Hiatus

I'm taking a short break over the coming 2 months. I'll need the time for my studies as well as to come up more content. Meantime, I will be reducing my posts to probably 2-3 post over the next month or so. 

I will be back after the Christmas Holidays (aka, next year) with more updates. Meantime, I'll finish up posting the contents I have in drafts and probably do one or two more before the year ends. 

The most frustrating: Sideboard

Please tell me I'm not the only one that finds sideboarding the most frustrating and the most time-consuming in deck building.

Is it just me that my initial options for sideboarding will always exceed the restricted 15 cards?

Also, is it just me or that more time is actually spent on sideboarding strategies rather than actually making sure the deck works?

Personally I love to play home-brew decks, but I'm not really an avid fan of brewing tons of decks and throw them around. To me, I prefer to build 1 or 2 competitive or non-casual decks, build them up proper with the proper tuning and just play with it. I really don't see the need to have 10 Modern decks or EDH decks when I only have time and energy to just play 1 at a time. Also, having lesser decks means being able to spend more time practicing and focus on being good at solely just one deck, I'm able to tune and make changes faster and more efficiently.

Hmm.. to side or not to...

But, here comes the part which frustrates myself; I prefer home-brew decks over competitive net-decks. Sure, I may take ideas from primers and net decks, but in the end, the final product is ensured to have some sort of personal expression or originality in it.  I actually dismantled a UW midrange deck after playing for a single event for my own homebrew. I personally preferred the latter deck still, but I digress.

If you look at my (almost) weekly gameplay reviews, I have been reviewing my gameplay for my Ally reanimator deck for months and I have not even fixed a finalized sideboard. The deck was a homebrew, which  which I have been working for almost a YEAR!

The "worst" part of the deck building that I have found when home-brewing a deck is the sideboard.
The sideboard is restricted to just 15 cards; we can never find enough space for our ideal list. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks 15 cards is, although the right number, really much crammed in space to jam in all our wants. I always have the problem in which I have a list of 20+ cards as ideas for sideboarding. After cutting out 50% of them, I then included the multiples, which always ended up more than the 15 slots, which then I went ahead to remove the cards that are too narrow in its hate or the intended disruption. Finally, I'll end up with 16 cards, not knowing which to cut (In fact, at this point of writing, my Ally Reanimator deck actually has 16 cards in the sideboard, which I left out the third Stony Silence out in favor of the third Pithing Needle.)

The need to separate the wants and needs is really crucial. But, in most games, our needs and wants are really separated by a vague line to be honest. That's frustrating...

Another issue that I can think of as to why sideboard is the "worst" part of the entire deck building journey is the almost lack of originality. Okay, I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of heat from this, but hear me out! When it comes to the sideboard, more time is spent actually on analyzing local meta and this can be frustrating as the local meta differs, but the decks that are present is usually not. The main difference is the percentage variation of the different archetypes and decks present that makes up to the meta.

Building on the point mentioned above, since so much time is spent on analyzing meta, it naturally meant that more time is spent building the sideboard (which is a good thing by the way; means I am really looking into the meta and fighting against it properly). But, it still doesn't give much variation to the sideboard in terms of originality. Strong sideboard cards have already been tested and proven to be effective against certain decks and match-ups. So, even if its a home-brew deck, the sideboard may eventually be winding up as the same as the other guy across the room, playing the same archetype.

Sure, I'm not blind to notice that there are variations to the "hate" and stax cards that are used against match-ups; I'm pointing out that the sideboards in the certain archetype would eventually look the same. For example, creature-heavy decks would eventually use Kataki, War's Wage over Stony Silence against Affinity match-ups. The variation is there in the cards, but not the hate. Eventually, the sideboard is not just dependant on the deck I make, but also what decks other people make.

In essence, the most frustrating thing in Sideboard building is not actually the building; that's the easy part: finding the cards to hate. But, it is not so simple as to just jam in 15 hate cards and done.

How does the hate cards hinder your game-plan? 
How does the additional cards going to affect the mana curve? 
How does the cards going to affect your other games? 
Are there better options out there? 
Are the options flexible enough to cover more than intended? 
What cards are you going to side out? 

So many questions to think through and answer before I can actually decide on a good sideboard. It's the analysis and research needed as downtime to understand the local meta in your community and actually plan and work against it. It is also the time needed to look at your decklist and understand the minor synergy between the cards, how they interact each other. By including the new cards from the sideboard, how are the interactions going to be different? How the game-plan is going to change? That's the frustration.

It is very clear to anyone who played a decent amount of time in MTG to know that the sideboard is the most important 15 cards out of the 75.  It is the crucial plan in your entire deck that determines your decks' viability against the meta, literally making and breaking your games.

The meta is forever changing as more deck ideas will come up overtime. We only have to keep up.

Commander 2014: Hyped? [First Look!]

I'm going to say something that I'm sure it's going to get a lot of heat from the viewers...

Commander 2014, in my opinion, is not worth the price as it is now. (~$40 per deck)

Long time followers of the blog will know I will usually do a "First Look" article for almost every new expansion set. However, due to my commitment in studies and my other workload, I could not take enough time off to do any amount of research for this new product.

I am still rushing out this article over the weekend, around in time for the release; but, it's not going to be anything like how my normal "First Look" articles will be like. Any case, back to business. As I mentioned, what I can say for now is this; Commander 2014 is NOT worth the price it is being tagged at the moment.

Range of $35 to $45... Almost completely out of stock.. Really?! (7th Nov 2014) [www.starcitygames.com]

Okay, so why am I saying this? In comparison to Commander 2011, the first print, we know that it is significantly a larger print run and with such a larger print runs, reprinted EDH staples is not going to tank in the price; Foils are exception of course. 

Now, with more going around in circulation, the means that the chance for it to see price spike or rise is going to be in Eternal Formats, actually, just Legacy itself. Remember True Name Nemesis? Yea, I'm sure we all do.

