A Magical Huffalump Resides Here: September 2006

A Magical Huffalump Resides Here

My name is Ed, I am a programmer. Just another dude with another blog. I like MTG, Open Source (more towards FREE software). I like sports, and eventually I hope to do business and do good for the world in general. This blog is gonna be about Magic The Gathering. Decklists and snippets will be posted here. It may lead somewhere or nowhere, as with all things arcane, that was bloody obvious =)

Monday, September 25, 2006

MWS Timespiral update

ermm I think you need to fiddle around with this.... I have'nt donr it yet.. just getting the link so I can do it later....

going to sleep...

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Time Spiral : Prerelease and Lotus Bloom

Oh...


So you are hoping for a blow by blow report of the prerelease in Singapore?




















....








I did'nt go....












But here are some pics:





From far... look half filled but this was pretty late, almost eight me thinks, so it was the last flight.

Another pic:




So I did'nt go, but I went there to go collect the prerelease cards =D


so here they are:





and a nicer.. I think pic...







and now the dissing begins.....



Why does the Lotus Bloom suck?


More about this.. I gotta go for lunch - timecheck: 2:18 pm in the afternoon.


Log 060923

Timecheck: 5:51

Well I went to the prerelease AGAIN!


AGAIN NOT!


lol =)

Nah I went down to collect another 3 foil loti. 12 e.a. I hope they are worth it.

It is about ebay prices right now.

But I always lose money on the prerelease cards lol.

Anyways be fore we diss the Lotus bloom, here are more shots of the prerelease in Singapore.

These shots are a little better. Also I took it from the crowded end, but the situation is the same as last night.






They were still doing deck checks so I suppose they were doing the 2nd flight.











The guy closest to me got an Akroma purplie!!! I want to take a shot of it .. but paiseh lah.

But heres a pic:






haha.


Anyways... in retrospection, I pity the guy, cos it is most likely going to be passed to the guy beside him!!! =(

Tough luck there.... good thing i did'nt ask to shoot his (temporarily anyways) Akroma...

Note to self:I will put more pics of the prelease here


but my handphone refuses to cooperate with me.





Anyways i got some stuff from K.

3 Cruel Edict
3 Lotus bloom
1 Clone
4 Small Pox

now the prize has gotta be the small pox.. so in this post I will talk about why Lotus Bloom sucks and Small Pox RUleZ!

But before that the obligatory pics.....


New stuff I bought:




The three Loti:




The Edicts: all cruel!!!




The clone: Onslaught Version!!

This one is actually funny... K was in the toilet (dun ask me why he answers calls in the toilet). Anyways so being the philandering buyer I went shopping with the row of sellers. Mostly meh or too ex for me. But I spotted a Clone for three doollars and i was like grabbin' for my wallet.... (I had wanted a clone for my hatching plans deck... I am sure I had one but for the life of me I could'nt find it)

Then i thought about K and said.. ah shucks i should ask if he has em' first =P

And he did... so here it is:





And the prize.... I think...





The scary version:




Oki.... my parents wanna take me out to eat.... like dinner lol

so Timecheck: 6:16pm

bbl to update the photo narration as well as talk about why Lotus Bloom sucks and Small Pox RuLeZ!


Oki I am back .. Timecheck: 10:08pm


Some details about the place....


BEWARE the crazy swingin' doors of the concourse!!!!




Concourse.... Land of Timespiral Prerelease in Singapore ...




You can eat here too !!!






Oh .. the real reason you are here....






Why small pox owns Lotus Bloom....


Seriously i dun know what they have got to do with each other =P

I guess, i am really talking about playability/value here.


Lotus Bloom....


Now why is Lotus Bloom good...



Aside from its similarities expensive cousin:




Which is tap sac get three mana...

They added suspend to it.


Now unless there is some way to put the Lotus Bloom into play, the suspend will make the Black Lotus look like heaven and itself like the pits of hell.

Thats why they dared to print it.


Have suspend in the current environment means you will NOT have the power of the original black lotus. But seriously you still get a pretty nice boost 4th turn onwards... so all is not bad =P

But in extended, there are probably ways to put the Bloom directly into play. It is in these situations that the bloom will well... erm blossom =D

Still better to check how suspend affects put into play. Isuspect suspend does not affect it at all as suspend is only considered when you play the card. So it probably still has value in the extended environment. (Still, check the rules before you put your dowry in there alright ;)). If the rules say it cannot even do that...then the Lotus Bloom becomes a very light paper weight... at least long term wise.


