Hello again, Dear Reader. Today I'm here to help out a new player at our LGS (wizardsnorman.com)! Dalton (@JDaltonGregory) has asked me for some help tuning a deck he wants to take from casual Magic to FNM. I accepted his invitation readily, as I won't ever turn down the chance to brew or to give advice!
Enough formalities, what did Dalton bring to the table?! He brought a sweet Splicer deck:
Artifacts:
1 Conjurer's Closet
Enchantments:
2 Intangible Virtue
2 Parallel Lives
Creatures:
2 Dawntreader Elk
4 Blade Splicer
2 Wing Splicer
2 Vital Splicer
4 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Master Splicer
2 Restoration Angel
2 Precursor Golem
2 Maul Splicer
Planeswalkers:
1 Venser, the Sojourner
Spells:
3 Cloudshift
4 Sheltering Word
Lands:
4 Evolving Wilds
1 Gavony Township
9 Forest
2 Island
9 Plains
First, I like what this deck is trying to do: fill your side of the table with flying, first-striking, 4/4s. I like how every creature you play is a literal 2-for-1. I think this strategy has a lot of play in the currect field of creature decks and planeswalker decks. So, my first task would be to make this deck more consistent. And the easiest way to add consistency is to run 4 copies of all your best cards. I also think the green splash in this deck is underwhelming. "Alright smart-guy, how would this look if YOU wanted to take it to FNM," you ask gruffly? How about something like this:
Enchantments:
3 Intangible Virtue
Creatures:
4 Blade Splicer
3 Wing Splicer
3 Master Splicer
3 Restoration Angel
3 Precursor Golem
3 Fiend Hunter
2 Stonehorn Dignitary
Planeswalkers:
3 Venser, the Sojourner
Spells:
3 Cloudshift
3 Negate
3 Think Twice
Lands:
3 Evolving Wilds
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Mooreland Haunt
8 Plains
6 Island
First, I know we don't all have infinity dollars or trade cards, so I tried to keep this as budget as possible while still bulking up the power level. To go buy all the cards to make the difference between these two decks it will run you just over $40 on LegitMTG.com. I added a few rares, but nothing too pocket-breaking.
As you can see, the deck is trying to accomplish the same basic goal, overrun the table with golem tokens and bash. I added more copies of the key cards, a way to dig to the cards you need, and a new package to taking over a game. More Venser, Splicers, and Intangible Virtue means you will have more and better golem tokens on any given board. Think Twice gives you something new to do on turn 2, or at the end of any turn where you have mana sitting around. Stonehorn Dignitary is quite the combo with Venser. We have all heard of these soft-locks, and some of us have even played against them. Well, in a deck with this much potential damage output, stalling your opponent until you find that Wing Splicer, or Intangible Virtue will easily win you more games.
Well, there you have it, my first deck-alter in article form. Dalton, I hope this helps. We are always welcoming new faces to the competitive side of Magic in our store, and I hope playing this deck makes you want to stick around! And for the rest of you (and Dalton) let me know what you think of the article! Do it here in the comments, or on twitter (@CapnTopDeck).
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Doing the Full Moon Flip
Quick update today to post a list for @revisedangel. @samdavisboyhero was hanging out at my place yesterday and we decided to brew some deck lists. We wanted a Werewolf tribal deck and this is what he and I came up with on the fly. It's raw and will need some testing, but it is packed with dudes and it will overpower your opponent quickly if a Moonmist resolve.
Feedback and especially results from playtesting are always welcome! Hit me up on twitter: @CapnTopDeck
Creatures:
3 Reckless Waif
4 Wolf-Bitten Captive
3 Young Wolf
4 Mayor of Avabruck
4 Scorned Villager
3 Gatstaf Shepard
4 Immerwolf
1 Kruin Outlaw
3 Daybreak Ranger
3 Garruk Relentless
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Instigator Gang
Spells:
4 Moonmist
Lands:
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Copperline Gorge
2 Kessig Wolfrun
7 Forest
6 Mountain
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Revamping G/W in Standard!
Greetings, Dear Reader. I would like to shift gears from writing about Modern for a moment and focus on standard. The format has become dominated by Illusions (kind of). Which means that Day of Judgment decks are having more success. Given these facts, what should you be playing? Well, something that beats both of those strategies, obviously! Now, call me a one-trick pony, but I believe you can do exactly that with G/W. Prepare yourselves, as this deck is going to be my grand unvailing of Molten-Tail Masticore.
Yea, call me crazy, go back and re-read that line...I said Molten-tail Masticore. This card got a lot of hype when it was released and saw some limited play in Fauna Shaman decks in previous standard formats. Since then the card has seem literally no play and all the hype was dismissed. This card may not be what I think it is, but I do know that it still does very powerful things.
In a deck like G/W this card can come down on turn 3 if you have the right hand to support it. This means that against a control deck with a hand full of creatures this robo-cat can be your entire game plan. Having the ability to swing for 4 and/or dome your opponent for 4 in the same turn makes for a pretty wicked clock (especially against some of the durdle decks that are popping up now). The other way to use this creature is as a follow-up to an opponents Wrath effect. They put 2-3 of your creatures in the graveyard and you start with ammunition. Mooreland Haunt has shown us how powerful having a way to use your graveyard in a creature deck can be.
