What I've been doing is buying a ton of 5c rares - like Nephalia's Drownyard, Runechanter's Pike and Parallel Lives (of course, when I got those, they were each a nickle a piece) in the hopes of another Splinter Twin. I had 5 splinter twins when they exploded with a 10000% increase, and even if only a few hit smaller levels of that explosion, I'll still be a happy man. Already, Runechanter has gone up almost 10 times its purchased value. It's the cheapest form of speculation. I got pretty decent returns with Honor Of the Pure - snapped up a dozen each @ 10c before Innistrad, and look at what they're at now :-D
I did also gamble with the Scars Duals - I bought them back when Darkslick Shores was only a buck and Seacrome was 2 bucks, but those were no-brainers. Any dual under a buck is a steal :-D I'm waiting for the Innistrad ones to drop more before buying, and just hoping I don't miss the floor.
I've playtested extensively with Grimoire of the Dead and it's a very good card. It should find a home in most Commander decks. I feel its value is very low at anything below 3. I also noticed that the majority of the older mythic creatures stay at around 3 tix. Maelstrom Archangel is a good example. Is he a Reanimator target? I haven't seen that, so I can't figure out why this card should be at 3 tix when you can only play it in a limited number of Commander decks.
All the dual lands should be played in Modern once the next season starts up. I've been acquiring a few here and there and haven't been disappointed with the results. They should only go up if the next Ravnica block reprints the shock lands. These are more valuable, but with the one-drop devil with four power lurking in the format, I don't know if players are going to want to take the life hit all the time.
I have also tried speculating on Kessig Wolf Run, but so far no luck. It's holding steady at a bulk rare price, something I don't expect to continue when we lose Birthing Pod and the swords in standard. Sword of War and Peace should be played in Modern- it's good against storm and urzatron, but maybe not so good against Pod. I could see it being slapped onto a Tarmogoyf. Remember that Dark Confidant is drawing you cards every turn in a zoo deck.
Past in Flames is a Modern staple. Buy now, buy hard. Every Grapeshot deck plays it because it's that strong. It's amazingly cheap and you could make a profit of at least 3 to 4 tix on each one once the Modern season starts up again.
Just wanted to note, it isn't so much that specifically a lot of blue makes games long.
Multiple control decks do.
Just like the decks that tend to take the long turns/chain of turns that bore people are usually the click intensive combo decks.
Not that I'm suggesting everyone should only be turning dudes sideways to win.
Most of the decks I play have the option to do so but not the need.
When I do turn dudes sideways, I prefer them to be big dudes.
To save time clicking a horde of 1/X's, 2/X's, etc.
Not that everyone should, just saying it saves time.
It may come off fanboyish, but PV writes as well as or better than all of the included writers (except flores on his best day maybe). It's not really fair that he's as good as he is and is a great writer too.
I have to agree with Paulo on this one. Some of the more popular theorists can be entertaining reads from time to time though. I would not ever get down on Flores for it, he has had some success and been in the game a long time. What can bother me is I feel like the attitude is getting taken one step further and the "talking head" attitude is coming into magic from sports talk. I see many statements about how a certain card is bad, or someone is dumb for playing something in a tournament, or how all you have to do to win in a format is do x. I see it often in the Just for Fun room or on many forums, and fear that judging and making loud statements about being right is becoming more common than trying to play through wins and losses and actually test yourself to figure out what will work.
Looking at the cube drafts make me miss them, and I wish I was in one right now. I would of went a totally different way in your first cube though. I would of slammed firestorm, and feel it is one of the best draft bombs ever. From there it would of probably leaked into Red/Green.
Id like to point out that people can offer personal bounties such as the one I did. I think Erik really loved that kind of thing and so I offered up a plateau for the best placing RDW (not counting anything I might bring) deck in the US tourney. It would be great to see more personal bounties offered.
Keep hold of the lands. Just about every colour-fixing land printed has ended up being worth more than you paid for them. The more recently printed a land is, the less its worth, but in 6-12 months they will be established in decks across a standard and modern and even if you can't turn them into big money, they will have a higher value than now.
It seems to me that what the theorists are talking about is rather more interesting when they are discussing how to build a deck in the environment than it is when they are talking how to pilot said deck. Being a superior pilot, Paulo probably has a better viewpoint of how these decks play out in actual combat. (I haven't read his stuff so I can only take your word on the writing bit, but that does sound a little fanboyish of you to claim, since all the other writers mentioned are top flight mtg writers.) And thus may be right more often. That doesn't mean the theories are worthless. Rather they occasionally outshine (Xmas Wonderland anyone?) the more prosaic decks.
