Sunday wasn't too eventful for me as I wasted most of the day watching movies on Netflix, eagerly awaiting the season finale for Game of Thrones. After watching Mortal Kombat, and regretting it, I decided to check Facebook before turning on the DVR.
Grazing, I noticed a post by none other than Joshua "X" Claytor regarding bannings. Not really reading it, I clicked over to Wizards of the Coast homepage to see what the decision was...
My mouth dropped open. My brain ceased to function (much like when playing Magic). My neck hairs tingled.
Jace was banned?! Having Stoneforge Mystic booted wasn't as much of a surprise as seeing Jace being sent to pasture other formats. It was still stunning to see both really. But Jace? How could they? He's the face of....us!
Quickly, I clicked over to Aaron Forsythes reason for the ban. After reading it a small grin creased itself into my face. I just couldn't believe it. This was awesome! My urge to play again was just starting to unfold with dire thoughts of only being able to really enjoy the format once Innistrad was released in the fall. Everything has changed so dramatically, almost like dark clouds were blown away revealing a sun-filled spring day.
I didn't think the format needed bannings with only a few months away from a new core set. But this is a welcome change! It always seems like a black mark for Magic when these things happen, not that most didn't see the current state of Standard already drenched in tar. And it certainly shouldn't appear as one for members of R&D. If anything, people should applaud these awesome guys for continuing to make great cards and strive for excitement in the game!
We love to blame someone for our own personal hatreds, but when a card is broken it should be seen as a sign that R&D does in fact have some very creative, boundary-pushing, out-of-the-box, and astute thinkers. It's fun cards like Stone Forge Mystic and Jace, The Mindsculptor that let our brains explore new trains of thought. The fresh thinking that was used to make these cards is the very same that knows when it's time to bring change or delay it, challenging the very will of the player base and creativity of deckbuilders.
It's not fun to tank a card from a format, but it goes without saying it also isn't fun when a format is dominated ubiquitously across small and large events alike. The last thing anyone wants is for the salt shaker to pop off over our food. Wizards deserves our gratitude and thanks for making this game breathtakingly agonizing and a pleasure to shuffle up. They also shouldn't be given as much flack for the Jace portion of the announcement as they are now. Aaron Forsythe said it well and not in so many words: not everyone is going to be happy. Assuredly, there is a fella somewhere throwing his keyboard across his living room or out his mothers basement window.
I am so very glad I was wrong on an entirely more greedy level than I stated above. Now I can wait to buy a set of Jaces much later and certainly won't need to fork over as much for Stoneforge. What a greedy jerk.
New decks?
Players initial reactions to the announcement strapped a rocket pack to Primeval Titan and set it to orbit the sun. And I am pretty sure most avid lovers of Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle may have, in fact, sharted their collective pants. They certainly aren't wrong in Valakut decks being good again. However, what I think some players are just starting to figure out is that cards like Lotus Cobra, Consecrated Sphinx, Splinter Twin, and Pyromancers Ascension are going to be heavy hitters as well. If they weren't before, they will now. Even fringe ideas and block decks could see play. You can see block lists here from Pro Tour: Nagoya.
With one door closing, another usually opens. And many block playable decks have the potential to be new format staples. Pat Chapin and countless others are writing pieces about the undiscovered country we call Standard. It would be foolish of me to think I could offer anything better than these great innovators, but it wouldn't be fair to myself if I didn't at least post what I plan on working on for Friday Night Magic :)
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Lone Missionary
1 Trinket mage
1 Voltaic key
1 Augury Owl
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Sunblast Angel
1 Sun Titan
1 Acidic Slime
1 Aether Adept
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Llanowar Elf
2 Fauna Shaman
1 Sea-Gate Oracle
1 Precursor Golem
4 Viridian Emissary
4 Vengevine
4 Squadron Hawk
4 Birthing Pod
4 Bird of Paradise
5 Forest
1 Island
3 Plains
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Sunpetal Grove
2 Razorverge Thicket
2 Seachrome Coast
2 Glacial Fortress
2 Tectonic Edge
This Veggie Soup concoction seems very fragile, but what do I care! The only things I have concerns over are the mana base and the numbers. My initial plan with the deck was to cheat into play Some Large Fatty™, but soon realized Vengevine would just have to be in here, without a doubt. I didn't want to add Squadron Hawks, but I took Conrad Kolos' path and threw them in anyway. The support they offer might be too good to ignore, acting as fodder for the Pod, Fauna Shaman, Vengevine triggers, trash to dump off of Sphinx of Lost Truths, or simply flying 3/3 bricks (courtesy of Elesh Norn). They aren't too bad at blocking 2/1 kicked goblins or Signal Pests either.
