NOT SO RAGOST ANYMORE
NEW!
I just can't give up on the idea of having 3 'commanders'. I dabbled with the idea of using Othelm instead of Hargilde today, and there is suprisingly some resemblance of a theme.
In the old version with Ragost as the commander, the theme was very limiting and the play patters grew to be very repetitive. Classic case of it sounds cool but actually not very fun in practice. I also realized that I wasn't making full use of Zirda.
In this rendition, the theme is (looking to be) combat (goad) and graveyard focus.
So Bjorna goads by saccing artifacts (that can also be creatures) and Zirda makes it so that creatures can't block and reduces the cost of Othelm's ability. Maybe Bjorna can ping our own creatures so Otheim can bring them back (maybe too crazy but the possibility is there)?
So this will be a 4-color (WURG) deck, that has 2 commanders and a companion, focusing on combat, reanimation, artifacts and maybe politics?
Sounds fucking AMAZING!
I went to Japan and got some LEGENDARY cards
Spent theis morning goldfishing so I kinda have a functioning list so why not write an update
So I went to Japan and of course I had to visit Hareruya, after all it's '"The Place" for Magic: the Gathering fans!' as they say on their website. I came to the store a total of 4 times. I went multiple times because I fucked up my order the 1st time, got to the store too late to fix my order the 2nd time, finally got the cadrs I needed the 3rd time and had nothing to do so I went for the 4th time. I had 2 main goals going to Hareruya. 1. Pick up cards to finish my Izzet Terror Pauper deck and 2. Pick up cards for this blog's deck. Both required weird/kinda hard to find cards not readily available where I lived. And I was looking for cool souvenir cards on the side and some that my friends needed as well. So what did I actually buy for this list?
This is my current list, in it the cards I got from Japan are:
I got other cards as well of course but they're currently not in the deck so I'm not listing them here.
I've realized that I really like the Legendary subtheme in this deck so I just went full throttle into it. This also means that the artifact theme is dialed down now (Osgir felt especially awkward this morning, still keeping him in for now tho), but I actually like that, because I already have an Artifact deck that I love and I don't like my decks feeling the same. For Bjorna's ability, I think just having some artifact token producers and cantriping artifacts would be enough.
Last week I actually went to my LGS and played the deck. I played 2 games. The 1st one I think I won (?) So it got to a 1v1 and I had Protective Sphere in play against a mono red deck and they just conceded. I think they were a newer player and got tired/frustrated so they just quit. But hey a win is a win, and it was the deck's 1st game at that! The 2nd game was quite uneventful, got stomped (as expected) by the Jodah player (Phyrexian Praetor tribal is unsuprisingly very good when your commander is broken Martin). BUT after the game while I was putting the new cards into the deck, the other Martin (husband of the store owner) said my deck was weird. And it's extra funny comming from him, who just played a gambling Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge deck and has a, what I can only describe as, 'artifact masturbation' Ratchet, Field Medic deck, which whenever transforms he makes the Transformers tranforming sound. We both share a passion for dumb builds, only that his are kinda dumber.
Things are kinda coming toghether
Just attended Lorwyn Eclipsed prerelease and got some new toys!
PRERELESE REVIEW
Quite a lot of people attended the event (I played on Saturday but I think even more played on Sunday), that's what happens for actually having a good in-universe MTG set! Prior to the event things kinda got spoiled a bit by people reportedly getting TMNT rares as their prerelease promos AND Wizards removing the prerelease stamp, but fortunately no turtles invaded my LGS. For the promo, I just took a fine tip permament marker and wrote the date next to the set symbol. I actually experimented quite a bit for this, using all kinds of pens (gold, POSCA, permament) trying multiple styles but settled on this. It doesn't obstruct the text or art and is reminiscent of old prerelease stamps which I like. Might try other colors next time.
