Magic the Gathering XI: When this thread has 50 or more pages, transform it.

[Fable Wright]

Any recommendations for a Standard mill deck with {Spoiler} and other joyful things? It could be a deck that is built around milling the opponent but that also runs a few cards like {name redacted}.

Jace, Memory Adept, Surgical Extraction, and Visions of Beyond are all good. Also, technically, {name redacted} is a spoiled card, so try not to mention it, even by name, out of spoilers. Surgical extraction takes out antimill tech that they might have, or things like {name redacted}. Memoricide is great in the sideboard, btw, because you can always hit where it hurts with it in the second game.

[Silverlich]

Jace, Memory Adept, Surgical Extraction, and Visions of Beyond are all good. Also, technically, {name redacted} is a spoiled card, so try not to mention it, even by name, out of spoilers. Surgical extraction takes out antimill tech that they might have, or things like {name redacted}. Memoricide is great in the sideboard, btw, because you can always hit where it hurts with it in the second game.

so...U/B? I was thinking mono-blue, but black does open up more zombies, and removal. also, I would enjoy surgical extraction on

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laboratory nyah-nyah you can't mill me or I win guy.

[tgva8889]

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You do realize that people who aren't already trying to mill themselves just aren't going to play that card, right? You probably won't have to worry about Memoriciding it. I would just not play Memoricide in this kind of deck.

Surgical Extraction seems fine just as a support card against opponent's graveyard strategies you accidentally enable.

Otherwise, I guess you play tons of creatures. And... kill them with damage. Wait.

That's the problem I foresee with this strategy. A lot of the time your Zombies seem like they'd just be better spent killing your opponent with damage. Unless you're playing a rather small amount of Zombies, which doesn't seem all that good, I dunno what you should do.

[Silverlich]

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Mill can add up a lot, and U/B could help it be the primary strategy. Removal would certainly help, which is what black is best at. If I had some removal and countermagic, a lot of mill, and some zombies, I think it could wind up working. Memoricide wold be for the sideboard.

[tgva8889]

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I think the only Zombies you want are ones that will help you mill them to death. Alternatively, you don't have to play Zombies, you just play the Undead Alchemist, as he's perfectly capable of going all the way on his own. I mean, he turns the creatures he mills into more friends to help mill/kill them.

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That is one cool card. Especially for multiplayer.

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Wow. This land is good. The other land on Salvation, which is the UW one, is also spectacular.

[Science Officer]

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Lands:
10 Mountain
10 Island

Terramorphic is sadly rotating, and I don't know of any non-rare lands that would be worth playing. Might end up breaking the no rares rule if I can get my hands on the new r/u land.

Creatures:
4 Neurok Commando
4 Invisible Stalker

I aim to make my opponent's targetted kill spells dead draws. Stalker and the curse are good together, and commando can do some awesome things.

Spells:
4 Arc Trail
4 Curse of Stalked Prey
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Incinerate
4 Mana Leak
4 Ponder
4 Silent Departure
2 Shrine of Burning Rage
2 Volt Charge

spoiler for length, and the name of a spoiled card is given.

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4 Curse of the Stalked Prey to support 8 creatures seems a bit odd to me. Thrummingbird seems like it would be nuts with the curse, and especially in this deck.
Haven't played much with that burn shrine, but it seems really good, and good in this deck. I'd think about putting in one or two more. I'd also consider more volt trail, or maybe Tezzeret's Gambit if they weren't a little slow for your curve.

[Silverlich]

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I think the only Zombies you want are ones that will help you mill them to death. Alternatively, you don't have to play Zombies, you just play the Undead Alchemist, as he's perfectly capable of going all the way on his own. I mean, he turns the creatures he mills into more friends to help mill/kill them.

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I think so too; I think that there will be more than a few mill zombies.

Additionally, Mirror-Mad phantasm is a weird card. If you prepare for using it, you can be like. If the opponent uses a confiscate effect or a mindslaver to use it when you aren't ready to deal with it or they have an Undead Alchemist or something like that...you probably just died.

[tgva8889]

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I think there's got to be 3 more legendary 2-color creatures of each of the set's creature types. There's space for them between Grimgrin and Wreath of Ghosts.

[Fable Wright]

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I think there's got to be 3 more legendary 2-color creatures of each of the set's creature types. There's space for them between Grimgrin and Wreath of Ghosts.

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Yeah, one for each tribe... there's the Spirit tribal legend, the Human tribal legend, though I'm not sure what the third slot is for... the Werewolf tribal legend was pushed to the second set.

[Narkis]

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Someone asked about divining witch a few days ago. Well, she got a new and exciting use with the Maniac.

[Androgeus]

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Love the flavour of this

[MammonAzrael]

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Love the flavour of this

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Great flavor, but also silly when you consider what the flavor of transform is. That singular sentry watched someone die and turned into three people!

[Androgeus]

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Great flavor, but also silly when you consider what the flavor of transform is. That singular sentry watched someone die and turned into three people!

