Masques Block Buy List

With Mercadian Masques block now out of type II tournaments, many rares are no longer in demand. Once popular cards that were strong enough to have a deck built around them are now obsolete and the prices have fallen considerably. This is a good chance for more flexible players to purchase rares at bargain prices and produce decks for Masques Block Constructed. Just because Wizards no longer officially supports MBC with tournaments does not mean the format is any less fun. The cards that I have chosen are:

A) Rares from Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, or Prophecy. That means they are legal in type I, type I.x, and Masques Block Constructed.
B) Competitive enough to assist an older archetype in type I or type I.x. If not B, then...
C) Competitive enough to be the centerpiece of an MBC deck.

There are 198 rares in the Masques block (110 from Mercadian Masques, forty-four from Nemesis and forty-four from Prophecy). As always, over half of these rares are utter crap. That leaves less than one hundred rares for even mild consideration. Of those hundred, probably only fifty see tournament play because they at least help a strong deck, but we have narrowed the list down to under thirty cards to insure that you are not wasting your hard earned money.

Card Name Set Reason For Selection
Blinding Angel Nemesis U/W control used this in type II because it was a great finishing blow. It could whittle away at an opponent with little fear of being blocked and once in use, its ability would prevent aggressive Fires decks from retaliating.
Bribery Mercadian Masques This was excellent in limited because it quickly stole the opponent's best creature. It was later used in u/w control decks quite well. Imagine paying five mana to steal your opponent's Morphling: you won't have to pay the mana cost for the creature and your opponent will have a smaller chance of drawing it.
Cho-Manno, Revolutionary Mercadian Masques This card is unique and opens up to numerous combos, such as Pariah.
Cowardice Mercadian Masques Cowardice actually had a deck built around it in MBC because all decks relied on creatures, and this deck could use several blue spells to keep bouncing back an opponent's creatures.
Dust Bowl Mercadian Masques Once the Wasteland of type II, this card serves several purposes now in the late game. In Extended, this card turns all of your lands into Wastelands, so you can destroy all of the opponent's dual lands more easily.
Ivory Mask Mercadian Masques This card can shut down several red and black decks that rely on targeting you. Sligh players suddenly can't Fireblast you to death, discard fans can't Hymn to Tourach you, and nobody can Donate his or her Illusions of Grandeur to you.
Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero Nemesis This rebel is unique because you don't pay an extra mana on top of the recruited creature's mana cost, creating free card advantage! While only good in rebel decks, there are many variants of rebel decks.
Mageta the Lion Prophecy When this came out, it controlled the board for mono-white rebel decks in MBC. Later on, it acted as a recurring Wrath of God in type II's u/w control decks.
Misdirection Mercadian Masques This is a superior version of Deflection because of the fair alternate casting cost. The fact that it can be used to redirect Counterspell to itself makes it similar to the amazing Force of Will. It was also the only viable answer to a kickered Urza's Rage in type II.
Nether Spirit Mercadian Masques This card was originally ignored but came into the spotlight when Invasion made slower control decks viable in type II. The fact that it kept coming back made it the perfect blocker for Blastoderms of the popular fires decks. It is also used in type I.x versions of Pox.
Parallax Tide Nemesis When this first came out, it was used most in Replenish decks. Later it, it comboed with Ankh of Mishra.
Parallax Wave Nemesis When this first came out, it was used most in Replenish decks as well. In type II and MBC, it greatly assisted rebel decks by removing blockers. Some decks even splashed white to take advantage of this powerful creature removal.
Ramosian Sky Marshal Mercadian Masques A 3/3 flyer for five mana isn't excellent, but it was the best finishing blow for rebel decks and later, for counter-rebel decks. Unlike Parallax Wave, this card could be recruited by Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero.
Reverent Mantra Mercadian Masques This card acted as a great finisher blow for mono-white rebels if Parallax Wave wasn't drawn in time. In more desperate situations, it could be used to "counterspell" opponents' spells by giving protection to creatures at instant speed.
Rishadan Port Mercadian Masques There's a reason this card was worth twenty dollars at one time. It can shut down many multicolor decks by tapping people's lands at their upkeep (super annoying). I liked using it in Ponza decks because it was not targetable by counterspells, which can't work on lands.
Rising Waters Nemesis This card was the centerpiece of an excellent deck in MBC, since the block had so many good cards that would allow blue mages to return Islands back to their hands.
Rootwater Thief Nemesis When this was released, it received a lot of attention because it had the potential to shut down combo decks, which relied on having a bunch of different cards working in cooperation. It is still used in type I.x merfolk decks.
Saproling Burst Nemesis This was original a great finisher for MBC decks and later became an awesome addition to the Fires of Yavimaya deck.
Tangle Wire Nemesis This helped out mono-green decks greatly because it didn't let slower decks build up mana quickly or have enough blockers early in the game. I have also seen people use this card in slow decks to stall the game long enough to build a bigger land base.
Thrashing Wumpus Mercadian Masques This absolutely demolishes weenie decks. This was used in MBC along with green to kill small rebels and small blue flyers.
Troublesome Spirit Prophecy This was good in only one deck: Blue Skies from MBC. Like Rising Waters, it has great synergy with the block's blue spells and Chimeric Idol. Sidenote: Chimeric Idol is one the most important uncommons to get from this block.
Unmask Mercadian Masques This can take out an opponent's counterspell without paying mana so that you don't have to worry about your important spell getting countered that same turn.
Vine Dryad Mercadian Masques This is a great card in stompy decks because it can be played early on and Rancored on turn one. Some people don't like this card because it leads to card disadvantage. This card is awesome in 10 Lands Stompy and its Forestwalk ability helps greatly against Oath decks that use Tropical Island.
-reinhart

