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Monday, December 10, 2012

Decks I built...sort of (Joe)

Tempered Steel  Thada Adel, Acquisitor Dark Tutelage

So I go through a phase every couple years where I buy all kinds of Magic cards on eBay. I almost exclusively buy bulk lots, generally those that have been picked through and lack any meaningful cards. I bought a repacked box of Innistrad that lacked most removal, presumably because whoever the guy was who bought the box took out all the removal. Plenty of decent cards, but a lot of the good stuff is missing.

Anyways, I like just looking through cards and putting together decks, so I started doing that. Instead of trying to put together the "best" decks though, I put together decks that would be appropriate for the Duels of the Planeswalkers games; they have some rares, some commons, some uncommons, and they focus more on being varied and interesting than on being "perfect" decks. This was partly because I enjoyed the DotP games a lot, and partly because I don't have all that many rares to work with, so I'm often limited by inventory.

I eventually put together seven different decks (so far), and I posted them on TappedOut.net to be able to share. You can see the list of them here.

What I'm asking for from you, the community at large, is twofold.

First, I do want feedback. If you see a card that has one of those "strictly better" alternatives, let me know. While I might not have the replacement card handy, it's good to know what the decks could use. For example, I know Myr Superion would be a great addition to my Poor Man's Myr deck, but I don't have any of them in my possession, so it didn't go into the list.

Second, if you're feeling generous, why not donate some of the cards I need to make these decks on Magic: Online? The vast majority of the cards are no longer eligible for Standard use, so I can't imagine they have much value. Maybe you have a bunch of copies of Fling or Rot Wolf sitting around; I can use them! I have virtually zero cards from these decks, so anything you can provide would be fantastic.

As I get more locked in on the various decks, I'll start making individual posts for them, where we can discuss them at length, and I can make a desperate plea for your cards. Until then, stay classy.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Rate the Deck #1 - Izzet the best?


Time to play a new game. I want you all to:

-Rate the overall deck
-What are it's strengths/weaknesses
-Prediction on how it did in 8-4 Draft

Go......



Let us know in the comments an if you can guess how it did and total game losses we'll give away a pack. Even though that cheapo James doesn't want me to, I'm the nice bro.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Et tu, Planeswalker?

We've got a new giveaway posted on Steamgifts, and this one should be right up your alley. This time around, you can win Deck Pack 2 for Magic 2012.

Good luck, and don't forget to join us tonight at 9:00 PM EST for playing Magic Online and carrying on!

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Thanks-giveaway!

At this time of year, it's important to give thanks for the things we have. But it's also important to give thanks for the things we don't have yet, but might win if we're lucky. Go check out our giveaway on Steamgifts.com if you haven't already. We're offering a free copy of Ghost Master to anybody who wishes to join the giveaway!

Since probably a lot of you haven't heard of Ghost Master, I'll be streaming it either late tonight or early tomorrow (Thanksgiving), so you can get a look at it, and so James gets off my back about streaming more often.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Return to Ravnica Draft Toss-Up: Corpsejack Menace vs. Wayfaring Temple

It took me a while, but I found two rare cards that are similar enough in both draft position and function that they qualify as a "toss-up" topic. Are you guys jacked? Hope we fare well.

God, that was awful.


http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Corpsejack_Menace.jpg  vs.  http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Wayfaring_Temple.jpg

First, I wanted to point out how they're similar, and how I justified comparing them. Draft position was the easiest: Bestiaire has them back-to-back at #32 and #33 overall, with Corpsejack holding the slight edge. They're both creatures, they're both multicolored, and most importantly, they both offer a bonus to particular deck archetypes.

Wayfaring Temple fits squarely into a Selesnya deck. Selesnya lives on amassing an army of creatures, and Temple helps with both creating creatures and benefiting from them. Corpsejack meanwhile is a pure fit into a Golgari guild because of his mana, but also gives a bump to the Rakdos keyword of Unleash, adding a second +1/+1 counter on unleashed creatures.

Corpsejack's bonus is easier to proc. There are dozens of easy ways to stack counters on your creatures, from Dead Reveler to Slitherhead to Sewer Shambler. And if you're splashing some white, Common Bond turns into a titan of a card. By the same token, though, the immense value of Corpsejack's passive ability makes it risky to swing or block with him. That means a 4/4 creature is going to be sitting on the sidelines for part of the time. Rough deal.

