Comments on: Loving Lands: Battle for Zendikar Preview https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/09/loving-lands-battle-for-zendikar-preview/ Play More, Win More, Pay Less Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:07:08 +0000 hourly 1 By: Darcy Hartwick https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/09/loving-lands-battle-for-zendikar-preview/#comment-2122132 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:07:08 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=4556#comment-2122132 More or less as above have stated: you’re a bit too high on most of these.

UG land: passes bolt test but has no obvious home. UG isn’t a deck, so we’re talking temur, sultai, or bant – all of which inherently get better manlands than this.

BW land: correct. Deadguy Ale players are mostly already aware that you should just play mutavault. Hits as hard, costs way less, does not come in tapped, and can block etched champion / pump pack rats. Two color decks are not that desperate for fixing, and any BWx deck is going to have a better option (well except mardu but show me a tier 1 or 2 mardu deck).

Tangos: nope. Even if you’re splashing a late game 3rd colour, drawing this in your opener can be crippling when you need to have spell snare up t1 and mana leak t2 or whatever. In some two color deck flush with basics and with trivial early game mana requirements – maybe it plays 1 or 2, but this deck does not currently exist and these lands look unplayable.

Ally encampment: yep. Not enough to bump allies up a tier or anything, but the deck will absolutely use it and we’re all still holding our breath for that playable 1 or 2 cmc ally in green or white to punch the deck up to t2.

Lantern Scout: This is the only ally worth noting so far as it can be coco’d and pump your champion of the parish. Still not enough for allies to go t2, but the card will absolutely be played over cleric/paladin in ally decks.

Titan’s presence: no. hell no. aw hell no. World’s most conditional Unmake? Do you see anybody playing Unmake? Nope. Your hand is wurmcoil + presence. You cast the wurmcoil, they path it and cast a goyf. Nice bad removal spell in your hand. Hope you topdeck another wurmcoil.

Crumble to dust: will see play, not significantly more than sowing salt.

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By: Anonymous https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/09/loving-lands-battle-for-zendikar-preview/#comment-2122131 Tue, 15 Sep 2015 18:33:58 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=4556#comment-2122131 I do think Crumble to Dust is a cool card but is it really worth running over Fulminator Mage? It’s better against Tron most of the time (unless you need to stop the t3 Tron) but Fulminator has a lot more applications against other midrange and control decks.

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By: Thenarus https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/09/loving-lands-battle-for-zendikar-preview/#comment-2122130 Tue, 15 Sep 2015 18:28:19 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=4556#comment-2122130 Thanks for the good read!

A few thoughts:

-Tron is not a tough match for Scapeshift; quite the opposite, typically. Remand, Izzet Charm, and eventually Cryptic keep serious threats from sticking in time to be relevant, then Scapeshift hits and it’s game. Sowing Salt isn’t a card I recall seeing in most (any) of the Scapeshift sideboards I’ve played against as Tron over the past two years.

-Scapeshift already has Lightning Bolt and Snapcaster Mage to help opponents to 18 life or lower before going off (if their mana base doesn’t do it already). As such, I don’t think Lumbering Falls coming into play tapped and doing maybe three points per turn (assuming no chumps, which is very possible against no evasion) late in the game is what the deck is after. I’ve only played against the deck, though, so I’m certainly not an expert here.

-Crumble to Dust will be in more sideboards than Sowing Salt, as it’s easier to splash, and new and exciting. CtD has the same (non-cost related) issues as SS, though, in that it’s often a turn too late Tron can sometimes Ghost Quarter in response to only lose one piece as well, though admittedly this isn’t always practical. Because it’s fresh, though, and better than SS (however slightly), CtD will be in more boards in the short term, and we’ll need to expect it.

-As a longtime Tron player, I can tell you that Titan’s Presence, though cool, just isn’t good enough to make the cut. You mention using it to stop Twin, and that it’s harder to keep off of than Rending Volley or Combust due to them being able to shut off the colored mana sources. However, on turn three, simply tapping any mana source does effectively the same thing. Any later than that, and there’s the chance their Remand or eventually Cryptic will completely blank Titan’s Presence when it counts…and that’s always assuming there’s a large enough creature in-hand to make it relevant (which is less likely early in the game).

Rending Volley is cheaper, harder to stop (by way of either counters or Spellskite), and is more consistent than Titan’s Presence. What decks would it give Tron an edge in that it doesn’t have already with its current options? Karn’s our default spot removal card, and there’s another great new one we just got…

-Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger will definitely be showing up in a good number of Tron lists as a one-of, as the amazing cast trigger is too good to pass up. Conduit of Ruin is also very exciting, since it can allow Tron to have better options against some combo decks, such as Scapeshift and Ad Nauseam (especially when paired with any version of Ulamog). Void Winnower is odd (ugh), but people will still test around with it, as it can definitely break some games when it sticks. The same is likely true for Desolation Twin and Oblivion Sower, so it’s an exciting time to be a Tron player.

My guess is that people will play around with these and Sanctum of Ugin, then realize that only the new Ulamog and probably Conduit give us things we didn’t have enough of before. Who knows what else we’ll get this week, though!

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By: Matthew https://www.quietspeculation.com/2015/09/loving-lands-battle-for-zendikar-preview/#comment-2122129 Tue, 15 Sep 2015 16:49:52 +0000 http://34.200.137.49/?p=4556#comment-2122129 Grixis twin runs 6 basics – 4 island, 1 mountain, 1 swamp, and I can’t see the new land replacing the Blood Crypt or the Watery Grave in the list, to be honest. You want to have untapped land in your first two turns always. Steam Vents -> Visions into Swamp is a better sequence.

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