It depended on where you lived and if you had a distributor who supplied boxes with Mana Drain. See my previously edited post.
MTG thread
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Chris
Potato del Grande
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Haha amazing! Shame that this card isn't White, since I think that effect would be in that colour nowadays.
Kuro
Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
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I have a playset of invoke Prejudice I picked up for a buck because of the art.
And then Wizards printed Thasa, and suddenly they were $150.
@Gankak: When Mana-Burn was around, and Counterspell was still kicking around at common, there was generally a pretty decent argument for Counterspell being superior to Mana Drain. If you didn't have an <Insert deck's kill condition here, Serra Angel for shits and giggles> or Moat in hand to soak the mana, it was basically counterspell with downside (and back then, life-as-a-resource was not a common way of thinking, even among pros. Prioritizing maintaining higher-than necessary life totals was common). Control decks back then didn't have much in the way of proactive uses of excess mana. Heck, even Arcane Denial was arguable as a superior counterspell when it came out due to its lax mana-requirements, as multi-color mana-bases were relatively shaky (especially compared to the modern post-Fetch-Land dynamic).
Once mana-burn disappeared, that argument crawled up its own asshole and died
And then Wizards printed Thasa, and suddenly they were $150.
@Gankak: When Mana-Burn was around, and Counterspell was still kicking around at common, there was generally a pretty decent argument for Counterspell being superior to Mana Drain. If you didn't have an <Insert deck's kill condition here, Serra Angel for shits and giggles> or Moat in hand to soak the mana, it was basically counterspell with downside (and back then, life-as-a-resource was not a common way of thinking, even among pros. Prioritizing maintaining higher-than necessary life totals was common). Control decks back then didn't have much in the way of proactive uses of excess mana. Heck, even Arcane Denial was arguable as a superior counterspell when it came out due to its lax mana-requirements, as multi-color mana-bases were relatively shaky (especially compared to the modern post-Fetch-Land dynamic).
Once mana-burn disappeared, that argument crawled up its own asshole and died
Kuro
Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
- 8,386
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The price spike happened when random folks played it in Vintage, post-Thassa printing. Vintage is a strange land, filled with strange decks and people willing to pay stupid amounts of money for weird old cards. My use of suddenly is likely a bit out of place, but four months is about as suddenly as things happen in Vintage
Thassa came out September 2013, Invoke Prejudice spiked in January 2014 (to about $200) following its first placement in a large vintage event, being used as both a way to shut out creatures and to activate its own Thassa for the beats.
Thassa came out September 2013, Invoke Prejudice spiked in January 2014 (to about $200) following its first placement in a large vintage event, being used as both a way to shut out creatures and to activate its own Thassa for the beats.
I can see it being used in vintage as a sideboard card. I used to play vintage but I've been out of it for a few years now. Still, oath and Ichorid are not affected by Invoke Prejudice.
Heylel
Trakanon Raider
- 3,602
- 429
Two men arrested at a shop across town this afternoon. Unconfirmed if it was actually related to the burglary, but it would be one hell of a coincidence if not. Wish I had more details but I'm sure by morning the whole story will get around. I'm not sure if they were regulars there or came in trying to unload their stolen goods.
I am not condoning the burgary / stealing in anyway but why the hell would the thieves try to off the cards at a store instead of selling them online? I could see if they were strung out geeks pawning jewelry at a pawn shop but magic cards? Dafuq.jpg
Smart folks don't b&e to steal something as hard to sell and easy to trace locally as magic cards.
If people were breaking into hobby stores and stealing magic singles, you think that they would have a basis knowledge of card prices / whatever and just mail the collection in to SSG or whatever and sell it that way. Whether it is a local store or a SSG, chances are you are only getting like 30-40% market for cash
Heylel
Trakanon Raider
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Or you set up a TCG account and sell online. Or eBay. There's a million ways to do it and make them difficult to trace.
These guys honestly thought they just got away with it. They were *in the tournament* being played last night across town when they were arrested. I suspect the owner tipped off the cops because they came in trying to sell some singles.
The mods for the local Facebook groups we all use are trying hard to keep people from IDing the suspects and causing a witch hunt, so naturally I did a little digging through public records. One of the guys actually posted to the thread announcing the theft and suggested they put the security footage online so people could see it. Nah, that's not self-serving at all.
I recognized him once I saw the name. He was at an event I worked a few weeks back being a huge prick to us about getting deck checked.
These guys honestly thought they just got away with it. They were *in the tournament* being played last night across town when they were arrested. I suspect the owner tipped off the cops because they came in trying to sell some singles.
The mods for the local Facebook groups we all use are trying hard to keep people from IDing the suspects and causing a witch hunt, so naturally I did a little digging through public records. One of the guys actually posted to the thread announcing the theft and suggested they put the security footage online so people could see it. Nah, that's not self-serving at all.
