Offler
02-04-2010, 08:35 AM
I have been playing monoblue Singleton 100 (or standard highlander) since i started magic until now - it will be two years soon. Generally i was examining many cards which are mono color or multicolor, and with new hybrid mana. The findings are really nothing very important but i want just discuss what i have seen after all :)
It was easy to notice that cards which i use for my monoblue deck are stronger when they contain more blue mana symbols, and also it was certain that those cards are much more designed for monoblue. As an example i can say Mind Over Matter that with total CMC 6 needs 4 blue mana. Cards with similar costs have some specialities:
1. They can be used only in specific designed decks which favors one color.
2. They can be very strong or either unusable depending on players skills.
And as opposite to it there are cards with WUBRG manacosts or with three or four colored costs. Generally all multicolored cards were stronger from first view and more players were willing to include them i their decks. Also i must say that from some time i really like black, mostly Ravnicas Dimir guild cards. Adding another color - black - should ease my play, making my card pool much more variable.
Yesterday i have read the article "Is this your Card?" by The Ferret. Mostly i have to agree with all he wrote there. With all the "monoblue" color dilema i am fightning with for some time. I have some "My cards" even when generally people around me does not agree with it. After two years i must really agree that playing more colors should be different, will make more fun, but some people claim that it will make my deck better. Really i dont know whether to trust them. Playing the blue is a choice i made - i want to understand to this color, just because some people say that it is "hard to play" or "weird". I dont also like saying "Play that card, because it is good" with no reason WHY that card is good.
I see metagame around here, so i know some thing i may encounter. I know about situations which makes me completely defensless, but from time to time I learn something new which will help me to fix not even one situation.
As an example lets say Akroma, Angel of Fury. Very popular card without doubt, which can cause many trouble to me. Therefore i was trying to reach for some colorless solutions. Disk, Oblivion stone, Maze of Ith, Icy manipulator and Trip Noose. These cards were all well tested, and were of course recommended by each player i met. Why so? They are colorless and thus can be included in any deck. Thats of course the power of being colorless. Statistically more people have possibility to add it and test it.
Since I also collect blue cards i was later quite amazed how much monoblue responses to red Akroma i actually have in my collection. There are 5 colorless cards which can solve my problem, but how many blue cards is there? When I realized that it is just a question of time until my opponent will call for another single creature which i cannot block so the response was in any global effect which can buy me single turn.
Evacuation
Fade Away
Time Stop
Cryptic command
Ensnare
***
Turnabout
Propaganda
Reins of Power
And i this point i stunned. There is more cards in blue to solve the problem like in colorless. Nobody ever mentioned most of those cards even when everyone knows that i play monoblue even when the power of those spells can be really devastating. Mostly i like plays when my opponent prepares for attack with many elves and beast with overrun, until Time Stop says that his turn finished before damage was dealt. But also i know only few people are eagerly to pay 4UU which Time stop costs, mostly they prefer plain 1U or UU counterspells. There i learned that blue can buy time, and manipulate with it.
Referring to The Ferrets article, Time stop did not won a game once. It happened several times and honestly i believe that mass stop effect (no matter whether Time stop or any tapping) are much more worth playing than artifact which can tap single creature. Some people are convinced that playing monoblue is irrational, but also their recommendations for cards i got are pretty shortsighted except one...
One guy here claims that playing blue combo deck needs some black - as he demonstrated with Yawgmoths Bargain - and green - as he demonstrated with quite rich land tutoring. From my point of view i really know that he is good magic player, but also i know that he does not study all the blue cards. Well from his play ... we do similar things in first turns. He tutors lands, and i play draw engine. He gets a specific land, i get specific land (since monoblue :D). Then we wait who makes the first error in play and we shall start the combo which will win the game.
Therefore i just dont know who is right, maybe both, maybe no one. the question i want to ask is whether blue weapons of choice drawing cards are similar to green manafixations, or i should trust to anybody else just because playing monocolor is soooo irracional.
Thanks for any strategical suggestions :)
It was easy to notice that cards which i use for my monoblue deck are stronger when they contain more blue mana symbols, and also it was certain that those cards are much more designed for monoblue. As an example i can say Mind Over Matter that with total CMC 6 needs 4 blue mana. Cards with similar costs have some specialities:
1. They can be used only in specific designed decks which favors one color.
2. They can be very strong or either unusable depending on players skills.
And as opposite to it there are cards with WUBRG manacosts or with three or four colored costs. Generally all multicolored cards were stronger from first view and more players were willing to include them i their decks. Also i must say that from some time i really like black, mostly Ravnicas Dimir guild cards. Adding another color - black - should ease my play, making my card pool much more variable.
Yesterday i have read the article "Is this your Card?" by The Ferret. Mostly i have to agree with all he wrote there. With all the "monoblue" color dilema i am fightning with for some time. I have some "My cards" even when generally people around me does not agree with it. After two years i must really agree that playing more colors should be different, will make more fun, but some people claim that it will make my deck better. Really i dont know whether to trust them. Playing the blue is a choice i made - i want to understand to this color, just because some people say that it is "hard to play" or "weird". I dont also like saying "Play that card, because it is good" with no reason WHY that card is good.
I see metagame around here, so i know some thing i may encounter. I know about situations which makes me completely defensless, but from time to time I learn something new which will help me to fix not even one situation.
As an example lets say Akroma, Angel of Fury. Very popular card without doubt, which can cause many trouble to me. Therefore i was trying to reach for some colorless solutions. Disk, Oblivion stone, Maze of Ith, Icy manipulator and Trip Noose. These cards were all well tested, and were of course recommended by each player i met. Why so? They are colorless and thus can be included in any deck. Thats of course the power of being colorless. Statistically more people have possibility to add it and test it.
Since I also collect blue cards i was later quite amazed how much monoblue responses to red Akroma i actually have in my collection. There are 5 colorless cards which can solve my problem, but how many blue cards is there? When I realized that it is just a question of time until my opponent will call for another single creature which i cannot block so the response was in any global effect which can buy me single turn.
Evacuation
Fade Away
Time Stop
Cryptic command
Ensnare
***
Turnabout
Propaganda
Reins of Power
And i this point i stunned. There is more cards in blue to solve the problem like in colorless. Nobody ever mentioned most of those cards even when everyone knows that i play monoblue even when the power of those spells can be really devastating. Mostly i like plays when my opponent prepares for attack with many elves and beast with overrun, until Time Stop says that his turn finished before damage was dealt. But also i know only few people are eagerly to pay 4UU which Time stop costs, mostly they prefer plain 1U or UU counterspells. There i learned that blue can buy time, and manipulate with it.
Referring to The Ferrets article, Time stop did not won a game once. It happened several times and honestly i believe that mass stop effect (no matter whether Time stop or any tapping) are much more worth playing than artifact which can tap single creature. Some people are convinced that playing monoblue is irrational, but also their recommendations for cards i got are pretty shortsighted except one...
One guy here claims that playing blue combo deck needs some black - as he demonstrated with Yawgmoths Bargain - and green - as he demonstrated with quite rich land tutoring. From my point of view i really know that he is good magic player, but also i know that he does not study all the blue cards. Well from his play ... we do similar things in first turns. He tutors lands, and i play draw engine. He gets a specific land, i get specific land (since monoblue :D). Then we wait who makes the first error in play and we shall start the combo which will win the game.
Therefore i just dont know who is right, maybe both, maybe no one. the question i want to ask is whether blue weapons of choice drawing cards are similar to green manafixations, or i should trust to anybody else just because playing monocolor is soooo irracional.
Thanks for any strategical suggestions :)