Subject: Re: `ATTN: CONTROL/PERMISSION PLAYERS -- PLEASE READ Date: 31 Oct 1997 06:50:28 GMT From: jshuler@osf1.gmu.edu (John M Shuler) Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy NightLifer (nlifer@xmission.com) wrote: Normally I'd ignore this, since you posted in all caps, but you write well, and seem to know what you are talking about, so I'll give it a word or two. : deck of the big-blue variety. So far, it's beaten them 8-2. : Slivers? Cool once I Abducted or Binding Grasped a few. Then again, you're bragging about beating Slivers. : Red burn? Lost the first easily, trounced it after sideboarding. : Sligh? Ate *my* lunch, until I sideboarded and played smarter. Ok, I've swung back. : 8-2. Not bad, but could be better. I just don't know how; I've racked : my brain and can't see any place I could improve on it. If you see : what I'm missing, let me know! What you are missing is that you're gonna take a boatload of damage turns 3-5. Your disks lack synergy with anything else. Your other anti-creature cards don't grant you any card advantage unless you pop them the turn after the disk goes, which is turn 5 at the earliest. A simple solution is to add 3-4 Mind Stones, which will allow you to get your disk on turn 3, pop it on turn 4, and not lose any card advantage when you drop your tide/ganda. : So far, the deck is: : 19x Island (It's rumored you need these) : 4x Quicksand (Creature control) : 23x Land I'd lose a quicksand, add an island, then add 3-4 mind stones. : 1x Mist Dragon (Sturdy flier, but expensive to phase) he sucks. Lose him. : 2x Air Elemental (High-Powered, but effective) : 1x Wall of Air (Sometimes ya just gotta block) : 3x Waterspout Djinn (High-Powered, but evil upkeep) 2x Air Elemental is good, but 2x wall of air & 1 Waterspout is more than enough. : 4x Counterspell (Basic permission) : 4x Power Sink (Basic permission) : 2x Dissipate (Permission, but with removal from game) : 4x Dismiss (Permission, and experimental for me) 3 & 3. Your deck doesn't have enough defense, otherwise. Consider spell blast? : 2x Flood (Creature control/Disruption) If you're doing this, then lose the disks, and add one each of this, prop & dreamtides, then cut out all of your dismisses for 2 more 'pates. And lose the power sinks. And... oh, it just doesn't work. You've got two very different mana strategies at work when you do something like this. I'd lose them for abductions, and keep the disks in. : 2x Abduction (Creature control, but on the weak side) : 2x Binding Grasp (Creature control, stronger than Abduction) : 2x Propoganda (Slows down any creature deck...period) : 2x Dream Tides (More slowing) : ----------------------------------- : 10x Creature control : 4x Impulse (Card cycling, anyone?) Of course. : 2x Bosium Strip (Love this one in control!) Not with all your enchantments, you don't.. 1, max. Preferably none, since you could just use a recall for the same effect. Your deck wins in just a couple of turns, anyway. : 3x Nevinyrral's Disk (Can you say "panic button"?) : 1x Echo Chamber (Entirely experimental, but workable) naah : The sideboard: : 2x Crown of Ages : (If I see another Pacifism or Empyrial Armor, I'm killing someone!) huh? you want THIS over capsize? : 4x Hydoblast : (If I see anymore burn decks, I'm killing someone!) Instead of this, consider having 2 undiscovereds in your deck, and 1 plains, 2 cop:red in place of three of these. : 2x Deflection : (If I see one more...oh, you get the idea) no, I don't. Axe these. : 4x Memory Lapse : (Anti-control measures...more counters is good) Damn right. I'd want a disrupt, as well. : 1x Mind Harness : (Added critter control against green) make it another dream tides. : 2x Shimmer : (If they are still too fast, grind them to a halt -- even if : it for every other turn) It's enough. This card is incredible. : Things I've been thinking about: : 2) Splashing Black. Nothing serious, just enough to pull off a : lobotomy or three. no : 3) Splashing White. And I mean splash. Nothing more than enough to : cover Disenchants. what do you need to disenchant, that you can't capsize? add 2 capsize. : 4) Medallions. I've used them in a Black Weenie deck, and they are : strong there. In here, I'm not quite sure. The mana cost could : easily be a counter. look at your colorless mana contingent, and decide just how often you'll be casting multiple spells in one turn. the answer is no. : 5) Jester's Cap/Grinning Totem. I love the Cap. I *really* love it! : But I don't know if it's as viable in Tempest now as it once was. : Same for Grinning Totem. Plus, Totem would require some multi-lands : in there so I can Fireball for a change. no. : Blue ain't dead, it's just sleeping heavily...for now. It's not even sleeping yet. Play this: 4 Disks 4 Boomerangs 4 Capsize 4 Whispers of the Muse 4 Counterspell 4 Dissipate 3 Power Sink 3 Memory Lapse 4 Impulse 3 Ophidian 2 Time Elemental 3 quicksands, and islands to taste. NOW tell me blue is dead. And yes, the above is a discard deck. shuler -- John M. Shuler jshuler@gmu.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------- It is a painful fact of Magic that skill is not everything. A well constructed Dandan deck will usually lose to an average T.1 deck. - Nicolas Sabin --------------------------------------------------------------------