Magic: the Gathering |OT12| Hour of Devastation - Hour of Jace getting dunked on

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There's always a lot of complaining about the limited data but not a lot of suggestions for how to actually address the problem they're responding to....
 
Running giant events every weekend is the "problem." Not MTGO datacrunching.

But isn't that actually getting better now? It used to be SCG had a big standard tournament on camera every weekend, but now, there are more Modern SCG opens than there are standard ones.
 
Running giant events every weekend is the "problem." Not MTGO datacrunching.

These feed back on each other though. Tons of huge events means both an opportunity to develop the metagame and an incentive to do it, while MTGO data means an easier time mining out the data about the current environment before each of these events.

Like, I agree that just hamhandedly reducing data output isn't a very smart or effective strategy here, but I don't think opening the floodgates to perfect crunching of online data will improve things for anyone.
 
So, is there just gonna be no way to tell at a glance if a deck is taking MTGO by storm anymore? If WotC curates the lists and prevents even similar decks from showing up, all that's going to do is create an artificial view that "everything's fine no shut up it really is".

What a terrible idea.

stock-photo-dog-buried-head-in-the-sand-with-sunlight-effect-at-the-beach-on-morning-time-542784652.jpg
 
Here is my EDH deck. It's my first one, go soft.

Commander:
Rakdos, Lord of Riots

I'm guessing you're just using the cards you have collected so far?

Off the bat, can't have mardu manner as it creates white mana and you have too many lands. 36-38 is the sweet spot for most decks. I would recommend looking at edhrec.com to get an idea of what people put in the deck. What is that you want to do with him? His cost reduction ability means that you can take the deck multiple ways. Typically I've seen it go either cheating out fatties or a ton of punisher effects to lock down the board.
 
I'm guessing you're just using the cards you have collected so far?

Off the bat, can't have mardu manner as it creates white mana and you have too many lands. 36-38 is the sweet spot for most decks. I would recommend looking at edhrec.com to get an idea of what people put in the deck. What is that you want to do with him? His cost reduction ability means that you can take the deck multiple ways. Typically I've seen it go either cheating out fatties or a ton of punisher effects to lock down the board.

I don't have many mana rocks, so I compensated by having more lands.
 
There's always a lot of complaining about the limited data but not a lot of suggestions for how to actually address the problem they're responding to....
Git gud? It's clear obfuscating information doesn't make for a better constructed environment. It's fair for Wizards to hide the stats but it's crazy they actively discourage 3rd party tools.

Not even Blizzard is that brazen with Hearthstone and tolerate all sorts of data collection tools, even when they don't actively publish their data.
You aren't wrong but shadow is 15 percent of the field. Cryptic is good against most of the field. Plus bouncing a delve creature is always a treat.
Is cryptic good vs. tron? 4 cmc when you don't have busted lands is a tad slow.
 
Official SDCC 2017 Planeswalkers:

k5QGEESUrk.png


3vQ5mrPJ7w.png


9lRHMwG1sa.png


nYSXzGkvOO.png


aqlXVN4RJm.png


aluTZjhKWc.png


These sort of remind me why I dislike the current storytelling format so much. How cool would it be to return to Amonkhet 1,000 years after the first set, where the battle between Bolas (the hero) and the Planeswalkers (disruptive villains) was an ingrained cultural/religious teaching?
 
But isn't that actually getting better now? It used to be SCG had a big standard tournament on camera every weekend, but now, there are more Modern SCG opens than there are standard ones.
It's getting better because Standard has sucked.
These feed back on each other though. Tons of huge events means both an opportunity to develop the metagame and an incentive to do it, while MTGO data means an easier time mining out the data about the current environment before each of these events.

Like, I agree that just hamhandedly reducing data output isn't a very smart or effective strategy here, but I don't think opening the floodgates to perfect crunching of online data will improve things for anyone.
Going from 10->5 isn't about datacrunching, it's about them being able to prop up a mediocre deck like Temur Tower without everyone else being able to call them on it. Move is based only on optics.
 
hey, those are almost good looking

almost

but they just seem too fakey for me, not quite capturing the relief look.

also chandras gigantic bosom
 
Every time someone plays that version of Chandra, they better say "Talk to the hand".

