You have to set up the rest of the play if you are going to praise targeting your op with Ancestral. Don't leave us hanging...Oh nevermind I realized after you were referring to the point in the article where he was under the bridge.
I was watching you play against Uba Stax and I was impressed when you targeted him with your Ancestral Recall. Such a good play, my friend! I was on the edge of my seat hoping you would draw Dack and when you finally did... yeah, I felt your pain. You were definitely robbed.
Keep up the streaming. You're a joy to watch. I just hope you can fix that echo when you talk. It's difficult to hear you a lot of the time because of it.
This "Paul Lekt" character sounds remarkably witty. :D My name if you are uncertain how to pronounce it rhymes with Night and Sight and Flight and well I hope that gives you the idea.
Re: Time and Tide. Sadly the creatures with phasing clause makes this card niche only. Unless you have something that gives your creatures phasing.
My own favorite idea for a FTV set would probably be Iconic Commander Staples: Living Death, Sylvan Library, Oblation (I know it isn't anymore but it was), Insurrection, Blatant Thievery, Rites of Flourishing, Lightning Greaves, Kodama's Reach, Warp World, Oblivion Stone, Aura Shards, Austere Command, Artisan of Kozilek, Chaos Warp, Damnation.
This isn't as creative by any means as yours. I merely think these cards are all both great in Commander (and notorious) and (I think) symbolize most of the strategies in the format with Time Stretch being the notable exception.
Living Death represents the animation cards, Sylvan Library deck manipulation, Oblation spot removal and a way to deal with broken commanders, Insurrection is the "I Win Now" representative, Blatant Thievery is the more subtle I steal your things card, Rites of Flourishing is the group hug representative, Lightning Greaves is the ubiquitous hexproof/shroud type equip in the deck specifically to protect your troublesome commander, Kodama's Reach is the archetype of ramp, Warp World represents the chaos deck player, Oblivion Stone is your colorless board wiper, Aura Shards is your answer to Artifact/Enchantment Heavy decks, Austere Command represents modular sweepers, Artisan Of Kozilek represents "fair" big fatties, Chaos Warp is red's iconic answer to stuff, and Damnation is Black's iconic sweeper.
Alternatively I might also find a FTV: Superfriends set to be interesting: Pick your 15 favorite planeswalkers. I know very lazy idea there but it would be intriguing purely from the point of view of getting ahold of some of the less easy to obtain pws. Like Ajani Vengeant, and Lily of the Veil and also those that just fun to play with together like Elspeth, the 2nd, and Garruk the 3rd/4th.
I would also love to see a set of cards that are impractical to print in Standard but should be made so as to complete certain formats like 4 color legends for commander.
If you recall the prior week I missed round 1 to being really hung-over and went 3-0 with the deck (didn't even lose a game if memory serves me). For this event, I managed to get up by 1pm east coast time and not miss round 1.
Montolio won that event in part because I split the prize with him. I defeated two shops decks to get there (3-0 in round four), but in all honesty I respect him for being a master of that deck, so I decided the extra packs were worth the value. I also don't think that I play in enough Dailies to even come close to earning the QPs for a promo, so I decided that since he needed it, it was more important to him. We had a nice chat, and I went off to bed as I had work in the morning and I really needed to sleep.
I sort of wish I had tried, I'd love to have one of my decks featured in your article. More than prizes, I play to get my name and decks featured in articles and event listings, as silly as it sounds.
I sort of identify with your situation. Until I found DE's that occur after my son goes to bed, I rarely found events to play in. And I am somewhat in the middle of skill-level as well, although I've been improving steadily. I didn't mind losing six tickets to not cash a Daily, I've even joined one I didn't want to play in just to give everyone else a chance to play! I'm not going to spend 12 tix to do that, and the three-round events appeal to absolutely nobody. Literally, I haven't seen even one person say that they like the 3-round DEs.
