Magic: The Gathering

[DirtyJosé]

Anyways I haven't played Magic in years. (since shortly after Guildpact was released) Never played tournaments or anything really besides of a draft here and there, mostly played games with multiple opponents, so the deck I played most was a mono black built around subversion.

Was recently thinking of buying some cards just for the hell of it, perhaps collect a little bit since I don't know anyone that plays where I live now.
(I quit when I was having the best luck getting Foils for some reason, got a foil Birds of Paradise from Ravnica shortly before Guildpact released, and a Foild Angel of Despair on the day of the Guildpact release, doubt they are worth much of anything now though.)

Birds are evergreen; they may not be worth MUCHO $, but they'll always be useful. You seem like the type of person that would enjoy Commander format, or as it used to be known, EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander). The point of the format is to put fun over competitiveness, though there is a streak of that left in it. It's meant for social groups. The idea is that you build a deck of 99 cards with only 1 copy of any non-basic land card. You also pick (most) any legendary creature as your "general". Your deck can only contain colors that are found on your general, for for example if I were to pick Momir Vig as my general, I couldn't use Angel of Despair in my deck. Anyway, games are usually multiplayer and you start with 40 life. Play proceeds as normal with a few differences:

1: Your general starts the game in his own little "removed from game zone" face up. You may cast it from here. If it is removed from play, you have the choice to move it back to this zone (example: if it's killed, you could move it back here instead of into the graveyard). Each time you cast it from this zone, you pay 2 colorless mana as part of the casting cost for each time you've cast it from this zone before.

2: If anyone takes 21 damage from any single general in the course of the game, they have lost. Some people pick generals with an aggro slant for this reason.

I'm probably forgetting something else, but these are the main sticking points of the format. Take a look around your area and see if you can find a group to get back in the game with; the game is on an upswing of popularity again, so it's shouldn't be too hard. Start with some casual games and maybe a draft or two to get back into the swing of things.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

Birds are evergreen; they may not be worth MUCHO $, but they'll always be useful. You seem like the type of person that would enjoy Commander format, or as it used to be known, EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander). The point of the format is to put fun over competitiveness, though there is a streak of that left in it. It's meant for social groups. The idea is that you build a deck of 99 cards with only 1 copy of any non-basic land card. You also pick (most) any legendary creature as your "general". Your deck can only contain colors that are found on your general, for for example if I were to pick Momir Vig as my general, I couldn't use Angel of Despair in my deck. Anyway, games are usually multiplayer and you start with 40 life. Play proceeds as normal with a few differences:

1: Your general starts the game in his own little "removed from game zone" face up. You may cast it from here. If it is removed from play, you have the choice to move it back to this zone (example: if it's killed, you could move it back here instead of into the graveyard). Each time you cast it from this zone, you pay 2 colorless mana as part of the casting cost for each time you've cast it from this zone before.

2: If anyone takes 21 damage from any single general in the course of the game, they have lost. Some people pick generals with an aggro slant for this reason.

I'm probably forgetting something else, but these are the main sticking points of the format. Take a look around your area and see if you can find a group to get back in the game with; the game is on an upswing of popularity again, so it's shouldn't be too hard. Start with some casual games and maybe a draft or two to get back into the swing of things.

sounds rather interesting, haven't heard of that particular rule-set before, getting ready to move at the moment, might have to look around when I get settled in after the new year.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

And I jizzed in my pants. Holy shit. Words cannot describe how amazing this card is going to be. I'm pre-ordering a box on friday just because of this card. I fucking love it. I see it being played in Red/Black/White control. Pretty much Olivia inside Solar Flare. A cool thing with this would be all the Titans it kills because once you kill a Titan with it, it returns to the battlefield under you're control so you can use the come into play abilities.

I love This Sorin.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I was just talking a few weeks ago about how they've never done a W/B planeswalker yet and how I expected Sorin to be the first. Just so much sauce. His cost is great, his first two abilities play well in aggro and control, and the third one is just killer. I'm actually really liking in him a token strategy deck, which are becoming popular in Modern.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

I just preordered a case (6 boxes) on friday. Half my check but oh well. I'm guarenteed a play set of everything.

I think this is the prerelease card on the 28th and 29th and if so these are going to be retarted. I'm in love with this in a blue/black control or even blue/black/white control. Great thing about this card is that you can Doom blade your opponents Primeval Titan and then get it.

Another thing I was thinking was using this card and forbidden alchamey which lets you look at the to 4 cards of your deck one in your hand and the rest in your graveyard. You can discard a card like Immolating Souleater and use the phirexian mana to pump him. Also bring back something with a small infect. Pump him so many times and you have a funny turn 5 win. Also keep alot of counter and creature kill. You can also play Inkmoth in the deck and a few pumps with that. I would probably make the deck blue/black and have something like Vector Asp for the cheap infect. Also throw in Skittles the dragon so you can have others creatures. I think this deck would a good deck to try out in a FNM.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Man so many great cards and new things to try. I'm actually digging the spoilers so far.

