Some corrections:
Chiyo is Eitoku's superior, not the other way around.
Nagao is grievously wounded and presumed dead, but he survives as revealed in the next book.
In the final scene, Toshi sends Choryu the water wizard and friend of Michiko to Hidetsugu (not Chiyo the soratami).
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Nov 30, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on If You Can't Take Criticism of Jeremy Hambly, You're Part of the ProblemI generally never read or comment on these things, but I don't think this post is appropriate as a front page article. The article doesn't explain who Jeremy Hambly is, what he has said or did, who is criticizing him, what they are saying about him, and it only gives a minimal amount of information about Christine Sprankle. As a result, I barely have a clue of what the article is supposed to be addressing. The article makes so many assumptions about prior knowledge that it's almost unintelligible. On top of that, the article is packed full of biased political statements, which makes me wonder why it was even permitted to be posted.Posted in: Articles
I come to these forums for Magic: The Gathering, not politics. If this article actually informed me about what is apparently major event in the Magic community and made a clear statement about how to correct the issue without resorting to belittling, politically charged statements, it could have actually been a worthwhile article. -
Oct 11, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on Playing Paper PauperFor those interested, I went through the 37 problematic cards listed in the article above. Only allowing cards that are legal in Modern that have been printed at common level reduces the problematic list of cards to five that need banning:Posted in: Articles
Cranial Plating
Empty the Warrens
Goblin Grenade
Grapeshot
Merchant Scroll -
Oct 10, 2017Myrmadillo posted a message on Playing Paper PauperRather than deal with all these exceptions, wouldn't it be easier to simply play Modern Pauper? If the card is legal in Modern and it has ever been printed at common, it would be considered legal.Posted in: Articles
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As far as Spikeshot Elder, I was thinking of him more in terms of pumping him once and then shooting Zada after she had been stolen.
I'm hoping to acquire Kari Zev's Expertise, so that would enable me to steal Zada back for a turn. I do have an extra Reforge the Soul and a Swiftfoot Boots hanging around that I'll consider as well.
Right now, I'm thinking that Mirrorwing Dragon and Sarkhan's Triumph to give me a second card to find him might be my best bet without disrupting the deck too much.
...or I can just start playing Knowledge Pool as a retaliation for when I can't get Zada back. That would even the playing field again.
Jaya Ballard is my main deck and I only pull Zada out on rare occasions to switch things up. Last spring, I only played Zada in 3 or 4 games. We don't play over the summer, so today was my first time playing Zada since last April. I only played Zada for one game tonight and it was against 4 other players that I had never played against prior to tonight, so it's unlikely they were trying to "send a message." Honestly, if they wanted to send a message to anyone, it would have been to the Brago deck that utterly crushed the table both times. I actually pulled Zada out for the second game specifically to try to combat his deck, but cast Imprisoned in the Moon on turn 4 right after I cast Zada.
How do you handle it when Zada gets stolen?
How do you handle it when Zada is gets transformed by Lignify or [c]Darksteel Mutation[c]?
What about when she gets Imprisoned in the Moon or hit by Song of the Dryads?
I have a couple outs to kill her off when stolen or lignified (Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Spikeshot Elder/Goblin Matron), but I'm not sure if that's enough. Homeward Path is another option verses theft, but I'm still trying to keep this deck's budget as low as possible. I considered something like Red Elemental Blast since most of my trouble has been against blue players, but that doesn't handle Darksteel Mutation or Song of the Dryads. Playing Claws of Gix gives an out, but it doesn't really fit our game plan. I could throw in Akki Avalanchers or Devastating Summons or Hammer of Purphoros to combat Imprisoned on the Moon/Song of Dryads, but they still don't handle Darksteel Mutation. Are any of these cards worth trying?
I'm starting to wonder if the best plan is a back-up plan a la Mirrorwing Dragon/Sarkhan's Triumph.
Any suggestions on these issues would be greatly appreciated.
Now, I understand that Journeyer's Kite also helps you hit land drops, so the mana investment I listed above could be offset by how many times it makes you hit a land drop you would have missed. But straight up card draw also helps you hit land drops, albeit less consistently, AND allows you to draw more gas. If my goal is hitting land drops, I'm going to go for cards that boost me incrementally early game for less mana; cards like Armillary Sphere, Wild-Field Scarecrow, or Burnished Hart. Armillary Sphere costs 4 mana for +1 CA and ensures I hit an extra land drop. Compare that to 8 mana from Journeyer's Kite, which means you have to commit at least 11 mana before Journeyer's Kite can be construed as outperforming Armillary Sphere and it's pals.
