Magic The Gathering

[Cats]

I thought about it but it seemed just a little bit too slow for modern. If the impending wasn't so many turns it'd be a lot better. I'm sure in the right list it can be made to work splendidly, but today was mainly a Delver/Death's Shadow style building headspace for me so most of my lists ended up being variations of those just because they can keep up and slip into a midrange gameplan perfectly, which is honestly pretty much a requirement for decks running Altanak. Though you do occasionally have a lucky burst of milling Say its Name into a very early Altanak, but that cannot be relied upon. I have found Altanak works best as a finisher, not an early cheat out. Trading gas with an opponent and then you just have this free 9/9 trampler when you're both out of steam etc.

Also I spent way more than I had meant to going into today, in order to help finish a bunch of decks, so I didn't end up buying a playset of those guys. I wanted to get 4 Abhorrent Oculus for a cool esper Helping Hand/Unearth deck along with this insane Collected Company list I have been putting together since the set was spoiled (imagine Collected Company-ing into two Oculus..lmao) but those fuckin things were 18 bucks each! So that's definitely going to have to wait. But that list is sick, I'll post it when it's complete. It's got Glasspool mimics, Harbinger of the Seas and Aether Channelers alongside the Oculus. I think that card is going to be really good in decks that can sneak it out, it is a value creature.

edit: here it is. It needs a lot of tweaking. The lands need to be fixed too. Its more of a fun list than a competitive one, but Oculus is really neat.

 

[DootSkeleton]

I thought about it but it seemed just a little bit too slow for modern. If the impending wasn't so many turns it'd be a lot better. I'm sure in the right list it can be made to work splendidly, but today was mainly a Delver/Death's Shadow style building headspace for me so most of my lists ended up being variations of those just because they can keep up and slip into a midrange gameplan perfectly, which is honestly pretty much a requirement for decks running Altanak. Though you do occasionally have a lucky burst of milling Say its Name into a very early Altanak, but that cannot be relied upon. I have found Altanak works best as a finisher, not an early cheat out. Trading gas with an opponent and then you just have this free 9/9 trampler when you're both out of steam etc.

Also I spent way more than I had meant to going into today, in order to help finish a bunch of decks, so I didn't end up buying a playset of those guys. I wanted to get 4 Abhorrent Oculus for a cool esper Helping Hand/Unearth deck along with this insane Collected Company list I have been putting together since the set was spoiled (imagine Collected Company-ing into two Oculus..lmao) but those fuckin things were 18 bucks each! So that's definitely going to have to wait. But that list is sick, I'll post it when it's complete. It's got Glasspool mimics, Harbinger of the Seas and Aether Channelers alongside the Oculus. I think that card is going to be really good in decks that can sneak it out, it is a value creature.

edit: here it is. It needs a lot of tweaking. The lands need to be fixed too. Its more of a fun list than a competitive one, but Oculus is really neat.
View attachment 6456331

Oculus in CoCo is big brained. That's a sick looking list

 

[Cats]

Oculus in CoCo is big brained. That's a sick looking list

The chances of pulling a double oculus off of coco is pretty low but consistent enough that it is still fun to roll the dice on. It's not ultra competitive, probably not even the most competitive version of coco since I am not experienced with that list. But I like it it's one of those "fun idea brews" where you can just slot it into an existing shell and it's not a huge detriment if it turns out not to be as good as you imagined.

The real Oculus deck will probably be esper Helping Hand/Unearth, but clearly testing must be done. There is an argument to be made that it is worthy of its slot in such a deck with things like Monastery Mentor and the wide lines you can pull with him. I think we are going to see a halfway decent unearth Oculus brew eventually. In Standard I could see it doing some work, but the red cards and delirium cards are just so good I'm not sure standard will be dominated by anything but Mono Red decks and BR Delirium/RG Delirium. Plus, most importantly, there are also many 1 drops that answer Oculus in standard. It's too early to speculate and I am way too unlearned in Standard cards. For Modern Oculus will be one of those fun and very playable options for niche decks like unearth or coco that can cheat it out early. Especially in creature decks where you can face-up the manifested dread and actually get more value out of it than just a 2/2 body.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

The chances of pulling a double oculus off of coco is pretty low but consistent enough that it is still fun to roll the dice on. It's not ultra competitive, probably not even the most competitive version of coco since I am not experienced with that list. But I like it it's one of those "fun idea brews" where you can just slot it into an existing shell and it's not a huge detriment if it turns out not to be as good as you imagined.

