@ darkenykip : Could you please explain the Sun Titan + Animate Dead combo. I don't really see how it works (in fact, I see, but I'm suspecting a rule violation that makes it not working...)
I noticed that when I export a database to XML, the generated file will have information for all of the sets ever printed. Is there a way to limit the set information to only sets which have cards currently in the database? And if there isn't a way, could this be a new feature in a future release?
@ beanman1000 : I've already seen the deck you mentioned. But the linked deck uses a large number of banned cards... If you remove them for it, the deck is not consistent at all anymore. So the starting point you suggest is out of date. Almost all the combo and interactions are destroyed, like Painter + Iona etc.
@Danatmorn : Attrition is really sexy on the paper, but in practice, it's not that good, especially against Commander Doran or all other decks that runs Black. It's a long-term solution as you need to cast it and sac creatures in a row, for Attrition to be really efficient and to avoid any enchantment destruction. I'd rather play a sweeper like Damnation in that slot. I'm currently testing it again, and it's not that bad, especially in early game, when the opponent went explosive and we had a slow start. Sadistic Hypnotist seems to be a bit to "heavy" compared to Nezumi Bone-Reader. The black mana and creatures to sac is not a problem at all in mid-end game, when Hypnotist starts doing its job. Nezumi can be efficient even at early game, that's why I prefer it. Blasting Station and Phyrexian Altar are good ideas. Phyrexian Reclamation is very sexy, but doesn't it require to much life and mana. The interaction with Shriekmaw or Fleshbag Marauder might need to be consiered.
@darkenykip : as I finally rejected Nim Deathmantle (needs to much mana to be really efficient), but I reckon the combo with Yosei is interesting. All other combo are nice, but they really depend on Teysa, and I don"t want to be 100% dependent on Teysa. Darkest Hour will definitely be a dead-card with my Commander on table.
Wall of Omens is pretty nice at early game and in let game when you have a recursive graveyard. If I don't run Nim Deathmantle anymore, it might not be that good, and I can save a slot here. Plagued Rusalka was found to be really good to handle small creatures opponent has and to provide a cheat sac outlet. This is also true for Viscera Seer. Reliquary Monk is one of the best Enchant/Artifact destruction in White Creature with Devout Witness. I think it is worth to play it. Aven Mindcensor is really good, especially against land tutors and black tutors. I think I want to play it in the next version of the deck.
The deck is not that color-mana dependent. I prefer so far Fellwar Stone or Prismatic Lens because they can provide mana the turn they come into play. You don't lose so much tempo, compared to Diamonds or Coldsteel Heart. In addition, those artifact can produce B or W manas under Contamination which is what I want.
About the rejected list, for which card do you want information ?
Thanks for your suggestions.
I think I may run enough 'recurring' creatures. The one your suggest are the ones that remains available, and they may not be as good as Reassembling Skeleton, Nether Traitor or Bloodghast.
I can tell you you seldom have 4 creatures in graveyard, as you sacrifice tokens, and not the creatures you cast. Oversold Cemetery has shown to be really poor in the deck.
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder needs to be tested. It's a really good black token generator, really combo with all the sac outlet.
The deck locks with a stax strategy, or with a Contamination lock when opponent goes multicolor or has no mana production from nonland permanent.
The most important things in my view are :
1/ Card Advantage to ensure a good tempo
2/ Sacrifice outlets to get white tokens from Teysa for removing opponent's creature and having access to poweful abilities requiring sacrificing
3/ Black or White Permanent generators.
I thing I run almost all the viable cards available in the Teysa colors for such a strategy. I of course play black creatures & black token generator at maximum to abuse of the Teysa token ability. The balance between sac outlets and permanents generators is a hard to find. Maybe I need to run a bit more sweepers like Damnation, but it damages me a lot and I prefer non-symmetric sweepers like Urborg Justice. Maybe I run things that consume too much mana, like Nim Deathmantle. Even if the card is really combo with the deck theme, it's really slow to be efficient and you always gave to keep 4 ...