I really don't get the Eternal changes either. People who spend $1500+ on a deck don't want to set aside hours of their lives for a possible profit of 20PP and a draft set =/. We have been saying this for years. Can you imagine if SCG made packs and fun money the prize for a Legacy SCG Open?
I agree, I think Aggro decks can be too fast for Rally sometimes, but on the other hand Rally does often have 4 x Collected Company, which means that cards like Arashin Cleric (post-board) and Raptors are coming down thick and heavy to defend against Aggro. Arashin is particularly good with Rally because of the repeatable life-gain effect.
I am however surprised that you do not consider it to be a Tier 1 deck (in terms of power, perhaps not Tier 1 in terms of popularity). I believe that it can compete at the top levels of tournament play, but I respect your view that it is a Tier 2 deck even if I disagree with that perspective.
I am not scared of Rally. It's pretty easy to shut it down if you're expecting that deck to show up. And it will show up. In is current form, it's a metagame call. If you expect Red Green ramp/Devotion, Rally is a great deck. But I'm no where near convinced it's a legit Tier 1 deck when folks are prepared for it. There are so many cards you can ruin Rally's day with.
Abzan has nice answers in Hallowed Moonlight and Anafenza, plus good old Abzan Charm. There's Perilous Vault and Tormond's Crypt. Any Blue deck wins with counter magic. I just think Rally is too slow, even the value Rally + CC deck due to Languish to stop the value plan. See the problem is Den Protector. He makes main deck graveyard hate justifiable. Which also hates on Rally. Now that the deck is a known commodity and an ongoing concern, folks will be ready.
The great thing about Rally though is it gives aggressive decks a favorable match up, and forces midrange and control to skimp on hate cards for aggro. Some of the cards overlap but not by a lot.
I'll give Rally this, it has made life a lot more interesting!
I've seen the Gold Guys deck around but haven't actually had the chance to put it together. It seems like a lot of fun.
I covered Slivers some time ago but haven't revisited since: http://puremtgo.com/articles/becoming-modern-man-slivers
The deck is fun but I also found it quite frustrating. Removal is a real nightmare for the deck and as most of your creatures are 2 mana 1/1s your really need your 2-mana Lords to make your Slivers sizeable. Diffusion Sliver didn't not turn out to be an impressive solution to the removal problem in my experience either.
Collected Company seems like a nice addition to the deck, which seems worth a try. I look forward to hearing your experience with the deck.
If you are gonna plan on Rally then put a ton of work into it. It is definitely a good deck but there is a reason that it is not played in huge numbers. I will wait until after the tour to see what develops due to not having a ton of time to test right now. There are other poor match ups for the deck but it is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Thanks for the feedback, guys! Since writing this article and making the videos, I've acquired my copies of Day's Undoing and have been testing it in TTW as a 3-of. I think I'm ready to go down to 2. 3 seemed a bit unnecessary. I need more cards to help protect myself leading up to "going off". Day's Undoing just helps to keep the combo rolling once I've stabilized.
I've always had a love of Slivers and love seeing all the different lists. Dont forget that Slivers are also Legacy-playable! I took a Slivers list to Day 2 of Grand Prix New Jersey last year! Went 7-2 on Day 1. This is back when Treasure Cruise was legal in Legacy and UR Delver reigned supreme.
I've also got an Anafenza Slivers Tiny Leaders deck.
Anyhoo, I enjoy seeing people still trying new things in Modern. So much untapped potential and FUN decks still out there!
To clarify, I definitely will not give up the game entirely nor sell out my whole collection. I play a lot of casual games and fun formats, and I also love the Player Run Events.
What will change is that I will not enter Constructed Dailies anymore until the policy changes, nor other constructed tournaments.
I refuse to send $$$ to Wizards which will send them the wrong message, especially during these 3 next critical months when even some staff in Wizards must be a little nervous to see what will happen. After 3 months, I want Wizards to feel the pain of their decision and realise it was a bad mistake for the shareholders.
