Feedback is great and appreciated by all pure writers, but many of your pick suggestions seem way off.
You advocate taking creatures over premium removal (Vendetta & Staggershock >> beastbreaker), Hyena Umbra over better on-color cards, a so-so creature over instant-speed removal, and then after moving into the awkward RW color combo for these marginal picks, you advocate taking a sideboard card in siege-runner over great maindeck white cards hartebeest and Emerge Unscathed, and the much-better-than-siege-runner Makindi Griffin. Even Vent Sentinels is the way better pick in that spot, as defender.dec is a legit way to go with a RW deck.
In short, his line might not have been perfect, but it's superior to the line you are advocating here.
^^ This. As someone who played UR Magnivore online back in it's day I'd hate to hear verbalized how unapproving my opponents are of my budget choices. I actually had some [body part] [transportation means] send me a PM AFTER a match letting me know how I only won because of luck and that I suck unless I use more expensive card...
To continue the trend I'd rather [action] a [adjective] piece of [crafting material] until my [place] [action] [place].
madlibs are fun! I used Balsa Wood, Ride, Everywhere, Insides, Splintery, Bled and Ride in no particular order.
But seriously, my friends and I use Vent for voice chat.
Voice chat would be miserable. Like halo, but with whinier players.(I say this because you never hear halo players complain that the needler or whatever ____gun is not casual)
I would rather puncture my eardrums with a used hypodermic needle a bum handed me, then even have the option of leistening to players online.
Against your friends in a casual game chat is a very nice feature.
Against a random opponent with prizes on the line, much less so. I don't really want to hear a stream of profanity from a teenager who believes with every fiber of his being that he is superior to me in every way except for luck. Especially if my 2-year old daughter happens to be playing in the same room....
Unburden is a good card but I wouldn't know how to fit it in the sideboard. I'll try it out instead of Distress and get back to you. I really like how it can cycle when not needed. Thank you for the suggestion!
Yeah, a more even split on the expanses would be better. I'll pick up my missing evolving wilds to do that. I also need to get another 7th ed crypt rats to fill my set.
I already mentioned that Probe is card advantage when kicked, it just has the option not to be. You're going to play it 95% of the time kicked, but if you're in a tight spot or your opponent has no cards in hand then you can play it without the kicker. I count it as a 5drop like Mulldrifter.
About the last game, I agree that the hand you kept is very borderline. You have some reasonable plays in the early game but you also have a great risk of doing absolutely nothing for several turns. I also think that Ulamog is basically a blank in your opening hand and basically in your deck in general when your opponent is at less than 3 minutes at the start of game 3. He will most likely run out of time before you would be able to adequately use Ulamog. Considering your opponent's time situation, his best and probably only bet at winning is if he gets a reasonable start and you stumble on mana issues. Knowing this, I was wondering if thought about sideboarding in some more early game cards before game 3? I would have probably cut at least 1 Eldrazi for a Jwari Scuttler.
The chances of you drawing your bomb in two games are really high in limited, that happens to me all the time. I recently played a BW levelers deck with a singleton time of heroes in it, and wound up drawing that card in about 75% of my matches.
I'm bad at magic, but it is ok because I try to see where my failures are instead of just blaming all my losses on my bad luck or my opponent's good luck. Certainly luck is a factor at times, but on an infinite timeline it starts to mean less and less. Definitely you sussed it out right in the end. This poor bastard didn't learn anything from his loss.
Personally, I'd go for a 2/3 split on terramorphic and wilds. That way it keeps them guessing as to how many fetch lands you're really running.
Probe really isn't card advantage unless it's kicked. You spend your mana and a card to get one card and improved card quality. Granted, it is very synergistic with graveyard strategies. Kicked you get that sweet card quality bump with the bonus of relieving your opponent of two cards. So essentially-
Probe: 1 for 1
Probe Kicked: 1 for 3
Well you certainly kicked his rear. Even given no clock issues you had him pegged. I guess he had to assuage his hurt pride after losing like that. I can even get where he is coming from ... you play on a level he can't even conceive of. What seems like wise strategy to you is just out of the blue stuff to him. He can't conceive of the fact that you are reading his hand and his deck by how he plays. Just as he could not think to even begin to read yours. The reaction of infant is interesting. A bit of rage twisted to a flame in an attempt to get you to say something derogatory back. And what is truly funny is that he was clearly the infantile one. A mature player might get irritated or even annoyed at losing to a card they see as a random bomb draw twice but they would not be blaming the opponent for their own errors. Given this behavior I would without knowing anything more about the player hazard a guess of late teen. No offense to all the mature teens out there but this seems like the alpha male behavior guys start displaying when they start fledging. Good Game Godot, sorry I wasn't available to help you squish typos etc but it seems your team did a fine job.
I've been toying around with some sideboard ideas and you can definitly do so yourselves but I do think that the Kargans are important. Is much like Brad Nelson's UGR sideboard from the MOCS. You have almost 3/6 guaranteed cards to come in after board everytime just because they side out their removal.
