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Magic: the Gathering |OT11| Amonkhet - Have you ever had decks with a Pharaoh?
- Thread starter SigmasonicX
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Wulfric
Member
Lockwood is another one of those artists whose work I gravitate towards. Sometimes I check the artist credit and think "Yup, that's him".
Azusa, Kalitas, Niv-Mizzet, Path; his resume is pretty stacked. Also he wrote this amazing bit on his website.
"I am not Raksha. I never will be."
So says the Kha Regent. But you've got a bitchin' hat.
So says the Kha Regent. But you've got a bitchin' hat."
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
He sure likes his Cats with midriffs.
divisionbyzorro
Member
"Battlelands" was always the most unimaginative dumb name ever. It was the result of the pendulum swinging hard in the other direction from the too-clever-for-its-own-good name "tangoland."
My MKM order didn't make it, so no Bounty of the Luxa for me today. <.< I guess I'll sleeve Marvel up instead.
EDIT: Now this is some true jank:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/636278#online
EDIT: Now this is some true jank:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/636278#online
Wasn't Tropical Island drawn by some other artist? I thought Poole drew the BoP art for the land but they ended up using it for the bird and got some other person to do the land.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
I never stopped using tangolands.
The problem I have with CoCo is that I'd need to buy a full playset of it along Chord of Calling for it be functional and that would set me back a bit more than the couple of cards I need to buy to have a functional normal Abzan midrange. I also plan over time to buy a playset of LotV and Goyf, just not now.
Yeah, I was thinking something along that line until I can upgrade with LotV and Goyf. But CoCo seems a lot of fun too, it's just way too hard to decide
.I was thinking of picking up some Commander 2016 decks for my SO and me to play 1v1. One of the decks would be Stalwart Unity. Any suggestions on which of the other four decks would pair well with it? I'd like the decks to be of somewhat similar power levels so that it doesn't feel like a blowout in either direction.
If Stalwart Unity doesn't pair well with any of the other decks, are there any two decks that do pair particularly well with one another?
If Stalwart Unity doesn't pair well with any of the other decks, are there any two decks that do pair particularly well with one another?
my bad
I actually see more people calling them tangolands than battlelands nowadays, it's a much better name, so I also call them tangos.
The problem I have with CoCo is that I'd need to buy a full playset of it along Chord of Calling for it be functional and that would set me back a bit more than the couple of cards I need to buy to have a functional normal Abzan midrange. I also plan over time to buy a playset of LotV and Goyf, just not now.
Yeah, I was thinking something along that line until I can upgrade with LotV and Goyf. But CoCo seems a lot of fun too, it's just way too hard to decide
You can always start with an abzan midrange and then upgrade to CoCo as you acquire the cards.
They are all pretty evenly matched. I think "Invent Superiority" and "Breed Lethality" are probably a bit stronger than the rest, but really any of the decks should be fine against each other.
I feel Stalwart Unity is too focused on getting your opponent to attack another opponent to work well in 1v1, at least out of the box. The other four are somewhat even, though Breya can be oppressive against the other three precons since one of her abilities basically says destroy opposing general at instant speed. I personally used Yidris vs. Atraxa and it was pretty even, maybe like 60-40 in Atraxa favor.
Giant Panda
Member
I still haven't found Atraxa or Breya for MSRP yet.
Love it and all these other decks I'm seeing.
divisionbyzorro
Member
Using New Perspectives as a way to churn through your deck to pseudo-tutor for Approach isn't the worst plan I've ever heard of.
charlequin
Banned
Early Magic art was mostly Jesper Myrfors' art school buddies and up-and-comers they met through gaming channels (conventions, etc.) Even once they got more of a budget, the amount of work for fantasy illustrators was orders of magnitude smaller at the time given fewer hobby games and a far smaller videogame industry. Magic has honestly been one of the main brands actually driving that higher bar.
Mark couldn't have been more than 25 at the time and he was working as an illustrator for a camping-goods company when he met Jesper, he'd never done fantasy illustration before.
In the era since Time Spiral at least they've liked to rotate in classic artists occasionally when stuff fits their style, and Amonkhet is definitely a good fit for Poole. He did stuff for Lorwyn too.
He did both
That's an Alpha misprint with a credit line from before they swapped the art. Like every other piece of art they didn't get or had issues with, Jesper threw something together to get the set out the door, and he's properly credited for it in Beta onwards:
That's an Alpha misprint with a credit line from before they swapped the art. Like every other piece of art they didn't get or had issues with, Jesper threw something together to get the set out the door, and he's properly credited for it in Beta onwards:
Ah, my bad.
Going to make my third attempt at attending a magic event tonight. After I had a lot of fun at the pre-release I have had several less than good experiences at several of my local game stores.
