Dicussing card choices in Parfait

[Anonymous]

Lately I have seen Claw Of Gix becoming very popular in Parfait (I don't know If it has been for a while - I just got back into t1)

I've noticed that the main reason for picking Claw Of Gix Over Zuran Orb is to be able to dodge buyback spells like Capsize and Allay.

What The Claw does, is eliminate the permanent targeted by the buyback spell, thus "leaving it countered upon resolution" - meaning that it's caster can't get it back into his hand.
For the Parfait player this means getting rid of the buyback spell, at the cost of one of his own permanents (which is quite alright considering the fact that the Parfait player has numerous ways to recur his spells).
This strategy adds a second drawback:  having to get fewer life from saccing lands and having to leave mana open to pay for it.

I prefer Zuran Orb over the Claw, but I can see this problem for the Parfait player. I do however feel that Seal Of Cleansing/Aura of Silence would be able to fill the same role in the deck, targeting your own enchantments/artifacts to make the buyback spells "fizzle".

Another card you could SB in to fill this role is Oblation, which grants you 2 cards in the process. The problem with this approach is that Oblation is way more easily countered than a turn 1 Claw of Gix. Still worth Considering I think.

Since I haven't played t1 tournaments lately, I don't think I realize how big this problem is for Parfait. Is this part of the reason why parfait is considered a tier 2 or 3 deck at best ? It's inability to handle these situations.

I think all cards in the deck work very well together - what is Parfait's worst matchup(s) ?

(oops - forgot to introduce myself!)
I am known as Blofeld on most magic/music-forums. I started playing M:tG when antiquities was around and stopped again when wizards released Homelands (yuck!). A friend of mine got me back into the game around Invasion and I've been a competitive t2 player since. When I got myself a signed Mox Pearl last year, (for 4 CotH + 1 Adakar Wastes) - I new I would be getting back into t1. I tried building some of the rogue decks of old, but found that the level of play had increased immensely. I thus started to read t1 articles around the net and have just completed my own Parfait deck (finding a deck that suits my style of play and at the same time utilizing my single p9 card). I've been browsing this board for a while now and since there's no member registration up right now, i thought I'd start out here.
I hope to hear some responses to this  Thx.
 - Anders Noer (Denmark)

[Rando]

So...taking time off S.P.E.C.T.R.E to play some Magic huh?

For what it's worth, I think the Zuran Orb's natural synergy in being part of the draw engine far outweighs the ability to counter a capsize or two.  I don't think I'd even play 1 and 1 for fear of not seeing the Orb at all.

[MoreFling]

So leaving out mana for claws sucks, but leaving out mana for Oblation doesn't? Right.... Also, there's no real room in the deck to do it.
Aura's / Seal's --> Wouldn't you rather save them to be usefull to lockdown your opponent, or save you from a combo? Really, that reasoning alone shows you haven't been playtesting it AT ALL.

Zorb is a fine choice if you're in a control-low metagame, or in a metagame where cunning-wish for allay or capsize doesn't happen, but please.....

Also, a thread like this already popped up in the Vintage forum, so unless you have a new take on things, why not read there?

[Puschkin]

Morefling, don´t be too harsh. He cannot post there so why not discuss it here? Asking for decklists that are already somewhere on the forum is dumb, but this is okay.
Blofeld made one of the more elaborate posts here and I do not want to get users like him driven away. The reasons why someone prefers Claws over Zorb may be obvious for advanced players but do not forget which forum this is. Blofeld said he paused gaming from Homelands to Invasion, doesnt that ring a bell?
His question is perfectly valid and extensive playtesting is by no way a requirement to post in this forum! Even if he had playtested - you have to be already an advanced player and have advanced knowledge in Type I in order to make the correct conclusions. Keep that into mind.

So, Blofeld, please sont get turned off, okay  

On a topic-related node: While ZOrb might need no mana to operate and might net you more life out of your lands the Claw is able to squeeze some life out of non-land permanents which is sometimes useful.

EDIT: Typos and grammar\n\n

[MoreFling]

Heh, sorry for being annoyed heh, that sometimes happens.

ok, /unannoyed mode

My arguments still stand though, I just should've packeged them nicer.

@Puschkin : Threads like these are popping up a lot here, and while I'm happy with the general interest in parfait, I've given this answer to people in about 5 or 6 threads now, which might explain my state of annoyness  

Anyway, I hope I haven't scared anybody off... since I agree this was actually one of the better posts recently.

[Puschkin]

And you are promoted now! Congrats to the VA ...

[Anonymous]

Thx for all of the responses... I can take it   I understand why you would get annoyed from answering the same sort of questions Morefling!
And thx for looking after me Puschkin.

I've come to realize that Oblation is pathetic in Parfait (or pretty much anything else) - because of it's lack of diversity - hey... I actually did some play testing on this (ok a wee bit only), and I see that Claw Of Gix has it's uses - I'm sticking with 2 Zorb's though - a meta-game choice probably - I'm in a scrub environment as there are very few vintage events in my area - I seem to face off against all sorts of weird rogue decks, very few of whom play these nasty buyback spells...I'll have to keep my eyes open if this changes.

Rando - S.P.E.C.T.R.E  good one !... Glad to see other J.B. fans here.