Shamelessly stolen from the last OP(s).
Welcome to the CF Magic: the Gathering Thread!
SO M:TG this is what it is, from a reputable source of course.
Magic: The Gathering (colloquially "Magic", "MTG", or "Magic Cards") is a collectible card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic is the first example of the modern collectible card game genre and still thrives today, with an estimated six million players in over seventy countries. Magic can be played by two or more players each using a deck of printed cards or a deck of virtual cards through the Internet-based Magic: The Gathering Online or third-party programs.
Each game represents a battle between powerful wizards who use the magical spells, items, and fantastic creatures depicted on individual Magic cards to defeat their opponents. Although the original concept of the game drew heavily from the motifs of traditional fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, the gameplay of Magic bears little resemblance to pencil-and-paper adventure games, while having substantially more cards and more complex rules than many other card games. (Wikipedia)
That's Magic like most of us you are going to dump a good chunk of cash and time into this so get comfortable 8-)
A little run down on some FAQ:
Q: So I bought some of these here Magical Cards. They've got funny symbols on them and numbers and are different colors. Help!
A: Magic is a pretty complex game, but the basics are easy to get the hang of. Magic cards generally come in one of five colors that each specialize in different things. White, Blue, Black, Red, and finally Green. By laying down lands of appropriate colors you can add mana to your mana pool and 'cast' these cards into play, with the goal of driving your opponent's life total down from 20 to 0! For a more detailed explanation, see the resources at the end of the post.
Q: I keep hearing about 'Type 2' and 'Type 1.5' and 'Standard' and all sorts of crazy stuff. What the hell are those?
A: In sanctioned Magic (that's tourney play), there are what are called 'formats', that may have different rules and different legal card pools. Standard and Extended are the most common 'Constructed' (played using pre-built 60 card decks with 15 card sideboards) formats. Limited is a different animal altogether.
You can find a list of formats HERE.
Q: Okay, that makes sense. I think I get it. You mentioned Limited... what's that?
A: Limited formats are the other side of the Tournament Magic coin. When playing limited Magic, you usually have a restricted pool of cards, usually from freshly opened product, that you must build a 40 card deck from. Standard Magical rules apply otherwise. The two most common Limited formats are Sealed Deck and Draft.
Q: What do you do when you play Sealed Deck or Draft, then?
A: Sealed Deck is very simple: you take a Tournament Pack and two boosters (sanctioned formats tend to use the newest block, for us that's the newly released Shards of Alara), rip 'em open and build your deck. Draft works a little differently; everyone has three packs. Everyone opens one, takes a card they like, and passes it to the next person. When all the cards are 'drafted', you build 40 card decks and play. In both cases, basic lands are provided by the tournament organizer.
Here's some awesome places to visit if you're bored at work and wanna work on your game:
Magicthegathering.com - This is the Magic mothership! You can find all sorts of goodies here, including article series that cover the many facets of magic from both a player and designer perspective. I'm pretty partial to Making Magic, Building on a Budget, and Limited Information!
Gatherer, the Magic Card Database - This is Wizards' official database. You search for cards using some different parameters (color, cost, artist, to name a few)
Starcity Games - This is probably the next biggest Magic site next to the mothership; it has its own database alongside its own daily columns. As an added bonus, Starcity is a very reputable Magic retailer, and is a good place to look if you want a price reference for certain cards.
The Magic Academy - This is a series at the magic web site that was written purely as a tool for new players to get themselves familiar with the game. While it doesn't talk about the BASIC BASICS, it does explain to beginner players the philosophies behind certain cards, when to play them, when to attack, how to block correctly, and other helpful topics.
Essentialmagic.com - This is another very helpful magic site that allows you to construct decks and post them online for critique. It also has a comprehensive list of formats and what sets are legal in each of them.
Five Rules for Avoiding Manascrew - This is an article I think is indispensable for any player as it teaches how to devise a solid mana base for any deck in a few easy steps.
Deckbuilding 101: Five Tips for Better Deckbuilding - This is another article I consider to be a must-read for any Magic player. It doesn't really discuss specific strategy, but certain fundamentals that every Magic player should absorb right into his bone marrow. Yes it is that important.
