I'm not yet on the ban wagon for this one, but I do think it's really annoying that they keep printing "0cmc" things for graveyard decks. Now we have everything from 2/1s, 3/3s, and 3/2 fliers to an 8/8, back down to 2/2 token swarm that in some lists for no reason turns into a 9/7 for
Hogaak is probably just another passing phase, but they keep printing the same stuff that keeps getting this "WHOA, IT'S FREE, BROKEN META FOR SIX MONTHS BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH TOURNAMENT RESULTS"* and always in the same strategy (graveyard) and it's getting tiring. I admit they did actually ban KCI, but they epicly failed to recognize that hate cards like RIP and Void are getting out paced by yard strategies once they figure out the play pattern. It's still happening. We've seen Dredge vine win T2 against RIP, regular dredge pull out wins against good solid hate, Phoenix ignore it and win with other angles because "xerox" (like hard casting a Phoenix because you have low removal now). And now they think they'll just print an 8/8 that's psudo free AND give it a new win angle in mill!? How is this different?
After Hogaak is adequately hated out of the meta, I can't wait for them to print the next grave strategy that we have to lament over for the next 3-6 months despite me owning literally all of the grave hate relevant to anyone (I even went out of my way to get 4 Withered Wretch) and for no reason other than WotC "forgot it breaks things". Remember when you had to pay for things? Remember when the benefit from playing land was that you could generate more mana? Well now it's that you get two 2/1s, a couple 3/3s, and maybe an 8/8. Remember when the text on spells mattered beyond "cantrip"? Well, doesn't matter now because you get a few 3/2 flying haste! Counterspell kills diversity, but if I smack my deck full of "draw a card" I can play 3 of the exact same creature every game for 6 months.
I'll admit that control got some toys. We got some powerful things. But where is the free stuff? Azcanta is a T2 do nothing. Jace, as we've all found out, is pretty fragile. Teferi comes into play after you're dead. Veto is a card that only polices control, so it's awesome that control now pushes itself out of the meta. Archmage's Charm is pretty middling to bad. Force of Negation? Good sideboard tech against niche decks. Where is my removal that I can use every time I play a land? Why can't I cast Essence Scatter every time I cast 3 spells? Snapcaster? You know that costs actual mana, right? And then I still have to pay for the spell!
Tired of graveyards. Tired of free. Tired of being told "you're getting powerful things" only to watch it receive minimal testing at release and no one pay it a second thought.
/rant
*Not trying to shoot at ktk, btw, just how they ban things or how long it takes the meta to adjust.
I apologize. I would expect downvotes, but as a great king once said "We, we don't do that here."
as well as a 4/3 haste in a random color, now we're looking at the potential for T2 mill with grave strategy back up. But SFM is still banned? Counterspell is too good? We can only allow one flavor of control and it's UW? Give me a break.- idSurge
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Arkmer posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)Posted in: Modern Archives -
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CavalryWolfPack posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)I might be on the ban mania train at this point. I'm just so tired of watching things be the way they are. This isn't good Magic. And by "good Magic" I mean it actually feels like Magic. For example, Gitaxian Probe is a card I like having banned because it's not good Magic. It's borderline free for perfect information and it make you play 56 card decks. This isn't "good Magic."Posted in: Modern Archives
In the same vein, I'm having a harder and harder time enjoying Modern. I dislike how Modern is defined by degeneracy (however you choose to interpret the word, it's how Modern has felt to me for a long time). I'm tired of there being these insane cards that enable so much absurd things. I'm tired of how UW is now my only control option for the most part. I'm tired of the gymnastics of testing new decks in an effort to enjoy this format again. When I first started playing the format the deck diversity was great and there were options, oh so many options. Now I feel like I have to be playing a deck I dislike playing in order to do well. I don't want to play Dredge, Phoenix, Humans, Tron, maybe Amulet. I don't want to feel forced into playing UW if I want to play Control. Maybe I just dislike how this is another phase in Modern's history, and I need to suck it up and just keep going. But at this point, I can even enjoy playing the format anymore. I don't feel like the format is diverse anymore. I feel like my options in order to compete keep getting smaller.
Maybe I'm not a fan of the Graveyard Check people were talking about earlier. I'm I being unfair to the format here? I just can't get behind the format and need something to reinvigorate my interest once more. -
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MikePemulis posted a message on [[Official]] Modern Prices DiscussionCard Kingdom had Force of Negation preordering at $25.99, and now it's up to $34.99. I was waiting for them to finish a buylist order so I can just use store credit, but it's going to cost me an extra $36 for this playset. Yikes. That said, I've been playing it as a 4-of in RUG Delver online and it's been very good.Posted in: Modern
EDIT: $39.99. Up $15 in 24 hours for a card that isn't even legal yet. -
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LeoTzu posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)I don't find the idea of restricting cards in Modern elegant at all. It just adds to the variance and lopsided nature by allowing some decks to have more busted than average hands. What purpose does that serve in the format? For example, if we restricted Allosaurus Rider, does it help the format to have a deck that sometimes can have a turn 1 kill "oops I win" mode, but has to grind out its wins some other way when it doesn't have the broken opener? I just want to know HOW it's better for the format?Posted in: Modern Archives
I think it's fine in Vintage, but the goals of Vintage are different than those of Modern.
