That said, the reserved list is absolutely horrible and is detrimental to the game. I don't think it will last beyond the next 5 years or at least I hope it won't.
For me, personally, a great deal of my now limited Magic playing is an attempt to rekindle the feelings I had when I was 14 or so.
In the end, I feel like people are slowly 'aging out' of the game, and in 5-10 years, I am not sure what the game will look like. Maybe vibrant or maybe starting to deteriorate a bit. Everywhere I play (roughly 4-5 shops) the average age is like 24 and getting older. Very very very few people under 20.
The places near me won't even allow non-water drinks or food because Magic players can be so disgusting. So to answer your question, would taking people who can't be trusted with a plastic soda bottle and giving them alcohol be a good idea? I don't think so.
Although on a much smaller scale, I have heard of a pub that let's people play EDH and do drafts in small groups. Anything that is large scale and welcomes anyone wouldn't work.
I am really curious about taking my list, removing the singleton Pox main and adding a Maze of Ith. Also, I was considering removing a swamp and adding a third Urborg. Thoughts? Honestly haven't done much with Pox thus far, so maybe someone who really likes the card can defend it for me.
The thought being, I want people to cast spells (so they are punished by the Rack), and having a Maze out means they will be forced to cast any creatures they have. One won't be enough. For the same reason I feel like Sinkhole is just a waste, as without lands many decks still function and I want them to run out threats I can deal with (via creature destruction or whatever).
For me the Ratchet Bombs are excellent against a number of decks and cards. Ratchet Bomb can do a decent job at stifling goblins or elves when set to 1, 2 or 3. It kills tokens from Dredge or from various white lists. In theory you can ramp up and kill Planeswalkers if you need to.
For me, the biggest cards it deals with are Leyline of Sanctity, Chalice of the Void (set to 1 or 2), Umazawa's Jitte (only costs 2) [HUGE].
Honestly, set to 1-2 against most fair decks it's always relevant. It kills all of the important humans, a flipped delver at 0 cost (or a germ under a batterskull) and pretty much a ton of other cards (creatures and otherwise).
A diversity of threats and answers is my new strategy. Sinkholes were basically anti-synergy with the Rack or useless most of the time when my opponents only needed 1-2 lands to operate.
At this point, having played with 1 or 2 Sensei's Diving Tops, I can't see myself playing Pox without them.
At the next event I go to, I will likely replace something with another Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to up the land count to 24, but right now 23 seems fine.
I have 2 tombstalkers, but I cant help feeling like for 1 more you get Geralf's Messenger dealing 2 when he comes in and then surviving every removal spell in your deck, where demon gets the axe if you need to kill stuff after he's on the table.
Is it possible Gravecrawler (with Messenger) is also good over the Rack? or was that a horrible thing to say? It dredges and comes back like Bloodghast.
The zombie brew proved to be formidable vs RUG, WUR and Stoneblade at my local, and they're pretty serial when it comes to legacy
I wish Geralf's were a 2/1 with the same abilities and only cost BB. Ugh.. would have been so sweet.
And just to expand on the 2 life. It's the cost, and it can be countered. With FoW, Daze, and Spell Pierce all over the meta, you're just asking to be down 2 life and a card.
I'll gladly pay B instead of 2 life for a spell that is guaranteed to hit (Extirpate).
They are the exact same card, one is just riskier without greater reward. There's really no reason to run Extraction over Extirpate.
Yea, sure, that's mainly true. But there are also going to be times where someone drops a turn 2 Iona on your face and you don't have the mana available to Extirpate. Surgicals have early game significance that Extirpate often lacks. Heck, I have turn 1, Dark Ritual -> Inquisition of Kozilek -> Hymn -> Surgical before to deadly effect.
Is it me, or does Nether Void seem to be a "no-brainer" in this build? I'm new to MTGS, however; I've been running a mono black control build for about fifteen years...and I have found that dropping a Void on t3 or t4 is usually GG against many decks, especially game one. In addition, I have found running Contagion as a one-of or two-of is rather effective as it allows the Pox pilot to pour-on the disruption early/mid game while not having to worry about threats building up. Nether Void provides such a tempo advantage that most decks can never recover. Thoughts?
If it weren't more than 90 dollars I think most people would run it. People are simply priced out of it.
Guys, this might not be the best time to put in a combo plan. Splash hate for Sneak/Show (unjustified though I feel it is) is trickling in.
Inquisition hits Show and Tell just as well as it hits combo pieces. Also, Animate Dead can target discarded opponent creatures as well, so it's technically Sneak and Show tech. A lot of the sideboard is also good against Sneak and Show, for both decks offered, so it's not so bad. I just added the Inquisitions because the life loss from Thoughtseize seemed harsh.
