How to budgetize Blink... Here are some things you can do.
Obsidian Acolyte -> Circle of Protection: Black
This is OK. Acolyte is good on offense as well as defense. You can get your guys past blockers, or knock an Edge of Divinity off it's host. But COP protects you from things like Corrupt, Corrupt, Ratbomb, which can always steal a win. Otherwise they accomplish much the same.
Saves: $4.50
Artifact lands -> Basic Lands
There's one of each of 4 artifact lands, for the sole reason that you can fetch them with Trinket Mage. That's not strictly necessary, so you can make those basic lands instead. This will also protect from artifact hate. (Which is really only bad if you are relying on those artifact lands.) However, the trinket ability does help to sure up mana so I might go up another land overall.
Pull: 1 Momentary Blink, Ancient Den, Seat of the Synod, Vault of Whispers, Great Furnace.
Replace with: 2 Swamp, 2 Island, 1 Plains. (No mountain. If you can't fetch it, it's not worth having in.)
Saves: $1.35
4 Duress -> 2 Mesmeric Fiend + 2 Castigate
The Mesmeric Fiend move is fine, but I'd be more reluctant about Castigate. If it was common I might try Addle (but it isn't). Another thing you could try is Ostracize instead. At times this could actually be superior. However, I suspect the environment right now makes you want the anti-spell card over the anti-creature one.
The two important uses of Duress are 1) fight combo, and 2) force a card-advantage card past a counter. So any other discard that has the same effect is fair game.
Savings: $0.60-0.92
2 Echoing Truth -> Something Else
I like Echoing Truth because it offers some answer to stuff you're not expecting. But it's a pretty flexible sideboard slot. Holy Light a reasonable choice (0.08). You could put some black removal to help against Slivers, or even a Negate if you fear combo or control. (0.05)
Savings: up to $0.50
Reduced cost of the deck: about $6
The point of Chromatic Blink is that it's packed with 2-for-1s, so you trade a creature and you're up, or they remove your threat and you're up. With search and recursion it has a fair chance against anything. (But it did take a major hit with M10 rules.) And a lot of things have to happen for very little mana, which is why Leonin Squire and Trinket Mage get a nod over Esper cards. But you could follow this idea to use things like Gravedigger/Warren Pilferers if you wanted to.
I agree mostly with your points. I am just hoping that WOTC has internal discussions and makes a firm and final statement on the position of the Power 9 online.
There are definitely other examples of mistake cards and you are right that hasn't stopped WotC from releasing them online but p9 is the archetype. It is the epitome of what can go wrong with set design. (Though Urza's Saga comes a close second). Mana Drain imho is a strong card but isn't in the same league. Yawgmoth's Will on the other hand ... Hey I found one of those lurking under piles of stuff the other day. Yay me. :) Here I thought I had no paper cards of significance left. I agree it is possible that they will be released online but I am doubting it highly. Even with some very loud voices screaming for it to happen I suspect the cooler heads at WOTC will decide it isn't worth the backlash. Just my 2 cents though.
Humorous article and good start in the singleton arena. Not sure WG elves really has a chance in this format but you certainly did a credible job of building a playable version. When to Paris Mulligan is one of the harder skills in the game to master I find. Particularly online. The fact that a simple misclick (read not paying attention) can lead to unintentional mulligans or failing to mulligan correctly makes this a crucial time to be alert and paying attention. I like the synergy in your Elves deck with the make creatures, have noland mana, armageddon, winterorb, glare of subdual and token making. Perhaps blue green makes a better choice for pulling this off with just a splash of white for the Armageddon? Might require more expensive lands to pull off though.
Interesting read and I somewhat agree with you. As a person who loved 60+15 card singleton way back in the Kamigawa era, when I came back to MTGO and 100 card singlton was pushed I really tried to get into the format.
To be honest I just gave up. The biggest issue I had was that 100 CS is a different animal from 60+15 CS. It's like comparing Cricket and Baseball. Both games have the same basic idea, hit a ball with a bat, but they are worlds apart.
