Support NeoGAF

[DrArchon]

LSV Set Review: Green

Green looks a lot slower to me than in did in Amonkhet, where you had Hooded Brawler putting in a ton of work. And seeing as ramp wasn't that great in Amonkhet, I don't have particularly high hopes for Green this go around.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Play Design article showing some FFL changes
* Surprise surprise, Abrade was added due to Mardu Vehicles. Hour of Revelation was also designed to counter it.
* Hour of Glory originally put a bunch of - 1/-1 counters on a creature, so it could kill the monocolored gods but not the Bolas ones. This felt like an unnecessary use of counters, it was very strong with Nest of Scarabs, and they decided it should get rid of Bolas gods too.
* Hour of Devastation was originally an instant that dealt 4 damage to all creatures, but this was too strong with Torrential Gearhulk. The anti indestructible clause was added to deal with gods. It was a nonbo with Bolas decks, so the non-Bolas clause was added.
* The Defeat cards are a way for decks to become stronger against mirror matches but weaker against others.
* Refuse // Cooperate is an anti-Emrakul card.

 

[Santiako]

Just realized that this will probably be only the second Pre-release I miss since I started playing again with Scars of Mirrodin (I missed one previously due to a massive snow storm a few years ago), and that I'm kind of OK with it? My only experience with Amonkhet limited was that Pre-release as well, and I doubt i'll have time to do FNM draft the rest of the summer.

I'm going because I asked for the day off work like a month ago, but I'll just do the one flight instead of my usual 2. I have negative hype for this set.

 

[Ashodin]

Prerelease tonight woooooo!!!!!

 

[DrArchon]

Alright MagicGAF, I'm about to commit on a Crested Sunmare deck, and I wouldn't mind your thoughts.

After thinking everything over and looking at the recent bump in popularity for Oketra's Monument decks, I'm gonna ignore everything I was planning on doing with Black and potentially Green and make a mono-White deck. I was basically thinking about a mono-White version of the Oketra's Monument decks, removing Spell Queller, Cloudblazer, and Metallic Rebuke for Anointer Priest, Crested Sunmare, and Anointed Procession.

Basically this: http://decks.tcgplayer.com/magic/standard/kevin-johnson/wu-monument/1287297

-4 Cloudblazer
-4 Spell Queller
-2 Metallic Rebuke
-2 Stasis Snare

+4 Anointer Priest
+4 Crested Sunmare
+2 Anointed Procession
+2 Cast Out

Plus gutting the mana base so it's just Plains and Westvale Abbys.

The main reason I'm leaning on this is that it's cheap. Most of the cards I can get a few playset for for about a buck or two. I also like the interaction of Anointed Procession and Clue Tokens from Thraben Inspector and Bygone Bishop. Then there's the potential turn 2-3-4 play of Anointer Priest - Oketra's Monument - Crested Sunmare, which really appeals to me.

I could switch over to Black or Green once Ixalan hits and I see which colors best support lifegain and tokens without losing too much investment (only the Abbys and the Selfless Spirits are gonna hurt a little).

Thoughts?

 

[Ashodin]

Crested is a five drop, so it'd be 2- Anointer, 3- Oketra, 4- Procession, 5- Sunmare

But yeah that looks sweet.

I love the Oketra Monument decks too, they're valuetown.

Ooh, Dusk // Dawn is actually not too bad with the horses being indestructible as well.

I love how the UW deck has like 2 months to live.

 

[DrArchon]

Crested is a five drop, so it'd be 2- Anointer, 3- Oketra, 4- Procession, 5- Sunmare

But yeah that looks sweet.

I love the Oketra Monument decks too, they're valuetown.

Ooh, Dusk // Dawn is actually not too bad with the horses being indestructible as well.

I love how the UW deck has like 2 months to live.

Oketra's Monument cuts the cost by 1, so it'd only cost 4.

Hence, Anointer Priest - Oketra's Monument - Crested Sunmare.

Adding Procession somewhere in there is also an option though. The thought of dropping a Sunmare and getting an extra 10 power out of it if the enemy doesn't have instant speed removal sounds too good.

 

[Ashodin]

Oketra's Monument cuts the cost by 1, so it'd only cost 4.

Hence, Anointer Priest - Oketra's Monument - Crested Sunmare.

Adding Procession somewhere in there is also an option though. The thought of dropping a Sunmare and getting an extra 10 power out of it if the enemy doesn't have instant speed removal sounds too good.

oh shit, you're right. What about Oketra herself as a 2x? You're making so many tokens she'd definitely be live and useful late game as another finisher.

This is also why I like the Mirror - if the opponent has removal you can transform the mirror into the horse and make the Sunmare indestructible for 2 mana.

 

[Justin]

oh shit, you're right. What about Oketra herself as a 2x? You're making so many tokens she'd definitely be live and useful late game as another finisher.

