Magic: the Gathering - Return to Ravnica

[Hemingway]

So, Dragon's Maze is out. I attended a pre-release event, did pretty well, and drew a whole bunch of great cards.

It seems it's my destiny to play Orzhov. For the pre-release draft, I got both Teysa ( Orzhov champion ) and a Blood Baron of Vizkopa ( B/W mythical ). I then opened some more boosters later on, and got one more. Of each. In addition, I got a whole bunch of other decent Orzhov cards.

Too bad, because what I really want to try now is Azorius. What can I say - I like control. Orzhov are too one-dimensional to really appeal to me. It seems like the only way you really win in a pure Orzhov build is by stealing life. Granted, my Boros deck wins by trampling over my enemy, but my Dimir deck has several possible win conditions, and strong control. I like that. Now, I could build an Orzhov / Azorius deck. I just don't really see the point - they don't really go that well together in my eyes. In either case splashing in Dimir seems like a better choice.

Which is sort of what I'm thinking of doing with Azorius: A strong base of Azorius cards, with some Dimir blue cards splashed in. Mainly Voidwalk. Because Hexproof fliers with Voidwalk ciphered onto them, coupled with creates that detain upon entering the battlefield ... should terrify just about anyone.

Though not as much as a 20/20 unblockable Consuming Abberation. Man, that was fun.

[Geeklet]

If you want control, I'd stick with Orzhov. Because quite frankly, the vast majority of the Azorius cards aren't really geared towards control (though there are a few powerful exceptions. Supreme Verdict, Sphinx's Revelation, etc). At least in drafts, Azorious is more about tempo and flyers. Though if we are moving out of just the pure RTR block, Esper is pretty good for control (blue, white, black)

[Hemingway]

Well, I don't normally play drafts. The deck I want to build, is something like a disruptive combo deck, if I am to be very precise. The idea is to have a healthy dose of detains and counterspells, and to deliver death by flying creatures ( I absolutely love Ascended Lawmage since the prerelease event I played ). I haven't actually tried it out, but this is my plan so far.

Orzhov, like I said, just isn't that interesting to me. I also don't know how to make it interesting. I like them thematically, and they have some great cards. They're even proving fairly effective for me, despite the fact my Orzhov deck is very much a work in progress. But in the end, the Orzhov playstyle just isn't that exciting to me.

Basically, I fell in love with disruptive combo decks when one of my friends built a Delver deck for me. I've been trying to build something similar ever since. The only reason I don't just build my own Delver deck, is I want to make something that's mine.

On a side note: Dimir are still very much my favorite guild, in all ways. I was fortunate enough to draw Mirko Vosk, the Mind Drinker. My god I love that guy. Mirko Vosk + Way of the Thief + Duskmantle Guildmage is a punishing combination, game-ending in a few turns if not dealt with. It's particularly vicious against decks that include ramping, because ... well, it follows that if you take out land cards of your deck at a higher rate than other cards, the average number of cards between the remaining lands grows.

[SinXAzgard21]

Slivers are coming back in the 2014 block.

[Hemingway]

I saw Facebook going batshit over it. To me they look sort of like Innistrad werewolves. On steroids.

I'm just glad I generally play with people I know, and people I know can be, ah, 'discouraged' from playing cheesy decks.

[Geeklet]

Slivers are coming back in the 2014 block.

......god dammit.

[SinXAzgard21]

......god dammit.

I'm happy.

[Hemingway]

I'm putting together the ultimate blue/red burn/counterspell deck, and I could use some advice.

It's going to contain a lot of counterspells, obviously. I'm also looking to put in some redirects, since I mainly intend to use this to punish my friend for making a similar deck ( thinking she can beat me at my own game, hah! ). Obviously I'll be putting in quite a lot of burn spells. I'll only be using a few creatures - probably in the range of 8 - 10 ( Invisible Stalkers and some Cipher spells, notably Hidden Strings and Last Thoughts, are my aim ).

