Example:
Agony Warp is cast on a Wild Mongrel and a Wild Mongrel. The text screen will say something like, "so and so casts Agony Warp targeting Wild Mongrel and Wild Mongrel. You know that one Mongrel will become a -1/2 and the other Mongrel will die at 2/-1, but the order is not given.
Is by far the most fun color to play. U/b was my 1st deck and peeps just kept passing vapor snares and snappers and all goodies. Thank goodness I got black as my removal and persecutor with Surrakers for back up.
Absolutely one of the most fun decks I have ever drafted.
Good to know that I'm not the only person who holds his Magic cards that way!
Great article, the only part I think you skipped a bit fast is bluffing online. A quick example:
Recently I was playing against a Jund deck and I was facing one Putrid Leech and one Bloodbraid Elf with no cards in hand (Thanks Blightning, I love you too!!!). I drew my card and it was a land. I didn't play it but tapped exactly one Plains, waited a bit and then untapped it and passed the turn.
On his turn my opponent attacked with his two creatures, I tapped one Plains instantly as if I was going to play Path to Exile, waited again a few seconds as if I was thinking which creature to exile, and then untapped my land and clicked "ok". My opponent didn't activate his Putrid Leech because now he "knew!!" I had Path to Exile in hand and his creatures dealt me 5 damage instead of 7. Had he done that, I was going to be in range of a single Lightning Bolt. But my bluff bought me enough time to find an answer to his threats.
What happened next? Oh I lost the game of course :). But that's surely not the point. What I'm trying to say is that even though bluffing is a lot harder online than it is offline, it still can be done.
Anyway, thanks for the article. I really enjoyed it.
Some of this is a page out of George Baxter's book in that he too advocated almost cheating to get ahead in the game. (Sunglasses/Wristwatches? Really? That kind of reminds me of the guys who would unshuffle their opponents decks because they learned a magicians trick. Or those who would scout their opponents decks while they shuffled because some people suck at keeping their decks face up.) Aside from that you had some good stuff to say. As another long time player (started in 94) I recognize some of the things you said as just regular 'ole card common sense'. The advice about saving your tourney decks somewhere safe is something I've told people about often enough. Which came to me after discovering that MODO loves to hide decks, especially if you use the structure of the game folders. I keep my important deck folders where I know I can get to them quickly and outside the game.
Timing issues are also key if you are a slow player. My preference is F2 (OK this time) in such games as I can tap it fast enough to simulate F4 without accidentally brushing F6. If you are a fast player, then your advice about breathing is good. My problem is I sometimes space out, midgame, particularly if my opponent is doing something boring and lengthy. I have been known to F6 through my own turn. I have also learned something about that. If you have your combat step set to automatically stop it will give you an opportunity to F3 (removal all yeilds and priority passes) in time for your 2nd main phase. Normally you should hit F3 asap if you F6 at any time you don't mean to. But this gives you a second chance if you really blow it.
I am amused by the advice about scouting your opponent's deck presideboard. Generally speaking Id recommend against throwing away a game you are disadvantaged in just to gain intel or keep them from learning anything important. There is always a chance they will screw up and or you will top deck the nuts. It may be that an experienced tourney player will have a good enough sense about their deck to know when a game is entirely lost before their opponent knows it. And in that case of course I agree with your thought. Preserve what little you can while costing them as much as possible and if you can mislead them with innocuous discards and the like go for it. But most people will not have that sense unless they have played their deck to death and back against all possible match ups. I am not a tourney player anymore (not to say I never draft though) so this advice has little value to me but if there are tourney players reading this then they should take it for what it is.
This is just what I wanted. I'm about to draft tripple Worldwake, and this clear/concise read will mean the difference between scrubbing out and making it a few rounds. Love how you get right to the point...nothing long winded.
This is just what I wanted. I'm about to draft tripple Worldwake, and this clear/concise read will mean the difference between scrubbing out and making it a few rounds. Love how you get right to the point...nothing longwinded.
The duel decks will definitely be a good buy for new players (The commander decks are also good buys) since they have a variety of playable cards for reasonable costs but buying on online stores (mtgotraders.com etc) might actually be cheaper (which I strongly suspect since many of the cards are already available from past sets) so I try to think minimally about these special sets when evaluating them so that people would have a better sense of what they are really getting.
