Hammy you forgot one thing man. You keep the prize pools exactly the same as they are except doubled in any and all cases because double the tics are coming in thus it will always be equal and that wouldn't be an issue.
(simple math any time that you double any whole number you will get an even number) Besides When people talk about 2hg events im sure they mean "doubles" which is the variant we play here online, thus not worrying about the unified rules.
I wanted to take the time to properly thank you. I had only played in a couple of bigA drafts, winning 1 and scrubbing out in the first round in 3 others but since reading your article, I won a 4-3-2-2 and top 8'ed both of the FOIL bigA PE drafts. Unfortunately I lost in the first round of both of those due to lack of concentration. The way WotC set them up, I had to play in both events simultaneously as they were only 2 hours apart. So, when it came time to t8 draft the first one, I was playing round 2 of the other and when I drafted t8 of the second one, I was finishing up first round of top 8 of the first (which I would have won, had I not timed out, thanks to long games coupled with thinking during the draft). Given proper time, I believe my results would have been much better in the top 8's but nevertheless it was a grand day and I owe a large part of it to you and your strategy for this format. Even if it isn't the "best", it certainly is focused and I think that, more than anything, was what I need to help me 'crack' this format.
As for Bujoka Bog, I think it could be good with Karoo lands. That way, you can play it early, bounce it, and replay it later. Even if you run only 2 copies, the games that you want gy hate against often go so long that you will probably hit the land at some point. Also, could be decent in a deck that already run's Expedition Map. A deck that tutors to abuse various lands, now that's a Timmy idea.
As for Calcite Snapper, some people are saying how amazing it is, others are skeptical. I am somewhere in between. As a blocker it is really only playable versus the most aggressive decks. As an attacker, it can still be taken down by any random 1/1. One deck that I can see it be solid in is Teachings. Personally, I think it is better than Guardian of the Guildpact. 1/4 Shroud for 3 is better than 2/3 Protection for 4. And Teachings usually does a great job of clearing the board so that a 4/1 attacker could get there. Plus, Teachings needs help in the early game versus aggro. Problem is, Teachings already has better finishers, and a blocker is only good in some matchups. I think it is, at best, a sideboard card. The fact that it is blue may help Teachings avoid splashing white for Guardian, which could be good enough for it to see play. Personally, I like the card. Realistically, I don't think it will have the impact that other people claim it will.
As for Bujoka Bog, I think it could be good with Karoo lands. That way, you can play it early, bounce it, and replay it later. Even if you run only 2 copies, the games that you want gy hate against often go so long that you will probably hit the land at some point. Also, could be decent in a deck that already run's Expedition Map. A deck that tutors to abuse various lands, now that's a Timmy idea.
As for Calcite Snapper, some people are saying how amazing it is, others are skeptical. I am somewhere in between. As a blocker it is really only playable versus the most aggressive decks. As an attacker, it can still be taken down by any random 1/1. One deck that I can see it be solid in is Teachings. Personally, I think it is better than Guardian of the Guildpact. 1/4 Shroud for 3 is better than 2/3 Protection for 4. And Teachings usually does a great job of clearing the board so that a 4/1 attacker could get there. Plus, Teachings needs help in the early game versus aggro. Problem is, Teachings already has better finishers, and a blocker is only good in some matchups. I think it is, at best, a sideboard card. The fact that it is blue may help Teachings avoid splashing white for Guardian, which could be good enough for it to see play. Personally, I like the card. Realistically, I don't think it will have the impact that other people claim it will.