Ohh.. this going to be fun in EDH! Oh wait....

So if history is going to repeat itself, so what cards are going to see legacy play? This is definitely the first question we are asking ourselves.

I was looking around the web and many are looking at the price of the pre-constructed deck and dismantling it into its components for value. On this point, many are arguing that the Red and White ones are the best valued ones. Well, kinda. Looking at SCG prices above and the known reprints in the decklists,  we can draw a statement that it would most likely be so. 

Decklist: http://www.thebagofloot.com/commander-2014-spoilers/

However, don't forget the larger print runs; second wave of prints etc. Do you really think the prices will tank after that? sure, at the moment now the cards will see some value, but once the print runs hit the second wave, we have to re-evaluate the questions asked.

Thirdly, It is a smart move to print mono-coloured EDH, so it actually caters to more relevance to the other multi-coloured decks currently out there in terms of staples and the demands. Then again, look at what is actually going to be played and used. Staples in the new CMD 2014 is sure going to see play and well, are gonna be grabbed up, the other cards which, however new, are going to compete for deck slots against deck ideas to actually see any chance of price increment. 

"Lieutenant" is going to be more useful in Voltron decks or decks that is going to see its commander most of the time; it's not going to be useful in decks like Child of Alara going for superfriends strategy or my version of Ghave, Guru of Spores, which can actually work without the commander. 

I'm not going to use the Offerings cycle in 1v1 matches... 

Get the idea?

Nevertheless, I'm still going for the tradition; Here are my Top 10 picks for Commander 2014. Note that this list will only feature new cards in the top 10. Again, not in any order!

If you haven't noticed by now, my top 10 picks are merely by appeal in art or flavor. It is by no means that those are the best 10 cards in terms of power or value. It's merely just the top cards that caught my eye or my desire to want it for whatever reason.

My Top 10 Picks!

10: Arcane Lighthouse

Okay, show of hands... Who hates shroud, Hexproof in EDH when its NOT on your own creatures? I have a friend playing a Voltron Bruna EDH which can end up having a 20/20 double strike, shroud, etc... I hate it cos not many of us in the playgroup can deal it. I also don't like Geist or Jenara with Hexproof as a commander. 

Remember the times where Swiftfoot Boots and Lightning Greaves is the most headache artifacts to deal with? Well, here we are. A good answer for just 2 mana! 

9: Commander's Sphere

In EDH, mana rocks and ramps are never enough. What's even better is that this can actually draw you a card if needed. I can go on about how good this card actually is as a mana ramp, but I think I'll leave it as it is. More hints? it gives a ramp + draw. period. Find me a card that does that for ANY deck colour identities. 

8: Containment Priest

"This is a very good card that may actually see Legacy play" ~ The internet people.  

While I don't disagree, I really would want to ask Legacy players what relevance does this card do in your meta. I don't play legacy so I'll leave the statement as it is await for your comments. 

Looking at the EDH format point of view, it's really strong in the sense is that it stops Quicksilver Amulet and Tooth and Nail kind of cards which cheats creatures into play. Reanimators will also suffer because of this girl. 

This card is one of the cards that makes the white decks are currently the more pricy ones with the red matching it. 

Speaking of the Red deck...

7: Dualcaster Mage

In EDH, anything that copies something is always relevant. Now imagine this copying well, a ramp spell or and land destruction spell, yea you get the picture..

6: Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury

Do you know how insane this card is in a heavy green deck? In fact, she is really insane in any green deck! Her +2 gives you a Llanowar Elves, -2 is a naturalize and -6 is well... remember Regal Force? In fact, it looks as though she is made to be suited well into a heavy green deck to supply ramp, removal and card draw! I love this card! 

5: Intellectual Offering

I'm not really a fan of Offering spells, but politically speaking, this is a good tool to manipulate opponents into "allies" to conspire against well, the remaining poor dudes.. I like this one especially as it is essentially a draw spell + untap everything. It may seem odd at first, but to me, it really has its applicability. 

4: Masterwork of Ingenuity

To me, this card has a heck load of use in EDH and Legacy. It copies any Equipment! That Umezawa's Jitte! Batterskull! 

Even in EDH, the boots suddenly seem a lot more appealing to you eh? It's a good card that will see some form of play in Legacy and in EDH. However, I don't expect to see it breaking any formats soon.

3: Tyrant's Familiar

As a dragon card, this card does what it meant to do. An expensive spell with a huge P/T and it flies and has haste! "Lieutenant" makes it stronger and honestly without it, there are better dragons out there. 

While I like this card for the art and the flavour text. It seems kind of weird that for a dragon, it's tamed if you get my drift... 

2: Wave of Vitriol

Hoho... This board-wipe is surely going to screw a lot of people playing the tons of non-basic lands and stuff... Because the keyword here is sacrifice, "Indestructible" keywords can be thrown out of the window! I think I have found my favourite mass removal after Merciless Eviction. That being said, more foil basic lands!

 1: Necromantic Selection

In terms of flavour, effect and artwork, I really like this card. It's steep in the casting cost, but imagine the board-state at 7 mana. Destroy everything and then return a creature back. Most of the time it sets your opponents back for 1-2 turns, but if you played right, it's enough to turn the tide around if it isn't going to your favour. To me this card will see its impact for the more casual groups and not really for the competitive ones. Heck, EDH is in the first place, meant to be a casual format... 

To wrap up, I'd figure that unless you are in a rush or need to get the cards as soon as possible, I really don't think it is a need to get them now. I'll wait for the prices to settle down before making my purchases. Reprints like Wurmcoil Engine will definitely take a hit in the prices and right now, it will see decline. I won't risk to jump in to buy them now. A personal judgment will be to wait for the second wave before deciding what to jump into. 

