3x time spiral is the best draft format of that era imo but yeah the games play really differently from current stuff. lots of utility creatures with tap abilities which they don't do as much of anymore
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 19:08 (three years ago) link
also mixing the best cards from the 3 sets together probably changes the texture of the set substantially, i haven't played it but it looked like there's a lot more removal than vanilla time spiral so its probably harder to close games
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 19:09 (three years ago) link
like e.g. in the original block amrou scout was still good but you couldn't pick them up knowing you already had copies of bound in silence for it to fetch because that was in a later pack, it was only getting other low impact creatures
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 19:21 (three years ago) link
strixhaven looks corny af and is another set with novel-length double-faced rare legends to parse, but i appreciate that it doesn't do the full on 5 keyword mechanics for the 5 factions thing like a ravnica set, it looks fairly lightweight so far outside of individual rares.
learn mechanic seems the sort of thing that will give the set unique texture in draft much like a mutate or snow. while piling on a zillionth 'this card is actually n different cards' mechanic onto the current standard, what an exhausting format that is to play right now
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 19:37 (three years ago) link
I like that mechanic a lot, feels almost like a Conspiracy thing. wonder if they're gonna nerf it so it doesn't break formats like Companion or if they're just gonna have to go "whoops I guess allowing people to tutor a bunch is broken"
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 19:53 (three years ago) link
there's already a card in standard that lets you pull any instant/sorcery from your sideboard and not just a small curated subset, don't see how this will break anything that that didn't
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 20:21 (three years ago) link
oh, idk what card that is, just thinking about how a pushed version of this mechanic might make control decks really obnoxious
― frogbs, Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:24 (three years ago) link
i would rather a wish mechanic be good than the 'ramp into 7 mana win the game' that control decks are doing currently
― ciderpress, Thursday, 25 March 2021 21:43 (three years ago) link
only played a few matches of Sealed with this new set but it's pretty fun! lots of dynamic cards, nothing (thus far) seems overly broken, and the Learn/Lesson mechanic gives the deck a bit of reach. also someone just cast a Swords to Plowshares on me???
― frogbs, Monday, 19 April 2021 15:03 (three years ago) link
very cute and charming flavor too, the school thing
― davey, Monday, 19 April 2021 15:15 (three years ago) link
yeah one of my cards was like "Professor Bear" or something, incredibly cute
― frogbs, Monday, 19 April 2021 16:16 (three years ago) link
also dig Tome Shredder, literally "dog ate my homework"
― frogbs, Monday, 19 April 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
hah i didn't catch thats what that card was representing
― ciderpress, Monday, 19 April 2021 16:42 (three years ago) link
professor bear is good, top 3 common in the set imo along with frost trickster and the 4 damage red spell
― ciderpress, Monday, 19 April 2021 16:43 (three years ago) link
thus far the format seems to be pretty slow so Rise of Extus is probably up there as well
― frogbs, Monday, 19 April 2021 18:27 (three years ago) link
its good but its 6 mana so you cant really play too many copies so you cant value it that much higher than the crowd
― ciderpress, Monday, 19 April 2021 18:28 (three years ago) link
wait scratch that I misread it, I thought it returned an instant or sorcery to your hand
huge disconnect between MTGO/Tabletop prices on Magma Opus & Prismari Command, wonder why that is. neither of those cards seem very good to me but rn the Command is worth 27 tix which is insane for a normal rare
― frogbs, Monday, 19 April 2021 18:34 (three years ago) link
might be some modern application, thats the main constructed format on mtgo these days
― ciderpress, Monday, 19 April 2021 18:36 (three years ago) link
no standard play means the entire set value gets shifted into the modern/eternal cards
― ciderpress, Monday, 19 April 2021 18:38 (three years ago) link
sure but why is that card any good in Modern? seems worse than Kolaghan's Command and probably worse than Electrolyze...either way I've got one so I'm gonna try to finish this league ASAP so I can unload it for 42 tix (!!!)
