Two important video errors: 1. Mentor abilities have to be legal on target and resolution. The example would work if the vanilla creature had two power. Just be careful when dealing with Mentor triggers, as you can lose important +1/+1 counters. 2. Izzet does have a named mechanic, Jump-Start, which is awesome and reads clearly from the card. It doesn't have a mechanic name for creatures which reward you for casting instants and sorceries. Since creatures tend to win games of limited, I made an oversight in the mechanic.
The amount of mistakenly put counters that will happen in the pre release with borros is out of this world. It is very easy to get confused and I don't understand how Maro said that they found the mechanic fun. It is a confusing mechanic that can be tough to keep track and a little bit boring if you ask me.
@@Vardaris it's not that hard... Choose your legal target. If the opponent (and you) don't increase it's stats (or lower the mentors stats) with a spell or ability then it will always resolve. You only need to recheck the resolution if someone alters the power and toughness of cards, in which case they will be doing it to cancel the mentor... Which means they will tell you it doesn't resolve.
@Draco it is stupid and unnecessarily complicated. In the current example let's assume that a player thinks: ok I will put a counter from Sergeant to Instructor thus making it a 4/2 and then put the mentor counter from Instructor to Helberdier since it has now less power than the Instructor. Does this work? No, because the triggers happen at the same time and need to have a target at that point, even though you can sequence them as you want afterwards. Explaining that to a new player is completely unnecessary and all this is for 1 counter, plus I expect a lot of opponents to just think this is ok and not even call the judge and I don't blame them, the whole way the mechanic works is very counterintuitive to the way human mind thinks.
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, true. I was talking about the creature cards since those actually finish the game. Good call though, should have been a little more clear.
I understand that creatures win you the games in limited, but I'd hate to see new players being surprised with a mechanic they haven't heard about at their prerelease. Would've been good to mention it, since the word 'mechanics' is in the title of the video.
I agree a lot of golgari undergrowth cards are bad, but I think the green and black card quality individually is decent allowing u to create a classic midrange value deck if u pick up some of those ggbb eternal witnesses and the gb girl that stocks ur grave
I also think the idea is the lower cmc cards are supposed to be used for trading or sac fodder. it will be hard for me to block a 2/2 with a 1/1 death touch to fill my graveyard but Generous Stray is probably meant for Golgari because it replaces itself then is either chump fodder or a sac outlet for severed strands, or plague crafter. Ochran Assassin will either trade for opponents best non flyer or eat a combat trick or removal. Kraul Harpooner trades for a flyer or if lucky kills a flyer (Roc Charger) then trades for something else. Portcullis Vine isn't a card I really want to play, but it slows down aggro then replaces itself while adding a creature card to the graveyard. Pilfering Imp takes a card from hand and fills graveyard. Ironshell Beetle puts a counter on another creature then is looking for a way into the graveyard. However, the problem I see is that there isn't enough recursion.
Yeah, Golgari and Selesnya are good midrange builds, and Golgari gives you access to SOO much removal, and good removal too. Sure Selesnya has the O-ring and the specific removal (larger or pinging attackers etc.) But golgari has the bg death touch + fight, death touch in general, the 5 black removal spells, SO much. Removal is strong in limited, and golgari not only has it, but ways to stay relevant if removal is used against it (undergrowth and findbroker.)
I don’t think gogari is perfect, but it is good for mid to late game. At the beginning it’s really bad. That’s why you use mono color weaklings and get them out fast to block/attack then when they die you still get a little value.
About Golgari, my understanding of undergrouth is that surveiling is essential for it to work properly. If you can't put enough creatures on the graveyard without putting them on the battlefield, it is mostly useless.
12:14 Isn't it impossible to put the Blade Instructor's Mentor on the stack because there's no legal targets for Mentor? I'm not a judge, but based on what I read on the reminder text, this attack will result in only Barging Sergeant's instance of Mentor triggering.
