Guildpact Impacts

[rureddy31]

I am not a huge expert on Stax. In fact, to be quite honest, I have never in my life played the deck. However, I have played against it, and I can tell you I hate it. Stax does what it does so effectively sometimes. However, one problem I notice all too often is card-hand size. While fighting for board position, stax generally depletes their hand quite quickly with no way to replenish it. Please, do correct me if I am wrong. I mean, sure, there is TFK, but that requires 3 mana. As I was glancing at the partial spoilers, I came across a rather interesting blue enchantment.

Hatching Plans  - 1U
Enchantment 
When Hatching Plans is put into a graveyard from play, draw three cards.

I don't know if this will work its way into stax, but it certainly seems promising. Not only does it let you win the permanent war easier (you are bound to draw a few spells to cast) when this is sacced to smokestack, but it allows you to fill your hand for such a small investment. If the opposing player finds a way to deal with your board, hatching plans gives you a good chance to draw into more threats. I don't know, this is completely speculation, much like suppression field when it came out.

The second card I came across has mountains of potential, but may fall short. You be the judge:

Mizzium Transreliquat 
Artifact 
3: Mizzium Transreliquat becomes a copy of target artifact until end of turn
1UR: Mizzium Transreliquat becomes a copy of target artifact and gains this ability.

I could see this in slaver and in gifts. Although, I expect many people to declare this a "win-more" card. I am just curious what you all think. It seems pretty good copying a trike, or a pentavus, or an opposing collossus, or even a lotus to set off a next-turn broken Yawg Will. There are just so many possibiliities for artifacts in vintage, this thing HAS to be useful.
Thoughts, comments, etc? 

[pyr0ma5ta]

Mizzium Transwhatever already exists, it's called Sculpting Steel, and it comes without the 3 non-shop mana requirement.  And Sculpting Steel doesn't see play. 

Hatching Plans, while nice for drawing cards, does nothing on its own.  Every card in stax is either mana, tutors, or else a lock piece that is good just by itself.  Hatching Plans does...nothing whatsoever by itself, and does nothing at all in fact unless you have a stack to ramp.  And it's not even an artifact to Weld or shop out on turn 1.  Terrible.  If you want a card advantage artifact, try Solemn Simulacrum.

[rureddy31]

Sculpting Steel is VERY different. The artifact you want to copy has to already be in play, and cannot re-become anything. For example, with a Triskelion in play, you make it become a copy, use the three counters, and then make it become the copy again. It is VERY VERY different. I tend to agree with you on hatching Plans. I am more or less looking for any thoughts people might have. I am a big fan of Mizzium Transreliquat. It would only be a one of, another target for your gifts, and it is completely weldable...Also, it throws off Gifts primary gameplan. I don't know...it seems good to me

[Cross]

I'm not a judge, but Triskelion doesn't work that way. Triskelion's ability is a come into play ability, so simply copying it again, would not give you fresh counters to ping with. Same goes for pentavus. This card is strictly worse than sculpting steel, and copy artifact, neither of which see play.

Also, you seem to have a misunderstanding of gifts' primary gameplan, as this card would do absolutely nothing against its "primary gameplan."

Hatching plans is an interesting draw engine, which works with stax gameplan. Interesting, but not amazing.

[rureddy31]

My mistake. The card becomes much worse if you are right. Forget I even said that...

[pyr0ma5ta]

Gifts' gameplan against Stax is to either resolve Rebuild and then wish, or Tinker and the Time Walk.  Where does the Mizzium thingy do anything?  How will you pay for the Mizzium's activation cost?  With your Shop?  Stax is a mana hungry deck that is tapping out mainphase most of the time to cast things that make your opponent do nothing, like Smokestack, Uba Mask, Tangle Wire, ITEOC, or whatever lock piece is the flavor of the moment.  Mizzium does a whole lot of nothing when it comes out.  Not to mention it has no synergy with the Null Rods that you should be playing in Stax.  Pretty sure these are strictly t2 casual only. 

