Legacy, week #9

I picked up my Walking Ballista for my DnT sideboard finally. Thanks MTG First! I also rotated out the Palace Jailer for a Spirit of the Labyrinth, in the hopes of hosing some blue decks. I had never cast Palace Jailer in the previous 3 weeks of it being in my deck. So theres that.

Round 1 vs Reanimator
Ok, first let me say- this is week 3 in a row of playing against a Reanimator deck. Its starting to feel like the pairing gods have it out for me. The guy sits down and says, "I just put this together, so I am sorry if I mess up"
He proceeds to just completely crush me game 1, as Reanimator does. First turn Griselbrand, 7 more, then Sire of Insanity. I had Swords for the Grisel-daddy, but the second card just ended me.
Second game, I locked him down and out. He reanimated a Chancellor, went down 7, I swords it. (had 2 in my opening hand) Then dropped a Thalia, Wasted his one land, and then dropped a Karakas for good measure.
Game 3, I gambled on an opening hand with 2 Swords again, Mom, and a Rest in Peace. I locked him down again when he dumped his hand to 2, and I removed his only threat.

Seems my fears of playing against reanimator has been for naught. I haven't seen anyone play storm locally, I'm more worried about that.

Round 2 vs Maverick (TJ)
Super nice guy, plays this deck endlessly, and is one of the better players in the shop.
Game 1, he simply overwhelms my team. Gets many more threats than I can handle.
Game 2, I side out all Thalia, some graveyard hate in, Paths in... His first turn Birds get swords, then I just tax the crud out of him, and that's game.
Game 3, my lands just avoid me. It happens. I never found a vial in all three games. Very painful.
We did play a game 4 for fun, and I just brought out an army of Flickrwisp. It was crazy. Threats for days.

I should have brought the Walking B in for his Moms. As I literally just got it an hour before, I am learning the SB.

Round 3 vs Miracles (Paul)
Paul is a great Baltimore legacy player. I kinda knew I likely lose to him, but I wanted to present the best threats I could. I knew he was playing Miracles. He knew what to respect in DnT.

Game 1 took a very long time. I think he might have had about 15 cards left in his deck when it ended. He answered all my threats. Turns out there was a window where I had a chance, and I missed it because I didn't play my SoFI. I couldn't get Jace off the field and that killed me.
Game 2 was shorter, but I did crush in for about 9 damage with a Sword of War and Peace. He had about 5-6 cards in hand when the critter crushed in, but everything got wiped off the board with a Terminus. I did cast Cataclysm twice. However, I just couldn't find another critter.

He kept me off my Vials, which could have gotten me much further. Paul knows the DnT, and what makes it tick. If I was playing against it, I'd do the same.


Recap of note:

• I NEVER got a counter on an Aether Vial. I think I cast a grand total of 1 all night, which got disenchanted in game 2 of Miracles. Very strange.
• I think I got 1 Thalia down all night.
• I must have cast about 15 Flickerwisp in total. Just crazy amounts of Flickrwisp.
• Might swap the Spirit of the Labyrinth for another Brightling... I ran in to zero Grixis/Shadow decks. I didn't see any being run, but I didn't watch all 14 matches. 
• I, somehow, have owned Reanimator. 
• A couple people mentioned how events are becoming harder to manage as they get older. I really never intend to attend a large event, but I totally understand. Funny how responsibilities and other issues take over. 

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When the heck did Scroll Rack become a $50 card? About the beginning of July is when.

MTG Finance -> Basic lands!

Almost exactly 12 months ago, I posted that I had assembled an interesting set of lands to use for my draft basic lands. I was super thrilled with the idea of getting some old school bling. It was a personal quest for no good reason to be honest.

Alpha and Beta island order from May 2017, (source: TCG order history)

The most I spent on a single card, in terms of cash, was $12.50 on a Beta basic Island.
It was something I was happy to have. Something I thought would be cool and fun....



Well, those somethings changed a couple months ago without me realizing it. (analysis reveals a large rise between Dominara and M19) And by changed, I mean the values of ALL those cards went up. Some by quiet a bit. For the following, I am going to go off TCGplayer Market Price, which is pretty much the defacto pricing. The CHEAPEST beta basic is a Plains at $15.62. Also of note- condition changes a lot of things. As always, so some might be cheaper. Also also note- I have signed cards, which might affect pricing depending on the card and if you care about such things.

[note: these prices were as of 9/17/18]

• Plains (A) $15.62

  

  6 Beta Mountain, signed

• Forest (A) $16.56
• Plains (B) $17.00
• Mountain (A) $17.07
• Swamp (B) $17.68
• Mountain (C) $18.23
• Forest (C) $18.70
• Swamp (A) $18.96
• Mountain (B) $19.70
• Swamp (C) $21.94
• Island (B) $22.67
• Plains (C) $23.40
• Forest (B) $23.61
• Island (A) $26.80
• Island (C) $29.01

3 Alpha Island, signed

All of those prices are stupid. I don't know why they are at least three times as much as I paid just last year. I've heard it is Old School Magic pushing the values- maybe?

