Ooh, that's actually quite awesome. Does that mean if I had an Island I could tap it for one black in addition to one blue, or one black INSTEAD of one blue?
Also does that effect apply to Urborg itself, too? Because that would make it a Swamp by default.
Of note, summoning sickness prevents a creature from tapping to pay a cost that has that symbol in it, but you can still tap it to pay costs that don't have the symbol in it.
One damage per turn that the opponent can't block on one card is a very good effect. Just look at Storm Crow.
For just a blue mana and another mana of ANY color, you get to put your opponent on a 21-turn clock with just one card. Not only that, but it has a toughness of two, so your opponent has to waste two cards and four life on Gut Shots if he even wants a chance of killing it, and that only works if you don't have counter-spell support. It doesn't cost anything to untap, and it untaps EVERY turn. It's just a very efficient card and a 4-of staple in any deck with blue.
I have a general question: About what can I expect per Mana from a good card? I.E. What's a reasonable amount of Mana to destroy an opponent's creature? What's a good Mana to cast / toughness ratio? Or Mana to cast / deal direct damage to a player ratio?
The Titan cycle (Frost/Grave/Sun/Inferno/Primeval) are generally regarded as being way over the curve; in other words; better than they have any right to be. Same goes for Wurmcoil Engine.
That seems quite similar to the effect of the Pierce Walker, actually. Other than being able to target a creature, whereas the Pierce Walker can target only players.
Granted Pierce Strider is the only of my cards that's good for that, really. But still.
Also you *can* kill a creature by reducing its toughness to zero via counter, right? I assumed such, and if my deck works the way I want it to, I'll be able to do that pretty often, I think.
If not, well, I have a lot of restructuring to do.
Two mana is the standard for instant-speed spot removal. You can do better, though. Plenty cards kill creatures for one mana if you pay an extra cost or allow certain limitations.
It's also important to remember that besides mana, cards themselves are a resource that you spend. A card that does 2 damage per mana isn't great if it's a one mana card, but if it does 6 damage for 3 mana, that's fantastic. There's also diminishing returns, since certain mana costs aren't feasible to pay for unless you're using enough mana acceleration. 20 damage for 10 mana on one card isn't quite as good as 6 damage for 3 mana.
Whether a creature's stats are good is similarly difficult to figure out. Towards the upper end of things, a 2/2 creature for one mana is fantastic, as is a 3/3 for two, and a 5/5 for three. But five mana for just an 8/8 is generally bad. You need to factor in how good its abilities are.
Okay, tell me if this is, at the very least, a viable deck (I'm not looking for perfection on the first hit, I just need to know if I *can* win with this).
Artifacts
Contagion Clasp x4
Contagion Engine x4
Creatures
Grave Titan x4
Gwylion Hedge-Mage x2 (no, I totally don't have that in my deck just cuz Justice posted a picture of it and I thought to look it up, and it seemed okay, why do you ask?)
Pierce Strider x4
Skinrender x4
Instant
Contagion x2
Doom Blade x4
Land
Creeping Tar Pit x4
Drowned Catacomb x4
Swamp x9
Underground Sea x4
Urborg x1
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth x3
Sorcery
Tezzeret's Gambit x3
Unburial Rites x4
This is probably terrible.
Also you'll note that most of the blue from my black/blue is gone. That wasn't really intentional, just kind of happened.
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is legendary - if you have more than one of it out at once, all of them will die, so you probably don't want to be running it in multiples.
Globe: That's the legendary rule for you. If two legendary permanents with the same name are out at once, they both go to the graveyard as a state-based effect.
Mixing Infect with non-infect is generally not a good idea.
Comments
Idler: oh, derp.
Juan: marry me. 8)
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
SO MANY CARDS
*drowns in cards*
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
Ooh, that's actually quite awesome. Does that mean if I had an Island I could tap it for one black in addition to one blue, or one black INSTEAD of one blue?
Also does that effect apply to Urborg itself, too? Because that would make it a Swamp by default.
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
what's the little arrow for? is that the Tap symbol?
/still clueless about some stuff
edit: are there any Blue creatures similar to Skinrender in effect? I imagine not, but i figure it can't hurt to ask.
(I'm sorry I'm being "the clueless noob" here, by the way >_>)
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
Am I right in assuming that the Urborg Stalker (this ugly fucker)
is a good creature for me to have?
Is there one that's "the same but better"?
Or am I severely overestimating its effect's potency?
well I know for a fact that my first opponent (fellow noob daltar) is making a green deck.
Still, I've cut their numbers in my deck down to just one.
Oh.
Thanks Bunny. :D
By the way, that Underground Sea card Justice posted? I looked it up, still legal in every game format.
Fuckyeah.jpg
^I am not quite that much of a noob.
*looks up Grave Titan*
*adds to deck furiously*
Ok, that is really cute. :3
And Niiiice.
^That is absurd.
Ever?
Granted Pierce Strider is the only of my cards that's good for that, really. But still.
Also you *can* kill a creature by reducing its toughness to zero via counter, right? I assumed such, and if my deck works the way I want it to, I'll be able to do that pretty often, I think.
If not, well, I have a lot of restructuring to do.
In contrast to Stromkirk Noble, Goblin Guide is too good for its cost.
^^Excellent.
Okay, tell me if this is, at the very least, a viable deck (I'm not looking for perfection on the first hit, I just need to know if I *can* win with this).
This is probably terrible.
Also you'll note that most of the blue from my black/blue is gone. That wasn't really intentional, just kind of happened.
Hm.
I'll have to substitute something else, then.
Though after this, because I am about to enter my first....game, I guess. man, that's not as fun as saying "duel".
^wait what
no one told me this D:
I don't have all the effects memorized. I didn't know there *was* an infect.
That's a bit more useful than the Gwylion I think.
*edit edit edit*
Mixing Infect with non-infect is generally not a good idea.