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[Fragamemnon]

super late to this but: harrow + khalni heart expedition + baloth woodcrasher + plated geopedes are ridiculous. it feels awesome to trigger a chain of landfalls which turns your modest creatures into just monsters. add some groundswells and unnatural predations for trample to really rub it in.

although losing a 20/20 with trample to pitfall trap is so rage worthy FUCK

I had a deck (green/white) build around landfall triggers on Rampaging Baloths/Emeria Angel/Admonition Angel and Genesis Wave to basically combo out on people (the way it works, if the dudes and the lands come into play off of Genesis Wave, you get all the landfall triggers for the dudes). Hilarious, if much worse of a ramp deck than Eldrazi Green or Valakut Titan.

Played some Legacy today,went 4-0-1 for 1st playing old-school Canadian Threshold. Only game I lost all day was against a nut affinity draw where I was on the draw without Force of Will or Spell Snare. I made up for it by playing Null Rods and Ancient Grudges the rest of the match. Canadian Threshold is still a good deck choice if you don't think there will be very many Knight of the Reliquary decks out there.

 

[Takuan]

I pulled my third Tez today! Only need one more....

Pulled my 2nd on Friday. Had a 14 player draft and no one pulled any mythics, so I decided to buy 3 boosters in an attempt to get one, but allI got was an Inkmoth Nexus. I proposed a trade to a guy who wanted to get rid of his Tezzes because he thinks they're going to drop in value: 2 Inkmoths + $20 for his Tezz, but then figured I should just gamble the $20 on more packs and, hopefully, a Tezz. The gamble paid off - got a Tezz and a foil Hero of Oxid Ridge. Also got another Go for the Throat, which is always nice. I was pretty giddy after that.

@WanderingWind, if you can't work out a trade with Hex for your Bloodghasts, I'm interested in them. I have a shitload of cards now, more than I need. Just let me know what's up your alley.

@effingvic, the having a great combo resolve is one of the game's many joys! I was only curious about the Archive Trap thing because it didn't seem like you would've had the mana to hard cast it, but I guess you did.

@suffah Yep, pre-order prices are ridiculous. It's only for people who don't care about money. 9 times out of 10, pre-ordering shiny mythics is a shitty investment, with cards dropping to half their pre-order value or less about a month after the set's been out due a lack of tournament presence. You have a better chance making money off low-priced rares that have somehow flown under the radar.

So, who's buying a box or two of New Phyrexia? I want to stick to acquiring cards via sealed events, but there are so many great cards (particularly for a casual) in that reveal that it's hard to resist the desire to buy a box. Maybe I could continue to make weekly strategic gambles and buy boosters at FNMs when whatever I'm chasing doesn't show up in any drafters' packs.

I didn't outright purchase a box of MBS, but I wound up buying more than a box's worth of boosters - maybe a box and a half. What I have to show for it:

3x Mirran Crusader
3x Phyrexian Crusader
6x Inkmoth Nexus
2x Tezzeret, AoB
2x Thrun
1x Massacre Wurm
2x Hero of Oxid Ridge (1 foil)
1x Consecrated Sphinx
3x Green Sun's Zenith
4x Black Sun's Zenith
5x Go for the Throat
1x Slagstorm (foil)

That's at least 26 packs, and I know I have a bunch of inexpensive rares from the set (2 Titan Forges, 5 Phyrexian Vatmothers, 2 Shimmer Myrs, 1-2 Myr Welders, 3 Phyrexian Hydras, a Hellkite Igniter, a Mitotic Manipulation, 3 Contested War Zones, a Cryptoplasm, 2 Knowledge Pools, a Spine, 2 Galvanoths)... another 25 packs at least. Cripes. At least that number includes the pre-release and maybe 6 weeks of drafts, a few of which were MBS-MBS-SOM.

Yeah, there's probably no way I don't go nuts on New Phyrexia packs. One thing's for sure, though, if I open any popular mythics on pre-release/release (e.g. Karn), I'm definitely selling them ASAP. It takes no time at all for prices to drop on cool cards that just don't have a place in the tournament scene. My hope is that Phyrexian Canceler drops to current Massacre Wurm prices so I can snatch a playset for cheap - love that card to bits, but without cards to support his nasty ability he's actually not as devastating as he seems in competitive play. Of course, there are another 140 (?) cards waiting to be spoiled, so who knows what'll happen?

