I like the article, keep it up.
I really hope next article is not about pokemon, though...
- Tom
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Member for 13 years, 4 months, and 1 day
Last active Sun, Sep, 3 2017 12:19:57
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May 27, 2012Tom posted a message on Other Peoples' Decks, pt. 2: Rakdos, Coast to CoastPosted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
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May 27, 2012Tom posted a message on Magic for Hipsters, pt. 1: The Speed of SoundSo the All is Dust is working out for you?Posted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
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Feb 16, 2012Tom posted a message on Entry #5 - Other People's Decks, pt. 1: You Bantstard!i'm not so sure about crusader. i personally like giest and kotr better, and they already take up a bunch of 3-mana slots. not to mention the swords and cliques (which i like better than crusader as well).Posted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
could be wrong, but it seems like it could make the mana curve rather awkward.
just my thoughts. when is the next blog entry coming? -
Feb 6, 2012Tom posted a message on Entry #5 - Other People's Decks, pt. 1: You Bantstard!i love this article, and the list. looking forward to something on GW jumanji, or a thread link.Posted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
as for the list... really liking it. though i would make these changes:
-1 geist
+1 kotr
(kotr is generally better, especially as you have no goyf, and 3/3 splits are very strange in general)
-1 land
+1 sejiri steppe
(even in legacy one of the most awesome things to do with kotr, it offers instant speed protection)
-2 rafiq
-1 sword
+1 pridemage
+1 gaddock
+1 something
(3 swords seems like a lot, and i never was a fan of rafiq, but i could be wrong about him not being so great)
seems good elsewhere, though only running 7 counters and no filtering makes the blue seem rather underpowered and clunky.
keep up the good work! -
Nov 20, 2011Tom posted a message on Entry #4 - Rug Burnsleek, sexy machine eh?Posted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
you said something like that about wolf run rug.
then, you tested with it. -
Nov 18, 2011Tom posted a message on Breakdown of the Top Standard Metagame 11-17-11just for reference:Posted in: Sacrificial23 Blog
[*deck] [*/deck]
[*cards] [*/cards]
[*card] [*/card]
that is how to use the tags as you were wondering. place the left on on the left side of your card/cards, then the right one on the right. remove the * for your posts.
also, whenever you make a post, see where the bold, italic, underline, color, etc. buttons are? if you go to the right, there is something that looks like the back of a card. that one and the two tho the right of it are a shortcut for doing the above.
sorry it's a little off topic, but i hope i helped! -
Nov 10, 2011Tom posted a message on Food for Thought: Is 60 Cards Always Optimal?thanks it will be the beginning to a series. subscribe! ;DPosted in: Tom's Blog... Enjoy!
and yes, i agree with what you are saying. in that circumstance, i'd say the extra value of another toolbox card outweighs the small percentage. especially if the toolbox is a green sun's zenith toolbox. you technically have more than 4 zeniths in a deck, as they keep coming back.
however, this isn't always true. maybe you need to draw lightning bolt as much as possible (in which case then the 0.01% does matter). then you would have to reevaluate whether it is a good idea or not. -
Nov 9, 2011Tom posted a message on Entry #3 - 'Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."i'm in.Posted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
my suggested place to have our group would be on mtgsalvation. if you go to outside magic > clans > playtesting groups, then we could make a thread for our playtesting group. i don't have facebook and skype and the like. -
Nov 8, 2011Tom posted a message on About to engage in a huge endeavorthat's quite ambitious.Posted in: Zelderex Blog
who is going to help? sounds like a lot of work for a deck that doesn't seem at all constructed playable (imo, but then again i'm not hugely into T2). the deck seems like if it has it's lord then it's amazing; if not then it's just meh. -
Nov 7, 2011Tom posted a message on Food for Thought: Is 60 Cards Always Optimal?yah, eclipse. if you have a 4-of in a deck, you decrease the chance of drawing one by only 0.1%Posted in: Tom's Blog... Enjoy!
