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Magic the Gathering Arena

spectre

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Oct 26, 2008
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Well, they did code in moxen, ancestral and black lotus, among other things. Fucking cockteases.
2HG was great. Main reason why I stuck with Magic Duels, playing vs. AI with a mate was the ultimate casual bit.
Sadly, I don't think they're going to make it, would have to rework a lot of things in the UI and network code, while for the time being they can't even get basic social shit down.

I liked historic before suspensions, fotd bullshit was fun. Couldn't find a deck I liked ever since, settled for vampires and now I'm working on rdw. Anax rules.
Yeah, my belief was that FotD cold very well stay unsuspended. Aggro is fast enough to give it a run for its money, and there are plenty of answers.
On the other hand, it's good to see they did away with Veil. Green-based combo decks would be way too good otherwise. It was jut too much value for control decks to keep them in check.
 

communard

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Speaking as an MCQ Gamer I declare that WOTC can eat my whole ass. Game is shit, business model is fuck, R&D are hacks and frauds. If you want to play Tragic just get MTGO and pony up the big bucks.
 

anvi

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I did MTGO for years but was spending too much money. I figured I would spend less in Arena but then I went and bought a lot of shit so I spent a fair amount :( I would play MTGO again if I wasn't afraid of it shutting down from lack of players, and if I had more money to blow.

I do enjoy goofing around in Arena though. In MTGO I used to play 100 matches in a week or whatever, get nothing from it other than some fun, and then I would want to buy a new deck which was $$$$. In Arena I can play 100 matches and earn a lot of gold which will get me at least some key cards I want. And it makes the matches more exciting knowing there is something at stake, even if it is just a few gold. Also I like climbing the ranks for e-peen purposes. Feels good to get to Mythic by beating netdecks with my goofy homebrews.

I do hate giving them money though because they are greedy bastards. Although Arena does seem better value, once you have a good base of cards you can make most decks you want and any new stuff you need you can get for free with wildcards. I regret I had to buy a bunch of gems to get to this point but at least I have most of what I want and gold I earn now can go towards future stuff.
 

spectre

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If getting cards were harder, it'll result in a "rich getting richer, poor staying perpetually poor" scenario and the only people left would be a bunch of whales.
Though I feel you, playing nothing but netdecks copied verbatim gets tiresome (sometimes I can even tell which site they're from).

Looking at their reluctance to give actually get somewhere with Historic I suspect the playerbase is already getting somewhat thin. I think this is further confirmed by the recent state of the beta thing - they are are apparently condensing Theros Ranked Draft to two weeks in a month, supposedly to boost participation.

Other news, in case you missed it, real draft ETA is later this year. There will be a bunch of free and-paid in events with preconstructed decks. Also, the fancy Theros lands will be in store for a measly 3000 shekels a pop. Yay.
 

Uncreation

Savant
Joined
Jul 14, 2017
Messages
352
What Esper deck are you running, Spectre? I was thinking about making this: https://mtgazone.com/deck/historic-esper-control-by-rmdconcepts-historic-challenge-event-8-1-record/ . There is also a version with Doom foretold, but i would have to craft a lot of cards for that and i would rather not spend that many wildcards. I don't run into many nexus decks in payed events and they are a good match-up for gruul so i never bothered with it.

I might try the Kethis combo if i don't have to spend too many wildcards, since i like combo decks. Is it a decent deck in the current meta? What are its bad matchups?
 

spectre

Arcane
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I only recently updated the Kethis Combo list with Emry and Witching Wells, I'm still in the process of figuring it out some details, especially if it's worth it to go with Thessa's Oracle rather than Jace.
So far, its has helped with assembling the combo which was the main gripe, the deck can go off rather fast, but the hard part is getting everything on board, especially if the opponent is not cooperating.
Thankfully, the deck has a number of built-in fail-safes. It's also for the most part immune to cast down which is the go-to removal in historic.