I found that the extra cards needed for 100 CS had too much of an effect. Tutors became not just useful additions but 'must have' cards. Some decks just didn't work because of the increased lack of consistency. It's a personal opinion but in my mind if you 'have' to play tutors to offset the effect of having so many cards then perhaps the rules are not quite right. The effect of 'bomb' cards is dramatically increased. When a card will win the game if unanswered for a few turns (like the sword and many other cards) it's sometimes impossible to find a your answer if it's a 4-off in a 60 card deck never mind a 1-off in a 100 card deck.
I think the biggest issue with new players looking at the format is the idea that needing only 1 of each money card will make it cheap to play. That is just not true and if a person starts with that idea in thier head they are always going to be dissapointed and frustrated trying to compete.
I'm interested in the concept of the new Standard Singleton as I understand that is going back to the 60+15 format. I'm not sure that there are enough cards in standard for that to work well but we will see.
Don't get me wrong, I know people like the 100 CS format and good luck to them. There is hopefully space enough in the virtual world for us all to play and enjoy the formats we like.
Interesting ideas particularly about focus and meditation. I find that my guitar playing (Ive been doing it for 31 years) is much better when I have no distractions though I am no Eddie Van Halen. I also find that focus helps in writing code too (though I am not a programmer by trade). I used to smoke and when I would go to a tourney Id go outside between rounds to smoke and refocus. Smoking is entirely unhealthy but there is something mindless about doing it.
I agree on the mistakes section. Owning them is important to changing them. I don't think it necessary that you tell anyone else about your mistakes but I do think it helps to have a sounding board sometimes. But in a game you have no time for that. Just make a note and try not to repeat it. I have had misclicks that happened because I got distracted and then missed the opportunity to counter something etc. I do consider those to be MY mistakes and not simply bad UI. But the fact is online the UI is such a crutch that it does lead sometimes to bad mistakes. (Have you ever hit F6 and then realized you needed to activate something later that turn? I have. Thankfully a spamming of F2/F3 (not sure which actually) saved me. One of those asks for priority back.)
As far as getting angry and going on Tilt goes, well its a game. It is easy to get that competitive feeling going and lose perspective. It is not easy to objectively see yourself doing this and stop it. It is possible. I know I have done it as I have also turned mid-argument and realized the person I was arguing with was right and just stopped. But it is a painful thing to do. I suspect the best players never go full tilt because they avoid the pitfalls of getting too emotionally involved in the activity and merely concentrate as Mugaaz talks about on making correct plays. Of course for us mortals even recognizing the absolute perfect play is not always so easy.
Katastrophe...really? Card shuffling? Intriguing. I never would have even considered that. Though sometimes music does help. Particularly for me classic rock/early metal.
I heard that Prismatic bans the transmute cards, which could be finally tutoring in the hands of Pauper players. But likewise, if you like casual formats, it's good. I feel like that it has an advantage over regular Prismatic Singleton, as cutthroat decks can be built cheaply.
As I Have said earlier that your work are so much illustrative and your article with so much explanatory points that it leaves none with any kind of doubt. I was really fascinated to look to the Sunny Side Up work. It's very detailed and work is just fabulous.
Fifty decklists in the Extended format will sure be very interesting to know about and I hardly left any of your article right now. Your work on Deckopedia really fascinates me and I am just obsessed with your work.
@Rainin so sorry to waste your time. :) Though you were warned at the outset that it was a complaint. It seems you spent the time misreading it anyway so it is partially your own fault. I never said it was winnable with poor cards. I did make the attempt but as Katashrophe and others point out your win/loss will be strongly affected by the cards you buy and include. As for my poor plays...no excuses. I have played great games but these were not it. I feel that the games I won were very lucky. If you have specific instances you would have done something different Id be appreciative to see them and then perhaps your time would not have been totally wasted. :D
@Max, yes but silly me I spent it on other cards on my list, which are also expensive but not quite in the same range as the swords. I can't claim wisdom with card buying but they are on my list to get at some point.
