Messages

16

General Magic / Re: Flicker/Blink in Modern

« on: February 16, 2017, 09:02:13 am »

Thanks for the heads up.

So your point is...basically... I cant really do what i wanted to do and still be competitive.


What would you recommend in my case when I like the flicker-effects (card draw, bounce, exile etc) but cant build a deck on it?
Do you have a link to a deck that you would find playable?

That's not what I mean at 100%.
I said that you can build a deck that rely entirely on flickering to be competitive.
Well yeah, there is still is Kiki, but I find combo decks to be not too much reliable, since if a single piece of your strategy falls apart, the entire plan is going down the bin.
And as a control player, I assure you that combo decks are easy to identify, understand, and choke their strategy by countering the right pieces at the right time.
The only reason that combo decks are prevalent in modern is that the format is non-interactive and everyone just plays their pieces of board while trying to reach the winning condition faster than the opponent.

Yet, you can make a deck that use flickering as his primary support condition.
The only downside to flickering is that there are no card that flicker permanents with a good balance between effect and cost.
The chepeast I can think off is Otherworldly Journey .

Anyway, as we said before, a LOT of deck abuse ETB (and flickering as a side effect) to be effective.
I would suggest you to look for a Death&Taxes archetype primer, and customize it with powerful ETB cards and flicker effect.
But remember that the flicker is just a way to help you win (in D&T you usually win by bashing the opponent with your creatures), not the winning condition (unlike Kiki Chord).
D&T is pretty easy to use even for a beginner (since you just put creatures down and... that's it - the creature does the rest), has a pretty high skill ceiling (since the tricks you can do with flicker effects and ETB are pretty much infinite), is competitive AND pretty cheap (well, for a competitive modern deck).

17

Deck Reviews / Re: [Modern] Angel Warfare from the new chick.... any great ideas? Advice welcomed.

« on: February 15, 2017, 09:22:42 pm »

Angel Warfare

Kicking ass and taking names.  Hopefully.  Would y'all help a girl out?

Hiya My Passionate Nerdsters!  New to the site/forum, 1st shot at a Modern deck.  Please take a look, share your wisdom, say "howdy-do" etc.....  Thx in advance.   

-nycpeach

I remember when I started MTG and tried to make a working pure white angel deck.
It did not turned out too well ahah.

First of all, the mana curve.
You got 4 turn 1 drop, 4 turn 2 drop, and the rest is all on 3+ CMC.
In modern, this means that you're basically a sitting duck in a format where the first three turns are the most important ones.

Also, remember that human is usually a green/white/blue tribe, so don't limit yourself to white only.
Mix up the things.

I'll dismember the deck (wall of text incoming):

Cavern of souls is good, keep it.
Angelic Destiny is an aura.
All auras suffer the same problem: the 2x1; luckily you can recover it if the creature dies.
But you still "lost" the turn in the grand scheme of things.
If you really like it, I would keep in a single copy, as  a finisher for late game or when you're in control (sort of).
Avacyn, Angel of Hope is a powerhouse, but it's... mana expensive.
Like, really really expensive.
You need to cheat her in game somehow.
Green can help you do that.
Captain of the Watch is a so-so addition (and extremely costly).
Yeah, you use a lot of warrior humans on the deck, but you need to focus on a game strategy: do I use the humans as a temporary meat shield while I ramp mana up to put angels on the field to finish off my opponent?
Or do I use the humans as both a starter AND finisher, with angels being a sort of "supportative" figure in the deck?
Cathars' Crusade is an enchantment (so it has a sort of "protection" in his own way), costly, but still effective.
Not bad not good.
Champion of the Parish is a good turn1 drop... for a pure human deck.
If you want to play angels, you need mana, and if you want mana, you need accelerations.
And all good mana dorks sit at 1 mana.
A 2 copy of the card would suffice.
Day of Judgment, a wrath I guess you wanna use when Avacyn is on the field.
Costly, makes the job done.
It's ok I guess.
Gideon Jura is... expensive.
Again.
Too expensive for too little advantage, there are better version of him.
Gideon's Avenger, expensive, body under average for his CMC, with the premise that he can grow.
Realistically, he won't, since he'll probably die at the first block.
Even if he grows, a spot removal can works wonders since he has not protection on his own.
Grand Abolisher, a good hatebear/control (sort of) card.
Good body, nice effect, good CMC.
Keep it, maybe in x2, since the effect is redundant.
Linvala, Keeper of Silence, my favourite card ever.
Solid body, good CMC, good effect, keep it but in x1.
Oblivion ring, you got no flickering effect so it loses a lot of value.
It's a spot removal with sorcery speed, too slow and expensive.
I would cut it altogether.
Odric, Master Tactician, loves the "swarm" tactics, and you ain't swarming that much (unless the games goes for 20+ turns and you start to have 20 mana).
I would cut it altogether.
Sword of Feast and Famine/Sword of War and Peace, nice equipment pieces, works wonder in a lot of situation.
I would diversify them with other swords, tho.

