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  1. - Top - End - #61
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    If you don't want to buy the swords at the current prices, you could wait a few months for them to rotate out of Standard, which will presumably drop their price.

  2. - Top - End - #62
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by The Extinguisher View Post
    Swords are pretty expensive, but I should get them anyway.
    All of those are good suggestions. I feel dirty playing Terrain Generator in a mono-red deck though.


    Also yes, 99 Mountain Ashling is the most fun. But 70ish mountain and good stuff Ashling is probably better.
    If you just happen to have one lying around or whatever, Imperial Recruiter is the most fantabulous red creature ever and helps you keep Ashling around if she ever gets tucked. Though if you don't really have one I can understand not wanting to shell out for it.
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  3. - Top - End - #63
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by The Extinguisher View Post
    Swords are pretty expensive, but I should get them anyway.
    All of those are good suggestions. I feel dirty playing Terrain Generator in a mono-red deck though.


    Also yes, 99 Mountain Ashling is the most fun. But 70ish mountain and good stuff Ashling is probably better.
    needs that land that turns mountains into volcanos and koth.
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  4. - Top - End - #64
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    What's the best way to shuffle an EDH/Commander deck? I think I'm going to play a game of that tonight at FNM so I'm curious.

  5. - Top - End - #65
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Mystic Muse View Post
    What's the best way to shuffle an EDH/Commander deck? I think I'm going to play a game of that tonight at FNM so I'm curious.
    I tend to shuffle one half, then the other half, then shuffle the whole pile together a few times, and call it a day. Alternatively, pile shuffle it once or twice, then a few riffles. Either works.

    All that I say applies only to myself. You author your own actions and choices. I cannot and will not be responsible for you, nor are you for me, regardless of situation or circumstance.

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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Greetings,

    I recently started a little project of mine. As I've just recently started playing Magic with the Innistrad block (I had a bunch of cards about 13-15 years ago, but dumped then and forget about Magic's awesomeness) my playgroup is kinda short on players. While the video games are a nice starting point for bringing Magic to the people, I'm very eager to show them the "real" thing, so I decided to design five limitied mono decks for each color.

    I thought this little excercise might encourage some more folks to design similar decks to recruit some more players on their own, so I want to share my ideas so far and ask for your feedback. Eventually we can get some constructive discussion started and finetune the decks altogether!


    Here are the requirements for the decks:
    • each deck has 16 lands
    • has to sharply define the color's identity within 24 cards (think [CARD]Giant Growth[/CARD], [CARD]Diabolic Tutor[/CARD], [CARD]Lightning Bolt[/CARD])
    • mostly cheap cards with CMC 1-3
    • every deck has 3-5 big, splashy game-turning spells with CMC 6+
    • it is imperative that the decks hover around the same power level
    • keywords and mechanics, as they are common for the color
    • the creature/non-creature spell ratio should be representative for the color:
      White: 14 creatures, 10 non-creatures
      Blue: 8 creatures, 16 non-creatures
      Black: 12 creatures, 12 non-creatures
      Red: 10 creatures, 14 non-creatures
      Green: 14 creatures, 10 non-creatures
      I ask for your feedback for these numbers. Are they appropriate approximations?
    • nothing game-breaking or overly expensive
    • every deck should have a few answers for the other color's threats


    These are my original first decks with whom I've played some games. At first I did not want to add any artifacts, but as artifact hate is a big part of red and green, I'll add some to every deck. Though I started pretty recently with Magic, I have a lot of random cards from a lot of sets (went shopping for .02€ cards). As I didn't want to rip too many of my 'real' decks apart, some cards are second-choice, but please just suggest any card that you think does fit the theme! Chances are good I actually own it.


    White Weenie-ish, Support and Angel Finish
    Vigilance, Flying, First Strike, Tap Others, Enchantment Lockdown, Enchantment Buffs
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Plains

    Spells
    2 Bonds of Faith
    2 Cursebreak
    2 Zealous Strike
    2 Angelic Armaments
    1 Holy Strength
    1 Vanguard's Shield

    Creatures
    2 Voiceless Spirit
    4 Thraben Valiant
    2 Avacynian Priest
    2 Soul's Attendant
    1 Elite Vanguard
    2 Serra Angel
    1 Shepherd of the Lost


    Didn't exactly play too strong, I thought about adding some equipment, replace a serra angel with something mid-range-ish and replace [CARD]Defy Death [/CARD] with something akin to [CARD]Builder's Blessing[/CARD]. Any other ideas? Please feel free to point out anything, I'm looking for ways to give the deck more flavour and power. Green and Black just devastate it.

