A Magical Huffalump Resides Here

My one post for the year

2023-12-23T23:32:00.002+08:00

Ah yes.

My one post per year.

Almost missed it :P

Actually I just posted to blog a little about Mousehunt haha.

Mostly to track my own progress. This is my current snazzy setup for the festive event:

Mostly I just bought what I needed if it can be bought. But it will still be a grind I think :P

I am currently Archduke 90 plus percent so I will be able to access the beanstalk soon.

I suspect though I will first try to get the Prestiege base. Then upgrade my traps.

And boy... there are alot of upgrades.... see the pic on top, that was my most powerful trap. Sans the chrome. Yes the chrome is new.

I actually got back earlier this year, but the trap that caught my eye was the Dragon cannon slayer thingy. So I was stuck in howllow heights for a while.

Actually for the past five years or so I have been back on and off, I think... at least I must have seen I have L.E. traps that I never knew I had LOL. But some of those L.E. traps were a godsend!

Those older draconic traps that I had were really too weak in Hollow Heights, I had to use the L.E. trap , I did have a minotaur base so I manage to use luck to make up for power. it was'nt half bad in the end. In fact I am using it to grind the rain and wind cheese thingy.

But I kinda cracked to just purchase the chrome version of the storm wrought trap (as opposed to just grinding the gold out, I just bought and sold in game stuff).

The grinding is ... actually I do not know yet since I have no actually done my Fulmina run yet (previous was with my L.E. to pre chrome storm wrought trap - even then I bought the teeth! :( - yes I am currently in pay to play mode)

Once the Festive thingy is over though, my original plan was to get back to dragon hunting in the Hollow Heights.

However the Festive thing made me realise I am really really far back (being away mostly for five years from the game does this to you I guess haha)

So I decided I will probably try to open up the areas I currently do not have access to which is 1) Valour Rift and 2) the Queso area.

To open the valour rift I need the Rift Chrono meter... for that I will need to go to the Gnawnian Rift first to get the "Raw Rift Crystal"

And I need to get a battery fragment which will be from the Furoma Rift

After which I need to get 100 tiny sprockets (this I have from the event)

After which I think I need to get 2000 Rift distortions....

Something like that :P

After which I will either

1) Go for the Prestiege Base (I think the core or the eclipse is also this branch of play)

2) Camp at Fort Rox to open up the Queso region. And get the ULTIMATEST draconic trap!! (it will likely be a horrible solw grind from what I heard)

Actually I think both options are really slow so it will be quite the grind.

After which I think I will finish up my Fulmina run before heading to the Floating Islands finally!

(Actually I might just pop to the floating Islands first... maybe.... maybe not... hmmm )

ANyway in case I do not post anymore this year, Merry Christmas everyone!!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

2022-10-15T01:15:00.000+08:00

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season1 has just ended and it was pretty awesome :)

I would'nt say its perfect (like the trilogy movies was perfect or close to it), but it was definitely good enough :)

There were lots of WTF moments right from the get go, but it was all good at the end :D

My Quick Assessment of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

2022-02-16T07:39:00.001+08:00

I really like what Wizards did with Kamigawa:Neon Dynasty. :)

I like the original Kamigawa alot. Both flavor and mechanics.

And I say this as someone who felt that at that time and not filtered through time.

In fact filtered through time, I agree with the allegations made at that time that

the set was too weak. It was fortunate that Magic was still in its early stages

and it survived that.

But I do love the flavour of spirit weirdness, samurai and ninjas. Mechanically

it was always beautiful how they tried to be subtle with the effects. Kamigawa

was about subtlety, slowy gaining advantage through different avenues, not

harsh powerful moves.

However perhaps it was a little weak and was overpowered by the more blunt mechanics

of the time and even now. It only looks stronger now because power levels have been

neutered for decades (before F.I.R.E).

Is F.I.R.E good? Lets just say the sets will age better for it and as a new player, it is

your boon, and the its the older player's bane.

But we are not here to talk about power levels :p or only a bit.

In fact NEO has been dialed back a little and I hope not too strongly (I hope my cards retain

some playability over time :p). But I really like the theme, direction and what they have done!

Although as a caveat, I can only say I have looked at vehicles (strangly). And cannot

really say for the whole set or its power level.

Maybe lets go chronologically.

A few years? ago there were already some hints that MAgic was going to do a cyberpunkish set.

Pink neon vibes were the deal.

I think internet reactions were half half but no one seemed to hate it vehemently (at least not en mass)

Then when NEO was first spoiled. The dreams and hopes were ninja, samurais.

The strangeness and cyberpunk were the promise (well threat to some)

But I was generally hopeful

When the Uki lands were spoiled, they were a little garish, but they grew on you.

When more information came out. Honestly ninjas seemed to be priced meekly but admittedly

I don't play alot of ninja's I just like that the deck exists :p

Samurais were a disappointment, I loved Bushido. Apparently not many people do haha.

That leaves spirits shrines equipment and vehicles?

Spirits and Shrines I haven't looked at. But Go-Shintai Life's Origin looks promising.

But it sucks that it is not in the Commander deck :/

But I do think it will just be a fun card (in case you are one of those speculator sorts, please don't buy it out or something, 1: its really a bad spec, 2: it makes you a terrible person (as opposed to a wonderful person, like what Anton says :p stay wonderful!))

Oh but vehicles!

I like that they printed quite a bit of equipment and the printing of equipment, though weird and

perhaps a show of non so good design (but inevitable). It was a master move in tying equipment and

vehicles together. In that way, mechanically and flavourly? It made playing equipment and vehicles together a bit less jarring (as in things do not work). In terms of flavour, the creature equipment were the perfect representation of the spirit infused/possessed machines, essentially robots. that could drive/crew the machines.

And the voltron card that they printed is really fun!

Yes so I made a deck which I will talk about in my next blog haha.

Though it is not some competitive thingy mostly just a casual deck but it was fun and I really like

what wizards did with the set!

Have a good day people :)

Ragaban : Please Ban Ragavan

2022-01-24T07:29:00.001+08:00

Hopefully Ragavan gets the banhammer tomorrow...

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

2021-12-19T02:38:00.005+08:00

I am actually pretty pumped about Kamigawa:Neon Dynasty.

In a way it seems to be going towards everything magic should be.

New, innovating and having a tension with old and new.

Magic at its heart has always been about innovation and change.

At its heart magic is kinda the ultimate geekdom.

Remember instants and interrupts. Interrupts are what triggers an Operating System to intervene.

Yes thats why interrupts have priority over instants.

And the stack? Hoo boy. Loops? Infinite loops. Yep.

So at its heart magic has been a very systems context. Its kinda like watching Matrix and nodding your head in understanding when the agent assimilate people, or when Agent Smith goes loco with the clones.

In terms of innovation, Magic was always exploratory. The fatasy aspect was the loose duct tape.

First it was permanents versus temporal spells.

Different axis of attacks. The hand, the library, types of permanents. Discard, direct damage, counterspells, land destruction,

poison, mass creature destruction, mass LD, targeted LD,mill, all magic. all flavours.

Thats why I hate the whiners who hate on one aspect, whether it be poison, counterspells or LD or discard.

Its all magic. Deal with it. Man up. Or we could just ban everything :)

Oh well. Magic mirrors life, life mirrors magic.

Anyway Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty looks really really slick. Ninjas, techno spirits, ghost in the shellish tropes. I like it so far.

And in a way NEO (the abbreviation for the SET), is a fitting set to mirror WOTC's current state. Magic is having a very teneous relationship with its past.

Even draft boosters are being question and shaken. Pro play has been largely forsaken. Magic is now pandering to whales annd the boutique customers.

Its all change and we do not know how its all gonna shake out.

But it all looks awesome and pretty, much like the neon lights in NEO.

But would the reality be like?

Hopefully NEO will be a labor of love that bears fruit.

MID and VOW both felt very templated (though the Dracula series art was quite nice).

NEO feels like there is potential to do so much more.

I would like to be surprised WOTC :)

[20211219 11:22]

Seems like the phyrexians may be involved!!

Summary of what we know so far:

Keyworded Counters will be in

Kyodai, the thingie that got stolen is in

Flip cards, the original dragons( insome form) + other old aspects (like Horobi's Death Wail), enchantment creatures)

Ninjas, Demons (Hidetsugu! Heartless fellow, never called) and funky new full art lands yowza!

