Magic: the GAFering |OT2|
- Thread starter The Technomancer
- Start date
Scavenge doesn't count as a spell.
Yeah, I almost feel like it's an entirely different deck if I'm going Dark Prophecy/Cartel Aristocrat/Sin Collector. But maybe that's better.
Yeah, I moved to adjust my SB strategy after getting real annoyed with WUx decks.
divisionbyzorro
Member
Well, Magic Online claims that I targeted my opponent with my Jace Beleren. Yeah, there's no world in which that actually happened. I almost won that game anyway, but that moment put me hard on tilt and I screwed up a key Top activation on the final turn. Still managed to go 2-1 in that cube draft with what really was a mediocre Grixis deck. Hypnotic Specter wins games all by itself.
I've gotta say - this new phantom points system for cube drafts is a heck of a lot more fair than previous systems. It's still -EV as it has always been, but it's not highway robbery like the old cube tickets system was.
I've gotta say - this new phantom points system for cube drafts is a heck of a lot more fair than previous systems. It's still -EV as it has always been, but it's not highway robbery like the old cube tickets system was.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Man had the best kind of stalemate game last night, a three way Commander game where none of us could take out the other because of the risk of the third. Guy running a Jhoira has like 20 3/1 elemental tokens out but he can't attack because of my Lightmine Field, guy with a U/G deck can't kill me either because if Lightmine Field goes away then Jhoira guy can kill him and I can't kill anyone because...Jhoira guy has drawn like five fucking control magic effects and keeps stealing everything I play, including my Obzedat
Good god do I miss the Hyppie
divisionbyzorro
Member
So is blue the best color in the MTGO cube, or is it just the color that I'm the best at drafting? Because whenever I draft blue decks, I make it to the finals. When I draft decks without blue, they always seem to be just not quite good enough.
On the plus side, I did get to put a Shriekmaw into play off of my opponent's Show and Tell, making his Emrakul very sad. So that was a positive from this last draft.
On the plus side, I did get to put a Shriekmaw into play off of my opponent's Show and Tell, making his Emrakul very sad. So that was a positive from this last draft.
Thinking of tossing 1 or 2 Ashioks into my esper list. There's just so many ways to have her come out on an open board and if that happens she threatens to put me in a game winning position quicker than a couple draws from Jace. I imagine getting a Desecration Demon the turn after playing her feels pretty damn good. Anyways, I'm looking for suggestions on what to cut for Ashiok and even just general opinions on my current list:
Creatures:
2 Omenspeaker
2 Blood Baron
2 Aetherling
Planeswalkers:
3 Jace, AoT
1 Elspeth
Instants:
2 Dissolve
2 Syncopate
2 Doom Blade
2 Devour Flesh
3 Sphinx's Rev
2 Azorius Charm
2 Hero's Downfall
Sorceries:
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Thoughtseize
Enchantments:
2 Det Sphere
Lands:
4 Godless Shrine
4 Watery Grave
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Silence
5 Island
3 Plains
SB:
2 Azorius Charm
2 Pithing Needle
1 Jace, Memory Adept
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
1 Hero's Downfall
3 Sin Collector
1 Det Sphere
1 Notion Thief
I originally intended on putting a lot of 2-ofs just to get a feel for the starting meta but the amount of filtering through scry and Jace has made me want to keep using this type of setup.
Creatures:
2 Omenspeaker
2 Blood Baron
2 Aetherling
Planeswalkers:
3 Jace, AoT
1 Elspeth
Instants:
2 Dissolve
2 Syncopate
2 Doom Blade
2 Devour Flesh
3 Sphinx's Rev
2 Azorius Charm
2 Hero's Downfall
Sorceries:
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Thoughtseize
Enchantments:
2 Det Sphere
Lands:
4 Godless Shrine
4 Watery Grave
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Silence
5 Island
3 Plains
SB:
2 Azorius Charm
2 Pithing Needle
1 Jace, Memory Adept
2 Essence Scatter
2 Negate
1 Hero's Downfall
3 Sin Collector
1 Det Sphere
1 Notion Thief
I originally intended on putting a lot of 2-ofs just to get a feel for the starting meta but the amount of filtering through scry and Jace has made me want to keep using this type of setup.
