Support NeoGAF

[charlequin]

Speaking of murdering wallets, why is Chains of Mephistopheles demanding such a high price? I mean, nobody knows what it even does!

There are a lot of cards that fill me with soul-crushing despair when I realize what they're worth now (I spent an hour fruitlessly searching the other day for a box of MD5 commons I am now convinced got lost in my last move) but this has gotta be one of the worst.

It's a better job than how they did it in Khans of Tarkir where he suddenly shows up and kills Ugin

Eh, they teased this out literally the first time Ugin got mentioned, like years ago. It's dumber if they don't show that in this block.

(The thing where he releases the Eldrazi for no reason is incredibly dumb though.)

 

["God's Beard!"]

How much would you pay to guarantee this to be your sealed deck at GP Vegas?

Your deck plan would be hoping your opponent gets mana screw.

That's just rude.

They could also flood.

 

[Angry Grimace]

BW Spirits looks super good if you don't get cut off from Nameless Inversion or whatever. WG token convoke looks pretty decent/easy to get going as well.

GR ramp looks like garbage, Bloodthirst looks like garbage, Domain seems unplayable.

But I'm no limited master.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Hey guys, im brand new to the game. Like I litterally learned how to play today.

I want to get just a pre-constructed deck for 2 players so that me and my gf can play. Is there anything like this that I can easily find, say at Target or Walmart? Do they even have pre-constructed starter decks for 2?

In addition to what the others have mentioned, I also recommend playing Duels of the Planeswalkers to get the hang of the rules. It has free demos.

 

[blindrocket]

My local LGS is selling MM2 for $250 per case, tax included.

There are two stores in town drafting MM2 tomorrow, one is $30 the other is $35.

I'm going to draft MM2 at one of the stores, but my only experience drafting is like one time with Conspiracy.

WHAT DO I DO?! How do I Magic?

 

[Angry Grimace]

My local LGS is selling MM2 for $250 per case, tax included.

There are two stores in town drafting MM2 tomorrow, one is $30 the other is $35.

I'm going to draft MM2 at one of the stores, but my only experience drafting is like one time with Conspiracy.

WHAT DO I DO?! How do I Magic?

My guess is the cheaper one because it probably has shitty prize support and therefore will be less competitive.

 

["God's Beard!"]

BW Spirits looks super good if you don't get cut off from Nameless Inversion or whatever. WG token convoke looks pretty decent/easy to get going as well.

GR ramp looks like garbage, Bloodthirst looks like garbage, Domain seems unplayable.

But I'm no limited master.

It seems really hard to get the density needed for Metalcraft.

 

[Gurrry]

Ok, so I took GAF's advice and got 2 intro decks from Dragons of Tarkir. (i hope that was a good choice, there was a lot to choose from).

I got Furious Forces and Enlightened Mastery.

Some of these cards have terms that I dont know, so I will have to brush up on those.. but what is the difference between these intros and the white ones?

 

[inthrall]

Ok, so I took GAF's advice and got 2 intro decks from Dragons of Tarkir. (i hope that was a good choice, there was a lot to choose from).

I got Furious Forces and Enlightened Mastery.

Some of these cards have terms that I dont know, so I will have to brush up on those.. but what is the difference between these intros and the white ones?

The white ones are from the core set (Magic 2015), so you will get a different set of cards. In general, the mechanics in those are easier to understand, but less complicated as a result. I can't vouch for the contents personally, but I've seen people happy with both so eh

EDIT: The Dragons of Tarkir cards are fine, just play with what you like and you're golden

 

[blindrocket]

My guess is the cheaper one because it probably has shitty prize support and therefore will be less competitive.

Are there any colors that I should stick to? Or just try and draft all of the removal I can?

 

[OnPoint]

(The thing where he releases the Eldrazi for no reason is incredibly dumb though.)

I just read up on Bolas because I realized I was woefully unknowledgable about his plans. And I don't feel any more up to date after reading things. Basically what I got is that he has a plan and he's manipulating people. To what end, who knows? I would guess that he's trying to regain his lost power somehow using the Eldrazi. Who knows how. His interest in the Phyrexians is curious but empty of detail. He's seriously in the background doing who-knows-what. It's kind of annoying to have zero direction with his plot.