The real Oculus deck will probably be esper Helping Hand/Unearth, but clearly testing must be done. There is an argument to be made that it is worthy of its slot in such a deck with things like Monastery Mentor and the wide lines you can pull with him. I think we are going to see a halfway decent unearth Oculus brew eventually. In Standard I could see it doing some work, but the red cards and delirium cards are just so good I'm not sure standard will be dominated by anything but Mono Red decks and BR Delirium/RG Delirium. Plus, most importantly, there are also many 1 drops that answer Oculus in standard. It's too early to speculate and I am way too unlearned in Standard cards. For Modern Oculus will be one of those fun and very playable options for niche decks like unearth or coco that can cheat it out early. Especially in creature decks where you can face-up the manifested dread and actually get more value out of it than just a 2/2 body

I would say that you could put in the Devoted Druid/Vizer of Remedies/Heliod the Sun Touched/Walking Ballista Combo in that deck in place of some of the weaker cards.

Like Druid doesn't cast Oculus like Nobel does but I doubt you are exiling six cards anyways.

 

[Grumpy_Mushroom]

Reminder to the nigger cattle not to invest large amounts of money into the casual "just for fun" format and maybe just proxy the $100+ cards if you want them so badly. I have no sympathy.

 

[DootSkeleton]

I know MTG players are notoriously whiny and overly dramatic, but this ban has really brought those types out in force. Watching the EDH-only niggercattle cope and sneed on Facebook in the comments of articles related to the banning is a real treat. My favorite complaint has to be that so many people expected their expensive cards to not get banned solely because they're expensive. As if they're investments on the same level as the stock market.
I should go into some of their profiles and bring back some choice screenshots. Some of them seem like rather interesting (read: cripplingly autistic) individuals.

 

[Rectum Ravager]

I know MTG players are notoriously whiny and overly dramatic, but this ban has really brought those types out in force. Watching the EDH-only niggercattle cope and sneed on Facebook in the comments of articles related to the banning is a real treat. My favorite complaint has to be that so many people expected their expensive cards to not get banned solely because they're expensive. As if they're investments on the same level as the stock market.
I should go into some of their profiles and bring back some choice screenshots. Some of them seem like rather interesting (read: cripplingly autistic) individuals.

Bans and restrictions are absolutely key in maintaining eternal formats in every card game that I've played. I'm glad to not have to slot in my Crypt or Dockside in something like Muxus or Krenko because I get to look at more unexplored and niche options. Maintaining higher diversity in card selection and deckbuilding will encourage people to play eternal, and consequently increase the value of the rest of your non-reserved list collection.

 

[I'mma real anime gurl]

Marvin will be broken in Agatha.

 

[Noebel]

The members of commander advisory group(whatever is that even?) dropping from it, by the way. That guy from Command Zone, and now some others.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

All because they didn't want to spilt the format in two into "Real Commander Played as a Social Game for Normal Humans" and "Commander for Complete Insufferable Retards Played at Two Tournaments a Year"

(whatever is that even?)

Format's unpayed jannies who forgot that there were a bunch of MTG finance bros betting on them continuing to be completely useless forever

 

[Noebel]

a bunch of MTG finance bros betting on them continuing to be completely useless forever

Since they weren't included in that decision, they shouldn't be blamed for that. Also, I've noticed a definite lack of pre-announcement sellouts of cards on the chopping block. Maybe it was the right thing to not tell anybody. RC actually did something right for once.

 

[Stab You in the Back]

The members of commander advisory group(whatever is that even?) dropping from it, by the way. That guy from Command Zone, and now some others.

The Command Zone fag knows who butters his bread, and its not the rules committee. (its the army of soyjacks who watch his shitty videos and buy his merch)

Commander is a singleton format. Are people really being economically devastated because a $120 card is now only worth $80 on the secondary market?

 

[macrodegenerate]

The Command Zone fag knows who butters his bread, and its not the rules committee. (its the army of soyjacks who watch his shitty videos and buy his merch)

Commander is a singleton format. Are people really being economically devastated because a $120 card is now only worth $80 on the secondary market?