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And as a last note, poor structure on the cardlists makes this an eyesore.

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but exactly how is this article relevant? Most people play Type 2 and Masques Block is no longer Type 2.

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Excuse me but I was not aware of any new rule that stated "no type I or Extended threads allowed" Keep in mind that some of these cards can hack it in extended.

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Uhm, I guess he was trying to point out what cards should be bought now when Masques leaves T2 and prices go down on some cards...

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tedman, the next time you have trouble reading one of my threads, IM Trnothr for help first.

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but considering that most people have the cards they need from Masques already

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Don't forget that this article's intended audience was mostly new players.

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MBC will never be played again in great measures (great enough to compensate the fact that you're shelling out money on singles)

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some ppl are adamant about having the latest Type II stuff and they'll trade off their masques rares really easily. This is a good chance to be the vulture and pick up stuff like Parallax Wave and Chimeric Idol.

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listing stuff like Thrashing Wumpus or Troublesome Spirit seems just stupid. And how is it relevant to this what decks USED to play some cards?

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As stated in the article, flexible players who can pick up decks for cheap. It's arguably better to pay 15 bucks to build blue skies, or pay 10 bucks to build mbc rebels instead of paying 50-100 dollars to build the latest Type II netdeck. Just because WotC doesn't support these formats with tournaments doesn't mean the format is any less fun, balanced, or competitive.

about the cho manno, i have seen someone win (a small) tourney with pariah/cho manno. If you get someone else to post here about it, i'll cut it from the article, okay?

as for the comment about the eyesore, complain to leshrac about the lack of html. The best I can do is point you the copy on the website at www.magictutorial.com/high/articles/011111/

"Excuse me but I was not aware of any new rule that stated "no type I or Extended threads allowed" Keep in mind that some of these cards can hack it in extended."

Show me where you said that this article is geared towards Type 1 or Extended. Also, if this IS a Type 1.x or 1 article, then obviously you're not good at either of those formats as none of those cards are very good in those formats (except for maybe Dust Bowl, Ivory Mask, Nether Spirit and Misdirection).

"tedman, the next time you have trouble reading one of my threads, IM Trnothr for help first."

Well duh, I know that, I was just questioning how important buying Masque Block cards is after they rotate out. See above how I said not many of them are good in other formats either, so they're useless, especially newer players who are trying to break into the Type 2 scene.

"Don't forget that this article's intended audience was mostly new players."

I haven't forgotten, as you so blatantly advertised the site at the top of your article.

"some ppl are adamant about having the latest Type II stuff and they'll trade off their masques rares really easily. This is a good chance to be the vulture and pick up stuff like Parallax Wave and Chimeric Idol."

Great! Now we can have newbies trading viable Type 2 cards for useless has-been crap. Great way to start off a newbie's Magic career!

"As stated in the article, flexible players who can pick up decks for cheap. It's arguably better to pay 15 bucks to build blue skies, or pay 10 bucks to build mbc "

Excuse me? $10 for MBC Rebels? I wish you good luck in finding the cards you need, let alone getting them for $10 or less.

"instead of paying 50-100 dollars to build the latest Type II netdeck"

Since when have you been anti-netdeck? And since when do netdecks cost $50-100? You can easily "tone down" a good Type 2 deck while shaving off dollars. I have to do that all the time, yet still I seem to succeed in Type 2 tournaments.

