Reads: Meddling Orzhov Oppression
We’re here at last, and the series is complete. Today the final medlding of the Return to Ravnica/Guildpact Intro Packs is up and Gathering Magic, and which rule did I bend this time?
It’s been a lot of fun meddling for Gathering Magic, and I’d love to see the series continue through Dragon’s Maze and beyond. If you’d like to as well, make sure to leave a comment expressing that- they definitely make a difference!
Finally, one last reminder of the contest we’re having in conjunction with the series. One lucky commenter will win one of the Gatecrash Intro Packs at random, plus all of the extra cards I used to meddle it.
Thanks for reading, and happy Friday!
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Ertai's Lament 
Jay, if I understand how to read and interpret tweets, big congrats x 2 are in order. Awesome news. Will definitely post a “yes please” over at GM for the series to continue.
On a much less important topic, a meddled deck should always improve in performance from its original version as tested. Would it not be more informative to test each meddled deck not only against its original opponent, but also against that opponent deck as meddled?
By the way, you might be subject to space constraints on GM, but the details of the battles help us to understand the improvements/nuances. GM readers are missing out when the battle results are summarized, in comparison to the EL readers who get spoiled by the battle play-by-play on the original deck evaluations.
I’ve been wrestling with the Orzhov meddling, and went with lots of cheap creatures (including the 1 drop thrull) and spells to leave more mana for extort. I found that I went over-small, and look forward to trying out the “out of the box” route you took instead.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the congrats, Dave, you read it right. It’s big news, and of course we’re thrilled. Looks like I’m going to have to start stockpiling articles again for the site, to make sure we keep going without a bump. We did that a couple years ago when Liam arrived, so fingers crossed! 😀
I certainly see your logic with regards to gauging the performance of a meddled deck versus its nonmeddled one, and it’s something I’ll have to consider. My won thought process is a bit like the scientific method- you want to keep as many variables as consistent as possible. The danger, I suspect, is that a freshly-tuned opponent might give me a false reading on the deck if the matchup just happens to be bad. By keeping the level of opposition the same, it lets me look at things like I did with the Boros decks, where I saw a definite increase in killing power based on what turn I was able to defeat my opponent.
You’re definitely spot-on with the space constraints. It never ceases to amaze me how fast 2000 words go, and the support isn’t really there for an expanded two-parter like on this site. I do try and explain as much as I can where space permits, so hopefully I’m finding at least a middle ground of sorts.
Glad you’re enjoying, and thanks for the support on both sites!
I only started reading stuff from your site fairly recently but I have to say the meddling articles are among favorite parts. Also there pretty usefull they helped out both my Dimir and Selesnya Decks. Thanks for haveing such a great site.
I can’t get enough of your meddling!! If only you’d been doing this longer. I wonder what you’d have done by meddling with Dark Ascension’s “grave power” and Avacyn Restored’s “Fiery Dawn” intro packs? Oh, well. Regardless, Please please PLEASE keep up the meddling with Dragon’s Maze intro packs! I especially can’t wait to see what you might have in store for the “Orzhov Power” one. I very much look forward to seeing what stays the same as what you did with “Orzhov Oppression”, and even more so what you do differently!