2021 where hast thee been? vart hav they bean feedin ya!

2021-12-10T16:33:00.004+08:00

Wow.

I just realised this is thhe first and possibly last post for 2021

2021 has been a mostly disappointing year. For stuff going on IRL work that kind of thing.

But nothing we can't rectify.

Just like we rectify in magic with BANS BANS BANS!!

kidding. Well not really.

WOTC now has this habit of printing over powered cards and then dragging their feet when it needs to be banned.

At least until they have bled the set dry.

Exaamples would Oko (rest in peace :p) and I am sure quite a few more, but the current elephant, no correction monkey in

the room is Ragavan.

Now it is debatable should Ragavan be the one to take the hit.

I like Ragavan. I like it alot. When I like them. They are usually bannable :p.

Ragavan, Murktide Regent, Oko, Uro, Wrenn.

So many. So bannable.

Now thing is, if you are already banning cards for power, it needs to be consistent, to mantain a power level.

If you do not wish to ban, then really you should let the format go to hell and let it burn.

...

clue: it won't.

it WILL balance itself out ... Just that not everyone will like the outcome.

Remember when I said the Eldrazi and Hoogak (oki maybe not the hoogak, I was mostly absent for Hoogak, saw a few matches, "I like it :D", and it was banned... ermmm... oki...) bans were nonsense.

Well what do you know? With MH1 and MH2, the meta and decks became unrecognisable.

It was mostly becos the power level for modern was low, it was'nt that Eldrazi or Hoogak was too strong (oki they were pretty good), but it was that modern was insipidly weak. Further, the last major tournament before Eldrazi got banned was won by

a coco combo deck. In a field of Eldrazi. That, my friend is the power and prize of innovation. Free RL lesson there (cos in real life things don't just get banned when you cannot take the heat :p).

So what happen with Modern was with the influx of MH1 and MH2, the power levels shot up. Just read the reviews, people love it! At least, people who bought into MHX.

So modern, many seem to like it. I can tell you why, cos the decks are way closer in power level to legacy :)

Welcome to legacy bois and gals.

For Legacy however, the power got ratcheted up. Again.

Usually thats not a problem. Since the problem kinda sits there till it got solved. See Necro Summer, Tolarian Winter?Spring? I dunno, and even Eldrazi Winter, but that got cut short.

But well Legacy got ALOT of interest and you can see dual lands being bought out et cetera. Modern players are shifting over...

and we start to see bans.

It started with Oko.

Then we saw a few more.

And now currently its Ragavan.

I am oki with Ragavan going actually, its just another one to go, possible for the better since we ARE already banning stuff.

The problem as always is too much product, creating a huge churn and influx of cards. And no magic players are not particularly smart, you can tell from the way they rather whine than find solutions. But to be fair, time is not given to solve the problem. Seriously give it a few months, Ragavan will be still powerful but irrelevant. Not because it is not powerful but some other powerful card is revealed and interest waned (or people stop playing hoho).

Thing is if we want to stop banning cards. We need to f**king STOP banning cards. No excuses. No exceptions.

Ditto if we take te BAN path.

Else we get a nonsensical meta that is curated to some rando's whim. That is a meta I have no wish to be a part of.

chill people, have a good rest of the year :)

2020 Magic in a nutshell (I mean squirrels are coming ya)

2020-12-28T13:22:00.003+08:00

2020 Magic will likely be remembered... for better or for worst haha.

2020 has been a very powerful year for Magic the Gathering. I like it. But loathe it at the same time.

2020 is the year WOTC/Hasbro literally took the bull by the horns(haha minotaurs.. nvm) for many standing issues with the game.

Whether they were successful is debatable... but as always debate on the Internet is pretty useless an toxic most times, so take it as you will. All I am saying is what the majority says is not always healthy or correct. And alot of times it depends on which stakeholder you are :(player/collector/speculator/shareholder/random dude/gameplayzenmaster/biased xxx format player) --> yep you get the gist, its quite a mess of demands to fulfill.

I like what happened in 2020 alot. Though I really have no time to play nowadays. But things I like:

1) There is actually a functioning Minotaurs deck (several if you count historic)! There a legacy one called toot toot. And another varient which uses a painter's servant shell. Unfortunately there goes didgeridoo's price.

2) Price crash of standard and modern (kinda) cards. Some cards I can finally get without feel bads. Of course some other cards I own also went down... but not all so it "kinda"... for instance I snagged a few nice trinispheres at a nice price. Chalice is still obscene though.

3) Companions! Yes I like companions alot. I think the nerf is stupid high, but necessary to assuage the whiners. The only companion possibly worthy of a nerf is Lurrus. The rest were just bad players in my opinion. Oh and even in the case of Lurrus. The winner of a Vintage tournament held online when Lurrus was legal? Clue: it was not a Lurrus deck that won. Yes the field was saturated by Lurrus decks, but as always, you want to get ahead in life? Think. Don't just follow. Following is good, to get the feels, to understand. But most people mostly follow blindly. True in Magic, True IRL. Anyways even with the nerf, I think Companions are a very good and powerful concept, and is still playable. Just a little different now. Oh no one is playing them? Yep this is the same old same old group think that magic players are famous for by now. ... Exactly. No one plays so nobody plays. Cool story ppl. You do you.

4) Oko! I love Oko! Seriously, control was shit for so long. Oko gave a shot in the arm. Sure WOTC misfired a little and Oko is a little strong. And one of the plusses could have been a minus. But as is I like it and I think its okay. But given the group thing bois running around, sure I could see it banned. Enjoy your current gameplay all you okoers =D. I just love it. With Oko around ppl dun complain about brainstorm so much. Its funny. Astrolabe is another funny story. I think all the modern complainers just shifted over to Legacy. Which is funny really. (actually I did not really see Oko as a big complain in modern, more standard, historic, but modern got hit and legacy was spared). I think Oko was a case of WOTC wanting to design a strong UG and going over board a little. Yes I use the word a little. Because if you just make tiny nerf tweaks to Oko he would be less susceptible to whiners. Oko just received one too many positive tiny tweaks from his colour cost XUG instead of UUG or GGU, or even 4cc. And his starting loyalty could have been weaker say 2 or 3 instead of 4. 4 is strong. Because you plus it and it is 5. Thats a stretch for red and any aggro to take down the planeswalker. But I think that was the plan. They wanted to keep Oko on board. And seriously Oko is only strong if he sticks around.

Issue that WOTC addressed or ermm are guilty? of

There are a few issues:

1) Greed

OMG I am so tired of all the products. Sure sure its not for me. I get it. I truly truly get it. I will see myself out now.

2) Card Equity

Reprints! This is why I get my lovely trinitspheres and why errmm rings of brighthearth get decimated. Thats fine and really it is inevitable.

But it is something WOTC will want to be very very careful. How long will the whales keep buying reprints that devalue their current cards. Not very long. Not at the rate they are churning out stuff.

Of course maybe that is the plan? Maybe WOTC does want to print everything to the ground? Its not too clear. What is clear though is that WOTC is now very aware of card equity due to scarcity and want to take advantage of it through reprints (finally!).

Buyer beware though, especially if you my friend are a flippin' flipper. Go do stocks if money is your game, quit messin' with us mtg random dudes.

3) Power levels

Standard has been boring for oh so long. Modern too. In fact Modern has been baaned to oblivion. So the recent surge in power levels in 2019 and 2020 cards is huge. To me it is a huge plus. For new players this is actually wonderful. Your cards are modern relevant, maybe even legacy relevant if you are willing to brew or take some losses. For the first time! In 2 decades or so.... Your cards are not toilet paper after rotation. (You can still use it as toilet paper if you so please of course). Enjoy this gift. Things are likely to rev down again with all the whining. For those who played in the 5-10 years pre 2019.... its a little not so good since power levels were lower then.

