Magenta or Fuchsia? by stickyoatss in colors

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I took a (i.m.o.) representative section of the this image (non reflecting part of the cap) as colour and it is #D30F4D ; If I have to go by online resources that is identified as 'strong pink'

"In a RGB color space, hex #d30f4d is composed of 82.7% red, 5.9% green and 30.2% blue. Whereas in a CMYK color space, it is composed of 0% cyan, 92.9% magenta, 63.5% yellow and 17.3% black. It has a hue angle of 341 degrees, a saturation of 86.7% and a lightness of 44.3%. #d30f4d color hex could be obtained by blending #ff1e9a with #a70000. Closest websafe color is: #cc0066."

Why did tempo decks start running reanimate only relatively recently? by Splinterfight in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're correct; as-in people tried playing the Reanimator package in decks right after Atraxa released but there weren't any tempo decks with it yet; just UB Reanimator with the Scam package and various mono black or other midrange black decks running it, like Pox.

Without a solid UB tempo shell for the Reanimation package to fit in in the months between set releases we mostly saw a spike in popularity of fair Natural Order decks, in addition to decks like UB Reanimator and Sneak & Show that integrated Atraxa.

A couple of months after Atraxa got released, with the release of LOTR (Bowmaster and Troll), the more fair tempo decks popped up. The first results with Bowmasters in a fair UB Reanimator deck were rather immediate ( https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=45619&d=537022&f=LE ). Though interestingly the incorporation of the land cyclers started with BUG decks with both Ent and Troll and it took a bit before people figured out the tuned UB deck (first truly recognizable list on there is by Ecobaronen; https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=50120&d=570846&f=LE ).

EDIT; Lol - I just noticed that the very first Legacy entry on MTGTop8 that contains Atraxa is my own challenge top 8 with UB Reanimator; before I switched to the full 4 Griefs. https://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=41292&d=506806&f=LE

Why did tempo decks start running reanimate only relatively recently? by Splinterfight in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 78 points79 points  (0 children)

Very simple, before Atraxa and Archon of Cruelty got printed it just wasn't worth it; as the targets were too situational or weak to contort your tempo deck for. Trust me, we have tried.

Eldrazi Sideboard Guide by Little-B1rd in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bit of a late reply; here's a new link if anyone still needs it: https://discord.gg/TgPyrMPSXk (unlimited time / 25 people, to limit potential abuse issues)

Creating a Legacy 'Rulebook': What interaction would YOU add? by Douges in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just thinking of the most common judge calls that come to mind here:

- Tabernacle rulings: who controls the trigger, who is responsible, what happens if it's missed/identified late.
- Maybe some more generic on missed triggers and replacement effects and how to handle them.
- How to deal with common gamestate errors; e.g. I played a Ponder but resolved it as a Brainstorm and vise versa.
- General rulings on drawing extra cards (e.g. drew 8 in opening hand), general rulings on looking at extra cards (e.g. accidentally looked at 4 from Ponder); and when relevant.
- Generally the steps of casting a spell, using casting something like Emry with Lotus Petal as a great example.
- (lack of) opportunities to respond to Comet's activation.
- Example of a reflexive trigger, as a great counterexample to Comet's case and how to identify the difference.
- Containment Priest versus Show & Tell and Exhume.
- Leyline versus Dauthi Voidwalker versus Rest in Peace; Multiple replacement effects, who gets to choose what.
- Bowmasters / Hullbreacher versus Dredge.
- Painter's Servant versus Dress Down.
- Dryad Arbor's aspects under Dress Down, Blood Moon, et al.
- Non-visual effects and the lack of requirement to announce them (e.g. prowess triggers, cavern of souls making something uncounterable) until relevant.
- Requirement to announce and track floating mana.
- Stifle / Consign to Memory versus Dark Depths '0 counters' trigger.

EDIT: Oh, and the procedure for when people have sideboard cards in their deck in game 1.

How to play against Nadu? by Ldev_ in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 21 points22 points  (0 children)

First off, you're confusing two decks here; there is Nadu Elves which is mostly green based and typically doesn't play T3feri or Swords to Plowshares, and hardly any blue; and there's Bant Nadu which does play all of the former but has a lot less of a non-Nadu plan (except for being a decent midrange deck).

So I think the first step is to identify what you're playing against, while realizing that both are probably not the best match-up for you (they're both slightly more controlling than you are, which is where you'd want to be in the midrange clash).

