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1  Eternal Formats / Eternal Article Discussion / Re: [Premium Article] Visiting Wizards, Reprints and the Reserved List on: March 06, 2010, 03:21:33 pm
As a person supporting reprinting power for many years I would like to say some things.

Magic community is growing, Legacy, Extended, Standard... In fact Legacy is attracting people - there are cards that's price is extremely high due to their playability and people that are interested in them. Now when Legacy tournaments are on the focus of some PRO players there is more and more people wanting Dreadnought, LED, Mox Diamond... I remember interview from GP Prague with Oliver Ruel saying one of the worst tournaments he played was Legacy at World's Championship 2007. According to czech interview : "Most of the people had troubles to get cards they needed so everyone played what he could...".

Legacy and Vintage are special because cards stays there. Some cards are stapples they. Amount of cards that are wanted is dependent on number of tournaments that are organised, played, supported. Legacy is supported a bit at the moment but I don't think it is killing Vintage. People are interested in Legacy and despite they have no cards they can top 8 Legacy GP's (like David Do Anh did).

Reprinting Power should be done due to a really good reason. That reason may be new look at Vintage - Vintage GP, PT once a time, more tournaments... I can't imagine anything else making Vintage attractive. Cards are and always will be weapons... What to do with valuable weapons that can't be used? I believe price of Alpha, Beta, Unlimited P9 could stay where it is if the market won't be flooded by swarms of new Lotuses and Moxes and people will have a reason to buy it.

My View is that P9 and other stapples may be reprinted (reprint may be reconsidered again) once a longer time period - if there will be needs of market then why not?

At the moment I am selling my power and other cards because I can't play Vintage and that was only format I liked at all.
2  Vintage Community Discussion / General Community Discussion / Re: Zendikar boosters include Ancestral Recall? on: September 25, 2009, 07:39:28 am
I agree with you Zeus. It is hardly believable. I've found this http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=186613.
3  Vintage Community Discussion / General Community Discussion / Zendikar boosters include Ancestral Recall? on: September 25, 2009, 06:35:14 am
Today my friend noticed thread on http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=186720. Thread is saying there were opened OLD GOOD CARDS in Zendikar boosters. I am not sure if it is mistake or if that was prepared move but what does it mean for Vintage? Accessibility to Vintage for more players? P9 printed again? The fall of Vintage? The Rise of Vintage tournaments? The stupid joke?

I am not sure where this thread belongs to so mods pls move it to right location.
4  Eternal Formats / General Strategy Discussion / Re: Metagame Choices: Why play decks that dont win? on: September 25, 2009, 06:22:53 am
There are some reasons to play decks that rarely wins but TOP 8.

1) Cardpool - not everyone has everything. I read an interview with Olivier Ruel and he was complaining about people not having cards for Legacy tournament in 2007.
2) Metagame choice - if you believe you have better chance to be successful with a deck thanks to matchups.
3) Experience - some people are playing a deck for a looooooooong period. There are near none mistake they do, they know what to do in each situation.

Probably there are more reasons Wink
5  Eternal Formats / Blue-Based Control / Re: Oath of Druids Post-Zendikar on: September 22, 2009, 05:43:27 am
Yeah there are basically two options, Rushing River or Wipe Away.

Rushing River only costs one blue, and can hit two permanents if needed... but I prefer Wipe Away.  The fact that it can't be countered is very relevant, because its the ideal answer to bounce Sphinx of the Steel Wind.

I love Hurkyl's Recall and Echoing Truth but obviously neither help against Chalice on 2.

I think Wipe Away can be countered.. Therefor I would prefer Rushing River, but I might be wrong.
Only two ways to counter Wipe Away I know in competetive tournaments are Counterbalance with CC 3 on top at the time Wipe being casted and Chalice with 3 counters.
6  Eternal Formats / Eternal Article Discussion / Re: [Free Article] Tournaments, Dealers, & Karrthus on: September 10, 2009, 01:29:53 am
One BIG ERROR. Ichorid with no Bridge from the Bellows?
7  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Discussion] Vintage B & R list on: November 26, 2008, 02:00:49 am
Its the same problem with Regrowth in that you would have trouble with graveyard hate.  In addition to that you would be more in-danger of straight losing to a counterspell that Rit Tendrils already is.  Burning wish is amazing because it lets you 'run' situational bombs and removal without having to actually run them in your deck.  Cards like Mind's Desire or Empty the Warrens are good examples.  Its a DT that can get you cards you don't actually run.  It also means you don't need to run maindeck removal.
There are decks that goldfishes T1 more often. I believe it is better to goldfish T1 than to disrupt your opponent T1. Ritual decks will have near the same chance to loose to counterspell but they will be much faster. Games can be changed to T1 - Force or I win... I have played Burning wish in Meandeck Gifts and I can say it wasn´t so good. I stopped playing it because I needed Tendrils in main to make deck faster. Maybe if it will be in deck works in different way but moving your bombs to sideboard is not optimal because you loose chance to topdeck them. Burning wish needs sideboard prepared for using it - 4-6 cards. Another thing is that Burning Wish is red. Mind´s Desire + Burning wish needs 2 blue and one red in one turn-not so easy for Ritual decks without LED.

