9v1: If you play anything, I annihilate it. If you don't play anything, I can leisurely attack for the win. (6-0)
9v2: 2/2 > 1/2. (0-6)
9v3: I knew going in that Bridge and Karakas were good for this round, and I chose not to care. So I deserve this. (0-6)
9v4: Needle nails Alarmist. All is lost. (0-6)
9v5: Spray is the funniest tech ever. (0-6)
9v6: Gargoyle stops all the things. (0-6)
9v7: You Foil either half of my plot and the whole ship sinks. (0-6)
9v8: Playing Bridge while not emptying your hand to 1 on the first turn should have cost you in this format. Unfortunately for me, annihilator is an attack trigger so I can't actually eat your permanents. I can deal 15, but that's not exactly a winning proposition. (0-6)
9v10: I can't beat Karakas, even on the play. And you have a line that beats me. So that's that. (0-6)
9v11: So many Karaki, so little time. (0-6)
9v12: Finally , a deck I can beat. Emrakul just eats everything. (6-0)
9v13: The blocking restriction! The agony! At least I get there on the play. (3-3)
Actually.. going through it again, I'm pretty sure it ties out.
I know I can't Magma Spray Em early or he flips irsp and lives, but I was originally thinking that I could grow Chronomaton to like a 20/20 and swing. Em blocks, I spray, he flips. But Em still dies to the 20/20 and the Spray still means he gets exiled. What I forgot was that he has protection from colored spells, which means the Spray is countered and the exile effect never applies.
I really don't think there's anything I can do to get rid of Emrakul permanently. He can just manifest, block, shuffle, draw, rinse repeat.
Nah. If I play Em, you Spray it. If I play Alarmist, you Spray that instead. If I block with face-down Emrakul after that, it just dies; the reshuffle trigger doesn't exist as it's entering the graveyard face-down.
disagreements:
11v13 4-3. agree with heinsun. double capsize to eventually run rush out of lands. 3-3
But I have two counterspells. How is Heinsun getting past two counterspells? It costs 8UUUU just to Capsize once with counter backup. I have 2UU + two Islands in hand long before that ever happens.
11v1: I Foil Vraska, Guildmage does the rest. (6-0)
11v2: On the play, I can Foil Vault off two drawn Islands, allowing me to Trap Play. On the draw, I have to Foil with Guildmage so that Trap can get Play. (4-1)
11v3: I Foil Monolith off of two drawn Islands, Trap Fireball, and Guildmage for the win. (6-0)
11v4: (X-X)
11v5: Words keeps me tied up on the draw, but I can still Foil Infiltrator. On the play, I Foil Words and Guildmage does the rest. (4-1)
11v6: I Foil Sneak Attack and Guildmage taps down Emrakul. (6-0)
11v7: On the play, I Foil LED and Guildmage taps down Emrakul. On the draw, the combo gets past all of my countermeasures. (3-3)
11v8: I need to counter the Preacher in order to tie. I need to have 4 lands in play + 2 lands in hand to cast both Trap and Foil. That takes 6 turns. You can Preacher with Foil backup in 5 turns. The math doesn't lie. (0-6)
11v9: I Foil Scepter and Guildmage takes care of Emrakul. (6-0)
11v10: It takes you until turn 7 to cast Queen with Drain backup through a single counterspell. It takes me until turn 6 to have both of my counters up and ready. Guildmage does the rest. (6-0)
11v12: Battle of the Guildmages! Sort of. All of your cards are threats in their own rights. I can't actually win through all of them. I don't have to counter Resources to win, so I don't. I save up to get Freyalise. There's a lot of ways to look at this match-up, but they all look like ties to me. (2-2)
11v13: On the draw, Ertai comes out turn one, and stays awake turn two and every turn until you can break the seal. But you can never attack with it. The moment you do, I play Guildmage with counterspell backup. So we tie there. When I'm on the play, I can play Guildmage turn two to get under your Ertai. You can't waste Capsize, otherwise I just recast Guildmage. I just need enough mana to counter Ertai's activation and counter your Capsize, which takes one Island in hand and 3 on the battlefield. (4-1)
11v14: I Foil Seismic, then Guildmage does the rest. (6-0)
11v15: I Foil Monolith, then Guildmage counters every activation you attempt of the emblem. (6-0)
11v16: I need 6 mana to handle Scepter via Guildmage, so that's just not an option. I Foil it, but can't ever attack through Sigarda. Guildmage counters every attempt you make at activating the emblem. (2-2)
11v17: Claim doesn't matter at all here. I save up to exile Reach with Trap, Foil gets your Foil, and Guildmage walks freely. (6-0)
11v18: Once I get to six mana, I can counter both planeswalker activations with Guildmage every turn. So, even without counterspell backup, I'd eventually overcome them. (6-0)
11v19: On the draw, you Unburial Rites first turn and I'm dead. On the play, I have Foil up for the Rites, and Guildmage does the rest. (3-3)
One mistake I made (not sure if it'll come up) is that Lantern can reclaim cards from opposing decks. The goal was for other decks to play out and leave me without a win-con, but some percentage of the time that won't happen. Anyway....
