The General Magic: The Gathering Thread

[Lyinginbedmon]

I've lost to a deck built solely around Jace's Erasure and draw effects, culminating in Traumatise and the like.

[the_lone_bard]

Traumatize is best used with Cast Through Time on the field.

[JenSev]

I haven't played Magic in a long long time.
I started playing around the time when Ice Age came out and played till right about 5th edition/ Gaya series or something. I think it was the one with those cave trolls and Overrun.

That Magic Online thing sounds interesting and I might get back into that.

[Cybren]

ALSO: Innistrad is going to have graveyard mechanics. You will probably most want to use his 0 on your self.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Traumatize is best used with Cast Through Time on the field.

Yep, that deck allows for it too. The girl that runs it is really deprecating about it but it consistently faceplants most of the gaming group.

[Ottoman]

My mill deck is killer. I guess if you're restricting yourself to Standard it might be tough to make an effective one, but I've always found mill in general to be really nasty.

That Magic Online thing sounds interesting and I might get back into that.

You won't regret it.

Unless you run out of money, but besides that it's great.

[Lacerta]

Most annoying deck I've lost to recently: Using Liquimetal Coating to turn all your permanents into artifacts and destroying all your everything with Manic Vandals, Shatters, Glissa's Scorns, Oxidda Scrapmelters, Crushes and Hoardsmelter Dragons, while drawing all the while from Viridian Revels.

[Robert Merlow]

I remember one of my opponents in FNM a few weeks ago running that. It made want to ragr and punch the kid in the face. Have the decency to actually kill me, not screw around and force a concession.

[Lyinginbedmon]

The same girl with the mill deck also has a red/blue deck focusing on enchanting small creatures to make beasts, which has an especially vicious combo in Liquimetal Coating and Hoardsmelter Dragon so she can have it eat stuff like Emrakul.

[Geoff_B]

Is Liege of the Tangle worth building a deck around? The description looks fantastic - 8/8, Trample, When it hits it turns your lands into 8/8 creatures, but is there any downside to it? I was thinking of building a green/blue with acceleration and removal to get it out asap and protect it from enemy removal spells so it can do its business with the lands. Any thoughts?

[theDreamer]

One Day of Judgement and you've lost your mana base.

Also, the Awakened Forests don't have trample.

Outside of that, it's actually pretty sweet.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Yeah, if you're going green/blue best to have some counterspells to limit the odds that a Wrath will hit.

[theDreamer]

Don't you love it when you go to ask a question and give yourself an answer?

I was going to ask if I should keep Armillary Sphere in my Riku deck over Expedition Map, but in the end decided expedition is so much better.

While Armillary is way better in my mono green deck.

So swap.

[Geoff_B]

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on stocking up on elves for mana acceleration and unsummons/cancels/counters for blue.

As for trample I'm not sure that's a huge issue because at that stage i'll theoretically be at 8+ lands anyway which should be enough to overwhelm anything.

Blue and green are a bit new for me as I normally like red for the instant burns, however i keep on having situations when i don't draw the mana i need for them.

[JenSev]

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on stocking up on elves for mana acceleration and unsummons/cancels/counters for blue.

As for trample I'm not sure that's a huge issue because at that stage i'll theoretically be at 8+ lands anyway which should be enough to overwhelm anything.

I haven't been into Magic for a very long time (+10 years or so) but I do remember a rather great card that could improve your deck if you are concerned about the Trample. I'm not sure if that card is still around or playable in the standard formats but I was just reminded of it and personally I loved that card.
It's called Overrun. It's a sorcery for 2Green 3 colourless and gives all your own creatures +3/+3 and Trample till the end of the turn.

[Geoff_B]

Thanks. I should really get to know my cards a bit better :S anyway the deck now stands at:

16 Forest
8 Island

2 Alpha Tyrranax
1 Copperhorn Scout
1 Cudgel Troll
2 Elvish Visionary
1 Greenweaver Druid
1 Liege of the Tangle
2 Llanowar Elves
2 Phantom Warrior
2 Sylvan Ranger
2 Wildheart Invoker

1 Asceticism
1 Boar Umbra
1 Call to Mind
2 Cancel
1 Explore
1 Giant Growth
2 Naturalize
1 Natural Spring
2 Negate
2 Overrun
1 Primal Bellow
1 Rampant Growth
1 Summoner's Bane
2 Unsummon
1 Untamed Might

Now all i need is someone to play against shame MTGO can't register cards that you already own

[theDreamer]

Nope.

Nope nope.

Replace Overrun with Overwhelming Stampede.

+8/+8 and trample for the same cost?

[Geoff_B]

Depends what i have available. Like i said i'm more used to red. But thanks

[JenSev]

Oooh didn't know about that one.
Good call!

[theDreamer]

As we've gone over before, Overrun is better for elf decks.

10 elves that suddenly become 4/4s or 5/5s or, at biggest, 6/6s, overrun is consistently better.

But when you stick a big guy at the top end, and plan on swinging with a number of him, Stampede is so much better.

[Geoff_B]

as an aside do you sometimes find that no matter how much you shuffle a deck all the lands end up together and you draw a run of 6 or 7? Really annoying!

[Lyinginbedmon]

That's usually a consequence of how you shuffle, be it traditional shuffle or a weave etc.

[Geoff_B]

maybe the guys should do a vid on appropriate and inappropriate shuffling techniques (in game terms i mean!)

[theDreamer]

The best way to shuffle, I've found, is: Weave, block, weave, "random" piles, block, weave.

Or something similar.

And even then half the time I get all 16 of my land in the same place (green deck).

[Geoff_B]

that must be why its called magic the gathering - all the lands magically gather together despite all your best efforts!