Grumpus
Molten Core Raider
- 1,927
- 223
I started playing MTG a little over a year ago. Started attending FNM's about 3 months ago. Started buying cards for modern etc. Then they banned POD and now modern is boring. Then they printed a ton of removal in Fate Reforged now standard and limited is boring. What do?
Mist
Eeyore Enthusiast
- 30,459
- 22,289
Maybe MTG isn't for you? Those seem like some strange complaints. Standard is about as healthy as standard gets. I admit FRF didn't add very much to limited, 3xKTK was just more fun.
Modern is... Modern. The decks are just too good at what they do, with too little decent disruption.
Modern is... Modern. The decks are just too good at what they do, with too little decent disruption.
Sterling
El Presidente
- 12,983
- 7,890
Yeah, Modern decks are all so tuned and focused and most of the best disruptive cards against the decks are very specific and don't necessarily overlap with other decks. This leads to control decks generally not being very good since the generic answers aren't very exciting outside of black discard. You could easily build a control deck that smashes up a few of the decks, but there's like 50 good decks in Modern and you can't cover them all or even most. Even something like unbanning Jace wouldn't solve this issue.
Enzee
Trakanon Raider
- 2,197
- 715
Maybe you guys can help sway my decision for a deck for GP memphis.
So, right now it seems like the meta is R/W aggro, Abzan Aggro, Jeskai (token and non-token variants, but generally 'tempo' style), Abzan Midrange, various Mono-G devotion variants (especially after they did so well this weekend in houston, and I'm lumping G/R and Temur combo in here), then a small amount of R/G monster/aggro decks and U/X/x control decks (U/W and U/B mostly, some Sultai tap out style).
Considering the varied meta and my personal tastes, a pure control deck is out. The devo decks are fun, but not interactive enough for me, I'll go on personal tilt if I lose early due to drawing bad. Just being honest..
I'm torn between R/W, Jeskai (w/ mantis riders, not token variants), or a slower Abzan midrange/walkers deck. I was originally just between the first two, but considering how many aggro decks are being played and now Devotion, abzan midrange/control seems positioned a little better, so it's now on my mind as well.
There's just something to be said for finishing games quickly in a big tourney like a GP that keeps me coming back to one of the two 'aggro' decks. Taking a break between rounds helps keep you focused over a long tournament. The Jeskai list at least has a fair amount of interaction, with the ability to play a reactive role after sideboarding. The biggest enemy for it previously was the standard Abzan w/ caryatids/courser/siege rhino, but that type of list has fallen off, and valorous stance helps quite a bit as well.
Couple sample decklists, though I'd change a few cards, doncha know..
Abzan example:Abzan Midrange, by Dan Jessup - A Magic: the Gathering Deck
Jeskai example:Jeskai Aggro, by Martin Juza - A Magic: the Gathering Deck
So, right now it seems like the meta is R/W aggro, Abzan Aggro, Jeskai (token and non-token variants, but generally 'tempo' style), Abzan Midrange, various Mono-G devotion variants (especially after they did so well this weekend in houston, and I'm lumping G/R and Temur combo in here), then a small amount of R/G monster/aggro decks and U/X/x control decks (U/W and U/B mostly, some Sultai tap out style).
Considering the varied meta and my personal tastes, a pure control deck is out. The devo decks are fun, but not interactive enough for me, I'll go on personal tilt if I lose early due to drawing bad. Just being honest..
I'm torn between R/W, Jeskai (w/ mantis riders, not token variants), or a slower Abzan midrange/walkers deck. I was originally just between the first two, but considering how many aggro decks are being played and now Devotion, abzan midrange/control seems positioned a little better, so it's now on my mind as well.
There's just something to be said for finishing games quickly in a big tourney like a GP that keeps me coming back to one of the two 'aggro' decks. Taking a break between rounds helps keep you focused over a long tournament. The Jeskai list at least has a fair amount of interaction, with the ability to play a reactive role after sideboarding. The biggest enemy for it previously was the standard Abzan w/ caryatids/courser/siege rhino, but that type of list has fallen off, and valorous stance helps quite a bit as well.
Couple sample decklists, though I'd change a few cards, doncha know..
Abzan example:Abzan Midrange, by Dan Jessup - A Magic: the Gathering Deck
Jeskai example:Jeskai Aggro, by Martin Juza - A Magic: the Gathering Deck
I watched the GP Seville from start to finish and the SCG Houston Open this last weekend. The four main deck types were :
U/B Control
R-W / Jeskai tokens/aggro
G/R Devotion
Abzan aggro/midrange
Yeah there can be massive changes in those deck 'archetypes' with relatively few changes, so please don't pull me up on that.
Top 8 deck lists in Seville were very different from the top 8 in Houston, which was also true of most entrants. The US Open top 8 was largely R/G and R/W, neither of which decks made the top 8 in Seville. Standard of play wasn't top notch at either.
Top 8 in Houston :=1&start_date=2015-02-14&end_date=2015-02-14&state=TX&city=Houston&order_1=finish&limit=8&t_num=1&action=Show+Decks]Magic Deck Search Result!
