==ISLANDHOME #31==
October 1st 2008
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Shards of Alara Prerelease Recap
Shards of Alara Theme Tournament
EDH Review: Five brand new generals and new cards to consider for EDH!
Madonia Minute: In which Madonia rants about prerelease prizes and some Shards deck ideas. Also a tournament of some sort.
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: Shards of Alara FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Shards of Alara Launch Party at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Shards of Alara Launch Party at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
This week is the first Shards of Alara booster draft, as Shards comes out and becomes legal on Friday.
==SHARDS OF ALARA PRERELEASE RECAP==
Author: Brian Paskoff
==EDH REVIEW==
Author: Brian Paskoff
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Shards of Alara Prerelease Recap
Shards of Alara Theme Tournament
EDH Review: Five brand new generals and new cards to consider for EDH!
Madonia Minute: In which Madonia rants about prerelease prizes and some Shards deck ideas. Also a tournament of some sort.
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: Shards of Alara FNM Booster Draft at Brothers Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Shards of Alara Launch Party at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Shards of Alara Launch Party at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
This week is the first Shards of Alara booster draft, as Shards comes out and becomes legal on Friday.
==SHARDS OF ALARA PRERELEASE RECAP==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Well the prerelease is over, and players have had their first taste of Shards of Alara limited. The amount of three and four color decks were staggering, as players embraced the multicolor theme and enjoyed being able to play nearly every card they opened. Mythic rares were the stars of the show, and since they have about a one-in-eight chance of showing up in place of a regular rare and there are six rares in every sealed pool, most players cracked at least one. Cruel Ultimatum was definitely the card players wanted to open, and anyone who did was on it like white on rice, stretching their mana-bases to play it if they needed to. It's that game-breaking.
I have to address something here that was a big issue at the prerelease, and that's the prize structure. Wizards recently took over the prerelease structure, giving them complete control over everything: prize payout, entry fees, and format. Gray Matter was not allowed to hold their usual bonus flights at discount rates; instead, players needed to pay full price for another full four-round flight. We were also not allowed to host any drafts. We've never held a booster draft at a Long Island prerelease even though they were offered every time, but the Gray Matter events in the city often had multiple drafts going. Most importantly, our prize payout was changed, almost cut in half by Wizards. Many players were disappointed in going 4-0 and only getting eight packs, and many more dropped out after their first loss, knowing they could win two packs maximum. Unfortunately all these things were beyond our control, and hopefully Wizards hears the disappointment from players in time for Conflux's prerelease.
One other thing that was changed was the lack of a participation pack given out to players who didn't have a good enough record to win any prizes. We couldn't give these out anymore, but most players didn't realize that they did get the extra pack after all - instead of a tournament pack and two boosters like previous big set prereleases, players got a tournament pack and three boosters. So you did get a participation pack - you just got to play with it! Still, I realize that getting the pack upfront as part of your sealed pool doesn't carry the same feeling as getting one at the end that you can sit down with and open on your own.
I hope everyone had a good time at the prerelease despite the prizes. Gray Matter's plans for Conflux are unsure as of this time, but we'll see what's going on as we get closer.
I have to address something here that was a big issue at the prerelease, and that's the prize structure. Wizards recently took over the prerelease structure, giving them complete control over everything: prize payout, entry fees, and format. Gray Matter was not allowed to hold their usual bonus flights at discount rates; instead, players needed to pay full price for another full four-round flight. We were also not allowed to host any drafts. We've never held a booster draft at a Long Island prerelease even though they were offered every time, but the Gray Matter events in the city often had multiple drafts going. Most importantly, our prize payout was changed, almost cut in half by Wizards. Many players were disappointed in going 4-0 and only getting eight packs, and many more dropped out after their first loss, knowing they could win two packs maximum. Unfortunately all these things were beyond our control, and hopefully Wizards hears the disappointment from players in time for Conflux's prerelease.
One other thing that was changed was the lack of a participation pack given out to players who didn't have a good enough record to win any prizes. We couldn't give these out anymore, but most players didn't realize that they did get the extra pack after all - instead of a tournament pack and two boosters like previous big set prereleases, players got a tournament pack and three boosters. So you did get a participation pack - you just got to play with it! Still, I realize that getting the pack upfront as part of your sealed pool doesn't carry the same feeling as getting one at the end that you can sit down with and open on your own.