People forget black winter a few years ago where meathook massacre was trending around $55 and you had to run a playset. When they banned it people shit themselves

 

[Flexo]

KeK

One would hope this will teach WOTC to stop screwing with the format but... I'm not betting on it.

Or just make the split official. There's "commander" run by WOTC with its own list (and probably hyper competitive) and then there's EDH which is player run and player operated and has a rules committee which focuses on keeping the format its own way.

Of course given rule 0 i don't think there should be an "official" ban list but more a "ban recommendation" list that play groups can accept or not.

Marvin will be broken in Agatha.

For a minute there I stroked out and wondered if you were talking about something involving the Marvel show.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Or just make the split official.

There is no reason to make the split official, if you split off the "Fast mana competitive commander format" you just end up with a tiny ass format and then a new CEDH because there will always be people pushing the power level, that is kind of the point of the game.

The only people who bitch about this are retards who think that their stupid piece of cardboard should have some inherent value, I bought my Mana Crypt, I paid 170ish for it give or take, guess what Value it has for me?

0 Dollars..because I have no intention on selling it, same with my Lotus. They will go in my binder next to my playset of ABU Duals.

 

[Rich Evans Ayypologist]

whatever is that even

They do basically nothing, and they're offended that they weren't consulted because they can't be trusted not to engage in the equivalent of insider trading. They had been trusted previously, to my knowledge, regarding the death rules change (Elenda shot up from a $1 card and a ton of them were purchased at that price point in the weeks before the announcement) and the Iona ban (who was dumped en masse a few weeks before the announcement). Even in this case, there were curious volumes of these cards hitting the market the week before the announcement. It's not like there's anything illegal about it - cards aren't securities.

Basically, the... CAG or whatever was a group of influencers that were used as a polling resource for the broader committee to get a feel for the game at large, because the rules committee themselves so far as I know remain a fairly-informal group that isn't really given a lot of resources by WOTC to actually be able to gauge the state or health of the format. Particularly since wizards keeps printing shit into the format over their heads (like Jeweled Lotus), they needed outside actors to get a feel for things. The CAG has largely thrown a fit because they don't wield unassailable power to veto whatever the RC does, which was never the point.

I think some number of them are also leaving because they're getting death threats, which - I'll be honest - is hilarious. I've read stories of people saying they needed to sell their crypts in order to "make rent," and all I can think about is Boogie2988 with his 70 arcade cabinets and 400 pounds of blubber whinging that he's got no money and is going to starve.

then a new CEDH because there will always be people pushing the power level, that is kind of the point of the game.

This is like arguing that Vintage and Legacy shouldn't be separate, because Legacy players are just gonna push the power level to its highest even if the P9 are banned.

Commander is a different style of playing the game that could be split into any number of different formats. Brawl is a riff on the idea that didn't catch on in paper, but it's popular-enough online. There's nothing that prevents it from being split into different, opt-in formats. Frankly, it will be - commander was created informally, and was popular long before it was officially embraced. This ban will move cEDH to eventually coalesce around a given body and banlist, and it'll be a less-popular but common-enough alternative vis-a-vis standard ~ modern.

Sure, cEDH split into its own doesn't mean that people won't attempt to game non-cEDH, but there's verymuch a limit on how reliably you can pop off without fast mana. Even if thoracle-consultation is still right there, it's much easier to disrupt that player if that player can't reliably pop off on turn 2. Which is to say, if casual players are running essence scatter, it's hard to essence scatter when you have one mana. Within play groups, you don't need anything but a house banlist; but for pickup games, getting rid of fast mana makes dealing with pubstompers so much easier.

The major failing of the banning was that it didn't kick sol ring and mana vault out as well, which contradicts its own logic. The issue of sol rings in precons is easily resolved - they're legal if the deck is unaltered, and frankly most casuals aren't really going to care if you left it in and swapped out one or two cards that you think are cool. It's no harder to learn that you should eventually replace the card than it is to learn that the back side of double-faced cards ( Westvale Abbey) violates color identity. "I'm cool with you still playing it for this game, but just so you know, going forward, that's technically an illegal card in the deck."

 

[Cats]

I was talking about Standard being pretty high power atm but was introduced to this Stormsplitter deck earlier. this is nuts, its kind of like splinter twin in a way. Check it out

Doubt I will ever play it since I don't really dig standard, but I thought this was badass.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

There is no reason to make the split official, if you split off the "Fast mana competitive commander format" you just end up with a tiny ass format and then a new CEDH because there will always be people pushing the power level, that is kind of the point of the game.