Top 8 Seville :Top 8 Decklists | MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Things to note : I believe control now has the tools to be a tier one deck and possibly the top deck. But it needs good players and not just good players but good players who can play at pace when needed. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Ivan Floch plays this weekend in Miama - he's excellent at control and at putting control decks together. Expect him to run one or two Ugins and some Crux of Fate. He might even use Ashiok or Silmgar or Tasigur, though he is usually conservative.
G/R was running an extremely fast ramp to put out up to 40 point 'fireball' Craters Claws quite early in the game. They run 3 or 4 Nykthos as having one in play and playing one is actually good for their 'fireball' strat. They also run Whisperwood Elementals as wincons. I expect this deck to see a lot of play over the next couple of weeks but I also expect to see it fall by the wayside. It's got the same weaknesses as Ross Merriams G/B Constellation deck from last year - counter some of their early dorks and they really struggle to get devotion and mana going from turns 3 to 6. One note on this is that Nissa is strong against Ugin with the forest creatures being colorless and some were also running Ugin to counter R/W and token decks.
R/W not much to say. It was strong last year and it got a boost from FTF. Most players went with one or two Soulfire Grand Master along with 3 or 4 Seeker of the Way. Most decks didn't use Monastery Mentor, though the losing finalist in Houston ran 4. Hordeling Outburst looked strong in a lot of matches.
Abzan I actually like aggro, but running 4 Rakshasa Deathdealers and 3-4 Anafenza, curving turn two Deathdealer into turn 3 Anafenza and turn four Siege Rhino. A lot were also running Fleecemane Lion with Thoughtseize as their only 1 cmc.
This weekend will see a higher standard of play so a lot of take aways from last week might go out of the window. Overall I think U/B has the tools to beat them all, but it's a very hard deck to play and it might take a little time for Floch to formulate the best deck. R/G is very strong but early disruption is hard for it to recover from. R/W tokens is as strong as it was. Abzan aggro with the Rakshasas and Anafenzas is very strong if the draw goes their way.
Lastly, just a note that Tasigur and Ugin both live up to their hype and are very strong. If your deck can run them don't hesitate to include them.
U/B Control
R-W / Jeskai tokens/aggro
G/R Devotion
Abzan aggro/midrange
Yeah there can be massive changes in those deck 'archetypes' with relatively few changes, so please don't pull me up on that.
Top 8 deck lists in Seville were very different from the top 8 in Houston, which was also true of most entrants. The US Open top 8 was largely R/G and R/W, neither of which decks made the top 8 in Seville. Standard of play wasn't top notch at either.
Top 8 in Houston :=1&start_date=2015-02-14&end_date=2015-02-14&state=TX&city=Houston&order_1=finish&limit=8&t_num=1&action=Show+Decks]Magic Deck Search Result!
Top 8 Seville :Top 8 Decklists | MAGIC: THE GATHERING
Things to note : I believe control now has the tools to be a tier one deck and possibly the top deck. But it needs good players and not just good players but good players who can play at pace when needed. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Ivan Floch plays this weekend in Miama - he's excellent at control and at putting control decks together. Expect him to run one or two Ugins and some Crux of Fate. He might even use Ashiok or Silmgar or Tasigur, though he is usually conservative.
G/R was running an extremely fast ramp to put out up to 40 point 'fireball' Craters Claws quite early in the game. They run 3 or 4 Nykthos as having one in play and playing one is actually good for their 'fireball' strat. They also run Whisperwood Elementals as wincons. I expect this deck to see a lot of play over the next couple of weeks but I also expect to see it fall by the wayside. It's got the same weaknesses as Ross Merriams G/B Constellation deck from last year - counter some of their early dorks and they really struggle to get devotion and mana going from turns 3 to 6. One note on this is that Nissa is strong against Ugin with the forest creatures being colorless and some were also running Ugin to counter R/W and token decks.
R/W not much to say. It was strong last year and it got a boost from FTF. Most players went with one or two Soulfire Grand Master along with 3 or 4 Seeker of the Way. Most decks didn't use Monastery Mentor, though the losing finalist in Houston ran 4. Hordeling Outburst looked strong in a lot of matches.
Abzan I actually like aggro, but running 4 Rakshasa Deathdealers and 3-4 Anafenza, curving turn two Deathdealer into turn 3 Anafenza and turn four Siege Rhino. A lot were also running Fleecemane Lion with Thoughtseize as their only 1 cmc.
This weekend will see a higher standard of play so a lot of take aways from last week might go out of the window. Overall I think U/B has the tools to beat them all, but it's a very hard deck to play and it might take a little time for Floch to formulate the best deck. R/G is very strong but early disruption is hard for it to recover from. R/W tokens is as strong as it was. Abzan aggro with the Rakshasas and Anafenzas is very strong if the draw goes their way.
Lastly, just a note that Tasigur and Ugin both live up to their hype and are very strong. If your deck can run them don't hesitate to include them.