State of the Game

[Thrawn]

Going to PTQ Amsterdam in San Antonio this Saturday. Running a post-M11 variant of Grixis Control I think. Though there's still a chance I go RW Control or RG Ramp Beatdown.

Anyone else going or in San Antonio already that wants to maybe?

Good luck!  A buddy of mine took 4th at the St.Paul PTQ, he hit top 8 and then lost to hit best match-up. 

[schild]

After testing last night I'm 50/50 beating Jund Preboard and nearly 100% post-board.

Well, not 100% I got manascrewed one game but you know, any deck can lose to mana screw. So I'm 100% losses versus Grixis Control I guess. Hurf.

Cascading from a Bit Blast into a Thought Hemorrhage basically means it's time for the opponent to scoop. I'm going to FNM tonight and am hoping to catch up with someone playing GR Titan Ramp and Turboland casually as I don't actually care about winning an Anathemancer card.

[Ingmar]

Drafted Shards last night for the first time, what the hell is going on in that format, it is crazy. Seemed like everyone was forced to play 3-4 colors but there wasn't really enough mana fixing to go around so a lot of games were very one sided. Went 2-1, so I can't complain TOO much, but wow.

[schild]

Shards was a multicolor format.

There's a MESS of color fixing in that block though. Trip lands, etc.

2-1 for the first time in that block isn't so bad though. Red, Green, Black I assume (Jund)?

[Ingmar]

Yep. The first guy I played said "what the hell is this, constructed?" after I dropped 2 blightnings and a sprouting thrinax in the first game.  Slave of Bolas is a totally sick card in limited, too.

I could have pretty easily won the whole thing I think but the guy I played in the third round just had faster draws than me both times, and I was a little thin on actual removal. Plus my swamps decided to disappear. I did finally draw a jund obelisk or whatever when I was at like 8 health but I ended up 1 mana short of being able to save myself sadly.

My takeaway from all that is I still need to get better at recognizing hands where I need to mulligan. 2 lands on the draw is fine in some formats but I should really have been throwing those back if the lands weren't the right ones here.

[schild]

I teched out my Grixis with Slave of Bolas, and I've got to say, I can't complain. Makes UW control think twice about doing ANYTHING.

[sigil]

There's this douchebag I play against who combines lifellink, protections and the congregations to be a royal PITA.

Dropping this at the start of the game the last time i played got him to rant about '11 core before I proceeded to take him out in five turns.
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/leyline_of_punishment.jpg

He was smoldering, but i laughed when i said. it's just an enchantment,  you telling me you  hack one card?

The white version completely cockblocks whole bunches of shit.  Good times.

Also, did you see the new deathtouch rule? Fucking brutal shit that is.

Edited after reading up on the  different way the white leyline just fucks all sorts of things up.

[schild]

The new Deathtouch rule is how people thought Deathtouch worked all the way back to Alpha, it's what it should've been.

White Leyline is overrated (I've only seen it casually, but I never play direct burn after board in any deck - and I never play RDW or Pyromancer alikes seriously).

[Margalis]

What exactly is the new Deathtouch rule? I briefly read about the rule changes but I don't really get it.

[sigil]

leylines are  overrated except for people who can't remove enchantments.

as far as deathtouch ,i could copy and paste but really a google search for deathtouch 2011 will give you that the guys from WOTC said when it first hit with examples tat made it clear, espectially how it works with trample now.

[Xilren's Twin]

Here you go in full rules text glory:

:

Starting with M11, deathtouch no longer ignores blocking order in situations involving multiple blockers. Additionally, you only need to assign a single point of damage from a creature with deathtouch to each blocker, which makes deathtouch a potent combination with trample. A 4/4 with trample and deathtouch can assign one damage to a blocking 8/8 and the other 3 damage to the defending player. The full FAQ entry for deathtouch appears below. Note that it's subject to changes before the final version of the FAQ is posted, and not all the cards in the examples appear in M11.

