Only have a few minutes for a short post.
This week's been especially bad. I didn't manage to make it down for Old Farte like I had wanted to but won't be able to go next week either (my grandmother passed away yesterday, so I'll be up in the Twin Cities for the funeral on Monday). The rest of my plans for this weekend kind of got kebashed as well. My folks had planned on coming up this weekend, but now I'll be heading up their way instead.
Well enough about me. I do agree that our group has gotten away from our roots in casual limited play and moved whole heartedly into EDH or bust. I admit that I am just as guilty of favoring EDH over draft. I also am more excited to see us moving back to more limited play. With that said, I am proposing that we go on an EDH holiday for the month of August. Please discuss this further @ CBGs on Sunday or in the comments, but I think that we need to take a break and give up the format for the month of August.
Until next time, may the mana gods not hate you.
Showing posts with label EDH. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EDH. Show all posts
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
My SCG Premium is expiring
So, as I alluded to earlier, my SCG account is about to expire. I am pretty sure I am not going to renew it right now. You know why not? It's summertime, and I am not playing Magic at all. TS called me last night and he's all,
"You never play Magic anymore. I never play Magic anymore. The world is grey and lonely. I read Sylvia Plath poems all day long and search for houses in a down market!"
"Shadowmoor is some impressively cool shit. Call me in the fall when I will feel like drafting it. Also, new homes sales* fell again last month, by 16% if you look at year over year data. As much as I understand your desire to live in your own place, you are gonna kneecap yourselves if you don't wait for some miniscule sign of a recovery."
----
Fugie has some impressive technology for Nationals. I am going to start playtesting it soon. Man if I can only get one match win, I can totally sandbag some poor innocent soul's rating.
----
If you haven't responded to coyoe's thread on Wednesday, I highly recommend you do so. My numbers are the lowest, and it's not even close. I am the only one who has responded so far who admits to less than 50% match win percentage. As a matter of fact, my Constructed match win percentage is hovering around 1 in 3. That's technology. Strangely, my Vintage match win percentage is also 1 in 3, proving that you can't prop a shitty magic player up with proxies. I actually kind of want to play Goblins at Vintage Worlds, but the 3 pieces of power are pretty necessary, even if it's only three. The ability to occasionally mise a turn 1 Warchief is like, necessary.
----
Gaudenis "I lost to CBG in the first round of a limited ptq" Vidugiris got second at the recent GP:Indianapolis. Congrats! Sorry about sandbagging your rating last year.
----
I am thinking about playing some of the more situational haste cards in my Rakdos EDH. It seems like fun to play Accelerate in this format. Hitting someone with Rakdos is teh awesome. I love it when everyone lives in fear. Especially those fucking blue players.
*Actually, this might be existing home sales. I can't remember.
"You never play Magic anymore. I never play Magic anymore. The world is grey and lonely. I read Sylvia Plath poems all day long and search for houses in a down market!"
"Shadowmoor is some impressively cool shit. Call me in the fall when I will feel like drafting it. Also, new homes sales* fell again last month, by 16% if you look at year over year data. As much as I understand your desire to live in your own place, you are gonna kneecap yourselves if you don't wait for some miniscule sign of a recovery."
----
Fugie has some impressive technology for Nationals. I am going to start playtesting it soon. Man if I can only get one match win, I can totally sandbag some poor innocent soul's rating.
----
If you haven't responded to coyoe's thread on Wednesday, I highly recommend you do so. My numbers are the lowest, and it's not even close. I am the only one who has responded so far who admits to less than 50% match win percentage. As a matter of fact, my Constructed match win percentage is hovering around 1 in 3. That's technology. Strangely, my Vintage match win percentage is also 1 in 3, proving that you can't prop a shitty magic player up with proxies. I actually kind of want to play Goblins at Vintage Worlds, but the 3 pieces of power are pretty necessary, even if it's only three. The ability to occasionally mise a turn 1 Warchief is like, necessary.
----
Gaudenis "I lost to CBG in the first round of a limited ptq" Vidugiris got second at the recent GP:Indianapolis. Congrats! Sorry about sandbagging your rating last year.
----
I am thinking about playing some of the more situational haste cards in my Rakdos EDH. It seems like fun to play Accelerate in this format. Hitting someone with Rakdos is teh awesome. I love it when everyone lives in fear. Especially those fucking blue players.
*Actually, this might be existing home sales. I can't remember.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Do I Have Fans?
Oh, yes I do!
So how was yr Regionals? Harry Potter didn't get there. Oh well. At least we all have a chance to win the car this year as Sam Black made top 4. Dude ripped it up in the sides last year. Actually, if I were him, I'd go do that again. He won like $30,000 worth of stuff last year. He's unlikely to do that well in the main event, given the dismal prize structure for Nationals. Unless they have improved the prizes this year?
I had fun. People were very confused by the whole "not playing" thing. I would have played either Reveillark or Merfolk. There was a ton of Merfolk and only one made it into the top 4. I was half right in my prediction as it was 2 Elves (GB midrange), 1 Faeries and 1 Merfolk getting the slots.
I finally got to vindicate something and woo lemme tell ya. That's some fun shit. Reaper King is pretty awesome in duel, I say . Not good, per se, but awesomely fun to play. In multiplayer, my prediction also proved true. He gets killed a lot. Hey, you know something else? Clockspinning doesn't remove RFG counters from yr general, because RFG counters aren't part of the game! Ass.
--------
So that pathetic excuse for an explanation of the Vintage bannings from last week did not stand. Turian and Lauer took a stab at it this week and I have to say, that's quite a bit better. Not only did they go into more detail on the Flash (uncontroversial), Merchant Scroll (uncontroversial), Gush (uncontroversial) and Brainstorm (mildly controversial) restrictions, but they dropped quite a few pixels on exploring the Ponder (what the fuck? Ponder? was the dominant BB theme over the last two weeks) execution. The relevant line is right at the end.
-----
Anybody got a Workshop list I can borrow?
-----
My most recent convo with DJTS:
TooSarcastic: Hey man. Do you like to party?
Captain Bondage Goth: It's Milwaukee in the summertime, man! Of course I like to party!
TS: We should party this weekend.
CBG: I am getting a cold.
TS: You fucking loser.
CBG: I know.
At least, that's all I remember through my sinus pressure induced haze.
-----
Happy Father's Day. I hope you all have fun out there. I was gonna have a draft at my house, but given my relationship with the weather right now (as in, I am feeling under it), I think I am gonna pass. You should build a new EDH in the meantime. And figure out a Grinders deck, will ya?
So how was yr Regionals? Harry Potter didn't get there. Oh well. At least we all have a chance to win the car this year as Sam Black made top 4. Dude ripped it up in the sides last year. Actually, if I were him, I'd go do that again. He won like $30,000 worth of stuff last year. He's unlikely to do that well in the main event, given the dismal prize structure for Nationals. Unless they have improved the prizes this year?
I had fun. People were very confused by the whole "not playing" thing. I would have played either Reveillark or Merfolk. There was a ton of Merfolk and only one made it into the top 4. I was half right in my prediction as it was 2 Elves (GB midrange), 1 Faeries and 1 Merfolk getting the slots.
I finally got to vindicate something and woo lemme tell ya. That's some fun shit. Reaper King is pretty awesome in duel, I say . Not good, per se, but awesomely fun to play. In multiplayer, my prediction also proved true. He gets killed a lot. Hey, you know something else? Clockspinning doesn't remove RFG counters from yr general, because RFG counters aren't part of the game! Ass.
--------
So that pathetic excuse for an explanation of the Vintage bannings from last week did not stand. Turian and Lauer took a stab at it this week and I have to say, that's quite a bit better. Not only did they go into more detail on the Flash (uncontroversial), Merchant Scroll (uncontroversial), Gush (uncontroversial) and Brainstorm (mildly controversial) restrictions, but they dropped quite a few pixels on exploring the Ponder (what the fuck? Ponder? was the dominant BB theme over the last two weeks) execution. The relevant line is right at the end.
Having the most efficient unrestricted deck manipulation card left in the format be a sorcery would inherently power up combo decks (which don't mind tapping mana on their own turn) while hurting the control decks (which really don't want to tap mana on their own turn) that are important for keeping the overall health of the format in balance.This is a line of argument I understand and can believe. Four Force of Will is supposedly the glue that holds the format together, which is a fancy way of saying control should have a seat at the table. Leaving Ponder out there (a less powerful spell due to it's timing) actually preferentially helps combo, an effect they are trying to avoid. Fine. So why did that take two weeks?
-----
Anybody got a Workshop list I can borrow?
-----
My most recent convo with DJTS:
TooSarcastic: Hey man. Do you like to party?
Captain Bondage Goth: It's Milwaukee in the summertime, man! Of course I like to party!
TS: We should party this weekend.
CBG: I am getting a cold.
TS: You fucking loser.
CBG: I know.
At least, that's all I remember through my sinus pressure induced haze.
-----
Happy Father's Day. I hope you all have fun out there. I was gonna have a draft at my house, but given my relationship with the weather right now (as in, I am feeling under it), I think I am gonna pass. You should build a new EDH in the meantime. And figure out a Grinders deck, will ya?
Thursday, June 5, 2008
DAMMIT
I KNEW you couldn't sacrifice Gilded Drake to Miren and still get the exchange.
Current Oracle Text
From the Ask the Judge database
Argh.
Current Oracle Text
When Gilded Drake comes into play, choose one - sacrifice Gilded Drake; or exchange control of Gilded Drake and target creature an opponent controls. If you can't make the exchange, sacrifice Gilded Drake. This ability can't be countered. (This effect doesn't end at end of turn.)
