My fiancee and I went to Commander Night again last night, and a friend of mine, HM, decided he'd come along. He's been playing since 1994, and has an extensive collection, but the bulk of said collection is in storage in Vancouver. So, I loaned him my Kaalia of the Vast deck and we headed downtown.
We got two games in, our fourth player being a guy I'll call C, who's a pretty cool guy. He's a psychology student that looks and dresses like Duff McKeegan, which is sort of random, but I'm a Guns n' Roses fan, and the world needs more psychologists/psychiatrists that people can connect to. The four of us had a couple of great games, and it was an excellent opportunity to relax. C won the first game with combo Karn, and I won the second by exiling Venser, the Sojourner off the top with Chandra, Pyromaster and casting him with my last 5 mana. Unblockable for just enough to prevent HM from winning, and then I finished off C the next turn.
So, it was a good evening, as many of the usual "problem people" weren't there. Which was the main topic of discussion when HM, my Fiancee, and I went to a nearby Starbucks for a coffee after Commander Night.
We regaled HM with my fiancee's experience some weeks ago, where she was cheated out of a likely win. This led to a discussion about a distinct lack of diversity in the local Commander community, and of the community as a whole here.
The community here is disproportionately large for such a small town. This is largely due to our proximity to three large cities that often get GPs and PTs, and the presence of a major university. But for such a large community, my fiancee is the only regular Commander player, and there are maybe half a dozen women that play Magic on even a semi-regular basis in public, spread across three stores.
This isn't indicative of a healthy community.
I'd say there are several factors in this. The first would be the misogynistic attitude of some of the more "neckbeardy" players. Calling female players "bitches," making kitchen-related comments, and a general attitude of condescension isn't exactly the way to encourage more women to come out to things like Commander Night. I'd say getting hit on by these same people in the next breath can't be helping, either.
Logically, many local female players have joined the local chapter of the Lady Planeswalker Society, or LPS. My understanding of the group is that they're a somewhat exclusive club that encourages women to play in a welcoming and safe environment. Some chapters allow men, the one here does not. They tend to meet at private residences or bars/restaurants to cube draft or play Commander, and avoid all of the shops in town. While I'd agree that this solution makes sense, it's pretty sad. A large demographic of Magic players doesn't feel safe or welcome to play in public, and that says a lot about the local community.Closing themselves off and forming an exclusive group is the unfortunate second problem; how do we reach out as a community?
And while the problem exists elsewhere, this is the worst I've ever seen it. In Kingston, the local meta was more welcoming; I recall a few female regulars that consistently placed well at FNM. And I had the opportunity to play Magic in Hawaii for the Born of the Gods prerelease, and there were as many women playing as there were men. Women who were by all accounts highly attractive, but I didn't hear of one instance where a female player was made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome because of her gender. There, it was par for the course, and the community there was thriving.
I don't understand why the community here is as unwelcoming as it is. The province in which we live is well known for being liberal and progressive, as is the city. So why isn't our Magic community that way? There are only 2 or 3 individuals that tend to be excessively negative toward women, and while I agree that one such person is too many, surely this group can't be the sole reason that most women don't want to play in public here.
It's hard to say. There are players here that rub everyone the wrong way, and maybe the two groups combined are enough to damage the community. As a Magic player that solely plays Commander, I have to deal with much less crap than a female player that plays the same amount. I might have to deal with an annoying trade guy, that can't grasp that people will trade with him when the game ends. I might have to deal with the guy that will wander off in the middle of a game to go next door for pizza. I might even have to deal with the highschool kid that has a super original 5-Colour Planeswalker deck he "invented" that's "so awesome." But a female player has to deal with all of the regular problems a community faces, plus the comments, catcalls, and comtempt a select few reserve for those with the second X-chromosome.
I can see why it might be too much.
Hell, me presuming to guess at the problem might even be an issue.
But how to repair the damage?
My main goal is to grow the Magic community, and by extension, the Commander meta here in town. I'd love to see more players coming out every Tuesday to cast giant creatures and ridiculous spells. I'm not saying they must be women, but if we have female players playing Commander anyway, why not try to mend the rift?
It will be a challenge, but with the right ambassador, and getting on track as group by not tolerating intolerance, maybe we can get there.
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Introspection
Well, that week flew by.
The holidays are time of reflection for me at the best of times. For years, my mother had a needlepoint... thing that she'd hang on her wall around the Christmas season every year that read:
Never a Christmas morning,
Never an old year ends
when someone thinks of someone
Old days, old times, old friends.
That's something that's stuck with me, a perennial reminder that the past can bring you a timeless joy , thoughts of all the times and people that have helped you get to where you are. And this year in particular, it means a lot to me.
I started this blog as a way to write about Magic, and gaming in general, as way to stay connected to those hobbies when time, frame of mind, and other factors were keeping me from playing. It's since turned into a memoir of all the times I've had with my crew playing these games, and today won't be much different.
I've always been kind of a fluff/flavour guy. This really came to light when we were playing 40k in university. I'd been playing 40k since ~2002, and played in the Eye of Terror campaign (mostly fighting the T'au- nowhere near the damn Eye of Terror). So when it caught on at RMC, I was thrilled, since we could run a campaign.
I'm not a very good 40k player. Really, I'm not. I built a mechanized Black Templars army that could compete, but was always led by a tricked out Marshal named Jenkins that cost way too many points. He could usually recoup thos points, but I had to get him stuck in. Usually a problem. I'd get so needlessly worked up over the game. I regret that. But in spite of that, there were some fun times, too. Like when Jenkins finally got to fight Abaddon the Despoiler, only to have the latter commit seppuku in the first round of combat. Or when the 2IC of CB's Imperial Guard army was the last man standing in an entire sector, literally surrounded by Necron Monoliths. Lt Guns was a bad-ass motherfucker. I should say "is;" I think he survived that battle. So. Many. Medals.
Or when CB called down a orbital strike on his Colonel's coordinates, after forming a single file with the eponymous Colonel at the furthest end of the line from the signaller. And having those 2 be the only surviors of the blast. Or when every single goddamn Vindicare assassin ever could only roll ones to hit. Motherfucker needs 2+, always missed. Elite sniper, my ass.
Writing up those battles as short stories/journal entries was a blast, and a hell of an opportunity to flex my creative writing muscles.
I've always found that flavour and fluff add a lot of value to the game. The same holds true for Magic, but mostly because you can't make heads or tails of it sometimes. For example, at the last Commander Night, I had a Clever Impersonator pretend to be a Moat. Made for a lot of laughs (at least, until everyone else realized they were screwed). Or having two cards representing the same character in play. Or having two players control Sorin Markov, who sets both players to ten life. It makes him seem like a vindictive, selfish asshole (which might not be wrong). Magic is a game in which game mechanics usually trump flavour, and the results are hilarious.
Brings back fond memories of games past, and of the good times.
The holidays are time of reflection for me at the best of times. For years, my mother had a needlepoint... thing that she'd hang on her wall around the Christmas season every year that read:
Never a Christmas morning,
Never an old year ends
when someone thinks of someone
Old days, old times, old friends.
That's something that's stuck with me, a perennial reminder that the past can bring you a timeless joy , thoughts of all the times and people that have helped you get to where you are. And this year in particular, it means a lot to me.