The deck is quite powerful, but it is not as efficient as expected. It's a bit heavy and slow, and almost can't win against Ramp decks like Azusa, or any decks that will have many permanent generators (Bitterblossom, Elspeth v1 or v2, many green token generators etc)
Here are all the cards I tested. Maybe some of them could be integrated into the deck again.
Sure, I can add it. But I would need an example of a .nd File (for Commander for example) to implement it. Your mws2nd file helped but a .nd file would be more consistent.
what's the status on the multiple export feature I mentioned earlier?
Almost done (I was on professional trip last week). But could you please tell me exactly how you want it ? What about your GUID database to synchronise cards' GUID from Gatherer Extractor with yours ?
A new version will be released as soon as this subroutine is done.
That statement alone invalidates your accusation. Not trying to be snarky, but 7 hours of testing is far too small a sample size. Once you have several hundred million shuffles logged, then you might be able to say if there is a skew one way or the other.
The fact is, the MWS and Cockatrice shuffler are FINE. What is NOT fine is HUMAN shuffling which is NOT AS RANDOM as a PsudoRandom Computer Generated shuffler. This leads to us complaining about the real randomness because decks in Real life are not as random.
The reason people cry about the Shuffler is that Cocatrice and MWS have as close to perfect randomness as you can get without radioactive decay hardware.
It is world known that MWS is biaised. It has been revealed with multiple performance of a khi² law on hundred millions of shuffles (using the routine for automatic suffling provided by MWS). It has also been shown years ago that the shuffler module contains elemental bugs, when the MWS developing team decided to reveal the code source of the shuffling subroutine to end the rumor... (http://www.mwsgames.com/index.php/MWS_Shuffler)
Well, I've just tested and it download perfectly both on the gatherer or magiccards.info.
Maybe you tried it when the Gatherer was on maintenance, resulting in extralong time response. You'll get the impression the program is doing nothing or has frozen, but it's not.
Images in other languages are already available.
The option is not an easy task for data! Data will be available in other languages as soon as I found a comprehensive database on the internet. As mentioned earlier, some sets in foreign languages are missing on the gatherer & magiccards.info. Even printed foreign texts are missing for early sets such as Tempest, Mirage etc.
I know where I can find a comprehensive database in French or German.... But in Japanese or Russian, that's another story.
I can add foreign database extraction for recent sets. But I'd like it to be comprehensive, including early sets.
I will of course let you know when such an option would be available.
Yamazaki Brothers are correctly extracted from the gatherer with Gatherer Extractor.
Your problem is not at all a problem with Gatherer Extractor, but a problem with your database in Magic WorkStation (MWS)... You should look into that direction to make sure you have a clean & uncorrupted database. What is exactly the error message you have when trying to "play" Yamazaki brothers ? (please PM me instead of answering here. The subject of that topic is not MWS...)
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Polluted Delta
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Plains
7 Swamp
1 Command Tower
1 Scrubland
1 Fetid Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Tainted Field
1 Reflecting Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Bojuka Bog
1 High Market
1 Mutavault
1 Wasteland
1 Dust Bowl
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
1 Tectonic Edge
Creatures (33)
1 Viscera Seer
1 Plagued Rusalka
1 Guul Draz Assassin
1 Nether Traitor
1 Bloodghast
1 Withered Wretch
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Dark Confidant
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Nezumi Bone-Reader
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Mesmeric Fiend
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Necrotic Sliver
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Bone Shredder
1 Crypt Rats
1 Reliquary Monk
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Magus of the Abyss
1 Marsh Flitter
1 Academy Rector
1 Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
1 Shriekmaw
1 Greater Harvester
1 Karmic Guide
1 World Queller
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Mox Diamond
1 Skullclamp
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Smokestack
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Urborg Justice
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Profane Command
1 Vindicate
1 Damnation
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Bitterblossom
1 Animate Dead
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Contamination
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Grave Pact
Commander (1)
1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion
I'm really thinking about playing Phyrexian Reclamation.
Done!
I will release the next version soon.