    Changes:
    Spoiler
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    2 Infantry Veteran out, 2 Thraben Valiant in
    4 Squadron Hawk out, 2 Voiceless Spirit and 2 Thraben Valiant in
    2 Condemn out, 2 Bonds of Faith in
    1 Serra angel out, 1 Shepherd of the Lost in

    Defy Death, Shieldmate's Blessing out, Angelic Armaments, Vanguards Shield in



    Blue Control Card Draw Extravaganza
    Flying, Hexproof, Card Draw, Tap Creatures, Counter
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Island

    Spells
    2 Favorable Winds
    1 Explorer's Scope
    1 Curiosity
    2 Psychic Barrier
    4 Cancel
    2 Jace's Ingenuity
    1 Sleep
    2 Mind Control
    1 Flow of Ideas

    Creatures
    1 Shriekgeist
    1 Merfolk Looter
    1 Clockwork Dragon
    2 Aven Fleetwing
    2 Cloud Elemental
    1 Air Servant


    Blue was, ironically, the weakest deck of the lot. I wanted to include different counterspells, but maybe I'll just go with 4 cancels and 2 soft/conditional counters. This deck is pretty much a mess.
    Update: Should be more balanced now, and has a lot of answers to creatures. What Blue does not counter, it may Control or Replicate or just smash the opponent with a superiour air force.

    Changes:
    Spoiler
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    2 Kraken Hatchling out, Shriekgeist and Merfolk Looter in
    2 Augury Owl out, 2 Aven Fleetwing in,
    Chancellor of the Spires out, Guard Gomazoa in



    Black-'get a demon out and win'
    Deathtouch, Flying, Pump, Lifelink, Tutor, Reanimation
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Swamp

    Spells
    2 Duress
    2 Disentomb
    1 Nausea
    1 Demonmail Hauberk
    2 Doom Blade
    1 Rise from the Grave
    2 Diabolic Tutor
    1 Corruption

    Creatures
    2 Typhoid Rats
    2 Diregraf Ghoul
    1 Phyrexian Hulk
    2 Child of Night
    2 Soulcage Fiend
    1 Nightwing Shade
    1 Dark Hatchling
    1 Rune-Scarred Demon


    This deck was a lot of fun to play and I think it's pretty good. Flavorful, nice creatures and spells that are pretty much oozing black-ness. This is the power level I'm shooting for.

    Changes:
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    Skeletal Grimace out, Demonmail Hauberk in,
    Skinmelter out, Nightwing Shade in,
    Blood Artist out, Phyrexian Hulk in



    Red Aggro..stuff
    Haste, Flying, Direct Damage, Pump, Ping
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Mountain

    Spells
    3 Flame Slash
    2 Shock
    2 Goblin War Paint
    1 Fling
    1 Demolish
    1 Fireball
    1 Lava Axe
    1 Act of Treason
    1 Spire Barrage
    1 Flame Wave

    Creatures
    2 Goblin Arsonist
    1 Prodigal Pyromancer
    2 Fiery Hellhound
    1 Arc Runner
    1 Juggernaut
    1 Tyrant of Discord
    1 Vulshok Berserker
    1 Archwing Dragon


    Updated: Fair mix of burn and buffs, with two big finishers (Flame Wave and Spire Barrage). I chose creatures mainly for their iconic-ness: Archwing Dragon is.. well, a hasty-dragon. Tyrant of Discord is random and devastating, just as the Juggernaut.

