2019 Holiday Exchange!
 
A New and Exciting Beginning
 
The End of an Era
  • posted a message on [Official Thread] GWU MimicRock
    Quote from bazookatooth
    you guys are seriously making me nauseous.

    why do you insist on playing horrible cards?



    Hey, testing out "horrible" cards is how we ended up with a Shorecrasher Mimic deck in the first place!

    That said, he's probably right. All these creature enchants are bad ideas. Even the ones that offer shroud are pointless against some of the format's best removal... ***, Infest, Pyroclasm, Jund Charm, etc. If you are having trouble with your creatures getting targeted, run a strong suit of countermagic and make sure not to commit too many creatures to a board against someone who has the ability to sweep it.

    This deck has plenty of ways to improve its creatures without enchants... Rafiq, Elspeth, Mimic, Warhammer... that's what the deck does, right?
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Salvation's SCCT/OCaaT - Single Card Ideas By YOU!
    Ancestor's Gaze - Looks like it has potential for some nasty combos. But the high casting cost and difficult casting conditions (requires a second target to exist) make it a weak-ish sort of card. I would eliminate the cantrip and lower the casting cost.

    Goblin Tormentor R
    Creature _ Goblin
    When CARDNAME comes into play, sacrifice it unless you've dealt at least 3 damage to any one opponent this turn.
    3/1
    Posted in: Custom Card Contests and Games
  • posted a message on How to make standard affordable.
    I don't think they would have to do anything except change the way they assign rarities.

    Make cards rare if they are unique, special, or gamebreaking in their effect or flavour. Don't make it rare simply because it is powerful and you know it will be sought after.

    The biggest culprits are lands that do nothing but tap for two different kinds of mana. Those do not need to be rares. They are necessary in every deck to fix the manabase and people always end up shelling out absurd amounts to make sure they've always got a playset. These cards are not gamebreaking... they are LANDS. They are very useful, but they are not rare cards, IMO.

    Another example that springs to mind is Thoughtseize. This card was made rare based on its power. It could easily have filled an uncommon or even a common slot in a set. And yet Thoughtseize is necessary in nearly every black deck (whether MD or SB). So... they are 15-20 bucks. Ouch. I'm sure there are other examples.

    Basically, there is a disproportionate demand for rare cards compared to commons and uncommons. A quick scan of Antti Malin's championship deck shows 36 of 60 cards are rare. And most of the other top decks range in 25-40 as well. That's insane, considering rares make up like 30% of the set.

    Some people will be of the opinion that rares should be the most powerful cards. But I believe that rares should be the most gamebreaking, flavourful, and unique cards... but not necessarily the best. This would, unfortunately, result in more junk rares. But the format's best spells would be far more accessible to the thrifty players in the form of commons and uncommons.

    But, why would the developpers do this? It would reduce their profits, eh?



    Edit:
    Oh and I definitely agree with xtruder: get rid of Mythic Rares NOW.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Cryptic Command
    Hey.

    I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this question, but just to be sure...

    Do I have to choose which options of Cryptic Command I will be using before or after the spell resolves?
    Posted in: Magic Rulings Archives
  • posted a message on Salvation's SCCT/OCaaT - Single Card Ideas By YOU!
    He does seem like he could win a game on his own. But that's what bombs are for, huh? Deal with me now or lose. I would probably reduce the damage to 3 just to make it a little more balanced. It's still a bomb, of course.

    Grave Skulker BB
    Creature - Zombie
    WW: Remove Grave Skulker from the game. Any player may play this ability.
    3/2
    Posted in: Custom Card Contests and Games
  • posted a message on Endless Moment
    There's a card in Unhinged that does the same thing, IIRC.

    I think it's a neat idea, but it would just be too confusing with too many rules clarifications needed.

    Also, it's potentially broken.
    Posted in: Custom Card Creation
  • posted a message on [Official Thread] GWU MimicRock
    Quote from roussos
    Mate this deck's worst matchup is RDW.
    If you go ahead and play with 12 painlands its like auto-lose always.(manabase of this deck is very strict,almost everything you play w will get you pain'ed)

    Also want to say that noble hiearch gonna be imba if its true.Im adding 4 Smile


    :-( that's true

    I'm going with what I have. And I have those painlands.

    Should I use cipt lands? I don't have pools.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on [Official Thread] GWU MimicRock
    Just want to say thanks to everyone who contributed to testing this deck. I'm getting back into Magic after a 5-6 year hiatus and was looking for a creative yet strong deck to try.

    I'm gonna go with bazooka's list minus the Cryptics (O. Rings instead) and a few of the rare lands. I know Cryptics are key, but they are pricey!

    Fortunately, I opened a couple Rafiqs and an Elspeth in my box of Alara, so I only spent about $100 getting the cards I didn't own yet.



    Yeah. Basically just a budget version of Bazooka's deck. I intend to test it and fiddle with it until I am comfortable. I ordered sets of Snakeform, Mulldrifter, and others so I can test them as well. And obviously, I'll work on Cryptics, ***s, and rare lands.