"Just because WotC doesn't support these formats with tournaments doesn't mean the format is any less fun, balanced, or competitive."

True, but do you really want to have a newbie "grow up" with a dead, stagnant format that won't really teach them anything about the current gaming scene? And MBC was not very balanced, either you played Rebels or Skies/Waters. Green, Red and Black were almost afterthoughts.

"about the cho manno, i have seen someone win (a small) tourney with pariah/cho manno. If you get someone else to post here about it, i'll cut it from the article, okay?"

I've seen people play with Cho-Manno/Pariah before too, but that was two years ago and is no longer a valid combo.

"as for the comment about the eyesore, complain to leshrac about the lack of html"

Or maybe I'll just complain to you about your laziness and how you could've hit Enter between each card but instead chose the easy way out.

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Show me where you said that this article is geared towards Type 1 or Extended.

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i wasn't aware that i was obligated to state this in the title but if u want, i'll add it. It's not my fault you assumed that the world is type II -only.

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Great! Now we can have newbies trading viable Type 2 cards for useless has-been crap. Great way to start off a newbie's Magic career!

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i cannot believe that i have to explain this to a seasoned magic player: if you trade off something hot like Urza's Rage or Shadowmage Infiltrator, you can get tons of stuff for (less) competitive decks. Price, as you probably guessed, is determined by supply and demand. If the demand is lowered because of people like you, then the price will be lowered in accordance. And the fact that you call things like Parallax Wave "has beens" shows that it's still a good card, even if nobody plays that format in a tournament.

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Excuse me? $10 for MBC Rebels? I wish you good luck in finding the cards you need, let alone getting them for $10 or less.

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The last time I checked, you were a moderator at an online magic trading league. This would suggest that you should know that people have these neat little things called have/want lists, and they can list things like "parallax wave, reverent mantra, and mageta", then pick up the commons for nearly free at a friend's house. Your argument makes no sense: first you say that nobody wants the cards anymore (suggesting a low price), then you turn around and act as if everyone is hording these orphaned rares and the price is still high. Am I the only one that sees the irony in this?

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Since when have you been anti-netdeck? And since when do netdecks cost $50-100?

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I'm not anti-netdeck. I'm merely stating a con in playing the newest netdeck, which is my job. Okay, let's talk Fires decks:

4 birds (40 bucks)
4 urza's rages (48 bucks)

That's a fraction of a netdeck and it's already at 88 dollars. How much do you think it costs to build Counter Oath for extended? I'm guessing 50-100 too.

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True, but do you really want to have a newbie "grow up" with a dead, stagnant format that won't really teach them anything about the current gaming scene?

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to that i would answer that it's a better training ground b/c it IS stagnant. That means the card pool doesn't change; new decks don't magically pop up and throw off your strategy. The decks that you are advising have proven themselves on the battlefield, so you can rest assured that u are giving solid advance.

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I've seen people play with Cho-Manno/Pariah before too, but that was two years ago and is no longer a valid combo.

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well i posted this article to get responses such as these and i will edit out hte cho-manno then tomorow with other things.

That's exactly the point. It's not obvious what format you're talking about, which makes it difficult for not only newer players trying to learn the formats but older players like myself trying to understand why such an article is created.

"i cannot believe that i have to explain this to a seasoned magic player: if you trade off something hot like Urza's Rage or Shadowmage Infiltrator, you can get tons of stuff for (less) competitive decks. Price, as you probably guessed, is determined by supply and demand. If the demand is lowered because of people like you, then the price will be lowered in accordance. And the fact that you call things like Parallax Wave "has beens" shows that it's still a good card, even if nobody plays that format in a tournament."

I know the rule of Supply and Demand. In fact, I take advantage of it while trading online. What I don't understand is how you would encourage newer players to trade for cards that are worth nothing. I suppose if you're teaching people how to play in a completely casual environment they'd have little use for many Type 2 rares, but then again Masques isn't the best casual Block either.

"The last time I checked, you were a moderator at an online magic trading league. This would suggest that you should know that people have these neat little things called have/want lists, and they can list things like "parallax wave, reverent mantra, and mageta", then pick up the commons for nearly free at a friend's house. Your argument makes no sense: first you say that nobody wants the cards anymore (suggesting a low price), then you turn around and act as if everyone is hording these orphaned rares and the price is still high. Am I the only one that sees the irony in this?"