Proposed changes:

-1 Angelic Destiny
-1 Avacyn, Angel of Hope
-2 Captain of the Watch
-1/-2 Cathars' Crusade
-2/-4 Champion of the Parish
-1 Day of Judgment
-2 Gideon Jura
-4 Gideon's Avenger
-2 Grand Abolisher
-1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-4 Oblivion Ring
-4 Odrin, Master Tactician
-1 Sword of Feast and Famine
-1 Sword of War and Peace

Now for the replacement, I would go for a Green/White deck.
Noble Hierarch/Avacyn's Pilgrim: pretty self explanatory: pimp the mana up.
Noble is a staple for every bant or selenya deck, but she costs money.
Pilgrim is the cheaper version of her.
Path to Exile, the strongest spot removal in modern for white.
Dragon's Eye Sentry: she will buy you time.
She can't attack, but has a wonderful body for her cost and first strike.
FIRST STRIKE ON A 1CMC DROP!
Kytheon, Hero of Akros or Gideon, Ally of Zendikar to replace Gideon Jura.
The first is a creature that goes well tematically with the "attack en masse", the second is just a better version of Gideon.
Mikaeus, the Lunarch: a modulable drop that can be a powerhouse or a buffer for your creatures.
Thraben Inspector, solid body for a turn1 drop, and can give you a clue to draw cards in dead turns.
Remember that white's weakness is the lack of way to draw cards.
Warden of the First Tree, a modulable creature that can become a massive powerhouse if left unchecked.
Weathered Wayfarer, one of my favourite monowhite ramp, can help you thin the deck.
Not so easy to use tho, unlike Noble Hierarch.
Hamlet Captain, a buffer for the humans.
Knight of the Holy Nimbus, one of my favourite card.
Attacks damn well, and he never dies, unless the opponent decides to keep the mana open.
Knight of the White Orchid, the toughter cousing of Weathered Wayfarer.
Can fetch you a land, even a shock land.
Mayor of Avabruck, another buffer for the humans.
This one is passive.
Relic Seeker, wanna get those swords?
Go get those swords!
Thalia's Lieutenant, get a counter on everybody and pumps herself up.
Dauntless Cathar, recycle herself by putting a flying spirit on the battlefield.
Fiend Hunter, a spot removal with both legs, arms, and a warhammer.
Somberwald Sage, because I heard you like to ramp.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar, holy shit this card is broken.
Tireless Tracker, good body, nice landfall effect, can grow.
Angelic Page, it's, well, an angel.
A little one.
Emancipation Angel, sort of "flicker" your average human so that all the buffers can be activated again.
Angel of Jubilation, a solid buffer.
Archangel of Tithes, holy shit she's annoying for the opponent, yet extremely valuable.
Gisela, the Broken Blade and extremely powerful body.
Too bad she dies to Bolt.
Archangel Avacyn, a powerful, but risky card.
Be prepared to lose your board if played unproperly.
Baneslayer Angel one of the best angels out there for his CMC.
Herald of War, tricky to get in play properly, but once she's setted, you can play the deck for (almost) free.
Sigarda, Heron's Grace this angel was made for the human tribe.
Exalted Angel, can be sort of tricked into play via morphing.
Angel of Glory's Rise, wanna swarm the field?
Iona, Shield of Emeria, even more costly than Avacyn, yet when she enters the battlefield, it's game over.
Entreat the Angels, if draw and casted as miracle, can win you the game.