***Revised Keyword Ability: Deathtouch***

Deathtouch is an ability usually seen on creatures. How it works has been changed. The new rules for deathtouch are as follows:

702.2. Deathtouch

702.2a Deathtouch is a static ability.

702.2b Any nonzero amount of combat damage assigned to a creature by a source with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage, regardless of that creature's toughness. See rule 510.1c-d.

702.2c A creature that's been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked is destroyed as a state-based action. See rule 704.

702.2d The deathtouch rules function no matter what zone an object with deathtouch deals damage from.

702.2e If an object changes zones before an effect causes it to deal damage, its last known information is used to determine whether it had deathtouch.

702.2f Multiple instances of deathtouch on the same object are redundant.

* If a creature (whether it has deathtouch or not) blocks or is blocked by multiple creatures, those creatures must be put into damage assignment order during the declare blockers step. The creature then assigns its combat damage to those creatures according to the damage assignment order announced for it. It can't assign combat damage to one of those creatures unless each creature that precedes that creature in its order is assigned lethal damage. If a creature with deathtouch blocks or is blocked by multiple creatures, everything works exactly the same way with one exception: assigning even 1 of that creature's damage to a creature is considered to be lethal damage.

Example: The damage assignment order of an attacking Acidic Slime (a 2/2 creature with deathtouch) is Spined Wurm (a 5/4 creature) then Siege Mastodon (a 3/5 creature) then Runeclaw Bear (a 2/2 creature). Acidic Slime can assign 1 damage to the Wurm and 1 damage to the Mastodon, or 2 damage to the Wurm. It can't assign damage to the Bear. Each creature Acidic Slime deals damage to is destroyed.

* If an attacking creature with deathtouch and trample becomes blocked, the attacking creature first assigns damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Once all those blocking creatures are assigned lethal damage, any remaining damage is assigned as its controller chooses among those blocking creatures and the player or planeswalker the creature is attacking. However, since the creature has deathtouch, assigning even 1 damage to a creature is considered to be lethal damage.

Example: Yavimaya Wurm (a 6/4 creature with trample) is equipped with Gorgon Flail (an Equipment that grants the equipped creature +1/+1 and deathtouch). It attacks a player and is blocked by Siege Mastodon (a 3/5 creature). Yavimaya Wurm must assign at least 1 damage to the Mastodon. Its remaining damage may be assigned as its controller chooses between the Mastodon and the defending player. Notably, the Wurm may assign 1 damage to the Mastodon and 6 damage to the defending player. After that damage is dealt to the Mastodon, the Mastodon will be destroyed.

* If a creature with deathtouch and another creature both block or are blocked by a creature, the other creature may take into account the fact that any combat damage dealt by a creature with deathtouch is considered to be lethal damage.

Example: An attacking Acidic Slime (a 2/2 creature with deathtouch) and an attacking Yavimaya Wurm (a 6/4 creature with trample) are both blocked by a Palace Guard (a 1/4 creature that can block any number of creatures). The Slime must assign its 2 damage to the Guard. Since the Guard is being assigned lethal damage, the Wurm's 6 damage may be assigned as its controller chooses between the Guard and the defending player. Notably, the Wurm may assign all 6 damage to the defending player. It doesn't matter which creature's damage is assigned first, as long as the final damage assignment follows all the applicable parameters.

* The rule that causes creatures dealt damage by a source with deathtouch to be destroyed applies to any damage, not just combat damage.

* A regeneration effect can save a creature that's been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch.

* If multiple state-based actions would destroy a creature at the same time (because it's been dealt lethal damage and been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch), a single regeneration effect will replace all of them and save the creature.

* If a creature is dealt damage by a source with deathtouch, it'll be destroyed as a state-based action. That means there's no time to react between the time the creature is dealt damage and the time it's destroyed. If you want to put a regeneration shield on it, or sacrifice it for some effect, or anything else, you must do so before the damage is actually dealt.

