Seriously Part Deux

I know I'm trying to make this a "clean" blog so people take me seriously...but in all honesty...i just came in my pants.

Seriously?

Because Jund needed another reason to be any better than it already is. Guess it's time to join the crowd.

Getting My Bearings Back

So lately I've had a lot of trouble not getting upset about losing when I play Magic. I think it's because of where I'm at as a player. And I think this ties in to my rant on the reserved list. I am becoming what I ranted against and hate most. I am becoming someone who cares more about the monetary aspect of the game than the game itself. I've gotten into the mindset where if I can't go top 4 at an FNM and get promo cards and prize packs, there's no reason for me to go.

This is the worst kind of player and it's exactly the reason why I was excited that BHJ created a tourney at the Rotunda Mall because most of the guys who play up at Legends are these types of players.

This game is supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be a GAME. Somewhere along the line I have forgotten that and I need to find my way back to where it's a game first and winning tourneys is secondary. That is my goal in the next few weeks.

For those that don't know I will be running Standard tournaments of my own at Collectors Corner MD on Harford Rd in Parkville starting April 3rd. Signups at 11am and we start play at 11:30am. This is in no way meant to intrude on the Rotunda's business which is why I'm doing the tourneys when I'm doing them. I figure those that don't play Magic League or on Magic League off weeks can come support my tourney. This month we're giving out promo Baloths and Kor Firewalkers. In addition 2 packs per entry for the prize pool. Come out and help me get back into enjoying this game ya'll!

Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY! Bows at the feet of Wizards for making such a Timmytastic card. I'm crying it's so beautiful.

Now to just create a Summoning Trap deck to play the bastard.

Seriously...look at it!!!!!!

The Reserved List - A Final Thought

First of all, we all know that Wizards has made an official decision on all the Reserved List hoopla that we all have been hearing recnetly. I would say a great many of us don't like this decision but at least they made one.

I think it comes down to this, and it's readily apparent by Twitter posts in which members of R&D can't discuss the decision in great detail. This was a legal decision that is perpetuated by Hasbro being afraid of a class action lawsuit should they change or even do away with the list. Yes that's a very real and very valid reason for them to have made the decision they made. And if you think that's BS please understand that there will be at least ONE greedy collector who can convince a lawyer to take on the case. And remember a class action lawsuit does not require that everyone who could be a plaintiff participate. It only takes one people.

So that's that. You won! Enjoy your overpriced cards and enjoy the fact that hard working people who enjoy this game will not be able to participate in Legacy. And let's not even talk about Vintage.

Congratulations to Wizards for doing what needed to be done to keep the game safe. I appluad them for that. My only complaint, and not really a complaint since it's nothing that they've done wrong, is that Wizards is clearly being punished for a decision that got made by people who are no longer with the company. A decision which they know hurts the game. Just continue doing what you're doing guys, putting out a great product that excites us everytime it comes close to a new set release.

In other news, I'm excited for Rise of the Eldrazi! Who's with me?

Reserved List

So I have been reading about the handling of the reserve list for quite some time now. Especially in the wake of articles by Ben Bleiweiss on www.starcitygames.com and also the forums on www.mtgsalvation.com

That being said I finally felt it was time for me to make my opinion known. The reserved list puts the game in a box. The policy basically says, "If you were around since the beginning, great! Enjoy the Legacy and Vintage formats. However if you're new to the game, we're not going to make it all easy for you get into anything other than Standard." I would even make the case that Extended can be hard to break into. I digress. The point is everyone goes on and on about how the value of their cards would go down. So? Let me ask you a question; what do you care more about? The health of the game over time or your own investment in the game? If you answered yes to both GREAT. You should care about your investment. But if you solely care about the investment and don't give a rat's ass about the health of the game, then we have a very serious issue.

Listen people, they aren't going to reprint power and if they do it's going to be in very limited formats and I honestly don't see it making much of a price difference on the older version. People still want that card and are willing to pay for it. What getting rid of the reserve list does is allow cards that have VERY LITTLE value in the first place anyway, a chance to be reprinted or functionally reprinted, or whatever they want to do.

Wizards needs to make the game accessible to a large range of players who want to play a large number of formats. I myself would love to get into Legacy and Vintage, but I have a mortgage and there is no way in hell I'm spending that kind of money to get into the format. Wizards has just lost one player to a format that they are trying to push more. And I know for a fact that I'm not the only person to feel this way. I'm one of thousands. Yes it's true that the recent turnouts in GP Legacy and Vintage events has been staggering. But take a moment to reflect on how many people actually showed up with T1 decks that could compete. People came because they want to be able to play with every card they've ever bought. They don't want to be restricted by Standard, where you are investing so much more over time to stay current.

The point is the reserved list serves one purpose, to keep the value of cards for collectors and sellers. That's it. That's what it boils down to ladies and gents. These people want to ensure that their Underground Sea will still sell for $90. They care about the value of their card, not the game.

I love this game (yes even though it frustrates the hell out of me) and I want to see the game continue to grow and see the success that it has recently been seeing. The game is not slowing down anytime soon, but it needs room to grow. The final word is that the Reserved List helps keep the game from growing. Think about it....

Optimus Prime Control

Okay so I've been battling the internal demons for awhile now to build an actual control deck with counterspells in it and I finally broke down and did it. I hate you very much to both Big Head Joe and Joey Pasco.

Anyway my version of this deck is to control the board via burn and counter. I can win in one of three ways. I can pop off Jace's ultimate on the Mind Sculpter version (as soon as I get one more of these I will be taking the other version of Jace out of the deck), load up a Pyromancer's Ascension and burn away, or a combination of Sphinx of Jwar Isle and Calcite Snapper.

Speaking of Pyromancer's Ascension, I think it's absolutely wonderful in this deck. Imagine having it out and being able to cast a kicked Into the Roil. Return two permanents to their owner's hands and draw two cards for four mana. EFFICIENT.

I like the way this deck plays out. I have a little trouble with aggro decks that are fast, but from playtesting I've still won a game on just 1 life. Once I get to a certain point, it's impossible for me not to control the entire board.

I'm open to suggestions on how to improve this and NO I am not open to making this grixis colors. I like only having two colors and I think that having three takes away from what I'm trying to do with the deck.