I'm rethinking the Zealot a little bit... the main problem with him is that against affinity, it's only really the early game that matters a heck of a lot, and you won't have the mana to be able to use his ability effectively.
I'm not entirely sold on echoing courage... but I think I'll take out my rude awakenings and try it out.
I agree Glissa is slow, but I haven't had the time to think her over and find a better choice in the SB.
I think the deck actually has a good shot, I'm trying to put together the last pieces so that I can start playing in FNM (I NEVER use replacements, by using worse cards the whole point of testing it has already been flawed). I've played a ton of games against my own ravager build, and post board I do amazingly well against it. I haven't been able to REALLY try anything else though.
It's good to hear that you got your account handed back over and S_S fessed up... will there ever be a time when the WHOLE story is released to the MTGNews/Salvation public? I know that mod discussions are not meant to be released, but I do feel that EVERYONE is entitled to know exactly what happened.
Obviously you'd all have to agree on it, but I feel that it would be good for the community (on both sides) to read.
ACK! iloveatogs got me!!! Grrr... because I was actually LOOKING for a thread that could explain his retirement a little better... I was hopeful for a second... *Tsk* *Tsk*... very tricky... I will be more careful in the future.
Hey, first off, great job in this shop. I love the sigs! Mind making me one? I would like to have an Arcbound Ravager, a Tooth and Nail and an Arc Slogger (going from left to right like shown), with the text: "It's okay, I won't hurt you..." in the middle of it.
It's a neat card, but I'm actually not so sure. What would I take out for it? There are so many "good" cards in this deck that fitting more is difficult.
Before everything collapsed in 'News, there was a thread that was started that I was a part of, and I've been testing this with great results. First off, here's the deck:
Spells:
x4 Beacon of Creation
x3 Rude Awakening
x3 Plow Under
x3 Oxidize
x2 Kodama's Reach
Land:
x20 Forest
x1 Swamp
x1 Island
Sideboard:
x4 Cranial Extraction
x4 March of the Machines
x1 Plow Under
x1 Oxidize
x3 Kodama of the North Tree
x2 Glissa Sunseeker
Basically, this deck functions as a control variant. It's highly geared against affinity, and my testing results showed 50/50 game one against affinity, and post board it dramatically improved, another 20% which made it 70/30 our favor (I'm not making these numbers up, I have done a LOT of testing).
I haven't been able to test anything else as of late, since I just got back from a vacation and am getting my life back in order. But the plan against other decks are just winning off of good cards, such as RA, North Kodama, Plow Under (My MVP for other matchups). Utilizing a small splash in the SB, the game can dramatically be improved against other decks and stands a good shot. I'll hopefully (I'm not sure yet) be able to bring this to a FNM next week.
I honestly would like to hear some more reasoning behind the decision to get rid of him... I know it seems obvious, but it's kinda like hearing it from the horses mouth you know?
Butte - Why don't you have one MD Okina? It has no drawback other than being able to be killed by an opposing okina (which also kills an opponent's land), and it gives you more resistance to Sundering Titan if you start going hay-wire with them like i do lol.
Highroller: We've got enough on our hands. Yes, our community is the same, but the way it's being run is different. Let's face the facts, TNK has done us all a HUGE favor by making this site, and is now keeping it running. He doesn't have the TIME to hunt down and punish the people who spam at news. He has tons to do over here, *ESPECIALLY* since it's a new site. I'm not saying we shouldn't do ANYTHING about it, but recognize that this is, indeed, their problem (in regards to the spamming) not ours. We should try and stop it, yes, but punishment isn't the way to go. Besides, if someone REALLY wanted to spam on MTGNews, chances are they won't leave a direct trail to follow over here. If I were to do it, I'd go to the library, make a dumb account, and spam away. It's not that hard to make it fairly difficult to trace...
My whole point is, yes it is a problem for which we should be *CONCERNED*, but we should not try and bring the hammer down until we've gotten things settled down here. S_S is doing the best he can in 'News to keep it together, and that's what he should be doing. He feels that this is the way to do it, so be it.
And quite frankly, even though we are the community, Raa and S_S are the owners. I'm not saying I like this, but that means that they have to take the flak for it, not somebody else. If the community owned MTGNews, then we could help as a community, but under a dictatorship, the dictator has to keep the minions in check.
I think we all want MTGNews to get back to the way it used to... but everyone has a different opinion on how to do it. Me personally, I take the word Salvation to heart. This is not a place meant to revolutionize or destroy 'News, this is a place to recover. I have a feeling the old news may return, but its a wave. Because what is happening now, the wave is going down... news is dying, people come here, Raa and S_S figure it's not worth the money, and jump ship as well. What happens after that is unknown, but possibly someone more reasonable or the community could reclaim the site... Something to that effect.
But to think that Salvation should punish people for being stupid in 'News seems a bit dumb to me. We all came here because we were tired of the oppression, and if we start punishing people for what they do in 'News, we're following the same path. We may not condone it, we may not agree with it, and maybe we are inadvertently linked to 'News, but ultimately, it's Raa and S_S' forum, not ours. So they have to deal with the problems in there, we deal with what is in here. We may not like the people who jump over to poke more holes in the sinking ship, but that is their decision. It's like trying to get someone arrested for a crime they did in another country... Don't flame me for this or anything because I admit I have no clue how the laws work, but I have the impression that it's the country's responsibility to deal with their crime. Maybe they help other countries, but ultimately, it's their problem.
