While you are right on all of those counts, those generals are all more threatening and playing any those generals signals to your opponent what your strategy is. Norin lets us fly under the radar and while they are a few cards synonymous with Norin (e.g. Confusion in the Ranks, Genesis Chamber) people don't know how the deck would work by just seeing the general.
you just missed how norin is better than the above at big red control strategy. not because he is a stronger general, but because the other ones are too focused on their own theme to be able to do anything else than either push the table or do nothing.
daretti won't be able to drop something huge in his gy without rising eyebrows. purphoros' player has a target on its head since turn 1. krenko will force the table to wrath, and the coin flip tribal can't be compared to norin because of the presence of blue.
norin instead will come into play turn 1 and give the player the incremental advantage sorely needed by mono-red with almost every other card in the deck. these resources can then be used to talk with other players to show they can be used "for the good of the table" (pandemonium can keep athraxa in check and so on). then, and only then, norin will try to win with purphoros or confusion in the ranks. good luck doing that with the other mono red commanders!
I suppose you're both absolutely in the right here. I assume I've just had a lapse of clarity in the year+ that I've not been playing Norin. While I don't think my third take on the deck is as powerful as I necessarily want it, I think it nails the problem of over-focusing pretty well. Of the mono-R commanders I listed above, I only don't run Krenko... Though I probably could stand to? Idk. I want to prioritize a Crucible of Worlds over that if anything (I only play with cards I own soooo).
Anyway, I am happy to be back in the fold. I miss you lot.
With this in mind I began myself to thinking: in a format where mono-Red already has the short end of the stick, in many cases, and with WotC's attempts at making Red better (maybe not directly, but still), where does Norin fall in the grand scheme of Red being a contender?
I've always loved this deck. If you recall I made a Facebook page giving praise to the unsung messiah we have as our commander (link in sig lmao). But is he simply outclasses by stronger, more-focused decks? Or is Norin meant to be more of a sort of jack-of-all-trades?
Just some things to ponder whilst we have cool toys from c18 to muck around with.
With the final confrontation between Bolas and the Gatewatch presuming to occur on Ravnica, people are crying "too soon!" at a re-return there. It's speculated that Ajani is amassing allies for this battle, and it's confirmed that he knows Narset, Sarkhan (through association with Narset and by chance) and... Tamiyo. Tamiyo has those iron scrolls of hers which she would never use (unless forced to). I speculate hereby that one of those scrolls holds Tetsuo Umezawa's "Meteor Hammer" spell, which killed Bolas back on Madara wayyyyyyyy back in pre-rev times. *Tetsuko* Umezawa is relevant to the Dominaria storyline and its segue into the next because they will inform the Gatewatch of its existence. The Gatewatch will try to use it as a last resort, since Tamiyo will be hard-pressed to give it up freely. This will destroy Bolas, but I also speculate that Tezzeret will escape unscathed and become the main Big Bad of the storyline as a result.
Fantasy fiction is always inspired by real world myth and civilizations. Ixalan was a good adaptation because it is a mish-mash of ideas.
I did not like the Greek and Egyptian sets, however. I think the main reason is they simply plastered new names onto existing deities. It felt tacky. If you're making Hephaestus, just call him Hephaestus.
What I would like to see are historical Mtg sets where the actual names are used. For example, a set about King Arthur wherein the name of the legendary creature is King Arthur, not some plastered on WOTC name. I want to equip Excalibur, not some Excalibur look-a-like, and tap the actual Holy Grail.
I doubt, however, that WOTC has the guts (and perhaps also savvy) to make such a set work. It would also require artwork which fits the historical period, which would destabilize the Comic Books style WOTC has pushed since a decade now.
I'd love to see more cards with historically-inspired art (like they did with the BaB-promo flip lands from Ixalan). I'd love to see that sooo much. Just think about an Arthurian set with a mythic unicorn with art styled after that really famous tapestry. I'd pay for that card. That's probably the only reason why I happened to like the "Defeat of the Gatewatch" hieroglyph SDCC cards for this past year, at all.
Or even an Renaissance-styled masterpiece set in a Conspiracy set, since that's a clockpunk Renaissance world. Think of that!
I think y’all are focusing too hard on the destination and not nearly hard enough on the journey. Can Proliferate (or, Gleemax forbid, Giant Fan!) do anything to speed up the destruction of players?
I suppose youve got a point there, but I think the randomness is an interesting part of this variant, and a necessary consequence at that. I actually playtested this as 3-on-1 with 70 schemes and it seems like that was just as random anyway. 100-140 shouldn't make a huge difference except for more opportunities to get schemes going.