I started this blog as a way to write about Magic, and gaming in general, as way to stay connected to those hobbies when time, frame of mind, and other factors were keeping me from playing. It's since turned into a memoir of all the times I've had with my crew playing these games, and today won't be much different.
I've always been kind of a fluff/flavour guy. This really came to light when we were playing 40k in university. I'd been playing 40k since ~2002, and played in the Eye of Terror campaign (mostly fighting the T'au- nowhere near the damn Eye of Terror). So when it caught on at RMC, I was thrilled, since we could run a campaign.
I'm not a very good 40k player. Really, I'm not. I built a mechanized Black Templars army that could compete, but was always led by a tricked out Marshal named Jenkins that cost way too many points. He could usually recoup thos points, but I had to get him stuck in. Usually a problem. I'd get so needlessly worked up over the game. I regret that. But in spite of that, there were some fun times, too. Like when Jenkins finally got to fight Abaddon the Despoiler, only to have the latter commit seppuku in the first round of combat. Or when the 2IC of CB's Imperial Guard army was the last man standing in an entire sector, literally surrounded by Necron Monoliths. Lt Guns was a bad-ass motherfucker. I should say "is;" I think he survived that battle. So. Many. Medals.
Or when CB called down a orbital strike on his Colonel's coordinates, after forming a single file with the eponymous Colonel at the furthest end of the line from the signaller. And having those 2 be the only surviors of the blast. Or when every single goddamn Vindicare assassin ever could only roll ones to hit. Motherfucker needs 2+, always missed. Elite sniper, my ass.
Writing up those battles as short stories/journal entries was a blast, and a hell of an opportunity to flex my creative writing muscles.
I've always found that flavour and fluff add a lot of value to the game. The same holds true for Magic, but mostly because you can't make heads or tails of it sometimes. For example, at the last Commander Night, I had a Clever Impersonator pretend to be a Moat. Made for a lot of laughs (at least, until everyone else realized they were screwed). Or having two cards representing the same character in play. Or having two players control Sorin Markov, who sets both players to ten life. It makes him seem like a vindictive, selfish asshole (which might not be wrong). Magic is a game in which game mechanics usually trump flavour, and the results are hilarious.
Brings back fond memories of games past, and of the good times.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Loyalty
Loyalty is strange in the gaming world, as it's most often associated with one's patronage of a given store. Yesterday, I wrote about the LGS I learned to play at likely closing its doors. That same day, I received an online order from Channel Fireball. Is online shopping hurting brick-and-mortar stores? It can. But sometimes we have no choice.
Why does one order online?
For myself, I tend to order from an online vendor if I can't get a given single at any of the shops in town. While this will sometimes include the two stores I tend to find suboptimal, I consider myself a supporter of small business, and the more LGS we have here, the more events we get. So, as a rule, if I can find it in a shop in town, I will buy there; the caveat being that the price of the card in question has to be within ~$5 for cards less expensive, and within ~$10 for harder to find cards. Your rule might vary, but many folks I talk to are comfortable with similar rules. A few bucks is worth that instant gratification, and you'd likely have to pay that difference in shipping anyway.
I run into a problem, personally, when shops charge obscene rates for cards. I understand that they have overhead costs. I understand that many retailers fall into the Star City Games trap, wherein they believe they can charge the same amount of money that the largest card retailer in the world can. But when a shop has 20, 30, 100 dollar discrepancies?
I tend to take my business to the internet.
Does this make me an unloyal customer? I think the relationship between and LGS and its clientele is a little more complicated than that. Loyalty works both ways. The best shop in my town tends to use SCG for pricing, which can be a problem. I shop there in part because they tend to price a lot of their foils and high end cards (my targets) to sell, rather than what they could charge. They're willing to trade stuff I want for stuff they need (and they give me a better rate than most; usually closer to 100% than the 75% most others get). And due to the money I spend there, I usually get breaks- free singles, sometimes they'll cover the taxes. We've built a relationship, this store and I. I pay a small premium, they make it worth my while to come back. As such, I go in several times a week and seldom leave empty-handed. An example? Before a big Modern event, I went in and traded a set of Jittes, a set of Noble Hierarchs (somewhat regret that now, but keep reading), and a couple Modern and Legacy playable foils I wasn't using for a Beta Badlands. The Badlands isn't in perfect shape, but it's a piece of Magic history. They could have asked about $800 for it, but for me, they let it go for $526 in trade. I keep going back.
Every once in a while, this shop doesn't have what I'm after. It's not common, but it happens. Before I hit the internet, I check out the other two shops. One shop seldom deals in foils, so I don't go there often. Which is a plus, because the place smells like boiled ass and is packed with YGO and Pokemon players. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't 9-year old kids more often than not. That leaves one store.
This place had a lot going for it. It's bright, well ventilated, has a window in the back, has laminate flooring (carpet can absorb smell), and lots of free parking. I helped in a couple small ways to get the store going, and was even offered a job there. I had to decline, because of my day job, but it would have been cool. At least until recently.
I mentioned earlier that they're the most expensive place in town for a lot of their gaming supplies, and their prices on their singles isn't competitive, either. They strictly adhere to SCG prices, which again, isn't a huge problem on its own. I use SCG prices for trading; noone I've ever traded with has had an issue there. But SCG doesn't update their prices as often as other online sellers, like CFB. This can be a problem when trying to buy Standard and Modern cards from shops that take SCG prices as the gospel. $80 for a foil Garruk, Apex Predator, when I can get one for $40 shipped online? Yeah, no.
Loyalty comes from cultivating a give-and-take relationship with a LGS. If a shop is overcharging and even borderline hostile when you happen to mention how expensive things are in realtive terms, you shouldn't feel obliged to spend your money there, even if they're the only game in town. It would suck if you find yourself facing the only store in a reasonable distance closing, given that LGS tend to be a nexus for people to congregate and play together, but only you can decide if that service is worth it to you. I'm lucky, in a way, to have three or more stores within a fair distance, and I understand that not everyone is as fortunate. But for my dollar, I'd prefer not to be price-gouged, even if the bad shop was the only place I could shop and play at.
Now, with regard to the shop I used to play at closing, it has more to do with circumstances that make it impossible for that store to compete with another in the area that can afford to sell at wholesale prices. It's not that applicable to what I wrote above, save for the fact that competetion can hurt stores as much as it helps you. I'd encourage people to patronize a local shop rather than shop online, but only if it makes sense for you to do so.
Why does one order online?
For myself, I tend to order from an online vendor if I can't get a given single at any of the shops in town. While this will sometimes include the two stores I tend to find suboptimal, I consider myself a supporter of small business, and the more LGS we have here, the more events we get. So, as a rule, if I can find it in a shop in town, I will buy there; the caveat being that the price of the card in question has to be within ~$5 for cards less expensive, and within ~$10 for harder to find cards. Your rule might vary, but many folks I talk to are comfortable with similar rules. A few bucks is worth that instant gratification, and you'd likely have to pay that difference in shipping anyway.
I run into a problem, personally, when shops charge obscene rates for cards. I understand that they have overhead costs. I understand that many retailers fall into the Star City Games trap, wherein they believe they can charge the same amount of money that the largest card retailer in the world can. But when a shop has 20, 30, 100 dollar discrepancies?