Now, if you want to cheat creatures in play for free...
Why don't you add a nice 4x of Descendants' Path ?
It allows you to play a permanent from your topdeck during the upkeep for no cost.
So, you got a lil' innocent Angelic Page on the field and an Avacyn awaiting for you on the top of your library?
Surprise, you got an Avacyn on the field for free.
This works well with Mutavault (since you can activate it at the beginning of your upkeep), and it will retain BOTH the angel and human subtype.
Alas, another way you have to cheat things into play is Windbrisk Heights.
It enters the battefield tapped (slowing you down), but hidewaying an Emeria and casting it the next turn for free is sweet.
That's all I can think off right now.

18

General Magic / Re: Flicker/Blink in Modern

« on: February 15, 2017, 09:08:12 am »

Puh. You both show me some nice options there.

Cant decide if i wanna for UW/Panharmonicon flicker or Thought knot seer..

Panharmonicon in modern is a dead play.
Unless you cheat it into play somehow, you tap 4 mana at turn 4 for an artifact that will... do nothing until turn 5, 99% of times.

Since you have no experience in modern being a new player, here is the unwritten rule of the format:

• For a deck to be considered competitive, you have to close the game at turn 3, or at least be enough in advantage that the opponent can't recover ever unless you do a really bad play or topdeck 5 lands.
• Corollarium: this does not apply to pure control decks, where you grind your opponent down with answers  cheaper than his threats.
  In those cases, your goal is to prolong the game as much as possible to obtain the virtual card advantage a control deck is structured for.

Of course this is not always possible, nor the rule is always applicable, but it remains valid for a good number of top tier deck (infect, ur kiln fiend, affinity, jund, junk, burn).

While you play your panharmonicon, your opponent will:
- attack with a 17/2 double attack trample pumped Kiln Fiend (UR Kiln fiend deck)
- swing for lethal poison damage via a 7/7 Inkmoth Nexus (infect deck)
- bolt you down (literally.) (burn)
- swarm the field and swing for lethal with an army of little robots (affinity)
- etc...

See the problem with panharmonicon, and modern in general?
Is a quick format.
You got to be aggressive, and you got to be fast.
Almost everything with CMC > 3 is unplayable, unless you find a way to cheat it into play or you got a crazy fast mana acceleration (and that's why cards like Noble Hierarch, Chord of Calling and similar cards have such high $$$ price).

Care that flickering is not an ability you can build a deck on.
It's more of a supportative ability to squeeze the most advantages you can from your cards.
When you include flickering cards in a deck, you have to look at the sinergies they can create.
Flickering is used in conjunction with EOT triggers.
More specifically, EOT triggers that create some permanent effect on the field, tangible for you and/or the opponent.
Example are:

- Creating tokens: Blade Splicer, Nest Invader, Dwynen's Elite, Attended Knight, Eldrazi Skyspawner, Pia Nalaar,
- Cut cards: Tidehollow Sculler, Brain Maggot, Ravenous Rats
- Create card advantage: Auramancer, Snapcaster Mage, Wall of Omens, Abbot of Keral Keep, Treefolk Harbinger, Augur of Bolas, Elvish Visionary, Rogue Refiner
- Recover pieces: Leonin Squire, Eternal Witness, Ironclad Slayer, Renegade Rallier
- Board Control: Fiend Hunter, Oblivion Ring, Aether Adept, Reflector Mage, War Priest of Thune, Azorius Arrester, Leonin Relic-Warder, Meddling Mage, Spell Queller
- Mana adjustment: Burning-Tree Emissary, Hidden Herbalists, Priest of Urabrask
- General utility: Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Kor Outfitter, Maulfist Revolutionary,Mentor of the Meek, Rishkar, Peema Renegade

A little trick you can do with flickering is when a card says something like
"When enter the battlefield, exile X.
When leave the battlefield, return exiled card X".

Oblivion ring is an old example of this.
Flickering the ring while the "enter on battlefield" effect is on the stack basically allows you to exile 2 permanents, and the first one will be permanently exiled.

19

[it] Richieste recensioni mazzi / Re: [Modern] Tamiyo Bant

« on: February 01, 2017, 03:45:47 pm »

Aggiornamenti:

A seguito di altri test:
-Ho notato che avevo problemi all'apertura iniziale.
7 mana dork nel mazzo, possibilità del 70% di avere Birds of Paradise o Noble Hierarch nella mano di apertura, e 0 terre con mana verde (o 0 terre in generale).
È stata rimossa una Tamiyo, Field Researcher per facilitare Collected Company ed è stata aggiunta una Forest.

