Latest posts of: TheOrangePet

IMO, the presence of Fatestitcher for untapping and the general absence of Leyline means Emerald Charm and Chain of Vapor are dwarfed by the efficiency of artifact hate such as Oxidize+Crumble (not sorcery speed Chewers) and creature hate such as Darkblast+Contagion.

On another wing...

Initial reactions on Lord of Extinction?

DR'ing a 40/40 badass seems kinda threatening...especially with no strings attached like we find with the Grave Troll or multi-Sharuum options.

I would still play Chain of Vapor. Being able to bounce everything is still great.

As far as Lord of Extinction goes, I wish he cost 1 more mana so you could use Dragon Breath with him. If he had trample or something like that, I would still consider him. But maybe.

Exactly. He's one keyword short of good, sadly.

Boo, I felt this initially as well.

And the Chain of Vapor argument is valid for sure. Emerald Charm although I feel is too narrow.

Quote from: andrewpate on April 04, 2009, 11:02:22 pm

Quote from: Nehptis on April 04, 2009, 10:44:44 pm

Archetype Bazaar: ????

This one interests me most of all. If Wizards decides that Ichorid decks are a problem, what gets restricted? Any one card, even Bridge From Below, leaves the deck with plenty of weapons. Would it get the Long treatment and have several axes fall simultaneously? It seems like a very hard deck to solve with the Restricted List. It seems more like a candidate for an Anvil of Bogardan/Tsabo's Web/Kataki, War's Wage-style card, except that Yixlid Jailer and Leyline of the Void are already practically there and still don't do enough (or at least, would not be doing enough in the hypothetical where Wizards/the DCI decides that the deck requires action).

Its been said before so I'll say it again.

Serum Powder.

Quote from: M.Solymossy on March 28, 2009, 01:49:15 pm

anyone going?

As long as my TomTom can find it I'll be there.

Quote from: TheBigShow on March 25, 2009, 11:19:00 am

with fatestitcher now, does ichorid even need to b in the deck?

They don't actually have the same purpose.

Ichorid is for beats, bridge triggers, and sacrificial cards. Fatestitcher is for bazaar activations and sacrificial cards. Don't forget that a Fatestitcher will never trigger bridge.

I'm now playing Manaless w/3x WPrimus + 3x DReturn. Its quite a beating on an opponents board when you're chaining WPrimus' persisting with DReturns on new WPrimus'. It ends with a couple Therapies and a scoop phase.

Excellent article. Informative to say the least.

Quote from: nineisnoone on January 05, 2009, 05:12:00 pm

While Titan can clock a deck faster on it's own, the difference between Titan + Zombies + Ichorid and Razer + Zombies + Ichorid is often irrelevant in terms of damage.

True.

I like the fact that it grabs basics/cheater lands.

And its so much more fun to say. Reallllllllllllm Raaaaaaaaazer!

Can you elaborate more on why Tin Street didn't make the final decklist? You speak volumes of his merit in the strategy section, but he misses the final cut.

Another exceptional article with, as usual, uncanny verbiage.

My only question as follows. Do you, having tested at length, have any suggestions about sideboarding against closed metas. That is, do you have a list of cards that you'd consider "boardable", but didn't specifically cite in the article. The most obvious situation is a meta devoid of Ichorid. What cards would you substitute in place of Leylines? Does the number of Needles increase?

Furthermore, are there matchups where you'd consider your opponents blue spell density not deep enough to side in the REBs, but keep the Pyros?

Thanks ahead of time Steve.

Quote from: M.Solymossy on November 27, 2008, 10:22:19 am

Quote from: magicbmx on November 27, 2008, 12:38:31 am

I'll be adding white to the deck, along with some real cards.

My list of real cards:
ancestral recall
time walk
brainstorm
fact and/or fiction
gifts ungiven

Touche.

Consider my comment through my perspective though. Lets be honest, an Elder Land Wurm could qualify as a real card when held up against Storm Entity.

Thanks Mike. I'll be at this one for sure. And without Storm Entities this time!

Hopefully we'll have five floppers from the area coming instead of four...I think I've finally gotten through to the fifth wheel.

Quote from: magicbmx on November 27, 2008, 12:38:31 am

Oh ok so i think u were the one i played round 5. Ya the mox monkeys are very good and well if i played mono red shop i would play them but well in 5 color its hard lol. Ya i didnt like storm entity in type2 and well idk less removal in type 1 but he isnt great. Not sure what u can play in there place though

I'll be adding white to the deck, along with some real cards.

Again, great event, great store, great people to play cards with. Hopefully I'll see some of you in Milwaukee on 1/10. Later.

Quote from: magicbmx on November 25, 2008, 11:13:09 pm

Orange were u the one playing rg with the apes and all that.

Mhm. Gorilla Shaman won at least 1 game on the day. Storm Entity is just so bad, I had to play it to believe it.

Great event. If only I would've played a real deck. Like with real cards.

Like not Storm Entities.

Agreed, but not really pertinent to this particular build. Garruk is really too clunky to fit.

Quote from: Guli on November 18, 2008, 09:47:01 pm

Nice to see root maze, will help this deck a lot. How is the storm entity working out? I image this deck empty hand pretty soon so he would only be good at some momentum. (in theory)

Seems like any hand w/out entity empties itself in 3-4 turns. A hand w/entity and enablers is almost always empty on turn 2. This is always good though, as it means you had a combination of power, spirit guides, land grants or chalices.