From the Ask the Judge database
Q: If I put the ability of Gilded Drake into stack, targeting legal target and my opponent kills Gilded Drake with Terror, does the exchange still take place?
A: No. When the ability resolves, the things that will be exchanged need to be present. Otherwise, nothing happens.
Argh.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Dammit Edna!
I was totally going to write this last night but I bought a bottle of Don Julio Reposado instead. Tequila > Magic. My tumbly is rumbly.
Reaper King EDH strikes me as the most tedious deck to play ever.
"And then I will play my general"
"Counter it."
"I will play my general again."
"Kill it."
"I will play my general, paying 14."
"Steal it"
"Dammit Edna!"
Did you know Clutch of the Undercity is tech versus Stealy Stealy? Of course blue has the best answers to blue! Why wouldn't it?
I still have done a grand total of 3 Shadowmoor drafts, one of those being a bizarre 4 man, where 2 people went RG and 2 UW.
You should look elsewhere for Regionals tech. Or you should be a good pro and play Quick 'n Toast.
Ugh. I really have nothing this week, because I don't want to talk about Reaper King before I play it. Go away.
Reaper King EDH strikes me as the most tedious deck to play ever.
"And then I will play my general"
"Counter it."
"I will play my general again."
"Kill it."
"I will play my general, paying 14."
"Steal it"
"Dammit Edna!"
Did you know Clutch of the Undercity is tech versus Stealy Stealy? Of course blue has the best answers to blue! Why wouldn't it?
I still have done a grand total of 3 Shadowmoor drafts, one of those being a bizarre 4 man, where 2 people went RG and 2 UW.
You should look elsewhere for Regionals tech. Or you should be a good pro and play Quick 'n Toast.
Ugh. I really have nothing this week, because I don't want to talk about Reaper King before I play it. Go away.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Top 30 Shadowmoor Cards- EDH
Lookit me, I'm a Captain Bondage Goth! In Bizarro World maybe.
I'm doing top ten lists here for Shadowmoor EDH; one for commons, uncommons and rares. See if you agree.
Commons:
10 Safewright Quest - Search up your green or white dual for 1 mana. Could be worse.
9 Turn to Mist - Dodge removal (mass or targeted), use as a combat trick, abuse CIP effects.
8 Manamorphose - Mana fix, cantrip.
7 Niveous Wisps - It's one mana, and it taps Akroma. Cantrip.
6 Faerie Macabre - No one will see this coming until after they cast the Regrowth.
5 Strip Bare - Goodbye equipment! (Except, uh, SoLaS and Lightning Greaves)
4 Last Breath - Gets those pesky utility guys for good.
3 Gloomwidow's Feast - One more than Wing Snare, but it's instant and you get another speed bump for fliers. Really not too bad for killing say, a dragon.
2 Mine Excavation - There will be targets. Getting the conspire is pure gravy.
1 Crimson Wisps - Would you pay one more mana to give your bomb haste and make it cantrip?
Uncommons:
10 Firespout- Hey, it's probably removal and card advantage.
9 Spiteflame Witch - About four or five damage for 2 mana is pretty good, even though you'll pissing people off.
8 Tower Above - It's just a combat trick I know, but it's still pretty damn good one, especially at 3 mana.
7 Mercy Killing - Is it Chainer's Edict? No. But You're playing G/W. It'll do. I'd still rather have 11 1/1s swinging at me and a Darksteel Colossus in some one's library than having to deal with indestructible dudes.
6 Thoughtweft Gambit - This taps every one's creatures but the caster's. I imagine there are ways to abuse this. Multiple Time Walks, anyone?
5 Prison Term - Makes opponents think twice about playing creatures, even shuts off activated abilities. Bites it to mass removal, unfortunately.
4 Reknit - But I really like my enchantment (or land/artifact/planeswalker). I don't want it to go...
3 Mistmeadow Witch - Sick things start to happen at 8 mana.
2 Torrent of Souls - Paying both R and B is really good in a format with bomb creatures and sweepers that routinely hit before summoning sickness wears off.
1 Beseech the Queen - Was there any doubt? This tutor is sick.
Rares:
10 Fire-Lit Thicket, Graven Cairns, Mystic Gate, Sunken Ruins, Wooded Bastion, and Reflecting Pool. Let's get them out of the way, shall we? In a three color deck, they really are amazing.
9 Fracturing Gust - Bomb. This will wreck EDH games all over at instant speed. The life gain is occasionally relevant.
8 Memory Plunder - The spells you are potentially casting get juicier in a format with numerous graveyards and bomby spells.
7 Din of the Fireherd - It "only" hits one player, or it would be higher on the list. Kingmaker anyone?
6 River Kelpie - I will predict you will be drawing lots of cards.
5 Rage Reflection/Mana Reflection- This is cheating, but they're both awesome. 6 mana is a lot to invest but I believe that both of these enchantments are worth it, not least because enchantments stay around longer than most permanents in EDH.
4 Puppeteer Clique - Haste, graveyard hosing, reusability, evasion, the list goes on. The real deal.
3 Polluted Bonds - This needs an answer quick, before things get out of hand.
2 Twilight Shepherd - Wrath Insurance. Sol'Kanar's got nothing on this bitch.
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae - The new hot General. RFG FTW, people.
Top 1 lists.
Top 1 most annoying thing to hear stupid people say: "It is what it is." Yes. This technically applies to everything in the universe. Congratulations. Unless there is some other meaning that can be intuited from making this statement, please don't.
Top 1 everyday occurrence that makes me feel like I'm being anally violated: Being thankful that I'm "only" paying $3.95 for regular unleaded. Thank you mister OPEC! May I have another? I never thought I'd have to write that.
Top 1 best track to be trippin' balls to: I have made this known elsewhere. "Your Face is a Mess" by Gel Abril. Try the Deetron remix for extra paranoia. I was going to do a list about what track is best the best soundtrack for getting high on every illicit drug I could think of but then I remembered what I do for a living and decided I prefer to keep my job instead.
Top 1 worst idea for a post on this blog: a loosely autobiographical short story titled "The adventures of Salty McMonster." Me whining for ten pages, anyone? Oh wait, you were all probably there when the whining actually happened.
Night kids.
T
I'm doing top ten lists here for Shadowmoor EDH; one for commons, uncommons and rares. See if you agree.
Commons:
10 Safewright Quest - Search up your green or white dual for 1 mana. Could be worse.
9 Turn to Mist - Dodge removal (mass or targeted), use as a combat trick, abuse CIP effects.
8 Manamorphose - Mana fix, cantrip.
7 Niveous Wisps - It's one mana, and it taps Akroma. Cantrip.
6 Faerie Macabre - No one will see this coming until after they cast the Regrowth.
5 Strip Bare - Goodbye equipment! (Except, uh, SoLaS and Lightning Greaves)
4 Last Breath - Gets those pesky utility guys for good.
3 Gloomwidow's Feast - One more than Wing Snare, but it's instant and you get another speed bump for fliers. Really not too bad for killing say, a dragon.
2 Mine Excavation - There will be targets. Getting the conspire is pure gravy.
1 Crimson Wisps - Would you pay one more mana to give your bomb haste and make it cantrip?
Uncommons:
10 Firespout- Hey, it's probably removal and card advantage.
9 Spiteflame Witch - About four or five damage for 2 mana is pretty good, even though you'll pissing people off.
8 Tower Above - It's just a combat trick I know, but it's still pretty damn good one, especially at 3 mana.
7 Mercy Killing - Is it Chainer's Edict? No. But You're playing G/W. It'll do. I'd still rather have 11 1/1s swinging at me and a Darksteel Colossus in some one's library than having to deal with indestructible dudes.
6 Thoughtweft Gambit - This taps every one's creatures but the caster's. I imagine there are ways to abuse this. Multiple Time Walks, anyone?
5 Prison Term - Makes opponents think twice about playing creatures, even shuts off activated abilities. Bites it to mass removal, unfortunately.
4 Reknit - But I really like my enchantment (or land/artifact/planeswalker). I don't want it to go...
3 Mistmeadow Witch - Sick things start to happen at 8 mana.
2 Torrent of Souls - Paying both R and B is really good in a format with bomb creatures and sweepers that routinely hit before summoning sickness wears off.
1 Beseech the Queen - Was there any doubt? This tutor is sick.
Rares:
10 Fire-Lit Thicket, Graven Cairns, Mystic Gate, Sunken Ruins, Wooded Bastion, and Reflecting Pool. Let's get them out of the way, shall we? In a three color deck, they really are amazing.
9 Fracturing Gust - Bomb. This will wreck EDH games all over at instant speed. The life gain is occasionally relevant.
8 Memory Plunder - The spells you are potentially casting get juicier in a format with numerous graveyards and bomby spells.
7 Din of the Fireherd - It "only" hits one player, or it would be higher on the list. Kingmaker anyone?
6 River Kelpie - I will predict you will be drawing lots of cards.
5 Rage Reflection/Mana Reflection- This is cheating, but they're both awesome. 6 mana is a lot to invest but I believe that both of these enchantments are worth it, not least because enchantments stay around longer than most permanents in EDH.
4 Puppeteer Clique - Haste, graveyard hosing, reusability, evasion, the list goes on. The real deal.
3 Polluted Bonds - This needs an answer quick, before things get out of hand.
2 Twilight Shepherd - Wrath Insurance. Sol'Kanar's got nothing on this bitch.
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae - The new hot General. RFG FTW, people.
Top 1 lists.
