General Magic: the Gathering Discussion BIG Rules Update

[Zirene]

Double Post.  :colonveeplusalpha: Delete if possible.

[hyorinryu]

What are you going to do with this deck? Are you just playing some fun kitchen Magic or are you play with certain old sets? Basically what are your constraints for card selection between 1-10, 1 being as cheap as possible and 10 being power 9 please, what are you willing to spend without divulging actually dollar amounts since its the internet? Also remember you can always proxy expensive or rare cards on a basic land. Hell I almost always proxy cards and test them before I trade for or buy them unless I think its a good investment (Like my friend who bought 4 Tarmogoyf's, 1 foil, for 10 dollar back in the day).

Also how competitive do you want it? Do you want to do cool stuff with a powerful deck and unique combo, something to crush people with, or something a little more budget with more bang for the buck type cards for some fun games?

I could do both, I really love building deck, its a great exercise, and even played a lot with the deck I made for Dr Rawr on MTGO to some success. Moar Couldshift blowouts. It feels like there is something there with Mentor of the Meek and Disciple of Bolas but I think Sphinx's Reveltion just does it better even it it can't win the game on its own.  There's something there with Obezdat though, with Cavern of Souls you have so much inevitability.

At my local game store we play Invasion, Oddesey and 7th edition standard because it has too many fun decks and great cards (Upheavel). Greats like The Rock, Fires of Yavamiya, Beasts, UG Madness, RG Aggro, Mirrari's Wake, Squirrel Opposition and of course PSYCHATOG. So making your own formats or playing old ones can be a lot of fun and cheap so its your call.

Just casual play with random friends. I don't really have anyone who plays so it's not that high a priority. As for my constraints, I'll prolly go 2-3, maybe 4 if I do stuff over a long period of time. As for competitiveness, I don't really know. I'm not going into tournaments anytime soon, but I'd like it to feel cohesive. As for set constraints, I don't mind as long it's cheap, though I would like most of it to keep to the scars and innistrad. More importantly though, I want it to keep the horror feel, so I wouldn't want stuff like mentor of the meek there, if possible.

[Yukarin]

Yeah, it's hard to see when it's tiny like that. Here's the original.

Oh my god Simic-tan is so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeee

Oh, I also sent you a PM regarding things.

[Parallaxal]

Once we get enough people from here on MTGO, we can get a game of multiplayer EDH going or something. Anyone else here play EDH/Commander? If so, what are some of your favorite decks?

One of my favorites is a UR deck with Nin the Pain Artist as the general. The general is actually not important, I just wanted someone cheap. The deck's colors is just an excuse for me to cram every single copy and clone effect I could get my hands on into a single deck. Yeah, I could have gone with Riku, but I didn't want to go 3 colors, and green didn't have nearly as many copy effects to offer as blue and red did. Besides, I want to copy my opponent's things. It's a hilarious deck to play, because it never plays the same way twice. What it does is heavily dependent on what everyone else is playing, which fits the chaotic nature of the Izzet colors perfectly.

The nice thing about clone effects is that I have so many ways to kill enemy commanders via the legend rule. It's also why I'm always on the lookout for new clone effects with each set. Just added Stolen Identity to the deck when Gatecrash came out.

[Yukarin]

suggest shit for a standard competitive bant deck

[Parallaxal]

What does your budget look like? Thragtusks and Restoration Angels and Sphinx's Revelations don't exactly come cheap.

[Yukarin]

I can save up for them easily. It takes some time, but I'm willing to go that far for it.

I want some sort of Bant Aggro/Control. I'm not sure how i'm going to do that, but i'll do it.

[Parallaxal]

There are several flavors of Bant you can take in Standard right now. For starters, you can use these as a resource.

Bant Control

Bant Enchant

Bant Delver

Bant Enchant is more aggro, Bant Control is more control (of course). Delver is an aggro-control median between the two, which is probably what you're going for (cheap aggro creatures backed by lots of removal/counters/tempo spells). I especially like the Quiron Dryad + Hands of Binding interaction.

[Yukarin]

Holy shit bant delver

I'd probably go for Bant Control. Dem Kessig Wolf Runs make everything so deadly.