-Rimossi i 3 Meddling Mage e spostati in side.
Ottima sinergia con Reflector Mage e Spell Queller, ma offrono il 100% solo dal secondo game in poi.
In un mazzo tempo sono comunque utilissimi e potrebbero comunque essere giocati di main se si conosce benissimo il meta.

-Rimossi 2 Mana Leak.
Collected Company è agevolata un pochino e non sono comunque così incisivi se non nelle prime fasi della partita.
Sono comunque una carta che sono felice di vedere di prima mano o di 1°/2° pescata.

-Rimossa Linvala, Keeper of Silence e messa in side.
Bella carta con body valido, costo contenuto e con effetto grandioso ma solo contro determinati mazzi, a la Gaddock Teeg.

-Rimossa Gavony Township e sostituita con Moorland Haunt.
Il mana incolore è rimasto, ma permette di avere un volante 1/1 a costo quasi irrisorio.
 
Ho aggiunto:
-3 Voice of Resurgence al posto dei 3 Meddling Mage.
Body uguale al Meddling, ma effetto più consistente che fa pesare le rimozioni avversarie.
Sinergizza bene con il (probabile) mana verde d'apertura.

-1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos: il sostituito di Linvala, crea una bella schiera di token che sinergizzano bene con il token di Voice of Resurgence.
In caso di morte prematura del Geist of Saint Traft può prendere il suo posto come picchiatore.

-1 Daxos of Meletis: è piccolo ma evasivo e con i vari exalted a supporto diventa difficile bloccarlo senza perdere pezzi del board.
L'effetto di furto delle carte può essere veramente buono, specialmente con tutto il mana che possiamo generare grazie a Noble Hierarch/Birds of paradise.

-1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: fa selezione carte e con Minamo, School at Water's Edge può essere attivato due volte.
Se si trasforma in planeswalker può tenere sotto scacco il board da solo.
-1 Scavening Ooze, sempreverde, buona per il controllo del cimitero e per ingrossarsi.
Opinioni?
Al momento Jace, Vryn's Prodigy è l'unico spot di cui non mi sento troppo sicuro.

Altre carte che non mi sento di escludere ma sulle quali sono indeciso:
- Knotvine Paladin
- Knight of the Reliquary
- Augur of Bolas

Vorrei una qualche creatura a CMC2 che abbia un effetto "statico" o EoB decente, ma a parte i sopracitati Meddling Mage non ho trovato niente che mi abbia convinto.

20

General Magic / Re: Geist of Saint Traft (Modern) Color Question

« on: January 27, 2017, 11:49:37 pm »

I am currently making a Geist of Saint Traft deck, with 4x Geists, 4x Moonsilver Spear, 4x Invocation of Saint Traft, Dovin Baan, etc. The deck's color identity is Bant, but there is only 5-9 Green cards, so I was thinking of just taking out the green and making it Azorius. What are your opinions concerning color and what cards do you think I should add into the deck? Cards should preferably be less than $10.

As explained by KouriNick, green is in Bant identity for the ramp.
If you're planning to stick to a budget deck, you'll need Birds of Paradise (x4), Utopia Sprawl, and some other mana dork like Arbor Elf/Llanowar Elves/Elvish Mystic.
If the deck is not meant for competition, those should suffice with mana adjustments and ramp.
If the deck IS meant for a competitive environment, get those Hierarchs.

I would remove those Moonsilver spear, you already got 4x Geist and 4x Invocation of Saint Traft, 4 mana for casting and another 4 for equipping is too much.
Think about Reflector Mage and Spell Queller.

My main competitive deck is actually similar to what you're aiming for: https://deckstats.net/decks/68708/551025-tamiyo-bant/it

21

General Magic / Re: MTG - Birthday present idea?

« on: January 27, 2017, 10:00:53 am »

Formats played and budget?

He plays the typical beginner stuff, just casual with no real expensive cards
Budget around $20-40 bucks.

You can go for some fat boxes, they sell for about 30-40 euros so the price should still be around your budget after EUR-USD conversion.
This is the most "conventional" present I can think off that offers a little thrill and fun by cracking the boosters.
If you go this way, go for either Aether Revolt, Kaladesh, Battle for Zendikar or Oath of the Gatewatch because of Inventions and Expedition series cards (my personal preference is Aether Revolt > Battle for Zendikar > Kaladesh > Oath of the Gatewatch, based on the average EV of the boosters).

