I just want to note a few archetypes that didn't see anly play this round. I'm curious whether anyone had a build of one of these archetypes they considered, or another cool hand:
1: 3: Daze vs. Sphere.
2: 0: Fast enough.
3: 3: Convoy races my disruption.
4: 6: Nope.
5: 3: Playing first, I stop relevant stuff from happening.
6: 4: Playing second, I Chain Tongs. Playing first, I Chain Leyline and Daze Lotus.
8: 0: Still too fast.
9: 2: See 6, except WW can play Chasm after attacking, then prevent damage and sacrifice Chasm on his next upkeep to prevail in the race.
Nature's Claim gets Parallax Wave when it comes back summoning sick.
Erm, Parallax Wave being summoning sick doesn't prevent it from exiling stuff, since it doesn't tap.
Oi, you're right, thanks! That said, I'm not sure whether I should feel better for having designed a better hand or worse for updating my results now for the second time (back to what they were originally).
I activate Wave targeting Renewal (4 fade counters). WW responds with Sliver targeting Opalescence. I respond with Wave targeting Renewal (3 fade counters). I respond to that with Wave targeting Venser (3 fade counters). I let the activation targeting Venser resolve. I target Wave with Wave. Wave leaves, then Venser and Wave return. Venser triggers. I bounce Opalescence with Venser. The Wave activation targeting Renewal resolves and Renewal is permanently exiled. The Sliver activation and the first Wave activation are countered for lack of a legal target.
I control Wave (5 fade counters) and Venser, and I have Opalescence in my hand. WhammeWhamme has Necrotic Sliver in hand.
Now, the turns can play out as follows:
W: land (1)
M: land (1), 4 fade counters on Wave
W: land (2)
M: land (2), 3 fade counters on Wave
W: land (3), Sliver
M: land (3), 2 fade counters on Wave
W - option 1: land (4), sacrifice Sliver to destroy Venser.
M: land (4), 1 fade counter on Wave, cast Opalescence, activate Wave to exile itself and return itself with 5 fade counters, attack repeatedly with Wave
W - option 2: land (4), sacrifice Sliver to destroy Wave. I proceed to win with Venser.
1: 6: Exile Merieke. Exile Muse, Exile Muse. If Merieke targets Wave in response to my activation, stack triggers to permanents exile Wave and Anachronity's creatures. If Merieke targets Venser, exile Venser, too; eot, exile Wave, then permanently exile all of Anachronity's creatures while they have summoning sickness.
2: 0: Venser can bounce Revoker, but then Aura destroys Wave. Lodestone applies enough pressure that I can't afford to hard-cast my spells later. I contemplated playing Humility / Living Plane / Opalescence but got confused; maybe it would have been better. EDIT: Upon finally realizing a significant flaw in my current hand, it definitely would have been better.
3: 6: Scales are irrelevant. Stack triggers to permanently exile Nyxathids.
4: 6: Stack triggers to permanently exile creatures.
5: 6: Without resorting to any tricks, I win this by racing.
7: 6: Wave exiles Gideon creatures or attacks Gideon planeswalkers. Venser can repeatedly bounce li'l Gideon.
8: 0: Nature's Claim gets Parallax Wave when it comes back summoning sick.
9: 6: Detailed breakdown provided in post #14.
So, up until having completed my line once, I didn't realize that Parallax Wave would come back from its self-imposed exile not only homesick but also summoning sick. The plan had been that I could infinitely flicker Venser in and out at a moment's notice to bounce all opponents' permanents and spells. That said, Parallax Wave isn't as good as Humility in the 2WW enchantment slot, but it acquitted itself well nonetheless.
1: 6: Bounce lock.
2: 0: Venser can bounce Revoker, but then Aura destroys Wave. Lodestone applies enough pressure that I can't afford to hard-cast my spells later.
3: 6: Bounce lock.
4: 6: Bounce lock.
5: 6: Bounce lock; start by bouncing Needle.
7: 6: Bounce lock.
8: 6: Bounce lock. Venser bounces Claim, or Wave protects itself.
9: 6: See post #14.
It's probably in there somewhere but I can't find it.
How many packs are there going to be?
When does all selection need to be done by?
PHM Draft is a sub-forum inside Forum Games. It should be visible near the top of the Forum Games page. Here's a link.
