Yo! MTG Taps! Presents Dreck Tech!

Yo! MTG Taps! Presents Dreck Tech!

New article up at LegitMTG.com! My first article for the site! We’ll be doing an article series every other Thursday (the Thursdays with no new Taps! podcast) so make sure you check em out! 

bhj

A Thank You, And A Few Clarifications

A Thank You, And A Few Clarifications

Much of the fate of YMTGT is explained here. If you read no other post from my new blog, read this one. Thanks.

“I Feel Like Such A Poser”

“I Feel Like Such A Poser”.

via "I Feel Like Such A Poser".

Balthor the Defiled Commander By Bigheadjoe EDH BRAH

Sup jerks?

(An aside about the beginning of this post: I have no idea how to write HTML code, so I went to my last post on here and copied the image code. I accidentally highlighted the words “Sup jerks?” from said post as well, but decided that, as you are all COMPLETE AND UTTER JERKS, to go with it.)

(As an aside to my aside, I hope that you are all familiar with my sense of humor by now. 😀 )

Lately I have been getting a lot of requests to share my Balthor the Defiled Commander deck. Well, it just so happens that I pulled the trigger on a Japanese Foil Balthor (Thank you Smedlock for the photo link) just last night. When Joey informed me tonight that yet another person was requesting the deck, I jumped at the chance to finally get around to it. I’m really excited about this deck and am about to begin the arduous task of finding the rest of the foils for it.

Before I post the current list, I want you all to take a look at the original list I posted back on November 9, 2009, on my long-deceased blog Otherworldly Journey. We had just posted episode TWO of Yo! MTG Taps! at the time of this blog entry. I had obviously just started building the deck and was far from finished getting the deck where I wanted it to be.

What a difference 22 months make!

Key:
BOLD indicates foil.
(J) indicates Japanese
Sets will follow each card name and will be represented by whatever 2-3 letter code I come up with for them.

Balthor the Defiled

Commander:
Balthor the Defiled JDG (J)
Creatures (35):
Apprentice Necromancer UD
Boneknitter ONS
Cemetery Reaper M12
Corpse Connoisseur SOA
Corpse Harvester (signed) (HOLY CRAP WHAT IS AN ABBREVIATION FOR “LEGIONS” THAT DOESN’T JUST LOOK LIKE AN ABBREVIATION FOR “LEGENDS????” I’m looking it up.) LGN
Death Baron SOA
Filth JDG
Fleshbag Marauder SOA
Gempalm Polluter LGN
Geth, Lord of the Vault SOM
Grave Defiler APC
Grave Scrabbler FUT
Gravedigger ODY
Gravespawn Sovereign ONS
Grixis Slavedriver CFX
Grotesque Hybrid TOR
Khabal Ghoul ARN
Korlash, Heir to Blackblade (Prerelease Promo) FUT
Lord of the Undead Xth(J)
Mass of Ghouls FUT
Nested Ghoul MBS
Nightmare M10
Shepherd of Rot ONS
Skinrender Gateway
Skirk Ridge Exhumer FUT
Soulless One ONS
Stromgald Crusader COLDSNAP
Stronghold Assassin STR
Undead Gladiator ONS
Undead Warchief SCR
Vengeful Dead SCR
Vengeful Pharaoh M12
Visara the Dreadful FTV:L
Viscera Dragger SOA
Withered Wretch TSTS

Enchantments (7):
Call to the Grave M12
Enslave PLC
Gate to Phyrexia ANT
Phyrexian Arena APC
Tombstone Stairwell MIRAGE
Tortured Existence STR
Zombie Infestation ODY

Instants (2):
Songs of the Damned IA
Vampiric Tutor VIS

Sorceries (14):
Barter in Blood MRD
Beseech the Queen SHM
Black Sun’s Zenith MBS
Buried Alive WTL
Damnation MPR
Demonic Collusion TSP
Demonic Tutor REV
Diabolic Intent PLS
Dregs of Sorrow TEM
Ill-Gotten Gains US
Morality Shift JDG
Mutilate TOR
Sinkhole ALPHA! (Thanks, Tim McLaren)
Syphon Flesh COM

