"When the marauders charged in, one hawk blocked and then Warmarco fired a Last Gasp at his own bird; thatresolves tried to counter the life gain by bolting the bird, but that did NOT resolve thanks to another Hindering Light. A Chain Lightning went at one of the remaining birds instead of the face for some reason."
This was confusing until I realized Last Grasp is supposed to be Last Breath.
I was hoping to see if burn decks actuallly wins it using the power of the newly paupered card gut shot. but i guess got shot is still not that good to be a force in the dailies.
Otherworldly Journey provides a bit of an edge against edicts? Maybe? I'm not sure if that was the reasoning the deckbuilder chose, but it has been relevant in the few matches with this deck I've played. The counter doesn't hurt either. Letting a Mulldrifter dodge removal, come back as a 3/3 flyer and draw two cards is pretty sick.
I like your assessment of what kind of rogue deck it is. It probably won't stand the test of time, but that doesn't make it a pile of trash. It's a solid deck for a tournament full of Lightning Bolt.
Pascal Maynard seems like such a nice guy, and the entire incident left me more than annoyed. I can't help but feel a small amount of the animosity secretly stemmed from jealousy.
"If I made top eight, I'd ALWAYS pick the better card".
Well, you didn't make top eight, did you. You'll have to be content with blasting others on Twitter. Super mature of you. It's a good thing that most new and casual players aren't likely entrenched enough to even know of this. I can't imagine this is good for the brand.
Someone pointed out that had Pascal taken the Burst Lightning, people would likely be dogging him for passing it up. Who knows, maybe someone would have had it in a winning deck and laughed all the way to the bank!
Good show gentlemen. Keep it up. Freed from the real frees me from boredom each week!
Pavel: I am floored by the fact that Pros thought it was OK to do what they did in response to Pavell's pick. Sure we know some people are hateful, petty, unnecessarily vindictive, envious, spiteful, etc but usually that stuff is well hidden and not put on public display. I hope he gets the maximum he could from his wonderful and spontaneous pick (and I don't doubt my shaking would have been 10x more out of control if I'd had that opportunity). Nevermind the fact that he MIGHT have won the GP with a different pick. It was as Adam says, HIS pick and no one else's and screw the kibitzers. I've shouted at people for less at the chess tables when they opened their mouths to criticize a move they found questionable. I am not proud of that but I do think it serves as an example of how we are served better as a community when people keep their venom to themselves or their cronies.
QOTW:
Magic Origins: I am fortunate that a friend saw the Unlimited Edition packs at a Compleat Strategist and bought me some for xmas '93. Otherwise I likely would never have gotten into the game at all and made several very dear friends for life from playing it. In '94, I attended DexCon as a GM (running Champions scenarios I'd written) and happened to bring my cards and learned how to play, roughly, while I was there. I also met one of those life long friends I mentioned above, while there. If I knew then what I know now I would change very little except to not give away the Time Walk I had for stupid antiquities cards. Nor perhaps trade off my "extra" duals. I certainly wouldn't have sold my Mox Sapphire for $90. Though the played-to-death Ruby I traded a Legends Land's Edge for, had to go.
Sites: puremtgo, mtgotraders, mtggoldfish.com, mtgtop98.com, wizards.com (and subsequent subdomains),
defunct sites I used to read regularly: Neutralground.net, various personal fan sites. Oh and IRC channels I haven't been in in well over a decade: on newnet, #e-league, #i-league, on efnet: #mtgwacky, teamhacked.
In the intro to Tempest Remastered Wizards stated that this will certainly not be the last time it is online. My guess is that they wanted to keep it on longer but it conflicted with Modern Masters, so they had it up 3 weeks, then will probably have it up again for at least a week or 2 either between MM and Magic Origins or between Origins and the Zendikar set.
You certainly don't need all of these cards to play Modern, I don't even own close to all of them (though I'd like to). You would do well to be aware of them though.
Two weeks, three weeks. Still doesn't change the price of Wasteland for those who see it as a barrier to entry for Legacy.
We should also remember VMA was intended to be online for only a few weeks but they never announced that until they unexpectedly tried to pull the plug and then the community convinced them to keep it online all summer.
I don't know which is better. Thanks to that we've got duals that have been at the same price for an entire year and affordable Power 9.
But I'll pay more attention to timelines next time I try to speculate.
Tempest Remastered was online for three weeks, as same as Modern Masters 2015 will be. This is how VMA should be managed, intead making it draftable for nearly 5 months.
