[Premium Article] So Many Insane Plays - A Two-For-One Eventide Set Review

[Smmenen]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/16137.html

blurb:

Monday, July 14th - With the prerelease behind us, it’s time to rattle through the completed card list and pick out those card that inspire innovation. Today’s So Many Insane Plays sees Vintage World Champion Stephen Menendian examine Eventide for standout options in both Vintage and the more casual Type 4…

[BC]

I'm probably confused because I've never played Type 4 before, but why didn't you mention Helix Pinnacle in your Type 4 review?  If I understand the rules correctly, it is a "counter this, or I win".  Does Type 4 not allow cards that say "you win the game"? 

[oneofchaos]

BC- many type 4 stacks love cards that say I win the upkeep (walking archive for example), while others go for less broken cards and hope to establish a less swingy game.  I love the instant win cards as I play so few, and whenever somebody tries to cast it, somebody ALWAYS has a counter for it.  However when nobody has a counter, or they've played their spells for turn a game winning bomb can just win.  The nice thing about pinaccle is it isn't instant win which means in a 4 player game, you must keep it in play at the end of your turn, during 3 opponents turns, and then you win.  Bounce, removal, anything really can just get rid of it. 

[IthilanorStPete]

BC- many type 4 stacks love cards that say I win the upkeep (walking archive for example), while others go for less broken cards and hope to establish a less swingy game.  I love the instant win cards as I play so few, and whenever somebody tries to cast it, somebody ALWAYS has a counter for it.  However when nobody has a counter, or they've played their spells for turn a game winning bomb can just win.  The nice thing about pinaccle is it isn't instant win which means in a 4 player game, you must keep it in play at the end of your turn, during 3 opponents turns, and then you win.  Bounce, removal, anything really can just get rid of it. 

Except that it has shroud...

[oneofchaos]

Plenty of untargetted removal also

Anyways I didn't read it, just heard 100 counter card and assumed it was a battle of wits effect, win in upkeep.

[Smmenen]

Auto-Win cards are generally banned in Type Four unless they are extremely fun or interesting like Door to Nothingness and Mindslaver. 

[oneofchaos]

I play walking archive, door, memnarch, nezumi graverobber and things like myr matrix.  However there always remains plenty of anwers for those cards, Having an infinite power/toughness creature isn't all that exciting compared to the things we have in my stack.

Edit:  i'm loving how every post is about type 4 and nothing is about the vintage/eventide reaction, or rather lack of one.

Edit^2:  I don't think slaver is an "auto-win" card.  You can only use 1 Spell of your opponents hand, and you only have one combat phase.  The amounts of time I've won with mindslaver usually had it become a duress + time walk for me.  Still slavering somebody and making them kill their friend is priceless.

[BC]

Edit:  i'm loving how every post is about type 4 and nothing is about the vintage/eventide reaction, or rather lack of one.

Frankly, the few cards he did mention as possibly Vintage playable are not very impressive and will probably never see play in any tier 1-2 decks.  This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Prophecy and Fallen Empires.  I'm impressed that Smmenen even made an attempt at an Eventide Vintage article.  I would have just posted a picture of a steaming pile of dog shit.

[Smmenen]

Edit^2:  I don't think slaver is an "auto-win" card.  You can only use 1 Spell of your opponents hand, and you only have one combat phase.  The amounts of time I've won with mindslaver usually had it become a duress + time walk for me.  Still slavering somebody and making them kill their friend is priceless.

Notice that Door isn't actually an auto-win.   Killing one opponent is not the same thing as winning the game.  If Door said, you win the game, I don't think it would be legal.   

Also, in my experience, when someone gets slaved, someone dies, although often not the person who got slaved. 

[oneofchaos]

I suppose the beauty of type 4 is no two stacks should be the same, different house rules rock, and the lack of tournaments keeps it casual and fun.

[Ancestralx]

This is kinda off the type 4 subject but in your article you didnt mention Thrasher? You dont think it is a possible playable in vintage? It only required one blue and two colorless!! Then everything you payed to play it untaps the next turn and it becomes at least a 4/4. That seems playable with all the mana acceleration and mana drains running around right?

[disrupting specter]

Edit:  i'm loving how every post is about type 4 and nothing is about the vintage/eventide reaction, or rather lack of one.

Frankly, the few cards he did mention as possibly Vintage playable are not very impressive and will probably never see play in any tier 1-2 decks.  This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Prophecy and Fallen Empires.  I'm impressed that Smmenen even made an attempt at an Eventide Vintage article.  I would have just posted a picture of a steaming pile of dog shit.

Almost. This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Shadowmoor and Morningtide. Shadowmoor barely had any impact on Vintage. Morningtide gave us, what, Painter's Servant? Between the last three sets, the last B&R list and the Vintage Worlds blunder, does anyone else have a bad feeling about the future of Vintage?

