Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[Espeonage]

Cockatrice is your friend Panzer.

[Espeonage]

I never enjoyed modern.

Legacy on the other hand...

[Espeonage]

No garys? Strong card in mono black pauper.

Affinity looks strong in to you, but that might be because I play affinity pauper and you have no targeted hate.

[Espeonage]

Looking for cheapish decks for all the formats. Want to be relevant, but happy to be like 2nd 3rd tier. Possibly with cards common to them.

Currently looking at building a Mono Green Stompy for Modern.

The issue is Legacy. Layer 7B is cheapish for an entry level Legacy deck the core cards are all low, but it's a boatload to improve. Burn is cheap I know but it's boring. I prefer playing fair decks, but again I want to be relevant. Thoughts?

By the way this is intended to be a process over a year or so, so money is an object, but preferably a deck that I can build cheapish but improve as I get cards so I can at least have something playable until I can build.

[Espeonage]

I've toyed with proxy decks a bit and I don't really like manaless dredge. It always felt unreliable post side.

[Espeonage]

The issue there is all the money is in the core cards for the deck. So by the time I get the core, I have all of the deck.

[Espeonage]

Going to pre-release tomorrow. Tal meh wat 2 du

[Espeonage]

Played Esper. For some reason all the poty peeps were playing sunday. Went 2/2

I got a terrible pool of cards. Weighted Pack has UB command, which was k and popped a crux which was also nice, but then I didn't get a single blue or Black bomb in the entirety of my cards, not even an overly expensive one. Had to get in White for any board presence, because I thankfully got Exemplars so I had something to do. So I basically played a 1 trick pony half control, half auras deck.

Surprised I managed to go 2/2 tbh.

[Espeonage]

Can anyone recommend some wipes in jund that aren't $80.

Playing a metric fuckton of ramp with infinite mana combos so while not as awesome I am cool with expensive (casting cost) options.

[Espeonage]

With the new tucking rules in EDH. Can you still perma exile?

[Espeonage]

Back in that Standard I was the dick playing Closet (Tusk, Slime, Prog Mimic) with Ramp and blue just so I could run simic charms and Tamiyo's to get far enough to start going nuts and beat the resto-tusk decks.

On the note of Standard metas, I have no idea what's happening in the net back world, but currently I am trying to find a standard deck I like that I want to be serious about building. The pre-reqs are that it has to be fun, a little quirky and buildable without spending hundreds.

I've been mucking around with Big Butts control (Sultai Assault Formation) but it's going to be both expensive to build and has a really rough time against midrange (Both Temur and Abzan) if it doesn't get a perfect draw. And it is hurt a bunch by hand hate. However if I can't find anything better I might still go for it.

What I was thinking, which could be hilarious fun is mono white devotion, built around Myth Realised and a bit of a white control shell. White has a bunch of good tricks at the moment so I can protect my board otherwise I would just lose to enchantment hate post board.

I'm not looking to win every game, I'm just looking to have fun.
(btw buy your playsets of Myth Realised now before Theros phases out and people stop packing so much enchantment hate.)

[Espeonage]

Isn't the point of origins to set up a platform for better lore and stories?

[Espeonage]

As a result of this thread I spent a few hours at work not doing work and instead reading about important characters.

[Espeonage]

I really enjoy drafting Return to Ravnica, Innistrad Block, triple Innistrad and Both of the Large Large Small drafts from Khans.

But the best way to draft is grab bag. Personal favorites are Invasion, Innistrad, Alara Reborn.

[Espeonage]

I have started Momir grinding. As of right now I am behind $2 (After 3 games) but if I can go 50% win rate I will stay even, anything higher than 50% in a gain.

[Espeonage]

If a card is uncommon but was printed in a masters set as a common, is it pauper legal?

[Espeonage]

Cool, awesome. I'm brewing pauper, which I know is a terrible idea. But it's my favourite deck style in every format it's viable in.

[Espeonage]

I am honestly so keen for people to stop playing abzan, because it hasn't funnelled down to local meta yet.

[Espeonage]

I am actually in the market for pauper staples. I only got mtgo a couple of weeks ago. Sell Bots scare me.

[Espeonage]

MBC is something I am interested in.

[Espeonage]

I'm interested in playing a variant of GW devotion, however I am worried that it will be too easily beaten by fast decks, and I'm wondering if there is any tasty tech that can be helpful when playing against stuff like RDW?


EDIT: So just after I posted this, the people on the area page who actually know what they're talking about have started talking about if there is any deck that can consistently beat RDW at the moment, none of them particularly want to play it but a couple of them have already booked flights to play at Shanghai and have been trying to find justification for playing something else. It seems like it's really difficult to have game against it.

