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askkrenko · 7 years ago

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Krenko’s Guide to Creature Types: Beast

Enormous Baloth by Mark Tedin

What is a Beast (flavorfully)?

There is no good, satisfying definition of beast. Traditionally, the term applies to all animals except humans. Most fantasy settings expand this to include all creatures that are not sapient. Here’s a list of some creatures that are Beasts: Antelope, Ape, Atog, Aurochs, Badger, Basilisk, Bat, Bear…

In Magic: the Gathering, a Beast is any non-sapient creature that’s big and scary, sometimes even if it clearly falls into another creature type.

What is a Beast (mechanically)?

Mechanically, a Beast is whatever it wants to be. The creature type tends toward green/red midrange, but they’re honestly all over the place. The creature type “Beast” tells you effectively nothing about the card it’s on except that it’s likely green and it’s probably at least a 2/2. Beasts have a higher than average amount of Trample, but not so much as to have it as a defining trait.

Can I make a Beast deck?

Quite easily. Onslaught Block included a decent amount of “Beast” tribal rewards in Red and Green, and the sheer volume of Beasts and Beast Tokens means it’s easy to find enough to make a decent deck. You’ll probably want both colors if you’re actually “Beast Tribal,” as they have the highest number of beasts and it opens up Contested Cliffs, Wirewood Savage, and Aether Charge, some of the best Beast rewards. Aether Charge works particularly well with any card that spits out Beast Tokens, like Rampaging Baloths or Pulse of the Tangle.

Of the three commanders who are beasts, Gahiji, Honored One is a far better choice for a Commander than the other two, but there’s a lot of non-Beast options to lead a Beast tribal deck as well. Animar, Kresh, Maelstrom Wanderer, Mayael, Samut, Stonebrow, Surrak Dragonclaw, and Xenagos are all solid choices to lead an army of Beasts. I might even consider Radha for ramp or Riku for more beasts. Either way, the deck wants both red and green in order to get the most out of the “Beast” typeline.

Is Beast a good creature type?

Beast may very well be the worst creature type in all of Magic: the Gathering. Admittedly, it’s far too early to call this one, but Beast is an awful creature type that belies a very lackadaisical method of assigning creature types throughout Magic’s history. Many beasts rightfully belong as part of another existent creature type, or at least could be slid into those types. In fact, many Beasts were erattad at some point to have the other type while still being Beasts.

Basically any creature that is not a humanoid could reasonably be printed with the “Beast” typeline. A dragon? That’s a beast. A chimera? That’s a beast. A tiger? Well, it’s big, clawed, and has sharp teeth, so that’s a beast. The term doesn’t even seem to apply to creatures that are inherently magical like it does in D&D. There’s nothing “magic” or “special” about the Darba. It’s just a big bird, and indeed it was later changed to “Bird Beast.” “Gang of Elk” is a Beast. “Giant Warthog” is a Beast. “Gulf Squid” is a beast.

So why aren’t Bears “Beasts?”

Yes, some beasts would actually be difficult to place, and we might even want to keep the creature type “Beast” for some that really aren’t anything like anything. We have a whopping fourteen Baloths (plus a card that makes a Baloth token), and if they’re to be ‘Beast,’ I’m really not going to argue. Arguing with a Baloth never ends well.

Mechanically, Beast is actually in a decent place. It has a bit of tribal rewards, a lot of token generation, and a solid number of cards. The problem is that so many of those cards are outright stealing from other creature types, or just have Beast in addition to another type for no properly flavorful reason.

Now, there’s a few problems standing in the way of ‘fixing’ Beast. First off, because its problem is being overly wide instead of overly narrow, I can’t just say “All Beasts are now ____” and it’d be far too inclusive for Beast to absorb everything that would fit under the game’s definition of a Beast. Each one needs its own identification. Second, there’s actual Beast tribal rewards already, and enough Beasts to use them. Changing around what all was Beasts would have major, confusing mechanical issues.

I don’t think there is a fix for Beast without a full-fledged Grand Creature Type Update again, and even then it’s going to be a rough one. Beast is an awful creature type because it’s been used to dump all sorts of unrelated creatures based on the premise of “I don’t know what this is” or “we don’t specifically have a creature type for this.” I’m even willing to grant that you don’t know what Manglehorn actually is, but there is no excuse for “Wormfang Turtle” to have been printed as a Beast instead of a Turtle.

