Magic: The Gathering - Page 2

I haven't gotten any of the new set. Anything good for an elf deck?

Bloodbraid Elf is one of the strongest cards in a while. For the Magic online championships each of the top 8 decks were packing it as a 4-of. It's also uncommon so you might be able to get it somewhat cheap.

Red/Green and Green/Black varieties of Elf decks are not uncommon in Standard, though GB is somewhat more popular (and more effective). Both get some neat toys from the latest set, with RG bringing Bloodbraid Elf into the fold, and GB picking up the incredible Maelstrom Pulse. Both cards are pretty much the real deal as far as things go.

They're also two of the most played cards in the Block format, which is a nightmare if you ask me. I'm very interested to see what the next block brings to the table; I'm hoping that both Zendikar and M10 are good enough to break up what looks like a painfully boring Block format and make the new Standard into something more diverse.

I read what it does but can someone put it in layman's terms for me? I'm still at the point where deciphering what I can actually do is a bit confusing.

You play it and reveal the cards from the top of your library until your reveal a spell that costs less than it does. You get to play that spell for free.

It's super-cantrip.

Ahh okay, I was reading it incorrectly. Yeah, that's a great card, but it costs to much for my deck.

Thanks. I'll check it out.

Four mana? Or the cost in dollars?

After resisting this game for almost 15 years, some coworkers have just gotten me into it. I've never done crack before, but I have to imagine that it's just as fucking addicting as this game is.

Thanks for the links.

The mana.

Jesus H, this thread is middle school all over again. Except I played Overpower, the Marvel Comics card game *hangs head*.

NERD!!!!!!

"Calling Dr. Dork, your cardsleeves are on line one."

I'm amazed this game is still actually alive. I used to play in high school, which was like more than a decade ago. I have no idea where my cards are, which is a shame because I had some rare shit in there. Also, this thread made me want to break out my old Pestilence deck and annoy the fuck out of some people, just like old times.

yeah, hahaha FUCK YOUR PESTILENCE DECK CHRIS.

Someone is still touchy after 12 years...

Just a bit. And it's more like 14 years old man. Seriously, fuck that deck though.

Hey, post 3001! Fitting, considering I joined the boards because of Cotterman....

I haven't played since around '98, back when Sliver decks were all the rage. This thread is giving me the bug to play again.

Has it gotten better or worse in the past decade? I stopped right around the Urza Block.

A four mana elf with Haste and Cascade will get to attack + put another Elf on the board, or let you toss out a free spell... provided everything in your deck costs three mana or less. You should really consider it.

It ebbs and flows. The last few years have been pretty good... but come July they're changing a bunch of rules and terminology. Many players are upset.

I've just gotten back into the game since the other game I was playing (VS.) stopped actively producing cards and the group of people I played with want to keep playing something.

We've been playing Block Constructed using only Shards of Alara cards and it's been really fun. I think that's the way to go if you want to get back into the game. You start with the latest block and then expand with the sets as they come out. That way your cards won't rotate for two years or so. There's also quite a bit of variety in the set so you can build all kinds of different decks. I have 6 different decks (one for each 'Shard' and a red/black deck) and all are pretty good.

Also, I have no idea what the hell deck Bloodbraid Elf is too expensive to play in. If you can play it, you should.

It's a load of shit. There is one rule that does make things a bit more complicated and stupid (how group blocking is handled), but the rest were done to either make the game easier to understand and reduce abusive idiocy. There are a whole whack of retarded tricks you can pull by sacfricing a creature that's been lethally damaged that make no literal sense, but under the old rules are perfectly legal. People are mostly pissed at that, but fuck those people.

Yeah, I HATE the combat damage change.
Group blocking makes my head hurt.

The rest doesn't bother me too much though.

The group blocking thing only sucks because you can't just spread the damage out unless you have Deathtouch now, which is just stupid. I don't know how that makes things any easier to understand. I can maybe see them retracting this particular rule.

This is exactly what I've done. Same set even...

Maybe we're the same person.

Are you suggesting clones?

*Shudder*

About the Magic rules, I want to know just who the hell these alledged 'focus groups' were. Ever since Hasbro has pulled the strings, the game is becoming a money grab. Even though its still fun and I'll probably end up coming and going my whole life.
Really, look what they did to D&D... 4th edition is retarded.
My play group and I refuse to upgrade from 3.5.

