Article ChannelFireball: Utility Land Draft

[Eric Chan]

what do yall think of this (legacy-playable!!!) bad boy DAKMOR SALVAGE

I've actually been thinking about that one! Calvin, always the voice of reason, talked me down from it, but I still wonder if it's cubeable. Are there enough ways to get this in your yard?

Also, I'm struggling with where to put Reflecting Pool myself. Way back when, I had it in my main cube, and people took it very high, even though sometimes it was incorrect (i.e. for their straight UW control deck). I've moved it to the utility pile, but.. should good 5cc fixing be in the main list?

 

[Chris Taylor]

Are there enough ways to use it once it's in your yard? I'm not convinced, but than again I don't run life from the loam either. This and trade routes seems sweet though

 

[Dom Harvey]

It's also really nice with Unfulfilled Desires.

 

[CML]

i think you need to have a pretty strong graveyard theme, but i also think you need to have a pretty strong graveyard theme

 

[Chris Taylor]

i think you need to have a pretty strong graveyard theme, but i also think you need to have a pretty strong graveyard theme

Man, do you write professionally? You have a way with words

 

[CML]

haha, thanks! i'm working on it. i think i've told you guys before that i've written a 2nd and 3rd novel but am still working on my first.

cards that caught my attention today:
dakmor salvage, heartmender, unfulfilled desires, trade routes

i may try triple g'crawler too yeeeeeeah!!

the unfulfilled desires suggestion is so beautiful. i'm trying it without a doubt as soon as possible.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I kinda hate that it's multicolored, but I know you don't care (Why is it black? Like at all? Is it because the word discard is on it?)

 

[CML]

black: flavor

remember when they did that well and it wasnt fanservice for 12yos (OMG ANGELS N DEMONS) http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature/145

 

[Calvin Chan]

I've actually been thinking about that one! Calvin, always the voice of reason, talked me down from it, but I still wonder if it's cubeable. Are there enough ways to get this in your yard?

Also, I'm struggling with where to put Reflecting Pool myself. Way back when, I had it in my main cube, and people took it very high, even though sometimes it was incorrect (i.e. for their straight UW control deck). I've moved it to the utility pile, but.. should good 5cc fixing be in the main list?

Hahaha, I would be that culprit randomly taking reflecting pool and playing it in my RWu deck with a single blue source (mystic gate).
I do like Dakmor Salvage in the utility land draft, since you don't have to waste a real pick getting it. But it's still fairly narrow outside of a cube that supports some worm harvest, dredge, loam shenanigans, which I'm excited has found it's way into modern masters.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I'm not actually a huge fan of reflecting pool as fixing since it only ever helps you get the second of a given color

 

[CML]

pool fills a nice niche by helping with the more restrictive mana costs, like in SHM standard

 

[Jason Waddell]

So here's what I am trying:

Out of main cube:
City of Brass
Grand Coliseum
Oracle of Mul Daya

Into main cube:
Celestial Colonnade
Creeping Tar Pit
Horizon Canopy


Out of Utility Land Draft:
All two color fixing lands

New Utility Land Draft Fixing Section:

Reasoning:
I wanted to have fewer and lower quality fixers in the utility land draft, but I didn't want to just run half of a guild cycle. I kept the guild lands for the colors that I think need it the most in my cube, which also happen to be the coolest lands (Colonnade, Tar Pit, Canopy). There are now 43 fixing lands in the main cube.

With these 5-color lands, you don't actually signal your colors. It was kind of interesting with colors signaled, but I think it's better without. I don't actually know the 5-color lands that well. Are there more interesting ones I could be running? I only included lands here with some significant drawback, so currently City of Brass is not being used anywhere. There's also a bit of a mix of aggro and control lands here. I wouldn't even be against doubling up on one of these if people think there's a better dynamic to be had.

I also don't know if anybody will ever take Gemstone Caverns. Too gimmicky?

Murmuring Bosk is there because it's the coolest of all of them.

 

[CML]

jason -- not with you on this update. if i cut oracle from cube there would be an open rebellion and i would quickly join said rebellion.

gemstone mine is a great card that's probably worth a pick in cube, the rest of those cards are just too bad imo. with the speed of your cube especially, bosk / coliseum / wilds CIPT are big deal-breakers. paradise and caverns have their own unique awful drawbacks, though i can see caverns being good (that said, i took it out of my utility land draft because nobody ever wanted it). paradise is good for infinite landfall triggers, so i can see that working for you, but i think you're going about this update the wrong way. you and i agree that reducing the power level of fixing is questionable in cube design (since it's the aggro decks that will suffer, and it's a waste of slots), and we can see the deleterious effect of low-quality fixing in normal limited in DGR draft.

as for mine: yesterday one of our stronger drafters (two PT appearances, and surely the best legacy player in WA) made me put gaea's cradle in the main cube, so i did that (still never played with or against it).

the playset of tec edges in the utility draft was a major hit. i may reintroduce crucible as a result

 

[Eric Chan]

the playset of tec edges in the utility draft was a major hit.

