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  • posted a message on [Advice Sought] Mono-G Eldrazi Ramp
    Okay, just got back from FNM. Okay, so before FNM tonight, I did a little shopping. Thanks to lajube for the Surrak and Vegetation ideas (and to AdamM for convincing me completely on EV)

    Made the following swaps.

    All three Hedron Archive out for Surrak the Hunt Caller
    All four Beastcaller Savant out for Leaf Gilder
    All three Hedron Archive out for Explosive Vegetation
    One Eldrazi Devastator out for Terra Stomper
    Another Devastator out for [Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger[/card]

    So, heading into the tournament, my deck was



    Results
    ROUND 1 vs. Abzan Warriors
    Complete disaster. Was dead before fifth turn each game and was just completely overwhelmed. Just ugly. 2-0 loss.

    ROUND 2 vs. Esper Control Dragons
    Dominant win. Broke through the lockdowns, survived board sweeps each game, and overwhelmed the control. Worked exactly how I envisioned. On a side note, it is impossible to have three 10/10 creatures in play and not look smug. 2-0 win

    ROUND 3 vs. Monored Landfall
    2-0 loss, but boht games were competitive. Flipping Dragonmaster Outcast wrecked me the first- even Eldrazi giants can't fend off 5/5 dragons coming into play every turn. Second game had to deal with 2 Retreat to Hagra early, and opponent kept cracking fetchlands to double up the damage. By the time I got Ulamog in to sweep them out, it was too late.

    ROUND 4 vs. Black/Green Elves
    Not quite the disaster as the first round, but still pretty bad. Managorger Hydra on turn two became bad news, and his elves came in too hard and too fast to get anything done. 2-0 loss.


    WHAT I LOVED

    ULAMOG THE CEASELESS HUNGER Oh so awesome. Showed up, popped permanents, and then shredded libraries. Once he's in play, your opponent literally has two turns to live if they're lucky, even with blockers. That milling to exile does it automatically.
    Restless One Loved how versatile it proved to be. Need a 3/3 blocker? Check. Need a 9/9 stomper? Check! Its a creature that adapts to the state of the board.
    Desolation Twin Ended up being a decoy against the control deck- she used all her resources up trying to keep the twins from attacking, so she was screwed when I brought Ulamog in. Still, they're two big 10/10's for the price of one.

    WHAT I DIDNT LOVE
    Ob Nixilis Reignited Never even got a chance to play him. At this point I think its time to scrub him and black- if I'm gonna splash, I need to splash something more versatile and cheaper.
    Hangarback Walker Don't get me wrong, I love this card, but it just doesnt work in this deck. In the early game, I'm focusing more on ramping the deck up instead of growing him to a good size to be an effective defense, and by the time the mana's there, there's too many better options. Just not the right deck for it.
    Lifespring Druid Just didn't work. Too pricy, and the domain capability is utterly unneeded. I'd be better off bringing the Savants back in, or finding another creature ramp)

    So after a problematic, yet highly instructive FNM, I'm definitely into From Beyond now (thanks to lajube for the suggestion). Jaddi Ofshoot for the sideboard- I'm bringing a ton of lands in, so that'd be a life gain, plus 0/3 defense in the early game. And also Animist's Awakening for bringing land in even faster, which would likely replace Nissa's Renewal.

    Thoughts?
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on [Advice Sought] Mono-G Eldrazi Ramp
    Quote from MrM0nd4y »
    To solve Aligned Hedron Network, sideboard Unravel the Aether.


    Unravel is not legal.

    If he goes for mono green lots of removal isn't really an option >_<


    Which is why he should splash. With the mana being as good as it is, there's no reason to be playing monocolor. He should splash White for Statis Snare/Quarantine Field or Red for Radiant Flames.


    I do have a splash of black for Ob Nixilis. Maybe go that route?
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Pivotal moments BFZ
    Quote from Pollaski »
    So Nissa's Renewal just happened. So it's taken 8 episodes to get through two of the five points.

    Better hurry it up or we're going to be way into Oath of the Gatewatch before the AHN happens!


    I get the feeling the next three will happen a bit more quickly, mostly because like last year I'm assuming they're going to allocate some weeks to stories about new guys from Commander 2015.

    Personally looking forward to Jace and Ugin. I'm still not convinced that Ugin is entirely one of the "good guys", even if in card form he seems like the opposite foil to the mustache-twirling cartoon villain that is Bolas. If anyone is able to critically analyze the motives of an ancient spirit Dragon in this assembled cast of 'walkers, it'd be Jace.


    Well, it's already been established that Ugin sat back and allowed the Eldrazi to completely destroy several planes and kill probably a few billion people before he actually felt bothered enough to to do something about it, and even then he's adamant that the Eldrazi not be killed, just imprisoned.

