TriusMalarky how about Pandemonium and Burning Sands?

Thoughts on Mother of Runes/Giver of Runes to protect my guys if I did want to go the high risk high reward route and keep the Pandemonium? Too easy pickings? Just delaying the inevitable?

Alright I’ve taken the Pandemonium out and am experimenting with an Embercleave for now, it’s not really protecting Kaalia but without the Pandemonium it doesn’t really matter.

Though I do like the idea of risking it for the brisquet as some might say...it’s all for fun anyway right?

My first magic experience me and my two buddies were baked out of our trees, and it was Shards of Alara block. My buddy had a couple Shards decks built up, Naya Godsire, Jund Hellkite Overlord and Grixis Prince of Thralls and they all used the same mechanic with Demon's Herald et al. I honestly don’t remember the rest of the decks at all but by the end of the night my buddy was on top of the fridge taking a picture of the battlefield littered with these three clunky beginner decks. There’s a reason I value my Japanese foil Godsire so highly.

Bloodthrone Vampire was the centre of this janky aristocrats deck I built during Zendikar/Scars of Mirrodin for the Mirrodin Besieged Game Day, my first real build for a tournament. I remember running out the first day Rise of the Eldrazi was out between (or possibly instead of attending) my uni classes to specifically buy a playset of these vampires. Anyway, the deck also starred Abyssal Persecutor and Sarkhan the Mad, but the real power came from Act of Treason and the vampire. I stole just enough wins in a pre-Batterskull CawBlade world to Top 8 and still have my Black Sun's Zenith promo to show for it, which is another one of my favourite cards.

Hi Everybody!

I haven’t been playing as much magic recently, like most of you I imagine, so I only recently stumbled across Terror of the Peaks. Wow. Warstorm Surge on a stick.

Now considering I was already playing my Kaalia of the Vast deck as a dragon build around Warstorm Surge, Scourge of Valkas, Dragon Tempest et al. I decided to add him but the more I playtest this deck the more I see a glaring standout that hurts me more than my opponents.

Pandemonium

On the surface, 4 mana Warstorm Surge but in a deck heavily dependent on a 2/2 creature, every creature throwing its weight around when it enters the battlefield means there aren’t a lot of 2/2s left standing.

What would you people do about this? Do I need more than Lightning Greaves and Swiftfoot Boots? I’ve also got a bunch of reanimating spells with no Entomb effects so that was kind of the original plan, but it’s much slower than protecting Kaalia and it’s tempting to use the reanimation spells on fatties like Bladewing the Risen.

Anyway. Thoughts? Ideas?

As someone who has used all four of the cards you listed I can vouch for their power level.

The speed provided by a Mana Crypt can not be beat. So you get bolted every couple turns. You’re not doing “it” right if that’s a problem.

Ever tried to push a combo win through? Sometimes the only way it can be done is through sheer Force of Will. Free counters are always best in a counter war.

Sensei's Divining Top is the card I’ve used the least, but considering how much utility it can give you when you need something/don’t need what your library is offering you, I should be using it more.

Finally, the life payment can hurt when you want some extra cards, but the filtration on your draw EVERY TURN is amazing. I love me some Sylvan Library. So amazing to always draw gas.

Now if you’re just playing with noobs or casuals then fine. I survived for years without a Mana Crypt, but to quote wisdom passed on from generation to generation...

”once you go black...”

I believe so. It’d be like making the Monstars actually scary, you could do it but the spirit gets lost.

The whole shtick was that Gadget is a Clouseau-esque silly man with a supporting cast. Making it anymore than that would make it not Gadget.

There are some more serious supporting characters in that show now, but yes, it’s still silly.

Cardboard Crack implies that there is an addiction involved. Gambling has a negative connotation because it is an addiction that ravages people’s lives, in the same way drugs and alcohol do. To say people are not addicted to magic is naive, IMO.

Anyway, I would prefer to spend my money on these over a draft booster because I am exactly the target market that Rosewater describes; losing interest in the draft chaff shortly after the rush of anticipation for the unknown that comes with ripping the pack open dissipates. It sounds fun.

It’s called cardboard crack for a reason...