I suspect the theorists are better at coming up with new ideas based on their (perhaps flawed) theories than Paulo is, where is none of them are very great players. They have had successes which qualify them to speak on the sport at all at that level, and I think it is more a matter of what is important to them rather than potential quality. One of the things that makes a good theorist is someone who is willing to be wrong. You have to propose an idea, try it out, test it, see where it goes and a lot of times it will go nowhere. This is a different process than finding the most obvious best deck in the field and just grinding with it. A great player may shortcut some of those processes by ignoring all the subtle differences a theorist might try and go straight for the best kill option that they can see.
Well that's my 2.5 cents without having read a single tweat that you mentioned.
Thanks Paul! I haven't really seen the combo being talked about much, but I'm sure I'm not the only person to think of it. Getting increasingly keen on the addition of Solemn Simulacrum, and possibly even Vampire Nighthawk as something which becomes very good with the addition of Undying.
That is a valid point except that Larry Bird was not this AMAZING physical specimen; sure he had a lot of talent, but it was hard work and brains that made him amazing (along with hand-eye coordination I guess). For another comparison, you might talk about a CEO compared to a professor; the CEO is DOING it, but the professor can theorize and dissect the CEO's time as head of the company maybe more accurately than the CEO. I'm playing devil's advocate here mostly, I tend to agree with Paulo.
I was lucky enough to meet Hamtastic in person at Pro Tour Austin. What a great guy! I wouldn't miss the chance to celebrate his life. Sign me up, me screen name on MTGO is Felorin!
Scarscale is quite clever with Undying. Undying itself is a little underrepresented at the moment so the applications aren't too great but the idea is solid. Certainly better than Fumespitter. Fun article. :D
I agree, play blue if you want, but you have to be careful if you want a quick game. Not only does blue have lots of instants, but it has lots of time walks. There is nothing worse than sitting through someone taking multiple multiple turns. One extra is okay, but stringing together 2+ usually makes me leave the game just out of boredom.
Although there is one offender that is much worse. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger. If you want to bring games to a crawl, use this card. Not only does is pretty much make opponents play at half speed, it puts a trigger on the stack EVERY TIME you tap a land for mana. If he doesn't go away soon, I usually concede because I have better things to do with my time that deal with that many triggers.
TheCardNexus has pledged 100 tickets bot credit, which will be distributed 15-11-6-6-3-3-3-3 at both Events!
What I've been doing is buying a ton of 5c rares - like Nephalia's Drownyard, Runechanter's Pike and Parallel Lives (of course, when I got those, they were each a nickle a piece) in the hopes of another Splinter Twin. I had 5 splinter twins when they exploded with a 10000% increase, and even if only a few hit smaller levels of that explosion, I'll still be a happy man. Already, Runechanter has gone up almost 10 times its purchased value. It's the cheapest form of speculation. I got pretty decent returns with Honor Of the Pure - snapped up a dozen each @ 10c before Innistrad, and look at what they're at now :-D
I did also gamble with the Scars Duals - I bought them back when Darkslick Shores was only a buck and Seacrome was 2 bucks, but those were no-brainers. Any dual under a buck is a steal :-D I'm waiting for the Innistrad ones to drop more before buying, and just hoping I don't miss the floor.
I've playtested extensively with Grimoire of the Dead and it's a very good card. It should find a home in most Commander decks. I feel its value is very low at anything below 3. I also noticed that the majority of the older mythic creatures stay at around 3 tix. Maelstrom Archangel is a good example. Is he a Reanimator target? I haven't seen that, so I can't figure out why this card should be at 3 tix when you can only play it in a limited number of Commander decks.
All the dual lands should be played in Modern once the next season starts up. I've been acquiring a few here and there and haven't been disappointed with the results. They should only go up if the next Ravnica block reprints the shock lands. These are more valuable, but with the one-drop devil with four power lurking in the format, I don't know if players are going to want to take the life hit all the time.
I have also tried speculating on Kessig Wolf Run, but so far no luck. It's holding steady at a bulk rare price, something I don't expect to continue when we lose Birthing Pod and the swords in standard. Sword of War and Peace should be played in Modern- it's good against storm and urzatron, but maybe not so good against Pod. I could see it being slapped onto a Tarmogoyf. Remember that Dark Confidant is drawing you cards every turn in a zoo deck.
Past in Flames is a Modern staple. Buy now, buy hard. Every Grapeshot deck plays it because it's that strong. It's amazingly cheap and you could make a profit of at least 3 to 4 tix on each one once the Modern season starts up again.
If you're inducing rage quits then you know you're doing something right!
That's a beautiful one sentence story. Perfect illustration of how every game like that should go.
Made a Mikeaus commander deck to try out what I could do with undying.
The short answer is: induce rage quits.
Just wanted to note, it isn't so much that specifically a lot of blue makes games long.
Multiple control decks do.
Just like the decks that tend to take the long turns/chain of turns that bore people are usually the click intensive combo decks.
Not that I'm suggesting everyone should only be turning dudes sideways to win.
Most of the decks I play have the option to do so but not the need.
When I do turn dudes sideways, I prefer them to be big dudes.