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 18:20 (three years ago) link
utility card for UR decks that aren't playing black for k command. depends how important killing artifacts is re: electrolyze comparison. it doesn't have to be great in a vacuum, just has to be the highest interest rare in the set
magma opus plays cleverly with torrential gearhulk which is already used in pioneer so maybe that's whats going on there
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 18:26 (three years ago) link
ah yeah I was wondering what the 'reanimate spell' card was that would make Magma Opus work. I think of Gearhulk as a Cube card, sometimes need to remind myself those are real cards too
anyway I 9-0'd my first Sealed which is funny because I don't think I ever did better than 7-2 in Kaldheim. as someone who naturally gravitates towards U/R spell archetypes I think this set may be good for me (obviously I got tremendously lucky, but still). btw is it just me or do there not really seem to be streamlined aggro decks in the recent Limited formats? since taking up MTGO again with Ikoria I've noticed every format has been pretty grindy and time intensive, much less of the solitaire style matches where two good cheap creatures + two removal spells could win you the game by itself.
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 19:48 (three years ago) link
i haven't played any of the recent formats besides kaldheim and this but i'm told M21 was quite fast
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 20:37 (three years ago) link
if you only play sealed though then it's possible the answer is that there's been none
WR and WG aggro were the best decks in kaldheim draft once the snow lands became contested and stopped wheeling
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 20:39 (three years ago) link
yeah those archetypes were nearly nonexistent in Sealed now. whereas back around RTR there always seemed to be a good R/W archetype based around 3 power 2 drops. M21 was definitely faster than other recent formats but it was also prone to those 20+ turn topdecking wars
― frogbs, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 20:49 (three years ago) link
whipping ass at sealed and dying at draft so far in this one. my constructed half kaldheim/half strixhaven deck that leans hard on Koma & Ascended Spirit w/all snow lands just rolls over everybody.
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Wednesday, 21 April 2021 00:12 (three years ago) link
Aggro is still common in recent draft formats but the nature of sealed formats has always made aggro difficult. you need a very specific set of cards. I can count on one hand the sealed formats I remember where aggro was often viable - Zendikar, Gatecrash, Ixalan
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 21 April 2021 00:43 (three years ago) link
I'm liking Strixhaven so far (three drafts in). UG has been the most fun, tons of synergy cards and huge tokens. In UR, I had some bonkers turns with Storm-Kiln Artist. LSV on stream pulled off a Grapeshot for five, wiped the opponent's board, and attacked for 11 with it!
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 21 April 2021 00:52 (three years ago) link
yea I really dig how the nuts things you can do in this set are fundamentally different than what you get in most other Limited formats
― frogbs, Wednesday, 21 April 2021 01:08 (three years ago) link
Yeah it has a different feel. The Mystical Archive cards also contribute to that - unexpected moments because I haven't learned all the cards they brought back yet. Very Time Spiral in feel
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 21 April 2021 01:24 (three years ago) link
love the artwork on those
― frogbs, Wednesday, 21 April 2021 01:27 (three years ago) link
I'm currently playing a U/R deck in Sealed with 4 creature cards in it, it's pretty wild. No clue if it's good or not but I can definitely say I've never played a deck like this in Limited before. Also my deck contains both a Shock and a Lightning Bolt. I love this set
― frogbs, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 15:29 (three years ago) link
two of those creatures don't really attack much either. the other 2 are Storm-Kiln Artists. I mostly win by using Learn spells to generate tokens
― frogbs, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 15:46 (three years ago) link
Yeah creature-light decks are viable this time around. I thought Codie, Vociferous Codex would be straight up unplayable in draft but if turns out to be amazing if you're in that spell-heavy type of deck
― Vinnie, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 23:38 (three years ago) link
idk about draft pick orders but I feel like Environmental Sciences is a card every deck wants to have. it's saved my ass so many times
― frogbs, Thursday, 29 April 2021 18:05 (two years ago) link
you will be pleased to learn that it is the highest pick common then in draft (or should be, dunno if everyones on board yet)
― ciderpress, Thursday, 29 April 2021 19:18 (two years ago) link
it may be boring but adding mana fixing to 20 cards in the set lets you draft a much more powerful deck and the earlier you have it the earlier you can act on that
― ciderpress, Thursday, 29 April 2021 19:20 (two years ago) link
I've also found it's hard too have ~~too much~~ land in this set
― frogbs, Thursday, 29 April 2021 20:08 (two years ago) link
idk if I'm just connecting with this format but my results have been insane so far: 9-0, 8-1, 7-2, 4-5, 8-1, and 7-2. I'm 3 place in trophies through only 6 leagues.
