I'm always very glad to see the "4 fetch+1 dual+1 shock" approach, because it's not only budget-friendly, it's also totally functional.
Good point about the Elves vs. Goblins on regard of the Hall of Fame. I think I'll do this: player points will be awarded as usual, but I'll give a fixed amount of points (maybe attendance x2) to either Elf or Goblin, depending on which of the two tribes will perform better in the end, i.e. which tribe won the "showdown" (I'll have to work out the results of each round separately from the player standings, since each player is simultaneously both a Goblin and an Elf player).
Btw, great news are coming about what that Hall of Fame was for. Blippy and I have just worked out the 1st Tribal Apocalypse invitational, and it will be sweet. Stay tuned for more info.
It has improved. However there are a couple times when you hear the mic being bashed/brushed against. Not that it's a big deal. I am always intrigued by your comments while the game is in motion. The one complaint if any is valid would be that you don't always pace the comments with play (I guess because you are spending that time to think instead). This means there are areas of dead air (near silence.) I am not sure this matters much except as something to note.
While Id rather see you take on standard, block has its own charms and it is cool to see your decks in action there.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Actually if you compare the sound of the last two or three videos to the first ones, you will also realize that the voice quality is a bit better. I recorded all the videos in the article within a 10-12 days time frame, and at the end I finally learned to remove the microphone away while I'm not speaking. That seems to be working for now.
'Thank you for continuing the discussion, please understand that there are many details here that I can't share publicly.
Rest assured that these cases have been fully investigated and the links are solid. Based on our findings, we are urging users to discontinue use of this bot, and to change all passwords affiliated with accounts that have run it. This is especially important if you have used the same password for any other sites and services. If you've done this, please pick a new, strong password, which is not reused across multiple services.' dated 4 days ago, posted by WOTC_Xan.
Is anyone actually surprised that once again mtgolibrary bots are having issues? I am def not surprised at all. I stopped using any bots that use the mtgolibrary software back when the first cbsbot problems appeared. Unsafe bots. Majority of bots using the software are scambots (pay nothing, trying to buy mythics at .05, etc). And the bots couldnt even trade with one of my accounts because it has spaces in the name.... Spaces in the name is too much for them to handle, that says it all
I considered going that particular route, but I don't think the Zombies are strong enough to warrant it. Armored Skaab in particular is not as good as Forbidden Alchemy, since you don't actually get to do anything with the cards you draw other than put them in the bin. If the quality of Zombies is better as the block progresses, this could prove to be a better way to go, although I still think Forbidden Alchemy would be a cornerstone of such a deck.
I have to disagree with two of your card choices. And beg to differ on Garruk too :p Grimgrin has some small potential to be good. It is I agree probably more for the Commander and Casual crowd (Oozegrin?) but I suspect it might be better than advertised.
The other card I suspect may be slightly better than you deem is Heartless Summoning. Sure it makes all those mana dorks just dead but I am fairly certain it is seeing play in some pod variations. (Which in itself is not top tier at the moment but may become more so as other decks fall by the way side.) I think it will be a house once people figure out how to abuse it. Ok maybe not a house. A cottage? Well you get the idea.
There's 9 ways to recur a creature in standard, gravedigger, ghoulraiser, ghoulcaller's chant, disentomb, morbid plunder, remember the fallen, salvage scout, woodland sleuth, corpse cur. Maybe you could do an artifact infect recursion build using the 3 effects available to white?
I may give your deck a spin, but I prefer Armored Skaab to Forbidden Alchemy because getting a creature as part of the package is always value in pauper. Not only that, but it's a Zombie. Also, Ghoulcaller's chant in a Zombie deck is powerful card advantage. Anyway, there's a great nucleus of a deck based on Zombies:
There's a shortage of quality zombies, what I'd like to see out of the next set is a 1 drop zombie. My version uses Delver of Secrets instead, and the rest of the deck is removal and draw.
I think there may be room for 1 to 2 Forbidden Alchemy since I struggle to fill the yard with just 4 effects, or I could use your idea of fume spitter.
One thing you can do without changing hardware/software is to enable a "push to talk" button.
This would eliminate the random breathing being recorded while you aren't speaking.
And, with active use, enable you to cut out your own breathing while speaking.
The downside would be when you forget to use the talk button.
Some microphones/headsets have a mute or press to talk feature built in already.
Also you could try moving the mic away from your face a bit.
If they ran rogue elephant in an 8 land deck and it worked for them, well that's good and all, but I don't think that was/is a good idea at all... In all honesty I still don't think its needed even after trying him in some games. But that's just personal preference.
@Scion: To be honest, I don't think its the best deck in the format. But its basically a fair version of poison and I think its fine to play in the format right now. If I had gleeful sabotage ahead of time and I had drawn fog in game 3(or put it in game 2 like I should have) I would have won.
