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This week in Magic: Feelings, Bannings, and PPTQS
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015
Welcome back to another “This week in Magic.” For our time together we’ll be covering several topics. To start things off let me share my experience at the first PPTQ held at the Abington store on January 11. On a Sunday, I felt we had a pretty good turn out. I can’t remember exactly how many people showed up, but I believe the attendance was somewhere around 50. I can definitely tell you there were six rounds of swiss with a cut to the Top 8.
Losing gracefully
The reason I want to share my experience at the PPTQ is because I was reminded about something important. As Magic players, I think it’s safe to say that we’re mostly competitive players by nature. By this I mean losing is not an option we take lightly. Winning is obviously preferred. If losing does happen, we’d rather not talk about it and, sometimes, we’d rather just move on.
However, at some point or another, we’re going to have to accept losing and take it with grace. In fact, it’s the only way, as players, we’re going to get better at the game. Let me pose a question to many of you out there. This question doesn’t just apply to those who play Magic. This question applies to anyone who plays any kind of game.
What tends to be your initial reaction when you lose? Do you rage and flip tables? Are you the type that suddenly becomes quiet and refuses to talk to even your closest friends? Well, whatever happens, I feel like keeping it in is the worst thing you can do.
I lost a close match at that PPTQ. Actually, I felt I should never have lost that match. I admit I went into thinking I was going to win, or at least, I should win. However, I also reminded myself of terrible past experiences where I lost matches to players who had only been playing for a couple of months.
When I lost that match, time stood still for me. I imagined flipping the table at screaming at the top of my lungs. Of course, in real life this didn’t happen. I kind of just stared off into the distance. All the while my opponent had continued to talk to me expressing how he thought he shouldn’t have won that game and how lucky he was to get such a “great opening hand.”
It’s time like that which are the most humbling. I may have been a little bit distant at the very end of that match. When it was all said and done, and my slip was passed in, my friends had come up to me and asked how my last match had gone. Obviously I had replayed some of the table flipping I imagined, but, in the end, I laughed and said, “I just got my butt whipped.”
Take your loss and move on. Why is losing so important? Losing makes you such a better player both in terms of play and sportsmanship.
Recent changes to banned/restricted list
In other news, Wizards of the Cost released their latest changes to the Banned/Restricted list for all formats. For those of you who may have missed the daily memo here is a breakdown of what happened:
- Modern – Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, and Birthing Pod were all banned. Golgari Grave-Troll was unbanned.
- Legacy – Treasure Cruise was banned. Worldgorger Dragon was unbanned.
- Vintage – Treasure Cruise was restricted. Gifts Ungiven is no longer restricted.
Standard players typically need not worry about these kind of rulings. Rarely have they been affected. However, as you can see, if you play an older format, then you may want to pay attention whenever these announcements come out.
I believe for a while we all knew out of Jeskai Ascendancy, Treasure Cruise, and Dig Through Time, that one of those was going to be banned. Right before the announcement was made, many people had made up their mind that the enchantment was most likely to get the axe. As we all know by now, this was not the case and the news certainly shook things up a bit.
Treasure Cruise is not a surprise. Like I said, it was one of three to be banned. Dig Through Time may have been a tiny bit surprising. I can see the banning of one card or the other, but to ban both at the same time caught me off guard. I can see it though. If you aren’t playing with one, you’re going to use the other. Each card has almost the same effect in regards to getting a player tons of information for a potentially small amount of mana. Banning both cards at the same time was probably the right choice.
As far as Birthing Pod is concerned, why wasn’t this banned earlier? Some may have felt that the people at Wizards needed a little more convincing. Well that certainly came in the form of Siege Rhino.
In the end, I understand why the bannings took place. It will definitely shake things up in Modern. As far as Legacy goes, I feel it just removes UR Delver from the equation. Which isn’t much if you ask me.
Upcoming events
As a quick wrap up, I just wanted to remind you all that this Friday, January 23, is the Fate Reforged Fatpack Challenge. These have been a great hit and a wonderful reason to open up more packs. So, if you think you have what it takes to take on the challenge, click here for more information about the event.
