Author Topic: MtG : favorite combo/synergy  (Read 43802 times)

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Callix

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #40 on: August 11, 2008, 06:05:58 AM »
Squirrel Nest
Earthcraft

Turn 1: Forest, 1-mana creature of your choice.
Turn 2: Forest, Earthcraft.
Turn 3: Forest, Squirrel Nest a Forest. Use your 1-drop to untap the Nested Forest, make a Squirrel, then use that squirrel to untap the land. Repeat. Arbitrarily many 1/1 tapped squirrel tokens.
I know gameology-fu.

Squirrelloid

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #41 on: August 11, 2008, 06:30:55 AM »
Squirrel Nest
Earthcraft

Turn 1: Forest, 1-mana creature of your choice.
Turn 2: Forest, Earthcraft.
Turn 3: Forest, Squirrel Nest a Forest. Use your 1-drop to untap the Nested Forest, make a Squirrel, then use that squirrel to untap the land. Repeat. Arbitrarily many 1/1 tapped squirrel tokens.

Now that's just silly.

Strangely enough, despite playing (competitively even) during Tempest block, I don't remember earthcraft at all.  I don't even recognize the artwork.  Surely I must've opened one in the 4-5 booster boxes I went through...
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Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #42 on: August 11, 2008, 11:54:54 AM »
Quote
By the way, that Nev's Disk combo would die to that Red deck of mine. All the attacking creatures, barring the Kird Apes, are lands, and Capsize is going to run you out of mana long before anything else happens if I have one or two Pyros in hand

Well, the deck was designed to thrive in a mirage-tempest environment (characterized by lightning-quick weenie decks), with steel golems/dancing scimitars to serve as walls. So it would probably fare poorly against straight-burn, unless it boarded in hydro/pyroblasts and chill.

Quote
Strangely enough, despite playing (competitively even) during Tempest block, I don't remember earthcraft at all.

Never came across mesa-craft decks? Granted, I think earthcraft saw use only in those sort of combinations.

And for a bit of nostalgia,
Quote
"How did Brian Hacker win a game on the second turn when all he played on the first turn was Gustha's Scepter?"

Kudos to those who remember the answer... :P
« Last Edit: August 11, 2008, 12:01:19 PM by Runestar »
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Eldariel

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #43 on: August 11, 2008, 12:27:12 PM »
Wasn't he playing Academy? It had something to do with Academy, Lion's Eye Diamond and Windfall. Now that I think about it, it was probably keeping Windfall in Gustha's Scepter so he could activate LED without losing his hand to it, then going off.

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Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #44 on: August 11, 2008, 10:06:48 PM »
Bingo!  :clap
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AndyJames

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #45 on: August 11, 2008, 11:00:32 PM »
[Well, the deck was designed to thrive in a mirage-tempest environment (characterized by lightning-quick weenie decks), with steel golems/dancing scimitars to serve as walls. So it would probably fare poorly against straight-burn, unless it boarded in hydro/pyroblasts and chill.
It would. That deck had a 50/50 vs a well-built pure control Blue. It's greatest threat, surprisingly is Sligh and a couple of weenie decks, which can be too fast for it to handle, especially with a bad opening draw.

Squirrelloid

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #46 on: August 13, 2008, 03:24:52 AM »
Never came across mesa-craft decks? Granted, I think earthcraft saw use only in those sort of combinations.

Now that you mention it, I do remember those from extended.  Never played one, and the one I played against died in 2 games without ever achieving any combo of note.  So I suppose I can chalk my lack of memory up to my memory being hazy, and never seeing firsthand a mesacraft deck that did anything.
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SorO_Lost

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #47 on: August 13, 2008, 07:44:15 PM »
Squirrel Nest
Earthcraft

Turn 1: Forest, 1-mana creature of your choice.
Turn 2: Forest, Earthcraft.
Turn 3: Forest, Squirrel Nest a Forest. Use your 1-drop to untap the Nested Forest, make a Squirrel, then use that squirrel to untap the land. Repeat. Arbitrarily many 1/1 tapped squirrel tokens.
Very nice.