Populate is a stronger mechanic than dropping an extra +1/+1 counter, but the method for getting it to hit is considerably more difficult. Obviously if the opponent has no blockers, that would help, but that's not a likely scenario for a 2-color 3-drop. So you're stuck with a couple situations. First, that you can make your guy bigger than your opponent's creatures, and that he'd rather keep his guys and let you populate rather than block your guy (not super common).

The other option would be to use other cards to create ways to get damage in. Detain helps, so you'd definitely want Azorius Arrester and Azorius Justiciar in your draft. You can also use trample to get in, using Selesnya Charm or Chorus of Might. But truthfully, you can't really count on those cards coming through. So, more likely, you're looking at Wayfaring Temple as just being a */* creature who can use some of those populate cards as combat tricks (like Eyes in the Skies turns into a +2/+2 instant bump). Definitely has value, but the secondary function of populating on combat damage isn't likely to come into play very often.

In the end, I'm taking Corpsejack. While Wayfaring Temple creates some interesting possibilities, it seems like the kind of card that seems really good, but comes up short when you're playing against an actual person with his own plans and cards and removal. Corpsejack helps a lot of cards get better, and as a 4-drop, it's not the kind of card you'll find yourself waiting forever to play. I can see Wayfaring Temple being a great treat for a deck already firmly in Selesnya, but I can't see moving into Selesnya for it. Corpsejack, I could see moving into Golgari for.

Joe's pick: Corpsejack Menace

Friday, November 16, 2012

Return to Ravnica Draft Toss-Up: Vassal Soul vs. Sunspire Griffin

Enough tooling around with the middling cards of Return to Ravnica. Let's dance with a couple of the most highly draft cards in the set.


http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Vassal_Soul.jpg  vs.  http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Sunspire_Griffin.jpg

As usual, start out with the samesies (ratings from draft.bestiaire.org):

Vassal Soul is rated #110 overall (#8 among commons); Sunspire Griffin is almost right behind it at #115 (#13 among commons). They're both 2-power, three-drop flyers, with creature types that, in draft, don't matter.

Vassal Soul comes in at a mana cost that is functionally a little bit lower, because those hybrid mana fit into a few more decks, and fit perfectly into an Azorius deck. But it also has the flexibility to fit decently well into Izzet- or Selesnya-heavy decks, especially if you find you can reasonably splash white or blue (respectively). Sunspire, meanwhile, really can't slide into as many decks, and in a draft scenario (where you're always going to play more than one color), double-white is a pretty tall order; you'll just as often find yourself able to play it on turn three as turn seven, or later.

The other advantage Vassal Soul has is with regards to removal. Obviously both cards are susceptible to Annihilating Fire or Launch Party. However, Sunspire Griffin can be eliminated by Ultimate Price (though that's probably an unwise use of such a strong kill spell). Additionally, Sunspire Griffin survives Stab Wound (our pick for the best removal spell in RtR). This means that when stabbed, you have an 0/1 flyer who deals 2 damage to you every turn. It's completely negated outside of chump-blocking, and it becomes a considerable liability if you can't get rid of it.

If we were talking about the two cards in general, I might lean towards Sunspire Griffin with its extra toughness. But in a Return to Ravnica draft format, I think Vassal Soul's flexibility and its ability to be slightly less of a liability with RtR removal puts it a tick above Griffin in this set.

Joe's pick: Vassal Soul

Friday, November 9, 2012

Return to Ravnica Draft Toss-Up: Towering Indrik vs. Trestle Troll

After dabbling in comparing a couple of unexciting cards, let's bring it back to cards that make their ways into a lot of decks. And deservedly so; they're good cards.


http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Towering_Indrik.jpg  vs.  http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Trestle_Troll.jpg

Towering Indrik rates 160th overall, and Trestle Troll is just behind it at 166th. They rate 45th and 50th among commons, respectively. Obviously Towering Indrik is just a clone of Giant Spider, which I think tricks some people into thinking it's not very good. Trestle Troll is new, and noticeably different, so it intrigues drafters. But which one is actually better?

