Messages

931

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/ Commander] My cat deck

« on: January 21, 2018, 10:23:19 pm »

My top 3 picks for cards to cut in favor of more ramp:

1) Oketra's Monument - While cost reduction is great, it only impacts your white creatures.  In a mono-white dedicated creature deck this would be great.  For your deck, mana ramp that can be used on every spell would be better.
2) Skullclamp - while an awesome card, it is best with 1-toughness creatures.  You have very few (only 1?).  You won't get a lot of value.
3) Anointed Procession - while you do have some token creation, that seems to be the back-up plan.  Your primary plan is to voltron a single creature.  Again, not a lot of value.

Another factor in your mana may be a lot of lands entering the battlefield tapped.  In a 2-color deck, you don't often need a lot of dual lands.  Especially when those lands will slow you down, and especially when one of the colors is green.  I would cut (at least) the following in favor of basic lands:
Elfhame Palace
Grasslands
Kabira Crossroads
Selesnya Guildgate
Tranquil Expanse
Vivid Grove
Vivid Meadow

Hope this helps

932

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH/ Commander] My cat deck

« on: January 21, 2018, 07:19:50 pm »

Is your poor luck lately due to not having enough mana (less than your opponent's) to cast your spells, or due to not having answers to your opponents? 

No such thing as a "over complicated" mana base in Commander.  I did notice however that you only have 4 non-land sources of mana/ramp.  I suggest at least 4 more.  Things like Thran Dynamo, Lotus Petal, Kodama's Reach, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Birds of Paradise, Land Tax.  Anything to put a few more mana on the field for you.  I usually like to run 6-8 nonland mana sources/ramp in any deck.

Hope this helps

Happy Brewing 

933

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Minotaur special

« on: January 20, 2018, 05:01:25 pm »

Welcome to Magic and to the Commander format.  Don't let anyone else tell you that your Commander deck isn't good.  Commander is a casual format.  It is all about how the deck holds up against the people you are playing against.  Assuming that you are playing at home with a (relatively) fixed group, this could do ok.  Especially if everyone in your group is a beginner too.  Give it a play before you decide for sure.  If no one is playing major indestructible creatures or extremely large creatures (although dinosaurs are popular right now), direct damage could be very efficient.  Red/black does have access to other forms of removal ... Murder, Hero's Downfall as well as things like Vampire Hexmage and Thief of Blood.

Happy Brewing 

934

Deck Comments / Re: White deck - Comments

« on: January 20, 2018, 05:14:12 am »

I second the confusion.  You want to find a focus for the deck.  You also want to stick to just 60 cards.  Typically a 60-card deck will run 24 lands.  There are 36 cards left for the deck.  You want to use as many 4-ofs as possible. So that is only 9 unique non-land cards.

hope this helps

Happy Brewing! 

935

Deck Reviews / Re: EDH Red/Blue/Green Maelstrom Wanderer

« on: January 19, 2018, 11:22:52 pm »

Maybe some bounce spells like Evacuation.  You'll board wipe, re-cast your commander and get 2 free spells.

936

Deck Reviews / Re: EDH Red/Blue/Green Maelstrom Wanderer

« on: January 19, 2018, 10:30:11 pm »

If it's not fast enough for you, try some more non-mana sources ... Thran Dynamo, Cultivate, Kodama's Reach, Birds of Paradise, Llanowar Elves.  I usually like 6 to 10 in a deck.  In a deck where everything gets double cascade, I wouldn't hesitate to run 10, so that you can cast anything in your hand whenever you want.

Happy Brewing 

937

Deck Comments / Re: Ramos Cycle Engine - Comments

« on: January 19, 2018, 09:37:35 pm »

I love the addition of the Lorwyn 5.
 

938

Deck Comments / Re: Can't Lose, Can't Win - Comments

« on: January 19, 2018, 09:35:37 pm »

If you flicker Abyssal Persecutor (or anything really) ... Once a spell/ability begins resolving, it finishes before anything else can happen.  State-based actions (like losing the game) do not happen until the spell/ability has completely resolved.  No one gets priority until the spell/ability has completely resolved.  Any enter/leaves the battlefield triggers will go on the stack to resolve at a later time - once the current spell/ability has completely resolved and each player has passed priority.

So in this particular example.  Say all of your opponents have negative life totals, while you still have a positive life total.  You flicker your Abyssal Persecutor.  Once Flicker starts to resolve, it exiles the Abyssal Persecutor.  Then it brings Abyssal Persecutor back to the battlefield.  Flicker is put into the graveyard as the last part of its resolution.  Now state-based effects check.  You still can't win and your opponents still can't lose.

