I actually called this player out on not letting me gain the life since he stuck around a while to watch the game. He apologized and said he forgot. But it doesn't take much to F6 through your turn if you are facing lethal. And you never know, someone may come to your rescue.
I am so happy that K-scope is getting the boost it needed! I think that Destructive Flow not being on the banned list for K-scope is a mistake, tho. It will be interesting to see what kinds of decks hit the tables at When Worlds Kaleid after the 3/30 downtime. The current meta seems to be "Jundish", and I'd really like to see a more vibrant & varied meta. I'm currently working on a "Dark Selesnya" (GWB) deck that's been doing ok in play-testing using the Classic format. I hope I'll get a chance to play it "in competition" in it's intendeded format.
I expect Pillars will start to rise again; I picked mine up a few weeks back when WotC_K first indicated that changes were coming. Another card that has started to dip recently is Maelstrom Pulse, which I also suspect will rise again, as well.
I think one of the douchiest things I see on MTGO is people conceding before the lethal blow in order to avoid giving the killer some benefit like life gain from life link. It reeks of poor sportsmanship and I'm surprised more people don't seem to be bothered by it.
Logic, reasoning, and common sense can't technically "watch" anything, so I guess one could imply the same point you were trying to make to your own post? =)
It's a shame they got deleted. I haven't seen so many people get worked up over a few posts on here in a while. Someone should sign this guy to a full-time gig.
I'd be a lot more concerned about this deck's status as "non-casual" if it had proved more effective. I've leaned away from playing it in the past week in favor of a couple other decks (with creatures, how novel!) mostly because it wasn't winning as much as I'd like. When I did win (I'd say I was winning maybe 15-20% of games), it was pretty spectacular and certainly caused a lot of people to complain (though many also complimented the deck). However, this deck is very easy to disrupt. People started to pick up on the fact that my number of win conditions are extremely limited, and that even with as much creature removal as I have, it's possible to overwhelm me (unless I pull off Humility + Night of Soul's Betrayal, of course).
Compare this to a popular deck like Azusa. People rarely accuse the Azusa decks of being "non-casual", even though they're just as grief-inducing as this deck, and far more resilient. When you've seen a Green Sun's Zenith for a Primeval Titan for the hundreth time, or a Tooth and Nail into Avenger of Zendikar and Regal Force for the hundreth time or a Genesis Wave for 40 for the hundreth time, it calls into question where that deck fits in the casual / non-casual continuum.
I've never believed that any strategy is inherently non-casual. Discard, land destruction, mana ramp, dredge, etc are all perfectly viable and you can make a casual deck that focuses on any of them. Non-casual to me are things like Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void (you'll note that I didn't include a Helm in this deck even though it would be very effective). There's no strategy in that combo. You're not trying to create a game state that allows your kill conditions to work, you're just trying to find a kill condition that completely ignores the game state. That's most definitely not what the Chains deck is. The game state is vitally important to its chance of winning. If I can't control the creatures on the table (and in the command zones), I can't win. If I can't get the right combination of cards on the table, I can't create the lock, let alone do damage. If I can't empty my opponent's hands, the lock doesn't function. In short, even a deck that has no real "disruption" cards can disrupt the combo through the course of normal play. That, to me, is the difference.
first time for me also,, but i def enjoyed the drafting video.. i must say that i was abit iffy with some of the plays you made game one but you won it so i can not complain.. game 2 with 12 lands u had no real chance and game three u just got sucker punched by not blocking and it happens to us all... i do have one question tho.. i am going to start writing some articles myself in the interest of drafts and the leagacy format..my question is how do you record your games as you have done here so that they can be posted here and on youtube?
The way this could be implemented is via a 3rd party site with secure log in.
the features needed would be as follows:
Log in process for each user (akin to any forum's normal routine).
Ability to view all cards via some gui system/db
A Pack Generator
As jxavier said you'd need a credit/currency system that automatically updates properly all players $totals.
Pods would need to be secure so that only the auctioneer (hopefully an automated script) and the drafters can see it.
People would have a time limit set for each pick and a goof draft mechanism set up for those who miss their turn.)
Some cap on bids other than the minimum $1 bid. As Aetherdaemon said it is possible for the first person to obtain the game breaking card they can pick by overbidding. Not sure this should be entirely discouraged (It is limited after all and 23 decent cards + basics > 1 awesome bomb + 22 mediocre or worse cards + land in general. Maybe make the cap = half your remaining total unless the minimum is greater than or equal to that.
Cards that are won in auction must be owned or purchased by that player on modo.
I will also point out that open drafts are extremely time consuming so you have to be sure those who enter are going to complete the draft and that they are aware of the time commitment. I am not saying this is a bad idea but it seems very complex to do and this is the only way I see it working online.
