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[Lucario]

Told you so Gruul is the path to ezytown.

fine, you win

(but it isn't saito!)

Hey guys, haven't posted on GAF in awhile but I've been lurking this thread for a few months now. Started playing MTG during the Urza block back in the day then took a break for >10 years and picked it back up during RTR due to friends playing. Very excited for Theros and looking to get into standard as I haven't kept up with the scene since I played in tournaments with my Fires of Yavimaya deck...lol.

I've been playing with a Junk/Rock (removal, Voice, Blood Baron, Obzedat, Desecration Demon, etc.) deck which has been awesome for the past few weeks but with the rotation my land situation has weakened substantially, so I'll likely put that deck aside until Golgari and Selesnya scrylands are out.

I basically have been agreeing with Lucario and others that Stormbreath (obv) and Underworld Cerberus will be very strong, so for competitive deck building I'm leaning toward Jund. Not worried about mana fixing with the Caryatids and Jund has the best removal and burn available. And having Thoughtseize in standard means that I pretty much have to run black! Also put together a Burger King deck because he seemed fun and I was actually able to win about 50% against my friend's new Gruul aggro deck so that's promising.

Anyway I've really liked reading all of your thoughts and strategies, it's been pretty interesting and thought provoking, so keep it up.

Welcome to magic-gaf! Awesome to know our testing is influencing other groups, and it's pretty fun to see someone from the days of Fires coming back. You must be pretty excited about Hammer of Purphoros, lol.

Second.. Yup, Stormbreath, Caryatid, and Cerberus are the real deal here. Let us know how Jund goes!

 

[kirblar]

btw im beating that mono-red list now. I was wondering why they all looked the same.

pretty sure DI spot removal beats Gruul as well.

Important note vs monstrous- they do NOT get the trigger until after the counters are put on. You can kill it in response, a la VS system.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Gonna try to make Big Red work. I saw this list on MtGSalvation and fell in love...

Big Red

Lands (24)
21 Mountain
2 Mutavault
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Creatures (20)
4 Ash Zealot
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Fanatic of Mogis
2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
3 Stormbreath Dragon

Spells (14)
2 Hammer of Purphoros
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Shock

Planeswalker (2)
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Sideboard (15)
4 Anger of the Gods
4 Burning Earth
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Peak Erruption
2 Skullcrack

The only change I made was dropping 1 Mutavault for a miser's copy of Nykthos. Hoping to get in some testing tonight.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I'm working on a mono-black modern Mikaeus deck right now. I'm trying to decide between these two cards:

The idea is that with Mikaeus' ability to give all my dudes undying, I can use one of these guys to pull the +1/+1 counters off of my other creatures when they come back from the graveyard.

With the Parasite I get a 1-drop with extort which is super useful since I have a bunch of cards in the deck that sap my life like dark prophecy and Erebos. The Hexmage costs one more, doesn't have extort and kills herself when I pull counters off, but on the other side I can kill planeswalkers, nullify ratchet bombs and opens the path towards making a full-on vampire deck. I already have Nighthawks and Guul-Draaz Assassins in there, and I could add Kalastria Highborn.

Also, I have a question. If I use Damnation and Mikaeus dies at the same time as my other creatures, do the rest of them still come back?

 

[OnPoint]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";83876727]

Also, I have a question. If I use Damnation and Mikaeus dies at the same time as my other creatures, do the rest of them still come back?[/QUOTE]

I believe all of them except Mikaeus do. Since they die with Undying on them, on account of Mikaeus dying at the same time, the ability never leaves before it triggers. Or something.

 

[Sinatar]

Yea the Undying is a state based trigger, they have undying when damnation resolves so they all come back.

 

[Scythesurge]

Welcome to magic-gaf! Awesome to know our testing is influencing other groups, and it's pretty fun to see someone from the days of Fires coming back. You must be pretty excited about Hammer of Purphoros, lol.

Second.. Yup, Stormbreath, Caryatid, and Cerberus are the real deal here. Let us know how Jund goes!

Yeah the Hammer is cool, I traded for one on Sat. though with the way the Meta is developing I dunno how standard viable it is...it went right into my EDH deck. Another Jund variant I've been trying to make work involves Kalonian Hydra + haste so Hammer will probably get the nod there.

btw im beating that mono-red list now. I was wondering why they all looked the same.

pretty sure DI spot removal beats Gruul as well.

Important note vs monstrous- they do NOT get the trigger until after the counters are put on. You can kill it in response, a la VS system.

I'm not entirely sure if my friend played against it right, but I was blowing up his Gruul board using Agent of the Fates + Flames of the Firebrand. I thought that he'd be able to sacrifice the creatures he had that I targeted since Heroic activates before Flames resolves but I kept getting 2 for or even 3 for 1's.

 

[JulianImp]

I believe all of them except Mikaeus do. Since they die with Undying on them, on account of Mikaeus dying at the same time, the ability never leaves before it triggers. Or something.

