I dislike acid rain for a lot of reasons, four is a ton of mana, although the effect is quite powerful for four mana you want a reliable effect and this effect can be played around through nonbasic lands that dont count as forests. Flashfreeze is always good, definitely my go to card when I was playing heavy control decks, I found myself siding this card in way more than all other cards in my sideboard, maybe it was tied with deathmark and forked bolt in my grixis deck but that is saying a lot since you can board those cards into a variety of things. Being sided in very often should give a card bonus points Last of all its sorcery which blue most certainly hates.
I think if you want more of a haymaker card against green you probably want control magic effects or perhaps submerge, this is of course assuming mono blue. Thing in the Ice is also a very good card vs green (creature decks in a general) as long as you're playing a decent amount of instants or sorcery's
Good control magic cards threads of disloyaltysower of temptationcontrol magic treacheryvedalken shackles One thing I'd like to say about these cards, is that they will be quite weak against the infamous player sensei hes packing like 4ish creatures with etb effects that destroy enchantment or artifacts, but that shouldn't discourage using these. A trick a I do against this player is side out a sizable amount of artifacts and enchantments for my sideboard cards.
3-5 barals although yes it has happened, is a bit hyperbolic especially lately, yes blue has warped the meta, there wasn't even a baral deck that went 5-0 yesterday. Yeah everyones playing blue hate cards which is probably an issue (a hard one to solve tbh) but I dont see how its much different than brainstorm being in 70% of legacy decks and dont ban it. The format literally just started what not even a month ago??? These kind of things of one deck being the most dominant/popular have always been a thing. aetherworks marvel a standard deck right now is more dominant than baral is.
Here's yesterdays results https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/commander-league-2017-05-29#online the point is lots of things are viable, yeah some things are more dominant, but how is that different from any other format. Personally I like the slow ban approach than a mass one. No matter what, you should like that wizards is promoting this format because its bringing people in, I know I wasn't playing before 1v1 and thats always a good thing it just brings more activity and players to these style of format's. To dislike a format and not play it when its the closest thing to being an official version of what you probably enjoy the most is baffling. I'm the most neutral person on the 30 vs 20 hp I honestly dont care. I know either way somethings going to be flawed, it will probably be more color diverse with games ending infinitely shorter.
I'd also like to say that I agree baral is the best deck but I wouldn't say its miles better than everything else. Yes if they nut draw you and get to play first, you wont be able to do anything just like any other deck nut drawing with moxes and early stuff. The whole debate to me seems to me a lot like modern vs legacy which do you like more super fast format with combo decks (modern) or legacy with brainstorm dominance and force of will, its all just taste.
I've stopped playing MTGO leagues until they fix the banlist on the 24th but from my experience I never faced more than two Tasigurs in a single league if I was unlucky, whereas I would regularly play four to five CONSECUTIVE Baral decks in a single league. You have no idea how frustrating it is losing to a turn 3 or 4 Polymorph off Mystical/Personal every single time. I would gladly take Strip Mine+ Crucible over it because you have to at least assemble those pieces and I can respect that. I do have to commend WotC for taking swift action two weeks from the format induction.
I have experienced the 4/5 baral as well in a league before. I actually think Baral is definitely a tier ahead of tasigur for sure, tasigur can struggle vs the mono green decks quite easily while the baral deck can just poly into emrakul and they have barely any interaction at all which is a huge advantage for grinding trophies. Granted I use to think emrakul was ok to be in the format but it causes a lot of problems I think, if they dont plan on nerfing green I think they should ban emrakul as well because if they nerf blue too much everybody will just switch to mono green decks. Yes they can just switch to the other emrakul, but thats infinitely more fair than hardcasting aeons torn or ulamog.
My bans would be this Emrakul Upheaval DTT Treasure cruise Ancient tomb Mox Diamond Strip mine Life from the loam Mystical tutor Vampiric tutor. Yes I didnt mention some other strong cards because I dont think its reasonable to expect a mass ban of all the strong cards.
I've had a tough time vs zurgo as Tasigur maybe 40/60ish, Id imagine baral and jace have a much tougher time against zurgo since they dont have a 4/5 blocker. I dont think most zurgo decklists were built too well either, perhaps cause they tend to be budget lists (with Price of progress, flame rift, and blood moon). However I think Zurgo is viable for sure a good t2 deck, I dont think jenara, doran, and anafenza can compete because they're too slow and easy to play against. If you want to do a midrange route it would have to be bruse/x or geist I think.
I dont play zurgo so im not sure why its not a bit more popular, maybe it struggles vs certain decks I know sometimes people play things like jitte and batterskull (even though these cards aren't great) and those could be huge turnoffs
Things like crop rotation getting ugin of sanctum or cavern of souls make it real tough for the blue decks, if you stumble once its completely over, and their commander's cant ever resolve Azusa and nissa which are huge threats. I've played against maindeck choke and carpet as well.