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DaveJacinto posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)Not trying to play the devil's advocate but if we actually think about it, like idSurge said, most if not all of the decks use the graveyard in some way. Having hate for it, is it that "hateful"? Graveyard "hate" is "less" dead than creature removal since every player uses the graveyard because it's a part of the game and not all of the decks have creatures, like LeoTzu said.Posted in: Modern Archives
Maybe this decks only looks this dumb because nobody wants to play MB GY hate and feels that they shouldn't but probably is the right way to go. As a UW Control Player it feels super bad when I'm paired against a mirror match and all I drew was Paths and Wipes and they have the walkers and the counters. Adding more potential blanks feels strange but I'm positive that probably this is the way forward. Modern has a lot going on for it that we all enjoy and love. It's the reason why I play it over Standard. It would be somewhat hypocritical if I said that I like Modern because there are a lot of weird and cool decks that play from strange angles but I don't want them to be any good because I'd have to play actual interaction for them.
Playing more with the Legacy analogy, if we actually think about it, Legacy is the "normal people" format where the real busted stuff can happen. Larger card pool meaning more dumb stuff... But playing it feels really good. At least I always enjoyed it a lot. Most of that was due to FoW and its role. If Surgical or GY Hate does this in Modern, the degenerate decks will have to settle down on the dumbness and be more down to earth. It will make for more interesting games because you're not just free to do your goldfish because there's the real risk of the losing the game on the spot if you overextend into the GY hate. This all would result in the format slowing down a lot and making for more compelling gameplay. -
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Ratrek posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)Posted in: Modern ArchivesQuote from idSurge »
Hopefully we get some good example lists soon.
You rang?
Blackcleave Cliffs x4
Blood Crypt x3
Bloodstained Mire x2
Dakmor Salvage x3
Polluted Delta x3
Swamp
Verdant Catacombs x2
Carrion Feeder x4
Darkblast x2
Gravecrawler x4
Stitcher's Supplier x4
Faithless Looting x4
Golgari Thug x3
Bloodghast x4
Cathartic Reunion x2
Alter of Dementia x4
Stinkweed Ink x2
Bridge from Below x4
Hogark x4
Board
Spark Harvest x2
Thoughtseize x4
Shenanigans x2
Blasphemous Act x3
Nature's Claim x4 -
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metalmusic_4 posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)I mostly agree with the land destruction points. Modern could handle some better land destruction. I am mildly excited by pillage. We do have smallpox, which I use alot. It certainly is a build around card, but it has several synergies and I think it's under played. I don't think we need wasteland, but sinkhole may be doable. It's a bad late game top deck, requires BB and so many decks have such low mana curves that one land destruction spell might not make a huge difference. But alternatively, it is high enough early game impact against several multicolor decks and fights man-lands so well that it would certainly see play. It also sees very little legacy play.Posted in: Modern Archives -
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M1sgu1ded1 posted a message on The State of Modern Thread (B&R 20/05/2019)Posted in: Modern ArchivesQuote from BloodyRabbit_01 »One of the things I dislike about the game is people specifically hating on particular decks locally. If all I can afford is fetchless storm and I run hot one week, how depressing is it for everyone in the room to pack 2-4 dampening spheres next week...it's the pinnacle of poor sportsmanship in my eyes.
Yes, this is definitely not fun. I still recall the time when Ravnica was spoilered, I was playing something similar to MUC (Next Level Blue?) and my local opponents - bad at playing MTG - decided to go full Choke and the likes of them in the sideboard for postboard games. Welp, there are people hating on someone else in every context, Magic is no exception. Poor sportsmanship, that's exactly it.
Yes it can be annoying, but I don't at all think that it's poor sportmanship, it's great local metagaming. If I know that there is a bunch of tron/prison at my LGS and I load up 3 ceremonious rejection in my board, is that me being a poor sport? I definitely don't see it that way, but to each their own. -
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SnowBunny posted a message on Soul HerderPosted in: The Rumor MillQuote from Training »Immediately checked the artist to see if it was Seb McKinnon. He has very quickly risen to one of the all time great mtg artists.
His art has a very... distinctive tone and feel to it. Especially for those who grew up with MtG and remember before they started using CG art -
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Raptorchan posted a message on Soul HerderI am not a religious person, but Seb McKinnon can be my religion.Posted in: The Rumor Mill - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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Dredge has Conflag.
Phoenix has a number of B Sides.
This new deck is just an even faster Dredge with an engine that has a bonus of milling your opponent on your own Turn 3 and the only meaningful answers are all Turn 0 and/or free.
It really is an abomination that has no place existing in Modern.
Funny thing is that they can nuke it, and Dredge wouldn't be hit at all.