#krenko's guide #mtg #beast

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mtgaddicted · 7 years ago

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Budget Mana Base for Commanders: 5 colors decks.

How many times have you heard that a good deck needs to have all original dual lands and fetchlands so its mana base is fine? As long as you are a millionaire or you're playing on Cockatrice that is really easy and possible to do, but, for the rest of us whose budget is limited we have to come up with something else.

In this article I will show you how you can get an effective mana base for a 5 colors commander without having to sell a kidney to do so. It can be used for any kind of deck (2 colors, 3 colors, and 4 colors) but i’m focusing more on 5 colors. A brief disclaimer: This is only my opinion on what works best, so don't take it as a final word, and you can make any changes you like, fitting your needs.

First, we have to cover the basics of every commander deck: Land-No land ratio. I like to run my decks with approximately 34 lands. Recommended are around 36/38, but with mana accelerators i find 34/32 lands fine, 32 the lowest. It really depends on how many accelerators you have and your average CMC for the deck.

The second important point to consider are mana accelerators, which are divided into three: Ramp spells, mana creatures (which I wont cover, as it depends totally on your deck), and mana stones. Some colors have a better chance to ramp than others, being green the master of ramping, so you have to take that into account.

Third are mana fixers, because running 5 colors can get you one color screwed.

And finally, before actually starting, you have to check your commander's color ratio, and see which colors predominate.

Now, the mana base. We're going to start from the most expensive to the cheaper.

First: The lands.

Yeah, believe it or not, the lands end up being the most expensive cards in a deck (well, there re some ridiculous expensive cards that do not count.) Lands can be divided into:

Multicolor lands: Lands that produce multiple color.

Fetch Lands: Lands that search for other lands.

Utility lands: Lands that can be used for other things beside generating mana.

Basic lands.

For multicolored lands we have 2 color lands, 3 color lands, and all color lands. I find the all color lands the most important for 5 color commanders, as they can generate any color for anything in your hand or your commander. Depending on your deck, you could have better chances of getting this lands than other decks. Allies decks have Ally Encampment, Dragons have Haven of the Spirit Dragon, Elementals have Primal Beyond , and so on. Among all colors lands we have some really REALLY expensive (Cavern of Souls, and Glimmervoid) that if you have them you can include them, but those are 0 budget friendly.

Lands that are a total must:

City of Brass

Command Tower

Mana Confluence

Exotic Orchard = Unless playing against a monocolor deck, this usually generates from 3 to all colors.

Forbidden Orchard = If you don’t mind giving a token to an opponent.

Grand Coliseum = Enters tapped, but still really helpful.

These generate any color mana with no restrictions, which is great.

Conditioned Lands:

Ally Encampment = For allies tribal.

Ancient Ziggurat = Only for creatures.

Haven of the Spirit Dragon = Only for Dragons

Pillar of the Paruns = Only for Multicolored

Primal Beyond = Only for Elementals

Sliver Hive = Only for Slivers

Spire of Industry = Only if you have artifacts, which you will probably have.

Thran Quarry = It must be sacrificed if you have no creatures.

Helpful Lands:

Aether Hub = If you use energy counters.

Crucible of the Spirit Dragon = For dragons.

Gemstone Caverns = To head start.

Lotus Vale = It's not too cheap, but if you can untap target land…

Mirrodin's Core = Putting a counter on it can be really useful.

Opal Palace = Your commander enters with +1/+1 counters.

Tarnished Citadel = If you don't mind the 3 damage.

Undiscovered Paradise = For landfall or if you can play more than one land each turn.

Depending on the ammount of lands and the speed of your deck, you can add the Vivid cycle (Vivid Crag, Vivid Creek, Vivid Grove, Vivid Marsh, and Vivid Meadow) if you think you will need them.

To avoid:

Transguild Promenade, Rupture Spire = Enters tapped and cost 1 mana. If your opponent blinks them…

Henge of Ramos, Holdout Settlement, School of the Unseen, Shimmering Grotto, Unknown Shores = Those are just filters, don’t fill your mana base witht that.

