Magic the Gathering!

[Slayer89]

Gonna head over to a buddy's to play now. Been playing GR Aggro lately. A pretty stock list except with Red Sun's Zenith for Undying guys and a 2/2 split of swords. Took it to my first big event and despite some big misplays made 84/330 that day, so not horrendous.

 

[ittoa666]

Gonna head over to a buddy's to play now. Been playing GR Aggro lately. A pretty stock list except with Red Sun's Zenith for Undying guys and a 2/2 split of swords. Took it to my first big event and despite some big misplays made 84/330 that day, so not horrendous.

GW is effective? I'm guessing you ramp to something huge, or travel prep everything. Either way, Avacyn's Pilgrim.

 

[Xaios]

First card of the new set spoiled today.

 

[ittoa666]

She can't be tragic slipped'd, but my o rings love the look of this. They really want people to play black white in this format, and I don't know how I feel about that. All I can hope for is 2013 being absolutely ridiculous. I wanna see some steroid titans.

 

[Slayer89]

Yeah, she can be tragic slipped. But I highly doubt she'll see much constructed play. 8 mana for a no haste, no immediate effect beater is iffy when Elesh Norn is available.

 

[ittoa666]

Yeah, she can be tragic slipped. But I highly doubt she'll see much constructed play. 8 mana for a no haste, no immediate effect beater is iffy when Elesh Norn is available.

I don't think she's great, but a nice draft bomb if you get her.

I think I forgot how indestructible works. Oops.

 

[AnarchyDivine88]

I used to play Magic when I was a kid. I had a black and green Biorhythm deck that I constructed which revolved around drawing the Biorhythm card (I had 4 of them) from the deck. It was filled with cards to kill the opponents creatures outright (such as Visara the Dreadful) and draw cards from my deck, and then once I drew Biorhythm I would play it, which would make each of our life totals equal to the number of creatures we had on the field. Since I killed all their creatures, I would win immediately upon playing the card. Kinda cheap, I know I won almost every time with that strategy and eventually no one would play with me I haven't played since.

Idk how much the rules have changed since, so maybe none of that even makes sense anymore. It was fun, but I'm not into that stuff anymore. I don't even know what happened to all my cards.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Xaios]

I used to play Magic when I was a kid. I had a black and green Biorhythm deck that I constructed which revolved around drawing the Biorhythm card (I had 4 of them) from the deck. It was filled with cards to kill the opponents creatures outright (such as Visara the Dreadful) and draw cards from my deck, and then once I drew Biorhythm I would play it, which would make each of our life totals equal to the number of creatures we had on the field. Since I killed all their creatures, I would win immediately upon playing the card. Kinda cheap, I know I won almost every time with that strategy and eventually no one would play with me I haven't played since.

Idk how much the rules have changed since, so maybe none of that even makes sense anymore. It was fun, but I'm not into that stuff anymore. I don't even know what happened to all my cards.

Just thought I'd share.

It's still a legitimate strategy, but Biorhythm is too expensive to see play in most formats (Vintage, Legacy, Modern) and it's banned in EDH.

And yeah, the honeymoon for Avacyn has worn off a bit, but I still think she'll be an awesome card in EDH. The main reason that she isn't great in the current standard meta is that there are answers for her currently that people are actually playing (Oblivion Ring, Tragic Slip, Vapor Snag). Same reason Phyrexian Obliterator didn't see much play beyond casual tables until Dark Ascension came out and mono-black became a legitimate deck, due to the presence of Dismember. However, the only card currently in Standard that will be around to deal with her post-rotation is Tragic Slip (although I wouldn't bet against them reprinting O-Ring in M13).

In EDH though, the only cards that exile anything that see much play are Path to Exile, Swords to Plowshares and Duplicant. Even O-Ring doesn't see a lot of play, and the only bounce spell anyone plays is Capsize. Throw on a Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots or Champion's Helm, though, and she becomes VERY difficult to deal with.

 

[ittoa666]

I really hope the change the o ring art this time around. I'm also still hoping for the titans to get reprinted a third time, or at least be replaced by something new and cool.

 

[ShadowFactoryX]

every couple months i go through and look at whats out

still cant get back into it since i left after ravnica

skullclamp/ravager i miss you

 

[Slayer89]

Yeah, Avacyn is definitely cool, but I mainly play Standard, so it's how I evaluate most new cards at first, haha.

So I just sleeved up a Knowledge Pool deck. It's preeeeetty bad right now, but I'm going to make it at least FNM viable. My current goal since my "serious" deck is pretty well tuned.

 

[WhiteWalls]

I really hope the change the o ring art this time around. I'm also still hoping for the titans to get reprinted a third time, or at least be replaced by something new and cool.

I don't like the titans because they are just so much better that any other 6 casting cost creature available so there's no chance for other stuff to see play, I would prefer something a little less powerful

I miss skullclamp/ravager too, even if that format was so broken that wizards had the lowest average tournament attendance ever during that period

 

[ittoa666]

I don't like the titans because they are just so much better that any other 6 casting cost creature available so there's no chance for other stuff to see play, I would prefer something a little less powerful

I miss skullclamp/ravager too, even if that format was so broken that wizards had the lowest average tournament attendance ever during that period

It doesn't help that they are in EVERY deck either. I do love sun titan though. Nothing like Venser'ing one and bouncing everything back from the grave, which brings me to my next point. I'm not a big fan of the focus on graveyard play in standard right now, unless we're talking about undying.

