I agree with Paul, Vial has had it's day. It is too powerful in a creature based format due to the card advantage it generates and I'm not just talking about Merfolk.
Being able to cast an extra creature a turn which is not counterable warps the game when you look at the tribes using it. From turn three you could be pumping out two creatures and when you're doing this with lords/allies it's just over the top.
Banning it doesn't change the strength of the tribe, it just shows it in it's true form.
Amatlamittha here. You spelled my name wrong, but it's OK; we can still be best friends.
Decklist was just GW weenies: Twinblade Slasher, Loam Lion, Anurid Brushhopper, Tolsimir Wolfblood, Mycoid Shepherd, Shield of the Oversoul, etc... Too bad I had to drop without resolving the game's only Frog Beast at least once. :[
yes the only way it can be a full tribe is with changelings, but so what? it should be chastised because he had to use changelings? take that up with wizards for printing them, but as long as you have them you should use them.. and it's not like you get good ones in black... they are pretty bad
I would agree that it's a weak set that still has some interesting cards. Ezuri is definitely good enough for Elves. I haven't decided if it's worth running Genesis Wave or not. It's win-more, like you said. And looking at it as a big threat, it's not tutorable like the big creatures in the deck. Plus the deck wants new elf creatures, not XGGG spells. That's why Ezuri is perfect for the deck.
Your card reviews are interesting to read, because you're fairly open minded and willing to consider possibilities that might be decent but also might be bad. That's a good thing, because otherwise all we get are the obvious ideas that we could have come up with ourselves.
I disagree with my esteemed friend Bingo about the banning of Aether Vial. It is possible to play it in noncompetitive decks but typically it is in the worst offender, Fish and with Standstill etc it becomes the menace that won't die. I am on the edge about banning cards in general but I think Vial has long since had it's day.
RE: My Deck. Yes I can say I was very surprised to go 2-1 AFTER realizing it was the wrong deck. Lots of bad cards and 1 ofs (no surprise there actually many of my decks run 1-ofs because I'm a tad insane when I first build a deck and toss things in to see what works.) Imho the whole land destruction theme was extremely successful only failing to stop the aggro Cats run by Ranth. (Which I claim some cosmic credit for from my prior 3-0 Cats apoc winner. But I know he didn't copy my deck or even probably know about it. Cats are just the awesome. But I have also brought 1-2 cats so meh at that.)
I am looking forward to seeing the theme week decks.
I do beleive Olaw was my round 1 opponent and as such I can attest that his deck ran the following:
4x Stone Rain 4x Pillage SB: Boil. I don't remember the rest off hand as the land destruction theme was very much the central one. I was actually impressed that he played it with gusto as most LD decks to my mind seem to slack off ...his kept going long after I expected it to just die out. Had to burn him out both games. One game saw me with multiple Mogg War Marshal's Splinter Twinned which was fairly funny. You take the hands you are dealt.
Round 2 vs Discard + strange stuff with Necroplasm was even more of a blue.
Round 3 I played vs Mr Jebus's mono blue control and all I know is he countered everything.
Round 4 I played vs the Abyssal Inquiry deck by Kelgate and was just discarded to death. Key mistakes in both later matches kept me out of the Winning circle imho.
@Thuh thanks bro. :) If you or anyone else wants one just message me in game and we can negotiate price and how you want it.
@Xaos I need to get my schedule into sync with this event. Is at all possible the time could be pushed to say 4pm? I love the tribal apoc event and when I have the time I try to play that as do many of my friends. That usually start starts around 1pm and ends before 3pm. If not I will keep trying to make it.
Looks like my first Heirloom event will be next weekend! Very excited. Might even see if I can't get the deck together tonight and see if anyone is available for testing. I fancy doing an more controlly variant of Thuh's Affinity build perhaps splashing black for removal. When does SOM enter the legality list? Memnite seems an obvious inclusion and there are a few other metalcraft cards worth thinking about.