A mistake I made was to buy Mind Seize last year, hoping that the price will go up. However, when Wizards announced a change in the structure of print, giving 2 Mind Seize + 3 other random of the remaining, it killed the price. Furthermore, True Name Nemesis didn't hold its $50 price tag for long. 

Basically the point would be that if you are confident in moving the cards fast for that quick buck, go ahead and get the Red and White decks. If not, hold back for this one. Fate Reforged is coming out soon; or just get more Shocklands or Abrupt Decays.

Modern Gameplay Review: 4th November 2014

Another coverage for the Modern event at MTG-Asia @ Aliwal Street. Again, it's my Ally deck. This time round, my focus will be more on the sideboard, rather than the gameplay.

Deck: 5C Ally Reanimator

I did a bit of tweaking to include Life from the Loam. The sideboard received a fair bit of rework to replace some cards and as well as to test out a couple of cards to see the effectiveness against certain match-ups.

Round 1: Jeskai Pyromancer (2-1)

UR Delver with a twist; Jeskai Ascendancy... This game was interesting to play as there are many things happening in the 3 games. I won the first game by stabilising the board after reanimating empyrial archangel. He managed to kill off 1 first before I reanimated it again, and later, the other.

I lost game 2 due to the speed of the deck and again, no combo pieces.

The third game proved that Iona, Shield of Emeria is really a good deck hoser if named the right colour. I named "blue" against the deck, shutting down his draw and digging spells. 

SB:

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

-1 Kazandu Blademaster

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Chalice of the Void

+1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

+1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

+1 Batterskull

Against aggro deck, my initial thought was to remove Izzet Charm and a few creatures to push to stabilize or hoser. I specially included batterskull for that reason (later games showed it's not really that good for my deck) due to its lifegain.

Elesh Norn and Iona is in there to hose almost any deck; however, the former is better against aggro beatdown plan, while the latter is better off in spell-based decks; so the latter may be better in this match-up.

I managed to resolve a Chalice of the Void for 1 in game 2, but it's not as effective as it seems as the opponent can work around it easily. In this case it's not really effective in shutting the opponent down as I had hoped. 

Round 2:  GW Bogle (0-2)

Turn 1 Slippery Bogle with a lot of auras is too much for my deck to handle. It's simply too fast. The scaling of its power on a single creature is beyond my reach once it hits turn 4.

In game 2, my opponent shut my game plan with Rest in Peace. So things goes downhill from there.

SB:

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

-1 Kazandu Blademaster

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Chalice of the Void
+1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
+1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
+1 Batterskull

So the idea was simple when I tried sideboarding. I wanted to either get out Chalice (x=1), land a t4 Iona, Shield of Emeria to hose the opponent. Ended up I drew my Batterskull too late and yea, the 4 lifegain is irrelevant here.

Round 3: Abzan Midrange (1-2)

Won the first game by milling my opponent 144 cards. I later lost the other 2 games due to hate plans and well, no recovery plans; my opponent made a beat down plan after casting and targeting surgical extraction onto my reanimating Angel of glory's Rise. Third game is given due to the scavenging ooze running around... yea... a pain in the neck...

SB:

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

-1 Harabaz Druid

-3 Izzet Charm

+3 Pithing Needle
+1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
+1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

No comments for the sideboard as nothing came out for this match post-sideboarding. Yes, both games, nothing came out... so I can't comment.

Pointers for this week;

• Chalice of the Void under-performed in my opinion. It doesn't hose as well as it should. I'll remove it for other things.
• A suggestion was to include lifegain cards like Kitchen Finks, Wurmcoil Engine, etc.. I dismissed the idea as lifegain may help to prolong the game, but it does not actually help in stabilizing the game against aggro decks. Early game boardwipes of some sort or hosers will be a better options instead. 
• I often overlooked Izzet Charm as a removal / counter-spell. I should look into taking out other cards instead of Izzet Charm. It's really useful as a utility tool.
• Iona, Shield of Emeria has proven her worth here. Even it is just for a match, it's enough to show me her power as it really rendered the opponent useless.
• Always remember to go for the game-plan!

So far for my Sideboard:

4 more slots. I have the following as consideration:

1x Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

3x Slagstorm

It probably seems that I would be sideboarding in 4-slot replacements. I'll look into the cards to affirm the slots, but until then, this would be my sideboard.

My next move.

The year is coming to a close in 2 months, so I'll do a short wrap up on a few things while disclosing what I am personally thinking and aiming for the next year. It will take time to prepare, so I might as well get ready now.

Budget and Funding:
As I did mention earlier about some errors I made within the year, I figured that it is better to restart my trading. For the past few months, I have been planning, tying up loose ends and clearing out tabs. From there, I would be looking to save up a good amount as capital. Nevermind the the quantity as capital as from there, I will work my way back up. So far now I am back on track to do trading

Decks

I think this one is rather straightforward. I intend to break the format with my 5C reanimator deck. Ally decks really deserves more spotlight as a tribe. Yes, the support for the tribe eventually fell flat, but hey, Return to Zendikar or Zendikar something? There is a very hot speculation that the storyline will go into Zendikar next. Maybe we would see Allies.. My very guess is that Allies would see additional support or some sort of new prints in the next block if it features a return to Zendikar Planes, or if not maybe in the last core set. 

I do have an EDH deck which I am in the process of foiling it. So that takes priority for the next couple of years. It would be hard on my wallet, but I will consider this as a very long term investment into the game. Building the full deck at foil and the "final upgrade" will be the most expensive spending project. I intend to target the original Dual-lands, foil fetchlands and a couple of cards that are crazily expensive due to casual demand.

My modern deck? Let's just say that once I am able to break the format in one way or another, or I actually do perform well as a dark horse, I'll start foiling it. Even if I am unable to foil it, 80% are already Japanese cards so I considered it pimped. It's not a priority to foil it as I don't see myself going very competitive with it in the near future. Hence, I would rather foil my EDH deck.