* The rules that care about deathtouch function no matter where the source with deathtouch is. In other words, if a spell or ability causes a card with deathtouch that's not on the battlefield to deal damage to a creature (like Selfless Exorcist's ability does, for example), that creature will be destroyed. This isn't the same as damage dealt by a source that has changed zones; see below.

* If a source of damage hasn't changed zones by the time that damage is dealt, its characteristics are checked to see if it has deathtouch at that time. If the source has changed zones by then, its last existence in the zone it was expected to be in is checked to see if it had deathtouch at that time.

* If an object with deathtouch gains another instance of deathtouch, the extra instance of deathtouch won't have any particular effect. If that object deals damage to a creature, a single regeneration effect will still save it

[Ingmar]

The TLDR version is creatures with deathtouch can just assign one point of damage to everything they block/blocks them and it will die. That makes deathtouch+trample very nice since you can just put one point on everything and all the rest on your opponent, instead of having to fully kill everything blocking you before you get to trample.

(Which is itself an annoying change from how I remember trample working long long ago in the mists of time, before deathtouch actually was a named ability.)

[Johny Cee]

Alright.  I've been sucked into ROE drafting now.  Just clicked for me this weekend, and since then I've won 5 tournaments, 2-1 twice, and a disappointing 1-2.  Both my 2-1s I was sure I had the win and got run down in the last match.

My ROE pool of cards for Standard is building up too quickly....  As always, hit me up if you need my spare commons/uncommons.  I have piles of some from drafting over and over.....  Some good stuff too, like Oust, Wall of Omens, etc.

[Hoax]

If someone were thinking of hopping into some M11 drafting when/what/where/how should I go about that? It just came out on MTGO or is it still prerelease extra expensive drafting? Should I just go with Swiss since I'm all out of practice? Would it be fun or just weak to try a "premier draft" and be reintroduced to some serious l2p noob environment, which usually helps me pick things up faster.

[Ingmar]

"Real" drafts start on Wednesday. You can do drafts in the casual room starting today though - no ticket cost or prizes, just bring 3 packs and keep what you draft.

[Xilren's Twin]

I also see WotC has announced Thursday Night Magic Online for some smaller more casual events.  Smaller to no entry fees and more limited prizes, but 3 rounds tourneys might prove just what the casual doctor ordered.

[schild]

I should say if any of you have collections you're never gonna play again, lemme know. Not that I can really afford to buy them or anything, but if you're feeling generous, I'd kill to get into Legacy and play Magic like it once was.

That said, Richard Garfield is designing the block after Scars. Om nom nom.

Edit: Oh, right. I'm going to two big tournaments soon. One is the Mad Wizards Qualifier in September here in Austin and in October - THE WEEK AFTER Scars rotates Alara out, we have the TCGPlayer 10k here (which is really 2 5ks). I will be playing Black/Green Aggro in the second 5k and - god help everyone - Type II Turbofog in the other two. Wish I were kidding. It's just the right time for that deck, I think. Mine's a bit modified off the current build as 4 Archive Traps and 4 Hedron Crabs can Go. The. Distance. Sure will miss Red Aggro and such just straight scooping when I drop a Wall of Denial though.

[Thrawn]

Type II Turbofog in the other two.

I'm not even active in Magic right now and I hate you for playing that deck. 

[Johny Cee]

M11 draft has been pretty good so far.  Drafted UW evasive critters plus Ajani.  Many ragequits followed.

[Johny Cee]

I should say if any of you have collections you're never gonna play again, lemme know. Not that I can really afford to buy them or anything, but if you're feeling generous, I'd kill to get into Legacy and play Magic like it once was.

That said, Richard Garfield is designing the block after Scars. Om nom nom.

Edit: Oh, right. I'm going to two big tournaments soon. One is the Mad Wizards Qualifier in September here in Austin and in October - THE WEEK AFTER Scars rotates Alara out, we have the TCGPlayer 10k here (which is really 2 5ks). I will be playing Black/Green Aggro in the second 5k and - god help everyone - Type II Turbofog in the other two. Wish I were kidding. It's just the right time for that deck, I think. Mine's a bit modified off the current build as 4 Archive Traps and 4 Hedron Crabs can Go. The. Distance. Sure will miss Red Aggro and such just straight scooping when I drop a Wall of Denial though.