The first deck of yours is also something I'm working on currently. Jace + Niv-Mizzet is really crazy, considering you can keep the dragon alive. Adding Jace's Erasure to the mix is also a good decision.
A question though: As your deck is Classic legal, why not add Brainstorm as well? Or how about adding some cycling to the deck? Think about it: Uncounterable card drawing! Wouldn't it be nice? Lay Waste? Miscalculation? Starstorm? Complicate? Slice and Dice? All are nice on their own and cycling makes them even better. You already have one Forgotten Cave and one Lonely Sandbar but why stop there? But of course Brainstorm must be in.
I don't think Archmage Ascension belongs to this deck; it looks like a win more card. You are already drawing cards like crazy with that deck and therefore tutoring won't be needed. I also wouldn't play Browbeat. The opponent can take five to the dome and move on. Yours isn't an Aggro deck and that five damage won't hurt him that much; at least not in the short run.
And finally Propaganda in my opinion should be a mass burn spell such as Earthquake; or better Starstorm! Some creatures never attack but do some other nasty things (such as Fauna Shaman). Propaganda won't do anything against such creatures but burn spells will.
Oh and you should at least have one Invoke the Firemind in the deck too. I would even consider Sphinx of Lost Truths. Two copies would be enough. The final card that should be considered is that Blue Honden in my opinion.
Of course I'm aware that I named lots of cards and that all of them can't go into the deck, but they are at least worth a try.
Must be missing something here, masticores with changlings a tribe? Sorry don't see it
Although the event is a casual approach and the Masticore a cool idea for a tribe but when a tribe has to use 40% of cards as changlings is it really a tribe or a bending of the rules, is it in the sprit of the PRE?
No it's not a direct attack on AJ for his tribe just an observation.
RANT
Also still not sure why you have banned Vial ... any deck can use it not just Merfolk as you mentioned.
might have been better to ban 1 or 2 of the merfolk from that style of deck.
Vial is also great mana fixing card for multi coloured decks, for people without the good 10-28tik duals. Great for slivers,allies and many others.
This banning takes away the power of the budget minded player to compete.
Don't agree on this banning flip see no point to it if you just stopping one deck which i can't see being played again after your last article.
END RANT
But once again M8 good read and nice to see the PRE doing well
Thx for this detailed midseason report, i take it as that.
Taking the whole game more like a casual thing - surely i want to win my games- i only get angry for myself if i play bad. If an opponents kicks my a** even if i tested and tweaked my deck a lot, i learn to get better there and get a feeling for the power level of the format and my decks. If i like to play a casual build, i can ignore the power level and have fun with “flip a coin” or stuff like that!
Even if the metagame changes a lot, i think the event is moving to more competition, what is good to me, so after a while we can establish a casual event beside this one ;-)
Heirloom Limited:
I love limited because of the same reasons i like heirloom: Making more cards useful.
A few weeks ago the idea of a Heirloom-Limited format came up to me too. Maybe the host of an draft or sealed event could "trade" a limited pool to the players. Generating a card pool by the community on an extra account for that. Complaining about the randomness of the stuff provided guaranteed:-(
I would really like to try a limited format!
@Paul: amazing Banners u create! Thx for tuning the eye-catcher here :-)
Little is more inexplicably satisfying than card advantage to me. Maybe it comes from playing so much limited since it's so much more important there than most anywhere else, since I'll often lose in constructed while being way ahead on card advantage, perfectly happy until I lose miserably lol.
Good article, I like the game reports and deck lists. Makes for a good read.
Ya infect seems pretty busted in commander, infect cards/poison cards might are almost twice as good here as in other formats (I say almost because hey it's a classic format and there aren't that many infect cards that can compete with that and hey creature based win isn't always the best in commander as your threats often get exploded by players you aren't even attacking)
Ya I don't think banning specific tribes is the way to go either, tribal format minus x,y and z tribes? how silly would that be?