Stand up and voice your opinion! But remember that actions, not words, speak far louder and cannot be ignored. Words are wind. Actions have real impact. Loss of $ to the shareholders cannot be brushed aside.
Sadly, I don't think this will happen. There are too many die-hard players who are not even close to reaching their pain threshold beyond which they cannot accept. Just look at the ludicrous EV of the current 2-man/woman events which still fire!
As for me, I absolutely REFUSE to be hit over the head with a rake the size of the Colossus of Sardia.
This kind of thinking has a similar problem to think of the game as an investment.
Both paradigms of course work for a limited time anyway but eventually you will find yourself either pulling up stakes or losing money. Because in some senses the game is rigged to do so.
I think it is perfectly OK to complain to WOTC that they are asking for too much money while still (grudgingly giving it to them) as long as one understands the potential conflict there since the mixed message will probably tell them they are right and the complainers are wrong.
But it would take a really concerted effort on the players' parts to force WOTC to reconsider this because it does impinge on their bottom line and that means jobs are at stake.
Yes the policy seems unfair and the changes are bad for the players but are they really so bad that you will quit playing altogether rather than just accept them and move on? That is the question EACH and every MTGO player has to answer.
And it may be that there are other changes in the works that these changes have prepared the way for that may mitigate some of the pain of these changes. I am not saying this is the case but time and again we see statements by WOTC people indicating or implying a certain amount of hands being tied by circumstance.
If the EV changing for the worse for example allows some more creative and positive prizes later on, I for one think it could worth it. Enough so that I don't want to give up before giving the company the opportunity to show us WHY they changed things.
I realize this is basically taking a risk. They could just be, being greedy bastages. The fact is that we can't know what their motives are no matter what is said because people are not by and large telepathic.
But if I am right and good things can come from this as implied by Lee's article and Worth's statement then perhaps we should not be so quick to run to the casinos whom we KNOW are greedy bastages and who will bilk us of every cent if they can devise a legal and or acceptable way to do so.
Lastly I don't see how NOT joining the new "dailys" will send any sort of message at all. If they don't fire they will be removed, as happened with premier events and other events that have not performed well enough.
Don't join them because they are a bad gamble and a bad deal for you if that is true. But don't try to boycott them to send a message as that will have pretty much zero impact on anyone but you.
DO be vocal and complain. There is nothing wrong with letting wizards know what you think. (As long as you maintain being polite and reasonable sounding.)
Very enjoyable article. I haven't been able to watch all the videos yet but the bits I've seen were entertaining.
This is a deck I've been interested in trying for a while but fell off my radar eventually.
I hadn't thought about using Day's Undoing in this kind of deck but it does seem like an excellent home - negating the end of turn stipulation. However, you are going to have to find an alternative win condition as Day's Undoing shuffles your opponent's graveyard too (unless you plan to exile their graveyard somehow). I suppose you can just move Laboratory Maniac to the main to help resolve that.
I'm not sure on the number of Day's Undoing you want but I imagine it is quite low, probably just 1 or 2, because I really don't think you want to cast it until you are going off (though I could be wrong). It helps prolong your combo but I don't think it's a good way to set it up.
Technically I wasn't at work or even supposed to be on call. I wouldn't have minded if it had been during the first draft. That deck wasn't great. But that blue red deck would have been good had I not lost my mind. I went 0 and 3 with. Deck I should have gone 3 and 0 and had fun doing it. Had I not been interrupted and then went on tilt I could have won all three matches.
But that's why they play the matches. God knows what distractions my opponents had to overcome. Crocodiles? Rabid bunnies? Obnoxious '60s surf movies on full volume? So in fairness the obstacle course of everyday life is part of playing the game online. I just wish I had one time where I got to play competitive Magic without a major distraction running me off course.
Then again maybe this makes me a better player because I'm learning to play rough distractions. Or maybe it just sucks eggs.
The new changes negatively affect me, even though I am both a constructed and a limited player.