however, if you have less than 4-of a card in a deck, like one or two, the chance of not drawing one is decreased and the 61 cards becomes more relevant. but really, if you run less than 4 of that card in a deck, you obviously don't want that card too often in the first place. -
Nov 6, 2011Tom posted a message on Entry #2 - Wolf Run RUGPosted in: Rocko's Modern Blog
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Main Deck
4x lotus cobra
4x tarmogoyf
4x primeval titan
3x snapcaster mage
3x oracle of mul daya
4x lightning bolt
3x mana leak
3x spell snare
3x explore
2x flame slash
2x punishing fire4x scalding tarn
4x misty rainforest
2x steam vents
1x stomping ground
2x breeding pool
2x kessig wolf run
2x inkmoth nexus
2x forest
2x island
2x mountain
2x grove of the burnwillowsSideboard
2x spell pierce
2x punishing fire
3x spellskite
2x flashfreeze
3x engineered explosives
3x relic of progenitus
my list. pretty awesome, and on paper it looks like it can compete with jund/zoo.
pretty awesome deck, man!
looking forward to next blog post! -
Nov 6, 2011Tom posted a message on Food for Thought: Is 60 Cards Always Optimal?but why? seems like jumping to conclusions by just standing by what you have ever known. i'm well aware that it increases your chances of drawing certain cards, and i mostly run 60-card decks myself.Posted in: Tom's Blog... Enjoy!
but if you look at the mathmatics of it, it really does only decrease the chances you draw any particular card that you have 4-of in a deck by 0.1%. using 61 cards you can twist other percentages to your advantage, and if you are smart about it the pros can outweigh the cons. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I like your well thought-out question.
I'll do my best to give you my point of view, as I play the non-dredge version. (firstly as a sidenote, Fauna Shaman too weak and too slow so I do not condone it)
The idea is not to mill 75% of your deck and hit 3-4 VVine, with this version. Generally you want to hit 1-2, and anything after that is just icing. The goal is to get that 1-2 VVine out on turn 2-4, along with a few other creatures, and be so far ahead on board that the opponent can't really do anything to stop it. It's a less impressive army than what you probably get a turn or so later with a dredge list, but still it's hopefully enough that you are beating down harder than even the fastest Zoo deck.
I like this way because unless dredge versions gets lucky, it feels slightly faster. And even if I'm wrong on that, there are 2 points I'm almost sure about: This way is more consistent, and more resilient to graveyard hate. Oh and actually getting to draw cards is a huge plus, especially when taking sideboard cards into account.
As far as Varolz goes, you need too see the combo with Death's Shadow if you haven't already. Firstly, both cards are not bad on their own, in particular Shadow which can win games. But the real reason to play them is that you can steal wins out of nowhere on turn 4-5, or even 3 with BOP. Just slap him down and pay a black to turn Lotleth into a 15/14 trample or bigger, or a BOP into a 13/14 flier. Or beef up a small dude to run in there with 2 VVines to make blocking options horrendous. There's been times where it looks like I have no hope, but then I find a Varolz and just win. Aside from VVine, Varolz combo is the way this deck can contend with the speed of combo decks.
Hope that helps. I can repost my current list if you'd like to see it.
Luckily, it's on Oracle already.
So currently I'm happy sticking to my non-dredgers list.
Deck-code TBA
I'd rather not play dredge cards, I think, because then you are skipping your draws to go all-in and if they play GY removal, you fall much more behind than you do with non-dredge lists.
Though in my testing, I'd much rather run Viscera Seer than Flamewake.
GGT makes me want to try an all-out dredge version, but I still can't see it being better than where I'm at right now, without Dread Return.
Considering Imp removal is... interesting. A 3-mana non-guaranteed removal spell is not what this deck wants to do. The creatures we want to remove (like scooze) aren't even forced to attack into it. We are not a defensive deck, or even midrange. We are 100% aggro.
Varolz/Shadow combo: First off, the cards are good on their own. Playing a 1 mana 4/4 or higher happens quite often with Shadow, and you can still play it even as a 0/0 to help trigger VVine. Varolz is a sac-outlet, which is never awful, and it can protect itself quite well.
