What Have You Bought?

[Aperson]

10 minutes ago, Sméagol said:

@GenericAperson This is going to sound strange coming from another casual Magic player, but that card doesn't do much. Unless it happens to synergize absolutely great with other cards, but it doesn't sound like that's the reason you bought it. Fine for super casual play, but nothing else. Again, unless it comboes off anything else in your deck, but even then it's so generic you can probably find cards that do a better job. But again, I'm far from an expert.

Not that I suggest you get into it (for other reasons), but MTGO was great for experimenting with decks. Cards like that cost nothing, and you can buy them instantly.

I do test these cards beforehand on Magic Arena (which is the effective successor to Magic Online and a much better client (although it only has cards from the last 4 years), think like Hearthstone) and in the deck I was playing I found Befuddle useful for not falling too far behind and it can also help destroy the opponents creatures since all my creatures are flying, therefore the opponent can't block me with powerful land based creatures. And yes, I'm only interested from a casual level, I don't tend to buy many cards that are more expensive than £1 apart from the Planeswalker, so within my own extreme budget definition this was a card I was willing to play without being forced to discard anything.

 

There probably are much better cards for this same price range but my unfamiliarity with the entire card pool and just discovering what exists through looking on Arena and seeing what cards others are using is how I'm discovering what to watch out for. I'm playing a Blue/Red flying deck so the playstyle of using noncreature spells to make the creatures stronger is very much ingrained in the deck. Befuddle was bought to replace Catalog because I wasn't keen on having to discard any cards from my hand. That and Catalog isn't even Standard legal anymore so having something that is Standard legal is helpful. I am essentially building off a starter deck from 2015/2016 though at this point most of the cards in the deck are ones I've bought myself.

 

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/budget-deck-izzet-flying/?cb=1567809175

 

I know of some cards that I think could definitely improve this deck, Wee Draconauts would be a good addition to the creature lineup and the Izzet boss monster Niv-Mizzet Parun would be a lot better than the Sphinx. Without the restriction of paying real world money, the Arena version of this deck is naturally a lot better.

[Sméagol]

Hmm standard limits things.. Still.. if you're playing red, I'd personally put some cheaper red direct damage spells instead. Learn how to use gatherer. https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?text=+[damage]&color=+[R]&format=["Standard"]&type=+[Instant]

But that's going off-topic.

Edit: If you're willing to spend 3 dollars on a card, this one of fun for your deck (and what you're going for, synergizes with the spitfires). https://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Guilds+of+Ravnica/Risk+Factor#online

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by Sméagol

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 06/09/2019 at 9:21 AM, GenericAperson said:

 

100 damage is not the greatest amount of damage when compared to the Turtonator that came in the deck but crucially this card doesn't discard energy to use its attacks so it can put out bigger amounts more often. Plus I can make Psychic Energy useful with an attack that can KO a Pokemon that is building up a ton of energy on the bench for later use.

Is Double Dragon Energy still legal?

[Aperson]

5 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Is Double Dragon Energy still legal?

I've never heard of that card so probably no. Expanded is B/W onwards though so if it came out in those sets then it could be something for an Expanded deck.

 

As for new Magic cards to improve the deck, I'm thinking of going to the Throne of Eldraine pre-release draft and if I get any cards from that which improve the deck then that's what I will add. Risk Factor looks good, might be a bit out of price range for now though especially since I would want to have 4 copies of the card.

[EEVILMURRAY]

1 hour ago, GenericAperson said:

I've never heard of that card so probably no. Expanded is B/W onwards though so if it came out in those sets then it could be something for an Expanded deck.

Came out in Roaring Skies:

[Sméagol]

1 hour ago, GenericAperson said:

Risk Factor looks good, might be a bit out of price range for now though especially since I would want to have 4 copies of the card.

You shouldn't think that way. I'd put at most 2 in that deck, probably 1 even. Though if you use it, I'd put in 1 or 2 extra of those spitfires you had. Plus a few direct damage spells like I suggested, one that can target creatures or players.

Edited September 7, 2019 by Sméagol

[Aperson]

There are only two Spitfires in the deck at the moment because I only actually have two.

Shock is a card I'm looking to purchase at some point. Also looking at Negate as a possibility to counter removal spells.