Very nice, good content. I always considered rocking a Jund list but I just can't convince myself to do it. Great videos.
As for your audio problem. What recording software do you use? FRAPS? I don't think you'll find a solution through better software, but rather better hardware. I know it's an investment but take a look at the Logitech G35 headset. It's a tad pricey, but after making the purchase I don't regret it AT ALL. The mic has built in noise canceling and there's a mute button right on the ear piece. I can't recommend it enough.
We don't have a date for its online release yet, but I'd be surprised if they kept this one offline. The Slivers deck is one of the great oddities of Magic Online: It was never released in the store, only as prizes, for one event (foil Alara drafts, details here: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/011...), for one day, almost two years ago.
At the very least, we'll see Graveborn sets as prizes for the winter celebration event at the turn of the year.
Sorry, can't listen to the podcast yet, but since it looks like you guys are talking about Graveborn, is it actually coming out online? Did that Slivers deck ever get released online? I just like some of the new art and want to know.
I got to be in someone's video and even win in it! I just don't think MGA is good in the format right now. I don't see it favorable in any of the major arch-types right now. The green/black deck you played against is appears to be a bad version of a tortured existence deck, at least that's my guess.
Way back when, Rogue Elephant was a mainstay in the old Senor Stompy decks.
You were talking about how bad it hurts if you lose him in an 18-land deck.
Back then, they ran Rogue Elephant in 8-land decks. The deck was mana-efficient
to the point that it could lose a forest on the first turn and it didn't cripple
the deck.
Stephen Fry was in Jeeves and Wooster with his good friend Hugh Laurie (of House fame).
If you ever get a chance to catch those old TV shows, it's definitely worthwhile.
Of course, it also helps if you are a fan of British humor, P.G. Wodehouse, or both.
I'm always very glad to see the "4 fetch+1 dual+1 shock" approach, because it's not only budget-friendly, it's also totally functional.
Good point about the Elves vs. Goblins on regard of the Hall of Fame. I think I'll do this: player points will be awarded as usual, but I'll give a fixed amount of points (maybe attendance x2) to either Elf or Goblin, depending on which of the two tribes will perform better in the end, i.e. which tribe won the "showdown" (I'll have to work out the results of each round separately from the player standings, since each player is simultaneously both a Goblin and an Elf player).
Btw, great news are coming about what that Hall of Fame was for. Blippy and I have just worked out the 1st Tribal Apocalypse invitational, and it will be sweet. Stay tuned for more info.
Yeah, but that would be so last week. :)
They are not yet in the MTGO traders database.
that Modern deck is aching for some Fauna Shamans!
It has improved. However there are a couple times when you hear the mic being bashed/brushed against. Not that it's a big deal. I am always intrigued by your comments while the game is in motion. The one complaint if any is valid would be that you don't always pace the comments with play (I guess because you are spending that time to think instead). This means there are areas of dead air (near silence.) I am not sure this matters much except as something to note.
While Id rather see you take on standard, block has its own charms and it is cool to see your decks in action there.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Actually if you compare the sound of the last two or three videos to the first ones, you will also realize that the voice quality is a bit better. I recorded all the videos in the article within a 10-12 days time frame, and at the end I finally learned to remove the microphone away while I'm not speaking. That seems to be working for now.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
LE
Not a report as such, but there are several quotes from WOTC staff on the official boards, here:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75846/28674615/Bot_Malware_A...
Highlights include:
'Thank you for continuing the discussion, please understand that there are many details here that I can't share publicly.
Rest assured that these cases have been fully investigated and the links are solid. Based on our findings, we are urging users to discontinue use of this bot, and to change all passwords affiliated with accounts that have run it. This is especially important if you have used the same password for any other sites and services. If you've done this, please pick a new, strong password, which is not reused across multiple services.' dated 4 days ago, posted by WOTC_Xan.
Is there any actual reports tho other than the announcement re: these issues w/ the mtgolib bot?
Just all I seen is old chat and a new alert come up on the mtgo homepage..
Would be interested in the more specifics if anyone has a link to a current issue someone has experienced.
Keep up the good work on the podcast guys too
Is anyone actually surprised that once again mtgolibrary bots are having issues? I am def not surprised at all. I stopped using any bots that use the mtgolibrary software back when the first cbsbot problems appeared. Unsafe bots. Majority of bots using the software are scambots (pay nothing, trying to buy mythics at .05, etc). And the bots couldnt even trade with one of my accounts because it has spaces in the name.... Spaces in the name is too much for them to handle, that says it all
I considered going that particular route, but I don't think the Zombies are strong enough to warrant it. Armored Skaab in particular is not as good as Forbidden Alchemy, since you don't actually get to do anything with the cards you draw other than put them in the bin. If the quality of Zombies is better as the block progresses, this could prove to be a better way to go, although I still think Forbidden Alchemy would be a cornerstone of such a deck.
