The main problem with control decks in Modern is sustainability - the card draw all sucks right now. You can fill a deck with infinite counterspells, run out, then die without a way to refill or kill them. Mystic and Blossom are each different ways to make a control deck more sustainable, by giving you different angles of attack. Visions is another way, and I'd rather have it in the format than Stoneforge. You say it's very good in combo decks, but it isn't good for the majority of combo decks. I can see Splinter Twin loving it and shifting to a much more control-oriented version, but for the rest of the decks, they are FAR too slow. Suspend it on turn 1, and you commit yourself to not going off until turn 5? Sometimes turn 4 is too slow.
I think Mental Misstep would be terrible for the format. I actually enjoy casting Missteps a lot, so I don't say this lightly, but I really don't want it in Modern. The format will degenerate into every deck playing Missteps because everyone else is, similar to Legacy, and as a result, lots of cards and strategies will just be unplayable.
Also, mulligan decisions were in no way involved in Black choosing to draw first. Testing showed that the extra card was just much more important, especially since Zoo had all this removal. It ended up becoming an attrition war.
@ Mich- The Internet has great streaming websites, hit up my email for more information regarding that. I also like CSI...the original with the entymologist.
@ Alternate- You are right about SOM drafts. It is a good place to go right now. I also like SOM because you can make crazy splashes and get away with them.
Thank you for the comments.
BTW- I Totally didn't get the comment to save on Pack 2 Pick1- which was Morbid Plunder. I regretted this pick because it should have been Strandwalker. Nuff said.
Sometimes, throwing the ball by yourself is better when the alternative is having many balls carelessly and violently hurled at you at a constant 102 MPH. :wink:
You can surround that sentence with quotation marks, followed by a dash with my name if you want to.
IDK man. I don't think Stoneforge Mystic is enough. It is dropping a potential Baneslayer on turn 3. Don't the combo decks start having a high probability of winning that turn, and even higher as the game goes on?
Mental Misstep: I agree. This card is a solution. It could be argued that the combo decks would start playing this too, as it is essentially a colorless spell. Well, you have to dedicate 4 slots to it. 4 precious slots that would have been rituals in storm/swath. It could be more pacts, rituals, and filtering in Hive Mind (although this deck is less scary).
It would be a good counter spell for Splinter Twin. In this context one still has to either sacrifice other counterspells, combo pieces, or filtering. All of which already seem pretty water tight for the deck. I think Unbanning Misstep would be a decent call.
Thank you for being the only one I have seen that says that Ancestral Vision would be more of a boon to the combo decks. As someone who has been grinding 2-mans with Storm and Hive Mind, I can tell you that I would be glad to wait until t4 for this to resolve if it meant I got 4 more cards. It would give me a higher probability of drawing my anti-hate cards...
I do think if Misstep becomes unbanned, it would be great support for Stoneforge Mystic and draw-go. Then Jace could stay banned. People hate that card. I think he might get unbanned though. He was a poster boy for a while...
I agree with most of the rest of your positions, but that also greatly depends on what happens on 9/20. I also could be wrong, and all of my assessment is just 100% fallacy.
SOM block is where to draft right now. There are just plain either great players, or really bad ones. And what a first pick. That just paid for half the draft. The money is in SOM. But come on, do you really expect to open a Wurmcoil Engine? I would take the vat, it's better than what I open which is usually a dual land.
I also think that SOM block is more fun than a base set.
The only mistakes I saw were taking the random artifact creature over the Psychic Barrier, and taking Morbid Plunder with the first pick. After drafting a TON of SOM block, I know if you pass one, one will come around eventually. And you could have taken those 2 Corpse Curs for unlimited blockers, but otherwise you got a lot of black, which is hard so that worked, but I would just be happy with the Metamorph.
And I hope your Scudder didn't get caught in the mimic vat. That would be interesting.
Was wondering about how the cards would affect the decks available right now. Jace is still ok in the format but when a card can also be used for combo decks, I don't think it will be pulled down. Ancestral Vision is the nuts for control but it is the god for combo. 3 cards, 1 storm count, if it gets countered another storm count. Where's the downside?? Drawing multiples from the resolved Vision.
Stoneforge is fair in the format. Batterskull on turn 3 against Storm is ok as it provides a clock to beat it but not so against Twin or Cloudpost. It should be pulled down as it is not broken as thought.
Misstep would be in sideboards but I think not so much for combo decks. We would rather pack the deck with more threats than solutions and not lose focus. Drawing dead is so bad for combos.