In my opinion, Journeyer's Kite is in an awkward spot. It's mana intensive to the point that it's bad card draw and it's bad ramp. It's only good if you need a card to fill both of those rolls. Does that happen? Yes, it does. Does that happen enough that I'll put a card that needs 15 mana invested before it outperforms the other cards I could put in? Probably not.
I don't play with the goal of doubling damage to insta-kill the table, but I do have Gratuitous Violence in the deck. He also works well with many of the cards I use to synergize with Jaya: Glacial Chasm, Loxodon Warhammer, and Sun Droplet
If you're running a budget deck with some of the cards I've listed, I'd definitely give him a second look. Even if you're running a higher end deck, he might be a fun addition for something different.
EDIT: Pyrohemia also fills a similar roll and is another card I would highly recommend.
I'd suggest you read through the thread (or give the search a try, though I've often found it to be lacking on this forum). Nearly all of the cards you're asking about have been discussed. As far as those three cards, some like them and some don't. I don't think there is a general consensus on them at this time.
Also, 18 land is probably too low since you're running four 3-drops and a 4-drop.
This is pretty close to what I'm using:
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/636797-zada-grinding-up-an-arcane-storm?comment=389
Doh! And I was so excited about that card.
Are Seething Song or Infernal Plunge even worth considering in its place?
Descent of the Dragons/Hellion Eruption - Are these worth considering? I originally thought they'd be great finishers, but the more I look at them, the less I like them. Assuming your creatures are all 1/1's, Hellion Eruption is no better than any +3 pump (e.g., Brute Force) and you'll need to follow up with a haste spell or they can't attack this turn. Descent of the Dragons give evasion, but it still costs 4-5 mana more than a basic pump spell, many of which give trample. I guess they could serve as "abort switches" allowing you to keep all the copies generated by Twinflame or Heat Shimmer, but how often would you have the mana to use them in that case?
Rituals
Treasonous Ogre - Typically, you're not going to drop this guy before you drop Zada. That means you'll most likely be going off when you draw him. Since he costs 4 mana, you're looking at 12 life invested before you break even, so 15 life for 1 net mana gain, 18 life for 2 net mana gain, 21 life for 3 net mana gain, etc. That doesn't seem like a great investment rate.
Thermopod - Similar argument to above. Thermopod costs 5 creatures before it breaks even on mana. I currently have this in my deck, but it is by far the weakest of my rituals. Whether this or Treasonous Ogre is better depends on your board state and health.
Dragonrage - Does anyone run this? It looks great for generating mana, but only doing it during the attack phase means you're limited to instants at that point. If you're already swinging, this is only helpful to push the attack over the edge if it was borderline whether you could kill everyone.
Geosurge - Comparing this to Thermopod and Treasonous Ogre, I'm starting to think this is the best of the three. Geosurge gives a net of 3 mana with no drawback. That's an equivalent cost of 21 life with Treasonous Ogre and 8 creatures with Thermopod. Granted, both have a higher mana ceiling, but Geosurge is basically no risk/cost, whereas the others can take a heavy toll on life or board state.
Am I missing anything on these cards or is that a pretty fair evaluation of each?
Your meta must not play much in the way of removal. My Experiment One almost never gets more than one counter on it before getting bolted, pathed, or pushed. If my avatar does land with +1's on it, it's generally the next one to die.
Being in the 4CMC slot, Violent Eruption also competes with the deck's finishers, but if it's being used primarily as a finisher Flame Javelin, Char, and Exquisite Firecraft do the same amount of damage for less mana.
Also, do either of these cards have merit?
Lash Out - Clears out creatures just as well as Searing Spear with the possibility of also blasting your opponent. I did that math and its about a 1 in 3 chance of winning the clash, so on average this is 4 damage for 2 mana.
Downhill Charge - This combined with Ball Lightning or unblocked Hero of Oxid Ridge could easily close out the game. Obviously, this is better in the creature-centric builds than the burn-centric ones.
Out of curiosity: If life totals started at 30, how would that impact Zurgo's effectiveness? Would the increased life totals make Zo-Zu more viable?
I noticed that this thread appears to have moved on from Zo-Zu to Zurgo Bellstriker. Are Zo-Zu decks still open for discussion here? (I greatly appreciate that the Zo-Zu decklist is still retained in the first post.)
Also, I'm an ultra-budget player. I never spend more than 50 cents on a single card for EDH/Commander, but I'd be interested in attempting to generate the most effective 1v1 Zo-Zu decklist possible within that constraint if those on this thread would be willing to advise me at that level. (I don't want to disrupt this thread if that would be inappropriate.)