I think your implementations to improve the appeal of the format for both casual and competitive are excellent, good job with the variety of offerings and award structures.
Great article as always, masticores are pretty funny as a tribe, maybe they'll print a lord for them someday lol.
I always like to see comments on various cards even out of context of the formats I might play them in.
Galvanic Blast is so very much insane btw, even though it may take awhile to find a real home since metalcraft will be pretty narrow.
Glad to hear that monored is getting burnt out of the format a bit, though I suppose that just makes it even more expensive to be competitive in, not that I would ever want to play monored at an event, just seems pointless even if occasionally successful.
For the contest I just noticed I didn't leave an address to email me submissions. My email name is "Xaoslegend" and the location is "@gmail.com", combine the two and you can email me. (I don't like to post my email in a form that programs can record automatically for spamming purposes).
Good luck trying to win the contest, I will give out 3 tix to someone so long as something even mildly acceptable as a submission comes in, I could decide to give out more depending on the quality of things of course! Invictus! (terrible movie, good story)
I got beat yesterday by posion on the dragon, problem really comes own to the haste... no matter how many times I killed it it would just come back next turn and attack like nothing happened
It was unfortunate I had to run out after the second round, I really think I could have easily made 2-1 with my giants. This was an updated version of the deck, which I went 3-0 with before. I was so pissed off to lose to Myr in round 1 because in both games I had him below 10 life (esp game 1 where I had him at 3 and needed almost any non-land card to win).. I thought Myr should have been my best match because the giant deck has soo many wrath effects, I just couldn't draw them
I agree with Paul, Vial has had it's day. It is too powerful in a creature based format due to the card advantage it generates and I'm not just talking about Merfolk.
Being able to cast an extra creature a turn which is not counterable warps the game when you look at the tribes using it. From turn three you could be pumping out two creatures and when you're doing this with lords/allies it's just over the top.
Banning it doesn't change the strength of the tribe, it just shows it in it's true form.
wow very true I didn't realize that thanks
Amatlamittha here. You spelled my name wrong, but it's OK; we can still be best friends.
Decklist was just GW weenies: Twinblade Slasher, Loam Lion, Anurid Brushhopper, Tolsimir Wolfblood, Mycoid Shepherd, Shield of the Oversoul, etc... Too bad I had to drop without resolving the game's only Frog Beast at least once. :[
yes the only way it can be a full tribe is with changelings, but so what? it should be chastised because he had to use changelings? take that up with wizards for printing them, but as long as you have them you should use them.. and it's not like you get good ones in black... they are pretty bad
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/20314_The_Puck_Stops_Here.html
Reason long live !
I would agree that it's a weak set that still has some interesting cards. Ezuri is definitely good enough for Elves. I haven't decided if it's worth running Genesis Wave or not. It's win-more, like you said. And looking at it as a big threat, it's not tutorable like the big creatures in the deck. Plus the deck wants new elf creatures, not XGGG spells. That's why Ezuri is perfect for the deck.
Your card reviews are interesting to read, because you're fairly open minded and willing to consider possibilities that might be decent but also might be bad. That's a good thing, because otherwise all we get are the obvious ideas that we could have come up with ourselves.
First card draw into wins Deck Was ProsperBloom. 2nd Stroking Moma.
I disagree with my esteemed friend Bingo about the banning of Aether Vial. It is possible to play it in noncompetitive decks but typically it is in the worst offender, Fish and with Standstill etc it becomes the menace that won't die. I am on the edge about banning cards in general but I think Vial has long since had it's day.
RE: My Deck. Yes I can say I was very surprised to go 2-1 AFTER realizing it was the wrong deck. Lots of bad cards and 1 ofs (no surprise there actually many of my decks run 1-ofs because I'm a tad insane when I first build a deck and toss things in to see what works.) Imho the whole land destruction theme was extremely successful only failing to stop the aggro Cats run by Ranth. (Which I claim some cosmic credit for from my prior 3-0 Cats apoc winner. But I know he didn't copy my deck or even probably know about it. Cats are just the awesome. But I have also brought 1-2 cats so meh at that.)
