[f0rk]

Are there any cards in standard right now that benefit from having a large amount of life? I'm trying to figure out an end game for a life gain deck but I'm drawing a blank.

Don't do it.

[Sinatar]

Are there any cards in standard right now that benefit from having a large amount of life? I'm trying to figure out an end game for a life gain deck but I'm drawing a blank.

Chalice of life flips to the chalice of death. You can get a pretty easy win with a couple of those flipped.

[divisionbyzorro]

Chalice of life flips to the chalice of death. You can get a pretty easy win with a couple of those flipped.

Yep. I've been tweaking a turbofog deck that tries mostly fails to win this way.

[OnPoint]

Don't do it.

I'm not thinking it's going to be a serious deck by any means, but it could be a ton of fun to play. I'm loving the idea of playing Cloudshift or Restoration Angel on Cathedral Sanctifier. Between that and Whitesun's Passage I should be able to flip a Chalice of Life pretty quickly and Phyrexian Metamorph the night side. Of course, it dies to artifact hate, but every deck has a weakness.

Between the Chalice, the Metamorph and Pristine Talisman, perhaps Indomitable Archangel would be a good card to include.

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Are there any cards in standard right now that benefit from having a large amount of life? I'm trying to figure out an end game for a life gain deck but I'm drawing a blank.

Only thing I've seen at least for standard is the chalice of life and death to knock 5 off every turn.

[OnPoint]

So if I brew the deck off the top of my head, it would probably look like this:

Creatures - 15 4x Cathedral Sanctifier 3x Inquisitor Exarch 3x Kemba's Skyguard 3x Emancipation Angel 2x Indomitable Archangel Spells - 10 4x Cloudshift 3x Terminus 3x Whitesun's Passage Artifacts - 13 4x Chalice of Life/Death 3x Pristine Talisman 3x Phyrexian Metamorph 2x Druidic Satchel 1x Batterskull Lands - 22 16x Plains 4x Glimmerpost 2x Seraph's Sanctuary

Metamorph is there to copy the flipped Chalice but could serve as a second Batterskull in a pinch. The Satchel provides some potential for life, but the other options aren't awful either. I picked Kemba's Skyguard to defend against flying threats primarily, but it wouldn't look bad in a Batterskull. I think it's a better option than the cheaper Inquisitor Exarch because of this, but they both have a place. Plus the Exarch can deal extra damage if we're late game.

Maybe Vault Skirge should make it in? Probably not what I'm looking for, though it would help with the metalcraft activation.

[TheSeks]

I know we've been over this before but M:tG:Online vs the real paper version for cheapest for casual play?

[Haly]

MTGO: Cheaper for singles
Paper: Cheaper for boosters

If your vice is deckbuilding, go with MTGO, if you're addicted to opening packs, go with paper.

[TheSeks]

Can't you get "boosters" from those bots in M:tG:O?

[GoutPatrol]

Don't do it.

Yeah. I was drafting on Sunday to make something like this. Got up to 57 life and still lost because I he got enough blockers out.

[Haly]

Can't you get "boosters" from those bots in M:tG:O?

You can, but they're usually full price or maybe even more. Only more recent sets will have them somewhat 'discounted". Example, DA is $93 on Amazon for 36 packs. That comes out to about $2.60 per pack. On the Cardbot chain, DA packs are $2.85. Not a significant markup but if you're buying them by the hundreds you're losing out. Also, cards are worth less on MTGO because of the oversupply from people constantly drafting 24/7. Snapcasters are $20 in the paper game, but only $7 on MTGO. Doesn't apply to all rares/mythics but it's true for a lot of them.

[echoshifting]

I have been tooling around with a chalice deck forever. One of these days...

Can't you get "boosters" from those bots in M:tG:O?

So much of the fun of cracking boosters is missing from mtgo...I am a huge pack addict and cracking digital packs just didn't do it for me ;p Also, no discount for buying bulk. Definitely stick to singles.

[Haly]

Dat new card smell.

::sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiff::

aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

[siddx]

Dat new card smell. ::sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiff:: aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

It's one of those smells that takes me back to the mid 90's, being a teenager and cracking boosters.

[ultron87]

*buys random booster at grocery store*

*gets a Tamiyo*

*fist pump*

I swear I get the exact ratio of awesome cards to string me along buying boosters forever.

