Support NeoGAF

[ironmang]

I wouldn't mind seeing the DRS playmat. And if you happen to have the Tarmogoyf playmat. I used to own it but it was ruined.

No goyf mat unfortunately. pm'd

 

[Santiako]

I built my first EDH deck. Mostly went for cards I thought were cool.

If I post it, can you guys let me know if it's legal

Of course, go for it.

Reid Duke Modern Primer

https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/the-state-of-modern-july-2017/

Great article. Really odd not including Dredge though, the deck is still a beast.

 

[Murder]

3-0 at pre-release--went B/G/W

Format seemed insanely slow. First match of the day I played a guy who I think had apsergers or something so he just talked about random stuff forever instead of actually playing--we played exactly 1 game in the allotted 45 mins for the round. I was able to win on turn 4 after time was called.

Next 2 were just standard stuff but definitely slow. My pulls were hot garbage. Solemnity, that 7 (?) mana blue enchant that lets you copy spells, Plague Belcher (didn't draw him at all), that new X/X demon that is equal to number of cards in your graveyard (HOT GARBAGE CARD). Opened an Hour of Devastation too but red was meh and I'm more comfortable building beatdown.

Also, so many fucking people were playing walls today. Like I get it, it's sealed, play whatchu got but walls? That 0/5 zombie wall is a game-time vampire.

Edit: Best card for me was probably Devotee of Strength. The pump is 5 mana for +2/+2 but it won me games.

 

[sgjackson]

Highest point is usually during the PT but only if the card performs well.

Some cards stay relatively high even seeing no play like Ulamog did for the longest time, so that said idk it's a gamble.

i'm playing another pre-release tomorrow and paid a dude for the locust god he opened (because that card is fuckin sweet for commander) so i think i'm going to see if anybody wants to trade for 20 bucks worth of izzet lands/draw 7s/mana rocks/etc for that, and if nobody bites grab a toploader and toss it on ebay

Speaking of The Locust God: I just put together a scratch list for a Locust God EDH deck. I can spare around a hundred USD for this project - if anyone's got insight into obvious stuff I'm missing let me know. In particular, I'm kind of wondering if it's better to be super linear and try to ramp it out early into chaining big draw spells and stuff that synergizes with locust tokens, or if it's better to have some interaction (artifact removal, mass removal/bounce, counters, etc).

This is a prototype list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/budget-locust-god-1/

 

[Ri'Orius]

Went 4-0 (8-1 in games) thanks to an amazing pool. Ammit Eternal, Dreamstealer, Never // Return, Liliana's Mastery and even The Scorpion God.

I played BG splashing blue for Scorps and white for Appeal // Authority (which I don't think is getting enough love: it's practically a better Overcome). Never had any real issues with mana, between an Evolving Wilds, an Oasis Ritualist (one of my favorite new cards: ramping straight to 6 or 7 lets me play the top-end cards that couldn't do anything in AKH), and a Painted Bluffs I was happy to play (both because my splash cards were still awesome with +1 CMC, and because I had a couple Desert synergy cards).

And yeah, Scorpion God is amazing. Even when I had a graveyard containing only drawback cards (eg Ammit Eternal), my opponent's graveyard was full of goodies (including, eventually, a Lord of the Accursed).

 

[DrArchon]

Finished my pre-release. Went 2-1 (4-3) and peace'd out after the last match because it was getting late. Turns out having two Nimble Obstructionists was alright. Was able to get one out on turn 3 basically every match. Not that it did a lot of good when someone packed cheap removal, but still. Still wish I had gotten better cards though. Not like there's much in the way of value in this set though.

Thankfully didn't have to face anyone with bombs that were too big. Last match I was one attack away from winning but the guy top decked God-Pharaoh's Gift, brought back a Sand Strangler, and killed my one creature. Very rough. Sand Strangler really is an MVP creature. Every time I saw it get cast by anyone (myself included) it ate something and then either traded or ate removal. And Deserts are piss easy to get in Sealed. We'll see how it goes in Draft.

