|
On April 07 2013 11:56 Judicator wrote:
Not gonna lie, it's amusing watching the number of players who are terrible at Liliana when they don't have a grasp of match ups. Wonder how many people threw their games from their own Lily activation.
It does amuse me that people always think you have to +1 Liliana to nuke the opponent's hand, forgetting that she also does it to you too. If I've got a grip full of spells that I know I want to cast, I'll leave her at 3 or 4 or whatever, so long as she's got some protection via a creature or counterspell.
|
To someone who knows Standard well (Probably Judicator) I have some questions about Reanimator.
1) Why aren't people playing Purify the Grave in their sideboards for the mirror match?
2) Why is Acidic Slime a good card in the mirror match?
|
Acidic Slime just hoses mana, if you can keep people from hardcasting stuff post-board, you stay ahead on mana and when 2 players are trying to cast big stuff, whoever casts big stuff first usually wins, especially in the case of Angel of Serenity.
Purify the Grave costs white, I don't know how often that deck makes White outside of flashing back, also don't think it's that good considering it only hits 1 card, Crypt just seems better.
|
Purify the Grave can be "drawn" off a Mulch or Grisly Salvage, and since the match is often decided by a single Unburial Rites of Angel or Hoof, it can be enough to deny one of them for basically free. You get enough time to do your own big Rites and win.
|
As a person who pilots Junk Reanimator in Standard right now, I do not like Purify the Grave for the mirror as post-board we shift into a weird tip-toe game of Acidic Slime + Resto Angel blinkings and trying to "next level" each other with various hate cards like Purify the Grave or Deathrite Shaman.
For me, I find that running 2 Deathrite Shaman's maindeck is worth it (I go 4-2-2 on the Pilgrim-Elf-Shaman mana dorks) as at worst it chump blocks Naya Blitz or Jund Aggro. It does make the draws for the deck not as explosive (like a turn 3 Tusk, t4 or t5 AoS) but being super consistent, and so often we have mana available in the awkward turns before Tusk and AoS mana range where we don't want to tap out for a Resto Angel to chump block or get onto the board, as the more someone commits the more they fall into the "trap" of AoS mini-wrathing their board and us just winning.
Acidic Slime's very important, and I cannot argue with people running it maindeck because of how mana hungry every deck is. Jund wants mana for Rakdos' Return, Olivia pingings, and Bonfires. Naya Blitz only runs 20 lands and if they stumble after vomiting out their hand it's just game over, plus the Deathtouch ability is relevent vs. anything they play other than a Frontline Medic (and short of a AoS or Hoofing we can't plow thru an active, Batallion'ed Medic Blitz team). Esper Control relies on Drownyard and Jace to kill us while chaining Sphinx's together to live, and having an answer to half of their win-con in the form of a fairly affordable creature that is prime Resto Angel material is also just insane. Bant Control and Wolf Run Bant win by chaining Garruk's, Zeganas, and Sphinx's or AoS together, but they have to hard cast all that stuff, so again, land destruction is nice.
I've had games where Acidic Slime blinkings stopped my opponent from casting a lethal Thundermaw, or stop a top decked Bonfire that would have blown me out because I killed their red lands.
|
soo...ways jund can defeat that enchantment esper rape train? mutilate can't even do the job when the creature is a 6/6 on turn 3.
|
On April 08 2013 02:52 EMIYA wrote:
soo...ways jund can defeat that enchantment esper rape train? mutilate can't even do the job when the creature is a 6/6 on turn 3.
Abrupt Decay sorta helps by shooting one of the enchantments. Lilliana of the Veil and Devour Flesh also get around the Hexproof thing by forcing them to sac a dude. You could also run something like Rolling Temblor, but it might not be big enough.
|
Two of my favorite players going at it in the legacy finals! Go Shaheen! (sorry Gerry :S)
|
I made some tweaks to my Naya midrange deck and it's performing better than ever. At least 50/50 matchup against Junk reanimator and Esper, and slightly better against Blitz decks because it vomits out 4 toughness creatures starting T2-3.
I basically cut all the Centaur Healers from the main deck as well as trimming 2 Wolfir Silverhearts (thanks in large part to the resurgence of Boros Reckoner) then replaced them with 2 Garruk Relentlesses (they have been better than Primal Hunter for me), 2 Sigardas, and 1 Aurelia. A not-uncommon situation for me versus other creature decks is to have a board stall until I can get a Garruk out and -1 it for Aurelia or draw her or Aurelia's Fury to win in 1 turn. I still have the explosiveness to just win on T3-6 with an aggressive enough start, or play the long game with Garruk and Sigarda giving me great game against control decks and 2 win cons with Aurelia in the name that can just end it.
