Indeed. Your help in making these, to say nothing of what you've done for the forum have really been a solid support for us all. We'll miss seeing you in the mod cave.
I'm glad your last mod piece made it to publication though, and that you got to talk about Ephara.
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Jan 11, 2015bobthefunny posted a message on Word of Command #4 - Engines of CommandPosted in: Articles
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Dec 3, 2014bobthefunny posted a message on Word of Command #3 - Welcoming New CommandersYour method of letting players tumble out into their own camps can be a good one when you have enough room to do it. People will naturally gravitate into the games that fit their decks' schedules.Posted in: Articles
In smaller environments where you may only have one or two pods going though, it can be a bit more difficult. Also, you then get problematic players like me who like to play across the entire spectrum.
I also believe that casual environments can provide excellent learning areas, but you have to be careful of it as well. One trap that my own group has been running into now is being too lenient on take-backs. Originally implemented to allow the newer players some freedom of thought and to help them work through what courses of actions to take. It can start to be abused into not fully thinking through a situation. An example being that one player cast Council's Judgment to remove my Commander. The second player voted for another permanent in order to set up a double exile option for player C, and player C then mistakenly selected a third permanent for more exily goodness, at which point I selected one of the other targets for my vote in order to save my Commander. Player C hadn't really thought things through (and I'd also quickly jumped the gun on my own vote, I'll admit), but we ended up rewinding that play so he could properly select his vote.
I find it helps best to properly (and as honestly as possible) represent the board state for newer players. For example, with cards with the Will of The Council, such as Council's Judgment, I find that it helps to explain to newer players what the consequence of their vote will do to the options the next player in line will be able to make. After a while, you can scale back the aid you give to after the play or game is over, that way they can learn from their own choices, but still have the benefit of a different viewpoint.
In one game, my brother should have had lethal on me since he had a pro-black creature, and he was paranoid about a Duplicant in my Chainer deck's graveyard... except that he misplayed having forgotten that Chainer would reanimate it as a black creature and opted to spread his equipments out instead. Since my brother should have known better, that was an observation I made at the end of the game (a few turns later). He has never forgotten it again.
These kinds of interactions though can really help all players improve their own levels of play. -
Nov 8, 2014bobthefunny posted a message on Word of Command #3 - Welcoming New CommandersAbsolutely! The greatest way to truly learn anything is to teach it. It really makes you get an in-depth understanding of the subject.Posted in: Articles
I'm glad you enjoyed the article. -
Sep 28, 2014bobthefunny posted a message on Word of Command #2 - KHAAAAANS!Should have been Corpsejack Menace, I guess.Posted in: Articles
Indeed, much thanks to the entire editorial staff, this wouldn't be possible without them. -
Mar 29, 2012bobthefunny posted a message on Tibor & LumiaSol Grail, while getting points for being oldschool, has never impressed me in EDH. Here are a few alternatives (some less budget than others):Posted in: Deck Compilation
Coalition Relic - the most expensive of them, but far more useful.
Phyrexian Lens - a bit painful, but may be worth the added color utility
Star Compass - the best budget alternate. Taps for either color we have; CiPT, but costs 1 less, so same net mana gain when played.
Also, do not overlook Fire diamond and Sky diamond
Also, for storm count, do you have a Frantic Search? -
Aug 22, 2011bobthefunny posted a message on Being a substitute teacher is no substitute to teachingTeachers have been cut, this means there are less teachers that are teaching to get sick; this also means there are more teachers now looking for work, and thereby more substitutes looking for work.Posted in: Stoogeslap Blog
A full time teacher's resume will look better when a school is looking for a sub, so they'll be called in first. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
On Abjure: There are a lot more green permanents in the deck than blue, at roughly 23 green, 12 blue, but so far I haven't had a problem being unable to use it when I draw it, but I've been goldfishing so far. Since I play paper magic though, I'll hold off on an 'official' comment until tonight, after my games tonight.
