I included Sword of Fire and Ice for its extra 2 damage and card draw ability. Sword of Light and Shadow's abilitys are not needed in this deck as you should have killed your opponent before you need to gain life or resurect creatures.
I didnt include the swords for their protection ability's that was just an added bonus if I played a person in those colours.
If he uses a bunch of non-basic lands that produce black mana, Drought doesn't affect him, like, at all. And 15 years later, there's just plenty of good non-basics that can produce colored mana, such that non mono-black/Cabal Coffers decks are generally only running a few actual "Swamps".
That's what I wrote... and then I RTFC again.
Uh, yes, it's actually an "additional cost to cast" black spells. Which will sort of prevent your opponent from casting them if they don't have enough swamps to sacrifice. And makes the card much better, though still probably not in the "playable" category because of the stupid 2 mana upkeep.
But good eye! I'll chalk this one up to really, really tiny font.
Thanks for the review of Urza's Saga. Here are my opinions on a few cards (didn't really want to write up an article).
Arc Lightning - very good right now between Goblins, Zoo, White Weenie.
Bravado - A solid card for the casual room and a decent card in some matchups
Catalog - another Instant speed card draw
Congregate - decent sideboard options versus certain decks
Curfew - decent sideboard option against some decks that can be optimized by your enters the battlefield effects
Despondency - I like this card, but don't know how useful it is
Exhume - may get really interesting with the common Eldrazi
Pestilence - repeatable wrath effect againts many decks in a color with great life gain
Priest of Titania - should help with the combo elf decks
Rewind - a decent counterspell option
Smoldering Crater - this cycle has a place as a cycle land for a splash color in decks where you are asking too much to play something from the Tranquil Thicket cycle
Symbiosis - with Stmopy making a showing in a few PEs and PREs, this card is potentially useful
Veiled Serpent - I like this one as a sideboard option for MUC decks in the mirror match
grats again to Flippers, I was glad my comp held together for me to play this past weekend and I'm def lookin forward to pauper Ima try my best to make that, hopefully it isnt a sliver breeding ground
<_<. I see no reason to "win this turn" (even though I can solve the puzzle). There's simply not lethal on the board, between Aven Riftwatcher and the white blockers you can produce. The solution is clever, but doesn't the general plan of "Bounce, splice on the unblockable to Ephemeron, swing 4, riftwatcher+blink, kill next turn with unblockable" plan seem to be an almost as sure way to victory?
The problem is fairly easy (if I hadnt overseen anything). My solution uses all mana. Remember the blink, btw. There are in my solution two cards in hand which was not used.
I used to kill my opponent with his own justice, using Chaoslace. I colored the justice red and did some damage. Needless to say. We didn't see many justice after that and Ironclaw Orcs continued their awesomenes. Ahhh those were the days
About the critical interactions. I could only dream they were true.
You have to realise that I wasn't doing turn to turn coverage. In some of the games I won, I was facing lethal damage before being able to stabilize.
Most of the opponent's Blightnings weren't really helping. And I may have forgotten about a wall here and there. The core of the article however remains the same. This deck has various angels to defeat a menace in the current standard while not even being close to the perfect decklist. Let alone sideboard.
I get what you're saying about Drought and how it doesn't stop black spells from being cast (as long as the opponent has swamps available to sac) or creatures from attacking. But I don't get what you're saying about non-basics. If the opponent has to sac a swamp for every black mana spent, doesn't that mean he can't cast a black spell if he has no swamps, or not enough swamps, to sacrifice? What do non-basics have to do with it?
"No way, I reply, "we can't have Patrick Chapin "innovate" this and take credit"."
haha
So the critical interactions with Jund are:
1) Jund player tries Blightning -> you bin an Iona to reanimate later.
2) Jund player tries Thrinax -> your wall 'pacifies' it without it turning into tokens.
3) Ramping into Martial Coup and All is Dust negates the CA that Jund generates.
3.1) You're playing _eight_ sweepers, so you always stabilize?
Read Lady Sun's text again - timing restrictions making it not nearly as good as you think it is (and I know you think pretty lowly of it). Also, I'd love to have Lady Zhurong in limited. Otherwise, another great review.
Obviously packs of UZ will leave the store tomorrow. But won't the queues immediately be replaced with nix-pax queues? I know that nix-pax queues naturally fire less, and therefore their prize packs drop in value slightly, but won't UZ be different?