The smaller pox... well.. thats another story.


It is really....


SINKHOLE!!!!!!!!






This is probably the closest we will ever get to the real thing.

Sinkhole can go up to 20 USD ea for a white bordered.


But now we have it as an uncommon!!

But duh, it affects yourself as WELL!!!

yup.

Welcome to the real world.

This card is NOWHERE near the strength of the old card.

2 cc critter buster?

Well a whole slew of cards did that.

2 cc LD was stifling.

Permanently neutering your opponents ability to develope is MORE powerful than busting a critter.

This one does it at 2 cc, but affecting you as well.

This essentially means you cannot power ahead of your opponent.

It makes it fairer of course, but making the card weaker than its predecessor.

Lest you think that 2 cc LD is oh so powerful. LD was done at 1 cc for red as Raze.




Still, small pox is a rather good card.

But you need to try to build a deck that can take advantage of the symmetric effects.

i.e.

Discard
LD
sac a critter

*********************************

-- for Discard

go reanimator (or Haakon ;))

-- LD

well you just gotta be able to survive it well or better.

-- sac a critter

either not play creatures, or play creatures that have an effect.


Its a tricky card definitely, but it can be tamed!!

Lotus Bloom's use though is a little obvious... though its combo potential saves it somewhat.

ah well...

The full power of the Black Lotus would have damned the environment anyway.. so I guess it was for good.

All said, tune in as I update this post or write more stuff =)


Oh and I can definitely see more LD varients of Rakdos..

this card just screams Rakdos...

in fact I think thats just what he is doing....








Mtgsalvation is hosting a Standard Championship with Prize from RancoredElf.com

go go go !

Time Spiral spoiler complete!!!

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Time Spiral : Ancestral Vision Versus Hatching Plans - the grudge match




Now if you are an MTG fan, by now you must be spinning from all the leaks at Mtgsalvation =)


Well poison is coming back!!!!

But more on that later.


Today I am here to talk about Ancestral Vision.

Yes the the new Ancestral Recall Wannabe.


Behold.









This is the orignal:






The previously held (or most recently held) position was by Hatching Plans.

Hatching Plans has'nt caught on yet (but if you have been reading this blog, you should know that I am a "Hatching Plans" proponent).




First lets look at how they stack up:


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ancestral Recall
U (1), Instant
Target player draws three cards.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hatching Plans
1U (2), Enchantment
When Hatching Plans is put into a graveyard from play, draw three cards.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ancestral Vision
{}, Sorcery
Ancestral Vision is blue
Suspend 4 - U
Target player draws three cards.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Drawing 3 cards, thats what this is all about.

Who does it better?

Without a doubt the real m'coy is the winner here.

But between the two pretenders, a la the battle of the weenies. Who is better?

Ancestral Vision?


or Hatching Plans.


Straight up Ancestral Vision, seeks to be the same.
U - Draw three cards.

Only now at sorcery speed, and you wait 4 turns.

So its earliest at turn 4.

Looking at Hatching Plans.

2cc

earliest is turn 2, but feasibly much later, maybe never!

You might then go:

Oh! Its obvious then!! Ancestral Vision it is! Heir apparent!


Wait wait wait.


Ancestral Vision is relatively "guaranteed", brute 3 cards.


or is it?


At 1 cc, you actually place the spell on stack.

Meaning it can still be countered when it is on stack and coming into play/ or resolving.

This has certain ramifications.

It means Ancestral Vision is actually more likely to be countered than Hatching Plans ... why?

2 reasons, 2cc straight play may actually mean the Hatching Plans may get past the blue mages' counterspell radar. Whereas, the blue mage KNOWS for 4 turns that you will be drawing 3 cards and this may allow him/her ample time to respond or topdeck.

The other reason is that Hatching Plans on its own, will NEVER draw you a card. It is a disadvantage yes. But we all know the most dangerous people are those that do not say anything =P

Similarly with Hatching Plans, it is usually not seen as a threat. (at least for now)

So you might actually have an easier time getting it on the board.

