I also like how well he plays with equipment. I really want to drop bonesplitter turn 1, thus guy turn 2, and then equip, activate and swing on turn 3.
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I opened one last year, got two crap worldwake packs and 8x scathe zombies, which I promptly hid around my sister's apartment for her roommates to find. But, yeah, it was a piece of crap.
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Plenty of cubers bring their lists to stores or events, run tournaments there, etc. I've done it myself. The stakes were always low and the cube fun enough without needing to worry about any misdemeanors, I like to think.
Interesting, when I saw the word cheat I thought of Tinker, Reanimate, Natural Order and company. This guy certainly does cheat creatures into play, multiple times I might add.
First impressions are very positive. The scalable body is very impressive. We didn't get to use the ability that much, as the aggro deck was either winning or had lost when he hit the table (nothing to do with him).
Yeah, he's really strong. Being a great 2, 3, 4 or 5 drop is so sick - and you can just throw mana at him like the Sligh decks of yore to make use of all your resources. Generally expect him to hit about two in five triggers, with a little bit of collateral value resulting from dumping bigger creatures in the 'yard (to make use of reanimation effects) as well as red's flashback cards.
I like to keep my mana fixing tight as it adds tension to the draft and makes deck building more challenging. That said, cutting Rakdos's Return for Lavaclaw Reaches isn't out of the question.
I like to point out that even though Grenzy is perhaps the best vanilla ever, let's not forget that cutting a spell for a creature is not an equal replacement. Vice versa.
cutting a spell for a creature is not an equal replacement
Do people still do that? All you need to do is ballpark creature/spell ratios. It's okay to cut a spell for a creature and vice versa if it's the best thing for the cube/section in question. Unless you're trying to imply that the cube list had a decidedly perfect balance before the change. Every time you make even a minute change to the cube, it can change your needs elsewhere. Perhaps 1 more hexproof creature added to green in a recent update makes this guy a better option than Terminate. Every cube is different, and you certainly don't need to maintain the same exact spell/creature count that you do when you first design your cube. I think it would actually create imbalance sticking to a doctrine that rigid.
The fact that he's a solid (though not amazing) on-curve vanilla at every single mana cost except 1 is pretty cool. The fact that he gives you a mana sink that can provide a lot of card advantage and threats is even better.
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What I meant is we don't want to see a guild so shorn of creatures, or so lacking in spells. Of course, flexibility is key. And thing is to see what the guild identity is. For e.g Izzet would have a higher ratio of spells to creatures. As for Rakdos, I think it's tending to more creatures. But I wouldn't leave Dreadbore out for sure.
I wouldn't. I think Rufus is running way too few dual lands even if he wants to maintain tight fixing.
Without testing, I predict Grenzo is going to be the #3 or #4 Rakdos card, with the other three being Rakdos Cackler, Dread Bore, and Murderous Redcap.
It is possible that I dont run enough lands. I run 60 lands total (10% of my cube) so on avg there are 1.5 lands per pack. 75% of my lands fix mana. Ive been happy with it so far...if you pass a dual, fetch or shock...you better not have needed it because it is probably not coming back. If I upped the land count to 80 I would avg 2 lands per pack. It is possible I should give that a try but I like how strong greens fixing/ramp is currently. I will consider it.
I actually don't agree with that. Dragonskull should never enter play tapped as you are running primarily basics and lands that count as basics. I run the full cycle of check lands for this reason. Lavaclaw always enters tapped which is awful for aggressive rakdos decks that are looking to curve out. Lavaclaw really only shines in rakdos/grixis control decks IMO, where I agree it is better. That said I do run the two blue manlands in addtion to the checklands.
For what it's worth, an opponent played this in the conspiracy draft on turn 5 and it just dominated. This card can scale nicely as a RB "curve topper" at 3 or 4 mana to let you continue to crash in with dudes. At worst, he's a bear. Mid- to Late-game I can see him getting out of control. The only "problem" would be the argument of cutting an existing RB card for something else.
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I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Lavaclaw is 10x the card Dragonskull Summit is, IMHO. Despite entering the battlefield tapped, being able to fix your mana and kill your opponent with the same land card is just amazing. Even in hard Rakdos aggro, I'd rather have the land that doubles as a win-con. The only thing I can imagine realistically cutting it for would be a Horizon Canopy style land in that combination. Because the only thing better than attacking your opponent with your lands is drawing cards with your lands.
Host of the July CCL '10, Host of the March CCL '11
Plenty of cubers bring their lists to stores or events, run tournaments there, etc. I've done it myself. The stakes were always low and the cube fun enough without needing to worry about any misdemeanors, I like to think.
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He felt strong. He is always handy.
I feel compelled to repeat everything I hear
On spoiled card wishlisting and 'should-have-had'-isms:
My Post-Conspiracy Rakdos section (600 card cube)
-Olivia
-Falkenrath Aristocrat
-Dreadbore
-Grenzo
-Blightning
-Rakdos Return
-Badlands
-Blood Crypt
-Dragonskull Summit
-Bloodstained Mire
(Rakdos Cackler, Murderous Redcap, and Fulminator Mage are also in the cube as monocolor)
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UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
Do people still do that? All you need to do is ballpark creature/spell ratios. It's okay to cut a spell for a creature and vice versa if it's the best thing for the cube/section in question. Unless you're trying to imply that the cube list had a decidedly perfect balance before the change. Every time you make even a minute change to the cube, it can change your needs elsewhere. Perhaps 1 more hexproof creature added to green in a recent update makes this guy a better option than Terminate. Every cube is different, and you certainly don't need to maintain the same exact spell/creature count that you do when you first design your cube. I think it would actually create imbalance sticking to a doctrine that rigid.
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My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
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UR Melek, Izzet ParagonUR, B Shirei, Shizo's CaretakerB, R Jaya Ballard, Task MageR,RW Tajic, Blade of the LegionRW, UB Lazav, Dimir MastermindUB, UB Circu, Dimir LobotomistUB, RWU Zedruu the GreatheartedRWU, GUBThe MimeoplasmGUB, UGExperiment Kraj UG, WDarien, King of KjeldorW, BMarrow-GnawerB, WBGKarador, Ghost ChieftainWBG, UTeferi, Temporal ArchmageU, GWUDerevi, Empyrial TacticianGWU, RDaretti, Scrap SavantR, UTalrand, Sky SummonerU, GEzuri, Renegade LeaderG, WUBRGReaper KingWUBRG, RGXenagos, God of RevelsRG, CKozilek, Butcher of TruthC, WUBRGGeneral TazriWUBRG, GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
I wouldn't. I think Rufus is running way too few dual lands even if he wants to maintain tight fixing.
Without testing, I predict Grenzo is going to be the #3 or #4 Rakdos card, with the other three being Rakdos Cackler, Dread Bore, and Murderous Redcap.
Cheers,
rant
My Cube
CubeCobra: https://cubecobra.com/cube/overview/5f5d0310ed602310515d4c32
Cube Tutor: http://cubetutor.com/viewcube/1963
...but this has nothing to do with Grenzo.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 49th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from MKM!
For what its worth, Murderous Redcap might as well be called Murderous Blackcap in our experience (ie he doesn't end up in our red decks very often).