Showdown #31: A New Beginning
Showdown
Spootyone
26 December 2014
1938 views
Showdown #31: A New Beginning
26 December 2014
1938 views
Showdown #31: A New Beginning
Hello all and welcome to the new and improved Showdown! Showdown began less than 2 years ago as a forum post by me in which I wanted to see how one of my old decks faced against a deck that I admired. I figured that I would record and write up the results for my opponent to see and for others to see and enjoy. Since then, so much has happened. My deck-building skills have improved dramatically (If I may say so). We've seen rotation come and go twice since then. We've had help from Apoptosis to fill in for me when I was too busy to provide the content I wished you all could have. And now, we have yet another dramatic change.
As many of you know, things are going to be very different from here on out. I have my friend Kaveth joining me now as my opponent and we are both going to alternate back and forth between running submitted decks. Additionally, we will likely have several different builds of our own to test against various matchups to keep things engaging and interesting from week to week. "Week to week you say?" Yes! Another thing I'm looking to push is weekly content that you all can enjoy. With the help I'll have from Kaveth, this should be doable.
I realize there may be some who are new viewers and so I'd like to explain what is going on here. In Showdown, Tappedout users are able to submit their own builds to me and Kaveth so that we may pick one to playtest against a deck that one of us has built. We are able to benefit by witnessing creative and experimental builds that have been designed by different minds, while simultaneously getting to witness what our own decks can do against certain matchups.
For the viewer, you have the chance to see what your own deck can do against someone else's build. After the match, me and Kaveth get to discuss how we felt about the deck that was chosen and see if we can come up with any good advice to help fix any problems we may have noticed. If you happen to not be chosen, then what you get is an exciting article looking over decks you may or may not be aware are present in the format! Ultimately, this is meant to be informative for both the reader and us!
So, without further ado, let us begin the deck discussions. This week we will see a face-off between my G/W Midrange deck, Pando, and sujrondc's R/B discard/control deck.
Deck Tech With Spootyone
I've been brewing with several different builds lately and the one that I've been most excited to jump back into is G/W Midrange. This may not come as any surprise to many of you seeing as I tend to always gravitate towards that archetype or color combo, but the fact of the matter is that I just want to play with Ajani, Mentor of Heroes before he rotates. One reason why midrange is such a big player in standard right now is the fact that midrange recently has many more ways to gain card advantage. It began with Courser of Kruphix and has since extended to Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Genesis Hydra, and then with cards like Hornet Queen, Hornet Nest and Setessan Tactics that really force your opponent into an x for 1 position to stay alive.
It's pretty much impossible to make an abzan deck better by removing black from it, so I instead went for adding white to what is essentially a green devotion list. There are all the normal staples from green devotion such as Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Sylvan Caryatid and Polukranos, World Eater, but white gives me access to an early threat in Fleecemane Lion that has late-game potential. Apart from this, we get Ajani, Mentor of Heroes which can either buff up mana dorks or go grab more threats from the deck. And lastly (but certainly not least...ly) there is the ability to play Hushwing Gryff.
The main focus of this deck is to gum up the board early on with annoying and hard to deal with threats such as Heir of the Wilds and Hornet Nest. After things have become a little messy on board, Setessan Tactics helps to clear things up -- usually in my favor. Surviving to the late game to begin casting Hornet Queens and Genesis Hydras is what this deck is looking to do.
Traditionally, a deck like mine would have a horrid matchup against a deck like my opponent's. Large amounts of discard mean resorting to top deck wars in a deck that contains non-scary creatures like mana dorks. And if the opponent gets even a bit of card advantage you can always feel behind. The difference is that I now DO have card advantage. I believe Genesis Hydra will be my most important card in this matchup, seeing as it should be able to reclaim the board in my favor every time I cast it.
2x arbor colossus 4x courser of kruphix 4x fleecemane lion 2x genesis hydra 4x heir of the wilds 3x hornet nest 2x hornet queen 4x polukranos, world-eater 1x reclamation sage 4x sylvan caryatid 4x blossoming sands 9x forest 2x nykthos, shrine to nyx 2x plains 4x temple of plenty 4x windswept heath 3x setessan tactics 2x ajani, mentor of heroes sideboard: 1x back to nature 2x genesis hydra 2x hushwing gryff 3x mistcutter hydra 1x nissa, worldwaker 3x nylea's disciple 1x reclamation sage 2x scuttling doom engine
Deck Tech With Kaveth
One of the things I have been hoping for this standard is a control deck that can actually put away a game. I have been almost exclusively a control player and have dabbled in most variants outside of Spootyone's Temur control.. But we all know how that went.
