The number of rating points at stake in any match is given by the formula 16/(1+10^((Loser's Rating - Winner's Rating)/400)). [EDIT: For Daily Events and other scheduled tournaments, replace 16 with 24.] The winner gets that many points. The loser loses that many. The number of game wins has nothing to do with it.
Players start at 1600.
Example: If your rating is 1700 and you play against another 1700-rated player, you will steal 8 points from your opponent if you win, and your opponent will steal 8 points from you if he wins. If your rating is 1700 and you play against an 1800-rated player, you will steal 10.25 points from your opponent if you win, and your opponent will steal 5.75 points from you if he wins.
A general interpretation of the ratings: 1600 = not so hot or new, 1700 = above average, 1800 = good, 1900 = great (or more likely, you've been lucky recently).
Congrats to Pat Chapin. He played those on-camera matches in the Top 8 about as well as it was possible to play them. The field was really tough and he made it look easy.
I don't think there's anything wrong with saying "Stormbreath Dragon is good against control." But typically their discussion starts and ends with "This is good for Finkel" or "This is bad for Kai". I'm pretty sure even people who play casually would appreciate some basic strategy discussion:
Announcer 1: "Finkel draws Stormbreath Dragon. That's really good against a control deck like Kai's."
Announcer 2: "Yeah, and that may set the tone for the rest of the game. Finkel knows Kai could easily have Dissolve in hand here, and Finkel has got to be aware that Stormbreath Dragon is very hard for Kai to beat without countering it, so I suspect Finkel will now try to bait Kai into using his counter on something else."
Announcer 1: "Of course, we know that Kai doesn't have a counter."
And so on. I don't think this would alienate casual players.
I've tried a few new files. The first time, it worked, but this was a fluke because I tried again as an experiment and it rejected it. The second file didn't work the first two times. Based on my experience, I bet it would work eventually if I tried it enough times. The third file worked the first two times I tried, but failed the third time.
There didn't seem to be a difference between pressing Ctrl+F5 and not pressing it.
I now think the problem might be some weird connection or browser issue that for some reason only happens for me on MTGS. The reason is that I have noticed another thing happening, which is that sometimes I will preview a post and the page will display with no style.
Yeah, WotC really needs to get a color commentator and use him or her effectively. LSV does a pretty good job when they have him, but he isn't always there, and even when he is, I feel like they restrict him by asking him dumb questions and talking at times when he should be giving the commentary.
Thanks for the help! Unfortunately the problem still seems to be there (I just tested). I suppose it could be my connection, but I can watch youtube videos, etc., without any noticeable hiccups.
I also tried using standard Firefox (I'm normally on Pale Moon) and it still happened.
It's not a big issue for me (after all, it does upload the images if I try enough times) but I thought you all might want to know.
P.S.: When you say "upload limit", do you mean the per-file limit, or is there a global limit to the size of all my uploads? If the latter, how can I check whether I'm approaching my quota?
P1P1: I admit I don't know exactly how good Strength from the Fallen is, but I don't think it's very strong. When it comes down to it, it is sorcery speed pump that only works under certain conditions and doesn't trigger heroic. If I'm going to take a green card, I'd much rather have Colossal Heroics or Ravenous Leucrocota. Alternatively, I might pick Akroan Mastiff.
P1P2: I'm probably taking Magma Spray. The other options I'm looking at are Cast into Darkness and, if I want to be really ambitious, Scourge of Fleets.
P1P3: Satyr Hoplite and Riddle of Lightning are in contention for me. I think Hoplite.
P1P4: Mogis's Warhound, and I'm definitely red now.
P1P5: Another Mogis's Warhound
P1P6: Probably Harvestguard Alseids
P1P7: Supply-Line Cranes or Ajani's Presence, and this definitely suggests that white is open, so I'm looking to be WR now.
P1P8: No playables
P1P9: Wheeled starfall.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Godhunter Octopus
Font of Vigor
--> Pharika's Chosen
Countermand
Bladetusk Boar
Cruel Feeding
Mortal Obstinacy
Sigiled Starfish
Riddle of Lightning
Thoughtrender Lamia
Triton Cavalry
Mountain
I *really* want to play black. Riddle of Lightning, perhaps?
Pack 1 pick 5:
Countermand
Lightning Diadem
Eagle of the Watch
Market Festival
--> Grim Guardian
Cloaked Siren
Desecration Plague
Cast into Darkness
Ritual of the Returned
Pull from the Deep
Forest
Sweet. Plus, I already have two enchantments.
