==ISLANDHOME #18==
July 2nd 2008
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Chaos Draft Report
The Madonia Minute
EDH League: More details and sign-ups!
Guest Articles: Islandhome is now accepting submissions!
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Saturday: FNC Standard @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
There won't be a Friday night event at Grim this week due to the Fourth of July holiday.
==CHAOS DRAFT REPORT==
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Chaos Draft Report
The Madonia Minute
EDH League: More details and sign-ups!
Guest Articles: Islandhome is now accepting submissions!
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Saturday: FNC Standard @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
There won't be a Friday night event at Grim this week due to the Fourth of July holiday.
==CHAOS DRAFT REPORT==
Not as many people showed up for Chaos Draft as last week - only seven people, which regrettably led to someone getting the bye every round. After three packs, I realized that most of the packs I bought myself for the occasion were unpicked, and asked if everyone wanted to draft with four packs instead of three. We did, which led to some crazy sixty-card decks, and way more interesting interactions than before! Oh yes, there were banding questions. I myself had a Crypt Rats/Corrosive Mentor combo, which won me a few games by removing a few creatures and weakening the bigger problems to the point where they weren't so threatening anymore.
We did three rounds of swiss with a cut to top 4. Unfortunately this time I bombed out, my red/black deck (first pick Ihsan's Shade - who says Homelands is bad?) unable to draw removal for a surprisingly large amount of creatures with powerful evasion abilities. David "The Wurm" Drebsky won again, retaining his Chaos Draft Champion title for two weeks running. Last week he sent me an article submission for Islandhome, unfortunately too late to make it into that week's issue, but seeing as how this week's Chaos Draft was a bit unconventional, even for a Chaos Draft, I'm putting it here now below! We'll be doing another Chaos Draft this Sunday too, so come on down!
This is David Drebsky, better known in Long Island's Magic circles as "The Wurm" for my love of one of Magic's most iconic creature types and also for my reckless play style and penchant for aggro builds. Last Sunday I placed 1st in the Chaos draft going completely undefeated with a 6-0 record and earning an Alpha Sinkhole for my troubles (yay for store credit). I wanted to list out my deck and then briefly explain why I thought it was such a face-stomper. Here's the deck:
Patriotic Beatdown (Red/White/Blue Aggro)
Land (18)
6 plains
6 islands
6 mountains
Creatures (16)
1 Advanced Hoverguard
1 Bogardan Lancer
1 Burrenton Bombardier
1 Clone
1 Freewind Equenaut
1 Frostling
1 Goblin Brigand
1 Inner-Chamber Guard
1 Kilnmouth Dragon
1 Knight of Sursi
1 Sea Sprite
1 Steamcore Weird
1 Stingscourger
1 Vigilant Drake
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Youthful Knight
Spells (6)
1 Browbeat
1 Deep Analysis
1 Grapeshot
1 Night/Day
1 Seal of Fire
1 Surging Flame
Sideboard (15)
1 Altar of Light
1 Aven Flock
1 Balduvian Barbarians
1 Battlewise Aven
1 Boggart Arsonists
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Cryoclasm
1 Defender en-Vec
1 Fury Charm
1 Haazda Shield Mate
1 Hurly Burly
1 Lay Waste
1 Mothdust Changeling
1 Teremko Griffin
1 Ward Sliver
In any draft environment, there are always 3 things you want to put a premium on when creating a successful deck: synergy, removal, and evasion (in that order). Synergy is something we always strive for: putting together cards that, in synch with each other, become stronger. Even crappy cards, if they have good chemistry together, can tip the scales and defeat a superior player with superior cards. Removal is key; you need to be able to get rid of those threats that can't otherwise be dealt with. And evasion, things like flying, fear, landwalk, etc. are very helpful in breaking up otherwise stagnant ground wars between creatures (and no format is more creature heavy than draft).
I really liked this deck. There's 7 fliers in the main deck (Advanced Hoverguard, Burrenton Bombardier, Freewind Equenaut, Kilnmouth Dragon, Knight of Sursi, Sea Sprite, and Vigilant Drake, potentially 8 with the Clone), 6 cards support the idea of removal (Frostling, Steamcore Weird, Stingscourger, Grapeshot, Seal of Fire, and Surging Flame), and then you have all sorts of tricks. You can counter spells (Voidmage Apprentice), you can draw cards (Deep Analysis), you can pump your guys (Night/Day), you can force players to make uncomfortable decisions (Browbeat), you can do direct damage (Seal of Fire and Steamcore Weird), you can share in your opponent's wealth or double your own (Clone). The sideboard gives you a few options of dealing with specific opponents, such as Altar of Light, Boggart Arsonists, and Cryoclasm. It was a solid build.
