I gotta say outside of Abyssal Persecutor I'm kinda looking forward to Pilgrim's Eye for thopter tribal and not looking forward to the new version of slivers that are coming about ie allies
i was running mono-black Warriors, ive since changed the list for an upcoming article, but at the time it looked something like this...
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
1 Commander Greven il-Vec
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
3 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
3 Mass of Ghouls
4 Tar Pit Warrior
3 Diabolic Edict
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Phyrexian Arena
3 Sadistic Sacrament
4 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Cabal Coffers
19 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Anowan, the ruin sage seems like a potentially strong card for tribal. Abyssing them every turn while leaving your guys alone. Obviously, three toughness is his weakness, but I suspect he's strong enough to give a go.
Allies also got a decent shot in the arm, 'though i still don't see them being really competitive.
If I could afford a duals/fetches manabase, I'd be very tempted to run a naya-cats list.
I agree its a strong deck and in this version as a pure aggrodeck, it wins a lot based on the sheer aggression it has. I must admit that having no removal in the deck scares me, when I'm playing it. What are your thoughts on that after the tournament? Did you face any locked situations where removal could have solved it? One example could be Guardian of the Guildpact with Armadillo Cloak, but maybe Dead Dog is too fast for that, and most removal can't touch Guardian anyway.
Moto
I should note that I beat Archers round 1 of that tourney and lost to Irish round 2 game 3 by not drawing a Noxious Ghoul for 10 turns. (Yes I was playing Bidding Zombies. But with a twist of +White for control cards and Tidehollow Sculler.)
For the most part Im not really up to measuring WWK until I play with it. I will say the catmonkey looks great for gw or naya cats in tribal. Admonition Angel being a mythic rare will be expensive which may lead some people to want to build around her. I think she is a bit too problematic to be good but time will tell.
The meat of your article is as amusing as ever, however you need to be a bit more careful editing it and checking for grammatical errors. The most glaring thing is the badly formed html near the end.
Excellent work on this article, I think too many players are blind to the math. They realize it is there, but ignore it or don't even keep track. I've written down your results on a piece of paper and keep them with my deck-building binder as something to consider.
What I'm trying to say is that I loved this and I'd love to see more analysis like this in the future. I'll be checking for your articles now (sort of stumbled on this one). And don't listen to any of those chumps that don't like seeing confidence intervals.
Yes but why the maps? I didn't even catch that...I like maps but they aren't that great just as mana fetch...fixing colors yes...fetch not so much. Emeria the Sky Ruin would be perfect to make them useful. Also the point of Crossroads is that you don't play it early if you don't have to but at some point in the curve when it is appropriate to pause, and if you do end up having to they offset the delay by giving you back your lost life from the weenie attack.
I am still relatively new to the strategies in Commander (started playing it last year) so sometimes just because I AM a GOLD player I like 5c decks. In particular I love playing 5c Elementals. Blood moon etc would only have minimal impact though as I don't own the expensive multilands and only some of the midrange ones. (Shocklands) So a good portion of my mana base is basics with ramp and helpers. No crying here...
Hmmm I saw a fairly nice Scion deck the other day full of dragons and tricks to make the most of the scion. No combo. I do see combo decks and that is essentially a way to ruin a community experience imho but that isn't everyone. Gotta just be careful whom you invite to join and remember those who play to combo out.
i like the idea overall but i think i may try it in extended with a more controllish approach, plus the addition of martyr of sands, proc. of reclamation and such shenanigans.
The reason I dont play Kabira Crossroads is because it enters the battlefield tapped. This can cost you in the early game in a weenie deck.
I did consider Sigiled Paladin but the flying on the Pegasus I consider a better option, for most of the matches its a 2/1 unblockable unless you meet a Vampire Nighthawk but thats what the removal is for.
Secondary win condition (for creatureless decks) can be Thopter Foundry+Sword of the Meek, because you already have Muddle the Mixture for them.
P.S. you can use the first Ability of Guildmage to target creatures, so your combo doesn't need the third piece, only +4*Terramorphic Expanse and +1 Forest.
I dislike playing against 5 color decks too. I hate them especially if they're the ones running all five Bringers and all five Beacons. When I cast Blood Moon, Hall of Gemstone, or Uba Mask, those 5cc deckbuilders cry.
Whether or not Vines or Disfigure is more important is a matter for debate(I actually agree that Vines is better in this situation), but that's not what you originally posted.
"Getting 0-1'd is just as bad as getting 1-2'd and this way you get a key piece of removal out of the way."
He didn't get 0-1'd and he did get the key piece of removal out of the way.
You clearly didn't recognize that he used the vines to get the same 1-for-2 that the Disfigure would have or else your first post would of acknoledge that.
And you can use the Gomazoa ability any time (for the reshuffle effect), however its only effective against an attacker during combat.
"My opponent blocks the Shambler, and I cast Vines on the River Boa, hoping to avoid getting two-for-one'd by using Regeneration. My opponent plays Pitfall Trap in response, and I simply Regenerate it, wasting the Vines but keeping my creature in play. The Shambler heads for the Graveyard, and my opponent is down to 4 life."