My favorite combo is not really a combo. I just used Pestilence for empire games.
Everything else was pretty much support.
[spoiler]
Protection from it
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?name=Urza%27s%20Armor
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Time buyers
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http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?name=Ghostly%20Prison
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Walls and such too.

Extra Damage
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?name=Talon%20of%20Pain
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?name=Cabal%20Coffers
[/spoiler]

I also used a Hypnotic Specter and Fireshrieker when it came out in the same deck just to annoy people.  :D




Tiers explained in 8 sentences. With examples!
[spoiler]Tiers break down into who has spellcasting more than anything else due to spells being better than anything else in the game.
6: Skill based. Commoner, Expert, Samurai.
5: Mundane warrior. Barbarian, Fighter, Monk.
4: Partial casters. Adapt, Hexblade, Paladin, Ranger, Spelltheif.
3: Focused casters. Bard, Beguiler, Dread Necromancer, Martial Adapts, Warmage.
2: Full casters. Favored Soul, Psion, Sorcerer, Wu Jen.
1: Elitists. Artificer, Cleric, Druid, Wizard.
0: Gods. StP Erudite, Illthid Savant, Pun-Pun, Rocks fall & you die.
[/spoiler]

Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #48 on: August 30, 2008, 04:14:05 AM »
Recently, for the fun of it, I tried recreating TurboZvi and playtesting it via apprentice, but just can't seem to get the hang of it. I have no problems going off, but the combo always seems to end up falling apart halfway. Anyone care to share any tips for it? :D
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Eldariel

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #49 on: August 30, 2008, 07:39:58 PM »
Which list are you using, Rune? Easier to work from there. Generally though, combo falling short constantly is a sign of either trying to go off too soon or missing some relevant synergy or part of the plan.

Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #50 on: August 31, 2008, 12:49:48 AM »
This one.

3 x Gaea's Blessing
1 x Inspiration
1 x Lobotomy
1 x Impulse
1 x Counterspell
4 x Memory Lapse
4 x Mana Severance
4 x Ancestral Memories
4 x Sift
4 x Meditate
4 x Intuition
4 x Dream Halls
4 x Lotus Petal
4 x Ancient Tomb
4 x Svyelunite Temple
4 x Crystal Vein
9 x Island

Basically, with the exception of meditate, sift and ancestral memories give me 2 cards for 2 cards (factoring in dream hall's alternate casting cost mechanic), while intuition and impulse gives me 1 card at the cost of 2 cards. As such, I find it extremely difficult to get enough spare cards to cast inspiration or lobotomy with each "cycle" without running out of cards to keep the card drawing/recursing sequence self-sustaining.  :blush

Zvi himself reported a mean of 5 rounds, with some games lasting just 4 or 3, and 1 or 2 going off on the 2nd round. So I tried giving myself a 5-round window as well (considering that sligh can win on the 4th round, suicide-black on the 2nd, and I shouldn't give control decks too much time to establish board control). Since the deck could be built using only cards from the mirage and tempest block, I restricted myself to the sort of decks one might expect to face during that era (but also because that is the stage I was most familiar with). :P
« Last Edit: August 31, 2008, 12:59:02 AM by Runestar »
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Eldariel

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #51 on: September 03, 2008, 09:12:52 AM »
The obvious is trying to resolve as many Meditates as possible. The key is really Severancing ASAP so the average card quality you draw becomes higher. Then just wheel with Meditates, Sifts, cast Blessing for Meditates ASAP and when you're down to no library, profit.

Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #52 on: September 03, 2008, 09:34:04 AM »
I did actually get a few successes (boy did it take like forever). I have no idea how Zvi managed so many goldfish playtests, I was finding it to be a chore past the 20-minute mark. And I think I do know how the general sequence is supposed to go, only thing is that it doesn't quite seem as consistent as he made it out to be. Or maybe I am just playing it wrong. Maybe I should swap out lobotomy/inspiration for flame wave or something (should be faster)...