People are demanding more than 2 weeks of store time for this set. But it's not like it's going anywhere? The prize support will decrease, but the cost to enter and the availability will remain the same. If people are playing for the limited environment (take the black cards, or so I heard) and for certain chase rares, then they should continue to do so all next week, right? And the week after that until ROE comes out? (Well, for us digital people that means May.)
Also, this isn't EX. We'll get a bit more UZ during the UZ/UZ/UL and UZ/UL/UD events. Those restricted cards are going to drop further within a year, like Necropotence. Tolarian Academy and especially Yawgmoth's Will will never be allowed as a 4-of in Vintage, and there's no chance of Will being allowed in Legacy. I mean, zero. Will never happen. Academy in Legacy has a 0.005% chance of happening someday. And if it does happen it'll do what Gush did in Vintage. However IGG is definitely a good card to invest in. And also I think, Sneak Attack. In paper it's very expensive because it's a popular casual card. Online, we're paying a lot for Gaea's Cradle, but Sneak Attack just kind of died.
If you want to crack boosters of UZ then it is a far, far better deal to pay 15 for a draft than it is to pay 12 just crack 3 packs on your own. There are two reasons why: prize packs, and the obvious drafting. You don't have to rare draft (or steal all the Dark Rituals) to come out ahead of a random booster, either. People should already be entering tournaments as their primary means of acquiring cards! It's really cheaper. Buying a pack for $4 and cracking it with no incentive is the worst thing you can do.
And if you want playsets of certain cards then buying singles is the only practical way to do it. If you're trying to acquire cards then play in events. If you're trying to acquire specific cards then buy them as singles.
"And, most amazingly, draped women stand in the left of the frame against a blue background"
Ha! I either never noticed that, or forgot that I noticed it.
I guess I had Worship wrong all along. I thought that was Serra standing in front of her statue while preaching the flavor text. They are dressed similarly as you pointed out.
I included Sword of Fire and Ice for its extra 2 damage and card draw ability. Sword of Light and Shadow's abilitys are not needed in this deck as you should have killed your opponent before you need to gain life or resurect creatures.
I didnt include the swords for their protection ability's that was just an added bonus if I played a person in those colours.
If he uses a bunch of non-basic lands that produce black mana, Drought doesn't affect him, like, at all. And 15 years later, there's just plenty of good non-basics that can produce colored mana, such that non mono-black/Cabal Coffers decks are generally only running a few actual "Swamps".
That's what I wrote... and then I RTFC again.
Uh, yes, it's actually an "additional cost to cast" black spells. Which will sort of prevent your opponent from casting them if they don't have enough swamps to sacrifice. And makes the card much better, though still probably not in the "playable" category because of the stupid 2 mana upkeep.
But good eye! I'll chalk this one up to really, really tiny font.
Thanks for the review of Urza's Saga. Here are my opinions on a few cards (didn't really want to write up an article).
Arc Lightning - very good right now between Goblins, Zoo, White Weenie.
Bravado - A solid card for the casual room and a decent card in some matchups
Catalog - another Instant speed card draw
Congregate - decent sideboard options versus certain decks
Curfew - decent sideboard option against some decks that can be optimized by your enters the battlefield effects
Despondency - I like this card, but don't know how useful it is
Exhume - may get really interesting with the common Eldrazi
Pestilence - repeatable wrath effect againts many decks in a color with great life gain
Priest of Titania - should help with the combo elf decks
Rewind - a decent counterspell option
Smoldering Crater - this cycle has a place as a cycle land for a splash color in decks where you are asking too much to play something from the Tranquil Thicket cycle
Symbiosis - with Stmopy making a showing in a few PEs and PREs, this card is potentially useful
Veiled Serpent - I like this one as a sideboard option for MUC decks in the mirror match
grats again to Flippers, I was glad my comp held together for me to play this past weekend and I'm def lookin forward to pauper Ima try my best to make that, hopefully it isnt a sliver breeding ground
<_<. I see no reason to "win this turn" (even though I can solve the puzzle). There's simply not lethal on the board, between Aven Riftwatcher and the white blockers you can produce. The solution is clever, but doesn't the general plan of "Bounce, splice on the unblockable to Ephemeron, swing 4, riftwatcher+blink, kill next turn with unblockable" plan seem to be an almost as sure way to victory?
That deck looks great and without knowing your opponents skill level.....I hope this is the deck that will take the king of standard down!!
Some of us lag sometimes because our opponents are lagging badly. Everyone needs to invest in a new computer.
ah, nvm i figured it out, though my solution requires all mana available to you.