Artifacts (5):
Memory Jar (Signed) UL
Nevinyrral’s Disk (Signed) 4th
Sensei’s Divining Top CoK (yup that’s right I used the “CoK” abbreviation.)
Skullclamp FTV:E
Sol Ring (Signed) REV

Lands (36):
22x Swamp (all old card frame)
Bojuka Bog WWK
Bottomless Vault FE
Cabal Coffers Planechase
Crypt of Agadeem ZEN
Deserted Temple ODY
Lake of the Dead AL
Miren, the Moaning Well SoK
Phyrexian Tower US
Strip Mine (No Sky, No Tower) ANT
Subterranean Hangar MM
Thawing Glaciers Judge Foil
Unholy Grotto ONS
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth PLC
Volrath’s Stronghold STR

So there’s the deck. I was going to get into more detail about why some of the cards are in the deck, and was even going to post another super awesome Commander list, but it’s now 6am and I can’t possibly stay up any later.

TO BE CONTINUED…
Bigheadjoe
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Bigheadjoe’s Awesome Rogue Deck of the Month – February

Sup jerks?

Over the last few months I have been playing a wide variety of aggro decks: Elves, Vampires, Mono-W Metalcraft, but deep down all I really wanted to do in Standard was cast Gideon and Wrath my opponents’ creatures away. So I decided to play UW control, and what do you know? The rest of the non-Boros population in Standard decided to do the same! This lead, inevitably, to me having to face the dreaded control mirror at my FNM. This is a matchup I don’t really have the patience for on a Friday night, so I decided that I needed to change the deck in such a way where I could break serve in a control matchup, while still allowing myself the tools to stave off the Boros rush. So I came up with this list. Sort of a “Broliferate Two Point Bro.” I’m not going to babble too much about the list as I feel it’s pretty self-explanatory. Getting to 4 mana on turn 3 is vital as you want to Jace or Day by then.

4 Celestial Colonnade
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Island
3 Plains
2 Tectonic Edge
4 Eldrazi Temple
1 Eye of Ugin
4 Jace the Mind Sculptor
1 Ulamog
1 Kozilek
1 Emrakul
4 Everflowing Chalice
4 Sphere of the Suns
1 White Sun’s Zenith
1 Blue Sun’s Zenith
3 Contagion Clasp
2 All is Dust
3 Day of Judgment
3 Gideon Jura
4 Preordain
3 Tumble Magnet

Sideboard:
1 Day of Judgment
4 Luminarch Ascension
3 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Stoic Rebuttal
3 Ratchet Bomb

The sideboard is just a placeholder. Obviously build your sideboard to best fight the decks you expect to see where you play this deck. I think someone should play it in the SCGOpen in DC this weekend! I would if I wasn’t going to be busy entertaining all you NICE PEOPLE.

Also, make sure you read Noyan’s article below this… didn’t mean to post right after he posted an artice!

BHJ

Bigheadjoe Has Mono(green)

I’ve got a FEVER!

OK, I don’t really have a witty pun to relate this post to the cowbell sketch, but I was just thinking about it.

Seriously though, I am loving this monogreen deck lately:

Green Mind:
Creatures:
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Nest Invader
3 Wolfbriar Elemental
4 Avenger of Zendikar

Sorceries:
3 Bestial Menace

Enchantments:
3 Beastmaster Ascension

Artifacts:
4 Eldrazi Monument

Planeswalkers:
2 Garruk Wildspeaker

Lands:
2 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Misty Rainforest
16 Forest

Sideboard:
4 Acidic Slime
2 Terastodon
3 Relic of Progenitus
3 Naturalize
3 Khalni Hydra

Joey Pasco has said of this deck, “It’s the least fun I have ever had playing against a monogreen deck.”

