Love the article as normal. The date on the v3 release is off, currently the countdown is at 30, which puts the release at January 28, not January 8 - you got me super excited for a second there.
I want to add a lot more community driven content to the site. This feature is not going to be so you top eighted in a tournament, let's chat. I will talk to so of the founding people of PDC, and give this a bigger community feel. Of course, tournament player interviews will happen :)
I really liked this article, very nice. Definitely my kind of player, the one that comes into the environment with an unseen deck and causes confusion. Enjoyed the read.
Re: Hurricane vs Squall Line: both may be the best. I played a few test matches, and with the Heartwood ability, Squall Line becomes a 4 mana spell, which may be too slow. On the other hand, Hurricane can't kill activated Faerie Enclaves which can be dangerous over the ten turns it takes Dakkon to win. And if you overload on Faerie hate, you risk losing to random decks.
Re: The metagame, I actually think it's simplifying. I really dislike a few avatars which have narrow abilities like Heartwood beating midrange and control decks, or Mirri beating all creature decks. I feel you about drawing multiple hate cards. Thorns are just useless in multiples.
Thanks for the nice words about the article, if people really like more detailed match and game recountings, I may do that in the future.
That's kind of why I'm so happy (as a player)... rising ticket prices should drive down individual card prices since the currency can buy more of the product than before. However, the prices keep rising (not largely, but incrementally) despite that. There's really only a couple of reasons for card prices to increase: increased demand, reduced supply. It doesn't seem like the supply is drying up with the amount of drafts and sealed that keep firing. That leads to the other option: increased demand. I'm not sure if it's just a fun Standard season that's driving the prices of each set up or if it's more players, or more money in the system competing for the cards... but something is behind the steady increase lately.
The optimist in me thinks that it might be renewed buying on V3 news. Since the last time that card prices tanked was when V3 Beta was released in a state of shambles. Now that it's close and apparently not a complete disaster it may be that people are regaining confidence in the program's life.
I have noticed for non-wizards boards, it has an issue with handling apostrophes. instead of links, I get the html code on cards that have apostrophes in the card name. any quick fix for this?
No worries, man! I was surprised how long I held out actually. If I would have hit a wrath or a slice and dice I think I may have had a chance actually. :) Probably not much of a chance, but a small one. :D
Sorry about bringing the BW into the casual room, I saw you in classic and just wanted a game (wasn't much going on in the TP room that night). It was a cool deck, I just got creatures down before the flash stuck.
love the deck.. you should write more strategy articles on fun offbeat decks.. they seem to be fun/interesting..
I also want to reiterate the release of MED when I made the switch to MTGO (mostly when I got wind of Mirage ..) I was hoping for something like this to come along.. and when it did it was awesome.. so many of my pet cards from days gone by were in this set.. anyways.. the message boards full of paper only players outraged over the set.. I felt like it was a victory for our community and a way for WoTC to show us "hey we know you guys don't get alt art promos and cool stuff like FNM, Player rewards and PTQs.. but paper players don't get sets like chronicles anymore because they blew it.. but you guys didn't so you'll get another" .. love it..
anyways.. it is very interesting about card prices.. I wonder how some of the other blocks will fare after the extended rotation (we know that OLS, OTJ, and IPA will decrease in price.. the real question is .. how much will Mirrodin be in demand?)
Oh an as far as improving Dragonstorm matchup you can run Riftsweeper and Pithing Needle think you'd just want Riftsweeper.
Yeah the people running Mirri made a very good call. Beats Heartwood and can sideboard to beat Dragonstorm. That said Dakkon control beats both... Seems like we have quite the complicated metagame.
Think this was one of your better articles. As far as Ashling goes I think three people played it. My UB fearies list played against it twice... One won by Primal Command for 7 life+ashling activation as many times as it takes. If I had spent more time on my sideboard I would have included Extripate and that would have been winable.
The worst match was loosing to Dragonstorm which should be a bye. However when you draw 2x Pithing Needle and 3x Thorn it is REALLY hard to put a clock on them. The singleton event had started by this time so I think with tighter play I might have been able to win that. I think I went to heavy on the hate cards and next time I run a Heartwood deck I will take that into account.