First, let's say what's not different. They're both 4-toughness creatures with reach. They're essentially the same mana cost, with Trestle Troll rolling a little bit cheaper because mana-fixing is pretty prominent in RtR (Guildgates, Keyrunes, Axebane, etc).

Now, how are they different? Well, Indrik has that extra point of power, which kills Runewing, Vassal Soul, and an unleashed Chainwalker. It also kills any Guildmage that attacks, which reduces them to basically artifacts. And those are all cards you're going to see in opposing decks in drafts.

Trestle Troll has a different appeal. It's more suited to sitting around taking beats. The regeneration option is fairly reasonably priced, which means he can block over and over again if you need him to. He's well-suited to green decks (Golgari and Selesnya) where you need some time for your plans to come together.

There's one more feature of Trestle Troll that complicates matters slightly: Defender. In most sets, this would be a flat negative, as Indrik can serve a more versatile purpose if the board allows; the Troll has to stay back. But, in Return to Ravnica, there are two common cards that specifically benefit from having a large number of defenders, most importantly the aforementioned Axebane Guardian. Trestle Troll helps you speed up your ramping as well as providing a sturdy blocker to hold off your opponent while you work towards that eleven-drop Worldspine Wurm.

This decision is razor thin. As with some other potential discussions, a lot of it is going to come down to the rest of your deck. But in a vacuum, I think that extra power and the ability to attack is better than the regeneration. The possibility of the card working with other cards isn't enough to overtake Indrik.

Joe's Pick: Towering Indrik

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Return to Ravnica Draft Toss-Up: Pyroconvergence vs. Sphere of Safety

Last time, we addressed a couple of well-appreciated common Rakdos creatures. This time around, we're going to look at a couple of less lauded cards. Like, a lot less lauded. As in, people mostly hate these cards. Once again, I'm using draft.bestiaire.org to judge the various cards' appeal to the general drafting public.



http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Pyroconvergence.jpg  vs.  http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Sphere_of_Safety.jpg

That's right, this is the battle of the underwhelming 5-drop enchantments.

Pyroconvergence comes in at #69 among uncommons in Return to Ravnica, while Sphere of Safety rates as the 63rd uncommon in the set (out of 80). So, neither one is getting anybody hot and bothered. And really, that's appropriate. Neither of these cards is the kind of card that fits well into a drafted deck. I could see them helping in certain constructed decks, but that's not what we do. So which card is stronger in a draft scenario?

For me, the way to judge these cards is to look at what their effect would be at the point in which they'd be on the battlefield. Most likely, you wouldn't see either card before turn 4 even if they're in your opening hand. And since they're expensive cards, you'd probably be weighing them against other, strong cards that might be more effective. So, in general, I think you'd expect to play these cards on turn 5, with probably 3-4 cards in hand.

With Pyroconvergence, at that point you've got at most two multicolored spells in hand. If you had Rakdos Shred-Freak or Frostburn Weird, you've already played them. You're more likely to be sitting on Explosive Impact or Street Spasm. Pyroconvergence could potentially be useful if you're a strongly Izzet deck with lots of tricks and higher cost spells, but that kind of deck can get you in trouble.

Now let's look at Sphere of Safety. If you drop it in turn 5, you may have already had a chance to put down an enchantment or two. Security Blockade and Arrest are two particularly useful enchantments that help make Sphere of Safety much more useful, (in addition to themselves being vastly superior to either of these enchantments). Additionally, most draft decks you play against put their enchantment removal in their sideboard. So at least in most game 1s, once the Sphere is out there, it's out there.

Between Axebane Guardian and the various keyrunes, there's enough mana-fixing and mana-ramping that Sphere of Safety loses its mustard, particularly as the game progresses and mana becomes easier to find. But if you find yourself in a Selesnya deck without many ways to get to the late game, where you own, Sphere of Safety becomes a fairly useful card.

In the end, neither of these cards are cards you really want to play. They rely so heavily on the makeup of the rest of your deck that there are precious few circumstances when you'll want to employ them. But in a vacuum, assuming all things equal, give me the one that I can actually see working to my advantage.

