Bringing back Teferi EDH

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir

As the Magic EDH trend continues, I've made some adjustments to two of my favorite mono-blue decks.  The first one is the Kira deck that you guys saw last time and the second is my duel Teferi deck that I revamped for competitive multiplayer.  Both the Teferi and Kira links will send you to my deck on TappedOut.

Here's my thread on Teferi on Magic Salvation.

It's up for Primer status right now and I'm quite proud of this particular guide.  As for Kira, here is what the deck looks like now:

Creature (20)
1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
1x Body Double
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Duplicant
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Grand Architect
1x Guile
1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner*
1x Memnarch
1x Palinchron
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Sakashima the Impostor
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Treasure Mage
1x Trinket Mage
1x Venser, Shaper Savant

Land (40)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Halimar Depths
1x Maze of Ith
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
30x Snow-Covered Island
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolaria West
1x Wasteland

Enchantment (2)
1x Copy Artifact
1x Rhystic Study

Instant (16)
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Capsize
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Evacuation
1x High Tide
1x Hinder
1x Long-Term Plans
1x Mana Drain
1x Memory Lapse
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Remand
1x Spell Crumple
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Trickbind

Artifact (13)
1x Basalt Monolith
1x Caged Sun
1x Gauntlet of Power
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Grim Monolith
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Scroll Rack
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Venser's Journal
1x Worn Powerstone

Sorcery (9)
1x Fabricate
1x Merchant Scroll
1x Recurring Insight
1x Temporal Manipulation
1x Temporal Mastery
1x Time Spiral
1x Time Warp
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Wash Out

Needless to say that the deck got a little bit of a speed increase, dropped a bunch of stuff for more mana rocks, cheaper counterspells (more too) and Time Warp mechanics.  I dropped some of the creatures I wasn't entirely happy about, built kept in the more powerful elements that had to do with mana-doubling. The only thing that really needs to go in now is Thassa, God of the Sea.  I'm not sure what I want to cut for her though, probably another creature or counterspell to keep the count at 20.  I'm OCD like that.

Playing a ton of Magic

Look at me, the floating jellyfish of doom!

Hey everyone.  I've taken a little bit of a break from minis and I'm focusing my efforts on building up my EDH Commander decks for Magic the Gathering.  For those of you who play the game, I think I can share off some of my decks for all to see.

The first deck you see here is my Kira, Great Glass-Spinner mono-blue deck.  I originally created this deck as a multiplayer counterpart to my 1v1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir deck using the French Duel rules. As you can see, I have purposely left out of the more obvious combos and spell selections that blue has to offer. You will not find Teferi and Knowledge Pool lockdowns here, nor will you find Mind Over Matter or Tunnel Vision combos. In fact, there are only three true counterspells in the entire deck and none of them are free. That's right, you will not find Pact of Negation or Force of Will in this deck.  What you see is what you get.

Yes, I deliberately took out most of the well-known combos that makes blue a rather frustrating color to play against. The deck has virtually no bounce, no counters and no control-heavy elements that would otherwise lead to unneeded tears and bickering. My playgroup right now is super casual to say the least, so I have adjusted my deck to accommodate as such. Don't get me wrong though, this does not mean the deck is weak, not by a long shot. The fact that a toned-down mono-blue deck can still dominate the playing field is testament to the power of the color.

Combo-central INC!

Creature (25)
1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
1x Archaeomancer
1x Body Double
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Deadeye Navigator
1x Diluvian Primordial
1x Draining Whelk
1x Duplicant
1x Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
1x Grand Architect
1x Great Whale
1x Guile
1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1x Memnarch
1x Palinchron
1x Phantasmal Image
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Sakashima the Impostor
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stormtide Leviathan
1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Wurmcoil Engine

Instant (11)
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Capsize
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Evacuation
1x Hinder
1x Mana Drain
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Reins of Power
1x Spell Crumple
1x Stroke of Genius
1x Time Stop

Artifact (13)
1x Caged Sun
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Gauntlet of Power
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Sapphire Medallion
1x Scroll Rack
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Venser's Journal
1x Worn Powerstone

Land (40)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Halimar Depths
1x Maze of Ith
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Seat of the Synod
30x Snow-Covered Island
1x Tolaria West

Sorcery (6)
1x Fabricate
1x Recurring Insight
1x Rite of Replication
1x Time Spiral
1x Transmute Artifact
1x Wash Out

Enchantment (5)
1x Copy Artifact
1x Equilibrium
1x Leyline of Anticipation
1x Propaganda
1x Rhystic Study

Boom, you're dead!

