Simply put, you'll want to narrow your focus.  Cards like Naturalize should be replaced by Sundering GrowthHero's Reunion really doesn't need to be in there.

Lastly, token decks NEED 4x Intangible Virtue to be competitive.  I would drop 1x Collective Blessing, 1x Hero's Reunion,  to 2x Phyrexian Rebirth and slide in 4x Virtues.  Then I'd suggest looking into cheaper token generation cards like Call of the Conclave and Midnight Haunting.

Are you looking to keep it standard legal or is this for casual play?

Could you perhaps provide some added guidance with regard to the level of play they'll be seeing (casual, FNMs, etc) and the sort of budget you're looking at working with?  Additionally, it's typically best to provide at least a short writeup regarding how you expect/want each deck to perform.  So for instance, is your Boros deck aimed at simply dropping value creatures to take them out as quickly as possible (aka aggro), or do you have a slower play strategy that centers on some more expensive cards to cast like Assemble the Legion (aka mid-range)?  Remember, the more information you can provide to the community, the more likely they will be able to provide some meaningful insight (also, the more likely you will to get any feedback at all).

728

(32 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

sebi wrote:

We have decided to start applying some of the suggestions.

1. All members who are moderators only in thir subcommunity forum are now marked as Community Admin instead of Moderator. We now have a handful of people marked as Moderator, and Laura, Catinca and myself marked as Deckbox Team.

2. I have updated the BTR posting rules http://deckbox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=31533#p31533 . We will now forbid people to post in BTR threads unless they have important, relevant information about the case being discussed. Moderators and Deckbox Team are extempt from this rule.

Modertors can delete posts that are against the rules at any point on BTRs, or to ask BTR submitters to fix their sumissions according to the rules, offer suggestions or corrections.

For now we will keep the Deckbox Team members as being the only people to actually "bold-post" with official requests and resolutions on BTR threads. We will be discussing this though. We appreciate everyone offering to help with this, and will be considering widening the number of people responsible, but for now we'll do it ourselves.

Please keep the discussion going, if people have further suggestions do not hesitate to discuss them here. We'll be reading!


Sounds good.  I'll be sure to watch for any non-essential banter in the BTRs and will delete accordingly.

729

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I could see where you're really going to want some more items to just stall out the game.  I'm thinking along the lines of Curse of Exhaustion, Supreme Verdict, Aetherize, Planar Cleansing, Riot Control, Downsize (nobody ever expects the overloaded version, but it buys you turns), Blustersquall (same story), Sleep, Cyclonic Rift, hell, even Sphere of Safety might work.

As a side note, if you want to ensure this thing works, Possibility Storm pairs with Curse of Exhaustion hilariously, as the opponent cannot cast another spell for the duration of the game.  Then you could take your sweet time assembling all the gates.

730

(32 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

I have two reasons for thinking that it should be easier to allowing negative feedback

1) Then newer users aren't left trying to differentiate between neutral and negative feedback. 

Imagine for a moment that you're someone brand new to the game, much less to Deckbox.  You're just starting to go out and trade online.  Are you really going to go read up to discover that neutral feedback really means that the person isn't an optimal trader?  You could easily end up getting stuck dealing with someone who would just leave a nasty taste in your mouth and will dissuade you from trading on here entirely.  Normally in these cases I would be all in favor of neutral feedback here, pending that people ACTUALLY FILL THE COMMENTS FIELD IN.  But let's be honest here, the majority of people don't really leave anything meaningful in the comments field.  As such, the new user is at a disadvantage.

2) Allowing people to leave negative feedback will provide extra incentive for users to actually follow through with their agreements in a prompt, courteous manner.

