Can someone explain the Enduring Ideal deck to me? I sort of get it, you cast Enduring Ideal and get Form of the Dragon to do 5 per turn, Dovescape protects you from noncreature spells and Curse of Deaths Hold protects you from dove tokens. But what if...
1. You have Curse of Deaths Hold in your hand (no black mana to cast it)
2. Your opponent pecks you to death with dove tokens, or you know, 5 power worth of his own flying creatures
3. Has a Pridemage or something to destroy Curse of Deaths Hold
4. You're playing this deck before Innistrad came out and you don't have Curse to protect you from dove tokens.
And what does the Augur of Bolas do? You don't have black mana, you only have the other Augur or a bird token to sacrifice, and you only draw 2 from it...
I don't really get how this wins games against non-goldfishes.
Great article - good to see classic getting more coverage. well presented and fantastic insight.
Enjoyed this and wish more articles on Puremtgo were at this level.
It's not a card I would stick to for long. It can lose its novelty very quickly as with most techy sideboards after people learn to adapt to it.
I would definitely run something with more raw power the next time we meet. (Revenge match!)
I think it's in the COC because there is no real way to enforce an agreement with such a nature. You can't really have players flocking to Wotc people to lodge a complain against an agreement that has been gone against.
You could have splits and play out (for a better payout than 6 pax) or not. It is something that only 3-0 people have the opportunity to meddle with that is worth it. There are some risks involved for sure since you really have only the person's word to take for it.
You can slowly slowly get into classic by getting classic cards slowly and building up your collection while focusing on formats you're good at. :)
Something that I've wondered. How is a split arranged without violating the COC? Is it that if one person suggests it, then the other concedes and receives a known split from the winner? Or can it be discussed in chat (I didn't think you could)?
I love Classic, but I am not a competitive player and don't have the time or budget to join DEs.
I definitely should have mentioned that the league will continue past the current season. I'm hoping to be able to play in #2. The generosity of people in the league is fantastic. Take a look at the prize pool that has been donated, even by some people not participating, including Wizards.
Great write up. It's good to see all of the Classic articles and enthusiasm for the format. You had mentioned some of the efforts to fire DE's over at CQ, but I also wanted to mention the large PRE/League we are running over the next 10 months. We are nearing the end of our Qualifier Tournament #1, but there are 3 more to follow and the next one starts in about 5 weeks (once RTR has been released onto MTGO). More inforamtion for anyone interested can be found here:
I haven't played in the wide beta. I am holding my breath until they "fix" some things however I may break down and download it so I can write something about it. I feel that a lot of people have hit the mark at least partially and that Wizards does not seem to be responding to the feedback. It would be nice if there was more two way communication on this after the last beta client fiasco. We certainly don't want v4 forced down our throats as it is now and while I appreciate the time given as leeway to get used to it before being told its this or nothing I dont want to end up getting that same message 6 months from now and feel like nothing is a better choice.
As much as I like War Falcon (I even dedicated a previous article to it), I don't think picking it would've been right. Pick 31 1st War Falcon or 1st Farseek, 4 soldier/knights, Farseek is better imo. Pick 37, 2nd Timberpack Wolf or 1st War Falcon, still 4 soldier/knights, Wolf is the easy pick. And those were my only chances at a late War Falcon, I think. I could've taken an Attended Knight over Centaur Courser, but even then, 5 knight/soldiers is a bit risky.
A good amount of those cards you mention are scary. Mind Sculpt is absolutely not one of those. You could say I was unlucky that I didn't get that played against me :P
Yup, I definitely got lucky this draft. That's the reality of winning a draft. Luck's a major factor, from lowly players like me to pro players like LSV. Thankfully luck sided in my favor this time. I assure you, this is not always the case!
Wow you got a lot in here! Is there any way you can add more deck lists next time though? All joking aside, good stuff. Abd you know how much I like the drawings.
Since it wasn't directly stated in the original article I will make a side note that Multiplayer games have been moved a while back into the same room as Casual 1v1 games.
