And it is also a result of wotc trying to make this game completely creature based by printing several of the best aggro creatures in the history of magic all within the last 4-5 years. Also spells have gotten really bad. It is sad that counterspell, boomerang, and cheap, efficient instant speed card draw is considered too good.
I guess making the game less skill intensive is the only way to get more people into it because "less bright" people can't grasp the high learning curve fast enough to stay with the game.
Also I never said that I believe that goyf needs to be banned, and I actually said that wotc would never ban goyf because all of R&D have a goyf poster that they "stare" at before they go to bed.:)
I think that it's very indicative of how "less bright" you are when you accuse others of not being able to grasp how to play things other than zoo. And if R&D ever had a poster-boy, it'd be Jace TMS and practically ever other planeswalker. Planeswalkers, not creatures, are the poster-children of MTG since Lorwyn.
Creature combat is something only very skilled players ever master. Even in constructed, combat is difficult. Ask any new-player if Tarmogoyf is even a good card, I don't think they would tell you the truth. Wow, it took good players to recognize how good that card was. It must take some smarts to succeed with Tarmogoyf.
It is sad you even mention that Boomerang needs to be a good card. It is sad you fail to realize that Counterspell was never really a great card, unless you pair it with instant-speed card (which was truly what made Blue great) or made it free (Force of Will, Mental Misstep).
Combo decks and control decks are much more forgiving of play mistakes. Most aggro decks in the history of competitive mtg have never had cards like Mind's Desire, Gifts Ungiven, Primevel Titan, Jace TMS, etc. All of which can pull more free wins than any Wild Nacatl or Tarmogoyf ever did.
Either way, spells today are still great. Rite of Flame/Preordain are good enough to be banned. Dismember is pretty good. Same with Path to Exile.
And no thread/discussion/post ever put forth about "banning Tarmogoyf" has ever made an impressive point as to why it ever needed to be banned.
As for the previous poster, I don't see how playing Black means life doesn't matter. It matters a lot. EDH'ers forget their life totals all the time. 40 life is a lot, but you're playing against 2-3 opponents. Not to mention, first-turn Serra Ascendants hurt a lot. Yeah, life matters.
I play Zombies, so I understand you about the life issue. When your life total is low, cards like Shepherd of Rot become useless and Graveborn Muse becomes suicide. The quickest fix for Graveborn-suicide is adding some sacrifice zombies to your deck (phyrexian ghoul, nantuko husk). As for making Shepherd of Rot relevant, you have to be aggressive. If you don't make your deck to where you can attack for damage and be ahead in life-totals, don't even include the card. My mono-black zombie deck kills with Shepherd of Rot very often.
When it comes to life-gain, Gutless Ghoul + Tombstone Stairwell/Endless Ranks of the Dead, is a zombie-themed suggestion.
Umezawa's Jitte is a better equipment than Swiftfoot Boots, especially if your general has double-strike. I don't even think Swiftfoot is worth a slot in most EDH decks. Kaalia really wants a 2nd Greaves, but not many other decks.
I think you're missing out on Viridian Corrupter. He makes an impact and plays well with Sun Titan. You also need to really fit in Inkmoth Nexus.
Rafiq decks can go all-in with Rafiq. If that's the case, I think Swords are actually better than Greaves and Boots. Of which, I don't even think Boots is worth a card. They don't give haste, but the +2/+2 essentially makes Rafiq kill via general damage 1 turn faster. They don't give shroud/hexproof, but they give protections which can also double as evasion (especially against tokens).
But Rafiq decks can also just grind-out long games as well. The Bant shard probably has the best tools for winning long games. Ramping into giant beaters like Woodfall Primus and Primeval Titan then playing Rafiq isn't that bad.
degenerate things like ponder right. the ban list is completely ignorant and its impossible to call any bans except on aggro cards...these won't happen. wotc wants nothing by creature warfare in modern. Why would they ban the best creature even if he is in a deck that makes every other aggro deck invalid.(wotc can't see the forest for the trees)
I don't see how Tarmogoyf alone makes Zoo so good that it invalidates other aggro strategies?
Zoo is a critical mass of the most efficient aggressive cards. You can't ignore Wild Nacatl and Lightning Bolt. Or what about a creature that's enormously bigger than Tarmogoyf, Knight of the Reliquary.
A deck (like Zoo) that plays 3, 4, or 5 colors will always be inherently more powerful than a deck (like Affinity) which plays 1 or 2 colors. Mathematically there are more powerful/cheap cards available if you're willing to play more colors. It has nothing to do with one card. In Modern, the cost of playing so many colors is low and the rewards are high.
A deck like Zoo is fundamentally the result of year upon year of new card releases and the interaction between fetchlands and ravnica-duals. Banning Tarmogoyf seems ignorant.
