Yeah. I have a hard enough time justifying my purchase of actual physical Magic Cards. I tried once, but I can't really bring myself to pay for cards that don't even exist.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
My justification for buying cards are "It's a hobby, and I don't ever spend to much" (normally when I hit up my local gae shop I'm going to a frinds place for the weekend and normally we go a fwe times over the weekend so I have to buy foodz). But there are those days where I do splurge a little bit.
THIS IS FOR MY NINTENDO 3DS HANDHELD SYSTEM 2664-2984-6619
THIS IS FOR MY POKEMON WHITE VIDEO GAME Mike-0218-6703-3716
Yeah. I have a hard enough time justifying my purchase of actual physical Magic Cards. I tried once, but I can't really bring myself to pay for cards that don't even exist.
I play Magic more Physically, and I can't justify my card purchasing with an actual valid exucse, but I only really buy Booster packs for the fun of opening them, and the thrill of opening good rares (like this past saturday where I got a Resto Angel that I traded for my third Stomping Ground.)
I wish I could grab me a couple Restos, when I get probably 3 or 4 packs I tend to hit at least 1 shock (I only get the most recent set unless there is something I really need and can't trade for from an older set). My fav pack of GTC 1st pack I bought at Release Foil Breeding Pool and a Boros Reckoner. Got me a Aurelia and a set of Stromkirk Nobles.
THIS IS FOR MY NINTENDO 3DS HANDHELD SYSTEM 2664-2984-6619
THIS IS FOR MY POKEMON WHITE VIDEO GAME Mike-0218-6703-3716
I wish I could say that, unfortunately I'm not buying Magic anymore :/ Trying to have a good CD collection. But I'm seriously waiting for the right time to begin to play again. After all, it's impossible not to remember every Friday that you should be at an FNM and are at home listening to music
Last night was probably my most successful FNM in a while...possibly ever. It was the first time I went to an FNM since moving to MI and the crowd was much more diverse and competitive than the place I used to go back in NY. Also, there were about 3-4 times as many people. Back there, we'd have 3, maybe 4, swiss rounds (if there were enough people), and that'd be it. Last night there were 5 swiss rounds, a cut to Top 8, and then single-elimination.
I went 5-0 in Rounds, 2-0 in Top 8, and then split for 1st/2nd because it was already 11:15 PM and we both wanted to go home. I played my usual Naya Midrange deck, which I just love. It's just full of value creatures and fun ways to interact with them. I made a few changes overall, but more on that later. There were a couple standout cards last night, and a few last-minute deck and sideboard changes that DEFINITELY worked out in my favor.
Spoiler:- Naya on the Warpath:
Land (23)
2x Cavern of Souls
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Forest
2x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Mountain
1x Plains
2x Rootbound Crag
2x Sacred Foundry
1x Slayers' Stronghold
4x Stomping Ground
2x Sunpetal Grove
4x Temple Garden
Creature (24)
2x Aurelia, the Warleader
4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Huntmaster of the Fells
4x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
2x Thundermaw Hellkite
Sorcery (6)
4x Farseek
2x Mizzium Mortars
Planeswalker (4)
2x Domri Rade
2x Garruk Relentless
Instant (3)
3x Searing Spear
Sideboard (15)
2x Angel of Serenity
2x Boros Charm
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
3x Loxodon Smiter
2x Oblivion Ring
2x Rest in Peace
2x Witchbane Orb
Round 1 vs. Jund Aggro: 2-0
We both came out pretty strong in G1, though I took a mull-to-6 and he took a mull-to-5. I hit a Turn-3 Garruk Relentless off a T2 Farseek and made a Wolf to block his Rakdos Cackler. Cue his T4 Falkenrath Aristocrat. She kills Garruk, and the Wolf/Cackler trade. I slam down a T4 Thundermaw Hellkite, and Aristocrat goes bye-bye without something to sac and absorb damage. He manages to get me to 10 before I solidify my board with a Boros Reckoner and a Restoration Angel. Between Resto and Thundermaw, that's game.