 

[Yeef]

What the fuck... why would anyone be running three colors? The only scenarios where I can see that being applicable would be a) you got Bolas and just have to play him, or b) you got a bunch of green ramp cards and not a lot of fast aggressive stuff.

Mana-fixing not's exactly all that common here. Seems super dumb to me to run three colors.

There's actually quite a bit of fixing in this set compared to most typical sets.

More importantly, though, it's not uncommon at all to splash a 3rd color in sealed. Sometimes you just don't have enough playables in 2 colors; other times you have a bomb that you splash a color for. Sometimes both things happen.

 

[Yeef]

One thing I hadn't noticed until it came up: there's no direct enchantment removal in HOU, other than Nissa's Defeat (which only hits green enchantments). Had an opponent play Cast Out against me, and I was trying to think of what outs I could possibly have to deal with it. Forsake the Worldly is the only card in the format and it's only in 1/3 of the packs.

 

[Ashodin]

I played BG splashing blue for Scorps

??

Surely you mean Scarab God?

 

[Ultimate_Trainer]

So what are some good MTG podcasts other than Limited Resources and Maro's Drive to Work?

I've been on a podcast kick recently

 

[Tunoku]

So what are some good MTG podcasts other than Limited Resources and Maro's Drive to Work?

I've been on a podcast kick recently

GAM Podcast
Top Level Podcast
Giant Beastcast

 

[Zocano]

So what I constructed was:

Lands-
2x Desert of the Glorified
1x Evolving Wilds
7x Swamp
7x Plains

2CMC-
1x Khenra Eternal
1x Wall of Forgotten Pharoahs
1x Vile Manifestation
1x Djeru's Renunciation
1x Impeccable Timing
1x Compulsory Rest

3CMC-
1x Merciless Eternal
1x Oketra's Monument
1x Rhet-Crop Spearmaster
2x Blighted Cat
1x Dauntless Aven
1x Lethal Sting

4CMC-
1x Gravedigger
2x Dutiful Servants
1x Torment of Venom
1x Hour of Glory

5CMC-
2x Scrounger of Souls
1x Final Reward
1x Oketra's Attendant

8CMC-
1x Razaketh the Foulblooded

I really thought it would work out better than it did but it was just a bit too slow and creature top heavy. I could get pretty decent board presence sometimes but afflict and straight burn killed me pretty nicely.

 

[Ultimate_Trainer]

GAM Podcast
Top Level Podcast
Giant Beastcast

I'll check those out

Wait who plays Magic on the Beastcast?

 

[Ri'Orius]

??

Surely you mean Scarab God?

Ah, good call.

But don't call me Shirley.

 

[Adaren]

My partner and I went 3-0-1 at 2HG (split the last game). I built G/B -1/-1 counters (featuring Decimator Beetle x 3) and he built U/W fliers. We didn't open any Gods, Planeswalkers, or bomb spells (besides one Dusk//Dawn that we never actually cast), but our decks each had plenty of removal and our creatures ranged from solid to strong.

Overperforming cards included the Sphinx lord, the Horse lord (combo with Bontu's Monument), Angel of Condemnation, and Unquenchable Thirst. HOU has lot of solid removal, which went a long ways towards slowing down the format.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Is U/G Elder Deep Fiend ramp still a valid deck? Thinking of going back to paper for FNM.

 

[Violet_0]

Here is my sealed pool from last night:

https://deckstats.net/deck-13526249-beb67f4e5eee043150a4f5138882c065.html

How would you build it? I went with BG with a White splash for Dust. I just lost to every bomb I encountered.

something like this, BWu. Creature count could be higher, perhaps

Aven of Enduring Hope
Bone Picker
Cartouche of Solidarity
Countervailing Winds
Cradle of the Accursed
Dauntless Aven
Desert of the True
Doomfall
Final Reward
Grind // Dust
Hollow One
Khenra Eternal
Labyrinth Guardian
Lethal Sting
Lurching Rotbeast
Miasmic Mummy
Oketra's Last Mercy
Pitiless Vizier
Sandblast
Saving Grace
Shefet Dunes
Shimmerscale Drake
Solitary Camel
Sunscourge Champion
Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun
Traveler's Amulet
Unquenchable Thirst
Vile Manifestation
Wander in Death

G isn't all that enticing imo. The deck has a bit of a cycling theme. Oketra's Last Mercy maybe belongs in the sideboard. You dont have bombs, but some good removal

 

[MoxManiac]

Garbage pool this time around. Kind of reminds me while sealed as a format is such a bummer.

