Magic: The Gathering,GO TEAM MS!

[hasdgfas]

I'm collecting Prism Arrays. I now have 7 after prerelease weekend. Haven't opened any winnings.

[theelkspeaks]

Played two prereleases. Went RG Landfall with ramp to Omnath, went 2-2. Got RG and GW tangos and the rare Ally land as only other money cards in that one.

Next day opened a pretty solid RW "I hope I live long enough to kill you deck" highlighted by Breaker of Armies, Rolling Thunder, Dragonmaster Outcast, and enough white removal to fend off all sorts of things. Lost first match, then 2-0ed 3 times in a row for a 3-1 finish, my breakers put me last among all the 3-1s at the shop though, so I only got 2 packs. Got the new Ulamog in one of the prize packs.

Planning to move at least the Ulamog and possibly some of the other stuff ASAP and try to start building towards an RG Tron so that I can play Modern.

[Natirasha]

Alright, it's time for Nati's pre-format brew decklist.

So, the first one is Grixis dragons+Ojutai. I'm not going into it because it's boring and obvious. It's really good overall though, so def try it if you want to play something conventional. Make sure to play the 4x Thunderbreak version and not the SilumgarDD version, Thunderbreak does relevant things: Silumgar doesn't.

Anyways, the cooler list and what has more or less "Broken the format" for me is this spicy Bant brew.

Spoiler: Bant Landfall Midrange

4x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Hangarback Walker
4x Den Protector
2x Dragonlord Ojutai
2x Oblivion Sower
1x Stratus Dancer
--
4x Retreat to Kazandu
2x Stasis Snare
1x Quarantine Field
--
4x Dromoka's Command
3x Coastal Discovery
1x Valorous Stance
--
1x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
--
4x Lumbering Falls
4x Flooded Strand
4x Windswept Heath
4x Canopy Vista
3x Prairie Stream
2x Blighted Woodland
3x Forest
2x Plains
1x Island

SB
4x Cleric of the Forward Order
2x Gaea's Revenge
1x Dragonlord Dromoka
1x Quarantine Field
1x Silkwrap
1x Disdainful Stroke
1x Negate
1x Kiora, Master of the Depths
1x Planar Outburst
1x Swift Reckoning

So, this list started as mono green eldrazi ramp that my friend made. I tweaked after seeing how powerful it was(and it was pretty solid at going Ulamog->Sac Ugin's Sanctum->Ulamog) to not fall over to aggro decks by including Undergrowth Champions. They felt really powerful, so I tweaked the deck again to add Retreat to Kazandu to make use of all the excess ramp spells/mana dorks around. Eventually, I felt that I just didn't have any interaction and the deck was just so weak to aggro and faster midrange strats, so I added blue to have some minimal interaction/card draw. That was fun for a while, but I was already running some white lands so I could fetch blue off Windswept Heath and by this point I was seriously getting beat in the grindy games and aggro because I was playing 4/4s on turn 3 while my opponents were doing actually relevant things. So, I put in Dromoka's Commands. Then I just realized that I could cut the ramp package and huge Eldrazi and play actually relevant spells. The final major change was when I decided that Undergrowth Champion was just worse than the Retreats--Retreats turned all my creatures into Undergrowth Champions and I could use those slots on cards that generated value.

The deck is still a WIP, obviously, but it's starting to feel right. It's a very skill-intensive deck overall, knowing how to sequence your land drops and having so many modal spells forces you to think through a lot of decision trees. The upside is that you get to go larger than most of the other midrange decks in the format: Retreat makes Rhinos trade with Rattleclaws and causes your Thopter tokens to be as large as opponent's dragons. Also, since Retreat is an Enchantment, you get to play the second best endgame trump in Quarantine Field(best is Ulamog but that doesn't really count) and Stasis Snare without fear of Dromoka's Command. Vs control decks, every card in your deck is a threat or roadblock(two Retreats out make Silumgar and Ojutai look silly) and you Lumbering Falls is more or less unbeatable--it's immune to wraths, immune to kill spells and it's large enough to punch through most defenses(esp if you get a +1/+1 counter on it). The only ways to really kill it are sacrifice effects(and most decks I'm seeing are playing the draw 2 land instead, leaving only Foul-Tongue) or having a deathtoucher(Fathom Feeder--a card this deck is a bit weak to overall), which are both deal-able with all the other spells in your deck.