Joe's Pick: Sphere of Safety

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Return to Ravnica Draft Toss-Up: Gore-House Chainwalker vs. Rakdos Shred-Freak

Here's a new feature for you guys. I'm going to name a couple cards that have some similarity in a set, and declare which card I think is better and why. Presumably, I'll have input from the other bros in the comments section; all of you are welcome to chime in as well.

Here we go.

http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Gore_House_Chainwalker.jpg  vs.  http://draft.bestiaire.org/images/rtr/Rakdos_Shred_Freak.jpg


So here are a couple of cards that are rated back-to-back at Bestiaire.org, a favorite low-tech draft simulator site of mine. Gore-House Chainwalker is the 15th overall common, and Rakdos Shred-Freak is 16th overall. Both cards are 2/1 creatures, and both have a converted mana cost of 2. And, really, they're both cards that fit into the same mentality: aggressive, Rakdos decks. So is there really that big a difference between them?

Yup.

First, let's dispense with the differences in mana cost. Two hybrid black/red manas is roughly the same as the 1R cost as far as mana availability. They're both very red cards and belong in red decks, so you're most likely going to have the mana you need for either of them. So neither one is noticeably more or less of a mana problem than the other.

So, this really comes down to a battle between Haste and Unleash, two keywords that again fit into aggressive decks. But Unleash is miles more useful here. The way I like to think of it is this: either way, you're creating what amounts to a repeatable burn spell. You're going to attack most turns with these two guys. Either your opponent will decline to block and you'll get in for beats, or they'll block and try to defray the damage, or destroy your creature, or both.

So, you can either have a 3/2 creature bashing away, dealing 3 damage to the face, or challenging a defending player to trade his centaur token, or his Guildmage, or his Vassal Soul. Or, you have a 2/1 that gets to attack a round earlier, but can be disposed of by all of those 3/3 centaur tokens without a second thought, or blocked without repercussion by Axebane Guardian, Concordia Pegasus, or a leashed Dead Reveler.

In most red decks, and in Rakdos decks in particular, the goal is to put pressure on your opponent early and often. I feel like nine times out of ten, you put a lot more pressure on your opponent with a 3/2 attacker than with a 2/1 hasty guy.

Joe's pick: Gore-House Chainwalker

Vote

Get out there and Vote Bros.....




also drink.


GP James

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

A Question of Taste


GP James here with a little bone to pick with RtR. Just a little bone, like the one in Joe's pants.

I'll speak up so you can hear. 

WHY ARE THE CHARMS INSTANTS????

For example...

Azorius Charm

This is a dude holding something. Doing some crazy math and reading the card's title has led me to believe he's holding a charm. So when he decides to force an attacking creature right back to the bottom of your mind (top of deck), why can't he do it again next turn? Did he drop it? 

I offer this as a solution...BEHOLD.


Yeah, it's not that great. But to make those abilities repeatable has to come at a huge cost. 

We could have avoided this problem (and this article) all together if they just did this...BEHOLD.


Cool right? 

Take a shot. 

GPjames out.



Friday, October 26, 2012

The Lovely Ladies of Ravnica

James is back with another video for us. This time, the delicious ladies of Return to Ravnica.
But don't worry...it's all the same jokes.


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"Games Are Best When Things Go Wrong"

I caught this article on Reddit, and it's absolutely 100% true. I really enjoy a good cooperative game, but there's a particular aspect of a great co-op game that puts it over the top: panic. If you don't have those moments where everything is going wrong, you won't have the same satisfaction when you overcome those obstacles. Let me give you a few examples:

 
 
Payday: The Heist

Payday was a game that got added to my wishlist right when it came out, but stayed there until it had a dramatic price drop. Then our gang picked up the game, and we've been playing it on and off ever since. Some of the missions are stealth-based, and some are straight up action jobs, but they've all got a number of ways to run into trouble. Snipers, shields, tazers, the whole spread of enemies get into your face. And the game is pretty damn difficult, sometimes to the point of massive frustration. Why keep playing then?

Must be the money.

