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Flash Flushed Away

Finally, Flash is dead. Finally I can play legacy again. Everything becomes normal again. Or does it?

Today, Aaron Forsythe released the new B/R list on magicthegathering.com with the good news. Anyway, I think that the errata + banning set up any changes: Due to HulkFlash HanniFish was a very popular choice and I think that a lot of people will play this deck more often from now on. Furthermore I think Goblins will slowly disapear. Of course you will see a lot of goblins the next months, but I think that Flash just where the format will go: The Epic Storm and CRET belcher among others become more consistent from block to block and will finally kill this "lousy" Turn-3-kill aggro-deck - and this future sight will may have an impact already. I'm a bit sad about that, because thats what I like about legacy - its a very diversified format. On the long term, I'm sure, combo will just outrange aggro.
Mind over Matter and Replenish are 2 new combo-cards to help out, but you shouldn't be afraid of them, as they are probably a bit to slow for a format, were the fundamental turn slowly goes down from 3 to 2. Actually I'm happy about the unbannings, as I never really understood why they're banned in legacy.

Just my thoughts...

Magic League

I discovered the Magic league.
Today I played 8-person single elimination TS constructed tourney. Due to the single elimination, I played only against 2 opps before I got eliminated. I played with the following list:

// Lands
9 [TSP] Island (1)
1 [TSP] Urza's Factory
4 [TSP] Terramorphic Expanse
7 [TSP] Forest (2)

// Creatures
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [FUT] Maelstrom Djinn
4 [PLC] Groundbreaker
1 [TSP] Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
4 [TSB] Wall of Roots
2 [TSB] Mystic Snake

// Spells
4 [TSB] Psionic Blast
4 [TSP] Cancel
3 [TSP] Chromatic Star
3 [TSP] Careful Consideration
3 [PLC] Harmonize
3 [PLC] Utopia Vow

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [TSP] Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
SB: 3 [TSB] Spike Feeder
SB: 3 [FUT] Riftsweeper
SB: 4 [FUT] Thornweald Archer
SB: 4 [PLC] Seal of Primordium

So its a TS version of my Tarmo.dec

Round 1 - UG control (Mattmono)

Game 1
I was quite fast and Tarmo beated well. Not much the say here, but the aggro plan worked very well.

Game 2
I sided in the riftsweepers for random beats as I saw a aeon chronicler game 1. actually it worked very well - I countered multiple chronicles and prevented him from drawing a lot of cards. on about 12 life he got a stormbind out which gave me a total of 4 damage. I finally got a teferi out, which was the only useably beater on the table next to a morph from him - which was vesuvan shapeshifter. he killed teferi with it. Then I drew Urza's factory for the win, backed up with some other beats from carddraw.

2-0

Round 2 - UG control (sandoiche)

Game 1
He drew only lands and I nearly goldfished for an easy 1-0.

Game 2
Because I expected a similar list i sided in 2 riftsweeper as well, because they were so strong in the first round. I mulliganed to 4 cards, holding a bunch of lands and a harmonize. unfortunately I didnt got one of the sweepers, when the card-advantage-machine aeon chronicler hit the table once again - this time with 7 counters on it! evil. I definitely lost when hellkite, spectral force and stormbind hit the table, so I hoped for G3.

Game 3
I was playing the full seth of sweepers again. better. unfortantely it wasnt that a bomb as in the games before - still, I wrecked one chronicler, which always seems to be an important action, as it prevents my opp from drawing a load of cards, counters a big beater and is even a 2/2 beater by itself. anyway, this time this didn't help much, as we got an a stalled game quite fast. I think I made some play mistakes here, so that he kept his 15 life points, were I was on 13... then the time was up. Anyway, He was ready to turn a spectral force and some assembly worker sideways, so I would have lost anyway.

1-2 eliminated

Pro:
Tarmo.dec for being competitive
Riftsweeper for wrecking chroniclers
The games itself for being very interesting

contra:
playing 2 times against the same deck / playing only 2 times
The time for running up so fast
me for making play mistakes


So, I'm waiting for the next T2 / block mini on magic league... I'm Jadefeuer over there, just msg me if you wanna play!

see you there

The cmc 2 Bomb

1G (2), Creature - Lhurgoyf X/1+X
Tarmogoyf's power is equal to the number of card types among cards in all graveyards and its toughness is equal to that number plus 1. (The card types are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal.)

