Dies to Removal

Survived Halloween. My $20 costume was a hit.

Binge played magic most of the weekend. Built Mono-Red Nykthos Devotion to show the whole team during testing, next thing I know we're talking to the owner of the LGS to see if he can sponser us cards for the open cause half the guys want to play my deck now.

And that was without the green splash. Guess you only have to see turn 2 ash zealot> turn 3 BTE Hammer> turn 4 win the game so many times before you decide you want to weild the fire.

again no mono red or boros deck in the top 16 of the scg open.

are we sure that we are that well positioned? im affraid we are currently only tier 2, and other decks are just way stronger.

I think Red is pretty well positioned at the moment; there was even an article on this on SCG? earlier in the week. I'd happily play Walter White in that line up - 9 of the decks are Mono B or Control both of which are very favourable match ups. The only really unpleasant match up is the Naya deck; I'd personally probably lose to the Mono U but that's only due to their perfect draws when I play against them and the fact that this is now compounded by my high level of Pavlovian expectation that this will happen rather than the match up being that bad

Decent players generally choose Control based options; even when Red is a viable option. Why? At best it's personal preference, at worst intellectual snobbery I'm a 'disregard the meta acquire mountains'
man myself so I just play the most viable Red deck at any given time, regardless of what tier it is

@ Valdarith - You have my sympathies; I just died 0-2 to the very bad WW deck that you lost to on your stream. I didn't draw FotF or Mortars so they just flew past. Didn't help that they had Brave The Elements every time I cast a removal spell either Defeat I can take but there is something singularly annoying about losing to a very bad deck

I think Red is pretty well positioned at the moment; there was even an article on this on SCG? earlier in the week. I'd happily play Walter White in that line up - 9 of the decks are Mono B or Control both of which are very favourable match ups. The only really unpleasant match up is the Naya deck; I'd personally probably lose to the Mono U but that's only due to their perfect draws when I play against them and the fact that this is now compounded by my high level of Pavlovian expectation that this will happen rather than the match up being that bad

Decent players generally choose Control based options; even when Red is a viable option. Why? At best it's personal
preference, at worst intellectual snobbery I'm a 'disregard the meta acquire mountains' man myself so I just play the most viable Red deck at any given time, regardless of what tier it is

What's the current Walter White 75?

The 75 changes a lot, mostly based upon the meta (modo versus paper), but most of us are on the same 60 that we've been playing for 3 weeks.

Also, that costume looks awesome, Johnny.

Also, that costume looks awesome, Johnny.

Thanks!

Also, that costume looks awesome, Johnny.

Yeah it does.

Y'know, if you were black, you could also be Gus from Breaking Bad!

Also, that costume looks awesome, Johnny.

Yeah it does.

Y'know, if you were black, you could also be Gus from Breaking Bad!

I've never watched it.

Watching GP Antwerp coverage and chatting on the Twitch stream. The topic of Australia comes up. I mention zemanjaski. Somebody says he knows him. After much chatting, it turns out to be Sene, a mod from Sally.

Small cyber world.

Also, that costume looks awesome, Johnny.

Yeah it does.

Y'know, if you were black, you could also be Gus from Breaking Bad!

I've never watched it.

Welp, then if you ever do (and you totally should) watch it, I may have unintentionally spoiled a part for you. But watch it anyway. You won't regret it.

Speaking of, does anyone else's LGS regularly stay open until midnight or 1 a.m. or is mine an anomaly?

Yeah mine stays open pretty late. On Friday nights they have such a huge demand for draft that they split draft and standard. There's a 7pm Standard on Wed, but on Friday it's 6:30 draft and 9:00 standard. So depending on how many people show up, Standard doesn't get out until 1:00am or so. And after that some regulars stay and draft, so I've stayed for EDH well into the night before.

