MTG Salvation

Here's what I've been toying around with:

My thoughts on the odd card choices:

Mudbutton Clanger - In this deck it's usually at least a 2/2 for R, if not more. If dropped on turn one, I've seen it get up to 4/4 before getting Wrathed away. (Stupid consistent turn four Wrath.)

Sensation Gorger - This is just gassiness in my opinion. If you see yourself drawing one threat, it'll almost always draw you more. It's an amazing post-Wrath card. I've also had it clear me of potential land clumps a couple times. It's also a really good feeling to "draw" six cards a turn with this and Wort, Boggart Auntie in play.

On the Kinship cards in general - Every card that isn't a Goblin is a land. And if you're drawing multiple lands in a row you're dead in the water anyways because you're playing an aggressive strategy.

Vexing Shusher - It's a 2/2 that cannot be countered and lets you push through your Boggart Ram-Gang when the control match-up doesn't want you to. It is however blank in the aggro match-up.

I want all Base Sets to be as good as this one from now on.

Hello, sending out a store beacon in Springfield, IL. Mainly used to play in the Springfield Game Store before it closed down. I heard a couple people that used to play there opened up a new store. Or if nothing else just any place to play in Springfield, IL would be nice.

Meh. I've never had a problem with targeted removal myself, but it could be just me. Anyways, another card that should be looked at is Gigadrowse. It just does many wonderful things when paired with a mana base of mostly Islands.

I'm surprised there's been very little talk about Rimefeather Owl. With an all-snow mana base and the fact that you are possibily running big anti-aggro obstacles like Phyrexian Ironfoot, Rimefeather Owl would easily be an 8/8 or better when he comes out. Stupidly efficient mana cost to power/toughness ratios are some good I hear. Oh yeah, he also trumps Simic Sky Swallower. Just thought I'd point that out.

Sun's Bounty: Depending upon how aggressively costed this card is, it could very well be a high pick in draft considering how all of the U/W we've seen so far loves the mid/late game.

Kjeldoran War Cry: Will obviously be uncommon so as to avoid someone hoarding these things in draft. In which case, it's nowhere near spectacular.

Balduvian Fallen: This is definitely a card to watch out for, becoming a 5/7 monster in a couple of turns. It will, if nothing else, be a very good card to top the mana curve off at in a more aggressive draft.

Chill to the Bone: Definitely a Rend Flesh-esque rehash. Fully expecting a similar-costed mirror to this that destroys a Snow creature. This card in particular could very well see Constructed play if printed as an instant.

Krovikan Scoundrel: [edit]Thanks for pointing that out TD.[/edit] You can't really tell what it'll do by looking at the other Krovikan cards already out. They all seem to have pretty generic in-color abilities. Oh well.


As for deciphering what these cards will actually end up as, I honestly do not think we have enough information on what else is in the block to see what is left for these to be. I could be wrong, however.

Thrumming Stone: Johnny be good. Honestly though, its strength may not necessarily lie in its comboliciousness, but more in its ability to make burn get rather scary. Seething Song + Desperate Ritual will be somewhere in this kind of list, along with Surging Flames. Ripple - 8 seems some good to me.

Knights of the Spring Board: 'Nuff Said(tm).

Wilderness Elemental: Somewhat metagame dependant. If you're seeing quite a bit of 3CC and Sizzetron, this little dude is going to become your bestest friend for the next couple months (at least). However, don't expect this to win any ground wars against Ghost Dad/Gruul. 3 Toughness means precisely Jack against Mortify/Frenzied Goblin(name?).

Soul Spike: The one card I was waiting to see after hearing about Etchings. Rarely will you ever point this thing at a creature. And even more rarely will you actually pay this thing's mana cost. Seeing as how people are making comparisons between this and Kokusho and/or this and Soul Feast, I'll do the same: Kokusho, most of the time, (meta dependant, etcetera) is a 6 mana Sorcery that causes a 10 point life swing, compared to Soul Feast which is a 5 mana Sorcery that causes an 8 point life swing (and cannot be pointed at creatures in a clutch situation), and finally Soul Spike which is a zero mana instant that causes an 8 point life swing or kills a problem creature in a tight situation and nets you 4 life. In a deck that is not built moronically (i.e.: don't stick this thing in a W/U/B deck.... ) the only real strike against this is that some people (really should be more people, but whatever) are running Ivory Mask in the sideboard to avoid, well, Kokusho (and Heartbeat, but nobody plays that now do they? )

The whole "your manabase gets stunted" arguement, while vaild, kind of falls apart when you take five seconds to remember that we still have the Signets.

