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I do not use Inkmoth Nexus but I have been thinking of replacing my Ancient Tombs with them. Nevertheless, could you give insight on Ravagers? I understand when I attack, I can sacrifice it to buff up one of my creatures but more than likely my Ravagers' will only be +2/+2s. Still debating on removing either or. Will actually look forward to your article on the Arcbound Ravager's!
I'll try, but not right now since I have to get started on my paper which is due Sunday at noon. After that, I'm completely free, and I'll think of some examples to improve your insight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Geeksire
Well all-right! I was looking in to some Arcbound builds and I found out this nifty equipment that might be useful when equipped to Arcbound Ravager.
It's called "Blade of the Bloodchief". Tell me if this could be useful in an Arcbound deck : D
http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/ca...verseid=193397
It fits into the same category of cards such as Disciple of the Vault that are only decent with Ravager in play but otherwise mediocre.
EDIT: Got an extension on my paper, busy tonight and the beginning of this week. Will think of some comprehensive Ravager examples and post them later in the week.
Thanks for your commitment to this article on the Arcbound Ravager Shawon. I come here often and see that you are 'bound' to Affinity decks, which brings a smile to me since I started to appreciate the effectiveness this deck can achieve. As an English teacher for high school students, I am glad you are taking classes. Always brings a smile to see others still learning even though I had a hard time at the beginning.
As for my deck, I revamped it, replaced some essential and unessential creatures out and it has proven to be awesomemer!
Creatures [26]
4x Memnites'
4x Ornithopters'
4x Master of Etheriums'
4x Signal Pests'
3x Arcbound Ravagers'
3x Vault Skirges'
2x Etched Champions'
2x Stoneforge Mystics'
Artifacts [11]
4x Cranial Platings'
4x Mox Opals'
3x Springleaf Drums'
Spells [7]
4x Thoughtcasts'
3x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Land [15]
4x Ancient Dens'
4x Vault of Whispers'
4x Seat of Synods'
3x Ancient Tombs'
-----------------------------------
Sideboard [15]
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Spell Pierce
3x Ethersworn Canonist
2x Gravdiggers
1x Rest in Peace
1x Umezawa's Jitte
Have a good one guys!
Geeksire, I'm actually taking the history course as a prereq to becoming a high school math teacher. Good to interact with a fellow person interested in education. Sadly, I just came back from the airport after my flight to Tampa was canceled, where I was going to attend a job fair for Florida teaching positions. Stupid Baltimore weather screwing up my connecting flight :mad:
Your Affinity lists are getting better, keep it up. Chalices and Canonists seem to be the norm of SBs now. I run them myself as well. Right now, I've settled on a Stoneforge list with 3 MD slots I am trying to decide between Cursed Scroll and Etched Champion. I'm heavily favored towards Cursed Scroll at this point, but Champion is pretty handy against Maverick, since you can rely on a plan of chump-blocking with Champs while you tick up Tezz counters and not just overrun Maze of Ith.
That's awesome Shawon. As a Texas English teacher, it took me a while to get a job, but was able to receive an interview and was hired in a week. (Took me about three months until I could find a job. In Texas, there are a lot of openings in the big cities: Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Not sure about up North, so I wish you luck!)
But moving on to more "important" matters regarding Affinity, I see that Etched Champion can be useful, but I believe 2 is the max you should have. Etherium Master is somebody not to be reckoned with because psychologically, your opponent is looking at a 6/6-8/8 creature and their reaction is like, "Damn! I must block it!!!!!" So he/she might chump block it and slowly their creatures will diminish leaving us to not worry about the field. Additionally if they are that scared, they will even refrain from attacking leaving us not to worry about their creatures--only spot-removal...
As for Inkmoth Nexus, I have been testing so many times at my work-desk and I cannot find the usefulness when it comes to using this card. It can be a little slow, but I see the wonders, psychologically, if a 5/5 infect creature is attacking where they are thinking, "Damn...a flying infect creature WITH INFECT!?!?! Must destroy it with spot-removal!!!!!" It is a beautiful scene to see, but my heart has to go to using Ancient Tomb! Nevertheless, drawing two to three Ancient Tombs, placing them on the field, and drawing no creatures at all is grueling scene to see. I will keep testing out Inkmoth some more.
Finally as for Stoneforge Mystic, I think the best number is 2 since we do not want to really rely on grabbing Cranial Plating. I have had some instances where I grab a Cranial Plating, I play it and it gets F@@#$@!! countered! I hate Blue decks, and I hate them with a red-damn-passion!!! (Love red btw; hence, I have a Goblin deck!! They want to end it quick!!! They do not give a flying @#$@!!!)
