No, sorry, you're making some mistakes in judgment here.
What you say only apply to Spikes. The articles by MaRo are a must read to understand what different kind of players aim to achieve through the game.
Another common misconception is that Johnny and Timmy builds "bad decks" or they "don't want to win". They just want to win in another way, and they are fully capable to do it. Only, since they don't play exclusively the 1% of super-efficient cards in existence, they do it less consistently than Spikes. And don't care. They don't "get better" by playing unfair, there's nothing in their worldview to inherently be gained there.
The topic of "having fun" is supreme. Honestly, I often wonder if pure Spikes really have fun playing Magic. Is it fun to repeat the same exact sequence of moves every game? It seems alienating. Is it fun to play by yourself for 15 minutes? It looks like a chore. Is it fun to end the game as quickly as possible? This in particular always stroke me as the strategy of someone who doesn't like to play very much. What they like is the feeling of victory. But it's a fleeting one, because it only lasts a moment.
I don't want to offend anyone, but this behavior looks to me more like that of an addict. They NEED to win, they can't even conceive an approach where they don't — allow me to say desperately — try it, which translates into decks where all the cards need to achieve maximum efficiency. If there was a card that by only including it in the deck makes you win on a roll of 4-6 of the initial die roll, they'll use it.
(I'm not talking about pros here, some pros are part Johnnies — they're the ones who cone up with the innovations, they're the "ingénieurs" of the pro world. Pure Spikes are the pros who create decks who are just collections of strong cards. We must also consider that, as much influential it is, the pro world is far from being the majority of the MTG experience, it's more like the tip of the iceberg).
I think there's an interesting study to be made of the psychological implications of belonging to one or the other of the psychographic profiles, something MaRo never tackled because it's too delicate and risky a topic.
Finally, "fair" and "unfair" are really subjective concepts. An infinite combo is unfair? What about a money card is unfair to a budget player? What about a first-turn Thoughtseize is unfair? Or a second-turn Dark Confidant or Tarmogoyf. Or poison, or milling, or draw-go, or what have you. It's all in the eye of the guy who sits across the table.
Marcos really hits the point that all deck builders need to ask themselves at one point or another:
Why be fair?
Magic, being a "customize-able" game with a winner and a loser, is all about finding something that wins you the game and doing it. That means different things to each of the different formats, but often it means "find the most unfair thing and do it." There is that point that everyone needs to ask themselves - "What is my goal for this format?" If the answer is simply "Win as much as possible" then they need to embrace one of these powerful and unfair things and then learn to execute them to the best of their ability.
Luckily, there are lots of different ways to enjoy the various aspects of the game. There are players like Kuma that enjoy treading the path not taken. This doesn't mean he isn't trying to use strong cards; just different ones. I agree that Magic should be both fun and satisfying! If you aren't enjoying it the way you are playing it, try playing it another way.
As I mentioned in the article, Jund is "fair" in a lot of ways. It can't "insta-win" like some decks can. When players don't have to race to do the unfair thing, then other "fair" decks can try to compete. In Legacy, this happened when G/W Maverick started keeping the Blue Based combo in check, so then people developed decks that could beat Maverick by just going bigger, or including a small "unfair" interaction like Punishing Fire/Grove. Of course, you can always try to trump a "fair" deck like Jund by finding a new "unfair" thing that beats it consistently. Then hopefully the cycle starts again.
Honestly, this concept of "fair" and "unfair" interactions and what they mean to players is something I really want to expand upon. For some it's a hang up, in the same vein as Net-decking, and really inhibits certain growth in the game. It can work against people the other way too.
tl;dr - Being unfair is something that you have to embrace to get better. It's okay if you don't want to; your enjoyment and satisfaction are most important. Keep in mind that Modern does have various "Unfair" decks in the meta and that you need to adapt to both use it and face it.
Then you should look at my decks (and the article mentioned by Procrastination where I theorize them), which are strictly noncombo, and still win PREs on occasions.
As to why: because it's fun and satisfying and enriching.
The Pod isn't broken, but there's no way to use it fairly in Modern. When it was in Standard you would use it as a value card to convert your early creatures into late game threats without having to naturally draw them. The thing is, why would you use Birthing Pod in any fair way in Modern? With the Kiki-Jiki and Melira combos out there, why wouldn't you play them, especially if you're in a DE/PE/GP/PT? The combo is just too good to pass up.
