This will make for some great mind games. Imagine your opponent makes a face-up pile of 3 crappy cards, and 1 face down card. The correct choice is rarely going to be obvious.
I could see some fun interactions with Thaumaturge and Rolling Thunder in multiplayer. I think his most noteworthy application might simply be making your removal cheaper, though.
I just don't understand why you can't get snakes from your opponent's creature cards. I mean, would a slightly beefier Necrogenesis be that broken? I would gladly trade the deathtouch for the ability to net creatures from your opponent's graveyards.
Kruphix is ... pretty interesting. I was expecting something that drew cards or produced mana, but a giant indestructible mana battery? Some neat design space used here. Perhaps I would have enjoyed something more straightforward, but Kruphix encourages creative deck building, which I like.
A nice piece of EDH tech to deal with cheesy generals such as Zur and Bruna. Too bad they can't hit things like Thrun, Sigarda, and Uril, which is what this could would really be good for. It's still a flexible 2-for-1 with enough mana, and instant, so that makes it decently playable. It is a little overcosted, though.
Vampire Nighthawk, Wurmcoil Engine, and Griselbrand for sure. Griselbrand is more of a combo piece though, and Nighthawk only fits in a very specific style of deck, so I'd say Wurmcoil in a vacuum. Many different decks used it, across many different formats.
As others have said, build decks that are compelling to play against each other. Then, when they are bored of the decks, but if they still don't want to buy their own, build a cube for them. This way, you can use all the proxies you want, and build those powerful decks. Cube is not as accessible as people claim, but if they're hardcore gamers and see the complex interactions of your decks as an appeal, cube would offer the biggest fun to cost ratio for you. It might also get them interested enough into building constructed decks.
When you abruptly cut off service to a business partner (deckbox provides paid referals to tcgplayer and this was not stopping) and send them cease and desist letters when they announce a separate product that will compete with yours that is in fact bullying. Can you imagine if Apple released an update to shut down Microsoft Office on Macs abruptly when Microsoft announced the Surface. It is very disruptive to your common customers and is not good practice. They should have engaged in discourse with Deckbox to try to find a common way for both to thrive.
Actually, Apple (and Google) do this all the time. Remember the ordeals with Flash/iOS and Apple/Google maps? It's very common practice. It's regrettable that it hurts us in the short term, but this does breed market competition that is better for the consumer in the long run.
Wow, I'm pleasantly surprised. This is actually an incredibly significant decision, since I believe it's the first time they've adjusted a print run directly in response to the secondary market. It's a small decision, but a step in the right direction. Here's hoping they will continue this trend.
This is... interesting. Going by the price of other limited Magic paraphernalia, this could be worth quite a bit. After all, the old Scrye Life Counters go for $50-$100, Commaner's Arsenal Life Counter is $40, and we all know what happened to the SDCC Black on Black planes walkers. However, it's also very apparent that the items that are worth a lot have some sort of in-game function. This doesn't have one. Then again, it is money, and has intrinsic value outside of collect ability. We'll see, i suppose. At $150, I'll pass.
Honestly, my Horde deck is just a pile of sloppy seconds. I build it out of leftovers from my other decks, and if I ever need a card from Horde, I'll just take it out. It's just a side-project and I was simply curious about your list. The best decks in my meta (not including mine) are Kaalia MLD, Animar Beatdown, Maelstrom Wanderer Ramp, Zur Control, Mimeoplasm Goodstuff, Tymaret Stax, and Derevi Prison. It's not the most conducive meta for 5c fatties, and like I mentioned in another thread, I'm working on a different sort of deck anyways. Thanks, though!
That makes a lot of sense. I suppose my meta is much faster and has more LD (Acidic Slime, Avalanche Riders, Terrastodon, Winter Orb, Cataclysm, etc). Basically, tap-out control and big ramp decks that rely solely on 5+ mana threats don't do so well. I've had more success by placing the ramp shell in something like Jarad.
As others have mentioned, there's almost no downside to running fetches. I suppose you could forgo them in mono-coloured lists, but even then, it's good to have a few, since Commander tuck is always a concern.
For multi-coloured decks, Fetches have a network effect with their relevant support cards -- they get exponentially better when you also run Ravnica shocks, Revised duals, Crucible of Worlds, Sensei's Divining Top. They also have increased synergy with the most powerful staples (Jace TMS, Scroll Rack, Sylvan Library, Life from the Loam, Oracle of Mul Daya, Future Sight, etc.) Running 7 fetches/4 duals in a 2-colour deck is good for fixing, but the effect is even better when you run 9 fetches/6 duals in a three-colour deck, since it ensures that you have the correct colours in the first 3 turns (the first two fetches in a Jund deck can retrieve BB, RR, GG, BR, RG, and BG, which is enough to cast most cards). A common joke in my playgroup is that 3-colour decks have smoother mana bases than 2-colour decks, which might actually be true when money isn't factored in.