It seems better here to cast the vines on the shambler.
It's definitely still a two for one the way you did it (you lost shambler, and vines for pitfall trap, the same as if you cast vines on shambler and it was pitfall trapped), and you potentially lost out on 2 damage.
Casting vines on the shambler puts him in the awkward situation of going down to 2 (with you having boa) if he doesn't trap your boa, or losing his sphinx if he does trap the boa.
"Back on his turn, my opponent does indeed deal with it by holding it tapped with Paralyzing Grasp. He also drops an Explorer's Scope, equips it to the Tern, and swings in as usual, missing the land-drop. I draw a Mountain and have a decision to make. On the one hand, I could hold the Mountain until I return the Surakkar to play; on the other hand, dropping it now would allow me to use Primal Bellow on the Hatchling and still resummon the Woodcrasher. I elect to do the latter, ridding the world of the Hatchling when it blocks the Chosen. Was this the right call?"
I'd say no. Getting in possibly two damage next turn (with the chosen), as opposed to getting a possible 4+ with the pumped trampling baloth next turn, as well as getting more damage in with the baloth if you draw more lands as well as being able to use the bellow on the marauders if you draw another land (maybe for the win) or using it on the baloth to trample over (probably for the win). I prefer the latter.
I see Hazezon Tamar all the time for some reason.
The worst Generals I see in Commander are 5 Color cards like Scion of the Ur Dragon that are chosen just to get access to thhe colors and then never see the board. Instead you just see a 100 card singleton tourney deck with an extra 20 life to power out its 2 card classic combo win.
Nice on explaining. That table was poor but whatevers. You got it all.
I agree with mostly everything you mentioned.
Lately I have been opening very weak packs (oddly enough) with no removal or weak creatures (rakeclaw as best or near it...) or fixing and I have come to realize that it is a very clunky format. When I win, I open well and vice versa. I am going to be trying to a different approach into drafting again... I drafted W/G a few times and its awful, U/W is OK, R/G is good, U/B is good, R/B is good.
I have a losing record when playing Naya or against Naya- Its weird. I just hate big dumb dudes I guess.
I gotta say outside of Abyssal Persecutor I'm kinda looking forward to Pilgrim's Eye for thopter tribal and not looking forward to the new version of slivers that are coming about ie allies
i was running mono-black Warriors, ive since changed the list for an upcoming article, but at the time it looked something like this...
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
1 Commander Greven il-Vec
4 Gatekeeper of Malakir
1 Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
3 Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
3 Mass of Ghouls
4 Tar Pit Warrior
3 Diabolic Edict
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Phyrexian Arena
3 Sadistic Sacrament
4 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Cabal Coffers
19 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
i think anowon is good too but black and red is for next week's article
Anowan, the ruin sage seems like a potentially strong card for tribal. Abyssing them every turn while leaving your guys alone. Obviously, three toughness is his weakness, but I suspect he's strong enough to give a go.
Allies also got a decent shot in the arm, 'though i still don't see them being really competitive.
If I could afford a duals/fetches manabase, I'd be very tempted to run a naya-cats list.
I agree its a strong deck and in this version as a pure aggrodeck, it wins a lot based on the sheer aggression it has. I must admit that having no removal in the deck scares me, when I'm playing it. What are your thoughts on that after the tournament? Did you face any locked situations where removal could have solved it? One example could be Guardian of the Guildpact with Armadillo Cloak, but maybe Dead Dog is too fast for that, and most removal can't touch Guardian anyway.
Moto
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I should note that I beat Archers round 1 of that tourney and lost to Irish round 2 game 3 by not drawing a Noxious Ghoul for 10 turns. (Yes I was playing Bidding Zombies. But with a twist of +White for control cards and Tidehollow Sculler.)
For the most part Im not really up to measuring WWK until I play with it. I will say the catmonkey looks great for gw or naya cats in tribal. Admonition Angel being a mythic rare will be expensive which may lead some people to want to build around her. I think she is a bit too problematic to be good but time will tell.
The meat of your article is as amusing as ever, however you need to be a bit more careful editing it and checking for grammatical errors. The most glaring thing is the badly formed html near the end.
#2 creature = Dark Confidant?
The color coding thing I could've done without. But still good. I'd really like to see the creature section.
Excellent work on this article, I think too many players are blind to the math. They realize it is there, but ignore it or don't even keep track. I've written down your results on a piece of paper and keep them with my deck-building binder as something to consider.
What I'm trying to say is that I loved this and I'd love to see more analysis like this in the future. I'll be checking for your articles now (sort of stumbled on this one). And don't listen to any of those chumps that don't like seeing confidence intervals.
i like beacon of destiny with the kitsune also
Yes but why the maps? I didn't even catch that...I like maps but they aren't that great just as mana fetch...fixing colors yes...fetch not so much. Emeria the Sky Ruin would be perfect to make them useful. Also the point of Crossroads is that you don't play it early if you don't have to but at some point in the curve when it is appropriate to pause, and if you do end up having to they offset the delay by giving you back your lost life from the weenie attack.