Last Friday I went to the store closest to me for their FNM. Their site listed no details other than it was free so I went hoping to find some people to casually play against or for a sealed event. I got there and sat at a table in their play area and after 10 or 15 minutes 10 or so other people were there. One of the store employees came and asked me to sign up for the tournament. I told him I was a new player and only had a handful of cards. He said that they were only hosting the tournament so if I wasn't going to participate I couldn't stay in the play area so I left.
Then I read about the Amonkhet League and that sounded perfect for me. The only problem is that while 5 or 6 stores near me are listed on the WOTC site as hosting the event, none of them listed it on their websites or Facebook event pages. I messaged a few of them and got no replies for a few days until one of them wrote back saying they were hosting it and they must've forgot to add it to their event list. So I went down to the shop after work and there were a bunch of people there. I went to the counter and asked if anyone was there to participate in the league. The employee went back to the play area and asked and one of the guys asked "What are the prizes" to which the employee angrily replied "THERE ARE NO PRIZES, SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY ENJOY JUST PLAYING THE GAME". I got the impression that this was one of "those regulars". I waited around for 20 minutes or so and left since no one came to do the sealed league.
So I will give it another shot tonight. A new store opened up close to me and they actually advertised on their site a draft tonight and at least the comments on their Facebook page lead me to believe they are friendly to new players.
TLDR: This shit is hard to get into
Last Friday I went to the store closest to me for their FNM. Their site listed no details other than it was free so I went hoping to find some people to casually play against or for a sealed event. I got there and sat at a table in their play area and after 10 or 15 minutes 10 or so other people were there. One of the store employees came and asked me to sign up for the tournament. I told him I was a new player and only had a handful of cards. He said that they were only hosting the tournament so if I wasn't going to participate I couldn't stay in the play area so I left.
Then I read about the Amonkhet League and that sounded perfect for me. The only problem is that while 5 or 6 stores near me are listed on the WOTC site as hosting the event, none of them listed it on their websites or Facebook event pages. I messaged a few of them and got no replies for a few days until one of them wrote back saying they were hosting it and they must've forgot to add it to their event list. So I went down to the shop after work and there were a bunch of people there. I went to the counter and asked if anyone was there to participate in the league. The employee went back to the play area and asked and one of the guys asked "What are the prizes" to which the employee angrily replied "THERE ARE NO PRIZES, SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY ENJOY JUST PLAYING THE GAME". I got the impression that this was one of "those regulars". I waited around for 20 minutes or so and left since no one came to do the sealed league.
So I will give it another shot tonight. A new store opened up close to me and they actually advertised on their site a draft tonight and at least the comments on their Facebook page lead me to believe they are friendly to new players.
TLDR: This shit is hard to get into
Imperfected
Member
Seems like the kind of deck that only works as long as not enough people are playing it to be recognized as a meta archetype. As soon as someone starts packing some hate for it in their board it would just wilt.
If someone can win with combo based around a 6 mana card and a 7 mana card, more power to them.
I think I'll stick to Curator of Mysteries and Drake Haven for my Cycling shenanigans though.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Did y'all forget the 4c rites deck that comboed by flickering a brood monitor with displacer and killed the opponent with zulaport cutthroat?
Made it big at a couple gps before people found out it's bad.
Made it big at a couple gps before people found out it's bad.
Yep, drafts are great. It's probably the best format for new players and it's cheap. All you need is sleeves and dice and around $15 for the draft.
afternoon delight
Member
I hope it's not too off topic but omg Mark Poole and Myrfors are easily half the reason I initially started playing as a child. The art in Ice Age, Mirage, Legends, Alpha, first few editions, etc definitely evolved my sense of fantasy. I'm positive it colored how I read Tolkin in terms of imagining the words.
Yes, I played that deck. It was a bunch of fun! Then I cut black and just played Bant Rites CoCo Eldrazi and it was way better.
MTGO Standard League 5-0 Decks 5/5/2017:
1 Mono Black Zombies
1 Temur Marvel
1 Sultai Marvel
2 Mardu Vehicle
2 UW Control
1 UR Control
1 Jeskai Control
1 Mardu Control
http://magic.wizards.com/en/article...titive-standard-constructed-league-2017-05-05
The two UW decks seem to be identical. Mardu Control is basically a tap-out superfriends deck that also runs a full playset of Glorybringers. Sultai Marvel looks cool as fuck, with the new Liliana being a pretty sweet way to get Ulamog on the battlefield.
1 Mono Black Zombies
1 Temur Marvel
1 Sultai Marvel
2 Mardu Vehicle
2 UW Control
1 UR Control
1 Jeskai Control
1 Mardu Control
http://magic.wizards.com/en/article...titive-standard-constructed-league-2017-05-05
The two UW decks seem to be identical. Mardu Control is basically a tap-out superfriends deck that also runs a full playset of Glorybringers. Sultai Marvel looks cool as fuck, with the new Liliana being a pretty sweet way to get Ulamog on the battlefield.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
went 2-1 again at draft today, made a URb deck semi control semi tempo. Insult to Injury is a dumb card for limited.