Pack 1 pick 6:
Font of Return
Font of Fortunes
Aspect of Gorgon
Oppressive Rays
Pin to the Earth
Renowned Weaver
Thassa's Devourer
--> Crystalline Nautilus
Blinding Flare
Island
Pin to the Earth might be better but I want to try this guy. It's bad against the heroic decks but seems good against most other things.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Armament of Nyx
Harvestguard Alseids
Returned Reveler
Kruphix's Insight
--> Rise of Eagles
Font of Ire
Thassa's Ire
Worst Fears
Swamp
Worst Fears is sweet, but can't possibly do anything ever. This works nicely with Grim Guardian, and I seem set up for a control deck that might be able to actually use it effectively. The only problem is it isn't white, but it does seem better than Harvestguard Alseids.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Font of Fortunes
Sigiled Skink
Font of Ire
Aspect of Gorgon
Mortal Obstinacy
--> Brain Maggot
Knowledge and Power
Forest
Nice wheel, given that I've been taking blue cards. White definitely was a possibility too.
Pack 1 pick 10:
Returned Reveler
Pensive Minotaur
Gluttonous Cyclops
--> Cruel Feeding
Stonewise Fortifier
Island
Here I should have taken the 1/3, not that it's very good.
Pack 1 pick 11:
--> Lightning Diadem
Market Festival
Oppressive Rays
Strength from the Fallen
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 12:
Font of Vigor
--> Countermand
Cruel Feeding
Mountain
I think this is a reasonable sideboard card.
Pack 1 pick 13:
Countermand
--> Pull from the Deep
Forest
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Thassa's Devourer
Island
"We could go real deep here." -- Thassa
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Swamp
------ BNG ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Scouring Sands
Charging Badger
Floodtide Serpent
Felhide Brawler
Culling Mark (FOIL)
Bolt of Keranos
Pheres-Band Tromper
--> Asphyxiate
Fall of the Hammer
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Gorgon's Head
Thassa's Rebuff
Vortex Elemental
Fated Infatuation
Forest
Fated Infatuation is fun but my best cards are not creatures and Asphyxiate is removal.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Great Hart
Satyr Wayfinder
--> Nyxborn Eidolon
Bolt of Keranos
Kragma Butcher
Loyal Pegasus
Elite Skirmisher
Mortal's Resolve
Everflame Eidolon (FOIL)
Kraken of the Straits
Fanatic of Xenagos
Dawn to Dusk
Scourge of Skola Vale
Island
Kraken of the Straits is an interesting finisher but I doubt that will be an issue.
Pack 2 pick 3:
Eye Gouge
Evanescent Intellect
Fearsome Temper
Crypsis
Reckless Reveler
Grisly Transformation
Snake of the Golden Grove
Elite Skirmisher
Oreskos Sun Guide
Skyreaping
--> Shrike Harpy
Glimpse the Sun God
Mountain
Glimpse is good but I haven't exactly seen other white cards. I think we're set on UB, with maybe splashing the O-ring if I get traveler's amulets.
Pack 2 pick 4:
Charging Badger
Pharagax Giant
Sphinx's Disciple
Ephara's Radiance
Setessan Starbreaker
Forsaken Drifters
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Divination
--> Odunos River Trawler
Heroes' Podium
Island
I have a lot of enchantment creatures in my deck.
Pack 2 pick 5:
Mortal's Ardor
Eye Gouge
Swordwise Centaur
Epiphany Storm
Hold at Bay
Reckless Reveler
Snake of the Golden Grove
Stormcaller of Keranos
Ephara's Enlightenment
--> Siren Song Lyre
Swamp
This card seems like it might be sideboarded occasionally.
Pack 2 pick 6:
Scouring Sands
Charging Badger
--> Floodtide Serpent
Felhide Brawler
Ephara's Radiance
Pheres-Band Tromper
Fall of the Hammer
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Ragemonger
Mountain
I don't know if it's maindeckable, but I can make it attack with reasonable frequency, so if a 4/4 is good I'll want it. Fall of the Hammer this late is absurd but there's nothing we can do about it. Also, Felhide Brawler seems awful in what I'm hoping will be a control deck.
Nice. Instead of the Ashiok I obviously deserved, I opened a creature with protection from my entire deck. Oh well. I might wheel Sip, but if I don't I might wheel Felhide which would also be playable.
Pack 3 pick 2:
Mnemonic Wall
Viper's Kiss
--> Bident of Thassa (FOIL)
Defend the Hearth
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Deathbellow Raider
Borderland Minotaur
Ordeal of Purphoros
Tormented Hero
Thassa's Emissary
Forest
Sure, Thassa's Emissary is probably just better, but you can take my foil bident when you pry it from my cold dead tentacles.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Pheres-Band Centaurs
Nylea's Presence
Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Aqueous Form
Spearpoint Oread
Vulpine Goliath
Wavecrash Triton
Horizon Chimera
Sentry of the Underworld
Cutthroat Maneuver
--> Curse of the Swine
Island
I have very few heroic enablers, so Triton seems bad. Were were all my Retraction Helices and Nyxborn Tritons?
