Moving forward: we had a discussion about using "for reasons stated above" as an explanation for cutting cards. There was a discussion that led to this conclusion.
From this point on, please give specific reasons. "As stated above" is not a clear reason, as the GMAD participants had a problem with that reasoning a while back.
EDIT: The tone of this post seems more curt than I would like it to be. Read this as "just a reminder," not "GRRRRAAAAR!"
I actually quite like Tibalt. Add in some flashback, reanimation targets, and Library of Leng and he actually becomes quite good (I should imagine anyway XD).
Just my opinion, but a Planeswalker shouldn't need other cards to make him "good."
Have you guys seen the deck lists for the Sorin vs Tibalt set? It's a treasure trove of casual and EDH goodies; I'm very tempted to pick one up just for the Ancient Craving alone.
The only problem is that it comes with Tibalt. They should pay us to purchase it.
Also, how do you all feel about Standard right now? I find it kinda boring. Last Standard I could make literal trash and win with it (sometimes(on Cockatrice)), but now there seems to be a lot less room for innovation.
I play at the Kitchen Table. What is this . . . how do you call it? . . . "Standard?"
Before Gatecrash I was really excited about Standard as some sort of Dimir deck seemed a possibility, but now I think I'm done with it forever.
I played Dimir when I did a draft with my group. Cipher spells just cost too much mana. The consistent winner for the draft was the guy who went with Orzov + Frontline Medic.
As far as getting Lich out on turn 3, that requires B mana only. If you're going that route, then you won't get U until turn 4, at which point Mana Leak starts to become a bit less effective.
Might want to also think about Darksteel Citadel and Darksteel Axe for some indestructible artifacts to host your Phylactery counters.
Creativity/Originality: 3
Deathtouch equipment is the first thing I thought of. Opponents knew exactly what I was up to. Extra point for the fight aspect.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 2
You get some points for sticking to Uncle Istvan, but the deck relied solely on him with little support. We was certainly able to pick fights with other creatures and win those battles, but he couldn't win the game.
Synergy/Tuning: 2
The equipment was cumbersome overall and the fight spells (Prey Upon and Pit Fight) just seemed out of place when all I really wanted was a Doom Blade. Uncle Istvan needed more pump and trample to actually do any damage; even when I was able to get rid of creatures, he just pinged away until he was removed. Making him bigger via instants, or perhaps giving him haste / shroud via Lightning Grieves would have been better than having to wait until turn 5 to actually use him.
Power/Capacity to win: 0
Can the deck deliver the goods? Unfortunately, no. I didn't win a single game. The equipment / fight tricks seemed like they should work, but it just cost too much mana. The deck wanted mana (4 cmc for Istvan practically makes him useless), so even something as simple as Birds of Paradise or Elves of Deep Shadow might have helped speed it up. Maybe even Charcoal Diamond.
Interaction/Protection: 2
Opponents knew what I was up to. All they had to do was Lightning Bolt / Lightning Helix / Go for the Throat. Stuffy Doll as a backup really was useless without a means to deal more damage to it, so it could not get anything done. By the time Istvan came out, opponents had enough to deal with him.
TOTAL: 9
Creativity/Originality: 4
Not entirely an atypical deck, but your flavor description was incredible!
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 5
Well....it only uses the selected card. That's where you gain five points. However, as the only creature that can only appear on turn 4...well, we'll talk about that in a moment.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
True, every card in the deck affects Uncle Istvan. It was nice to finally see some equipment in the form of Swiftfoot Boots to give Istvan hexproof. Yay, someone thought of that! Overall, I didn't feel like the equipment was "too expensive to manage", but . . . I didn't equip anything until turn 5. This was another deck that didn't use ramp. Uncle Istvan couldn't appear until turn 4. I couldn't do anything with him until turn 5. I like that you found Mark of Asylum as it kept Istvan protected from the common Lightning Bolt, but I found that when I didn't draw it, I wasted a Demonic Tutor on it. If, by chance, multiple Istvans were placed in the graveyard, Disturbed Burial was just too expensive to use multiple times (would have rather seen a few Raise Dead in here).