Tendo Ice Bridge = A single counter isn't worth it, unless you proliferate a lot.

Multicolored lands are nice, they can generate 2 or 3 colors, which is very versatile. 3 colors are the the most versatile, but they are not fetchable. I would include 2 or 3, with the most predominant colors in my deck.

3 color lands:

Arcane Sanctum

Crumbling Necropolis

Frontier Bivouac

Jungle Shrine

Mystic Monastery

Nomad Outpost

Opulent Palace

Sandsteppe Citadel

Savage Lands

Seaside Citadel

The exception for this is Murmuring Bosk, which can be fetched.

The Lair lands can be used, but they slow a little bit the game.

The 2 colors lands are a LOT, but useful budget lands are not that much. Shocklands are very useful, but the price of them is not budget friendly, so, if you have some add them to your deck, otherwise you should include these:

Canopy Vista

Cinder Glade

Prairie Stream

Smoldering Marsh

Sunken Hollow

Then, some other useful 2 colors lands:

Choked Estuary

Foreboding Ruins

Fortified Village

Game Trail

Port Town

Adarkar Wastes

Battlefield Forge

Brushland

Caves of Koilos

Karplusan Forest

Llanowar Wastes

Shivan Reef

Sulfurous Springs

Underground River

Yavimaya Coast

Tainted Field

Tainted Isle

Tainted Peak

Tainted Wood

Temples are really good if you want to scry, even if the slow the game a little bit.

To avoid:

Lands that enter the battlefield tapped with no other effect and add 2 colors. Also Gates, unless you're playing them all and Maze's End. Bouncelands can be fine, for fewer color decks, but 5 colors are not worth it.

Fetch Lands are really important lands, and something I didn’t really understand when I started Magic. It not only helps you fixing your mana, but also reduce the number of lands in your deck so later on in the game you wont be drawing lands. There are some really good fetchlands that are overlooked and budget friendly:

Ash Barrens = Not really a fetchland, but its cycling is really helpful.

Bad River

Bant Panorama

Blighted Woodland

Esper Panorama

Evolving Wilds

Flood Plain

Grasslands

Grixis Panorama

Jund Panorama

Krosan Verge

Mountain Valley

Myriad Landscape

Naya Panorama

Rocky Tar Pit

Terramorphic Expanse

Terrain Generator = Not fetching, but helps ramping.

Utility Lands really depend on your deck. So you have to search them depending on your needs. However, there are some basic utility lands you have to consider:

Arcane Lighthouse = No hexproof or shroud for your opponents.

Bojuka Bog = I always add this. Because you don’t know when are you facing a reanimate deck.

Cathedral of War = Exalted.

Crystal Quarry = A 5 colors filter is not that bad.

Cascading Cataracts = A 5 mana filter and indestructible.

Darksteel Citadel = Indestructible.

Ghost Quarter = Because we are mean and your Cabal Coffers is not fair.

Llanowar Reborn = Graft.

Mage-Ring Network = Mana storage.

Mirrorpool = Copy things.

Nephalia Academy = Discarding to Top.

Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx = Devotion.

Reliquary Tower = No maximum hand size.

Riftstone Portal = Put it in the Graveyard.

Scorched Ruins = Untap it somehow.

Shrine of the Forsaken Gods = Extra mana with 7 lands.

Temple of the False God = Extra mana with 5 lands.

Thespian's Stage = Copy land.

Unstable Frontier = Turns any of your lands into any basic land.

Untaidake, the Cloud Keeper = 2 colorless only for legendary creatures.

Wirewood Lodge = Untap target elf.

Not super Budget but if you can have them…

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Vesuva

Hideaway lands are excelent depending on the deck you're running.

Manlands are cool too.

Basic lands should be considered last, but you should keep at least one of each type, specially for ramp spells and fetches.

With a land base done, everything else depends entirely on your deck. Here are some sugestions you can cosider.

5 colors commanders have the benefit of using all mana stones, so it wouldn’t be a problem. The number of mana rocks really depend on you, but here are some that you must include:

Sol Ring

Chromatic Lantern = Not too cheap, but it is a must.

Commander's Sphere

Fellwar Stone

Darksteel Ingot

Gilded Lotus = Went up in price, but it's worth it.