Sort of echoing what Rich Evans said, but there are ALREADY two completely different formats (edh and cedh). The problem that exists that if you are playing against new people you encounter the "Every deck is power level 7" problem. If you are trying to spike the game, you have no incentive to not put the 70 or so commander staples for your color combination/deck's plan and most of them are fast mana/ramp and tutors. If there was a list for casual commander we can bully people based on following the list they agreed to which is much easier then trying to explain that putting tutors/Toracle/Demonic Consultation in every dimir deck is cringe to some autist who came to win the social game not have fun.

In this case the cards that were banned are clearly banned for normal commander and not CEDH (although maybe they should be, I don't know/care). CEDH trannies (and Magic Finance bros) are mad because their expensive powerful cards are more reasonable when you expect an average of 3.5 copies in every game. The solution is to let the CEDH trannies kill each other while cards are banned to try to keep retard spikes in non-CEDH from just shitting up the game by lying about their power level while reducing card diversity.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

I was talking about Standard being pretty high power atm but was introduced to this Stormsplitter deck earlier. this is nuts, its kind of like splinter twin in a way. Check it out

Doubt I will ever play it since I don't really dig standard, but I thought this was badass.

There are a couple of Splintertwinish Combos in Standard.

The Golgari deck has an Instant Planeswalker Ult that gives you Insta Poison Death, its not as impressive as the Stormsplitter thing but Both halves of the Combo are pretty good cards on their own.

but there are ALREADY two completely different formats (edh and cedh)

No they aren't and from what I know the CEDH people don't WANT it to be separate formats, they want to go by the rules of Commander and push the format as far as they can, The Rules Committee are just do Nothing Faggots who sit on their hands because "MUH RULE ZERO MUH RULE ZERO" If the CEDH people want their own format with Crypt and other Degenerate shit in it they can just Rule Zero and ignore the bans anyways, but that isn't what they want.

If you are trying to spike the game, you have no incentive to not put the 70 or so commander staples for your color combination/deck's plan and most of them are fast mana/ramp and tutors.

Quite frankly this is a problem that you can lay at the foot of WOTC, They print way too much fucking product and print the same templates over and over until it becomes a staple card, especially templates that people like.

"Oh people like Panharnomicon? Let's print one every other set and push them to the point where the Original is completely unplayable"

"People like treasures? LETS FUCKING PRINT THAT INTO THE GOD DAMN GROUND"

"Every deck is power level 7" problem

Most problems I see in games have nothing to do with Deck Power level, Niggers need to start running more interaction and faggots need to stop crying when someone interacts with them..and people in general need to stop fucking playing into the most easy to avoid shit, Every time I play Defense of the Heart in my preator Deck someone ALWAYS JUST PUKES OUT CREATURES INTO IT and then bitches when I go get something powerful.

They play into an On Board Entwined Tooth and Nail and complain when GIANT FUCKING CREATURES hit the field

"I am gonna play a Mill Deck and put in zero graveyard hate and then cry about power level when someone casts Eerie Ultimatum"

I fucking hate the Magic Community, they are a bunch of crybaby morons, who were all calling for Lotus to be banned when it was Spoiled and when it got banned because it is a silly mistake card..cry about it being banned.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

No they aren't and from what I know the CEDH people don't WANT it to be separate formats, they want to go by the rules of Commander and push the format as far as they can, The Rules Committee are just do Nothing Faggots who sit on their hands because "MUH RULE ZERO MUH RULE ZERO" If the CEDH people want their own format with Crypt and other Degenerate shit in it they can just Rule Zero and ignore the bans anyways, but that isn't what they want.

They don't want that because the people who would be most effected aren't interested in remotely "fair" games of magic, they want to play in a format where they can play modern living end against some retard playing standard selesnya rabbits. There should be a big ban list with shit on it that is prohibitively expensive or no one likes to play against that can be easily pointed at to police spikes and people who watch CEDH shit on youtube thinking it's the way commander is "supposed to be" and then everyone is still just as free to agree to ignore it like they do anyway. Then you can have the CEDH rules for CEDH trannies to play at CEDH tournaments where we can expect some sort of meta other than "Steve likes to play Tegrid, Yasharn goes in every deck" to emerge.