Magic:The Gathering

[greedostick]

You clearly dont know much about standard right now as blue is by far the worst color in the current metagame.

True. I play during the revised ages, then stopped at Homelands. Picked back up during Return to Ravinia and loved it. But quit shortly after dragon's maze came out. So I am out of the loop.

I will look into splashing white. I just really suck at mana management for more than 2 colors. I honestly have no idea how to just splash a color for one or 2 cards to make sure I can get the mana on board every game to get them out.

Is there a specific formula on how much mana to add for each color?for example say I splash white and the highest cost white card is 1 Plains? Or 2 Plains. Or do you go by the total amount of Plains needed combined fir every white card in the deck? I saw the common 3 mana lands, obviously I would be using those or duals with green or black in them instead of straight up Plains.

Anyway, I made the deck and played a few rounds. I added master of the feast and he's great. I don't mind if people waste stuff on him because I'm waiting on graveblade anyway. I still need to tweak though. Cards are not going in graveyard fast enough.

I don't mind picking up cheap cards at all if they are rotating out. I just picked up the den protectors and hero's downfall cards because they will be played for sure till they rotate out.

 

[ki_atsushi]

You will need a healthy set of fetchlands for sure, which is not cheap. But those siege rhinos have won tournements, man. They are huge. 3 damage to the opponent(s), you gain 3, then you have a 4/5 body. And for 4 mana. It's insane.

And even after they rotate out in a year or so, that will still be a card people play. It's not going away. Neither are the fetchlands.

 

[Karou]

fetchlwnds?
like pollutedd delta and verdant catacombs I would trade my innistrad booster fresh liliana for? with some of her other cards like rise of...even thogh she covers on her own now?

wttf? ignore if its silly to ask. I have a zombie deck I pretend would work. I like the pictures. really only played back in revised ice age times.

 

[tacoguy]

The land ratio is a very delicate thing. Luckily people have done the math and figured out exactly the land question. For an agro deck you want anywhere from 18-22 just depending on your mana curve. For mid-range which is what you’ll most likely end up going with you want 23-25 lands. I’ve seen midrange run 23 lands using a bunch of mana dorks. And for control you want 26-28 lands. Those decks really can’t afford to miss any land drops the first 6 turns of the game.

As for what amount of color sources you should be running? That depends on how your deck is built. If you are playing a tri color deck you have you use land that produces multiple mana sources. The khans tri lands are a great place to start since those lands provide you with 3 colors. You will want to get your hands on fetchlands, and pain lands for now. When zendikar comes out you will most likely have to get whatever dual lands they print.

And like said before, siege rhino and fetch lands are very good buys right now since you most likely wont get these cards for much cheaper in the future. Not sure about den protector or death mist raptor future value, but they should hold value for the near future. We can help you out with your deck if you post it on here.


Im not sure what you are asking Karou. Are you asking us if you should trade your lilliana of the veil for some fetch lands?

 

[greedostick]

OK, I have seen the fetch lands. I assume you all are talking about the one like Windswept Heath. Why are these ones so good? Maybe I am missing something here. But they seem like a weaker evolving wilds.

Also, i'm going to be on mtgo from now till about 5 pm if anyone wants to play some modern. I am also going to try and get on through the weekend if I have time.

my MTGO username is Jeremy_Forrest.

I know most of you don't really play online, but just in case.

 

[ki_atsushi]

OK, I have seen the fetch lands. I assume you all are talking about the one like Windswept Heath. Why are these ones so good? Maybe I am missing something here. But they seem like a weaker evolving wilds.

Also, i'm going to be on mtgo from now till about 5 pm if anyone wants to play some modern. I am also going to try and get on through the weekend if I have time.

my MTGO username is Jeremy_Forrest.

I know most of you don't really play online, but just in case.

The biggest thing with the fetchlands is that the land you search for doesn't always enter the battlefield tapped like evolving wilds. So it's a whole turn faster. If you're playing modern you also have those dual lands with downsides like temple garden that you could grab turn 1 and pay the 3 life to use immediately and have your mana fixed right from the start.

I should play online again, but it was a dangerous road I went down in 2012. I was addicted and spent way too much money that year so I had to quit.

 

[Karou]

ki says the answer while I google....
Are you asking us if you should trade

yes I would love to make that trade. my veil for polluted delta and verdant catacombs. maybe shes not really worth 80 now though?

 

[greedostick]

ok I didnt realize they came out untapped. I must have missed that. I personally like the lands where they come into play untapped if you already control a basic land in play of the same type the dual produces.

