I'm going to keep things easy for the last part of the year-as a matter of fact, this can be the last post of 2023. I've got some time to build up posts for January, so I'm going to do that.
For the Kynaios & Tiro deck, I decided to stick with Thaumatic Compass, instead of getting distracted by all the shiny possibilities I could take.
And that's it! Have a safe New Year everyone!
First: it wasn't strictly a pillowfort deck. I was able to generate a ton of tokens, providing a steady stream of pressure. With just a few boosts, from Retreat to Kazandu and Dictate of Heliod, my small threats became sizable enough to have a meaningful impact on the game.
And in a match with Kardur, Doomscourge; Ravos, Soultender and Tana, the Bloodsower; and Hazezon Tamar, I felt I had things to do. I was able to recover from board wipes, and still keep myself in the game. Certainly, it helped that my Commander was difficult to remove but hey, that's a them problem, right?
One weird card that showed up which I really questioned was Realm Seekers. How did that card not get cut?
You can even see the card in play in the picture-it has 16 +1/+1 counters on it (represented by the white die), which would make you think: Hey, that's great!
But by the time I can play Realm Seekers, I've already got all the land I want. In a four color deck, having cheaper mana fixing is a much better idea. I'm actually thinking Thaumatic Compass might be a great idea.
Thinking about it, some of the other transforming lands from Ixalan might be worth considering, since I can bounce them and replay the transformed side for value. I have some very interesting choices.
Here's what I ended up adding to Kyniaos & Tiro
Ghost Town
Rampaging Baloths
Improbable Alliance
Moruaug, Fury of Aksum
Xyris, the Writhing Storm
Jolrael, Mwonvuli Reculse
Emeria Angel
Retreat to Emeria
Irengrag Pyromancer
Mind's Dilation
Psychosis Crawler
Treva, the Renewer
Consecrated Sphinx
Spellbook
Asceticism
Mad Ratter
Triskaidekaphile
Aragorn, the Uniter
Rumor Gatherer
Faerie Vandal
Retreat to Kazandu
Flawless Maneuver
Arcane Signet
Amareth, the Lustrous
Whew, that's quite a list! Let me talk about what I was thinking in overall themes, as going card by card seems unnecessary.
Effectively: I tried to break it down into: cards that would give me an advantage when I played a land, cards that gave me advantages when cards were drawn, and some protections from having to discard my hand.
I also ran the deck through Deckstats to tweak the mana base a little. Removed a Mountain and Island for a Treva's Ruins and a Simic Growth Chamber.
The card I'm most pleased about adding? Ghost Town. When was the last time you thought of Ghost Town!?
Look at ALL this stuff:
Deep Gnome Terramancer
Demolition Field
Invader Parasite
Martyr's Bond
Mind's Dilation
Smuggler's Share
Consecrated Sphinx
Smothering Tide
Xyris, the Writhing Storm
Zurzoth, Chaos Rider
Wedding Ring
| Instant 1 Arcane Denial 1 Benefactor's Draught 1 Oblation 1 Beast Within 1 Entrapment Maneuver 1 Reins of Power 1 Sylvan Reclamation 1 Consign to Dust |
Artifacts 1 Sol Ring 1 Empyrial Plate 1 Howling Mine 1 Commander's Sphere 1 Temple Bell 1 Assault Suit 1 Prismatic Geoscope 1 Venser's Journal |
| Enchantment
1 Evolutionary Escalation 1 Oath of Druids 1 Ghostly Prison 1 Propaganda 1 Rites of Flourishing 1 Sphere of Safety 1 Lurking Predators 1 Hoofprints of the Stag 1 Dictate of Heliod |
Sorcery 1 Minds Aglow 1 Collective Voyage 1 Cultivate 1 Kodama's Reach 1 Tempt with Discovery 1 Wave of Reckoning 1 Migratory Route 1 Seeds of Renewal 1 Reverse the Sands 1 Treacherous Terrain 1 Blasphemous Act 1 Cleansing Meditation |
| Lands 1 Ash Barrens 1 Azorius Chancery 1 Command Tower 1 Evolving Wilds 1 Exotic Orchard 1 Forbidden Orchard 1 Frontier Bivouac 1 Gruul Turf 1 Homeward Path 1 Izzet Boilerworks 1 Jungle Shrine 1 Krosan Verge 1 Myriad Landscape 1 Mystic Monastery 1 Opal Palace 1 Rupture Spire 1 Seaside Citadel 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 1 Terramorphic Expanse 1 Transguild Promenade 5 Plains 5 Island 5 Mountain 5 Forest |
Creatures 1 Veteran Explorer 1 Humble Defector 1 Hushwing Gryff 1 Orzhov Advokist 1 Chasm Skulker 1 Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer 1 Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist 1 Selvala, Explorer Returned 1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest 1 Akroan Horse 1 Selfless Squire 1 Windborn Muse 1 Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa 1 Horizon Chimera 1 Psychosis Crawler 1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs 1 Kraum, Ludevic's Opus 1 Realm Seekers 1 Rubblehulk 1 Progenitor Mimic 1 Blazing Archon 1 Archetype of Imagination |
"What if I had a deck that just took care of all the problematic permanents?"