Correct. At the time the creatures got killed, since Mikaeus had granted every other creature of yours Undying, they'll come back from the dead with a +1/+1 counter on them if they didn't have one as they died.

It's a cute interaction, but I don't think Mikaeus the Unhallowed is actually modern playable (at least competitively).

 

["God's Beard!"]

It's a cute interaction, but I don't think Mikaeus the Unhallowed is actually modern playable (at least competitively).

Aww, why not? Would I be better off replacing Mikaeus with Xathrid Demon and a bunch of Nim Deathmantles?

 

[kirblar]

Yup, heroic triggers first- he should be saccing things that will die anyway.

 

[Firemind]

Lands (24):
1 Steam Vents
3 Izzet Guildgate
8 Island
12 Mountain

Creatures (12):
3 Young Pyromancer
4 Guttersnipe
4 Spellheart Chimera
1 Chandra's Phoenix

Spells (24):
3 Spark Jolt
4 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
4 Mizzium Mortars
4 Izzet Charm
2 Turn//Burn
1 Thoughtflare
2 Opportunity

Using this configuration, I'd do exactly like you said; side out the burn against control and bring in the counterspells, PWs and Burning Earth if you can obtain them. Leave in Magma Jets and/or Lightning Strike to burn them and to return phoenixes.

Against aggro it's a bit more trickier. It depends on the version. If it's a (near) mono red list using BTE, I'd side out all the expensive spells including card draw. Chandra's Phoenix should never be sided out. It's one of the few ways to etch a win since they can't remove them indefinitely, while the Chimera dies to burn. I could even see a case of including Prognostic Sphinx in the maindeck/sideboard, since it blocks everything and can't be easily killed, thus serving as a win condition after you removed all their threats.

Against slower, almost midrange aggro, I'd side out the lesser burn spells and maybe add some counterspells if you can find the room to deal with PWs and bigger threats your burn can't easily deal with.

If you can, I'd try to trade more Chandra's Phoenixes to add a bigger clock against everyone. Failing that, Prognostic Sphinx is an option for a more controlling route. Burning Earth is optional. Two would suffice, but I don't predict a lot of control in an unknown meta, so it's not required. PWs are nice if you can protect them, but not necessary if you other cards to gain card advantage. Maybe Steam Augury is an option. It adds one of the piles to the graveyard, which would help grow the chimera. Thoughtflare does the same, but costs one more mana. I think I'd rather pay one more mana and keep all the cards with Opportunity.

Good luck!

 

[The Technomancer]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";83876727]I'm working on a mono-black modern Mikaeus deck right now. I'm trying to decide between these two cards:

The idea is that with Mikaeus' ability to give all my dudes undying, I can use one of these guys to pull the +1/+1 counters off of my other creatures when they come back from the graveyard.

With the Parasite I get a 1-drop with extort which is super useful since I have a bunch of cards in the deck that sap my life like dark prophecy and Erebos. The Hexmage costs one more, doesn't have extort and kills herself when I pull counters off, but on the other side I can kill planeswalkers, nullify ratchet bombs and opens the path towards making a full-on vampire deck. I already have Nighthawks and Guul-Draaz Assassins in there, and I could add Kalastria Highborn.

Also, I have a question. If I use Damnation and Mikaeus dies at the same time as my other creatures, do the rest of them still come back?[/QUOTE]

Hm, a shame you're doing mono-black, one of the things my friends and I learned at our potluck draft is that Simic Guildmage is sick with Undying

 

[Lucario]

Important note vs monstrous- they do NOT get the trigger until after the counters are put on. You can kill it in response, a la VS system.

so spot removal basically just ruins that deck and all of its, what, 14 win conditions?

good to know

all these lists only running red removal making progress are seriously making me want to play Master of Waves in the main (of a list with Frostburn Weird). It blows out almost the entire top 8 of that event.

 

[JulianImp]

Using this configuration, I'd do exactly like you said; side out the burn against control and bring in the counterspells, PWs and Burning Earth if you can obtain them. Leave in Magma Jets and/or Lightning Strike to burn them and to return phoenixes.

Against aggro it's a bit more trickier. It depends on the version. If it's a (near) mono red list using BTE, I'd side out all the expensive spells including card draw. Chandra's Phoenix should never be sided out. It's one of the few ways to etch a win since they can't remove them indefinitely, while the Chimera dies to burn. I could even see a case of including Prognostic Sphinx in the maindeck/sideboard, since it blocks everything and can't be easily killed, thus serving as a win condition after you removed all their threats.

Against slower, almost midrange aggro, I'd side out the lesser burn spells and maybe add some counterspells if you can find the room to deal with PWs and bigger threats your burn can't easily deal with.

If you can, I'd try to trade more Chandra's Phoenixes to add a bigger clock against everyone. Failing that, Prognostic Sphinx is an option for a more controlling route. Burning Earth is optional. Two would suffice, but I don't predict a lot of control in an unknown meta, so it's not required. PWs are nice if you can protect them, but not necessary if you other cards to gain card advantage. Maybe Steam Augury is an option. It adds one of the piles to the graveyard, which would help grow the chimera. Thoughtflare does the same, but costs one more mana. I think I'd rather pay one more mana and keep all the cards with Opportunity.

