Magic the Gathering fans?

[Lindel]

Kythis, on 09 Jan 2015 - 4:14 PM, said:

Oh yeah I remember most of those. I consider those the basics. I had meant set-specific effects like Dredge (only one I can remember off the top of my head.) You might know what I'm referring to but I don't remember what those are called. My fault on miscommunication.

Dredge was Return to Ravnica, right? Usually set-specific mechanics will have reminder text, and if you're ever in doubt, you can Google the specific rulings. I believe Dredge basically says - Dredge [N] "If this card is in your graveyard and you would draw a card, you may instead put [N] cards from the top of your library into your graveyard and return this card to your hand".

EDIT: (Adding this here, so I don't have to double post.) Blaze is right, Reach is at least six or seven years old.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Lindel

[Blaze1616]

Dredge was Return to Ravnica, right? Usually set-specific mechanics will have reminder text, and if you're ever in doubt, you can Google the specific rulings. I believe Dredge basically says - Dredge [N] "If this card is in your graveyard and you would draw a card, you may instead put [N] cards from the top of your library into your graveyard and return this card to your hand". 

 

That is pretty much exactly what Dredge is, if I recall correctly, and it was the original Ravnica for Golgari. The RtR Golgari ability was Scavenge.

[Lindel]

Ah, that's right. I was thinking of the Golgari Duel Deck, which featured Dredge rather prominently if I recall correctly. But you're right, Dredge was Ravnica.

[Blaze1616]

Ah, that's right. I was thinking of the Golgari Duel Deck, which featured Dredge rather prominently if I recall correctly. 

 

That would be correct, though it had some Scavenge as well.

[Dunkum]

I concur. My Werewolf deck from Innistrad block has plenty of Fight in it. And Reach is older than that, If I am not mistaken.

Ahh, you're right.  then again, the person who had originally asked about new things mentioned that they hadn't played since original ravnica.  Pretty sure innistrad is where Fight first gets introduced, so thats a few years after they stopped

 

also, i competely didnt realize that innistrad was 2 years ago.  I feel old now

[Captain_Slams]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new (first set was RTR). My best (non-infinite) play was swinging with a 217/217 Wild Beastmaster, a 600/600 Kalonian Hydra, and 217 1/1 Saproling tokens for over 147,000 damage

[Lord Pifferdoo]

I usually rock my opponents with my Night of the Ninja deck

[Dunkum]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new (first set was RTR). My best (non-infinite) play was swinging with a 217/217 Wild Beastmaster, a 600/600 Kalonian Hydra, and 217 1/1 Saproling tokens for over 147,000 damage

heh, I have a deck that can, in theory, pull off that sort of thing (coat of arms goes a long way toward increasing that damage too).  unfortunately between me playing that, and another friend playing his elf deck, the rest of the people we play with have developed counter strategies to green weenie decks.

[Captain_Slams]

Yeah. A ghostly prison would have reduced my swing to 1400, only 1000 of which would be trample.

[Dunkum]

Yeah. A ghostly prison would have reduced my swing to 1400, only 1000 of which would be trample.

Isochron Scepter + Holy Day is what always killed me.  Doesn't matter how much you throw at them when they can just prevent it all.

[Captain_Slams]

Isochron Scepter + Holy Day is what always killed me.  Doesn't matter how much you throw at them when they can just prevent it all.

Yeah, then I'd just have to draw into a Putrefy to destroy the Scepter or Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord to sac my hydra for the win. With the hydra doubling/tripling every turn.

[Dunkum]

Yeah, then I'd just have to draw into a Putrefy to destroy the Scepter or Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord to sac my hydra for the win. With the hydra doubling/tripling every turn.

oh there are ways around it, but each time I have to alter my deck to add them in, it becomes less and less like I want it.  Also, the friend I have probably played against the most has about 20 different ways to shut down my green weenie deck, including some ways to shut down my attempts to shut down his defenses.  Basically by the time I can amass an army, he has so many redundant layers of defense that I can't touch him.

