Dies to Removal

I think Ham is a pretty cool guy. Eh refuses to masturbate and doesnt afraid of anything.

And he pulls weird decks out of his ass and goes 3-1 with them.

And teaches teh math.

Disregard Goblin Guide, acquire Figure of Destiny.

My foil PDS:FaL playset sits in my folder eager to see play.

But he didn't play Kargan Dragonlord...

Disregard Goblin Guide, acquire Figure of Destiny.

Can't we have both?

Is it too much to want a LGS that plays Modern?

A few shops around here actually do play modern, but I wouldn't expect too much out of it. One guy spent a year or two building his American Control modern deck (then promptly lost it on a bus), but outside of that, not too many people have tournament level decks. Most of the time it's just budget decks that people throw together. The only deck that I've seen consistently played by more than 1 person is Tron.

Disregard things that cost more than 1, acquire 1 drops

Is it too much to want a LGS that plays Modern?

A few shops around here actually do play modern, but I wouldn't expect too much out of it. One guy spent a year or two building his American Control modern deck (then promptly lost it on a bus), but outside of that, not too many people have tournament level decks. Most of the time it's just budget decks that people throw together. The only deck that I've seen consistently played by more than 1 person is Tron.

Our shop plays Modern during FNM on the first Friday of every month. It's a great break from Standard and I
enjoy it a lot. Budget is a problem for a lot of people but plenty play Affinity, UWR, Zoo, Burn, and Soul Sisters. I've literally never seen anyone play Jund or Storm here.

There's a Modern event twice a month in my town and everyone is packing heat. Last time I went I saw Scapeshift, Storm, two Tron decks, America and Jund.

My last experience with Modern was of me schooling kids with UR Delver, especially in my final match vs UWR control. It was awesome. Celestial Colonnades getting Combusted and Vapor Snagged and all sorts of crazy stuff.

I said "Who the fuck is so insecure about their own opinions they have to delete dissenting ones? Can't we have some tolerance for diverse opinions in here?"

(She had posted an article that claimed homeschooling didn't teach tolerance for diverse opinions and she said that wasn't true. The comment of mine that she deleted was respectful. It said something along the lines of: "Well, it's pretty simple to see that 15 teachers will present more diverse opinions than 2 parents, and 1200 other students will present more diverse opinions than 4 siblings.")

The implication I'm getting here is that your brother and his wife are home schooling their children. Is that true? If so, that can be a sore subject for some reason. I
think they almost get a sort of "us vs. the world" attitude about it.

Hythonia the cruel is now my favorite mass removal spell, and I say that having just lost to damia, the stonesage because hythonia couldn't kill it. There were many laughs.

I said "Who the fuck is so insecure about their own opinions they have to delete dissenting ones? Can't we have some tolerance for diverse opinions in here?"

(She had posted an article that claimed homeschooling didn't teach tolerance for diverse opinions and she said that wasn't true. The comment of mine that she deleted was respectful. It said something along the lines of: "Well, it's pretty simple to see that 15 teachers will present more diverse opinions than 2 parents, and 1200 other students will present more diverse opinions than 4 siblings.")

The
implication I'm getting here is that your brother and his wife are home schooling their children. Is that true? If so, that can be a sore subject for some reason. I think they almost get a sort of "us vs. the world" attitude about it.

They don't have children. Neither of them were home schooled. I don't know if they plan to home school when they do have children.

very odd, then.

Alright, when do they start spoiling the next set? I need to see an awesome UR and WR god.

Why the rush? Let me enjoy my success in this season. We can brew with new cards soon enough! I want two months of this!

EDH cares not for your rotations. Zedruu needs more God Enchantments.

EDH cares not for your rotations. Zedruu needs more God Enchantments.

As does Nekusar. Mogis is more than pulling his weight, and thassa and erebos are only not in (or rather not tested) because I am waiting for them to rotate. Keranos has a test slot if he/she doesn't suck.

