Here is my current build of a simple token deck, with a slight black splash. No green splash in this varient. If I build the W/b/g build I will post it up on here.
Main Deck:
4 Blade Splicer - Bread and butter token card. Apply early pressure and sometimes just outright win with this potent creature.
4 Doomed Traveler - Our one drop. Nothing special, but your opponent sure doesnt want to kill it!
3 Elspeth Tirel - Our end curve bomb. If you set her up properly, her -2 will be very lethal.
1 Geist-Honored Monk - Another 5 drop. Doesnt seem nearly as good as Elspeth, but I threw one in to spice it up.
1 Grave Titan - My infamous "one-of"
2 Hero of Bladehold - Powerhouse, but competes with Sorin as a 4 drop. Sorin usually wins that battle, so I dropped her down to 2.
4 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad - Cornerstone of the deck, along with lingering souls. I plan to 99% of the time use his -2 when he hits.
1 Honor of the Pure - Iffy, but it does boost over half of the deck, and you never want to go without an anthem effect.
4 Intangible Virtue - Essential
4 Lingering Souls - Cornerstone. So much value for so little resources.
2 Midnight Haunting - Lingering souls 5 and 6, with the added benefit of being instant.
2 Mortarpod - So powerful with Vault of the Archangel.
2 Oblivion Ring - Basic Removal
2 Shrine of Loyal Legions - Gonna toy around with this, I dont like it but we are short on 2 drops so it makes the cut for now.
1 Evolving Wilds - Random one of to fix mana and thin deck.
4 Isolated Chapel - Essential
11 Plains
6 Swamp
3 Vault of the Archangel - People are running 2, 3 and 4. I dont ever want more than 1. But I want 1 for every game that goes long. I think 3 is the correct number.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Dark Ascension: How the mythics stack up...
As of posting, there are 10 of 10 mythics spoiled for Dark Ascension. I'm going to review these mythics and see which ones are over hyped and which ones have potential.
Beguiler of Wills
Current Price: $2.49
Future Price: $1.50-$2.50
Beguiler of Wills is what we call a bulk mythic, and shes really the worse kind. She does nothing backbreaking in limited unlike most other bulk mythics, and she will not touch standard. Sure, casual players and EDH players (well, aren't they really one in the same?) will eat this up, but to those of us that like to actually bust open packs and get some value when we pull a mythic, this one will disappoint. Final Verdict: Bulk Mythic junk.
I have no clue why this guy is hyped the way that he is. He is like a Baneslayer mixed with a worse version of Consecrated Sphinx, for 7 mana and forces you into blue/white. He seems weaker than a Titan, and when you want a Consecrated Sphinx effect, you'd be better off with the original. You have to connect to get the cards, and Sphinx just gives them to you on your opponents upkeep. Sure, you can unburial this, but you aren't speeding things up since this guy should only cost 6 mana at the most. Final Verdict: Some will try to use this at first, and shortly after he will be a thing of the past. Nice bomb to pull at the prerelease, however.
Falkenrath Aristocrat is a solid card. She does not pass the "Gut Shot" test, and depending on the popularity of that card, this card may not see the light of day. This guy has a lot of potential, including some cool combat tricks, however, the fact that you have to sac humans to get real value is offputting. You normally aren't going to run many humans in a red/black deck right now, so most of the time you'll just be getting a 4/1 hasted flyer for four. Still not a bad deal, but not mythic quality. Final Verdict: Outclassed in almost every way by Olivia. I like this card, but I still don't see much upwards potential.
Havengul Lich
Current Price: $14.99
Future Price: $4-8
This is a really cool one. People are already coming up with combos for it, including the infinite loop with Heartless Summoning and Perilous Myr. The important things to remember are: 1) You still have to pay the mana costs for the card you are rezzing. For example, if you pay 1 mana, target Grave Titan, then you'll have to pay another 6 mana, and 2) You still can only cast the creatures as a sorcery. One of the problems with this card is that it must compete with many other cards that actually do something when they hit the battlefield. More than likely, you wont have the mana to put his ability to use the turn he hits, so you'll have to wait until the next turn. Even then, his ability only really shines when you run out of cards in hand and stuff to do, since he will likely strap all of your mana down. The combo idea is cute, but 3 card combos are not practical in this format since we have limited resources that will search for those pieces. Final Verdict: Cute card, oozing with flavor. Has hopes of standard play, but it has its drawbacks.