@Gamemaster32: Hehe yes I noted this below in the Update section. As to your report I look forward to reading it. :) And what you say about Money is absolutely true.
@Katastrophe ah yes I agree...definitely a bad way to go. I think my attitude was formed by my preconceptions being somewhat shattered by the reality of actually facing those broken combos. I wasn't really thinking of Goyf and Bitterblossom as must haves interestingly, though I am aware they are in Classic. (Maybe you have part of an article there?) Doll Conscience is so mean but as you say easily tutorable and that's where I think I need to throw what money I get. The tutors come first (Idyllic, Demonic, Personal, Enlightened, Mystic, etc.
I agree without the proper expenditures the format does make for an unhappy spike or even johnny. I am still new to the format so it may be some time before I get it "right". I find that toolbox combos are a different way of playing than I am used to. I Like that RDW and other aggro/burn style decks have strong chances in an environment filled with Leyline of the Void/Helm of Obedience.
Thank you ALL for reading and responding. I exposed my flaws for a purpose. The responses have some good advice in there (even in the negativity) and it needs to be digested and internalized and perhaps at some point your feedback will help me to win more often (and thus complain less? :p). As much as I did complain in this article that wasn't the point which was to illustrate my story of trying to climb what to me seems a smooth wall in a new format. As people talk about it more and more I start to realize where the handholds are. As the title indicates this is a "How not to" article. For those just starting out...take the advice of these vets and get the cards they say and be prepared to lose to broken.decks until you get the right cards.
I've played a dozen games with this decklist, and frankly, I'm underwhelmed.
The deck really needs very specific cards at very specific times, and when the cards don't come when they are needed, the deck just stalls and dies. For example:
Harvest wurm without harrow or a cycling land is a dead card. with just two harrows and 8 cyclers, this happens quite often. I've actually gotten better results removing the Wurms altogether!
When you want to be able to cycle your land away, 2 land hands are not going to work, and even 3 land hands can be a problem.
1 Raven's crime in a deck without a way to search for cards? That's just horrible, horrible deckbuilding. Same with the single Nantuko: You either want the card and play multiples, or you don't, and put the sigle card in the sideboard.
The dragger never feels quite right: It's only cast quite late, and as a cycler, it's nothing but a conditional burn spell.
The deck needs some more early burn, bad. You might say that Mimic is a great matchup, but unless you have firebolt in hand in the first two turns, it's awful before sideboarding. And even if you do have the firebolt, it's still not good enough if they have two mimics, or even a Nip Gwillion: An instant speed, 1 or 2 CC removal spell would be much better, and allow the 2 for 1s that make the mimic deck sweat.
Harrow in a counter heavy meta is death, and we have a counter heavy meta.
I really like the concept of the deck, but the cards themselves don't have the power they need. Now, I am very hopeful about Zendikar's ability to give us cards that work well with this concept. But as it is, the deck is just wildly inconsistent.
I download those videos from YT using a tool, then I rip the audio. Then you can cut the random applause and stuff. (I haven't done that yet.) Playing Magic while people shuffle cards is better than just non-distracting. It puts me in the mindset. It's like they're playing at the next table.
> The only thing that should tilt you is incorrect play on your part, which is a good reason to get mad
No! Don't get mad. If you screw up then you need to sniff an orange, breathe to a 4-count, and approach the game state anew.
Steve made a good point about going on tilt. Being on tilt is about screwing up twice (or more) in succession. It is preventable. Even if you don't recognize that you're on tilt until your second mistake then it's still not too late to prevent your third.
The interesting thing I kept seeing in this is how universal the recommendations truly are. They've been in effect for as long as humans have interacted and had desires. The first time I got introduced to these concepts was "How to Win Friends and Influence People", which is so far the best approach to this subject I've ever read. Another great book (but much more work) is "7 Habits of highly effective people". To anyone truly interested in improving every aspect of their life, those two books will do wonders if read and applied properly.
How not to play a format: with a weak deck and a bad attitude.
