201

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So at the moment, sadly, Bant is just not as good as the separate U/W control and U/G "flash" creatures builds.

Look at what you have here for a moment.  Your deck is currently fragmented between three totally different strategies.

1) Some sort of enchantment/aura build your own beater deck.  Hero of Iroas, Hopeful Eidolon, Eidolon of Countless Battles, Ethereal Armor - these are all cards that you would want in such a deck.  If you were to run green in said deck, it would only make sense to bring in the relevant green cards for such a deck.  Namely, I'm thinking Gladecover Scout, Fleecemane Lion, Witchstalker, Unflinching Courage, and things of that nature.  You would also likely want to bring in things like Battlewise Hoplite and perhaps even Daxos of Meletis.  Note that given this strategy, you would almost NEVER want Supreme Verdict, nor would you need Prophet of Kruphix or Medomai the Ageless.  Further, Kiora, the Crashing Wave is essentially just frivolous for said deck.

2) Some sort of Bant control deck.  Supreme Verdict, Detention Sphere, Jace, AOT, Kiora, Sphinx's Revelation - these are all control cards.  Here you would want to drop almost all the creature base for Aetherling and the other associated control cards.  The problem being, U/W or even Esper Control are just better in terms of controlling the field and generating card advantage.  Further, without Elspeth, Sun's Champion they will just beat you.

3) Some sort of U/G creature flash deck.  Prophet of Kruphix is among the most underrated cards in the Theros block thus far.  The ability to play it and then immediately get value if it survives into the opponent's turn makes it like a super Burning-Tree Emissary.  If it sticks around for 3-4 turns, it can easily win the game for you.  BUT, if that's the case, you wouldn't want to run so many auras as you cannot cast them as their bestow versions at flash speed.  If you want to go such a route, you can run Kiora, but you would also want to run things like Arbor Colossus, Polukranos, World Eater, Prime Speaker Zegana, and things of that sort.

So, having said all of this, I think the best strategy would be to approximate one of the three and wait until Journey hits to see what exactly Kruphix is capable of doing and some of the other options available.  If you're set on a three color deck, I do think that BUG will likely work more effectively.  Sadly Bant just doesn't have the "oomph!" needed to get there just yet.

I hope this helps.

So a few thoughts.

1) Master of Cruelties seems to be essentially your only win-con in game 1.  Monoblack devotion will simply scoff at this (they have TONS of answers).  R/G "Monsters" (I really HATE when people call them monsters and not creatures...) will likely flood the board out with stuff that you don't really have answers to and could easily just chump him while they smash you.  U/W control can also answer him relatively easily - Jace, Architect of Thought's +1 actually just blanks your win-con.  I would suggest finding room to move at least 2x Aetherling into the main to give you at least SOME backup plan.

2) Quicken is here just for the cantrip, no?  It strikes me that you would be better suited to simply have another removal or draw spell here - I'm thinking Dreadbore, Hero's Downfall, something along these lines.

3) Rakdos's Return is a tremendously underrated card that can be absolutely backbreaking.  I would suggest upping the count in the main - it can also take out a PW while causing the opponent to empty their hand as you can redirect the damage while still forcing them to discard.

4) 2x Shock?  It might cost 1 more, but Magma Jet would at least  help you with card sorting.

5) I know they're getting a TON of play at the moment, but Desecration Demon fits nicely into your plan here as they offer a hard to answer threat that can both help stabilize the board for you, but more importantly give you SOME sort of an added threat.  In a pinch Hypersonic Dragon is a really underrated threat if you're trying to work on a budget... certainly not optimal, but an option to consider.

6) Anger of the Gods can be really backbreaking for a lot of decks... I'd think maybe going up to 3x in the main could be good.

7) Some other cards to consider in some number include: Slaughter Games, Hero's Downfall, Erebos, God of the Dead, and Pack Rat (it's lame, but it works...).

I really want Grixis to work myself, but I think we're going to have to wait until Journey spoils and we get both Keranos and the Izzet scry land before it's really going to be viable... and even then it's something of a crap-shoot.