The only thread you'll see in that sub-forum is the one you create. In the thread, the first post will be your expression of interest. The next post will be Feyd_Ruin posting a pack, the next post will be your pick from that pack, and so on.
There will be five fifteen-card packs, and you'll build a three-card hand from the five cards you draft. Hands will be played using the Extra Land Rule.
No deadline to enter the draft has been announced yet. Since the format allows asynchronous drafting, the timing will depend both on how often the players and Feyd_Ruin check in and when Feyd_Ruin decides to cap registration.
Thanks for setting this up!
How much programming went into making this work?
Assuming being a mod for the regular PHM rounds doesn't disqualify me, I've entered.
On that note, can I please request that card picks not be listed in the title of pm's to the mod account?
Maybe the title for each pm can just be "Pick N"?
EDIT: I totally misread what you were saying about the shared account. Thanks for having the foresight to set it up this way.
1: 3: My spells have mana costs; Anachronity can choose one of those mana costs as Sanctum Prelate enters the battlefield. This means that I can't complete my combo, and Sanctum Prelate attacks ten times until my life total is zero. Then I lose. Alternatively, I can play first and muster a stronger board position.
2: 3: Approach wins turn 3 on the play but comes just shy of gaining the 16 life necessary to survive two turns of attacking goblins.
3: 6: If Magus enchants Forest with Lush Growth, then he or she will be only one mana short of casting Empty the Warrens for two tokens, but close isn't good enough.
5: 2: The Council is threatened. With a unified voice, it decrees that a solitary goblin will take up farming. Another goblin gets sunburned. Sixteen goblins attack. Alternatively, Lotus, Lotus, Judgment (Sapphire), Sapphire, Retract, Lotus, Sapphire, Retract, Lotus, Sapphire, Empty makes more goblins than I have, so I lose. But! If Personman starts, he'll have to lead on Lotus, Wheel, which gives me a Lotus. Then, I can cast Lotus, Mox, Mox, Retract, Lotus, Mox, Mox, Retract, Lotus, Mox, Mox, Empty, and make 24 goblins.
At this point, Personman doesn't have time for shenanigans; he'd have to spend a turn exiling a Mox and re-drawing Lotus. Personman doesn't have a turn to give.
Neither of us makes the first move, so we draw.
1: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
2: 4: Playing first, I Totem-lock CS out of Exploration. Playing second, my Exploration comes down first, but CS keeps pace for blockers. CS's access to Humility prevents me from going for the win with a big Chancellor play.
3: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
4: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
5: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
6: -
7: 2: Totem stops the Pinnacle win, and Chasm stops the Exploration win.
8: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
9: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
1: 3: I can afford to take eight damage before my second turn, but Anachronity can deal 10. Playing first, Anachronity can burn his two LED's right away to remove counters from Choker or can wait as long as possible to gain as much life as possible with the Floorboards. Neither way lets Anachronity survive.
2: 6: Judgment can't exile Choker because it's a sorcery and Choptimist is never his own opponent.
3: 6: This version of the balance hand can't remove my Chasm.
4: 6: Judgment still can't exile Choker.
6: 0: Stage can copy Chasm.
7: 3: Anvil either discards on of my cards or it doesn't.
8: 6: I play Chasm on turn 2. At every opportunity, I add a counter to Choker and WhammeWhamme removes a counter. On my final turn, I let Chasm prevent damage from Choker, then don't pay cumulative upkeep. Playing second (one successful attack from Iona), I win on 2 life.
a) Recursion: Cackling Doom / Hickory Woodlot / Serene Remembrance / Unsubstantiate (I considered Karakas / Sensei's Divining Top / Venser, Shaper Savant, but didn't think of Serene Remembrance until now)
b) Flashy threats: Elvish Spirit Guide / Savage Summoning / (2) 8+ mana threats
c) Something with Take Possession
I lead with Sphere and Venser your Unsubstantiate.
If you don't Unsubstatiate, I untap and cast Venser with Sphere down.
I'll post the rest of my results later.
How long to put together the grid? This seems like a format that could have above-average computation time.
I'm glad someone stopped WW from sweeping.
7) Mogg :: True Sleeper
Chain of Vapor / Daze / Sleeper Agent / Underground Sea
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
7| 3 0 3 6 3 4 X 0 2 | 18 | 225
1: 3: Daze vs. Sphere.
