Somehow the game didnt show what happened towards the end at all.
rather embarrasingly i forgot i'd sided out my other crits, had meant to bring in blazing archon, as i thought landing that, even without a d.breath might shut down the suture ghoul, but clearly i must not have.... as my last oath activation took my whole library and i lost in the draw
dumb enough to concede early? no. dumb enough to do something even worse and sb badly? yes :)
Hey Agur i love the deck when i first saw splinter Twin i knew one day it would produce a great combo deck but i think because how sick this combo is i wont play another STD until its gone. love your videos on here helps polish my skills that i have lost over the years of not playing competitive but again thanks for what you do.
Firstly great stuff Whiffy - I think it is sad that the replays for these events stay in the system for such a short time. I think it would really help if formats which dont fire as much volume get to keep their replay at lease until the next event of that format fires. Keeping the replays gives more people chance to see and to have exposure to classic gameplay etc. I like that you archieve the daily event with this content.
I am also intrigued by WNOTC's concession in G2 of R4. Vikki AKA WNTOC is a very strong player and would not have conceded without good reason with the potential win so close. Her comments post game in the chat refered to her sideboarding options and to something being unfortunate.
So WNOTC has Dragon-Breath Oath'd in Blightsteel Colossus. Swinging it into the red zone would be met with a block from the stern proctor (sending the Proctor to the g'yard). Next turn Xkorpio would be able to untap and use the Oath himself. Possible Oath target:
1) Hermit Druid - this loses the game unless the dragon breath comes down to enable activation regardless activation would dump a suture ghoul into play that could not also carry the dragon breath to victory and would deck next turn - So Hermit Druid Flip is a loss.
2) Flips the Suture Ghoul - Relevance comes down to wheher a dragon breath is oath'ed to the yard.
3) Flips Narcomebeas- This only becomes a problem is Xkoropio has 2 other castable creature in hand or and flips the dread return to the yard off of the oath and the dragon breath. I have no idea if WTNOC has countermagic for the dread return.
4) Xkorpio flips another Stern Proctor. Assuming there are multiples in the deck. This does not help either since bouncing BSC or Oath is only a temporary resolution. If Oath is bounced, WNOTC beats with BSC and if BSC is returned then WNTOC oaths up the Emrakul for the win.
I may have missed something but WTNOC had no knowledge of Xkropio's hand and it seems very odd to concede unless the replay some how bugged and Xkorpio really flipped the breath and the Ghoul from the oath??
surgical extraction is pretty bad in decks without discard. Actually I would consider it unplayable in any format without recursive graveyard cards (vengevine, bloodghast), and even with discard in your deck in a format with vengevine-ish cards its still usually not going to be worth playing.
like jake said, the preists are just not as good as memnite. the preists should probably be slagstorms or gblasts in the big red deck.
For the koth red deck, the phoenix seems like a weak choice in a deck with 12 artifacts. probably better as something else that doesnt need metalcraft to be great, like urabrask.
Your version of red midrange took out the mana acceleration and now cant do anything other than removal until at least turn 3, and your only t3 play is slagstorm or metamorph.
The blue deck only has 7 ways to cast superion. Should at least add the 4th palladium myr. Also the deck has no way of actually dealing with anything other than stoic rebuttal. I know blue is lacking in removal, but even something simple like disperse would help.
Lastly, shrine of burning rage is strong enough to play 4x in every mono red deck except for kudoltha where its casting cost might be too high. Shrine just wins.
always good, strange format in that so many uncompetitive decks show up, the format certainly is a joke, guess im in on it in understanding at least, of course when I'm dictator mtgo will be free and the competition will be better, but till then keep it up and may the spark be with you.
I have a few thoughts about this, great vids as always though.