But what do we have to break the "hatch" so to speak =)

We have Ronom Unicorn and Perilous Research :







With the Ronom Unicorn, you actually have a virtual moat right there! With Perilous Research you actually get five cards! or rather 3 cards net with the investment of 2. With ronom unicorn it is a nett of 2 with an investment of 1, I do not count the ronom unicorn as it should have fulfiled its purpose if not more!

Even the original (Ancestral Recall) is a nett of 2 with an investment of 1. Ancestral Vision has the same stats, but is sorcery and suspend 4. So does Hatching Plan when you break it. So that is the common denominator.


I guess the point I am trying to drive is, which card gives you the most mileage?

I believe given the right deck, Hatching Plans will actually net you more. You still get your 3 cards, but while waiting for your cards you did something.

Suspend however is more like a favour to your opponent. Basically you tell your opponent: "I am gonna get 3 cards in four turns, get ready!". The element of surprise is gone. With hatchng plans you retain that element of surprise. (Albeit with some setup).

Now I am not saying Ancestral Vision is bad, or that Hatching Plans is better.

What i am saying is, before simply tossing a playset of Ancestral Visions or Hatching Plans, think about how it fits in your deck =D What strategies or bluffs do you intend to play?

Suspend is still new, so i think it would be unfair for me to assume you do nothing while waiting in suspense for the suspend to be over (sorry for the pun lol).

Still, until suspend is proven, this author believes, Ancestral Vision may not necessarily be better than Hatching Plans, and that, in the right deck, Hatching Plans might actually be better.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Stromgald Stronghold - Haakon





This deck was built with Haakon in mind.

My interest was sparked when G/B Aggro was mentioned in Frank Karsten's article.

The deck fell out of favour a week later =P

Still, the thought of chugging out a hypno or a viper third turn was too good to resist.

For some reason i wanted to build it with Haakon.

I guess G/B always meant Golgari to me, and that inevitably meant dredge.

And Moldervine Cloak (how come not life from the loam?? *shrug*) came to mind.

And the thought of the dredge effect dumping Haakon goodness into the deck was very appealing!

So G/B Haakon it was.


And then I realised on playtesting that Haakon, all powerful that he is, gets stuck in my hand.

That was when I realised I needed discard as a cost.

The best I could find in Standard was Delirium Skeins.

But the symmetry of Delirium Skeins was too painful, hence I cut it down to 2 and decided to go extended and throw in Wild Mongrels.

I had difficulty finding Knights as well since Samurai replaced Knights for a season.

So in the end I had to make do with Stromgald Crusader and decided to once again go extended and use Fallen Askari. Knighthood and 1 coloured cost was what attracted me.

The main problems I foresee (and had) are mana problems early in the game.

the Sideboard is as always more of a place to store cards for consideration, as opposed to a true sideboard.





// Deck file for Magic Workstation

// Lands
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Llanowar Wastes
7 Forest
7 Swamp

// Creatures
3 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
3 Stromgald Crusader
4 Hypnotic Specter
4 Ohran Viper
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Llanowar Elves
4 Fallen Askari
3 Black Knight
3 Wild Mongrel

// Spells
3 Moldervine Cloak
3 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Delirium Skeins

// Sideboard
SB: 2 Eastern Paladin
SB: 3 Avatar of Discord


Story:
**********************************

Haakon.

Scourge of Stromgald.

The Zombie Knight has been called many things.

Ruling his army with an iron fist, Haakon knows that war is not pretty. His choice of armoury depicts that.

Strength.

Resilence.

This is what will win the war.

The Winter lords of Kejldor have fought him long and admirally.

But how do you stand to immortality? The fools.

Keljdor should have fell long ago. But for the incompetence of the Stromgald Cabal.

Of late the new King, Darien has stood up to him, and while his army fought tooth and nail for him, his own crusaders had left Haakon for dead. Not that it mattered. He is dead even now. Haakon allowed a cackle at the irony. Noble soldiers fighting valiently to protect the living. Only to fall and become one of the fallen.

Inevitability. Do they not see it?

Still "I weary of this" mused Haakon. A new alliance will be forged. Dark magicks and Light migicks have wrestled for eternity. A new balance must be sought. What if a third magick were to join in.

