with the "caveman" incident, so I don't know the context of his "femininity" complaint, I share a similar point of view. I don't restrict mine to "men being men" so much as it seems to me the whole world, all genders, races, creeds, colors, etc. have gotten to be soft. The definition of soft being the majority of people have forgotten hard work, stong morals, being honest, forthright and having integrity. This has been an apparent decline in our country especially since the late 80's. Evident by the number of frivolous lawsuits(see McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit here) ridiculous laws, labor disputes(see NFL lockout), etc. While I love technology(I am an IT guy) I can't help but think that it has had some causality in this process of turning us into "wimps". The amount of "political correctness" that is forced upon this "free speech" country is stunning. Don Imus, for example, I totally agree that he should no longer be on the airwaves at CBS for his comments, but I don't agree that it should have been a CBS decision to try and appease listeners. He should have been cancelled by the fact that all of us non-racists would stop listening immediately and therefore his ratings would drop and thus be cancelled. I understand that CBS felt they would lose listeners if they kept Imus, but that is the crux of the problem, why hold CBS responsible for something ONE person said in our "freedom of speech" country? Obviously you can get into the "CBS" enabling him blah blah, but look at it today, he's back on the radio after giving a bogus apology, so CBS is the only ones out of anything and they didn't DO anything...I'm sure many of you out there have better examples of this, but this country really is starting to make me ill with all the PCBS that is out there. Sticks and stones people, sticks and stones.
You forgot Victim of Night as a nice black removal spell... Even if the meta will probably abuse a tribe or two.
I'm sincerely happy that we're going to lose Skyfisher, Sea Gate Oracle, Squadron Hawk and all the mana-fixing lands and artifacts: I do not like control decks such as the winner of this MPDC, they are boring to play against once they starts their card advantage engine.
Great article as always and congrats to the Top8 players.
We salute the new and improved Winter Wolf: now with 30% more tolerance to losing. :)
The 2HG tournament has been a lot of fun (I was saying it even before we made it to the final round), hope we can repeat the experience this week.
Great job spreading awareness of the PREs. MTGO players reading this: try and join a PRE asap! It's the best (as in "funnier & safer") way to play competitive Magic online.
I have to correct you here: Nemesis didn't win last week's Tribal Apocaypse. He made 3-0, but just ranked 2nd. At the 1st place we had mihahitlor with his assassins (and that was the 3rd time for him to end first).
Btw, Kara agreed to let me have a little editorial space on the next Tribal Apocalypse reportages, so I will update the world about who's winning, who's gaining positions on the Hall of Fame and how tribes are behaving lately (plus: how Innistrad is changing the numbers on the All Tribes Reference).
Re: the misogyny on MTGO (and many other similar gaming platforms). We have to take into account how the protection of anonymity and the lack of a true social interaction (staring at a monitor is inherently different than meeting people) can amplify everyone's attitude. Most of those violently mysoginistic jerks are just frustrated losers in real life, trying to overcompensate here (or in similar places). All in all, they inspire more pity than rage. The issue is deeper, though, and it's sort of a vicious circle: those jerks feel like they are allowed to speak their frustrations in a loud way because the female component of the user base is either low or, more probably, hidden. And it's hidden because there are too many chauvinist jerks around, so historically it's safer for a girl to hid her gender behind a neuter nickname, and never disclose it to anyone. This prevent the risk of harassment, stupid jokes, or even just unwanted attentions. But again, vicious circle: the attentions to the occasional, lonely disclosed girl are caused by the fact that most of them stay hidden. I don't know how to break this status, but clearly it's not something that happens everywhere on the Internet. We've known from some time already that Internet users are more female than male, and many places are totally female-friendly, if not even female-guided. And no, I'm not talking about female-oriented contents at all. For instance, on the Internet forums about television shows, the female posters are often dominant, fully disclosed, and surely not harassed by anyone. And we're talking even shows that are conceived for a male demographic. The game/videogame scene is probably older than that, and could still be affected by a past, outdated male dominance. I believe WoTC's data are telling us that MTG's female base is consistent, if still in a minority. I think WoTC is doing well creating a game that's enjoyable regardless of your gender. The basic mechanics speak to the non-gender-related parts of the brain. And the visuals lately are more on par to a non-gender-related sensibility. For one, we have great female illustrators working on cards. The times when Rebecca Guay was being fired because her art was "too feminine" are far behind. I mean, we still have hot girls here and there (but some hot boys too!), but for every over-the-top bikini angel there's an Elspeth, who I think speaks about female empowerment in a good way.
Ha ha at the place holder name not getting changed, missed that in the final edit.