Pack 3 pick 4:
Prescient Chimera
Demolish
--> Returned Phalanx
Coastline Chimera
Defend the Hearth
Leonin Snarecaster
Boon of Erebos
Horizon Scholar
Anvilwrought Raptor
Triton Fortune Hunter
Anax and Cymede
Island
I still don't think I need high end that badly.
Pack 3 pick 5:
--> Prescient Chimera
Demolish
Lost in a Labyrinth
Agent of Horizons
Fade into Antiquity
Setessan Griffin (FOIL)
Setessan Griffin
Triton Shorethief
Artisan's Sorrow
Evangel of Heliod
Island
See? That's why I didn't need to take a big flyer in the last pack.
Pack 3 pick 6:
Fleshmad Steed
Nylea's Disciple
Blood-Toll Harpy
Benthic Giant
Spearpoint Oread
Scholar of Athreos
Triton Shorethief
Ordeal of Erebos
--> Insatiable Harpy
Swamp
Ordeal is good too. I'm not sure about this one.
Pack 3 pick 7:
Nessian Courser
March of the Returned
Silent Artisan
Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Aqueous Form
Flamecast Wheel
--> Shipwreck Singer
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 10:
Mnemonic Wall
--> Viper's Kiss
Defend the Hearth
Priest of Iroas
Thassa's Bounty
Forest
I thought about Mnemonic Wall, but there are definitely decks against which you want 2x Viper's Kiss.
Pack 3 pick 11:
--> Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Horizon Chimera
Cutthroat Maneuver
Island
I don't know if this is even good in my deck, but I still don't think 6-drops are that important in this format. Plus, when I have Grave Pact, it doesn't matter what 6-drop I cast.
Pack 3 pick 12:
Demolish
--> Coastline Chimera
Defend the Hearth
Island
Pretty late.
Pack 3 pick 13:
--> Lost in a Labyrinth
Triton Shorethief
Island
Pack 3 pick 14:
--> Triton Shorethief
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Swamp
Deck:
This didn't really end up being as much of a control deck as I had hoped (where are my Gray Merchants???) but at least it's more interesting than a typical aggro deck. After a promising pack 1, packs 2 and 3 were below average, so I expect a 2-1.
Matches:
Win, loss, win.
Highlights:
I never drew Grave Pact in a relevant situation.
In M1G3, I did 9 damage with Grim Guardian and even got to live the dream with Floodtide Serpent (I brought it in against a Standard Minotaur/Bolt of Keranos/Starfall deck).
I skillfully punted M2G2 by missing my 4th land drop with lands in my hand.
In round 3, I had to play against Brimaz. Fortunately, Brimaz has a built-in drawback:
You should start prioritizing early drops over more expensive cards from pick 1 pack 1 and never stop. You should never take an expensive card over a playable cheap one, unless you are absolutely sure you know what you're doing. In this format in particular, it is almost always wrong to take the expensive cards, because there are so many ways to make early drops transform into late-game threats.
If you're anything like me, this sounds like the least fun thing ever, but I'm pretty sure it's correct. And in practice you do get to play with the 5-drops too. If you take 2- and 3-drops all through the first two packs and then you come to Theros and see Nessian Asp versus some random 3-drop, you can safely take the Nessian Asp at that point because if you followed this suggestion, you won't be overloaded with 5-drops.
I might be over-valuing Golden Hind, but if I don't see them in pack 1, I don't want to be green.
If you want to play Tidehollow Sculler (or more likely Vendillion Clique) during your opponent's draw step, you have a number of options.
One is to say "Stop on your draw step next turn" beforehand. Of course, this gives up information, unless you sometimes do it as a bluff, so you may not be okay with that.
Another is to wait for your opponent to draw a card, and then quickly say "Stop. I may have an effect during your draw step -- do I have priority?" (Or, for short, "During your draw step...".) If your opponent rushes on to the main phase and doesn't give you time to stop him, you have every right to say "Hold on, I had an effect during your draw step." If he peeled Wrath of God and immediately slammed it on the table, it's his fault that he revealed information, not yours. He rushed you and now he has to pay the price.
Of course he may decide to lie to the judge and say he waited quite a while before slamming the wrath, but almost any situation can go badly for you if your opponent gets away with lying to the judge.
For your question about attack step, if your opponent quickly starts declaring blockers and you still have an effect, say "Wait! It's still the declare attackers step and I have an effect." Alternatively, as you declare attackers, say, "I may have an effect during my declare attackers step, so hold on." Again, if your opponent tries to rush you, it's his fault that he gives up information, not yours.
This situation is easier than the last one since, if you're attacking, you have priority first in the declare attackers step. So just use your priority right away, and there shouldn't be any problems.
In my experience most judges will get both of these situations right most of the time. When you think there may be an issue, it never hurts to remind your opponent at the beginning of the game that you might occasionally make plays at unusual times and that it would be nice if he didn't rush you.
