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Magic: the Gathering |OT11| Amonkhet - Have you ever had decks with a Pharaoh?

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ElyrionX

Member
...that they ban cards that should be banned? I'm not seeing the trend here other than sensible bannings....

That they ban cards/decks with absolute no forewarning? That an expensive and powerful deck can be an integral part of the format for literally years and they can ban it out of the blue just because? That they can shamelessly reprint an expensive card in an expensive reprint set and then proceed to ban the card shortly after? That I could have bought into the deck literally a day before the banning and I'd be shit out of luck?

I guess Magic players are used to eating Wizards' shit so no one really cares. I'm just glad I got tired of the game.
 

kirblar

Member
That they ban cards/decks with absolute no forewarning? That an expensive and powerful deck can be an integral part of the format for literally years and they can ban it out of the blue just because? That they can shamelessly reprint an expensive card in an expensive reprint set and then proceed to ban the card shortly after? That I could have bought into the deck literally a day before the banning and I'd be shit out of luck?

I guess Magic players are used to eating Wizards' shit so no one really cares. I'm just glad I got tired of the game.
There's plenty of forewarning. Me and Shaheen had literally been arguing for a Top ban for years. Legacy rounds going 30+ minutes over time repeatedly had been raised as a concern by many, many people! I had advocated for a Twin ban for years. People had said Pod was in danger of being banned for a very long time, and once they printed Rhino and it merged w/ Abzan, the writing was on the wall because the strategy merging w/ Jund was very unhealthy.

It's only out of the blue if you're not paying attention to people who know what they're talking about. If you don't do that, then yes, everything is a blindside.

And the cards in the pod/Twin decks? STILL WORTH A TON. Miracles may suffer a lot more because of just how niche those cards were outside of the deck.
 

Joe Molotov

Member
So did anyone else watch SaffronOlive's video today, and then go to Wal-Mart in search of mystery magic goodies? They had about 10 of those mystery boxes at my local Wal-Mart, I took them back to produce and weighed them, and most of them were exactly 1lbs and the others were ~14 oz. I bought one of the pounders and got a Teferi deck. Not mind blowing, but it's worth $20.
 
There's plenty of forewarning. Me and Shaheen had literally been arguing for a Top ban for years. Legacy rounds going 30+ minutes over time repeatedly had been raised as a concern by many, many people! I had advocated for a Twin ban for years. People had said Pod was in danger of being banned for a very long time, and once they printed Rhino and it merged w/ Abzan, the writing was on the wall because the strategy merging w/ Jund was very unhealthy.

It's only out of the blue if you're not paying attention to people who know what they're talking about. If you don't do that, then yes, everything is a blindside.

And the cards in the pod/Twin decks? STILL WORTH A TON. Miracles may suffer a lot more because of just how niche those cards were outside of the deck.
It's not even just that.

From MTGTop8, Miracles was the only deck that put up more then 10% on a consistent basis. Iirc, there was a period last year where Miracles was 20%+.

Considering most other decks floated around 6-8% at the best, there's no reason for Miracles to be double every other individual deck.
 

MoxManiac

Member
So did anyone else watch SaffronOlive's video today, and then go to Wal-Mart in search of mystery magic goodies? They had about 10 of those mystery boxes at my local Wal-Mart, I took them back to produce and weighed them, and most of them were exactly 1lbs and the others were ~14 oz. I bought one of the pounders and got a Teferi deck. Not mind blowing, but it's worth $20.

There's been a ton of videos on youtube about the magic cubes at Wal-Mart for a while. It sucks that Saffron Olive posted one now because that means that it's going to become a lot more known and harder to find cubes :/
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
It's not even just that.

From MTGTop8, Miracles was the only deck that put up more then 10% on a consistent basis. Iirc, there was a period last year where Miracles was 20%+.

Considering most other decks floated around 6-8% at the best, there's no reason for Miracles to be double every other individual deck.
id prefer that to legacy combo decks taking that 10-20 tbh.
 