Now, getting to the basics...we have decent synergy here, we have a good amount of removal, and there's a ton of evasion. Lots of fliers, damage and bounce to help them get through unchecked, and some useful combat tricks to turn the tides if we need to. Note that the curve of the deck is fairly high; we have only 2 1-drops, 8 2-drops, 5 3-drops, 5 4-drops, 1 5-drop, and 1 7-drop. That's okay, though...we just play with a high amount of mana. Our 2-drops can hold off until we can bring down the bad boys. We don't have to be a super fast deck because we're looking to win in the late game. The early game, we just stall and kill stuff. There is some definite lack of synergy in the deck; we have two fliers (I'm looking at you, Freewind Equenaut and Kilnmouth Dragon) with great abilities that we can't even take advantage of because we're running 0 enchantments and 0 dragons (except for a single Mothdust Changeling in the sideboard). That's okay...these creatures fly, and in draft, that's good enough to make them playable.
In conclusion, when participating in chaos draft, keep synergy, removal, and evasion always at the forefront of your mind. Your deck can do very well and lack one or more of these categories, but drafting has taught me that they are useful guidelines for consistently making your deck work.
One last tip: try to pick cards with useful abilities even if they may seem overcosted or even not very useful at first. For instance, I chose as a late pick a common from Homelands that completely shut down the deck of one of the other players, i.e. Sea Sprite, a 1/1 flyer with protection from red. He was playing red/white with Brion Stoutarm and lots of red removal. The card seems fairly weak until you consider that this creature is extremely hard to kill in chaos draft since many of the scariest fliers are historically red (i.e., dragons) and most of the removal are going to be damage-related red spells. Also, Inner-Chamber Guard was I believe a 14th pick but it's bushido ability makes it a phenomenal blocker and it helped turn the tides of more than a couple of games. The point is, sometimes you need to pick cards that, although they won't directly help you win, they will help stop you from losing.
That's all for now.
- David D. Drebsky
We did three rounds of swiss with a cut to top 4. Unfortunately this time I bombed out, my red/black deck (first pick Ihsan's Shade - who says Homelands is bad?) unable to draw removal for a surprisingly large amount of creatures with powerful evasion abilities. David "The Wurm" Drebsky won again, retaining his Chaos Draft Champion title for two weeks running. Last week he sent me an article submission for Islandhome, unfortunately too late to make it into that week's issue, but seeing as how this week's Chaos Draft was a bit unconventional, even for a Chaos Draft, I'm putting it here now below! We'll be doing another Chaos Draft this Sunday too, so come on down!
This is David Drebsky, better known in Long Island's Magic circles as "The Wurm" for my love of one of Magic's most iconic creature types and also for my reckless play style and penchant for aggro builds. Last Sunday I placed 1st in the Chaos draft going completely undefeated with a 6-0 record and earning an Alpha Sinkhole for my troubles (yay for store credit). I wanted to list out my deck and then briefly explain why I thought it was such a face-stomper. Here's the deck:
Patriotic Beatdown (Red/White/Blue Aggro)
Land (18)
6 plains
6 islands
6 mountains
Creatures (16)
1 Advanced Hoverguard
1 Bogardan Lancer
1 Burrenton Bombardier
1 Clone
1 Freewind Equenaut
1 Frostling
1 Goblin Brigand
1 Inner-Chamber Guard
1 Kilnmouth Dragon
1 Knight of Sursi
1 Sea Sprite
1 Steamcore Weird
1 Stingscourger
1 Vigilant Drake
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Youthful Knight
Spells (6)
1 Browbeat
1 Deep Analysis
1 Grapeshot
1 Night/Day
1 Seal of Fire
1 Surging Flame
Sideboard (15)
1 Altar of Light
1 Aven Flock
1 Balduvian Barbarians
1 Battlewise Aven
1 Boggart Arsonists
1 Brutal Deceiver
1 Cryoclasm
1 Defender en-Vec
1 Fury Charm
1 Haazda Shield Mate
1 Hurly Burly
1 Lay Waste
1 Mothdust Changeling
1 Teremko Griffin
1 Ward Sliver
In any draft environment, there are always 3 things you want to put a premium on when creating a successful deck: synergy, removal, and evasion (in that order). Synergy is something we always strive for: putting together cards that, in synch with each other, become stronger. Even crappy cards, if they have good chemistry together, can tip the scales and defeat a superior player with superior cards. Removal is key; you need to be able to get rid of those threats that can't otherwise be dealt with. And evasion, things like flying, fear, landwalk, etc. are very helpful in breaking up otherwise stagnant ground wars between creatures (and no format is more creature heavy than draft).