 

[WhiteWalls]

It doesn't help that they are in EVERY deck either. I do love sun titan though. Nothing like Venser'ing one and bouncing everything back from the grave, which brings me to my next point. I'm not a big fan of the focus on graveyard play in standard right now, unless we're talking about undying.

Yeah sun titan is a bit different because at least you have to do a bit of work to make it good, unlike grave titan (drop 10 power on the table for 6 mana, problem? )

 

[Xaios]

I really hope the change the o ring art this time around. I'm also still hoping for the titans to get reprinted a third time, or at least be replaced by something new and cool.

I also hope the O-Ring art gets changed for M13, but not because I don't like the current art. Most people I talk to prefer the Lorwyn art most, but I like the Alara art most for that card. However, variety is the spice of life, and new art certainly couldn't hurt.

Regarding the titans... no, they've gotta go. R&D already admitted it was a mistake to print them again in M12. As fun as they are to play with, they make a lot of other cards obsolete by their presence. It's similar to how, when Jace was around, certain other cards, great cards in their own right, were useless such as Hero of Bladehold. I picked up a full set of them for $4 each when Jace was around because Jace (and Caw Blade in general) made them worthless, now they're worth $15. The only titan in existence with a better option in Standard is Frost Titan, and that's because a) it's the worst titan, and b) Consecrated Sphinx and Dungeon Geists also see play.

So I just sleeved up a Knowledge Pool deck. It's preeeeetty bad right now, but I'm going to make it at least FNM viable. My current goal since my "serious" deck is pretty well tuned.

No offense, but there's just no way Knowledge Pool will ever be a viable card for anything except 2 things: 1) EDH (Knowledge Pool + Teferi = GG), and 2) kindling. It's a TERRIBLE card.

 

[ittoa666]

I see what you're saying. I wonder what's gonna replace those beasts?

 

[Xaios]

Hopefully something new.

 

[Xaios]

So, my EDH playgroup as of late has been devolving into nothing but "MUST WIN AT ALL COST" combo. Admittedly, I'm quite guilty of building decks like that. So, I decided to try and build a deck that focused around fun. And where does fun come from? Playing gigantic splashy creatures!

So, I built a new Animar deck:

General (1):
- Animar, Soul of Elements

Creatures (43):
- Artisan of Kozilek
- Avatar of Slaughter
- Avenger of Zendikar
- Cold-Eyed Selkie
- Consecrated Sphinx
- Draining Whelk
- Edric, Spymaster of Trest
- Experiment Kraj
- Farhaven Elf
- Forgotten Ancient
- Garruk's Horde
- Heartwood Storyteller
- Inferno Titan
- Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
- Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
- Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
- Krosan Drover
- Loaming Shaman
- Mulldrifter
- Mystic Snake
- Nin, the Pain Artist
- Novijen Sages
- Nullstone Gargoyle
- Phyrexian Ingester
- Phyrexian Metamorph
- Primeval Titan
- Primordial Hydra
- Primordial Sage
- Riku of Two Reflections
- Sakashima the Impostor
- Seedborn Muse
- Silklash Spider
- Simic Sky Swallower
- Solemn Simulacrum
- Steel Hellkite
- Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
- Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
- Terastodon
- Trygon Predator
- Urabrask the Hidden
- Venser, Shaper Savant
- Vigor
- Yavimaya Elder

Artifacts (8):
- Cloudstone Curio
- Darksteel Ingot
- Gruul Signet
- Lightning Greaves
- Sensei's Divining Top
- Simic Signet
- Sol Ring
- Whispersilk Cloak

Enchantments (6):
- Doubling Season
- Leyline of Anticipation
- Parallel Lives
- Rhystic Study
- Warstorm Surge
- Wild Pair

Instants: NONE!

Sorceries (4):
- Biomantic Mastery
- Hull Breach
- Rite of Replication
- Spitting Image

Planeswalkers (1):
- Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Non-Basic Lands (22):
- Ancient Ziggurat
- Arid Mesa
- Breeding Pool
- Cascade Bluffs
- Command Tower
- Flooded Grove
- Hinterland Harbor
- Minamo, School at Water's Edge
- Misty Rainforest
- Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
- Raging Ravine
- Reflecting Pool
- Reliquary Tower
- Rootbound Crag
- Rupture Spire
- Scalding Tarn
- Steam Vents
- Stomping Ground
- Sulfur Falls
- Temple of the False God
- Tropical Island
- Vesuva

Basic Lands (15):
6x Forest
6x Island
3x Mountain

There's a few cards that I still want to put in. But it seems to be running pretty darn well so far. And it is a LOT of fun to play, even as a casual deck.

 

[Slayer89]

No offense, but there's just no way Knowledge Pool will ever be a viable card for anything except 2 things: 1) EDH (Knowledge Pool + Teferi = GG), and 2) kindling. It's a TERRIBLE card.

No, considering the amount of terribly slow decks people like to play at low level FNMs it's perfectly viable. Turn 3/4 Curse of Exhaustion followed by a Knowledge Pool is enough to make most FNM goers scoop after explainging what will happen. Even if you do it too fast without setting up a wincon, lol.

But no, I have my real deck. This is just a shitty little annoy randoms combo deck for when I get bored, lol.

 

[Slayer89]

Also, I have to say, I love Huntmaster of the Fells. IMO, the best "fair" card printed in a while.