[lordmayhem]

Hatching Plans is cool and has awesome synergy with Smokestack but the problem is that it does absolutely nothing if you don't have a Smokestack out, and having dead cards in hand in Stax is a bad bad thing. I think that as a 2/3-of, its worth doing some testing though. Did you do any testing rureddy, or is this just speculation?

[The Atog Lord]

yeah, becoming a trike doesn't give you counters.

And copying Mindslaver invokes the legend rule. Sadly.

[forests failed you]

Shattering Spree seems to have potential.

Also I've heard that there is a goblin that costs 1R that is a  2/1, and if you used green to pay part of its mana cost destroys an artifact when it comes into play.  That seems like it could definately find its way into FCG, they do play recruiter to tutor for it.  At the very worst it could be a sideboard card.

[Mantis]

Hatching Plans won't do anything for Stax. Problem is, Smokestack is the card where your opponent is likely holding counters for. They do not have to counter Hatching Plans. Smokestack (+CoW) is Stax primary gameplan. You should win when having Smokestack out and this makes Hatching Plans a winmore card. I'm not sold on this card.

As a sidenote: Could the word Stax be added to spellcheck please? Thanks in advance.

[Revvik]

If anything, I would use Hatching Plans AGAINST Stax, and there are already so many better, less narrow cards to use against Stax.

[vroman]

Plague Rusalka is perfect to push UB fish up to tier. gives the deck a much needed 1 drop and turns their whole team into walking darkblasts. easy welder kill and lots of combat tricks.

[Glix]

The rusaka is pretty good, I didn't really consider it.

Shattering Spree will definitly see play in my Gifts sb.

Mizzium does have interesting interactions with smokestack/2-spheres/other stax elements, but it is most likely too slow, too mana intensive, and too much of a win-more card.

Quicken could be interesting in combo mirrors, as you can wait for tendrils, quicken -> your own tendrils.  However, I would lean towards this not seeing any play.

Tin-Street Hooligan is interesting, perhaps a replacement for the sex monkeys in belcher sbs?  Or as a one-of to be fetched in FCG?

Hatching Plans, unless there is extra text (I can't see the bottom of the card, so I don't konw), will almost definitly not be played.  Ever.  Unless some weird combo comes out...

Thats all I noticed from this set.

[Vegeta2711]

Tin-Street Hooligan should see play in FCG as a 1-of in the maindeck as a tutor target and that's only if you've maxed the deck out on other important Goblins and disruption. If you have a freebie slot, feel free to run him. As for any board implications, AM > Hooligan, all day, in any match.

[vartemis]

Here are the cards I think might have a place in vintage:

White: none
Blue: Quicken.  It will be sideboard material for a wish grab, mainly in tendrils decks.
Black: Plagued Rusalka. as mentioned earlier, great 1 drop for fish decks containing black
         Cremate: Invasion reprint.  may get tried out. doesnt have the card advantage of coffin purge, but it does cantrip.
        Skeletal Vampire: might be a replacement for the queen in dragon, for those who dont run caller.  Tokens are flying, so provides a little evasion for you.
Red: Shattering Spree:  sideboard card for anything running burning wish.
        Tin Street Hooligan:  1 of in foodchain
Green: Leyline of Lifeforce.  That kid that shows up with elf stompy to power tournaments all the time will pack 4 so you cant force his stuff.  seriously.
Gold: None
Guild:Orzhov Guildmage.  Replaces hellkite and the master in multicolor builds. can easily be hardcast in a pinch and just go off.  Life loss gets around many irritants, such as chasms, confinements, believers, etc.  Master only better against slaver decks that run platinum. Dammit i just got my foil master too. )
        Wild Cantor.  This could be used in Belcher in place of sphere.  Its not an artifact, and it doesnt have a cantrip, but it is on-color and costs 1 less to get the mana you need.  1 in the sideboard can also be wished for in a pinch.
Artifact: None
Land: Duals for the broke ass broke (they aint that much cheaper though)

thats my 2 cents anyways.

j

[PacmanXSA]

Hatching plans is not optimal card draw in Stax seeing as if the stax player has a ramped stack in play; they should probalby get board advantage/win the game already.

