Play it at all and you'll get hated off the board. Try Rhys.
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Magic: the Gathering - Battle for Zendikar |OT| Lands matter (but nothing else does)
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
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Wulfric
Member
Omg, I had no idea Sigarda existed. That would go well with Sword of War and Peace, methinks. I was looking for a G/W Legendary Cat, but there aren't any. Major flavor fail, WotC. 
Does anyone have an expedition Temple Garden for trade? I have an expedition Overgrown Tomb if someone wants to swap. If I'm going to build this deck, might as well do it in style.
Does anyone have an expedition Temple Garden for trade? I have an expedition Overgrown Tomb if someone wants to swap. If I'm going to build this deck, might as well do it in style.
"God's Beard!"
Member
My girlfriend plays Bant Conscription with Rafiq as her Commander. I guess that counts as GW.
I've got an expedition Canopy Vista. Basically the same thing
Omg, I had no idea Sigarda existed. That would go well with Sword of War and Peace, methinks. I was looking for a G/W Legendary Cat, but there aren't any. Major flavor fail, WotC.
Does anyone have an expedition Temple Garden for trade? I have an expedition Overgrown Tomb if someone wants to swap. If I'm going to build this deck, might as well do it in style.
I've got an expedition Canopy Vista. Basically the same thing
Been wanting one for my Lion King deck. It's so stupid that it doesn't exist.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Rhys Elves is dirty, its basically the most viable classic style Elves deck in Commander. That shit can get bonkers by turn 3
Honestly I love Dragonlord dromoka, the worst thing about EDH is people countering your shit, and playing aggro decks like Purphorous.
He's a 5/7 lifelinker that can also end the game if she goes unchecked for awhile. He also stops the single most annoying card in EDH in Prophet of Kruphix
She allows you to build your deck in multiple ways, g/w prison style, g/w fatties, or even a life gain style g/w deck. In edh she can be pretty powerful and when you untap with her in edh it's nice to know no one else can stop whatever your trying to do.
Green/white can be built almost anyway you want.
Wulfric
Member
I love the idea of a 1-drop commander. I run Narset and sometimes it feels like everyone else has their's out by the time I can cast her. Heritage Druid would be hilarious with this guy though.
And boy, foil Rhys is pricey. :/
Infinite Stars
Member
I've been debating trying to build a Mono White Soldiers EDH Deck with Kytheon, Hero of Akros, but IDK what I'd even run in it. I know that there's a bunch of cards I'd like to run in it(Anthems, Odric, Anafenza 2.0, etc), but deck construction is hard for me for stuff like Commander.
I actually just made a Kytheon deck! I went in a token-heavy direction with mine, personally - Kytheon turn 1, two tokens on turn 2, flip on turn 3 is the dream.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Trying slightly different build. I've really been trying to focus in on the play pattern the deck likes to settle in to. You really want to play a two-drop, follow up with removal, then get to the point where you're holding up Ojutai's Command/Removal/Activations. I cut Ob Nix because he goes against this play pattern pretty hard. Once I added the fourth Ojutai's, Fathom Feeder slots right into this strategy as a way of trading with Abzan creatures and recurring removal spells. That said, I'm not sure that two is correct, and I can see playing one Fathom Feeder and another spell(most likely a sweeper) or a 27th land. I've been interested in Akoum Firebird for similar play-pattern reasons since you can use fetches to reanimate it at the end of your opponent's turns, but it's so bad against Abzan Charm and Wingmate Roc that I'm having trouble justifying it.
Kolaghan's Command isn't that hot without Mantis Riders(and I cut the Riders because playing Command+Rider in the same turn wasn't reliable enough), but I'm keeping one because recurring Tasigur is great as well as the discard lock with Grand Masters.
I don't really like having more than one discard spell main, drawing a second one in this style deck is rarely great since the games go so long and they're conditional. If I need the second one I'd be happier getting it off Jace flashback than drawing it.
Yore-Tiller Control
12 Creatures
2 Dragonmaster Outcast
2 Fathom Feeder
4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Soulfire Grand Master
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
22 Spells
1 Duress
4 Fiery Impulse
2 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Kolaghan's Command
4 Crackling Doom
4 Ojutai's Command
2 Utter End
3 Dig Through Time
26 Land
1 Shambling Vent
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Swamp
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Mountain
1 Prairie Stream
2 Smoldering Marsh
2 Sunken Hollow
SB: 1 Felidar Cub
SB: 2 Exert Influence
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 1 Virulent Plague
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 1 Mastery of the Unseen
SB: 1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
SB: 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
SB: 1 Crux of Fate
SB: 1 Infinite Obliteration
SB: 1 Self-Inflicted Wound
Kolaghan's Command isn't that hot without Mantis Riders(and I cut the Riders because playing Command+Rider in the same turn wasn't reliable enough), but I'm keeping one because recurring Tasigur is great as well as the discard lock with Grand Masters.