2 Rith, the Awakener
1 Cloudchaser Eagle
2 Aven Cloudchaser
2 Tephraderm
4 Flametongue Kavu
3 Elvish Visionary
1 Godsire
3 Uktabi Orangutan
3 Stonecloaker
3 Civic Wayfinder
2 Meglonoth
3 Reinforcements
3 Rith's Grove
1 Naya Panorama
8 Forest
6 Plains
6 Mountain
3 Lava Burst
4 Gift of the Gargantuan
Well, the answer is: you do all the things sorta and none of the things well. In this respect, this deck isn't living up to the song it's named after.
This is a frequent theme in decks I build. I rarely want to focus on the one thing; I want to have outs to problems, instead of insisting that my opponents respond to me. I've been getting better about this, but I still have to fight against those tendencies.
Cutthroat is a fine example of the old way of thinking and that's a good reason to retire this one.
Land destruction is always a messy business.
2 Verduran Emissary
Some notes taken from the last run of Warhammer Conquest games! The plan was to play the decks in a best out of three, but to change the planet systems between games.
I know, another deck I've gone over.
It seemed so neat! But I also have multiple decks in G/B using this theme.
4 Gluttonous Slime
4 Festering Goblin
3 Young Wolf
3 Viridian Zealot
3 Reassembling Skeleton
2 Wolfir Silverheart
2 Sidisi, Undead Vizier
2 Reaper of the Wilds
3 Leaf Gilder
4 Gutter Grime2 Hero's Downfall
3 Tragic Slip9 Forest
9 Swamp
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Darkbore Pathway
2 Garruk Relentless
The theme isn't even entirely focused, either. What is Wolfir Silverheart doing here, aside from being a big monster? This deck really wants Gutter Grime to create an overwhelming advantage but then doesn't include an engine to really sacrifice creatures with. I just expected they'd die due to normal gameplay!
That's relying on my opponent to execute my strategy and that is deeply unwise.
This one was named after the best song Weedeater ever did. Honestly, they probably should've retired after this song, because I don't think anyone can top it.
Still here we are:
1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
3 Kami of the Crescent Moon
2 Psychosis Crawler
2 Dragon Mage4 Words of War
4 Jilt
4 Repeal
4 Bewilder9 Island
3 Izzet Boilerworks
4 Scalding Tarn
8 Mountain2 Preordain
4 Wheel of Fate
3 Rolling Thunder
3 Serum Visions
While the idea is to use Words of War in combination with basically every red card drawing effect ever, and supplement WoW with Psychosis Crawler for a victory condition, Wizard Fight also had to run cards like Kami of the Crescent Moon. KotCM helps everyone, and the support cards I added in just weren't punishing enough.
Rolling Thunder is too slow and I don't have enough mana in here to make it truly dangerous. Jilt, Repeal, and Bewilder aren't even close to being a strong enough suite of cards to help keep the game in my favor.
This is probably a deck that if I refashioned it into a combo deck that used Blood Oath or Sudden Impact to do damage and Arcane Laboratory to control the board, would be more interesting to play. And since it turns out, I already have a deck like this, letting Wizard Fight! go is for the best.
But the name is awesome! Maybe I'll reuse that.
Note: No posts next week, as I'll be away for Thanksgiving and quite likely playing a lot of Warhammer 40k Conquest.
For this pre-release, I got to go with my friend Rebecca to do the Two-Headed Giant format at Red Castle Games!
RCG really rocked the house, running a great tournament and we had a lot of fun. Here's my vague-ish notes.
We were able to put together a mono-Black deck for Rebecca, with a low curve and a lot of removal, and with the rest of the cards a Red/Green deck for me to pilot was available.
Round 1
Of course we lead with a link to the spoiler list that we can all read.
I want to start this off with brief look at mechanics and an example of making something harder than it ought to be.
We have in the same set, Descended, Descend 4/8 and Fathomless Descent.
All of these things do different stuff and yet use the same root word because that stuff is also similar.
First, I thought they learned from the Threshold example, where WotC has admitted that it would've been better to have Threshold work like Threshold N, where they list a number and cards care about if you've hit that number or not, instead of tying it to a specific number.
Why not just have Descend (n)? You can set that number to anything-including X!-and do exactly what they want to do, while still allowing for some flexibility. Plus, you've just reduced your keywords from three to one.
Worse, they are using different words to do the same thing. Look at Starved Revenant-Descent 8- and Stinging Cave Crawler-Descend 4.
They can't even get the templating right!
Second, while I understand that making sets thematically cohesive in every way you can matters, it shouldn't come at the expense of clarity. Since Descended is only a triggered state, using that word when you also have Descend in the same set means that you've increased the mental costs for players.
