Primalcrux!? Actually, if Primalcrux is the card Ranger of Eos works with ill personally ignore every other deck in existence, and play PrimalRanger.dec in every single format.
Not to blatantly necro a thread, but ive been thinking lately about how good Ninjas becomes post rotation. All we lose is sb'd Divert and Meekstone, but I think that (in my build at least) we do get some incredible boons in Oona, Queen of the Fae and Tezzeret the Seeker from shards.
I feel like Oona is almost directly better than Meloku, since for an extra 1 you get a much fatter body and a dude-making ability that isnt a drawback--not to mention that theyre all faeries.
Also I can't help but feel that Tez was made to fit this deck. It wouldn't be difficult to go up to 4x seat of the synod by cutting some islands and, say, cut a Jitte and (in my case) the rotating meekstone to fit him in as a 2 of. I think he's worth it, since he can tutor a bunch of stuff from our library right into play each turn for free. Making seats/thopters/needles/etc into 5/5 dudes as a Plan B win condition also seems really nice.
These are just my thoughts, though, and since shards isnt out yet obviously I havent really been able to test around with it, what do you guys think?
Because multicolor lands sells a lot and make the set they are in better. Also after the rotation there arent that many good lands to play a 3-color deck, lorwyn lands suck if you havent a creature to reveal, vivid lands are bad because they came tapped and they slow you down and filter lands arent great because you cant put to many in a deck, so we need at least one cycle of tri-color lands to play the shards.
That is a lie, I am afraid. All the dual lands have drawbacks, but saying that you don't have enough lands to play a 3 color deck is insane. In block alone the format is littered with decks that run all 5 colors because of vivid lands/reflecting pool/filterlands. Quick n' toast plays Glen elandra without any faeries in the deck just because it produces both U and B. Even if they decide to print tri-color lands in Alara, the drawback will have to be tremendous, or it will just perpetuate this issue where a deck can play every color with no problems.
I'm alright with more utility lands, though. I think Springjack pasture might be my favorite land of all time, in fact, but its not really a dual-land in the sense of the word. Also:
QFT. Standard/Block right now is a format where you can make a 5-color deck with a consist enough mana base to not run into any color problems, and thats insane.
Honestly while lands are inevitably worth more money than most other rares I don't think Alara really needs any dual/tri-color land cycles. Why bother with wasting card slots in this smaller set on more lands when you could just print more playable cards to take the focus off of tribes?
I like the art itself and the detail but i don't like the picture. A guy in armor with what looks like an enlgish mastiff in armor and a golden eagle. Do the invitationals get to choose how they want the art or no? If so I guess it could make snese but as is I REALLY need to see the card.... gah.
Ok so over all it get's a 7/10 in my book.
Isn't Ruel the guy who was throwing magic cards at the camera in his pro-player card? I'll go ahead and wager that, yeah, they probably suggest design for the art.
My guess:
Ranger of Eos
1WW
Human Knight
When Ranger of Eos comes into play, put a 1/1 blue bird with flying and a 1/1 green dog into play.
Sacrifice a bird or dog: Put a +1/+1 counter on Ranger of Eos
2/2
"I know rangers are supposed to help the forest, but I was just so hungry"
Let's not kid ourselves, here, all magic players are nerds. I have met my fair share of magic players who are not overweight and unkempt introverts, yes, but the moment you say out loud "I am a competitive Magic: the Gathering player" you've forfeited every right you've had to a normal life and you've taken the speedy-train to downtown dorkville.
On more than one occasion, Rhys has completely saved me in constructed. Hes an unbelievable source of stalling your opponent if you find yourself without a hand and every now and again you can find yourself doing something comical like copying garruk tokens or elephants.
Then again, my deck runs 4x Wilt-Leaf Liege, which makes Rhys significantly better.
It seems solid enough, but how do you not kill yourself with all those life-loss effects? Between bob, lash, BB, and thoughtseize thats got to be like 8-15 life a game that costs you.
I see that most Ninja lists are mono blue. Is there any reason nobody has considered Bitterblossom to produce enablers and Okiba-Gang Shinobi for black splash and maybe Dark Confidant? Also with the ability to play control and shift directions fast why isn't anyone using CounterTop?
Please don't flame me and just answer the questions because... I love Ninjas. And I am interested in a competitive Ninja deck for next years season.
Thanks-
Talon
My biggest problem with splashing black is the absurd amount of money that would add to having to spend on lands. If that were not an issue I would try it at least, but adding black to the deck would probably add a host of mana issues--with all the colorless land the deck runs, youre already running the risk of getting color-screwed and I cant imagine a second color helps the equasion--going mono-blue also has the distinct advantage of not auto-scooping to blood moon or ghost quarter, which alot of extended decks do.