Mine actually rents a space in a place that's basically a redneck strip mall full of thrift shops, greasy food and even automobile and plant auctions. They're only allowed to be open on Fridays and Saturdays, which is a real bummer. Also, the place closes at 10, so they try to get us out of there by then. They'll stay open til 11, but there is a push to end early. FNM is sometimes cut a round short. They're looking to move into a larger space where they can be open more days of the week, and I'm hoping that this space is a bit closer to where I live. I used to have a shop that was less than 20 minutes away, but it closed down due to the owner having health issues. They also started FNM at 6 so they could do more rounds and were open most days of the week.

Most of the stores around me will stay open as late as needed, often until 1am or later. Most start FNM around 7, so this results in some late nights. That would not be as much of a concern for me, but the nearest store is 22 miles away. The others are 37 and 45 miles away. The two farther stores are better, but gas be expensive, and toddlers awaken early.

Mine's doors are open until 9 on weekdays, 10 on weekends, but there's someone who works there who will stay until the events are over. On casual gaming Mondays, the owner runs his D&D game there and we're free to stay and play until he leaves. Usually between 9:30 and 10:30. Fridays, for FNMs, we can stay until we're finished. The Warhammer, Pokemon and Pathfinder crowds get similar treatment on the days set aside for them. But FNM starts at 6:00 and I work until 5:00, 10 minute drive home, 20 minute drive to the store... so going usually means I have to choose between eating and showering and I'm not always willing to settle for less than both. Not when the only prize support is a month-old promo for going top 8, and packs to the top player. May as well just buy two packs and go home, at least that way I get something for my money.

We have a second LGS, but really its more like a room
with tables to play at, where you can also buy packs and singles. FNM there starts at 6:30 and you get a pack per win, double if you're undefeated, with a consolation pack for losing every round if you scrub out. So you're guaranteed at least one pack for going. Guess who's FNM events are becoming more popular.

Mine's doors are open until 9 on weekdays, 10 on weekends, but there's someone who works there who will stay until the events are over. On casual gaming Mondays, the owner runs his D&D game there and we're free to stay and play until he leaves. Usually between 9:30 and 10:30. Fridays, for FNMs, we can stay until we're finished. The Warhammer, Pokemon and Pathfinder crowds get similar treatment on the days set aside for them. But FNM starts at 6:00 and I work until 5:00, 10 minute drive home, 20 minute drive to the store... so going usually means I have to choose between eating and showering and I'm not always willing to settle for less than both. Not when the only prize support is a month-old promo for going top 8, and packs to the
top player. May as well just buy two packs and go home, at least that way I get something for my money.

We have a second LGS, but really its more like a room with tables to play at, where you can also buy packs and singles. FNM there starts at 6:30 and you get a pack per win, double if you're undefeated, with a consolation pack for losing every round if you scrub out. So you're guaranteed at least one pack for going. Guess who's FNM events are becoming more popular.

Earning a pack per win is a great way to run an FNM event. Is that per round or per game played?

The closest store to me has $5 FNM with store credit based on number of players as prize support, so it can be considerable. But that only applies if you're in the top 5, and the store credit has to be used that night. I'd love it if they reduced prize payout so that more people would get prizes or at least a pack for participating. It would attract more players to the store.

My store has a 3€/1 booster buy-in for FNM. Booster payouts for 4-0s and 3-1s (no top 4/8). And FNM promos for top 2 and random players. Those who don't get any prices can usually pick something out from a binder with old promos. To my surprise that binder had recently been stuffed with some great stuff: promo Grave Titan, Liliana Vess, Bident of Thassa, stuff like that, media promos. I scrubbed out 1-3 and still got a promo Grave Titan, so that was great.

Per round. But if you win one round, or no rounds, you get 1 pack. Literally the worst you can do is show up and basically buy a $6 pack, plus get some practice.

Jerry — we were at my sister-in-law's last night for a party. Otherwise, we might have taken up your offer for late night eats. As it is, we didn't get back until almost 2:30.

No worries, Dan...I was just having fun waving succulent foodstuffs under your nose as a virtual elbow nudge! The kids and I ended up watching "The Lost Boys" (they had never seen it) and hanging out as everyone's attempts at weekend plans had flopped.