Congrats on the win. It was indeed a pretty weak pool, and you never saw any of the good cards you passed played against you, so not sure what was up with that. You passed Flames of the Firebrand, Searing Spear, Switcheroo (2), Cower in Fear(2), Public Execution, Cathedral of War, Flinthoof Boar(2), Crimson Muckwader, the Green Ring, Unsummon, the Black Ring, Mind Sculpt (4), Faery Invaders, Stuffy Doll, and Harbor Bandit, but none was ever played against you. By comparison, you played Serra Angel, Rancor, and Healer of the Pride several times each. You also got disgustingly lucky playing turn 2-wolf, turn 3-wolf more than once (with only 2 wolves in your deck).
Anyway, the only really noteworthy mistake you made during the draft was completely ignoring the War Falcons that you could have nabbed late. The Falcons can be a little situational, but this is the kind of deck where they shine. You had 4 (but could have had more) sources of Knights/Soldiers, and so they really deserved some discussion.
Yea I forgot to add that I'm sorry that this took so long to publish. I'm now a student at a local college and this article suffered in time base from my first weeks. Any ways I wanted to say thank you for your paticent with me.
I love your philosophy on playable decks and it is one that I share. If it isn't fun, I don't play it. If it doesn't catch my opponent off guard - I don't play it. True, most of those decks wont win any tournaments, but like you said "Losing isn't a good incentive to keep competing" and I totally agree. Great article!
Can someone explain the Enduring Ideal deck to me? I sort of get it, you cast Enduring Ideal and get Form of the Dragon to do 5 per turn, Dovescape protects you from noncreature spells and Curse of Deaths Hold protects you from dove tokens. But what if...
1. You have Curse of Deaths Hold in your hand (no black mana to cast it)
2. Your opponent pecks you to death with dove tokens, or you know, 5 power worth of his own flying creatures
3. Has a Pridemage or something to destroy Curse of Deaths Hold
4. You're playing this deck before Innistrad came out and you don't have Curse to protect you from dove tokens.
And what does the Augur of Bolas do? You don't have black mana, you only have the other Augur or a bird token to sacrifice, and you only draw 2 from it...
I don't really get how this wins games against non-goldfishes.
Great article - good to see classic getting more coverage. well presented and fantastic insight.
Enjoyed this and wish more articles on Puremtgo were at this level.
It's not a card I would stick to for long. It can lose its novelty very quickly as with most techy sideboards after people learn to adapt to it.
I would definitely run something with more raw power the next time we meet. (Revenge match!)
I think it's in the COC because there is no real way to enforce an agreement with such a nature. You can't really have players flocking to Wotc people to lodge a complain against an agreement that has been gone against.
You could have splits and play out (for a better payout than 6 pax) or not. It is something that only 3-0 people have the opportunity to meddle with that is worth it. There are some risks involved for sure since you really have only the person's word to take for it.
You can slowly slowly get into classic by getting classic cards slowly and building up your collection while focusing on formats you're good at. :)
I tend to think that there are plenty of Standard-legal cards that should be played in Classic. Looking forward to you Huntmastering me out in QT #2.
should be banned entirely everywhere. :)
Double Posted
Something that I've wondered. How is a split arranged without violating the COC? Is it that if one person suggests it, then the other concedes and receives a known split from the winner? Or can it be discussed in chat (I didn't think you could)?
I love Classic, but I am not a competitive player and don't have the time or budget to join DEs.
Small note: Skred only hits creatures.
Vraska's -3 is probably what caught my eye the most after that sick +1 ability. I want to see a competitive Modern rock deck with her.
Blippy as a fellow lover of modern I must say that your my deck making hero.
Watch me, I'll be doing Doubling Season into Vraska into 6 Assassin tokens into "Now deal with it" as soon as possible!
Take some of that Tundra home, it'll be good for your collection rebuilding.
For those interested in the deck lists from the third tourney, they are here:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnlineTourn.aspx?x=mtg/digital...