As for why I'm running 4 of many things my logic is that the more copies of a card you have in the deck, the more chance you have of drawing it. However, I suppose in the case of the card mentioned you can use it in the graveyard so you don't need so much of it. I think mana cost should also be a factor in how many are in the deck if you want playable cards which is why the better creatures are lower in quantity.

Anyway, this is more of a thread about purchases than card discussion so let's try and put it back on track.

[Emerald Emblem]

Cheapest I got them for was £62.90 from ShopTo with a silver member discount (£61.61 if you are a gold member)

[EEVILMURRAY]

As this book kept being advertised in my Sudoku app, I was aware of its existence. When the missus and I had to go to our local library to give notice of getting married this book was outside the room where they grilled us one at a time. Whilst she was chatting to the registrar I picked this off from the shelf. Got to page 30. Liked what I read so as we went to Tesco for milk I got it

 

And since it was 2 for ~£8

 

[drahkon]

[bob]

As this book kept being advertised in my Sudoku app, I was aware of its existence. When the missus and I had to go to our local library to give notice of getting married this book was outside the room where they grilled us one at a time. Whilst she was chatting to the registrar I picked this off from the shelf. Got to page 30. Liked what I read so as we went to Tesco for milk I got it

 
And since it was 2 for ~£8
 

Congratulations!

On the engagement, not the purchase of two books.

[EEVILMURRAY]

7 hours ago, bob said:

Congratulations!

On the engagement, not the purchase of two books.

Many thanks. Can;t even remember how long we've been engaged...

[Aperson]

So after a few games against my friends and losing both of them the sheer lack of damage output that the deck was doing became very apparent so I decided to follow @Sméagol 's advice and tailor the Magic deck to include more red spells. I have yet to buy these spells but I have a plan for acquiring them. I now realise why my 4 of most things plan didn't quite work out, because I forgot to take into account mana cost as to whether what you draw is playable or not and that the spells I was using just cost too much mana to make the strategy viable. There was also a lack of consistency. Cloudkin Seer allows you to draw a card, that's cool... doesn't do anything major towards the deck strategy after that. I had one game where I had three cards that all had the same mana cost including the Seer. The other two were instants that would have greatly helped against some powerful creatures on the opponent's side. I played the Seer hoping to draw another land and that didn't happen which makes me think reducing the overall mana cost of the spells I have would be a good idea. This works out well because Shock and Lightning Strike are two cards that would greatly improve the consistency of the deck.

 

For now though, I have bought these cards:

 

Already owned two of this card but yeah,definitely needed another.

 

 

Since the entire deck only uses Flying creatures, this seems like a good card to include. Given the situational use of the card however I decided I was only going to include 2 in the deck. It is something that can be used either to clear out your opponents' weak creatures early game. I can also think of a use for it whereby you have a really powerful enemy creature whose toughness isn't quite something you can kill by battle but you can still get it within range, then cast this to remove them. It may involve having to sacrifice a creature though...

 

Finally, the card that should significantly improve the deck.

 

 

Bought 4 of these. Maybe 4 is a bit much considering the card costs 4 mana to cast but this is a card I definitely want to be able to play at some point in the game. This is the natural evolution of my strategy, it directly replaces Cloudkin Seer in the deck due to sharing the same draw a card effect but this time it also bases it's power on all instants and sorceries in the graveyard and in exile. I was originally going to go for the Enigma Drake which is technically a better card, but I decided to go for something a bit more Standard-proof.

 

I have tested this card on Arena with cards I have yet to acquire in real life. In some matchups it can become crazily powerful.

 

 

Realistically I'm looking at a creature that can be at least 4 power provided the right spells have been used.

 

The deck is still missing some crucial components but I have plans to acquire cards like Shock, Lightning Strike (which is rotating but eh, I have cards in my deck that aren't Standard legal), Unsummon and Negate which creates a low cost spell engine as I look to drop some expensive luxuries like Sleep Paralysis and Sweep Away.

Edited September 13, 2019 by GenericAperson

[Serebii]

 

Got an iPhone 11 Pro, Midnight Green, 256GB coming my way.

 

My phone was at 30% battery at 11am yesterday so long needed a new one and I have a backup Android phone for Android coverage so needed a new iPhone.