Also, why couldn't the Invocations have had art like this? Would've fit the frames better at least.
 
What level of competition do Standard Showdowns usually draw? I understand that every area is different but have most people found that the level of deck power level is a little bit lower? Group of friends that play magic is wanting to try to make decks for the Standard Showdowns and Game day and trying to get an idea of what the 'power level' at these events generally are. If it is completely area dependent then we're just going to keep doing what we're planning on and see how destroyed we get during the first one. Plan for me is to make a -1/-1 counter deck and i'm currently leaning towards R/B/G. I may post the list later today if that's all right.
 
Every time someone plays that version of Chandra, they better say "Talk to the hand".

Also, why couldn't the Invocations have had art like this? Would've fit the frames better at least.

having seen these, hieroglyph art and normal frame makes so much more sense than normal art and hieroglyph frame it's ridiculous
 
C'mon. Why is Bolas not in Hiero style? Because he's the one carving them? And why are they in real frames? They were SO close to these being cool.

Barf.
 
What level of competition do Standard Showdowns usually draw? I understand that every area is different but have most people found that the level of deck power level is a little bit lower? Group of friends that play magic is wanting to try to make decks for the Standard Showdowns and Game day and trying to get an idea of what the 'power level' at these events generally are. If it is completely area dependent then we're just going to keep doing what we're planning on and see how destroyed we get during the first one. Plan for me is to make a -1/-1 counter deck and i'm currently leaning towards R/B/G. I may post the list later today if that's all right.
it will vary by store but you can expect everything from upgraded Planeswalker Deck to Tier 1 just won the Pro Tour list.
 
What level of competition do Standard Showdowns usually draw? I understand that every area is different but have most people found that the level of deck power level is a little bit lower? Group of friends that play magic is wanting to try to make decks for the Standard Showdowns and Game day and trying to get an idea of what the 'power level' at these events generally are. If it is completely area dependent then we're just going to keep doing what we're planning on and see how destroyed we get during the first one. Plan for me is to make a -1/-1 counter deck and i'm currently leaning towards R/B/G. I may post the list later today if that's all right.

Please post your -1/-1 deck when you get the chance. I am working on one myself and am having a hard time finding the right setup. I started with Archfiend/Hapatra/Obelisk Spider but after pulling 2 Scorpion Gods this weekend I think Archfiend needs to be replaced with them.
 
There's always a lot of complaining about the limited data but not a lot of suggestions for how to actually address the problem they're responding to....
It's almost like this doesn't help and is just a way to obfuscate information

The fact that they are doing this for modern, a format all about the meta and the sideboard, just reinforces this.
 
Please post your -1/-1 deck when you get the chance. I am working on one myself and am having a hard time finding the right setup. I started with Archfiend/Hapatra/Obelisk Spider but after pulling 2 Scorpion Gods this weekend I think Archfiend needs to be replaced with them.

I will definitely post it this evening. I initially started with the idea of Ruthless Archer and Archfiend but have found myself incorporating Soul-Scar Mage and Burn spells to help with snake generation while running things like Ammit Eternal, Obelisk, and a few other creatures that generate tokens. I'll have it up in like 2 hours. If the opinion of the deck is it's trying to do too much or will have mana problems then I think i'll end up dropping the red aspects and focus on B/G counters and cycling/discard.
 
I've been playing the hell out of the vintage cube on mtgo lately. So damn good.

Turn two Ulamog wiped away all my variance tilt
 
why the weird angles and lighting? Right idea terrible execution, Chandra in particular has too much detail.

I guess they were afraid it would look too flat if it was just straight up hieroglyphics? Which completely misses the point, of course.

Ah well. Nothing will beat the baller "all black" style promos they used to do.
 
I will definitely post it this evening. I initially started with the idea of Ruthless Archer and Archfiend but have found myself incorporating Soul-Scar Mage and Burn spells to help with snake generation while running things like Ammit Eternal, Obelisk, and a few other creatures that generate tokens. I'll have it up in like 2 hours. If the opinion of the deck is it's trying to do too much or will have mana problems then I think i'll end up dropping the red aspects and focus on B/G counters and cycling/discard.

