The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
[Magic: the Gathering] Uguu~~ The Spiwit Dwagon
Feral
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Magic: The Gathering
Origins of the Game (credit: @Shadowen)
Magic: the Gathering was invented in 1980 by Richard Garriott for the Apple II while he was going to University of Texas...
...no, wait, that was Ultima.
Magic: the Gathering is a collectible card game. Buy boosters, get cards. Put cards in deck. Lose. Realize you need better cards. Go on tcgplayer.com and spend $1000 on singles. Win. You are now the master of nerd games. Pull up your pants.
General Gameplay Concepts
Dredge dredge dredge narcomoeba dredge dread return golgari grave troll win
Can You Give Me A Real Primer, Please
OK, yes. I stole this too:
If you want to get a closer look at the rules, check out this link and click on “New to Magic”. There is also a game called Duels of the Planeswalkers (there's a game for every year from 2011 through 2015), and you can get the demo for any of the three versions for free on X-Box Live, Playstation Network, or Steam. They have tutorials built in! Isn’t that thoughtful?
...you’re having trouble finding players? Fair enough. You know the store where you got those cards? Ask them if they have any events. Typically they will have a thing called Friday Night Magic. There’s meet and greets, mini-tourneys, casual play, trades, group homosexual sex (especially amongst the judge community), the works. Also, don’t worry about the lore. Do you need to care about the story in Risk? No, you just conquer all the other motherfuckers. If you want, you can look into it, but it doesn't need to distract you from killing people with Storm Crow.
The Colors
There are five colors of magic and tens of thousands of individual cards between them (not to mention colorless cards!), but they generally adhere to the following style. (Some cards step out of these for various reasons, but this is a good rule of thumb.)
White: Efficient armies of small creatures. Permanent status effects. Healing. Judgment. Angels. "White privilege" magic.
Blue: Countermagic. Flying creatures. Locking down the board. Mind control. Card advantage through drawing more cards than an opponent. Mermaids and gigantic sea-creatures. "Mens rights activist" magic.
Black: Chimney Imp. Creature killing. Creature punishment. Player punishment (and not just opponents). Card advantage through forcing an opponent to discard. Vampires. Zombies. Ghouls. “Black power” magic.
Red: Direct damage hitting creatures and players. Fast creatures with drawbacks. Fire. Goblins, dragons. “Gamergate” magic.
Green: Enormous creatures, hard to kill creatures, magical energy generated by creatures, and anti-air. Elves and beasts. “Social justice warrior” magic.
Here are some USEFUL LINKS:
Release of New Sets
New sets come out roughly every three months, with a "core set" being released every summer, and a "block" of three thematically- (and often mechanically-) linked sets being released at three-month intervals throughout the year. This gives Wizards no less than four, but really more like eleventy-seven, opportunities to squeeze your wallet dry annually.
Since Magic 2010, core sets have been comprised of roughly 50% new cards and 50% reprints. They serve to be simpler sets mechanically, which lowers the barrier-to-entry for new players, as well as helping to sculpt the Standard environment by defining a set of reprinted cards which are available to the format. Recent core sets have kind of sucked so the last core set will be this summer.
The advanced expansions that comprise a "block" are comprised of a much higher ratio of new cards to reprints (90-10 or 95-5, excluding basic lands), and tend to introduce more complex cards and interactions. The first set of a block is typically a "large" expansion (~250 cards), and the second and third sets are "small" expansions (~160 cards). The most recent complete block is comprised of three sets: Theros, Born of the Gods, Journey into Nyx. The current block consists of Khans of Tarkir and two more upcoming sets in 2015.
Duel Decks, Premium Decks, Commander products, and "From The Vault" anthologies are released periodically, and provide Wizards a way to make more money by releasing cards that are in demand for other formats, without making those cards legal in Standard by shoehorning them into a new set. We eagerly await the arrival of From the Vault: Storm Crow.