 

[Haly]

He's a mustache twirling villain. He makes plans and manipulates people for sinister ends because he has nothing better to do.

 

[OnPoint]

I'm really hoping that at some point they pull the cord and it all comes together.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Are there any colors that I should stick to? Or just try and draft all of the removal I can?

Just take the strongest individual cards and fill out each pack with removal and cards that support your early picks. It's too early to know what archetype's strong or what the crucial commons are. I expect metalcraft to be too hard to draft early because there are too many neutral artifacts that everybody wants since they also don't know what the best decks are.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Ok, so I took GAF's advice and got 2 intro decks from Dragons of Tarkir. (i hope that was a good choice, there was a lot to choose from).

I got Furious Forces and Enlightened Mastery.

Some of these cards have terms that I dont know, so I will have to brush up on those.. but what is the difference between these intros and the white ones?

Mechanics:
Enlightened Mastery:
Protection from X - Creatures with this can't be damaged, enchanted, blocked, or targeted (DEBT) by X. So, for Pristine Skywise, if you give it protection from black, it can't be damaged by black creatures, be blocked by black creatures, or become the target of black spells or abilities, and all black enchantments fall off it into the graveyard. Note that it can still block black creatures perfectly fine, and it won't receive any damage. However, trample still works as normal against this creature; as long as the attacking creature assigns damage equal to the blocking creature's toughness, the rest of the damage can be assigned to the defending player.

Rebound - After you cast a spell with this, you get to cast it again for free at the start of your next turn, and then it goes to the graveyard. I recommend leaning the card against your library so you remember to cast it before you draw a card at the start of your next turn.

Furious Forces:
Formidable - If the total power of all the creatures you control is 8 or greater, then you can do whatever is listed. This includes if you use an effect like Tread Upon to boost the power of a creature.

I don't think these packs will be too hard to figure out; there aren't even any morph cards. That said, you'll probably encounter morph (or rather, megamorph) in the extra booster packs that come with the decks.

 

[Sequence Six]

(The thing where he releases the Eldrazi for no reason is incredibly dumb though.)

I'm thinking that they'll try to give a reason during the upcoming block to wrap that pretty big loose end up. I'm thinking that it'll still be pretty dumb.

 

[charlequin]

I just read up on Bolas because I realized I was woefully unknowledgable about his plans. And I don't feel any more up to date after reading things.

Basically the problem is that the three major villains in the Magic multiverse have each gotten one block in the modern era, and Bolas both got the oldest one (Alara) and, where the Phyrexians and Eldrazi each really dramatically transformed the plane they were on, he just kind of... did some mysterious thing that wasn't reflected in the cards at all? So it doesn't feel very threatening or significant.

 

[FeD.nL]

Hey all,

Played with the event deck yesterday against some friends and had a great time. Actually winning some games against people who play modern for a while. But I really like the way the deck olays with all the tokens. Now a friend of mine suggested I upgrade the deck to make it more competetive. First question is it worth it to upgrade the deck or am I better off saving money for a whole other better deck?

And if it's worth it he suggested the following cards:
1x Tidehollow Sculler
1x path to exile
4x godless shrine
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2x thoughtseize

And either
4x Precinct captain
Or
2x Hero of Bladehold
2x Brimaz, King of oreskos

In which order should I get the cards if upgrading the deck is worth it? My friend also suggested selling of the sword and Elspeth, is that wise? Once again many thanks in advance!

 

[Toxi]

Poor Nicol Bolas can't do anything right, not even flavor text.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Hey all,

Played with the event deck yesterday against some friends and had a great time. Actually winning some games against people who play modern for a while. But I really like the way the deck olays with all the tokens. Now a friend of mine suggested I upgrade the deck to make it more competetive. First question is it worth it to upgrade the deck or am I better off saving money for a whole other better deck?