4) Format relevance

For the first time in a long long while! Vintage is shaken! Legacy is shaken! I see this as a good thing! For the first time in a long long while there are new decks and innovation. I think the legacy crowd as a whole are taking it quite well. Oko haters are about 50%, I suspect they are from modern or something. Thing is Oko is not insumountable. Just like the Eldrazi before, they will be assimilated as part of the meta. But having so many new cards, Force of negation, force of vigor, astrolabe, Oko, once upon a time, etc etc. That is pretty awesome. I do not believe the current decks in Legacy are completely outmoded, they may need to be tweaked and luckily I know Legacy players are an imaginative lot. More importantly they play for the sake of playing. This is why you see people playing their pet decks even though it is not tier one, and usually they are good at it. Because they do not just copy and play, but they understand their deck and are optimised and are able to TWEAK and ADAPT. Something many players cannot seem to do. I do not expect this roil of new cards to persist, given the backlash... though alot depends on what WOTC cares about. Do they want new blood in Legacy (both cards and players), if so? There WILL be REPRINTS (see 2) and there will be new powerful cards (see 3). Which is very exciting for me and less so for people who do not want the meta to change. But for what its worth, I do not think Legacy decks will be easily outmoded as opposed to say modern decks.

5) Collectibility

OMG collector editions. So greedy see 1). Whats with the collector editions? It is partly 1) partly 2). It deals with WOTC's need for GREED to grease the wheels ya. It also deals with card equity. Think about it why do masters sets sell? They sell be cause of card equity. Because cards in the set are deemed as scarce or expensive or both. Silly whales buy lots of it and if they like expensive cards they just beached themselves. For the rest of the world though they should be thankful for the existence of silly whales, blubber being useful and all. So where does collector edition sets come in. Collector edition sets are masters sets but in advance. Imagine ALL rares, ALL mythics (instead of only a select few from old sets as with current master sets) are being printed as masters sets. That is what is happening now with collectors edition. The dollar rares now get to be printed as premium cards in a "masters" set, now Kaldheim for instance may not have any chase cards! But it does not matter, as all the rares and mythics will already have its card equity milked via the collector's edition. I think its brilliant. It solves WOTC's problem of shrinking card equity as they keep reprinting. It also solves the reprint problem. Essentially WOTC is double selling the cards, so now right off the bat you have two printings of a new card. This solves the reprint problem somewhat as cards are now abundant and its hard for prices to increase. This lack of increase in price is BAD for WOTC, but it is solved buy the fact that the Collectors edition is already premium! The card's equity is already milked. Brilliant.

Where does this put use for collectors? It is actually good, since now cards are cheaper, and you have many things to collect. But it also means players need to have more self restraint and buy only what you need.More and more players/collectors will need to decide how much of a player they are and how much of a collector they are. How important is bling? Perhaps Collector edition is for you! Perhaps Collectors edition is NOT for you and you should stick to draft or singles. (the good news is singles are now cheaper!) Its terrible for speculators though. And I think thats a good thing, I think speculators are bad for the game seriously.

6) Playability/Gameplay

I see pathways! And pioneer and historic. What are all these ? These are attempts to fix gameplay. I love legacy and as modern grows in power, I love it too. But more and more people hate modern for its power and flux (cue: modern has always been in flux yo) , so in comes modern and historic. I have no feelings for pioneer. I only know Temple of Nyx is pricey because of it, so I like it. But I love historic, I lose so much in it because I refuse to throw money in, but I got some decent tribal decks, but I am digressing. I think what historic and pioneer represent is another attept to reset the power of magic gameplay. In the old online MMORG games it will be like rebooting the server so everyone restarts with new stats, except this time the game/format rules are diffeerent because the cardpool is different. Specifically... no fetch lands. Thats huge. brainstorm is good because of fetch lands. Any non-basic land with swamp, plains, mountain,island,forest are stronger than any basic land because of fetchlands. This makes pathways better (in pioneer and historic) or at least less weak.

Another aspect of playability is similar to 4), they are printing shitloads of cards that are eternal relevant. Kudos to that, but probably not good for players who hate change (and its not even change if their decks are not completely outmoded). People like to use the term "soft-rotation", that is only true if you roll over and do not adapt your decks. I believe Legacy players and Vintage players are better than that.

7) Social Acceptability?

This year also saw WOTC banning cards like Crusade or Invoke Prejudice for being depictions of racism.... not much to say here. But this year has quite a few upheavals so i guess its natural for WOTC to do this. Here is the full list

Have a good 2021 everyone :) Happy New Year!

ARENA LD 2020 Land Destruction

2020-05-26T00:42:00.001+08:00

So my favorite decktype has always been Prison, specifically LD.

Prison effects then to be things like Chalice of the Void, sphere of resistance, trinity sphere.

The problem is always whether you can lock down before they present a threat and after lockdown, can you maintain the lock.

A hard lock could be Kismet + Winter Orb for instance.

But wotc has veered away from such tactics.

So for modern, there are less prison effects but midrangy LD decks still exist. There is the attrition types and there are the comboish types (madcap Experiment + Emperion), I am normally more of the atttrition based player. I rather like, ember swallower, and Polukranos as my kill cum removal. I am also partial to w/r versions of LD with Ghostly Prison, Boom//Bust, Flagstones of T??? something. + Darksteel citadels...

But I digress.

In standard, the LD is usally horrifically suboptimal. Fair enough since Standard is usually already slower. But occasionally the stars align and a LD deck is possible. I remember back in Theros I was able to build a semi viable LD deck that ramps into a turn 3 LD and uses Chandra, Torch of Defiance to draw cards (effectively) + Chandra Pyromaster to double the LD effects. Chandra ToD is pretty important as it is like a howling mine, letting my draw more LD than they have incoming land. So my ability to keep the LD coming (in lieu of prison effects) is dependent on Chandra Tod and Pyromaster. Ember Swallower is my LD + Kill, while Polukranous is kill + removal. What I like about Ember Swallower and Polukranos is that they are essentially 2 cards in 1, much like the Adventure cards, though the adventure are cards are far more potent.

And again I digress :P

So standard. Standard we are usually stuck with 4cc LD. Not great really, but turn 3 LD in standard might be a strong enough play. The next thing is redundency. i.e. there must be 2 cards that are LD even if they are both 4cc :( And this we have: Demolish + Ruin Readings.

Next we need the ramp, back in original Theros, we had Sylvan Carytid. Yes the card that shot up in Pioneer! :p I was already using it then, it was a 2cc ramp. I liked it as it had hexproof and could block if necessary. In current 2020 standard, we actually have 2! paradise Priest and IIysian Dryad.

The main issue I see is there is no Chandra Tod or Pyromaster esque style of generating advantage :(

So we have to try to bump around with big monster and hope it sticks. Back in original Theros, the big hitters were ember swallowers and Polukranos. I think Chandra could ping too. with her +1

Anyways this is the current list i have:

The defense is quite a bit better tho, I now have death touch 1/1s, 8 removals. The only chance for me to generate multiple LS is via underworld breach. not great. But we'll see i guess.

i do get two "sphere" effects though, Dovin and God Pharoah's Statue.

My kills are the Phoenix, Dragon and Chandra provides the card draw :p oki so I might have my engine afterall.

So far I have one win, of course this is ARENA best of 1, so it is easier :p

But the win was a mix of lucky draws, I only played one LD but it was my strongest : Casualties of War. Killing their biggest threat and knocking out a land is pretty brutal. (I was on the receiving end a few times, so .... that was partly what kindled my old flame for LD ;P)

Anyways lets see how this goes.

King Kat 2.0!!

2020-05-25T23:45:00.002+08:00

This is an updated version of my ARENA cat deck, KINGKAT!!

I have added Ajani! King of the Kitties!

Well Ajani is pretty moderate to be honest. He is a good fit for the deck, Cat master and all, but he produces little pridemates! Awesome to be sure!

However as a kill plan, he is like superman and not like superman. He is like superman cos well he fits and plays to this deck pretty well. Gains life, makes pridemates and even his ultimate is relevant (this deck can go craazy with lifelink pretty quickly), so he is my onesided , albeit conditional, shatter the sky! But most of all he is like superman because... he is boring. He is one track and can attack only in a certain manner. He does not give me a new angle of attack and my opponent can see the game plan coming from far far far.... very far away (clue: its more of the same :p) which is actually also his plus point so its not that bad. Ajani, lets this deck do its thing with a bit more consistency. So its all good, like super ya. But he is not like super man for the very same reasons, he is just more of the same ... arguable suboptimal plan (hehe). Some planewalker drop and you know the game is kinda over. Liliana, Jace, Terferi, both big and small. But Ajani? Man. Its awesome that I cannot see my opponent in ARENA. I think he is probably giggling.

