The only problem I have with DFCs is that I have to replace all my sleeves now - I use semi-opaque ones currently, and now I have to switch. I look forward to playing with them in Limited, though. I hope they won't be Constructed playable - I don't want to have to deal with checklists or unsleeving during a match.
The DFCs seem interesting. Really it is just another "morph", IMO. I am sure that there is a good one, whether for draft or constructed, so I am not averse to them.
To be fair, no one really cares about M12 at this point either. I want to play Innistrad so I can force Werewolves and yell at people for cutting me off! With the knowledge of WHO is cutting me off! :D
I play Modern when I can. I have a busy class schedule this semester, so I usually try to get just one 8 man or Daily per day. Format is super fun, I'm glad I was able to buy cards for it before the prices skyrocketed.
@Clan Magic Eternal: It's always a good time to start up! This was my first PRE and Xan21 mentioned that it was his first as well.
I totally forgot to put Searing Blaze in my list. Landfall creatures are still good, unsurprisingly, especially when I drew very well (as I did in the swiss).
I had a fun time and I'm disappointed that my fall schedule won't allow me to participate in any more MPDCs after next week. I might have to get into the other standard pauper series...
I had to scroll up to see why you were reacting so vehemently. Then when I reread the post I realized I just wrote the guy off as a troll and ignore it. I advise the same for you my friend.
"But did you see that party they had for Innistrad? I wouldn't be caught dead at something like that. It was like a Star Trek convention with even less women."
Well to be fair... a little douchebag goes a long way, I'm sure you weren't missed...
Good article. I am not liking M12 at all. I like drafting bombs and disruption.
On the positive side, I have been doing well in NMS drafts. Just no one cares about them at this point...
Best uncommon of all time? Thats just asnine. Mana Drain, Force of Will, Fact or Fiction, etc. would like a word with you.
Also, that 1U 1/1 is very similar to a certain other 1G creature that did bascially the same thing not too long ago. and that card sa no real play outside of bad stompy decks.
It definitely makes sense of Garruk is a DFC which also has five abilites... perhaps two on one side, and three on the other... or perhaps two normal abilities on each side, and a commmon transform ability...
So far, from what I have seen, there are some really poor cards in this set, but a few new ones were released today, and they look nasty.
Ghost Quarter: A reprint to make up for non-basic land destruction cycling out.
Now look at this one:
Boneyard Wurm: */* Power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures in your graveyard, and it's (1)G. It's uncommon and a little Tamogryph (Spelled wrong) like for me.
Lilliana (1)BB
+1 each player discards a card
-2 Target player sacrifices a creature
-6 (This is a nasty bizarro world fact or fiction) Separate target players permanents into 2 piles, they choose one, and they all die.
Ok, that is one hell of a planeswalker. I know what I will do. Hey bud, want to keep your lands or creatures?
Invisible Stalker: (1)U Hexproof, Unblockable. So which sword will you put on it? F&F? Body and Mind? Or anything. Which one?
That's an uncommon. I'm sorry, but that may be the best uncommon of all time. Hexproof so only mass kill spells can kill it, unblockable, and you are getting this all for just 2 mana, and 1 is colorless. It may just be the broken card of the set.
**Everyone, get your Geth's verdicts in foil and non-foil now.
These are some of the best articles that get published on this website. I have never been into pauper, but after reading these article I feel it would be quite easy to segue right into it.
I think there are a number of commons that are just better than Domestication, and some that are better based on preference.
Vendetta, Induce Despair, Heat Ray, Narcolepsy, Staggershock are all cards I would likely take over Domestication.
Ulamog's Cusher and Ondu Giant are also commons you could reasonably pick over Domestication depending on the pack makeup or personal preference.
Domestication also suffers a bit since naturalize was borderline maindeckable due to how hard they pushed Auras in the set.
Domestication is a good card, no doubt about it. However, if I can think of more than 5 commons I would rather have than it, I would not consider it first pickable most of the time.
I agree about standard becoming a slower format, but to be honest I'm looking forward to that. With modern (and vintage/classic come to that) being so combolicsious with so little interaction between players that another reasonably slow standard sounds very good to me.