But at least I understand now why dream halls got banned. It was funny, hearing inquest bitching about how crappy a card it was in one issue, and seeing a red dot beside it in the next.

Now I am sifting through some of the older articles at the wotc magic site. Necropotence, dark ritual, mana vault and demonic consultations banned? Illusions of grandeur a key card in one of the most degenerate decks in all Magic deck history? Never thought the day would actually come... :P
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Callix

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #53 on: September 03, 2008, 06:57:10 PM »
Now I am sifting through some of the older articles at the wotc magic site. Necropotence, dark ritual, mana vault and demonic consultations banned? Illusions of grandeur a key card in one of the most degenerate decks in all Magic deck history? Never thought the day would actually come... :P
Wait until you hear about 8-post.

8-post was an Extended deck developed by the WotC Building on a Budget article, who each week builds a deck for less than $US 30 (I think) using MtGO for peicing, then plays them against random online people to test it out. It used Cloudpost and Vesuva copying Cloudpost to generate absurd amounts of mana, backed this up with a bunch of ways to search for lands, and locked the game up with either a Mindslaver/Academy Ruins lock, or simply the ability to Spell Burst with buyback anything the opponent plays. Eventually, it got one of its mana-intensive finishers, and ended it in true control deck style.

When tested, the speed, reliability and power of the deck surprised even its creator. He played 25 games against a range of opponents, and he won every one. He had accidentally built one of the new powerhouse decks of Extended. When the article went live, the price of the deck doubled overnight, and kept rising.

But, yeah, Illusions of Grandeur/Donate/Boomerang was kind of mean...
I know gameology-fu.

Akalsaris

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #54 on: September 04, 2008, 11:59:41 AM »
That's cool...Building on a Budget was my favorite feature of the MTG site. 

I played MTG Online for a few months, using just the $15 that comes with the physical starter deck cards (I bought them because it was like 2 bucks at a drugstore and I needed more white mana...), and I spent the whole time trading like 1$ for 80 commons, and then building themed common decks, slowly upgrading them when I could trade for nifty cards - Building on a Budget gave me a ton of deck-building ideas. 

My favorite combo is probably from Portal if I recall, with a Kavu theme deck I still have.  Combine Flametongue Kavu along with Horned Kavu.  Send down a Flametongue and deal 4 damage, then send down a Horned and return the Flametongue.  What can I say...I'm a fan of the simple things. ^^;;

Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #55 on: September 05, 2008, 09:51:51 AM »
Was laughing over this article at work today.

https://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/af2

And I thought the playtesting for dnd was bad... :lol
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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #56 on: September 16, 2008, 12:45:29 AM »
If any of you guys plan on going to GenCon next year (assuming there is one), you should play at the Peasant Magic tournament that's held there every year. The rules are pretty simple and can officially be found here: http://www.geocities.com/peasantmagic/rules.htm

It's simple, your deck may only consist of up to 5 uncommons and the rest must be commons. For determining if a card is legal because it has come out in more than one set with more than one rarity, it's simple, you use the lowest. So a card printed as a common in Unlimited and then as an uncommon in 10th Edition, would be considered a common as far as Peasant Magic's concerned. There aren't many exceptions to that rule, but Strip Mine is one of them, because everyone would be playing four if it wasn't controlled. There are also a few banned cards, but it is because of their cost and how they're inaccessible to anyone unwilling to drop 60 bucks for a Berserk.

Anyway, if you're interested to know what I believe the meta-game will be next year or have any questions, feel free to post here or PM me.

edit: Sorry to hijack!

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Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #57 on: September 16, 2008, 01:27:34 AM »
Green stompy and sligh should be good. Many of the decent weenies are commons, as are cheap utility spells like burn and critter-boosters. I had a sligh with only 4 uncommons (4 jackal pups).