Certainly give it a go, but I can say that I played someone running almost this exact list on untap.in earlier and I was running a REALLY rough, actually pretty bad, Junk list and I simply steamrolled him.  The more polished decks (tier 1) won't even slow down...

203

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Sebi, the site admin, is typically pretty good about getting these things added quickly.  He's been working on the next release of the site, so it might take a little bit longer than normal - but I would envision the set will be added in the coming week.

204

(3 replies, posted in General Discussion)

From a purely technical standpoint, with no tracking, anyone could claim that your cards never arrived.  To this end, much of the trading done on here is done on the honor system.  However, as stated in the trading rules section, you'll note that it is recommended that you use tracking if you're ever in doubt as it is the sender's responsibility to get the cards to the other party - with any luck, they'll be upstanding enough to be honest about whether they received them or not (also a good reason to typically deal with people that have existing rep if possible).

Now, speaking from personal experience, you really are just taking a risk.  Thankfully every trade I've made has arrived safely, tracking or no, but that's not to say that something couldn't have been lost in the mail.  If it's a small trade (say less than $10), most people will send it without tracking with the knowledge that it could be lost and they're just out of luck (such is the price of doing business this way I guess).  For anything over say $30, I would say to ALWAYS use tracking as, if nothing else, that covers your rear in the event something gets lost.

Sorry to hear something got lost... but odds are if you maintain clear communication with your trading partner, you'll be able to work something out.

205

(7 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

There is another release of the site coming very soon, but I don't believe this added functionality is currently among the new features.  Is there a site similar to TCGPlayer that operates in Europe and has pricing in Euros?  I know that the pricing for the site is taken from TCG's API, so without a comparable one in Euros I don't know how feasible this would be.

So the suggestion I often will make to newer players is that it might be worthwhile to first go 'scout' your local FNM before you go to play in it.  The reason for this being, it makes sense to see how competitive the environment is before you dive right in.  Admittedly as a newer player you probably should expect to lose quite a bit (we all have to learn at some point), but if your FNM is populated by super competitive players who are just running the tier 1 net-decks, well, it just isn't going to be as much fun to play (regardless of whether you're winning or losing).

I'll take a closer look at the deck ideas on Friday and will hopefully be able to give you some feedback on what would make them run more smoothly.

207

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

celotex24 wrote:

Here is the problem with that. That basically puts me back at The pre-core intro pack, which lost to most of the intro packs, before they were all tweaked. Now everyone that I am playing is using a better version of the deck they started with, which would destroy me if I stayed with the original. I needed to make some big changes. One, being the mana curve. I have plenty of removal, but the good removal costs too much to cast and I generally lose early. And also, I think black is a good splash. With Necropolis Regent I'm replacing a Sealock, which is expensive. I'm in the same boat either way. It is difficult to get those giant creatures out even with it being a red/blue.

The simple fact is, you haven't pulled anything that would really justify the move into three colors.  Your fixing isn't good enough to assure you the ability to consistently reach a BBB mana cost to even put down the Regent - making it a dead card in your hand.  I think the best idea would be to revert back to straight R/U for the time being just because those are the best colors you have at the moment and hope you pull something worthwhile out of the packs you get in the coming weeks... such is the way limited pools work... sometimes you pull something awesome and the deck rocks, other times, you just don't get anything special and the deck rocks, other times you just pull crap and lose because you can only play crap...

But for the moment, you just don't even have the needed number of cards in another color combination to really explore other pairings... sorry...

208

(8 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Certainly an interesting concept.  My suggestion would be to try to really hone in on two colors perhaps with a tiny splash of a third if there's a piece that's really worth it.

Based on what you're sitting on, I'm seeing you running only four black cards in your deck... you could easily cut them for red or blue pieces.  Specifically, I'm thinking you'd want to bring in a second Lightning Strike, Omenspeaker, and either Traitorous Instinct or Rage of Purphoros.  You're losing Necropolis Regent - arguably the biggest loss as it's a serious bomb, Grim Roustabout - no biggie, and two removal spells - these hurt too, but if you slide in the red burn, you should be in the clear.

