I play an aura deck that is Invisible Stalker, Hero of Iroas and Rootwater Matriarch. It is effective. It is also hated, mostly because of the Invisible Stalker/hexproof nature. I agree, it would be nice to run something that isn't so polarizing.
Elderwood Scion seems like a good direction and balance, but sadly there aren't many creatures yet that work as well with auras. Perhaps as we see the strength of Prowess develop, that may change things in the near future.
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Feb 4, 2014Genesis Man posted a message on Launch Giveaway!Misthollow Griffin, because Distant Memories and/or Moorland Haunt. Already a decent mythic by itself, the griffin combos so well with other cards available that it's a virtually impossible threat to remove.Posted in: Announcements
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Here is the current iteration of the uncommon:
Fallow - As long as you control four untapped lands, effect.
shifted to check only at your end step becomes:
Fallow - If you control four untapped lands at the beginning of your end step, effect.
or shifted to check each end step becomes:
Fallow - If you control four untapped lands at the beginning of each end step, effect next turn.
My thought is that checking at the end of each end step is probably the best, and really isn't any more memory intensive than the transforming werewolves of Innistrad. Thoughts?
Yes, I definitely want to avoid a format where land destruction becomes a necessity. I would probably want to see some cards like Chandra's Revolution/Reduce // Rubble to interact with the mechanic a bit, to be sure. I also want to avoid swinging too far in the other direction and end up with a Fateful Hour situation.
Edit: The rare is almost definitely undercosted, as untapping on turn 6 with a 9/9 trample/menace critter is a bit much. I'll definitely be adjusting this one down the line.
I'm also really not sure how you reached the conclusion that the mechanic isn't or can't be attached to the color pie. This example card is always green and by itself only has a green effect. It might sometimes also be white or blue and has a corresponding white or blue ability (brokeness aside). Of course you're absolutely right, changing colors does nothing by itself, but that doesn't then equate it to parasitism. It makes the most sense in a set that cares about color, but can be played in any set without a single other Spectrum card. Again, I'm not trying to defend how good or useful the keyword is, just trying to understand why you had concerns about it being parasitic.
I wanted to quote this last bit because you're 100% correct and I would like to remember this going forward. The exercise here was trying to find a way to condense and shorten the Firespout mechanic in a way that was also still easy to understand. The eventual goal was to be able to design cards that could care about 3+ colors (if needed), which would in fact be a wall of text that would require condensing. I don't think Spectrum is a success in that regard, but I appreciate the feedback nonetheless.
Thank you for the feedback. Could you clarify a couple of things for me?
I'm curious how one has more or less design space than the other. Both require the same mana to be spent to achieve the same effect.
I'm also curious how either card would be parasitic. While the mana required to get full usage from the card definitely points you to a Bant mana-base, either card could be played in any set.
I chose to add cycling. It has shown up in more sets than any other non-evergreen keyword, can go on any card type, and helps smooth out games in all colors.
If you had to remove evergreen status from a keyword mechanic that is currently evergreen, which one would you remove and why?
Like others here, I also chose defender. I suspect this will be a common answer. It's the only keyword that is inherently a drawback and won't leave a "keyword void" in any colors as it's fairly evenly spread across all colors.
What is Magic's greatest strength and why?
I said Magic's greatest strength was it's diversity, stemming directly from the color pie.
What is Magic's greatest weakness and why?
I said Magic's greatest weakness was it's complexity. Design is definitely moving towards keeping the complexity as a "hidden layer" for experts to explore, but Magic has a lot of tough concepts to crack like priority, the stacks, and layers.
Good luck to everyone who submitted! I'd also be very curious what others said to question #10 (What one thing would you change about Magic)?
1x Nissa, Steward of Elements
Creatures (17)
1x Scute Mob
1x Thrasios, Triton Hero
4x Kiora's Follower
3x Coiling Oracle
2x Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1x Forgotten Ancient
1x Clever Impersonator
1x Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
2x Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
1x Rampaging Baloths
1x Lifecrafter's Bestiary
Placeholder Lands (24)
4x Temple of Mystery
10x Island
10x Forest
Conspiracy >> Arcane Adaptation - An identical card with a significantly easier casting cost, yes please.
