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[divisionbyzorro]

A couple of sweet build-arounds for draft.

 

[Firemind]

There are a lot of enchantments in the set. :lol

 

[ultron87]

Treasure Cruise only increases my desire for Thought Scour.

 

[bigkrev]

I want this framed over my fireplace

 

[Firemind]

Treasure Cruise only increases my desire for Thought Scour.

I'm not usually a party pooper, but for once I have to say it'd be too broken in both limited and constructed lol. One scour and a few fetches almost equals an ancestral recall already.

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

False.

Don't be pedantic.
http://magiccards.info/query?q=t:"Wurm+dragon"&v=card&s=cname

Clearly, all wurms are dragons.

Also Quiet Contemplation has gorgeous art holy poop

 

["God's Beard!"]

I was playing a match yesterday, and my opponent was all, "unless you have a creature with haste, I win". So I said, "I do not." *opponent attacks, then passes*

"...but you do!" *reanimates opponent's dead haste creature, swings for the win*

mwahahaha



I miss reanimator

I hope the new standard isn't all midrange like it's looking. The less popular archetypes are what make magic a fun puzzle.

 

[Toxi]

There are a lot of enchantments in the set. :lol

Magic is finally getting an enchantment block.

 

[kirblar]

spoiler: its probably the best one.

 

[f0rk]

jeez

Fucking hell the options they have when you go to attack and they have a Courser and WBG open

 

[Firemind]

damn you abzan!

so versatile! lol

can't kill rabblemaster if it doesn't attack though!

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Damn that card is good.

 

[duxstar]

Kind of torn on the new Abzan Charm, it's not exactly what I've been looking for, and while the card draw is ok, I didn't expect that ability at all.

2 +1 /+ 1 counters is ok, but doesn't create a guy for the decks that are taking you out 1 for 1 with removal, and doesn't hit soldier of pantheon, perhaps the most important 1 drop in the format.

Exile ability is good, expected that though, and power greater than 3 should be versatile, will have to play with it a bit.

 

[bigkrev]

Yeah, Junk Charm is probably the best in the cycle.

It's the one where the percentages of mode usage will be closest among all the charms-I can easily see using all 3 modes of this in the course of a single match.

Kind of torn on the new Abzan Charm, it's not exactly what I've been looking for, and while the card draw is ok, I didn't expect that ability at all.

2 +1 /+ 1 counters is ok, but doesn't create a guy for the decks that are taking you out 1 for 1 with removal, and doesn't hit soldier of pantheon, perhaps the most important 1 drop in the format.

Exile ability is good, expected that though, and power greater than 3 should be versatile, will have to play with it a bit.

Blocking with a 2/5 Sylvan Caryatid is going to be the norm now. You cannot attack an X/2 into an untapped Caryatid now if they have 2 lands untapped

 

["God's Beard!"]

Community:
The competitive nature of too many players makes FNM largely unenjoyable. My wife likes the game, likes seeing the cards, but quickly stopped going because too many people didn't seem to have a good time playing the game, they only had a good time winning. Eventually that got to me as well.
Then there are the players who are along the same lines, but get visibly upset when they lose to a homebrew deck. The number of times my wins were chalked up to luck just got to me. This wasn't one or two players, this was a significant portion of them at three different locations at two different nights of the week. It's been prevalent enough that it's become representative of the 'magic gamer' for me, which is unfair, I know, but something I just realized the other day.
The worst, of course, is when you combine this with someone who has zero social graces. My friend's girlfriend won FNM one time with her mono-red deck. She should have felt great about it, but some dick had to go, pretty much right in her face, "Yeah, well, it doesn't take any skill to win with red." And there were countless times when my opponent would sit there and try to say how I put the wrong cards into my deck, while I'm beating him. It all just became so frequent that I've no desire to go, despite always wanting to play the game.


However, the biggest issue I have with the players (and this crosses over to the game) is netdecking. The BEST games I had at FNM were against decks that surprised me, and they were always the best types of players, too. But fuck if I don't ever see another Fleecemane Lion and Boros Reckoner or a Turn 1 Thoughsieze into Turn 2 PackRat. And in three weeks, there will be another fucking build that everyone is using. If I go to FNM, play five rounds and three of those are against the same deck, it's just boring. But, as I said, that's an issue I have with the game...so...

Game:
Hundreds of cards are released every year, which is awesome. The combinations should be limitless. But they're not. There are cards which are simple better. So if you play control, you'll have full sets these four cards in your deck. If you play RG aggro, you'll have these four, and a black devotion deck will have these four. Certain color decks end up being nonviable, so they're not played. Sure, you might flavor your deck with an odd card selection or two, but, really, it's the same red-wins deck as the next guy has. Heck, look how many control players are lamenting the loss of Sphinx's Rev.
I really can't fault the players too much for this, after all you're trying to build a deck to win. But it does mean that the creativity that the variety of cards should inspire is severely curtailed. It also means that you hear "Oh, this deck..." after playing three cards, which, in my opinion, should not happen.
.

