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[esterk]

My store that I'm going to play at is having a special today: $99 boxes for the new set. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of them. Does that make sense for a new standard player?

Ehh...honestly not really, but it's up to you. The set's value is going to stay the same or go up because it's such a small set, but the current value of the set is pretty subpar. Just likeDGM, really there is one mega chase rare, a couple pretty decent ones, and a lot of garbage. Future EDH cards a plenty though in the long run. People will love those Gods. However, I won't discount that opening boxes is actually really fun on it's own, albeit expensive. For that $99 you could get 3 Brimaz, which you are pretty much guaranteed not to get by opening a single box.

TL;DR: No. Just buy the cards you need, trade, or draft.

 

[kirblar]

If they ever found a way to unban GSZ I'd be so happy. Easily #1 on my personal wishlist.

The only reason it's banned is Arbor. You'd have to swap the two.

 

[CorruptShadow]

My store that I'm going to play at is having a special today: $99 boxes for the new set. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of them. Does that make sense for a new standard player?

Honestly no, ripping packs is really fun but this set is pretty miserable in terms of value. You are better off buying/trading for the cards you need. If you are looking to start a collection and want cards drafting is a much better option. Drafting gives you familiarity with the cards, gameplay experience and of course the cards themselves to keep or trade off.

 

[bigkrev]

My store that I'm going to play at is having a special today: $99 boxes for the new set. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of them. Does that make sense for a new standard player?

Nope. Buy boxes only if you NEED to open boosters. You can buy a playset of every common and uncommon, all 3 temples, and a bunch of rares for that same hundred dollars.

 

[y2dvd]

My store that I'm going to play at is having a special today: $99 boxes for the new set. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of them. Does that make sense for a new standard player?

Do it if you have friends to draft with!

 

[ultron87]

Do it if you have friends to draft with!

Theros box would be way better for drafting though.

 

[kirblar]

Here's what I picked up for $156.19 and an example of why this set is bad to preorder. Also, notice that $50 of that is the 5 mythics. (20 for the 3 Epharas, 30 for the 2 Xenagos.)

2 Xenagos
3 Ephara

4 Temple of Plenty
4 Temple of Enlightenment
4 Temple of Malice
4 Spirit of the Labyrinth
3 Satyr Firedancer (pulled one at Prerelease)
4 Fated Retribution
4 Fated Conflagration
4 Fated Intervention
4 Oracle of Bones

4 Fanatic of Xenagos
4 Searing Blood
4 Acolyte's Reward
3 Drown in Sorrow
4 Kiora's Follower
3 Reap What Is Sown
4 Sanguimancy
4 Thunderous Might
4 Ragemonger
4 Thassa's Rebuff
4 Unravel the AEther
4 Bile Blight
4 Skyreaping

 

[Gannd]

Well, I guess I'll just play in drafts to get my "pack opening" fix. I did pick up a fatpack of the new set mainly for the box and to get "something" new. I've been watching a lot of StarCity Games stuff on YouTube and pricing out some decks, they can be like $300 to $500 depending on the deck so wasting $100 or even $200 on packs really isn't that good of an idea.

I guess my collection will be built up via drafting and sealed events. There is a sealed event this weekend that I'm going to.

Do most people usually just buy the 4x of the common and uncommons of sets and then fill out the rares as needed? From a lot of the decks I've seen they tend to be made up mostly of Rares and commons/uncommmons fill them out.

Also is the ratio of 40/20 still the prevailing deck build?

 

[esterk]

4 Kiora's Follower

Is this card any good? It has had more hype around it than I would have thought. Not like it's a powerhouse card, but some early brews have been running it. It doesn't seem too fantastic to me.

 

[Yeef]

Bought a box last night. Overall it was a decent box (3x Mogis, 1x Xenagos, 2x Kioras), but the best pack was the one with a Kiora and a foil Mogis.

I opened the box with a bunch of friends and just played a bunch of games of unlimited mana mini-masters games. The best game, by far, was the one where I slammed down a turn 1 badger, then the next guy played an Archetype of Aggression and then the next guy also played an Archetype of Aggression, rending my 1/1 tramper moot!

 

[CorruptShadow]

Also is the ratio of 40/20 still the prevailing deck build?

No, sealed/draft ratio is generally 23/17 or 24/16. Standard lists vary by deck type, amount of ramp and curve but generally run 22-26 lands. Check out some lists: http://www.mtgtop8.com/format?f=ST

 

[Gannd]

Are there any good podcasts for the game?