[IthilanorStPete]

Edit:  i'm loving how every post is about type 4 and nothing is about the vintage/eventide reaction, or rather lack of one.

Frankly, the few cards he did mention as possibly Vintage playable are not very impressive and will probably never see play in any tier 1-2 decks.  This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Prophecy and Fallen Empires.  I'm impressed that Smmenen even made an attempt at an Eventide Vintage article.  I would have just posted a picture of a steaming pile of dog shit.

Almost. This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Shadowmoor and Morningtide. Shadowmoor barely had any impact on Vintage. Morningtide gave us, what, Painter's Servant? Between the last three sets, the last B&R list and the Vintage Worlds blunder, does anyone else have a bad feeling about the future of Vintage?

Painter's Servant was from Shadowmoor.
I wouldn't worry; it's tough to design things that are good in Vintage, especially when they're focusing on powerful creatures thanks to Lor and Mor being tribal.

[Smmenen]

Edit:  i'm loving how every post is about type 4 and nothing is about the vintage/eventide reaction, or rather lack of one.

Frankly, the few cards he did mention as possibly Vintage playable are not very impressive and will probably never see play in any tier 1-2 decks.  This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Prophecy and Fallen Empires.  I'm impressed that Smmenen even made an attempt at an Eventide Vintage article.  I would have just posted a picture of a steaming pile of dog shit.

Almost. This is one of the worst sets ever as far as Vintage playables, up there with Shadowmoor and Morningtide. Shadowmoor barely had any impact on Vintage. Morningtide gave us, what, Painter's Servant? Between the last three sets, the last B&R list and the Vintage Worlds blunder, does anyone else have a bad feeling about the future of Vintage?

Morningtide gave us Reveillark, which had a huge impact on Flash decks.

Shadowmoor gave us Painter's Servant, which actually transformed the entire Vintage metagame from an Oath/Flash metagame to a very different one that we saw in May and June.   Both were HUGE printings.   

[DarkfnTemplar]

Eveningtide in general is a terrible set. None of the tier decks (in STANDARD!) can afford to replace slots. I think it has a lot of potential for post rotations, but thats only because strictly better cards will be gone. I really don't see many sleepers here beside the counter win condition. Although, it's most likely a red herring.

[Lurker101]

I don't have a premium account, can someone just point out the cards that may be vintage playable? Looking through the spoiler I can't see much potential.

[LUPO]

The one card I thought may have been missed is Flame Jab.  Very difficult to make a case that is in the same ballpark as Lava Dart or Darkblast given it is a sorcery, but probably still worth mentioning

[Troy_Costisick]

I don't have a premium account, can someone just point out the cards that may be vintage playable? Looking through the spoiler I can't see much potential.

There really aren't any as far as I can tell.  This expansion really should have been called because it's really an empty set.   
But honestly, there isn't much to get excited about.  To me, it looks like RnD was really just sick of this block and warmed over a lot of old cards with new keyword abilities and different casting costs.  It's the most unispired set to come out since.....well, Morningtide.

The one card I thought may have been missed is Flame Jab.  Very difficult to make a case that is in the same ballpark as Lava Dart or Darkblast given it is a sorcery, but probably still worth mentioning

It costs mana, doesn't create card advantage, and can only be palyed as a sorcery.  That's three pretty big strikes against a spell in Vintage- even if the spell is repeatable.  I don't see it or Raven's Crime making much of an impact at all.

Peace,

-Troy

[AmbivalentDuck]

If auras weren't historically and currently awful, Evershrike might be relevant.  Ie.  If they put the Phage ability on an aura, you could play Evershrike from your grave during your opponent's end step and swing.  Sadly, that still seems pretty underwhelming...but hey...'relevant aura' may eventually cease to be an oxymoron.

[KnowmaD]

I really liked the feel of this set an hopping that there are some sleepers. But..so far.. well, no one else seems to like this one but me. Cold Eyed Selkie. Not fantastic. At times this beat can be really good at getting cards. It does have Island walk.  I am going to slide a couple into a TMNT (the mountains need trees) well now(teenage mutant ninja tarmogoyfs)no mountains. At the moment I am using one rancor and like it a lot. Maybe this could be a two of, or one giant growth. A slot for g growth, I know, it would be like ancestral recall on the selkie. Hm.  Actually thats not bad for a deck that has no blue.  Maybe a few?
 
As for Shadowmoor,  I'm using Faerie Macabre a lot. This card is just plain good. Bring on those pithing needles.


P.S. I play limited when I can an hold it high close to vintage as a format. That might have something to do with my like for the sets. Hybrid mana is sweat too.