Good luck!

I had a singleton Steam Augury instead of the Thoughtflare before, but I wasn't entirely sure how things would work with it. While Augury does fill my graveyard and digs one card deeper for one less mana, I'll nearly always end up keeping the second best card rather than whichever one I need the most. Adding more Phoenixes will make Augury a more interesting addition, but right now all it does is pump Chimerae if I can land and protect one of them. I wanted a relatively cheap card-drawer, but there're none that are actually worth it at the time (there's that sorcery-speed, three-card Forbidden Alchemy... ugh). Should I just run a third Opportunity instead?

If everything goes according to plan, I'll be running a playset of Steam Vents for some better mana fixing (if only for Phoenix and overloaded Mortars), probably removing the Guildgates to avoid drawing into lands that take a turn to get going. I do have a Prognostic Sphinx I could add, but I'm not sure if I'd have enough cards to protect it given the fact that the deck currently has little to no card drawing in it. What other CA-generating cards are there for me to run instead of planeswalkers?

I might be able to trade for a fourth Pyromancer, and perhaps a Ral, Jace and some Phoenixes, but I'm not entirely sure whether the guys who have the cards will be interested in the stuff I've got for trade. I was intending to remove two Spark Jolts for two more Phoenixes when I got them, or perhaps I could just cut one Jolt and the Thoughtflare/Steam Augury slot instead.

I'm quite happy with how the deck's looking right now, as it seems it might stand a chance against FNM-level decks and be a blast to play as well. I hope I get to pull off some crazy wins like that time I stabilized at 1-2 life and went on to win the game in spite of a Thragtusk being cast and then Unburied twice...

 

[Lucario]

I wanna play this list in worcester, but SCG has markups of 50%+ on every card I need
goddamnit

Master of Waves is $10 still. Fucking card is $3.30 on tcgplayer.
Ashiok is $25 instead of $17.

 

[Firemind]

There are a few inexpensive ways to generate card advantage in U/R. It's for example not terribly difficult to 2-for-1 with Flames of Firebrand against aggro. I'd consider it if you find yourself having trouble against aggro. And you have Chandra's Phoenix which is resistant to removal barring Anger of the Gods, Syncopate or Detention Sphere. And of course Young Pyromancer who I would add a fourth of.

What you said about Steam Augury is absolutely true. What I like about it and therefore recommended it as an option is that you don't play counterspells. You play a lot of burn, so it doesn't really matter if you get the slightly worse burn spell. If you played counterspells, then control decks can give you burn and aggro can give you counterspells, which is counterproductive.

Three copies of Opportunity is a bit much I reckon. I'd opt for Prognostic Sphinx over Thoughtflare and see how it goes. It blocks Loxodon Smiter, Fleecemane Lion, Stormbreath Dragon (until it's monstrous). Seems terrific.

 

[Lucario]

Has anyone been testing white weenie?

 

[kirblar]

Has anyone been testing white weenie?

It's the matchup I need to test the most along with the monster deck.

 

[Lucario]

It's the matchup I need to test the most along with the monster deck.

I need a list if you've got one, otherwise I'm available to test my awful lists against your BUG control deck. Thinking of bringing it to Worcester if I can get the cards ready in time, since BUx control staples are obscenely overpriced on starcity.

Do we run Boros Elite in a mono white shell? We have Brave the Elements to blow out anger of the gods and shit like that, but Supreme Verdict genuinely scares me for any speed slower than "run every 1-drop and some anthems, go to town"

There's also the fact that mono white doesn't have to run 8 CiPT lands, can easily play mutavaults, etc. I dno.

edit: figured it out I think.

 

[JulianImp]

There are a few inexpensive ways to generate card advantage in U/R. It's for example not terribly difficult to 2-for-1 with Flames of Firebrand against aggro. I'd consider it if you find yourself having trouble against aggro. And you have Chandra's Phoenix which is resistant to removal barring Anger of the Gods, Syncopate or Detention Sphere. And of course Young Pyromancer who I would add a fourth of.

What you said about Steam Augury is absolutely true. What I like about it and therefore recommended it as an option is that you don't play counterspells. You play a lot of burn, so it doesn't really matter if you get the slightly worse burn spell. If you played counterspells, then control decks can give you burn and aggro can give you counterspells, which is counterproductive.

Three copies of Opportunity is a bit much I reckon. I'd opt for Prognostic Sphinx over Thoughtflare and see how it goes. It blocks Loxodon Smiter, Fleecemane Lion, Stormbreath Dragon (until it's monstrous). Seems terrific.

I absolutely forgot about Flames of the Firebrand. I'll definitely be adding a couple of those to the sideboard while I try to trade towards better replacements.