1. Sorry for the rushed ending, we were running into irl things and needed to ends it.
2. The best win condition in Vintage is Yawgmoth's Will (does anyone disagree) if the format had access to 4x Petal something has to give, maybe it would be lands, but then you open yourself up to worse Workshop match ups. Maybe not all moxes would be cut, but for example, in Vintage Tendrils, I am sure that Mox Emerald or Pearl might get cut for Petal # 2 or 3.
3. @ Past in Flames. Perhaps Smendian is reserved, but I have read Vintage articles that are based on the excitment of Past in Flames, No these decks arent jamming 4 past in flames. I have seen 2 or 3 articles that throw a copy in though so that they have access to a "2nd" Y Will. Im not saying its the end all be all of eternal magic, but think about this interaction if you will.
T1 Land, ritual, LED, crack led, discard Past in Flames,and then pay its flashback cost, you end up with 1 extra floating mana and a ritual in the yard to replay. Thats only four cards, so you still have 3 left in hand or yard depending on when you crack led. Say you have a 2nd led or a 2nd ritual and a tutor? then you can flash back your 2nd ritual or tutor for whatever you need? maybe minds desire, or yawg will to replay your leds and what not. That is all just t1, and that seems like a lot of potential, disregarding the fact that the example scenerio is not a dedicated PiF. Just my take.
Lots of good info, although I think a little too much time spent on the list discussion since you guys already went over your lists a few episodes ago. Regarding the lists, I found myself agreeing more and more with Zach. =/ What does that say about me? =p Some of Whiffy's view points are way too absolute, "If Lotus Petal were unrestricted in Vintage they would all use them instead of Moxen." Pretty bold statement.
And for the record, Menendian hasn't been going nuts over Past in Flames as you guys seem to infer. His response was actually quite measured and mirrors a lot of what Zach and Cronin said.
Don't forget the Classic Daily on Wednesdays at 3:30p Pacific. Perfect for West Coast slackers, Midwesterners with short commutes, East Coast 9-5ers, and European night owls!
Customizable indeed! Great to see that creative mind of yours continuing to pour out gems for us readers even though I myself do not ever play Vanguard. Your ideas bring other ideas to mind. :D Keep up the great work.
Thanks for the feedback! You are absolutely right: Peregrine Griffin is a good card (and maybe I passed it to the guy who beated me, sigh). About those guardian's pledge... I had fear they could be used against me, so I picked them. Your point convinced me though, I will never make such a mistake again!
Isn't EDH that format where you just make 100 custom art proxies and then everyone wonders wtf everyone else is playing :p
j/k of course But you know i hadda give ya a rough time shard you need come back and play more MTGO :D
Venser and Koth are in Duel decks, not D & D (haha)
Goblin Guide was too. That what Tyler was referring to.
I think you might be right about the swords. They are going to be the only saving grace for all the weenie creatures currently in standard that are competing with Titans (yes,I am counting Wurmcoil here, sir)
I also agree that Venser is poised to do better in this metagame. UW aggro is a real deck, and if it ever adopts a more midrange/control strategy, you can believe that Venser will see play.
I like Druidic Man-Purse out of M12, but you are right here too. The artifacts mostly suck in M12
You might as well just buy the Swords now and forget every other card out there. This is probably the cheapest they will be for 6 months. I mean the artifacts in M12 were miserable, and the equipment in Innistrad is OK for limited, terrible for constructed.
$20 looks cheap right now. I would think they will go wayyyy over the heads of Garruk and Snapcaster Mage.
I'm worried I will never get a sword of War and Peso's. I don't feel like paying around 100 for a play set.
And Koth might go up. It's the Red Planeswalker of choice and it is much better than Chandra. I don't get why her final ability is so damn weak. I mean you can cast it, for example, turn 4. It isn't easy to get it up to 6, and even then you just want to only use it's second ability.
And don't count out Venser WalkerDog. I think he is making a comeback, and this time it's personal. He even has a posse now, and runs with the Wu Tang Clan.
*And Goblin Guide was reprinted in Dungeons and Dragons (DD)?
I think it is a really very great job which you are you doing. You should forward your job at everywhere and it will get a great response. I really like this show and thanks for give us this great show. It becomes so popular.
online gambling canada
Gambling could hardly be much better at this website plus the speedy setting online gambling canada software would have you mastering texas hold'em, twenty-one or the pokies in no time.
If I had more MTGO stuff to write about I would...sadly I've transitioned back to the paper world. Found a playgroup for EDH and a pretty awesome store for FNM.
Woops and woops again! Thanks :)
I thought you had "retired" from the game after your medical incident. What happened to bring you back?