Again, this has to do with the ambiguity of neutral feedback.  If I'm a trader, I can be dismissive, or in some cases, outright insulting to someone else without any fear of any sort of punishment.  If you can leave a negative feedback, it records that your trading partner did offer a pleasurable trading experience, and those "dick" traders would be identified and encouraged to modify their behavior.  It might seem silly, but let's be honest, we all know at least one person in real life that is often at our LGS that we just do NOT want to deal with because they're condescending, offensive, insensitive, or *insert other bad thing here.*  Presumably, you're not about to trade with that person.  Yet on here, because of the limited number of interactions, nothing is really there to help us see who is just, for lack of a better way to say it, being an asshole.

Now, before everyone thinks I'm all about giving everyone negative feedback, remember what I suggested.  In order to leave negative feedback the person would be REQUIRED to enter something into the comments field to explain their grievance with the trader and reason for negative feedback.  Those reasons could then be evaluated by the "BTR Czars" to discern whether the situation really warrants a negative rating or is just someone being petty.  This then frees up the REAL BTRs for cases where someone is a scammer or something worthy of a ban, as opposed to someone being lazy, or otherwise an ass.

Let's also keep in mind that I'm just spitballing here, but I just don't see the need for positive, neutral, and negative ratings when, in reality, you either had a good experience or a bad one.  As a social scientist (getting my PhD within the month), I can openly say that adding the neutral category is just introducing measurement error wink

731

(32 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

sebi wrote:

Also it has been noted that people would like less off-topic conversations in the BTRs and I kind of agree, only I'm not sure if we should enforce that drastically or not yet. We're thinking about it. We will definitely move multiple-post discussions out of there if they're not relevant to that specific case (like now).

I know that I do my able best not to interfere with the BTRs as I know how much it would bother me if everyone else wanted to give their two cents on any dispute I would have.  I'll chime in if people need to post stuff that they've forgotten, but otherwise I try to mind my own business.

That aside, I'm curious whether there need to be restrictions regarding who can comment.  On the one hand, I can see where it would prevent situations from getting heated.  But on the other, perhaps someone, like HikingStick in the case that resulted in things being moved here, can offer some perspective that helps to resolve an issue or otherwise diffuse the situation.  Personally I think it should be limited in the sense that someone monitors the BTRs more closely to ensure that things don't get out of hand or stray too far off topic.

In that vein, given that Sebi and Catinca are doing ALL of the site's maintenance, updates, and the like, would it maybe make sense to name someone to be "in charge" of the BTRs?  I know that you guys do the best you can to handle things in a timely manner, but some of these things sit for a few days and tempers flare (the recent BTR between fairportmagic and NickTheSushi comes to mind as an example).  What are peoples' thoughts about a moderator or two being named "BTR Czars" or something like that to assist in managing/resolving the BTRs?  I feel like most of the BTRs we're seeing are pretty simple to resolve, as they require an e-mail to the offending party, a grace period for him/her to respond, and then some sort of punitive measure which would then be referred to the admins anyway.

Lastly, I have to really question our treatment of negative ratings in such a revered light.  I definitely understand how the tit-for-tat negative feedbacks would work, but why not simply prevent the feedback from showing to the other party until the entire trade is completed and feedback is left on both sides?  Personally, I've been fortunate not to have any real issues with negative feedback, but what is the point of negative feedback if you have to file a BTR and most of those end up with people being banned or listed as scammers?  I think the negative feedback should be, within reason, the slightly lesser punishment for a trade gone sour (whether the person is just being a dick, lies about card condition, etc).  Then people wouldn't simply abandon their accounts to create a new one in the event of negative feedback.  For instance, if someone says they're going to mail something but don't mail it until a week after promised.  They still upheld their end of the bargain, although at an inconvenience to their trade partner.  This should warrant a negative feedback point, but I don't think it needs everyone to get involved for a BTR.  If this is the case, we should REQUIRE that people provide a 2-3 sentence explanation for WHY they left negative feedback, which future traders can then see.  In extreme cases, these disputes could be taken to a BTR, but I think we've gone and complicated the system to the point that BTRs and negative feedback are increasingly difficult to separate.  Further, it's taking an increasing amount of time and effort to arbitrate all these disputes which I'm sure Sebi and Catinca would likely enjoy not reading transcripts and dealing with people arguing.

