Anyone play MTG?

Skye1013 wrote:Do tournament decks have an upper limit now? I always thought it was just a minimum of 60 cards (no max) + 15 card sideboard. Or did you mean no limit to the number of each card on an individual basis (4+ "Counterspell", 4+ "Shock", etc.)?

There's no upper limit, you just have to be able to shuffle it in a timely manner (3 minutes if memory serves). There were even some Battle of Wits decks around in tournaments last summer, back when we still had the tutor-ish effects from SoM block.

I started playing again recently. Built a Red/Blue control deck on the cheap. I think the Sulfur Falls and Steam Vents are my most expensive cards.

Alacia wrote:

Skye1013 wrote:Do tournament decks have an upper limit now? I always thought it was just a minimum of 60 cards (no max) + 15 card sideboard. Or did you mean no limit to the number of each card on an individual basis (4+ "Counterspell", 4+ "Shock", etc.)?

There's no upper limit, you just have to be able to shuffle it in a timely manner (3 minutes if memory serves). There were even some Battle of Wits decks around in tournaments last summer, back when we still had the tutor-ish effects from SoM block.

This pretty much, 60 cards minimum for constructed decks with your sideboard being 15 cards exactly. Each card other than basic land may only have 4 copies of that card per deck in all constructed formats except vintage which has a restricted list of 1 of cards you may use.

Erendis wrote:I started playing again recently. Built a Red/Blue control deck on the cheap. I think the Sulfur Falls and Steam Vents are my most expensive cards.

Entirely viable but not tier 1 [yet ]. I have a soft spot for Red/Blue, won a lot of games playing counterhammer in the late 90's.

Counterflux is strong currently, even with Cavern of Souls and creatures being a big thing.

I think the last time I played 'for real' was when Tolarian Academy was all the rage. I always played the same styles of decks. For a while, I was running Hidden Horror / Shallow Grave / Corpse Dance, which then led to Call of the Wild Living Death shenanigans.

I actually, for a while in the Tempest era, fielded a creatureless black Anvil of Bogardin / Megrim Deck that annihilated people. Did fairly well at the Origins tourney that year, cracking top 8, and then I met up with a crazy Counter deck that crushed my soul.

I've played Commander a few times since then, and My son wanted to learn how to play so I taught him, so I have a few constructed decks together, and I still have a "Black Sligh" deck that I'm sure would get decimated in the current environment of constructed.

It's nice to see a lot of familiar names from the forums be pretty into the MTG, I played for a bit in middle school circa 4th edition Ice Age and then basically quit when Exedous came out and it was time for HS. Anyways, I had saved all my cards and had an absolute BLAST going through all of them last year when I made the decision to sell them for extra cash, what with being a dad and all...

I was pretty shocked at how easy it was to find a professional buyer in Chicagoland and was even more lol'ed when the shop keepers had to go out and get more cash to pay me off. While I was doing, what I thought was the helpful thing, by sorting all of my cards by expansion and noting the rares, I did look into the state of the game and was pretty amazed at the Innistrad block. I swear, it took all my will power not to just give that store back all the money they paid me and buy back in.

I found the simplified Duels of the Plainswalkers games a lot of fun for some SERIOUS casual play, albeit ANYONE who played with the real cards will be srsly turned off by the no deck customization... I just wish the MTGO engine didn't look like such a throw back to 1998 internet, else I would prob be back into things in a big way.

For some lulz see: http://magiccardswithgooglyeyes.tumblr.com/ (it's nice to see this is still semi active!)

the mtgo client just makes me cry. the worst part is that they reworked it and the new one is even worse. cards randomly resize, HP and cards in hand numbers moved more to the side and made super small. Guess I am just used to the old one, but I don't know anyone that has anything good to say about the new one.

there's a few decent streams on twitch. the best probably being michael jacob (google for darkestmage twitch), streaming an average of 8h per day or so (yep, crackhead), playing various constructed formats and drafts/sealeds. although if you are not somewhat up to date, could be problematic following that. the coverage from the big tournaments is also quite good now, at least not comparable to what it was 10 years ago. lots of stuff on youtube, under 'magicprotour' I believe.

the mtgo client just makes me cry. the worst part is that they reworked it and the new one is even worse. cards randomly resize, HP and cards in hand numbers moved more to the side and made super small. Guess I am just used to the old one, but I don't know anyone that has anything good to say about the new one.

there's a few decent streams on twitch. the best probably being michael jacob (google for darkestmage twitch), streaming an average of 8h per day or so (yep, crackhead), playing various constructed formats and drafts/sealeds. although if you are not somewhat up to date, could be problematic following that. the coverage from the big tournaments is also quite good now, at least not comparable to what it was 10 years ago. lots of stuff on youtube, under 'magicprotour' I believe.