We need ... "The Rest of the Story"
: )
He could have casted Kaervak's torch at the end. It's pretty rare but I do play it in my kiln deck
1) There are no underscores in my name. :)
2) It's Saturday Night "Melee", not "Madness".
with the "caveman" incident, so I don't know the context of his "femininity" complaint, I share a similar point of view. I don't restrict mine to "men being men" so much as it seems to me the whole world, all genders, races, creeds, colors, etc. have gotten to be soft. The definition of soft being the majority of people have forgotten hard work, stong morals, being honest, forthright and having integrity. This has been an apparent decline in our country especially since the late 80's. Evident by the number of frivolous lawsuits(see McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit here) ridiculous laws, labor disputes(see NFL lockout), etc. While I love technology(I am an IT guy) I can't help but think that it has had some causality in this process of turning us into "wimps". The amount of "political correctness" that is forced upon this "free speech" country is stunning. Don Imus, for example, I totally agree that he should no longer be on the airwaves at CBS for his comments, but I don't agree that it should have been a CBS decision to try and appease listeners. He should have been cancelled by the fact that all of us non-racists would stop listening immediately and therefore his ratings would drop and thus be cancelled. I understand that CBS felt they would lose listeners if they kept Imus, but that is the crux of the problem, why hold CBS responsible for something ONE person said in our "freedom of speech" country? Obviously you can get into the "CBS" enabling him blah blah, but look at it today, he's back on the radio after giving a bogus apology, so CBS is the only ones out of anything and they didn't DO anything...I'm sure many of you out there have better examples of this, but this country really is starting to make me ill with all the PCBS that is out there. Sticks and stones people, sticks and stones.
You forgot Victim of Night as a nice black removal spell... Even if the meta will probably abuse a tribe or two.
I'm sincerely happy that we're going to lose Skyfisher, Sea Gate Oracle, Squadron Hawk and all the mana-fixing lands and artifacts: I do not like control decks such as the winner of this MPDC, they are boring to play against once they starts their card advantage engine.
Great article as always and congrats to the Top8 players.
For some reason it didnt work on the first message
Great article Paul. Seeing and remembering all the PRE's available really get me wanting to jump into the pool a little more often.
We salute the new and improved Winter Wolf: now with 30% more tolerance to losing. :)
The 2HG tournament has been a lot of fun (I was saying it even before we made it to the final round), hope we can repeat the experience this week.
Great job spreading awareness of the PREs. MTGO players reading this: try and join a PRE asap! It's the best (as in "funnier & safer") way to play competitive Magic online.
I have to correct you here: Nemesis didn't win last week's Tribal Apocaypse. He made 3-0, but just ranked 2nd. At the 1st place we had mihahitlor with his assassins (and that was the 3rd time for him to end first).
Btw, Kara agreed to let me have a little editorial space on the next Tribal Apocalypse reportages, so I will update the world about who's winning, who's gaining positions on the Hall of Fame and how tribes are behaving lately (plus: how Innistrad is changing the numbers on the All Tribes Reference).
Re: the misogyny on MTGO (and many other similar gaming platforms). We have to take into account how the protection of anonymity and the lack of a true social interaction (staring at a monitor is inherently different than meeting people) can amplify everyone's attitude. Most of those violently mysoginistic jerks are just frustrated losers in real life, trying to overcompensate here (or in similar places). All in all, they inspire more pity than rage. The issue is deeper, though, and it's sort of a vicious circle: those jerks feel like they are allowed to speak their frustrations in a loud way because the female component of the user base is either low or, more probably, hidden. And it's hidden because there are too many chauvinist jerks around, so historically it's safer for a girl to hid her gender behind a neuter nickname, and never disclose it to anyone. This prevent the risk of harassment, stupid jokes, or even just unwanted attentions. But again, vicious circle: the attentions to the occasional, lonely disclosed girl are caused by the fact that most of them stay hidden. I don't know how to break this status, but clearly it's not something that happens everywhere on the Internet. We've known from some time already that Internet users are more female than male, and many places are totally female-friendly, if not even female-guided. And no, I'm not talking about female-oriented contents at all. For instance, on the Internet forums about television shows, the female posters are often dominant, fully disclosed, and surely not harassed by anyone. And we're talking even shows that are conceived for a male demographic. The game/videogame scene is probably older than that, and could still be affected by a past, outdated male dominance. I believe WoTC's data are telling us that MTG's female base is consistent, if still in a minority. I think WoTC is doing well creating a game that's enjoyable regardless of your gender. The basic mechanics speak to the non-gender-related parts of the brain. And the visuals lately are more on par to a non-gender-related sensibility. For one, we have great female illustrators working on cards. The times when Rebecca Guay was being fired because her art was "too feminine" are far behind. I mean, we still have hot girls here and there (but some hot boys too!), but for every over-the-top bikini angel there's an Elspeth, who I think speaks about female empowerment in a good way.
Ha ha at the place holder name not getting changed, missed that in the final edit.