As I mentioned, Reckoner is starting to become a slight problem when it's in aggro decks. Against Aristocrats or R/W/U I don't care, but taking 8 off a Reckoner blocking a Silverheart, or even 5 off a Thragtusk is a problem, was considering adding an extra Wolf Run to compensate (Trample means Reckoner gets to do only 3 no matter how much I attack for).
In the board I took out a couple of Skullcracks and all the stuff I put into the main and added 3 Centaur Healers, Troistani, and 2 Pithing needles. The 2 Yevas are underperforming, though, so I've been trying to think of a good replacement for them (Rolling Temblor, Bonfire of the Damned, more Aurelia's Furies, Acidic Slimes, and Domri if available).
Anyway, list time:
+ Show Spoiler +
4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
2x Arbor Elf
4x Farseek
4x Loxodon Smiter
3x Ghor-Clan Rampager
4x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
2x Sigarda, Host of Herons
2x Wolfir Silverheart
1x Aurelia, The Warleader
2x Garruk Relentless
1x Aurelia's Fury
2x Boros Charm
2x Selesnya Charm
4x Forest
3x Rootbound Crag
3x Stomping Ground
4x Temple Garden
4x Sunpetal Grove
2x Sacred Foundry
1x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Cavern of Souls
Sideboard:
1x Ray of Revalation
2x Skullcrack
2x Pithing Needle
2x Centaur Healer
1x Trostani, Selesnya's Voice
2x Yeva, Nature's Herald
1x Triumph of Ferocity
2x Selesnya Charm
2x Rest in Peace
|
Domri and Triumph probably your best cards against Esper, that list doesn't look that good against Esper pre-board even with the Sigardas. Post-board you gotta contest with Terminus/Planar Cleansing which doesn't look like you can outside of Fury (which seems like an underwhelming card in itself). Dunno, I played some of these decks before and the only card that actually gave me fits was Aurelia herself, but that was before this version of Esper.
|
I was just watching the SCG Legacy Open finals and there was a play I was somewhat confused by from a rules perspective. I hope some of you can illuminate for me how this play functioned within the rules.
+ Show Spoiler +The Goblins player controls a Goblin Lackey. The Jund player has a tapped Deathrite Shaman and a Tarmogoyf, currently 1/2 because only lands are in graveyards. The Goblin Lackey attacks and is blocked by the Tarmogoyf. The Goblins player then casts Pyrokinesis for free, targeting both the Shaman and the Goyf. Both players remove all their creatures from the table.
Okay so why did Tarmogoyf die? Either Pyrokinesis was played before combat damage or after it. If it was played first, then it hits Deathrite and Tarmogoyf for 2 each, at the same time growing Tarmogoyf briefly to 2/3 before the Deathrite dies, bringing the Goyf to 3/4 with only two damage marked, comfortably eating Goblin Lackey with only 3 total damage assigned to it.
If it was played after combat damage, then Goblin Lackey is already dead, so Tarmogoyf is already a 2/3, and Pyrokinesis once again assigns 2 damage while growing the Goyf, once again ending with a 3/4 Tarmogoyf with 3 damage marked.
If I'm wrong about the Tarmogoyf/burn spell interaction then the Goblins player would obviously just kill both creatures before attacking so he can hit and get a Lackey trigger. So something intricate is going on here with the combat damage. Anyone?
|
Woo spoiler seasons have started! Love the return of split cards.
Personally I think fuse is a lot like entwine, except it forces multi-color play.
Wonder what other keywords there will be.
P.S. Ral Zalrek imo isnt very good.
|
Really? His plus one is basically Tamiyo's but superior in most regards. His -2 will almost certainly be useful and his ultimate is...cute? I think he's pretty good.
|
His +1 doesnt frost. It has limited applications unless you can combo off of it. Its a better protector than Sorin but worse threat than Tamiyo. Need to see the rest of the set to actually pass judgement on his playability.
|
On April 08 2013 13:45 slyboogie wrote:
Really? His plus one is basically Tamiyo's but superior in most regards. His -2 will almost certainly be useful and his ultimate is...cute? I think he's pretty good.
The main difference between his and tamiyo's is that he doesnt keep the permanent tapped, so it is mainly useful for tempo-ish plays to tap down a defender.
I think his -2 is quite... underwhelming considering that he costs 4 mana.
His ult is nice, but doesnt straight up win the game. Its still excellent though.
|
Oh you're both right, sorry - no second clause of no untap. That would have been quite good.
|
My first initial impressions of the spoiled cards so far:
Ral Zarek - CMC is what I expected, and it fulfills the base level of being a good/bad walker (does it protect itself, does it affect the battlefield in a positive manner for you, and does the ult. win the game). Note that the +1 says PERMANENT, not creature. So you can sorta ramp or mana deny your opponent. The fact that you can go -2 twice is also important, as at nothing else you can have him go 6 to the dome over two turns, and it can take out the front half of a Tusk. Note, for the Timmies/Spikes of the group, Doubling Season + Ral Zarek, go go Modern combo!