It's true that Steam Augury could potentially work in this deck, since the deck's really single-minded and redundant (the only thing outside of burn, creatures that abuse the burn and lands I could reveal would be the Sphinx or the two Opportunities). Then, what would I cut for it here? It used to be in Thoughtflare's place, which will probably get swapped for Prognostic Sphinx... should I go down to two Spark Jolts for the sake of adding the Augury as a third draw spell here?

 

["God's Beard!"]

Hm, a shame you're doing mono-black, one of the things my friends and I learned at our potluck draft is that Simic Guildmage is sick with Undying

Yeah I think those are the only black creatures that can remove counters :-(

I'm thinking of moving to black/white since apparently mikaeus sucks :-(

Too bad vindicate isn't modern.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Well, picked up my Fat Pack during lunch. Nothing terribly exciting although I didn't get totally hosed on value at least. I have to say the four Artisan of Forms including 2 in the same pack was a little bizarre. Otherwise, Erebos as the only mythic, but also a Thoughtseize and an Anger of the Gods.

 

[Firemind]

I absolutely forgot about Flames of the Firebrand. I'll definitely be adding a couple of those to the sideboard while I try to trade towards better replacements.

It's true that Steam Augury could potentially work in this deck, since the deck's really single-minded and redundant (the only thing outside of burn, creatures that abuse the burn and lands I could reveal would be the Sphinx or the two Opportunities). Then, what would I cut for it here? It used to be in Thoughtflare's place, which will probably get swapped for Prognostic Sphinx... should I go down to two Spark Jolts for the sake of adding the Augury as a third draw spell here?

Guttersnipe? Seems lackluster without flashback to rack up damage.

Hm. I'll try to take a stab at it if I were given the chance.

4 Chandra's Phoenix
3 Prognostic Sphinx
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius

4 Lightning Strike
3 Magma Jet
3 Izzet Charm
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Turn // Burn
3 Essence Scatter
2 Dissolve
2 Steam Augury
1 Opportunity

2 Domnestication
1 Ral Zarek

10 Island
7 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Izzet Guildgate

The way I see it, there's no reason to play blue if you're not playing permission. I like Domnestication as a 2-for-1 (plus it deals with Voice of Resurgence). The one Niv-Mizzet is for shits and giggles, but I imagine Gruul has no way to deal with it while our guild leader machine guns everything. It's like a more expensive Olivia.

 

[Lucario]

edit: nah

 

[Firemind]

Heh. PV posted an article about Steam Augury.

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/spoiler-spotlight-steam-augury/

He explained it better than I did.

That said, it does have some advantages over those two cards. By choosing which cards go into each pile, you can mix and match as you want. If you play Gifts Ungiven for Channel, Fireball, Illusions of Grandeur, and Donate, they’re just going to give you Channel and Donate, and the same is going to happen if those show up in Fact or Fiction. With Steam Augury, you can make sure that you get either Channel and Fireball or Illusions of Grandeur and Donate. Those are obviously extreme examples, but the point they illustrate is very valid.

Imagine, for example, that you are stuck on red mana and you flip a Mountain and an important double-red card—with Fact or Fiction, they could just split both, but with this card you can make sure that if you get your red card you will also get your second Mountain to play it. In fact, one of the most common Fact or Fiction splits was lands versus spells—FoF decks were naturally mana hungry, so you couldn’t afford to give them cards and the mana to play them, you had to hope that, if they took the cards, they would then be constrained on mana. With Steam Augury, you can avoid this situation. It also came up that you were really looking for a card and two copies of it would show up, and you’d get a 3-2 split, so you’d get the card you wanted but nothing else; with Steam Augury, you can make sure you get what you need and something else for your troubles.

His list:

4 Young Pyromancer
4 Goblin Electromancer
4 Spellheart Chimera
1 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Steam Augury
4 Essence Scatter
4 Izzet Charm
3 Mizzium Mortars
4 Quicken
2 Dissolve
3 Lightning Strike
23 Lands

 

[Kacar]

Drafted for the first time tonight in Theros. Went 0-2-1. This fucking 50 year old lady was going so slow it ended with a draw with me 20 life ahead and 5 creatures more than her.

 

[OnPoint]

Two boxes and a fat pack.

1 Thoughtseize
5 Scry duals (two of the red/green)
2 of that extra turn sphinx mythic
2 Heliod
2 Erebos
2 Fleecemane Lion
1 Shrine of Nythkos
1 Shitty Mythic gorgon foil (ugh)
1 Ashiok
1 Anger of the Gods
3 Hero's Downfall
1 Elspeth... emblem LOL

So, 1 Thoughtseize vs like 5 of that stupid blue monstrous kraken? Please. I'm done with them shorting the good cards and flooding the bad cards and saying they don't do that. Nobody ever pulls 5 Thoughtseizes from the amount of cards I bought. No one ever does. I'm feeling like I'm done buying cards in booster box form. I've seen the light. Singles night, do it right.

 

[kirblar]

Two boxes and a fat pack.

