Jitte is the strongest limited card of all time, it completely invalidates creature combat for your opponent as a way to stabilize or win the game, which means 99% of limited decks are drawing dead against it.
Gideon in ROE is probably #2 since there were so few answers to him, fewer than answers to Pack Rat in RTR I think. Same reasons as Jitte here, cards that invalidate your opponent's combat step are disgusting in limited (This is also why I was scared of Vault of the Archangel when it got spoiled but it turned out to play fair due to the tempo loss of activating it).
Pack Rat could certainly be top 5 though I'm sure there's a few I'm forgetting. Bonfire/Entreat are not close.
― ciderpress, Friday, 2 November 2012 19:20 (eleven years ago) link
also note that Gideon was a lot less overpowered in M12 so context is pretty important here too
― ciderpress, Friday, 2 November 2012 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
The Rat stands apart from most bombs in that you would almost always keep 6 lands + Rat as your starting hand. Gideon + 6 lands in ROE is a bit harder decision, though I guess keepable depending on the matchup; in M12, definitely a mulligan. (And Entreat the Angels + 6 lands is your deck giving you the finger.) Most bombs need at least some minor support to win, but the Rat wins on its own. That said, I agree Jitte was a more broken card in its block. It was kind of the perfect storm for it - slow underpowered format that had lots of stalls, not much artifact removal. Much harder to answer than Rat.
Masticore probably in the top 5 based on stories, but I wasn't playing at that time.
― Vinnie, Friday, 2 November 2012 19:43 (eleven years ago) link
Exactly! I've heard stories of how, if you get TWO Pack Rats, you can play 38 Swamps and just mull until you find one, and STILL win most of the time even if you're going to 3-4 cards. I can't think of ANY other card like that (not even Jitte!)
Bonfire/Entreat are not close.
Yes and no. Without Miracle they still feel bomby but are very mana intensive obviously (you really need 7+ mana for a *big* effect). But with Miracle, they're among the most powerful effects ever to hit Limited. Playing against one of those cards, the feeling is pretty much ALWAYS "I have to race here because if they draw it, I'm dead". But as a whole, yes, not as good, because as Vinnie mentioned you can draw Entreat in your opener where it's either a worse Serra Angel or a 7 mana bomb that you may not be alive for (and I highly doubt you'd wait for 9 mana).
cards that invalidate your opponent's combat step are disgusting in limited
This + cards that are insane without mass removal. Pack Rat is no good in constructed because they can all get Supreme Verdicted away. In general anything that creates creatures every turn is going to be insane in Limited. Phyrexian Processor was another card that would just win the game right away. But at least you could Disenchant that.
― frogbs, Friday, 2 November 2012 20:43 (eleven years ago) link
Like a "Limited all-stars" list would be something like this:
JittePack RatLoxodon WarhammerOblivion StoneMasticorePhyrexian ProcessorBasilisk Collar
Of these, I'd say Jitte and Pack Rat are easily #1 and #2. Interesting how many are artifacts. I hesitated to put Basilisk Collar on here, but the thing really is insane in basically any style of deck. With the exception of Pack Rat these were all good Constructed cards too. Can anyone think of a card with a bigger disconnect in Limited/Constructed value than that? Can you even imagine one?
Also, honorable mention to the following format warping commons:
Rancor, Pestilence, Rolling Thunder, Armadillo Clock, Sparksmith, Sprout Swarm
― frogbs, Friday, 2 November 2012 20:51 (eleven years ago) link
Siding out your deck for Lost In The Woods and 43-or-so Forests circa INN/INN/DKA?
― etc, Friday, 2 November 2012 21:53 (eleven years ago) link
i never lost to that though, there were maindeckable answers at common. one time i was in red-black so no enchantment removal, but i had olivia and rage thrower so i just killed all my own creatures with olivia and burned them out.
― ciderpress, Saturday, 3 November 2012 03:58 (eleven years ago) link
Wow, people must really hate golgari. I was getting passed crazy b/g cards tonight and took a couple opponents for a ride on the pack rat express. I can't believe someone passed me this ridiculous unbeatable card. Here my deck:
Deviant gleeGiant growthUltimate priceDrudge beetleGatecreeper vine Pack ratDaggerdrome imp x 2Thrill-kill assassin Grisly salvageGolgari keyruneDead Reveler x 2Sewer shamblerStab woundDead RevenantDesecration demonKorozda monitorJarad's ordersSluiceway scorpionCorpsejack menaceDeath's presence (foil)Assassin's strike
Golgari Guildgate Forest x 6Swamp x 10
After wrecking the first two matches with pack rat and desecration demon, I ended up getting killed by stab wounds out of a Rakdos deck. Still ended up in 2nd place and we t home with 3 prize packs, a personal best!