I definitely should have mentioned that the league will continue past the current season. I'm hoping to be able to play in #2. The generosity of people in the league is fantastic. Take a look at the prize pool that has been donated, even by some people not participating, including Wizards.
Great write up. It's good to see all of the Classic articles and enthusiasm for the format. You had mentioned some of the efforts to fire DE's over at CQ, but I also wanted to mention the large PRE/League we are running over the next 10 months. We are nearing the end of our Qualifier Tournament #1, but there are 3 more to follow and the next one starts in about 5 weeks (once RTR has been released onto MTGO). More inforamtion for anyone interested can be found here:
http://www.classicquarter.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4668
Emrakul is banned entirely in commander so yay. :) Nice effort! :D
Congrats on your new machine! :D
I haven't played in the wide beta. I am holding my breath until they "fix" some things however I may break down and download it so I can write something about it. I feel that a lot of people have hit the mark at least partially and that Wizards does not seem to be responding to the feedback. It would be nice if there was more two way communication on this after the last beta client fiasco. We certainly don't want v4 forced down our throats as it is now and while I appreciate the time given as leeway to get used to it before being told its this or nothing I dont want to end up getting that same message 6 months from now and feel like nothing is a better choice.
As much as I like War Falcon (I even dedicated a previous article to it), I don't think picking it would've been right. Pick 31 1st War Falcon or 1st Farseek, 4 soldier/knights, Farseek is better imo. Pick 37, 2nd Timberpack Wolf or 1st War Falcon, still 4 soldier/knights, Wolf is the easy pick. And those were my only chances at a late War Falcon, I think. I could've taken an Attended Knight over Centaur Courser, but even then, 5 knight/soldiers is a bit risky.
A good amount of those cards you mention are scary. Mind Sculpt is absolutely not one of those. You could say I was unlucky that I didn't get that played against me :P
Yup, I definitely got lucky this draft. That's the reality of winning a draft. Luck's a major factor, from lowly players like me to pro players like LSV. Thankfully luck sided in my favor this time. I assure you, this is not always the case!
Wow you got a lot in here! Is there any way you can add more deck lists next time though? All joking aside, good stuff. Abd you know how much I like the drawings.
Since it wasn't directly stated in the original article I will make a side note that Multiplayer games have been moved a while back into the same room as Casual 1v1 games.
Here are the cards that will be up to win in the Heirloom Classic event on the 16th in addition to the normal store credit prizes:
Runner up will receive a Diamond Valley and a foil Dragonstorm from the FTV set.
The winner will receive a Mana Drain.
Gl guys-
Congrats on the win. It was indeed a pretty weak pool, and you never saw any of the good cards you passed played against you, so not sure what was up with that. You passed Flames of the Firebrand, Searing Spear, Switcheroo (2), Cower in Fear(2), Public Execution, Cathedral of War, Flinthoof Boar(2), Crimson Muckwader, the Green Ring, Unsummon, the Black Ring, Mind Sculpt (4), Faery Invaders, Stuffy Doll, and Harbor Bandit, but none was ever played against you. By comparison, you played Serra Angel, Rancor, and Healer of the Pride several times each. You also got disgustingly lucky playing turn 2-wolf, turn 3-wolf more than once (with only 2 wolves in your deck).
Anyway, the only really noteworthy mistake you made during the draft was completely ignoring the War Falcons that you could have nabbed late. The Falcons can be a little situational, but this is the kind of deck where they shine. You had 4 (but could have had more) sources of Knights/Soldiers, and so they really deserved some discussion.
Yea I forgot to add that I'm sorry that this took so long to publish. I'm now a student at a local college and this article suffered in time base from my first weeks. Any ways I wanted to say thank you for your paticent with me.
Thanks for the comments guys. :D
Good stuff Paul!
I love the rich amount of content in each of your articles. The decks also look pretty fun!
I love your philosophy on playable decks and it is one that I share. If it isn't fun, I don't play it. If it doesn't catch my opponent off guard - I don't play it. True, most of those decks wont win any tournaments, but like you said "Losing isn't a good incentive to keep competing" and I totally agree. Great article!