Why not?  Being able to run more Manavaults increase your ability to play Turn 1 sphere and Chalice @ 1 without drawing Workshop.  Is mana Vault really better than Cabal Ritual?  Again is probably a big stretch and it would definatly shift the meta, but I think many decks could equally benefit from it - so it wouldn't too heavily empower one given deck or even architype.
T1 Sphere or Chalice without Workshops is played frequently thanks to 4 City of Traitors and 4 Ancient Tombs (and Moxes). Mana Vault has better use for combo decks - it is better than Cabal or on the same Level. T1 Ad Nauseam with Mana Vault?   
That one mana I think would make a big differance is Style.  There's really two ways to go with combo, win on the very first turn you can, or win on the very -last- turn you can (safely).  Ad Nauseam (esp ones running Pact of Neg) certainly are gunning for the first turn they can safely win.  It makes them more disruptable when it comes to cards like Misdirrection and extirpate, as well as sphere effects.  A more TPS or Drain Tendrils deck really is holding out to win on the last turn it can safely win.  And do so with the most force as possible.  Risky cards like Pact get replaced by solid but slower cards like Mana Drain. 

Ad Nauseam in a deck ~built~ like ANT is a more powerful deck - but I contest that its only more powerful because of design.  Thats like saying that Thrumming Stone is more powerful than Black Lotus because It's better in my 25 Relentless Rats deck.  Bargin is an all around more powerful card that allows you to replace weak Chrome Moxes with even MORE powerful (and less situational) top-deck tutors.  It requires a shift though.
Difference is fast - safer way to win. I am not fan of playing Bargain in deck that has just 4 Dark Rituals and I don´t like it in deck without any Ritual... As I said TPS can in my opinion plays two or three. I have no idea how to include Bargain to Drain Tendrils but it can be played in more copies in Desilussionist´s Intuition Tendrils.
8  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Discussion] Vintage B & R list on: November 25, 2008, 02:56:17 pm
* Burning Wish - Solid _SOLID_ combo peice.  Easily adds a likely unhealthy amount of consistancy to Rit based combo.  Probably the only card better for Rit Combo would be DT.
* Lion’s Eye Diamond - Who doesn't love Madness??  I don't know, if its good(bad?) enough for Legacy, why not let the vintage players use it?  If anything its probably worse in vintage because why play infernal tutor over DT? why play IGG over Yawg?  Can a deck really support them all? I say probably not.
I don´t agree with you on this verdict. Safer is to unrestrict Burning wish that is inferior to Grim Tutor in my opinion. I will play 4 LED 4 Infernal in a deck If noone else. None IGGY, but four of thoose two + Demonic and Will Wink.

* Mana Vault - I'm personally ok with Mana Vault being off the list.  I think if you can run Dark Rit, you should be able to run Mana Vault.  The power is that it is amazing with sphere effects.  But sphere's arn't the end of the world.  If storm combo gets Dark Rit, Shops should have Mana Vault.
Mana Vault can be used in combo or combocontrols. 4 Dark Rituals and 4 Mana Vaults decks won´t make shops players too much happy.


* Yawgmoth’s Bargain - Unrestricting Bargin would lead to a rise in either pure-black-rit combo, or a heavy-Rit + some blue splash combo decks.  I think the play would be lead turn 1 with duress, and just try to drop a mega-bomb on turn 2.
How is this different from Ad Nauseam deck? One more mana - better effect. I wish to see what will be played more.  Twisted Evil
9  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Discussion] Vintage B & R list on: November 24, 2008, 12:08:51 pm
I agree with your suggestions for unrestrictions, but I think that the rules with Bargain and Ad Nausean are acceptable the way they are.
Bargain wins immediatelly in every not-ANT-combo -> restriction. Ad Nauseam wins immediatelly too, but you cannot play other Bombs (like Desire or Bargain) in the same deck. If you restrict AN, you kill the deck. ANT by the way is not stronger or faster than other speedstyled combodecks like Hordentendrils or whatever.
Also you cannot play Force of Will in ANT. Pact is no real compensation, because you cannot counter Sphere, Null Rod or Chalice with it. That's why I do not see any problems with unrestricted AN and restricted Bargain....
I agree with your Bargain´s and Nauseam´s ups and downs. When you´re talking about Nauseam not beaing faster - I want to know if anybody will play 4 Bargains in a deck... It won´t be faster. It may use 4 Forces-it will have better disruption. It may use Desire. Is that more broken than Ad Nauseam deck? TPS probably cannot use more than 3 possibly no more than 2. For me it is better to have Bargain unrestricted than Nauseam restricted...
Bargain can be used in Rector decks. I don´t see them being played but there can be good budget Rector deck.
Another thing: what do you think of unrestricting Frantic Search and Crop Rotation? The carddisadvantege they create is a heavy drawback, and they are no Tinkers...
Frantic Search may come from the list but it is risky. Crop Rotation - Strip mine and Tolarian Academy are two good reasons for it´s staying on list. 
10  Eternal Formats / Creative / [Discussion] Vintage B & R list on: November 23, 2008, 03:52:34 am
I was thinking about B & R list and some changes (unrestricting and restricting Gush, restricting Brainstorm, Ponder...).