I agree... but I wrote this exclusively pertaining to ISD block constructed :)
I have to disagree with two of your card choices. And beg to differ on Garruk too :p Grimgrin has some small potential to be good. It is I agree probably more for the Commander and Casual crowd (Oozegrin?) but I suspect it might be better than advertised.
The other card I suspect may be slightly better than you deem is Heartless Summoning. Sure it makes all those mana dorks just dead but I am fairly certain it is seeing play in some pod variations. (Which in itself is not top tier at the moment but may become more so as other decks fall by the way side.) I think it will be a house once people figure out how to abuse it. Ok maybe not a house. A cottage? Well you get the idea.
Hi. I've just asked an ORC in the casual room, and he has told me that the graveborn deck will be released online this next 18th, as the offline one.
Greetins.
There's 9 ways to recur a creature in standard, gravedigger, ghoulraiser, ghoulcaller's chant, disentomb, morbid plunder, remember the fallen, salvage scout, woodland sleuth, corpse cur. Maybe you could do an artifact infect recursion build using the 3 effects available to white?
I may give your deck a spin, but I prefer Armored Skaab to Forbidden Alchemy because getting a creature as part of the package is always value in pauper. Not only that, but it's a Zombie. Also, Ghoulcaller's chant in a Zombie deck is powerful card advantage. Anyway, there's a great nucleus of a deck based on Zombies:
4 Armored Skaab
4 Ghoulraiser
4 Gravedigger
4 Stitched Drake
4 Walking Corpse
3 Ghoulcaller's Chant
There's a shortage of quality zombies, what I'd like to see out of the next set is a 1 drop zombie. My version uses Delver of Secrets instead, and the rest of the deck is removal and draw.
I think there may be room for 1 to 2 Forbidden Alchemy since I struggle to fill the yard with just 4 effects, or I could use your idea of fume spitter.
One thing you can do without changing hardware/software is to enable a "push to talk" button.
This would eliminate the random breathing being recorded while you aren't speaking.
And, with active use, enable you to cut out your own breathing while speaking.
The downside would be when you forget to use the talk button.
Some microphones/headsets have a mute or press to talk feature built in already.
Also you could try moving the mic away from your face a bit.
If they ran rogue elephant in an 8 land deck and it worked for them, well that's good and all, but I don't think that was/is a good idea at all... In all honesty I still don't think its needed even after trying him in some games. But that's just personal preference.
@Scion: To be honest, I don't think its the best deck in the format. But its basically a fair version of poison and I think its fine to play in the format right now. If I had gleeful sabotage ahead of time and I had drawn fog in game 3(or put it in game 2 like I should have) I would have won.
But its all circumstantial I suppose.
For a longer period of time. The window for the Slivers deck was tiny.
Keep up the good work, nice read sir. :)
I thought they did that with Fire & Lightning too?
Very nice, good content. I always considered rocking a Jund list but I just can't convince myself to do it. Great videos.
As for your audio problem. What recording software do you use? FRAPS? I don't think you'll find a solution through better software, but rather better hardware. I know it's an investment but take a look at the Logitech G35 headset. It's a tad pricey, but after making the purchase I don't regret it AT ALL. The mic has built in noise canceling and there's a mute button right on the ear piece. I can't recommend it enough.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104281&Tpk=logi...
We don't have a date for its online release yet, but I'd be surprised if they kept this one offline. The Slivers deck is one of the great oddities of Magic Online: It was never released in the store, only as prizes, for one event (foil Alara drafts, details here: http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/other/011...), for one day, almost two years ago.
At the very least, we'll see Graveborn sets as prizes for the winter celebration event at the turn of the year.
Sorry, can't listen to the podcast yet, but since it looks like you guys are talking about Graveborn, is it actually coming out online? Did that Slivers deck ever get released online? I just like some of the new art and want to know.
I got to be in someone's video and even win in it! I just don't think MGA is good in the format right now. I don't see it favorable in any of the major arch-types right now. The green/black deck you played against is appears to be a bad version of a tortured existence deck, at least that's my guess.
Way back when, Rogue Elephant was a mainstay in the old Senor Stompy decks.
You were talking about how bad it hurts if you lose him in an 18-land deck.
Back then, they ran Rogue Elephant in 8-land decks. The deck was mana-efficient
to the point that it could lose a forest on the first turn and it didn't cripple
the deck.
Stephen Fry was in Jeeves and Wooster with his good friend Hugh Laurie (of House fame).
If you ever get a chance to catch those old TV shows, it's definitely worthwhile.
Of course, it also helps if you are a fan of British humor, P.G. Wodehouse, or both.