Disburden
Basic User
Posts: 602
Blue Blue, Drain you.
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« on: October 30, 2006, 12:39:25 am » |
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http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13064.htmlI am not sure what has happened to Steve Menendian's Mana Drain membership, but that didn't stop me. I decided to open a thread Steve's newest article on the Open Forum. I strongly believe this is one of the best articles he has written so far, and about a deck I really hold dear to my heart as well. One of the most powerful decks ever created, and probably the best by Smmennen. The analysis of Gifts piles in a deep and thorough puzzle method. Please dicuss!
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Unrestrict: Library of Alexandria and Burning Wish.
Location: Carmel, NY (Putnam County)
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Vegeta2711
Bouken Desho Desho?
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Posts: 1734
Nyah!
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« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2006, 03:46:24 pm » |
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I'm not a very good Gifts player, but I still figured out the first situation in about 2 minutes. Now typically you'll need to be a wee bit faster than that at a tourney, I know, but I'm surprised at how much emphasis he put on how 'insane' a trick like that was. Like you were playing the entire game from behind the 8-ball and could've mentally been prepping yourself for making similar Gifts piles anyway. Not to mention it doesn't exactly take a rocket surgeon to figure out how to win with tutors + infinite mana.
I mean the piece was alright, but it's getting kind of old when every article is, 'look at how much skill vint-a-ge has!!11 *improbable scenario*!'
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Methuselahn
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Posts: 1051
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« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2006, 04:18:08 pm » |
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It's true. The article was alright and all. Steve can illustrate the scenario well and it's easy to follow. The article delivers what it promises.
I was hoping that the list would have included Dark Ritual, as that change seems to have some merit. Steve had addressed Rituals in MDG when he was still posting here. The masturbation excercises would've been much more interesting to me had they included a Ritual.
In the end, I guess I'd rather read an article that dealt with theory rather than something that I can do at home with myself.
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« Last Edit: October 30, 2006, 06:53:36 pm by Methuselahn »
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desolutionist
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« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2006, 05:51:23 pm » |
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I agree. These puzzle articles are becoming mundane. In all honestly, if he continues to tweak MDG, it will eventually become Pitch Long. Sacrificing flexibility so that it can goldfish slightly easier is foolish.
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« Last Edit: February 02, 2007, 03:16:52 pm by desolutionist »
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dicemanx
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Posts: 1398
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« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2006, 07:47:35 pm » |
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Steve is obviously a brilliant guy, and these articles are very entertaining to say the least. I would go so far as to say that they illustrate how MDG is the best Gifts build (in fact, they might say just the opposite given the horrid complexity associated at times with having to play with Gifts Ungiven itself under such time pressures), but they certainly illustrate just ho complex this format can be.
Although I don't agree with some of Smmenen's views on Vintage (Long is the only thing holding Drain decks in check, and MDG is the only Drain deck that can beat Long??), he does a fantasitc job yet again in getting people excited about the format.
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Without cultural sanction, most or all our religious beliefs and rituals would fall into the domain of mental disturbance. ~John F. Schumaker
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Smmenen
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« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2007, 10:22:38 pm » |
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Steve is obviously a brilliant guy, and these articles are very entertaining to say the least.
Thank you Peter - that's quite flattering  Coming from you, that means alot. This article is now non-premium so all can read it. |
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« Last Edit: February 01, 2007, 10:28:37 pm by Smmenen »
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Imsomniac101
Basic User
Posts: 307
Ctrl-Freak
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« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2007, 08:24:31 pm » |
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I agree. These puzzle articles are becoming mundane. In all honestly, if he continues to tweak MDG, it will eventually become Pitch Long. Sacrificing flexibility so that it can goldfish slightly easier is foolish.
Says the guy who says that Bwish over MD Tendrils is foolish because speed is better. It was a good article. Most of the time, I make gift piles on gut instinct, and this article really challenged me to make a closer analysis of my plays. |
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Mindslaver>ur deck revolves around tinker n yawgwill which makes it inferior
Ctrl-Freak>so if my deck is based on the 2 most broken cards in t1,then it sucks?gotcha
78>u'r like fuckin chuck norris
Evenpence>If Jar Wizard were a person, I'd do her
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desolutionist
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« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2007, 08:39:49 pm » |
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I agree. These puzzle articles are becoming mundane. In all honestly, if he continues to tweak MDG, it will eventually become Pitch Long. Sacrificing flexibility so that it can goldfish slightly easier is foolish.
Says the guy who says that Bwish over MD Tendrils is foolish because speed is better. Good one. You got me dood. Actually, there is a difference. The Burning Wish vs. ToA is rooted in the DSC/suboptimal win condition argument. |
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« Last Edit: February 02, 2007, 08:47:34 pm by desolutionist »
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Smmenen
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« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2007, 02:49:03 am » |
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I agree. These puzzle articles are becoming mundane. In all honestly, if he continues to tweak MDG, it will eventually become Pitch Long. Sacrificing flexibility so that it can goldfish slightly easier is foolish.
Says the guy who says that Bwish over MD Tendrils is foolish because speed is better. It was a good article. Most of the time, I make gift piles on gut instinct, and this article really challenged me to make a closer analysis of my plays. Me too! Writing the article gave me the opportunity to really inspect gifts decisionmaking in a way I hadn't in some time. That said, I think that ETW merits a new article on Gifts puzzles as many of the solutions are going to be very different with ETW in the deck! |
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