3/4 either way 10 dollars is more than I am willing to spend on a single card. I dont really know if Kiln Fiend fits with the deck but if you sideboarded out the ld package i could see it being worth testing.
What do you think about Unburden in the sideboard? It can improve your situation against Stompy, Goblins and Burn just by itself. And we have reliable way to trade this card for something random if we'll just topdeck it in the wrong time.
The deck only calls for 3 dragon lords, but if you need something else, I think you can get RDW style and use Kiln Fiend. With all of the burn you use to remove blockers it should work, well it has been working I should say with U/R Kiln Decks.
Nice article. I wrote a few Zen Block Constructed write ups and was going to write about this one for next week after seeing it do well in the last few daily block events. Good thing I decided to do something different for the article I was working on this week :). Good luck and continued success with the deck. I think zen block is pretty healthy right now. UGR seemed to be dominating for the last few weeks and then this came along. It's nice to see new decks making their way into the format after the ROE has been online for a few months now.
I've always been a fan of LD so this deck looks sweet. You probably should have mentioned the cost though. Without the Kargan Dragonlord the whole thing is maybe 13 tickets sideboard included. Are there any suitable replacments for the leveler if someone is one a budget? $40.00 for 4 is a little out of what I'm willing to pay for any cards online.
Sure, distortion strike is not a very popular pick outside of this archetype so it's unlikely that you'd end up in this archetype but not be able to get any strikes unless you are cut off. The argument over necessity is more of an academic one really. I stand by my points, and will add that overly relying on distortion strike enhances the weakness of the deck (vulnerability to spot removal) even though it can be more explosive. I think it's good to have some combo pieces that don't risk the 2 for 1 so much.
I should have mentioned this in the article but Distortion Strike and Kiln Fiend are often found together in packs (but not always), so pay attention to that if you want to know if anyone else is drafting this deck at your table. It's not the kind of thing you want to compete over imo.
LOL @ you stealing credit for the deck! (though rightfully so!) I just loved Leech + Leige because that's brutal brutal damage, I feel I should make a few changes (its very grave hatey because I expected more reanimation after bannings), but how can you go wrong with the number of lords zombies have?
Feedback is great and appreciated by all pure writers, but many of your pick suggestions seem way off.
You advocate taking creatures over premium removal (Vendetta & Staggershock >> beastbreaker), Hyena Umbra over better on-color cards, a so-so creature over instant-speed removal, and then after moving into the awkward RW color combo for these marginal picks, you advocate taking a sideboard card in siege-runner over great maindeck white cards hartebeest and Emerge Unscathed, and the much-better-than-siege-runner Makindi Griffin. Even Vent Sentinels is the way better pick in that spot, as defender.dec is a legit way to go with a RW deck.
In short, his line might not have been perfect, but it's superior to the line you are advocating here.
^^ This. As someone who played UR Magnivore online back in it's day I'd hate to hear verbalized how unapproving my opponents are of my budget choices. I actually had some [body part] [transportation means] send me a PM AFTER a match letting me know how I only won because of luck and that I suck unless I use more expensive card...
To continue the trend I'd rather [action] a [adjective] piece of [crafting material] until my [place] [action] [place].
madlibs are fun! I used Balsa Wood, Ride, Everywhere, Insides, Splintery, Bled and Ride in no particular order.
But seriously, my friends and I use Vent for voice chat.
Voice chat would be miserable. Like halo, but with whinier players.(I say this because you never hear halo players complain that the needler or whatever ____gun is not casual)
I would rather puncture my eardrums with a used hypodermic needle a bum handed me, then even have the option of leistening to players online.
Against your friends in a casual game chat is a very nice feature.
Against a random opponent with prizes on the line, much less so. I don't really want to hear a stream of profanity from a teenager who believes with every fiber of his being that he is superior to me in every way except for luck. Especially if my 2-year old daughter happens to be playing in the same room....
Very good work. The Grixis deck looks like fun.
I'm not sure, but I think voice chat would be awesome. Even just in 1 vs 1.
Unburden is a good card but I wouldn't know how to fit it in the sideboard. I'll try it out instead of Distress and get back to you. I really like how it can cycle when not needed. Thank you for the suggestion!
Yeah, a more even split on the expanses would be better. I'll pick up my missing evolving wilds to do that. I also need to get another 7th ed crypt rats to fill my set.
I already mentioned that Probe is card advantage when kicked, it just has the option not to be. You're going to play it 95% of the time kicked, but if you're in a tight spot or your opponent has no cards in hand then you can play it without the kicker. I count it as a 5drop like Mulldrifter.
Great point, I definitely should have sided out Ulamog.
Very nice article.