I don't really like having more than one discard spell main, drawing a second one in this style deck is rarely great since the games go so long and they're conditional. If I need the second one I'd be happier getting it off Jace flashback than drawing it.
Yore-Tiller Control
12 Creatures
2 Dragonmaster Outcast
2 Fathom Feeder
4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Soulfire Grand Master
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
22 Spells
1 Duress
4 Fiery Impulse
2 Negate
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Kolaghan's Command
4 Crackling Doom
4 Ojutai's Command
2 Utter End
3 Dig Through Time
26 Land
1 Shambling Vent
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Evolving Wilds
1 Swamp
2 Island
1 Plains
2 Mountain
1 Prairie Stream
2 Smoldering Marsh
2 Sunken Hollow
SB: 1 Felidar Cub
SB: 2 Exert Influence
SB: 3 Radiant Flames
SB: 1 Virulent Plague
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 1 Mastery of the Unseen
SB: 1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
SB: 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
SB: 1 Crux of Fate
SB: 1 Infinite Obliteration
SB: 1 Self-Inflicted Wound
So yesterday went pretty bad. I went with Esper Control and got paired up against Eldrazi Ramp two times, and lost. Lost both game 1s, and didn't have enough time to win two post board games.
My other match before dropping was a draw with Jeskai Black after going to time following a victory from both of us.
The takeaway is that Esper Control is significantly harder to play for me specifically in person. I underestimated just how huge the time difference would be between cockatrice and cardboard. I'm poor at shuffling, and, at crowded tourney spots, keeping my graveyard/exile zone/and eventually large manabase was an actual problem resulting in me revealing my hand multiple times just trying to get things straight.
Most problematically, I have an issue playing control face to face with people. I either don't have the backbone or I'm giving my opponents too much consideration to play properly. We'll assume the former, I guess. I felt under the gun all the time- not from the clock, but from my opponents who were pretty bitter about having to play the deck and worried I was going to make them draw- so I would make suboptimal plays all the time to try to make sure we got to wrap things up/didn't piss them off further. There were turns I had onboard attacks with shambling vents at no opportunity cost and didn't take them just to speed up the game. It kind of ticks me off to see this attitude as I'm usually the opposite when playing against the control deck on megamorph and generally believe that being a, well, decent human being is at all times a higher priority than whatever else is at stake. I can't fight fire with fire, though, as that would ultimately result in me failing to meet my own standards and feeling horrible about it, so I'll continue to struggle with this in person.
I've generally played aggro and rarely encountered outward signs of negative vibes, aside from the occasional lucky top deck or brutal curve out. I know I play considerably worse around negative people, though, but I never though about the implications of deck choice on that. I never go on tilt as a result of my own luck/play, but I'm always depressed/stressed when it's clear the person opposite me is. So maybe I have to play what I believe is a worse deck as a concession to my own personality, not my budget or skill?That feels pretty bad, especially after investing so much in the deck. Guess Jaces and fetches will hold value/climb regardless.
As far as the deck itself goes, I think I might the right call despite the 0-2-1 drop. The room was chock full of Abzan- around/over 50% of the field- so it was pretty bad beats to get matched up against the two ramp decks in the room of 33+ people when it's Esper's worst matchup. I also think I could have won both games had I not had a few hasty misplays I never would have made online, and played quicker in the sideboard games. Another legitimate option I was considering was simply conceding any game 1 once it's clear my opponent is on ramp, and I'm not going to be able to Jace ult in a reasonable amount of time/ever so that I have as much as time as possible for the postboard games, where I feel much more favored. The likelihood of esper winning game is just so low that dragging it out to have a shot is probably actively harmful. I was in full control of the game 3 against Jeskai, with an onboard Ugin and army courtesy of Monastery Mentor. (Wouldn't have even gotten to game 3 had I not had a crucial misplay- trying to Utter End an untapped Jace game 1 with 5 cards in the graveyard. Didn't actually realize the flip pws don't flip, but exile themselves. Good to know now.) All three matches were winnable and represent failings on my part and not the deck's.
My deck choice was also once again validated on the global stage of the meta- with Esper making a strong resurgence at the standard gp just at the same time I decided to switch to the deck. So I definitely think it's the right choice right now; just not sure I can play it.
My other match before dropping was a draw with Jeskai Black after going to time following a victory from both of us.
The takeaway is that Esper Control is significantly harder to play for me specifically in person. I underestimated just how huge the time difference would be between cockatrice and cardboard. I'm poor at shuffling, and, at crowded tourney spots, keeping my graveyard/exile zone/and eventually large manabase was an actual problem resulting in me revealing my hand multiple times just trying to get things straight.