Sad to hear about the veil online; I hadn't thought of that problem. Once its down though, it looks to be solid wrath protection, and then all you have to worry about are o-stones and pernicious deeds. If I find I don't have enough blue permanents for abjure, it'll get changed for an envelop, probably. Although, I do seem to be running slightly heavier counterspell count than you, though I am missing Kira and Erayo.
I'm still missing 2 fetchlands (wooded foothills and Flooded Strand), but I'm going to see how they play out before jumping to get those asap. The way I see it though, is it's a free copy of tropical island, thins my deck, and could be a dryad too. Speking of, I keep forgetting to count Dryad Arbor for my cradle.
So far, after my inital goldfish test, I have been really liking the Orochi Leafcaller to be able to drop out the 1 mana cost blue guys. Tonight will be the real test for him.
All that said, since I play paper magic, in a more casual environment, I don't see myself getting around to playing this deck too much tonight, unless a few special people are there; it might not be as fun for others.
Orochi Leafcaller in
1 Fatespinner out
I may also shift my land count.
+1 island, -1 forest. I'll hold off for more testing though. It may just come down to the play decision of, in case of a choice, play the island.
I first built Edric around a bunch of cheap unblockable and shadow creatures. The deck certainly got the card advantage down right, but was missing a bit in the threats and answers department. I put Edric on the side shelf for a while, trying to think of improvements. I realized I wanted more cheap creatures, but I was simultaneously concerned about the threat the deck was radiating, and its lack of defense or answers.. That's when I saw the decks posted by Donald, ISBPathfinder, and tedv. They had created a finely tuned deck, that was still improving. Their answer to the lack of defense? More offense.
An EDH deck where I could run Scryb Sprites, as a wincon? Yes, please! It took a long time to put together this deck. I was excited about the prospect, and bounced ideas off of all three other players to get experienced feedback as I slowly gathered the cards. Even with their help, I ended up with far more cards than I could run. Many had to be cut, and many will remain on the sidelines to see if the main lineup shows any weaknesses.
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
CREATURES - 34
- Zero - (free) - 2
1 Memnite
1 Vine Dryad
1 Elvish Pioneer
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Arbor Elf
1 Wirewood Symbiote - also protection
1 Treetop Scout
1 Scryb Sprites
1 Flying Men
1 Cloud Pirates
1 Zephyr Sprite
1 Cloud Sprite
1 Mothdust Changeling
1 Veil of Birds
1 Jace's Phatasm
1 Zodiac Rabbit - forest
1 Jukai Messenger - forest
1 Shanodin Dryads - forest
1 Willow Dryad - forest
1 Marsh Boa - swamp
1 Greyscaled Gharial - island
1 Merfolk Spy - island
1 Sylvan Safekeeper - protection
1 Orochi Leafcaller - mana filter
1 Cloud of Faeries - essentially free
1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
1 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
1 Elvish Champion
1 Elvish Spirit Guide - (ramp)
1 Wonder
1 Cursecatcher
1 Spiketail Hatchling
1 Spellstutter Sprite
RAMP - 7
1 mana crypt
1 Mox Diamond
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 Exploration
1 Crop Rotation
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Spell Pierce
1 Flusterstorm
1 Abjure
1 Mana Leak
1 Daze - free
1 Unified Will
1 Negate
1 Delay
1 Arcane Denial
1 Voidslime
1 Forbid
1 Force of Will - free
OTHER SPELL - 8
1 Noxious Revival
1 Reclaim
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Snap
1 Chain of Vapors
1 Turbulent Dreams - deal with resolved stuff.
1 Tangle Wire - tempo
1 Beastmaster Ascension - assisted wincon
TURNS - 4
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Time Warp
1 Notorious Throng
1 Walk the Aeons
LAND - 34
1 Gemstone Caverns - turn 1 tempo
1 Tropical Island - all
1 Breeding Pool - all
1 Command Tower - all
1 City of Brass - all
1 Tarnished Citadel - all
1 Yavimaya Coast - all
1 Thran Quarry - all
1 Gemstone Mine - all
1 Exotic Orchard - opponents
1 Flooded Grove - needs other
1 Reflecting pool - needs other
1 Hinterland Harbor - all
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Gaea's Cradle
4 Forest
7 Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Windswept Heath
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Flooded Strand
1 Wooded Foothills
1 null rod - shut stuff down
1 torpor orb - turn stuff off
1 Damping Matrix - shut stuff down
1 Submerge - free bounce
1 Steely Resolve - extra shroud source
1 Man-o'-war - bounce, in creature form
1 boomerang - the original bounce
1 stifle - stop annoying abilities on cards that have managed to resolve. Cheaper trickbind.