The reason is because the EV for Dailies has been lowered for me, because I am not in the Top Tier of people who can go infinite. I enjoyed the Dailies, and I do not like 8-4 Single Elim.
For me, part of the fun of this game is not only playing, but playing competitively to try to break even.
Now I don't feel in the mood to join the Dailies, because it feels like I am getting screwed over by the unwelcome RAKE. I wish to voice my opinion by not joining Dailies, in protest of the Rake.
I encourage you all to please put your money where your mouth is. I have no sympathy for people who whine about the -EV, but then continue to pay Wizards $$$ on events of a bad value. The next few months are critical to send Wizards the right message. If you continue to play in Constructed Dailies despite the -EV, then you have no right to complain. Just suck it up and pay, if that is your approach you wish to take. And quit whining. You only have yourself to blame if Wizards do not change their policy.
Wizards are about maximising their bottom line (or trying to). This is not a criticism of Wizards. They are a corporation. Corporations aim to maximise profit. This is how the world works. As players, we must work alongside such an approach.
I shall go to the casino instead which takes smaller rake. I choose black or red number on roulette wheel.
Rally the Ancestors is the deck which I plan to play during the next year of Standard. It is very potent, fun to play, and it has almost no expensive cards from Theros Block (which is a great thing given that rotation is around the corner).
In my opinion:
1. Rally deck is a NIGHTMARE matchup for the poor midrange and ramp decks. In other words, the Rally deck is the natural predator of midrange and ramp decks.
2. Rally deck is an AVERAGE-bad matchup for control and aggro opponents (in other words, the matchup is average-favorable for the Rally deck). However, the more counterspell-heavy build the control player chooses, the better the chances will be. Players running all 4 x Clash of Wills and all 4 x Dissolve will be the ones better placed to cope.
Notes:
1. Post-sideboard things can change (either for or against the Rally deck depending on a range of factors), but I believe my comments above reflect the starting position for Game 1. If anyone disagrees, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
2. These comments are not based on playtesting in actual games, but based on "playtesting in my head".
3. My comments are rooted in generalities. For example, of course some builds of each archetype will vary the above matchup predictions somewhat (for example, Abzan Aggro is the aggro deck which is particularly well placed to defeat Rally decks Game 1, due to the 4 x Anafenza the Foremost present in Game 1). So please don't breathe fire down my throat and say "NO!!! Aggro decks are the natural predator of the Rally deck!!" just because your aggro deck happens to be Abzan Aggro).
The biggest downside to the deck? The mana base is slightly shaky (and if you shore up the mana base by adjusting it, you must reduce power elsewhere in the deck). This is particularly the case if your Elvish Mystic is removed immediately. Satyr Wayfinder does help a LOT but often you will not draw it early, and you might be stuck on 2 mana. Being stuck on 2 mana is complete death for this deck, don't kid yourselves in any fantasies here. You absolutely need to hit 3 mana before the deck can function, and with only 20 lands this type of mana screw WILL happen a reasonable amount. In every single game, you want to see Satyr Wayfinder in your opening hand, but of course reality has its own way of getting in the way here! :)
Amidst all of the other decks people have talked about slotting Day's into in Modern, oddly enough, Time Warp hasn't been one of them. I'm intrigued to see where it could go?
Also, if you don't mind the linkage, this is the article I wrote about the Time Warp deck on this very site way back in 2013. Your pre-Origins build is similar to this one, so for those that want to learn more about how to use, and how to fight, the deck, be sure to check it out.
Darn I thought I was doing badly in draft and then i read your article. I also tried to draft while at work. lol. Not a good idea luckily I got a foil Woodland Bellower to get my tix back. Good Article. Keep it up.
You have to set up the rest of the play if you are going to praise targeting your op with Ancestral. Don't leave us hanging...Oh nevermind I realized after you were referring to the point in the article where he was under the bridge.
Is there a reason snapcaster isn't on any of the lists?