I am looking forward to seeing the theme week decks.
I do beleive Olaw was my round 1 opponent and as such I can attest that his deck ran the following:
4x Stone Rain 4x Pillage SB: Boil. I don't remember the rest off hand as the land destruction theme was very much the central one. I was actually impressed that he played it with gusto as most LD decks to my mind seem to slack off ...his kept going long after I expected it to just die out. Had to burn him out both games. One game saw me with multiple Mogg War Marshal's Splinter Twinned which was fairly funny. You take the hands you are dealt.
Round 2 vs Discard + strange stuff with Necroplasm was even more of a blue.
Round 3 I played vs Mr Jebus's mono blue control and all I know is he countered everything.
Round 4 I played vs the Abyssal Inquiry deck by Kelgate and was just discarded to death. Key mistakes in both later matches kept me out of the Winning circle imho.
@Thuh thanks bro. :) If you or anyone else wants one just message me in game and we can negotiate price and how you want it.
@Xaos I need to get my schedule into sync with this event. Is at all possible the time could be pushed to say 4pm? I love the tribal apoc event and when I have the time I try to play that as do many of my friends. That usually start starts around 1pm and ends before 3pm. If not I will keep trying to make it.
Hey Xaos, is this weekend's event on Sunday or Saturday? I'm thinking of brewing a new deck together but don't know which day the tournament is.
LE
Looks like my first Heirloom event will be next weekend! Very excited. Might even see if I can't get the deck together tonight and see if anyone is available for testing. I fancy doing an more controlly variant of Thuh's Affinity build perhaps splashing black for removal. When does SOM enter the legality list? Memnite seems an obvious inclusion and there are a few other metalcraft cards worth thinking about.
The first deck of yours is also something I'm working on currently. Jace + Niv-Mizzet is really crazy, considering you can keep the dragon alive. Adding Jace's Erasure to the mix is also a good decision.
A question though: As your deck is Classic legal, why not add Brainstorm as well? Or how about adding some cycling to the deck? Think about it: Uncounterable card drawing! Wouldn't it be nice? Lay Waste? Miscalculation? Starstorm? Complicate? Slice and Dice? All are nice on their own and cycling makes them even better. You already have one Forgotten Cave and one Lonely Sandbar but why stop there? But of course Brainstorm must be in.
I don't think Archmage Ascension belongs to this deck; it looks like a win more card. You are already drawing cards like crazy with that deck and therefore tutoring won't be needed. I also wouldn't play Browbeat. The opponent can take five to the dome and move on. Yours isn't an Aggro deck and that five damage won't hurt him that much; at least not in the short run.
And finally Propaganda in my opinion should be a mass burn spell such as Earthquake; or better Starstorm! Some creatures never attack but do some other nasty things (such as Fauna Shaman). Propaganda won't do anything against such creatures but burn spells will.
Oh and you should at least have one Invoke the Firemind in the deck too. I would even consider Sphinx of Lost Truths. Two copies would be enough. The final card that should be considered is that Blue Honden in my opinion.
Of course I'm aware that I named lots of cards and that all of them can't go into the deck, but they are at least worth a try.
Just some thoughts.
LE
Must be missing something here, masticores with changlings a tribe? Sorry don't see it
Although the event is a casual approach and the Masticore a cool idea for a tribe but when a tribe has to use 40% of cards as changlings is it really a tribe or a bending of the rules, is it in the sprit of the PRE?
No it's not a direct attack on AJ for his tribe just an observation.
RANT
Also still not sure why you have banned Vial ... any deck can use it not just Merfolk as you mentioned.
might have been better to ban 1 or 2 of the merfolk from that style of deck.
