I've been looking into visiting Pittsburgh for Saturday and Sunday of the Grand Prix (checking in June 24th and checking out June 27th) and grinding side events these two days (I'm not interested in paying $75 to play standard on Friday, and this would save us from having to pay for an extra hotel night). It would be nice to find another 1-3 people to split the cost with. Right now, I'm looking into the downtown Hampton Inn, which has free breakfast, free wifi, free parking (huge for a downtown hotel!), and is a seven minute walk from the convention center.
The price for three nights would be roughly $700, which would come out to $350 per person for two people, $233 for three people, and $175 for four people. We could all do our own thing during the day at the Grand Prix (or, if you're a baseball fan like me, you could set a few hours aside for a Pirates game!), and then hang out and play some Magic/video games/Cards Against Humanity at night. Would be a pretty fun time, methinks!
If everyone wanted, we could spring for a fourth night (Thursday through Monday), which would be around $950, split accordingly.
As soon as we finalize plans, I would send out proof of reservation. Ideally, I would receive payment via Paypal before everyone arrives, but cash on site would be fine if that's all you can manage. We could also set up a Skype group or WhatsApp group to stay in touch and coordinate everything.
If you're interested, let me know either via PM or a post in this thread. Thanks!
I feel that Quickling deserves consideration in the maindeck, as a potential substitute for Scion. I made a last minute substitution before FNM last night, slotting out my two Scions for Quickling. While Scion can pump an army of Bitterblossoms and close out a game quickly, your army of faerie rogues is going to win the long game anyway if you can control the board and manage your life, and Quickling provides much more utility than Scion. While Quickling can't protect your Bitterblossom against removal, it can save one of your faeries from a kill spell, bouncing a Mistbind Clique or Sprite to play it again and duplicating its ETB effect. Quickling + Spellstutter Sprite can serve as a four mana, surprise counterspell. I've only played in one tournament with it so far, but I've always liked having it in my hand.
Oh! I meant to list Gilded Lotus instead of Lotus Bloom. Thanks for catching that for me. A one-time Black Lotus doesn't read as productive enough for a deck that relies on consistently casting big spells.
Wurmcoil Engine is a beater I threw in my current decklist while I wait for other cards to arrive in the mail. Once my Kozilek, Butcher of Truth gets here (hopefully today!) Wurmcoil is one of the first cards on the chopping block. That said, the lifelink mechanic is a nifty bonus, as he's the deck's only source of lifegain. I dropped him early in my only game with the deck so far and rode him upwards to sixty-some life, before the Engine and the tokens were dealt with. That surplus lifegain provided a cushion against the burn deck an opponent was playing.
I'd forgotten about Mystifying Maze. I'll order a copy as soon as I can.
Phyrexian Ingester is a reasonable selection for the deck, but I feel there are other cards I'd rather play in its place. The way this deck is built, other people's fatties aren't a huge problem - and I'd rather clone them or steal them, rather than banish them outright. However, I can see how it'd be a handy piece of removal.
I'm aware of providing your opponents with extra mana with Extraplanar Lens, but monetary consideration is an issue, presently. I'm scouting ebay for bargains on snow-covered lands to alleviate this issue, but otherwise, I can't palate spending seventy-five cents to a dollar on an individual land. For twenty to thirty bucks, I could enhance the deck with another beater.
Back to Basics is a no-go for me. I can get behind control magic, but denying other players their basic resources - the entities that allow them to play the game on a fundamental level - falls squarely within unfun territory for me. At least counterspells allow your opponents to play their spells before they're washed away from the stack. Now, in a competitive setting, I'd happily get behind this card.
Thanks for the feedback. I've only recently gotten into Commander, and I've found that the immense and varied cardbase Magic has accumulated over the years makes finding proper cards for a deck a gauntlet within itself. The suggestions you've given me have been a tremendous help.
As a seasoned magic player with three years behind me, I'll embrace almost any deck, so long as I can have a blast piloting it. But, while my current standard deck is a Dimir white splash control deck, I broke into the game as a devout fan of the Simic guild: casting the biggest, fatttest, meanest creatures around, ramping into threats and using them to merciless smash your opponent, and maintaining tempo with draw effects, counterspells, and bounce effects. I enjoy ending the game swiftly while having backup options in case, my creature stomp strategy doesn't pan out, which is why blue is one of my favorite supplementary colors.
My newest commander, Braids, Conjurer Adept, has a color identity that isn't generally associated with monster beatdown strategies, but heavily borrows from green's strategy while providing supplementary control and card draw options that green typically lacks, Harmonize and Glimpse of Nature not withstanding. While we don't have access to the formidable creature base green has proliferated over the season, there are still plenty of blue behemoths and colorless heavyweights at our disposal. Since Braids allows us to drop in powerful cards at no cost, our strategy is to load the deck with loads of high-cost, high-effect spells and insert plenty of mana-ramping to hard cast these cards in case Braids gets knocked offline.
