I always LOVED and enjoyed Core Sets. It feel like pure, clean Magic with a more open feeling not tied to any one plane or plot. It's a shame they weren't popular or profitable enough to stay.
The discussion of small creatures with trample put me in mind of Graham's classic Charging Badger draft on MTGO Acadamy. I still go back every so often and watch it. Still hilarious.
A quote I think about every time I see a 1-power trampler is from "Friday Nights: Hero's Path - The Refusal": "Just because it isn't an actual keyword doesn't mean Charging Badger isn't integral to the block."
I think I just realized why I love this format of TTC, along with the Crack-a-Packs and the Chit Chaff episodes: Just some really chill, nice people talking about Magic.
I really enjoyed the Core Set aside because I entered Magic for the first time with a M11 Deckbuilder's Toolkit. I really like how that gave me a bunch of sets pretty much from standard and really helped me build an initial collection
made me so happy to hear y’all talking about the core sets - it’s my favorite era of magic and i’ve been tooling around with a cube of those cards for ages and i really need to finish it now!
I love Mitotic Manipulation in mono blue EDH. Using this and Retraced Image to get extra lands into play with my mana doublers while synergizing with instant/sorcery payoffs and dodging artifact removal feels very good (it's not good, but it *feels* good).
Verdant Succession is really good in Zask, Skittering Swarmlord. If you have a green insect, you can stack the triggers so it goes back into your deck off of Zask, and then replay it with Verdant Succession. Makes your bugs functionally unkillable, fills the graveyard, rebuys ETBs and LTBs, and has combo shenanigans.
I actually run Mitotic Manipulation in Commander under Patron of the Moon. Seven cards have yet for me to whiff on an Island, and sometimes I spike a Sol Ring!
Meteor Crater is really good in my Mana Maze Solitaire deck since it always taps for something and introduces interesting play patterns on when to use its mana.
The depletion land cycle from Ice Age are a good candidate for worst lands. I would also put forward School of the Unseen/Henge of Ramos, Rhystic Cave, and the cycle of dual lands from Champions of Kamigawa.
You say depletion lands are bad, but I have a lot of fun using them to take infinite turns along with By Gnome Means and Magosi, the waterveil Producing a counter every turn along with making mana is also decent with Power Conduit
47:00 talking about drafting from 20 year old sealed product that could cost over a thousand dollars - maybe build a pseudo-cube from singles that exclude high dollar cards that aren't important to the draft experience? There might be enough reprints or functional reprint substitutions to bring that down to a reasonable level. With the upshot of knowing roughly the resale value of the cards once you're done, rather than it being a mystery and then a disappointment from sealed. Since they're known, maybe the fine unionized folks at Card Kingdom could even lend you the cards temporarily, with the biggest expense being picking and then re-sorting.
I like how Ben brought up some of the cool stuff hearthstone did and Wheeler immediately scoffed at hearthstone being mentioned. These two takes sum up how I feel about that game
Verdant Succession, Life from Limb and a sac outlet like Phyrexian Altar or Ashnod's Altar is all of your Forests out of your deck and a lot of mana depending on how you do it.
30:00 : Does sac outlet + Karmic Guide + Magnanimous Magistrate actually work? Magistrate has to be on the battlefield when its trigger resolves (so that you can remove the reprieve counters from it), and if I understand triggers correctly (that's a big if), then there shouldn't be any point where you get priority between the Magistrate's trigger resolving and selecting targets for Karmic Guide's ETB. I think you need to add a Restoration Angel or similar to get the loop to work. (Sac KG and RA, Magistrate returns KG, KG returns RA, RA resets the counters on Magistrate)
I believe considering Ben's comment the idea is that the karmic guide returns a flicker creature t9 which you flicker the magistrate it now has all its counters again
... Huh. I think that is the first time I've even SEEN Tuknir Deathlock... AH, that's why. The only Legends cards I generally saw were the Chronicles reprints, and it never made it to that. Neat!
If you want to do Vanguard, I high key recommend playing Quantum Leap. It's a combination of Vanguard and Planechase. Each player starts with a Vanguard and each time they roll to planeswalk, they become a new Vanguard character with the changing plane. You could combine that with Eternities map or have every Vanguard change with the plane, but that's up to you.
Love Vanguard, used to play with Vanguard in Commander just to mix it up even if you played the same deck. Either go random Vanguard card or make a commander deck around one.