Same thing here really. We may not condone the spamming and flaming, but it honestly isn't our problem... Are the spams ending up in here? No. How can we clean up MTGNews when we aren't allowed to be a part of it (thanks to S_S' blindness)?
Black bringer is okay... since he can tutor out more and more shrines which is great. He's also easy to bring out.
Me personally, my build is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from all this, just focusing on getting the 5 hondens out and winning that way, using *** and company to keep me alive until the opponent hits the dirt. I think the obliterate method would be cool, but probably wouldn't really work. It's not like Obliterate/March, which compliments eachother.
Yeah... I've tried the top as well, and hated it. I almost guarantee that if you put more useful cards in it's place that can help you (like Plow under, whatever) that you'll have better success. Me and HKKID were posting oodles at the old 'News... and there was a lot of discussion about the top. I'd advise against it.
I agree... although a lot of us are hurt at by what has happened recently, we can't act irrationally about it. It may be self satisfying to try and burn 'News, but it is also self destructive. I personally would like this site to stand for everything that 'News lost, and we should lead by example.
Yes you heard it... I'm here and I'm here to stay. I'm sure many will agree with me that 'News is dying fast, so this is my new home. For all of those who didn't know me at 'News, I'm Mike and I love T2... so you can expect me to probably be in the T2 forums every day.
Hi, I was brand new to TNS right before the downfall of News, so here I am. Like I said in the old thread, Belgareth referred me, and I've already added a bunch of people to my MSN. Don't forget the new guy!
I'm not entirely sold on echoing courage... but I think I'll take out my rude awakenings and try it out.
I agree Glissa is slow, but I haven't had the time to think her over and find a better choice in the SB.
I think the deck actually has a good shot, I'm trying to put together the last pieces so that I can start playing in FNM (I NEVER use replacements, by using worse cards the whole point of testing it has already been flawed). I've played a ton of games against my own ravager build, and post board I do amazingly well against it. I haven't been able to REALLY try anything else though.
Obviously you'd all have to agree on it, but I feel that it would be good for the community (on both sides) to read.
LMK, thanks!
Creatures:
x4 Eternal Witness
x4 Viridian Zealot
x4 Viridian Shaman
x4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
x4 Birds of Paradise
x3 Molder Slug
Spells:
x4 Beacon of Creation
x3 Rude Awakening
x3 Plow Under
x3 Oxidize
x2 Kodama's Reach
Land:
x20 Forest
x1 Swamp
x1 Island
Sideboard:
x4 Cranial Extraction
x4 March of the Machines
x1 Plow Under
x1 Oxidize
x3 Kodama of the North Tree
x2 Glissa Sunseeker
Basically, this deck functions as a control variant. It's highly geared against affinity, and my testing results showed 50/50 game one against affinity, and post board it dramatically improved, another 20% which made it 70/30 our favor (I'm not making these numbers up, I have done a LOT of testing).
I haven't been able to test anything else as of late, since I just got back from a vacation and am getting my life back in order. But the plan against other decks are just winning off of good cards, such as RA, North Kodama, Plow Under (My MVP for other matchups). Utilizing a small splash in the SB, the game can dramatically be improved against other decks and stands a good shot. I'll hopefully (I'm not sure yet) be able to bring this to a FNM next week.
So, discuss everyone?
My whole point is, yes it is a problem for which we should be *CONCERNED*, but we should not try and bring the hammer down until we've gotten things settled down here. S_S is doing the best he can in 'News to keep it together, and that's what he should be doing. He feels that this is the way to do it, so be it.
And quite frankly, even though we are the community, Raa and S_S are the owners. I'm not saying I like this, but that means that they have to take the flak for it, not somebody else. If the community owned MTGNews, then we could help as a community, but under a dictatorship, the dictator has to keep the minions in check.
But to think that Salvation should punish people for being stupid in 'News seems a bit dumb to me. We all came here because we were tired of the oppression, and if we start punishing people for what they do in 'News, we're following the same path. We may not condone it, we may not agree with it, and maybe we are inadvertently linked to 'News, but ultimately, it's Raa and S_S' forum, not ours. So they have to deal with the problems in there, we deal with what is in here. We may not like the people who jump over to poke more holes in the sinking ship, but that is their decision. It's like trying to get someone arrested for a crime they did in another country... Don't flame me for this or anything because I admit I have no clue how the laws work, but I have the impression that it's the country's responsibility to deal with their crime. Maybe they help other countries, but ultimately, it's their problem.
Same thing here really. We may not condone the spamming and flaming, but it honestly isn't our problem... Are the spams ending up in here? No. How can we clean up MTGNews when we aren't allowed to be a part of it (thanks to S_S' blindness)?
Me personally, my build is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar away from all this, just focusing on getting the 5 hondens out and winning that way, using *** and company to keep me alive until the opponent hits the dirt. I think the obliterate method would be cool, but probably wouldn't really work. It's not like Obliterate/March, which compliments eachother.
Weeee!! Long live Salvation!