― Moodles, Saturday, 3 November 2012 05:40 (eleven years ago) link
homersimpsonboxing.dec
― frogbs, Saturday, 3 November 2012 06:02 (eleven years ago) link
everyone seems really caught up in drafting superfast limited decks lately. i have just been kicking back, prioritizing trestle trolls, and durdling them to death. had great success today with a 5-color axebane deck, for real. it helped that i got passed a bunch of splashy bombs, of course. i guess i'm just saying keep your eyes open for the possibility to play slow decks, cuz they are good.
― fennel cartwright, Sunday, 11 November 2012 11:01 (eleven years ago) link
yeah hhaha i was tired of the 2 color aggro decks so at FNM the other night i drafted golgari splashing Mercurial Chemister. it felt good, though i had to play my roommate in the first round and he's better than me and had a strong deck so i didn't get the payoff for it
― ciderpress, Sunday, 11 November 2012 18:41 (eleven years ago) link
i've seen 5-color axebane decks work. playing against turn 5 Risen Sanctuaries is really tough. this is really kind of a board position format - good offensive creatures vs. good defensive creatures, and a couple that are both. Frostburn Weird and Orge Gatekeeper are both excellent because 4 power and 4 toughness are both super relevant. unfortunately Gatekeeper needs help but hey, it at least powers up Axebanes (and remember that even with a Gate out, Axebane gives you an extra mana when you have the Ogre out - an interaction I bet many many people miss). only issue with those decks is that Stab Wound can really destroy you.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 00:40 (eleven years ago) link
even if that deck can work in some games, can you really count on getting the right draw? also getting passed enough axebane.
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 00:52 (eleven years ago) link
the idea is to pick up 2 in pack 1, then start getting bombs then hopefully another one in pack 2 or 3? I agree it's risky. Gatecreeper Vine helps a lot with this too.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:07 (eleven years ago) link
or I guess my other q is, lets say you're full out going for this - what cards do you prioritize? it seems like your need for picking up mana fixing ends up taking up lots of your best picks
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:08 (eleven years ago) link
well lots of high-mana stuff like Sanctuary comes around late. but I'd say obviously you kind of transition into it after the first pack, then you go for bombs and guildmages. can't say I've ever built it myself, just that I've seen it work. you pick the strongest card in every pack.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 01:17 (eleven years ago) link
i think that's the wrong approach to that deck - to me it's something you fall into AFTER you draft some bombs/guildmages. if youre only ramping into axebane stags and horncallers chants then you were in the archetype for the wrong reason, not that those are bad to have but you want something higher impact before you move in on them
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:07 (eleven years ago) link
like you just can't draft expecting to be passed top tier cards
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:08 (eleven years ago) link
yeah but I guess I'm wondering at what point you realize it's worth it
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:09 (eleven years ago) link
yeah this is what I mean to say, bombs/guildmages > manawalls, basically. if your first pack shakes out that way you can go for it but of course it's true that you can just wind up ramping into nothing
that said, 4 or 5-color green actually does kinda work even without a bunch of Axebanes. Basically built a base G/W deck that splashes two colors for rares/bomby guildmages/good commons like Stab Wound - you draft a lot of gates, Gatecreeper Vine, Axebane, the Promenade land, etc ; slow mana base but your average card is much better than your opposition (hopefully). You can even go 16 lands this way. Just not passing on power rares/uncommons gives you a lot of ways to win. Maybe the most fun deck to play too since the interactions are so much stranger. It's easy to grab lots of Gates if there are 3-5 different ones you want to play, which makes Ogre very good of course.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:20 (eleven years ago) link
like this is one I drafted recently:
2 Gatecreeper Vine1 Axebane Guardian1 Dreg Mangler3 Ogre Gatekeeper2 Voidwielder1 Centaur Healer1 Growing Ranks1 Righteous Authority2 Centaur's Herald2 Knightly Valor1 Slime Molding1 Eyes in the Skies1 Stab Wound1 Kurodza Guildmage1 Towering Indrik1 Trostani's Judgement1 Arrest
1 Grove of the Guardian4 Various Gates12 Basic Land
First pick here was the Grove, then Growing ranks, then a Herald, Eyes, etc. Picked up Gatecreeper late in the pack which was nice. Then pack 2 all the good Golgari stuff came + an Axebane and Vine and a late Voidweilder which I quite frankly hated out. I got a late Azorius Gate and thought that maybe I could go for it. Pack 3 I got a pick 3 Righteous Authority which I didn't have to pass. I guess this isn't really too wild but suffice to say between the 3 manawalls and 4 gates I never had any mana problems. My early game sucked but turn 4 Ogres and turn 5 Voidweilders really tend to slow things down.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:34 (eleven years ago) link
that's an interesting deck and it does seem playable. but I think the gap between that and a slightly worse version of that deck is probably enormous.
