I have a few comments based on my initial reactions to the set.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Stoneforge Mystic for white. I think Kor weenies are going to be much better than Allies for the white weenie option. Allies are just so susceptible to Day of Judgement, while Kor at least leave behind their equipment when Day of Judgement sweeps them away. Also Stoneforge Mystic makes Kor Duelist and Kor Skyfisher so much better. I also feel that the Kor Duelist and Landfall Lynx are much better one-drops than Hada Freeblade and that will make a world of difference in White Weenie.
When we're talking about block constructed, I think the White/Blue gets the lion's share of the best cards. While Vampires got some nice cards that make slight improvements, White/Blue gets some much needed card quality advantage tools along with a more stable mana base. (Collonade) In block, I think it will surpass Vampires in popularity.
I'm also trying to figure out how Smother and Urge to Feed will make Vampires that much better than they already are. Vampires already have decent cheap removal and trading one removal spell for another may make a slight improvement but it isn't going to drastically effect the power level of the deck.
One of the things you didn't mention about the Bloodhusk Ritualist is that as a replacement for Mind Sludge, she enables Vampires to splash other colors for man-lands, burn, card draw, or whatever.
I too believe that Anowon is a great card but it needs some testing. In Standard all the non-Vampire Aggro decks play White as one of their colors (or as their only color) and against them Malakir Bloodwitch is a real gem. Against Jund things change but they will now play Abyssal Persecutor and Anowon won't be a wise card against that demon (same is also true against Sprouting Thrinax and/or Garruk's tokens).
On the other hand, slow Control decks also play White and this makes Malakir Bloodwitch still a better choice. And it won't matter which one you play against Grixis Control; they have too many removal and a simple Lightning Bolt or Agony Warp will be enough against Anowon.
But I'm optimistic for ZEN Block. Maybe there he may have a use. We shall see that of course.
And LOurs, of course that "Take that Mr. Wasteland" was a joke. And in older formats, I think I would play Sacred Ground or Crucible of Worlds before even considering Terra Eternal. It's only use could be in Standard. If someone manages to come up with a good Landstill variant, then we MAY see it in that decklist. Otherwise, it's a solid casual room material.
Oh and it makes ALL lands indestructible. So Armageddon won't work.
I would think Null Rod is moving because it's a fantastic way to shut down unrestricted Petal, LED, and the two minor Moxen to stop the upcoming Yawgmoth's Will fueled storm decks.
How are you feeling about Anowon, the ruin sage? I know most people are thinking he's just going to be casual and/or get a couple of slots in the vampire deck, but I think he's great! I've been testing him as a win condition in a sort of weird u/b control deck (along with sphinx of jwarr isle, which I never leave home without). The deck isn't great (thinking about turning it esper), but anowon has been nuts.
Also, I think something you sort of skirted around is that one of the main reasons people think jace is so hot is that he's probably going to drop on turn 4 after calcite snapper or wall of denial, then either up himself to 5 counters or bounce their second creature.
You're right about him requiring a bit of skill to play. I played him out a few times in the pre-release, and rarely had a clue what to be doing with him!
just a comment about Terra Eternal because i appreciate this card a lot but i am not sure it might that interesting : even if i understood the ironical "Take that Mr.Wasteland!!" sentence, i would like to say that wasteland is a tempo card at least in the format where he is allowed to be ran. I mean, terra needs 3 manas, but usualy at the time you could cast it, wasteland has already damaged your mana base ... In standard, even if there is the new tectonic edge, there is nothing comparable to wasteland effect. The closest tempo gain cards based on mana denials are these enchantments tranforming the lands into island or another basic land (forgot the names). And Terra eternal does not prevent your opponent from casting them, or you from being harmed... i dont know enough the standard meta, but i doubt, with the available cards right now, that it could be that impressive, except maybe vs goblin ruinblaster. But if we exclude tempo, it could have been interesting if it avoids the legendary rule in example, but ... it seems it cant.
In extend, it is a bit different but here again nothing really comparable to wasteland, except ghostly quarter... in my experience (but i am really not a specialist) once again the most tempo gain based on land are coming from enchantment and/or creature (a la magus of the moon) or sacrifice (a la smallpox) ... terra nova is here ineffective.
In eternal format, i dont know yet, too many cards available to abuse of it, in response to geddon ie. But i guess it will be really too slow to see it in classic/vintage. In legacy it could be used, but i dont identify in which deck yet.
It remains 100S : in this format, i guess this card would be a house! Mana denial is a nice strategy in this format, and i guess this enchantment could annihilate on its own a geddon strategy.
