4 Card Blind: The Silkster Seasons

[FTW]

How can 4dogs kill - me or anyone?

Good point. 4 4/4 dogs + a 3/3 horse can only deal 19 damage.

GG: Channel
R: Fireball, pay 19 life, X=19

Channel can only make 19 mana, so the combo needs a 4th mana to be lethal.

[Asthereal]

Good point. 4 4/4 dogs + a 3/3 horse can only deal 19 damage.

GG: Channel
R: Fireball, pay 19 life, X=19

Channel can only make 19 mana, so the combo needs a 4th mana to be lethal.

Oh no. We have a problem.

So 4Dogs will score the lowest from all decks.
Which means his deck becomes the ceiling deck for round 1.
Which means we'll need to create a deck that loses 0-6 to his deck.
Which we cannot do, because his deck cannot win.

Oops.

So we should probably change the rule to: "The ceiling deck for next round is the lowest scoring deck from this round that is capable of beating Island, Island, Island, Island."

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

I swear it was not intentional that I did the thing I warned would happen if there was no floor. I am just that bad at this.

[dte]

Oh no. We have a problem.

So 4Dogs will score the lowest from all decks.
Which means his deck becomes the ceiling deck for round 1.
Which means we'll need to create a deck that loses 0-6 to his deck.
Which we cannot do, because his deck cannot win.

Oops.

So we should probably change the rule to: "The ceiling deck for next round is the lowest scoring deck from this round that is capable of beating Island, Island, Island, Island."

I swear it was not intentional that I did the thing I warned would happen if there was no floor. I am just that bad at this.

Everything is fine, we take the median deck after R0. Maybe some bazaar deck, or an elspeth one, or another one.

And I think Silkster has autocrat's rights when it comes to chosing the next ceiling deck, so no issue even if it happens again.

[FTW]

With adjusted results, Reeplcheep's deck wins most average!

For future rounds silk could use discretion for the ceiling deck, perhaps choosing the 2nd-lowest scoring deck if the lowest scoring deck has a problem. Like Backbuild some of us will make mistakes or illegal decks some rounds. No big deal.

So we should probably change the rule to: "The ceiling deck for next round is the lowest scoring deck from this round that is capable of beating Island, Island, Island, Island."

Rushwood Grove, Vesuva, Kukemssa Serpent, Wolfcaller's Howl

Island is too strong in all formats, even in 4CB.

[dte]

Rushwood Grove, Vesuva, Kukemssa Serpent, Wolfcaller's Howl

That is a perfine ceiling deck, no?

[Wrath of Pie]

With adjusted results, Reeplcheep's deck wins most average!

Oh good, the Elspeths can return.

[silkster]

Yeah, you've got everything figured out. I missed that Fourdogs is short by one mana. Also, this round uses the median deck, so no worries. And if someone accidentally submits a deck that like this that can't win, my autocrat powers will choose the second lowest scoring deck. Exactly what qualifies as being weak enough for me to exclude is hard to specify (this would have been excluded), but I don't expect to run into this problem because, from now on, you are trying to win.

Ceiling Season - Round 1

Congrats to Reeplcheep for submitting the most medium deck! Had I thought of it last week, I would have assigned a bonus round point to the winner of the most medium deck.

This week's ceiling deck is Bazaar of Baghdad, Blazing Rootwalla, Basking Rootwalla, Vengevine

All entries must lose 6-0 to this deck. Format is vintage (no restrictions), minus Unfinity, Shahrazad, and extra cards.
Additionally, Bazaar of Baghdad, Blazing Rootwalla, Basking Rootwalla, and Vengevine are banned this week only.

You may now submit your entries using the form in my signature. I have not yet made my deck, which I plan to do over the weekend. On Sunday or Monday, after locking in my deck, I will look over the entries and do my best to confirm their legality. Lists for round 1 will be posted around 11:00am EDT on Tuesday, May 14.

I think that covers everything, but y'all are really good at finding mistakes and edge cases.

[Wrath of Pie]

Basking Rootwalla is not the same card as Blazing Rootwalla

[silkster]

Basking Rootwalla is not the same card as Blazing Rootwalla

I was right that I would get something wrong! Fixed now. Thanks.

[FTW]

Basking Rootwalla is not the same card as Blazing Rootwalla

I wonder if that was intentional, including a functional equivalent so both are banned.

Edit: I was wrong that I was right about silkster being right instead of wrong

[silkster]

Because hashing in SHA256 is fun: 79abb5e2828ab8023664eb7e662036f507d8067f7e79be3cf0d8c65c3184fe46
(Ignore if this means nothing to you.)

I'm going to check decks for legality now. One of the decks I was excited for was actually illegal. It's so easy to fly too close to the sun!

[Asthereal]

Because hashing in SHA256 is fun: 79abb5e2828ab8023664eb7e662036f507d8067f7e79be3cf0d8c65c3184fe46
(Ignore if this means nothing to you.)

