Please don't even bother reading this article. The author does not know how to play this deck. His suggestions are terrible. It looks like people in the comments agree with me.
His 60 card bring to light version has some good ideas and good silver bullets in different matchups to tutor for. Bring to light is a lot better post board when u have strong game winning silver bullets thst u can tutor for like shatterstorm/ crumble to dust etc. Just because hes not s good player doesnt mean he doesnt have good ideas
Bring to Light is just bad in Scapeshift.
1. You have to gunk up the already stretched thin manabase to add another color. Our manabase is already stretched really thin with the amount of red we have to run versus the amount of red we actually use. Furthermore, many of the land search spells get basics. So already it can be pretty difficult to hit all of the different colors we want in order to case Cryptic Command and Scapeshift AND Anger of the Gods.
2. The silver bullets aren't needed. Especially since you can't tutor for them until t4-t5. Cards like Cryptic Command are already good enough against most matchups that cutting it for some *****ty "silver bullets" is just a terrible idea. Also, what happens if you naturally draw one of the cards in the 4th color that are extremely difficult to cast? That Supreme Verdict is just going to sit in your hand when you only have 3 white sources in your entire deck.
Extra: also Compulsive Research is just bad in this deck. There are almost never any times that you actually want to discard lands. And you would NEVER want to do it at sorcery speed. Serum Visions is just infinitely better than that cards.
Please don't even bother reading this article. The author does not know how to play this deck. His suggestions are terrible. It looks like people in the comments agree with me.
Wait, if what you guys say is true, then why doesn't 4 horsemen work in legacy? Why is it slow play to have to shuffle Emrakul back in so many times but not for Knight here?
So after seeing the new Junk enchantment and the fact that there won't be a four mana sweeper, I thought it would be really fun to play a very quick and low CMC Junk deck.
Basically we want nothing above 3 CMC. Most of our creatures will be 1 drops with a few two drops. Then at the top of the curve is the cards that really empower the deck: Athreos, Return to the Ranks, and Azban Ascendancy. These cards are to give us gas and prevent the opponent from stabilizing.
When it comes to representation of racial minorities ... I think there's still work to do. Kamigawa and Mirage are often held up as examples, but they're not the problem. Both settings were designed to reflect Japanese and African culture, respectively. The problem is that in "generic fantasy" settings like Zendikar and the rest of Dominaria almost everyone is white. Like, the *vast* majority. This is reflected in the main characters as well - how many black characters are there outside of Mirage block? A few. Teferi, Koth, and Crovax come to mind. How many Asian characters outside of Kamigawa? Aside from Tetsuo, none that I can think of. How many Indian characters? Latino characters? Inuit characters? Now think of how many white characters there are.
I can see someone protesting that there are too many different ethnic minorities to realistically represent them all. Why is that? It's not like X% of the cards have to depict white people, and the remainder has to somehow be divided between every other ethnicity. Why not try giving the same percent to every group, including white people?
I do want to note that I feel Theros is a quantum leap in the right direction. Tons of powerful women, more racial diversity than any set before, and even references to gay characters. I couldn't be happier with it, and I hope WotC keeps up the good work in future settings.
In the fantasy world of MtG, there aren't ethnic groups similar how Earth is divided today. Theres no such thing as "Indian" or "Latino" or "European" characters in MtG.
Also you are missing my point. Tight play doesn't get you to the top of a GP. Loose plays that give you advantages that honest players don't have gets you there.
Yes we get it, you think all the winners also cheat. Provide something more than 'I see it all the time' or move on.
No, I don't think all do. I just think too many do and get away with it. And even if they aren't doing it on purpose. Making a critical mistake that gives you the game should be punished more than just a warning. Even if its unintentionally, winning by a mistake should be okay in any competitive game. "oops sorry ump I used an illegal bat, my stupid trainer gave me the wrong one lol i guess we accidentally won the world series"
Winning a GP should mean you are a good player who doesn't make mistakes. If you can win a major tournament while still making play mistakes then that really speaks volumes for the skill level of Magic the Gathering.