 

[Keru_Shiri]

I prefer first turn Duress because it can get rid of planeswalkers or counterspells but your point is valid indeed.

Well, most relevant counterspells are going to be 3 or less anyway. Inquisition hits Stoneforge Mystic, which is important given all the Caw-Blade decks running around.

That said, Duress does hit Jace, so you'll never hear me hating on it.

 

[Hex]

This card is soooooo goood

Going with our Duress, Inquisition conversation....

First turn Duress away JtMS, Gideon whatever, or Inquisition away Stoneforge , a Sword or a counter and then I will pay two life to get ALL of that shit out of the game.

 

[traveler]

MBC an actual viable strat? Will be interesting to see.

 

[Takuan]

That settles it, I'm definitely pre-ordering a box. Simply a great promo of a powerful card, and Greg Staples is one of my favorites - even when his piece evokes comical death metal imagery. Love it. I need to find 3 Inquisition of Kozileks...

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Wow. And its completely splashable too. And at instant speed? Warrants some playtesting at the very least.

 

[Takuan]

Wow. And its completely splashable too. And at instant speed? Warrants some playtesting at the very least.

It looks like it'll be strong in every format. This'll be a money rare because of its color-blindness and powerful utility.

Edit: I was thinking up a scenario in my head revolving around Knight of the Reliquary and Sejiri Steppe; if my opponent decides to remove it and I use the Knight's ability in response, bringing in a Steppe and choosing protection from <removal spell colour>, does it live? My understanding is that the removal spell doesn't "happen" until after the Steppe comes into play, which results in the knight living. Is this correct?

 

[OneEightZero]

This card is soooooo goood

Going with our Duress, Inquisition conversation....

First turn Duress away JtMS, Gideon whatever, or Inquisition away Stoneforge , a Sword or a counter and then I will pay two life to get ALL of that shit out of the game.

Turn one, buhbye Planeswalkers. ^_^

Edit: I don't know what I was thinking here. It targets a card in the graveyard. Durrr...

 

[traveler]

It looks like it'll be strong in every format. This'll be a money rare because of its color-blindness and powerful utility.

Edit: I was thinking up a scenario in my head revolving around Knight of the Reliquary and Sejiri Steppe; if my opponent decides to remove it and I use the Knight's ability in response, bringing in a Steppe and choosing protection from <removal spell colour>, does it live? My understanding is that the removal spell doesn't "happen" until after the Steppe comes into play, which results in the knight living. Is this correct?

Yup. If you respond to the spell, you're putting an ability on the stack "on top of" the kill spell, so to speak, and, in a stack, the last added item is the first to resolve, so you're Knight will have protection from black or whatever by the time the kill spell tries to kill it, making it an illegal target. Now, your opponent can respond to your attempt to fetch a land OR the Sejeri's triggered ability by aiming another kill spell at the knight and, unless you have another trick up your sleeve, the knight will die to that.

 

[Takuan]

^ Thanks for the confirmation. I am so adding more Steppes in to the KvD Knights deck (to go with more Reliquary Knights, Lieges of the Tangle, Knight of New Lara, and other yummy goodness).

Turn one, buhbye Planeswalkers. ^_^

Edit: I don't know what I was thinking here. It targets a card in the graveyard. Durrr...

Duress -> Surgical Extraction works on Turn 1, provided he has a walker in his hand. Removal/Burn/Nonbasic Land Destruction -> Surgical Extraction is nasty, too. Costing it at B alone would make for a good card, but &#981;? Ridiculous.

Also, the &#981; sign is the tits.

BTW, if anyone is interested in the Commander decks coming out in June, CoolStuffInc.com is selling all 5 for $125, with free shipping. I don't think that price can be beat at the moment.

 

[WanderingWind]

BTW, if anyone is interested in the Commander decks coming out in June, CoolStuffInc.com is selling all 5 for $125, with free shipping. I don't think that price can be beat at the moment.

Holy crap. If I hadn't just bought a box, I'd be all over that. Plus two boxes of NPH I'm getting.