That's a lot of comments! Thanks for taking the time.
Lorwyn draft can be done either with the "uncommitted" approach of an Oblivion Ring or Moonglove Extract in P1/P2 or a gamble to take a powerful card P1. But you better be able to bail on the powerful card (as I bailed on black and faeries for the most part here) or else you will lose. The uncommitted approach can be quite successful too. As __helper_monkey pointed out - the tix value of Oona's Prowler most certainly factored into my decision.
As for Epic Proportions - it certainly is good - but quite a few cards give your opponent a nasty 2 for 1.
Peppersmoke vs Forge-Tender. The ability to block an Axegrinder Giant or sac to prevent Lash Out from killing a good creature is very valuable in my opinion. And I'd rather not splash if I don't have to. Having just taken the Judge, and getting the sense that black wasn't very open (though Peppersmoke being available tells me it is a little more open than I was giving it credit for at the time) - I went with the awesome sideboard card vs. red.
Regarding Captivating Glance vs. Surge of Thoughtweft; I've never wanted to play Surge in my Merfolk decks, either winning through milling (Drowner) or evasion (flying, islandwalk). Captivating Glance is a card that I have heard some mention as being underrated. I took it here more than anything to try it out.
Regarding Immaculate Magistrate. I totally agree that it is the best card. I should have been more clear in pointing out that there were 5 "good" g/b cards available. I would never suggest Vivid Marsh as being anywhere near Magistrate in value.
Neck Snap. I don't like it in my Merfolk decks as it just seems to be so obvious when you leave mana open to play it and good players will play around it. I'd take Pestermite in a heartbeat and never think twice about it every time.
Maybe I undervalue the importance of staking an early claim on tribal territory. That first pick, I would have just taken the solid Oblivion Ring and second pick the bomby Epic Proportions. From that point on it was just noting that Green and White looked open, with a 4th pick Cloudcrown making it look like Treefolk, specifically are available. So here's how we compare those first eight picks.
Jack: Cloudcrown Oak, Battlewand Oak, Kinsbale Balloonist, Leaf Gilder, Nath's Elite, Epic Proportions, Oblivion Ring, Windbrisk Heights. Looking for G Treefolk and Elves, probably GW, though at this point, white could still end up just a splash.
One of the things I like about Lorwyn is the dynamical builds that can be pursued. I focused on solid picks and color and I think that's a decent start. You focused primarily on a tribal archtype with color being a necessary secondary consideration and also got a decent start. My only question is why the Forge-Tender over Peppersmoke? The one is a decent sideboard card, while the latter is a decent maindeckable. With a decent chance you will include a Faerie or two (even if only Changelingish), the Peppersmoke seems even stronger. It does mean you'd have to splash black, but is that bad? Especially keeping that option open this early in the draft when who knows what could be coming (e.g. Shriekmaws) in the packs two and three?
From pick 9 onward, my theoretical start is irrelevant. So I'll switch into commenting on a UW Merfolk build. Except to note that in the first six selections you're passed from pack two include a Huntmaster, Jagged Scar Archer, Avian Changeling, Seedguide Ash and a Battlewand. Maybe that's the same you would have been passed if you'd cut Gw, right? Maybe your (now) downstream neighbor did exactly that with the first set of packs and now he's raking it in. Not that the first six you'll choose are bad, or even worse. I just think it's interesting to see the fruits of what might have been. Maybe. As close as can be approximated.
Picks 9-15. Mostly straightforward and/or irrelevant. The 14th pick Grotto is a nice surprise. I would have taken the Prowess pick 12 instead of the Birt Rite, just because I've seen the former played effectively, but never the latter. Is Captvating Glance better than Surge of the Thoughtweft? Or do you just know for certain that Surge won't fit your build?
