Magic: The Gathering - Page 7

Jon Miller · April 30, 2002, 00:56

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

Okay, so instants now resolve like interrupts (LIFO) instead of first-in-first-out.

So that means if you want to lightning bolt a creature of mine, I can put giant growth on it so it doesn't get smeared?

yep

Jon Miller

Jon Miller · April 30, 2002, 00:57

Quote:

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
What, they banned swords? Sheesh!

I don't think so

but they stopped making them

Jon Miller

Jaakko · April 30, 2002, 06:02

The reasons for taking out the power cards from Type 2 are simple: quick kills are bad for the game, as is a single colour having it all, like white used to (unfortunately blue has been getting a tad too powerful lately).

Urban Ranger · April 30, 2002, 08:29

The game always had balancing problems. Blue was initially the most powerful. What they did were to create a banned list, and make other colours more powerful in subsequent expansions. For a while black became the most powerful. In my experience white had never been the most powerful colour even though it had never been the weakest, either.

FrustratedPoet · April 30, 2002, 08:37

hehehehe ... black was the best for a long while, wasn't it?

as one of the columnists at magicthegathering.com said: "There is only one good reason to give up card advantage. That reason begins with 'N' and ends with 'ecropotence'."

Chowlett · April 30, 2002, 11:43

Dark Ritual indeed non longer exists - but Cabal Ritual does much the same:

1B - Inst - Add BBB. Threshold: instead add BBBBB

Jon Miller · April 30, 2002, 11:49

but cabal ritual is slower

it is not good until you have threshold

Jon Miller

Jaakko · April 30, 2002, 16:51

I think the problem with white was that it could have a 'hard' solution to everything. Enchantments, artifacts, creatures, counters (to an extent), burn, bounce, you name it. IMO it's much better now, although many people think white is weak. But once you play against a lifegain control deck with something that hasn't prepared for it, you'll change your mind.

In fact my favourite deck right now is G/W turbo-life/fog (with Millstones and Howlers), and it can beat any T2 deck played right now, just like all good decks.
Too bad the judges around here practically never penalise people for slow play, so consistent tournament victories are hard to get, since you can't afford to lose the first game. I always play my turn in seconds, but for some reason many opponents (of questionable intelligence) have to think for minutes every turn which creatures exactly they want to have fogged, resulting in much wasted time.
I even had someone stalling when I had 170 life and he had a single creature out and 5 or so turns before his deck runs out...

Velociryx · April 30, 2002, 18:28

Dregs Decks

When I played, I spent a LOT of time teaching other people to play, and, since I had a humungous stock of cards at the time, I wound up with...well, a humungous stock of marginal cards and generic stuff that doesn't really get much play. So...I'd craft decks out of them, balance them against each other, and use them to demonstrate basic game concepts. Believe it or not, they're quite fun to play....yeah, they all play out somewhat similarly, cos they're mostly common cards, but....it's kinna cool to watch a raging war between some wily Icathian Soldiers squaring off against marauding hill giants now and again....and some of my former students liked their "training decks" so much that they wound up keeping them!

Anyway, was going thru some of my stuff here in the computer room and stumbled across one....just to illustrate how ...."mundane" these decks are, I figured I'd post it here....(actually, it's a pair that have squared off a number of times)

***

Olven Home - The Good Guys
Green/White
10 Plains
10 Forest

Green Enchantments/Fast Effects
4 Fog
4 Elven Fortress (1G) Target blocking creature gets +0/+1 till end of turn

Green Critters
4 Elvish Scouts
4 Elvish Rangers
4 Elvish Hunters

White Enchantments/Fast Effects
4 Heal
4 Holy Armor
4 Holy Strength

White Critters
4 Pearled Unicorns
4 Elvish Healers

The Black Claw Horde - The Bad Guys
Black/Red
10 Mountains
10 Swamps

Red Sorceries and Fast Effects
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Incinerate
1 Lava Burst
1 Fireball

Red Critters
4 Orc Spies
4 Brassclaw Orcs
4 Orcish Veterans
4 Grey Ogres

Black Sorceries, Enchantments, Fast Effects
4 Paralyze
4 Krovikan Fetish
2 Soul Burn
2 Drain Life
4 Terror

Black Critters
4 Erg Raiders

***

Yes....cheesy cards, all. No artifacts, very linear deck construction, and IIRC, 100% constructed with common cards. But as a teaching tool, they were invaluable, and actually watching a grudge match play out was....as I said, quite entertaining.....

-=Vel=-

Urban Ranger · May 1, 2002, 04:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaakko
I even had someone stalling when I had 170 life and he had a single creature out and 5 or so turns before his deck runs out...

Hey, maybe he had a Feldon's Cane?

What deck did you use that time?