Maybe something like this.

4 mogg fanatic
4 jackal pup
4 ironclaw orcs
4 fireslinger
4 suq-ata lancer

4 shock
4 incinerate (it is a common, right?)
4 kindle
4 sonic burst (also common, correct?)
2 shattering pulse
1 goblin bombardment

21 mountain

Pity there is no room for fireblasts...
« Last Edit: September 16, 2008, 10:27:55 AM by Runestar »
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wO-_-OdrOw

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #58 on: September 16, 2008, 05:40:30 AM »
I ran green stompy this year. It may seem a little weird at first glance, but what I have come to realize is that you can't get away with massing the one costs anymore, so this is what me and a man that I was just randomly talking to in a game shop came up with:

x3 Simian Spirit Guide - 2/2 2R Discard from your hand to add R to your mana pool
x4 Wild Mongrel - 2/2 1G Discard a card: +1/+1 and becomes the color of your choice til end of turn
x4 Spectral Bears - [UC] 3/3 Untaps every other turn unless they control a swamp
x4 Ghazban Ogre - 2/2 G Player with the highest life total gets control
x4 Quirion Ranger - 1/1 G Return a Forest to your hand, untap target creature
x4 Nettle Sentinel - 2/2 G Only untaps when you play a green spell
x4 Rogue Elephant - 3/3 G Sacrifice a Forest when it comes into play
x4 Muscle Sliver - 1/1 1G All slivers (including this one) get +1/+1

x4 Rancor - +2/+0 G Creature gets trample, return to owner's hand if creature dies
x4 Briar Shield - +1/+1 G Sacrifice: This creature gets +3/+3

x4 Lotus Petal - 0 Tap and sacrifice: add one mana of any color to your mana pool

x1 Bounty of the Hunt - [UC] discard a green card from your hand rather than paying its mana cost - give a total of +3/+3 out to any number of target creatures
x4 Land Grant - if you have no lands in your hand, reveal your hand and play this for free: get a forest out of your deck

x12 Forest

It ran really well and was always ALMOST fast enough, getting several opponents to 2 or 3 life before they would either stabilize and crypt rats the board with their regenerate creatures out, or some people would get their combo off too fast. The sideboard was Joelral's Centaur (sp?) against burn decks and anti-artifact cards (crumble, mongrel folk) and elvish lyrist to battle pesky shit like circle of protection. Affinity didn't show up, no one played a useful enchantment, and there was no one burning enough for Joelral to come in handy. What I did see and face was Channel Fireball, Mono-Black decks (always think about a way to get rid of Crypt Rats if you're basing your deck around creatures), goblins, mono blue scepter control, various beatdown decks, and elf clamp. I haven't decided what to play for next year, but I won't be outright losing to Crypt Rats or the red version of them, that's for sure.

Honestly, on the deck you just posted, I don't think you'd get any wins with it, despite the very laid-back feel I had about the tournament. You might consider Chain Lightning and Lightning Bolt, since they're both common and innately better than say, Shock. And in that deck, I would make room for at least 1 Skull Clamp because it's just good to know it's in there. What I find burn does unless it's very well built, is that it gets put out after 3 or 4 turns of direct damage and then the opponent either gets off a combo, stabilizes, or has any sort of life gain.

edit:  :clap :clapThis is My 100th Post :clap :clap
« Last Edit: September 19, 2008, 02:36:02 PM by MFLABIAS »
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Runestar

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Re: MtG : favorite combo/synergy
« Reply #59 on: September 16, 2008, 10:36:09 AM »
Lightning bolts and chain lightnings are common? Score!!! I thought they were uncommons... :-[

Also, can someone confirm if reckless abandon (urza's destiny) and goblin grenade (???) are commons as well?

I am not really familiar with sets prior to alliances or after exodus, so as you can see, I am generally limiting my options to mirage - exodus. It seemed to fare okay when I played it with my friends...
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