As for the change to Leg/Vin/Paup: It's also much worse value than previous
I was watching you play against Uba Stax and I was impressed when you targeted him with your Ancestral Recall. Such a good play, my friend! I was on the edge of my seat hoping you would draw Dack and when you finally did... yeah, I felt your pain. You were definitely robbed.
Keep up the streaming. You're a joy to watch. I just hope you can fix that echo when you talk. It's difficult to hear you a lot of the time because of it.
This "Paul Lekt" character sounds remarkably witty. :D My name if you are uncertain how to pronounce it rhymes with Night and Sight and Flight and well I hope that gives you the idea.
Re: Time and Tide. Sadly the creatures with phasing clause makes this card niche only. Unless you have something that gives your creatures phasing.
My own favorite idea for a FTV set would probably be Iconic Commander Staples: Living Death, Sylvan Library, Oblation (I know it isn't anymore but it was), Insurrection, Blatant Thievery, Rites of Flourishing, Lightning Greaves, Kodama's Reach, Warp World, Oblivion Stone, Aura Shards, Austere Command, Artisan of Kozilek, Chaos Warp, Damnation.
This isn't as creative by any means as yours. I merely think these cards are all both great in Commander (and notorious) and (I think) symbolize most of the strategies in the format with Time Stretch being the notable exception.
Living Death represents the animation cards, Sylvan Library deck manipulation, Oblation spot removal and a way to deal with broken commanders, Insurrection is the "I Win Now" representative, Blatant Thievery is the more subtle I steal your things card, Rites of Flourishing is the group hug representative, Lightning Greaves is the ubiquitous hexproof/shroud type equip in the deck specifically to protect your troublesome commander, Kodama's Reach is the archetype of ramp, Warp World represents the chaos deck player, Oblivion Stone is your colorless board wiper, Aura Shards is your answer to Artifact/Enchantment Heavy decks, Austere Command represents modular sweepers, Artisan Of Kozilek represents "fair" big fatties, Chaos Warp is red's iconic answer to stuff, and Damnation is Black's iconic sweeper.
Alternatively I might also find a FTV: Superfriends set to be interesting: Pick your 15 favorite planeswalkers. I know very lazy idea there but it would be intriguing purely from the point of view of getting ahold of some of the less easy to obtain pws. Like Ajani Vengeant, and Lily of the Veil and also those that just fun to play with together like Elspeth, the 2nd, and Garruk the 3rd/4th.
I would also love to see a set of cards that are impractical to print in Standard but should be made so as to complete certain formats like 4 color legends for commander.
If you recall the prior week I missed round 1 to being really hung-over and went 3-0 with the deck (didn't even lose a game if memory serves me). For this event, I managed to get up by 1pm east coast time and not miss round 1.
Montolio won that event in part because I split the prize with him. I defeated two shops decks to get there (3-0 in round four), but in all honesty I respect him for being a master of that deck, so I decided the extra packs were worth the value. I also don't think that I play in enough Dailies to even come close to earning the QPs for a promo, so I decided that since he needed it, it was more important to him. We had a nice chat, and I went off to bed as I had work in the morning and I really needed to sleep.
I sort of wish I had tried, I'd love to have one of my decks featured in your article. More than prizes, I play to get my name and decks featured in articles and event listings, as silly as it sounds.
I sort of identify with your situation. Until I found DE's that occur after my son goes to bed, I rarely found events to play in. And I am somewhat in the middle of skill-level as well, although I've been improving steadily. I didn't mind losing six tickets to not cash a Daily, I've even joined one I didn't want to play in just to give everyone else a chance to play! I'm not going to spend 12 tix to do that, and the three-round events appeal to absolutely nobody. Literally, I haven't seen even one person say that they like the 3-round DEs.
I've imagined SCG going bankrupt more than once :p
I really don't get the Eternal changes either. People who spend $1500+ on a deck don't want to set aside hours of their lives for a possible profit of 20PP and a draft set =/. We have been saying this for years. Can you imagine if SCG made packs and fun money the prize for a Legacy SCG Open?
