|
Home Decks Combos Articles Visual Spoilers Art Features Links Search Forum |
|
|
|
|
In this article I will tell you a little about an annoying trend that runs Rampant in MDV's forums. I really hate spoiler season. I really hate spoiler season. I really hate spoiler season. Spoiler season is a time when people who have no clue about things reveal that they really don’t know anything about things. It is a time of inevitability. It is a time when people are going to open their mouths and just let stuff come falling out. People, don’t you want your peers to think you are smart? I spend so much of my time running around trying to make sure I don’t look like an idiot. I even have enlisted my friend, Luthervamplord, to be my personal Make-sure-I-don’t-do-or-say-anything-stupid guy. Guess what… I am still an Idiot! This is not a failure of Luther or myself. My problem is that I keep coming back to read the spoilers and I keep on dealing with you guys who are equally as much of an idiot as I am. Want proof? Read this thread on the Ultimatum Cycle. Seriously… Seriously… Seriously…
Total – 34 lands that produce more than one color of mana True, in order to use the Ultimatums effectively, you probably can’t sit and cast them on turn seven and be ok… which is why every single deck ever created has creature removal and board control aspects. This is a very simple concept that any sub-novice player and/or deck builder knows. However, let’s not stop with that list. Let’s look at how we could speed up the process, since that the above list shows you exactly how easy it is to get a single point of Green mana:
Total – 14 cards that increase your mana production These lists contain only cards that are found in Lorwyn – 10th Edition Standard. Let’s not stop there thought, let’s add one more list: artifacts that produce mana:
Total – Four cards that increase your mana production With ALL of that in mind, I have one thing to say… Where in the world do you people come up with something as crazy as ‘The Ultimatums are not playable’? Are you all insane? Look again at the thread I provided. These people really believed that these cards - because they cost seven and are three designated colors - were going to be uncastable. No Names Please…! “These are all way too much for my tastes. How the heck are you ever going to get a deck that can play these cards reliability in more than a 1 shot. I guess maybe a revamp of Solar Flare could pull it off, but there is no good mana engine for Flare right now besides Wake which is too slow again. People trying to play these slow decks are going to be literally torn apart by RDW, Boros Wins, and the likes. Especially with Ajani Vengant neutralizing your major threats even if you get them out.” – Because I can cast a seven casting cost spell, but I can’t cast Wrath of God, Hallowed Burial, Scourglass, Pyroclasm, etc. (notice what I am doing here… annoying right?) “Violent Ultimatum's kind of a snore, but other than that ZOMG GIV PLZ.”– I will get to this in a moment… (Absolutely ignoring the ‘dewd’ speak) “I'm sorry; I thought the mark of a good card design was in the subtle mixture of flavor and power - I'm drowning in power and in truth it tastes bitter. I think I'll stick to my quick run spells thank you.” - Alright, suite yourself. “There’s a reason they aren’t mythic. On the whole, they're not that good. Just think about it. A 7!!! mana spell. Most aggro decks win before they even come close to that much mana, and the color intensity makes it even more difficult. .....less important. Almost none of the established T2 decks can run these. (kithkin,fae,elves,etc)” - Riiiight…[/Sarcasm] “Besides which, you're being extremely narrow-minded. Just because they happen to suck tournament-wise, that doesn't mean that nobody wants them. I myself am very much looking forward to two of them, and I know that some people in my playgroup are going to be wanting others.” – Tournament-wise… boy he missed it there… “They're all amazing, except for Violent...7 mana of 3 types for 3 permanents?....riiiighht.... I love me some Cruelness though.” – Funny thing is that these people are all serious! “These are too Mana intensive. People think that Mythic is too much. These should not have been printed. Anyways, I'm sure my statement will lose me games to them.” – At least he was half right, the last sentence. “QFE Also, I personally promise to laugh evilly at whomever I resolve a Cruel Ultimatum upon.” – It happens all the time. What the heck does QFE mean? Probably the best quote of the whole thread was this gem…
I’d be willing to bet you a nice crisp fifty dollar bill that if Wizards created a card that said:
You guys would complain about it! Oh!! Its five colors! Ohhh!! It’s not fair! The card is going to go for $75!!! Bahhhh!!!! Let me show you what card you want to see.
