Board 8 > Trdl answers any questions about Magic the Gathering

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah, normally I would just link to the MTGSalvation wiki page and call it a day, but it's a huge case of tl;dr and assumes a lot of knowledge of MTG lore. (it might still be worth checking out: http://mtg.gamepedia.com/Urza)

Super short version is that Urza was a terrifyingly powerful artificer in a universe where artifacts are not to be messed with. In his war with his brother Mishra, he activated the Golgothian Sylex and basically nuked an entire continent, messing with the plane so long that it began a millennia-long ice age.

This was before he became a Planeswalker back when Planeswalkers were basically gods. (Current 'walkers were turbo-nerfed in lore by an event called The Mending, but that's another story) Now ageless, capable of dimension-hopping at a whim and still with unparalleled mastery of artifice to supplement with his now incredible magic, he muddled in time travel, created the Titan Engines and a spellbomb that obliterated an artificial plane of existence... yeah. There's no separating Urza from his artifacts. He's also one hell of a chessmaster, lying intricate plans centuries in advance to bear fruit when the time was right.

Hilariously, he's not even the most powerful entity in MtG. That goes to Urza's nemesis and Magic's original big bad, Yawgmoth. Ruling as a god of his own artificial plane of Phyrexia (this is what the aforementioned spellbomb nuked), he's capable of driving enemies to willing servitude by his mere presence, and when he actually shows up, he can shapeshift into a bunch of forms including a flying plague of basically "anti-life" (not what it's officially called thankfully!). He only went down due to Urza's final set of inventions, the Legacy Weapon, which united Dominaria's mana to purge his very essence from existence. Urza was basically dead at that point due to Yawgmoth's corruption as well as, uh, getting decapitated, which still didn't actually kill Urza until he transferred his Planeswalker Spark into his sentient golem Karn...

And yes, this IS the short version. This story played out over the course of 7+ years.

I don't know much about MPFC, but MtG's more modern entrants would include Emrakul: an Eldrazi Titan, MtG's Cthulhu, basically capable of driving entire planes to madness and then warping all life to conglomerate in its own eldritch image, plus some harder-to-define reality fuckery.

Also Nicol Bolas, MtG's current Big Bad, an immortal chessmaster dragon always behind the scenes but with very few feats. Apparently he had more during the Time Spiral novel series but like hell am I reading that. He's the focus of the next set, so hopefully he gets more showings!
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Yeah, normally I would just link to the MTGSalvation wiki page and call it a day, but it's a huge case of tl;dr

So we get a huge case of trdl instead? :P
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The hugest
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Okay, so I have a serious question now.

Let's say I want to start a white deck - what strategies and deck types do I have to choose from, and why are they good or bad?
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I have Gisela, the Broken Blade and Bruna, the Fading Light in play during my first main phase. One opponent has Graf Rats in play, and he casts Cytoshape, choosing his Graf Rats, targetting my Gisela. Another opponent has Midnight Scavengers in play, and also casts Cytoshape, choosing Midnight Scavengers and targetting Bruna. What happens next?

KanzarisKelshen posted...

Yeah, normally I would just link to the MTGSalvation wiki page and call it a day, but it's a huge case of tl;dr

So we get a huge case of trdl instead? :P

I don't know what trdl's name actually means, but in my mind, I always read it as "Too rong didn't lead". Not sure if that's the intention.
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On what turn should a deck win if it faces 0 opposition in modern
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I think the fastest deck can win on turn 2 (Sram Cheerios), but it folds pretty hard to any disruption and is far more likely to fizzle and win on turn 3. Otherwise, aggressive decks and combo decks can win on turn 3 with nut draws, and turn 4 otherwise.
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Time Spiral books are legit. Recommend reading
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TomNook posted...

I have Gisela, the Broken Blade and Bruna, the Fading Light in play during my first main phase. One opponent has Graf Rats in play, and he casts Cytoshape, choosing his Graf Rats, targetting my Gisela. Another opponent has Midnight Scavengers in play, and also casts Cytoshape, choosing Midnight Scavengers and targetting Bruna. What happens next?