Magic: The Gathering Online
A Guide for the New and Returning Player (totally mostly stolen)
As it goes with most things, players enter and exit the game with some regularity, but most frequently when the client crashes on them. Similarly, the game changes with the introduction of every new set and the costs to play are always in flux due to the various economic conditions and overall popularity of the game. So how you gonna stay on top of a thing?
To start: Rules Primer for New and Returning Players
Once you've slogged through that, you can start in two places on MTGO (or both): Limited, or Constructed.
Limited (Booster Draft / Sealed) - These formats are played using unopened product, and the prize payout for Limited events *is* unopened product, so the cost-per-event will vary wildly based on your performance. It can also be dangerously expensive for the beginner or bad player, so be cautious about entering into the game and heading straight to the draft queues. Expenditures of $11-$14 will quickly multiply and you will be sucking dick behind the Olive Garden to make rent.
Standard - The most popular "Constructed" format, comprised of the two most recent "blocks" + the most recent core set (though there is a brief interval where multiple core sets are legal). As with most Constructed formats, Standard has a high cost of entry that is partially exacerbated by the fact that the format rotates yearly and players have to "re-up". However, once you have a deck built, its shell will generally last you 6-12 months, and your cards will tend to retain at least a portion of their value until they rotate out of the format. Standard events also have a much cheaper entry fee, since you don't have to cover the cost of unopened product, and you can't play Storm Crow in them.
Beyond Limited and Standard, you'll find Block Constructed, Modern, Legacy, Pauper, and Classic. Besides Pauper, which is exclusively commons (albeit some relatively expensive commons), the other formats all have similar (or greater) costs to Standard, but most of them will allow Storm Crow in some capacity.
FAQ
Q: Where can I procure this game?
A: Right here, at the official Wizards site.
Q: This is ugly as hell?
A: The new version of the MTGO client is in Beta testing. Also, a lot of people fail to appreciate how hard it is to get a full M:TG battlefield's worth of cards and information onto a single screen without having it look cluttered. It used to be even uglier. God knows why they didn't just use the visuals from the Duels of the Planeswalkers Xbox/Steam/iOS/PSN/Atari Lynx game, but god knows why they printed Razor Boomerang when they could have just reprinted Storm Crow instead.
Q: It runs like shit.
A: That's not a question.
Q: What is there to do in the game?
A: Almost everything you can do in Paper Magic, and a couple other things besides. Currently, you'll have access to about 90% of every card ever printed -- almost everything worthwhile that's Pre-Mirage has been compiled into four Master's Edition sets, while everything from Mirage on is available (though only Standard-legal sets are purchasable from the official store). All the major formats are played online, with a constant stream of Draft, Sealed, Block Constructed, Standard, and Modern tournaments. The occasional Legacy and 100-Card Singleton tournament will also fire, but don't hold your breath! The multiplayer room is home to 2- and 3-Headed Giant, Emperor, Commander/EDH, FFA, and other niche game types.
Q: How much is this going to cost me?
A: A new account costs 10 dollars (if you like the game, it's going to end up costing you a lot more). Every new account comes with a set of gold-bordered cards taken from the Duels of the Planeswalkers game, as well as a mish-mash of cards from the most recent core set and a booster from that same set. It's suggested that you don't "open" the Planeswalker pack, as the cards can't be used outside of a single specific format, don't contain Storm Crow, and they will clutter your collection.
Q: How do you get unopened boosters for less than $4 each? How do you get boosters that are no longer sold by Wizards?
A: People and bots sell them! Generally, since the payout for Constructed and Limited tournaments is in booster packs of a current set, people are willing to sell those for less than face value in order to turn them into a more universal MTGO currency ("Event Tickets," which correspond roughly to dollars). You can frequently find packs of recently released sets for around 3.5 "tickets" apiece.
Q: Where are good places to buy singles on MTGO?
A: @ChaosHat recommends CardHoarder and MTGO Traders. He claims they are "consistently cheap" and "pretty nice".
Q: Where can I sell my singles back to feed my drafting addiction?