Game 2 I sideboard out 2x Aurelia, the Warleader, 1x Huntmaster, 1x Thundermaw, and 1x Domri Rade, bringing in 2x Oblivion Ring and 3x Loxodon Smiter. We both mull-to-6 but I'm able to hit a nut curve with T2 Smiter and another T3 Garruk Relentless. Garruk serves double-duty as a blocker-maker and removal. Before he's able to do more as the Veil-Cursed, he gets Ghor-Clan Bloodrushed and killed. But at this point I've managed to drop 2 Thragtusks and the game is over.
Round 2 vs. Prime Speaker Bant: 2-1
Game 1 I took a mull-to-6 but came out swinging. He was on the defensive from the beginning despite the card advantage he got from Prime Speaker Zegana. It's a strong deck, but the fact that she doesn't draw you cards and gain you life doesn't put her in the same league as Sphinx's Revelation. I hit him with a Thundermaw-Resto combo and then burned him the last few damage.
Game 2 the tables were turned. I sideboarded in 2x Angel of Serenity, 2x Oblivion Ring, and 2x Garruk, Primal Hunter. I think I pulled out Garruk Relentless, some of my Burn spells, and a Huntmaster. He came out very strong in the beginning with a T4 Thragtusk and then two consecutive Restoration Angels. I managed to yank the two angels and a Beast with my Angel of Serenity, but it was promptly Selesnya Charm'ed. Without a flying blocker I didn't have a way to stop the tick-tick-tick of my life by Restoration Angels...and he was at 36 by the time the game was done.
Game 3 played out more like Game 1. We both took a mull-to-6 and I managed a T2 Boros Reckoner and T3 Huntmaster of The Fells. He'd already Shock Land-ed himself twice, and I swing with 7 power to get him to 6. He shocked himself again to play a Thragtusk and go to 9, and I managed to hit him back down to 3 again by forcing him to block my Reckoner with the Thragtusk and dealing 5 damage to him. Then I Speared him for the win.
Round 3 vs. Naya Humans Variant: 2-1
I won the roll and he took a Mull-to-6 in Game 1. He came out rather strong, with Champion of the Parish and Silverblade swinging hard. But I managed to stabilize with 2x Huntmaster and Reckoner, and at 10 life I dropped a Thragtusk. He managed to get me down to 9 before I drew Aurelia and took the game.
Game 2 he came out very strong. I sideboarded in the same cards as against my Round 1 Aggro opponent and kept a hand with 3 land, Oblivion Ring, Loxodon Smiter, Boros Reckoner, and...something else. I think Restoration Angel or Thragtusk. Unfortunately, he hit a super-aggressive curve, and I wasn't able to play any of those until T3 when he already had Mayor of Avrabruk, Thalia, Champion, and Silverblade Paladin. Couldn't come back from all that.
Game 2 was incredibly one-sided in my favor. I didn't take as many notes this game, but I dropped him from 18 to 12, then it seems he shocked himself to 10, I hit him to 7, and that was it. I remember playing with help from Garruk Relentless/Veil-Cursed again. He managed to throw a Sigarda and I thought that would stall the game, until I realized I had Garruk, the Veil-Cursed out on the field. I sacrificed a Wolf Token and pulled Thundermaw from my deck. All my mana was open and he scooped.
Round 4 vs. Dark Naya (Naya with Black): 2-0
I'd seen this kid play before and I knew he was good. Dark Naya is also one of the stronger midrange decks because it combines Naya's value creatures with Jund's value removal with things like Abrupt Decay and Rakdos's Return. Game one I hit a strong curve, playing a T2 Domri, a T3 Huntmaster, and a T4 Thragtusk. He had shocked himself down to 16 and managed to play a T5 Zealous Conscripts, stole my Thragtusk, and swung-out at me for 8 (hitting me to 19) and sending 6 to kill Domri. I got my Thragtusk back, drew a card, and slammed down Aurelia. With Thragtusk that was exactly lethal.