Power/Capacity to win: 2
The deck is just too slow to do anything. With the exception of Needlebite Trap (only effective early if an opponent gains life; otherwise just expensive to cast), it can't do anything until turn 5.
Interaction/Protection: 3
I certainly deals with enemy creatures, but the deck has little way to make a comeback against really aggressive decks or against board sweeps. I also found that I would have rather seen Ghostly Prison than Tangle Wire, as TW didn't help forever. Ultimately, one Uncle Istvan (even two) equipped up the wazoo posed no threat to an opponent.
TOTAL: 17
Creativity/Originality: 5 Tempting Licid was indeed an odd find, and you didn't go overboard with the equipment as many of the other round's entries did. I didn't expect to see Howl From Beyond in here.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 3
Ultimately, Uncle Istvan's role in this deck is to "distract" the opponent's blockers while the heavyweights swing for big damage + Howl From Beyond. It's hard for me to discuss card adherence in that respect as Istvan played a nice role, but I wonder if cards like Maelstrom Pulse didn't already do that job. I found that Istvan was redundant here rather than vital, only he was an odd choice for a diversionary tactic where spot removal might have been fine.
Synergy/Tuning: 4
All the cards that work well together work better without Uncle Istvan (which is why you lose a point here). I didn't want him, I wanted everyone else. However, with your inclusion of early ramp in the form of Elves of Deep Shadow and later ramp in the form of Nirkana Revenant, the deck could actually do more than wait around for our Uncle. I would drop a Diabolic Intent or two for a Demonic Tutor and another land; I get the combination with Viridian Emissary, but the 1:1 ratio doesn't really work. I found myself with two Diabolic Intents in hand and nothing I was willing to sacrifice, so they're better off in a deck with token production or something.
Power/Capacity to win: 4
When I could get the Revenant/Howl combo going, the deck pounded some face. It wasn't always easy to do that, but there was enough to do in the deck to deal damage consistently.
Interaction/Protection: 3
The fact that you didn't overload the deck with equipment left us some room to deal with other decks. Maelstrom Pulse was a good inclusion. Since your ramp included only creatures, I found that opponents who hated those creatures made it difficult for you. You were pretty evenly matched with many decks, but you couldn't protect Istvan and you needed a few more non-creature spells.
TOTAL: 19
Creativity/Originality: 4
Despite some obvious choices, Crypt Rats was a fine idea, and I enjoyed using it when Uncle Istvan was equipped with Blade of the Blood Chief (clever combo!).
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 4
In the games I played, I didn't find Uncle Istvan cumbersome at all, as a) I could get him out turn 3 with a Signet in play, and b) you had enough in the deck to keep him around. As mentioned above, Blade of the Bloodchief + Crypt Rats was a sick way to clear a board and pump Istvan. Overall, I felt the deck did a good job of getting a clunky creature to work.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
Istvan puts on a good show in this deck, but he was hindered in a few ways. 1) Despite Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor, the deck sorely needs some draw spells. It was easy for me to run out of cards and go into topdeck mode. Well of Dreams didn't work as well as it could have--it's a card that's great in a lifegain deck, but the lifegain here was secondary so the Well wasn't too effective. You probably didn't need 4 Basilisk Collars, either. However, Heavy Ballista armed with a Collar had some nice synergy, so I used it there rather than on Istvan himself.
Power/Capacity to win: 3
Discounting the overpowered / unmatched decks I faced on Cockatrice, this was a clever deck that didn't stampede to victory, but it wasn't shut out either. The best wincon (Sorin's Vengeance + Sanguine Bond) was effective and allowed Istvan + Ballista to do their jobs; your next best wincon (Istvan + Blade) worked well with Crypt Rats in play. However, with the limited Blades and Vengeance, it wasn't always easy to set that up.