Then there are the 3 Alpha Islands I picked up. Two B and one A.

• Island (B) $46.98

• Island (A) $67.99

In theory that's like $160 for 3 basic lands.

3 Signed beta Forest

All my islands are signed. Most of my swamps and mountains. I have 3 plains signed. And the coup-de-gracie- I have a set of forest signed by Chris Rush. Which, I believe, are valued at about $60-$70 a pop.

What I do know, is that 'draft set' of Alpha and Beta basic lands are at least $700, likely more than $1000. (likely more than that) I don't think I would attempt to acquire any Alpha/Beta basics now. Out of my realm of "fun" pickups.

I did some checking with friends and such. The conclusion was that, unless I REALLY needed to trade or sell them- don't. Magic values very rarely go down. And as for the old stuff- they are ALWASY increasing. Always.

3 beta Swamps, signed

3 beta Plains signed, 3 not

Legacy, week #8

I rolled out with my trusty DnT build. Slightly tinkering with some of the slightly flexible slots. I took Sanctum Prelate out, and put Brightling back in. I dunno... both do things I like right now, though I have found my Prelate seems to get the wrong end of a bolt or push if set to 2, or edict'd if I set to 1. Either one is fine, but it all depends on what flavor you want to give.

I still need to get a Walking Ballista for my SB. I took Gideon out for a second Cataclysm. (never used it) Put a Holy Light in for those damn pesky True-Names.

Still kicking around the idea of Spirit of the Labyrinth in the main deck. There is a lot of Ponder/Brainstorm going on still. It would be a one of.


Round 1 vs Grixis Delver

I honestly should have lost this match. But the card gods smiled on me, and made game 2 go about 30 minutes. I lost game one when I double wastelanded, and got stuck on 2 lands with a vial. The vial can take you a long way, but not far enough without some backup.
Game 2 was an epic s-storm of me top-decking removal like a champ, finding JUST enough to keep him off attacking, and finally having him make a mistake to land lethal.
I almost pulled off the old game 3 kill in super short order, but there was no way as time was called as we were drawing our first 7. Oh well- I will take the draw after that game 2.

Round 2 vs Reanimator

Normally I am not favored in this match, at all, in game 1. However, things broke my way. He didn't get Griselbrand down until his second turn. I vialed in a Mom, then cast a Vryn Wingmare. Thank god for flying and protection. That's when things started to go sideways for him. I had something to protect myself for a bit, then I got a Revoker down to stop the Grisel drawing, then I started to mount an offense. That was stopped by Tidespout Tyrant. He got a Chancellor of the Annex down. Things got sticky for me.
That's when he tilted- he started to miss a many triggers on his side. I didn't want to point things out to him, but I felt his pain. There was one crucial turn where he bounced the Wingmare, and should have bounced the Mom, and then Thoughtseized it away. He realized right after the match that's how he lost, and I completely understood. I didn't want to play his deck, but he was completely tilted and it showed.
Game 2 was ugly- I kept a hand with Swords, and RiP. Figured if he reanimated anything turn 1, I was fine, and turn 2 was lock city. Also gambled he didn't draw an Unmask or Thoughtsieze. Gambled correctly, and locked it down, took it with threats he couldn't answer.


Round 3 vs Food Chain

Honestly, I didn't know he was playing Food Chain. I had never played against it. Never really studied it. Lesson learned- play from Exile creatures, Walking Ballista, and Strix = Food Chain.
I presented all sorts of problems for him, and took it down in game 1. Never saw the Food Chain so I was completely unsure how to SB. If I had known, I would have boarded Disenchant, and Leonins.

Game 2, I got the Magnara Karakas Vial combo going and started to take him off lands with it. Rode it to victory.

Afterwards, it turns out all his anti-DnT SB material was in another deck. He also got super unlucky with his draws, NEVER seeing an actual factual Food Chain.


Hey, mistakes happen, and decks draw cold... I will take another 2-0-1.

Things I learned-

• DnT is still a really hard matchup currently. 
• Just keeping a steady demeanor can help, think more
• I STILL am too anxious to get threats down even though the NEXT turn I can use my Vial to get the creature in without threat of counterspell. SECOND WEEK IN A ROW!
• I drew my Palace Jailer once, and I mulligan'd that hand. I have never cast him since I put him in the deck. 
• My SB seems pretty darn good right now. Little wiggle room for minor tweaks as I feel them.
• I remembered to pick up my third Titania, Protector of Argoth.Muhahahahaha, time to put together Lumberjack-Loam!