I agree, the trigger has to have a legal Target when it initially goes on the stack and again when it resolves, thats why Wizards used 3 creatures with different powers in their mechanics-video :)
Yeah, you can't target something unless it's a legal target. Every targeted ability MUST ALWAYS have a legal target. If the legal target goes away the affect doesn't happen. This example is illegal.
I watched a pre prerelease video, and it looked like Dimir is going to be in desperate need for a couple of bigger creatures (maybe a third color splash), otherwise the couple decent creatures are too obvious targets for opponent removal. Selesnya- 1/3 maybe 1/2 of kits will get two of the 4/4 for GGWW that makes two 2/2s when it dies. That’s a sealed monster that you’ll probably draw each game if you have two in the deck. Other than that, when you start convoking, careful that opponent doesn’t zap the big guy and nail you on the backswing since your chumps are all tapped. Izzet- cross your fingers that you open some bombs or get Boros cards to splash in. Golgari- better play surveil cards to get to the point that your undergrowth is worth anything. Boros- shouldn’t be hard to get enough mentor, but you’ll be facing so much removal, your combat tricks will get you 2 for 1ed really fast. Then you’re out of gas. Going to be facing so many black cards, and dead weight will be a 2-3 of in lots of decks.
Izzet is definitely best. Red has the most common removal. Blue counter. Splash white since it has 2nd best common uncommon removal. Surveil to get the answer or bomb u need. Jump start to refill ur hand late. Force ur opponent into top deck mode and the game is yours. Boros, selesnya, and golgari dont have enough haste to get u into a hole, and they dont have enough hexproof to stop your answers
Dimir Izzet for me I think, obtain the cards you need and keep your opponent focused on the surveil mechanic then surprise them with a beefed up creature and have the spells to keep it on board
Black with 7 removal at the common and uncommon level, it's best to pick a guild with black in it's color pair.... why i agree with you Dimir is the best, blue has about 5 removal at common and uncommon level, 6 if you count disperse. Dimir will give you the best chance of having answers to your opponents cards. That would put golgari in 2nd place for most likely to have decent removal.
I'd keep a single basic in hand almost always. Representing removal or a trick as well as a free discard for jump start, if you had any jump start cards of course.
I actually chose Izzet since it works well with Boros and Dimir cards. With Jeskai you can cast a lot of spells to help aggressive creatures get through, while Grixis can play a very powerful control set up where you can get rid of any threat long enough to get your win conditions out. I'll experiment with it this prerelease weekend, see how it works out.
With cards such as Barrier of Bones and Portcullis Vine, you have the option to play slightly more defensively in the early game and fuel your Undergrowth, until cards like Golgari Findbroker, Izoni Thousand-Eyed, and Charnel Troll can apply a massive amount of mid-late game pressure. Other options could be Lotleth Giant and Vigorspore Worm, and being able to tutor with Mausoleum secrets could prove to be effective. Under this pretense, even Golgari raiders could still be powerful. I feel like Golgari will be a strong midrange pick. However, these are under ideal circumstances, and I feel like Golgari will definitely still be a challenging prerelease pick with a high learning curve. But, people are definitely sleeping on this pick. I mean, Assassins Trophy anyone?
I think Grixis (blue black red) will be quite good, use surveil to sort your library and then jumpstart to sort your hand to make sure you are most likely to have the answer for the situation
Golgari goes well if you splash Dimir's surveil. And Boros can give Selesnya some good early game aggression. Izzet goes well with Dimir as well since you can jump start spells you dump in the grave. Overall, Dimir is the best guild because it can splash the most colors
Izzet wizard deck with Risk Factor and wizard lightning and lightning strike and goblin electromancer will be nasty in standard. Splash black for Sword Point Diplomacy, and it’s just dirty.
Not only Trophy, week ago Vraska was second and some other Golgari were close to top.I chose Dimir, cause i hope for nice surveil combo. And since two days Doom Whisperer is the second most expensive one :p
Great presentation! Good video for new and experienced players! Keep those videos coming! Would be nice if you could do deck speculation for next standard meta.