And if it's worth it he suggested the following cards:
1x Tidehollow Sculler
1x path to exile
4x godless shrine
2x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
2x thoughtseize

And either
4x Precinct captain
Or
2x Hero of Bladehold
2x Brimaz, King of oreskos

In which order should I get the cards if upgrading the deck is worth it? My friend also suggested selling of the sword and Elspeth, is that wise? Once again many thanks in advance!

I play the BW Event deck in Modern, I just changed it around a lot. Hero of Bladehold is much cheaper and arguably better than Brimaz in this deck, but I don't play either of them mainboard. I was using 4x Tidehollow Sculler for a while until I decided I didn't like him dying and them getting the card back. I play this deck and I did the following:

4x Bitterblossom
3x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3x Thoughtseize (1 in Sideboard)
4x Marsh Flats
4x Godless Shrine
4x (Any fetchland that gets white, you want white and you want to fetch basic plains a lot of the time)
1-2 Murderous Cut
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Inquisition of Kozilek
+1 Vault of the Archangel

I took

Elspeth and the Sword are not really that useful in the deck, in my opinion. Swords are like any equipment that aren't Batterskull - they take too long to get out and do anything, and even if you have 5 mana up to equip it immediately, you can either get killed or it gets Abrupt Decay'd, etc.

The decklist I use (the SB is just nonsense I haven't bought anything for):

4 Bitterblossom
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Vault of the Archangel
4 Windswept Heath
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
4 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
4 Lingering Souls
3 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
4 Spectral Procession
3 Swamp
1 Zealous Persecution
2 Flooded Strand
4 Plains
2 Timely Reinforcements

Sideboard (its just stuff I happen to have)

2 Duress
2 Leyline of the Void
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Disenchant
2 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Stony Silence
1 Spellskite

The PT version of the deck had Windbrisk Heights, but I personally don't like leaving myself so open to die to Blood Moon when 80% of the time, I just want enough white to cast Spectral Procession.

 

[FeD.nL]

I play the BW Event deck in Modern, I just changed it around a lot. Hero of Bladehold is much cheaper and arguably better than Brimaz in this deck, but I don't play either of them mainboard. I was using 4x Tidehollow Sculler for a while until I decided I didn't like him dying and them getting the card back. I play this deck and I did the following:

4x Bitterblossom
3x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
3x Thoughtseize (1 in Sideboard)
4x Marsh Flats
4x Godless Shrine
4x (Any fetchland that gets white, you want white and you want to fetch basic plains a lot of the time)
1-2 Murderous Cut
+1 Path to Exile
+1 Inquisition of Kozilek
+1 Vault of the Archangel

I took

Elspeth and the Sword are not really that useful in the deck, in my opinion. Swords are like any equipment that aren't Batterskull - they take too long to get out and do anything, and even if you have 5 mana up to equip it immediately, you can either get killed or it gets Abrupt Decay'd, etc.

The decklist I use (the SB is just nonsense I haven't bought anything for):



The PT version of the deck had Windbrisk Heights, but I personally don't like leaving myself so open to die to Blood Moon when 80% of the time, I just want enough white to cast Spectral Procession.

Thank you very much. Which cards should I get first? I can´t afford to buy all the cards at once so i´ll have to do it spread out over a couple of months.

 

[Firemind]

Have I got a proxy for you:

That proxy doesn't even work because it'd create an infinite loop! See! Nobody knows what the card does. Not even the Oracle:

Still creates a loop. :lol

 

[ironmang]

Did a draft last night for $40 with pack-per-player prize support. Went BR bloodthirst which seemed a lot less powerful than the core set it came from. Didn't get any on color bombs but did get a Kiki Jiki which helped with the heavy buyin. Went 2-1 for 2 prize packs which both had bulk. Saw almost nothing good pulled from the other prize packs so bought a couple packs which only got me an All Is Dust. We kind of tallied up the box afterwards with the only notables being 1 cryptic and 1 hierarch... that would have been a horrible box to buy.