Masticore gives our G/W Township deck something similar (and more powerful, in my opinion) to Mooreland Haunt without running another colorless land. We also get a bonus, Masticore is more versatile than Mooreland Haunt. Have you ever tried to kill a titan with 2 Haunt activations? Yea, that doesn't work out so well. With your opponent at 4 your Haunt gives them at least 3 turns to draw another answer (on an empty board). Mooreland Haunt also gets set back by board wipes. All of these shortcomings can be overcome by Masticore, but there are a couple of downsides.
First, Masticore can be countered. One of the biggest advantages to Mooreland Haunt is the fact that your opponent can't interact with it outside of land destruction. Another downside (which can partially be played around) is point destruction. As long as you leave 2 mana up when Masticore resolves he will live through anything short of 2 removal spells or a Revoke Existance. So, play around/through counterspells (every countered Mirran Crusader is 4 to the dome later!) and Masticore can give this deck the reach it has needed for the past few weeks.
So, without further ado, the list:
Artifacts:
3 Mortarpod
Enchantments:
3 Oblivion Ring
Creatures:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Blade Splicer
3 Fiend Hunter
3 Molten-Tail Masticore
3 Hero of Bladehold
Planeswalkers:
3 Garruk Relentless
2 Elspeth Tirel
Lands:
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Gavony Township
8 Forest
4 Plains
I explained how to beat control decks well enough with Masticore, but I didn't talk about Illusions. The list should be pretty self-explanatory on that front, Garruk and Mortarpod are your best friends. I have had nothing but success against Illusions in the past with this archetype. The addition of more Fiend Hunters to the maindeck further bolsters that matchup. The sideboard should be pretty standard, some combination of Elesh Norn, Thrun, Celestial Purge, Timely Reinforcements, and graveyard hate.
So, feel free to take this baby for a spin and make sure to let me know how it goes. I am especially interested in other peoples impressions of Masticore in this format.
If you are going to GP Austin this weekend make sure to get ahold of my via twitter @CapnTopDeck. I would love to meet you and play some games! I will be rocking this G/W list in the Invitational qualifiers/FNMs/Win-a-Boxes when not in the Main Event, and you should too. So, shoot me some feedback on twitter and make sure to listen to the podcast that I lend my voice to, Planeswalker Asylum over at couchpirates.com!
After tutoring up Emrakul against his control opponent in Modern Ali Aintrazi (@AliEldrazi) said these words about his opponents concession: "He's probably seen enough hentai to know where that was going."
Yea, call me crazy, go back and re-read that line...I said Molten-tail Masticore. This card got a lot of hype when it was released and saw some limited play in Fauna Shaman decks in previous standard formats. Since then the card has seem literally no play and all the hype was dismissed. This card may not be what I think it is, but I do know that it still does very powerful things.
In a deck like G/W this card can come down on turn 3 if you have the right hand to support it. This means that against a control deck with a hand full of creatures this robo-cat can be your entire game plan. Having the ability to swing for 4 and/or dome your opponent for 4 in the same turn makes for a pretty wicked clock (especially against some of the durdle decks that are popping up now). The other way to use this creature is as a follow-up to an opponents Wrath effect. They put 2-3 of your creatures in the graveyard and you start with ammunition. Mooreland Haunt has shown us how powerful having a way to use your graveyard in a creature deck can be.
Masticore gives our G/W Township deck something similar (and more powerful, in my opinion) to Mooreland Haunt without running another colorless land. We also get a bonus, Masticore is more versatile than Mooreland Haunt. Have you ever tried to kill a titan with 2 Haunt activations? Yea, that doesn't work out so well. With your opponent at 4 your Haunt gives them at least 3 turns to draw another answer (on an empty board). Mooreland Haunt also gets set back by board wipes. All of these shortcomings can be overcome by Masticore, but there are a couple of downsides.
First, Masticore can be countered. One of the biggest advantages to Mooreland Haunt is the fact that your opponent can't interact with it outside of land destruction. Another downside (which can partially be played around) is point destruction. As long as you leave 2 mana up when Masticore resolves he will live through anything short of 2 removal spells or a Revoke Existance. So, play around/through counterspells (every countered Mirran Crusader is 4 to the dome later!) and Masticore can give this deck the reach it has needed for the past few weeks.
So, without further ado, the list:
Artifacts:
3 Mortarpod
Enchantments:
3 Oblivion Ring
Creatures:
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Blade Splicer
3 Fiend Hunter
3 Molten-Tail Masticore
3 Hero of Bladehold
Planeswalkers:
3 Garruk Relentless
2 Elspeth Tirel
Lands:
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Gavony Township
8 Forest
4 Plains
I explained how to beat control decks well enough with Masticore, but I didn't talk about Illusions. The list should be pretty self-explanatory on that front, Garruk and Mortarpod are your best friends. I have had nothing but success against Illusions in the past with this archetype. The addition of more Fiend Hunters to the maindeck further bolsters that matchup. The sideboard should be pretty standard, some combination of Elesh Norn, Thrun, Celestial Purge, Timely Reinforcements, and graveyard hate.
So, feel free to take this baby for a spin and make sure to let me know how it goes. I am especially interested in other peoples impressions of Masticore in this format.
If you are going to GP Austin this weekend make sure to get ahold of my via twitter @CapnTopDeck. I would love to meet you and play some games! I will be rocking this G/W list in the Invitational qualifiers/FNMs/Win-a-Boxes when not in the Main Event, and you should too. So, shoot me some feedback on twitter and make sure to listen to the podcast that I lend my voice to, Planeswalker Asylum over at couchpirates.com!
