I've been playing this game since 1994, have heard infinite quarterly complaints of "WotC is dumbing this game down." Getting rid of ridiculous linked ability loopholes in favor of an intuitive duration effect like this... I'd count that as "smarting up."
yeah I agree, I'f anything, they're making cards less convoluted and focusing on what the card was made to do. I like what they're doing.
Today, I can hold my own against my LGS as long as I bring a "good" deck, which unfortunately I don't like bringing because I don't find today's "good" decks fun to play.
This. Try to find a deck you like playing. It doesn't matter if it's terrible, but having a deck that you enjoy playing, preferably in an eternal format, makes all the difference.
I have Modern Teachings. It's an above average deck, usually breaking even win/lose wise, but it's the most fun Ive ever had, and I enjoy playing it no matter the outcome.
Let me clarify. A group of friends and I are forming a local playtest group and I trying to come up with a clever name. Team Channel Fireball would be an example of a very efficient combo with the cards channel and fireball. As a parody on this I wanted to come up with Team "insert obscenely long and inefficient combo here". I would consider ANT a combo deck but I am looking for something tier 4 here.
I'll have a look for you, but I do remember in Zendikar/Scars Standard there was a combo to cast Emrakul on the first turn, in a mono-blue deck (It used Green Chancellors but never actually cast them) It did however involve Time Reversal Shuffling to an exact state for all four castings
Doesn't seem good enough to me. Talisman is fine because it gains life while doing something else, something kind of important. Occasionally attacking for one or gaining one life is just too low impact imo.
Speaking of M14, I am interested in this dude: Trained Condor2U Creature - Bird
Flying
Whenever Trained Condor attacks, another target creature you control gains flying until end of turn.
2/1
I'm all about more ways to get a Ninja flying and this has a benefit of being an actual card by itself, unlike poor little Wingcrafter, whom I do love. I like how you can change who the bird is dragging along each turn, based on board-state. Not sure what I'd cut, but it's interesting.
Yeah thoguht so.
Ooh I do like the look of that, defintiely worth considering.
What about the new gravedigger?
Here are the cards I'm interested in, in order of excitement.
Moldervine Cloak
Walker of the Grove
Syphon Life
Otherworldly Journey
Test of Faith
If they aren't on there, I don't care about them and I'm not 100% on the last three, but they look fine. I've already jabbered on about Cloak, so I'll let that rest.
Really the most interesting card for me is Walker of the Grove. I'm not really looking at it as an 8 mana dude with a 4/4 attached if it dies/gets bounced, which is okay. I'm looking at it as a way to chain out dudes with Tortured Existence, Undertaker, Gravedigger and others. I'm excited about further support for this kind of Dead Dog/rock archetype. And on top of that, I'm excited to have another dedicated control finisher. If we snag a couple more of those soon, I'll be doing something of an overhaul on my Pauper cube to try to support that.
Syphon Life seems okay. Pretty low impact as a control finisher, so I'm a little confused about that talk. Honestly, I'd rather just have a big dude 80% of the time for that ourpose. But it does seem quite good in the extort deck that I admittedly have little experience with.
Test of Faith and Otherworldly Journey, not much I want to say about them. I'll test them, look solid enough, but I don't know what I'd want to cut.
There are also a handful of cards from the M14 spoiler I'm interested in, but I'm all talked out for now.
This sums up my thoughts on it. Archetypes in Cube should really be based on base strategies, Hexproof is a horrible thing to do imho, It promotes unoriginality and locks you into choices. Supporting base strategies, like GY recursion, not only gives you good options for deck building, but also still promotes creativity when drafting a deck.
These cards seem very good to me. Test of Faith will be auto include for me, 2 mana to save, and pump a creature possibly up +3/+3 seems insanely good and I can definitely see this swinging games.
Syphon Life is obviously an amazing finisher for BX or even BXX control decks. Auto Include really.
Walker of the Grove, an amazing fatty, very good to ramp into, plays very nicely with Black GY recursion. Auto Include imo.
Cloak has already been largely discussed, and I will definitely be making a spot for it, not sure about Saur yet, hes not auto include but he has potential.
