You can check out the detailed recap (with images and in-depth explanations) here: Ub Control M14 Recap
As always, I'd appreciate your feedback. Criticisms and suggestions welcome!
Deck:
Super happy with how this turned out. Very consistent, with lots of potential for strong tempo plays and some very powerful 5-drop fliers for finishers. Ideally, it’d have another black removal spell or two, but the Archaeomancers go a long way towards rebuying what I do have.
Round one: I played against a goofy G/W lifegain deck, with lots of Elixirs of Immortality, Brindle Boars, and Angelic Accord. Dude even had Strionic Resonator to go off with the angel enchantment. In the release events, lots of players are trying these novelty decks that ultimately aren’t very good. He also had some other randon weak stuff like Gladecover Scouts or the 1/1 white guy that gains life. This feels almost like a free win. Had no problem beating this deck by recurring tempo spells and beating down with fliers. Time ebb and Archaeomancer are best buds.
Round two: Opponent is red/blue. He has some beefy fliers, including Scourge of Valkas and an Air Servant of his own. My own Air Servant is really good against him, keeping his fliers tapped while my 2/2 Phantom Warrior does most of the damage. He’s also got some random stuff like Lightning Talons on a 0/1 Dragon Hatchling, which I easily deal with with removal, and getting these kinds of 2-for-1s just feels so sweet. Especially when the removal spells come back thanks to Archaeomancer.
Finals: My opponent’s on a green/black deck with lots of creature enchantments. Trollhides and Marks of the Vampire on random dudes. His deck looks a lot stronger in game 2, where he gets me with a Doom Blade and follows up with a Sengir Vampire. It’s not enough, though, because my Air Servant just taps his Vampire infinitely.
Ended up not losing a single game. Some of this I can attribute to the lower-quality of players that tend to show up in release queues (particularly against round 1′s gimmicky lifegain deck), but I don’t think that it’s wrong to attribute the victories to the sweet deck.
It worked out very well, and played super consistently. Let’s hope that this is a good sign for M14 in the future. Certainly started it off right.
Compare Shrinking Serpent to something like Floodchaser. Floodchaser takes a permanent hit to its P/T and costs mana to attack, while yours is free and until EOT. Not to mention during your opponents upkeep you can take it down to a 1/1 and make 5 of their lands islands to really screw with their mana base.
Floodchaser isn't particularly powerful, but you make a very good point about the upkeep play. I think that a "in addition to its other types" might just be a fine fix, and still keep it as a 5/5 for 6.
first up, i've long wanted to see the "flagbearer mechanic" put to use again. i also know that red is lacking in more diverse mechanics for its color identity. it fits, flavorfully. i think that the "look at me! look at me!" idea works well for red's flavor.
Ego Shaman1R Creature—Goblin Shaman [C]
Decoy (While choosing targets as part of casting a spell or activating an ability, your opponents must choose this permanent if able.) 2/1
Hoardmother Creature—Dragon [M]
Flying
Decoy (While choosing targets as part of casting a spell or activating an ability, your opponents must choose this permanent if able.)
Whenever Hoardmother becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, put a 5/5 red dragon
creature token with flying onto the battlefield. 5/5
also tried to come up with a unique new manland:
Cicali the Swarm Nest Legendary Land [R]
Cicali the Swarm Nest enters the battlefield tapped. T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, tap Cicali the Swarm Nest and it
becomes an attacking 2/2 colorless Insect creature until end of turn. It’s still a land.
A little unsure about the wording here—having a hard time getting it to work exactly like I want it to. Does it work? What do you think?
and then some other stuff:
Shrinking Serpent5U Creature—Serpent [C]
Shrinking Serpent cannot attack unless the defending player controls an island.
Shrinking Serpent gets -1/-1 until end of turn: Target land becomes an island until end of turn. 6/6
Visaurus2GG Creature—Lizard [U]
Trample
Whenever Visaurus deals combat damage to a creature and player in the same combat,
you may draw cards equal to the damage dealt to that player. 3/3
Skeleton Plate1 Artifact—Equipment [U]
Sacrifice Skeleton Plate: Regenerate equipped creature. 4: Return Skeleton Plate from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to target creature you control.
Equip 1
Idol of Promises1 Artifact [R] ,T: Shuffle Idol of Promises and your graveyard into your library, then reveal the top card
of your library. If that card is named Idol of Promises, put it into your hand and draw two cards.
That might sound condescending, and maybe even potentially sexist, but bear with me here.
You're in the infancy of your marriage and you are starting a new huge chapter of your life. The last thing you want to do is set a precedent of giving in. She'll begin to expect this of you, and you're trapped. Seen it happen, man. It's not even her fault—don't take it that way. I'm not saying that she has some dastardly plan to control you in the future—but this is how things naturally grow. You want to start strong, and establish that you need time for yourself and your hobby.
Now that you've made your decision, here's a way to approach bringing it up without seeming like you're going back. This way you'll also get a good feel of what she iws really thinking.