I actually have another deck in the works as and when I can find the pieces. It's relatively more expensive than my Ally deck currently, and the core of the UW deck I was playing a couple of weeks back is transferable to the new deck. 

That deck is also an underdog deck, which had seen performance and wonderful plays. It is currently not in the meta (obviously) and I'm intending to work with the deck more IF Deathrite Shaman gets unbanned. Not because I will use it, but the Reanimator deck will crumble with Deathrite Shaman getting unbanned. No, I have no immediate plans to foil that deck. Though it would be good to start now actually.

Trades - 

Trades will be relatively simple to discuss, but complicated to explain my exact moves as to what I am going to do to reach there. I am currently doing trades in Pucatrade.com and Deckbox.com 

My direct links are as shown;

Pucatrade: https://pucatrade.com/invite/gift/6429

Deckbox: https://deckbox.org/users/xxDSJJxx

I do enjoy trading there, just that the shipping fees do take up some part of the actual trade amount in the end. I am also looking to get in a few cards at cheap prices as short-term and long term investments. 

Some of the targeted pieces are as shown; 

Shocklands: Mid-term (2-3 Years)

• Once the lands go up to an average of $14 a piece for player's price, I'll let go the excess for other stuff.
• Reprints not possible for this coming 2 years, but it is not impossible to see reprint after that to hold the price down for Modern. 
• I'll look to trade for foils. Those will be the ones I'll be keeping for longer term.

Abrupt Decay: Short-Term (~1 Years)

• This is somewhat the Vindicate of Modern. It hits just about most of the cards played in modern. It's also seen in play in Legacy and in EDH due to its versatility.
• The ceiling for Abrupt Decay is predicted to be around $15, with the current price to be at about $12. However, I refused to believe to be so low. I think there is a good chance to hit around $18-$20 during modern season.
• This will have a high chance of seeing reprints. Once I see it hitting around $14, I can consider letting go or trading it for other stuffs.

Fetchlands: Not now

• I personally doubt that this is the right time to invest in fetchlands. Let people hoard for all I care. The boxes will continue to be opened like no tomorrow and the supply will still exceed demand. 
• I would start buying in once the prices dip a little more. That would be the best time to start buying the required pieces. In fact, If budget permits, I would target the foil ones for $50/$70 for non-blue/blue fetches.
• Zendikar Fetches reprints are inevitable. It's coming; just a matter of when. When it's reprinted, I won't make the mistake of buying the boxes; I'll grab the singles.

Snapcaster Mage: Long-term (~3 Years)

• This multi-format staple has hit blue decks immediately it was released; I loved this card for what it does and yes, I am well aware of the power. If Vendilion Clique is justified to be a $70 card at the point of writing, I feel Snapcaster Mage do have a high potential to hit $50 easily! I'd buy him in at $30 and hold them or as trading chips
• Reprints for him is very unlikely; Maybe only for premium sets like FTV or Modern Masters 2.

Voice of Resurgence: Long-term (~3 Years)

• Similar to Snapcaster Mage; this card is severely underplayed. I'll look to trade into this as much as possible.
• However, this is not a priority to pick up yet. 

Ghostfire Blade: Short-term (~6 Months)

• Currently Ghostfire blade is a dollar rare which I am taking in at $0.50 a piece. If any chance it goes up to $3 or $4, that's the best time to let go. I'm also taking in foil ones at $1-$1.50 where possible. 

Actually, this will see immediate release if the second set is confirmed to be revolving around Ugin or colourless stuff.

Monastery Swiftspear: Mid-term (~1 to 2 Years)

• Monastery Swiftspear is a card which I may hold longer. It's a good card that has seen play in Modern and Legacy. $1 (at the point of writing) for that card is too cheap for its power. I'm speculating that it will hit the same curve as Aven Mindcensor within a few years. 
• I will have to tank the prices if it dips, which is unlikely, but if the trend of pack opening continues on like this, the possibility is there. It is very unlikely foils for Swiftspear to hit below $10 mark if the demand meets the supply. For now I would assume supply will exceed demand, so I'll grab the foil copies for longer term investments

(It has broken the $2 mark at the point of writing)

EDH (???)

• Not a big fan of holding out EDH staples after a lesson learnt unless I am starting my own shop; I don't have the capacity and the budget to hold out EDH staples. It is a format that is thriving on the casual demand.
• Honestly as I did mentioned in an older article that EDH is a good format to invest; I still stand by my ironic comment, but that is IF I have the capacity and budget to hold the cards; I have to remember that EDH is a VERY long term investment, so it doesn't make sense for me, as a growing trader, to horde EDH cards so early in my trading and sit there without the capability to move the cards.
• Also, priority investment in EDH goes to the staples like tutors and good removals. Foils are also very highly sought after!
• I'm working on a project to foil out my EDH. This includes the foil fetches and even acquiring Revised Dual Lands as it is the only EDH deck that I will be having and making for the current period of this coming few years. 

Foil Planeswalkers: (Long Term)

• I started this blog mentioning this is my end point; Initially I wanted to make a blog on the journey of myself collecting the planeswalker (much like Pokemon, where you go collect everyone of them)... Well, to an extent, I am still collecting them, but not as a priority now as my budget is tighter when I go up the collection list.
• Just to note, I aim to trade for those rather than to buy directly, so this is meant to be a long term project...
• All else fails, this becomes a good trading chip for other staples.

Speaking of trading....

This leads to..

Project-Zer0

I'll be honest here. I don't intend to do this at the scale I am doing now for long. It is either I work my way up to find a bigger source of bulk rares and move them faster or I will slowly cease this project, bringing it to a closure. It is not because that I have no sources or unable to continue the project for any reason. It is that the collection will overtime slow down in the movement capacity and financially it's not very viable. Sure I can hold the card stocks, but if I would do that, I rather hold out in hundreds to make the holding sustainable and justified when the prices do spike.