Picks 16-30. Nice. Cryptic Command. Mulldrifter, Aquitects, Avian Changeling, Sentinals. You set up well. My 22nd pick I probably would have grabbed the Hillcomber Giant over the Spellstutter Sprite, but that would have been a mistake, I think. I would have debated it until the screen was flashing red. I would have taken the Ring Skipper over Triclopean Sight because the Sight has always been underwhelming and never makes my builds anymore. Sometimes the Ring Skipper does just for being a flyer that hits the curve and that strengthens Faerie synergies. I doesn't always make the cut, but sometimes. None of those four cards would have made my final build in this draft, nor did they make yours.
I think the most interesting choice I would have made differently is probably an insignificant counterdraft. I would have taken the Footbottom Feast over Lignify. Lignify is bad removal that people still play. I'd leave that in the draft on the chance that an opponent makes that mistake. The Feast and the Crush Underfoot left in the pool are both good, playable cards in their colors. I would have chosen the Feast (a) in case I end up drafting a Drowner in the third set of packs and (b) in case I end up splashing black and need a 40th card.
Oh . . . and a comment about the first pack in this set. If you were drafting BG? You most certainly do not have to choose between 5 cards. Going G/x, any pick in that pack other than the Immaculate Magistrate is wrong. Period.
Picks 31-45 Again, nice. Picking up another Avian Changeling, the Paperfin Rascal late Tideshaper and Apothecary and especially a sixth pick Benthicore! Sah-wheet!! Definitely the right pick in its pack. It can just dominate the game.
That first pick, drawing three business cards would have been too strong for me to pass up, but the Sniper was probably way good, too. That second pick I would have taken the Neck Snap over the Pestermite, just for the solid removal. But maybe you're better at this than I am. Packs 33 and 34 you considered (and in the former, took) Kithkin over available Merfolk I wouldn't even have considered. I think being a Merfolk (in this build) trumps 2 toughness and I'd rate Deeptread Merrow over Kinsbail Skirmisher. More importantly, I would have taken the Apothecary for its on table combat trick and hoped the other Merrow tabled. But it didn't. And the Apothecary did. And I wouldn't have considered even the solid Knight of Meadowgrain over a Merrow Harbinger that could go grab a flying Changeling or the Judge or the Sniper.
Final Build With nothing requiring double White mana in its casting cost and with the Aquitects wanting Two islands in play by turn 3, I would have gone with 10 islands, 7 Plains and the Twig. It would have been tough for me to leave the Paperfin Rascal in the side since a 3/3 for 2U is pretty strong. But the deck is also kinda' removal light and the flashable Pestermite helps with the momentum and compliments the countermagic, so I think you made the right choice there. For that same reason, though (being removal light), I would have wanted to include either the Spellstutter Sprite or Captivating Glance instead of Ponder. With only six other Faeries (including Changelings), I think I would have gone with the Glance. Then if my oppo was playing blue already, plan on swapping out the Aquitect's Will to put Ponder back in.
Game play: Sideboarding a black splash for the Loggers is tech. I never would have even thought about it. Tight play in your games. Congratulations. Good job.
I enjoy doing the write-ups as it forces me to analyze the draft in much more detail and this is the best way to improve.
I don't necessarily agree that Ruse is that much worse than Whelm. It is very deck dependent and works well only with *enough* (we can argue what that number is) CIP creatures. I ended up with Aethersnipe, Benthicore, Mulldrifter, Pestermite, Merrow Harbinger, and Kinsbaile Skirmisher. I will agree with you that most people consider Whelm better and I'm better off with my signaling by taking Whirlpool Whelm. And I also did not have any of those cards when I made the pick. I should have taken Whelm.
I also will agree that my statement about the "blueness" of my neighbors was tainted by the knowledge of their decks after the draft. Though with Aethersnipe and Amoeboid in pack 2 and the three blue cards in pack 3 - I still think it is a good assumption that the neighbor immediately to my right is not in blue. It is much riskier to think that my neighbor to my left isn't in blue just because I passed an Oblivion Ring.
I agree with you on Loggers being very good - but I find that they are very underrated and will table in many cases. (As they did here.)
The Peppersmoke picks are an interesting topic. I agree on the value of the card but I think it is most valuable played early to toast an opponent's early drop. And as such - I don't like to splash them. I had just picked Judge of Currents and didn't see much else black and made the decision to stick with the white sideboard card. By P37 - I'm clearly in UW and there's no need here to take the Peppersmoke, especially (as you point out) having passed Epic Proportions.