Ki, you should play man! I have a few modern decks, they're just fun decks. You don't have to get all serious and drop a grand on a deck. I just make fun stuff, and maybe slowly work on a good deck. I just think all those tournament decks are played out, so I just do what sounds fun. I have been wrecking with my spider spawnling deck all morning, and it was like a $20.00 deck. Only lost one out of 5, to a really good land control/destruction deck.

We could also play pauper, and I have never played commander, but I am dying to try it.

 

[greedostick]

OK, I was reading a bit about those fetch lands. I do have quite a few duals that are about rotate out.

hollowed fountain x4
hinterland harbor x4
llanowar wastes x4
rootbound crag x4
sacred foundry x3
steam vents x2
sulfur falls x2
sunpetal grove x4
temple garden x2
temple of trimuph x4
woodland cemetary x3

since these are rotating out, do you all think I should sell them and buy some fetches? I'm not sure if they will drop in price the beginning of the month, but if they will be pretty much done in standard, and fetch lands are better, then this might be a viable route. I do play modern, so I am not sure if I should keep them for that.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Unfortunately, I this is the worst time to buy fetches, their prices have nearly doubled in the last month because of Battle for Zendikar hype. I sold 2 out of the 4 Scalding Tarns I had, easy $160! I traded them at half that value, so it was too tempting to pass up a return like that. Magic is really better than the stock market.

If you wait until Zendikar is released they will hopefully all sink back into the $30-$50 range like they were before.

 

[tacoguy]

I would play anyone on MTGO on my days off from work. I can build a modern deck and I already have standard. My user name is el_cucui

I really can’t predict the value of the fetches. The crazy thing is that Khans is still standard but the fetches are trending upward. It might actually be a good long term investment to buy boxes of khans instead and sit on those for like a year or two after rotation. Lots of strong eternal cards from that set and I have no doubts the price of those boxes will go up.

So greed, from that list of land you posted the only thing that is standard legal are the temples and the llanowar waste. Only the temples are going to rotate out in September. All the other land cards probably have been the same value for a while now.

I agree with selling your zendikar fetches right now. The only reason there are that high is because of the knee jerk reaction to the announcement that they are not going to be in the new zendikar set. The prices of those cards will most likely correct themselves eventually. And there’s always a chance wizards can reprint enemy fetches at any time. Remember how bad the prices were of the allied fetches before reprints?

Ki answered why the dual fetches are better than evolving wilds. That part where it says come into play tapped is huge.

Karou, lilly for a playset of polluted delta should be a fair trade. I probably wouldn’t do it since it’s a lot easier to get your hands on fetches at this time but if you are looking at value wise then they are almost even.

 

[joecommando]

Unfortunately, I this is the worst time to buy fetches, their prices have nearly doubled in the last month because of Battle for Zendikar hype. I sold 2 out of the 4 Scalding Tarns I had, easy $160! I traded them at half that value, so it was too tempting to pass up a return like that. Magic is really better than the stock market.

If you wait until Zendikar is released they will hopefully all sink back into the $30-$50 range like they were before.

well they are not being reprinted in BFZ a direct quote from rosewater says there will be new cycle of dual lands but I wouldnt rule them out being printed in the next block after BFZ

 

[ki_atsushi]

well they are not being reprinted in BFZ a direct quote from rosewater says there will be new cycle of dual lands but I wouldnt rule them out being printed in the next block after BFZ

Yeah, even though they aren't reprints I have a feeling the new lands will tame the crazy prices the fetches are going for, they can't stay up there for long.

 

[joecommando]

Yeah, even though they aren't reprints I have a feeling the new lands will tame the crazy prices the fetches are going for, they can't stay up there for long.

I hope your right cause I would like to play modern but I'm not spending a grand on a manabase

 

[Mokkori]

I got back into Magic at the end of SCARS block (that's what... 4 years ago) and yeah it's expensive to get into the modern scene.
Expensive if you want to play top tier decks, otherwise, as greedostick mentioned, you can easily build a fun deck to play for cheap.
It really depends on the type of friends you play with.
If you like to go to your local shop or FNM it out, then you might want to invest a bit more.

Up until the next big modern tournament, I think the Zendikar fetches's prices will stay high (overpriced).

 

[Karou]

proposed trade met with some approval?

the khans one is ugly. do not want.

+

gets you

plus a few of 'her' cards. not my reaver though.

I make a ubg mill/zombie deck works but I have no idea of legality just like things that can contribute. doesn't matter what set as it will never actually get played, just shuffled and 'checked'. any hints?

art has to be 'right' too no comicy.