Pyrrhic Revival & corpse connoisseur sound gd.. I don't really think u would need the incarnations since their impact on the game are marginal... (u'll have a small group of fatties in play and some have haste or flying too) Sawtooth loon looks like a good answer to living end in hand... I really hate it when you draw it and the only way to use it is to suspend it... =( all hallow's eve isn't too bad since you actually resolve it when you cast it unlike suspend. Some large cascade spells can catch it too. Phyrrhic is definitely better thou. =)
Neoshinji: Armageddon propaganda! Fateseal post geddon sounds like game. Stoneforge is gdstuff. =) Apart from what she already does, she opens up any deck to more equipments such as Lightning Greaves.
Couldn't agree more, I see Ravenous Trap as a much better solution and with the inclusion of Nature's claim in Worldwake I think the trap can easily replace those 4x Leylines.
Bog does not stop them from winning on their turn, and lots of dredge lists can go from 0 cards in yard to win in 1 turn (plus the end of your turn). Bog is not a bad supplement to dredge hate, but I would not consider it dredge hate all by itself.
As a writer I try to keep an open mind about different decks. Having said that I HATE DREDGE. So tired of playing against it in tourney practice. I hope bog is as nuts as you say. I don't think bog will make as big an impact as we think tho. In fast formats a land coming into play tapped is a huge problem.
I can see it getting play in certain decktypes tho. Evagreen and pox springs to mind.
I have been enjoying the new Jace quite a bit. Works really well with U/W Control with Mass Land and Creature Removal backed by Counters. I can tap out to play him and use his +2 ability to get a feel for what they might cast next. And just blow up the lands on next turn while popping any big creature threats to their hand.
Good call on the Stoneforge Mystic. Good against control and aggro imo.
I think Mindbreak is really good and could also be boarded by non blue decks.
Bokuja Bog IMO is nutz.....
It cant be discarded,needled, bounced or destroyed( without good effect)...
only Stifle or shroud effects stops this puppy- which Ichorid has none-
Unbeatable? No. More difficult to beat? Yes. Counterdecks already have a fairly nice advantage. The one pre I won was with a UG humans Counter (using cheap counters of course) deck. And I am not arguing against bringing Force of Wills or other hidden counters if you are fortunate/and or rich enough to own them. I am not even saying don't bring the shoehorned cookie cutter deck off the internet. (Though it is harder to shoe horn a $20burn deck into a good tribal than it is Vial Fish which just need to lose the Jitte.) I am saying it DOES put a crimp in other people's fun, but ultimately that IS on you. You may get flack for it. You may not. These PREs are not tournaments of the caliber of the DEs and PEs.
As for testing, well most of the Rogue builders I know test extensively in order to be prepared. Not because they want to kick everyone's ass with their deck (though that is a goal) but because they consider deckbuilding an artform. Testing your build is just step b) after tossing in cards. Not much call to test against tier 1 classic shell decks though. And who would bother? If we wanted that type of competition we wouldn't waste our "tech" on a PRE but would take them where you go: Dailies and Premier events.
You say there is no disadvantage to no sideboard, and I disagree. If I go out and get Vial Fish off the net, it is already tough against all comers and needs little in the way of sideboard and indeed many of the differences in such decks have solely to do with sideboard changes to reflect whatever the current meta is. Now if I build a rogue deck, say in Green White, or Black White where do the pyroblasts fit? The Grim Lavamancers? given a sideboard adjustements can be made that don't change the match ups versus other decks.
As far as it being my place, since the Event is informal and not a big deal it would merely have been a comment. And I suspect it would have been utterly ignored given your statements here and those of your clanmembers. In addition the comment would not have been: "You guys can't play in this, you are too good." it would have been "Try not bringing the $500 decks next time." And as you said you think that is nonsense but I don't. But no one smells themselves.
Ha Ha thanks to some last night testing with Flip the golems started to work but that was not Flips only worry as i changed decks to my evil black deck (tribe will remain nameless at this time but it not vamps) and was found to be running very well.
can't wait for WW drafting to start the allies will hopefully drop in price a little :) hint to anyone wanting to offload :)
I doesn't fix mana but offers some nice acceleration.
You can always ask. Then you should figure out if the opp is lying or not. If you think he is, then pump the other one... :)
Example:
Agony Warp is cast on a Wild Mongrel and a Wild Mongrel. The text screen will say something like, "so and so casts Agony Warp targeting Wild Mongrel and Wild Mongrel. You know that one Mongrel will become a -1/2 and the other Mongrel will die at 2/-1, but the order is not given.
Now tell me which Mongrel I should pump :o)
Well at least you did manage a win with Barren Glory, as i started to read the game reports i was begining to wonder.