I'm trying to read spoilers and getting confused. It's irritating because I know they could just write it as a triggered ability. Taking Broodrage Mycoid from the article as an example: At the beginning of your end step, if a permanent entered your graveyard from anywhere, etc etc.
It works exactly the same and it doesn't increase the complications.
Moving on.
White
I really like the art on Dusk Rose Reliquary.
Fabrication Foundry is doing something interesting: mana rocks in White are unusual. That it's tied to artifacts makes sense but it's unusual. I was not expecting an artifact subtheme in this set but given the narrative themes, it makes sense.
What's really interesting to me, so far anyway, is that this might be the first artifact set WotC has done where there isn't a clearly broken artifact. Maybe? The effects are powerful but the costs to Craft is keeping that in check.
Favorite dinosaur: none. Soaring Sandwing is fine for a common but I don't like the art there.
Blue
Cogwork Wrestler is a neat card with great art. I like this. Confounding Riddle too, and I have been a fan of effects like Confounding Riddle since I saw Supreme Will.
I'm also a fan of Tishana's Tidebender and what it does. Feels a little out of place in Blue-the exile part is very White-but I like the toolkit the card provides.
Favorite dinosaur: you know, for a setting that is supposed to have dinos everywhere, there are remarkably few dinos. I mean. Marauding Brinefang will do but c'mon!
Black
Bloodletter of Aclazotz lets Black get in on the 'double damage' train Red has, and I dig it. Also, I really want to try the Bloodthorn Flail in my Madness deck. This seems very strong.
This color is the first place where I'm really noticing a difference in the art in regards to setting. A lot more cavernous zones, contrasted with pieces like Synapse Necromage or Malicious Eclipse that are a little silly and a city scene, respectively.
Favorite dinosaur: Sigh. I guess the Vistage of Dread will do.
Red
Huh. I thought Etali had been corrupted by the Phyrexians, but apparently they're still around to bestow favor upon folks. I'm ok with that!
Inti, Seneschal of the Sun looks like another neat card for a Madness deck.
Favorite dinosaur: why are the dinosaurs here all so ugly! This sand-brown color is entirely lacking in comparison to their cousins in the original set! So I'm giving this one to Dinotomaton.
Green
It's hard not to look at Glowcap Lantern and not smile. It's cute!
While I'm seeing some solid cards here, there's nothing catching my eye that stands out. Even Ghalta seems fine, but hardly mind blowing.
Favorite dinosaur; Easily the Pathfinding Axejaw. Dino with a headlamp? Hell yes.
Multicolor
Some nice cards here to help build up or around for decks. Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar seems very cool, and Quintorius Kand has an ability I've never seen. Should be good for the brewers!
Artifact
Can't say too much flashy here: the Hunter's Blowgun is a nice blend of function and flavor, and I love Throne of the Grim Captain and The Millennium Calendar.
Lands
It is great that Cavern of Souls is getting a reprint. I like the caves thematically, and more crittur lands are always fun. Sunken Citadel seems like it could be HUGE, I'm just not sure where, yet.
And that's it. This set feels fine right? I'm not overly excited about anything here but nothing stands out as being bad or good. The basics are all there; now I just need to see how it plays out. Is Craft really a thing? How much of a pain is the "descent" mechanic to remember?
Also, I don't get much storyline from these cards, and I feel like that's a missed opportunity. The art is outstanding and really does help separate the inner world of Ixalan from the outer but the only story event I can see happening is a bat god creating eternal night.
Is that the way it ends?
Still, good job, let's have some fun!
All of my free videogaming time has gone into Remnant 2, since it was released in July. With the new DLC being announced yesterday, now is as good a time to talk about the game.
The opening statement alone should tell you something about how much they improved on the first game. It's primary gameplay loop perfectly in tact, the team at Gunfire Games focused on making a better experience overall, from the options to build your characters in interesting ways, to providing challenging but not severely punishing bosses and arenas to fight in...mostly.
The game is so packed with interesting secrets, it feels like I find something every week-which since I've logged in over 200 hours, is impressive. The game still feels not just worth playing, but challenging enough to be enjoyable.
I'm given so many options and with some forethought and practice, nearly any kind of build I want to make is worthwhile. It is just fun to play.
There are some drawbacks: the so many options part means that sometimes, the game's organization can be really challenging. There are over 100 different rings you can pick and while having them in alphabetical order is helpful, breaking them down into further categories would be nice. Unfortunately, there are so many options that I'm not sure that's feasible!
Armor is effectively cosmetic in this game and I'm hard pressed to decide if that's a great decision or merely an OK one. Fashion is fun to run on your characters, and having one less thing to think about for players is nice. We're already so focused on spec-ing out our characters for maximum value, adding defense doesn't really add much.
Still, it would feel nice to have a little more say in the character than weigh class & looks.