Haakon has seen the power of the Golgari. Some elements could be used. Moldervine cloaks; vines and root to buttress the undead sinew. Mana providence to power the Hypnotic Specters that guard Haakon's stronghold. The cold has also brought strange new creatures, Ohran's native vipers have proven. Interesting, in its abilities. Many a foe has fallen stone cold at its touch.

The cold has also driven many elves to desperation, perhaps the undead have something to offer them. Immortality for instance. In service to Haakon of course, thought Haakon stoictly. Nothing is free, when it involves the Stromgald. Its the way of the Cabal.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

2006 Brazilian National Championship

Taking first place:

Snow Ideal


1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
4 Boreal Shelf
7 Snow-Covered Plains
7 Snow-Covered Island
4 Scrying Sheets
23 land

4 Court Hussar
4 creatures

4 Wrath of God
4 Counterbalance
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Enduring Ideal
4 Azorius Signet
3 Coldsteel Heart
2 Confiscate
2 Faith's Fetters
2 Form of the Dragon
1 Meishin, the Mind Cage
1 Dovescape
1 Zur's Weirding
1 Ivory Mask
33 other spells

4 Wall of Shards
3 Condemn
4 Mana Leak
2 Commandeer
2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
15 sideboard cards



The link contains the top 8 for the Brazilian Nationals and the Netherlands Nationals

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Story Circle Art Development

From Arcana today, I really like it !!!!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Netherlands Nationals 2006

I'm not much for drafts so the qualifying rounds are kinda irritating. But constructed reports are somewhere in there as well. That said i belive the constructed portion starts at "Round 10: Frank Karsten vs. Arjan van Leeuwen" Scroll up to see the meta-game breakdown.


If you click the link in this post, you should get to that portion, but it may change due to the fact that the Wizards blog is still being updated.


Kamiel Cornelissen is the CHAMPION!

This is the deck he played:

2 Yavimaya Coast
4 Shivan Reef
4 Forest
4 Breeding Pool
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
22 land

3 Ohran Viper
4 Kird Ape
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Llanowar Elves
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Trygon Predator
2 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
23 creatures

3 Seal of Fire
4 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
15 other spells

4 Carven Caryatid
4 Rumbling Slum
2 Pithing Needle
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Seal of Fire
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Thoughts of Ruin
15 sideboard cards


This is Sea Stompy!

Azorius

Aggro

Control

The recent Rash of decks

The recent rash of decks is just to update my blog with decks that have caught my eye. As well as to start putting decks that I have built (note: some are modifications or wholesale netdecks =P).


I have always been interested in deck construction, that is the reason for what i do (deck contruction and analysing net decks).

Playtesting is something I have little time for (though I try), in any case, treat this blog as a kind of little bag that I keep my stuff (a most blogs are) and you probably would'nt have too much to complain. For current meta-games go to Mtgsalvation.com, they cover the full range =)

On the main WOTC site, they have recently engaged Frank Karsten to review MODO (mtg online), but what is surprising (or not) is this: you probably will catch roots of this in mtgsalvation.

Take Aggro Loam for example, it is the current dominant deck type in MODO extended, but it was discussed in mtgsally why before the colum done by Karsten. Though to be fair, that column is a recent development so it might have been a late on the scene thing.

Another good place to check out would be Magic League and O-gaming.

The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm

Lands:
4 Sulfur Vent
2 Ancient Spring
2 Irrigation Ditch
4 Geothermal Crevice
4 City of Brass
4 Chrome Mox

Mana Acceleration:
3 False Dawn
4 Rite of Flame
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Seething Song
3 Channel the SunsEngine:
3 Infernal Tutor
3 Mind's Desire
3 Sins of the Past

Spells:
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Pentad Prism
4 Burning Wish
1 Tendrils of AgonySideboard:
4 Duress
4 Defense Grid
1 Mind's Desire
1 Sins of the Past
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Temporal Fissure
1 Channel the Suns
1 Cabal Therapy
1 False Dawn

Gifts Rock

Gifts Rock

4 Forest
1 Godless Shrine
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Island
3 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plains
2 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
4 Windswept Heath
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain

22 land

4 Birds of Paradise
3 Eternal Witness
1 Genesis
2 Loxodon Hierarch
1 Ravenous Baloth
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder

15 creatures 3 Cabal Therapy
1 Deep Analysis
4 Gifts Ungiven
3 Leyline of the Void
3 Living Wish
4 Pernicious Deed
1 Plow Under
2 Putrefy
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Vindicate

23 other spells 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Carven Caryatid
1 Cranial Extraction
2 Duress
1 Eternal Witness
1 Global Ruin
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Haunting Echoes
1 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Loxodon Hierarch

8 Stone Rain

Sea Stompy

2 Forest
4 Stomping Ground
4 Breeding Pool
4 Steam Vents
2 Karplusan Forest
2 Yavimaya Coast
2 Shivan Reef
1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits

21 land

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Kird Ape
4 Trygon Predator
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Rumbling Slum

24 creatures 4 Stone Rain
4 Cryoclasm
4 Remand
3 Umezawa's Jitte

15 other spells 4 Giant Solifuge
2 Iwamori of the Open Fist
2 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
4 Savage Twister
2 Thoughts of Ruin
1 Umezawa's Jitte

15 sideboard cards

Mori Counterbalance

Mori Counter balance

4 Underground River
3 Hallowed Fountain
3 Godless Shrine
2 Watery Grave
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
7 Island

24 land

4 Court Hussar
3 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
4 Dark Confidant

11 creatures 2 Remove Soul
2 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Spell Snare
2 Counterbalance
3 Condemn
3 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Muddle the Mixture
4 Remand
4 Hinder

25 other spells 4 Last Gasp
3 Orzhov Pontiff
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
2 Annex
1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
2 Yosei, the Morning Star

15 sideboard cards

Katayama Sand Burn

Katayama Sand Burn

4 Blood Crypt
4 Sulfurous Springs
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
11 Snow-Covered Mountain

22 land

4 Dark Confidant
4 Rakdos Guildmage

8 creatures 4 Shock
4 Cruel Edict
3 Genju of the Spires
4 Seal of Fire
4 Volcanic Hammer
4 Char
4 Flames of the Blood Hand
3 Demonfire

30 other spells 4 Cryoclasm
3 Pithing Needle
2 Martyr of Ashes
2 Bottled Cloister
1 Shard Phoenix
2 Pyroclasm
1 Quicksand

15 sideboard cards

IzzetTron

IzzetTron

4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
2 Island
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Tower
23 land

4 Keiga, the Tide Star
4 creatures 4 Izzet Signet
2 Simic Signet
2 Confiscate
3 Wildfire
2 Tidings
4 Compulsive Research
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Spell Snare
3 Repeal
2 Demonfire
33 other spells

2 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
3 Volcanic Hammer

Silhana

Silhana
Workstation

// Lands
15 Forest
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
4 Stomping Ground

// Creatures
4 Elvish Warrior
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Silhana Ledgewalker
3 Gruul Guildmage
4 Giant Solifuge
4 Traproot Kami
4 Dryad Sophisticate

// Spells
2 Might of Oaks
4 Moldervine Cloak
3 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Blanchwood Armor

// Sideboard
SB: 4 Naturalize
SB: 2 Karplusan Forest
SB: 1 Kodama of the North Tree
SB: 4 Rumbling Slum
SB: 4 Flames of the Blood Hand

Solar Flare

Solar Flare USN 2006 Workstation

// Lands
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Watery Grave
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
2 Caves of Koilos
1 Underground River
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
2 Azorius Chancery
1 Eiganjo Castle
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
2 Orzhov Basilica
3 Godless Shrine
2 Swamp
2 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 Hallowed Fountain

// Creatures
3 Angel of Despair
2 Yosei, the Morning Star
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
3 Court Hussar

// Spells
4 Remand
4 Azorius Signet
4 Compulsive Research
4 Wrath of God
3 Mortify
2 Dimir Signet
3 Zombify
2 Persecute

// Sideboard
SB: 2 Cranial Extraction
SB: 2 Persecute
SB: 4 Castigate
SB: 4 Descendant of Kiyomaro
SB: 3 Condemn

mySimic Control

MySimic Control
Workstation

// Lands
3 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
10 Forest
9 Island