The Magic Rules page - This is where you can find the comprehensive rules alongside a list of every keyword in magic.
[URL="
http://"www.mtgsalvation.com/"]MTGSalvation[/URL] - This is another great website dedicated to Magic. Their forums are extremely helpful in terms of pretty much anything Magic related (trading, deckbuilding, spoiling cards, news, etc.).
What is this I don't even.
Posts
The Magic: Online thread can be found here.
Also, discussion of shuffling methods for more than three posts per 50 pages is punishable by death.
I am re-congratulating Mouschi so that his glory shall live on for another 100+ pages.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Getting to play a pro is always exciting, and feeling like you performed well really adds to it!
Mmmmm....toasty.
Offensively/defensively it'd use Astral Slide and a bunch of cycling cards to both get to the mythmakers, keep my shit safe (especially said mythmakers) and remove blockers/screw people's choices over for what they sacrifice.
I have the actual deck list at home, and aside from the Conscriptions I've got most of the parts already. Like many of my decks, I'm not sure it'd be effective regularly once people figured out the trick, but for the first few games it'd probably be funny as hell.
Enlightened tutor/Idyllic Tutor (get conscription) > Zur the Enchanter (get Arcanum Wings) > put conscription on zur.
There's a guy at my LGS who's got a Zur EDH deck that abuses this engine, as well as Umbra Mystic and potent enchantments/auras for disgusting interactions.
Mmmmm....toasty.
Yeah, EDH where you can be guaranteed at least relatively easy access to Zur would work pretty well, but 3 colours potentially makes a bit of a mess of the mana base compared to mono white for non-EDH play. I like it, it's intriguing, but kinda batshit loco too.
I'm also trying to buy or trade for a set of All is Dust. That's not gonna be pretty no matter how I cut it. Sure, I get that it's a colourless (mana costing) wrath, so it'll hold casual popularity forever, but somehow I just wasn't expecting it to be a $60-70 playset card. I should've known better. Cheapest I can find in an online store is around $56 for a playset plus shipping, so I'm hoping to snag 'em off ebay for $40 or so, but that might be over optimistic.
Yeah, anything that can be completely dismantled by a memoricide might be in rough shape.
Well, it also runs 4 celestial mantels, because doubling ones life total each turn (possibly multiple times) would be funny as hell, though considering how much card drawing I'd be running, I suppose I'd run the risk of decking myself.
+3/+3 and the life doubling isn't that great, but I'm not seeing many other horrifically powerful auras out there, even with the new and improved approach to making them playable. It's mostly just a placeholder under the assumption that "8 really nasty things to throw onto creatures is a good idea".
There's a decent Totem Armor or two.
Any other suggestions come to mind? Mythic Proportions? The Mythmaker doesn't give a shit about the colour of the aura, but at the same time keeping it white isn't a bad idea so I can hard cast it if I need to...
Depends on what you're building it for. If it's casual then don't bother with money cards like Big Jace. If you're trying to compete in a Standard environment, there are always other options to play. U/B. and U/W control are big right now, but also both have playsets of JTMS. Run Valakut Ramp, or Eldrazi Green, or essentially anything that isn't running blue, and your deck will be ~400$ cheaper.
It really depends on what level of competition you're at right now. If you have a serious bid at a Grand Prix or a Pro Tour, then don't put a monetary blockade on your deck - you'll just be hindering yourself (or get a good playgroup together and split the cost of cards/borrow them). If you're building for FNM though, find alternatives to the money cards, it'll probably be more interesting to play (Jace, go. Jace, go) and less of a strain on your wallet.
Standard is generally the most expensive format (since it rotates so much), Big Jace's price won't fluctuate too much I think because he is actually a great card, in any format. It's safe to say that you will probably make a good investment in Jace, as long as they don't reprint him (see Baneslayer Angel's price drop).
Mmmmm....toasty.
Elder Mastery is pretty strong, all said and done. If it connects once, you're at *least* even on cards. Also of note are Flight of Fancy, Strands of Undeath and Galvanic Arc. Fists of Ironwood can eat shit, though.
feels good. my only force of will was part of the deal, but only having 1 force and having to try just as hard to trade for them made jace much more appealing.
also trying to get an eldrazi green deck going, really just need the eldrazi stuffs (fatties, temples, an eye of ugin), and it should be quite buildable.