The following cards are banned in Vintage tournaments:

    * Any ante card
    * Chaos Orb
    * Falling Star
    * Shahrazad

The following cards are restricted* in Vintage tournaments

    * Ancestral Recall
    * Balance
    * Black Lotus
    * Brainstorm
    * Burning Wish
    * Channel
    * Crop Rotation
    * Demonic Consultation
    * Demonic Tutor
    * Enlightened Tutor
    * Entomb
    * Fact or Fiction
    * Fastbond
    * Flash
    * Frantic Search
    * Gifts Ungiven
    * Grim Monolith
    * Gush
    * Imperial Seal
    * Library of Alexandria
    * Lion’s Eye Diamond
    * Lotus Petal
    * Mana Crypt
    * Mana Vault
    * Memory Jar
    * Merchant Scroll
    * Mind’s Desire
    * Mox Emerald
    * Mox Jet
    * Mox Pearl
    * Mox Ruby
    * Mox Sapphire
    * Mystical Tutor
    * Necropotence
    * Ponder
    * Regrowth
    * Sol Ring
    * Strip Mine
    * Time Walk
    * Time Vault (Effective September 20, 2008)
    * Timetwister
    * Tinker
    * Tolarian Academy
    * Trinisphere
    * Vampiric Tutor
    * Wheel of Fortune
    * Windfall
    * Yawgmoth’s Bargain
    * Yawgmoth’s Will

 When I checked the list I noticed the list contains all overpowered cards except Ad Nauseam and near none cards that "just" playable. How will you change it if you can make ANY changes?

My opinion:

Erase from the list:

Grim Monolith - Not good enought to be compared with rituals, not good enought for shops. Can be played in budget decks.
Enlightened Tutor- There were three targets in Gush era - Black Lotus, Oath of Druids, Fastbond. Now there are just two targets. 
Entomb- Is Dragon Danger for Vintage? I don´t believe deck that is damageble by stifle, Force, graveyard removal, creature bounce or creature removal... Entomb may increase number of T1 kills with Dragon, but it is much more risky to play Dragon over Storm combo Decks. Sideboards are prepared for both Ichorid and Dragon.

Ad Nauseam-Yawghmoth´s Bargain - I believe Yawghmoth´s Bargain should not stay on the list when Ad Nauseam is unrestricted. Solution - add Ad Nauseam to B & R list or unrestrict Bargain.   
 
11  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: The State of Control Slaver on: September 26, 2008, 04:05:39 pm
Haunted, in my opinion you didn´t included so many business spells. I think you should try 2 Read the Runes because of three Welders you´re playing. If your meta is not flooded by Workshop decks I don´t think you need Hurkyl´s Recall main. If there is so many Fish decks try Razormane Masticore in side it should work well for deck.

I wouldn't be so quick to advocate RtR in a slower control deck due to the negative card advantage. 

I would recommend Gifts Ungiven instead.  Besides the possibility putting 2 robots in your grave, it can grab Demonic/Mystical/Vampiric/X, 4 lands or moxen, or simply 4 solid spells (Drain/FoW/Thirst/Whisper comes to mind).  It also does nice broken things when you already have a tutor or Yawg in hand.  The mana cost is rarely prohibitive in a deck that runs 4 Drains and the full completment of artifact mana.

If you run Strip Mine, Gifts synergizes with that as well.
I like possibility to discard robots from hand not to search them for with so many of them... Gifts has static converted mana cost. You can cast RtR for two discarding one card (or sacrificing). In haunted list is no Vampiric so you cannot tutor for it.
12  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: The State of Control Slaver on: September 26, 2008, 05:40:59 am
Haunted, in my opinion you didn´t included so many business spells. I think you should try 2 Read the Runes because of three Welders you´re playing. If your meta is not flooded by Workshop decks I don´t think you need Hurkyl´s Recall main. If there is so many Fish decks try Razormane Masticore in side it should work well for deck.
13  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Deck] "Broken Mirror" Doomsday on: September 25, 2008, 11:57:44 pm
Interesting idea.
If I understand your plan you play first turn one black resource-Dark Ritual Doomsday. 4 cards in hand, 5 in library, 1 in grave and 1 in play(if your resource was not Petal or Lotus).  Second Turn you use your pernament resource to cast recall and do your combo. You have 11 cards in your library after Mirror. You need Mirror or Recall + Lotus or recall + land to be able to combo out now... This looks really weird to me. Cards you draw except all you used are cards that you have seen in your opening. I understand you want not so much cards when combo out and you are not focussed to kill in second turn and that there are more traditional doomsday options. But there is a question. Is your setup better than traditional setups?
14  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: A Second Potential Nut Kicking Card on: September 25, 2008, 12:47:36 am

4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
2 Culling of the Weak

4 Dark Confidant
4 Priest of Gix

4 Ad Nauseam
1 Necropotence
1 Night’s Whisper

1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Death Wish

4 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress

1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tendrils of Agony

5 Moxen
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
10 Swamp

Sideboard:

4 Leyline of the Void
4 Powder Keg/Engineered Explosives
4 Cruel Edict/Bone Splinter
1 Thoughtseize
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Lich’s Mirror
I am missing Mana Crypt in your build. Your deck will have problem to find tendrils in my opinion. 1 Death Wish as a tutor aded to demonic is not enought. Vampiric and Imperial are the lowest costed Tutors but you cannot Tutor for Tendrils and just win during Ad Nauseam Turn (with vampiric is possible to cast Nauseam EOT and Vampiric for tendrils in upkeep when it is in drawn cards). I reccomend Grim Tutors-you have good Mana Base that enable to kill your opponent just with Yawg Will.