The next deck that I have is something completely different to my usual obsession with blue.  For the Commander, I like to run with Aurelia, the Warleader.  Why?  Because I absolutely love destroying my opponents through combat damage.  You can say that I'm playing a combo-version of Aurelia in that respect.  I see 3 different versions of this commander when built properly: Voltron, synergetic creature combos, or tokens. Tokens can get really ridiculous really quickly with multiple combat phases, but you probably already know that.

Personally, I like to play with a lot of fake lords and buff sources. You can tell from my choice of: Angel of Jubilation, Spear of Heliod, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, Marshal's Anthem, Legion's Initiative, Balefire Liege. This helps pile on the damage while your higher quality creatures become a threat on their own. Even the smallest soldier becomes a threat at this point, so your bigger fatties are all possible game-enders with Aurelia on the field.  This is the kind of swingy damage that I like doing.

I'm not playing with a Voltron-style deck because I don't like that kind of gameplay. While I do see the benefits of the playstyle, I like more creature-based interactions. For this reason, I've decided that cards like Angelic Renewal and Gift of Immortality is just too good to pass in a deck with Sun Titan. Stack on 2 infinite combos via Restoration Angel + Kiki-jiki, Mirror Breaker and the obvious Sword of Feast and Famine + Aggravated Assault/Hellkite Charger. Other notable mentions are that most of my fun-sized creatures are 2-attack when they go to the graveyard. This makes Reveillark that much better to recur with Karmic Guide or Gift of Immortality. Not to mention gift + Burnished Hart is just an unfair amount of ramp.  Oh, one last thing: Secret tech card Purity vs. a very popular commander that makes people draw and take damage. Oh yes, you know the one. That damn bastard Nekusar, the Mindrazer.

Creature (28)
1x Angel of Jubilation
1x Archetype of Aggression
1x Archetype of Courage
1x Aurelia, the Warleader
1x Avacyn, Angel of Hope
1x Balefire Liege
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Burnished Hart
1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1x Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
1x Grand Abolisher
1x Heliod, God of the Sun
1x Hellkite Charger
1x Hero of Bladehold
1x Karmic Guide
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Knight of the White Orchid
1x Molten Primordial
1x Mother of Runes
1x Purity
1x Restoration Angel
1x Reveillark
1x Silverblade Paladin
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Stonehewer Giant
1x Sun Titan
1x Tajic, Blade of the Legion
1x Urabrask the Hidden

Enchantment (11)
1x Aggravated Assault
1x Angelic Renewal
1x Concerted Effort
1x Fervor
1x Gift of Immortality
1x Gratuitous Violence
1x Land Tax
1x Legion's Initiative
1x Marshal's Anthem
1x Spear of Heliod
1x True Conviction

Instant (5)
1x Boros Charm
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Master Warcraft
1x Return to Dust
1x Savage Beating

Land (38)
1x Ancient Amphitheater
1x Arid Mesa
1x Battlefield Forge
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Command Tower
1x Eiganjo Castle
1x Emeria, The Sky Ruin
1x Homeward Path
1x Kor Haven
1x Marsh Flats
1x Mistveil Plains
6x Mountain
11x Plains
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Rugged Prairie
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1x Slayers' Stronghold
1x Strip Mine
1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1x Wasteland

Artifact (13)
1x Basilisk Collar
1x Boros Keyrune
1x Boros Signet
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Sunforger
1x Swiftfoot Boots
1x Sword of Feast and Famine

Sorcery (5)
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Steelshaper's Gift
1x Vandalblast
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x World at War

As always, feel free to leave me with any comments and feedback.  This might be a little different than the usual minis talk, but most of you probably have some experience with MtG anyway.  EDH is by far the best format for swinging a few cards around with friends.  Otherwise, I have Modern to fill that competitive niche.

Playing some MTG

RTR is amazing!

If you guys were wondering where I've been.. I've been playing quite a bit of competitive Magic.  There's a lot of players at work and although I try my best to stay out of FNM, I might go next week with my UW Control deck.