ElyrionX

Member
There's plenty of forewarning. Me and Shaheen had literally been arguing for a Top ban for years. Legacy rounds going 30+ minutes over time repeatedly had been raised as a concern by many, many people! I had advocated for a Twin ban for years. People had said Pod was in danger of being banned for a very long time, and once they printed Rhino and it merged w/ Abzan, the writing was on the wall because the strategy merging w/ Jund was very unhealthy.

It's only out of the blue if you're not paying attention to people who know what they're talking about. If you don't do that, then yes, everything is a blindside.

And the cards in the pod/Twin decks? STILL WORTH A TON. Miracles may suffer a lot more because of just how niche those cards were outside of the deck.

Plenty of forewarning? From Wizards? Or from the same players that were calling for a Cat ban this B&R and the last one as well?

I know from your posting here that you've been right on plenty of things so all credit to you for that. But your opinions don't matter as much as you think it does. Just because people like you think something should be banned doesn't mean that Wizards is going to do just that. Fact of the matter is, as you said, you have been calling for Top to be banned for years and you have been wrong all those years. And Wizards only decides to ban Top now when nothing has really changed.

The Twin banning and now the Top banning comes along shortly after reprints were made in expensive sets. The only people who have any clue at all about the timing of specific bans are Wizards insiders so the rest of the playerbase gets fleeced.

You can argue that the rest of the decks are still worth money but Twin was a $25 card for the longest time and Top was even more than that. People lose $50 - $100 in value on the banned cards alone overnight. That isn't a small amount of money. And it is those values that help prop up the EV of the reprint sets.

If you don't see a problem with the current structure and how Wizards handles its B&R system then you clearly have your head too far up their ass.
 

Hero

Member
Plenty of forewarning? From Wizards? Or from the same players that were calling for a Cat ban this B&R and the last one as well?

I know from your posting here that you've been right on plenty of things so all credit to you for that. But your opinions don't matter as much as you think it does. Just because people like you think something should be banned doesn't mean that Wizards is going to do just that. Fact of the matter is, as you said, you have been calling for Top to be banned for years and you have been wrong all those years. And Wizards only decides to ban Top now when nothing has really changed.

The Twin banning and now the Top banning comes along shortly after reprints were made in expensive sets. The only people who have any clue at all about the timing of specific bans are Wizards insiders so the rest of the playerbase gets fleeced.

You can argue that the rest of the decks are still worth money but Twin was a $25 card for the longest time and Top was even more than that. People lose $50 - $100 in value on the banned cards alone overnight. That isn't a small amount of money. And it is those values that help prop up the EV of the reprint sets.

If you don't see a problem with the current structure and how Wizards handles its B&R system then you clearly have your head too far up their ass.

Kirblar wasn't wrong for years, Wizards was just hoping that the format/players would naturally correct the course, they just didn't decide to pull the trigger until now.

Same thing with when they banned BBE which was just the bullet and not the weapon that was Deathrite Shaman.

Twin was oppressive for years for numerous reasons and once again Wizards though that the format would correct itself with certain tools and it didn't, so it finally got the long overdue axe after winning multiple high profile tournaments throughout the years.

There might be someone posting here that has their head up their ass but it's certainly not kirblar. Might want to take a look in the mirror.

Edit:

Also, all this faux outrage over a top banning. If you were playing legacy, the barrier to entry weren't tops. What a joke.
 

OnPoint

Member
I'm happy Top is gone. Open the format up for those that still play. Miracles was so boring. Joe Lossett will find a new deck.
 

zethren

Banned
Oh hey guys, what's goin on in h--

--oh...cat combo wasn't banned... Gonna keep stickin to Modern it looks like. It's pretty bad in my shop, FNM is FILLED with cat combo.
 

traveler

Not Wario
I mean, I guess the argument here is that wizards should telegraph bans more before pulling the trigger? I can see how their often late, lackadaisical approach to bans makes it hard to read the official line, but if you had asked anyone in the scene what single card in legacy is most likely to eat a ban over the past year, I'm confident the vast majority would have answered top.
 

ElyrionX

Member
Kirblar wasn't wrong for years, Wizards was just hoping that the format/players would naturally correct the course, they just didn't decide to pull the trigger until now.