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Spoiler season for Guilds is in full swing.  Notes for Legacy:

• Maverick got a boost with Knight of Autumn. As one person I know put it- Green Sun Zenith just went up.
• Assassin's Trophy has single handily caused a run on Goyfs, Dark Confidents, and Fetch lands involving G/B.
• Mission Briefing feels like the poor man's Snapcaster. 

Sealed product

I will admit straight up, I have a REALLY hard time holding on to sealed product. Boosters, boxes, whatever. I love to see what the lottery has to offer. I think its one of the reasons I enjoy draft, finding cool stuff in the piles that go around. 

Today however, I have finally acquired an auction win from a month ago. Took long enough, right? I paid a grand total of about $30 US (winning amount plus fees plus shipping) to get the following:

BOOM!

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Now- what to do with these fine pieces of sealed product?

First I point to the current values:

Onslaught booster pack goes for $14 a piece on TCG.

Onslaught 'Tournament Pack' goes for $44 on TCG.  (I might point you to the fact that there are only 9 available to buy as of writing this)

So the perceived value currently for my sealed product is a grand total of $72. The value of sealed is potential. Not what actually is in the pack, its all about potential. And why is Onslaught valuable right now? Original fetchlands! Bloodstained Mire, Polluted Delta, Flooded Strand, Wooded Foothills, and Windswept Heath. In that order, are the most valuable individual cards in the entire set. There are 6 other cards worth more than $10 each as well.

My thought, right now, is to bid my time and trade my $30 investment in sealed product for some cards I need at a later time. Who knows, the value might be increased by the time I find the right trade partner. 

And no, I am not playing pack wars with Onslaught boosters.

Legacy week #7, learning

All the GP players who had rolled out and went missing last week reappear this week and the numbers showed- 22 players at the weekly legacy.

I brought trusty DnT, with a couple tweaks-

#1 I finally gave up on Remorseful Cleric. It pained me to do so because I hate graveyard recursion so much. However, the only bits to worry about currently were not the combo kill versions. So out it went.

#2 Brightling was dropped. *sigh* Just too much edict currently. More than 1 in a deck does not seem great right now.

#3 I put in Mangara of Corondor. Felt good with 3 Karakas to get values. Even if no Karakas, to remove ANY permanent is good, stupid Maze of Ith, or Marit Lage.... etc.

#4 I put in a Vryn Wingmare. I found Thalia to be good currently, so why not make things even more difficult? Tax away!

#5 *sigh* I tried Palace Jailer. Drew him twice, never came in to play. Still seems good in general.

#6 SB changes, Gideon in, Cataclysm in. Note, I honestly didn't realize that when he became a 5/5 critter, he then became a Legend as well- which sucked in my final game of the night.


Other notes- I find myself bringing in Rest in Peace almost every game from the SB. How naughty would it be to just keep them in main? So much graveyard re-use to be honest. From Snapcaster, to delve, to etc.


On with the matches.

Match #1 vs Rector/enchantments

Game 1- he bogs me down, gets combo, I scoop.

Game 2- I keep him off land, fly around his intended needed sac outlets, and win.

Game 3- See game 1.

Lesson learned here, I should have put in graveyard hate vs this deck. I had never played against it before to be honest, and was not prepared. I screwed the pooch. Came close to taking the match though. *shrug*

Match #2 vs Esper Stoneblade

Game 1- He smack talked about his deck getting no lands, then proceeded to get no lands. He scooped pretty hard.

Game 2- I drew WAY too many lands. I tried to make a fight of it, but just couldn't get going.

Game 3- I messed up with the Gideon. He had a Karakas, which honestly won him the game- along with my bonehead understanding of the new Gideon rules. The board state was all sorts of messed up at the end and I just punted away the match as I got frustrated and didn't see the proper lines. Oh, and I never got past 4 lands in play for like 15 turns. Which is silly considering I run 23.

Match #3 vs NOBODY! I got a bye for my frustrations.


Lessons learned for the night:

• Rector decks need graveyard hate
• I really like Mangara in the deck, and being able to fetch her up was super relevant. 
• Not sure I like having Wingmare, might swap out for Brightling or 3rd Crusader. 
• Revoker is still good, and 2 seems right.
• My artifact and enchantment removal package is super relevant in current meta, at least locally. 
• I think Walking Ballista should be in my SB at least.
• Should have picked up that Titania. Maybe next week. 
• I might need to stop using dice to track life totals. 

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I have been very frustrated with my trading attempts on DeckBox recently. I've had to cancel over 50% of my offers to others because they never reply within 5-7 days. I am polite, make reasonable offers, include "lets try to make this work!" sort of messages, etc. Over the past month or so, just HORRIBLE results in getting even a response.

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I lost out on a recent auction. I thought I had won it, and attempted to contact the auction house like 3 times to get payment arranged. I wound up calling, and the guy was a little confused. Turns out, the on-line was proxy bidding for an live in house auction. No on-line bids won. *DOH!*

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Finance note of the day- how and why did Recruiter of the Guard become a $20 plus card?