Brainstorm can be pretty bad if you don't have a critical mass of shuffle effects. Going by the latest meta reports, it looks like less than 40% of delver decks are running it.
Josh for your terrible jokes, AJ for your mean decks. :p <3
To answer the question of the week, yeah I caught some of the CC despite myself. It seemed like a pretty cohesive team but there wasn't the appearance of much coaching as there were in prior years. It seems like many of the members didn't bother to help each other during the later part of the tourney.
That said, the most amusing part was for me, the ironroot chef judging stuff. Very funny.
@Bertro: It seems like there are a number of Mardu and Azbhan cards that may fit if you are tweaking the deck but Modern has so many choices it is good to be careful tweaking a deck with cards from a new set.
@Marcus: Nicely written though I would loved to have seen a few more deck lists illustrating the changes you talk about. Black white has a lot of powerhouse potential and much of its resilience is in the sideboard too. Perhaps you could compare a casual version vs a more competitive version complete with sb. Just some thoughts. Keep up the writing.
That's a great question, right off the bat Take Up Arms caught my eye. Though 5 mana is a little much. Murderous Cut also seems interesting. There are a lot of spells in the deck and the Pack Rat outlet. Plus you can always add the other fetches to fill up the yard. I will definitely experiment with certain things.
Real cards are just cardboard with ink on them so you're not really paying for the material, but the ability to interact with other people. Computer programing is difficult and it takes a lot of programing to get these cards to work online so I don't mind paying for an electronic lease.
I swear I had something written up for it but it just disappeared along the way... It's only one of the most powerful rares in the format. I will see if I can rectify that. Thanks for pointing that out.
That's completely correct. There may not be a single best deck in any particular tournament, but I believe that there is an optimal version of each competitive deck for a particular tournament. If you have the correct metagame prediction, this method will give you the best odds at winning with that deck.
Very good read. The thing with this system is that it forces you to think about your deck in regards to the meta at the time of the tournament. As the meta changes, so will your deck to give you the best percentages against the field.
ClickOnce is a platform for installing software, not a component that is itself damaged.
When a clickonce application fails to update, the cache files for that application, and that application only, can become corrupted. When v4 won't even load the updater, that's the reason why.
It seems you got your icons swapped around, they changed the new one to match the old one at some point.
If you're looking for a low(er) cost, off-the-wall format, you could always try to play Old School a.k.a. '93/'94. The premise of the format is that it's a throw back to the earliest days of Magic. You get to play some really cool cards that, for whatever reason, have been pushed out of competitive play. Online would need rules tweaks to adapt the format from paper, but you could start with something like this.
-Legal Sets- (all cards originally printed in the following sets are legal)
Alpha/Beta/Unlimited
Revised
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
-Restricted List-
Ancestral Recall
Balance
Black Lotus
Black Vise
Braingeyser
Channel
Demonic Tutor
Fork
Library of Alexandria
Mana Drain
Mana Vault
Maze of Ith
Mind Twist
Mirror Universe
Mishra's Workshop
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Power Artifact
Recall
Regrowth
Sol Ring
Strip Mine
Time Vault
Time Walk
Timetwister
Wheel of Fortune
As the card pool is static, the B&R list is often tweaked from event to event in order to keep the format from completely stagnating.
There's actually a ton of viable strategies as well. Of course, there's the classics of Weissman's "The Deck" and Crusade/Armageddon powered White Weenie. There's also other aggressive strategies like Zoo. There's even a Jund Midrange deck with awesome stuff like Hypnotic Specter, Sedge Troll and Juzam Djinn. There's a control reanimator deck dubbed "The Machine" packing Triskelion, Tetravus, Animate Dead, Hell's Caretaker, Bazaar of Baghdad, and Jalum Tome.
Other possible formats in the same vein that have been tossed around but not really played would be Pre-Foil (everything before 7th/Urza Block) and Pre-Modern (everything before 8th/Mirrodin).
The 'fixes' suggested did not resolve the issue.
And MTGO is the only software displaying any issues.
*edit*
I did find a resolution, now.
But it was far simpler.
I just needed to delete the old client.
Somehow the latest update had my computer trying to run the old client again.
It was just the last update that started the issue.
Kind of a bummer for the Community Cup weekend to be made off limits by a login screen that crashes and pops up an error report after about a second.
"The task 'Loading Card Data...' failed to complete."
And yes I've sent the error reports.
In addition to getting the word out more, you might be able to draw in more newish players by offering both regular and "lite" Vintage in a rotation.
And possibly other variations.
E.I. Have the main events be full on no holds barred Vintage.
And have alternate events where the more intimidating decks are put on the shelf.
to let newer folks dip their toes into the card pool and warm up to the full brutal glory.
