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Unlocking the Vault #11: Top 10 Cards in Classic
Posted on November 8, 2011 by enderfall
why did you mental misstep his skullclamp when you had 2 null rods?
@fiff0416 – Well, it’s a good question. I didn’t draw the second rod until after i cast the misstep. So my rationale was that if he had some way to get rid of my Rod, via Relic Warder or the like, Skullclamp was better off the table than on it. Too much card advantage from Skullclamp to let it resolve at that point of the game and risk a blowout from having my null rod removed.
An excellent Top 10/25 list. I don’t think these exercises are as seemingly pointless as people would suggest. It’s a valuable tool to asses where the metagame is currently.
6 months ago, cards like Lion’s Eye Diamond would have been on the list, and Oath of Druids would probably have been higher.
3 Months ago, Slash Panther may have been on the list.
Next week, Snapcaster Mage might be, etc.
Good read, excellent work
Cool deck, but the games were really hard to watch. I could only watch game 1. There were a lot of ‘questionable’ plays I think:
- Why did you constantly play Standstill when you were behind on board?
- Why did you chump block with Ingor when you could’ve double blocked with Ingor + factory next turn? You were at 10 life and had a Crucible in play. Once you’ve gotten rid of Jotun, you could have pretty easily taken over the game with a recuring factory.
- Why did you several times wait till after the opponent had gotten a card off of Bob to bolt him? You knew you were going to, so why give him the extra card?
- Yeah and then there were the Skullclamp, you snap misstepped it without even thinking. You had a Null Rod in play plus an Ingor in hand. There was plenty of more scary MM targets in his deck I think, like Imperial Seal and Demonic Consultation (and probably others that we didn’t see).
I agree with the other posters, the videos were hard to watch. I also had to stop after round 1. Using your fetch to play out a Null Rod instead of Brainstorming, fetching, and then playing Null Rod the next turn seems especially bad when you just talked up how great Brainstorm combos with fetches in the article.
I think there can be a value to videos with play mistakes. The audience can watch and think about the game from the outside without the pressure of actually playing. That perspective allows the watcher to see other plays and apply that to their games in the future
However, the video I watched was beyond just a few errors, it was fundamentally playing the deck wrong. Standstill is a control deck and you weren’t being controlling enough with it. The above post points out some of the specifics.
That’s not to say you should 4-0 in every video you post; mistakes are valuable. But as a writer speaking from a position of authority about the format, mistakes in your videos should be explained either in the video or in text so we know you are aware of them.
Thanks everyone for your comments. The focus of the article was intended to be a discussion of the Top 10/25 cards in Classic; the videos were added as a bonus for those that have been waiting patiently for me to post new videos. I clearly stated that I was not mistake free. I like the idea of pointing out any mistakes next time to help show what the better play should be. I was admittedly not playing a deck that I was able to test all that much and thought it was a metagame call. Unfortunately, my deck was ill prepared to beat a Fish deck based around Aether Vial. I did not have enough removal and coming back from being behind in board position was equally difficult. Nonetheless, I appreciate the feedback and will aim to improve my content in the future.
i agree with your list almost 100% i do feel like brainstorm should be 4th though behind work shop and bazaar, i also feel like sol ring shold be on the list and not time vault. havent watched the vids yet.
I think AJ and I are going to start playing Classic. See y’all soon!
I sooo want to play Classic. I just need to start winning stuff so I can buy FoWs and Wastelands….
Do I NEED them? Probably not, but the decks I want to play have 4 of both. c’est la vie…
Anyway, your justification for not putting tutors on the list was that the cards that you tutor for are better. How is Tinker not a tutor?
Nice write up, and I watched the videos and just enjoyed the bonus.
Hi apaulogy, hope you can arrange to get the cards you need to play some matches. Quite a few people have picked up Classic of late, the more the merrier!
Tinker is an interesting case with regards to tutors. Since it puts the card it fetches into play, it’s much more functional than a straight tutor like Demonic or the top-deck tutors like Mystical and Vampiric.
Chris, we could always use more Classic players! You and AJ can always test against me whenever you see me in the client.
You are right. Tinker is unique in that it puts the target artifact into play as opposed to your hand…Good point. Thanks sir.