If you're looking for a more personal/intimate gift, I suggest looking for some altered single cards, maybe a multiformat staple like Lightining Bolt, so that your gift won't go in the chimney as fuel for the fire the day your friend goes deeper into MtG.
Here: https://it.magiccardmarket.eu/?mainPage=browseAltered you can find a nice collection of altered cards for sale, or you could contact an artist yourself and order a commission (you have to ask around for contacts, tho).
Care about the shipping time, (MKM usually takes 3 days+ for a money bank transfer + some days for the shipping, so the gift may come too late).

22

Deck Reviews / Re: [Modern]Bitterblossom, the harsh mistress

« on: January 25, 2017, 10:05:39 pm »

Thanks, it's always nice to see another faerie's buddy!
When I was working on the build I tought about those cards, and some CAN find place in the build.
I just sorted out the best one for my environment! 

-Batterskull can replace Sword of war and peace.
It does not carry the burn effect with it, but the life recovery effect is much more solid and constant than the sword's one.
Also, it's handy cause it's already in full use when casted.

Tasigur, the golden fang can take back some spells from the graveyard and can be a pretty solid beater for a cheap cost later on, sure!
Glen elendra archmage can be swapped for it, I guess, but I tried to stay true to the "Faerie" archetype, so it's just a personal "flavour" no.
The card is still valid, tho.

I tried a deck with 4 Serum Vision at the beginning, but they were just... not that useful, especially later on.
I guess that Ancestral Vision is not different, apart from being a 4 turn delay draw.
If you keep your removal for the real threats, you should not be worried about drawing that many cards.

Snapcaster Mage, I'm fully aware of his use, still not a faerie! 
Go for the Throat, Dimir Charm and maybe a copy of Dismember could be cut off to make some room.

For Smuggler's Copter, I'm aware too of that card brokeness, I'm actually using a couple into my monowhite Death&Taxes and it's working great.
Same spot as snapcaster, I guess.
Visions of faeries with goggles and aviation jackets blasting my opponent from the copter are pretty fun, too.

23

General Magic / Re: MTG - Birthday present idea?

« on: January 25, 2017, 01:50:17 pm »

Formats played and budget?

24

Deck Reviews / [Modern]Bitterblossom, the harsh mistress

« on: January 25, 2017, 12:00:33 pm »

Since my starting in MtG, I have been fascinated with the Faerie tribe.
I brewed with them a lot of different builds/decks, ranging from full aggro to tempo/control, however I never found a truly competitive formula to make them work in the Modern environment.

After more than 6 months of betatesting, I finally brewed a working formula under the guise of a pure control/removal deck.
It gave me good result vs almost all matchup in my FNM/local tournaments, so here we go:

http://deck.tk/7LLA3pKm

The deck is a little tricky to play, since Bitterblossom sets both the players on a clock: it depletes our life, but depletes the enemy's much faster.
It's our path to victory, yet we can't afford to put it on the field until we are sure that nothing will harm it (aka "I'm in control").

Here the card list with explanation:
4 x Bitterblossom: our engine. It spawns a 1/1 flying token for 1 life.
Multiple istances of it can speed the game clock toward the end (even ours).
We've got 4 copies of it, so if it's destroyed, we can always replace it.

1 x Collective Brutality: the little swiss knife.
It can kill small creatures, discard cards from the opponent hand, or refuel a little or primary resource: life.

1 x Cryptic Command: the BIG swiss knife.
Useful in almost every situation, ranging from countering spells, tapping out enemy's creatures, buying tempo, this card does it.
The only downside: it's mana expensive.

1 x Dimir Charm: similar to Collective Brutality in its use.
It can mess with our opponent's plan pretty bad for only 2 mana.
Even when topdecked as a dead card, you can always use it to adjust your next draw.
Also, it kills things! (the small ones...)

2 x Dismember: one of the big spot removal in the deck.
You can use it as an emergency removal for 1 mana and 4 life (care Bitterblossom clock), or just pay a partial BB/2 life, or even the entire cost since we run a lot of black in the deck.

4 x Fatal Push: new entry for Kaladesh, this card gave new fuel to the previous build.
Use it in conjunction with fecthes or blinking effect (Quickling/Mistbind Clique) to remove bigger creatures, or plain use it to remove smaller threats,

1 x Glen Elendra Archmage: play only when in control to keep the control.
We don't want to go tapped out when the enemy has some resources in hand, do we?
Anyway, it's a 2x flying counter.