The aggro matchup is a bit tougher. Retreat helps to fog, but it's not a strong answer to 3 4/X attackers backed by Atarka's Command on turn 4. I'm playing Cleric of the Forward Orders over Arashin Cleric or other cards because the aggro decks I've seen have been skimping on removal and I think a 2-power dude trades better overall(not to mention the occasional game where you get to Wombo off and gain 4 life!). I had Jaddi Offshoots in this slot, but they were just too useless overall.

I'm pretty confident that the mainboard mostly makes sense at a glance. Coastal Discovery might be the most questionable card on there, but the truth is 6-mana 4/4 Mulldrifter is still Mulldrifter, especially since sometimes that Mulldrifter is actually an 8/8. Oblivion Sower is just a good value card. He gums up the board and gains 2 life/puts a +1/+1 counter on something. You don't want to play too many though, because Discovery is better overall, but he really shines in some matchups(specifically, the Red ones).

Funnily enough, Dragonlord Ojutai is the worst card in the maindeck I think. I'm like 60% sure he should just be Wingmate Rocs(or possibly Greenwardens, but eh), but the 40% is holding me back.

[InflatablePie]

so after telling myself I wasn't going to dump money into a Standard deck, I realized it's really impractical for me to open up my work schedule to draft every Friday night despite loving the format (LGS does Thurs Night Standard (last week of the mo. is Modern) and Friday Night Drafts only). so I looked to the Event Deck for inspiration and built a thing, keeping in mind the good cards I had from the small bit of THS-KTK standard I played and my prerelease pulls (Windswept Heath, Siege Rhino, Drana, GW Tangoland) and spent $20 on tcgplayer for the commons/uncommons/sb cards/etc

Spoiler: Budget BGw Aristocrats

4x Blisterpod
3x Carrier Thrall
3x Sultai Emissary
4x Zulaport Cutthroat
4x Catacomb Sifter
2x Drana, Liberator of Malakir
2x Grim Haruspex
4x Siege Rhino
3x Smothering Abomination

3x Bone Splinters
1x Abzan Charm
2x Abzan Ascendancy
2x Evolutionary Leap

3x Windswept Heath
1x Evolving Wilds
4x Llanowar Wastes
1x Caves of Koilos
1x Canopy Vista
4x Sandsteppe Citadel
2x Jungle Hollow
4x Swamp
2x Forest
1x Plains

Sideboard:
2x Abzan Charm
1x Altar's Reap
2x Caustic Caterpillar
2x Duress
2x Transgress the Mind
4x Jaddi Offshoot
1x Retreat to Kazandu
1x Abzan Ascendancy

Playtest

pretty straightforward deck with lots of synergy. half the creatures spawn things on ETB or death, giving you the option to win via lots of Cutthroat triggers or go wide with Ascendancy/Drana.

Haruspex feels like the weakest card and if I upgrade the deck I can slowly bring in Hangarback Walkers for them. It used to be Nantuko Husk, but just the Bone Splinters/Leap/Abomination feels like enough of an outlet to me tbh.

Smothering Abomination feels really strong with a lot of "2 creatures for one card" cards, but in my limited goldfishing it can get kind of awkward after you've Leaped all your creatures into Rhinos and Drana

sb is just something I threw together. I really wanted at least 1 Feed the Clan with 7x 4-power creatures plus Ascendancy/Drana but my LGS doesn't have singles and I couldn't find two or less sellers on TCGplayer that I knew would probably get to me by Thursday (went w/ Card Rush and Happy Viking Games btw) and somehow both of them were out of stock soooooo

only thing I'm slightly iffy on is the manabase, because the deck is heavy black and unfetchable with Heaths... I realize the easiest answer is to jam 4 Bloodstained Mire/Polluted Delta/Wooded Foothills and a corresponding Tangoland (I don't honestly know if I need the 4th Heath with my mana requirements...) but I really don't have the $60+ for that right now. input on that would be appreciated. I want to toss in a Mortuary Mire but 7-8 CitP-tapped lands already makes things awkward. Or a Shambling Vent.

I feel like the deck won't actually be that amazing in practice than it looks in theory, honestly, but it's definitely playable and I feel like there's enough ways to just steal games at FNM (TNM) and it just feels really fun, especially for $20.