Oh well. I think I am shitting on Ajani pretty badly. I mean its not his fault that he was made for bad decks like mine :P

And oh ! This deck's highest run so far is up to Platinum tier 3 w00t! I am not sure if I can go all the way to diamond then mythic? But lets see. It is definitely getting harder as now I can drop from tier 3 to tier 4 0.o.

So lets see how it goes.

King Kat!!

2020-05-15T15:19:00.002+08:00

So this is Cat deck that I just built on Arena.

Granted. How I built this was by buying a shit load of packs and then opening all at once.

Which is probably a stupid thing to but whatever. I just wanted to see whats in Ikoria and start durdling with the cards. I also partly wanted to see how far 99 USD gets me. Hmmm I actually can't really tell yet. But I think its bad :p.

Probably should do the 70 draft thing before ripping open all your packs.

Anyways my deck in any case is something simple. Its a Cat deck. And thank God, one of the rares is Kaheela, the Orphanguard. My companion of choice for this deck.

I kinda randomly spent 10 minutes with Cats as my theme, and stuck a bunch of removals and cats together and voila!

KING KAT!

My main removal is divine arrow (I hated that card in WAR, mostly cos it killed the Pengasus 0.0) but its cool here. The art is different.

It is mostly a rehash of Ajani Pridemate but with his cat buddies.

Now I do not think this deck is very competitive. It is probably extremely budget. You likely do not need to spend 99 usd, all that did was give me a full set of the commons I need I think :/

But I think right now I have the advantage of surprise? As the cards are still new, companion is new etc.

Oh did I mention the deck has squirrels? Yes! Squirrels! They either get first strike or flying. I normally go with flying since this deck is an offensive deck.

Pacifism is a welcomed tool. The charmed stray is this deck's life link bird that can grow biggar!! But without flying. But Kaheela pumps up the kitties ya, so its all good.

Light of hope has been an all star, from kill opponent creatures or doubling!! the damage output of the charmed stray (easy since it is just a 1/1) it is awesome. Plus it destroys enchantments and or can gain 4 life in a pinch and upgrade the pridemate at instant speed. Very awesome really.

Blade Banish and The Wanderer can suck at times when you face weenies or tymera the terrible? the 2/x demigod. But it has sucked less than it has not sucked. So far.

Anyways I think I need 1 sweeper. Unfortunately I did not open much theros so I do not have shatter the sky :(

Solid is footing is awesome.... until I cast Kaheela... which gives vigilance to all my kitties (and squirrels... oops nightmare).... then it kinda sucks so just be aware. Otherwise a flash permanent +1/+1 is pretty rad.

Last but not least Cubwarden is awesome with mutate. Essentially it is a hasty 3/5 when you mutate it on a creature. And then it makes more kitties w00t! Lifelinking too!

Overall I am in love with this deck so far.

Has Kaheela been oppresive? So far I think not... it makes my deck suck less, that is for sure. Having a 3cc 3/2 at my beck and call allows me to keep shady hands. Like all removal or some shit like that, since I KNOW I will have a threat. Then again so does my opponent. I think the creature and abilities will play out very differently depending on what they actually are and what deck they are fed in.

For instance for Kaheela, most times you do not need to play her as soon as you can. You can hold her back in case of a shatter the sky. Or you can go in for the kill if you happen to get a turn 3 4/4 lifelinker. (turn 1, kitty, turn 2 kitty + some +1/+1, turn 3 Kaheela!, turn 4 Cubwarden!)

So it gives flexibility and allows more playable hands.

Now of course not all companions will be so innocious. Some are higher powered (I still think Lurrus can be overcomed, I am an optimist :) ) . But probably WOTC need to think carefully about the IMPRESSION that companions will give on the outset before they are adapted to. Lurrus I fear is overly biased against to be saved. :(

At lease we still have Kaheela!

Disclaimer:
This deck probably sucks. I am normally not ambitious and will just keep losing till I meet someone who loses more than me. The wonderment of ARENA :p But I think magic is more fun when one can accept losses and change. And maybe that is for all the bruces out there to ponder about. In fact most veteran Legacy or Vintage players don't really care about the meta. It is already changing too fast. It is the Legacy boomers that have brought their bad habits from modern into Legacy and Vintage. :(

Companion makes decks more playable

2020-05-13T12:55:00.001+08:00

Another thought that came to mind about Companion as a mechanic is that it makes certain decks more playable.

Or it can be used to make games more playable in general.

Why? Because it is a guaranteed effect.

When? thats probably the mana costing portion.

What I had in my mind was Treefolk (cos the tribe really sucks :P) Then today I just realised this was a card!!

Kaheera, the Orphanguard

Essentially, it is a lord effect for cats that you can fetch once you hit 3 mana.

Thats pretty compelling. It can be used to shore up deck archetypes!

But not just that, properly tweaked, Companion can be used to ease Magic's playability issues, such as mana flood or mana choked. Maybe a Companion was a land, that fetch two more basic lands, but can only be played on the first turn, or can only be played on X turn, etc you get my drift. Mana flood, maybe sac up to two lands to draw two cards? Something like that.

Companions is Compelling design space.

It essentially adds, a guaranteed effect, WHEN you want it (restricted by mana and text of course).

That is very compelling strategically.

I think thats why Lurrus feels broken. You play it when you need it most. It comes down at the right time. Strategically. Now that is something players must consider. But it is new. And many cannot accept that. Is that right though?

It can be used to shore up and strengthen deck types.
It can be used to hose decktypes or strategies.
It can also be used to smooth out general gameplay issues.

I am still of the opinion that Lurrus is not broken. It probably could be weaker than it currently is, but its not the end of the world.

You know, in real life, what your boss would say you are if you had a problem but did not even try to find a solution for 3 weeks and then decided the problem is unsolvable. Yup.

Anyways.

Companion is very compelling design space, I think WOTC probably jumped the gun with Lurrus. They probably should have priced it higher or released it later with other compelling designs, or a card that hoses it. As it is , there interest in it is causing it ubiquity. We cannot tell that it is broken, we can only tell that it is good. But that is enough to give it the death row these days. So a hoser is a must these days if you are gonna print a strong card, cos the tournament players just cannot take it. They are unable to think and find solutions. If they cannot see an obvious solution in five minutes, it is broken. And the internet of echo chambers take over. It is sad. But it is what it is. Yes thats how dumb it is :p

Kaheera, the Orphanguard is probably the best that tournament players can accept, understand and ultimately deserve.

Good luck wizards.

Now go ban the hell out of Companions.

Ban and Restricted on 18th May 2020

2020-05-12T22:17:00.000+08:00

https://twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/1259997359179616256

whelp it looks like its going to happen again.

Which is sad.

Likely Lurrus is going to get banned given that it is played in many decks, despite many of this decks losing.

Despite some decks winning without Lurrus.

Vintage:
On 10th May out of 10 5-0 list, 3 had no Lurrus.
Which sounds bad, but as I said before it takes time, plus the addiction to Lotus is high in Vintage.

And even if Lurrus is as ubiquitous as it is (i.e. all decks) so is the power 9 0.o

But I don't actually believe that to be true. I think some decks actively do not want Lurrus.

Legacy:
Legacy challenge on 9th May
the only deck that 6-0, is Lurrus free. Yes all other losing decks are with Lurrus.

Modern:
9th May
out of 7 decks only one deck was without Lurrus.
Now Modern was a little strange. Initially it had less companion but then later there was greater saturation. Ad Nausem, the deck that was with ut Lurrus on 9th May, was previously losing with Lurrus earlier. For the other formats they had less Lurrus but later had more, but Legacy was beginning to have less Lurrus. While for Vintage, I think once it was established that Lotus was up for recurring, it was too irresistible. Still in a recent online unsanction Vintage tournament, thee winner was a bazaar deck that surprise surprise, did not play Lurrus.

What my obsevation so far tells me is that Lurrus can be played around. Now does its prevalence mean it should go. I don't think so, but apparently the internet thinks so. So whatever.

A thought recently cross my mind.