[Zirene]

UB Decklist.

Oh New Phyrexia and Innistrad have plenty in store to keep that horror feel. I'll get to work!

Here is your deck Hyorinryu. I tried my best to keep costs down, a few bulk rares(13 to be exact, all cheap except lands). You've chosen the best ability in magic DRAWING CARDS!

Killing your opponents while drawing cardssounded like fun so that the theme for this deck. I tried to keep as many cards from the original list as possible.

Hyorinryu's UB Psychosis Crawler

Creatures 13
1 Fume Spitter (Early Defense, activates Morbid)
3 Perilous Myr (Early Defense, prevent a lot of attack, saccable to Phyrexia's Core)
2 Jace's Achivist (A Blue Suns Zenith would go well here)
2 Skinrender (Kill stuff, decent body)
2 Sturmgeist (Psychosis Crawler #2, evasion and card draw to fuel Crawler)
3 Psychosis Crawler (A hand with two seems really clunky)

Non-Creature Artifacts 9
4 Ichor Wellspring (These Wellsprings are your engine)
2 Mychosynth Wellspring (Don't forget about Phyrexia's Core)
3 Pristine Talisman (Ramping to 5 mana on turn 4 is great for us.The life gain can get out of hand since mana burn is gone)

Non-Artifact Spells 15
4 Ponder (Banned in Modern it is so good)
2 Sign in Blood (BB is kind of demanding on turn 2 and aggro is very fast these days(\)
1 Amass the Components (Blue Sun's Zenith would be way better as BSZ  is an instant speed Fireball if Crawler is out)
2 Tragic Slip
2 Go for the Throat
1 Doom Blade
2 Stoic Rebuttal
1 Mind Control

]Lands 23
4 Drowned Catacombs (the M10, M11 ect Duals are good investments, not necessary but good dual lands that won't do you any damage)
4 Evolving Wilds
3 Phyrexia's Core
2 Nephalia Drownyard (Secondary win condition)
6 Islands
4 Swamps

There is lots of room to change land around, depending on what kind you have. Land bases can be the most expensive parts of some decks. Darkslick Shores, Dimir Guildgate and Watery Graves can replace Evolving Wilds. I would seriously consider those Nephalia Drownyards. Sometime the game stalls up and milling 6 a turn makes people start to play too aggressively. Also you get to see their whole deck and possible mill some kill conditions. Black Sun's Zenith, even just 1 or 2, would make aggro match ups much easier.

Blue Sun's Zenith seems like an all star with Psychosis. If you feel like deviating from the SOM/INN card pool Dimir Charm and other Dimir spells could be useful.

This deck does some cool stuff I think. Draws a ton of cards so you will have a lot of consistency and so much card draw allows you to play only 23 land as your Wellsprings give you land and Talismans give you mana. 15 cards in this deck draw cards and BSZ is a fire ball. I'll give it some games on MTGO and see how it does.

Let me know if you like it and if you'd like a sideboard, that will take some playing to figure out but Clone will be in there as well as Evil twin.

[hyorinryu]

That does seem fun. I just need a way to playtest it. Does anyone here know how to use Cockatrice or Magic Workstation? They sound great but I don't know how to use them.

[Dr Rawr]

last time i checked cockatrice was down or something like that

[hyorinryu]

last time i checked cockatrice was down or something like that

Yeah, they changed hands or something. I think the new one is with woogerworks or something like that. It might be called servitrice now too.

[Zirene]

That does seem fun. I just need a way to playtest it. Does anyone here know how to use Cockatrice or Magic Workstation? They sound great but I don't know how to use them.

I may be wrong but I think WotC's lawyers have contacted the Cockatrice guys so I might be going away for a while or for good. If you want to sign up for MTGO most of these cards for the UB deck I have more than 4 of so you could play with those. If you sign up shoot me a message and post it here.

The reason behind extort was because im also some what on a budget but I already have most of the cards so far. But I guess I could turn it to a pure flicker deck

I'll work on an extort version later. It will be much slower though.

Also someone come draft with me _edibleIt'll be fun

Legacy on right now http://www.starcitygames.com/events/130420_seattle.html. The best and most fun format you can't afford.

