Meddling Mage Grid #1

Chriskool

Chriskool

Full Grid Card Population (18 random cards absent per draft)

Feel free tod raft this if you want; the entire card population should be available on RiptideLab MTGO account for anyone who can wrangle up an admin for access! If you draft this and find a card is missing, let me know.

Thanks to Kirblinx for the immensely helpful tutorial on setting this up!

If you're hankering to draft this, here is the link to the spreadsheet used to generate the below grids and here is Jason's slightly altered R code used to generate the packs:
Code: 
library(xlsx)
 
nPacks <- 16
 
fileName <- list.files(".", pattern = ".xlsx")
cubeDf <- read.xlsx(fileName, sheetIndex = 1)
colorIds <- as.vector(cubeDf[, 2])
cube <- as.vector(cubeDf[, 1])
length(cube) <- 162
 
# select colors
colorToOmit <- "G" # sample(c("W", "U", "R", "B", "G"), 1)
 
colorList <- strsplit(colorIds, split = NULL)
rowsToKeep <- rep(1, length(cube))
for(i in 1:length(cube)){
if(colorToOmit %in% colorList[]|is.null(colorList[]))
rowsToKeep <- 0
}
 
cube <- cube[which(rowsToKeep == 1)]
 
# seed in temples
shocklands <- c("Terramorphic Expanse")
shockIds <- which(cube %in% shocklands)
 
gridPile <- cube[shockIds]
cube <- cube[-shockIds]
 
gridPile <- c(gridPile, sample(cube, size=9*nPacks - length(shockIds)))
gridPile <- sample(gridPile)
pack <- gridPile[1:9]
 
printPack <- function(pack, i) {
cat("Pack", i, "\n", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("[spoiler][ci=small]", pack[1], "\n", pack[2], "\n", pack[3],
"[/ci]", "\n", sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("[ci=small]", pack[4], "\n", pack[5], "\n", pack[6],
"[/ci]", "\n", sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("[ci=small]", pack[7], "\n", pack[8], "\n", pack[9], "[/ci]", "\n",
"\n", sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
 
cat("Row 1:\n1 ", pack[1], "\n1 ", pack[2], "\n1 ", pack[3], "\n \n",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("Row 2:\n1 ", pack[4], "\n1 ", pack[5], "\n1 ", pack[6], "\n \n",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("Row 3:\n1 ", pack[7], "\n1 ", pack[8], "\n1 ", pack[9], "\n \n",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("Column 1:\n1 ", pack[1], "\n1 ", pack[4], "\n1 ", pack[7], "\n \n",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("Column 2:\n1 ", pack[2], "\n1 ", pack[5], "\n1 ", pack[8], "\n \n",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
cat("Column 3:\n1 ", pack[3], "\n1 ", pack[6], "\n1 ", pack[9],
"\n[/spoiler]",
sep="", file="gridDraft.txt", append=TRUE)
}
 
cat("Grid Drafting!", "\n", "\n", file="gridDraft.txt")
for(i in 1:nPacks) {
pack <- gridPile[1:9 + (i-1)*9]
printPack(pack, i)
 
}

Grid Drafting!

Pack 1




Row 1:
1 Brain Maggot
1 Circular Logic
1 Mystical Teachings

Row 2:
1 Tivadar of Thorn
1 Scion of Darkness
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram

Row 3:
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Goblin Commando
1 Mizzium Meddler

Column 1:
1 Brain Maggot
1 Tivadar of Thorn
1 Tormenting Voice

Column 2:
1 Circular Logic
1 Scion of Darkness
1 Goblin Commando

Column 3:
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Mizzium Meddler
Pack 2




Row 1:
1 Goblin Wardriver
1 Circular Logic
1 Magus of the Wheel

Row 2:
1 Momentary Blink
1 Gloom Surgeon
1 Mizzium Meddler

Row 3:
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Gnarled Scarhide
1 Mystical Teachings