Are the pro/competitive players the issue? I mean WOTC has been down playing the role of pro players and I am beginning to see why. I mean, in fnms and kitchen tables. How often are the decks finely tuned and cut throat? How often is an individual dreaming of playing at a cut throat level. Thhe answer I suspect for the masses is extremely low. Yet, the cards for many are being banned for the pleasure of a few. (I am assuming tournament toting players are less than everyone else). That makes me wonder. Is competitive magic really healthy for the game. Take the very first tournament. The decks were extremely untuned but I think people had more fun. Subsequent tournaments got more and more refine, and more and more it became about beating your opponent's face to the ground metaphorically of course. But have NO DOUBT. Competitive play is about winning. And once you are winning, there is little to no so called interaction. I have always maintained the stance that the concept of interactive decks is BS. All decks try to get to the point where the opponent is no longer able to interact, whether is it a mid range that has out grinded the aggro, or the aggro that overwhelms the control, or the combo that just explodes before the opponent has time to react, or the prison deck that has locked down all resources so that winning is a formality. Magic competitively is always about getting to the point whether the opponent is unable to "interact" i.e. essentially: neutralised.

Do we really want cut throat fine tuned competitive play? I do not mind it, I actually enjoy it, but if it means cards get arbitrarily banned without allowing the meta to play out, then I prefer not to have competitive play.

I guess that is kinda what I do normally when I do play. We just mish mash a bunch of decks that probably are modern (or legacy if the cards are older). And just play. I guess what I am trying to say is competitive play is becoming less and less relevant with the bannings.

A Closer Look at Ikoria's Companion and Formats in general

2020-05-04T00:13:00.000+08:00

I do not think Companion as is is broken.

Even as we see Lurrus run amok initially, there are signs that the other Companions are starting to see play. And more than that some decks are still 5-0 without companions (slivers?? and Gifts Storm and an Izzet Control deck, there could be more).

On the third point some may counter that 3 decks (unconfirmed but I think the number is really moot but I'll play along) is a pittance....

But my counter to that is that there are like half of those so-called broken Companion decks that are LOSING as well. Why don't ppl count them?? 0.o

Seriously ppl the bias is really comical. Bruces keep saying that Companion decks are winning and non-companion decks are losing but they keep cherry picking and mashing data to suit their narrative. Just like Eldrazi winter I guess.

Anyway.

I do not think Companion as is is broken.

In fact I think Companion is a very compelling concept.

I always felt the sideboard is a luxury. Thats what people do not realise, a sideboard is kinda already cheating. So if you feel a particular mechanic is broken... ermm yo'll wanna get rid of your sideboard and play fair? Sounds ridiculous right? Exactly. :P

Anyways ARENA kinda took care of that with the best of one with no sideboards. So I am a happy man.

Now why talk about sideboards, Companion obviously.

But thats why Companion feels broken.

It is your sideboard concept on steroids!

Now rewind back to Karn the Great Creator (henceforth KGC).

KGC is like a reverse companion, he literally fetches you a card from the sideboard at will!

BUT you still need to draw naturally into KGC to get the card. That is the "drawback" of being a card in your library (60 cards). That is the drawback of KGC

Fast-forward to Companion... do you see that they removed KGC and you straight up TUTOR the sideboard card?

That is the power inherent in the concept of Companion.

I know I know, I said I like companions and do not want them ban so why am I highlighting a very potentially bannable approach to looking at it.

I am highlighting because I do not think it is broken... yet. I do not think being able to play Lurrus at will once you hit 3 mana is very powerful. It is being able to play Lurrus once you hit 3 mana at will when your opponent's strategy is to board wipe you and hope you have no recourse after you stupidly overextended. Lurrus lets you come back!

What was the point of the para above? Lurrus is only good against certain decks in certain situations. At best, it lets you come back after being wiped, one permanent a turn. At worse it is a 3/2 with lifelink. Don't get me wrong, its a good card. But it is not the end of the world. It can be exiled, the graveyard can be hated on etc.

Aside:
(another point of irritation, ppl.... the sideboard is for you hate out stuff, yes sometimes a deck is dominant you hate on it, maybe an anti-deck arises... its not broken... it is exactly as it should be, it was like that since Necro, since Combo winter, thats what the bloody sideboard is for. And if you say players left then, well players are leaving now too! Thing is the people who cannot adapt will leave, and really this is for Hasbro and WOTC, do you think these people who will never change their deck will buy new products? Or the people who adapt? Seriously.)
End Aside.

So ya I am still pretty pro Companion and like the concept.

But I cannot deny that it is very powerful. So Lurrus is powerful because it is a tutorable effect that does not need a tutor !! Like you can now fetch a card at will without an in between card (like a tutor, e.g. vampiric tutor, demonic tutor etc). It is powerful when it is played against decks that are weak against it.

Now. What if for every sideboard option, you have a companion equivalent.

Thats why companion in its most pushed form, becomes a sideboard on steroids. If we think of a sideboard as a mechanic. You essentially bring in new cards (not in your 60) and you can only play them in your next game and you have the draw back of having to naturally draw into it (and at the cost of a card in your starting 60). Companion lets you have the card immediately.

Now. This is balanced by the fact that you can have only one companion (phew!). So at best you can only have one tutorable sideboard card. (I checked this here, https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Companion).
Now if you can have multiple Companions.. that would be interesting but would likely make more people unhappy :P

But as it is , you can only have one Companion and I think that is a good decision, else it will be even more powerful.

But as it is I think Companion is not broken, it is an advantage at the cost of a sideboard option. If you use Lurrus for example as a sideboard, then yes Lurrus is strong. But you play a random Companion, you get a tutorable creature, not the most impressive. So it is highly dependent on the ability of the Companion.

And again as is... it does not seem brroken yet. And Companion is a rather compelling design space that I hope will not fall victim to the Bruces out there 0.0

Over the next decade perhaps? WOTC should be able to make some really interesting cards using Companion. And conceptually it like a pet 0.0 I think that kinda is appealing too.

Now about Formats (now is just random rambling). This is something that came out as I thought about Companion. If people really hated it that much they could announce before a tournament will it be Standard or Standard+Companion. It will be essentially two formats =D

But why stop there? I believe eventually you will have custom formats. Already you can do this at a casual level with house rules etc. Imagine if the LGS can have its own ban list, and to not kill value, it can regularly shuffle up the list every few months. Now what about all them broken decks!! Should they not burn forever in Magic's Hell? Being a custom format means you can easily have a rule that says a deck cannot contain a certain combination of cards, so for instance if Hogaak and Faithless Looting are too broken together, you can ban this combination rather than ban the cards wholesale. So you diminish the deck. but you do not kill it. And you do not cause collateral damage to other decks.

Of course this would be a royal mess in terms of global deck building and more importantly for global tournaments. I mean if the format is so fluxxy, how are people going to prepare? Well first of all, remember in my last post, I hinted that part of the problem with the data and the meta in general is people just netdeck blindly. You see it in the Lurrus situation, people blindly netdeck and create and artificial bump in the meta numbers.

Aside rant:
(and some idiots will say the meta is saturated with 30%, it stupid disingenious or moot, pick one. Even if it is 100%, it is moot until a few months and even then it is dependant on players not netdecking -- I have faith that in a few months the REAL brewers will actually come out with something - Hey during ELdrazi winter they actually did it in a few weeks, so ya, I do have faith in some of the Magic Community, kudos to those who keep the game alive by continuing to express your creativity! Go TEAM OATH ;))
End aside rant

So back to how it will be messy globally, well we can still keep standard, modern, legacy or whatever we have in future, and it is important to have these formats to allow WOTC to have a presence. But at the local level, maybe the LGS can be allowed to sanction custom formats. This will allow more flexibility and freshness in the meta. And most importantly. You cannot netdeck. haha. You can still look at the global lists and build a deck and if it fits the custom format, good for you. But if not? You gotta tweak it. I think this will force people to put more effort in deckbuilding and encourage more exploration of cards. It will also kinda obviate globally available lists to the point that you should be able to make the data irrevlevant. Why is that good? You cannot netdeck. haha. Really. Killing netdecking will save the game. It will also divide and conquer the bruces. Having flexible local custom formats will also allow LGS to make every one happy, ban hogaak for a month then next month is a hogaak special etc. Now this concept should not be that strange to gamers. Its like the old online game "mage" something where you build your kingdom, you can PVP other players but at the end of the year thhe server is reset. Think of the meta shifts as reset. (I think this is partly why alot of people get upset when their meta resets... it is normal to online oldish tech people (like myself)... imagine if Chess changed rules every few months !!)

Anyway thats about all I have to rant about today.

Is Ikoria broken?

2020-04-29T00:54:00.001+08:00

The correct answer should be :

Currently nobody knows.