I will post mine later tonight when I get home from work. I think I had a similar set up to you but I had Key to the City to trigger Archfiend and Sniper and was just Green/Black but I think dropping the Archfiend and Key and adding Scorpion god opens up a few more slots.
 
Official SDCC 2017 Planeswalkers:

These sort of remind me why I dislike the current storytelling format so much. How cool would it be to return to Amonkhet 1,000 years after the first set, where the battle between Bolas (the hero) and the Planeswalkers (disruptive villains) was an ingrained cultural/religious teaching?
Fuck, this is a cool idea.
 
Fuck, this is a cool idea.

Actually, it's too bad they didn't frame it as Bolas' fighting a different, ancient group of planeswalkers to take the plane over in the first place 1,000 years ago. Then the Gatewatch could have discovered this and been like "Oh... no...". Instead we had this empty narrative about the planes gods, which was pretty throwaway because now they're mostly dead.

The whole Amonkhet story is like 75% of the way to being amazing. The 25% that sucks really weighs it down though.
 
I think Bolas is destroying the art.
With his bare claws? That kind of blows my mind.

Actually, it's too bad they didn't frame it as Bolas' fighting a different, ancient group of planeswalkers to take the plane over in the first place 1,000 years ago. Then the Gatewatch could have discovered this and been like "Oh... no...". Instead we had this empty narrative about the planes gods, which was pretty throwaway because now they're mostly dead.

The whole Amonkhet story is like 75% of the way to being amazing. The 25% that sucks really weighs it down though.
When was the last time there was a decent enough story?
 
When was the last time there was a decent enough story?

Now granted, I think I usually bitch about the story. However...

Khans block (re: the Sarkhan/Ugin stuff) was pretty OK. I liked how it sidestepped the usual time travel stuff by making sure it was all tied to just that plane. The clans stuff was kind of just there for me, but whatever. The planeswalker story was interesting here for me as the world changed around him.

I didn't dislike the Theros stuff much. There was a lot to like there honestly, but I wish we got more from the world and less from the planeswalker in focus. The world and story attached wasn't bad, though. Of course it's always a case by case basis if the planeswalker in the story is interesting or not.

I think it's really started to crash a bit around the focus around the Gatewatch, and I they are aware of this.

I just can't believe they've been setting up Bolas' plan for this long and it's so lame.
 
I thought Sarkhan and Narset's relationship was kind of forced, and I can't even remember the resolution of the story. Did Sarkhan stop the dragons from destroying the clans? And what happened to Ugin?
 
I thought Sarkhan and Narset's relationship was kind of forced, and I can't even remember the resolution of the story. Did Sarkhan stop the dragons from destroying the clans? And what happened to Ugin?

I never saw it as a "relationship". I liked that he had a crush on her in timeline B, and when he switched it over to timeline A and came back, she was like "Uh ok. Get away werido".

I don't think the dragons destroyed them so much as removed a color from each and became the rulers. (i.e. Dromoka not believing in necromancy, so Abzan now has no black)

Ugin ended up on Zendikar during the BFZ story.
 
I thought Sarkhan and Narset's relationship was kind of forced, and I can't even remember the resolution of the story. Did Sarkhan stop the dragons from destroying the clans? And what happened to Ugin?
Sarkhan is completely fine with the Dragons timeline, and after he recovered, Ugin talked to Sorin and told him to get Nahiri. Ugin went to Zendikar and Sorin went to Innistrad. There wasn't really a story to the Dragons set.
 
Here is my EDH deck. It's my first one, go soft.

You have some problems with the deck, I'm assuming you only have access to recent cards, mostly commons/uncommons, so I'll try to keep my recommendations very cheap. First of all, Lashweed Lurker and Mardu Banner are not legal in your deck and you have too many lands.

Some big creatures that you can cheat in with Rakdos: Artisan of Kozilek, Conduit of Ruin, Desolation Twin, Bane of Bala Ged, Ulamog's Crusher. Overall, big colorless Eldrazi are great for your commander.

Try to swap some non impactful creatures, like vanilla 4/2s and 5/2s you have for creatures that can tap to deal damage (Thermo-Alchemist, Conduit of Ruin, etc) so you can play Rakdos more easily. Also, try to play creatures that have impact even if they never get to attack (Pilgrim's Eye, Burnished Hart, Beetleback Chief, look for "enter the battlefield" abilities).