I'll say one thing for the pre-ban caw-blade metagame: at least you actually sat down and played the game. Lots of caw blade was pretty dull I'll grant you, but assuming you were both playing good decks at least you could play spells.
The only modern games I've seen worth watching were 12post mirror matches that had a lot being played and were a real test of skill. Everything else was comboing so fast that it was more a test of who drew the most optimal opening hand for the match up. Same for splinter twin and similar stuff in standard. If the other guy had a good draw then there isn't much you could do.
In my opinion the longer games go, the better the game is going to be, and the more it will reward player-skill over deck list. Of course deck building is an important skill but aside from the handful of people who create the five or so tier 1 decks most people are just tweaking and then there isn't much left to do except play the combo pieces. Yes, the game always rewards good players but just not enough IMHO.
There's just too many people in my local MtG group who have bombed out of every non-constructed game they ever played but who consistently come top or second in constructed play because they are one of few people who are willing to spend out on a turn 3 killer combo.
So yeah, creature-based and slow paced games are fine by me, because it will definitely give higher rewards to people who think on their feet and know how to best use the mechanics. Those guys should be winning at every level, and hopefully thats what INN will give us.
I dunno. I just want to win one. I keep switching decks though, which is requiring more practice. This whole "Modern" thing has thrown me for a loop as well...
I'm very glad to see a quality article. I hope you didn't feel upset when I and others criticized your previous article on Modern!
With that out of the way, I agree that control needs a boost. The bans were overly harsh on that archetype. Sure, they also banned a bunch of combo cards but they missed a lot of fast combos (particularly if you include green 12-post). I'm also surprised that Restore Balance hasn't seen more play over Living End to be honest.
I hope that WotC decide to do the right thing about the ban list and unban several of the cards that really don't need to be there, and hopefully the metagame becomes more balanced and closer to what Overextended was showing - Zoo pretty strong, some Blue control decks very strong but not dominating (yes, even with Jace, Stoneforge, Vision and Misstep legal they weren't dominating).
The only "new" deck in the ones discussed by Andrea is Melira combo with Birthing Pod - and that is more of a tweak on the Melira combo deck that showed up in Overextended (without Pod).
I don't disagree with you that Vendetta is better. I really, really like Vendetta - it's amazing. But I think you're downplaying Domestication's usefulness. You can steal every non-green Invoker, any Wall, Guard Gomazoa, any just about any leveler. And while you may not be able to fully level some of them, there are a few like Hada Spy Patrol which you CAN level and are just brutal. Plus, there have been many a game where I've stolen a Halimar Wavewatch to stop them from having it, then eventually leveled it up and killed them with it.
Don't get me wrong, there are cards at common that are better than Domesitcation, like Narcolepsy and the aforementioned Vendetta. But a weak control magic is still a control magic.
@ Sebastian, how did you end up going during the MOCS 9? back in aussie land the game started on Monday and ran right through my working hours.... so my byes were wasted (I had 26 btw, you beat me by 3).
Thank goodness the next event which is standard will run at a more reasonable timeslot =)
@ back and apaulogy, will you guys be grinding for MOCS 10?
Great article sir - Love the M12 draft content. I like the way you held back Doom Blade in R1G2 and simply forced your opponent to answer the 7/4 Trampler - turned out to be a great play and shows the importance of considering all the options. I would have gone with the gut instinct to kill the sphinx and maybe considered the alabaster mage as a legit target but did not consider the play you made. It is little plays like this which are maybe obvious to most that help me to improve my limited play by watching someone with skillz play tight magic!
One of the best article series on PUREMTGO without a doubt. Clearly the best draft content by a mile.
The only problem I have with DFCs is that I have to replace all my sleeves now - I use semi-opaque ones currently, and now I have to switch. I look forward to playing with them in Limited, though. I hope they won't be Constructed playable - I don't want to have to deal with checklists or unsleeving during a match.
@ Question of the week:
The DFCs seem interesting. Really it is just another "morph", IMO. I am sure that there is a good one, whether for draft or constructed, so I am not averse to them.
"I want to play Innistrad so I can force Werewolves and yell at people for cutting me off! With the knowledge of WHO is cutting me off! :D"
LOL. Yeah. I am glad I draft online...