This deck's strategy can be divided into three tiers: Beaters, Clone effects, and control magic. If Braids sticks around, everyone is going to be dropping their biggest, beefiest cards onto the table, which you will promptly clone and/or steal. I think this decklist is very streamlined compared to others lists I've researched. While other lists tried to play as a jack of all trades and come across as floundering, most of this list's deckspace is dedicated to either fat creatures, control magic, or clone magic, with these effects complemented by traditional blue spells, such as counterspells, card draw, and bounce effects. You'll want to win by swinging with huge, unstoppable creatures, whether they be your own, or your opponents. In case you can't get Braids out, or she doesn't stick, the deck runs plenty of ramp effects so you can hardcast your spells if need be. Caged Sun is an absolute show-stopper, as it provides you with deluges of mana to cast multiple devastating spells late game.
While I enjoy the general structure of the deck, I'm always open to suggestions and replacements. The mana base needs work - I focus on building the meat of the deck so I can deploy it at the command table before I tweak the manabase. But, overall, I adore this deck. Once you have Braids online, dropping immense creatures and artifacts, it's difficult to lose, especially if you establish a hefty manabase behind her.
Also, this decklist is as I currently have it built; I have more cards coming in the mail, and I'll be making tweaks, but I feel the deck is strong enough to pilot as is.
I'd be happy to explain any card choices I've made for this deck.
We all know in a normal booster, a mythic is given in about 1/8 packs. However, what are the odds that govern the rarity of the transforming Innistrad cards in the back of the pack? I found this from deckbuilder.com:
"- We currently use the following distribution for the transform card: 3/15 chance of it being an uncommon, 7/120 chance of it being a rare, 1/120 chance of it being a Mythic Rare. Otherwise, it's a common."
I started doing LPs about a year ago, but had to stop when I went to college and didn't have time or privacy. Now I am going to college at home, so I should have more time to record videos. Here is my channel. I am currently playing through Donkey Kong Country 2. I also have Banjo Kazooie completed on my channel:
Mathematics major here, going to be a sophomore this semester. Loved hearing all the engineering students complain about Statics in Calculus II.
Anyone other math majors who can tell me what finding a job is like? A Math major doesn't seem like it'd be good for getting jobs, since it is so broad, but I've read that you get the degree to get an understanding of math, and your job trains you in what they specifically want you to do. Sound about right?
If anyone wants to follow just what is going on and see how informed and communicative everyone is, just check out this local news Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/kxnewsminot
Water is starting to go over the levies right now. I just can't grasp that this may be the biggest flood Minot will ever see in its history.
I'm probably only one of ten people from ND on this forum, but yes, we do exist, and Minot is getting screwed over by flooding right now. Copied and pasted from my blog on cheapassgamer.com:
I've never gone through a natural disaster before, and thankfully I will not be seriously affected by this one. Yet, as awful as it sounds, I will admit it is a fascinating event to witness.
Basically, a ton of rain in Canada will cause major flooding in Minot, because the Mouse River flows down from Canada right through Minot. We had a close call a few weeks ago, but the river didn't breach the levies (about two feet short). This time, we aren't so lucky. The river is supposed to crest at the highest ever observed level, 1563.4 feet above sea level. Right now, the river is at 1553.5 feet. Over the next week or so, the river is about to jump ten freaking feet. You can see on this chart on a local news site:
I am fortunate enough to live on one of two hills in Minot, well above the flooding. However, many friends live in the valley, and their houses will likely be flooded. It's surreal; I just can't believe this is all happening. This city has stayed so constant over the years, yet in just a few days the valley will be underwater. A friend will be staying with me until further notice, and there's a chance our family vacation to Montana will be cancelled if the train station or track floods (I didn't really want to go anyway, though). There are mandatory evacuations, and the news is on 24/7. Our news anchor who is on constantly has become a local hero for his work of informing the public. It is interesting to see people on the news and TV act more human and reactive rather than scripted, as it normally is.
It is devastating, but everyone is really coming together in this small community. Minot is a city of about 40,000 people, and everyone is really getting to business. The local news Facebook page has tons of comments about the event, with total strangers banding together to help, either to assist with lodging or moving possessions out of houses. Overall, around 12,000 people have to evacuate, almost a third of the whole city. My dad is in the evacuation zone, and he might be staying with me and my mom. This will be lasting for a couple weeks. Hard to believe that soon, all access to the northern part of town will be cut off except for Broadway. It certainly is a tragic event.
We all know "troll shroud" (now hexproof) creatures still can't dodge spells that don't target, such as Day of Judgement. So I was thinking, what if there was a creature with these abilities?