Cards that transform are nice, but a good way to evaluate them is to just assume they never transform. I mean, 90% of the time they'll either die or they just wont transform. Let's see what we get at face value. A 2/2 for 4 mana, and that mana is red and green so that might restrict what decks it can go in. You get a 2/2 wolf, and you also gain 2 life. Not bad. I would expect more from a mythic though.
Now on the flip side we get no more tokens, but we get a tougher creature in the form of a 4/4, plus we have a mini "Searing Blaze" effect to boot. Final Verdict: All in all, he's pretty solid, but you usually want more bang for your buck, and this card combines a lack of value with a gamble aspect, and the big jackpot is rather disappointing, especially for a mythic dual color.
Moonveil Dragon
Vorapede
Undying is a pretty cool ability. It is like a better version of persist in my opinion. Instead of a weaker version coming back from the dead this version is stronger than ever. And they all combo with hex parasite, which steals the counters from them and keeps them alive virtually forever. They already spoiled an uncommon 2/1 haste with undying for 2 mana. Green. So naturally I was excited to see what they cooked up for a mythic with undying. Instead, we got this fail of a mythic. I would be ok with this card being an uncommon. And at rare, I could write it off as a bulk rare. But no, we seem to have a need to make nearly every mythic for Dark Ascension a failure. Oh well. I really have nothing good to say about this. I just wish that it said haste where it says vigilance. Final Verdict: I just cant see this beating the 5 drop spots that we currently have, like Garruk, Primal Hunter or Acidic Slime. I'm sure it will see play as a one of in BirthingPod.dec but that should be the end of it.
Helvault. Pretty cool name huh? But, does it follow the cycle of being a crappy mythic in Dark Ascension? In short - yes. It feels akin to Oblivion Stone, in where you can store some of your creatures inside and then wipe the board (which oblivion stone did on its own, with this new card you will have to find a way to wipe the board on your own). You can also take a other route with it, you can just use it to exile all of your foes creatures. Over and over again. The problem with this lies in the fact that it is an artifact. Artifacts die. Especially in this format, where we tend to run many maindeck solutions to artifacts. Green has a plethora, like Bramblecrush, Acidic Slime, and Beast Within, all which can be easily found in maindecks. Red might not be running Oxidda Scrapmelters and Manic Vandals main deck (which I have personally ran Manics main before) but after sideboard they have these options and so much more (Ancient Grudge, anyone?) I cant help but point out that you would almost always want a Karn, Liberated, or even a Spine of Ish Sah over this card if that is your intentions.
This guy is pretty nifty. Lots of flavor and pretty good value. Sadly, it costs 6, and therefore we must compare it to Grave Titan. Card by card, Grave Titan is much stronger and almost all of the time, its the card you want. That's not saying Mikaeus isn't good. In fact, I think he is one of the better mythics in this set. He will see value in many ways, from EDH (pick up foil versions of this card ASAP, they will bring a pretty penny) to block, to standard. That's not to mention when and if Grave Titan doesn't see a reprint in M13, then this guy will be the premier black 6 drop. I think Mikaeus will be very strong in a couple of niche decks to start with. He seems amazing in Heartless summoning, where his lord boost counteracts the -1/-1 from Heartless. Hitting him turn 4 seems good as well. Very possible to see him in zombies as well, as a bunch of 3/3 undying zombies just seems frightening. One more deck you might find him in is Black/White tokens, where you make a crap ton of weak tokens that are bulked up with the likes of Intangible Virtue and this guy. Final Verdict: It's going to take some time and some work, but don't write Mikaeus off yet. He just might surprise you.
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| I'd imagine you will feel the same remorse akin to pulling a Time Reversal when you pull a Beguiler of Wills. |
Beguiler of Wills
Current Price: $2.49
Future Price: $1.50-$2.50
Beguiler of Wills is what we call a bulk mythic, and shes really the worse kind. She does nothing backbreaking in limited unlike most other bulk mythics, and she will not touch standard. Sure, casual players and EDH players (well, aren't they really one in the same?) will eat this up, but to those of us that like to actually bust open packs and get some value when we pull a mythic, this one will disappoint. Final Verdict: Bulk Mythic junk.