The rules of the game have changed multiple times from it's inception. While the combat damage stack change threw me off initially, I'm not opposed to something new (which this is, since it's not a reversion to pre-6th Magic combat rules).

Gamers, in general, do hate change though, and if a gamer isn't bitching because "their" game is being changed by the game's developers, you'd better check his or her pulse. So I'm not totally surprised by the huge outcry against the announced changes.

That said, if the rules change now, then it stands to reason that card design will change to suit the new rules, and since developers are just like player there are likely tons of loopholes to discover and abuse in the new combat system, just as with the current one. Mogg Fanatic won't be as good as he used to be, but that doesn't mean combat isn't going to be strategic and interesting.

Man I'm outta the loop. What is this "stack" business? And how is combat different now than, say, 4th edition era?

Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black.

Ohhhhhhhh but everyone was taunting you! I just wanted to feel cool... In the Magic: The Gathering thread...

Oy.

They changed the combat rules back to how they were in 4th edition.

I've been playing hardcore since Ravnica block came back out (I had quit during Onsluaght block), but I think I'm going to be forced to step away for a while now (even though the last few blocks have been strong and its a great time to be playing), at least in the paper version of the game (long live MTGO).

Now that us über-nerds have come out of the woodwork, let's talk strategy and decks. I'm curious what formats you lot are playing and also if you guys are using sideboards. As I said, I'm sticking to block until M10, where I'll go to standard. My group hasn't started sideboarding yet, but we will when we run actual tournaments.

I've been playing hardcore for the last 3-4 years. I won my state's Championship 2 years ago in Standard and one of my testing partners won $5000 at the Pro Tour: Kuala Lumpur event last year (he finished 13th). I play every format (even Elder Dragon Highlander, an insane multiplayer format), but love Extended the most. The format I play the most is probably limited, since I draft every Friday night. I used to hate sideboarding, but since I started trying to qualify as a Pro, I've come to see it as a necessary evil at the higher level of the game.

Yes, I am an uber-geek.

I play Standard exclusively. It ebbs and flows and changes constantly, and keeps the game interesting for me. Currently I'm playing Massicard's Grand Prix winning Doran deck, with slight modifications and more to be made once M10 hits. Once we're in M10-land, I'll be making the deck more Elf-centric so that Gilt-Leaf Palace can easily replace Llanowar Wastes.

Block has me both worried and intrigued. I don't like a format where casting Enlisted Wurm can win the game right then and there. I also don't like seeing so many 5-color decks, and so many decks that are primarily dual-color but still end up being 4/5 colors because they splash for Black/White/Red/whatever. I'm hoping that Zendikar and M10 really open up Standard and make it more varied than what Block promises.

Yeah, I'm a pretty huge nerd. I admit it.

Not only that. But being cool in Middle School? Get the fuck out of here.

At least there's a social element to our nerdity. I'm surprised at the variety of people in the group I play in. I've met all kinds of interesting people playing cards over the years. Some are literally insane.

Anyway, I think people are underestimating block. Cascade is absurdly good, but there is still a vast array of playable stuff. Two top decks play with little or no cascade cards (Esper and Bant). Look at top 8s for block format and you might be surprised by some of the stuff that wins. I know I was. A lot of it comes down to the player, too.

I love this particular block because of the multicoloured aspect. You can come up with some weird and awesome stuff by crossing over various colours. I know this can lead to stagnation in a format, but there is a significant level of hate available for any given strategy that I think it's a wide open field.

Also, no deck should auto-lose to an Enlisted Worm. Obviously it depends on what it cascades, but there's so much creature removal a single big creature isn't such a big deal any more. Terminate and Path to Exile are pretty much musts for their colours.

EDIT: I played Overpower, too. I was far more excited for it than Magic 'cause I got to play my favourite characters. It was a good game, but I didn't know how to play it all that well. Back then we traded our cards a lot more than we actually played. I've played probably 6 or 7 card games with any regularity since around 94 or 95.

Check the T8 for Honolulu. Basically every deck aside from the Glaze Fiend decks are built around four-color+ strategies that abuse Cascade. Essentially, they all do the exact same thing but with slight variations in their cards and strategies (some being controlish and some being aggressive).

Enlisted Wurm also isn't a threat because of the creature itself, since as you point out it's vulnerable to every spot removal spell in the Block, but because it can potentially read as:

4GW

Put a 5/5 Green and White Wurm token into play. Then deal 4 damage to target creature. Then put a 3/2 Green and Red Elf token with Haste into play. Then destroy target non-land permanent and each permanent in play with the same name.