Also just heard that my small town will be hosting a Grand Prix trial...which I'm going to win my friend Ward will be judging up there so I can take a ride with him and who ever else goes. Hopefully a few of us.

I built a new deck yesterday. It's pretty good for a casual play basically I used the spoiled cards and made proxys of the cards I needed and basically made Wolfrun Blue.

I use most of the things that wolfrun has....Inkmoth, Primeval, Rampant growth, and spheres of the sun. And then added some blue, like Mana leak, disspitate, and that new blue mill spell

So basically you ramp have some blockers or attack...then you use this...next turn or this turn if you use a sword of feast and famin and do some damage, then do it again for doulbe what you just did. so if you use it for 6 next turn you can do 14 thats 20 cards out of the deck. follow up with blue suns zenith and make them draw a shit ton of cards and the make jace mill them another 10. The deck is pretty good and it won against goblins (modern) and against blue/white agro (standard)

Finished up with my Legacy deck yesterday too. I decided to play graveborn, which brings huge creatures as early as turn 4. So I can have a 5/6 flyer that make it where you're creatures can't attack me. Or an 11/11 guy with infect and trample....

 

[SalvIsWin]

Increasing Confusion is the most powerful mill card I've ever seen. As powerful as it is, I think there's still a couple pieces missing before a mill deck could be considered top tier (60 cards is a lot to mill), but even so, I like how Wizards is pushing to have mill considered at least a somewhat viable strategy.

Actually, the best deck would probably been one that uses a combination of milling your opponent and milling yourself. I don't think a pure milling yourself or milling opponent deck is going to work (at this time, when the last innistrad block set comes out maybe) but combined it could be very powerful.

 

[DirtyJosé]

As far as mill decks go, I find them to be better suited strategies for limited than constructed. Like Salv said, there just isn't enough consistency out there just yet to do it fully dedicated, and mill decks MUST be fully dedicated (yes, 60 cards is a daunting task). In draft or sealed, though, this card is a house and will give mill decks that big bomb they've needed to be disgustingly lethal.

 

[SalvIsWin]

If you open a pack and increasing confusion is your rare, I think you can safely take that card, force blue and the mill strategy and you'll do alright. You can probably easily get 20-25 cards with it over two turns, and with even a few other decent milling cards you could have them drawing their fortieth card by turn eight or nine.

What a beast.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

My plan is to keep the mill on. Every time I draw, you mill. Jace comes out and will make you mill and then this is will make you mill twice. Then I will Blue sun zenith next turn. If all goes to plan I will have enough land on turn 6 to mill you all the way through. Thats why I run the whole mana ramp into stuff. And in case the Mill don't work, I have a back up plan with Wolfrun. It can work in standard. I'll post the deck I will make after I make it with all the spoiled cards and what not.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

It took me 2 boxes of Dark Ascension to pull 1 Sorin Although I got a Foil Vault of the Archangel, 3 Huntmasters, Geralf's Messenger, 3 Gravecrawlers, 2 Increasing Confusion, 2 Moonveil Dragon, Havengul Lich, Drogskol Reaver, Elbrus, the Binding Blade and a Grafdigger's Cage

 

[DirtyJosé]

I'm skeptical about Sorin's ability to maintain a high price in the long run. I think he is most assuredly one of the strongest planeswalkers made "in a vacuum", and by that I mean that without considering specific deck synergies and strategies he is likely the best pick for his colors. I'd rate him above Elspeth almost completely.

But even so, he's far from "Mind Sculptor" levels of value, if only for the single reason that he will not likely see play in any format "older" than Modern at best. Vintage has no need for him, and he's too slow for Legacy. These two formats are what drove JMS up to the prices he saw at his peak.

While he is in Standard, he will be hot hot HOT. If Modern finds a home for him, he will keep that value. And being in a set wherein less packs will be opened for draft (a'la "Worldwake", being the 2nd set in a split block for drafting) will help with that pricing too, as it did for JMS. But in the long run, his value will be defined by his worth to casual/EDH (which is likely substantial) and any home he can find in an older/eternal format.

I'm not saying to sell the fucker now. Enjoy him. Hold on to him. Watch his prices. There will be a peak before he's out of Standard, and unless you want to keep it forever you'll want to be there ready to unload him.

Oh, and congrats on the pulls.