I tend to take my business to the internet.
Does this make me an unloyal customer? I think the relationship between and LGS and its clientele is a little more complicated than that. Loyalty works both ways. The best shop in my town tends to use SCG for pricing, which can be a problem. I shop there in part because they tend to price a lot of their foils and high end cards (my targets) to sell, rather than what they could charge. They're willing to trade stuff I want for stuff they need (and they give me a better rate than most; usually closer to 100% than the 75% most others get). And due to the money I spend there, I usually get breaks- free singles, sometimes they'll cover the taxes. We've built a relationship, this store and I. I pay a small premium, they make it worth my while to come back. As such, I go in several times a week and seldom leave empty-handed. An example? Before a big Modern event, I went in and traded a set of Jittes, a set of Noble Hierarchs (somewhat regret that now, but keep reading), and a couple Modern and Legacy playable foils I wasn't using for a Beta Badlands. The Badlands isn't in perfect shape, but it's a piece of Magic history. They could have asked about $800 for it, but for me, they let it go for $526 in trade. I keep going back.
Every once in a while, this shop doesn't have what I'm after. It's not common, but it happens. Before I hit the internet, I check out the other two shops. One shop seldom deals in foils, so I don't go there often. Which is a plus, because the place smells like boiled ass and is packed with YGO and Pokemon players. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't 9-year old kids more often than not. That leaves one store.
This place had a lot going for it. It's bright, well ventilated, has a window in the back, has laminate flooring (carpet can absorb smell), and lots of free parking. I helped in a couple small ways to get the store going, and was even offered a job there. I had to decline, because of my day job, but it would have been cool. At least until recently.
I mentioned earlier that they're the most expensive place in town for a lot of their gaming supplies, and their prices on their singles isn't competitive, either. They strictly adhere to SCG prices, which again, isn't a huge problem on its own. I use SCG prices for trading; noone I've ever traded with has had an issue there. But SCG doesn't update their prices as often as other online sellers, like CFB. This can be a problem when trying to buy Standard and Modern cards from shops that take SCG prices as the gospel. $80 for a foil Garruk, Apex Predator, when I can get one for $40 shipped online? Yeah, no.
Loyalty comes from cultivating a give-and-take relationship with a LGS. If a shop is overcharging and even borderline hostile when you happen to mention how expensive things are in realtive terms, you shouldn't feel obliged to spend your money there, even if they're the only game in town. It would suck if you find yourself facing the only store in a reasonable distance closing, given that LGS tend to be a nexus for people to congregate and play together, but only you can decide if that service is worth it to you. I'm lucky, in a way, to have three or more stores within a fair distance, and I understand that not everyone is as fortunate. But for my dollar, I'd prefer not to be price-gouged, even if the bad shop was the only place I could shop and play at.
Now, with regard to the shop I used to play at closing, it has more to do with circumstances that make it impossible for that store to compete with another in the area that can afford to sell at wholesale prices. It's not that applicable to what I wrote above, save for the fact that competetion can hurt stores as much as it helps you. I'd encourage people to patronize a local shop rather than shop online, but only if it makes sense for you to do so.
With a Big Iron on His Hip
Last night, I was talking to my fiancee about what deck she was going to bring down to Commander Night tomorrow. She decided on Anafenza, as she finds it fun to do all of the things that Jhoira can't, and her Narset deck isn't 100% done yet. She turned the question around on me, and I was a little confused. I'd planned to play my 5-Colour deck.
Apparently, she feels I shouldn't.
Her reasoning? The deck wins a lot, and she doesn't want people to be afraid to play with us.
That kind of got me thinking about a couple of things. What did the deck say about me, and should I mix it up to level the field a little?
I mentioned in an earlier post that I foiled out my 5-Colour deck; at least, as much as I can. All told, the deck would cost me about ten grand to replace. For a little perspective, it's worth about the same as the 2007 Nissan Sentra we drive. I play the deck a lot to get some value out of the cards, and never gave much thought to what others must think. I think this is mostly because the deck can combo out, can close out the game, but usually doesn't. I win maybe 50% of the time, and know that the deck isn't frightening.
But it seemed as though some others did feel this way. There was a definite and unintended psychological factor to presenting a deck as visually impressive as mine seems to be. Now, the point of this post isn't to brag. I focused so much on tuning the deck for my own enjoyment that I never bothered to consider the opinion of anyone else. No one in my original playgroup ever even cared; some of them undoubtedly thought going out of my way for foils and original printings was stupid. They weren't intimidated, and on a good day could appreciate the aesthetic aspect, but it never made much of a difference.
But, in the here and now, it looks like I'll have to dial back how much I use the deck, and play something else sometimes.
Anyone else ever have to play another deck, cut a card, or change how they did business to keep playing? Share your stories!
Apparently, she feels I shouldn't.
Her reasoning? The deck wins a lot, and she doesn't want people to be afraid to play with us.
That kind of got me thinking about a couple of things. What did the deck say about me, and should I mix it up to level the field a little?
I mentioned in an earlier post that I foiled out my 5-Colour deck; at least, as much as I can. All told, the deck would cost me about ten grand to replace. For a little perspective, it's worth about the same as the 2007 Nissan Sentra we drive. I play the deck a lot to get some value out of the cards, and never gave much thought to what others must think. I think this is mostly because the deck can combo out, can close out the game, but usually doesn't. I win maybe 50% of the time, and know that the deck isn't frightening.
But it seemed as though some others did feel this way. There was a definite and unintended psychological factor to presenting a deck as visually impressive as mine seems to be. Now, the point of this post isn't to brag. I focused so much on tuning the deck for my own enjoyment that I never bothered to consider the opinion of anyone else. No one in my original playgroup ever even cared; some of them undoubtedly thought going out of my way for foils and original printings was stupid. They weren't intimidated, and on a good day could appreciate the aesthetic aspect, but it never made much of a difference.
But, in the here and now, it looks like I'll have to dial back how much I use the deck, and play something else sometimes.
Anyone else ever have to play another deck, cut a card, or change how they did business to keep playing? Share your stories!
Monday, 8 December 2014
More in Store
I heard from DK yesterday that the shop in Kingston where we all used to play, and where I learned to play, could be closing its doors forever in the coming months.
There are a lot of reasons for this decision, by the sound of things, but it's still something of a shock. I'll admit, it's been more than three years since I've set foot in the place, but that shop is the standard by which I measure all others. They had a lounge area, where anyone could just come in and play video games, lots of table space, a good selection of product. The place was clean, run by genuinely good people, and a lot of effort was made to support local artists and attract people involved in the comic book industry to the shop.
I've never found another shop quite like it.
I had to move in 2011, to a city about as far as you can get from Kingston while remaining in Canada. The stores in my locale are very much hit and miss. One is quite consistently good, if occasionally smelly. I go there 3-4 times a week, and play in their weekly Commander Night. They're right downtown, so it's maybe 8 minutes away by bus. It's probably the best store in the area.
The other two stores are pretty bad. The one that's been around longer largely caters to Yu-Gi-Oh, is in a rough part of town, and smells awful. The owner often overcharges, and will ignore you for 15-20 minutes while trying to trade kids out of valuable YGO cards. I go there very, very rarely, and only if they might have something I can't find anywhere else.