 

[Joba62x]

GAM Podcast
Top Level Podcast
Giant Beastcast

captianamerica.gif

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Is U/G Elder Deep Fiend ramp still a valid deck? Thinking of going back to paper for FNM.

Probably more than ever though probably not w/o a red splash for KReturn

 

[Santiako]

Now with Hour of promise into 2 Shrines of the Forsaken Gods ramp could be legit terrifying.

 

[hermit7]

Went 3-1 with r/w beat down.

3/3 blink agnel is straight gas. Hazoret also is really good at smashing face and flinging extra lands.

Lost one match after getting blown out by an untap effect and the dude tapping my own creature down. I guess it was a bit of a punt, burned one creature cause the other had been exerted and then lost the next turn.

I really dislike the design and developments idea to make toughness generally higher than power is silly and either stalls out the board or makes it so they need to add a bunch of unblockable conditions and cards to force damage through.

 

[traveler]

Went 3-1 with r/w beat down.

3/3 blink agnel is straight gas. Hazoret also is really good at smashing face and flinging extra lands.

Lost one match after getting blown out by an untap effect and the dude tapping my own creature down. I guess it was a bit of a punt, burned one creature cause the other had been exerted and then lost the next turn.

I really dislike the design and developments idea to make toughness generally higher than power is silly and either stalls out the board or makes it so they need to add a bunch of unblockable conditions and cards to force damage through.

Normally, I agree, but even horned turtles suck this time around. Exert p/t bonuses are such that 1/4s and 1/5s basically do nothing in the format.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Probably more than ever though probably not w/o a red splash for KReturn

Ugh. Temur Emerge was not appealing to me specifically because Kozilek's Return made it so goddam expensive.

When I ran the deck, Whirler Rogue or Foul Emissary were the prime EDF emerge targets. Any good alternatives now? I'm determined to rep Kiora colors. The new U/G Nissa looks pretty fucking good too, even if she's got a pretty moderate price.

Ashodin! ~~~

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Can you truly argue Energy isn't parasitic when you'll never see an energy deck in modern or even EDH? I've seen Glimmer and Rogue Refiner seen played in EDH and they didn't even bother to keep track of energy

Ugh. Temur Emerge was not appealing to me specifically because Kozilek's Return made it so goddam expensive.

When I ran the deck, Whirler Rogue or Foul Emissary were the prime EDF emerge targets. Any good alternatives now? I'm determined to rep Kiora colors. The new U/G Nissa looks pretty fucking good too, even if she's got a pretty moderate price.

Ashodin! ~~~

Rogue Refiner and Whirler Virtuoso nowadays IIRC.

 

["God's Beard!"]

Just won a half-hour game of Vintage Cube with 3 cards in my library, grinding out an Elspeth, Knight-Errant emblem. My 4C Tinker vs his Esper Reanimator.

I was dead a bunch of times but my opponent made some cocky misplays thinking they would overkill me and I made a drawn-out comeback. Daretti is a really good magic card.

The crazy part is that the game's path was decided turn 1 when I chose to spell pierce his Entomb when I had a Swords to Plowshares in hand and then he dropped Elspeth. That mistake almost cost me everything.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Rogue Refiner and Whirler Virtuoso nowadays IIRC.

Times are tough now, I guess.

I suppose a Temur Emerge deck is good enough, but I've always had a soft spot for the energy Hellion as an easy early swinger.