2: 0: Fast enough.
3: 3: Convoy races my disruption.
4: 6: Nope.
5: 3: Playing first, I stop relevant stuff from happening.
6: 4: Playing second, I Chain Tongs. Playing first, I Chain Leyline and Daze Lotus.
8: 0: Still too fast.
9: 2: See 6, except WW can play Chasm after attacking, then prevent damage and sacrifice Chasm on his next upkeep to prevail in the race.
I activate Wave targeting Renewal (4 fade counters). WW responds with Sliver targeting Opalescence. I respond with Wave targeting Renewal (3 fade counters). I respond to that with Wave targeting Venser (3 fade counters). I let the activation targeting Venser resolve. I target Wave with Wave. Wave leaves, then Venser and Wave return. Venser triggers. I bounce Opalescence with Venser. The Wave activation targeting Renewal resolves and Renewal is permanently exiled. The Sliver activation and the first Wave activation are countered for lack of a legal target.
I control Wave (5 fade counters) and Venser, and I have Opalescence in my hand. WhammeWhamme has Necrotic Sliver in hand.
Now, the turns can play out as follows:
W: land (1)
M: land (1), 4 fade counters on Wave
W: land (2)
M: land (2), 3 fade counters on Wave
W: land (3), Sliver
M: land (3), 2 fade counters on Wave
W - option 1: land (4), sacrifice Sliver to destroy Venser.
M: land (4), 1 fade counter on Wave, cast Opalescence, activate Wave to exile itself and return itself with 5 fade counters, attack repeatedly with Wave
W - option 2: land (4), sacrifice Sliver to destroy Wave. I proceed to win with Venser.
6) Mogg
Opalescence / Parallax Wave / Venser, Shaper Savant
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
6| 6 0 6 6 6 X 6 6 6 | 36 | 525
1: 6: Exile Merieke. Exile Muse, Exile Muse. If Merieke targets Wave in response to my activation, stack triggers to permanents exile Wave and Anachronity's creatures. If Merieke targets Venser, exile Venser, too; eot, exile Wave, then permanently exile all of Anachronity's creatures while they have summoning sickness.
2: 0: Venser can bounce Revoker, but then Aura destroys Wave. Lodestone applies enough pressure that I can't afford to hard-cast my spells later. I contemplated playing Humility / Living Plane / Opalescence but got confused; maybe it would have been better. EDIT: Upon finally realizing a significant flaw in my current hand, it definitely would have been better.
3: 6: Scales are irrelevant. Stack triggers to permanently exile Nyxathids.
4: 6: Stack triggers to permanently exile creatures.
5: 6: Without resorting to any tricks, I win this by racing.
7: 6: Wave exiles Gideon creatures or attacks Gideon planeswalkers. Venser can repeatedly bounce li'l Gideon.
8: 0: Nature's Claim gets Parallax Wave when it comes back summoning sick.
9: 6: Detailed breakdown provided in post #14.
So, up until having completed my line once, I didn't realize that Parallax Wave would come back from its self-imposed exile not only homesick but also summoning sick. The plan had been that I could infinitely flicker Venser in and out at a moment's notice to bounce all opponents' permanents and spells. That said, Parallax Wave isn't as good as Humility in the 2WW enchantment slot, but it acquitted itself well nonetheless.
1: 6: Bounce lock.
2: 0: Venser can bounce Revoker, but then Aura destroys Wave. Lodestone applies enough pressure that I can't afford to hard-cast my spells later.
3: 6: Bounce lock.
4: 6: Bounce lock.
5: 6: Bounce lock; start by bouncing Needle.
7: 6: Bounce lock.
8: 6: Bounce lock. Venser bounces Claim, or Wave protects itself.
9: 6: See post #14.
PHM Draft is a sub-forum inside Forum Games. It should be visible near the top of the Forum Games page. Here's a link.
The only thread you'll see in that sub-forum is the one you create. In the thread, the first post will be your expression of interest. The next post will be Feyd_Ruin posting a pack, the next post will be your pick from that pack, and so on.
There will be five fifteen-card packs, and you'll build a three-card hand from the five cards you draft. Hands will be played using the Extra Land Rule.