I won't tell you its exact matchups, because there's a skill ceiling involved, and a lot of my games I am not yet sure if I should attribute the loss to a bad matchup, bad luck, bad sideboarding or misplay.
I'd still recommend it if you're into combo decks, because it feels a lot lot like an old-timey combo when you shuffle mox after mox and need to stay focused all the time not to fuck up the math.
The best part about the combo is you can win by either milling yourself or by milling the opponent.
Being four colors, it has very interesting sideboard options. My favorite bit is when the opponent wants to be smart and Egos your combo pieces, or Ashiok's your graveyard, and you casually start beating them down with Traxos, Scourge of Troog.

That said, it is quite wildcard heavy, and most of this shit you won't be using anywhere else: Kethis himself, Urza's Ruinous Blast, Lazav, Teshar Ancestor's Apostle (though you only need one) and last but not least, the Mox Amber which is a mythic and you absolutely need 4x of those.
Small price to pay to meaningfully use the only standard-legal mox, right?

For reference:
Deck
4 Breeding Pool (RNA) 246
1 Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle (DAR) 36
4 Diligent Excavator (DAR) 51
3 Emry, Lurker of the Loch (ELD) 43
3 Fblthp, the Lost (WAR) 50
4 Witching Well (ELD) 74
2 Glacial Fortress (XLN) 255
2 Godless Shrine (RNA) 248
2 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries (WAR) 54
4 Kethis, the Hidden Hand (M20) 211
3 Lazav, the Multifarious (GRN) 184
4 Mox Amber (DAR) 224
3 Assassin's Trophy (GRN) 152
4 Teferi, Time Raveler (WAR) 221
2 Temple Garden (GRN) 258
2 Temple of Malady (M20) 254
2 Temple of Mystery (M20) 255
2 Temple of Silence (M20) 256
4 Watery Grave (GRN) 259
2 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales (WAR) 220
2 Urza's Ruinous Blast (DAR) 39

Sideboard
1 Assassin's Trophy (GRN) 152
1 Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle (DAR) 36
2 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog (DAR) 234
2 Urza's Ruinous Blast (DAR) 39
3 Ashiok, Dream Render (WAR) 228
4 Duress (M19) 94
2 Dovin's Veto (WAR) 193

Now, when it comes to Esper, here's what I am toying with:
Deck
4 Teferi, Time Raveler (WAR) 221
4 Thought Erasure (GRN) 206
2 Dovin's Veto (WAR) 193
2 Search for Azcanta (XLN) 74
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (DAR) 207
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria (DAR) GR6
2 Narset, Parter of Veils (WAR) 61
1 Settle the Wreckage (XLN) 34
3 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
1 Island (MIR) 336
4 Absorb (RNA) 151
1 Castle Ardenvale (ELD) 238
4 Glacial Fortress (XLN) 255
3 Shatter the Sky (THB) 37
1 Command the Dreadhorde (WAR) 82
4 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251
3 Isolated Chapel (DAR) 241
3 Godless Shrine (RNA) 248
1 Cast Down (DAR) 81
4 Drowned Catacomb (XLN) 253
4 Watery Grave (GRN) 259
2 Thassa's Intervention (THB) 72
1 Drown in the Loch (ELD) 188
2 Interplanar Beacon (WAR) 247
1 Mobilized District (WAR) 249

Sideboard
3 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
3 Duress (M19) 94
3 Lyra Dawnbringer (DAR) 26
3 Unmoored Ego (GRN) 212
2 The Elderspell (WAR) 89
1 Cast Down (DAR) 81
I should probably let the Azcantas go at some point, but I have fond memories of those, they were in pretty much all my control decks on Arena, I guess I just keep putting 2x everywhere out of habit. Seems like this sentiment is shared by the author of the linked deck.
Narset will most likely be the next one to go as people seem to have taken the hint using put to hand instead of straight up draw, but I am keeping this around still for its minor synergies with Mobilized District and Bacon.
Looking at the list you linked, out of the available castles, white works best for me rather than black and blue. Vantress doesn't generate card advantage, and I prefer Loctwain in decks that can reliably empty their hands.
I also like to have at least one or two basics in, so getting hit by Field of Ruin doesn't feel so shitty.
There are a few major upgrades coming from Theros: Shatter the Sky instead of Kaya's Wrath for easier casting together with the very versatile blue intervention would be the first to come to mind.
My biggest critique is no Unmoored Ego, I think this is the best sideboard card for control in a competitive environment. I often would maindeck one then move the rest in if it feels like the opponent would be super sensitive to it.
Come to thing about it, there's a case to be made about not running a 4x of OG Teferi just to diversify your finishers.
I should probably -1 Teferi, +1 Settle the Wreckage.
I like Settle because it was one of the most fun cards to play with in closed beta.
- "Good Game"
- Opponent rushes in with everything into untapped 2WW
- Like I told you, "good game".
Wankers should give us an opt-in chat.
 