[Rikter]

There is another cockatrice server up and running which I use. I play standard in paper but my deck is rather lacking in a critical catagory namely a complete lack of sphinx's revelations.

I did not prioritize my buys well.

[Zirene]

There is another cockatrice server up and running which I use. I play standard in paper but my deck is rather lacking in a critical catagory namely a complete lack of sphinx's revelations.

I did not prioritize my buys well.

I picked up my Rev's early online but I only have 1 IRL that I cracked . Lucky for me I love Jund.

What are you playing right now?  Speaking of what is everyone playing right now? Let's see some deck lists, any format! Since I played back in regular Ravnica I have most of the Jund dual lands so I've been playing Jund Aggro and Jund. I picked my Liliana's up really early. Traded a Gilded Drake for 2 of them. Otherwise I wouldn't be playing standard, half of the deck fell into my lap.

One of my "good friends" sold all my MTGO account about 4 years ago for tickets and drafted it all away. To pay me back he gave me his brothers collection which was stuff from Fallen Empires to Invasion. I got the way better end of the deal but it sucked man. That why I have the trade fodder I have to get standard decks now a days. Paying for Thragtusks, Huntmaster, Olivia, and 5-7 Planeswalker is just too much money. But I've been playing Jund Aggro lately so I need a few more cards for it.

Here's my Jund Aggro list for Standard (mostly inspired by Cedric Phillips build from the SCG Open in Seattle last weekend

Creatures (31)
4 Arbor Elf
3 Borderland Ranger
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
4 Gyre Sage
3 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Wolfir Silverheart (This is an experiment and I've been liking the results so far)

Spells (6)
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Dreadbore

Lands (23)
4 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
4 Blood Crypt
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground

Sideboard
2 Pillar of Flame
2 Ground Seal
2 Garruk Relentless
2 Domri Rade (Control Nightmare)
2 Zealous Conscripts
2 Thragtusk
2 Golgari Charm (Supreme Verdict what?)
1 Rakdos's Return (Drawing 2 is so bad I won't play more than 1)

[yuyukos]

Playing Reanimator because killing on turn 4 happens.

[Rikter]

I've been playing Esper control for the past few months and I can't really afford to move out of the colors at all at this point. Anyways the list.

3 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
1 Angel of Serenity
4 Augur of Bolas
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Restoration Angel
4 Think Twice
2 Tragic Slip
4 Azorius Charm
2 Devour Flesh
1 Dimir Charm
4 Supreme Verdict
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Godless Shrine
3 Evolving Wilds
1 Swamp
1 Island
2 Plains
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
1 Watery Grave
2 Syncopate
SB: 2 Witchbane Orb
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Terminus
SB: 2 Detention Sphere
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 2 Negate

Landbase is kinda terrible but I lack the funds to make it what i'd like to make it.

EDIT: Welp signed up for DGM prerelease because why not. Is anyone else going to be going to it? I picked Azorius as my guild

[Dr Rawr]

i wish i had money for restoration angels =/

[Rikter]

At least you don't need a playset of Sphinx's revelation

[Dr Rawr]

my only regret http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p4069.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1&_nkw=mtg+mana+drain&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[Zirene]

At least you don't need a playset of Sphinx's revelation

Yea that and round length are what is keeping me from Esper. I have all the lands and creatures from playing Delver last season but no Rev's. I did open a non foil and foil Jace, AOTS but it was after the vaule dropped. No revs cracked yet. Just got 1 in a trade, only 3 more.  :ohdear:

I'm looking forward to this guy Sire of Insanity http://sales.starcitygames.com/cardsearch.php?singlesearch=Sire+of+Insanity in Jund with more ramp. There could be more Arbor Elfs but I want some Rakdos Keyrunes if this guy is in my list, probably as a 2 of. Just throw haymakers like Planeswalkers, Sire, Thragels and Rakdos's Return every turn.

Ideal scenario they have no instant removal and cards in their hand and you have few cards if any. If you are ahead on board and play a Sire, or if playing him puts you ahead, they have about 2-3 turns to draw an answer or lose. If you have a Kessig Wolf Run gg. I'm getting my set this weekend for sure.

