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Most Zombie decks run Mortarpod, and the black-red versions might have Brimstone Volley or similar, but still, the band of answers is so narrow that silence will fall upon Zombies as the Knight strikes them down.

If I understand Mortarpod correctly, it won't kill Knight of Glory because it's the equipped creature that deals damage, not Mortarpod itself.

Aug 14, 2012 -- 12:32AM, bateleur_ wrote:

I recall an interesting observation from the very first Reconstructed column:

Two copies of a card is generally a number I try to avoid. Often, playing two copies of a card just means you didn't playtest enough to know which cards were good or bad, so to avoid making a mistake you just play two.

So, looking at your Delver build full of 2-ofs I find myself wondering whether the advice to avoid 2-ofs was wrong or if this is an indication that you don't really know which cards Delver wants?

I'm guessing that Delver works quite differently because of the extremely high cantrip count. A 2-of is much closer to a 3-of, simply because you're cycling through your deck much faster.

Aug 13, 2012 -- 10:05PM, Negated wrote:

Question, Gavin: I sent you a list for this challenge that I think would fit the one you've put up. Do I have to send it to you again?

If you sent it, I received it.

Aug 13, 2012 -- 11:46PM, Guest1758952528 wrote:

How does Mortarpod kill Knight of Glory again?

Aug 14, 2012 -- 12:11AM, DeluxeTea wrote:

Most Zombie decks run Mortarpod, and the black-red versions might have Brimstone Volley or similar, but still, the band of answers is so narrow that silence will fall upon Zombies as the Knight strikes them down.

If I understand Mortarpod correctly, it won't kill Knight of Glory because it's the equipped creature that deals damage, not Mortarpod itself.

Correct! Good call - Germ tokens are black. That makes the Knight even better. 

Aug 14, 2012 -- 12:32AM, bateleur_ wrote:

I recall an interesting observation from the very first Reconstructed column:

Two copies of a card is generally a number I try to avoid. Often, playing two copies of a card just means you didn't playtest enough to know which cards were good or bad, so to avoid making a mistake you just play two.

So, looking at your Delver build full of 2-ofs I find myself wondering whether the advice to avoid 2-ofs was wrong or if this is an indication that you don't really know which cards Delver wants?

Yeah, I hate 2-ofs. They are certainly better than normal here because of Ponder and Snapcaster Mage. Having a bunch of 2 ofs gives you a lot of versatility as you Ponder through, and having a variety of spells in your graveyard provides you more options later in the game with Snapcaster Mage.
 
However, it's still worth explaining this. Mental Misstep falls into a 3/2 split alongside Gut Shot, so that's a little more excusable. But as for Thought Scour, Mana Leak, and Sword...

Two Swords is very much the "hedge" option. You want to draw one in some matchups, and you can craft your game around it if you draw it, but you don't want to draw two of them and there are matchups where you don't want it. It's also a little slow and clunky. I don't want one, but I also don't want three, so unfortunately two is where these numbers fall.

Two Mana Leak is because you want one to show up often enough that you can threaten it, and that you can dig to it with a Ponder if your opponent has a must-counter threat. Normally I would prefer three Leaks here, but the tap-otu nature of this deck makes me lean toward two.

The one I dislike the most is the two Thought Scour.  You're seldom trying to dig to a Thought Scour, and it's very much a do-nothing card most of the time. However, the deck is trying to hit a critical mass of spells for Delver and it just wants to cantrip into its best cards. I could very much see a world where I cut these for another land and a spell, however.

Hope that helps answer your questions!