Another creature that works really well with multiple Aether Flashes is Ogre Enforcer.
great´s tulhowns the machine!
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Yeah, 8th/28th... they're close right? :)
Fixed!
Love the article as normal. The date on the v3 release is off, currently the countdown is at 30, which puts the release at January 28, not January 8 - you got me super excited for a second there.
Great idea Joshua. Very good questions and I look forward to seeing more of these in the future.
Thanks,
I want to add a lot more community driven content to the site. This feature is not going to be so you top eighted in a tournament, let's chat. I will talk to so of the founding people of PDC, and give this a bigger community feel. Of course, tournament player interviews will happen :)
I really liked this article, very nice. Definitely my kind of player, the one that comes into the environment with an unseen deck and causes confusion. Enjoyed the read.
Re: Hurricane vs Squall Line: both may be the best. I played a few test matches, and with the Heartwood ability, Squall Line becomes a 4 mana spell, which may be too slow. On the other hand, Hurricane can't kill activated Faerie Enclaves which can be dangerous over the ten turns it takes Dakkon to win. And if you overload on Faerie hate, you risk losing to random decks.
Re: The metagame, I actually think it's simplifying. I really dislike a few avatars which have narrow abilities like Heartwood beating midrange and control decks, or Mirri beating all creature decks. I feel you about drawing multiple hate cards. Thorns are just useless in multiples.
Thanks for the nice words about the article, if people really like more detailed match and game recountings, I may do that in the future.
That's kind of why I'm so happy (as a player)... rising ticket prices should drive down individual card prices since the currency can buy more of the product than before. However, the prices keep rising (not largely, but incrementally) despite that. There's really only a couple of reasons for card prices to increase: increased demand, reduced supply. It doesn't seem like the supply is drying up with the amount of drafts and sealed that keep firing. That leads to the other option: increased demand. I'm not sure if it's just a fun Standard season that's driving the prices of each set up or if it's more players, or more money in the system competing for the cards... but something is behind the steady increase lately.
The optimist in me thinks that it might be renewed buying on V3 news. Since the last time that card prices tanked was when V3 Beta was released in a state of shambles. Now that it's close and apparently not a complete disaster it may be that people are regaining confidence in the program's life.
But that's just me being optimistic again... :)
It appears to be a BBCode type of issue. When the apostrophes in the links are replaced with %27, everything works fine.
Don't know if that's easily added to your program. Thanks!
If you replace the ' in the Html code with %27, the links should work fine
It appears to be a BBCode type of issue. When the apostrophes in the links are replaced with %27, everything works fine.
Don't know if that's easily added to your program. Thanks!
Great tool!
I have noticed for non-wizards boards, it has an issue with handling apostrophes. instead of links, I get the html code on cards that have apostrophes in the card name. any quick fix for this?
Thanks
Shouldn't they go down in price as the price of tickets goes up? Seems odd to me they keep rising.
No worries, man! I was surprised how long I held out actually. If I would have hit a wrath or a slice and dice I think I may have had a chance actually. :) Probably not much of a chance, but a small one. :D
Sorry about bringing the BW into the casual room, I saw you in classic and just wanted a game (wasn't much going on in the TP room that night). It was a cool deck, I just got creatures down before the flash stuck.
love the deck.. you should write more strategy articles on fun offbeat decks.. they seem to be fun/interesting..
I also want to reiterate the release of MED when I made the switch to MTGO (mostly when I got wind of Mirage ..) I was hoping for something like this to come along.. and when it did it was awesome.. so many of my pet cards from days gone by were in this set.. anyways.. the message boards full of paper only players outraged over the set.. I felt like it was a victory for our community and a way for WoTC to show us "hey we know you guys don't get alt art promos and cool stuff like FNM, Player rewards and PTQs.. but paper players don't get sets like chronicles anymore because they blew it.. but you guys didn't so you'll get another" .. love it..
anyways.. it is very interesting about card prices.. I wonder how some of the other blocks will fare after the extended rotation (we know that OLS, OTJ, and IPA will decrease in price.. the real question is .. how much will Mirrodin be in demand?)
this deck should be called fartz because it smells sooooo good.