FUCK. This game creeps up you. It's insidious, I tells ya

 

[Takuan]

Right? I don't have the luxury of such deals here in Canada; I'm paying $150 if I want all 5 sets, and that's only assuming my LGS charges $30 Canadian for them and not $35. May-July are extremely Magic-heavy months, all kinds of product coming out. I'm going to be in Vegas near the end of May, so hopefully I win just enough to cover the trip and some Commander decks.

 

[OneEightZero]

Ha. Nevermind, then. I was thinking properly.

That is a nasty, nasty card. ^_^

 

[traveler]

Wonder when will get the decklists for the commander stuff. I'll probably be interested in all of them eventually, but I'm guessing I'll only go for a few to start. Wizards traditionally doesn't show decklists tilll a week or so before their products release, but I'd really like to see them sooner to have a better idea of what my purchasing plan will be.

In other commander related stuff, just put the finishing touches on a Allies based EDH deck. Was going for a budget deck, but it's really hard to do 5 color manabase on a budget effectively. I went for the dragon lairs, trilands from alara, and a couple of cheap rainbow lands- city of brass, grand coliseum, etc.- and a whole boatload of basics. Seems to be pretty reliable in testing. Only other big issue is the vulnerability to wipes that comes with creature based strategies. Although I have had a few instances where wiping actually helped me- getting 10 or so allies back from your gy with Patriarch's Bidding and, thus, getting 10 triggers seeing 10 allies each is ridiculous.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

Wonder when will get the decklists for the commander stuff. I'll probably be interested in all of them eventually, but I'm guessing I'll only go for a few to start. Wizards traditionally doesn't show decklists tilll a week or so before their products release, but I'd really like to see them sooner to have a better idea of what my purchasing plan will be.

In other commander related stuff, just put the finishing touches on a Allies based EDH deck. Was going for a budget deck, but it's really hard to do 5 color manabase on a budget effectively. I went for the dragon lairs, trilands from alara, and a couple of cheap rainbow lands- city of brass, grand coliseum, etc.- and a whole boatload of basics. Seems to be pretty reliable in testing. Only other big issue is the vulnerability to wipes that comes with creature based strategies. Although I have had a few instances where wiping actually helped me- getting 10 or so allies back from your gy with Patriarch's Bidding and, thus, getting 10 triggers seeing 10 allies each is ridiculous.

I've been thinking about an Ally EDH deck myself. I'd be worried it draw hate from the other players like Slivers do, haha. Who do you use as your General?

 

[WanderingWind]

Wait, so these commander decks are built to play a certain type of game? Like two-headed monster or something?

Also, does anybody have a duel deck that's not Phrexian or Knights vs Dragons that they'd be willing to trade?

 

[The Technomancer]

Wait, so these commander decks are built to play a certain type of game? Like two-headed monster or something?

Yes, they're built for the EDH format (Elder Dragon Highlander)

Basic rundown:
100 card deck
One legendary creature known as your "general"
No repeats aside from basic lands
No cards that have a color not appearing on your general.
The general sits outside the game in a special zone. You can play your general at any time, but every time it dies its cost goes up by 2

 

[WanderingWind]

Yes, they're built for the EDH format (Elder Dragon Highlander)

Basic rundown:
100 card deck
One legendary creature known as your "general"
No repeats aside from basic lands
No cards that have a color not appearing on your general.
The general sits outside the game in a special zone. You can play your general at any time, but every time it dies its cost goes up by 2

So, do you still have to draw the general, or is he automatically out?

 

[traveler]

I run Horde, just for the Ashes of the Fallen combo. (Having ways to recur your Allies is essential). The ability to recur Crib Swap indefinitely is also nice.

There are no obvious 5 color generals for most specific strats though. I could easily see someone running Progenitus as a finisher, (if you make it to that much mana, you might as well) Child of Alara as an always available reset button, or Karona as an overrun instead of Horde. It's your preference, really.

Edit Your general is in a rfg zone that is NOT exile. He or she can be cast from there anytime you could normally cast them for their cost plus 2 colorless for each time you've cast them before. So Kiki-Kiki will cost 2rrr the first time you play him, 4rrr the second, 6rrr the third, and so on. Every time your general would be exiled or put into a gy, you may choose to send them to this commander zone instead.