1 Thoughtseize
5 Scry duals (two of the red/green)
2 of that extra turn sphinx mythic
2 Heliod
2 Erebos
2 Fleecemane Lion
1 Shrine of Nythkos
1 Shitty Mythic gorgon foil (ugh)
1 Ashiok
1 Anger of the Gods
3 Hero's Downfall
1 Elspeth... emblem LOL

So, 1 Thoughtseize vs like 5 of that stupid blue monstrous kraken? Please. I'm done with them shorting the good cards and flooding the bad cards and saying they don't do that. Nobody ever pulls 5 Thoughtseizes from the amount of cards I bought. No one ever does. I'm feeling like I'm done buying cards in booster box form. I've seen the light. Singles night, do it right.

I'll post my tab so far later. All in all, I'll spend about $300 for my singles. Keep in mind I already owned Thoughtseizes which I got at $35 each.

 

[blindrocket]

Two boxes and a fat pack.

1 Thoughtseize
5 Scry duals (two of the red/green)
2 of that extra turn sphinx mythic
2 Heliod
2 Erebos
2 Fleecemane Lion
1 Shrine of Nythkos
1 Shitty Mythic gorgon foil (ugh)
1 Ashiok
1 Anger of the Gods
3 Hero's Downfall
1 Elspeth... emblem LOL

So, 1 Thoughtseize vs like 5 of that stupid blue monstrous kraken? Please. I'm done with them shorting the good cards and flooding the bad cards and saying they don't do that. Nobody ever pulls 5 Thoughtseizes from the amount of cards I bought. No one ever does. I'm feeling like I'm done buying cards in booster box form. I've seen the light. Singles night, do it right.

Yup.

Though I've spent probably $650 on cards just in RTR block. But that's getting things at the tail end and paying the higher prices... however also getting them on eBay for less than what they are valued at on sites such as SCG.
I don't see a whole lot that I need out of this first set of Theros and what I want shouldn't be too expensive.
Dual lands, sure, I guess. Planeswalkers... okay. God artifact weapons, yes a couple of them. A handful of creatures... that's about it.

 

[Yeef]

My Theros haul so far (5 pre-releases, 1 fat pack, 2 boxes, 1 draft):

2 Celestial Archon
1 Celestial Archon (promo)
2 Chained to the Rocks
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Fabled Hero
3 Gift of Immortality
1 Hundred-Handed One
3 Soldier of the Pantheon
2 Spear of Heliod
4 Bident of Thassa
1 Bident of Thassa (promo)
3 Curse of the Swine
3 Master of Waves
3 Meletis Charlatan
2 Shipbreaker Kraken
1 Shipbreaker Kraken (promo)
2 Swan Song
1 Thassa, God of the Sea
1 Abhorrent Overlord
1 Abhorrent Overlord (promo)
3 Hero's Downfall
2 Nighthowler
2 Thoughtseize
3 Whip of Erebos
1 Anger of the Gods
4 Ember Swallower
1 Ember Swallower (promo)
2 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Hammer of Purphoros
1 Labyrinth Champion
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge (foil)
2 Rageblood Shaman
2 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Titan of Eternal Fire
2 Anthousa, Setessan Hero
1 Anthousa, Setessan Hero (promo)
2 Arbor Colossus
2 Boon Satyr
2 Bow of Nylea
5 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
1 Reverent Hunter
3 Sylvan Caryatid
5 Anax and Cymede
2 Ashen Rider
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3 Daxos of Meletis
5 Fleecemane Lion
3 Medomai the Ageless
1 Polis Crusher
4 Prophet of Kruphix
3 Reaper of the Wilds
4 Steam Augury
1 Triad of Fates
4 Tymaret, the Murder King
2 Underworld Cerberus
3 Akroan Horse
1 Akroan Horse (foil)
2 Colossus of Akros
1 Colossus of Akros (foil)
2 Temple of Abandon
3 Temple of Deceit
4 Temple of Mystery
2 Temple of Silence
1 Temple of Triumph

 

[Keru_Shiri]

My Theros haul so far (5 pre-releases, 1 fat pack, 2 boxes, 1 draft):

1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge (foil)
2 Stormbreath Dragon

Jealousy...

 

[OnPoint]

Jeeze Yeef. Pretty much got the kind of pull I was hoping for. Lame for me. Good for you.

 

[scoot3r]

Went 3-0-2 in the draft tonight but scrubbed out in top 8. : /

I ran the following :


1 x Lash of the Whip
1x Commune with the Gods
1x Disciple of Phenax
2x Observant Alseid
2x Divine Verdict
2x Pharika's Cure
1x Nemesis of Mortals
1x Time to feed
1x Felhide Minotaur
2x Nessian Asp
1x Leafcrown Dryad
2x Keepsake Gorgon
1x Erebos, God of the Dead
2x Sip of Hemlock
1x Ordeal of Nylea
1x Staunch-Hearted Warrior

9x Swamp
6x Forest
3x Plains

Staunch hearted warrior is a stud. He won some games on his own. 3rd pack I opened the god, so I tried to make it work. I never once got to make him a creature, but his other abilities came into play in several games. I actually should have picked enchantment removal a little higher, I got none but passed on a couple.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Geez people. I'm doing cube drafts because I want to play cube. I lost round one because my opponent topdecked Sower for my Meloku, and I bricked on my next four draws. Then I got the bye because one of the other losers dropped.