Seems like Moonmist should be valued pretty highly...
To be fair, no one really cares about M12 at this point either. I want to play Innistrad so I can force Werewolves and yell at people for cutting me off! With the knowledge of WHO is cutting me off! :D
I play Modern when I can. I have a busy class schedule this semester, so I usually try to get just one 8 man or Daily per day. Format is super fun, I'm glad I was able to buy cards for it before the prices skyrocketed.
Thank you Zach! I'm glad you like my articles as much as I like your series. :-)
@Clan Magic Eternal: It's always a good time to start up! This was my first PRE and Xan21 mentioned that it was his first as well.
I totally forgot to put Searing Blaze in my list. Landfall creatures are still good, unsurprisingly, especially when I drew very well (as I did in the swiss).
I had a fun time and I'm disappointed that my fall schedule won't allow me to participate in any more MPDCs after next week. I might have to get into the other standard pauper series...
I had to scroll up to see why you were reacting so vehemently. Then when I reread the post I realized I just wrote the guy off as a troll and ignore it. I advise the same for you my friend.
"But did you see that party they had for Innistrad? I wouldn't be caught dead at something like that. It was like a Star Trek convention with even less women."
Well to be fair... a little douchebag goes a long way, I'm sure you weren't missed...
I guess it is a matter of taste/preference, huh?
Good article. I am not liking M12 at all. I like drafting bombs and disruption.
On the positive side, I have been doing well in NMS drafts. Just no one cares about them at this point...
Are you grinding Modern events yet?
Note, this is part 2! I must've forgotten to edit the title somehow.
You know, besides: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=40
Best uncommon of all time? Thats just asnine. Mana Drain, Force of Will, Fact or Fiction, etc. would like a word with you.
Also, that 1U 1/1 is very similar to a certain other 1G creature that did bascially the same thing not too long ago. and that card sa no real play outside of bad stompy decks.
We also know that there are Two planeswalkers, one of them has five abilities, and one of them is Liliana which was just spoiled today:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/stf/158
It definitely makes sense of Garruk is a DFC which also has five abilites... perhaps two on one side, and three on the other... or perhaps two normal abilities on each side, and a commmon transform ability...
So far, from what I have seen, there are some really poor cards in this set, but a few new ones were released today, and they look nasty.
Ghost Quarter: A reprint to make up for non-basic land destruction cycling out.
Now look at this one:
Boneyard Wurm: */* Power and toughness are equal to the number of creatures in your graveyard, and it's (1)G. It's uncommon and a little Tamogryph (Spelled wrong) like for me.
Lilliana (1)BB
+1 each player discards a card
-2 Target player sacrifices a creature
-6 (This is a nasty bizarro world fact or fiction) Separate target players permanents into 2 piles, they choose one, and they all die.
Ok, that is one hell of a planeswalker. I know what I will do. Hey bud, want to keep your lands or creatures?
Invisible Stalker: (1)U Hexproof, Unblockable. So which sword will you put on it? F&F? Body and Mind? Or anything. Which one?
That's an uncommon. I'm sorry, but that may be the best uncommon of all time. Hexproof so only mass kill spells can kill it, unblockable, and you are getting this all for just 2 mana, and 1 is colorless. It may just be the broken card of the set.
**Everyone, get your Geth's verdicts in foil and non-foil now.
These are some of the best articles that get published on this website. I have never been into pauper, but after reading these article I feel it would be quite easy to segue right into it.
Thanks for your hard work!
(Zach/country_hillbilly)
The missing decklist was entered into Gatherling just a few minutes after I submitted the article, and it was Kuldotha Red indeed. :-)
A big thank you goes to everyone on the forums that helped me meet my deadline like clockwork. The PDC community simply rocks! :-)
I think there are a number of commons that are just better than Domestication, and some that are better based on preference.
Vendetta, Induce Despair, Heat Ray, Narcolepsy, Staggershock are all cards I would likely take over Domestication.
Ulamog's Cusher and Ondu Giant are also commons you could reasonably pick over Domestication depending on the pack makeup or personal preference.
Domestication also suffers a bit since naturalize was borderline maindeckable due to how hard they pushed Auras in the set.