[Boogalogist]

Dat new card smell. ::sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiff:: aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....

Oh yessssssss...fuck YES...

This is the ONLY reason why I buy packs anymore. I love dat smell!

[Keru_Shiri]

*buys random booster at grocery store* *gets a Tamiyo* *fist pump* I swear I get the exact ratio of awesome cards to string me along buying boosters forever.

Heck yeah! I always buy a random pack when I go grocery shopping. Score most of dual lands, planeswalkers, and a foil Sword of Feast and Famine that way.

[OnPoint]

*buys random booster at grocery store* *gets a Tamiyo* *fist pump* I swear I get the exact ratio of awesome cards to string me along buying boosters forever.

Hate you haha Bought 12 packs yesterday, 6 for me, 6 for a friend and we constructed decks from those cards. My point? He paid me for the packs I picked up -- he pulled a Cavern and a Gisela. I pulled another of those blue reflection cards. Now I have like 40 of them. My deck won though, as odd as my black-white combo was.

[sammich]

Ok guys.. trying to make a standard deck. Red/black. Im at 70 cards now.. i have cut down a lot BUT im not sure what i can take out or put in as a substitute that will help me. Its a fun deck for me, maybe semi serious. Ive only checked the Innistrad block so far.
Most of the creatures will damage you when they die, or damage you/heal me, or damage you when i attack etc. Took some DD to supplement the damage. Some enchantments that will help me do more damage or even help my creatures come out faster and kill themselves faster.

Creatures

Falkenrath Noble x 3
Pitchburn Devils x 3
Rage Thrower x 3
Forge Devil x 3
Hellrider x 3
Blood Artist x 4
Soulcage Fiend x 3
Vexing Devil x 4

Enchantments

Heartless Summoning x 2
Curse of Bloodletting x 3
Exquisite Blood x 3

Land

Swamp x 8
Mountain x 8

Spells

Bump in the Night x 3
Brimstone Volley x 3
Infernal Plunge x 3
Fires of Undeath x 3
Essence Harvest x 3
Thunderbolt x 3
Thunderous Wrath x 2

[WanderingWind]

Ok guys.. trying to make a standard deck. Red/black. Im at 70 cards now.. i have cut down a lot BUT im not sure what i can take out or put in as a substitute that will help me. Its a fun deck for me, maybe semi serious. Ive only checked the Innistrad block so far. Most of the creatures will damage you when they die, or damage you/heal me, or damage you when i attack etc. Took some DD to supplement the damage. Some enchantments that will help me do more damage or even help my creatures come out faster and kill themselves faster. Creatures Falkenrath Noble x 3 Pitchburn Devils x 3 Rage Thrower x 3 Forge Devil x 3 Hellrider x 3 Blood Artist x 4 Soulcage Fiend x 3 Vexing Devil x 4 Enchantments Heartless Summoning x 2 Curse of Bloodletting x 3 Exquisite Blood x 3 Land Swamp x 8 Mountain x 8 Spells Bump in the Night x 3 Brimstone Volley x 3 Infernal Plunge x 3 Fires of Undeath x 3 Essence Harvest x 3 Thunderbolt x 3 Thunderous Wrath x 2

Pretty mana heavy spells and only 16 land means you're going to get mana screwed pretty much every game. You need 22-24 mana. Rage thrower is too expensive to be useful at all.

[narcosis219]

Ok guys.. trying to make a standard deck. Red/black. Im at 70 cards now.. i have cut down a lot BUT im not sure what i can take out or put in as a substitute that will help me. Its a fun deck for me, maybe semi serious. Ive only checked the Innistrad block so far. Most of the creatures will damage you when they die, or damage you/heal me, or damage you when i attack etc. Took some DD to supplement the damage. Some enchantments that will help me do more damage or even help my creatures come out faster and kill themselves faster. Creatures Falkenrath Noble x 3 Pitchburn Devils x 3 Rage Thrower x 3 Forge Devil x 3 Hellrider x 3 Blood Artist x 4 Soulcage Fiend x 3 Vexing Devil x 4 Enchantments Heartless Summoning x 2 Curse of Bloodletting x 3 Exquisite Blood x 3 Land Swamp x 8 Mountain x 8 Spells Bump in the Night x 3 Brimstone Volley x 3 Infernal Plunge x 3 Fires of Undeath x 3 Essence Harvest x 3 Thunderbolt x 3 Thunderous Wrath x 2

Rebuild the deck starting with the most important key cards. Force your maindeck list to never go above 36 spells. (16 lands is suicide since you have no spells to help your mana). Once you get the core core cards in, start substituting in cards you think are necessary.

