With 4 Cancel, 4 Delay, 4 Rune Snag, 4 Cryptic Command, I don't use the spell burst. I find it is too often a dead card early. And with a mine and a jace in play I am drawing a Wrath or a counter every turn (usually counter). What I can't counter I kill.
Guys, if you append it onto an infinite combo, you aren't breaking it. The infinite loop is the part that you're breaking; you could do any number of things afterwards.
So if I use bitter ordeal to deck my opponent it is not broken? What part of a chanellball was broken, the channel or the fireball? Granted there are many times when a "synergy" is declared a "combo" and bitter ordeal is synergistic with an infinite loop. The core part of the engine is the enduring renewal and the critter and sac outlet - but infinite mana or permanents through the graveyard is not broken. It becomes broken when it is used to win.
Outstanding article. After packing 4 terror, 4 hypnotic spectre, 4 dark rituals, 4 bad moons and 4 black knights... I asked to hold the card when my mate cast the first swords to plowshares on me. It just didn't fit. The life-gain was irrelevant. White doesn't spot remove... Of course I adapted quickly and built a WB deck with 4 swords as well. Even at our casual level we knew Swords didn't fit the game. Terror and Unsummon were the instant speed removal for fatties, Lightning bolt for weenies - if you didn't counter the fattie it was there to stay. (For a bit).
A: It would be synergy deck at best, combo decks tend to win when they go off.
B: Nameless Inversion works almost always better than Crib Swap, because swap gives them token.
C: This is easily hatable, one graveyard removal spell will pretty much screw it up.
Agreed. I love Haakon he is awesome, but grave-hate is very easy, cheap, and is easily splashable - tormods crypt for one. I think Haakon will win some FNM as rogue, but won't consistently win.
Urza is the ultimate do-gooder. He falls into the same mold as countless other people who put the greater good, namely Dominaria in this case, ahead of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else. To Urza, the ends justfy the means completely.
Does that make him evil? No. It makes him good. If urza had the option, I'm sure he'd take away the free will of the people on Dominaria and steer them towards being a better society by force. That may seem evil, from the outside, but technically speaking its working for the good.
Beyond that, in MTG, there really pretty much is only good and evil. Some of the more recent plotlines have been better in dealing with grey areas, but for most of the storyline it's been completely clear cut. "Phyrexia bad. Dominarian heros good."
The thing you need to recall is... Any alignment, taken to the extreme, is bad. Evil, taken to the complete extream, is pure destruction and reveling in causing pain and misery. Law and Order, taken to the extreme, is complete staisis; a world in which nothing ever changes or moves. Chaos, taken to the extreme, is sheer anarchy, where nothing exists in a single state long enough for anything to come of it. And Good, taken to the extreme, is a faciest society. The only way for pure good to exist is without free will. Perfection is found in the balance. Urza, however, falls very far on the 'pure good' side of things.
As for Mishra... Its still unconfirmed as to whether or not that was really Mishra. Indeed, last I checked, most people do believe it was just an Illusion conjured by Yawg.
Agreed on the extremities of any alignment - but I don't think that is consistent with good = ends justify the means. Maybe in the lawful good sense, but I think, in that Urza is probably more Lawful Neutral in that he put the common good ahead of the good that might be done to an individual.
How could they make Tetsuo Umezawa a human warrior, he is a archer for goodness sake look at his bow.
At least Karona, False God now works more like she used too, makes me want to put together a Avatar deck.
He also has a samurai blade - as a 'hero' or 'legend' he is much more likely to have earnt his status as a sword wielding samurai then as a simple archer. Though you are correct he does have a bow.
Outstanding name for the deck - if this deck finds a way to survive grave-hate the basic haakon engine is going to create a number of variations. I am going to get the basic pieces and play it with various supports - it will be rogue enough to get some beatings - but if any other deck in the meta starts to use the graveyard - yard hate will be too prevalent - a tormod's crypt shuts the deck down.
Most of the tribes seem to have an aggro theme, at least the stronger-looking ones. I think that Tarmogoyf was the perfect creature in T2 because Time Spiral was full of good control cards, and the meta was based around control before Goyf stepped up.
With an entire set full of strong aggressive creatures, I think the need for Tarmogoyf's will go down a little bit. However, the fact that you can run him alongside all the new beats means his price probably won't go down too much. But I think the need for him in Standard won't be as dominating with all the new, out of color choices.
Splashing green for Tarmogoyf is not always the right answer, sorry.
But due to his playability in every format, I think it's safe to say his price will stay just as high.
I am hoping this is the case. I don't see a drop in value, but hopefully the aggro options in Lorwyn will see other decks that can compete. Kithkin's to teach Tarmo a lesson in manners...
Krosan Grip does suck, but with Teferi's Moat, Howling Mine, Rule of Law what do you blow up? Take out the moat, and loose to Wrath of God next turn? I play 4 Wrath, 2 Austere Command and I MD 2 Moats - my meta is VERY aggro... but I would SB the Moat in a new meta.
With 4 Cancel, 4 Delay, 4 Rune Snag, 4 Cryptic Command, I don't use the spell burst. I find it is too often a dead card early. And with a mine and a jace in play I am drawing a Wrath or a counter every turn (usually counter). What I can't counter I kill.
So if I use bitter ordeal to deck my opponent it is not broken? What part of a chanellball was broken, the channel or the fireball? Granted there are many times when a "synergy" is declared a "combo" and bitter ordeal is synergistic with an infinite loop. The core part of the engine is the enduring renewal and the critter and sac outlet - but infinite mana or permanents through the graveyard is not broken. It becomes broken when it is used to win.
Agreed. I love Haakon he is awesome, but grave-hate is very easy, cheap, and is easily splashable - tormods crypt for one. I think Haakon will win some FNM as rogue, but won't consistently win.
That is my fav of each of them. Disenchant with legs - and the second you cast = x2. That it is searchable is also a big plus. I am using these.
Why are some things green, and some other things are not green?
Agreed on the extremities of any alignment - but I don't think that is consistent with good = ends justify the means. Maybe in the lawful good sense, but I think, in that Urza is probably more Lawful Neutral in that he put the common good ahead of the good that might be done to an individual.
He also has a samurai blade - as a 'hero' or 'legend' he is much more likely to have earnt his status as a sword wielding samurai then as a simple archer. Though you are correct he does have a bow.
I am hoping this is the case. I don't see a drop in value, but hopefully the aggro options in Lorwyn will see other decks that can compete. Kithkin's to teach Tarmo a lesson in manners...