Sidisi, Undead Vizier + the Best of B&W

Sidisi, Undead Vizier is one of the best black cards in Dragons of Tarkir.

Patrick and Michael go over the ins and outs of Sidisi, Undead Vizier and the Exploit mechanic in general. Sultai Emissary is going to have lots and lots of reasons to raise in value.

Damnable Pact, aka “DrainGeyser” is a flexible staple-to-be.

Damnable Pact is equally valuable pointed at you or your opponent (depending on the context of a game). Remember: When you point it at yourself, you’re probably not in a lot of danger, and / or you have a bit of cushion in the life points column.

It might look little, but Shambling Goblin is standing by to become a strapping shield.

Blood-Chin Fanatic is a potential paradigm-changer for the Warriors linear. Patrick calls MichaelJ a genius for his take on Blood Chin Fanatic… But he also calls him a “Gnarled Mass afficionado” (which he is, let’s be honest).

Blood-Chin Rager ain’t no slouch itself!

A 2/2 for two mana, Blood-Chin Rager will not be the most exciting Warrior in terms of power-to-casting cost ratio… But it will do good work for Team Warriors. Remember: Cowards Can’t Block Warriors; and with Blood-Chin Rager in the mix, everyone else is going to have a hard time, too.

Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit is much more than a 2/2 for two itself! Patrick makes quite the case for this card in “Sidisi, Undead Vizier + the Best of B&W”.

Arashin Foremost is a creature packed with potential. Find out why this creature might be even more powerful than the once dominant Silverblade Paladin.

All in all Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores blow out the best of black and white cards from Dragons of Tarkir. Give it all a listen, starting with Sidisi, Undead Vizier…

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Want to hear more from these guys?

Patrick’s Magic: The Gathering Books

Next Level Deckbuilding at Star City Games
Next Level Magic at Star City Games

Michael’s Magic: The Gathering Books

The Official Miser’s Guide (OMG) at Star City Games
Deckade at Amazon.com

Michael J Flores, Patrick Chapin, Podcasts, Sidisi, Sidisi Undead Vizier

Sidisi, Sidisi Undead Vizier, Standard

Posted on March 27, 2015

Deathmist Raptor & Devotion to Dragons of Tarkir

Deathmist Raptor is one of the best cards in the set… And might be THE best card in the set.

Mike tries really hard to get Patrick to not like Deathmist Raptor… But is not successful.

Deathmist Raptor is pretty good (not great) on rate… But it does so many other things that you will consistently make a profit on it.

Deathmist Raptor has two green mana symbols to contribute to the “Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx” cause (and obviously works well with preexisting Devotion threats Mastery of the Unseen and Whisperwood Elemental)… Which puts the boys on the “Devotion to…” theme.

Dragons of Tarkir in many ways ushers in a new age of Devotion decks. There are many tools to set up such decks across the various colors.

Ainok Survivalist will save many Deathmist Raptors, and even help out against a Banishing Light that MIGHT get him.

“This guy is nice.”
-Patrick

“I am terrified of any Hound at 1G.”
-Mike

With UUU in the upper-right, Shorecrasher Elemental seems tailor-made for a return to Mono-Blue Devotion.

“I can’t even conceive of the world where this guy’s playtest name was NOT ‘MegaMorphling.'”
-Patrick

“Patrick Chapin breaks the Internet.”
-Mike

As it is an Elemental, Shorecrasher Elemental was engineered to be “the chosen one” according to Patrick… Note the Master of Waves synergy.

Stratus Dancer is just a great card, whether you play it in a Devotion to Blue deck or not.

The presence of so many effective blue Megamorph cards gives Mono-Blue Devotion a lot of play, tactical implications, and a profound ability to bluff. Unlike previous versions of Mono-Blue Devotion, the post-Dragons of Tarkir Mono-Blue Devotion deck will have great resilience versus removal.

Encase in Ice

Mirror Mockery

Enchantments like Encase in Ice and Mirror Mockery give Mono-Blue Devotion more ways to build Devotion to Blue outside of committing to additional creatures. Playing Mirror Mockery on your own Master of Waves does too many good things (including double pumps during combat), plus, Mirror Mockery + Bident of Thassa is going to be just filthy.

Dragon Whisperer is the flagship that pulls together Red Devotion in the upcoming Standard.

All of this plus way more Dragons of Tarkir discussion!

All in:

“Deathmist Raptor & Devotion to Dragons of Tarkir”

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Deathmist Raptor, Dragons of Tarkir, Michael J Flores, Patrick Chapin, Podcasts

Standard

Posted on March 20, 2015

Anticipate a Control Revolution

Anticipate from Dragons of Tarkir might only be three-fourths of an Impulse… But man is it hot anyway.