1 trickbind - stifle, with split second
1 spiketail drakeling - originally cut from deck, still a good living counter. Also is more of an early investment for later protection. May re-enter.
1 Viridian Zealot - more expensive, but an answer on a stick. Elf.
1 phantasmal image - answers problem generals.
1 Skyshroud cutter
1 Allosaurus Rider
1 Vine Dryad
1 Rushwood Legate
1 Saprazzan Legate
1 Ancient Ziggurat - good turn 1, only for creatures, but thats workable
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Regrowth
1 Eternal Witness
1 Seed Time - probably good in a counter heavy zone?
wanted cards (0) until deck is complete
? Forsaken City
? Lion's Eye Diamond - I can see this making explosive starts, and also being extremely risky. Perhaps if more free creatures were included, this would be better.
Abjure vs Familiar's Ruse - I like the lower cost of abjure, but the color restriction is actually somewhat annoying, though has yet to fail me. The ruse is nicer as it allows you to regain your attacker potentially, and can be used to positive effect with cloud of faeries and elvish pioneer.
I actually built this deck to the guidelines of the GMAD. While I have a few duals, I don't have as many as this deck calls for. For a cheaper version, you could always use shock lands, as a lot of the tempo puts them into play tapped anyways.
Pah! Another worthless landlubber to bring to the crew. Get up ya sorry scalawag, and to the rigging with you! You're Di Pietro's now, willing or not. Do poorly, you'll have a taste of the cat, do well and for your reward we'll put you to bed with the Captain's Daughter! Traitors, Mutineers, and Cowards may give their appeal to Davy Jones. Welcome, to a life of loot, plunder, and salvage. Take what you can, give nothing back!
1 Ramirez Di Pietro - Italian (Attacco Improvviso!)
A Pirate's Presence
1 Awesome Presence
1 Undying Evil
4 Greed
4 Leyline of Anticipation
5 Corrupted Conscience
His Ship
4 War Barge
5 Nave dei Pirati - Pirate Ship
The Ships Guns
2 Mogg Cannon
The Crew ("management") - 12
1 Nephalia Smuggler - The shifty one
2 Merfolk Assassin - The guy with the knife between his teeth
2 Sindbad - That guy in the crows nest
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor - The girl who gets stuff done
4 Kukemssa Pirates - Her sidekick
4 Master Thief - That one guy who obsesses over a specific treasure
4 Sakashima the Imposter - First Mate
4 Sand Squid - The fearsome pet!
4 Shoreline Salvager - The stupid one
6 Deadeye Navigator - Could steer into a storm without batting an eye.
6 Wrexial, the Risen Deep - KRAKEN!
Tools, and Navigational Equipment
1 Expedition Map - It's important to know how to get to Dreadship Reef!
1 Skullclamp - Killing miserable wretches for profit.
2 Mystic Compass - Might not point North...
2 Walking Altas
2 Mask of Riddles - Shiny treasure.
3 Skull of Orm - Can't have Pirates without Skulls. Especially magical ones.
4 Stolen Goods
4 Treasure Trove
6 Murderous Spoils
Sailing the Seas
1 High Tide
5 Submerge
Things Pirates do to other people
1 Tragic Slip - that thar Deck gets slippery
2 Compulsion
3 Capsize - Pirates do this to people
3 Murder - This too
3 Sudden Death - People who go against pirates come down with a sudden case of this.
4 Turnabout - Pirates do this too. It looks bad-ass. Actually, ship is what turns about. The pirates just yell and stand about looking bad-ass.