Champion of the Flame is actually really great, damn There are a LOT of 1 red mana auras that either give 2+/+0 and grants first strike, double strike or haste, so that's like.. 3 mana and you have a 3/3 or a 5/3 with your choice of keyword that red most often uses
....my brain didn't click we have two Bens here. Dammit I wish it wasn't just Ben who called Ben Ben. I also am so down for Unruly named Beast Commander
Vanguard cards are thr same size as Planechase cards. Ultra pro made sleeves that could fit them. I'm slowly pickeng them all up, to make a planechanse/vanguard extravaganza commander games :) (with random vanguard assigned to players)
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has a pretty fleshed out solo mode, giving you both some lore alongside a crash course in some fan-favorite archetypes like Gem Knighs and World Legacy
Super duper with Ben on liking Core Sets. Yeah, they're a little boring for those of us who have been playing forever but new players really need that onramp into the game. Jumpstart does a good job of filling that niche for the newest of newbies but you can't really build a collection from Jumpstart packs, especially if your intention is to get into Standard. Plus, set complexity has felt super high as of late. That makes the need for stepping stone products even greater.
For drafting the old sets its best to just make a cube, its cheaper and a lot better draft experience. Last year I built an Invasion cube, it was a lot of fun, and most of that era's cards are so worthless that, even if I didn't own most of them, I think the price was less than $300 to build it from scratch.
On the point of really terrible mana-producing lands, may I point out, Wintermoon Mesa. Enters tapped, adds colorless, with an ability that reads “2, tap, sac, tap two lands.” Just… what a waste of cardboard.
When you have Wheeler on something like this, every card should start with just the name and him guessing it
53:40 "We should play Vanguard!" for maximum chaos, combine it with Planechase and Archenemy and maybe even Wizard's Tower.
Planechase with the Ixalan board game is legit fun.
There's a format called Quantum Leap that does just that.
I love Scryfall Roulette, this is just so chill and fun!
Reoccurring segment please 🙏
I always LOVED and enjoyed Core Sets. It feel like pure, clean Magic with a more open feeling not tied to any one plane or plot.
It's a shame they weren't popular or profitable enough to stay.
Thank you for being here Ben's shirt, it's great to have you
16:48
I'm always thinking about the Command Zone.
The discussion of small creatures with trample put me in mind of Graham's classic Charging Badger draft on MTGO Acadamy. I still go back every so often and watch it. Still hilarious.
A quote I think about every time I see a 1-power trampler is from "Friday Nights: Hero's Path - The Refusal":
"Just because it isn't an actual keyword doesn't mean Charging Badger isn't integral to the block."
I think I just realized why I love this format of TTC, along with the Crack-a-Packs and the Chit Chaff episodes: Just some really chill, nice people talking about Magic.
"Sir Conrad does make an appearance" ...
That sure is one heck of an understatement. X)
DINOSAUR CAT! I got a t-shirt of it and every time I wear it people exclaim about how cute it is. excellent beginning! :D
also I would absolutely play MTG online if they had a single-player campaign thing like they were talking about here.
Ulmer's presence is always a joy; it's great to have him filling in here. :)
I really enjoyed the Core Set aside because I entered Magic for the first time with a M11 Deckbuilder's Toolkit. I really like how that gave me a bunch of sets pretty much from standard and really helped me build an initial collection
made me so happy to hear y’all talking about the core sets - it’s my favorite era of magic and i’ve been tooling around with a cube of those cards for ages and i really need to finish it now!
Okay this is at least the third video I've seen lately where Ulmer mentions Yedora. I'm sold.
The story mode was pretty much a thing in Magic: Duels if you remember that weird attempt.
I love Mitotic Manipulation in mono blue EDH. Using this and Retraced Image to get extra lands into play with my mana doublers while synergizing with instant/sorcery payoffs and dodging artifact removal feels very good (it's not good, but it *feels* good).
I've never not hit a land with this card in mono blue. It's good. ✨
The story highlight puzzle minigames idea is actually so clever.
There was a single player story mode in Magic Duels, I distinctly recall using that to learn all about the Magic Origins Planeswalkers
Um ACHTUALLY, for Verdant Succession, if you animated a Forest it would still be a colorless creature.
depends on the effect
I came down here in the comments just to mention that haha
Now, to be fair, Life and Limb makes all forests into _green_ 1/1 Saprolings so that'll kind of work.
Okay, but what about Spy Kit? Or Shameless Charlatan?
@@abesmith115 that’ll work, but not for lands (though you are just pulling whatever creature at that point, so who cares)
Verdant Succession is really good in Zask, Skittering Swarmlord. If you have a green insect, you can stack the triggers so it goes back into your deck off of Zask, and then replay it with Verdant Succession. Makes your bugs functionally unkillable, fills the graveyard, rebuys ETBs and LTBs, and has combo shenanigans.