About the last game, I agree that the hand you kept is very borderline. You have some reasonable plays in the early game but you also have a great risk of doing absolutely nothing for several turns. I also think that Ulamog is basically a blank in your opening hand and basically in your deck in general when your opponent is at less than 3 minutes at the start of game 3. He will most likely run out of time before you would be able to adequately use Ulamog. Considering your opponent's time situation, his best and probably only bet at winning is if he gets a reasonable start and you stumble on mana issues. Knowing this, I was wondering if thought about sideboarding in some more early game cards before game 3? I would have probably cut at least 1 Eldrazi for a Jwari Scuttler.
Awesome, I love the whining at the end.
The chances of you drawing your bomb in two games are really high in limited, that happens to me all the time. I recently played a BW levelers deck with a singleton time of heroes in it, and wound up drawing that card in about 75% of my matches.
I'm bad at magic, but it is ok because I try to see where my failures are instead of just blaming all my losses on my bad luck or my opponent's good luck. Certainly luck is a factor at times, but on an infinite timeline it starts to mean less and less. Definitely you sussed it out right in the end. This poor bastard didn't learn anything from his loss.
OY! not again. well im a drafting fool i guess for the next year.
Personally, I'd go for a 2/3 split on terramorphic and wilds. That way it keeps them guessing as to how many fetch lands you're really running.
Probe really isn't card advantage unless it's kicked. You spend your mana and a card to get one card and improved card quality. Granted, it is very synergistic with graveyard strategies. Kicked you get that sweet card quality bump with the bonus of relieving your opponent of two cards. So essentially-
Probe: 1 for 1
Probe Kicked: 1 for 3
Well you certainly kicked his rear. Even given no clock issues you had him pegged. I guess he had to assuage his hurt pride after losing like that. I can even get where he is coming from ... you play on a level he can't even conceive of. What seems like wise strategy to you is just out of the blue stuff to him. He can't conceive of the fact that you are reading his hand and his deck by how he plays. Just as he could not think to even begin to read yours. The reaction of infant is interesting. A bit of rage twisted to a flame in an attempt to get you to say something derogatory back. And what is truly funny is that he was clearly the infantile one. A mature player might get irritated or even annoyed at losing to a card they see as a random bomb draw twice but they would not be blaming the opponent for their own errors. Given this behavior I would without knowing anything more about the player hazard a guess of late teen. No offense to all the mature teens out there but this seems like the alpha male behavior guys start displaying when they start fledging. Good Game Godot, sorry I wasn't available to help you squish typos etc but it seems your team did a fine job.
A villan indeed, this time :)
I've been toying around with some sideboard ideas and you can definitly do so yourselves but I do think that the Kargans are important. Is much like Brad Nelson's UGR sideboard from the MOCS. You have almost 3/6 guaranteed cards to come in after board everytime just because they side out their removal.
3/4 either way 10 dollars is more than I am willing to spend on a single card. I dont really know if Kiln Fiend fits with the deck but if you sideboarded out the ld package i could see it being worth testing.
lololololol. I'd troll that guy for 15 minutes.
Your round 3 opponent quote is even funnier when you actually consider that he was playing a deck with 5+ fillers.
Excellent article!
What do you think about Unburden in the sideboard? It can improve your situation against Stompy, Goblins and Burn just by itself. And we have reliable way to trade this card for something random if we'll just topdeck it in the wrong time.
The deck only calls for 3 dragon lords, but if you need something else, I think you can get RDW style and use Kiln Fiend. With all of the burn you use to remove blockers it should work, well it has been working I should say with U/R Kiln Decks.
Nice article. I wrote a few Zen Block Constructed write ups and was going to write about this one for next week after seeing it do well in the last few daily block events. Good thing I decided to do something different for the article I was working on this week :). Good luck and continued success with the deck. I think zen block is pretty healthy right now. UGR seemed to be dominating for the last few weeks and then this came along. It's nice to see new decks making their way into the format after the ROE has been online for a few months now.
one of your best yet
I've always been a fan of LD so this deck looks sweet. You probably should have mentioned the cost though. Without the Kargan Dragonlord the whole thing is maybe 13 tickets sideboard included. Are there any suitable replacments for the leveler if someone is one a budget? $40.00 for 4 is a little out of what I'm willing to pay for any cards online.
Sure, distortion strike is not a very popular pick outside of this archetype so it's unlikely that you'd end up in this archetype but not be able to get any strikes unless you are cut off. The argument over necessity is more of an academic one really. I stand by my points, and will add that overly relying on distortion strike enhances the weakness of the deck (vulnerability to spot removal) even though it can be more explosive. I think it's good to have some combo pieces that don't risk the 2 for 1 so much.
I should have mentioned this in the article but Distortion Strike and Kiln Fiend are often found together in packs (but not always), so pay attention to that if you want to know if anyone else is drafting this deck at your table. It's not the kind of thing you want to compete over imo.
LOL @ you stealing credit for the deck! (though rightfully so!) I just loved Leech + Leige because that's brutal brutal damage, I feel I should make a few changes (its very grave hatey because I expected more reanimation after bannings), but how can you go wrong with the number of lords zombies have?