The best deck in the MTGO cube is probably mono red and/or UW control.
I always tend to force Bant Ramp because it's the most fun for me. Mostly because I don't ever want to pass Upheaval.
RDW is good, white aggro is less consistent but better at beating other creature-based builds. Gods Willing and Brave the Elements are the real deal, and running 16 1-drops with anthems is pretty legit.
4 Fiendslayer in main absolutely helps with red...anything.... but responding to Anger of the Gods with Brave the Elements is insane.
Not making the main event, unfortunately, so we're just grinding a few win a box queues.
4 Fiendslayer in main absolutely helps with red...anything.... but responding to Anger of the Gods with Brave the Elements is insane.
Not making the main event, unfortunately, so we're just grinding a few win a box queues.
Is there another anthem besides Spear of Heliod?
The RW one.
path of bravery does work
ajani isn't an anthem but for some reason I think of him as one, as he's your best way to stabilize post-wipe/pushes damage through pre-wipe
I dig this deck, but red is still the best way to grind win-a-box queues. I just want another 2drop, because pyromancer isn't the best with 12 instants/sorceries.
blindrocket
Member
Ash Zealot?
already a 4-of, as is Firefist Striker
act of treason and burning earth in the sideboard are doing so much against these janky midrange lists holy crap
meh, path is amazing against a lot of lists. It's in the sideboard, but I'm finding that I bring it in enough that it might want to be in the main.
I love Golgari Charm.
I love Golgari Charm.
your list would just 2-0 my red list all day long. Pretty happy I haven't seen much similar to the UBx lists we've been talking about.
the white list, however.....
I can't deal with how good Gods Willing and Fabled Hero are together. It's disgusting.
gonna wake grakl up, have a smoke, and hop in some queues
Game 1 is actually rougher for me, but G2/3 now favor me by a lot. SensDef puts in so much work. (And shuts down Phoenix badly.)your list would just 2-0 my red list all day long. Pretty happy I haven't seen much similar to the UBx lists we've been talking about.
the white list, however.....
I can't deal with how good Gods Willing and Fabled Hero are together. It's disgusting.
I can't think of very many matchups where I wouldn't want to see a thoughtseize in the first ~4 turns though. Just gives a little extra protection against cards like Rakdos's Return that I may not have been prepared for.
Azorius Charm is fine but I don't like it enough right now to cut other cards to bring the whole playset in. Black's removal is just too strong and I hate having to wait a turn to drop Jace just to charm a newly played attacker. What would you cut though to bring the other 2 in? Besides thoughtseize.
You can't prepare for a RR topdeck anyway. Thoughtseize is only good if you're the aggressor in a matchup.
I disagree. For a deck that just wants a little more time, a way to deal with almost everything, and filtering through scry/jace, a turn 2-4 thoughtseize feels amazing versus almost everything. Even later in the game dropping any PW or critter with 1 mana catch-all protection is valuable. Even just to take their thoughtseize.
It feels like U/W/x vs RDW is a 50/50 matchup, but U/W/x is more consistent vs other decks. Played vs a lot of mono black and junk yesterday and had an absurd win percentage as U/W/R.
rCIZZLE: I agree with Firemind, Thoughtseize is more of a sb card. 1 in the mainboard should be fine. 4 Azorious Charm because it's your only cheap draw spell outside of all the other stuff it can possibly do. I would probably cut the two Blood Baron for two more Azorious Charm. Maybe take out a Thoughseize for Ashiok.
rCIZZLE: I agree with Firemind, Thoughtseize is more of a sb card. 1 in the mainboard should be fine. 4 Azorious Charm because it's your only cheap draw spell outside of all the other stuff it can possibly do. I would probably cut the two Blood Baron for two more Azorious Charm. Maybe take out a Thoughseize for Ashiok.