This was a fun time, would enjoy watching more of these
Love Wheeler on this. So relaxing to hear about Olde Magic
Love looking at random cards and learning some history about them
Syr Konrad makes an appearance in Game Knights in the same way LeBron James makes an appearance in basketball games.
this Scryfall Roulette series is amazing!
I was just thinking yesterday about wanting another ttc episode like this, and now here we are
I actually run Mitotic Manipulation in Commander under Patron of the Moon. Seven cards have yet for me to whiff on an Island, and sometimes I spike a Sol Ring!
10:00 me finding out that this card exists whilst also having a Yedora deck that’s my favorite commander deck of all time. I need this card now lol.
I love the roulette videos. Hope to see more.
Love MTG chats with LRR on TTC.
Nightscape Familiar has indeed a minotaur in the background. Also a metathran.
26:50 Counterpoint: I am in your wall (My spirit is joining with it as a physical form to serve as a familiar)
I love Nelly's cosplay as Bengineering, so realistic
9:09 Painter's Servant (Green) and run an X+Green commander that has access to creatures that lets you have more than one/four copies of it in a deck
Meteor Crater is really good in my Mana Maze Solitaire deck since it always taps for something and introduces interesting play patterns on when to use its mana.
Verdant Succession has a sweet interaction with Cauldron of Eternity
Verdant succession goes infinite with Zask, Skittering Swarmlord
Ooh that's some sick tech!
The depletion land cycle from Ice Age are a good candidate for worst lands. I would also put forward School of the Unseen/Henge of Ramos, Rhystic Cave, and the cycle of dual lands from Champions of Kamigawa.
You say depletion lands are bad, but I have a lot of fun using them to take infinite turns along with By Gnome Means and Magosi, the waterveil
Producing a counter every turn along with making mana is also decent with Power Conduit
Ben's test Card was Abian, Luvion Usurper and its nuts
47:00 talking about drafting from 20 year old sealed product that could cost over a thousand dollars - maybe build a pseudo-cube from singles that exclude high dollar cards that aren't important to the draft experience? There might be enough reprints or functional reprint substitutions to bring that down to a reasonable level. With the upshot of knowing roughly the resale value of the cards once you're done, rather than it being a mystery and then a disappointment from sealed. Since they're known, maybe the fine unionized folks at Card Kingdom could even lend you the cards temporarily, with the biggest expense being picking and then re-sorting.
Wheeler has such a great sense of humor, i really want to play a game with him
I literally just hopped on Spelltable after watching this and someone played Verdant Succession in their Zask deck, small world lol
The first 10 minutes is "Combos with Spy Kit.dec" and I've never been happier. That's a card I've always wanted to build a commander deck around.
Give it all of the names, then profit off your stuff having all of the names
I like how Ben brought up some of the cool stuff hearthstone did and Wheeler immediately scoffed at hearthstone being mentioned. These two takes sum up how I feel about that game
I love this series!!
Was literally playing some singleplayer card games while they were talking about it, it's such a big deal for digital card games
Verdant Succession, Life from Limb and a sac outlet like Phyrexian Altar or Ashnod's Altar is all of your Forests out of your deck and a lot of mana depending on how you do it.
30:00 : Does sac outlet + Karmic Guide + Magnanimous Magistrate actually work? Magistrate has to be on the battlefield when its trigger resolves (so that you can remove the reprieve counters from it), and if I understand triggers correctly (that's a big if), then there shouldn't be any point where you get priority between the Magistrate's trigger resolving and selecting targets for Karmic Guide's ETB. I think you need to add a Restoration Angel or similar to get the loop to work. (Sac KG and RA, Magistrate returns KG, KG returns RA, RA resets the counters on Magistrate)
I believe considering Ben's comment the idea is that the karmic guide returns a flicker creature t9 which you flicker the magistrate it now has all its counters again
I love this series
Surprising nobody Ben would pick the aggresive red creature when it comes to an all Praetor Commander fight! I love that mindset
... Huh. I think that is the first time I've even SEEN Tuknir Deathlock... AH, that's why. The only Legends cards I generally saw were the Chronicles reprints, and it never made it to that. Neat!
It seems a little odd for Ben not to be in a patterned shirt (he still looks good). I wonder whether the weather's getting warmer there.
Not sure the weather ever gets warm in Vic.
Odessey draft sounds so fun!
If you want to do Vanguard, I high key recommend playing Quantum Leap. It's a combination of Vanguard and Planechase. Each player starts with a Vanguard and each time they roll to planeswalk, they become a new Vanguard character with the changing plane. You could combine that with Eternities map or have every Vanguard change with the plane, but that's up to you.