However already you already have the bruces baying for blood.

As per expectation, anything playable is deemed broken.

Even if nothing in particular is dominating... incredulously 0.o

Now my opinion:

Ikoria cards are NOT broken.

Now I feel that Ikoria cards can go two ways:

Current mass playing of cards is actually normal, sincefor every new set for the first month or two, people will use it willy nilly.

Whats more, the playbook s almost already written for how to use these cards, so its easy to use them.

Is that a problem? Apparently the usual whiners think so :(

Now the only difference between the past sets and now is that, the decks utilising the new cards are winning.

Does it mean the cards are good? Maybe.

Thing is, some decks are still not playing the cards but are 5-0.

And in fact for Vintage it looks like after thhe initial salvo of decks, there seems to be a drop in the number of decks actually sporting the new companion cards.

For legacy it is less clear.

But again this can g two ways and both with companion cards looking like the way they are now.

1) Its a fad. People are just testing it out.

Now I cannot tell you the number of times a new card is used does well, supposedly fits with a deck. The inexplicably, it is dropped about a month or two later.

I suspect this is what is happening with some decks in modern and legacy. Certainly in vintage.

2) It is actually good.

Now this seems to be the case for some decks in legacy. And I suspect this to be true too. But heres the thing, just because it beats the current decks does it mean it is broken?

Just because you need to play it to win, does it mean it is broken.

Just because you need to adapt, does it mean it is broken.

Now. We are only 2 weeks into Ikoria. Please... what adaptation has there been?

But yet you have jokers that are collating data to say the decks are broken.

Please read the post before this, to know my thoughts on that.

Esseentially, the data is just reflecting current interest in the new cards, and given the net decking addiction, you will see big numbers playing these decks.

Now I think Ikoria decks are truly not broken.

It is just that the companion cards are the new planeswalkers.

The only difference is that back in the days of Lorwyn, the whiners have not become thhe vocal minoriy that we see now. Back in the days of Lorwyn, the data of decklists are not ABUSED. Yes I use the word ABUSE. Because the way we use data is abnormal. Data should be used to finetune your decks. But we are just COPYING the decks.

Magic will DIE not from seemingly "broken" cards, but from the addled minds that cannot build new decks or adapt new decks.

Now why I think companion is not brooken? It is the new planeswalker. there is nothing to answer it. Already you can tell from what players are saying. It cannot be removed by standard modes of interaction, you cannot discard it, you might be able to counter it. You cannot even cap it.

That it what makes it look "powerful". The fact that it is a new zone literally.

The solution is really to build answers.

The so called broken portion is thhe ability to play it from the sideboard. Once it can be interacted with , it will no longer be "broken" ....

So its not so much that companion is broken, it is more that a new zone of play has been opened and it is not fully developed. (Hence it currently cannot be interacted with).

Now.

Asumming the ability to play from sideboard, and hence "not being able to be interacted with" is so powerful. ANd you have to play it to remain competitive.

Does that mean it is broken 0.o ??

I mean this change in attitude is so strange and defeatist.

1) You have NOT demonstrated desire to adapt.

2) You refuse to play the new mechanic. Is'nt it normal that sometimes new mechanics come and people use it?

This is abit like Oko. Oko was just a little too flexible for its own good.

If it were to cost 1GG or 1UU rather than 1GU, it might have been slightly harder to fit and hence be deemed less ubitiqous.

Its really sad when Oko was banned, UG was still rampant in all the formats that it was banned. What this means is that either URO is equally broken, OR its just that UG has been powered up. :/

So banning Oko does nothing really, except now you do not need to play Oko to have the BEST version of your deck. Now you have to play URO .

You realise how STUPID that sounds. but that what everyone (at least the vocal minority) is asking for.

Its sad really.

Anyways, if anyone reads this. I beseech you to wait at least 3-4 months before banning anything.

The banning of Breach the Underworld in legacy was particularly stupid.

Or don't listen keep banning.

Modern is in a sad state for its bannings, there are more slots in the grave for other formats :)

Modern Rant on too many Bannings

2020-03-09T17:26:00.004+08:00

Wizards needs to stop banning and print less.

Thats the systemic part of things.

Banning only removes the immediate pain/problem. It devolves the game into a state where the solution to the strongest deck in the meta is to ban something in it.

You see this all the time, everyone recommending a card they lost to.

One question wizards likes to ask in surveys is what do you enjoy in the game.

I am sure there are other reasons to like the game, art, the stock marketesque behaviour of the value of thhe cards... but more than anything (at least based on tournament magic) is the feeling winning.

Fundamentally players love to win, more than building decks. More than learning how to beat a deck. This is why everyone flocks to the lastest and greatest (before it gets banned), whilst at the same time complaining "its so broken".

I think modern was always broken. You can read all my postings and I have been consistent. Modern is a format of flux. Or bannings if you like. If modern as a format is too weak, would you say it was broken? I would because every willy nilly that is respectably strong will prove too strong. Modern is like a person with a weak immune system, it has very low tolerance and defences are down. What happens when a strong flu comes by? BAM.

I think the mistake WOTC made was to indulge in bannings. Bannings used to be sacred with Aaron. I think the floodgates open with Eldrazi Winter.

Eldrazi Winter marked the beginning of the slide downwards. Eldrazi Winter was the most fun I had in modern! I have always argued that the problem was that they unleashed an archetype ( which had multiple variants) of decks. So it was never one deck the community was up against, but a whole possible slew of decks. All strong. It was beautiful watching the meta. It was beautiful because there WERE people trying to beat the best decks. And they won! Its just that each time they learnt how to beat one deck another rose in a quick clip, and even then Team Oath matched it. Its just that the "bruces" in the community (Bruce Banner... get it? never mind) were up in arms baying for blood, never allowing for hard fought victories to be celebrated. We have a pretty toxic community.

What wizards really did with the release of the Oath Eldrazis is to up the power level required in the game.

Now Power level is a completely different argument. Modern as a card pool can by now support pretty high power levels. I would argue that it can compete with Legacy (some have observed this, that a strong modern deck can hold its own against at least some Legacy decks).

So the real question is what level does WOTC want to pitch modern at.

I think this is the part that WOTC has been failing abysmally at.

They have been unclear. It is okay if they ban what they did in Eldrazi Winter. Thats fine. It how they did it. They made it appear that they are giving in to whiner's requests. And that has only made it worse.

Modern is WOTC's game. From Modern Horizons and the establishment of Pioneer. To me this is indicative thhat WOTC wants pioneer to take on the role that modern did (essentially to hand hold Standard players moving on to older formats). But Modern has grown up as a card pool. WOTC printing Modern Horizons is very fitting and fun! And it seems to have raised the power level again. But again the community is unable to accept it. I think there are 4 reasons for it:

1) Printing too fast
2) Banning too fast
3) Toxic Community
4) Lack of Innovation/ Net Decking

1) This I mentioned earlier. Printing too much changes the meta too quickly. Magic players have historically been slow to react to a meta. See Necro Summer, see Academy/Combo Winter or any instance in the past when a card was dominating (oh even JTMS). By printing too fast you can't really determine if a particular card is broken since, before it can be addressed someting new "breaks the format" (aside: and why do you think the format keeps getting broken? its too weak... and lacks the tools and depth).

2) Banning too fast. These days a week or two is all it needs to get the bruces up in arms calling for bans bans bans. Oh have you ever notice some of these guys get into the older formats and start calling for bans? 0.0 Thing is if you keep banning, the decks never evolve and get strong. Does it seem strange to you that some decks are ALWAYS there. Ya they would be something else if there were less bans since they would be forced to evolve. So its always the same old decks getting killed by the new deck then WOTC bans the new deck.... Banning too fast quickly perpetuates the problem, it does not fix it. The new card gets scapegoated. There is also the criteria for banning which has gotten more and more rediculous over time. Too much time taken, ban it for the tournament but not the format! People do not like it? That is completely subjective and stupid (sry can't not call a spade a spade here). Ban it cos it is in every deck??? I mean... it just means the card ishigh in utility not broken. Sure you do not want too many cards like that, but to straight out ban just for that reason... that like banning the card because people actually want to play with it (not like its even winnng tournaments 0.0)

3) Toxic community. Nothing to see or do here. People will say what they want to say. Just have a mind of your own when you read these comments (even what you read here ;)). THOUGH! Getting rid of data was a very big step! During Eldrazi Winter there were 3-4 variants of ELdrazi, each taking a share of the meta, but they were all lumped as one. Legacy players should be familiar with this accusation, all the decks with brainstorms are one single deck ya? right. Data my foot. Another portion of the toxic community is that of public and popular writer fueling th echo chamber with their opinions. Just today, there are murmerings that a ban announcement can no longer be "no change" but something MUST be banned or something MUST be unbanned. That is just an opinion of the writer trying to influence the denizens of the echo chamber. WOTC can very announce "NO CHANGE" the reason is purely PR, to indicate to the community that they are still there. And more IMPORTANTLY THEY DECIDED that blah blah. On their time, on their terms. This is something WOTC has given up over the last few years, the authority that they have over the bannings. The bannings are now a circus of what comes out of the echo chamber of "players" who my or may not contribute to the bottomline mind you.