In my meta, Iona isn't particularly soul-crushing; normally for just one opponent at a time. Since that's the case, I took my hand at putting Iona at the helm. It's been a pleasant departure from my normally aggressive decks to be able to play a control deck.
It's pretty evident that Iona is very easy to ramp out in this build. This EDH deck is very ramp and board-wipe intensive.
Looking for suggestions, especially among the artifact synergies that I've built into the deck. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is something that will go in the moment I get it.
It's not considered a tier one deck, but I've seen very good players succeed with it (i.e. Jim Davis). You have tools to compete against every deck except combo.
I have a mono-black Zombie deck and I find that the best zombies so far have been:
1. Noxious Ghoul
2. Fleshbag Marauder
3. Corpse Connoisseur
Connoisseur gives you a lot of strategies. With Lord of the Undead, he's tutors into your hand. With Filth, he makes your team unblockable. Fill your deck with more zombies and you can use Grave Defiler.
An old removal card that is on theme is Feast and Famine. Most people have never heard of that card. Strangely, it has nothing to do with Sword of Feast and Famine.
My play group is very serious about playing. That being said, we decided to increase the poison counter to 15 in EDH. Having a black general that has haste and infect of 4 can ruin most games. 15 is a decent number. Not to quick and you have enough time to deal with something.
That uses 3 attack steps. Vorosh, the Hunter kills in 3 attack steps and uses more/better colors. IMHO, Skithrynx isn't even worth playing with 15 poison.
I can see how playing against a deck that is solely mana acceleration, tutors, and Skithrynx can be un-fun, but it's something you should be able to deal with.
Grafted Exoskeleton is not a very good equipment card. Even though Rafiq or Godo can kill in one hit with it, any super-serious Rafiq/Godo deck would leave it out. Rafiq also kills in one hit with Might of Oaks (a superior option IMHO) and Godo is more ridiculous with Sword of Fire and Ice and Batterskull.
Triumph of the Hordes can come out of nowhere. But so does Beastmaster Ascension as an earlier poster mentioned and it's permanent. I use both in my Edric deck, and Beastmaster has done far more damage and killed way more players.
Blightsteel Colossus is probably the suckiest to play against out of the "problem" infect cards. It's very hard to deal with and feels the most unfair since it's inevitably always/only cheated into play. But there will always be cards like this. Magister Sphinx coming back into play again, and again, getting attacked by Eldrazi, Vicious Shadows, Vorinclex...........
I think that it's very indicative of how "less bright" you are when you accuse others of not being able to grasp how to play things other than zoo. And if R&D ever had a poster-boy, it'd be Jace TMS and practically ever other planeswalker. Planeswalkers, not creatures, are the poster-children of MTG since Lorwyn.
Creature combat is something only very skilled players ever master. Even in constructed, combat is difficult. Ask any new-player if Tarmogoyf is even a good card, I don't think they would tell you the truth. Wow, it took good players to recognize how good that card was. It must take some smarts to succeed with Tarmogoyf.
It is sad you even mention that Boomerang needs to be a good card. It is sad you fail to realize that Counterspell was never really a great card, unless you pair it with instant-speed card (which was truly what made Blue great) or made it free (Force of Will, Mental Misstep).
Combo decks and control decks are much more forgiving of play mistakes. Most aggro decks in the history of competitive mtg have never had cards like Mind's Desire, Gifts Ungiven, Primevel Titan, Jace TMS, etc. All of which can pull more free wins than any Wild Nacatl or Tarmogoyf ever did.
Either way, spells today are still great. Rite of Flame/Preordain are good enough to be banned. Dismember is pretty good. Same with Path to Exile.
And no thread/discussion/post ever put forth about "banning Tarmogoyf" has ever made an impressive point as to why it ever needed to be banned.
I play Zombies, so I understand you about the life issue. When your life total is low, cards like Shepherd of Rot become useless and Graveborn Muse becomes suicide. The quickest fix for Graveborn-suicide is adding some sacrifice zombies to your deck (phyrexian ghoul, nantuko husk). As for making Shepherd of Rot relevant, you have to be aggressive. If you don't make your deck to where you can attack for damage and be ahead in life-totals, don't even include the card. My mono-black zombie deck kills with Shepherd of Rot very often.
When it comes to life-gain, Gutless Ghoul + Tombstone Stairwell/Endless Ranks of the Dead, is a zombie-themed suggestion.
I think you're missing out on Viridian Corrupter. He makes an impact and plays well with Sun Titan. You also need to really fit in Inkmoth Nexus.
But Rafiq decks can also just grind-out long games as well. The Bant shard probably has the best tools for winning long games. Ramping into giant beaters like Woodfall Primus and Primeval Titan then playing Rafiq isn't that bad.