I played Izzet guild with a splash of black spells and placed 6th at my event out of 34 people. Izzet is a very experimental deck and works best with dimir spells too but work with what you like I’m just saying what happened to me
For the mentor ability, don't you have to declare target when putting it on the stack? I don't think we can put Blade Instructor's mentor trigger on the stack without targeting. So, the trick at 12:10 may not work?
I already changed to boros from Izzet thinking it’s the best choice and now wanting Dimir but is it too much to ask from my LGS to swap it round again or should I maybe say ok the day to see if there’s spare Dimir they can swap me to?
Definitely have to disagree with golgari, they have access to the best removal in the environment, and have about the same consistency of small dudes and mid/big range dudes as Selesnya. While it'll take some fine tuning and know how of a draft environment, Golgari looks like one of the strongest by far. Possibly losing out to selesnya on consistency.
darkblade agent is actually pretty bad in practice. Also Rhizome lurker is like the best common creature in the set maybe besides skyknight legionnare. There are 2 common deathtouchers and a 1/2 cat and 1/2 rat that both chump for undergrowth and give you no card disadvantage. Rhizome actually in practice almost always gives you a 6/6 for 4 or better.
I don't think Mentor works as you think. Shouldn't you select targets when it goes on the stack? If so, the target has to have a lesser power. It's not "Put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature IF that creature has less power."
dimir may be the worst to pick for your seeded pack, golgari pick then going ubg sure. Dimir has no real value, golgari you can open foil assassins trophy... simple as
Two important video errors:
1. Mentor abilities have to be legal on target and resolution. The example would work if the vanilla creature had two power. Just be careful when dealing with Mentor triggers, as you can lose important +1/+1 counters.
2. Izzet does have a named mechanic, Jump-Start, which is awesome and reads clearly from the card. It doesn't have a mechanic name for creatures which reward you for casting instants and sorceries. Since creatures tend to win games of limited, I made an oversight in the mechanic.
Was just about to make a comment, but you already had it handled
Was about to comment on the izzet jumpstart too
The amount of mistakenly put counters that will happen in the pre release with borros is out of this world. It is very easy to get confused and I don't understand how Maro said that they found the mechanic fun. It is a confusing mechanic that can be tough to keep track and a little bit boring if you ask me.
@@Vardaris it's not that hard... Choose your legal target. If the opponent (and you) don't increase it's stats (or lower the mentors stats) with a spell or ability then it will always resolve.
You only need to recheck the resolution if someone alters the power and toughness of cards, in which case they will be doing it to cancel the mentor... Which means they will tell you it doesn't resolve.
@Draco it is stupid and unnecessarily complicated. In the current example let's assume that a player thinks: ok I will put a counter from Sergeant to Instructor thus making it a 4/2 and then put the mentor counter from Instructor to Helberdier since it has now less power than the Instructor. Does this work? No, because the triggers happen at the same time and need to have a target at that point, even though you can sequence them as you want afterwards. Explaining that to a new player is completely unnecessary and all this is for 1 counter, plus I expect a lot of opponents to just think this is ok and not even call the judge and I don't blame them, the whole way the mechanic works is very counterintuitive to the way human mind thinks.
Did you forget the Izzet's ability is called Jump-Start? At 13:18
Mmmmmm, mmmmm, true. I was talking about the creature cards since those actually finish the game. Good call though, should have been a little more clear.
I understand that creatures win you the games in limited, but I'd hate to see new players being surprised with a mechanic they haven't heard about at their prerelease. Would've been good to mention it, since the word 'mechanics' is in the title of the video.
I really liked the rest of the video though! Maybe I'm nitpicking a bit.
Nideon about to comment this
MTG Degree By that logic, how is that any different than surveil though? Just admit you forgot it and move on
That’s it! I’m picking Izzet!
“You’re a madman!”