 

[bigkrev]

Are there any good podcasts for the game?

I'm a big fan of Top 8 Magic, but it's pretty dense and inside if you haven't played Magic or followed the PT for a long time

 

[CorruptShadow]

Are there any good podcasts for the game?

Brainstorm Brewery is mainly a financial side of the game podcast but thoroughly enjoyable https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brainstorm-brewery-gatheringmagic.com/id611020422?mt=2

 

[Draxal]

Here's what I picked up for $156.19 and an example of why this set is bad to preorder. Also, notice that $50 of that is the 5 mythics. (20 for the 3 Epharas, 30 for the 2 Xenagos.)

I bought a fat pack, and got 2 xenagos (and I had a third from the prerelease) and an ephara, sometimes I don't understand RNG. Aren't fat packs supposed to be seeded?

 

[kirblar]

I bought a fat pack, and got 2 xenagos (and I had a third from the prerelease) and an ephara, sometimes I don't understand RNG. Aren't fat packs supposed to be seeded?

They are not. Pre-release packs (the ones with the promo) are.

 

[Jaeyden]

Stopped at LGS to get BNG singles tonight. One of the shop guys had been ill so they hadn't built a binder yet. I said fuck it and got a Fat Pack. Proceded to pull Arbiter, Forgestoker and Nessian Ravager. Which I alreadyhad as promos from the pre-releases I did. Highlight of the pack - Temple of plenty, Kiora Follower and Bile Blight. FML

 

[Hecatonchires Custom]

Bought a third of a booster box with my boyfriend and I pulled a Kiora the crashing wave, a Karametra, the two whelming waves I wanted for my Kraken deck and 3 Temple cards (one of them is foil). Not bad.

 

[keeblerdrow]

Dopamine box buy happened today. I got 2xEphara, 2x Karametra, 2xBrimaz and one each of the temples. I think I may buy singles and draft for the rest of this set. (Read: I will buy one more box before doing this, because it is dopamine I'm dealing with here.)

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Are there any good podcasts for the game?

If you like to draft, the best podcast is Limited Resources. It's the best resource for helping below-average drafters become above-average drafters that exists. And even if you're already a good drafter, just listening to some different perspectives will improve your game too.

Episode 184 is, in my opinion, on of the best pieces of content that exists for Limited.

http://lrcast.com/limited-resources-184-card-evaluation-with-brian-wong/

 

[Gannd]

I built a deck with proxies to take with me to FNM. Are most people cool with that when players are new (or returning)? I have a couple of my very old decks but they are all pre-2000 cards. I watched a bunch of SCG videos and really like the devotion decks so I built a Red Devotion and a B/G Devotion deck to try out.

 

[blindrocket]

I built a deck with proxies to take with me to FNM. Are most people cool with that when players are new (or returning)? I have a couple of my very old decks but they are all pre-2000 cards. I watched a bunch of SCG videos and really like the devotion decks so I built a Red Devotion and a B/G Devotion deck to try out.

Not at a registered FNM. You may be able to find people to play with though outside of the tournament.

 

[OnPoint]

Bought my fat pack today, all the sealed product for this I'll open.

Got two temples and a foil Pain Seer. It was an ok FP.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

It's silly, but I find this particular trend in fan art amusing.

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

I have most of these cards and I just want to slap something together to play with friends at home. Can someone tell me if this is a feasible deck:

Kalonian Tusker x4
Savage Summoning x2
Into the Wilds x2
Howl of the Night Pack = x2
Biorhythm x2
Boundless Realms x2
Explore x2
Primeval Titan x1
Cultivate x2
Blanchwood Armor x2
Nature's Lore x2
Aspect of Hydra x4
Kalonian Hydra x1
Khalni Hydra x1
Mistcutter Hydra x1
Phyrexian Hydra x4
Primordial Hydra x1
Protean Hydra x2
Ulvenwald Tracker x2
Hydra Omnivore x1
Feral Hydra x2
Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger x1
Asceticism x1
Doubling Season x1
Caged Sun x1
Total: 46

 

[Transhuman]

Last night the power went out after first round of our FNM, so we just called it a night.

I won game 1 with a staunch heart with two Stratus Walk's on it, just because.
I lost game 2 because I got no creatures and ended up enchanting one of his creatures with two Stratus Walk's and an Aqueous form just to draw cards and scry (though I knew by that point I'd lost already).
I won game 3 thanks to a top-decked Aqueous Form on a Staunch Heart and Agent of Horizons activated. At this point he had Pharagax Giant, a monstrous Nessian Asp, something with Boon Satyr on it, and a bunch of 2/1 and 3/2 shit. I would have been fercockt next turn and he knew it.