Oh an as far as improving Dragonstorm matchup you can run Riftsweeper and Pithing Needle think you'd just want Riftsweeper.
Yeah the people running Mirri made a very good call. Beats Heartwood and can sideboard to beat Dragonstorm. That said Dakkon control beats both... Seems like we have quite the complicated metagame.
Think this was one of your better articles. As far as Ashling goes I think three people played it. My UB fearies list played against it twice... One won by Primal Command for 7 life+ashling activation as many times as it takes. If I had spent more time on my sideboard I would have included Extripate and that would have been winable.
The worst match was loosing to Dragonstorm which should be a bye. However when you draw 2x Pithing Needle and 3x Thorn it is REALLY hard to put a clock on them. The singleton event had started by this time so I think with tighter play I might have been able to win that. I think I went to heavy on the hate cards and next time I run a Heartwood deck I will take that into account.
Wouldn't Squall Line be better than Hurricane vs Faeries, since you can play it during your eot, after they tap out for a creature?
i'm not a stickler on what each deck was called. but it was a great article.. loved the analysis
Maybe I undervalue the importance of staking an early claim on tribal territory. That first pick, I would have just taken the solid Oblivion Ring and second pick the bomby Epic Proportions. From that point on it was just noting that Green and White looked open, with a 4th pick Cloudcrown making it look like Treefolk, specifically are available. So here's how we compare those first eight picks.
Picks 1-8.
Kurt: Merrow Harbinger, Judge of Currents, Turtleshell Changeling, Aethersnipe, Hillcomber Giant, Familiar's Ruse, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Oona's Prowler. Looking for UW Merfolk.
Jack: Cloudcrown Oak, Battlewand Oak, Kinsbale Balloonist, Leaf Gilder, Nath's Elite, Epic Proportions, Oblivion Ring, Windbrisk Heights. Looking for G Treefolk and Elves, probably GW, though at this point, white could still end up just a splash.
One of the things I like about Lorwyn is the dynamical builds that can be pursued. I focused on solid picks and color and I think that's a decent start. You focused primarily on a tribal archtype with color being a necessary secondary consideration and also got a decent start. My only question is why the Forge-Tender over Peppersmoke? The one is a decent sideboard card, while the latter is a decent maindeckable. With a decent chance you will include a Faerie or two (even if only Changelingish), the Peppersmoke seems even stronger. It does mean you'd have to splash black, but is that bad? Especially keeping that option open this early in the draft when who knows what could be coming (e.g. Shriekmaws) in the packs two and three?
From pick 9 onward, my theoretical start is irrelevant. So I'll switch into commenting on a UW Merfolk build. Except to note that in the first six selections you're passed from pack two include a Huntmaster, Jagged Scar Archer, Avian Changeling, Seedguide Ash and a Battlewand. Maybe that's the same you would have been passed if you'd cut Gw, right? Maybe your (now) downstream neighbor did exactly that with the first set of packs and now he's raking it in. Not that the first six you'll choose are bad, or even worse. I just think it's interesting to see the fruits of what might have been. Maybe. As close as can be approximated.
Picks 9-15.
Mostly straightforward and/or irrelevant. The 14th pick Grotto is a nice surprise. I would have taken the Prowess pick 12 instead of the Birt Rite, just because I've seen the former played effectively, but never the latter. Is Captvating Glance better than Surge of the Thoughtweft? Or do you just know for certain that Surge won't fit your build?
Picks 16-30.
Nice. Cryptic Command. Mulldrifter, Aquitects, Avian Changeling, Sentinals. You set up well.
My 22nd pick I probably would have grabbed the Hillcomber Giant over the Spellstutter Sprite, but that would have been a mistake, I think. I would have debated it until the screen was flashing red. I would have taken the Ring Skipper over Triclopean Sight because the Sight has always been underwhelming and never makes my builds anymore. Sometimes the Ring Skipper does just for being a flyer that hits the curve and that strengthens Faerie synergies. I doesn't always make the cut, but sometimes. None of those four cards would have made my final build in this draft, nor did they make yours.
