AVR Event Decks

~
Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

You may recall our post at waay back on start of April where we spoiled an early image of Avacyn Restored Event Decks - well WoTC Monty gave us the low-down with deck lists in yesterday's Aracana.  Most Magic the Gathering players we've been talking to are not calling it a stellar but most certainly solid.  Let's have a looky-see . . .

Humanity's Vengeance (w/u)

Main Deck - 60 cards
24 lands : 2  Glacial Fortress, 9  Island, 1  Moorland Haunt, 12  Plains

25 creatures : 1  Blade Splicer (R), 4  Fiend Hunter, 4  Gideon's Lawkeeper, 1  Mirran Crusader (R), 3  Nearheath Pilgrim, 2  Nephalia Smuggler, 1  Phyrexian Metamorph (R), 4  Porcelain Legionnaire, 3  Tandem Lookout, 2  Wingcrafter

11 other spells : 2  Dismember, 1  Divine Deflection (R), 2  Mental Misstep, 3  Oblivion Ring, 3  Righteous Blow

Sideboard : 3  Cathedral Sanctifier, 2  Cloudshift, 2  Inquisitor Exarch, 4  Mana Leak, 3  Negate, 1  Pacifism
~

Death's Encroach (b)

Main Deck : 60 cards 
24 lands : 24  Swamp

21 creatures : 1  Cemetery Reaper (R), 2  Crypt Creeper, 4  Diregraf Ghoul, 1  Geralf's Messenger (R), 3  Ghoulraiser, 1  Gloom Surgeon (R), 1  Gravecrawler (R), 4  Highborn Ghoul, 4  Skinrender

15 other spells : 3  Altar's Reap, 3  Despise, 2  Dismember, 2  Doom Blade, 3  Go for the Throat, 2  Lashwrithe  (R)

Sideboard : 2  Appetite for Brains, 2  Crypt Creeper, 3  Deathmark, 1  Despise, 2  Distress, 1  Ghoulraiser, 1  Surgical Extraction (R), 3  Triumph of Cruelty
~
These 60-card decks come with a 15-card sideboard and are perfect for use in Standard play tournaments like Friday Night Magic or Game Day celebrations. They also come with a Spindown life counter and a reusable card box.  Unlike Intro Packs, these 60-card builds are designed to let the player jump straight into a standard-format event with a very decent deck that should be competitive, and for a MSRP of about $25, it's not a bad deal.
~
Finally,
One suggestion is modify to tast or pimp the above event decklists by heading over to MTG Mint Card and getting additional rares or perhaps even foils.
~

DKA Event Deck Lists

~
Happy Tuesday MTG Peeps,

You may recall last week when we provided a quick post reagarding the soon to be released Dark Ascension Event Decks. Well today, WoTC Monty delivered the decklists on the mothership.

Here's the 4.1.1 on these competitive pre-cons before we get into the decklist details -

Dark Ascension Event Decks are scheduled for release on February 24th, 2012 and contain the following : 1 x 60-card deck, 1 x 15-card sideboard, 1 Spindown life counter, 1 strategy insert, and 1 card box. These should retail for about $25 and contain 7 rares as well as a full compliment of uncommons / commons.
~

Spiraling Doom -
Black-Green (/) Event Deck
(Rare cards in bold)
25 land : 2 Evolving Wilds, 1 Grim Backwoods, 8 Swamp, 14 Forest

27 creatures : 1 Hex Parasite, 4 Young Wolf, 1 Perilous Myr, 4 Viridian Emissary, 4 Strangleroot Geist, 1 Phyrexian Rager, 1 Wakedancer, 1 Viridian Corrupter, 1 Solemn Simulacrum, 3 Skinrender, 1 Stingerfling Spider, 1 Bloodgift Demon, 1 Morkrut Banshee, 1 Acidic Slime, 1 Brutalizer Exarch, 1 Myr Battlesphere

8 other spells : 1 Mortarpod, 3 Doom Blade, 2 Birthing Pod, 2 Diabolic Tutor

15 sideboard : 1 Despise, 3 Autumn's Veil, 1 Myr Sire, 4 Distress, 1 Wakedancer, 1 Beast Within, 1 Dismember, 1 Gravedigger, 1 Entomber Exarch, 1 Acid Web Spider

Take this build for a spin and draw a few hands HERE. We like 'tool box' builds and this Birthing Pod deck delivers. The build does look solid with Solemn Simulacrum and Viridian Emissary to power up your mana ramp and has a very nice showcase of the new 'undying' tech with a full deckset of Strangleroo Geist and Young Wolf. Sadly, we suspect that players may just purchase the singles and build something similar to game with as the MRSP closely approximates the summary of singles here.