Drogskol Reaver
Current Price: $9.99
Future Price: $2-$4
I have no clue why this guy is hyped the way that he is. He is like a Baneslayer mixed with a worse version of Consecrated Sphinx, for 7 mana and forces you into blue/white. He seems weaker than a Titan, and when you want a Consecrated Sphinx effect, you'd be better off with the original. You have to connect to get the cards, and Sphinx just gives them to you on your opponents upkeep. Sure, you can unburial this, but you aren't speeding things up since this guy should only cost 6 mana at the most. Final Verdict: Some will try to use this at first, and shortly after he will be a thing of the past. Nice bomb to pull at the prerelease, however.Falkenrath Aristocrat
Current Price: $8.99
Future Price: $4-$10
Falkenrath Aristocrat is a solid card. She does not pass the "Gut Shot" test, and depending on the popularity of that card, this card may not see the light of day. This guy has a lot of potential, including some cool combat tricks, however, the fact that you have to sac humans to get real value is offputting. You normally aren't going to run many humans in a red/black deck right now, so most of the time you'll just be getting a 4/1 hasted flyer for four. Still not a bad deal, but not mythic quality. Final Verdict: Outclassed in almost every way by Olivia. I like this card, but I still don't see much upwards potential.Havengul Lich
Current Price: $14.99
Future Price: $4-8
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| Full of flavor, but might be a little trickier to pull off then we think. |
Huntmaster of the Fells/Ravager of the Fells
Current Price $17.49
Future Price $5-$12
Cards that transform are nice, but a good way to evaluate them is to just assume they never transform. I mean, 90% of the time they'll either die or they just wont transform. Let's see what we get at face value. A 2/2 for 4 mana, and that mana is red and green so that might restrict what decks it can go in. You get a 2/2 wolf, and you also gain 2 life. Not bad. I would expect more from a mythic though. Moonveil Dragon
Current Price $2.49
Future Price $1.49
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| If this card were only rare, would it be a 4/4 for 7 mana? |
DAMN BULK MYTHIC DRAGONS STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP ITSTOP IT STOP IT STOP IT Final Verdict: STOP IT!!!!!!! </QQ
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Current Price: $59.99
Future Price: $20-$40
My first thought was, why white? I thought back a bit, remembered his name the flavor text on the Zendikar edition of Day of Judgment, remembered the role he played in Rise of the Eldrazi, and the bond that he shared with Nissa. I shrugged, and decided to just roll with it. I'm pretty partial to Black/White as a color combo, so maybe I can swallow this a bit better than some of you others.
But let's talk about the card itself. I'm going to allude it to the likes of Elspeth, Knight Errant, a solid card in its time, and if Sorin stacks up, then we will have us quite the winner. Like Elspeth, he costs 4 mana (albeit one of them is black) and starts with 3 loyalty. While Elspeth had two +1 abilities, Sorin has only 1. The first one is recognizable: it puts a 1/1 into play. But Sorin actually goes one step further and gives it lifelink, a nice little bonus. I'll just write that off as payment for the demand of two colors. The next abilities of both walkers differ a bit, but they both play the same role: they enhance your creatures. Elspeth had an additional +1 that gave a creature +3/+3 and flying, until the end of the turn. Sorin does something really unique. He puts a stackable emblem that gives a permanent attack bonus to all of your creatures. Forever. Emblems cannot be messed with whatsoever. Now, I dont know if I would pay 4 mana for an effect like that, but I do know that having that option is greatly welcome with all of the 1/1 lifelinkers you'll have in play. Now for the ultimates, I cant even compare. Elspeth had a very expensive and usually non-impactive ultimate that I never used. Sorin, on the other hand, has a game reversing, backbreaking ultimate that will usually spell game for your enemies. My goal is to steal a Karn, Liberated with this move. Final Verdict: Sorin no doubt stacks up to be the chase mythic of the set. He will see play, but his home is undetermined at this point. The power is there, but will the two enemy colors be an issue?
Vorapede
Current Price: $7.49
Future Price: $2-4
Undying is a pretty cool ability. It is like a better version of persist in my opinion. Instead of a weaker version coming back from the dead this version is stronger than ever. And they all combo with hex parasite, which steals the counters from them and keeps them alive virtually forever. They already spoiled an uncommon 2/1 haste with undying for 2 mana. Green. So naturally I was excited to see what they cooked up for a mythic with undying. Instead, we got this fail of a mythic. I would be ok with this card being an uncommon. And at rare, I could write it off as a bulk rare. But no, we seem to have a need to make nearly every mythic for Dark Ascension a failure. Oh well. I really have nothing good to say about this. I just wish that it said haste where it says vigilance. Final Verdict: I just cant see this beating the 5 drop spots that we currently have, like Garruk, Primal Hunter or Acidic Slime. I'm sure it will see play as a one of in BirthingPod.dec but that should be the end of it.
