301 Reply by HikingStick

(25 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

Let's keep it civil, folks.

As another stated it, if you don't like the price, move on.

One thing that (in my book) constitutes value is that he has the complete cube--surely the amount of time it would save someone putting one together is valuable.  He took all the effort to get those specific cards together.  Anyone who has worked at a collection for a long time will understand that value.

I'm not saying the price is good or bad--I'm just saying that each member will look at the value differently.  While we may disagree, let's not drop to the level of tossing about insults.

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302 Topic by HikingStick

(3 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Am I just remembering wrong, or could we previously export from the card database page? I used to go to the database all the time to identify which specific cards of a set I still needed to acquire.  I seem to remember exporting the entire list, showing a zero quantity for each card I didn't own.  I was then able to manipulate things in Excel to produce shopping lists I could carry, sorted by color, rarity, etc.

Is my memory hosed, or was that possible before? If it was, will it be coming back?

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303 Reply by HikingStick

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Krash wrote:

...again, my main focus is to steal all the opponents critters...

Would you ever consider tri-color? If so, splash white.  If you Cloudshift a creature you've "borrowed" from your opponent, that creature doesn't return to your opponent's control at the end of the turn (as happen with many spell effects)--it returns to the board as a new instance of that creature, with no memory attached to the other spell or ability.

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304 Reply by HikingStick

(34 replies, posted in Reddit MTG Trades)

Sorry to hear about your experiences, leading to your current decision.

After you have some time to reflect, post a thread in the Site Feedback area and let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions to make things better.

You'll always be welcome here.

Go to forum: Reddit MTG Trades

305 Reply by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Sorry for the late update. We had our standard event starting just after lunch, and I stayed around for a draft afterwards--seven hours of Magic today!

The deck performed pretty well.  During the first round, I was paired with one of the best players. I've played against him many times before, but have never won a full round against him.  Today, the Vamps walked over him 2-0! I also got to play against my son's werewolf deck--one I've always struggled to beat.  Today, we had a good round--I took it in the end (2-1), but he made me work for it.

I didn't make top four, but I did make top 8 (out of 16--I think I was fifth). Going into the third hand of the third round, I couldn't get any land.  That was the only trouble I had with it today.  Other matches were either very close, or had me pounding them pretty hard by turn four.  My quickest losses were to a guy who was running 4x Bonfire of the Damned, and he miracled it three times over two hands.

The Falkenrath Aristocat only saw play once, when I was already prepping to swing for the win.  As such, I'm thinking about dropping it entirely in favor of two Dreadbore or Mizzium Mortars in the mainboard.  Both of those were very useful today.

Draft went better--I took third, and my eldest son took 1st place.  He was pumped about the champion playmat.  We both got the promo Firemane Avenger during each event, and one of my other boys got one during the draft--it's a beautiful card.

Today's draft was the first time I've played Boros in this block.  It was quite a bit of fun.  I may need to dust off my Legion Loyalist and pull something together before next week.

Thanks for all your help!

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306 Reply by HikingStick

(10 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Perhaps rather than delete, perhaps "flag as inactive" would be better.  I'd hate to end up in a situation where I'm offline for a year--due to serious injury or illness--only to find out that my profile (and inventory) have been deleted.

If the system would flag anyone who has not been online in the past three months (perhaps less) as inactive, and keep them out of the trading opportunities pane by default, I think that would be a great improvement.

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307 Reply by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

psrex wrote:

The revised deck looks a lot better.

Is there a reason that you're not running the fourth Dreadbore instead of one Murder?  My guess is that the second Murder could be something else instead.

What situations do you think that you might bring in Nightbird's Clutches?

My limitation on Dreadbore is that I only own three (after purchasing my third at a LGS).

As to Nightbird's Clutches, I would board it in if my opponent has enough early blockers out to keep my Markov Blademaster from hitting (i.e., more blockers than I can easily remove).  Because of the mechanic above detailing how first strike damage resolves before normal damage (something I knew, but never related to the counters), the first attack lands for three, the next for seven, the third for 11, the next for 15, etc.  That also means it becomes harder for my opponent to remove it using some spells (e.g., Dead Weight, non-Morbid Tragic Slip)--during its first turn on the board, it ends as a 3/3, next as a 5/5, next as a 7/7, etc.

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308 Reply by HikingStick

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Janikole wrote:

HikingStick:
I totally agree that fog bank is better than hover barrier, however since I don't any copies of it already it would be breaking house rules for me to go and buy some sad

If trading is okay, start one with me.  I have at least two I can trade you (it shows only one in my tradelist, but I can make two happen).  Sorry for not catching that house rule before.

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309 Reply by HikingStick

(4 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Another post pointed out a difference between our current rules text and that currently in Gatherer.  I believe Sebi is looking into updating the info base.