Most problematically, I have an issue playing control face to face with people. I either don't have the backbone or I'm giving my opponents too much consideration to play properly. We'll assume the former, I guess. I felt under the gun all the time- not from the clock, but from my opponents who were pretty bitter about having to play the deck and worried I was going to make them draw- so I would make suboptimal plays all the time to try to make sure we got to wrap things up/didn't piss them off further. There were turns I had onboard attacks with shambling vents at no opportunity cost and didn't take them just to speed up the game. It kind of ticks me off to see this attitude as I'm usually the opposite when playing against the control deck on megamorph and generally believe that being a, well, decent human being is at all times a higher priority than whatever else is at stake. I can't fight fire with fire, though, as that would ultimately result in me failing to meet my own standards and feeling horrible about it, so I'll continue to struggle with this in person.
I've generally played aggro and rarely encountered outward signs of negative vibes, aside from the occasional lucky top deck or brutal curve out. I know I play considerably worse around negative people, though, but I never though about the implications of deck choice on that. I never go on tilt as a result of my own luck/play, but I'm always depressed/stressed when it's clear the person opposite me is. So maybe I have to play what I believe is a worse deck as a concession to my own personality, not my budget or skill?That feels pretty bad, especially after investing so much in the deck. Guess Jaces and fetches will hold value/climb regardless.
As far as the deck itself goes, I think I might the right call despite the 0-2-1 drop. The room was chock full of Abzan- around/over 50% of the field- so it was pretty bad beats to get matched up against the two ramp decks in the room of 33+ people when it's Esper's worst matchup. I also think I could have won both games had I not had a few hasty misplays I never would have made online, and played quicker in the sideboard games. Another legitimate option I was considering was simply conceding any game 1 once it's clear my opponent is on ramp, and I'm not going to be able to Jace ult in a reasonable amount of time/ever so that I have as much as time as possible for the postboard games, where I feel much more favored. The likelihood of esper winning game is just so low that dragging it out to have a shot is probably actively harmful. I was in full control of the game 3 against Jeskai, with an onboard Ugin and army courtesy of Monastery Mentor. (Wouldn't have even gotten to game 3 had I not had a crucial misplay- trying to Utter End an untapped Jace game 1 with 5 cards in the graveyard. Didn't actually realize the flip pws don't flip, but exile themselves. Good to know now.) All three matches were winnable and represent failings on my part and not the deck's.
My deck choice was also once again validated on the global stage of the meta- with Esper making a strong resurgence at the standard gp just at the same time I decided to switch to the deck. So I definitely think it's the right choice right now; just not sure I can play it.
Gaddock Teeg, because he keeps everyone else's Commander decks in check.
Thinking about it. I suspect I'll still encounter many of the same play problems I had before, but I would close out/lose games faster in any case. Would strengthen the ramp matchup at the cost of hurting the Jeskai matchup.
divisionbyzorro
Member
If you pull out a Gaddock Teeg, be prepared to play Archenemy.
shrapnelmagnet
Member
Might be too low impact (and I don't know your list) but I've wanted to try Kytheon with Reconnaissance to make flipping him easier, even in a gummed up board.
Lol pretty much.
Joe Molotov
Member
Gaddock Teeg is that one guy that really wants to make Tiny Leaders happen, and everyone else is like "No, we're not playing Tiny Leaders again, dammit!"
Alright guys, I'm going to a modern night at the most popular LGS in Philly. I've never participated in one of these things before as I've only been playing like a month. My friend said pretty much everyone is going to have tier one decks, so I'm probably going to get shit on playing with this: http://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/budget-magic-84-6-tix-modern-uw-tempered-steel
Any etiquette related stuff that I should know going to something like this?
Any etiquette related stuff that I should know going to something like this?
Wulfric
Member
I'm really tempted to use him, but it looks like the concensus is you can't paint a bigger bullseye than Teeg in G/W.
I wanted to throw in these too:
Leonin Arbiter
Spirit of the Labyrinth
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Eidolon of Rhetoric
Aven Mindcensor
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Does that make me a bad EDH player?
Unless it's got a special big prize, it's going to be similar to an FNM (20ish people). Just relax, don't be an asshole, and don't say "Good Game" if I mulligan to 4 each game and never cast a spell in our match.
Haha got it! I just want to make sure I'm not pissing anyone of by being new to MtG and such, I'm going to need to pause frequently to read other player's cards and whatnot.
Any general tips on matchups I'm likely to see (again, most people here have tier one decks apparently) and how to effectively sideboard with my deck?
Just play whatever you want. It's EDH. That's the point of the format. If you're only just starting out, it's not likely that your deck would be super oppressive anyway.