And, like many games of its type: Remnant 2 requires players to have access to the internet to really get the most out of it. There are so many secrets (as noted above) that there is just no way to find all or even most of them without guidance.
Though I feel that's less of a negative and just a state of the industry right now. Guidebooks have always been useful but they weren't always necessary. Games like Remnant 2 make them required-if you're like me and want to dig into all that.
On the other hand, the game is also content to let you play through it as often as you like, and let you miss or acquire or ignore whatever you want. In the end, I think that's better design.
So I like it. I like it a lot.
It really just became time to admit that the Blue/Black version of this deck from 20 years ago, was much better.
3 Patagia Viper
3 Raven Familiar
3 Wirewood Elf
3 Chasm Skulker
3 Seedborn Muse
1 Verdant Force
4 Symbiotic Deployment
1 Verdant Embrace
9 Island
9 Forest
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Alchemist's Refuge
4 Temple of Mystery
3 Temporal Spring
3 Ponder
3 Fallow Earth
3 Plow Under
3 Donate
I wanted to love this so much. Donate Symbiotic Deployment to deny your opponent cards? Let's do that!
I suppose part of the problem was in the follow up plan: Fallow Earth and Plow Under might be backbreaking if I'm ahead, but Wirewood Elf and Patagia Viper are not the cards that help put me there.
The other one is that the old school Donate/Illusions decks really did do this better. Why stall out the game when you can win it?
I haven't touched this deck since Urea's Block and it shows, right?
2 Skull of Orm
3 Smokestack
3 Chimeric Sphere2 Opal Acrolith
1 Opal Archangel
2 Opal Champion
2 Opal Gargoyle
1 Opal Titan
1 Lurking Evil
2 Lurking Skirge
4 Tainted Aether3 Mortify
4 Dark Ritual3 Tainted Field
1 Serra's Sanctum
7 Plains
9 Swamp
4 Godless Shrine2 Wrath of God
4 Vindicate
A very old notion for a control deck, this one wanted to use removal coupled with creatures that weren't always creatures to overwhelm the opponent. Sweep the board with Wrath of God, use Vindicate and Mortify to take out everything else
The trick is that a card like Opal Acrolith needs my opponent to do something for me to get a win condition. That might work in a Limited environment, especially when the card works with the others around it. In an environment with a bigger card pool, those necessities can leave me cold.
Then with cards like Lurking Evil, I could end up paying a ton of life for a sizable creature with evasion-but no protection. It can be chumped by the smaller fliers out there, and eaten alive by not just removal, but cards like Murktide Reagent.
So let's let it go.
I really wanted this deck to be a thing. Unfortunately, even after revamping it's just a RBG goodstuff deck that gets rescued by Pernicious Deed.
1 Darigaaz, the Igniter
4 Thunderscape Familiar
3 Gravedigger
1 Boneyard Lurker
1 Doom Whisperer
1 Battle Mammoth
2 Toski, Bearer of Secrets
2 Immersturm Predator
4 Circuit Mender3 Pernicious Deed
2 Darigaaz's Charm
4 Terminate
2 Play with Fire3 Darigaaz's Caldera
3 Jund Panorama
6 Swamp
5 Forest
6 Mountain3 Bond of Flourishing
4 Agonizing Remorse9 Sideboard
SB: 3 Hurricane
SB: 3 Hull Breach
SB: 3 Duress
I suppose the biggest problem here is the lack of vision for this deck. If this is going to be a RGB goodstuff deck then...where's the goodstuff? If it's going to try to discount the GB spells then where's the enablers beyond four Thunderscape Familiars?
This deck is all over the place and needs to be set to rest. I can reboot the idea sometime with mroe focus.
What a mess this one was/is.
4 Energy Chamber
3 Engineered Explosives
4 Pentad Prism
3 Clearwater Goblet
2 Golem Foundry
2 Lux Cannon2 Treasure Hunter
4 Etched Oracle
4 Skyreach Manta3 Inexorable Tide
2 Clockspinning
2 Swamp
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Creek
2 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Academy Ruins
2 Mountain
2 Island
6 Forest
2 Plains
2 Tolaria West4 Rampant Growth
I get what the concept is: just abuse the ability to put counters on things to win. But whoa, what a bunch of nonsense. So many 'well it'll be neat if it works!' ideas without dedicating to an idea that would work.
It'll be good to dismantle this one: it is just so clunky. The manabase is all over, the consistency just isn't there and at no point is this deck truly doing something powerful.
They're changing the way boosters are being done again.
Honestly, I'm not bad about it. I've said before that there are too many products and they're just confusing customers with all of this nonsense.
And as a product, I think that Play Boosters seem just fine: they allow for a Limited experience, which is important for community reasons, and a collector experience, which is important to other players.
All in all I think this is a good thing and hope it makes for a better experience for us.
Joyful Reunion is one of those decks that has a better combo that I'm just stubbornly refusing to utilize.