As to searching multi-color cards, you can do it for specific color combinations. For example, use the color filter and set it to "Exclusively all of..." and select the colors you want (e.g., Red and Black, Black and Blue and Green).

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310 Reply by HikingStick

(4 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Slaughter Pack is colorless based on its mana cost.  It is treated as a black card due to the rules text printed on its face.  That being the case, it would seem to be appropriately excluded from the search (color is based on casting cost).

Living End has the problem of truly no casting cost (not even a zero), similar to Hypergenesis and Ancestral Vision.

To the best of my knowledge, the only way to find those cards is to do a rule search for the appropriate color string (e.g., "is black"). Unfortunately, currently there is no way to do designate a query to show cards that include the "is black" rules text or the "exclusively one of...black" filter (a join of all records that match either parameter).

Since the information in the database comes from a Gatherer extract (if I'm remembering correctly), what can be presented here is limited to what they record in their system.



I'll let Sebi or Catnica chime in if my response is not accurate.

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311 Reply by HikingStick

(1 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Sorting by count will return.  Sebi is working on it for the next update (due any time now--providing life cooperates wink ).

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312 Reply by HikingStick

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

One change I'll recommend right off the bat is replacing the Hover Barrier with Fog Bank, since Fog Bank doesn't take damage.  It's relatively cheap (<$1.50 each), so getting a playset should be pretty easy on the pocketbook (c. $6.00).

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313 Reply by HikingStick

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I think it has potential, but you'll need to tighten things up a bit. The Champion of the Parish doesn't fit well--you're not running enough humans to pump it up.  Most decks that run it also use token generation (e.g., Gather the Townsfolk) to make him big quickly.

Dutiful Thrull and Thrull Parasite may be replacement options, as the former offers Regeneration (for multiple chump blocks), and the latter allows you to leverage the Extort mechanic.

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314 Reply by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Thanks for the help, all, and the tip on the +1/+1 counters with the Blademasters.  I've been playtesting against my eldest son, who runs GW token generation with Champion of the Parish and Champion of Lambholt.  It's a deck that regularly does well at events, and one I've not been able to beat (my old Krenko's Dance Party deck variants could from time to time, but that's another story).  Since working in the final tips (and picking up two more Markov Blademasters), I've beaten him every time (in best two-out-of-three matches).  I'm really looking forward to Saturday!--thanks, again!

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315 Reply by HikingStick

(3 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

I do believe there may be something off with inventory adjustments after trades (it could be the mismatched version issue).  I've had to make a lot of manual corrections lately.

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316 Reply by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Thanks psrex and TyWooTime.

With Mizzium Mortars costing the same as Searing Spear, would it be worth using it instead? It doesn't provide direct damage to a player, but it can wipe a large collection of critters on the other side.

I'm working through the changes this evening.  I'll post a bump once the decklist is updated.

UPDATE: The deck has been updated, and now I need to shape the sideboard. Here's what I have in it at the moment (at 18, need to drop 3):

2  Human Frailty
3  Mizzium Mortars
2  Nightbird's Clutches
3  Murder
2  Rolling Temblor
2  Rush of Blood
3  Stab Wound
1  Sever the Bloodline

Would you recommend any specific creatures in the sideboard? Other vampires? Vexing Devil?

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317 Reply by HikingStick

(4 replies, posted in Trading Post)

There's no easy option for that right now (and am not sure if that's a scenario will be addressed in future updates).

If thinking about transferring your entire inventory to another member, I recommend that you do the following:

1) Create the trade and negotiate the terms.

2) Get the email address of the receiving trading partner.

3) From the Inventory page, export your inventory to a CSV file.

4) Email the file to your trading partner, and ship the cards as agreed.

5) You'll still need to remove the cards from your inventory, but you can do that a page at a time (use the check box to select all, and then click Card actions > Remove).

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318 Reply by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Thanks for the feedback.  The info in the other current BR Vampire thread was really helpful, too.

Okay, here are modifications I can see making right away:

    -4 Murder
    -2 Falkenrath Marauders
    -2 Markov Warlord

    +4 Pillar of Flame
    +4 Vampiric Fury

I would like to bring Vampire Nighthawk back in, but am not sure what to cut to make it happen.  What would you recommend?

Is it worth trying to bring Sorin in? I have access at least four BW and RW dual lands? Should I add another two drop to fix the curve?