The downside of Thoughtseize against the aggro matchup is that you have to spend one mana (and two life), while the aggro player doesn't have to expend mana; they can still be on curve. That's why it's better to pay an extra mana to Doom Blade the threat, since they have to spend two or more mana, which gives you more time to survive until the late game. It's also quite useless in the late game when they're in topdeck mode.
Still takes their best card versus my current game state which is not a bad place to be. Remember, we're talking MB which means my opponent can be on anything. Having a wide range of conditional answers backed by a catch-all like thoughtseize seems like a good place to be for a control player. Your argument seems to better apply to why it would be boarded out after G1.
Anything else you guys see in MB or SB that you guys see? I might bring another Azorius Charm MB depending on how the meta looks but 4 just seems like too much to me right now.
Well, I'm talking from experience. In the late game, more often than not you're going to be on life support. In that scenario, you need live cards that do at least 1-for-1 in case your opponent topdecks a threat or burn spell until you draw a Revelation.
But if you want to leave it in, Omen Speaker is worse than Azorius Charm.
But if you want to leave it in, Omen Speaker is worse than Azorius Charm.
Against aggro I'll bring out Thoughtseize like I do now. I definitely want it in my MB though. Just too much upside against an open meta.
I've been back and forth on Omenspeaker and mostly put him in to test it out. I've been kind of impressed with it so far at both early and late game as a way to make land drops or finding action. Dissolve and Syncopate actually felt pretty bad now that we've got Hero's Downfall and Thoughtseize to deal with the haymakers like Domri so might try taking 1 out for another charm.
I definitely want it in my MB though. Just too much upside against an open meta.I've been back and forth on Omenspeaker and mostly put him in to test it out. I've been kind of impressed with it so far at both early and late game as a way to make land drops or finding action. Dissolve and Syncopate actually felt pretty bad now that we've got Hero's Downfall and Thoughtseize to deal with the haymakers like Domri so might try taking 1 out for another charm.
Information and being able to get their best cards in unknown matchups are extremely good things. Not that i'd run it but still.
Also, Titan's Strenght and the cantripping Dragon's Breath caught my attention, are neither of those decent enough for standard (i'm only a legacy/old 1.X player, never played standard)? Titan's Strenght in particular is basically giant growth with scry. Dodge burn, deal damage, mess combat math etc... Giant growth was actually maindeck material when i started playing, but those were different times. I'm instered because the new RG ramp deck are basically what the first deck i ever played looked like (RG ramp, revised only). Kird, Elves for mana, Shivan and burn as finishers, good times those.
Also, Titan's Strenght and the cantripping Dragon's Breath caught my attention, are neither of those decent enough for standard (i'm only a legacy/old 1.X player, never played standard)? Titan's Strenght in particular is basically giant growth with scry. Dodge burn, deal damage, mess combat math etc... Giant growth was actually maindeck material when i started playing, but those were different times. I'm instered because the new RG ramp deck are basically what the first deck i ever played looked like (RG ramp, revised only). Kird, Elves for mana, Shivan and burn as finishers, good times those.
What things?
Bunch of Theros cards....I'm pretty much a beginner, trying to put a playable deck together, and just don't know where to start.
Posted the list of rares and whatever red is yesterday:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=83934919&postcount=9992
Posted the list of rares and whatever red is yesterday:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=83934919&postcount=9992
You should chose what kind of deck you want to play and trade into it, rather than just basing it on what you have. There is no shame in net decking. You have quite a bit of value there and if you were going to put anymore money into it I'd recommend buying singles instead of boosters (whole boxes in your case it seems lol)
Yeah, that just makes things worse....the problem I'm having is too many options.
I bought two boxes, and had bought a few M14 boxes before. Since I'm not really set on any particular play style, I figured I'd see what I got in the boxes, then build a deck around the strongest, picking up a card or two to finish things out.
