[Archive] Challenge Set 1

[jatill]

What's the Chromatic Star bug?

Activate the Star with a single click, then click cancel when it prompts you for payment. The Star will draw you a card, and then you will be asked which colour of mana you would like. This, of course works only if you would be able to activate the Star from the beginning.

So basically the bug is that you're saving a mana, right?

[Tepa]

What's the Chromatic Star bug?

Activate the Star with a single click, then click cancel when it prompts you for payment. The Star will draw you a card, and then you will be asked which colour of mana you would like. This, of course works only if you would be able to activate the Star from the beginning.

So basically the bug is that you're saving a mana, right?

Yes, which basically is free storm in the above posted decks, not excluding the fact that it converts a generic mana into one of any colour for free, and puts another card in your graveyard. I found the extra consistency provided to be useful, although it's not exactly upsetting the game balance.

[aww1979]

I'm going to tell you now though..it may work fine for the first few matches in the Shandalar challenge, but it will screech to a halt later on.

Yup :p Tendrils destroyed the first several Challenge #5 decks, but the BloodMoon/Titania's Song shut it down completely. I've been experimenting with White Weenie on that one, and it works as long as I get at least two of my 8 Path to Exile/StP early, but otherwise dies too fast.

Frankly, I'll be happy to play something other than Tendrils after using it so much lately. All the challenges I beat with something different. (Winter Orb, Kithkin Soldiers, Vise/Affinity, Tendrils) I'm not sure what I'll use on this next one, but it'll need creature removal for sure, and to be resistant to Blood Moon and Titania's Song.

So far, challenge #5 seems a lot easier than #4, but I haven't seen the last few rounds on it yet.

[Salbei]

any other ideas than tps for this challenge? i really dislike its inconsitancy.
died on nr 4,5,3 with tps so i went back to the oath route.tried that bugabuse tps but that was even worse.i really dislike the fact that you have to mulligan up to 3 times per game to get a playable hand.
maybe i´ve just been unlucky.
my oath version died unfortunatly at nr8 with it.and prolly won´t be able to take down nr10 anyway.
aggro strategies seem pointless cause you´ll just get overrun by spawnwrithe / rats :/
haven´t tried affinity yet.timewalk gonna be a big problem there.
i´m running out of ideas ...maybe i get lucky tomorrow.

[Signatus]

is there any stax deck in the challenges?

[Reid]

I finally made it, but the game is definitely making fun of me.

After several tries I found what I think is a good solution against Akroma and its goblin deck (but I'll never know if it'd have worked ). I was planning to play a combo The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale - Crop Rotation - Gaea's Cradle as soon as possible and using the Gaea's Cradle to pay the upkeep cost for my elves.
I was pretty lucky with the draw, getting two Forests, The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Crop Rotation, and some elves. So my first turn was - Forest - Llanowar Elves. Then, its turn and... Mountain - pass.
I was... I spent some hours to make this deck and you pass?!?!
I won pretty easily, but I could have won with anything, if only I'd have been so lucky before...

I won at the first try against King Reaper, I suppose I've been lucky with my random deck.

This was my deck anyway.

;Challenge 2 Green
;
;Reid
;
;13/08/2009
;1
;4th Edition
;

.1463 1 Eladamri, Lord of Leaves
.1564 4 Elvish Archdruid
.76 1 Elvish Archers
.1024 4 Elvish Champion
.1026 2 Elvish Pioneer
.1892 1 Elvish Spirit Guide
.1627 2 Elvish Warrior
.1293 2 Fyndhorn Elves
.1461 4 Imperious Perfect
.1481 1 Kaysa
.1415 2 Leaf Gilder
.149 2 Llanowar Elves
.1939 2 Nettle Sentinel
.1974 2 Priest of Titania
.361 1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
.1421 2 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
.1949 4 Wilt-Leaf Liege*
.1360 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
.17 1 Black Lotus
.91 15 Forest
.319 4 Gaea's Cradle
.740 1 Pendelhaven
.230 1 Sol Ring
.165 1 Mox Emerald
.806 4 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
.1902 4 Oath of Druids
.390 4 Crop Rotation
.1899 4 Living Wish
.341 4 Sylvan Scrying

[aww1979]

Not in the first four, and not in the first eight rounds of #5 (as far as I've made it so far). I wouldn't want to see the AI try and play Stax anyway :p Or maybe I would, if I was in need of a laugh.

[Salbei]

i´ve seen a single smokestack at one chaos orb challenge. the AI just pumped it up every time and i was already manascrewed at that point ^^

wasn´t technichly a stax deck but won the game anyway

[somacat]

I beat this challenge with Elves, splashing for 4 Echoing Truth. It can hold off most of the aggro decks until it 'goes off' and can eventually craft a 1-turn win hand against the obliterate deck. Also, it's pretty good in the Coat of Arms round!

[Signatus]

Not in the first four, and not in the first eight rounds of #5 (as far as I've made it so far). I wouldn't want to see the AI try and play Stax anyway :p Or maybe I would, if I was in need of a laugh.

the AI isn't that bad, though it doesn't know how to use goblin welder (just never activates), discards cards it shouldn't with bazaar, and almost always puts a counter on the smokestack.

other than that, it can lock you up fast :p

[aww1979]

This one, I am relieved to say, isn't quite as bad as Onslaught, but it's still a handful. Here's the lowdown:

Shandalar 2.0

Round 1: Blue. Player 10 life/AI 50. Merfolk deck heavy on counters, and with Leviathan and Serendib Efreet in play. This is actually one of the hardest ones, so don't freak out too badly. I generally have to pack loads of creature removal just to be sure some get through the counters and kill the creatures. Leviathan is a death sentence on turn 4 unless you can handle it before then, or AI missed a mana drop. Moat owns this deck except for the Serendib Efreet. I've actually beat this deck several times by running it out of cards, just because I had Moat on the board but couldn't land any key spells past its counters.