Won half a box last week in a modern tournament and ended up cracking it tonight with much better results. 1 Clique, 1 Cryptic, 1 All Is Dust, 1 Blinkmoth, and 1 Remand being the notables.

The draft format seems ok but not nice enough to pay $40 for even if there's a chance at pulling something nice.

 

[divisionbyzorro]

That proxy doesn't even work because it'd create an infinite loop! See! Nobody knows what the card does. Not even the Oracle:

Still creates a loop. :lol

I'm pretty sure there's something in the comp rules regarding replacement effects that makes the card work. Just can't be bothered to find it.

 

["God's Beard!"]

God, Modern PPTQ season is coming up. Time to catch up on my backlog of books and games, I guess.

The draft format seems ok but not nice enough to pay $40 for even if there's a chance at pulling something nice.

Thanks for playing the Tarmogoyf lottery, come again next time.

Yeah, MM as a whole is bullshit. Drafting is fun, but it doesn't feel like a way to kill an afternoon when you're quadrupling the entry fee.

 

[ultron87]

I'm pretty sure there's something in the comp rules regarding replacement effects that makes the card work. Just can't be bothered to find it.

Yeah, any specific replacement effect will only affect a specific event once. So the eventual draw inside Chains doesn't itself get replaced.

 

[Firemind]

Yeah, any specific replacement effect will only affect a specific event once. So the eventual draw inside Chains doesn't itself get replaced.

Well, the 'improved' wording isn't any less confusing for the average player. I prefer the original wording as it kind of makes sense in English when you parse it.

 

[bigkrev]

PSA: Don't buy loose packs of MMA2 unless you implicitly trust the store
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=_JDPGbZUReY&app=desktop

 

[red13th]

Ugh the recyclable pack looks like a huge failure by WotC.

 

[Firemind]

Well, that looks piss easy.

 

[ironmang]

Ugh the recyclable pack looks like a huge failure by WotC.

It's a nice thought but I doubt many of these will be recycled. They'll just fill up the garbage quicker.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I'm glad that Yuuki Ichikawa won GP Shanghai since he's one of my favorite players, but man that meta looks fucked up.

3 Abzan and 5 Gruul decks in the top 8 lol

 

[OnPoint]

Basically the problem is that the three major villains in the Magic multiverse have each gotten one block in the modern era, and Bolas both got the oldest one (Alara) and, where the Phyrexians and Eldrazi each really dramatically transformed the plane they were on, he just kind of... did some mysterious thing that wasn't reflected in the cards at all? So it doesn't feel very threatening or significant.

I'd say that's pretty accurate. I can't imagine they don't have plans for him, they've just been holding off on it far too long.

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";164807673]I'm glad that Yuuki Ichikawa won GP Shanghai since he's one of my favorite players, but man that meta looks fucked up.

3 Abzan and 5 Gruul decks in the top 8 lol[/QUOTE]

The Japanese meta is weird.

 

[Sequence Six]

Well, the 'improved' wording isn't any less confusing for the average player. I prefer the original wording as it kind of makes sense in English when you parse it.

I think the original wording makes much more sense than the rules-ified wording.

A friend of mine used to joke that he was going to buy another friend an Italian Chains just so the other guy would feel compelled to play it given its value but he'd have to explain the card every time he used it.

 

[y2dvd]

Speaking of murdering the wallet, I can get 2 MM15 boxes at $400. I already got 1 box at least for $200 which I'll draft with. Should I bite the bullet and purchase a 2nd box?

 

[kirblar]

Speaking of murdering the wallet, I can get 2 MM15 boxes at $400. I already got 1 box at least for $200 which I'll draft with. Should I bite the bullet and purchase a 2nd box?

$200 per box? I would bite on that.

 

[Bandini]

Speaking of murdering the wallet, I can get 2 MM15 boxes at $400. I already got 1 box at least for $200 which I'll draft with. Should I bite the bullet and purchase a 2nd box?

If you already have cards to draft with, I personally wouldn't. I mean unless you get a lot of pleasure out of opening boosters.