Same thing with when they banned BBE which was just the bullet and not the weapon that was Deathrite Shaman.

Twin was oppressive for years for numerous reasons and once again Wizards though that the format would correct itself with certain tools and it didn't, so it finally got the long overdue axe after winning multiple high profile tournaments throughout the years.

There might be someone posting here that has their head up their ass but it's certainly not kirblar. Might want to take a look in the mirror.

Edit:

Also, all this faux outrage over a top banning. If you were playing legacy, the barrier to entry are not tops. What a joke.

Really? So why ban Top now? Why not next year? Why not last year? If part of the reason for banning Top was due to matches going overtime then why not ban Top years ago when it was a good enough reason to ban it outright in Modern?

If the card was on the ban radar then why reprint Top in EMA last year? Why reprint Twin and then ban the card so shortly after the reprint?

And who's talking about barriers to entry here? The point here is Wizards and the amount of respect they show their playerbase which is virtually none at all from all that they've done in the last few years alone.

Wizards is part of a listed company so they have aggressive financial targets to meet every year and every quarter which explains the vast majority of their actions. However, these things can probably be handled better with more respect being shown to customers. However, as I can see in the MTG communities around me, people have got used to what Wizards does and financial losses and large outflows of cash to build new decks are par for the course in this hobby so there is no incentive for Wizard to change the way they do things.
 

An-Det

Member
The only thing worse than completely blanking and playing main phase Brainstorm with an enemy Leovold in play is doing it at the exact moment that the shop is taking a picture of the boardstate.

My face isn't in the photo, so at least I have plausible deniability.
 

ironmang

Member
Also, anyone playing Top in EDH is just....on some level, for 'competitive' EDH, I get it, but it's got the same problem as any other deck with a bunch of tutors, or to some extent, someone like Sisay - if you're playing toolbox/answer EDH, it's gonna get boring for everyone else real quick.

Any time I see a 4+ player game of EDH at my store it's always 1 guy with the $1000 competitive deck with a huge board and making 20 game actions every turn while the other players just look bored.
 
How would announcing a ban before the ban actually help? Wouldn't it have the same effect on prices and demand as when it's actually banned?
 

Yeef

Member
Really? So why ban Top now? Why not next year? Why not last year? If part of the reason for banning Top was due to matches going overtime then why not ban Top years ago when it was a good enough reason to ban it outright in Modern?

If the card was on the ban radar then why reprint Top in EMA last year? Why reprint Twin and then ban the card so shortly after the reprint?

And who's talking about barriers to entry here? The point here is Wizards and the amount of respect they show their playerbase which is virtually none at all from all that they've done in the last few years alone.

Wizards is part of a listed company so they have aggressive financial targets to meet every year and every quarter which explains the vast majority of their actions. However, these things can probably be handled better with more respect being shown to customers. However, as I can see in the MTG communities around me, people have got used to what Wizards does and financial losses and large outflows of cash to build new decks are par for the course in this hobby so there is no incentive for Wizard to change the way they do things.
I'm curious how you think Wizards should have handled things. Assuming that they realize now (let's say in the last 3 months) that Top needs to be banned, what course of action do you think they should have taken (keeping in mind that set design happens one to two years out from set release)?
 

ironmang

Member
Hell, today might even be a good today to jump in on Leovold actually, if you've missed the chance to catch him at cheaper prices before. BUG decks will surely rise in popularity.

I'm considering picking up some plateaus and magi of the moon for d and t. Still not sure how the deck will handle an elves resurgence, but the red splash definitely gives it extra game against 4 color control, bug and lands.

Image.ashx

Image.ashx


I've been building D&T lately but I might actually pivot and go back to Maverick with Miracles gone. Dread of Night wouldn't be this backbreaking, nearly impossible to remove problem. A few matchups get worse but having access to cards like GSZ and Sylvan Library is huge. Recruiter of the Guard is fine but really slow if you don't have a Vial out. Plus Thoughtseize, Zealous Persecution, Engineered Plague, etc are incredible sideboard options.
 

noquarter

Member
You could treat this like a hobby and not get so upset about the financial losses. If you treat every card as a sunk cost you will probably be happier with the hobby.