// Creatures
3 Cytoplast Root-Kin
3 Novijen Sages
1 Simic Sky Swallower
4 Vinelasher Kudzu
4 Carven Caryatid
2 Loaming Shaman
1 Vigean Hydropon
3 Sakura-Tribe Elder
2 Protean Hulk

// Spells
4 Voidslime
4 Spell Snare
4 Mana Leak
2 Loxodon Warhammer

// Sideboard
SB: 2 Loaming Shaman
SB: 1 Voidslime
SB: 2 Blood Clock
SB: 1 Boomerang
SB: 1 Civic Wayfinder
SB: 1 Chord of Calling
SB: 2 Petrified Wood-Kin
SB: 2 Gristleback

Terry Rakdos

Terry Rakdos
Workstation

// Lands
6 Mountain
4 Watery Grave
4 Blood Crypt
4 Rakdos Carnarium
5 Swamp

// Creatures
4 Giant Solifuge
4 Dark Confidant
4 Rakdos Augermage
4 Lyzolda, the Blood Witch
4 Rakdos Guildmage

// Spells
4 Char
3 Seal of Fire
3 Rise/Fall
3 Demonfire
4 Hit/Run

Erayo-Ninja

Erayo-Ninja
Workstation

// Lands
4 Breeding Pool
4 Yavimaya Coast
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
6 Island
3 Forest

// Creatures
3 Higure, the Still Wind
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Ornithopter

// Spells
4 Repeal
4 Sleight of Hand
2 Boomerang
4 Mana Leak
4 Remand
3 Disrupting Shoal

// Sideboard
SB: 1 Disrupting Shoal
SB: 4 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 4 Carven Caryatid
SB: 4 Threads of Disloyalty
SB: 2 Voidslime

GU

4 Yavimaya Coast
6 Forest
4 Breeding Pool
3 Island
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1 Simic Growth Chamber
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
21 land

4 Ohran Viper
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Plaxmanta
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Trygon Predator
3 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
27 creatures 4 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Spell Snare
12 other spells 4 Threads of Disloyalty
3 Hinder
2 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
2 Iwamori of the Open Fist
2 Pithing Needle
2 Higure, the Still Wind
15 sideboard cards

Sea Stompy

2 Yavimaya Coast
4 Shivan Reef
4 Forest
4 Breeding Pool
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
22 land

3 Ohran Viper
4 Kird Ape
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Llanowar Elves
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Trygon Predator
2 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
23 creatures 3 Seal of Fire
4 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Remand
4 Mana Leak
15 other spells 4 Carven Caryatid
4 Rumbling Slum
2 Pithing Needle
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Seal of Fire
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
1 Thoughts of Ruin
15 sideboard cards

Snakes - Decklist

Snakes!


5 Forest
3 Island
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
4 Breeding Pool
4 Simic Growth Chamber
4 Yavimaya Coast

4 Sakura Tribe-Scout
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Coiling Oracle
3 Patagia Viper
3 Ohran Viper
2 Seshiro the Anoited

3 Mana Leak
3 Remand
4 Sosuke’s Sumons
3 Coat of Arms
2 Chord of Calling
3 Umezawa’s Jitte
SIDEBOARD
3 Pithing Needle
3 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Giant Solifuge
3 Spell Snare
2 Ghost Quarter


This deck plays the best snake theme cards and uses them to their fullest extent. It starts with mana acceleration in the early turns with Sakura-Tribe Scout, Sakura-Tribe Elder, and Coiling Oracle, all snakes of course. Then Sosuke’s Summons (which never stays in the graveyard for long, I might add) and Patagia Viper make an army of snake tokens, after which Seshiro the Anoited (sometimes fetched via Chord of Calling) or Coat of Arms come down to turn those tiny little 1-power Snakes into big threatening monsters. The deck is very synergistic and never runs out of snakes, due to the card advantage provided by Sosuke’s Summons and Ohran Viper. It also runs some permission spells to make sure the snakes are kept alive and slithering.

