FWIW, if there is not a "if you do" clause, this can counter multiple spells if they're put on the stack before any of the triggers resolve. More correctly, it can prevent your opponent from responding to spells that you cast in response to the Power trigger.
E.g.: Your opponent casts some throwaway spell to trigger Power of the Moon. In response you cast some instant. Your opponent can't respond to that instant without triggering Power of the Moon again.
Thus, this becomes an expensive and slow way to force some instants through.
This might actually be the best card to bait out their D commands and make them waste it.
So this card effectively says, more or less, "Counter your opponent's worst spell." It's not really baiting anything. If someone throws their D command into it, it's because they have a better spell they intend on casting.
I guess the best explanation is that <> is simply colorless mana. Mana Symbols can create some confusion cause they mean one thing as COSTS, but not the same thing in your MANA POOL.
S means: Pay any one mana produced by a Snow Permanent (G/W) means: Pay either one green mana or one white mana (2/G) means: Pay either one green mana or two mana of any kind
You can't have any of these added to your mana pool, though. Snow mana only tracks what produced the mana, you can't have "one snow mana" on your mana pool, or a hybrid mana.
It sure would make it easier to use on Magic Online if you could, though.
<> is almost certainly NOT a new symbol for colorless. If so, why would the new Kozilek cost 8<><>? How is that different than 10?
Well, the 8 part of his cost is a generic mana cost- it could be paid for with mana of any (or no) color. Under the theory that <> means colorless mana, <> in a cost would mean it can only be paid for with colorless mana, not mana of any color.
Thus, Kozilek would require 2 colorless mana plus 8 mana of any or no color.
The deck doesnt shuffle any more than other decks. It runs no fetches and if you are searching your deck 3-4 times during a single turn, just ask your opponent if you could make a shortcut and shuffle it just one time eot.
Yes you could ask this, but be carefull with it in an official tournament setting. In the deck you often do things like, Tolaria west [s], into pact [s], into titan [s], get lands [s], haste, attack [s], get another tolaria west, get pact [s] (where every [s] is a shuffle). You could ask your opponent if you can shortcut a bit, which they might allow, but they can actually say no as well.
And even in the less extreme searching examples as this, it's normal to search at least once or twice a turn as your titans tend to die.
As someone who plays a lot of Legacy, searching once or twice a turn shouldn't be a problem.
If you're going to be doing sequences that require multiple searches, you think the clock is going to be an issue, and your opponent does not want to allow you to shortcut, you can always call a judge. They can allow the shortcutting at their discretion.
Seriously, though, there are very few situations where your opponent is going to try to make you do multiple shuffle and cut operations in a row, it's almost certainly because they are hoping to manage the clock (e.g. they won game 1 and they're hoping game 2 runs out of time), and that's a risky play since this deck can go off fast enough that they still stand a good chance of losing, especially if there's still some time left for a game 3, while they're limiting their chances of winning if their deck is slower than yours.
That being said, shuffling and keeping track of hive triggers seems like just the sort of thing that a computer is made for.
The strength in Sage is that you get the effect you need and then can Pod him into something else. With Pridemage you have to activate and sacrifice him, which means you aren't going to Pod him into something else.
OTOH, in matches where you don't need the artifact/enchantment removal game 1, Pridemage's exalted trigger is more useful. I tried swapping the two as you have, but I found myself with an overcosted vanilla 2/1 3-drop in my hand or durdling in play too often so I went back to having Pridemage main.
I often swap them if I'm playing a deck with bolts or similar removal, since the Pridemage's exalted is less relevant in those cases, and you don't usually want to rush him out onto the field until you actually have something to blow up with him, in which case the value of the body that sticks around is a little stronger.
I'm currently running Obstinate Baloth in my sideboard and I will consider if Siege Rhino can replace that. I don't think it can safely replace any of the 4 drops in my main deck (Restoration Angel, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Murderous Redcap, Phyrexian Metamorph; of these Linvala is always a potential shift to the sideboard depending on the meta, but she's gotta be in the 75).
Obviously, Windswept Heath is a drop-in replacement for Misty Rainforest. I plan on adding a basic Plains due to increased fetchability and resilience to Blood Moon/Tec Edge (I've been screwed off white several times in the past by these). It's possible one of the 8 fetches should be a Marsh Flats.
I didn't see it mentioned here, so I'll just say that back before the Archangel of Thune, I played a list that splashed blue for a Master Biomancer, replacing 1 Forest for a Breeding Pool. Biomancer is basically a must-kill and supports both combo (in place of Melria) and aggro, and dodges Abrupt Decay.
I still like Archangel/Feeder instead, and those are on-color (and moreso with Windswept Heath coming in), but if you're looking for a light splash of blue, you can try that.
Pure control will not be a tier-1 archetype in Modern until they have better card selection and/or better free counterspells. Incidentally I believe the lack of these is what also forces Wizards to use the banhammer so much to try to manage the format.
