Being technical and focussing on tight play does help you play much better. Some things I have found it useful to do:
1. Pregame prep: Have a swig of water and a snack before each round (particularly important in the top8). Plus, count your sideboard and make sure there's 15 cards before every game.
2. Keep track of life totals with pen and paper. Announce all life total changes.
3. Announce all Vial counter changes
4. Announce Cavern tribal setting when playing it (I play Thalia, so technically I could be chosing human as well....)
5. Announce all activated/triggered abilities like ETB triggers
6. Announce what step I am playing fast effects in (or what I am playing them in response to)
7. Say how big my Piledrivers are in their declare blockers step
8. vs combo decks, track how many cards they have in hand at all times, particularly before, during and after resolution of tutoring and brainstorms. Track all mana floating in their pool. (combo doesn't auto-win as often as you'd think if you don't mentally check out)
Things I *don't* announce:
a. When my goblins are uncounterable via caverns
b. When my goblins are cheaper because of Warchief or have haste
c. How much my Gempalms will hit for
d. And I don't mark my Cavern of Souls 'setting'
Do you say "cavern for a red" or something to denote that it's adding colored mana? Most people know why your tapping cavern, but I could imagine a scenario where someone wants to get real rulesy with me and claim they thought I was adding a colorless so I always say cavern for a red.Originally Posted by magicmerl
https://twitter.com/MagicJudges/stat...98314249089024
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazin...y/feature/196a
You do not have to say the card is uncounterable. It just is.But, we feel that the controller of Cavern of Souls having to verbally choose a creature type when he or she played the land is adequate notification to that opponent to be more mindful of the game and what's going on.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
I don't even say 'Cavern for Green' when I'm using TSH to blow something up. I just tap my lands (something else provides the red obviously), and announce that I'm destroying their Jitte.
Don't you have to? The place I play make players slip a tag of paper in the sleeves or on top of the card whenever we name a 'setting', whether it be for Cavern of Souls, Chrome Mox, Pithing Needle, etc. It just makes the game flow easier, have better communication, and it is good practice, in my opinion.d. And I don't mark my Cavern of Souls 'setting'
Yes you have to state it. The only time I do not state it is when I play a card right off it that has only one type. So if you played Scrapper off the back of a newly placed Souls you would want ot say "Goblin", but is you play a Lackey there really is no need to say anything other than I am using Souls to play lackey. The connection is obvious.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
Sorry, I don't think I made my point clear. I know we have to state the setting, but shouldn't we also have to record the setting? Like if I play Pithing Needle and name Jitte, I would write "Jitte" on the slip of paper and put the slip on top of Pithing Needle. I do the same for CoS. It is just good practice, especially if one of my CoS is on human if I play Thalia. It's also better for communication because my opponent may try to counter one of my goblins claiming that the setting was on human, if I have multiple CoS on the field.
If someone gets a look at our hand one turn and then the next turn has a discard card in their hand, I will not help remind them of what they saw.
In the same vain, if I have a Cavern set to Goblins and one Set to say Orcs, I am going to play a Goblin with the Goblin one and an Orc with the Orc one. I am under no directive to say what one I am using what for, but if someone wants to try and counter me I will state that "I verbally choose a creature type when I played it, in accordance with the rules. I taped the one needed for the Creature type in question and it is unable to be counted, unless I have stated otherwise."
This means that if I am using the "Orc" card to play Goblin Warchief, I will state that when I do so otherwise the card I used was the one that makes my goblin unable to be counted. After all why am I going to tell the world when it can not be counted if I otherwise don't have to? Also it helps to make things more fun when I do state something can be counted. The idea that comes to mind is "WTF is he planning?"
Now I understand I might be totally in the wrong here. But I think this is the best way to go around it and I have not played with a non goblin in the deck since I took a Demon I use to play out if it, so for me it is really a non issue these days. I do not think I was running Cavern when he was in the deck anyway.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
I agree with open communication, but really, we are a goblins deck. All caverns are set to goblins unless we are about to play Thalia. If I name one as Humans, I set it off to the side, so there's a physical distinction.
And then you call a judge.....
