Yes. If you break the rules you need to be infracted. That IS, in fact, how it works.
(I know, I was shocked the first time I realized that too, but you get used to it... or learn to stop breaking the rules, one of the two.)
Was the gratuitous sarcasm really necessary? Wait. I think I just answered that.
I haven't really had a problem (yet), mainly because I don't post that much in the Standard forums. The backseat modding rule is really dumb though. I see people get warnings or infractions and just think "Wow, that's unnecessary."
Johnny V sounds good in just about any control deck that has RW in it.
Pyromancer's Ascension sounds underwhelming as well. Maybe go to 3/3 split on Luminarch and Pyromancer's. Same thing on Lightning bolt / Path. Anything you can't path -> DoJ, bringing me to my next point.
Um, DoJ over Earthquake seems like an obvious choice, and I wish there were more sweepers in here. Pyroclasm perhaps.
Yeah, it's obviously a lot like the old Nayafog builds + Runeflare trap, but maybe consider going down to just RW. You can pick up enough fog in RW alone to make naya charm and Fog unnecessary.
It's a cute idea, I don't know what the Pyromancer's ascension copies besides Runeflare trap.
BW sounds soooo much better. Perhaps because you weren't playing baneslayers. Honestly, it's a pile of ridiculousness, and I don't care about "It dies to removal." If it doesn't, it turns games.
@The Seeker: Very interesting build, helped me out quite a bit. Just a question here and there. No Vampire Hexmage or Gatekeeper of Malakir? They both to me seem like well functioning cards in this deck. Im also surprised that Maelstrom Pulse didn't get thrown around. Then again I may be just knit-picking.
Both of those seem too black intensive. Yeah, maaaaaybe Hexmage. But Pulse should definitely be in this list.
Edit: Cut Bloodchief Ascension for them. Also mind shatter has applications in this ramp deck but.. I still think it's a suboptimal choice.
Vanguard drasticaly increases your chances to 4 your opponent on turn 2. The card is also really hot after a ranger. I am happy with 4 and wouldnt cut a single one.
I totally agree. In the late game you can't count on having that 5th land drop post Ranger of Eos. So you grab a vanguard and a bushwhacker instead. Hellspark may indeed have a place in this deck though, I cut 3 into my list.. I forget for what.
Lets see; when my opponent DoJ me I sacced my Quest for the Gravelord at the end of his turn. Then after drawing I played a land to get back my Bloodghast then dropped a Hexmage and swung for 7. None of my opponents lived long enough to have the mana to drop DoJ and Baneslayer in the same turn. So keeping two vampires in play is not that hard.
Whenever other vampires you control attack target player loses 1 life.
If an opponent has 10 life or less other vampires you control get +1/+1.
2/2
Seems good and feasible.
Printable without the first ability.
Maybe this:
Zealous Bloodchief BB
If an opponent has 10 life or more, vampires you control get -1/-1.
If an opponent has 10 life or less, vampires you control get +1/+1.
2/2
Think that's an interesting concept. Could go to -1/+1 for the first and +1/-1 for the second. Unsure.
Nighthawk is a beast on paper, but really shines only in Vamp Midrange. He is, ironically enough, too slow for Vamp Aggro. On 3 mana you want to be dropping a Gatekeeper or a dude and removal.
I think Nocturnus looks like one of those cards where it is amazing when it works, but it only works 60% of the time (which is barely better than a coinflip, which we all know to be bad).
I agree that now is the time to sell, but disagree with the above quote.
Evasion is really, really relevant for Vampires. Library Manipulation is really easy too with fetches and sign in blood.
There's only about 3 Allies that are efficient on their own: Kazandu Blademaster, Oran-Rief Survivalist and Umara Raptor. Ondu Cleric and Turntimber Ranger both have very high potential but aren't especially efficient. With such a low efficiency in general, an Ally deck is going to be too slow in Constructed. Like others have said though, Allies.dec is a house in Limited. Every time I draft I try to build either W/x/x Allies or R/G/B Landfall.
(Oh, and Ondu Cleric is a straight-up BOMB in limited. If you get 2-3 Clerics and a solid number of other playable Allies, you just plain win.)
I got totally blown out by some clerics at a release day FNM.. damn. I didn't waste removal on them because I thought they'd suck but they just destroyed all my aggro attempts.
Well, I just checked on baneslayer angel and vampire nocturnus and jeesh.
Baneslayer Angel: $30 (+$2 from last time)
Vampire Nocturnus: $15 (+$7 from a week ago)**(+$9 from 2 weeks ago)
These two cards are now #1 and #2 in the set by a good sized margin now. The third place card is Garruk at $8-$9.
Thats a pretty bonkers raise in value for the nocturnus, and well, so much for baneslayer starting to go down, as it goes right back up again.
Makes me glad I still have some baneslayers left, and that I still have a bunch of the pre/release foils of the nocturnus that people traded in initially to fall back on if I run out of the normal versions. That saved my bacon with figure of destiny as well back when it shot up relatedly.
