You say problem, I say solution.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Magic: the Gathering - Battle for Zendikar |OT| Lands matter (but nothing else does)
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
- Start date
- Status
SigmasonicX
Member
No discussion of the new Latest Developments article?
* They tested Fate Reforged draft with FRF-FRF-KTK late in development, but there were too many issues with it to make the draft change then. As a result of this testing:
* They are adding extra commons to the "small set".
* There will be fewer cycles that are intentionally weak in small sets, like the Runemarks in Fate Reforged and the Cluestones in Dragon's Maze. It seems like there will be less cycles in general. This is to reduce how often you'll see very similar cards now that two small sets are being drafted.
* There will be more build-around cards in the small sets.
* They tested Fate Reforged draft with FRF-FRF-KTK late in development, but there were too many issues with it to make the draft change then. As a result of this testing:
* They are adding extra commons to the "small set".
* There will be fewer cycles that are intentionally weak in small sets, like the Runemarks in Fate Reforged and the Cluestones in Dragon's Maze. It seems like there will be less cycles in general. This is to reduce how often you'll see very similar cards now that two small sets are being drafted.
* There will be more build-around cards in the small sets.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
You say problem, I say solution.
Neither does any other deck other than Grixis and Jund.
charlequin
Banned
Yep, Top is like a top ten garbage why did you even print this nonsense card.
Flashback is inherent card advantage but it's also one of the most flexible, comprehensible, popular mechanics they've ever printed. I think Rosewater was saying a while back that it was up there with Cycling in the group of "mechanics that absolutely 100% will come back many times."
I would guess they thought this interaction would be just a little less good than it is overall, and therefore that only lasting two sets' time in Standard would keep it from being too obnoxious.
All the changes sound straightforwardly good to me. More commons will fix far and away the biggest problem with drafting small sets (and that's always been a problem, even when it was one pack of small) and avoiding those miserable common cycles is a godsend.
I think kirblar will have something to say about the build-arounds but I like that there'll be new theme decks to aim for in the small-set environment instead of it always becoming mushy goodstuff.
Joe Molotov
Member
12 Fetches is punishment for rotating out RDW.
Agree on everything except Blood Moon. Tron just got a whole lot more annoying with new Ulamog and it needs to be kept somewhat in check. Fulminators and Molten Rains just don't cut it.
SFM is a super safe unban and has been for quite a while. SFM without Jitte isn't broken.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Isn't blood moon a necessary evil so modern doesn't devolve into 4C good stuff? I mean Jund is already playing just how many basics, 3?
I still need to get one for my Boros Angel EDH deck.
I still need to get one for my Boros Angel EDH deck.
keeblerdrow
Member
Haven't really mentioned it here, but I'm not satisfied with Standard right now and it's got nothing interesting for me at the moment. I've been dropping from FNMs early every week and generally haven't been happy with anything. I found my solution. Stop trying to make good decks and just play with cards I like.
What cards did I play with tonight? Whisperwood Elemental, Mastery of the Unseen, Felidar Sovereign, and Den Protector. I'm the FNM equivalent of a grump old man right now.
What cards did I play with tonight? Whisperwood Elemental, Mastery of the Unseen, Felidar Sovereign, and Den Protector. I'm the FNM equivalent of a grump old man right now.
Cards like Blood Moon and Stony Silence don't auto-win against Tron but often they buy enough turns to get the win. T3 O Stone -> T5 crack -> T6 big thing is well worth that 3 mana investment.
I've actually been disliking FNM for quite a while now. Much prefer just showing up and casually playtesting a ton of games in a row instead of standing around waiting for slow players half the evening for shitty prize support.
We did a triple Khans draft tonight at FNM instead of BFZ (because some guy bought out the store's three BFZ boxes). Heck of a format. Had forgotten how much I enjoy playing with/against Morphs. Just feels so nice to almost definitely have a turn 3 play even with a mana base that was real shaky because I got greedy. Didn't do anything crazy and was just Mardu aggro. Three Ponyback Brigades is fun with Raider's Spoils.
charlequin
Banned
It's got a similar aesthetic with the organic spun-metal look, although we also saw something really similar in Alara with Esper and the etherium.
The second Belenon plane card looks weird and fucked up, but not particularly Kaladesh-y:
The second Belenon plane card looks weird and fucked up, but not particularly Kaladesh-y:
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
It's definitely the low point for me since coming back to the game.
It's the lowest point I've seen since I started playing. Ive gone to 4 places to draft and not 1 fired.
That's ignoring the standard format is stale as hell. I don't know but there are zero decks I actually want to sleeve up and I have the money and fetches to play in standard.
I don't know what magic was like during kamigawa but this set has turned everyone I know away from magic.
divisionbyzorro
Member
I'm tempted to get into Pauper with the advent of Pauper leagues. Anyone here play? Any advice?
keeblerdrow
Member
This is what I wrote about standard a few weeks ago. I haven't found anything that has changed my mind about it.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
You're wrong.
