Meddling Mage Grid #3

Chriskool · Aug 6, 2016

Full Grid Card Population (18 random cards absent per draft) (updated with some changes)

Feel free to draft 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.

Grid Drafting!

Pack 1

Row 1:
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Wort, Boggart Auntie

Row 2:
1 Auntie's Hovel
1 Mana Confluence
1 Dig Through Time

Row 3:
1 Orim's Thunder
1 Mana Confluence
1 Doomwake Giant

Column 1:
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Auntie's Hovel
1 Orim's Thunder

Column 2:
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Mana Confluence
1 Mana Confluence

Column 3:
1 Wort, Boggart Auntie
1 Dig Through Time
1 Doomwake Giant

Pack 2

Row 1:
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Mystical Teachings

Row 2:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Void Stalker
1 Mizzium Meddler

Row 3:
1 Magus of the Wheel
1 Violent Eruption
1 Call the Bloodline

Column 1:
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Magus of the Wheel

Column 2:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Void Stalker
1 Violent Eruption

Column 3:
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Mizzium Meddler
1 Call the Bloodline

Pack 3

Row 1:
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Flame Slash

Row 2:
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Caves of Koilos

Row 3:
1 Lavaclaw Reaches
1 Meddling Mage
1 Ajani's Chosen

Column 1:
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Lavaclaw Reaches

Column 2:
1 Hushwing Gryff
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Meddling Mage

Column 3:
1 Flame Slash
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Ajani's Chosen

Pack 4

Row 1:
1 Oubliette
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Miraculous Recovery

Row 2:
1 Nivix Cyclops
1 Gamble
1 Nameless Inversion

Row 3:
1 Think Twice
1 Seal of Removal
1 Circular Logic

Column 1:
1 Oubliette
1 Nivix Cyclops
1 Think Twice

Column 2:
1 Keiga, the Tide Star
1 Gamble
1 Seal of Removal

Column 3:
1 Miraculous Recovery
1 Nameless Inversion
1 Circular Logic

Pack 5

Row 1:
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1 Platinum Emperion
1 Relic of Progenitus

Row 2:
1 Elusive Tormentor
1 Void Stalker
1 Mutavault

Row 3:
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
1 Reckless Wurm

Column 1:
1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
1 Elusive Tormentor
1 Unexpectedly Absent

Column 2:
1 Platinum Emperion
1 Void Stalker
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers

Column 3:
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Mutavault
1 Reckless Wurm

Pack 6

Row 1:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Herald of Torment
1 Bogardan Hellkite

Row 2:
1 Heir of Falkenrath
1 Just the Wind
1 Izzet Charm

Row 3:
1 Frantic Search
1 Flame Slash
1 Marshal's Anthem

Column 1:
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Heir of Falkenrath
1 Frantic Search

Column 2:
1 Herald of Torment
1 Just the Wind
1 Flame Slash

Column 3:
1 Bogardan Hellkite
1 Izzet Charm
1 Marshal's Anthem

Pack 7

Row 1:
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Violent Eruption

Row 2:
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Mizzium Meddler

Row 3:
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Gitaxian Probe

Column 1:
1 Beetleback Chief
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Fulminator Mage

Column 2:
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Gift of Orzhova

Column 3:
1 Violent Eruption
1 Mizzium Meddler
1 Gitaxian Probe

Pack 8

Row 1:
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Asylum Visitor

Row 2:
1 Fiery Temper
1 Call the Bloodline
1 Sinister Concoction

Row 3:
1 Tormenting Voice
1 Mulldrifter
1 Auntie's Hovel

Column 1:
1 Orzhov Basilica
1 Fiery Temper
1 Tormenting Voice

Column 2:
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Call the Bloodline
1 Mulldrifter

Column 3:
1 Asylum Visitor
1 Sinister Concoction
1 Auntie's Hovel

Pack 9

Row 1:
1 Mana Leak
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Starfield of Nyx

Row 2:
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Karmic Guide
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin

Row 3:
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Apostle's Blessing
1 Unearth

