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Planeswalker Libraries [Magic, the Gathering]

Started by Narric, March 14, 2014, 02:31:01 PM

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Narric

[Warning, potentially very long post]

Had an excellent night at my recent FNM.

Played a mono-blue Modern deck with Jace Architect of Thought featured.
Modern Deck Composition



Creature (12)
2x Clinging Anemones
1x Dirgur Nemesis
1x Doorkeeper
1x Hover Barrier
2x Mindscour Dragon
1x Mnemonic Wall
1x Monastery Flock
1x Sage's Row Denizen
1x Torrent Elemental
1x Wall of Frost
Instant (12)
4x Cancel
1x Learn from the Past
1x Nullify
4x Rakshasa's Disdain
1x Statute of Denial
1x Stymied Hopes
Land (25)
25x Island
Planeswalker (1)
1x Jace, Architect of Thought
Enchantment (12)
2x Chronic Flooding
1x Claustrophobia
1x Encrust
1x Evanescent Intellect
1x Illusory Gains
3x Mirror Mockery
2x Reduce in Stature
1x Singing Bell Strike
Sorcery (3)
1x Mind Sculpt
2x Thassa's Bounty

For my first game of the night I faced an opponent who had up to that night was undefeated. He plays (played) a Mono-Red Tribal Goblin deck focues around Krenko Mob Boss. He also plays with a 100 card deck.

I severely reduced the effectiveness of his offensives, and was only reduced down to roughly 10-14 Life Points.

I predominantly had Defenders and Jace out, so very little offensive, and the combination of Jace's +1 and my defenders I only lost a single life point per my opponents turn. He almost played a Shiven Dragon, but thankfully I had a Rakshas's Disdain and a large graveyard to counter it.

I also used Jace's ultimate at 8 loyalty to summon a Krenko Mob Boss from my opponents deck, in addition to a Mindscour Dragon from my own deck.

The game was looking like a stalemate, with me slowly amassing my own goblin army, and wittling his life point and deck down with Mindscour Dragon flying over his non-reach, non-flying goblin army.

He however finished the game by playing a Mob Rule when I didn't have any counter spells in my hand.

As you can tell I didn't beat him. It was he next opponent that final took him down from his undefeated status.




My second game I lost due to just not getting any decent cards out.




Third game was a Two Headed Giant. My partner was using a five-colour Dragon-tribal focus deck, with Xenagos, The Reveler as a featured Planeswalker.

My opponents had a, iirc, a Pure White Ajani Steadfast & Cats deck. He didn't get a great deal out. Mainly Serra Angel who didn't do much.
The other opponent was playing a Red/Blue Disruption deck. He mainly got Jeskai cards out, such as Mistfire Adept, Jeskai Windscout, and Lotus Path Djinn.

Both opponents had a good portion of their decks milled by me, whilst my partner amassed a Dragon flock, including Ojutai, Sul of Winter, Atarka, World Render, Harbinger of the Hunt, Mindscour Dragon, Savage Ventmaw and Silumgar Drifting Death.

After waiting a few turns, which our opponents used to throw creatures with lifelink at us, we unleashed the dragon horde and easily decimated our opponents.




Fourth game was against the Red/Blue Disruption player.
I ended up making several of my opponents creatures useless, with either Mirror Mockery of his Goblin tokens, Cluastrophobia, or Reduce in Stature, Encrust or Illusory Gains and Singing Bell Strike.

Singing Bell was a delitful turn two play. It also used up a good amount of my opponents mana, but once he kept drawing land, it began to become less of an obstacle for him.

This game lasted a long while (as did my first ad third game), and in fact I won the game by deck out of my opponent.




After that game I had a look at the Red/blue players deck, and discussed how it could be improved. I gave him all the blue cards from my Elspeth and Kiora cards, which would ceretainly bolster his blue strength.
He also bought a Theors Red/Blue constructed deck, and managed to beat me.






Since then I've made an alternate for the Modern Blue to make it Standard Legal (at least until Theros Block is out of standard). I do think its lost a bit of the Mill and Defend edge, but the addition of a few Artifacts and Renowned Weaponsmith should help give the deck a bit more offensive capability.