Won't the prizes have to be fairly substantial to reduce rare bidding? If there is a Tezzeret what would stop multiple people from trying to bid 159 on the Tezz and 1 on each of the other 41 cards they need?
Interesting. I suppose it could be decent as distraction for your opponent as you and others have pointed out. I guess I'm too focused on building around Tezz, rather than this type of deck which has Tezz used in a supporting role. On several occasions I've ultimated Tezz and it's quite fun. Perhaps I'm too focused on that rather than making 1 or 2 5/5's. Digging for Spine is certainly something Tezz would be good at!
Seeing how tezz isn't required to win I'm going to assume that he's in there to win the games he can but more so to force the opponent to waste resources to remove him while your goal is actually to win via a different route.
And LE as i've commented in other peeps articles please lay off on the comments about cards being "boring" as it only makes you sound either jealous or bitter while adding nothing of value to your otherwise great article.
As I have almost no creatures in deck, Tezzeret's main goal here is to turn my artifacts into 5/5 creatures. Those 5/5s are how I kill Koth of the Hammer, how I stop infect, how I deal with any other Aggro decks during early turns and/or how I stop Neurok Commandos from drawing cards for the opponent. So I can easily say that his -1 ability is all I need in this deck.
I rarely use his +1 and during those times I use it, I'm mainly searching for Spine of Ish Sah. Digging five cards deeper into the deck to get it, is an incredible option to have. As you know, Spine is ridiculous with Venser.
Also I have two Wurmcoil Engines in the sideboard which I side in against Aggro decks. And more than once I managed to turn those 3/3 tokens into 5/5 ones. It doesn't happen always but when it does, it's always fun.
Oh and so far I never used his ultimate by the way.
I had a draft last week, same story, but i didn't have the recorder on so I have no idea what I messied....I ended up getting 2 lands for the first two picks....
I still think there is plenty of skill checks in the set. Poison seems more brainless than most once the deck is constructed, but I've still seen some thoughtful poison builds.
Do you find that with only 11 artifacts, Tezz's +1 becomes a liability? I can only imagine if you open a hand with 3 artifacts and Tezz thus leaving only 8 artifacts in the remaining 53 would be difficult to play with. Plus, several or your SB strategies lower the artifact count further. I suppose that Tezz has some value turning your Sphere's or Wellsprings into 5/5's but I would imagine main decking a bigger threat like a Wurmcoil or Massacre Wurm would serve you better, but you seem to be having good results. Just interested in your take on the "perceived" low artifact count.
How do you think I feel! I missed out on a Tezz because Mtgo had a glitch and all I got was a $3 coupon. But yes, I would have loved to grab the Tezz because I think he is one of the strongest planeswalkers in this block for limited. Unfortunately for me mtgo had other ideas...
I like the idea of the auction draft, but the pacing will be very slow. 42 cards * 8 players = 336 rounds of auctions. Plus you have to keep track of how much money each player has and their maximum possible bid. On MTGO, how would you represent the "table" where all the cards are laid out?
Everybody would grab Tezz. If I were passed a Tezz, I would have to assume that the guy who passed it picked a foil Tezz. Now, I'm bummed about the draft and I haven't even looked at the second pick yet. Pick Tezz and draft your entire draft around him.
Nifty. Uses for stifle:
Duplicant triggers when they try to duplicant your trygon predator
Dragon's breath trigger when oath or tinker brings out a fatty
Bazaar of Baghdad activation
Oath trigger to time walk the Oath deck
Time Vault activation to buy a turn to destroy Vault
Pseudo Land Destruction when you Stifle a Fetchland
Wasteland activations - they lose their land, you keep yours
Kuldotha Forgemaster activation - this is truly brutal, they lose 3 artifacts, you lose 1 stifle
Helm of Obedience activation
Pitch to Force of Will
Annihilator trigger on Emrakul, so you can block with a Birds of Paradise and swing for the win next turn (or gilded drake their emrakul)
Sensei's Divining Top activation (rarely would this be worthwhile though)
Keep Engineered Explosives from wrecking your board of 1cc or 2cc critters
Stopping the storm trigger on Tendrils of Agony
Tempoing out a planeswalker activation, buying board position or preventing massive hand manipulation ala Jace
Stopping the Steel Hellkite activation when they attack in thinking it is safe because they plan on nuking most of your board - then you swing in and kill them or blow up the hellkite next turn with the creatures you shouldn't still have
Stopping a maze of ith activation so your trygon predator can get through and wreck them
etc, there is plenty more, and usually the surprise factor is killer
A road trip and a contest game at the end of it? What's not to love about this equation. You guys must have had some great fun there. I miss a road trip and I'm looking forward for summer to come and set up my mpg travel trailer for a little adventure. Do you have any updates on how your trip went?