Calm Little Buddy, I loved reading your post.
I agree, I think Aggro decks can be too fast for Rally sometimes, but on the other hand Rally does often have 4 x Collected Company, which means that cards like Arashin Cleric (post-board) and Raptors are coming down thick and heavy to defend against Aggro. Arashin is particularly good with Rally because of the repeatable life-gain effect.
I am however surprised that you do not consider it to be a Tier 1 deck (in terms of power, perhaps not Tier 1 in terms of popularity). I believe that it can compete at the top levels of tournament play, but I respect your view that it is a Tier 2 deck even if I disagree with that perspective.
I am not scared of Rally. It's pretty easy to shut it down if you're expecting that deck to show up. And it will show up. In is current form, it's a metagame call. If you expect Red Green ramp/Devotion, Rally is a great deck. But I'm no where near convinced it's a legit Tier 1 deck when folks are prepared for it. There are so many cards you can ruin Rally's day with.
Abzan has nice answers in Hallowed Moonlight and Anafenza, plus good old Abzan Charm. There's Perilous Vault and Tormond's Crypt. Any Blue deck wins with counter magic. I just think Rally is too slow, even the value Rally + CC deck due to Languish to stop the value plan. See the problem is Den Protector. He makes main deck graveyard hate justifiable. Which also hates on Rally. Now that the deck is a known commodity and an ongoing concern, folks will be ready.
The great thing about Rally though is it gives aggressive decks a favorable match up, and forces midrange and control to skimp on hate cards for aggro. Some of the cards overlap but not by a lot.
I'll give Rally this, it has made life a lot more interesting!
Nice article!
I've seen the Gold Guys deck around but haven't actually had the chance to put it together. It seems like a lot of fun.
I covered Slivers some time ago but haven't revisited since:
http://puremtgo.com/articles/becoming-modern-man-slivers
The deck is fun but I also found it quite frustrating. Removal is a real nightmare for the deck and as most of your creatures are 2 mana 1/1s your really need your 2-mana Lords to make your Slivers sizeable. Diffusion Sliver didn't not turn out to be an impressive solution to the removal problem in my experience either.
Collected Company seems like a nice addition to the deck, which seems worth a try. I look forward to hearing your experience with the deck.
If you are gonna plan on Rally then put a ton of work into it. It is definitely a good deck but there is a reason that it is not played in huge numbers. I will wait until after the tour to see what develops due to not having a ton of time to test right now. There are other poor match ups for the deck but it is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
You're welcome!
Thanks for posting these helpful stats. Very useful.
Thanks for the feedback, guys! Since writing this article and making the videos, I've acquired my copies of Day's Undoing and have been testing it in TTW as a 3-of. I think I'm ready to go down to 2. 3 seemed a bit unnecessary. I need more cards to help protect myself leading up to "going off". Day's Undoing just helps to keep the combo rolling once I've stabilized.
I've always had a love of Slivers and love seeing all the different lists. Dont forget that Slivers are also Legacy-playable! I took a Slivers list to Day 2 of Grand Prix New Jersey last year! Went 7-2 on Day 1. This is back when Treasure Cruise was legal in Legacy and UR Delver reigned supreme.
I've also got an Anafenza Slivers Tiny Leaders deck.
Anyhoo, I enjoy seeing people still trying new things in Modern. So much untapped potential and FUN decks still out there!
Paul, you make excellent points here.
To clarify, I definitely will not give up the game entirely nor sell out my whole collection. I play a lot of casual games and fun formats, and I also love the Player Run Events.
What will change is that I will not enter Constructed Dailies anymore until the policy changes, nor other constructed tournaments.
I refuse to send $$$ to Wizards which will send them the wrong message, especially during these 3 next critical months when even some staff in Wizards must be a little nervous to see what will happen. After 3 months, I want Wizards to feel the pain of their decision and realise it was a bad mistake for the shareholders.