 
Left 4 Dead (and Left 4 Dead 2)

What's funny is I didn't initially care for this game very much, and I think the reason is that I was playing single-player. It's still decent, and as you get the hang of it (aka learn to start knocking back the zombies), it's much better. But it really shines when you play co-operatively with friends. The apex of this experience is when you face the Tank. The music gets dramatic, the screen shakes, and chunks of rock come flying at you from across the map. Every time I fight a tank, I feel like I'm in Return of the King, tossing spears and firing arrows at an elephant (you can call it an oliphaunt if you want). "Take him down! Take him down!" I may or may not shout that when I'm playing.

 
 
Terraria

"A 2D builder game had you panicking, Joe?" You'd better believe it. Not at first, though. At first, it was a pretty pleasant experience, obviously with its enemies and challenges, but generally a mellow kind of game.

Enter GP James.

As soon as he started playing, the game had a whole different feel. He pressed us to make an adventure of the experience. We all pushed the envelope, teaming up to delve deeper than we had. And oh, by the way, to release all water. But not in safe little stages, no sir. He'd hop on the server while I was merrily mining away, join up on Skype chat, and then without warning...

"Release the river!"

Several drownings later, I had to agree that the constant danger made the game more fun. It's the most pure proof I've found of the article's point, that if you take a game that's safe, and make it not safe, it's better.

Game on, everybody.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Most Unplayable Card in RtR

The Most UNplayable Card in Return to Ravnica


Good Point James here. After much perusal, my choice for the most unplayable card in RtR is...



Thanks for reading see you next time! 

What? You want more? OK, how about this: If this card shows up in a maindeck of a top 8 deck in any major sanctioned tournament (lets say more than 50 players) in ANY format, limited, standard, legacy, modern, or whatever else and you comment with a link to the deck list that can prove it happened, I'll give YOU a draft set of whatever set you want on MTGO. First response only, I'm not Fred Savage over here.

Happy Searching/Brewing!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

James' Top 5 Fun Blue Cards

Blue is the color most people that consider themselves "good" magic players choose as their favorite color. So basically it's the opposite of my favorite color. JKs bros. It's totally my fav. These are def in my top 10 cards played from the M13 era. For kicks each card will be accompanied by the worst card from the history of magic with the same mana cost and Power/Toughness. Boobs!

5. Fog Bank

 

This card is the start to any deck that annoys people. Which makes it awesome. The most I ever had in one deck was three. Needless to say, it was awesome. How many more awesomes can I type in this awesome paragraph?

Fog Bank's WCWTSMCASPAT

(Worst Card With The Same Mana Cost and Same Power And Toughness)


Lolz Rare.


4. Mind Sculpt


So glad this card was in M13. It made the dream of the mill alive. Even though drafting a "normal" deck was probably better... we're all here to have fun right? Milling someone out for the win is like 2.34 times more fun than by damage. Needless to say I tried to accomplish this countless times, with it working a very countable number of times.

Mind Sculpt's WCWTSMCASPAT



Stupid art to boot.


3. Unsummon


Pure miser card. Pure fun. Pure value. I heart this one deep.

Unsummon's WCWTSMCASPAT



Shame this card has AWESOME art. Because this instant has less than no use. I guess bring it in against those Bladetusk Boar decks so your Goblin Arsonist can chump? YEESH.

2. Redirect


This is a spell I like to savor. When their kill spell hits the stack, I wait. I look at Redirect, look at my 2 islands untapped and smile to myself. This will be awesome. BOOOOOOM. And this has the bonus of being a narrow enough card no one expects, so you'll sometimes get the "OMG you PLAY that card?" comments from the opponent. Those comments are my Ecstasy. Don't make those comments, people. You're just making guys like me smile.

Redirect's WCWTSMCASPAT



Thank god they added that non-wall clause. TOOO MANY WALLSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! 

1. Archaeomancer


This was not close. Imagine for a second if the card read, "When Arch enters the battlefield, draw target awesome card," because that's basically what she does. I don't like many things, but the things I do like I like doing twice (sometimes in the same day if I'm home alone). What a beauty of a card. Here's praying for the reprint in M14!

Archaeomancer's WCWTSMCASPAT


Wow, a 4 mana 1/2 for green that gives my elves forestwalk? And I have to pay for that too? Sign me up!


Well what have we learned today? I'm an asshole-card-loving asshole. 

Later Brooooos. Take a shot.