I will keep this in view; I enjoyed working this project, but eventually it would not be possible for me to lug around boxes of cards to game stores without causing any rift. So, if I were to do it from home, I have to find more publicity. It's a good thing that the local scene here knows of the branding of the Project. Now the next step up is to work on building the value of it. 

For as much as possible, I will continue to blog. I used to blog about my personal life for 5 years before closing the blog. So I had experience writing blogs on a daily basis, but due to the school work and other commitments, I can only push out 5-6 entries per month. (4-5 if I have to do some research before posting.)

I haven't had the eligibility to sign up for Adsense, but I am currently using Nuffnang as advertising campaigns to support my endeavor. I don't expect to get paid via the advertisements doing this due to the relatively lower traffic as compared to the other blogs out there, but I am looking to do commision-based articles if I have the opportunity to fund my work and trades.

So what's my next move? I personally think that the capital building is the most important right now. I've decided to take 5 months to save as much as I can before hitting the buylist again. The goal for me is to get about $400-$500 in capital. From there, it just voice to which card to buy for investment value.

Modern Gameplay Review: 25th October 2014

Yea, I've gotten a bit lazy to update. Because this is going to be long. 5 games to cover! So let's go!

This is the coverage for the Modern event at MTG-Asia @ Aliwal Street. Again, it's my Ally deck.

Deck: 5C Human-Ally Reanimator

I did a fair bit of changes. I've maxed out all the enablers to increase consistency. Sideboard requires a few works here and there, so I'm still tweaking and trying out a few stuff. Slaughter Games is a very powerful card in the right deck, and I feel it's a good card against Control matches. I'm still looking for aggro match-ups and a few ideas came into my mind; Night of the Soul's Betrayal, Supreme Verdict and Engineered Explosives made the cut, but I am not convinced.

Any case, let's review my game play!

Round 1: UWR Gargadon (2-0)

Game 1:

I faced a very interesting deck for my first game. The opponent first appears to play Hallowed Fountains and I'm skeptical at first, whether it is a UWx control deck. Well I didn't know what deck he is playing until post-game.

I just played out my creatures and hit into a few removals but that didn't stop me from setting up my combo pieces. Eventually I managed to pull off my combo, pulling Angel of Glory's Rise and milling the opponent 42 cards. My opponent later conceded. 

SB:
-1 Harabaz Druid
-1 Reflecting Pool
-2 Izzet Charm

+2 Choke
+1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
+2 Slaugther Games

Game 2:
You remember how I was mentioning that Empyrial Archangel is a sick card to target from graveyard and landing in turn 4? This game just showed me that.

Apparently my opponent still didn't manage to get close to showing me his deck. I wasn't sure what was the deck, but I know he had Cryptic Command in his deck (he cast that in game 1 as a counter and to tap my creatures). So I tapped out to cast Slaughter Games, naming Cryptic Command and also to see what is his deck actually is.

It turns out to be Jeskai Gargadon, which utilizes Greater Gargadon as a time clock. The opponent then proceeded to control the game and when the time is right, he will stop the suspend and land the Gargadon for the win. He didn't managed to do that.

I reanimated Empyrial Archangel and proceeded to swing in a beatdown plan. 2 turns later, I reanimated the other and my opponent conceded with 10 life. It will be a lethal swing the next turn.

Round 2: UWR Control (0-2) [Toshi]

Game 1: 
I think every match coverage will feature this gentleman here. Wizards really love to friendly fire much...

The first game is quick. As I did some changes to the deck, so did the opponent. He tuned the deck to be much faster and true enough, I was overwhelmed before hitting my 4th mana.

SB:

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

-1 Kazandu Blademaster

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Choke

+1 Engineered Explosives

+1 Night of the Soul's Betrayal

+1 Supreme Verdict

Game 2:

This game allowed me to test a few of my sideboard cards. For one, Choke is counter-productive to my deck. Two, never go 1-off in sideboards unless you have sure-fire ways the card will be easily found.

I couldn't find my combo pieces; my opening hand went aggro and I chose to keep it. My opponent easily removed my creatures and tried to "Blood Moon" me by casting Magus of the Moon. Thankfully for the basic lands, but in the end, I lost due to the army and the incoming damage.

Round 3: RDW (0-2)

Game 1: 

Generally, against RDW, it would be something like this,
land a creature, beat, burn and burn until game over.

So basically, the game went as said. my opponent landed a Vexing Devil on the first turn and I paid 4 life to get him out. He later landed another which I allowed him to resolve.

I held the game long enough to pull off my combo, which actually enabled a 50-card mill. However, my opponent managed to remove 1 halimar excavator on the trigger stack and ended up mill-ing him 16 cards. He took the game by casting 2 boros charm, dealing lethal to my 8 life left.

SB:

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

-1 Harabaz Druid

-4 Izzet Charm

+1 Engineered Explosives

+1 Night of Soul's Betrayal

+1 Pithing Needle
+2 Slaughter Games

Game 2:

I lost the second game is even faster. The opponent incinerated my creatures; I'm perfectly fine with that. However what I am not okay with was that I could have reanimated a turn 4 Empyrial Archangel, which effectively could have shut the game down.

But, I'm not okay with the turn 1 Tormod's Crypt. It just completely shuts down my game plan. He prevented my plans and later landed another. However, I won't play on the game on as it basically just a slow "death" for me. Maybe, rather, a quick one soon.

Round 4: Rakdos (1-2)

Game 1: 

Lost the game fairly quickly due to the lack of my combo pieces. The deck ran Dark Confidant, Gatekeeper of Malakir and Liliana of the Veil. The more interesting card that this:

Tymaret, the Murder King has a bunch of utility that may be another Deathrite Shaman in the right deck. But, from what I have seen, basically he's a more annoying Reassembling Skeleton. Yet to see potential from the card, but gives me a few ideas to run into.