It was really thoroughly awesome. I think I'd have been a little bummed out if I'd gone 5-0 into 5-3 instead of 0-2 into 5-2 into 5-3, but all in all I was just really excited that I made it that far in a field of serious competitors at my first GP ever.
I'm going to Atlanta if I can, borrowing what I need to because I don't have anything from before M11 really. My srsbsns Magic friends (that were very bitter about not making day two) are pumped about testing Grixis control, so I'll probably be their playtest partners running through an extended gauntlet. It'll help me get familiar with the different decks so I can pick what I feel comfortable playing.
Then I'll play the hell out of it!
Gamertag: Cunning Hekate // League of Legends: FeroxPA
Compare Baneslayer back to Exalted Angel; it's ridiculous. And Exalted Angel isn't exactly a bad card by any means.
Would a 5cc Jace 2.0 be so bad? No way, it might even be fair. Then we might see it in a few decks that can fully take advantage of it rather than in anything and everything. I mean, you even have this silly metagame of running multiple Jace 1.0s to preempt an opponent's JMS going on.
On an unrelated note, anyone else finding a metagame where people ramp with a 6cc 6/6 into bigger and larger things kind of funny?
You play Baby Jace, and they look at their Papa Jace and go "mannnn I wish I'd countered Baby Jace!" Then you use up Baby Jace's last counter two turns later and play your own Papa Jace.
Tada!
Gamertag: Cunning Hekate // League of Legends: FeroxPA
I bought my Mind Sculptors when they were 25 a piece.
I wouldn't mind seeing a new round of planeswalkers in M12, including ones like JTMS, Elspeth, and other more recent mono coloured ones (Nissa and Sorin and Chandra Ablaze I guess?). On one hand, they're significantly more focused in the kinds of decks they can be used in, which probably makes at least some of them (Elspeth, Nissa) less likely candidates. While the core sets are no longer considered "beginner" products, I doubt WOTC or players really want to have 2 planeswalkers in that require a tribal deck to make full use out of them. But with a reprinting comes another year in Standard.
But I don't play standard, so it's purely academic to me. Sure the increase in supply might cause the cost to go down, but is that really a bad thing? Are JTMS's good for the game at $75 apiece? I suppose their propensity and popularity, while a good thing for WOTC's bottom end, could indicate that maybe, just maybe, mistakes were made during the R&D process.
Of course, if WOTC really wanted to fuck with the playerbase, they could just release more ____ vs ____ packs and include things like BSA, JTMS and the primevils in them. The value on the secondary market (which WOTC sees none of anyway) would take a hit, but the duel decks would sell like gangbusters. Probably on par with the FTV series, which in my store seem to sell out for like 2-3 times MSRP the moment they show up.
Since I'm going the cheap route my decks are usually really aggressive. While I like constructed enough, I much prefer draft or sealed, as I've gone to a few pre-releases and releases so far and won packs every time. It's much more fun for me when everyone is on an equal playing field.
That said, I prefer red for constructed. Copy/pasted from TappedOut, so disregard the -/+ signs.
Instant (17)
-/+ 4x Lightning Bolt
-/+ 4x Searing Blaze
-/+ 2x Galvanic Blast
-/+ 3x Burst Lightning
-/+ 4x Staggershock
Sorcery (4)
-/+ 4x Assault Strobe
Creature (16)
-/+ 4x Chandra's Spitfire
-/+ 4x Cunning Sparkmage
-/+ 4x Plated Geopede
-/+ 4x Kiln Fiend
Land (23)
-/+ 19x Mountain
-/+ 4x Terramorphic Expanse
Sideboard (15)
-/+ 1x Combust
-/+ 1x Leyline of Punishment
-/+ 2x Manic Vandal
-/+ 2x Perilous Myr
-/+ 2x Pyroclasm
-/+ 2x Shatter
-/+ 3x Tunnel Ignus
-/+ 2x Vulshok Replica
Some explanation: Clearly the meat of the deck is the kiln fiends and the spitfires. Hit them with a few burn spells and attack for tremendous damage. The Kiln Fiend is the star of the show though, as things like Assault Strobe trigger his ability, whereas I have to land damage to do anything with a spitfire. That's what the cunning sparkmages are for. I only have 3 of the burst lightning, when I get another it will be put in here.