Split/Fuse Cards - Cool, everyone loves them. Fuse itself seems properly balanced, so long as they make sure both halves of the card are the same spell (like sorcery/sorcery or instant/instant).
Melek, Izzet Paragon - Looks pretty good, though it's CMC is a bit high. It probably has to be at 6 though to not be insanely broken, like if it was at 5 it'd be pushed to high hell.
Render Silent - This basically says "fuck you" to Eggs in modern. As for Standard, it's moderately playable, as it's quite literally Counterspell + Silence stapled together.
Deputy of Aquittals - Meh, basically a combat trick to save your dude and still have something on the field for main phase 2. Should be a nice trick for Limited, not much else.
|
On April 08 2013 09:53 Judicator wrote:
Domri and Triumph probably your best cards against Esper, that list doesn't look that good against Esper pre-board even with the Sigardas. Post-board you gotta contest with Terminus/Planar Cleansing which doesn't look like you can outside of Fury (which seems like an underwhelming card in itself). Dunno, I played some of these decks before and the only card that actually gave me fits was Aurelia herself, but that was before this version of Esper.
Normally, my games against Esper go: Play 2 creatures and do 6-8 damage, get wrathed. Play Sigarda/Resto on end step into Silverheart/Thragtusk, do 5-7 more damage, get wrathed. Play Sigarda, get wrathed, play any creature ever, Sphinxes for 4-5, then I either flood out and die or draw gas and kill him. If I ever assemble Voltron and happen to get Sigarda out with Boros Charm backup, it's over.
Postboard skullcrack on the revelation (I'm still not sold on it being a good card anymore though) means I get an extra turn, Triumph makes me less likely to flood out, and Pithing Needle buys me extra time against Jace/Drownyard.
Like I said, it's 50/50, if I just draw mana dorks all day, I'm gonna lose, but that's pretty much the same for any other deck, the only difference is Esper doesn't durdle quite as much as other decks can.
|
Straight outta Johto18973 Posts
I think Beck in Beck//Call just made Combo-Elves legal in Modern. Oh dear. Combo-Elves with countermagic too.
Ral Zarek not playable. His +1 doesn't keep them tapped like Tamiyo so it's an expensive Lightning Bolt or a way to untap things for a combo. Amusingly you can repeatedly +1 him if you manage to Ultimate with him thanks to the free turns. I think that's what they're going for?
If you wanted to combo using Doubling Season with him, Jace Architect of Thought + Wheel of Sun and Moon + Doubling Season is already a valid combo but no one plays it and it's less colours. So eh.
On April 08 2013 13:37 KonekoTyriin wrote:I was just watching the SCG Legacy Open finals and there was a play I was somewhat confused by from a rules perspective. I hope some of you can illuminate for me how this play functioned within the rules. + Show Spoiler +The Goblins player controls a Goblin Lackey. The Jund player has a tapped Deathrite Shaman and a Tarmogoyf, currently 1/2 because only lands are in graveyards. The Goblin Lackey attacks and is blocked by the Tarmogoyf. The Goblins player then casts Pyrokinesis for free, targeting both the Shaman and the Goyf. Both players remove all their creatures from the table.
Okay so why did Tarmogoyf die? Either Pyrokinesis was played before combat damage or after it. If it was played first, then it hits Deathrite and Tarmogoyf for 2 each, at the same time growing Tarmogoyf briefly to 2/3 before the Deathrite dies, bringing the Goyf to 3/4 with only two damage marked, comfortably eating Goblin Lackey with only 3 total damage assigned to it.
If it was played after combat damage, then Goblin Lackey is already dead, so Tarmogoyf is already a 2/3, and Pyrokinesis once again assigns 2 damage while growing the Goyf, once again ending with a 3/4 Tarmogoyf with 3 damage marked.
If I'm wrong about the Tarmogoyf/burn spell interaction then the Goblins player would obviously just kill both creatures before attacking so he can hit and get a Lackey trigger. So something intricate is going on here with the combat damage. Anyone?
I see nothing wrong with your reasoning and I also went to watch the VoD. I think either they were fixated on the 1/2 marker on the Tarmogoyf or they had an "Combat damage stull uses the stack oops no it doesn't" moment where they forgot to check State Based Effects after first resolution and assumed everything happens at once.
VoD link: http://www.twitch.tv/scglive/b/387913773?t=10h30m30s
|
Ral Zarek is going to be in a T1 standard list, guaranteed. Beck will make tokens or elves a thing in modern.
Edit: T4 Supreme Verdict. T5 Ral, untap land, have two mana up for whatever you want. He must be answered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