    Changes:
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    Vulshok Heartstroker out, Fiery Hellhound in,
    Feral Ridgewolf out, Prodigal Pyromancer in,
    Charmbreaker Devils out, Tyrant of Discord in



    Green Rampy Fun
    Soulbound, Trample, Reach, Ramp
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Forest

    Spells
    2 Giant Growth
    2 Naturalize
    2 Cultivate
    2 Spidery Grasp
    1 Rain of Thorns
    1 Unnatural Predation

    Creatures
    2 Llanowar Elves
    2 Uktabi Orangutan
    3 Trusted Forcemage
    2 Borderland Ranger
    2 Giant Spider
    1 Kindercatch
    1 Vorstclaw
    1 Duskdale Wurm



    Well then! Please give me your input. Flavour/style always trumps power level, but the decks should be on par with each other.
    Last edited by raymundo; 2012-07-06 at 10:55 PM.
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  7. - Top - End - #67
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by raymundo View Post
    Blue Control Card Draw Extravaganza
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Island

    Spells
    2 Robe of Mirrors
    2 Unsummon
    3 Negate
    2 Deprive
    3 Cancel
    1 Rite of Replication
    1 Jace's Ingenuity
    2 Mind Control
    1 Back from the Brink
    2 Flow of Ideas

    Creatures
    2 Kraken Hatchling
    2 Augury Owl
    2 Cloud Elemental
    1 Air Servant
    1 Chancellor of the Spires


    Blue was, ironically, the weakest deck of the lot. I wanted to include different counterspells, but maybe I'll just go with 4 cancels and 2 soft/conditional counters. This deck is pretty much a mess.
    Your blue deck has bad mana. It relies more on its expensive spells than any deck except green, and green at least has extra mana from non-lands. Furthermore, it wants to play these expensive with countermagic backup, meaning that it wants 7-8 lands to function. 16 lands is not enough.

    The first order of business is to replace the too-expensive card drawing with cheap card filtering, to help find lands early.
    -2 Flow of Ideas
    +2 Preordain
    (You should also cut a Robe of Mirrors for an extra land if you'll allow it, perhaps a nonbasic like Haunted Fengraf or Quicksand)

    Next, your creature selection is inconsistent. If you are defending, Cloud Elemental is pretty useless; if you are attacking, Kraken Hatchling is useless. Augury owl does neither well, basically acting as a spell with wings glued on. With only 8 creatures, you can't afford to have 4 of them do nothing at any given time.

    A better selection of creatures would do both. Scroll Thief blocks well with its 3 toughness and attacks well in its own controllish way. Aether Adept is nice tempo-disruption and is also a good follow-up to the Scroll Thief. Azure Mage is possibly too strong, but is the definitive 2-drop for this sort of deck.

    -1 Kraken Hatchling
    -2 Cloud Elemental
    -1 Augury Owl

    +2 Scroll Thief
    +2 Aether Adept

    Similarly, you want your top end to be a bit more reachable
    -1 Chancellor of the Spires
    +1 (insert CMC 6 creature here)

    Finally, given the extra blockers, it's SURPRISE time.
    -1 Robe of Mirrors
    +1 Fleeting Distraction (or maybe Diminish)

    This analysis assumes you consider Mind Control to be a splashy, game-ending spell despite only costing 5. If you really need to pad your expensive spell count, swap one of them for Volition Reigns or Confiscate.
    Last edited by Bucky; 2012-07-06 at 07:39 PM.
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  8. - Top - End - #68
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by raymundo View Post
    White Weenie-ish, Support and Angel Finish
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Plains

    Spells
    2 Condemn
    2 Cursebreak
    2 Zealous Strike
    2 Shieldmate's Blessing
    1 Holy Strength
    1 Defy Death

    Creatures
    4 Squadron Hawk
    2 Infantry Veteran
    2 Avacynian Priest
    2 Soul's Attendant
    1 Elite Vanguard
    3 Serra Angel


    Didn't exactly play too strong, I thought about adding some equipment, replace a serra angel with something mid-range-ish and replace Defy Death with something akin to Builder's Blessing. Any other ideas? Please feel free to point out anything, I'm looking for ways to give the deck more flavour and power. Green and Black just devastate it.
    This deck actually doesn't fell all that white to me, or at least it doesn't really do a whole lot that the green and/or red deck don't. Off the top of my head, it would serve you well to throw in some static buffs and some vigilance, which would also help bring it in line power-wise.

    Props for staying away from lifegain, by the way, it'd be a shame to let the new players you're hopefully creating fall into that trap.