I hope everyone had a good time at the prerelease despite the prizes. Gray Matter's plans for Conflux are unsure as of this time, but we'll see what's going on as we get closer.
==SHARDS OF ALARA THEME TOURNAMENT==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Wizards is trying out a new experimental format for Shards of Alara's release events: the "theme tournament". The theme of Shards of Alara are, well... the shards of Alara, and the theme tournament is based around those shards. At our release events this weekend, you'll get your usual sealed deck product, but things will be a little different from there on. Once you open your packs and sort your cards out, you'll need to pick one of the five shards and build your deck using exclusively those colors, sort of like EDH. Unlike EDH, the only mana symbols that matter are the ones in the mana cost of the card itself; mana symbols anywhere else on the card are fine, but won't serve much purpose as you can't add out-of-shard mana to your mana pool - you just get colorless mana instead.
Here's a quick look at the rules:
FNC's release event starts at 1 PM on Saturday, and Grim's starts at 2 PM on Sunday. Whether you come to one or both, have a good time and good luck!
Here's a quick look at the rules:
- You only pick a shard when you're constructing your deck. You don't need to pick one before you open your product. You also don't need to tell your opponent which one you're playing, though they'll probably guess.
- The colors in mana costs of cards in your deck can't contain colors outside of your shard. For example, if you're in Bant, which is GWU, you can't play Ajani Vengeant, because he has a red mana symbol in his mana cost.
- Mana symbols anywhere else on the card don't matter. You can play Bant Battlemage in your Naya deck, even though there's a blue mana symbol in its activation cost.
- If anything would add mana of a color not in your shard to your mana pool, it adds colorless mana instead. You can have Forests in your Grixis deck if you want, but they'll tap for 1 instead of G. (This also makes it impossible to actually use Bant Battlemage's blue ability in the example above.)
- You can change your deck between rounds (and between games) just like any other limited event that doesn't use decklists. However, you'll need to either stay in your shard or switch to a new shard altogether.
- Not following the shard rule in a theme tournament is, unfortunately, a game loss. Just like playing Akroma in your Standard deck is illegal (as of this Friday), so is playing a blue card in your Jund deck. But don't worry, it's very easy to stay within a single shard!
FNC's release event starts at 1 PM on Saturday, and Grim's starts at 2 PM on Sunday. Whether you come to one or both, have a good time and good luck!
==EDH REVIEW==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Every time a new set comes out, the thing I look forward to the most is finding out what new EDH generals there are. As you can imagine, Eventide was disappointing in that regard, but once Shards of Alara's tri-color theme was revealed, the set was all but guaranteed to have a cycle of juicy three-color legends with abilities based on the shards they came from. We haven't had an opportunity like this since the Planar Chaos dragons, so it's time once again to sharpen your deckbuilding skills on five brand new generals.
Kresh the Bloodbraided - Good BRG legends are hard to find, and the best before now was Sek'Kuar, Deathkeeper. Both legends have the potential to be based around saccing your own guys and benefiting from them going to the yard. Kresh gets huge, and Sek'Kuar makes more guys to sacrifice. There's one important difference though, and that's that Kresh will get bonuses even if a creature is put into anyone else's yard. If you're planning to win on general damage, Kresh is the way to go, but for utility, there are better BRG generals.
Mayael the Anima - There are definitely lots of bomby creatures in EDH that have 5+ power, and Mayael can easily get them into play. Even though she's only three mana, powering her fragile 3-toughness body out as early as possible isn't the best idea. The best plan is to get her in play and ready to activate on your next turn, or even the same turn with something that gives her haste. Six mana is a lot for her activated ability, as most 5+ power fatties in EDH are going to cost you six to eight mana in the first place, but ripping those big creatures from your library into play without worrying about a Cryptic Command, Desertion, or Hinder ruining your plans is worth the investment.
Rafiq of the Many - Rafiq is the most dangerous aggro general in Shards, able to come out on turn three with the right acceleration and easily able to win the game on general damage alone if he comes out early and bashes every turn. Combine him with things like Umezawa's Jitte, a Sword of Something and Something Else, or a Loxodon Warhammer and he can be a huge problem. And being in blue means you can have the countermagic needed to keep him alive from pesky removal spells. Even if he's not the one doing the swinging, creatures like Exalted Angel and Battlegrace Angel (the angel with exalted) or creatures with better evasion abilities than Rafiq himself can do some hefty damage.
