Woot! Glad I was wrong!

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 :)

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