MTG Salvation

Thoughts on Riot Piker?



The 2 power and first strike kills/deters blocking from most things in the format, but there's not a whole lot of room in the deck, especially at 2cc. The drawback is also pretty huge (can't block), and it dies to pings, Electrickery, etc.

Quote from XBM Yosho

Umm, forgive me but I am a little confused as to why we would need a list of cards printed at the common level on paper but not common online?

Any card printed at common level on paper is usable unless your playgroup has special rules regarding the C1 rarity. Cards such as Hymn to Tourach is usable in paper unless your playgroup chooses to call the C1 rarity uncommon under today's rarity rules which is why I updated the thread regarding that.

Maybe I just completely missed the point of what you meant or something lol.

It'd just be interesting to see a definitive list of (notable) cards that comprise the potential differences between online and paper pauper (it was looking for such a list that brought me here - what exactly makes paper different from online?). Especially since some of these cards can be quite powerful, if a paper metagame were ever to develop, it's very possible/probable that paper and online metas would look very different. I don't mean to put the burden on you though, just saying it'd be neat to see

How about a list of cards allowed in paper pauper but not printed as common in MTGO?
Sinkhole, Hymn to Tourach, and Goblin Grenade come to mind.

edit: whoops, my bad

bahaha good catch. And I guess it's not really worth it for just the Ninjas, since it requires them on the board, competes heavily with the 1cc slot, and is liable to 2-for-1s.

Here's my 60 - more aggro-based.

How about Porcelain Legionnaire for an even more explosive start?
Frostburn Weird?

The problem is that soft counters are weak late-game (where MUC's supposed to dominate) and they only provide tempo. They're also massive card disadvantage (0-for-1s). The deck has to take advantage of the tempo or it's wasted.
Perhaps a combo wincon would be better - something you can assemble while you stall, like Painter-Stone.

With access to Bazaar, I prefer to go manaless.

Core's something like this (I think you got most of it):


It's not a very casual deck though. You might have better luck asking around the Vintage forums.

Hi. I play Pauper MUC against friends' Legacy-legal casual decks, and it holds up quite well. The neat thing is that most of the best blue cards are common. I thought I'd share what a typical MUC deck looks like in an all-commons format and some of my thoughts, in case anyone is looking to maximize a limited budget.


Options:
* Many (most, probably) people prefer Mulldrifter, Pestermite, and/or Errant Ephemeron in place of NotDH and 4 counters. I personally feel that an unanswered Ninja wins games faster and more consistently than those, but:
-1 or -2 Prohibit, -3 Exclude, -4 Ninja; +4 Ephemeron, +4 Pestermite
is an option, depending on the meta (currently testing).
* Exclude is conditional but extremely useful (counterspell that cantrips = CA).
* Piracy Charm MD, since it's never completely dead (although the only really relevant mode is the instant-speed kill)
* Sea Sprite - Pro-red faerie in the sb for Goblins (I don't encounter any)
* 1-2 Capsize
* Condescend - Scry is pretty powerful; however, this often leaves you (nearly) tapped out, and is awful against Post decks that generate tons of mana.
* Preordain vs Ponder: Preordain is better since it gets rid of your bad draws (and as such is better in control, since you're not digging for a specific card as you would in combo), but many people have success with Ponder. Either can be run as a 3-4 of.
* Faerie Trickery as a 1- or 2-of to deal with things you don't want in the graveyard.
* Think Twice is the best draw spell available (better than AK, ask if you want to know why).
* Echoing Truth is the best bounce available, but most problematic things are creatures that can be handled with Narcolepsy/Curse.


If format isn't a concern (but budget still is):
* Sphinx of Jwar Isle may make a nice finisher.
*snip* spoiler removed

Alright, good to know, thanks. I was just curious if, say, a split second after someone announced a Counterspell they decided they wanted to play a Spellstutter instead (before their opponent reacted); however, there's that clause in 601.2 that "Announcements and payments can't be altered after they've been made."

Given that twiddling lands is acceptable, is tapping/untapping Islands a legal way to bluff? Or does that fall into the same category as baiting a reaction?

I remember reading somewhere that it's a good idea to play spells, then pay the costs. This is because mana abilities resolve immediately to add mana to your pool, and since this is a legal action, it can't be undone; whereas with a spell, if the targets are invalid or you can't pay the cost, it just reverts to the last known game state. True?

Can I undo land-tapping while paying costs, say if I decided I wanted to tap a certain land instead of another?

Can I take back playing a spell before paying the cost, even if I could legally declare targets and pay costs? Or once I announce it, am I obligated to play it if able?

I started out with this deck, then played pauper MUC a while. A few quick thoughts that may or may not be relevant, given the vast differences betwen the formats (most notably Legacy's speed):

* Mistblade is pretty useless, and most often only works once.
* Echoing Truth is my favorite way to answer onboard threats, as it can potentially/often get you a 2-for-1 or better. However, Repeal is very nice for bouncing AEther Vial or something.
* Signal Pest works great with all the cheap fliers. Yes, it dies to every single piece of removal, but it does only cost 1.
* I don't like Daze in pauper because it's tempo loss and useless midgame or after your opponent knows you have it, but I suppose it gains enough utility in 1.5 to make it worth running.
* Why doesn't this deck run more counters? 8 seems very light for a control deck. Are Counterspell/Prohibit really too slow? I'd think at least something like Spell Snare would be essential.
* Writ of Passage as a 1- or 2-of seems like a great way to abuse Standstill.
* I'm undecided about Vial; it effectively doubles your mana and SSS and CoF tricks are neat, but it's also a liability and potential tempo loss.
* Curfew might be nice against, say, Emrakul.

...sucks and was a mistake. Wizards should scrap it instead of letting it slowly kill eternal (ie, fun) formats.

Screw collectors. Magic is first and foremost a game.

You're right, green in general is really underpowered and most (only?) useful as a splash color, outside of Stompy and Elves. (Actually, come to think of it, only blue and red seem to be the only competitive mono-color options...) However, green has some of the most powerful cards - Rancor, NO-Prog, Goyf, KGrip, Cradle - that make it worth splashing for.

Solutions exist for what you're talking about though. For example, Vines of Vastwood can counter removal, or you can play creatures that have some kind of protection (trolls, finks, etc). And in mono green, you should have many, many more creatures than they have removal for. You should be able to ramp into a good board position loooong before they're able to drop a bomb. Combo elves can very easily win on t2-4 (after drawing and playing everything in their deck).

Depending on your meta, you can def make a competitive Merfolk deck without the pricy Legacy things you listed.

Your list looks pretty good. The faeries seem a little out of place; they're not awful, but you might be better off just going with more counters. Daze is somewhat less effective without Vials, it's easy to play around, and I'm personally not a fan of the tempo loss, but that's up to you too. Ghost Quarter/Tec Edge are awful in Legacy and I agree with sanin to drop the land destruction (esp since you don't have Vials). Needlessly running nonbasics makes things harder to cast (esp those critical early Dazes, if you choose to run them) and opens you up to Wasteland as well.

Merfolk has trouble with aggro things like Zoo and Goblins. Submerge, Jitte, and Kira can help against Zoo. Other good sb options are gy hate (Relic/Crypt/LotV), Echoing Truth, Null Rod/Hurkyl's Recall, Back to Basics, Shackles, Mindbreak, Hydroblast/BEB, Spell Snare, Needle, Chalice. I've also seen people splash black for Perish and E. Plague.