Mind Stone

Star Compass = If playing enough basic lands.

Coalition Relic = Not budget friendly, but it is a good card to consider.

If needed, these are fast accelerators and also generate color if needed:

Talisman of Dominance

Talisman of Impulse

Talisman of Indulgence

Talisman of Progress

Talisman of Unity

Thought Vessel

Ramp Spells are usually green, but there are not only green ones.

The green ones:

Cultivate

Explosive Vegetation

Farseek

Harrow

Journey of Discovery

Kodama's Reach

Mwonvuli Acid-Moss = This one is forest only, but the land destruction is good.

Nature's Lore

Peregrination = Not too recommended for the cost, use only is necessary.

Rampant Growth

Shard Convergence

Spoils of Victory

The non green:

Expedition Map

Gem of Becoming

Gift of Estates

Knight of the White Orchid

Kor Cartographer

Oreskos Explorer

Solemn Simulacrum

Sword of the Animist = An equipment, yes, but very useful.

Tithe

Wayfarer's Bauble

For the mana fixers I only have a couple of suggestion

Prismatic Omen = Not budget friendly, but it is really good.

Celestial Dawn = Beware of Iona.

Pulse of Llanowar

The already mentioned Chromatic Lantern for this.

Again, you don’t have to include everything you see here, but you can get a nice diea on how to fix the mana of your deck :)

So, what do you think? :D

#mtg #macgic the gathering #commander #mana base #edh #mana #article #by chiky

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mtgbracket · 8 years ago

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Round of 16384 - Batch 227 results

598 Bracketeers voted in Batch 227, and 7.19m votes have been cast so far.

Visual results are here and today’s results are:

Szadek, Lord of Secrets defeats Chaplain's Blessing with 95.08% of the vote Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker defeats Brass Squire with 89.10% of the vote Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded defeats Chain of Silence with 87.67% of the vote Leonin Abunas defeats Neurok Hoversail with 86.59% of the vote

Grinding Station defeats Lammastide Weave with 85.03% of the vote Wood Elves defeats Cursed Ronin with 83.59% of the vote Butcher of the Horde defeats Wirewood Savage with 82.67% of the vote Gaea's Blessing defeats Tower of Champions with 80.81% of the vote

Soulquake defeats Throttle with 80.71% of the vote Chaos Orb defeats Dwarven Driller with 80.30% of the vote Anticipate defeats Knight of the Mists with 78.69% of the vote Master Warcraft defeats Spy Network with 74.83% of the vote

Voldaren Duelist defeats Night Revelers with 73.22% of the vote Wooded Bastion defeats Monk Idealist with 71.58% of the vote Teetering Peaks defeats Goham Djinn with 71.09% of the vote Spirit Away defeats Grip of the Roil with 70.21% of the vote

Haunting Echoes defeats Stand Together with 70.17% of the vote Haunting Misery defeats Molting Snakeskin with 69.43% of the vote Phyrexian Devourer defeats Seacoast Drake with 68.87% of the vote Hearthcage Giant defeats Spiraling Embers with 68.47% of the vote

Word of Blasting defeats Desert Drake with 65.36% of the vote Nephalia Moondrakes defeats Barrow Ghoul with 64.24% of the vote Tribute to the Wild defeats Setessan Oathsworn with 63.34% of the vote Natural Emergence defeats Tolaria with 63.29% of the vote

Moment's Peace defeats War Tax with 61.02% of the vote Unmask defeats Dakra Mystic with 60.61% of the vote Saltblast defeats Hypervolt Grasp with 60.38% of the vote Crag Saurian defeats Alarum with 57.81% of the vote

Horror of Horrors defeats Henge of Ramos with 56.88% of the vote Lose Calm defeats Dimir Guildgate with 55.77% of the vote Goblin Battle Jester defeats Arashin Cleric with 53.44% of the vote Garza's Assassin defeats Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace with 50.26% of the vote

Full results to date can be seen here.

#mtg #magic the gathering

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loyaltycounter · 12 years ago

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Wirewood Savage

Original Text:

Whenever a beast enters the battlefield, you may draw a card.

