General Fight Club

[Onderzeeboot]

I always thought Seedtime had the most amazing art.



Her work is consistently gorgeous, with one exception.



What horrible creature is that?!

I think there's been only one artist that I liked ad much as Guay, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, but she never got to illustrate much for Magic.



That's my favorite piece of Magic art right there though. Wait... let me blow that up!

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

Thats really nice art. I've never seen any of her work before, evidently she only illustrated three cards

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Thats really nice art. I've never seen any of her work before, evidently she only illustrated three cards

Yup. I still know all three by heart There's a lot of gorgeous artwork to be found on her site, www.shadowscapes.com.

 

[CML]

all the best art was in MVW i think. this one is my favorite (i'm sure i've brought this up before)

 

[CML]

AHEM.

 

[Grillo_Parlante]

Wow, I never noticed the foreground chimp before. He looks like he just got high for the first time.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

@CML: Hehehe, I've still got Natural Order on my wish list. I always feel like I'm watching an episode of Beauty & the Beast when I'm comparing both arts. Alan Rabinowitz still has a curious art style: http://www.fantasy-illustration.com/illustrators_portfolios.html. Very suited for Arkham Horror, not so much for Magic the Gathering...


Woah, guy illustrated 44 Magic cards! Among which are such beauties as...

Boomerang

Elfhame Sanctuary

Gauntlets of Chaos

Heat Wave

Spiny Starfish

Uktabi Efreet

And, to be fair, some pieces that are decidedly less horrible.

 

[spicewitch]

Those are right entertaining.

 

[DreamPaint]

That boomerang was one of the very first cards I owned and I remember thinking it was so cool looking. Also, this:

had me mesmerized as a kid. I really miss the distinct styles from back in the day. And Rebecca Guay is also my favorite Magic artist. I love how her pieces are so recognizable and aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

That boomerang was one of the very first cards I owned and I remember thinking it was so cool looking.

That Boomerang art isn't even really bad, it's just so un-Magic-like. What kind of creature is that? Looks like some alien, and I keep wondering where his phaser is every time I see that art.

Now Elfhame Sanctuary. That there's some bad art. I see a guy growing a rock pillar out of his shoulders for no apparent reason. At least he keeps this dank hole or cave, or wherever he is, up in the air with his shoulder-pillars. Elves are bringing him ehm... Other sick elves? He's doing some blessings. Underground. As an elf... ooooh, and let's not forget the white spaces, carefully placed around the elf, to save paint presumably! The moment I saw this art I just knew that this here is a card that lets you smooth your mana. Am I right?

 

[Diakonov]

Was working on my nostalgia cube today and rediscovered this art:



Most of Anson Maddocks' stuff is really awesome.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Inspired by CML's post on 7-drops.

vs.

I currently run Ashen Rider because it's much better in reanimator, but Angel of Despair is way more castable. Basically exiling two permanents >>> destroying one permanent, but seven mana >>> eight mana. Thoughts?

(Also: Ashen Rider is blinkable by Restoration Angel for what it's worth.)

 

[shamizy]

I don't get how Angel of Despair is way more castable. It's literally only 1 more colorless mana. Does it really make that big of a difference? I honestly think Rider is just strictly better.

 

[Peter LaCara]

I don't get how Angel of Despair is way more castable. It's literally only 1 more colorless mana. Does it really make that big of a difference? I honestly think Rider is just strictly better.

Eight mana is a lot more than seven mana. I can't find a link to the relevant math, but it's like several turns more than seven.

 

[Onderzeeboot]

Eight mana is a lot more than seven mana. I can't find a link to the relevant math, but it's like several turns more than seven.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=25277
This article calculates that, given a starting hand of three lands, you will, on average, have seven lands available on turn 10, and eight on turn 13 (7.9 on turn 12). There's even an nice distribution graph spelling out on which turn you are most likely to cast your eight-drop.

There's also a nice bit, borrowed from Ars Arcanum, which calculates the chance to cast an X-drop before the game ends in Return to Ravnica limited. A seven-drop sits at 54%, an eight-drop however at just over 32%.

Anyway, lots of interesting points in this article. The takeaway is that one mana start making a more-than-one-turn difference once you get above four mana.

 

[Chris Taylor]

This same logic applies to 4 drop curve toppers vs 5 drop curve toppers in aggro: You might not be able to thundermaw hellkite each game, but it's very unlikely you can't hellrider during a game.

That being said, I still prefer Ashen Rider. I feel that the increase in gameplay is worth the inconsistency, and while angel will always hold a special place in my heart (one of my first successful T2 decks), I don't think she cuts it anymore.

 

[ahadabans]

What about Magister of Worth? The effect it has is powerful and it only costs 6 - better than both Ashen Rider or Angel of Despair in that department.

 

[Eric Chan]

my vote is for Angel of Despair, it's not unreasonable to cast her (or really any seven drop) while eight drops are a stretch in cube

Magister of Worth is a different card entirely, and i still prefer Phyrexian Rebirth for being easier to cast

 

[CML]

angel is just a better design choice.

i've found magister of worth is kinda overpowered as 6-drops go, though this is a surprising result because nobody's said the same about Phyrexian Rebirth.

 

[Eric Chan]

my theory is that no one on the planet has tried Phyrexian Rebirth or even knows of its existence. it kind of flew under the radar the entire time it was legal in standard, because there were far more busted cards available. also, Day of Judgment was legal!

i fully expect it to be the best control card in white, since i don't run Gideon Jura or Elspeth, Sun's Champion

 

[ahadabans]

I have never seen Phyrexian Rebirth before. And I agree it looks like it could be pretty powerful in the right circumstance. Almost like a crater hellion without the echo.

 

[Dom Harvey]

I don't think it's too surprising, the body on Magister is often better and you can delightfully abuse it with blink/reanimation

 

[Chris Taylor]

Damnit guys why yu do dis

 

[spicewitch]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=25277
This article calculates that, given a starting hand of three lands, you will, on average, have seven lands available on turn 10, and eight on turn 13 (7.9 on turn 12). There's even an nice distribution graph spelling out on which turn you are most likely to cast your eight-drop.

There's also a nice bit, borrowed from Ars Arcanum, which calculates the chance to cast an X-drop before the game ends in Return to Ravnica limited. A seven-drop sits at 54%, an eight-drop however at just over 32%.

Anyway, lots of interesting points in this article. The takeaway is that one mana start making a more-than-one-turn difference once you get above four mana.

Reading all his articles now. Mostly they sum up to the same thing as the common-wisdom deckbuilding rules that people have parroted to me, except the articles back it up with hard math and explorations of what happens when you break the rules or why you might do so.

His article about mulliganing a 2 land hand is great especially. Because sometimes I don't mull 2-land hands, sometimes I do, and both choices have been the wrong one at different times. It's still not clear cut, but at least I have a better idea as to the odds.

 

[Diakonov]

It would be nice if there was a single resource that compiled all of these basic probability-strategies. Another move that people often forget is siding out a land for game 2 if you're on the draw. 17 lands on the play has almost the exact same probabilities as 16 lands on the draw.