General rules i use for how many of each card to put in the deck:

4x if i really need this card in my starting hand
3x if the card is important but okay if i dont start with it
2x important, likely a higher costing card, probably dont need in starting hand.
1x not part of the deck's main strategy/combo but is a bomb. Wouldnt ever count on drawing this, but good to have in case i ever draw it.

Obviously, those rules change with the type of deck it is, but i think it's a good guideline for a medium speed deck

[divisionbyzorro]

Take out all of the enchantments for starters.

[sammich]

Well im down to 62 now with this:

Creatures:

Falkenrath Noble x 3
Pitchburn Devils x 3
Forge Devil x 3
Hellrider x 3
Blood Artist x 3
Soulcage Fiend x 3
Vexing Devil x 4

Land

Dragonskull Summit x 4
Cavern of Souls x 4
Swamp x 6
Mountain x 6

Spells

Bump in the Night x 3
Brimstone Volley x 3
Infernal Plunge x 3
Fires of Undeath x 3
Essence Harvest x 3
Thunderbolt x 3
Thunderous Wrath x 2

[ultron87]

I'd drop Infernal Plunge and find another 1-drop creature. Maybe Reckless Waif. You really want to get something out on turn 1 with the heavy aggro strategy.

[sammich]

I'd drop Infernal Plunge and find another 1-drop creature. Maybe Reckless Waif. You really want to get something out on turn 1 with the heavy aggro strategy.

I dont like reckless waif as it doesnt really do what i want to accomplish. Him killing my waif doesnt do anything to him. I dont really care if my creatures die as you take damage for killing any of them. If you dont kill it i attack. If its a stale mate, ill kill my own creatures or DD you to death. For that reason i rather take a goblin fireslinger or a goblin arsonist instead. I took infernal plunge to get the bigger dudes like rage thrower out faster.. or even take something like a mass nuke spell like Bonfire of the damned or Blasphemous act

[y2dvd]

I'd put in 4x Stromkirk Nobles and 4x Stormblood Beserkers. I tried Falkenrath Noble and he's just too weak and slow for my likings. Lose Bump in the Night for another kill card like Gut Shot or Pillar of Flames. It's better to remove their creatures vs doing quick dmg and having no sustain.

[bigkrev]

There is no way I will be able to afford what these will end up closing at, but if you got a bunch of disposable income, 3 auctions for The Magic Cruise just opened up-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Luis-Scott-V...#ht_500wt_1156 - Record a draft video with Luis Scott Vargas and have it posted to Channel Fireball

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Patrick-Chap...#ht_500wt_1202 - A deckbuilding session with Patrick Chapin

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Richard-Garf...#ht_500wt_1202 - The coolest one, get Richard Garfield to play and judge a game of your creation, and provide feedback

[sammich]

Hey guys,

Another Q. Standard Is Innistrad + M12 right + whatever else thats getting phased out soon? What if i have a card from M11 that was also re-printed in M12 like Dragonskull Summit that i want to use in my Standard deck. Is it still legal for me to use the M11 card or are they that strict that it should be a M12 card? I can see both sides but just wondering if there is a hard set rule to it.

[The Technomancer]

Hey guys, Another Q. Standard Is Innistrad + M12 right + whatever else thats getting phased out soon? What if i have a card from M11 that was also re-printed in M12 like Dragonskull Summit that i want to use in my Standard deck. Is it still legal for me to use the M11 card or are they that strict that it should be a M12 card? I can see both sides but just wondering if there is a hard set rule to it.

Nope, the M11 card is fine. You can play with any printed version of a card as long as one version has been printed in a legal set. I could use a Birds of Paradise from 1994 if I had one.

[OnPoint]

Hey guys, Another Q. Standard Is Innistrad + M12 right + whatever else thats getting phased out soon? What if i have a card from M11 that was also re-printed in M12 like Dragonskull Summit that i want to use in my Standard deck. Is it still legal for me to use the M11 card or are they that strict that it should be a M12 card? I can see both sides but just wondering if there is a hard set rule to it.