1 x Go for the Throat: another small spot removal.
Doesn't work with artifacts, but kills pretty much everything else.

4 x Inquisiton of Kozilek: swappable for Thoughtseize.
It removes threats from the hand at turn 1 with some luck.
Works well with Surgical Extraction.

4 x Surgical Extraction: swappable for Extirpate.
It literally rapes our opponent deck, hand, and graveyard, while giving us insight on opponent's plan and strategies.

I don't recommend playing 4 x Thoughtseize and 4 x Surgical Extraction, too much toll on our life.
Either 4 x Toughtseize and  4 x Extirpate OR 4 x Inquisition of Kozilek and 4 x Surgical Extraction.
These cards go in combo, so keep them both, or none.

2 x Mistbind Clique: a 4/4 flying, who can "blink" things, save us from Bitterblossom and tap out the opponent (giving us a free quasi-Time Walk in the process).
Goes well in combo with Spellstutter Sprite and Quickling (especially the Quickling, you can do some nasty things with both).

2 x Quickling: a 2/2 flying for 2 mana, who can give us back the opportunity to play Spellstutter Sprite or Mistbind Clique again.
Don't play it as a creature to bash the opponent, unless it's for the win.
Ever.

1 x Remand: it cicles itself and give us time.
Use it to counter big spells.

4 x Spellstutter Sprite: a little 1/1 flying who likes to counter things.
Goes well in combo with Mutavault, Bitterblossom and tokens.

Vendilion Clique: a 3/1 flying with flash who can remove threats from opponent hand.
1 x Sword of War and Peace/Sword of Feast and Famine: one sword for sustain, one sword for keeping the mana open.
Play them when you're in control.
Sometimes you won't even need them (or you won't actually see them).

1 x Baral's Expertise: another new entry from Kaladesh, swappable for Yahenni's Expertise if you're more into destroying things.
It's a pretty nasty card, even if expensive.
The only real downside it's that it's a sorcery.
It can bounce back Spellstutter Sprite/Mistbind Clique/Vendilion Clique so we can use them again, or just bounce opponent things out of the battlefield.
Also, free sword, bitterblossom, or cryptic command.

Lands wise:

1 x Creeping Tar Pit: it's a nice land, unblockable and animable for a real cheap cost, but enter the battlefield tapped.
An alternative finisher if things go awry.

2 x Drowned Catacomb: it will enter always untapped, we've got the ways to do it.

2 x Ghost Quarter: we don't like those pesky Inkmoth Nexus, do we?
No, we don't.

2 x Mutavault: can swing for 2 damage during dead turn 2 draws.
You can replace Ghost Quarters for a full set if you feel into aggro mood.

4 x Polluted Delta: a lot of people don't like fetches into Faeries decks.
I like them, however, since they can adjust the mana for a single life point.

2 x Watery Grave: a mana fixer, but I don't recommend to abuse them.
The deck is already life expensive as it is.


Final note: I didn't include Scion of Oona because... I really don't like that card.
I tried to fit it into every single build of my faerie deck, and it always sorted out to be a dead card.
It's one of the cards that people try to cram into every faerie build, but it does few things apart from protecting your creatures from a spot removal (and if you play bitterblossom, you don't care about spot removals at all).
The +1/+1 is nice, but then Favorable Winds does the same, while being an enchantment (more difficult to remove).
Sure, it can protect Bitterblossom, maybe even Vendilion/Mistbind, but Spellstutter can do that too.
I think it's better to have a nice spot removal/counter set instead of Scion.
If the cost were to be a 1U or even UU, I would have included it.

Any thoughts?

25

[it] Richieste recensioni mazzi / Re: [Modern] Tamiyo Bant

« on: December 21, 2016, 04:03:55 pm »

Come mazzo mi sembra molto valido, appena avrò un pò di tempo lo testerò. Non mi convince molto quella Linvala, picca 4 ed è morta per collected company... Inoltre già giochi 14 spell, non è c'è un rischio molto elevato di girare Coco vuote? Per ora come sta andando il testing? Match Up positivi/negativi?