This is also why I like the Mirror - if the opponent has removal you can transform the mirror into the horse and make the Sunmare indestructible for 2 mana.

Does the mirror also stay copied long enough to produce a horse if there was any life gain or does it switch back before that triggers?

 

[DrArchon]

oh shit, you're right. What about Oketra herself as a 2x? You're making so many tokens she'd definitely be live and useful late game as another finisher.

This is also why I like the Mirror - if the opponent has removal you can transform the mirror into the horse and make the Sunmare indestructible for 2 mana.

I don't like the idea of Oketra. Same reason I'm kinda against Mirage Mirror. Just having it as a top-deck with an empty board makes me queasy. And Oketra's only a 6 power with the ability to spend mana on tokens. Between Bygone Bishop and Anointed Procession, I fully plan on spending most of my mana on drawing more cards. I feel like Hanweir Militia Captain fills Oketra's role better. She comes down early, turns into a big creature with enough other creatures, and makes more creatures.

Selfless Spirit can protect the Horse like the mirror, except it can do it for zero mana.

 

[Hackworth]

Prerelease in two hours!

 

[Ashodin]

I don't like the idea of Oketra. Same reason I'm kinda against Mirage Mirror. Just having it as a top-deck with an empty board makes me queasy. And Oketra's only a 6 power with the ability to spend mana on tokens. Between Bygone Bishop and Anointed Procession, I fully plan on spending most of my mana on drawing more cards. I feel like Hanweir Militia Captain fills Oketra's role better. She comes down early, turns into a big creature with enough other creatures, and makes more creatures.

Selfless Spirit can protect the Horse like the mirror, except it can do it for zero mana.

I suppose. I'll still be trying out either or and see how it fits.

 

[Rafy]

So with HOU significantly slowing things down, which archetypes look like the most powerful now in limited?

I really enjoyed drafting W/R and R/G beat-down in Amonkhet, but I have not yet had the chance to check out the Green and Blue Limited Reviews by LSV.

Thankfully, I am doing the pre-release tomorrow afternoon and not tonight, so I'll be able to study the rest tomorrow morning.

 

[Imperfected]

Oketra wishes she was half as good as a generic Hanweir Milita Captain.

Heck, Oketra wishes she was as good as a Thalia's Lieutenant.

 

[DrArchon]

OK, here's what I have so far.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-white-monument-3/

I cut the land count a fair bit because I don't need to worry about hitting any other colors and most of my stuff is pretty cheap. I went ahead and added 4 copies of Sacred Cat as well, which I wasn't planning on, but after sitting back and looking at the deck I realized that the only sources of life gain in the deck were the 4 Anointer Priests. I also went down to 3 monuments instead of 4, because they're legendary and even though artifacts are big in standard there isn't a ton of removal for them being played, though we'll see if that changes when Abrade hits.

 

[Firemind]

wait what? leovold also draws cards when you're targeted?

ban this sick filth

 

[Card Boy]

wait what? leovold also draws cards when you're targeted?

ban this sick filth

Already banned in Commander.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Fisrt time since I fully came back to magic with Origins that I'm gonna skip a prerelease. I'm gonna draft next week to get Ramunap excavator and try to complete the trials (which conveniently don't require a pre-release this time.

I already had low interest in playing but EV being terrible sealed the deal for me.

 

[Zocano]

I'm not super loving this set but I love limited too much to not at least do one prerelease.

 

[Firemind]

Already banned in Commander.

ban him in legacy too

he does three things

and is a 3/3 for 3

how is that even fair

 

[Violet_0]

OK, here's what I have so far.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/mono-white-monument-3/

I cut the land count a fair bit because I don't need to worry about hitting any other colors and most of my stuff is pretty cheap. I went ahead and added 4 copies of Sacred Cat as well, which I wasn't planning on, but after sitting back and looking at the deck I realized that the only sources of life gain in the deck were the 4 Anointer Priests. I also went down to 3 monuments instead of 4, because they're legendary and even though artifacts are big in standard there isn't a ton of removal for them being played, though we'll see if that changes when Abrade hits.

looks pretty good. Could probably use another source of life gain, maybe another token producer, but I'm not sure if there are any other worthwhile cards for that right now. You'll have to see if you can get Hanweir Militia Captain active consistently. Neat deck, though, and cheap

 

[blindrocket]

ban him in legacy too

he does three things

and is a 3/3 for 3

how is that even fair

Legacy, fair?

Where else can you do broken stuff? Obviously too good for Standard and Modern, also too good as a multiplayer Commander (he's not banned in 1v1) but at least let him live in Legacy land.