Image:Wizards of the Coast

Artist: DiTerlizzi

#mtg #magic #magic the gathering #wirewood savage #onslaught

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mtgbracket · 8 years ago

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Round of 16384 - Batch 227

Batch 227 voting is now open. The following polls are currently open:

Batch 227 Batch 226 Batch 225 Batch 224 Batch 223 Batch 222 Batch 221

Batch 220 results will be up soon.

The full list of matchups for today is:

Moment's Peace vs War Tax Seacoast Drake vs Phyrexian Devourer Wood Elves vs Cursed Ronin Horror of Horrors vs Henge of Ramos Szadek, Lord of Secrets vs Chaplain's Blessing Voldaren Duelist vs Night Revelers Tribute to the Wild vs Setessan Oathsworn Dwarven Driller vs Chaos Orb Desert Drake vs Word of Blasting Goham Djinn vs Teetering Peaks Dakra Mystic vs Unmask Throttle vs Soulquake Lammastide Weave vs Grinding Station Tower of Champions vs Gaea's Blessing Chain of Silence vs Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded Haunting Echoes vs Stand Together Goblin Battle Jester vs Arashin Cleric Master Warcraft vs Spy Network Hypervolt Grasp vs Saltblast Crag Saurian vs Alarum Anticipate vs Knight of the Mists Spirit Away vs Grip of the Roil Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace vs Garza's Assassin Haunting Misery vs Molting Snakeskin Leonin Abunas vs Neurok Hoversail Hearthcage Giant vs Spiraling Embers Monk Idealist vs Wooded Bastion Lose Calm vs Dimir Guildgate Nephalia Moondrakes vs Barrow Ghoul Wirewood Savage vs Butcher of the Horde Tolaria vs Natural Emergence Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker vs Brass Squire

#mtg #magic the gathering

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mtgbracket · 8 years ago

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Round of 16384 - Batch 145 results

625 Bracketeers voted in Batch 145, and 5.48m votes have now been cast.

Visual results are here and today’s results are:

Selfless Spirit defeats Gravegouger with 93.85% of the vote Savage Ventmaw defeats Lithophage with 85.48% of the vote Mnemonic Wall defeats Gustcloak Runner with 85.34% of the vote Brushland defeats White Scarab with 85.20% of the vote

Aven Liberator defeats Hematite Talisman with 83.50% of the vote Nylea, God of the Hunt defeats Scythe Tiger with 83.09% of the vote Devoted Druid defeats Vedalken Certarch with 83.06% of the vote Putrefy defeats Tarox Bladewing with 81.13% of the vote

Order of the Golden Cricket defeats Marsh Goblins with 76.87% of the vote Nantuko Mentor defeats Ekundu Griffin with 74.79% of the vote Faerie Trickery defeats Convincing Mirage with 72.22% of the vote Tyrant's Familiar defeats Shattered Perception with 70.28% of the vote

Carnival of Souls defeats Bathe in Dragonfire with 68.72% of the vote Cleansing Beam defeats Stone Golem with 67.16% of the vote Mogis's Warhound defeats Rootwater Diver with 66.94% of the vote Blazing Specter defeats Karma with 66.07% of the vote

Rod of Ruin defeats Undying Beast with 63.40% of the vote Deadlock Trap defeats Stasis Cell with 63.07% of the vote Overgrown Estate defeats False Summoning with 62.54% of the vote Tempt with Reflections defeats Mana Matrix with 60.66% of the vote

Vivify defeats Flash Flood with 59.97% of the vote Fire-Belly Changeling defeats Riven Turnbull with 59.21% of the vote Bone Shredder defeats Crystal Quarry with 59.06% of the vote Domestication defeats Fortified Village with 58.36% of the vote

Wirewood Lodge defeats Custodi Soulbinders with 58.22% of the vote Ancestral Vengeance defeats Dream Thrush with 56.46% of the vote Cryptoplasm defeats Nyxathid with 55.79% of the vote Ever After defeats Pristine Talisman with 55.56% of the vote

Crow of Dark Tidings defeats Transmogrifying Licid with 54.63% of the vote Rootwater Mystic defeats Lionheart Maverick with 53.57% of the vote Cyclopean Giant defeats Impetuous Sunchaser with 53.26% of the vote Wall of Tanglecord defeats Maze Abomination with 50.98% of the vote

Full results to date can be seen here.

#mtg #magic the gathering

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