732

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So a few quick thoughts.

First, I get that you're trying to use Possibility Storm to cheat out huge threats like Worldspine Wurm, but wouldn't that mean you would want a few one-drop creatures that actually help your cause?  If they have to be cast, they might as well extend the game and help you get to T6 to be able to use the storm.  As such, why Legion Loyalist?  Similarly, why Nearheath Pilgrim?  I'm thinking you'd much rather have things like Cathedral Sanctifier and Centaur Healer that will gain you life to keep you alive until T6.  I get that Fog and Safe Passage help on this front, but each one only works once.  Beyond that, I'd suggest swapping Safe Passage for Riot Control.

Second, Possibility Storm almost REQUIRES you to play Curse of Exhaustion.  Simply put, this is the nastiest thing you could do to someone, as they literally will not be able to play a non-land for the remainder of the game.  They can't even cast something to remove enchantments - if you can then take control of the board, you just win.  So to that end, it would be fun... for you.

Third, I think it's safe to say, Kessig Wolf Run is a bit overkill here.  If you have even any remote inklings that you're going to have color fixing issues, you can easily drop them.

Lastly, I'm trying to think if there really are any quality options that would help reduce the randomness in Possibility Storm given your colors... sadly nothing is coming to mind that's standard legal.  I'll think on this one a bit more and will get back to you.

Nighthawk wrote:
Lear wrote:

Only 2 things really jump out at me in the main deck as things i would pull. First is Ordruun Veteran, i know a 3/1 double striker is an odd choice to be my first card removed but any chump blocker can take him down, and i generally want creatures who won't lose to Memnite.

I don't do standard so not sure about the rest of your post.  Double strike does its first swing in the first strike phase of damage, so it would kill memnite and most chump blockers before they get a chance to deal damage.

I believe the issue being raised is with the fact that Ordruun Veteran must have battalion trigger in order for it to be any better than just a Daring Skyjek... and considering that he's double the cost and wouldn't even have any evasion, I have to agree that he should likely come out.

734

(13 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

As far as the "rep" I was referring to, I was meaning the +1 feedback that people look for when they are deciding whether or not to trade with you.  I know that there are numerous people on this site who either refuse to trade with people that do not have enough feedback or will require those parties to send first.  I can see where creating multiple profiles would impair you in that regard, as you would then lack the necessary feedback or otherwise would result in you endlessly needing to send your cards first (which I would imagine would get rather old).

As far as the actual implementation of the feature, I couldn't tell you what to expect.  Sebi/Catinca are our site admins and they're responsible for all of the site's inner-workings.  It would be possible to setup some sort of poll for it to gauge interest, but based on the fact that neither HikingStick nor I even saw the need in the first place, I don't know that many users out there have a problem with just using decks in the way I described (as I've done trades for a friend in that exact way).  Regardless, I will openly admit that I don't know how readily feasible it would be in the first place.  All I can say is keep the feedback coming as I know Sebi/Catinca are working their able best to improve the site if and whenever possible.

735

(13 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

MTGStuff wrote:

If decks are to be used, would removing the deck's also remove from inventory? That is one of the big goals. If i get rid of 3000 cards then i want to quickly wipe them from my deckbox inventory. Im happy to do this via deck if it is possible but i think decks are just linked to inventories only. Like a reflection of a subset of an inventory. IF you could make that reflection actually remove inventory data with maybe a button that says delete deck and related inventory items, it may work.

Problem with decks, load a 3000-5000 card deck once. Probably will crash Chrome on you. Inventories do not have this problem as they are limited to a subset of cards with a paging mechanism .You would need to implement a paging mechanism for decks then. maybe say, if deck is > 200, implement paging. Or go with my inventory approach/request.

Not worried about price history myself, though i could see it being useful. To me its a lower priority.