 

[DrArchon]

looks pretty good. Could probably use another source of life gain, maybe another token producer, but I'm not sure if there are any other worthwhile cards for that right now. You'll have to see if you can get Hanweir Militia Captain active consistently. Neat deck, though, and cheap

I was looking for more lifelink and tokens, but there's not a lot out there. There's stuff like Regal Caracal, but that's another 5 drop that I don't think the deck can support. Pride Sovereign looks cool, but it's Green. Gideon AoZ would be a perfect fit, but I'm trying to keep the cost down.

I guess I'll just wing it and see how it goes.

 

[Violet_0]

hm, The Scarab God is currently at $15. EDH demand? All the good zombies are rotating out with SoI soon

I guess I'll just wing it and see how it goes.

there are some ways to test the deck against other players before you commit to it, just experiment with the list

 

[Tunoku]

On my way home from the midnight prerelease. Modern went well, I basically got to do the sealed event for free because of it. My pool was so awful, that I basically decide to play a differen deck each round. My last deck was so bad, it wasn't even funny. I played the Oketra's go back to 20 card, Hazoret's Undying Fury, and even Glorious End. And I actually managed to win with a Glorious End in my last game of the tournament. *achievement unlocked*
I'll post the pool later for you guys to figure out, but I'm pretty sure my best option was BG with a White splash for the BW Aftermath card.

 

[Big Icarus]

hm, The Scarab God is currently at $15. EDH demand? All the good zombies are rotating out with SoI soon

Probably. It's not like the current zombie deck in Standard is clamoring for that thing. About three weeks or less post release expect all the prices of Hour of Devastation cards to completely crater. The only exceptions being Solemnity, and Hour of Devastation itself.

Prerelease prices are always over inflated across the board.

 

[Violet_0]

Probably. It's not like the current zombie deck in Standard is clamoring for that thing. About three weeks or less post release expect all the prices of Hour of Devastation cards to completely crater. The only exceptions being Solemnity, and Hour of Devastation itself.

Prerelease prices are always over inflated across the board.

I mean, you could probably make a pretty sweet Scarab God zombie deck with Prized Amalgam, Cryptbreaker, Diregraf Colossus, Relentless Dead - except that they are all gone with Ixalan, oops. RIP, zombies

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Scarab God is not a card for a zombie deck but a UB midrange or control deck. It's basically Gearhulk 5 through 8 if that's what you're looking for.

 

[Violet_0]

Scarab God is not a card for a zombie deck but a UB midrange or control deck. It's basically Gearhulk 5 through 8 if that's what you're looking for.

yeah, a classic reanimator deck with Scarab God and AKH Lily is something I'd consider if I were to build a Standard deck right now. It's just that the Zombie-specific ability is quite potent on it's own. He's hard to get rid of and basically just needs to survive to the next upkeep phase to potentially deal a lot of damage while sitting back, in a zombie deck

it's just weird that his mana ability wants cards with powerful abilities in your graveyard and his passive cares about having as many 2/2 zombies as possible

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

yeah, a classic reanimator deck with Scarab God and AKH Lily is something I'd consider if I were to build a Standard deck right now. It's just that the Zombie-specific ability is quite potent on it's own. He's hard to get rid of and basically just needs to survive to the next upkeep phase to potentially deal a lot of damage while sitting back, in a zombie deck

it's just weird that his mana ability wants fatties in your graveyard and his passive ability 2/2 zombies

Combo deck

This card is sweet with rebound in Taigam BTW as it's a sort of wrath protection.

 

[Violet_0]

Combo deck


This card is sweet with rebound in Taigam BTW as it's a sort of wrath protection.

come to think of it, the card was probably inspired by Spider Spawning. I hated Spider Spawning in Innistrad I block

 

[Hackworth]

I got 5th at the prerelease, blue white filers is totally legit.

 

[HK-47]

come to think of it, the card was probably inspired by Spider Spawning. I hated Spider Spawning in Innistrad I block

Geez you are even human?

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

This is a weird card, the original text doesn't make it clear enough you only gain control of it if it regenerates.

Almost makes me want to play it in a couple decks.

 

[Violet_0]

Geez you are even human?

I mean, is there anything more human than hating spiders

 

[SigmasonicX]

This is a weird card, the original text doesn't make it clear enough you only gain control of it if it regenerates.

Almost makes me want to play it in a couple decks.

That reminds me.

Worthy Foe - 1RR
Sorcery
Worthy Foe deals 3 damage to target creature an opponent controls. When that creature dies this turn, return it to the battlefield tapped and under your control.

I feel like this ability makes sense in red.
Also, alternative card name: Fairy Tail's Victory.

 

[TestMonkey]

This is a weird card, the original text doesn't make it clear enough you only gain control of it if it regenerates.

Almost makes me want to play it in a couple decks.