EDIT: If you need some support, note that the Tournament Rules has a section on shortcuts. Notably absent is any mention of "Players pass priority during draw steps" as a standard shortcut. The players could agree to use that as a shortcut, but unless they do so agree, it's not being used.
I do like the fact that the whole bottom of the card is black.
I'm neutral on the stamps. I don't like the way they look but I understand why they might want such a thing.
I don't like the way the colored part of the border peels behind the text box. I would have preferred if it continued until the black strip below the text box.
I don't like the font.
I absolutely hate the design credit masquerading as flavor text. Having a design credit inside the actual text box is like anti-flavor -- it shatters any sense of immersion that you might have had. Design credits aren't a terrible idea but they should be down in the bottom matter with the artist credit.
I am actually O.K. with a horizontal phase bar. It's no better or worse than a vertical phase bar and since it appears above your hand, it actually takes up less useable space.
Actually, it is significantly worse from a space perspective. In v3, the phase indicator and the stack share space. This was a really smart design decision -- so smart, in fact, that most people don't even consciously realize that the names of the phases disappear when a spell is on the stack. The v3 phase indicator is located at the left side of the screen, reducing the horizontal space available for the battlefield and hands. But the battlefield rarely fills up horizontally, so this isn't usually an issue.
In v4, the phase indicator doesn't share space with anything, which means the stack has to pop up over the battlefield. I think we can all agree that the battlefield is usually much more important than the phase indicator, so having the stack partially obscure the battlefield is worse than having the stack partially obscure the phase indicator. Furthermore, the v4 phase indicator is located near the bottom of the screen, reducing the vertical space available for the battlefield and hands. Unlike horizontal space, the vertical space is at a premium, since it is used in every game.
In short, it is a really poor place to put the phase indicator. This is one of the two major UI design issues I still have with the client (the other being the inability to pop out or otherwise expand the graveyard). At this point, though, the performance issues are much more urgent than the design issues.
It's weak and I can't understand why anyone would actually want to play it. On the other hand, you rarely get 23 cards you want to play.
I don't think it gives the illusion of value. It's just a slight variation on Canopy Spider -- sometimes you have to pay 1 extra mana, but other times you gain a couple life. Where is the value? At least Trading Post could, theoretically, give you value.
Here is a comparison of 4 different shuffling methods by the number of "runs" they produce. A "run" is basically a clump of either lands or spells. If your deck has 10 cards and they are ordered LLSSLSSSSS, it has 4 runs. If they are ordered SSLSSLSSLS, it has 7 runs. Most players would like to have lots of runs because that breaks up land clumps or spell clumps, so the number of runs is very relevant to the game of Magic.
All the tests were done with a 60-card deck containing 20 Forests and 40 Grizzly Bears. In the first chart, you can see the number of runs that resulted from 4 different shuffling methods when the lands all started on top of the deck. In the second chart, you can see the number of runs that resulted when the deck started mana-woven (lands every 3rd card).
Notice that according to this metric, 4 riffle shuffles is essentially indistinguishable from true randomness. This does not mean that 4 riffle shuffles is enough to randomize your deck, unless you routinely play with the 20 Forest 40 Grizzly Bears deck. But notice how poorly the pile shuffles did. The 5-pile shuffle created noticeably fewer runs than a random method in both cases. The 6-pile shuffle created noticeably more runs than a random method in both cases. Finishing with a riffle shuffle wasn't enough to fix the problem.
Conclusion: A player could gain an advantage (or disadvantage!) by doing 3 pile shuffles followed by a riffle shuffle instead of 4 riffle shuffles. Don't do this, and don't let your opponents do it either.
Conclusion 2: Mana weaving appears to be a total waste of time, because 4 riffle shuffles were enough to erase any disadvantage arising from having all the lands start on top of your deck. If you're serious about randomizing your deck, you're going to do at least 4 riffle shuffles, so why bother mana weaving?
Details:
The truly random shuffle uses the Fisher-Yates algorithm.
The riffle shuffle uses the binomial model. First, the deck is separated into two piles (A and B) by the binomial distribution without changing the order of the cards. Then, the cards are dropped one by one, with the likelihood of dropping a card from pile A at each step proportional to the size of A.
The pile shuffle deals the cards into the appropriate number of piles and then randomly stacks the piles on top of each other.
Players start at 1600.
Example: If your rating is 1700 and you play against another 1700-rated player, you will steal 8 points from your opponent if you win, and your opponent will steal 8 points from you if he wins. If your rating is 1700 and you play against an 1800-rated player, you will steal 10.25 points from your opponent if you win, and your opponent will steal 5.75 points from you if he wins.
A general interpretation of the ratings: 1600 = not so hot or new, 1700 = above average, 1800 = good, 1900 = great (or more likely, you've been lucky recently).
Announcer 1: "Finkel draws Stormbreath Dragon. That's really good against a control deck like Kai's."