11v1: Dovescape is good. (0-6)
11v2: Like, really good. (0-6)
11v3: By my calculations, it takes 56 turns for you to genesis out Flow with confidence in paying all the upkeep costs. During that time, you have 2 cards in hand, so that's what my Storm Seeker is working with, which takes over 60 turns to complete. At some point I can put Hypergenesis back into your hand, but that wastes a lot of turns and leaves you with only one card anyway. (6-0)
11v4: Have I mentioned I hate these rounds? I love math as much as the next numberphile, but it seems so grating in this context to me. Anyway, my Typhoon kill takes 119 mana to kill, which takes about 260 turns to get right. Your deck seems to take a LOT longer. (0-6)
11v5: I eat Elemental then slowly kill you with plenty of mana to spare. Nicely put together. (0-6)
11v6: Your deck empties it's hand fast, giving me no way to win. And I can't stop Uncle. (6-0)
11v7: I can't lose to Dovescape, which is a shame really. (0-6)
11v8: I cast Storm Seeker once for the win. Boo. (0-6)
11v9: I get off a Storm Seeker before you empty your hand, which means you can't combo off, which means my deck is really bad. (0-6)
11v10: I don't feel like calculating this right now. >.< (?-?)
11v12: You can Perish + Grasp on turn 8. I need to get both Lantern and Seeker out of my hand before then in order to win, which I can't do before turn 11. Grasp + Perish seems like a huge liability since it stops a lot of decks for not a lot of cost. You still can't win, so it's a tie as far as I can see. (2-2)
11v13: I need 3 mana to beat you. Phooey. (0-6)
11v14: One casting of Storm Seeker wins it. I'm bad at this. (0-6)
11v15: Again, Storm Seeker wins. Bah! (0-6)
11v16: By my calculation, it takes you 1310 turns to win. It takes me les. (0-6)
11v17: I'll get back to this. (?-?)
11v18: You S&T out a Cursed Land, which kills me long before endless Storm Seekers do. I have to play a land to avoid the Vise. (6-0)
Considered Coronet, seems like overkill in this specific deck. But a few playtests show that 20 auras might not be enough to really fuel things. Or rather, the support doesn't really fill the yard enough. Infestation was a cute idea, but it only looks good after a big Reverie.
Sage's Reverie is one of the few Fate Reforged cards that got me excited, especially in conjunction with Retether. The deck is looking to cycle through a bunch of auras whether with the mechanic itself or via Kor Spiritdancer. Once the yard is loaded up, Retether explodes to make a huge creature and draw a ton of cards off of Reverie. Zombie Infestation is there to dump auras when you're looking to just combo off and gives you a use for the excess of cards you draw. It keeps your creature count consistent, ensuring that your auras make it onto the battlefield. (It's also got interesting synergy with Sigil of the Nayan Gods.) Inkmoth is there as an alternate Retether win, and Pack Rat is playing Infestation 5-6. No testing with it yet; just had the itch to build something new.
Any and all recommendations are welcome. I considered a number of other cards, most notably Eldrazi Conscription and Stinkweed Imp. When I get some games in with this abomination, I'll update the thread with how it plays.
That's disappointing, I really enjoyed it while it lasted. I don't blame you if there just wasn't enough interest though.
I feel like it was inconsistent updating more than a waning interest, though every vanilla format I've ever participated in has gone this route sooner or later. I'll try something else when I get back into the swing of things. December/January sort of killed my spare time.
One idea I've seen in the past was a continuous ban Vintage format where everything is legal until it gets into the top X decks, then the cards in said deck are banned. The format is always new and the list just gets HUGE. Pretty fun.
Soulmates
Each creature card in your deck is combined with a differently named creature card with the exact same cost. Combine those card's power, toughness, abilities, and types. (For example, a Llanowar Elves/Tarpan would be a 2/2 Horse Elf Druid that taps for G and gains you a life when it dies.) I recommend only a 3 card deck.
I didn't receive many submissions, so I'm extending the deadline at least 24 hours, maybe more. If none come in, I'll close up shop and call it a good run.