So first off, when you add a card to a deck, it does not add it to your inventory.  It will cross-check with your inventory, but will list things that aren't present in your inventory as being missing and then calculate the cost of cards yet to be obtained (probably part of why it would take so long to load).  However, if you're going to be using the trading options on the site here, you have to list the cards in either your inventory or tradelist for it to even allow you to enter them into the trade field - otherwise it just doesn't find the cards.  So to that end, perhaps you could just work things out with your trading partners that they would receive a particular section of the decklist or an entire decklist worth of cards.  It would appear to be them trading for nothing to any outside observer, but a perusal of the chat box would reveal that you're giving a link and whatnot.

I realize this isn't an ideal solution; however, the site is free and you really should encourage your friends to just join on their own if they're looking to be moving a 3000-5000 card collection (I know I certainly wouldn't be THAT charitable to catalog, enter, and then trade something that substantial).  Otherwise, you could easily just create separate accounts for the inventories (which is what you're doing at the moment I assume from the two different SNs for the same person).  You would likely run into issues with not having enough rep to really do trades at that point, but then again, if you can link them to the accounts from your MAIN account that is accumulating rep, then I would imagine you can do something similar to what I suggest above with the decklists, which then leaves you in the exact same place.

Ultimately, I guess I could see the need for "multiple" inventories, but I would argue that the overwhelming majority of the users here would never use the function as they're not looking to move such large collections for friends or anything of that sort.

736

(13 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Buhtwipe wrote:

Trading vs personal purposes.

Inventory 1 - Trading Lot 1
A separate inventory from the wishlist or trade list. Quickly erasable would be helpful too. (i noticed on inventories that it is not so easy to wipe all cards but in this use case it would be nice, like erasing a deck even). This lot is tracked separately to make sure value is obtained from what is in it versus original trades or costs.

Inventory 2 - Trading Lot 2
Same thins as #1 but a different lot.

Inventory 3 - Trading Lot 3.
Same thing as #1 but a different lot (e.g. maybe selling a friends lot here, dont want to mix with personal stuff)

Inventory 4 - Personal Lot
Used to personal set that is actively being used and no intentions to sell or manage separately.

Technically you could achieve this simply by creating "decks" that contain each subset of your inventory.  Then you would be able to easily link to them and control exactly what is in them.  You would have to keep track of changes for each one (as the automated trade inventory removal would not work) and it would likely affect the card counts in your overall inventory; but if you're keeping a keen eye on the "decks," you could easily manage those few cards.

737

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Given that you're looking at post-DGM stuff, why not the Zhur-taa Druids rather than Arbor Elf?  Sure it costs one more, but it's a guaranteed green mana AND it does pinging damage each time you tap it.  It's worth a shot.

As a SB card to consider, Burn at the Stake - given that you're going to be sitting on tons of tokens... why not add the option to put them to use, even if you're not sitting on any anthems?  Additionally, Boros Charm/Rootborn Defenses seem like must-haves to some degree.  And don't forget Sundering Growth for those pesky enchantments that hate on tokens.

738

(4 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Any extra-turn items are always sought after.  But more importantly, Temporal Mastery sees a fair amount of play in modern TRON decks and in other formats, keeping it's value high.  Remember that just because it's standard legal, it might not have been designed with standard in mind.

If you're really shooting for an Aggro build, you'll need to work in some pieces on the lower end of the curve.  If anything, you should probably top out at four.  As an aggro build really doesn't want the game to stretch past turn 5 anyway - as such, you'd drop Thragtusk and Wolfir Silverheart.

So that raises the question, what do you slide in?  Well, cheaper stuff of course.  Lose Arbor Elf for Experiment One.  Other one drops should be in here too - Rakdos Cackler, Vexing Devil, or Stromkirk Noble are all great options.  Disciple of the Old Ways should be replaced by Mogg Flunkies and/or Flinthoof Boar (don't forget Lightning Mauler too).  Strangleroot Geist probably should be sitting in the mainboard too.

To be honest, I've never seen the need for more than 2x Domri Rade in a deck.  You'd also be well served to slide in some Searing Spears either to clear the way for your creatures, or to hit them for their remaining life.  Rancor can also go a fairly good way in the event they're sitting on a lot of blockers.