What, the Blue Black god wasn't good enough to even mention? They were breaking new ground with that design and it should totally fit in your Nekusar deck. Card is seriously strong.



This post is 1000% sarcasm.

What, the Blue Black god wasn't good enough to even mention? They were breaking new ground with that design and it should totally fit in your Nekusar deck. Card is seriously strong.



This post is 1000% sarcasm.

Yeah he's aweful. Purphoros was also skipped over on reflex, because he adds nothing I need (and red is the color least likely to have enough devotion in the decks current iteration).

Yeah he's aweful. Purphoros was also skipped over on reflex, because he adds nothing I need (and red is the color least likely to have enough devotion in the decks current iteration).

I have two EDH decks that run Purphy. One of them is mono-red. In either one, if I have devotion, I'm doing something wrong.

Phenax unfortunately is also more broken then Jace in limited.

It really sucks that mill is so powerful in limited. That means they really can't print good mill cards without it fucking with their cash cow.

It really sucks that mill is so powerful in limited. That means they really can't print good mill cards without it fucking with their cash cow.

Isn't standard the cash cow?

Aren't they both?

I mean, a company can have two cash cows. It's not worth adding Mill as a strategy to Standard if it ruins Draft.

From what I understand, Draft is terribly popular among casuals, despite how difficult it is.

Aren't they both?

I mean, a company can have two cash cows. It's not worth adding Mill as a strategy to Standard if it ruins Draft.

From what I understand, Draft is terribly popular among casuals, despite how difficult it is.

Draft is also pretty popular amongst more serious players. Am I the only one here who prefers draft to standard?

I prefer it to standard. I don't play standard.

It's the cost that definitely attracts me. I paid for my first draft and haven't paid out of pocket since. I've been playing off of store credit from winnings or the cash from cards I sold.

I'd take standard over draft anyday.

I prefer constructed formats and Sealed>Draft, but I'm an odd won.

Lots of players who like limited, prefer it for the fresh aspect and for skill testing purposes.

I prefer constructed formats and Sealed>Draft, but I'm an odd won.

Lots of players who like limited, prefer it for the fresh aspect and for skill testing purposes.

I'm with you. I know people will disagree, but I personally think sealed is all luck.

Sealed involves a lot more luck than draft, of that much I'm sure.

In sealed, you build with what you open. Two awesome packs means you get ~10 great cards to use.

In draft, two awesome packs only get you two good cards. The others get passed.

There is so much skill in playing draft it's insane. I could play every week in a season and still not be great at it. You have to know the cards that are available. You have to know their rarities. You have to pay attention to what you're getting passed and what you aren't getting passed. You need to pay attention to how that changes when the directions switch. You need to pick the right cards to build a good deck and sometimes you need to hate draft the cards that would ruin your strategy or just the good cards for another strategy. When you open an awesome bomb in the third pack that doesn't match your colors, you have to decide if its worth splashing for and whether it'
s worth the risk passing it for that uncommon removal spell you want. That's just the drafting part of it!

Then you have to build a deck out of the stuff you drafted and then you have to play, each with their own layers of skill involved.

Sealed involves a lot more luck than draft, of that much I'm sure.

In sealed, you build with what you open. Two awesome packs means you get ~10 great cards to use.

In draft, two awesome packs only get you two good cards. The others get passed.

There is so much skill in playing draft it's insane. I could play every week in a season and still not be great at it. You have to know the cards that are available. You have to know their rarities. You have to pay attention to what you're getting passed and what you aren't getting passed. You need to pay attention to how that changes when the directions switch. You need to pick the right cards to build a good deck and sometimes you need to hate draft the cards that would ruin your strategy or just the good cards
for another strategy. When you open an awesome bomb in the third pack that doesn't match your colors, you have to decide if its worth splashing for and whether it's worth the risk passing it for that uncommon removal spell you want. That's just the drafting part of it!

Then you have to build a deck out of the stuff you drafted and then you have to play, each with their own layers of skill involved.