Domestication is a good card, no doubt about it. However, if I can think of more than 5 commons I would rather have than it, I would not consider it first pickable most of the time.
I agree about standard becoming a slower format, but to be honest I'm looking forward to that. With modern (and vintage/classic come to that) being so combolicsious with so little interaction between players that another reasonably slow standard sounds very good to me.
I'll say one thing for the pre-ban caw-blade metagame: at least you actually sat down and played the game. Lots of caw blade was pretty dull I'll grant you, but assuming you were both playing good decks at least you could play spells.
The only modern games I've seen worth watching were 12post mirror matches that had a lot being played and were a real test of skill. Everything else was comboing so fast that it was more a test of who drew the most optimal opening hand for the match up. Same for splinter twin and similar stuff in standard. If the other guy had a good draw then there isn't much you could do.
In my opinion the longer games go, the better the game is going to be, and the more it will reward player-skill over deck list. Of course deck building is an important skill but aside from the handful of people who create the five or so tier 1 decks most people are just tweaking and then there isn't much left to do except play the combo pieces. Yes, the game always rewards good players but just not enough IMHO.
There's just too many people in my local MtG group who have bombed out of every non-constructed game they ever played but who consistently come top or second in constructed play because they are one of few people who are willing to spend out on a turn 3 killer combo.
So yeah, creature-based and slow paced games are fine by me, because it will definitely give higher rewards to people who think on their feet and know how to best use the mechanics. Those guys should be winning at every level, and hopefully thats what INN will give us.
But different strokes for different folks.
I dunno. I just want to win one. I keep switching decks though, which is requiring more practice. This whole "Modern" thing has thrown me for a loop as well...
One of these days...
Will be writing about it on my next article. =)
I'm very glad to see a quality article. I hope you didn't feel upset when I and others criticized your previous article on Modern!
With that out of the way, I agree that control needs a boost. The bans were overly harsh on that archetype. Sure, they also banned a bunch of combo cards but they missed a lot of fast combos (particularly if you include green 12-post). I'm also surprised that Restore Balance hasn't seen more play over Living End to be honest.
I hope that WotC decide to do the right thing about the ban list and unban several of the cards that really don't need to be there, and hopefully the metagame becomes more balanced and closer to what Overextended was showing - Zoo pretty strong, some Blue control decks very strong but not dominating (yes, even with Jace, Stoneforge, Vision and Misstep legal they weren't dominating).
The only "new" deck in the ones discussed by Andrea is Melira combo with Birthing Pod - and that is more of a tweak on the Melira combo deck that showed up in Overextended (without Pod).
Let's see also what the PT brings.
I don't disagree with you that Vendetta is better. I really, really like Vendetta - it's amazing. But I think you're downplaying Domestication's usefulness. You can steal every non-green Invoker, any Wall, Guard Gomazoa, any just about any leveler. And while you may not be able to fully level some of them, there are a few like Hada Spy Patrol which you CAN level and are just brutal. Plus, there have been many a game where I've stolen a Halimar Wavewatch to stop them from having it, then eventually leveled it up and killed them with it.
Don't get me wrong, there are cards at common that are better than Domesitcation, like Narcolepsy and the aforementioned Vendetta. But a weak control magic is still a control magic.
@ Sebastian, how did you end up going during the MOCS 9? back in aussie land the game started on Monday and ran right through my working hours.... so my byes were wasted (I had 26 btw, you beat me by 3).
Thank goodness the next event which is standard will run at a more reasonable timeslot =)
@ back and apaulogy, will you guys be grinding for MOCS 10?
Great article sir - Love the M12 draft content. I like the way you held back Doom Blade in R1G2 and simply forced your opponent to answer the 7/4 Trampler - turned out to be a great play and shows the importance of considering all the options. I would have gone with the gut instinct to kill the sphinx and maybe considered the alabaster mage as a legit target but did not consider the play you made. It is little plays like this which are maybe obvious to most that help me to improve my limited play by watching someone with skillz play tight magic!
One of the best article series on PUREMTGO without a doubt. Clearly the best draft content by a mile.
Thanks for sharing.
Hammer