If the money is such a big deal, well, most of the deck's value is still there. Tundra and Volcanic Island are still $150+, Jace TMS is still $70, Snapcaster ain't going down cause of the banning. You lost maybe $120 in Top (if you overpaid) and like $50 in the rest of the deck. Yeah, that is the value of a couple Tarmogoyfs, but you could have lost that just as easy if it fell out of the Meta.

If you're upset you can't play it, well, you still can, just only at the kitchen table. With a little tweaking you could also try to turn it into another deck and play that. You have enough value in the deck to trade the whole thing away for Death and Taxes. Sell a land and get Vials and some Merfolk and play that. You could still get Reanimator or Dredge.

Out of a $2000+ deck you lost less than 10% of the value. If you let the prices worry you, don't treat it like stocks. This is a hobby, any return is nice, but shouldn't be the biggest part of your enjoyment.
 

traveler

Not Wario
Ooh sudden demise is pretty cool. I've never seen that before. Cunning Sparkmage I've seen for the mirror, but I suppose its decent against elves as well.

The only thing worse than completely blanking and playing main phase Brainstorm with an enemy Leovold in play is doing it at the exact moment that the shop is taking a picture of the boardstate.

My face isn't in the photo, so at least I have plausible deniability.

Oh shit, haha. My condolences.
 

y2dvd

Member
The trick is to play tier 2 decks and lose more. That way you don't have to worry about your deck getting hit with bans! *taps temple and smiles*
 
can't the game shops just ban whatever the locals want banned?

or does wotc have everyone on a short leash?

I mean, how would you feel if you decided to join a Standard event at a shop you don't usually go to, only for it to turn out that they have a different ban list than your usual shop and your deck no longer works?
 
If you're upset you can't play it, well, you still can, just only at the kitchen table.

Can you imagine someone playing a competitive Miracles deck at the kitchen table, lol?

Like, how much would that person hate their friends?

I am so psyched Miracles is dead. Few things are more miserable than watching a player lose slowly to a Miracles deck. Top ban is my favourite ban since I've started playing (2013).
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
Can you imagine someone playing a competitive Miracles deck at the kitchen table, lol?

Like, how much would that person hate their friends?

I am so psyched Miracles is dead. Few things are more miserable than watching a player lose slowly to a Miracles deck. Top ban is my favourite ban since I've started playing (2013).
Getting combo t2 by legacy combo decks is pretty high up there.
 

Zocano

Member
Attending the Amonkhet prerelease gave me the itch again and I looked through my collection.

I'm 2 ravagers and 3 inkmoths from having everything for affinity. Could easily trade for it or drop the cash for it. The itch is strong.
 

Zocano

Member
I remember when I saw Kirblar say PICK UP MOX OPALS RIGHT NOW when the legend rule changed and I panic bought 4 at $25/ea. cause I've been wanting an affinity deck for a while.

Basically I blame Kirblar for this.
 

kirblar

Member
I remember when I saw Kirblar say PICK UP MOX OPALS RIGHT NOW when the legend rule changed and I panic bought 4 at $25/ea. cause I've been wanting an affinity deck for a while.

Basically I blame Kirblar for this.
Oh no theyve only doubled in price since! :p
 
I made some cash on Eye of Ugin and Boom/Bust, and whiffed on Jace Unraveler of Secrets.

So basically I've broken even on Kirblar's financial tips
 

Zocano

Member
I'm glad I got out of standard. I played mono black rats during Theros block and loved it and having seen them fuck up standard, it makes me not really want to come back. I love weird combo-y interactive/synergy decks and BG zombies from ravnica and mono black rats were still some of my favorite decks to pilot.

Is there a similar zombies deck in modern?

edit: I suppose that deck is actually affinity and why I am building it. Though I always love fun graveyard interaction.
 
can't the game shops just ban whatever the locals want banned?

or does wotc have everyone on a short leash?

I mean, for casual play you can literally have whatever rules you want whenever you want.

