Hello, this is Mr. Cairo's spoiler thread for PB 32. My first (of many hopefully) PB game.
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[Spoilers] This Perfect Place
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I would now spam about sports, but I've found that supporting two consistently bad teams from thousands of kilometres away has somewhat dampened my enthusiasm, even for complaining.
Instead I'll complain about the state of Modern. Actually I like the way modern is right now, the Pro Tour was kind of lame, but personally I'm not having any trouble against these Eldrazi decks, and losing Twin and Amulet-Bloom was great. Maybe, just maybe, my beloved Gifts can drag itself into the top tier, or at least tier 1.5. (Any wwhile I'm wishing, how about unbanning Deathrite Shaman?)
Hey, a fellow Magic player. I've only finished watching Friday of the Pro Tour. :/ So: Gifts for Modern, anything for other formats?
Nah, I used to have a vintage deck on MTGO (back when I had a real job), but I've been selling that off piecemeal to fund my cube habits. Also, that modern deck is online as well. The last time I had a paper deck was a Standard one for a PTQ for PT Dragon Maze. It was 4colour combo brew. Matched up well against all those UWR decks, not so good against the Jund and Junk that had started to become popular just before that PTQ.
Cool! How'd you do in the PTQ? I've never been to an event that was more than I think five rounds. As for me, I guess I'm a dabbler. I'm one of those dorks who wants to play competitively, but without spending the money, so I kind of bounce between Standard and Modern whenever I see/come up with a cheap brew or knockoff that excites me, and draft at prereleases and with friends. I have a Modern Burn deck sans Goblin Guides, and I may be building Standard R/B Dragons for Game Day this weekend. I have a Kaalia of the Vast Commander deck that I really like, but haven't had much chance to play with.
In terms of the psychographics (if that's what you were referring to) I think I would actually be a Spike, just an extremely cheap one, as well as a Vorthos. In terms of colour identity, well, in real life I'm something else entirely, but in terms of what game mechanics I like, I'm thoroughly a black mage. In terms of deck archetypes, my inclination is toward midrange-style decks, favouring evasive creatures and heavy on the removal (though I have decks I really like following other paradigms as well). Yourself? There is a Magic thread in the Gaming Table forum that occasionally lights up. Cheater Hater writes articles about draft formats for PureMTGO. Yuris125 plays fairly competitively, I think. Cyneheard plays (maybe competitively, too?), and some others do or have as well.
February 10th, 2016, 06:57
(This post was last modified: February 10th, 2016, 15:53 by Mr. Cairo.)
I didn't do terribly, but not good enough to get into the top 8, but then again there were several hundred players there, the largest PTQ in the UK ever at the time. As for spending the money, I had a friend who was willing to lend me a few of the more expensive cards for that tournament, which was great.
I'd have to call myself a Johnny. Pretty obvious considering I play Gifts, but I also like to grind out wins: my favourite match-ups are against Jund and Abzan, both decks which like to think of themselves as ''grinders". Those opponents tend to be the least mannered by the end of the match 
February 10th, 2016, 15:56
(This post was last modified: February 10th, 2016, 15:59 by Mr. Cairo.)
I thought I'd get a head start on the analysis and give my evaluations for the traits in RtR 2.0.7.6, which seems to be the one we're going with.
Financial: +1 commerce on all non-river tiles that have 2+ commerce. +100% production of Bank. Still really good even with the river nerf, makes non-river grassland tiles much more attractive. I will always be happy with a FIN leader. Expansive: +2 health per city. +35% production of Worker, Work Boat. +100% production of Market, Aqueduct, Grocer, Harbor. One of my favourites, and made even better in this mod. Faster workers means faster improvements means faster cities means better everything. It's like having a production bonus for every building and unit and wonder in the game. Creative: +1 culture per city. +100% production of Library, Theatre, Colosseum, Observatory. Another of my favourites, even with the nerf from vanilla. I see this as having a snowball effect similar to EXP, in that it removes the need to get border pops some other way (religion, barracks, monument). It doesn't really effect my dotmaps; not having first-ring food will always be sub-optimal, but it does allow for smoother and more efficient empire-growth in general. Charismatic: +2 happiness. +1 happiness from Broadcast Tower. -25% XP needed for promotions. Middling. Couples well with AGG, not only in the cheaper promos, but the happiness allows for more whipping out ancient-era armies when the AGG bonus really shines. Protective: Free City Garrison 1, Drill 1 promo for archery and gunpowder units. +100% production of Granary, Walls. Made actually playable by the granary bonus, which is pretty phenomenal all by itself. Not a trait I'd choose, but not one I'd be unhappy with ending up with. Imperialistic: +100% Great General emergence. +60% production of Settler. +100% production of Custom House Not quite as powerful as the worker bonus in EXP, but still, faster settlers means faster rexing means good stuff. Aggressive: Free C1 promo for melee and gunpowder units. -25% city maintenance [Not shown in trait description. Bonus not shown in interface. Bonus is multiplicative with other maintenance modifiers. Final displayed city maintenance value is correct and includes this bonus.] +100% production of Barracks, Stable, Drydock. Just like PRO, much better than vanilla. The city maintenance reduction is nice, but