Sorry, I know this is a Modern 8Rack forum so I'll cut the Standard talk and mention the card Mirage Mirror, which I thought might be a possibility for 8Rack. Unfortunately, I just found out in the Rules Forum you cannot activate it at the beginning of your opponent's upkeep and copy The Rack or Shrieking Affliction and deal double damage. Still, a possible sideboard option perhaps, to copy opponent's threats for blocks? Eh, probably not. I guess it'd primarily be an extra removal spell if used that way and only necessary for creatures we can't hit with Fatal Push or Dismember. And Bontu's Last Reckoning is probably just better for that purpose for three mana. Was really hoping it could be used to copy rack cards. Are there any other possible uses for this card that I'm not thinking of? It seems like it could be really good, but maybe not so much for 8Rack.
You can do that, but it won't do much (for a couple reasons). First, the Beginning of the Upkeep already passed so they won't trigger. And second, if you copy The Rack, there was no player chosen for it so it would never trigger anyway.
Ah, that's a bummer. I didn't know if you could copy at the beginning of their upkeep and still get the trigger. Thank you for letting me know that you can't.
Hey Rob, when are you gonna stream again? I've held off playing Rack for a while since i picked up skred, but i want to try it out some more.
Soon.(tm)
Actually I have been playing a TON lately but it's been RG ponza archetype. I feel like that deck is extremely well positioned and a relatively unexplored archetype. Perfect for people like me who like to tinker. Would you care if I was streaming something other than 8Rack?
Side note: someone sent me a private message asking a question and it made me realize that if I have a person on ignore for this this forum and someone else uses something they write in a quote, the entire post is hidden. SO basically I am only seeing "clean" posts, thus I am probably missing some questions pointed at me. Basically send me private messages if you have a direct question.
Rob, would love to see you return to streaming soon. And if you want to do RG Ponza that is fine. I'd like to see it. I figured you might go back to 8Rack streaming once the new 3 mana board wipe in Hour of Devastation is out. It will be interesting to see how well that fits in. I'm thinking it'll be great for 8Rack but we'll see.
Can Hazoret's Favor give Lupine Prototype +2/+0 and haste so it can attack even if neither player is empty-handed or do the conditions that apply to Lupine Prototype remain in effect making it unable to attack? Same question applies to Hazoret's Favor on Hazoret the Fervent if you have more than one card in hand. I'm pretty sure the conditions for Lupine and Hazoret still apply but just wanted to be sure.
The basic question is, if a creature is forced to enter the battlefield tapped, does that creature's ETB ability still trigger?
For example, if I have a Gonti, Lord of Luxury in play and my opponent destroys it, and in response I cast Supernatural Stamina on my Gonti, when Gonti re-enters the battlefield tapped does his ETB ability still trigger (enabling me to choose a card from the top four of my opponent's library)? Or does a creature's ETB abilities not trigger if it's coming into play tapped?
If I cast Praetor's Grasp and steal (exile) a card from my opponent's library, can I use mana of any color to cast the exiled card as I can with Gonti, Lord of Luxury? The abilities of the two cards are very similar although Praetor's Grasp does not have the line about using any mana to cast the exiled card. For example, if I'm playing a mono-black EDH deck and steal an opponent's blue card with Praetor's Grasp, yet have no way to make blue mana, then can I still play the exiled card at some point?
I tried to search for an answer to this questions and, surprisingly, could not find anything. Here goes:
I have a Reality Smasher in play. My opponent has one card in hand, which is a removal spell, and casts it targeting my Reality Smasher, thus emptying their hand. Regarding Reality Smasher's ability ("Whenever Reality Smasher becomes the target of a spell an opponent controls, counter that spell unless its controller discards a card.") does my opponent's removal spell get countered or does it resolve because my opponent does not have a card to discard?
I am interested in trying out 8Rack with a white splash so I can have access to Stony Silence and Rest in Peace in my SB. But does Stony Silence shut down Ensnaring Bridge and The Rack? My first thought is it doesn't since the abilities of Bridge and The Rack are not activated abilities. At least I don't think they are activated abilities since I don't have to tap, untap, or pay mana for their effects to work. Also, I guess Rest in Peace is going to shut down casting Raven's Crime from the graveyard, which is obviously a drawback. But given that Rest in Peace will shut down decks that rely on graveyard shenanigans it still might be worth it. Anyway, I figured one of the main advantages of splashing white is to have access to those two cards in the SB, but am now wondering if they interfere with our game plan. Thoughts? Advice?