The allure of this deck was that it aligned with Shaheen Soorani's Esper control list and its use of Sorin, Solemn Visitor in a mostly creatureless control shell. The threat of having a Sorin emblem on the table is something that most decks would need to fear, but what would happen if that effect was your primary win condition?
A deck that focuses on attrition is best tested against a mid-range deck that can continue to throw large threats out on the field. I expect this deck will create a lock on any green based devotion deck. Should be interesting
Primary concerns here, much like any other control deck this standard, having threats put on the board that I can't timely find an answer for...
4x bloodstained mire 2x mountain 2x nykthos, shrine to nyx 10x swamp 4x temple of malice 1x urborg, tomb of yawgmoth 2x liliana vess 1x sarkhan, the dragonspeaker 2x whip of erebos 4x bile blight 2x empty the pits 4x hero's downfall 4x lightning strike 4x despise 2x drown in sorrow 3x rakshasa's secret 4x sign in blood 3x indulgent tormentor 2x mogis, god of slaughter sideboard: 4x dark betrayal 2x phyrexian revoker 1x rakshasa's secret 3x silence the believers 3x stain the mind 2x tormod's crypt
Game 1
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Kaveth wins the die roll and is on the play. He keeps an opening hand of 2x Swamp, Bloodstained Mire, Despise, Bile Blight, Rakshasa's Secret, and Lightning Strike. Thoughts.. high attrition, looks okay. Looking forward to despising the crap out of him! |
Spootyone keeps an opening hand of Forest, Temple of Plenty, Blossoming Sands, Fleecemane Lion, Hornet Nest, Polukranos, World Eater, and Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. This hand looks beautiful. I have lands to play spells and a great curve. Lezz do! |
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K1: Draw: None Swamp into Despise to reveal Spooty's hand. Bile Blight in hand to deal with Hornet Nest, Lightning Strike for Fleecemane Lion...Polukranos is the choice as Ajani isn't an immediate threat. Pass. |
S1: Draw: Sylvan Caryatid I play my scryland to reveal and keep a forest on top. Pass. |
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K2: Draw: Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth Seems okay to set up the Lightning Strike here. Bloodstained Mire, pass. |
S2: Draw: Forest I play the forest and the Caryatid. |
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K3: Draw: Bile Blight Seems like I am set for his hand regardless of what he throws out.. so lets see what he throws out after some secret telling. I play Urborg and Rakshasa's Secret. Spooty discards a Hornet Nest and Forest, and I mill a Swamp and Despise. Ajani is out of reach for now, but with 2 bile blights, I'm well prepared for the lion he is about to play. |
S3: Draw: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx I play my Blossoming Sands, gain a life, and then cast Fleecemane Lion. (21/20) |
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K4: Draw: Mogis, God of Slaughter I crack my fetch for a mountain, play the swamp and Mogis. I'm hoping to skirt around punishment for not dealing with the fleecemane immediately. (21/19) |
S4: Draw: Blossoming Sands I take 2 damage from Mogis. I choose to play my Nykthos and then Ajani. I use his first+1 to dig for a creature, which ends up being Arbor Colossus. I attack with my lion for 3 and pass. (19/16) |
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K5: Draw: Hero's Downfall Fleecemane is the big one atm, will Bile Blight now so I don’t have to two for one myself later. Another tough choice next turn for him, [[]]lightning strike]] kills Ajani if he chooses to take the damage and I redirect. Fleecemane is destroyed by blight. |
S5: Draw: Forest I choose to sacrifice my caryatid so that I don't lose Ajani to Mogis + burn. That would be devastating and I don't really need the caryatid. I find another colossus using Ajani and then play a forest and the first colossus. |
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K6: Draw: Whip of Erebos Whip off the top… deck, is that really necessary? Downfall on Ajani has to happen now, taking 6 next turn with another colossus on the way.. please deck... Ajani is destroyed by Hero's Downfall |
S6: Draw: Fleecemane Lion I take 2 from Mogis. Glad to see the beats keep coming with that draw. I don't want to get blown out by a double-blight so I attack with my colossus for 6 and then play the newly-acquired lion. Lastly, I play the gainland I had in hand. (18/10) |
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K7: Draw: Hero's Downfall Hero’s downfall is something, lets see if the deck can spit out some more answers as I slow his clock down post combat next turn by downfalling the colossus. Pass. |