He got very flooded Game 2. He saw some of his removal, but not enough to stop the onslaught of guys I was sending his way. He did manage to 2-for-1 my field with an overloaded Mizzium Mortars, but I had enough sense not to overextend and played a Smiter AND Reckoner the next turn. He never saw a Rakdos's Return or any of his other removal, and I took the game pretty handily.
Round 5 vs. Naya Humans/Blitz: 2-1
Game 1 went back and forth for a while until I started bringing out the Thragtusks. Then it was just too much. He didn't feel like playing that game out and scooped. I wasn't complaining.
Game 2, sided out 2x Aurelia, 1x Thundermaw, 1x Domri, 1x Huntmaster. In: 3x Loxodon SMiter, 2x Oblivion Ring. I thought I had this one in the bag, but he surprised me by putting Volcanic Strength on his Silverblade-bonded Champion of the Parish. I went from 17-9 in one swing because it had Mountainwalk and I had a Sacred Foundry out on the field. I could have survived the next turn, but he played another human and pumped the Champion even further. Scooped.
Game 3 I played more carefully. I T2 Farseek into a 3rd G/W source to play Boros Reckoner T4, even though that slowed me down considerably. I didn't want to risk him having a Volcanic Strength in hand before I could stabilize. Reckoner makes combat very unpleasant for Aggro decks, and he's still tough to play around, so that bought me a lot of time to build up my board presence. I was confident enough then to drop a Sacred Foundry and use it as removal, Mortars and 2x Searing Spear cleared his field and I had the game.
__________
With Swiss rounds over I was in 1st place at 5-0 (the only 5-0 of the night) and guaranteed a spot in Top-8. Gameface time.
Top 8, R1 vs. Esper Control: 2-0
I thought this would be my toughest matchup, but I drew incredibly well and I'd practiced against this deck for a long time. I knew I had to win quickly but keep a close eye on all his mana so I didn't over-extend board-wipes. Sphinx's Revelation was also tough, but I knew if I played smart I could beat it.
Game 1 I drew nuts. Shocked myself twice to hit a T2 Domri Rade, and a T3 Boros Reckoner. I got enough Value off of Domri (Thragtusk!) so that even when he Oblivion Ring-ed it, I wasn't too upset. I attacked into an Azoirus Charm and then played A Huntmaster, forcing him to wipe the board. But then I got to play my Reckoner again. I dropped the Thragtusk and swung with both it and the Reckoner the next turn to knock him from 15 to 7. I swung again, and he tap-out a Sphinx's Revelation for 3, hoping to save himself at 2. I Searing Speared him all the same and that was game.
Game 2 wasn't even close. I managed to land a Thragtusk and a Loxodon Smiter on curve before he hit Terminus for full-price. I dropped Garruk Relentless, too. He milled a few times with Drownyard and Detention Sphere'd Garruk as I got him down to 7 with just the Beast. I played Avacyn's Pilgrim and attacked for 4. He played Revelation for 4, but I shot him with Searing Spear and Boros Charm to burn him out.
Top 8, R2 vs. Naya Humans Variant (same as R3): 2-1
This was the same guy I played during Round 3 and I'd been his only loss that entire night. I was feeling very confident that I both knew his deck and could beat it.
Game 1 went too long for him to survive. I had Huntmaster on T3 and let him flip back and forth, shooting him and his creatures. He managed to bond Silverblade Paladin with Nearhearth Pilgrim for Doublestrike and Lifelink and at one point ended up at 33 life. But I chipped away at that. I had 2 Restoration Angels in hand to let Huntmaster flip and unflip over and over, picking off his guys one by one. Then I had Slayers' Stronghold on the field, giving one of my Angels +2/0 and Vigilance. He had one Restoration Angel out on the field, and I just continued sending my 5/4 Angel at him. It let me keep it as a blocker and still make it a threat. I ended up dealing 15 with just the angel before dropping a Thundermaw and he scooped.