I think the best part about competitive constructed is deckbuilding. When you build your own deck from scratch, you have a closer connection to the choices you have to make later on in actual games. Even someone like me that uses netdecking to compare decisions in my build of esper control to gerard fabiano or dudes in japan gets to have their own twist based on my expectations of my opponents.

You have to remember that these "top tier" decks were originally built with someone using their own intelligence trying to usurp the metagame. Nobody believed in Nightveil Specter and it became one of the staple cards in Standard. Mono-Black Devotion started off with only two copies of Pack Rat. It took a whole year for control to figure out how to use Planar Cleansing.

And that's just people building off each other. The part about magic that I enjoy is that it's an evolving puzzle. Everyone tries to add their own spice to the recipe. Even then, it's not like you can only have fun with top tier pre-made decks. People like Jeff Hoogland can consistently make top places at major tournaments despite bringing a new brew like Junk Midrange every weekend and punishing people for not having good sideboard cards. Travis Woo basically lives for his troll decks. Reid Duke just showed off a Gu devotion deck that destroys a lot of the major players in standard, and there's only a couple weeks left before rotation. Even Boros Burn, one of the most popular decks, came absolutely out of nowhere from Zemajaski.

It's easy to lose faith in competitive magic. I know that I've gone down to the subway after losing a 5K ready to throw my deck in the trash after keeping three lands four spells and never drawing a fourth land. But variance is a part of magic, and so is human nature. Not everyone is interested in creativity. But for every tournament where I have to fight Mono Blue 4 times in a row, I fight a Simic Flash deck or a mill deck or maze's end and have to think up new strategies on the spot. Don't give up on Magic, there's always something that will surprise you.

 

[Firemind]

Kind of torn on the new Abzan Charm, it's not exactly what I've been looking for, and while the card draw is ok, I didn't expect that ability at all.

2 +1 /+ 1 counters is ok, but doesn't create a guy for the decks that are taking you out 1 for 1 with removal, and doesn't hit soldier of pantheon, perhaps the most important 1 drop in the format.

Exile ability is good, expected that though, and power greater than 3 should be versatile, will have to play with it a bit.

who cares about soldier of the pantheon when you play four caryatids and coursers?

i can easily see a 4/6 courser dominating late games.

 

[f0rk]

Abzan is supposed to be the control Khan, they won't be playing Solider of the Pantheon. It's going to be the default Caryatid into Courser into kill your threat into Elspeth deck.

 

[Toxi]

Abzan Charm is sweet as hell. I love charms in general, modal cards are really fun.

I guess one of the reasons why I was so disappointed by the Abzan Khan is that WBG has so many possible effects because those three colors have a surprising amount of overlap and I was hoping for a cool new EDH general. Even restricted to a +1/+1 counter theme, there is still a lot you can do, like the Spike Cannibal idea I suggested before. Instead, we got a card that may as well read "Why aren't you playing Ghave?" I'm sure Anafenza has some constructed applications, but argh.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Man, I'm super happy I dropped Sultai for Abzan lol

I traded away all my Kioras yesterday for stuff for my Abzan deck too lol

 

[duxstar]

Abzan is supposed to be the control Khan, they won't be playing Solider of the Pantheon. It's going to be the default Caryatid into Courser into kill your threat into Elspeth deck.

I hate that it's the "control" khan, when green/white hasn't been that in forever, my goal is to kill you; long before you have the mana to play elspeth. This new format should be interesting

 

[Sinatar]

Abzan charm is nuts, wow.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Abzan is supposed to be the control Khan, they won't be playing Solider of the Pantheon. It's going to be the default Caryatid into Courser into kill your threat into Elspeth deck.

The Abzan Khan is a 4/4 for 3 CMC and the clan's Outlast mechanic is unplayable.

 

[kirblar]

The Abzan Khan is a 4/4 for 3 CMC and the clan's Outlast mechanic is unplayable.

We've seen near-zero cards with that mechanic, lol. I bet development hated it. The real mechanic is the +1/+1 counters.

 

[Firemind]

The competitive nature of too many players makes FNM largely unenjoyable. My wife likes the game, likes seeing the cards, but quickly stopped going because too many people didn't seem to have a good time playing the game, they only had a good time winning. Eventually that got to me as well.

