Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[PeregrineV]

Trying for a RDW standard deck using only the cards I currently have.

I do have one Stoke the flames, but not sure it fits in here.

Constructive criticism appreciated. And how to make it better.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/05-02-15-rdw-standard/

[Debonair Danny DiPietro]

I don't even know where to begin, it's like you got a bunch of pieces for different decks all slammed together into one, I see things for an enchantment theme, red devotion, red heroic, and about three different kinds of red combo.

The first thing I would do is cut the shrapnel blast/artifact theme; just to enable shrapnel blast you have like six cards that are just dead in the deck and the slightly playable hammer. I tried to build a red/blue artifact deck right after KTK came out and it wasn't nearly consistent enough with even more artifacts than you're running.

Then I would try to figure out a singular direction for things, do you want to go all in on a single creature, do you want to get wide, burn versus creatures and just go with it.

[PeregrineV]

I don't even know where to begin, it's like you got a bunch of pieces for different decks all slammed together into one, I see things for an enchantment theme, red devotion, red heroic, and about three different kinds of red combo.

The first thing I would do is cut the shrapnel blast/artifact theme; just to enable shrapnel blast you have like six cards that are just dead in the deck and the slightly playable hammer. I tried to build a red/blue artifact deck right after KTK came out and it wasn't nearly consistent enough with even more artifacts than you're running.

Then I would try to figure out a singular direction for things, do you want to go all in on a single creature, do you want to get wide, burn versus creatures and just go with it.

I was looking around for some Red decks, and there are very few that don't splash any colors. But, the construction of those seem ....boring?

One of the reasons I like mine is that because damage could come from anywhere, it's hard to plan/defend against it.

This is just a stop-gap, but I feel like it's missing something, just don't know what.

Trying to splash blue maybe for Ensoul artifact. A 5/5 Land Mine sacrificed to do 5 seems like fun.

[Natirasha]

I just looked up some decks on mtggoldfish, and this looks pretty okay and cheap. Swiftspear and Stoke are the 'money' cards, but they aren't hard to find and you could probably replace them with more burn or Arena Athletes or something.

[bv310]

Trying to attack from 12 angles, but doing it poorly, is significantly worse than attacking from one angle and doing it well.

For example, on Turn 1, you're given the option to play an Ornithopter or a Monastery Swiftspear from your deck. One gets in for 1 immediately, and gains value from every instant or sorcery you play. The other is an 0/2 that gets in for nothing until you either Shrapnel Blast it, or enchant it with a Bestow creature.

If you want to go the Shrapnel Blast route, I'd suggest something closer to this:

4 Ornithopter
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Renowned Weaponsmith
3 Scuttling Doom Engine

4 Lightning Strike
4 Shrapnel Blast
4 Ensoul Artifact
4 Ghostfire Blade
1 Heart-Piercer Bow
2 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Write Into Being
1 Dig Through Time

4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Shivan Reef
4 Temple of Epiphany
4 Mountain
6 Island
1 Mana Confluence

SB:
3 Stubborn Denial
3 Arc Lightning
2 Magma Spray
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Negate
1 Chandra, Pyromaster

Note that I basically pulled this out of my ass, so it can likely be tuned significantly and be way better.

[DeathNote]

I finished top 6 FNM!!! Getting better! Do the promo cards hold much value?

[bv310]

Depends on which promo it was

[Natirasha]

I think the lackluster nature of this PT is just more proof Modern is a dead format.

I give them three years before extended returns.

[InflatablePie]

4p Conspiracy, I'm at five, Reck at 9, Gammagooey at 12. Vent Sentinel with total four defenders on my side and a clogged board everywhere.

Gammagooey: "Double Stroke naming Brimstone Volley, cast it, aim both at Reck's face?"
Reck: "Split Decision. *copy mode happens* ... Split Decision? *counter*
Gamma: Ok. Cast Brimstone Volley, kill you and Pie?

[hasdgfas]

I think the lackluster nature of this PT is just more proof Modern is a dead format.

I give them three years before extended returns.

I've been really enjoying this PT, actually. I think the problem is that it's impossible to get rid of the goodstuff decks like old Jund or Abzan now.

[Natirasha]

I'm less complaining about the format, but the attitude.

Pretty much no one--coverage or players looked happy to be there. There was very little excitement in the room(compare to PTKTK, which was absolutely exciting!). This extended to most of the places I was reading chat at, as well.

No one

cares

about modern. The format has been roughly 'solved': pick either Abzan or your favorite linear strategy(Burn, Infect, Bloom Titan, Merfolk and Twin are all sides of the same coin) and go.

It's more-or-less like RTR-Theros Standard. The format wasn't 'broken', but it was just to the point that no one cared because the format was dumb and solved. Coming off a degenerate season of modern, and before that a similarly boring format, it just is kinda broke. Throw in the fact that past mistakes like Goyf(I mean 'mistake' in a meta sense) will forever keep a good portion of players out of the format, especially since there is a valid worrying that WotC will ban your pet deck(and tank the value of your cards) if they perceive it to be 'too good' and you get this awkward lame-duck of a format that most people neither want to play and Wizards doesn't want to stream. Remember--this PT was originally scheduled to be Standard, but changed by public outcry after PTBNG last year(fresh off the DRS ban).