Do you see Chess players win tournaments with 200+ people suddenly "forget" what a piece does? "oops sorry I tried to move my rook diagonals, im tired guys geezz that was funny wasn't it?"
Great straw man. Chess has six different pieces, Magic has hundreds of relevant interactions within each tournament. Chess, you make one move/decision each turn, Magic oftentimes five. There is no hidden information for you to think constantly about. The games are not even comparable.
Magic is mentally fatiguing. There is no such thing as a perfect player. If you think every GP winner ought to be perfect, go win one yourself with your epic tight play.
Are you really going to try to argue that MtG is more mentally taxing and challenging than Chess?
Also you are missing my point. Tight play doesn't get you to the top of a GP. Loose plays that give you advantages that honest players don't have gets you there.
Bring to Light is just bad in Scapeshift.
1. You have to gunk up the already stretched thin manabase to add another color. Our manabase is already stretched really thin with the amount of red we have to run versus the amount of red we actually use. Furthermore, many of the land search spells get basics. So already it can be pretty difficult to hit all of the different colors we want in order to case Cryptic Command and Scapeshift AND Anger of the Gods.
2. The silver bullets aren't needed. Especially since you can't tutor for them until t4-t5. Cards like Cryptic Command are already good enough against most matchups that cutting it for some *****ty "silver bullets" is just a terrible idea. Also, what happens if you naturally draw one of the cards in the 4th color that are extremely difficult to cast? That Supreme Verdict is just going to sit in your hand when you only have 3 white sources in your entire deck.
Extra: also Compulsive Research is just bad in this deck. There are almost never any times that you actually want to discard lands. And you would NEVER want to do it at sorcery speed. Serum Visions is just infinitely better than that cards.
Please don't even bother reading this article. The author does not know how to play this deck. His suggestions are terrible. It looks like people in the comments agree with me.
Here is the initial list that came to mind:
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Loyal Pegasus
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Tormented Hero
4 Pain Seer
2 Return to the Ranks
3 Athreos, God of Passage
3 Azban Ascendancy
Basically we want nothing above 3 CMC. Most of our creatures will be 1 drops with a few two drops. Then at the top of the curve is the cards that really empower the deck: Athreos, Return to the Ranks, and Azban Ascendancy. These cards are to give us gas and prevent the opponent from stabilizing.
Possible inclusions:
Sunblade Elf We won't have much green and we will never be able to activate his second ability
Selfless Cathar
Herald of Anafenza Probably too slow
Sightless Brawler
Spirit of the Labyrinth
Swordwise Centaur
Ainok Bond-kin
Mardu Skullhunter
Possible Sideboard:
Brain Maggot
Bow of Nylea To punch through midrange creature decks
Why no Voice?
Does an aggro deck really need so many kill spells?
How do you plan on casting 6 mana Elspeth with only 22 lands?
In the fantasy world of MtG, there aren't ethnic groups similar how Earth is divided today. Theres no such thing as "Indian" or "Latino" or "European" characters in MtG.
So then how can Obzedat, Ghost Council come back from Whip of Erebos? Since the Obzedat gets exiled by the whip, how can Obzedat's trigger resolve?
Can I use the ooze to stop the Pontiff's haunt ability from happening when Pontiff dies?
No, I don't think all do. I just think too many do and get away with it. And even if they aren't doing it on purpose. Making a critical mistake that gives you the game should be punished more than just a warning. Even if its unintentionally, winning by a mistake should be okay in any competitive game. "oops sorry ump I used an illegal bat, my stupid trainer gave me the wrong one lol i guess we accidentally won the world series"
Are you really going to try to argue that MtG is more mentally taxing and challenging than Chess?
Also you are missing my point. Tight play doesn't get you to the top of a GP. Loose plays that give you advantages that honest players don't have gets you there.