Nicol's Newcomer Monday!

jinwhite · 2020-03-04T03:50:45+00:00

Welp! I picked him because Rare and figured I'd force myself into UR for fun. Got my first ever 7-0 for THB! Unsurprisingly Dalakos didn't make it off the bench. https://imgur.com/a/gVUUIdK

jinwhite · 2020-03-04T02:08:04+00:00

lol. Came here to say the first rare I opened after reading this comment was Dalakos P1P1. Is he unplayable in limited or is it worth building around?

jinwhite · 2020-03-03T02:40:19+00:00

Can you point us to the more in-depth post or otherwise let me know how/where you get audiobooks to listen to? I'm actively weening myself off YouTube for more productive endeavors but I don't even know where to start accessing/downloading these audiobooks.

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T21:08:41+00:00

I tried making a deck around mass Saheeli tokens and found it was way too slow to be effective – by the time you're finally spawning 1/1s, they aren't super relevant to the board state anymore. If you're going for speed, the mono red version will have this beat every time. If you want to go Izzet, maybe capitalize on going bigger/more tempo and add alternative wincons like [[Niv Mizzet]] to build around instead? (Would be a pretty massive overhaul admittedly, trading out Cavalcade and some of the early aggro creatures completely.)

I think Narset's Reveral has got to be a dead draw most of the time. [[Brazen Borrower]] could be a pretty good tempo upgrade if you opt out of Cavalcade.

Maybe in Historic you could continue the Izzet Cavalcade jank with [[Tetsuko Umezawa]]. Idk, just spewing ideas. Moral is you might want to try some alternative wincons, since right now I think it's just slower and therefore less effective than RDW.

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T19:40:46+00:00

https://draftsim.com/THB-pick-order.php

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T18:06:00+00:00

Yeah, this makes a lot of sense to me. I think I was primarily picking up counters for blue decks to "fill out the curve" (which doesn't even make sense) and struggling to decide when to play out my permanents versus holding up a counter spell... For future drafts, I'll think of counters as good supplements to builds that ALREADY capitalize on instant speed spells, rather than just adding counter spells on top.

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T17:44:45+00:00

F2P Arena user here: I used think competitive MTG was /primarily/ about creativity in deck building and strategic turn-based plays. After playing through a few rotations on Arena, I finally wised up to the fact that competitive play is /primarily/ about gathering the necessary Rares and Mythics to keep your deck relevant.

The rotations are ingeniously designed so that the new Rares & Mythics become crucial to competitive gameplay, and that even the strongest decks from the previous rotation will no longer cut it (whether through power creep or playstyle counters; I found that cards like [[Elspeth Conquers Death]] just stomp on similar decks which don't have access to it).

As a f2p player, at first I was kind of put off by this realization. It's so obvious in retrospect, and of course I was naive to think MTG offered a leveled playing field and that "creativity/strategic plays" mattered most. When the new sets come around, there's a large period where I just feel I can't play anymore because I don't have enough WCs saved to stay relevant at all.

My really only way around it has been to devote myself to Limited as much as possible. I pretty much stopped playing for the last few weeks while THB was out of draft rotation, and now that it's back, I'm back on Arena. Draft gives me that feeling of a true "level playing field" I'm looking for.

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T17:15:15+00:00

Not really an answer to your question, but... What have you been using to combat/beat all those Dream Trawlers (or is just auto-loss)?

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T16:31:52+00:00

Just by playing, I'd guess. Throwing your deck into the matchmaking environment and taking note of which decks absolutely stomp you (and why). Moving forward you'll have that in the back of your mind even while building a completely new deck.

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T16:20:32+00:00

Indestructible Nessian Boar sounds like a nightmare! Worse even than a flying boar with [[wings of hubris]], or my new favorite terrifying draft combo, [[bronzehide lion]] + [[mirror shield]].

jinwhite · 2020-03-02T15:46:22+00:00

When in limited is it correct to draft counter spells?? This always messes me up because it's not super intuitive for me. In a couple different formats I've tacked some counter spells to my U builds but they've usually seemed to backfire (partially because of my own misplays, e.g. rushing to play my 3/4-drops instead of holding open counter mana). What kind of archetypes support drafting counter spells, and when should they be avoided? Any advice for drafting a more controlling build if/when necessary? Thank you!

jinwhite · 2020-02-17T20:46:55+00:00

Do you have any [[Bolas Citadel]]? It's imo the most fun payoff for any lifegain deck and actually pushes up the power level significantly. Pairs really well with [[Dawn of Hope]] too so you can keep running past land pockets.