I don´t see much ways you can kill yourself with lich mirror. 1 Necropotence, 1 Night’s Whisper, 1 Vampiric Tutor, 1 Imperial Seal can kill you. You need 3 mana for Death Wish, 5 for Lich´s Mirror and then some mana to make a suicide. I don´t think it is better way than to just cast Memory Jar or Grim Tutor... I don´t count Nauseam or Bob for this plan-Bob kills you in upkeep - you get no extra mana. Nauseam kills you for 5 mana + 3 mana for Death Wish + 5 for Lich´s Mirror seems to me that you will have no mana floating if you will have enought... 
15  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: New wording for Time Vault announced on: September 24, 2008, 11:30:29 am
It is actually ironic that the original campaign led by Smmenen to get rid of power level errata might have decreased Time Vault's playability - it is now reduced to a "finisher" with cards like Tezzeret whereas previously it was part of an exciting archetype (MUD combo).


But that's not a consequence of the errata so much as the restriction.   If Time Vault were unrestricted, I think it see alot more play than it would now.   And even now, I think it's going to be a huge format staple.   

It was predictable that the errata would lead to the restriction, which is why I was secretly hoping that the power level errata would not be removed at this point in time. I completely agree that unrestricted Time Vault in its current form would see a lot more play, but I also agree with the restriction. TV + Reliquat/Rings was fair, while TV + Key wouldn't be.


I actually don't agree with the restriction of TIme Vault.  I don't see why Time Vault + Key wouldn't be a fair.    Two card combos are inherently weak.   The strongest one ever used, Flash, was not even good enough to make up more than 10% of top 8s.   It was also blue, instant speed, had mad tutor support (Scroll + S. Pact), and is very difficult to stop.   But contrast, Time Vault + Key costs 4 mana, is sorcery speed, has crap for tutor support, and is easy to stop with a far larger swath of cards, from Krosan Grip, Rack and Ruin, to Null Rod.   
Vault + Key is weaker than Flash, can be easier attacked, has no instant speed and has no tutor support. But honestly in shops is won´t work so bad and the second thing is that Flash is restricted. Thing I am really surprised it won´t work with fussilade. I think that Fusilade+ Vault won´t be better than Grindstone+Painter.
16  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: A Second Potential Nut Kicking Card on: September 24, 2008, 11:07:55 am
To me it's important to know that the averange number of drawn cards is. Of course it could act like Bargain but is it really more impressive than the cutted FoF, Tinker or Jar? Yes, it work different but the average damage done is still pretty high (Grim Tutor = 3+3 Lifeloss) so I doubt that it really draw more than the named ones...
It is question I was asking before. As Nauseam is similar to Bargain in affect. If you can play 4 Bargains do you play them? There are reasons to play them and there are reasons to not playe them. If you wil have so many bombs in deck and not enought mana it is wrong. When I was testing my version of deck yesterday my friend told me that it is brutal. I did some T1 kills - maybe not so much. But if deck resolved Nauseam I won independent how many cards have I drawn. I played games against Fow, Double Fow, Drain during few first two turns...

I never Play in Grim long Facts or Fiction due to randomness. Draw seven cards are easier to cast but deck sometimes draws nothing and they are symetrical. Ad Nauseam draws much cards but is not each time easy castable... I am not sure what is better. 
17  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: A Second Potential Nut Kicking Card on: September 23, 2008, 03:05:56 pm
You don't need to run 3 tendrils... 1 or 2 is enough.  And while you like ad nauseum because it's new and it's what makes your deck different, I'm opposed to running 4 of them.  Every other time I use one, I hit one while I'm revealing my top card and lose 5 life, sometimes causing me to lose.  I suggested play testing it as a 1 of in long.  With a deck centered around it, I'd still only run 2-3 copies.  I suggested using fetch lands, and I'm sticking by that after seeing city of brass tear me up.  If you have to use mana on turn 1 and go off on turn 2, that's another life you're losing, which matters.  Running 4 chrome moxes also hurts.  In a deck like this, there's too many cards that are better than a card that makes you trade 2 cards for 1 mana.  Any hand I see with 2 chrome moxes makes me want to mulligan.  Maybe run 2-3 of those, if any.  If you'd like, I could goldfish it some more and make some adjustments, then post my version.

This also brings up a question for the typical long players... why not pact?

I was creating deck with 2 tendrils. Thn I noticed I have to find tendrils too often. If I am able to cast Ad Nauseam I want to have tendrils in it rather than Grim Tutor that needs more mana + more lifes. I have no way to find tendrils and draw them due to not including blue and Brainstorm and Ponder restriction so Imperial Seal, Mystical Tutor and Personal Tutor are not so good with Nauseam. I cannot find more better ways to find tendrils...