 

[ElyrionX]

The condition of cards out of the new MM15 packs are terrible. Did anyone at WOTC even test these damn things?

 

[Angry Grimace]

Thank you very much. Which cards should I get first? I can´t afford to buy all the cards at once so i´ll have to do it spread out over a couple of months.

Thoughtseize. Its not as cheap as it ever has been, but Thoughtseize is still in standard and will almost assuredly get more and more expensive because it is Thoughtseize.

The land base will be annoying - Godless Shrine (at least 2, ideally 4) is pretty much required as you can fetch a B/W dual off of any black or white fetchland. Allied Color fetchlands are as cheap as they will ever be right now. Windswept Heath is sure to get more expensive in the future because Abzan colored decks are super popular in Modern. There is a wide-expectation that Battle For Zendikar will have the Enemy Colored Fetchlands, so I'd be leery of picking up Marsh Flats quite yet.

Sorin is like 10 bucks, but honestly, he's basically the reason you can ever beat several modern decks, so I'd consider him a relative priority. Still in Standard for another year, though, so no real pricing reason to rush it.

Lastly, Bitterblossom is not necessary at all and a lot of people don't run Bitterblossom. It is also $40 a piece. It also got reprinted starting today, but I don't expect it to really move much in price. I'd be very leery of picking up a set if you're just casually playing or trying to scrimp on costs.

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";164743437]Losing Thoughtseize and Wayfinder is probably gonna fuck my deck at rotation :-(

C'mon awesome cards in the next two sets![/QUOTE]

I'd be a little surprised if Inquisition of Kozilek doesn't show up again.

 

[OnPoint]

The condition of cards out of the new MM15 packs are terrible. Did anyone at WOTC even test these damn things?

How bad? Picking up my box shortly

 

["God's Beard!"]

$200 per box? I would bite on that.

There's a pawn shop by me that'll sell me a box at that price and it almost moved me before I slapped myself.

I'd be a little surprised if Inquisition of Kozilek doesn't show up again.

Yeah, but that card is pretty mediocre in Standard.

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";164836206]There's a pawn shop by me that'll sell me a box at that price and it almost moved me before I slapped myself.


Yeah, but that card is pretty mediocre in Standard.[/QUOTE]

Yes, its mediocre in a not-yet-existent Standard where you aren't even aware of the contents of 2 large sets.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Yes, its mediocre in a not-yet-existent Standard where you aren't even aware of the contents of 2 large sets.

It's not going to be Thoughtseize.

 

[Gurrry]

After buying 2 intro decks yesterday, im now looking at maybe picking up the deck builders toolkit. Its cheap and would really get my collection going. Id also be able to make a few mono decks to help learn more.

Also - im curious about the pc game as well. I hear everyone say to get 2014 and not 2015. Any suggestions?

 

[Angry Grimace]

After buying 2 intro decks yesterday, im now looking at maybe picking up the deck builders toolkit. Its cheap and would really get my collection going. Id also be able to make a few mono decks to help learn more.

Also - im curious about the pc game as well. I hear everyone say to get 2014 and not 2015. Any suggestions?

2013 is the best. 2014 was when they started cutting shit out.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Inquisition of Kozilek isn't Thoughtseize!? Thank you for that revelation.

No shit it isn't. Fuck Thoughtseize. That card requires zero strategy or thought to play. You just play it because its generically good.

And so, following that logic, Inquisition is mediocre in comparison.

 

[Angry Grimace]

[QUOTE="God's Beard!";164840385]And so, following that logic, Inquisition is mediocre in comparison.[/QUOTE]

This is an asinine argument and you should feel bad for even invoking it. No shit Thoughtseize is better than Inquisition, Duress and Despise. C'mon son. I expect better from the guy who brought us our glorious thread title.

 

["God's Beard!"]

This is an asinine argument and you should feel bad for even invoking it. No shit Thoughtseize is better than Inquisition, Duress and Despise. C'mon son. I expect better from the guy who brought us our glorious thread title.

I don't even know what we're arguing about. It seems we're in agreement.

 

[ultron87]

Will you two just kiss already?