Unnatural Selection >> Shifting Shadow - I never found the former card to be especially necessary with both Conspiracy (now Arcane Adaptation) and Hivestone in a mostly Sliver decklist. I feel like Shifting Shadow adds a nice aggressive push and effectively adds a hasty sliver every upkeep (once Marchesa is out). It's not a perfect addition by any means as I run the risk typical of most auras, but I definitely want to test it out.
Dack's Duplicate >> Metallic Mimic - Easier to cast, sets the rest of the deck up for Marchesa's ability even before attacking. Seems like a (slightly pricey) win.
1x Marchesa, the Black Rose
Creatures(33)
1x Viscera Seer
1x Striking Sliver
1x Galerider Sliver
1x Carrion Feeder
2x Metallic Mimic
2x Heart Sliver
2x Diffusion Sliver
2x Two-Headed Sliver
2x Acidic Sliver
2x Oona's Blackguard
2x Amoeboid Changeling
2x Hibernation Sliver
2x Frenzy Sliver
2x Clot Sliver
3x Homing Sliver
3x Barbed Sliver
3x Basal Sliver
3x Belligerent Sliver
3x Blur Sliver
3x Spectral Sliver
3x Syphon Sliver
3x Taurean Mauler
4x Notion Thief
4x Glen Elendra Archmage
4x Vampiric Sliver
4x Treasonous Ogre
4x Mer-Ek Nightblade
5x Thorncaster Sliver
5x Synchronous Sliver
5x River Kelpie
5x Psionic Sliver
6x Scourge of the Throne
6x Fury Sliver
2x Cyclonic Rift
5x Necrologia
Sorceries(8)
3x Windfall
4x Whispering Madness
4x Distant Melody
4x Rite of Replication
5x Living Death
5x Patriarch's Bidding
6x Recurring Insight
6x Twilight's Call
Enchantments(9)
1x Mystic Remora
3x Shifting Shadow
3x Shared Animosity
3x Intruder Alarm
3x Phyrexian Arena
3x Arcane Adaptation
3x Unspeakable Symbol
4x Mana Echoes
5x Sneak Attack
Artifacts(13)
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
2x Izzet Signet
2x Rakdos Signet
2x Dimir Signet
2x Fellwar Stone
2x Hivestone
3x Darksteel Ingot
3x Chromatic Lantern
4x Bident of Thassa
4x Door of Destinies
5x Coat of Arms
5x Cauldron of Souls
0x Sliver Hive
0x Command Tower
0x Opal Palace
0x Temple of the False God
0x Vivid Marsh
0x Vivid Crag
0x Vivid Creek
0x Crumbling Necropolis
0x Ghost Quarter
0x Cavern of Souls
1x Drowned Catacomb
7x Island
8x Mountain
8x Swamp
Gideon - Going with protection over indestructibility seems like a small flavor miss, but is fine otherwise. Definitely field more Mother of Runes over the one-and-done spells if you can. If you want to keep combat tricks, I would look for spells that say "target creature" or "attacking creatures" rather than "creatures you control." Remember, your board might be wiped, but your teammates might be in a position to attack anyway. In general, modal spells are also really good to have, allowing you (and your team) to adapt a little to Bolas' game-breaking spells.
1x Suture Priest
1x Guardian of the Gateless
2x Kill Shot
1x Horizon Chimera
1x Initiate's Companion
1x Scaled Behemoth
2x Strangleroot Geist
1x Dissolve
1x Press the Advantage
1x Snakeform
1x Vines of the Recluse
2x Vision Skeins
1x Whisk Away
1x Distortion Strike
1x Aqueous Form
1x Vastwood Zendikon
1x Paragon of Fierce Defiance
2x Pathmaker Initiate
2x Prophetic Flamespeaker
1x Spikeshot Elder
2x Vexing Devil
1x Brute Strength
1x Crater's Claws
1x Harness by Force
1x Dragon's Claw
I'm currently tweaking a deck listed by Prid3 under his red multiplayer guide, "Goggles Control." It definitely needs some tweaks to not also wipe out the other Gatewatch players' (not usually a concern in multiplayer)... and I'm also trying to tweak it a bit more to keep the Chandra theme at the forefront. Haste enablers that can apply to any creature (not just your own) seems strong (Flamekin Village, Hanweir Battlements).
I look forward to seeing what you (and anyone else) has come up with!