As someone who has been playing affinity for years in modern, here are some tips (I DON'T KNOW HOW WELL THESE PORT OVER TO A BUDGET VERSION THOUGH).
1.) Any hand without some sort of action spell (In your deck: Plating, Ensoul, Tempered Steel, Etched Champion in some matchups, I guess Signal Pest is an "action" card in this build as well) is an auto-mullgian. Your deck is full of terrible cards, don't keep hands with nothing but bad cards
2.) The first cards you remove in sideboarding are Memnite and Ornithopter. (1-2 of each can be removed easily).
3.) Run Adikar Wastes or Hallowed Fountains instead of Glacial Fortress. You need your mana coming into play untapped.
4.) Do not tell people you are running a budget list. Stony Silence is one of the most devastating SB cards against normal affinity, but it only really stops Cranial Plating in your version. I would snap keep a 6 land-1 Stony Silence hand against an affinity list- you want people to bring that card in!
5.) As far as SB strategy, Frank Karsten wrote a SB guide for Affinity eariler this year, most information is still pertinent http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/deck-guide-modern-affinity/
Also, Paul Rietzel wrote a tournament report for his affinity deck that ran 4 Tempered Steel. http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/tempered-steel/
Thanks! Yeah, Glacial Fortress definitely seems like the first cards I'll want to replace (not right now though as I don't want to drop money on MtG at the moment).
I'm sure I'll lose pretty much all of my games, but I'm hoping that with the right hand this deck can at least be semi-competitive.
EDIT: I'm a little nervous for sure, especially since this LGS has by far the most competitive scene in Philadelphia from what my friend tells me. Hopefully people are cool.
shrapnelmagnet
Member
Mountainwalk incoming! The second most rare of all the walks (I think).
lol it's for the best
lol
it's for the bestAngry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
DINOSAUR PLANE
SigmasonicX
Member
It's likely Kaladesh. When it was revealed in Magic Origins, MaRo responded to compliments by saying that they knew that both a steampunk world and an Indian world were in high demand, and he has also stated that Kaladesh would be considered a new world if a block was made about it.
"God's Beard!"
Member
Deathmist Raptor and Ugin's common ancestor finally unveiled!
Nice, in my experience Elves is a great deck for Legacy newbies too. So much fun to combo off
We did Legacy proxy decks for a while in my play group but eventually just moved to Vintage, I think I have close to a dozen Vintage proxy decks now. Although some need to be updated with the recent ban list changes... Dragon Stompy seems to be dead =/
I'd be happy with this, and I think it's the most likely destination. I'd love to see it as an opportunity to expand red's colour pie further into artificers and mechanical building (like the thopter theme in Origins).
charlequin
Banned
Actually the question I'm really curious about now is:
I have no idea where to go with it though.
Egypt, Dinosaurs, Pirates, Vikings. Not fairy tale, lol. The recent Blogatog poll is probably a decent proxy: http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/129291461133/results-of-new-world-questions
I don't actually think it's hard to get dwarves to stick with the audience, they just need to stick the visual design and give 'em a really good legend in the block where they return. Being in a strong deck wouldn't hurt either.
I have no idea where to go with it though.
Egypt, Dinosaurs, Pirates, Vikings. Not fairy tale, lol. The recent Blogatog poll is probably a decent proxy: http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/129291461133/results-of-new-world-questions
I don't actually think it's hard to get dwarves to stick with the audience, they just need to stick the visual design and give 'em a really good legend in the block where they return. Being in a strong deck wouldn't hurt either.
My friend has most of Elves in real cards so that'll also be available to play. We're playing proxy to start having more matchups to run and whatnot. There's also a store around here that runs Legacy with unlimited proxies, so could theoretically go to that if I get real into the format. Not sure if I want to be the poor guy with a full proxy deck though, haha.
SigmasonicX
Member
I feel that for dwarves, they should embrace the ugliness, so they don't just look like small humans. One interesting direction would be to make them mole-like, with mole noses and small eyes.
Wulfric
Member
http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/133336186063/tales-from-the-pit-1161
Ajani is being adorable again, and Kiora refuses to admit to grand theft.
Put me down for Egyptian world too! I don't want to have to play Yu-Gi-Oh to get my fix of Anubis and company.
And why not make new WoW inspired dwarves? There's only 38 dwarf creatures so far, so there's gotta be room in red and white for them.
Ajani is being adorable again, and Kiora refuses to admit to grand theft.
Put me down for Egyptian world too! I don't want to have to play Yu-Gi-Oh to get my fix of Anubis and company.
And why not make new WoW inspired dwarves? There's only 38 dwarf creatures so far, so there's gotta be room in red and white for them.
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