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Carrion Feeder
4 Heartmender
4 Juniper Order Ranger
4 Kitchen Finks
2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast2 Abeyance
4 Tragic Slip
2 Silence
3 Altar's Reap7 Forest
1 Murmuring Bosk
3 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Evolving Wilds
4 Sandsteppe Citadel
4 Shattered Sanctum2 Safewright Quest
2 Caravan Vigil
2 Oust
The original combo involves Melira, of course, but then sensibly used Murderous Redcap and a sacrifice outlet to win. Using Kitchen Finks is a great way to not die, but it isn't as effective a way to win.
So, like many almost got there decks I have, the Glory of Cool Things is winning out over doing something well. If the deck was still fun, I suppose that wouldn't matter, but I just haven't put that kind of spin on it-and I don't know that I can. So let's let it go.
There is a lot to like about the Surge 2...but in the end it asked me to git gud one too many times and hid too many things behind doors I couldn't open.
I've played enough From Software games to know that the difficulty level is high, so any game following in the From model isn't an automatic turn off for me. And the Surge 2 did a lot rigbt!
There was a neat setting, with some excellent level design. I always felt glee when I discovered a new passageway around an area. The shortcuts felt earned, and as if they respected my time: Hey, you did the slog already. Here's a way to avoid that.
The battle system reminds me of Bloodborne in its pacing. A more staccato move-strike-move element to it than many other games of the genre, that rely on a more plodding rhythm. I vastly prefer this style of combat so I felt like I adapted to this well.
But, the first git gud moment-the Little Johnny battle- was almost enough to get me to quit. Given the responses I saw online, I wouldn't've have been the first person to decide that they were done with the Surge 2. Fortunately for the game devs, I was sick that week and what else is there for me to do but dedicate some time and really ace this battle!
Which I did. So well, in fact, that I walked out of it with full health.
OK, that feels good let's-wait. There's another boss fight right now? That I am getting my ass kicked by?
Ah. Yes. The real "git gud" training moment.
Admittedly, it was my fault for not banking my experience: I've played enough Soulslike games to know that if you have the opportunity to save and use your exp, you do it. I got cocky, the game reminded me of that, and I kept at it. I still felt rewarded: more secret passageways, more demonstrable mastery over the combat system. The grind wasn't too bad.
Then I got to the second environment and the game decided to test my blocking skills, which I had none of.
Git Gud, baby.
Except this test was being brought by a basic enemy of that environment. The first one and while I was able to work out how to beat it, every time I fought this enemy it was a slog, not a demonstration of my further skills over the combat. And they were all. Over. The. Place. Because as with any Soulslike, every time I died, they respawned.
I didn't feel good about this and instead of looking at these opponents a something I knew how to beat, I just felt dreary having to do it over and over again. It didn't help that the enemy lock-on feature (one that is incredibly helpful for this particular enemy) was a little too easy to unlock from said enemy. This meant that at critical times, the camera would swing wildly around and I'd get punished for something that didn't feel like my fault.
There was one other thing I found frustrating and that was this: early in the game the player comes across ziplines that are clearly meant for future yse. And while I acknowledge that this is a good way to prevent players from getting into places they shouldn't before they are ready, it started to feel like they were everywhere.
Then I realized that there were two different kind of ziplines! As in: I would need two different kind of hooks to access them. When those lines would go to someplace that I could see-that I had already explored!-it felt really, really bad.
It's a shame, because I was enjoying so many other things about the Surge 2! There is talent on display and knowledge, at least in some ways, of how to reward players in a decent gameplay loop. Heck it might even be for gamers who are, frankly, better than I am at videogames.
But the makers of the Surge 2 do have a new game coming out soon and I'll admit, I'm interested.
Wish is one of those decks I built in an attempt to have all the answers to a problem. As you might imagine, it did all of the things kinda, and none of them well.
3 Aven Cloudchaser
3 Viridian Shaman
3 Azorius Guildmage
3 Azorius Herald
3 Coiling Oracle
2 Treva, the Renewer
4 Diligent Farmhand
3 Stonecloaker
3 Fleetfoot Panther4 Repulse
4 Muscle Burst7 Forest
6 Plains
3 Treva's Ruins
3 Seaside Citadel
5 Island2 Supply // Demand
Built in the days before planeswalkers, the goal here was to use Aven Cloudchaser and Viridian Shaman to keep any difficult permanents off the board and the combo of Stonecloaker and Fleetfoot Panther to reuse the effects.
Repulse could buy me time against difficult creatures, I basically had it all covered!
Except the thing about control decks is that they have access to answers when they need them, not that they are all answers all the time.
So, let's put these lands, if nothing else, into a better deck.
I think it's fair to say that if I've been through a deck and am not more interested in playing than I was, it's worth retiring.