Fuck you.

(I'm pretty sure you get Brisela though)

LOLIAmAnAlt posted...

On what turn should a deck win if it faces 0 opposition in modern

In theory and according to WotC, turn 4 is what it *should* be. In reality, it usually ends up being turn 3 if it's not a control deck. (Jund is effectively a control deck in this format)
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When will we return to Ravnica again?
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BowserCuffs posted...

Okay, so I have a serious question now.

Let's say I want to start a white deck - what strategies and deck types do I have to choose from, and why are they good or bad?

White is probably the most versatile color in the game because it's kind of schizophrenic. It has really good aggressive weenies and creature support on one end, and really good controlling aspects and board wipes on the other. Generally you want to focus on one or the other. Aggressive decks are usually token-based or use the tried and true lots-of-dudes-pump-my-team plan. Control strategies are often "prison" style decks where you lock your opponent out of doing anything relevant with White's "looks like a fair deal but isn't" cards, though it also often pairs up with blue so it can board wipe whatever gets through blue's counterspells.

Now is a good time to mention that the vast majority of decks are two-color (sometimes three). While you do sacrifice some consistency, it's easy to find synergy between colors to enhance each other and cover weaknesses.

Anyway, I always tell new players to play aggressively when you begin Magic. It's not necessarily easier than control or combo, but it is much more straightforward in its game plan. White aggro is a cornerstone of the game.

The biggest resource you have is the community of Magic players. Seriously, they're amazing overall and very newbie friendly! It's probably the biggest reason I'm still here all these years later.
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Waluigi1 posted...

When will we return to Ravnica again?

"Soon." MaRo has already said it'll happen at some point, but with all the shakeups in the design process, don't count on it for a few years.
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Up
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Any other questions?
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What is your favorite card of all time? OF ALL TIME?
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rank every block released so far

wait that's not a question

rank every block release so far, please?
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Emeraldegg posted...

What is your favorite card of all time? OF ALL TIME?

Nimble Mongoose, not even close. He won me so many Legacy games and tournaments... Hell, it's my twitter handle (not that I use twitter really).

The Mana Sword posted...

rank every block released so far

wait that's not a question

rank every block release so far, please?

Sounds like something to do this weekend .
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That...seems like it's a really good one drop. I'll still take my scute mob though >:D
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I think I might make the block ranking its own topic.
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If one of the five colors were to be removed from magic, which color's absence would change the game the most? The least?

Specifics are left intentionally vague for interpretation
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If Blue were to leave Magic, it would not be Magic. The biggest difference between Magic and all other TCGs is the high amount of interaction on your opponents' turns, and countermagic is front and center. It's certainly the most frustrating part of the game for new players, but its existence is what gives us access to some of the ridiculous things we enjoy. It's also the color that has the highest learning curve, and it just operates unlike anything else in any other game.

I really can't imagine Magic without any of its five colors, but if I was forced to pick one, it would be green. Green does a lot of things that other colors also do -- destroy artifacts (red and white), destroy enchantments (white), pump dudes (all colors, though not was well), and make giant monsters. The only real thing that green does uniquely is ramp, and that's still a vital part of the game. Still, Magic could still work without ramp and with everything else going to other colors. It just wouldn't be as much fun.
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Post your favorite:
Top 5 Artifacts
Top 5 Creatures
Top 5 Enchantments
Top 5 Instants
Top 5 Sorcerys
Top 5 Non-Basic Lands
Top 5 Planeswalkers

Don't spend too much time thinking to the point that you feel like you can't answer. Even quick answers of the first 5 things you can think of that you like a lot is fine.

They can be things you like because they are good, fun, interesting, unique, whatever. Just things you'd call favorites for any reason you like.
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Why should WotC endorse Magic Cards with Googly Eyes?

What would be your thoughts on a 6th color added? How drastically would it change the game?
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TomNook posted...