I have actually been thinking on removing Stoneforge Mystic and replacing them with 2-3 Tangle Wire. Been seen people talking about this card and even you as well Shawon, so I going to put this up for experimenting. (It's nifty because you can also tap Tangle Wire to make up for the 3 permanents we have to tap.)
I don't think Master of Etherium is good anymore because against fair decks, you're getting way less return on an investment when your opponent has a removal spell. You may not be losing any net card advantage to a 1-for-1 exchange, but you are losing some significant tempo by running into a removal spell. With Ravager, you essentially have a guaranteed return on investment after it resolves, since Ravager's counters live onto another robot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Geeksire
If you're attacking with a 5-power Inkmoth, you're doing it wrong. That's too slow. If you attack with a powered-up Inkmoth, it has to be able to win that turn. It's pretty doable in my Mystic deck since I run 4 Ravager and 7 virtual copies of Plating (3 SFM + Plating).Quote:
As for Inkmoth Nexus, I have been testing so many times at my work-desk and I cannot find the usefulness when it comes to using this card. It can be a little slow, but I see the wonders, psychologically, if a 5/5 infect creature is attacking where they are thinking, "Damn...a flying infect creature WITH INFECT!?!?! Must destroy it with spot-removal!!!!!" It is a beautiful scene to see, but my heart has to go to using Ancient Tomb! Nevertheless, drawing two to three Ancient Tombs, placing them on the field, and drawing no creatures at all is grueling scene to see. I will keep testing out Inkmoth some more.
What makes Inkmoth really clutch is that it's immune to the premier spot removal of the format as of now, Abrupt Decay. I won a game against BUG where the player main-phased Abrupt Decay's my Ravager, and in resp, I tapped my Drum with Ravager for 1 mana, sacrificed every artifact including Drum to Ravager, used that mana to animate my tapped Inkmoth Nexus, and gave it 9 counters upon Ravager's death. The next turn, I freely swung with a 10/10 Inkmoth the next turn and won. If I never pumped Inkmoth Nexus as high as I could, I would've had to wait another turn to kill my BUG opponent, and he could have drawn a Baleful Strix or Wasteland, or a Brainstorm to find those cards, and my chance of victory would've been squandered.
I think 3-4 is the right number, because you want consistency to grab Cranial Plating or find more of them. Abrupt Decay and discard limits the life expectancy of a Cranial Plating on the board so it's wise to run a card that provides a backup Plating. And of course, it's sweet to blank a blue deck's Spell Pierce with SFM followed by a Vialed-in Plating the next turn. Also, I find that I search up Jitte a lot with SFM, and sometimes even Paradise Mantle for blue-mana fixing (or black for Tezzeret) or upping my artifact count for Affinity for Artifacts. SFM is very versatile. Batterskull is also a good card in Affinity if you run 4 SFM, but it is sometimes clunky.Quote:
Finally as for Stoneforge Mystic, I think the best number is 2 since we do not want to really rely on grabbing Cranial Plating. I have had some instances where I grab a Cranial Plating, I play it and it gets F@@#$@!! countered! I hate Blue decks, and I hate them with a red-damn-passion!!!
Tangle Wire is pretty dope :cool: It's nice that it can tap itself or Plating to reduce any loss of tempo you would have from tapping creatures/mana.Quote:
I have actually been thinking on removing Stoneforge Mystic and replacing them with 2-3 Tangle Wire. Been seen people talking about this card and even you as well Shawon, so I going to put this up for experimenting. (It's nifty because you can also tap Tangle Wire to make up for the 3 permanents we have to tap.)
I run two different Affinity lists, both of which I think are insanely powerful: the Stoneforge list and an all-in list using Tangle Wire. Tangle Wire is pretty insane with Arcbound Ravager, because you can just tap out your opponent's board/lands and then sacrifice the Wire EOT to go for the throat after you untap. Even better if you have Arcbound Ravager, Tangle Wire, and Academy Ruins for infinite torture against the opponent mwuahahahaha.