Your right that loosing for lifes by revealing another Nauseam is not good. But It doesn´t hurt me so much to play less of them.  I want to have enought mana to cast it but firstly I want to cast it. Multiple affect of all cards (I think Black Lotus is only card you want near each time more than once in hand but it is not possible) is bad thing. You have drawn second drain but need mana or business spells... You have drawn second Ad Nauseam and need protection or mana... But you have higher chance to have this card in opening. I created deck to test Ad Nauseam-I am not saying it is the best deck... It may needs some work. But I really like Ad Nauseum.

Chrome Mox-I heard that Chrome Mox is crappy card in TPS (with fows). I don´t like TPS and Pitchlong at all. I am fan of this card and I think you undervalue it. Two Chrome Moxes can be reason to muligan but in Ritual combo decks it works well (for me). I play 4 Chrome Mox UBR Grimlong and trying this with four Moxes. Ritual decks has too often cards they don´t need that can be pitched. With Nauseam it is very good. Maybe three can be better but I didn´t find any better mana in Black or Red color that I didn´t use. And I am satisfied with one+one more card needed black Mox or just storm + 1...

The last thing. Your right that playing City of Brass looks absurd. It probably is but It was funny to pay Pact Triggered Ability by city...  Very Happy
18  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: A Second Potential Nut Kicking Card on: September 23, 2008, 08:03:57 am
This is only slightly better than Necrologia, which isn't played at all:

Necrologia
Instant, 3BB (5)
Play Necrologia only during your end of turn step.
As an additional cost to play Necrologia, pay any amount of life.
Draw cards equal to the life paid this way.


This card limits you to seven in hand (unless you're using Spellbooks and Library of Leng?), all of which are not usable for a full turn.  AdN is infinitely better.  I don't think this is a card to just throw in combo as it exists today.  Rather, it seems to open a new mini-genre of decks.  It has a lot of potential. 
I was testing Ad Nauseam BR Long Deck.And I can say it is definitely brutal card. It is comparable the most to Bargain- You want to play it in first turn and WIN NOW. Bargain is one more mana expensive. The question is if you can play Bargain in four copies will you do it? I think most of Long players will consider it. When Chrome Mox is unrestricted Ad Nauseum fits into storm deck very well. I Created BR version - Blue Color was cut for Red mana.
Lands
    4  Badlands
    4 City of Brass
    2 Gemstone Mine

 Creatures
    2 Simian Spirit Guide

 Spells
    4 Rite of Flame
    4 Dark Ritual
    4 Cabal Ritual
    4 Pact of Negation
    1 Demonic Tutor
    1 Vampiric Tutor
    1 Wheel of Fortune
    1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
    1 Black Lotus
    4 Ad Nauseum
    2 Duress
    4 Chrome Mox
    1 Mox Jet
    1 Mox Ruby
    1 Mox Sapphire
    1 Mox Emerald
    1 Mox Pearl
    1 Sol Ring
    1 Mana Crypt
    1 Mana Vault
    3 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Lotus Petal
    1 Yawgmoth's Will
    1 Necropotence
    3 Grim Tutor
19  Eternal Formats / Global Vintage Tournament Reports and Results / Re: [Report] Tobias Egelhof, Eurovino Milan, 9th place on: September 17, 2008, 01:13:08 am
Good report Tobi. See you next year in Milano. I hope you will top 8 next time.
20  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: The State of Control Slaver on: September 09, 2008, 12:51:46 am
I was playing CS in Italy tournaments during last few days.
My Version was this:
4 Fow
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Mana Drain
2 Impulse
2 Duress
2 Tormod´s Crypt (at the first tournament 1 Crypt, 1 Crucible at the main event and team event 2 Crypts)
3 Sensei Divining Top
2 Night´s Whisper
2 Goblin Welder
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Brainstorm
1 Sundering Titan
1 Mindslaver
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawghmoth´s Will
1 Echoing Truth
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Ponder
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
5 Mox
4 Island (One strip mine first tourney main event 4 Islands)
3 Underground Sea
3 Flooded Stand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Volanic Island

Sideboard
2 Pyroclasm
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Thran Foundry
2 Pithing Needle
2 Engineered Explosives
1 REB
1 Pyroblast
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Triskelion
1 Echoing Truth

At the first event I finished 11th with 4-1-1. I got really unlucky there because near all of my opponents I defeated dropped tourney and I was the last of nine 13 points players...
At the team Event I didn´t loose a match but my teammates lost three from their four games Sad So we dropped after 1:2 team score.
At the main Event I got mana screw, colorscrew (have seen 3 basic Islands with three black cards in hand...), mana flood... I know there was much how to improve my playing and I stopped playing precisly after one game when I started with 3 Mox, Sea, Duress, Tinker, Tormod´s hand seeing with duress Null Rod, Kataki, Sword to Plowshares, Cursecatcher, Fetchland, Tundra, Stifle discarded Sword and after opponents Cursecatcher seen topdecked Force my Tinker. The Second game after Null Rod second Rod came... Total Score at event 5:4 and 109 place Sad

For me and my two robot build is another option Arcane Denial instead of Night´s Whisper. I love Impulse all the time. Despite it not getting land after Ponder...

Three top may be too much. The second thing is that it slows game really much.

