A Deck and Two More

Hi there! Been a while. Here for a few deck test updates. Remember this deck:

UW AGGRO ARTIFACTS (v2) aka STANDARD AFFINITY

Lands (23)
1 Dread Statuary
7 Island
7 Plains
4 Sejiri Refuge
4 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures (20)
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer
4 Vedalken Outlander

Spells (16)
4 Everflowing Chalice
2 Levitation
1 Obelisk of Alara
4 Oblivion Ring
3 Open the Vaults
3 Voltaic Key

Sideboard (15)
2 Dispeller's Capsule
3 Ethersworn Shieldmage
4 Mana Leak
4 Spreading Seas
2 Whispersilk Cloak

I tested with this a lot at magic workstation and found that it was still too slow. I tweaked it a little and made use of a nifty keyword that would be departing as soon:

CASCADE

Adding a card, I could play two spells for the cost of one. Nice. Given that I'm limited to two colors, I am only allowed two cascade spells:


Ardent Plea is decent. It's 3 casting cost allows me to cascade into relevant two-drops like my stormblades, overseers or sculptors. However, after that, it doesn't have much use. Exalted really doesn't have any spot here in this deck which likes to overpower the opponent as much as possible no through power (although it has the ability to do so) but with number and evasion. That's where the other card is useful.


Stormcaller's Boon offers cascade + evasion! It lets me cascade into a Master of Etherium, which is always nice. So, I chose to put this in instead. I could have put both in (maybe a 4-2, or 3-3 split), but I guessed that a dead enchantment on board is not worth the cascade it provides. So I left it out.

The earlier version of this deck retained the removal (Oblivion Ring) and the accelerator (Everflowing Chalice) in the main; both of which, in my opinion, are bad cascade targets. You can argue that O-Ring is a decent one, but the Chalice is just too bad that it had to go. Often I had games where a cascade into another artifact creature is so relevant, but instead, I would cascade into an unexciting Chalice. And, anyhow, the chalice is dead in the late game. Yes, it was there for acceleration as much as upping the artifact count for the Master, but cascading into it was just not enough of a risk for such a reward. I replaced it with some artifacts with legs. Hence, both had to go (the O-Ring stayed sideboard though).

Here's the deck I tested with:

UW AGGRO ARTIFACTS (v3) aka CASCADING ARTIFACTS

Lands (24)
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Dread Statuary
7 Island
2 Kabira Crossroads
4 Plains
4 Sejiri Refuge
1 Sejiri Steppe
4 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures (26)
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Juggernaut
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer
4 Vedalken Outlander
2 Esper Stormblade

Spells (10)
1 Levitation
3 Open the Vaults
4 Stormcaller's Boon
2 Voltaic Key

Sideboard (15)
2 Ethersworn Shieldmage
2 Mana Leak
2 Negate
4 Oblivion Ring
1 Pithing Needle
4 Spreading Seas

Land and sideboard changes

You might have noticed the strange one-ofs in the mana, namely the lone Sejiri Steppe and Celestial Colonnade. No, its not a tech. Certainly not the colonnade. I would've put 4 if I had four. The thing is i really would want to play with the cards that I do have. Hence, these 1-ofs.

Like, for example, in the sb where there used to be 4 Mana Leaks now there are just 2 plus 2 Negates. Also, changes in the sideboard were due to the fact that I just didn't use them. The cards left are cards that I could really think of siding in.

Deck Test Results

Right now, I had 18 games which I have recorded with this budget list. Here are the results: (please take note: (W-L-D), the numbers indicate games won, not match won)

ARCHETYPE
Superfriends (r/w/u planeswalkers) (0-1-0)
U/W Allies (1-0-0)
Vampires (2-1-0)
Junk (1-0-0)
Mono Blue (2-0-0)
Summoning Trap (2-2-0)
Life Gain (Soul Sisters Deck) (2-0-0)
Jinxed Goblin (0-2-0)
Fog (0-1-0) I just conceded with this one. Come'on! Against decks like these, it takes ages.
Grixis (0-1-0)

and so the record as of now is 10 Wins, 8 Loss, 0 Draws.