I don't want the bye! Even if my deck was terrible, I would still want to play. I'm not trying to convert my tickets into phantom points - I'm trying to play cube!

EDIT: And I thoroughly enjoyed destroying that terrible white weenie deck in round three with Grave Titan and Jace the Mind Sculptor. Thats why I paid WotC an unreasonable number of tickets - to play the game, not just to "win."

 

[y2dvd]

Drafted for the first time tonight in Theros. Went 0-2-1. This fucking 50 year old lady was going so slow it ended with a draw with me 20 life ahead and 5 creatures more than her.

Holy crap, this older guy was hella slow tonight too and we came down to turns, even though there was no way he was gonna win. I thankfully took him out in turn 4 but I had to ask him when he was done with each phase. I'm usually not that kinda guy but he was taking so much time with everything. Sometimes I wish there was a timer at FNM like MTGO lol.

Went 4-0 in drafts tonight. Only note-worthy rare I pulled was a foil Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. I think the card is absolutely terrible and was wishing I just had another swamp whenever it was in play. You really need a dedicated devotion deck to make that card playable in Standards. I don't ever see needing to run more than 1 in any deck.

1xShipwreck Singer: This card really shined mid-late game. Forcing creatures to attacks so you can block kill it or to have them tapped to swing next turn was great.
1xVaporkin: High pick. Got a lot of unanswered dmg with him thx to this set lacking 1/3 fliers.
1xReturned Phalanx
1xArtisan of Forms
1xOmenspeaker
1xFelhide Minotaur
3xNimbus Naiad: I will pick these up all day son. I've seen people make the mistake of holding onto these for too long, wanting to Bestow it. If you have 3 mana up, no lands at hand, and have nothing else to play, drop it and start doing dmg next turn.
1xDisciple of Phenax
1xThassa's Emissary: This Bestowed on a creature that's already bestowed with Nimbus Naiad = lulz
1xBreaching Hippocamp
1xGray Merchant of Asphodel: Pretty high pick imo if you're mostly black.
1xPrescient Chimera
1xKeepsake Gorgon: Pretty bombish even with the 2/5 body. The expensive monstrosity kill trigger prevented opponents from even bothering with their own big fatties.
1xShipbreaker Kraken
1xPharika's Cure
2xLost in a Labyrith: It's no Sensory Deprivation nor Wring's Flesh. I usually sideboarded 1 out.
1xFate Foretold
1xDissolve
1xGriptide
1xSeagod's Revenge
1xNykthos, Shrine to Nyx
9xIsland
7xSwamp

I didn't have much of a sb. Cavern of Lampad if I knew I could intimidate. Another Omenspeaker if there was a lot of x/1 bodies. I thought about Thassa's Bounty but I feared if I was behind and played that card, opponent gets a free monstrosity or plays a fatty for free. What yall think about Thassa's Bounty?

General thoughts about Theros draft
Gonna probably state what others were already saying, blue seems like the best color. Curves out well, has cheap, evasive fliers, and some great late game answers. Removals are hard to come by; highly pick them. I rarely saw any being used, allowing auras to dominate games. Touching up on Nimbus Naiad again, drop it early if you can't bestow it anytime soon. I dropped it or Cavern Lampad on T3 and got so much dmg dropping it early.

 

[rCIZZLE]

Ended up playing a pretty unexciting esper list last night for standard. Went with 5 win-cons (2 BBoV, 2 Aetherling, 1 Elspeth) and a lot of 2-ofs just to get a feel for what works and what doesn't in theros standard. Took it to 3-1 with my wins coming against mirror, R/G aggro, and UWR aggro and loss coming against RDW. Had a close G1 with RDW but having to mulligan to 5, on the play, before hitting a single land didn't give me much information about the matchup. Here's the full list:

Creatures:
2 Omenspeaker
2 Blood Baron
2 Aetherling

Planeswalkers:
3 Jace, AoT
1 Elspeth

Instants:
2 Dissolve
2 Syncopate
3 Doom Blade
2 Devour Flesh
3 Sphinx's Rev
2 Azorius Charm
1 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

Holy crap, this older guy was hella slow tonight too and we came down to turns, even though there was no way he was gonna win. I thankfully took him out in turn 4 but I had to ask him when he was done with each phase. I'm usually not that kinda guy but he was taking so much time with everything. Sometimes I wish there was a timer at FNM like MTGO lol.

Soon as someone reads and rereads every card in their hand each turn and doesn't even say "end turn" when they're ready to pass, I let them know that they should change the way they're playing. Don't even care if it makes me look like an asshole. At least it might help the event end a little earlier. Even worse, these people seem to be the ones who absolutely can't wait for your turn to end to the point that they ignore second main. Can't tell you how many times I attack and while I'm adjusting life totals, I see my opponent untapping and reaching for a card.