That article is already outdated. :) (I might do a follow-up at some point). Plus, both decks aimed to overextend, not to stop at any station below 6, so I mostly featured dynamic creatures at 5 and I didn't cover all the cases where you may want to stop at a lower finisher.
If you want a good station-5 finisher in black, don't look any further than Bloodgift Demon. Or even Shadowborn Demon, if you can make it work (you might). Orzhov? Well, Blood Baron of Vizkopa, no? What else you need?
A mono-green one... meh, green isn't really that great at finishers after all. Vorapede? Although that clearly invites the presence of a further creature at station 6.
Currently, I'm really enjoying the main-deck Extirpates. People aren't expecting that, I forced a few concessions. I guess in the pro-level meta combo decks aren't that frequent as they are in PREs? (For whatever reason). So nobody embraced this simple trick, that I know about.
Lowering the curve and finishing at CMC 4 is what I'm current at with both Jund (Phyrexian Obliterator) and Bant (Sublime Archangel. Really, there are many occasions where she comes, they can't kill her — possibly because of a well-timed Spellskite or Glen Elendra Archmage — you win).
And of course Chandra was 4 tix 1 month ago, and now it's freaking SIXTEEN. Groan, I really hate this frantic micro-economy sometimes. (She'll go down anyway. They currently use her as a bad drawing engine with a bonus. Once that idea ends or is replaced by something better, she'll find herself without a job).
I agree with Gio, banning the Pod makes no sense, the archetype isn't that played outside of PREs (where there's also a budget consideration, I'm pretty sure that 1st place deck was cheaper than any other in the Top 8).
The Pod is not a broken card, and if anything encourages diversity by itself. It's Melira combo that's too good to pass and therefore ubiquitous in Pod builds. It might make more sense to ban Chord of Calling then (since they already banned GSZ after all). (They won't ban Kiki-Jiki, it's too iconic.)
Even looking through your Pod primer, in BGW the 5 spot is certainly a weaker spot in the chain. Thragtusk is ok, Acidic Slime super flexible, but all in all, 5 is just sort of there. The Archangel certainly gives it some oomph.
At 6 Sunblast Angel is such an unexpected blow out. :) I ran that in my standard Bant Pod back in the day and it really surprised people.
Speaking of Bant Pod, I might build that since it was really a UGW land destruction deck and who doesn't love non-Red LD decks?
It was really interesting to see Chandra, Pyromaster in the Jund. And now, it seems Meta of Jund decks are utilizing Chandra, Pyromaster. At least this is something that most of us, didn't see that coming. And I'm wondering whether we may also see Chandra, the Firebrand in some rogue Jund decks.
I'm not that much experienced with Pod type decks as you Guys, still I don't think that banning Melira or CoC will make any significant change, maybe except the Pod itself.
My Boros deck didn't follow Heroic path, as I wanted to keep it something close to the White Weenie version.
Currently we have lots of options to brew Boros decks with very different approaches. And Heroic path is one of them with different creature base and support spells with multiple targets. I think Heroic decks can be very entertaining deck choices for the casual games. And I'm looking forward to play with them.
I think we may see some rogue Mono White, Boros or Selesnya variant Heroic decks in the Standard. I believe Heroic decks have more chance for the Block rather than the Standard.
I agree with you that Heroic concept is hard to exploit due to its restricted nature. At least Heroic cards are good targets for Aura spells. And I think this can be the loophole (at least for eternal formats). Rancor could be fantastic with them. And I want to try: Whip Silk, Crown of Flames, Conviction, Sun Clasp or Flickering Ward with the Heroic cards.
"As a Melira Pod player, there have been times when I can Pod up to 5cc, but Reveillark or Shriekmaw won't do enough to change the board state"
You know there's plenty of options, right? :)
Versatility is the great thing about the Pod shell. Which, I will never tire of repeat, is what Melira combo and Kiki-Jiki combo choose to exploit — but the shell is open to endless possibilities. Pod players, use your fantasy! We're online, we play PREs, not Grand Prix. You can use some variety and fun in your life — and in your Pod.
I honestly hope they'll decide to ban Melira at some point. That combo is so boring and worn-out by now, yet consistent (it's hard to hate: you can side in all the hate cards you want, the Pod always finds an answer and go on. Most of the times, the opponent only manage to disrupt their own decks with all those cards that dilute their battleplan). Banning Melira wouldn't hurt the shell but force Pod players to embrace something else, at least.