SnowWhite - Decklist

17 Snow-Covered Plains
4 Mouth of Ronom
4 Scrying Sheets
25 land

3 Kami of False Hope
2 Yosei, the Morning Star
2 Adarkar Valkyrie
3 Martyr of Sands
10 creatures

1 Debtors' Knell
4 Faith's Fetters
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Wrath of God
4 Coldsteel Heart
4 Condemn
4 Proclamation of Rebirth
25 other spells

1 Debtors' Knell
3 Ivory Mask
3 Sacred Ground
3 Story Circle
3 Terashi's Grasp
2 Millstone
15 sideboard cards


The game plan is to use recurring Martyr of Sands and Kami of False Hope to stay at a high life total. Debtors' Knell, Adarkar Valkyrie, and most importantly the forecast ability of Proclamation of Rebirth allow the deck to reuse the same Kami of False Hope over and over again as a form of Fog-lock. T

GBR Aggro - Decklist

GBr Aggro
By Ken Ishimaru, Japanese Nationals Top 8


4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
4 Llanowar Wastes
1 Karplusan Forest
4 Snow-Covered Forest
4 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
22 land

4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Dark Confidant
4 Ohran Viper
4 Hypnotic Specter
3 Giant Solifuge
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
24 creatures 2 Genju of the Cedars
4 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Demonfire
2 Putrefy
2 Persecute
14 other spells

Side board
4 Carven Caryatid
3 Deathmark
3 Distress
2 Crime // Punishment
2 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Giant Solifuge


The deck was actually designed by Ken Ishimaru, who finished in the Top 8 of the Japanese Nationals with his creation, posting a 6-3-1 Standard record overall. The goal of the deck is to accelerate into a turn 2 Hypnotic Specter or Ohran Viper with the help of Birds of Paradise and Llanowar Elves. When this deck wins the die roll and gets out a turn 2 Specter or Viper, a control deck will have basically lost right there. Counterspells can't touch it yet and a Wrath of God is too slow. That is the main strength of the deck.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Is Mill competitive ??? MTG

Now there is a little poll going on in mtgsalvation.com about whether Mill is competitive. Well so far i think only 35 people responded, so you can tell how popular it is =P


Anyways I believe that a Mill deck is possible, and some in the forum, notably sleepingVillian has indicated that they have viable builds.


I am inspired to actaully build one (actually i had already built one, but it is Dimir, and is a bit of a cross between mill and aggro - yea aggro-mill weird huh lol)

But I want to take a different approach, with the new wall that gives your opponent life (2 cc 1/8 flying wall) and the Serra Avengers, as the back up plan cum defense.

W/U is on my mind now ;)


I will update it as it fleshes out, in the meantime IF anyone is actually reading this blg and you have ideas to contribute, feel free to post ;)

Friday, September 08, 2006

Shadow is BACK !!

GBr Aggro

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Snow Stomp!

// Deck file for Magic Workstation

// Lands
4 Scrying Sheets
4 Mouth of Ronom
8 Snow-Covered Mountain
8 Snow-Covered Forest

// Creatures
1 Lightning Serpent
4 Ohran Viper
4 Phyrexian Ironfoot
2 Stalking Yeti
2 Hunted Dragon
4 Kird Ape

// Spells
4 Into the North
1 Icefall
3 Mishra's Bauble
3 Resize
4 Skred
4 Seal of Fire

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Icefall
SB: 3 Cryoclasm
SB: 3 Stone Rain
SB: 4 Martyr of Ashes
SB: 2 Demonfire


This is a version of "Snow Stomp" that i have been working on for a while. It is essentially R/G aggro with scrying sheets. The sideboard is untested. But is running pretty alright.

In creating this deck, the first thought was: "I want to abuse Ohran Viper!"


Well , that accounted for the green, also, green gives you access to Into the North, which is a mana accelerant.

But wait, it is actually more than that, it is also a way to get scrying sheets, and ronom mouth. All good stuff and snow!

The Phyrexian Ironfoots have been great!

Now this deck is now where as fast as Zoo, or Gruul Beats.

But is it a bit beefy and can smash some. Card draw from Ohran and Sheets is some good, not to mention that the Dragons are for some mean aerial offense. Yeti is renewable control, so is Icefall.

One thing I have learnt about Icefall. 4cc is a little expensive =) So unless this becomes a dedicated LD, it is highly unlikely to run maindeck more than 1.

Skred is what give this deck some breathing space.

Feel free to take this deck and play, but do post results if possible =)

Friday, September 01, 2006

Singapore Meta can be found here Nationals 2006


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