If I were to add black, though, I would not add confidant, since all I foresee him doing is murdering me for the card advantage, which isnt necessary in a deck that draws me tons of cards already. Bitterblossom isnt a bad idea though, and neither is okiba-gang shinobi. I also really like dimir infiltrator as well, since he transmutes for spellstutter and Jitte, and I have mentioned previously mentioned my unwavering affection for Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni. Itd also allow for Extirpate in the board, which I'd like.
I'll make a U/B ninja decklist soon for kicks, and maybe ill proxy it to see how it works out.
Also, Higure can fetch it if you need another faerie/ninjutsu condition.
Honestly, though, cloud sprite would be my third choice for a 1-drop ninjutsu condition, because if I wasnt running mothdust changeling I imagine I'd opt for Teardrop Kami because of his ability to negate a blocker late game or, more realistically, ruin some bridges.
I run spellstutter sprite. It might not be much, but it is a hard counter that I can throw back in my hand a number of times. Ive also got venser, if that counts.
But I do maindeck engineered explosives and tormods crypt specifically for dredge.
This is the deck I took to the Standish Maine PTQ, edited from my last decklist that I took to the Milford, MA PTQ. It performed significantly better this week, netting me way more wins than before. Heres how things went:
Round 1 vs. Budget Loam:
I call it budget loam, but its manabase had all the expensive cards. For some reason this guy didn't run goyfs or crushers, opting instead for wild mongel and seismic assault to do the job. I beat him reasonably quickly by stuttering his devastating dreams first game, and needling assault the second.
Round 2 vs. TEPS:
I almost get a game loss when I draw my first hand and see stifles in it--thats right, I was an idiot and forgot to de-board after my first round. I call myself on it, and the judges decide to give me a warning in lieu of a game-loss for not trying to cheat my way out of it. I try again and get a god-hand, smashing him down before he can combo. Second game he hits minds desire for 5, and I make sure to cut his deck while muttering something about the heart of the cards each time. He shows two pact of negations, two lands, and an egg and simply concedes (A curious move, as he was at 15 and easily couldve tried to combo out once more).
Round 3 vs. Domain Aggro:
This was the game where some of my changes to the deck really shined. I ruined his tempo with spellstutters and mistblades until about turn 10, where he was taking several small incriments of damage from my tiny guys and his own manabase. He starts to regain tempo with several goyf's and apes, and then I drop Meloku, whos tokens prevent him from getting any damage through to me at all. I then psi blast him twice when he dropped to 8. I boarded in diverts and threads, and it proceeds to keep me one step ahead of his tempo and I win again game 2.
Round 4 vs. My terrible ability to shuffle my own deck:
I actually was facing a doran rock deck, but I lost in about 7 minutes because, both games, I drew 3 hands in a row with no lands in them whatsoever before keeping a 4-card, one land hand. I also do not draw more land. Also, he vindicates the one land I do get. Moments like these, in my opinion, are the very worst part of this game.
Round 5 vs. More domain aggro
I lose game 1 pretty quickly because my opponent had an incredible hand while I had one that was somewhat mediocre, but kept it because it had lands and spells in it--a serious upgrade from last round. I board in diverts and threads again, and it pays off. I divert his burn spells onto his own guys, and he sacs his ronom unicorns (his board tech against ninjas apparently, I expect he was planning to use it on standstills) to deal with my threads. Thanks to the land-base that deck runs, he gets to 8 reasonably quicky and I double-blast him to game 3, hereafter referred to as the closest game of my life. We trade blows for a long time, and time is called when we are at 5 and 8 life respectively. On turn 4 (mine) he has no blockers left and I have a Jitte'd (1 counter) NoDH and mutavault in play, and a blast in hand. He tried to helix my ninja in response to the counter, so I waste 2 of my 4 untapped lands for spellstutter sprite. Thinking ive secured a draw, I topdeck a land and psi blast him for the game. Standings are posted, I am in 3rd of 108. I am elated at this point, there are two rounds left.
Round 6 vs. BR goblins:
I have to say, if you ignore the format-warping dredge, Id estimate goblins as this decks worst fair matchup. Whats more, my opponent was watching my game last round and was very intrigued by my deck, so he knew more about it than any other opponent I had faced with it yet. He immediately deals with my ornithopters and mutavaults (something many of my opponents ignore at first or completely) and manages to topdeck 4 goblins, including a matron and piledriver, with his goblin ringleader. I am sufficiently smashed. Game 2 I win, because I manage to stifle his first sacland and it ruins his tempo for the rest of the match. I also discover he is running earwig squad, which suprises me, but is not significant enough. Game 3 starts, and and to my dismay goblin piledriver still has "protection from blue" printed on it. Nice guy, though, and I think he top-8'd.