Game 2 was very close. It went on longer than it should have (for him), but the addition of Frontline Medic and a whole swath of chump blockers meant he had the chance to attack into whatever I had on the field with no consequences. Even with 2x Boros Reckoners and 2x Loxodn Smiters I wasn't able to survive a gang of indestructible creatures...and without flying, his Double-striking Restoration Angel finished me off. I was only 2 draws away from a Mizzium Mortars that I could've overloaded to save my butt...but such is life.
Game 3 wasn't really a fight. He missed a LOT of land drops and was stuck with a 2/2 Champion of the Parish and a flipped Mayor of Avabruck (so it didn't even buff the Champion). I had managed to drop 2 Thragtusk and both Reckoner and Smiter. Even with him sticking an O-Ring on my Reckoner, I still won. At one point he was at 4 even when I thought he was at 7, so I swung into his 3/3 Wolf, 3/3 Howlpack Alpha, and 2/2 Champion with my Thragtusk, Reckoner, and Smiter. He blocked Tusk and Smiter with the Wolf and Champion, repectively. He would have been at 1, though I thought that would only get him to 4 (lesson: watch the game states), so I speared his Alpha to save my tusk and clear his board. He asked why I didn't spear him and I learned my mistake. Still, with nothing on board and staring down 3 creatures, he scooped.
Top 8, R3 vs. Junk Reanimator. Split.
It was already 11:15 and we both wanted to get home. We split for top prize and both ended up with $30 store credit and the promo foil Farseek. Very cool promo. I'm actually glad we split, because Reanimator (especially Junk) is my least-confident match-up. I had a very good friend who played Junk Reanimator before GTC and I could never go more than 1-2 against him, even with significant Graveyard Hate. I hadn't played it since GTC came out, however (except on Cockatrice), but in the end it didn't matter, because we both were tired and wanted to go home. All in all, a very good night.
Overall record for the night 7-0 and a Split.
____
Final thoughts on the night:
-Garruk Relentless was a star for me last night. And I'm glad I made the split-second decision to include him in the mainboard or I might not have used him at all. I wasn't a huge fan before Gatecrash, but I'm really loving him now.
-Aurelia, the Warleader needs to be a 2-of. I was playing a 1-1 split with her and Gisela, but the two attack phases are just that good. I really wanted to have Gisela in the sideboard for the Control and Midrange mirror, but felt that Angel of Serenity was stronger in that regard.
-Angel of Serenity was pretty "meh" last night. Mostly because the format was so full of Aggro, but I also didn't really find the need to play her during my one Control match-up. She actually worked against me in the Prime Speaker Bant match, allowing my opponent to reuse his Restos, and I never saw her during the Dark Naya match. I actually might switch out one of these for Gisela.
-Loxodon Smiter was the champion of the night. I'd been debating playing him over Centaur Healer in the Sideboard for a while, and finally decided that his bigger body and strength against the possible Control/Rak Return/Liliana matchup would prove better than 3 life. I was absolutely right. Centaur Healer works well with Restoration Angel, but you're likely to need it as a blocker before then. Smiter makes them really reconsider attacking, or at least, if they attack you know they have a combat trick up their sleeves.
-Witchbane Orb is still a "maybe" in my book. It'd definitely be amazing against Rakdos's Return, any sort of Mill, and targeted sacrifice, but I never drew it all last night. I still think it's necessary, but I'll need to actually play it to be sure.
-Boros Charm was a star in the one match I actually sided it in for. I can't complain at all.
-Rest in Peace never came in since I didn't play Reanimator, but I know there are several people playing some sort of Reanimator variants and UWR Flash w/Runechanter's Pike variants, which RIP really works well against.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
Also, a new creature's been spoiled from Dragon's Maze:
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed 4RG
Rare
Legendary Creature - Ogre Warrior
Vigilance, reach
Ruric Thar, the Unbowed attacks each turn if able.
Whenever a player casts a noncreature spell, Ruric Thar deals 6 damage to that player.
6/6
Illus. Tyler Jacobsen
(Source: PAX East)
EDIT: Also, apparently the Mythic Land is called Maze's End.
Last edited by DucksGoMooful; 24th March 2013 at 9:30 PM.
