Grove was on my radar specifically for the Hex Parasite matchup--Grove alone singlehandedly forces deck 7 to a draw! The build I was toying with also ran a copy of Nature's Claim just for the slight bump in the race.
This is way too slow. It looks like CalvinSchwa though that Timetwister would cycle itself back in; it also looks like he forgot that Invigorate requires him to have a Forest in play. As a result, the deck does nothing.
On the play, I drop turn 1 Smokestack. I can leave it at zero if there are no citadels in play, or tick it up to eat the first one. In the mean time, I cast Sphere and Matrix (in that order) as sacrifice fodder.
On the draw, Stack gets Pierced and my self-destruction is slower than his.
Play or Draw, I can't stop my Crypt from getting Commandeered.
0-6
I made several sub-optimal choices here. Sphere only mattered in one match; the counterspell decks could all pay for it. Also, I couldn't ever cast Smokestack while Sphere was in play, and I couldn't cast Matrix without Crypt. I would have done far, far better with:
Format idea: Self-destruction. If state-based actions would cause you to lose the game, you win the game instead. Each activated ability of an object can only be activated once per turn.
Each player starts the game with an emblem with "Pay 3 life: Put a basic land of your choice from outside the game onto the battlefield under your control."
Please post if you have any comments or suggestions!
This format is a slight variation on the classic Mana Market format.
Is it intentional that this ability is instant speed? I think it's going to make a lot of match results devolve into "make lands with your lands on the stack"
I proposed its ban as land-rule-only, on the theory that someone in 5C PHM might do something with a bounceland, Amulet of Vigor, and fastbond; I was overruled and it ended up on the general list.
Edit: also, I'd suggest changing the rule from "play a black lotus" to "put a black lotus into play" so we don't have to ban a whole suite of cards like Thalia, Wingmare, Sphere, Thorn, etc
Situation 1)
In order to issue a penalty here, we need to know if the player could reasonable distinguish his marked cards from the rest of the deck. Merely having cards sleeved differently from others isn't an automatic infraction--according to the IPG, the cards must be sufficiently marked that a player could gain "advantage" from them, which means they must be noticeable to a player playing a game and not just under a microscope.
That said, the answer for double-sleeved cards is usually "Yes". Double-sleeved cards will look a little different from the front and feel a little different when bending.
Assuming we've decided to issue an infraction, the next question is whether to upgrade--that is to say, is the "pattern" of markings advantageous? This isn't really well-defined by the IPG, but I'd generally say "no." Some, but not all, of the lands, plus a few sideboard cards, are marked. Realistically, no cheater would chose to mark these particular cards; and the advantage gained from knowing these cards is little more than knowing a half-dozen random cards have naturally dinged corners. I'd basically never apply the upgrade here.
Ususally we don't have lots of cards and free mana, since that does increase computation complexity. With 2cmc there are limits to the complexity, so pushing it to 4 is just about the limit. Do what you can, and the more difficult ones can be worked out as a group.
Part of the problem is that in a usual week, a significant portion of the metagame are "all-in" strategies. Because of how restrictive this format was, it's difficult (if not impossible) to assemble a quick combo kill or a hard lock on the game in the early turns. That means that every match is a grindy value match.
Not blaming anyone here, I certainly didn't foresee how messy this format would be either. Just pointing out what went wrong for future reference.
This is way too slow. It looks like CalvinSchwa though that Timetwister would cycle itself back in; it also looks like he forgot that Invigorate requires him to have a Forest in play. As a result, the deck does nothing.
6-0
Sphere of Resistance shuts down Illusions, and Crypt plus Tomb puts me to zero faster than he can tick up Chasm's upkeep.
Play or Draw, he can't comb off through Dampening Matrix.
6-0
Play or draw, my Crypt gets foiled and his Citadel outraces my Tomb.
0-6
On the play, I drop turn 1 Smokestack. I can leave it at zero if there are no citadels in play, or tick it up to eat the first one. In the mean time, I cast Sphere and Matrix (in that order) as sacrifice fodder.
On the draw, Stack gets Pierced and my self-destruction is slower than his.
3-3
Play or Draw, I can't stop my Crypt from getting Commandeered.
0-6
I made several sub-optimal choices here. Sphere only mattered in one match; the counterspell decks could all pay for it. Also, I couldn't ever cast Smokestack while Sphere was in play, and I couldn't cast Matrix without Crypt. I would have done far, far better with:
Ban list:
Hope we can restart this, I'll have a list shortly!
Edit: also, I'd suggest changing the rule from "play a black lotus" to "put a black lotus into play" so we don't have to ban a whole suite of cards like Thalia, Wingmare, Sphere, Thorn, etc
In order to issue a penalty here, we need to know if the player could reasonable distinguish his marked cards from the rest of the deck. Merely having cards sleeved differently from others isn't an automatic infraction--according to the IPG, the cards must be sufficiently marked that a player could gain "advantage" from them, which means they must be noticeable to a player playing a game and not just under a microscope.
That said, the answer for double-sleeved cards is usually "Yes". Double-sleeved cards will look a little different from the front and feel a little different when bending.
Assuming we've decided to issue an infraction, the next question is whether to upgrade--that is to say, is the "pattern" of markings advantageous? This isn't really well-defined by the IPG, but I'd generally say "no." Some, but not all, of the lands, plus a few sideboard cards, are marked. Realistically, no cheater would chose to mark these particular cards; and the advantage gained from knowing these cards is little more than knowing a half-dozen random cards have naturally dinged corners. I'd basically never apply the upgrade here.
Not blaming anyone here, I certainly didn't foresee how messy this format would be either. Just pointing out what went wrong for future reference.
If a player would lose the game for being at 0 life, that player wins the game instead.
Each activated ability of a permanent can only be activated once per turn (I'm looking at you, Necropotence!)
Banned List: Fire Covenant, Toxic Deluge, Hatred, Necrologia, Plunge into Darkness, Phyrexian Processor, Minion of the Wastes, Vizkopa Confessor, Volcano Hellion