Tempest Remastered was only online for two weeks. They should know by now that isn't enough to affect the price of a card. Side note: I'm the doof who thought it would be up all summer like VMA last year and lost $5-10 selling and rebuying my Wastelands. So mad that I didn't pay attention to that.
No, thank YOU! For reading, and for posting links to my articles on reddit. I really appreciate it.
Bob is held back by Dig and Cruise. Plus, some decks run TinkerBot which also doesn't want to lose 12 life flipping a card they absolutely don't want in their hand.
No matter how many Tops, Preordains, Ponders, Brainstorms, and Jace's people play, there is always the chance that greatness will come at too steep of a cost.
I should mention here that my "win condition" while playing against Mark was letting him die to hit Dark Confidant. I had the bolt several times. I only would kill the Bob when he was at a high life total. One game in particular, I watched him flip a Force of Will to Dark Confidant, and that put him low enough that I decided to not bolt the Bob until I had to.
Hey Joe, as usual, awesome article and thanks for commenting on my TMD post!! I think one part of the article here brings up an interesting point in that the Landstill deck doesn't have Dig Through Time right now. I'm not saying that it should, though I think if it got restricted, the Landstill deck probably would (and probably should) run the one-of. Similarly like how, to my knowledge, Landstill didn't run Treasure Cruise until it was restricted. I think this is because (other than the fact the Landstill doesn't cast nearly as many spells as Delver/Mentor decks) Landstill and decks that can't really support four delve spells when there already are decks that utilize them to their maximum ability. There wasn't any fundamental change to the Landstill deck when Treasure Cruise was restricted, it could always run at least one, but I think it only started to when playing the card would be at a more even field with the decks that can best take advantage of them; it would not be worth the cutting of business spells. I thin that if Dig gets restricted, you will see more decks running it (as the one-of) for this reason. I think that would make the metagame more interesting, it would probably boost more decks, which could lead to diversity since more decks would be more competitive. For example, running Dark Confidant these days isn't really a successful strategy that much because it can't really remain consistent with the best draw engine right now, i.e. what Delver/Mentor decks have right now, due to the fact that it is only incremental card advantage AND it is very anti-synergistic with the delve spells. If Dig gets restricted, decks with Bob could run Dig as a singleton, (along with Cruise) not stress during Bob triggers, and become more powerful due to Bob not having as much competition for speed. I mean even just looking at the metagmae percentages you wrote in the article shows how imbalanced in many ways the current metagame is right now, and think if something like Grixis (which sometimes runs Bobs, but you can substitute that with BUGx Fish) got a boost...
P.S. I definitely went off there too long, so basically TL;DR: Thank you Joe! :)
It is amazing how bad quality wotc has had with DCI-R, WER and MtgO throughout the years.
Im pretty certain this is one of the factors that have held mtg back.
To say that wotc has aimed/steered steady and well throughout the years towards a giant GP weekend like this is wrong imo. The game would have been there a decade ago if just wotc had put the right things in place earlier.
I totally understand. Theory is a very dense subject, and somewhat difficult to write about. If it becomes too abstract, you risk making it difficult to follow and removing its relevance from gameplay. If it becomes too concrete, you risk it becoming too context-driven and not universal enough.
I've found that conceits such as the tennis references in this article really help keep my theoretical pieces grounded and organized without losing their general applicability.
When I've gone into detail about Magic theory, I've often had the problem of having an over-abundance of information to write about. Sometimes, it's hard to organize everything as well. Your piece came out coherent, and put into words something that I've not considered in as much detail.
Keep up the good work. I like longer articles, and I love it when writers go deep on a subject. Magic is very complex, and articles like this help to illustrate that point.
Thanks! It took me quite a while to write it because there was so much I wanted to cover. I think I got everything I wanted, but I'm sure a more experienced player would have a few other tips and tricks that I missed.
Nice article- though after loosing several times miserably against the tiny plaxcaster I cannot agree with your 2 :-) and will surely hatedraft the beast if there is no Karn or something around.
I'll have to catch up with you on MODO, probably this weekend. I've been playing more Witcher than Magic lately so I'm not in any rush.
Unfortunately I'm not terribly interested in trading the Drains. I'm a total pack rat when it comes to my collection. Other than getting rid of my U/B Dragons deck,
I think the last time I sold anything was a bunch of Legacy only staples to buy into Vintage a year ago.
"When the marauders charged in, one hawk blocked and then Warmarco fired a Last Gasp at his own bird; thatresolves tried to counter the life gain by bolting the bird, but that did NOT resolve thanks to another Hindering Light. A Chain Lightning went at one of the remaining birds instead of the face for some reason."