Sorry, I think I missed earlier how you do your pricing. Is it like an ebay aggregate of completed auctions or something? Nocturnus is hot, but I don't think it's that hot.
Absolutely nothing in four boxes. With the silence from Wizards, I'm starting to question whether these bonus cards actually exist. Either way I feel ripped.
Thank you. Admitting is the first step I hear. Not to be a total jackass, Malakir is a good tool to the Wall of Denial, because they play it turn 3, and so do we. I'm not going to play gatekeeper unless I'm satisfied with what I'm removing. Though you do prove a good point, nighthawk is a very valuable tool against wall of denial. Should I actually see one (aside from the 2 Magic-League tournaments I've played in, the FNM I took 2nd in, and all the testing I've done) I'll consider putting him in the sideboard.
Seriously man, even the edit looks forced.
I think that Vampire Nighthawk is going to help the deck race, especially in the BR or Mono-Red Aggro Mirror where the Lacerators could be painful. I have not tested the matchup extensively, and this is a theoretical observation.
Even in the scenario where Mono-Red bolts it and moves on, they would've swept the board with a pyroclasm or fallout if not for the Nighthawk. Maybe they still do, but at least you don't get 2 or 3 for 1'd.
Was the gratuitous sarcasm really necessary? Wait. I think I just answered that.
I haven't really had a problem (yet), mainly because I don't post that much in the Standard forums. The backseat modding rule is really dumb though. I see people get warnings or infractions and just think "Wow, that's unnecessary."
Pyromancer's Ascension sounds underwhelming as well. Maybe go to 3/3 split on Luminarch and Pyromancer's. Same thing on Lightning bolt / Path. Anything you can't path -> DoJ, bringing me to my next point.
Um, DoJ over Earthquake seems like an obvious choice, and I wish there were more sweepers in here. Pyroclasm perhaps.
Yeah, it's obviously a lot like the old Nayafog builds + Runeflare trap, but maybe consider going down to just RW. You can pick up enough fog in RW alone to make naya charm and Fog unnecessary.
It's a cute idea, I don't know what the Pyromancer's ascension copies besides Runeflare trap.
BW sounds soooo much better. Perhaps because you weren't playing baneslayers. Honestly, it's a pile of ridiculousness, and I don't care about "It dies to removal." If it doesn't, it turns games.
Random untested BW Control List
// Lands
7 [ZEN] Plains (1)
13 [ALA] Swamp (4)
4 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
// Creatures
4 [M10] Baneslayer Angel
4 [ZEN] Vampire Nighthawk
2 [ZEN] Malakir Bloodwitch
4 [ALA] Tidehollow Sculler
// Spells
2 [ZEN] Disfigure
2 [ZEN] Sorin Markov
4 [ZEN] Day of Judgment
3 [M10] Doom Blade
4 [CFX] Path to Exile
2 [ZEN] Blood Tribute
2 [M10] Liliana Vess
3 [M10] Sanguine Bond
Both of those seem too black intensive. Yeah, maaaaaybe Hexmage. But Pulse should definitely be in this list.
Edit: Cut Bloodchief Ascension for them. Also mind shatter has applications in this ramp deck but.. I still think it's a suboptimal choice.
I totally agree. In the late game you can't count on having that 5th land drop post Ranger of Eos. So you grab a vanguard and a bushwhacker instead. Hellspark may indeed have a place in this deck though, I cut 3 into my list.. I forget for what.
Or mind sludge him if you're on the play.
Printable without the first ability.
Maybe this:
Zealous Bloodchief
BB
If an opponent has 10 life or more, vampires you control get -1/-1.
If an opponent has 10 life or less, vampires you control get +1/+1.
2/2
Think that's an interesting concept. Could go to -1/+1 for the first and +1/-1 for the second. Unsure.
I agree that now is the time to sell, but disagree with the above quote.
Evasion is really, really relevant for Vampires. Library Manipulation is really easy too with fetches and sign in blood.
I got totally blown out by some clerics at a release day FNM.. damn. I didn't waste removal on them because I thought they'd suck but they just destroyed all my aggro attempts.
Yeah, nevermind you're right. But 15 is a little high still, 45-50 for a playset looks more normal.
Sorry, I think I missed earlier how you do your pricing. Is it like an ebay aggregate of completed auctions or something? Nocturnus is hot, but I don't think it's that hot.
Were you expecting to pull something in 4 boxes?
Jeez. If it were 4 cases, maybe.
Duals @ 10 are nonsense imo, as is Banesalyer at a whopping 32!?
Seriously man, even the edit looks forced.
I think that Vampire Nighthawk is going to help the deck race, especially in the BR or Mono-Red Aggro Mirror where the Lacerators could be painful. I have not tested the matchup extensively, and this is a theoretical observation.
Even in the scenario where Mono-Red bolts it and moves on, they would've swept the board with a pyroclasm or fallout if not for the Nighthawk. Maybe they still do, but at least you don't get 2 or 3 for 1'd.