Stand up and voice your opinion! But remember that actions, not words, speak far louder and cannot be ignored. Words are wind. Actions have real impact. Loss of $ to the shareholders cannot be brushed aside.
Sadly, I don't think this will happen. There are too many die-hard players who are not even close to reaching their pain threshold beyond which they cannot accept. Just look at the ludicrous EV of the current 2-man/woman events which still fire!
As for me, I absolutely REFUSE to be hit over the head with a rake the size of the Colossus of Sardia.
This kind of thinking has a similar problem to think of the game as an investment.
Both paradigms of course work for a limited time anyway but eventually you will find yourself either pulling up stakes or losing money. Because in some senses the game is rigged to do so.
I think it is perfectly OK to complain to WOTC that they are asking for too much money while still (grudgingly giving it to them) as long as one understands the potential conflict there since the mixed message will probably tell them they are right and the complainers are wrong.
But it would take a really concerted effort on the players' parts to force WOTC to reconsider this because it does impinge on their bottom line and that means jobs are at stake.
Yes the policy seems unfair and the changes are bad for the players but are they really so bad that you will quit playing altogether rather than just accept them and move on? That is the question EACH and every MTGO player has to answer.
And it may be that there are other changes in the works that these changes have prepared the way for that may mitigate some of the pain of these changes. I am not saying this is the case but time and again we see statements by WOTC people indicating or implying a certain amount of hands being tied by circumstance.
If the EV changing for the worse for example allows some more creative and positive prizes later on, I for one think it could worth it. Enough so that I don't want to give up before giving the company the opportunity to show us WHY they changed things.
I realize this is basically taking a risk. They could just be, being greedy bastages. The fact is that we can't know what their motives are no matter what is said because people are not by and large telepathic.
But if I am right and good things can come from this as implied by Lee's article and Worth's statement then perhaps we should not be so quick to run to the casinos whom we KNOW are greedy bastages and who will bilk us of every cent if they can devise a legal and or acceptable way to do so.
Lastly I don't see how NOT joining the new "dailys" will send any sort of message at all. If they don't fire they will be removed, as happened with premier events and other events that have not performed well enough.
Don't join them because they are a bad gamble and a bad deal for you if that is true. But don't try to boycott them to send a message as that will have pretty much zero impact on anyone but you.
DO be vocal and complain. There is nothing wrong with letting wizards know what you think. (As long as you maintain being polite and reasonable sounding.)
Very enjoyable article. I haven't been able to watch all the videos yet but the bits I've seen were entertaining.
This is a deck I've been interested in trying for a while but fell off my radar eventually.
I hadn't thought about using Day's Undoing in this kind of deck but it does seem like an excellent home - negating the end of turn stipulation. However, you are going to have to find an alternative win condition as Day's Undoing shuffles your opponent's graveyard too (unless you plan to exile their graveyard somehow). I suppose you can just move Laboratory Maniac to the main to help resolve that.
I'm not sure on the number of Day's Undoing you want but I imagine it is quite low, probably just 1 or 2, because I really don't think you want to cast it until you are going off (though I could be wrong). It helps prolong your combo but I don't think it's a good way to set it up.
Technically I wasn't at work or even supposed to be on call. I wouldn't have minded if it had been during the first draft. That deck wasn't great. But that blue red deck would have been good had I not lost my mind. I went 0 and 3 with. Deck I should have gone 3 and 0 and had fun doing it. Had I not been interrupted and then went on tilt I could have won all three matches.
But that's why they play the matches. God knows what distractions my opponents had to overcome. Crocodiles? Rabid bunnies? Obnoxious '60s surf movies on full volume? So in fairness the obstacle course of everyday life is part of playing the game online. I just wish I had one time where I got to play competitive Magic without a major distraction running me off course.
Then again maybe this makes me a better player because I'm learning to play rough distractions. Or maybe it just sucks eggs.
The new changes negatively affect me, even though I am both a constructed and a limited player.