Top 1 most annoying thing to hear stupid people say: "It is what it is." Yes. This technically applies to everything in the universe. Congratulations. Unless there is some other meaning that can be intuited from making this statement, please don't.
Top 1 everyday occurrence that makes me feel like I'm being anally violated: Being thankful that I'm "only" paying $3.95 for regular unleaded. Thank you mister OPEC! May I have another? I never thought I'd have to write that.
Top 1 best track to be trippin' balls to: I have made this known elsewhere. "Your Face is a Mess" by Gel Abril. Try the Deetron remix for extra paranoia. I was going to do a list about what track is best the best soundtrack for getting high on every illicit drug I could think of but then I remembered what I do for a living and decided I prefer to keep my job instead.
Top 1 worst idea for a post on this blog: a loosely autobiographical short story titled "The adventures of Salty McMonster." Me whining for ten pages, anyone? Oh wait, you were all probably there when the whining actually happened.
Night kids.
T
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Sek'Kuar Testing- Absurd!
Really Jonesing to goldfish the new Sek'Kuar EDH with my old Numot EDH. Realize I don't have 99 sleeves of the same color. Shuffle 'em up bareback anyway. Sek'Kuar killed Numot five times. Like the general Numot. As in, "I am casting Numot again... for 14 mana." Sek'Kuar: "Nekraatal it on my turn."
Key turn: Sek'Kuar is at four life and seven mana, with a lonely Wood Elves in play, facing down Numot and Greater Gargadon. Cast E-Wit targeting Hammerheim Deadeye. Cast Deadeye, targeting Numot. Sacrifice Wood Elves, E-Wit, Deadeye: Flashback Dread Return targeting Nekraatal, who targets Gargadon. Siiiick.
T
Key turn: Sek'Kuar is at four life and seven mana, with a lonely Wood Elves in play, facing down Numot and Greater Gargadon. Cast E-Wit targeting Hammerheim Deadeye. Cast Deadeye, targeting Numot. Sacrifice Wood Elves, E-Wit, Deadeye: Flashback Dread Return targeting Nekraatal, who targets Gargadon. Siiiick.
T
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Month in review
Well what a crazy month it's been. Between being deathly ill for three days (thanks again Fugie), the Easter Holiday, going to the new shop up in Whitefish Bay, and reworking my EDH, its been a pretty interesting March. However as crazy as it was, it was a fun ride.
I wouldn't recommend getting that awful virus that's going around, but have recommended checking out Calvary Games up in Whitefish Bay. Regardless of how close to a frozen turkey shoot it may be, the staff and local players are quite friendly and appear to be playing for the right reasons (I enjoy winning as much as the next guy, but play for the social interaction more than anything).
As far as EDH, I am starting to enjoy it a little more. Over the last couple of weeks, I managed to tune my Dromar deck a little more to include more reliable card draw and more clone effects. As last week Friday's marathon games proved, the only thing better than an Angel of Despair, are half a dozen Angels of Despair without the original actually entering play.
Last night TS, CGB, & I played a couple of three man EDH games to blow off a little steam and test out the latest iterations. Last night proved a couple of key things about all of our respective decks.
1. CBG's UG deck works significantly better in a three man than a four man.
This really comes down to counter spells being more effective with fewer people at the table. Also, with a high average number of board sweepers per deck in our play group, his deck can really shine in a three man game.
2. TS's WUR deck has a much tougher time in a three man than a four man.
His deck sees pretty much the opposite effect as CBG's. With fewer people at the table his hammers do less overall and his card advantage engine is not quite as efficient.
3. My BUW deck does about the same, but given the chance can do some really amazing things in a three man game.
My deck really does benefit most from only having two other people go before my next turn. I am also able to make better utilization of my more narrow answers (Swords to plowshares & Sudden Death, for example).
As far as future changes, TS really made a positive impression, on me, of the power of Momentary Blink and I'll need to seriously consider fitting it in some where. Also CBG's as well as Fugie's use of Academy Ruins makes me want to include one as well. However in my deck it would serve more as a way to recur Tormad's Crypt or to recover some key artifacts such as Journey's Kite or Citanel Flute post Disk.
Well starting next week I'll resume my coverage of Old Fart Magic night. April will be the last month of Lowryn Morningtide. Starting in May we'll be cracking Shadowmoor. Until then, may the Mana gods not hate you.
I wouldn't recommend getting that awful virus that's going around, but have recommended checking out Calvary Games up in Whitefish Bay. Regardless of how close to a frozen turkey shoot it may be, the staff and local players are quite friendly and appear to be playing for the right reasons (I enjoy winning as much as the next guy, but play for the social interaction more than anything).
As far as EDH, I am starting to enjoy it a little more. Over the last couple of weeks, I managed to tune my Dromar deck a little more to include more reliable card draw and more clone effects. As last week Friday's marathon games proved, the only thing better than an Angel of Despair, are half a dozen Angels of Despair without the original actually entering play.
Last night TS, CGB, & I played a couple of three man EDH games to blow off a little steam and test out the latest iterations. Last night proved a couple of key things about all of our respective decks.
1. CBG's UG deck works significantly better in a three man than a four man.
This really comes down to counter spells being more effective with fewer people at the table. Also, with a high average number of board sweepers per deck in our play group, his deck can really shine in a three man game.
2. TS's WUR deck has a much tougher time in a three man than a four man.
His deck sees pretty much the opposite effect as CBG's. With fewer people at the table his hammers do less overall and his card advantage engine is not quite as efficient.
3. My BUW deck does about the same, but given the chance can do some really amazing things in a three man game.
My deck really does benefit most from only having two other people go before my next turn. I am also able to make better utilization of my more narrow answers (Swords to plowshares & Sudden Death, for example).
As far as future changes, TS really made a positive impression, on me, of the power of Momentary Blink and I'll need to seriously consider fitting it in some where. Also CBG's as well as Fugie's use of Academy Ruins makes me want to include one as well. However in my deck it would serve more as a way to recur Tormad's Crypt or to recover some key artifacts such as Journey's Kite or Citanel Flute post Disk.
Well starting next week I'll resume my coverage of Old Fart Magic night. April will be the last month of Lowryn Morningtide. Starting in May we'll be cracking Shadowmoor. Until then, may the Mana gods not hate you.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
March 22 CBG's Basement B&R List Announcement
As of Friday, March 28th the following card is legal in CBG's basement in all Constructed and Limited formats.
Skullclamp
The DCI banned list still applies, so if we ever have an Extended tourney in the basement, Clamp stays home.
Also, Sensei's Divining Top is on the watch list for EDH games. This is solely due to unnecessarily slowing down an already glacial format. Input?
Skullclamp
The DCI banned list still applies, so if we ever have an Extended tourney in the basement, Clamp stays home.
Also, Sensei's Divining Top is on the watch list for EDH games. This is solely due to unnecessarily slowing down an already glacial format. Input?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
We Totally Screwed The Pooch On The Vedalken Shackles Issue
So I was reading Ask the Judge this morning and his little rules tip reminder is
This implies to me that the Captain and the rest of us were wrong on the Shackled Speedbump issue. So I go back to the Vedalken Shackles ruling page. We only looked at the first ruling
But if you read Solemn Simulacrum's Oracle text, the relevant wording is undoubtedly,
Catch that? A graveyard, not your graveyard. In other words, we totally screwed the pooch on the Vedalken Shackles issue. I hereby apologize to Major_luck for so heartily having sexual relations with the dog, and will never listen to The Captain ever again (kidding! (rawk (robv))).
Rules Tip of the Day: The controller of a leaves-play triggered ability is the person who controlled the source of the ability when it left play.
This implies to me that the Captain and the rest of us were wrong on the Shackled Speedbump issue. So I go back to the Vedalken Shackles ruling page. We only looked at the first ruling
Q: I have a Vedalken Shackles stealing an opponent's Putrid Imp. He has multiple copies of Bridge from Below in his graveyard, and I'm wondering: if I can get the Putrid Imp killed, will my opponent get token creatures, or will Bridge from Below cards be removed from the game?
A: Cards always go to the graveyard of their owner. You may have controlled this creature when it left play, but it went to your opponent's graveyard. So your opponent will end up with 2/2 Zombie token creatures, and the Bridges from Below will remain in his graveyard.
But if you read Solemn Simulacrum's Oracle text, the relevant wording is undoubtedly,
When Solemn Simulacrum is put into a graveyard from play, you may draw a card.
Catch that? A graveyard, not your graveyard. In other words, we totally screwed the pooch on the Vedalken Shackles issue. I hereby apologize to Major_luck for so heartily having sexual relations with the dog, and will never listen to The Captain ever again (kidding! (rawk (robv))).
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The problem with EDH
There are two problems with EDH. One is that it's constructed, so I suck at it. The other problem is that it's awesome, so I keep beating my head against the wall. I reached a new low last night as I managed to Jokulhaups when all it would do is piss everyone off. Awk.
Still, it's a super fun format and I think I am going to keep playing as much as I possibly can so that I can get better. More familiarity with my deck and the ways in which it can win would help a lot. I played the Rakdos deck again last night, but I failed to Jokulhaups into Rakdos (which is always the right play). They might beat you from that position. Then again, they probably won't.
I am learning a ton about tutoring, slow accumulation of advantage, politics and killer enchantments (curse you, red-black. why do you taunt me so?). TooSarcastic is the unchallenged alpha male of the EDH playgroup. He's always dominating the board. He totally won last night when Tabasco should have blown him out. The captain failed to cast Debtor's Knell before each Jokulhaups effect. I think he will learn from this mistake. Major_luck and Fugie collaborated to...well, I am not sure what they were doing.