    Blue Control Card Draw Extravaganza
    Spoiler
    Show

    Lands
    16 Island

    Spells
    2 Robe of Mirrors
    2 Unsummon
    3 Negate
    2 Deprive
    3 Cancel
    1 Rite of Replication
    1 Jace's Ingenuity
    2 Mind Control
    1 Back from the Brink
    2 Flow of Ideas

    Creatures
    2 Kraken Hatchling
    2 Augury Owl
    2 Cloud Elemental
    1 Air Servant
    1 Chancellor of the Spires


    Blue was, ironically, the weakest deck of the lot. I wanted to include different counterspells, but maybe I'll just go with 4 cancels and 2 soft/conditional counters. This deck is pretty much a mess.
    A mess indeed. First off, you've made the mistake that I see far too many blue players make: Your win conditions aren't win-conditiony enough. Card advantage only helps you if some of those cards are going to reliably get your opponent from 20 to 0, and a few medium-costed fliers don't really qualify in that respect.

    Definitely clean up the counterspells; four Cancels and two or three Essence Scatters would work best (assuming Mana Leak is too high-power for this). I say Essence Scatter rather than Negate because the other four decks look like they rely on their creatures more than their non-creatures.

    Lastly, needs Ponder and/or Preordain.

    Black-'get a demon out and win'
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Swamp

    Spells
    2 Duress
    2 Disentomb
    1 Nausea
    1 Skeletal Grimace
    2 Doom Blade
    1 Rise from the Grave
    2 Diabolic Tutor
    1 Corruption

    Creatures
    2 Typhoid Rats
    2 Diregraf Ghoul
    1 Blood Artist
    2 Child of Night
    2 Cadaver Imp
    1 Skinrender
    1 Dark Hatchling
    1 Rune-Scarred Demon


    This deck was a lot of fun to play and I think it's pretty good. Flavorful, nice creatures and spells that are pretty much oozing black-ness. This is the power level I'm shooting for.
    Definitely pretty good overall, I don't really have anything to say here.

    Red Aggro..stuff
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Mountain

    Spells
    3 Flame Slash
    2 Shock
    2 Goblin War Paint
    2 Fling
    3 Act of Treason
    1 Spire Barrage
    1 Flame Wave

    Creatures
    3 Goblin Arsonist
    2 Feral Ridgewolf
    2 Vulshok Heartstokre
    2 Arc Runner
    1 Charmbreaker Devils


    Prolly on the right power level, but I think the flavor is lacking. Red will get some artifact hate, after I chose what artifacts to add to the other decks. I think I want to add some creatures with the real fire-breathing in place of the wolves. The Fling-Arc Runner-interaction is for the player to figure out.
    Needs Lightning Bolt. At least three of them. That's about it.

    Green Rampy Fun
    Spoiler
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    Lands
    16 Forest

    Spells
    2 Giant Growth
    2 Naturalize
    2 Plummet
    1 Tanglesap
    2 Cultivate
    1 Beast Hunt

    Creatures
    2 Llanowar Elves
    3 Wandering Wolf
    1 Runeclaw Bear
    2 Trusted Forcemage
    2 Giant Spider
    3 Pathbreaker Wurm
    1 Duskdale Wurm
    I think Rampant Growth might fit into this deck's mana curve better than Cultivate, but maybe not. Also, consider Elvish Warrior in place of some of the existing two-drops; green's main job is to have creatures that make equally-costed creatures of other colors cry in the corner.


    No comment on artifacts to add for now, that's a bit too open-ended for the time I have left to be foruming (yes, that's a word now) today.
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  9. - Top - End - #69
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    HalflingRangerGuy

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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Bucky View Post
    Your blue deck has bad mana. It relies more on its expensive spells than any deck except green, and green at least has extra mana from non-lands. Furthermore, it wants to play these expensive with countermagic backup, meaning that it wants 7-8 lands to function. 16 lands is not enough.

    Thank you very much for your deep analysis! I think my changes reflect your advice; the amount of big spells was too high for sure. You made a legit point about negate and I pulled it. Psychic Barrier is pretty much borderin into Black territory, but hopefully the spell makes sense as a counter so brutal it actually hurts the other mage, or the likes. Does the mana look better now?




    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    This deck actually doesn't fell all that white to me, or at least it doesn't really do a whole lot that the green and/or red deck don't. Off the top of my head, it would serve you well to throw in some static buffs and some vigilance, which would also help bring it in line power-wise.

    Props for staying away from lifegain, by the way, it'd be a shame to let the new players you're hopefully creating fall into that trap.
    Jap, I made White whiter - hopefully. I focused on Vigilance, First Strike and Flying and for aesthetic cookie points, Shepherd of the Lost has all three keywords. I'll probably throw some "all creature get +1/+2" in there sometime, just for more whiteness.