To save time clicking a horde of 1/X's, 2/X's, etc.
Not that everyone should, just saying it saves time.
I think the Shoath deck lost to me. I definitely remember him playing Show and Tell with him showing Emrakul, me showing Sower, and him saying GG.
Hey if it's true that's impressive. :) I wouldn't say its not fair... though the bilingual aspect is more impressive still.
It may come off fanboyish, but PV writes as well as or better than all of the included writers (except flores on his best day maybe). It's not really fair that he's as good as he is and is a great writer too.
Added as #26.
I have to agree with Paulo on this one. Some of the more popular theorists can be entertaining reads from time to time though. I would not ever get down on Flores for it, he has had some success and been in the game a long time. What can bother me is I feel like the attitude is getting taken one step further and the "talking head" attitude is coming into magic from sports talk. I see many statements about how a certain card is bad, or someone is dumb for playing something in a tournament, or how all you have to do to win in a format is do x. I see it often in the Just for Fun room or on many forums, and fear that judging and making loud statements about being right is becoming more common than trying to play through wins and losses and actually test yourself to figure out what will work.
Looking at the cube drafts make me miss them, and I wish I was in one right now. I would of went a totally different way in your first cube though. I would of slammed firestorm, and feel it is one of the best draft bombs ever. From there it would of probably leaked into Red/Green.
Sign me up! huffy henry = user name.
Id like to point out that people can offer personal bounties such as the one I did. I think Erik really loved that kind of thing and so I offered up a plateau for the best placing RDW (not counting anything I might bring) deck in the US tourney. It would be great to see more personal bounties offered.
Keep hold of the lands. Just about every colour-fixing land printed has ended up being worth more than you paid for them. The more recently printed a land is, the less its worth, but in 6-12 months they will be established in decks across a standard and modern and even if you can't turn them into big money, they will have a higher value than now.
It seems to me that what the theorists are talking about is rather more interesting when they are discussing how to build a deck in the environment than it is when they are talking how to pilot said deck. Being a superior pilot, Paulo probably has a better viewpoint of how these decks play out in actual combat. (I haven't read his stuff so I can only take your word on the writing bit, but that does sound a little fanboyish of you to claim, since all the other writers mentioned are top flight mtg writers.) And thus may be right more often. That doesn't mean the theories are worthless. Rather they occasionally outshine (Xmas Wonderland anyone?) the more prosaic decks.
I suspect the theorists are better at coming up with new ideas based on their (perhaps flawed) theories than Paulo is, where is none of them are very great players. They have had successes which qualify them to speak on the sport at all at that level, and I think it is more a matter of what is important to them rather than potential quality. One of the things that makes a good theorist is someone who is willing to be wrong. You have to propose an idea, try it out, test it, see where it goes and a lot of times it will go nowhere. This is a different process than finding the most obvious best deck in the field and just grinding with it. A great player may shortcut some of those processes by ignoring all the subtle differences a theorist might try and go straight for the best kill option that they can see.
Well that's my 2.5 cents without having read a single tweat that you mentioned.
Thanks Paul! I haven't really seen the combo being talked about much, but I'm sure I'm not the only person to think of it. Getting increasingly keen on the addition of Solemn Simulacrum, and possibly even Vampire Nighthawk as something which becomes very good with the addition of Undying.
That is a valid point except that Larry Bird was not this AMAZING physical specimen; sure he had a lot of talent, but it was hard work and brains that made him amazing (along with hand-eye coordination I guess). For another comparison, you might talk about a CEO compared to a professor; the CEO is DOING it, but the professor can theorize and dissect the CEO's time as head of the company maybe more accurately than the CEO. I'm playing devil's advocate here mostly, I tend to agree with Paulo.
In response to a question about the mtgo release date of rtr worth posted the following:
@mtgonline: there's a reason, they will be more tightly integrated in the future and dates coming soon for RTR
Does he mean that there may be less release lag???
I was lucky enough to meet Hamtastic in person at Pro Tour Austin. What a great guy! I wouldn't miss the chance to celebrate his life. Sign me up, me screen name on MTGO is Felorin!
Awesome, thanks for the quick response and entry!
Sweet, thanks
Scarscale is quite clever with Undying. Undying itself is a little underrepresented at the moment so the applications aren't too great but the idea is solid. Certainly better than Fumespitter. Fun article. :D
I agree, play blue if you want, but you have to be careful if you want a quick game. Not only does blue have lots of instants, but it has lots of time walks. There is nothing worse than sitting through someone taking multiple multiple turns. One extra is okay, but stringing together 2+ usually makes me leave the game just out of boredom.
Although there is one offender that is much worse. Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger. If you want to bring games to a crawl, use this card. Not only does is pretty much make opponents play at half speed, it puts a trigger on the stack EVERY TIME you tap a land for mana. If he doesn't go away soon, I usually concede because I have better things to do with my time that deal with that many triggers.
Done