Sadly you're not sitting on a lot of real power here as your rares and uncommons are pretty lacking (it would suck in a sealed pool too...).  I'd also suggest making room for Frostburn Weird and a few other bigger items from your "inventory" - specifically, you can lose things like Bellows Lizard at the bottom end of your curve as almost nobody can pull off aggro victories (and you have removal for smaller targets with your burn) in sealed/limited.

I hope these help some...

209

(4 replies, posted in General Discussion)

To further clarify in case there might be confusion:

As VampireArmy said in #2, Glorious Anthem does not provide any +1/+1 counters to anything; rather, it simply boosts your creatures on its own as long as it is in play (as a state based effect if you really want the nuts and bolts).  This means that the answer to your first question is - NO, you cannot proliferate those +1/+1 bonuses as technically there aren't any counters produced by Glorious Anthem.

Now, more generally VampireArmy is correct about how proliferate works - you can add an additional counter of any type whenever you proliferate.

To specifically answer your question regarding Renegade Krasis, as Glorious Anthem does not place counters, not matter how many times you evolve it, it wouldn't add anything else to your other creatures (unless of course they already have counters).  So let's work through two examples:

1) You have Renegade Krasis, Glorious Anthem, and Elvish Mystic. If you play an Elusive Krasis it would trigger the evolve for Renegade Krasis making it a 4/3; however, as nothing else has a +1/+1 counter at that point, nothing else would gain any counters.

2) You again have a Renegade Krasis and Elvish Mystic but this time you also have a Battering Krasis.  You play an Elusive Krasis and will have two evolve triggers, one for the Renegade and one for the Battering.  You can stack those evolve triggers however you like.  In this case, it would be best to put the Renegade evolve on the stack first and Battering second (as they resolve in reverse order).  Then the Battering Krasis would evolve, becoming a 3/2 (with one +1/+1 counter) and then the Renegade Krasis would evolve, making it a 4/3.  The second ability of Renegade would trigger and add a second +1/+1 counter to Battering Krasis also making it a 4/3.

Does this make sense?  Let me know if you need further clarification.

My reasoning for not doing any of the colorless lands is because three-color in standard is already slow enough with the temples... the last thing you want is to get stuck short on one color.  Sure, Sylvan Caryatid and Frenzied Tilling can both help fix the colors, I'd rather not run into issues with colorless.  That's not to say that Mutavault wouldn't work here, but personally I'd prefer the more stable color base rather than the 2/2.

Ember Swallower should go in here and I just need to figure out where it fits (SB or main)... I'll have to think about what goes in that spot.  The four is pretty crowded with Bramblecrush, Demolish, and Kiora, the Crashing Wave but I can give it a go and see what it does.

I dig the mystics though as they REALLY help speed the curve.  A t3 Frenzied Tilling is SUCH a tempo boost.  The Primeval Bounty also makes it so that they're not dead cards later on.

Ral is in the SB to give some damage power and added ramp effects... It would also be hilarious to get him to ultimate, but unlikely.

Peak Eruption is a GREAT sb card as I can slide it in against any red deck in place of Demolish to get even CHEAPER land hate, while also doing damage.  It's also hilarious to let them Chained to the Rocks a Primordial only to erupt the Mountain, get the Primordial back, destroy another land, and get another land.

I'm starting to think Aetherling really is my best option for a finisher.  I'll up it to 2x in the board and will look for places in the main where I might try to slide it in.  Wreck their land and gain tempo, then I end up with pretty much the most inevitable win-con in the format... yeah... that's good.

Nessian is a bit questionable but definitely better than Stormbreath in here.  For once the tribute effect isn't a big deal as both options work in my favor.  It's either a 3/3 that destroys a land/walker/enchant/artifact (working for my plan) OR it's a 6/6 for 5 (which is pretty efficient mana-wise).

Definitely good thoughts...

Another fun point, Kiora's Follower paired with Zhur-taa Druid is actually tons of fun.

So I saw someone running a version of this at gameday and found it to be rather comical, and surprisingly potent - I watched it single-handedly dismantle both Selesnya aggro and Jund midrange.  So I decided to tweak and actually build in a few win-cons.  I'm open for peoples' thoughts.

