Well, I saw this article less like a newspaper and more like a walk through the different archetypes and planning concepts. I assumed that those who bother to read it would actually get through the end, but clearly, you've shown me that people will barely skim it and judge the article based on that-- instead of saving the best for last, they need it up front and center.
I guess I'll keep that in mind for future articles' presentation.
I never said Edge of Autumn was card advantage, or rather never meant that. It does, however, draw you a card and gives you a tempo advantage.
The Centaur, as I mentioned, gets larger than anything in the format and the other cards in the deck allow you to play him as a one of- I've tested the fourth tiger, and it is not much better.
Martyr of Ashes requires you to have cards in hand- this card wants card in the graveyard. It is much more liekly to have 7 cards in the graveyard than to have 3+ red cards in hand with this deck. Using the Martyr changes the plan of attack immensely, using the sandstorm does not.
It's a good article and a good deck, but there's some points I'd like to bring up. First, Edge of Autumn is not card draw. You're spending two cards (one if the land's not useful) to get one card.
There were two card choices that kind of bugged me. The first is Battlefield Scrounger over the fourth Springing Tiger. At best, it's one more mana for +1/+1, which isn't bad, but not spectacular either. However, in the early and mid games, you'll have a hard time activating Scrounger reliably without losing threshold. The fact that it recycles cards is almost entirely irrelevant; it only marginally improves your draws and only if you play an Edge.
The sideboarded Sandstorms also seem unusual. I see how they'd be used to wipe out aggro decks that overextend, but they also kill all of your creatures. Why not play something like Martyr of Sands that lets you keep your big men in play while their small creatures all die?
Fantastic article. I love that the article was not only card-by-card descriptions, but how each card works synergistically to create something altogether different than the usual RG deck. I wish I had read this before last night as I got my buttocks [/gump voice] handed to me facing this deck in TPDC. Not sure I coulda won, but I probably would've taken the Werebears more seriously in game 1 had I known what was coming.
As an aside (or ... more precisely, a request), I'd really like to read about your take on the general archetypes in PDC. How do you see the hierarchical relationships between aggro, aggro-control, true control, board control, midrange, etc.?
yeah, id have to agree with Rhad. its pretty much just kenju's deck. doesnt mention more than a few things about why playing online is great and explain whats already in the card text. id try to work in more of how the cards interact with each other. but overall, nice job for your first. u can only get better from here
Yeah, I did miss that, but I still think that your emphasis was way off. YOu spend 2600 words talking about the different guilds and how to match them up, then slip in a single 180 word paragraph talking about the actual dominant strategy. I didn't think that you talked about how awesome karoos are and how they and the signets are what enable yoru amazing multicoloured decks. But upon a reread I see you've made it the very finish of the article (when it should probably be at the very start).
Maybe you should give more weight to the things that you want the readers to pay more attention to.
Look at your article as similar to a newspaper column, and imagine that your readers will only read the first half of the article. In this article, you're still introducing the guilds to them!
Having said that, I don't want to be all negative. You do have a decent style, and it would probably be at least marginally worthwhile doing a similar writeup for TPF (even though that format is pretty well explored as well).
Mark, I don't think you were reading too carefully, since the URG option is covered in the "GUILDLESS IN RAV" section, and I also specifically mentioned that it was good because you get to drop the RAV guild and pick up great mono-colored cards instead.
And sorry if it wasn't clear, but I wasn't advocating Guild Per Set as the only option; indeed, I even stated that URG was one of my favorite archetypes!
Yeah, this article is well out of date, plus it misses the 'key' to RGD drafting: URG.
Go guildless in pack 1, but that's ok since green and blue are both full of strong mono-coloured cards. Then take the two best guild in the strongest pack. Then take the underdrafted guild in the final pack, Simic. Note how noone that follows yous 'guild per set' guideline will be taking simic?
So essentially, you give up a guild in the deepest and least guild bound set (Ravnica), and in exchange you get to be greedy in the best set and get an underdrafted guild in the final set.
Yeah, it's late, but hopefully RGD will somehow become a retro summer hit. It seemed like a beloved format (and a beloved block in general), so there's a good chance that the closer we get to Rav block going out of print, the more folks will try to get in some nostalgia drafts. And everyone loves opening shocklands :)
Wow that is a pretty good compliment. I must agree though Pete is the man and he knows his stuff. Him and his wife are both judges and top notch people in general.
Don't forget nullstone gargoyle. If you have ramped up to 9 lands, often throught mana search its a game ender. A 4/5 flyer to beat them. Then save all of your cards to react to anytime they try to cast a second spell in their turn and actually get something.
I was in the position of getting a Burning Wish and not actually knowing how to wish. I figured it out eventually, but my opponent probably got annoyed with me in the meanwhile. Of course, he probably didn't know how to wish either, or he might have said something when I explained my situation.
I ended up getting a Fireball with it, which I figured I could use either to finish the game, or to kill multiple tokens, depending on my needs. I think he got Fertile Imagination (and man is that card a beating in this format), so I had to go with the token-killing.