[-Deleted-]

been playing since I was six. My first deck was a goblin deck my moms built for me. After that they let me use their cards and I discovered Slivers. Have been loyal to the creatures ever since my very second deck. Red/blue slivers with bunch of walls. It annoyed them thoroughly, and a friend of the family was also a fan of slivers and said he was proud of me lol. I have all of his cards now, and his sliver deck as well as another deck of his. Both of which are considered legendary among my close group of people. 

 

I have since gone on to make over 30 of my own decks, 14 of which have stayed intact for over half my life. My newest permanent addition is a white knight deck full of all sorts of things I would prefer not to talk about since I have looked into it online (the only instance in which I have ever looked at anyone else's deck lists) to see if I was doing the unspoken things without breaking rules, and I indeed am, but have not seen anyone else doing it that has been published online. This confirmed to me that i had really hit on something, and that other people likely have, but I'm thankful those individuals have not put anything into the public. I suppose it's our secrets.

 

I have collected both Unglued and Unhinged, and plan to someday have the entire Weatherlight Saga in binders. I have a sentimental attachment to those 13 particular sets of cards as well as the aforementioned two parody sets. I still consider Tempest to be their most innovative addition to the game for reasons detailed in a lengthy essay of mine I wrote in response to a debate I had with my moms and later reused with a similar discussion with my friend, who has always traded essays and conversational diatribes with me. 

[ParadoxicalZen]

I only really got into Magic due to friends and came into it round M14, had a few bits from R2R block but Theros was my main thing. Skipped JiN due to costs then also skipped M15 and Tarkir (this block looked boring as damnation) but waiting on my Origins fat pack *_* Nissa is too OP.

 

Mainly play green but i can play other colours (depends on deck theme)

 

Main types of deck I like to play are Mana Ramp, Sacrificial Burn, Depletion, Life, Counterburn, Tokens > (thank you R2R <3) and of course, Slivers!

[Wyrmhero]

I only really got into Magic due to friends and came into it round M14, had a few bits from R2R block but Theros was my main thing. Skipped JiN due to costs then also skipped M15 and Tarkir (this block looked boring as damnation) but waiting on my Origins fat pack *_* Nissa is too OP.

 

Mainly play green but i can play other colours (depends on deck theme)

 

Main types of deck I like to play are Mana Ramp, Sacrificial Burn, Depletion, Life, Counterburn, Tokens > (thank you R2R <3) and of course, Slivers!

 

Everyone loves Slivers, but only until their playgroup finally discovers boardwipes . But as people on here seem to like Sliver decks, let's have one of my oldest decks in its current form (it took me many months to get those shocklands...):

 

Sliver Hivelord EDH (WUBRG)

42 Creatures

Sliver Legion

Galerider Sliver

Harmonic Sliver

Darkheart Sliver

Constricting Sliver

Sentinel Sliver

Spinneret Sliver

Battle Sliver

Reflex Sliver

Groundshaker Sliver

Predatory Sliver

Necrotic Sliver

Megantic Sliver

Blur Sliver

Watcher Sliver

Fury Sliver

Battering Sliver

Brood Sliver

Belligerent Sliver

Two-Headed Sliver

Dormant Sliver

Crystalline Sliver

Venom Sliver

Bonesplitter Sliver

Frenetic Sliver

Might Sliver

Manaweft Sliver

Synchronous Sliver

Muscle Sliver

Lymph Sliver

Syphon Sliver

Bonescythe Sliver

Mesmeric Sliver

Sinew Sliver

Striking Sliver

Opaline Sliver

Gemhide Sliver

Quick Sliver

Pulmonic Sliver

Riftsweeper

Yavimaya Elder

Fiend Hunter

 

6 Sorceries

Shard Convergence

Vandalblast

Living Death

Lead the Stampede

Cultivate

Curse of the Cabal

 

2 Instants

Swords to Plowshares

Volcanic Fallout

 

6 Artifacts

 

Candles of Leng

Lightning Greaves

Elixir of Immortality

Chromatic Lantern

Expedition Map

Darksteel Ingot

 

4 Enchantments

Phyrexian Arena

Leyline of Anticipation

Prismatic Omen

Rites of Flourishing

 