I think I covered everything there. If I missed anything, please let me know. Awww... Wait a minute, I can’t use Armadillo Cloak in my example because you don’t like anything non-Green. My bad fellas… ………. Wake up, stop complaining about everything, and live a little will ya? Let me do a little research for you:
Do you know what that is? It is the definition of Ultimatum. What else would you have an Ultimatum do if it is the final, uncompromising demand? As I read the thread, I sat there like a bobble-head, wondering at the madness of the people who surround me. I… I… *clears throat* So I led off telling you that I had cast a Violent Ultimatum on the fourth turn of a game recently. The most remarkable point that I had to even show my opponent, and he appreciated, was that I held a second copy in my hand, so it could have been a fourth and fifth turn Violent Ultimatum. Now, I want to remind you of something that is going to be forgotten very quickly. Three of the Ultimatums require Green mana. Being the site of the Green player… I mean Casual Player, excuse me - you all should know how easy it is to get Green mana. The following list will show you my acceleration path of choice:
My game went something like this:
My opponent was playing a non-Blue control deck, which sat there idly since I didn’t offer any threats. All of those Unmakes and Oblivion Rings did him no good. Apparently, he was not scared of my lone Bird either. In case you are thinking… “AHHH!! He wasn’t playing AGGRO!!!” Please, if he was playing aggro, he would have had maybe two guys on the board who get killed, along with one of his lands. He plays another land the following turn, might put another guy on the tables, but as I mentioned, I had another Ultimatum in my hand! So I destroy all of his board with two cards.
To be completely honest with you, the rest of the deck is really irrelevant for this article. I just throw out middle sized fat guys like Chameleon Colossus, Hell’s Thunder, and Countryside Crusher while beating your creatures aside with removal. The main the deck does is out paces weenie decks with mana acceleration and larger, more efficient creatures. The main points of the article have been made. Stop jumping to conclusions when a card is released and just think about it for a moment. How will the card be viewed? How well will it fit into the current environment? Take another step and think, is there an older card that this relates to, and if so, how well did that card perform in its environment? If you are not sure what to think, then check out another thread or something and digest the card for a few minutes. Come back with a logical thought path and express it clearly. Talking just to talk makes a man look foolish to his peers and that is what we tend to do an awful lot in this community, which makes us lose credibility as a whole. There is not one person alive who cannot improve the way they look at their world. We all have a narrow vision of the world, and for the most part have a hard time seeing beyond our little scope of the world. Take a step backwards, turn your head and look at everything around you and not just at a single object. There are plenty of trees around, but if you look again, you will not only see the trees in front of you, but you will also see the entire forest surrounding you. CPN
You can discuss this article in the MDV forums
here.
Articles
Spotlights from 2009: |
|
The
other day found myself casting a Violent Ultimatum, which is seven mana, on turn
four - crippling my opponent who had gone second in the match and only had three
permanents in play. This is not meant to be impressive, instead it is meant to
be a notice to people. It is a notice that First Impressions of a card by a
person can be really damaging to someone else’s first impression.
This
thread came to life during a time when
Recross
the Paths
I
have found myself falling head over heels in love with Recross the Paths. With
the assistance of a Bird or Elf to give me a boost on turn one, hitting it on
the second turn generates an amazing push, as it can put a non-basic land on the
table – critical in today’s tri-color environment. (Notice that in my example, I
lucked out and scored a Reflecting Pool with a Recrossed Path.) I find myself
considering changing Recross the Paths to a ‘four of’ and making Rampant Growth
a ‘three of’. Having it in a deck with seven mana spells usually means I get
three or more lands from one copy versus one land from Rampant Growth. Further,
if you have 3-6 cc spells in your deck, your odds of winning the clash are so
good that I find myself getting two lands into play a turn by a single Recross
the Paths once I start my turn with four mana in play. I even find myself
considering the addition of Sylvan Echoes and Lash Out to capitalize on the
repeated clash attempts. Keep in mind that both Rampant Growth and Recross the
Paths remove lands from the deck, so my chances of having a land on top of my
library are greatly reduced.