Finally, on January 25, there will be another PPTQ held at the Abington store. The format will be Standard. Doors open at 10 AM, Registration at 11 AM, and Round 1 Pairings at 12 PM. For more information on this event, click here.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: banned, Fat Pack Challenge, legacy, Modern, pPTQ, restricted, Simeon Cortezano, Vintage
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This week in Magic: Fate Reforged prerelease
Thursday, January 15th, 2015
Guess what time it is! It’s prerelease time! For this edition of “This week in Magic” we’re going to go over some first timer tips and tricks, as well as some of the cards you may want to keep a close eye for if you want a chance to win some of your prerelease tournaments this weekend.
First timer advice
This is it. You’ve watched your friends long enough and now you want to try your hands at Magic: The Gathering. For your first, official event, you’ve decided to come to the Fate Reforged prerelease. Well here are a few tips and tricks that will help you out at your first event.
- Stick to a 40-card deck – Don’t go to 41 or 42, and it’s illegal to play with 39.
- The secret to a well-balanced deck is to play 17 lands and a mixture of 23 creatures and other spells. There are times you can even go 18 lands and 22 creature and other spells. As a last drastic move, you can go as low as 16 lands and 24 creature spells.
- Don’t play all five colors in deck. When it comes to the Limited, you usually want to play into two colors. Kudos to you if you can play one. I think that the farthest I will take this idea is with three colors.
Mardu, Sultai, Temur, Jeskai, or Abzan
One of the first things you’ll need to do when you register for the event is choose a clan. In the end, there really is no wrong or right answer. However, I do have my own personal preference. Mardu was my clan of choice during the Khans of Tarkir prerelease. There is a good chance I’ll be choosing them again.
One thing you need to keep in mind is how many packs of what you’ll be getting in the prerelease kit. For this event, each player will get one pack of Khans, one seeded pack according to the clan chosen, and four packs of Fate Reforged.
With that in mind, there is still a good chance I will choose Mardu again. It’s the most aggressive clan out of the five. In my experience, early aggression has always seemed the best route for myself. The entire idea is to keep playing early threats and force your opponent to deal with them. In a Limited format that the prereleases are, there is a limited amount of removal. In this case, you are left with a couple of options. The best option is to be playing Mardu as well. Early aggression is well fought against with early aggression.
Removal, removal, removal
This leads me to my next prerelease reminder. Like I’ve said before, removal comes in limited numbers. No matter how bad it looks, consider running it.
An obvious removal spell you’ll want to look for is Black’s new board wipe. Crux of Fate will definitely be a limited bomb. There is nothing like ruining your opponent’s game plan by resetting the battlefield. Crux of Fate is also interesting because of the two modes available. So whether or not you’re running a crew of dragons, this spell going to mess up someone’s plans.
Douse in Gloom is another card I am a fan of. This card reminds me of Pharika’s Cure which is still in Standard. At a casting cost of three mana, it feels a little slow. However, it makes up for it in specific mana cost. Thus making it a little more versatile.
Removal spells will be in higher demand thanks to the reintroduction of dragons into the format. For this you can look for spells like Valorous Stance and Sandblast. Red’s Bathe in Dragonfire is another great removal spell for those pesky dragons.
Sleeper spells
In every prerelease, there is a spell or two that come out of the gates and surprise people. These are just some spells that really stick out to me and could have a great impact on your game.
I feel that the top sleeper spell has to be Fascination. This is an X spell that not only draws you card, but mills your opponent. This card alone can end a game. However, multiple copies of this spell in the late game is almost a certain victory.
Wrap up
That pretty much wraps up this week’s blog post. Don’t forget that this week’s prerelease events kick off at midnight this Friday at both store locations. For more information you can click here for the Forum page. Here you can find the times and Limited formats that will be available at each store on each day.
It should be a pretty busy weekend. Hopefully you’ve done the smart thing and pre-registered for the event to make sure you get the clan you want. If you haven’t yet, there should still be time.