Standard is a pretty interesting format right now.  Combo, aggro, and control are all pretty viable, with some really interesting standouts.

There is a UB(g) dredge deck running around that is pretty nasty.
Soul Sisters is fucking hilarious.  Aggro-lifegain, using weenies that get large with lifegain and 8 copies of Soul Warden (using the Soul's Attendant functional reprint).  Almost a budget deck outside of the few Elspeths some folks use.
Turbo-Land variants, using Titans and land accel to power out a Valakut combo or giant critters.
Jund.
Burn/Sligh/Goblin variants.
UW control variants.  Expensive, expensive UW control variants.
UB control just placed in a National.
Mythic Bant/Mythic Conscription decks.  Expensive.
etc.


Really seems to be a good time to be a Standard player, though the rotation will gut many of those decks.

[WayAbvPar]

Let's say I haven't played this since about 2000, give or take a year. What will my cost of entry to be to get some decent play time? Will I be able to trade/sell any of my old cards? Not that I had many at all, but it might be worth installing the client to see how things are going.

[Ingmar]

Elspeth is about to be "cheap" too, although you'll only get a month or so of standard use out of her.

[Johny Cee]

Let's say I haven't played this since about 2000, give or take a year. What will my cost of entry to be to get some decent play time? Will I be able to trade/sell any of my old cards? Not that I had many at all, but it might be worth installing the client to see how things are going.

Feel free to hit me up for free commons/uncommons.  I have piles of the things from drafts.

If you want to play the most competitive deck out there, no it isn't.  Most rares/unc/commons have crashed in price, but hot mythics will go for a small fortune.  Mythics that have been reprinted usually drop in price pretty hard as well.

Of the above decks, take out Elspeth from the Soul Sister deck and it's almost entirely commons/uncommons with 1 rare that is in the bargain bin (Serra Ascendant).  Most of the red sligh decks are pretty cheap as well.


For everyone else, this site:  http://magic.tcgplayer.com/

It has most of the GP, PTQ, and Nationals results as well as results from major tourneys like the Starcity tourneys.

Drafting Swiss 8-mans is also pretty cost effective.  Guaranteed 3 rounds, with 1 pack won per round. 

[schild]

I made soul sisters about a week ago. Have Elspeth, ran Goldmane instead.

Deck is legit.

[Ingmar]

I'm still trying to figure out how RDW will work (or if it will work at all) in new Standard. Obviously don't know what's in Scars, but there is a whole lot of stuff rotating out of RDW lists (not all used in every version of course):

Ball Lightning
Hell's Thunder
Hellspark Elemental
Earthquake
Manabarbs
Quenchable Fire

Probably some other stuff I'm not remembering off the top of my head. Losing 3 out of the 4 core RDW creatures hurts, and arc runner is obviously not a replacement. Ember hauler seems reasonable at the 2 drop level though. Losing earthquake hurts a lot, too, but maybe not as much with sprouting thrinax also going away.

Reason I bring this up is RDW is probably among the cheapest competitive decks you can put together right now.

[Johny Cee]

RDW still has:

Plated Geopode
hasty Goblin
lightning bolt
Burst Lightning
Staggershock


Can throw in W like Steppe Lynx and go more Boros Bushwacker.  Or go to the goblin strategy with Warren Instigator.

[Johny Cee]

I made soul sisters about a week ago. Have Elspeth, ran Goldmane instead.

Deck is legit.

The guy who came up with it called Ajani's Pride "the white Tarmogoyf", and he wasn't really joking.



Realistically, the deck dies come rotation since it loses Soul Warden.  But lots and lots of decks die come rotation

[schild]

I assume you're talking about Conley Woods. Shame he gets bored with decks before they hit their full potential.