Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[Shanba]

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/A ... /03282013C happened and I am currently playing in one. 20 minutes to read 150 cards, many of which I had never seen before and build a reasonable deck out of them was pretty tough and I badly misbuilt my deck as a result. With about three minutes left I finally had read all the cards and started building - the first colour combo I thought I would run was short on creatures and playables and then my second combo was also short so I ended up just jamming cards in with thirty seconds of deckbuilding time to spare. Unfortunately I have some cards I shouldnt and dont have some cards I should in my colours, but I ended up with something reasonable and am currently 1-0 in matches, surviving a blowout from dead ringers thanks to grafted wargear putting in some extra hours.

Here is the pool and the build (and yes I am on the open beta client).



I think my green may also have been worth a more serious look but I never had time to assess it seriously. EDIT: Yup, looking again I should have had some green in there, and probably g/b with maybe a u splash for, like, recoil and vorosh the hunter (though the latter is probably too ambitious.)

[Nuwen]

Think Twice just feels like a bad card.

/
What is it that you THINK Think Twice should be doing, but isn't?

[chamber]

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/A ... /03282013C happened and I am currently playing in one. 20 minutes to read 150 cards, many of which I had never seen before and build a reasonable deck out of them was pretty tough and I badly misbuilt my deck as a result. With about three minutes left I finally had read all the cards and started building - the first colour combo I thought I would run was short on creatures and playables and then my second combo was also short so I ended up just jamming cards in with thirty seconds of deckbuilding time to spare. Unfortunately I have some cards I shouldnt and dont have some cards I should in my colours, but I ended up with something reasonable and am currently 1-0 in matches, surviving a blowout from dead ringers thanks to grafted wargear putting in some extra hours.

Here is the pool and the build (and yes I am on the open beta client).



I think my green may also have been worth a more serious look but I never had time to assess it seriously. EDIT: Yup, looking again I should have had some green in there, and probably g/b with maybe a u splash for, like, recoil and vorosh the hunter (though the latter is probably too ambitious.)

I'll probably try one of these if I can get in, are they all full?

[Shanba]

They opened up some more, so no!

MY DECK WAS SO BAD UUUUUUUUUUUUGH how did I misbuild so much...

went 1-2.

[NabakovNabakov]

Think Twice just feels like a bad card.

/
What is it that you THINK Think Twice should be doing, but isn't?

It should cost 1 less and draw 2 more cards.

[InflatablePie]

TappedOut's April Fool's thing is amazing.

I like it, but I think I'd rather have Dissipate than Counterflux. Exile is probably going to be more useful than Overload.

I suggested this, she said she still needs to pick them up (and I can loan them out since I'm running LOL STANDARD EGGS this week for funsies). Can also loan out a Drowned Catacomb and Dragonskull if you want/need more flexible mana (to replace one island/mountain).

re:boardwipes. Mortars does deal with Smiter/Resto though. I would also suggest Mutilate, but you only have 8 swamps, which is a problem. Cyclonic Rift? Yes, it only bounces, but if you can control to 7 it can work very well. Also instant-speed, and can remove planeswalkers or other specific troublesome things on their upkeep. Not to mention if you draw/Augur a counterspell a few turns too late, bounce->counter is always fun.

I would personally run Brimstone as a 2-of and up Spear to 4 or mainboard the other Rakdos' Return, since it's only better than Spear upon Morbid trigger. You have very limited ways of hitting that (Bonfire, Spear, Izzet Charm mode vs Naya Humans etc., Dreadbore - 7 or 9. Or suiciding your own guys). If you're using it for Morbid-removal, use Slip.

You can also drop all three and up your Delver/Augur to 4. I'm surprised you're not running all 4 actually, since Delver is a great turn 1 (although a terrible topdeck) so you always want it opening hand, and Augur not only blocks aggro T2 but gets stuff in your hand for both control and Guttersnipes. I'd suggest that, personally: -3 Brimstone, +1 Delver +1 Augur +1 Spear/Return. Probably Return, but -shrug-. You could also drop the Delver completely, and a Brimstone, and have two extra card slots. Limits your damages though and means you have to deal with relying on Olivia/Dragon/Guttersnipes for damage.