So far I've played fewer than two dozen games and seen Storm Herd three times (twice for me, once for an opponent). One time I got it on turn 3. My opponent got some one-for-one removal spell, which kept him alive at one life for a turn, then got Nausea on the next turn. Of course, at that point it was only a matter of time until I pulled a burn spell.
I'm curious to hear what people think about the optimal land distribution. I've been running 12/12/12/12/12, because (a) I'm lazy and (b) it ensures your domain spells will be powered up, but I saw one guy who favored Mountains and Swamps (Swamps would help Corrupt and Tendrils of Corruption, I guess), and another who played mostly or only Forests (I assume for things like Waiting in the Weeds and Beacon of Creation).
All in all, I think I prefer Jhoira Basic to Momir Basic. Maybe because I prefer empty boards to creature stalls. Or maybe it's just that I've done a lot better at it.
Nice article. I've been thinking about writing up something similar with my own ideas about playing Jhoira basic, but you hit most of the suggestions I would have had and quite a few more, besides.
One card that was an MVP for me as a result of Glittering Wish was Mystic Enforcer. By the time I cast him, he was already at Threshold, and a 6/6 flying creature with protection from black was very hard for my opponent to deal with. It helped that he was relatively cheap to cast, too.
I would dare say that the amount of money wizards gets from MTGO is sick already with out charging higher rates for redemption, and allowing bugs and customer service to go down the drain. My Foil Cabal Coffers have been regular coffers now for almost a month. I reported the bug, and got zero response other than a form letter. I have to say that MTGO is the only place Ive ever paid full price for booster packs. Between the cost and over zealous adepts i can see alot of people off the online version.
I wish everyone who posted a comment was as thoughtful as you thescale but as we all know that will never happen. I'm still trying to figure out the balance of censonship. I want to allow people to speak their mind and the current rule is as long as there are no cursewords and your post has at least more than "so and so is a poopie head" I allow it. I will rethink this to include attacks towards the authors that provide no constructive input though. I need to talk to others and see what they think because a lot of people enjoy this site also for the freedom which the WOTC sites do not provide. But as always this site may be owned by me but is you all's site. I'll do whatever the majority wants most likely so feel free to sign up on the forums and speak your mind about what you want changed about this site. Thanks again for the comments, -Heath
Well, I saw this article less like a newspaper and more like a walk through the different archetypes and planning concepts. I assumed that those who bother to read it would actually get through the end, but clearly, you've shown me that people will barely skim it and judge the article based on that-- instead of saving the best for last, they need it up front and center.
I guess I'll keep that in mind for future articles' presentation.
I never said Edge of Autumn was card advantage, or rather never meant that. It does, however, draw you a card and gives you a tempo advantage.
The Centaur, as I mentioned, gets larger than anything in the format and the other cards in the deck allow you to play him as a one of- I've tested the fourth tiger, and it is not much better.
Martyr of Ashes requires you to have cards in hand- this card wants card in the graveyard. It is much more liekly to have 7 cards in the graveyard than to have 3+ red cards in hand with this deck. Using the Martyr changes the plan of attack immensely, using the sandstorm does not.
-Alex
It's a good article and a good deck, but there's some points I'd like to bring up. First, Edge of Autumn is not card draw. You're spending two cards (one if the land's not useful) to get one card.
There were two card choices that kind of bugged me. The first is Battlefield Scrounger over the fourth Springing Tiger. At best, it's one more mana for +1/+1, which isn't bad, but not spectacular either. However, in the early and mid games, you'll have a hard time activating Scrounger reliably without losing threshold. The fact that it recycles cards is almost entirely irrelevant; it only marginally improves your draws and only if you play an Edge.
The sideboarded Sandstorms also seem unusual. I see how they'd be used to wipe out aggro decks that overextend, but they also kill all of your creatures. Why not play something like Martyr of Sands that lets you keep your big men in play while their small creatures all die?
Fantastic article. I love that the article was not only card-by-card descriptions, but how each card works synergistically to create something altogether different than the usual RG deck. I wish I had read this before last night as I got my buttocks [/gump voice] handed to me facing this deck in TPDC. Not sure I coulda won, but I probably would've taken the Werebears more seriously in game 1 had I known what was coming.
As an aside (or ... more precisely, a request), I'd really like to read about your take on the general archetypes in PDC. How do you see the hierarchical relationships between aggro, aggro-control, true control, board control, midrange, etc.?
Keep up the great work!
Excelent article and exciting deck!
The way it uses edge and expanse to fuel the grave remembers much the tarmagoyf decks!!! I love it as well!
Rhad i love your Vanguard articles. keep up the great work Aloha bro
yeah, id have to agree with Rhad. its pretty much just kenju's deck. doesnt mention more than a few things about why playing online is great and explain whats already in the card text. id try to work in more of how the cards interact with each other. but overall, nice job for your first. u can only get better from here
Yeah, I did miss that, but I still think that your emphasis was way off. YOu spend 2600 words talking about the different guilds and how to match them up, then slip in a single 180 word paragraph talking about the actual dominant strategy. I didn't think that you talked about how awesome karoos are and how they and the signets are what enable yoru amazing multicoloured decks. But upon a reread I see you've made it the very finish of the article (when it should probably be at the very start).
