Well, there`s a hell of a lot to talk about here.
1. Urza Block was a very enjoyable environment, a little slow perhaps, but otherwise good. It`s main problem was each set created a new stupod combo deck, but once those few cards were banned Urza can be seen to have created a fine bunch of cards. Destiniy gave us some HUGE spells, like Masticore, Treachery, Negator etc. In fact I would go so far as to say the current T2 environment is defined entirely by the cards from Destiny.
Bargain is not a broken card. The only broken card still in T2 today is Academy Rector, but even then it`s dependence on something to kill it with means that it is weak enough to not ban.
2. Replenish IS NOT BROKEN. It took a while for people to see the Tangle Wire was good, but once that happened Replenish took a dive. It is now simply a competitive deck, but not broken, not by any means. I can understand that Replenish is going to be the sort of deck that is utterly unpleasant to play against if you aren`t a killer tourney player/deck yourself - it will simply and without any difficulty demolish people who aren`t preparing for it. But I would hesitate to call it broken. Only 1 of the Top-8 US Nationals decks were Replenish, 0 of the UK Top-8 decks were.
That doesn`t sound broken to me.
It sounds crap.
3. Re: Istanbul`s completely bollocks estimate of Morphling`s true casting cost.
"Blue pays 3U for a 3/3 creature with no special abilities."
(Since when? Does Phantom Monster mean anything to you? Blue gets a 3/3 flyer for U3, just like Green gets a 4/4 monsters for G3, and White gets a 2/2 with some janky ability for W3)
"Add the activated ability to fly: +1"
(Nah, it gets this for free because it`s blue)
"Add the ability to untap itself: +U"
(minor advantage, I don`t think it really adds up to added cost at all. If it were commmon I would agree, but Morphling is a rare and so abilities such as Untap, mostly useful in Limited formats, will not be taken into account so much)
"Add the ability to become untargetable: +U"
(Certainly)
"Add the flowstone ability, both ways: +1"
(Fine, again a good ability. Might even be worth a U, but that it also has to pay to fly means I`ll stick with +1)
My total casting cost for Morphling: 4UU
(A figure most people would agree with)
Morphling is undercosted, but not broken. There are only two broken creatures - Academy Rector and Hypnotic Spectre (and Speccy probably isn`t broken, just horrendously unfair)
4. Ice Age block was a very good set, slightly inert playstyles but the cards were phenomenal. Thawing Glaciers? Pump Knights? Damage Lands? And that`s not mentioning staples like Necro, FoWill, Outpost, Stormbind, Blinky, Ivory Gargoyle, 'Haups, etc...
I agree that the set DID drop off sharply towards the Grizzled Wolverine end of the quality curve, but the good cards in IA/AL/HL were perfectly balanced.
5. "Ever seen a deck built around Caribou Range?"
Yes - possibly the best deck ever built.
Counter-Moose:
http://members.tripod.co.uk/candiman/archiven1.htm
For six months this deck NEVER missed Top-4 at a tourney, won 60% of all events entered into, and boosted it`s owner`s standard ranking to 2013 (which is how you know that it wasn`t beating scrubs, but members of the UK Worlds team week-in, week-out).
Nuff said.
And an inspiration to all those who build decks with bad cards - sometimes they turn out good.
6."Hey, let's make it easier for Replenish decks to fill their graveyard! Poof...Foil! How about another control enchantment? Poof...Rystic Deluge! How about some defense against fast creature decks? Poof...Overburden! Land destruction? Poof...Sheltering Prayers!"
*Foil - useless in Replenish, doesn`t need it. Not as good as Counterspell or Miscalculate or Lilting Refrain.
*Rhystic Deluge - doesn`t need it, it costs U2, same as *Attunement. Replenish only wants cards that cost 2 or less.
*Overburden - Interesting choice, why is this better than Seal of Removal? Answer: it isn`t.
*Sheltering Prayers - does nothing against the Tangle Wires and `Geddons that people are playing. Stops Port, though, and that IS a big thing. SB probably, maybe one in maindeck.
*Rhystic Scrying - the only reason they are using Frantic Search is because it untaps land. This will never go near Replenish. Attunement does the same thing, but for less and with Buyback.
[Edited by Gizmo on June 12th, 2000 at 11:34 PM]