    A mess indeed. First off, you've made the mistake that I see far too many blue players make: Your win conditions aren't win-conditiony enough. Card advantage only helps you if some of those cards are going to reliably get your opponent from 20 to 0, and a few medium-costed fliers don't really qualify in that respect.

    Definitely clean up the counterspells; four Cancels and two or three Essence Scatters would work best (assuming Mana Leak is too high-power for this). I say Essence Scatter rather than Negate because the other four decks look like they rely on their creatures more than their non-creatures.

    Lastly, needs Ponder and/or Preordain.
    Sadly, my Preordains are sitting in my U/R Delver deck. Same with my Mana Leaks, so I put 2 Psychic Barriers in, that are a little too U/B for my taste. I reworked the deck pretty much, so I would much appreciate if you gave it another look and told me what you think of it now.


    Definitely pretty good overall, I don't really have anything to say here.
    Alright, I removed the Cadaver Imps to not mess with Blues air superiority as much. Soulcage Fiend went in, I think they're pretty flavourful.


    Needs Lightning Bolt. At least three of them. That's about it.
    True. I gotta make some shopping, though. My Lightning Bolts are sitting in other decks at the moment.


    I think Rampant Growth might fit into this deck's mana curve better than Cultivate, but maybe not. Also, consider Elvish Warrior in place of some of the existing two-drops; green's main job is to have creatures that make equally-costed creatures of other colors cry in the corner.
    I gotta admit Green is my least favorite color, so I'm not as motivated as for the other colors. I removed some Wurms because of Wurmy-overload and gave Green some more ramping and artifact-hate (and it's a nice place to show off some of the more ridicilous Magic artworks). Blue vs. Green might be an interesting matchup, Green does not have a lot of answers to flying threats. But I guess the playtesting will tell!




    So far, thank you very much for your feedback! I hope you'll give my revised decks another look, I dare to say they look pretty ok-ish. That is, before playtesting. Gotta grab me some not-yet-addicted people this weekend.
    Last edited by raymundo; 2012-07-06 at 11:07 PM.
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  10. - Top - End - #70
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by raymundo View Post
    [Changes]
    Definitely good changes to Blue, White, Black, and Red, especially the former two. Green, though, you actually made quite a bit worse. Llanowar Elves is now the only creature for fewer than three mana, which is simply unacceptable. In fact, now there's hardly anything for less than three mana and only two cards to get to those quicker (the Elves). Not only that, but you replaced most of the trampling fatties with non-trampling fatties.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cirrylius View Post
    That's how wizards beta test their new animals. If it survives Australia, it's a go. Which in hindsight explains a LOT about Australia.

  11. - Top - End - #71
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    I've got a weird problem.

    I want to take a test to try and become a rules advisor, but in order to do that I need to put in my DCI number. Unfortunately, I don't remember it due to not having my card any longer (I lost it a LONG time ago, probably back near when my closest gaming store hosted FNM instead of the one I go to now) and I'm not sure how to get it back. I've tried putting in my standard Email address, which is the ONLY address that could feasibly be associated with it, and it just gives me a weird error saying the Email address isn't associated with a DCI number.

    The problem is, I'm pretty sure I still have a number as I've gone to FNM a ton and haven't received any problems. What's the best way to get back my number? Just ask the judge next time I'm at FNM or what?
    Last edited by Mystic Muse; 2012-07-07 at 12:50 AM.

  12. - Top - End - #72
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    To sign you up for FNM, they have to have your DCI number on record. You can just ask them what it is. If they don't have it, I'm not sure how they've been letting you play in FNM all this time.

    It's highly possible that you don't have an email associated with your DCI number, which is why putting in your email doesn't work.
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  13. - Top - End - #73
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by raymundo View Post
    Thank you very much for your deep analysis! I think my changes reflect your advice; the amount of big spells was too high for sure. You made a legit point about negate and I pulled it. Psychic Barrier is pretty much borderin into Black territory, but hopefully the spell makes sense as a counter so brutal it actually hurts the other mage, or the likes. Does the mana look better now?
    Negate was actually fine, as long as the deck's player is patient enough to hold a creature until they had mana open to play it and a negate in the same turn.

    Explorer's Scope and Merfolk Looter help with hitting land drops (or ditching extra lands), but part of the point was that more stuff with "Draw a card" on it => 16 lands go farther.