4) Lack of Innovation/ Net Decking. People like to win. That is the biggest reason the whiners are whining. Plus they don't like to think! So net decking is the perfect drug for our ailments. WHat happens when there is a dominant deck? Well kill it of course! Just look at the flurry of activity in forums to see what people's priorities are. Clue: its not building decks. This is also why removing is strangly the right move to fuel innovation. Data mostly lets you know match up results so that you know which decks do best, thats how you can refine your deck too when you make changes and compare it with how it fares. HOWEVER. When that data is released to everyone, just remember people do not like to think, so they will just take that latest greatest deck and run with it! So when a new dominant deck seems to be putting up numbers and meta share in a tournament or a set of tournaments for the month. It is really meaningless. Since, its new and no one if trying to beat it + all the net deckers will ensure that it takes a big metashare. Law of big numbers ensure that a sizable number make it to day 2. So really the data is almost tailor made to mislead because of how players react to it. Hence restricting data is a good control in today's internet speed of information dissemination. The act of allowing "free flow no restriction" release of data, and not putting their own interpretation of said data, has a good percentage of culpability in todays' predicament.

I do not think the problems of modern are solvable anytime soon... I do believe the detractor will eventually leave. If WOTC leaves the power level alone (and have some unbannings) it will become another legacy level powered format. I think making modern a standard level powered format is not feasible (this is true for pioneer as well), the reason for this is a paradox. Power sells. The key to remember is power is often overated. The Lotuses and Moxes of VIntage are NOTHING if there was'nt a restriction on certain cards... certain relatively new cards... so power level is one thing, printing the cards to bring things into balance is another. Modern or any other growing format will never be just standard powered forever (since standard is really just a block format 0.0). If WOTC depowers Modern, I think it will be irrelevant over time since there is no reason to play it. For people who like a lower power level there is standard and pioneer (the new modern). Modern has outlived its role. It can still stay relevant by being something other than legacy (which is very possible).

I believe cardpool wise a modern deck can compete with legacy, so modern can still be a relevant format, if WOTC bans less (the lease they can do if they are not going to print less).

Hmmm well another radical way to "fix" mordern, would be to auto ban all new standard sets. The cards will be fixed then and no new cards will get introduced. This is assuming the current power level is something everyone wants including WOTC.

If new sets keep entering Modern's power level will keep going up and we will keep seeing bannings for as long new sets keep coming... this is a rather strange predicament.

And new set must always push the envelope, at least for some sets, or else interest will wane, so printing only weak cards is not a solution, it only SCAMs the individuals who bought those sets and later get crushed in modern 0.0

Anyway that is my rant.

Some Pioneer Thoughts

2020-01-09T08:07:00.002+08:00

I think pioneer is an interesting format... in that they can shape it in any way they want. This is true for all formats of course, but pioneer has more relevance and legitamacy in that it covers range of sets since the RTR. What is most significant about that set onwards is that it was the beginning of massive print to demand as well as a collective depowering of sets. Sure there were strong cards that slipped through, thank goodness for that (even hasbro/wotc should be thankful for that as it keeps them different from a company that sells toilet paper ya? I.e. your cards are worth more than toilet paper)

I just read somewhere about every 10 years being a cut off of sorts to create a new eternal format. This is an interesting concept... in that in a strange way it fosters what players shpuld be doing but are not invested enough to do... using current legacy and modern as an example. Modern has over 10 years accumulated alot of power and speed. Such that decks can be built from its pool such that they can challenge legacy decks. It was always my belief that eldrazi winter was actually containable... it only highlighted the low power artificially induced by bannings. EVEN with bannings, it was a coco deck that got the last laugh by beating a string of eldrazi decks to win the last major tournament before the eye of ugin bannings. Of course nobody lauds that. But again kudos to the team gatewatch that fought the good fight of finding ways to beat the top decks. Good ole magic style.

But i digress, my point is really just in a nutshell, over 10 years the cumulative sets should in theory build up enough power to challenge older formats.
Why is this interesting with regard to the way magic players do not accumulate cards today (as opposed to old farts like me 2 decades ago)? Here's why:

The creation of these 10 year block eternal formats artificially encourages players to accumulate cards and essentially store and build their collection for 10 years... by which time in terms of power level, their collection would very likely be able to challenge decks from older formats.

If this is the intended effect of creating new formats every 10 years... then all i can say about wotc is that it is brilliant!!

[Note: I wrote this about when Pioneer just started... and since the bannings... well I have some new thoughts but mostly these thoughts are still the same]

[Deck] WW Moxie

2019-08-13T00:13:00.002+08:00

maintained at Sally

ww moxie

4 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Savannah Lions
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Resplendent Angel
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
4 Honor of the Pure
21 Plains
4 Mox Amber
4 Path to Exile

This deck was originally built on MTG Instant... a really fabulous app... until the data portion got corrupted and I lost about 100+ deck/deckideas :(

So now here I am trying to recall my more recent decks :P

[deck] Minotaur

2019-08-12T23:55:00.001+08:00

wow....

SO its been 5 years since I first cobbled together that deck on a whim....

Anyways this is the updated version:

Minotaur

4 Deathbellow Raider
4 Rageblood Shaman
2 Kragma Butcher
4 Ragemonger
3 Boros Reckoner
4 Fanatic of Mogis
4 Gnarled Scarhide
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
1 Mogis, God of Slaughter
5 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Hammer of Purphoros
4 Metallic Mimic
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Chandra, Pyromaster

Mostly it is an upgrade of the lands to fast lands (bloodcleave cliffs) and fetch lands

Metallic Mimic is a more recent upgrade from Aether Revolt.

So many changes!!! But some things never change...

The deck still sucks :p

But its a fun tribal and should win some games, just that you have no free wins and you are ulimately playing what the kids will call a fair deck. :)

Have fun people!

I placed  aback up list on sally just in case.

Recently my data on MTG Instant App got wiped... which was terrible I had like over a hundred random deck ideas... *poof* all gone..... I only remembered this because I know I blogged it before \0.0/

[Deck] UG Merfolk

2019-08-12T21:20:00.001+08:00

UG Merfolk

4 Kumena's Speaker
3 River Sneak
4 Deeproot Elite
3 Lord of Atlantis
3 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Merfolk Branchwalker
2 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
4 Merfolk Mistbinder
2 Jadelight Ranger
2 Deeproot Waters
3 One With the Wind
3 Waterknot
4 Forest
4 Island
3 Breeding Pool
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Botanical Sanctum
1 Sleep


Sideboard
1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Merfolk Trickster
2 Aetherize
1 Echoing Truth
4 Force of Negation
1 Sleep

Will likely edit it at Sally

This deck was originally formed on (of all things) ARENA.... of course that was standard.. so porting it to modern I was seeking to still retain the green portion of the deck will harnessing what modern had to offer.

I deliberately tried to not use aether vial. However spreading sea's synergy with Lord of Atlantis and Master of the pearl trident's island walk ability does pull this deck in a different direction..

I did not use spreading seas as the deck had evasion in the form of unblockables and flying via one with the wind... however spreading seas is very tempting.

One thing that I did not have is main deck echoing truth.... I figured since it was a substandard answer to T2 Hogaak which I think will likely not happen so often, I will take my chances and try to race via evasion. T2 Hogaaks are just part of the meta and are not consistent anyway. at least I am counting on that :p

Spreading seas and aether vial would slow down the deck... a little....