I think the most interesting choice I would have made differently is probably an insignificant counterdraft. I would have taken the Footbottom Feast over Lignify. Lignify is bad removal that people still play. I'd leave that in the draft on the chance that an opponent makes that mistake. The Feast and the Crush Underfoot left in the pool are both good, playable cards in their colors. I would have chosen the Feast (a) in case I end up drafting a Drowner in the third set of packs and (b) in case I end up splashing black and need a 40th card.
Oh . . . and a comment about the first pack in this set. If you were drafting BG? You most certainly do not have to choose between 5 cards. Going G/x, any pick in that pack other than the Immaculate Magistrate is wrong. Period.
Picks 31-45
Again, nice. Picking up another Avian Changeling, the Paperfin Rascal late Tideshaper and Apothecary and especially a sixth pick Benthicore! Sah-wheet!! Definitely the right pick in its pack. It can just dominate the game.
That first pick, drawing three business cards would have been too strong for me to pass up, but the Sniper was probably way good, too. That second pick I would have taken the Neck Snap over the Pestermite, just for the solid removal. But maybe you're better at this than I am. Packs 33 and 34 you considered (and in the former, took) Kithkin over available Merfolk I wouldn't even have considered. I think being a Merfolk (in this build) trumps 2 toughness and I'd rate Deeptread Merrow over Kinsbail Skirmisher. More importantly, I would have taken the Apothecary for its on table combat trick and hoped the other Merrow tabled. But it didn't. And the Apothecary did. And I wouldn't have considered even the solid Knight of Meadowgrain over a Merrow Harbinger that could go grab a flying Changeling or the Judge or the Sniper.
Final Build
With nothing requiring double White mana in its casting cost and with the Aquitects wanting Two islands in play by turn 3, I would have gone with 10 islands, 7 Plains and the Twig. It would have been tough for me to leave the Paperfin Rascal in the side since a 3/3 for 2U is pretty strong. But the deck is also kinda' removal light and the flashable Pestermite helps with the momentum and compliments the countermagic, so I think you made the right choice there. For that same reason, though (being removal light), I would have wanted to include either the Spellstutter Sprite or Captivating Glance instead of Ponder. With only six other Faeries (including Changelings), I think I would have gone with the Glance. Then if my oppo was playing blue already, plan on swapping out the Aquitect's Will to put Ponder back in.
Game play:
Sideboarding a black splash for the Loggers is tech. I never would have even thought about it. Tight play in your games. Congratulations. Good job.
__helper_monkey,
You're welcome.
I enjoy doing the write-ups as it forces me to analyze the draft in much more detail and this is the best way to improve.
I don't necessarily agree that Ruse is that much worse than Whelm. It is very deck dependent and works well only with *enough* (we can argue what that number is) CIP creatures. I ended up with Aethersnipe, Benthicore, Mulldrifter, Pestermite, Merrow Harbinger, and Kinsbaile Skirmisher. I will agree with you that most people consider Whelm better and I'm better off with my signaling by taking Whirlpool Whelm. And I also did not have any of those cards when I made the pick. I should have taken Whelm.
I also will agree that my statement about the "blueness" of my neighbors was tainted by the knowledge of their decks after the draft. Though with Aethersnipe and Amoeboid in pack 2 and the three blue cards in pack 3 - I still think it is a good assumption that the neighbor immediately to my right is not in blue. It is much riskier to think that my neighbor to my left isn't in blue just because I passed an Oblivion Ring.
I agree with you on Loggers being very good - but I find that they are very underrated and will table in many cases. (As they did here.)
The Peppersmoke picks are an interesting topic. I agree on the value of the card but I think it is most valuable played early to toast an opponent's early drop. And as such - I don't like to splash them. I had just picked Judge of Currents and didn't see much else black and made the decision to stick with the white sideboard card. By P37 - I'm clearly in UW and there's no need here to take the Peppersmoke, especially (as you point out) having passed Epic Proportions.
Hope to see you in a draft queue soon!