This was confusing until I realized Last Grasp is supposed to be Last Breath.
The card could be relevant vs. edicts, true, and also lets you freely cycle the relic if it comes up. Thanks!
I was hoping to see if burn decks actuallly wins it using the power of the newly paupered card gut shot. but i guess got shot is still not that good to be a force in the dailies.
Otherworldly Journey provides a bit of an edge against edicts? Maybe? I'm not sure if that was the reasoning the deckbuilder chose, but it has been relevant in the few matches with this deck I've played. The counter doesn't hurt either. Letting a Mulldrifter dodge removal, come back as a 3/3 flyer and draw two cards is pretty sick.
I like your assessment of what kind of rogue deck it is. It probably won't stand the test of time, but that doesn't make it a pile of trash. It's a solid deck for a tournament full of Lightning Bolt.
Great article as always, Tom!
Pascal Maynard seems like such a nice guy, and the entire incident left me more than annoyed. I can't help but feel a small amount of the animosity secretly stemmed from jealousy.
"If I made top eight, I'd ALWAYS pick the better card".
Well, you didn't make top eight, did you. You'll have to be content with blasting others on Twitter. Super mature of you. It's a good thing that most new and casual players aren't likely entrenched enough to even know of this. I can't imagine this is good for the brand.
Someone pointed out that had Pascal taken the Burst Lightning, people would likely be dogging him for passing it up. Who knows, maybe someone would have had it in a winning deck and laughed all the way to the bank!
Good show gentlemen. Keep it up. Freed from the real frees me from boredom each week!
Pavel: I am floored by the fact that Pros thought it was OK to do what they did in response to Pavell's pick. Sure we know some people are hateful, petty, unnecessarily vindictive, envious, spiteful, etc but usually that stuff is well hidden and not put on public display. I hope he gets the maximum he could from his wonderful and spontaneous pick (and I don't doubt my shaking would have been 10x more out of control if I'd had that opportunity). Nevermind the fact that he MIGHT have won the GP with a different pick. It was as Adam says, HIS pick and no one else's and screw the kibitzers. I've shouted at people for less at the chess tables when they opened their mouths to criticize a move they found questionable. I am not proud of that but I do think it serves as an example of how we are served better as a community when people keep their venom to themselves or their cronies.
QOTW:
Magic Origins: I am fortunate that a friend saw the Unlimited Edition packs at a Compleat Strategist and bought me some for xmas '93. Otherwise I likely would never have gotten into the game at all and made several very dear friends for life from playing it. In '94, I attended DexCon as a GM (running Champions scenarios I'd written) and happened to bring my cards and learned how to play, roughly, while I was there. I also met one of those life long friends I mentioned above, while there. If I knew then what I know now I would change very little except to not give away the Time Walk I had for stupid antiquities cards. Nor perhaps trade off my "extra" duals. I certainly wouldn't have sold my Mox Sapphire for $90. Though the played-to-death Ruby I traded a Legends Land's Edge for, had to go.
Sites: puremtgo, mtgotraders, mtggoldfish.com, mtgtop98.com, wizards.com (and subsequent subdomains),
defunct sites I used to read regularly: Neutralground.net, various personal fan sites. Oh and IRC channels I haven't been in in well over a decade: on newnet, #e-league, #i-league, on efnet: #mtgwacky, teamhacked.
In the intro to Tempest Remastered Wizards stated that this will certainly not be the last time it is online. My guess is that they wanted to keep it on longer but it conflicted with Modern Masters, so they had it up 3 weeks, then will probably have it up again for at least a week or 2 either between MM and Magic Origins or between Origins and the Zendikar set.
Thanks for the comment.
You certainly don't need all of these cards to play Modern, I don't even own close to all of them (though I'd like to). You would do well to be aware of them though.
Two weeks, three weeks. Still doesn't change the price of Wasteland for those who see it as a barrier to entry for Legacy.
We should also remember VMA was intended to be online for only a few weeks but they never announced that until they unexpectedly tried to pull the plug and then the community convinced them to keep it online all summer.
I don't know which is better. Thanks to that we've got duals that have been at the same price for an entire year and affordable Power 9.
But I'll pay more attention to timelines next time I try to speculate.
Tempest Remastered was online for three weeks, as same as Modern Masters 2015 will be. This is how VMA should be managed, intead making it draftable for nearly 5 months.
Tempest Remastered was only online for two weeks. They should know by now that isn't enough to affect the price of a card. Side note: I'm the doof who thought it would be up all summer like VMA last year and lost $5-10 selling and rebuying my Wastelands. So mad that I didn't pay attention to that.
