July 2011
58 posts
9 tags
5 tags
After the Game: Commander 7/28
This week for Commander night there were 11 people, so we unfortunately a table of 5 and a table of 6. Given that the alternative would have been, say, 4, 4, and 3, it makes sense, but I have a hard enough time keeping track of 4 opponents at a rectangular table (as I mentioned here), so 5 would have been terrible for me. If we had gotten 1 more player we could have ran 4, 4, 4. Oh well. Luckily I...
Re: The Hermitic on my Enemy Colors post →
thehermitic:
sarroth:
It’s been a while since I did the allied ones, so I best get to covering the enemy color pairs. Note that the title can be a little misleading: This is really ordered as to how I rank them by my own preference, not by popularity or power level. It says more about me than anything…
But… But… There are only five. You can’t HAVE a top five of five things… Can you?
...
5 tags
Top 5 Enemy Color Pairs
It’s been a while since I did the allied ones, so I best get to covering the enemy color pairs. Note that the title can be a little misleading: This is really ordered as to how I rank them by my own preference, not by popularity or power level. It says more about me than anything else.
I’m always surprised when people don’t know what Enemy Color Pairs are, because if you’re reading about...
Discussion: WG Tribe in Innistrad.
mtgworld:
I am going to put my money on Gargoyles. I’ve been calling Gargoyles appearing since Innistrad was announced. What are your thoughts? What do you think W/G is getting?
-Adam
(Reblog with your thoughts)
I’m all for Gargoyles. Man, I miss that old Saturday Morning show. I better not try and watch it now, I’d probably hate it.
How do you choose the basic lands you use? →
thehermitic:
An excellent question. How do YOU do it?
Depends on the deck. No matter what I don’t put more than a single copy of any land art in the same deck.
If the deck has a block theme, I do that. My Kor deck is Zendikar Block Tribal, so it has all 4 lands from Zendikar (not full-art, though, I don’t think - I haven’t gotten around to getting those yet). My Izzet deck...
Rebound: Counterpoint -- General Damage →
This is the counterpoint to my post against General Damage. Enjoy!
castfromexile:
Note: This post is a bit late. I was swamped last week into this weekend.
We’ll call this the “initial installment” of a Point/Counterpoint tag-team blogfest with Sarroth. The topic this week is about a rule in Commander Magic, specifically the “Commander Damage Rule”: Rule 10 of the…
5 tags
Embracing Vorthos: Solemn Simulacrum
“Solemn Simulacrum. What can be Vorthos about this guy?” You might ask. Well, read on.
According to dictionary.com, simulacrum means:
1. a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance. 2. an effigy, image, or representation: a simulacrum of aphrodite.
I honestly didn’t know this was a real word until I typed it in my Word Document of Deck Lists under my Kaalia build, knowing...
5 tags
5 tags
This Old Deck: Rafiq of the Many Enchantments...
I don’t know what article I read that really jumpstarted my desire to build “Just one more deck!” but I do recall that the author claimed Commander decks were easy to build: Pick a general the color(s) you want and throw in a bunch of extra cards you have lying around.
“Extra cards?” This thought didn’t occur to me then, but I’m not the type to buy Booster...
RE: The Hermitic on my General Damage Article →
The Hermitic:
“I have things against general damage, and I have reasons to support it… I consider the fact that general damage helps some commanders more than others a pro. Commander (EDH) is a slow format that supports slow and expensive cards. Aggro doesn’t work, especially in multiplayer (which Commander usually is). General damage is the one thing that makes aggro viable....
4 tags
After the Game: Planechase Commander 7/21 (Or how...
For this week I got randomly paired with my friend over at CastfromExile. Since I played Kaalia last week, I ran Rafiq this week. We had more players this week (sweet!), so it was pod sizes of 5, 5, and 4. Cast was running his Zedruu Precon (completely unchanged as of yet, I believe – correct me if I’m wrong), and we were joined with an Azusa, 8 ½ Tails, and a Teneb. Azusa was the shop’s local...
3 tags
“If you want to stop someone from attacking with a creature by using this card,...”
– Oracle Rulings for Icy Manipulator. I find these two concepts are really hard to grasp for newer players. Like I said, This Game is Hard.
3 tags
Point: General Damage in Commander is Unnecessary
This is part of a collaboration with CastFromExile. His Counterpoint supporting General Damage can be found here.
I want to start this out by emphasizing that I don’t care if the rules don’t change. I’m not saying General/Commander Damage is the worst thing about Commander (no, I think how easy to is to turn what was meant to be a fun, casual format into a turn-4-or-before...
3 tags
Does Anyone Know What Type 3 is?
Because I don’t.
I know Type 1 is an old term for Vintage, Type 2 is Standard, Type 4 is Limited Infinity (can only cast one spell per turn but that spell is free), and I’ve even heard of a Type 5. But no definitive Type 3.