 

[AMUSIX]

So, about a month and a half ago, a friend of mine convinced me to try Magic. It's been fun, made myself a Red-White deck, a sliver deck, and a green-black deck, all with some pretty decent cards.

Well, today, I ended up splurging, bought a bunch of Theros boosters, and now really don't know what to do with any of this stuff. I understand each card individually, I'm just not comfortable enough building a deck from scratch, so I'm turning to you. What I'm listing here are all of the Rare and (whatever's Rarer than Rare...the red symbols) cards that I got from my packs. Looking at it, I'm thinking I want to build a black-white deck, but if someone sees something else, I'm good with any direction.

Oh, and I gave up almost all the blues to my friend...he loves blue, I've tried playing it a few times, and it just doesn't click with me.

I'll order these by color:

WHITE
Elspeth, Sun's Champion (2x)
Heliod, God of the Sun
Soldier of the Pantheon
Fabled Hero
Chained to the Rocks (3x)
Gift of Immortality
Celestial Archon
Hundred Handed One
Spear of Heliod

BLACK
Erebos, God of the Dead (2x)
Thoughtseize (3x)
Abhorrent Overlord (2x)
Hythonia the Cruel (2x)
Nighthowler
Agent of the Fates
Whip of Erebos

GREEN
Nylea, God of the Hunt (2x)
Arbor Colossus
Bow of Nylea (2x)
Sylvan Caryatid (6x)
Anthousa, Setessan Hero (2x)
Boon Satyr (2x)
Reverent Hunter
Mistcutter Hydra
Polukranos, World Eater

RED
Purphoros, God of the Forge
Hammer of Purphoros
Titan of Eternal Fire
Labyrinth Champion
Firedrinker Satyr
Ember Swallower

BLUE
Artisan of Forms
Shipbreaker Kraken

MULTI
Anax and Cymede (2x)
Ashen Rider
Prophet of Kruphix (3x)
Reaper of the Wilds
Underworld Cerberus
Triad of Fates
Sentry of the Underworld
Tymaret, the Murder King
Polis Crusher

LAND
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Temple of Triumph
Temple of Abandon (2x)
Temple of Silence (2x)
Temple of Mystery

ARTIFACT
Pyxis of Pandemonium
Colossus of Akros
Akroan Horse (3x)



So, looking at these, and assuming I pretty much have access to any Common and Uncommon cards you want...where the hell do I even start?

Thank you immensely for any help`

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Trying to decide if I want to stay up all night to play the Modern Masters PTQ on MTGO. The damn MTGO PTQs always start so late if you're not in the US; this one won't start until midnight. I know PTQs are bad value, and even more so here since Modern Masters PTQs cost more, and I know that I'll be punting left and right from sleep deprivation.

...but it's Modern Masters...

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Looks like Cube is going to satisfy my cravings for Limited magic, so no terrible EV Modern Masters for me tonight. Just had a 3-0 in Cube with this sweet list:

Round 1 I took down a Gruul aggro list. Lingering Souls and Old Man of the Sea went overtime in this match. I actually sat behind tokens, Tradewind Riders, and an active Old Man to win with a Jace ultimate in game two.

The only reason I'm telling this story is for game one of round two. My opponent is playing Natural Order, and he resolves it for Progenitus after I had already spent my countermagic on what I thought were the real threats. I stare at the board for about a minute before realizing that I have a Tradewind Rider on board, a Sakashima's Student in hand, and he has no blockers. With the new Legend rule, he'd just given me my win condition. I only wish I could have seen his reaction...

That one went to three games, and we both had about 10 cards left in our libraries when I finally managed to draw one of my win conditions (Lingering Souls) to close the game out. I cast Forbid three times in that game - that card is insane...

Round three was against a BW tempo deck. Game two I copied his Nightveil Specter with my Student, then pitched Forbid to Misdirection to make his Tendrils eat his own Specter, then flipped over Hymn to Tourach off the top of his library. That one was pretty sweet.

 

[Neverender]

Went 4-0 at FNM last night with this deck, except Omenspeakers for Augurs, Spellheart Chimeras for Restos, Daxos for Snappy and Magma Jets for Pillars. Just quickly replaced the rotated stuff with what I had around and it worked ok. Kind of janky though, probably won't fair too well once everyone else gets their decks together properly.

 

[blindrocket]

FNM at my LGS was a draft, so of course I did not go. Today they are drafting again.
I understand stores wanting to host a draft so that they can make more money, but I want to play constructed.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

I missed my store's inaugural Theros draft because I brainfarted and didn't sign up early on the way home. Still really bummed about that one.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Anyone else got any other "reading is tech" anecdotes to share?

You mean like when your opponent uses Phage the Untouchable as their commander?

 

[OnPoint]

I want to build a mono-black Gray Merchant deck. Here are my first thoughts. Anyone have ideas on this?