Primeval Titan gets 2 lands < Sundering Titan gets 5-10 lands.
I don't see how Tarmogoyf alone makes Zoo so good that it invalidates other aggro strategies?
Zoo is a critical mass of the most efficient aggressive cards. You can't ignore Wild Nacatl and Lightning Bolt. Or what about a creature that's enormously bigger than Tarmogoyf, Knight of the Reliquary.
A deck (like Zoo) that plays 3, 4, or 5 colors will always be inherently more powerful than a deck (like Affinity) which plays 1 or 2 colors. Mathematically there are more powerful/cheap cards available if you're willing to play more colors. It has nothing to do with one card. In Modern, the cost of playing so many colors is low and the rewards are high.
A deck like Zoo is fundamentally the result of year upon year of new card releases and the interaction between fetchlands and ravnica-duals. Banning Tarmogoyf seems ignorant.
Skithiryx the Blight Dragon comes to mind.
It's pretty evident that Iona is very easy to ramp out in this build. This EDH deck is very ramp and board-wipe intensive.
Sweep + Iona lock down = 7/7 flying commander damage beat down
&
Blightsteel Colossus/Luminarch Ascension have been next in delivering punishment.
Looking for suggestions, especially among the artifact synergies that I've built into the deck. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is something that will go in the moment I get it.
1x Iona, Shield of Emeria
Creatures
1x Serra Ascendant
1x Mother of Runes
1x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Palladium Myr
1x Pilgrim's Eye
1x Ranger of Eos
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Sun Titan
1x Duplicant
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Eternal Dragon
1x Mycosynth Golem
1x Blightsteel Colossus
Spells
1x Tithe
1x Path to Exile
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Condemn
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Martial Coup
1x Day of Judgment
1x Wrath of God
1x Return to Dust
1x Armageddon
1x Hallowed Burial
1x Austere Command
1x Beacon of Immortality
1x Catastrophe
1x Soulscour
1x Land Tax
1x Luminarch Ascension
1x Aura of Silence
Artifacts
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Lotus Bloom
1x Mana Crypt
1x Sol Ring
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Voltaic Key
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Mana Vault
1x Grim Monolith
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Scroll Rack
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Coalition Relic
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Oblivion Stone
1x Mimic Vat
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Vedalken Orrery
1x Mind's Eye
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Gauntlet of Might
1x Mindslaver
1x Darksteel Forge
1x Dust Bowl
1x Flagstones of Trokair
23x Snow-Covered Plains
1x Strip Mine
1x Vesuva
1x Arid Mesa
1x Flooded Strand
1x Marsh Flats
1x Windswept Heath
1x Wasteland
1x Ancient Den
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Homeward Path
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Rishadan Port
1x Secluded Steepe
Planeswalkers
1x Gideon Jura
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Karn Liberated
It's just 1 and 2 mana cheap creatures. It is also budget friendly. Very easy to build a competitive Edric deck for cheap.
It's not considered a tier one deck, but I've seen very good players succeed with it (i.e. Jim Davis). You have tools to compete against every deck except combo.
1. Noxious Ghoul
2. Fleshbag Marauder
3. Corpse Connoisseur
Connoisseur gives you a lot of strategies. With Lord of the Undead, he's tutors into your hand. With Filth, he makes your team unblockable. Fill your deck with more zombies and you can use Grave Defiler.
An old removal card that is on theme is Feast and Famine. Most people have never heard of that card. Strangely, it has nothing to do with Sword of Feast and Famine.
And he's a Shaman. What more can you ask for!
This will make you a target.
That uses 3 attack steps. Vorosh, the Hunter kills in 3 attack steps and uses more/better colors. IMHO, Skithrynx isn't even worth playing with 15 poison.
I can see how playing against a deck that is solely mana acceleration, tutors, and Skithrynx can be un-fun, but it's something you should be able to deal with.
Grafted Exoskeleton is not a very good equipment card. Even though Rafiq or Godo can kill in one hit with it, any super-serious Rafiq/Godo deck would leave it out. Rafiq also kills in one hit with Might of Oaks (a superior option IMHO) and Godo is more ridiculous with Sword of Fire and Ice and Batterskull.
Triumph of the Hordes can come out of nowhere. But so does Beastmaster Ascension as an earlier poster mentioned and it's permanent. I use both in my Edric deck, and Beastmaster has done far more damage and killed way more players.
Blightsteel Colossus is probably the suckiest to play against out of the "problem" infect cards. It's very hard to deal with and feels the most unfair since it's inevitably always/only cheated into play. But there will always be cards like this. Magister Sphinx coming back into play again, and again, getting attacked by Eldrazi, Vicious Shadows, Vorinclex...........