I strongly disagree regarding MTGO ratings being pointless. If they are swingy because a player can enter so many more tournaments (which I agree with), then yes it does mean that a player's rating at any given point in time doesn't give you a lot of information. However, I think it makes the players overall rating when tracked over time much MORE valuable because it's based on a much larger data set. Smaller data sets are more prone to bias. Therefore, RL ratings may change more slowly but that doesn't make them any more accurate.
It was a good first article. And you should keep on writing. It is the only way to get better. Another way that you could of made this article better was to put different deck lists from the daily events. You could discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
In Mirrodin Beseiged...I so hope theres a black planeswalker with -1: target opponent gains a poison token
My impression is that the author is a bit short-sighted on tempo issues. The 2-3 drops can beat the removal much more effectively than the dragon at times. Maindeck removal can really win lots of tempo. I'm ok with 4 Cur, especially if you're running Throne, but I don't really like Throne (much, I want it to work), so 2-3 seems best in non-Throne builds.
I have had lots of success with monoblack infect in the dailies (last 6: 3-1, 3-1, 1-2, 3-1, 4-0, 3-1). I really think you need skinrenders and grasps mainboard. They are key to pushing through your damage and slowing down your opponent. 4 skittles is too much. 2-3 is fine. 4 corpse cur is a lot drop it down to 2 or 3.
Just won a poisoning battle with a friend of mine, he gets a Skithiryx and Clasp out and I manage to get a contagion engine up. I had Skittles down to a 1/1 very quickly, at that point i was just letting him through and sitting back with a Necrotic Ooze with the Grafted Exoskeleton equipped. I can't afford the five dollar cards so I am experimenting with a couple of Oozes, Grafted Exoskeleton, and Engines instead. Was kind of fun to shrink the legendary Skittles down to an insect. Otherwise my deck is very similar except for a few blue cards and the Livewire Lash. I think you make an excellent case to go all black though so I will try that.
What I meant is that Skittles is the card with the biggest raw power in the deck, it can win races like no other card can since it swings for 2/5 of the opponent life total each time with evasion AND haste.
Saying that he loses to Magnet, Rebuttal or Grasp is just not a point as every other artifact or black creature with infect also does, so it's not likely that you're running something immune to those cards instead. Notice that it ends the game in three turns all by itself (and often you'll only need two) if unanswered and survives Contagion Clasp, Skinrender, all the artifact removal, Galvanic Blast, Arc Trail and has some sort of protection against Volition Reins or Arrest in the sense that, thanks to haste, you're still able to get some value out of it before Arrest/Reins.
26 lands is hardly an issue since the deck has some mana sinks (Skittles again, Contagion Clasp, Vat from the board) and needs quite a few lands in order to play more than one single spell each turn.
In my opinion Ichorclaw is better than Necropede since the latter has all the drawbacks you highlighted plus it cannot get past a turn two myr token, while the myr can. Still, I can see your point, it's just that I want a high number of two drops in this deck as they are so instrumental to the deck success. If it eats a removal, fine, he clears the way for my other two drops .
I did not explain all of my choices for the deck as most of them are self explanatory, next time I'll try to do it.
Super interesting draft, man - interesting decisions, well thought out analysis, and it definitely looks fun. First time I've seen the UG infect deck come together like this - thanks for posting it. Great work!
The ratings IRL are even higher now that most people care about total rating which is a more variable rating. If your ratings are high it will be higher, if they are low it will be lower.
Also keep in mind that Magic Online ratings (and IRL ones) are very swingy. When I first got back into Magic my MTGO limited peaked at 1860 something. I can honestly say I'm a lot better than I was back then (Timespiral) and my rating now usually is in the 1750-1850 range. I find my MTGO ratings much swingier than real life because you can enter so many events. If I'm bad at a draft format (Lorwyn for example) I'll drop to the 1600s. If I'm good at a format I'll shoot right back up.
To sum up: MTGO ratings are swingy and mostly pointless.
Wow, what a crazy draft! Your deck ended up pretty sweet as it is but it also could have been bonkers as BG infect OR as UW goodstuff. Venser + double razor hippogriff? Yes please!