They also revealed the rest of the Guild Champions. A cycle of 10 legendary creatures taking up some or the rare (not mythic) spots.
Orzhov - Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts (a human)
Gruul - Ruric Thar, the Unbowed (an ogre)
Dimir - Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker (a vampire)
Azorius - Lavina of the Tenth (a human)
Simic - Vorel of the Hull Clade (a merfolk or elf)
Selesnya - Emmara Tandris (an elf)
Boros - Tajic, Blade of the Legion (a human)
Golgari - Varolz, the Scar-Striped (a troll)
Rakdos - Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch (a human)
Izzet - Melek, Izzet Paragon (an elemental or weird)
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
So a friend just messaged me on Facebook and asked if I could build him a deck to get him started with Magic (we used to play Yugioh a LOT) and I got to thinking how I got into Magic and I figured this is probably a good conversation topic on here. So how did you guys get into Magic.
Last edited by the3rdH0kage; 25th March 2013 at 1:21 AM.
THIS IS FOR MY NINTENDO 3DS HANDHELD SYSTEM 2664-2984-6619
THIS IS FOR MY POKEMON WHITE VIDEO GAME Mike-0218-6703-3716
So a friend just messaged me on Facebook and asked if I could build him a deck to get him started with Magic (we used to play Yugioh a LOT) and I got to thinking how I got into Magic and I figured this is probably a good conversation topic on here. So how did you guys get into Magic.
I had a friend back when I was 9 years old or so who first introduced me to Magic. We were both the "new kids" and it was something we bonded over. Magic and Legos, actually. This was back when 6th Edition was around, as I distinctly remember him trying to collect the "Circle of Protection" for each color (and finally getting the green one). That was probably my first exposure to Magic. I started collecting a bit later, and learned to play from the Starter 2000 computer program that came with some cards.
I was probably ~12-13 or so when I started playing with my friends. This was around the time of the Invasion block. So yeah. That's when I started playing. I took a LOOOONG break between Scourge (May 2003) and Innistrad (2011), only paying intermittent attention to the way the game was developing and the storyline.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
I'm looking forward to Dragon's maze too, but honestly I'm more excited about Theros. I loved Greek mythology (hated the homework), and I'm certain they've learned from Kamigawa's mistakes, so I know they'll make it work.
(Of course, this is based on a guess that it's another Legendary block)
I'm actually a bit disappointed by the way Theros seems to be headed. Don't get me wrong, I love mythology. But I like it because it was already a thing. There's so much innovation and creation that can be done with something like MTG that just grabbing a huge pool of pre-existing stories and legends and slapping a MTG label on it just seems...lazy.
I really hope it doesn't just become "Greek myths, but with different names"...
I mean, look at the most recent sets/locations. Ravnica, Zendikar, Mirrodin, Alara--they were all very unique and very solidly MTG...even Innistrad, while borrowing heavily from Gothic horror managed to blend everything together in a way that worked. I hope Theros uses Greek mythos as more of a single building block in its framework rather than the entire design. I don't want "Mount Olympus, but named something else," or "Apollo, but with a slightly different name." Because quite frankly, that's been done to death and Magic shouldn't beat dead horses.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
So a friend just messaged me on Facebook and asked if I could build him a deck to get him started with Magic (we used to play Yugioh a LOT) and I got to thinking how I got into Magic and I figured this is probably a good conversation topic on here. So how did you guys get into Magic.
Well, October 2011 I had a friend at school that had some other friends who played Magic. Since this guy was a good friend of mine and we had the same lunch, I started hanging out with these Magic guys. I learned the rules from all of them, they let me play with their decks, and eventually I bought the Deck Builder's Toolkit. Then they told me about FNM so I went to that (Innistrad) and got some awesome cards, but it didn't go well since I'd never been to one. After that I just started doing pretty well at FNMs but still not winning anything.
That's how I got into it, just some friends of a friend.
What are your favorite decks (that you made)? From any format, season, past or present.