Standard Deck Composition



Creature (9)
1x Custodian of the Trove
1x Dirgur Nemesis
2x Mindscour Dragon
1x Mnemonic Wall
1x Monastery Flock
1x Renowned Weaponsmith
1x Torrent Elemental
1x Wall of Frost
Instant (15)
4x Cancel
1x Crippling Chill
1x Learn from the Past
1x Nullify
4x Rakshasa's Disdain
1x Statute of Denial
1x Stymied Hopes
2x Whisk Away
Land (25)
25x Island
Artifact (5)
1x Cranial Archive
1x Spidersilk Net
2x Stormrider Rig
1x Vial of Dragonfire
Enchantment (9)
1x Encrust
1x Evanescent Intellect
1x Illusory Gains
3x Mirror Mockery
2x Reduce in Stature
1x Singing Bell Strike
Sorcery (3)
1x Mind Sculpt
2x Thassa's Bounty

I have also experimented with a Standard Mono-Red Deck. It is currently untested, and I'm waiting for thew next local FNM to play it.

Standard Mon-Red Deck Composition



Creature (12)
1x Bloodfire Expert
2x Defiant Ogre
3x Gore Swine
1x Hardened Berserker
1x Monastery Swiftspear
1x Stormcrag Elemental
2x Summit Prowler
1x Summit Prowler
Instant (11)
2x Arcbond
1x Bring Low
2x Dragonrage
1x Friendly Fire
2x Rending Volley
1x Sarkhan's Rage
1x Shatter
1x Tail Slash
Land (26)
26x Mountain
Artifact (1)
1x Gate Smasher
Enchantment (3)
1x Break Through the Line
2x Impact Tremors
Sorcery (12)
1x Act of Treason
1x Arc Lightning
2x Bathe in Dragonfire
1x Descent of Dragons
1x Fierce Invocation
2x Magmatic Chasm
2x Pyrotechnics
1x Seismic Rupture
1x Vandalize

Masked Thespian

Fellow Planeswalkers of the Second Sphere, I bring news from the realms of Magic.

I've recently started a new YouTube channel called "Crack a Pack a Day".  If you're unfamiliar with the term, a "crack a pack" is when you take a pack of Magic cards, open it, and pretend that you're in a three-pack booster draft, just about to take a card from your first pack.  Usually, you discuss and evaluate the cards in the pack and make a choice as to which one you think you'd take if you were actually drafting.  As the name implies, I'm going to be opening a pack and evaluating the contents every day.

As of right now I have eleven videos on my channel: one video each day since last Monday as well as a single bonus video.  Since the current set (for the next two days, at least), is Magic Origins, those are the packs I've been opening for the most part.  On Throwback Thursdays I'm going to be opening a pack from Magic's history instead of the most recent set, so last Thursday I opened a pack of Journey into Nyx (as if I were in a full Theros block draft).  Also, as I won a Japanese pack of Battle for Zendikar at last weekend's prerelease I opened that on camera as a bonus video.  From Monday I'll be opening Battle for Zendikar packs regularly.

The videos are aimed at the newer player looking to start drafting or who's already started drafting but is a little bit lost.  I try to explain all of my decisions and why certain cards are better than others.  I'm looking to add more content for more experienced players a little later (probably additional, shorter, less explanation-filled videos).

You can find my channel on YouTube here: Crack a Pack a Day.  I post updates whenever a new video is uploaded on both Facebook and Twitter (@crackapackaday) so if you're interested in keeping up to date with this project then you've got three places where you can do so.

I'm just an amateur at this (both YouTube and evaluating cards in a pack) but I welcome any kind of comments, questions or criticisms that people have.  If you think these videos are a good thing then please feel free to share the links to your other Magic-playing friends.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

The Man They Call Jayne

Ok, I have watched the first two videos and I approve. I like what you are doing with the videos, although if I had one worry it would be that occasionally you are using terminology that a new player might not understand.

In your first posted video for example you say about Kytheons Tactics: "If you've got a white weenie deck, and you are planning on going wide rather than tall". Now, I know what a weenie deck is, but I have no clue what wide rather than tall means. Am I planning on doing that? I don't know, so does this card help me?

It might be useful to either explain some of the slang, which players are going to come across, so they might as well learn what it means, or simplify your terms.

I understand that is would be second nature to you as an experienced player of course.