Column 1:
1 Mana Leak
1 Caves of Koilos
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin

Column 2:
1 Eidolon of Countless Battles
1 Karmic Guide
1 Apostle's Blessing

Column 3:
1 Starfield of Nyx
1 Thick-Skinned Goblin
1 Unearth

Pack 10

Row 1:
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Cabal Therapy

Row 2:
1 Goblin Matron
1 Tethmos High Priest
1 Frantic Search

Row 3:
1 Phyrexian Rager
1 Containment Priest
1 Meddling Mage

Column 1:
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
1 Goblin Matron
1 Phyrexian Rager

Column 2:
1 Gift of Orzhova
1 Tethmos High Priest
1 Containment Priest

Column 3:
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Frantic Search
1 Meddling Mage

Pack 11

Row 1:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Gnarled Scarhide
1 Temple of Epiphany

Row 2:
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Thassa's Emissary

Row 3:
1 Circular Logic
1 Erebos's Emissary
1 Nameless Inversion

Column 1:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Circular Logic

Column 2:
1 Gnarled Scarhide
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Erebos's Emissary

Column 3:
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Thassa's Emissary
1 Nameless Inversion

Pack 12

Row 1:
1 Heir of Falkenrath
1 Hero of Iroas
1 Izzet Charm

Row 2:
1 Gloom Surgeon
1 Animate Dead
1 Brain Maggot

Row 3:
1 Reckless Wurm
1 Wandering Fumarole
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth

Column 1:
1 Heir of Falkenrath
1 Gloom Surgeon
1 Reckless Wurm

Column 2:
1 Hero of Iroas
1 Animate Dead
1 Wandering Fumarole

Column 3:
1 Izzet Charm
1 Brain Maggot
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth

Pack 13

Row 1:
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Scion of Darkness
1 Cabal Therapy

Row 2:
1 Psychatog
1 Momentary Blink
1 Radiant's Dragoons

Row 3:
1 Hero of Iroas
1 Brain Maggot
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Column 1:
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Psychatog
1 Hero of Iroas

Column 2:
1 Scion of Darkness
1 Momentary Blink
1 Brain Maggot

Column 3:
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Radiant's Dragoons
1 Terramorphic Expanse

Pack 14

Row 1:
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Goblin Matron
1 Dark Withering

Row 2:
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Mana Leak
1 Sphere of Safety

Row 3:
1 Oubliette
1 Forbid
1 Gnarled Scarhide

Column 1:
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Unexpectedly Absent
1 Oubliette

Column 2:
1 Goblin Matron
1 Mana Leak
1 Forbid

Column 3:
1 Dark Withering
1 Sphere of Safety
1 Gnarled Scarhide

Pack 15

Row 1:
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 End Hostilities
1 Hero of Iroas

Row 2:
1 Utter End
1 Blightning
1 Stingscourger

Row 3:
1 Mutavault
1 Fiery Temper
1 Hordeling Outburst

Column 1:
1 Mogg War Marshal
1 Utter End
1 Mutavault

Column 2:
1 End Hostilities
1 Blightning
1 Fiery Temper

Column 3:
1 Hero of Iroas
1 Stingscourger
1 Hordeling Outburst

Pack 16

Row 1:
1 Mad Auntie
1 Replenish
1 Bident of Thassa

Row 2:
1 Mana Confluence
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Goblin Commando

Row 3:
1 Avalanche Riders
1 Lightning Dragon
1 Meddling Mage

Column 1:
1 Mad Auntie
1 Mana Confluence
1 Avalanche Riders

Column 2:
1 Replenish
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Lightning Dragon

Column 3:
1 Bident of Thassa
1 Goblin Commando
1 Meddling Mage

Chriskool · Aug 19, 2016

Grid was updated some to (1) add more madness enablers/payoffs, (2) bolster control or combo enchantment decks and (3) define blue's lead role as a control or combo color. Guess I need to get a Grid blog up to capture these ebbs and flows.