    I think he's the other side of the coin of Bolas- neither takes much stock in the concept of morality. The difference is Bolas uses it as an excuse to do whatever he wants to whoever he wants, so its an extremely selfish viewpoint. Ugin on the other hand has more of a "big picture" mentality, thinking about the enitre multiverse as a whole. The Eldrazi are part of it, and must be allowed to be so, but at the same time you can't have them going around destroying EVERY world. So a balance of sorts- let them take a few (and sucks to be you if you were in that world), but imprison them to keep them from getting too carried away.

    IN the end, Magic likes their "big goods" to have somewhat of a jackassy side. Freyalise ended the Ice Age in a second without a second thought as to what ticking up the global temperature 30 degrees or so overnight was going to do to people. Urza did a bunch of terrible things in the name of fighting Phyrexia. Ugin kicks back, relaxes, and drinks Dragon Cola with a paper umbrella while watching planes get turned to dust in the name of research... things go on.
    Posted in: Magic Storyline
  • posted a message on [Advice Sought] Mono-G Eldrazi Ramp
    CREATURE RAMP IT IS!!!!

    Although creature defense is kinda the idea with the Hangarbacks and Endlesses. Get the Hangarbacks growing early, and pop in a 3/3 or 4/4 Endless One for defense if I have to. I do like creature ramp for that reason though, but I'm also concerned that I might be dealing with removal spells on my Savants from the getgo, trying to cripple the ramp before it gets going.

    I've done some playtesting, and found with a good draw, I can get the Twins out by Turn 6.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Pivotal moments BFZ
    So Nissa's Renewal just happened. So it's taken 8 episodes to get through two of the five points.

    Better hurry it up or we're going to be way into Oath of the Gatewatch before the AHN happens!

    I cheered when I saw that card. I didn't want another New Phyrexia Frown

    Posted in: Magic Storyline
  • posted a message on How do you feel about the way plot is revealed in MTG?
    The entire Weatherlight Saga was awesome- except for Commodore Guff. And that chapter in Apocalypse written from Yawgmoth's POV. That was... no.

    As far as current storytelling, I kind of miss the books, and the ability to get the entire main plot all at once, and maybe online stories for various offshoots, since most sets contain a world that expands just beyond the main plot. That said, I'm really enjoying the Battle for Zendikar stories. And yes, there's spoilers, but at the same time, how many movies do we go into knowing what's going to happen? Sometimes its watching it all play out that's the fun part, and I really enjoyed reading Nissa's fight with Ob Nixilis today.
    Posted in: Magic Storyline
  • posted a message on Yo
    Name's Dan, live in Washington. Played for about 2 years in Junior High (4th/FE/IA/HML), then again my first couple years of college (7th/INV), and now am picking it up again.

    I've followed the flavor and story the whole time though.

    Anyways, kinda digging the game now- everythings much more fun to play with. I look at my old cards with sadness.

    Heck, on a lark I just bought the Ice Age and Homelands complete sets cause they're cheap, and they're what I played when I was a kid. Almost cried at how pathetic the cards were. But still, plenty of good memories. Worth the buy.
    Posted in: Introduce Yourself
  • posted a message on [Advice Sought] Mono-G Eldrazi Ramp
    Quote from lajube »
    4 Surrak the Hunt Caller for haste. Then you can play your giant Eldrazi and immediately swing before they kill it.
    4 From Beyond or Explosive Vegetation

    To solve Aligned Hedron Network, sideboard Unravel the Aether.

    Good luck!


    Thanks for the advice. I only have a few Tarkir cards, so I'm not nearly as familiar with the block as I am with Origins, or even B4Z. I like that Surrak though, will have to look into picking up a few copies.

    I toyed with From Beyond, but ultimately decided against using all the spawns (I also toyed with the idea of putting in Spawning Bed) And my thing with Vegetation is that I already have the Pilgrimage, which is cheaper, and I'm fine with being more limited since I'm only running forests. Would you suggest I maybe put them in in lieu of some of the creature ramps like the Druid?

    And I love that Unravel. Way cheaper than the Scour.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on [Advice Sought] Mono-G Eldrazi Ramp
    Hey all. Been reading the wiki on here a long time, but just signed up for the forums. I've followed the flavor and story for magic over the years, but haven't really played all that much since the Invasion block. Clearly the game has changed since then, so I've been hesitant to make a construction until after I've played in a few booster drafts and built up my cardpool a bit. Anyways, I'm hoping to use this at FNM events and such, nothing too serious beyond that, but I'd love some advice.



    For sideboard I'm thinking of Scour from Existence and Gruesome Slaughter, along with maybe a few more big Green creatures, or even more Eldrazi.

    Ultimately, my biggest worries are early creature removal and Aligned Hedron Network (in which case I'll still have the Channelers, and can just keep my X creatures small- or better yet bring in the scour.

    It's not the most complex deck in the world, but I've always been more of an aggro guy.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
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