i'm surprised so many people cut spell pierce... i've run it in my 380 cube since day one, and it arguably plays a stronger role with each release. with the powershift over to planeswalkers, having a 1 mana answer to a ton of stuff (planeswalkers, equipment, big sorceries, etc.) is extremely handy. I view spell pierce as a pithing needle - it's never, ever going to be a dead card. since my cube went to powered, it's been that much more useful on the T1 plays (and with the added emphasis on artifacts). definitely run it!
New Snapcaster... hear me out.....
The old one is familiar and what we are used to, but in terms of what the card is/does the new one captures that dynamic energy so much better. The old one is one of the most stiff and flat images on widely played cards. I absolutely hate the old art because of the awkward pose, the cheesy "Mega Man Arm" thing, the even cheesier "Doctor Von Sciency" Monocle crap on his face, the forced framing of the character on the half-way mark of the illustration, and the general lack of diagonal movement that keeps things super rigid. I've thought the old art was a train wreck and needed a more fitting image since it was spoiled.
The new guys misses the mark on color - being dominated by lime green - and has some of the "small guy" issues that most creatures with flash have. He does, however, look like he's doing something exciting. He does look like he's doing magic, and there's a general movement and contrast in the design that the original lacks.
Too bad it's only in Foil.
i'm with you. i always found the old Snapcaster art to be really boring, and after seeing what happened to Bob, I was secretly holding my breath for a new Snapcaster art. While the new one isn't SUPER amazing, I certainly prefer it to the old art. I'm also a big fan that its coming out in foil. The only problem is that the new art reminds me of a soccer player... but it'll do if I can find one for relatively cheap!
how have you been finding the two Kioras? if you had to pick one of the two to run... which would you choose?
i'm currently running a 380 cube so I'd hate to run two UG planewalkers at the same cost. i'm leaning towards the old Kiora due to her kickass art and sweet ultimate, but I haven't played with the new one yet. thoughts?
PS. my simic section is looking like:
Trygon Predator
Edric
Kiora, Crashing Wave/Kiora, Master of Depths
Mystic Snake/Lumbering Falls (I think this is the right cut for Falls)
I'm a huge fan of Oath, and I regularly force UG counter decks feat. Oath + Natural Order.
Is gemstone mine really that hot of a card? I've never really given it much thought in the past... Is it really better than say Grand Coliseum/City of Brass/Mana Confluence in a 380 cube?
on another note, i'm contemplating resleeving my entire cube with KMC hyper mats (currently in gold dragonshields). i am having the darndest time figuring out what colour to use as my original vision was to use a non-MTG colour for the sleeves (and the hyper mat purple is a bit too light for me). any recommendations on a KMC sleeve colour, or other sleeves that are as reputable + have more unique colours?
It's tough to find an off-color mtg sleeve because most sleeves' colors were made with said colors in mind. It's slightly important to note that certain colors have properties which are different to others, which makes them more durable/flexible (basically longer-lasting). I tend to favor the red Hypermats. I find the color red to be pretty solid and durable (from years of experimenting). But that's my personal opinion.
If I had seen this earlier I would have chimed in. I really think that any dark color looks awesome with the Hypermats. I had a set (for a deck not a entire cube) of dark purple that looked incredible . I'm currently using the HYPERmat blue for the cube and Super Silvers for the tokens. Blues simply cause it's my favorite color and silvers because it's what I had.
in the end, i found a good deal with green and went with those. i was ready to go with purple (the only non MTG colour in the hyper mat line), but I couldn't find them at the price i wanted. Plus the purple looked really light, which was a bit of a put-off for me. Are they really that dark? i've never seen them in person (or even pictures of them).
The sleeves in my pic a few posts up are purple hyper MATs. They're a pretty deep and rich purple, I'd take a picture right now but they're in storage right now since i'm moving. Price on them was good too, 36 dollars for 7 packs.
It's a bit tricky to see the colours since it's only the tops of sleeves when you get them unpacked, i would greatly appreciate if you could post up another pic of the sleeves themselves. That price is really good too - I believe I got my green sleeves at that price, and i'd be happy to switch them again if i could get good looking purples for that price.
on another note, i'm contemplating resleeving my entire cube with KMC hyper mats (currently in gold dragonshields). i am having the darndest time figuring out what colour to use as my original vision was to use a non-MTG colour for the sleeves (and the hyper mat purple is a bit too light for me). any recommendations on a KMC sleeve colour, or other sleeves that are as reputable + have more unique colours?