Question to MTGO players or i guess anyone who'd know.. is the MTGO meta often similar to paper meta? Not asking about the new one coz there's barely any data to compare, i'm referring to older stuff like modern, etc.. Coz the cockatrice meta DC-wise is very different from the paper meta.
I think about 1/10 of the time, you play vs a casual deck, I'd say the meta will more like cockatrice than IRL since its easier to get the cards a lot less budget decks than IRL (for example a scrubland is worth about 2 tickets online vs 80ish USD in real life. You can trade/sell things instantly online as well, everythings super liquid. I'd imagine in real life, it'd be somewhat common for someone to play an oloro (bad exmaple I know its banned) deck without a tundra for example.
For those wondering on the online meta, its literally all over the place everything is super diverse, but if I had to say the things I've played against the most are Nissa and Baral/Jace. I've seen Zurgo and Oloro about the same amount maybe 1/10 of my games (they arent super common, perhaps Oloro negating zurgo participation, but definitely viable I know ive lost to zurgo)
At least this statement makes me optimistic ''This banned list may go through relatively rapid iteration as this format is put through its paces on Magic Online. The first few months may see bans at an accelerated pace if the format at launch is problematic, but the eventual intent is that it will fall into our normal banning cadence.''
Predictions on top tier commanders? oloro, tasigur, geist, partner generals, leovold, prossh, breya, titania, animar seem like the best options, I'm sure I'm missing a few.
Not a big fan of the moat or mana drain ban atleast its infinitely better than the multiplayer ban list. Hopefully they make changes based off whats doing well every B&R list, hopefully try the format with moat legal.
Two cards they may have forgot to ban are ad nauseam and Ancient Tomb
or are willing to let those have a chance
Well I was talking about Den Protector generally speaking, not to any of my decks or Michelles decks ( I don't even know exactly how her decks are configured) but, I'd much rather play dismiss which is a second cryptic command 90% of the time, than play a card that plans to return a counterspell effect in a control deck. If you're more midrange than control a different 4 or 5 mana card is more reasonable Nissa, vital force was just an example. One thing is for sure the more mana you can fit in your deck the better the den protector gets. My whole point is I do think den protector is a good card I just don't think its tarmogoyf. For me to want to play this card I probably have to be less controlling and be playing equipment or combo pieces and of course not four colors like Lowman said (even then its not the worst thing ever in 4c).
Well I for one think Den Protector is a tad overrated five mana for a regrowth effect it isn't exactly a house of a card as for the flexibility of being able to beat down or kill planeswalkers assuming they have no blockers for three extra mana, that doesn't sound so enticing to me in my opinion. For a regrowth effect you have to ask yourself is it worth it or are you better off playing a real 4 or 5 mana card, something like Nissa, vital force (this card has been exceptional for me since I put it in my deck) or regrowth itself. I understand sensei has multiple morphs so he has the mind game bonus as well. I can definitely respect the card though especially if people are playing more slower control decks. The card is good but as S&R said sometime last week in regards to Jötun Grunt ''lots of cards are good in s100'', it's definitely a card I can see myself playing with and without.
We all have our cards we gravitate towards to As for miners maindeck yeah that's just something i've had success with, I'll always probably play with them along with good old Dark confidant as long as im playing those colors. I'm surprised no one mentioned duskwatch recruiter I really like this card although I haven't played with it yet, I always feel pressured to remove it, when its in play.
Do you guys advertise this tournament elsewhere other than mtgsalvation? Perhaps reddit would be an option to get more players. I didnt even know you guys had these tournaments til i randomly decided to go through the mtgo section of this site (which I never did in all the years of using this site).
No matter the ban list on what you guys decide to change I will adapt and still play and I dont think the control decks with combo finishers are that big of deal because they could replace the combo pieces with planeswalkers and still win the same gamees, most of the time anyways. I also don't think unbanning crucible is a good idea after thinking about it some more, mostly because of homogeneity. It being an artifact is what bothers me and every deck plays wasteland and fetchlands so it would make deck building kinda boring.
Personally I dislike the idea of oath and yawg will being unbanned. Those are the two archetypes I hate in magic fast storm and oath but maybe oath wont be as op idk.
Cards I especially wouldn't mind coming off are
entomb (I love the idea of reanimator being viable plus we are playing with a sideboard so I dont think itd be super dominant)
stoneforge mystic and life from the loam seems like the most fair cards on the list.
The three cards that aren't on the banned list that probably should be: pod, bazaar, and mishra's workshop. People that abuse baazaar and workshop arent looking for an interactive game from my experience which makes it more vintage style. A lot of what should and shouldnt be on the ban list has to do with kind of format people want to play. It doesn't make sense to ban something like stoneforge mystic and keep pod unbanned Imo.
Also if anyone wants to play some matches feel free to message me, My username is Dawts I'm on very often (usually playing some LoL but ill get the message). I only have one deck atm but working on second one.