Alternatively, once a week maybe, do a video on player slang and terms that new player might be thrown by. I know that I have browsed MtG forums and just thought "What the hell are you guys talking about?".

Of course, if you do in fact change that behaviour in videos that I have not yet seen, then I retract my concern.
Jaynes Awesome Card Counter: +5

Secondspheres Crash Card Counter +4



Masked Thespian

Quote from: The Man They Call Jayne on October 01, 2015, 02:52:02 AM
In your first posted video for example you say about Kytheons Tactics: "If you've got a white weenie deck, and you are planning on going wide rather than tall". Now, I know what a weenie deck is, but I have no clue what wide rather than tall means. Am I planning on doing that? I don't know, so does this card help me?

It might be useful to either explain some of the slang, which players are going to come across, so they might as well learn what it means, or simplify your terms.

I understand that is would be second nature to you as an experienced player of course.

Alternatively, once a week maybe, do a video on player slang and terms that new player might be thrown by. I know that I have browsed MtG forums and just thought "What the hell are you guys talking about?".

Terminology isn't something that I'd considered but it is something that I will have to think about.  I already have plans for a weekly or fortnightly additional "Toolbox Tuesday" video that will help newer players with card evaluation concepts but I can see myself extending it to things like slang as well.

Thanks for the suggestion.  It's something that I'm definitely going to take into account for future videos.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

So a couple official spoilers for Oath of the Gatewatch have been released, confirming that there is now a new symbol for Colourless Mana, which is specifically NOT generic mana.

As I understand it from MaRo, lands and cards that could generate (1), previously meaning generic mana or similar now generate (<>) mana.

This doesn't affect converge, or similar mana-coliur related spells, as Colourles is not a colour. So if someone tells you their six-drop converge creature gets six +1/+1 counters (is there on that does this?) you can turn to them and flatly say that that is not what would happen, as (<>) is not a colour :P

Masked Thespian

Correct.  Colourless is not, and has never been, a colour.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

So I had my first taste of a Tourny environment today, and I only got one warning (played a Sorcery like an instant, first game).

Pulled Kalitas, and Flayed Drone, and gravitated towards a Black/Red Aggro deck.
Sealed Deck List
Tapped Out Decklist: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/pptq-sealed-1/




Creatures (10)
1x Flayer Drone
1x Goblin Freerunner
1x Hedron Crawler
1x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2x Maw of Kozilek
2x Slaughter Drone
1x Sludge Crawler
1x Valakut Predator
Sorcery (5)
1x Flaying Tendrils
1x Oblivion Strike
1x Sparkmage's Gambit
1x Swarm Surge
1x Witness the End
Instant (5)
1x Complete Disregard
1x Consuming Sinkhole
1x Reality Hemorrhage
1x Sure Strike
1x Tar Snare
Enchantment (1)
1x Visions of Brutality
Artifact (2)
2x Seer's Lantern
Land (17)
7x Mountain
7x Swamp
1x Unknown Shores
2x Wastes

Remaining cards as sideboard
1x Affa Protector, 1x Anticipate, 1x Birthing Hulk, 1x Bonds of Mortality, 1x Cinder Hellion, 1x Cloud Manta, 1x Containment Membrane, 1x Corpse Churn, 1x Cultivator Drone, 1x Earthen Arms, 1x Eldrazi Devastator, 1x Endbringer, 1x Expedition Raptor, 1x Fertile Thicket, 1x Forest, 1x Gravity Negator, 1x Grovetender Druids, 1x Hedron Alignment, 1x Infuse with the Elements, 2x Island, 1x Kazuul's Toll Collector, 1x Kor Sky Climber, 2x Kozilek's Pathfinder, 1x Lithomancer's Focus, 1x Loam Larva, 1x Makindi Aeronaut, 1x Mighty Leap, 1x Natural Connection, 1x Negate, 1x Netcaster Spider, 1x Nirkana Assassin, 1x Omnath, Locus of Rage, 1x Ondu Greathorn, 1x Plains, 1x Planar Outburst, 1x Plated Crusher, 1x Pulse of Murasa, 1x Pyromancer's Assault, 1x Relentless Hunter, 1x Resolute Blademaster, 1x Roil's Retribution, 1x Saddleback Lagac, 1x Salvage Drone, 1x Sandstone Bridge, 1x Scion Summoner, 1x Searing Light, 1x Seek the Wilds, 1x Snapping Gnarlid, 1x Spawnbinder Mage, 1x Spell Shrivel, 1x Stonefury, 1x Strider Harness, 1x Tears of Valakut, 1x Thought-Knot Seer, 1x Tide Drifter, 1x Timber Gorge, 1x Umara Entangler, 1x Unity of Purpose, 1x Untamed Hunger, 1x Wall of Resurgence, 1x Zendikar Resurgent

My mana curve was basically a block sitting on 2-drops, 3drops, and 4-drops.