So, short answer after all of that being said, if you're going for R/G aggro, you should never even get to 5-CMC for Thundermaw to begin with.

The best place to start is to pick a general to build around.  This will restrict which colors you can include in the deck and likely the sorts of things you're going to try to achieve.  For instance, if you're wanting tokens, Trostani, Selesnya's Voice is a great option for a general.  I'm still relatively new to the format myself, but you're welcome to look over my tokens EDH deck at http://deckbox.org/sets/323042

741

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So to clarify point-by-point,

First off, the benefits of Snapcaster Mage and Past in Flames is to open the door so that you CAN use spells that don't have flashback.  If you tie yourself only to items that already have flashback, that's REALLY limiting your options.  You said that you pulled Silent Departure for Cyclonic Rift because it's more effective, so why not do the same for some of the other cards given that you can now flash other things back?

Control WILL be a problem as they're going to be hitting you with counters that exile things - Dissipate and Syncopate are very much a thing.  You won't have any chance to get things back from the 'yard.  Further, if they're smart, they'll see what you're doing after game one and can just counter Burning Vengeance - this leaves you with ZERO options to win.

Aggro still is a problem, as a quality aggro build will kill you by turn four given your current lack of direct removal or blockers.  Yes, Burning Vengeance can target creatures, but it requires you to hit your three drop perfectly and then have more than one flashback spell in the yard already to be able to zap them with.  That's an awful lot you need to go right just to take out 2-3 creatures.  Also, keep in mind how haste will play into things - can you generate three damage at instant speed to deal with a Dreg Mangler?  Further, can you do so consistently?

If you're just looking to rip through cards, Reforge the Soul or Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded are more consistent and cheaper options to cycle things into the yard.  Then you still have a hand AND can do things with flashback.

The lack of burn/removal I'm stating is the more direct variety that doesn't rely on you having Vengeance on the field.  Again, to manage that you need to have drawn vengeance, get it on the field, and THEN have a flashback spell ready to go... just to deal two damage.  Searing Spear requires two mana... that's it.

With regard to Arcane Melee and Devil's Play, if you reduce the colorless X cost by two, that means you can essentially cast it with an X of two for just one red mana.  So to that end, it would pump the X to four if you have a second one in play, but otherwise a second copy of Melee is a dead card.   It's the same as if you run Pearl Medallion and cast White Sun's Zenith or any other cost reducer like that.  In many regards, you'd be just as well off to try running Goblin Electromancer to see if you can get the same amount of use out of it.

Militant would be an easy target, again, assuming you have all the criteria for a vengeance burn to work... nevermind how many spells it might've exiled on your path to get there.  Again raising the question for more directed burn spells.

Silent Departure was simply something to work with flashback if you're intent on everything having it.  Cyclonic Rift is most definitely a more versatile card (but note the lack of flashback).

So your answer for Thragtusk is that you end up casting and wasting FOUR Vengeance shots?  Lest we not forget he produces the beast token when he dies.  So that's now shifted you to trading four-for-one.  In a world where competitive card advantage is kind of important, that's a trade you would NEVER want to make.  Nevermind that Restoration Angel is also a very real possibility, one that definitely doesn't get touched by Temblor.  Don't forget creatures with regeneration or that grow beyond immediate burn range like Champion of the Parish - which can easily be a 3/3 or 4/4 on turn 2.  Temblor is a good card, but keep in mind its limitations.  In my experience, it's a SB card.

For Naturalize - again, great card, but hardly worth splashing an entirely new color for just that.  If you were sitting on a full playset of the shocks to get green into the mix, that'd be one thing, but three guildgates just won't get you there.  Why not just splash some blue countermagic to deal with those possibilities?  Smelt deals with Grafdigger's Cage but beyond that, I think you might have to just acknowledge that Rest in Peace will totally hose your plan.