Is by far the most fun color to play. U/b was my 1st deck and peeps just kept passing vapor snares and snappers and all goodies. Thank goodness I got black as my removal and persecutor with Surrakers for back up.
Absolutely one of the most fun decks I have ever drafted.
Good to know that I'm not the only person who holds his Magic cards that way!
Great article, the only part I think you skipped a bit fast is bluffing online. A quick example:
Recently I was playing against a Jund deck and I was facing one Putrid Leech and one Bloodbraid Elf with no cards in hand (Thanks Blightning, I love you too!!!). I drew my card and it was a land. I didn't play it but tapped exactly one Plains, waited a bit and then untapped it and passed the turn.
On his turn my opponent attacked with his two creatures, I tapped one Plains instantly as if I was going to play Path to Exile, waited again a few seconds as if I was thinking which creature to exile, and then untapped my land and clicked "ok". My opponent didn't activate his Putrid Leech because now he "knew!!" I had Path to Exile in hand and his creatures dealt me 5 damage instead of 7. Had he done that, I was going to be in range of a single Lightning Bolt. But my bluff bought me enough time to find an answer to his threats.
What happened next? Oh I lost the game of course :). But that's surely not the point. What I'm trying to say is that even though bluffing is a lot harder online than it is offline, it still can be done.
Anyway, thanks for the article. I really enjoyed it.
LE
Very nice article, on the mana fixing front there is also Everflowing Chalice.
Some of this is a page out of George Baxter's book in that he too advocated almost cheating to get ahead in the game. (Sunglasses/Wristwatches? Really? That kind of reminds me of the guys who would unshuffle their opponents decks because they learned a magicians trick. Or those who would scout their opponents decks while they shuffled because some people suck at keeping their decks face up.) Aside from that you had some good stuff to say. As another long time player (started in 94) I recognize some of the things you said as just regular 'ole card common sense'. The advice about saving your tourney decks somewhere safe is something I've told people about often enough. Which came to me after discovering that MODO loves to hide decks, especially if you use the structure of the game folders. I keep my important deck folders where I know I can get to them quickly and outside the game.
Timing issues are also key if you are a slow player. My preference is F2 (OK this time) in such games as I can tap it fast enough to simulate F4 without accidentally brushing F6. If you are a fast player, then your advice about breathing is good. My problem is I sometimes space out, midgame, particularly if my opponent is doing something boring and lengthy. I have been known to F6 through my own turn. I have also learned something about that. If you have your combat step set to automatically stop it will give you an opportunity to F3 (removal all yeilds and priority passes) in time for your 2nd main phase. Normally you should hit F3 asap if you F6 at any time you don't mean to. But this gives you a second chance if you really blow it.
I am amused by the advice about scouting your opponent's deck presideboard. Generally speaking Id recommend against throwing away a game you are disadvantaged in just to gain intel or keep them from learning anything important. There is always a chance they will screw up and or you will top deck the nuts. It may be that an experienced tourney player will have a good enough sense about their deck to know when a game is entirely lost before their opponent knows it. And in that case of course I agree with your thought. Preserve what little you can while costing them as much as possible and if you can mislead them with innocuous discards and the like go for it. But most people will not have that sense unless they have played their deck to death and back against all possible match ups. I am not a tourney player anymore (not to say I never draft though) so this advice has little value to me but if there are tourney players reading this then they should take it for what it is.
This is just what I wanted. I'm about to draft tripple Worldwake, and this clear/concise read will mean the difference between scrubbing out and making it a few rounds. Love how you get right to the point...nothing long winded.
more please :)
AG
This is just what I wanted. I'm about to draft tripple Worldwake, and this clear/concise read will mean the difference between scrubbing out and making it a few rounds. Love how you get right to the point...nothing longwinded.
more please :)
AG
Given the lastest meta: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital...
I'm wondering if the Soul Wardens need to make a comeback. I came up with a list of good Pauper lifegain:
Children of Korlis
Martyr of Sands
Soul Warden
Renewed faith (In case red isn't present, this cycles into another treat)
Sun's Bounty
Of those, SW is still my fav....thoughts?
The duel decks will definitely be a good buy for new players (The commander decks are also good buys) since they have a variety of playable cards for reasonable costs but buying on online stores (mtgotraders.com etc) might actually be cheaper (which I strongly suspect since many of the cards are already available from past sets) so I try to think minimally about these special sets when evaluating them so that people would have a better sense of what they are really getting.