Helvault
Current Price: Around $5 on ebay.
Future Price: $2-4
Helvault. Pretty cool name huh? But, does it follow the cycle of being a crappy mythic in Dark Ascension? In short - yes. It feels akin to Oblivion Stone, in where you can store some of your creatures inside and then wipe the board (which oblivion stone did on its own, with this new card you will have to find a way to wipe the board on your own). You can also take a other route with it, you can just use it to exile all of your foes creatures. Over and over again. The problem with this lies in the fact that it is an artifact. Artifacts die. Especially in this format, where we tend to run many maindeck solutions to artifacts. Green has a plethora, like Bramblecrush, Acidic Slime, and Beast Within, all which can be easily found in maindecks. Red might not be running Oxidda Scrapmelters and Manic Vandals main deck (which I have personally ran Manics main before) but after sideboard they have these options and so much more (Ancient Grudge, anyone?) I cant help but point out that you would almost always want a Karn, Liberated, or even a Spine of Ish Sah over this card if that is your intentions. |
One thing I would like to mention is the wording on this card, which I can't help but think it is an error, but its the way it is, so lets find us some loopholes! It does indeed state that if it is put into graveyard, then that is when all 'Hel' is unleashed. But what if it was exiled? Then, according to the wording, all of those things are pretty much gone forever, for good and bad. For example, lets say you are putting 'fate counters' on your own creatures, sucking them into the vault. Later, you'll intend to wipe the board, then somehow destroy the vault yourself and unleash your stored creatures onto the battlefield. (Lame combo, btw peoples.) So, what if right after you wipe the board, your foe uses Oblivion Ring on Helvault? Yup, that means all of your stuff is gone. Forever. If Oblivion Ring is destroyed later on and Helvault reenters the battlefield, it does not remember what it exiled, since it itself was exiled and now is essentially a fresh copy. Now, on the flip side, you can use this knowledge to your advantage. Say, you have exiled your opponents Wurmcoil Engine and Inferno Titan with Helvault. Now, all they have to do to get their cards back into play and kill you is destroy the Helvault. But what if you exiled it before they are able to destroy it? For example, you could do this with your own Oblivion Ring or even -3 with Karn, Liberated. That would basically exile them forever, according to the wording on this card. Magical Christmas land aside, this is a difficult process to actually make all of this work and to me it seems like a waste of time. I just wanted to point out how this card works and that the loopholes might actually be relevant at some point or another, and its important that we know how it actually works, even if we never plan on using it. Final Verdict: This Oblivion Stone wanna-be does not stack up. It's two ablities are controversial to each other, giving this card less options than it seems. It's also easy for your opponent to control how it is used. Aside from some fringe play in Tezz.dec, this card is going straight to the mythic dump bin.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
Current Price: $7.99
Future Price: $5-10
This guy is pretty nifty. Lots of flavor and pretty good value. Sadly, it costs 6, and therefore we must compare it to Grave Titan. Card by card, Grave Titan is much stronger and almost all of the time, its the card you want. That's not saying Mikaeus isn't good. In fact, I think he is one of the better mythics in this set. He will see value in many ways, from EDH (pick up foil versions of this card ASAP, they will bring a pretty penny) to block, to standard. That's not to mention when and if Grave Titan doesn't see a reprint in M13, then this guy will be the premier black 6 drop. I think Mikaeus will be very strong in a couple of niche decks to start with. He seems amazing in Heartless summoning, where his lord boost counteracts the -1/-1 from Heartless. Hitting him turn 4 seems good as well. Very possible to see him in zombies as well, as a bunch of 3/3 undying zombies just seems frightening. One more deck you might find him in is Black/White tokens, where you make a crap ton of weak tokens that are bulked up with the likes of Intangible Virtue and this guy. Final Verdict: It's going to take some time and some work, but don't write Mikaeus off yet. He just might surprise you.That's all of the Mythics for this set, unless they surprise us and do 11 instead of 10. If you guys want me to review the rares from this set, leave feedback! If I write all of this and get nothing back in return, it seems pointless to stay on a schedule and get this content out to you if you can't do your part!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Bitter Turmoil - Complete Spoiler: Purple - Part 2
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| A more expensive Arc Lightning, which makes sense because purple isn't very good at emulating red. However, it is good at tacking on special enhancements, such as flashback, in this case. This is one of the most efficient burn spells Purple has to offer, and therefore, this will likely be the most played. |
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| Played in the wrong deck, this card is a horrid FAIL. In the right deck, this card can be almost as powerful as Green Sun's Zenith. |
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| An inefficient tutor, that might be a requirement in a purple "dredge" deck. The reason it would be inefficient is because if thats the route you plan to go then this is effectively a 3 mana Entomb. |