The deck is available here: http://deckbox.org/sets/628705

First off, I know this isn't tier 1 by any stretch of any imagination.  This is an FNM deck that can be run for a bit of fun here or there.

Second, for whatever reason I'm absolutely intent on trying to make Kiora, the Crashing Wave and Kiora's Follower work in something and this strikes me as of good a place as any.

Third, the splash of blue gives some card draw in Divination, Kiora (one win con), Kiora's Follower possible added ramp or untaps of various things ranging from Zhur-taa Druid to attackers allowing me to keep the lands up, and Cyclonic Rift (overloaded this card is HILARIOUS especially when the opponent doesn't have any land left).

So, what I'm I looking for input on? 

First, I'm curious if I should tweak things to raise the curve a bit (or conversely whether I should cut some lands).  The current setup has so many mana dorks AND 24 lands, meaning that I'm flooding out more than I am coming up short.  Perhaps something else gimmicky like Borborygmos Enraged would work?

Second, I'm not entirely sure on the sideboard beyond Peak Eruption and Aetherize I'm sort of just stabbing in the dark at the moment.  I could do a closer look at the current meta and whatnot, but, to be honest I didn't want to put THAT much effort at the moment.  I'm normally pretty good at this, but this is such a different strategy than I've ever even thought about... anywhom, any input is welcome.

Before we immediately dismiss the deck, consider that I can be destroying land as early as T3, meaning that the opponent will seldom get above two mana and it can LOCK THEM OUT - I can only imagine how many people have sworn me out on Untap as I've been tinkering with this thing - that is to say this thing is crazy fun to play and quite funny when it works.

212

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

First, I'll second eliterawr's suggestion that you need to pick up Blood Crypts to help with the color fixing.

Second, I recognize that minotaurs are an expensive tribe to run, but I'd suggest trying to lower the curve.  Specifically, Deathbellow Raider gives you a decent added two-drop.  If anything, it would be better than Minotaur Skullcleaver if for no other reason than because of the one added toughness.

Third, I would lower the count of Fanatic to 2x, and in exchange up the count of Rageblood Shaman to 4x.  The lord effect of Rageblood is far more important and will end up benefiting you more often. 

Fourth, maybe it's just me, but I've found that Door of Destinies can be amazing for tribal decks (even in standard constructed play).  Sure it costs four to play, but if you top-deck your two-drops, then you're already dropping something much more powerful.  Give it a whirl, maybe it makes it, maybe it doesnt.  It's worth a shot.

Fifth, Dreadbore is a cheaper option than getting a 4th Hero's Downfall but gives you more answers to opposing threats (including PWs).  You could easily swap them in for Doom Blade as the BR cost isn't going to be hard to manage.

Sixth, you want at least 3, if not 4, Rakdos's Return in your SB to deal with controlling decks.  Simply put, you're going to hit a wall against anything control-oriented.  The ability to zap the opponent for 3-4, redirect to kill their walker, AND cause them to drop their hand is HUGE and often will just end the game.

I would also look at having some number of the following cards either main or in the SB: Madcap Skills, Chandra, Pyromaster, Drown in Sorrow (gotta love that three toughness for most of your minotaurs), Bile Blight (for opposing Pack Rats), and Whip of Erebos.  These will give you more ways around the opponent, more options for one-sided board wipes, answers to major threats, AND lifelink in the event you're trying to race your opponent.

I hope some of this helps.  Good luck.

213

(7 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

First off, there really isn't much need to have a discussion about the most dominant deck in the format.  It's good, if you have the cards, just go with the version putting up the best results these days.

Now, for the actual decisions you're looking at making, I still think if you're going to splash something, splashing green or white is a much more effective route than red.  As much as I would like Rakdos something to be tier 1, you need the ability to remove enchantments and red just doesn't give that to you.

As for the "outside the box" cards you were referencing at the end, Abhorrent Overlord is a better option than Lord of the Void or the Primordial.  If you have any meaningful devotion, it will make a bunch of harpies, then you can sac it to itself, reanimate with the whip and get even MORE harpies.  Then again, this is hardly a new idea as Travis Woo and many others would've proposed it months ago.