The last store in the area opened this past summer, in June. We found it on online, and decided to go check it out, since it's only a 5 minute drive away. It was a promising store; the owner is ex-Navy, and while his plan was to deal primarily in sports memorbilia, he figured Magic would help keep him afloat. I donated almost all of my bulk commons and uncommons, which he mostly just gave kids to get them into the game. He was doing things right, at the start; for packs and most other things, he was the cheapest place in town.
But he experienced too much success too quickly. Soon, he became the most expensive place in town for deck boxes, sleeves, and singles. He ordered the new Commander decks, and promptly charged at least $45 dollars each, more for the red and white ones. Not surprisingly, most of them are still on his shelf. It's a damn shame, but when I can get my dollar to go further elsewhere, I'm going to. And anyone that knows me knows that I'm not afraid to spend money on this hobby.
My point in elaborating on all of this is that the store in Kingston, where it all began, did everything right. And they still might not make it.
It's saddening, and hopefully they can be saved.
There are a lot of reasons for this decision, by the sound of things, but it's still something of a shock. I'll admit, it's been more than three years since I've set foot in the place, but that shop is the standard by which I measure all others. They had a lounge area, where anyone could just come in and play video games, lots of table space, a good selection of product. The place was clean, run by genuinely good people, and a lot of effort was made to support local artists and attract people involved in the comic book industry to the shop.
I've never found another shop quite like it.
I had to move in 2011, to a city about as far as you can get from Kingston while remaining in Canada. The stores in my locale are very much hit and miss. One is quite consistently good, if occasionally smelly. I go there 3-4 times a week, and play in their weekly Commander Night. They're right downtown, so it's maybe 8 minutes away by bus. It's probably the best store in the area.
The other two stores are pretty bad. The one that's been around longer largely caters to Yu-Gi-Oh, is in a rough part of town, and smells awful. The owner often overcharges, and will ignore you for 15-20 minutes while trying to trade kids out of valuable YGO cards. I go there very, very rarely, and only if they might have something I can't find anywhere else.
The last store in the area opened this past summer, in June. We found it on online, and decided to go check it out, since it's only a 5 minute drive away. It was a promising store; the owner is ex-Navy, and while his plan was to deal primarily in sports memorbilia, he figured Magic would help keep him afloat. I donated almost all of my bulk commons and uncommons, which he mostly just gave kids to get them into the game. He was doing things right, at the start; for packs and most other things, he was the cheapest place in town.
But he experienced too much success too quickly. Soon, he became the most expensive place in town for deck boxes, sleeves, and singles. He ordered the new Commander decks, and promptly charged at least $45 dollars each, more for the red and white ones. Not surprisingly, most of them are still on his shelf. It's a damn shame, but when I can get my dollar to go further elsewhere, I'm going to. And anyone that knows me knows that I'm not afraid to spend money on this hobby.
My point in elaborating on all of this is that the store in Kingston, where it all began, did everything right. And they still might not make it.
It's saddening, and hopefully they can be saved.
What YGO Could Teach MTG
Modern Masters 2015 was announced yesterday, and the news is troubling.
Like the last Modern Masters, this set will be a limited release. This is good for folks that like exclusives, and pretty bad for everyone else. The MSRP per pack has also climbed, from $6.99 to 9.99, driving the price of the box up. This is to increase the bottom line for stores, which would be fine if many stores weren't charging 15-25 dollars a pack for the last MMA. At these prices, MMA packs can still be had, if not boxes. The reason? No one wants to pay these prices. Feels pretty bad to put down $20 for a pack to treat yo' self and open your 43rd Auriok Salvagers.
I think that's the problem with these sets.
WotC wants all the money for the cards, but they have to put relatively low-quality cards in the set to make for a balanced limited environment. Want me to pay 20 dollars for a random booster pack? Then take a leaf out of Yu-Gi-Oh's book (never thought I'd type that). YGO often has collector's tins that include a promo or two, and a pile of packs. Sometimes, this promo is good, sometimes it's bad, but getting an alternate finish card, a collectable tin, and often packs that are out of circulation is not a bad pickup for about 20 bucks. WotC could do the same thing- print a set full of powerful/desireable reprints, disregard the limited environment. Pick your mythics wisely, including some fan-favourites, but print the foil mythics with alternate art.
Think- how much more M15 would have sold if, like the Priceless Treasures promotion for Zendikar, you had a chance to open an SDCC style planeswalker instead of the standard foil? Keep the standard foils, as some prefer them, but if every so often someone opened a really cool alternate art/style/finish version of a powerful/popular card? Money made. Look up the price of a first-run box of Zendikar. See what I mean?
Building a set not for limited, but to increase the supply of Modern "staples," might be the way to go. To drive demand, print alternate art foils. Maybe one "guaranteed" per booster box, like in hockey card sets. People won't buy them to play sealed, but they'll be collectable/desireable enough pickups that WotC could get away with a $10 MSRP. Build a set with the goal of making Modern more accessable in mind, print 4x as much as MMA (evidence suggests that there was about 3 times as much demand for MMA 2013 as there was supply), market it toward collectors. Alternate art promos will offset the financial impact of reprints on collectors, people trying to buy into Modern will be able to obtain sets of cards without a bank loan, and WotC makes money. Everyone wins but limited players, but Conspiracy 2 can't be far off.
What do you guys think?
Like the last Modern Masters, this set will be a limited release. This is good for folks that like exclusives, and pretty bad for everyone else. The MSRP per pack has also climbed, from $6.99 to 9.99, driving the price of the box up. This is to increase the bottom line for stores, which would be fine if many stores weren't charging 15-25 dollars a pack for the last MMA. At these prices, MMA packs can still be had, if not boxes. The reason? No one wants to pay these prices. Feels pretty bad to put down $20 for a pack to treat yo' self and open your 43rd Auriok Salvagers.
I think that's the problem with these sets.
WotC wants all the money for the cards, but they have to put relatively low-quality cards in the set to make for a balanced limited environment. Want me to pay 20 dollars for a random booster pack? Then take a leaf out of Yu-Gi-Oh's book (never thought I'd type that). YGO often has collector's tins that include a promo or two, and a pile of packs. Sometimes, this promo is good, sometimes it's bad, but getting an alternate finish card, a collectable tin, and often packs that are out of circulation is not a bad pickup for about 20 bucks. WotC could do the same thing- print a set full of powerful/desireable reprints, disregard the limited environment. Pick your mythics wisely, including some fan-favourites, but print the foil mythics with alternate art.
Think- how much more M15 would have sold if, like the Priceless Treasures promotion for Zendikar, you had a chance to open an SDCC style planeswalker instead of the standard foil? Keep the standard foils, as some prefer them, but if every so often someone opened a really cool alternate art/style/finish version of a powerful/popular card? Money made. Look up the price of a first-run box of Zendikar. See what I mean?
