751

(1 replies, posted in General Discussion)

So in an effort to kill some time today I stumbled across http://www.inkedplaymats.com/.  They apparently custom print playmats if you submit images to them (for a reasonable price no less).  But my question is, has anyone purchased or otherwise seen a playmat done by them?

752

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I'd still be a bit wary as Somberwald Sage is a pretty fragile way to get the big stuff out.  The better question is, how often do you play it unassisted by the sage?

When it comes to pulling something to make room for Rancor, I'd suggest the Wasteland Viper over Dreg Mangler as the manglers give you a bigger body, haste, and scavenge (all things you'll enjoy having) - whereas the viper really is just in there for the combat trick.

753

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

With only 20 lands, you really aren't going to be able to play Necropolis Regent consistently.  Further, really how many times are you getting that many counters off of it?  I'd suggest dropping the Regents for Hunger of the Howlpack (which can be a HUGE boost with the morbid trigger) and/or Increasing Savagery - in both cases you're making your creatures huge for a much smaller mana investment.  Further, Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord is welcome here, as he'll either be a nice creature addition or an alternate win-con as you can sack things to him to take the opponent out.  Aside from that, Rancor should be in the mainboard.  You want to trade creatures and any trample damage you can get through is just gravy.

I'd rework the SB as well, as many of the pieces aren't all that versatile or tailored to any specific matchup.  When would you side in Ranger's Path?  What would you side out?  When would you side in Arbor Elf?  What goes out?

754

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

The double symbols when paired with the damage requirement to cast him, you'll get stuck with him in your hand unable to be played far more frequently than a Desecration Demon.  That's an awful lot of work for a creature that isn't that hard to take out.  And, considering he would only help you with two creatures in the deck, his added abilities really don't make that much of a difference either.  Meanwhile, Desecration can serve as a multiple removal spell/morbid trigger.

755

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Sadly, Lord Rakdos doesn't really get it done in constructed play outside of EDH (then again, he was designed with EDH in mind...).  I'd suggest dropping him and the Shimian Specters for more Desecration Demons.  They're a total pain to deal with and, in many respects, work beautifully as removal engines.  If you're wanting to run Lord of the Void or Necropolis Regent, I would suggest putting in a few Crypt Ghasts in otherwise, as Hikingstick says, you'll likely never get them on the field.

Just as a thought, with Faithless Looting in here, why not some reanimation or 'yard based stuff?  I'm thinking either Rise from the Grave or you could splash a pair of Godless Shrines and throw Unburial Rites.  In either case, getting those high cost creatures into the yard with faithless looting is good fun, to then turn around and drop them onto the field anyway (often at a lower cost).

Lastly, I'd look over your SB and really be sure that the cards all address specific match-ups you'll be running into.   For instance, Slaughter Games I can see, but the others?  If you need land hate, why not toss in a few Ghost Quarters in the SB?  Personally, I'm a big fan of Brimstone Volley for its ability to hit the opponent for 5 if they take out one of your creatures (or in this case, thanks to Desecration Demon, you might be hitting morbid triggers pretty frequently).  Along those same lines, Skirsdag High Priest could prove to be a beast.

Anything is worth a shot.  Spend some time playtesting and see how it does.  Good luck!

Electrickery, Circle of Flame, and Rain of Blades all strike me as being amusing with Humility - although the key would be to figure out a way to kick it back to your hand so your creatures can attack without being 1/1s.

ShilohPell wrote:
frankenskid wrote:

First of all there is no reason for this deck to be more than 60. I would personally cut 5 lands, necropolis regent, and monomania. You want this to be a stasndard deck correct? Otherwise there are alot better options for mill in modern......

Necropolis Regent means that every time one of my unblockables attacks they double their power. Monomania throws almost their entire hand into their graveyard so my cards can build strength from them. Could you clarify why you think they shouldn't be in the deck?