Anywhom, I would just run the established list if you're going to run mono-black... but that's just me.

214

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

Moreover, you might be able to get it to go off in game 1; but in games 2 and 3, they'll likely let you over-extend into it.  You cast Swift Justice and potentially Boros Charm to get it going, they kill Reckoner in response to 3-for-1 you.  It, like any infinite combo, will win a few games here or there from the combo but is likely too cute to actually get the job done.  Nevermind that the U/W decks out there are actually built to wait it out - they can easily deal with your threats and, while you have infinite life, they can just control the board and wait until you mill out (Jace, Memory Adept or not).

215

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

The simple fact here is that they're essentially the exact same deck and the decisions of the 3-4 cards you're moving from the sideboard to the main and vice-versa should be based on your local meta and the types of decks that you typically run up against.

Personally I would run the second one, but that's really just me as I think Domestication will give you a LOT of added power - but again, that's just my preference.

216

(2 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

The deck appears to be standard legal.  The reason it is not identifying as such has to do with the set and format legality definitions (which Sebi has assured me he is in the process of updating).

From a more deck-centric perspective, I would say that there are a few sub-optimal cards in the deck that you could easily swap out.  For instance, Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage will almost always end up just being a 2/2 for 2 - not definitely a bad thing, but it certainly doesn't advance the aggro strategy in the ways you want.  I could see dropping these for a pair of Banisher Priests or Brimaz, King of Oreskos (budget willing of course).  Additionally, I think Unflinching Courage would be better served in the sideboard - as it opens the chance of getting two-for-one'd in several scenarios.  You could easily slide in a variety of cards in its place - Precinct Captain, Spear of Heliod, or even Hunter's Prowess (nothing like an aggro deck that can reload its hand with a single swing).

I can see the appeal of 1x Trostani, Selesnya's Voice for more mid-range games.  But perhaps you might move her to the board too in exchange for some number of Courser of Kruphix (it's not exactly an aggro card, but it helps provide card advantage AND life gain)?

217

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

This combo was a thing for a week or two back when GTC first hit with Reckoner (especially when Nearheath Pilgrim) was still standard legal.

That being said, it's requiring a lot to go just right in order for it to go off.  You're certainly welcome to try and if you're in American colors anyway, it's worth a shot, but I'd hardly think it a good idea to structure the deck around it.

First off, no problem.  The whole idea behind these forums is to provide useful feedback.  I'm glad it was able to help you.

That being said, for the board if you're struggling against Jund or mid-range decks, you would be better suited to have some added mid-rangey power cards in the board to slide in.  Angel of Serenity is an easy one.  Elspeth is also pretty much a given, as would be something like Heliod.  You might also want something to try to go around the threats they're going to be sitting on.  Whether those come in the form of Banisher Priests in the board or even Ajani, Caller of the Pride to get you there.

Brimaz really doesn't have to stick around for long to really have an impact.  Just think of how many times he was hit immediately today... now think about how many of your other creatures survived as a function of Brimaz drawing so much attention.

Ultimately, there really just are some decks that have great match-ups against others.  The fact that Anger of the Gods, Drown in Sorrow or any other sweeper will just hose you in a LOT of instances.  You're well suited in most of your match-ups and that's about the best you can hope for.  Such is the beauty of the game, as if there were a deck that just beats everyone else, well, everyone would just play that deck.

Paranoid Delusions really is just too fragile as even if you put it on a rogue, it can still be lost via any removal the opponent has.  You're much better suited with Breaking // Entering in the main as it manages to mill more than 2x Delusions for the exact same mana cost (and if you splash red, you could even cast the entering side of the spell too!).

220

(4 replies, posted in Site Discussion)

So my understanding is that this exact functionality is being revised/repaired as the addition of BNG in addition to the changes in the bannings for modern have caused a few cards to be in flux.

That being said, you can look at your inventory for anything that's standard legal by using the "editions printed in" filter and selecting everything from Return to Ravnica up to Born of the Gods... it SHOULD pick up all your older stuff that's been reprinted in the latter sets.