First, compare the deck with the deck that Zvi Mowshowitz championed at Pro Tour San Juan:

Mainboard:
Creatures:
4 Arbor Elf
4 Joraga Treespeaker
4 Kozilek’s Predator
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Nest Invader
1 River Boa
4 Vengevine
4 Wolfbriar Elemental

Enchantments:
3 Beastmaster Ascension

Artifacts:
4 Eldrazi Monument

Lands:
1 Dread Statuary
13 Forest
4 Khalni Garden
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard:
1 Beastmaster Ascension
1 Forest
2 Gigantiform
4 Leatherback Baloth
2 Naturalize
2 River Boa
3 Tajuru Preserver

My version of this deck feels even stronger than the version that Zvi ran, while not going too deep into the cardpool from Shards block. This looks like a fun, Timmy-flavored (god that seems gross given that one of my best friends is named Tim) Standard deck best suited for FNM, but make no mistake: this is a borderline combo deck. To be honest, I haven’t played it outside of FNM or the kitchen table, but it seems to hold it’s own against many of the heavy-hitters in the format. I am dying to try it out in a more competitive environment, and for once feel as though I can confidently encourage you to do the same.

Many of the popular decks in Standard right now do not interact with the opponent very much: Mythic, Turbolands, Time Sieve, Next Level Bant to name a few. This deck is actually capable of OUT-COMBO-ING them! A typical start:
T1: Treespeaker
T2: Level Treespeaker, play Cobra
T3: Wolfbriar kicked thrice
T4: Avenger
T5: Beastmaster or Monument, win.

These turns aren’t based on goldfishing, either. This feels like most of the games I play against real decks, with blockers and everything. Garruk pretty much ties the deck together, since it does everything this deck wants to do: accelerates mana, plays tokens, pumps tokens for alpha strike.

As far as the sideboard is concerned, I have a confession to make: I HATE PLAYING AGAINST TIME SIEVE!!!! The sideboard is pure hate against that deck, although the cards included do have applications elsewhere. I know that there are no red decks at my FNM, so I don’t have much hate against that deck. I strongly recommend that if you play this deck, you tweak the sideboard to better account for your own metagame. The Khalni Hydras are in there because… well… I traded for them on Friday before the tournament and it seemed like a good idea at the time. If you expect to play against RDW, I would probably use those slots for either a decent 3-drop (like Leatherback Baloth) to account for your early mana dorks being bolted, or some sort of lifegain tool (Dragon’s Claw could work, but you probably want a body attached to it… can’t wait for Obstinate Baloth!)

I think that’s about all I have to say at the moment. I am having too much fun with this deck right now. It has the nostalgia of the old monogreen decks I used to play 14 years ago, with the added bonus of actually being GOOD!

Also, Bestial Menace, my all-time favorite art ever created. (I guess trolling isn’t limited to the MTG Salvation forums!)

Have fun!
Bigheadjoe

What Surprises Me Most About Tom LaPille’s Article on the Mothership Today

NEWSFLASH!

NEWSFLASH!

Wizards of the Coast has announced that Baneslayer Angel will be in M11!

BIG. SURPRISE.

Wizards makes $4/Baneslayer. One time.

Each pack containing a Baneslayer costs $4. That’s not even counting what the store gets the booster cases for, so Wizards makes LESS than $4/booster. However, the customer who is trying to open Baneslayers in packs will actually spend $100-$120 for a box of boosters. Wizards knows this. Wizards wants to sell Baneslayers too. so OF COURSE Baneslayer gets into M11.

Here is the part of the article that ACTUALLY surprised me:

One of the special things about Magic’s core sets is that they are not beholden to any particular setting or flavor. Instead, they are intended to represent a baseline from which Magic can vary in other sets. Under our new model, however, during their time in Standard they are inextricably connected with the block that comes immediately before it. For Magic 2010, that was the Shards of Alara block.