I really need to set about trying to establish some semblance of an adult social life now that band season is over. I love my kids dearly, but I miss interacting with people outside of parents grouped up at kid events. Easier said than done, of course...

No worries, Dan...I was just having fun waving succulent foodstuffs under your nose as a virtual elbow nudge! The kids and I ended up watching "The Lost Boys" (they had never seen it) and hanging out as everyone's attempts at weekend plans had flopped.

I really need to set about trying to establish some semblance of an adult social life now that band season is over. I love my kids dearly, but I miss interacting with people outside of parents grouped up at kid events. Easier said than done, of course...

Well, the guy I met at FNM is interested in starting a playtest group, so there's that option. Bonus is that we get to drink beer while we play, which might make us all better players.

Are you interested in Pathfinder (D&D
variant)? We have a group that just got started. We meet on an irregular basis, so we can fit schedules. We're meeting next Saturday at my place, and we could probably fit one more into the group. Jack is also an amateur photographer and is having a photoshoot to take Steampunk-themed pics that day. The game is being held afterward. Let me know if you're interested.

And then there's also the more adult-themed parties that are hosted occasionally.

Mine's doors are open until 9 on weekdays, 10 on weekends, but there's someone who works there who will stay until the events are over. On casual gaming Mondays, the owner runs his D&D game there and we're free to stay and play until he leaves. Usually between 9:30 and 10:30. Fridays, for FNMs, we can stay until we're finished. The Warhammer, Pokemon and Pathfinder crowds get similar treatment on the days set aside for them. But FNM starts at 6:00 and I work until 5:00, 10 minute drive home, 20 minute drive to the store... so going usually means I have to choose between
eating and showering and I'm not always willing to settle for less than both. Not when the only prize support is a month-old promo for going top 8, and packs to the top player. May as well just buy two packs and go home, at least that way I get something for my money.

We have a second LGS, but really its more like a room with tables to play at, where you can also buy packs and singles. FNM there starts at 6:30 and you get a pack per win, double if you're undefeated, with a consolation pack for losing every round if you scrub out. So you're guaranteed at least one pack for going. Guess who's FNM events are becoming more popular.

Earning a pack per win is a great way to run an FNM event. Is that per round or per game played?

The closest store to me has $5 FNM with store credit based on number of players as prize support, so it can be considerable. But that only applies if you're in the top 5, and the store credit has to be used that night. I'd love it if they reduced prize
payout so that more people would get prizes or at least a pack for participating. It would attract more players to the store.

Mine has pretty even prize distribution. Top 50% of the players get at least a pack if there's less than 12, and top 8 get a pack if there's more than 12. Usually, we get a 12-18 player turnout, depending on the time of year. Since there's always a draft event as well, there are times where they struggle to find 8 for standard and everyone has to draft. They also offer a choice of store credit instead of packs, which is nice. I'll usually get the store credit, but if enough people want to do "open game" (everyone opens a pack and the person who opened the most value gets everyone's cards), I'll participate. For a while, they ran off of a $3 pack -> credit conversion, then they tried $4 for a few months, and realized that they were losing too much potential profit that way. They settled on a happy medium (which I am very much in favor of
and suggest that all of you bring this option up with the owner of your LGS) where a pack is worth $4 store credit if you spend it that night and $3 if you save it up.
I'm a bit upset that my round trip to and from my LGS is at least 25 minutes longer now that my old one closed down, but seeing how far some of you have to drive in order to play at FNM made me consider myself fortunate.

I'm not sure how the payout is calculate, but last night was $10 entry with 14 and 12 packs for 1st and 2nd respectively, out of 18 players. The owner also gives the option of taking store credit @ $3 a pack, and paying for your entry with said store credit. Effectively, a decent player can go infinite. Stays open til events are done, since he's one of the only stores in a dying mall.

Oh, and we're less than 100 posts from reaching 20000. I expect a full ceremony in honor of our rogue leader's magnificent crank. Don't screw it up

With "Hail to the Chief" and everything fuckers.

Don't cock this up.

again no mono red or boros deck in the top 16 of the scg open.

are we sure that we are that well positioned? im affraid we are currently only tier 2, and other decks are just way stronger.