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| At first glance, this might not seem to effective. However, strong magic players might see its uses. In response to your Mind Control, I'll tuck this guy into my little storage facility, where you cant touch him. The biggest part about this card is that it cantrips, which makes very playable in the maindeck. |
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| Before I had the name for this card, I designed what it did. Then the name wasn't so hard to figure out. |
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| I haven't really put this to the test, but I'm guessing that someone will find a way to break this. I know a way to use it to gain a crap ton of life, but I'm more worried about someone losing 40 or so life to this card. We shall see what you guys come up with. |
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| seems like a really bad discard effect, but the upside is you can target yourself. |
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| Combos with Devour Thought. Also combos very very well with Rapture's Summation, so keep that in mind. |
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| 4 mana is a little steep, but the chance for a 2 for 1 seems worth it. |
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| Volcanic Hammer! not too exciting, but will be used in limited to be certain. |
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| Horrible blaze. |
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| Ever play against that guy that just has to play out their hand all in one turn? Just show him this card after he plays his hand and watch him stomp off in a nerd rage! |
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| I wanted to recreate Cruel Ultimatum for purple. This is as nasty as I wanted to get. |
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| The best card in set. Hands down. You thought Counterspell was OP? How do you like Mana Burst? This makes sense to me, as Purple is supposed to be better at countermagic then Blue. That's all the defense I have, so let me have it, for making such an overpowered card. *ducks under his desk* |
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| Purple's weaker version of mind sludge, but again, you can target yourself, and sometimes that's relevant. |
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| This effectively counters all spells on the stack, if it resolves. Think mindbreak trap. Then instead of putting them into a graveyard, they forget those cards instead. Useful if you plan on reviving spells in your opponents Forgotten zone. |
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| The applications for this card are many. |
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| Simple enough. |
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| You could build a deck just around this card. |
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| This card pulls double duty as a pump and as a token generator. Sadly, purple isn't much of a color for using tokens well. Except for maybe with this card...... |
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| Combos with "Portal from a Raging World". Otherwise, a weaker Eldrazi Monument. |
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| If you can get this one out early, it could cause some heavy disruption. If its late, then it will largely be ignored. |
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| This could easily trump all of the other Zeniths. Its an Akroma's Vengeance, or a Death Cloud. Pick your massive removal spell, because this card will be the major sweeper in purple control. |
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| I just had to do it. Go forth, and break this card! |
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| 1 mana essence scatter? Sign me up! Did I mention that purple can counter like a boss? |
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| We already talked about this one, didn't we? |
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| Negate, shock, and green hate? All rolled into a nice little 2 mana bundle? How can you go wrong? |
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| 1 mana divination if you set it up correctly. |
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| "OMG you are gonna give purple fog? I thought purple didn't get any green effects? OP OP OP!" Ok, so first off, you are gonna complain about Fog being OP? Second, have you ever heard of a card called "Holy Day"? What about "Darkness"? Third, the flavor is there, and it just makes sense for this card to exist in purple. |
Hope you guys enjoyed purple!
Remember, the more feedback and hits I get, the more often I will feel like getting this stuff out to you! So let the feedback commence!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Magic the Gathering 2011: Top 5 Best things to happen for Magic this year.
Top 5 Best things to happen for Magic in 2011:
5) Modern
- The Modern format was a much needed refresher to the extended format. Extended was close to dead, and people got to the point where they didn't want to invest into standard, since the card price would just cut dramatically after rotation. Modern keeps some of those high played cards some value after rotation, and just provide another eternal format that should appeal to those of us that have been loyal to the game for the last 10 years or so, but were not 'grandfathered' into the system enough to have the cards for legacy.