Let me here what you think.

Bonus decklist.

Here's an un-budget version of the artifact deck:

Lands (24)
4 Celestial Colonnade
1 Dread Statuary
5 Island
1 Mystifying Maze
5 Plains
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures (24)
4 Etherium Sculptor
4 Juggernaut
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Master of Etherium
4 Steel Overseer
4 Ethersworn Canonist

Spells (12)
4 Leyline of Anticipation
2 Open the Vaults
4 Stormcaller's Boon
2 Voltaic Key

Sideboard (15)
2 Ethersworn Shieldmage
4 Mana Leak
4 Oblivion Ring
1 Pithing Needle
4 Spreading Seas

Bonus Decklist 2


Also working on a deck from ages past centering around Master Transmuter. It was an old deck idea that really didn't live up to whatever was expected of it. Here's the list with an awesome disruption package that allows you to take control of the board as you assemble your combo pieces. Well, again, that's the idea, at least (list). Here's the budget list:

Lands (24)
4 Arcane Sanctum
3 Island
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
2 Plains
3 Sejiri Refuge
4 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures (21)
4 Etherium Sculptor
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Magister Sphinx
3 Master Transmuter
3 Merfolk Looter
1 Sharuum the Hegemon
4 Sphinx Summoner
4 Tidehollow Sculler

Spells (15)
4 Duress
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Open the Vaults
4 Spreading Seas
2 Voltaic Key

Sideboard (15)
2 Flashfreeze
4 Mana Leak
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Path to Exile
1 Pithing Needle


(Note to self: all decks listed here will rotate out when Scars comes out. Better play either one on the the next FNM.)

Ramblings VIII: Sad Things

have you ridden a bus lately?

last aug. 23, the third killer bus of the week took the lives of 8 Hongkong nationals, and that of the hostage taker, in a widely covered hostage taking crisis at the Quirino Grandstand Luneta Park, Manila, which lasted 11 hours. of course it is very wrong to blame the loss of life to the poor bus (whose doors and windows have been pounded, and whose interiors have been showered with bullets and tear gas). the one to blame, that's a topic for another post (which i would not bother doing).

this is just to say something creepy. also, last tuesday, a tricycle was hit by, guess what, another bus.


a major major win

kudos to Ms. Universe 4th Runner Up, Venus Raj for her major major achievement. everybody's major majorly tired of that expression, really.

pointing game

as always, after something nasty (like a killer hostage crisis) happens, the following events is a series of termination, hiccups, and vomiting. better keep safe distance. and to the Chinese people, please, do not think of all Filipinos as hostage-takers. such actions (like the one DH terminated because of the crisis) are narrow minded and illogical and are leaning toward racism. we apologize for one misguided soul which claimed 8 more. however, that is not enough reason to judge a whole nation. the Manila police stood up to their reputation and acted stupidly, we apologize. our president chose not to act, but that was his call. what do you want him to do? go to the site and steal the show? or better yet assault the bus and take down the hostage taker himself? he acted accordingly, so please, stop calling him an idiot.

after all of this is done. we will all forget it. "we are a nation of forgetful people," and i don't remember who said that.

Magic musings

my officemate bought a deck. just an intro pack, and he keeps suggesting that Raging Goblin is good. please, help me convince him otherwise.

no picture taking, please. thank you.

for all those stupid faces taking pictures in front of the manila bus, please. do yourself a favor and get your stupid a$$ out of there. shameful, seriously.

Mamarazzi

watched this with my GF last night. Andy Eigenmann was so sexy and so beautiful.

the movie, well, i spent half the movie laughing, the other half trying to keep pace with the story. para siyang minadali na ewan. but it was a good laugh. with uge and sweet together, you'll never get wrong.

i'll be ending this with the full trailer of the said film and with the saying: ....................................

get it?

me neither.