I'm not sure about your logic on izzet being better than grixis here, they get actual dual lands that you don't, they get manlands that you don't, though im not sure the black mana gives them much thats sup[erior otherwie, discard is ok but runs out of steam almost as fast as mana sink spells. since its combo the black removal doesnt seem as needed since you are gonna win when you win so opp creatures aren't the worst, though stopping primeval is good.
spellskite is much better than you submit here, though the lag between article posting and magic meta may mean you have already been updated on it's power in the meta.
you seem to make a lot of mistakes here, maybe more playtesting is in order, you understand e faults so it seems mostly a matter of time grinding which as I don'tyou may not have time for.
thanks for the great articles, I probably won't play standard again but I really enjoy the videos and thinking about magic dynamics in general.
Nice vids...in defense of my eon hub in m1g2, I wanted to avoid potentially dieing to mana crypt and of course, the free activation of razormane masticore to knock out opposing lodedstone and metalworkers. Certainly better in the mirror than some spheres which could be nothing more than an annoyance to my opponent...at least that's my rationale. I could be wrong though.
Priest of Urubrask is almost always worse than memnite in that deck. It essentially is a 0 mana creature that you can't play until turn 3. You get slight upgrade in that it is 1 extra power and not an artifact for the cost of not being able to play it whenever you want. The only reason you'd really want to play him in block I can think of is mana fixing which isn't an issue for mono-red.
I guess you can use him to convert geosurge mana into real mana but I don't see that as being valuable enough.
I agree with that a ton; Spellskite is insane, like Coalition Honor Guard in IPA. It seems like a very subtle takeover of the board in theory, but then they look at their hand and realize their options are severely limited.
We may not see eye to eye on Classic and Legacy and the state of the game financially, but I recognize your skills, passion and point of view. Go get 'em and win the comm. another one.
Yeah that is true, I dont know what I was thinking. Still I'd take spellskite over artillerize even if it was worth nothing. It totally invalidates a lot of removal and abilities in the format.
Yea, it was a 4th pick Monitor. I think it's fair to say you undervalued the Artillerize because you even commented that if the Monitor wasn't there you would take the mana artifact. Which is certainly good but not as good as the burn spell. IMO.
I'll give you Spellskite (that's worth more than a few tix right?) But Spire Monitor has to be wrong. You weren't really blue at all at that point, I don't think but you were def red, right?
Dude! Con-freaking grats!!! This could not happen to anyone better!
Bring home the cup to PA and I want to see it when we bump into eachother at BNW!
Best of luck man!
Are you referring to where I picked Spire Monitor and Spellskite? Spellskite I am sure is better card than artillerize, and spire monitor is about the same in terms of power level in this format imo. A flash 3/3 flier is usually worth a 2 for 1.
I see you said you like Artillerize...maybe you just didn't see it twice? Both times that I saw you miss it, whatever you took was wrong. Haven't watched the matches of the draft yet. Your sealed pool was terrible but I know the feeling.
I hope that Groove's deck will stick with the players, although the meta will definitely change with the arrival of NPH. Time will tell, I guess. For now, I just want to focus on Worlds: there will be a lot of tough competition around and I bet that RedUndant actually shifted the metagame. I just can't wait to see the results! :-D
CC team members: you cannot allow the cup to be tainted with WotC employee names! Also, bring on the Limited Resources showdown -- AND THE HEAD OF RYAN SPAIN!
That is quite true. The original rule book differentiated between lethal destroy effects and lethal bury effects. Furthermore before they did away with bury altogether they went so far as to explain why. Buried creatures never stopped long enough to be regenerated because their demise was immediate, the same as a creature obtaining less than 1 toughness.
Somehow the game didnt show what happened towards the end at all.
rather embarrasingly i forgot i'd sided out my other crits, had meant to bring in blazing archon, as i thought landing that, even without a d.breath might shut down the suture ghoul, but clearly i must not have.... as my last oath activation took my whole library and i lost in the draw
dumb enough to concede early? no. dumb enough to do something even worse and sb badly? yes :)
Hey Agur i love the deck when i first saw splinter Twin i knew one day it would produce a great combo deck but i think because how sick this combo is i wont play another STD until its gone. love your videos on here helps polish my skills that i have lost over the years of not playing competitive but again thanks for what you do.