If you want to get attendance up for the Vintage events, I think the best thing you can do is advertise it on The Mana Drain. It's probably the single largest Vintage Magic community on the internet, and I would venture to guess that a majority of the regulars there have bought into MODO. I've heard mention of BMR in a few threads, but a dedicated announcement for each tournament would probably go a long way toward getting the word out and the players in.
Pure already has Gods and off-tribe lords. It's not "pure" the way you intend it. I'm not going to take away cards (many, many cards) that operate under the same guidelines of the lords. Because:
1. It's not necessary by meta, it'd be just an aesthetic choice, and I don't like that aesthetic nor think it's conceptually justified.
2. It'd involve yet another complicate rule to remember and enforce (not automatically), and Pure is already on the verge of collapse under its own complexity.
3. The environment is already restricted enough, and constantly losing cards week by week.
4. Pure has to be the terrain for experimentation, so THAT's where I should be free to break Primeval Bounty. Because I can't really do it anywhere else (Regular is a jungle, Underdog limits my tribal options). So what you ask me is: "Let's do this change that hinders creativity across the entire tournament and pleases just one player (that I know of) based on his personal aesthetic sense". Again, no, but thanks for asking.
The day there will be 20+ regular players asking for the ban of Awakening Zone and Spawning Pit in Pure, because they can't tolerate them anymore, we'll talk about it again.
In the meantime, please refrain from any comment or remark or quip on the topic to your opponents, both in their games or in the room, since those players have all the rights to create within the established rules, and their personal aesthetics might consider aberrant some of the choices you make, for all you know. As Winter noted, criticism is very helpful. Yet now when it doesn't push towards objective betterment, and it's rather just based on subjective opinions, along the lines of, "This is wrong because it's ugly to me".
They will fire, but you have to login at the right time, or sometimes be a little patient. I usually play 2-3 on the weekend, and see lots more than that fire. I prefer Swiss since I like force the 5-color deck which I call GateGate, even though I tend to go 3-0 or 2-1 in the format most of the time. It really is my favorite format right now - much better than M15 or Theros Block. I am hoping Khans will shake it up, and my best guess is my 5-color deck will still be available!
Brainstorm can be pretty bad if you don't have a critical mass of shuffle effects. Going by the latest meta reports, it looks like less than 40% of delver decks are running it.
You are both vile men :p
Josh for your terrible jokes, AJ for your mean decks. :p <3
To answer the question of the week, yeah I caught some of the CC despite myself. It seemed like a pretty cohesive team but there wasn't the appearance of much coaching as there were in prior years. It seems like many of the members didn't bother to help each other during the later part of the tourney.
That said, the most amusing part was for me, the ironroot chef judging stuff. Very funny.
"The outpouring of a deep seated hatred of playing magic, and a desire to spread that feeling to all those they encounter" -Great line
I wonder why Rollie prefers Preordain and Ponder to Brain Storm?
Thanks Paul, I can definitely try that. I tend to lean more towards the competitive end though.
@Bertro: It seems like there are a number of Mardu and Azbhan cards that may fit if you are tweaking the deck but Modern has so many choices it is good to be careful tweaking a deck with cards from a new set.
@Marcus: Nicely written though I would loved to have seen a few more deck lists illustrating the changes you talk about. Black white has a lot of powerhouse potential and much of its resilience is in the sideboard too. Perhaps you could compare a casual version vs a more competitive version complete with sb. Just some thoughts. Keep up the writing.
Thanks for the shout-out. That other control deck looks just as annoying as mine to play against, haha. If only we had manlands :(
That's a great question, right off the bat Take Up Arms caught my eye. Though 5 mana is a little much. Murderous Cut also seems interesting. There are a lot of spells in the deck and the Pack Rat outlet. Plus you can always add the other fetches to fill up the yard. I will definitely experiment with certain things.
Do you see any changes that you might make to the deck now that Khans has been spoiled?
Real cards are just cardboard with ink on them so you're not really paying for the material, but the ability to interact with other people. Computer programing is difficult and it takes a lot of programing to get these cards to work online so I don't mind paying for an electronic lease.
I swear I had something written up for it but it just disappeared along the way... It's only one of the most powerful rares in the format. I will see if I can rectify that. Thanks for pointing that out.
That's what is missing, Spectra Ward!
That's completely correct. There may not be a single best deck in any particular tournament, but I believe that there is an optimal version of each competitive deck for a particular tournament. If you have the correct metagame prediction, this method will give you the best odds at winning with that deck.
Very good read. The thing with this system is that it forces you to think about your deck in regards to the meta at the time of the tournament. As the meta changes, so will your deck to give you the best percentages against the field.
ClickOnce is a platform for installing software, not a component that is itself damaged.
When a clickonce application fails to update, the cache files for that application, and that application only, can become corrupted. When v4 won't even load the updater, that's the reason why.
It seems you got your icons swapped around, they changed the new one to match the old one at some point.