Urban Ranger · May 1, 2002, 04:26

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaakko
I think the problem with white was that it could have a 'hard' solution to everything. Enchantments, artifacts, creatures, counters (to an extent), burn, bounce, you name it.

White is not supposed to be subtle (neither is red). Wrath of God, Armageddon, etc. Blue is subtle. That's why I like blue. Power Leaks, Feedbacks, the whole works. Licensed to annoy.

I am glad to see Blue has been getting some good cards lately.

Urban Ranger · May 1, 2002, 05:48

Quick question: are all tapped permanents inactive, i.e., they don't affect the game until they become untapped?

For example, if I manage to tap a Spirit Link on an attacking creature, it will not gain life for the owner of the enchantment, right?

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 08:50

wrong AFAIK. For example, Confessor has "When a player discards, you may gain one life", and that works even if it has attacked and hence tapped.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 09:33

depends

Jon Miller

Urban Ranger · May 1, 2002, 13:12

Chowlett,

You sure? My understanding is powers and abilities don't work when cards are tapped.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 13:20

I am sure (unless they say that they do not work like a howling mine - that is where my depends statement came from)

they added the rule when things were getting confusing (somethings had the possibility of self contradiction and the like)

Jon Miller

Urban Ranger · May 1, 2002, 13:43

I am confused by the wording on the card False Memories. Does it work on the caster or the target?

Quote:

Card Name: False Memories
Card Color: U
Mana Cost: 1U
Type & Class: Instant
Pow/Tou: n/a
Card Text: Put the top seven cards of your library into your graveyard. At end of turn, remove seven cards in your graveyard from the game.
Flavor Text: "My enemies will forget everything but their anguish." -Ambassador Laquatus

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 15:18

the castor I beleive

Jon Miller

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 15:19

it's for instant threshold

Jon Miller

Ribannah · May 1, 2002, 15:29

Velociryx, about All Common decks, here is a 3-color one of mine that is fun to play with.

Artifacts
4 Barbed Sextant

White
2 Disenchant
4 Heavy Ballista
4 Master Decoy

Red
4 Anaba Shaman
4 Fire Whip
1 Kris Mage
1 Mark of Fury

Green
4 Lowland Basilisk
1 Lull
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Skyshroud Elf
1 Venomous Fangs

Land
10 Forest
6 Mountain
6 Plains

My favourite deck has always been 5-color green (Extended format).

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 20:26

So annoying.

Tourney matches have a clock for each player - a total of 30 minutes for all 2/3 games. I just played an opponent who evidently had terrible lag - near the end of the first game he had about 15 mins left on his clock, and hadn't dealt me any damage. Then he plays a sneaky Traumatize then Haunting Echoes combination, efectively quartering the size of my deck. I haven't enugh time to finish him off before my deck runs out (he kept returning or countering all my creatures), so I set about wasting time. This even includes playing Devoted Caretaker, Pacifism on the DC, Fleet. Panther returning the caretaker and the Caretaker again in one turn, then a Hurricane in the next. Get him down to 13 minutes after one game.

Into the second, he's got less than half his time remaining. I know he'll pull the same trick, and given his array of Aether Bursts and Counters, I'm unlikely to kill him first. So I pray for a time out. He has 2 minutes on the clock, I have one card left and it's his turn. I have a hurricane waiting to do about 11 damage, and a creature that (had I had 1 more mana) could have finished him off. I'm thinking he has to run out of time coping with my instants. So what does he do? He plays Standstill, then another spell - forcing me to draw 3 cards. Out of the tourney with my opponent's clock reading 1:58. Gutted.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 20:30

you got to kill him faster apparently

what did the turns go like

Jon Miller

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 20:37

Each round I got a hit or two in on the 2nd and 3rd turns, but by then he had enugh mana to return or counter everything I had out. Size wouldn't have helped, all that would've helped would've been land destruction or far more creatures available on my side. Which wasn't happening.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 20:49

hmmm

yah, good control decks can be annoying

I assume you did not keep a log?

what creatures did you get out, it takes more cards to do what he was doing (control) usually, how did he keep having the cards he needed?

Jon Miller

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 20:52

MtG Online keeps a replay facility. I'll run through it sometime.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 20:54

also, if you could be discarding the rootwalla's and the like that would be good, then he would not be able ot bounce and counter everything

(I know when I try a bounce/counter deck against people I have issues with having to let stuff by and the like or not having anough counters in my hand, or not having enough manna)

Jon Miller

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 20:56

The rootwallas and wurms annoyingly never appeared.

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 21:01

that sucks

how many cards did oyu have in your deck??

Jon Miller

Chowlett · May 1, 2002, 21:02

60

Jon Miller · May 1, 2002, 21:03

did you get a mongrel out??

Jon Miller