There is another project that intrigues me, which is taking my blue-green deck and modifying it to up the counterspelling. I am not planning on making a lock deck, just something where everybody asks me, "okay?" whenever they put a spell on the stack. What do you all think? Maybe 15 counters? That way, I should usually have one in hand, but not all the time. I might wanna add white for Swift Silence. But I think I am gonna stay UG and use Momir Vig.
Sorry about the brevity. I am focused on EDH right now and there isn't a ton to say.
Tabasco, if you want in on the 29th, you need to tell me like, now. There are only two seats left at the 8-man, and I have an idea for one of 'em.
Still, it's a super fun format and I think I am going to keep playing as much as I possibly can so that I can get better. More familiarity with my deck and the ways in which it can win would help a lot. I played the Rakdos deck again last night, but I failed to Jokulhaups into Rakdos (which is always the right play). They might beat you from that position. Then again, they probably won't.
I am learning a ton about tutoring, slow accumulation of advantage, politics and killer enchantments (curse you, red-black. why do you taunt me so?). TooSarcastic is the unchallenged alpha male of the EDH playgroup. He's always dominating the board. He totally won last night when Tabasco should have blown him out. The captain failed to cast Debtor's Knell before each Jokulhaups effect. I think he will learn from this mistake. Major_luck and Fugie collaborated to...well, I am not sure what they were doing.
There is another project that intrigues me, which is taking my blue-green deck and modifying it to up the counterspelling. I am not planning on making a lock deck, just something where everybody asks me, "okay?" whenever they put a spell on the stack. What do you all think? Maybe 15 counters? That way, I should usually have one in hand, but not all the time. I might wanna add white for Swift Silence. But I think I am gonna stay UG and use Momir Vig.
Sorry about the brevity. I am focused on EDH right now and there isn't a ton to say.
Tabasco, if you want in on the 29th, you need to tell me like, now. There are only two seats left at the 8-man, and I have an idea for one of 'em.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Elder Dragon Highlander: Learning from Mistakes
TooSarcastic Wednesdays? It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it does it? I woke up on Tuesday and wondered, “Hmm, who’s posting today on the blog? Oh shit. That would be me.” So Fugie grabbed the opportunity to throw in another post and kindly let me post a day late.
Today we’re discussing a little more multiplayer wisdom, mostly things that I am picking up as I go along. The format is Elder Dragon Highlander, but the lessons should be broadly applicable elsewhere in multiplayer settings. Because the last few months have been the first time I’ve played multiplayer in years, I was forced to start with a top-down strategy- all theory, no practice. Hence my theory-driven bias toward power over utility. So now that I’ve been playing for little while I’ve done a lot of learning, made some stupid mistakes, and seen some cards that I thought would be great turn out to be mediocre. So let’s talk about some things that didn’t quite pan out. Let’s talk about some failures.
Failure #1: Manlands.
Early on I actually had some success with Faerie Conclave and Forbidden Watchtower. They killed Fugie in a game after a board sweeper removed his blockers. And that was the point of including them, after all. They do great impressions of lands while Wrath of God does its thing. They also are assets that don’t clog up your hand waiting to be played. Those are all positives. The downside? I would rather be doing just about anything else with my mana than pumping up a manland. They are the absolute last resort, either on offense or defense. Hardly appealing. But what got them removed from my deck was the fact that the Xth edition manlands come into play tapped. I really underestimated how important it would be to have that mana available the turn it comes down. I figured this format more than any other, wouldn’t care about fast mana. Multiplayer is slow as hell right? Yes and no. Games go longer, but (and this will be an important theme throughout this topic) with so many other players, more happens that affects your board with less opportunity for you to react. It’s really painful to have no plays for a turn in a five person game, because there’s a very good chance another player has some plays in store for you, if catch my meaning. Four other people get an opportunity to harass you before you get to draw a card or lay another land, or whatever it is that you hope will get you back in the game. So CIP tapped lands are no fun to rip off the top when you really, really need to play your Platinum Angel to have a shot to stay in it.
Failure #2: Expensive reusable effects
In my “Scalpel vs. Hammer” post I asked the question “Why play a tutor spell when you could be casting Whispers of the Muse with buyback every turn?” Now I know why. Because if I play Whispers with buyback, that is all I will be doing. Maybe our playgroup plays with more land destruction than normal, or maybe I need to work on my manabase, but I have never been able to cast Whispers and play another spell the same turn. Land just doesn’t stay in play that long. The best thing about Whispers of the Muse is that I can burn it turn one as a cantrip. It has never gained me the overwhelming card advantage I had sought. There just aren’t enough turns in a multiplayer game for that kind of return. This is same problem with Urza’s Factory (if I have eight mana on board, I guarantee there will be stronger plays than making a 2/2), Spell Burst (I never got to cast it- even without buyback), and to a lesser extent Sacred Mesa. The Mesa is the closest to being playable, but my deck is full of better stuff to do than spend four mana a turn to get a 1/1 flyer. Sacred Mesa could win a group game, given enough time, but come on, nobody has a way to deal with a bunch of Pegasi? They’re Pegasi!! If three or four other players combined can’t kill me and my army of weenies then I guess they deserve to lose. One more example. In the last EDH game I played, I had a Shattering Pulse in hand. I was killing an artifact every turn I didn’t have a more relevant play (let’s say once every three turns or so). Swizz Dizzle was dropping artifact mana accelerants like there's no tomorrow. I had an Armageddon in hand and knew that I would end up coming out worse off if I played it, despite having the so called “answer” to his artifacts. Again, multiplayer games just don’t last long enough. Never before have a wished more for a Shatterstorm. It would have netted me just as much card advantage, but for about 16 less mana. That’s the better hammer card.
Failure #3: Cards with a heavy color commitment
Okay, so I don’t have to play a three color deck. I just really like the flexibility. And I have enough duals that I can make the mana work, amiright? No, TooSarcastic, you are wrong. I don’t know how many games I have needed a board sweeper AND had my budget Wrath of God (aka “Hour of Reckoning”) sitting in my hand, just thinking, “You know, I wish I could get a third white source. Or a white creature to help with the convoke.” Similarly I have stopped seeing Shard Phoenix as reusable because I know that if I have three red mana available during my upkeep, there will inevitably be a more important play that I must use that mana for during my main phase. Let’s not even talk about Pyrohemia. I love you, red Pestilence, but in my three color deck you just aren’t going to be taking down the 5/5 dragons that I need to you to destroy. We’re just better as friends, Pyrohemia. Sorry.
So if these cards are the mistakes, what are the correct answers? I’m still trying to find that out, but I have some ideas. Or, more accurately other people in my playgroup have had some ideas that I have seen and will be copying. Shatterstorm is in for Shattering Pulse since CBG continually complains that he should be playing it (but doesn’t). Deep Analysis is in for Whispers of the Muse because seeing Fugie and the Dizzle draw four cards in one turn for six mana beats my one card for six mana. Momentary Blink gets in there, not because it is super abusable in my deck (like it is in Fugie’s- Duplicant and/or Sundering Titan FTWs) but because it beats trying to actually counter targeted removal spells. Swords to Plowshares is a one for one trade, but (just like Major_Luck) at one mana it’s a trade I’m willing to make.
There are also a few experiments I’m trying out myself. Quicksilver Amulet is an Elvish Piper that gets in any deck. I like the idea of flashing out Duplicant, or Ixidron. During an attack step perhaps? It also inadvertently mana fixes and accelerates. Maybe that Blazing Archon will finally hit the table, at instant speed no less. And Mizzium Transreliquat will copy the best artifact on the table, even if it’s just a signet. (My newest “cute idea” involves the Transreliquat and a Darksteel Ingot on the table, with Jokulhaups in hand). Finally, I have some super secret mana-fixing tech. Can you think of a three mana enchantment in White Blue or Red that will make mana of any color? With any six land a guy could play Desolation Giant and still play Guile the next turn. I’m pumped by this possibility. But who knows? Maybe it will be awful. I’m still learning.
T
Today we’re discussing a little more multiplayer wisdom, mostly things that I am picking up as I go along. The format is Elder Dragon Highlander, but the lessons should be broadly applicable elsewhere in multiplayer settings. Because the last few months have been the first time I’ve played multiplayer in years, I was forced to start with a top-down strategy- all theory, no practice. Hence my theory-driven bias toward power over utility. So now that I’ve been playing for little while I’ve done a lot of learning, made some stupid mistakes, and seen some cards that I thought would be great turn out to be mediocre. So let’s talk about some things that didn’t quite pan out. Let’s talk about some failures.
Failure #1: Manlands.
Early on I actually had some success with Faerie Conclave and Forbidden Watchtower. They killed Fugie in a game after a board sweeper removed his blockers. And that was the point of including them, after all. They do great impressions of lands while Wrath of God does its thing. They also are assets that don’t clog up your hand waiting to be played. Those are all positives. The downside? I would rather be doing just about anything else with my mana than pumping up a manland. They are the absolute last resort, either on offense or defense. Hardly appealing. But what got them removed from my deck was the fact that the Xth edition manlands come into play tapped. I really underestimated how important it would be to have that mana available the turn it comes down. I figured this format more than any other, wouldn’t care about fast mana. Multiplayer is slow as hell right? Yes and no. Games go longer, but (and this will be an important theme throughout this topic) with so many other players, more happens that affects your board with less opportunity for you to react. It’s really painful to have no plays for a turn in a five person game, because there’s a very good chance another player has some plays in store for you, if catch my meaning. Four other people get an opportunity to harass you before you get to draw a card or lay another land, or whatever it is that you hope will get you back in the game. So CIP tapped lands are no fun to rip off the top when you really, really need to play your Platinum Angel to have a shot to stay in it.