Barathorn wrote:

Erendis wrote:I started playing again recently. Built a Red/Blue control deck on the cheap. I think the Sulfur Falls and Steam Vents are my most expensive cards.

Entirely viable but not tier 1 [yet :)]. I have a soft spot for Red/Blue, won a lot of games playing counterhammer in the late 90's.

Counterflux is strong currently, even with Cavern of Souls and creatures being a big thing.

Oh thank god. Back in the day (like high school) I ran a red/blue counterburn deck and I loved it to bits. Nowadays that seems really difficult to pull off. Since I'm not intimately familiar with all the cards available in Standard, what stuff would you recommend for building that kind of deck nowadays?

Sab,

I have seen this post and haven't forgotten about you, I will post a budget list and a money doesn't matter list when possible!

Bara.

Funtimes Budget FNM List.

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
3 Izzet Charm
3 Think Twice
2 Rolling Temblor
2 Unsummon
4 Syncopate
2 Dissipate
1 Devils Play
1 Runechanters Pike

1 Niv-Mizzit Dracogenius
2 Izzet Staticaster
2 Hypersonic Dragon
4 Auger of Bolas

4 Izzet Guildgate
11 Mountain
10 Island

Tier 2-3 Competitive

4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Auger of Bolas
4 Boras Reckoner
2 Thundermaw Hellkite

4 Pillar of Flame
4 Searing Spear
2 Izzet Charm
2 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Think Twice
3 Syncopate
1 Dissipate
1 Counterflux
1 Devils Play

4 Steam Vents
4 Sulphur Cliffs
2 Isolated Lighthouse
1 Cavern of Souls
7 Mountains
7 Islands

Comparing your lists to the deck I built, it looks like I'm using shitty shitty counterspells and too many of them. And card draw is more necessary than I ever pegged it. Also I am bad at creatures. :x

thanks dude I appreciate it!!

QUestion: I don't understand Counterflux exactly... why is it good?

Sabindeus wrote:QUestion: I don't understand Counterflux exactly... why is it good?

In Standard, it's pretty much just an uncounterable counterspell. The Overload might have some application in other formats (such as against Storm), but there's generally better alternatives there.

Sabindeus wrote:QUestion: I don't understand Counterflux exactly... why is it good?

It's a Last Word that costs 3 mana. What's not to like?

Sabindeus wrote:Comparing your lists to the deck I built, it looks like I'm using shitty shitty counterspells and too many of them. And card draw is more necessary than I ever pegged it. Also I am bad at creatures.

thanks dude I appreciate it!!

No worries, I don't think either list is amazing but should be ok for funtimes at an average competitive level [FNM or local store event] but I wouldn't take them to a GP Trial or anything of that level or above.

We have a PTQ and a WMCQ this coming weekend. Our entire team has no idea what to play that we enjoy. It is looking like most are playing Reanimator Junk or Bant Hexproof. The only other option is Esper Control which I don't really want to play.

This is what I think I am going to sleeve up.

4 x Stromkirk Noble
4 x Rakdos Cackler
4 X Burning Tree Emmissary
4 x Lightning Mauler
4 x Flinthoof Boar
4 x Boros Reckoner
4 x Hellrider
3 x Ghor Clan Rampager

4 Searing Spear
4 Brimstone Volley

4 Stomping Ground
4 Rootbound Crag
13 Mountain

Very aggressive.

Alacia wrote:

Sabindeus wrote:QUestion: I don't understand Counterflux exactly... why is it good?

In Standard, it's pretty much just an uncounterable counterspell. The Overload might have some application in other formats (such as against Storm), but there's generally better alternatives there.

Whoa. I may need that for my deck.

Alacia wrote:

Sabindeus wrote:QUestion: I don't understand Counterflux exactly... why is it good?

In Standard, it's pretty much just an uncounterable counterspell. The Overload might have some application in other formats (such as against Storm), but there's generally better alternatives there.

uncounterable counterspell sounds like a thing you'd sideboard, not maindeck....