~

Gleeful Flames - Mono-Red ()Event Deck
(Rare cards in bold)

22 land : 3 Haunted Fengraf, 2 Inkmoth Nexus, 17 Mountain

20 creatures : 4 Forge Devil, 4 Goblin Arsonist, 4 Goblin Fireslinger, 4 Goblin Gaveleer, 3 Torch Fiend, 1 Hellrider

18 other spells : 3 Infiltration Lens, 2 Faithless Looting, 4 Goblin Grenade, 1 Curse of Stalked Prey, 4 Brimstone Volley, 4 Artillerize

15 sideboard : 2 Gut Shot, 3 Torpor Orb, 4 Arc Trail, 2 Act of Treason, 1 Dismember, 3 Into the Core

Take this build for a spin and draw a few hands HERE. This mono-red build has a roster list of a number of popular cards now being played such as Gut Shot, Dismember, and Arc Trail. Given the deckset of Artillerize, we somewhat surprised we don't see any Ichor Wellspring or Mycosynth Wellspring. We love the synergy here with Goblin Gaveleer and Infiltration Lens but find it a titch odd about the Inkmoth Nexus inclusion - don't misinterpret this - we love Inkmoth, just think that this was included as a plan 'B' or to be more appealing to gamers. And appealing it is, this build if broken down should fetch almost double that of the MRSP and will fly off the shelves double-time compared to the previous Pod build.. It's only weakness is that a single Curse of Death's Hold or Elesh Norn will shut the gobby party down.

~
Lastly, just another reminder of the Top 5 selling DKA singles - this data compiled by the folks over at MTG Mint Card.

1. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
3. Hellrider
4. Vault of the Archangel
5. Vorapede
~

Innistrad Event Decklists

~
Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We have to catch up with some of the news that had been put on the back burner for a bit. In today's post, we provide Event decklists for Magic the Gathering's latest set, Innistrad. Unsimilar to Intro Packs, which are designed for newer players just getting into the game, Event Decks are designed to provide the player a reasonably competitive standard-constructed build which should make a good showing at a Friday Night Magic event. Event Decks kick up the power over Intro Packs by increasing the number of rares from 2 to 7.

Innistrad Event Decks are scheduled for release on October 28, 2011 and contain the following : 1 x 60-card deck, 1 x 15-card sideboard, 1 Spindown life counter, 1 strategy insert, and 1 card box.


Without further yattering, here are the decklists (please treat as rumour until the official WoTC post on the mothership) . . .
~

Hold the Line

Creatures (22) : 4x Accorder Paladin, 1x Champion of the Parish, 4x Doomed Traveler, 1x Elite Inquisitor, 2x Elite Vanguard, 4x Fiend Hunter, 4x Gideon's Lawkeeper, 2x Mirran Crusader

Enchantments (10) : 4x Bonds of Faith, 2x Honor of the Pure, 4x Oblivion Ring

Artifacts (4) : 2x Butcher's Cleaver, 2x Silver-Inlaid Dagger

Lands (24) : 24x Plains

Sideboard (15) : 4x Celestial Purge, 3x Nihil Spellbomb, 4x Leonin Relic-Warder, 3x Suture Priest, 1x Nevermore

~

Deathfed //

Creatures (21) : 2x Acidic Slime, 4x Armored Skaab, 1x Birds of Paradise, 4x Boneyard Wurm, 4x Llanowar Elves, 2x Merfolk Looter, 1x Splinterfright, 3x Viridian Emissary

Instants (5) : 4x Forbidden Alchemy, 1x Gnaw to the Bone,

Sorcerys (7) : 1x Green Sun's Zenith, 4x Mulch, 2x Spider Spawning

Artifact (3) : 2x Bonehoard, 1x Ratchet Bomb, S

Lands (24) : 13x Forest, 1x Hinterland Harbor, 7x Island, 3x Swamp

Sideboard (15) : 4x Flashfreeze, 2x Gnaw to the Bone, 2x Mind Control, 3x Naturalize, 4x Negate

~

The suggested retail price for these decks are about $25 which is somewhat in the range should one price out the individual cards on the singles market. These decks appear decent enough but don't really seem to deliver on the wow-factor. Having said this, we think that both these decks are a great place to start and then modify the lists to suit your tastes.