Again, playtesting will be the best measure, but I just don't see where a deck without any direct, immediate defenses will survive long.  It might be a blast to play casually, but in a competitive standard environment, you're going to be frustrated.

742

(9 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I know they're absurdly expensive AND would clash with your whole no-creatures theme... but Snapcaster Mage?  Or on the cheaper end, Past in Flames?

Beyond that, I'm not so sure I see this really being competitive at FNM unless your local meta is mostly home-brews.  I could easily see a control deck eating you alive about 10 seconds after they realize your biggest weapon is Burning Vengeance.  Against a well conditioned Aggro deck I also don't see you making it past turn 5 without some added removal options.

More specific thoughts, I would suggest the following changes:

1) Drop 1-2 of the Arcane Melees - they're nice and help reduce the cost of things, but let's be honest, after you get one out, another one is just a dead draw.  The only thing a second one would even help is Devil's Play.

2) Shattered Perception really isn't all that good.  Most of your spells you probably would like to cast the first time before you flash them back, so the idea of just shedding your hand doesn't strike me as ideal.  Further, it's not like you're struggling for drawing effects with Desolate Lighthouse, Desperate Ravings, Faithless Looting, and Think Twice.  I would drop all three and slide in some more directed burn/removal.  I'm thinking Mizzium Mortars, or, if you prefer to damage the opponent, Brimstone Volley/Searing Spear.  You NEED that added burn for Dryad Militant.

3) I, honestly, wouldn't even worry for a moment about your enchantments being taken out.  NOBODY runs enchantment hate mainboard and then even if they side things in, you're looking at 2-3 cards max.  So I would drop Memory's Journey (conveniently removing the need for ANY green mana) in place of Mystic Retrieval or Silent Departure.

4) Rolling Temblor is a great card and certainly does some solid work, but it MIGHT not have enough reach if you're playing mid-range decks.  What do you do when you're staring down a Thragtusk or Restoration Angel?  I'd actually suggest running Cackling Counterpart to be able to provide some sort of defense in those cases when necessary.

5) Lastly, keep answers in your board for enchantments and artifacts that could totally screw you over.  Lear has already pointed out Witchbane Orb which shuts down even Burning Vengeance but also be wary of Rest in Peace/Grafdigger's Cage; Oblivion Ring/Detention Sphere; and Nevermore.   

At the end of the day, just playtest to see how well it runs.  That will the the ultimate advice-giver, as it were.  Often it seems like we have a genius idea with the combos and everything looks great on paper, only to fail miserably once it comes time to actually play.

743

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I'm a fan of pairing Braids, Conjurer Adept with Paradox Haze in EDH.  Then you're deterring the others from attacking you by giving them a way to drop their stuff for free while the Haze gives you two upkeeps, letting you build your advantage.

My only warning would be that you NEED to consistently place bigger, more powerful stuff than your opponents as Braids can easily backfire on you if they end up dropping Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger or something else like that which will totally screw you over for free.

Beyond that, what other color(s) are you running in said EDH deck?  As there are options for getting things out faster depending on your pairings.

744

(3 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I've only recently gotten into the format myself (lack of standard events locally and no real desire to drop $500 to get into modern) but I can say I've had a blast tinkering and figuring out just silly combos.

I have two decks that are tested and perform pretty well.

First is one with Trostani, Selesnya's Voice as the general.  Outside of that, it's squirrels, it's beasts, centaurs, wurms, spirits, soldiers... you name it, if it makes a token, it's in there.  Believe me when I say that Advent of the Wurm and Voice of Resurgence will fit in there nicely.  But the basic plan is just to generate a few tokens, and then populate the crap out of everything.  Toss in Beastmaster Ascension, Collective Blessing, Intangible Virtue, Phantom General and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and things can get pretty ugly, pretty fast.  The less expected component comes in the life gain from Trostani - a friend was playing a sliver deck and put Coat of Arms on the field, one board wipe later and my GF (piloting this deck) plays Verdant Force with Parallel Lives already on the field.  Our fourth plays a kicked Rite of Replication on said Verdant Force so there are 7 new saprolings per upkeep.  Suffice to say, my GF was sitting pretty at 1,200 life when I finally was able to wipe the board again.