Announcer 2: "Yeah, and that may set the tone for the rest of the game. Finkel knows Kai could easily have Dissolve in hand here, and Finkel has got to be aware that Stormbreath Dragon is very hard for Kai to beat without countering it, so I suspect Finkel will now try to bait Kai into using his counter on something else."
Announcer 1: "Of course, we know that Kai doesn't have a counter."
And so on. I don't think this would alienate casual players.
There didn't seem to be a difference between pressing Ctrl+F5 and not pressing it.
I now think the problem might be some weird connection or browser issue that for some reason only happens for me on MTGS. The reason is that I have noticed another thing happening, which is that sometimes I will preview a post and the page will display with no style.
I also tried using standard Firefox (I'm normally on Pale Moon) and it still happened.
It's not a big issue for me (after all, it does upload the images if I try enough times) but I thought you all might want to know.
P.S.: When you say "upload limit", do you mean the per-file limit, or is there a global limit to the size of all my uploads? If the latter, how can I check whether I'm approaching my quota?
P1P1: I admit I don't know exactly how good Strength from the Fallen is, but I don't think it's very strong. When it comes down to it, it is sorcery speed pump that only works under certain conditions and doesn't trigger heroic. If I'm going to take a green card, I'd much rather have Colossal Heroics or Ravenous Leucrocota. Alternatively, I might pick Akroan Mastiff.
P1P2: I'm probably taking Magma Spray. The other options I'm looking at are Cast into Darkness and, if I want to be really ambitious, Scourge of Fleets.
P1P3: Satyr Hoplite and Riddle of Lightning are in contention for me. I think Hoplite.
P1P4: Mogis's Warhound, and I'm definitely red now.
P1P5: Another Mogis's Warhound
P1P6: Probably Harvestguard Alseids
P1P7: Supply-Line Cranes or Ajani's Presence, and this definitely suggests that white is open, so I'm looking to be WR now.
P1P8: No playables
P1P9: Wheeled starfall.
After trying the same thing a few times it eventually worked.
I've attached the image to this post for reference. It took 4 tries to get it to stick.
------ JOU ------
Pack 1 pick 1:
Cloaked Siren
Lightning Diadem
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
Market Festival
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof
Gluttonous Cyclops
Bloodcrazed Hoplite
Oppressive Rays
War-Wing Siren
Satyr Grovedancer
Disciple of Deceit
Nightmarish End
Swarmborn Giant
--> Dictate of Erebos
Forest
Oh, so you were hoping there would be a game of Limited Magic? Too bad, I suddenly have Grave Pact.
Pack 1 pick 2:
Harvestguard Alseids
Golden Hind
Returned Reveler
Countermand
Pensive Minotaur
Gluttonous Cyclops
Sigiled Starfish
Starfall
Cruel Feeding
Stonewise Fortifier
Riddle of Lightning
Swarmborn Giant
--> Banishing Light
Island
I took this card because it is better than the other cards in the pack.
Pack 1 pick 3:
Cloaked Siren
Lightning Diadem
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
Market Festival
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof
Gluttonous Cyclops
--> Bloodcrazed Hoplite
Oppressive Rays
War-Wing Siren
Satyr Grovedancer
Tormented Thoughts
Strength from the Fallen
Mountain
This card seems good, and I want to play black.
Pack 1 pick 4:
Godhunter Octopus
Font of Vigor
--> Pharika's Chosen
Countermand
Bladetusk Boar
Cruel Feeding
Mortal Obstinacy
Sigiled Starfish
Riddle of Lightning
Thoughtrender Lamia
Triton Cavalry
Mountain
I *really* want to play black. Riddle of Lightning, perhaps?
Pack 1 pick 5:
Countermand
Lightning Diadem
Eagle of the Watch
Market Festival
--> Grim Guardian
Cloaked Siren
Desecration Plague
Cast into Darkness
Ritual of the Returned
Pull from the Deep
Forest
Sweet. Plus, I already have two enchantments.
Pack 1 pick 6:
Font of Return
Font of Fortunes
Aspect of Gorgon
Oppressive Rays
Pin to the Earth
Renowned Weaver
Thassa's Devourer
--> Crystalline Nautilus
Blinding Flare
Island
Pin to the Earth might be better but I want to try this guy. It's bad against the heroic decks but seems good against most other things.
Pack 1 pick 7:
Armament of Nyx
Harvestguard Alseids
Returned Reveler
Kruphix's Insight
--> Rise of Eagles
Font of Ire
Thassa's Ire
Worst Fears
Swamp
Worst Fears is sweet, but can't possibly do anything ever. This works nicely with Grim Guardian, and I seem set up for a control deck that might be able to actually use it effectively. The only problem is it isn't white, but it does seem better than Harvestguard Alseids.