One of the five shards in Shards of Alara is Esper, which had an artifact theme. Although Open the Vaults is not creatively connected to Esper, we made the card with the intention that it would interact powerfully with Esper’s artifacts. In that we succeeded, as Open the Vaults was powerful in Standard with Time Sieve, and Niels Viaene made the Top 8 of Pro Tour–San Diego with a Time Sieve-less version of Open the Vaults. However, those potential interactions will be gone when Shards of Alara rotates out of Standard. That would have made Open the Vaults a much less interesting card to have around, so it won’t be coming back.

We have all been speculating for one hundred years about Scars of Mirrodin. I know he’s talking about a specific combo deck that is losing significant pieces of it’s combo when Shards Block rotates, but if Scars of Mirrodin is supposed to be an “artifact block” why wouldn’t Open the Vaults still be relevant and interesting post-rotation? Does this suggest that Scars might NOT be the Artifact set we are speculating about?

This just seems a little strange to me. I think we should be a little more open-minded about what Wizards might do in their sets. Just because we see Mirrodin in the name doesn’t mean we can immediately start talking about whether or not affinity is coming back. It’s not, by the way. Also, I know that there is some artifact from Scars in the From the Vault: Relics set, and that it’s not Oil of Psarl. However, I really think that the “Scars” of Mirrodin might be some powerful artifacts, but not the dense metallic landscape of the original Mirrodin block.

Just a different angle to consider on the whole thing.
Bigheadjoe

I Had a Thought About Mindbreak Trap Today

Quick little thought here.

A lot of people have been asking about Mindbreak Trap recently. Does Emrakul, the Aeons Torn make Mindbreak Trap worth considering for U/W Control?

Probably not.

Emrakul will be cheated into play close to 95% of the time he winds up appearing on the battlefield in Constructed play.

However, another new card from Rise of the Eldrazi DOES make Mindbreak Trap an interesting option:

Consuming Vapors.
Many Jund players are bummed that they can’t catch the Vapors twice off of a Bituminous Blast, so Consuming Vapors becomes the natural replacement for Bit Blast since it grants similar card advantage. If enough Jund players are running Consuming Vapors, then after the rebound they Bloodbraid into something and you cast Mindbreak Trap for free! Seems like a corner case, sure, but when the corner case is in like half of the decks you are playing against, that’s a pretty hot corner, right?

Plus, I just think that Mindbreak Trap is a decent counter for Bloodbraid anyway. I think I’m going to run 2 in U/W control to see how well it performs.

Bigheadjoe
P.S. Our online store is LIVE! Check it out: I Want My MTG

P.P.S. Don’t forget to check out the 02drop New Standard Open! THIS SATURDAY! (click the pic for details!)

Vengevine is the Real Deal

I probably shouldn’t even be writing this.

So far, I have 3 Vengevines, and I still need one more.

As of my writing this, Starcity is sold out of Vengevines at $30, and the cheapest price you can find them at is $20 on findmagiccards.com (which is a price I’m honestly skeptical of). $25 looks more like the average price.

I don’t want to contribute to driving the price of this card up any more, at least until I finish my playset.

However, I just had my first experience casting this card, and I must say it’s the real f***ing deal.

I didn’t realize when I was reviewing the set just how insane this card is. Let me just go over a few of the ridiculous tricks that are possible with this card:

– Cast a creature. Cast Vengevine. Vengevine’s trigger goes on the stack. If your opponent plays poorly and counters the Vengevine before the trigger resolves, you can use the trigger to get back your freshly countered Vengevine.

*CORRECTION* This doesn’t actually work. Here is the information on Vengevine from the Rise of the eldrazi FAQ:

* If you cast your second creature spell in a turn and Vengevine is in your graveyard, Vengevine’s second ability triggers and goes on the stack on top of it. The ability will resolve, allowing you to return Vengevine to the battlefield, before the creature spell does.

* Vengevine’s triggered ability works only if Vengevine is already in your graveyard as you finish casting your second creature spell in a turn, and it remains there continuously until the ability resolves.