This article is to try pull the community in and discuss about the potential b&r list. Idea bouncing off one another is fun. Throwing a ball yourself is so boring. xD
unfortunately i didnt play in any of these this time around, though i drafted it many times when it was standard. from my experience tempo is so important in this block. flight of fancy is so under rated. if not for the dual i would've picked it. any time you can draw a card and keep card advantage over your opponent is huge in rgd and flight of fancy gives u 2 cards and a creature flying. yes its a fragile enchant but its still 2 cards. no surprise it didnt come back to you. i wont critique all your picks cause its boring. anyway, thanks for the draft review and congrats.
Well, what can I say, you already said everything I wanted to say about your picks in the raredraft comments.
Very nice article and congrats on the win.
I unfortunately don't have a very good feeling with Scars Block and the worst part is that I don't even know why, I seem to always end up with a mediocre deck and get owned by the first passer-by.
Oh well...
As for the TV/Movie Genre I have to be honest, I don't watch TV anymore; lately here in Italy the quality of the content fell into oblivion as everyone has gone crazy for reality shows and the like.
When I watch things it's usually an episode of a TV Series and I don't have a definite preferred genre even if I consider myself a Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror nerd.
Lately I also discovered a passion for Thrillers (mostly books but there are some shows out there), especially Medical (Bones, but I like the books a lot more) and pure investigation (CSI all versions except NY, NCIS (Pauly Perrette is my idol ;) )).
Still if I had to choose between a new episode or a new book the book gets the edge.
I mean I couldn't even dissect your picks because I have no idea. I know the format is somewhat bomby and there is a ton of color fixing, but I have no way to evaluate the picks. :)
I know... big disappointment in raredraft :(
The problem is that I usually write the article offline and prepare all the pictures offline EXCEPT the raredraft, I usually do it before submitting the draft so I will get a fresh link instead of a days old one.
I would never have thought they lacked the pics for a set as heavily drafted as RGD...
I heard there is an alternate draft converter in use here; next time I'll try to use that instead.
I don't think unbanning JTMS will be enough however. The reason that all the control players dislike Cloudpost is because it is a ridiculous trump to countermagic. It wins the mana development war. I think there have to be serious adjustments made before control becomes actually viable again.
However, there are also Next Level Blue lists running around that revolve around Engineered Explosives, Goyf, Vendilion Clique, Cryptic Command, etc... You should check those out...I can't bank roll that, but it looks like you have the cards...
I tried Teachings earlier; it's extremely slow. The same is true for Muddle, but maybe a little less. I'm more inclined to put in more Makeshift Mannequins and another Jin-Gitaxias than tutors at this point.
Last game, you concede despite the fact you can rolling thunder the two legionnaires. He saves one, you take 4, go to 4, and then you have a shot at a steamcore weird that gets you back in the game.
2) Let your opponent make mistakes. If your opponent has a bodyguard and a legionnaire out, target the legionnaire. Yes, he can save it by sacrificing the bodyguard - but maybe he'll skip through it, or forget, or F6'd. Targetting the bodyguard directly serves no purpose. Don't count on your opponent making mistakes - but if you have nothing to lose, at least give them a chance to.
I am also playing a reanimator deck for fun in the TP Room, and from my experience I can tell you that 9 is the right number for "draw a card, discard a card" creatures. I also strongly suggest trying Enclave Cryptologist because you can play her on turn one and activate her on turn two (you can't do that with the other two).
Also Spell Pierce should be Spell Snare in my opinion.
The 911 paragraph was approved by the editors, so if you were going to get mad at anyone, why would it not be them? It's their site, and they decide what content they want to display on THEIR website. It was of significance at the time. It wasn't hurtful or degrading. Maybe it's not entirely historically accurate, but it really does not seem like the author intended to offend anyone with it. It's almost more silly complaining about this, than it is complaining about these ridiculous fireballs. If anyone was going to be offended by anything, it ought be towards the lack of sensibility in your responses, the petty name-calling, or your complete disregard for the rules of the English language, despite being a seasoned contributor here. Your posts are embarrassing to read.
Hear Hear! The bickering isn't making any parties look good, and it is really detracting from the merit the original article has - and I for one have really enjoyed reading this author's 2 articles.
After taking some breaths, I realize that this post is more abbrasive then I want to convey, I would delete it, but apparently you can only edit a post once. Please delete the post I am replying too.
I will say though, in nicer terms, the author is an idiot, and I hope that he does not have another article published on this site, with out a diploma from anger management.
That Angels/Archons shell is a great start to a come back. I look forward to seeing what you do next AJ. Grats Keya on making the Champs...boo on going with combo and not being a luck sack.
When in doubt, look at the symbols lol.
The main problem with control decks in Modern is sustainability - the card draw all sucks right now. You can fill a deck with infinite counterspells, run out, then die without a way to refill or kill them. Mystic and Blossom are each different ways to make a control deck more sustainable, by giving you different angles of attack. Visions is another way, and I'd rather have it in the format than Stoneforge. You say it's very good in combo decks, but it isn't good for the majority of combo decks. I can see Splinter Twin loving it and shifting to a much more control-oriented version, but for the rest of the decks, they are FAR too slow. Suspend it on turn 1, and you commit yourself to not going off until turn 5? Sometimes turn 4 is too slow.