Yeah, it pretty depends on the community. You have your immature players and you have your gracious players. Age has little to do with it. Some people can be right a-holes. Some people simply enjoy the social interaction. I've been beaten by many teens before (including girls), but I'm always gracious in my defeat and offer a handshake. I realize this isn't always the norm though. Again, it largely depends on the community and if there's the option to go to another store, I'd do it to experience a different, and hopefully a more friendly, environment.[/quote]

Draft gets around this a bit, and I do enjoy that format, but it feels so fleeting. And even there, there are builds that people go for.

Honestly, drafting is the format that offers the most enjoyment for me and stays fresh since there's a new set coming out every three months. You can't just go with the same build since new mechanics will offer new experiences. I've had a lot of fun with morph and three colour blocks the last time and I'm probably going to enjoy the heck out of Khans too (unless they royally fuck it up).

My advice is to sell your collection, keep a few decks and go to your local store a few times a year for prereleases and drafts.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Yay, I get to move my two Hero's Downfalls into the sideboard for Stormbreath. Abzan Charm is just going to be way better in 90% of situations AND it's easier to cast!

 

[kirblar]

Competitive MTG will teach you about interacting with psychopaths eventually.

 

[f0rk]

A couple of sweet build-arounds for draft.

Just noticed the blue one has a clan symbol and the red doesn't. Weird

 

[Firemind]

That one is simple. Goblins are too stupid to show allegiance for a single clan.

 

[rexor0717]

Competitive MTG will teach you about interacting with psychopaths eventually.

I'm sure all of you guys in this thread are great, but I've run into a high density of d-bags when trying to play magic at any competitive level.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

Competitive MTG will teach you about interacting with psychopaths eventually.

That word gets thrown around a lot. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but to clarify, this is literally true:

Psychopathy (/saɪˈkɒpəθi/) (or sociopathy /ˈsoʊsiəˌpæθi/) is traditionally defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

 

[kirblar]

That word gets thrown around a lot. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but to clarify, this is literally true:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy

Yes, this is what I would call Alex Bertoncini. Specifically, it's the lying with a straight face/looking you dead in the eyes/etc thing. Once you know what to look for, its a giveaway.

 

[bigkrev]

Yes, this is what I would call Alex Bertoncini. Specifically, it's the lying with a straight face/looking you dead in the eyes/etc thing. Once you know what to look for, its a giveaway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrXESPkyMQ8&feature=youtu.be

 

[y2dvd]

Now Abzan is a damn good charm. I still wouldn't sleep on Sultai Charm though.

 

[The Technomancer]

Now Abzan is a damn good charm. I still wouldn't sleep on Sultai Charm though.

But would you fuck it?

 

[Firemind]

well that was random.

still no break-me cards. I guess the jeskai khan is pretty sweet, but it has the same cc as elspeth.

 

[OnPoint]

Really wanna build a Lion King commander deck. Also really want it to be Naya, but there are no good Lion/Cat legends in the Naya combo. Green/White is probably the best option. Sucks. I really wanted all 3 colors.

 

[Angry Grimace]

We've seen near-zero cards with that mechanic, lol. I bet development hated it. The real mechanic is the +1/+1 counters.

My guess is that they never found a way to balance it between underpowered and overpowered (e.g. if they didn't tap), so they just stuck with underpowered to avoid problems.

They should have made it so Outlast can be activated only during your main phase, but your creature cannot attack or have attacked during that turn, so you could make them stay back as blockers. Having them tap is what makes it useless and unplayable.

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";129322643]Man, I don't even feel like playing this set. the only rares I like are Crater's Claw and Sorin.[/QUOTE]

Yup. And CC is basically fireball and Sorin is basically....the last Sorin, so its not like they feel super new, either.

 

[Firemind]

wait a minute... i can play narset on t4 and give it haste with generator servant! holy carp, son.

 

[Angry Grimace]

wait a minute... i can play narset on t4 and give it haste with generator servant! holy carp, son.

Christmasland is alive and well

Narset is not great because there isn't enough to abuse Narset with.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I might just pre-order Sorin and not draft as much. He's only 12 bucks and I want to get him before people realize that he's better than Sarkhan.

 

[kirblar]

He's awful outside of the BWR rush deck.

 

[Firemind]

Christmasland is alive and well

Narset is not great because there isn't enough to abuse Narset with.

too bad enter the infinite is rotating out.

still, free elspeths and sarkhans! and the -3 doesn't kill narset. dat synergy.

 

["God's Beard!"]

He's awful outside of the BWR rush deck.

You'd be surprised. He's just as good if not better as a defensive planeswalker than an aggressive one. Not many aggro decks want to attack into coursers and elvish mystics when they not only trade with their dudes, but gain me life.

