Since duals and fetches are off the table - do you think running a mana base such as mine is even reasonable? Can it do well enough, or is it almost hopeless without? I hadn't considered the gold bordered cards, I think if I went that route I may as well print proxies and discuss with my play group.
I can see Surveyor's Scope being king in multi but I'm struggling to see how it will work in a 1v1 when I'm not playing a ramp opponent. Assuming we both hit our land drops and opponent isn't playing ramp, why would he have 2 more lands than me? Am I missing something? Tithe is in the deck and it's incredible.
In my own play-testing and few games I get to play (my meta hates me playing Kaalia due to her power - immediate bullseye) - I have felt like I'm running into bad opening hands, specifically with my color fixing, or lack thereof.
This is my current list of lands, please note that true dual-lands and fetch lands are completely out of the question due to their ludicrous costs:
Perhaps you need a whole deck list to be able to give proper advice. I guess I am wondering what I can do to improve my colors or offer up what you like to see in opening hands? I assume the idea would be to have colors, haste engine, and have fatty/tutor for relevant power creature. Is it reasonable to think you can get something like that consistently in an opener?
Are you tutoring for the Fellowship?
One last thought, how do you best use Mind Twist? Always go for their whole hand? Cast it with X being 1 to get it out early?
Same situation with the same cards on the battlefield. Assume that my previously unnamed Commander is Savra, Queen of the Golgari and I sac her to the Ashnod's Altar. Savra's abilities read "Whenever a green or black creature is sacrificed..."
Savra is sacrificed to the Ashnod's Altar, but I elect to place her in the Command zone. Is she still considered "sacrificed" despite not hitting the graveyard? - and therefore I place her two abilities on the stack because she is both green and black? (if I choose)
The crux of my question comes down to:
1. So in order for a creature to be considered for a trigger of a card that says "dies" it must hit the graveyard? Sounds like YES.
2. In order for a creature to be considered sacrificed - must it hit the graveyard as well? Just like dying? My guess is NO.
If I choose to use Ashnod's Altar to sacrifice my Commander and I elect to place my Commander into the Command Zone. Do Blood Artist and Algae Gharial trigger? (note that Algae Gharial has been errataed to read "whenever another creature dies" - same as Blood Artist - but since the Commander is entering the Command zone, does it count as dying? [because it never hits the graveyard])
Appreciate the responses.
Taught me a lot about priority. I can't believe we casual nuggets (my playgroup) have just been willy-nilly throwing instants around with no care of who has priority.
Assume I choose to play Azusa, Lost but Seeking. My opponent allows it to fully resolve to the battlefield. He intends to Doom Blade her. Once she resolves to the battlefield, I wish to drop my two Forests from hand. I know I can only play lands when the stack is empty. Because it's my turn and I am the active player, can I drop those lands after she resolves to the battlefield or can my opponent place Doom Blade on the stack first, immediately after her resolve, offering me no chance to play those lands?
I understand. I was hung up on the 'choosing of targets' even before costs, part.
Thank you for the clarification!
One part I don't fully understand though is the holding of priority. I know this is less related to my original post and more of a general rules question.
In this instance you're saying I could "hold priority" and what that means here is that I could continue to activate Phyrexian Plaguelord's ability to sac more and more tokens, right? But what if I elected to activate the first sac and an opponent said he wanted to respond? My choice to "hold priority" doesn't prevent an opponent from responding, right? Also, I realize if he did respond I can just stack more activations of the Plaguelord's ability on top of his/her's anyway and mine resolve first.
I wish to sacrifice all the Thrull tokens to Phyrexian Plaguelord's ability, but before I select which of my opponent's creatures get -1/-1's I would prefer Savra's top "Grave Pact" ability go off first so I don't waste my -1/-1 choices. Is this possible? How does the stack look when I perform the sacrifice of the seven 1/1 black Thrulls?
Can someone please break down how to stack looks and in which order the abilities resolve?
Assume I have an Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder on the board. I want to cast a Skullmulcher. Can I target the five 1/1 Thrull's that will be created by Endrek's ability with Devour? Or do I need to target only what's on the field at the time of Skullmulcher's cast (which is to say - only Endrek Sahr would be legal)?
Now, in order for Savra to work, you have to have already sacrificed a creature.
This is what I needed to know, but didn't know how to articulate the question properly. I must have already completed a sacrifice and put a black creature to graveyard in order to use her top ability is what I'm taking away from this.
Since duals and fetches are off the table - do you think running a mana base such as mine is even reasonable? Can it do well enough, or is it almost hopeless without? I hadn't considered the gold bordered cards, I think if I went that route I may as well print proxies and discuss with my play group.