Quick Aside: I do not think that Modern alone is the answer for depreciating card values from standard. While it does help, it is a huge card pool and being that it is an eternal format, that card pool will continue to grow, and at some point or another its going to be legacy (for the most part). Wizards has to keep printing powerful cards into standard to keep the people playing, and if all of the most powerful cards end up in modern, they may have to amend it again. I don't know what the solution is, but I really do think - while modern was a decent step - we need more out of our cards then just a couple of years.
4) Event Decks
- The event decks, while just another lame excuse on Wizards part to sell expensive cardboard, is actually a great investment for many players. One came with 2 Goblin guides, one had 2 Stoneforge mystics and a Mirran crusader, one had 4 freaking Dismembers. No, these arent going to win FNM's like they claim (unless your play group has no idea how to build or play) but they are a great way to start on a deck and they also tend to be an efficient way to build your collection.
3) The Rotation of Lightning Bolt
- This one is good and bad. The good news is the 3 damage menace is gone, and it was overpowered. Creatures like Olivia, Bloodline keeper, and Fiend hunter can now live longer. Karn can -3 when hitting the board without fear of the 1 mana counter. No more double bolting Titans. The only problem is that Shock and to a lesser extent, Incinerate, suck. If we had a 1 mana red spell that did 2.5 damage, then I think we would have a fair enough card.
2) Innistrad
- Innistrad was as refreshing as it was clean. A solid start for a seemingly solid block, Innistrad has a lot going for it. Bringing back flashback was enough to get me on board. The transform mechanic, while a tad clunky provides some neat change to the way we treat cards, and thankfully not many of those cards will see play in constructed. The overall theme deserves some praise as well, their goal was to tell a story that enveloped all of the horror troupes within it, and I believe this hit this idea home. All in all, I'm very pleased with Innistrad, and I look forward to the next sets to come.
1) Starcitygames.com response to the cheater, Alex Bertoncini.
At first, I had no idea SCG had any balls at all. But after this, I have no choice but to admit that they not only have the testes, they also have very large ones at that. Check out what they had to say about the cheater:
"In accordance with this policy, I will not be awarding Alex Bertoncini with any cash prizes or appearance fees from the Charlotte Invitational. Instead,I will be donating all cash prizes and appearance fees Alex was scheduled to receive from the Charlotte Invitational (totaling $10,250) directly to the Child's Play charity, an organization that provides toys and games to children in hospitals across the world.
I am also stripping Alex of the titles of Charlotte Invitational Champion and 2011 StarCityGames.com Player of the Year. The 2011 StarCityGames.com Invitational: Charlotte Champion is now Adam Prosak. The 2011 StarCityGames.com Player of the Year is now Gerry Thompson. I congratulate both players on their excellent performances in both the Invitational and during the 2011 Open Series season. I wish them both the best and hope to see them at future StarCityGames.com Open Series events." - SCG President Pete Hoefling
Look forward to the Top 5 Worst things to happen to Magic in 2011 - coming soon!
5) Modern
- The Modern format was a much needed refresher to the extended format. Extended was close to dead, and people got to the point where they didn't want to invest into standard, since the card price would just cut dramatically after rotation. Modern keeps some of those high played cards some value after rotation, and just provide another eternal format that should appeal to those of us that have been loyal to the game for the last 10 years or so, but were not 'grandfathered' into the system enough to have the cards for legacy.
Quick Aside: I do not think that Modern alone is the answer for depreciating card values from standard. While it does help, it is a huge card pool and being that it is an eternal format, that card pool will continue to grow, and at some point or another its going to be legacy (for the most part). Wizards has to keep printing powerful cards into standard to keep the people playing, and if all of the most powerful cards end up in modern, they may have to amend it again. I don't know what the solution is, but I really do think - while modern was a decent step - we need more out of our cards then just a couple of years.
4) Event Decks
- The event decks, while just another lame excuse on Wizards part to sell expensive cardboard, is actually a great investment for many players. One came with 2 Goblin guides, one had 2 Stoneforge mystics and a Mirran crusader, one had 4 freaking Dismembers. No, these arent going to win FNM's like they claim (unless your play group has no idea how to build or play) but they are a great way to start on a deck and they also tend to be an efficient way to build your collection.
3) The Rotation of Lightning Bolt
- This one is good and bad. The good news is the 3 damage menace is gone, and it was overpowered. Creatures like Olivia, Bloodline keeper, and Fiend hunter can now live longer. Karn can -3 when hitting the board without fear of the 1 mana counter. No more double bolting Titans. The only problem is that Shock and to a lesser extent, Incinerate, suck. If we had a 1 mana red spell that did 2.5 damage, then I think we would have a fair enough card.