Edit: beaten. I blame trying to type on an iPad.

 

[The Technomancer]

So, do you still have to draw the general, or is he automatically out?

He's automatically in his "command zone" where you can play him from. A friend of mine runs a one mana general (Rhys the Redeemed) and he always drops him on turn one, but they don't start in play.

 

[Keru_Shiri]

So, do you still have to draw the general, or is he automatically out?

Your General starts outside the game in the command zone. At any time on your turn (at sorcery speed, I believe) you can bring your General in for it's mana cost +2 mana for each time you've cast him previously.

You can find the rest of the rules here: http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php

EDIT:Beaten by Technomancer

 

[Takuan]

Edit: too slow

 

[traveler]

The benefit to this and, imo, the most interesting thing about the format is that you can build your deck around the general. (my aforementioned allies deck notwithstanding). So you might build a kikiJiki deck utilizing a bunch of creatures with Citp/lp effects or a kraj deck with a bunch of cool activated abilities- to demonstrate with my personal two favorites.

 

[WanderingWind]

Awesome deluge of info! You guys rock, as usual.

So you can make these decks with existing cards then. So, I could build one around, say, Ascendent Evincar (yes, I talk about this card a lot) and run from there?

Any other crazy game modes I ought to be aware of?

So you might build a kikiJiki deck utilizing a bunch of creatures with Citp/lp effects or a kraj deck with a bunch of cool activated abilities- to demonstrate with my personal two favorites.

*nods sagely*

I have no idea what any of that means. lol

 

[traveler]

Yup, Evincar is fair game. (Though, if you can wait a bit and don't mind going white instead of black, you might find Elesh Norn more appealing for that particular effect.)

 

[WanderingWind]

Yup, Evincar is fair game. (Though, if you can wait a bit and don't mind going white instead of black, you might find Elesh Norns more appealing for that particular effect.)

Once you go black...

 

[The Technomancer]

Awesome deluge of info! You guys rock, as usual.

So you can make these decks with existing cards then. So, I could build one around, say, Ascendent Evincar (yes, I talk about this card a lot) and run from there?

Any other crazy game modes I ought to be aware of?

Oh yeah, its been around for ages. Fantastic format.
One of the best evenings I've ever had was eight-player two-headed giant archenemy planechase EDH. Man, that game went on forever...

Planechase and Archenemy are both awesome game modes as well. They both require special cards from Wizards, but they're pretty cheap.

In Planechase everything is normal, except you have a deck of "planes" in the middle. They create static effects and you can roll a die to change cards or to activate crazy effects. Example:

In Archenemy 2+ players team up to take down a third player. The third player, the "archenemy" starts the game with 40 life, and has an additional deck of "schemes". They get to flip up and play one scheme a turn, and they're very powerful.

Example:

 

[traveler]

Awesome deluge of info! You guys rock, as usual.

So you can make these decks with existing cards then. So, I could build one around, say, Ascendent Evincar (yes, I talk about this card a lot) and run from there?

Any other crazy game modes I ought to be aware of?



*nods sagely*

I have no idea what any of that means. lol

Sorry about that. Should probably stop using shorthand, especially when trying to explain stuff. CitP is short for "come into play." (and lp, by extension, "leaves play") Here's Kiki-Jiki:

So while at first glance he appears to just be a way to get another copy of your best dude for a turn, a cool way to utilize him is to build a deck centered around creatures with powerful come into play triggered abilities that he can trigger again through copies. These guys, for instance:

(Although you'll need quite a budget in the case of the last one...)

The former is especially enticing, as Simulacrum triggers in BOTH directions- the copy Kiki creates will rampant growth you and, when the token dies or is sacrificed at end of turn, you get to draw a card as well. Left alone, Kiki-Jiki can generate insane amounts of CA, given the right partners.

My second example is this fella:

His "build around" factor is fairly obvious- throw in tons of guys will cool activated abilities. My personal favorites?

(OK, so Omnibian isn't exactly competitive, but he's hilarious, which is part of the fun of the format- hilarious plays like using Kraj and my Omnibian to frogify my opponents armies.)