Only problem is, I look at that list of cards, and really don't know where to start. Was sort of hoping someone with more understanding of it all would be able to go "you want to go White/Green with these cards" or something like that. Guess that's not the case.
Your advice to trade might be great for you, but I have no clue what I should be trading for, or what I shouldn't trade away, or what I should avoid. So far I've learned that Magic has a bit of a learning curve, but not too terrible to grasp the play of, but the community and non-gameplay aspects of the game are a giant barrier into entry.
I bought two boxes, and had bought a few M14 boxes before. Since I'm not really set on any particular play style, I figured I'd see what I got in the boxes, then build a deck around the strongest, picking up a card or two to finish things out.
Only problem is, I look at that list of cards, and really don't know where to start. Was sort of hoping someone with more understanding of it all would be able to go "you want to go White/Green with these cards" or something like that. Guess that's not the case.
Your advice to trade might be great for you, but I have no clue what I should be trading for, or what I shouldn't trade away, or what I should avoid. So far I've learned that Magic has a bit of a learning curve, but not too terrible to grasp the play of, but the community and non-gameplay aspects of the game are a giant barrier into entry.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Holy shit...you bought a lot of packs huh. Well like others said figure out what kind of deck you want and then get the other pieces, but just looking at that to start with you have two Elspeths which are probably going to be the most expensive card in any deck that wants her, so maybe something with white?
Yeah, with two Elspeths, a spear and some Chained to the Rocks not to mention Anax and Cynemedede I think you have the core pieces for an interesting RW deck
The Elspeths also caught my eye...originally I was thinking Black-White, with the Black God, but if you think the Anax and Cynemedede is better to work around, I might be able to do something there...I could go back and check what Rares and such I had from the M14 packs I got.
And, yeah, I just went with boxes...figured it'd give me enough cards to make two or three decks.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I was thinking more Chained to the Rocks, but I'm a bit more of a casual deckbuilder. B/W control could be very interesting thanks to Elspeth's wipe, but you'd need to delve back into Ravnica for the removal since Theros removal isn't that great. Are you thinking of making this for friends? for FNM?
blindrocket
Member
Decide on what colors you want and then just find a deck list that you like and adapt it with what you have. You'll also need to buy some cards individually.
I have a good friend that ONLY puts together decks with cards he pulls from packs/boxes. And I proceed to obliterate him with decks that contain cards I bought for individually.
I have a good friend that ONLY puts together decks with cards he pulls from packs/boxes. And I proceed to obliterate him with decks that contain cards I bought for individually.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Even if you don't want to netdeck just deciding on colors narrows it down tremndously. For example, if you're interested in Black-White then check this out
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/S...h"]|["Dragon's+Maze"]|["Magic+2014+Core+Set"]
that's every B/W card in standard right now. Its a bit intimidating but there's only ~300 of them, just scroll through and see if any catch your eye
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/S...h"]|["Dragon's+Maze"]|["Magic+2014+Core+Set"]
that's every B/W card in standard right now. Its a bit intimidating but there's only ~300 of them, just scroll through and see if any catch your eye
How competitive do you plan on being? If casually playing with friends that are also casual and don't pay attention to net decking, building your own deck is half the fun. Winning with it is the other half.
Red Deck Wins is a pretty friendly place to start as a starter deck. Relatively cheap compared to the other decks, is played pretty straightforward, and doesn't take much to upgrade to a really competitive deck.
IQ? Or free entry voucher open trial.
Thank you very much for this....I guess I'm building this for FNM. I don't need to absolutely win, but wouldn't mind being competitive enough to win a round or two each time.
I have two boxes of Ravnica, so not sure what to hit up for removal. Essentially, I bought two boxes of Ravnica, two of M14, and two of Theros. As I said, I've got a lot of cards, just not really sure where to start.
blindrocket
Member
Do any of the cards you have interest you at all? Do any of the colors in general interest you at all?
If you answer yes to either of those, use that to base your deck around.