Only my opinions ... my 2,3 cents ... but i surely fogot some elements ...
You know whats good with Marton? Extra attack phases, since the +ability triggers with each one. Coldsnap even has a 'free' one (fury of the horde?), savage beating (and double strike if mana is available!), breath of fury works with weenies, even godo+vigilance (memorial) works.
Ranin,
if u are Gavin from starcity as ur name would seem to suggest I noticed that ur username "rabon" was also in classifieds selling matrixes last night. Did u get a tip from Todd to buy them all up too? Just wondering.
so feel free to do what you'd like - however, this distinction is kind of hysterical. "On this site, I just talked about different answers, all of which are in the zoo deck . . . on that other site, I talked about how to play the zoo deck, and what answers are good."
It's OK to 'double up' but you really made very similar points in each. I get it, it's a dead period and it's still probably better than a set review - lord knows how much that would suck, both for reader and writer - but it's kind of disingenuous to deny the similarities.
On the whole, the articles are well written though - you're finding your voice, and it's a massive improvement over your starting work. It's worth looking into whether you have enough material to sustain 2 columns, though.
The decklists are the same, but I don't think it is duplicating content. I've been playing with this deck a lot, and using it and Dark Depths as my two decks of choice lately. I wrote about Dark Depths last week, and felt like I should write about different answers to it today. On this site, I just talked about different answers and how they can be applied. At scg it was more of a decklist + how to play and why it is good.
I could have just left off the decklist at the end and no one would have said anything....
Ah, no, I thought it was being compared to "Diving into Dark Depths," I hadn't seen that new article. Well, I suppose it's up to the editors of SCG and Pure to decide what constitutes "exclusive content," then.
Hmmm, interesting choice. While I lose a weenie, I'd still have the same number of guys to attack with since I gain an enemy creature, plus that guy will presumably be bigger & its owner has one less blocker.
The one downside is, if I kill that guy before everyone else, his creature will go & I have one less dude to hit the other players with. So making sure he dies last might be good. It looks like I do have one copy of the Helm in my collection, maybe I'll try it in there. Looks like a fun one to throw in some of my other EDH decks too, have to admit I haven't tried it out yet. Tesya and Shirei would both love that thing!
If you want to know the rules to participate in one of these, I would look for the rules posted by the hostess of the event. They also have the advantage of being posted before the event is over, whereas my summary of how it went will be posted after, when it's too late for you to refer to in deciding how to construct your deck!
The rule was your general had to be red, which under EDH rules means you can play red spells and colorless ones. DP has been sure to post to that forum thread specifically mentioning that artifacts are allowed when relevant. She will also answer questions on the thread, and in MTGO chat, in the couple hours before the event you'll often find people asking for clarification on some detail or other.
You can type "/join chaos" (without the quotation marks) on sunday, the registration starts at 2PM eastern time and the first round of games starts at 3 eastern. You can get any questions about your deck answered there if you're not 100% sure what's allowed that week & might need to tweak something.
The charges of "insider trading" are a little silly, the card will only go up in value only if it truly is a critical answer to Dark Depths, not simply because Todd says so. If Todd has done some speculating on Damping Matrix, then he's put his money where his mouth is.
As for duplicate articles, the SCG version looks more like a tournament report on Dark Depths, and doesn't mention Damping Matrix, Pridemage, or Bant Charm anywhere. Were I the editor of either site, I wouldn't feel as though I had paid for exclusive content that had been published elsewhere.
well artifacts are colorless, mono red means only using the color red.. since there is no color to an artifact its not really another color being added to the deck
I have a few comments based on my initial reactions to the set.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Stoneforge Mystic for white. I think Kor weenies are going to be much better than Allies for the white weenie option. Allies are just so susceptible to Day of Judgement, while Kor at least leave behind their equipment when Day of Judgement sweeps them away. Also Stoneforge Mystic makes Kor Duelist and Kor Skyfisher so much better. I also feel that the Kor Duelist and Landfall Lynx are much better one-drops than Hada Freeblade and that will make a world of difference in White Weenie.
When we're talking about block constructed, I think the White/Blue gets the lion's share of the best cards. While Vampires got some nice cards that make slight improvements, White/Blue gets some much needed card quality advantage tools along with a more stable mana base. (Collonade) In block, I think it will surpass Vampires in popularity.
I'm also trying to figure out how Smother and Urge to Feed will make Vampires that much better than they already are. Vampires already have decent cheap removal and trading one removal spell for another may make a slight improvement but it isn't going to drastically effect the power level of the deck.