Stealing Stuff
1 Mind Harness
2 Carry Away
2 Piracy
2 Steal Enchantment
3 Vedalken Shackles
4 Abduction
4 Coastal Piracy
4 Control Magic
4 Helm of Possession
4 Steal Artifact
5 Bribery
5 Desertion
5 Larceny
5 Mind Control
5 Persuasion
5 Treachery
6 Confiscate
6 Enslave
6 Volition Reins
7 Blatant Thievery
7 Spirit Away
7 Take Possession
3x Dominate
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 DREADSHIP REEF
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Remote Isle
1 Safe Haven - A place to hide stolen booty.
1 Watery Grave
18 Island
14 Swamp
1 Ramirez Di Pietro - Italian (Attacco Improvviso!)
The Crew ("management") - 12
1 Nephalia Smuggler - The shifty one
2 Merfolk Assassin - The guy with the knife between his teeth
2 Sindbad - That guy in the crows nest
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor - The girl who gets stuff done
4 Kukemssa Pirates - Her sidekick
4 Master Thief - That one guy who obsesses over a specific treasure
4 Sakashima the Imposter - First Mate
4 Sand Squid - The fearsome pet!
4 Shoreline Salvager - The stupid one
5 Pirate Ship - It's a character too!
6 Deadeye Navigator - Could steer into a storm without batting an eye.
6 Wrexial, the Risen Deep - KRAKEN!
Artifacts, tools, and treasures
1 Expedition Map - It's important to know how to get to Dreadship Reef!
1 Skullclamp - Killing miserable wretches for profit.
2 Mask of Riddles - Shiny treasure.
2 Mogg Cannon - Pirate ships always need cannons!
2 Mystic Compass - Might not point North...
2 Walking Altas
3 Skull of Orm - Can't have Pirates without Skulls.
3 Vedalken Shackles
4 Helm of Possession
4 War Barge
2 Piracy
4 Stolen Goods
5 Bribery
7 Blatant Thievery
Instants
1 High Tide
1 Tragic Slip - that thar Deck gets slippery
1 Undying Evil - Pirates are... to the core.
3 Capsize - Pirates do this to people
3 Murder - This too
3 Sudden Death - People who go against pirates come down with a sudden case of this.
4 Turnabout - Pirates do this too. It looks dashing.
5 Desertion
5 Submerge
6 Murderous Spoils
3x Dominate
Enchantments
1 Awesome Presence
1 Mind Harness
2 Carry Away
2 Compulsion
2 Steal Enchantment
4 Abduction
4 Coastal Piracy
4 Control Magic
4 Greed
4 Leyline of Anticipation
4 Steal Artifact
4 Treasure Trove
5 Corrupted Conscience
5 Larceny
5 Mind Control
5 Persuasion
5 Treachery
6 Confiscate
6 Enslave
6 Volition Reins
7 Spirit Away
7 Take Possession
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 DREADSHIP REEF
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Remote Isle
1 Safe Haven - A place to hide stolen booty.
1 Watery Grave
18 Island
14 Swamp
Yar best be keeping yer mitts offa me plunder, ye despicable scalawag! Get ye gone from here 'ere I gi'ya a taste o' the nine!
This section yet to come
Swords, Axes, and Sharp Pointy Things.
One Idea for the deck was a much more equipment heavy Voltron build. After all, Pirtates love dangling weaponry almost as much as they like rum! Equipment would also work very well with Ramirez's first strike ability.
Life as a Pirate
Aside from the small collection of actual pirates, there are a lot of pirate-y creatures around, information dealers, merchants that sell secrets, and a large variety of ratas. A more creature heavy build could feature cards such as Dire Undercurrents.
International Talk like a Pirate Day - Spet. 19th
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
The card was supposed to be lightning cloud. It's an absolutely terrible (yet highly amusing) card to play. It really shouldn't be in my deck, but it's there for the flavor.
I actually had to go look it up, the copy I have is in Japanese, which is why I keep forgetting the name.
intruder alarm + stuff. The alarm is a well known combo card, and there are a number of black/artifact mana producers and token generators to make it go off.