The white 'Hold the Line' deck may have to have the mana base revisited - by having almost all the spells with a converted mana cost below 3, one should be able to drop the total lands from 24 to 22 and insert some additional firepower. The deck is simple and synergistic take on a white weenie deck with a human tribal theme. The stars are Champion of the Parish and Elite Inquisitor. We like the inclusion of O-Ring for removal as well as the versatile Bonds of Faith in this build.

The blue / green Deathfed deck has some flashback cards with a black cost. The dual land is definitely need here and we suggest you may likely want to add another one (or two). The major focus of the build strategy of this deck is sending cards to the graveyard with Forbidden Alchemy / Merfolk Looter in order to provide some serious power to cards such as Bonehoard, Boneyard Wurm and Splinterfight.
~

Finally,

The folks over at MTG Mint Card is having another great give-away contest on their FaceBook page.

This event closes on 12th October so make tracks sooner than latter.


~

M12 Event Decklists

~
Happy Monday MTG Peeps,

Remember last post where we indicated that we were heading out camping way up north for the week and not to expect MTG Realm updates ? Yeah - we kinda lied - just as we were loading up the truck we did one last check of the interwebs and had to share this rather important update before we really did finally head out to the wilds of northern Ontario.

Anywhoos - We have from the Mothership courtesy of WoTC Monty the Magic 2012 core set Event Deck lists - and they look rather decent, just like previous 'grab and go' pre-constructed event decks from Wizards of the Coast.

The Magic 2012 Event Decks will be available for sale on August 12, 2011 (just before M12 Game Day) for a suggested manufacturer's retail price of only $24.99. Unlike Intro Packs, these 60-card builds are designed to let the player jump straight into a standard-format event with a very decent deck that should be competitive.

Let's have a look -


Illusionary Might Magic 2012 Event Deck
Main Deck : 60 cards
















24 lands : 1 Glacial Fortress, 4 Glimmerpost, 19 Island

25 creatures : 4 Æther Adept, 2 Grand Architect, 1 Lord of the Unreal, 4 Phantasmal Bear, 3 Phantasmal Dragon, 1 Phantasmal Image, 4 Porcelain Legionnaire, 1 Precursor Golem, 4 Spined Thopter, 1 Steel Hellkite

11 other spells : 4 Mana Leak, 3 Mind Control, 4 Preordain

Sideboard 15 : 2 Flashfreeze, 2 Frost Breath, 3 Master Thief, 1 Mind Control, 2 Negate, 4 Neurok Commando, 1 Stoic Rebuttal

~

Vampire Onslaught Magic 2012 Event Deck
Main Deck - 60 cards


















24 lands : 23 Swamp, 1 Verdant Catacombs

29 creatures : 2 Bloodghast, 4 Bloodthrone Vampire, 4 Gatekeeper of Malakir, 1 Kalastria Highborn, 4 Pawn of Ulamog, 1 Vampire Hexmage, 4 Vampire Lacerator, 2 Vampire Nighthawk, 3 Vampire Outcasts, 4 Viscera Seer

7 other spells : 2 Blade of the Bloodchief, 4 Dismember, 1 Mimic Vat

Sideboard 15 : 4 Distress, 2 Go for the Throat, 4 Skinrender, 3 Vampire Hexmage, 2 Vampire Nighthawk

~
Please pipe in with your comments - how do you like these lists ? Our first impression - the Vamp deck does pack more 'money' cards (almost three times more) should you break down the price of singles. Otherwise, there are a few spots for improvement in both decks but this boils down to a personal choice. Also of note - a few cards in these decks are to rotate out in the fall, so ensure you work out your lists for replacement.

We really are leaving now for the week - so don't expect updates until next weekend - Happy and Safe gaming folks !