Some cards are expensive because they're obvious. Helm/Line. Painter/Stone. Some of the obvious cards are unreplaceable: Goyf, Bitterblossom, fetches and duals. But some of the obvious cards are replaceable, and that can save you money. Panoptic Mirror + "Time Warp" (look up 3UU "take another turn"). Or Stuffy Doll + Guilty Conscience. (A very tutorable combo.) Maybe Time Sieve works in singleton? I dunno. There's surely something out there that's just as good but not obvious. You don't have to invent it or break the format.
But even if you take the road less traveled, it'll still be somewhat expensive. If you don't have a budget of $50-100 USD a month it's going to be harsh and you'll be an unhappy spike.
Deck is just awesome. After 4 days straight of playing it; I am very pleased at its matchup against the vast majority of the metagame. White is the absolute best color to run mono-color aggro in for this format, and I feel this is the best decklist for the archetype right now.
Great article.. conveys the the feelings that a lot of players are sure to have starting any format. I know that I have felt that way; I still do in certain formats.
So far I have only 1 100cs deck, a mono red thing that is surprisingly fast, it does okay for the most part. I have yet to actually play in a real tourney with it.
One thing that I will say is that buying all the money cards will not be the be all end all of the game. Sure the money cards help, but to be honest, I seriously regret getting 4 Force of Will. They are nice and all, but they have not really won me more games. And the games they did help I was probably going win anyway.
I agree that there some cards you must have for this format, but compared to the investment that you would have make for classic, I would rather buy them and then I have them. Even standard is a money game.
And we all know that WOTC did not make MTGO for our fun and enjoyment. But I am getting off track here....
Great read... and I know I play you more in the future.( I will still more than likely have that damn red deck----)
How to budgetize Blink... Here are some things you can do.
Obsidian Acolyte -> Circle of Protection: Black
This is OK. Acolyte is good on offense as well as defense. You can get your guys past blockers, or knock an Edge of Divinity off it's host. But COP protects you from things like Corrupt, Corrupt, Ratbomb, which can always steal a win. Otherwise they accomplish much the same.
Saves: $4.50
Artifact lands -> Basic Lands
There's one of each of 4 artifact lands, for the sole reason that you can fetch them with Trinket Mage. That's not strictly necessary, so you can make those basic lands instead. This will also protect from artifact hate. (Which is really only bad if you are relying on those artifact lands.) However, the trinket ability does help to sure up mana so I might go up another land overall.
Pull: 1 Momentary Blink, Ancient Den, Seat of the Synod, Vault of Whispers, Great Furnace.
Replace with: 2 Swamp, 2 Island, 1 Plains. (No mountain. If you can't fetch it, it's not worth having in.)
Saves: $1.35
4 Duress -> 2 Mesmeric Fiend + 2 Castigate
The Mesmeric Fiend move is fine, but I'd be more reluctant about Castigate. If it was common I might try Addle (but it isn't). Another thing you could try is Ostracize instead. At times this could actually be superior. However, I suspect the environment right now makes you want the anti-spell card over the anti-creature one.
The two important uses of Duress are 1) fight combo, and 2) force a card-advantage card past a counter. So any other discard that has the same effect is fair game.
Savings: $0.60-0.92
2 Echoing Truth -> Something Else
I like Echoing Truth because it offers some answer to stuff you're not expecting. But it's a pretty flexible sideboard slot. Holy Light a reasonable choice (0.08). You could put some black removal to help against Slivers, or even a Negate if you fear combo or control. (0.05)
Savings: up to $0.50
Reduced cost of the deck: about $6
The point of Chromatic Blink is that it's packed with 2-for-1s, so you trade a creature and you're up, or they remove your threat and you're up. With search and recursion it has a fair chance against anything. (But it did take a major hit with M10 rules.) And a lot of things have to happen for very little mana, which is why Leonin Squire and Trinket Mage get a nod over Esper cards. But you could follow this idea to use things like Gravedigger/Warren Pilferers if you wanted to.
I agree mostly with your points. I am just hoping that WOTC has internal discussions and makes a firm and final statement on the position of the Power 9 online.