No, thank YOU! For reading, and for posting links to my articles on reddit. I really appreciate it.
Bob is held back by Dig and Cruise. Plus, some decks run TinkerBot which also doesn't want to lose 12 life flipping a card they absolutely don't want in their hand.
No matter how many Tops, Preordains, Ponders, Brainstorms, and Jace's people play, there is always the chance that greatness will come at too steep of a cost.
I should mention here that my "win condition" while playing against Mark was letting him die to hit Dark Confidant. I had the bolt several times. I only would kill the Bob when he was at a high life total. One game in particular, I watched him flip a Force of Will to Dark Confidant, and that put him low enough that I decided to not bolt the Bob until I had to.
Thanks again for reading!
Hey Joe, as usual, awesome article and thanks for commenting on my TMD post!! I think one part of the article here brings up an interesting point in that the Landstill deck doesn't have Dig Through Time right now. I'm not saying that it should, though I think if it got restricted, the Landstill deck probably would (and probably should) run the one-of. Similarly like how, to my knowledge, Landstill didn't run Treasure Cruise until it was restricted. I think this is because (other than the fact the Landstill doesn't cast nearly as many spells as Delver/Mentor decks) Landstill and decks that can't really support four delve spells when there already are decks that utilize them to their maximum ability. There wasn't any fundamental change to the Landstill deck when Treasure Cruise was restricted, it could always run at least one, but I think it only started to when playing the card would be at a more even field with the decks that can best take advantage of them; it would not be worth the cutting of business spells. I thin that if Dig gets restricted, you will see more decks running it (as the one-of) for this reason. I think that would make the metagame more interesting, it would probably boost more decks, which could lead to diversity since more decks would be more competitive. For example, running Dark Confidant these days isn't really a successful strategy that much because it can't really remain consistent with the best draw engine right now, i.e. what Delver/Mentor decks have right now, due to the fact that it is only incremental card advantage AND it is very anti-synergistic with the delve spells. If Dig gets restricted, decks with Bob could run Dig as a singleton, (along with Cruise) not stress during Bob triggers, and become more powerful due to Bob not having as much competition for speed. I mean even just looking at the metagmae percentages you wrote in the article shows how imbalanced in many ways the current metagame is right now, and think if something like Grixis (which sometimes runs Bobs, but you can substitute that with BUGx Fish) got a boost...
P.S. I definitely went off there too long, so basically TL;DR: Thank you Joe! :)
At least ELO ratings are back online.
It is amazing how bad quality wotc has had with DCI-R, WER and MtgO throughout the years.
Im pretty certain this is one of the factors that have held mtg back.
To say that wotc has aimed/steered steady and well throughout the years towards a giant GP weekend like this is wrong imo. The game would have been there a decade ago if just wotc had put the right things in place earlier.
And please bring back ELO ratings wotc !
... EVERY CARD you should just buy before playing modern.
:)
jk jk
nice job!
-j
I think that's a good point. Metaphors can aid in people's understanding for sure. :)
I can't wait to see the next one!
I totally understand. Theory is a very dense subject, and somewhat difficult to write about. If it becomes too abstract, you risk making it difficult to follow and removing its relevance from gameplay. If it becomes too concrete, you risk it becoming too context-driven and not universal enough.
I've found that conceits such as the tennis references in this article really help keep my theoretical pieces grounded and organized without losing their general applicability.
When I've gone into detail about Magic theory, I've often had the problem of having an over-abundance of information to write about. Sometimes, it's hard to organize everything as well. Your piece came out coherent, and put into words something that I've not considered in as much detail.
Keep up the good work. I like longer articles, and I love it when writers go deep on a subject. Magic is very complex, and articles like this help to illustrate that point.
Thanks! It took me quite a while to write it because there was so much I wanted to cover. I think I got everything I wanted, but I'm sure a more experienced player would have a few other tips and tricks that I missed.
This was a very well thought out article. Good work!
This was a very well thought out article. Good work!
Nice article- though after loosing several times miserably against the tiny plaxcaster I cannot agree with your 2 :-) and will surely hatedraft the beast if there is no Karn or something around.
It's all good. I can get more Drains if I really need them, two has been enough so far.
I'll have to catch up with you on MODO, probably this weekend. I've been playing more Witcher than Magic lately so I'm not in any rush.
Unfortunately I'm not terribly interested in trading the Drains. I'm a total pack rat when it comes to my collection. Other than getting rid of my U/B Dragons deck,
I think the last time I sold anything was a bunch of Legacy only staples to buy into Vintage a year ago.