Maybe you should give more weight to the things that you want the readers to pay more attention to.
Look at your article as similar to a newspaper column, and imagine that your readers will only read the first half of the article. In this article, you're still introducing the guilds to them!
Having said that, I don't want to be all negative. You do have a decent style, and it would probably be at least marginally worthwhile doing a similar writeup for TPF (even though that format is pretty well explored as well).
Mark, I don't think you were reading too carefully, since the URG option is covered in the "GUILDLESS IN RAV" section, and I also specifically mentioned that it was good because you get to drop the RAV guild and pick up great mono-colored cards instead.
And sorry if it wasn't clear, but I wasn't advocating Guild Per Set as the only option; indeed, I even stated that URG was one of my favorite archetypes!
Yeah, this article is well out of date, plus it misses the 'key' to RGD drafting: URG.
Go guildless in pack 1, but that's ok since green and blue are both full of strong mono-coloured cards. Then take the two best guild in the strongest pack. Then take the underdrafted guild in the final pack, Simic. Note how noone that follows yous 'guild per set' guideline will be taking simic?
So essentially, you give up a guild in the deepest and least guild bound set (Ravnica), and in exchange you get to be greedy in the best set and get an underdrafted guild in the final set.
A great intro to the whole clanning thang. This is the type of article that should be on the official MTGO site.
Yeah, it's late, but hopefully RGD will somehow become a retro summer hit. It seemed like a beloved format (and a beloved block in general), so there's a good chance that the closer we get to Rav block going out of print, the more folks will try to get in some nostalgia drafts. And everyone loves opening shocklands :)
Excellent article. You have a good writing style that kept me engaged, so keep it up!
Definitely well written and extensive... Only thing is.... you're a year late :P
Thanks for the Explination on this format!!!
still don't think i will play it!!!!
Rainbow Stairwell for the Win!!!!
ALRIGHT! Rainbow Stairwell. A personal favorite. Thanks for bringing this up to the community. Hopefully we can get RS FFA going.
Wow that is a pretty good compliment. I must agree though Pete is the man and he knows his stuff. Him and his wife are both judges and top notch people in general.
cool cards i like that art for your card very cool!
Don't forget nullstone gargoyle. If you have ramped up to 9 lands, often throught mana search its a game ender. A 4/5 flyer to beat them. Then save all of your cards to react to anytime they try to cast a second spell in their turn and actually get something.
Thanks for writing an article on this subject.
I was in the position of getting a Burning Wish and not actually knowing how to wish. I figured it out eventually, but my opponent probably got annoyed with me in the meanwhile. Of course, he probably didn't know how to wish either, or he might have said something when I explained my situation.
I ended up getting a Fireball with it, which I figured I could use either to finish the game, or to kill multiple tokens, depending on my needs. I think he got Fertile Imagination (and man is that card a beating in this format), so I had to go with the token-killing.
So far I've played fewer than two dozen games and seen Storm Herd three times (twice for me, once for an opponent). One time I got it on turn 3. My opponent got some one-for-one removal spell, which kept him alive at one life for a turn, then got Nausea on the next turn. Of course, at that point it was only a matter of time until I pulled a burn spell.
I'm curious to hear what people think about the optimal land distribution. I've been running 12/12/12/12/12, because (a) I'm lazy and (b) it ensures your domain spells will be powered up, but I saw one guy who favored Mountains and Swamps (Swamps would help Corrupt and Tendrils of Corruption, I guess), and another who played mostly or only Forests (I assume for things like Waiting in the Weeds and Beacon of Creation).
All in all, I think I prefer Jhoira Basic to Momir Basic. Maybe because I prefer empty boards to creature stalls. Or maybe it's just that I've done a lot better at it.
Nice article. I've been thinking about writing up something similar with my own ideas about playing Jhoira basic, but you hit most of the suggestions I would have had and quite a few more, besides.
One card that was an MVP for me as a result of Glittering Wish was Mystic Enforcer. By the time I cast him, he was already at Threshold, and a 6/6 flying creature with protection from black was very hard for my opponent to deal with. It helped that he was relatively cheap to cast, too.
I would dare say that the amount of money wizards gets from MTGO is sick already with out charging higher rates for redemption, and allowing bugs and customer service to go down the drain. My Foil Cabal Coffers have been regular coffers now for almost a month. I reported the bug, and got zero response other than a form letter. I have to say that MTGO is the only place Ive ever paid full price for booster packs. Between the cost and over zealous adepts i can see alot of people off the online version.
The content was good but your english is pretty poor.
I wish everyone who posted a comment was as thoughtful as you thescale but as we all know that will never happen. I'm still trying to figure out the balance of censonship. I want to allow people to speak their mind and the current rule is as long as there are no cursewords and your post has at least more than "so and so is a poopie head" I allow it. I will rethink this to include attacks towards the authors that provide no constructive input though. I need to talk to others and see what they think because a lot of people enjoy this site also for the freedom which the WOTC sites do not provide. But as always this site may be owned by me but is you all's site. I'll do whatever the majority wants most likely so feel free to sign up on the forums and speak your mind about what you want changed about this site.
Thanks again for the comments,
-Heath