This way you have the full dredgers package (Necroplasm, Dakmor, Darkblast), a more reliable (no life loss) reanimator package, more resistance to combo maindeck (Inquisitions), the full Liliana package, and a few more beaters in Mishra's and the recurring Nether Spirit.
In the end, I feel like people are slowly 'aging out' of the game, and in 5-10 years, I am not sure what the game will look like. Maybe vibrant or maybe starting to deteriorate a bit. Everywhere I play (roughly 4-5 shops) the average age is like 24 and getting older. Very very very few people under 20.
Although on a much smaller scale, I have heard of a pub that let's people play EDH and do drafts in small groups. Anything that is large scale and welcomes anyone wouldn't work.
I am really curious about taking my list, removing the singleton Pox main and adding a Maze of Ith. Also, I was considering removing a swamp and adding a third Urborg. Thoughts? Honestly haven't done much with Pox thus far, so maybe someone who really likes the card can defend it for me.
The thought being, I want people to cast spells (so they are punished by the Rack), and having a Maze out means they will be forced to cast any creatures they have. One won't be enough. For the same reason I feel like Sinkhole is just a waste, as without lands many decks still function and I want them to run out threats I can deal with (via creature destruction or whatever).
For me, the biggest cards it deals with are Leyline of Sanctity, Chalice of the Void (set to 1 or 2), Umazawa's Jitte (only costs 2) [HUGE].
Honestly, set to 1-2 against most fair decks it's always relevant. It kills all of the important humans, a flipped delver at 0 cost (or a germ under a batterskull) and pretty much a ton of other cards (creatures and otherwise).
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
10 Swamp
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bojuka Bog
Creatures (3):
1 Tombstalker
2 Nether Spirit
Spells (23):
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Smallpox
1 Darkblast
4 Dark Ritual
1 Pox
1 Raven's Crime
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Innocent Blood
1 Funeral Charm
4 Liliana of the Veil
Artifacts (7):
3 The Rack
2 Sensei's Diving Top
2 Cursed Scroll
1 Perish
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Extirpate
1 Spinning Darkness
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Pithing Needle
2 Engineered Plague
2 Ratchet Bomb
1 Ensnaring Bridge
A diversity of threats and answers is my new strategy. Sinkholes were basically anti-synergy with the Rack or useless most of the time when my opponents only needed 1-2 lands to operate.
At this point, having played with 1 or 2 Sensei's Diving Tops, I can't see myself playing Pox without them.
At the next event I go to, I will likely replace something with another Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth to up the land count to 24, but right now 23 seems fine.
Probably gives you something to sacrifice to your own effects (tokens) so that Tombstalker lives. Also provides cover by chumping so he can attack.
I wish Geralf's were a 2/1 with the same abilities and only cost BB. Ugh.. would have been so sweet.
Last updated in 2010? Come on now.
Yea, sure, that's mainly true. But there are also going to be times where someone drops a turn 2 Iona on your face and you don't have the mana available to Extirpate. Surgicals have early game significance that Extirpate often lacks. Heck, I have turn 1, Dark Ritual -> Inquisition of Kozilek -> Hymn -> Surgical before to deadly effect.
Extirpate, Surgical Extraction, Leyline of the Void, Dystopia, Tormod's Crypt
Against reanimator game 2 I try to keep hands with surgical/extirpate or Leyline
If it weren't more than 90 dollars I think most people would run it. People are simply priced out of it.
Inquisition hits Show and Tell just as well as it hits combo pieces. Also, Animate Dead can target discarded opponent creatures as well, so it's technically Sneak and Show tech. A lot of the sideboard is also good against Sneak and Show, for both decks offered, so it's not so bad. I just added the Inquisitions because the life loss from Thoughtseize seemed harsh.
2 Griselbrand
1 Sheoldred, Whispering One
1 Nether Spirit
1 Necroplasm
Spells (29)
4 Dark Ritual
4 Entomb
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Funeral Charm
1 Darkblast
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Smallpox
4 Animate Dead
2 Necromancy
4 Liliana of the Veil
Land (22)
2 Bojuka Bog
1 Dakmor Salvage
2 Wasteland
2 Mishra's Factory
3 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
12 Swamp
3 Extirpate
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Pithing Needle
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Cursed Scroll
3 Leyline of the Void
This way you have the full dredgers package (Necroplasm, Dakmor, Darkblast), a more reliable (no life loss) reanimator package, more resistance to combo maindeck (Inquisitions), the full Liliana package, and a few more beaters in Mishra's and the recurring Nether Spirit.