Failure #2: Expensive reusable effects
In my “Scalpel vs. Hammer” post I asked the question “Why play a tutor spell when you could be casting Whispers of the Muse with buyback every turn?” Now I know why. Because if I play Whispers with buyback, that is all I will be doing. Maybe our playgroup plays with more land destruction than normal, or maybe I need to work on my manabase, but I have never been able to cast Whispers and play another spell the same turn. Land just doesn’t stay in play that long. The best thing about Whispers of the Muse is that I can burn it turn one as a cantrip. It has never gained me the overwhelming card advantage I had sought. There just aren’t enough turns in a multiplayer game for that kind of return. This is same problem with Urza’s Factory (if I have eight mana on board, I guarantee there will be stronger plays than making a 2/2), Spell Burst (I never got to cast it- even without buyback), and to a lesser extent Sacred Mesa. The Mesa is the closest to being playable, but my deck is full of better stuff to do than spend four mana a turn to get a 1/1 flyer. Sacred Mesa could win a group game, given enough time, but come on, nobody has a way to deal with a bunch of Pegasi? They’re Pegasi!! If three or four other players combined can’t kill me and my army of weenies then I guess they deserve to lose. One more example. In the last EDH game I played, I had a Shattering Pulse in hand. I was killing an artifact every turn I didn’t have a more relevant play (let’s say once every three turns or so). Swizz Dizzle was dropping artifact mana accelerants like there's no tomorrow. I had an Armageddon in hand and knew that I would end up coming out worse off if I played it, despite having the so called “answer” to his artifacts. Again, multiplayer games just don’t last long enough. Never before have a wished more for a Shatterstorm. It would have netted me just as much card advantage, but for about 16 less mana. That’s the better hammer card.
Failure #3: Cards with a heavy color commitment
Okay, so I don’t have to play a three color deck. I just really like the flexibility. And I have enough duals that I can make the mana work, amiright? No, TooSarcastic, you are wrong. I don’t know how many games I have needed a board sweeper AND had my budget Wrath of God (aka “Hour of Reckoning”) sitting in my hand, just thinking, “You know, I wish I could get a third white source. Or a white creature to help with the convoke.” Similarly I have stopped seeing Shard Phoenix as reusable because I know that if I have three red mana available during my upkeep, there will inevitably be a more important play that I must use that mana for during my main phase. Let’s not even talk about Pyrohemia. I love you, red Pestilence, but in my three color deck you just aren’t going to be taking down the 5/5 dragons that I need to you to destroy. We’re just better as friends, Pyrohemia. Sorry.
So if these cards are the mistakes, what are the correct answers? I’m still trying to find that out, but I have some ideas. Or, more accurately other people in my playgroup have had some ideas that I have seen and will be copying. Shatterstorm is in for Shattering Pulse since CBG continually complains that he should be playing it (but doesn’t). Deep Analysis is in for Whispers of the Muse because seeing Fugie and the Dizzle draw four cards in one turn for six mana beats my one card for six mana. Momentary Blink gets in there, not because it is super abusable in my deck (like it is in Fugie’s- Duplicant and/or Sundering Titan FTWs) but because it beats trying to actually counter targeted removal spells. Swords to Plowshares is a one for one trade, but (just like Major_Luck) at one mana it’s a trade I’m willing to make.
There are also a few experiments I’m trying out myself. Quicksilver Amulet is an Elvish Piper that gets in any deck. I like the idea of flashing out Duplicant, or Ixidron. During an attack step perhaps? It also inadvertently mana fixes and accelerates. Maybe that Blazing Archon will finally hit the table, at instant speed no less. And Mizzium Transreliquat will copy the best artifact on the table, even if it’s just a signet. (My newest “cute idea” involves the Transreliquat and a Darksteel Ingot on the table, with Jokulhaups in hand). Finally, I have some super secret mana-fixing tech. Can you think of a three mana enchantment in White Blue or Red that will make mana of any color? With any six land a guy could play Desolation Giant and still play Guile the next turn. I’m pumped by this possibility. But who knows? Maybe it will be awful. I’m still learning.
T
Saturday, February 2, 2008
What have we learned?
(1) Jokulhaups is really good. Sacred Ground and Debtor's Knell probably need to be more popular than they are at our table.
(2) If you win 3 EDH games in a row, people will identify you as the threat. I can't really complain about this.
(3) It is time to start playing answers to Genesis. Reminisce, maybe? Jailer, I suppose, but I am not in black. Crypt! Derf.
(4) Generals get whacked quickly and with prejudice.
(5) Duplicant is stupid. It's time to get a Living Wish.
(6) Future Sight is nice, but it does encourage one to overcommit.
(7) Extract may actually be the call for Jokulhaups. Gawd, that feels wrong. Plus a Mystical to find it. Ugh. Or the Merchant Scroll into Gifts plan. hmm...
(8) LLM draft is pretty fun, but I still feel like I am doing it wrong. I always draft decks that can't beat treefolk.
(9) Triple Morningtide Winston is not the greatest format. But it's better than just cracking packs.
(10) Wow, is there ever a lot of bookkeeping in LLM. Don't miss those Rage Forger Triggers.
(2) If you win 3 EDH games in a row, people will identify you as the threat. I can't really complain about this.
(3) It is time to start playing answers to Genesis. Reminisce, maybe? Jailer, I suppose, but I am not in black. Crypt! Derf.
(4) Generals get whacked quickly and with prejudice.
(5) Duplicant is stupid. It's time to get a Living Wish.
(6) Future Sight is nice, but it does encourage one to overcommit.
(7) Extract may actually be the call for Jokulhaups. Gawd, that feels wrong. Plus a Mystical to find it. Ugh. Or the Merchant Scroll into Gifts plan. hmm...
(8) LLM draft is pretty fun, but I still feel like I am doing it wrong. I always draft decks that can't beat treefolk.
(9) Triple Morningtide Winston is not the greatest format. But it's better than just cracking packs.
(10) Wow, is there ever a lot of bookkeeping in LLM. Don't miss those Rage Forger Triggers.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Incorporating Morningtide into Kraj
Okay, ya'll are probably going to say something snide, but I haven't looked at the full spoiler for Morningtide yet. I love writing about General Kraj though, so I am gonna open the full spoiler right now and take a look and see what goodies there are to upgrade my list. I've seen a couple of lords that give +1/+1 counters, so let's keep our fingers crossed. Green first
Bramblewood Paragon-1G, 2/2. Each other Warrior creature you control comes into play with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
Each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it has trample.
Here's something with potential already in the Bs. A 2-drop that gives a lot of my other creatures trample? Seems alright. I am fairly certain I don't have a ton of Warriors in Kraj, but the second ability makes up for that. Might be too small though for EDH.
Chameleon Colossus-2GG, 4/4. Protection from Black.
2GG: Chameleon Colossus gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is its power.
Well, that's just silly. Obviously has to go in somewhere.
Cream of the Crop-1G, enchantment. Whenever a creature comes into play under your control, you may look at the top X cards of your library, where X is that creature's power. If you do, put one of those cards on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
I am fairly certain that this is BBAR*. Especially when I can stack triggers to add +1/+1 counters before resolving this ability. How nice to cast a 28/28 GGT and get a free D Tutor from the top 3rd of my deck.
Earthbrawn and Hunting Triad-Earthbrawn is an overcosted Giant Growth and Hunting Triad puts elf tokens into play. However, they both have Reinforce, which allows me to add +1/+1 tokens at instant speed.
I don't think these make it, though maybe Hunting Triad gets the call. Combat tricks are just so bad in EDH (I'll trade a card for one of yours, then the dude dies to mass removal a turn later), and while the thought of Reinforce with Doubling Season on the table makes me feel dirty, I don't really need more ways to abuse Doubling Season. Nor do I need more ways to add +1/+1 counters to things without some other effect.
Fertilid-2G, 0/0. Fertilid comes into play with two +1/+1 counters on it.
1 G, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Fertilid: Target player searches his or her library for a basic land card and puts it into play tapped. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
Or I could just play Kodama's Reach. EDH may be casual, but 7 mana for 2 lands? No.
Reach of Branches-4G, Tribal Instant-Treefolk. Put a 2/5 green Treefolk Shaman creature token into play.
Whenever a Forest comes into play under your control, you may return Reach of Branches from your graveyard to your hand.
Virtual card advantage plus chumpies and Wrath insurance? Could get there. OTOH, we are sometimes casting Meloku with that mana, and our creature tutors don't get this. OTOOH, I do dredge quite a bit, even with only 3 Dredge cards. Hmmm...
So what do we have in Blue?
Mindspring-XBB. Draw X cards.
Yeah, I don't know if this is really better than the card drawing I already have. It's nice to refill in the late game, but it is so dead and overcosted early.
Sage of Fables-2U, 2/2. Each other Wizard creature you control comes into play with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control: Draw a card.
Gee, and I was just about to complain how bad the blue Morningtide was for Kraj.
Slithermuse-2UU, 3/3. When Slithermuse leaves play, choose an opponent. If that player has more cards in hand than you, draw cards equal to the difference.
Evoke 3U
This seems a little underwhelming at first, but it is a solid body, that can be evoked for good effect in a large game, that has a little Wrath insurance. Could get there.
Oof. Two or three cards at the most. How about artifacts? Dare I hope?
No. It's all Tribal. Hrmph.