Thanks for the review, I agree on most. Quicksand is a great card. That said, it will be difficult for most decks to run it. It should be good in MUC. Teachings, maybe. Teachings is a bit slow and often has excess mana late to mid-game. Problem is, it can't afford to run too many colorless lands, and can't afford to sac a land early when the Quicksand would be most useful. And if it is UBw Teachings, forget it. It can't run any colorless lands. Totally agree on Halimar Depths, it is an exceptional card. Fun to abuse with Karoos. However, it is interesting that you gave Treasure Hunt so little love in the same breath you gave Depths so much love. Depths and Brainstorm are two cards that actually make Treasure Hunt worthwhile. If you Hunt after either of these, you are generally drawing three cards or more. 3 cards for 2 mana!!! If you can get this consisently, anyone would play that. Good news is that the decks that would run Treasure Hunt are likely playing Depths and Brainstorm anyway. I can almost guarantee that it will see play in Bu control, Rat Teachings, and possibly Mystical Teachings and UGR Goodthings. Not to mention that it could be the centerpiece in a totally new deck designed to abuse it. Treasure Hunt is for real. Period.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, except that I find Standard to be a lot more fun that Legacy right now, and I play them both in paper. I find Classic very much like Vintage, which I have stopped playing except in the very rare cases that I can find someone else with fully powered decks. Playing my full power deck against "budget" Vintage is a blowout. I do play plenty of casual "Vintage" - but those are not really Vintage decks.
Of course, that's just opinion - you like Classic, I like Standard. Neither of us is "right" - we just have different tastes.
I do think we will see swings based on GPs, though. While I love the SCG $5k series, and I'm head judging a Legacy event in a month or so, they just do not produce the widespread interest and playtesting that a GP does - except for the areas near the $5k site, I guess. A GP is going to bring in 500-1,000 players, or more, from around the world. The Legacy $5k are 100-200.
Sure, some MODO players loan cards. I just don't see the flurry of borrowing that happens before the start of every constructed PTQ, etc. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong areas.
You are playing 12 green persist creatures AND Crytoplast AND want counters, yet you are not playing Oran-rief the vastwood (I think they are around 1 tix currently).
yep, great section about the lost art of sanctioned 2hg, i always thought that it would work if they ran it prize wise 8-4 winning team gets 4@ and 2@for second team, and even the thought of 2hg draft = fun,but you and i both know that alot of fixing has to be completed for that to happen. Multiplayer and league play has been put on the back burner long enough, might as well get one of 'em off.
Do you mean code wise? I am fairly certain (though tongue in cheek here because we are talking about wotc) that the code for the eye will include adding the type to the database... just my humble opinion of course.
I love cards like Oath, Force of Will, and Vampiric Tutor. Classic seems like a very appealing format for anyone who wants to wrap their head around crazy card interactions. That being said the cost of getting into the format when Master's Edition hasn't been sold for a while is rather prohibitive, and while I can always dream that I might win the Magic Online Championship and be able to get a couple of whole sets of anything I want, the fact that I'm a mostly casual player impedes that possibility significantly.
Depends on what you mean there. The jellyfish can still shuffle itself back into the library even if activated out of combat. Past blocked attackers though are unaffected.
Is this actually how Gomazoa works online? Because according to the ZEN FAQ from Wizards, this isn't how it works in paper:
* Gomazoa's ability can be activated any time its controller has priority. It doesn't need to be blocking any creatures.
* If Gomazoa isn't blocking a creature at the time its ability resolves, only Gomazoa is put on top of its owner's library, and only that player shuffles his or her library.
That is how I understood it. Can someone actually test this online and let me know. My impression is that Gomazoa can tap itself and activate its ability at any time - it's just that it only shuffles other creatures if Gomazoa happens to be blocking them or is blocked by them.
i kno glenside, but not brave new world, im around plymouth meeting these days, used to venture to ambler for some fnm back when i still played paper heh
well I played like 30 games and ended at 50%, 15-15, the deck has a bit of a struggle against creatures with flying/fear/trample/etc outside of the Fogs
i was refering to AJ's comment, since only "colorless" spells cost 2 less then swap and nameless wouldn't fit under those and therefore wouldn't get the reduction, am i correct in assuming so?
Hammy you forgot one thing man. You keep the prize pools exactly the same as they are except doubled in any and all cases because double the tics are coming in thus it will always be equal and that wouldn't be an issue.