There are definitely other examples of mistake cards and you are right that hasn't stopped WotC from releasing them online but p9 is the archetype. It is the epitome of what can go wrong with set design. (Though Urza's Saga comes a close second). Mana Drain imho is a strong card but isn't in the same league. Yawgmoth's Will on the other hand ... Hey I found one of those lurking under piles of stuff the other day. Yay me. :) Here I thought I had no paper cards of significance left. I agree it is possible that they will be released online but I am doubting it highly. Even with some very loud voices screaming for it to happen I suspect the cooler heads at WOTC will decide it isn't worth the backlash. Just my 2 cents though.
Humorous article and good start in the singleton arena. Not sure WG elves really has a chance in this format but you certainly did a credible job of building a playable version. When to Paris Mulligan is one of the harder skills in the game to master I find. Particularly online. The fact that a simple misclick (read not paying attention) can lead to unintentional mulligans or failing to mulligan correctly makes this a crucial time to be alert and paying attention. I like the synergy in your Elves deck with the make creatures, have noland mana, armageddon, winterorb, glare of subdual and token making. Perhaps blue green makes a better choice for pulling this off with just a splash of white for the Armageddon? Might require more expensive lands to pull off though.
Interesting read and I somewhat agree with you. As a person who loved 60+15 card singleton way back in the Kamigawa era, when I came back to MTGO and 100 card singlton was pushed I really tried to get into the format.
To be honest I just gave up. The biggest issue I had was that 100 CS is a different animal from 60+15 CS. It's like comparing Cricket and Baseball. Both games have the same basic idea, hit a ball with a bat, but they are worlds apart.
I found that the extra cards needed for 100 CS had too much of an effect. Tutors became not just useful additions but 'must have' cards. Some decks just didn't work because of the increased lack of consistency. It's a personal opinion but in my mind if you 'have' to play tutors to offset the effect of having so many cards then perhaps the rules are not quite right. The effect of 'bomb' cards is dramatically increased. When a card will win the game if unanswered for a few turns (like the sword and many other cards) it's sometimes impossible to find a your answer if it's a 4-off in a 60 card deck never mind a 1-off in a 100 card deck.
I think the biggest issue with new players looking at the format is the idea that needing only 1 of each money card will make it cheap to play. That is just not true and if a person starts with that idea in thier head they are always going to be dissapointed and frustrated trying to compete.
I'm interested in the concept of the new Standard Singleton as I understand that is going back to the 60+15 format. I'm not sure that there are enough cards in standard for that to work well but we will see.
Don't get me wrong, I know people like the 100 CS format and good luck to them. There is hopefully space enough in the virtual world for us all to play and enjoy the formats we like.
Interesting ideas particularly about focus and meditation. I find that my guitar playing (Ive been doing it for 31 years) is much better when I have no distractions though I am no Eddie Van Halen. I also find that focus helps in writing code too (though I am not a programmer by trade). I used to smoke and when I would go to a tourney Id go outside between rounds to smoke and refocus. Smoking is entirely unhealthy but there is something mindless about doing it.
I agree on the mistakes section. Owning them is important to changing them. I don't think it necessary that you tell anyone else about your mistakes but I do think it helps to have a sounding board sometimes. But in a game you have no time for that. Just make a note and try not to repeat it. I have had misclicks that happened because I got distracted and then missed the opportunity to counter something etc. I do consider those to be MY mistakes and not simply bad UI. But the fact is online the UI is such a crutch that it does lead sometimes to bad mistakes. (Have you ever hit F6 and then realized you needed to activate something later that turn? I have. Thankfully a spamming of F2/F3 (not sure which actually) saved me. One of those asks for priority back.)
As far as getting angry and going on Tilt goes, well its a game. It is easy to get that competitive feeling going and lose perspective. It is not easy to objectively see yourself doing this and stop it. It is possible. I know I have done it as I have also turned mid-argument and realized the person I was arguing with was right and just stopped. But it is a painful thing to do. I suspect the best players never go full tilt because they avoid the pitfalls of getting too emotionally involved in the activity and merely concentrate as Mugaaz talks about on making correct plays. Of course for us mortals even recognizing the absolute perfect play is not always so easy.