As for the actually playability of this card? As at least one person before me has said: This cards value is going to be directly proportionate to the playability of the black pitch-spell, minus a notch (I.E.: Black Pitch > Amazing = Etchings > Really Good). Also, as a side note: Possibility of running Akuta, Born of Ash alongside this? Granted this suggestion is directly dependant upon the strength of the black pitch-spell once again, but if you are running this, the black pitch-spell, Sickening Shoals and Akuta, Born of Ash, you're not going to give Iota 1 about actually having mana open to cast spells now are you?

For some odd reason I keep thinking that someone out there is concocting a new MUD list to take advantage of 9 Strip Effects + Random Stax Lock Elements, but then again I only really have a passing interest in Type One anyways. Still, if nothing else, the 2/2 Wasteland/Ghost Quarter plan vs. Needle seems like its best use.

Funny thread! Mine probably won't be very good, but ah well.


Phantasmal Randomness UUU
Enchantment

At the beginning of each player's upkeep, flip a coin. If heads phase out all lands, enchantments, and creatures. If tails, until end of turn, whenever a player plays an instant or sorcery spell, simultaneously phase in all phased out lands, enchantments, and creatures, and phase out all artifacts and enchantments and lands and then each player discards his or her hand a draws 7 cards.

"Okay, that's it. Urza, wtf did you do now?" Gerrard, to Urza.





Stupidly-Annoying-Licid-That's-Not-Supposed-To-Exist 1UGR
Legendary Creature - Licid

UGR, T: ~ loses all abilities and instead becomes an Enchantment-Licid that reads: UGR, T: ~ loses all abilities and instead becomes a 0/2 Licid that reads: UGR, T: ~ loses all abilities and instead becomes an Artifact-Licid that reads: UGR, T: ~ loses all abilities and instead becomes a nonbasic land-Licid that reads: UGR, T: ~ loses all abilities and instead becomes a 0/2 Legendary Creature-Licid with the name Stupidly-Annoying-Licid-that's-Not-Supposed-To-Exist and gains all activated abilities of cards with the type Licid that have been used this turn.

0/2

"It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... an artifact. It's a land! It's, it's.... It doesn't exist!" Last memoirs of an R&D team member.

Honestly, I'd replace Teferi's Puzzle Box with Psychic Possessions. It'll make Vision Skeins much more potent. As for the deck idea itself, it's good to see that I'm not the only one running through Research//Development deck ideas in my head, .

Honestly, if your meta is heavily into B/W, I wouldn't be running Gruul Aggro. As it is, I'd drop the Cloak for more face-burning, a la Volcanic Hammers, or something of a similar nature. That way you don't care if they deal with your creatures or hit your hand because you'll just keep topdecking into more burn. Also, in reference to Zadok001s suggestion, I'd be leary of upping your Rumbling Slum count to a 4-of unless you are absolutely sure that the B/W players have generally decided against Pillory of the Sleepless.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Chow.

Meh. I'm not a fan of Wit's End, though this set has no real "too horrible to ever warrant playing" cards. As mentioned before, Nightcreep pseudo-Orim's Chants non-black decks. Street Savvy, if nothing else, gives the creature it's attached to a +2 butt. And as for Azorius Ploy, I'm personally indifferent to it, though, it IS a combat trick in the end. Finally, for those of you saying Swift Silence is good for counteracting Storm, so is Stifle, Voidslime, and Hindering Touch as stated earlier. And those don't cost 5 mana.

Rogue DeckBuilders whine, NetDeckers whine about the the Rogue DBs whining, the cycle of Magic life continues. Both blocks had their pluses and minuses. Truth is, the format is still in its infancy. Dissension isn't (officially) released yet, and we still have Cold Snap to eventually assimilate (in all of its asinine glory, imo), so why don't we save the verdict until about a good 3 months later?

It depends upon the deck, but I'd rather have the Oracle. Also, on the note of Jitte. Please realize that the earliest they'll have a chance to do anything with Jitte is Turn 3. And if they are equipping and swinging with Jitte on Turn 3 instead of dropping more actual threats, I wouldn't be too worried. Most aggro decks have considered Jitte too slow.