The reason is because the EV for Dailies has been lowered for me, because I am not in the Top Tier of people who can go infinite. I enjoyed the Dailies, and I do not like 8-4 Single Elim.
For me, part of the fun of this game is not only playing, but playing competitively to try to break even.
Now I don't feel in the mood to join the Dailies, because it feels like I am getting screwed over by the unwelcome RAKE. I wish to voice my opinion by not joining Dailies, in protest of the Rake.
I encourage you all to please put your money where your mouth is. I have no sympathy for people who whine about the -EV, but then continue to pay Wizards $$$ on events of a bad value. The next few months are critical to send Wizards the right message. If you continue to play in Constructed Dailies despite the -EV, then you have no right to complain. Just suck it up and pay, if that is your approach you wish to take. And quit whining. You only have yourself to blame if Wizards do not change their policy.
Wizards are about maximising their bottom line (or trying to). This is not a criticism of Wizards. They are a corporation. Corporations aim to maximise profit. This is how the world works. As players, we must work alongside such an approach.
I shall go to the casino instead which takes smaller rake. I choose black or red number on roulette wheel.
Thanks Marcus, great article.
Rally the Ancestors is the deck which I plan to play during the next year of Standard. It is very potent, fun to play, and it has almost no expensive cards from Theros Block (which is a great thing given that rotation is around the corner).
In my opinion:
1. Rally deck is a NIGHTMARE matchup for the poor midrange and ramp decks. In other words, the Rally deck is the natural predator of midrange and ramp decks.
2. Rally deck is an AVERAGE-bad matchup for control and aggro opponents (in other words, the matchup is average-favorable for the Rally deck). However, the more counterspell-heavy build the control player chooses, the better the chances will be. Players running all 4 x Clash of Wills and all 4 x Dissolve will be the ones better placed to cope.
Notes:
1. Post-sideboard things can change (either for or against the Rally deck depending on a range of factors), but I believe my comments above reflect the starting position for Game 1. If anyone disagrees, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.
2. These comments are not based on playtesting in actual games, but based on "playtesting in my head".
3. My comments are rooted in generalities. For example, of course some builds of each archetype will vary the above matchup predictions somewhat (for example, Abzan Aggro is the aggro deck which is particularly well placed to defeat Rally decks Game 1, due to the 4 x Anafenza the Foremost present in Game 1). So please don't breathe fire down my throat and say "NO!!! Aggro decks are the natural predator of the Rally deck!!" just because your aggro deck happens to be Abzan Aggro).
The biggest downside to the deck? The mana base is slightly shaky (and if you shore up the mana base by adjusting it, you must reduce power elsewhere in the deck). This is particularly the case if your Elvish Mystic is removed immediately. Satyr Wayfinder does help a LOT but often you will not draw it early, and you might be stuck on 2 mana. Being stuck on 2 mana is complete death for this deck, don't kid yourselves in any fantasies here. You absolutely need to hit 3 mana before the deck can function, and with only 20 lands this type of mana screw WILL happen a reasonable amount. In every single game, you want to see Satyr Wayfinder in your opening hand, but of course reality has its own way of getting in the way here! :)
Have fun,
Michelle
Amidst all of the other decks people have talked about slotting Day's into in Modern, oddly enough, Time Warp hasn't been one of them. I'm intrigued to see where it could go?
Also, if you don't mind the linkage, this is the article I wrote about the Time Warp deck on this very site way back in 2013. Your pre-Origins build is similar to this one, so for those that want to learn more about how to use, and how to fight, the deck, be sure to check it out.
http://puremtgo.com/articles/modern-perspective-studying-time-walk
Yeah, but those events are still bad. That update happened quickly, and I had hoped for something better.
Oh well! There's always TV.
Darn I thought I was doing badly in draft and then i read your article. I also tried to draft while at work. lol. Not a good idea luckily I got a foil Woodland Bellower to get my tix back. Good Article. Keep it up.