I can see Surveyor's Scope being king in multi but I'm struggling to see how it will work in a 1v1 when I'm not playing a ramp opponent. Assuming we both hit our land drops and opponent isn't playing ramp, why would he have 2 more lands than me? Am I missing something? Tithe is in the deck and it's incredible.
Thank you for your advice on ideal hands, Mind Twist, and Earnest Fellowship.
In my own play-testing and few games I get to play (my meta hates me playing Kaalia due to her power - immediate bullseye) - I have felt like I'm running into bad opening hands, specifically with my color fixing, or lack thereof.
This is my current list of lands, please note that true dual-lands and fetch lands are completely out of the question due to their ludicrous costs:
Command Tower
Graven Cairns
Rugged Prairie
Eiganjo Castle (this may as well be a plains, just put it in on the off chance it may save Kaalia)
Shizo, Death's Storehouse (may as well be swamp, the idea here was to give Kaalia Fear on the off chance it'll allow her to swing and survive)
Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep (Mountain, placed in cause we have legendary creatures and first strike out of no where can catch people off guard)
Godless Shrine
Sacred Foundry
Blood Crypt
City of Brass
Isolated Chapel
Dragonskull Summit
Clifftop Retreat
Caves of Koilos (I've read why you don't run painlands and respect the advice, but without the money for the fetches and duals, I feel they work)
Battlefield Forge
Sulfurous Springs
Bojuka Bog
Flagstones of Trokair (running Cataclysm and Armageddon)
Vault of the Archangel
Hall of the Bandit Lord
Phyrexian Tower
Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace
x4 Mountain
x6 Plains
x6 Swamp
Before you point it out, yes I'm lacking a Cavern of Souls and a Fetid Heath - cost is the problem.
My rocks:
Jeweled Amulet
Sol Ring
Boros Signet
Orzhov Signet
Rakdos Signet
Coldsteel Heart
Talisman of Indulgence
Fellwar Stone
Perhaps you need a whole deck list to be able to give proper advice. I guess I am wondering what I can do to improve my colors or offer up what you like to see in opening hands? I assume the idea would be to have colors, haste engine, and have fatty/tutor for relevant power creature. Is it reasonable to think you can get something like that consistently in an opener?
Are you tutoring for the Fellowship?
One last thought, how do you best use Mind Twist? Always go for their whole hand? Cast it with X being 1 to get it out early?
Thanks for looking.
Same situation with the same cards on the battlefield. Assume that my previously unnamed Commander is Savra, Queen of the Golgari and I sac her to the Ashnod's Altar. Savra's abilities read "Whenever a green or black creature is sacrificed..."
Savra is sacrificed to the Ashnod's Altar, but I elect to place her in the Command zone. Is she still considered "sacrificed" despite not hitting the graveyard? - and therefore I place her two abilities on the stack because she is both green and black? (if I choose)
The crux of my question comes down to:
1. So in order for a creature to be considered for a trigger of a card that says "dies" it must hit the graveyard? Sounds like YES.
2. In order for a creature to be considered sacrificed - must it hit the graveyard as well? Just like dying? My guess is NO.
If I choose to use Ashnod's Altar to sacrifice my Commander and I elect to place my Commander into the Command Zone. Do Blood Artist and Algae Gharial trigger? (note that Algae Gharial has been errataed to read "whenever another creature dies" - same as Blood Artist - but since the Commander is entering the Command zone, does it count as dying? [because it never hits the graveyard])
Taught me a lot about priority. I can't believe we casual nuggets (my playgroup) have just been willy-nilly throwing instants around with no care of who has priority.
Thank you for your responses.
Makes perfect sense.
Thank you for the clarification!
One part I don't fully understand though is the holding of priority. I know this is less related to my original post and more of a general rules question.
In this instance you're saying I could "hold priority" and what that means here is that I could continue to activate Phyrexian Plaguelord's ability to sac more and more tokens, right? But what if I elected to activate the first sac and an opponent said he wanted to respond? My choice to "hold priority" doesn't prevent an opponent from responding, right? Also, I realize if he did respond I can just stack more activations of the Plaguelord's ability on top of his/her's anyway and mine resolve first.
I wish to sacrifice all the Thrull tokens to Phyrexian Plaguelord's ability, but before I select which of my opponent's creatures get -1/-1's I would prefer Savra's top "Grave Pact" ability go off first so I don't waste my -1/-1 choices. Is this possible? How does the stack look when I perform the sacrifice of the seven 1/1 black Thrulls?
Can someone please break down how to stack looks and in which order the abilities resolve?
Thank you in advance.
This is what I needed to know, but didn't know how to articulate the question properly. I must have already completed a sacrifice and put a black creature to graveyard in order to use her top ability is what I'm taking away from this.