Pac

[Hydra]

Niv-Mizzet + Curiosity = win for those trippy combo folks out there.

[vartemis]

Niv-Mizzet + Curiosity = win for those trippy combo folks out there.

no, youd die.  deal a point.. draw a card.. causes it to deal a point, causes you to draw a card.  You create a huge stack, but you die because you will deck yourself and not be able to draw a card, while the stack has not resolved killing your opponent. I must admit its a more stylish suicide than donating lich .

j

[Hydra]

Not really, as the damage needs to be actually dealt for Curiosity to trigger if memory serves.  That means damage resolves, the Curiosity triggers, which resolves, which triggers damage, etc.

That means the loop ends when your opponent dies from damage or you deck, whichever comes first.

[Kasuras]

An objective look:

-No tutor whatsoever.
-Nothing that makes an obscene amount of mana. Nothing that makes more mana than its cost is.
-Draw:

(Cantrips)
-Conjurer's Ban
-Cremate
-Electrolyze
-Quicken
-Repeal
-Runeboggle
-To Arms
-Wildsize
-Withstand
(regular draw)
-Train of Thought: you are really not going to pay 1U for a card, neither are you going to pay 2UU for 2. You can cast Fact or Fiction and Gifts Ungiven for that mana at instant speed!
-Glint-Eye Nephilim: simply no.
-Hatching Plans: not in the mainboard because building a deck around this card will not work. Perhaps sideboard against stax but I'd much rather have something that destroys their artifacts.
-Invoke the Firemind: Braingeyser and Stroke of Genius aren't played.
-Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind: too much mana to hardcast, worse than Akroma in Oath.
-Cerebral Vortex: interesting card, can't comment much on it.
-Drowned Rasulka: no.


Creatures with potential:
-Nothing that beats Akroma or DSC.
-Nothing that resembles Goblin Welder.
-Plenty of stuff for aggro hate decks: Burning-Tree Shaman, Tin Street Hooligan, black Rasulka, Shattering Spree, and so on

Removal:
-Moratarium Stone
-Shattering Spree
-Plagued Rasulka
-Tin Street Hooligan

Other general fun stuff:
-Djinn Illuminatus
-Quicken
-Goblin Flectomancer
-Izzet Guidlmage
-Blue, black and perhaps green leyline.
-Stitch in Time


Things I expect to see happening in vintage due to this set: Shattering Spree, Tin Street Hooligan, RG hate is better, UR fish improved.

Not a vintage set, that's for sure.

Edited for clarity, grammar and layout.

[vartemis]

Not really, as the damage needs to be actually dealt for Curiosity to trigger if memory serves.  That means damage resolves, the Curiosity triggers, which resolves, which triggers damage, etc.

That means the loop ends when your opponent dies from damage or you deck, whichever comes first.

You are correct. so the only factor is that your opponent must have less life than cards in your library. 

I stand corrected .

j

[Outlaw]

Not really, as the damage needs to be actually dealt for Curiosity to trigger if memory serves.  That means damage resolves, the Curiosity triggers, which resolves, which triggers damage, etc.

That means the loop ends when your opponent dies from damage or you deck, whichever comes first.

You are correct. so the only factor is that your opponent must have less life than cards in your library. 

I stand corrected .

j

Curiosity is a may draw ability.  You stack 20 draws then stop the next and you dont die, not drawing another card stops his ability.....

[cssamerican]

White
Nothing playable in Vintage.

Blue
Nothing playable in Vintage.

Green
Nothing playable in Vinatge.

Black
Leyline of the Void: I still don’t think this will prove be to be very good, but I am sure quite a few people will try it.

Plagued Rusalka: Welder removal on a cheap body is always worth looking into.

Red
Shattering Spree: A great card, but very few decks will be able to really use it.