Yay more 4 pack sealed!
I'm surprised Oculus didn't make the cut in deck #1, though I see the tension to play worse cards for metalcraft.
Firstly great stuff Whiffy - I think it is sad that the replays for these events stay in the system for such a short time. I think it would really help if formats which dont fire as much volume get to keep their replay at lease until the next event of that format fires. Keeping the replays gives more people chance to see and to have exposure to classic gameplay etc. I like that you archieve the daily event with this content.
I am also intrigued by WNOTC's concession in G2 of R4. Vikki AKA WNTOC is a very strong player and would not have conceded without good reason with the potential win so close. Her comments post game in the chat refered to her sideboarding options and to something being unfortunate.
So WNOTC has Dragon-Breath Oath'd in Blightsteel Colossus. Swinging it into the red zone would be met with a block from the stern proctor (sending the Proctor to the g'yard). Next turn Xkorpio would be able to untap and use the Oath himself. Possible Oath target:
1) Hermit Druid - this loses the game unless the dragon breath comes down to enable activation regardless activation would dump a suture ghoul into play that could not also carry the dragon breath to victory and would deck next turn - So Hermit Druid Flip is a loss.
2) Flips the Suture Ghoul - Relevance comes down to wheher a dragon breath is oath'ed to the yard.
3) Flips Narcomebeas- This only becomes a problem is Xkoropio has 2 other castable creature in hand or and flips the dread return to the yard off of the oath and the dragon breath. I have no idea if WTNOC has countermagic for the dread return.
4) Xkorpio flips another Stern Proctor. Assuming there are multiples in the deck. This does not help either since bouncing BSC or Oath is only a temporary resolution. If Oath is bounced, WNOTC beats with BSC and if BSC is returned then WNTOC oaths up the Emrakul for the win.
I may have missed something but WTNOC had no knowledge of Xkropio's hand and it seems very odd to concede unless the replay some how bugged and Xkorpio really flipped the breath and the Ghoul from the oath??
Perhaps WNOTC or Xkorpio could comment.
surgical extraction is pretty bad in decks without discard. Actually I would consider it unplayable in any format without recursive graveyard cards (vengevine, bloodghast), and even with discard in your deck in a format with vengevine-ish cards its still usually not going to be worth playing.
like jake said, the preists are just not as good as memnite. the preists should probably be slagstorms or gblasts in the big red deck.
For the koth red deck, the phoenix seems like a weak choice in a deck with 12 artifacts. probably better as something else that doesnt need metalcraft to be great, like urabrask.
Your version of red midrange took out the mana acceleration and now cant do anything other than removal until at least turn 3, and your only t3 play is slagstorm or metamorph.
The blue deck only has 7 ways to cast superion. Should at least add the 4th palladium myr. Also the deck has no way of actually dealing with anything other than stoic rebuttal. I know blue is lacking in removal, but even something simple like disperse would help.
Lastly, shrine of burning rage is strong enough to play 4x in every mono red deck except for kudoltha where its casting cost might be too high. Shrine just wins.
always good, strange format in that so many uncompetitive decks show up, the format certainly is a joke, guess im in on it in understanding at least, of course when I'm dictator mtgo will be free and the competition will be better, but till then keep it up and may the spark be with you.
I loved the Soldier deck. Very Fitting for memorial day weekend.
Oh, i have been terrorizing the multi-room with your storm deck...haha...
its a very fun deck!
I have a few thoughts about this, great vids as always though.