Also first picked a Foil full art mountain pack 3.
Also first picked a Foil full art mountain pack 3.
Holy shit. Gideon of the Trials is seeing more play than Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. What happened?!
Imperfected
Member
I mean, he's a solid 3 CMC walker. Any walker that hits the board on 3 and has more presence than Saheeli (and even Saheeli, it seems!) is going to be enticing.
Edit: I love that the Mono-Black Zombies deck on that list is just like the most "no duh" decklist for zombies you could make.
Costs 1 cmc less, still crews Heart, can possibly keep you from losing a game you should lose, prevents damage... I dunno. It's pretty good.
Imperfected
Member
He's pretty attractive in Control. Your opponent can't try to ignore him and pile through for direct damage, and if they aren't running a wide strategy he can render them largely toothless for multiple turns.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I don't think it is. I don't think its great at all.
Well there's a bunch of control decks there, and Gideon of the Trials is a really solid walker for control decks. He's like a better Pacifism that can hit vehicles and other walkers and turn into a 4/4 when you get the chance. I don't see any of those kinds of decks being in the mood to make/pump a bunch of 2/2s.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
All I'm looking for in the new Gideon is an alternate Ad Nauseam combo for my Zur deck.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Here's the relevant part.
they aren't just splitting it off, they are going to adhere to the RC's as much as possible.mtgo tumblr said:
Tumblr's blocked where I'm at so couldn't. This is why I explicitly stated what the news was instead of just commenting on it.
Simply Sarah
Member
A bit of a relief. There was certainly dismay of no longer being able to play your paper deck on MODO (I mean, assuming all the cards existed and worked and would function in a land without shortcuts) and fear of WotC taking over the multiplayer rules/ban list. People may have issues with the RC but I don't think anyone was happy with the proposed multiplayer ban list WotC initially released.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
Opened Rhonas, sell now or wait?
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Wait for PT, the card is very strong and should see play if green is any good. Which is always is.
Speaking of the PT, I'm still holding out hope they will figure out that the PT being semi-rigged because dudes concede their friends in and then draw their way into the single elim rounds is dumb bullshit. Remove the timer from the last two rounds for all players mathematically eligible for the Top 8, and disallow draws of any kind in those rounds. Yes, it will take 30-60 minutes longer for that day, but who cares - the Top 8 is on a different day anyways.
I mean, that's only necessary because WOTC doesn't have the stones to ban collusion and just say the head judge has discretion to determine if players are colluding to draw into some kind of benefit.
Muskieratboi
Member
Okay, bear with me here, but I've been looking at some old Duel masters videos, and it sounds like you could really easily play it as an interesting Magic Variant:
- Modern 40 Card Deck, all creatures, no lands, 30 Life
- Top 5 cards of the library at the start of play become free blockers face down
- Creatures can be played as lands by using their color identity as the mana you tap them for (they cannot be used in combat, also, you can only play multi-color cards as one mana type when you tap them, emulating dual lands)
-Creature ETBs work as normal (so there's some cool deckbuilding opportunities here)
- Creatures in combat fight as normal, except you can elect to block with one of the free shield blockers, in which case that card is turned face up (and any ETB triggers of that card go off!) and both creatures get trample during combat (so an unlucky facedown pick can cause you to take damage, or a lucky one can deal damage to the opponent).
Sounds like it could easily break, or be absolutely dominated by green and red, but hey, I dunno, I just thought it up in 10 minutes at 4AM.
- Modern 40 Card Deck, all creatures, no lands, 30 Life
- Top 5 cards of the library at the start of play become free blockers face down
- Creatures can be played as lands by using their color identity as the mana you tap them for (they cannot be used in combat, also, you can only play multi-color cards as one mana type when you tap them, emulating dual lands)
-Creature ETBs work as normal (so there's some cool deckbuilding opportunities here)
- Creatures in combat fight as normal, except you can elect to block with one of the free shield blockers, in which case that card is turned face up (and any ETB triggers of that card go off!) and both creatures get trample during combat (so an unlucky facedown pick can cause you to take damage, or a lucky one can deal damage to the opponent).
Sounds like it could easily break, or be absolutely dominated by green and red, but hey, I dunno, I just thought it up in 10 minutes at 4AM.
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
1/3 prowess dude is so much better in Amonkhet limited than it was in SOI
Yes on the last part too, Judges make game deciding calls all the time. They should have the ability to judge if people play for a draw.
Thanks and yes. It's an embarrassing practice for their most prestigious tournaments, I understand walking back the Top 8 changes but the problem remains unaddressed thereby.