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";129352973]I might just pre-order Sorin and not draft as much. He's only 12 bucks and I want to get him before people realize that he's better than Sarkhan.[/QUOTE]

He's not better than Sarkhan though. Sarkhan is Stormbreath Dragon with targeted removal.

Sorin's +1 is good, not great, and his -2 only helps you if you literally have no creatures on the board to protect him or use with the +1.

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";129354524]You'd be surprised. He's just as good if not better as a defensive planeswalker than an aggressive one. Not many aggro decks want to attack into coursers and elvish mystics when they not only trade with their dudes, but gain me life.[/QUOTE]

I'm doing an aggressive junk deck and I think I'm going to use Sorin in it. Sorin into Zurgo Helmsmasher might piss some people off though :lol

 

[SigmasonicX]

http://mythicspoiler.com/ktk/cards/bloodsoakedwarrior.html

UNF

Now that's a nice one-drop.

I really want to draft a Secret Plans deck.

edit: Jeskai Ascendancy is a pretty damn fun combo engine. Already started brewing janky lists around it.

Jeskai Ascendancy is pretty good. Secret Plans is a pretty nice limited card. Surrak is similar to Yeva, but I think "can't be countered" and granting trample will allow him to see some play.

Genesis Wave YOU.

Villainous Wealth is pretty neat. I notice that black and blue have been getting a lot of "cast cards from your opponent's library" cards recently, and I can't complain.

So, that's a good one.

I notice that most delve cards shown so far just have one colored mana, probably to give the possibility of "living the dream" and casting it for only one mana. Interestingly, if you exile three cards, it becomes the same mana cost as Jace's Ingenuity, which is neat. I do think this card will see play. As for the flavor, it's probably a jungle cruise, since the Sultai live in the jungle.

F instant speed draw.

edit: I am not happy this card saw print: (In the sense that I don't think it's the healthiest type of thing for the game in general.)

I think it's fine for this card to exist, though I notice that it largely screws over delve spells. I guess the key to that is to pay as much mana as you can when casting a delve spell against a blue deck, only exiling a lot of cards when you are sure you're safe. Like I noted before, this encourages you to cast big creatures face-down instead of hard-casting them.

I like this card a lot, especially with the one-mana morph cost.

I imagine the main purpose of that card is to encourage paying the morph cost for big creatures instead of casting them.

I won't be able to comment on the cards for a bit, but here are two more commons that were missed:

Both seem decent. And they're both man-eating mandrills.

Same opinions as before.

A couple of sweet build-arounds for draft.

I like these. The blue one seems a bit more powerful, but they support different kinds of decks, after all. In any case, gotta love goblins sliding down mountains.

I want this framed over my fireplace

Oh wow, I called this exactly!

Ferocious Fight - 1G
Sorcery
Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control.
Ferocious - The creature you control gets +2/+2 until end of turn if you control a creature with power 4 or greater.

None of the others have been true, though.

spoiler: its probably the best one.

This is pretty good. The green mode seems the weakest, but it will be useful.

Anyway, this week's Planeswalker's Guide was really good. I loved reading about the Mardu and especially the Temur. Like seriously, I loved every detail about the Temur. It's a bit disappointing that Ankle Shanker is actually an instance of a legend not being printed as a legendary creature, since that means she probably won't get a unique card. It's also interesting to hear that the Mardu have a labor class who actually have more political power within the clans, by virtue of not going off to die in battle.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Sarkhan isn't a bad stormbreath dragon with a flame slash added. He's just a bad stoke the flames.

Sarkhan Dragonspeaker
3RR: deal 4 damage to target creature or player.

Ok, maybe he's slightly better than that, but he's just been super mediocre when I played him.

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";129354908]Sarkhan isn't a bad stormbreath dragon with a flame slash added. He's just a bad stoke the flames.

Sarkhan Dragonspeaker
3RR: deal 4 damage to target creature or player.

Ok, maybe he's slightly better than that, but he's just been super mediocre when I played him.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but we don't even know what the meta looks like.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

I really just want Friday to come around and to look at the full spoiler. I really can't tell what I think about the set yet from a Limited perspective; it looks really wonky, and I need to see what's in the commons/uncommons to know for sure.

My gut right now is telling me that I'm going to be drafting in the hopes of opening fetches more than I am because the set is fun to draft, which is bumming me out...

 

[Firemind]

Sarkhan is basically a slightly more expensive Koth with the added ability to kill creatures and clear away potential blockers. Koth was amazing in the mono red deck of yore. That extra mana might be Sarkhan's downfall though.

 

[aidan]

Are we expecting any substantial reprints in Khans (outside of the Onslaught fetches, obviously)?