Because there is currently a shortage of great two mana plays for control, Anticipate is poised to be great. You can leave your mana open for a Bile Blight, Disdainful Stroke, Negate, or what have you… But if the opponent doesn’t force you to pull the trigger, Anticipate gives you something meaningful to do with your two open mana.

Patrick Chapin and Michael J Flores go over Anticipate and a host of other “control” cards from the upcoming Magic: The Gathering set, Dragons of Tarkir!

Encase in Ice

Surge of Righteousness

Encase in Ice and Surge of Righteousness are new two mana plays that can help change the pace of threat-and-answer fights in Standard. Three mana will no longer be a fundamental underpinning of Standard.

Ditto on even more flexible removal like Radiant Purge or the returning Ultimate Price.

… And of course, if you aren’t forced to spend your mana, you can always Anticipate!

Self-Inflicted Wound

The two points of life loss tacked onto Self-Inflicted Wound can be surprisingly helpful for control decks set up too deal 18 (rather than 20) damage.

Michael thinks Ojutai’s Command might be a four-of! (Patrick warms up to Ojutai’s Command, at least a little bit.)

… Though Narset Transcendent gives Ojutai’s Command at the four.

Dragonlord Ojutai

Patrick conducts a master class in how to play with Dragonlord Ojutai, and why you might want to play more instants than sorceries… Even if Dragonlord Ojutai seems like it wants you to play tap-out control.

The key to Dragonlord Ojutai is the second time it hits you. Remember: the first turn you play Dragonlord Ojutai, it is very hard to hit. Every time Dragonlord Ojutai hits you… It’s like you get to Anticipate.

Narset Transcendent

Patrick would guess that the emblem is an important part of value on Narset Transcendent.

Mike thinks it is all about that super high starting loyalty. “Sometimes it’s a Jayemdae Tome.”

Will Narset prove a factor in Modern?

In case you missed it… Narset Transcendent gets really consistent when paired with Courser of Kruphix. Does this card open the door for Bant Control in Standard?

Belive it or not, Patrick and Michael talk about more More and MORE Dragons of Tarkir.

Dragonlord Dromoka!

Silumgar’s Scorn!

Haven of the Spirit Dragon!

… All in “Anticipate a Control Revolution”

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Don’t forget to check out Patrick’s book Next Level Deckbuilding, now in paperback!

Anticipate, Dragons of Tarkir, Michael J Flores, Patrick Chapin

Dragons of Tarkir

Posted on March 13, 2015

(Elder Dragon) Dragonlord Silumgar & More Dragons of Tarkir

Dragonlord Silumgar is going to be a game-changer.

Before we dig into Dragonlord Silumgar and other dragons from Dragons of Tarkir, Patrick and Michael share some mail / email / social media questions, including…

The availability of Next Level Deckbuilding!
A winning mindset (or, what Pro Tour Qualifier Mike should attend)
How good Whisperwood Elemental is versus Wingmate Roc in Abzan Aggro

… The answers might surprise you.

But for the next hour and a half our heroes peel back the scales of some of the preliminary Dragons of Tarkir spoilers, focusing on the dragon creatures, and one dragon in particular; an Elder Dragon, Dragonlord Silumgar.

Dragons of Tarkir?

“This set is aptly named.

“Do you know the set Dragon’s Maze is the first set in years with NO DRAGONS? There was one maze, though.

“Just don’t put the word ‘dragon’ in the name if there are no dragons.”

-Patrick Chapin

Who is that dangling from Dragonlord Silumgar’s neck? Oh, it’s Tasigur, the Golden Fang! (ew) (“That is some wicked crazy stuff.”)
Sunscorched Regent… Starts having a good rate at 6/5. “Put me down as ‘a skeptic.'”
Thunderbreak Regent has a ton of competition… But is something the format actually wants
Boltwing Marauder… Is not in the zip code of “powerful enough”.
Pristine Skywise is basically the same cost as Elspeth, Sun’s Champion and Soul of Theros… Can it compete?
Necromaster Dragon sure has an unwieldy text box (but is attractive to “people who are not us”)
Deathbringer Regent was born to murder Hornet Queens. “This guy is definitely turned on at the sight of a Hornet Queen!”

Note: This podcast refers to Deathbringer Regent as “Deathbringer Dragonlord” and “Dragonlord’s Reaper” due to an imperfect translation. Consider this note a correction.