    You don't seem to have enough fliers for Favorable Winds to be worth it. I'd rather have the Negates or Fleeting Distractions.

    Oh, and Shriekgeist is worse than Augury Owl since the Owl was helping with the mana problems.
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  14. - Top - End - #74
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    HalflingRangerGuy

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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Bucky View Post
    Negate was actually fine, as long as the deck's player is patient enough to hold a creature until they had mana open to play it and a negate in the same turn.

    Explorer's Scope and Merfolk Looter help with hitting land drops (or ditching extra lands), but part of the point was that more stuff with "Draw a card" on it => 16 lands go farther.

    You don't seem to have enough fliers for Favorable Winds to be worth it. I'd rather have the Negates or Fleeting Distractions.

    Oh, and Shriekgeist is worse than Augury Owl since the Owl was helping with the mana problems.

    I see your point. I'll play some games tonight, then I'll see if I should add some cantrips. Well, that's probably not a bad idea anyway, but I think Blue is getting kinda complicated as-is.

    Mana isn't actually that much of an issue, the games tend to be kinda slow.


    Quote Originally Posted by Sith_Happens View Post
    Definitely good changes to Blue, White, Black, and Red, especially the former two. Green, though, you actually made quite a bit worse. Llanowar Elves is now the only creature for fewer than three mana, which is simply unacceptable. In fact, now there's hardly anything for less than three mana and only two cards to get to those quicker (the Elves). Not only that, but you replaced most of the trampling fatties with non-trampling fatties.

    You're most likely right. I'll lower the mana curve for the creatures. I removed the trampling fatties because they were kinda overpowered in this setting, once you have 2-3 on the board you pretty much stomp everything, especially since they'd grant trample to your forcemages as well. I don't want the Green creatures to be too powerful, these games tend to go for 9+ mana quite fast, which gives Green an edge over everything else if their creatures are too good..


    Too bad I traded my two Garruk's Champion away, they'd be a perfect fit. More trampling, efficient as hell and a two drop.
    Last edited by raymundo; 2012-07-07 at 06:21 AM.
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  15. - Top - End - #75
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Just came back from a M13 prerelease (sealed deck).
    It was my first tournament ever and I did fine. In the end I was at 3-1-1 which got me a solid 3rd place.

    My not amazing but also not too shabby cardpool dictated a Wg beatdown deck.

    Cards that did the legwork/suprised me
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    Odric: To be clear, Odric is not a super awesome card that will win you the game the instant it drops. That said, he is good. He is elegant. And, most importantly for me, he is just fun to play. Why is that? Normally, attacking isn't all that exciting. You turn your dudes sideways and hope for the best. But with Odric on your side attacking equals interaction, stuff to do, options. He kills creatures, he makes your army unblockable. He's just awesome to have.
    And yes, he has won me games.

    Prey Upon: I know, this card isn't news. But in many cases it's green creature removal for G. Thats good. It has saved my life. It never failed its job. And it was used against me with equal success. In almost every game it was an absolutely vital card (but I was starved for removal).

    Ring of Kalonia: It is probably the best of the cycle. Although I didn't played much in terms in green creatures, the green ring had sealed the deal for my opponent more the once. Most of the time it was attached to an Elvish Visionary or Bond Beetle, but actually that proved to be sufficient.

    Crusader of Odric: Odric knows how to train his fighters. Great in a Weenie deck, a nice 3-drop that can put a lot of pressure on your opponent. I can see her beeing played in constructed.
    On a side note she makes a good target for Prey Upon. Being a girl, she also likes Rings (of Kalonia).

    Rhox Faithmender: Nicely costed at 4, blocks a lot of things and has the potential to do wonders to your life total. While he hasn't won me any games (being 1/5 and all...) the life gain and defensive abilities were relevant.
    He's an auto include for any casual life gain decks (you know, there is alway the one Mr. or Ms. life gain in casual multiplayer).


    Cards I Recall Being A Pain In The Butt
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    Dragon Hatchling/Furnace Whelp/Lilliana's Shade: These pump creatures can spell the end of the game very fast, especially the flying ones (but the shade has its own advantages). I had a tough time dealing with them.

    Slumbering Dragon: I don't care if he "sucks" in constructed (I can't say). He rocks in limited. End of story.


