MTGO Only
Expect to time out while getting used to the play patterns. Taking the time to think out your decisions will be more valuable in the long run than rushing, though it might burn through tix.
If you play on MTGO, be aware that Amulet of Vigor, Vesuva, and Cavern of Souls are all bugged.
Amulet: If you have two copies of Amulet out, MTGO will try to automatically place all of the untap triggers if nothing else is left to be placed on the stack. You can avoid this by having any other trigger (such as a bounce) be the last trigger you place on the stack. This bug will stop you from getting to activate Slayer’s Stronghold an extra time if you are not careful, which can cost you games.
Cavern: You must name the first creature type on a card. This is currently not relevant, but lists sometimes play Tireless Tracker, which sometimes makes Scout the correct name in real life but not online.
Vesuva: Still works by the pre-Rivals rules. This would be extremely advantageous except you will get your account suspended if you abuse this… so you might want to avoid that.
I gave this deck my first run in paper today. Played against Affinity, Abzan, and 4c Saheeli. The deck is pretty ridiculous. My Saheeli opponent had a Lyra Dawnbringer on board since turn 3 and I still just eventually beat him to death.
My main comment for this deck is that is is very tempting to keep one landers with this deck, but if you don't have Faithless Looting that, uh. Doesn't work out great.
I said multiple times in the previous articles that I believe it was nerfed. And indeed it was.
Also, Probe further nerfed some lower tier tempo decks as well, such as RUG Delver, or UR Pyromancer.
This is fine, because Probe was busted, and I do get that. But wouldn't it be legal for us to ask for a print to help tempo decks, like a better Tempo charm or something else? Maybe a UG card also.
Who knows, maybe the next Ravnica set will cure what ails you.
What do people think about the MODO challenge having 3 out of 8 Creeping Dredge decks in the Top 8? Is this a concern that the deck will get nuked by Wizards again? It seems like Creeping Chill shaved the fundamental turn of Dredge significantly.
Ask again in 3 to 6 months. People trying out the new hotness isn't a cause for concern - it making up a disproportionate meta share for a long period of time like 6 months is when we can actually ask these questions.
I feel like the new Pelt Collecter Zoo deck might be able to carve itself a niche in the meta, but even then, it's competing with Hollow One, Scales Affinity, and Bridgevine in the aggro sweepstakes.
For a control matchup? I think they're reasonably equal, but Carnage Tyrant leads for me. It comes down a turn sooner and is much harder to chump. Any big "haha screw you control!" card we bring in is one we have to accept will possibly just be Terminus'd away, so I think Carnage Tyrant is the pick right now.
I personally don't run either in my sideboard, but I might be the weird one.
My problem is that Im not trying to spend $20 on that. Spending $20 on a card like this feels bad
More or less exactly why I'm not trying Zacama, by the by. Jam what you've got.
I once landed a turn 2 Hive Mind against a Jund player and hit zero action for the rest of the game; opponent just kept jamming creatures and Lilianas.
Eventually he killed me by hitting me down to 2 and casting Thoughtseize, which, since I got the copy first, killed me.
For a control matchup? I think they're reasonably equal, but Carnage Tyrant leads for me. It comes down a turn sooner and is much harder to chump. Any big "haha screw you control!" card we bring in is one we have to accept will possibly just be Terminus'd away, so I think Carnage Tyrant is the pick right now.
I personally don't run either in my sideboard, but I might be the weird one.
Occasionally. It's not as good when you can't turn 2 or 3 with a reasonable level of consistency any more, but I could see it becoming more prevalent in a UW meta.
I honestly think that Amulet Bloom would have survived as a ramp deck if Amulet was banned rather than Bloom. The deck can function pretty well without the Amulets as a ramp deck and still does very well against midrange, and you still get Squadron Titans. I just think it might have leaned more into the Hive Mind package since you could turn 3 that even without Amulet.
In my opinion, people are always going to think of excuses to hate on Combo decks. Combo decks need some resilience or else they just fold too easily and are not worth playing by any stretch of the imagination.
I agree, but I think there's only a very thin zone of "resilient enough to be playable" and on either side of that are gulfs of "trash" and "broken".
Article is out of date. They've made some changes now and some of those bugs are fixed.
My main comment for this deck is that is is very tempting to keep one landers with this deck, but if you don't have Faithless Looting that, uh. Doesn't work out great.
Without some way to interact and keep the opponent from killing you, this is too fragile to be particularly competitive.
Rather than banning all Twin-talk, just... don't engage.
Who knows, maybe the next Ravnica set will cure what ails you.
Ask again in 3 to 6 months. People trying out the new hotness isn't a cause for concern - it making up a disproportionate meta share for a long period of time like 6 months is when we can actually ask these questions.
More or less exactly why I'm not trying Zacama, by the by. Jam what you've got.
Eventually he killed me by hitting me down to 2 and casting Thoughtseize, which, since I got the copy first, killed me.
I miss those games.
I personally don't run either in my sideboard, but I might be the weird one.
Occasionally. It's not as good when you can't turn 2 or 3 with a reasonable level of consistency any more, but I could see it becoming more prevalent in a UW meta.
I agree, but I think there's only a very thin zone of "resilient enough to be playable" and on either side of that are gulfs of "trash" and "broken".