(simple math any time that you double any whole number you will get an even number) Besides When people talk about 2hg events im sure they mean "doubles" which is the variant we play here online, thus not worrying about the unified rules.
proper time could have occured by not multi-eventing. Your opponents probably loved having to wait forever while you made draft picks
I wanted to take the time to properly thank you. I had only played in a couple of bigA drafts, winning 1 and scrubbing out in the first round in 3 others but since reading your article, I won a 4-3-2-2 and top 8'ed both of the FOIL bigA PE drafts. Unfortunately I lost in the first round of both of those due to lack of concentration. The way WotC set them up, I had to play in both events simultaneously as they were only 2 hours apart. So, when it came time to t8 draft the first one, I was playing round 2 of the other and when I drafted t8 of the second one, I was finishing up first round of top 8 of the first (which I would have won, had I not timed out, thanks to long games coupled with thinking during the draft). Given proper time, I believe my results would have been much better in the top 8's but nevertheless it was a grand day and I owe a large part of it to you and your strategy for this format. Even if it isn't the "best", it certainly is focused and I think that, more than anything, was what I need to help me 'crack' this format.
Thanks again.
As for Bujoka Bog, I think it could be good with Karoo lands. That way, you can play it early, bounce it, and replay it later. Even if you run only 2 copies, the games that you want gy hate against often go so long that you will probably hit the land at some point. Also, could be decent in a deck that already run's Expedition Map. A deck that tutors to abuse various lands, now that's a Timmy idea.
As for Calcite Snapper, some people are saying how amazing it is, others are skeptical. I am somewhere in between. As a blocker it is really only playable versus the most aggressive decks. As an attacker, it can still be taken down by any random 1/1. One deck that I can see it be solid in is Teachings. Personally, I think it is better than Guardian of the Guildpact. 1/4 Shroud for 3 is better than 2/3 Protection for 4. And Teachings usually does a great job of clearing the board so that a 4/1 attacker could get there. Plus, Teachings needs help in the early game versus aggro. Problem is, Teachings already has better finishers, and a blocker is only good in some matchups. I think it is, at best, a sideboard card. The fact that it is blue may help Teachings avoid splashing white for Guardian, which could be good enough for it to see play. Personally, I like the card. Realistically, I don't think it will have the impact that other people claim it will.
As for Bujoka Bog, I think it could be good with Karoo lands. That way, you can play it early, bounce it, and replay it later. Even if you run only 2 copies, the games that you want gy hate against often go so long that you will probably hit the land at some point. Also, could be decent in a deck that already run's Expedition Map. A deck that tutors to abuse various lands, now that's a Timmy idea.
As for Calcite Snapper, some people are saying how amazing it is, others are skeptical. I am somewhere in between. As a blocker it is really only playable versus the most aggressive decks. As an attacker, it can still be taken down by any random 1/1. One deck that I can see it be solid in is Teachings. Personally, I think it is better than Guardian of the Guildpact. 1/4 Shroud for 3 is better than 2/3 Protection for 4. And Teachings usually does a great job of clearing the board so that a 4/1 attacker could get there. Plus, Teachings needs help in the early game versus aggro. Problem is, Teachings already has better finishers, and a blocker is only good in some matchups. I think it is, at best, a sideboard card. The fact that it is blue may help Teachings avoid splashing white for Guardian, which could be good enough for it to see play. Personally, I like the card. Realistically, I don't think it will have the impact that other people claim it will.
Thanks for the review, I agree on most. Quicksand is a great card. That said, it will be difficult for most decks to run it. It should be good in MUC. Teachings, maybe. Teachings is a bit slow and often has excess mana late to mid-game. Problem is, it can't afford to run too many colorless lands, and can't afford to sac a land early when the Quicksand would be most useful. And if it is UBw Teachings, forget it. It can't run any colorless lands. Totally agree on Halimar Depths, it is an exceptional card. Fun to abuse with Karoos. However, it is interesting that you gave Treasure Hunt so little love in the same breath you gave Depths so much love. Depths and Brainstorm are two cards that actually make Treasure Hunt worthwhile. If you Hunt after either of these, you are generally drawing three cards or more. 3 cards for 2 mana!!! If you can get this consisently, anyone would play that. Good news is that the decks that would run Treasure Hunt are likely playing Depths and Brainstorm anyway. I can almost guarantee that it will see play in Bu control, Rat Teachings, and possibly Mystical Teachings and UGR Goodthings. Not to mention that it could be the centerpiece in a totally new deck designed to abuse it. Treasure Hunt is for real. Period.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, except that I find Standard to be a lot more fun that Legacy right now, and I play them both in paper. I find Classic very much like Vintage, which I have stopped playing except in the very rare cases that I can find someone else with fully powered decks. Playing my full power deck against "budget" Vintage is a blowout. I do play plenty of casual "Vintage" - but those are not really Vintage decks.