I run Rushing River in my 360 Cube, and it has performed very well. Sure it's no Capsize, but it makes for a good medium to get some major damage through or foil an alpha strike. I rank it highly, not top pickable but still high
This might be true, but given some of my recent experience, I've found that even 1 mana differences in the lategame can mean a lot, allowing you to cast two spells in a row/etc. I'll have to test to see how much of a difference this really makes, as well as how often the 'Saur comes down on T4.
Also, this is a ridiculously late reply to metaviolence's point on Essence Drain, but frankly I prefer Tendrils of Corruption and probably Corrupt as over over the Drain. Tendrils is cheaper and an instant with the potential for gaining more life, and Corruption is more expensive but has the ability to dome for 4/5 as a finisher. Not that I play either, although Tendrils could be interesting to try again for the control decks.
I havent tried Tendrils of Corruption but I do run Corrupt, and it is a really solid finisher, and is often used to stabilise in my cube, as I have quite a few effects to recur it. Very solid card.
I'd like to see this gain "of a non-planeswalker permanent" just to make it semi-fair, because boy oh boy you do not know how much I want this to be printed
Wow, those are *beautiful*!
I hope they are cards simply because I want them in foil!
I could see them being a cycle of common manafixers in the spirit of Chromatic Sphere-
something like-
Simic Keystone 1
Artifact (G/U),T, Sacrifice ~: Add GG, GU, or UU to your mana pool. Draw a card.
Also- THANK YOU, Tackman- I needed a new, Simic-themed avvy that Luminum Can hadn't grabbed first!
Oh dear lord please be correct, Second Sunrise would LOVE these
(Apparently act like Vanguard cards)
http://cdn.magicspoiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/The-Philosopher-Theros-Spoiler-615x837.jpg
Rest of the cards here: http://www.magicspoiler.com/theros-spoiler/
yeah I agree, I'f anything, they're making cards less convoluted and focusing on what the card was made to do. I like what they're doing.
This. Try to find a deck you like playing. It doesn't matter if it's terrible, but having a deck that you enjoy playing, preferably in an eternal format, makes all the difference.
I have Modern Teachings. It's an above average deck, usually breaking even win/lose wise, but it's the most fun Ive ever had, and I enjoy playing it no matter the outcome.
I'll have a look for you, but I do remember in Zendikar/Scars Standard there was a combo to cast Emrakul on the first turn, in a mono-blue deck (It used Green Chancellors but never actually cast them) It did however involve Time Reversal Shuffling to an exact state for all four castings
Sideboard:
Thoughts? I can't afford Cliques or anything like that, keep in mind.
Yeah thoguht so.
Ooh I do like the look of that, defintiely worth considering.
What about the new gravedigger?
How good is lifegain? In particular the new guy from M14
W, 1/1, T: Gain 1 Life
I know Pristine Talisman is an amazing pick and this is a lot worse, but seems like if it sticks it could be solid. thoughts?
I don't have a copy nor an easy way to get one, but how has Carom played out for you? Is it often a 3v1?
This sums up my thoughts on it. Archetypes in Cube should really be based on base strategies, Hexproof is a horrible thing to do imho, It promotes unoriginality and locks you into choices. Supporting base strategies, like GY recursion, not only gives you good options for deck building, but also still promotes creativity when drafting a deck.
Test of Faith will be auto include for me, 2 mana to save, and pump a creature possibly up +3/+3 seems insanely good and I can definitely see this swinging games.
Syphon Life is obviously an amazing finisher for BX or even BXX control decks. Auto Include really.
Walker of the Grove, an amazing fatty, very good to ramp into, plays very nicely with Black GY recursion. Auto Include imo.
Cloak has already been largely discussed, and I will definitely be making a spot for it, not sure about Saur yet, hes not auto include but he has potential.
My $0.02
I run Rushing River in my 360 Cube, and it has performed very well. Sure it's no Capsize, but it makes for a good medium to get some major damage through or foil an alpha strike. I rank it highly, not top pickable but still high
I havent tried Tendrils of Corruption but I do run Corrupt, and it is a really solid finisher, and is often used to stabilise in my cube, as I have quite a few effects to recur it. Very solid card.
I'd like to see this gain "of a non-planeswalker permanent" just to make it semi-fair, because boy oh boy you do not know how much I want this to be printed
Oh dear lord please be correct, Second Sunrise would LOVE these