Personally, I really liked my WB Tokens deck last Standard season (Scars+M12+Innistrad). It was my first competitive deck. But I also really really had a blast with Bant Hexblade. It's a lot like the Bantchantments deck of this season, but goes a bit bigger with stuff like Thrun and Sigarda, and uses bigger add-ons like the Mirrodin Swords and Angelic Destiny. It was a LOT of fun, and I had a blast with it.
In terms of EDH, I really like the Aurelia deck I made. I'm not super-comboy like a lot of EDH people, so I'm not going to try and go-off and combo-out by turn 4.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
What are your favorite decks (that you made)? From any format, season, past or present.
My favourite is probably my very first Maelstrom Wanderer deck. That was really good, no one could beat it, but everyone still had fun. Otherwise, my favourite decks were a WUB draft deck I made in M13 with Exalted and Arctic Aven (it was awesome, also included Ring of Thune and Warclamp Mastiff, so awesome); and the deck I made at the Gatecrash prerelease, using Extort splashing red for Aurelia. Won me a lot of games and was also fun to play.
I love decks that are super fun, even if they're not necessarily very good.
What are your favorite decks (that you made)? From any format, season, past or present.
My Gruul and Monogreen are my favourites currently.
My Gruul deck has the potential to be very obnoxious fun with all the bloodrush.
(Oh you take 4? Oh I'm sorry I mean 10 /w doublestrike, hexproof & unblockable GG. Oh Magical Christmasland.)
The Gruul Champion in DTM Ruric Thar is gonna make this deck even more fun too, I cannot wait.
And my monogreen deck, if allowed, can go ALL THE MANA Primal Surge really early, or ALL THE MANA Worldspine Wurm, or NOT ENOUGH MANA Sylvan Primordial + Conjurer's Closet. How obnoxious fun!
Yeah, I like obnoxious fun decks.
Last edited by swampertforever; 4th April 2013 at 7:50 PM.
I have a reanimator deck I've been thinking about, Griselbrand on T4 with Unburial Rites. But my favorite deck was probably my Junk Tokens or my really old mono-black Vampire deck. and EDH my Darigaaz the Igniter deck.
THIS IS FOR MY NINTENDO 3DS HANDHELD SYSTEM 2664-2984-6619
THIS IS FOR MY POKEMON WHITE VIDEO GAME Mike-0218-6703-3716
So, Serebii-ers, who's planning on attending their local FNMs tonight?
With a brand new month comes a brand new promo. April's FNM Promo is Call of the Conclave. A card that's seeing a bit more play in recent Bant Delver decks.
Are you going? What will you be playing? What decks to you suspect you'll be up against this week?
Me? I'll be on the Naya Midrange warpath tonight. Testing a few changes to the deck in anticipation of tomorrow's 1K event. I expect to see quite a bit of Aggro tonight, and definitely some Reanimator too. I'm going to try and shore up all my matches for tomorrow's event and make the appropriate tweaks between the two.
====
Originally Posted by the3rdH0kage
I have a reanimator deck I've been thinking about, Griselbrand on T4 with Unburial Rites. But my favorite deck was probably my Junk Tokens or my really old mono-black Vampire deck. and EDH my Darigaaz the Igniter deck.
Junk (GWB) Reanimator is a very strong deck right now. The ability to churn out early-turn Lingering Souls into Craterhoof Behemoth and Angel of Serenity is INSANE.
"You can call yourself whatever you want.
Soldier. Leader. Patriot. Revolutionary. It doesn't matter.
At our core we're all the same thing.
Monsters."
Yeah, a friend of mine is buying the shops last Avacyn box, so if he gets any Griselbrand I will be getting those from him. But I sadly can't attend FNM tonight as I have a competition early in the morning and can't stay up until 12 or 1 when I have to be at my school at 7.
THIS IS FOR MY NINTENDO 3DS HANDHELD SYSTEM 2664-2984-6619
THIS IS FOR MY POKEMON WHITE VIDEO GAME Mike-0218-6703-3716
Originally Posted by the3rdH0kage
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