I hate a lot of Wizards' design directives and how they perceive the game of Magic, but I will say that THS-KTK standard is pretty fucking awesome and proves that, yes, Wizards can make a tightly-controlled format that is fun, interactive and healthy(something I was very skeptical of since ZEN-SOM and SOM-ISD were defined by development mistakes, INN-RTR was middling and RTR-THS was legitimately the worst format I've ever played).

Reinstating Extended, I feel, would give them the ability to have their tightly-controlled-for-maximum-'fun' format while simultaneously 'supporting' players by giving their cards longer-term value. The fact they won't have to deal with financial snafus like Goyf nor deal with developmental mistakes like Twin or Storm is just icing. The only awkward point is that they've done two Modern Masters sets now, and they have to nominally support them for some amount of time, which is fine since they need to get enough of the new mini-blocks to be able to support extended anyways.

[xRECKONERx]

I loved INN-RTR standard.

[Natirasha]

INN-RTR was, on the surface level, okay. It had a lot of problems in the nitty-gritty mechanical level inasmuch that there were too many 'value' cards in the format that kind of pushed true control and aggro decks out, though(which is really my only complaint about ISD, it waaay overly rewards midrange decks to the expense of everything else).

[hasdgfas]

Don't let 2 Aven Surveyors and a Mistfire Adept wheel, folks:

[bv310]

@Hascow: *vomit*

Also, and I know I'm in a minority in this, but Modern actually feels okay right now. Playing a lot online, I'm seeing a ton of different decks in Dailies/Tourney Practice room. The unbanning of Golgari Grave-Troll didn't really fuck anything up, so hopefully they might be more willing to unban other stuff in the future. Abzan was obviously going to do well at this PT. It's a steady, consistent deck that most pros are able to pick up fairly quickly. There aren't any weird niche synergies in the list like Pod had, or any long drawn-out lines of play like Scapeshift. It's also just The Good Deck^TM, so it's an obvious choice in a basically untested metagame. If the results of GPs and Dailies still have Abzan as 30% of the meta in a month's time, then I'll join the doomsayers.

Hopefully, the DCI got the message from the hundreds of complaints about the Pod banning, and they'll be a bit more transparent about what is happening in the future. Right now, I think the best thing that can happen is for them to go a year without banning anything, but maybe unbanning some things to open up other strategies.

[Natirasha]

#unbanSword

[bv310]

#Hell yes. I'd love to try Thopter Foundry/Sword of the Meek in some kind of Tezzeret-based Artifact shell.

[Natirasha]

It's just, like, is thopter foundry even good with Abrupt Decay in the format?

[Shanba]

I do love that they keep unbanning stuff and then none of it does anything - nacatl, bitterblossom, grave troll...

I still think that the pod ban was totally absurd and unjustifiable on any axis you care to look at.

Also, quite apart from anything else, the bans made the format so much more expensive. Which is dumb, for the format that is, like, wizard's baby, if they can't get people to play it cause the secondary market is too high.

The only appeal modern has is that I do enjoy putting Titans into play very quickly.

[Sudo_Nym]

I understand the Pod bad; Pod is pure value town. Whether it's actually broken is a matter of debate.

That said, I do find it ironic that the secondary market is pricing people out; I thought the whole point of Modern was to give a format to people who were locked out of the eternal format by the secondary market.

[Natirasha]

(Extended would not have the same secondary market problems)

[Shanba]

I understand the Pod bad; Pod is pure value town. Whether it's actually broken is a matter of debate.

That said, I do find it ironic that the secondary market is pricing people out; I thought the whole point of Modern was to give a format to people who were locked out of the eternal format by the secondary market.

I mean, Pod never broke 20% of the meta. Abzan was 25% in this PT. IDK, there's always going to be a "best" deck and "best" cards. Ban the birthing pod when the archetype actually becomes broken and dominant.

[bv310]

(Extended would not have the same secondary market problems)

(They're never going to bring back Extended)

[Sudo_Nym]

I understand the Pod bad; Pod is pure value town. Whether it's actually broken is a matter of debate.

That said, I do find it ironic that the secondary market is pricing people out; I thought the whole point of Modern was to give a format to people who were locked out of the eternal format by the secondary market.

I mean, Pod never broke 20% of the meta. Abzan was 25% in this PT. IDK, there's always going to be a "best" deck and "best" cards. Ban the birthing pod when the archetype actually becomes broken and dominant.

I haven't played Modern in a while (it's been 2-3 sets since I played regularly), but I've watched a lot of videos and followed results, and Pod didn't look like it was taking over. It was common, because of the insane value you could get, but it wasn't like decks were helpless against it. Treasure Cruise was probably more format warping than Birthing Pod was.

[Natirasha]

(They're never going to bring back Extended)

(I still haven't heard an argument for why they won't)