Personally I don't mind writers splitting in the finals. I always do it whenever possible regardless of the quality of my deck. I like both players walking away happy and it frees up some time to draft again/sleep/whatever.
"Simply put it [Skithiryx] is the best card in the deck..."
A 6-drop that loses to Tumble Magnet, Stoic Rebuttal, Grasp of Darkness, and some other common removal? It also arrives online rather late strategically vs. Koth or WW or Venser. You can argue its pros, but you can't say it is simple. I'm 8-3 in the queues with infect, starting two copies of the Dragon, and it was the only card I always sided out. A cost/benefit analysis would have been nice. The nicest thing about running 0 copies is that they have to play as if you run 4. The 2nd nicest thing is not having to run 26 lands, flooding, and not drawing the Dragon.
I also don't like Ichorsclaw Myr so much (2nd best infect creature in Legacy though because of Trample effects), because it dies to all artifact kill, dies to all -1/-1 effects (a ton), can always be chumped if needed, and tends to make one want to play jankier cards like Throne (which isn't horrible, but not consistent enough).
There are lots of configurations out there, it would have been nice if you had explored some of the other builds (to your credit, you did weed out B/G) and card inclusions and why you thought they were inferior.
"So I guess that my idea wasn't that original, but I sort of knew that anyway."
Funny, because I have been slowly building an all multicolour deck for a few weeks now and now I see someone else has already done that. ;_; But I am happy that he played a Cetavolver, which strictly ISN'T a multicoloured spell. (*_*) Sometimes the little things in life make one happy.
Maybe add some form of all round removal like Saltblast, Desert Twister or even Reap and Sow as a way to deal with pesky lands like the Mazes.
I just finished a Kemba deck and it was exactly like how you described this deck's performance: could take someone out then get ganged up on. Still fun, though, if you only want to get out there and play.
Nice deck ideas. Maybe a cool addition could be Gatherer of Graces? She can do insane things with a Rancor (or Spirit Loop) and a draw effect in play. Also, maybe Winds of Rath is better than Wrath of God here? (Probably it depends on the meta, but still it fits the enchantment theme).
Hehe you're the first person who's brought up the finals splitting, but I know there are probably a few people out there that don't like it. I probably split the finals about a quarter of the time, and while I realize its one less round of playing to read, I choose the material for these articles based on how interesting/educational the draft itself was, and rarely on the games themselves. While the game reports certainly are useful, I see the draft as the meat of the article, so tend to focus on that much more than the results. That being said, if anyone else would rather me not post anymore drafts in which I split the finals let me know and I will cease to do so. Sorry for the disappointing ending greyes3, hope you still enjoyed the article!
Hmm just got a clarification from Flippers_Giraffe that the combo event is to be the month after, could use a throwback to revise this before it goes live.
I could write an entire article on your misplays and inappropriate commentary. Playing Koth->Masticore, with no cards in hand, and an unchecked flyer on the other side typifies the whole video.
You need to slow down, you need to read cards (especially your own cards), and you must practice. Often.
Here is the thing ... what you are talking about costs money. There is no way around that. Either by installing technology to do it automatically and adding extra complications to the current process while doing it or doing it by some other means. (What happens when the list is wrong by some fluke error or the picture doesn't quite resolve correctly?) I am not saying it couldn't be done. I am saying it won't be done. It is not a simple fix as you suggest. It will either impact the cost of the production or the bottom line. Either way there is an old saying that covers this: If it ain't broke...don't fix it.
Yes, but is technology really coming up short here ?
My mind "sees" some kind of automated camera taking pics of face up cards ---somewhere along the production-line--- and such can make the list that identifies a boosters game-cards.
- Inserting micro-chips in the cards ?
- "Line-codes" which already have been in use in supermarkets/grocery-stores for along time. You know, that thing that released the manual punching of prices on the "math-machine" when the customer is to pay before leaving the store ? (idk the english word for this.)
- other options Im sure...