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Actually he's a terrible sentry, he waited until someone was killed till he rounded up the militia rather than when he first saw something

[Brother Oni]

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Actually he's a terrible sentry, he waited until someone was killed till he rounded up the militia rather than when he first saw something

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Maybe he's afraid of crying wolf? *Runs and hides*

[Eon]

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Ooooh, that's a pretty interesting card. Lots of interesting uses

I'm already interested in Champion of the Parish, mwahahahaha

Gah, I need to go Hero of Bladehold hunting

[The-Mage-King]

Well. I went to a Magic Celebration and...


Completely lost every game I played, due to a carp booster.


Honestly, though I see the idea behind it, I think that that sort of event is... well, imbalanced. If you have a good pack, you can steamroll everyone.


Now, if it was the losers given packs instead of the winners... That would be fair.

[tgva8889]

I stopped in a comic store 30 minutes walking distance away just to see if they were running a pre-release. Not only are they, but they run FNMs, were running the Magic Celebration, but they run game nights and they're behind a cafe.

Turns out this is where I will be every Friday night.

[arguskos]

Honestly, though I see the idea behind it, I think that that sort of event is... well, imbalanced. If you have a good pack, you can steamroll everyone.

On the one hand, yeah, Pack Wars is massively luck based and frankly a stupid format. On the other... it's a free pack with a chance at more free packs. I'll take a fair chance at good packs for the price tag of $0. Or I would have, if I hadn't had to spend all day studying for an exam next week.

[Sohala]

We did two flights of three rounds. I did okay for the first flight, having a Flameblast Dragon in my first pack, which secured a 2-0. A bad second pack kept me from a second win, as I had to keep with five colors. Second flight I open a dual land, while my strongest creature is Garruk's Companion. Lose to a Jade Mage and Vastwood Gorger the first round. The second round I get totally stomped by a Primeval Titan (and friends). All is not lost though; I pull out a win in the final round, opening a Jace.

Even without Jace, I had lots of fun.

[BobVosh]

What is this format?

[Brother Oni]

What is this format?

Pack wars variant: take a booster pack, add 3 land of each type to make a deck of 30 cards. Play against somebody.
If you win, open another booster pack and add it to your deck.
Play against somebody with the same number of cards in their deck. Repeat from previous step.

[BobVosh]

Pack wars variant: take a booster pack, add 3 land of each type to make a deck of 30 cards. Play against somebody.
If you win, open another booster pack and add it to your deck.
Play against somebody with the same number of cards in their deck. Repeat from previous step.

That...that is silly. I think since I'm buying a box I will try this with a few friends, then never do it again.

[Woodzyowl]

Hey peoples. I'm still relatively new to magic, and was wondering what your thoughts were on Life for Death intro pack (the one from New Phyrexia) I am currently running a modified version of it, with more porcelain legionnaires, rage extractors, and lightning bolts as the big changes. I will have it by around 9 PM EST today if you want a full decklist. I win about as many games as I lose, so I think that's a good thing.

[Darwin]

Hey Giants, I've decided to finally participate in the local FNM and thought I'd post my deck here before going this friday to get a little feedback.

// Lands:
1 Arid Mesa
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Teetering Peaks
16 Mountain

// Creatures:
4 Goblin Bushwacker
3 Grim Lavamancer
3 Chandra's Phoenix
4 Kiln Fiend
4 Ember Hauler

// Spells:
1 Burst Lightning
1 Forked Bolt
4 Searing Blaze
4 Flame Slash
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Staggershock
1 Mark of Mutiny

Pretty straightforward red aggro/burn deck. The deck is currently short of Goblin Guides, Hero of Oxid Ridge and Shrine of Burning Rage; cards I sadly have been unable to get my hands on so far. Thoughts and advice on sideboarding would be greatly appreciated, as would suggestions for cheap rares/uncommons to add.

[Sohala]

Act of Aggression or Act of Treason might fit. They could take out a blocker, turning it into an attacker.

[Dinner Thief]

Hey guys, small question, but first it would help to give the deck list, so here goes.

lands:
16x plains

creatures:
4x serra ascendant
4x benevolent bodyguard
4x knight of the holy nimbus
4x grand abolisher
2x sun titan

enchantments:
4x crusade
4x honor of the pure
4x militia's pride
4x land tax
1x true conviction
1x worship

instants/sorceries:
4x raise the alarm
3x shelter
1x enlightened tutor

now that you can see the deck, i am considering switching out the 4x raise the alarm for 4x knight of meadowgrain, and i was wondering which you guys would think is a better fit. oh and if there's any other recommendations, I am all ears. Thanks!

[Foeofthelance]

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Hmmm, would it be possible to turn 5 or 6 win with Jace, Memory Adept, Jace's Archivist, and Laboratory Maniac? There is something that intrigues me about a truly suicidal blue deck.

[tgva8889]

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I think no such deck could easily deal with a 1-2-3 curve.

I mean, you'd have to dilute your strategy quite a bit, and by then it would probably result in you losing to Shock a lot.

[The Extinguisher]

Ravnica draft online!

Can someone who has played Ravnica give me some tips? What's a bomb, what looks good but is crap, etc?

[Sohala]

Wee Dragonauts are insane, don't let anyone tell you different.