S7: Draw: Setessan Tactics I take 2 from Mogis. Okay so this is interesting. I can only assume my opponent has a means by which to kill the lion if I go to monstrous it. And it will likely be something that cares about my creature only having 3 toughness...I monstrous the lion and Kaveth responds by Bile Blighting it. I respond by using tactics on it to make it big enough to survive. Sadly, he then responds by Lightning Strikeing it. All well. At least it was a 2 for 1. I attack for 6 with my colossus and pass. (16/4) |
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K8: Draw: Temple of Malice I play the scryland, scry another scryland to the bottom and pass the turn with a downfall ready for the colossus. |
S8: Draw: Hornet Queen I take 2 from Mogis. That was a good draw, but I need another land. I attack with my colossus and it is downfalled, so I follow it up with the other colossus. Pass. (14/4) |
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K9: Draw: Temple of Malice So...I found a temple, scryed the same temple to the bottom, drew the same temple.. gg. game 2. |
Spooty wins game 1
Sideboarding with Spootyone
Out: 3x Hornet Nest, 3x Setessan Tactics.
In: 2x Genesis Hydra, 2x Scuttling Doom Engine, Nissa, Worldwaker, Nylea's Disciple
The nest/tactics package is useless versus decks with little to no creatures such as this one. I take all 6 cards out and replace them with the best cards available in my board. Genesis Hydra is the first thing to come in because of just how powerful it is versus decks looking to win by attrition. Doom engine is good versus this matchup because even in I have to sacrifice it, I get to deal 6 damage. Nissa is also good at winning attrition matchups. Lastly, I bring in a disciple simply because I had an open slot.
Sideboarding with Kaveth
Out: 2x Whip of Erebos, 2x Empty the Pits, Lightning Strike
In: 2x Phyrexian Revoker, 2x Silence the Believers, Stain the Mind
Whip felt awful in hand for the whole game… If it had been another kill spell, discard spell or otherwise this game would have ended in my favor. Seems like green devotion, high reliance on lands and ramp into large creatures, only visible top end was arbor colossus, but we did see a hornet nest and a tactics, makes me think hornet queen is a thing. Whip felt awful, as mentioned before, obvious drop in favor of revoker, Ajani turned off makes his decision making a bit harder.
Game 2
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Kaveth is on the play and mulligans a 5 land hand with really no gas. He keeps a hand of Swamp, Liliana Vess, Temple of Malice, Hero's Downfall, Bile Blight and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. Much happier here, have stuff to do. |
Spooty keeps an opening hand of Fleecemane Lion, Sylvan Caryatid, Windswept Heath, Temple of Plenty, Polukranos, World Eater, Blossoming Sands and Genesis Hydra. Once again, I'm happy to have a decent number of lands and a great curve. |
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K1: Draw: none I start things off with a scry using my temple. I push a swamp to the bottom, passing. |
S1: Draw: Temple of Plenty I play a temple as well and place an Heir of the Wilds on the bottom of my library. I already have early plays and the card is fairly non-impactful for this matchup. |
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K2: Draw: Drown in Sorrow Seems okay. I will play the swamp to avoid giving him a black source to tap off of a fetch next turn. Pass. |
S2: Draw: Temple of Plenty While that draw is a little silly, I'm perfectly content just cracking a fetch for a forest and playing caryatid here to avoid walking directly into Lightning Strike or Bile Blight. Pass. (19/20) |
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K3: Draw: Bile Blight Double bile blight.. lets see if we can catch him with his pants down with that later.. Urborg for turn, pass. |
S3: Draw: Windswept Heath Quite a bit of land drawn so far. I play a scry land and keep a Polukranos on top. We already have one but I'm sure we'll run through them in this match. I play my lion and pass. |
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K4: Draw: Lightning Strike Found the lightning strike, seems okay here. Ajani could hit the field next turn for a huge cantrip.. That seems bad for me. I guess I will accept the fact that I shouldn't have bottomed that swamp and pass turn. |
S4: Draw: Polukranos, World Eater I attack with my lion for three. I then crack my fetch for a forest to play my Polukranos and in response my lion is struck by lightning. I also have noted that my opponent missed a land drop. I play a Windswept Heath. Pass. (18/17) |