From Gatherer: If you cast Debt of Loyalty but nothing happens to the targeted creature for the rest of the turn that would cause it to be destroyed, Debt of Loyalty has no visible effect. The regeneration shield wears off at the end of the turn. If the creature regenerates during a later turn, you won’t gain control of it.

So yeah it has to regenerate for you to take control of it.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

That reminds me.

Worthy Foe - 1RR
Sorcery
Worthy Foe deals 3 damage to target creature an opponent controls. When that creature dies this turn, return it to the battlefield tapped and under your control.

I feel like this ability makes sense in red.
Also, alternative card name: Fairy Tail's Victory.

With that name it gotta be

Worthy Foe - 3RR
Sorcery
Worthy Foe deals 3 damage to target creature an opponent controls. When that creature dies this turn, return it to the battlefield tapped and under your control except it's a 4/4 black zombie in addition to its other types.

 

[SigmasonicX]

With that name it gotta be

Worthy Foe - 1RR
Sorcery
Worthy Foe deals 3 damage to target creature an opponent controls. When that creature dies this turn, return it to the battlefield tapped and under your control except it's a 4/4 black zombie in addition to its other types.

Yeah, that would be neat.
But you and I both know that's a monoblue spell =P

 

[SigmasonicX]

Limited Set Review: Gold, Artifacts, Lands

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Yeah, that would be neat.
But you and I both know that's a monoblue spell =P

of course 3 damage from being mindblasted into eternal servitude and being transformed as well.

 

[Ashodin]

Limited Set Review: Gold, Artifacts, Lands

all the gold cards are fucking powerful in this set.

 

[ironmang]

Anybody here interested in taking 1 or more booster boxes off my hands? These things starting to pile up and I could use the space lol. Have:

5x battle for zendikar
1x kaladesh
3x amonkhet

Looking for 80ea shipped. US only sorry

Figured it's worth throwing them up here before trying the facebook trading groups.

Edit: also got a bunch of playmats from the last couple years that im looking to offload for reasonable prices if theres any interest. Stuff like the drs eternal weekend and the gp goblin guide. I can get a full list and pictures of any. All unused, just brought home and tossed on the pile.

 

[Yeef]

This is a weird card, the original text doesn't make it clear enough you only gain control of it if it regenerates.

Almost makes me want to play it in a couple decks.

It's because, at the time it was printed, regeneration and damage prevention worked differently.

Basically, players would assign damage as normal, but before the damage was actually dealt, there was a prevention step where players could cast spells and activate abilities that prevented damage or regenerated creatures. Then you moved on to actual damage being dealt. You'd only be able to cast the spell

The way regeneration works now was a way to shoehorn it into working under the current rules; that's why it's so clunky (and in turn, why they don't use it anymore).

 

[xRaizen]

Pulled a Threads of Disloyalty invocation at my local pre-release

Then pulled foil full art plains from one of my prize packs. Rest of my rares were okay I guess.

 

[alternade]

Thanks Wotc for another shit prerelease experience. Opened 3 fucking aftermath cards, blue pool had literally 2 creatures, no removal, biggest creature I had was a 2/3 exerter. Just threw my cards in the trash. Yeah it's childish but paying $30 and not being able to even make a decent deck really pisses me off. Only went to show my friends what it's like and they opened thoughtseize, foil liliana, and promo locus god and scarab good.

Fuuuuuuuuuck

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

I was looking at draftsims and depending on how they randomized their packs this set can produce some terrible packs.
This problem could be non-existent in paper with the paired uncommons but there's so many lands and a cycle of uncommons that's strictly sideboard and that's before an array of trash cards.

 

[Violet_0]

Thanks Wotc for another shit prerelease experience. Opened 3 fucking aftermath cards, blue pool had literally 2 creatures, no removal, biggest creature I had was a 2/3 exerter. Just threw my cards in the trash. Yeah it's childish but paying $30 and not being able to even make a decent deck really pisses me off. Only went to show my friends what it's like and they opened thoughtseize, foil liliana, and promo locus god and scarab good.

Fuuuuuuuuuck

that's why I much prefer to play draft
cheaper, more interesting deck construction, same chance of getting valuable rares/mythics (maybe not in this set ...) and from time to time someone might pass you a decent card

 

[GoutPatrol]

Went 1-3 in my first pool with a Locust God, went 3-1 in my next with the (foil) Scorpion God. Games still feel very fast.

 

[bigkrev]

Thanks Wotc for another shit prerelease experience. Opened 3 fucking aftermath cards, blue pool had literally 2 creatures, no removal, biggest creature I had was a 2/3 exerter. Just threw my cards in the trash. Yeah it's childish but paying $30 and not being able to even make a decent deck really pisses me off. Only went to show my friends what it's like and they opened thoughtseize, foil liliana, and promo locus god and scarab good.

Fuuuuuuuuuck

I encourage more salt posts in this thread!