Another fine point on T&L with the scythe, if you combine it with death touch, not only do you get all non-flying, non-indestructible creatures, but you can let T&L die and stack the triggers such that they return last and have the scythe back on them (though they'll lose the source of death touch).
I like the potential to boost, and that she'll be a better beater with soul's betrayl, and especially evincar, but I actually think vigilance is the stronger ability here, as it shuts down our opponents ability to attack. There is actually no reason we can't run both.
Not sold on the mimic, but I am a fan of the liege.
This is why wither/infect equipment is good on T&L, as is death touch.
scythe of the wretched has an interesting interaction. It must be equipped on T&L when the creatures go to the Graveyard. This means that if they all die at the same time, the Scythe will trigger for each of those creatures. You can then order the triggers as you wish since you control all triggers, and the creatures will be returned to play one at a time, with the scythe attaching itself to the last one.
With the scythe, if Tibor and Lumia kill themselves (say, if they have death touch), they will bring themselves back so long as the scythe was on them when they died. (However, if you do 4 damage with T&L to kill a 4/4, and the 4/4 returns and the scythe attaches itself to that creature, T&L will now be a 3/3 with 4 damage, and not have the scythe, so will not return themselves. Be careful with the scythe)
The various builds around T&L tend to focus on one of the two abilites, either you have a theft/voltron build smacking people with big flyers, or you do spiffy tricks with the damage ability as you allude to. If you want to focus more on the second, I would also recommend charisma as a gem for T&L.
My own T&L list is built to do absolutely nothing (but to do it with style!), however you may find some helpful cards in my equipment section.
If you choose to draw 2 additional cards, you must put back two, or pay 4 life for each not put back. You would still need to pay 8 life.
If you dredged back TWO cards, then it would be different. Since you only need to return cards that you have drawn this turn, you would not be able to put more than 1 back, and likewise if you replace all 3 draws, you would have none to return.
The Harmonizes are actually there to get into the first nexus, but maybe I can trim back a few copies.
I should also add in 1 Demonic Tutor, since, why not?
Losing Emrakul to an extirpate would be painful, but not game ending I don't think. So long as I sculpt into at least 5 mountains, the valakuts see them all coming in at the same time and explode for massive damage.
Vote to remove Executioner's capsule - we are seriously over doing it on removal, and it really requires Glissa to be good. Also, Glissa will return it when creatures die, but when we're killing stuff with vhati/souls or vhati/first strike is exactly when we don't need this anymore. The removal we'll need will mostly be for BLACK creatures, which the Ascendant can't -1/-1. Capsule doesn't help in that situation.
Vote to remove Glissa - On colours, off theme. Her death touch makes her not really care if vhati is out or not. Right now the only thing we have to return is the capsule, which is unnecessary tech. Every time I try and build a deck with her, she takes up too many slots with her artifact package, and I am left feeling less than impressed. She can probably stay in as a 3/2 first strike deathtouch to be pumped by Ascendant/Liege, but trying to force her ability in is a quick path to mediocrity.
Adding in Mirri, Cat Warrior x3. She's in tenth, is modern legal. She has first strike tech, has 3 toughness so works well with soul's betrayal, and has vigilance, so works well to attack, as well as defend. She'll be a 1/2 with either Night or Ascendant out, but she'll work well to whittle away our opponent until our wincon, as well as being able to block.
Oran-Rief, the vastwood or Creakwood liege could be some nice tech now, to start getting some wincon going (above the hatchling).
4 Vhati il-Dal
4 Black Knight (-2)
4 Noxious Hatchling
2 Glissa, the Traitor (-1)
1 Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker
1 Ascendant Evincar
3 Mirri, Cat Warrior
3 Thousand-Year Elixir
3 Executioner's Capsule (-1)
Enchantments: 6
3 Phyrexian Arena
3 Night of Souls' Betrayal
Sorceries: 11
3 Time of Need
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Duress
16 Placeholders
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Verdant Catacombs
24 Lands
42 Non-Lands
66 Total Cards
I would be more concerned with the lack of turn 2 plays, and lack of mana ramp/fix. I would recommend farseek.