The Rack is a triggered ability not an activated one so it's unaffected by stony silence. Yes RIP does interfere with Raven's crime, because of this RC is usually what I board out.
The white splash is the best one imo. I posted a decklist 2 pages ago if you're interested in seeing it.
I was actually inspired by the deck list you posted on here. I've been playing it with a few minor changes with pretty decent success on MTGO. I'm nowhere near a good 8Rack player but it seems I have better luck with the white splash than with regular mono-black 8Rack. I've recently been trying it with Elspeth, Knight-Errant, which I think you suggested in a previous post as a better option than Gideon (which I'd also like to try). White splash is pretty cool!
So Ensnaring Bridge is also a triggered ability, right? So it should NOT be affected by Stony Silence? Or is it? I've kept it in my SB in the white-splash deck but maybe it's not needed, or doable, if you side it in with Stony Silence. The two of them together seem the best defense against Tron but not if Stony Silence makes Bridge a dead card.
Bridge is a static effect, not an ability. Also unaffected. Esperino is right though, you don't really need bridge.
Gideon vs Elspeth. The way I look at it is in a deck that runs so very few creatures Gideon in better but if you're running lots of creatures then Elspeth is better. When played on a creatureless board Gideon is a faster clock as he does 7 damage the turn after he's played where Elspeth only does 4. If you're playing the bridge version Elspeth is certainly better but if you just want a 1/1 token generator to slip under the bridge than Lingering Souls probably trumps Elspeth. You could run both I suppose but then you have to drop Asylum Visitor which I personally wouldn't recommend.
Monastery Montor is also worth testing. I haven't had time to get my hands on a copy yet but I think he sounds good on paper.
Would you ever consider Brimaz, King of Oreskos instead of Monastery Mentor? Same CMC although it does require two white mana so it may be a bit more difficult to cast in some cases. It doesn't pump up like Mentor but it generates tokens (with vigilance) and it's safe from Lightning Bolt with the 4 toughness. And if you only run two in the deck you don't really need to worry about it being Legendary as much. Just a thought. I was working on an enchantments deck a while back with Mentor and found it was removed very easily. Switched it out with Brimaz, which definitely was more troublesome for opponents to deal with.
Also, if you were going to run Elspeth or Gideon, is it just a two of in the Mentor spot in the deck list you posted below? Or do you possibly run three and maybe take out a LOTV?
I am interested in trying out 8Rack with a white splash so I can have access to Stony Silence and Rest in Peace in my SB. But does Stony Silence shut down Ensnaring Bridge and The Rack? My first thought is it doesn't since the abilities of Bridge and The Rack are not activated abilities. At least I don't think they are activated abilities since I don't have to tap, untap, or pay mana for their effects to work. Also, I guess Rest in Peace is going to shut down casting Raven's Crime from the graveyard, which is obviously a drawback. But given that Rest in Peace will shut down decks that rely on graveyard shenanigans it still might be worth it. Anyway, I figured one of the main advantages of splashing white is to have access to those two cards in the SB, but am now wondering if they interfere with our game plan. Thoughts? Advice?
The Rack is a triggered ability not an activated one so it's unaffected by stony silence. Yes RIP does interfere with Raven's crime, because of this RC is usually what I board out.
The white splash is the best one imo. I posted a decklist 2 pages ago if you're interested in seeing it.
I was actually inspired by the deck list you posted on here. I've been playing it with a few minor changes with pretty decent success on MTGO. I'm nowhere near a good 8Rack player but it seems I have better luck with the white splash than with regular mono-black 8Rack. I've recently been trying it with Elspeth, Knight-Errant, which I think you suggested in a previous post as a better option than Gideon (which I'd also like to try). White splash is pretty cool!
So Ensnaring Bridge is also a triggered ability, right? So it should NOT be affected by Stony Silence? Or is it? I've kept it in my SB in the white-splash deck but maybe it's not needed, or doable, if you side it in with Stony Silence. The two of them together seem the best defense against Tron but not if Stony Silence makes Bridge a dead card.
I am interested in trying out 8Rack with a white splash so I can have access to Stony Silence and Rest in Peace in my SB. But does Stony Silence shut down Ensnaring Bridge and The Rack? My first thought is it doesn't since the abilities of Bridge and The Rack are not activated abilities. At least I don't think they are activated abilities since I don't have to tap, untap, or pay mana for their effects to work. Also, I guess Rest in Peace is going to shut down casting Raven's Crime from the graveyard, which is obviously a drawback. But given that Rest in Peace will shut down decks that rely on graveyard shenanigans it still might be worth it. Anyway, I figured one of the main advantages of splashing white is to have access to those two cards in the SB, but am now wondering if they interfere with our game plan. Thoughts? Advice?