The rationale for removing both comes from frankenskid's thought that you want the deck to be standard legal.  If you're not limited to format (as the label suggests you're gunning for casual play), there are a lot better options for mill than you currently have listed.

More specifically, Necropolis Regent looks great on paper, but it raises the top of your mana curve and otherwise really just is a "win-more" card.  Odds are that if you're able to survive long enough to get it on the field, you're likely winning the game already.  Beyond that, it really doesn't help with your mill win condition.  As such, it's one of the easy cards to cut from the deck as it really just doesn't fit any way you look at it.  Now, if you were looking for an unblockable creature pump deck, then yes, it would make the cut then, but to be honest, there are still better options out there for that deck idea.

As for Monomania, that's a card you'd run if you're going for a major discard deck.  But as your title suggests, you're going for mill - note that they are two different strategies.  Discard-based decks try to empty the opponent's hand ASAP and then keep things ready to answer whatever they're top-decking.  Mill decks try to just drain the library ASAP without really stressing about the cards the opponent has in hand, betting that the majority of the pieces the opponent needs will be milled before they can access them.  For that reason, Monomania is more of a discard-based deck sort of card, not a mill card.  You could use that slot for something more pointed toward your win-con.

Now, onto the big question, what's the budget you're looking to work with to improve the deck?  The reason I ask is because there are a wealth of options for milling that vary quite significantly in price.  For instance, Jace, Memory Adept is a milling all-star, but he's also sitting at almost $20; conversely, Hedron Crab offers another nasty mill piece, but they're only $1-2.

758

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Okay, so first off the questions you have to clarify for us to give you better feedback:

1) Is this for competitive FNM play?  Or is it more casual play amongst your friends? (I can venture a guess it's the former, but just to be sure).

2) Are you wanting to take this in more of an aggro route or a mid-range one?

3) What is the budget you're looking to work with?

The reason I ask these questions is because of the varied feedback we can offer depending on your answers, i.e., you should totally run Bonfire of the Damned either as a 1-2x in the MB or in the SB - but if your budget isn't such to absorb another $50 - $100 in cards, then clearly that feedback isn't as useful.

Now, onto the more general thoughts I have.

1) I think to a degree you're going to have to choose between aggro or mid-range as you're sporting elements of both.  If you choose to go aggro, you're missing Champion of the Parish who would be triggered by damned near every creature you're putting on the field.  Similarly, you would want to drop Krenko's Command in place of another Gather the Townsfolk and likely would want to find room for at least 2x Silverblade Paladin.  To some degree, I'm not even sure Firemane Avenger even belongs in here if you're going aggro, as another 2x Spark Troopers would provide a sufficient finisher on T4 (especially with double-strike). Additionally, Hellrider is a must for any aggro deck with red.

If you're looking for more of a mid-range game, you can likely get rid of Boros Elite as it's really not that useful outside of a rush situation.  I would still suggest Champions because they'll grow in any instance and could prove useful regardless of how it plays out.  Aurelia would be your main win-con, but you'll want things to protect and power her more.  I'm thinking Cloudshift could be a nice addition - as it both offers spot protection for your creatures, but it also could give you a third combat phase in a turn to push through those last remaining points of damage.  Gisela, Blade of Goldnight would make another nice addition - although then you'd best be sure to toss in Cavern of Souls to name angel.  Restoration Angels could also prove useful (and perhaps to a lesser degree Thraben Doomsayer, Cathars' Crusade, and Assemble the Legion could be considered.  Remember, in this plan, you're happy to draw the game out to turn 6-10 as that's when your bombs really start hitting the field.

2) No Sacred Foundry?  I know they're a bit pricey, but playing Boros these days is probably the most expensive of the guilds (much like trying to do anything Azorius in RTR).

3) Outside of 2x Boros Charm what's your plan to deal with control decks that wipe the board almost every turn?

