timoumd

What were your impressions of cards? Anything stand out, good or bad?

From my games, plans fell flat. They were just too slow and low impact.

Fixing was excellent. Got to do the snap with []Thanos]]. Was in position to do it twice more.

][Captain America's Shield]] played very well. The vigilance was huge on that.

Two cards in the graveyard didn't feel trivial. Still liked [[Undercover Skrull]] though, because it eventually turned on.

[[Jessica Jones, private eye]] was slow but strong. I never missed casting cards off her ability.

With TMT winding down, it's time to say farewell to one of perhaps my favorite limited cards of all time, [[everything pizza]]. At first I was a Doubting Thomas. It was basically a bad [[environmental sciences]] and how were you going to crack it anyways? Who was eating this whole color pie?

Then came quick draft. The bots must have shared my opinion because I got 4 of them. For 5,000 gold, why not live the meme? Surely I'll be aggro'd out by Sneak decks, but I can have some fun.

Those decks didn't know what hit them. Whether it was delivered by [[courier on comestibles]] scooter or served up by an [[frog butler]] amphibian server it was always hot and ready. And sometimes you'd [

Its often asked if a set is prince or pauper. Im not sure if there is a term for a set that is driven by uncommons, but TMT is extraordinary in that regard. An uncommon is the best, or second best, card in every color and among colorless cards. Even in multicolor, [[Brilliance Unleashed]] is #4 at 62.2%, numbers that would make it the mythic uncommon in any other set. In fact there were 6 uncommons above 62%, more than every set since LCI.

This wasnt the result of a single color dominating the field. White had [[Might Mutanimals]]. Blue had [[Metalhead]]. Green had [[Courier of Comestibles]] and its colorless partner in crime [[Everything Pizza]]. [[Dream Beavers]] was absurd and ev

So multiple content creators have discussed how important removal is in this set and making sure you answer bombs. However that really hasnt been my experience. To me it has felt more about tempo or synergy. I havent felt like there are as many stone cold bombs I need to remove, but rather things that I need to stall their engines or swing a race. But often thats cards like [[Boggart Cursecrafter]], hardly a bomb with a GIH under 57%.

If we look at the top rares and mythics above 60%, most of them arent really stopped by creature removal:

[[Ashling's Command]] - Ineffective [[Gloom Ripper]] - Ineffective [[Kinbinding]] - Ineffective unless you are running disenchants [[Trystan's Comma

So new data just dropped. We all know its early and things will shift, but any big surprises? GW and BG are looking strong and UR is as bad as it looked. RW was expected to shine, and is getting drafted the most, but is in the middle of the pack.

In terms of cards, surprising performers for me are (commons only since they have more data):

[[Scales of Shale]] - Look I love this type card and think it gets overlooked a lot, but I think it does a lot and at one mana its insane. Still it has low quantity so I think it will move down a lot

[[Carrot Cake]] - I know this was talked up some, but it felt underwhelming. Tinker's Tote was ok but I felt it was a step better and perfect for tha

So by my calculations, opposing starters have a 2.78 ERA. Relievers? 7.94. And after the first two games its 1.74/6.53. I mean I know if felt like we come on late, but its been crazy. The team cant seem to get rolling until we get to the bullpen. And the two best bullpens in baseball? KC and Boston, with Pit at 10 (Angels are 20, but thats because we hung 13 on them, theyd be #8 without that).

I guess its probably just variance, but 11 games in thats a pretty big difference.

So every set Im sure we all have our hot takes on new cards. As I see cards I denounced beating me (or collecting dust) I figured Id look back and see how I did. I graded them 1-5 on hotness (saying an obviously good card is good isnt a hot take) and 1-5 on accuracy.

[[Grasping Shadows]]: Clearly not Reapers Talisman https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/17mxirx/lci_grasping_shadows_shadows_lair/k7ovti8/ Hotness: 4, Accuracy: 1

[[Swashbucklers Whip]]: Does suck https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/17mtllo/lci_swahbucklers_whip_via_plenty_of_games/k7nuc8i/ Hotness: 1, Accuracy: 5

[[Cannonized in Blood]]: My instinct was right, it was bad https://www.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comm

Opened some pretty good red and am trying to figure out if Gruul or Rakdos is the better play.

For Rakdos Ive got 3 Edgewall packs and a Gutter-dweller so Im leaning into those. This seems like a deck that wants to be aggressive early and often and end things with a Crescendo. Biggest problem is the 2 drop slot, but there are a ton of 1s so I doubt Ill skip 2 often. It basically tops out at 4 with 2 Witches Mark so I feel ok going to 16 lands.

https://sealeddeck.tech/C65nyT8okg

Gruul has more high-end, topping out with a Champion and Glutton. Here Im trying to build a bit more towards turn 4 with value then quickly turn.
https://sealeddeck.tech/CwN3mQzCuJ

Leaning a bit to Gruul

I know these two have taken a lot of flak on the sub, however if anyone hasnt noticed, theyve been pretty good lately. Since April 25th, Perez has 9.2 IP, 1.86 ERA, and .496 OPS against. Voth has 13 IP, 2.08 ERA and .523 OPS against. Relief pitching can have some swings (I mean those are 1-2 starts for rotation guys). Just a reminder.