Who’s Your Daddy?, Special Edition: Mirror Mastery Review

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Travis R. Chance



Deck Review

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Sample Game

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Wrap-Up

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  2. While I’ve allready bought all of them once they came out, I still hoped for this to happen.
    I also think that Mirror Mastery is the best of the decks although Gave is just retardedly good If you get one of his many combos going.

    Your Review of the deck was very entertaining but I did not like the game.
    The decks are just to random and thus the game was long but not really thrilling or particularly interesting.
    If it’s possible for your next video I think you should show the raw deck, explain what you don’t like about it and then come up with a refined version which you’ll then playtest.

  3. Great review Travis, the moment I saw all 5 deck list I knew Mirror Mastery was going to be my favorite, I think all 5 are great for beginners but Mirror Mastery and Political Puppets are the only ones I think a veteran of the format should buy (unless you’re missing a lot of staples in your collection).

  4. Heh, actually asked you the other day if it was for a new series, but you said no at the time. Sneaky git!

    It was okay to see the deck evaluation, but I would have liked some criticism of the precon choices, ideas for changing pieces of the deck or at least some more than just “this is Brainstorm – a good card”.

    The game was… well, commanderish. Bad opponents making tons of misplays, not killing each other when they have the chance and so on. For some reason I only really like watching Commander games if it is A) between good players with good decks or B) a superior player with a grief deck playing a bunch of whining brats. Still, it was interesting to see the new commanders in action, so in that sense it was a very nice treat.

    All in all this was a very nice start to the precon reviews, and I’ll be looking forward to the next one.

    Oh, and if you ever want to play an updated version of any of these precon decks against a non-quitter with a decent deck, I’ll gladly grab one of my nasty concoctions and give you a whoopin’. :P

  5. Hey all! I would like to reiterate my intentions here: to give you an objective product review. Sure, any of these can be gutted to make all kinds of good/bad/competitive/horrible/fun/evil decks. The point was to show them from a starting off point, otherwise I would just be reviewing the new goodies, not the decks in their entirety. Yeah, what Brainstorm does is a given – my point was to say what it does for the Mirror Mastery deck straight out of the box, not impose my views, definitive ideas, and/or non-essential commentary. “This is a new product – this is what it does,” was my mission; providing players with an idea of where to go from there was secondary. After all, the decks have the nuts and bolts of many potential decks; there is no one way to proceed.

    I don’t expect veterans of the format, or of Magic in general, to watch this and walk away the wiser. In truth, I even curtailed my ranting to a greater extent than I first imagined. But remember, we all have to start somewhere. This video is moreso directed at those folks who are interested in buying into a new format with a ready made product.

    Oh how very corporate of me. WotC, you best be reading this!

  6. Also, I wanted to play against the unedited decks to show what they do, how they fare against the others, and have a more controlled environment. If I played my version against any deck, I don’t think this really provides much in the way of incentive and/or info for players outside the Commander spectrum.

    I’ll be back with more dick and fart jokes soon! I am already working on the next Drawing Board video, wherein I will make sure to duly offend the sensibilities our fair publisher and viewers alike!

  8. Oh, it was not criticism per se. More like something I would like to see. Still, if this is directed to people who might be new to Commander or even Magic, then sure, it makes sense to take it nice and slow.

    I’ll be looking forward to more farts and genital warts.

  9. No need to apologize! Criticism is welcome. Just wanted to clarify, as I may seem to have a gun to my head throughout the game! Just trying something different, and a lit more structured!

    It’s hard to get a good game. I filmed about 5 hours of game footage, and this was the best one one that demonstrated the deck’s broad spectrum of resources, as remedial as some of those may seem. In truth, it’s fun to play with these as is.

    Perhaps since the Devour deck is a little stronger, I will enter the fray against whatever decks people bring. I thought the unedited game would be a shot to see the other decks in action, too. But I will change it up a bit, if it so suits you guys.

    Oh, I purchased the Zedruu and Ghave decks, but, alas, I will only be doing two reviews, as weird as that may seem! HOWEVER, I have been tweaking a Zedrru Donate-style deck that is fun as all-get-out – video to come!