I really liked this deck. There's 7 fliers in the main deck (Advanced Hoverguard, Burrenton Bombardier, Freewind Equenaut, Kilnmouth Dragon, Knight of Sursi, Sea Sprite, and Vigilant Drake, potentially 8 with the Clone), 6 cards support the idea of removal (Frostling, Steamcore Weird, Stingscourger, Grapeshot, Seal of Fire, and Surging Flame), and then you have all sorts of tricks. You can counter spells (Voidmage Apprentice), you can draw cards (Deep Analysis), you can pump your guys (Night/Day), you can force players to make uncomfortable decisions (Browbeat), you can do direct damage (Seal of Fire and Steamcore Weird), you can share in your opponent's wealth or double your own (Clone). The sideboard gives you a few options of dealing with specific opponents, such as Altar of Light, Boggart Arsonists, and Cryoclasm. It was a solid build.
Now, getting to the basics...we have decent synergy here, we have a good amount of removal, and there's a ton of evasion. Lots of fliers, damage and bounce to help them get through unchecked, and some useful combat tricks to turn the tides if we need to. Note that the curve of the deck is fairly high; we have only 2 1-drops, 8 2-drops, 5 3-drops, 5 4-drops, 1 5-drop, and 1 7-drop. That's okay, though...we just play with a high amount of mana. Our 2-drops can hold off until we can bring down the bad boys. We don't have to be a super fast deck because we're looking to win in the late game. The early game, we just stall and kill stuff. There is some definite lack of synergy in the deck; we have two fliers (I'm looking at you, Freewind Equenaut and Kilnmouth Dragon) with great abilities that we can't even take advantage of because we're running 0 enchantments and 0 dragons (except for a single Mothdust Changeling in the sideboard). That's okay...these creatures fly, and in draft, that's good enough to make them playable.
In conclusion, when participating in chaos draft, keep synergy, removal, and evasion always at the forefront of your mind. Your deck can do very well and lack one or more of these categories, but drafting has taught me that they are useful guidelines for consistently making your deck work.
One last tip: try to pick cards with useful abilities even if they may seem overcosted or even not very useful at first. For instance, I chose as a late pick a common from Homelands that completely shut down the deck of one of the other players, i.e. Sea Sprite, a 1/1 flyer with protection from red. He was playing red/white with Brion Stoutarm and lots of red removal. The card seems fairly weak until you consider that this creature is extremely hard to kill in chaos draft since many of the scariest fliers are historically red (i.e., dragons) and most of the removal are going to be damage-related red spells. Also, Inner-Chamber Guard was I believe a 14th pick but it's bushido ability makes it a phenomenal blocker and it helped turn the tides of more than a couple of games. The point is, sometimes you need to pick cards that, although they won't directly help you win, they will help stop you from losing.
That's all for now.
- David D. Drebsky
==ELDER DRAGON HIGHLANDER LEAGUE==
Next week I'm going to be posting the pairings for round one of the EDH league, so sign up soon!
- Entry fee is $5, which will all be put into the prize pool that will be divided among the top two players.
- Every Wednesday, the next round's pairings will be put up. You'll have a week to play your next match; the best days of course are Friday night at Grim, Saturday afternoon at FNC, or Sunday afternoon at Grim. So every week is a round.
- At the end of the week (Tuesday, since a "league week" starts on Wednesday with the latest release of Islandhome), if two players haven't played their match, the winner will be the player who showed up at Grim or FNC that week. If neither player showed up, or both players made an effort to show up, just on different days, the match will be a draw.
- The league will start in July. July is perfect because there are no PTQs in our area that month, so everyone should be available every week barring any personal reasons. It also gives everyone over two weeks to prepare their decks.
- No proxies allowed; EDH cards are easy to find (most of them are dollar-bin rares).
- You will be allowed to tune up your deck between rounds, as long as you keep your general the same.
- The Elder Dragon Highlander rules (and banned list) can be found here.
- General reservation will be on a first come, first served basis.
- Matches will be best 2-of-3, though if both players want to play one game because it takes a long time, you can report it 2-0 if you want. (I had a match with Matt Brocking that lasted about two hours, finally losing to a Serra Avatar with a Flickerform on it.)
- If there's not enough interest, then, well, we'll play it by ear!
