- Ganman
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Member for 14 years, 3 months, and 18 days
Last active Sun, Aug, 13 2017 15:33:59
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Feb 3, 2014Ganman posted a message on Launch Giveaway!My favorite card is explore. I love the speed of it and the card advantage. Take that together with the fact that the dominant mechanic in the block was landfall and you have one crazy card.Posted in: Announcements
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Dec 15, 2009Ganman posted a message on Need Help with angel deckIf you really want my suggestions, then here I go:Posted in: iona Blog
Platinum Angel is too vulnerable. It dies to a well-placed Burst Lightning with kicker cost paid in full, or a Path to Exile, Journey to Nowhere, or Oblivion Ring, (Path to Exile is majorly popular in white standard.)
Planar Cleansing is probably not something you really want. Consider Martial Coup instead. White is all about creature-advantage, and if you clear the field, you and your opponent are almost on equal levels (depending on what's in your hand.)
I will say that white lifegain has never been majorly popular in anywhere outside of casual. It tends to be slow, and lifegain tends to want to stall the game.
Find more honor of the pure. They're going to be what this deck ultimately needs. It's definitely a 4 of.
Consider removing the Gleam of Resistance in place of an Honor of the Pure. Its effect stays on the field longer, and ultimately it has more applications for your deck as a result.
Take out Kazandu. If you're only running a copy, his effect isn't going to benefit you (especially since you're running so few allies.)
Valiant Guard is probably not something you absolutely need.
I like World Queller, but he's just too darn vulnerable.
If you're on a lower budget, sigiled paladin is probably a 4 of.
Also, the Palace Guard can probably go...
your deck needs bigger threats than what it has now. Since lifegain is a plus for you, but not necessarily devastating to your opponent, you might want to focus on more than just lifegain as a strategy. I like that you've got O-ring and Path in there- that's the kind of thinking you need. Just try to focus on how you're going to stop your opponent as quick as possible, rather than stalling them, because ultimately, there are some really fast decks out there. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
The list would be Nissa Revane, Garruk the Wildspeaker, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Ajani Goldmane, Ajani Vengeant, Liliana Vess, Chandra Ablaze, Sorin Markov, Sarkhon Vol, and Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Also, Jace, the Mindsculptor.
So, I'm trying to decide whether I want to get into Magic seriously- at FNM- or call it quits on Magic altogether. Casual isn't doing it for me anymore.
I've built an amazing green deck that beats Jund every time, control every time, and vampires the majority of the time, but it still loses to RDW and the majority of more experimental decks. It also has some serious problems dealing with some Naya builds.
I've got the cards for the deck on preorder. All I have to do is send in a check and I get the cards for the deck. I just don't know if it's worth it. Sure, my deck won't beat absolutely everything, but no deck does that. It's also disappointing because no matter how I altar the build of the deck, the style of deck I'm playing will have glaring weaknesses when pitted against quicker decks.
So, what do I do? I mean, I look at all the people around me playing World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering- and to be honest, the card game is all I can do, and a lot of them let those games consume their lives.
I got into the game for the sake of the competition. I saw some people playing, and I wanted to beat them, so I bought a ton of cards and kept buying and building until I was able to take them down without any difficulty. Then I met somebody who'd been playing for goodness knows how long. He taught me how to play (the more intricate rules) and I aspired to beat him. Eventually, I became a better deck-builder than he was, and in some cases a better player.
Now, I don't know what to do. Do I go for FNM with my brainchild even though I know I can't win every game? How do people go 6-0 if every deck has a deck that can knock it off the radar? How do people win Worlds when every deck is only good against certain kinds of decks?
Also, you should know that I'm not the type of player who looks at a list of a winning deck, buys the cards, and goes to FNM with it. I'd like to know that I made the deck I would win with.
Sorry if this sounds depressing, or conceited, or contrived. I just don't know whether to keep going with the game. I spend my hard-earned money on cards, and I just don't know anymore if I can keep doing it. It's eating up my wallet, and possibly my time as well.
So yeah...
Not horribly good, it's true- but I do think it stands a chance against several match-ups. (The green I'm playing doesn't play much removal, but still fares well in most competitions.)
Yeah, just kidding.
But I did preorder the manlands. A playset of each. I'm happy to see that I've already saved $8 on Creeping Tar Pit and Celestial Colonnade.