    I'll report when I get to start testing this thing!
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Mechanic - Swarm
    Aha. Ok, so that's interesting. I can see a swarm deck being a strong build in Limited.

    You'll have a fun time balancing the mana cost and playability of the cards. Because swarm is obviously a powerful mechanic, but if all the creatures cost too much, the deck would not get played.

    Again, good concept.
    Posted in: Custom Card Creation
  • posted a message on Salvation's SCCT/OCaaT - Single Card Ideas By YOU!
    I think he's actually quite balanced. I like all the mana costs the way they are, so that he is not abusable, but not unusable. He definitely breaks the stalemate in an agro vs. agro showdown. He's definitely a "deal with me now or lose" kind of creature.

    There are too many freaking nonbasic lands out there.

    Goblin Bombers :3mana::symr:
    Creature - Goblin
    Flying
    :symtap:, Sacrifice Goblin Bombers: Goblin Bombers deals one damage to each player for each nonbasic land they control.
    1/1
    Posted in: Custom Card Contests and Games
  • posted a message on Mechanic - Swarm
    Looks very cool.

    Just one question before I comment further.

    How do first strike, death touch, wither, etc. work? If I swarm all my damage to a creature with FS, does all that damage become FS damage? Or if a FS creature swarms his damage to a non-FS creature, does no FS damage occcur?
    Posted in: Custom Card Creation
  • posted a message on Inspiration
    Thanks.

    I think I may try that WUG agro deck sometime... just because I have at least some of the tricky finds already (BoPs, at least).

    Finding Cryptics is going to suck.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Inspiration
    Thanks for all the input! Good ideas. I think I will take a look at that WUG deck.

    Here's a box of Shadowmoor I bought today. (Wow, I spent a lot of money this week.)

    How did I do? No freaking foil rare!

    Order of Whiteclay
    Boon Reflection
    Mass Calcify
    Twilight Shepherd
    Greater Auramancy

    Counterbore
    Isleback Spawn
    Puca's Mischief

    Puppeteet Clique
    Plague of Vermin
    Hollowborn Barghest

    Deepslumber Titan
    Furystoke Giant

    Mana Reflection

    2x Fracturing Gust
    Heartmender
    2x Demigod of Revenge
    Dire Undercurrents
    Sygg, River Cutthroat
    Augury Adept
    Glen Elandra Liege
    Rosheen Meanderer
    Rhys the Redeemed
    Oona, Queen of the Fae
    Mirrorweave
    Vexing Shusher
    Spiteful Visions
    Everlasting Torment

    Painter's Servant
    Grim Poppet
    Cauldron of Souls

    Graven Cairns
    Mystic Gate
    Fire-Lit Thicket
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • posted a message on Inspiration
    First of all, I'm going to apologise for an incredibly long post. And I will commend anyone who reads through the whole thing. If you want the short version, just scroll to the bottom and read the bolded text.

    I started playing MtG right before Odyssey came out. I stopped playing right after Mirrodin. Yesterday, on a whim, I purchased a box of Shards of Alara and brought it home. I read the whole spoiler and did some research on the current T2 format before playing the whole box in Booster Wars and Sealed Decks with my brother. It was definitely fun and brought back some memories of when I used to play this game all the time.

    Here is a list of my loot. I have a vague idea which cards are valuable, but I wouldn't mind if someone could tell me whether I got a good box and which of my picks were nice ones.

    FOIL


    FOIL Island #237
    FOIL Gustrider Exuberant
    FOIL Knight of the Skyward Eye
    FOIL Skeletal Kathari
    FOIL Drumhunter
    FOIL Resounding Thunder
    FOIL Crumbling Necropolis
    FOIL Kathari Screecher
    FOIL Bloodthorn Taunter

    That's 37 rares in 36 packs. I'm guessing they made it so the FOIL always replaces a common in the pack? Because I won the first booster war with a FOIL Rafiq of the Many charging in with a Titanic Ultimatum. Pretty epic.

    But anyways, I should probably reveal why I am posting in the Standard forum.

    I am considering getting back into the Magic scene. I know I've missed several blocks, so I would have some catching up to do. One of the reasons (though not the main reason) I quit in the first place was that it was just too expensive to compete in Standard. For that reason, it's possible that I just return to the Limited scene and not bother with all that card trading and buying nonsense to get a deck together.

    However, if I can find the right deck that appeals to me, I would definitely consider building it. The thing is that there aren't too many decks that appeal to me. I've looked into some of the competitive archetypes going around... Faeries, Kithkin, and 5cc... and none of them really struck me as good decks per se. Oh, I'm sure they win games, but I want to differentiate between a good deck and a deck with a lot of good cards. The decks I've researched seem like they are just decks full of good cards. That's not really the kind of thing that interests me.