Some cards to give Rakdos haste and protection are essential (Swiftfoot boots, Lightning Greaves).

Adding some mass removal (Hour of Devastation, Sweltering Suns, Earthquake, etc), some card draw (Read the Runes, Sign in Blood, etc) and some graveyard hate (Bojuka Bog, Tormod's Crypt, Rakdos Charm, etc) is always a good idea.

Finally, mana rocks are cheap and very important (Rakdos Signet, Talisman of Dominance, Cryptolith Fragment, Darksteel Ingot, Manalith, Commander's Sphere).

Obviously the deck is rough, but with time you can mold it into something great.
 
But Ugin did nothing on Zendikar.

You asked what happened to him.

Presumably he was trying to come up with a solution for re-trapping the titans before the Gatewatch went all BLAP BLAP on them and took them out. Then he yelled at them. He was probably counting on Sorin and Nahiri coming back. He's a loose end right now, but in a good way, in the way that you can pick back up on later.

There's more to come from Ugin, I'm sure.
 
Sometimes Planeswalkers just go sight-seeing.

Fun Fact: Garruk was actually on Amonkhet during the Hour of Devastation, but he just stopped by to hang out with Rhonas and try craft beers.

Jokes aside, where the fuck is Garruk? He was one of the Lorwyn 5 and he was the main face of the last core set, but we haven't seen him since M15. Nissa just showed up and stole his spotlight as the main Green planeswalker.

I really liked Garruk, and it was cool when he became a crazy inter-dimensional Predator. I get that that's not really an angle they can throw into every set, especially not when they're focusing on the Gatewatch as a team, but still.
 
Jokes aside, where the fuck is Garruk? He was one of the Lorwyn 5 and he was the main face of the last core set, but we haven't seen him since M15. Nissa just showed up and stole his spotlight as the main Green planeswalker.

I really liked Garruk, and it was cool when he became a crazy inter-dimensional Predator. I get that that's not really an angle they can throw into every set, especially not when they're focusing on the Gatewatch as a team, but still.
Garruk will be an issue eventually, as he's likely going to come after Liliana. Let's hope they do him right.

#curenotkill
 
Official SDCC 2017 Planeswalkers:

k5QGEESUrk.png


3vQ5mrPJ7w.png


9lRHMwG1sa.png


nYSXzGkvOO.png


aqlXVN4RJm.png


aluTZjhKWc.png


These sort of remind me why I dislike the current storytelling format so much. How cool would it be to return to Amonkhet 1,000 years after the first set, where the battle between Bolas (the hero) and the Planeswalkers (disruptive villains) was an ingrained cultural/religious teaching?

I love the Liliana one. Shame I'll never own it. :(

Yeah that's a missed opportunity, hopefully they'll loosen up and allow for cool stuff like that.

That giant crack on Gideon just screams death foreshadowing to me.
Shame he's gonna live.

EDIT: Bolas being the one carving the story is a nice touch but makes no sense.
 
Jokes aside, where the fuck is Garruk? He was one of the Lorwyn 5 and he was the main face of the last core set, but we haven't seen him since M15. Nissa just showed up and stole his spotlight as the main Green planeswalker.

I really liked Garruk, and it was cool when he became a crazy inter-dimensional Predator. I get that that's not really an angle they can throw into every set, especially not when they're focusing on the Gatewatch as a team, but still.

They really need to have him come out of nowhere and gank someone.

Like, in Ixalan, Jace and Vraska are off searching for something, plot progressing as usual, adventure and action, then BAM! Giant hulking dude out of nowhere, Vraska gets her head lopped off, Garruk fucks off to somewhere else.
 
They really need to have him come out of nowhere and gank someone.

Like, in Ixalan, Jace and Vraska are off searching for something, plot progressing as usual, adventure and action, then BAM! Giant hulking dude out of nowhere, Vraska gets her head lopped off, Garruk fucks off to somewhere else.

Please not Vraska. Multicolor planeswalkers are hard enough to come by as is. Have him kill off one of those mono-color ones that no one likes, like Tibalt.

But yes, WotC desperately needs to implement a "Garruk Everywhere System" into Magic.
 
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