The decision was based on money—we agreed that the baby needs the money. So approach her, excited—and be like "hey, a friend of mine says I can borrow his deck to use, so I'm going to FNM this weekend. That way I don't have to spend the hundred dollars on a deck of my own."
Don't ask her permission. That will set a precedent for the years to come. You don't need permission to do something enjoyable for yourself that doesn't take away from anybody else. Instead, you just need to be in agreement about the timing. If you must ask—ask her which weekend is best for her to be alone without you. Even suggest that she has a "girls night" while you're playing magic.
Then gauge her response.
Never be afraid to put what you want first. If she doesn't have a good reason for you not to go, then tell her that. If she does have a good reason (the only one I can think of is money, and borrowing a deck solves that problem), talk it through with her.
Your templating is off, which is my only issue. I'd reword the card slightly.
Whenever any opponent plays a land, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield. GU, Return ~ to your hand: Search your library for a Forest or Island card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Shuffle your library.
Cards of a specified type need to be revealed before they move between hidden zones, and don't forget the "shuffle clause" after a library search!
I have no problem playing Tavern Swindler—he makes it in most of my Rakdos and/or Golgari decks. I've never once used his ability, though. He's a bear.
Most frustrating card to play against from my experience (ignoring rares) is Stab Wound. It can just put you in a position where you can't do anything while you just sit there and wait to die. I've had games where my opponent would play a Stab Wound on my Frostburn Weerd and I feel glad that I can actually kill my own creature. That's pretty pathetic.
I like the bonus cards, I don't like the commanders. Also, Szenerant's first ability is pretty bad if you realize you are basically just shaving 1 mana. If you use it twice and cast him, you are still basically paying 2BU. He should cost much more colorless mana and the reduction should be manaless.
Thanks man. I'm more of a limited player than anthing else, so the bonus cards are actually my favorites too.
As for Szenerant, the idea was that it would reduce his extra cost in the late game by feeding off 'walkers and stuff—since commanders cost 2 more to cast each time they die. But you're totally right that something about it doesnt feel quite right. What about "Pay 1 life" instead of a mana cost?
so i'm working on a set for fun, and i thought that it would be sick to have a cycle of legendary creatures explicitly made for the commander format.
note that i'm fully aware that some of these mechanics are special and shouldn't be done often (we'd never normally mention the command zone on cards, for example), but something like a one-off mythic cycle of these would be pretty sweet.
looking for feedbacks on these designs, wording, balance, flavor, etc.
Perphera the Omnipresent4WU Legendary Creature — Angel
As long as Perphera the Omnipresent is in the command zone, she may block as though she were on the battlefield. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to and dealt by her.
Flying, vigilance 3/6
Szenerant the Devourer3UB Legendary Creature — Vampire Wizard 1: Remove a counter from target permanent. Szenerant the Devourer costs 2 less to cast this turn. Activate this ability only while Szenerant is in the command zone.
When Szenerant enters the battlefield, destroy target creature. If that creature had any counters on it, put those counters on Szenerant. 4/4
Feran the Fireborn1RG Legendary Creature — Elemental 2RG: Put Feran the Fireborn onto the battlefield from the command zone. Play this ability as a sorcery.
Haste, first strike, trample 2/2
Enthyrix the Brutal5BR Legendary Creature — Demon
Enthyrix the Brutal is the source of combat damage dealt by creatures you control.
Damage cannot be prevented and players cannot gain life.
Spells cannot be countered by spells or abilities.
Protection has no effect. 8/8
Corcyre the Life Vision2GW Legendary Creature — Elf Cleric
When Corcyre the Life Vision enters the battlefield from the command zone, you may search your library for a creature card and reveal it. Then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. You may reveal it. If that card is a creature card, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. 3/3
bonus cards (for limited)!!
Flick AwayB Instant
If Flick Away targets a 1/1 creature, it costs B less to cast.
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
YawnU Sorcery
Tap target permanent. Then, at the beginning of its controller’s next upkeep, tap it again unless he or she pays 2.
Do you have adblock? Make sure to disable it on CFB—they've rigged their videos to black out because a lot of people were bypassing the ads, which are making them their money.
I'm not gonna try to convince you not to force Rakdos because I agree with you.
Generally, unless I open a bomb in another color, I'll start a draft by trying to force Rakdos. And if it doesn't work, I'll end up in one of the guilds that shares a color. I don't particularly think that the set is unbalanced—Rakdos is powerful when it works, but that doesn't mean the other guilds are less appealing. The aggressiveness of Rakdos really fits my playstyle and what I want to do, though.
As always, I'd appreciate your feedback. Criticisms and suggestions welcome!
Deck:
Super happy with how this turned out. Very consistent, with lots of potential for strong tempo plays and some very powerful 5-drop fliers for finishers. Ideally, it’d have another black removal spell or two, but the Archaeomancers go a long way towards rebuying what I do have.
