Ahh, disruption. The disruption in the format is generally so much better than the tempo oriented cards that some have gone so far as to say "why even try" when it comes to combo. Cards like Force of Will (considered by some to be the barrier of entry for the Classic format), Spell Snare, Stifle, Counterspell, Duress, Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy, Hymn To Tourach, and Swords to plawshares all demonstrate the punishingly efficient disruption available to us in our format. If you notice almost all of those cards are blue or black, lending credibility to the notion that a competitive Classic deck should contain one of these "primary colors". The only decks that really have something to say about that tend to be mono-colored linear decks, such as Red Deck Wins (RDW) or Goblins, in which case even these contain sideboard-ready 4of's of Pyroblast.
In a nutshell, that is Classic at the moment, and my optimism stems from an impending rotation that we should see soon. As everyone who has ever played modo knows, the IPA (Invasion block) cards have always been considered hard to find. Card like Meddling Mage, Orim's Chant, Pernicious Deed, and Vindicate have always been on a short list of chase IPA rares. Most of the Extended tourney players have relied on these cards for years to gain a "competitive advantage" on opponents on the tournament scene. How many cards really shut down resistance or give pseudo- Time Walks Orim's Chant, and how many cards wipe the board of all permanents that cost X or less Pernicious Deed, and how many cards after a simple duress give you the ability to change the rules and make a player unable to play card X Meddling Mage? The answer of course is singular, only the chase rares from the IPA block. I guess a case could be made for Abeyance, but it is already classic and isn't as versatile or mana friendly. Enough about that, why does this matter? People generally like to use what they spend good money on. Extended was set to rotate out all sets from IPA all the way through Onslaught block, however on the March 1st DCI Banned and restricted announcement they also announced Onslaught will stay until 2009, a small victory for the EXT format (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/announce/dci20080229a).
This gives a little pep to the step of the classic format as a whole, as we all expect more PE's to fire and people to flock to our beloved format, simply because their cards will be mostly unusabe outside of classic and the niche formats such as Singleton and Prismatic. This is my true reason for optimism, along with some new cards coming our way that should really help to change or at least "reshape" the format we have currently. Wasteland is another weapon for decks against control, Lotus Petal should be amazing as a 4-of (if it is not insta-restricted) enabling such decks as belcher and storm to really go off, Ancient Tomb is what Crystal Vein has always tried to be, but could never truly stack up, and let's not forget Scroll Rack. These are just a few of the cards we will be getting with Tempest, and much like IPA rares, these are truly one of a kind.
As a quick shout out I encourage everyone reading this who does have an interest in classic, or those who might be interested, to come and "/join classic" on modo. The people there are always willing to help, chat, or enjoy a friendly game.
Thanks for reading,
The_Hoff on Modo
Clan Magic Eternal
4 Comments
I'd love to go into some gifts rock detail - I like nothing more than writing about my fav. deck of all time :D
thanks for reading guys
I'd love to go into some gifts rock detail - I like nothing more than writing about my fav. deck of all time :D
thanks for reading guys
I enjoyed the article. I was hoping to see you go into some Gift-Rock detail though!
Well done bro! I expect more articles from you!