[Espeonage]

Oh boy, we can be friends Esp. I for sure have:

Mono-B Control
Nivix Fiend
Affinity (without Springleaf Drums because I need those)

I have about half the cards I need for the RUG Delver brew list I have. Which means I have bit of Nivix Fiend already, so I would probs be happy to take some of that off you, and MBC is something I am keen on anyway, but I didn't want it to be my first deck kind of thing.

[Espeonage]

I'm having huge fun mucking around with a silly Bant Superfriends list. It's kinda superfriendsy.

[Espeonage]

http://pastebin.com/nBxjvFGz

Any thoughts on how to take this deck which I brewed on cockatrice, and make it cheaper while maintaining the toolbox nature of the deck. The fact that control has very few ways to break me down game 1 and game two only has a few things I want to stop with the Dancers means that I have a strong match up there. Even better if it's UW control. RDW is something I have game against but I go from ok to good against post board when I side in the nests. Mono Green Aggro is sometimes an issue but it's simply a race.

@PV: Have a look at the Ojutai Control lists from the recent tournament. You won't build the same deck probably due to cost restraints, but you can have a look at the synergies within the deck and maybe find some better card combos.

Also need looking at a Sagu Bant or Sultai tempo aggro deck.

[Espeonage]

I've never liked modern. But if your local meta is all burn play a fun brew that beats it and has a bit of game against other decks. You will have more fun.

[Espeonage]

Ya, how much is MBC or Nivix Fiend worth?

[Espeonage]

Normal benchmarks are kinda out the window in DTK. Like 3/3 for 3 is undercosted for creatures in drafting at the moment which puts a new light on the format for me when I realised. Also removal is strong but hard to find, so take it when you can because it's not going to come to you.

[Espeonage]

Can I get someone to look at a brew list. This one is much more in my budget and will (apart from three cards across the entire list) be able to be used post rotation. It seems to do ok in early testing, but that has only been on cockatrice. Need to wait for cards to get in before I can actually try it out in paper.

It's basically GU face down.

[Espeonage]

http://pastebin.com/wkbYy9kg

It's still in drafting stages. Trying to get the right sort of balance going.

[Espeonage]

I went second in a close final by switching colour twice.

I got some good red and black removal but found that I got no red and only a tiny bit of black, I quickly transitioned into blue but none of it was good enough on my review and I was looking pretty weak. I figured that I'd seen a bit of white and green going past and made the decision that if it looked open I'd take it. I opened a FRF Atarka which was solid as I was already in red. I also opened a wooded foothills in the pack and figured it would wheel which it did. Second pick third pack was the bolster 5 elephant, picked up some fixing and decent red and green removal and ended up with a solid Jund removal/bombs deck with dash for early game. And I hadn't started in green until pack three.

We have a talkative store in drafts and the final ended up being myself and the guy opposite me who both spent the entire draft complaining about everyone being in the same colours. Turned out that half the table transitioned into white pack three. It was the most open colour, and they had either red for war flare or black for harsh already and so they all ended up getting in each other's way again.

Truth be told, given how pro tour drafts have been going and my own experience, I think being able to read your seat is more important than working out what colour is best to be in. All the colour combos can go 3-0 if you get the strong cards.

[Espeonage]

I am think of picking a favourite art for each basic land type and ordering 25 of each. This is in the wake of falling in love with a foil swamp I opened recently that goes from boring to absolute amazeballs when in foil.

[Espeonage]

Maybe.



this one

[Espeonage]

I'm usually play some form of black deck in edh.

[Espeonage]

Managed to draft Red/Green at FNM yesterday. Won.

And holy shit our pool of cards was batshit insane. We do rare redraft and god was I happy to be first.

Got Atarka first pick, then came around to me again, so ninth pick, and Shorecrasher Elemental is still on the table. Ended up with seven rares or foils because there were ten foils in the pool (10/24 packs had a foil. Three of them were rares, only two of the rares weren't playable.), my promo for coming first and second place gave me the last one because I did so well. (Won every round 2-0)

[Espeonage]

How come, none of us understand the appeal of not doing it?

[Espeonage]

I just don't see the point of playing if there isn't a redraft. There's no reason to even try to come first, just pick whatever is the most value and then leave.

[Espeonage]

The two times I've done without redraft all first place got was whatever the fnm promo was at the time.

[Espeonage]

The two times I've done without redraft all first place got was whatever the fnm promo was at the time.