In the match, I lost from the aggressive beat down. I have no combo pieces and no creatures to hold back the beat down.

SB:

-1 Unburial Rites

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Slaughter Games

+3 Pithing Needle 

Game 2:

The second game is more interesting. The opponent managed to cast Surgical Extraction, naming Angel of Glory's Rise. Quite surprising to  him was that I sided out one piece. Doubt if he was aware of my other alternative plans.

Nevertheless I managed to reanimate Empyrial Archangel, later cast a Mirror Entity. I eventually managed to take the game through a beatdown.

SB:
-2 Izzet Charm

+2 Path to Exile

Game 3:

I took too much life from the Fetch/Shock set-up. Also, with the beatdown from my opponent doesn't make it any better. I made a mistake by activating the reanimator too early. The difference was the Liliana of the Veil in the opposing board and his creatures he was playing..

I was at 4 life with 2 opposing creatures to beat for lethal. I could have survived another turn by flashing the reanimation on combat step to survive a turn. However, I was too rush to play it. So upon that turn, I conceded.

Round 5: UB Tezzeret (2-0)

Game 1: 

The first game is really quick. I was roughly in mind that the opponent is running some form of control, but the initial idea wasn't clear until I start seeing artifacts and I did overhear someone playing UB Tezzeret, so the aim basically is to combo off as fast as possible.

Thankfully my deck opened with a good hand and I managed to combo, pulling off the mill with 40+ cards. The opponent conceded quickly after that.

SB:

-1 Unburial Rites

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Stony Silence

+2 Slaughter Games

+1 Pithing Needle

Game 2:

The second game is much more interesting; I landed a turn 2 Stony Silence, which I managed to shut him down for a couple of turns. He ended discarding his mass removals and basically could not do anything. This gave me some time to set up my combo (my opening hand wasn't great).

My opponent managed to boardwipe using Engineered Explosives*, but luckily it fed my combo. So, I

Eventually I managed to pull off the combo with Angel of Glory's Rise, then later casting Mirror Entity. The next turn I swing in for overkill, making everyone 11/11.

*Overlooked this fact; Stony Silence shuts down Engineered Explosives.. So actually there is no way that he could have removed my board in this game.

I finished 16th, with a final score of 2-3. Hence, I got only 1 prize pack;

Pack Prize: Sultai Ascendancy... + Foil Zurgo Helmsmasher

Pointers for this week;

• At best, hold the opening hand with the cards for digging. In fact, I should be holding an opening hand which helps to dig the library for cards; not anything that seems on the aggro side. 
• Hold the game for half a turn if needed; if I can pull off the instant reanimator, it's best to do it on my opponent's turn unless it's necessary.
• Choke have to go. Its drawback is too much for my deck in most conditions as I do play a significant amount of Island.
• My thoughts for anti-aggro decks in sideboard would either to add in more removals or disruptions. Conventional disruptions won't help much, so I figured Engineered Explosives and Chalice of the Void may do the trick as most threats are cmc 1 or 2. 
• My other ideas included Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite and Iona, Shield of Emeria as reanimating options
• The other point to take note of is the abundance of graveyard hate. Tormod's Crypt, Relic of Progenitus, Rest in Peace and Scavenging Ooze are all major threats. 

Modern Gameplay Review: 21st & 22nd October 2014

Back with a double Modern Gameplay review! But, this time round I'm not going to go into details in the 2 games (the next one will be in full details as much as possible!). This article will focus more on the flaws of my deck and how I will want to tackle to improve the deck.

21st October 2014 @ Aliwal Street

The deck underwent a massive revamp to tune and increase the consistency of pulling off the combo. Some of the obvious changes is the inclusion of Makeshift Mannequin, Izzet Charm and Taigam's Scheming. These cards will help to push the deck to improve the consistency in its reanimator strategy.

Empyrial Archangel was added in as a 1-off to test against the meta. 5/8 Flyer with shroud is very powerful, considering that she can block anything. In fact her second ability makes it the reason why I want to play her in my 75. Plus, getting her in turn 4 is really powerful as a threat.

Round 1: UR Delver (0-2)

Side Note: The pilot of the deck is, again, Toshi!

Game 1 & 2: 

I think by now we pretty much know how the deck goes against UR delver. It's a given match to the opponent cos it's too fast! I basically could not pull off the combo any time in the game because my pieces are lacking... Great...

SB:

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

-2 Izzet Charm

-1 Gifts Ungiven
-1 Harabaz Druid

+1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

+2 Choke

+2 Engineered Explosives
+1 Empyrial Archangel

I lost both games are pretty much for the same reason;

• Messed up land base. Didn't manage to acquire 
• No reanimator options when I have the reanimators
• No reanimators when I have options
• Sideboard cards are not effective

In short, the deck was still inconsistent with its combo pieces. Now, before going out and ask why don't I play the griselbrand reanimator deck instead? It's simply because it's a known and established deck. There is nothing to improve on and also, it's expensive to build. 

Round 2: Jund (0-2) [Arnold]

Game 1&2: 

Yea, if you get the pattern for today's game, you realise I'm just going to report the 2 games as one paragraph again.
Primarily, I lost the game due to mana-jam and wrong colour sources or land type. Also, being stuck at 2-3 mana for a few turns against a disruptive decks can really strip away your options and basically, you're waiting to concede the game.

SB:

-1 Izzet Charm
-1 Gifts Ungiven
-1 Angel of Glory's Rise
-1 Harabaz Druid

+2 Meddling Mage
+2 Path to Exile
+1 Empyrial Archangel

I think I can elaborate more from here about the land issues. My land count is 20 cards, which gives me a 1/3 chance in drawing a land when I need it. I "cheat" the odds by playing cards to dig and filter my deck. So as to what I need and what I do not, I know beforehand.