Pyrrhic Revival & corpse connoisseur sound gd.. I don't really think u would need the incarnations since their impact on the game are marginal... (u'll have a small group of fatties in play and some have haste or flying too) Sawtooth loon looks like a good answer to living end in hand... I really hate it when you draw it and the only way to use it is to suspend it... =( all hallow's eve isn't too bad since you actually resolve it when you cast it unlike suspend. Some large cascade spells can catch it too. Phyrrhic is definitely better thou. =)
Neoshinji: Armageddon propaganda! Fateseal post geddon sounds like game. Stoneforge is gdstuff. =) Apart from what she already does, she opens up any deck to more equipments such as Lightning Greaves.
Couldn't agree more, I see Ravenous Trap as a much better solution and with the inclusion of Nature's claim in Worldwake I think the trap can easily replace those 4x Leylines.
Bog does not stop them from winning on their turn, and lots of dredge lists can go from 0 cards in yard to win in 1 turn (plus the end of your turn). Bog is not a bad supplement to dredge hate, but I would not consider it dredge hate all by itself.
As a writer I try to keep an open mind about different decks. Having said that I HATE DREDGE. So tired of playing against it in tourney practice. I hope bog is as nuts as you say. I don't think bog will make as big an impact as we think tho. In fast formats a land coming into play tapped is a huge problem.
I can see it getting play in certain decktypes tho. Evagreen and pox springs to mind.
I screwed that one up, must of been thinking arcane lab or rule of law due to having storm on the brain lately (Thanks alot Will!)
I have been enjoying the new Jace quite a bit. Works really well with U/W Control with Mass Land and Creature Removal backed by Counters. I can tap out to play him and use his +2 ability to get a feel for what they might cast next. And just blow up the lands on next turn while popping any big creature threats to their hand.
Good call on the Stoneforge Mystic. Good against control and aggro imo.
I think Mindbreak is really good and could also be boarded by non blue decks.
Bokuja Bog IMO is nutz.....
It cant be discarded,needled, bounced or destroyed( without good effect)...
only Stifle or shroud effects stops this puppy- which Ichorid has none-
stiflenought says "i think yes" to Ethersworn Canonist.
Unbeatable? No. More difficult to beat? Yes. Counterdecks already have a fairly nice advantage. The one pre I won was with a UG humans Counter (using cheap counters of course) deck. And I am not arguing against bringing Force of Wills or other hidden counters if you are fortunate/and or rich enough to own them. I am not even saying don't bring the shoehorned cookie cutter deck off the internet. (Though it is harder to shoe horn a $20burn deck into a good tribal than it is Vial Fish which just need to lose the Jitte.) I am saying it DOES put a crimp in other people's fun, but ultimately that IS on you. You may get flack for it. You may not. These PREs are not tournaments of the caliber of the DEs and PEs.
As for testing, well most of the Rogue builders I know test extensively in order to be prepared. Not because they want to kick everyone's ass with their deck (though that is a goal) but because they consider deckbuilding an artform. Testing your build is just step b) after tossing in cards. Not much call to test against tier 1 classic shell decks though. And who would bother? If we wanted that type of competition we wouldn't waste our "tech" on a PRE but would take them where you go: Dailies and Premier events.
You say there is no disadvantage to no sideboard, and I disagree. If I go out and get Vial Fish off the net, it is already tough against all comers and needs little in the way of sideboard and indeed many of the differences in such decks have solely to do with sideboard changes to reflect whatever the current meta is. Now if I build a rogue deck, say in Green White, or Black White where do the pyroblasts fit? The Grim Lavamancers? given a sideboard adjustements can be made that don't change the match ups versus other decks.
As far as it being my place, since the Event is informal and not a big deal it would merely have been a comment. And I suspect it would have been utterly ignored given your statements here and those of your clanmembers. In addition the comment would not have been: "You guys can't play in this, you are too good." it would have been "Try not bringing the $500 decks next time." And as you said you think that is nonsense but I don't. But no one smells themselves.
I'm glad you took another shot at outlining the classic metagame. Keep up the good work.
The BG Goyf deck is Eva Green I think, unless it also has blue
the goy nimble mongoose deck is called threshold....the b/g/u deck is called team america.
the goy nimble mongoose deck is called threshold....the b/g/u deck is called team america.
Ha Ha thanks to some last night testing with Flip the golems started to work but that was not Flips only worry as i changed decks to my evil black deck (tribe will remain nameless at this time but it not vamps) and was found to be running very well.
can't wait for WW drafting to start the allies will hopefully drop in price a little :) hint to anyone wanting to offload :)