@Danatmorn : Attrition is really sexy on the paper, but in practice, it's not that good, especially against Commander Doran or all other decks that runs Black. It's a long-term solution as you need to cast it and sac creatures in a row, for Attrition to be really efficient and to avoid any enchantment destruction. I'd rather play a sweeper like Damnation in that slot. I'm currently testing it again, and it's not that bad, especially in early game, when the opponent went explosive and we had a slow start. Sadistic Hypnotist seems to be a bit to "heavy" compared to Nezumi Bone-Reader. The black mana and creatures to sac is not a problem at all in mid-end game, when Hypnotist starts doing its job. Nezumi can be efficient even at early game, that's why I prefer it. Blasting Station and Phyrexian Altar are good ideas. Phyrexian Reclamation is very sexy, but doesn't it require to much life and mana. The interaction with Shriekmaw or Fleshbag Marauder might need to be consiered.
@darkenykip : as I finally rejected Nim Deathmantle (needs to much mana to be really efficient), but I reckon the combo with Yosei is interesting. All other combo are nice, but they really depend on Teysa, and I don"t want to be 100% dependent on Teysa. Darkest Hour will definitely be a dead-card with my Commander on table.
Wall of Omens is pretty nice at early game and in let game when you have a recursive graveyard. If I don't run Nim Deathmantle anymore, it might not be that good, and I can save a slot here. Plagued Rusalka was found to be really good to handle small creatures opponent has and to provide a cheat sac outlet. This is also true for Viscera Seer. Reliquary Monk is one of the best Enchant/Artifact destruction in White Creature with Devout Witness. I think it is worth to play it.
Aven Mindcensor is really good, especially against land tutors and black tutors. I think I want to play it in the next version of the deck.
The deck is not that color-mana dependent. I prefer so far Fellwar Stone or Prismatic Lens because they can provide mana the turn they come into play. You don't lose so much tempo, compared to Diamonds or Coldsteel Heart. In addition, those artifact can produce B or W manas under Contamination which is what I want.
About the rejected list, for which card do you want information ?
I think I may run enough 'recurring' creatures. The one your suggest are the ones that remains available, and they may not be as good as Reassembling Skeleton, Nether Traitor or Bloodghast.
I can tell you you seldom have 4 creatures in graveyard, as you sacrifice tokens, and not the creatures you cast. Oversold Cemetery has shown to be really poor in the deck.
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder needs to be tested. It's a really good black token generator, really combo with all the sac outlet.
I'm currently trying to build my home made Commander deck, restricted by the New French Banlist for Duel Commander.
From the previous banlist, the deck lost Strip Mine, Balance, Recurring Nightmare and Vampiric Tutor...!
I'm trying to reorientate the deck to a Stax strategy. Here is the current list :
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Marsh Flats
1 Arid Mesa
1 Polluted Delta
1 Windswept Heath
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Plains
7 Swamp
1 Command Tower
1 Scrubland
1 Fetid Heath
1 Godless Shrine
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Tainted Field
1 Reflecting Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Phyrexian Tower
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Bojuka Bog
1 High Market
1 Mutavault
1 Homeward Path
1 Wasteland
1 Dust Bowl
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
Creatures (33)
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Viscera Seer
1 Thoughtpicker Witch
1 Plagued Rusalka
1 Nether Traitor
1 Bloodghast
1 Withered Wretch
1 Vampire Hexmage
1 Dark Confidant
1 Reassembling Skeleton
1 Nezumi Bone-Reader
1 Nezumi Graverobber
1 Mesmeric Fiend
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Wall of Omens
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Necrotic Sliver
1 Vampire Nighthawk
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Bone Shredder
1 Crypt Rats
1 Reliquary Monk
1 Graveborn Muse
1 Braids, Cabal Minion
1 Magus of the Abyss
1 Marsh Flitter
1 Academy Rector
1 Shriekmaw
1 Greater Harvester
1 Karmic Guide
1 World Queller
1 Reveillark
1 Sun Titan
1 Elspeth Tirel
1 Mox Diamond
1 Skullclamp
1 Nim Deathmantle
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Orzhov Signet
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Prismatic Lens
1 Smokestack
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Urborg Justice
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Sign in Blood
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Diabolic Intent
1 Night's Whisper
1 Profane Command
1 Vindicate
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Bitterblossom
1 Animate Dead
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Dark Tutelage
1 Contamination
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Grave Pact
Commander
1 Teysa, Orzhov Scion
The most important things in my view are :
1/ Card Advantage to ensure a good tempo
2/ Sacrifice outlets to get white tokens from Teysa for removing opponent's creature and having access to poweful abilities requiring sacrificing
3/ Black or White Permanent generators.