I KNOOOOOOW!
The third line could have been a cheap pun. For example.
That’s it! I’m picking Izzet!
“You’re a madman!”
Izzet?
All hail the firemind!!!
I agree a lot of golgari undergrowth cards are bad, but I think the green and black card quality individually is decent allowing u to create a classic midrange value deck if u pick up some of those ggbb eternal witnesses and the gb girl that stocks ur grave
I tend to agree. Removal is always amazing in drafts too.
I also think the idea is the lower cmc cards are supposed to be used for trading or sac fodder. it will be hard for me to block a 2/2 with a 1/1 death touch to fill my graveyard but Generous Stray is probably meant for Golgari because it replaces itself then is either chump fodder or a sac outlet for severed strands, or plague crafter. Ochran Assassin will either trade for opponents best non flyer or eat a combat trick or removal. Kraul Harpooner trades for a flyer or if lucky kills a flyer (Roc Charger) then trades for something else. Portcullis Vine isn't a card I really want to play, but it slows down aggro then replaces itself while adding a creature card to the graveyard. Pilfering Imp takes a card from hand and fills graveyard. Ironshell Beetle puts a counter on another creature then is looking for a way into the graveyard. However, the problem I see is that there isn't enough recursion.
Yeah, Golgari and Selesnya are good midrange builds, and Golgari gives you access to SOO much removal, and good removal too. Sure Selesnya has the O-ring and the specific removal (larger or pinging attackers etc.) But golgari has the bg death touch + fight, death touch in general, the 5 black removal spells, SO much. Removal is strong in limited, and golgari not only has it, but ways to stay relevant if removal is used against it (undergrowth and findbroker.)
I don’t think gogari is perfect, but it is good for mid to late game. At the beginning it’s really bad. That’s why you use mono color weaklings and get them out fast to block/attack then when they die you still get a little value.
I'm a mad lad who loves UR Spells decks! Izzet here we come!
About Golgari, my understanding of undergrouth is that surveiling is essential for it to work properly. If you can't put enough creatures on the graveyard without putting them on the battlefield, it is mostly useless.
I swapped Izzet to Boros the other day because I’m loving the look of mentor
12:14
Isn't it impossible to put the Blade Instructor's Mentor on the stack because there's no legal targets for Mentor? I'm not a judge, but based on what I read on the reminder text, this attack will result in only Barging Sergeant's instance of Mentor triggering.
I agree, the trigger has to have a legal Target when it initially goes on the stack and again when it resolves, thats why Wizards used 3 creatures with different powers in their mechanics-video :)
you are correct, it's a very important clarification that needs to be made
Yeah, you can't target something unless it's a legal target. Every targeted ability MUST ALWAYS have a legal target. If the legal target goes away the affect doesn't happen. This example is illegal.
Ty, I'm going tomorrow to a prerelease with a friend and just now startet informing myself about the guilds xD
I watched a pre prerelease video, and it looked like Dimir is going to be in desperate need for a couple of bigger creatures (maybe a third color splash), otherwise the couple decent creatures are too obvious targets for opponent removal.
Selesnya- 1/3 maybe 1/2 of kits will get two of the 4/4 for GGWW that makes two 2/2s when it dies. That’s a sealed monster that you’ll probably draw each game if you have two in the deck. Other than that, when you start convoking, careful that opponent doesn’t zap the big guy and nail you on the backswing since your chumps are all tapped.
Izzet- cross your fingers that you open some bombs or get Boros cards to splash in.
Golgari- better play surveil cards to get to the point that your undergrowth is worth anything.
Boros- shouldn’t be hard to get enough mentor, but you’ll be facing so much removal, your combat tricks will get you 2 for 1ed really fast. Then you’re out of gas. Going to be facing so many black cards, and dead weight will be a 2-3 of in lots of decks.