Building a set not for limited, but to increase the supply of Modern "staples," might be the way to go. To drive demand, print alternate art foils. Maybe one "guaranteed" per booster box, like in hockey card sets. People won't buy them to play sealed, but they'll be collectable/desireable enough pickups that WotC could get away with a $10 MSRP. Build a set with the goal of making Modern more accessable in mind, print 4x as much as MMA (evidence suggests that there was about 3 times as much demand for MMA 2013 as there was supply), market it toward collectors. Alternate art promos will offset the financial impact of reprints on collectors, people trying to buy into Modern will be able to obtain sets of cards without a bank loan, and WotC makes money. Everyone wins but limited players, but Conspiracy 2 can't be far off.
What do you guys think?
On Vengance and Closure
Lately, I've convinced myself that there's a certain catharsis in seeing people get what they deserve.
I've had the tendency in the last few months, in light of events that transpired over the last year and a bit, to believe it just when someone that's wronged you finally gets a taste of the pain they've inflicted on others.
Which I suppose is why the last Commander Night has me thinking.
A few days ago, I wrote something about a Commander Night at a local store at which my fiancee was made to feel uncomfortable. Elements of this included misogyny, lying, and slight of hand. And so, when the opportunity arose last night for her to beat the living shit out of one of those responsible, I'd have thought she'd have enjoyed it more.
But this wasn't the case.
The guy in question joined our pod as our fourth person. The misogyny was back in full force, but my fiancee's reaction was different- she was impassive, and focused on playing the game. I focused fire on this guy, and eventually came to win both games our pod played. My fiancee had a lot of fun, got to do some cool things, and she claims to have genuinely enjoyed herself. But she didn't go after him, when she clearly could have killed this guy with a giant robot.
But if nothing had changed, why was her outlook so different?
As it turned out, something had changed after all.
She realized that she likely couldn't change this random stranger's comments, but she could change how she took them.
While I admit to some outrage that it was she that had to change, rather than the community becoming less toxic to beigin with, the latter is unlikely enough that it might as well be considered impossible. My fiancee's decision to take the high road and not kill this guy outright and to ignore the vitriol is an admirable one, and I don't know that it's the one I'd have made if I were in her position.
But I might now.
Her thought process? This guy might have the social graces of a turnip, but he, like us, just came to play Magic.
Maybe the people that wrong us on the daily are just trying to get by.
Taking the high road might not be easy, but maybe it's unfair to judge others in such an offhand manner. Perhaps we should give others the benefit of the doubt more often than we do.
Perhaps.
I've had the tendency in the last few months, in light of events that transpired over the last year and a bit, to believe it just when someone that's wronged you finally gets a taste of the pain they've inflicted on others.
Which I suppose is why the last Commander Night has me thinking.
A few days ago, I wrote something about a Commander Night at a local store at which my fiancee was made to feel uncomfortable. Elements of this included misogyny, lying, and slight of hand. And so, when the opportunity arose last night for her to beat the living shit out of one of those responsible, I'd have thought she'd have enjoyed it more.
But this wasn't the case.
The guy in question joined our pod as our fourth person. The misogyny was back in full force, but my fiancee's reaction was different- she was impassive, and focused on playing the game. I focused fire on this guy, and eventually came to win both games our pod played. My fiancee had a lot of fun, got to do some cool things, and she claims to have genuinely enjoyed herself. But she didn't go after him, when she clearly could have killed this guy with a giant robot.
But if nothing had changed, why was her outlook so different?
As it turned out, something had changed after all.
She realized that she likely couldn't change this random stranger's comments, but she could change how she took them.
While I admit to some outrage that it was she that had to change, rather than the community becoming less toxic to beigin with, the latter is unlikely enough that it might as well be considered impossible. My fiancee's decision to take the high road and not kill this guy outright and to ignore the vitriol is an admirable one, and I don't know that it's the one I'd have made if I were in her position.
But I might now.
Her thought process? This guy might have the social graces of a turnip, but he, like us, just came to play Magic.
Maybe the people that wrong us on the daily are just trying to get by.
Taking the high road might not be easy, but maybe it's unfair to judge others in such an offhand manner. Perhaps we should give others the benefit of the doubt more often than we do.
Perhaps.
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Something Something Staples Something Something Easy Button
When I began playing Commander, I had a couple fat pack boxes full of mostly white cards. Around the same time, the store we frequented in Kingston was offering "Retro Boxes."
These were repacks that were guaranteed a foil rare or mythic, one "good" rare or mythic, 9 other rares, and some number of commons and uncommons. They included cards as far back as revised and were a good mix.
Obviously, I bought a few.
They really were a mixed bag, but for 15 dollars, we got our money's worth; at least, we opened cards that found homes in our decks. CB had a few older cards, but none of the rest of us did, until TB brought some cards out some time later. My first Retro Box had a foil Lich's Mirror and a Revised Balance. After 2 games with Balance, we found out it was banned, and for very good reason. I miss it, but it's probably way too good. I still have it in my binder as a reminder of those early days. Someone else opened a foil Fracturing Gust, which I traded for (DK has a nasty Karn deck, Fracturing Gust blows him out). Some of the foils are memorable, like a Mind's Eye I traded to DK, but I recall very few of the "good" cards.
This is important: "Good" is subjective. "Good" will vary based on your needs.
Look at my Balance- Balance is an awesome card.
So awesome, in fact, that it's banned in Commander.
I'm not complaining- I don't regret these repacks at all. We opened a lot of cards for our decks, built up our collections. But while the guy who built them was correct in his view, it didn't suit my needs; I couldn't play it! So cards that someone else deemed good from their frame of reference weren't good to me.
So let's talk about "staples."
The concept of staples in Commander is a somewhat broken one. Almost every week I see Reddit threads or posts on the WotC forums wherein players ask for "staples" or "must-run" cards of a given colour combination.
Staples are cards that popular opinion dictates you should run in a deck with X characteristics, where X is Commander, colour, mana cost, etc. Makes sense, right? You only get 99 cards; it stands to reason you'd want to run the best ones you could.
But this game has been around for more than twenty years. It's almost defined by corner cases and exceptions. There are a handful of hard-to-refuse cards for each colour and each colour combination, but I would make the case that there are exactly zero staples. For any deck.
Look at Command Tower. Staple, right? References your commander, easy to obtain, no downside apart from being a non-basic land. When wouldn't I run this?
Well... was it in the mono-coloured decks released this year?
That's the kind of thing I mean. Here's another example. Sol Ring. Cheap, readily available, makes for an explosive start. But it makes you a target if that's your turn one, and what if my meta is heavy on artifact hate? Suddenly, not so good.
So we have mechanical reasons not to run cards considered to be staples. We have the political aspect. One's meta can dictate whether or not some staple cards are even worthwhile, much less good.
There's one other reason I can think of that should cause people to take such lists with a grain of salt.
Budget.
I have a taste for foils, and my tendency is to run goodstuff-style decks. And there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, particularly since I run some less-than-ideal cards because they're "pimp." This has caused me to really watch what I recommend to people when they ask for advice. I don't say, "Run Moat." I might suggest similar effects, but I consider it bad taste to suggest cards out of the price range of most sane, rational people. It has nothing to do with profiling; many of the people I know and play with would balk at spending $400 on one card, when an entire deck can be built for less and still have a shot at winning.
There are so many reasons one can come up with for not playing a given "staple." People will ask you at some point in your Magic career why you're playing Y card when Z card is so much better.
