You do realize that Condescend has the "bells and whistles" that he's talking about.
Wouldn't Power Sink qualify? I always thought that was a hard counter if the cost wasn't paid, but now that I'm looking at it, can you choose to not pay X, tap all your lands, and still have your spell resolve?
Guys, the Maralen decks are a joke. Funny. Ha ha. Get it? They aren't supposed to be good decks.
Pretty much this, guessing nobody actually followed the link to read the article and the decklist in there, which is much more serious than the 96 swamp variety.
I want to build a matched pair of 1v1 decks that meet the following requirements:
1 - Dual color - more consistency and budget friendly than 3+ color
2 - Non-overlapping colors - I want to keep the decks varied, too much overlap with staples and whatnot if the decks share a color
3 - Not too complicated / overpowered - these will primarily be used for quick-ish casual matches and introducing people to EDH. Synergies and small combos are fine, but going infinite, Mindslaver locks, etc are out
4 - Limited budget - I'm going to be pretty broke for a while, and since I can balance the decks against each other it'll be easier to take an overpowered card out of one than pick up an expensive card to power up the other.
I'm thinking Geist of Saint Traft vs Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, since I have a spare Geist and I've been wanting to build Skullbriar for a while now. I think I can build Geist as more of a tempo-midrange build and Skullbriar as all out aggro. I'm just curious if that sounds like it will end up in boring games of just swinging back and forth.
Anyone think this idea has any merit or should I go back to the drawing board?
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out the white splash for sure, I want to eventually port this into an EDH deck as well, and that really needs G/W for all the awesome white Cats. Just wish there was a G/W Cat Legend...
Ah, thanks, awesome tips. One thing I forgot to mention is if I should augment the clone theme with steal effects. Probably at least the basics like Control Magic. Tons of the Threaten effects in Red too if I decide to go that route.
Haha, thanks, I would too, but you appear to have missed the part where Cat Tribal is a key point. I can definitely afford to cut SOME of the cats though, I think Scythe Tiger will stay, replacing Rogue Elephant (similar enough for casual), but what would you say are the weakest 1 or 2 cats?
I had the idea to make a casual deck with a ton of clone/copy style cards that instead of doing Riku of Two Reflections-style abuse just naturally scales to the power level of the opponent's deck.
My general reasoning is thus:
1 - More balanced games - your stuff will generally be the same as your opponents, maybe a bit more flexible
2 - Politics - you may end up one-shotting someone with a Blightsteel Colossus, but they can't really complain since the card is in their deck!
3 - Flexibility - clone/copy effects give you tons of options
4 - Budget - clone/copy effects are generally $5 or less - I happen to already have a Phantasmal Image and Phyrexian Metamorph, two of the pricier clones at the moment.
Concerns:
1 - Win conditions - I'll need a well defined backup plan if I'm playing against decks that don't have huge beaters for me to copy
2 - Playing against combo - I think red is a necessary addition for Fork effects to try and duplicate the killing blow when a combo player goes off
3 - General - not many generals that fit the theme if I'm incorporating red - I'm thinking Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, since it's generally useful, I like the concept of a Dragon general in EDH, and it opens up some combo possibilities
4 - What to do with the rest of the deck - I can round out the rest of the deck with some goodstuff, maybe do a group hug/pillowfort to capitalize on the political aspect, or add a few combos in as alternate wincons. There's also the possibility of going mono-Blue, using Mistform Ultimus and a bunch of Lords for the beatdown option. Pretty sure I want Red in the deck though.
Anyone have any advice on the direction to take this deck? I'd like to keep the total cost under $100 to start with, and two color at most, but those are the only restrictions.
Note that this is a budget build I'm testing, I'd def add 4x Cavern of Souls and probably Huntsmaster otherwise.
1 Champion of the Parish
1 Disciple of Griselbrand
3 Borderland Ranger
3 Fiend Hunter
3 Restoration Angel
3 Angel of Glory's Rise
3 Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
4 Faithless Looting
4 Mulch
2 Tracker's Instincts
4 Unburial Rites
2 Defy Death
4 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Plains
1 Swamp
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
3 Woodland Cemetery
1 Shimmering Grotto
2 Purify the Grave
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Witchbane Orb
2 Herald of War
2 Slayer of the Wicked
4 Cathedral Sanctifier
1 Restoration Angel
http://www.onegeneraltorule.com/2011/02/candys-top-15-dragons-for-edh/
Wouldn't Power Sink qualify? I always thought that was a hard counter if the cost wasn't paid, but now that I'm looking at it, can you choose to not pay X, tap all your lands, and still have your spell resolve?
EDIT: Missed this:
Pretty much this, guessing nobody actually followed the link to read the article and the decklist in there, which is much more serious than the 96 swamp variety.
Commander: Maralen of the Mornsong
Ad Nauseam
Sickening Dreams
Dark Sphere
96x Swamp
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/commander/23076_Dear_Azami_The_Worst_Thing_You_Can_Still_Do_To_People.html
Seconded.
1 - Dual color - more consistency and budget friendly than 3+ color
2 - Non-overlapping colors - I want to keep the decks varied, too much overlap with staples and whatnot if the decks share a color
3 - Not too complicated / overpowered - these will primarily be used for quick-ish casual matches and introducing people to EDH. Synergies and small combos are fine, but going infinite, Mindslaver locks, etc are out
4 - Limited budget - I'm going to be pretty broke for a while, and since I can balance the decks against each other it'll be easier to take an overpowered card out of one than pick up an expensive card to power up the other.
I'm thinking Geist of Saint Traft vs Skullbriar, the Walking Grave, since I have a spare Geist and I've been wanting to build Skullbriar for a while now. I think I can build Geist as more of a tempo-midrange build and Skullbriar as all out aggro. I'm just curious if that sounds like it will end up in boring games of just swinging back and forth.
Anyone think this idea has any merit or should I go back to the drawing board?
He's saying use ONLY Black/Blue/Red manabase, and Reaper King allows you to pay 2 instead of Gand W.
Are you saying to print stickers and put them on the back of existing sleeves?
Haha, thanks, I would too, but you appear to have missed the part where Cat Tribal is a key point. I can definitely afford to cut SOME of the cats though, I think Scythe Tiger will stay, replacing Rogue Elephant (similar enough for casual), but what would you say are the weakest 1 or 2 cats?
My general reasoning is thus:
1 - More balanced games - your stuff will generally be the same as your opponents, maybe a bit more flexible
2 - Politics - you may end up one-shotting someone with a Blightsteel Colossus, but they can't really complain since the card is in their deck!
3 - Flexibility - clone/copy effects give you tons of options
4 - Budget - clone/copy effects are generally $5 or less - I happen to already have a Phantasmal Image and Phyrexian Metamorph, two of the pricier clones at the moment.
Concerns:
1 - Win conditions - I'll need a well defined backup plan if I'm playing against decks that don't have huge beaters for me to copy
2 - Playing against combo - I think red is a necessary addition for Fork effects to try and duplicate the killing blow when a combo player goes off
3 - General - not many generals that fit the theme if I'm incorporating red - I'm thinking Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, since it's generally useful, I like the concept of a Dragon general in EDH, and it opens up some combo possibilities
4 - What to do with the rest of the deck - I can round out the rest of the deck with some goodstuff, maybe do a group hug/pillowfort to capitalize on the political aspect, or add a few combos in as alternate wincons. There's also the possibility of going mono-Blue, using Mistform Ultimus and a bunch of Lords for the beatdown option. Pretty sure I want Red in the deck though.
Anyone have any advice on the direction to take this deck? I'd like to keep the total cost under $100 to start with, and two color at most, but those are the only restrictions.