Strip Mine had no much use for me except against Workshop decks. Against Ichorid I Stripped Bazaar and my opponent returned it back by Putrified field immediately or was able to do his tricks. So I decided to play neither Crucible or Strip Mine... Against most of the field Tormod´s Worked better than Crucible... My bad in deckbuilding was to change Strip Mine for Island instead of Fetchland-four Islands was too much and I lost games for it...
21  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: September 2008 Banned/Restricted Changes on: September 02, 2008, 12:23:09 pm
Just a Question Stephen Is not there much times better card than Twidle that can possibly work with Time Vault? I see this two card combo possible reason to restrict Vault. I don´t believe Flame Fusilade is reason to restrict Vault. But Voltaic Key + Time Vault may be reason when key is unrestricted. 
22  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: Is Arcane Denial viable in Type 1? on: September 01, 2008, 05:14:21 am
Arcane Denial+0 mana artifact looks simple to Demar´s draw two cards for 1U... Interesting how restricting Brainstorm opened doors for old cards...  I will try Denial in Slaver when I will have some time.
23  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: 4xTimespiral Storm on: September 01, 2008, 04:34:34 am
I agree with Vegeta but I am not sure if you will play Tendrils deck with Tide and Spirals... I was trying to test a deck with 4 Spirals, Chants and Drains but it wasn´t so good.
24  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: September 2008 Banned/Restricted Changes on: September 01, 2008, 02:41:19 am
It isn't as good as you'd think. When Chrome first came out TPS players tried it... and I saw many more games fizzle due to the card disadvantage than won due to another accelerant.
I am not talking about TPS. Grimlong is not TPS or Pitchlong. It has really much times cards it doesn´t need but need mana. Chrome Mox opens doors for Infernal Tutor to Vintage. I am not saying Chrome will be played 4 times but it will be 2-4 in my builds. It is the third most powerful Mox in Grimlong. 
25  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: September 2008 Banned/Restricted Changes on: September 01, 2008, 12:15:30 am
Chrome Mox unrestricted? Mox Diamond is good move but on the other hand Chrome Mox and it´s power with Draw sevens? Vintage may be more open to budget decks now. And it is good. But I think Grim long players will use full power + some Chromes...
26  Vintage Community Discussion / Rules Q&A / Searching Library vs choosing a card on: August 21, 2008, 04:05:14 pm
I know that I am able to not find a card during searching the library that is specific(nonland, Island, sorcery...). 1) What about Demonic tutor and looking for card? Do I have to search card?

2) And what about Thoughseize? If I see my opponents cards with maddness do I have to discard them? Or if my thoughtseize is Missdirected?
27  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Deck] Post Brainstorm Restriction Slaver on: July 08, 2008, 02:25:27 am
wox2, I'd make a couple changes to that list. First off, integrating some sort of artifact land so that you can actually get a slaver lock with Crucible would be one. Yeah, you can win without an actual infinite lock, but I'll also say that it results in immediate game concessions where having to actually win through would pose problems.
I am not impressed much by artifact lands. They loose game against Null Rods and Wastelands. Infinite Slaver is nice thing but on the other hand if things will go in a good way you will be able to slave some times and then will to replay artifacts and that looks easier way...

I'd look at what I was planning on Explosives-ing and find something better to answer that problem. Echoing Truth solves lots of problems and you can fetch it up with Merch if you need to.
I like Explosives. They are pernament solution. Echoing truth is more universal solving Null Rod but not permanent.

You have no Mana Crypt... what? That's a misplay.
I see so many times in Mirror my opponents Mana Crypt killing him. This deck is not gifts you are not able to combo out so fast... Deck is mana lighter. It includes just one robot and slaver. I am not having troubles to find enough mana. But I am having troubles with Aggro decks. 

I'd run 4 Mana Drains. So much actually depends on having them, and the mana burst is what makes Slaver really playable.
I've never really gotten into Duress in Slaver either. A 1-for-1 trade isn't in Slaver's interests-- I'd rather be Draining my target instead. You lose a bit of your combo matchup but you gain in not fetching Sea on turn 1 and getting Wastelanded, which will happen a lot more than getting Stormed out on turn 1 will.
4 drains are better against nothing but Stax. 3 Drains + 2 Duress are better against everything else in my experience. You want to see Duress in Drain Mirror in opening against Combo. Maybe you loose first land due to wasteland after duressing but consider if you want to discard first Lock component or mana and then loose land or to have Island and got Sphered.

I really don't want to come off as a jerk but Magus of the Future Sight and his enchantable friend are both ass when Memory Jar exists in the format. Hell, I'd take Mind's Eye over it. I'd probably take JMD Tome over it too.

I haven´t use Magus of the Future Neither Future Sight. Maybe using Memory Jar is good idea. I haven't time to test it.

When you're building Slaver, you should have a plan for every event. For example, I'm not sure what you Tinker for against Stax, wox2. Tinker is one of your strongest plays against them, and going for Titan or Crucible both seem loose compared to what you can get rolling in Triskelavus or DSC, if you choose to run that.
Game against Workshop decks are really different and all four cards - DSC, Crucible, Titan or Triskelavus can win. I love Titan against most of the decks. Decks with duals loose instantly thanks to him (combo not each time). 7/10 body is really good against workshop decks if they haven't Welder in play. Crucible is on of cards I want to see against workshops. I can control game and fetch, play duals from grave or Strip Mine opponent each turn. I am not fan of Triskelavus. He is difficult to cast and is a death card in opening. He is good against Welders and Confidants but needs too much mana. I play Triskelion in my side instead. I won't play more than one robot in deck because I don´t want to devastate my opening hand and early game. DSC is good when facing aggro or Stax. He is inferior to Titan in many times. He is shuffled back to deck, when Titan can be welded back to game. 

