Banned in Modern: Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, and Birthing Pod

Of course, Treasure Cruise was on insta-ban watch from the moment it was previewed... sick card. It got banned in Modern and Legacy, and is restricted in Vintage, joining its cousin Ancestral Recall. Dig Through Time (banned in Modern only) was not as expected.

Now, Birthing Pod, that IS news. Many modern players are not happy with this decision, especially paper players who have had to pay very high prices for some of the staples needed for this deck.

I will not miss Birthing Pod online, since I always lose to its deadly combos.... Persist is no fun to play against.

I have already replaced Treasure Cruise with Divination in the decks I have been playing recently. I knew Treasure Cruise was going to get banned... it was too sick.

The most interesting news is that Gifts Ungiven is no longer restricted in Vintage... very interesting.

[Modern] Ensoul Artifact deck Version 2

I added a two-drop (a Myr mana dork) and a nice three-drop from M15. I also added a sideboard. This is very much a finished deck.

Here is a very interesting game I lost. I missed a few times that I could kill a critter with Steel Hellkite after I did damage, yet I was able to wipe out a mega-critter. 

Here is the 268/268 Ageless Entity I took out with Steel Hellkite.

But I lost my one super-flyer and Elspeth gave my opponent's Hydra flying For-The-Win (FTW).

Here is a win against Slivers.

I beat a Villanous Wealth deck once by drawing well early and killing it fast.

But I lost several games against the same deck when it could drop Villanous Wealth with all that mana from Nykthos.

[Modern] Ensoul Artifact deck

This deck actually started with Tamiyo in a blue artifact shell, but it just did not work. This deck is a lot better and a lot more fun. It either starts with a blow out if I can enchant an artifact and turn it into a 5/5 indestructible artifact creature, or gets drawn out and I can play my fatties (Wurmcoil Engine and Darksteel Hellkite). The best is when I get to do both, but sometimes the opposite happens and I am either stuck early with fatties or I can't make the 5/5 early enough, or both.... there is still room to optimize this deck further.

In this game my opponent ran out their clock. I was probably going to lose this game on account of the artifacts my opponent had dealing me 5 life each (two of them) and that I lost all my flyers by the end of the game. I made many miss plays as well, including dropping Copy Enchantment with nothing to copy (sigh...).

In this game Wurmcoil Engine dealt all of the damage.

And in this game I started with the 5/5 combo early.

[Modern] Tamiyo again

I redeemed my two previous Tamiyos. The price of this card has gone down a lot recently, and so I got me a playset. Every blue card goes well with Snapcaster Mage and I very seldom use my play set just because I like to play in Just for Fun and Snapcaster Mage I feel is too powerful for Just for Fun. At some point soon I need to play this deck in Tournament Practice.

Here is a game I won.

[Legacy] Soldier deck with a touch of Shadow

A bit too slow, but still fun when someone is not killing all my critters or countering all my spells.

Here I win against a deck paying a Goyf (a very unfair creature for Just for Fun).

Here I lose against a very interesting Treefolk deck.

Leaf-Crowned Elder gets my opponent more Treefolk.

Cream of the Crop filters for Treefolk in this deck.

Fate Reforged Reviews

I have updated these posts to include the paper prices for rares and mythic rares ahead of release on January 20, 2015. The three chase uncommons as of this date on paper are:

Reality Shift (Blue 2-drop Instant) $1.10
Valorous Stance (White 2-drop Instant) $0.97
Wild Slash (Red 1-drop Instant) $1.00 

Rare cycles and the Dragons

http://mtgadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-review-rare-cycles-and.html

Other Rares and Mythic Rares

http://mtgadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-review-other-rares-and.html

White and Blue commons and uncommons I like

http://mtgadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-review-white-and-blue.html

Black and Red commons and uncommons I like

http://mtgadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-review-black-and-red.html

Green and Multicolored commons and uncommons I like

http://mtgadventures.blogspot.com/2015/01/fate-reforged-review-green-and.html

Fate Reforged Review: Green and Multicolored commons and uncommons I like

Abzan Beastmaster: something something draw a card is always worth exploring.
Ainok Guide: boost it with Hardened Scales or make sure your next card is a land.
Fruit of the First Tree: ...draw X cards... enough said.
Battlefront Krishok: ...can't be blocked by more than one creature... is worth exloring.
Cached Defences: worth checking out if Bolster works out.

Harsh Sustenance: X damage to player is worth exploring.
Whisperer of the Wilds: every mana dork deserves a test run, even if at first sight this one may not seem great.
Sudden Reclamation: feeds for Delve and gives you a bonus.
Grim Contest: worth checking out with lots of deathtouch.