In terms of the event itself, I did quite good! I finished in 4th place so just missed getting a prize pack. I cobbled up toghether a GW Kithkin deck with a bunch of changelings. I actually really really like changelings in this format, they're so versitile and fit into so many strategies. The craziest thing that happened was that I managed to get swing with a 20/18 trampler for the win in one of the games. My pulls were also not too crazy, got 2 Hallowed Fountains tho, one got into this blog's deck of course and my friend Long traded the second one for a Bloom Tender that he pulled, which OF COURSE is for this blog's deck! Additionally, Giang pulled a full art double sided Temple Garden which I bought.
This is my current list. I actually went over an overhaul of all of my decks and decided to dismantle a few, so the deck's mana base is quite good now.
The deck is coming toghether quite nicely. I've came to the conclusion that this is a strictly Bracket 2 deck.
On a side note, although I was skeptical when WOTC took over EDH, the Commander Format Panel has done a great job managing the format, especially for introducing the Bracker system.
From the 5-ish games I've had with the deck, it feels really satisfying once it "does the thing", which is something like playing The Seriema to tutor for Anzrag, the Quake-Mole, which stations The Seriema to give itself indestructible, so next turn it can use its ability to force blocks and constantly attack with a flying Seriema for the win. Or just simply removing all the counters on Dark Depths in one turn with Zirda. Yes, these synergies are all very clunky and mana expensive, but that's why this is a bracket 2 deck. The problem always is getting to the point where I can "do the thing".
The problem boils down to an ineffective distribution of card effects. Being a deck that has many potential play paths in one game, I find it hard to find the right balance. One aspect I greatly overvalued was 'Zirda protection'. Because Zirda is a Companion, not a Commander, if it were to get removed, I can't just replay it from the "Companion Zone". But I've realized that since I have so many play paths, I usually don't even need Zirda on the field. The same was for Haste providers, I had Footfall Crater in the deck, thinking I could just Cycle it if I didn't want it. But again BECAUSE the deck has so many play paths, I usually either don't need it; it's too expensive (I have to tap a land to use it, in a 4-color deck); or I won't have enough mana to activate the creature's ability in the same turn I cast it anyways.
The solution, as The Command Zone suggests, was to add more card draw (as i was writing this sentence, I realized that BoP is not really good here, since I only have 7 lands that can tap for green on turn 1, can't bolt the bird if I don't have one. Replaced it with Windfall). Additionally, Bjorna never really contributed to games, to the point there was no real point to cast her besides enabling Bloom Tender or Faeburrow Elder. So I added more artifacts that drew cards. Some of them are Bag of Holding (always the 101st card, but it goldfished well), Living Lectern and Combat Courier (these 2 I saw on Archidekt, from other lists that had the same Commander-Companion combo, making me realize I'm not as hipster as I thought, noooooo). Some other additions that I really like are Voldaren Thrillseeker (found it in my LGS' binder, interesting removal/fling effect), Skyserpent Seeker (isn't this just Simic Baleful Strix, also 420), Rhys, the Evermore, and Derevi.
Finally, as it's tradition now, This is my current list.
The deck consistently feels good to play now!
Had a trip to Hanoi recently and visited Floating Dojo for the first time. The location is great, people were friendly and manged to pick up some cool cards! Namely Tome of Legends and Azor's Gateway providing additional draw power, as well as a FNM 2010 copy of Qasali Pridemage that I vastly prefer the art over the old one I had.