~
Thinking of getting some more cards - check out MTG Mint Card and take advantage of their Facebook coupoun - Just enter "FBSAVE" on the checkout page, and you will get 5% off.

~

Phyrexia vs Coalition decklists

~

Happy Monday to all.

First off, we will have to deliver an apology for letting some news slip past us without posting this for you. We are speaking about the last Duel Decks : Phyrexia vs the Coalition. The official announcement was way back in October, MTG Realm did a post (HERE) shortly after this announcement but some some odd unknown reason did not follow up after the deck lists were finally determined in late February. This product was released three days ago on Friday, 19th March.

We will of course make amends and provide the scoop now - buckle in and let's go . . .

Phyrexia

The rares in the Phyrexia deck are Living Death, Phyrexian Arena, Phyrexian Colossus, Phyrexian Negator, Phyrexian Plaguelord, and Phyrexian Processor. The cards featuring alternate artwork are Phyrexian Negator, Voltaic Key and Phyrexian Processor.


Lands : 25 Swamp

Creatures : 1 Bone Shredder, 1 Carrion Feeder, 1 Order of Yawgmoth, 1 Phyrexian Battleflies, 1 Phyrexian Broodlings, 1 Phyrexian Colossus, 1 Phyrexian Debaser, 1 Phyrexian Defiler, 1 Phyrexian Denouncer, 1 Phyrexian Gargantua, 1 Phyrexian Ghoul, 1 Phyrexian Hulk, 1 Phyrexian Negator, 1 Phyrexian Plaguelord, 2 Priest of Gix, 1 Sanguine Guard

Artifacts : 1 Hornet Cannon, 1 Phyrexian Processor, 1 Phyrexian Totem, 1 Phyrexian Vault, 2 Puppet Strings, 1 Voltaic Key, 1 Worn Powerstone

Artifact - Equipment : 1 Lightning Greaves, 1 Whispersilk Cloak

Enchantments : 1 Phyrexian Arena

Instants : 2 Dark Ritual, 1 Hideous End, 1 Slay, 2 Tendrils of Corruption

Sorceries : 1 Living Death

~
Coalition

he rares in the Coalition deck are Coalition Relic, Darigaaz, the Igniter, Gerrard Capashen, Rith, the Awakener, Treva, the Renewer, and Urza's Rage. The cards featuring alternate artwork are Yavimaya Elder, Armadillo Cloak, and Urza's Rage.


Lands : 1 Elfhame Palace, 10 Forest, 1 Island, 4 Mountain, 4 Plains, 1 Shivan Oasis, 1 Swamp, 3 Terramorphic Expanse

Creatures : 1 Charging Troll, 1 Darigaaz, the Igniter, 1 Gerrard Capashen,
2 Nomadic Elf, 1 Quirion Elves, 1 Rith, the Awakener, 1 Sunscape Battlemage, 2 Thornscape Apprentice, 2 Thornscape Battlemage, 1 Thunderscape Battlemage, 1 Treva, the Renewer, 1 Verduran Emissary, 2 Yavimaya Elder

Artifacts : 1 Coalition Relic, 1 Power Armor

Enchantments : 2 Armadillo Cloak, 1 Exotic Curse, 2 Fertile Ground

Instants : 1 Darigaaz's Charm, 1 Evasive Action, 1 Gerrard's Command, 2 Harrow, 1 Narrow Escape, 1 Rith's Charm, 1 Treva's Charm, 1 Urza's Rage

Sorceries : 1 Allied Strategies, 1 Tribal Flames

~

MTG Twitter Check

~

There are a LOT of Magic the Gathering players using Twitter. The list also includes many familiar names at Wizards of the Coast, professional players and casual players like us. One hindrance of many MTG fans using Twitter is the limitation to 140 keystrokes which in our opinion is the main reason why Twitter is as popular as it is - this is a social networking site for people who have real occupations and limited time to read tweets. Those users upset by the limit really should consider moving back to Friendster, MySpace or where ever it is they can fully describe the jelly doughnut they had or the new shoes they are wearing.