Sedris, the Traitor King - Poor Sedris is in the wrong colors. If he was white, you could work out some amazing things with unearth and blink effects. My excitement when I thought about cards like Reality Ripple were short-lived when I realized that phasing not only doesn't get around the remove-me-forever trigger of unearth, but won't let the creatures' comes-into-play abilities go off. You can use things like Voyager Staff if you want to abuse unearth, but your options are limited. This all isn't to say Sedris is a bad general, far from it! UBR are powerful colors, and Sol'kanar has been an EDH favorite for years. If you want your big creatures with splashy comes-into-play abilities to go out with a bang, Sedris is a great general.
Sharuum the Hegemon - Sharuum has an unassumingly powerful ability. The ability to resurrect a single artifact when she comes in, even if it is just a one-shot deal, is very strong. Creature reanimator decks are very popular in EDH, and now thanks to this mythic sphinx, decks based around artifact reanimation are possible as well. Plus she's positioned just right on the color wheel for blink effects, letting you abuse her comes-into-play ability to get back more and more artifacts. Sadly, black's contribution to an artifact-based deck are fairly limited, as black is historically the color that has the least to do with artifacts. Only Beacon of Unrest comes to mind, actually. Since she is an artifact creature, she's especially fragile, but she is a 5/5 flier that can beat in and win the game on general damage if conditions are right.
Mayael the Anima - There are definitely lots of bomby creatures in EDH that have 5+ power, and Mayael can easily get them into play. Even though she's only three mana, powering her fragile 3-toughness body out as early as possible isn't the best idea. The best plan is to get her in play and ready to activate on your next turn, or even the same turn with something that gives her haste. Six mana is a lot for her activated ability, as most 5+ power fatties in EDH are going to cost you six to eight mana in the first place, but ripping those big creatures from your library into play without worrying about a Cryptic Command, Desertion, or Hinder ruining your plans is worth the investment.
Rafiq of the Many - Rafiq is the most dangerous aggro general in Shards, able to come out on turn three with the right acceleration and easily able to win the game on general damage alone if he comes out early and bashes every turn. Combine him with things like Umezawa's Jitte, a Sword of Something and Something Else, or a Loxodon Warhammer and he can be a huge problem. And being in blue means you can have the countermagic needed to keep him alive from pesky removal spells. Even if he's not the one doing the swinging, creatures like Exalted Angel and Battlegrace Angel (the angel with exalted) or creatures with better evasion abilities than Rafiq himself can do some hefty damage.
Sedris, the Traitor King - Poor Sedris is in the wrong colors. If he was white, you could work out some amazing things with unearth and blink effects. My excitement when I thought about cards like Reality Ripple were short-lived when I realized that phasing not only doesn't get around the remove-me-forever trigger of unearth, but won't let the creatures' comes-into-play abilities go off. You can use things like Voyager Staff if you want to abuse unearth, but your options are limited. This all isn't to say Sedris is a bad general, far from it! UBR are powerful colors, and Sol'kanar has been an EDH favorite for years. If you want your big creatures with splashy comes-into-play abilities to go out with a bang, Sedris is a great general.
Sharuum the Hegemon - Sharuum has an unassumingly powerful ability. The ability to resurrect a single artifact when she comes in, even if it is just a one-shot deal, is very strong. Creature reanimator decks are very popular in EDH, and now thanks to this mythic sphinx, decks based around artifact reanimation are possible as well. Plus she's positioned just right on the color wheel for blink effects, letting you abuse her comes-into-play ability to get back more and more artifacts. Sadly, black's contribution to an artifact-based deck are fairly limited, as black is historically the color that has the least to do with artifacts. Only Beacon of Unrest comes to mind, actually. Since she is an artifact creature, she's especially fragile, but she is a 5/5 flier that can beat in and win the game on general damage if conditions are right.
Of course, legends aren't the only thing a set brings to EDH, there are individual cards as well. Next time I'll review some of the more EDH-worthy additions ALA brings to the format, but until then, feel free to look yourselves!
The following is composed with hatred in my heart and my blood boiling over.
