divisionbyzorro
Member
From what I've seen, True-Name Nemesis appears to be completely miserable to play against.
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Magic: the GAFering |OT2|
- Thread starter The Technomancer
- Start date
From what I've seen, True-Name Nemesis appears to be completely miserable to play against.
BUST OUT THE BAN HAMMER AMIRITE?! JAY KAY
I can't imagine it would be very fun to play against, honestly. I wonder how the format will adjust as its influence grows.
divisionbyzorro
Member
There were a ton of Storm decks featured in the GP on day one. I don't know if the overall metagame had as much Storm as what was shown on the stream, but part of me was wondering if a lot of players just didn't want to deal with TNN.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Dimir forever
I'll never play legacy so I think I might sell my True Name Nemesis, I mean its not going to get printed for another format and it's bad in EDH. Might sell my one Liliana as well and put the money towards the fetches to get me started in Modern.
Although if I want to take B/R aggro further I need a playset of Thoughtseizes as well :/ And I'm not sure that deck will last much longer, let alone past the next set release.
Although if I want to take B/R aggro further I need a playset of Thoughtseizes as well :/ And I'm not sure that deck will last much longer, let alone past the next set release.
divisionbyzorro
Member
The fair decks were getting jealous of the unfair decks, so they all started playing the most unfair of the fair cards.
TNN is such a dumb and degenerate card. Really makes me question who the fuck is approving this shit.
blindrocket
Member
Why is supplemental product even allowed in the format anyway?
I would think that tournaments should only allow core and expert set released cards to be playable.
I would think that tournaments should only allow core and expert set released cards to be playable.
divisionbyzorro
Member
It specifically lets them print cards targeted at Legacy/Vintage without having to make those cards pass through Standard. It's actually a really good idea for the health of the game overall.
They knew exactly what they were doing when they designed it. Whether that turns out to be a good idea in the long run or not remains to be seen.
blindrocket
Member
Okay, that actually makes sense once I think more clearly about it.
A new card that they want to add may be too powerful for standard but would be right at home in Legacy.
ThLunarian
Member
Mirror Entity was an important part of Reveillark decks back in the day. It allowed them to go infinite with Reveillark, Body double, Mirror Entity, and Venser/Riftwing Cloudskate.
As I recall, the combo went "Activate Mirror Entity for 0, a number of times equal to the number of permanents you control, all in response to each other. First one resolves, wiping my board. Reveillark triggers, bring back Body Double (copying Reveillark) and Venser, bounce something. Second Mirror Entity trigger resolves, killing everything. BodyDouble/Reveillark triggers, bring back Body Double and Venser. Rinse and repeat until you have an empty board."
Ended up going 1-2-1 day 2 which was a little disappointing. All 4 matches were very close and could have went either way. I'm happy with my overall 8-4-1 and all the good games over the weekend. Even got to play Saito which was pretty cool. Even made some progress foiling out more of the non-fetches in my deck between rounds. 
Seemed like there was a lot more storm day 1 than day 2. Luckily I dodged combo except a tin fins player that got hit with T2 hatebear and an omnitell player who had the absolute nuts against me. 3 of the 4 decks I faced on day 2 featured TNN with the other one being traditional RUG delver.
Seemed like there was a lot more storm day 1 than day 2. Luckily I dodged combo except a tin fins player that got hit with T2 hatebear and an omnitell player who had the absolute nuts against me. 3 of the 4 decks I faced on day 2 featured TNN with the other one being traditional RUG delver.
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
Cracked a foil Boros Reckoner today. Any takers?
Nice, what were you running? I scrubbed out at 3-3 with RUG delver.
Lost the first round to Thespian Stage/Dark Depths (I did not realize stifling the second trigger would be pointless, awesome newb play) and punted another game vs TNN/Deathblade.
Beat Elves, Storm, and Dredge lol.
it was a ton of fun wish I knew fellow gaffers were gonna be there.
keeblerdrow
Member
Bought a holiday gift box. Got my Elspeth #2 out of the packs inside. Good buy.
Holiday box? Quoi?
keeblerdrow
Member
GWb Maverick. Ya I didn't do too good of a job trying to meetup with any gaffers that would be there. Would have been fun to get a few games in. Next big tournament I'll probably be going to is the SCG Open in Baltimore in January if anybody is going and wants to meet up.
blindrocket
Member
I think they put one in every box. Isn't that why she's in the picture?
Sweet pull
"God's Beard!"