 

[ki_atsushi]

I hope your right cause I would like to play modern but I'm not spending a grand on a manabase

I know.

I'm lucky because I had a lot of valuable cards from way back that I used as trade fodder to build my decks. If I didn't, there would be no way I could have afforded this stuff.

 

[joecommando]

I know.

I'm lucky because I had a lot of valuable cards from way back that I used as trade fodder to build my decks. If I didn't, there would be no way I could have afforded this stuff.

You know I just don't understand wizards of the coast sometimes. They say that they want more people to play modern but then they won't give us reprints cause the cards are too powerful for standard. So they come out with modern masters but they make the booster boxes and packs so damned expensive and who wants to pay 20 bucks to do a draft that's stupid. If you ask me its all a money grab by them by keeping the prices of modern high they can basically print money whenever they want.

 

[ki_atsushi]

You know I just don't understand wizards of the coast sometimes. They say that they want more people to play modern but then they won't give us reprints cause the cards are too powerful for standard. So they come out with modern masters but they make the booster boxes and packs so damned expensive and who wants to pay 20 bucks to do a draft that's stupid. If you ask me its all a money grab by them by keeping the prices of modern high they can basically print money whenever they want.

Yup. It's a cash grab on Wizard's part, and the reason they don't reprint enough is that a lot of Magic's appeal is card value. If they freely reprinted everything, they would lose the collectors, the cards would be devalued, and their booster box sales would plummet, because instead of people scrambling to buy boxes when each new set comes out in the hope of scoring expensive rares, they would just buy 3-6 packs at a time and just draft.

So the contention is actually between collectors and players, and Wizards is siding with the collectors because that's who's really showing them the money.

 

[greedostick]

In my opinion Modern and Vintage are the best formats as far as flexibility, but as you all stated it's way too expensive. I don't understand how cards with thousands of print runs can be so expensive. $4,000 dollars for a black lotus is absurd. The initial investment to enter these tournaments is Ludicrous. I thought modern would be more accessible. I guess it is but the top decks are clocking in at over a grand easily. This makes tournament play inaccessible to the average player. Which sucks because there could be some great players out there that never get a chance shine. I guess it is a collectable card game, but it is, and always has been for people with large amounts of expendable income.

I was looking at some mtgo top 8 vintage decks, they all run a black lotus, and pretty much an entire power 9, and all dual lands. These decks cost more than a new car. How is someone suppose to to even get a deck to enter? Dip onto your 401k?

 

[Mokkori]

I thought modern would be more accessible. I guess it is but the top decks are clocking in at over a grand easily. This makes tournament play inaccessible to the average player. Which sucks because there could be some great players out there that never get a chance shine.

Amen to that! Then Wizards decide to put some Modern Masters on the market, which has not lowered the staples's prices by much. Goyf is still in the 160-200 ish.
I guess Modern is a bit more accessible (fetchwise) with the fetches of Khans but it's hard to not search for the Zendikar lands too, because of the current meta.

By the way, who's excited for the return of the ALLY mecanic?
I bought the full set of allies a while back, hopefully we'll have some nice interaction with BFZ!

 

[greedostick]

was just checking out some spoilers.

http://mythicspoiler.com/bfz/

I can see people using Oblivion Sower and Guardian of Tazeem to do a sort of stasis deck. If landfall ends up being good that could be a desirable card.

For a little nostalgia I was reading this last night. Good article on the old skool stasis deck. I use to love that card.

http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/bd256

 

[systmdfect]

I was watching the teaser for the new set on Twitch. The set looks pretty nice so far. Really eager to see how it performs. I highly doubt the Eldrazi will be as powerful as they were, but that's understandable.

 

[Mokkori]

And just when we were talking about fetches, Wizards will include random Zendikar fetches as mythics!

http://mythicspoiler.com/bfz/cards/aridmesa1.jpg

https://mobile.twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/637825675232157696

 

[ki_atsushi]

I was watching the teaser for the new set on Twitch. The set looks pretty nice so far. Really eager to see how it performs. I highly doubt the Eldrazi will be as powerful as they were, but that's understandable.

Ulamog is in that spoilder, and he's still a beast! Looks like they got rid of the Annihilator mechanic, but check out his new ability....

And just when we were talking about fetches, Wizards will include random Zendikar fetches as mythics!

http://mythicspoiler.com/bfz/cards/aridmesa1.jpg

https://mobile.twitter.com/wizards_magic/status/637825675232157696

Holy shit!!!!