It's tough to find an off-color mtg sleeve because most sleeves' colors were made with said colors in mind. It's slightly important to note that certain colors have properties which are different to others, which makes them more durable/flexible (basically longer-lasting). I tend to favor the red Hypermats. I find the color red to be pretty solid and durable (from years of experimenting). But that's my personal opinion.
If I had seen this earlier I would have chimed in. I really think that any dark color looks awesome with the Hypermats. I had a set (for a deck not a entire cube) of dark purple that looked incredible . I'm currently using the HYPERmat blue for the cube and Super Silvers for the tokens. Blues simply cause it's my favorite color and silvers because it's what I had.
in the end, i found a good deal with green and went with those. i was ready to go with purple (the only non MTG colour in the hyper mat line), but I couldn't find them at the price i wanted. Plus the purple looked really light, which was a bit of a put-off for me. Are they really that dark? i've never seen them in person (or even pictures of them).
So what I did with my DFCs (Huntmaster of the Fells, Garruk Relentless, etc.) was sleeve them in these amazing Ultra Pro clear sleeves. I received a few in my trades in the past but have never been able to identify the product, but they are UP sleeves that are stiff like regular MTG sleeves. Then in the draft, I printed and sleeved a proxy (in regular sleeves) to mark the DFC cards, and if players choose to MD the DFC, they can just use the clear sleeved DFC. The advantage is that I'm able to showcase my shiny DFCs in a safe sleeve, without having to worry about pulling out and putting back in a perfect fitted card every time it transforms. i just need to figure out what the sleeves were called so that I can sleeve up my new origins walkers the same way...
on another note, i'm contemplating resleeving my entire cube with KMC hyper mats (currently in gold dragonshields). i am having the darndest time figuring out what colour to use as my original vision was to use a non-MTG colour for the sleeves (and the hyper mat purple is a bit too light for me). any recommendations on a KMC sleeve colour, or other sleeves that are as reputable + have more unique colours?
Hey again! Just wondering, but how has Sarkhan Unbroken been performing in your cube so far? The more I look at him the less I like him as a PW (especially for a tri colour slot)... how has he been doing for you guys?
how permanent/staple-y do you think Ral Zarek (no time vault) and Solemn Simulacrum would be in a 380 powered environment? In particular, I'm concerned that Solemn might not do enough with moxen/lotus floating around, and I've never been particularly overwhelmed by Ral Zarek. Love to hear your thoughts, cheers.
last night purphoros + meloku made an appearance... that was a lot of instant speed damage to the face!
i'm with you. i always found the old Snapcaster art to be really boring, and after seeing what happened to Bob, I was secretly holding my breath for a new Snapcaster art. While the new one isn't SUPER amazing, I certainly prefer it to the old art. I'm also a big fan that its coming out in foil. The only problem is that the new art reminds me of a soccer player... but it'll do if I can find one for relatively cheap!
i'm currently running a 380 cube so I'd hate to run two UG planewalkers at the same cost. i'm leaning towards the old Kiora due to her kickass art and sweet ultimate, but I haven't played with the new one yet. thoughts?
PS. my simic section is looking like:
Trygon Predator
Edric
Kiora, Crashing Wave/Kiora, Master of Depths
Mystic Snake/Lumbering Falls (I think this is the right cut for Falls)
Is gemstone mine really that hot of a card? I've never really given it much thought in the past... Is it really better than say Grand Coliseum/City of Brass/Mana Confluence in a 380 cube?
It's a bit tricky to see the colours since it's only the tops of sleeves
in the end, i found a good deal with green and went with those. i was ready to go with purple (the only non MTG colour in the hyper mat line), but I couldn't find them at the price i wanted. Plus the purple looked really light, which was a bit of a put-off for me. Are they really that dark? i've never seen them in person (or even pictures of them).
I've got both in front of me but can't for the life of me decide which I like more. What did you guys go with?
on another note, i'm contemplating resleeving my entire cube with KMC hyper mats (currently in gold dragonshields). i am having the darndest time figuring out what colour to use as my original vision was to use a non-MTG colour for the sleeves (and the hyper mat purple is a bit too light for me). any recommendations on a KMC sleeve colour, or other sleeves that are as reputable + have more unique colours?
how permanent/staple-y do you think Ral Zarek (no time vault) and Solemn Simulacrum would be in a 380 powered environment? In particular, I'm concerned that Solemn might not do enough with moxen/lotus floating around, and I've never been particularly overwhelmed by Ral Zarek. Love to hear your thoughts, cheers.