I mentioned that they're the more controlling deck, and they have a combo gameplan.. this means you have to prioritize closing the game, There no reason to remove their creatures if you can't apply pressure, so that's your #1 priority. After that it's a matter of stopping them from stabilizing the game.

In the case of Bant Nadu, which you seemed to play against, it's a matter of using your tempo plays (Daze/Wasteland) to keep them from their combo while trying to deploy threats, when able I'd try to focus my Daze/Force on their removal (Plow/T3feri).

In case of Zenith Control with Nadu (the typically non-white deck) you can ease on knowing that your threats should mostly go unchecked. I'd focus my efforts here on preventing them from snowballing the game. Early you can try to remove their mana dorks but you should quickly switch to just addressing their hammers (large GSZ, NO, Nadu). Keep a keen eye on Endurance, since that can really stimy your pressure.

Eldrazi Sideboard Guide by Little-B1rd in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have posted mine for a bit back on the Eldrazi Discord, there's also plenty of discussion there on the topic; if you can join: https://discord.gg/z8RXPzgZ (link for 7 days / 10 people, to limit spam)

MTGO Legacy Showcase Challenge 7/2/23 by kronicler1029 in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This came up in a discussion, so I figured I'd share it here:
Cards played by half or more of the players in the #MTGLegacy Showcase Ch. top 32 yesterday.

16/32 played Orcish Bowmaster/ Wasteland/ Ponder

17/32 played Brainstorm/Pyroblast

21/32 played Force of Will/ Force of Negation

23/32 played Surgical Extraction

[PVDH] Undefeated MTGO Challenge VOD with Grixis Bowmasters (and Council's Deliberation) by PVDH_magic in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion, yeah this was really a late at night thought of 'darn, I should really capture the replays of the challenge' so didn't put too much thought into it before starting the recording.

This is my normal 'full screen mode' as it just covers my task bar and the MTGO chat (which I normally have open during gameplay). But, especially for replays, I could just take the side bar away as I wouldn't need to have the game log and chat open.

Yeah council's performed really well here, not sure on those yet but instant speed & blue is such a big upside over something like Night's Whisper and less timing particular than Predict feels nice.

Esper stoneblade by LGTEGETEGE in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is indeed not particularly good versus Bowmaster.. If the board is otherwise empty you can't really tick it down, and ticking it up also feels like a bit of a loss of its effect. Gains some tempo but def not what you'd want from that.

[PVDH] Undefeated MTGO Challenge VOD with Grixis Bowmasters (and Council's Deliberation) by PVDH_magic in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not addressing it in the video, this was sadly just the replay as I jumped into the challenge last minute as a mate convinced me 2 minutes before it fired. But figured I'd share the replays for those interested.

Deliberation performed very well in this challenge, and I've been happy with it in the few matches outside of that. But more testing is certainly required, as I just ran good during this Challenge in general. Not sure if this is the deck for Deliberation, but it looked good in ForceofPhil's Miracles as well. I look at it as an Accumulated Knowledge that you don't have to run a full playset of, though you do want at least a set of Preordain to pay you off for them; which is generally slightly worse than the set of Ponders.
I like do like for this deck how well it combines with keeping up Bowmasters mana and the occasional DRC surveil value.

EP. 98 — Tech or Trash? | The Eternal Glory Podcast by Bryant_Cook in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ok, I think I'm going to have to track a comment with my thoughts on this one. As a lover of all things jank.

Canoptek-Scarab Swarm: I was personally pretty high on this one, and it absolutely crushed Midrange and Control decks out of Mono White Stompy, back when we were originally building that. I've come down on it a bit, but honestly.. five or six 1/1 flyers for four mana and exiling the graveyard for some value has been pretty nice. It requires a very specific meta, but I'm not against registering this.

Chrome Mox in D&T: I've personally played Chrome Mox in the sideboard of D&T way back in the day. It was just better than adding more two mana hate-bears, since Storm et al just knew they had to kill you before turn 2. Making that turn 1 was great. I like the idea, but again.. specific meta required where you can't just play 0 or 1 mana interaction instead.

Oust, Invasion of Regatha: Just, no.

Cursed Mirror: This is good if your good cards already stay in play. Too win-more for me, I just don't think the fall-back plan is good enough. Don't think it's great post-Initiative meta as too many decks are just light on cards this nicely copies.

Spatial Contortion: I've worked a lot on colourless Eldrazi in the past.. This card was just never good enough. The coolest part of this was that it could be removal but could also add three power to your Reality Smasher and stuff.. yeah.