Kirblinx · Aug 19, 2016

After all the talk in discord about aggro being hard to pull off in grid drafts this happens:

and while it isn't aggro in it's finest sense (there isn't that many one drops), it feels like the most aggressive deck I can get from this cube. It wasn't that hard to get the right cards either, so I think that is a testament to how Chris has built his cube.

Games ended up 3-2 to me. Although I should have won game 3 if not for a misclick and a misplay.

Draft:

Match 1:

Match 2:

Them notes:

The two LD cards (Fulminator Mage and Avalanche Riders) showed their worth and show that 2 LD spells in the cube is more than enough. Especially since they can both be brought back with Alesha.
If you want to watch the tightest game ever, check out M1G2. I felt I had the game under control with a Alesha + Riders lock, but holy geez, Chris managed to hang on and make for a really tight finish. M1G3 was also damn close.
I should not Gamble. 2/3 times I lost the card I searched for, even with 5 cards in hand.
The only time I managed to win the gamble was to use my secret tech, Animate Dead. It was an awesome anti-reanimator tech. Just a shame Psychatog wouldn't allow it to happen :\
Elusive Tormentor is also pretty strong. Even though I think it was correct to take out Daxos's Torment, this card is also just as good. It allows for a more grindy game than the torment though. Playing this with a mana spare make it feel like it will never die and if you are on the front foot, it shouldn't be hard to lose.
I like the mixing up of themes. Lowering the amount of goblins meant I had to reach into the madness side of RB and was fun to watch the themes collide and work together. Better than just slamming goblins all the time. The Matron package with Wort was enough of a payoff for the goblins that I didn't need to go that deep anyway.
Still REALLY like Sinister Concoction. It does so much in a tight little package.
Platinum Emperion is still a sweet payoff card. I have almost no way of dealing with it and almost wins the game on the spot, which is what you want from an 8 drop. M1G3 showed how much it can turn a game.

Chris also asked me if I thought there were any gaping holes in the cube from the drafts so far. The only thing I noticed was that enchantment combo seems a little too hard to pull off. I feel like one hate pick could completely screw up a draft.

Also, I had no idea what Chris was trying to do in the draft. He was picking things all over the place, which meant it was hard for me to hate-draft, so I instead just tried to focus my deck as much as possible which I feel worked out well. There was one Frantic Search that I felt I should have hated when I figures out what he was doing, but didn't think it was worth it at the time.

Also really surprised as to how close most of the games were. I thought it may be a blowout considering the cards Chris was picking, but there was only one real blowout game (M2G1), which I believe was only due to good hand on my side and some awkward luck on Chris's side.
I feel with the newest patch you have helped patch a UR archetype together and make it appear as a path you want to go down. I still see no such path for RW though. Don't know if this is a design choice or whatever, just something I noticed.

Chriskool · Aug 20, 2016

Shit, I need to clean up my notes when i wake up, but until then, stream of consciousness:

Thanks again for the games, Kirblinx!

Pick 1:
Want to try a slower deck
Kirb going into gobs?

pick 2:
Hmm, starfield.

Pick4-5:
Thinking maybe that this is going to be some ridiculous reanimation deck; am I silly to let Relic go free?

Pick6:
what's Kirb second color going to be

Pack7:
It looks like I am going to be UWR reanimator... unsure if an enchantment synergy.
Kirb seems to be firmly rooted in RB aggro.

Pack8:
Kirb gives me a tough pick by taking a primarily black column.
I pass up Mulldrifter to keep developing my ability... to play 4 colors.

Pack9:
Thick-Skinned might make my main.

Pack10:
Kirb comments that he should've hated Frantic

Pack12:
So many great black cards
Kirb picks up an Animate Dead- ugh.

pack 14:
would be a good opportunity for Kirb to hate from me

Looks like my deck is UWRb reanimator of some kind
Going lighter on reanimation as it seems my mana is a bit shoddy for WWW required by Marshal's Anthem.

M1G1
Won die roll but mulled 2 land + 3 drops/madness without enablers

Brain maggot takes my tormenting voice when land 2 is a bounce land

Sinister Concoction takes out a Nyx-Fleece ram and then Avalanche Riders punishes my bounce land.. ouchers.