Nic Fit isn't that great of a deck in Legacy (interesting, and I'm sure fun, but certainly not tier 1), whereas the Junk Pod archtype is a top deck, if not the best deck, in Modern.
Thus, I'm not sure the lessons should be flowing in the direction of Nic Fit to Pod.
As for 6 drops, I concur it's too costly and you should generally be winning once you get to a 5 drop; if not, you probably weren't going to win with a 6 drop either.
Pontiff is pretty good against Affinity, even if you can't recur him with seer. It can't get everything of theirs with just the -1/-1, but oftentimes those account for their main threats.
I tried Murmuring Bosk a little bit. It's useful for those cases where you'd fetch at EOT, but as Lectrys suggests, it can put you into some awkward situations not being able to play it untapped.
As for Archangel+Feeder, I still heavily like it. Not relying on the graveyard, or on ETB effects helps you attack from another angle, and I've found I combo out with these guys more than I do with Finks or Shriekmaw (though Archangel can also serve as a replacement for Melira for the Finks combo). A surprising number of people don't see it coming or just don't have anything to stop it. Even without Spike Feeder, Archangel is a house, and if not answered, will quickly take over the game. The downside is when you draw one piece and it's burning a hole in your hand, but alas, this is not an uncommon problem for the deck.
Am I misunderstanding how Atheros would interact with persist? Both are triggers, you can stack them as you like, so if you want to ensure the persist happens, stack it so it resolves first. If it does, your card will return to the battlefield and then Atheros' trigger will fizzle as the card is no longer in the same zone, right?
E.g.: Your opponent casts some throwaway spell to trigger Power of the Moon. In response you cast some instant. Your opponent can't respond to that instant without triggering Power of the Moon again.
Thus, this becomes an expensive and slow way to force some instants through.
So this card effectively says, more or less, "Counter your opponent's worst spell." It's not really baiting anything. If someone throws their D command into it, it's because they have a better spell they intend on casting.
It sure would make it easier to use on Magic Online if you could, though.
Well, the 8 part of his cost is a generic mana cost- it could be paid for with mana of any (or no) color. Under the theory that <> means colorless mana, <> in a cost would mean it can only be paid for with colorless mana, not mana of any color.
Thus, Kozilek would require 2 colorless mana plus 8 mana of any or no color.
Good luck casting those under a Blood Moon, though!
As someone who plays a lot of Legacy, searching once or twice a turn shouldn't be a problem.
If you're going to be doing sequences that require multiple searches, you think the clock is going to be an issue, and your opponent does not want to allow you to shortcut, you can always call a judge. They can allow the shortcutting at their discretion.
Seriously, though, there are very few situations where your opponent is going to try to make you do multiple shuffle and cut operations in a row, it's almost certainly because they are hoping to manage the clock (e.g. they won game 1 and they're hoping game 2 runs out of time), and that's a risky play since this deck can go off fast enough that they still stand a good chance of losing, especially if there's still some time left for a game 3, while they're limiting their chances of winning if their deck is slower than yours.
That being said, shuffling and keeping track of hive triggers seems like just the sort of thing that a computer is made for.
OTOH, in matches where you don't need the artifact/enchantment removal game 1, Pridemage's exalted trigger is more useful. I tried swapping the two as you have, but I found myself with an overcosted vanilla 2/1 3-drop in my hand or durdling in play too often so I went back to having Pridemage main.
I often swap them if I'm playing a deck with bolts or similar removal, since the Pridemage's exalted is less relevant in those cases, and you don't usually want to rush him out onto the field until you actually have something to blow up with him, in which case the value of the body that sticks around is a little stronger.
Obviously, Windswept Heath is a drop-in replacement for Misty Rainforest. I plan on adding a basic Plains due to increased fetchability and resilience to Blood Moon/Tec Edge (I've been screwed off white several times in the past by these). It's possible one of the 8 fetches should be a Marsh Flats.
I still like Archangel/Feeder instead, and those are on-color (and moreso with Windswept Heath coming in), but if you're looking for a light splash of blue, you can try that.
What do we think of Creeping Corrosion vs Kataki? I'm also playing Lingering Souls, FWIW. Assume an affinity-heavy meta.
Personally I have experience with Kataki and like that I can tutor for him. OTOH, Corrosion is a blow out.
Thus, I'm not sure the lessons should be flowing in the direction of Nic Fit to Pod.
As for 6 drops, I concur it's too costly and you should generally be winning once you get to a 5 drop; if not, you probably weren't going to win with a 6 drop either.
As for Archangel+Feeder, I still heavily like it. Not relying on the graveyard, or on ETB effects helps you attack from another angle, and I've found I combo out with these guys more than I do with Finks or Shriekmaw (though Archangel can also serve as a replacement for Melira for the Finks combo). A surprising number of people don't see it coming or just don't have anything to stop it. Even without Spike Feeder, Archangel is a house, and if not answered, will quickly take over the game. The downside is when you draw one piece and it's burning a hole in your hand, but alas, this is not an uncommon problem for the deck.