[Ythan]

"what do you call that deck"

[InflatablePie]

I debated making a really long and vulgar writeup of a fake match between me and an opponent for the deck description, but it's too much work considering everyone here most likely knows the joke.

The Me in the universe where I did and everyone laughed feels so proud of himself, though.

[InflatablePie]

also the cutest interaction in this deck is Catacomb Sifter + Sultai Emissary (+ Grim Haruspex) unless there's something I haven't seen yet

Drana + Abzan Ascendancy can get out of hand

I need to remember that Smothering Abomination triggers on ANY sac, not just it's own.

"Abomination trigger, sac Sultai Emissary, stack triggers, scry for Catacomb Sifter, keep Haruspex on top, manifest, draw a card off Abomination, drain you for 1 off Cutthroat... and draw for turn! Okay, main phase... cast another Sifter, sac Eldrazi Scion, scry, draw, use that mana, cast a Siege Rhino..." #valuetown

[hasdgfas]

Just got back from Day 1 of GP Madison. I went 3-3 drop. Enjoyed myself a lot.

[DeathNote]

I made a cheap standard deck that revolves around Nettle Drone / Molten Nursery. Its an eldrazi burn deck of sorts.

Consists of:
Forerunner of Slaughter
Dust Stalker
Nettle Drone
Herald of Kozilek
Ruination Guides
Hangarback Walker
Fathom Feeder
Brutal Expulsion
Touch of the Void
Molten Nursery
ghostfire blade

Can't quite figure out what else needs to be in there.

[hasdgfas]

While I may have scrubbed out of the GP at 3-3, I did complete a goal of mine, which was to get all these signed:

[Espeonage]

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

[Shinobi]

So I keep talking to others about playing MtGO and I don't know if it's worth it.
I sort of know how to play Magic (I played a bit as a kid and I've downloaded Magic Duels and played some of that) but I don't

know

the game to any extent.

Is it worth getting into? Or should I get the physical cards and play that way?

[Natirasha]

Physical cards are better overall, although depending on your area, MTGO will be easier to find people to play with.

MTGO is just a shitty program.

[Shinobi]

So if I played online what else would I use?
I drive for money atm so lots of travel is going to be a giant pain.

[Ythan]

I've heard good things about Cockatrice that gave me the impression it might be what you're looking for.

[Natirasha]

Cocktrice or X-Mage are free programs that a lot of people play Magic on, but if you're just learning it's no the best.

[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.

[Shinobi]

So I found this game shop that I played at, and the manager walked me through and helped me build this awesome Blue/Red Artifact deck.
I'm going back on either Thursday or Friday.

Magic is cool.

[DeathNote]

It is certainly addicting. Is it a standard deck?

[PeregrineV]

Another rules question.

Player 1 uses Gideon's +1 to make him a 5/5 Human Soldier Ally.



Player two, in response to the attack, casts Supplant Form.


Is the token that player 2 now controls a Gideon planeswalker with 4 counters on it that is in 5/5 Human Soldier Ally mode?

[Sudo_Nym]

I believe copy effects don't copy temporary effects, so you'd get a planeswalker. I'm a bit out of practice, though, so I'd wait for one of the judges on site to weigh in.

[Ythan]

I'm

pretty sure

but not certain Sudo's right.

[hasdgfas]

So when you copy something, you copy the base card characteristics, not any effects on top of that. It's Layer 1 in the layer system, so nothing else that affects the card affects the copy. This includes P/T changing effects, type-changing effects, or abilities.

If you Supplant Form a Gideon in creature mode, you will have a Gideon planeswalker with 4 loyalty.

Source: I'm an L1 Judge

[Sudo_Nym]

I was pretty sure about the temporary effects not copying, but it was the loyalty counters I wasn't sure of, since that's different from a temporary effect. I guess that doesn't transfer to the copy, either.

That does mean that copying something like Spike Feeder is pointless, since you don't get the +1/+1 counters and it dies immediately.

How does that accord with copying a copy? If I Clone your Clone, then I get whatever your Clone was copying, not a copy of Clone itself. I assume this as something to with Timestamps, since I think they're both Layer 1 effects?

[Ythan]

Your copy spike feeder still gets etb effects when it es tb.