As is my luck, i lost every game. Some were close to a win for me, but I seemed to lose steam (begin top-decking) and then lose.

A couple players were kind enough to go over my deck and give me pointers. One of the last players pointed out my strong green pulled, alongside Omnath, plus the two Red/White & White/Green gold cards would have made for a decent Naya deck.





Adding my PPTQ pulls to my previous Booster pulls, i made the following deck.
Grixis of Zendikar
Grixis of Zendikar: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/grixis-of-zendikar/




Creature (25)
3x Benthic Infiltrator
1x Breaker of Armies
2x Dominator Drone
1x Eldrazi Aggressor
2x Eldrazi Devastator
2x Endbringer
1x Flayer Drone
2x Gravity Negator
1x Herald of Kozilek
1x Kozilek's Channeler
2x Maw of Kozilek
1x Mindmelter
2x Silent Skimmer
2x Slaughter Drone
2x Tide Drifter
Land (24)
1x Blighted Fen
1x Blighted Gorge
1x Crumbling Vestige
2x Island
1x Mortuary Mire
4x Mountain
2x Shivan Reef
1x Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
1x Skyline Cascade
1x Spawning Bed
1x Submerged Boneyard
4x Swamp
1x Unknown Shores
3x Wastes
Instant (5)
2x Adverse Conditions
1x Reality Hemorrhage
2x Spell Shrivel
Sorcery (4)
2x Oblivion Strike
2x Touch of the Void
Enchantment (4)
2x Molten Nursery
1x Pyromancer's Assault
1x Visions of Brutality

I'm looking forward to throwing this at friends to see how effective it is.

Masked Thespian

Did you have fun?  That's the important thing.  And don't worry about the warning: it means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Looking at the deck, the main problem I see with it is that you have too few creatures and too many non-creature spells.  Generally, limited decks need 13-17 creatures, and aggro decks can go even higher than that.  The Hedron Crawler and 2 Seer's Lanterns are also completely out of place, seeing as you have no spells above a CMC of 4; those spells are best to get you to the higher CMCs and let you cast your best cards ASAP.

Endbringer is a bomb and should have been in the deck.  Likewise, Omnath is pretty good, like the other people mentioned.  I don't think you have enough dual-lands to say that Naya is the best choice, but that colour combination certainly does have your most powerful cards in it.  There are times when you have to play your most powerful cards, regardless of how good your mana fixing is, and just pray that you don't get colour screwed in games.

Overall, it certainly seems like you've learned from this event.  I hope you're inspired to go to other events in the future   :)
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

I lost with a smile on my face, and enjoyed all the games.

Would certainly want to do another Sealed event, but I think I need to get playing FNM more regularly. Hopefully some changes at work will let me do that :3





Played my Grixis deck today against a Ojutai and the Dragonlords deck, and a Red Green Landfall deck with Omnath. Some games I was getting the draws I needed, but I think playing against two people simultaneously is my main downfall.
Another weakness seems to be the fact of I just wasn't getting the mana I needed. thinking of buying a couple OGW Unknown Shores, as they would help best considering I do getland, just not in the colours I need. Might swap out the wastes for the Shores if/when I do that.

On that note I'll take what I've learned from play and go an build a Red/Green Landfall deck with a splash of white :3

Masked Thespian

Quote from: Narric on January 26, 2016, 06:35:28 PM
Played my Grixis deck today against a Ojutai and the Dragonlords deck, and a Red Green Landfall deck with Omnath. Some games I was getting the draws I needed, but I think playing against two people simultaneously is my main downfall.