My deck atm went 5-3 at the nashville open. Updated for m14 rules change
Creatures:
4x Etched Champion
3x Ethersworn Canonist
3x Master of Etherium
3x Memnite
4x Ornithopter
3x Stoneforge Mystic
4x Vault Skirge
Spells:
2x Dispatch
3x Thoughtcast
3x Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Artifacts:
1x Batterskull
3x Cranial Plating
4x Mox Opal
3x Springleaf Drum
1x Umezawa's Jitte
Land:
3x Ancient Den
4x Glimmervoid
3x Inkmoth Nexus
3x Seat of the Synod
3x Vault of Whispers
SB:
4x Chalice of the Void
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Perish
2x Phyrexian Revoker
2x Tidehollow Sculler
2x Tormod's Crypt
I would like to make a few tweaks to make it stronger. It still felt very strong though. Especially against death/taxes combo and other decks game 2 and 3 if i lost first game. Chalice jitte and batterskull won me most of my games
Boy, your list needs a lot of work, not just some tweaks. First, you run too many 3-ofs. Shaving Thoughtcast and artifact lands dilute your entire deck and makes your deck less likely to have good Affinity hands. Glimmervoid is awful and poor justification to water-down your artifact synergies. If you run Glimmervoid to play against Null Rod or Energy Flux, you're still going to lose anyway so why bother running a bad card that dilutes your deck and is only situationally good against cards barely anyone plays?
Dispatch is unnecessary. It's not an artifact and you're running a card that assigns a defensive role to you... all for a 1-for-1 exchange with a creature. You have access to much better cards than Dispatch.
I don't get your 2-of Tormod's Crypt. If you want to beat gy-based strategies like Dredge or Reanimator, you're going to need more than a 2-of to make your matchup positive. Grafdigger's Cage seems better than Crypt anyway, since it also stops Natural Order.
I'm just trying to be straight to the point in giving you some advice on your list, so don't take my comments personal.
I think that the 2-of Crypt is essential to fighting dredge and gives you a leg up in all graveyard-based match-ups, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawon
Because a 2-of fixes your matchup, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by MGB
With the new M14 rules, you run Jitte? I don't know if you know this but if the opponent is to have a Jitte on the field, and if you put yours on the field, your Jitte and your opponents Jitte don't counter-off each other. (I really don't like the new M14 Legendary rules since I bought a Jitte myself for countering any decks that have it, but we have to deal with these rules for now.) So I would replace the Jitte with another Equipment hater like Manriki-Gusari. For Graveyard hate, I like Gravdigger's and Rest in Peace! They are both awesome if you would like to take that route, and I love the 4x CotV. Best card for countering a lot of decks!!!!!!
As for your deck, it looks awesome! A lot of 3 offs of what Shawon said need to be 4's, and the question of the dreaded Glimmervoid's!!!!! I personally use to proxy them in my deck way-back but through some major testing, I believe Inkmoth Nexus or Ancient Tomb can be very beneficial if you try them out! It matters on what you like to play! I run 3x Ancient Tombs' in my deck and this enables me to get my guys on the field fast!!!! With 4x Mox Opal's and 3x Springleaf Drum's you can manage perfectly with the mana. Also with the new M14 Legendary Rules, you can put as many Mox Opal's on the field as you want and gain all that mana. You will have to sacrifice once two are on the field, but they do not immediately counter each other. You can pick which one you want removed!!!! (So if you are smart, make sure to get rid of the Mox Opal that is tapped...)
On another note, I have also been thinking about adding Phyrexian Revoker in my deck to counter Rishadan Port, Wasteland, Mother of Runes, or any kind of cards that has abilities that are so damn annoying...This is just a thought but I might look in to them : D
At this point, I have settled on two Esperblade Affinity lists, with differences in the SB and only 3 cards MD.
My term 'Esperblade Affinity' denotes a UWB version of Affinity that features Stoneforge Mystic with an optional Equipment package outside of Cranial Plating.
After relentless testing, here's what I believe to be the CORE of Esperblade Affinity:
Lands
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Ancient Den
4 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Academy Ruins
Creatures
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Frogmite
4 Signal Pest
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Stoneforge Mystic
Spells
4 Mox Opal
3 Springleaf Drum
1 Paradise Mantle
4 Thoughtcast
4 Cranial Plating
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Flex-slots
For the 3 MD slots, I am deciding between 3 Cursed Scroll or 3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. These are my SBs for both lists:
LIST A
4 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
LIST B
1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tidehollow Sculler
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
1 Karakas
1 Leonin Bola
1 Batterskull
If you're wondering why my 2nd SB has just 1 Tezz, it's because I moved 3 to the MD. My first list has Cursed Scroll for the 3 MD flex slots. I have found Cursed Scroll to be VERY GOOD. However, it's a blank against combo, and I'm concerned that my SB in the first list can't handle OmniTell AND Sneak Show at the same time. So, hence I thought of moving 3 Tezzs in MD, and then adding more niche cards in the SB against Sneak-Show.