I am still relatively new to the strategies in Commander (started playing it last year) so sometimes just because I AM a GOLD player I like 5c decks. In particular I love playing 5c Elementals. Blood moon etc would only have minimal impact though as I don't own the expensive multilands and only some of the midrange ones. (Shocklands) So a good portion of my mana base is basics with ramp and helpers. No crying here...
Hmmm I saw a fairly nice Scion deck the other day full of dragons and tricks to make the most of the scion. No combo. I do see combo decks and that is essentially a way to ruin a community experience imho but that isn't everyone. Gotta just be careful whom you invite to join and remember those who play to combo out.
It's also probably a "chase" casual rare.
i like the idea overall but i think i may try it in extended with a more controllish approach, plus the addition of martyr of sands, proc. of reclamation and such shenanigans.
The reason I dont play Kabira Crossroads is because it enters the battlefield tapped. This can cost you in the early game in a weenie deck.
I did consider Sigiled Paladin but the flying on the Pegasus I consider a better option, for most of the matches its a 2/1 unblockable unless you meet a Vampire Nighthawk but thats what the removal is for.
Secondary win condition (for creatureless decks) can be Thopter Foundry+Sword of the Meek, because you already have Muddle the Mixture for them.
P.S. you can use the first Ability of Guildmage to target creatures, so your combo doesn't need the third piece, only +4*Terramorphic Expanse and +1 Forest.
I dislike playing against 5 color decks too. I hate them especially if they're the ones running all five Bringers and all five Beacons. When I cast Blood Moon, Hall of Gemstone, or Uba Mask, those 5cc deckbuilders cry.
Whether or not Vines or Disfigure is more important is a matter for debate(I actually agree that Vines is better in this situation), but that's not what you originally posted.
"Getting 0-1'd is just as bad as getting 1-2'd and this way you get a key piece of removal out of the way."
He didn't get 0-1'd and he did get the key piece of removal out of the way.
You clearly didn't recognize that he used the vines to get the same 1-for-2 that the Disfigure would have or else your first post would of acknoledge that.
And you can use the Gomazoa ability any time (for the reshuffle effect), however its only effective against an attacker during combat.
"My opponent blocks the Shambler, and I cast Vines on the River Boa, hoping to avoid getting two-for-one'd by using Regeneration. My opponent plays Pitfall Trap in response, and I simply Regenerate it, wasting the Vines but keeping my creature in play. The Shambler heads for the Graveyard, and my opponent is down to 4 life."
It seems better here to cast the vines on the shambler.
It's definitely still a two for one the way you did it (you lost shambler, and vines for pitfall trap, the same as if you cast vines on shambler and it was pitfall trapped), and you potentially lost out on 2 damage.
Casting vines on the shambler puts him in the awkward situation of going down to 2 (with you having boa) if he doesn't trap your boa, or losing his sphinx if he does trap the boa.
"Back on his turn, my opponent does indeed deal with it by holding it tapped with Paralyzing Grasp. He also drops an Explorer's Scope, equips it to the Tern, and swings in as usual, missing the land-drop. I draw a Mountain and have a decision to make. On the one hand, I could hold the Mountain until I return the Surakkar to play; on the other hand, dropping it now would allow me to use Primal Bellow on the Hatchling and still resummon the Woodcrasher. I elect to do the latter, ridding the world of the Hatchling when it blocks the Chosen. Was this the right call?"
I'd say no. Getting in possibly two damage next turn (with the chosen), as opposed to getting a possible 4+ with the pumped trampling baloth next turn, as well as getting more damage in with the baloth if you draw more lands as well as being able to use the bellow on the marauders if you draw another land (maybe for the win) or using it on the baloth to trample over (probably for the win). I prefer the latter.
Yes it works the same way it does in paper, at least every time I've tapped it in response to removal outside of combat.
hence why i avoid commander like it's the plague
I see Hazezon Tamar all the time for some reason.
The worst Generals I see in Commander are 5 Color cards like Scion of the Ur Dragon that are chosen just to get access to thhe colors and then never see the board. Instead you just see a 100 card singleton tourney deck with an extra 20 life to power out its 2 card classic combo win.
I'm not trying to be harsh or anything,but you really need to work on your grammar. It's somewhat annoying to read what you write.
Nice on explaining. That table was poor but whatevers. You got it all.
I agree with mostly everything you mentioned.
Lately I have been opening very weak packs (oddly enough) with no removal or weak creatures (rakeclaw as best or near it...) or fixing and I have come to realize that it is a very clunky format. When I win, I open well and vice versa. I am going to be trying to a different approach into drafting again... I drafted W/G a few times and its awful, U/W is OK, R/G is good, U/B is good, R/B is good.
I have a losing record when playing Naya or against Naya- Its weird. I just hate big dumb dudes I guess.