I found this to be true for my cube as well. It might be that my cube is bit slower than Jason's, but Tectonic Edge is the perfect foil here for all of the additional powerful effects people can now run without using up spell slots. It was never quite worth a pick in the main cube, but in the utility pile, it's often among the first to be snapped up. I've even seen some nice "Tec Edge your tapped Tec Edge" plays as a proactive measure to protect people's valuable lands. It's been such a success that I'm thinking of going up to five Edges for my next draft.

 

[Jason Waddell]

Well, Oracle of Mul Daya has been in and out forever. It's been a pretty inconsequential card here.

I don't know if "worth a pick in the main cube" is a criterion for exclusion from the utility land draft. The main idea is to make sure there are good decision dynamics in each. That said, I've played with Bosk and Coliseum many times in my cube and had them be fine. Since all the other lands are so good, usually you can sequence your land drops in such a way that you minimize the impact.

The problem we had before was that often at least six of the drafters would take fixing first. It just wasn't where I wanted to be. I'm hoping for a more balanced dynamic.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Jason: Have you considered City of Ass? It's essentially Grand Colossemum++ thesedays. If gemstone caverns peters out, it might be worth the swap.
Undiscovered Paradise seems boss though. Maybe a 3/3 split of Gravecrawler/Bloodghast is in order?

 

[Jason Waddell]

Jason: Have you considered City of Ass? It's essentially Grand Colossemum++ thesedays. If gemstone caverns peters out, it might be worth the swap.
Undiscovered Paradise seems boss though. Maybe a 3/3 split of Gravecrawler/Bloodghast is in order?

I once heard of somebody using City of Ass to kill for exactsies via Devil's Play + flashback.

Also, I really really don't want more cards around.

 

[Chris Taylor]

Condescend for 0.5 off a single land? Garruk Wildspeaker? Sunburst for 5 with Garruk and an Etched Oracle?
GO DEEP

 

[Jason Waddell]

Condescend for 0.5 off a single land? Garruk Wildspeaker? Sunburst for 5 with Garruk and an Etched Oracle?
GO DEEP

That Condescend tech is pretty fantastic.

 

[CML]

HAHA oh man. multiple cities, why not? card is nuts.

6 / 8 drafters picking fixing first? maybe toss in some more main-cube.

i agree with you that the end is interesting decision dynamics, i just find drawing the line somewhat arbitrarily at vault, township, wolf run, cradle, all fixing except shard-lands main, everything else on the side, to aid that. same concept as the flat power curve. fixing ties in well with your original article on the topic.

i just really think a six of gemstone mine, seaside citadel, arcane sanctum, crumbling necropolis, savage lands, jungle shrine would work out better for you. one of our drafters has said he likes vivids better but i don't like 'em nearly as much

 

[Jason Waddell]

Hmm... your six only has one CITP untapped land. Also, count me in for preferring Vivids over shard lands.

 

[CML]

you're right, i shoulda clarified that it was the twin drawbacks of cipt + damage (or cipt + only basic) that rubbed me wrong. i think a little cipt action could spice up your otherwise eternal-worthy manabases. i can't claim to know your cube better than you but! my best guess is the shard lands would be a hit, power-level-wise.

though the difference between shards and vivids is pretty trivial in comparison to the difference between the above battery and shards, i don't get the love for vivids over shards, you gotta explain it to me! i guess 5cc would be cool and i wanna encourage wedges over shards. i could try em next week, just the extra counter manipulation and deciding when to use them is a headache and i can get on board with NWO eliminating that kind of design

 

[Jason Waddell]

Well, I agree with you that it's annoying to fiddle with Vivid counters. But, running out of counters is never an issue with them, and I don't even think of it as a 5cc thing. Also, with shard lands you have twice as much fixing for allied colors as enemy colors, if that's important to you.

Evolving Wilds is also a decent trigger for landfall goodies. Maybe I should just run the Mirage fetchlands instead?

 

[Chris Taylor]

I find vivids annoying because of counter upkeep. It's less annoying when the card isn't tucked in with your lands (Sphere of the suns), but on lands it gets worse.
WotC needs to make brass cave already (My evolving wilds => pains you, fetches untapped)

You could try more city of brasses if you want more untapped stuff. I'm not so hot on gemstone mine dying. Undiscovered Paraside is sweet for landfall shenanigans though

 

[Jason Waddell]

I find vivids annoying because of counter upkeep. It's less annoying when the card isn't tucked in with your lands (Sphere of the suns), but on lands it gets worse.
WotC needs to make brass cave already (My evolving wilds => pains you, fetches untapped)

You could try more city of brasses if you want more untapped stuff. I'm not so hot on gemstone mine dying. Undiscovered Paraside is sweet for landfall shenanigans though

Man, what is with the Gemstone Mine hate I keep seeing? I don't think I've ever lost a game from running out of counters. In a fast cube, three turns worth of mana is usually plenty. The resource management is very fun too. 10/10. Awesome card.