I have a few potential tweaks to the Archenemy rules that 1) help to present focus to defeating the AE, 2) create interesting conundrums for the AE instead of forcing potentially thoughtless schemeplay, and 3) staves off premature endings to the game (via infinite combos and such). I'd like to share this with you if possible.
Archenemy EDH begins with heroes at 40 life each (20 in normal formats), and the AE at ~ life.
Instead of life, AE has 40+20x cards in scheme deck (max 2 of a given card, and max of 140 cards total because of printings), where X = the starting number of heroes (minimum 3 heroes, no maximum though 5 is an encouraged cap). (Split this life total number in half for normal formats, and limit copies of schemes to a cap of 1).
When AE would lose or pay life, they instead mill that many cards from the scheme deck, face-down. AE (and only the AE) can look at these milled cards. When counting life totals, AE counts the cards in his or her scheme deck.
Due to the "life loss" aspect of setting a scheme in motion for this iteration of Archenemy, here setting a scheme in motion at the start of the AE's precombat main phase is optional.
Special:
Infect damage to AE = 4x damage instead of poison
Commander damage to AE = 3x damage. Commander damage kills specifically do not apply to the AE.
When being milled (whether to graveyard or to exile), AE can choose to mill from scheme deck instead, if they have 100+ cards in the starting scheme deck. These milled scheme cards are put into exile face-down, unlike when taking damage. No player may look at these exiled scheme cards.
When gaining life, AE instead chooses X discarded schemes (from the command zone, not from exile) and puts them on the bottom of their scheme deck in a random order. AE can choose the schemes to be placed on the bottom of his or her scheme deck. AE cannot have more cards in their scheme deck than they started with, or use schemes that weren't in the starting scheme deck. If the AE would gain more life than to the total they started with they still count as gaining that much life, even if no cards are put into the scheme deck.
If a "lethal infinite combo" is conducted against the AE, only X iterations of said infinite combo are to be performed each valid turn, where X is the number of heroes that the game started with. If the AE would conduct a lethal infinite combo, it is only conducted against one of the AE's opponents at random and only during the AE's turn.
I'd love to hear some feedback on this if possible. I want to implement these rules in my local playgroup with my completed set of 2x schemes lol
I would like to suggest Settle the Wreckage as a ramp/potential wrath piece. Early-to-mid-game, you can ramp absurdly with it by attacking in with tokens, then using Settle at the end of combat step, after damage has been dealt. Similarly to Reconnaissance actually, and it works quite well with Recon too, in that you can then use it on a turn where you swing out as per usual, then Recon your more prized Vamps out in response. Really, I suggest both quite highly.
As for lategame, when the opponent really doesn't need the ramp, it's a fantastic and potentially devastating combat trick.
So, next on the list of "questionable WotC printing moves"...
What all do we think of this? Obviously it doesn't replace Siege-Gang Commander but are we apt to make a cut?
~Lil Kalki
Granted, as I said earlier it's not the best list ever, and has a budget to work with, but it's pretty fun.
~Lil Kalki
I suppose you're both absolutely in the right here. I assume I've just had a lapse of clarity in the year+ that I've not been playing Norin. While I don't think my third take on the deck is as powerful as I necessarily want it, I think it nails the problem of over-focusing pretty well. Of the mono-R commanders I listed above, I only don't run Krenko... Though I probably could stand to? Idk. I want to prioritize a Crucible of Worlds over that if anything
Anyway, I am happy to be back in the fold. I miss you lot.
~Lil Kalki
1) Daretti, Scrap Savant does Artifacts better than him.
2) Purphoros, God of the Forge does ETBs better than him.
3) Krenko, Mob Boss does Goblin tribal better than him (with Grenzo, Havoc Raiser close behind).
4) Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom with Okaun, Eye of Chaos does coin flippery (and, arguably, chaos as a whole, as a result of that) better than him.
With this in mind I began myself to thinking: in a format where mono-Red already has the short end of the stick, in many cases, and with WotC's attempts at making Red better (maybe not directly, but still), where does Norin fall in the grand scheme of Red being a contender?
I've always loved this deck. If you recall I made a Facebook page giving praise to the unsung messiah we have as our commander (link in sig lmao). But is he simply outclasses by stronger, more-focused decks? Or is Norin meant to be more of a sort of jack-of-all-trades?
Just some things to ponder whilst we have cool toys from c18 to muck around with.