No deadline to enter the draft has been announced yet. Since the format allows asynchronous drafting, the timing will depend both on how often the players and Feyd_Ruin check in and when Feyd_Ruin decides to cap registration.
How much programming went into making this work?
Assuming being a mod for the regular PHM rounds doesn't disqualify me, I've entered.
On that note, can I please request that card picks not be listed in the title of pm's to the mod account?
Maybe the title for each pm can just be "Pick N"?
EDIT: I totally misread what you were saying about the shared account. Thanks for having the foresight to set it up this way.
4) Mogg :: My Name Is Mogg So I Play Goblins
Empty the Warrens / Mox Ruby / Mox Sapphire / Retract / Retract
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
4| 3 3 6 X 2 3 | 14 | 280
1: 3: My spells have mana costs; Anachronity can choose one of those mana costs as Sanctum Prelate enters the battlefield. This means that I can't complete my combo, and Sanctum Prelate attacks ten times until my life total is zero. Then I lose. Alternatively, I can play first and muster a stronger board position.
2: 3: Approach wins turn 3 on the play but comes just shy of gaining the 16 life necessary to survive two turns of attacking goblins.
3: 6: If Magus enchants Forest with Lush Growth, then he or she will be only one mana short of casting Empty the Warrens for two tokens, but close isn't good enough.
5: 2: The Council is threatened. With a unified voice, it decrees that a solitary goblin will take up farming. Another goblin gets sunburned. Sixteen goblins attack.
Alternatively, Lotus, Lotus, Judgment (Sapphire), Sapphire, Retract, Lotus, Sapphire, Retract, Lotus, Sapphire, Empty makes more goblins than I have, so I lose.
But! If Personman starts, he'll have to lead on Lotus, Wheel, which gives me a Lotus. Then, I can cast Lotus, Mox, Mox, Retract, Lotus, Mox, Mox, Retract, Lotus, Mox, Mox, Empty, and make 24 goblins.
At this point, Personman doesn't have time for shenanigans; he'd have to spend a turn exiling a Mox and re-drawing Lotus. Personman doesn't have a turn to give.
Neither of us makes the first move, so we draw.
6: 3: We race.
6) Mogg
Chancellor of the Forge / Cursed Totem / Exploration
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6| 6 4 6 6 6 X 2 6 6 | 42 | 525
1: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
2: 4: Playing first, I Totem-lock CS out of Exploration. Playing second, my Exploration comes down first, but CS keeps pace for blockers. CS's access to Humility prevents me from going for the win with a big Chancellor play.
3: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
4: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
5: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
6: -
7: 2: Totem stops the Pinnacle win, and Chasm stops the Exploration win.
8: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
9: 6: t1 Exploration, t2 Totem
6) Mogg
Black Lotus / Black Lotus / City of Traitors / Dramatic Entrance / Progenitus
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
6| 6 6 3 0 6 X 3 3 6 | 30 | 375
1: 6: Non-interactive.
2: 6: Non-interactive.
3: 3: Semi-interactive.
4: 0: Interactive.
5: 6: Non-interactive.
7: 3: Race.
8: 3: Revoker.
9: 6: Non-interactive.
I also considered 3x Chancellor of the Tangle / City of Traitors / Eureka, which would have performed worse overall.
5) Mogg
Glacial Chasm / Jinxed Choker / Mana Crypt || Wastes
X| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
5| 3 6 6 6 X 0 3 6 | 28 | 400
1: 3: I can afford to take eight damage before my second turn, but Anachronity can deal 10. Playing first, Anachronity can burn his two LED's right away to remove counters from Choker or can wait as long as possible to gain as much life as possible with the Floorboards. Neither way lets Anachronity survive.
2: 6: Judgment can't exile Choker because it's a sorcery and Choptimist is never his own opponent.
3: 6: This version of the balance hand can't remove my Chasm.
4: 6: Judgment still can't exile Choker.
6: 0: Stage can copy Chasm.
7: 3: Anvil either discards on of my cards or it doesn't.
8: 6: I play Chasm on turn 2. At every opportunity, I add a counter to Choker and WhammeWhamme removes a counter. On my final turn, I let Chasm prevent damage from Choker, then don't pay cumulative upkeep. Playing second (one successful attack from Iona), I win on 2 life.