Last edited:

Dawkinsfan69

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cant believe im saying it, but maybe arena constructed would be more healthy if getting cards would be harder. Playing against people with few decks full of mythics and rares isnt magic i know

what they really should do is get rid of deck construction all together and just sell prebuilt tournament winning decks for like $10 a pop and change the game name to "E-SPORTS THE GATHERING" because the people who play this fucking game apparently only care about winning as many games as fast as possible with their epic l33t copy paste netdecks

FUCK
 

spectre

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
5,407
To be fair, that's nearly totes legit what they're planning for the coming month. In one event you're supposed to get preconstructed decks from the championship, in another, you'll get 7:2 decklists from limited to play with. Because why would you be bothered to draft them yourself.
Also, the championship decks will be used in Bo1 (despite being taken from a Bo3 event), because sideboarding would probably make heads explode.
 

Dawkinsfan69

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I hate this. I had SO MUCH FUN playing limited the past two weeks and now I need to play standard for gold for more limited and guess what every fucking deck is witch's oven or dream trawler control

I fucking hate constructed holy shit about to uninstall again
 

anvi

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99% of decks I play against are red deck wins now, so I made a new deck called "fuck aggro" which has about 12 board wipes :smug:

It sucks against control decks but it so worth it to see all the aggro decks rage quit on turn 4. Got another deck for climbing the ranks which is working quite well but it is so boring to play. I am trying to make a third new deck which is the most fun but it is struggle against aggro. I fucking hate that spell "Unbreakable Formation" which saves all his creatures from a board wipe. Why even have a control aspect to the game if you are gonna add shit like that... Should just make a hearthstone clone.
 

spectre

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Oct 26, 2008
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thing is, whales would go to mythic quickly, leaving behind healthy gold/plat
If by "healthy" you mean filled with tryhards playing the cookie cutter version of the "kosher budget nublet deck" (probably Cavalcade or BR cat/oven) cause they can't afford anything else, and you can't afford to invest your wildcards wrong...
Ok, now that I've said it, seems no different from what I'm currently playing against.
 

Dawkinsfan69

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You will be back :)

you're right... kaya death ray OTK makes me hard

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UHTcdjI.jpg

xeA27UM.jpg
 

Uncreation

Savant
Joined
Jul 14, 2017
Messages
352
Mmyeah, i don't think i'm going to make the Kethis combo deck right now, too many missing cards. Don't want to spend that many wildcards just yet. I will probably try a variant of esper though. Gruul still works fine, but sometimes i lose versus nonsense white devotion/lifegain decks if i don't have some removal early for their pridemate. And you don't have a lot of removal in gruul.
 

anvi

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How is your Kaya deck doing? I never managed to get it to work very well because my Ashiok always gets killed before I get a chance to exile much, and my Kaya always gets killed before she gets enough loyalty for the finisher. The rare time I did it though was amazing.

How is the pyro deck too? I tried to use that card before but I never succeeded much because it only nukes once per turn. Having a ton of tokens to defend with would be nice though.
 

Dawkinsfan69

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How is your Kaya deck doing? I never managed to get it to work very well because my Ashiok always gets killed before I get a chance to exile much, and my Kaya always gets killed before she gets enough loyalty for the finisher. The rare time I did it though was amazing.

How is the pyro deck too? I tried to use that card before but I never succeeded much because it only nukes once per turn. Having a ton of tokens to defend with would be nice though.