I think Mental Misstep would be terrible for the format. I actually enjoy casting Missteps a lot, so I don't say this lightly, but I really don't want it in Modern. The format will degenerate into every deck playing Missteps because everyone else is, similar to Legacy, and as a result, lots of cards and strategies will just be unplayable.
Also, mulligan decisions were in no way involved in Black choosing to draw first. Testing showed that the extra card was just much more important, especially since Zoo had all this removal. It ended up becoming an attrition war.
@ Mich- The Internet has great streaming websites, hit up my email for more information regarding that. I also like CSI...the original with the entymologist.
@ Alternate- You are right about SOM drafts. It is a good place to go right now. I also like SOM because you can make crazy splashes and get away with them.
Thank you for the comments.
BTW- I Totally didn't get the comment to save on Pack 2 Pick1- which was Morbid Plunder. I regretted this pick because it should have been Strandwalker. Nuff said.
Sometimes, throwing the ball by yourself is better when the alternative is having many balls carelessly and violently hurled at you at a constant 102 MPH. :wink:
You can surround that sentence with quotation marks, followed by a dash with my name if you want to.
IDK man. I don't think Stoneforge Mystic is enough. It is dropping a potential Baneslayer on turn 3. Don't the combo decks start having a high probability of winning that turn, and even higher as the game goes on?
Mental Misstep: I agree. This card is a solution. It could be argued that the combo decks would start playing this too, as it is essentially a colorless spell. Well, you have to dedicate 4 slots to it. 4 precious slots that would have been rituals in storm/swath. It could be more pacts, rituals, and filtering in Hive Mind (although this deck is less scary).
It would be a good counter spell for Splinter Twin. In this context one still has to either sacrifice other counterspells, combo pieces, or filtering. All of which already seem pretty water tight for the deck. I think Unbanning Misstep would be a decent call.
Thank you for being the only one I have seen that says that Ancestral Vision would be more of a boon to the combo decks. As someone who has been grinding 2-mans with Storm and Hive Mind, I can tell you that I would be glad to wait until t4 for this to resolve if it meant I got 4 more cards. It would give me a higher probability of drawing my anti-hate cards...
I do think if Misstep becomes unbanned, it would be great support for Stoneforge Mystic and draw-go. Then Jace could stay banned. People hate that card. I think he might get unbanned though. He was a poster boy for a while...
I agree with most of the rest of your positions, but that also greatly depends on what happens on 9/20. I also could be wrong, and all of my assessment is just 100% fallacy.
Best Movie: Boondock Saints
Best TV Show Ever? Lost
Best TV now? Spartacus on Starz.
SOM block is where to draft right now. There are just plain either great players, or really bad ones. And what a first pick. That just paid for half the draft. The money is in SOM. But come on, do you really expect to open a Wurmcoil Engine? I would take the vat, it's better than what I open which is usually a dual land.
I also think that SOM block is more fun than a base set.
The only mistakes I saw were taking the random artifact creature over the Psychic Barrier, and taking Morbid Plunder with the first pick. After drafting a TON of SOM block, I know if you pass one, one will come around eventually. And you could have taken those 2 Corpse Curs for unlimited blockers, but otherwise you got a lot of black, which is hard so that worked, but I would just be happy with the Metamorph.
And I hope your Scudder didn't get caught in the mimic vat. That would be interesting.
Was wondering about how the cards would affect the decks available right now. Jace is still ok in the format but when a card can also be used for combo decks, I don't think it will be pulled down. Ancestral Vision is the nuts for control but it is the god for combo. 3 cards, 1 storm count, if it gets countered another storm count. Where's the downside?? Drawing multiples from the resolved Vision.
Stoneforge is fair in the format. Batterskull on turn 3 against Storm is ok as it provides a clock to beat it but not so against Twin or Cloudpost. It should be pulled down as it is not broken as thought.
Misstep would be in sideboards but I think not so much for combo decks. We would rather pack the deck with more threats than solutions and not lose focus. Drawing dead is so bad for combos.
This article is to try pull the community in and discuss about the potential b&r list. Idea bouncing off one another is fun. Throwing a ball yourself is so boring. xD
unfortunately i didnt play in any of these this time around, though i drafted it many times when it was standard. from my experience tempo is so important in this block. flight of fancy is so under rated. if not for the dual i would've picked it. any time you can draw a card and keep card advantage over your opponent is huge in rgd and flight of fancy gives u 2 cards and a creature flying. yes its a fragile enchant but its still 2 cards. no surprise it didnt come back to you. i wont critique all your picks cause its boring. anyway, thanks for the draft review and congrats.