Vamp is weird since it makes you fetch out Seas and it shorts you a draw in a deck already critically short on real draw. I don't know if I'd run FOF with it to offset it, but I'd consider it.
I am one of players that will never play deck that wins half of the games by resolving Tinker without Vampiric Tutor. FoF is crap. If you are saying that you should have each time your gameplan say me what you do when you have not enough mana for Fof? When you want one card in a deck and you will not see it in those 5. FoF is random good random bad. I won't play them over Gifts Ungiven and Gifts are saying Recoup and making deck less mana light than it is. if I have to choose Vampiric, Gifts or FoF I will choose Vampiric.

Finally, <3 to Rich Shay for remembering something I said a year ago that I forgot. Yes, Top is a draw engine when you have Welder in play since you tap it to draw a card and then Weld it away in response. Especially sick with two welders and/or two Tops in play.
Yep it is combo  Wink I am not saying Tops or Welders are in deck for Welder-Top trick but they works nice together.
28  Eternal Formats / Creative / Re: [Deck] Post Brainstorm Restriction Slaver on: June 16, 2008, 03:04:53 am
I´ve been testing Slaver for a while. I think Top is must and also is Duress/Thoughtseize. My recent decklist:

// Lands
3 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island

// Creatures
2 Goblin Welder
1 Sundering Titan

// Spells
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Brainstorm
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Duress
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Force of Will
2 Lat-Nam's Legacy
3 Mana Drain
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mindslaver
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Night's Whisper
1 Ponder
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will

I don´t think Magus of the Future will have a space in my deck. There is so much good draw cards with lower cost.... I am not sure about Impulse but I really like both Lat-Nam's Legacy and Night's Whisper.
29  Eternal Formats / Miscellaneous / Re: What is the correct play? on: May 31, 2008, 09:51:04 am
My play will be :
1. Tap Sea + sol ring ---->>> Demonic with 1 floating for Gush
2. Tap island , Gush with U and 1 floating
3. sacrifice Lotus for BBB, Cast Will with BU floating
4. Lotus for GGG Demonic for Fastbond with UGG floating
5. Fastbond UG floating
6 Sea, Island --->>> Gush with UUUG floating
7. Brainstorm then fetch
8. Brainstorm then fetch

You will have access to 10 cards, Gush engine allowing you to cast everything you draw. You can possibly not draw combo but if you face blue deck you shoud win with so many disruption in deck.
30  Eternal Formats / Creative / [Deck] Empty the Kobolds on: May 31, 2008, 04:44:41 am
For a long time I was thinking how to build cheap (Nonpower) Kobold combo deck. This article is not for Vintage veterans. Deck is not perfect but I believe it is good for begginers who want to play Vintage if they are not allowed to play proxies. Testing of the deck was done via MWS because lack of Vintage tourneys in my country - this resulted into sideboard choices against full power decks. I was asked to public article from some people I faced with the deck so I am doing it now for all people (article was published before few days on Czech website so this is just translation). If you find gramatic mistakes in text pls PM me - I am sorry for them but English is not my mother language.

I began with old monoblack version.

               Version 1
           Lands ( 12 )
    12 x Swamp
   
             Creatures ( 18 )
    4  x Crimson Kobolds
    4  x Crookshank Kobolds
    4  x Kobolds of Kher Keep
    4  x Ornithopter
    2  x Myr Moonvessel

            Instants ( 12 )
    4 x Dark Ritual   
    4 x Culling the Weak
    2 x Songs of the Damned
    1 x Demonic Consultation
    1 x Vampiric Tutor

         Sorceries ( 7 )
    3 x Diabolic Intent
    2 x Tendrils of Agony
    1 x Demonic Tutor
    1 x Yawgmoth's Will

   
          Artifacts ( 10 )
    4 x Skullclamp
    1 x Chrome Mox
    1 x Lion's Eye Diamond
    1 x Lotus Petal
    1 x Mana Crypt
    1 x Mana Vault
    1 x Sol Ring

          Enchantments ( 1 )
    1 x Necropotence

            Deck was not bad but it had some problems.
1. you got more than enought Culling the Weak, Skullclamp and Diabolic Intent in opening with no Kobolds or just one.
2. In the middle of the combo you often get cards you don´t need and don´t get cards you don´t need(much mana, few mana, much Skullclamps and cards that need creatures).
3. Meddling Mage- really annoying to be killed by Meddling Mage naming Tendrils in preside games.
4. If you don´t resolve Skullclamp you have a trouble. And wore thing is you cannot say you won´t draw thresh during clamping two or three kobolds.

I wanted to solve these problems by adding Street Wraith and blue splash for Chain of Vapor.