Of course, that's just opinion - you like Classic, I like Standard. Neither of us is "right" - we just have different tastes.
I do think we will see swings based on GPs, though. While I love the SCG $5k series, and I'm head judging a Legacy event in a month or so, they just do not produce the widespread interest and playtesting that a GP does - except for the areas near the $5k site, I guess. A GP is going to bring in 500-1,000 players, or more, from around the world. The Legacy $5k are 100-200.
Sure, some MODO players loan cards. I just don't see the flurry of borrowing that happens before the start of every constructed PTQ, etc. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong areas.
You are playing 12 green persist creatures AND Crytoplast AND want counters, yet you are not playing Oran-rief the vastwood (I think they are around 1 tix currently).
50% isn't so bad considering the deck has no removal or counters. I dont see many decks with fear abilitys these days.
I can see flying and trample being an issue though.
from everything i have heard eldrazi should be in the rules already
yep, great section about the lost art of sanctioned 2hg, i always thought that it would work if they ran it prize wise 8-4 winning team gets 4@ and 2@for second team, and even the thought of 2hg draft = fun,but you and i both know that alot of fixing has to be completed for that to happen. Multiplayer and league play has been put on the back burner long enough, might as well get one of 'em off.
Do you mean code wise? I am fairly certain (though tongue in cheek here because we are talking about wotc) that the code for the eye will include adding the type to the database... just my humble opinion of course.
i want to be amazed by price fluctuations
is eldrazi a supported creature type? because untill then changelings and conspiracy do bupkiss with eye of ugin
What is 'Isochron Giant?' I have been following extended and I have no idea what this deck is.
Stop spreading the conspiracy tech! :/ Soon everyone will be running that combo :/
or conspiracy for eldrazi and run a bunch of awesome artifact creatures like platinum, sundering, darksteel...
I love cards like Oath, Force of Will, and Vampiric Tutor. Classic seems like a very appealing format for anyone who wants to wrap their head around crazy card interactions. That being said the cost of getting into the format when Master's Edition hasn't been sold for a while is rather prohibitive, and while I can always dream that I might win the Magic Online Championship and be able to get a couple of whole sets of anything I want, the fact that I'm a mostly casual player impedes that possibility significantly.
Great article.
Depends on what you mean there. The jellyfish can still shuffle itself back into the library even if activated out of combat. Past blocked attackers though are unaffected.
Is this actually how Gomazoa works online? Because according to the ZEN FAQ from Wizards, this isn't how it works in paper:
* Gomazoa's ability can be activated any time its controller has priority. It doesn't need to be blocking any creatures.
* If Gomazoa isn't blocking a creature at the time its ability resolves, only Gomazoa is put on top of its owner's library, and only that player shuffles his or her library.
That is how I understood it. Can someone actually test this online and let me know. My impression is that Gomazoa can tap itself and activate its ability at any time - it's just that it only shuffles other creatures if Gomazoa happens to be blocking them or is blocked by them.
i kno glenside, but not brave new world, im around plymouth meeting these days, used to venture to ambler for some fnm back when i still played paper heh
Yep except with the lattice as LE pointed out.
Ack! The price section is one of my favorites ...:/
well I played like 30 games and ended at 50%, 15-15, the deck has a bit of a struggle against creatures with flying/fear/trample/etc outside of the Fogs
i was refering to AJ's comment, since only "colorless" spells cost 2 less then swap and nameless wouldn't fit under those and therefore wouldn't get the reduction, am i correct in assuming so?