I always like to play discard decks in Standard and there are some great cards in Hour of Devastation for my Standard discard deck, including Ammit Eternal in addition to Dreamstealer, Torment of Hailfire, Doomfall, and Torment of Venom.
Sorry, I know this is a Modern 8Rack forum so I'll cut the Standard talk and mention the card Mirage Mirror, which I thought might be a possibility for 8Rack. Unfortunately, I just found out in the Rules Forum you cannot activate it at the beginning of your opponent's upkeep and copy The Rack or Shrieking Affliction and deal double damage. Still, a possible sideboard option perhaps, to copy opponent's threats for blocks? Eh, probably not. I guess it'd primarily be an extra removal spell if used that way and only necessary for creatures we can't hit with Fatal Push or Dismember. And Bontu's Last Reckoning is probably just better for that purpose for three mana. Was really hoping it could be used to copy rack cards. Are there any other possible uses for this card that I'm not thinking of? It seems like it could be really good, but maybe not so much for 8Rack.
Ah, that's a bummer. I didn't know if you could copy at the beginning of their upkeep and still get the trigger. Thank you for letting me know that you can't.
Rob, would love to see you return to streaming soon. And if you want to do RG Ponza that is fine. I'd like to see it. I figured you might go back to 8Rack streaming once the new 3 mana board wipe in Hour of Devastation is out. It will be interesting to see how well that fits in. I'm thinking it'll be great for 8Rack but we'll see.
For example, if I have a Gonti, Lord of Luxury in play and my opponent destroys it, and in response I cast Supernatural Stamina on my Gonti, when Gonti re-enters the battlefield tapped does his ETB ability still trigger (enabling me to choose a card from the top four of my opponent's library)? Or does a creature's ETB abilities not trigger if it's coming into play tapped?
I have a Reality Smasher in play. My opponent has one card in hand, which is a removal spell, and casts it targeting my Reality Smasher, thus emptying their hand. Regarding Reality Smasher's ability ("Whenever Reality Smasher becomes the target of a spell an opponent controls, counter that spell unless its controller discards a card.") does my opponent's removal spell get countered or does it resolve because my opponent does not have a card to discard?
Would you ever consider Brimaz, King of Oreskos instead of Monastery Mentor? Same CMC although it does require two white mana so it may be a bit more difficult to cast in some cases. It doesn't pump up like Mentor but it generates tokens (with vigilance) and it's safe from Lightning Bolt with the 4 toughness. And if you only run two in the deck you don't really need to worry about it being Legendary as much. Just a thought. I was working on an enchantments deck a while back with Mentor and found it was removed very easily. Switched it out with Brimaz, which definitely was more troublesome for opponents to deal with.
Also, if you were going to run Elspeth or Gideon, is it just a two of in the Mentor spot in the deck list you posted below? Or do you possibly run three and maybe take out a LOTV?
I was actually inspired by the deck list you posted on here. I've been playing it with a few minor changes with pretty decent success on MTGO. I'm nowhere near a good 8Rack player but it seems I have better luck with the white splash than with regular mono-black 8Rack. I've recently been trying it with Elspeth, Knight-Errant, which I think you suggested in a previous post as a better option than Gideon (which I'd also like to try). White splash is pretty cool!
So Ensnaring Bridge is also a triggered ability, right? So it should NOT be affected by Stony Silence? Or is it? I've kept it in my SB in the white-splash deck but maybe it's not needed, or doable, if you side it in with Stony Silence. The two of them together seem the best defense against Tron but not if Stony Silence makes Bridge a dead card.
I am interested in trying out 8Rack with a white splash so I can have access to Stony Silence and Rest in Peace in my SB. But does Stony Silence shut down Ensnaring Bridge and The Rack? My first thought is it doesn't since the abilities of Bridge and The Rack are not activated abilities. At least I don't think they are activated abilities since I don't have to tap, untap, or pay mana for their effects to work. Also, I guess Rest in Peace is going to shut down casting Raven's Crime from the graveyard, which is obviously a drawback. But given that Rest in Peace will shut down decks that rely on graveyard shenanigans it still might be worth it. Anyway, I figured one of the main advantages of splashing white is to have access to those two cards in the SB, but am now wondering if they interfere with our game plan. Thoughts? Advice?