P.S.

i can't find a trailer for this movie that's not linked to facebook or youtube (both sites are blocked here at the office). sorry. will update later.

Fame

The bus, like a vanquished beast lay

sprawled in the middle of the road

as they go near to admire

the humor

and the dryness.

On the side of the road, a boy stands

looking firmly

on the tightly shut window

blinds admiring the spectacle

from the distance

of a shot. As the police came charging in,

children playing with cheap guns.

Then it hit the boy––

not a realization, but

a bullet.

Now he lays on a cot

eyes closed,

savoring his own fifteen minutes

of newfound

fame

before they come and carry him

away.

Ramblings VII: Pre-Work Musings

some musings before work.

on a cab.

i'm riding the cab, really, not a taxi, but on a death cab. anybody knows how to download all of their songs?

look ma, no hands, i mean fingers.

i was loitering around Time Zone at Metropoint. oftentimes i would be watching players play Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion. there was a guy playing. he was using steve fox (w/c didn't surprise me, since that character's quite popular in arcades). he was against marduk, i think. AI. and he was bashing him left and right. fair enough. but i can't quite see his hands from where i stood (you see, it's quite important to look at Tekken players' hands for that will tell you how they do the things you see them do), so i went to the other side. there i saw that his right hand (the one he uses to press 1,2,3,4) is missing four fingers! FOUR! and his thumb looks more like a wilted forefinger. amazing. i could be sitting against this guy with all of my 10 pretty healthy fingers and won't be able to do anything. he's either a tekken addict or an admirable guy with sincere enthusiasm and hardworking soul...or a bit of both.

date set.

the date is already set for our batch's swimming/reunion. sept. 18-19. hope it would be a blast.

Excited: Vampires Suck

well, this is a breath of fresh air, or not. well, am quite excited with this movie which started showing, i think yesterday, though am not sure since i know nobody who has watched it. the trailer's a blast. if you had watched the original twilight films, you will notice that everything's almost the same: the blockings, the sounds, the costume, the color pallet, everything, even the actors, to an extent (although there's something quite not right with how these people look like. hehe...well, here's the trailer. enjoy!





this other trailer has a scene where "bella" is being carried in piggy-back by "edward" with a twist. :)

Official Theatrical Trailer of Vampires Suck | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Silence - A Game

The game is called

silence.

Ready?

Begin.

Random Card Challenge

i've been quite busy these past few days. so busy that a post that i started writing last monday is still a draft. anyway, before i get to post that, i'll copy and paste something i've been doing here at the office to wake myself up. i call it RANDOM CARD CHALLENGE.

the instructions: i'll click the "Random Card" tab on The Gatherer until three standard-legal cards come up. i'll then build a deck around (meaning those three cards would be part of the victory condition) or with (meaning the cards would just be in the deck) those cards, whatever those cards would be.

here are some examples:

CHALLENGE 1

CARD #1: Angelic Arbiter

CARD #2: Crumbling Necropolis

CARD #3: Resounding Scream

i got excited when i hit the arbiter because the card was playable, but when i hit the grixis triland and than unheard of card, then the challenge was on. since it was in grixis splashing white, i thought of discard. and discard with the arbiter out would be quite tricky. when i play a discard spell, i can't attack which is fine. and the villain has to either attack or just pass...well, that didn't make sense. oh well, here it is.

ANGELIC DISCARD

Lands (24)

2 Celestial Colonnade

4 Crumbling Necropolis

2 Island

2 Lavaclaw Reeches

3 Marsh Flat

2 Mountain

2 Plains

3 Scalding Tarn

4 Swamp

Creature (6)

3 Angelic Arbiter

3 Lilliana’s Spectre

Other Spells (30)