[edit] Think Twice is a fine card. Instant-speed card draw plus flashback is amazing flexibility: perfect for control. I didn't like it when I first tried it out (towards the end of Scars rotation) but I've grown to appreciate it.

[AGar]

Wait, Shanba, that was a real thing?

Think Twice just feels like a bad card.

/
What is it that you THINK Think Twice should be doing, but isn't?

I'm more not seeing what it could do for you. Seeing as how you were worried about Unsummon losing you tempo, I feel like this card does... the exact same thing. Maybe I'm just not seeing a situation where it gains you anything, but right now it just looks like a 2 mana loot, which while not terrible, doesn't put you ahead until later turns where you have more mana to use. But looking at your deck, I don't want any part of seeing Think Twice in my opening 7 or any of my first three or four draws probably.

Edit: For some reason I misread 2 as 4 (I've been really out of it from whatever head cold I've managed to catch, so I'm blaming that), so as a 2-of, it's probably not bad.

[Shanba]

Yeah it was real.

If you want to keep mana open for a counterspell, having a card like think twice (instant speed card draw) available to allow you to do something even if they dont play anything you want to counter or searing spear or whatever. It's a free and guaranteed two for one (a sign in blood with a different drawback?). I imagine cheap flashback is also kinda sweet with guttersnipe.

The only thing that slightly worries me about nuwen's deck is the lack of a sideboard for graveyard strategies which I believe are in vogue right now, but idk for sure

[Thestatusquo]

Think twice is just straight value

[Thestatusquo]

I mean, some tormods crypts might not be a bad thing. The problem with the "in vogue" graveyard decks is that they don't really care about the graveyard hate. Junk Rites is just playing Rites for value, and can definitely win pretty easily without it. Humanimator folds to a crypt or RiP but that deck has fallen out of favor quite a bit.

[Sudo_Nym]

I don't know what you're seeing AGar. It's an instant speed cantrip that comes back for +1 card, and it's cheap and synergizes with Guttersnipe. The only thing I would consider replacing it with is another draw spell, or something like Forbidden Alchemy.

[AGar]

If you want to keep mana open for a counterspell, having a card like think twice (instant speed card draw) available to allow you to do something even if they dont play anything you want to counter or searing spear or whatever.

There's a reason I don't play decks that are more reactive, and it's mainly because I don't tend to think like this.

[Thestatusquo]

Its not even that. It's just that its inherent card advantage. Its not amazing, but its always a 2 for 1 that gives you something to do with excess mana.

[AGar]

Its not even that. It's just that its inherent card advantage. Its not amazing, but its always a 2 for 1 that gives you something to do with excess mana.

I'm not seeing the 2-for-1 aspect, unless we're specifically talking within the confines of this particular deck?

[Thestatusquo]

It flashes back. Hence 1 becomes 2.

[AGar]

Wow..

No comment.

[chamber]

2-0 in this random packs daily. No idea if I built right but everyone else seems to have worse decks so far, which surprises me given 150 cards.

[Thestatusquo]

these sorts of things actually matter, agar.

[AGar]

these sorts of things actually matter, agar.

My no comment was to me being that stupid.

Really having an off day today.

[Thestatusquo]

So, I scrapped the deck. The problem with linear strategies like that is that in order to be good they have to make up for the fact that they're playing inherently less powerful cards than non-linear strategies with synergy. The synergy of the evolve deck just wasn't enough to overcome the power level of the decks that are running around in this meta, so it's a lost cause.

Messing around with omniscience again. I think it has pretty good matchups against everything but naya blitz, which becomes much better post board.

[Fate]

If you can't beat them, join them?

Don't give me that shit Shea

just try harder to beat them

[Fate]

THE GRUUL WAY

[Gammagooey]

GRUUL SMASH

[Thestatusquo]

If you find out you can't beat a good chess player by moving your pawns randomly, you learn how to play chess, you don't try to figure out how to move your pawns more randomly.

[Nuwen]

I like to think I've built a non-meta deck that goes toe to toe with established, min/maxed decks. Of course I'm still tweaking, but each change brings me closer to the streamlined consistency coming out of the vending machine decks I see everywhere.