Pack 1 pick 8:
Font of Fortunes
Sigiled Skink
Font of Ire
Aspect of Gorgon
Mortal Obstinacy
--> Brain Maggot
Knowledge and Power
Forest
I think it's okay.
Pack 1 pick 9:
--> Cloaked Siren
Lightning Diadem
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
Market Festival
Oppressive Rays
Satyr Grovedancer
Forest
Nice wheel, given that I've been taking blue cards. White definitely was a possibility too.
Pack 1 pick 10:
Returned Reveler
Pensive Minotaur
Gluttonous Cyclops
--> Cruel Feeding
Stonewise Fortifier
Island
Here I should have taken the 1/3, not that it's very good.
Pack 1 pick 11:
--> Lightning Diadem
Market Festival
Oppressive Rays
Strength from the Fallen
Mountain
Pack 1 pick 12:
Font of Vigor
--> Countermand
Cruel Feeding
Mountain
I think this is a reasonable sideboard card.
Pack 1 pick 13:
Countermand
--> Pull from the Deep
Forest
Pack 1 pick 14:
--> Thassa's Devourer
Island
"We could go real deep here." -- Thassa
Pack 1 pick 15:
--> Swamp
------ BNG ------
Pack 2 pick 1:
Scouring Sands
Charging Badger
Floodtide Serpent
Felhide Brawler
Culling Mark (FOIL)
Bolt of Keranos
Pheres-Band Tromper
--> Asphyxiate
Fall of the Hammer
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Gorgon's Head
Thassa's Rebuff
Vortex Elemental
Fated Infatuation
Forest
Fated Infatuation is fun but my best cards are not creatures and Asphyxiate is removal.
Pack 2 pick 2:
Great Hart
Satyr Wayfinder
--> Nyxborn Eidolon
Bolt of Keranos
Kragma Butcher
Loyal Pegasus
Elite Skirmisher
Mortal's Resolve
Everflame Eidolon (FOIL)
Kraken of the Straits
Fanatic of Xenagos
Dawn to Dusk
Scourge of Skola Vale
Island
Kraken of the Straits is an interesting finisher but I doubt that will be an issue.
Pack 2 pick 3:
Eye Gouge
Evanescent Intellect
Fearsome Temper
Crypsis
Reckless Reveler
Grisly Transformation
Snake of the Golden Grove
Elite Skirmisher
Oreskos Sun Guide
Skyreaping
--> Shrike Harpy
Glimpse the Sun God
Mountain
Glimpse is good but I haven't exactly seen other white cards. I think we're set on UB, with maybe splashing the O-ring if I get traveler's amulets.
Pack 2 pick 4:
Charging Badger
Pharagax Giant
Sphinx's Disciple
Ephara's Radiance
Setessan Starbreaker
Forsaken Drifters
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Divination
--> Odunos River Trawler
Heroes' Podium
Island
I have a lot of enchantment creatures in my deck.
Pack 2 pick 5:
Mortal's Ardor
Eye Gouge
Swordwise Centaur
Epiphany Storm
Hold at Bay
Reckless Reveler
Snake of the Golden Grove
Stormcaller of Keranos
Ephara's Enlightenment
--> Siren Song Lyre
Swamp
This card seems like it might be sideboarded occasionally.
Pack 2 pick 6:
Scouring Sands
Charging Badger
--> Floodtide Serpent
Felhide Brawler
Ephara's Radiance
Pheres-Band Tromper
Fall of the Hammer
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Ragemonger
Mountain
I don't know if it's maindeckable, but I can make it attack with reasonable frequency, so if a 4/4 is good I'll want it. Fall of the Hammer this late is absurd but there's nothing we can do about it. Also, Felhide Brawler seems awful in what I'm hoping will be a control deck.
Pack 2 pick 7:
Charging Badger
Pharagax Giant
Sphinx's Disciple
Ephara's Radiance
Setessan Starbreaker
--> Forsaken Drifters
Aspect of Hydra
Mortal's Resolve
Swamp
Terrible pack. Sphinx's Disciple seems too slow and I doubt I would play it.
Pack 2 pick 8:
Scouring Sands
Felhide Brawler
Griffin Dreamfinder
Weight of the Underworld (FOIL)
Impetuous Sunchaser
--> Deepwater Hypnotist
Ashiok's Adept
Plains
This probably should have been Weight.
Pack 2 pick 9:
Scouring Sands
Charging Badger
Floodtide Serpent
Culling Mark (FOIL)
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
--> Gorgon's Head
Forest
Not playing 2 Floodtide Serpents.
Pack 2 pick 10:
Great Hart
Satyr Wayfinder
--> Kragma Butcher
Mortal's Resolve
Dawn to Dusk
Island
Pack 2 pick 11:
Eye Gouge
Evanescent Intellect
--> Grisly Transformation
Skyreaping
Mountain
OK with Floodtide Serpent.