  10. Ok I get your point but afterall this is MTGO Academy and not MTGO Elementary School.

    I’d like to think that all your viewers / fans definitely are able to imagine what the decks do in their raw form and that certain cards are just placeholders in the decks.
    Just to tell newcomers of Commander right away what they should be taking out of the decks.

    I still would very much appreciate to see you playing refined versions of the decks as I’m planing on doing that in Paper-Magic aswell.

  11. But my point was there is no way to refine the decks, as they dip a little toe in a few strategies. You can go your own way, all Fleetwood Mac style; there’s no right or wrong. You may see me use some cards down the line from the decks, maybe even a general, but I don’t think they will resemble the original deck for which they were created.

  12. I think it’s neat that you’ve gone through the whole deck and can pinpoint where there are weaknesses,etc. Because you’re reviewing though, perhaps giving the deck a value statement (would you buy or not/worth it to buy based on what’s there), or an overall score of the product. It looked like fun but is it a 5 (average fun?) or a 9 (way above average but not perfect).

    I agree about Commander games, as I’m often frustrated by odd choices on who to attack (not ganging up on someone about to do something ridiculous) or people just quitting randomly or leaving the computer after 3 mins of gaming (why did you join in the first place)? That said, I wouldn’t mind a highlight reel of games to show neat moments of the deck winning or losing (which should help explain your overall score).

  13. Minker, indeed I should have said thumbs up/down! So, allow me to officially approve making a purchase on one of these decks – this one in particular has some great stuff!

    With regard to a highlight reel, etc.: this is a lot of work, both in executing and editing. On average I spend 6 hours of filming, and failing, just to get you the videos that are posted. To this end, it says more about the format and community than it does my work ethic with making vids. Example: I was working on the Devour for Power deck last night; I spent 5 hours filming! This was about 6 games, of which the majority were either terrible, the deck did not function at all, and/or someone decided to essentially ruin the game and video with spite. It is sooooooooooooo arduous, and while I love doing it, it is nigh impossible to comprise a “best of reel” (especially out of the context of each game).

    I am not ignoring you guys’ requests, but rather stipulating the limitations of the process. I have def taken a lot of criticism into account. For instance, in this last vid I tried to be less smarmy, and be objective, but, of course, then it seems Mark Rosewater has a gun to my head off screen saying, be a good boy! So it feels a little lose/lose/ You play: the hindsight police rally to bust down your door and flex their mutant ability to judge your every breath/less attitude/more attitude/more casual decks/more competitive decks. In the end, I just do my thing, because it’s my thing, and it has been a proven effective method. Sure I can improve, but sometimes you guys should pay closer attention to the vids, as I usually take care to declare my intentions, my logic behind card choices and plays, and why I am so daggum grumpy.

    On the real, I love and appreciate you all! I hope you like the next video on this upcoming Monday; you will see your insights taken into account.

  14. Well I’m just saying: playing the deck can be done by anyone, refining and melt faces with it can only be done by few.
    I simply like your vids best when you’re showing us your great deckbuilding skills.
    Your decks inspire me a great deal.

  15. I appreciate that you like it, but, this is not one of my regular videos. So let’s not belabor the point. And “anyone” cannot make a video that’s informative and entertaining that gives an in depth look at the cards, old and new, with advice on variform angles one could take. If you think so, try. I’d watch it.

    Once again, these decks do not lean enough toward any one direction to suggest a definitive improved build. They are something of a blank slate.

  16. Love the videos. Commander is my favorite format and your content is all I have found so far that covers it. My guess is because you still have to play 4 player on mtgo for some reason. Thus making it hard to get good coverage because of quitters and whatnot.

    Perhaps you could put it out there to the mtgoacademy community when you are looking to do some deck videos. That way you can get some people in there with good decks that will not quit because things don’t go their way. Just a thought, like I said I love the format and wish I could find more video content on it. Hopefully the new mtgo client will support it better so it does not force people to play in such a restricted way.

    Keep up the good work!

  17. I have tried playing when people know I am filming and it makes for a horrible experience. When people figure out I am, or if they are familiar with my content, they suddenly just wanna beat me and hope I show the video, playing weird, off, wrong. It’s better to just get a game going, and, in all honesty, this is very representative of the community – most are not cutthroats or build extremely tight decks.

  18. You’re at your best when ranting, but there wasn’t much ranting. I want my money back!