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K5: Draw: Phyrexian Revoker Revoker is super bad here, questioning my boarding choices.. revoker has a very narrow target range, I suppose I could turn off polukranos… doesn’t seem worth it. I will just downfall the polukranos at combat I suppose. |
S5: Draw: Plains I attack with my hydra to have it become a victim to Hero's Downfall, but I am able to quickly replace it with the other one. I play my last scry land in hand to find a Courser of Kruphix on top of my deck. It stays. Pass. |
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K6: Draw: Mountain Found a land.. play revoker naming the opposing hydra, planning on a 2:1 against polukranos.. hoping to buy time. Pass. |
S6: Draw: Courser of Kruphix I attack with my Polukranos. It is blocked by the revoker and before damage the world-eater is hit by a Bile Blight. It's a 2 for 1 at least. Also, I have my nail in the coffin. I play a plains. I then tap out to make a Genesis Hydra for 5. The best thing it finds is an Heir of the Wilds so that also hits the field. |
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K7: Draw: Bloodstained Mire Found another land.. seems my only sane out is to play it, and clear the board with drown then bile targeting Genesis hydra. Lets see how it pans out. I fetch a mountain with my land to do as such and both threats are killed. Pass. (18/16) |
S7: Draw: Genesis Hydra Literally the best top deck imaginable. I play the hydra for 5 and this time he finds himself an Arbor Colossus to bring with him to battle. That's huge for this game and may have just won it for me. I play my gainland and pass. (19/16) |
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K8: Draw: Silence the Believers Genesis hydra off the top sucks… Silence is very bad now, especially without being able to strive it.. On a 3 turn clock assuming I do nothing here.. I think the thought is to pass, silence during combat and pray for good top decks. |
S8: Draw: Windswept Heath I attack with my gen hydra and colossus and the colossus is killed by an opposing Silence the Believers. I get in for 5. I follow this up by playing my courser and revealing a Polukranos on top. Pass. (19/11) |
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K9: Draw: Bile Blight Not happy. Perhaps Bile Blight was a bad boarding choice? Only thing I can do is to play Liliana Vess. I do so and use her +1. Spooty discards a Windswept Heath. Pass. |
S9: Draw: Polukranos, World Eater I reveal another Genesis Hydra with courser. Ouch. I attack for 7 with my gen hydra and courser and my opponent drops to 4. After adding the Polukranos to the field and analyzing his options, Kaveth concedes. |
Spooty Wins the Match
After a bit of a disappointing Game 2, me and Kaveth decided to play a third game for sake of experimentation. What followed really was not worth posting, in my opinion. He managed to get caught up on 3 mana and didn't get a single red source until he played his 5th land. There really wasn't much to it. I played creatures and attacked and he wasn't able to play many spells.
Afterthoughts
Spooty: I think that one of the first things I mentioned about the deck to Kaveth was the inclusion of not one, but two, Whip of Erebos in this list. I've said many times that I think Whip of Erebos might be one of the top 5 cards in standard and is in the running for the single best card there is right now. The problem is that whip does nothing without creatures. This deck runs a number of copies of Indulgent Tormentor and then a couple Mogis, God of Slaughter. Whip would work with indulgent tormentor, but whipping it back doesn't give any extra value out of the guy's abilities. Mogis would be fantastic if he had lifelink, but that won't matter if he isn't a creature. Devotion is something of a farce in this build, unfortunately. In fact, whip is one of the only means by which devotion can be acquired in the first place. Whip of Erebos is a great card but I think there shouldn't be single copy in this build due to the lack of creatures that can make good use of it.
Speaking of devotion, I also commented on the use of Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. I believe my reaction was something along the lines of "wait, this deck runs nykthos??", when I first saw it in battle. The reason for not wanting it is the same as before: Little to no devotion. A board state that would allow Nykthos to be worth-while is a board state that is very unlikely to be found with this current build. And having a colorless land makes casting cards like Bile Blight difficult. I recommend removing both.