This deck actually seems pretty bad. It can't beat Mountain/Lightning Bolt.
Leyling begins in play.
Me: Mox, City, manifest Emrakul.
Sub: Karakas
Me: Cast Alarmist, response Karakas bounces face-down creature. Swing for 1 with Alarmist. (20-19)
Sub: Cast Griffin
Me: Manifest Emrakul.
Sub: bounce Emrakul, attack for 2 (18-19)
And from there it just repeats. I can swing with Alarmist, but that wins no races.
X | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3| PT
9 | 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 6 3| 15
9v2: 2/2 > 1/2.
9v3: I knew going in that Bridge and Karakas were good for this round, and I chose not to care. So I deserve this. (0-6)
9v4: Needle nails Alarmist. All is lost. (0-6)
9v5: Spray is the funniest tech ever. (0-6)
9v6: Gargoyle stops all the things. (0-6)
9v7: You Foil either half of my plot and the whole ship sinks. (0-6)
9v8: Playing Bridge while not emptying your hand to 1 on the first turn should have cost you in this format. Unfortunately for me, annihilator is an attack trigger so I can't actually eat your permanents. I can deal 15, but that's not exactly a winning proposition. (0-6)
9v10: I can't beat Karakas, even on the play. And you have a line that beats me. So that's that. (0-6)
9v11: So many Karaki, so little time. (0-6)
9v12: Finally , a deck I can beat. Emrakul just eats everything. (6-0)
9v13: The blocking restriction! The agony! At least I get there on the play. (3-3)
Nah. If I play Em, you Spray it. If I play Alarmist, you Spray that instead. If I block with face-down Emrakul after that, it just dies; the reshuffle trigger doesn't exist as it's entering the graveyard face-down.
But I have two counterspells. How is Heinsun getting past two counterspells? It costs 8UUUU just to Capsize once with counter backup. I have 2UU + two Islands in hand long before that ever happens.
11| 6 4 6 - 4 6 2 0 6 6 X 2 4 6 6 2 6 6 2| 74 |
(Note: Bolded 2s were match results of 3-3.)
11v2: On the play, I can Foil Vault off two drawn Islands, allowing me to Trap Play. On the draw, I have to Foil with Guildmage so that Trap can get Play. (4-1)
11v3: I Foil Monolith off of two drawn Islands, Trap Fireball, and Guildmage for the win. (6-0)
11v4: (X-X)
11v5: Words keeps me tied up on the draw, but I can still Foil Infiltrator. On the play, I Foil Words and Guildmage does the rest. (4-1)
11v6: I Foil Sneak Attack and Guildmage taps down Emrakul. (6-0)
11v7: On the play, I Foil LED and Guildmage taps down Emrakul. On the draw, the combo gets past all of my countermeasures. (3-3)
11v8: I need to counter the Preacher in order to tie. I need to have 4 lands in play + 2 lands in hand to cast both Trap and Foil. That takes 6 turns. You can Preacher with Foil backup in 5 turns. The math doesn't lie. (0-6)
11v9: I Foil Scepter and Guildmage takes care of Emrakul. (6-0)
11v10: It takes you until turn 7 to cast Queen with Drain backup through a single counterspell. It takes me until turn 6 to have both of my counters up and ready. Guildmage does the rest. (6-0)
11v12: Battle of the Guildmages! Sort of. All of your cards are threats in their own rights. I can't actually win through all of them. I don't have to counter Resources to win, so I don't. I save up to get Freyalise. There's a lot of ways to look at this match-up, but they all look like ties to me. (2-2)
11v13: On the draw, Ertai comes out turn one, and stays awake turn two and every turn until you can break the seal. But you can never attack with it. The moment you do, I play Guildmage with counterspell backup. So we tie there. When I'm on the play, I can play Guildmage turn two to get under your Ertai. You can't waste Capsize, otherwise I just recast Guildmage. I just need enough mana to counter Ertai's activation and counter your Capsize, which takes one Island in hand and 3 on the battlefield. (4-1)
11v14: I Foil Seismic, then Guildmage does the rest. (6-0)
11v15: I Foil Monolith, then Guildmage counters every activation you attempt of the emblem. (6-0)
11v16: I need 6 mana to handle Scepter via Guildmage, so that's just not an option. I Foil it, but can't ever attack through Sigarda. Guildmage counters every attempt you make at activating the emblem. (2-2)
11v17: Claim doesn't matter at all here. I save up to exile Reach with Trap, Foil gets your Foil, and Guildmage walks freely. (6-0)
11v18: Once I get to six mana, I can counter both planeswalker activations with Guildmage every turn. So, even without counterspell backup, I'd eventually overcome them. (6-0)
11v19: On the draw, you Unburial Rites first turn and I'm dead. On the play, I have Foil up for the Rites, and Guildmage does the rest. (3-3)
11| 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 0 0 ? X 2 0 0 0 0 ? 6 ?
