Legacy/pauper player here, so apologies if this question is redundant.
The text on cards with the "crew" mechanic, such as Renegade Freighter, requires that you tap any number of creatures with power >= X. The rules text does not specify that these have to be untapped creatures. Can you tap a tapped creature, or is it assumed that the creature must be untapped in order to be able to be tapped?
Souls is a very good card against Miracles and Liliana decks, but Bitterblossom and Goblin Rabblemaster serve similar roles if you are restricted to black/red for whatever reason.
Simply playing tabernacle is a good enough warning that you have new upkeep effects. If I play a tabernacle I'm not going to remind you that you have a trigger to pay every upkeep. If that was the case there is no point in playing tabernacle Since the missed trigger/inability to pay is what I'm hoping for. Given the exact circumstances I agree that it would've only been polite to accept that I lost given the person who I'm trying to catch with it just scooped me into top 4. That was kind of caddy to really press the issue and not just scoop to that board state in the first place. But this is why is tough to be the guy that is willing to scoop an opponent in. You may not get the same courtesy.
There is no card where "simply playing it" is an acceptable reminder. It's no different than Chalice of the Void, Trinisphere, Gaddock Teeg, SOTL, Thalia, etc. Anything that dramatically impacts the way the game is played becomes the responsibility of both players to maintain. When there's a failure to do that, you call a judge to resolve it. This is just how tournament magic works.
Actually, the Tabernacle imbues every creature with "Pay 1 or destroy this creature" so the Tabernacle trigger is not the owner of the Tabernacle's, but your own. If you miss paying for your creatures then it's your own trigger and the creatures will die. Same reason why True-Name Nemesis must still be paid and accounted for with a Tabby in play.
Assuming comp REL for that event, I don't think there's a player around that would allow you to go back and pay for the Tabernacle tax, unless the match was super friendly etc.
Kind of annoying in that circumstance though if you graciously drew pre-top 4 so you would both make it. In that situation, I would have probably conceded the match if I was dead on board minus forgetting the Tab.
At GPNJ I had a really tight game against Death and Taxes in Round 8. Game 3: Opponent had a Brimaz, Spirit and Cat Token in play with 1 land facing down Tabernacle. On his upkeep he thinks for a while and says "Ok I'll sacrifice Spirit and a Cat". I say "Ok". He goes to draw his card and never actually taps to pay for Brimaz. Board wipe. Huge sigh of frustration and he was never able to recover. Whenever Tab's in play - you have to be super cautious during your upkeep.
It's true that you "control" the trigger, but the onus is always on both players to maintain the board state. I would've definitely called a judge in this scenario, since the controller of the Tabernacle also has an obligation to remind you that there are new Upkeep effects.
The brainstorm synergy makes the most sense to me.
I should clarify: I'm not talking about players keeping a two card hand with one or two lands in it, I'm talking about players having a 4 or 5 card hand with one or two lands in it, which makes the mind game aspect much weaker.
The most common bluff in Legacy is FOW+blue card. The more cards in hand, the more reasonable the bluff seems.
At the end of the day, they're still a mana-light blue deck. We have a lot of game despite their 8 1-mana removal spells. A lot has to do with sequencing on both sides. You will lose to Jitte+TNN, so hold back your Revokers and try to exhaust their removal. Always grab Sword of Fire & Ice with Stoneforge, unless you really need the life. And of course, as with all Delver decks, the game can play out very differently based on whether you have Vial and whether you're on the play. Practice all four scenarios and try to learn the lines.
This archetype is generally called Team Italia. Gerard Fabiano wrote a primer on it several years ago, for Starcity Games IIRC. However, I think you'll find that the deck just isn't very competitive by comparison to Esper Deathblade.
If you're trying to win quickly (i.e. most of the time), cast the most effective cantrip first. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that anything you push with Preordain will get shuffled back in after a Brainstorm or Ponder, so generally always save that for last. The difference between Brainstorm and Ponder comes down to whether you have a shuffle effect and whether you have chaff in your hand.
If you have the kill but need to dig for a specific answer (e.g. Cunning Wish for Chain of Vapor to bounce a Trinisphere), just cast whatever will let you see the most cards.
is unbeatable on the play. The opponents best hand against you would consist of 3 Force of Wills, 3 blue cards and a Chancellor of the Annex. however since you have a Swamp you can tap for 1 to render their chancellor useless first turn literally no draw (that Im aware of) will save them from being comboed out next turn. Im curious as to whether anybody can dispute this.
That hand loses to Leyline of Sanctity or Multiple Chancellors. I honestly think the ideal hand in this format is something along the lines of:
2 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Leyline of Sanctity
4 basic lands
And then the rest of your deck is just 53 dumb beaters, like a goblin deck or something. 4 basic lands if you're playing Goblin Recruiter. Potentially you could trim basic land slots if there's a better color to play.
I would suggest going even heavier on the synergy by splashing for delve spells. Hooting Mandrills tramples through TNN, which you otherwise have no outs to. Also, Eidolon is necessary if you want any hope of ever beating combo, yet it really crimps the deck's plan.
Halo had been discussed and basically seen as a last resort (alongside COP:Blue). The biggest problem, in my mind, is that UWR is already bringing in Wear/Tear against us. Council's Judgment seems such more reasonable.
I remember a UW version of the deck placing somewhat well at a major tournament many months ago. I can't find the list, but there was meddling mages and I believe vendilion cliques. I don't think the blue splash just for meddling mage is worth it though. If you want to play meddling mage in a taxes type shell some type of UW wizards list might be OK instead with a set of cavern of souls instead of rishadan port.
UW Nogoyf hasn't been a deck since about 2011, but it's a similar concept. I tried brewing UW Bears to exploit the synergy between Clique and SOTL, but it always felt like just a hybrid version of Stoneblade and D&T that wasn't as good as either deck.
The text on cards with the "crew" mechanic, such as Renegade Freighter, requires that you tap any number of creatures with power >= X. The rules text does not specify that these have to be untapped creatures. Can you tap a tapped creature, or is it assumed that the creature must be untapped in order to be able to be tapped?
Thank you!
There is no card where "simply playing it" is an acceptable reminder. It's no different than Chalice of the Void, Trinisphere, Gaddock Teeg, SOTL, Thalia, etc. Anything that dramatically impacts the way the game is played becomes the responsibility of both players to maintain. When there's a failure to do that, you call a judge to resolve it. This is just how tournament magic works.
It's true that you "control" the trigger, but the onus is always on both players to maintain the board state. I would've definitely called a judge in this scenario, since the controller of the Tabernacle also has an obligation to remind you that there are new Upkeep effects.
The most common bluff in Legacy is FOW+blue card. The more cards in hand, the more reasonable the bluff seems.
If you have the kill but need to dig for a specific answer (e.g. Cunning Wish for Chain of Vapor to bounce a Trinisphere), just cast whatever will let you see the most cards.
That hand loses to Leyline of Sanctity or Multiple Chancellors. I honestly think the ideal hand in this format is something along the lines of:
2 Chancellor of the Annex
1 Leyline of Sanctity
4 basic lands
And then the rest of your deck is just 53 dumb beaters, like a goblin deck or something. 4 basic lands if you're playing Goblin Recruiter. Potentially you could trim basic land slots if there's a better color to play.
UW Nogoyf hasn't been a deck since about 2011, but it's a similar concept. I tried brewing UW Bears to exploit the synergy between Clique and SOTL, but it always felt like just a hybrid version of Stoneblade and D&T that wasn't as good as either deck.