    Cards That Could Have Been Great But Somehow Didn't Manage To Do Much
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    Intrepid Hero: There was so much he could have done. And I'm not just talking about killing creatures. He also limits the amount the opponent can pump his/her pump creatures. He and Serra Angel are best friends (I had one in my deck).
    But our Hero has a problem: because he is such a big threat to the opponents board he as a big bullseye painted on his forehead. This wouldn't be a problem because creatures do die to removal. But he is SO fragile. If he had a toughness of even just 2 he would have survived so much more.
    Over the course of the 5 matches he killed one creature. And I did draw him often enough. Most of the time he just died instantly (well, figuratively speaking) when I dropped him.

    Griffin Protector: I had higher hopes for this creature. I guess it was just bad luck from my side, but he got never stronger then 3/4. He probably works better with token producers, especially at instant speed.


    All in all I had a great day and I'm happy about my success . I made a mistake here and there but I'm not sure if I could have done better even when avoiding those mistakes.

    My 4 price boosters on the other hand weren't that hot. A Rancor, a Glacial Fortress and.... nothing. I even got a Worldfire
    Last edited by Zombimode; 2012-07-07 at 12:02 PM.

  16. - Top - End - #76
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    My games didn't go that well, but i got a jace in one of the boosters.
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  17. - Top - End - #77
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Zombimode View Post
    He's an auto include for any casual life gain decks (you know, there is alway the one Mr. or Ms. life gain in casual multiplayer)
    Hey, I only have that life gain deck because cradle of vitality, ageless entity and Ajani's pridemate looked like fun cards....
    Last edited by Androgeus; 2012-07-07 at 01:52 PM.
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  18. - Top - End - #78
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Androgeus View Post
    Hey, I only have that life gain deck because cradle of vitality, ageless entity and Ajani's pridemate looked like fun cards....
    Well, and thats why I'm building on a deck that can produce OVER 9000! rat tokens (with Marrow-Gnawer and Pemmins Aura). It also runs Mirror Entity
    Last edited by Zombimode; 2012-07-07 at 01:54 PM.

  19. - Top - End - #79
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    so pre-release, went 2-3 with a black/red near completely singleton deck, didn't get much in terms of synergy. big pulls another X-gorgan, Gurak, and worldfire.

    favorite moment: sitting across from a board of 8 defenders. thanks to my Gorgan.
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  20. - Top - End - #80
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Went 3-2, had a good time playing and judging. Went GW splashing black for Essence Drain; I had fairly little white,but what I had was good, including an Ajani. I had some good black control cards such as a Mutilate, but no other color really supported a control plan. Had some good blue fliers, but didn't have enough creatures for a UW deck. So I went with little white idiots followed bybig green idiots, which worked out generally well.

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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Didn't get a chance to go to my prerelease. Oh well.

  22. - Top - End - #82
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Hey there! Just started playing Magic with the pre-release, and I'm growing really fond of the game. Picked up the Avacyn Restored White/Blue event deck, and now I'm planning on making something cheap for Standard that would last me until October.

    I'd like to continue playing White/Blue, since I really like the playstyles of those colours. Can any of you guys give me suggestions for some commons and uncommons that might be good additions to my deck?

  23. - Top - End - #83
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Elagune View Post
    Hey there! Just started playing Magic with the pre-release, and I'm growing really fond of the game. Picked up the Avacyn Restored White/Blue event deck, and now I'm planning on making something cheap for Standard that would last me until October.

    I'd like to continue playing White/Blue, since I really like the playstyles of those colours. Can any of you guys give me suggestions for some commons and uncommons that might be good additions to my deck?
    More blade splicers
    more Mirran crusaders
    More pyrexian metamorphs
    More clacial fortresses
    more moorland haunt
    Champion of the Parish

    Odric, Master Tactician

    Silverblade Paladin
    Restoration Angel
    Celestial Purge for sideboard
    Maybe Geist of Saint Traft
    or
    Snapcaster Mage
    Last edited by Ninjaman; 2012-07-08 at 05:42 AM.
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  24. - Top - End - #84
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    It's so tempting to suggest you just play UW Delver (Watanabe's list here and Luis Scott-Vargas's here). If you plan to play Standard, UW Delver is probably the best UW deck you could be playing right now.
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  25. - Top - End - #85
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by tgva8889 View Post
    It's so tempting to suggest you just play UW Delver (Watanabe's list here and Luis Scott-Vargas's here). If you plan to play Standard, UW Delver is probably the best UW deck you could be playing right now.
    I was a bit disapointed none of those lists used blade splicers.
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    I've finally been to my first pre-release event which was also my first sealed experience of any kind and I did better than expected.

