As far as building a land base goes, 2 of each shock is a good starting place, as they are not too often played as more than that these days, from what I have seen. With fetches, however, you are looking at a playset of each. Probably stick with the ones you are going to use most often or the soonest and go from there.
I have run Reverent Hunter in my heavier Collected Company Stompy deck as a one-of. It can be really strong but it also has the downsides that thatmarkguy has brought up. I have had it enter as an 8/8 and my opponent just stares and shakes their head and I have had it shot with half of electrolyze with it's triggered ability on the stack. Hitting it with company usually has it entering as bigger than a baloth. It has been decent overall and I have been able to make decent use of it with Company being able to have it enter as an instant/end of turns to dodge removal better and I think that is where it is the strongest. I don't think I would go over 1 in the deck and it is in my 3 drop flex-spot, depending on the meta.
Edit: Also, I don't run E1 in my heavy Stompy build, so that downside it negated
I totally get what you are saying and it makes sense to an extent, but saying that a bad rare is not bad because there are worse is not that great of a defense for it.
Glad to hear it. I also always try to help players who seem newer to refine their decks at limited events. Listen to what the seasoned players have to say and you will learn quickly. Learning what fits best (and I am no master) just takes time.
yeah. My question was more about whether "you" is considered as targeting.
Ahh, I understand. My bad.
No, it must specifically say "target" to be considered targeting. The "you lose life" works kind of in the same round-about way that clone does, not targeting, and is able to copy things with hexproof, shroud, or protection.
Stupid question: can we runed halo our bitterblossom not to lose life? it says "you" but not sure if that counts as target.
I don´t think so, because it`s "lose 1 life" and not "deals 1 damage".
Then again I´m not a judge by any means, so maybe post this in the rules question forum for a better answer?
You are right, it does not help. The object with protection cannot be:
- Damaged by sources with the specified quality. (All such damage is prevented.)
- Enchanted or equipped by permanents with the specified quality.
- Blocked by creatures with the specified quality.
- Targeted by spells with the specified quality, or by abilities from sources of that quality.
Since Bitterblossom does not target or deal damage (both things that protection stops), Runed Halo will have no effect on it. stopping losing of life is not included in protection.
I agree with the above posters. You won't know until you try, but at most places I have dealt with, the players are fairly nice to new players and very willing to explain and give advice. Now, that being said, you really can't expect to go to any even semi-competitive event with a pile of cards or random untested deck and expect to do well(granted, you could come up with the best homebrew ever, but that is the exception). You have to be ready and willing to lose to people who are running proven good decks. As nice and as they friendly as they may be, they are still there to compete and win (I say this having been in that group). So, if you want to have a good time, you certainly don't need to spend much money to go, play, hang out with some cool people, and learn, but if you want to do well, you will most likely have to look into the good cards/decks. However, you also don't have to look at the very top decks only. There are always plenty of semi-viable 2nd-3rd tier decks that are fun to play and can be reasonable successful (I played Naya Walker control and Temur infinite mana combo during the Siege Rhino era to decent success).
I say give it a shot with what you have got. Let people know that you are new and trying to learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Pay attention to what the good players say and do. Find out what you like to play and eventually you can build toward a strong version of that.
MOTL(Magic Online Traders League) is still going on, granted it has died down a lot from its heyday as well, but you may still be able to find some good stuff there. Pucatrade seems to be on its way out, so I would personally avoid that one.
I feel that for any tokens build looking to splash green, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar needs to be considered. Not sure if you already checked her out or not but a big way to grow tokens on top of Gavony Township.
So, from what I can tell, it looks like aftermath cards, such as Start // Finish, are just the part being cast while on the stack but are both colors elsewhere. So, my question is, does that mean that I can target a Stormbreath Dragon with the Finish side of Start // Finish or not?
I get that in general Sorin, Solemn Visitor is better in our deck because it buffs our tokens up to insane ammounts and helps stabilize in the aggressive matchups, but on an empty board Gideon seems way more impactful. His token ability doesn't cost any loyality and he can put our opponents on quite the fast clock all by himself.
Recently I´ve seen these B/W Smallpox lists do really well and they play 3 or even 4 Gideons. It made me think about why almost all our lists only play 1 or even 0.
What are your thoughts on this?