I feel like these are the musts in the deck, with Gray Merchant + Rescue from the Underworld doing heavy lifting, while the Whip is on backup duty:

Whip of Erebos
Gray Merchant
Rescue from the Underworld​

Then we need backup kill conditions that work well with either devotion or lots of swamps:

Erebros
Abhorrent Overlord
Corrupt
Maybe Nightmare? lol probably not​

Then we need to bolster our devotion, fill out the spells and creatures... here are some thoughts I had:

Read the Bones
Desecration Demon
Dark Prophecy
Crypt Ghast
Contaminated Ground
Blood Scrivener
Basilica Screecher
Daggerdrome Imp
Devour Flesh
Doom Blade/Hero's Demise​

Read the Bones is help to refill the hand. Desecration Demon is 2x devotion but also a pretty strong creature. Dark Prophecy is self explanatory. Crypt Ghast probably does not have a role in this deck. Contaminated Ground would be good to hose a player in the right situation and adds devotion. Scrivener is probably not good. Creature kill is obvious. We need something to clock up the air and ground, hence the Screecher and Imps. Maybe they're bad? Probably. But they are unassuming and help with devotion.

 

[f0rk]

Splashes are pretty easy with Lilliana of the Dark Realms.
Underworld Connections is good for devotion.
Creating synergies with Dark Prophecy would be cool but you need a powerful sacrifice engine besides just Rescue from the Underworld. Also more value creatures to sacrifice and bring back.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I moved stuff around to turn my mono-black Mikaeus deck into a modern Vampire deck since Mikaeus isn't strong enough. Any thoughts?


4 Thoughtsieze
4 Guul-Draz Assassin

4 Bloodghast
3 Kalastria Highborn
2 Nim Deathmantle

3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Phyrexian Arena
2 Liliana of the Veil

3 Vampire Nocturnus
3 Sangromancer
2 Erebos, God of the Dead

2 Xathrid Demon

16 Swamps
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

 

[OnPoint]

Still looking for thoughts, updated list for new page based on f0rk's suggestions. Thanks man.

Not sure Dark Prophecy is right for this list because there doesn't seem to be a ton of value black creatures right now as per your suggestion, like there were previously in standard.

Big Black Devotion

Main Kill Cons:
Gray Merchant
Rescue from the Underworld
Whip of Erebos

Haymakers
Erebros
Abhorrent Overlord
Corrupt

Other cards
Underworld Connections
Basilica Screecher
Desecration Demon
Lifebane Zombie
Contaminated Ground
Doom Blade/Hero's Demise/Devour Flesh
Read the Bones
Daggerdrome Imp
Pharika's Cure
Liliana of the Dark Realms
Child of Night
Blood Scrivener
Nightveil Spectre?
Duress/Thoughtseize?
Festering Newt (lol)
​

 

[y2dvd]

Here's my take on mono-black. Kinda aggressive.

4xTormented Hero
4xRakdos Cackler
4xRakdos Shred-Freak
3xMogis's Marauder
4xLifebane Zombie
3xDesecration Demon
1xErebos, God of the Dead
2xGray Merchant of Asphodel
1xBloodBairn

26 creatures

2xDoom Blade
3xHero's Downfall
1xDevour Flesh
1xPharika's Cure
1xWhip of Erebos
1xThoughtseize

9 spells

22xSwamp
2xMutavault
1xNykthos, Shrine to Nyx

I don't think Erebos, God of the Dead fits in this deck. It's a little slow for this. It's also why I didn't include Liliana or Underworld Connections. I think Erebos could be replaced with maybe another Desecration Demon, but I kept it on the list for now as there are plenty of cards to set off devotion. Got cheap aggressors in there that can hopefully get through late game with Mogis's Marauder.

I like Agent of Fates as a card but I'm not sure how to build around it to trigger Heroic. Boon of Erebos looks like a decent enabler. Mogis's Marauder can actually set Agent of Fates off. Maybe take out Desecration Demons or Rakdos Shred-Freak for Agent of Fates and fit in Boon of Erebos somewhere in there. It'll give me several 3cmc in Lifebane Zombie, Mogis's Marauder, Agent of Fates, and Bloodbairn so that makes Immortal Servitude an enticing sb card vs control.

 

[f0rk]

There is no way Rakdos Cackler should be in the same deck as Blood Baron or Grey Merchant.

OnPoint I think you want to splash white for Sin Collector and maybe Cartel Aristocrats but the deck is a set or two short of being that good. Like you say there aren't enough playable ETB creatures. I hope Dark Prophecy gets good though it looks fun.

 

[rCIZZLE]

There is no way Rakdos Cackler should be in the same deck as Blood Baron or Grey Merchant.

OnPoint I think you want to splash white for Sin Collector and maybe Cartel Aristocrats but the deck is a set or two short of being that good. Like you say there aren't enough playable ETB creatures. I hope Dark Prophecy gets good though it looks fun.

Pretty sure he put Blood Bairn not Blood Baron as a sac outlet at least for the whip.