I'm honestly thinking that Wizards is trying their hardest to turn their customers against them. First they cancel states (which has subsequently, thanks to a core group of premier tourney organizers, got states back on the schedule) which for many people is the pinnacle event of the year. Who doesn't want to compete for the title of State Champion? It also has a casual/competitive feel, which gears towards the new player and the group that enjoys playing homebrew decks. States is the best time of year for the non-Pro Tour player, which this 'grassroot' campaign was supposedly geared towards. I'm glad tournament organizers across our great nation decided to bring back the event, which is all profit and limited overhead, which you think Wizards would like.
Saturday September 27th. My day begins and my clock says 6:55, so it looks like I can stop for some heart attack on a roll and get to Dan's house to begin the activities. Of course, as with every magical endeavor, a cataclysmic event happens, Steve Kelly's car decided to break asunder and not start. After attempting to jump start his car to no avail we began our trek to the event. We arrived at around 7:44 am to a heroes like welcome. There was also a beauty pageant next door with girls way too young to be wearing that little clothing. I was in my element as I am a fan of girls, unlike the majority of my surrounding peers, but I knew I had to become a champion in what would be my last prerelease for many moons.
I decide to fork over 30 dollars, even though we are in a great depression, to duel against 31 other combatants. After signing up I just decided to look at the wall because I thought I saw a spider, but it was just the prize structure. If I 4-0 the event I get a whopping EIGHT packs. If I lose one round I'm playing for two packs. Round 1 I get paired against Dan Gould! I opened quite possibly the worst pool in creation, I showed other players my cards, and the expressions were the same as mine: disdain. It seems like it's a recurring nightmare when I sealed. I was defeated soundly by Dan and decided at that time to have fun. I played my entire pool. My deck was 190 cards and my round 2 opponent who was twelve also beat me 2-1 and I found myself lost but seeking a first win. I ended up winning the last two rounds with my original build and more or less finished with Magic for the day.
I was honestly surprised how little people were there, usually with a new set a big crowd shows for the events. The dealer table said that he didn't get anywhere near even 150 unique visitors to the tables. He usually has between 250-300 people at a normal prerelease and even though he did well for the day as far as sales, he saw a stark difference in player quantity.
Wizards has to stop alienating their players. How do you charge the same fee but drastically cut the prize support? The biggest thing I saw was people were truly upset about no participation prize. Most people play the events to have fun, and not to win. That pack at the end was always something to look forward to. Wizards doesn't like the big tournament organizers, the ones that don't have a storefront or sell their product day in and day out. Prereleases are meant to be held in large venues, not in 15'x30' card shops. I always like seeing people I normally don't see at these events. FNC is good for a Saturday event, but having a prerelease there with the same 25 people doesn't do anything for me.
Wizards officially will not get another dollar from me either. I got a ton of feedback from people about my decision to step away from the game. After the way everyone was treated this past week, I'm definitely confident that my decision was correct.
I'd like to announce with the permission of FNC my final event.
The Last Word
My last ever Magic tournament
Friday November 28th 2008 12pm
Saturday November 29th 2008 12pm
I will, of course, be playing in both events. Friday will be a sanctioned booster draft or sealed. Prize support will be determined before the event. The top four players from the event will qualify for the top 8 which will take place on Saturday evening.
Saturday will be a Standard event. The top 8 players from that event will make the Saturday final.
Top 8 players will then play for a to be determined cash first prize. Once I talk to the Palms, I'm sure it will be worth everyone's while to show up and play. No fee will be charged to the top 8 players. It will be a single elimination format, winner takes all.
I hope everyone can join me for even one of the two tournaments, I'm sure FNC will have great sales that day and hopefully we can make a great weekend over it, this event will also coincide with their 2nd anniversary.
I'll leave everyone with some Shards-centric decklists.
