Randy Bullhead plays Nudgex2 and Winkx2.

[Oversoul]

I have tested Rector-Donate and Rectal Agony both exhaustively and consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on goldfishing them, although I own no actual Rectors (traded them away earlier, still need to get them back).

For convenience I'm quoting something I wrote elsewhere...

"I am now back to an old debate between whether to use Tendrils or Donate with Rector. Both approaches have their advantages. Tendrils is slightly faster, but Rector often has the game won before it actually makes the kill, so the speed difference is mostly an illusion.

Donate takes up about five slots for the kill. Tendrils takes up two.

The Donate version could be considered more efficient, since it has an enchantment that says gain 20 life and also uses Bargain.

The Tendrils version relies on simply casting spells then finding Tendrils, rather than obtaining a two card combo.

Donate and Illusions are both blue and can be pitched to Force of Will.

Tendrils can't be countered because it has storm.

Illusions is an enchantment and can be fetched with Rector.

Tendrils is easy to cast thanks to Dark Ritual but Donate/Illusions cast a total of seven mana.

The Donate version can use Necropotence if the Bargain plan doesn't work out.

While the Tendrils version basically NEEDS to get Bargain on the table with a significant amount of life, the Donate version is slightly more flexible, since it can win with Necro, or hardcast its combo components. Plus it can boost its life with an Illusions coming into play.

The Tendrils version isn't disrupted by Seal of Cleansing, etc.

The Donate can fail to go off, then wait a turn and try again. It isn't disrupted by Arcane Laboratory or other antistorm type stuff (both versions are disrupted by Stifle though).

So both versions have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm not sure which one I want to go with now. This is funny, because I'm back where I started, in a way. A while back, I wanted to play Rector-Donate, then I couldn't decide between Rector-Donate and Rectal Agony. Then I decided TPS was better than Rectal Agony. Then I decided Draw7 was better than TPS. Then I decided that Draw7 sucked and wanted to test Ninja Mask with Nick. Then I went back to TPS, then I had to toy with Deathstorm and couldn't decide which storm deck to use. Then I began testing Rectal Agony again, and now I'm back to the debate of which Rector deck to use..."

Anyway, I think Rectal Agony is the way to go. The reason the deck is not taking the world by storm (pun intended) can't be pinned down on one thing. There are a couple of factors...

The deck has a bad matchup against Trinistax, which is a good deck...

It also becomes the victim of graveyard hate, which can stop the Rector from going off.

Not very much effort has been put into the deck. It has a lot of potential. It is a two-card combo in which one of the components is disruptive (Cabal Therapy) and the other puts Yawgmoth's Bargain into play. The deck can run more disruption than almost any other combo deck. Force of Will/Duress are great disruption and Cabal Therapy is just insane. Plus MY version uses Abeyance, a white Time Walk, or almost so (still a bad card against Stax, unfortunately). The deck has fallen by the wayside because when it first emerged it was hated out of the metagame and no one tried it again (very much). I have full confidence that it will make a comeback, even if I'm the only one who uses it to do so, UNLESS U/B TPS becomes even more powerful than I anticipate. Seriously, that deck is scary. And unlike Rectal Agony, it isn't easily disrupted...

Anyway, my version easily gets second turn kills, although it craps out more than I like, since it doesn't have very many lands...

I'm still working on it. And I have no sideboard. But it gets turn 1-3 kills generally, and more often than not, these are backed up by Force of Will or Duress, as well as Cabal Therapy (used twice too, thanks to Flashback).

Unfortunately for me, this deck really, REALLY loves Black Lotus, and I don't have one. If you do not understand why this deck would love Black Lotus, check this Appr. log out. Be warned, it's long, as you would expect from a storm combo...