It's not hard to get Shadows into your grave. Once you do, you can pull off brutal turn 4 kills by dropping a Varolz and immediately scavenging onto a Lotleth Troll. Players rarely see a 13/14 birds of paradise coming, either. It can look like you're going to lose, but then you rip a Varolz and win. It's one of the main win-cons of the deck. You don't want to rely on hitting VVines every game or grinding out wins with Bloodghast.
To your first point, yes that is true and is a slight point in favor of the Thug. However, I find with my current list that runs 34 creatures, this move would rarely be necessary.
To the second point, eh, a draw is a draw no matter where it comes from, and most of the time I'd rather not skip it to mill a few. Especially if I want to find the cards I boarded in.
@Lord Haz: Yeah Pizzap basically covered it. What I said was "ahead on board or winning" by turn 2, meaning that you're going to win very soon or your opponent may just scoop.
You are starting to hit the nail on the head as to why non-dredge lists are better than dredge lists.
Satyr Wayfinder is better than Golgari Thug. It mills the exact same, unless you hit a land, which wouldn't matter either way (it's actually a plus for Satyr). Yet you don't have to get Satyr in your graveyard first, OR skip a draw step. And it will ALWAYS help trigger VVine. The only way thug could be better is if you're able to use it several times, which is not unreasonable, but I'd still prefer having my draw steps.
I don't know where you dredge-playing players are at, I'm guessing you're probably ahead on board / winning around turn 4-6 rather consistently, maybe some turn 3s. With my current list, it's turn 3-5, with turn 2 also happening quite often if I get turn 1 BOP/Looting.
(As a side note, any Varolz players still playing BOP as a 3-of, 4 is definitely the way to go.)
I found with Seer as yet another one-drop it was also much easier to get my VVines out of the grave (if Faithless Looting or BOP turn 1, decent chance of VVine turn 2). And in the games I boarded in Essence Warden, the life-gain was much more potent (sacing Bloodghast / Crawler and bringing em back).
So yeah Seer is amazing so far. My current list:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Gravecrawler
4 Death's Shadow
3 Viscera Seer
4 Bloodghast
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Satyr Wayfarer
3 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
4 Vengevine
3 Grisly Salvage
4 Bloodstained Mire (should be Catacombs)
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Stomping Ground
1 Blood Crypt
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Essence Warden
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Duress
2 Rakdos Charm
2 Darkblast
1 Back to Nature
1 Ancient Grudge
Grisly Salvage continues to be lackluster, with continued creature-based interactions.
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I've tested a bit with the new pheonix and I have mixed feelings. The most reliable way to get it out is when you have Vengevine, in which case you're probably already winning. However it can help you speed wins out faster or help gain an edge in grindy games (but it can't block unfortunately)
What I like about it too is that it's a good Varolz target, and it's also a pretty powerful play to discard it to Lotleth and play it back once Lotleth has 2 counters. It's also not unreasonable to hardcast it and a 1-drop to trigger VVines.
So it's been alright, not great. It's currently replacing my 2 lightning bolt and I'm deciding what I like better.
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Another card I want to test more is Viscera Seer. I've found that the sacrifice ability on Varolz is very relevant for avoiding PtE and Anger, among other things. Seer offers the same protection on a 1-drop, which also makes it good for VVine, and the scrying can be super relevant. Another great thing about being able to sacrifice creatures is that you can sacrifice a gravecrawler and play it back again several times, which also helps to bring out the VVines.
When the time comes, more people will probably be added to LanternIQTeam and we will proceed. Soonist that will happen is next month.
lightning axe
I don't like it. I feel like lightning bolt is better. Discarding one card is situationally helpful, but the amount of creatures that it kills is not much more than bolt, and it doesn't even have the option of being aimed at a player. It might be a sideboard card if it proves worthy in testing... but I'd only see myself bringing it in against Abzan Pod or something. Mayyyybe twin.
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I still have yet to test the pheonix, but I will soon.
@jackad7: Have you tried any of the "dredge"vine lists with no dredge cards? That seems to be the current direction and I'm liking it with my deck. I'd really rather not sacrifice my draws to mill a bit more. It doesn't allow for as effective sideboards, and there's no effective way of getting stuff like Lotleth or Varolz out of your grave once they're there. Plus you eat dirt harder to graveyard removal.