Column 1:
1 Goblin Wardriver
1 Momentary Blink
1 Temple of Epiphany

Column 2:
1 Circular Logic
1 Gloom Surgeon
1 Gnarled Scarhide

Column 3:
1 Magus of the Wheel
1 Mizzium Meddler
1 Mystical Teachings
Pack 3




Row 1:
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Ratchet Bomb

Row 2:
1 Oubliette
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Lavaclaw Reaches

Row 3:
1 Meddling Mage
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1 Unexpectedly Absent

Column 1:
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Oubliette
1 Meddling Mage

Column 2:
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

Column 3:
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Unexpectedly Absent
Pack 4




Row 1:
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Brain Maggot
1 Goblin Matron

Row 2:
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Void Stalker
1 Rites of Initiation

Row 3:
1 Meddling Mage
1 Momentary Blink
1 Mana Leak

Column 1:
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Meddling Mage

Column 2:
1 Brain Maggot
1 Void Stalker
1 Momentary Blink

Column 3:
1 Goblin Matron
1 Rites of Initiation
1 Mana Leak
Pack 5




Row 1:
1 Violent Eruption
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Goblin Diplomats

Row 2:
1 Skirk Ridge Exhumer
1 Wild Research
1 Phyrexian Revoker

Row 3:
1 Daxos's Torment
1 Shadow of Doubt
1 Thoughtseize

Column 1:
1 Violent Eruption
1 Skirk Ridge Exhumer
1 Daxos's Torment

Column 2:
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Wild Research
1 Shadow of Doubt

Column 3:
1 Goblin Diplomats
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Thoughtseize
Pack 6




Row 1:
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Void Stalker
1 Relic of Progenitus

Row 2:
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Forbid
1 Apostle's Blessing

Row 3:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Frantic Search

Column 1:
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Column 2:
1 Void Stalker
1 Forbid
1 Venser, Shaper Savant

Column 3:
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Apostle's Blessing
1 Frantic Search
Pack 7




Row 1:
1 Sickening Dreams
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Goblin Matron

Row 2:
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Mana Confluence
1 Stingscourger

Row 3:
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Asylum Visitor
1 Banishing Light

Column 1:
1 Sickening Dreams
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram

Column 2:
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Mana Confluence
1 Asylum Visitor

Column 3:
1 Goblin Matron
1 Stingscourger
1 Banishing Light
Pack 8




Row 1:
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Wild Research
1 Miraculous Recovery

Row 2:
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Think Twice
1 Phyrexian Revoker

Row 3:
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Ajani's Chosen
1 Hero of Iroas

Column 1:
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Cabal Therapy

Column 2:
1 Wild Research
1 Think Twice
1 Ajani's Chosen

Column 3:
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Hero of Iroas
Pack 9




Row 1:
1 Lightning Dragon
1 Auntie's Hovel
1 Attunement

Row 2:
1 Sinister Concoction
1 Fiery Temper
1 Pyrohemia

Row 3:
1 Containment Priest
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin

Column 1:
1 Lightning Dragon
1 Sinister Concoction
1 Containment Priest

Column 2:
1 Auntie's Hovel
1 Fiery Temper
1 Ratchet Bomb

Column 3:
1 Attunement
1 Pyrohemia
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
Pack 10




Row 1:
1 Mana Confluence
1 Seal of Removal
1 Mulldrifter

Row 2:
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Seal of Removal
1 Platinum Emperion

Row 3:
1 Mutavault
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Gnarled Scarhide

Column 1:
1 Mana Confluence
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Mutavault

Column 2:
1 Seal of Removal
1 Seal of Removal
1 Relic of Progenitus

Column 3:
1 Mulldrifter
1 Platinum Emperion
1 Gnarled Scarhide
Pack 11




Row 1:
1 Frantic Purification
1 Attunement
1 Temple of Enlightenment

Row 2:
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Violent Eruption
1 Caves of Koilos

Row 3:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Think Twice

Column 1:
1 Frantic Purification
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Column 2:
1 Attunement
1 Violent Eruption
1 Cabal Therapy

Column 3:
1 Temple of Enlightenment
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Think Twice
Pack 12




Row 1:
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Hordeling Outburst

Row 2:
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Void Stalker
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers

Row 3:
1 Oubliette
1 Just the Wind
1 Auntie's Hovel

Column 1:
1 Marshal's Anthem
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Oubliette

Column 2:
1 Drift of Phantasms
1 Void Stalker
1 Just the Wind

Column 3:
1 Hordeling Outburst
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1 Auntie's Hovel
Pack 13




Row 1:
1 Gamble
1 Animate Dead
1 Waterfront Bouncer

Row 2:
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Replenish
1 Goblin Commando

Row 3:
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Thassa's Emissary
1 Izzet Charm

Column 1:
1 Gamble
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles

Column 2:
1 Animate Dead
1 Replenish
1 Thassa's Emissary

Column 3:
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Goblin Commando
1 Izzet Charm
Pack 14




Row 1:
1 Utter End
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Temple of Epiphany

Row 2:
1 Karmic Guide
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Mana Confluence

Row 3:
1 Wandering Fumarole
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Hero of Iroas

Column 1:
1 Utter End
1 Karmic Guide
1 Wandering Fumarole

Column 2:
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Gitaxian Probe

Column 3:
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Mana Confluence
1 Hero of Iroas
Pack 15




Row 1:
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Angel of Finality
1 Bogardan Hellkite

Row 2:
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Dark Withering
1 End Hostilities

Row 3:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Izzet Charm
1 Powerstone Minefield

Column 1:
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Column 2:
1 Angel of Finality
1 Dark Withering
1 Izzet Charm

Column 3:
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 End Hostilities
1 Powerstone Minefield
Pack 16




Row 1:
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Frantic Search
1 Mutavault

Row 2:
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Radiant's Dragoons
1 Mana Leak

Row 3:
1 Stingscourger
1 Hero of Iroas
1 Gitaxian Probe

Column 1:
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Stingscourger

Column 2:
1 Frantic Search
1 Radiant's Dragoons
1 Hero of Iroas

Column 3:
1 Mutavault
1 Mana Leak
1 Gitaxian Probe
 
Kirblinx

Kirblinx

Developer
Staff member
Dude, this is awesome!
Glad I could help out with my tutorial. Did you add these cards to the account yourself? As I wouldn't have thought that half of these cards would have been on the account to begin with.

I'd gladly give it a spin this weekend if you or anyone else is around. Have you trialed it out yet yourself?
 
Chriskool

Chriskool

James picked 'em up from me; teamwork at its finest! Hopefully, a few find there way into other grids/cubes.

I have not yet played it, but it's incoming over the next few weeks in paper! Hopefully, it is somewhat fun to play! And anytime that isn't midnight-5am us central would work for me, but if you snag another interested party, please draft at your leisure. I can always put up another grid post :)
 
Jason Waddell

Jason Waddell

Administrator
Staff member
That's some aggressive singleton breaking! Do you have a post somewhere that talks about the design?
 
Chriskool

Chriskool

Jason Waddell said:
That's some aggressive singleton breaking! Do you have a post somewhere that talks about the design?
Click to expand...

I've meant to write about grid in general and feature this plus a few others, but work writing has my mental inkwell all but evaporated. So, there are no posts detailing this lil' bitty. I will say the nature of grid's 5-6 of 9 card selection (with 1-2 probably not making the deck) leads me to believe singleton breaking on midtier cards won't stagnate game experience (play or draft). It should also allow the decks to assemble more closely to constructed decks. Here's to hoping this thought exercise has replayability. :)

As Aston mentioned, Frantic Search can be used to discard and pay for madness.
 
Kirblinx

Kirblinx

Developer
Staff member
So that was an interesting experience. Here is what I ended up with:
Ju8YAL7.jpg


I only won 1 out of 5 games. I even recorded them all here:
Drafting:
Match 1:
Match 2:

My deck seemed decent enough, but I just kept getting destroyed by Cabal Therapy and dodgy draws. Spot removal isn't that great when all of his creatures were tokens or insignificant. Platinum Emperion was always stuck in my hand and while it did seem like it was a card that Chris couldn't beat, I think I was better off with anything else, as I could just never get it out.