I think the last tip I'd give to sujrondc is to add in more ways to gain card advantage. Attrition decks such as this can only beat decks like my own if they have card advantage. Why? Because a midrange deck like mine top-decks incredibly well when it's top-decking creatures. Wrecking the opponent's hand early and looking to go long only wins when you have more answers than your opponent. I see you have Sign in Blood, but I think I'd recommend a possibility of Read the Bones or even splashing blue for Treasure Cruise. Doing so will really help you out.
Kaveth: Overall, I agree with the points above. However, I think control in general has a bit of a hard time against most decks in the format. Slight play mistakes when running a control list tend to spiral out of control exponentially and almost certainly end in a game loss. This list felt as if I didn't really have many ways to catch up that didn't require a ton of mana (Silence the Believers). Perhaps an inclusion of a Perilous Vault or two main to enable that kind of opportunity, but at the same time that is counter intuitive to having a permanent based lock on the board.
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$5.00 = You will receive a personal thank you and mention in the next article I release!
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$10.00 = I will do an in-depth analysis of the deck of your choice, giving my advice and opinions in detail (Note: this will need to be limited to Standard and EDH for the time being as I grow my skills and knowledge in other formats). Additionally, you will receive the mention in the next article!
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$25.00 = In addition to the deck analysis, I will run a 5-game playtesting match between your chosen deck and any other of your choice, be it your own, a pillar of the format, or even one of my own creations! Afterwards, I will provide you with a detailed synopsis of how things went, and give my opinions and suggestions about the chosen deck. This will be in addition to the notation in the next article.
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$50.00 = If you are generous enough to donate 50 or more dollars, you and I will set up a meeting via Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. to discuss archetypes, cards, formats, or anything even remotely MTG-related. Afterwards, we will meet up on Cockatrice to have our very own Speedbrew where you can challenge me to anything you'd like! (This will be purely for fun -- not an actual episode of Speedbrewers). Due to time restraints, I'll have to keep this portion to ~ 2 hours long. In addition to all this, you will still receive the 5-game playtesting match of your choice, in-depth deck analysis, and mention in the next article I send out!
Nice showdown, Spootyone and Kaveth! Glad to see this new way of doing things and it was really interesting to see a B/R discard deck. I think your new deck looks pretty solid and I may use it as the basis for my green midrange I've been wanting to make.
Anyways, here's my take on control in Standard, which includes a recently spoiled spirit dragon:
Fun Police - Sultai Superfriends Control Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 12 | 5 COMMENTS | 1461 VIEWSDecember 26, 2014 6:22 p.m.
Nice article, I really like the new formatting. I don't know much about this kind of thing, but I imagine there are other options that may be easier to read. The current setup is better than the original, but I feel it could be better still.
The BR deck needs more lands in general. I would recommend 25. 24 would be the bare minimum, but 23 is definitely not enough. I'm also of the opinion that Indulgent Tormentor is a completely awful card. Empty the Pits and Sarkhan should be the only win cons in the deck. Everything else should be disruption and card advantage. A blue splash for TC could work, but then Empty the Pits would probably have to be removed.
I won't have a submission to make until FRF comes out, but it's going to be a fun deck for sure.
We should play some more EDH some time.
December 26, 2014 7:07 p.m.
It was a little hard to follow the turn formatting, but I think I got a handle on it. It is good to see you playing and doing the Showdown again.
I got a deck for ya to run against. It is my take on the Jeskai Token decks that have been running around.
Jeskai Tokens, adapted for me and my meta Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 0 | 6 COMMENTS | 144 VIEWSDecember 26, 2014 7:09 p.m.
HolyFalcon says... #5
This looks cool, and I wanna submit a deck. It's a Mardu Aggro build i've been trying to acquire, and I wanna make sure it's good before I start getting some of the pricier cards. You Wanna Go? | Mardu Aggro
December 26, 2014 8:02 p.m.
Thanks for featuring my deck! I definitely agree with your points, and have found the same problems against other midrange decks, I've just been reluctant to make too many changes with FRF coming. It's a shame my deck didn't perform better, as I've actually had decent luck with it at FNM, but hey, such is life (and MTG).