RG
Tin Street Hooligan: While not technically a gold card will only be played in decks that have access to green. It will probably be played in every RGHate deck out there, I am not sure about its role in FCG though. If you use Lackey to put it into play or if a Warchief is in play it doesn’t do anything.

Burning-Tree Shaman: It might get played in RGHate decks as well. The potential for damage could really add up against certain decks, and it isn’t a bad body to begin with.

Scab-Clan Mauler: It doesn’t seem like it would be too bad in a RG deck, its only problem is that it is just an efficient beater.

UR
Electrolyze: It is a nice burn spell that replaces itself, though I don’t think it is going to replace Fire/Ice because the tap ability is just too good.

Schismotivate: It looks interesting for UR Fish as sideboard material because it could bring some very surprising combat tricks to the table. Aggro decks beware.

Wee Dragonauts: It is another potentially cool card for URFish which would give a more aggro feel.

Cerebral Vortex: It is another interesting card because it can be used as a draw engine and a finisher in certain situations. I am just not sure how often the finisher part would come up.

Stitch in Time: I really don’t see this being played, but it is a powerful effect so I guess in the right deck the gamble might be worth it.

Seems like a good set for the budget player because of all the toys for UR Fish and RG Hate, but that is about it.

[49 Cents]

Cerebral Vortex sounds good against Dragon..?

[Limbo]

Cerebral Vortex and Electrolize both show some promise. The vortex should be nice after somebody is so nice to cast a draw 7, or is starting bargain shenenigans

[vartemis]

Curiosity is a may draw ability.  You stack 20 draws then stop the next and you dont die, not drawing another card stops his ability.....

I meant for you to kill your opponent outwrite with him, you would need more cards than he has life.  If you have 18 cards and he is at 20 life, you cant kill him, as you must draw the card to deal damage.

j

[Outlaw]

Curiosity is a may draw ability.  You stack 20 draws then stop the next and you dont die, not drawing another card stops his ability.....

I meant for you to kill your opponent outwrite with him, you would need more cards than he has life.  If you have 18 cards and he is at 20 life, you cant kill him, as you must draw the card to deal damage.

j

You can wait to oath a blessing into the bin though. If the opponent is at 20 life this is still a faster kill than typical oath kills.

[Yare]

Shattering Spree seems to have potential.

Also I've heard that there is a goblin that costs 1R that is a  2/1, and if you used green to pay part of its mana cost destroys an artifact when it comes into play.  That seems like it could definately find its way into FCG, they do play recruiter to tutor for it.  At the very worst it could be a sideboard card.

I agree with this.

Shattering Spree was my number one pick for a card that "will" have an impact on the format, or at least will definitively see play

Electrolyze might....might see some play in some UR fish builds. The set was fairly underwhelming in terms of what I was hoping it might do for fish, particularly for the UR variety.  Izzet Guildmage might have some slight potential, but I feel like there are probably better choices.

Stitch in Time gets honorable mention for at least being interesting.  I feel like this card might be useful, in that it's not that you LOSE a turn for losing the flip, you just get the card disadvantage.

Edit: Leyline of the Void will see play in some sideboards, possibly in some decks that don't even run black.

[vartemis]

You can wait to oath a blessing into the bin though. If the opponent is at 20 life this is still a faster kill than typical oath kills.

True, but I think that the creatures in oath right now would be better. The curiosity would require cutting something else to fit it in, and on its own in oath it is totally useless.  I think it would work if you built a deck around it and put a blessing in it.  I think he would end up as one of those cards I get and put in my "want to put it in a deck" box, and then ends up being traded away in a year for less than what I traded or paid for it.

j

[Gabethebabe]

Hatching Plans  - 1
Enchantment 
When Hatching Plans is put into a graveyard from play, draw three cards.

If someone would put a gun on my head and say: build me deck with 4 of these maindeck I would probably come up with something like an UR Fish variant that runs Abjure and Crack the Earth.

Abjure

Instant
As an additional cost to play Abjure sacrifice a blue permanent.
Counter target spell

Crack the Earth

Each player sacrifices a permanent.