One of the things you didn't mention about the Bloodhusk Ritualist is that as a replacement for Mind Sludge, she enables Vampires to splash other colors for man-lands, burn, card draw, or whatever.
Null Rod is also featured in my random griefer EDH deck AKA GroupHate.dec along side other power houses such as Stabilizer.
Maybe it's catching on ... : )
~ rushmore111
Please include dates in these articles. Knowing what days the data comes from makes a difference.
Great content, as usual! Thanks.
Thanks for the comments.
I too believe that Anowon is a great card but it needs some testing. In Standard all the non-Vampire Aggro decks play White as one of their colors (or as their only color) and against them Malakir Bloodwitch is a real gem. Against Jund things change but they will now play Abyssal Persecutor and Anowon won't be a wise card against that demon (same is also true against Sprouting Thrinax and/or Garruk's tokens).
On the other hand, slow Control decks also play White and this makes Malakir Bloodwitch still a better choice. And it won't matter which one you play against Grixis Control; they have too many removal and a simple Lightning Bolt or Agony Warp will be enough against Anowon.
But I'm optimistic for ZEN Block. Maybe there he may have a use. We shall see that of course.
And LOurs, of course that "Take that Mr. Wasteland" was a joke. And in older formats, I think I would play Sacred Ground or Crucible of Worlds before even considering Terra Eternal. It's only use could be in Standard. If someone manages to come up with a good Landstill variant, then we MAY see it in that decklist. Otherwise, it's a solid casual room material.
Oh and it makes ALL lands indestructible. So Armageddon won't work.
Thanks again for the comments.
LE
I would think Null Rod is moving because it's a fantastic way to shut down unrestricted Petal, LED, and the two minor Moxen to stop the upcoming Yawgmoth's Will fueled storm decks.
How are you feeling about Anowon, the ruin sage? I know most people are thinking he's just going to be casual and/or get a couple of slots in the vampire deck, but I think he's great! I've been testing him as a win condition in a sort of weird u/b control deck (along with sphinx of jwarr isle, which I never leave home without). The deck isn't great (thinking about turning it esper), but anowon has been nuts.
Also, I think something you sort of skirted around is that one of the main reasons people think jace is so hot is that he's probably going to drop on turn 4 after calcite snapper or wall of denial, then either up himself to 5 counters or bounce their second creature.
You're right about him requiring a bit of skill to play. I played him out a few times in the pre-release, and rarely had a clue what to be doing with him!
Nice article LE.
just a comment about Terra Eternal because i appreciate this card a lot but i am not sure it might that interesting : even if i understood the ironical "Take that Mr.Wasteland!!" sentence, i would like to say that wasteland is a tempo card at least in the format where he is allowed to be ran. I mean, terra needs 3 manas, but usualy at the time you could cast it, wasteland has already damaged your mana base ... In standard, even if there is the new tectonic edge, there is nothing comparable to wasteland effect. The closest tempo gain cards based on mana denials are these enchantments tranforming the lands into island or another basic land (forgot the names). And Terra eternal does not prevent your opponent from casting them, or you from being harmed... i dont know enough the standard meta, but i doubt, with the available cards right now, that it could be that impressive, except maybe vs goblin ruinblaster. But if we exclude tempo, it could have been interesting if it avoids the legendary rule in example, but ... it seems it cant.
In extend, it is a bit different but here again nothing really comparable to wasteland, except ghostly quarter... in my experience (but i am really not a specialist) once again the most tempo gain based on land are coming from enchantment and/or creature (a la magus of the moon) or sacrifice (a la smallpox) ... terra nova is here ineffective.
In eternal format, i dont know yet, too many cards available to abuse of it, in response to geddon ie. But i guess it will be really too slow to see it in classic/vintage. In legacy it could be used, but i dont identify in which deck yet.
It remains 100S : in this format, i guess this card would be a house! Mana denial is a nice strategy in this format, and i guess this enchantment could annihilate on its own a geddon strategy.
Only my opinions ... my 2,3 cents ... but i surely fogot some elements ...
You know whats good with Marton? Extra attack phases, since the +ability triggers with each one. Coldsnap even has a 'free' one (fury of the horde?), savage beating (and double strike if mana is available!), breath of fury works with weenies, even godo+vigilance (memorial) works.
im rainin6 :) and i want damping matrix too =(
Ranin,
if u are Gavin from starcity as ur name would seem to suggest I noticed that ur username "rabon" was also in classifieds selling matrixes last night. Did u get a tip from Todd to buy them all up too? Just wondering.