A: I'd recommend any of the CardBuyingBot bots, or the Supernovabot bots. Their prices are generally pretty fair.
Q: How could anyone pay that much for fake cards?
A: Because the game is fun? Also, if you collect every card in a set, you can redeem them for a pull set of paper cards (check the "set redemption" details on the MTGO website to see which sets are currently eligible for redemption). And really why would you pay that much for painted cardboard in the so-called "real world" if you were really concerned about intrinsic value? And what is the real world anyway but just an illusion created by the Demiurge to trap men's souls upon a physical plane of endless yearning?
Q: How do I join the PA clan?
A: Add @Metaghost to your buddies list once you sign up. Then, if you see him online, PM him and ask for a clan invite. He claims to usually be on evenings, EST/EDT.
Q: How come I can't play spells at the appropriate times? Doesn't "instant" mean I can play it whenever I want?
A: Check your stops. Go into your Gameplay Settings and you'll see a grid of boxes structured according the various timing steps. If the game isn't letting you cast a spell when you want/should be able to, check the appropriate box. Beware of too many stops though, as it can slow your play to a crawl and result in undeserved losses. As a related aside, to respond to your own spell-casting, primarily for the use of a card like Twincast, you must hold the CTRL key as you cast the initial spell.
Q: My opponent in this tournament hasn't done anything for like 3 minutes. What gives?
A: In what is one of the most annoying and persistent glitches of all time, it's possible that it's YOU who haven't done anything for 3 minutes. Sometimes priority doesn't get passed properly and the client bugs out. If you think this might be the case, close MTGO, re-open it and log back in.
Q: When I'm online, how do I link cards in the chat windows like a pro?
A: Just put the card name in curly brackets. Like this: {Storm Crow}
Good luck! There's a whole new code of conduct, so don't be a dick.
Origins of the Game (credit: @Shadowen)
Magic: the Gathering was invented in 1980 by Richard Garriott for the Apple II while he was going to University of Texas...
...no, wait, that was Ultima.
Magic: the Gathering is a collectible card game. Buy boosters, get cards. Put cards in deck. Lose. Realize you need better cards. Go on tcgplayer.com and spend $1000 on singles. Win. You are now the master of nerd games. Pull up your pants.
General Gameplay Concepts
Dredge dredge dredge narcomoeba dredge dread return golgari grave troll win
Can You Give Me A Real Primer, Please
OK, yes. I stole this too:
If you want to get a closer look at the rules, check out this link and click on “New to Magic”. There is also a game called Duels of the Planeswalkers (there's a game for every year from 2011 through 2015), and you can get the demo for any of the three versions for free on X-Box Live, Playstation Network, or Steam. They have tutorials built in! Isn’t that thoughtful?
...you’re having trouble finding players? Fair enough. You know the store where you got those cards? Ask them if they have any events. Typically they will have a thing called Friday Night Magic. There’s meet and greets, mini-tourneys, casual play, trades, group homosexual sex (especially amongst the judge community), the works. Also, don’t worry about the lore. Do you need to care about the story in Risk? No, you just conquer all the other motherfuckers. If you want, you can look into it, but it doesn't need to distract you from killing people with Storm Crow.
The Colors
There are five colors of magic and tens of thousands of individual cards between them (not to mention colorless cards!), but they generally adhere to the following style. (Some cards step out of these for various reasons, but this is a good rule of thumb.)
White: Efficient armies of small creatures. Permanent status effects. Healing. Judgment. Angels. "White privilege" magic.
Blue: Countermagic. Flying creatures. Locking down the board. Mind control. Card advantage through drawing more cards than an opponent. Mermaids and gigantic sea-creatures. "Mens rights activist" magic.
Black: Chimney Imp. Creature killing. Creature punishment. Player punishment (and not just opponents). Card advantage through forcing an opponent to discard. Vampires. Zombies. Ghouls. “Black power” magic.