― frogbs, Thursday, 29 April 2021 20:16 (two years ago) link
how many people are in those friendly leagues? i started a competitive league yesterday and theres only ~500ish people and the wait times for matches were like 5 minutes
― ciderpress, Thursday, 29 April 2021 20:57 (two years ago) link
it says 750 at the moment. wait times are not bad now, usually after 4-6 weeks they get pretty brutal
biggest downside of those leagues is having to play 9 matches but there's so much you can do in this set that I don't mind at all. that U/R deck I mentioned earlier I'd gladly play another few leagues with.
― frogbs, Thursday, 29 April 2021 21:06 (two years ago) link
ok sounds about the same then. i've been in a sealed mood but arena is not really an option for the format
― ciderpress, Thursday, 29 April 2021 21:17 (two years ago) link
btw Quandrix Apprentice is pretty busted, even though it only gets you lands the sheer card advantage this thing can very quickly generate is insane
― frogbs, Friday, 30 April 2021 13:48 (two years ago) link
yeah terrific card. blue green generally really strong in draft imo
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 30 April 2021 14:20 (two years ago) link
can't say I've ever wound up at this particular life total before
https://i.imgur.com/CzUEXCJ.png
― frogbs, Tuesday, 11 May 2021 17:00 (two years ago) link
Starting to get sick of this format. I kinda forgot how these five deck draft formats have shorter lifespans, and this time around, I'm ready to call Lorehold a trap. I've never had a successful Lorehold deck, and rarely find I lose to them either. I like Learn as a mechanic but it also leads to a lot of similarity in games, e.g. I've lost count of the number of games someone goes turn 3 Field Trip, turn 4 Elemental Summoning
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 12 May 2021 01:07 (two years ago) link
yeah i think putting learn in a 5-faction format was a big mistake, its 2 things that severely narrow the ways in which games can play out in the same set
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 12 May 2021 01:23 (two years ago) link
I assumed Lorehold probably worked better in draft, but yeah. I'm not really sure what the theme is there. The guy that makes spirits every time something is exiled from your 'yard can be pretty insane though.
I still like the format a lot though I'm finding in Sealed I'm pretty much going RUG every time. Dunno if it's the best choice always but they're fun decks to play. Side note I just now found out that Learn actually allows you to discard/draw, after accidentally clicking on my hand and thinking I'd just experienced some very bizarre glitch. One side effect of playing only MTGO is that I don't really read the cards anymore.
one card I've really began to appreciate is Test of Talents - not only are there a lot of targets for it but getting a free peek at your opponent's hand in such a spell-based format is really useful
― frogbs, Wednesday, 12 May 2021 16:38 (two years ago) link
Yeah there are some bomb rares/mythics that push you into Lorehold like the one you mentioned or the Elder Dragon, but overall the commons/ uncommons are very weak and the deck lacks a cohesive strategy. White didn't get a Pacifism effect this time around, and only one good evasive creature (Combat Professor)?it's hard for the deck to get around a 5/5 fractal. Silverquill performs much better
I end up UG splashing B or R probably half of all drafts. Coincidentally, it was the same experience in Kaldheim!
Test of Talents is great. I originally picked Negate over it, because why wouldn't you, but it's so rare to run into artifacts, enchantments, and PWs, and the peek is valuable
― Vinnie, Thursday, 13 May 2021 00:07 (two years ago) link