4) Your SB simply consists of more removal spells... when would you envision siding them in and what would you pull out?  The SB should be designed to slide in cards that you might not normally want to run, but that REALLY would help you in a particular matchup.  For instance, Rest in Peace would be a good SB card for you, as it would completely shut off any flashback/reanimator strategies.  Since you're not running any of that, it'd be a great option.  Similarly, I would say to put 1-2 of your O-rings into the SB unless you envision running into a lot of creatures outside of burn range or walkers/artifacts/enchantments that will totally screw you up.  Again, think about the decks you play against or are otherwise in your local meta and then think about the cards that would do the most damage to those specific decks and THAT is what you put in the SB.

Best luck!

759

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So you're going to need to give us a bit more before we can really give you quality feedback.

First off, is this going to be for casual play or do you intend to eventually try to play competitively with it?  If so, which format are you aiming for?

Second, you really need to consolidate what you're working with.  I'm seeing a TON of 1x cards in here and, outside of EDH of course, you'll likely get destroyed if you don't have any better consistency (which is created by having multiples of the same cards).

Third, if your friend really has 2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor, I hate to break it, but odds are he's sitting on a LOT better cards than you.  As much as I'd like to say this isn't a rich-kid rules game, it's difficult to be really competitive if you're playing a deck of commons against someone with several cards above $100 in value.  It doesn't definitely decide things, but there is a reason why some cards are $0.10 while others are $100.00.  That aside, are you sure he has JtMS and not Jace Beleren, Jace, Memory Adept, or Jace, Architect of Thought?  The latter three would be far more likely.

Fourth, you need to clearly define your win-condition.  How do you envision your deck beating the opponent?  Will you whittle him/her away with damage or is there a powerful combo you're wanting to use?  Do you want to mill them out?  Are there other alternate win conditions?  I would suggest identifying the 3-5 cards you like best in the deck and then rebuild around those.

760

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

mrturk1001 wrote:

Thank you all for the tips, hints, and suggestions. I did update and completed what should be a fun deck. now to get the other cards I don't have yet LOL

All the advise is greatly appreciated.

Psh... actually getting the cards and playing... what fun is that?

761

(5 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on EDH, given that I've just started tinkering with it myself.  However, I have a few thoughts:

Demonic Tutor is a must for most decks, but unless you add something that you REALLY need into those remaining cards, I'm not seeing the sense in it.  Assuming Sliver Overlord is your general, you can tutor up any sliver you want without needing the tutor.  Now, if you toss in either Door of Destinies or Coat of Arms, well, to say the least you would want to tutor those up.

As for what to put into the deck, I would first suggest a decent collection of removal spells and/or board wipes.  Just because EDH is a lot more laid back than standard or modern doesn't mean having several removal spells doesn't really help - and, in many cases, a soft removal spell can actually be more effective than a hard one.  For instance, if your opponent has their general out, if you kill or exile it, it just goes back to the command zone and can be recast, but if you cast Pacifism/Defang/Arrest on it... now it's still in play, but is just pretty much useless.

The second thing I'd suggest is some added mana-fixing.  I'm thinking Rampant Growth, Ranger's Path, Seek the Horizon, Nature's Lore, Chromatic Lantern and even mana dorks (if you're desperate).  I know Gemhide Sliver helps there, but you cannot expect it to live long if people see what you're doing.

Third, I'd suggest some solidly defensive cards (as you will almost always be the biggest target first).  So toss in Norn's Annex, Aetherize, and things of that nature to reduce any/all attacks against you.  Keep in mind that most players do NOT pack enchantment hate in their EDH decks, despite the higher prevalence of enchantments in EDH play.

Lastly, Amoeboid Changeling can be hilarious in a sliver deck, as it lets you make another creature into a sliver, which you can then take with Sliver Overlord - this includes their generals.

Remember to have fun with it.  EDH games will often see some pretty ridiculous stuff going on, so don't be afraid to throw some weird stuff into your deck either.

762

(3 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I wouldn't stress Immortal Servitude too much.  Perhaps as a 2x, but no more than that.  The real power of this deck comes from sacking stuff that you can do without to pump the other creatures and/or generate demon tokens (at least that's what the tourney winning version did). 