After tutoring up Emrakul against his control opponent in Modern Ali Aintrazi (@AliEldrazi) said these words about his opponents concession: "He's probably seen enough hentai to know where that was going."
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
But, WOTC, people love cats!
Hi everyone! I know I have been away for a while and it was end of this past semester is what kept me away. Suffice it to say that I made it through unscathed and learned a lot about many things. Now I am back and ready to post regularly again. There has been a lot happening in the MTG world since my last post! Rules changes, bannings (both cards and people), big tournaments, metagame changes...that's a lot to talk about! I will likely tackle most of these topics in one way or another in the coming weeks.
As for today, I would like to start with the newest bannings in Modern. Now I believe that 1/2 of these bannings were correct. Putting a fork in Punishing Fire was the right call. That combo seriously was stifling the format. Infinite 2 damage removal makes decks like Merfolk mostly unplayable. I support the banning of Punishing Fire, though I wish they had banned Grove of the Burnwillows instead...Punishing Fires is a nice weapon for mono-red decks against something like Batterskull.
Now, as far as the other card banned on Dec. 20th... What a sad strange world we have fallen into where a green creature that does nothing but turn sideways gets banned. Banning Wild Nacatl was completely pointless. Every other banning I have seen has been to ban the problem cards of a deck. This usually means banning cards which are part of a combo or ones which warp a format. In the past I have been understanding, and mostly happy, about the decisions that WotC makes when banning cards.
When they banned Survival of the Fittest, I understood, as Gerry Thompson once wrote: "The best aggro deck in legacy is G/W Survival, the best combo deck is G/B Survival, and the best control deck is G/U survival..." When they banned Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic, I understood. Those cards WERE that standard format, there was no point in playing anything else. When they banned the first set of cards in Modern, I understood. WotC have a set vision for what Modern should be and they intent to actively shape the format until it is the best version of what they want.
Now, the argument that most made when calling for Nacatls head was that it was "oppressive" and was in fact warping the format. I have a few issues with that, five to be exact. So, now, I give you the Top 5 Reasons Banning Wild Nacatl was Pointless:
1) "Young format" is an understatement.
This format has exactly TWO high profile tournaments under it's belt. This isn't even close to enough time for us to know what this format really is. Zoo is straightforward to pilot and relatively easy to build. These facts are going to make it a solid fallback and an easy starting point for anyone getting into the format. We need a few weeks of PTQ season at least before we what is and is not warping a format. Not only does the deck have to be present as large percentages of the field, but it needs to have enough success to make people build their decks differently to combat it. It's pretty easy to hate on creature decks, and there are enough elitist blue mages out there to make a deck that can't lose to Zoo but retain a good matchup against the rest of the field.
2) Removal makes the deck.
If you know how Zoo operates, then you know that Nacatl is just a cog in the efficiency machine that is a 4-6 turn clock. What makes that deck so consistent is the best removal package in the format. The deck has answers to your blockers to keep pushing through creature damage and those answers double as instant speed finishers. So, now the deck changes Nacatl out for a near-identical creature with one less power and keeps the rest of the deck in tact. Changing one power on one 4 of in the deck doesn't seem like a change with enough impact to fix this "problem."
3) It dies to removal (all of it!)
Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix are dead as removal spells against most of the potential decks in the field. But, as it turns out Nacatl will ALWAYS die to either of these spells. You don't even have to blow a Path to Exile or a Dismember...
4) The deck's other threats dodge all but the best removal.
To follow that point, the other threats in the deck require that premium removal (mostly just Path) to deal with. Dismember even becomes dead against this deck in the late game. So, without touching the harder to deal with threats, what kind of impact is this banning really going to have on Zoo?
5) Shorter clock against combo
Finally, when you remove an early game piece from one of the most consistent decks in the format, all you are doing is opening up the field to more combo. The combo decks in this format can and will go off on turns 3 or 4 (depending on the deck) with the right hand. Without the early pressure you get from something like Nacatl these decks can take their sweet time setting their hand up. This is the one matchup where that one power difference between Nacatl and Loam Lion can make a big difference. This is especially true against a deck like Splinter Twin, where you can make them waste resources to try and go off as quickly as possible.
These are the biggest reasons why the banning of Wild Nacatl was completely pointless. I don't think this banning helped the format in the very least. The banning of Punishing Fire helped, especially since Zoo could run that combo easily. I believe we should have let the format play out without Punishing Fire before bringing on any other bans.
I am interested to see what WotC bans next. I like the idea of actively shaping the format, but this most recent duo feels like they were pandering to the complaining blue mages a bit too much. Am I a bit biased? Green and white are where my loyalties lie, so yea, probably. But should we be banning cards in a relatively untested format just because a bunch of pros complain about them? Probably not. If I had to guess the next 2 cards to get the axe, I would say Bloodbraid Elf and Splinter Twin. These will be the 2 most complained about cards in the format this season. And if this banning is any indication, complaining gets cards banned in this format.
Until next time, Dear Readers, you can find me on twitter (@CapnTopDeck) or just reply here. I appreciate any and all constructive feedback! Make sure to let me know what I can do better or what you would like to see. Also, be sure to check our our local podcast for all your MTG pop-culture needs! We are Planeswalker Asylum over on Couch Pirate Radio.
