MTG Combo: Channel + Fireball

Epicurus on When did you start playing, …

2 years ago

My first deck was a blue/white weenie deck, with Flying Men, Savannah Lions and Counterspells. I quickly started running mono-white weenie, which is why to this day I get offended when people badmouth white. That first white weenie is actually still together 30 years later, it just gets updated every few years or so. And it still wins more often than not. Armageddon + Howling Mine + a crap load of creatures that only cost one mana = a lot more powerful than people want to give it credit for. More than half of the cards in that deck were pulled from packs of Revised (3rd Edition) that I bought back then; including the cards I listed above, as well as Swords to Plowshares.

I'm with Fuzzy003 on the power creep thing. However, just like I said in a previous comment about another topic, it's really always been that way. Back in the day, if you weren't playing black/blue draw/control or Suicide black, you weren't going to win any tournaments. The only real combo was Channel + Fireball , but a good lockdown control deck was nearly impossible to beat (besides the fact that Channel was one of the first non-ante cards ever banned, because it was too easy to win with it).

I did once own a turn 2 Guilty Conscience + Stuffy Doll deck. It won every game I played. As such, it was pretty boring. I never competed with it, because it was Vintage legal, and I didn't have Power 9 cards with which to make it a turn 1 deck. So I ended up selling it (which I've regretted ever since, because this was before Commander drove up the prices of the four Plateau in there from $75/each to well over $300/each, and the Wheel of Fortune in there that I had pulled from a pack jumped from $40 at the time to I-don't-wanna-know how much it is now).

The best I ever did at a competition was getting 3rd place out of 50 people back in ('95/'96?) with a budget Goblin tribal deck, that ran such beauties as Goblin Balloon Brigade and Keldon Warlord, hahaha. Of course, my Wheel of Fortune and Sol Ring were in that deck, as well as the Howling Mines, but remember, that's when WoF listed at a whopping $10. I believe that I even had a couple Juggernaut in there. And I beat some very competitive decks with all that jank. It was awesome.

I decided to post this story partly because the last couple of y'all made me nostalgic for the old days. Also, though, to say that:

• a) it's kinda annoying to me, having been playing as long as I have, that everyone plays Commander now. I miss the old 60 card constructed formats. I have a lot of fond memories playing 8-player games in what was basically Legacy format (though you can call it "casual" or "kitchen table" if you like). Not to mention how much Commander format has inflated prices of individual cards.

• b) I personally find infinite combos to be a nuisance, and wish that more people shied away from them in casual play. Honestly, it's more about variety and creativity than anything else. I'm tired of looking at the 31 flavors of Thassa's Oracle decks, for example. Like, someone will be like "Hey, check out my new (insert legendary creature here) deck." And I say "oh, I love that guy! What's the theme?" And they reply with something like "It's (insert creature type) tribal, with synergies built around (insert mechanic)... and it wins by going infinite with XYZ and casting Thassa's Oracle." And then, when I say "Oh, so it's a Thassa's Oracle deck," they get butthurt, because they think they're being creative in their construction of a deck that wins using exactly the same card as a million other people's decks. "But, but, MY Thassa's Oracle deck is different!"

I don't mean to be a downer or an old fogey, I just appreciate a bit more creativity than that. Always have. And since there's a finite number of ways to go infinite in any given color combination, and a finite number of wincons that flow from those infinite combos, decks that do so all look the same to me. Just a bunch of fetch, removal and draw surrounding a combo. 50% of the deck is setting up and executing the combo, and the other 50% is protection/denial/removal. So what percentage is leftover for theme?

Anyway, that's this old man's grumpy gripe about the state of the game these days. The old budget Goblin deck wouldn't stand a chance anymore. Although, I would put my White Weenie against any 60-card casual deck you'd want to try to throw at it ;)

But I don't want that rant about Commander or infinite combos to be the final takeaway from my post here. Fact is, I've ultimately enjoyed the journey. The ups and downs are as much a part of that journey as they are with anything else in life. Here I am, still playing a game that I learned before I had pubes. And still enjoying it. And I taught my kids to play it, and they love it too (though, maybe I should have gotten them into drugs instead, because it would probably be a cheaper hobby, hahaha). And I've been around the block long enough to know that nothing lasts forever, so I hope to keep on enjoying it until kids don't like it anymore and it ends up fading away.

Like I said in a previous comment, I was really excited about Neon Dynasty. I haven't seen anything from New Capenna yet that has me as excited, but time will tell. And The Brothers' War has me stoked. In other words, to hell with my complaints about the state of the game these days. Let's throw some damn cards! Turn 'em sideways! Play on!

soulSlayer4002 on good cards

5 years ago

Comment card linking At TappedOut we create links in our comments to Cards, Decks, and Users using Magic Brackets

Card link How do I do it? Serra Angel becomes Serra Angel What about printing? Serra Angel becomes Serra Angel What about foil? Serra Angel becomes Serra Angel What about altered art? Serra Angel becomes Serra Angelalter icon (symbolic only for now, not actual altered art) What about combos? Channel + Fireball becomes Channel + Fireball

eatmygender on Magic Fun-Play (new Format)

5 years ago

Well, while I don't think Counterspells are necessarily fun, for the sake of balance, a different sort of restriction should happen. Maybe something like a maximum of one played per turn? If that were the case, players that play lots of cards each turn won't get bogged down by control, whilst Control can still do something at all. Also... including Masters sets is a bit of a problem if they're unregulated, because it opens the door to a whooole lot more bad stuff. Remember, Channel and Fireball got reprinted in Iconic Masters, and Diabolic Tutor was printed in Duel Deck Anthology (Also legal by your rules). Soo... in your format, Channel + Fireball is legal, which isn't a good sign. However, banning supplementals as a whole is not the solution. I don't have anything to suggest, but Supplementals are very important if there's a 6-Year cycle.

Xica on Ramunap Red

5 years ago

lukas96
So according to you what makes a card or deck modern playable?

(There is a lot of room between "deck is good" and "not good enough for modern" - as in being the best choice, and giving you zero chance at victory. In my humble opinion all decks are VERY meta dependant. To give an example, taking turns is terrible in a very fast aggro filled meta, but its supidly opressive in a slow control heavy meta. Similarly Chalice of the Void is great when everyone plays 1 & 2 cmc spells, but else its not great. The same thing can be said about all deck. Well maybe not EPIC combos of old like Channel + Fireball )

Jack-Frost on Not 12-Post But Close Enough (Tron)

8 years ago

You need to run Spellskite in this deck. Every single deck you ever play against will immediately try and take out your eldrazi, and without spellskite your chances will drop tremendously.

Take a look at my G/R Tron deck Karn, the Spirit Dragon. I give an outline for tron and explain every card I use. You don't have to copy or do anything I did, but it should help you out with your deck.

ComboCrazy, I would not run Blightsteel Colossus as It does not have either the targeted removal of Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, the protection and extra turn of Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, nor the annihilator of the other eldrazi. This leaves it far more vulnerable and leaves the opponents board untouched. Also, the Channel + Fireball combo, or either on their own is not great in a tron deck. We need our life especially against aggro based decks, and our win cons are our creatures. Every mana we use is better spent on ramping faster, and we need every slot to both protect ourselves and clear our opponents boards. To make those viable you need 2-4 of each and we need those slots for better cards. I agree with leaving your options open (take a look at car's G/R Tron deck since he is also running All Is Dust, but I wouldn't deviate too far. Tron is forged through a delicate balance and if that fails then the entire deck collapses