The Archangel combo is nice. I might try it. She's a bit expensive, and bound to stay that way for a long time, but another great thing with the Pod is that you only needs 1 copy of those finishers!
I was surprised that you didn't try to make the Boros list a little more "Heroic" friendly. Sure, Heroic isn't "very good", but now is the time to give the wacky ideas some love!
An undisturbed, Fabled Hero plus Madcap Skills is a 2 turn clock! Boros gets Martial Glory, which aimed properly at A&C + Fabled Hero makes the Hero alone a 7/3 Trample Doublestriker!
Heroic Boros might be the Naya Blitz of this Standard; Explosive yet Inconsistent.
Something I pointed out in my article about the GP, the winning Melira Pod list was the ONLY Pod list in the Top 16. Melira Pod is a very reliable deck, but clearly it is not so much more powerful than any of the other top tier deck choices. It's easy to see it win and go "Won again? Ban something!" but one unlucky round might have meant no Pod at all.
When Survival was tearing up the SCG events, 6/8 decks would be Survival, week after week. That kind of dominance/representation is a problem. (Of course, the European scene was apparently very different from that, so some claim to this day that lazy players and slavish net-decking was the real problem, so who can tell?)
I'm glad that Wizards didn't snap ban anything. Let's see what Theros does for the format and give the meta some time to work itself out.
RUG is Simic splashing red, that is, UGr. I've never seen an Animar or Wanderer list where red isn't the least used color in the deck. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you look at those 4 RUG decks that you've posted, this will be the case with all of them. So yes, I count Animar and Wanderer as Simic, because the red is just a splash. I will admit that The Mimeoplasm decks can be more varied, and black usually plays as much a role as the other two colors.
I know that in my personal experience, casual or competitive, UG is the most played color combination at the virtual tables that I sit in, bar none. Seeing the same cards over and over is annoying. Making one of, if not THE best Theros commander card UG is only going to worsen things.
And yes, the hydra challenge is real! I was going to offer the same challenge for gorgon tribal but decided that I want a crack at it myself :)
I agree with you 100% on the prize structure issue. You always bring a nice, rational though process to these kinds of discussions, and I appreciate it, even in the times where I don't agree with you. Well done.
Should flavor outweigh mechanics? No. Sure you can make cards top down, but this is horrible. I'm gald we can agree the card shouldn't have been printed. And flavor wise, the sailors were still there! They didn't disappear, or get replaced. It was them, but just in pig form!
You want something flavorful? Morph each creature targeted. They're still 2/2s, they still die, you get the same effect. Basically, it's a permanent Turn to Frog, but really a Turn to Pig. If they think people are too dumb to figure this out, then DON'T PRINT IT!
I understand where you're coming from, I had the same reaction when I saw the card. But the Melvin in me also understands (and in fact complained in the past) that mechanically if you want to convey a transformation, you NEED to exile the card. Otherwise it's a destruction effect, and that's something blue can't do and should never do. If this card said "destroy X creatures", it would be even MORE wrong, despite being (arguably) less powerful. (Blue also shouldn't exile a creature without giving you another creature in exchange. I'm sure MaRo will discuss the card next week in these terms.)
Re: the flavor. What's wrong with it? That's just perfect, because Circe didn't transform just one sailor or two. She transformed all of them. And she was very clearly blue.
So, power level = wrong. Flavor = great. Color pie = correct. At least mechanically. Or better, it's what the blue side of the color pie should have done with Pongify and Rapid Hybridization as well, while those are the mechanical failures (and there were complains about it), because you can't design a card that's supposed to represent a transformation and then allow for the transformed creature to be reanimated. That's not how you do it.
Now, the problem is: should have they done it? No, they probably shouldn't have. THIS is the real issue, about which we can agree. It takes away one of the major weaknesses of blue, and that's wrong. At the very least, it's wrongly costed, it should be more something like XXUUU (or even better, XUB).
Then again, Doctor Anime is right: look at those pig tokens! Just look at them! They're adorable! How can you be mad at blue for giving you those? :)
No, sorry, you're making some mistakes in judgment here.
What you say only apply to Spikes. The articles by MaRo are a must read to understand what different kind of players aim to achieve through the game.
Another common misconception is that Johnny and Timmy builds "bad decks" or they "don't want to win". They just want to win in another way, and they are fully capable to do it. Only, since they don't play exclusively the 1% of super-efficient cards in existence, they do it less consistently than Spikes. And don't care. They don't "get better" by playing unfair, there's nothing in their worldview to inherently be gained there.