Red: Direct damage hitting creatures and players. Fast creatures with drawbacks. Fire. Goblins, dragons. “Gamergate” magic.
Green: Enormous creatures, hard to kill creatures, magical energy generated by creatures, and anti-air. Elves and beasts. “Social justice warrior” magic.
Here are some USEFUL LINKS:
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 - This is Wizards' official card database. You search for cards using some different parameters (color, cost, artist, to name a few). Good for building theme decks or finding a particular wording.
The Magic Rules page - This is where you can find the comprehensive rules alongside a list of every keyword in magic.
MagicCards.Info - a Gatherer-esque site which provides quick search, comparison of different card arts for individual cards, and card pricing information.
Star City 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, Star City is a very reputable Magic retailer, and is a good place to look if you want a price reference for certain cards.
ChannelFireball - The best free resource for Magic: the Gathering strategy articles, and a reputable card dealer in its own right.
MTGSalvation - A good website dedicated to Magic, and the best source for compiled information about "spoiled" cards from upcoming (unreleased) Magic sets.
Tappedout.net - A website used to post decks to share with others, or to find ideas for your own decks.
Essentialmagic.com - This is another 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.
The Magic Academy - This is an article series that was written as a tool for new players to get themselves familiar with the game. It explains the philosophies behind certain cards, when to play them, when to attack, how to block correctly, and other helpful topics.
Five Rules for Avoiding Manascrew - One Weird Trick To Devise A Solid Mana Base For Any Deck
Deckbuilding 101: Five Tips for Better Deckbuilding - A must-read for any Magic player. It doesn't really discuss specific strategy, but spells out certain fundamentals that every Magic player should absorb right into his bone marrow.
Not Storm Crow. Go home, Gatherer, you are drunk.
Gatherer - This is Wizards' official card database. You search for cards using some different parameters (color, cost, artist, to name a few). Good for building theme decks or finding a particular wording.
The Magic Rules page - This is where you can find the comprehensive rules alongside a list of every keyword in magic.
MagicCards.Info - a Gatherer-esque site which provides quick search, comparison of different card arts for individual cards, and card pricing information.
Star City 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, Star City is a very reputable Magic retailer, and is a good place to look if you want a price reference for certain cards.
ChannelFireball - The best free resource for Magic: the Gathering strategy articles, and a reputable card dealer in its own right.
MTGSalvation - A good website dedicated to Magic, and the best source for compiled information about "spoiled" cards from upcoming (unreleased) Magic sets.
Tappedout.net - A website used to post decks to share with others, or to find ideas for your own decks.
Essentialmagic.com - This is another 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.
The Magic Academy - This is an article series that was written as a tool for new players to get themselves familiar with the game. It explains the philosophies behind certain cards, when to play them, when to attack, how to block correctly, and other helpful topics.
Five Rules for Avoiding Manascrew - One Weird Trick To Devise A Solid Mana Base For Any Deck
Deckbuilding 101: Five Tips for Better Deckbuilding - A must-read for any Magic player. It doesn't really discuss specific strategy, but spells out certain fundamentals that every Magic player should absorb right into his bone marrow.
Not Storm Crow. Go home, Gatherer, you are drunk.
Release of New Sets
New sets come out roughly every three months, with a "core set" being released every summer, and a "block" of three thematically- (and often mechanically-) linked sets being released at three-month intervals throughout the year. This gives Wizards no less than four, but really more like eleventy-seven, opportunities to squeeze your wallet dry annually.
Since Magic 2010, core sets have been comprised of roughly 50% new cards and 50% reprints. They serve to be simpler sets mechanically, which lowers the barrier-to-entry for new players, as well as helping to sculpt the Standard environment by defining a set of reprinted cards which are available to the format. Recent core sets have kind of sucked so the last core set will be this summer.