Doran Faeries
3x Doran
4x Mistbind Clique
4x Spellsutter Sprite
4x Scion of Oona
4x Cryptic Command
4x Bitterblossom
2x Punish Ignorance
3x Nameless Inversion
3x Esper Charm
2x Firespout
3x Broken Ambitions or Thoughtseize
3x Mutavault
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Secluded Glen
3x Twilight Mire
3x Vivid Creek
3x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Crag
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Wanderwine Hub
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Underground River
SIDEBOARD:
4x Sower of Temptation
3x Broken Ambitions or Thoughtseize
4x Bottle Gnomes
2x Firespout
2x Infest
Stoic Day
4x Mulldrifter
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Stoic Angel
3x Battlegrace Angel
1x Twilight Shepherd
4x Cryptic Command
4x Bant Charm
4x Wrath of God
4x Condemn
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Scourglass
Land-base incomplete
Solar Flaring
3x Mulldrifter
3x Kitchen Finks
2x Shriekmaw
3x Reveillark
1x Oona, Queen of the Fae
1x Sphinx Sovereign
1x Sedris, the Traitor King
3x Merfolk Looter
3x Makeshift Mannequin
3x Bitterblossom
3x Esper Charm
3x Cryptic Command
3x Wrath of God
3x Thoughtseize
Land-base incomplete
Kithkin
4x Goldmeadow Stalwart
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Knight of Meadowgrain
3x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Spectral Procession
1x Ranger of Eos
3x Cloudgoat Ranger
4x Wizened Cenn
2x Wilt-Leaf Liege
3x Oblivion Ring
3x Unmake
3x Mutavault
4x Windbrisk Heights
4x Rustic Clachan
13x Plains
Burn
4x Mogg Fanatic
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Hell's Thunder
4x Demigod of Revenge
4x Boggart Ram-Gang
4x Incinerate
4x Flame Javelin
4x Tarfire/Shock
4x Lash Out
2x Unwilling Recruit
19x Mountains
3x Ghitu Encampment
These aren't finely tuned decks except the Stoic list and the Doran Faerie list. They're soft scale decks to test with and see what unfolds.
Thanks for reading,
John Madonia
==MADONIA MINUTE==
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
Author: John "Metagame" Madonia
The following is composed with hatred in my heart and my blood boiling over.
I'm honestly thinking that Wizards is trying their hardest to turn their customers against them. First they cancel states (which has subsequently, thanks to a core group of premier tourney organizers, got states back on the schedule) which for many people is the pinnacle event of the year. Who doesn't want to compete for the title of State Champion? It also has a casual/competitive feel, which gears towards the new player and the group that enjoys playing homebrew decks. States is the best time of year for the non-Pro Tour player, which this 'grassroot' campaign was supposedly geared towards. I'm glad tournament organizers across our great nation decided to bring back the event, which is all profit and limited overhead, which you think Wizards would like.
Saturday September 27th. My day begins and my clock says 6:55, so it looks like I can stop for some heart attack on a roll and get to Dan's house to begin the activities. Of course, as with every magical endeavor, a cataclysmic event happens, Steve Kelly's car decided to break asunder and not start. After attempting to jump start his car to no avail we began our trek to the event. We arrived at around 7:44 am to a heroes like welcome. There was also a beauty pageant next door with girls way too young to be wearing that little clothing. I was in my element as I am a fan of girls, unlike the majority of my surrounding peers, but I knew I had to become a champion in what would be my last prerelease for many moons.
I decide to fork over 30 dollars, even though we are in a great depression, to duel against 31 other combatants. After signing up I just decided to look at the wall because I thought I saw a spider, but it was just the prize structure. If I 4-0 the event I get a whopping EIGHT packs. If I lose one round I'm playing for two packs. Round 1 I get paired against Dan Gould! I opened quite possibly the worst pool in creation, I showed other players my cards, and the expressions were the same as mine: disdain. It seems like it's a recurring nightmare when I sealed. I was defeated soundly by Dan and decided at that time to have fun. I played my entire pool. My deck was 190 cards and my round 2 opponent who was twelve also beat me 2-1 and I found myself lost but seeking a first win. I ended up winning the last two rounds with my original build and more or less finished with Magic for the day.
I was honestly surprised how little people were there, usually with a new set a big crowd shows for the events. The dealer table said that he didn't get anywhere near even 150 unique visitors to the tables. He usually has between 250-300 people at a normal prerelease and even though he did well for the day as far as sales, he saw a stark difference in player quantity.
Wizards has to stop alienating their players. How do you charge the same fee but drastically cut the prize support? The biggest thing I saw was people were truly upset about no participation prize. Most people play the events to have fun, and not to win. That pack at the end was always something to look forward to. Wizards doesn't like the big tournament organizers, the ones that don't have a storefront or sell their product day in and day out. Prereleases are meant to be held in large venues, not in 15'x30' card shops. I always like seeing people I normally don't see at these events. FNC is good for a Saturday event, but having a prerelease there with the same 25 people doesn't do anything for me.