One mistake I made (not sure if it'll come up) is that Lantern can reclaim cards from opposing decks. The goal was for other decks to play out and leave me without a win-con, but some percentage of the time that won't happen. Anyway....
11v1: Dovescape is good. (0-6)
11v2: Like, really good. (0-6)
11v3: By my calculations, it takes 56 turns for you to genesis out Flow with confidence in paying all the upkeep costs. During that time, you have 2 cards in hand, so that's what my Storm Seeker is working with, which takes over 60 turns to complete. At some point I can put Hypergenesis back into your hand, but that wastes a lot of turns and leaves you with only one card anyway. (6-0)
11v4: Have I mentioned I hate these rounds? I love math as much as the next numberphile, but it seems so grating in this context to me. Anyway, my Typhoon kill takes 119 mana to kill, which takes about 260 turns to get right. Your deck seems to take a LOT longer. (0-6)
11v5: I eat Elemental then slowly kill you with plenty of mana to spare. Nicely put together. (0-6)
11v6: Your deck empties it's hand fast, giving me no way to win. And I can't stop Uncle. (6-0)
11v7: I can't lose to Dovescape, which is a shame really. (0-6)
11v8: I cast Storm Seeker once for the win. Boo. (0-6)
11v9: I get off a Storm Seeker before you empty your hand, which means you can't combo off, which means my deck is really bad. (0-6)
11v10: I don't feel like calculating this right now. >.< (?-?)
11v12: You can Perish + Grasp on turn 8. I need to get both Lantern and Seeker out of my hand before then in order to win, which I can't do before turn 11. Grasp + Perish seems like a huge liability since it stops a lot of decks for not a lot of cost. You still can't win, so it's a tie as far as I can see. (2-2)
11v13: I need 3 mana to beat you. Phooey. (0-6)
11v14: One casting of Storm Seeker wins it. I'm bad at this. (0-6)
11v15: Again, Storm Seeker wins. Bah! (0-6)
11v16: By my calculation, it takes you 1310 turns to win. It takes me les. (0-6)
11v17: I'll get back to this. (?-?)
11v18: You S&T out a Cursed Land, which kills me long before endless Storm Seekers do. I have to play a land to avoid the Vise. (6-0)
11v19: I'll get back to this. (?-?)
The infect enchantments I hadn't considered.
4 Zombie Infestation
4 Kor Spiritdancer
2 Pack Rat
Other Spells (28)
4 Thoughtseize
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Hyena Umbra
4 Sigil of the Nayan Gods
4 Savage Hunger
4 Retether
4 Sage's Reverie
1 Temple Garden
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Marsh Flats
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Inkmoth Nexus
2 Swamp
2 Plains
Sage's Reverie is one of the few Fate Reforged cards that got me excited, especially in conjunction with Retether. The deck is looking to cycle through a bunch of auras whether with the mechanic itself or via Kor Spiritdancer. Once the yard is loaded up, Retether explodes to make a huge creature and draw a ton of cards off of Reverie. Zombie Infestation is there to dump auras when you're looking to just combo off and gives you a use for the excess of cards you draw. It keeps your creature count consistent, ensuring that your auras make it onto the battlefield. (It's also got interesting synergy with Sigil of the Nayan Gods.) Inkmoth is there as an alternate Retether win, and Pack Rat is playing Infestation 5-6. No testing with it yet; just had the itch to build something new.
Any and all recommendations are welcome. I considered a number of other cards, most notably Eldrazi Conscription and Stinkweed Imp. When I get some games in with this abomination, I'll update the thread with how it plays.
I feel like it was inconsistent updating more than a waning interest, though every vanilla format I've ever participated in has gone this route sooner or later. I'll try something else when I get back into the swing of things. December/January sort of killed my spare time.
One idea I've seen in the past was a continuous ban Vintage format where everything is legal until it gets into the top X decks, then the cards in said deck are banned. The format is always new and the list just gets HUGE. Pretty fun.
Thanks everyone for participating in this. I had fun hosting it. I'll probably try something again when I have more time for consistent updates.
Each creature card in your deck is combined with a differently named creature card with the exact same cost. Combine those card's power, toughness, abilities, and types. (For example, a Llanowar Elves/Tarpan would be a 2/2 Horse Elf Druid that taps for G and gains you a life when it dies.) I recommend only a 3 card deck.