Additionally, I've traded to add some cards that have really been overperforming. Loot, the Pathfinder is the only card of the character whose art I don't completely hate. And it's no suprise that having Ancestral Recall and Lightning Bolt on a stick is good. My friend Huy, whom with my girlfriend and her brother have been having weekly commander nights, traded me a copy of Linvala, Shield of Sea Gate and although there is no way in the deck to trigger her party ability, just having a Flying 3/3 that provides protection to the whole board feels really nice (Although I did play with the idea of adding things that interact with types/give Chaneling like Oko, Lorwyn Liege or Mirror Entity since there are some cards in the deck that would also benefit from this kind of effect, but there isn't enough of them to make the change). I played it 30 minutes after he traded it to me and I think he alredy reggreted it. Finally, the BIG trade is a copy of Minamo from my friend Derek. I traded away a copy of The Ozolith that I cracked from a pack, which I actually really wanted to make good use of the card for years but never found a home for. I got the LOTR version of Minamo, or Dol Amroth, but I don't really mind. The art is great and the building looks like Tolarian Academy. Guess my list is not budget anymore.
UPDATED DECK DESCRIPTION
Just realized that the deck might have gone through quite a few changes in both philosophy and gameplan, so I'll describe it in its current state.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: 4-color (WURG), Bjorna & Othelm partner pairing, with Zirda companion. Bracket 2.
STRATEGY: Legendary tribal. Midrange. Play and attack with creatures while trying to keep them alive.
POWERFUL CARDS: Relic of Legends, Otharri, Suns' Glory, Bloom Tender, Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Minamo, School at Water's Edge, Captain Sisay.
PET CARDS/CARDS THAT MAKE ME FEEL SMART FOR PUTTINF THEM IN THE DECK/JUST FUN: Skyserpent Seeker, Puca's Eye, Protective Sphere, All-Fates Scroll, Heirloom Epic, Voldaren Thrillseeker, The Mana Rig, Plargg, Dean of Chaos//Augusta, Dean of Order, The Deck of Many Things.
I was planning to write a short blog post about unexpectedly finding a card I've been wanting to get, but that is so obscure that I don't even actively look for it. But then I thought I should write about the reason that led me to find the card, new players joining my playgroup, since that is more interesting. But then I realized I haven't wrote about my playgroup. So now you are getting a long blog post that is going to talk about all of the above, and probably more.
For the past 3 months, I' ve been playing Commander almost every week with a dedicated playgroup! And I have to say, this has been the most fun I've had playing Magic in a long time. My playgroup consists of me, my girlfriend (Nai), her brother (Giang) and Huy, whom prior to this I've only met a few times at limited events at our LGS.
I think it was at a Lorwyn Eclipsed draft, when me and Huy were chatting after the rounds and he mentioned that he wants to play more Commander but hasn't been able to because his schedule doesn't let him play on weekends when most other people play at our LGS. So I suggested what if we made a seperate playgroup that would play on weekday evenings; since me, Nai and Giang live toghether, our schedules are flexible and I've been wanting to intoduce them further into the game. And that's it, we exchanged contacts and met up the week after that at a near boardgame cafe and played.
My PlaygroupWe've been playing mostly Commader, and while I was quite tired of the format prior to this, having a dedicated playgroup of people I know and playing at a lower power level has revigorated it for me. I've been playing Magic for 10 years and it feels refreshing to play with other players who are relatively new to the game, like I get to see actual excitement when they discover something. At the same time, this environment has allowed me to build the janky decks I love, including this one! For years I've been lementing the fact that I had to build 'optimized' decks in order to keep up with other decks' power level, since to the core, I'm a Johnny that lovel building to most janky decks. All of this combined, playing with close friends and building janky decks, makes me feel like I'm back in highschool playing with my classmates on our dorm bunk beds.
Our last session was joined by 2 more of our friends, Oliver and Khue, and we helped them build their first Commander decks, using Oliver's childhood collection that his mom brought from America, specifically because he wanted to start playing again after seeing us play. And it was so fun! For me it felt great to see older cards from before I was playing and recognize/show Oliver the good cards that he had. He had a Coat of Arms, a Mesmeric Orb, a bunch of Mirrodin Talismans and notably I traded him for a playset of Myr Enforcer (for Pauper Affinity) and a copy of Jinxed Choker, which I've been looking for since Day 1 when this blog's deck was still Ragost! The coolest things he had was his old-bordered basics tho, some were even foil which looked so sick. I should start taking more photos for this blog.