I think somewhat overrated (or I'm underrating it). The addition of culture to barracks further adds to this trait. I'm not a very aggressive player by nature, so this is not one of my favourite traits. Philosophical: +150% Great Person production, +100% production of University The one I want the least. Having this trait really forces you to play a certain way, while all the others provide useful bonuses for all styles of play. I don't have a lot of experience with PHI so I wouldn't really know how to best exploit it. Really don't want this trait. Organized: -50% civic upkeep. +100% production of Lighthouse, Courthouse, Factory (same as BTS). Below-par eco trait. Generally ok stuff, but nothing exceptional. Industrious: +50% Wonder production. +100% production of Forge (same as BTS). Similarly to PHI, IND forces the player to play to it's strengths, rather than helping the player play to their own. I tend not to go for wonders without a really good chance that I'll get them, and in my first ever MP game, that chance is pretty low. Ranks with PHI as a trait I really don't want. Spiritual: No Anarchy. +100% production of Temples (same as BTS) The most unique of the traits, this was one of my favourites in SP because it simply made things easier. In a MP game however, it really needs to be exploited to be competitive. Obviously makes you want to get The Pyramids, but good even without. Getting to freely swap into slavery for war and caste for peace is a huge advantage. Good, but not one I really want, since I don't have a lot of experience using it effectively. Overall Ranking 1: FIN, all-round good all the time. 2: EXP & CRE, either one would be great. 3: PRO, granaries. 4: IMP & AGG, middling. 5: CHA & ORG, below-par. 6: SPI, better off in more experienced hands than mine. 7: PHI & IND, do not want. Comments and questions welcomed and appreciated. I'll evaluate civs, UUs, and UBs when we see what everyone will be playing as.
PB32 - MONSTER HUNTERS
In PB32, here be monsters. You've just graduated from Monster Hunter school, with wide-eyed dreams of becoming like your hero, that guy who says "Clever girl." in Jurassic Park, and you've just gotten your first assignment from Monster Hunters Incorporated: make camp at on this crazy torus world and capture as many monsters as you can! (and also build a Civilization to stand the test of time, and all that jazz). You can capture a monster by expanding your culture over it, simple as that. On turns 5, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 200, and 300, you're asked to post an overview shot of your civ so that we can count how many monsters you control. This info will be posted on the TopMonsterHunter.com, for all your competitors to see. And look, here's your first monster now:  Your combo is: Mr. Cairo - Mao (Exp/Pro) of Khmer You have up to 2 rerolls, and you may lock half a combo.
February 11th, 2016, 11:31
(This post was last modified: February 11th, 2016, 11:34 by Mr. Cairo.)
Ok then, first of all, thank you Joey for the map AND the monsters, I will endeavor to capture as many of them as possible.
Evaluations! Mao Zedong: EXP: Gives me an extra hammer for that first worker, and also disincentives me from working that whale lake, which I could only do if I start with fishing anyway, which is not guaranteed. So I like EXP with this start in addition to how much I like it already. EXP also gives me a production bonus for Khmer's unique building - the Baray. PRO: As I said before, that granary bonus will always be good, the extra promos are just icing on the cake. Not synergistic with the Ballista Elephant however. Khmer: UU: Ballista Elephant: WE replacement, same as WE but always attacks other mounted units outside of cities. RtR War Elephants are no longer as busted as they were in BTS, and the same goes for the Ballista Elephant. Still, with such an emphasis on HA and Knights in these MP games, the Ballista Elephant has some utility, specifically in hitting mixed stacks whose 2-movers are protected by spears or pikemen. However, that is a pretty niche use. I would rather have a more high-impact UU. Also, there is no Ivory visible at my start, which tells me that it is not a resource that we are all guaranteed to get. UB: Baray: Aqueduct replacement that has +1 food. Despite the production bonus from being EXP and the additional food with the Baray, aqueducts are not buildings I want to be spending time or hammers getting. Just like the UU I would rather have something with a little more impact. Starting Techs: Hunting and Mining These are good starting techs. Hunting lets me go for the sheep straight away and mining gives me a headstart on BW, which I always prioritize early. Don't think that these techs are enough to counterbalance the UU and UB though The Start Only 4f tiles available, but they all come with added production. Not a lot of commerce potential, but a lot of hammer potential with all those grassland hills. I don't know how much I should prioritize those whales. With a lighthouse that becomes a 5/1/4 tile (thanks to whaling boats at Sailing in RtR), but there are only 3 other coast tiles, none of which have resources. Is that tile alone worth getting sailing early? It would depend on how wet the map is in general, maybe I can do some fancy stuff with galleys early on, there might even be islands I can reach pre-Astro, but there's no way to tell. Overall I don't see myself getting sailing before BW and Pottery, maybe even Writing if I want an early library. I like the ruins, but it will make me want to farm that wheat later than otherwise (that event is still in RtR right?). Regardless of starting techs, the (relatively) low food will make me want to go for the settler at size 2 before worker 2, which I prefer anyway. So overall, I like the Leader, the Map looks like fun, and the Civ is lackluster. FINAL VERDICT: Keep Mao. Reroll Khmer. |