I'm sorry, I don't see the irony. All I was saying is that some cards are extremely hard to find (even if they aren't very good), for a questionable gain (like making an MBC deck).

"I'm not anti-netdeck. I'm merely stating a con in playing the newest netdeck, which is my job. Okay, let's talk Fires decks:

4 birds (40 bucks)
4 urza's rages (48 bucks)

That's a fraction of a netdeck and it's already at 88 dollars. How much do you think it costs to build Counter Oath for extended? I'm guessing 50-100 too."

This simply proves your ignorance towards Type 2. As long as you're trying to teach me a few things (like Supply and Demand), I might as well reciprocate. Fires is not a good Type 2 deck. Its viability faded away with Blastoderm and Saproling Burst. However, RG decks like Rocket Shoes and Fat Crank can use Birds (although a lot of versions don't).

"to that i would answer that it's a better training ground b/c it IS stagnant. That means the card pool doesn't change; new decks don't magically pop up and throw off your strategy. The decks that you are advising have proven themselves on the battlefield, so you can rest assured that u are giving solid advance."

Yeah, but wouldn't that give them a skewed view of Magic? If they think that Magic is a never changing pool of muck like MBC was, then how can that be a good thing? Having new decks pop up is a necessity to a good player - you have to be able to adapt to new strategies.

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Oh wait...

*Tedman*, give me my identity back!

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In fact, I take advantage of it while trading online. What I don't understand is how you would encourage newer players to trade for cards that are worth nothing.

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If you know the cards are "worth nothing", then that means you can get lots of them, right? Believe it or not, some people whether they are new or veterans, would rather trade off a Shadowmage Infiltrator for a full MBC rebel deck then buy the Shadowmage at half 2 years later. You can't criticize someone just b/c they are tighter with their money than you are.

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All I was saying is that some cards are extremely hard to find (even if they aren't very good), for a questionable gain (like making an MBC deck).

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That in itself is a contradiction. If nobody wants Parallax Wave "b/c it's not type II anymore", then that would mean everyone woul want to trade it off to you when you list it as one of your wants!

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This simply proves your ignorance towards Type 2. As long as you're trying to teach me a few things (like Supply and Demand), I might as well reciprocate. Fires is not a good Type 2 deck. Its viability faded away with Blastoderm and Saproling Burst.

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When I wrote the statement about fires deck, i was referring to pre-odssey, b/c i was under the impression that nobody considered fires decks a tier 1 netdeck anymore with the loss of derm and burst. The reaason i used that deck is b/c it has proven itself for months. Either way, you're mising hte point of the argument: popular decks cost a lot to make. I don't know what's going to be the new tier 1 deck of type II. Let's assume right now that one of them is b/u with 4 shadowmages. Is it not fair to say that a netdeck is going to cost upwards of 50 bucks then? Of course it's fair; you're living in a dreamworld if you think that netdecks are going to be cheap to build.

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Yeah, but wouldn't that give them a skewed view of Magic? If they think that Magic is a never changing pool of muck like MBC was, then how can that be a good thing?

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Well first off, let's look at type I. That hardly changes with the release of each new set, yet I still think it's good to teach type I first b/c the choices in cards are more obvious. As time goes on, (and i will use the pre-odyssey fires again as my example), new sets drastically affect type II. More decisions must be made in a shorter amount of time, like whether to use Ghitu Fire or Urza's Rage.

anyways, isn't this forum for constructive criticism? All i see is flat out moaning, as opposed to a suggested rewrite of my introduction which the mob is demanding.

"Also, if this IS a Type 1.x or 1 article, then obviously you're not good at either of those formats as none of those cards are very good in those formats (except for maybe Dust Bowl, Ivory Mask, Nether Spirit and Misdirection)"

Ok not only is that an insult on someone's skill, but how many cards do make the cut for extended decks exactly? Also wouldn't Rishadan Port make that cut too? I also think Blastoderm (Look at older secret force decks) and Saproling Burst make the cut too, some Fires decks cropped up at the end of the extended qualifiers last year.

Also on the price of decks in T2, look at Brainburst and how expensive the majority of the states decks were.

Oh and I can get MBC rebels for under 10$, who exactly is gonna charge me for most of those common and uncommon cards. Plus the rares used in that deck aren't worth anything anymore, so they can be easily gotten.

"And MBC was not very balanced, either you played Rebels or Skies/Waters. Green, Red and Black were almost afterthoughts."

MBC decks also included some green and black, like Snuff of derm. Squrriel Negotations, and Big Green all succeded in some locations.

That's all I have to say for now.

Vegeta2711