resulted from a miraculous hellbent demonfire on Dralnu, Lich Lord, which cleared the board.
Perilous Storm: 2-1-0
COMMENTS: Game 3 should have been a loss (Ignite Memories would have killed me by picking any of 3 cards in my 5-card hand only once. It hit one of the 2 lands all 3 times.) It was not. The Circle proved effective here, although Repeal provided the opponent with a potent solution. Again, few answers to the resolved combo.
Project X: 2-0-1
COMMENTS: Pyrohemia, again, saves the day here. Also, on a strategic note, without Hellion, this deck cannot defeat an infinite-life Project X. Thus, the goal becomes to play Stuffy Doll on oneself, thereby forcing a draw with Pariah.
Solar Flare: 0-2-0
COMMENTS: Angel of Despair is extremely, frustratingly effective against Dollhouse. It won both games with the help of Phyrexian Totem.
Yes, I know, I don't have any tourneys with this deck. I'm not a tournament player, and I would strongly ask anyone willing to bring this deck into serious competition, as it clearly has a strong chance.
Moved to Decks for Critique.
-Iceman8352
4 Nether Traitor
4 Dauthi Slayer
4 Sangrophage
4 Hypnotic Specter
3 Chilling Shade
4 Dark Confidant
4 Rimebound Dead
4 Withered Wretch
4 Scrying Sheets
4 Bad Moon
4 Dash Hopes
4 No Rest for the Wicked
3 Yixlid Jailer
4 Tombstalker
Urza's did have a strong artifact presence, even if it wasn't so much a central theme. It was still overpowered. Also, the biggest evidence of the pattern is the Invasion-Ravnica relation... spooky. Lorwyn's likely tribal theme may also evidence a continuation of the pattern.
And, on an odd note, what if doom-saying predictions like these give the twisted minds at Wizards motivation to continue the pattern? What if Rock block will be an overpowered artifact block simply because we worry that it may be?
If so, I am deeply sorry.
U Oh, I wish I could just Rewind back to the days of glorious blue control. But I no longer can. If I may not Mana Leak, then I shall leak from my eyes.
B Mindslicer? Phyrexian Arena? Persecute? Why, oh why did Wizards put such fun, simple iconic black cards to rest?
G Biorhythm will be missed. Oh, what fun we had!
1: How will I ever face control again without a Defense Grid?
Oh, and Tron, I have always hated you. Good riddance.
1) Hurkyl's Recall, March of the Machines, and Shatterstorm mysteriously return to standard, where they will stay until after Scissors is released.
2) There have been broken artifacts and/or enablers in 2-year spans every 5 years. It fits the pattern.
3) Look at Mirrodin. Wizards hadn't learned anything from Urza's!
4) Look at Urza's. Wizards hadn't learned anything from Alpha!
5) Rock sounds like an artifact block. This is probably irrelevant, since code names are unrelated to set themes (e.g, Ravnica = Control).
6
9
7
8
10th brought a lot of fun stuff. The renewed borders, more flavor text (at least it seems to me), and, most importantly, strong cards that don't break the game. Even the colors that didn't get so lucky in 10th have strong points (I really like white in 10th, others don't). The balance is maintained. A lot of big, fun cards in the set, too (not necessarily tier 1 material). Very few junk rares.
6th is notable for being the start of a new era in magic, with new rules and so on. It was big. Also strong.
9th, I like, although it is nothing that special.
Same for 7th, although I don't like it as much.
8th was horrible, and it also gave us colorless color symbols (WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?).
EDIT: Actually, you may choose to drop the discard theme completely, since the right build can narrow hand size down to 0 anyway. Also, you should use Wheel of Fate for draw and Wrath of God for removal.