As for today, I would like to start with the newest bannings in Modern. Now I believe that 1/2 of these bannings were correct. Putting a fork in Punishing Fire was the right call. That combo seriously was stifling the format. Infinite 2 damage removal makes decks like Merfolk mostly unplayable. I support the banning of Punishing Fire, though I wish they had banned Grove of the Burnwillows instead...Punishing Fires is a nice weapon for mono-red decks against something like Batterskull.
Now, as far as the other card banned on Dec. 20th... What a sad strange world we have fallen into where a green creature that does nothing but turn sideways gets banned. Banning Wild Nacatl was completely pointless. Every other banning I have seen has been to ban the problem cards of a deck. This usually means banning cards which are part of a combo or ones which warp a format. In the past I have been understanding, and mostly happy, about the decisions that WotC makes when banning cards.
When they banned Survival of the Fittest, I understood, as Gerry Thompson once wrote: "The best aggro deck in legacy is G/W Survival, the best combo deck is G/B Survival, and the best control deck is G/U survival..." When they banned Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic, I understood. Those cards WERE that standard format, there was no point in playing anything else. When they banned the first set of cards in Modern, I understood. WotC have a set vision for what Modern should be and they intent to actively shape the format until it is the best version of what they want.
Now, the argument that most made when calling for Nacatls head was that it was "oppressive" and was in fact warping the format. I have a few issues with that, five to be exact. So, now, I give you the Top 5 Reasons Banning Wild Nacatl was Pointless:
1) "Young format" is an understatement.
This format has exactly TWO high profile tournaments under it's belt. This isn't even close to enough time for us to know what this format really is. Zoo is straightforward to pilot and relatively easy to build. These facts are going to make it a solid fallback and an easy starting point for anyone getting into the format. We need a few weeks of PTQ season at least before we what is and is not warping a format. Not only does the deck have to be present as large percentages of the field, but it needs to have enough success to make people build their decks differently to combat it. It's pretty easy to hate on creature decks, and there are enough elitist blue mages out there to make a deck that can't lose to Zoo but retain a good matchup against the rest of the field.
2) Removal makes the deck.
If you know how Zoo operates, then you know that Nacatl is just a cog in the efficiency machine that is a 4-6 turn clock. What makes that deck so consistent is the best removal package in the format. The deck has answers to your blockers to keep pushing through creature damage and those answers double as instant speed finishers. So, now the deck changes Nacatl out for a near-identical creature with one less power and keeps the rest of the deck in tact. Changing one power on one 4 of in the deck doesn't seem like a change with enough impact to fix this "problem."
3) It dies to removal (all of it!)
Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix are dead as removal spells against most of the potential decks in the field. But, as it turns out Nacatl will ALWAYS die to either of these spells. You don't even have to blow a Path to Exile or a Dismember...
4) The deck's other threats dodge all but the best removal.
To follow that point, the other threats in the deck require that premium removal (mostly just Path) to deal with. Dismember even becomes dead against this deck in the late game. So, without touching the harder to deal with threats, what kind of impact is this banning really going to have on Zoo?
5) Shorter clock against combo
Finally, when you remove an early game piece from one of the most consistent decks in the format, all you are doing is opening up the field to more combo. The combo decks in this format can and will go off on turns 3 or 4 (depending on the deck) with the right hand. Without the early pressure you get from something like Nacatl these decks can take their sweet time setting their hand up. This is the one matchup where that one power difference between Nacatl and Loam Lion can make a big difference. This is especially true against a deck like Splinter Twin, where you can make them waste resources to try and go off as quickly as possible.
These are the biggest reasons why the banning of Wild Nacatl was completely pointless. I don't think this banning helped the format in the very least. The banning of Punishing Fire helped, especially since Zoo could run that combo easily. I believe we should have let the format play out without Punishing Fire before bringing on any other bans.
I am interested to see what WotC bans next. I like the idea of actively shaping the format, but this most recent duo feels like they were pandering to the complaining blue mages a bit too much. Am I a bit biased? Green and white are where my loyalties lie, so yea, probably. But should we be banning cards in a relatively untested format just because a bunch of pros complain about them? Probably not. If I had to guess the next 2 cards to get the axe, I would say Bloodbraid Elf and Splinter Twin. These will be the 2 most complained about cards in the format this season. And if this banning is any indication, complaining gets cards banned in this format.
Until next time, Dear Readers, you can find me on twitter (@CapnTopDeck) or just reply here. I appreciate any and all constructive feedback! Make sure to let me know what I can do better or what you would like to see. Also, be sure to check our our local podcast for all your MTG pop-culture needs! We are Planeswalker Asylum over on Couch Pirate Radio.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The joys of an Un-Cracked Standard
Greetings Dear Readers! You are the beneficiaries of my need to fill the time until Skyrim releases in 10 hours. That game is going to consume my life and provide a bit of a break from Magic. But you didn't come here to read about my Dragon-Slaying Warrior-Mage Werewolf, you came to read about collectible cardboard pieces. So, as long as we are here I might as well talk about the Standard metagame and a "new" brew to beat it.
I don't mean to brag (that's a lie) but I was on the cutting edge of G/W technology a couple of weeks ago. Juza won a GP and I came up just short in KC with similar decks (mine being built for single threats rather than tokens). Since then G/W has taken over our local metagame at Wizards Asylum in Norman and I believe it is the best deck in Standard if tuned properly.