Member
4 Thoughtseize
4 Far // Away
3 Azorius Charm
3 Detention Sphere
3 Psychic Strike
3 Pilfered Plans
3 Crypt Incursion
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Consuming Aberration
3 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Silence
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Unknown Shores
2 Swamp
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Far // Away
3 Azorius Charm
3 Detention Sphere
3 Psychic Strike
3 Pilfered Plans
3 Crypt Incursion
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Consuming Aberration
3 Jace, Memory Adept
4 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Silence
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Unknown Shores
2 Swamp
1 Island
1 Plains
I'll be there!
[QUOTE="God's Beard!";90444494]I've been playing my Standard milling deck a lot lately. It seems to be pretty effective, but I'm just short of the control I need to get the number of turns necessary to win against some decks. Red in particular causes a lot of problems for me.
So I'm considering splashing white to slow the game down a bit.
4 Thoughtseize
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Breaking // Entering
4 Azorius Charm
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Read the Bones
3 Crypt Incursion
2 Chromatic Lantern
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Consuming Aberration
2 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
4 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Silence
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Unknown Shores
2 Swamp
1 Island
1 Plains
I don't know, it feels weird. Any advice?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I think most aggro decks would run over this deck. I've been playing almost exclusive control for the past several weeks and even with all of my removal spells, aggro can still squeeze in a win. No point of milling them if you can't even take care what's in their starting hand.
I now think Ratchet Bomb is too slow and should be taken out for kill cards like Hero's Downfall/Doom Blade/Devour of Flesh/Warped Physique. I would also take out Deathrite Shaman for some D-Sphere's. You have plenty of mana fixing so Chromatic Lantern isn't needed. 4 Thoughtseize and 2 Read the Bones is overkill. Cut the Thoughtseize down to 2-3 and Read the Bones to 2. I'd actually want to try Pilfered Plans over Read the Bones. Ashiok should be your win condition, not Consuming Aberration. If anything, replace Consuming Aberration with Nightveil Specter. It helps with the milling. Because Nightveil Specter is evasive, I'd lose the Rogue's Passage. Not enough creature to take advantage of it anyways. Dimir Charm doesn't look like a bad card to sb in for aggro or just to mill them a little more. Your deck is lacking counter spells - Psychic Strike! And while I would take out Breaking/Entering & Crypt Incursion, I kind of want to see how this plays out for you lol.
So I'm considering splashing white to slow the game down a bit.
4 Thoughtseize
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Breaking // Entering
4 Azorius Charm
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Read the Bones
3 Crypt Incursion
2 Chromatic Lantern
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Consuming Aberration
2 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
4 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Deceit
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple of Silence
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Unknown Shores
2 Swamp
1 Island
1 Plains
I don't know, it feels weird. Any advice?[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I think most aggro decks would run over this deck. I've been playing almost exclusive control for the past several weeks and even with all of my removal spells, aggro can still squeeze in a win. No point of milling them if you can't even take care what's in their starting hand.
I now think Ratchet Bomb is too slow and should be taken out for kill cards like Hero's Downfall/Doom Blade/Devour of Flesh/Warped Physique. I would also take out Deathrite Shaman for some D-Sphere's. You have plenty of mana fixing so Chromatic Lantern isn't needed. 4 Thoughtseize and 2 Read the Bones is overkill. Cut the Thoughtseize down to 2-3 and Read the Bones to 2. I'd actually want to try Pilfered Plans over Read the Bones. Ashiok should be your win condition, not Consuming Aberration. If anything, replace Consuming Aberration with Nightveil Specter. It helps with the milling. Because Nightveil Specter is evasive, I'd lose the Rogue's Passage. Not enough creature to take advantage of it anyways. Dimir Charm doesn't look like a bad card to sb in for aggro or just to mill them a little more. Your deck is lacking counter spells - Psychic Strike! And while I would take out Breaking/Entering & Crypt Incursion, I kind of want to see how this plays out for you lol.
Some folks over at Salvation are theorizing that the gift box always has sweet pulls. Sounds ridiculous, of course, but some of the reported pulls are pretty damn nice... I might do it just because I'm stupid.
Watch me pull four Akroan Horses.
divisionbyzorro
Member
In general, I really enjoy the Theros limited format. But it does get really annoying to build a sweet, solid deck, and lose to Ordeal on Akroan Crusader...
At least I dodged it until the finals, so I did get some packs. And pulled a Stormbreath Dragon. And a Whip of Erebos. And an Abhorrent Overlord. It was a sweet deck...
Amusingly, I never needed to cast the Dragon or Overlord to get to the finals. The Whip just wins games on its own.
At least I dodged it until the finals, so I did get some packs. And pulled a Stormbreath Dragon. And a Whip of Erebos. And an Abhorrent Overlord. It was a sweet deck...