I don't like that you don't get to choise, plan and practice your strategy ahead of time.

Catching up from the day...one more night here and I'm on leave from work until the 23rd!!!

@Dechs - FB is overall a breeding ground for butthurt. I use it just to snark back and forth with a group of close friends, but I know people who treat the site like some sort of measuring stick for people in their lives. I remember one night listening to a couple of friends (man and wife) pitching a bitch over people who had not written something positive when they dropped a bomb in a post about their 19-year-old son having a shotgun marriage right before shipping overseas with the Army. Truth of the matter was that the kid was continuing to be an idiot, but they wanted people to help them convince themselves it was all good. Self-deceptive bullshit and butthurt. Catch your brother outside of that warped imitation of high school and talk with him straight.

@zeman - Grabbed the last 4 cheap foil Firstblades off Amazon last
night just for grins. If Matt Stewart is at Spectrum again this year, I will get one signed and send it your way as a remembrance of that first big paper tourney.

Sealed - I like it from the standpoint that everyone in the room starts out with the exact same potential. Yes, card pools represent luck in a serious way, but skill comes in from knowing how to make the best use of what you have and play tight. I like it as an introduction to new sets, though it drives me nuts that some people are so Spike that they are willing to risk cheating to do well. That's my biggest issue with Sealed...it's the easiest format to cheat in by far (at least outside of monitored competitive events).

I don't like that you don't get to choise, plan and practice your strategy ahead of time.

Well, you can plan and practice your strategy ahead of time, you just don't get to choose until you start opening and passing packs.

That's the difference between decent drafters like me and the pro drafters. Pros are intimately familiar with all the available 40 card strategies in a format. They know all the archetypes. They know what kind of cards they're going to try for depending on the first few packs they see. They know how to build a deck that fits a strategy they're familiar with. They know how to pick sideboard cards for the other archetypes that show up.

The best draft players are leagues ahead of the best players in any other format.
I am a pretty good Legacy player with my mono black Clerics deck. James is an excellent Standard player with his deck. The excellent Draft players are excellent with every draft deck.

Josh, you gonna be at the PTQ in riverside this weekend? Since you're posting here, that makes you an honorary redbro.

I did not know there was a PTQ there until you posted this. I am now sad. I wish I had known a week ago since I would've gone.

Now? Not so much. Next season. :<

I don't like that you don't get to choise, plan and practice your strategy ahead of time.

Well, you can plan and practice your strategy ahead of time, you just don't get to choose until you start opening and passing packs.

That's the difference between decent drafters like me and the pro drafters. Pros are intimately familiar with all the available 40 card strategies in a format. They know all the archetypes. They know what kind of cards they're going to try for depending on the first few packs they see. They know how to build a deck that fits a strategy they're familiar
with. They know how to pick sideboard cards for the other archetypes that show up.

The best draft players are leagues ahead of the best players in any other format. I am a pretty good Legacy player with my mono black Clerics deck. James is an excellent Standard player with his deck. The excellent Draft players are excellent with every draft deck.

I actually won the last sealed and the last draft I entered, so I think I'm getting betted, but I still hate how much higher the luck component is. At least with constructed it is my fault if my deck sucks.

I find prereleases especially maddening, like when you choose the boros box and get all dimir shit, and then you get an under powered deck compared to everyone else because you didn't want to go four colour.

I ended up grixis and scrubbed out.

I meant I actually like sealed. Mostly because it's less hard to fuck up then draft

Seriously, listend to the Ben Stark seminar once and felt 1000x times better at sealed.

Draft, is much harder to get proficient at, but like everything else, you just have to play it a lot which lies the problem. It's much harder to find 8 decent players to get a bunch of drafts in then it is to mash decks against each other in constructed since that can be done with just 2 people.

Even then, you get my friend Vidi who was top 8 in limited win% this season not getting in enough limited practice and asking for draft advice on facebook in the middle of the pro tour.