I think if you want more of a haymaker card against green you probably want control magic effects or perhaps submerge, this is of course assuming mono blue. Thing in the Ice is also a very good card vs green (creature decks in a general) as long as you're playing a decent amount of instants or sorcery's
Good control magic cards threads of disloyalty sower of temptation control magic treachery vedalken shackles One thing I'd like to say about these cards, is that they will be quite weak against the infamous player sensei hes packing like 4ish creatures with etb effects that destroy enchantment or artifacts, but that shouldn't discourage using these. A trick a I do against this player is side out a sizable amount of artifacts and enchantments for my sideboard cards.
Here's yesterdays results https://www.mtggoldfish.com/tournament/commander-league-2017-05-29#online the point is lots of things are viable, yeah some things are more dominant, but how is that different from any other format. Personally I like the slow ban approach than a mass one. No matter what, you should like that wizards is promoting this format because its bringing people in, I know I wasn't playing before 1v1 and thats always a good thing it just brings more activity and players to these style of format's. To dislike a format and not play it when its the closest thing to being an official version of what you probably enjoy the most is baffling. I'm the most neutral person on the 30 vs 20 hp I honestly dont care. I know either way somethings going to be flawed, it will probably be more color diverse with games ending infinitely shorter.
I'd also like to say that I agree baral is the best deck but I wouldn't say its miles better than everything else. Yes if they nut draw you and get to play first, you wont be able to do anything just like any other deck nut drawing with moxes and early stuff. The whole debate to me seems to me a lot like modern vs legacy which do you like more super fast format with combo decks (modern) or legacy with brainstorm dominance and force of will, its all just taste.
Baral x1, JvP x1, Breya x1, Titania x1, Gitrog x1, Tasigur x1, Kraum & Vial x1, Bruse & Thrasios x1, Selvala x1, Nissa x1
I have experienced the 4/5 baral as well in a league before. I actually think Baral is definitely a tier ahead of tasigur for sure, tasigur can struggle vs the mono green decks quite easily while the baral deck can just poly into emrakul and they have barely any interaction at all which is a huge advantage for grinding trophies. Granted I use to think emrakul was ok to be in the format but it causes a lot of problems I think, if they dont plan on nerfing green I think they should ban emrakul as well because if they nerf blue too much everybody will just switch to mono green decks. Yes they can just switch to the other emrakul, but thats infinitely more fair than hardcasting aeons torn or ulamog.
My bans would be this Emrakul Upheaval DTT Treasure cruise Ancient tomb Mox Diamond Strip mine Life from the loam Mystical tutor Vampiric tutor. Yes I didnt mention some other strong cards because I dont think its reasonable to expect a mass ban of all the strong cards.
Also they should unban moat
I dont play zurgo so im not sure why its not a bit more popular, maybe it struggles vs certain decks I know sometimes people play things like jitte and batterskull (even though these cards aren't great) and those could be huge turnoffs
I think there will be a weekly commander tournament as well http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-online/magic-online-format-challenges-2017-05-04
Saturday, 12 p.m. PT—1v1 Commander Challenge
I think about 1/10 of the time, you play vs a casual deck, I'd say the meta will more like cockatrice than IRL since its easier to get the cards a lot less budget decks than IRL (for example a scrubland is worth about 2 tickets online vs 80ish USD in real life. You can trade/sell things instantly online as well, everythings super liquid. I'd imagine in real life, it'd be somewhat common for someone to play an oloro (bad exmaple I know its banned) deck without a tundra for example.
For those wondering on the online meta, its literally all over the place everything is super diverse, but if I had to say the things I've played against the most are Nissa and Baral/Jace. I've seen Zurgo and Oloro about the same amount maybe 1/10 of my games (they arent super common, perhaps Oloro negating zurgo participation, but definitely viable I know ive lost to zurgo)
Predictions on top tier commanders? oloro, tasigur, geist, partner generals, leovold, prossh, breya, titania, animar seem like the best options, I'm sure I'm missing a few.
Two cards they may have forgot to ban are ad nauseam and Ancient Tomb
or are willing to let those have a chance
We all have our cards we gravitate towards to
No matter the ban list on what you guys decide to change I will adapt and still play and I dont think the control decks with combo finishers are that big of deal because they could replace the combo pieces with planeswalkers and still win the same gamees, most of the time anyways. I also don't think unbanning crucible is a good idea after thinking about it some more, mostly because of homogeneity. It being an artifact is what bothers me and every deck plays wasteland and fetchlands so it would make deck building kinda boring.
Cards I especially wouldn't mind coming off are
entomb (I love the idea of reanimator being viable plus we are playing with a sideboard so I dont think itd be super dominant)
stoneforge mystic and life from the loam seems like the most fair cards on the list.
The three cards that aren't on the banned list that probably should be: pod, bazaar, and mishra's workshop. People that abuse baazaar and workshop arent looking for an interactive game from my experience which makes it more vintage style. A lot of what should and shouldnt be on the ban list has to do with kind of format people want to play. It doesn't make sense to ban something like stoneforge mystic and keep pod unbanned Imo.
Also if anyone wants to play some matches feel free to message me, My username is Dawts I'm on very often (usually playing some LoL but ill get the message). I only have one deck atm but working on second one.