You would need an effect like Eerie Interlude to exile the creature temporarily and allow for priority to pass while Abyssal Persecutor is in exile.

 

939

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Minotaur special

« on: January 19, 2018, 07:14:03 pm »

That is generally correct.  I find that it comes and goes.  Lots of people play indestructible, so then people start playing exile-type removal.  Then people stop prioritizing indestructible creatures.  If no one at the table is playing a vast amount of indestructible, and especially if they are playing a lot of low-toughness utility creatures, direct damage can be a very efficient form of removal.  1 mana Lightning Bolt trumps a 3 mana Murder.  But yes, in general, direct damage isn't so great.  (All the more reason to use the most efficient burn spells when you do play it.)  But I do think it is a little bit better than people recognize.  Mildly underrated, if you will.  I would never discourage anyone from playing it if that is their preferred play style.

940

Deck Comments / Re: Ramos Cycle Engine - Comments

« on: January 19, 2018, 06:53:03 pm »

Let me know how it goes!  I love quirky deck ideas like "nothing but card cycles".  It's even better when that deck can hold up, at least in a casual environment.

941

Deck Comments / Re: Can't Lose, Can't Win - Comments

« on: January 19, 2018, 01:09:31 pm »

If the opponent runs out of cards to draw, does Abyssal Persecutor prevent them from losing the game?

Abyssal Persecutor says that "your opponents can't lose the game".  Jut like Platinum Angel says that "you can't lose the game".  These both mean for any and every reason.  Draw from an empty libray ... you don't lose.  Life total zero or less ... you don't lose.  Got 10 or more poison counters ... you don't lose.  If you can't lose, it also means that no one else can win (because, logically, if they win then you lose).  So if there is any kind of alternate win condition, like a powered up Helix Pinnacle ... no one wins.

So yes, this combo does work.  it is deliciously evil. 

942

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Most underrated commander of all time

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:39:21 pm »

TeroxCultus,  Actually, shroud does not mean that nothing can be attached to the creature.  It just means that nothing can target him, not even spells/abilities that you control.  (Protection is the ability that prohibits attaching.)  While equip is a targeted ability, Nim Deathmantle has a separate ability that attaches to whatever card it brings back; and nothing about that ability is targeted.  If you look at all of the cards that the original poster called out, none of them say "target" aside from equipment.  But the only equipment he mentions putting on his commander is Nim Deathmantle.

P.S.  Did you notice that this was a 2 year old post?

Happy Brewing 

943

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Minotaur special

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:28:57 pm »

Oh yeah.  Almost forgot.  I notice you're running a lot of direct damage.  Don't forget about the most efficient direct damage spell in all of Magic ... Lightning Bolt!

944

Deck Reviews / Re: [EDH / Commander] Minotaur special

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:27:37 pm »

I would recommend a little more mana ramp.  Black/Red aren't great at ramp.  But there are still options.  I like Hedron Archive and Dreamstone Hedron for this color combination.  They will draw you cards later in the game.  Lotus Bloom and Gilded Lotus are great too.  There's also Sol Ring, Thran Dynamo, Charcoal Diamond, Fire Diamond, Ruby Medallion, Jet Medallion, Dark Ritual, Seething Song.  You don't need all of these.  They are just some options for you.  I would say 8 to 10 mana sources total.  And you've already got a few.  Although I personally don't usually count the monuments, as they only reduce the cost of your creatures.  Your deck isn't that heavy on creatures.

With 10 mana sources (nonland) in your deck, you might be able to reduce your land count by a few.  36 Would be my target.  You are playing a lot of basic lands.  That is totally fine.  I would suggest adding Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse to help prevent getting stuck on color.

Hope this helps

Happy Brewing 

945

General Magic / Re: Banning Cards and How WOTC Intends to Control Standard.

« on: January 18, 2018, 03:29:00 am »

I think it would be interesting if  card rarity determined how many you could have in a deck.
Common x 4
Uncommon x 3
Rare x2
Mythic x1

THAT would make the game play more like Garfield intended.

Should be a format if not one already.

I agree with you guys.  I have long thought that rarity should play a part in deck construction.  I am certain that the only reason that it does not is inertia.  It never has been.  In the early days of Magic tournaments, rarity was not printed on the cards.  (Nor was there a networked computer in everyone's pocket  )  So it was never considered.  Back in Urza's Legacy, when rarity became a part of the card, I expected that it would be made a part of construction rules.  That never happened.  I would think that it might cut down on a lot of these bannings that have been happening lately.

In addition to the counts of each card like DelverMage mentioned, I have also thought that rarity should be considered in the entire makeup of the deck.  Like maximum of 15% rares or some such thing.  Or a minimum percentage of commons in a deck.

Maybe we can invent a new format