Post your favorite:
Top 5 Artifacts
Top 5 Creatures
Top 5 Enchantments
Top 5 Instants
Top 5 Sorcerys
Top 5 Non-Basic Lands
Top 5 Planeswalkers

Don't spend too much time thinking to the point that you feel like you can't answer. Even quick answers of the first 5 things you can think of that you like a lot is fine.

They can be things you like because they are good, fun, interesting, unique, whatever. Just things you'd call favorites for any reason you like.

Dear lord. Here we go, not necessarily in order:

Artifacts: Crucible of Worlds, Grafdigger's Cage, Aether Vial, Umezawa's Jitte, Black Lotus
Creatures: Bloodbraid Elf, Tarmogoyf, Karrthus Tyrant of Jund, Dark Confidant, Nimble Mongoose
Enchantments: Whip of Erebos, Humility, Rancor, Ghostly Prison, Standstill
Instants: Wild Ricochet, Stifle, Lightning Bolt, Force of Will, Brainstorm
Sorceries: Vindicate, Expropriate, Natural Order, Tendrils of Agony, Cruel Ultimatum
Nonbasic Land: Volrath's Stronghold, Rishadan Port, Nykthos Shrine to Nyx, Wasteland, Karakas
Planeswalkers: Liliana of the Veil, Elspeth Knight Errant, Venser the Sojourner, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Dack Fayden THE GREATEST THIEF IN THE MULTIVERSE
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Skyridge87 posted...

Why should WotC endorse Magic Cards with Googly Eyes?

Man, why shouldn't they?

Waluigi1 posted...

What would be your thoughts on a 6th color added? How drastically would it change the game?

I really just can't comprehend how they would do it. They tried it a bit with the colorless-required Eldrazi in Oath, but an actual new color would need its own identity to define it -- what it values, what are its strengths, what are its weaknesses. Wizards has a hard enough time figuring out what Red does besides burn stuff. It just doesn't seem practical.
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there's an article or two floating around from when they thought about doing purple mana in planar chaos, and what kind of effects they were going to give it
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Hm. Generic themes I think you could give a 6th color that aren't heavily covered in the 5 colors + artifacts.

- Heavy use of the exile mechanic-- colors dabble in it but I'm thinking more heavily exploring creative things to do with it along the line of "can be played from exile"
- Using the resources of the opponent to gain effects (but only on your turn)
- Using resources that aren't mana or life to gain effects
- Heavy use of creatures that debuff opponents creatures or spells
- Creatures that lose potency when you have more or stronger creatures than the opponent

So now I see we have a running theme building up that basically encourages neutrality, or void element.

Now watch this is what MtG was thinking with purple-- purple is a voidish color. Time to read some of these articles.
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Turns out upon reading these are not ideas they had.

Yeah I feel creative.
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Interacting with exile is a really troubling mechanic because it means that there is no longer a zone where things are really, truly gone. Sure, there is some "interaction" in terms of O-Ring effects or Suspend, but those all have a definite grounding in the actual board state as to when they come back.
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trdl23 posted...

I really just can't comprehend how they would do it. They tried it a bit with the colorless-required Eldrazi in Oath, but an actual new color would need its own identity to define it -- what it values, what are its strengths, what are its weaknesses. Wizards has a hard enough time figuring out what Red does besides burn stuff. It just doesn't seem practical.

IIRC the sixth color originally back in like 1998 was gonna be purple but they didn't do it.
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Well it's definitely important to limit it to keep it distinct from the graveyard to be sure, but I do think there are things you could do with it beyond what has been done without breaking the game in half.
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Every color a person's eyes can be already exists (also pink)

http://magiccards.info/query?q=%21Water+Gun+Balloon+Game

http://magiccards.info/query?q=%21Avatar+of+Me
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Sweet, my Avatar of Me is tri-color.
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Rishadan Port

funhater spotted
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Oh man, let me substitute out Grafdigger's Cage and put in Tangle Wire. Tangle Wire so good~<3
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trdl23 posted...

Oh man, let me substitute out Grafdigger's Cage and put in Tangle Wire. Tangle Wire so good~<3

DOUBLE FUNHATER SPOTTED

(OK no, you didn't list Sensei's Divining Top, you're at least not MAXIMUM FUNHATER so I can forgive that)
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Top is obnoxious both in terms of power level and quality-of-life. A large part of its tournament bans is due to how much it stalls matches and tournaments overall.