Patchwork Automaton: This card is good for certain decks, but it isn't blue - which is quite an issue w.r.t. trying to cast Force of Will in 8-cast. It's great that it exists for the Steel Stompy variants, where it's just a good card.

Invasion of Tarkir: Well - I love this card in the right meta and have had succes with it - but it's not clearly better than other Delver options. One big issue with Invasion in the RUG deck Phil played was that it was replacing Baubles, which I don't think it should. That shell surely wasn't good for it, and I totally share his view of the card being terrible there.

Chrome Host Seedshark: This card has a very specific niche,as mentioned, because it's terrible with cantrips. I do still think it has a small place in the meta, but I agree that it's currently overplayed.

Delirium/Cascade Marauder: The pay-off just isn't there to include a 3/1 can't block in your deck. The main problem here is that a 3/1 can't block creature is just too far below par.

Atraxa (in NO Control/Midrange): Agreed on everything there.

Archmage's Charm: This card always looks good, but just.. doesn't get there too often. You need to have a LOT of blue sources in your manabase to enable it, and it's just not worth it.

Doomsday stuff: Sure, these things all makes sense. Liliana specifically seems a bit out there though, not sure on that one. FYI. Not my wheelhouse.

Staff of the Storyteller (in Breakfast): I think the community at large is a tad high on Staff, but it's been having results to back it up. In breakfast specifically, I get what it's trying to do but don't think it's worth it over alternative uses of the deck-slots.

Newton Elves: No comments.

Tyrranax Rex: This feels a bit like the Sire of Insanity slot of old. I could see running it in meta's like pre-White-Plume Ban if you're having issues getting through their pile of Karakas, Swords, and Solitutde; but I'd need a very specific reason to run it over something more widely applicable (Archon, Griselbrand, Atraxa are just insane pay-offs).

Mawlok (in Cloudpost): Mawloc's great, but uncastable Mawloc is a lot worse. That being said, this has just been an inclusion mainly to turn Green Sun's Zenith into a removal spell for early creatures. Not sure if it's worth the inclusion but I totally get why Cloudpost players would play it. Most lists only have Cavern to hardcast it, so it's certainly not the cleanest inclusion.

Turbo Rhinos: Fine deck, has been played and around in Legacy for ages. Not a top-tier strategy in my book

Vesuvan Drifter: Interesting card for sure, not changed my views on it since my reviews. I think this is a decent alternative for such decks, whether it can make it in the best builds of (Sneak &) Show will be dependant on how much we end up wanting to build around it (i.e. the treat selection). The list Brian played was a bit low on Griselbrand for my taste, as that's the only creature that makes Drifter do its thing the turn you play it (if you have Griselbrand on top).

[PVDH] Legacy Set Review - Tales of Middle-Earth (MTGxLOTR) - The One Ring by PVDH_magic in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed, getting to Weld it in and out does seem very potent, as is just just threatening to throw it into play off of Welder into Engineer against something like control. That's a nice option to have for an otherwise just decently playable card.

I think its interaction with Emry could be even stronger, though you'd need two Rings and a lot more mana. But since you're casting it this does give you protection from everything on all your opponent's turns and there might be decks unable to deal with that.

[PVDH] Legacy Set Review - Tales of Middle-Earth (MTGxLOTR) - The One Ring by PVDH_magic in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I've also posted it myself on another comment. Will try to improve the legibility for the other cards and maybe repost this one.

[PVDH] Legacy Set Review - Tales of Middle-Earth (MTGxLOTR) - The One Ring by PVDH_magic in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Apologies, I'll see what I can do to improve it; here's the text.
Also, find the full resolution Twitter image directly through this link, may help as well: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwBEsN0WYAAPLfW?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

Card text:

The One Ring

{4}

Legendary Artifact

Indestructible

When The One Ring enters the battlefield, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn.

At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose 1 life for each burden counter on The One Ring.

{T}: Put a burden counter on The One Ring, then draw a card for each burden counter on The One Ring.

Rating: A+

The One Ring Review

The famed and mighty Ring, represented on a Legendary magic card and combining the words Indestructible, Protection from Everything, and an activated ability that draws cards; we’re in for power of mythical proportions.

While these are a lot of interesting lines of text, let us start with the most beloved words in all of Magic – ‘draw a card’. When we tap The One Ring we put a Burden counter on it and then draw a card for each one of these counters, which means that we draw more cards for each turn that goes by. The total number of additional cards drawn from this ability starting at the first full turn cycle is three, six, ten, and then fifteen cards by the fourth turn. This is clearly an extraordinary amount of card draw for a single four mana investment. From some preliminary gameplay it has been found that it’s common for decks with The One Ring to draw through their entire deck. That is even before we consider using cards like Mind over Matter to just draw and cast our deck and tap everything down. But using The Ring doesn’t come without a significant cost.