My second is a Grixis control-ish deck using Gwendlyn Di Corci as my general.  Lots of tutors, board wipes, extra turns, PWs, legendary creatures, etc.  I've only just realized what a fool I've been not to be running both Blood Artist and Falkenrath Noble for when said board wipes hit (I'd previously just been relying on Prince of Thralls).  A fair amount of discard too, which, oddly is quite nice in EDH.  Toss in Consuming Aberration as a group mill card... yeah... he gets out of control pretty quickly.

I've also just assembled a mono-white cat deck with either Raksha Golden Cub or Kemba, Kha Regent as general.  I've yet to playtest it though, so I can give more thoughts on it later.

My suggestion, go find a general that isn't as widely played and start tinkering around with the combos that work.  Remember that the format is all about casual play and having fun (which I'm sure you're already aware of but a lot of people forget trying to be too competitive).  If it's gimmicky, silly, and unrealistic that it would ever work in competitive play... do it!

745

(3 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

Give the other trader a few days to respond.  I would suggest also sending him/her an e-mail via the message feature on their profile.  If they do not respond, follow the site's procedures for filing a bad trader report.  But I would imagine it's just a simple oversight and the person will resolve the issue.

746

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So are you aiming for this to be a casual deck or legal in competitive formats?  The reason I ask is because Earthcraft is banned in legacy, but in casual play, it creates a nice infinite squirrel loop with Squirrel Nest.

For some more general thoughts. 

Personally, I'm not as big of a fan of Krosan Beast, Squirrel Wrangler, Acorn Catapult and even to some degree Nut Collector. Consider that both Acorn Harvest and Chatter of the Squirrel have flashback.  So when would you have seven cards in your yard to trigger Threshold?  Squirrel Wrangler requires you to sack lands - typically not a good idea if you're only getting two 1/1 squirrels.  Perhaps he could be useful late game, but I'm not seeing it.  Lastly, I can see keeping 1-2x Nut Collector for the repeated squirrel production, but beyond that, they're just awfully expensive for little reward (especially when a single point of damage can wipe the collector out).

You're going to want more ways to pump the fuzzies.  This can be done a variety of ways, but I'm personally a fan of Beastmaster Ascension (BA) and Adaptive Automaton.  Since you're going to be attacking with the squirrels like nuts anyway (see what I did there wink ), BA will set off rather quickly and then all the fuzzies are at least 6/6 creatures.  Similarly, with the automatons, just name squirrel and they're all getting an anthem effect.

Some other cards to consider:  Overrun; Garruk Wildspeaker - untapping two squirrel nests is always fun; Parallel Lives - if one squirrel is good, two is even better; Druid's Call and Lure - pair those two on a squirrel when you have Swarmyard in play and BAM, you're pumping out squirrels equal to the total amount of damage the opponents' creatures can deal.

Lastly, you need to keep in mind that a squirrel deck will have some glaring weaknesses - the largest of which is weakness against flyers.  You can combat this pretty easily with either Spidersilk Armor to give all of them reach or Gravity Well to prevent anyone from being able to swing with flying.

I have a squirrel deck myself that my GF loves to play.  It can be all sorts of fun, although you have to acknowledge the limitations of the deck (although you cannot beat the flavor).  You're welcome to look it over for ideas at http://deckbox.org/sets/133527

One final suggestion, if you go with any of the suggestions I've given above (especially with multiple copies of Parallel Lives), I'd suggest keeping a calculator nearby, as you're going to be generating a LOT of squirrels.

Good luck.

the_wizard_666 wrote:

You could use the Notes section instead of the comments as well, since that can be modified at will.

Dah!  That's what I was referring to, not the comments.  Good catch wizard!

At current this feature isn't part of the site.  At least, not in the way you're looking for.  Rather, each deck has a "comments" field where you could enter the data you're looking for manually.  It wouldn't index it or anything like that for you, but then you'd at least have a record for your own use.