Round 2: White. Player 10 life/AI 50. Soldier deck with Savannah Lions and the harmless Elder Land Wurm in play. Moat owns this deck too (no Disenchant) and as long as you don't get swarmed too early, this deck isn't too hard to beat. Beware Raise the Alarm and Captain of the Watch, as they can bring out multiple creatures when you may not be expecting it. It also plays Honor of the Pure and Crusade.

Round 3: Red. Player 10 life/AI 50. Goblin deck with Goblin Balloon Brigade and Mana Flare in play. Moat owns all the creatures except the Balloon. After that, just worry about any direct damage in the form of Siege Gang Commander, Mogg Fanatic, and Goblin Sharpshooter. You've got to be fast to handle the Lackeys and Piledrivers and hasted crap, but Mana Flare lets you be fast. This deck isn't too bad.

Round 4: Green. Player 10 life/AI 50. Elf deck with Fungusaur and Sylvan Library in play. This deck is fairly easy, since the AI tends to burn itself with the Sylvan and discard the excess cards until it gets a few mana on the board and can play them, or else starts running out of life. This deck does *not* play Naturalize, so Moat owns it. White has been splashed into this deck for Worship, but I think it only runs one copy.

Round 5: Black. Player 10 life/AI 50. Zombie deck with Hypnotic Specter and Greed in play. This is a tough deck. The Hypno is mean if you don't have an answer to it, but whatever you had to handle the Serendib back in round 1 should work here, too. The AI tends to burn itself with Greed here, too, but since it costs less than Sylvan Library, it can still win by swarming you with zombies. Moat also owns this deck :p

[aww1979]

Round 6: Turbofog. Player 20 life/AI 20. WG Turbofog deck with Platinum Angel and The Abyss in play. Nuke the Angel with whatever handed the Serendib and Hypno. The AI, due to stupidity, won't attack you with the Angel unless you're already low on life, similar to how it holds back with Llanorwar Elves most of the time. This deck packs Wrath of God, Final Judgement, Fog, Holy Day, and Ivory Tower to slow you down so that it can kill you with card draw and Millstones. It's a tougher deck, but beatable.

Round 7: 5 Colour weenie deck OR the GB Threshold/Dryad/Cantrip deck OR the red burn deck. (maybe others too?) Player 20/AI 20. It gets Black Vise and The Rack in play.

Round 8: Turbofog OR elves OR kobolds OR goblins (maybe others too?) Player 20/AI 20. It gets two Ivory Tower in play.

Round 9: Kithkin. Player 20/AI 20. White deck with Blood Moon and Titania's Song in play. As long as your deck is resilient against those two cards, you're probably okay. Otherwise, you're hosed.

Round 10: Something with Mountains. Player 20/AI 20. I have no idea what's in this deck, but it starts with one of each Honden in play. I was dead in three turns and the AI dropped nothing but land. A 1/1 spirit token swarm and Honden of Rage owned me while I had no cards in hand and the AI had about 60 life. I could have seen what the AI was discarding from his 5 card a turn draw, but I didn't pay attention, I was too busy swearing at five Hondens :p I'll edit this when I get to this round again.

[jatill]

Challenge 5 round 10 is the only game in the challenge that is meant to be intentionally unfair. That's why the rest of the challenge is easy enough. Basically, you have to play first or you will lose. Luckily, the AI lets you play first 75% of the time.

Finally, the deck list for the final round is.... all Mountains

[reng0r0]

I've pretty much stopped playing because of that honden matchup. I've worked my way to that matchup about a dozen times, and if you lose the coin flip, you're screwed. Let's take note of how those games started:
1. Lose 5 life
2. He get's 5 1/1 tokens
3. I discard 5 cards.

For his second turn he's doing 5 more honden damage, plus 6 for his creatures, and I have no cards in hand. GG.

I've been using a mono-white control build, btw. I might have to try to build something with a destroy all enchantments card, green or white.

[aww1979]

Most recently on this one, I've been using a black/white control deck with Moats, The Abyss, a ton of creature removal, and six phat creatures that are immune to Moat/The Abyss. (4x Platinum Angel, 1x Akroma, 1x Spirit of the Night) I thought the final deck was the burn deck, and funny enough I was thinking it would be a brutal challenge even if it were all basic lands :p

After having seen all the decks now, I think perhaps some sort of Oath deck with Platinum Angel would work best. I just don't like Oath decks because it relies too heavily on the Oath, and if you don't get it down by turn 2, you've probably lost. I think I'll try it again, though, because I'm pretty sure that my B/W control cannot possibly win against that last round unless its opening hand is something like black lotus/sol ring/3 mox/land/platinum angel, and even then, only if AI isn't smart enough to target creatures with Honden of Rage.

If it wasn't for round 9, Tendrils would own this challenge, and could even beat the Honden one with a decent draw. Beating round 9 with Tendrils is hard with no moxes and a lot of mountains. With a perfect draw, I think I could do it if I got a Manamorphose early to make some other mana and get the ball rolling. I might try that, too :p