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319 Topic by HikingStick

(17 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

[Note: there's another thread out there for a first vampire deck, but after looking at the cards, I've decided mine is different enough to warrant its own discussion. ~AJR]

After playing modern for a while, I'm jumping back into Standard this weekend on Game Day for Gatecrash (LGS is running a Standard event). I tried putting together an all-rat deck with Ogre Slumlord, but it didn't work out, so I've decided to give vampires a try (mostly because no one has been running them regularly).  We have pro-tour qualifying events this weekend, too, so the top-tier players will be gone.  I expect a smaller crowd (<15), and really want a shot at finishing top 8 to get the foil, full-art promo card.

The deck is fairly straight-forward vampire aggro. The idea is to engage as early as possible, and let the vampire buffs build things up. A central card is Stromkirk Captain, to give +1/+1 and first strike.  The plan is to drop Falkenrath Marauders T5 or Markov Warlord T6 to tie things up (if it goes that far).  Cards in the sideboard are other options I have available.

One question I have is the type and amount of removal to include.  This is the first time I'm playing vamps, so I don't know what other card synergies might be out there.

There's also part of me that wants to include some other dual lands to splash white, so I may play Sorin, Lord of Innistrad.

What I would like from your feedback includes:

  • How does the initial build look?

  • Should I splash any other color? If so, which and why (what other cards do you have in mind)?

  • Is the ratio of creatures to removal spells appropriate?

  • Should I consider different removal options?

  • What should I include in my sideboard? Would it be worth gearing the sideboard to a complete change of the deck (swap out the entire sideboard to take a different angle of attack)?

As always, your time and opinions are appreciated.

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320 Reply by HikingStick

(2 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I play a similar deck, and it had been too slow for FNM until I found some creative ways to get things moving.  The answer? More red burn and adding green ramp and buffs.

Ramp and buffs? Yes.  Ramp to get Stuffy out quicker, and buffs to... Well, we'll look at that in a minute.

Bring in 4x Llanowar Elf or 4x Arbor Elf.  I got rid of my 4x Vexing Devils to bring my ramp in.  Doing that, I can get Stuffy out as early as turn three.

I added red burn to as spot removal, and also for direct damage to my opponent.  If you include enough of it, it's like having an alternate win condition built in.

Now for the buffs.  The idea is to use them on the opponent's attacking creatures, particularly the ones that Stuffy will block.  Your opponent swings with three 2/2 creatures, knowing you'll block one with Stuffy (2/2).  You do, but then cast two Giant Growth and have that 2/2 become an 8/8, with eight damage bouncing from Stuffy to your opponent. Things can get grisly fast if you also happen to have stuffy equipped with Inquisitor's Flail. That surprise 8/8 ends up doing 16 damage to Stuffy, and thus to your opponent.

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321 Reply by HikingStick

(3 replies, posted in Trading Post)

If I were in a position to buy, I'd offer $40-45.  As noted, most of the cards don't have significant value.

One other item to consider--with zero community feedback, few are likely to enter into an agreement with you, unless you are willing to list them on another site like Ebay, where there are some protections for both parties.

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322 Reply by HikingStick

(32 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

drnaturalist wrote:

I agree with the negative rating. Deckbox in my opinion is way too lenient. Why is there even an option for a negative rating if a negative rating essentially gets you labeled a scam artist? The neutral rating is very very deceiving, you can see someone with 144 completed trades and 100% feedback, but if you take the time to look they have tons of neutral feedback for problems because "we can't leave negative feedback." I don't want it to be ebay, but still it seems like 1 negative and you are kicked off deckbox, making it impossible to notify others of questionable behavior.


This is something to ponder.  Someone's experience with a trader may be negative without it being due to a fraudulent trade transaction.

At one point, it was suggested that a reason code be required for negative feedback (e.g., didn't communicate, did not ship as agreed)--something out of a drop down list.  It might be worth re-visiting the idea.

The BTR area can lead to a user account being flagged, or a user being banned.  That's certainly worse than a negative feedback score.  On Ebay, if you get negative feedback, you have the ability to post a response.  They knew the system wouldn't be perfect.  In the end, we need to decide how much we trust the other party based on the experiences that get reported.

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323 Reply by HikingStick

(1 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

I agree with this one. Especially for those of us whose eyes are at least twice as old as the game. ;-)

Perhaps letter icons: [M], [NM], etc.?

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324 Reply by HikingStick

(2 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

My advice is to always confirm details in trade chat if nothing is specified.  If I don't care which edition, I'd just say "I don't care which edition the _____ is."

If I did have a preference, even if not specified in the wishlist, I'd just state, "I'm only interested in the M11 version," or something similar.

Communicating helps prevent misunderstandings.

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325 Reply by HikingStick

(3 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

I just had a guy comment on a cancelled trade from months ago.  It took me multiple visits to the cancelled list to find the one that had the message.

Perhaps we can ask Sebi for a "Message Center" when we get to Deckbox 3.0, so we may see a list of all messages/trades with messages in one place?

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