At times it seems so weak I want to vomit, but then again, its impossible to interpret the impact of ehalice/maze w/out real testing. Its interesting really. The grants free up your manabase so you can run the wastrip package while at the same time increasing the threat level of entity.

1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
2 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Land Grant
4 Root Maze
2 Gorilla Shaman
4 Kird Ape
2 Lava Dart
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mogg Fanatic
2 Shrapnel Blast
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Storm Entity
4 Tin Street Hooligan
1 Forest
2 Great Furnace
1 Strip Mine
4 Taiga
4 Wasteland

SB
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Price of Progress
3 Pyroblast
3 Pyrokinesis
3 Red Elemental Blast

Props. This is Brain LeGrows deck from Blue Bell last month. Thoughts?

I've fished like 40 hands and I like how it feels. The Storm Entities are incredibly explosive at times. I also like the speed of Root Maze/Chalice.

Magus of the Moat vs. Moat

and...

Ghost Quarter vs. Wasteland

Preferencial choices?

Quote from: Grand Inquisitor on November 09, 2008, 03:36:12 am

Having finally played against this with some frequency, what exactly is it supposed to beat besides combo?

Drains and Stax.

What are this decks best available weapons vs. U/B/W and U/B/G Fish?

Does it ever have a prayer vs. R/G or R/G/W Beatz?

Quote from: brianpk80 on November 07, 2008, 09:25:26 pm

What are your thoughts on the Goblin Trenches enchantment? Having played against a friend's r/W Parfait build many times, I found it was strong, versatile, synergic, and a better use for the Zuran Orb slot.

Agreed, but it does switch the purpose of the slot from defensive to offensive (barring Balance of course).

It also furthers the argument for a maindeck Crucible. Almost seems like a can-o'-worms effect. This swap seems most attractive in your proposed W/r build which is cutting half its win conditions in the form of Mindcensors.

Quote from: brianpk80 on November 06, 2008, 08:22:30 pm

I don't think the build proffered originally is anywhere near optimal. The biggest red flag is the suite of Aven Mindcensors. I find they are more a novel attempt to be modern than a well honed calibration of the archetype.

Perhaps a build or just some highlights would help embolden your point of contention here.

I can wrap my mind around your stance, but I can't see how you can honestly knock around the power of the Mindcensor like that.

I going to have to agree with Steve here. Back to Basics is a good example of why Blood Moon isn't splashable. The existence of the other red cards can't justify a dillution of consistency here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying W/r isn't viable, because it obviously is. It just isn't optimal and I don't think anyone can reasonably play a rogue build like this without an optimal configuration.

Myself and one or two others will probably be coming down from FDL.

Who can tell me how much the WI/IL tolls are nowadays?

Great article and comments.

I'm currently running Ghost Quarter over Wastes. It has clear synergy with Mindcensor, but can also be used to control your on-board basics in a pinch to get a Tax trigger. It can even be used shuffle away your Rack'd Plains during your draw step for a fresh card. Seems good. Anyone else consider this?

Thanks Steve. Another insightful article, despite the naysayers.

Quote

I am terrified of Ichorid, and refuse to go below 8 anti-Ichorid cards.

Why is this? I for one, am extremely curious to know which build of Ichorid incites this reaction. It seems to me that Ichorid is mostly unchanged post-Shards. This must mean you're basing your opinion on previous builds. If you don't mind sharing, which build are you advocating as "optimal" post-Tez? Thanks.

I would switch-up Unmask and Leyline of the Void with those blue spells.

You also need worthy Dread Return targs. I like Sundering Titan/Angel of Despair mostly. Alternately, Flame-kin Zealot + Cephalid Sage/River Kelpie gives you a balls-to-the-wall combo kill.

Quote from: wiley on October 13, 2008, 06:46:12 am

The brownscale can't really be compared to chosen, it gains ~10 life over multiple turns whereas chosen gains ~20-40 life immediately. Chosen buys a lot turns against storm (brownscale might buy 1-2), against tinker->colossus (no on the scale) and against stax (where it can defend against juggs all day long, the scale does little to nothing). Life gain is only relevant when it is in absurd amounts, chosen fits that definition to a tee.

As for unmask, it has given me the chance to win games that I would have definitely lost too many times for me to cut.

The unearth creatures are interesting, but where is the deck space for them? You have to remove disruption for them to fit in since you can't really reduce the size of your deck engine any more than you already have. Would this really be acceptable? The copious amount of disruption is the dominant reason ichorid is a good deck. Not to mention that they still get hit by crypt; which is ever prevalent in the states.

Any additional playtesting of the WaStrip package as a Petrified Field replacement? I've been running it and it feels very good to be honest.

Also, if you have a SB'ing gameplan you could share it would certainly help. Thanks.

Great article!

I agree w/playing 2x Shaman fully and am glad someone is finally endorsing it for CS. As far as running 2x Citadel, I can see it being good, but it seems like a meta call to me.

Fire/Ice and Truth are proven to be fine cards as well and their inclusion is certainly warranted, but I prefer R+R for the huge tempo it provides VS Stax.

Quote from: magus888

How's about Barbarian Ring? It's an uncounterable source of damage to welders and the like. It's also fetchable with Crop Rotation

-1 basic +1 Ring

Barb Ring is a very long-term source of damage. I seriously doubt your deck has the ability to consistently have threshold before the game ends.

Quote from: magus888

Does Elvish Spirit Guide deserve a slot?

Instead of trying to accelerate your disruption you should add more. Your decks NEEDS Root Maze to be competitive and adding redundancy always helps.