39 Lands

Cavern of Souls

Sliver Hive

Rupture Spire

Steam Vents

Sacred Foundry

Godless Shrine

Flood Plain

Rocky Tar Pit

Terramorphic Expanse

Krosan Verge

Grasslands

Hallowed Fountain

Arctic Flats

Overgrown Tomb

Breeding Pool

Mountain Valley

Frost Marsh

Gemstone Caverns

Boreal Shelf

Command Tower

Transguild Promenade

Tresserhorn Sinks

Watery Grave

Evolving Wilds

Bad River

Temple Garden

Blood Crypt

Stomping Ground

Highland Weald

2x Island

3x Forest

2x Swamp

2x Plains

1x Mountain

 

General strategy? Abuse Sliver Hivelord's brokenness to make your Sliver army practically immune to anything boardwipeish. Snap Lightning Greaves to it. Your army becomes nigh-impossible to deal with as you continue to swarm the board.

 

I'm surprised you followed that pattern. Theros was heavily flavourful, but the majority of players felt it was lacking in both mechanics and power level. It was also kind of 'obvious' flavour - We all know Greek mythology to a certain degree, so it was kind of relateable. Tarkir, on the other hand, was based on mythologies from Asia, so it was less obviously flavourful. It is, however, generally seen as a better draft environment with more interesting mechanics (Morph!), and unquestionably has stronger cards in it.

 

I pulled a promo Nissa at the prerelease. I'm not quite sure she's as strong as people are saying, but then I don't play Standard, so I'm probably wrong. I did just sell her for £30 though >>.

 

In other news, anyone else been playing the minor disaster that is Magic: Duels? I'm finding it fun enough, but I really don't like the starter pack selection they give you. I think it's really lacking in midrange cards and ramp. Currently I'm usually playing Green/Black Elves, Green/Blue 'ramp' (I am missing every copies of Nissa's Pilgrimage...) and Black/Red sacrifice/burn. So much aggro and enchantment online though... And not enough low-costing kill spells for control. Seems like it may go the same way as Hearthstone. I like the addition of dual lands though, that's quite nice of them.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[ParadoxicalZen]

I played M14 DotP but never bothered with any of the rest of them. How is it? May have over emphasised her a little bit. She's great if i'm playing Mana Ramp or some Green/White, but by the time she's PW, i'd have most of my mana out anyway, that or the opponent would be dead due to all the heavies being out. And you had a promo version of her?!!!! crazy >.>...and speaking of Nissa...I actually got her in my fat pack, i actually lol'd when i saw her

 

Yeah, loved whipping out Planar Devastation on my friends when they thought they were going to win xD All those slivers *_* will be buying the Hivelord from M15 (along with a few other green powerhouses) I like Green/Blue but i struggle to find a good theme to go around

[Wyrmhero]

It's... Alright. An improvement over the previous iteration, but... They've still got the arbitrary rarity restrictions for decks (showing they know and it's intentional now that cards get stronger as they go up in rarity...) and there are a lot of key pieces missing from decks. Most of the people online either play BR aggro or WB enchantments, as they're the only viable decks when you start out, really. Its missing cheap, multicolour ramp (a Rampant Growth would be incredibly useful), stronger elves, three CMC creatures and cheap counterspells. It's also plagued with bugs at the moment, and the customer services team seem to be incompetent and now willfully ignoring my updated report. But... It is fun, because I am indoctrinated. I'd say it's still not a real competitor to Hearthstone yet, but it has potential.

 

Green/Blue tends to be a bit of an odd combination. You have the colour that cares least about creatures combined with the colour that cares most about them. Traditionally, what you usually do is counter their stuff (Mystic Snake!), ramp and play big creatures while ensuring your hand remains full, possibly also abusing Prophet of Kruphix.

 

The other traditional route is Simic with +1/+1 counters and maybe Proliferate effects.This is my Simic deck, my second oldest deck. Essentially the strategy is to get Champion of Lambholdt out and get counters on it to make my stuff unblockable (or use Nylea and her Bow to achieve basically the same effect), but there are a few other synergies that can be abused.