So, does anyone know a format that’s called Type 3? I just have to know!
3 tags
Deckbuilding Quirks
I’d like to admit to some deckbuilding quirks that I’ve noticed over building a bunch of decks:
I don’t run more than one legendary creature in a deck
I don’t run changelings in tribal decks (unless that deck was changeling tribal)
I don’t run hybrid cards if in decks without both colors. (On the bright side, the Commander rule for this doesn’t upset me at...
3 tags
Hexproof in Commander but not Dies? →
confessionsofapuzzledwizard:
“I thought it was dumb that Commander introduced Hexproof, but not “dies”. That is all.”
Agreed with dies. There doesn’t seem to be any reason why cards like Solemn Simulacrum didn’t get a text revision as well.
3 tags
When checking out the selections at the local Wallmart, hoping they had one of those deck boxes that come with 50 sleeves in it (my girlfriend needs a deck box, I need 20-some sleeves for tokens, it works out nicely!), I noticed something odd.
Hanging on the hook under the M12 tag was a decidedly not-M12 booster pack: It was M11! I moved it out of the way to be helpful to the next customer who...
An ode to a tribe that is going away... →
fuckmonogreenelves:
Okay, I know most of you are probably still a little bitter towards the Kors after the whole Stoneforge Mystic deal. And I understand holding a grudge and everything, but racism doesn’t look good on anybody, so let’s take a look at why the rest of the tribe is awesome and will be sorely missed in…
I can’t really say I will miss them, since I have a Zendikar...
What am I reading. →
thehermitic:
Oh, goodness… This could end so badly. Commander sealed seems cool, but it would be a LOT of work to build the deck :P
I would be up for the Commander Sealed to run a precon right out of the box again, but only if I could unload the precon to someone right afterward. I have no use for any of the cards or another deck when I’m already working on my 3rd.
Overrun at Uncommon
From Aaron Forsythe:
“How powerful is Overrun in limited?
A few weeks ago, I got into a reasonably-friendly back-and-forth on Twitter with Marshall Sutcliffe (@MarshallLRCast), host of the ‘Limited Resources’ podcast, about the fact that Overrun was reprinted in M12 at uncommon. The resulting chatter informed me that a great many high-level limited players dislike losing to...
5 tags
Embracing Vorthos: Hexproof
I’ve heard lots of reactions to the new keyword in M12, some good, but most of it bad. It’s been a while since the keyword was unveiled, but now that Commander products have come and gone I feel I have the time to talk about M12-related things, as that is the next big release for Wizards.
Hexproof is the new keyword for Troll Shroud or Super Shroud, as I have heard some people call...
3 tags
“Suck on it, Stangg.” - Sol’Kanar the Swamp King”
– flavortext on Wordmail.
3 tags
Magic Player Snapshot →
1. Favorite Color: White 2. Least Favorite Color: Blue 3. Favorite Card: Akroma, Angel of Wrath 4. Least Favorite Card: Iona, Shield of Emeria 5. Favorite Deck you own: Rafiq of the Many Enchantments (Commander) 6. Favorite Deck you don’t own: Nin Draws Fluffy Pain Clouds (Commander) 7. Least Favorite Deck to play against: Any deck that locks or stalls; hence my hatred of Iona, as well as my...
6 tags
Tokens and Board Complexity
I think one of the most confusing things that can happen to a Board State is for the same player to have more than one token generating effect going in the same deck (or the player to have one and an opponent to provide him with another, say with Forbidden Orchard).
I don’t like constantly having to ask which tokens are 0/1 Eldrazi Spawn with abilities, 1/1 Birds with Flying, etc. Too...
5 tags
5 tags
After the Game: Commander 7/14
Taking a hiatus from Commander last week as I was out of town wasn’t really that out of the ordinary, as I was originally planning on going only every other week. Well, not any more. Come next week I’ll make sure to be there. Now… that might change come later August when the ol’ Graduate College starts throwing classes my way again, but until then when things are fairly...
“One thing that I found about magic: When art for an uncommon is really good,...”
– Brad Nelson on Yo! MTG Taps! speaking of Timely Reinforcements. Something to think about.
Self-Plug: Future Point / Counterpoint Post
One week from now I will be doing a Point / Counterpoint feature with my friend over at 26toomany on Commander Damage in the Commander/EDH format. There are good and bad things about the rule, and I haven’t read any discussion about it. Neither of us expect to change anything by starting it, nor do we really want to. We do, however, enjoy friendly debate.
Hopefully this is ...
7 tags
Card Showcase: Spider Tribal
I hate Spiders. Not Magic’s Spiders, real Spiders. And, well, Spider art. Yes, even the art creeps me out. So I guess Magic’s Spiders too.