One last thing before I let you go. There should be a lot of people attending the event this weekend. Do us a favor and take some pics of you and others playing! We’d love to show off some of the sights we get at both stores. Maybe we’ll even put them up here on the website. Also, don’t forget to tag Battleground Games & Hobbies on Facebook if you post your photo there!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Fate Reforged, Prerelease, Simeon Cortezano
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This week in Magic: Your first pPTQ!
Thursday, January 8th, 2015
Welcome to another edition of “This week in Magic.” For this week, we’re going to cover the upcoming pPTQ that will be hosted at the Battleground Games & Hobbies – Abington location on Sunday, January 11. With these major events opening up to local game stores, the idea is that many new players will be making their first appearances at a competitive REL event.
First of all, when I speak of “Competitive REL,” what I’m trying to say is that you’re not a FNM anymore. This is the big leagues and you better be on top of your game. There is no such thing as “Can I take that back?” You’ve got to live with the consequences of your actions. However, don’t let this scare you into never attending a competitive REL event. We all had to make our first appearances. That’s what friends are for, and, hopefully, this article will help you be ready and be confident at whatever event you attend.
Pencil and paper
When I attend an FNM, the most common way many people keep life is with dice. The is completely fine at an FNM, but if you go to the pPTQ on Sunday, I highly recommend bringing a pen and some paper to write on. There are many things that can go wrong, and keeping life total is something you want to make sure NEVER goes wrong. It’s happened to everyone. Don’t be afraid to confirm that both players are looking at the correct, current life totals. There is nothing worse than attacking all out and your opponent contesting that your life count is different from theirs when resolving damage.
Also, get in the habit of making a small note as to what caused the damage. There is no such thing as being too prepared. Unfortunately, there are people out there who try to shortcut things and this, sometimes, can lead to cheating. As long as you’re aware of what’s going on in the game, you’ll be fine.
Buy some new sleeves
My personal pet peeve is dirty sleeves. I’m looking at you Ken Briscoe. At these events, expect to spend money on some new sleeves. It’s one of the best precautions you can take to make sure you don’t get into trouble. Dirty sleeves can actually cause you to get called out for “marked sleeves.” Don’t take any chances.
“During a match, a player may request that a judge inspect an opponent’s card sleeves. The judge may disallow the card sleeves if he or she believes they are marked, worn, or otherwise in a condition or of a design that interferes with shuffling or game play. In the interest of efficiency, the judge may choose to delay any change of sleeves until the end of the match” (an excerpt from Rule 3.10).
In addition, I know a lot of you love your Bacon sleeves. However, when it comes to graphics or anything, I try to avoid them. A nice, plain, and solid colored sleeve will do you just fine.
Some additional good habits
Here are some additional personal things I like to do before every match. As soon as I sit down, I take my sideboard out, count it and make sure it’s all in there. Finding that you have a side board card in your main deck during the first game can lead some serious problems. In fact, I’ve actually begun doing this before and after every match. It only takes a minute or two and it’s worth it.
Shuffling has been a huge issue recently. For reference, here is the entire section on shuffling,
“3.9 Card Shuffling
Decks must be randomized at the start of every game and whenever an instruction requires it. Randomization is defined as bringing the deck to a state where no player can have any information regarding the order or position of cards in any portion of the deck. Pile shuffling alone is not sufficiently random.
Once the deck is randomized, it must be presented to an opponent. By this action, players state that their decks are legal and randomized. The opponent may then shuffle it additionally. Cards and sleeves must not be in danger of being damaged during this process. If the opponent does not believe the player made a reasonable effort to randomize his or her deck, the opponent must notify a judge. Players may request to have a judge shuffle their cards rather than the opponent; this request will be honored only at a judge’s discretion.
If a player has had the opportunity to see any of the card faces of the deck being shuffled, the deck is no longer considered randomized and must be randomized again.
At Competitive and Professional REL tournaments, players are required to shuffle their opponents’ decks after their owners have shuffled them. The Head Judge can require this at Regular REL tournaments as well.”