The archetype has come up short at recent SCG Opens but I believe that is due to incorrect tuning. Juza's build was designed to beat U/W Humans (which it does, VERY well) but it has little game against U/B control. That problem is rectified by one card, Thrun, the Last Troll. The card is very powerful in any matchup, I have no idea why he hasn't been picked up in the main by people playing G/W. He give you an early and unstoppable beater against control while also providing insurance against Day of Judgment. Bottom line: if you are playing green, play Thrun...in the main.
So, what else is happening with this meta? Everyone remembered Mirran Crusader was a card and Wolf Run died. The only viable version of the ramp deck now is Wolf Run Robots, which folds in half to board wipes and counter spells. For the record, I really like the Robots build, it looks fun! The other previous champion, U/B control, had some success this weekend. I believe his success was due to good match ups and a lack of Dungrove Elders in the field. The build that took down SCG Vegas is completely underwhelming. It didn't have enough threats or enough counter spells. I seriously have no idea how he won that tournament.
What about new and fringe decks? One of the break-out decks of the weekend was U/W Illusions. The deck looks cool and different, it's just early beatdown and counter magic. But let's get one thing straight: this deck is not Fish. The counterspells are not free which means you can either tap out early and get beat by better 2 and 3 drops or leave mana up early and play incredibly mediocre cards late. This deck does not do what you want it to do...don't kid yourself. Oh yea, and guess what every G/W deck is playing now: That's right, Mortarpod. Do you have any idea how hard Mortarpod and Garruk Relentless wreck Illusions? Hint: pretty damn hard.
Another new archetype is R/B Counter-Burn. I can see the merits of this deck, and I think Snapcaster Mage is at his best in these lists. I can also see a LOT of awkward hands full of the wrong answer at the wrong time. This deck loses hard to Thrun and any amount of life gain. Wow, I didn't realize that this article was just going to be about how ever other deck loses to G/W, but if the shoe fits... These lists do have red in them though, and that color is your best answer to the Crusader.
Bringing up the rear are Mono Red, U/W Humans, Mono Black Infect, Birthing Pod (any flavor), and the new U/W Blade decks. These all have their own strengths and weaknesses but are either too linear, too slow, or have too few answers. Decks in the current metagame need diverse answers, a fast and reliable clock, or overwhelmingly powerful cards on a curve. These decks simply don't offer any or enough of those traits to truly compete.
At the beginning of the post I said something about a "new" brew. That brew is one that Brian Kibler will adore. It is basically just adding red to the G/W shell to help break the mirror.
The biggest concern I have for this list is the mana base. It seems stable enough, but a few test hands I have seen a bit of wonkiness. One thing that I would love to add is Gavony Township, but I am not sure the 3 color mana base can handle more than 1 or 2 colorless lands. Either way, I think this deck has an edge on a lot of the field. If Juza's G/W build is running the show in your meta I suggest this deck as an answer. If your meta is still Wolf Run, Solar Flare, and U/B then just add 3 Thruns to the main deck of Juza's build and roflstomp your way to some packs.
As always I am looking for feedback! If you think I could have done something better, or would like me to talk about something specific please leave me a comment. You can also get my attention via twitter (@CapnTopDeck). And be sure to check out Planeswalker Asylum (on couchpirates.com), our podcast of rising stars in the Southwest. Thanks for reading!
"When your pack 1, pick 1 is Bloodline Keeper the deck pretty much builds itself..."
I don't mean to brag (that's a lie) but I was on the cutting edge of G/W technology a couple of weeks ago. Juza won a GP and I came up just short in KC with similar decks (mine being built for single threats rather than tokens). Since then G/W has taken over our local metagame at Wizards Asylum in Norman and I believe it is the best deck in Standard if tuned properly.
The archetype has come up short at recent SCG Opens but I believe that is due to incorrect tuning. Juza's build was designed to beat U/W Humans (which it does, VERY well) but it has little game against U/B control. That problem is rectified by one card, Thrun, the Last Troll. The card is very powerful in any matchup, I have no idea why he hasn't been picked up in the main by people playing G/W. He give you an early and unstoppable beater against control while also providing insurance against Day of Judgment. Bottom line: if you are playing green, play Thrun...in the main.
So, what else is happening with this meta? Everyone remembered Mirran Crusader was a card and Wolf Run died. The only viable version of the ramp deck now is Wolf Run Robots, which folds in half to board wipes and counter spells. For the record, I really like the Robots build, it looks fun! The other previous champion, U/B control, had some success this weekend. I believe his success was due to good match ups and a lack of Dungrove Elders in the field. The build that took down SCG Vegas is completely underwhelming. It didn't have enough threats or enough counter spells. I seriously have no idea how he won that tournament.
What about new and fringe decks? One of the break-out decks of the weekend was U/W Illusions. The deck looks cool and different, it's just early beatdown and counter magic. But let's get one thing straight: this deck is not Fish. The counterspells are not free which means you can either tap out early and get beat by better 2 and 3 drops or leave mana up early and play incredibly mediocre cards late. This deck does not do what you want it to do...don't kid yourself. Oh yea, and guess what every G/W deck is playing now: That's right, Mortarpod. Do you have any idea how hard Mortarpod and Garruk Relentless wreck Illusions? Hint: pretty damn hard.