Well, what can I say, you already said everything I wanted to say about your picks in the raredraft comments.
Very nice article and congrats on the win.
I unfortunately don't have a very good feeling with Scars Block and the worst part is that I don't even know why, I seem to always end up with a mediocre deck and get owned by the first passer-by.
Oh well...
As for the TV/Movie Genre I have to be honest, I don't watch TV anymore; lately here in Italy the quality of the content fell into oblivion as everyone has gone crazy for reality shows and the like.
When I watch things it's usually an episode of a TV Series and I don't have a definite preferred genre even if I consider myself a Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Horror nerd.
Lately I also discovered a passion for Thrillers (mostly books but there are some shows out there), especially Medical (Bones, but I like the books a lot more) and pure investigation (CSI all versions except NY, NCIS (Pauly Perrette is my idol ;) )).
Still if I had to choose between a new episode or a new book the book gets the edge.
I mean I couldn't even dissect your picks because I have no idea. I know the format is somewhat bomby and there is a ton of color fixing, but I have no way to evaluate the picks. :)
I know... big disappointment in raredraft :(
The problem is that I usually write the article offline and prepare all the pictures offline EXCEPT the raredraft, I usually do it before submitting the draft so I will get a fresh link instead of a days old one.
I would never have thought they lacked the pics for a set as heavily drafted as RGD...
I heard there is an alternate draft converter in use here; next time I'll try to use that instead.
Thanks for the comment :)
I don't think unbanning JTMS will be enough however. The reason that all the control players dislike Cloudpost is because it is a ridiculous trump to countermagic. It wins the mana development war. I think there have to be serious adjustments made before control becomes actually viable again.
However, there are also Next Level Blue lists running around that revolve around Engineered Explosives, Goyf, Vendilion Clique, Cryptic Command, etc... You should check those out...I can't bank roll that, but it looks like you have the cards...
Nice article, sir.
Way to brave the format. From what I have seen, Matt Nass seems like a good drafter too. Kudos.
I couldn't even begin to dissect your picks.
Good job.
I tried Teachings earlier; it's extremely slow. The same is true for Muddle, but maybe a little less. I'm more inclined to put in more Makeshift Mannequins and another Jin-Gitaxias than tutors at this point.
1) Stop conceding early
Last game, you concede despite the fact you can rolling thunder the two legionnaires. He saves one, you take 4, go to 4, and then you have a shot at a steamcore weird that gets you back in the game.
2) Let your opponent make mistakes. If your opponent has a bodyguard and a legionnaire out, target the legionnaire. Yes, he can save it by sacrificing the bodyguard - but maybe he'll skip through it, or forget, or F6'd. Targetting the bodyguard directly serves no purpose. Don't count on your opponent making mistakes - but if you have nothing to lose, at least give them a chance to.
I think Muddle the Mixture to grab a Vengeance is also a good call...
You're welcome Dave, and keep up your good work too.
LE
I am also playing a reanimator deck for fun in the TP Room, and from my experience I can tell you that 9 is the right number for "draw a card, discard a card" creatures. I also strongly suggest trying Enclave Cryptologist because you can play her on turn one and activate her on turn two (you can't do that with the other two).
Also Spell Pierce should be Spell Snare in my opinion.
Other than these, it looks like fun.
LE
Does your reanimator deck want Mystical Teachings?
Thank you, this is awesome!
I'll try to use your approach to see if I can learn how to build an effective rogue deck. Thank you so very much!
The 911 paragraph was approved by the editors, so if you were going to get mad at anyone, why would it not be them? It's their site, and they decide what content they want to display on THEIR website. It was of significance at the time. It wasn't hurtful or degrading. Maybe it's not entirely historically accurate, but it really does not seem like the author intended to offend anyone with it. It's almost more silly complaining about this, than it is complaining about these ridiculous fireballs. If anyone was going to be offended by anything, it ought be towards the lack of sensibility in your responses, the petty name-calling, or your complete disregard for the rules of the English language, despite being a seasoned contributor here. Your posts are embarrassing to read.
Hear Hear! The bickering isn't making any parties look good, and it is really detracting from the merit the original article has - and I for one have really enjoyed reading this author's 2 articles.
After taking some breaths, I realize that this post is more abbrasive then I want to convey, I would delete it, but apparently you can only edit a post once. Please delete the post I am replying too.
I will say though, in nicer terms, the author is an idiot, and I hope that he does not have another article published on this site, with out a diploma from anger management.
That Angels/Archons shell is a great start to a come back. I look forward to seeing what you do next AJ. Grats Keya on making the Champs...boo on going with combo and not being a luck sack.