Rebound

Sarroth’s post about last week’s EDH debacle pretty much hits the nail on the head. I’m fine with combos—the Johnny in me loves to see cards like “Other [card types] you control get +1/+1 and have Vigilance” or “Other [card type] spells you play cost X less to cast.” I have made decks with infinite combos (Cloudstone Curio+any two non-token Kobolds+Grapeshot) and played them to that infinite combo, but I also realize that dying because you could not interrupt my 3.4 million bouncings of Kobolds into a Grapeshot sucks for you. It’s not fun.

Losing via infinite combo definitely sucks. But there are ways to go about it and ways to be a dick about it. I like how Zedruu pulled it off in our huge EDH game: “I play this, copy it 734000000 times, you all lose; in response to winning the game, I scoop, so play for second.” Then there’s that guy.

Ok, so you’ve taken essentially infinite turns. Can you at least be quick about it? He is a slow-ass player. I’m usually fine with playing slowly, but when you’ve already said that you have the ability to wreck us, don’t rub it in. Play quickly, take shortcuts, finish the job.

I’ll help out with the threat assessment, Sarroth: I’ll be punching him too.

My pulls this weekend felt very…well, inadequate. One of the EDH players (whom I’m coming to know much better) pulled Liliana of the Veil for the rare in his first pack and a freaking foil Garruk Relentless//Garruk, the Veil-Cursed for his land-slot transform card. Needless to say, he was having a very good karmic day as he won the prerelease in a fairly convincing fashion. In round 4, he won the second game to steal the overall win by playing a turn 3 Liliana with three swamps on the field, then top-decking a forest for a turn 4 Garruk. The guy he was playing ragequit then and there, causing quite a chuckling stir in the shop.

I did manage to nab a Mythic, but it’s one of the less-beloved ones. In my packs, I pulled Nevermore, Creepy Doll, Moldgraf Monstrosity, Skirsdag High Priest, Isolated Chapel, and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. In addition, I nabbed an Instigator Gang for one of my double-faced cards as well as a foil Back from the Brink and Bloodline Keeper. In my pity pack I got Chainbreaker Devils and a playable Mayor of Avabruck, which made the night a bit better.

I didn’t do too poorly for the night, ending 7-7 overall. That’s about the best I’ve done in a draft, since I never seem to get too much in terms of awesome cards. What ended up being the best was the fact that I traded some of those rares that I’ll never use for some much-needed EDH love for my Damia deck.

Speaking of EDH, Sarroth is going to have a post about the games we experienced on Thursday, and I’ll pair that with my take on the situation. It should come out tomorrow.

sarroth:

OMG… Tomorrow is the Innistrad Prerelease! I only go to one event each expansion set (are there people who go to both? Probably, but I can’t afford that), assuming I can make one, and I decided I am going to the Prerelease because I prefer that event’s promo. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That’s tomorrow. For now, I’ve been wanting to put in my two cents on an issue almost too casually dropped by Mark Rosewater during the Great Designer Search 2: the Maximum Hand Size rule, and whether it should stay a rule in the game or not.

Mark Rosewater was covering the first test: ten essay (read: short answer) questions. Not only did he talk about a lot of what he read (no surprise, the most common response to “Choose a plane to revisit other than Dominaria or Mirrodin” was Ravnica), but also about his own responses (none to the “Choose a plane to revisit” question, given that more revisits are in the works thanks to Scars block’s perceived success - Ravnica Part Deux, here we come!)

The most shocking thing I read in this article was the response to “If you had to remove an existing rule from the game for not being worth its inclusion, what would it be?”

Mark Rosewater said the most common response was to remove the Maximum Hand Size rule. This doesn’t surprise me coming from players, but MaRo added that “Interestingly, that is the rule that R&D has spent the most time talking about removing.”

Now, I know R&D has to test rules and see if they’re needed, rather than just assuming that since they’re there they must be pulling their weight. Combat Damage on the Stack was confusing to many and extremely unintuitive, and Mana Burn just didn’t come up all that often (sorry, fans of Magus of the Vineyard, it’s now a Group Hug card). These rules were either hurting the game or weren’t worth the time to explain them, so they got cut.

R&D considering cutting maximum hand size, though… that scares me.

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I agree that maximum hand size should remain a rule in Magic. While cards like Forced Fruition would remain dangerous (if your library is >7 cards, you cannot cast anything, no matter how good your memory or Spellbook is), they only become dangerous when the library dwindles—which is usually late anyway. Combos like Swans, Forced Fruition, Liliana’s Caress, and Megrim get neutered because no cleanup-step mass discards happen. Runflare Trap gets incredibly better; so do Gaze of Adamaro and Sudden Impact.