I thing I run almost all the viable cards available in the Teysa colors for such a strategy. I of course play black creatures & black token generator at maximum to abuse of the Teysa token ability. The balance between sac outlets and permanents generators is a hard to find. Maybe I need to run a bit more sweepers like Damnation, but it damages me a lot and I prefer non-symmetric sweepers like Urborg Justice. Maybe I run things that consume too much mana, like Nim Deathmantle. Even if the card is really combo with the deck theme, it's really slow to be efficient and you always gave to keep 4 ...
The deck is quite powerful, but it is not as efficient as expected. It's a bit heavy and slow, and almost can't win against Ramp decks like Azusa, or any decks that will have many permanent generators (Bitterblossom, Elspeth v1 or v2, many green token generators etc)
Here are all the cards I tested. Maybe some of them could be integrated into the deck again.
1 Springjack Pasture
1 Kjeldoran Outpost
1 Kuon, Ogre Ascendant
1 Dimir House Guard
1 Anowon, the Ruin Sage
1 Rotlung Reanimator
1 Ronom Unicorn
1 Stronghold Assassin
1 Massacre Wurm
1 Soldevi Adnate
1 Archon of Justice
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Kami of False Hope
1 Ranger of Eos
1 Martyr of Sands
1 Grave Titan
1 Abyssal Gatekeeper
1 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Nether Shadow
1 Ashen Ghoul
1 Ichorid
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Gwyllion Hedge-Mage
1 Deathbringer Liege
1 Royal Assassin
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Sengir Autocrat
1 Twilight Drover
1 Austere Command
1 Wrath of God
1 Day of Judgment
1 Damnation
1 Catastrophe
1 Armageddon
1 Culling Dais
1 Marble Diamond
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Mortify
1 Go for the Throat
1 Land Tax
1 Tithe
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Liliana Vess
1 Gideon Jura
1 Proclamation of Rebirth
1 Call to the Grave
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Death Cloud
1 Pox
1 Smallpox
1 Oversold Cemetery
1 Ambition's Cost
1 Debtors' Knell
I really need some helps from you guys to improve the list. Maybe I missed some important cards you may think about. Feel free to suggest.
Thanks in advance.
Almost done (I was on professional trip last week). But could you please tell me exactly how you want it ? What about your GUID database to synchronise cards' GUID from Gatherer Extractor with yours ?
A new version will be released as soon as this subroutine is done.
It is world known that MWS is biaised. It has been revealed with multiple performance of a khi² law on hundred millions of shuffles (using the routine for automatic suffling provided by MWS). It has also been shown years ago that the shuffler module contains elemental bugs, when the MWS developing team decided to reveal the code source of the shuffling subroutine to end the rumor... (http://www.mwsgames.com/index.php/MWS_Shuffler)
Maybe you tried it when the Gatherer was on maintenance, resulting in extralong time response. You'll get the impression the program is doing nothing or has frozen, but it's not.
The option is not an easy task for data! Data will be available in other languages as soon as I found a comprehensive database on the internet. As mentioned earlier, some sets in foreign languages are missing on the gatherer & magiccards.info. Even printed foreign texts are missing for early sets such as Tempest, Mirage etc.
I know where I can find a comprehensive database in French or German.... But in Japanese or Russian, that's another story.
I can add foreign database extraction for recent sets. But I'd like it to be comprehensive, including early sets.
I will of course let you know when such an option would be available.
Yamazaki Brothers are correctly extracted from the gatherer with Gatherer Extractor.
Your problem is not at all a problem with Gatherer Extractor, but a problem with your database in Magic WorkStation (MWS)... You should look into that direction to make sure you have a clean & uncorrupted database. What is exactly the error message you have when trying to "play" Yamazaki brothers ? (please PM me instead of answering here. The subject of that topic is not MWS...)