Yep. I have a badly constructed Horde of Notions deck (mostly from leftover fatties), and Maelstrom Wanderer was the best thing to happen to the deck in... well, forever. Usually he just cascades into a few rocks, since the deck by nature needs a lot of rocks to do anything before turn 5, but he always generates value, and provides a lot of sudden speed to an otherwise slow deck.
Magister Sphinx is fantastic, since casting it, followed by your general the next turn, is a one-shot kill. Some groups frown on the sphinx, though. Rafiq of the Many isn't a fatty, but works really well with almost any other fatty (Horde, Archangel). He can be a bit win-more at times. Medomai the Ageless also seems like a good candidate for nutty Wanderer cascades.
The Primordial cycle (Sepulchral, Luminate, Molten, and Diluvian) are also very solid in multiplayer.
I'd be pretty interested in hearing you explain the deck's operations. It sounds very similar to mine, though my deck is far from optimised. Mine plays rocks and support creatures for the first five turns, then tries to take over with value fatties. The problem with the deck is that it doesn't generate any powerful threats before turn 4-5, so it just gets dismantled by decks that are faster, more focussed, or more consistent.
My favourite card would be Life from the Loam. I love how every mechanic on the card is so synergistic; it's a one-card engine. It gets exponentially better as your deck does, which is also very interesting.
I play EDH and 60 card multiplayer almost exclusively, and i have to agree. There was a lot of potential in cards like Champion of Stray Souls, Eater of Hope, and the Archetypes, but they're all just overcosted, have tap activations, and/or random restrictions that make an otherwise interesting effect unplayable. The only things that I'm excited for from this set are Kamatera, Courser of Kruphix, and Kiora's Follower. There were a lot of interesting prospectives that could have filled holes in my decks, such as Servant of Tymaret, but they're just bad enough to be unplayable.
Actually, Apple (and Google) do this all the time. Remember the ordeals with Flash/iOS and Apple/Google maps? It's very common practice. It's regrettable that it hurts us in the short term, but this does breed market competition that is better for the consumer in the long run.
- Capricious Efreet -> Luminate Primordial,
- Mayael -> Prime Speaker Zegana,
- Progenitus -> Magister Sphinx,
- Bane of Progress -> Woodfall Primus.
Honestly, my Horde deck is just a pile of sloppy seconds. I build it out of leftovers from my other decks, and if I ever need a card from Horde, I'll just take it out. It's just a side-project and I was simply curious about your list. The best decks in my meta (not including mine) are Kaalia MLD, Animar Beatdown, Maelstrom Wanderer Ramp, Zur Control, Mimeoplasm Goodstuff, Tymaret Stax, and Derevi Prison. It's not the most conducive meta for 5c fatties, and like I mentioned in another thread, I'm working on a different sort of deck anyways. Thanks, though!
Back to your original question, though.
- The recent bout of 'take stuff from opponents' creatures: Chancellor of the Spires, Luminate Primordial, Molten Primordial, Sepulchral Primordial, Diluvian Primordial
- Weenie Killers: Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Massacre Wurm, Pestilence Demon, Carnifex Demon, Crater Hellion.
- Insurance/Rattlesnake:
- Advantage Generators:
For multi-coloured decks, Fetches have a network effect with their relevant support cards -- they get exponentially better when you also run Ravnica shocks, Revised duals, Crucible of Worlds, Sensei's Divining Top. They also have increased synergy with the most powerful staples (Jace TMS, Scroll Rack, Sylvan Library, Life from the Loam, Oracle of Mul Daya, Future Sight, etc.) Running 7 fetches/4 duals in a 2-colour deck is good for fixing, but the effect is even better when you run 9 fetches/6 duals in a three-colour deck, since it ensures that you have the correct colours in the first 3 turns (the first two fetches in a Jund deck can retrieve BB, RR, GG, BR, RG, and BG, which is enough to cast most cards). A common joke in my playgroup is that 3-colour decks have smoother mana bases than 2-colour decks, which might actually be true when money isn't factored in.
Magister Sphinx is fantastic, since casting it, followed by your general the next turn, is a one-shot kill. Some groups frown on the sphinx, though.
Rafiq of the Many isn't a fatty, but works really well with almost any other fatty (Horde, Archangel). He can be a bit win-more at times.
Medomai the Ageless also seems like a good candidate for nutty Wanderer cascades.
The Primordial cycle (Sepulchral, Luminate, Molten, and Diluvian) are also very solid in multiplayer.
I'd be pretty interested in hearing you explain the deck's operations. It sounds very similar to mine, though my deck is far from optimised. Mine plays rocks and support creatures for the first five turns, then tries to take over with value fatties. The problem with the deck is that it doesn't generate any powerful threats before turn 4-5, so it just gets dismantled by decks that are faster, more focussed, or more consistent.