10 mana used, still got the drake and riftwatcher in hand.
nope
The problem is fairly easy (if I hadnt overseen anything). My solution uses all mana. Remember the blink, btw. There are in my solution two cards in hand which was not used.
I should not post my solution should I?
I was able to do it with 9 mana. It really is a fairly straightforward solution.
Well, I thought a found a solution, but im 3 mana off =/
I used to kill my opponent with his own justice, using Chaoslace. I colored the justice red and did some damage. Needless to say. We didn't see many justice after that and Ironclaw Orcs continued their awesomenes. Ahhh those were the days
About the critical interactions. I could only dream they were true.
You have to realise that I wasn't doing turn to turn coverage. In some of the games I won, I was facing lethal damage before being able to stabilize.
Most of the opponent's Blightnings weren't really helping. And I may have forgotten about a wall here and there. The core of the article however remains the same. This deck has various angels to defeat a menace in the current standard while not even being close to the perfect decklist. Let alone sideboard.
I hope you've enjoyed it
I get what you're saying about Drought and how it doesn't stop black spells from being cast (as long as the opponent has swamps available to sac) or creatures from attacking. But I don't get what you're saying about non-basics. If the opponent has to sac a swamp for every black mana spent, doesn't that mean he can't cast a black spell if he has no swamps, or not enough swamps, to sacrifice? What do non-basics have to do with it?
Dreamstone Hedron? Really? Oh, I guess so.
"No way, I reply, "we can't have Patrick Chapin "innovate" this and take credit"."
haha
So the critical interactions with Jund are:
1) Jund player tries Blightning -> you bin an Iona to reanimate later.
2) Jund player tries Thrinax -> your wall 'pacifies' it without it turning into tokens.
3) Ramping into Martial Coup and All is Dust negates the CA that Jund generates.
3.1) You're playing _eight_ sweepers, so you always stabilize?
I think 'Justice' guy is out of Ninja Scroll.
Well, I cant get it.
Read Lady Sun's text again - timing restrictions making it not nearly as good as you think it is (and I know you think pretty lowly of it). Also, I'd love to have Lady Zhurong in limited. Otherwise, another great review.
great article, keep it up!
I just want to say thanks for adding this!
I find it very useful, for deciding which draft to do. :-)
Obviously packs of UZ will leave the store tomorrow. But won't the queues immediately be replaced with nix-pax queues? I know that nix-pax queues naturally fire less, and therefore their prize packs drop in value slightly, but won't UZ be different?
People are demanding more than 2 weeks of store time for this set. But it's not like it's going anywhere? The prize support will decrease, but the cost to enter and the availability will remain the same. If people are playing for the limited environment (take the black cards, or so I heard) and for certain chase rares, then they should continue to do so all next week, right? And the week after that until ROE comes out? (Well, for us digital people that means May.)
Also, this isn't EX. We'll get a bit more UZ during the UZ/UZ/UL and UZ/UL/UD events. Those restricted cards are going to drop further within a year, like Necropotence. Tolarian Academy and especially Yawgmoth's Will will never be allowed as a 4-of in Vintage, and there's no chance of Will being allowed in Legacy. I mean, zero. Will never happen. Academy in Legacy has a 0.005% chance of happening someday. And if it does happen it'll do what Gush did in Vintage. However IGG is definitely a good card to invest in. And also I think, Sneak Attack. In paper it's very expensive because it's a popular casual card. Online, we're paying a lot for Gaea's Cradle, but Sneak Attack just kind of died.
If you want to crack boosters of UZ then it is a far, far better deal to pay 15 for a draft than it is to pay 12 just crack 3 packs on your own. There are two reasons why: prize packs, and the obvious drafting. You don't have to rare draft (or steal all the Dark Rituals) to come out ahead of a random booster, either. People should already be entering tournaments as their primary means of acquiring cards! It's really cheaper. Buying a pack for $4 and cracking it with no incentive is the worst thing you can do.
And if you want playsets of certain cards then buying singles is the only practical way to do it. If you're trying to acquire cards then play in events. If you're trying to acquire specific cards then buy them as singles.
"And, most amazingly, draped women stand in the left of the frame against a blue background"
Ha! I either never noticed that, or forgot that I noticed it.
I guess I had Worship wrong all along. I thought that was Serra standing in front of her statue while preaching the flavor text. They are dressed similarly as you pointed out.