The changes I'm thinking about: While I like the geopedes this isn't a landfall deck, barring the searing blazes, and while it's a great creature they were here before I got a full set of the kiln fiends and never knew what to do with them (I'm thinking of putting them in a white/red landfall deck). Their casting cost clashes with the fiends, and if I have both, the fiend comes out first, and likely the next turn is casting spells and attacking, meaning by the time the geopede comes out, I don't have much land to trigger him with. Likewise, the terramorphic expanse are there almost solely for him, and I'd much rather run land I can use that turn, or at least something beneficial like Teetering Peaks or Smoldering Spires.
What can go in place of the geopedes? And no, I don't have any goblin guides. I own at least 2 ember haulers, which used to be in here, I might have more now. I was also considering something like a Goblin Tunneler to use before the kiln fiend gets pumped.
The sideboard is mainly to deal with white/blue and people who overuse fetchlands.
I'd love to hear any other ideas, thanks.
Pyroclam in the sideboard doesn't make much sense since it kills most of your guys as well. Arc trail is a good alternative here. Shatter, Vulshok Replica, and Combust are not worth playing at all in this environment. I'd add in some mark of mutinys which are very good vs slow decks that try to control the game then play a 6/6.
I've definitely been uneasy about the pyroclasm and haven't actually sideboarded it in at any point, the sideboard was rushed and I had to hit 15 cards. I do have arc trails though so I'll definitely swap them in. The shatter was in preparation for the artifact decks from scars, but you're right, people aren't running that much and the manic vandal somewhat covers that. The vulshock replica I'm not crazy about but so far the deck that ruins me is white running kor firewalkers, so I figured I needed more artifact creatures that could block, or in a pinch self-destruct to take them out.
Mark of mutinies I don't have, but they don't look too hard to get. I do have a set of Act of Treason though which isn't as good but it seems like the same result. A very early version of this deck had Act of Treasons in there, and Flings to combine it with. The combos at that point though were getting too expensive for casting costs.
In case this isn't clear enough: Planeswalkers use a modified version of the Legendary rule. So while your Baby Jace is on the table, they cannot stick a Papa Jace. And if they already had one in play, you can play yours to kill it (and yours, of course).
Definitely try to get Goblin Guides.
Oh of course of course... That actually adds another pro to my sun titan build, cause I can keep returning baby Jace with the titan when I attack or bounce it with venser...
Nice work!
I also managed a 6-3 on Saturday, besting my previous GP record (Atlanta for Shards Sealed) of 3-6 pretty handily. Didn't play anyone famous, although I did get Kibler to sign my Cultist (from Ascension). I wound up finishing at exactly 300th (of 1483).
PTQ the next day only managed 4-5, but fun was had all weekend. Hell, the deck box alone was worth the effort of driving to Nashville and negotiating the labyrinthian Gaylord complex.
I've posted my pools and builds if anyone's curious. That PTQ pool was one of the hardest I've ever received.
I'd have gone with U/R myself after seeing that pool. While Carnifex Demon can swing games in your favor, Grand Architect allows early blowouts which is what you'll ultimately need against people who have more bombs than you. That card is so sick. With two Liquimetal Coating you can boost the size of your red creatures as well, which is a bonus. Not to mention that with a higher number of artifacts, Embersmith and Riddlesmith become that much better. Halt Order, Sky-Eel School and Vedalken Certarch aren't shabby either.
Tumble Magnet is so annoying. That card was so undervalued in the beginning it's crazy.
Blue will have all sorts of bombtacular cards like Fact of Fiction and Mana Leak, but Islands will be banned from the format for being too good. The only recourse for blue players will be a shaky manabase centered around Teferi's Isle.
edit: If you draft 2 of them and cast them out of phase, you will always have UU to play with! And if you happened to cast Spreading Seas, god help the other players. If.