Anything with a standard MTG back (aside from the flip cards) and a white or black border is tournament legal, so long as the card is included in a tournament legal set. So yes, your Summit is legal, regardless of printing so long as it has the proper border and back.

[Sinatar]

Hey guys, Another Q. Standard Is Innistrad + M12 right + whatever else thats getting phased out soon? What if i have a card from M11 that was also re-printed in M12 like Dragonskull Summit that i want to use in my Standard deck. Is it still legal for me to use the M11 card or are they that strict that it should be a M12 card? I can see both sides but just wondering if there is a hard set rule to it.

All printed versions of a card that is in standard is legal. So you can use alpha llanowar elves if you want.

[sammich]

Sweet!.. thanks. Im a sucker for shinys(Foils) so i bought 4 of them not realizing that they were from M11 instead of M12. Didnt pay enough attention.

[The Technomancer]

However M12 is going to rotate out in October, so if they don't reprint the summits in M13 then they'll be unusuable in five months. I only mention this because Ravnica is probably going to be a multicolor environment and I'm not sure if they'll print duals in both the core set and the block.

[ultron87]

I'd hope that they keep the allied duals as a Core block staple. Keep it so someone can just pick a set of those up and be content with their dual land situation for the future.

[sammich]

However M12 is going to rotate out in October, so if they don't reprint the summits in M13 then they'll be unusuable in five months. I only mention this because Ravnica is probably going to be a multicolor environment and I'm not sure if they'll print duals in both the core set and the block.

What else is rotating out, just m12? So it will be m13 + Innistrad block? Sorry for all the noob questions. I cant access much at work to find all this out.

[narcosis219]

What else is rotating out, just m12? So it will be m13 + Innistrad block? Sorry for all the noob questions. I cant access much at work to find all this out.

Innistrad block + M13 + Return to ravnica

[Sinatar]

I'd hope that they keep the allied duals as a Core block staple. Keep it so someone can just pick a set of those up and be content with their dual land situation for the future.

Yea I'm going to be choked if they don't reprint the dual lands for m13.

[f0rk]

However M12 is going to rotate out in October, so if they don't reprint the summits in M13 then they'll be unusuable in five months. I only mention this because Ravnica is probably going to be a multicolor environment and I'm not sure if they'll print duals in both the core set and the block.

They probably will reprint the allied colour M10/11/12 lands (they clearly like the tapped condition on them as they used it on the Innistrad enemy colour ones as well) and reprint the Rav shock lands through the next block with 3/4 in each set. They've made it clear they want to reprint Modern staples and these lands are the obvious ones. It's also worth pointing out mana bases in standard right now are pretty bad in comparison to past sets so there is room for them to improve with 2 dual lands on every colour pair rather than just allied.

[OnPoint]

However M12 is going to rotate out in October, so if they don't reprint the summits in M13 then they'll be unusuable in five months. I only mention this because Ravnica is probably going to be a multicolor environment and I'm not sure if they'll print duals in both the core set and the block.

Why wouldn't they? They had duals in the Scars block.

[The Technomancer]

Why wouldn't they? They had duals in the Scars block.

Hm, yeah, I guess they did

[Venfayth]

Anyone have any advice for my current RDW?


24x Mountain

4x Vexing Devil
3x Stormblood Berserker * (I want 4)
2x Stromkirk Noble * (I want 4)
4x Chandra's Phoenix *(Maybe drop one or two?)

1x Reforge the Soul *(I want 3?)
3x Arc Trail

3x Galvanic Blast
4x Incinerate
2x Brimstone Volley
2x Volt Charge

4x Shrine of Burning Rage

2x Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded
2x Chandra, the Firebrand

--

Unsure of which Instants/Sorceries to keep. Volt Charge works well with so many things, my Planeswalkers, my Noble/Berserker, my Shrine, etc, so maybe I should go back up to 3 or 4. I like having 2 of Tibalt and Chandra. Fun cards.