Katastrophe...really? Card shuffling? Intriguing. I never would have even considered that. Though sometimes music does help. Particularly for me classic rock/early metal.
I heard that Prismatic bans the transmute cards, which could be finally tutoring in the hands of Pauper players. But likewise, if you like casual formats, it's good. I feel like that it has an advantage over regular Prismatic Singleton, as cutthroat decks can be built cheaply.
As I Have said earlier that your work are so much illustrative and your article with so much explanatory points that it leaves none with any kind of doubt. I was really fascinated to look to the Sunny Side Up work. It's very detailed and work is just fabulous.
Fifty decklists in the Extended format will sure be very interesting to know about and I hardly left any of your article right now. Your work on Deckopedia really fascinates me and I am just obsessed with your work.
They do sort of if you are logged into mtgotraders.com as the pics come from there.
@Rainin so sorry to waste your time. :) Though you were warned at the outset that it was a complaint. It seems you spent the time misreading it anyway so it is partially your own fault. I never said it was winnable with poor cards. I did make the attempt but as Katashrophe and others point out your win/loss will be strongly affected by the cards you buy and include. As for my poor plays...no excuses. I have played great games but these were not it. I feel that the games I won were very lucky. If you have specific instances you would have done something different Id be appreciative to see them and then perhaps your time would not have been totally wasted. :D
@Max, yes but silly me I spent it on other cards on my list, which are also expensive but not quite in the same range as the swords. I can't claim wisdom with card buying but they are on my list to get at some point.
@Gamemaster32: Hehe yes I noted this below in the Update section. As to your report I look forward to reading it. :) And what you say about Money is absolutely true.
@Katastrophe ah yes I agree...definitely a bad way to go. I think my attitude was formed by my preconceptions being somewhat shattered by the reality of actually facing those broken combos. I wasn't really thinking of Goyf and Bitterblossom as must haves interestingly, though I am aware they are in Classic. (Maybe you have part of an article there?) Doll Conscience is so mean but as you say easily tutorable and that's where I think I need to throw what money I get. The tutors come first (Idyllic, Demonic, Personal, Enlightened, Mystic, etc.
I agree without the proper expenditures the format does make for an unhappy spike or even johnny. I am still new to the format so it may be some time before I get it "right". I find that toolbox combos are a different way of playing than I am used to. I Like that RDW and other aggro/burn style decks have strong chances in an environment filled with Leyline of the Void/Helm of Obedience.
Thank you ALL for reading and responding. I exposed my flaws for a purpose. The responses have some good advice in there (even in the negativity) and it needs to be digested and internalized and perhaps at some point your feedback will help me to win more often (and thus complain less? :p). As much as I did complain in this article that wasn't the point which was to illustrate my story of trying to climb what to me seems a smooth wall in a new format. As people talk about it more and more I start to realize where the handholds are. As the title indicates this is a "How not to" article. For those just starting out...take the advice of these vets and get the cards they say and be prepared to lose to broken.decks until you get the right cards.
Discussion of the core issues has spilt over to
http://www.classicquarter.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2345&SID=28423z1...
@David Leavitt: Nice article sir I really enjoyed the read.
I've played a dozen games with this decklist, and frankly, I'm underwhelmed.
The deck really needs very specific cards at very specific times, and when the cards don't come when they are needed, the deck just stalls and dies. For example:
Harvest wurm without harrow or a cycling land is a dead card. with just two harrows and 8 cyclers, this happens quite often. I've actually gotten better results removing the Wurms altogether!
When you want to be able to cycle your land away, 2 land hands are not going to work, and even 3 land hands can be a problem.
1 Raven's crime in a deck without a way to search for cards? That's just horrible, horrible deckbuilding. Same with the single Nantuko: You either want the card and play multiples, or you don't, and put the sigle card in the sideboard.