That was a bit longer than I intended, but hopefully it gives you an idea of how having one creature available at all times lets you really shape your deck in ways traditional formats don't.

 

[The Technomancer]

I had a hard time building a good deck around Kraj. I just couldn't track down a lot of great local activated abilities in blue and green. I mean, you want abilities that affect Kraj himself, because otherwise then why not just use the creature he's copying?

However it is a lot of fun to pump your opponents creatures to steal their abilities.

My current deck is Sen Triplets, which works pretty well, but its frustrating when no-one else is playing my colors. I need a better general in U/B/W

 

[traveler]

I had a hard time building a good deck around Kraj. I just couldn't track down a lot of great local activated abilities in blue and green. I mean, you want abilities that affect Kraj himself, because otherwise then why not just use the creature he's copying?

However it is a lot of fun to pump your opponents creatures to steal their abilities.

Because using Ancestral Recall twice is better than once! You can also give Kraj multiple abilities that allow him to use his abilities to a greater extent. Throw in these guys:

and Kraj can untap himself to perform his tap based abilities multiple times! The latter is especially cool in that he also allows you to double the number of counters on Kraj himself. (Or anyone else- a certain Mind Sculptor, for instance)

There are some other cool applications of Kraj that don't involve the ability copying:

can persist indefinitely. (And Cauldron of Souls will let you do the same for your entire army! Throw in a Forgotten Ancient to make sure you can redistribute 1/1 counter fast enough)

Take any creature you like!

I don't want to fill the page with images, but there are plenty more uses out there. If nothing else, EDH is a great format for letting you explore the entirety of Magic's backlog and the numerous interactions that exist within it.

Edit: Sen Triplets? If you're having problems actually casting their stuff, here's some cool cards to throw in:

These all get around the mana production issue by producing mana that may be spent as different colors instead of actual different colored mana. (Or, in the case of drain power, by letting your opponent produce the mana you wish to use)

 

[The Technomancer]

Yeah, I really need to invest in a Lattice. Its really really fun going Origin Spellbomb->Vedalken Engineer -> Master Transmuter -> Fabricate into a turn four Darksteel Forge though

 

[WanderingWind]

Holy shit. ...I mean, what the hell else can I say? I need that drain power. Stuff like this further cements my desire to never enter a tournament. I would get beat badly.

 

[y2dvd]

Any good tutorial or match vids? I'm brand spanking new to this game.

 

[The Technomancer]

Any good tutorial or match vids? I'm brand spanking new to this game.

Brand spanking new as in "no idea what any of the card types do or anything"?

 

[WanderingWind]

Any good tutorial or match vids? I'm brand spanking new to this game.

Duels of the Planeswalker, available for the 360 and PC does an excellent job of teaching new players the ropes.

 

[Leunam]

I might pick up some Planechase cards this weekend. Really want to start playing that with some friends here.

 

[siddx]

Surgical Extraction is so sexy. I can't wait to throw together a agro black deck with tombstalkers, discard, phylactery lich, vampire hexmages, surgical extraction, and that phyrexian canceller.

 

[An-Det]

I really like the new card, Surgical Extraction. Extirpate is one of my favorite cards, so seeing this just made me smile. I cant wait to play to use it.

 

[Takuan]

I am loving that the Canceler, based on what we've seen so far, doesn't appear to have a place in competitive Standard. He's too flavorful and impressive on the surface (basically unblockable and protection from red, plus superb art) to be as cheap as, say, Massacre Wurm, but I hope he drops to the $5-$6 range quickly. I like it. I like it a lot.

Another question: If I have 2 creatures out with Exalted, does that mean my single attacking creature gets +2/+2?

 

[siddx]

I am loving that the Canceler, based on what we've seen so far, doesn't appear to have a place in competitive Standard. He's too flavorful and impressive on the surface (basically unblockable and protection from red, plus superb art) to be as cheap as, say, Massacre Wurm, but I hope he drops to the $5-$6 range quickly. I like it. I like it a lot.

Another question: If I have 2 creatures out with Exalted, does that mean my single attacking creature gets +2/+2?

yes, exalted stacks. So does battle cry.

 

[Takuan]

Yummy. No wonder Noble Hierarchs are so expensive. Now I want them for a Bant deck focused around Rafiq.