I personally would hate it if there were no maximum hand size. One of the biggest threats to card advantage is going too far and stretching beyond mana means. Forced Fruition is the epitome of this rule’s beauty: at first, it feels incredible. “Hey, this guy is gonna let me refill me hand? Cool.” Suddenly, it’s too much. “Um, yeah, I’m having some trouble getting all this stuff out of my hand now. Wait, I get more?” Very quickly, it’s lethal. “Oh gawd they’re in my eyes”

I also agree that rule 800.4a, the multiplayer death rule, should follow Timmy rules: Chandra’s death means no more fireballs are being flung, but it doesn’t stop that last one from connecting.

If you’re unaware, the entirety of Innistrad was officially spoiled yesterday. From the looks of this set, we’re going to have another Zendikar-style Limited setting for the Prerelease this weekend and the Release next weekend, in that the majority of decks will look pretty slow. I suppose that’s alright, what with the shambling creaturs that stand to shuffle out of the deep of the night.

I’ll consider it a win if I hard-cast this and manage to Flashback-cast it.

Though there are some really exciting rares and mythics in this set—ten rare lands!—Steve Sadin, author of the “Limited Information” articles on Wizards, knows that the really important cards in the Limited environment are not the rares and mythics, which players will only have six opportunities to snag. No, it’s commons we care about. To match this, here are five commons from each color that I am hoping to get this weekend.

White: Bonds of Faith; Thraben Sentry//Thraben Militia; Doomed Traveler; Feeling of Dread; Unruly Mob.

I really like the control elements that White is bringing to the table in a slow meta. I am at heart a control player (despite how I generally draft, knowing that speed can be a devastating archetype in Limited). Bonds of Faith is a sexy sometimes-Pacifism and sometimes buff, especially if I’m running Humans (here’s hoping!). Feeling of dread is gorgeous, and, if I’m playing blue, I also have access to Claustrophobia and the Flashback-loving uncommons Runic Repetition and Memory’s Journey. With even one copy of Feeling of Dread, I can potentially tap down four creatures; with Memory’s Journey, it’s six; and with Runic Repetition, at least eight. Doomed Traveler makes a great one-drop (as I noted last week) because it gives advantage. If it dies, you have a 1/1 with evasion. It also lets you go morbid twice for half the price, which both Unruly Mob and Thraben Militia will like.

Blue: Delver of Secrets//Insectile Aberration; Curse of the Bloody Tome; Dream Twist; Stitched Drake; Think Twice.

With few instants and sorceries, Delver of Secrets doesn’t appear to be too great. But combine it with the many control spells found in Blue, White, and the kills from Black and Red and you have a very profitable 1-drop creature in blue. If you’re lucky, you have a turn-two 3/2 flyer that can swing that turn. If not, you get to see what’s coming the draw and don’t have to show it. Curse of the Bloody Tome and Dream Twist, along with the unlisted Selhoff Occultist make up the key common package of one of what might be a competitive Limited deck: milling. With 40 cards on average, milling can be absolutely terrifying in Limited. I won a few games with Mindcrank at the last release party, and let me tell you: it’s disheartening to watch your library disappear. Many flashback costs in this set are very expensive, so a turn one/two Dream Twist into a turn 3 Curse or Selhoff Occultist that gets backed up with other creatures can be devastating—your opponent should be around 27 cards and dwindling at this point, hopefully with lands or bombs in the ‘yard. Of course, you can mill yourself to fuel Stitched Drakes and Skaabs, aggressively-costed creatures that might be your bread-and-butter attackers. I know I’ll willingly give up a 1/1 to get that Drake in play. Think Twice is pure card advantage that can be cast on successive turns.

Black: Bump in the Night; Curse of Oblivion; Manor Skeleton; Skeletal Grimace; Ghoulcaller’s Chant.

Considering that my second choice after Humans will be Zombies, it should come as no surprise that Ghoulcaller’s Chant comes up on this list. Two for one black? Why yes, I will play my Diregraf Ghoul and my Walking Corpse again. No horror film is complete without seemingly unkillable ghoulies, and Manor Skeleton fits that role perfectly. Skeletal Grimace makes anything I drop on the field a continuing threat and pumps it. What’s not to like? As for Bump in the Night, well, it’s a black almost-Bolt. Three damage for one mana is hard to pass up. Curse of Oblivion works well with mill by keeping those pesky Flashback cards from being cast once you’ve dropped them into the graveyard, and it keeps other Necromancers from having targets to reanimate.

Red: Ancient Grudge; Ashmouth Hound; Curse of the Pierced Heart; Traitorous Blood; Feral Ridgewolf.