I'm going to check decks for legality now. One of the decks I was excited for was actually illegal. It's so easy to fly too close to the sun!

Am I correct in assuming you'll PM the person with the illegal deck?

[silkster]

Am I correct in assuming you'll PM the person with the illegal deck?

Yes, I will. I didn't catch one last night, but I think I caught one just now. PM has been sent.

[FourDogsinaHorseSuit]

Stickers and Attractions were just solved for us

[FTW]

WOTC must have realized that if EVEN 4CB doesn't want it, those mechanics are just a nuisance.

[silkster]

Ceiling Season - Round 1

GoblinSmashmaster: Chancellor of the Forge, Chancellor of the Annex, Force of Will, Mindbreak Trap, comment: Goblin smash!
Asthereal: Black Lotus, Wistful Thinking, Chancellor of the Annex, Fountain of Cho, comment:
dte: black lotus, chancellor of the annex, strip mine, bitterblossom, comment:
Silkster: Strip Mine, Chancellor of the Annex, Chancellor of the Forge, Blazing Torch, comment: Solitude too strong
Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Anje's Ravager, Burning Inquiry, comment:
Wrath of Pie: Undiscovered Paradise, Force of Will, Sea's Claim, Durkwood Baloth, comment:
FTW: Saprazzan Cove, Force of Will, Laboratory Maniac, Subtlety, comment: More subtle this time?

Strip Mine, Chancellor of the Annex, Chancellor of the Forge, Blazing Torch; Solitude too strong

Edit to add link to round 1 scores: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1812765301

[silkster]

GoblinSmashmaster: Chancellor of the Forge, Chancellor of the Annex, Force of Will, Mindbreak Trap, comment: Goblin smash!
DD

Asthereal: Black Lotus, Wistful Thinking, Chancellor of the Annex, Fountain of Cho, comment:
WW

dte: black lotus, chancellor of the annex, strip mine, bitterblossom, comment:
LL - Bitterblossom is smart. I was maybe too worried about needing to cast a win condition.

Silkster: Strip Mine, Chancellor of the Annex, Chancellor of the Forge, Blazing Torch, comment: Solitude too strong
I originally had Solitude instead of Blazing Torch, but thankfully caught that that was too strong. Hopefully this deck is legal, cause it's flying really close to the sun. I was so happy with my discovery of Blazing Torch, and then no one played the deck I was so worried about.


Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Anje's Ravager, Burning Inquiry, comment:
WW

Wrath of Pie: Undiscovered Paradise, Force of Will, Sea's Claim, Durkwood Baloth, comment:
WW

FTW: Saprazzan Cove, Force of Will, Laboratory Maniac, Subtlety, comment: More subtle this time?
WW - I love the timing of this deck that makes it legal.

8W, 2D, 2L = 26

Not a ton of deck diversity, but enough. My first few decks were more discard or anti-discard focused (featuring Wheel/Inquiry or Nullhide Ferox), but free counters are just so good. The fact that Bazaar + Vengevine shrugs off counters made for interesting legalities. Whichever of these decks ends up on the bottom, it's going to be quite powerful!

[dte]

GoblinSmashmaster: Chancellor of the Forge, Chancellor of the Annex, Force of Will, Mindbreak Trap, comment: Goblin smash!
6-0 Annex + land > annex without land
6

Asthereal: Black Lotus, Wistful Thinking, Chancellor of the Annex, Fountain of Cho,
6-0 Annex + strip mine > annex + storeland
12

dte: black lotus, chancellor of the annex, strip mine, bitterblossom, comment:
me. I was almost instantly sure of the first three cards. Bitterblossom is a bit random, but it seemed like a strong wincon that was losing easily to VV.

Silkster: Strip Mine, Chancellor of the Annex, Chancellor of the Forge, Blazing Torch, comment: Solitude too strong
6-0 BB > single gob
18

Reeplcheep: Leyline of Anticipation, Black Lotus, Anje's Ravager, Burning Inquiry, comment:
6-0, annex
24

Wrath of Pie: Undiscovered Paradise, Force of Will, Sea's Claim, Durkwood Baloth, comment:
6-0, annex + strip mine
30

FTW: Saprazzan Cove, Force of Will, Laboratory Maniac, Subtlety, comment: More subtle this time?
6-0, annex + strip mine > Fow + storeland
36

Full sweep!
Or maybe I miscalculated something :/

[silkster]

Full sweep!
Or maybe I miscalculated something :/

When checking for illegal entries, I noticed right away that your deck was winning, but I didn't see just how winning it was and kicked myself for not thinking of BB. In my list of brainstormed decks, only one version of Lab Man beat BB (which is why I had Torch for 2 damage), and one deck is too close for me to figure out. (Who wins between T1 BB and T1 3/4?)