 

[Violet_0]

Can you truly argue Energy isn't parasitic when you'll never see an energy deck in modern or even EDH? I've seen Glimmer and Rogue Refiner seen played in EDH and they didn't even bother to keep track of energy
Rogue Refiner and Whirler Virtuoso nowadays IIRC.

of course it's a parasitic mechanic, it's a resource that can only be used in one set right now.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Times are tough now, I guess.

I suppose a Temur Emerge deck is good enough, but I've always had a soft spot for the energy Hellion as an easy early swinger.

Aren't they better targets than before?

 

[Infinite Stars]

I mean, Energy is one Wincon in my Hanna EDH deck:

Dramatic Reversal, Isochron, Sol Ring, Dynavolt Tower

 

[panzone]

Went 2-1 on my prerelease with a simple, GW aggro deck. Nothing too special, since I didn't open anything valuable or interesting except for the Gift but I was actually surprised I was able to play it. It's costly but the format is slow enough to make it playable and, in the late game, can win you games. Returning all your interesting creatures as 4/4s, one per turn, is a huge pressure for your opponent.

 

[Imperfected]

I ran over people with a Glorybringer and a bunch of green/red removal (lol) in the form of Ambuscades and Struggles, but aside from the Ambuscades it's hard not to feel like my card pool would have been straight-up better if it was just Amonkhet packs so I could have gotten some decent creatures (Bitterblade Warriors, Ahn-Crop Crashers, etc.) in place of the really, really underwhelming Hour common/uncommon beaters.

The only Hour cards I got any interesting mileage out of were the Mirror (mostly just copying Glorybringer) and the green sac Desert, mostly because they opened lines my opponents obviously weren't accounting for to close games.

 

[Violet_0]

and the green sac Desert, mostly because they opened lines my opponents obviously weren't accounting for to close games.

do people really not make a mental note of every non-standard land with an ability that their opponent plays?

 

[Imperfected]

do people really not make a mental note of every non-standard land with an ability that their opponent plays?

The main thing that seemed to trip people up was that you can sacrifice any desert, not just the card itself, so I was feeding the zombie-generator deserts to it.

Then, once I did it the first time, they would start playing around it really timidly, apparently not realizing that it's a Sorcery-speed ability.

I guess if I had to blame it on something it would be the glut of deserts in the set that are generic uni-cycles or otherwise don't do much that's actually interesting (bad mana fixing deserts, etc.). They get pretty easy to overlook.

 

[Tunoku]

something like this, BWu. Creature count could be higher, perhaps

G isn't all that enticing imo. The deck has a bit of a cycling theme. Oketra's Last Mercy maybe belongs in the sideboard. You dont have bombs, but some good removal

Thanks for your input! I like that take on the pool and it's one that I didn't really consider due to the awkward looking creature base. That's what pushed me more into green in the first place.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Gotta remember your Aether Hub one of these days.

 

[Tunoku]

I feel like we're gonna miss each other for a while because I'll mostly be playing modern, but it's no big deal.

 

[bigkrev]

Geez, Tunoku and Familienoberhauptvogel, get a room or something

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Geez, Tunoku and Familienoberhauptvogel, get a room or something

we're literally in the same room right now lol.

 

[TheBlackMarvel]

Sealed really hates me. Opened nothing of any worth and my deck got steamrolled by decks with 3+ bombs. Best card I opened was Abrade and I didn't have anything else in red worth playing. Sigh. Think I'm done with sealed.

 

[blindrocket]

I brewed up a Grixis Burn deck, not sure how good it actually would be, but I liked the idea enough to try to make a list. I'm not much of a brewer, but Bolt - Snap - Bolt is one of the most satisfying things to do in Magic.

I even had Char and Psionic Blast in it at one point, both being basically the same card, with Psionic Blast being a burn card in Blue.

Creatures
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Street Wraith

Spells
4 Bump in the Night
4 Fatal Push
4 Lava Spike
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Serum Visions
3 Collective Brutality
3 Terminate
3 Kolaghan's Command
4 Rift Bolt

Lands
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave

 

[Imperfected]

Sealed really hates me. Opened nothing of any worth and my deck got steamrolled by decks with 3+ bombs. Best card I opened was Abrade and I didn't have anything else in red worth playing. Sigh. Think I'm done with sealed.