* Vengevine doesn’t need to be in your graveyard as you start casting your second creature spell in a turn, only as you finish. This matters if you sacrifice a Vengevine on the battlefield while casting that creature spell, perhaps to pay a cost of that spell or a cost of a mana ability.

* Vengevine’s triggered ability checks the card types of the spells you cast over the course of the entire turn, not just the ones you cast while Vengevine is in your graveyard. For example, if you cast a creature spell, then Vengevine is put into your graveyard, then you cast another creature spell, Vengevine’s ability triggers.

* Vengevine’s ability triggers only for the second creature spell you cast in a turn. It won’t trigger for the third, fourth, or so on. It also doesn’t matter how many noncreature spells you cast in a turn; the ability counts just the creature spells.

[Further clarification is available here. ~Joey]

Regardless, I still love this creature.

– Cast Vengevine. Attack. If your opponent kills Vengevine, cast another creature during 2nd Main Phase, get back Vengevine.

– Kor Skyfisher craziness, which I can take 0 credit for, but you basically cast Kor Skyfisher, use his ETB ability to return Kor Skyfisher, cast him again, get back Vengevine.

– Blightning? Discard Vengevine, Vengevine. During your turn, cast 2 creatures, get back Vengevine x2.

Some of these are probably obvious. It doesn’t really matter. After playing with this card, I must say that this card is absolutely insane and is worth every penny. Get them now before you can’t.

Did I mention how it’s pretty sweet to play side-by-side with Tarmogoyf? Not like I know, I’m not in the business of donating kidneys, but if I wanted to give up an organ I would get 4 Goyfs and throw them in a deck with Vengevine until Goyf rotates.

Believe the hype. Vengevine is the real deal.

Bigheadjoe

P.S. Oh, you want to see a deck I’m playing around with? OK.

Creatures:
4 Vengevine
4 Kor Skyfisher
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Birds of Paradise
4 Baneslayer Angel
4 Lotus Cobra

Planeswalkers:
3 Elspeth, Knight Errant
2 Gideon Jura

Enchantments:
2 Oblivion Ring

Lands:
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Stirring Wildwood
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Arid Mesa
4 Tectonic Edge
6 Forest
2 Plains

You can also view the deck at: http://mtgurl.com/tdZr

An Interview With Grizzly Bears

On April 15th, an iconic figure from Magic’s past suddenly appeared on Twitter. I am, of course, talking about the mighty Grizzly Bears. His posts have been absolutely hilarious, providing an unique insight into living on Zendikar. I decided to give him an opportunity to bust out of his 140 character cage to give us the scoop on what’s going down on this Plane and how he wound up there.

This, my friends, is investigative journalism at it’s finest.

Bigheadjoe: So, what is a bear doing on Twitter?

Grizzly Bears: I almost feel like the answer is why wouldn’t I, or any other Magic notoriety be on twitter. We’ve got a voice, and if we don’t utilize it, Wizards will tell people whatever they want to, and our voice will be lost. And so I can keep up with Bieber.

BHJ: How do you type on your Blackberry? Also, wouldn’t that be a Blackbeary?

GB: Very deliberately. People demand more updates but lets be realistic.. I’m a bear. It takes a while to paw these thoughts onto the internet. And yes, I’ve been trying to change it to Blackbeary since I picked it up… but I’m just not tech-savvy enough I guess.

BHJ: Why is your name plural, as opposed to Runeclaw Bear?

GB: Trying to stay true to my card. Wizards designed it as Grizzly Bears and the artwork that you see is me and my brother, back in the early days. He’s gone now, but I stay plural in his memory.

BHJ: How did you end up on Zendikar?

GB: I wanted to be where the action was! I’ve been laying low for quite some time, a little miffed by the whole back-turning of Wizards, but decided to throw myself back into the fray. I’ve got a lot to offer the multiverse and I thought I’d show everyone that the original 2/2 for 2 still knows how to throw down. As for the logistics… well… lets just say that not all of Urza’s equipment was recovered/destroyed 😉

BHJ: Have you made any friends on Zendikar?