It's pretty much the same cost as a non-counterable counterspell (UUR instead of UU1) so why not?

counterspell doesn't exist any more. even mana leak was deemed 'too powerful' for STD. all you have are 3 mana counters and if you are UR, why run cancel over counterflux, if you got the latter?
it's not even a great sideboard card vs other blue decks, you'd much rather board in dispel as you're mainly fightning over sphinx revelation these days and countering opponents or protecting yours for just one mana is great.

Given the choice [and metagame allowing me to] I would run 4 Syncopate and 4 Dissipate as it attempts to stop the Junk Reanimator decks but eventually they get a Cavern and make a Craterhoof anyway or make an early Lox Smiter so you have to look at your options.

Counterflux is great for counterspell battles and for stopping the 2nd - 3rd Sphinxes Revelation but its best use is making sure in any long game that your key spell resolves, be it a Devils Play, Sphinxes or Psychic Spiral.

As I said I don't think the U/R decks are overly competitive but Counterflux is definately a competitive card that will come into its own when Cavern of Souls rotates out.

I do agree with Kai though that Dispel is a really good card, it just doesn't feel relavent currently in most matches other than an Esper Mirror.

Cool, good arguments, thanks guys.

My real aversion is to multi-colored cards as I'm not used to the sheer excess of dual-lands that we have nowadays...

Sweet, a reason to come back to this forum.
Heading to a 2k event this morning. Not much a fan of standard right now, but wish me luck.
Anybody play commander heavily? It's really popular round me, most folks I know have upwards of 3 or 4 decks for it.

Lost my last 2 matches to drop out of contention in Saturdays PTQ, the G/R aggro deck did really well but my last two matches were just disappointing and I went from 5-1 and being 5th to 5-3 and being 34/187.

Second to last match in the final game [we are 1-1] my opponent casts in subsequant turns, Rhox Faithmender, Rhox Faithmender, Thragtusk to gain 20 life /sigh and in the last match my opponent emptied his hand games 1 and 3 by turn 3 with triple Burning Tree Emmissary which you can't beat easily.

Bad beat stories are the best right?

@ Zonzede, EDH is the one format I haven't played, I find it difficult to detatch from 'competitive mode' which kinda makes EDH pointles for me. We generally play board games to chill out, things like King of Tokyo, Shadow Hunter, Ascension, Battlecars and LOTR Risk.

Did anyone else play MTG this weekend? I didn't bother going to the 1st English WMCQ on Sunday, I was magicked out after Saturday. 2 good friends won the PTQ and WMCQ this weekend though so all was good!

My performance was nothing short of pitiful this last weekend. 0-3 drop. Friend of mine took it though. Ate Wheaties out of the trophy cup.

As for competitive commander, go for it. There's no reason you have to play with the mitts on. Just dangle a prize out there and watch Hermit Combo, Niv-Mizzet drawfest, and Arcum Dagsson decks pop out of the woodwork. Folks only keep it civil because it's all for fun =) It's why Wiz only sells product for it and doesn't sanction. Vintage isn't very popular because of the teeth and pricetag, so they keep Singleton Vintage tame by not warranting them.

We love some board games here too. Lots of Ascension, Munchkin, and Catan especially. Risk just gets people angry at each other for some reason.

Zonzede wrote:Sweet, a reason to come back to this forum.
Heading to a 2k event this morning. Not much a fan of standard right now, but wish me luck.
Anybody play commander heavily? It's really popular round me, most folks I know have upwards of 3 or 4 decks for it.

Seven decks here.
Metagame started as "All-in-good-fun", and descended rapidly into competitive stuff when someone brought in infest rush and [url=http://magiccards.info/arb/en/124.html]Uril[/uril] decks.

Believe it or not, a Child of Alara deck that is substantially "Every big card i couldn't ever play, plus lots of controls" is pretty top of the heap. Since the rules were amended to make clear the fact that you cannot move the commander from the graveyard to command zone, and just use the substitution effect, it had to run some gy-hate and reanimator-like stuff.
Not that reanimator-like stuff hurt it, tbh. Worthy Cause was an unexpected gem.

Since we're there, bara, you've got an idea of how the stack order goes for Scapegoat sacrificing Child of Alara?
Sacrifice cost-pay, and that runs first because it's out of stack
But now, who gets first on the stack, the go-to-graveyard-effect or the spell-effect?
Anything without green that isn't a low-cost combo/control (which is Dagsson and Vendilion Clique