Interaction/Protection: 4 Oblivion Ring was obvious, but it was definitely necessary for this deck to work. A Heavy Ballista with deathtouch helped keep creatures at bay. Still, Istvan & company easily died to removal, and something like Ghostly Prison might have come in handy. I would have also rather have seen instant removal over Death's Grasp.
TOTAL: 18
Creativity/Originality: 3
Aside from Predator Ooze, I wasn't surprised by much here. Lure + Venom is an old one, but a good one nonetheless.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 3
It certainly uses Uncle Istvan, but Predator Ooze is the real star of the deck. In fact, Simulacrum was best used with Stuffy Doll, and Istvan took a back seat. Helped get rid of some of the peskier creatures, but with Putrefy / Mortify in the deck, our favorite Uncle didn't really need to be there.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
I'd give this more points if this wasn't an Istvan deck. I liked Simulacrum with Stuffy Doll and Predator Ooze, but the Ooze needed GGG and I rarely had that. For 4 mana and no ramp, I'd rather have Damnation or the like to clear the board for me. The Istvan tricks were all too darned expensive mana-wise; I ended up needing the mana to cast removal spells more often than not, so by the time Istvan hit the battlefield, he was sort of useless.
Power/Capacity to win: 2
I won when I started to ignore Uncle Istvan. He was a rare star.
Interaction/Protection: 4
You get the bonus points here for some clever tricks (unfortunately not involving Istvan). Pernicious Deeds was absolutely brilliant vs. token decks, and effective in removing bigger threats if I managed to go late game. The problem is that Istvan easily died to burn, so I would have liked to see him a) get on the field more quickly, and b) get some more protection.
I can only speak for myself. I have one more deck to finish testing, one to start.
1) Real life has been getting in the way, and 2) the death of Cockatrice means I have to schedule a testing session with friends since woogerworks has very few users on the server.
There have been some minor updates to the Casual Forum Rules regarding spam, particularly the incorporation of the advertising rule into the spam definition.
Posting links to decklists that direct us other sites is still not permitted; however, calling it "advertising" is just another way of calling it "soliciting", and neither definition calls it what it is: spam. Really, it's just spamming our forums with links to other sites. The better option is to post decklists here in our own community.
tl;dr: It's still an offense to post links to your decklists on other sites, but we're calling it "spam" instead of "advertising".
I would like to thank whoever picked Conjured Currency for one of the CDCC rounds. I've bought a total of 3 RTR boosters so far and two of the rares were Conjured Currency.:o
Moving forward: we had a discussion about using "for reasons stated above" as an explanation for cutting cards. There was a discussion that led to this conclusion.
From this point on, please give specific reasons. "As stated above" is not a clear reason, as the GMAD participants had a problem with that reasoning a while back.
EDIT: The tone of this post seems more curt than I would like it to be. Read this as "just a reminder," not "GRRRRAAAAR!"
You can vote to keep them if you disagree with votes to remove.
Just my opinion, but a Planeswalker shouldn't need other cards to make him "good."
The only problem is that it comes with Tibalt. They should pay us to purchase it.
Congratulations, Uncle!
I play at the Kitchen Table. What is this . . . how do you call it? . . . "Standard?"
I played Dimir when I did a draft with my group. Cipher spells just cost too much mana. The consistent winner for the draft was the guy who went with Orzov + Frontline Medic.
As far as getting Lich out on turn 3, that requires B mana only. If you're going that route, then you won't get U until turn 4, at which point Mana Leak starts to become a bit less effective.
Might want to also think about Darksteel Citadel and Darksteel Axe for some indestructible artifacts to host your Phylactery counters.
Deathtouch equipment is the first thing I thought of. Opponents knew exactly what I was up to. Extra point for the fight aspect.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 2
You get some points for sticking to Uncle Istvan, but the deck relied solely on him with little support. We was certainly able to pick fights with other creatures and win those battles, but he couldn't win the game.