The topic of "having fun" is supreme. Honestly, I often wonder if pure Spikes really have fun playing Magic. Is it fun to repeat the same exact sequence of moves every game? It seems alienating. Is it fun to play by yourself for 15 minutes? It looks like a chore. Is it fun to end the game as quickly as possible? This in particular always stroke me as the strategy of someone who doesn't like to play very much. What they like is the feeling of victory. But it's a fleeting one, because it only lasts a moment.
I don't want to offend anyone, but this behavior looks to me more like that of an addict. They NEED to win, they can't even conceive an approach where they don't — allow me to say desperately — try it, which translates into decks where all the cards need to achieve maximum efficiency. If there was a card that by only including it in the deck makes you win on a roll of 4-6 of the initial die roll, they'll use it.
(I'm not talking about pros here, some pros are part Johnnies — they're the ones who cone up with the innovations, they're the "ingénieurs" of the pro world. Pure Spikes are the pros who create decks who are just collections of strong cards. We must also consider that, as much influential it is, the pro world is far from being the majority of the MTG experience, it's more like the tip of the iceberg).
I think there's an interesting study to be made of the psychological implications of belonging to one or the other of the psychographic profiles, something MaRo never tackled because it's too delicate and risky a topic.
Finally, "fair" and "unfair" are really subjective concepts. An infinite combo is unfair? What about a money card is unfair to a budget player? What about a first-turn Thoughtseize is unfair? Or a second-turn Dark Confidant or Tarmogoyf. Or poison, or milling, or draw-go, or what have you. It's all in the eye of the guy who sits across the table.
Marcos really hits the point that all deck builders need to ask themselves at one point or another:
Why be fair?
Magic, being a "customize-able" game with a winner and a loser, is all about finding something that wins you the game and doing it. That means different things to each of the different formats, but often it means "find the most unfair thing and do it." There is that point that everyone needs to ask themselves - "What is my goal for this format?" If the answer is simply "Win as much as possible" then they need to embrace one of these powerful and unfair things and then learn to execute them to the best of their ability.
Luckily, there are lots of different ways to enjoy the various aspects of the game. There are players like Kuma that enjoy treading the path not taken. This doesn't mean he isn't trying to use strong cards; just different ones. I agree that Magic should be both fun and satisfying! If you aren't enjoying it the way you are playing it, try playing it another way.
As I mentioned in the article, Jund is "fair" in a lot of ways. It can't "insta-win" like some decks can. When players don't have to race to do the unfair thing, then other "fair" decks can try to compete. In Legacy, this happened when G/W Maverick started keeping the Blue Based combo in check, so then people developed decks that could beat Maverick by just going bigger, or including a small "unfair" interaction like Punishing Fire/Grove. Of course, you can always try to trump a "fair" deck like Jund by finding a new "unfair" thing that beats it consistently. Then hopefully the cycle starts again.
Honestly, this concept of "fair" and "unfair" interactions and what they mean to players is something I really want to expand upon. For some it's a hang up, in the same vein as Net-decking, and really inhibits certain growth in the game. It can work against people the other way too.
tl;dr - Being unfair is something that you have to embrace to get better. It's okay if you don't want to; your enjoyment and satisfaction are most important. Keep in mind that Modern does have various "Unfair" decks in the meta and that you need to adapt to both use it and face it.
Then you should look at my decks (and the article mentioned by Procrastination where I theorize them), which are strictly noncombo, and still win PREs on occasions.
As to why: because it's fun and satisfying and enriching.
The Pod isn't broken, but there's no way to use it fairly in Modern. When it was in Standard you would use it as a value card to convert your early creatures into late game threats without having to naturally draw them. The thing is, why would you use Birthing Pod in any fair way in Modern? With the Kiki-Jiki and Melira combos out there, why wouldn't you play them, especially if you're in a DE/PE/GP/PT? The combo is just too good to pass up.
Great thought man i appreciate every bit of it....
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That article is already outdated. :) (I might do a follow-up at some point). Plus, both decks aimed to overextend, not to stop at any station below 6, so I mostly featured dynamic creatures at 5 and I didn't cover all the cases where you may want to stop at a lower finisher.