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:36 (eleven years ago) link
that deck is kind of a bad example because it was one of those weird swiss drafts where you get pick 9 Centaur's Heralds and pick 5 Guildmages. but the idea is that it allows you to take advantage of good late picks like Voidweilders instead of playing like a Crocodile or something. i've done it going G/W/B/r where I splashed an Auger Spree and a Carnival Hellsteed too. basically Green/anything and late picks like Vines or Axebanes or off-color gates really set you up for it. I've seen a lot of Gates come pick 10-12 so you can grab those and if things shake out you wind up playing them.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 04:43 (eleven years ago) link
won a draft last night with bellows lizard
i'm slowly making my way through the checklist for this format, the goal is always to play every card legitimately in limited - i got pretty close with innistrad, was only missing a few rares, graveyard shovel, and infernal plunge iirc
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:18 (eleven years ago) link
AVR was a good format for this because you often had to really stretch to get 23 playables :/
Anyway one word of warning for 4/5 color green is that when you're playing something like 2 Axebanes, a Gatecreeper, and a Keyrune, if you're also running 17 lands then you basically are playing 21/40 cards as mana sources. Meaning if your opponent is drawing 2-3 removal spells you can easily just stall out because you have to get a little luckier to win a topdeck war. I feel weird going to 15 lands but 16 seems doable if you have the Vine.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:29 (eleven years ago) link
yeah but each mana source is statistically less useful to your situation (early game) and you're also increasing your mulligan chances
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:33 (eleven years ago) link
I think I'm just too risk averse for these kinda decks
― iatee, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
i didnt even try for AVR, too many stone unplayables like grounded rather than just the super niche things like moonmist or wreath of geists. RTR's are much closer to the latter luckily
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:34 (eleven years ago) link
would you ever pick cards like lobber crew or doorkeeper for a deck like this or do the core defenders need to be in green?
― Moodles, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:44 (eleven years ago) link
w a quick glance thru the RTR card list, search warrant and search the city are the only cards for which i can't think of a situation that i'd play them. theres some others with extremely narrow cases though like racecourse fury that i won't be bummed if i never get to use
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:47 (eleven years ago) link
actually i just thought of one for search warrant but i don't expect it to ever happen
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 14:52 (eleven years ago) link
i won't pick either of those Moodles - Armory Guard, Ogre Gatekeeper, and Trestle Troll are all good 4+ toughness guys that go with Green's "friendly" RTR colors
― frogbs, Tuesday, 13 November 2012 15:48 (eleven years ago) link
lived the dream today, and beat a pack rat deck. it helped that i had both supreme verdict and detention sphere.
― fennel cartwright, Wednesday, 14 November 2012 07:12 (eleven years ago) link
had a strange draft tonight, was well into azorius when I opened a pack rat. ended up with:
lyev skyknightnew prahv guildmageazorius keyruneseller of songbirds2x trostani's judgmentazorius justiciaravenging arrowarmory guard skyline predator paralyzing graspisperia's skywatchvoidwielder 2x inaction injunction2x inspiration syncopate cyclonic rift stealer of secrets tower drakesoulsworn spirit transguile promenade+pack rat and one swamp.dnp blustersquall x2 cancelarmory guard azorius arrester rogue's passage
― iatee, Saturday, 24 November 2012 04:38 (eleven years ago) link
looks good, i think i like cancel better than paralyzing grasp though and i'd consider keeping it real and playing azorius arrester over pack rat, i dont think this deck needs the rat
― ciderpress, Saturday, 24 November 2012 07:44 (eleven years ago) link
I like that Search the City and Sphinx of the Chimes belong in the same currently undiscovered deck (it is probably not a very good deck)
― Gravel Puzzleworth, Saturday, 24 November 2012 12:17 (eleven years ago) link
I seem to like grasp more than most people...has saved me against a lot of bombs, tho I guess I had the white removal too. only drew the rat twice in ten games, it helped win one and was killed immediately in the other. it was def an aspirational inclusion and maybe would slightly hurt this deck's win percentage over a hundred games.
one card I really underrated until recently is inaction injunction.