That's ideal case actually. In reality, a lot of factors affects my draw rate. Can you actually believe that for one of the games, I actually have to struggle through 5-6 turns without a digging card like Faithless Looting or Taigam's Scheming? Stuff like this happens sometimes.

• multi-coloured lands but cannot activate at the right time
• wrong lands at the wrong time.
• shuffling problem leading to land screw

Also, when I did the tuning, 21 lands seems to flood me with lands, while 20 lands seems to be a bit on the edge. Well, that always happen; at 21/22 or 22/23 lands. My thought for 20 lands is basically to thin down the deck for more options or cards to play. Afterall, this deck actually just requires 4 lands to work. Again, ideal scenario.

Round 3: Merfolk (0-2)

Game 1: 

Merfolk deck is a deck which I personally think that there is no proper sideboard against it. This variation of Merfolk is more aggressive (great...)

In the first game, the game is very quickly over with the army of Merfolks. Bascially so long as 1 merfolk is there, the next one will either receive the buff or the other way round. Seriously, it's basically an army of "Lords". Making things worse is the islandwalk; I play 5 colours, so that really hits me hard. 7 damage, 8 damage, and.... I'm dead. On my side? I couldn't find a reanimator.

SB:

-1 Kazandu Blademaster

-3 Izzet Charm

-1 Gifts Ungiven
-1 Harabaz Druid

+2 Engineered Explosives

+2 Choke

+2 Pithing Needle

Game 2:

I could slow the opponent with choke and Engineered Explosives, but the real threat here is Aether Vial. I managed to sunburst my Engineered Explosives for 2 charge counters and 3 turns later, activate it to blow up 2 merfolks before they get out of hand (This game was slower for some reason). I landed Choke on the following turn, which theoretically should shut him down, but thanks to Aether Vial, the threats still enter and yep, that's the game.

Pack Prize: Utter End

22nd October 2014 @ Superstar Gaming

Not much tuning from the previous day; I was too tired to think of any changes for the deck. I only change the Sideboard to include Kitchen Finks and 1 more Pithing Needle.

Round 1: RDW (0-2)

Game 1 & 2: 

I lost both games for a simple reason; I cannot handle aggro decks. My sideboard can be used previously to hose most decks, but the changes in the deck would also the sideboard to be updated.

Basically against aggro decks, I need to combo by t5 latest. I made a grave mistake in throwing the wrong reanimator card into the graveyard. I am supposed to throw Unburial Rites instead of Makeshift Mannequin. Guessed which one I ended up throwing by mistake.

For the Second game, I have kitchen finks, but Eidolon of the Great Revel is a threat too annoying to handle while trying to pull off the combo. In fact, I could not find a single reanimator option for my Empyrial Archangel, which was in the graveyard by t3. 

• Messed up land base
• No reanimator options when I have the reanimators
• No reanimators when I have options

SB:

-3 Izzet Charm

-1 Harabaz Druid

+3 Kitchen Finks

+1 Empyrial Archangel

Round 2: BG "the Rock" (0-2)

Game 1: 

The game went off strong on my side at first; I was pummeling the opponent with a good deal of damage until he manage to draw options and threats. He removed my Kazandu Blademaster and Hada Freeblades with Abrupt Decay and Maelstrom pulse, pulled out a Tarmogoyf, and quickly hit me for a great amount of damage. I could only take that much beating until I gave up.

SB:

-1 Izzet Charm
-2 Harabaz Druid
-1 Kazandu Blademaster
-1 Gifts Ungiven

+2 Path to Exile
+3 Pithing Needle

Game 2:
I just hate Scavenging Ooze. Period. Turn 2 Ooze thwarted my plans and my Pithing Needle was removed. I lost the game when the opponent starts buffet.

Round 3: Jund (1-2) [Arnold]

Game 1:

Similar to round 2, Game 2, Scavenging Ooze goes on a Buffet and his brother Tarmogoyf went on rampage.

SB:

-1 Izzet Charm

-2 Harabaz Druid

-1 Kazandu Blademaster

-1 Gifts Ungiven

-1 Angel of Glory's Rise

+2 Path to Exile

+3 Pithing Needle

+1 Empyrial Archangel

Game 2: 

This game truly show me the potential of my deck. It managed to withstand the early game and I pulled out the combo. (FINALLY!) And basically I hammered the opponent with just the right amount of damage. Mirror Entity really takes the game here.

SB:
No Changes.

Game 3:

I managed to pull off the combo, but not to my luck, I milled him 30 to 40+ cards, but it isn't enough to take the game. The problem was that I milled everything but his removals, so I lost the game after the following moves: The opponent casted surgical extraction targeting my remaining Unburial Rites, removed them, and managed to kill off my threats one by one. Eventually he managed to land a Tarmogoyf. I conceded after not having enough mana to cast the Empyrial Archangel on my hand (2 mana short...) and I'm not willing to drag the game.

Round 4: Bye~

I got a Bye in the last round, so yea... 

Prize Pack: Dragon-Style Twin....

Pointers for this week;

• Think if you have read the games, a glaring issue is the consistency of the deck to pull off the combo; either by lacking the reanimator or the target cards. 
• Against Aggro deck, I don't have the capability to race against the clock. Hence, I need find some sort of control elements in sideboard to slow them down.
• I will definitely explore options like Iona, Shield of Emeria, Linvala, Keeper of Silence to hose opponents. 
• At the moment now, the main thing is for my deck to tune its consistency.

Modern Gameplay Review: 14 October 2014

Back with another Game-play coverage!

I played at MTG-Asia @ Aliwal Street. So no changes to any thing other than my deck. I decided to use back my Ally deck.

Deck: 5C Human-Ally Reanimator

I did a fair bit of changes since the last game. I took some cards from my UW midrange and added into the Sideboard. On top of that, I added some cards to test out like Domri Rade and Ghostway. I think I want to play a home-brew deck instead of relying on primers. For my UW deck, I'm eventually building to a tri-coloured deck. Just now is not the time yet.