Magic is in the GatheringWriting this, I start thinking about the people I've met playing Magic. I started playing in middle school and I was the only person I knew that played Magic (I seriously think I was one of the 10-ish people in Vietnam who knew about the game at the time). But I still brought my only 2 decks from the Mind vs. Might Duel Deck to school to play with my friends, and we had a great time slinging spells and trying to figure out the rules and the stack and how Storm actually worked.
Then for high school, my parents sent me to a boarding school, so I would stay there for a whole week before going home in the weekends. Everyday after class, we (the kids who stayed in the school dorm) would have 2 hours to have dinner, shower, and do any extra culicular that we wanted before going to evening class, and while most played football or bandminton or went jogging, I stayed inside and played Magic, and it was through Magic that I started to make friends at this new school! Fast forward to 12th grade, this is when things went crazy. So for 12th grade at my boarding school, we had to stay there for 1 MONTH! instead of 1 week before we could go home, and keep in mind that at my school we weren't allowed any personal electronics like phones or laptop or even MP3 players and we didn't have access to the Internet, even books were strictly regulated, basically it was as if we were in prison. AND, Covid-19 was happening while I was in 12th grade, so instead of social distancing at home, we all just stayed there at the school for MULTIPLE MONTHS without any contact to the outside world. So yeah it was absolutely CRAZY.
However, through this whole ordeal, I had my Magic decks, and I had my friends. So everyday we would speedrun dinner and shower to maximize the amount of time we had to secretly play Commander without getting caught by the dean. And honestly that was the most fun I've ever had playing Magic. I've said it a couple of times but there's no other way to describe our situation other than crazy. Just imagine being a 18-year-old that has no access to the Internet and technology, that is isolated from the rest of the world which is literally dying from an unprecidented pandemic, while being told to focus on our studies and pick a university. Oh and dating was banned in our school as well. Magic was the only thing to keep me and my friends sane.
After graduating from high school, I moved to Hochiminh City for uni, and there's an actual LGS there! However, that LGS is honestly not a nice place to play Magic. I'll not say much, other than the owner played MONO BLUE URZA STAX against me (still a noob cuz I've only played with the cards me and my friends shared, never ordered singles before) in the my FIRST GAME at the LGS. Like I know the bracket system wasn't a thing yet, but WTF!? I didn't even know what Stax was. It actually took me years till I realized the toxic environment at this LGS and stopped playing there. My advice is if you don't have fun or don't fell welcomed playing/being somewhere, just don't do it, it's not worth it.
But now I play at Geeky Mart, a way better LGS where the players are actually nice and the owner actually talks to you instead of just grumbling!
And the timeline is at where we're now, and I want to share one more story that happened recently because I love writing so much and can't stop. About a month ago me and Nai helped organize this noise show, and after we've finished setting things up and the bands were taking turns testing, one of the performers, Mitch, came and chat with us. Somehow Magic got mentioned and he said he has never played it but wants to try. So me being the cunning instigator I am, gave him a (not so) brief explanation of the game and urged him to try it out. And because there was a bakesale happening that weekend that I was also helping with, I invited him to come and I would bring my decks to show him how to play. And he did came to the bakesale! And because Oliver was also there, we just had a table where we played Magic. On that day we also met Bat who also plays and Nai even started showng her friends how to play. So overall it became this unexpected gathering of Magic (damn I'm so good at writing) and it really felt meaningful that to share the love of this nerdy interest with new friends.
That is the end of today's blog post. The deck doesn't have any new signifiact changes (yet), but I do have some ideas (putting more artifacts into the deck cuz I love artifacts and they make Bjorna actually useful), but I haven't tested out/played with it so it'll hopefully be in the next post.
WTF SOS prerelease is delayed because some guy tried to smuggle gas out of Vietnam.