Synergy/Tuning: 2
The equipment was cumbersome overall and the fight spells (Prey Upon and Pit Fight) just seemed out of place when all I really wanted was a Doom Blade. Uncle Istvan needed more pump and trample to actually do any damage; even when I was able to get rid of creatures, he just pinged away until he was removed. Making him bigger via instants, or perhaps giving him haste / shroud via Lightning Grieves would have been better than having to wait until turn 5 to actually use him.
Power/Capacity to win: 0
Can the deck deliver the goods? Unfortunately, no. I didn't win a single game. The equipment / fight tricks seemed like they should work, but it just cost too much mana. The deck wanted mana (4 cmc for Istvan practically makes him useless), so even something as simple as Birds of Paradise or Elves of Deep Shadow might have helped speed it up. Maybe even Charcoal Diamond.
Interaction/Protection: 2
Opponents knew what I was up to. All they had to do was Lightning Bolt / Lightning Helix / Go for the Throat. Stuffy Doll as a backup really was useless without a means to deal more damage to it, so it could not get anything done. By the time Istvan came out, opponents had enough to deal with him.
TOTAL: 9
Not entirely an atypical deck, but your flavor description was incredible!
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 5
Well....it only uses the selected card. That's where you gain five points. However, as the only creature that can only appear on turn 4...well, we'll talk about that in a moment.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
True, every card in the deck affects Uncle Istvan. It was nice to finally see some equipment in the form of Swiftfoot Boots to give Istvan hexproof. Yay, someone thought of that! Overall, I didn't feel like the equipment was "too expensive to manage", but . . . I didn't equip anything until turn 5. This was another deck that didn't use ramp. Uncle Istvan couldn't appear until turn 4. I couldn't do anything with him until turn 5. I like that you found Mark of Asylum
Power/Capacity to win: 2
The deck is just too slow to do anything. With the exception of Needlebite Trap (only effective early if an opponent gains life; otherwise just expensive to cast), it can't do anything until turn 5.
Interaction/Protection: 3
I certainly deals with enemy creatures, but the deck has little way to make a comeback against really aggressive decks or against board sweeps. I also found that I would have rather seen Ghostly Prison than Tangle Wire, as TW didn't help forever. Ultimately, one Uncle Istvan (even two) equipped up the wazoo posed no threat to an opponent.
TOTAL: 17
Tempting Licid was indeed an odd find, and you didn't go overboard with the equipment as many of the other round's entries did. I didn't expect to see Howl From Beyond in here.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 3
Ultimately, Uncle Istvan's role in this deck is to "distract" the opponent's blockers while the heavyweights swing for big damage + Howl From Beyond. It's hard for me to discuss card adherence in that respect as Istvan played a nice role, but I wonder if cards like Maelstrom Pulse didn't already do that job.
Synergy/Tuning: 4
All the cards that work well together work better without Uncle Istvan (which is why you lose a point here). I didn't want him, I wanted everyone else. However, with your inclusion of early ramp in the form of Elves of Deep Shadow and later ramp in the form of Nirkana Revenant, the deck could actually do more than wait around for our Uncle. I would drop a Diabolic Intent or two for a Demonic Tutor and another land; I get the combination with Viridian Emissary, but the 1:1 ratio doesn't really work. I found myself with two Diabolic Intents in hand and nothing I was willing to sacrifice, so they're better off in a deck with token production or something.
Power/Capacity to win: 4
When I could get the Revenant/Howl combo going, the deck pounded some face. It wasn't always easy to do that, but there was enough to do in the deck to deal damage consistently.
Interaction/Protection: 3
The fact that you didn't overload the deck with equipment left us some room to deal with other decks. Maelstrom Pulse was a good inclusion. Since your ramp included only creatures, I found that opponents who hated those creatures made it difficult for you. You were pretty evenly matched with many decks, but you couldn't protect Istvan and you needed a few more non-creature spells.