Pack 2 pick 12:
Charging Badger
Ephara's Radiance
--> Forsaken Drifters
Island
Pack 2 pick 13:
Epiphany Storm
--> Hold at Bay
Swamp
Pack 2 pick 14:
--> Scouring Sands
Mountain
Pack 2 pick 15:
--> Swamp
------ THS ------
Pack 3 pick 1:
Warriors' Lesson (FOIL)
Sip of Hemlock
Stymied Hopes
Spearpoint Oread
Vulpine Goliath
Yoked Ox
--> Baleful Eidolon
Annul
Scholar of Athreos
Felhide Minotaur
Gainsay
Kragma Warcaller
Arena Athlete
Polis Crusher
Forest
Nice. Instead of the Ashiok I obviously deserved, I opened a creature with protection from my entire deck. Oh well. I might wheel Sip, but if I don't I might wheel Felhide which would also be playable.
Pack 3 pick 2:
Mnemonic Wall
Viper's Kiss
--> Bident of Thassa (FOIL)
Defend the Hearth
Leonin Snarecaster
Priest of Iroas
Read the Bones
Thassa's Bounty
Deathbellow Raider
Borderland Minotaur
Ordeal of Purphoros
Tormented Hero
Thassa's Emissary
Forest
Sure, Thassa's Emissary is probably just better, but you can take my foil bident when you pry it from my cold dead tentacles.
Pack 3 pick 3:
Pheres-Band Centaurs
Nylea's Presence
Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Aqueous Form
Spearpoint Oread
Vulpine Goliath
Wavecrash Triton
Horizon Chimera
Sentry of the Underworld
Cutthroat Maneuver
--> Curse of the Swine
Island
I have very few heroic enablers, so Triton seems bad. Were were all my Retraction Helices and Nyxborn Tritons?
Pack 3 pick 4:
Prescient Chimera
Demolish
--> Returned Phalanx
Coastline Chimera
Defend the Hearth
Leonin Snarecaster
Boon of Erebos
Horizon Scholar
Anvilwrought Raptor
Triton Fortune Hunter
Anax and Cymede
Island
I still don't think I need high end that badly.
Pack 3 pick 5:
--> Prescient Chimera
Demolish
Lost in a Labyrinth
Agent of Horizons
Fade into Antiquity
Setessan Griffin (FOIL)
Setessan Griffin
Triton Shorethief
Artisan's Sorrow
Evangel of Heliod
Island
See? That's why I didn't need to take a big flyer in the last pack.
Pack 3 pick 6:
Fleshmad Steed
Nylea's Disciple
Blood-Toll Harpy
Benthic Giant
Spearpoint Oread
Scholar of Athreos
Triton Shorethief
Ordeal of Erebos
--> Insatiable Harpy
Swamp
Ordeal is good too. I'm not sure about this one.
Pack 3 pick 7:
Nessian Courser
March of the Returned
Silent Artisan
Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Aqueous Form
Flamecast Wheel
--> Shipwreck Singer
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 8:
Mnemonic Wall
--> Viper's Kiss
Wild Celebrants
Benthic Giant
Setessan Battle Priest
Horizon Scholar
Spellheart Chimera
Plains
Probably should have been Horizon Scholar.
Pack 3 pick 9:
--> Sip of Hemlock
Stymied Hopes
Yoked Ox
Annul
Felhide Minotaur
Gainsay
Forest
Nice, I wheeled the better card.
Pack 3 pick 10:
Mnemonic Wall
--> Viper's Kiss
Defend the Hearth
Priest of Iroas
Thassa's Bounty
Forest
I thought about Mnemonic Wall, but there are definitely decks against which you want 2x Viper's Kiss.
Pack 3 pick 11:
--> Blood-Toll Harpy
Breaching Hippocamp
Horizon Chimera
Cutthroat Maneuver
Island
I don't know if this is even good in my deck, but I still don't think 6-drops are that important in this format. Plus, when I have Grave Pact, it doesn't matter what 6-drop I cast.
Pack 3 pick 12:
Demolish
--> Coastline Chimera
Defend the Hearth
Island
Pretty late.
Pack 3 pick 13:
--> Lost in a Labyrinth
Triton Shorethief
Island
Pack 3 pick 14:
--> Triton Shorethief
Swamp
Pack 3 pick 15:
--> Swamp
Deck:
Matches:
Highlights:
I never drew Grave Pact in a relevant situation.
In M1G3, I did 9 damage with Grim Guardian and even got to live the dream with Floodtide Serpent (I brought it in against a Standard Minotaur/Bolt of Keranos/Starfall deck).
I skillfully punted M2G2 by missing my 4th land drop with lands in my hand.