Sure, you can run more than one Gideon. I run two (as well as two Sorin). You just get to the question of balance. How many four drops can you afford to have in the deck and not get too many too often? It is generally considered 3-4 in a 23 land build but could be more for a 24 land build. Then you just have to decide what amount of Gideon vs. Sorin you want. Sorin is generally considered a better fit for our deck (hence why you see lists with more or only Sorins) but I love Gideon in it as well. I split 2-2 for my build (23 lands)
New guy here, I've played maybe 30 matches with stompy on xmage and just bought the cards for it. Next weeks FNM will be the first time playing it on paper.
My LGS is notoriously burn-heavy. 4 Feed the Clan on the sideboard seem to be the usual plan, but do you have any tips on how to configure the main deck for that? Is Scavenging Ooze actually good against burn? The life gain seems too slow to matter and it needs something to eat before it can survive any blocking. Maindecking Dismember seems bad for that meta, should I try Prey Upon or something like that? Some people here seem to be even playing no maindeck removal at all (The Ceaseless Hunger's list above for example), how's that working out for you?
You definitely want the Scavenging oozes in a burn heavy meta. They generally have goblin guides, monastery swiftspears, Eidolon of the great revels, and Grim Lavamancers and they want to be aggressive with them. Those plus searing blaze will get creatures into graveyards for sure and then they will sometimes use bolts on creatures as well. Every little bit of life gain helps as there will be games when we survive with 1 or 2 life or die by 1 or 2 life and oozes can make that difference. Then, with the Lavamancers we are able to disrupt their ability by removing their fuel. Oozes are just good in a lot of matchups.
How do you slow down the aggro decks long enough to take control? Also, what kind of changes would you make in a meta with a decent amount of blood moon?
As far as building a land base goes, 2 of each shock is a good starting place, as they are not too often played as more than that these days, from what I have seen. With fetches, however, you are looking at a playset of each. Probably stick with the ones you are going to use most often or the soonest and go from there.
Good luck!
Edit: Also, I don't run E1 in my heavy Stompy build, so that downside it negated
I totally get what you are saying and it makes sense to an extent, but saying that a bad rare is not bad because there are worse is not that great of a defense for it.
Ahh, I understand. My bad.
No, it must specifically say "target" to be considered targeting. The "you lose life" works kind of in the same round-about way that clone does, not targeting, and is able to copy things with hexproof, shroud, or protection.
You are right, it does not help. The object with protection cannot be:
- Damaged by sources with the specified quality. (All such damage is prevented.)
- Enchanted or equipped by permanents with the specified quality.
- Blocked by creatures with the specified quality.
- Targeted by spells with the specified quality, or by abilities from sources of that quality.
Since Bitterblossom does not target or deal damage (both things that protection stops), Runed Halo will have no effect on it. stopping losing of life is not included in protection.
I say give it a shot with what you have got. Let people know that you are new and trying to learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Pay attention to what the good players say and do. Find out what you like to play and eventually you can build toward a strong version of that.
Good luck!
I feel that for any tokens build looking to splash green, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar needs to be considered. Not sure if you already checked her out or not but a big way to grow tokens on top of Gavony Township.
So, from what I can tell, it looks like aftermath cards, such as Start // Finish, are just the part being cast while on the stack but are both colors elsewhere. So, my question is, does that mean that I can target a Stormbreath Dragon with the Finish side of Start // Finish or not?
Thanks!
Sure, you can run more than one Gideon. I run two (as well as two Sorin). You just get to the question of balance. How many four drops can you afford to have in the deck and not get too many too often? It is generally considered 3-4 in a 23 land build but could be more for a 24 land build. Then you just have to decide what amount of Gideon vs. Sorin you want. Sorin is generally considered a better fit for our deck (hence why you see lists with more or only Sorins) but I love Gideon in it as well. I split 2-2 for my build (23 lands)
You definitely want the Scavenging oozes in a burn heavy meta. They generally have goblin guides, monastery swiftspears, Eidolon of the great revels, and Grim Lavamancers and they want to be aggressive with them. Those plus searing blaze will get creatures into graveyards for sure and then they will sometimes use bolts on creatures as well. Every little bit of life gain helps as there will be games when we survive with 1 or 2 life or die by 1 or 2 life and oozes can make that difference. Then, with the Lavamancers we are able to disrupt their ability by removing their fuel. Oozes are just good in a lot of matchups.
How do you slow down the aggro decks long enough to take control? Also, what kind of changes would you make in a meta with a decent amount of blood moon?