3 Whispersilk Cloak
2 Stigma Lasher
3 Kris Mage
3 War Elemental
2 Blood Knight
2 Mogg Fanatic
3 Hazoret the Fervent
3 Stromkirk Occultist4 Seal of Fire
4 Chain of Plasma
4 Fiery Temper
4 Fireblast2 Forgotten Cave
21 Mountain
I still believe there's something to be said for the risk/reward of having almost no hand size; Hazoret the Fervent is a pretty great payoff. Seal of Fire is perfect for the theme, Stromkirk Occultist keeps the cards coming.
I think I have to admit that the card I want to build around, War Elemental, is the problem here. Big dumb dorks that don't have an impact on the board are not helpful for winning games of Magic and it's time I let this concept go. There are several cards that will be better served in decks with tighter themes or better lynchpins and I look forward to adding them.
And...as much as I hate letting this one go, I am doing it. Partly because when I picked it up, I was wondering; how the heck does this even work??
2 Druidic Satchel
3 Gruul Signet
3 Mitotic Slime
4 Golden Hind
3 Hound of Griselbrand
3 Valley Rannet
3 Skyship Stalker
3 Flametongue Kavu
2 Countryside Crusher
2 Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar
2 Demanding Dragon
3 Cream of the Crop
3 Primitive Etchings
8 Forest
7 Mountain
4 Gruul Guildgate
4 Sheltered Thicket
1 Domri Rade
I hate to say it but t his deck is 100% the Glory of Cool Things, right? The Cream of the Crop/Primitive Etchings combo is neat but it doesn't actually win the game. It just draws cards, which might be fine if it came online early. Instead this deck ends up doing almost nothing for the first three or four turns.
That just isn't going to work out well. There's probably some consistency that could be bolstered, too: a Primitive Etchings on turn three is better than four, but it's so clear that I'm dealing with some scraps to get this going, right?
No one was ever going to be thrilled with Golden Hind as a mana accelerant, and the payoff cards just aren't strong enough.
But it's OK. There will be another way to use these things!
Named after the White Zombie banger, we have:
4 Wonder
4 Oath of Scholars
4 Zombie Infestation4 Boomerang
3 Counterspell
4 Circular Logic
4 Aether Burst1 Underground River
6 Island
3 Dimir Aqueduct
5 Swamp
4 Fetid Pools
4 Sunken Hollow2 Upheaval
3 Infest
1 Decree of Pain
4 Crippling Fatigue
So what's up here? Well, the goal is to use Zombie Infestation to ensure that my hand size is always smaller than my opponent's. That way, Oath of Scholars always triggers, ensuring that I have more cards to pitch to Zombie Infestation.
Then big brain play is to have 8 mana available, cast Upheaval, then Zombie Infestation, then pitch the hand for all the zombies, and win. And if that doesn't happen, there's always making flying zombies with Wonder.
The problems were: 1) there was no ramp, so getting to 8 mana meant waiting 8 turns (Dimir Aqueduct aside). 2) I don't have any other sources of card draw aside from the Oath, so the deck is extremely reactionary, without a way to filter through my cards to get what I want or need to get out of a pickle.
Because either I've got Oath/Infestation out and I'm winning. Or I don't and now I need 8 mana to get to what I need. This is not going to be a successful deck. Plus, since I need to discard my answers to stay in the game, and cards like Crippling Fatigue, while useful still put pressure on my life total.
So you're getting retired; maybe this combo can be useful in a different deck, and maybe it's worth salvaging at a future date! But for now, going to put Super-Charger Heaven away.
I've been reading 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman and in an attempt to enable better focus on my part, as well as get things done, I've realized that I just have too many decks. I still do, but you have to start somewhere, right?
I'm starting here. I have gone through all of my 60 card builds and decided that there were decks that just weren't fun for me to play. So instead of trying to force myself into playing them, why not eliminate these decks and utilize the resources elsewhere?
When I started playing Magic, there was no mechanism to build and test decks without physically building and testing that deck. But that was 27 years ago! I just kept doing things that way because that was they way I learned to do them.
Time to find a better way. I'll still use these decks for The Retired series, and I'll keep digital versions of them in Cockatrice. I'll always have the template, and I don't have to actually store and maintain something in my brain that isn't helping me.
Yes, the title is clickbait.
Except where it isn't. Here is the official WotC card image gallery. By way of contrast, here is the official March of the Machine gallery. Further contrast: MTGNexus gallery for Wilds of Eldraine, so you can see the difference.
The official gallery is full of information that offers an incredible amount of noise. Who approved that?
Thanks, I hate it.
Now, let's talk about the set, which I'm much more positive about!
White
The color feels very standard this set. Nothing stands out, which is a little surprising since White is supposed to be associated to Auras specifically. But it's not bad, either. I'm just not finding something to talk about-not the art, nor the mechanics; they work, they just aren't raising my eyebrows.
Blue
I really want Chancellor of Tales to be a bit beefier. I understand it needs to have a mana value of 4, otherwise it becomes breakable, but even with flying, a 2/3 isn't going to make the cut in a constructed deck.