[Keru_Shiri]

Anyone have any advice for my current RDW? 24x Mountain 4x Vexing Devil 3x Stormblood Berserker * (I want 4) 2x Stromkirk Noble * (I want 4) 4x Chandra's Phoenix *(Maybe drop one or two?) 1x Reforge the Soul *(I want 3?) 3x Arc Trail 3x Galvanic Blast 4x Incinerate 2x Brimstone Volley 2x Volt Charge 4x Shrine of Burning Rage 2x Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded 2x Chandra, the Firebrand -- Unsure of which Instants/Sorceries to keep. Volt Charge works well with so many things, my Planeswalkers, my Noble/Berserker, my Shrine, etc, so maybe I should go back up to 3 or 4. I like having 2 of Tibalt and Chandra. Fun cards.

Looks like a pretty solid list, though I'm not the biggest fan of new Chandra. May want to trim back on her, and replace her with a couple of Goblin Fireslingers, and some Gut Shots. Both cards will lower your mana curve quite a bit, and help make sure you can play bloodthirsty Stormblood Breserker asap.

How have Tibalt and Reforge the Soul been working for you?

[Venfayth]

Looks like a pretty solid list, though I'm not the biggest fan of new Chandra. May want to trim back on her, and replace her with a couple of Goblin Fireslingers, and some Gut Shots. Both cards will lower your mana curve quite a bit, and help make sure you can play bloodthirsty Stormblood Breserker asap. How have Tibalt and Reforge the Soul been working for you?

Tibalt is awkward.

Tibalt is great for .. not dying. Heh. He doesn't really have much value for doing anything to your opponent unless they're playing a blue deck (his -4 is awesome if they havent spent their hand, and they can't really deal with him since he's out on turn 2) and otherwise people tend to attack him, because his -6 is scary. But really, I think the smartest thing to do against someone playing a Tibalt is just to ignore him until he's at 5 or so.

But his +1 is nicest when you don't have the best cards in your hand. It's tough to draw a great hand with Tibalt in it, because then I have to choose if I want to risk my great cards by building him up. Conversely, drawing a shitty hand with Tibalt in it makes it inherently stronger, as you have no cares about using his +1 and you get to burn through your cards really quickly.

Reforge the Soul is AMAZING. If I play one on turn 5 or 6, It's really hard to lose. 5 CMC is almost too low, IMO, because turn 5 is about when I've exhausted my hand of cards anyway. It doesn't need to be miracled, but the miracle is a big bonus.

--

Yeah, I may just drop Chandra completely. But she was my first planeswalker :( My first love.

[The Technomancer]

I almost want to say that Koth would be a good replacement for Chandra. He's also a 4-drop, his ultimate will help you finish off control decks if you can get it off, and the boost from his -2 might be just what you need to accelerate into a flood to cinch up the game.

[Venfayth]

I almost want to say that Koth would be a good replacement for Chandra. He's also a 4-drop, his ultimate will help you finish off control decks if you can get it off, and the boost from his -2 might be just what you need to accelerate into a flood to cinch up the game.

Hmm yeah, I'm definitely liking the Koth idea a bit more now that I'm taking a hard look at him. Will probably replace her with him as soon as I can get my hand on a couple!

edit: If I use his +1 and the mountain gets Doom Bladed or something, does it go into the graveyard, or does it go back to being a land? O.o

[The Technomancer]

Hmm yeah, I'm definitely liking the Koth idea a bit more now that I'm taking a hard look at him. Will probably replace her with him as soon as I can get my hand on a couple! edit: If I use his +1 and the mountain gets Doom Bladed or something, does it go into the graveyard, or does it go back to being a land? O.o

Yeah, it does open them up to killing your mountains, that's the biggest drawback to him. One other thing I just noticed though is that there's a level of redundancy in having both Chandra and Tibalt in your deck since their ultimates are so similar.

[WanderingWind]

Hmm yeah, I'm definitely liking the Koth idea a bit more now that I'm taking a hard look at him. Will probably replace her with him as soon as I can get my hand on a couple! edit: If I use his +1 and the mountain gets Doom Bladed or something, does it go into the graveyard, or does it go back to being a land? O.o

Graveyard. Learned that thanks to liquimetal coating...

[divisionbyzorro]

Graveyard. Learned that thanks to liquimetal coating...

That is such a troll deck.

[WanderingWind]

That is such a troll deck.

Troll decks are rampant on MTGO. Time for me to fight fire with fire.

[The Technomancer]

Troll decks are rampant on MTGO. Time for me to fight fire with fire.

Slivers.

You know you want to