-Hexproof
-This creature is unaffected by spells or abilities your opponents control.
Just a random idea, think it could ever happen? Or are there reasons why this would be terrible?
Brad Nelson, played against him in a draft in Fargo, ND (his hometown). He was pretty chill, he said he should lose so I could say I beat Brad Nelson in my first ever draft match.
Octavio Dotel (a meh baseball reliever). Gave him a fistbump and he signed a ball for me.
The price for three nights would be roughly $700, which would come out to $350 per person for two people, $233 for three people, and $175 for four people. We could all do our own thing during the day at the Grand Prix (or, if you're a baseball fan like me, you could set a few hours aside for a Pirates game!), and then hang out and play some Magic/video games/Cards Against Humanity at night. Would be a pretty fun time, methinks!
If everyone wanted, we could spring for a fourth night (Thursday through Monday), which would be around $950, split accordingly.
As soon as we finalize plans, I would send out proof of reservation. Ideally, I would receive payment via Paypal before everyone arrives, but cash on site would be fine if that's all you can manage. We could also set up a Skype group or WhatsApp group to stay in touch and coordinate everything.
If you're interested, let me know either via PM or a post in this thread. Thanks!
Wurmcoil Engine is a beater I threw in my current decklist while I wait for other cards to arrive in the mail. Once my Kozilek, Butcher of Truth gets here (hopefully today!) Wurmcoil is one of the first cards on the chopping block. That said, the lifelink mechanic is a nifty bonus, as he's the deck's only source of lifegain. I dropped him early in my only game with the deck so far and rode him upwards to sixty-some life, before the Engine and the tokens were dealt with. That surplus lifegain provided a cushion against the burn deck an opponent was playing.
I'd forgotten about Mystifying Maze. I'll order a copy as soon as I can.
Phyrexian Ingester is a reasonable selection for the deck, but I feel there are other cards I'd rather play in its place. The way this deck is built, other people's fatties aren't a huge problem - and I'd rather clone them or steal them, rather than banish them outright. However, I can see how it'd be a handy piece of removal.
I'm aware of providing your opponents with extra mana with Extraplanar Lens, but monetary consideration is an issue, presently. I'm scouting ebay for bargains on snow-covered lands to alleviate this issue, but otherwise, I can't palate spending seventy-five cents to a dollar on an individual land. For twenty to thirty bucks, I could enhance the deck with another beater.
Back to Basics is a no-go for me. I can get behind control magic, but denying other players their basic resources - the entities that allow them to play the game on a fundamental level - falls squarely within unfun territory for me. At least counterspells allow your opponents to play their spells before they're washed away from the stack. Now, in a competitive setting, I'd happily get behind this card.
Thanks for the feedback. I've only recently gotten into Commander, and I've found that the immense and varied cardbase Magic has accumulated over the years makes finding proper cards for a deck a gauntlet within itself. The suggestions you've given me have been a tremendous help.
As a seasoned magic player with three years behind me, I'll embrace almost any deck, so long as I can have a blast piloting it. But, while my current standard deck is a Dimir white splash control deck, I broke into the game as a devout fan of the Simic guild: casting the biggest, fatttest, meanest creatures around, ramping into threats and using them to merciless smash your opponent, and maintaining tempo with draw effects, counterspells, and bounce effects. I enjoy ending the game swiftly while having backup options in case, my creature stomp strategy doesn't pan out, which is why blue is one of my favorite supplementary colors.
My newest commander, Braids, Conjurer Adept, has a color identity that isn't generally associated with monster beatdown strategies, but heavily borrows from green's strategy while providing supplementary control and card draw options that green typically lacks, Harmonize and Glimpse of Nature not withstanding. While we don't have access to the formidable creature base green has proliferated over the season, there are still plenty of blue behemoths and colorless heavyweights at our disposal. Since Braids allows us to drop in powerful cards at no cost, our strategy is to load the deck with loads of high-cost, high-effect spells and insert plenty of mana-ramping to hard cast these cards in case Braids gets knocked offline.