Right - back on track.
One issue with almost every group of Magic players yattering about the merits of particular cards, their recent game or the decks which took them to top eight is being able to provide a deck list to whom they are communicating. Many popular forums have this covered with various html templates. Other sites take this further by catering only to posting deck but often lack the ability to provide a space for dialogue which is the main reason for deck sharing - to garner feedback and improve said deck.

Well we think we have a winner with MTGUrl. This project was originally designed by Trick (and others?) over at ManaNation as a Url shortening service and has now evolved as a space to be able to quickly share decklists to Twitter users and others.


We love that the service provides a standardised deck list without html / javascript and also is able to provide a pop-up card image for those like us who may not know some of the less popular cards. One is able to 'tweet' the deck, email it to a friend and also have comments via tweet displayed. The card name also hyperlinks to the CoolStuff Inc. store which in our opinion is a smart business decision to maintain a helpful sponsorship. Our thanks to Trick / ManaNation for one of the more helpful tools we have seen in a while.

~

Along with the same Twitter theme, we want to bring to your attention someone we've just started to follow - Mr. 'Doom Blade Guy'. We do occasionally follow non-magic related users such as the very witty CWalken for our LuLz but he had of late not been providing regular updates. Anywho - Doom Blade Guy is now filling that role - it's magic related and funny. Not necessarily high-brow stuff all the time but it works for us. This is our shout out to this guy.


Here are some recent tweets from Doom Blade Guy

#DBGGtZ: Teetering Peaks. I overheard a conversation on the bus this morning "... and then I grabbed hold of her Teetering Peaks."19 minutes ago from web

#DBGGtZ: Grappling Hook. Eight mana is a lot, no matter how much you may love grappling.about 17 hours ago from web

#DBGGtZ: Tanglesap. Appeals to the lesser-known "Sexual Deviant" psychographic. It's not quite Earthbind, but there is a lot more goo.3:06 AM Oct 7th from web

#DBGGtZ: Hellfire Mongrel. Well, it's a giant dog made out of fire, so naturally it is also The Rack.9:22 PM Oct 6th from web

#DBGGtZ: Bog Tatters. Misread this as Bog Taters, figured the 4 power was from swinging a sack of potatoes.4:47 PM Oct 6th from web

#DBGGtZ: Seascape Aerialist. Judging by the art, his low bang-to-buck ratio stems from a bad case of jaundice.12:12 AM Oct 6th from web

#DBGGtZ: Armament Master. Why yes I WOULD like for you to put all your eggs in one basket. Why do you ask?7:12 PM Oct 5th from web

#DBGGtZ: Blazing Torch. If equipped creature is in a horror movie, it gains jumpy. (It turns around randomly and calls out "Who's there?!")5:02 PM Oct 5th from web

#DBGGtZ: Greenweaver Druid. Perpetually broke, overly fond of the Grateful Dead, and prone to use the word "man" as punctuation.10:33 AM Oct 5th from web

#DBGGtZ: Electropotence. The best six-mana shock you'll never play.10:50 PM Oct 4th from web

#DBGGtZ: Vampire Hexmage. First Strike is the new Damage on the Stack.5:17 PM Oct 4th from web

#DBGGtZ: Caller of Gales. On second reading, this card does NOT pay tribute to my drunk-dialing my ex-girlfriends who share a first name.3:35 PM Oct 4th from web

#DBGGtZ: Kor Outfitter. So, would you say you like blades?3:45 PM Oct 3rd from web

#DBGGtZ: Soaring Seacliff. I've sent a few monsters off cliffs. They weren't mine.10:21 PM Oct 2nd from web

#DBGGtZ: Eldrazi Monument. "Gods don't die." We'll just see about that, won't we. (Will we?)9:10 PM Oct 2nd from web

#DBGGtZ: Baloth Cage Trap. Like in old D&D modules, where you enter an ancient, sealed tomb and an assassin has been waiting ALL THIS TIME.4:13 PM Oct 2nd from web

#DBGGtZ: Bladetusk Boar. Currently taking bets on which gets printed first: Doom Tusk or Doom Boar.1:50 PM Oct 2nd from web

#DBGGtZ: Marsh Casualties. I'll see your Conqueror's Pledge, and I'll raise you your self-respect.1:21 AM Oct 2nd from web

See you around Twitter (http://twitter.com/CopySix) . . .