Aside from the fact that this message can be delivered politely and decidedly less so, it should be remembered that you don't answer to these people. People will play the cards they want to, and that should be that.
These were repacks that were guaranteed a foil rare or mythic, one "good" rare or mythic, 9 other rares, and some number of commons and uncommons. They included cards as far back as revised and were a good mix.
Obviously, I bought a few.
They really were a mixed bag, but for 15 dollars, we got our money's worth; at least, we opened cards that found homes in our decks. CB had a few older cards, but none of the rest of us did, until TB brought some cards out some time later. My first Retro Box had a foil Lich's Mirror and a Revised Balance. After 2 games with Balance, we found out it was banned, and for very good reason. I miss it, but it's probably way too good. I still have it in my binder as a reminder of those early days. Someone else opened a foil Fracturing Gust, which I traded for (DK has a nasty Karn deck, Fracturing Gust blows him out). Some of the foils are memorable, like a Mind's Eye I traded to DK, but I recall very few of the "good" cards.
This is important: "Good" is subjective. "Good" will vary based on your needs.
Look at my Balance- Balance is an awesome card.
So awesome, in fact, that it's banned in Commander.
I'm not complaining- I don't regret these repacks at all. We opened a lot of cards for our decks, built up our collections. But while the guy who built them was correct in his view, it didn't suit my needs; I couldn't play it! So cards that someone else deemed good from their frame of reference weren't good to me.
So let's talk about "staples."
The concept of staples in Commander is a somewhat broken one. Almost every week I see Reddit threads or posts on the WotC forums wherein players ask for "staples" or "must-run" cards of a given colour combination.
Staples are cards that popular opinion dictates you should run in a deck with X characteristics, where X is Commander, colour, mana cost, etc. Makes sense, right? You only get 99 cards; it stands to reason you'd want to run the best ones you could.
But this game has been around for more than twenty years. It's almost defined by corner cases and exceptions. There are a handful of hard-to-refuse cards for each colour and each colour combination, but I would make the case that there are exactly zero staples. For any deck.
Look at Command Tower. Staple, right? References your commander, easy to obtain, no downside apart from being a non-basic land. When wouldn't I run this?
Well... was it in the mono-coloured decks released this year?
That's the kind of thing I mean. Here's another example. Sol Ring. Cheap, readily available, makes for an explosive start. But it makes you a target if that's your turn one, and what if my meta is heavy on artifact hate? Suddenly, not so good.
So we have mechanical reasons not to run cards considered to be staples. We have the political aspect. One's meta can dictate whether or not some staple cards are even worthwhile, much less good.
There's one other reason I can think of that should cause people to take such lists with a grain of salt.
Budget.
I have a taste for foils, and my tendency is to run goodstuff-style decks. And there's nothing necessarily wrong with that, particularly since I run some less-than-ideal cards because they're "pimp." This has caused me to really watch what I recommend to people when they ask for advice. I don't say, "Run Moat." I might suggest similar effects, but I consider it bad taste to suggest cards out of the price range of most sane, rational people. It has nothing to do with profiling; many of the people I know and play with would balk at spending $400 on one card, when an entire deck can be built for less and still have a shot at winning.
There are so many reasons one can come up with for not playing a given "staple." People will ask you at some point in your Magic career why you're playing Y card when Z card is so much better.
Aside from the fact that this message can be delivered politely and decidedly less so, it should be remembered that you don't answer to these people. People will play the cards they want to, and that should be that.
Monday, 1 December 2014
You Will Call Me... Commander!
GI Joe quotes aside, my fiancee asked me kind of a neat question while we were hanging out last night. I've been really into Dragon Age: Inquisiton the past few days, but her question caused me to set the controller down and give this some thought.
Her question was, "How do you choose which guys to build decks around?"
A hell of a question.
When my playgroup first got started, legendary creatures were in relatively short supply. I had exactly three to choose from: Darien, King of Kjeldor, Rafiq of the Many, and Rhys, the Redeemed. I wound up eventually building all three, but Darien was first. So a limiting factor is supply.
Supply not withstanding, Darien seemed like the most fun and the biggest challenge to build. He was. A six mana 3/3 is already pretty rough. Add that to the ease in which his ability can be played around, and white's limited ability to damage self for fun and profit, and you've got something of an uphill battle.
Privileged Position was out. Aceticism? Nope. Even if I pulled off Indestructibility, he gets sacrificed. If they have no answer, I just don't get attacked. This is cool, but then how do I win if I can't make a bunch of dudes, gain the life back with Soul Warden, and crush someone?
Darien can be a powerful general, if a needy one. He needs a lot of support. Other ways to make tokens, Soldier Tribal cards, graveyard recursion (I don't want to pay 6 for a 3/3; why the hell would I pay 8? Or more?). And I have to reliably hit 6 mana in white?
That deck didn't last all that long.
Cool effects are another reason to choose a Commander; but note: some will be worth it; others will not.
One of my earlier posts goes into detail about my group's transition to Commander. CB in particular built a Uril, the Miststalker deck that made every effort to win, or it'd collapse by turn 7. Uril is a powerful Commander that a lot of people dislike. He's in colours that can tutor up and recur enchantments, he's Hexproof, and he gets out of hand very quickly. Pretty powerful, and the deck does sort of build itself. Power level is another factor in choosing a Commander.
The flip side to this is the multiplayer aspect of the game. Strong Generals like Uril can get hated out very quickly because of their overall strength. When Rafiq of the Many was my main deck, I brought it with me downtown when I first got posted to the West Coast. Everyone knows Rafiq is powerful, but I wasn't prepared for having to take on 4 other guys at the same time just for bringing the deck. I killed two of them before I was eliminated, but everyone was pretty upset that I brought a "competitive" deck to play with.
Not all playgroups are created equal, I guess; and people are very willing to judge you for playing the cards you play.
This kind of leads us into another reason: mind games.
I sat down to play a game of Magic last week with my fiancee and an acquaintance of mine. His general? Johan. Yes, this drag queen Darth Maul that can give your team Vigilance at the cost of attacking. I made the choice to ignore him and try to knock my fiancee out of the game (Suspended Ulamog is scary, yo). I succeeded in that, only to be Scapeshifted when he landed an Admonition Angel. Whether or not he ran Queer Eye for the Jedi for the colours, to hide what his deck could do, or becasue of some kind of attachment remains unknown to me, but the deck was effective.
I think that covers all the reasons I can think of that one would play a given Commander. If I've missed any, let me know!
Her question was, "How do you choose which guys to build decks around?"
A hell of a question.
When my playgroup first got started, legendary creatures were in relatively short supply. I had exactly three to choose from: Darien, King of Kjeldor, Rafiq of the Many, and Rhys, the Redeemed. I wound up eventually building all three, but Darien was first. So a limiting factor is supply.
Supply not withstanding, Darien seemed like the most fun and the biggest challenge to build. He was. A six mana 3/3 is already pretty rough. Add that to the ease in which his ability can be played around, and white's limited ability to damage self for fun and profit, and you've got something of an uphill battle.
Privileged Position was out. Aceticism? Nope. Even if I pulled off Indestructibility, he gets sacrificed. If they have no answer, I just don't get attacked. This is cool, but then how do I win if I can't make a bunch of dudes, gain the life back with Soul Warden, and crush someone?
