Best guild

unown_cj wrote:
> What do you think is the best of the 9 (10) guilds tourny constructed
> wise?
>
> I'm gonna have to go with Azorious (WU). I'll tell you why when more
> ppl post.

See the second part of my Guildpact review for my thoughts on the
current seven. My feeling is that the Constructed contenders at the
moment are Selesnya, Orzhov and Golgari, in that order - the Golgari
last because there are a lot more cards in Ravnica/Guildpact designed
to hose their strategy than those of other guilds (shame, it's my
favourite deck type, though the Orzhov approach is novel for
Constructed and I find that a very interesting deck to play with).

Philip Bowles
 >> Stay informed about: Best guild 

Chris Lansdell <Founder and Sole Member of the Nation of Salivation>
wrote:
> pbowles RemoveThis @aol.com , your post to rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy is
> almost better than a suggestion to SIGN CARL ENGLISH!
>
> >
> > unown_cj wrote:
> >> What do you think is the best of the 9 (10) guilds tourny constructed
> >> wise?
> >>
> >> I'm gonna have to go with Azorious (WU). I'll tell you why when more
> >> ppl post.
> >
> > See the second part of my Guildpact review for my thoughts on the
> > current seven. My feeling is that the Constructed contenders at the
> > moment are Selesnya, Orzhov and Golgari, in that order - the Golgari
> > last because there are a lot more cards in Ravnica/Guildpact designed
> > to hose their strategy than those of other guilds (shame, it's my
> > favourite deck type, though the Orzhov approach is novel for
> > Constructed and I find that a very interesting deck to play with).
> >
>
> Why no love for the Boros? I'm loving Searing Meditation with things like
> Peace of Mind, Helix, Ghost-Lit Redeemer...

Mostly because they got nothing from Guildpact - they won't make the
use Selesnya will of To Arms!, they don't need Wild Cantor, can't use
Tin Street Hooligan to good effect and Mourning Thrull probably won't
pass muster in a fast aggro deck since the Boros don't want to spend 2
mana for a 1/1, however good. Guildpact has no good offensive white
weenies (aside from the Thrull), no hasty red weenies and no damage
that compares well with what Ravnica gave the deck. So guilds that
gained something from the cards in the newest set have an edge they
didn't before, while Boros isn't going to moving any further up the
Guild ladder until Dissension rolls around, if then. From what I've
been hearing, Boros isn't the dominant Guild archetype at the moment -
Selesnya is. Since Selesnya got at least something from Guildpact and
the Boros didn't, I can't see the Boros breaking new ground against
them unless someone comes up with a radically new way to use old cards
with the deck. And of all the Ravnica Guilds, the Golgari benefited
most from Guildpact, which is why I put them up there.

Philip Bowles
 >> Stay informed about: Best guild 

I think that although the 2 guild hybrids may be popular they add
little value to the deck and set you up for more mana screws then
wanted (yeah yeah i know you have your shock lands) even if you use
shock lands its still too much of risk and too much of an advantage to
give your opponant just so you can have a slightly better card here and
there. I know its a little early to say that i like azourious but 50%
of the projection comes from the fact that WU rocks and the other half
comes from the fact that im a WU player at heart (ok so thats 100% of
favoritism). i dont know what you see in selesneya, the only reason
they won worlds (in a standard/type 2 format) is because of yosei which
cant be used here. the decks that will dominate the format will be
solid BG decks and 2 or 3 of the dissention guilds.

Thanks for your time,
Siege
 >> Stay informed about: Best guild 

unown_cj wrote:
> I think that although the 2 guild hybrids may be popular they add
> little value to the deck and set you up for more mana screws then
> wanted (yeah yeah i know you have your shock lands) even if you use
> shock lands its still too much of risk and too much of an advantage to
> give your opponant just so you can have a slightly better card here and
> there. I know its a little early to say that i like azourious but 50%
> of the projection comes from the fact that WU rocks and the other half
> comes from the fact that im a WU player at heart (ok so thats 100% of
> favoritism). i dont know what you see in selesneya, the only reason
> they won worlds (in a standard/type 2 format) is because of yosei which
> cant be used here.

"Here"? You didn't specify a format, only asked which guild would be
best. Standard is, well, the standard format, and Yosei can be used -
however, I'd been hearing that Vhitu-Ghazi and Glare of Subdual were
the prime cards in that deck.

the decks that will dominate the format will be
> solid BG decks and 2 or 3 of the dissention guilds.

Off on a slight tangent, what do people expect the new guild mechanics
to be? My ideas:

Azorius: Mechanically, tapping is the obvious feature white and blue
share, and we haven't had a lock deck yet (though have had a few cards
that would work with it), so my guess is something along those lines.
Not sure how to work it as a set mechanic, though.

Simic: Both for colour synergy and theme, a polymorph effect is the
obvious one to go for - something alone the lines of "Polymorph X: If
this card is in your hand, you may sacrifice a creature with converted
mana cost X and put this card into play".

Rakdos: Not at all sure on this one; thematically there are more
options for what this deck can do, though I expect a land destruction
bias. Not sure how to work that as a mechanic, though.

Philip Bowles
 >> Stay informed about: Best guild 

unown_cj wrote:
> What do you think is the best of the 9 (10) guilds tourny constructed
> wise?
>
> I'm gonna have to go with Azorious (WU). I'll tell you why when more
> ppl post.
>

Obviously, without seeing what Azorious (WU), Rakdos (BR) and the Simic
(UG) have to offer, I can't really answer fully.

If you're talking about the Ravnica set only, I would go Boros because
of it's aggressive creatures and standout cards like Lightning Helix.
Add to this Faith's Fetters and Smash, and you can get rid of creatures
and and signets pretty easilly while gaining some life or drawing cards.

That's not to say Selesnya is without it's heavy hitters as evidenced by
Watchwolf or Siege Wurm, and mana fixing via Civic Wayfinder (which, to
me is an undervalued, underplayed card). Churning out saprolings can
get out of hand, too.

Also, Dimir has it's strong points, but honestly if you're attempting a
mill and/or control deck, you're just really missing out on Mana Leak
and Traumatize, and without those key Standard components, I think you
would find House Dimir lacking the cards necessary for a good
mill/control deck (Glimpse the Unthinkable notwithstanding).

Osyp Lebedowicz wrote in issue #3 of Beckett's Magic: The Gathering
price guide (and I'm paraphrasing here) that after the initial release
of a set aggro is the way to go simply because there has not yet been
enough time for the control-type deckmakers to get a feel for what works
and what doesn't.

I tend to agree with this mode of thinking...until you get to World's,
of course. Who, honestly, expected Ghazi-Glare to go all the way? But,
look at a lot of the past World's Champion winners: they have been
conrol-ish type decks.

After all is said and done, after Dissention has hit the streets, by
next World's, I think you will see a WUG control deck taking home the
prize. I am very interested in Azorious (WU), because it does stand for
the two most conrol oriented colors in Magic. And I don't even play
control!

As an aside, I just hope Wizard's does a better job with Dissension than
Guildpact. Although there are quite a few good cards, the rares really
left me feeling "meh", and some of the cycles (magemarks, example)
really didn't do anything for me.

-wj
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