4 Blightning

2 Countersquall

3 Diabolic Tutor

4 Lilliana’s Caress

4 Mana Leak

2 Megrim

4 Mind Rot

3 Oblivion Ring

2 Path to Exile

2 Resounding Scream

CHALLENGE # 2

CARD #1: Celestial Colonnade

CARD #2: Demonic Appetite

CARD #3: Dragonskull Summit

a bummer. two lands and an unplayable aura even in limited. however, the r/b color of the deck and the sacrifice a creature cost for the appetite made me think of a deck that has some sacrifice synergies. enchanting a mortician beetle with the appetite gives it a counter each turn while boosting it +3/+3. add some token producers and white for elspeth and voila:

DEMONIC BEETLE

Lands (24)

2 Celestial Colonnade

3 Crumbling Necropolis

3 Dragonskull Summit

1 Island

3 Marsh Flats

3 Mountain

2 Plains

2 Scalding Tarn

5 Swamp

Creatures (12)

4 Dread Drone

4 Emrakul’s Hatcher

4 Mortician Beetle

Other Spells (24)

4 Corpsehatch

4 Demonic Appetite

2 Eldrazi Monument

3 Elspeth Knight Errant

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Mana Leak

3 Oblivion Ring

CHALLENGE 3

CARD #1: Giant Spider

CARD #2: Holy Strength

CARD #3: Manabarbs

well, the first 3-color deck in the challenge. i had a hard time figuring out synergies between these cards. well, what i thought of, since the spider is a good defender, i thought of locking down my opponent's creatures w/defenders and his mana with the barbs then trying to damage him via other means. i thought of vent sentinel:

BARBED DEFENDERS

Lands (24)

3 Arid Mesa

2 Forest

4 Jungle Shrine

4 Mountain

1 Plains

2 Raging Ravine

4 Rootbound Crag

2 Stirring Wildwood

2 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (24)

2 Giant Spider

4 Joraga Treespeaker

2 Knotvine Mystic

4 Llanowar Elves

4 Overgrown Battlement

4 Raging Nimbus

4 Vent Sentinel

Other Spells (12)

4 Banefire

2 Holy Strength

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Manabarbs

well, the following two decks i built while inside the LRT. not that it influenced it or anything, just shows how dedicated i am. :)

CHALLENGE 4

CARD #1: Arc Runner

CARD #2: Ornithopter

CARD #3: Mind Rot

TWO COLORS! at last! well, b/r are the easiest and most powerful decks to build. what i looked at is arc runner's until end of turn existence and ornithipter's 0 casting cost. then i thought of sarkahn the mad. turn your runner into a dragon on the end step, or cast sarkahn, then cast ornithopter and turn it into a dragon. nice. the mind rot, well, i'll just throw in one.

RUNNING MAD

Lands (24)

4 Dragonskull Summit

4 Lavaclaw Reeches

5 Mountain

3 Scalding Tarn

5 Swamp

3 Verdant Catacombs

Creatures (18)

4 Arc Runner

4 Ball Lightning

2 Dread Drone

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Ornithopter

Other Spells (18)

1 Eldrazi Monument

4 Grim Discovery

4 Lightning Bolt

1 Mind Rot

4 Sarkahn the Mad

4 Terminate

CHALLENGE 5

CARD #1: River Boa

CARD #2: Hyena Umbra

CARD #3: Tidehollow Strix

talk about weird. this would be esper, with green. what i looked at is the boa's islandwalk ability and the strix's 3 mana cost. and then i thought of a spreading seas deck. well, at least i tried.

ESPER GONE GREEN

Lands (24)

3 Arcane Sanctum

3 Creeping Tar Pit

2 Forest

2 Glacial Fortress

3 Island

2 Marsh Flats

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Plains

2 Sunpetal Grove

3 Swamp

Creatures (15)

4 Esper Stormblade

4 River Boa

4 Tidehollow Sculler

3 Tidehollow Strix

Other Spells (21)

4 Ardent Plea

1 Canopy Cover

4 Convincing Mirage

2 Deny Reality

2 Hyena Umbra

4 Spreading Seas

4 Stormcaller’s Boon

well, that's it. you could alter the instructions for better results (like 3 rare nonland cards). you could check what the cards do by searching them here. have fun.