Multicolor? Nope. Okay, then. Well, looking at numbers of cards from each set in my current Kraj, it looks like Morningtide is going to be pretty darn good for a small set. Both the +1/+1 lords should get in, along with Chameleon Colossus (although we'll wait until Timmy gets his and the price goes down), Cream of the Crop and maybe some sundry. Nice job, Renton!
*Broken Beyond All Recognition, derf.
Bramblewood Paragon-1G, 2/2. Each other Warrior creature you control comes into play with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
Each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it has trample.
Here's something with potential already in the Bs. A 2-drop that gives a lot of my other creatures trample? Seems alright. I am fairly certain I don't have a ton of Warriors in Kraj, but the second ability makes up for that. Might be too small though for EDH.
Chameleon Colossus-2GG, 4/4. Protection from Black.
2GG: Chameleon Colossus gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is its power.
Well, that's just silly. Obviously has to go in somewhere.
Cream of the Crop-1G, enchantment. Whenever a creature comes into play under your control, you may look at the top X cards of your library, where X is that creature's power. If you do, put one of those cards on top of your library and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
I am fairly certain that this is BBAR*. Especially when I can stack triggers to add +1/+1 counters before resolving this ability. How nice to cast a 28/28 GGT and get a free D Tutor from the top 3rd of my deck.
Earthbrawn and Hunting Triad-Earthbrawn is an overcosted Giant Growth and Hunting Triad puts elf tokens into play. However, they both have Reinforce, which allows me to add +1/+1 tokens at instant speed.
I don't think these make it, though maybe Hunting Triad gets the call. Combat tricks are just so bad in EDH (I'll trade a card for one of yours, then the dude dies to mass removal a turn later), and while the thought of Reinforce with Doubling Season on the table makes me feel dirty, I don't really need more ways to abuse Doubling Season. Nor do I need more ways to add +1/+1 counters to things without some other effect.
Fertilid-2G, 0/0. Fertilid comes into play with two +1/+1 counters on it.
1 G, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Fertilid: Target player searches his or her library for a basic land card and puts it into play tapped. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
Or I could just play Kodama's Reach. EDH may be casual, but 7 mana for 2 lands? No.
Reach of Branches-4G, Tribal Instant-Treefolk. Put a 2/5 green Treefolk Shaman creature token into play.
Whenever a Forest comes into play under your control, you may return Reach of Branches from your graveyard to your hand.
Virtual card advantage plus chumpies and Wrath insurance? Could get there. OTOH, we are sometimes casting Meloku with that mana, and our creature tutors don't get this. OTOOH, I do dredge quite a bit, even with only 3 Dredge cards. Hmmm...
So what do we have in Blue?
Mindspring-XBB. Draw X cards.
Yeah, I don't know if this is really better than the card drawing I already have. It's nice to refill in the late game, but it is so dead and overcosted early.
Sage of Fables-2U, 2/2. Each other Wizard creature you control comes into play with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from a creature you control: Draw a card.
Gee, and I was just about to complain how bad the blue Morningtide was for Kraj.
Slithermuse-2UU, 3/3. When Slithermuse leaves play, choose an opponent. If that player has more cards in hand than you, draw cards equal to the difference.
Evoke 3U
This seems a little underwhelming at first, but it is a solid body, that can be evoked for good effect in a large game, that has a little Wrath insurance. Could get there.
Oof. Two or three cards at the most. How about artifacts? Dare I hope?
No. It's all Tribal. Hrmph.
Multicolor? Nope. Okay, then. Well, looking at numbers of cards from each set in my current Kraj, it looks like Morningtide is going to be pretty darn good for a small set. Both the +1/+1 lords should get in, along with Chameleon Colossus (although we'll wait until Timmy gets his and the price goes down), Cream of the Crop and maybe some sundry. Nice job, Renton!
*Broken Beyond All Recognition, derf.
Monday, January 28, 2008
A Vintage tourney report. Also. Kraj rulez!
As mentioned earlier, Fugie convinced me to go to a vintage tournament this Sunday. I had a fair amount of fun and my opponent's weren't total asses. So that was nice. I played R/g Goblins. This would be the fastest "fair" deck in the format. Unfortunately, there are a lot of "unfair" decks.
Round 1-I win the die roll and start on Wooded foothills, without a one-drop. Not sure why I kept. My opponent leads with fetch into Taiga/Mogg Fan. So he's R/G Beats and I am a little bit of a dog to him. Anyways, Goblins does what it does and I am ahead the whole game. I think the only point I took game one was the Foothills activation. Game 2, he is first and I keep a broken hand of lackey, Tin Street, Mountain, Emerald, Ruby, and something else. Unfortunately, he also kept a broken hand of mox, lotus, Taiga, Kird ape, kird ape, seal of fire. Couldn't fight through it, though I did get him down to 7. Game 3, he gets down double Goyf off a Strip, Wasteland and Taiga. The crucial play comes when I stingscourger one Goyf and fail to Waste his Taiga. I failed to recognize it was his only green source. he was able to play defense with the goyfs pretty effectively and eventually pulled it out on the 3rd extra turn. That's right, Gobs vs Beatz went to time. Oof.
Round 2-I lose the die roll and my opponent leads with Delta into Underground Sea, Brainstorm. Of course he takes like 2 minutes to resolve it. "I can't just put back one, hunh?" "Ha ha. No." Anyways, he's playing GAT and while he holds me off for a bit with a well timed Force on Will on a lethal Siege-Gang Commander, I eventually killed him after giving him a whole extra turn, in which he Yawg Willed and still didn't win. Game 2 is a little dicier since he gets 2 Dryads out, but I Wasteland, Wasteland, Strip Mine, which is handy, since I have 2 Aether Vials out. He concedes on one land.
Round 3-I win the die roll and keep a hand of mountain, ruby, vial, lotus, lackey, matron. I drop my hand on the table and say go. Then he kills me. Oh good! Storm Tendrils. I go first again the second game, but fail to mull to a turn one Pyrostatic Pillar. Then he kills me. Vintage rulez!
I dropped and almost bailed but our little playgroup wasn't doing so hot and we had enough for a four man EDH. Kraj Action Force! Kick Butt!
I got a Gemstone Caverns with a luck counter on it. Turn one Signet. Turn 2 land. Turn 3 Magus of the Future. Turn 4 start going nuts with the Magus and various and sundry. I get to the point where Fugie is very concerned about my board seeing how he has a Dimir Infiltrator and I have like 5 creatures. So he drops a Disk and swings at Tabasco. Now, Fugie could have swung at me, but he'd hurt in the crackback and he could have swung at Major Luck, but he'd hurt in the crackback, so he chooses to poke Tabasco for one. This upsets Tabasco, because Hot Sauce has done little but play a Megrim at this point. So despite the fact that I am the one whom a Disk would cripple, Tabasco cacks it on Major Luck's EOT. I proceed to get really silly with El Mago del Futuro and Life from the Loam and Fathom Trawl. Fugie is dead by the time Major Luck realizes he can Citanul Flute for Wrath of God (via Dimir House Guard) and my hand is so far beyond gas as to be comical.
After the dust clears, I Kraj and Major Dromars only to have them both Decree of Pained. So Tabasco has filled up his hand with gas thanks to Mind's Eye (which yes, should be in every deck) and my Ancestral Visions. And I have a Doubling Season in play. So on Major's EOT, I Gifts for Golgari Grave-Troll, Triskelavus, Regrowth, and Eternal Witness. He gives me the Regrowths, which I can use on anything in my graveyard, due to GGT having dredge and Triskelavus comboing with Academy Ruins. So I cast a 26/26 GGT, a 4/4 Phantom Nantuko, pump them both with my 8/8 Cytoplast Root-kin and say go. Tabasco plays Mindslicer and says go and Major Luck casts chumpies (to go with his Vedalken Shackles (5 islands) and passes to me at 2 life and with a single card in hand. I Ruins Triskelavus on my upkeep and cast it (as a 7/7) with 3 mana up. Major tells me I should win this turn and I couldn't figure out how. Until I attacked him with the Nantuko and Tabasco with the others. Then Major steals the Mindslicer to block with. I didn't see this solution at first because it depended on what the Major did. But there was a better solution which didn't require his involvement. I could have just created Triskelavite tokens and shot the Mindslicer so we all blow our hands. Then Major dies from the Megrim and I swing with the team to kill Tabasco. I am a bad player. The B&R team for CBG's basement has a close eye on Doubling Season. Have fun out there.
Round 1-I win the die roll and start on Wooded foothills, without a one-drop. Not sure why I kept. My opponent leads with fetch into Taiga/Mogg Fan. So he's R/G Beats and I am a little bit of a dog to him. Anyways, Goblins does what it does and I am ahead the whole game. I think the only point I took game one was the Foothills activation. Game 2, he is first and I keep a broken hand of lackey, Tin Street, Mountain, Emerald, Ruby, and something else. Unfortunately, he also kept a broken hand of mox, lotus, Taiga, Kird ape, kird ape, seal of fire. Couldn't fight through it, though I did get him down to 7. Game 3, he gets down double Goyf off a Strip, Wasteland and Taiga. The crucial play comes when I stingscourger one Goyf and fail to Waste his Taiga. I failed to recognize it was his only green source. he was able to play defense with the goyfs pretty effectively and eventually pulled it out on the 3rd extra turn. That's right, Gobs vs Beatz went to time. Oof.