I too, have been a fanof corsets forever
The background of Nightscape Familiar is Stormscape Battlemage and I think Thunderscape Battlemage.
Wheeler is like a pet in a zoo that they let out once in a while to have talk about magic cards.
someone has done top ten worst lands although it does include non mana producing lands
Love Vanguard, used to play with Vanguard in Commander just to mix it up even if you played the same deck. Either go random Vanguard card or make a commander deck around one.
Verdant succession is great in commander with Wheel of Sun and Moon
Verdant Succession does some cool stuff in EDH with Spy Kit, an equipment that gives the equipped creature the names of all non legendary creatures
Mitotic Manipulation is amusing with Spy Kit, you can put any non legendary from the top 7 into play, still not good but it is kinda fun
I literally pulled a tuknir deathlok in a Dominaria United collector booster
DnD and magic agree, a scimitar is just a fancy short sword
Verdant Succession goes in with Zask, Skittering Swarmlord
Note on all these "with the same name" cards work with Spy Kit
If I may ask an off magic question, Graham what brand are your shoes?😮 I've been looking to get a pair in that sort of style!
I actually had the Urza card; it was included in an issue of the Duelist. I should see if I can find it...
Champion of the Flame is actually really great, damn
There are a LOT of 1 red mana auras that either give 2+/+0 and grants first strike, double strike or haste, so that's like.. 3 mana and you have a 3/3 or a 5/3 with your choice of keyword that red most often uses
44:26 Gurzigost: goes great with Grenzo
I would be very here for a "top 10 worst mana-producing lands" segment
Also playing Vanguard, of course.
OH BOY CLASS IS IN SESSION! TIME FOR MORE SITTING BACK AND LISTENING TO THE PAPAS TALK OF MA....oh hi Ben.
No shade to the good boy, just was not expecting him on the podcast.
....my brain didn't click we have two Bens here. Dammit I wish it wasn't just Ben who called Ben Ben. I also am so down for Unruly named Beast Commander
Vanguard cards are thr same size as Planechase cards. Ultra pro made sleeves that could fit them. I'm slowly pickeng them all up, to make a planechanse/vanguard extravaganza commander games :) (with random vanguard assigned to players)
Play Meteor Crater in your Rhys, the Redeemed commander deck, it’s an untapped dual land!
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has a pretty fleshed out solo mode, giving you both some lore alongside a crash course in some fan-favorite archetypes like Gem Knighs and World Legacy
Does verdant succession work with wheel of sun and moon?
I would love to see "TTC: worst lands"
33:55 XD. GRAHAM.
Super duper with Ben on liking Core Sets. Yeah, they're a little boring for those of us who have been playing forever but new players really need that onramp into the game. Jumpstart does a good job of filling that niche for the newest of newbies but you can't really build a collection from Jumpstart packs, especially if your intention is to get into Standard. Plus, set complexity has felt super high as of late. That makes the need for stepping stone products even greater.
Dude, an Arena story mode would be so awesome.
I wanted to play along but got different cards when pressing random, anyone knows what's the fix here?
For drafting the old sets its best to just make a cube, its cheaper and a lot better draft experience. Last year I built an Invasion cube, it was a lot of fun, and most of that era's cards are so worthless that, even if I didn't own most of them, I think the price was less than $300 to build it from scratch.
You could do an Onslaught draft with repacked boosters/cube.
Verdant succession, painter’s servant on green, shadowborn apostle x6, search a demon into play for 1 mana.
Sheltered Valley doesn't seem that terrible in a lifegain deck, if you have the space in your mana base for a colorless land.
but what if Ben's shirt didn't show up today?
I tried to make champion of the flame work in kamigawa standard, with a few more good creatures I bet it would
Champion of the Flame wasn't in Standard with Kamigawa.
Tedin and Maddocks are friends. I believe they grew up together.
I think the 9/9 ben was thinking of was aboroth
On the point of really terrible mana-producing lands, may I point out, Wintermoon Mesa. Enters tapped, adds colorless, with an ability that reads “2, tap, sac, tap two lands.” Just… what a waste of cardboard.
I think token Copies do have a mana value of the thing they copied?, just re: graham's quick note about tokens having no mana value
why not just make an onslaught block cube? other than all the work that entails
If you play Goblins of Kher Keep, Meteor Crater taps for red turn one #GalaxyBrain
easy listening
M10 is the greatest magic set of all time
Wheeler hates Dominaria!?! :O Blasphemy! I need explanations!
Hmmm Sheltered Valley has a similar caveat as the legendary lands do now but was made when legend rule wasn't like that. Hmmm.
Please do the onslaught draft
Vanguard!
Spy Kit is a card😂
One of the cards ever