I actually called this player out on not letting me gain the life since he stuck around a while to watch the game. He apologized and said he forgot. But it doesn't take much to F6 through your turn if you are facing lethal. And you never know, someone may come to your rescue.
I am so happy that K-scope is getting the boost it needed! I think that Destructive Flow not being on the banned list for K-scope is a mistake, tho. It will be interesting to see what kinds of decks hit the tables at When Worlds Kaleid after the 3/30 downtime. The current meta seems to be "Jundish", and I'd really like to see a more vibrant & varied meta. I'm currently working on a "Dark Selesnya" (GWB) deck that's been doing ok in play-testing using the Classic format. I hope I'll get a chance to play it "in competition" in it's intendeded format.
I expect Pillars will start to rise again; I picked mine up a few weeks back when WotC_K first indicated that changes were coming. Another card that has started to dip recently is Maelstrom Pulse, which I also suspect will rise again, as well.
No argument here. Sometimes apples taste like...apples.
I think one of the douchiest things I see on MTGO is people conceding before the lethal blow in order to avoid giving the killer some benefit like life gain from life link. It reeks of poor sportsmanship and I'm surprised more people don't seem to be bothered by it.
Sometimes a metaphor is still a metaphor.
Logic, reasoning, and common sense can't technically "watch" anything, so I guess one could imply the same point you were trying to make to your own post? =)
It's a shame they got deleted. I haven't seen so many people get worked up over a few posts on here in a while. Someone should sign this guy to a full-time gig.
I'd be a lot more concerned about this deck's status as "non-casual" if it had proved more effective. I've leaned away from playing it in the past week in favor of a couple other decks (with creatures, how novel!) mostly because it wasn't winning as much as I'd like. When I did win (I'd say I was winning maybe 15-20% of games), it was pretty spectacular and certainly caused a lot of people to complain (though many also complimented the deck). However, this deck is very easy to disrupt. People started to pick up on the fact that my number of win conditions are extremely limited, and that even with as much creature removal as I have, it's possible to overwhelm me (unless I pull off Humility + Night of Soul's Betrayal, of course).
Compare this to a popular deck like Azusa. People rarely accuse the Azusa decks of being "non-casual", even though they're just as grief-inducing as this deck, and far more resilient. When you've seen a Green Sun's Zenith for a Primeval Titan for the hundreth time, or a Tooth and Nail into Avenger of Zendikar and Regal Force for the hundreth time or a Genesis Wave for 40 for the hundreth time, it calls into question where that deck fits in the casual / non-casual continuum.
I've never believed that any strategy is inherently non-casual. Discard, land destruction, mana ramp, dredge, etc are all perfectly viable and you can make a casual deck that focuses on any of them. Non-casual to me are things like Helm of Obedience + Leyline of the Void (you'll note that I didn't include a Helm in this deck even though it would be very effective). There's no strategy in that combo. You're not trying to create a game state that allows your kill conditions to work, you're just trying to find a kill condition that completely ignores the game state. That's most definitely not what the Chains deck is. The game state is vitally important to its chance of winning. If I can't control the creatures on the table (and in the command zones), I can't win. If I can't get the right combination of cards on the table, I can't create the lock, let alone do damage. If I can't empty my opponent's hands, the lock doesn't function. In short, even a deck that has no real "disruption" cards can disrupt the combo through the course of normal play. That, to me, is the difference.
first time for me also,, but i def enjoyed the drafting video.. i must say that i was abit iffy with some of the plays you made game one but you won it so i can not complain.. game 2 with 12 lands u had no real chance and game three u just got sucker punched by not blocking and it happens to us all... i do have one question tho.. i am going to start writing some articles myself in the interest of drafts and the leagacy format..my question is how do you record your games as you have done here so that they can be posted here and on youtube?
This sounds a bit like a combination of Rochester draft (cf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DCI_%28Wizards_of_the_Coast%29 the entry under rochester draft) and leagues.
The way this could be implemented is via a 3rd party site with secure log in.
the features needed would be as follows:
I will also point out that open drafts are extremely time consuming so you have to be sure those who enter are going to complete the draft and that they are aware of the time commitment. I am not saying this is a bad idea but it seems very complex to do and this is the only way I see it working online.
Won't the prizes have to be fairly substantial to reduce rare bidding? If there is a Tezzeret what would stop multiple people from trying to bid 159 on the Tezz and 1 on each of the other 41 cards they need?