Round 2-I lose the die roll and my opponent leads with Delta into Underground Sea, Brainstorm. Of course he takes like 2 minutes to resolve it. "I can't just put back one, hunh?" "Ha ha. No." Anyways, he's playing GAT and while he holds me off for a bit with a well timed Force on Will on a lethal Siege-Gang Commander, I eventually killed him after giving him a whole extra turn, in which he Yawg Willed and still didn't win. Game 2 is a little dicier since he gets 2 Dryads out, but I Wasteland, Wasteland, Strip Mine, which is handy, since I have 2 Aether Vials out. He concedes on one land.
Round 3-I win the die roll and keep a hand of mountain, ruby, vial, lotus, lackey, matron. I drop my hand on the table and say go. Then he kills me. Oh good! Storm Tendrils. I go first again the second game, but fail to mull to a turn one Pyrostatic Pillar. Then he kills me. Vintage rulez!
I dropped and almost bailed but our little playgroup wasn't doing so hot and we had enough for a four man EDH. Kraj Action Force! Kick Butt!
I got a Gemstone Caverns with a luck counter on it. Turn one Signet. Turn 2 land. Turn 3 Magus of the Future. Turn 4 start going nuts with the Magus and various and sundry. I get to the point where Fugie is very concerned about my board seeing how he has a Dimir Infiltrator and I have like 5 creatures. So he drops a Disk and swings at Tabasco. Now, Fugie could have swung at me, but he'd hurt in the crackback and he could have swung at Major Luck, but he'd hurt in the crackback, so he chooses to poke Tabasco for one. This upsets Tabasco, because Hot Sauce has done little but play a Megrim at this point. So despite the fact that I am the one whom a Disk would cripple, Tabasco cacks it on Major Luck's EOT. I proceed to get really silly with El Mago del Futuro and Life from the Loam and Fathom Trawl. Fugie is dead by the time Major Luck realizes he can Citanul Flute for Wrath of God (via Dimir House Guard) and my hand is so far beyond gas as to be comical.
After the dust clears, I Kraj and Major Dromars only to have them both Decree of Pained. So Tabasco has filled up his hand with gas thanks to Mind's Eye (which yes, should be in every deck) and my Ancestral Visions. And I have a Doubling Season in play. So on Major's EOT, I Gifts for Golgari Grave-Troll, Triskelavus, Regrowth, and Eternal Witness. He gives me the Regrowths, which I can use on anything in my graveyard, due to GGT having dredge and Triskelavus comboing with Academy Ruins. So I cast a 26/26 GGT, a 4/4 Phantom Nantuko, pump them both with my 8/8 Cytoplast Root-kin and say go. Tabasco plays Mindslicer and says go and Major Luck casts chumpies (to go with his Vedalken Shackles (5 islands) and passes to me at 2 life and with a single card in hand. I Ruins Triskelavus on my upkeep and cast it (as a 7/7) with 3 mana up. Major tells me I should win this turn and I couldn't figure out how. Until I attacked him with the Nantuko and Tabasco with the others. Then Major steals the Mindslicer to block with. I didn't see this solution at first because it depended on what the Major did. But there was a better solution which didn't require his involvement. I could have just created Triskelavite tokens and shot the Mindslicer so we all blow our hands. Then Major dies from the Megrim and I swing with the team to kill Tabasco. I am a bad player. The B&R team for CBG's basement has a close eye on Doubling Season. Have fun out there.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
I <3 EDH and a vintage update
So the constructed flavor of the month is Elder Dragon Highlander, that most casual yet powerful of formats. Wanna play Nath of the Gilt-Leaf and Unnerve together? Now you can. I have played against Fugie's Dakkon deck several times. It seems really really good, though extraordinarily susceptible to Jokulhaups. He plays a bunch of powerful nonbasics, in-color planeswalkers and the best cards from 3 colors. He has smoked the group with it every time I have failed to resolve Jokulhaups. The other day, he won a 6-man, having been Black Braids-ed down to a single permanent. It's that good. The thing that makes it really good though, is the deck doesn't stick its neck out. One of the decks was recursing Black Braids. Everybody ganged up. I cast a 14/14 GGT and got my head cut off. Somebody else cast Austere Command, Profane Command and Damnation. Gang tackle. I thought it was a fun demonstration of why the most powerful deck rarely wins in multiplayer.
I was playing Experiment Kraj that day. I had managed to misbuild the deck. Apparently, Experiment Kraj only gets activated abilities of each creature with a +1/+1 counter on it, not all abilities. Thank goodness for my neighbors Triskelion (and holy crap, do I need to get me one a doze...). I think it needs a little more of a toolbox approach, but man oh man, I think I played every Simic card from Dissension except maybe Simic Initiate. Also, random Keiga is just randomly good. The deck probably needs more Spikes. Those are all activated right?
Interest in the Wort deck has waned a bit. The goblin theme is a little random. The giant dragons are fun, and boy does B/R have a ton of massive board affecting spells. For whatever reason, I haven't enjoyed playing it nearly as much as the Kraj deck. Probably because Kraj has a bunch of neat, Johnny-ish interactions, with a very Timmy endgame. Giant Trolls! Oozes the size of your living room! See, here I am talking about Experiment Kraj in a paragraph ostensibly about Wort.
Anyways, so I am going to dip my toe in the Vintage waters this Sunday. I am going to a mox tourney with a simple to play if underpowered deck. It'll be fun to try something new but my expectations are low. I am going to be running R/g Goblins. Should I post my list? I guess it doesn't matter. It's not like people will metagame against me.
4x goblin lackey
4x mogg fanatic
4x goblin warchief
4x goblin piledriver
4x goblin ringleader
3x tin street hooligan
1x gempalm incinerater
1x stingscourger
4x goblin matron
4x aether vial
2x wasteland
1x strip mine
4x wooded foothills
2x bloodstained mire
3x taiga
4x mountain
4x thorn of amethyst
1x mox emerald
1x mox ruby
1x black lotus
1x lotus petal
1x mana crypt
2x siege-gang commander
I don't know if I should say who gave me the list. What is the protocol here? Anyhoos, testing tomorrow! Woohoo!
I was playing Experiment Kraj that day. I had managed to misbuild the deck. Apparently, Experiment Kraj only gets activated abilities of each creature with a +1/+1 counter on it, not all abilities. Thank goodness for my neighbors Triskelion (and holy crap, do I need to get me one a doze...). I think it needs a little more of a toolbox approach, but man oh man, I think I played every Simic card from Dissension except maybe Simic Initiate. Also, random Keiga is just randomly good. The deck probably needs more Spikes. Those are all activated right?
Interest in the Wort deck has waned a bit. The goblin theme is a little random. The giant dragons are fun, and boy does B/R have a ton of massive board affecting spells. For whatever reason, I haven't enjoyed playing it nearly as much as the Kraj deck. Probably because Kraj has a bunch of neat, Johnny-ish interactions, with a very Timmy endgame. Giant Trolls! Oozes the size of your living room! See, here I am talking about Experiment Kraj in a paragraph ostensibly about Wort.
Anyways, so I am going to dip my toe in the Vintage waters this Sunday. I am going to a mox tourney with a simple to play if underpowered deck. It'll be fun to try something new but my expectations are low. I am going to be running R/g Goblins. Should I post my list? I guess it doesn't matter. It's not like people will metagame against me.
4x goblin lackey
4x mogg fanatic
4x goblin warchief
4x goblin piledriver
4x goblin ringleader
3x tin street hooligan
1x gempalm incinerater
1x stingscourger
4x goblin matron
4x aether vial
2x wasteland
1x strip mine
4x wooded foothills
2x bloodstained mire
3x taiga
4x mountain
4x thorn of amethyst
1x mox emerald
1x mox ruby
1x black lotus
1x lotus petal
1x mana crypt
2x siege-gang commander
I don't know if I should say who gave me the list. What is the protocol here? Anyhoos, testing tomorrow! Woohoo!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Elder Dragon Highlander (Hideaway Drinking Game Variant)
What's better than Elder Dragon Highlander? Besides sex, smartypants. That's right! Drinking!
This probably works best for multiplayer FFA games. Duels probably won't meet the triggers enough. The game works just like normal, except there are 5 triggered abilities in the rules.
(1) Whenever a source deals 7 or more damage to a player, the controller of the source may pay 3. If that person does, the damaged player takes a drink.
(2) Whenever 3 or more creatures attack a single player, the attacking player may pay 3. If that person does, the defending player takes a drink.
(3) As long as a player controls 10 or more power of creatures, that player may pay 4. If that person does, target player takes a drink.
(4) Whenever a player is hellbent, any opponent may pay 3. If the cost is paid, the hellbent player takes a drink. Play this ability only once per turn.
(5) Whenever an active player has less than 40 cards in their library, any opponent may pay 3. If the cost is paid, the active player takes a drink. Play this ability only once per turn.
I hosed the green one a little since it is so easy to activate, can target any player and can be activated multiple times per turn. What do you all think? Awesome?
This probably works best for multiplayer FFA games. Duels probably won't meet the triggers enough. The game works just like normal, except there are 5 triggered abilities in the rules.
(1) Whenever a source deals 7 or more damage to a player, the controller of the source may pay 3. If that person does, the damaged player takes a drink.
(2) Whenever 3 or more creatures attack a single player, the attacking player may pay 3. If that person does, the defending player takes a drink.
(3) As long as a player controls 10 or more power of creatures, that player may pay 4. If that person does, target player takes a drink.
(4) Whenever a player is hellbent, any opponent may pay 3. If the cost is paid, the hellbent player takes a drink. Play this ability only once per turn.
(5) Whenever an active player has less than 40 cards in their library, any opponent may pay 3. If the cost is paid, the active player takes a drink. Play this ability only once per turn.