Pretty sure I know how that one would play out.
Played tonight. Went 3-1 losing to SnT. Anyway I took in my trades folder and got 4 Thalia and a Plateau. Wondering if trying for a second Plateau and a Karakas is worth the effort? I would hate to see one of my Plateaus get wasted so I think another one might not be that bad but the Karakas, is it worth trading a good part of my folder for?
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
Every now and then you'll just steal games from SnT, Reanimator, etc. There have been plenty times where I've just turned off my opponent's win condition with Karakas. So that's pretty cool.
Nice result.
I think if the only white card you run is Thalia you can get away with a single plateau since you can also use caverns and vial to get her out. I personally run 2 Plateau since I run RIP SB and it makes me more wasteland proof.
jrw is right, Karakas IS awesome and is very good vs Emrakul decks. However, so is Rishadan Port and our manabase is extremely squeezed. I want to find a way to fit in Karakas (and in magical christmas land, Pendelhaven). But it's so hard.
In terms of trading for a Karakas, can you not proxy it up and play with it for a few months to see if you like it? There's nothing worse than acquiring a sexy new card and finding out that it's not meeting yoru expectations. That said, Karakas isn't going to go down in value either....
I am not sure Proxys would be welcomed. I can have a go I guess but I really dislike playing with them.
I also got a single Pendelhaven last night. Was thinking about it and the trade was easy. That will go in when Root Maze goes in. Hopefully next week.
Oh and something I learnt. CotV on 1 against Status rocks. Won game two because the guy could not cantrip after turn two. Killed a good part of his hand. Definitely repeating that trick.
Stinger and Mindbreak both served me well against SnT. On that I have a question. On what number do you stop Mulling and just take what you have. I feel I lost game 3 not because I could not respond (I bounced his critter) but because I had Mulled to 5 and kept a slow hand but was unwilling to mull again.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
Not during the actual tournament, I'm talking about practice games. And for the actual tournament, you can borrow cards.
Nice. Let us know how it goes. I suspect that it's a superior alternative to tarfire for the opponent's 1/2 blocker for lackey.
Yep. The more streamlined and faster legacy decks get, the more 1-drops they load up on. So CotV is only going to get better as legacy evolves.
I'm happy to mull to 4 against pretty much anyone. Of course, the cards that you are looking for vary depending on what your opponent is playing. One of the strengths of Goblins is how aggressively you can mulligan with the deck compared to others.
Hello Gobrin fans! I have a quick question when dealing with Stifle: If I was to play Goblin Pyromancer with Vial or Cavern, can the abilities of my creature still be countered with Stifle; thus, leaving my Pyromancer to kill ALL MY GOBRINS at the end of my turn? Thanks!
Yes that can be. Your sac ability can be countered regardless of when/how it came into play.
If I had Pyromancer in play with say a Prospector and someone stifled my Pros. I would in response sac the Pyro right away. Really I think a touch more info on the situation could help but in short making the card itself unable to counted does not stop cards that affect its abilities.
Think of it as a Redirect. You're not countering the spell you're just, sending its power elsewhere.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
You can't Stifle Prospector's sacrifice ability since its a mana ability.
I am convinced that WotC is "dumbing" the game because of all the stupid posts they come across on MTG-related forums
True, bad example, switch it out for a sledder.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
Dicebox, you've misunderstood the question. He's talking about stifling ETB ability.
Yes, they can stifle the ETB trigger, preventing your goblins from being pumped. And yes, they will then die at end of turn if your pyromancer is still around then.Hello Gobrin fans! I have a quick question when dealing with Stifle: If I was to play Goblin Pyromancer with Vial or Cavern, can the abilities of my creature still be countered with Stifle; thus, leaving my Pyromancer to kill ALL MY GOBRINS at the end of my turn? Thanks!
Opps. Sorry about that.
On a tangent, if you are playing Pyromancer, also play cards you can sac him too. If he is not around at the end of turn then there is no ability to say Goblins must be Destroyed.
It is better to ask and look stupid then keep your mouth shut and remain so.
I hope your afterlife is filled with eternal torment.
Fuck. Which one of my quotes do I drop for this?
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