If you want a good station-5 finisher in black, don't look any further than Bloodgift Demon. Or even Shadowborn Demon, if you can make it work (you might). Orzhov? Well, Blood Baron of Vizkopa, no? What else you need?
A mono-green one... meh, green isn't really that great at finishers after all. Vorapede? Although that clearly invites the presence of a further creature at station 6.
Currently, I'm really enjoying the main-deck Extirpates. People aren't expecting that, I forced a few concessions. I guess in the pro-level meta combo decks aren't that frequent as they are in PREs? (For whatever reason). So nobody embraced this simple trick, that I know about.
Lowering the curve and finishing at CMC 4 is what I'm current at with both Jund (Phyrexian Obliterator) and Bant (Sublime Archangel. Really, there are many occasions where she comes, they can't kill her — possibly because of a well-timed Spellskite or Glen Elendra Archmage — you win).
And of course Chandra was 4 tix 1 month ago, and now it's freaking SIXTEEN. Groan, I really hate this frantic micro-economy sometimes. (She'll go down anyway. They currently use her as a bad drawing engine with a bonus. Once that idea ends or is replaced by something better, she'll find herself without a job).
I agree with Gio, banning the Pod makes no sense, the archetype isn't that played outside of PREs (where there's also a budget consideration, I'm pretty sure that 1st place deck was cheaper than any other in the Top 8).
The Pod is not a broken card, and if anything encourages diversity by itself. It's Melira combo that's too good to pass and therefore ubiquitous in Pod builds. It might make more sense to ban Chord of Calling then (since they already banned GSZ after all). (They won't ban Kiki-Jiki, it's too iconic.)
Oh, I know, there are lots of creatures to think of grabbing. For those that may have missed it, Kuma wrote a great Pod article:
http://puremtgo.com/articles/accidental-player-7-pod-conduct
Even looking through your Pod primer, in BGW the 5 spot is certainly a weaker spot in the chain. Thragtusk is ok, Acidic Slime super flexible, but all in all, 5 is just sort of there. The Archangel certainly gives it some oomph.
At 6 Sunblast Angel is such an unexpected blow out. :) I ran that in my standard Bant Pod back in the day and it really surprised people.
Speaking of Bant Pod, I might build that since it was really a UGW land destruction deck and who doesn't love non-Red LD decks?
Great article,
It was really interesting to see Chandra, Pyromaster in the Jund. And now, it seems Meta of Jund decks are utilizing Chandra, Pyromaster. At least this is something that most of us, didn't see that coming. And I'm wondering whether we may also see Chandra, the Firebrand in some rogue Jund decks.
I'm not that much experienced with Pod type decks as you Guys, still I don't think that banning Melira or CoC will make any significant change, maybe except the Pod itself.
Thanks for your comments.
My Boros deck didn't follow Heroic path, as I wanted to keep it something close to the White Weenie version.
Currently we have lots of options to brew Boros decks with very different approaches. And Heroic path is one of them with different creature base and support spells with multiple targets. I think Heroic decks can be very entertaining deck choices for the casual games. And I'm looking forward to play with them.
I think we may see some rogue Mono White, Boros or Selesnya variant Heroic decks in the Standard. I believe Heroic decks have more chance for the Block rather than the Standard.
I agree with you that Heroic concept is hard to exploit due to its restricted nature. At least Heroic cards are good targets for Aura spells. And I think this can be the loophole (at least for eternal formats). Rancor could be fantastic with them. And I want to try: Whip Silk, Crown of Flames, Conviction, Sun Clasp or Flickering Ward with the Heroic cards.
"As a Melira Pod player, there have been times when I can Pod up to 5cc, but Reveillark or Shriekmaw won't do enough to change the board state"
You know there's plenty of options, right? :)
Versatility is the great thing about the Pod shell. Which, I will never tire of repeat, is what Melira combo and Kiki-Jiki combo choose to exploit — but the shell is open to endless possibilities. Pod players, use your fantasy! We're online, we play PREs, not Grand Prix. You can use some variety and fun in your life — and in your Pod.
I honestly hope they'll decide to ban Melira at some point. That combo is so boring and worn-out by now, yet consistent (it's hard to hate: you can side in all the hate cards you want, the Pod always finds an answer and go on. Most of the times, the opponent only manage to disrupt their own decks with all those cards that dilute their battleplan). Banning Melira wouldn't hurt the shell but force Pod players to embrace something else, at least.