    So what is a good deck? A good deck (in my opinion!) has cards that work together in a sygernic way to achieve a certain premise on which the deck is based. Hrm... I wish I could explain it better than that. Generally, a good deck will take advantage of small-scale combos to make average cards much better than originally perceived. It won't rely on any one card in particular, unlike most combo decks.

    A good deck is a work of art. Faeries, etc. are a work of science. They work, but... it just doesn't do it for me.

    So anyway, what I'm looking for is an idea for a Standard deck list. I want something that will impress my opponent as an original idea and a masterful compilation. I've read through all the spoilers for the current T2 legal sets, and not many things really jumped out at me. Admittedly, I've never really come up with my own ideas. Usually I get the deck idea online, and then design my own deck list.

    Off the top of my head... some decks I've played in the past were...

    U/B Mist of Stagnation abuse

    Mists was really the finishing move. The deck did not RELY on it to win. Otherwise, it was a control deck that cleared the opponent's graveyard and utilised Grip of Amnesia, Lost in Thought, and Web of Inertia to gain control. It was not very competitive, but considering the amount of seeming BAD cards I used in this deck, it was somewhat effective. Plus the deck cost like $5 to build.

    U/G Future Sight

    I forget exactly what the combo was... but I know it entailed Early Harvest and drawing your entire deck in one turn before winning with Brain Freeze. Another casual type deck that didn't win all too often.

    U/G Nantuko Shrine

    This deck absolutely relied on drawing the Shrine. But it made it easy with a lot of card draw. This was actually sort of a netdeck that I copied almost exactly and made only a few changes to. If anyone remembers this deck, it used 4 copies of each egg (e.g., Darkwater Egg) and once it had enough on the table along side a Shrine, it blew them all up, drew a ton of cards, and played more eggs to get an army of Squirrels. It was awesome. Again, very casual.

    Mono-R Burning Bridges

    Pretty classic combo... Grafted Skullcap and Ensnaring Bridge with a ton of burn cards. It can win without the Bridge and it can win without the Cap. Both are nice, but not necessary. Nothing too special about it, but it exemplifies my love of control decks that find unorthodox ways to get in control. Rather than just counter this, kill that.

    So basically, the things I love in a deck are as follows:

    1. Synergy. Cards that work together to make each other better. Usually contribute to whatever theme or goal the deck is trying to achieve.

    2. Consistancy. I don't want a deck that relies on one card, but then doesn't have any way to find it and protect it. So certain combo decks are ruled out.

    3. Unorthodox control. I love locking down my opponent, and I expecially love doing it without running a bunch of counters, if possible.

    4. Decks that "go off". Any deck that can go through its entire deck in one turn, or play a billion cards, or whatever... not due to an infinite combo, but just due to synergy.

    5. Originality. Or at least semi-originality. Basically, I don't like net decks.

    Here are the three decks I extracted from my card box, just to sort of give you an idea of what sort of decks I like to play with.



    This deck used to be legal in Extended. I realise it is now legal in no formats (thanks to the FoFs.) And I also realise some of the lands are subpar due to the crazy dual lands that have been printed in recent sets.

    Yeah, this deck runs some "counter-this, kill that", but it definitely meets my perk of being an unorthodox control deck. Patron Wizard is usually the bomb, but I can win without getting one early. The Voidmage Prodigys and Meddling Mages are good enough to establish board control early on. And with the Shadowmage Infiltrators and Fact or Fictions, I would certainly get the Patron eventually. I love Patron Wizard because even if I tap out to drop him turn 3, he protects himself. Usually there will be at least one other Wizard on the board at that point, so they need to kill him and be ready to pay 2 mana.



    This deck was T2 legal after 8th Edition was released with the beautiful reprints of Grave Pact and Fecundity. And it contained no Odyssey block, so it was all set for when Mirrodin was to cycle in.

    This deck is a synergy deck. Lots of little combos in there, and no one necessary card. Obviously Grave Pact is usually the winning draw, but I can do without it. Nantuko Husk can be huge if I sac a few critters and my Wirewood Herald fetches me a Caller of the Claw. It really doesn't take much to have a 20/20 Husk. And if a Pact was on the board to clear away your blockers, that's game.



    This deck used to be T2 during Odyssey/Onslaught/7th. When Odyssey and 7th cycled out, I tossed in the Academy Rectors and Hobbles and called in an Extended deck, lol. Again, this deck shows an unorthodox method of control combined with the ability to "go off" and draw the entire deck and play every card in one turn. It had a half dozen different ways to win. The most common was Test of Endurance and the cheesiest was Solitary Confinement and Genesis followed by a scoop (desperation move).

    Okay, so now that you know what sort of deck interests me... please help me decide on a deck to play in Standard!

    The one I saw that interests me was here:

    http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=139888

    And come to think of it, I did make a Constable deck back when it was printed in Torment. It sucked though. But those Rafiqs and Elspeth I pulled would have a nice home in a Constable deck.

    Thanks for any advice.
    Posted in: Standard Archives
  • To post a comment, please or register a new account.