Is he nice? He is! I like this guy so much, I even started to play standard for my very own tarmo.dec... unfortunately it needs still a lot of tuning. I try to play every card type (tribal? I won't accept that as a card type - ever.) und some cards to get the stuff in the grave. Easy plan, isnt it? But there are a lot problems, and can't get a list which has decent match-ups against the top-tier. anyway, here's the list:

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
9 [TSP] Island (1)
7 [RAV] Forest (2)
1 [TSP] Urza's Factory
4 [DIS] Breeding Pool

// Creatures
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [FUT] Maelstrom Djinn
4 [PLC] Groundbreaker
2 [TSP] Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
4 [TSB] Wall of Roots
2 [TSB] Mystic Snake

// Spells
4 [9E] Mana Leak
3 [TSB] Psionic Blast
2 [GP] Hatching Plans
4 [CS] Perilous Research
3 [RAV] Compulsive Research
3 [DIS] Simic Signet

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [9E] Rewind
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 2 [DIS] Voidslime
SB: 3 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 4 [RAV] Shadow of Doubt


Should I play it GB? GW?
More aggro?
More control?
Claws of gix? More artifacts? Enchantments?

More synergies? Less synergy for more "good" cards?

Whats with the SB?

I'm not that happy with this deck atm, but its fun to play anyway. I'd really like to get a playable version of this deck, but i definately need some help. suggestions?

"Whiteout" or how to Make Bad Cards Good

After a sleepless night last week, I was quite bored at 8 a.m. I thought about some cards I'd need to improve my decks and how to get them. Due to a cashfree wallet and an empty bank account I decided to draw them by myself. I got some permanent markers and a tipp-ex, took some old, useless cards and started to paint those. The result is... well... it's okay for me, but I'd like to know if there is an alternative solution, because to paint with tipp-ex kinda sucks. Ideas?


and... do you like the cards?

Hulk Flash - Have Fun

Hulk Flash is recently the most discussed legacy deck. Due to an "uneratta" on the part of wizards, flash has become a one-card-combo. nearly. coupled with protean hulk, disciple and some 0/0 artifacts, it wins regularly on turn 1-2... with counterbackup. I've tested the deck this afternoon (only goldfish... don't wanna disturb the mws-community ;)) and I was shocked. Especially the post-FS build kicks ass... without any effort. you can mulligan to 4 and still win on turn 1.

I hope that this deck will be wrecked on the 1st of june, when the bannings will be updated. It let me think of the ole' affinity days in standard, back when ravager and skullclamp were best friends. But actually, I still don't know which card should be banned - Flash itself is the most obvious choice and it would solve the problem. On the other hand, the unerattaed flash would be a nice addition to the format. Of course not with all the pacts from FS and the protean-hulk-instant-win.
To ban protean hulk would kill the combo as well, leaving us with weaker combos like flash- academy rector - [humility, cheese stands alone, rancor, whatever...].

Unfortunately this change will ruin the GP in columbus, which doesnt affect me directly but the legacy community as a whole and all potential new legacy players, who'll get a wrong impression of the normally so diversivied format.

sad.

Edit: It would be great if flash - rector - the cheese stands alone / barren glory would be the future - I would laugh if I'd see -this- in a competive legacy deck :o

From station to station

I've found some time and built 2 new highlander budget decks. the first one is about the different stations from fifth dawn with a lot of artifacts and acceleration (blinkmoth urn anyone?) and door to nothingness as well as goblin canon as alternate win conditions. It works quite well, at least it worked well on monday, were I had the time to test it. One game I actually won with the allmighty stations, but a returning goblin canon was much stronger than this silly 3-card-combo. All I need is time, because I'm extremely vulnerable the first 10 turns or so... oh, and one game I lost to ivory mask - now I'm playing elf + goblin replica.

The 2nd deck is a red-black aggro-control. Basically, I just want to play kaervek, the merciless and the first thought was, that an aggro-control shell would be the best place for him. While playing I lost one game after the other. Once I got him out with no destructive decks around and he dealt over 20 points of damage. I'm still sure, that this guy can be a gamebreaker, but the deck needs some improvement. Should I build a more controlish deck?