Wizards officially will not get another dollar from me either. I got a ton of feedback from people about my decision to step away from the game. After the way everyone was treated this past week, I'm definitely confident that my decision was correct.
I'd like to announce with the permission of FNC my final event.
The Last Word
My last ever Magic tournament
Friday November 28th 2008 12pm
Saturday November 29th 2008 12pm
I will, of course, be playing in both events. Friday will be a sanctioned booster draft or sealed. Prize support will be determined before the event. The top four players from the event will qualify for the top 8 which will take place on Saturday evening.
Saturday will be a Standard event. The top 8 players from that event will make the Saturday final.
Top 8 players will then play for a to be determined cash first prize. Once I talk to the Palms, I'm sure it will be worth everyone's while to show up and play. No fee will be charged to the top 8 players. It will be a single elimination format, winner takes all.
I hope everyone can join me for even one of the two tournaments, I'm sure FNC will have great sales that day and hopefully we can make a great weekend over it, this event will also coincide with their 2nd anniversary.
I'll leave everyone with some Shards-centric decklists.
Doran Faeries
3x Doran
4x Mistbind Clique
4x Spellsutter Sprite
4x Scion of Oona
4x Cryptic Command
4x Bitterblossom
2x Punish Ignorance
3x Nameless Inversion
3x Esper Charm
2x Firespout
3x Broken Ambitions or Thoughtseize
3x Mutavault
4x Reflecting Pool
4x Secluded Glen
3x Twilight Mire
3x Vivid Creek
3x Vivid Marsh
1x Vivid Crag
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Wanderwine Hub
1x Island
1x Swamp
1x Underground River
SIDEBOARD:
4x Sower of Temptation
3x Broken Ambitions or Thoughtseize
4x Bottle Gnomes
2x Firespout
2x Infest
Stoic Day
4x Mulldrifter
4x Kitchen Finks
4x Stoic Angel
3x Battlegrace Angel
1x Twilight Shepherd
4x Cryptic Command
4x Bant Charm
4x Wrath of God
4x Condemn
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Scourglass
Land-base incomplete
Solar Flaring
3x Mulldrifter
3x Kitchen Finks
2x Shriekmaw
3x Reveillark
1x Oona, Queen of the Fae
1x Sphinx Sovereign
1x Sedris, the Traitor King
3x Merfolk Looter
3x Makeshift Mannequin
3x Bitterblossom
3x Esper Charm
3x Cryptic Command
3x Wrath of God
3x Thoughtseize
Land-base incomplete
Kithkin
4x Goldmeadow Stalwart
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Knight of Meadowgrain
3x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Spectral Procession
1x Ranger of Eos
3x Cloudgoat Ranger
4x Wizened Cenn
2x Wilt-Leaf Liege
3x Oblivion Ring
3x Unmake
3x Mutavault
4x Windbrisk Heights
4x Rustic Clachan
13x Plains
Burn
4x Mogg Fanatic
4x Figure of Destiny
4x Hell's Thunder
4x Demigod of Revenge
4x Boggart Ram-Gang
4x Incinerate
4x Flame Javelin
4x Tarfire/Shock
4x Lash Out
2x Unwilling Recruit
19x Mountains
3x Ghitu Encampment
These aren't finely tuned decks except the Stoic list and the Doran Faerie list. They're soft scale decks to test with and see what unfolds.
Thanks for reading,
John Madonia
==RULES CORNER==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Q. If I have a Lich's Mirror, can I concede the game to set it off?
A. I got this question a lot after the card was first rumored, but I didn't want to answer it until I was sure. Luckily, the comprehensive rules' wording regarding conceding the game are being changed to solve this little issue. When you concede a game, first you leave the game, and then you lose the game. Since you left the game, Lich's Mirror wasn't under your control when you lost, and its effect won't happen.
Q. I lost the game, but I had a Lich's Mirror out! Once I restart, can I mulligan my new hand of seven cards?
A. While you're at 20 life, have a (possibly) fully stocked library, and seven cards in you're hand, you're not actually restarting the game. You're stuck with whatever those seven cards are, and if it's a bad hand you're going to die again very quickly.