And Extraordinary Journey seems very expensive. I suppose it's meant for Commander but as an Enchantment, I'm not sure it offers players the board wipe they want. Despite that, it's very in Blue as a color.
I really dig the tension represented on Ingenious Prodigy.
Black
There's something obvious that I'm missing about Ashiok, Wicked Manipulator's first line of text, because it's just so weird. There's something that they want to keep us from breaking easily, otherwise the card wouldn't be quite so expensive.
I appreciate the candy-themed monsters in this color. They are both creepy and fun, keeping the lighter elements of the set while still providing some excellent monstrosities.
I'm also curious if Not Dead After All is referring to Ayara, Widow of the Realm, letting us know she didn't die in March of the Machine. If that's the case, then I'm more interested in the story of this set than I was before...but I don't see much throughline in other cards. Perhaps a plot detail they will pick up in a future set?
Red
I've got a Rats deck and I'm keeping it around for now because of what Red is doing in WoE. We'll see how it plays out.
There's a few interesting takes on Red's abilities-Food Fight for example-but I'm really struck by the art for the color in this set. I feel like they really got to capture some great stuff. I can't pin any one point down, but overall I like what's been done.
Green
Feral Encounter is a weird card. It wants to do a LOT, but I don't know that it's worth it.
But the rest of the color seems to be falling into the same place White is: everything is fine, but nothing is standing out.
Multicolor
In WoE, the multicolor stuff feels like icing on the cake. There to illuminate draft archetypes, spotlight cool characters, and reinforce the set's mechanical themes. I actually like how this is handled.
Artifacts and Lands
Actually I can say much the same here as I did about multicolored cards. Nothing truly amazing, but all well blended into the set overall.
Overall; I like how they've decided to treat Auras in this set, working around the card disadvantage aspect of them. I don't appreciate the sheer number of them: the execution feels very inelegant. Still, there's some positives there.
I welcome back Adventures, those were always neat. I like the incorporation of different sorts of fairy tales, not just the reliance on Authurian legends that WoE brings. That really expands the world in positive ways.
I'm not so big on Celebration. The "nonland" clause makes me think it just won't be helpful as often as you'd like. Similarly, though Bargain fits very nicely into much of the set, it is a drawback mechanic that has me wondering if the Bargains are worth paying for. However, there are already Aristocrats decks out there, so perhaps something in Black or Black/Red could be really intriguing in the constructed realm.
All in all, I like where this is going and am looking forward to the pre-release!
Round 1 vs Wann on Cephalid Breakfast
Game 1: I was able to resolve a Sudden Edict while they had the Nomads on the table, then move to a Tourach, Burning Inquiry, line. After an attack for 5, I dropped a Buccaneer to swing for 7 and pull off game 1.Last Friday's results:
I may've mentioned it before but: I have concerns about where WotC is taking Magic, insofar as it is a game you can just pull out a deck and play.
Let me expand, because it's never been entirely true that one could just play Magic. Even in the pre-internet era, you wanted dice or counters of some sort. Plus there were references to rulebooks to help guide people through tough situations, but that era was (mercifully) short. Once the online presences were established, having a way to check what a card says and how it works became just part of the experience.
A small one, though. One that wasn't always necessary but one that was nice to have as a backup.
With the first D&D expansion, this changed: now we needed reference cards to keep track of something, in this case the Undercity, then the Initiative, and now the Ringbearer. These things differ from a mechanic like the Monarch, because only one person is the Monarch at a time, and only one thing happens when you're the Monarch: You draw a card at the end of turn. This kind of mechanic can easily be noted with any kind of token.
I firmly believe the rise of what I'll call 'tracker' mechanics is due to the success of Magic: Arena. Arena has been a fantastic resource for people to learn how to play, which means a massive influx of new players (yay!)- but it also keeps track of things for you, generating items that you would otherwise have to manage physically. And as convenient as that is, it doesn't always translate well to the real world.
The case in point: Wilds of Eldraine. Specifically, I'm looking at the card Conceited Witch, in contrast to Living Lectern, Besotted Knight, or Cursed Courier. (Ed. note, much of this was written before all the roles were revealed, or the set is fully on display, however I believe that it still applies).
From a flavor perspective, the opportunity to show a transformation like this is an interesting idea. But the execution of it is not something I'm digging on.
First: there isn't a consistency as to what a role does: three of the four provide +1/+1, but one turns the creature into a 1/1.
Second: there isn't a consistency within each color what role they will create: that is, there are too many roles for each color to just produce one.
Third: there isn't text on Conceited Witch to tell you what Wicked Role does. I had to look at another card entirely (Lord Skitter's Blessing) to get that information.
So what we have here is a mechanic that a) doesn't work the same way each time and b) occasionally doesn't tell you what it does. That's just bad.
Which leads me to assume that there will be token auras in packs of WoE to provide the necessary information. (Guess what, there are!) Tokens that will be randomized, so maybe you get one that you need, but maybe you don't.