1. Sorry for the rushed ending, we were running into irl things and needed to ends it.
2. The best win condition in Vintage is Yawgmoth's Will (does anyone disagree) if the format had access to 4x Petal something has to give, maybe it would be lands, but then you open yourself up to worse Workshop match ups. Maybe not all moxes would be cut, but for example, in Vintage Tendrils, I am sure that Mox Emerald or Pearl might get cut for Petal # 2 or 3.
3. @ Past in Flames. Perhaps Smendian is reserved, but I have read Vintage articles that are based on the excitment of Past in Flames, No these decks arent jamming 4 past in flames. I have seen 2 or 3 articles that throw a copy in though so that they have access to a "2nd" Y Will. Im not saying its the end all be all of eternal magic, but think about this interaction if you will.
T1 Land, ritual, LED, crack led, discard Past in Flames,and then pay its flashback cost, you end up with 1 extra floating mana and a ritual in the yard to replay. Thats only four cards, so you still have 3 left in hand or yard depending on when you crack led. Say you have a 2nd led or a 2nd ritual and a tutor? then you can flash back your 2nd ritual or tutor for whatever you need? maybe minds desire, or yawg will to replay your leds and what not. That is all just t1, and that seems like a lot of potential, disregarding the fact that the example scenerio is not a dedicated PiF. Just my take.
Nice concept... and really original! Congs!
Lots of good info, although I think a little too much time spent on the list discussion since you guys already went over your lists a few episodes ago. Regarding the lists, I found myself agreeing more and more with Zach. =/ What does that say about me? =p Some of Whiffy's view points are way too absolute, "If Lotus Petal were unrestricted in Vintage they would all use them instead of Moxen." Pretty bold statement.
And for the record, Menendian hasn't been going nuts over Past in Flames as you guys seem to infer. His response was actually quite measured and mirrors a lot of what Zach and Cronin said.
Thanks and please point them out. :) No matter how much one edits there will be a few.
Don't forget the Classic Daily on Wednesdays at 3:30p Pacific. Perfect for West Coast slackers, Midwesterners with short commutes, East Coast 9-5ers, and European night owls!
Great article.
Just few mistakes here and there though.
Customizable indeed! Great to see that creative mind of yours continuing to pour out gems for us readers even though I myself do not ever play Vanguard. Your ideas bring other ideas to mind. :D Keep up the great work.
God I miss that Standard format :P
I might sign back in this weekend for a bit since its fall break here and i have 4 days of free time
Thanks for the feedback! You are absolutely right: Peregrine Griffin is a good card (and maybe I passed it to the guy who beated me, sigh). About those guardian's pledge... I had fear they could be used against me, so I picked them. Your point convinced me though, I will never make such a mistake again!
Isn't EDH that format where you just make 100 custom art proxies and then everyone wonders wtf everyone else is playing :p
j/k of course But you know i hadda give ya a rough time shard you need come back and play more MTGO :D
Venser and Koth are in Duel decks, not D & D (haha)
Goblin Guide was too. That what Tyler was referring to.
I think you might be right about the swords. They are going to be the only saving grace for all the weenie creatures currently in standard that are competing with Titans (yes,I am counting Wurmcoil here, sir)
I also agree that Venser is poised to do better in this metagame. UW aggro is a real deck, and if it ever adopts a more midrange/control strategy, you can believe that Venser will see play.
I like Druidic Man-Purse out of M12, but you are right here too. The artifacts mostly suck in M12
You might as well just buy the Swords now and forget every other card out there. This is probably the cheapest they will be for 6 months. I mean the artifacts in M12 were miserable, and the equipment in Innistrad is OK for limited, terrible for constructed.
$20 looks cheap right now. I would think they will go wayyyy over the heads of Garruk and Snapcaster Mage.
I'm worried I will never get a sword of War and Peso's. I don't feel like paying around 100 for a play set.
And Koth might go up. It's the Red Planeswalker of choice and it is much better than Chandra. I don't get why her final ability is so damn weak. I mean you can cast it, for example, turn 4. It isn't easy to get it up to 6, and even then you just want to only use it's second ability.
And don't count out Venser WalkerDog. I think he is making a comeback, and this time it's personal. He even has a posse now, and runs with the Wu Tang Clan.
*And Goblin Guide was reprinted in Dungeons and Dragons (DD)?
I think it is a really very great job which you are you doing. You should forward your job at everywhere and it will get a great response. I really like this show and thanks for give us this great show. It becomes so popular.
online gambling canada
Gambling could hardly be much better at this website plus the speedy setting online gambling canada software would have you mastering texas hold'em, twenty-one or the pokies in no time.
If I had more MTGO stuff to write about I would...sadly I've transitioned back to the paper world. Found a playgroup for EDH and a pretty awesome store for FNM.
I forgot just how incredibly annoying those mtgo game noises can be. I turned the sound off in mine and haven't regretted that choice.