Round one: I played against a goofy G/W lifegain deck, with lots of Elixirs of Immortality, Brindle Boars, and Angelic Accord. Dude even had Strionic Resonator to go off with the angel enchantment. In the release events, lots of players are trying these novelty decks that ultimately aren’t very good. He also had some other randon weak stuff like Gladecover Scouts or the 1/1 white guy that gains life. This feels almost like a free win. Had no problem beating this deck by recurring tempo spells and beating down with fliers. Time ebb and Archaeomancer are best buds.
Round two: Opponent is red/blue. He has some beefy fliers, including Scourge of Valkas and an Air Servant of his own. My own Air Servant is really good against him, keeping his fliers tapped while my 2/2 Phantom Warrior does most of the damage. He’s also got some random stuff like Lightning Talons on a 0/1 Dragon Hatchling, which I easily deal with with removal, and getting these kinds of 2-for-1s just feels so sweet. Especially when the removal spells come back thanks to Archaeomancer.
Finals: My opponent’s on a green/black deck with lots of creature enchantments. Trollhides and Marks of the Vampire on random dudes. His deck looks a lot stronger in game 2, where he gets me with a Doom Blade and follows up with a Sengir Vampire. It’s not enough, though, because my Air Servant just taps his Vampire infinitely.
Ended up not losing a single game. Some of this I can attribute to the lower-quality of players that tend to show up in release queues (particularly against round 1′s gimmicky lifegain deck), but I don’t think that it’s wrong to attribute the victories to the sweet deck.
It worked out very well, and played super consistently. Let’s hope that this is a good sign for M14 in the future. Certainly started it off right.
I wrote up a big recap here: First Pick Griseldaddy
It's got images and lots of commentary, so it should be easier to read than if I just pasted the log from MTGO. I think it's easier to read, anyway.
The rules don't say anything against linking to recaps elsewhere, so hopefully it's okay.
Would love feedback and opinions.
This is the final deck:
Floodchaser isn't particularly powerful, but you make a very good point about the upkeep play. I think that a "in addition to its other types" might just be a fine fix, and still keep it as a 5/5 for 6.
also tried to come up with a unique new manland:
A little unsure about the wording here—having a hard time getting it to work exactly like I want it to. Does it work? What do you think?
and then some other stuff:
That might sound condescending, and maybe even potentially sexist, but bear with me here.
You're in the infancy of your marriage and you are starting a new huge chapter of your life. The last thing you want to do is set a precedent of giving in. She'll begin to expect this of you, and you're trapped. Seen it happen, man. It's not even her fault—don't take it that way. I'm not saying that she has some dastardly plan to control you in the future—but this is how things naturally grow. You want to start strong, and establish that you need time for yourself and your hobby.
Now that you've made your decision, here's a way to approach bringing it up without seeming like you're going back. This way you'll also get a good feel of what she iws really thinking.
The decision was based on money—we agreed that the baby needs the money. So approach her, excited—and be like "hey, a friend of mine says I can borrow his deck to use, so I'm going to FNM this weekend. That way I don't have to spend the hundred dollars on a deck of my own."
Don't ask her permission. That will set a precedent for the years to come. You don't need permission to do something enjoyable for yourself that doesn't take away from anybody else. Instead, you just need to be in agreement about the timing. If you must ask—ask her which weekend is best for her to be alone without you. Even suggest that she has a "girls night" while you're playing magic.
Then gauge her response.
Never be afraid to put what you want first. If she doesn't have a good reason for you not to go, then tell her that. If she does have a good reason (the only one I can think of is money, and borrowing a deck solves that problem), talk it through with her.
Good luck bro.
Cards of a specified type need to be revealed before they move between hidden zones, and don't forget the "shuffle clause" after a library search!
Most frustrating card to play against from my experience (ignoring rares) is Stab Wound. It can just put you in a position where you can't do anything while you just sit there and wait to die. I've had games where my opponent would play a Stab Wound on my Frostburn Weerd and I feel glad that I can actually kill my own creature. That's pretty pathetic.
Thanks man. I'm more of a limited player than anthing else, so the bonus cards are actually my favorites too.
As for Szenerant, the idea was that it would reduce his extra cost in the late game by feeding off 'walkers and stuff—since commanders cost 2 more to cast each time they die. But you're totally right that something about it doesnt feel quite right. What about "Pay 1 life" instead of a mana cost?
so i'm working on a set for fun, and i thought that it would be sick to have a cycle of legendary creatures explicitly made for the commander format.
note that i'm fully aware that some of these mechanics are special and shouldn't be done often (we'd never normally mention the command zone on cards, for example), but something like a one-off mythic cycle of these would be pretty sweet.
looking for feedbacks on these designs, wording, balance, flavor, etc.
bonus cards (for limited)!!
Generally, unless I open a bomb in another color, I'll start a draft by trying to force Rakdos. And if it doesn't work, I'll end up in one of the guilds that shares a color. I don't particularly think that the set is unbalanced—Rakdos is powerful when it works, but that doesn't mean the other guilds are less appealing. The aggressiveness of Rakdos really fits my playstyle and what I want to do, though.
(this subforum really needs more attention)