The advanced expansions that comprise a "block" are comprised of a much higher ratio of new cards to reprints (90-10 or 95-5, excluding basic lands), and tend to introduce more complex cards and interactions. The first set of a block is typically a "large" expansion (~250 cards), and the second and third sets are "small" expansions (~160 cards). The most recent complete block is comprised of three sets: Theros, Born of the Gods, Journey into Nyx. The current block consists of Khans of Tarkir and two more upcoming sets in 2015.
Duel Decks, Premium Decks, Commander products, and "From The Vault" anthologies are released periodically, and provide Wizards a way to make more money by releasing cards that are in demand for other formats, without making those cards legal in Standard by shoehorning them into a new set. We eagerly await the arrival of From the Vault: Storm Crow.
Magic: The Gathering Online
A Guide for the New and Returning Player (totally mostly stolen)
As it goes with most things, players enter and exit the game with some regularity, but most frequently when the client crashes on them. Similarly, the game changes with the introduction of every new set and the costs to play are always in flux due to the various economic conditions and overall popularity of the game. So how you gonna stay on top of a thing?
To start: Rules Primer for New and Returning Players
Once you've slogged through that, you can start in two places on MTGO (or both): Limited, or Constructed.
Limited (Booster Draft / Sealed) - These formats are played using unopened product, and the prize payout for Limited events *is* unopened product, so the cost-per-event will vary wildly based on your performance. It can also be dangerously expensive for the beginner or bad player, so be cautious about entering into the game and heading straight to the draft queues. Expenditures of $11-$14 will quickly multiply and you will be sucking dick behind the Olive Garden to make rent.
Standard - The most popular "Constructed" format, comprised of the two most recent "blocks" + the most recent core set (though there is a brief interval where multiple core sets are legal). As with most Constructed formats, Standard has a high cost of entry that is partially exacerbated by the fact that the format rotates yearly and players have to "re-up". However, once you have a deck built, its shell will generally last you 6-12 months, and your cards will tend to retain at least a portion of their value until they rotate out of the format. Standard events also have a much cheaper entry fee, since you don't have to cover the cost of unopened product, and you can't play Storm Crow in them.
Beyond Limited and Standard, you'll find Block Constructed, Modern, Legacy, Pauper, and Classic. Besides Pauper, which is exclusively commons (albeit some relatively expensive commons), the other formats all have similar (or greater) costs to Standard, but most of them will allow Storm Crow in some capacity.
FAQ
Q: Where can I procure this game?
A: Right here, at the official Wizards site.
Q: This is ugly as hell?
A: The new version of the MTGO client is in Beta testing. Also, a lot of people fail to appreciate how hard it is to get a full M:TG battlefield's worth of cards and information onto a single screen without having it look cluttered. It used to be even uglier. God knows why they didn't just use the visuals from the Duels of the Planeswalkers Xbox/Steam/iOS/PSN/Atari Lynx game, but god knows why they printed Razor Boomerang when they could have just reprinted Storm Crow instead.
Q: It runs like shit.
A: That's not a question.
Q: What is there to do in the game?
A: Almost everything you can do in Paper Magic, and a couple other things besides. Currently, you'll have access to about 90% of every card ever printed -- almost everything worthwhile that's Pre-Mirage has been compiled into four Master's Edition sets, while everything from Mirage on is available (though only Standard-legal sets are purchasable from the official store). All the major formats are played online, with a constant stream of Draft, Sealed, Block Constructed, Standard, and Modern tournaments. The occasional Legacy and 100-Card Singleton tournament will also fire, but don't hold your breath! The multiplayer room is home to 2- and 3-Headed Giant, Emperor, Commander/EDH, FFA, and other niche game types.
Q: How much is this going to cost me?
A: A new account costs 10 dollars (if you like the game, it's going to end up costing you a lot more). Every new account comes with a set of gold-bordered cards taken from the Duels of the Planeswalkers game, as well as a mish-mash of cards from the most recent core set and a booster from that same set. It's suggested that you don't "open" the Planeswalker pack, as the cards can't be used outside of a single specific format, don't contain Storm Crow, and they will clutter your collection.