Elixir of Immortality has two purposes:
1) to stave of dying vs monored. Nobody likes getting a Bolt to the face.
2) recur Birthing Pod fodder. One thing I'd noticed when I played vs Pod decks was there was a high chance of running out of Pod people. From removal, blocking, and activations, you can run out quick. Which leads me to the coolest thing I like about the deck: recurring Aether Adept via Sun Titan and sharting out Vengevines. Lone Missionary I'm not too sold on just yet, but he looks to work well with Titan and Birthing Pod.
Augury owl is a nod to dipping earlier into the honey pot for Pods. Basically the second Sea-Gate, which he also bridges into, Augury Owl is a nice boost if on the draw. It does seem like it would be better in multiples. I wonder if he could be better than Squadron Hawk over all...
I can't wait to play this after July 1st and I hope others are as excited as I am about the changes to Standard because it certainly feels like a new format to me :)
+1
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
But wait there's more!
A few hours after my initial post regarding Stoneforge Mystic, etc. I received a Facebook message from a local cohort. He asked me when I had made my decision in my blog post, before or after I played Eldrazi Green at a local PTQ. Here is my response.
"Thanks Danny! I actually wrote this piece initially as a response to Sam's post on the very same subject @incontention.com, but it started getting long-winded and realized it would be better off written on my blog. You actually made me realize I made some errors by leaving out a few things as I didn't check everything before I posted it.
For some time I had been listening to everyone's reaction to Caw-Blade. I knew how good SFM was as I played it in an affinity list some time back in extended to tutor up Plating or Sword of the Meek for the other half of the combo. I also played a Boros list borrowed from Beecher one FNM night and got second just as Caw-Blade was rising up in popularity. I wanted to withhold judgement on the format until I actually played it.
Beecher mentioned something to me about Eldrazi Green beating the snot out of it and he's pretty much winning a lot of packs at FNM so I felt he might be on to something. I decided I needed to play it and soon he told me how to sideboard in a few matchups and why he beat them and what he lost to in particular.
I borrowed it for a win a box at the Star City Games event and my games didn't even seem close. It was actually fun playing again! I hadn't realized how much I missed it or how powerful Primeval Titan was in play even if my opponent had a Go for the Throat. I split in the finals for the box and gave Beecher his deck back where he rolled people as well before he split for half a box as well.
It's at this point I started to wonder why people were even complaining. Everyone was packing more Spell Pierces than Mana Leaks. No one ran Journey to Nowhere. I asked around why nobody played Valakut. It had Primeval Titan as well. Why was Caw-Blade winning against it? Why was a mono green deck winning more vs Caw-Blade when the other played Bolt, access to Shatter/Crush, a land that bolted every time, and had the same basic tools Eldrazi green deck had? Spell Pierce. E-Green has Summoning Trap and Growth Spasm and isn't scared of Go for the Throat or Doom Blade.
Beecher, and his relentless love for the fatties, made me realize people were just not accepting the fact casting an Eldrazi was viable. People have had it beaten into them relentlessly from pros, grinders (Flores, Pat Chapin, Jon Medina, Gerry Thompson, etc, etc) SCG coverage, and FNM spikes, there is no other deck choice.
That night in FNM made me realize I needed to play in that PTQ. I was going to have fun no matter what. I knew that no one was going to be prepared for Eldrazi Green. And several opponents said to me as they signed the slip "Yea, that deck is awesome. I used to play it all the time but it was too easy and boring to play." That made me laugh as all I could think about is "if it's too easy to play why not play it? Weren't Caw-Blade mirrors more boring?" But I shrugged, carried the slip up, and went for a smoke."
Magic players have a sort of mental requirement for social acceptance. Most have been an "outcast" in "normal society" and the last thing they need is to feel "outcast" or "wrong" in their safe haven of feeling normal for the first time in the lives. We as magic players are not normal, we are extra-ordinary people. We are the people that change lives. We are the nerds that make life better for others.