Then your store is really, er, "frugal" with their prizes. Most places that don't do redrafts actually give you packs as prizes for doing well.

Unless its like a 9$ draft. My store does 9$ drafts on a weekday with redrafts.

Also, Modern Masters drafts will be redrafts a large amount of the time because of the cost.

Yeah. If it's super cheap, redrafts are ok. But regular price drafts with redrafts as "prizes"? No way.

I just don't see the point of playing if there isn't a redraft. There's no reason to even try to come first, just pick whatever is the most value and then leave.

I like, you know, playing Magic too.

Oh yeah, charging 15 and not prize supporting is absolute horse shit.

I suspect there are almost no places that do that though?

I mean there is no point as people aren't picking to make the best deck either which means you have a shittier set of decks.

*$18.

We have a Video Game Association that does $15 drafts at uni though which are much better run.

[Espeonage]

I've taken a lot of sweet stuff from the person that opened it.

[Espeonage]

This is truth.

I feel like the other reason why people at my store like rare redrafts is because a bunch of them fly around to GPs and stuff and want to mimic the draft environment there where the rares don't go first just because they are rares. One of the guys was actually coming 14th at GP Shanghai until he bombed the last three rounds.

[Espeonage]

Did you guys see the updated banlists. Like WOAH.

...

Nothing changed.

[Espeonage]

I actually am thinking that now might be the time to get in and start playing a rogue deck.

At the moment I'm thinking something along the lines of Sultai Reanimator Hexproof.

The bombs are real stuff, green is always able to be rampy. And I get to basically play very aggressive with self mill and get some serious value. Morph fixes my curve quite nicely to get me to my later stages, being able to chump with morphed fatties and not lose value is really good. Still fleshing out a list but I think it could be a fun rogue to take to the local store.

[Espeonage]

If you want bulk stuff ebay is ok. I would actually suggest that it is best to play draft events to start out.

You don't have to play to win and can just pick cards in the colours you want to play outside of draft. It's a good way to build up cards without splitting across all five colours. Plus you get to play in a fun event at the same time.

[Espeonage]

If I was playing I'd be playing some sort of stupid Sultai self mill fatties deck.

[Espeonage]

Pokemon TCG is in a p good spot post rotation in regards to 'mana' now that removal got nerfed. I feel like it houses the creative space between Magic and YuGiOh. The only issue with it is that if it's not a rare card its pretty much unplayable so cost of entry is stupid, budget decks don't exist.

[Espeonage]

Considering that I was able to make a beautifly deck that could beat GroudoWobb about 30% of the time I view as an achievement.

[Espeonage]

Is there any simple sideboard tech in mardu against rally decks?

[Espeonage]

Anyone got a sultai fatties list?

[Espeonage]

Gobrins

[Espeonage]

Apparently GP Sydney got over 1K peeps. Most ever at an Aussie event. And I was playing Quidditch instead.

[Espeonage]

Actually Cocktraice is really bad for newbies. So many people would rather just yell RTFC than teach.

Personally, I think paper is better for you here because it brings you in to the community, which will make you feel better for your investment as you are less likely to ever get bored of it. And then there is the obvious draw of being able to build a card base on the cheap from kind hearted peeps that cracked too many junky rares.

[Espeonage]

guys

the more important point to argue is that Bulky Swords Dance MegaScizor is superior to CBandScizor.

And Scarf Scizor is superior to both and the most severely underrated set in existence.

[Espeonage]

guys

the more important point to argue is that Bulky Swords Dance MegaScizor is superior to CBandScizor.

And Scarf Scizor is superior to both and the most severely underrated set in existence.

Who scarfs their scizor?

Bullet Punch, man.

(But thats why we always carry a Talonflame now, because of you fuckers)

People who realised that scizor actually has a lot of the tools that make a good scarfer who can scout and revenge kill in to a wider variety of threats than other sets can. You do lose the ability to revenge some things, but it's a different set of cool things you get. Like you can revenge a Heatran as scarf scizor, which you can't as any other set.

[Espeonage]

Superpower, a staple move on Scizor.

[Espeonage]

Earth Power hits harder after Sheer Force without forcing you to go mixed.

[Espeonage]

http://mythicspoiler.com/soi/cards/invasivesurgery.html

I heard you like juicy sideboard tech.

Apparently you can target an abrupt decay with it, and while it will not counter the decay it will remove all the rest of them.

[Espeonage]

Ok nvm that bit then.

[Espeonage]

I have been roped in to a teams modern event. Basically each nonbasicland card is only available to one deck.

Currently we are playing affinity, 8rack (I think), and I am on UR pyro thing.