My method of shuffling is taking my opponent’s deck and splitting it in half. I then take one half and shuffle them in between one another. I do this about three or four times. Finally, to avoid any thought I may have manipulated the deck via my shuffling, I’ll cut the deck into three piles; one on top of the other.
In the end, the important thing to remember is that these tournaments have judges for a reason. Even after all that, if my opponent feels something is wrong, they have every right to ask the judge to shuffle the deck.
This leads me to one final tidbit. Don’t be afraid to ask for a judge if you are not sure about anything. Communication is extremely important in this game. Calling for a judge for clarification is always the right thing to do. Just like in school, there is no stupid questions. Not only will you learn from the judge, but it will help with any future problems that may occur.
Wrapping it all up
Remember how I said to bring some pencil and paper? Well this is important because you’ll be required to fill out a deck list. That’s right. You’re required to fill out a form with your name, DCI number, and the contents of your main board and side board. This helps for reporting and to make sure there is nothing illegal in your deck.
The pPTQ this Sunday is Standard, so don’t show up with your Modern UR Delver deck.
It’s also important to get a good night’s rest. Being tired will only make it hard to think, and thinking is 90% of the battle. Also, eat a good breakfast. Not only is it the most important meal of the day, but it will help jump start your metabolism and get the energy flowing.
Finally, have fun. We are playing a card game after all. If you happen to lose, don’t get angry. Sit back and think about what went wrong. Talk about it with your friends. If you learn from your mistakes and improve upon them, you’re guaranteed to go a long way.
That’s it for now. Hope to see you all at the pPTQ on Sunday. For more information click here for the Facebook event page. Don’t forget to like this article and share it on all the social medias.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: 1/11/2015, Magic the Gathering, MTG, pPTQ, Simeon Cortezano
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts, Store Related | 6 Comments »
This week in Magic: Happy New Year!
Thursday, January 1st, 2015
Welcome to the first “This week in Magic” of the new year. Now that we’re in 2015, we can finally look forward to the PPTQ being held at the Abington store on January 11. Hopefully you and your friends have been practicing and feel ready to go. If not let me offer some advice and insight as to what you may see at the PPTQ.
Since the introduction of Khans into the Standard format, we’ve been lucky to have a healthy dosage of variety. No longer are the days of Mono Black dominating the format. You can have your choice of any of the five clans.
Jeskai
This is probably the clan I am most familiar with. I started the new Standard format playing Jeskai Tempo. This was the most popular deck at the time. It packed some of the most mana efficient creatures in the format with Goblin Rabblemaster and Mantis Rider making the cut. However, the deck would see some changes over time trying to find its true identity. Soon, combo versions would make their way into the format via the first Pro Tour bearing the name Khans of Tarkir. There we would finally see the Jeskai Ascendancy deck people had been murmuring about. It was a slightly crazy concept, but proved to be powerful nonetheless.
That leads us to the latest version of the deck. I remember when I first played the Jeskai Tokens deck. Everything about the deck felt so right. In a way, it made perfect sense why certain cards were designed. The amazing synergy between Hordeling Outburst, Jeskai Ascendancy, and Stoke the Flames is one of the most powerful interactions in the game I’ve ever seen.
Thanks to the extreme popularity of “Whip” decks, Jeskai Token players have had to restructure their plans. How have they done this? MTGO results have shown that players have reverted back to the original Jeskai Tempo build which contains more midrange and control elements.
Sultai
The emergence of “Whip” decks have seemed to taken over the format. However, this is a little different from when Mono Black dominated the format. Mono Black dominated the format due to the overall strength of the deck. “Whip” decks have taken over due to their overall popularity. The deck is just fun to play.
The Sultai version of the deck utilizes the Sultai leader, Sidisi, Brood Tyrant. As a 3/3 for four mana, it’s okay. However, it’s abilities to mill your deck and make a zombie token are great bonuses. More milling means more problems for your opponent. You want to see things like Doomwake Giant and Hornet Queen make their way into the bin. When the Whip does make it’s way out, things become a lot more difficult for your opponent.