Doing it manually is ofc not an option =) Gonna go sleep now, past bedtime in Norway.
There is a point where something may seem simple but is just not cost effective. If this idea of yours was feasible without RAISING THE PRICE OF THE PACKS I am certain it would have been done already. You think it is just a matter of someone listing every card in a 15 pack before wrapping and shipping and putting that list in a computer then printing it out and including it? It isn't.
The way packs are made (as far as I can recall it being explained) is as follows: They print out sheets (at the printing company) and cut them into card sized pieces using automated machinery. These cards then get mixed together in 15 card batches. The frequency of the cards are determined ahead of time by the sheet being cut. I am fairly certain there is no way to do the thing you want to do automatically. The reason it costs only a little 3.99 + tax a pack is because the process is automated.
If it had to be done by hand expect a cost of $30+ a pack. Now for PTs/GPs where the packs are stamped and repacked to set them up for proper and legal drafting this is done by hand by volunteers. And I am sure the process is slow and painstaking though I've only viewed it from a far.
PreRegBoosterPack = the pack we know today only included an extra paper of some kind that identifies the 15 game-cards of the pack, be it photos or typed list. (for sealed deck and drafts).
What my arguements in short are can be described with the following:
- Make it harder to cheat by adding cards, or seen the other way: make it easier to detect players adding cards.
- Signal-effect to all that heightens the integrity of the game.
- Faster rutines for players and judges at GPrixes + other tournaments that require sealed-deck-lists (pre-releases/GPtrials).
- General use in the B&Mstore for all their tournament activity, also drafts.
It would require WotC to change their way of producing the boosters prolly, which I hope wont cost too much. In the thread I linked Im questioned to as how this is to work in the local B&Mstore, upon which my main point is that only the TO is to collect the reg-sheets, and such can use them as he sees best (for detective work if necessary).
Thanks for your replies and time spent Paul =)
I strongly disagree regarding MTGO ratings being pointless. If they are swingy because a player can enter so many more tournaments (which I agree with), then yes it does mean that a player's rating at any given point in time doesn't give you a lot of information. However, I think it makes the players overall rating when tracked over time much MORE valuable because it's based on a much larger data set. Smaller data sets are more prone to bias. Therefore, RL ratings may change more slowly but that doesn't make them any more accurate.
It was a good first article. And you should keep on writing. It is the only way to get better. Another way that you could of made this article better was to put different deck lists from the daily events. You could discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
In Mirrodin Beseiged...I so hope theres a black planeswalker with -1: target opponent gains a poison token
This I agree with.
My impression is that the author is a bit short-sighted on tempo issues. The 2-3 drops can beat the removal much more effectively than the dragon at times. Maindeck removal can really win lots of tempo. I'm ok with 4 Cur, especially if you're running Throne, but I don't really like Throne (much, I want it to work), so 2-3 seems best in non-Throne builds.
I have had lots of success with monoblack infect in the dailies (last 6: 3-1, 3-1, 1-2, 3-1, 4-0, 3-1). I really think you need skinrenders and grasps mainboard. They are key to pushing through your damage and slowing down your opponent. 4 skittles is too much. 2-3 is fine. 4 corpse cur is a lot drop it down to 2 or 3.
Try different builds.
awesome title : )
Just won a poisoning battle with a friend of mine, he gets a Skithiryx and Clasp out and I manage to get a contagion engine up. I had Skittles down to a 1/1 very quickly, at that point i was just letting him through and sitting back with a Necrotic Ooze with the Grafted Exoskeleton equipped. I can't afford the five dollar cards so I am experimenting with a couple of Oozes, Grafted Exoskeleton, and Engines instead. Was kind of fun to shrink the legendary Skittles down to an insect. Otherwise my deck is very similar except for a few blue cards and the Livewire Lash. I think you make an excellent case to go all black though so I will try that.
What I meant is that Skittles is the card with the biggest raw power in the deck, it can win races like no other card can since it swings for 2/5 of the opponent life total each time with evasion AND haste.