It makes insanely complicated cards:
Artifact Creature - Golem Soldier (3/1, artifact)
All blocking tapped creatures with both power and toughness 4 or more gain ''Whenever a creature leaves the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on ~this~'' and ''4, remove two +1/+1 counters from ~this~: all creatures with toughness 3 or less get +4/+4 until end of turn''
When ~this~ enters the battlefield, up to one target artifact creatures gain protection from artifacts until end of turn
Converted mana cost: 2
Creature - Gorgon Rogue (2/1, black)
Tap an untapped Rogue you control: target artifact creature gets -3/-3 until end of turn
4BB: put a 1/1 black Cleric creature token onto the battlefield
Pay 4 life: put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token onto the battlefield for each poison counter you have
3BBB: put three 4/4 black Zombie creature tokens onto the battlefield
Sacrifice ~this~: put a 1/1 black Cleric creature token onto the battlefield
Discard a card, Sacrifice a land, sacrifice any number of Clerics: each player loses that much life
--Every map sings to the nomad
– Vitenka, the true flamekin
Converted mana cost: 3
Unusually weak ones:
Sorcery (red)
target artifact creature gains ''haste'' until end of turn
Converted mana cost: 7
Ashicesh Anos
Planeswalker - Ashicesh (white, Loyalty 3)
+1: target opponent may search his or her library for a enchantment card, reveal it, and put it into his or her hand. If that player does, that player shuffles that library afterwards.
-4: target creature with echo gets +1/+1 until end of turn
-6: target green enchantment gains ''2, Sacrifice a creature with flying: target opponent gains the sacrificed creature's power life'' until end of turn
Converted mana cost: 2
Unusually powerful ones:
Phatiradi Llathahatos
Planeswalker - Phatiradi (red, Loyalty 5)
+1: ~this~ deals 4 damage to each creature
-2: destroy up to seven target lands
-7: add RR to your mana pool
Converted mana cost: 4
And the occasional one that actually could be a real card:
Instant (red)
copy target sorcery spell and you may choose new targets for the copy
--The mightiest choir may enjoy a single nomad
Yet Nature protects louder than even the best bird could
– Treth, Priest Priest
Converted mana cost: 3
IE:
Wizards' School
Tap: Add 1 to your mana pool.
1, Tap: Add U to your mana pool.
2, Tap: Add W to your mana pool.
2, Tap: Add B to your mana pool.
And so on and so forth for the rest of the shard colors.
Mmmmm....toasty.
Lol, I'm thinking somehow Apocalypse Chime becomes first-pick.
You must be an old player or that must be a very casual format.
I could still buy homelands packs at the store at the time. So quite the while ago, yeah.
I can still buy Fallen Empires packs at my local store RIGHT NOW.
It's always tempting! What if I open a hymn! That'll put me only fifty cents in the hole on pack value!
Gamertag: Cunning Hekate // League of Legends: FeroxPA
EDIT: Also, I have a few Hymns, it turns out.
They're worth money? I guess they would be, wouldn't they?
So I just learned that atlanta is a nearly twelve hour drive for me, which is crazy nuts. I want to go, but uuuuugh twelve hours in a van with nerds. What do the superchamps of PA do? I guess Chen probably just walks, since it's only like ten miles from London to Prague. But what about Americans!
Gamertag: Cunning Hekate // League of Legends: FeroxPA
Beat RUG, UB, and Valakut to go 3-0 (6-2 overall)
You run a similar ramp package to RUG but they run into the issue of if they ever tap out for Frost Titan they just die within the next two turns. I had my opponent cast a frosty and I countered with an Avenger then a Genesis Wave that hit 4 fetchlands.
The Valakut match up was hilarious. Game one was
1: Treespeaker
2: Cobra
3: Ob Nixilis, crack the fetch land I floated the mana for (burn 3), float 2 more mana, explore, fetchland (burn 6), explore, rip another fetchland off the top and burn him for another six.
He plays a turn 4 Primeval Titan but he's staring down an 18/18 Ob Nixilis.
Game two sees me Genesis Wave for 12 on turn 6.
Ob Nixilis
Tree Speaker
Oracle of Mul Daya
Avenger of Zendikar
Khalni Heart Expedition x2
Primeval Titan x2
Fetch
Fetch
Fetch
Land