If Sultai is not your thing, you can always look at the Golgari version of “Whip” decks. In this version of the deck, Sidisi is replaced for a much more stable mana base as well as Pharika. Although, I have seen some versions pack both Pharika and Sidisi into the deck. It may be a little greedy, but with their powers combined, anything is possible.
Abzan
There are two directions you can go with Abzan. You can either go the aggro route, or you can go the midrange path. However, looking at most of the lists, there is very little difference between the two. The standout card is Heir of the Wilds. The two drop is there to help get the party started a little bit earlier than expected. The midrange tactic, though, is the most popular and, in my opinion, the better option of the two.
Let me start by saying that Anafenza is one of those creatures that, when she hits the table, make you say, “Ugh.” Sitting at 4/4 for three mana, she is out of Lightning Strike range. So now we have to look to hard creature destruction to take care of her. Also, as a 4/4 she’s a lot larger than most creatures and can definitely take care of herself. Things get even worse if you were able to land a Fleecemane Lion or Rakshasa Deathdealer on the board before she came down onto the battlefield.
Of course, we can’t forget everyone’s favorite rhino, Sige Rhino. This guy is such a beast that he’s even making his way into the Modern format and even redefining on the most powerful decks in the format, Birthing Pod. It’s a 4/5 for four mana and casting it alone causes a six point life swing. Did I mention that it has trample? That is something you don’t want to forget, especially if you through a goblin token in front of it hoping to “chump” block it.
With some of the best removal spells at it’s disposal, there is no wonder why this deck is at the top of the game right now.
Mardu
Some people call it control and others like to call it midrange. Either way you see it, Mardu competes just like the rest of the field. This is the only deck in the format that is able to utilize, what I think, is one of the best removal spells right now. Crackling Doom is probably your best bet and answer to deal with Sylvan Caryatid. A turn two Caryatid typically means your opponent is setting up for something, and if they’re not, they at least have a solid defense blocking your way. Crackling Doom not only deals your opponent two damage, but it gets rid of that pesky 0/3.
I think Butcher of the Horde doesn’t get enough credit in the format. I mean, it is a 5/4 for four mana. If you’ve got a token or two free, you can make your Butcher gain haste, lifelink, or vigilance. Obviously, swinging for five damage of turn four is pretty nice, but the possibility of gaining life at the same time can be devastating.
Mardu is also one of the only decks in the format that uses multiple planeswalkers. What’s so important about this? Consdering that most of the other “top tier” decks in the format either use one or no planeswalkers, Heroic Downfall has been on the decline. That means that it’s a lot safer to play your Sarkhans or Sorins with little fear that they’ll fall victim to this one-for-one.
Temur
Out of all the clans, I feel that Temur is the weakest one. However, that means it has the most potential to grow. While the addition of Blue hasn’t caught on to many players, there are those who have just stuck to playing Red/Green. Keep in mind, I talked about Anafenza being a problem when she hits the board as a 4/4 for only three mana. A similar creature is Savage Knuckleblade. However, this creature is a lot more nimble than Anafenza. In fact, Savage Knuckleblade is so versatile that it has even snuck it’s way into Modern.
In a format that is being dominated by creature based decks, Temur still stands a chance in the format. With this deck, you just want to land the biggest and baddest creatures onto the battlefield. Don’t worry if your opponent has creatures too. Your team is poised to be superior in the long run. Also, don’t forget about the Ferocious mechanic. This mechanic rewards you for controlling some of the biggest monsters in the game. So look to cards like Crater’s Claws and Stubborn Denial to give you a sleight advantage.
It may not be the top dog right now, but we have Fate Reforged to look forward to. Some of the preview cards have already shown the emergence of the dragons we knew were going to be in the set. It shouldn’t be long until one of those dragons is the right fit for this clan. That’s when we can stop calling it R/G Monsters and start calling it Temur Monsters.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: abzan, jeskai, mardu, pPTQ, Simeon Cortezano, Standard, sultai, temur
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This week in Magic: Standard Jeskai Tokens
Thursday, December 18th, 2014
Welcome to another edition of This week in Magic. For this week, we’re going to take a beak from Modern UR Delver and take a look at a deck I’ve been playing in Standard, Jeskai Tokens. As for my experience, I’ve played the Jeskai Ascendancy combo deck as well as the Jeskai Control deck. Both were fun to play, but I actually had more success with the combo deck. I’ve always felt that the control (or “Midrange”) deck was lacking something. Thanks goodness for the Japanese and Yuuya Watanabe.