I'm interested to know if anyone has any suggestions for spells that would provide some sort of unique utility for a deck like this.

[Geeklet]

Augur of Bolas. Yes, its a creature, but its cheap, has a decent toughness to block early creatures, and gets you an additional spell usually.

[Hemingway]

I appreciate the advice. I ... have to think about this guy.

On the one hand, he's great because 1) if he's vapor snagged or unsummoned, he can be played again, which makes that a poor solution, and 2) he requires a Lightning Bolt to kill.

On the other hand, he's a 1/3, and the sort of deck I'm aiming to face here is the typical Delver deck. Meaning, for one thing, that he likely can't block the creatures being thrown at me ( unblockable or flying ), and his power makes him no threat at all. In other words, chances are he'd end up just sitting on the board, doing a single point of damage each turn, and taking up space in my deck.

I think I need to weigh the pros and cons carefully here, but definitely thanks for the tips. I'd be happy to take more, if anyone's got them.

[Geeklet]

You say Delver, and I think of Delver of Secrets, Snapcaster Mage, and Geist of St. Traft. The Augur can block all three, unless the delver flips. The angel from the Geist still gets through as well, but the actual ground guy still gets blocked. So I think to help more, I'd really need to see more of a decklist, know what sort of restrictions you are facing, and what sort of decks you plan to play against.

[Hemingway]

"Unless the Delver flips" is the key concern here. My friend, who has built herself a ... well, it's not a classic Delver deck, I only use that as an illustration. It's more of a cross between a Delver deck ( Delver and Runechanter's Pike, with Ponder to make absolutely sure the Delver flips, usually as early as turn 3 ) and a very aggressive Izzet deck full of cheap burn spells ( Lightning Bolt, Devil's Play ), spells that copy other spells, counterspells, and Vapor Snag. It's a real nightmare to play against. Because, yeah, my friend has a fairly large collection of cards, and no compunctions over playing cards that aren't tournament legal. Which is why I'm not planning on limiting myself in any way, either. Hell, if you know any banned cards that'd be useful, I'd love it. Just for the sake of playing banned cards.

[Geeklet]

If that is the case, I would get a playset of Mental Misstep ASAP. Counter target spell with a CMC of 1, castable for 1 blue phyrexian, which means you can pay 2 life instead of paying a blue, which means you can cast it even when you have no mana available. Stops Delver, bolt, ponder, snag, among possibly other things that might give you fits. Depending on how much they rely on the Delver, I'd consider a couple Gut Shot as well. 1 red phyrexian to deal 1 damage to target creature or player. Kill it before it flips. Other than those, best thing I could suggest is cheap counterspells like mana leak or spell pierce. And honestly, Unless you are playing Pike yourself, or have some nasty equipment (like Swords of X and Y), I'd ditch the invisible stalkers for something that hurts more.

[Hemingway]

Mental Misstep looks positively delicious, exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for. Gut Shot also looks good, but I may settle for Electrickery, since I have a playset of them already, and the difference is ... manageable.

What I planned with the Invisible Stalkers is to use Dimir Ciphers. I suppose I should look into some other hexproofs - that's sort of essential for keeping them on the board. I could always include Way of the Thief for +2/+0 and unblockable - always useful.

Definitely great advice. Thanks!

Edit: Lone Revenant looks tasty ... I think I may even have one lying around...

Edit 2: Holy balls. I just noticed the card Essence Harvest ( target player loses life equal to the greatest power among creatures you control, and you gain that much life ). I've been toying with the idea of using a card like that, Dying Wish, from Gatecrash. However, Dying Wish requires your creature to die, where Essence Harvest doesn't. Anyway, it has the potential to be ... quite ... powerful ... in a Dimir milling deck. Which is my favorite deck of all. I don't think I have to explain the potential damage Essence Harvest can do when a Consuming Aberration can easily get to 20/20.