GP James

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Firery Fun with M13's Red Cards

I chose to do the Green and Red articles because somehow, I usually end up drafting GR in m13. I mean a lot. So I have a little bit of knowledge about these two colors. ONce again these are my top five FUN cards to play with. Some of these are sweet cards, but others are just silly fun.

1. Thundermaw Hellkite



















OK. We start, again, with a very powerful (mythic) rare card. But anyone lucky enough to have one of these in your deck, and actually cast it, can attest to the joy that ensues. A 5/5 Flyer for 5 already sounds awesome. Then add in Haste and the very relevant ability to tap/kill your opponents flyers, GG. Just play this card and watch as your opponent's well laid out board dissolves to mush. Then feed that mush to your opponent with a spoon...Here comes the train! Open up the station CHOO CHOO!


2. Mindclaw Shaman



















This may be my fvorite red card of all. Most people consider it a sideboard card against decks with lots of sorceries/instants, but I can't help myself. Let me give you an example. Obvi we are playing GR and we are on the play. Turn one Arbor Elf means this guy gets played on turn 4...before our opponet can cast his Talrand's Invocation. Uhh. Yeah. Sick turn bro. Your opponent thinks he is about to play one of the best value cards in the set, when out of no where you steal it from him and cast it yourself. Your opponent will cry...or flip the table...or both. BTW, this is what James did to me in our first Live M13 draft. Clearly I lost.


3. Arms Dealer



















Arms Dealer is fun on so many levels. First off, just look at that picture. He is so cute! I just want to give him a hug. Also, goblins are inherently fun cards and after you pick Arms dealer, all you really want are a ton of goblins. As far as power level goes, obvi he is sweet, however having only one toughness does present a problem against most decks.


4. Bladetusk Boar



















I find base red decks to be pretty rare when drafting M13. And with so few artifact creatures, Bladetusk Boar does good work in most matches. Hitting for 3 every turn is not the worst way you can spend 4 mana. It mkes for a decent blocker if needed as well. But all of that is not the fun part, whats really fun is comboing the boar with ...


5. Volcanic Strength



















This may be over doing it a little bit, as well as exposing yourself to the drreaded 2 for 1, But a 5 power unblockable guy to all decks except for the Non-Red with artifact creatures is pretty fun. I admit, I don't run this in most decks, but once you know you are playing against red its an auto include for me. The 2 power is great but getting the extra 2 toughness is what does it for me. It puts most cards out of range of the cheap removal.

Honorable Mentions

Krenko, Mob Boss and Firewing Phoenix were two cards I was considering. Krenko is the absolute nuts. Amazingly hard to beat in limited without have removal already in your hand waiting. But I only wanted to have one rare card and I chose the Dragon.

Firewing phoenix seems sick, but the decks I draft almost always have red as a secondary color, and can't reliably be able to bring back the phoenix from the graveyard.

So what do you think of my list? Please be nice, I have a fragile ego.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

James' Top 5 Funnest Black M13 Cards (with bonus flavor fails)

A list of my top 5 most fun black cards from M13 would have been enough, right? That would have been sufficient, web Brofficer Joe? But I don't roll that way. That's tooooo easy. My list is the top 5 most fun cards that, just for the lolz....ALSO include a flavor fail.

5. Tormented Soul

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpgvDQRx3v-jKjOx-1tX1w6XuCo1k5Qk0uKv0XouaWye3CqK2mmn0QKjlOH2EhDPY-LIQSWnMnaAFukVz3iJje_EqKSKQeZAYmrVaCsZfHTCgHdy13vDXjHV5S9v-tIfYU-EIc09LfaY/s1600/Tormented+SoulM13.jpg

This card is like a first date. So much potential. If you play your...cards right, you might a feel...for what winning a game of Magic is like. But it takes work: a Mark of the Vampire, some exalted dudes, etc. This card is a metaphor for our lives...guys that look like us need help, and this card does too.

James' Flavor Fail Bonus!!!

Why do souls have clothes? If he can't be blocked because he's a spirit, why can he hurt you? I stay up at night a lot thinking about that. Well, I did once.