At the World Magic Championship we got our first look at the new Jeskai Tokens deck. As I watched it in action, it occurred to me, “Why didn’t anyone else think of this sooner.” It’s almost as if this is how all of the cards were designed to work together. Here is the list that Yuuya played for reference:
Main deck:
3 Battlefield Forge
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
3 Flooded Strand
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Hordeling Outburst
1 Island
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
2 Jeskai Charm
4 Lightning Strike
2 Mountain
4 Mystic Monastery
2 Plains
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Seeker of the Way
3 Shivan Reef
4 Stoke the Flames
2 Temple of Epiphany
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Treasure Cruise
Side board:
1 Anger of the Gods
4 Disdainful Stroke
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
3 End Hostilities
2 Erase
2 Glare of Heresy
2 Magma Spray
Some strengths of the decks
This deck has a really great flow, and feels like it curves out better than the midrange version. The midrange version had some awkward moments. There were times when you just couldn’t get a 2cc body onto the battlefield. This left you open for numerous attacks. With the addition of Raise the Alarm you can freely run you Seeker of the Way onto the battlefield. Even if it gets removed via a Lightning Strike or other removal spell, you can rest assured because you can count on Raise the Alarm as a confident back up plan.
The token generators plus Jeskai Ascendancy combine for some silly plays. You literally get the best of both the combo deck and the midrange deck. In one playtest sessions, I came across the scenario of drawing into three copies of Stoke the Flames. Of course, on the battlefield, I had both White Soldier tokens and Red Goblin Tokens. So, convoking Stoke the Flames was certainly an option. In fact, I needed to stop the game and get help to assess the situation in order to clearly see what my best plan of action was at this point.
Needless to say, while the deck does have it’s amazing offensive moments, the deck still has it’s weakness like any other.
Some weaknesses of the deck
Something you need to remember is that the effects of Jeskai Ascendancy only last until the end of the turn. When the effects end, your tokens go back to being 1/1’s. With 1/1’s, there is not much you can do against Sylvan Caryatids, Coursers, and Sige Rhinos. Did I mention that 2/2 Zombies can be a problem as well?
I think at this point, we all get how ridiculously powerful Stoke the Flames is. However, something that I think people forget is how expensive that spell is to cast. Sure, it has convoke, but you sometimes need creatures on the battlefield for this to work. It’s not the downfall, but it doesn’t help that it costs four mana to cast. I wonder if it’s at all possible to cut the number of Stoke the Flames down to two or three copies. What would this do for the us in the long run? Well, it could alleviate some mana issues I’ve seen the deck have.
That leads me to this next point. Jeskai Tokens is very greedy when it comes to mana. I want to do so much, especially on turn three. I think by cutting down on the number of hard casting cost spells, we might be able to combo off earlier. I know I said this deck was the best of both worlds, but let’s face it, we want to be able to utilize the Ascendancy as much as possible. Could it be possible to cut down on the Lightning Strikes as well? I’m not saying to cut them entirely, but down to a number like two.
So far, I’ve cut two copies of Stoke the Flames and two copies of Lightning Strike. Now let’s introduce some new additions to the deck. Here’s a small list of cards that may be viable:
- Crowd’s Favor
- Devouring Light
- Triplicate Spirits
Okay, I admit that Triplicate Spirits will probably not make the cut. However the first two cards are realistic possibilities. Another card I’ve had suggested to me was Defiant Strike. The first thing you’ll notice is that the card doesn’t have Convoke. However, it does draw us a card which might be huge. One mana cantrips are always very enticing.
Some final thoughts
I was watching Paul Cheon streaming the deck last night and he brought up a very interesting thing about the deck. He felt that this was a deck that didn’t need to run four copies of Treasure Cruise. Some people may call him crazy for thinking this, but what if he’s right? I guess the only real way to find out is to actually do it. However, let’s take a minute to reflect on this.