 

[alternade]

Has anyone else read the novels? I just started reading the brother's war. Urza is an interesting character.

 

[Dares]

Does anybody have a good decklist for "Ally"s? I have some and am trying to figure out a good build for them.

 

[traveler]

I assume you are referring to standard legal allies? My only allies list is an EDH one.

I am loving that the Canceler, based on what we've seen so far, doesn't appear to have a place in competitive Standard. He's too flavorful and impressive on the surface (basically unblockable and protection from red, plus superb art) to be as cheap as, say, Massacre Wurm, but I hope he drops to the $5-$6 range quickly. I like it. I like it a lot.

Another question: If I have 2 creatures out with Exalted, does that mean my single attacking creature gets +2/+2?

Not a big fan of the Canceler, but he's pretty cool with:

 

[OneEightZero]

Does anybody have a good decklist for "Ally"s? I have some and am trying to figure out a good build for them.

This is my cheapie Allies deck that I use whenever someone is play testing their new deck:

The Alliance

Creatures (27)
2x Kazandu Blademaster
2x Goblin Ruinblaster
2x Goblin Bushwhacker
4x Tuktuk Grunts
4x Highland Berserker
4x Makindi Shieldmate
4x Stonework Puma
4x Akoum Battlesinger
1x Talus Paladin

Enchantments (5)
2x Journey to Nowhere
3x Zektar Shrine Expedition

Instants (4)
2x Join the Ranks
2x Searing Blaze

Lands (24)
12x Mountain
12x Plains

I have seen nastier builds, though. ^_^

 

[Takuan]

Not a big fan of the Canceler, but he's pretty cool with:

<Predatory Urge>

Yup. It's also good with:

Grappling Hook
Irresistible Prey
Lust for War

... and I'm sure many other similar cards (Lure!). The problem is that the combo is too slow, too costly, and too easily evaded to be competitive in any way - given the current pool of cards in standard, at least - which eliminates tournament viability and brings its price level down to earth. Now, if there's a supporting spell in NPH that makes this a reliable combo, or we see something pop up Innistrad, then this card will easily be $40. Otherwise, there isn't much reason for him to even cost $10.

The idea that an undercosted 5/5 unblockable trampler with protection from burn could be completely worthless in competition is pretty insane, when you think about it. Just crazy... but that's just how it is, and I suppose a huge reason so many people eventually tire of the Standard format.

Me, I'll have fun busting him out on the kitchen table and looking at my buddy's reaction.

 

[siddx]

Has anyone else read the novels? I just started reading the brother's war. Urza is an interesting character.

I've read a handful here and there. They are entertaining reads for what they are. I tend to enjoy light past paced novels (I consume star trek novels like air) so they appeal to me. And they flesh out a lot of the creatures and characters in the game well.

edit: I expect to see the canceler get play in legacy black/discard/agro. It will probably end up around tomstalker status, a 7-10$ card that see's limited but important play in legacy.

 

[traveler]

Yup. It's also good with:

Grappling Hook
Irresistible Prey
Lust for War

... and I'm sure many other similar cards (Lure!). The problem is that the combo is too slow, too costly, and too easily evaded to be competitive in any way - given the current pool of cards in standard, at least - which eliminates tournament viability and brings its price level down to earth. Now, if there's a supporting spell in NPH that makes this a reliable combo, or we see something pop up Innistrad, then this card will easily be $40. Otherwise, there isn't much reason for him to even cost $10.

The idea that an undercosted 5/5 unblockable trampler with protection from burn could be completely worthless in competition is pretty insane, when you think about it. Just crazy... but that's just how it is, and I suppose a huge reason so many people eventually tire of the Standard format.

Me, I'll have fun busting him out on the kitchen table and looking at my buddy's reaction.

Absolutely. It's a fairly janky pairing. Crazy to think that even Baneslayer is probably under curve nowadays. Just no inherent card advantage to playing her, unlike the Titans.

 

[Takuan]

Absolutely. It's a fairly janky pairing. Crazy to think that even Baneslayer is probably under curve nowadays. Just no inherent card advantage to playing her, unlike the Titans.

Yeah, and she still costs $10. Negator probably won't fall too far below $10.