Darien can be a powerful general, if a needy one. He needs a lot of support. Other ways to make tokens, Soldier Tribal cards, graveyard recursion (I don't want to pay 6 for a 3/3; why the hell would I pay 8? Or more?). And I have to reliably hit 6 mana in white?
That deck didn't last all that long.
Cool effects are another reason to choose a Commander; but note: some will be worth it; others will not.
One of my earlier posts goes into detail about my group's transition to Commander. CB in particular built a Uril, the Miststalker deck that made every effort to win, or it'd collapse by turn 7. Uril is a powerful Commander that a lot of people dislike. He's in colours that can tutor up and recur enchantments, he's Hexproof, and he gets out of hand very quickly. Pretty powerful, and the deck does sort of build itself. Power level is another factor in choosing a Commander.
The flip side to this is the multiplayer aspect of the game. Strong Generals like Uril can get hated out very quickly because of their overall strength. When Rafiq of the Many was my main deck, I brought it with me downtown when I first got posted to the West Coast. Everyone knows Rafiq is powerful, but I wasn't prepared for having to take on 4 other guys at the same time just for bringing the deck. I killed two of them before I was eliminated, but everyone was pretty upset that I brought a "competitive" deck to play with.
Not all playgroups are created equal, I guess; and people are very willing to judge you for playing the cards you play.
This kind of leads us into another reason: mind games.
I sat down to play a game of Magic last week with my fiancee and an acquaintance of mine. His general? Johan. Yes, this drag queen Darth Maul that can give your team Vigilance at the cost of attacking. I made the choice to ignore him and try to knock my fiancee out of the game (Suspended Ulamog is scary, yo). I succeeded in that, only to be Scapeshifted when he landed an Admonition Angel. Whether or not he ran Queer Eye for the Jedi for the colours, to hide what his deck could do, or becasue of some kind of attachment remains unknown to me, but the deck was effective.
I think that covers all the reasons I can think of that one would play a given Commander. If I've missed any, let me know!
Blame it on the Rain...bow?
I never seriously began to experiment with 5-Colour "Rainbow" decks until I crossed the country and settled in Western Canada once more. I had a Rafiq of the Many deck that was mostly foiled out and that could really lay the hurt on someone. I was content with that, but had acquired one of each ABUR dual land, had all the fetches, and had collected one of each RTR block shockland in foil.
So, with an optimized mana base in the bag already, I took the plunge. Mostly as a deckbuilding exercise.
I upped the land count to 40. The mana was good, but I've always said that the best mana accel is never missing a land drop. I rounded out my lands with Command Tower, City of Brass, Mana Confluence, Gemstone Mine, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, along with one of each basic land. Urborg is in there so I can tap fetchlands for mana if I'm low on life, or want to save them to make Elemental Tokens with Titania, Protector of Argoth. Urborg is in there as a trial, as I normally run a Reflecting Pool in its place. I was considering making it a rotating utility land spot. Halimar Depths, Kher Keep, Flagstones of Trokair, Shizo, Forbidden Orchard... lots of possibilities.
From there, it was a matter of finding fun/cool/powerful cards to build the deck. In its current version, the Commander is Horde of Notions. Not because there are a huge number of Elementals, but the 2 that I have are worth bringing back, especially with the potential to cast them at instant speed from the graveyard. Titania is 10 power for 5 mana and a life if my deck's been working alright, and you still Cascade twice with Maelstrom Wanderer if you cast him for free from the graveyard.
I wanted to showcase all of the coolest planeswalkers I could in the deck. So I went through all of them, and made a pile. Some seem suboptimal, but I either had a SDCC promo or they fill some important niche role in the deck. Liliana of the Dark Realms, for example, is awesome for hitting land drops, and with Urborg out, she can provide a massive boost to one of my creatures, or take out an opponent's indestructible blocker. Not bad utility, if she seems narrow at first glance.
If the deck was going to be "Superfriends," then running Rings of Brighthearth (lets me grab two lands for one fetchland activation, too!) and The Chain Veil makes sense. Both cards are outstanding in the deck. To protect the team, I picked up a Moat as a gift to myslef to commemorate winning a significant legal battle. The rest of the money had to go toward responsible, adult things, but my fiancee said I could have one high-end card. Power is banned in Commander (for the most part), so I went with something I know I'd play. Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Elspeth, Sun's Champion help make Moat a little more one-sided.
With a bunch of planeswalkers, and DK already having a mostly evil-themed 5-Colour deck, I decided I'd run good or apparently good-aligned legends for most of my creature base. Captain Sisay, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. Linvala. Titania. Venser. I also opeted for a couple neutral ones, like Vendilion Clique, Zegana, and Maelstrom Wanderer. In fact, the only one you could make a case for being evil is Thraximundar (Marchesa has some evil motives, but the lore we have suggests she's not wholly evil; Thassa is aloof, and Sakashima is actually chaotic good). Thraximundar is in there to clear blockers. Drana was in his spot, but she doesn't quite make the same impression, even if she's better with Moat. If there are any suggestions, let me know!
Finally, a few non-legendary utility creatures. Loyal Retainers is kind of a no-brainer. Bloom Tender makes too much mana in this deck to not run. Chromanticore should have been legendary so it could be the general. And Clever Impersonator is amazingly useful.
As an aside, I tried to avoid any card with CCC in its mana cost, where C is a coloured mana symbol. So, no Sorin Markov, no Avacyn, no Cryptic Command. The mana base could probably handle it, but I opted not to take risks. It sucks to have a hand full of awesome cards and be unable to play them.
So, with all that in mind, we have a deck that looks like this:
Akroma's Memorial (M13, foil)
Lands:
Savannah (Revised)
Tundra (Revised)
Badlands (Beta)
Taiga (Revised)
Underground Sea (Revised)
Plateau (Revised)
Bayou (Revised)
Tropical Island (Revised)
Volcanic Island (French Revised, white border)
Scrubland (Revised)
Temple Garden (Ravnica: City of Guilds, foil)
Hallowed Fountain (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Blood Crypt (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Stomping Ground (Gatecrash, foil)
Watery Grave (Ravnica: City of Guilds, foil)
Sacred Foundry (Gatecrash, foil)
Overgrown Tomb (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Breeding Pool (Dissension, foil)
Steam Vents (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Godless Shrine (Gatecrash, foil)
Windswept Heath (Judge, foil)
Flooded Strand (Onslaught, foil)
Bloodstained Mire (Onslaught, foil)
Wooded Foothills (Onslaught, foil)
Polluted Delta (Onslaught, foil)
Arid Mesa (Zendikar, foil)
Verdant Catacombs (Zendikar, foil)
Misty Rainforest (Zendikar, foil)
Scalding Tarn (Zendikar, foil)
Marsh Flats (Zendikar, foil)
Command Tower (Judge, foil)
City of Brass (Modern Masters, foil)
Mana Confluence (foil)
Gemstone Mine (Judge, foil)
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (M15, foil)
Plains (Judge, foil)
Island (Judge, foil)
Swamp (Judge, foil)
Mountain (Judge, foil)
Forest (Judge, foil)
Foiling out the deck has been a project of mine, and it's there, minus the duals and the new cards that don't exist as foils. I'm proud of the deck, and I play it as much as I can. Some of the cards are a little suboptimal (Chandra probably springs to mind first), but they're pimp, and they're fun. Hit me up with feedback or if you feel there's anything I overlooked, and maybe we can make a little Cockatrice happen soon.