The Archangel combo is nice. I might try it. She's a bit expensive, and bound to stay that way for a long time, but another great thing with the Pod is that you only needs 1 copy of those finishers!
I was surprised that you didn't try to make the Boros list a little more "Heroic" friendly. Sure, Heroic isn't "very good", but now is the time to give the wacky ideas some love!
An undisturbed, Fabled Hero plus Madcap Skills is a 2 turn clock! Boros gets Martial Glory, which aimed properly at A&C + Fabled Hero makes the Hero alone a 7/3 Trample Doublestriker!
Heroic Boros might be the Naya Blitz of this Standard; Explosive yet Inconsistent.
Something I pointed out in my article about the GP, the winning Melira Pod list was the ONLY Pod list in the Top 16. Melira Pod is a very reliable deck, but clearly it is not so much more powerful than any of the other top tier deck choices. It's easy to see it win and go "Won again? Ban something!" but one unlucky round might have meant no Pod at all.
When Survival was tearing up the SCG events, 6/8 decks would be Survival, week after week. That kind of dominance/representation is a problem. (Of course, the European scene was apparently very different from that, so some claim to this day that lazy players and slavish net-decking was the real problem, so who can tell?)
I'm glad that Wizards didn't snap ban anything. Let's see what Theros does for the format and give the meta some time to work itself out.
I love this. I'm a sucker for ancient Greek history/mythology. More please!
RUG is Simic splashing red, that is, UGr. I've never seen an Animar or Wanderer list where red isn't the least used color in the deck. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you look at those 4 RUG decks that you've posted, this will be the case with all of them. So yes, I count Animar and Wanderer as Simic, because the red is just a splash. I will admit that The Mimeoplasm decks can be more varied, and black usually plays as much a role as the other two colors.
I know that in my personal experience, casual or competitive, UG is the most played color combination at the virtual tables that I sit in, bar none. Seeing the same cards over and over is annoying. Making one of, if not THE best Theros commander card UG is only going to worsen things.
And yes, the hydra challenge is real! I was going to offer the same challenge for gorgon tribal but decided that I want a crack at it myself :)
Classic managed to fire two events this past weekend and shockingly one of them was won by something other than a shop deck.
Curse you and your logic, Pete!
I agree with you 100% on the prize structure issue. You always bring a nice, rational though process to these kinds of discussions, and I appreciate it, even in the times where I don't agree with you. Well done.
Should flavor outweigh mechanics? No. Sure you can make cards top down, but this is horrible. I'm gald we can agree the card shouldn't have been printed. And flavor wise, the sailors were still there! They didn't disappear, or get replaced. It was them, but just in pig form!
You want something flavorful? Morph each creature targeted. They're still 2/2s, they still die, you get the same effect. Basically, it's a permanent Turn to Frog, but really a Turn to Pig. If they think people are too dumb to figure this out, then DON'T PRINT IT!
Wizards periodically sends them to the email address associated with your account.
Look at that, I'm blind
I understand where you're coming from, I had the same reaction when I saw the card. But the Melvin in me also understands (and in fact complained in the past) that mechanically if you want to convey a transformation, you NEED to exile the card. Otherwise it's a destruction effect, and that's something blue can't do and should never do. If this card said "destroy X creatures", it would be even MORE wrong, despite being (arguably) less powerful. (Blue also shouldn't exile a creature without giving you another creature in exchange. I'm sure MaRo will discuss the card next week in these terms.)
Re: the flavor. What's wrong with it? That's just perfect, because Circe didn't transform just one sailor or two. She transformed all of them. And she was very clearly blue.
So, power level = wrong. Flavor = great. Color pie = correct. At least mechanically. Or better, it's what the blue side of the color pie should have done with Pongify and Rapid Hybridization as well, while those are the mechanical failures (and there were complains about it), because you can't design a card that's supposed to represent a transformation and then allow for the transformed creature to be reanimated. That's not how you do it.
Now, the problem is: should have they done it? No, they probably shouldn't have. THIS is the real issue, about which we can agree. It takes away one of the major weaknesses of blue, and that's wrong. At the very least, it's wrongly costed, it should be more something like XXUUU (or even better, XUB).
Then again, Doctor Anime is right: look at those pig tokens! Just look at them! They're adorable! How can you be mad at blue for giving you those? :)
Looks like City of Traitors should be in the lands and wasn't counted in the total.
How do you get an account summary? Sounds sweet.
It's in the sideboard, as a wish target.
Thanks for the info!