In round 3, I had to play against Brimaz. Fortunately, Brimaz has a built-in drawback:
If you're anything like me, this sounds like the least fun thing ever, but I'm pretty sure it's correct. And in practice you do get to play with the 5-drops too. If you take 2- and 3-drops all through the first two packs and then you come to Theros and see Nessian Asp versus some random 3-drop, you can safely take the Nessian Asp at that point because if you followed this suggestion, you won't be overloaded with 5-drops.No, I think that's about right.
One is to say "Stop on your draw step next turn" beforehand. Of course, this gives up information, unless you sometimes do it as a bluff, so you may not be okay with that.
Another is to wait for your opponent to draw a card, and then quickly say "Stop. I may have an effect during your draw step -- do I have priority?" (Or, for short, "During your draw step...".) If your opponent rushes on to the main phase and doesn't give you time to stop him, you have every right to say "Hold on, I had an effect during your draw step." If he peeled Wrath of God and immediately slammed it on the table, it's his fault that he revealed information, not yours. He rushed you and now he has to pay the price.
Of course he may decide to lie to the judge and say he waited quite a while before slamming the wrath, but almost any situation can go badly for you if your opponent gets away with lying to the judge.
For your question about attack step, if your opponent quickly starts declaring blockers and you still have an effect, say "Wait! It's still the declare attackers step and I have an effect." Alternatively, as you declare attackers, say, "I may have an effect during my declare attackers step, so hold on." Again, if your opponent tries to rush you, it's his fault that he gives up information, not yours.
This situation is easier than the last one since, if you're attacking, you have priority first in the declare attackers step. So just use your priority right away, and there shouldn't be any problems.
In my experience most judges will get both of these situations right most of the time. When you think there may be an issue, it never hurts to remind your opponent at the beginning of the game that you might occasionally make plays at unusual times and that it would be nice if he didn't rush you.
EDIT: If you need some support, note that the Tournament Rules has a section on shortcuts. Notably absent is any mention of "Players pass priority during draw steps" as a standard shortcut. The players could agree to use that as a shortcut, but unless they do so agree, it's not being used.
I'm neutral on the stamps. I don't like the way they look but I understand why they might want such a thing.
I don't like the way the colored part of the border peels behind the text box. I would have preferred if it continued until the black strip below the text box.
I don't like the font.
I absolutely hate the design credit masquerading as flavor text. Having a design credit inside the actual text box is like anti-flavor -- it shatters any sense of immersion that you might have had. Design credits aren't a terrible idea but they should be down in the bottom matter with the artist credit.
In v4, the phase indicator doesn't share space with anything, which means the stack has to pop up over the battlefield. I think we can all agree that the battlefield is usually much more important than the phase indicator, so having the stack partially obscure the battlefield is worse than having the stack partially obscure the phase indicator. Furthermore, the v4 phase indicator is located near the bottom of the screen, reducing the vertical space available for the battlefield and hands. Unlike horizontal space, the vertical space is at a premium, since it is used in every game.
In short, it is a really poor place to put the phase indicator. This is one of the two major UI design issues I still have with the client (the other being the inability to pop out or otherwise expand the graveyard). At this point, though, the performance issues are much more urgent than the design issues.
I don't think it gives the illusion of value. It's just a slight variation on Canopy Spider -- sometimes you have to pay 1 extra mana, but other times you gain a couple life. Where is the value? At least Trading Post could, theoretically, give you value.
All the tests were done with a 60-card deck containing 20 Forests and 40 Grizzly Bears. In the first chart, you can see the number of runs that resulted from 4 different shuffling methods when the lands all started on top of the deck. In the second chart, you can see the number of runs that resulted when the deck started mana-woven (lands every 3rd card).
Notice that according to this metric, 4 riffle shuffles is essentially indistinguishable from true randomness. This does not mean that 4 riffle shuffles is enough to randomize your deck, unless you routinely play with the 20 Forest 40 Grizzly Bears deck. But notice how poorly the pile shuffles did. The 5-pile shuffle created noticeably fewer runs than a random method in both cases. The 6-pile shuffle created noticeably more runs than a random method in both cases. Finishing with a riffle shuffle wasn't enough to fix the problem.
Conclusion: A player could gain an advantage (or disadvantage!) by doing 3 pile shuffles followed by a riffle shuffle instead of 4 riffle shuffles. Don't do this, and don't let your opponents do it either.
Conclusion 2: Mana weaving appears to be a total waste of time, because 4 riffle shuffles were enough to erase any disadvantage arising from having all the lands start on top of your deck. If you're serious about randomizing your deck, you're going to do at least 4 riffle shuffles, so why bother mana weaving?
Details:
The riffle shuffle uses the binomial model. First, the deck is separated into two piles (A and B) by the binomial distribution without changing the order of the cards. Then, the cards are dropped one by one, with the likelihood of dropping a card from pile A at each step proportional to the size of A.
The pile shuffle deals the cards into the appropriate number of piles and then randomly stacks the piles on top of each other.