Another new archetype is R/B Counter-Burn. I can see the merits of this deck, and I think Snapcaster Mage is at his best in these lists. I can also see a LOT of awkward hands full of the wrong answer at the wrong time. This deck loses hard to Thrun and any amount of life gain. Wow, I didn't realize that this article was just going to be about how ever other deck loses to G/W, but if the shoe fits... These lists do have red in them though, and that color is your best answer to the Crusader.
Bringing up the rear are Mono Red, U/W Humans, Mono Black Infect, Birthing Pod (any flavor), and the new U/W Blade decks. These all have their own strengths and weaknesses but are either too linear, too slow, or have too few answers. Decks in the current metagame need diverse answers, a fast and reliable clock, or overwhelmingly powerful cards on a curve. These decks simply don't offer any or enough of those traits to truly compete.
At the beginning of the post I said something about a "new" brew. That brew is one that Brian Kibler will adore. It is basically just adding red to the G/W shell to help break the mirror.
Artifacts
Creatures
Land
3 Plains
4 Mountain
4 Forest
Planeswalkers
Spells
Sideboard
The biggest concern I have for this list is the mana base. It seems stable enough, but a few test hands I have seen a bit of wonkiness. One thing that I would love to add is Gavony Township, but I am not sure the 3 color mana base can handle more than 1 or 2 colorless lands. Either way, I think this deck has an edge on a lot of the field. If Juza's G/W build is running the show in your meta I suggest this deck as an answer. If your meta is still Wolf Run, Solar Flare, and U/B then just add 3 Thruns to the main deck of Juza's build and roflstomp your way to some packs.
As always I am looking for feedback! If you think I could have done something better, or would like me to talk about something specific please leave me a comment. You can also get my attention via twitter (@CapnTopDeck). And be sure to check out Planeswalker Asylum (on couchpirates.com), our podcast of rising stars in the Southwest. Thanks for reading!
"When your pack 1, pick 1 is Bloodline Keeper the deck pretty much builds itself..."
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tournamant Report #1: 11th at SCGKC Sandard Open
Hello, Dear Reader, and welcome to my first tournament report. These things can be pretty bland when done poorly, so I am going to take a slightly different approach. I don’t want to focus on the wins/losses and plays alone. Instead I want to use the plays to tell you when the deck performed well or poorly and how it did so. This deck was a bit of a brew, so I had a few ideas of how it should play out in my head, but I was also pleasantly surprised by how some cards worked in different match ups during the day. My 11th place finish in Standard came on the back of a literal last-second audible.
I played Wolf Run Green the night before at FNM and won, but the deck choice still wasn’t sitting right with me. I had mentioned to my follow Okies how I wished I had been able to test a G/W Destiny list, since I knew it was poised to demolish the expected meta. Most of my friends told me now to audible (which is sound advice…I already knew how to play Wolf Run) and I stuck with it and filled out my deck registration with 18 forests. With 30 minutes before the player meeting I heard Ari Lax talking about Mirran Crusader at the next table. Between that chatter and my friend Kyle telling me to simply play the most fun deck I grabbed a new registration sheet and started scouring everyone’s binders for the rares I needed.
I built the deck loosely off the list posted by Valeriy Shunkov in this SCG article last week. I loved the idea of main deck Crusaders and Thruns but I felt that his list was off by a few cards. After playing Wolf Run I knew exactly how powerful Sword of Feast and Famine and Garruk Relentless were, so I knew that I wanted to draw those cards almost every game. So, with no testing and 30 minutes worth of thought, here is the 75 that I sleeved up in Kansas City last weekend:
Maindeck:
Artifacts
2 Mortarpod
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
Creatures
3 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Hero of Bladehold
2 Jade Mage
4 Mirran Crusader
Legendary Creatures
3 Thrun, the Last Troll
Enchantments
3 Angelic Destiny
3 Oblivion Ring
Planeswalkers
3 Garruk Relentless
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Basic Lands
9 Forest
4 Plains
Lands
3 Gavony Township
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard:
2 Sword of War and Peace
2 Spellskite
3 Leonin Arbiter
3 Celestial Purge
2 Naturalize
3 Timely Reinforcements
As you can see this wasn’t really a Township Tokens list, as SCG was kind enough to label it. This thing brought the beats and it did so in a way that Wolf Run and U/B couldn’t interact with. I figured my control match-up was pretty good, but I really built this to slaughter Wolf Run. Unfortunately for me I only got to play that match once (in the last round). Enough jibber-jabber, how did the deck actually perform? Read on my friends:
Round 1: Eddie with G/B Pod
I have 4 main deck Crusaders that I can play on turn 2…this was not a close match. I hooked the Knight up with Angelic Destiny both games. He Slimed the enchantment away in game 2, but he was at 4 with only green and black blockers…
Pod is the only match up where Leonin Arbiter is actually desirable off the board. I didn’t even board that card in against ramp…I just didn’t need it. This board slot is the first change I wanted to make to the deck.
Record: 1-0 (2-0)
Round 2: Eddie #2 with U/W Control
Game 1 was where I discovered just how insane Garruk Relentless is. I snuck Garruk in after baiting a counter with Hero of Bladehold and proceeded to make a wolf every turn until the game ended. His life total after Garruk landed: 15, 11, 7, dead. Having a steady stream of creatures is super-important vs Day of Judgment decks. Especially since our creatures can get big with enchantments, Township, and swords.