Linvala è come detto sopra facoltativa ed è sostituibile a piacere, volendo con un Gaddock Teeg, una Voice of Resurgence o un quarto Spellqueller.
La Collected in linea di massima fallisce una volta ogni 7/8 partite, con una media di circa 2 Company lanciate a partita: il rischio c'è ma è minimo, e con un po' di fortuna salva la vita.

Aggiornamento abbastanza importante, ho sostituito i 3 Loxodon Smiter per 3 Meddling Mage, che sono più incisivi e posso comunque ricoprire un buon ruolo di picchiatori col supporto delle gerarche e dei qasali.
Dopo un buon numero di match ho notato come praticamente tutte le creature avessero un ruolo ben definito nel mazzo e una loro nicchia di utilità, tranne il Loxodon che invece spesso non veniva nemmeno giocato preferendo un ben più performante Geist.

Matchup positivi:
-Tron: partita vinta quasi a prescindere, appena si capisce che l'avversario sta cercando il trittico di terre Urza, Meddling Mage dichiarando Emrakul/Wormcoil/Ulamog/Oblivion Stone e passa la paura.
Geist picchia tantissimo considerando le poche creature di Tron, a quel punto basta sbarazzarsi di Ugin/Karn con Mana Leak.

-Infect: partita tranquilla fintanto che si hanno dei Mana Leak o dei Path to Exile in mano con cui eliminare le creature avversarie.
In casi di emergenza una Collected Company ben piazzata può rispedire in mano tramite Reflector Mage qualsiasi problema in arrivo, a patto di arrivare al turno 4+ (bonus addizionale se a tornare in mano è un Inkmoth Nexus).
Unico problema degno di nota sono le Apostle Blessing.

Jund/Junk: skill matchup ma nonostante tutto coi vari Reflector Mage, Mana Leak e Meddling siamo molto in vantaggio di tempo.
Può essere noiosa una partenza a strappo fetch + shockland + Inquisition of Kozilek, specie se ci elimina l'accellerino iniziale.
Nota importante, tramite Spell Queller  possiamo "counterare" il noioso Abrupt Decay, mentre il Geist è eliminabile solo tramite Liliana of the Veil.

Dredge: probabilmente moriremo male al game 1, ma nel game 2 grazie alla side dovremmo riuscire a cavarcela con un bel Rest in Peace.

Affinity: stesso discorso del Dredge, le probabilità sono contro di noi fino a che non accederemo alla side per la Stony Silence.

Titanfall: matchup semplice appena capiremo cosa abbiamo di fronte.
Meddling mage terrà a bada i titani, e Path to Exile penserà gli eventuali sopravvissuti .

Matchup negativi:

Merfolk: velocità troppo esplosiva a cui non si riesce a stare dietro.
Meddling Mage schierato di secondo turno può contenere parzialmente la situazione, e Reflector Mage può eliminare qualche potenziamento dal board, ma a causa dell'elevata quantità di isole del mazzo l'avversario non ha neanche bisogno di Spreading Seas per usare al massimo l'inslandwalk.

Elfi: vale la stessa cosa del merfolk, troppa velocità a cui non si riesce a stare dietro.

G Stomp: matchup negativo nel momento in cui l'avversario cala qualcosa di grosso con trample.
Le nostre creature sono forti in attacco, ma non in difesa.

Naya zoo: stesso discorso di G Stomp, troppe creature e tutte troppo grosse per counterarle tutte.

Burn: matchup impossibile da vincere, qualsiasi cosa proveremo a schierare verrà fulminata (spesso letteralmente) sul posto.
La situazione potrebbe diventare gestibile con una Leyline of Sanctity di prima mano.

U/R Temur Rage: il collo di bottiglia sul quale intervenire è quando l'avversaria gioca delle creature.
La Monastery Swiftspear spesso sarà non interagibile (salvo Path to Exile) visto che sarà giocata di primo turno.
Il Kiln Fiend e la Thing in the Ice possono essere counterate o rimosse con un po' di fortuna, ma l'apostle blessing è sempre in agguato.
In breve: noi dovremo pararci da ogni singolo attacco/threat, mentre l'avversario... l'avversario deve soltanto prenderti una volta.

26

[it] Richieste recensioni mazzi / [Modern] Tamiyo Bant

« on: December 02, 2016, 09:24:52 am »

Tamiyo Bant

Scusate per l'inglese, spero sia leggibile per tutti, magari pubblicherò una spiegazione in italiano appena ho tempo.
Vorrei avere feedback per questo mazzo, ho tentato di farlo versatile possibile (a la Jund per intenderci), volevo avere opinioni da chi è più esperto di me per migliorarlo ancora.