Altar and Bridge.
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Second: Looting actually makes a lot of these decks. Yes its absurd levels of power, for the decks that can use it, but its not like you see it in Burn, or UWR Control, or "Insert deck with Red that is not a GY Deck".
Honestly it's a lot of sour grapes I think, and again I get it, that Red has the more format applicable Cantrip/Draw, followed by bloody GREEN in the format.
Anyone thats read this thread long enough knows I'm biased towards Blue.
I do agree, if Wizards cared about the format with decks which are 10's of Thousands of Dollars, they would have banned Brainstorm, but Looting is still not Brainstorm, even in decks which can abuse the discard.
Third: Probe was not a bad ban, on the end of it. It really wasnt. Delver would suck, Grixis Control would have morphed to Grixis Mid as it has done, and Storm adapted and become actually better for it.
Fourth: Ban Hogaak. That deck is going to ruin 2 events, if the Pro/Grinders have any kind of integrity and actually play the best deck.
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Oh my bad, I'll leave my mistake as proof of my failure.
As to power level going up, thats undeniable. Has been since Dominaria, noticeably, and huge jumps lately. I dont question if we have not seen a power jump. I question if T3feri is good design, and honestly from a perspective of 'what makes Magic the game it is compared to other CCGs' I think he's absolute dog ***** from a design perspective.
Power level? Sure
Balance? Sure
Design? Bad for the health of the game.
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Little Teferi is really bad. Fundamentally changes the game for 3 mana, is absolutely obnoxious design, and even renders creatures without ETB/Haste effects in STANDARD to be useless.
Super bad, I threw him into my Arena decks day one, and just felt gross over what it does to the format and game.
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1. Cheaper, with value.
2. Bigger (Liliana, Dreadhorde General, Teferi, Hero of Dominaria) that will take over a game in short order.
Walkers are their face cards, their story cards, and for some people that is important. Do I prefer it otherwise? Yes.
Thankfully they seem to be at least aware of the issue these cards pose, by printing things like Fry.
I think this is a pretty good overview. The problem (if one feels there is one) is not what deck's a person can play, but as I alluded to, do they enjoy the decks they will have to play against.
I think that is an underlying concern that people are skipping over.
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Have you played Pauper? It's...very slow, and not mindblowing expensive like Legacy, while giving you a lot of what I think you are looking for.
I mean you know me, you know I've suffered playing Snap/Bolt/Remand, for far longer than I should. I've given up expecting Modern to turn around to what it was 3 years ago, its just not going to happen. In the end, I always get bored being the proactive deck in every single match up, I cannot play Phoenix more than a week at at time, and since UWx/Esper is no longer on the Terminus lotto, I'm back to that for now.
If I may be so bold, I dont think you particularly care what you play, but what you play AGAINST. Well thats not changing. Its going to be Dredge/Phoenix/Hogaak/Hollow One/Burn/Infect/Tron/Eldrazi and so on and so on, for the rest of this format's life.
BGx vs URx is a dinosaur. Its closer to Standard, than it is Modern.
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Fun isnt a metric, win/loss is. Most of us do not have a 60% Match Win Rate, regardless of deck. Most of us are happy to win more than we lose. I would argue most people are also not tied to a sinking ship of a deck (Blue Moon or Jund) and are more than happy to migrate to something else.
People have fun in different ways, and thats what makes Magic great. It appeals to people who want to play Burn, Prison, Combo, Control, Midrange, and all the various shades in between.
We who get hung up on specific play patterns, are almost certainly the minority.
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Here's how I've come to peace with it.
1. Did (do?) I believe Modern is 'fine'? Absolute not, from a perspective of 2016 BGx vs URx as the benchmark for what is 'fine'.
2. Do I believe Wizard's has a grasp on what the 'winners meta' of Modern really is and how it play's out? No.
3. Do I believe Wizard's has currated the 5-0 lists to hide what Modern really is at the top? Yes.
So it comes to this.
Modern is what it is. Its not 2016, its 2019. If you dont like Modern, then we can simply choose to not play it. It will NEVER be 2016 again. We have gone too far. When the intellectuals of Twitter/SCG/CFB call Phoenix a 'fair midrange deck' I do a spit take. Thats a joke. However within the context of what Modern REALLY is? Sure, I guess it is.
Its the same as any game we play. We can accept the vision of the Dev Team, we can play it, or we can choose to do something else.
I'm 2 Months and 1 Week from not playing Modern again for 2+ years. So I'll laugh it off, watch the format do its thing, as it is now fully divorced from Standard and Legacy, and it just is what it is. So you have to play 6 'free' GY removal spells right now. Fine. So they are clueless about countless things in the format? Fine.
It's not 2016, and it is never going to be, ever again.
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Because its not a deck anymore, its literally Modern.
Tell me, without Hogaak, is it 'wrong' to ignore Dredge, Phoenix, any deck that plays Snaps, Storm? People want to pretend decks like Phoenix are not 'GY' but there is a reason its starting to shift toward Aria of Flame.