Game 2 I boarded in the Swords and not much else. He countered my first 4 threats on consecutive turns (2-Crusader, 3-Garruk, 4-Destiny on my Birds, 5-Hero). I then landed a Sword of War and Peace and made him Day away single threats until I drew a Thrun.
This match made me realize that Garruk Relentless might just be the best card in the deck. I feel like his ability to make sword-carriers for free every turn is vastly underrated. Is he as good as Primal Hunter? Probably not. But he comes down a turn before his beefier version, which can lock your opponents out a win condition in certain matches. He also kills mana-dorks in those same matches. He is a house against both green and blue decks right now, which makes him one of the best cards you can be playing in the current meta.
Record: 2-0 (4-0)
Round 3: Jerrod with U/B Control
Game 1 I am on the play and have to mulligan away a do-nothing hand. As I shuffle Jerrod and I chit-chat about how he won his last round when his opponent mulliganed to 4. I proceed to mulligan to 4. As I shuffle for the last time we both mention how we have seen those odd come-backs from a 4 card hand and how it really takes drawing perfectly to pull off. I proceed to open a hand of Grove, Forest, Plains, Thrun; Snap-keep. I draw Birds of Paradise for turn 2 and slam Papa-Troll home on turn 3. Jerrod loses 5 turns later.
Game 2 I keep my opener and have a turn 2 Crusader queued. Wring Flesh for my Birds makes sure that doesn’t happen, but he still resolves turn 3. I then get him to tap out to kill my Crusader (Tribute to Hunger) during combat. This left me open to slam Garruk Relentless 2nd main phase. I drew a Thrun soon after and buried him in value. He had to start doom blading wolf tokens after a turn or two.
After that game 1 I cannot deny the power of Thrun. Having that card in your main deck gives you a ridiculous win percentage increase against control. I don’t think a deck like this could take control without him. (This theory is supported by Kibler’s videos which were posted today. No Thrun main = lose to U/B game 1, twice in 4 rounds.)
Record: 3-0 (6-0)
Round 4: Kyle with Tempered Steel
I already knew what Kyle was playing and I already knew I was in for a world of hurt. I didn’t expect to see Tempered Steel since A) No one had done well with it recently and B) the deck is terrible. But he played the enchantment on me 2 games in a row and I had no answer, so I got face-rolled.
If playing 3 artifacts on turn 1 becomes a thing again the sideboard definitely need 3 copies of Creeping Corrosion. You should also have a 3rd Mortarpod in the board for sure. I missed this and it cost me a bit. Before they land Tempered Steel Mortarpod simply wrecks them.
Record: 3-1 (6-2)
Round 5: (Forgotten Name) with Tempered Steel…Again.
This match was HARD. It did, however, show me that the match wasn’t un-winnable. He never found a Tempered Steel game 1 and I got a Township online to bury him in 4/5 Birds of Paradises.
Game 2 I finally drew and Oblivion Ring (2 in fact). I O-ringed his Hero of Bladehold and the Tempered Steel he played the turn after that. I was behind most of the game, but I couldn’t block his fliers so I had to just keep attacking. After the 2nd O-ring he left blockers back for my board of Spellskite, Thrun, Hero. I proceed to rip Mortarpod off the top and gun down his 2 blockers to swing for lethal with Thrun and the Hero.
Mortarpod is really good here, but would be better as a reliable turn 2 play. I still wanted Creeping Corrosion…there is just something about a one-sided Wrath effect… Another card that can be very good in this match is (go figure) Garruk Relentless. If they don’t have a Steel or a Spellskite Garruk can pick off multiple Signal Pests or a single Spined Thopter/Valut Skirge.
Record: 4-1 (8-2)
Round 6: AJ Sacher with Solar Flare
I had never been paired up against a SCG Pseudo-Pro before and was a bit nervous. My opening draws didn’t help that much, as I mulled to 4 in game 1. AJ countered 3 Garruks (after I was stuck on lands for 3 turns) and killed a 4th before we moved to game 2. I brought in Swords for the Sun Titans and Spellskites for the Doom Blades.
Game 2 my opener is 5 lands, Avacyn’s Pilgrim, and Mirran Crusader; Snap-keep. I proceed to play turn 2 Crusader followed by turn 3 Sword of Feast and Famine. I won that game. AJ now had a chance to sideboard correctly after finding out that I wasn’t, in fact, a Mono-Garruk Control deck.
Game 3 AJ got stuck on two lands and I played a turn 3 Thrun into Mirran Crusader into Gavony Township. I don’t think that game would have been close even if he DID have lands.
This was an odd match to gauge my deck’s power level with. He never played a Day of Judgment or a Liliana. I wouldn’t have changed anything based on these games; the deck ran exactly the way it was supposed to in games 2 and 3.
Record: 5-1 (10-3)
Record: 5-1 (10-3)
Round 7: (Forgotten name) with Esper Control
The first thing that I find out about my round 7 opponent is that his friends gambled away all their gas/hotel money and they have no way of getting home if he doesn’t cash that day. I tell him “that sucks man” and proceed to crush him in game 1. His main plan seemed to be winning with Midnight Haunting tokens with Sword of Feast and Famine. Without the sword he couldn’t beat a resolved Garruk Relentless.