What guild are you for the prerelease? I'm going Gruul since I love attacking and my best finished have always been RG decks. I love this land in every pack idea. Eventually Shock lands will be 2-3 dollars like the M10-13 duals and that's how it should be.

PUTREFY is back yay Jund! I still can't believe they didn't print Mortify. Reanimator would be so amazing with both of those available. All possible hate except Tormod's Crypt would be covered. I also think Council of the Absolute naming Sphinx's Revelation is going to happen a lot. a 2/4 block plenty well. Naming Restoration Agel, playing a resto for 2, then naming Rev would feel pretty dirty. What else looks good from this set?

[yuyukos]

I'll be trading for Council of the Absolute, Render Silent, Voice of Resurgence, Beck/Call, and undervalued Ral Zarek.
Putrefy, Turn/Burn, and Wear/Tear will be quality uncommons.
Overall, this feels like a low value set, similar to GTC.

[Parallaxal]

I care less about the power of the set for standard/modern/legacy and more for the draft environment. I missed out on drafting original Ravnica block, and RTR/GTC weren't quite the whole "gotta draft 3 color awesome" that original RAV was, so I'm excited for the full RGD draft.

[Zirene]

Just noticed the Shock Lands will have their original expansion symbol from Dragon's Maze packs, great decision.

Plasma Capture and Gaze of Granite are my sleepers for this set. All the UG counters have been pretty lame but this is an over costed Mana Drain that lets you choose your mana colors. Bant Control made a small splash, with and without Prime Speaker Zegana, if it dones't find a home there then probably won't anywhere. Plasma Capture a 4 or 5 drop and have 9-10 mana next turn to Sphinx's Revelation, doesn't seem too hard to do and you probably win that game.

Gaze of Granite may be a 1 or 2 of in Jund. Pernicious Deeds was a power house back in the day and while this has to payed for all at once. Clearing the board for 6-8 (Esper plays Planar Clensing) isn't horrible in a deck like Jund that can buy so much time. The existence of Abrupt Deck, Dreadbore, and now Putrefy will probably make this unnecessary but without it I think it'd be played a lot.

Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch looks ok, but I don't think better than Hellrider. If you build around Exava it could work. Sin Collector could see play in older formats where it would almost always hit. I want to play with this and Momentary Blink.  Obzedat's Aid has a lot potential too. Reanimate anything is dangerous (Omniscience or Nicol Bolas) and Becon of Unrest saw a little play but this is miles better.

[Dr Rawr]

I love this land in every pack idea. Eventually Shock lands will be 2-3 dollars like the M10-13 duals and that's how it should be.

oh wow maybe now i dont need to spend 100$+ on three color decks just because of lands

[Zirene]

oh wow maybe now i dont need to spend 100$+ on three color decks just because of lands

I bet they will end up being just a bit more expensive than the M10-13 duals. The blue ones being the most expensive. I hope one day I open 3 dual lands or just rares, a foil, a regular rare, and a land.

[Rikter]

oh wow maybe now i dont need to spend 100$+ on three color decks just because of lands

But Rawr

Onslaught Fetches

You know you want them.

[hyorinryu]

Zirene, want another deck to play with? This one was the Blue Green starter from Dark Ascension.

Creatures
2 Ghoultree
3 Splinterfright*
4 Armored Skaab
4 Evolving Wilds
2 Wingcrafter
4 Viridian Emissary
2 Elgaud Shieldmate
2 Deranged Assistant

Instants
2 Artful Dodge
3 Tracker's Instincts
2 Nightshade Peddler
1 Boneyard Wurm
2 Acidic Slime

Instants and Sorceries
3 Think Twice
1 Grim Flowering
2 Prey Upon
2 Simic Charm

Lands
8 Forest
8 Island
2 Simic Guildgate
1 Alchemist's Refuge

The price for everything is higher than I'd like, but I have a lot of the stuff already. Italicized stuff is stuff I don't have.

[Rikter]

I may be able to get a pair of Sphinx's revelations. If I do it'll be weird finally actually having the card that makes my deck actually run :V