Saying that he loses to Magnet, Rebuttal or Grasp is just not a point as every other artifact or black creature with infect also does, so it's not likely that you're running something immune to those cards instead. Notice that it ends the game in three turns all by itself (and often you'll only need two) if unanswered and survives Contagion Clasp, Skinrender, all the artifact removal, Galvanic Blast, Arc Trail and has some sort of protection against Volition Reins or Arrest in the sense that, thanks to haste, you're still able to get some value out of it before Arrest/Reins.
26 lands is hardly an issue since the deck has some mana sinks (Skittles again, Contagion Clasp, Vat from the board) and needs quite a few lands in order to play more than one single spell each turn.
In my opinion Ichorclaw is better than Necropede since the latter has all the drawbacks you highlighted plus it cannot get past a turn two myr token, while the myr can. Still, I can see your point, it's just that I want a high number of two drops in this deck as they are so instrumental to the deck success. If it eats a removal, fine, he clears the way for my other two drops .
I did not explain all of my choices for the deck as most of them are self explanatory, next time I'll try to do it.
Thanks for the reply.
Super interesting draft, man - interesting decisions, well thought out analysis, and it definitely looks fun. First time I've seen the UG infect deck come together like this - thanks for posting it. Great work!
The ratings IRL are even higher now that most people care about total rating which is a more variable rating. If your ratings are high it will be higher, if they are low it will be lower.
Also keep in mind that Magic Online ratings (and IRL ones) are very swingy. When I first got back into Magic my MTGO limited peaked at 1860 something. I can honestly say I'm a lot better than I was back then (Timespiral) and my rating now usually is in the 1750-1850 range. I find my MTGO ratings much swingier than real life because you can enter so many events. If I'm bad at a draft format (Lorwyn for example) I'll drop to the 1600s. If I'm good at a format I'll shoot right back up.
To sum up: MTGO ratings are swingy and mostly pointless.
Wow, what a crazy draft! Your deck ended up pretty sweet as it is but it also could have been bonkers as BG infect OR as UW goodstuff. Venser + double razor hippogriff? Yes please!
Personally I don't mind writers splitting in the finals. I always do it whenever possible regardless of the quality of my deck. I like both players walking away happy and it frees up some time to draft again/sleep/whatever.
Skithiryx is Volition Rein's best friend XD.
"Simply put it [Skithiryx] is the best card in the deck..."
A 6-drop that loses to Tumble Magnet, Stoic Rebuttal, Grasp of Darkness, and some other common removal? It also arrives online rather late strategically vs. Koth or WW or Venser. You can argue its pros, but you can't say it is simple. I'm 8-3 in the queues with infect, starting two copies of the Dragon, and it was the only card I always sided out. A cost/benefit analysis would have been nice. The nicest thing about running 0 copies is that they have to play as if you run 4. The 2nd nicest thing is not having to run 26 lands, flooding, and not drawing the Dragon.
I also don't like Ichorsclaw Myr so much (2nd best infect creature in Legacy though because of Trample effects), because it dies to all artifact kill, dies to all -1/-1 effects (a ton), can always be chumped if needed, and tends to make one want to play jankier cards like Throne (which isn't horrible, but not consistent enough).
There are lots of configurations out there, it would have been nice if you had explored some of the other builds (to your credit, you did weed out B/G) and card inclusions and why you thought they were inferior.
Having never actually drafted on MTGO; how do you actually go about splitting on MTGO? I've never noticed a button..
Also, that was one bonkers looking deck!
"So I guess that my idea wasn't that original, but I sort of knew that anyway."
Funny, because I have been slowly building an all multicolour deck for a few weeks now and now I see someone else has already done that. ;_; But I am happy that he played a Cetavolver, which strictly ISN'T a multicoloured spell. (*_*) Sometimes the little things in life make one happy.
Maybe add some form of all round removal like Saltblast, Desert Twister or even Reap and Sow as a way to deal with pesky lands like the Mazes.
I just finished a Kemba deck and it was exactly like how you described this deck's performance: could take someone out then get ganged up on. Still fun, though, if you only want to get out there and play.