So, with an optimized mana base in the bag already, I took the plunge. Mostly as a deckbuilding exercise.
I upped the land count to 40. The mana was good, but I've always said that the best mana accel is never missing a land drop. I rounded out my lands with Command Tower, City of Brass, Mana Confluence, Gemstone Mine, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, along with one of each basic land. Urborg is in there so I can tap fetchlands for mana if I'm low on life, or want to save them to make Elemental Tokens with Titania, Protector of Argoth. Urborg is in there as a trial, as I normally run a Reflecting Pool in its place. I was considering making it a rotating utility land spot. Halimar Depths, Kher Keep, Flagstones of Trokair, Shizo, Forbidden Orchard... lots of possibilities.
From there, it was a matter of finding fun/cool/powerful cards to build the deck. In its current version, the Commander is Horde of Notions. Not because there are a huge number of Elementals, but the 2 that I have are worth bringing back, especially with the potential to cast them at instant speed from the graveyard. Titania is 10 power for 5 mana and a life if my deck's been working alright, and you still Cascade twice with Maelstrom Wanderer if you cast him for free from the graveyard.
I wanted to showcase all of the coolest planeswalkers I could in the deck. So I went through all of them, and made a pile. Some seem suboptimal, but I either had a SDCC promo or they fill some important niche role in the deck. Liliana of the Dark Realms, for example, is awesome for hitting land drops, and with Urborg out, she can provide a massive boost to one of my creatures, or take out an opponent's indestructible blocker. Not bad utility, if she seems narrow at first glance.
If the deck was going to be "Superfriends," then running Rings of Brighthearth (lets me grab two lands for one fetchland activation, too!) and The Chain Veil makes sense. Both cards are outstanding in the deck. To protect the team, I picked up a Moat as a gift to myslef to commemorate winning a significant legal battle. The rest of the money had to go toward responsible, adult things, but my fiancee said I could have one high-end card. Power is banned in Commander (for the most part), so I went with something I know I'd play. Elspeth, Knight-Errant and Elspeth, Sun's Champion help make Moat a little more one-sided.
With a bunch of planeswalkers, and DK already having a mostly evil-themed 5-Colour deck, I decided I'd run good or apparently good-aligned legends for most of my creature base. Captain Sisay, Sigarda, Host of Herons, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight. Linvala. Titania. Venser. I also opeted for a couple neutral ones, like Vendilion Clique, Zegana, and Maelstrom Wanderer. In fact, the only one you could make a case for being evil is Thraximundar (Marchesa has some evil motives, but the lore we have suggests she's not wholly evil; Thassa is aloof, and Sakashima is actually chaotic good). Thraximundar is in there to clear blockers. Drana was in his spot, but she doesn't quite make the same impression, even if she's better with Moat. If there are any suggestions, let me know!
Finally, a few non-legendary utility creatures. Loyal Retainers is kind of a no-brainer. Bloom Tender makes too much mana in this deck to not run. Chromanticore should have been legendary so it could be the general. And Clever Impersonator is amazingly useful.
As an aside, I tried to avoid any card with CCC in its mana cost, where C is a coloured mana symbol. So, no Sorin Markov, no Avacyn, no Cryptic Command. The mana base could probably handle it, but I opted not to take risks. It sucks to have a hand full of awesome cards and be unable to play them.
So, with all that in mind, we have a deck that looks like this:
5 Colour EDH Deck
General: Horde of Notions
Creatures:
Captain Sisay
Maelstrom Wanderer
Thraximundar
Sakashima, the Imposter (foil)
Vendilion Clique (Judge foil)
Sigarda, Host of Herons (foil)
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight (foil)
Prime Speaker Zegana
Venser, Shaper Savant
Surrak Dragonclaw
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite (Judge, foil)
Linvala, Keeper of Silence (foil)
Loyal Retainers
Knight of the Reliquary (Conflux, foil)
Bloom Tender
Eternal Witness
Imperial Recruiter (Judge, foil)
Chromanticore
Clever Impersonator
Planeswalkers:
Elspeth, Knight-Errant
Elspeth, Sun’s Champion (foil)
Ajani Steadfast
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes (foil)
Gideon Jura
Jace, the Mind Sculptor (Worldwake, foil)
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Liliana Vess
Liliana of the Dark Realms (SDCC 2013 Promo, foil)
Liliana of the Veil (Innistrad, foil)
Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Chandra, Pyromaster (SDCC 2013 Promo, foil)
Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker (foil)
Garruk, Apex Predator
Karn Liberated
Venser, the Sojourner
Dack Fayden
Vraska, the Unseen
Ral Zarek
Kiora, the Crashing Wave (Born of the Gods, foil)
Nissa, Worldwaker
Artifacts:
The Chain Veil
Rings of Brighthearth
Crucible of Worlds
Akroma's Memorial (M13, foil)
Enchantments:
Doubling Season
Mirari’s Wake
Sorceries:
Demonic Tutor
Austere Command
Primal Command
Tooth and Nail (Mirrodin, foil)
Wargate
Instants:
Eladamri’s Call
Lands:
Savannah (Revised)
Tundra (Revised)
Badlands (Beta)
Taiga (Revised)
Underground Sea (Revised)
Plateau (Revised)
Bayou (Revised)
Tropical Island (Revised)
Volcanic Island (French Revised, white border)
Scrubland (Revised)
Temple Garden (Ravnica: City of Guilds, foil)
Hallowed Fountain (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Blood Crypt (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Stomping Ground (Gatecrash, foil)
Watery Grave (Ravnica: City of Guilds, foil)
Sacred Foundry (Gatecrash, foil)
Overgrown Tomb (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Breeding Pool (Dissension, foil)
Steam Vents (Return to Ravnica, foil)
Godless Shrine (Gatecrash, foil)
Windswept Heath (Judge, foil)
Flooded Strand (Onslaught, foil)
Bloodstained Mire (Onslaught, foil)
Wooded Foothills (Onslaught, foil)
Polluted Delta (Onslaught, foil)
Arid Mesa (Zendikar, foil)
Verdant Catacombs (Zendikar, foil)
Misty Rainforest (Zendikar, foil)
Scalding Tarn (Zendikar, foil)
Marsh Flats (Zendikar, foil)
Command Tower (Judge, foil)
City of Brass (Modern Masters, foil)
Mana Confluence (foil)
Gemstone Mine (Judge, foil)
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (M15, foil)
Plains (Judge, foil)
Island (Judge, foil)
Swamp (Judge, foil)
Mountain (Judge, foil)
Forest (Judge, foil)
Foiling out the deck has been a project of mine, and it's there, minus the duals and the new cards that don't exist as foils. I'm proud of the deck, and I play it as much as I can. Some of the cards are a little suboptimal (Chandra probably springs to mind first), but they're pimp, and they're fun. Hit me up with feedback or if you feel there's anything I overlooked, and maybe we can make a little Cockatrice happen soon.
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