I'm totally on board with the new format of Showdown, keep up the good work!
Once FRF hits, I'll have a new submission for you!
Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
December 26, 2014 11:49 p.m.
That was great guys! I think the new formatting makes everything easier to follow and you having someone to play against was refreshing as well. Keep up the great work!
While you're here, go ahead and take a look at my improved standard deck:
Share the Wealth Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 3 | 1 COMMENTS | 160 VIEWSIt absolutely destroys green midrange decks and is a blast to play as well.
Also, any idea when/if you guys will get into modern?
December 27, 2014 9:35 a.m.
MattTheNinja says... #8
December 27, 2014 10:22 a.m.
bluecontrolfreak says... #9
Amazing article as always and I love the change of you playing against an actual person.
Can you test out my Abzan aggro deck, would love to have it sponsored on next week's showdown
what's a Siege Rhino? Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 24 VIEWSDecember 27, 2014 7:44 p.m.
I love the new formatting! I feel like this was one of the best Showdowns in a while.
I'd still love to see this up here:
The New Jeskai Way Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 18 | 13 COMMENTS | 2339 VIEWSGreat work as always!
December 28, 2014 12:13 a.m.
SevynnthDimension says... #11
Hello, great article once again Spooty, like the new look. This time I have a deck that I've had for a while. It's an interesting build, not the cards you'd typically see in a midrange deck.
Bant with a hint of Garruk | WUG Midrange Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 6 | 9 COMMENTS | 1039 VIEWSDecember 28, 2014 7:55 a.m.
Great article. The borders on that table are extremely annoying and make the article hard to read. In the table tag, you can add the border attribute to set the border size. Setting it to 0 would look much better. Also, you can set the width to 100% to fill the page. Here's what it would look like, with the different attributes I would add underlined:
< table border="0" style="width:100%" >December 28, 2014 12:30 p.m.
I really like where this series is going. Having a second person's POV makes things more interesting to read. Putting the decklists and deck techs in the article is much more convenient instead of just linking to them.
Some words about Kaveth's Deck Tech specifically. It wasn't clear that this was a user-submitted deck until the very end of the article, in the afterthoughts. Also the Sorin reference went completely over my head. There is no Sorin, there isn't even any white in the deck. Maybe I'm just dumb, but I'm definitely missing something.
I think the new format for the game commentary sections is an improvement over the old, but has some presentation issues. I agree with Matsi883 that the the border stands out too much, making it hard to read. I disagree that it needs to go entirely though, because I feel that having no visual delineation would make things even worse. My suggestions:
- The border weight is too heavy. I'd try dropping it from 3px 1px.
- Pure white has too much contrast with the background and competes for attention with the text. I'd go with some shade of grey ( #666666 or #999999 ) or even experiment with different color shades as long as they aren't too bright.
- The text is running too close to the border - it needs some amount of padding.
Feedback out of the way, here's my deck submission:
Sultai Planeswalker Control Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 3 | 0 COMMENTS | 429 VIEWSDecember 28, 2014 2:10 p.m.
I mostly take back the comment about it not being clear that Kaveth's deck was user-submitted. It is in the intro, I just missed it. I still think it should be mentioned in the Deck Tech, but the not knowing part was my failure to read properly.
December 28, 2014 2:14 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #16
Love the new format! It looks a bit awkward on mobile, but that can't be helped.
Comparing this one to #30, it looks a lot smoother, and I at least enjoyed reading it more. I had skipped large sections of previous articles, but read through the entire article this time. I also like how you actually put the decks into the article, as I'm too lazy to open the link :)
Anyway, here's my submission:
All You Need Is Kill Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 29 | 9 COMMENTS | 5073 VIEWSDecember 28, 2014 8:29 p.m.
@kameenook, currently only running with standard decks at the moment. We don't have a timeframe in mind for modern or legacy yet, but possibly in the future.
@obake, the sorin reference was from the following list, apologies for the ambiguity.