Q: How do you get unopened boosters for less than $4 each? How do you get boosters that are no longer sold by Wizards?
A: People and bots sell them! Generally, since the payout for Constructed and Limited tournaments is in booster packs of a current set, people are willing to sell those for less than face value in order to turn them into a more universal MTGO currency ("Event Tickets," which correspond roughly to dollars). You can frequently find packs of recently released sets for around 3.5 "tickets" apiece.
Q: Where are good places to buy singles on MTGO?
A: @ChaosHat recommends CardHoarder and MTGO Traders. He claims they are "consistently cheap" and "pretty nice".
Q: Where can I sell my singles back to feed my drafting addiction?
A: I'd recommend any of the CardBuyingBot bots, or the Supernovabot bots. Their prices are generally pretty fair.
Q: How could anyone pay that much for fake cards?
A: Because the game is fun? Also, if you collect every card in a set, you can redeem them for a pull set of paper cards (check the "set redemption" details on the MTGO website to see which sets are currently eligible for redemption). And really why would you pay that much for painted cardboard in the so-called "real world" if you were really concerned about intrinsic value? And what is the real world anyway but just an illusion created by the Demiurge to trap men's souls upon a physical plane of endless yearning?
Q: How do I join the PA clan?
A: Add @Metaghost to your buddies list once you sign up. Then, if you see him online, PM him and ask for a clan invite. He claims to usually be on evenings, EST/EDT.
Q: How come I can't play spells at the appropriate times? Doesn't "instant" mean I can play it whenever I want?
A: Check your stops. Go into your Gameplay Settings and you'll see a grid of boxes structured according the various timing steps. If the game isn't letting you cast a spell when you want/should be able to, check the appropriate box. Beware of too many stops though, as it can slow your play to a crawl and result in undeserved losses. As a related aside, to respond to your own spell-casting, primarily for the use of a card like Twincast, you must hold the CTRL key as you cast the initial spell.
Q: My opponent in this tournament hasn't done anything for like 3 minutes. What gives?
A: In what is one of the most annoying and persistent glitches of all time, it's possible that it's YOU who haven't done anything for 3 minutes. Sometimes priority doesn't get passed properly and the client bugs out. If you think this might be the case, close MTGO, re-open it and log back in.
Q: When I'm online, how do I link cards in the chat windows like a pro?
A: Just put the card name in curly brackets. Like this: {Storm Crow}
Good luck! There's a whole new code of conduct, so don't be a dick.
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Feral on
+2
Posts
Also fuuuuuuuck the mana-tapping interface in Magic 2015. You tap Ctrl, and it cycles through every single combination of lands to tap to pay for the cost.
When you have two each of the triple-mana lands in addition to a bunch of basic lands, that's a lot of tapping Ctrl to make sure you save those three white mana for your Planar Cleansing.
Anyway, gimmicky deck, but kinda fun when it works.
http://forum.nogoblinsallowed.com/viewtopic.php?p=235492#p235492
Sounds like your playing against Ascendancy
magic 2015 lets you finally build decks from their pool, but it's the one of the worst DotP games for this and many other reasons
I was gonna buy it until I heard the puzzles were gone. I loved the puzzles.
ineedmayo.com Eidolon Journal Updated
Edit hours later: Bitching works! Finally pulled it off 2 games in a row against a white/equipment deck, woot. Guy helpfully conceded second game, takes too long to build 20 mana even with 4 defenders out, had 2 out 2nd game then. But after like 20 loses- success! Time to retire the deck for a bit probably!
There will be no drafts this weekend. Nitpicking; you meant Sealed I'm sure but just wanted to emphasize that WotC has a strict "no prerelease drafts" policy.
And yes, it's clan packs again. And if Khans is any indication, just about any non-mythic rare is fair game to be promo'd. Certainly the two cycles of legends (Khans and Dragons) are up for grabs, as well as presumably the Sieges and the Intro Pack rares so that's at least four per choice. I believe there actually just barely enough rares to have eight options per box, although that means the rare artifact (Scroll of the Masters, almost certainly would be Jeskai) and rare land (Crucible of the Spirit Dragon) are included.