- Entry fee is $5, which will all be put into the prize pool that will be divided among the top two players.
- Every Wednesday, the next round's pairings will be put up. You'll have a week to play your next match; the best days of course are Friday night at Grim, Saturday afternoon at FNC, or Sunday afternoon at Grim. So every week is a round.
- At the end of the week (Tuesday, since a "league week" starts on Wednesday with the latest release of Islandhome), if two players haven't played their match, the winner will be the player who showed up at Grim or FNC that week. If neither player showed up, or both players made an effort to show up, just on different days, the match will be a draw.
- The league will start in July. July is perfect because there are no PTQs in our area that month, so everyone should be available every week barring any personal reasons. It also gives everyone over two weeks to prepare their decks.
- No proxies allowed; EDH cards are easy to find (most of them are dollar-bin rares).
- You will be allowed to tune up your deck between rounds, as long as you keep your general the same.
- The Elder Dragon Highlander rules (and banned list) can be found here.
- General reservation will be on a first come, first served basis.
- Matches will be best 2-of-3, though if both players want to play one game because it takes a long time, you can report it 2-0 if you want. (I had a match with Matt Brocking that lasted about two hours, finally losing to a Serra Avatar with a Flickerform on it.)
- If there's not enough interest, then, well, we'll play it by ear!
==THE MADONIA MINUTE==
Block Constructed PTQs are in full swing as players around the world do battle for that elusive "blue envelope". My expertise on the format is limited to reviewing top 8 lists on various internet sites and feedback from players in the front lines of the qualifing season. The consensus is that your deck needs to be able to handle the multitude of threats that the format has. The GW Aggro deck plays a fair game with efficent creatures and powerful mid-range game changers. This deck has eerie similarities to Time Spiral Block Constructed's GW deck as it punishes mediocre draws and is only hindered by its lack of range in the end game. It my limited testing with the deck, it seems to enjoy seeing an early Teeg backed up with Barkshell Blessing to blow out any tempo killing Nameless Inversion that comes from the Elemental and Faerie player.
I did a bunch of testing with Elementals on Friday against a couple of block stalwarts. The deck seems like a really strong choice for an experienced player that realizes each turn is pivotal. I'd compare the flow to the old UB Mannequin style deck. It forces your opponent to play your game while you combat them with explosive creatures. My favorite card in the deck in Smokebraider. Especially in the GW matchup where an active Smokebraider allows you to get the strong tempo advantage with their acceleration limited without Llanowar Elves or Boreal Druids.
Faeries seems to be a safe choice as its more or less a toned down version of the Standard staple. My only complaint with Faeries is the limited draw spells at its disposal. Ponder is a nice card, but doesn't allow you the explosiveness like Ancestral Visions does. I'd recommend Faeries for someone with limited knowledge of the format and wants to play a consistent deck. Cryptic Command and Broken Ambitions control the mid game and Mistbind Clique is even more powerful in a smaller scale format.
Dean Duprez played my block deck from last week at the PTQ with mild success. We may have missed on Oblivion Rings and Crib Swap but it seemed that his losses were to the relative inexperience with the deck, as well as the slight oversights in testing. I'd find room for Crib Swaps, I think, after hearing about the Collosus and Oversoul of Dusk horror stories. Austere Commands are also a card that is in careful consideration as well.
I played some type two this week at FNC with my mono blue control deck that continues to put up sterling results. We decided to add Bitterblossom to the main deck and after winning five games this weekend on the back of the ubitquious enchantment I realized that this card gives the deck so much more game against its difficult matchups.
Here's something fun I've been working on:
4x Magus of the Moon
1x Oona, Queen of the Fae
2x Venser, Shaper Savant
3x Vedlaken Aethermage
3x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2x Platinum Angel
4x Skred
4x Rune Snag
4x Cryptic Command
2x Pact of Negation
4x Think Twice
1x Slaughter Pact
4x Tolaria West
3x Shivan Reef
12x Snow-Covered Island
1x Boreal Shelf
1x Tresserhorn Sinks
1x Urza's Factory
1x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vivid Creek
1x Academy Ruins
SIDEBOARD:
4x Bottle Nnomes
2x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2x Damnation
3x Flashfreeze
4x Sower of Temptation
I don't know how strong the deck is, but in a format with more color fixing then ever, a controlling strategy that forces you to have an answer to a innocous 2/2 that can realistically lock you out of the game it seems like a fun deck for an upcoming Standard tournament.