 

[MjFrancis]

Someone passed on a Fated Retribution at a Born of the Gods draft last night, and I just want to say thank you, kind stranger. That one card saved my ass three separate times.

And before I drafted it, I didn't realize it was an instant. Scry 2 is good, but board wiping immediately after your opponent taps out is even better.

 

[rCIZZLE]

Anybody on here have 1-3 extra FS Goyfs for trade? I've got a few high dollar cards like a Volc, Cradle, and Foil Snapcaster that I'm looking to barter with.

 

[GamerKingFaiz]

Bought my fat pack today, all the sealed product for this I'll open.

Got two temples and a foil Pain Seer. It was an ok FP.

Ouch, I thought you were supposed to be guranteed at least a mythic.

I bought a Fat Pack tonight and pulled a Kiora along with some other meh stuff.

Got a Brimaz out of my participation pack at FNM tonight, which was really sweet though.

And then pulled a Thoughtseize in the draft afterwards, and piloted my pool to getting 2nd place!

Overall a great night.

 

[blindrocket]

 

[OnPoint]

That chart is hilarious.

Ouch, I thought you were supposed to be guranteed at least a mythic.

I bought a Fat Pack tonight and pulled a Kiora along with some other meh stuff.

Got a Brimaz out of my participation pack at FNM tonight, which was really sweet though.

And then pulled a Thoughtseize in the draft afterwards, and piloted my pool to getting 2nd place!

Overall a great night.

This is why I'm done buying packs and boxes regularly lol My luck is ass

 

[y2dvd]

Is the general consensus that Kiora is actually playable?

 

[Transhuman]

I don't do std very often, so:

3x Akroan Crusader
3x Rackdos Cackler
4x Ash Zelot
4x Arena Athlete
2x Goblin Shortcutter
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Fanatic of Mogis

Mugging
Dragon Mantle
Titan's Strength
Magma Jet
Seizemic Stomp
Armed and Dangerous
Madcap Skills
Searing Blood
Act of Treason
Scorchwalker
Mind Sparker

Which of these should I cut, do you think? I don't know what the meta is like.

 

[An-Det]

There's a guy that play Ad Naeuseum in modern where I play, and "Pick your opponent's confusion level->What is going on?->Ad Naeuseum" is completely accurate for that deck. Great chart.

 

[kirblar]

There's a guy that play Ad Naeuseum in modern where I play, and "Pick your opponent's confusion level->What is going on?->Ad Naeuseum" is completely accurate for that deck. Great chart.

Fun fact: This deck has been awful ever since the abortion of a format that was 4-Block Extended!

 

["God's Beard!"]

Won a draft last night 6-1 in games with no rares ^_^

Was drafting UW throughout the first two packs slowly hating black removal when I noticed nobody was playing black at the end of the second pack. Swapped out blue(my poor triton tactics and archetype!) for black and wound up with more removal than is rightly deserved for a theros draft:

3x Asphyxiate
1x Excoriate
1x Sip of Hemlock
1x Keepsake Gorgon

Other than that, it was a basic WB heroic with above-average bases and limbs.
Skyguard
Wingsteed
Vanguard of Brimaz
Forlorn Pseudamma(card is amazing)

Tron:
Ghostblade Eidolon
2x Erebos' Emissary
Nyxborn Shieldmate



Wound up with a Xenagod in a prize pack ^_^

The three people at the table I played pulled either a god or Kiora in their draft packs, super annoying to fight -_-

 

[Transhuman]

Main

21x Mountain

3x Akroan Crusader
4x Rackdos Cackler
4x Ash Zelot
4x Arena Champion
4x Firefist Striker
4x Burning Tree Emissary
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Fanatic of Mogis

4x Titan's Strength
4x Dragon Mantle
4x Madcap Skills
4x Searing Blood

Sideboard

3x Mugging
3x Act of Treason
3x Magma Jet
4x Scorchwalker
2x Mind Sparker

21 lands
31 creatures
8 other

Thoughts, opinions?

 

[ThLunarian]

Thoughts, opinions?

You can probably throw in a Nykthos or two, to take advantage of the Emissary to Reckoner draws.

 

[Firemind]

It's a damn shame MBC completely shits on battalion/heroic strategies now. Black Spring/Summer here we come.

 

[blindrocket]

About to pull the trigger on a UWR Control/Midrange purchase for MTGO. (the whole deck + cards to change it up)

Stop me if you think I'm making a mistake...