- Two of the best decks are Mono B and Esper, archetypes that mono R is 70% or better against if you're competent; and
- Those aforementioned archetypes are keeping the numbers of Mono R's worst matchup, Mono U, down.

Beyond that:
- SCGs mean absolutely nothing and Mono R has put a deck in the Top 8 of the PT and every MODO PE. It's one failing was at the GP, which was dominated by mono U; and
- Mono Red is notoriously underrepresented at live events. Around December last year it was clearly the best deck in the format and still saw no
play.

On a personal note, posts like that are my least favourite.

- Mono Red is notoriously underrepresented at live events. Around December last year it was clearly the best deck in the format and still saw no play.

I'd hazard that it is notoriously underrepresented by competent players, though this is purely based on anecdotal evidence.

PV's article on CFB--not that I'm pointing to him as definitive source over zeman, but rather as rather as a corroborating viewpoint--drives home the same analysis:

"To sum up, I think Mono-U, Mono-B, Esper, and G/r are here to stay, and of those decks I think Esper is the best. The best positioned deck now in my opinion is mono-red, but if you don’t like red then I would experiment with some UB builds. If those don’t work, then I’d return to Esper." Of note, PV in the body of said article goes to enumerate out points on how red is a strong choice in the current meta, but then flatly admits that he has no interest in playing red. Bias is a top-down thing...may all the chuckleheads continue to think that red is mindless and ignore it so that those who know better can light their tails on fire.

I'm still favoring R/B and B/R builds as much of the creature base blanks maindeck removal,
but Rakdos definitely has its weaknesses. Mono Red indeed seems well-placed right now, but success with it is coming down to play competency and building a 75 that is appropriate to a given meta. A perfect example is Electrickery in the side...it can either be a star or total dead weight depending on the composition of the meta you walk into.

Total left turn investigationally...

Given the utter lack of GY hate being played in the format at present, might Nighthowler and Consuming Aberration be worth considering in a BU shell to spike an event?

Man, I'm really blessed to have the LGS's I do. There are three main ones around here (two that I go to) so there are standard events almost every day:

Monday: $5, 4 rounds; free pizza, 3 wins - 6 packs, 4 wins - 11 packs
Tuesday: $5, 4-6 rounds w/ store credit support; sometimes $10, 4-6 rounds w/ boxes or full sets
Thursday: $3, 3 rounds; 2 wins - 1 pack, 3 wins - 3 packs
Friday: $5, 5-6 rounds at one LGS, 5-8 rounds at another; all the support
Saturday: $5, 4-6 rounds at one LGS; $10 4-6 rounds at another with box support

I always have a 30-90 person event for normal *NMs.

I want to go to there.

Bloody hell id be bathing in packs :')

The store where my nephew helps out has a variety of events to truly open the game up to all skill levels. They do various $5 entry formats throughout the week with typical payouts in either cash/credit/product, but FNM is free. My nephew's nights have multi-pack payouts for top 8 plus at least one pack for pretty much everyone else, so even if you chump you can walk away with a lucky single pull. On other FNM nights the payout is just for top 8 (my nephew gets the extra prize support in exchange for coming in to give the rest of the staff a Friday night off). The result is relatively large FNM's with a huge variety of decks and levels of play.

Dammit, I need to live where some of you live...

Also, random thought (mainly directed at Z, the brewmeister). What do y'all think of a PyroRed (with only 1 mutavault and 4 reckoner main cause I have to use what ive got e.e), with a 'transformational sideboard', to turn into a DevoRed build? And when would you transform it?

Making this transformation would be a waste of sideboard space. Think about what kinds of decks you normally transform against, then think about the way Devotion Red matches up against these decks in game 1.

Yeah, it's better to have a deck that sticks to a plan. Pyrored wants spells for young P money, and devotion wants permanents

My LGS is free to play FNMs with $5 store credit added to the prize pool for each person who enters. It's usually 30-40 people average, so everyone in the top 8 normally walks away very happy.

!!!