 

• Young Wolf + Zameck Guildmage = Young Wolf can die multiple times, and you get to draw a card off it, all for the low price of UG. Very handy for turtling.
• Fathom Mage + Increasing Savagery = Fathom Mage gets +5/+5, and you draw 5 cards for 2GG - or +10/+10 and 10 cards for 5GG on the Flashback! Definitely full of value there.
• Prophet of Kruphix + Momir Vig, Simic Visionary = This just ensures you never run out of creatures to play via Prophet, as a lot of the creatures in the deck are both Blue and Green. Combined with Fable of the Wolf and Owl, you very quickly fill the board up.
• Master Biomancer + Rite of Replication (Kicked) = Each token comes into play with 2 +1/+1 counters from the original one. Any further creature you play then comes into play with 22 +1/+1 counters .

While I don't play it much (as I have a lot of decks which I rotate through) it's a fun deck, even if it does get a little mathsy. It rarely runs out of cards, with all the draw options, and I very rarely have mana issues. it's probably the most consistent of my decks.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Wyrmhero

[ParadoxicalZen]

I never caught the first Ravnica block, but was around for late-late R2R. My first made deck was Green/Blue acutally (it sucked....like almost facepalm worthy) I even managed to get Zegana in a booster too ^^ was thinking about combining a few of my Ravnica ones with my 2 U/G decks i'm tinkering with (One based around Kruphix etc/the other Kiora)

[Dunkum]

I played some of DotP a while back, and it annoyed the heck out of me.  It wouldn't let me choose which lands were tapped (meaning in a two color deck, it would lock me out of options I would otherwise be able to play because it had tapped an island where it could have done a forest), the deck building was extremely limited, as in you could only modify the existing decks, and then only in a very limited way, and there was at least one case where a "choose any number of targets" card wouldn't let me pick my targets.  it was all very frustrating, so I never bothered getting the newer versions

[Wyrmhero]

Blue/Green is fun to play, just because of the number of tricks it can involve. Admittedly, most of the time I play Blue/Green, it has additional things in it (Black for Sultai self-mill, Red for Temur Morph (it's only really got Akroma in for Red, sadly), and White for my Golem deck).

 

With regards to previous DotP games, there were buttons (the control button) which let you change which lands became tapped. In the newest version, you choose when you cast a spell, rather than having it default and then let you change. And the deck-building choice was deliberate on their part - They don't want to cut into paper MtG or MtGO, and it did help to create a solid and balanced metagame online at least. But really, Wizards is just terrible at creating video games these days. They don't even consider Hearthstone, another online card game, to be a competitor because it's a casual game compared to MtGO. That should tell you everything you need to know about how much these guys know about their market and what it wants.

[ParadoxicalZen]

Did you ever use or play against someone that used Possibility Storm from R2R? It seems like a crazy to drag a game out

[Dunkum]

Did you ever use or play against someone that used Possibility Storm from R2R? It seems like a crazy to drag a game out

I have a friend who would have played it.  he had a deck based around chaos.  it wasn't built to win, it was built to sow confusion and discord.  Possibility would have fit right in

Edited July 26, 2015 by Dunkum

[ParadoxicalZen]

Hmm, what does this deck look like? And i'm kinda wishing they'd bring back another populate mechanic a la Selesnya. Nothing brought me greater joy than to see the look on my friend's faces as my army multiplied

[Dunkum]

Hmm, what does this deck look like? And i'm kinda wishing they'd bring back another populate mechanic a la Selesnya. Nothing brought me greater joy than to see the look on my friend's faces as my army multiplied

It's been a while since I played against it, and I think he may have dismantled it, so I don't recall most of the cards.  the main one that springs to mind is Timesifter, which randomizes turn order

[Wyrmhero]

One of my friends made (well, proxied) a deck along the same lines. I admit, I generally bowed out of games featuring it, since it really made the games drag on.

Tokens are fun, but I don't think there need to be many more populate cards. It's very easy to build a deck out of populate and other cards, as there are so many token effects already that can be used. One card you might want to try is Parallel Evolution: It doubles all your tokens. Better yet, it has a Flashback!

Possibility Storm is actually a really easy card to end the game and maybe win with, in casual (if that is what you're aiming to do in the game, of course). With it and Curse of Exhaustion, from Innistrad block, you can lock a player out of the game.