Great video, just the explanations I needed. Thanks
Izzet is definitely best. Red has the most common removal. Blue counter. Splash white since it has 2nd best common uncommon removal. Surveil to get the answer or bomb u need. Jump start to refill ur hand late. Force ur opponent into top deck mode and the game is yours. Boros, selesnya, and golgari dont have enough haste to get u into a hole, and they dont have enough hexproof to stop your answers
Dimir Izzet for me I think, obtain the cards you need and keep your opponent focused on the surveil mechanic then surprise them with a beefed up creature and have the spells to keep it on board
Black with 7 removal at the common and uncommon level, it's best to pick a guild with black in it's color pair.... why i agree with you Dimir is the best, blue has about 5 removal at common and uncommon level, 6 if you count disperse. Dimir will give you the best chance of having answers to your opponents cards. That would put golgari in 2nd place for most likely to have decent removal.
I'd keep a single basic in hand almost always. Representing removal or a trick as well as a free discard for jump start, if you had any jump start cards of course.
I will probably play Dimir splashing red for removal, or vanilla Izzet.
Lv324 that’s dependent on your card pool
Not a bad choice, red removal are cheap. Good luck I hope you get your pick.
I will represent the izzet leauge today
All hail the firemind!!!!!
Iron Storm Good luck. My LGS had to postpone the event. On the bright side, I get to see what cards worked best for other people.
I actually chose Izzet since it works well with Boros and Dimir cards. With Jeskai you can cast a lot of spells to help aggressive creatures get through, while Grixis can play a very powerful control set up where you can get rid of any threat long enough to get your win conditions out. I'll experiment with it this prerelease weekend, see how it works out.
Agreed
I think I will gravitate towards grixis myself. Serving nicol bolas can't be too different from serving niv-mizzet right?
With cards such as Barrier of Bones and Portcullis Vine, you have the option to play slightly more defensively in the early game and fuel your Undergrowth, until cards like Golgari Findbroker, Izoni Thousand-Eyed, and Charnel Troll can apply a massive amount of mid-late game pressure. Other options could be Lotleth Giant and Vigorspore Worm, and being able to tutor with Mausoleum secrets could prove to be effective. Under this pretense, even Golgari raiders could still be powerful. I feel like Golgari will be a strong midrange pick. However, these are under ideal circumstances, and I feel like Golgari will definitely still be a challenging prerelease pick with a high learning curve. But, people are definitely sleeping on this pick. I mean, Assassins Trophy anyone?
I think Grixis (blue black red) will be quite good, use surveil to sort your library and then jumpstart to sort your hand to make sure you are most likely to have the answer for the situation
Dammit
I thought I was being clever!
Golgari goes well if you splash Dimir's surveil. And Boros can give Selesnya some good early game aggression. Izzet goes well with Dimir as well since you can jump start spells you dump in the grave.
Overall, Dimir is the best guild because it can splash the most colors
Great video!
Best pre release primer on the interwebs. Cuts right to the core what you need to know.
Excellent job!
Izzet wizard deck with Risk Factor and wizard lightning and lightning strike and goblin electromancer will be nasty in standard. Splash black for Sword Point Diplomacy, and it’s just dirty.
Almost all of players in my local store reserved Golgari, since it's worth probably the most.
They're trying to pull an Assasin's Trophy? >.
Not only Trophy, week ago Vraska was second and some other Golgari were close to top.I chose Dimir, cause i hope for nice surveil combo. And since two days Doom Whisperer is the second most expensive one :p
Oh right - that probably puts them at 10% or so rather than 5% to pull one of the cards they're looking for - Good luck :P
Well... that's assuming your 14 cards are all playable.Dazzling Lights, Enhnaced Surveillance,... need I go on?
Great insight with the flaws of golgari. #teamdimir
Great presentation! Good video for new and experienced players! Keep those videos coming! Would be nice if you could do deck speculation for next standard meta.
i love izzet i played it at my prerelease and i did great
Looks Radnica!