Interesting. I suppose it could be decent as distraction for your opponent as you and others have pointed out. I guess I'm too focused on building around Tezz, rather than this type of deck which has Tezz used in a supporting role. On several occasions I've ultimated Tezz and it's quite fun. Perhaps I'm too focused on that rather than making 1 or 2 5/5's. Digging for Spine is certainly something Tezz would be good at!
As always I enjoyed this article a lot. :)
Seeing how tezz isn't required to win I'm going to assume that he's in there to win the games he can but more so to force the opponent to waste resources to remove him while your goal is actually to win via a different route.
And LE as i've commented in other peeps articles please lay off on the comments about cards being "boring" as it only makes you sound either jealous or bitter while adding nothing of value to your otherwise great article.
As I have almost no creatures in deck, Tezzeret's main goal here is to turn my artifacts into 5/5 creatures. Those 5/5s are how I kill Koth of the Hammer, how I stop infect, how I deal with any other Aggro decks during early turns and/or how I stop Neurok Commandos from drawing cards for the opponent. So I can easily say that his -1 ability is all I need in this deck.
I rarely use his +1 and during those times I use it, I'm mainly searching for Spine of Ish Sah. Digging five cards deeper into the deck to get it, is an incredible option to have. As you know, Spine is ridiculous with Venser.
Also I have two Wurmcoil Engines in the sideboard which I side in against Aggro decks. And more than once I managed to turn those 3/3 tokens into 5/5 ones. It doesn't happen always but when it does, it's always fun.
Oh and so far I never used his ultimate by the way.
LE
I had a draft last week, same story, but i didn't have the recorder on so I have no idea what I messied....I ended up getting 2 lands for the first two picks....
I still think there is plenty of skill checks in the set. Poison seems more brainless than most once the deck is constructed, but I've still seen some thoughtful poison builds.
I finished reading it and see what you are saying.
I bet you never play while waiting for a draft again.
Ouch.
Cool, if you do one, recap it on puremtgo!
Cool, if you do one, recap it on puremtgo!
Do you find that with only 11 artifacts, Tezz's +1 becomes a liability? I can only imagine if you open a hand with 3 artifacts and Tezz thus leaving only 8 artifacts in the remaining 53 would be difficult to play with. Plus, several or your SB strategies lower the artifact count further. I suppose that Tezz has some value turning your Sphere's or Wellsprings into 5/5's but I would imagine main decking a bigger threat like a Wurmcoil or Massacre Wurm would serve you better, but you seem to be having good results. Just interested in your take on the "perceived" low artifact count.
How do you think I feel! I missed out on a Tezz because Mtgo had a glitch and all I got was a $3 coupon. But yes, I would have loved to grab the Tezz because I think he is one of the strongest planeswalkers in this block for limited. Unfortunately for me mtgo had other ideas...
I like the idea of the auction draft, but the pacing will be very slow. 42 cards * 8 players = 336 rounds of auctions. Plus you have to keep track of how much money each player has and their maximum possible bid. On MTGO, how would you represent the "table" where all the cards are laid out?
Everybody would grab Tezz. If I were passed a Tezz, I would have to assume that the guy who passed it picked a foil Tezz. Now, I'm bummed about the draft and I haven't even looked at the second pick yet. Pick Tezz and draft your entire draft around him.
Nifty. Uses for stifle:
Duplicant triggers when they try to duplicant your trygon predator
Dragon's breath trigger when oath or tinker brings out a fatty
Bazaar of Baghdad activation
Oath trigger to time walk the Oath deck
Time Vault activation to buy a turn to destroy Vault
Pseudo Land Destruction when you Stifle a Fetchland
Wasteland activations - they lose their land, you keep yours
Kuldotha Forgemaster activation - this is truly brutal, they lose 3 artifacts, you lose 1 stifle
Helm of Obedience activation
Pitch to Force of Will
Annihilator trigger on Emrakul, so you can block with a Birds of Paradise and swing for the win next turn (or gilded drake their emrakul)
Sensei's Divining Top activation (rarely would this be worthwhile though)
Keep Engineered Explosives from wrecking your board of 1cc or 2cc critters
Stopping the storm trigger on Tendrils of Agony
Tempoing out a planeswalker activation, buying board position or preventing massive hand manipulation ala Jace
Stopping the Steel Hellkite activation when they attack in thinking it is safe because they plan on nuking most of your board - then you swing in and kill them or blow up the hellkite next turn with the creatures you shouldn't still have
Stopping a maze of ith activation so your trygon predator can get through and wreck them
etc, there is plenty more, and usually the surprise factor is killer
A road trip and a contest game at the end of it? What's not to love about this equation. You guys must have had some great fun there. I miss a road trip and I'm looking forward for summer to come and set up my mpg travel trailer for a little adventure. Do you have any updates on how your trip went?