I'm not sure about your logic on izzet being better than grixis here, they get actual dual lands that you don't, they get manlands that you don't, though im not sure the black mana gives them much thats sup[erior otherwie, discard is ok but runs out of steam almost as fast as mana sink spells. since its combo the black removal doesnt seem as needed since you are gonna win when you win so opp creatures aren't the worst, though stopping primeval is good.
spellskite is much better than you submit here, though the lag between article posting and magic meta may mean you have already been updated on it's power in the meta.
you seem to make a lot of mistakes here, maybe more playtesting is in order, you understand e faults so it seems mostly a matter of time grinding which as I don'tyou may not have time for.
thanks for the great articles, I probably won't play standard again but I really enjoy the videos and thinking about magic dynamics in general.
Hi Whiffy, yes it's fall, like the season.
Nice vids...in defense of my eon hub in m1g2, I wanted to avoid potentially dieing to mana crypt and of course, the free activation of razormane masticore to knock out opposing lodedstone and metalworkers. Certainly better in the mirror than some spheres which could be nothing more than an annoyance to my opponent...at least that's my rationale. I could be wrong though.
Priest of Urubrask is almost always worse than memnite in that deck. It essentially is a 0 mana creature that you can't play until turn 3. You get slight upgrade in that it is 1 extra power and not an artifact for the cost of not being able to play it whenever you want. The only reason you'd really want to play him in block I can think of is mana fixing which isn't an issue for mono-red.
I guess you can use him to convert geosurge mana into real mana but I don't see that as being valuable enough.
I agree with that a ton; Spellskite is insane, like Coalition Honor Guard in IPA. It seems like a very subtle takeover of the board in theory, but then they look at their hand and realize their options are severely limited.
We may not see eye to eye on Classic and Legacy and the state of the game financially, but I recognize your skills, passion and point of view. Go get 'em and win the comm. another one.
Yeah that is true, I dont know what I was thinking. Still I'd take spellskite over artillerize even if it was worth nothing. It totally invalidates a lot of removal and abilities in the format.
Yea, it was a 4th pick Monitor. I think it's fair to say you undervalued the Artillerize because you even commented that if the Monitor wasn't there you would take the mana artifact. Which is certainly good but not as good as the burn spell. IMO.
I'll give you Spellskite (that's worth more than a few tix right?) But Spire Monitor has to be wrong. You weren't really blue at all at that point, I don't think but you were def red, right?
Thanks for the content.
even though we cant lose, those wotc guys get to keep the trophy.
but hooray and thanks justin! now spread the word at BNW so i get a celebrity discount! lol
Dude! Con-freaking grats!!! This could not happen to anyone better!
Bring home the cup to PA and I want to see it when we bump into eachother at BNW!
Best of luck man!
Are you referring to where I picked Spire Monitor and Spellskite? Spellskite I am sure is better card than artillerize, and spire monitor is about the same in terms of power level in this format imo. A flash 3/3 flier is usually worth a 2 for 1.
Thanks for the comment
I see you said you like Artillerize...maybe you just didn't see it twice? Both times that I saw you miss it, whatever you took was wrong. Haven't watched the matches of the draft yet. Your sealed pool was terrible but I know the feeling.
Congratulations Whiffy.
Go for it!!!
Thank you for the feedback C.! :-)
I hope that Groove's deck will stick with the players, although the meta will definitely change with the arrival of NPH. Time will tell, I guess. For now, I just want to focus on Worlds: there will be a lot of tough competition around and I bet that RedUndant actually shifted the metagame. I just can't wait to see the results! :-D
CC team members: you cannot allow the cup to be tainted with WotC employee names! Also, bring on the Limited Resources showdown -- AND THE HEAD OF RYAN SPAIN!
love it
That is quite true. The original rule book differentiated between lethal destroy effects and lethal bury effects. Furthermore before they did away with bury altogether they went so far as to explain why. Buried creatures never stopped long enough to be regenerated because their demise was immediate, the same as a creature obtaining less than 1 toughness.
Back in my dim and distant memory, I thought "bury" was distinct to "destroy", as you couldn't regenerate?