+1UP
"Thanks Danny! I actually wrote this piece initially as a response to Sam's post on the very same subject @incontention.com, but it started getting long-winded and realized it would be better off written on my blog. You actually made me realize I made some errors by leaving out a few things as I didn't check everything before I posted it.
For some time I had been listening to everyone's reaction to Caw-Blade. I knew how good SFM was as I played it in an affinity list some time back in extended to tutor up Plating or Sword of the Meek for the other half of the combo. I also played a Boros list borrowed from Beecher one FNM night and got second just as Caw-Blade was rising up in popularity. I wanted to withhold judgement on the format until I actually played it.
Beecher mentioned something to me about Eldrazi Green beating the snot out of it and he's pretty much winning a lot of packs at FNM so I felt he might be on to something. I decided I needed to play it and soon he told me how to sideboard in a few matchups and why he beat them and what he lost to in particular.
I borrowed it for a win a box at the Star City Games event and my games didn't even seem close. It was actually fun playing again! I hadn't realized how much I missed it or how powerful Primeval Titan was in play even if my opponent had a Go for the Throat. I split in the finals for the box and gave Beecher his deck back where he rolled people as well before he split for half a box as well.
It's at this point I started to wonder why people were even complaining. Everyone was packing more Spell Pierces than Mana Leaks. No one ran Journey to Nowhere. I asked around why nobody played Valakut. It had Primeval Titan as well. Why was Caw-Blade winning against it? Why was a mono green deck winning more vs Caw-Blade when the other played Bolt, access to Shatter/Crush, a land that bolted every time, and had the same basic tools Eldrazi green deck had? Spell Pierce. E-Green has Summoning Trap and Growth Spasm and isn't scared of Go for the Throat or Doom Blade.
Beecher, and his relentless love for the fatties, made me realize people were just not accepting the fact casting an Eldrazi was viable. People have had it beaten into them relentlessly from pros, grinders (Flores, Pat Chapin, Jon Medina, Gerry Thompson, etc, etc) SCG coverage, and FNM spikes, there is no other deck choice.
That night in FNM made me realize I needed to play in that PTQ. I was going to have fun no matter what. I knew that no one was going to be prepared for Eldrazi Green. And several opponents said to me as they signed the slip "Yea, that deck is awesome. I used to play it all the time but it was too easy and boring to play." That made me laugh as all I could think about is "if it's too easy to play why not play it? Weren't Caw-Blade mirrors more boring?" But I shrugged, carried the slip up, and went for a smoke."
Magic players have a sort of mental requirement for social acceptance. Most have been an "outcast" in "normal society" and the last thing they need is to feel "outcast" or "wrong" in their safe haven of feeling normal for the first time in the lives. We as magic players are not normal, we are extra-ordinary people. We are the people that change lives. We are the nerds that make life better for others.
+1UP
Stoneforge Mystic and you.
They will not ban anything. Even if they ban SFM, it's silly to think they will do a mail-in rebate for packs/anything for the SFM's in the event deck.
There are plenty of great cards in standard and there are plenty of small reasons that could be attributed to the PTQ attendance being low. From the interest to Legacy, to FNM really only being draft or standard, and even the standard portion of Star City Games events which may have skewed numbers and perception of reality of what's viable in standard.
While it's true the PTQ attendance for Magic Online reflects low participation compared to the max amount of players for a limited event on the same day, lets not forget the reality perceived based from non-MODO events also create a pattern of belief in players there really isn't any other deck choice.
Digital card prices, even if microscopic in comparison, are a factor too if you really want to push the notion of a seemingly stagnant environment. The last thing some wish to do is shell out hundreds of dollars for Jace, The Mindsculptors when most people who play MODO may be considered "spikes". On top of that, who wants "fake" Jaces? They certainly don't help having when you can't play them in your FNM deck.
There is also the slow emergence of the casual player over the past few years. Most people really hate being told "no" and at the same time being in control of their situation. For example in WoW there is a character class called a priest. The priest can cast a spell called "mindcontrol" on other players and also cast a spell called "fear", which causes other players to lose control of their characters and watch them run away in random directions. For a long time these two abilities were absolutely hated by the player base as there wasn't anything that could be done. The games creator, Blizzard, saw this and over time in several patches, they added in-game items and adjusted the spells effects to help deal with this loss of character control. My point being is Stoneforge Mystic is a double edged sword for WotC. On one side you have people who love to "cheat" something into their side of the table and bash-face, but at the same time the same person hates to feel "cheated" when they're in a difficult moment. WotC does their best to make sure the game doesn't fall into "winters" of decks. Creating a buffet for players to create decks from their favorite new cards isn't an easy task. Something is bound to irk someone.