Just what Magic needs: more bookkeeping!
This definitely puts a damper on my enthusiasm for this idea.
As a very small grievance, I wish the spells with the Bargain mechanic used language like "If you accepted the Bargain" or better yet "If you've come to Bargain" instead of "If this spell was bargained" mostly because that sounds cooler. (I get that it possibly can't work like that, and makes for awkward language but still...)
I blame Grand Theft Auto 3, honestly.
Quite the turnaround, right?
Rd 1 vs Ryan on dredge
Game 1: I got to see the deck in action, as he used Ichorids to create Cabal Therapy fodder and make 8 zombie tokens and a Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis.
Game 2: He vomited a portion of his library into his graveyard on his turn 1, and on my next
turn I put out a Dauthi Voidwalker. That gave me enough time to get
creatures on the board and pressure him down.
I did miss a Dark Confidant trigger, and that ended up costing me-the
judge ruled I should resolve the ability after I’d drawn (and I’d drawn a
land) but the next card was Sheoldred. Four needless damage in a matchup that could have easily gone the other way.
Game 3: His turn 1 was great, putting a Troll into the GY after a
Faithless Looting that had been flashed back. My turn 1 was Bojuka Bog.
After that, he was in topdeck mode and I was putting permanents into
play, until I got a Sheoldred and an Orcish Bowmasters out. Then I was
able to double Burning Inquiry into the win.
First win!
Rd 2 vs Robin on Yorion 4 color C
Game 1: I got put down by a Minsc and Boo. Really good card is good.
Game 2: Blood Moon on turn 3 let me play my cards, and Robin was locked
out of the game at that point. I was able to press the advantage.
Game 3: while I had a Dauthi Voidwalker, a Liliana and a Blood
Moon, Robin was able to hang in there with a Teferi and The One Ring. They played to their outs by getting basic lands on the table as fast as they could, so were still able to interact-just slower. Once they were able to Minsc and Boo out my Liliana (the turn before
ultimate!) and I drew 3 lands in a row, there was no coming back for me.
Tough loss but Robin earned it.
Rd 3 vs Brandon on Merfolk
Game 1: Tide Shaper turned my Badlands into an Island which meant he got free attacks in
until I died. I had a hand full of removal, but didn’t draw into any
action.
Game 2: I was able to resolve a Plague Engineer to stabilize the board. At 3 life I played a
Bowmasters to take out the lords that kept his army boosted. He
conceded after that.
Game 3: Bowmasters on deck: they did work with Burning Inquiry to keep his army down, and I was able to get the concession shortly after.
Rd 4 vs Chris on Yorion Grixis control
Game 1: I got pushed out by his card draw and multiple Thoughtsieze.
Game 2: With two Dauthi Voidwalkers out, I was able to press my
advantage. He made a critical mistake, trying to Bowmaster my Voidwalker
and block it, forgetting it had shadow. I was able to close the game shortly after.
Game 3: Chris was stuck on two lands, so I grew an
Army off a Bowmaster to 4, via Burning Inquiry. With the Lighting Bolts blanked, and a Buccaneer to add to the damage,
and was able to win after that!
Here's my takeaways:
First, it's fucking hard to win games of Magic. I am realizing that people really have to focus on the game as all but a full time job if they want to reach winning records with regularity.
That's OK, but also it feels pretty damn gratifying to post a winning record.
Second: I absolutely had good matchups. My deck is practically pre-engineered to create problems for graveyard based strategies or typal decks. On the one hand: I won matches that I should have. On the other: there is so damn much blue-based control out there that it's hard to pull those matches out.
Still, week two's showing was pretty good!
Here's what I'm taking into tomorrow's event.
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
2 Tourach, Dread Cantor
3 Glint-Horn Buccaneer
4 Orcish Bowmasters
4 Dauthi Voidwalker
3 Dark Confidant
3 Dream Salvage
4 Sudden Edict
2 Sheoldred's Edict
4 Mountain
4 Swamp
2 Bojuka Bog
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Blood Crypt
4 Badlands
1 Wasteland
3 Liliana of the Veil
3 Reforge the Soul
4 Burning Inquiry
// 15 Sideboard
SB: 4 Plague Engineer
SB: 3 Blood Moon
SB: 4 Pyroblast
SB: 4 Meltdown
As much as I like Magus of the Wheel, as a creature that takes a turn to get action out of, I don't believe it's going to help me. So I'm going with ye olde Dark Confidant because drawing cards is awesome.
I've also upped the Dauthi Voidwalkers for Waste Not, and added in a Wasteland. I flailed around for days trying to figure out a substitute for Blood Moon, but just haven't come up with anything. I considered Surgical Extraction but I have a lot of maindeck graveyard removal.
What I need are things to muck up the early game and Blood Moon can do that, though I'm also still thinking about a fourth Plague Engineer. Still I'm sticking with it for now.