Round 7 vs. Format warping dredge:
Another round I completely lose to awful shuffling. I mull to 4 first game, and he therapies for counterspell, sees my hand, and immediately re-therapies for trinket mage. I am sufficiently ruined thereafter. Game 2 I board in my stifles and echoing truths, but I only draw the stifles, and I cannot topdeck that third island to play trinket mage. A very frustrating loss.
Final record 4-3, placing 22nd and winning 6 packs.
I dont think id change anything about the decklist, as it tended to work very well for me, but losing two matches entirely to bad luck really was quite the rainy day on my parade.
Extended season is over, and dredge is losing some pretty key cards with the upcoming rotation, so itll hopefully make the deck far more fair. However, I don't think goblins is losing anything until next year, though, and in spite of its rarity in seeing play, id love to know if theres anything I can put in my board against it to help with that matchup, since I'll be losing divert anywho.
...Sanity Grinding!?
Primalcrux!? Actually, if Primalcrux is the card Ranger of Eos works with ill personally ignore every other deck in existence, and play PrimalRanger.dec in every single format.
I feel like Oona is almost directly better than Meloku, since for an extra 1 you get a much fatter body and a dude-making ability that isnt a drawback--not to mention that theyre all faeries.
Also I can't help but feel that Tez was made to fit this deck. It wouldn't be difficult to go up to 4x seat of the synod by cutting some islands and, say, cut a Jitte and (in my case) the rotating meekstone to fit him in as a 2 of. I think he's worth it, since he can tutor a bunch of stuff from our library right into play each turn for free. Making seats/thopters/needles/etc into 5/5 dudes as a Plan B win condition also seems really nice.
These are just my thoughts, though, and since shards isnt out yet obviously I havent really been able to test around with it, what do you guys think?
but seriously, they ban top now but not, say--Bridge from below this time last year? Dredge was way more powerful than CT or NLB was.
That is a lie, I am afraid. All the dual lands have drawbacks, but saying that you don't have enough lands to play a 3 color deck is insane. In block alone the format is littered with decks that run all 5 colors because of vivid lands/reflecting pool/filterlands. Quick n' toast plays Glen elandra without any faeries in the deck just because it produces both U and B. Even if they decide to print tri-color lands in Alara, the drawback will have to be tremendous, or it will just perpetuate this issue where a deck can play every color with no problems.
I'm alright with more utility lands, though. I think Springjack pasture might be my favorite land of all time, in fact, but its not really a dual-land in the sense of the word. Also:
Faeries player spotted!
QFT. Standard/Block right now is a format where you can make a 5-color deck with a consist enough mana base to not run into any color problems, and thats insane.
Honestly while lands are inevitably worth more money than most other rares I don't think Alara really needs any dual/tri-color land cycles. Why bother with wasting card slots in this smaller set on more lands when you could just print more playable cards to take the focus off of tribes?
Isn't Ruel the guy who was throwing magic cards at the camera in his pro-player card? I'll go ahead and wager that, yeah, they probably suggest design for the art.
My guess:
Ranger of Eos
1WW
Human Knight
When Ranger of Eos comes into play, put a 1/1 blue bird with flying and a 1/1 green dog into play.
Sacrifice a bird or dog: Put a +1/+1 counter on Ranger of Eos
2/2
"I know rangers are supposed to help the forest, but I was just so hungry"
Then again, my deck runs 4x Wilt-Leaf Liege, which makes Rhys significantly better.
My biggest problem with splashing black is the absurd amount of money that would add to having to spend on lands. If that were not an issue I would try it at least, but adding black to the deck would probably add a host of mana issues--with all the colorless land the deck runs, youre already running the risk of getting color-screwed and I cant imagine a second color helps the equasion--going mono-blue also has the distinct advantage of not auto-scooping to blood moon or ghost quarter, which alot of extended decks do.
If I were to add black, though, I would not add confidant, since all I foresee him doing is murdering me for the card advantage, which isnt necessary in a deck that draws me tons of cards already. Bitterblossom isnt a bad idea though, and neither is okiba-gang shinobi. I also really like dimir infiltrator as well, since he transmutes for spellstutter and Jitte, and I have mentioned previously mentioned my unwavering affection for Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni. Itd also allow for Extirpate in the board, which I'd like.
I'll make a U/B ninja decklist soon for kicks, and maybe ill proxy it to see how it works out.
Honestly, though, cloud sprite would be my third choice for a 1-drop ninjutsu condition, because if I wasnt running mothdust changeling I imagine I'd opt for Teardrop Kami because of his ability to negate a blocker late game or, more realistically, ruin some bridges.
But I do maindeck engineered explosives and tormods crypt specifically for dredge.