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Pithing Needle is the droid you're looking for. Phyrexian Revoker can't name lands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Geeksire
Well damn. Thanks! : DQuote:
Originally Posted by Shawon
Alright, Geeksire, as promised, I’m going to provide some useful tips on using Arcbound Ravager. However, I’m going to do something different and pose some scenarios involving Ravager, then I'll let you guys tell me your solution! I figured this would be a fun way to get engage posters and get them to think.
So, if you want to answer or if you are stuck, I ask that you please quote any of my scenarios in your post, or as many as you want, but separate the scenarios in different quotes and make sure your reply is directly below the quoted scenario. I’ll be reading the replies, and I may or may not provide some feedback.
I’m going to start out with some easy scenarios. The easy ones will be mostly theoretical, since I encounter them some many times I can’t remember them. Eventually, the scenarios will get tougher, and those scenarios will most likely be based from games I’ve played.
Ravager Scenario #1
It’s your turn. Your opponent has on the battlefield: Insect Aberration (UNtapped), Volcanic Island (tapped), Tropical Island (2x) (tapped), Tarmogoyf (UNtapped). He or she has 7 life. You can assume your opponent is playing RUG Delver. They have no cards in hand.
You (3 life) have on the battlefield: Ornithopter (2x), Frogmite, Springleaf Drum, Cranial Plating (unattached), Ancient Den, Seat of the Synod. No cards in hand.
You draw an Arcbound Ravager. You can win this turn. How do you do it, and why you should go for the kill this turn?
Hmm, no responses, really?
I find that I can't rely on my memory to come up with scenarios that involve using Ravager, if I can only remember most of it and not all. There are seemingly small but significant factors dependent on game situations that influence the decision into pumping Ravager. To come up with more scenarios, I have to play more games and write down what happens in games I end up using Ravager to play a major part of winning.
Anyway, the scenario below is one that I can easily remember since it only happened within the first two or three turns. This one is actually hard for beginners, so think carefully on this one!
Ravager Scenario #2
It’s game 2 against Zoo and your opponent’s 2nd or 3rd turn. They have a 2/2 Wild Nacatl backed by Savannah. You have a Frogmite and Arcbound Ravager as your creatures, both untapped, with a Drum and 2 artifact lands. Your opponent drops a Taiga, which makes Nacatl into a 3/3 and swings. Your opponent just gave you a HUGE tell. What is it? Knowing the “tell,” you know you have to block, but how do you block?
I believe you have to play Arcbound Ravager then equip Cranial Plating to one of the Ornithopter. Swing with 2x Ornithopter and Frogmite. Equipped Ornithopter and Frogmite are blocked. Before damage, sac every artifacts (6) except unblocked Ornithopter + Arcbound Ravager itself to give 7 counters for lethal? You have to win now for the chance they draw a Ligtning Bolt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawon
If you want to equip an Ornithopter with Cranial Plating, you need to tap the Frogmite for Springleaf Drum. But you don't really need to equip it anyway, you can just attack with both Ornithopters then pump the unblocked one :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Heresy
I have no idea what "tell" you are talking about. I guess if my opponent attacks into Ravager, he might be holding a Lightning Bolt or Path to Exile?Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawon
I guess I'd sacrifice the Springleaf Drum to pump ravager to a 2/2, then double block the Wild Nacatl. If opponent casts Path to Exile on Ravager, I'd respond by saccing it to itself, making Frogmite a 4/4. If opponent casts Path to Exile on Frogmite, I'd sac it to pump Ravager to 3/3, then sac a land to pump it to 4/4 to kill the Nacatl and survive...
DING DING DING! I'm glad you also answered my question on why you have to go for the kill. That's the first step of becoming better at using Ravager, to know when you have enough resources to go all-in and steal a victory right under your opponent's nose.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heresy
That's like 90% of it, but how do you know whether or not they are holding BOTH Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile? Your opponent probably doesn't have both of those cards, because if they did, they would have played both to clear the board for Nacatl to attack for 3.Quote:
Originally Posted by SirTylerGalt
Eros Correcto. That's actually a little bit better than what I did. I double blocked first, and then sacrificed Drum, and in response played Punishing Fire and targeted my Ravager. Much better card to see than Lightning Bolt/Path to Exile :cool: Anyway, the key here is to double block so that you guarantee yourself that you can take out the Nacatl even if they play a removal spell.Quote:
I guess I'd sacrifice the Springleaf Drum to pump ravager to a 2/2, then double block the Wild Nacatl. If opponent casts Path to Exile on Ravager, I'd respond by saccing it to itself, making Frogmite a 4/4. If opponent casts Path to Exile on Frogmite, I'd sac it to pump Ravager to 3/3, then sac a land to pump it to 4/4 to kill the Nacatl and survive...