Amusingly, I never needed to cast the Dragon or Overlord to get to the finals. The Whip just wins games on its own.
BeardyChan
Member
Can anyone recommend a good resource to find values of cards? I've found a few rarer cards from pre Urza days. Surprised they were still in good condition after being in storage for over 10 years.
divisionbyzorro
Member
You can get a decent idea by searching Starcitygames.com or TCGplayer.com
If you find that any of them are really valuable, you'll want to come back here for more advice.
Magiccardmarket.eu?
MTGPrice.com is a good aggregator.
Some folks over at Salvation are theorizing that the gift box always has sweet pulls. Sounds ridiculous, of course, but some of the reported pulls are pretty damn nice... I might do it just because I'm stupid.
Watch me pull four Akroan Horses.
Let's see I got an underworld cerebus/sylvan caratyid/whip of erebos/nighthowler/ and a foil stormbreath out of mine that I pulled on friday.
Morning draft, I thought I finally figured out R/G. It's not normally a place I want to be in Theros, but I've been wanting to experiment with the less established archtypes.
Decklist was something like this:
7 Forest
10 Mountain
2 Dragon Mantle
1 Coordinated Assault
3 Leafcrown Dryad
1 Ordeal of Nylea
1 Satyr Hedonist
2 Spearpoint Oread
1 Nessian Courser
1 Bow of Nylea
3 Two-Headed Cerberus
1 Ill-Tempered Cyclops
1 Purphoros's Emissary
1 Rage of Purphoros
1 Nylea's Emissary
2 Labyrinth Champion
2 Nessian Asp
Was put in a pretty easy position during drafting. Extremely strong signals for green, multiple players appeared to be fighting over blue, black was moderately open but I kept being passed things that clogged my curve. After a couple Labyrinth Champions I figured it'd be at least funny to attempt a synergistic R/G deck, and my first few Cerberuses...Cerburi? made it much easier to make up my mind.
mistakes:
1 Fleetfeather Sandals left in sideboard
I was going to bring it in against everything that isn't aggro -- definitely should've been in the main, despite being a pretty bad card in most decks. Why? R/G has hugeass creatures, but lacks evasion, so their dudes are prone to being chump blocked. I don't particularly enjoy running Portent of Betrayal in a lot of matchups, as boards can get seriously clogged, so this seemed like a natural fit to get some damage in with this archtype. Cerberus into a bestowed Leafcrown Dryad into this, even if it's much later in the game, is an absolute beating.
Only played 17 lands. It didn't end up being relevant, but this deck really wants to hit 6-7 mana -- bestow and monstrosity are expensive.
So I was pretty damn happy about getting three leafcrown dryads, at least. Got a great opener game 1 -- Dryad, Ordeal, 3 lands, Centaur Courser, Dragon Mantle.
Opponent, on the play, went Battlewise Hoplite into Ordeal of Thassa. GG.
Game 2 I kept a more questionable hand, but it had a 2-drop and enough lands, so I went with it. Note that I have no scorpions, so the ordeal strategy works pretty obscenely well against me -- not that it mattered, because every chance I had to double block and kill my opponent's hoplite last game, he had a combat trick to save.
Opponent, on the draw, went battlewise hoplite into ordeal of thassa. GG.
I really need to prioritize scorpions. On second thought, I probably could've been black green, but I only saw one Baleful Eidolon during the draft. I guess I just wanted a Pharika's Cure -- any early removal, really. My deck didn't have any lightning strikes, and kind of ended up being an example of why you need at least some removal. (then again, sometimes your opponent just runs hot.)
If I had kept going on my original path, with W/G, I probably would've been fine. White dried up in late pack 1/most of pack 2 so I only managed to grab a Divine Verdict before switching. Pack 3 was pretty stocked, however, with ridiculous shit like pick 11 Eidolon.
Theros draft rule #1: Make sure your deck does something. No, piles of 3+cc creatures will not support a deck full of Dragon Mantles and Ordeals. You need 2-drop creatures if you want to support strategies like that, even if they're just Bronze Sable.
Theros draft rule #2: Have outs for the ordeal decks. Scorpion and Eidolon are higher picks than they should be.
Theros draft rule #3: Good creatures are better than bad removal. Early in the format, so many people had things like Rage of Purphoros dangerously high up in their pick order. No. Don't do this. I can name a dozen creatures I'd pick over that card. 5cc removal won't kill big monstrous threats, won't advance your board state, are too slow to hit most ordealed creatures before your opponent gets benefit from them, etc. They're still useful, mostly for clearing out evasive attackers, but they absolutely should not be chosen over solid creatures.