So you have a few options here. 

First, you can automatically have the card images by using the "spoiler view" in your decks.  This will display the cards without having to hover over their name(s).

Second, the system, to my understanding, is configured to show the most recent printing unless the edition is otherwise specified in your inventory/in the deck.  You can either designate the card details in your inventory/deck and it should provide the correct card image (at least I'm assuming this to be the case).

However, while I understand your concern that the image text might not always match your cards, I would suggest actually viewing the more recent printings as various components of the game have changed since revised and the newer versions will reflect these changes and will help you get up to speed with the current rules.  I can speak to this directly as I played during revised and then stepped away from the game for 15 years before getting back in about a year ago.  For example, in revised you had Terror which said to "bury" a creature, which is now corrected to say "destroy target creature.  It cannot be regenerated."  This is an important distinction, as creatures with indestructibility would not be able to be killed by terror, but if you don't have the more current wording, you might think bury works differently and believe it would work.  (Nevermind the whole dropping of interrupts as a card type).

750

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Okay, so there are a number of options to making Worldslayer work but perhaps the best would be to have creatures that either produce new creatures when they die, i.e., Thragtusk or Doomed Traveler, or indestructible creatures (or at least effects that could make them as such for a turn.

So based on your decklist, you're far too fragmented for it to be effective.  With so many one and two offs, you're seldom going to see the sort of consistency you want to be anything close to competitive.  You really need to focus and hone in more on the specific combo(s) you're wanting to run.

What are some of the pieces that you could run with Worldslayer that would work?  With white in the mix you could use Rootborn Defenses or Faith's Reward to either make your stuff indestructible or otherwise return to play after a 'slayer wipe.  In a similar vein, Gideon, Champion of Justice would serve the role of 'slayer just fine, as his zero ability makes him indestructible, you swing, wipe the board, and smile as he and Worldslayer are the only things left on the field.  You could also make use of things like Oblivion Ring, Fiend Hunter, and Journey to Nowhere to exile your stuff, wipe the field, and then you get your pieces back.  Again, the key is to wipe everything out while maintaining some advantage on your side.

Blue adds a fair number of options, including the potential for unblockable creatures.  However, you're certainly asking a lot to have an unblockable, indestructible creature.  I mean 4x Invisible Stalker, paired with 4x Darksteel Plate certainly wouldn't be a bad option.  Personally, I would suggest adding green to the mix as it would give you the added ramp you need to get 'slayer out faster (and it also makes some of the other indestructible pieces more accessible).  Specifically, you would be able to toss in Predator Ooze which, paired with 'slayer would essentially be GG for the opponent.  But otherwise you would be able to toss in others like Stuffy Doll, Creepy Doll or Darksteel Myr.  Alternately, if you went black instead of green, Phylactery Lich would work just as well.

Okay, so I've just gone through some options on where you COULD go with it.  Now about the current build.

- I really just don't see where you're going to set off Worldslayer in even a remotely consistent fashion, much less one where you actually benefit from it.  None of your creatures are all that imposing and the only spell that would make it a one-sided affair requires you to have less than 5 life (it's typically not a good strategy to try to get your ass handed to you before you do something useful).

- Your spells don't show a clear line of reasoning.  For instance, you have counters in Mana Leak and Stoic Rebuttal... but none other than those 3 spells.  You have combat tricks, but not consistently offensive or defensive ones (nor do they give you any abilities consistently).  'Slayer needs to connect with the opponent, yet you have no unblockables, no flying, and only one Artful Dodge?  Also, why so much emphasis on artifacts, many of which don't really help your goal?

I realize that this might come off as harsh, but really, the deck needs some more focus and direction.  Make it a clearer commitment to a combo and you should be good to go.  Now, that being said, don't put all your eggs in one basket, as you need ways to win without the 'slayer going off.  Don't forget to consider those when making your changes.

I hope some of this helps.

Good luck!