So the customary first comment, milling is making your job three times harder than it normally has to be.  Typically doing 20 damage is a lot easier than trying to mill the opponent for approximately 50 cards...

That being said, a few questions and thoughts:

1) I'm assuming you're looking to keep this standard legal?  Is this for casual play or are you aiming for competitive play like FNM?

2) How are you building a mill deck without Phenax, God of Deception in some quantity?

3) You've left out some of the most promising mill cards in the format.  Breaking // Entering anyone?

4) From a build that I've tinkered with a bit (http://deckbox.org/sets/481277) I've found that U/B control with the splash of mill is a far better option than trying a more creature centric route like you have. 

5) Many of the creatures you're sitting on really just don't get the job done when compared to other threats and in some cases are even counter-productive (i.e. Wight of Precinct Six has promise, but keep in mind that Ashiok and Nightveil Specter exile stuff, keeping it from hitting the yard).

Anywhom, I hope some of this is productive or helpful.  Milling is certainly a fun route in the kitchen table, but in a more competitive format it really just doesn't get the job done unless it's executed perfectly.

222

(2 replies, posted in General Discussion)

The way trample works is the attacking player must assign what would be fatal damage to the defending creature(s), with any remaining damage continuing onward to be assigned to the player.  It is important that only "fatal" damage need be assigned, as it is relevant in these sorts of situations or if the trample creature happens to gain deathtouch.

So to state things as clearly as possible using your example:

The 5/5 trample attacks and is "chump" blocked by the 1/1 indestructible.  Pending no other spells are played and this is the final blocking arrangement, you would proceed into the "assign damage" phase of combat.  You, being the attacking player would be given the choice in how much damage to assign to the defending creature (think of trample as being much like them blocking with more than one creature where you get to choose how damage is assigned).  You would only have to assign 1 damage to the blocker as technically that is all you would need for it to be "fatal" damage, regardless of any abilities the creature has that would prevent said damage.  The remaining four damage could be assigned via trample to the defending player.

Does this make sense?

The reason for the distinction of assigning "fatal" damage is relevant for indestructible, regeneration, other prevent damage abilities (see Fog Bank), and deathtouch.  Note that if the 5/5 trampler were to get deathtouch, they could technically block with 10 toughness across three creatures and you would only have to assign 3 damage (one to each creature) for it to fit the "fatal" damage requirement, allowing you to actually trample through with 2 damage in that scenario.

I hope this helps.  I can clarify more if you still have questions.  Lastly, there's no need to apologize, if you're learning the game and need to ask questions, that's what this forum is here for.

223

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

For one, just look at the pro-lists for this one... trying to invent the same thing yourself is silly.

That being said, I think it would be better to have Devour Flesh in your SB over Pharika's Cure.  You have Drown in Sorrow to deal with aggro decks, so Cure is redundant... but by adding in Devour it lets you have at least one possible answer to Blood Baron of Vizkopa (who will single-handedly beat MBD).

Given the current make-up of the deck, there isn't much point in running Nykthos.  Now if you wanted to actually deviate from the pro-list into some less conventional, but potentially more powerful/backbreaking plays, then you would go that route... but at current, there's no need.

224

(1 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

There isn't really any sort of app of that nature out there.  Further, deckbuilding is half the fun of the game... it's an opportunity to be creative or even a bit wacky.  Just identify the format, a color, a few cards, anything and build around that.  You'll be amazed how quickly you can put something together... then try it out, does it work?  If so, cool.  If not, why not?  Then try to improve it.  Were you able to fix it?  Etc... etc...

I can honestly say I don't know anyone on here will go to the time to just outright build a deck for you, but if you come up with one we'll certainly give you some input.

225

(10 replies, posted in General Discussion)

Not that I'm aware of.  If you have HIGH end stuff like the Power Nine, rare Alphas or Betas, things of that nature, you can probably have the cards professionally rated through similar services as with sports cards, but again, as most of us aren't sitting on cards of that value, I seriously doubt anyone here can tell ya.  I would suggest going and talking to someone at a store that specializes in sports and other higher-end collectables to see what they can tell you.