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Comments
That much is true. There's a lot of cards that suddenly become useless, moreso than any format that I can think of that isn't Pauper.
At the moment, I have a pet deck idea that might be fun, based on a certain RTR card, so I might just get caught up with the SA thread over time and hop in.
Hmm, "Three Card Magic" sounds interesting. I'll have to look it up.
@All Nines:
Honestly it's barely even a format. No games, generally speaking, are actually played. It's an...exercise, in metagaming.@Zennistrad: Basically, all participants submit their decks to whoever is running the thing, then it's "played" as a round-robin, each deck matched up against each other, assuming perfect play (if neither deck can win with perfect play, it's considered a draw even if in an actual game of Magic a draw wouldn't happen). 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, none for a loss, most points wins.
A common variant has the winner of a round being able to ban and/or unban a card, so that each round's format is slightly different.
^^ I can post a paraphrase/reappropriation of the rules here.
1. The judge decides matches as if both players play perfectly, and have full knowledge of all their opponents' cards.
2. Matches will be played in a round robin format. Each match will consist of two games, one with a each player going first. Three points for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss. A draw occurs if neither player can force a win.
3. Decks should be PM'ed to the judge, and the judge only, before the round starts.
4. Standard MTG rules apply: 20 life, phases, etc.
5. Players can not lose by being decked out. Note that this does not mean that the draw step is skipped--rather, if a player attempts to draw a card for any reason and there are no cards in that player's library, nothing happens.
6. Decks contain exactly three cards. Those cards are all drawn as your "initial hand" at the start of the game.
7. All random effects (e.g. coinflips) you own go in favor of your opponent.
8. Wishes, Wild Research, and any other card that lets you get cards from out of the game cannot find anything.
9. The judge may very well make mistakes. Feel free to point something out if it seems wrong.
Banned List:
Traditionally, Barren Glory, cards that force more than one card out of the opponent's hand, cards that remove a card of your choice from an opponent's hand, Un- set cards, Portal cards, ante cards, Vanguard, and decks that can win before the opponent can have a full turn are banned. Some who play it have a predefined banlist, whereas others update it with every round; with SA's, for instance, they ban all of the non-mana-producing cards in the winning deck of each round and keep this banlist forever, and forever updating, to encourage new decks. I think it works out pretty well.
Some also play rounds with further arbitrary restrictions--each player also gets a free basic land of their choice, only use uncommons and mana producers, Un- stuff is allowed, etc.
Well, it's a style of "playing" it. Even though the people submitting don't actually play . . . it's really fun to watch, though.
I've heard of it. Sounds interesting.
First time, so I think I'll go with something simple.
I'm gonna go with none, save for specific cards/card types I listed in my own words. And, if this thing is successful, an evolving ban list. If we use just a predetermined banlist, a la the Wizards forum, I feel like there's the risk of certain deck types inevitably, constantly reappearing, without ever seeing what happens with the cards on that banlist, or how they're anticipated and countered. Then again, I just learned about this format two days ago, so if you have a better argument to the contrary, I'm all ears.
Also, any chance we could rotate as judges, Nyktos? I'd like to participate in the next round as just a "player".
If nothing else, ban Lab Maniac for consistency. It's basically the same as Barren Glory. Also consider banning thongs that cause multiple discards, since there are so many that banning them one at a time would be impractical.
As for the other thing, over there the judge plays and just picks a deck before opening up submissions. Its just honour system he doesn't cheat but we all trust Everest, right?
Edit: also there's no reason to van portal.
Lab Maniac, maybe. I mean, there are ways to stop it, but it could overcentralize the game if allowed to recur.
I, personally, am leaning towards banning Channel, only it's a mana source, and banning it would preemptively shut out lots of cards when that might not be necessary.
:P
Fair enough. I did have a deck in mind before seeing Stormtropers, and, thus, anyone else's. So I'll see how it fares.
I suppose there isn't.
Oh wait, Channel isn't banned. I guess I already lost this round.
Not if no one else submits anything! >
I will submit. I just wanted to be clear on the ban list before doing so. I didn't notice multiple discard was banned, so I guess I won't be able to play Lotus / The Rack / Balance after all. Oh well, lots of other broken things to play that aren't banned (yet).
It occurs to me that I shouldn't have tried my terrible new deck idea when there's no specific banlist yet and I can't read the format. But whatever, at least it's my original idea.
Actually, that's pretty funny, in its own way.
Ended up going 3-2. Was hoping for 4-1 to get six packs so I could convince my former-Magic-player friend to Winston with me next weekend when he's in town, but oh well. 3-2 gave me three packs. Haven't cracked them yet.
However I got a Supreme Verdict and a Loxodon Smiter from my pool so I'm pretty happy with that, plus I won three games by filibuster.
Went 4-1, got a Selesnya box as a prize.
Final game of the night: I overloaded a Cyclonic Rift, only for my opponent to overload his own Cyclonic Rift back at me. It didn't save him.
Cyclonic Rift is the funnest shit
Especially against Selesnya.
He cast Trostani's Judgment on my Archon, I destroyed everything he held dear.
I just realized that's Courage Wolf.
BLOCK KAMAHL
FUCK UP HIS SHIT.
So, I guess we're all set for the first round of 3CM!
Here are the decks:
All Nines
Cavern of Souls
Slitherhead
Carnophage
(I was trying to fuck discard, counterspells, single-creature combat, and spot removal all at once, forgetting that it's way too early in the game to be relying solely on 2/2's and 1/1's. Also, I don't know why I didn't use Gravecrawler or Diregraf Ghoul instead of Carnophage. I'm dumb. ^_^;)
Stormtroper
Black Lotus
Black Lotus
Visara the Dreadful
Nyktos
Leyline of Anticipation
Black Lotus
Liliana's Specter
Nines v. Stormtroper: 6-0, Stormtroper. No matter when I get my first creature in, Visara fucks them both up eventually and can beat me to death unimpeded.
Nines v. Nyktos: 6-0, Nyktos. No matter who goes first, Nyktos can flash in the Specter, forcing me to discard Slitherhead. That means he will have also had his creature out first, and, combined with the cost of keeping Carnophage untapped so it can keep attacking, he'll kill me with his effectively 3 damage per turn before I can ping him to death with my 3/3 swinging every turn.
Stormtroper v. Nyktos: 6-0 Nyktos. Again, Nyktos will be able to get his creature out first no matter who goes first, only this time, he definitely disrupts Stormtroper's strategy by getting rid of a combo piece.
Nyktos wins round 1, and Leyline of Anticipation and Liliana's Specter are the first banned cards!
I attended the prerelease on Monday, and I have to say, it was one of the most fun events I've been to in a long time.
I managed to pull both a Vraska and a foil Rakdos.
You lucky duck. >
I attended the prerelease last Saturday, got nothing but garbage and a dual land that wasn't in my colors, then failed horribly and left early because I had better shit to do with my afternoon than get my ass kicked at Magic.
EDIT: Fun fact, that's exactly how the AVR prerelease went, too. Except it had the Helvault opening, which was cool.
What guild were you?
Izzet, but I ended up running Grixis.
>Izzet
I suppose that would do it.