 

[Karakand]

"Do you want to play a deck you would have loved when you were 8?" also works for Soul Sisters.

Spoiler

That's why I'd play it, at least.

 

[blindrocket]

"Do you want to play a deck you would have loved when you were 8?" also works for Soul Sisters.

Spoiler

That's why I'd play it, at least.

My daughter is nine and I basically built her Soul Sisters. She loves it. And the Pink sleeves.

Magic wasn't around when I was 8 though... it probably would have been way over my head anyway.

 

[bigkrev]

About to pull the trigger on a UWR Control/Midrange purchase for MTGO. (the whole deck + cards to change it up)

Stop me if you think I'm making a mistake...

How much are you spending? And then compare the cost of the deck vs comparable items (iPad Mini? 3DS? PS4? ect), and see if one of those would make you more happy than an MTGO deck

 

[CorruptShadow]

Bought my typical 1 fat pack for a new set and continued my streak of not pulling anything. Though, this may be the worst ever.

Eater of Hope x2
Nessian Wilds Ravager x2
Fated Return
Pain Seer
Astral Cornucopia
Hero of Iroas
Champion of Stray Souls

Edit: and a foil Archetype of Imagination

 

[blindrocket]

How much are you spending? And then compare the cost of the deck vs comparable items (iPad Mini? 3DS? PS4? ect), and see if one of those would make you more happy than an MTGO deck

That's a very good way to justify (or not) the purchase.

I hate spending $140 on three cards... ugh (Vendillion Cliques). But I'm buying enough cards for two decks basically (control and midrange options) and it's about $736. Also whatever shocklands it needs, I'm buying a play set of them even though the deck only needs one.

I plan on getting a PS4 eventually, but I can still wait. I bought the PS3 @ $600 and told myself "never again" to spend so much money on a console unless it had plenty of games. $400 is easier on the wallet than $600, however there still isn't a huge amount of great / new / next-gen games.

I have a Wii U and gaming PC, so I'm not doing without any great gaming experiences.

 

[kirblar]

I'm not touching a PS4 until GGXrd or USF4 drops.

 

[bigkrev]

I'm not touching a PS4 until GGXrd or USF4 drops.

Yeah, I don't think USF4 is coming out on PS4. I'm just gonna get it on PC, I guess.

 

["God's Beard!"]

As it turns out, through odd trades I have the majority of a mono-blue deck:

Master of Waves x3
Thassa x3
Tidebinder x4
Judge's Familiar x2
Cloudfin Raptor x4
Bident x3
Jace, Memory Adept x2
Negate x4
Nullify x4
Gainsay x4
Dissolve x2
Domestication
Cyclonic Rift



So I was thinking about building mono-blue splash white for Detention Sphere and Azorius Charms. What do you guys think the best cards to pull out of the standard mono-blue lists would be? I feel like dropping Nightveil and maybe Master.

 

[rCIZZLE]

That's a very good way to justify (or not) the purchase.

I hate spending $140 on three cards... ugh (Vendillion Cliques). But I'm buying enough cards for two decks basically (control and midrange options) and it's about $736. Also whatever shocklands it needs, I'm buying a play set of them even though the deck only needs one.

I plan on getting a PS4 eventually, but I can still wait. I bought the PS3 @ $600 and told myself "never again" to spend so much money on a console unless it had plenty of games. $400 is easier on the wallet than $600, however there still isn't a huge amount of great / new / next-gen games.

I have a Wii U and gaming PC, so I'm not doing without any great gaming experiences.

I'm not full out regretting my PS4 purchase since I would have bought one this spring anyways. It's really not that exciting right now due to there being only a few true "exclusives" out.

 

[kirblar]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";100103831]As it turns out, through odd trades I have the majority of a mono-blue deck:

Master of Waves x3
Thassa x3
Tidebinder x4
Judge's Familiar x2
Cloudfin Raptor x4
Bident x3
Jace, Memory Adept x2
Negate x4
Nullify x4
Gainsay x4
Dissolve x2
Domestication
Cyclonic Rift



So I was thinking about building mono-blue splash white for Detention Sphere and Azorius Charms. What do you guys think the best cards to pull out of the standard mono-blue lists would be? I feel like dropping Nightveil and maybe Master.[/QUOTE]
The benefit from going from Mono-U to Mono-W is that you gain reach. Cards like D-Sphere and Ephara keep you from just getting blown out by removal. But U/W is going to want Brimaz, so I'd stick to Mono-U.