On my end, I went 23rd out of 155 on a recent MTGO Barcelona PTQ with Living End. List has changed a little bit since I last posted about it. I'm working on improving it before the 20th, which is when I'll take it out for another run. It's looking good against a heavy chunk of the Modern meta; the losses I need to adjust for were to Tron and Hive Mind.

 

[Police Penis Sucking Goat Fucker]

I only owned one Magic the gathering card I wish i still had it I was never to into Magic, so I'm not sure why I'm posting here but I always thought the art work was amazing

heres the one card I owned


http://www.jeffmiracola.com/images/art/paintings/bouncing_beeblesBIG.jpg

 

[Sinister Shadows]

I didn't really want him for use though, I just like collecting good B/W cards since it was the first deck that I used when I started playing Magic, I've actually got him up for trade if I can get him involved in a trade for something such as, a Revised dual land ( I only have a Revised Badlands, I need more!)

 

[DirtyJosé]

I think you might be able to find someone willing to make that trade. The only issue is that old duals will always hold value but Sorin won't, and most anyone with old duals probably knows this. Maybe sell him off for high value and use the money to buy a dual? Like I said, keep your eye on his pricing trends. There will be a peak, and that will be when you should consider unloading him. I do agree though that he's nice for "the collection" and is worth hanging on to.

 

[SalvIsWin]

Sorin will probably just drop in value as time goes on, just like Liliana. Planeswalkers are often the most misunderstood cards because there is very little to compare them to. Sorin's a good card, but he's not amazing.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

I'm usually not one to buy singles of cards that I want for more than a dollar or two, more fun trading... but I found a NM Revised Plateau for 25 bucks today... I couldn't say no to it. heh

 

[DirtyJosé]

R/W has always been one of the weakest of the dual lands, but still a good pick. Congrats, champ.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

Opened some Odyssey boosters, was getting really disappointed through the first three boosters, just the worst cards in the set it seemed, then in the fourth booster was gold! err black actually, Foil Entomb easily paid for the 20 bucks I paid for the 5 packs.


Anyways, I'm putting together a casual R/B Vampires deck, and wondering if it would be worth it to splash white for Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, the few white mana sources wouldn't really be hard to work into the mana base with Plateau and a couple Isolated Chapels.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

So sad made G/B/W the two weeks ago for a block constructed tournament and then Wizards banned lingering souls and intangable virtue in the format. Pissed me off so now I don't know what to play for that tournament.

 

[Sinister Shadows]

So the next block is entitled "Return to Ravnica"

I loved Ravnica block, but I'm not entirely sure I'm looking forward for a revisit of it. I wonder if they will return to the Guilds as the focus again, the guild abilities or will it be something that is completely different this time around.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

I'm pretty stoked for Avacyn Restored. They just spoiled six cards and I'm liking all of them except for Avacyn herself.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

So funny FNM story.

I was in the final round of swiss and I was 3 and 1. I'm playing a very fun red flingdeck with Swords of Feast and Famine. The guy sitting next to me has a Feast and Famine out and he announces that his opponent has to discard a card from the Sword and it reminded me that he has to discard a card as well (It's a must not a may ability) and my opponent called a judge over and told him that I used the guys next to me for outside interference. I got a gameloss because I was playing against the Judges son. So we went to game 2 and I destroyed him. Game three, I was being an asshole and actually flung something at the guy. I put fling under the card I sacked and it him in the face with it. I got a game loss for that too. Dude, was a douchebag and I can't stand playing against people like that.

My brother destroyed him in the top 4.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

Wheres all the Magic Players??? Fuck, I can't be the only one. Dirty Jose I know you still come to the Forums. Milenko!!!! Fuck I don't want to talk to myself about Magic haha.

Anyways. I made a very interesting G/U/W deck. There are new cards from Avacyn Restrored with a miracle cost which means if you draw it you may reveal it and cast it for the miracle cost only if it is the first card you drew this turn. Well, there is a one that puts 4 +1+1 counters on up to any amount of creatures. So I use Invisible Stalker (1/1 hexproof and unblockable) with it. I also you Geist of Saintraft, Delver of Secrets, Birds of Paraydse, and of course Snapcaster Mage.

The deck is pretty fast. I did lose to Wolfrun so I do have to tweak it a little. I think I need more counter/control. I don't run any Mana Leaks or Vapersnag. I know I should but I don't know what to take out. I'll post my deck on here if I get a response from anyone.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I saw a similar build utilizing that green miracle card in a g/u/r infect build. Seemed pretty good, too. Noxious Revivals and Faithless Looting to play with the Miracle interaction, and bounce/counter/burn to clear a path for pump up 1 drop infect guys. I really don't play much Standard...in fact, I just don't play Standard at all. But it looked like fun to me.

Also, Ryder, were you around for Ravnica? Do you have any thoughts about the upcoming Return to Ravnica block?