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| A tad clunky, but it gets you where you need to go. |
2) Innistrad
- Innistrad was as refreshing as it was clean. A solid start for a seemingly solid block, Innistrad has a lot going for it. Bringing back flashback was enough to get me on board. The transform mechanic, while a tad clunky provides some neat change to the way we treat cards, and thankfully not many of those cards will see play in constructed. The overall theme deserves some praise as well, their goal was to tell a story that enveloped all of the horror troupes within it, and I believe this hit this idea home. All in all, I'm very pleased with Innistrad, and I look forward to the next sets to come.
1) Starcitygames.com response to the cheater, Alex Bertoncini.
At first, I had no idea SCG had any balls at all. But after this, I have no choice but to admit that they not only have the testes, they also have very large ones at that. Check out what they had to say about the cheater:
"In accordance with this policy, I will not be awarding Alex Bertoncini with any cash prizes or appearance fees from the Charlotte Invitational. Instead,I will be donating all cash prizes and appearance fees Alex was scheduled to receive from the Charlotte Invitational (totaling $10,250) directly to the Child's Play charity, an organization that provides toys and games to children in hospitals across the world.
I am also stripping Alex of the titles of Charlotte Invitational Champion and 2011 StarCityGames.com Player of the Year. The 2011 StarCityGames.com Invitational: Charlotte Champion is now Adam Prosak. The 2011 StarCityGames.com Player of the Year is now Gerry Thompson. I congratulate both players on their excellent performances in both the Invitational and during the 2011 Open Series season. I wish them both the best and hope to see them at future StarCityGames.com Open Series events." - SCG President Pete Hoefling
Look forward to the Top 5 Worst things to happen to Magic in 2011 - coming soon!
Monday, December 19, 2011
My Top 15 favorite Bitter Turmoil cards.
15) Kruig, the Eternal Baloth
14) Deathquake
13) Johann's Judgment
12) Thought Retriever (nys - not yet spoiled)
Thought Retriever is a great card for a ton of decks, and it can be used aggressively in aggro decks, or effectively in control decks.
11) Sunblast Obliterator
10) Lost your way (nys)
A blowout card against combo, and just a nasty slap in the face against anyone else.
9) Sacir, Render of Oblivion
8) Unwavering Relic (nys)
This card helps you in so many ways, and its because of those options (plus built in protection) that gives this card a chance to very well appear in so many decks.
7) Flame Lance
6) Ranik's Ambusher (nys)
The options this guy has is sickening. Not to mention that it can combo with certain card to turbo card it.
5) Arcanas, the Riftwoven
4) Wess, the Unstable
3) Sacir's Missive (nys)
Combos, and it just awesome by himself.
2) Nephil, the Riftmaster (nys)
So....good....
1) Gruemaw, Grixis Bloodlord
Grand master Platinum numbero uno: Mana Burst (nys)
My favorite card of the set. It is so OP guys that you are going to throw stuff at me and yell about how OP it is every time someone uses it. I say bring it, because I loved designing it and I just think its swell.
14) Deathquake
13) Johann's Judgment
12) Thought Retriever (nys - not yet spoiled)
Thought Retriever is a great card for a ton of decks, and it can be used aggressively in aggro decks, or effectively in control decks.
11) Sunblast Obliterator
10) Lost your way (nys)
A blowout card against combo, and just a nasty slap in the face against anyone else.
9) Sacir, Render of Oblivion
8) Unwavering Relic (nys)
This card helps you in so many ways, and its because of those options (plus built in protection) that gives this card a chance to very well appear in so many decks.
7) Flame Lance
6) Ranik's Ambusher (nys)
The options this guy has is sickening. Not to mention that it can combo with certain card to turbo card it.
5) Arcanas, the Riftwoven
4) Wess, the Unstable
3) Sacir's Missive (nys)
Combos, and it just awesome by himself.
2) Nephil, the Riftmaster (nys)
So....good....
1) Gruemaw, Grixis Bloodlord
But wait, the final card was just so good, number 1 on my list doesnt do it justice. I present.....
Grand master Platinum numbero uno: Mana Burst (nys)
My favorite card of the set. It is so OP guys that you are going to throw stuff at me and yell about how OP it is every time someone uses it. I say bring it, because I loved designing it and I just think its swell.
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