TOTAL: 19
Despite some obvious choices, Crypt Rats was a fine idea, and I enjoyed using it when Uncle Istvan was equipped with Blade of the Blood Chief (clever combo!).
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 4
In the games I played, I didn't find Uncle Istvan cumbersome at all, as a) I could get him out turn 3 with a Signet in play, and b) you had enough in the deck to keep him around. As mentioned above, Blade of the Bloodchief + Crypt Rats was a sick way to clear a board and pump Istvan. Overall, I felt the deck did a good job of getting a clunky creature to work.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
Istvan puts on a good show in this deck, but he was hindered in a few ways. 1) Despite Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor, the deck sorely needs some draw spells. It was easy for me to run out of cards and go into topdeck mode. Well of Dreams didn't work as well as it could have--it's a card that's great in a lifegain deck, but the lifegain here was secondary so the Well wasn't too effective. You probably didn't need 4 Basilisk Collars, either. However, Heavy Ballista armed with a Collar had some nice synergy, so I used it there rather than on Istvan himself.
Power/Capacity to win: 3
Discounting the overpowered / unmatched decks I faced on Cockatrice, this was a clever deck that didn't stampede to victory, but it wasn't shut out either. The best wincon (Sorin's Vengeance + Sanguine Bond) was effective and allowed Istvan + Ballista to do their jobs; your next best wincon (Istvan + Blade) worked well with Crypt Rats in play. However, with the limited Blades and Vengeance, it wasn't always easy to set that up.
Interaction/Protection: 4
Oblivion Ring was obvious, but it was definitely necessary for this deck to work. A Heavy Ballista with deathtouch helped keep creatures at bay. Still, Istvan & company easily died to removal, and something like Ghostly Prison might have come in handy. I would have also rather have seen instant removal over Death's Grasp.
TOTAL: 18
Aside from Predator Ooze, I wasn't surprised by much here. Lure + Venom is an old one, but a good one nonetheless.
Effectiveness/Card adherence: 3
It certainly uses Uncle Istvan, but Predator Ooze is the real star of the deck. In fact, Simulacrum was best used with Stuffy Doll, and Istvan took a back seat. Helped get rid of some of the peskier creatures, but with Putrefy / Mortify in the deck, our favorite Uncle didn't really need to be there.
Synergy/Tuning: 3
I'd give this more points if this wasn't an Istvan deck.
Power/Capacity to win: 2
I won when I started to ignore Uncle Istvan. He was a rare star.
Interaction/Protection: 4
You get the bonus points here for some clever tricks (unfortunately not involving Istvan). Pernicious Deeds was absolutely brilliant vs. token decks, and effective in removing bigger threats if I managed to go late game. The problem is that Istvan easily died to burn, so I would have liked to see him a) get on the field more quickly, and b) get some more protection.
TOTAL: 15
I can only speak for myself. I have one more deck to finish testing, one to start.
1) Real life has been getting in the way, and 2) the death of Cockatrice means I have to schedule a testing session with friends since woogerworks has very few users on the server.
EDIT: I hope to have my scores up later tonight..
There have been some minor updates to the Casual Forum Rules regarding spam, particularly the incorporation of the advertising rule into the spam definition.
Posting links to decklists that direct us other sites is still not permitted; however, calling it "advertising" is just another way of calling it "soliciting", and neither definition calls it what it is: spam. Really, it's just spamming our forums with links to other sites. The better option is to post decklists here in our own community.
tl;dr: It's still an offense to post links to your decklists on other sites, but we're calling it "spam" instead of "advertising".
*ahem* I have no idea. *cough cough*:uhh:
It's an excellent card. Really.
Another freak snowstorm, another two hour delay, another feeble attempt to get the snowblower working.
EDIT:
Snowblower works!
Driveway cleared!
Work closed immediately after I finished the driveway.
EDIT EDIT: Driveway has since been covered by more snow.
[DICE]19[/DICE]
Sending PM
I'll set up the next GMAD later today.