Master drew 7 cards.
It is now the Draw Phase.
Master draws a card.
It is now the Main Phase.
Master plays Scrubland.
Master plays Lotus Petal.
Lotus Petal is tapped.
Master buries Lotus Petal.
Master plays Ancestral Recall.
Master draws a card.
Master draws a card.
Master draws a card.
Master buries Ancestral Recall.
Master plays Black Lotus.
Black Lotus is tapped.
Master says:'blue'
Master buries Black Lotus.
Scrubland is tapped.
Master plays Dark Ritual.
Master buries Dark Ritual.
Master plays Brainstorm.
Master draws a card.
Master draws a card.
Master draws a card.
Master moves card #2 to the TOP of Master's library.
Master moves card #2 to the TOP of Master's library.
Master buries Brainstorm.
Master plays Sol Ring.
Sol Ring is tapped.
Master plays Time Walk.
Master buries Time Walk.
Master plays Timetwister.
Master moves Time Walk from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves Brainstorm from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves Dark Ritual from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves Black Lotus from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves Ancestral Recall from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves Lotus Petal from Master's graveyard to Master's library.
Master moves a card from Master's hand to Master's library.
Master moves a card from Master's hand to Master's library.
Master moves a card from Master's hand to Master's library.
Master is shuffling library...
Master is shuffling library...
Master drew 7 cards.
Master buries Timetwister.
Master plays Cabal Therapy.
Master buries Cabal Therapy.
It is now the Attack Phase.
It is now the Main Phase.
It is now the Discard / Cleanup Phase.
It is now the Untap Phase.
Scrubland is untapped.
Sol Ring is untapped.
It is now the Upkeep Phase.
It is now the Draw Phase.
Master draws a card.
It is now the Main Phase.
Master plays Mox Ruby.
Mox Ruby is tapped.
Master plays Mana Vault.
Master set Mana Vault NOT to Untap as Normal
Scrubland is tapped.
Mana Vault is tapped.
Master plays Academy Rector.
Master buries Academy Rector.
Master moves Cabal Therapy from Master's graveyard to tabletop.
Master moves Academy Rector from Master's graveyard to Master's removed from game pile.
Master is looking through library...
Master moves Yawgmoth's Bargain from Master's library to tabletop.
Master is shuffling library...
Master stops looking through library.
Master is shuffling library...
Master is shuffling library...
Master removes Cabal Therapy from the game.
Master's life is now 19. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 18. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 17. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 16. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 15. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 14. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 13. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 12. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 11. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 10. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 9. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 8. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 7. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 6. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master's life is now 5. (-1)
Master draws a card.
Master plays Mana Crypt.
Master plays Black Lotus.
Master plays Lotus Petal.
Master plays Tolarian Academy.
Tolarian Academy is tapped.
Lotus Petal is tapped.
Master buries Lotus Petal.
Master says:'white'
Sol Ring is tapped.
Master plays Abeyance.
Master draws a card.
Master buries Abeyance.
Master plays Mox Sapphire.
Black Lotus is tapped.
Master says:'black'
Master buries Black Lotus.
Master plays Dark Ritual.
Master buries Dark Ritual.
Master plays Duress.
Master buries Duress.
Master plays Cabal Therapy.
Master buries Cabal Therapy.
Master plays Duress.
Master buries Duress.
Mana Crypt is tapped.
Master plays Tendrils of Agony.

 

[Spiderman]

Oversoul: Thanks, and I agree that each person has his own opinion about what is broken. That makes it slightly hard to objectively debate whether a card is broken since each person has their own standards of course

To me, fetchlands aren't broken. They're a great card for the reasons you mentioned above, but by itself and not without a whole lot of other cards can it win by itself. It serves as a "land tutor" which may help a combo or whatever, but you just can't kill an opponent with it. Now if it had <sac this: deal 20 dmg to opponent>, THEN it would be broken

I also understand about you arguing about the B/R list now that I think about it, only if you may have hopes to use cards that became unrestricted (like Fork or Earthcraft recently) or to point out that even if used in multiples, they aren't broken. I just have to keep remembering that

And I think I mentioned the potential of current cards which could become broken either when people find a "new" use for them or a new expansion allows them to dominate.

 

[Notepad]

Originally posted by orgg
*gloats a bit*

I was amazed that almost nobody thought the 'that was a hint' was an obvious hint that Skillclamp was getting nixed in IRL extended.

Skullclamp doesn't look like it'll be banned. Looks like he was trying to quell player unrest over its banning in T2, and the MTGO complaints of it dominating Extended Online. Nothing more than that.

 

[Oversoul]

But wasn't Skullclamp banned in just about all formats except Type I...

 

[Notepad]

Wow, it was banned everywhere except Type I. Looks like Orgg was totally dead on about the hint.

Funny part whas how I said "it won't get banned" AFTER it got banned. Shows what a dope I am in keeping up with stuff...

 

[Oversoul]

Well, I guess it can't be banned if it already is...

 

[Chaos Turtle]

Do you really think they are pandering to the limited crowd, SeFRo? I don't see it that way. To me, the commons in a set --staples such as Naturalize excepted -- are generally unlikely to impact the constructed scene, so they might was well be good for limited (and many aren't even good for that; they, uh, test skill, or something ).

I think that the sets are reasonably balanced in terms of how many cards are useable in constructed decks versus limited, as well as giving a nice mix of cards for the casual versus competitive crowds.

 

[Notepad]

You have a point there, but commonality is still the reason for useable commons suddenly becoming uncommon or rare.

Call of the Herd is a simple, stupid-to-use common. Yet they printed it as rare to save the limited crowd. Same goes for X direct damage. Can't have all the lucky red guys throwing Fireballs around, so they move it up to uncommon most of the time, and since the basic X damage is uncommon, good variants have to be s tep higher and thus are rare, like Ghitu Fire (which shoulda been common, too).

This kind of limited-weary silliness drivers staple good cards for everyone into harder to reach places for new players, or players on a budget.

I fall into neither category, so I guess I am whining without merit here on some other group's behalf. Except, of course, over the fact that I only have one Ghitu Fire because its a rare. I woulda liked to have four of those suckers. Would go nice along with four Kaervick's Torches to spoil the plans of blue mages. ...but no, that would be too unbalanced for the drafters...