EDIT: Nope, I'm wrong. Only 34 rares. So... six options each with 4 on the bench?
EDIT 2: Forgot there's usually one mythic thrown in the mix as well. Would make sense for the off-color hybrid guys to be them. Seven each?
Abzan (7)
Daghatar the Adamant (W + B/G)
Citadel Siege (W)
Dragonscale General (W)
Rally the Ancestors (W)
Sandsteppe Mastodon (G)
Dromoka, the Eternal (WG)
Warden of the First Tree (G + B/W, mythic)
Jeskai (7)
Mastery of the Unseen (W)
Jeskai Infiltrator (U)
Monastery Siege (U)
Sage-Eye Avengers (U)
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest (U + R/W)
Ojutai, Soul of Winter (WU)
Soulfire Grand Master (W + U/R, mythic)
Sultai (6)
Archfiend of Depravity (B)
Palace Siege (B)
Tasigur, the Golden Fang (B + U/G)
Silumgar, the Drifting Death (UB)
Torrent Elemental (U + B/G, mythic)
Soulflayer (B)
Mardu (7)
Mardu Strike Leader (B)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (R + B/W)
Arcbond (R)
Flamerush Rider (R)
Outpost Siege (R)
Kholagan, the Storm's Fury (RB)
Brutal Hordechief (B + R/W, mythic)
Temur (7)
Flamewake Phoenix (R)
Frontier Siege (G)
Shamanic Revelation (G)
Temur War Shaman (G)
Yasova Dragonclaw (G + R/U)
Atarka, World Render (GR)
Shaman of the Great Hunt (R + G/U, mythic)
Other (6)
Supplant Form (U) — flavor text implies Temur, but could be Sultai
Crucible of the Spirit Dragon (L) — no real home
Scroll of the Ancients (A) — strong Jeskai mechanic synergy
Mob Rule (R) — feels Mardu but not needed
Wildcall (G) — could be Sultai
Crux of Fate (B) — could be Sultai
Done this way it's interesting to note that I never have an "enemy" color rare in a given triad (also matches up with respective dragon's colors). Given that I'd slot Crux of Fate and Supplant Form into Sultai and leave Mob Rule and Wildcall hanging.
EDIT: Missed Soulflayer somehow. I thought 34 seemed odd. Cut Crux of Fate, as that is more of an iconic card that shouldn't be tied to a clan? Or slot everything else and give eight per? Abzan would probably have to get the land in this scenario, and everything else lines up.
ineedmayo.com Eidolon Journal Updated
Yeah I expect Jeskai to be super popular this weekend, even if you put out a banner that read "YOU CANNOT GET A PROMO MONASTERY MENTOR" in big, bold letters on it.
EDIT: Prerelease primer on the mothership says only six per. No word on a single possible mythic or not, but either way lets a lot of chaff get culled.
Played my area's last old school ptq this Saturday, which was a standard event. 114 players, 7 rounds. I played Adrian Sullivan's Dimir control list he posted in his article for select side on starcity this past Friday.
Report:
VS Abzan Midrange (caryatid/courser/rhino)
Opponent only plays 1 threat at a time, draws more cards than I do via abzan charm and read the bones. Outlasts my removal, kills/thoughtseizes all my ashioks, finishes me off with Elspeth tokens.
Round 2 - draw (0-1-1)
VS Sultai Hexproof midrange
Game 1 I lose to thoughtseizes and hexproofy threats (sagu mauler, reaper of the wilds) when I didn't have countermagic or perilous vault in time.
Game 2 I win when I am able to flip reaper of the wilds with Ashiok and have temple of mystery, temple of maladay, and opulent palace in play.
Game 3 Goes to turns, on my turn 5 opponent is on 13, 0 cards in hand. I have 1 prognostic sphinx and his reaper (again) with active Ashiok. Opponent chooses not to concede. Oh well.