Vial is also great mana fixing card for multi coloured decks, for people without the good 10-28tik duals. Great for slivers,allies and many others.
This banning takes away the power of the budget minded player to compete.
Don't agree on this banning flip see no point to it if you just stopping one deck which i can't see being played again after your last article.
END RANT
But once again M8 good read and nice to see the PRE doing well
Hey Xaos!
Thx for this detailed midseason report, i take it as that.
Taking the whole game more like a casual thing - surely i want to win my games- i only get angry for myself if i play bad. If an opponents kicks my a** even if i tested and tweaked my deck a lot, i learn to get better there and get a feeling for the power level of the format and my decks. If i like to play a casual build, i can ignore the power level and have fun with “flip a coin” or stuff like that!
Even if the metagame changes a lot, i think the event is moving to more competition, what is good to me, so after a while we can establish a casual event beside this one ;-)
Heirloom Limited:
I love limited because of the same reasons i like heirloom: Making more cards useful.
A few weeks ago the idea of a Heirloom-Limited format came up to me too. Maybe the host of an draft or sealed event could "trade" a limited pool to the players. Generating a card pool by the community on an extra account for that. Complaining about the randomness of the stuff provided guaranteed:-(
I would really like to try a limited format!
@Paul: amazing Banners u create! Thx for tuning the eye-catcher here :-)
Thx guys
Little is more inexplicably satisfying than card advantage to me. Maybe it comes from playing so much limited since it's so much more important there than most anywhere else, since I'll often lose in constructed while being way ahead on card advantage, perfectly happy until I lose miserably lol.
Good article, I like the game reports and deck lists. Makes for a good read.
X-
Ya infect seems pretty busted in commander, infect cards/poison cards might are almost twice as good here as in other formats (I say almost because hey it's a classic format and there aren't that many infect cards that can compete with that and hey creature based win isn't always the best in commander as your threats often get exploded by players you aren't even attacking)
Hypergenesis in commander is pretty lol.
X-
Ya I don't think banning specific tribes is the way to go either, tribal format minus x,y and z tribes? how silly would that be?
I think your implementations to improve the appeal of the format for both casual and competitive are excellent, good job with the variety of offerings and award structures.
Great article as always, masticores are pretty funny as a tribe, maybe they'll print a lord for them someday lol.
X-
Great article,
I always like to see comments on various cards even out of context of the formats I might play them in.
Galvanic Blast is so very much insane btw, even though it may take awhile to find a real home since metalcraft will be pretty narrow.
Glad to hear that monored is getting burnt out of the format a bit, though I suppose that just makes it even more expensive to be competitive in, not that I would ever want to play monored at an event, just seems pointless even if occasionally successful.
X-
It works because he says "target permanent you own" instead of target permanent you control. A little nuance that will come up on occasion.
For the contest I just noticed I didn't leave an address to email me submissions. My email name is "Xaoslegend" and the location is "@gmail.com", combine the two and you can email me. (I don't like to post my email in a form that programs can record automatically for spamming purposes).
Good luck trying to win the contest, I will give out 3 tix to someone so long as something even mildly acceptable as a submission comes in, I could decide to give out more depending on the quality of things of course! Invictus! (terrible movie, good story)
X-
good stuff, but correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Venser doesn't work with the drake since it's sorcery speed
Aargh!,
Ok, I see now...
X-
I got beat yesterday by posion on the dragon, problem really comes own to the haste... no matter how many times I killed it it would just come back next turn and attack like nothing happened
It was unfortunate I had to run out after the second round, I really think I could have easily made 2-1 with my giants. This was an updated version of the deck, which I went 3-0 with before. I was so pissed off to lose to Myr in round 1 because in both games I had him below 10 life (esp game 1 where I had him at 3 and needed almost any non-land card to win).. I thought Myr should have been my best match because the giant deck has soo many wrath effects, I just couldn't draw them
oh and yea that masticore deck was crazy cool
Memnite is an Uncommon =(