Leave feedback if you like.

Aggro/Tempo deck based on exalted.
You'll be attacking with just one creature most of the time using the flying evasive properties of your creatures.
Control/Tempo wise you've got:
-4 Mana Leak to block opponent's move during the first turns to create more time thanks to Noble Hierarch/Birds of Paradise, or to tax heavily his manabase during lategame. Replaceable with Remand if you find yourself more accustomed with Tempo instead of Control.

-4 Path to Exile to remove treats that made on the field, also usable to fetch the Forest if a Bird/Hierarch gets destroyed

-3 Spell Queller to counter even more spells (even if Queller gets focused down it's still a 2x1), can also be played via Collected Company for some surprise board+spell advantage.

-3 Reflector Mage to remove eventual treats that bypassed Spell Queller, Path and Mana Leak. Can be used both offensively (removing blocking creature) or defensively (via Collected Company).
Replaceable with Meddling Mage if you're accustomed with the local meta (Reflector Mage is a reactive solution, Meddling is proactive).

Aggro wise, you've got:

-3 Geist of Saint Traft, once the card hits the field he starts hitting like a blacksmith.
A 2/2 hexproof that creates a 4/4 flying token who synergize well with Qasali and Noble Hierarch.
The bread and butter of the deck, can be played at turn 2 with the perfect hand (2 lands + 1 Hierarch/Birds) or via Collected Company.

-3 Qasali Pridemage, while being just a 2/2, he can still hit for 3, 4 with a Noble Hierarch.
Can be sacrificed for artifact/enchantment destruction.

-3 Loxodon Smiter: a 4/4 heavy beater that can be played if discarded by your opponent. Don't count on this too much because of Kozilek and Thoughtseize.
Can be replaced by other beaters if you feel like it, it's a sort of blank sport.

-1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence: a 3/4 flying who straight blocks every single deck focused on creature abilities.
Also a sort of blank spot, replaceable (but not advised to, since her general utility).
Also resistent to Lightning Bolt.

-2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner: a 2/2 flying who counters opponent's removals, except for a handful or spells (looking at you, Abrupt Decay).
Sort of a blank spot too, replaceable with some heavy beater if you want a more aggro deck.

For the ramp, we've got:
-4 Noble Hierarch: the best turn 1 drop you can play.
During the first 1-2 turns she's gonna be under hard focus.

-3 Birds of Paradise: the underperfoming cousin of Noble Hierarch.
Can serve as an attacker with some exalted backup, or as a blocker during endgame.

-4 Collected Company: whatever you need, this card can provide it (with some luck).
Use it as a "counter" for opponent removal/creature: a well timed Spell Queller/Geist/Reflector Mage can turn the table in your favor and grant you an handful of turns.
The only creature outside of its grasp is Linvala.

Tamiyo is there to let you draw cards or freeze opponent's board.
The ultimate lets you basically play the deck for free.

Elspeth is mostly used for the pumping effect on your single attacking creature.
She can also create some blocking creatures in dire times.

Land wise, I opted for a majority of shockland/fastlands, since too many basic land would screw the mana base.
Celestial Colonade and Gavony Township are mana sinks for the lategame, when the board is enstabilished (1-2 Noble Hierarch, 1 Geist of Saint Traft, 1-2 Reflector Mage).

As for playing the deck, the first hand is extremely impactful on the turn 2-3 performance.
Mulligan if you get something lower than the average quality starting hand (examples below):

Perfect hand: 2 lands, 1-2 Noble Hierarch, 1 Geist of Saint Traft, 1-2 Mana Leak/Path to Exile
Pretty good hand: 2 lands, 1-2 Noble Hierarch/Birds of Paradise, 1 Spell Queller, 1-2 Mana Leak/Path to Exile
Good hand: 1-2 lands, 1-2 Noble Hierarch/Birds of Paradise, 1 Loxodon Smiter/Qasali Pridemage, 1-2 Mana Leak/Path to Exile
Average hand: 1-2 lands, 1-2 Qasali Pridemage, 1-2 Reflector Mage, 1-2 Mana Leak/Path to Exile

If the starting hand is composed of 3 or more CMC 3 or higher, mulligan it.