People have their favorite colors. Some love playing blue, some love green, and some love to hate blue. You can't control what players will feel, but you can "herd" them into what they feel comfortable with. Players who play blue love it because they love the control they feel it gives them over their game. People who play green are in love with the idea of casting the ridiculous and yet "fair" aspect of the game: big fat monsters. These same people cross-sample with those who hate blue for no other reason but because they: 1) feel the color cheats too much. 2) think it's unfair to their way of playing the game. 3) are just fucking retarded. But that's just my opinion.
Magic is a fun game when it's not inundated with chicken little squawking at every turn. Not everyone is going to be happy, but that's okay. As a player WotC will listen to your concerns. The realistic ones. Is Jace too good for the format? No. Is Stoneforge too good for the format? No. They are both very very good. And borderline absurd at moments, but lets be realistic, so is spending hundreds of dollars on this game we love.
If you really think things need to be banned that's fine. Great! If you think Caw-Blade is the only deck to play, that's fine as well. I certainly won't point you in a direction where you'll see plenty of viable, cheaper, and just as competitive deck choices. The real world isn't all in black and white and neither is your in-game world.
Just be glad Sensei's Divining Top isn't in the format.
There are plenty of great cards in standard and there are plenty of small reasons that could be attributed to the PTQ attendance being low. From the interest to Legacy, to FNM really only being draft or standard, and even the standard portion of Star City Games events which may have skewed numbers and perception of reality of what's viable in standard.
While it's true the PTQ attendance for Magic Online reflects low participation compared to the max amount of players for a limited event on the same day, lets not forget the reality perceived based from non-MODO events also create a pattern of belief in players there really isn't any other deck choice.
Digital card prices, even if microscopic in comparison, are a factor too if you really want to push the notion of a seemingly stagnant environment. The last thing some wish to do is shell out hundreds of dollars for Jace, The Mindsculptors when most people who play MODO may be considered "spikes". On top of that, who wants "fake" Jaces? They certainly don't help having when you can't play them in your FNM deck.
There is also the slow emergence of the casual player over the past few years. Most people really hate being told "no" and at the same time being in control of their situation. For example in WoW there is a character class called a priest. The priest can cast a spell called "mindcontrol" on other players and also cast a spell called "fear", which causes other players to lose control of their characters and watch them run away in random directions. For a long time these two abilities were absolutely hated by the player base as there wasn't anything that could be done. The games creator, Blizzard, saw this and over time in several patches, they added in-game items and adjusted the spells effects to help deal with this loss of character control. My point being is Stoneforge Mystic is a double edged sword for WotC. On one side you have people who love to "cheat" something into their side of the table and bash-face, but at the same time the same person hates to feel "cheated" when they're in a difficult moment. WotC does their best to make sure the game doesn't fall into "winters" of decks. Creating a buffet for players to create decks from their favorite new cards isn't an easy task. Something is bound to irk someone.
People have their favorite colors. Some love playing blue, some love green, and some love to hate blue. You can't control what players will feel, but you can "herd" them into what they feel comfortable with. Players who play blue love it because they love the control they feel it gives them over their game. People who play green are in love with the idea of casting the ridiculous and yet "fair" aspect of the game: big fat monsters. These same people cross-sample with those who hate blue for no other reason but because they: 1) feel the color cheats too much. 2) think it's unfair to their way of playing the game. 3) are just fucking retarded. But that's just my opinion.
Magic is a fun game when it's not inundated with chicken little squawking at every turn. Not everyone is going to be happy, but that's okay. As a player WotC will listen to your concerns. The realistic ones. Is Jace too good for the format? No. Is Stoneforge too good for the format? No. They are both very very good. And borderline absurd at moments, but lets be realistic, so is spending hundreds of dollars on this game we love.
If you really think things need to be banned that's fine. Great! If you think Caw-Blade is the only deck to play, that's fine as well. I certainly won't point you in a direction where you'll see plenty of viable, cheaper, and just as competitive deck choices. The real world isn't all in black and white and neither is your in-game world.
Just be glad Sensei's Divining Top isn't in the format.
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