So right now, I have 2 decks in the works.  There's my GW Aggro deck and UW Control.  Personally, I've always felt home with blue due to my permission-based playstyle, so I tend to play that deck a lot more.  Here's what my decks currently look like:

UW Control
GW Aggro

I can't wait for next set to release the rest of the guilds; Dimir being my favorite from the set and Boros in close second.  RTR is by far the most fun I've had with Magic in years.

My MTG decks

White deck mascot lawl

Since the Magic phase is continuing, here comes a post dedicated to my decks:

Blue Illusions
Aggro/Control

Main Deck:
23x Island

4x Phantasmal Bear
4x Lord of the Unreal
4x Phantasmal Image
3x Adaptive Automaton
3x Phantasmal Dragon
3x Grand Architect

4x Spell Pierce
4x Vapor Snag
4x Mana Leak
4x Ponder

Sideboard:
4x Spreading Seas
4x Mental Misstep
4x Into the Roil
3x Flashfreeze

I like aggro and I like control, so the deck above showcases both of these to its fullest.  Blue is often considered a pretty control-heavy style of play, but I like being able to dictate the ebb and flow of the battle.  In card games, this is known as tempo.  The purpose of this deck is to be able to drop down cheap and effective creatures while providing them with ramping +1/1 buffs and hexproof.  Since the Phantasmal Image can copy the LotU and Adaptive Automaton, I am able to pump out these buffs like crazy.  Phantasmal Dragon is there to punch people in the face with Flying and Grand Architects buff my creatures while putting the Automatons on the board faster.

As for control, I'm running 4/4 Spell Pierce to Mana Leak for counterspells, Ponders for card draw and manipulation and Vapor Snag for creature bounce.  A lot of people don't run Vapor Snag but I think that's a huge mistake.  Blue has problems dealing with bigger creatures or creatures that can block and trade so bouncing them is the best option.  It acts almost like a counterspell for creatures because they can't tap out and play big creatures without getting sent back.

The sideboard here is pretty standard.  Spreading Seas helps takes care of lands that can possibly block your tempo and choke other decks out of mana.  Mental Misstep gives me protection against 1-drop weenies or creature destruction (such as mono-red or white) and Into the Roil gives me additional bounce.  This deck's biggest problem is equipment and creatures so additional resets are always appreciated.  Flashfreeze is there just for Red/Green hate.


White Knights
Aggro/Enhancement

Main Deck:
23x Plains

4x Student of Warfare
4x Knight Exemplars
4x Mirran Crusader
4x Squadron Hawk
3x Hero of Bladehold
2x Baneslayer Angel

4x Honor of the Pure
4x Brave the Elements
3x Swiftfoot Boots
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Angelic Destiny

Sideboard:
4x Celestial Purge
4x Kor Firewalker
3x Divine Offering
3x Day of Judgment
1x Oblivion Ring

This is my Knights deck with an angelic twist.  The Student of Warfare is a powerful starter since he can go up to a 3/3 with First Strike on turn 2.  Knight Exemplars apply +1/1 to all my Knights and make them Indestructible.  Mirran Crusaders have Double Strike and when they're equipped with Angelic Destiny, things just get ridiculous.  Hero of Bladehold works nicely with Swiftfoot Boots since she gains Hexproof and Haste and can apply her Battlecry instantly.  Like I said, this deck has a angelic twist and what good is a angel deck without the Baneslayer Angel!  She's just there to hang out and watch the Knights do the work.

For my spells, it's really quite self-explanatory.  Honor of the Pure gives all my white creatures +1/1, Oblivion Ring exiles trouble cards and Swiftfoot Boots keeps the big hitters safe.  Brave the Elements also allows me to walk through creatures trying to block and gives me protection from any destruction cards.  Angelic Destiny is there for the angel-theme and when correctly played, can send a Mirran Crusader from good to amazing.

The sideboard is there to better protect myself from black and red and board aggro.  If my smaller and more elite army is overwhelmed, Day of Judgment is there to reset the field.  To be honest, there's a lot of options out there for white.  Another option can be to run Condemns, but I'd rather keep things simple and kill/exile everything I see.

A new MTG format?

This is mainly for us casual players at work who want to play with the new stuff.

I was thinking of a new format which consists of the current standard (which is M11, M12, Scars block, Zendikar block) + the future block. The only difference is, once Innistrad rolls around, we won't drop Zendikar and M11.