    My cards weren't great with a couple of rare cards being nearly completely useless (eg Ground Seal) and I ended up playing a b/u deck. It was a fairly small player base (only four rounds) and I ended up going 2-2 (with both loses being 2-1 and one of them would have been a win if I had drawn one more mountain) and I've been inspired, partially by how well Mogg Flunkies worked, to start to build a standard goblin deck for M13 and onwards. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for this goal?

  27. - Top - End - #87
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    I finally gave in and dropped the money for Magic Online so I could draft in the early hours of morning (I do have a few decks but that was primarily why). Turns out I suck at it though. I know the basic BREAD formula for card picks but I just can't seem to make a good deck. Does anyone have any good tips?

  28. - Top - End - #88
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Octopus Jack View Post
    I've finally been to my first pre-release event which was also my first sealed experience of any kind and I did better than expected.

    My cards weren't great with a couple of rare cards being nearly completely useless (eg Ground Seal) and I ended up playing a b/u deck. It was a fairly small player base (only four rounds) and I ended up going 2-2 (with both loses being 2-1 and one of them would have been a win if I had drawn one more mountain) and I've been inspired, partially by how well Mogg Flunkies worked, to start to build a standard goblin deck for M13 and onwards. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions for this goal?
    Oh, you're in the same boat as me! I also went 2-2 in my prerelease, although one of the wins was a bye and I also had a draw as well. I ran a R/G deck though, since I got Rancor a bunch of excellent 4-drops for both Red and Green. We can be 2-2 buddies!

    On another note, thanks for the help, guys. I've looked at the Delver decks, and I like it! The key components of the deck are cheap enough that I could easily justify it to myself. I'm thinking of dropping White in favour of a Mono-Blue deck, though.

    How does something like this sound?

    24 Islands
    ---
    4 Delver
    4 Augur of Bolas
    4 Talrand, Sky Summoner
    ---
    4 Vapor Snag / Unsummon
    4 Thought Scour
    4 Ponder
    4 Mana Leak
    2 Runechanter's Pike
    2 Dismember
    2 Negate
    ---
    2 Jace, Memory Adept
    I've got about half of the cards necessary already from the Event Deck I picked up, and the rest are relatively cheap with the exceptions of Talrand and Jace. I can probably replace Jace with something else, but I kinda just really like the card.

  29. - Top - End - #89
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Penguinizer View Post
    I finally gave in and dropped the money for Magic Online so I could draft in the early hours of morning (I do have a few decks but that was primarily why). Turns out I suck at it though. I know the basic BREAD formula for card picks but I just can't seem to make a good deck. Does anyone have any good tips?
    Draft more is the most important one.
    Maaaaybe wait until M13 is out, because Avacyn is awful. But the more you draft, the better you'll get at it.

    Also don't be afraid to switch colours if you need to, and MODO makes it easy for you to look at your picks, so you can identify what you're missing. If you're running light on creatures, feel free to grab that dude before the removal spell, even if the removal might be "better"
    Last edited by The Extinguisher; 2012-07-08 at 04:32 PM.
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    Default Re: Magic: The Gathering Thread XIV: Instant Annoying, Just Add Hexproof

    Quote Originally Posted by Elagune View Post
    Oh, you're in the same boat as me! I also went 2-2 in my prerelease, although one of the wins was a bye and I also had a draw as well. I ran a R/G deck though, since I got Rancor a bunch of excellent 4-drops for both Red and Green. We can be 2-2 buddies!

    On another note, thanks for the help, guys. I've looked at the Delver decks, and I like it! The key components of the deck are cheap enough that I could easily justify it to myself. I'm thinking of dropping White in favour of a Mono-Blue deck, though.

    How does something like this sound?



    I've got about half of the cards necessary already from the Event Deck I picked up, and the rest are relatively cheap with the exceptions of Talrand and Jace. I can probably replace Jace with something else, but I kinda just really like the card.
    Negate aren't good enough i think.
    And you need snapcasters, they are expensive but you need them.
    Also i don't think jace will be very good in the deck.
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