I'd take elements of both decks.  You definitely want to keep the Doomed Travelers over Azorius Arrester.  It's cheaper and gives you two sack targets/chump blockers.  When paired with Blood Artist and any of your sack outlets, more targets is easily worth more than the added one power and detain you get from the Arrester.

I'm hesitant to jump on the bandwagon everyone is on with Blasphemous Act to pair with Boros Reckoner - yes, it clears the board, but how often is it cluttered enough for it to be castable?  (Mind you, this is an honest question here, as I don't know either way).  Perhaps a cheaper option that does much of the same effect would work just as well?  I know from some game experience that Rolling Temblor will often hit more than one target easily and can do serious work with the Artists.

Aside from those, you might want some added spot removal in the SB or to include some Cavern of Souls with the incredible rise in control decks.  Boros Charm will let you survive a board wipe here or there, but if they counter your stuff before it even hits the board... well... then you have an issue.

Just a few quick thoughts:

1) Thragtusk over Wolfir Silverheart.  It's not the end-game move you get from Wolfir, but often times those 5 life are REALLY important (and getting a 3/3 beast token in response to removal is an added plus).

2) Bioshift and Spell Rupture strike me as being cards that are too reliant on you having a certain level of creature presence to really matter.  An early draw Bioshift could easily be a dead-draw (same goes for Spell Rupture.  Late game, when you have the counters or power to really care, you're already in position to be winning the game.  I would suggest dropping the Bioshifts for Cloudfin Raptor (lest we forget how important flying can be), Elusive Krasis (bigger blocker early, who also just happens to be unblockable), or even just slide the Devour Fleshes into the mainboard.  For Spell Rupture, I would suggest just going with your more traditional counters - they're tried and true for a reason.  You could go with Negates and simply keep Essence Scatter in the SB for more creature oriented matchups.  Hell, even Rancor could be huge for you - trample OR pumping the Master Biomancer - take your pick.

3) Golgari Charm absolutely NEEDS to be in the SB - nothing like a Supreme Verdict to completely ruin your evolve party.  But if you can regen them all... yeah... it's likely game over shortly.

4) Snapcaster Mage is a great card... but what exactly are you hoping to flash back here?

5) I get that you're trying to pump the Biomancers to make stuff even bigger, but Gavony Township is wrecking absolute havoc on your manabase.  Drop it and all those pesky white sources.  As odd as it might seem in the current standard format, drawing a basic land might not be the worst thing you could do.  But, to that end, if you have Cavern of Souls, I would definitely slide it in for those pesky control decks.

6) Jace, Memory Adept in the SB?  You're not exactly going to mill them out.

Really your options are limited. 

First off, I'd suggest going with Ash Zealot over Rest in Peace as that can help in more situations than just pure graveyard hate.  Let them wipe the board on a flashback, it still pings for three damage.  R/W also has access to the two best anti-board wipe spells currently available - Rootborn Defenses and Boros Charm - in this case, the Charm would be much better for you.

More to the point, if counter-magic is an issue, you can only really deal with that via Cavern of Souls, Nevermore and, to a much lesser degree, with Curse of Exhaustion and some clever playing on your end.

I'll setup a trade and we can chat in there in more real-time.

We would want to do it via mail.  The only issue is that I would need you to send first via mail, as you currently don't have any positive feedback yet (it's no offense, but just kind of going by the way the site works). 

If you're up for that, I can talk with him to ensure things get squared away.  I'd imagine the close proximity would result in quick shipping and I'll ask him to put delivery confirmation on it as it'll be a trade over $40.

He has a Sublime Archangel up for trade too... would you do Sublime + a Reckoner for the 2x Deathrites and a Sphinx's Revelation?