I decide to kill a Mad Auntie and then Fulminator mage sets me back further

Wow, Elusive tormentor is gross. Cannot stop it. What a game; I loved it despite two LD spells putting me BEHIND.

SB Out bouncer for unexpectedly absent

M1G2:
Gitaxian Probe reveals Kirb's hand-> Alesha, Gamble, Gloom Surgeon, Nameless, Mountain, Swamp

Scry Platinum Emperion to the bottom
turn 3 Psychatog

Kirb has Gnarled into Gloom Surgeon and then mainphases Nameless (i save tog, pitching Keiga)

Gamble into what I assume to be Animate dead; i discard Dig and exile Keiga with tog to stay in teh game... ouch

Freaking Darwin kastle should be banned from surfing Basilicas

I misplay an attack with Reckless Wurm and get punished by a double-block

Alesha gets killed and Mizzium Meddler comes down to take out a Thcik-Skinned

Unearth brings back alesha, but I have miraculous recovery for the wurm to ambush it

SB out Dig for Void Stalker

M1G3:

Kirb comes out blazing with gnarled scarhide into brain maggot.. taking my removal, but forgets to attack turn two

and follows up with fulminator and then gambles into elusive tormentor

I get to 5 and blow up the world via End Hostilities

kirb follows up with beetleback chief, laments about me having 4 life due to his missed attack

I drop keiga and take 2 to the chin, eating beetleback

I tap only Island to probe and see a Violent eruption (with kirb having 2 red sources in play) and then cannot izzet charm with ...2 life via mana confluence to untap and cast Platinum Emperion.

Due to Kirb only having only tokens remaining, I also cannot Unexpectedly absent a permanent to the top to give me more time. he draws... auntie's hovel without a goblin in hand and plays it.

i also missed out on playing a 5 drop to pressure/block due to decided my life points were more important, so i am unable to properly pressure Kirb

When i dont draw an untapped 8th land, main phase Izzet charm lucks out into Miraculous Recovery

Switched main: to m1g3 configuration

M2G1

i keep a slowish hand with violent eruption and End Hostilities

Gamble fetches Alesha but it goes away... to be followed by fulminator mage and avalanche riders and .. unearth. Girl had to join the grid party, it seems.

I put Gnarled from turn one on top and got a Squee to block but resign a turn later

M2G2

Thick-Skinned into Ram from me has be aggressively acting as Kirb starts with Concoction into Goblin Matron

Oh, Wort; how did I miss that draft pick

Despite feeling great about the early game, Wort lands after a End Hostilities, and I am unable to answer it.

Takeaway
The games and decks felt better to me with some the changes, but I am not sold on on Replenish as an archetype. Maybe, there needs to be 2-3 more enchantments to pull it together, but I don't know what would impact the game and not just be straight removal.

Also, goblin Commando is retiring; what (4cmc creature or nonremoval spell) should replace the bugger?

Kirblinx · Aug 20, 2016

Chris: MTGO Academy said:
Takeaway
The games and decks felt better to me with some the changes, but I am not sold on on Replenish as an archetype. Maybe, there needs to be 2-3 more enchantments to pull it together, but I don't know what would impact the game and not just be straight removal.

Also, goblin Commando is retiring; what (4cmc creature or nonremoval spell) should replace the bugger?

Possible replacements for the Commando:

Also, with the Replenish archetype, I feel like you have all of the pieces there (mainly WB but U for Attunement). It feels like what WB wants to edge toward. Well either that or some hyper aggressive Hero of Iros + Gnarled Scarhide abomination. Give it a couple more drafts and see if people can drift toward it.

Also, noticed there wasn't the Angel of Finality in our draft. That makes me a little sad (even though I was nowhere near able to play it).

Chriskool · Aug 21, 2016

Thanks, Kirblinx, for the extra feedback. A few other ideas so I don't forget:

Meddling Mage Grid #3

Chriskool

Chriskool

Kirblinx

Developer

Chriskool

Kirblinx

Developer

Chriskool