Theros draft rule #4: Certain color combinations are ridiculously clogged with playables at certain converted mana costs This is only a good thing if that converted mana cost is 2. R/G is perhaps the worst offender, with 4cc playables at all rarities -- even its bomb rare, Polis Crusher, is a 4-drop. If you are in this color combo, prioritize things like Leafcrown Dryad over things like Purphoros's Emissary. Otherwise, you'll end up with a do-nothing deck that starts on turn 3, if you're lucky.
Decklist was something like this:
7 Forest
10 Mountain
2 Dragon Mantle
1 Coordinated Assault
3 Leafcrown Dryad
1 Ordeal of Nylea
1 Satyr Hedonist
2 Spearpoint Oread
1 Nessian Courser
1 Bow of Nylea
3 Two-Headed Cerberus
1 Ill-Tempered Cyclops
1 Purphoros's Emissary
1 Rage of Purphoros
1 Nylea's Emissary
2 Labyrinth Champion
2 Nessian Asp
Was put in a pretty easy position during drafting. Extremely strong signals for green, multiple players appeared to be fighting over blue, black was moderately open but I kept being passed things that clogged my curve. After a couple Labyrinth Champions I figured it'd be at least funny to attempt a synergistic R/G deck, and my first few Cerberuses...Cerburi? made it much easier to make up my mind.
mistakes:
1 Fleetfeather Sandals left in sideboard
I was going to bring it in against everything that isn't aggro -- definitely should've been in the main, despite being a pretty bad card in most decks. Why? R/G has hugeass creatures, but lacks evasion, so their dudes are prone to being chump blocked. I don't particularly enjoy running Portent of Betrayal in a lot of matchups, as boards can get seriously clogged, so this seemed like a natural fit to get some damage in with this archtype. Cerberus into a bestowed Leafcrown Dryad into this, even if it's much later in the game, is an absolute beating.
Only played 17 lands. It didn't end up being relevant, but this deck really wants to hit 6-7 mana -- bestow and monstrosity are expensive.
So I was pretty damn happy about getting three leafcrown dryads, at least. Got a great opener game 1 -- Dryad, Ordeal, 3 lands, Centaur Courser, Dragon Mantle.
Opponent, on the play, went Battlewise Hoplite into Ordeal of Thassa. GG.
Game 2 I kept a more questionable hand, but it had a 2-drop and enough lands, so I went with it. Note that I have no scorpions, so the ordeal strategy works pretty obscenely well against me -- not that it mattered, because every chance I had to double block and kill my opponent's hoplite last game, he had a combat trick to save.
Opponent, on the draw, went battlewise hoplite into ordeal of thassa. GG.
I really need to prioritize scorpions. On second thought, I probably could've been black green, but I only saw one Baleful Eidolon during the draft. I guess I just wanted a Pharika's Cure -- any early removal, really. My deck didn't have any lightning strikes, and kind of ended up being an example of why you need at least some removal. (then again, sometimes your opponent just runs hot.)
If I had kept going on my original path, with W/G, I probably would've been fine. White dried up in late pack 1/most of pack 2 so I only managed to grab a Divine Verdict before switching. Pack 3 was pretty stocked, however, with ridiculous shit like pick 11 Eidolon.
Theros draft rule #1: Make sure your deck does something. No, piles of 3+cc creatures will not support a deck full of Dragon Mantles and Ordeals. You need 2-drop creatures if you want to support strategies like that, even if they're just Bronze Sable.
Theros draft rule #2: Have outs for the ordeal decks. Scorpion and Eidolon are higher picks than they should be.
Theros draft rule #3: Good creatures are better than bad removal. Early in the format, so many people had things like Rage of Purphoros dangerously high up in their pick order. No. Don't do this. I can name a dozen creatures I'd pick over that card. 5cc removal won't kill big monstrous threats, won't advance your board state, are too slow to hit most ordealed creatures before your opponent gets benefit from them, etc. They're still useful, mostly for clearing out evasive attackers, but they absolutely should not be chosen over solid creatures.
Theros draft rule #4: Certain color combinations are ridiculously clogged with playables at certain converted mana costs This is only a good thing if that converted mana cost is 2. R/G is perhaps the worst offender, with 4cc playables at all rarities -- even its bomb rare, Polis Crusher, is a 4-drop. If you are in this color combo, prioritize things like Leafcrown Dryad over things like Purphoros's Emissary. Otherwise, you'll end up with a do-nothing deck that starts on turn 3, if you're lucky.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Yeah, Hero's Downfall and Devour Flesh are super good. I do like Ratchet Bomb, though. It kills Pithing Needle and helps a lot against red decks with burning tree emmissary.