I have a variety of thoughts here:

Sadly this sort of deck is unlikely to be very successful as currently constructed.  Guttersnipe being the main win-con is too vulnerable to removal AND a single Deathrite Shaman lets them keep pace removing your spells OR they can undo all your efforts with creatures in the yard.  Obviously cards like Thundermaw Hellkite and Snapcaster Mage would help, but I'm a big believer in making things work without all the big money cards.

So what could make it more competitive?  Here are a few options:

1) Blistercoil Weird for all his amusing qualities, really just doesn't get the job done.  I'd drop him and put in Thought Scour.  The milling component of it is just an added bonus, more realistically, it's a cantrip to draw more cards (improving consistency and otherwise providing card advantage).

2) Hover Barrier is there to do what exactly?  If you're just looking to stall out the opponent, why not simply have a suite of Unsummon effects?  I'm thinking specifically about how Aetherize works wonders to stop aggro decks or otherwise any threats that are normally out of range.  Sometimes just delaying their threat a few turns can be HUGE.

3) I'm actually a fan of Hypersonic Dragon in something like this.  It offers a poor-man's thundermaw, giving you a 4/4 flying haste, but more importantly, you can then cast sorceries at instant speed.  This is huge, as things like Mizzium Mortars is now at instant speed.

4) For your instants: Electrickery, Skullcrack, and Annihilating Fire are either SB cards or should just be dropped in favor of better versions of themselves.  So, for instance, Izzet Staticaster can provide you with almost the same ability as Electrickery AND gives you a 3 toughness blocker... so you could, in theory, flash him in, block a creature, AND hit all their tokens or whatever for 1.  Skullcrack really only helps against Sphinx's Revelation and Thragtusk (both are big issues for you), so you put 3x of them in the SB, but mainboard you'll likely want more versatile stuff like Mizzium Mortars, Pillar of Flame or Searing Spear.  For Annihilating Fire, in 90% of cases, Searing Spear is just better.  For those instances where you need the creature to exile, Pillar of Flame is a cheaper alternative that does almost as much damage.  Similarly, Inspiration can be dropped in favor of other draw effects.

5) Mugging is nice, but unless you envision attacking a lot (which you'll be inclined not to do with your snipes), Pillar of Flame is probably the better spot here.

6) You'll note I've actually mentioned most of what's in your SB as being cards that should be MB.  The SB needs to be more match or situation specific cards.  For instance, you've done well with Act of Treason and, in many respects, with the staticasters.  But Skullcrack isn't the best option for burn damage most of the time - you could easily slide it into the board and wouldn't really notice most of the time.  One SB card that I would definitely suggest is Curse of Echoes - it might cost 5 to play, but if you can squeak it out, it totally hoses any control deck completely.

There are a few other cards you're leaving out that I've found to be quite useful. 

1) Brimstone Volley offers a great burn option.  It might cost three, BUT, if timed correctly, can almost always be for five.  When paired with even a single Snipe, that's seven damage for three mana if timed correctly.  It's also nice to have something that will kill a Thundermaw or Resto Angel in a pinch. 

2) Unsummon/Cyclonic Rift - as I said earlier, even delaying something one turn could be huge.

3) Snipes almost beg you to run some counter magic.  Sure, Cavern of Souls is out there, but the number of things that you CAN counter without worrying about it are numerous.  A few Essence Scatters/Negates/Dissipates/Syncopates would likely be quite welcome in here.  Counter their creature AND hit them for two?  Why not?

4) You need some way to protect the snipes.  This can be done with either counter magic or with things like Mizzium Skin.

5) Goblin Electromancers - make those instants/sorceries cheaper?

6) Runechanter's Pike - this could make any of your relatively small goblins into a pretty mean fellow.  Equip it on a Frostburn Weird or Hypersonic Dragon and you're making some noise pretty quickly.  You can even use Thought Scour to mill yourself to offer more of a pump.

In all, sadly I tried a similar build before GTC hit and it was unsuccessful.  Perhaps more has come since then and the meta has shifted enough that such a build could make some noise, but that's yet to be seen.  I hope these comments help and remember three things: playtesting is your best friend, you know your local meta better than any of us on here, and remember to have fun with it.