Any tips on boarding so we aren't stepping on either others techs?

[Espeonage]

It was in every top four team at the lead up event.

[Espeonage]

So I went to my first event with the deck I'm meant to be playing at the teams. First ever time I've played Modern, including kitchen table. Just never played it.

So the deck is UR Prowess Thing.

I had some siding issues, Search became a dead draw because it was too slow, so we are taking those both out for a 3rd Opt and an Unsubstantiate, because I had some big issues in the Hollow matchup to reset some boardstate. I see that having been an issue in other matchups as well, and helps with some other weird stuff like uncounterables.

There's a few tweaks to be made but I am feeling it better now. Going again this Saturday to get some more practice in.

1-2 Burn. Sided badly, really good debrief on things I could have done better. I feel like I can make this matchup work with just better play and better siding.
2-1 8Rack. I was in control most of the time, made a big missplay, forgot to side Ratchet Bomb, still won. (Was my teammate, I don't like his chances really)
1-1-1 Ur OTK. I would have won game three given one or two more turns, I had him completely locked and topdecking.
0-2 Delve. I kept a poor hand. I saw playables and then realised after I had already said keep it was a bunch of situational stuff. Game 2 he got favourable random discards and I couldn't establish parity.

I honestly think that I would have won round 3 if I knew the deck better because I would have played faster., I also think I could have gotten something out of round 1. Deck tweaks will help the round 4. Super early in to learning the deck, but I'm having fun.

[Espeonage]

So played the Unified Modern. For my first ever GP went well, we had lots of fun after we were out, we dropped to play some sides which went really well. Managed to get great pulls from our limited events and prize packs that we needed for our card pools. We are looking in to building two Legacy decks as well to go to some of those events as well. We as a pool have D&T and a few cards off lands (minus tabernacle)

The other two finally went fine you were right 8rack isn't worth the fun and we should play a better deck. None of us want to play any version of Tron and we don't have humans so we're probably looking at running Affinity, Izzet Things?, and something, maybe Bogles or dismantling Things and going like Jund and UW control or Grixis control and something.

Anyways, I faced Slivers which I should have done better against, I fucked up targets on the stack game 2 which screwed me. up completely. Not knowing modern hurt bc I cbf asking for oracle text on every card seeing as he didn't speak english and had all Jap cards, so I was relying on my teammate for card text. 8rack also lost 0-1. tbh 8 rack lost because he was an idiot and didn't float white in response to Blood Moon game 3 to Disenchant. A little salty.

Round 2 we were matched against some peopel playing weird standard deck adaptions in modern, I handily beat Mono Green Vehicles. Affinity easily beat a weird Zombies deck.

Round 3 affinity player had UW control which is a counterdeck. I get to see my deck playing out really well and our land distribution meant that the GR Land destruction (forget the common name) I was facing wasn't getting value from Blood Moon game 1, he sided it out game 2 which was a mistake and the Harvest Pyre tech was great for killing his 4 butt dudes. Was never in trouble here. Down to the 8 rack player and he beat a kinda D&T list in 3.

Round 4 I was sitting in a staring contest with a Breach deck. Game 1 I lost when he tapped me out end of my turn with two breach in hand. 1 more mana I would have flipped Thing with a bolt to the face to bounce the resolved Emrakul. He would have had to draw a third Breach to win from there. Game two he had zero opportunities to play Breach after I turned off his red fetches. He was a heavily Ur list. Mixed with my counters and I would have probably taken games 2 and 3, but my teammates lost.

Round 5 We would have won if I was in seat A. I got p much my counterdeck. There is nothing I can do in to a Chalise on 1 and Chalice on 2 on turn 4. With a popped island, milled island and blood moon game 1. I lost 2-0. 8 rack loses and we are out.

We talked about the list. I'll post it when I get home because it felt really nice to play. It has a shitty matchup in to Humans and Tron which is shitty, but it does very well in to affinity which I can beat game 1 and am heavily favoured post side. I can generally out tempo control decks and resoled threats aren't loses if I play smart. I'll post the list and changes we want to make to the list.

[Espeonage]

Guess who just found a masterwork sol ring mint condition at his mums place?

Completely forgot I cracked it at a pre release.

[Espeonage]

Takeaways from playing two flights of pre release.

1. GGGGG 10/10 is not as unplayable as it looks. 10/11 green sources should get you playing it before curve.
2. Vigilance is super good as it dodges one of the best removals.
3. Disperse is stupidly good in the meta of enchantment removal.
4. Format is so slow that gaining 1 life per turn is actually amazing.