"CRABORB"
LANDS - 22
8 Island
4 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
CREATURES - 4
4 Hedron Crab
SPELLS - 34
4 Archive Trap
4 Mesmeric Orb
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Path to Exile
4 Ponder
4 Tome Scour
2 Muddle the Mixture
SIDEBOARD : 15
4 Spreading Seas
3 Unsummon
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Ivory Mask
4 Ravenous Trap
Good suggestion, Paul. I'll do that next time around.
Grats on the top8, Baldr! I'm honored that you ran with it. What build were you using, and what were your matchups?
I will not argue that the concepts in each article were similar, but to say the two articles are the same is not true.
What? No, they don't. That never even cropped up as something weird for me.
so feel free to do what you'd like - however, this distinction is kind of hysterical. "On this site, I just talked about different answers, all of which are in the zoo deck . . . on that other site, I talked about how to play the zoo deck, and what answers are good."
It's OK to 'double up' but you really made very similar points in each. I get it, it's a dead period and it's still probably better than a set review - lord knows how much that would suck, both for reader and writer - but it's kind of disingenuous to deny the similarities.
On the whole, the articles are well written though - you're finding your voice, and it's a massive improvement over your starting work. It's worth looking into whether you have enough material to sustain 2 columns, though.
The decklists are the same, but I don't think it is duplicating content. I've been playing with this deck a lot, and using it and Dark Depths as my two decks of choice lately. I wrote about Dark Depths last week, and felt like I should write about different answers to it today. On this site, I just talked about different answers and how they can be applied. At scg it was more of a decklist + how to play and why it is good.
I could have just left off the decklist at the end and no one would have said anything....
Ah, no, I thought it was being compared to "Diving into Dark Depths," I hadn't seen that new article. Well, I suppose it's up to the editors of SCG and Pure to decide what constitutes "exclusive content," then.
Because:
"An old throwback for me was Qasali Pridemage . . .
Another card that I've really liked but never really been able to find room for in the maindeck was Bant Charm."
"Speaking of hate cards, Damping Matrix is the real deal. "
"Bant Charm is just ridiculous, and I can't really stress how happy I am to have it in the deck."
The content is remarkably similar in both articles. On the bright side, the deck lists provided at least differ . . . by 1 card total in the 75.
Hmmm, interesting choice. While I lose a weenie, I'd still have the same number of guys to attack with since I gain an enemy creature, plus that guy will presumably be bigger & its owner has one less blocker.
The one downside is, if I kill that guy before everyone else, his creature will go & I have one less dude to hit the other players with. So making sure he dies last might be good. It looks like I do have one copy of the Helm in my collection, maybe I'll try it in there. Looks like a fun one to throw in some of my other EDH decks too, have to admit I haven't tried it out yet. Tesya and Shirei would both love that thing!
If you want to know the rules to participate in one of these, I would look for the rules posted by the hostess of the event. They also have the advantage of being posted before the event is over, whereas my summary of how it went will be posted after, when it's too late for you to refer to in deciding how to construct your deck!
The rule was your general had to be red, which under EDH rules means you can play red spells and colorless ones. DP has been sure to post to that forum thread specifically mentioning that artifacts are allowed when relevant. She will also answer questions on the thread, and in MTGO chat, in the couple hours before the event you'll often find people asking for clarification on some detail or other.
You can type "/join chaos" (without the quotation marks) on sunday, the registration starts at 2PM eastern time and the first round of games starts at 3 eastern. You can get any questions about your deck answered there if you're not 100% sure what's allowed that week & might need to tweak something.
The charges of "insider trading" are a little silly, the card will only go up in value only if it truly is a critical answer to Dark Depths, not simply because Todd says so. If Todd has done some speculating on Damping Matrix, then he's put his money where his mouth is.
As for duplicate articles, the SCG version looks more like a tournament report on Dark Depths, and doesn't mention Damping Matrix, Pridemage, or Bant Charm anywhere. Were I the editor of either site, I wouldn't feel as though I had paid for exclusive content that had been published elsewhere.
That's exactly where to find the info about each week's Chaos EDH event. The forums is at: http://community.wizards.com/go/forum/view/75846/135082/magic_online_pla...
The thread each new week's format info is posted to can be found at: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75846/20147113/MtGOTraders_a...
Insider trading? You guys are idiots.
well artifacts are colorless, mono red means only using the color red.. since there is no color to an artifact its not really another color being added to the deck