This is definitely rare, but certainly not unlikely. It's also pretty awful that this can happen at all, because if it does, then there's nothing you can do about it. The real problem with this is that because so many decks revolve around Cascade, and because those decks are generally 4 colors at least, a large majority of the field has a chance at this kind of Nut Cascade.

My solution of course is to avoid playing Block, but I am taking note of the popular decks as potential skeletons for new Standard builds.

I sound like such a fucking nerd. Excuse me while I go post in the Red Sox thread to compensate.

I need to re-read that top eight. Either way I think the block is really fun. Is your area full of people who feel the need to play the top decks all the time? My group plays all kinds of different stuff and almost none of it is like what I've seen in the top 8s. Also, a cool trick for all this nonsense is using Double Negative on a cascade. A buddy of mine now plays four in his 5 Colour Control deck for that reason.

Standard seems kind of a pain in the ass, too. That Swans deck is insane. Faeries and Tokens both look like a nightmare.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38664

Did anybody know that there is an Xbox Live version of this coming this Wednesday?

I've been playing block as well. Took the deck I posted above to FNM last week and went 1-3. Not bad my first time out to FNM in a new city. It was a good way to get a feel for the metagame. The player who took 9th at Pro Tour Honolulu plays there, so that was pretty cool.

My losses all revolved around Kithkin and Kitchen Finks. Everyone (including me) use Cascade's ridiculousness. Double Negative is very effective against it. I made some changes to the deck and its much more consistent now. Pro-White 2/2's and better mana quality go a long way.

Double Negative is good but the casting cast ruins what is otherwise a really good hoser (this coming from someone with loves U/R - even rolled with a U/R counterburn deck at a recent PTQ).

Ethersworn Canonist is by far the best hate against cascade. I'm surprised it hasn't truly caught on.

I've been doing well with a Countryside Crusher deck (using Knight of the Reliquary as a combo aggro sort of build - love combo/aggro: Kavu Justice is one of my favorite decks). It (the deck) actually made a top 8 somewhere.

Personally I love Standard right now. It's never been more diverse. Especially for those of us who stuck around during Affinity.

Swans is all but dead at this point. The problem with playing combo is that when the combo becomes popular and catches on and proves to be effective, everyone hates it out, and combo is easier to hate out than any other deck archetype. Between enchantment kill and, more importantly, the ever-versatile Pithing Needle, Swans has pretty much left the building. I'm sure some brave souls are still playing it but to little avail-- aside from all the sideboard hate out there, now Fae is back on top, and aggro-control decks like Fae punish combo-based strategies.

Fae is mostly tough depending on what you're playing. BW Tokens is fine, and both matches are very winnable if you have the right sideboard plan against them. I notice a lot of people are beginning to remember that GB Elves and Kinkin both exist, and I think both of these decks are strong enough to warrant some sideboard hate.

The Jund aggro decks that are out there are pretty good, too.

Banandar, you must be talking about the Countryside Dreamcrusher deck that won the Atlanta Regionals? Seems like fun. And yeah, Canonist is a hoss against decks that try to abuse Cascade...I picked up a full compliment of four quickly before the price (potentially) increases.

For those of you looking to get back into the game (even on a casual level) Zendikar is a great set. It has a treasure hunting theme that's very flavorful. In addition, Wizards has hid some of the older cards in various packs, so players can join in the "hunt" for treasures.

I was fortunate enough to find a Time Walk in one of my boosters.

I'm so happy I was able to resist getting into this back in the early days. I have friends that spent literal fortunes on the cards. But no, I had to go and get married and all that crap....

I was on the pro tour circuit for a couple years in the early days but lost interest due to the limited life span of the cards and the tournament environment becoming ruder and ruder as time went on.

These days I get my card fix from Vampire: the Eternal Struggle. Less jerks, and a more social game.

I'll second the EDH love. Games go long, it's a great multiplayer format, and you get to play with a lot of cards you may have forgotten about.

I had the pleasure of smashing face with an Admonition Angel at last weekend's Pre-Release event.

I haven't looked at any of the Worldwake cards yet, and my unstoppable elf deck is now only half legal so I'm trying to decide if I want to make some modifications or come up with a new theme completely. So much to do...

Thanks for the info, my buddy and I are going to give this a try later.