I hosed the green one a little since it is so easy to activate, can target any player and can be activated multiple times per turn. What do you all think? Awesome?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Doctor Boom...
...or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Defiler...
...a/k/a Fugie Gets pwned...
...or 12 Scenes From My Basement
I fell asleep thinking about this story and how to tell it. I woke up thinking about this story and how to tell it. I've occasionally had a nice play story to tell at the end of a long tournament, but I am invariably amazed at the Magic players who can recall incredible bad beat or shocking win stories and every detail thereof from years previous. Last night, I experienced my own story and now I know. I'll warn you now, this isn't an unbelievable comeback story. It's a you played that?!? and won story. The problem is where to begin. How about the beginning?
(1) In the beginning, there was darkness...wait! Wrong beginning. So we had 9 last night for the draft. Fugie won with treefolk. Do not disrespect the treefolk. They are good. Except when they're not. I went 2-2 with a mediocre Faeries/Merfolk hybrid that just didn't work quite right. Eh. 2-2 is all right, though I doubt the other authors of this blog would agree with me.
(2)I got up from my chair, darted into the other side of the basement, popped out in the middle, took off all the way to the other end, slammed the door down there, sprinted back to the table, through the closest door and windmill slammed-
(3)"Dude, come here. You have to see this." I handed TooSarcastic the lands in front of me. "Count these."
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
Then I showed him my hand. Jokulhaups in front and laughter behind.
(4)Fugie, Major Luck and I start an EDH in between rounds. I win that with Herald of Leshrac. We decide to do one more after the draft is over. My general is Wort, Boggart Auntie. Fugie has Dakkon Blackblade. Major Luck was peeved at Fugie for shotgunning Dakkon Blackblade and was instead playing Dromar, the Banisher. Nice consolation present. I get a 5 land plus Graveborn Muse hand and keep it. Fugie dances around a bit with Volrath's Stronghold plus Shriekmaw (turns out that's good) while Major Luck drops Douse. This is actually a really good way to convince the BR player to focus his attention on you. The Major was spinning his Top and shuffling a lot, but had no board presence. I was peacefully drawing my 2 cards a turn. Fugie drops Jace, Ajani, Lilliana and Platinum Angel. I'd be worried about Platz if every other card in my deck wasn't an answer for it. Basically, what I am trying to say is... I was ahead.
(5)Fugie Vamps for something. He flashes it to TooSarcastic. I'm worried. What does he think could blow me out here? TS smiles and says, "That's not gonna help." I have no idea what the guys put me on here, but it was pretty clear I had something "amazing", which is to say, amazing to Timmy. Fugie passes the turn.
(6)So I am sitting there wondering how to get Major Luck to tap down, so I can force Jokulhaups through the Douse. Fugie is having us draw an extra card...Nevinyrral's disk! Ding.
(7)"You realize Disk is about to untap, right?" says Fugie to a very aware Major Luck. Luckie considers his options, then transmutes Drift of Phantasms? 3! What's at 3? Am I about to be blown out? Capsize! On the Disk! Major has 7 mana up. He can't buyback and leave mana up for the Douse. And I am thinking to myself, "How the hell do I convince him to buyback without being obvious about it?" Thank heavens for TS, who provided just enough, "oh shit, you're screwed," commentary, that I didn't have to lay it on too thick. I picked up the card, squinted at it and said, "It has buyback?" Major Luck taps 6. Oh man...
(8)I drew something. Tapped 12 mana. Jokulhaups. Luckie spins the top with it on the stack, saves the Top. Fugie bins everything but Jace and Lilliana (Ajani had died somehow). I floated BBBRRR. When I finished my ridiculous windmill slam, I revealed Rakdos the Defiler. Fugie has to find an answer, now.
(9)We start discussing Unsummon. "If somebody has an answer to that, I applaud them, because that would be an awesome comeback." I say. Now that my heart has stopped racing, I've got the fear. What if they do have a one mana answer? Like Unsummon? Or something? I'm never very good at thinking of all the cards. Lilliana is on 6. Fugie takes her to 7 and I pitch something I'd never be able to cast. Major Luck fails to drop a land
(10)Fugie kindly explains to me how Lilliana can't go up to 8 and then Living Death in the same turn. Oh right. I guess I will hit you again Fuge.
(11)Fugie draws for the turn. We all draw off Jace. Lilliana goes to 8. Major Luck again fails to drop a land. I hit Lilliana down to 1. Major Luck misses another land drop. I hit Fugie and he scoops and...
(12)...goes through his deck and flashes the Swords to Plowshares that he was desperately trying to topdeck.
The Swords to Plowshares he had the land to play.
The Swords to Plowshares he could have Demonic Tutored for with Lilliana.
The Swords to Plowshares he could have drawn with Jace after D-tutoring with Lilliana. CBG dodges a bullet.
Man, that was fun. Finishing off Major Luck was academic. I bathed in glory. It was AWESOME.
...a/k/a Fugie Gets pwned...
...or 12 Scenes From My Basement
I fell asleep thinking about this story and how to tell it. I woke up thinking about this story and how to tell it. I've occasionally had a nice play story to tell at the end of a long tournament, but I am invariably amazed at the Magic players who can recall incredible bad beat or shocking win stories and every detail thereof from years previous. Last night, I experienced my own story and now I know. I'll warn you now, this isn't an unbelievable comeback story. It's a you played that?!? and won story. The problem is where to begin. How about the beginning?
(1) In the beginning, there was darkness...wait! Wrong beginning. So we had 9 last night for the draft. Fugie won with treefolk. Do not disrespect the treefolk. They are good. Except when they're not. I went 2-2 with a mediocre Faeries/Merfolk hybrid that just didn't work quite right. Eh. 2-2 is all right, though I doubt the other authors of this blog would agree with me.
(2)I got up from my chair, darted into the other side of the basement, popped out in the middle, took off all the way to the other end, slammed the door down there, sprinted back to the table, through the closest door and windmill slammed-
(3)"Dude, come here. You have to see this." I handed TooSarcastic the lands in front of me. "Count these."
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
Then I showed him my hand. Jokulhaups in front and laughter behind.
(4)Fugie, Major Luck and I start an EDH in between rounds. I win that with Herald of Leshrac. We decide to do one more after the draft is over. My general is Wort, Boggart Auntie. Fugie has Dakkon Blackblade. Major Luck was peeved at Fugie for shotgunning Dakkon Blackblade and was instead playing Dromar, the Banisher. Nice consolation present. I get a 5 land plus Graveborn Muse hand and keep it. Fugie dances around a bit with Volrath's Stronghold plus Shriekmaw (turns out that's good) while Major Luck drops Douse. This is actually a really good way to convince the BR player to focus his attention on you. The Major was spinning his Top and shuffling a lot, but had no board presence. I was peacefully drawing my 2 cards a turn. Fugie drops Jace, Ajani, Lilliana and Platinum Angel. I'd be worried about Platz if every other card in my deck wasn't an answer for it. Basically, what I am trying to say is... I was ahead.
(5)Fugie Vamps for something. He flashes it to TooSarcastic. I'm worried. What does he think could blow me out here? TS smiles and says, "That's not gonna help." I have no idea what the guys put me on here, but it was pretty clear I had something "amazing", which is to say, amazing to Timmy. Fugie passes the turn.
(6)So I am sitting there wondering how to get Major Luck to tap down, so I can force Jokulhaups through the Douse. Fugie is having us draw an extra card...Nevinyrral's disk! Ding.
(7)"You realize Disk is about to untap, right?" says Fugie to a very aware Major Luck. Luckie considers his options, then transmutes Drift of Phantasms? 3! What's at 3? Am I about to be blown out? Capsize! On the Disk! Major has 7 mana up. He can't buyback and leave mana up for the Douse. And I am thinking to myself, "How the hell do I convince him to buyback without being obvious about it?" Thank heavens for TS, who provided just enough, "oh shit, you're screwed," commentary, that I didn't have to lay it on too thick. I picked up the card, squinted at it and said, "It has buyback?" Major Luck taps 6. Oh man...
(8)I drew something. Tapped 12 mana. Jokulhaups. Luckie spins the top with it on the stack, saves the Top. Fugie bins everything but Jace and Lilliana (Ajani had died somehow). I floated BBBRRR. When I finished my ridiculous windmill slam, I revealed Rakdos the Defiler. Fugie has to find an answer, now.
(9)We start discussing Unsummon. "If somebody has an answer to that, I applaud them, because that would be an awesome comeback." I say. Now that my heart has stopped racing, I've got the fear. What if they do have a one mana answer? Like Unsummon? Or something? I'm never very good at thinking of all the cards. Lilliana is on 6. Fugie takes her to 7 and I pitch something I'd never be able to cast. Major Luck fails to drop a land
(10)Fugie kindly explains to me how Lilliana can't go up to 8 and then Living Death in the same turn. Oh right. I guess I will hit you again Fuge.
(11)Fugie draws for the turn. We all draw off Jace. Lilliana goes to 8. Major Luck again fails to drop a land. I hit Lilliana down to 1. Major Luck misses another land drop. I hit Fugie and he scoops and...
(12)...goes through his deck and flashes the Swords to Plowshares that he was desperately trying to topdeck.
The Swords to Plowshares he had the land to play.
The Swords to Plowshares he could have Demonic Tutored for with Lilliana.
The Swords to Plowshares he could have drawn with Jace after D-tutoring with Lilliana. CBG dodges a bullet.
Man, that was fun. Finishing off Major Luck was academic. I bathed in glory. It was AWESOME.
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