Good luck!

769

(22 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I could see where adding black could give you quite a few options in terms of creating more copies with Evil Twin (which isn't THAT big of a threat to your guys, as they would have to both take your guy AND have black and blue mana left over to use its ability).   The added removal and the potential to use Jarad's Orders to go grab another visionary is a plus.  But keep in mind such a move dilutes your mana-base and you'll lose some consistency there.

If you're worried about things like Sever the Bloodline, that's what Nevermore is for.  Similarly, Mizzium Skin, Ranger's Guile, and Sheltering Word would all help there.

I think with four visionaries, four cackling counterparts, four clones, and two stolen identities will give you a pretty solid number of options for putting out the biovisionaries.  I would worry more about staying alive long enough to get all of them on the field (and protecting them when they get there).

tfiroo - is there something else you're looking for in the $3-5 range?  He has one reckoner left and would love to make a trade for both Deathrites.

771

(22 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I don't think there is a way to copy creatures for less than Cackling Counterpart.  Perhaps some ramping?  I wouldn't overthink it too much.

772

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So I'm admittedly curious, what is the win-con?  I can see Champion getting relatively big and Vexing Devil causing a few problems, but I don't really see where you're getting far beyond that.

Since you're looking to play with Immortal Servitude and already have red and black in the deck, why not toss in 4x Blood Artist and 4x Rolling Temblor.  The idea here is then to drop the Blood Artists, wipe the field, land the life gain/drain from the creatures dying, and then reanimate all of them with the servitude to repeat.  Given that the artists are at a two-drop, then you have the ability to toss in all sorts of other two drops - most of which are more dangerous on their own than many of your one drops combined (I'm thinking Ash Zealot, Strangleroot Geist, Flinthoof Boar, Elite Inquisitor, etc etc).

Anyway, it seems like a neat deck idea, although I'm not sure it will prove all that viable in a competitive setting; but definitely fun for the kitchen table.

773

(22 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Good call on the Nevermores.  I had been meaning to say that one but it slipped my mind.  I would, however, suggest kicking it up to 4x in the SB over some of the Infinite Reflections.  Three reasons for that move.  1) Infinite Reflection isn't really ideal as most of the creatures you're going to make will be token copies of Biovisionary (and as such, won't be affected by it); 2) it really is a win-more card considering how many pieces you already have for making copies of the visionary; 3) without hitting Nevermore reliably, a single Slaughter Games essentially ends the game.

Good luck!

774

(22 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I would drop the Parallel Lives for some Dissipates.  You're more likely going to want some added countering than the lives.  Sure they help you double the token copies, in the same respect, you're sitting on 14 some odd ways to generate/populate those tokens.  Having a Dissipate to deal with Sever the Bloodline could be huge.

I would drop 2x Stolen Identity for the reasons you identified.  I would slide in two Rootborn Defenses for the countless board-wipe control builds out there (and they offer you two more populate options).

I would, to be honest, drop Clinging Mists - you're sitting on enough damage prevention with Fog and Druid's Deliverance that you're probably going to be pretty safe most of the time.  I would even consider dropping the Sleeps as well, as, let's be honest, a well timed Aetherize will be a much heavier blow.  On top of that, you can totally lure them in with the Fog effects.

For the SB, I would toss in another 2x Aetherize and 2x Rootborn Defenses (pending you don't mainboard them).  Aside from that, the SB strikes me as a place to have some Centaur Healers for use against aggro matchups and a LOT more counter-magic to watch your arse against control matchups.

MovieFreak4702 wrote:

I had some help with this deck, which is a still a work in progress, but it's pretty strong so far.  There will be some substitutions soon as a few more cards come in but check this out.  Out of 5 matches I'm 3/5 against some blue/black milling and a white/green extortion so far:

http://deckbox.org/sets/314371


I'm guessing you meant to start a new thread MovieFreak4702?