[Deck] Werewolf

2019-08-12T21:19:00.003+08:00

Werewolf

4 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Kessig Prowler
4 Brazen Wolves
4 Deranged Whelp
4 Lambholt Pacifist
4 Howlpack Resurgence
6 Forest
6 Mountain
4 Cinder Glade
4 Warped Landscape
4 Game Trail
4 Moonlight Hunt
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Arlinn Kord

Deck editor used is that at Sally

The lowest denominator

2019-02-05T04:31:00.001+08:00

Never underestimate stupidity.

Thats a mantra i hold in my everyday life. I accept people for who they are but unless i know more about them and am reasonably confident of them, i do not rely on them to do the right thing. And definitely they are not the measure by which i make my decisions, my decisions are meant to work despite of them.

Magic has been infuriating for a long time. Its hard for me not to feel vindictive and har har at all those baying for banning for cards that they do not like. Magic has finally made a tweak for a new low ( or high in terms of simplfication/dummification) in pushing for BO1 in Arena. Now don't get me wrong i love Arena and I support BO1. Because the principles are correct. When i first started sideboards infuriate me. I did not understand why could we not just play the 75 cards as a deck, and i still do. Face it. BO1 is just a different format, it is simpler to understand, but the meta is harder. It is a different game (in the sense that duels are different games from highlander and really pauper, standard, modern are really all different games).

Arena is really introducing a Magic that is simpler for those not familiar with the game. For those saying those "new" players should learn the rules. Its really the same as asking those who could not follow KCI (seriously...) to learn the rules. The result is the rules were too difficult and in general KCI was killed. The masses hated it and wizards pandered to the masses. People, becareful what you wish for because Wizards in implementing and pushing for the masses is doing exactly that in pushing for Arena. Same for when they killed Eldrazi, eggs and the latest KCI. It just so happens that the common denominator has lowered.

And for the record i do enjoy Arena, in a sense i have joined the masses. For better or for worse, i tire of the constant simplification and dumbing down of the game in other formats. So much so that a game there is the same as a game in Arena. I enjoy the fact that i no longer need to consider the format toomuch and just wing games with much less time invested. Yes i am copping out, but you see, the same happened to me when i was with the other formats, where literally archtypes are hated for being supposedly non-interactive because my opponent is too dumb ro build against it, where LD was neutered for being "unfun" again because my opponent is too dumb to face me by building his deck to defeat LD, or counterspells because players feel negatively about them instead of just building or playing around them. Eldrazi winter was the funnest period of modern for me. It was the first time people had to innovate and think of how to defeat the beast. Sure people will say the data, but that is misinformation. The problem with Eldrazi winter was that wizard really released a pillar in the format. Not a deck or an archtype, but a whole friggin pillar. Hence Eldrazi was difficult to pin down, because they came in many forms, attacked in different ways. But because they all used some form of Eldrazi, they were lumped as Eldrazi decks. Anyways that party had to end, luckily it ended with a combo deck mowing down 3 eldrazi decks (sounds familiar ....KCI? Heh). Yet at that time no one baying for blood recognised that Eldrazi could be contained. The vocal group was not interested in defeating it, only for its banning.

Arena is not really like a ban, but kinda in a reverse way, since it is a format with the simplification built in. I feel less appalled by it (as opposed to some ban simplifying the game) as it does not threaten current gameplay and is actually quite fun.

If you feel that Arena is dumbing down and takes something away form you (since it is something wizards is pushing for competitively as the mainstream). Let me just say i understand how you feel, it sucks to be you. But you really just need to embrace it, just like i embraced the evolution/dumbing down of magic all these years.

To the thought that magic has 20 years of history and complexity that makes it a great game? That same complexity was treated as a dumpster fire in the KCI banning. And the game is still alive *gasp*

Enjoy magic as it comes people.

Modern rant 20190202

2019-02-03T12:29:00.001+08:00

One of the worst things that wotc could have done is to kill KCI outright. No doubt it was a little strong, but is a combo deck not allowed to dominate? Thing is it is consistent, and has placed but it is hardly a combo winter, it is just spiking once in a while and in fact the phoenix deck mowed through two KCI? The last win was a cop out since the KCI player had to leave.

One might argue that KCI is overpowered and the only reason thw Phoenix deck won is that it too was overpowered.

Therein lies the rub. When does it end? We just keep banning ? Which is fine really the more things change, the more they stay the same 😅😅😅 if you have followed my post from the past, i have predicted that modern is a format of flux, with frequent bannings to facilitate the flux and maintanence of some ideal (as opposed to letting the meta find itself).

Which is kinda awesome I guess 😅😅😅

Commander 2013

2019-02-02T22:48:00.000+08:00

CNY clearing, found mtg, magic the gathering commander 2013!! Power Hungry and Evasive Maneuvers are unopened, but the box has some tears (can see in the photo). Eternal Bargain and Nature of the Beast are open, but everything is inside and sleeved (i must have done it halfway in 2013 😅😅😅) i don't know where is Mind Seize.... will update this post if I ever find it

My first post in 2018.... and it is coming to an end lol

2018-12-12T13:06:00.000+08:00

I just tried MTGARENA and... it is pretty awesome.

So awesome I think it might kill paper magic if not for the requirement for paper magic to exist or at least for draft to exist.

Firstly, why is ARENA awesome.

Why it may kill Magic the papering

Why it probably won't

Why it does not matter really hur hur hur

Yes Energy is not the problem! And neither is Copter!

2017-12-30T22:45:00.000+08:00

Just a shout out to this article by craig wescoe

I fully agree with him.

Hell I would support anything that powers up standard :)

I think Energy is at the right level of power. I think Emrakul, the Promised End was fair, yes seriously. What was lacking is the proper removal or competing strategies.

There is a fallacy that the only way a "broken" situation can happen is when a card is broken.

The truth is that sometimes the card is broken. Sometimes it is the ENVIRONMENT that is broken. Its really two sides of the same coin, or a matter of perspective if you like. My take is standard and modern are too weak. I would like a more powerful baseline. (but thats WOTC's decision to make... but myself? I like a powerful standard at least, if not Modern - I can still deal with the current power level of Modern.. but Standard? Only Kaladesh block and Oath was good... the rest is mostly toilet paper)

The thing is I like a higher powered standard as it give my cards better LONGEVITY. Why? Because Modern. Because Eternal. You hate masters set? You hate paying through your nose for older expensive cards? Well guess what. part of the reason is that your standard cards that rotate every 1 or 2 years are not up to scratch.

So stop hating power level. Power creep is a problem for WOTC/Hasbro to settle. Not the the players. Not you and me. Power damping makes toilet paper out of your cards. Remember that :)

True, going completely crazy with increasing power is not good since if everyone is superman no body is super right? And then things get boring and people leave, orsomething like that. Well there are a few problems with that thought.

1) We are so far from that stage. Power damping (or the dumbing down of Magic) has been going on for more than a decade now... so no... Energy is not going to kill anything soon. Hell i would say Modern even after all its bannings almost contained Eldrazi Winter (which was the most exciting time of Modern for me).

2) In fact we are more like the villian in the cartoon Incredibles, where the villian takes out all the superheroes, so that if no one is super, then no one is special (something like that) i.e. dumb down everything so that NOTHING stands out. Standard has been this middling mid range mudhole for the longest time because of this stand.

3) Even if we go crazy and make everything powerful. Guess what WOTC has not been shy with that ginormous BANHAMMER!! So it is really not an issue. (It would kill that money maker of the masters series however)

No I don't want WOTC to go crazy and power up everything. (Since it might accidentally invalidate all the powerful strategies in Eternal and make my old cards valueless oops). But hey throw us a bone so that at the very least as we continue to trudge through year after year of standard we get to compete in Eternal.

And when we get a good effect like Energy. I say we (as players) cherish it and make it work. Instead of trying to ban it out of existence.... I mean unless you have a fetish for toilet paper, be my guest.

Chill.

[edit] Oh and I think Craig's idea of pushing the hate for powerful strategies in standard is sound. In fact the part where I disagree is that I am fine with the "extreme" hosers he mentioned e.g. flashfires. I think those are fine too, you just need to calibrate it to the threat. And not just the threat, but things that can circumvent the hosers. Like ... not all hosers were exactly powerful.. especially when they are out paced, or don't reach the board in time... if they even reach the board etc.... so it is all contextual. (oh look there it is again, its the environment that is the problem ;) )