The mana is better than Modern because Blood Moon, Choke and Boil don't exist and there's nothing that can combo you off on turn 4 to make you even worried about mana consistency.
The mana is better than Modern because Blood Moon, Choke and Boil don't exist and there's nothing that can combo you off on turn 4 to make you even worried about mana consistency.
keeblerdrow
Member
This is true. So the situation is worse.
The question is how does wizards fix this , you can see what they are kind of aiming for with oath.
Make powerful spells that cost waste mana so you have to choose to play with cards that tap for colorless or play with your fancy 4 color decks. The problem is wizards is sometimes bad at recognizing what will push a card or not. Look at cards like Kiora, Sarkhan the unbroken, and Undergrowth Champion
Make powerful spells that cost waste mana so you have to choose to play with cards that tap for colorless or play with your fancy 4 color decks. The problem is wizards is sometimes bad at recognizing what will push a card or not. Look at cards like Kiora, Sarkhan the unbroken, and Undergrowth Champion
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Control is the most fun deck right now, which probably will tell you something.
...actually its a pretty fun variant of the normal deck with all the dragons and planeswalkers you can jam. The problem is that its not actually good.
...actually its a pretty fun variant of the normal deck with all the dragons and planeswalkers you can jam. The problem is that its not actually good.
Already seeing play in U/G Ramp.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
got a good list somewhere? I think I have nearly all the pieces to it.
I think Ali Antrazi posted one up this week.
I can agree with that. Think I'll do a couple of holiday cube drafts and take a hiatus. Maybe finally finish my EDH decks (lol fat chance).
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I just want fetches to rotate out.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Too much mana is a bad thing. Mana fixing needs to go back to where 3 colors in standard is the fevered pipe dream of a brewer.
Infinite Stars
Member
I don't mind current Standard, but dear lord I'm getting tired of playing the same few decks.
Like, the first Standard FNM I went to, I went against 5 different decks in 5 rounds. MonoRed, Temur, Constellation, Abzan, and Jeskai. This was a thing all until this Block hit, where I had an FNM where every opponent I played ran Mantis Rider, and one of those decks was Esper in all but Mantis ffs.
I like the new duals, but them+Fetches in Standard is just bad for the game. The fact that we had/have 4 colour decks running around and doing well is just ugh.
Wizards completely screwed this one, they thought that everyone would just switch to Shards because of the new duals without realizing that such a switch would need a big rational behind it because Khans is still 90% of the powerbase and no one is going to drop the chance to to play Rhino or Rider when they can just add an additional colour and have fuckall for consequences.
Like, the first Standard FNM I went to, I went against 5 different decks in 5 rounds. MonoRed, Temur, Constellation, Abzan, and Jeskai. This was a thing all until this Block hit, where I had an FNM where every opponent I played ran Mantis Rider, and one of those decks was Esper in all but Mantis ffs.
I like the new duals, but them+Fetches in Standard is just bad for the game. The fact that we had/have 4 colour decks running around and doing well is just ugh.
Wizards completely screwed this one, they thought that everyone would just switch to Shards because of the new duals without realizing that such a switch would need a big rational behind it because Khans is still 90% of the powerbase and no one is going to drop the chance to to play Rhino or Rider when they can just add an additional colour and have fuckall for consequences.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
The refrain of the last several years has been "oh man, I really hope they bring back X" followed by "yes they brought back X!" followed by "oh man I really can't wait till X rotates out"
Ya'll sure you want an Inquisition reprint in OGW?
I kinda doubt it given the exile discard spell in BFZ.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Simply put, they need to really annualize Modern Masters. It'd alleviate all this nonsense. Print Inquisition there. Fetches can go into standard when it's not 4 color Christmas land the set. Or, into MM.
charlequin
Banned
Wait for a rotation. This new block structure makes it much easier to deal with these problems because stuff leaves Standard so quickly. By the time everyone's completely sick of this (i.e. right now) it's only 4 months and change until Khans rotates out, and there's a small set release in the middle of that.
I think they correctly identified that in a vacuum these lands are significantly less good than shocks (since they come into play tapped so often) but failed to consider that fetching shocks gets worse the further you are into the game while fetching these actually gets better.
Infinite Stars
Member
It wouldn't even be that bad if we had a way to punish these greedy bases(maybe one will be in Gatewatch, IDK).
Wastes from Ash
(Insert Cost here) Enchantment
All non basic lands are Wastes.
Wastes from Ash
(Insert Cost here) Enchantment
All non basic lands are Wastes.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Why would that make any difference at all
Despise, Duress and Transgress are all legal right now and Despise, Duress and Thoughtseize were all legal at the same time. All of them are sideboard cards to begin with. Inquisition might not be but so what?
It's a really weird card to print if you know Inquisition's up next. (I don't think it is.)
charlequin
Banned
Well, it kind of points out that (unlike Inquisition) in BFZ all the eldrazi-associated spells are exile-oriented and devoid.
- Status