If you're looking for a low(er) cost, off-the-wall format, you could always try to play Old School a.k.a. '93/'94. The premise of the format is that it's a throw back to the earliest days of Magic. You get to play some really cool cards that, for whatever reason, have been pushed out of competitive play. Online would need rules tweaks to adapt the format from paper, but you could start with something like this.
-Legal Sets- (all cards originally printed in the following sets are legal)
Alpha/Beta/Unlimited
Revised
Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Legends
The Dark
Fallen Empires
-Restricted List-
Ancestral Recall
Balance
Black Lotus
Black Vise
Braingeyser
Channel
Demonic Tutor
Fork
Library of Alexandria
Mana Drain
Mana Vault
Maze of Ith
Mind Twist
Mirror Universe
Mishra's Workshop
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Power Artifact
Recall
Regrowth
Sol Ring
Strip Mine
Time Vault
Time Walk
Timetwister
Wheel of Fortune
As the card pool is static, the B&R list is often tweaked from event to event in order to keep the format from completely stagnating.
There's actually a ton of viable strategies as well. Of course, there's the classics of Weissman's "The Deck" and Crusade/Armageddon powered White Weenie. There's also other aggressive strategies like Zoo. There's even a Jund Midrange deck with awesome stuff like Hypnotic Specter, Sedge Troll and Juzam Djinn. There's a control reanimator deck dubbed "The Machine" packing Triskelion, Tetravus, Animate Dead, Hell's Caretaker, Bazaar of Baghdad, and Jalum Tome.
Other possible formats in the same vein that have been tossed around but not really played would be Pre-Foil (everything before 7th/Urza Block) and Pre-Modern (everything before 8th/Mirrodin).
The 'fixes' suggested did not resolve the issue.
And MTGO is the only software displaying any issues.
*edit*
I did find a resolution, now.
But it was far simpler.
I just needed to delete the old client.
Somehow the latest update had my computer trying to run the old client again.
Google "How to Clear ClickOnce Application Cache"
This should resolve your problem. Your installation is corrupted, but a standard uninstall will not get all of the files.
It was just the last update that started the issue.
Kind of a bummer for the Community Cup weekend to be made off limits by a login screen that crashes and pops up an error report after about a second.
"The task 'Loading Card Data...' failed to complete."
And yes I've sent the error reports.
In addition to getting the word out more, you might be able to draw in more newish players by offering both regular and "lite" Vintage in a rotation.
And possibly other variations.
E.I. Have the main events be full on no holds barred Vintage.
And have alternate events where the more intimidating decks are put on the shelf.
to let newer folks dip their toes into the card pool and warm up to the full brutal glory.
If you want to get attendance up for the Vintage events, I think the best thing you can do is advertise it on The Mana Drain. It's probably the single largest Vintage Magic community on the internet, and I would venture to guess that a majority of the regulars there have bought into MODO. I've heard mention of BMR in a few threads, but a dedicated announcement for each tournament would probably go a long way toward getting the word out and the players in.
You probably need to clear your clickonce application cache.
Okay, you asked.
The answer is: sorry, no.
Pure already has Gods and off-tribe lords. It's not "pure" the way you intend it. I'm not going to take away cards (many, many cards) that operate under the same guidelines of the lords. Because:
1. It's not necessary by meta, it'd be just an aesthetic choice, and I don't like that aesthetic nor think it's conceptually justified.
2. It'd involve yet another complicate rule to remember and enforce (not automatically), and Pure is already on the verge of collapse under its own complexity.
3. The environment is already restricted enough, and constantly losing cards week by week.
4. Pure has to be the terrain for experimentation, so THAT's where I should be free to break Primeval Bounty. Because I can't really do it anywhere else (Regular is a jungle, Underdog limits my tribal options). So what you ask me is: "Let's do this change that hinders creativity across the entire tournament and pleases just one player (that I know of) based on his personal aesthetic sense". Again, no, but thanks for asking.
The day there will be 20+ regular players asking for the ban of Awakening Zone and Spawning Pit in Pure, because they can't tolerate them anymore, we'll talk about it again.
In the meantime, please refrain from any comment or remark or quip on the topic to your opponents, both in their games or in the room, since those players have all the rights to create within the established rules, and their personal aesthetics might consider aberrant some of the choices you make, for all you know. As Winter noted, criticism is very helpful. Yet now when it doesn't push towards objective betterment, and it's rather just based on subjective opinions, along the lines of, "This is wrong because it's ugly to me".
I cannot even log in of late as the launcher crashes as soon as it loads..
Deck is soooooooooooooo much fun.
They will fire, but you have to login at the right time, or sometimes be a little patient. I usually play 2-3 on the weekend, and see lots more than that fire. I prefer Swiss since I like force the 5-color deck which I call GateGate, even though I tend to go 3-0 or 2-1 in the format most of the time. It really is my favorite format right now - much better than M15 or Theros Block. I am hoping Khans will shake it up, and my best guess is my 5-color deck will still be available!