4. Public Execution

 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06msuNTLbD_E6hG9aKEoGRai4BV9Jc7UQEADSsg2wdGKIdoQqwKOEHCHCvPM3LID8nQ60w6C0Sk3TAFog37C04uzIEnq8UZFcd8jBc3w5S-Op36HOzP4WUXptb_w5FPeAYwQj2UaatVg/s1600/public+execution.jpg

 This card has everything I want in a card. Functionality, flavor, awesome art, and a hot gir...well, no hot girl here, but I'm over it. Six mana is tough, but killing a creature is worth six mana, amiright???

James' Flavor Fail Bonus!!!

The -2/-0 until EOT is perfect. The people watching the Execution lose their will to attack. BUT WHY IN THE ART ARE THEY SO PUMPED UP?!?!?!?!?!? They look like Mel Gibson just told them to fight for their freedom. Like Gordon Bombay just told them to quack. Looking at just the picture, +2/+0 is more appropriate, which is enough to make me sadface a little.

3. Xathrid Gorgon

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMXkbwTS7JxxhJcUL4ND-L8F7TCp2oZ1AgYqhFeTGPrX0syoGTIubZhXEYgBizHH3k_TEemnFQCfLFCiAgFUgk2EMYVDFPo52whUj7jZpgjs9OtlVcZqwDjiD4qP1jSS_uQuoVZwd85lM/s1600/xathridgorgon.jpg

I didn't fully respect this card until someone played it against me. Gee. Gee. Me. Losing. Cry. Drink. Laugh. Drink. Drink. But seriously, this card is pure fun, and powerful in draft. Sweet art to boot. And it has a hot girl, which is always a plus for me.

James' Flavor Fail Bonus!!!

Petrification counters. I get it. She looks at you and you turn to stone. Becomes an artifact. Perfect. But you can still block when you're petrified? If this is the case, a stone wall would be like the best defensive creature, and they would never make a creature like th...wait what?


Oops. James Flavor Fail Bonus Fail!!!

Play the horns, bros.

2. Vampire Nighthawk

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ0HuDocEAAnxjecZPvfCoBn078yAKzMxIWlFly8adNXv-SPrL8CHz9P-lcife065yPjNydt1KLXYj0lKybqt0ikFxXyiN5u-6NG-7ljOIsGlVbJbBJobRLafQ05QFNMSFEllZKMkAb_0/s1600/vamphawk.jpg

Impossible not to smile when you open a pack with the Predator. He does everything. Lifelink is so OP. Flying is so OP. Deathtouch is so OP. Moon in the art is so OP. At first, when I saw this card was reprinted I was upset, because this card just wins games by itself...but then I realized this card wins games by itself, and I was happy again.

James' Flavor Fail Bonus!!!

How does he fly? Just being in a high place doesn't mean you can fly. If that was the case, a few cards would like to have a word with this card...Mountain Goat is pissed. Cliff Threader? Not amused. Summit Apes about to throw shit.

1. Murder

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-lBLheufOQDUhg37FGZ5sZ86_kiB7L7JqI0fg4hGB0fncbIf5miUnw9pAopFnLc4rdIhm7SCGmdLWggrWUmedoqU5Vadpxg7uPqz5EuxHX615n_P9nZO1X2hvPIJs6CAZ3laWGPYdFdQ/s1600/murder.jpg

This is one of those cards that, right when I saw it in the first spoiler, I knew it was cool. I started playing it and I thought, wow, cool. Now that M13 is about done, I still think, wow, cool. For 1BB, kill any creature, the name Murder, that's just beauty. Beauty in a Magic card...don't mention it on your next date though, by the way.

James' Flavor Fail Bonus!!!

Why did the person that killed him leave the sword? Kill the dude, take the sword. Seems pretty basic to me. I learned that in Lord of the Rings. On that note, let's go to Elrond for a comment:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfduVZWirt_pCyYIzlcVsIXx-B0ks8jWiupa5u__YIVzr5QCwBaXxhNdR-FJv0QJYLYRXL5dEGAphzU0775DmNw_eUKVh-6YHWwPDEMHBRRORNOOUJ4ptvfnuz6WXJkYJtkwqPuLS-C0/s1600/Elrond-Facepalm.jpg

See ya brooooos. TO RAVNICA!


Friday, October 12, 2012