The last EDH game I played included rules like, "You can run Griselbrand but no one's allowed to reanimate him", "You can mull until you hit three lands but you have to show us every hand you put back", and "Everyone's wishboard includes my copy of Emrakul, the Aeon's Torn because if you cast it off Coax from the Blind Eternities that's just neat."

For actual tournament play you need to have a consistent and widely-known set of rules that everyone can agree on, though. The only real way to do that is to have a standard.
 

Bandini

Member
I only casually play Legacy (Cockatrice and proxy decks with friends) and even I was sick of Miracles. It's not like the players are completely boned either, most of the money cards are viable in other Legacy decks.
 

Hero

Member
Really? So why ban Top now? Why not next year? Why not last year? If part of the reason for banning Top was due to matches going overtime then why not ban Top years ago when it was a good enough reason to ban it outright in Modern?

Because they gave the format time to see if the format would figure it out? Not to mention the logistics portion where tournament rounds would go way past round time due to the nature of top activations? It's really not hard to comprehend.


If the card was on the ban radar then why reprint Top in EMA last year? Why reprint Twin and then ban the card so shortly after the reprint?

Wizards has stated multiple times that they do not take into account sets/releases when deciding to ban a card or not. Go back when Stoneforge Mystic was in an Event Deck right before it got banned for further proof. Past that, I don't understand your stance on the matter here. If Wizards had NOT reprinted it in EMA, the price of top would have gone up over the past year instead of down, so when the card inevitably got banned, people like you would've been even more upset about their investment. So apparently Wizards is damned if they do, damned if they don't.

And who's talking about barriers to entry here? The point here is Wizards and the amount of respect they show their playerbase which is virtually none at all from all that they've done in the last few years alone.

You're the one whining about lost value over four cards that went into one Legacy deck when the bulk of the value is in the manabase. If anybody can afford to play Legacy a hit on four tops isn't the end of the world. I don't see how this banning shows disrespect either, since a big portion of the equation was to respect players' time by not having everyone being miserable waiting on a couple of miracle players consistently going beyond round time.
 

Tunoku

Member
Geez, seems like I bought my Glorybringers just in time. Price is over $12 now. I guess it has to do with the lack of a Cat ban. And that it's an awesome card in its own right.
 

Santiako

Member
Geez, seems like I bought my Glorybringers just in time. Price is over $12 now. I guess it has to do with the lack of a Cat ban. And that it's an awesome card in its own right.

The card is nuts. Deals with planeswalkers really well. Probably the best 5 drop on standard (sorry Avacyn/Verdurous).
 

Tunoku

Member
Yeah it's the best dragon in a long time. Kinda glad they didn't make it a 5/5 as well. It's hard to imagine a meta where this dude is not playable in Standard.

EDIT: It should also be said that if you don't plan on playing with it, sell all your copies ASAP. It's gonna fall in price for sure. This is hyped up + it's gonna be a Gameday promo next month.
 

Lucario

Member
can't the game shops just ban whatever the locals want banned?

or does wotc have everyone on a short leash?

If you're getting prize support for the tournament from WoTc, you're supposed to keep things consistent. Anything goes if you're running it yourself.

The leash is also pretty long; players don't report stores very often, and WoTC doesn't seem to follow up on reports unless they're very public. I've seen some really bizarre house rules at small shops that never get fixed. One place around here will immediately DQ you if you try to intentionally draw for any reason, even in sanctioned events.... and they get PPTQs.
 

DrArchon

Member
Yeah it's the best dragon in a long time. Kinda glad they didn't make it a 5/5 as well. It's hard to imagine a meta where this dude is not playable in Standard.

EDIT: It should also be said that if you don't plan on playing with it, sell all your copies ASAP. It's gonna fall in price for sure. This is hyped up + it's gonna be a Gameday promo next month.

I love Glorybringer, much like I loved Stormbreath and Thundermaw. Any decently sized and decently costed flyer with haste is good in my book. Also super glad it's not 5/5, because at least right now it doesn't escape Grasp for what it's worth.

I've seen a number of brews for the return of RG Monsters thanks to stuff like Glorybringer and Rhonas, and if I wasn't avoiding standard for now I'd seriously think about it.
 
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