Artifacts might not play much of a role in Innistrad (unless you’re a human in dire need of some armaments), but with all the cheap common equipment around, it wouldn’t hurt to have some inexpensive removal at the ready. With a flashback cost for a single allied color that will most likely be played anyway (especially if you draft heavily into werewolves), Ancient Grudge makes for some of the most efficient artifact destruction ever to be printed. Ashmouth Hound presents exactly what I want out of a two-drop: an ability that is going to have opponents tearing out their hair. Oh, you’re going to chump block it? Well, no trade here; your 1/1 dies before combat damage. Swinging with your 5/1 snake? Adios, ya slithering monstrosity. Oh, a 3/3? Not to worry—this 2/1 has got it, folks. Feral Ridgewolf has enough power to be a finisher with what is essentially the “firebreathing” ability. Generally, it’s R: +1/+0. Here, they’ve upped the cost to 1R, but you get the same bang for your buck in a splashable ability: +2/+0. A 1/2 body means he can stick around for a bit, but the real reason this card is so good is that it tramples. Pump it up as much as you like—at least some will get through. Traitorous Blood also has trampling going for it. I have always liked to steal creatures. Act of Treason is fun, but for the same cost we get trample. Curse of the Pierced heart, like Curse of the Bloody Tome, is a clock. Cast on turn 2, it guarantees that your opponent will be feeling the pressure. No need to swing; we can sit back and let the opponent come to us with still applying some pain.

Green: Caravan Vigil; Darkthicket Wolf; Grave Bramble; Travel Preparations; Festerhide Boar

The main theme here is creatures that are better than at first glance. Darkthicket Wolf is a buffed version of a personal favorite, Basking Rootwalla. He comes in as a 2/2 for 1G—basically your average wolf or bear—but on turn three, provided you hit your land drop, he’s a 4/4. Festerhide Boar is already pretty well-costed as a 3/3 trampler for 3G, but if he hits the field after a bloody combat, you’ve a 5/5 trampler on the cheap. If you want to keep more of those +2/+2 bonuses around, prepare your creatures not once but twice (especially if you’re in allied colors, which is easy with Avacyn’s Pilgrim). Grave Bramble is already intimidating as a 3/4 defender on turn 3, but when its protection is factored in, this card could save some games from endless ranks of groaning, moaning dead. Caravan Vigil is straight up mana fixing on the cheap. What’s more, if something died—doesn’t matter what—you have a half-price Rampant Growth.

For artifacts, I think it should be pretty obvious what I’m liking: Blazing Torch, Ghoulcaller’s Bell, Traveler’s Amulet, Wooden Stake, and One-Eyed Scarecrow. The equipment could be amazing if you are facing non-humans with their favored prey. Not only do Humans get better bonuses, but the equipment itself, like the Torch and Stake, are good no matter what they’re on. Traveler’s Amulet, like Shimmering Grotto, is mana-fixing at its finest, the common slot. The Scarecrow can help fend off fliers if you didn’t draft any, and Ghoulcaller’s Bell can mill the unprepared opponent while putting targets in your graveyard for Skaabs and Stitchers.

sarroth:

By now you’ve probably noticed I like to throw curve-balls with these Embracing Vorthos posts. Not only is Canyon Minotaur a functional reprint of a card many players are already tired of seeing outside of a pool for Limited, but it doesn’t seem flavorful at first glance, aside from its slightly funny flavor text.

It might not be flavorful in its own right, but when compared to Hill Giant, the card it replaced in the Core Set, we can see why this minotaur is lacking some of the love it could be receiving from the Vorthos perspective.

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Very well thought-out and discussed. I think what folks need to remember (or learn) is that Magic was not expected to become the hit that it is. When they designed the game, they most likely expected a much shorter run. As things progressed, certain aspects of the game, like the power/toughness based on size rule, became indefensible because the game had changed so much. Had they been thinking nearly two decades into the future, they might have shifted the numbers a bit, making tiny creatures, like Squirrels, actual 1/1s, while humans were somewhere along the 4/4 level. But, as stated in the mentioned article, Magic isn’t supposed to be a strictly mathematics game, and increasing those numbers would force life totals to rise, which in turn means more math for everyone.

Do I think that they should revise the p/t rule? Meh. At this point it’s too far along to change much, and a drastic shift in those totals would make currently impressive cards exceptionally weak. I mean, here are three examples that I think are flavorful reactions to the size rule:
Eager Cadet:

Elite Vanguard, who is a better-trained/equipped Eager Cadet:

Knight Errant, or its functional reprint Glory Seeker, who is yet better equipped than the previous two:

And what does it take to break the 2/2 barrier? Some armory training or more mana:

Or some kind of transcendence:

sarroth:

26toomany:

I was really liking Innistrad until I saw this card get spoiled:

CURSE YOU, MARO!!!

I doubt your opponents will run this. However, it can be your protection from your own Dreamborn Muse…

Alternatively, I now have available combo pieces 8-12 to support Leveler+Torpor Orb shenanigans.

Innistrad continues to look like one of the more promising sets in Magic’s history. It should be noted that, for me, “promising sets” are not necessarily ones that produce powerful or “good” cards. Sure, having strong cards is a component of a progressive set, and Innistrad has those bits and bobs in spades, but there have been blocks that, in my mind, were awesome despite having a lower power level.