The Kaya deck is more of an esper hero deck with a bunch of creatures and kaya as alternate win-con. It's FUN and it gets wins but I don't think it's really overpowered or anything.. I'm constantly making changes to it, right now it only has 2 kayas and most of the time it wins with dream trawler or just overwhelming with tokens.

The draw two deck seems BROKEN good so far. Like this deck is just mean. It eats aggro decks for breakfast and control decks can't break through, since even if they board wipe every turn late game I'm shitting out like 4 4/4 angel tokens every turn it's hilarious.

ZrmLyFV.jpg


Just had a match where opponent had dream trawler out for like 20 turns and couldn't break past my 1/1 chump blockers and just quit out of frustration

uKJagUr.jpg


That said I just started doing ranked again after a long break from it so I'm only in gold atm, but it's working pretty well so far.
 

anvi

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Divine Visitation is uber, I only have 1 but I made a deck with that and it gets out of control so fast. Yours looks amazing, I might try to copy it sometime but I really need to get another one or two of those Divine Visitations, I have been drooling over that ever since I started the game!
 

Dawkinsfan69

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Divine Visitation is uber, I only have 1 but I made a deck with that and it gets out of control so fast. Yours looks amazing, I might try to copy it sometime but I really need to get another one or two of those Divine Visitations, I have been drooling over that ever since I started the game!

deck only has two copies of visitation, I figure it's not too hard to find since I'm drawing so much plus I never really want to draw more than one. here's what I'm working with so far:

Deck
4 Improbable Alliance (ELD) 193
4 Sacred Foundry (GRN) 254
3 The Royal Scions (ELD) 199
4 Hero of Precinct One (RNA) 11
2 Divine Visitation (GRN) 10
3 Dovin, Grand Arbiter (RNA) 167
3 Elite Guardmage (WAR) 195
4 Steam Vents (GRN) 257
3 Empyrean Eagle (M20) 208
4 Teferi, Time Raveler (WAR) 221
2 Dream Trawler (THB) 214
4 Irencrag Pyromancer (ELD) 128
4 Staggering Insight (THB) 228
4 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251
3 Temple of Enlightenment (THB) 246
3 Temple of Epiphany (M20) 253
3 Temple of Triumph (M20) 257
1 Plains (XLN) 260
1 Island (RTR) 255
1 Mountain (RTR) 265

Sideboard
3 Absorb (RNA) 151
3 Deputy of Detention (RNA) 165
3 Soul-Guide Lantern (THB) 237
2 Lazotep Plating (WAR) 59
4 Dovin's Veto (WAR) 193
 

spectre

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
5,407
I you have one Divine Visitation, I'd tuck it in the SB and fetch with Fae. It's a win more card anyway (a fun one, of course), so I'd doubt your deck would suffer with this approach.
 

anvi

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I am missing several of those cards but I made some substitutions and it still works well. Fun deck! I put some Dawn of Hope in there which I only did for the token generation, but the life you gain from the Dream Trawler is giving me tons of card draw too, which triggers the pyro. Hnnng! It also makes Dovin's -1 give 1 life, 1 thopter, and 1 card draw. I only had one Dovin which really holds it back :/ But I put a Jace in there which is working ok because one click and I draw a card and it mills them a bit. I also have 1 Elspeth Suns Nemesis which is pretty good because it pumps out tokens too which is uber with the Divine Visit, and it can get life if you need. But being able to keep bringing it back from the GY with "Escape" is so powerful too. I also used a Teyo for his token generation but he can only make 2, so not very good. I lacked some draw stuff so I put in 2 Omen of the Sea which seems to fit quite well. I have some Bishop of Wings because I have no Hero of Precinct One :/ It is an ok substitution, the HP helps and it rocks once the Divine Visitation is out, but before then it is pretty useless. I'd prefer the Hero.

Fun deck :) Can't wait to get more Dovins.

p.s. Ajani Str of the Pride seems perfect too. Makes a token but the lifegain is huge once you start pumping out lots of tokens.
 

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