Yes on the last part too, Judges make game deciding calls all the time. They should have the ability to judge if people play for a draw.
I was pretty scared of the impacts on paper EDH, that said I've played some EDH again and am ok with a sol ring, mana crypt mana vault ban now, though preferably more fast mana of the sort would be banned in addition.
Joe Molotov
Member
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=426915
I like the occasional bits of Gatherer flavor text.
I like the occasional bits of Gatherer flavor text.
SigmasonicX
Member
M-Files: Amonkhet
* Binding Mummy was given the ability to tap artifacts to help W/B Zombies against artifact decks. It isn't meant to be a silver bullet, just something to help a bit against Heart of Kiran. This is part of the super late changes in response to the rotation change.
* Gideon's Intervention went through a lot of changes.
* Blue fliers aren't supposed to be stronger than Phantom Monster (3U, 3/3 flier) at common.
* Cryptic Servant was originally 6U, but they changed it to 5UU to make it weaker in Eternal formats. They like when a card like Gurmag Angler shows up in Eternal, but they didn't think this was the right card to take a risk with.
* When they made Vizier of Many Faces, they weren't even sure it would work well with embalm, but it polled well, so they adjusted the rules of embalm itself to make it work.
* Drake Haven was originally 1U.
* They knew As Foretold worked with the no-mana suspend cards.
* Trial of Ambition says "target opponent" so it doesn't cause a blowout with Emrakul.
* Shadow of the Grave at one point had the wording "discarded or put into your graveyard from exile" to work with madness. They instead decided to change the rules.
* Binding Mummy was given the ability to tap artifacts to help W/B Zombies against artifact decks. It isn't meant to be a silver bullet, just something to help a bit against Heart of Kiran. This is part of the super late changes in response to the rotation change.
* Gideon's Intervention went through a lot of changes.
* Blue fliers aren't supposed to be stronger than Phantom Monster (3U, 3/3 flier) at common.
* Cryptic Servant was originally 6U, but they changed it to 5UU to make it weaker in Eternal formats. They like when a card like Gurmag Angler shows up in Eternal, but they didn't think this was the right card to take a risk with.
* When they made Vizier of Many Faces, they weren't even sure it would work well with embalm, but it polled well, so they adjusted the rules of embalm itself to make it work.
* Drake Haven was originally 1U.
* They knew As Foretold worked with the no-mana suspend cards.
* Trial of Ambition says "target opponent" so it doesn't cause a blowout with Emrakul.
* Shadow of the Grave at one point had the wording "discarded or put into your graveyard from exile" to work with madness. They instead decided to change the rules.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Relentless Dead offers some insanely dumb trigger management on MTGO though, especially if two of them die. I blocked a Bloodrage Brawler and a Scrapheap Scrounger with 2 Relentless Dead which made four triggers - I wanted to revive Diregraf Colossus, revive one of the Relentless Dead, and return the other to my hand. You have to manage the stack such that the Diregraf is returned to the battlefield as the last ability put on the stack and the other revive ability targets the Relentless Dead which is not returning to your hand.
It sounds simple but its kind of easy to fuck up.
1) Relentless Dead A Return to Hand ability - (decline)
2) Relentless Dead B Return to Hand abiity (accept and pay)
3) Relentless Dead B's Return to Battlefield ability (targeting Relentless Dead A)
4) Relentless Dead A's Return to Battlefield ability (targeting Diregraf Colossus)
It's made harder by the fact that its kind of hard to tell on MTGO which ability comes from which zombie and you have to make sure not to target the wrong one with the wrong ones's ability.
Not sure Stoddard remember the rule change because he said it doesn't work with Madness, but it actually does.
It sounds simple but its kind of easy to fuck up.
1) Relentless Dead A Return to Hand ability - (decline)
2) Relentless Dead B Return to Hand abiity (accept and pay)
3) Relentless Dead B's Return to Battlefield ability (targeting Relentless Dead A)
4) Relentless Dead A's Return to Battlefield ability (targeting Diregraf Colossus)
It's made harder by the fact that its kind of hard to tell on MTGO which ability comes from which zombie and you have to make sure not to target the wrong one with the wrong ones's ability.
Not sure Stoddard remember the rule change because he said it doesn't work with Madness, but it actually does.
played my first draft of Amonkhet (and the first draft since Kaladesh release), 2-1, 0-2 (he ended up winning the draft undefeated), 1-2. The deck was actually pretty okay, I had BG Vizir and the menace zombie rare, but got blown up by Amon-earthquake twice while my board was frozen by the brick artifact, and in the last match my opponent got first turn and overran me with a perfect curve and that damn rhonas monument. Meh
it seem Magic has now become a game that I play in a limited event or two every couple months
it seem Magic has now become a game that I play in a limited event or two every couple months
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