I could see D-Spheres over the Lanterns and 1 Thoughtseize. I have a soft spot for my DRS ramp, though. I really wish there was an evolving wilds equivalent.
I've run both Pilfered Plans and Underworld Connections, but Read the Bones is the best. It's the easiest to cast and digs through 4 cards. Saves me all the time.
20+ unblockable Aberration is my favorite.
I have Nightveil Specter in right now, but it's pretty ineffectual so I'm trying out the Ratchet Bombs. Same goes with the Psychic Strikes I took out. Just not coming up enough at useful points in the games. I originally had 4 dimir charms, but Breaking is so good. I sideboard Phraika's Cure for small creatures.
Breaking // Entering and Crypt Incursion are the only reason I win games with my deck. I can get 10-15 life off of one Breaking against aggro, and I've gotten 40+ once Jace was allowed on the field.
For reference, this is my current deck without splashing white:
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Thoughtseize
4 Breaking // Entering
4 Far // Away
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Ashiok, NIghtmare Weaver
3 Read the Bones
3 Crypt Incursion
4 Desecration Demon
3 Jace, Memory Adept
3 Consuming Aberration
4 Watery Grave
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Rogue's Passage
2 Unknown Shores
7 Swamp
5 Island
As long as I get a DRS into Breaking, I'm super happy.
keeblerdrow
Member
Actually, that's been true (money cards for eeeeeveryone!) anecdotally for me. I bought another box with a Xenagos and A shook in it. The packs in the box come three in one of the rows and one pack sitting by itself in another row. The single pack in my first box had the Elspeth. The single in the second box had the Ashiok.
Completely anecdotal, but I'd love to see more data.
I'm pretty sure it's been confirmed that boosters in non-booster box product are actually randomized, whereas actual booster boxes are not. That probably accounts for the huge change in variance in stuff like fat packs and holiday boxes.
In my holiday box, I got 2 Temple of Silence, a Fabled Hero and a Celestial Archon.
In my holiday box, I got 2 Temple of Silence, a Fabled Hero and a Celestial Archon.
I got an Arbor Colossus, Temple of Mystery, Rageblood Shaman and Soldier of the Pantheon in my holiday giftbox. There's no way they seed those things with more valuable boosters. It's just that for everyone who pulls an Elspeth and brags about it, there're 10 others who pull junk and don't say a word.
Yup. Had normal pulls in my RTR holiday boxes last year.
Speaking of, why aren't they changing that already? Mapping and "repacking" is a pretty despicable fucking process that should be killed.
Am I the only person who doesn't see how it's profitable for any LGS to map boxes? Every regular would know within a week, you'd lose a ton of customers when they did, you'd have to hire someone to do it (not a short process at all), etc. Also, most retailers open cases for singles on release day only, so you wouldn't even get a chance to map then -- by the time maps are known, prices have already dipped.
It just doesn't make sense, unless you're a shady dude on ebay who tried it 'just to see if it worked.'
While box mapping absolutely shouldn't be possible, I'm not sure WoTC is convinced it's a big deal. Does anyone here know an LGS that mapped?
It just doesn't make sense, unless you're a shady dude on ebay who tried it 'just to see if it worked.'
While box mapping absolutely shouldn't be possible, I'm not sure WoTC is convinced it's a big deal. Does anyone here know an LGS that mapped?
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I looked into it a while back and determined box mapping is trying to find patterns in randomness.
ThLunarian
Member
I actually thought about opening up an LGS, and my boxmapping strategy was going to be where you pull out the money singles like normal, and use the other packs to run really cheap drafts (like $7 per person), and be upfront that the rares will be mostly chaff. In theory, this would be a good way for a customer to practice drafting on the cheap.
Meanwhile, the money singles could either be put up for sale, or be used to create complete sets, or whatever.
The supply of individual packs for sale would be separate from the mapped boxes, so there would still be incentive for people to buy packs from you.
I don't know if this would have worked out in practice, but that was my plan before I abandoned the idea of opening a store.
blindrocket
Member
I don't want to open a store, but I've pondered the idea of being an ebay dealer.
Those guys must buy ridiculous amounts of boxed product though.
Those guys must buy ridiculous amounts of boxed product though.
this cant be real.
Box Mapping? It's been around for quite awhile. I've seen it done in person numerous times.
blindrocket
Member
What about weighing packs to find the foils?
That was just a gag, right?
That was just a gag, right?
blindrocket
Member
divisionbyzorro
Member
Triple Innistrad drafts this upcoming week. I haven't actually played triple Innistrad much; I bought into MTGO during DII. I might jump into a couple (I know that Travel Preparations was a real thing in that format, but I don't really know anything else). I wonder if it would be worth it...
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