1 Braids, Conjurer Adept
Beaters
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 It That Betrays
1 Stormtide Leviathan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Ulamog, The Infinite Gyre
Clone Effects
1 Cryptoplasm
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sakashima The Impostor
1 Sakashima's Student
1 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
1 Rite of Replication
1 Fated Infatuation
Blue Thievery
1 Sphinx Ambassador
1 Dominating Licid
1 Control Magic
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
1 Acquire
1 Blatant Thievery
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Bribery
1 Control Magic
1 Corrupted Conscience
1 Treachery
1 Volition Reins
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1 Rhystic Study
1 Sensei's Divining Top
Counterspells
1 Counterspell
1 Spell Crumple
Tutors
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Long-Term Plans
1 Treasure Mage
1 Fabricate
Bounce Effects
1 Inundate
1 Wash Out
1 Cyclonic Rift
Planeswalkers
1 Karn Liberated
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
Miscellaneous Good Stuff
1 Akroma's Memorial
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Lighthouse Chronologist
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
Braids Synergy/Protection
1 Vanishing
1 Paradox Haze
1 Vodalion Illusionist
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Strionic Resonator
Mana Acceleration
1 Caged Sun
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Sol Ring
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Extraplanar Lens
Lands
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Halimar Depths
36 Island
Braids Deckstats
This deck's strategy can be divided into three tiers: Beaters, Clone effects, and control magic. If Braids sticks around, everyone is going to be dropping their biggest, beefiest cards onto the table, which you will promptly clone and/or steal. I think this decklist is very streamlined compared to others lists I've researched. While other lists tried to play as a jack of all trades and come across as floundering, most of this list's deckspace is dedicated to either fat creatures, control magic, or clone magic, with these effects complemented by traditional blue spells, such as counterspells, card draw, and bounce effects. You'll want to win by swinging with huge, unstoppable creatures, whether they be your own, or your opponents. In case you can't get Braids out, or she doesn't stick, the deck runs plenty of ramp effects so you can hardcast your spells if need be. Caged Sun is an absolute show-stopper, as it provides you with deluges of mana to cast multiple devastating spells late game.
While I enjoy the general structure of the deck, I'm always open to suggestions and replacements. The mana base needs work - I focus on building the meat of the deck so I can deploy it at the command table before I tweak the manabase. But, overall, I adore this deck. Once you have Braids online, dropping immense creatures and artifacts, it's difficult to lose, especially if you establish a hefty manabase behind her.
Also, this decklist is as I currently have it built; I have more cards coming in the mail, and I'll be making tweaks, but I feel the deck is strong enough to pilot as is.
I'd be happy to explain any card choices I've made for this deck.
"- We currently use the following distribution for the transform card: 3/15 chance of it being an uncommon, 7/120 chance of it being a rare, 1/120 chance of it being a Mythic Rare. Otherwise, it's a common."
How accurate is this, though?
http://www.youtube.com/user/maxerAA
And here is my latest video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIi_mCvGVR8
Feedback and subs are appreciated.
Anyone other math majors who can tell me what finding a job is like? A Math major doesn't seem like it'd be good for getting jobs, since it is so broad, but I've read that you get the degree to get an understanding of math, and your job trains you in what they specifically want you to do. Sound about right?
Water is starting to go over the levies right now. I just can't grasp that this may be the biggest flood Minot will ever see in its history.
I've never gone through a natural disaster before, and thankfully I will not be seriously affected by this one. Yet, as awful as it sounds, I will admit it is a fascinating event to witness.
Basically, a ton of rain in Canada will cause major flooding in Minot, because the Mouse River flows down from Canada right through Minot. We had a close call a few weeks ago, but the river didn't breach the levies (about two feet short). This time, we aren't so lucky. The river is supposed to crest at the highest ever observed level, 1563.4 feet above sea level. Right now, the river is at 1553.5 feet. Over the next week or so, the river is about to jump ten freaking feet. You can see on this chart on a local news site:
http://www.kxnet.com/?setCity=min
I am fortunate enough to live on one of two hills in Minot, well above the flooding. However, many friends live in the valley, and their houses will likely be flooded. It's surreal; I just can't believe this is all happening. This city has stayed so constant over the years, yet in just a few days the valley will be underwater. A friend will be staying with me until further notice, and there's a chance our family vacation to Montana will be cancelled if the train station or track floods (I didn't really want to go anyway, though). There are mandatory evacuations, and the news is on 24/7. Our news anchor who is on constantly has become a local hero for his work of informing the public. It is interesting to see people on the news and TV act more human and reactive rather than scripted, as it normally is.
It is devastating, but everyone is really coming together in this small community. Minot is a city of about 40,000 people, and everyone is really getting to business. The local news Facebook page has tons of comments about the event, with total strangers banding together to help, either to assist with lodging or moving possessions out of houses. Overall, around 12,000 people have to evacuate, almost a third of the whole city. My dad is in the evacuation zone, and he might be staying with me and my mom. This will be lasting for a couple weeks. Hard to believe that soon, all access to the northern part of town will be cut off except for Broadway. It certainly is a tragic event.
Anyone else have any flood stories?
-Hexproof
-This creature is unaffected by spells or abilities your opponents control.
Just a random idea, think it could ever happen? Or are there reasons why this would be terrible?
Octavio Dotel (a meh baseball reliever). Gave him a fistbump and he signed a ball for me.