Fantastic. lol
Played Golgari, went 3/1, i think its pretty good :)
Will you do a video for ravnica alleigeance too? I need help with azorius hauahuja
I played Izzet guild with a splash of black spells and placed 6th at my event out of 34 people. Izzet is a very experimental deck and works best with dimir spells too but work with what you like I’m just saying what happened to me
That was my plan!
For the mentor ability, don't you have to declare target when putting it on the stack? I don't think we can put Blade Instructor's mentor trigger on the stack without targeting. So, the trick at 12:10 may not work?
How about unsupported simic? Surveil, undergrowth,convoke, jump start? Card draw, card filter, flyers, large ground creatures, removal/ bounce spells?
Jump start is the izzet one an seems listening to the video that your guild is dimir . An there for the video is cruved towards them
Golgari, boros, and slesnya marks are going to get wrecked by white/ blue enchantment removal (exile or dont untap).
I already changed to boros from Izzet thinking it’s the best choice and now wanting Dimir but is it too much to ask from my LGS to swap it round again or should I maybe say ok the day to see if there’s spare Dimir they can swap me to?
Definitely have to disagree with golgari, they have access to the best removal in the environment, and have about the same consistency of small dudes and mid/big range dudes as Selesnya. While it'll take some fine tuning and know how of a draft environment, Golgari looks like one of the strongest by far. Possibly losing out to selesnya on consistency.
darkblade agent is actually pretty bad in practice. Also Rhizome lurker is like the best common creature in the set maybe besides skyknight legionnare. There are 2 common deathtouchers and a 1/2 cat and 1/2 rat that both chump for undergrowth and give you no card disadvantage. Rhizome actually in practice almost always gives you a 6/6 for 4 or better.
I don't think Mentor works as you think. Shouldn't you select targets when it goes on the stack? If so, the target has to have a lesser power. It's not "Put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature IF that creature has less power."
Its both it check when targets are selected and after as well so the video was wrong about mentor. At least I think
Does grabbing the Golgari increase my chance of pulling Assassin’s Trophy or Overgrown Tomb?
By a small percentage
Awesome vid
I think boros will splash well with blue. There some good aggro izzet cards at common.
Aggro decks don't usually want to splash
I think I'll play Selesnya and depending on whats in my boosters either splash red or black :)
Just a shame Simic isn't until next set, eh? ;)
yeah, but I fear that after 2 blocks of great simic-mechanics WotC will srcew up this time :/
do the guilds of ravnica sinergize with the return to ravnica decks? like, can they be used with traditional mill/boros decks?
You're a goddamn genius
👍👏
Why wait for mtgo when it drops on MTG arena today
Izzet’s mechanic is jumpstart
Mad Lad here, going Izzet
Is there a chance of getting Shocklands in the rare or foil slot in the seeded packs? That might sway my decision
Nope. Will be a gate
@@luckybowler3321 Even in the Rare or Foil slot?
HULK Smash!
Splash for assassins trophy, I don’t care if you’re in Izzet
why did you delete your recent vid.
Can we get suggestions on what to look for
Andrew Grindstaff you should watch LRR pre-release guide or dev at SBMTG
15-18 creatures, 5-8 spells, 17 Land
Bombs (Aurelia, Etrata, etc),
Removal (burn,destroy/exile, bounce),
Evasion (flying, trample, etc),
Ability (activated/triggered),
Dirt (trash).
Just play Dimmir
What's that picture in the background?
League guildmage
African Izzet queen YAAAAASSSSS
(please God kill me)
lel where I'll play, golgari is already sold out c:
Same here
It sold out the day they started signups
20 of each? We have 8....
Dimir day one.
dimir may be the worst to pick for your seeded pack, golgari pick then going ubg sure. Dimir has no real value, golgari you can open foil assassins trophy... simple as
That secret was trash grixis abzan niyah sultai were all obvious
Whos the girl in the thumbnail?
League guildmage
@@kurieon thank you
Is this D&D or something else?
Something else
#saltai