If you think about it, the only real time you maximize the power of Treasure Cruise in this deck is when you’re able to delve for the full amount. You’d also need to have Jeskai Ascendancy in play to sweeten the deal. This is not always the case though. I mean, you don’t always get the chance to delve for the full amount. In some situations, I’ve had to wait a turn or two in order to fill my graveyard to the delve depth.
With this in mind, let’s put back some of the Lightning Strikes. This way we can still burn our opponent out if needed. After all of the changes we’ve talked about, the deck would look something like this:
2 Chandra, Pyromaster
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
4 Hordeling Outburst
4 Jeskai Ascendancy
2 Jeskai Charm
4 Lightning Strike
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Seeker of the Way
3 Stoke the Flames
2 Treasure Cruise
2 Defiant Strike
1 Crowd’s Favor
Well, that’s it for this week. Go out and try some of the changes we’ve talked about and let me know what your results were. See you next time!
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
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Tags: jeskai tokens, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | 2 Comments »
A holiday gift guide by Sam Pearson
Thursday, December 18th, 2014
Cold wind howls through the trees. The sun flees the skies early, leaving the world in an icy gloom. What do you do?
Well, you probably start thinking about holiday shopping! And if you’re looking for RPG gifts this season, here are a number of great options for the roleplayer on your list. All of these products are available at either Battleground Games & Hobbies location, or you can check out our D&D selection on our online store!
The Beginning: Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set
Know someone who has always wanted to give D&D a try, but never had a chance? The Starter Set has everything a new player needs to start on that amazing journey of imagination! With five pre-made characters, a handy rulebook, and an awesome adventure to bring characters from first to fifth level, the Starter set is the first step to a lifetime of RPG fun!
Something Different: Fate RPG
Maybe the roleplayer on your gift list wants to try something new, or has a great idea for a superhero/cowboy/space opera adventure… with dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs. If unbridled storytelling is what you’re after, look no further than Fate! The Fate RPG offers all the tools a gaming group needs to build their own setting (any setting) and play deep, story-based adventures with any character they can dream up! Lots of interesting rules options can be found in the Fate Core book, or try the slim and easy-to-learn Fate Accelerated book for a quick, cheap, but no less complete introduction to one of the top ten RPGs in the world!
Hilarious Holiday Disaster: Fiasco
If you want a zero-preparation RPG that everyone can play together this holiday season, you should take a look at Fiasco. Based on movies like Fargo and A Simple Plan, Fiasco lets you play out stories where everyone has big plans… and everything goes horribly wrong. If you want to exercise your malicious side and need a break from Cards Against Humanity, Fiasco is always a good option. Check out the episode of Tabletop if you want to see it in action!
The Big One: D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide
So many gamers tell the story of receiving a DMG as a gift, setting off a lifetime of storytelling. If you know someone who wants to run D&D games of their own, this brand new book is one of the best gifts you could ever give. Packed with hundreds of pages of inspiration, tools, and advice, this beautifully illustrated book is sure to cause excitement right out of the wrapping paper!
Stocking Stuffer: More Dice!
Nothing rounds out the holiday shopping list like a shiny new set of dice. Both Battleground Games & Hobbies locations offer a huge variety of dice sets, ranging from the simple to the devastatingly pretty. And let’s face it; nobody can ever have too many dice.
Whatever the preference, Battleground Games & Hobbies has something for the RPG player in your life. And don’t forget to come on down for D&D Encounters on Wednesday nights to see these games in action! Enjoy the holidays, and keep on gaming!
About the author
Sam is a passionate gamer who obviously loves his Dungeons and Dragons (see photo above). When he is not playing games he can be found working on his next novel. Did we mention he also works for Battleground Games & Hobbies? He does!
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Tags: dice, DND, fate, fiasco, gift guide, Holiday, RPG, sam pearson
Posted in Blog, Dungeons & Dragons, Featured Author, Featured Post, Popular Posts, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | 1 Comment »
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