                Version 2
             Lands ( 12 )
    3 x Polluted Delta
    4 x Swamp
    2 x Underground Sea
    3 x Bloodstained Mire

          Creatures ( 19 )
    4 x Crimson Kobolds
    4 x Crookshank Kobolds
    4 x Kobolds of Kher Keep
    4 x Street Wraith
    3 x Ornithopter

              Instants ( 11 )
    4 x Dark Ritual
    3 x Songs of the Damned
    2 x Culling the Weak
    1 x Vampiric Tutor
    1 x Chain of Vapor
   
            Sorceries ( 7 )   
    2 x Tendrils of Agony
    2 x Infernal Contract
    1 x Demonic Tutor
    1 x Diabolic Intent
    1 x Yawgmoth's Will
         
           Artifacts ( 10 )   
    4 x Skullclamp
    1 x Chrome Mox
    1 x Lion's Eye Diamond
    1 x Lotus Petal
    1 x Mana Crypt
    1 x Mana Vault
    1 x Sol Ring
   
          Enchantments ( 1 )
    1 x Necropotence

         Deck became better. One Mage was not lost game. Street Wraith is alternative kill, improves Songs of the Damned allow you to draw better cards.
         It was still difficult to play against workshop decks with 6-9 Spheres, Chalice of the Void and not easy to side... You can side in Phyrexian Negators and Duresses but you will make from the deck Aggro Drain with not bad draw engine...


                                         Solution
           In the Gift age I tried once Empty the Warrens + Skullclamp. It was not so good but improved Stax matchup (partly). I decided to add Red color to the deck. And after few attempts I get this :

Empty the Kobolds
            Lands ( 10 )
    4 x Sulfurous Springs
    4 x Badlands
    2 x Bloodstained Mire

                Instants ( 6 )
    4 x Dark Ritual
    1 x Vampiric Tutor
    1 x Culling the Weak
             
               Sorceries ( 15 )
    4 x Rite of Flame
    3 x Empty the Warrens
    2 x Diabolic Intent
    1 x Yawgmoth's Will
    1 x Wheel of Fortune
    1 x Tendrils of Agony
    1 x Necropotence
    1 x Demonic Tutor
    1 x  Burning Wish

              Artifacts ( 10 )
    4 x Skullclamp
    1 x Mana Vault
    1 x Mana Crypt
    1 x Lotus Petal
    1 x Lion's Eye Diamond
    1 x Chrome Mox
    1 x Sol Ring

              Creatures ( 19 )
    4 x Crimson Kobolds
    4 x Kobolds of Kher Keep
    4 x Crookshank Kobolds
    4 x Simian Spirit Guide
    3 x Dark Confidant

           Sideboard ( 15 )
    4 x Ingot Chewer
    4 x Pyroblast
    4 x Leyline of the Void
    1 x Tendrils of Agony
    1 x Infernal Contract

                    Lands
           Deck has less lands than previous versions. This is resulted by Simian Spirit Guide and by strategy to cast fast Warrens. All lands produce both mana colors. I was trying for a while City of Brass and Undiscovered Paradise with blue splash but disadvantiges of those two were too bad for deck compared to near none profit. 4 Badlands, 2 Mires and 4 Springs have stayed.
I am not sure if it is better to play Blood Crypts or Sulfurous Springs or their combination. Sometimes one is better sometimes second... It is personal choice.


                              Instants
Dark Ritual - Storm combo base card. The best mana after Black Lotus.
Culling the Weak - not bad not good. Needs one creature. Two rituals are better than one Weak with creature. But one is ok.
Vampiric Tutor - one mana tutor...

                                       Sorceries
Rite of Flame - best red ritual. Cumullated effect may result into better effectivity than with Dark.
Empty the Warrens - firstly this card was an alternative kill condition. Then I noticed really good synergy with Warrens and Skullclamp. It is not good for deck that Engineered Explosives, Powder Kegs and Echoing truths are so much played but you have to live with it. I think 4 is much and if I play Burning Wish I need one in side.
Demonic Tutor - Vintage players cannot use Fetchland Tutors so they use one Demonic as a substitute.
Burning Wish and Diabolic Tutor- there are not much beter cheap black or red tutors. They have their ups and downs.
Wheel of Fortune- Draw sevens are not popular in time of Flash. But they help to create good storm...
Tendrils of Agony- kill condition.
Yawgmoth's Will- you sometimes want play cards more than once...

                             Artifacts
            All artifact acceleration is used except power 9 and Mox Diamond. There is not enought lands for Diamond.
Skullclamp - you win some games with resolved Clamp. It was banned in T2, Extended and Legacy. It is fair for Vintage. I think it is also fair in Legacy.

                            Creatures
         There are Kobolds... 0/1 for 0 mana... one Storm one creature...
Dark Confidant - Draw stabilizator and beater. Sullclamp was not enought. Confidant in play doesn´t need any other card. That makes him sometimes better than Skullclamp.

Simian Spirit Guide-uncountable mana + sometimes beater or food for Skullclamps or Intent.
 


                                                Sideboard
Ingot Chewer- Workshop decks... when I am looking at side I think there may be 3 Chewers and 1 Shattering Spree for Burning Wish but you won´t have sometimes enought mana for Spree.
Pyroblast - You can decide to play Duress or Thoughtseize instead but I like "red Force of Will" (Simian Spirit Guide + Pyro)
Leyline of the Void- best answer on Ichorids Leyline of the Void... don´t forget that Skullclamp is not working under Leyline.
Rest of sideboard is Burning Wish toolbox.
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