I absolutely hate 3-way multiplayer games.  With 1-on-1 you know who your opponent is.  In 4+ player multiplayer usually a player has to amass a huge advantage in order to assail all of the other players simultaneously, lest they leave themselves open to counterattacks from all of their opponents.  But a 3-way is just small enough that a player can relatively easily amass the power to overpower the other two in one go, whilst being able to deflect attention off of them due to good misdirection.  I've often played games against two opponents that basically boiled down to one of my opponents convincing my other opponent that I was the threat, then that second opponent tried to kill me, and the first opponent swooped in and killed both of us.

I just don't find 3-way multiplayer games fun unless there's an "attack left only" or "attack right only" rule.  It just becomes an exercise in pointlessness otherwise.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

Quote from: Masked Thespian on January 26, 2016, 07:59:14 PM
I just don't find 3-way multiplayer games fun unless there's an "attack left only" or "attack right only" rule.  It just becomes an exercise in pointlessness otherwise.

I for one don't like the Attack in one direction rule any better. If you only allowed to play defensively against the person who is constantly on the offencive against you, how can you effectively go on the offencive towards the other player?

Masked Thespian

At least you're only having to defend yourself from a single direction.

The answer, I suppose, is to bulldoze through the player you're allowed to attack.  Vigilance probably helps a lot.  I wouldn't actually know; my playgroup in Japan never wanted to do "attack left only" or "attack right only," only "free-for-all" which is what led to my dislike for it as a format.

Also, "attack left/right only" doesn't mean you cant cast spells at the person who can attack you.  Feel free to use your removal on their creatures or Planeswalkers, or any other applicable spells.
Regards,
MT.
Quote from: Ravager Zero
Freaking mod-ninja. :P

Although, given that you're in Japan now, I suppose that's entirely legit. :shifty:

Narric

#72
I'll keep that in mind.

My Grixis deck has been updated, and I'll slot that in this post, or my next reply. Realized I was playing an Eldrazi deck without my titan, Ulamog :P

Grixis of Zendikar Mk2
Tapped Out Decklist: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/grixis-of-zendikar/



Creature (20)
2x Cultivator Drone
2x Endbringer
1x Endless One
1x Flayer Drone
1x Herald of Kozilek
1x Kozilek's Channeler
2x Maw of Kozilek
1x Mindmelter
1x Sifter of Skulls
2x Silent Skimmer
2x Slaughter Drone
1x Thought-Knot Seer
2x Tide Drifter
1x Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Land (24)
1x Blighted Fen
1x Blighted Gorge
1x Crumbling Vestige
3x Island
1x Mortuary Mire
5x Mountain
1x Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
1x Skyline Cascade
1x Spawning Bed
1x Submerged Boneyard
4x Swamp
1x Unknown Shores
3x Wastes
Enchantment (4)
2x Molten Nursery
1x Pyromancer's Assault
1x Visions of Brutality
Sorcery (4)
1x Gruesome Slaughter
1x Swarm Surge
2x Touch of the Void
Instant (8)
2x Adverse Conditions
1x Grave Birthing
1x Reality Hemorrhage
1x Spatial Contortion
2x Spell Shrivel
1x Titan's Presence
Sideboard
1x Breaker of Armies
1x Complete Disregard
2x Eldrazi Devastator
1x Flaying Tendrils
2x Oblivion Strike
2x Scour from Existence
2x Swarm Surge
1x Witness the End

The Man They Call Jayne

Rather specific question, but does anyone know of any black or white, or black/white enchantments that can either prevent milling, or reflect the mill back on its caster? I ask because that is now the one thing my Tax deck is really vulnerable too.

I can make it almost impossible to attack, and I can reflect damage from instants and sorceries back at the caster. I can prevent lifegain and make life that would be gained get taken from you. I just have nothing that can stop spells that don't deal damage.

I have an Aegis of the Gods, which is great, but it does stop them casting anything at me, which means I cannot redirect the damage back at them, which defeats the point.
Jaynes Awesome Card Counter: +5

Secondspheres Crash Card Counter +4



Narric

(Assuming Modern) Depends on how they're milling. Arrest can prevent creatures from activating milling abilities. Wheel of Sun and Moon is Hybrid for two white/green, and seems to just put the card that would be milled onto the bottom of your library.

Looking at the Gatherer, and other card to do with your library or graveyard has green or blue in its cost.