[Happenstance]

Nice mixture of blu rays to add to my collection:

[EEVILMURRAY]

@Happenstance you a fan of post-Lawsuit Maddox's podcast about Godzilla?

[Happenstance]

3 hours ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

@Happenstance you a fan of post-Lawsuit Maddox's podcast about Godzilla?

I hadn't heard of it until now. Might give it a listen.

[EEVILMURRAY]

6 hours ago, Happenstance said:

I hadn't heard of it until now. Might give it a listen.

I've heard it's really bad. Maddox has reverted to a weird lil bitch called George who is trying to bang his co-host

[Happenstance]

Yet more 80s horror. Been years since I watched all of these so I'm looking forward to going back to them. Especially 1 and 7.

EDIT: Two more as I apparently can't stop myself:

Edited September 18, 2019 by Happenstance

[Goafer]

 

I dropped my 5D MK2 about 2 years ago and never really got round to replacing/repairing it, but one came up on Facebook marketplace that was £350 and seemed to be in good condition. They generally go for £400-500 for a fairly tatty one (they sold for £2,000 brand new) and I had been quoted £300 to repair my old one, so this seemed a bargain if it was as good as it looked.

I messaged the seller asking for the shutter count and he said he didn't know exactly (not uncommon, as it requires some PC know-how to find out), but he thinks around 7,000, at a push 10,000. To give that some perspective, they're rated for 150,000 shots before needing maintenance and my old one had done 36,000 shots and I still considered it "low mileage". If this were a car, he'd basically bought it, driven it around the block a few times, then decided to sell it.

So I went out, had a look and it all checked out. Not a scratch on it. He was selling it as he bought it as a hobby and planned to take it more seriously after retirement, but a botched hip operation put a stop to it. I was tempted to take my laptop to check the shutter count, but for £350, it was a bargain as long as it wasn't on its last legs, so I just went for it.

Got it home and checked the shutter count and it's only done 4,400. Utterly mental. At any price, that's unicorn rare for a camera that's 11 years old and still pretty capable. I feel like I've robbed the poor guy (although he was well aware how cheap he was selling it).

Edited September 22, 2019 by Goafer

[Happenstance]

16 hours ago, Goafer said:

 

I dropped my 5D MK2 about 2 years ago and never really got round to replacing/repairing it, but one came up on Facebook marketplace that was £350 and seemed to be in good condition. They generally go for £400-500 for a fairly tatty one (they sold for £2,000 brand new) and I had been quoted £300 to repair my old one, so this seemed a bargain if it was as good as it looked.

I messaged the seller asking for the shutter count and he said he didn't know exactly (not uncommon, as it requires some PC know-how to find out), but he thinks around 7,000, at a push 10,000. To give that some perspective, they're rated for 150,000 shots before needing maintenance and my old one had done 36,000 shots and I still considered it "low mileage". If this were a car, he'd basically bought it, driven it around the block a few times, then decided to sell it.

So I went out, had a look and it all checked out. Not a scratch on it. He was selling it as he bought it as a hobby and planned to take it more seriously after retirement, but a botched hip operation put a stop to it. I was tempted to take my laptop to check the shutter count, but for £350, it was a bargain as long as it wasn't on its last legs, so I just went for it.

Got it home and checked the shutter count and it's only done 4,400. Utterly mental. At any price, that's unicorn rare for a camera that's 11 years old and still pretty capable. I feel like I've robbed the poor guy (although he was well aware how cheap he was selling it).

It did look like a stupidly good deal. I was planning on snapping it up if you didn't.

[Goafer]

5 hours ago, Happenstance said:

It did look like a stupidly good deal. I was planning on snapping it up if you didn't.

Apparently there were quite a few others interested as well, but the guy held it for me as I was first to enquire/agree to see it.

Although it's a stupidly good deal, the MK2 is starting to show its age, mainly in low light situations. If I weren't tied to Canon DSLRs due to my lenses, I'd probably consider an Olympus OM-D MK3 or something similar in the £500-£600 price range as a replacement. I may still get one for when I fancy carrying a lighter camera.

[Happenstance]

More blu rays!

[bob]

But what is he Peking at?

[Happenstance]

Scantily glad women of course