Nice deck ideas. Maybe a cool addition could be Gatherer of Graces? She can do insane things with a Rancor (or Spirit Loop) and a draw effect in play. Also, maybe Winds of Rath is better than Wrath of God here? (Probably it depends on the meta, but still it fits the enchantment theme).
Hehe you're the first person who's brought up the finals splitting, but I know there are probably a few people out there that don't like it. I probably split the finals about a quarter of the time, and while I realize its one less round of playing to read, I choose the material for these articles based on how interesting/educational the draft itself was, and rarely on the games themselves. While the game reports certainly are useful, I see the draft as the meat of the article, so tend to focus on that much more than the results. That being said, if anyone else would rather me not post anymore drafts in which I split the finals let me know and I will cease to do so. Sorry for the disappointing ending greyes3, hope you still enjoyed the article!
For the sake of your articles: don't split the finals! I would have preferred even 2nd place to the "went to sleep" ending.
Prototype Portal is awesome. :)
Hmm just got a clarification from Flippers_Giraffe that the combo event is to be the month after, could use a throwback to revise this before it goes live.
Sorry about that,
Mike-
I could write an entire article on your misplays and inappropriate commentary. Playing Koth->Masticore, with no cards in hand, and an unchecked flyer on the other side typifies the whole video.
You need to slow down, you need to read cards (especially your own cards), and you must practice. Often.
Here is the thing ... what you are talking about costs money. There is no way around that. Either by installing technology to do it automatically and adding extra complications to the current process while doing it or doing it by some other means. (What happens when the list is wrong by some fluke error or the picture doesn't quite resolve correctly?) I am not saying it couldn't be done. I am saying it won't be done. It is not a simple fix as you suggest. It will either impact the cost of the production or the bottom line. Either way there is an old saying that covers this: If it ain't broke...don't fix it.
Yes, but is technology really coming up short here ?
My mind "sees" some kind of automated camera taking pics of face up cards ---somewhere along the production-line--- and such can make the list that identifies a boosters game-cards.
- Inserting micro-chips in the cards ?
- "Line-codes" which already have been in use in supermarkets/grocery-stores for along time. You know, that thing that released the manual punching of prices on the "math-machine" when the customer is to pay before leaving the store ? (idk the english word for this.)
- other options Im sure...
Doing it manually is ofc not an option =) Gonna go sleep now, past bedtime in Norway.
There is a point where something may seem simple but is just not cost effective. If this idea of yours was feasible without RAISING THE PRICE OF THE PACKS I am certain it would have been done already. You think it is just a matter of someone listing every card in a 15 pack before wrapping and shipping and putting that list in a computer then printing it out and including it? It isn't.
The way packs are made (as far as I can recall it being explained) is as follows: They print out sheets (at the printing company) and cut them into card sized pieces using automated machinery. These cards then get mixed together in 15 card batches. The frequency of the cards are determined ahead of time by the sheet being cut. I am fairly certain there is no way to do the thing you want to do automatically. The reason it costs only a little 3.99 + tax a pack is because the process is automated.
If it had to be done by hand expect a cost of $30+ a pack. Now for PTs/GPs where the packs are stamped and repacked to set them up for proper and legal drafting this is done by hand by volunteers. And I am sure the process is slow and painstaking though I've only viewed it from a far.
PreRegBoosterPack = the pack we know today only included an extra paper of some kind that identifies the 15 game-cards of the pack, be it photos or typed list. (for sealed deck and drafts).
What my arguements in short are can be described with the following:
- Make it harder to cheat by adding cards, or seen the other way: make it easier to detect players adding cards.
- Signal-effect to all that heightens the integrity of the game.
- Faster rutines for players and judges at GPrixes + other tournaments that require sealed-deck-lists (pre-releases/GPtrials).
- General use in the B&Mstore for all their tournament activity, also drafts.
It would require WotC to change their way of producing the boosters prolly, which I hope wont cost too much. In the thread I linked Im questioned to as how this is to work in the local B&Mstore, upon which my main point is that only the TO is to collect the reg-sheets, and such can use them as he sees best (for detective work if necessary).