Nonetheless, I for some reason like Spiders as a tribe. The second deck I ever built was a Green/White Spider tribal deck for my brother; I went with Spiders because I thought he’d like Green the best, and Spiders were the good choice to...
How do you position your deck? →
mtgfan:
Left side or right side?
“Magic” facing you or your opponent (or doesn’t matter because your cards are mixed up and down)?
Portrait or landscape?
Corner or center (of a side?)?
My deck goes to the right side, with my life total right above it.
All of my cards are sleeved, but “Magic” would be facing my opponents, as otherwise with the way I draw the cards would be...
7 tags
Card Showcase: Mill
Today I’d like to talk about the Mill cards of M12, for three reasons
I’ve always liked Mill,
There seem to be more Mill cards in M12 than previous Core Sets, and
Could this foreshadow Innistrad? (Lots of people think so)
Of course Jace would get mentioned again when talking about Mill. 10 cards isn’t 20 or their entire library except for their hand, but his 10 costs 0,...
“Have you ever tried sneaking through plains? It’s very hard to do.”
– MaRo on plainswalk. Not to be confused with planeswalk, another reason the first ability could be used…well, never again.
7 tags
Card Showcase: Bloodthirst
Maybe it’s the Timmy in me, but I really like Bloodthirst. Not as much as Scry, or Landfall, or Metal Craft, but I really like it.
Partially it’s because some otherwise mundane cards start to look a little better as Bloodthirst enablers. Partially it’s Timmy enjoying making creatures bigger for doing what I already like doing - dealing out damage (like with Landfall, mechanics...
“Only one deck submission will be chosen per article, but being selected for the...”
– Sean McKeown’s article on Starcity Games. I honestly did not know about the coupon part of the deal when I submitted a decklist. Since my Lyzolda build was tackled in his first User-Submission Article, that’s where my $20 in store credit came from. Good to know. I can’t wait to get...
7 tags
Card Showcase: Illusions
I haven’t encountered this issue before, but Illusion is an annoying word to type when I’s don’t have bars.
Anyway, why the hell would I cover Illusions? They get a Lord, of course!
I admit, I have a soft spot for Lords. They make me want to build a White Kor deck, a Blue Merfolk deck, and a Rainbow Stairwell Samurai deck. Now they make me want to build mono-Blue Illusions...
Up and Down - Magic 2012
threelawssafe:
“Enchantment Subtheme – As was mentioned in this article about the design of this year’s core set, there will be an enchantment subtheme. This is great because the enchantment theme is design space that hasn’t really be explored yet and is another aspect of M12 that will give the set its own character.”
Read More
I think Urza’s block actually had an...
7 tags
Card Showcase: Planeswalkers and their Posse
I wasn’t sure if I was going to do Card Showcases for M12, as I admit to not enjoying Core Sets as much as expansions. It’s the Vorthos in me, and Core Sets don’t have that storyline to go with them that really draws me in. The storyline is what drew me into Scars of Mirrodin, and lo and behold I grew to love Glissa enough to start building a Commander deck for her.
Then they...
After the Game: Kitchen Table Casual 7/9
Last night I played some super-casual Magic with my brother and two of his friends. We handed a mono-White build of some sort to a new player, as of all our decks, only that and my mono-Green Bear deck seemed to number in the least-janky-and-easy-to-learn decks that I prefer to run with newer players.
The first game we played I actually decided to run my Kaalia Commander deck, although without...
6 tags
Easy as Pie: What Would Wedges Do?
This weekend marks the Magic 2012 Prerelease! Unfortunately I don’t think I’m going to go (to this or the release). I decided to instead use the money I would have spent on whatever event I attended to purchase cards to individualize the Commander precon I chose. I think it was a better choice - I prefer Expert-level sets, and I doubt I would have gotten many cards I’d want from...
Commander - Always Two, There Are
threelawssafe:
Since receiving my Commander precon, Mirror Mastery, in the mail last week, I’ve played about six games so far. About half of those games were 1v1 and the other half multiplayer. I wasn’t expecting much from the deck since it is a precon and those tend not to be the most fun, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the games I played with it were quite fun.
But the deck did...
On PV's Playhouse: Women and Magic
gregtron:
PV’s article:
In intelligence and practice, men and women are on equal footing. When it comes to talent, though, I believe that the areas that are usually associated with the male brain (math, spatial understanding) are more likely to generate skills that will reflect in a better Magic talent than the areas women usually have better developed (emotions, languages, speech)....
7 tags
Embracing Vorthos: Command Towers vs. Tri-Lands
A couple of years ago, Wizards decided to really enforce the building of 3-color decks with the Shards of Alara block.
I personally love the block, as I find the flavor of it to be fantastic. The block focuses on Shards, or slices/arcs of the Color Pie: A color and its two allied colors (i.e. White with Green and Blue). The storyline was as follows: Alara was once a plane with all 5 colors of...