GB: I’ve made a couple friends here and there. Ran into some famous faces: Jace, Sorin, Gideon. Gideon’s a nice guy, spent some time listening to an old bear. The other two were a little more preoccupied I guess. Been spending a lot of time with Glory Seeker and Steppe Lynx. The vampires were nice at first but have been getting a little…odd since the Eldrazi have shown up.

BHJ: Do you have any crazy stories so far from your time on Zendikar?

GB: I honestly feel like every day something just so completely over-the-top happens to me. I’ve been Journey to Nowhere’d, woke up a day later covered in blood, no idea where I had been. And this “roil” everyone’s talking about? It’s serious. I ended up in the roil once and popped up about 3 days away from home. Wild stuff happening here on Zendikar. Really have to pay attention to what you’re doing.

BHJ: Have you come face-to-face with an Eldrazi yet?

GB: None of the big ones yet. Honestly, once you hear about something like that wandering around, you tend to spend a little more time at home and a little less time adventuring. I’m down for a little danger, but I know my limits.
Also, I forgot to give a shout out to my boys Gnarlid Pack. Closest thing you’ll find to a bear on Zendikar, and those dudes know how to throw down.

BHJ: I know what you mean about playing it safe and staying home, I’ve lived in some pretty rough parts of Baltimore City.

BHJ: What do Eldrazi Spawn taste like?

GB: Chewy. Everything on this damn plane is so damn chewy. Besides the chewyness the taste ain’t bad. It’s slim pickins for meals here on Zen, and my palette has adjusted. Good sport to fight though. Quick little bastards and fun to fight a couple at a time.

BHJ: Do you feel slighted by Magic R&D?

GB: I used to be real bitter about the whole thing until I really spent sometime thinking about it. The world of magic has evolved and while there may not be room for ol’ Grizzly Bears in the newer sets, I’ll always be a benchmark for future creatures. There’s a deep history to the creatures of Magic and certain standards for what makes a creature “good.” You can frequently here people saying things like “worse than a Grizzly Bear” or “At least it’s a Grizzly Bear” etc. Knowing that I’ve paved the way and set the standard for creatures past and present really solidifies my place in Magic.

BHJ: What is your greatest achievement in life?

GB: I’ve been around a long time and I’ve seen a lot of things, but I think really my greatest achievement is just making it this far. A lot of faces have come and gone in the world of Magic, but there’s really only a few of us who have made it this far and it feels nice to have a place in Magic history.

BHJ: What are your plans for the next year?

GB: Going to keep kicking ass on Zendikar and seeing what happens here. I can’t think of any more exciting place in the multiverse to be. A lot going on now, and a lot going on before this whole situation gets settled.

BHJ: So, do you plan on trying to get back to Dominaria?

GB: Maybe eventually. It’s nice to know that there’s a plane back there I can call home… but for now I’m liking the thrill of adventuring. Dominaria used to be where all the action was, but these days it’s been pretty quiet. That’s a well and good for a while… but a bear like me needs adventure.

BHJ: What do you miss the most about home?

GB: All the single female bears. There’s a joke there somewhere. But seriously, there’s a lot of friends back home, and you always miss the familiarity. I’m sure I’ll head home someday when I miss it bad enough, but I’m also sure I’ll get bored just as quick.

BHJ: Is there anything else you would like the public to know about you?

GB: Don’t underestimate Grizzly Bears, or anyone really. There’s always potential, even in the Chimney Imps and Scathe Zombies of the world. You never know when you’ll be hit with a Greater Good / Words of Wilding combo and be knee-deep in bears.

BHJ: Well thank you very much for your time… Grizzly? Mr. Bears? What should I call you?

GB: Grizzly Bears son!

BHJ: Word Grizzly Bears! Well thanks for your time!

GB: Thank you!