The dragger never feels quite right: It's only cast quite late, and as a cycler, it's nothing but a conditional burn spell.
The deck needs some more early burn, bad. You might say that Mimic is a great matchup, but unless you have firebolt in hand in the first two turns, it's awful before sideboarding. And even if you do have the firebolt, it's still not good enough if they have two mimics, or even a Nip Gwillion: An instant speed, 1 or 2 CC removal spell would be much better, and allow the 2 for 1s that make the mimic deck sweat.
Harrow in a counter heavy meta is death, and we have a counter heavy meta.
I really like the concept of the deck, but the cards themselves don't have the power they need. Now, I am very hopeful about Zendikar's ability to give us cards that work well with this concept. But as it is, the deck is just wildly inconsistent.
He means that they drafting like 1400.
I talked about your article in mine, and linked to it.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-21272-Boston-Magic-the-Gathering-Exam...
This is kind of dorky/appropriate, but I have this playing in the background sometimes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWi9adtDaMA
(and more)
I download those videos from YT using a tool, then I rip the audio. Then you can cut the random applause and stuff. (I haven't done that yet.) Playing Magic while people shuffle cards is better than just non-distracting. It puts me in the mindset. It's like they're playing at the next table.
Other times I just play techno.
> The only thing that should tilt you is incorrect play on your part, which is a good reason to get mad
No! Don't get mad. If you screw up then you need to sniff an orange, breathe to a 4-count, and approach the game state anew.
Steve made a good point about going on tilt. Being on tilt is about screwing up twice (or more) in succession. It is preventable. Even if you don't recognize that you're on tilt until your second mistake then it's still not too late to prevent your third.
I love these types of articles.
The interesting thing I kept seeing in this is how universal the recommendations truly are. They've been in effect for as long as humans have interacted and had desires. The first time I got introduced to these concepts was "How to Win Friends and Influence People", which is so far the best approach to this subject I've ever read. Another great book (but much more work) is "7 Habits of highly effective people". To anyone truly interested in improving every aspect of their life, those two books will do wonders if read and applied properly.
How not to play a format: with a weak deck and a bad attitude.
Some cards are expensive because they're obvious. Helm/Line. Painter/Stone. Some of the obvious cards are unreplaceable: Goyf, Bitterblossom, fetches and duals. But some of the obvious cards are replaceable, and that can save you money. Panoptic Mirror + "Time Warp" (look up 3UU "take another turn"). Or Stuffy Doll + Guilty Conscience. (A very tutorable combo.) Maybe Time Sieve works in singleton? I dunno. There's surely something out there that's just as good but not obvious. You don't have to invent it or break the format.
But even if you take the road less traveled, it'll still be somewhat expensive. If you don't have a budget of $50-100 USD a month it's going to be harsh and you'll be an unhappy spike.
Deck is just awesome. After 4 days straight of playing it; I am very pleased at its matchup against the vast majority of the metagame. White is the absolute best color to run mono-color aggro in for this format, and I feel this is the best decklist for the archetype right now.
Um, what?
guess u were just referring to paper magic pauper banned list.my apologies
i thought it was banned anyways
that Standard Pauper is stronger than older cards.
I will prove that soon.
Great article.. conveys the the feelings that a lot of players are sure to have starting any format. I know that I have felt that way; I still do in certain formats.
So far I have only 1 100cs deck, a mono red thing that is surprisingly fast, it does okay for the most part. I have yet to actually play in a real tourney with it.
One thing that I will say is that buying all the money cards will not be the be all end all of the game. Sure the money cards help, but to be honest, I seriously regret getting 4 Force of Will. They are nice and all, but they have not really won me more games. And the games they did help I was probably going win anyway.
I agree that there some cards you must have for this format, but compared to the investment that you would have make for classic, I would rather buy them and then I have them. Even standard is a money game.
And we all know that WOTC did not make MTGO for our fun and enjoyment. But I am getting off track here....
Great read... and I know I play you more in the future.( I will still more than likely have that damn red deck----)