Round 3 - Win (1-1-1)
VS 4 Color midrange
I win game 1 by killing their 4-mana threat, vaulting their caryatid and other supports, then stealing a rhino with Ashiok. Also, stealing a courser with a deck that has 27 lands is real nice.
Game 2 my opponent keeps 2 land + caryatid, but misses their turn 3 land drop. I hit Ashiok and promptly exile 3 lands from the top of their deck. They don't draw their 3rd land until I have multiple counters and 6 mana in hand. Ashiok exiles their hand, and the game is over.
Round 4 - Win (2-1-1)
VS Sultai Whip
Bile blight and drown in sorrow main deck do great work to keep Sidisi and hornets under control. Ashiok crushes their hopes and dreams. Games 1 & 2 are no contest.
Round 5 - Win (3-1-1)
VS Abzan aggro
Much closer games. I take game 1 with a quick Ashiok on the play, backed up with bile blight and hero's downfall.
I lose game 2 to the god-curve (fleeceman -> Anafenza -> Rhino) and having no vault to clear the board.
Game 3 they keep a speculative 2 land + thoughseize + double lion + rhino on the play and mulligan, but don't hit more lands after I despise one lion and bile blight the other. Ashiok cleans up.
Round 6 - Win (4-1-1)
VS Jeskai Tempo/Burn
Game 1 I keep the board clear of threats, and counter burn to the face. Ashiok goes the distance and empties their library.
Game 2 Is more of the same, only I can keep prognostic sphinx in play to hold back mantis riders to save my removal spells for just rabblemasters, seeker of the way, and elspeth. All the burn gets countered, and eventually I land Pearl Lake Ancient to close the game out (and bounce back radiant fountains to keep my life total high enough to stay safe from a flurry of burn).
Round 6 - Win (5-1-1)
VS 75 card mirror
Game 1 Is a battle of dueling Ashioks. His ultimates first, but I landed a perilous vault the turn before and play a scry land to see a dig through time on top. I ultimate the turn after he does, then pop vault to clear his ashiok. I dig at his EOT after he plays a land, getting another ashiok and a dissolve. Game over.
Game 2 is nice back and forth, but the turn I resolve a vault he goes to resolve a Liliana and uses the diabolic tutor (I assume he put ancient on top). I pop vault on my main, then ashiok+. He concedes, acknowledging that he sequenced incorrectly.
I miss top 8 on breakers (the gap was HUGE...starting x-1-1 was terrible for that), but 10th was x-2 so that's a bit of consolation. Car pool mate went 6-1 with gruul monsters, but got knocked out in the semis.
Overall I loved this build of the deck. I literally picked it up and played with no practice, so that should tell you something about how good it is.
Mmmmm....toasty.
What Khan are you guys going? Probably will go Abzan just cuz i dont have anything from it.
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I like the flavor and I'm glad they reprinted fetches, but I find the limited environment unexciting.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
as someone whose only limited formats have been M14, Theros, and M15, khans is the greatest thing ever
ineedmayo.com Eidolon Journal Updated
A lot of pros are putting Khans in their top 5 draft formats ever. Usually below Innistrad and Rise of Eldrazi (in some order) but still high.
ineedmayo.com Eidolon Journal Updated
Had a Vengevine in the graveyard, played one creature, then used Unearth on something else in the graveyard. Guess Unearth doesn't count for that.
Unearth is an activated ability, the creature is not being cast.
Steam: Noai
Warframe: Fairwoods
Gravecrawler gets along well with Vengevine. There's a blue guy in the new set who can be cast from the graveyard in some circumstances as well.
There are no flashback creatures. Unearth is basically that, but as pointed out already subtly different. There are a few flashback token-making spells, but those aren't "creature spells" either.
I haven't been playing for very long, but I think it looks somewhat competitive. The curve is terrible, but I'm also not sure how to fix it. Any thoughts?