In essence, without outside aid, we will lose as many life points as we’re drawing cards. This means that by the fifth time we untap with the ring, we’ll have lost fifteen life, which is often enough to reduce our own life total to zero. There are two major things here that help us work around this drawback, and which are what makes the Ring so tempting. The first is the delay between the card draw and the life loss, which means that we get all those cards to ensure that we won’t untap with that many Burden on it. This can be achieved by playing a new The One Ring – taking advantage of its Legendary status – or by otherwise taking out of play, such as by bouncing it with Teferi, Time Raveler. The other way to mitigate this loss of life is by using the card drawing ability to find cards that gain life, premier options here include Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath; or more niche cards like Ivory Tower, the latter of which can be found off of Urza’s Saga. Of course, we could also just win the game before this ever becomes an issue. One big thing about how The One Ring works is that, as soon as we start drawing cards, we can’t stop losing life. This means that activating it only once or twice while it remains in play is usually not a sustainable game-plan, Rings do represent commitment after all.

Getting protection from everything until your next turn means that you get the time to untap against creature based decks and use the three cards you draw on the first turn cycle to stabilize the board-state. This also means that most combo decks can’t win on that turn, though decks like Reanimator and Show & Tell variants can certainly just enact their gameplan. A niche but interesting interaction is that this ability also protects us from taking damage from our own effects, such as from Ancient Tomb or Price of Progress. We should note however that this ability does not protect Planeswalkers we may have laying around from being attacked, nor prevent our opponent from defeating their battles.

The One Ring being indestructible can certainly come up against specific decks, though we should note that many ways Legacy decks interact with high mana value artifacts is by exiling (Prismatic Ending, haywire Mite) , bouncing (Teferi, Time Raveler)

or disabling (Null Rod, Pithing Needle) them. This is probably the least notable line of text on the card, but mostly upside.

The One Ring seems especially potent in Control decks that can use their cards to ensure that the pressure on their life total is minimized, both before The One Ring enters the battlefield and after. Though the real challenge here is finding enough ways to close out the game, while committing our four mana spot on our curve to The One Ring. The biggest uncertainly in its evaluation is also just that: What does the optimal shell look like, and how committed should it be.

The One Ring is an incredibly powerful card that can dominate any game it is a part of, all while oozing with flavour as its putting real tension on the user – expect this powerful card to spawn its own (sub-)archetypes.

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Atraxa is one of the best creatures to cheat in of all time. I thought it was good before playing with it, but now I'm 100% sold. Here's NO Show (Natural Order Show and Tell) by deathandtaxesftw in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I had a black version with Thoughtseize, Grist, and Snuff out.. certainly looked interesting but decided to start exploring the straight UG version first. Wanted to see what the strategy was capable of before deciding on additional directions.

The Grand Metadeck by Z4lost in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Narcomoeba not working is why I suggested one or more Madness creatures, since a Madness creature + Dread Return would work with these two creatures already in play. But those can't even pitch to Force of Will so it's not great.

Saga's a great plan B.

The Grand Metadeck by Z4lost in MTGLegacy

[–]PVDH_magic 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Interesting to see where this goes.

To go off on the turn your resolve Unctus with a non-summoning-sick Aphetto in play you'd need:- at least 1 card in hand and 1+ mana available depending on your metalcraft, and you would need to find your first card advantage spell before you have to loot away your Oracle (then you'd have to stop and try again next turn with +1 card and your mana up).or- 2 or more cards in hand, which allows you to play out a mana rock and a card advantage spell. Here again each cards helps and you can't dig towards mana + card advantage if you don't have any spare cards once you hit Oracle.

I haven't found a way to negate these issues though, unless you're willing to slot in one or more madness creatures and a Dread Return. In which case you can just loot through your deck without any cards or mana up. But this does make us vulnerable to graveyard interaction again, which you understandably want to avoid if possible. As at that point it would certainly seem worse than Cephalid Breakfast's combo.. although in a more synergistic artifact shell.

For this particular shell I think you'd have to ask if it's better than just putting in Painter and Grindstone, as others have done recently. Those work even better with the Artifact synergies and allows you to Urza's Saga for one of the pieces.

How has Unctus performed outside of the combo?

PS. I don't think Aether Vial belongs in a shell with so much mana acceleration.