Windstorm works much better than Basilisk Collar. Also, Scattershot Archer is fun in casual, but as I think you pointed out, he doesn't see play outside of competitive. Nor do I suspect will Basilisk Collar. It was a bomb in limited, but there are much better ways to fill the slots Collar would potentially take up.
Look, I'm one of the biggest advocates for Rampaging Baloths. Or, at least, I was. That is, until I saw how big of a problem Avenger of Zendikar can become for your opponent. 2 or 3 bodies are nothing compared to the 5 to 8 bodies you get from Avenger of Zendikar. Every time I've played Rampaging Baloths, I've gotten 1, maybe 2 4/4 tokens out. That's not particularly game-breaking. I could be wrong because MWS isn't playing my Worldwake cards at the moment and I can't play-test my deck, but I honestly think Avenger of Zendikar is going to be a lot more game-breaking than Rampaging Baloths. If not, I've got two Rampaging Baloths sitting around that I can always throw in instead. I've grown attached to Avenger, though, and I think he'll get the job done better. To me, more bodies means a lot more board control. Especially if I can pump up the dudes. In the unlikely event that Avenger of Zendikar lasts into the next turn, my deck will have no problem landing some mana ramp. Throw down an Explore, draw a card, and throw down two lands and you're swinging in for a potential 14 damage, plus the 5 damage from Avenger of Zendikar. Drop a land, throw down a Harrow, and you're swinging in for a potential 26. Throw down an Overrun, and you're swinging in for 29. Either way, it's more devastating than Rampaging Baloths.
Granted, it's very likely that my opponent's going to save their removal for Avenger of Zendikar, but I'd still rather have 5 to 8 chump blockers and be out one 5/5 than have a 4/4 on the field and be out one 6/6.
To me, Avenger=board control.
The reason why I play it? It's faster (not for mana cost, but for token makin'). I'm actually banking on a lot of removal. As soon as this hits the board, though, the damage is more or less done. You've got 5-7 tokens that, worth case scenario, are going to serve as Overrun monsters and chump blockers. That's as soon as it hits the board.
High mana cost? Sure. I still like it better, though. I need to throw in a few Overrun in my deck to fully take advantage of the tokens, but other than that, this deck should work.
That's a good point in the current situation. I think the manlands are going to be big, though. Maybe not immediately, but they will see serious play. I had a pretty good green/white deck at the prerelease I might update for more competitive play. Stirring Wildwood played a big role in that deck.
Also, red/black discard has some potential, however small. It would be something like the Blightning model that was around before fairies left and Jund took almost absolute power... except for those who resisted and fought back.
I can see myself playing a black/red discard/ burn deck with Bushwhackers, Guides, and maybe some of the new Goblin from Worldwake that forces an opponent to discard whenever he deals combat damage to them.
It's not entirely impossible a competitive deck could emerge using the manlands. After all, didn't black/red win Worlds in 2008? (Of course, Demigod was a big thing then... but I digress.)
I feel ya, man. I'm having the same thoughts about the M10 duals, and I had the same thoughts about Baneslayer Angel.
My decision? I'd hold off a while. If Baneslayer disappears, then it's really not a huge deal. Just money I didn't spend. If it stays, I buy four copies and call it good. It's only four or five months (It's nearly February already?) until M11 comes out.
What I'm doing is buying cards that I think will shoot up before they shoot up. These are cards like Lotus Cobra and Garruk I can see becoming big if Eldrazi Green becomes ramp beatdown green, which seems to be where Wizards is taking us lately with cards like Omnath and Avenger of Zendikar (and maybe Terastodon if he's your cup of tea.) Also, cards like Kalastria Highborn I think are going to be big.
It saves me money in the longrun, even though I'm spending ridiculous amounts right now.
I don't buy Alara anymore. I've got the majority of the staples, and what I don't have I can trade for. Meanwhile, Zendikar's going to be around quite a while longer.
But to answer your question, I'd hold off.
Impressive? No. I'd agree there. He is a nice utility, however, and a very nice general.
If he gets to attack, then that's great. I only play him to speed things up though. I don't expect him to live long, the same way I don't expect Lotus Cobra to live long. They're just useful while they're around.
I still play Wolfbriar, Bestial Menace, and Explore. I don't understand why people are only playing 2 Explore... is it because it's all they got from the prerelease?
As for a deck based entirely on land destruction- absolutely not. I wouldn't play Violent Ultimatum either. Also, you're forgetting Ajani Goldmane.