3 Mistblade Shinobi
3 Mothdust Changeling
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Ornithopter
2 Higure, the Still Wind
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Trinket Mage
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
2 Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
Instant [4]
4 Psionic Blast
artifact [7]
1 Pithing Needle
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Meekstone
3 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
12 Island
3 Mutavault
1 Pendelhaven
1 Riptide Laboratory
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Academy Ruins
2 Tolaria West
4 Stifle
4 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Divert
3 Echoing Truth
This is the deck I took to the Standish Maine PTQ, edited from my last decklist that I took to the Milford, MA PTQ. It performed significantly better this week, netting me way more wins than before. Heres how things went:
Round 1 vs. Budget Loam:
I call it budget loam, but its manabase had all the expensive cards. For some reason this guy didn't run goyfs or crushers, opting instead for wild mongel and seismic assault to do the job. I beat him reasonably quickly by stuttering his devastating dreams first game, and needling assault the second.
Round 2 vs. TEPS:
I almost get a game loss when I draw my first hand and see stifles in it--thats right, I was an idiot and forgot to de-board after my first round. I call myself on it, and the judges decide to give me a warning in lieu of a game-loss for not trying to cheat my way out of it. I try again and get a god-hand, smashing him down before he can combo. Second game he hits minds desire for 5, and I make sure to cut his deck while muttering something about the heart of the cards each time. He shows two pact of negations, two lands, and an egg and simply concedes (A curious move, as he was at 15 and easily couldve tried to combo out once more).
Round 3 vs. Domain Aggro:
This was the game where some of my changes to the deck really shined. I ruined his tempo with spellstutters and mistblades until about turn 10, where he was taking several small incriments of damage from my tiny guys and his own manabase. He starts to regain tempo with several goyf's and apes, and then I drop Meloku, whos tokens prevent him from getting any damage through to me at all. I then psi blast him twice when he dropped to 8. I boarded in diverts and threads, and it proceeds to keep me one step ahead of his tempo and I win again game 2.
Round 4 vs. My terrible ability to shuffle my own deck:
I actually was facing a doran rock deck, but I lost in about 7 minutes because, both games, I drew 3 hands in a row with no lands in them whatsoever before keeping a 4-card, one land hand. I also do not draw more land. Also, he vindicates the one land I do get. Moments like these, in my opinion, are the very worst part of this game.
Round 5 vs. More domain aggro
I lose game 1 pretty quickly because my opponent had an incredible hand while I had one that was somewhat mediocre, but kept it because it had lands and spells in it--a serious upgrade from last round. I board in diverts and threads again, and it pays off. I divert his burn spells onto his own guys, and he sacs his ronom unicorns (his board tech against ninjas apparently, I expect he was planning to use it on standstills) to deal with my threads. Thanks to the land-base that deck runs, he gets to 8 reasonably quicky and I double-blast him to game 3, hereafter referred to as the closest game of my life. We trade blows for a long time, and time is called when we are at 5 and 8 life respectively. On turn 4 (mine) he has no blockers left and I have a Jitte'd (1 counter) NoDH and mutavault in play, and a blast in hand. He tried to helix my ninja in response to the counter, so I waste 2 of my 4 untapped lands for spellstutter sprite. Thinking ive secured a draw, I topdeck a land and psi blast him for the game. Standings are posted, I am in 3rd of 108. I am elated at this point, there are two rounds left.
Round 6 vs. BR goblins:
I have to say, if you ignore the format-warping dredge, Id estimate goblins as this decks worst fair matchup. Whats more, my opponent was watching my game last round and was very intrigued by my deck, so he knew more about it than any other opponent I had faced with it yet. He immediately deals with my ornithopters and mutavaults (something many of my opponents ignore at first or completely) and manages to topdeck 4 goblins, including a matron and piledriver, with his goblin ringleader. I am sufficiently smashed. Game 2 I win, because I manage to stifle his first sacland and it ruins his tempo for the rest of the match. I also discover he is running earwig squad, which suprises me, but is not significant enough. Game 3 starts, and and to my dismay goblin piledriver still has "protection from blue" printed on it. Nice guy, though, and I think he top-8'd.
Round 7 vs. Format warping dredge:
Another round I completely lose to awful shuffling. I mull to 4 first game, and he therapies for counterspell, sees my hand, and immediately re-therapies for trinket mage. I am sufficiently ruined thereafter. Game 2 I board in my stifles and echoing truths, but I only draw the stifles, and I cannot topdeck that third island to play trinket mage. A very frustrating loss.
Final record 4-3, placing 22nd and winning 6 packs.
I dont think id change anything about the decklist, as it tended to work very well for me, but losing two matches entirely to bad luck really was quite the rainy day on my parade.
Extended season is over, and dredge is losing some pretty key cards with the upcoming rotation, so itll hopefully make the deck far more fair. However, I don't think goblins is losing anything until next year, though, and in spite of its rarity in seeing play, id love to know if theres anything I can put in my board against it to help with that matchup, since I'll be losing divert anywho.