I'm actually going to agree with most of the people here and say it's the set.

The "things of value" (at least for sealed play) are the Gods and that's basically it,, and the monetarily valuable cards just basically don't exist at the moment.

My sealed pool was hot garbage, and even opening a God and Planeswalker in my prize packs ended up feeling kind of underwhelming (Samut and Scarab God, natch). At the end of the day this is just sort of a mediocre and very, very small-feeling set. (The size I assume is because of all these incredibly boring and generic Desert cards.)

 

[Santiako]

I brewed up a Grixis Burn deck, not sure how good it actually would be, but I liked the idea enough to try to make a list. I'm not much of a brewer, but Bolt - Snap - Bolt is one of the most satisfying things to do in Magic.

I even had Char and Psionic Blast in it at one point, both being basically the same card, with Psionic Blast being a burn card in Blue.

What are the Wraiths for? I think you need more burn or more creatures (guides or swiftspears, or both) for this to be reliable.

 

[blindrocket]

What are the Wraiths for? I think you need more burn or more creatures (guides or swiftspears, or both) for this to be reliable.

Free card draw to get more burn into the hand faster.

I had a version with Young Pyro as well, but took it out. To be honest I wondered if there was enough burn but thought with the Bumps, Bolts, Rifts it might be doable.

I appreciate the feedback. I may actually try and test it but at least I got the concept down onto paper (so to speak).

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Free card draw to get more burn into the hand faster.

I had a version with Young Pyro as well, but took it out. To be honest I wondered if there was enough burn but thought with the Bumps, Bolts, Rifts it might be doable.

I appreciate the feedback. I may actually try and test it but at least I got the concept down onto paper (so to speak).

It's not card draw, you're just shocking yourself for no reason.

 

[Santiako]

Free card draw to get more burn into the hand faster.

I had a version with Young Pyro as well, but took it out. To be honest I wondered if there was enough burn but thought with the Bumps, Bolts, Rifts it might be doable.

I appreciate the feedback. I may actually try and test it but at least I got the concept down onto paper (so to speak).

It's not card draw, SW is only worth it if it serves a function (delirium, fuels Living End, dredge, lowers life for Death Shadow), otherwise it's just losing life for no reason at all. If you want him to draw you into more burn, swap him for 4 more burn spells.

 

[blindrocket]

It's not card draw, you're just shocking yourself for no reason.

Life total is a resource and it's a free cantrip.
Would a blue cantrip be better? Maybe so. Or no extra card draw at all? Possibly.

It's not card draw, SW is only worth it if it serves a function (delirium, fuels Living End, dredge, lowers life for Death Shadow), otherwise it's just losing life for no reason at all. If you want him to draw you into more burn, swap him for 4 more burn spells.

What burn spell is better at this point? I could look at a typical burn list, do you think 3 CMC is too overcosted for four damage?

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Life total is a resource and it's a free cantrip.
Would a blue cantrip be better? Maybe so. Or no extra card draw at all? Possibly.

Which is why you shouldn't waste it.

the important part about blue cantrips is the card filtering. They replace themselves and do something else, like scry 2.

 

[Santiako]

Life total is a resource and it's a free cantrip.
Would a blue cantrip be better? Maybe so. Or no extra card draw at all? Possibly.



What burn spell is better at this point? I could look at a typical burn list, do you think 3 CMC is too overcosted for four damage?

But it's not card draw, it's just -2 life to pretend you didn't draw the street wraith, there's literally no point in playing it if it's not beneficial.

Burst Lightning, Skullcrack, Guide, Swiftspear, Lavamancer. I'd play all of those instead of the wraith. And I think I'd remove either the collective brutalities or the kolaghan's commands (or terminates) for more of the cards I mentioned.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

Burn is a solved archetype. Jeskai is probably the best blue variant.