You can find the decklists here : http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/archenemy-nicol-bolas-preview-2017-06-05
Nicol Bolas - The original deck doesn't need a lot of help, but some cards are fairly anemic. There are also new cards in HOU that fit nicely into the theme that are worth adding. A link to his Schemes.
1x Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh
1x Nicol Bolas, the Deceiver
Creatures (19)
1x Baleful Strix
3x Abyssal Gatekeeper
1x Thief of Sanity
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Flametongue Kavu
1x Disciple of Bolas
1x Profaner of the Dead
1x Archfiend of Depravity
1x Consuming Aberration
1x Night Incarnate
1x Glorybringer
1x Harvester of Souls
1x Kokusho, the Evening Star
1x Sepulchral Primordial
1x Molten Primordial
1x Overseer of the Damned
3x Innocent Blood
1x Dreadbore
1x Torment of Hailfire
1x Exsanguinate
1x Hour of Devastation
1x Dark Intimations
1x Cruel Ultimatum
1x Blasphemous Act
Artifact (4)
1x Sol Ring
1x Talisman of Indulgence
1x Talisman of Dominance
1x God-Pharaoh's Gift
Enchantment (3)
1x Pyrohemia
1x The Eldest Reborn
1x In Bolas's Clutches
4x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Shadowblood Ridge
1x Darkwater Catacombs
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Dragonskull Summit
4x Mountain
7x Swamp
4x Island
1x Evolving Wilds
-1 Nightveil Specter
+1 Thief of Sanity
1x Gideon Jura
1x Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
Creatures (22)
3x Gideon's Lawkeeper
1x Jötun Grunt
2x Oreskos Explorer
2x Ainok Bond-Kin
2x Gideon's Avenger
3x Fiend Hunter
1x Mentor of the Meek
2x Abzan Falconer
2x Abzan Battle Priest
1x Odric, Master Tactician
1x Akroan Horse
1x Lightwielder Paladin
1x Sun Titan
3x Blessed Alliance
3x Valorous Stance
Sorcery (3)
1x Collective Effort
1x Regna's Sanction
1x Tragic Arrogance
Enchantment (3)
1x Together Forever
1x Duelist's Heritage
1x Cathars' Crusade
20x Plains
3x Mistveil Plains
1x Emeria, the Sky Ruin
Latest thoughts: The toolkit nature of the deck makes piloting it a bit tricky if you're not familiar with it. Chandra did the least last time around, so I'm waiting to test it a few more times before making any changes.
1x Chandra, Pyromaster
1x Jaya Ballard
Creatures (11)
1x Grim Lavamancer
2x Young Pyromancer
1x Dualcaster Mage
1x Guttersnipe
1x Chandra's Phoenix
3x Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1x Charmbreaker Devils
1x Inferno Titan
3x Wild Guess
3x Tormenting Voice
2x Cathartic Reunion
1x Pyroclasm
1x Incendiary Flow
1x Impact Resonance
1x Reverberate
1x Increasing Vengeance
1x Collective Defiance
1x Bonus Round
1x Exquisite Firecraft
1x Savage Alliance
1x Risk Factor
1x Heat Shimmer
1x Past in Flames
3x Pyromancer's Goggles
19x Mountain
3x Myriad Landscape
2x Smoldering Spires
-Browbeat
+Risk Factor
1x Nissa, Steward of Elements
1x Jace Beleren
Creatures (21)
2x Zameck Guildmage
2x Fertilid
1x Rhonas the Indomitable
1x Generous Patron
3x Chasm Skulker
1x Pir, Imaginative Rascal
1x Toothy, Imaginary Friend
1x Bramble Sovereign
1x Master Biomancer
2x Forgotten Ancient
2x Herald of Secret Streams
1x Kalonian Hydra
1x Deepglow Skate
1x Prime Speaker Zegana
1x Gladehart Cavalry
2x Vision Skeins
Sorceries (8)
2x The Crowd Goes Wild
2x Open Into Wonder
2x Combo Attack
1x Pir's Whim
1x Nissa's Judgment
Enchantments (3)
1x Hardened Scales
1x Hadana's Climb
1x Curse of Predation
Land (24)
10x Forest
8x Island
2x Simic Growth Chamber
2x Myriad Landscape
1x Novijen, Heart of Progress
1x Reliquary Tower