So here's a cool combo I just discovered while stoned; Prophet lets you untap Roon and lands every upkeep, so you can blink something once per player. The best option that comes to mind is Stonehorn Dignitary, this is a hard lock on combat
Absolutely. In fact, that they would likely be cheaper because they aren't playable in sanctioned events would make them BETTER in my estimation.
I tend to view Magic Cards the way I view Monopoly sets: do I really care if they're "tournament legal"?
I also don't really get the arguments made by people who call gold-bordered cards "proxies". Gold-bordered cards don't stand in for or represent something else: they are what they are, which is a magic card with a gold border. My World Championship edition Birds of Paradise are -- get ready for it -- Birds of Paradise Magic Cards.
They're no more proxies than they are counterfeit. Which they aren't.
But to get back to the OP... heck yeah! Bring it on.
While they may work for you, they don't work so well for people that play tournaments. Since, you know, they're not tournament legal.
It's really good. I really think GW or Junk tokens are going to be a thing. Call of the Conclave, Advent of the Wurm, Voice of Resurrgence, Sorin 2.0, LS, Midnight Haunting, Intangible Virtue. It's gonna be good.
I'm also going for a mix between A1 and A2. My current list is pretty close to yours, and I like how it's testing against everything but UWR. They just have way too much burn/counter + Resto/Reckoner/Augur and I run out of gas.
The step from 3 to 4 mana is one of the biggest in magic, especially for an agro deck. In most agressive decks it's the most difficult slot of all, since you hardly ever have room for more than one 4-off at most.
When was the last time you wanted to tap out turn 4-5 to kill off one creature?
Except;
A. An aggro deck would be sending this to the dome.
B. This is more of a control card than an aggro card.
How do you side for each match up if you don't mind me asking?
Why do you use Altar's Reap? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have more removal?
How is the Skirsdag High Priest? Is it worth it?
Appetite & Purify the Grave come in for Junk Rites. Sorin & Appetite come in for control mathups. Nighthawk is for aggro matchups. Oblivion Ring is for games where I end up needing more removal or enchantment/walker/etc. removal.
I find I don't really need all that much removal. There are very few things I can't just swing through, I'm rarely worried about them swinging back, except Naya Blitz and that's what Obzedat + Vampire Nighthawk are for, and even if they do I can always block for value w/ a Blood Artist/Messenger out. The Reaps are great at blanking removal, and as another sac outlet that draws more gas. Altar's Reaping a Geralf's Messenger in response to removal (especially Pillar!) is such a strong play. Follow that up with a Restoration Angel and another sac, and it just gets so dirty.
Skirsdag is really good. Triggering morbid here is really easy, with 6 sac outlets and the speed of our clock causing them to block, and dropping a free 5/5 flier is nothing to laugh about.
I played as a kid, but that was just mucking around with cards we saw in the show and pretending we were master duelists. What's the game like at a competitive level, from the perspective of a Magic player?
BUG is definitely not the only way to go to stay strong with this deck. I've still running a BW variant to great success. The only thing I've had real trouble with is Dark Naya Midrange. Here's my current list;
The deck doesn't have any SERIOUSLY bad matchups, other than maybe Jund, so the sideboard can easily be tailored to whatever your meta is like. The deck can play out like aggro and take games really early, but it's also very good at grinding it out nickle and diming your opponent while keeping yourself alive. It rewards tight play, and good combat math. Give it a try, it's a lot of fun to play.
Net-decking and money don't matter as much as you think they do. If they beat you, they were probably a better player than you. We have the foiled out Jund players at my shop, but one of the regulars never plays anything considered top tier. He also tends to play with bad cards. He ALSO tends to get 1st or 2nd everywhere he plays. If you're a good enough deck builder/player, you'll win without $30 cards. If you're not, you'd probably do roughly the same even if you had them.
I'm also a draft player, so I'm evaluating it on that spectrum as well. It's awful, in anything. Draft, constructed, kitchen table. It's not even thick/absorbant enough to be a good drink coaster.
It's a pretty bad card, though not as hard to resolve as everyone is making it out to be. It's not like it targets every single permanent; at most you'll probably have to roll a d6 or d10.
While they may work for you, they don't work so well for people that play tournaments. Since, you know, they're not tournament legal.
4x Doomed Traveler
4x Champion of the Parish
4x Cartel Aristocrat
4x Blood Artist
3x Skirsdag High Priest
4x Boros Reckoner
4x Falkenrath Aristocrat
Instants (5)
3x Tragic Slip
2x Orzhov Charm
3x Lingering Souls
2x Blasphemous Act
Lands (23)
4x Sacred Foundry
4x Godless Shrine
4x Blood Crypt
4x Dragonskull Summit
4x Isolated Chapel
2x Clifftop Retreat
1x Vault of the Archangel
2x Obzedat, Ghost Council
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
3x Purify the Grave
2x Mark of Mutiny
2x High Priest of Penance
2x Slaughter Games
2x Appetite for Brains
Except;
A. An aggro deck would be sending this to the dome.
B. This is more of a control card than an aggro card.
If I have Vial & Lackey opening hand, which should I drop? What should I be using Sharpshooster and Prospector for?
Appetite & Purify the Grave come in for Junk Rites. Sorin & Appetite come in for control mathups. Nighthawk is for aggro matchups. Oblivion Ring is for games where I end up needing more removal or enchantment/walker/etc. removal.
I find I don't really need all that much removal. There are very few things I can't just swing through, I'm rarely worried about them swinging back, except Naya Blitz and that's what Obzedat + Vampire Nighthawk are for, and even if they do I can always block for value w/ a Blood Artist/Messenger out. The Reaps are great at blanking removal, and as another sac outlet that draws more gas. Altar's Reaping a Geralf's Messenger in response to removal (especially Pillar!) is such a strong play. Follow that up with a Restoration Angel and another sac, and it just gets so dirty.
Skirsdag is really good. Triggering morbid here is really easy, with 6 sac outlets and the speed of our clock causing them to block, and dropping a free 5/5 flier is nothing to laugh about.
4x Gravecrawler
4x Bloodghast
4x Geralf's Messenger
4x Lord of the Undead
4x Blood Artist
4x Blasting Station
I feel like the deck could also benefit from some Small Pox or Zombie Infestation. I'll update this post after I do some testing tonight.
4x Gravecrawler
4x Diregraf Ghoul
4x Geralf's Messenger
4x Bloodthrone Vampire
2x Cartel Aristocrat
2x Skirsdag High Priest
4x Blood Artist
3x Restoration Angel
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
3x Altar's Reap
2x Tragic Slip
Sorceries (4)
4x Lingering Souls
Lands (23)
4x Godless Shrine
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Orzhov Guildgate
1x Vault of the Archangel
10x Swamp
3x Purify the Grave
3x Appetite for Brains
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
4x Vampire Nighthawk
3x Oblivion Ring
The deck doesn't have any SERIOUSLY bad matchups, other than maybe Jund, so the sideboard can easily be tailored to whatever your meta is like. The deck can play out like aggro and take games really early, but it's also very good at grinding it out nickle and diming your opponent while keeping yourself alive. It rewards tight play, and good combat math. Give it a try, it's a lot of fun to play.
"Not great" is a huge understament. For 3, he can't swing or trade, and will at best get 2 damage in 50% of the time.