Any case, let's review my game play!

Round 1: B/G "the Rock"(1-2)

Game 1:

The first game is very interesting. I was in a mad rush to get my combo pieces as quickly as possible. The opponent had a 4/5 Tarmogoyf, thanks to my graveyard-feeding engine. I manage to land a couple of Ally cards in the graveyard along the way. I hard-cast a few like Halimar Excavator and Harabaz Druids to block the Tarmogoyf while waiting for the correct cards to be in place.
When I finally managed to get the pieces in place, it was roughly turn 6-7. I pulled off the combo with 4 Allies on board, plus 8 more from the graveyard pulled by Angel of Glory's Rise. With that, the resolved triggers finish off the game by milling the opponent 192 cards.

SB:
-1 Ghostway
-1 Dangerous Wager
-1 Gifts Ungiven
-4 Spell Pierce

+2 Meddling Mage
+2 Pithing Needle
+2 Path to Exile
+1 Immortal Servitude

Game 2: (I can't exactly remember what happened here.)

I got screwed over in game 2 with a turn 2 Scavenging Ooze by my opponent. I managed to cast Path to Exile to remove the Ooze, and land a Pithing Needle, naming scavenging ooze. However, my pithing needle got easily removed and on top of that, my combo pieces are not coming out. I lost this game by combat damage. I think I did cast Immortal Servitude as a desperate attempt to stop his Tarmogoyfs for a few turns before losing to lethal damage.

Game 3:

Again the Scavenging Ooze. I have no answers to the Ooze and the Ooze continued to eat my creatures, as I continue to fill my graveyard, making it bigger. Up to a certain point of time, I just conceded the game. I cannot pull off the combo in time to salvage the situation.

Round 2: UWR Control (2-1) [Arnold]

Game 1: 

This game is rather quick to end off in a very similar fashion in Round 1, Game 1. However, instead of 192 cards, I milled my opponent around 40-50 cards in turn 6. So just nice. The point the game was quite quick is that he didn't manage to draw a single Cryptic Command in mid-game to push the tempo to his favor. Also, the cards he had on hand, by my guess, couldn't do much to stop me.

SB:

-1 Ghostway
-1 Dangerous Wager
-1 Gifts Ungiven
-1 Ghost Quarter
-1 Stinkweed Imp
-1 Eternal Witness

+2 Meddling Mage
+2 Choke
+1 Immortal Servitude
+1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Game 2:

Put it this way, the game is hands down a good example of what a control deck does. I could have landed a t4 combo, but I hesitated as he was open for mana. Eventually I just tried and yes, I got countered. I went ahead to reanimate my Angels twice, but each time the board got Wrath-ed.
Hey twice! Once, by a hard-cast Wrath of God, another is via a flashback! I would say my deck is very resilient to boardwipe, but this is just epic in new proportions in the timing of the spell. The opponent did managed to get the upper-hand after the mass removal and with my deck exhausted all my Unburial Rites and Faithless Looting, I eventually lost to the damage output.

Game 3:

By the time Game 3 started, we had 7 minutes left. Yes, 7 minutes for the last game. We did like a speed-run and basically played as fast as possible. In that 7 minutes, I manged to assemble my combo while dishing out damage to fight for the lowest life total. I actually got a slightly higher life total, but irregardless, we agreed to finish the game with the last-5-turns. I managed to pull off my combo, but with no mill because Halimar Excavator isn't in the graveyard. Mirror Entity was an All-Star here; pumping my creatures from weenie 1/1s to massive 6/6s during combat. I took the game for dealing lethal just as when the 5th turn approaches.

Round 3: UR Delver (0-2) [Game given to me in reporting score as (2-1)]

Game 1: 

The first game is really quick. I lost the game fairly quickly to a flipped Delver of Secrets, a Monastery Swiftspear and a lot of instant and sorcery spells to buff the latter. Basically I didn't aim to pull off my combo. I was trying to fight with damage war. It was a close fight; until the opponent Vapor Snagged my creatures and my tempo is losing out. Ultimately I lost the first game due to the speed of the deck; I could not handle it.

SB:

-1 Ghostway

-1 Dangerous Wager

-1 Gifts Ungiven

-1 Domri Rade

-1 Stinkweed Imp

-1 Eternal Witness

+2 Meddling Mage

+2 Choke

+2 Path to Exile

Game 2:

The second game is even faster. I lost the game fairly quickly with a Monastery Swiftspear, a Young Pyromancer and not much reaction on my side while I was trying to pull a turn 5 combo. My creatures and combo pieces didn't come out in the right manner and eventually, the only option I have is to play my creatures as blockers. Vapor Snag did the trick again here and I was overwhelmed by the tokens spawned by Young Pyromancer. I conceded the game after counting out the damage output can win me in 2 more turns.

Grave mistake of siding in Path to Exile. I should be siding in Rakdos Charm instead. The former is good at dealing single targets. But Rakdos Charm can deal a powerful return- damage to the opponent due to the numbers.

Again, the prizes are booster packs; I picked 2 Khans of Tarkir Booster Packs; so here we go!

Pack 1: Sultai Ascendancy...
Pack 2: Windswept Heath!

Gave away Sultai Ascendancy to my third opponent, Traded Windswept Heath + Polluted Delta for 3 Shocklands.

Pointers for this week;

• A very different deck from my Allies deck. This deck requires a lot more tuning to optimize the deck's performance. I've adjusted the deck list almost immediately with some of the advice given to me. Big thanks to the helpful advice given by my friends. I will be tuning the deck in a very different manner. Consider it as an upgrade. 
• Domri Rade and Ghostway are severely underwhelming in the deck. Maybe Domri Rade have yet to see more play to know, but Ghostway is not fitting in the deck; all the times I drew it, it's a dead draw.