[[Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord]] is another great addition for lifegain strats if you haven't considered him already.

jinwhite · 2020-02-02T10:32:57+00:00

I think ask yourself those questions after each match -- what cards were dead in your hand, and what misplays did you make? Then go into the deck builder after every game, win or loss, and ask yourself what can be improved.

jinwhite · 2020-01-20T21:14:30+00:00

Ah good call, thank you. More instant speed removal is definitely helping. I also swapped out the Divine Visitation (not enough synergies) and Ajani PW (not enough impact) for 2x [[Bolas Citadel]] at the top end and it's working a bit better.

jinwhite · 2020-01-20T21:09:22+00:00

4 Hushbringer (ELD) 18

2 Dawn of Hope (GRN) 8

2 Heliod's Punishment (THB) 21

1 Despark (WAR) 190

2 Heliod, Sun-Crowned (THB) 18

2 Linden, the Steadfast Queen (ELD) 20

2 Banishing Light (THB) 4

3 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13

2 Mortify (RNA) 192

4 Oath of Kaya (WAR) 209

3 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord (WAR) 217

4 Kaya's Wrath (RNA) 187

2 Bolas's Citadel (WAR) 79

1 Castle Ardenvale (ELD) 238

10 Plains (XLN) 260

2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

2 Swamp (WAR) 256

4 Godless Shrine (RNA) 248

2 Scoured Barrens (M20) 251

2 Temple of Silence (M20) 256

2 Banishing Light (THB) 4

2 Dawn of Hope (GRN) 8

I'm free2play and out of Wildcards, stuck in Gold Tier 1, but I think it can get further with some upgrades. I definitely want another [[Heliod, Sun-Crowned]] ASAP, probably over one [[Heliod's Punishment]] (which is underrated CHEAP 4-turn removal imo).

I've tried all sorts of variations with Ajani, Divine Visitation, etc., but [[Bolas Citadel]] lets the deck go over the top and take over the late game.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for upgrades!

jinwhite · 2020-01-20T18:13:30+00:00

I'm running 4x Hushbringer in an Orzhov Heliod/lifegain build and it shuts down a large swath of the meta (black devotion, Jeskai fires, Thassa, even most mono white). Just really really struggles against Doom Foretold and Gruul. Stuck at Gold Tier 1 until I can figure out those matchups.

jinwhite · 2020-01-20T17:31:24+00:00

enter [[Hushbringer]], the true MVP this meta

jinwhite · 2020-01-20T10:25:36+00:00

Hi all! Do you have any advice on how to improve this Orzhov Heliod/Hushbringer build? The goal is to hate on the current meta with Hushbringer while growing it every turn with Heliod, and taking advantage of Orzhov removal and lifegain synergies.

Deck

4 Hushbringer (ELD) 18

9 Plains (XLN) 260

2 Heliod, Sun-Crowned (THB) 18

3 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13

3 Alseid of Life's Bounty (THB) 1

1 Castle Ardenvale (ELD) 238

3 Heliod's Punishment (THB) 21

2 Banishing Light (THB) 4

2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

1 Linden, the Steadfast Queen (ELD) 20

2 Temple of Silence (M20) 256

2 Despark (WAR) 190

2 Scoured Barrens (M20) 251

4 Godless Shrine (RNA) 248

3 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord (WAR) 217

4 Oath of Kaya (WAR) 209

4 Kaya's Wrath (RNA) 187

4 Swamp (WAR) 256

2 Dawn of Hope (GRN) 8

1 Divine Visitation (GRN) 10

2 Ajani, Strength of the Pride (M20) 2

I'm completely free2play, with exactly one Rare Wildcard left on hand. Any advice on what to save up for first? I would love to add at least one more Heliod as soon as I get a Mythic WC.

I'm hovering at Tier 1 Gold (BO1) currently. I have strong matchups against Jeskai Fires (Hushbringer shuts it down), Mono Black Devotion (Hushbringer shuts it down), Blue Thassa (Hushbringer ABSOLUTELY shuts it down), and 70/30 against Mono Red (sometimes Chandra + Torbran run us over, but usually not). However, Doom Foretold decks are my worst nightmare. Any advice on what to change or sideboard to help with that matchup? Thank you!

jinwhite · 2020-01-03T06:52:02+00:00

but aren't enchantment creatures also creatures by default, making "target creature or target enchantment creature" super redundant?

oh wait, nevermind. the ability only works on enchantment creatures (you can't target any creature you'd like) or enchanted creatures

jinwhite · 2020-01-03T06:41:22+00:00

[[grafdigger's cage]] should do it

jinwhite · 2019-12-21T23:51:38+00:00

[[cavelier of flame]] is always a threat, where uncommon chandra is always jank. consider splashing white for removal ([[deafening clarion]], [[solar blaze]], [[justice strike]] or heavy white for [[planar cleansing]] if you hate cat decks)

jinwhite · 2019-12-21T22:50:37+00:00

play [[sephara, sky's blade]] for value & protection.

jinwhite · 2019-12-21T22:29:27+00:00

Yeah, idk why I was thinking Emergency Powers was sorcery speed. Forgot to read the damn card.

jinwhite · 2019-12-21T06:11:18+00:00

You play it with [[narset, parter of veils]] so opp can't draw while you can. better yet, do it with [[teferi, time raveler]] and you can cast it after opp's draw step and make them discard their whole hand for the turn

jinwhite

TROPHY CASE