MTG Salvation

I only play MTGO and have been drafting Return to Ravnica to the point where I would only need to buy a few cards to redeem a set from Wizards. So as part of evaluating whether it's worth it or not, I have two questions:

(1) What's the best way to sell a sealed, complete set of a recent release like RTR?
(2) What is the best way to determine the going rate for it?

Best I could find, one set sold for ~$250 on eBay. Nothing showed up on Craigslist in my major metro area and I'm betting the local cardshop isn't the best place to sell to. Obviously I could part it out, but I'd much rather prefer selling it in one go.

I suppose it's also worth mentioning that some people offer full sets on MTGO, however I'm not really sure how that works since it's unrelated to the redemption process.

It seems like the match-ups where Purify the Grave would be most useful (Frites, maybe Zombies), you'd be more than willing to give up Angel of Serenity-ing your own GY critters to stifle flashbacked Unburial Rights and undying.

Am I wrong on that?

Quick question as I'm starting to pull the cards together for this deck online -- for those with Purify the Grave in the SB, why not Rest in Peace? It seems the more versatile solution.

Quote from michaelangelo

I wonder if his knife gave him protection from green and blue.

Certainly didn't give him protection from red and blue. Someone is going to jail for assault with a deadly weapon.

Quote from JaceTheWalletShredder

It is not as annoying as the person who, at the last Prerelease I went to, was spaz shuffling and, every time he did it, did the "Dunna dunna dunna" Super Mario Brothers cave music. My wife DID tell him to quit it, or else she was going to stand on the table and go full-on Broadway.

I'm imagining this and it's cracking me up. The Super Mario music takes it to another level.

Quote from magicmerl

So you are just cold to bonfire? Or you just don't like activating township?

In my last ~20 matches I haven't ran into many aggro decks backed up with a Bonfire. Those might give me trouble if they topdeck one. Against the occasional control-ish decks using it, I avoid over-extending.

Don't get me wrong, Township is situationally great even early game. But in most match-ups I'm spending my first six turns trying to incrementally lock the board down and Township doesn't help much.

Sorry, Visionary is the two drop that makes this deck run to my mind. Pod 'sucks' when it is not consistent. Borderland Ranger and Elvish Visionary are the cards that make our deck good rather than a fringe strategy.

Definitely agree on Ranger. I think Toby nailed that change and it's worked wonders for me. Another underrated change he made is adding Mimic Vats to the sideboard.

Visionary is solid but I so rarely want to see multiples that two is enough for me. I'd rather the extra slot or two be a Restoration Angel, because after turn three/four the power difference is huge. Most of my games go long and the "consistency" I'm looking for is hitting some kind of gas mid-range.

Quote from TobyornotToby

I never mind Visionary late as it cycles and it's awesome with a Township around.

Quote from magicmerl

Yeah, that list looks like it has slightly too many 4-5 drops and not quite enough 1-2 drops.

It may just be my style with the deck, but I rarely find myself using the Townships until I empty my hand. Before then spot removal takes care of my legitimate threats (so I'm casting creatures) or I'm avoiding overextending into mass removal. More often I bluff the Township during my attack and then Pod or cast a creature after.

When I tried 4x Visionary in the Kibler Pod, all too often I was disappointed to see it. Multiples in your opening hand are rough. Second turn it's a card draw plus a chump blocker which isn't bad versus aggro but it doesn't effectively trade with anything but Snapcasters and the CA isn't overly important if you hit a Pod. Pod-ing it into a three drop is nice turn 4, although usually I'd rather hardcast a 4-drop in my hand.

I'd love for another impactful 2 drop to swap out the Exarch for, something on the level of Strangleroot Geist without the trouble of GG. Haven't found one yet though -- any suggestions?

EDIT: Viridian Emissary maybe?

I've played the past couple of days on MTGO with a 4 Color Pod list based on Falkor's OP. It definitely plays like a control deck most games, grinding the game to a deadlock until you can eventually out-value your opponent.

Here's the list I'm running and a couple thoughts:



Sideboard:


Elvish Visionary isn't a bad card early but drawing it late is rough, so 2x was enough for me. The mana base isn't nearly as a chancy as I thought it would be given that you can usually play around missing colors until you hit the right land or a Borderland Ranger.

Edit: added SB

At first glance, there are a couple of swaps I'd make.

--Woodland Cemetery for the Evolving Wilds and 3 Swamps/Forests
--Massacre Wurm for Grave Titan

I think you also need to pull at least a couple of the Viridian Emissary for a more aggressive black or green drop. Similarly, you may want Glissa to be a more aggressive three drop because right you're not pushing your opponent to react until you make it to 5/6 mana.

Quote from Badd Business

Something like this would be fair in my opinion:

1R: Cast "x" card only if you have no creatures in play, "x" card can't be countered and damage can't be prevented. "Deal 2 damage to target blue or white creature" Draw a card.

You do realize that this card basically exists already? It's called Combust -- 5 damage and uncounterable for 1R. You don't get to draw, but you're also able to hit a wider range of things too (like Restoration Angel).

I'm running a deck nearly identical to DXI-Edge's but have found trouble lately with infect. How has everyone been handling those speedy decks? I've won only two games out of about ten and only maybe another two or three did it feel like I even had a chance.