Tangle Wire is one of those cards you don't think is great until you get demolished by it. So good.
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Tangle Wire is actually pretty cool for a lockdown card cause it's generally pretty efficient at punishing you and doesn't draw the game out super hard like your usual lockdown cards.

Friend of mine got one of those championship deck precons from Urza block and I had a lot of fun with it

Then again I also find Sensei's Top pretty harmless in casual play too so I wouldn't be surprised if there were obnoxiously slow decks with Tangle Wire too.
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Tangle Wire is mainly used in Vintage in "Stax" decks where they abuse it with Smokestack to keep the opponent's permanents locked down until the Smokestack attritions them out of doing anything with their board.

But I mainly play it in Cube and watch as my opponents' hopes and dreams crumble to dust.
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Up
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How do you feel about building around Enigma Drake in standard?
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Name every deck you currently have built in paper magic.
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Logicblade posted...

How do you feel about building around Enigma Drake in standard?

You can be doing something much more impressive, to be honest. U/R or Jeskai control have potential now that MAHVEL is gone, but Enigma Drake is not the finisher it needs nor the one it deserves. It doesn't generate value on its own, gets eaten by Heart of Kiran, and doesn't even become a little impressive until like turn 5. Factor in that it's a nonbo with Torrential Gearhulk and Aftermath cards, and Enigma Drake isn't where you want to be.

I guess you could argue for a U/R tempo deck instead, but it is really hard to out-tempo Mardu Vehicles.
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TomNook posted...

Name every deck you currently have built in paper magic.

Dear lord.

Standard:
Lol

Modern:
-Naya Burn
-Dredge (not updated since Troll ban)
-Abzan Elves
-UR Storm (old Ascension version)

Commander:
-Hazezon Tamar (Naya Token Spam, rise of the Tuskan Raiders)
-Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund aka Jund Cena (Eat. Sleep. Dragon. Repeat.)
-Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge (giantsorceries.dek; current record for Cruel Ultimatums in one game: 9)
-Daxos the Returned (Enchantment Control; no joke for this deck)
-Maraxus of Keld (YOU FACE MARAXUS! Nobody expects the mono-red Commander-damage one-shot)
-Radiant, Archangel (caw caw motherfuckers)
-Lazav, Dimir Mastermind (Mill Nye the Science Guy)
-Atraxa (Glorified Precon; needs work)
-Kaervek the Merciless (The only "competitive" deck, opponents take damage for doing anything; I Shot a Man in Reno Just to Watch Him Die)

Legacy:
Traditional Dredge (it's cheap)

Also a few casual decks I haven't touched in like a year.
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Is commander the best game type? Everyone that plays it says it is.
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I dislike commander unless it's 1v1 because otherwise it's just a game of "Get the lead, get dead" and I dislike games like that. But as a concept as far as deckbuilding commander is cool
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Commander is the go-to format for more casual fare, as opposed to format-specific decks being godless killing machines. Every Commander deck listed above is a stupid gimmick deck that does powerful stuff but isn't super efficient (except Kaervek, who exists solely to feed on people's tears).

You do get try-hards in Commander that treat it like a tournament format; I despise that, but as long as they stick to playing each other, we're both happy. One thing to remember is that Commander is 40% Magic and 60% Politics. Your words are often more important than your cards.

If you just want to jam weird crazy decks that do hilarious things, Commander is the place.
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trdl23 posted...

One thing to remember is that Commander is 40% Magic and 60% Politics. Your words are often more important than your cards

What is that though?
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Waluigi1 posted...

trdl23 posted...

One thing to remember is that Commander is 40% Magic and 60% Politics. Your words are often more important than your cards

What is that though?

Commander is typically a free-for-all format, usually with 4 players. Therefore, you have a lot of people each trying to win against everyone else. Alliances, backstabbing, and deals are as much a part of the game as casting spells and attacking with creatures.
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