For example, I really got into Champions of Kamigawa. I like Legend-heavy sets (moreso now that I play Commander/EDH) because hey: it’s pretty freakin’ sweet to say “I summon Dakkon Blackblade” instead of “Festering Goblin.” Chronicles and Legends, even with their mostly shitty Legends, were also good sets in my mind.

Innistrad is definitely not lacking in the power levels, but, taking a quick look at the cards that have been spoiled officially thus far, the majority of powerhouse cards are not going to be a part of many Limited decks come Prerelease day. Of the cards spoiled, the majority are rares or mythics, followed closely by uncommons. While it’s obviously going to be easier to get those uncommons, chances are good that you might not get the rares you want. We’ll take a look at some potential limited deck types and whether those appear to be a good choice for drafting or not.

1. White Humans

At first glance, White Humans could be a tournament-killer if the right cards get pulled. The problem here is that your three main cards, Champion the Parish, Elite Inquisitor, and Mentor of the Meek, are all at the rare slot, meaning you have only six chances to pull one. But that doesn’t discount humans altogether—it just means you probably won’t be going monowhite. Doomed Traveler is a fantastic 1-drop common that gives board advantage (much like Myr Sire from New Phyrexia), while Fiend Hunter is essentially a Celestial Purge on legs in Innistrad. Bonds of Faith, a common enchantment, works double time as a buff for your humans or a Pacifism for anyone else. Spectral Rider, while not human, offers good bang for the buck as a 2/2 evasion creature for WW. Thraben Sentry, paired with your Doomed Traveler, is almost guaranteed to be a 5/4 with Trample very quickly.
Outside of white, humans get a small amount of support that will be well appreciated. Green offers Avacyn’s Pilgrim, which will definitely be welcomed in an otherwise white human deck. Gatstaf Shepherd is a splashable 2/2 with the ability to grow to 3/3 and have evasion, while Woodland Sleuth, Travel Preparations, and Spidery Grasp give you some much-needed buff and recursion. Moonmist can act as a Fog or can make your Green pals into werewolves, either of which is helpful. And let’s not forget that other rare you’ll hope to see if you’re pushing for humans, the Mayor of Avabruck.

Outside of that allied pair, Red offers Village Ironsmith and some direct damage. Blue has more support in the form of Delver of Secrets (especially if you run plenty of instants/sorceries), and Stitcher’s Apprentice can help make sure something dies for your Morbid needs, all while giving you a 2/2 body in exchange. Protip: Sacrifice the Doomed Traveler. Finally, don’t forget about those ever-important allies to humans in the horror genre: weapons. Whether it’s a humble Blazing Torch or a Butcher’s Cleaver, equipment is humanity’s best friend in the fight against evil.

2. Vampires (Monoblack, Monored, or BR)

Vampires have surprisingly few threats at the common slot for their colors. While you might be lucky enough to draw into a Bloodline Keeper or, to a lesser extent, a Stromkirk Noble, chances are good that your remaining vamps, like the Bloodcrazed Neonate, Interloper, and maybe Rakish Heir, are going to be playing support role to the much more heavily supported Zombies. Don’t fret about damage: you’re in-color for some great direct damage, like Bump in the Night (or, the Black Almost-Bolt), Brimstone Volley, and the always-hilarious Red (?) field-wipe Blasphemous Act.

Don’t get too down though—your vampire decks are going to love it when you’re out of limited and can pair friends like Blood Seeker and Pulse Tracker with these guys.

3. Zombies
It’s most likely just because not all of the cards have been spoiled yet, but Zombies also have little in the way of actual dudes. Diregraf Ghoul would be a nice 1-drop anywhere, especially if you took the play, and Walking Corpse is a good pal to come in on turn two. Skeletal Grimace can help keep your zombies up and biting (because, as we know, a good zombie never lets a little lost appendage spoil his groove). Don’t be afraid to pull some Interlopers into your group, and be ready to play a little defensively and mana-heavy: your big spells are midrange at the lowest (Moan of the Unhallowed), midrange and Rare or Mythic, but game-enders otherwise (Endless Ranks of the Dead, Army of the Damned). Zombies especially should be running control elements like Silent Departure, Grasp of Phantoms, and Curse of the Bloody Tome. Don’t forget your flying zombie pals: Stitched Drake could be good in a pinch, despite its hefty additional cost.

4. Everyone Else

Without having nearly enough information about what’s going to come out, I like to think that we have covered this topic pretty well. I expect to see plenty more control elements come into the game for defensive folk like myself, and certainly some kind of spot-removal for black or red. Don’t be afraid to mingle colors you otherwise might not, especially if you’re lucky enough to draw one of the rare enemy-colored lands.

Happy drafting!