What do you guys think about this?
What should I call it?
Right now, I'm calling it T2-1, what do you guys think of the name and format?

The worst type of gamer

I picked up 4x JvC Counterspells for no reason!

Random post update!
Yes, I am still doing my MTG stuff, and I probably will until that dies down for a bit.  On the minis side, I did pre-order my Covenant of Antarctica fleet from Spartan Games so I can play that in August.  My ALEPH army is still being worked on whenever I have free time because those models piss me off.  I bought the new ATGM resculpts but I haven't touched them in 2 weeks.

I'll tell you one thing though, I love learning new things.  It might be my obsessive personality coming out, but reading 15 years of competitive MTG articles is invigorating.  There's just so much knowledge in this TCG, it's like reading the entirety of Team Liquid's StarCraft section (or Liquipedia!).  I think the thirst of knowledge is what's driving me deep into Magic right now.

However, there was a topic that was brought up a few days ago.  I'm a pretty diverse gamer:  I've played RTS, FPS, MMORPG, TCGs and TT (Table-top).  Out of all the gaming genres I've ever got myself into, I would say my experiences goes as follows in terms of competitive gaming.

TCG - Worst gamers you'll ever see for the most part.
FPS - A lot of really angry people play this genre.
MMORPG - If anything, a lot of trolls more so than bad sportsmanship.
RTS - I haven't seen as many trolls or bad sportsman, but there is the occasional moron.
TT - Now that I think about it, WAAC TT players are nothing compared to TCG.

What do you guys think?  Sorry for the random burst.

Magic: The Gathering

I've been kinda absent from miniatures gaming lately because I've been doing Magic TCG.  Believe it or not, I have never played Magic.  While other players were playing MTG, I was playing Pokemon, Yugioh and WoW TCG (competitively).  I picked up WoW TCG something like 3 years ago and from what my friends tell me, it's basically the same thing as MTG.  Since I'm pretty new to the Magic scene, I've been doing a lot of research into the current format of cards.. which is Magic 2012, 2011, Zendikar + Mirrodin blocks and Innistrad.

Here are all the research material I've been using lately:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=judge/resources/sfrstandard
http://www.gatheringmagic.com/
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/3688_Clear_The_Land_And_The_Fundamental_Turn.html
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=15089.0
http://magicgameplan.com/blog/

Here are the card databases:
http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Default.aspx
http://www.mtgvault.com/

Here's the trial program I use to test decks:
http://mws.mtgbr.com/index-us.html

My current deck looks like this:

// Lands
    18 [ZEN] Island (3)
    4 [WWK] Halimar Depths

// Creatures
    4 [M12] Adaptive Automaton
    4 [M12] Phantasmal Bear
    4 [M12] Phantasmal Dragon
    4 [M12] Lord of the Unreal
    4 [M12] Phantasmal Image
    3 [SOM] Grand Architect

// Spells
    4 [M12] Ponder
    4 [NPH] Vapor Snag
    4 [M11] Mana Leak
    3 [ZEN] Spell Pierce

I'm a pretty aggressive TCG player and I'm also a big fan of countering and cancelling my opponent's moves. This is why "Blackice" is one of my favorite WoW TCG decks.  It's a Mage deck and the objective is to lock down your opponents with Water Elemental, stop his creature removal via counters and burn him to death with Myriam Starcaller.  Since I had no idea what "Blue" was in Magic, my friend said the closest thing to what I played back in the days of WoW TCG would be blue.  I went ahead and looked up a bunch of decks played by top players and formulated a deck based on my playstyle.  The only rule I had when building decks was to stay away from Jacemill decks or other top netdecks.  I wanted something a little more unique to my personality and playstyle.  The above is a Blue Aggro deck with a hint of counters.  No Jace or anything crazy, and it comes with a bunch of the new cards from the latest M2012 core set (comes out tomorrow).

The Bears and Dragons aren't really dangerous by themselves, but with the Lord of the Unreal down to protect them, they get buff and become hexproof.  The Adapative Automatons and Grand Architects continue to buff the creatures on the field your counters keep enemy spells or creatures at bay.  I haven't worked on a sidedeck to this yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll have some Frost Breaths, Counters, maybe Sleeps, some Swiftfoot Boots and Mental Missteps.