In game 2 his plan worked perfectly, and he demolished me with flying sword carriers. Game 3 was not so close either. My curve was Turn 1 Birds, turn 2 Sword of War and Peace, turn 3 smash you for 8. He ended up having to Day away single threats, which allowed me to resolve a Garruk. He did have the O-ring for my first Garruk, but not for the 2nd. I was too far ahead at this point to even punt the match away (which I tried to do by letting him live an extra turn).
For this match I was very happy to have War and Peace in my board. Garruk was an all-star again for killing tokens and making sword carriers. I did really want a 3rd Mortarpod again though…
Record: 6-1 (12-4)
Record: 6-1 (12-4)
Round 8: Win-and-In against (Forgotten name) with Solar Flare
This match wasn’t fun or interesting. I got stuck on two lands while he Dayed away my mana-dorks both games. He resolved 7 Day of Judgment and 5 Liliana in 2 games in this match. His draws aside, I found some fundamental flaws with the deck and sideboard:
I needed Elspeth Tirel for this match. I also needed graveyard hate…badly. The Elspeth addition was not a realization from this match alone. There were at least half-a-dozen times during the tournament that I stared at a dead Garruk, Primal Hunter in my hand with an active Garruk Relentless on table. Relentless was enough for this deck, and I should have thought about that when building it. Elspeth adds so much resilience to both Day and Lilly, I have no idea why I wasn’t playing her. As for the graveyard hate, I should have had Nihil Spellbomb in my board. I have been personally touting Surgical Extraction for it’s versatility, but Spellbomb would have been the better card against the Lilly heavy version of Flare.
Record: 6-2 (12-6)
Record: 6-2 (12-6)
Consolation Round 9: Win-and-Top-16 against (Forgotten name) with Wolf Run Green.
I was pretty mad about hos that last match had gone, but I did my best not to go on tilt. I found out that I had the best tie-breaks of all the X-2s and that, depending on who played or drew, I had an outside chance at Top 8. So, I made sure to compose myself and finish strong.
I opened a hand with turn 2 Crusader into turn 3 Destiny and my opponent played a Birds of Paradise on the play followed by a Dungrove Elder. That game ended shortly thereafter. I was pretty happy to finally be playing the match up I had built the deck for. There had been Wolf Run players all around me all day, but they all dodged me.
Game 2 had a bit more play to it. He had a turn 2 Dungrove again and I had a turn 3 Garruk. I killed his birds to keep him off 6 on the next turn, which effectively took away 2 possible win conditions on the next turn, since he wouldn’t throw a Primal Hunter away to get rid of a Relentless. So, instead he played and equipped a Sword of Body and Mind and bashed me for 5 damage, 10 cards, and a wolf token. My next 2 plays were Mirran Crusader followed by Sword of Feast and Famine, equip, bash you for 8 and 2 cards. I found a Gavory Township for my Crusader and deathtouch wolves (I flipped Garruk to start making blockers for the sworded Elder) and he scooped it up.
I don’t think I would change anything about the deck for that match-up. Those 2 games were the exact face-rolling that I expected.
Final Record: 7-2 (14-6)
Final Record: 7-2 (14-6)
So, there you have it. I came just short due to a bad-matchup and a poor sideboard. I am still pleased with my finish (any time you get your name on the internet and $100 for playing Magic it’s a good day) but I would have liked to have had a more tuned version of the deck. I was pleasantly surprised to see Martin Juza take a similar list all the way to the top of a GP. One note on his build: it was designed to crush Wolf Run and WU-Tang Humans. That deck gets rolled by control from what I have seen. Feast and Famine and Thrun main are a much better pair than Geist-Honored Monk and Overrun.
So, I talked a lot about the changes I would make, and here they are:
Artifacts
2 Mortarpod
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
Creatures
2 Hero of Bladehold
4 Mirran Crusader
3 Thrun, the Last Troll
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Fiend Hunter
2 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
Enchantments
2 Angelic Destiny
3 Oblivion Ring
Planeswalkers
3 Elspeth Tirel
3 Garruk Relentless
Land
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Plains
9 Forest
3 Gavony Township
Sideboard
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2 Sword of War and Peace
3 Celestial Purge
2 Timely Reinforcements
3 Naturalize
1 Mortarpod
Quick notes on the changes:
Hero of Blade Hold underperformed all day (as usual) so she got the axe, except as a tutor target for Garruk. Elspeth replaces Primal Hunter for planeswalker synergy. I cut an Angelic Destiny because the deck was a bit heavy on 4 drops. The replacement for that and a Hero was Mikaeus. He seems like an excellent card for turn 2 or 3 and has a large impact on the game if he isn’t answered. Finally, I added a Fiend Hunter to the main as a tutor target for Garruk.
As for the board, I like the changes I have made here most of all. The Miser’s Elesh Norn will be fun to tutor/top deck and the new graveyard hate should be pretty functional as well. I am happy to find room for the Mortarpod, but I’m not sure if Timely is the right cut. The life gain should be fine with 3 Elspeth, 2 Timely and 2 Swords after boarding.
Wow, this thing is really 3000 words long…That is nuts! I hope you learned something if you made it this far without dying of boredom. I welcome and appreciate your comments, please help me to get better at this writing thing. You can contact me via twitter (@CapnTopDeck). One more thing, I am on a pod cast too! Head over to couchpirates.com and listen to Planeswalker Asylum. We do a decent job of making the information relevant and we make them pretty entertaining.
Thanks for reading!
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