Esper Control
Shaheen Soorani
Saturday, Nov 22, 2014
Main Deck
Basic Lands
2 Island2 Plains2 Swamp
Instants
2 Bile Blight4 Dig Through Time4 Dissolve4 Hero's Downfall1 Utter End
Lands
1 Caves of Koilos2 Flooded Strand4 Polluted Delta4 Temple of Deceit4 Temple of Enlightenment4 Temple of Silence
Legendary Lands
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Planeswalkers
3 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
Sorceries
2 Despise4 End Hostilities4 Thoughtseize1 Treasure Cruise
Sideboard
Creatures
3 Prognostic Sphinx
Enchantment Creatures
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
Instants
1 Bile Blight1 Disdainful Stroke2 Negate
Sorceries
4 Drown in Sorrow
December 29, 2014 8:17 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #18
I am very much a fan of the new formatting. I also like that there are two people playing, it makes it feel more realistic.
If you're looking for a control deck to handle those midrange meanies, look no farther:
Mauler Sleeperhold Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 23 | 2 COMMENTS | 3901 VIEWSDecember 29, 2014 1:36 p.m.
December 29, 2014 5:46 p.m.
i also am submitting this deck!
Warning: dogs will bite any superfriend Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 1 | 0 COMMENTS | 524 VIEWSDecember 30, 2014 2:18 p.m.
allthingsMTG says... #21
Really like the new formatting, here is a temur monsters build I've been working on
Need some help figuring out the Deck-large thing cause I can't get the damn thing.
December 30, 2014 11:54 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #22
@allthingsMTG: Use [ [ deck-large:your-slug-here ] ] without the spaces.
Also, I think you used the wrong deck name.
December 31, 2014 10:12 a.m.
Hickorysbane says... #23
Still think you outta try out a heroic deck, se here ya go :)
December 31, 2014 11:17 a.m.
kameenook: At this point, we will only be using Standard decks.
December 31, 2014 7:12 p.m.
I prefer only standard, kameenook start the modern showdown series
December 31, 2014 7:31 p.m.
Its possible we could one day branch out into modern, but for the time being neither of us have the knowledge nor the love of the format enough to teach or entertain through it.
December 31, 2014 9:28 p.m.
allthingsMTG says... #28
this should be the right deck, it is a variation of the temur monsters deck using avalanche tusker instead of surrak.
march of the monsters Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 50 VIEWSJanuary 1, 2015 10:12 a.m.
Femme_Fatale says... #29
How about another go at one of my standard decks eh? They've progressed tremendously, and would be a tough match for you :)
Edge and Scale, Bring Forth the Victory Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 133 | 0 COMMENTS | 17154 VIEWS
What's a Girl to Do ... Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 55 | 38 COMMENTS | 6855 VIEWSJanuary 1, 2015 1:50 p.m.
I love reading these articles. Whenever I see a new one is up I usually ave to stop what I'm doing to have a good read. Keep up the good work and I think the new formatting is great!
Here are a couple of my own homebrews for consideration :)
Orzhov Life and Death Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 3 | 10 COMMENTS | 631 VIEWS
Temur Stormy Beatdown Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 0 | 0 COMMENTS | 68 VIEWSJanuary 2, 2015 1:37 a.m.
Well, I imagine it won't be long before your next article (assuming you're on the weekly plan and aren't busy with the holiday crap). Either that or you've at least chosen the deck that will be featured in your next article. For that reason, I will hold off on my submission.
Yep. I actually have a submission. A friend of mine kinda got me back into Standard, at least a bit. If only because this deck is fun to play and good.
January 2, 2015 6:25 a.m.
golffore297 says... #32
You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly, but I bet you ain't never seen a hydrafly!
Are Those...Flying Hydras? Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 5 | 3 COMMENTS | 271 VIEWSMy take on a deck that focuses on synergy between Hydra creatures and Abzan creatures that grant bonuses to anyone who has +1/1 counters.
Spootyone says... #1
Hello all! Thank you so much for coming to check out the beginning of the new Showdown. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
As we move forward, I encourage you all to discuss with us your opinions on the new formatting. We are working through our options slowly, but surely, and we would like to see what you all think of the game structure thus far. We have other ideas, but those will have to wait for the next one. Bear with us if this is not very easy to comprehend or you have trouble viewing things in certain browsers, devices, etc.
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc., Feel free to message me at [email protected] and I will see what I can do to make things better in the future.
ALSO, submit your decks! We're going to need a bunch moving forward :)
Thank you all so much and enjoy!
December 26, 2014 5:22 p.m.