Card Notes
  • Daxos's Torment seemed really strong. If I ever drew anything but lands, It would have taken me to victory pretty easily. It is worth keeping an eye on as I feel it might be a little bit over the power level.
  • Angel of Finality was great. Just a large body in the air with an actually relevant EtB trigger (take that therapy!), I felt it was the best card in my deck.
  • Hushwing Gryff is such the blowout. There were so may times I wanted to keep it open to stop a potential Beetleback Chief, and always regretted when I didn't. Body is also pretty relevant.
  • Gnarled Scarhide was a bit hit or miss. My deck wanted to be defensive against yours, in which these didn't help with that plan, but suiting one of these on one of the flyers was my best chance at victory and was a cheap way to trigger the torment.
  • Gloom Surgeon. Was a decent defender. I also accidentally decided to attack into an army of 6 goblins and was potentially going to lose 8 cards off my library, so I decided to kill it in response (That was the only game I won :p). Must rememeber for next time.
  • Sinister Concoction did many things. Trigger constellation, act as a discard outlet and a piece of removal. Was very happy with it.
  • Cabal Therapy absolutely wrecked me. The first game where all my removal got torn from my hand made me a sad panda.
Format Notes
  • The hate-drafting is real. Having things like Meddling Mage, Cabal Therapy and access to your opponents list make for an interesting format. The fact that you kept going for Oubliette blindly because I had two of them was the obvious choice. Also, hitting a blind Karmic Guide after a Magus of the Wheel was also an awesome hit. Having access to your opponent list makes these cards more playable and I can see what you were going for.
  • The archetypes are solid to push you in a direction but flexible enough to allow you to your own thing. So I was in BW constellation but had a small reanimator package that was cool. While your RB Goblin Sac deck was damn solid. Seemed strange that blue was left on the bench this time around as it is usually the colour everyone goes for (and we were fighting over it). Will be interesting to see what pops up next draft.
  • Nothing sticks out to me so far as not fitting anywhere or too oppressive. I guess more drafts will sort that out.
Thanks for the games Chris. I had a great time having my hand ripped to shreds (I even can't tell if I am being sarcastic here). Hopefully this gives you some things to bounce off of in regards to your format.
 
Chriskool

Chriskool

Capture01.PNG

Thanks you so much for the games (and recordings), Kirblinx!

My assorted thoughts on the draft:
  • Goblin cards don't seem to go well with blue or white, making red a bit less interesting.
  • I was worried about my total number of playables, but hate drafting seemed more important than acquiring cards for my deck a few picks (especially since a lot of of the creatures are interchangeable).
  • Cabal Therapy really overperformed compared to my expectations; I probably would have started them in the SB if I had 2 different cards. Maybe Thoughtseize should just be a third Therapy...
  • The haste on Daxos's Torment felt like a bit too much for the power level of the other creatures. It's definitely going on the watch list.
  • I loved Hushwing Gryff; it destroyed everything I've ever known to be good and true and MTG while it was on the battlefield.
  • I am unsure if neglecting blue-black and red-white as color pairs for lands/multicolored added stability at all. (One of my theories for grid is that supporting color pairs too heavily leads to an unacceptable amount of drafts where cards quickly become useless as picks, but perhaps just supported only a few specific lands/cards for each pair is the way to go.)
  • The averages of the non-red, proactive play curves seemed a bit too high.
I was really surprised that it was so hard to close out game 1 of match 3 after you had mana issues AND suffered LD. Your deck performed pretty well when it drew a reasonable amount of lands; flood mitigation is something I will explore more (perhaps with additional scry lands).
 
Chriskool

Chriskool

Jason Waddell said:
How would you change red to go better with the other colors?
Click to expand...
My gut says cut 1-3 goblins and Bogardan Hellkite. But for what, I don't know. A Young Pyro? Spells that don't create tokens. Maybe a Squee. I'd prefer to find cards that play nicely with Teachings/Wild Research.
 
Kirblinx

Kirblinx

Developer
Staff member
A couple of cards that could fit in:
Pair with Blue:




Pair with White:

Don't really know what else RW want to really do. I can see the Powerstone Minefield, but barely any creatures can survive attacking with it in play, seems like it would just lead to board stalls
 
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