― iatee, Saturday, 24 November 2012 16:38 (eleven years ago) link
i dunno, i'm okay with Pack Rat splash there, more concerned with Syncopate over Arrester
― frogbs, Saturday, 24 November 2012 17:39 (eleven years ago) link
won a sealed tournament yesterday for a Commander's Arsenal. i don't play commander nor do i care about any of the cards in it but it's a very limited print run thing and seems to be selling for $200+ on ebay already, so i guess i'll just stash it in my closet and hope it builds value as a collector's item or something.
my top8 draft deck was pretty silly and really demonstrates what you can do in multicolor formats if you're willing to take mana fixing over decent spells:
1 archon of the triumvirate1 sphinx of the chimes1 isperia's skywatch1 rubbleback rhino1 towering indrik1 ogre jailbreaker1 korozda monitor1 runewing1 trestle troll1 axebane guardian1 drudge beetle1 doorkeeper1 centaur's herald
1 rakdos's return1 syncopate1 explosive impact1 launch party1 inspiration1 stab wound2 ultimate price
1 selesnya keyrune1 azorius keyrune
2 transguild promenade2 izzet guildgate1 rakdos guildgate1 azorius guildgate5 forest4 swamp2 island
i had no idea if this was any good when i finished drafting it but it won out surprisingly easily so i think i'm going to try it more often
― ciderpress, Monday, 3 December 2012 14:22 (eleven years ago) link
rufus had a Pizza: The Gathering party for his 10th birthday. him and 10 magic-loving friends.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/68868_10151939698352137_245334417_n.jpg
― scott seward, Monday, 3 December 2012 14:41 (eleven years ago) link
the game store here in town is magic central and that place is PACKED on friday nights for tournaments. i'm happy for them. its a crazy scene there.
― scott seward, Monday, 3 December 2012 14:43 (eleven years ago) link
when I was a 10 y/o all of my magic cards were in piles exactly like that one
― iatee, Monday, 3 December 2012 14:48 (eleven years ago) link
I also ate a lot of pizza
but I eat more pizza now, because I can buy myself pizza
things went exactly as planned
― iatee, Monday, 3 December 2012 14:56 (eleven years ago) link
Awesome job Ciderpress!
I'm definitely warming up to the Axebane Guardian multicolor strategy. I dipped my toe into this during my last draft a couple weeks ago although it was more of a Golgari deck splashing red. The bonus ramp from Axebane + defenders really helped a lot.
― Moodles, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:04 (eleven years ago) link
Also, I wish my son would have a Magic pizza party. I'm the big dork in the house who has to twist his arm to play a game or two with me, even though he usually beats me.
― Moodles, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:06 (eleven years ago) link
xxxp - overall I think this deck can definitely work, but you're really vunlerable to bad draws, especially with no Vines. either you don't get the color you need or the opposite happens and you get too much mana and your opponent removes the few creatures you do draw. this kind of deck seems to really rely on stalling out early to get the big stuff to work. I guess I'd have to see it in action but I'm guessing you had enough to stall out (lots of x/4s there) until the Archon dropped? (which is such a stupid card, really)
― frogbs, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:10 (eleven years ago) link
yeah it seems like if you make it to late game you are prob in a very good place cause your average card is better than their average card, but it's gonna have way more variance than a solid rakdos deck
― iatee, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:14 (eleven years ago) link
exactly. I'm noticing the same with going 2 colors as opposed to 3. with 3 colors I don't really lose too many matches without getting color-screwed at least one game. with 2 I don't have the mana problems but my average card isn't as good and the deck lacks depth. I think there are ways around this - I'm starting to get really good with Golgari and balls-out Izzet, while being more mindful of "if you're going to splash a 3rd color, try to not go below four-drops or powerful three-drops for that color"
― frogbs, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:22 (eleven years ago) link
I almost always end up w/ a pretty traditional 2 color guild deck. prob due to my risk aversion on some level.
― iatee, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:28 (eleven years ago) link
i honestly don't think there's much variance introduced from playing 5 colors if you actually draft enough fixing. a normal 2 color draft deck has 9 sources of one color and 8 sources of the other. my deck has 8-9 sources each of green, black, and blue, and 5-6 sources each for red and white. even on the 2 'splash' colors that's much better mana than you normally get splashing a card or 2 off of 2-3 off-color sources or whatever
i think the solid rakdos deck has at least as much variance, since if you get behind on board to another aggressive deck at all then suddenly your deck is full of wimpy on-curve creatures that can't block a 3/3 instead of over-curve creatures that attack well. this has happened to me a lot and it feels awful
― ciderpress, Monday, 3 December 2012 15:41 (eleven years ago) link