Uda mans and prowls of the week
Uda mans
Travis Trocolli - Won his first career tournament playing a mono-red homebrew with such gems as Raging Goblin and turn 1 Countryside Crushers. He can play burn decks so I'll give him that.
Anyone that graduated this week, congrats and welcome to the real world.
Prowl of the week
Opening an entire box of Morningtide and not seeing a Mutavault or Bitterblosson.
Next week will be an exclusive interview with a hand selected champion.
Thanks for reading,
- John Madonia
==GUEST ARTICLES==
If you've noticed, in the past few weeks I've been having a few more guest articles in Islandhome. With tournaments all weekend and work all week, sometimes it's hard to find time to sit down and write an entire newsletter, which is why I love it when I get article submissions! Not only does it give more introspective on the Long Island Magic community from those who are a part of it, it saves me work. ;) It's especially useful to get articles from players who are a part of the metagame, as judges are notoriously bad players.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==RULES CORNER==
Normally I don't like answering rules questions about previewed cards, but there's a few cards on the official spoiler that have raised a few questions which have easy answers.
Q. Once Stigma Lasher hits me, is there ANYTHING I can do to increase my life total?
A. There is literally nothing in the game that can make your life total any higher than it was at the time Stigma Lasher's triggered ability resolved. Even if an effect would switch your life total with an opponent who has a higher life total, such as Magus of the Mirror's activated ability, your life total is going to stay where it is. Any positive change in your life total is considered gaining life.
Q. Does my Heartlash Cinder get bigger from my Duergar Hedge-Mage?
A. Just like a white/red hybrid card is both red and white, a white/red hybrid mana symbol is both a white mana symbol and a red mana symbol. So yes, the Dwarf will give your Elemental +1/+0.
Q. Once Stigma Lasher hits me, is there ANYTHING I can do to increase my life total?
A. There is literally nothing in the game that can make your life total any higher than it was at the time Stigma Lasher's triggered ability resolved. Even if an effect would switch your life total with an opponent who has a higher life total, such as Magus of the Mirror's activated ability, your life total is going to stay where it is. Any positive change in your life total is considered gaining life.
Q. Does my Heartlash Cinder get bigger from my Duergar Hedge-Mage?
A. Just like a white/red hybrid card is both red and white, a white/red hybrid mana symbol is both a white mana symbol and a red mana symbol. So yes, the Dwarf will give your Elemental +1/+0.
Have a rules question you want answered? Send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
One of the things I wanted to do was have an archive of past issues online so I could refer people back to them as well as let new readers peruse old issues to see what all the fuss is about. So I've archived all the old issues on the blogosphere at islandhomemtg.blogspot.com. Go and relive all the past moments of glory!
==NEXT ISSUE...==
Limited tips for Eventide's prerelease!
Maybe some huge news!
Limited tips for Eventide's prerelease!
Maybe some huge news!
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
June 7th - August 31st: PTQ Season for PT Berlin
The next PTQ season starts this summer, and it's going to be Lorwyn Block Constructed! Lorwyn block will consist of Lorwyn, Morningtide, and Shadowmoor. Eventide won't be available during the beginning of the PTQ season, but will be legal before it ends.
July 12th-13th: Eventide Prerelease
I'll be head judging the prerelease on Long Island again, so come see what all the fuss with enemy-colored hybrids is about! Also, Gray Matter will be holding Two-Headed Giant events instead of Team Sealed!
July 26th (Saturday): Eventide Launch Party at FNC
Details coming soon!
July 27th (Sunday): Eventide Launch Party at Brothers Grim
Details coming soon!
PTQs in our general area this season:
The next PTQ season starts this summer, and it's going to be Lorwyn Block Constructed! Lorwyn block will consist of Lorwyn, Morningtide, and Shadowmoor. Eventide won't be available during the beginning of the PTQ season, but will be legal before it ends.
July 12th-13th: Eventide Prerelease
I'll be head judging the prerelease on Long Island again, so come see what all the fuss with enemy-colored hybrids is about! Also, Gray Matter will be holding Two-Headed Giant events instead of Team Sealed!
July 26th (Saturday): Eventide Launch Party at FNC
Details coming soon!
July 27th (Sunday): Eventide Launch Party at Brothers Grim
Details coming soon!
PTQs in our general area this season:
- 8/9 - Philadelphia, PA
- 8/16 - New York, NY
- 8/30 - Edison, NJ
- 8/30 - Hartford, CT
- 8/31 - Rochester, NY
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
==FIN==
See everyone this weekend!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
-Brian Paskoff
L1 NY
L1 NY
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