Q. Can I cycle a Resounding Roar even without a creature in play to give +6/+6 to?
A. With no one around, you can roar as loud as you like... your opponent might give you a funny look though. You can cycle Resounding Roar without a target, because the cycling ability itself doesn't require a target. Its triggered ability won't go on the stack because there's nothing to target, but you'll still be drawing a card.
Q. With Dragon's Herald, can I sacrifice a Sprouting Thrinax to go get a Hellkite Overlord?
A. No, you need to sacrifice three creatures - a green creature, a red creature, and a black creature. I'm not sure why it takes three creatures to find a big, angry dragon, but it does. You can sacrifice the Dragon's Herald as part of the cost, since he's red and his ability doesn't require him to also be sacrificed. That way, you only need two other creatures. I kept trying to think of a joke starting with "So a green creature, a red creature, and a black creature walk into a bar...." but I don't want a mass un-subscription of Islandhome....
Q. I have an Empyrial Archangel out and my opponent attacks with a Kederekt Creeper that I don't block. When the damage is redirected to the Archangel, does it die from deathtouch?
A. It will. Redirected damage is still coming from the same source, so Kederekt Creeper is just taking the long-route to get to the Archangel. It'll try to deal two damage to you, but that damage will just be redirected to Empyrial Archangel and deathtouch will trigger. It's important to note that deathtouch doesn't care if the Archangel has shroud, because the combat damage trigger doesn't actually target anything.
A. I got this question a lot after the card was first rumored, but I didn't want to answer it until I was sure. Luckily, the comprehensive rules' wording regarding conceding the game are being changed to solve this little issue. When you concede a game, first you leave the game, and then you lose the game. Since you left the game, Lich's Mirror wasn't under your control when you lost, and its effect won't happen.
Q. I lost the game, but I had a Lich's Mirror out! Once I restart, can I mulligan my new hand of seven cards?
A. While you're at 20 life, have a (possibly) fully stocked library, and seven cards in you're hand, you're not actually restarting the game. You're stuck with whatever those seven cards are, and if it's a bad hand you're going to die again very quickly.
Q. Can I cycle a Resounding Roar even without a creature in play to give +6/+6 to?
A. With no one around, you can roar as loud as you like... your opponent might give you a funny look though. You can cycle Resounding Roar without a target, because the cycling ability itself doesn't require a target. Its triggered ability won't go on the stack because there's nothing to target, but you'll still be drawing a card.
Q. With Dragon's Herald, can I sacrifice a Sprouting Thrinax to go get a Hellkite Overlord?
A. No, you need to sacrifice three creatures - a green creature, a red creature, and a black creature. I'm not sure why it takes three creatures to find a big, angry dragon, but it does. You can sacrifice the Dragon's Herald as part of the cost, since he's red and his ability doesn't require him to also be sacrificed. That way, you only need two other creatures. I kept trying to think of a joke starting with "So a green creature, a red creature, and a black creature walk into a bar...." but I don't want a mass un-subscription of Islandhome....
Q. I have an Empyrial Archangel out and my opponent attacks with a Kederekt Creeper that I don't block. When the damage is redirected to the Archangel, does it die from deathtouch?
A. It will. Redirected damage is still coming from the same source, so Kederekt Creeper is just taking the long-route to get to the Archangel. It'll try to deal two damage to you, but that damage will just be redirected to Empyrial Archangel and deathtouch will trigger. It's important to note that deathtouch doesn't care if the Archangel has shroud, because the combat damage trigger doesn't actually target anything.
==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!
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
October 4th (Saturday): Shards of Alara release event at FNC
More details soon!
October 5th (Sunday): Shards of Alara release event at Brothers Grim
More details soon!
October 4th - December 28th: PTQ Season for PT Kyoto
The next PTQ season kicks off October 4th, and the format is Shards of Alara sealed deck!
PTQs in our area this season:
10/11 - Edison, NJ
10/26 - Rochester, NY
11/22 - Philadelphia, PA
12/13 - New York, NY
12/27 - Edison, NJ
10/11 - Edison, NJ
10/26 - Rochester, NY
11/22 - Philadelphia, PA
12/13 - New York, NY
12/27 - Edison, NJ
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 631-470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 631-698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 631-470-7984
==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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