~Lil Kalki
With the final confrontation between Bolas and the Gatewatch presuming to occur on Ravnica, people are crying "too soon!" at a re-return there. It's speculated that Ajani is amassing allies for this battle, and it's confirmed that he knows Narset, Sarkhan (through association with Narset and by chance) and... Tamiyo. Tamiyo has those iron scrolls of hers which she would never use (unless forced to). I speculate hereby that one of those scrolls holds Tetsuo Umezawa's "Meteor Hammer" spell, which killed Bolas back on Madara wayyyyyyyy back in pre-rev times. *Tetsuko* Umezawa is relevant to the Dominaria storyline and its segue into the next because they will inform the Gatewatch of its existence. The Gatewatch will try to use it as a last resort, since Tamiyo will be hard-pressed to give it up freely. This will destroy Bolas, but I also speculate that Tezzeret will escape unscathed and become the main Big Bad of the storyline as a result.
That's my thoughts.
~Lil Kalki
I'd love to see more cards with historically-inspired art (like they did with the BaB-promo flip lands from Ixalan). I'd love to see that sooo much. Just think about an Arthurian set with a mythic unicorn with art styled after that really famous tapestry. I'd pay for that card. That's probably the only reason why I happened to like the "Defeat of the Gatewatch" hieroglyph SDCC cards for this past year, at all.
Or even an Renaissance-styled masterpiece set in a Conspiracy set, since that's a clockpunk Renaissance world. Think of that!
~Lil Kalki
I can’t wait. But that said, I’m going to be doing my Release in a place with historically terrible reception for my phone
~Lil Kalki
~Lil Kalki
~Lil Kalki
That said, I’m looking at LDD and other B/R cards for draft reasons before i make this an undie-ache Commander.
~Lil Kalki
Where would I find the 5 dci archenemy promos under in the sets? Thanks
~Lil Kalki
~Lil Kalki
I have a few potential tweaks to the Archenemy rules that 1) help to present focus to defeating the AE, 2) create interesting conundrums for the AE instead of forcing potentially thoughtless schemeplay, and 3) staves off premature endings to the game (via infinite combos and such). I'd like to share this with you if possible.
Instead of life, AE has 40+20x cards in scheme deck (max 2 of a given card, and max of 140 cards total because of printings), where X = the starting number of heroes (minimum 3 heroes, no maximum though 5 is an encouraged cap). (Split this life total number in half for normal formats, and limit copies of schemes to a cap of 1).
When AE would lose or pay life, they instead mill that many cards from the scheme deck, face-down. AE (and only the AE) can look at these milled cards. When counting life totals, AE counts the cards in his or her scheme deck.
Due to the "life loss" aspect of setting a scheme in motion for this iteration of Archenemy, here setting a scheme in motion at the start of the AE's precombat main phase is optional.
Special:
Infect damage to AE = 4x damage instead of poison
Commander damage to AE = 3x damage. Commander damage kills specifically do not apply to the AE.
When being milled (whether to graveyard or to exile), AE can choose to mill from scheme deck instead, if they have 100+ cards in the starting scheme deck. These milled scheme cards are put into exile face-down, unlike when taking damage. No player may look at these exiled scheme cards.
When gaining life, AE instead chooses X discarded schemes (from the command zone, not from exile) and puts them on the bottom of their scheme deck in a random order. AE can choose the schemes to be placed on the bottom of his or her scheme deck. AE cannot have more cards in their scheme deck than they started with, or use schemes that weren't in the starting scheme deck. If the AE would gain more life than to the total they started with they still count as gaining that much life, even if no cards are put into the scheme deck.
If a "lethal infinite combo" is conducted against the AE, only X iterations of said infinite combo are to be performed each valid turn, where X is the number of heroes that the game started with. If the AE would conduct a lethal infinite combo, it is only conducted against one of the AE's opponents at random and only during the AE's turn.
I'd love to hear some feedback on this if possible. I want to implement these rules in my local playgroup with my completed set of 2x schemes lol
~Lil Kalki
I would like to suggest Settle the Wreckage as a ramp/potential wrath piece. Early-to-mid-game, you can ramp absurdly with it by attacking in with tokens, then using Settle at the end of combat step, after damage has been dealt. Similarly to Reconnaissance actually, and it works quite well with Recon too, in that you can then use it on a turn where you swing out as per usual, then Recon your more prized Vamps out in response. Really, I suggest both quite highly.
As for lategame, when the opponent really doesn't need the ramp, it's a fantastic and potentially devastating combat trick.
Try them out! It's worth your while, I believe.
~Lil Kalki
~Lil Kalki