@Tuba: I didn't mean it as a criticism of your statement. I was honest when I said I didn't have much to contribute at times. As far as the lack of posts, with Spoiler Season over until late December (when we might see a trickle), the site tends to slow down outside of the deck construction and card creation areas.
FNM Report: 3-3-0
R1: 0-2 vs Elves. A hand full of land did not help Game 2, even after a non-Metalcraft Psyche (from one hand full of land to another).
R2: 0-2 vs UB Discard Control. The deck was not co-operating. And him hitting Duress or IoK for the first four turns of Game 2 really didn't help.
R3: 2-1 vs WU Precursor. Scooped Game 1 due to lack of any draw. Game 3 was Draw-Go, Turn 7 Psyche/Reverberate for 23.
Out of 17 people, they cut to Top 8 for prizes. With a 1-2 record, I figure I'm done for the night. Somehow, I was ranked 8th. Yeah, it shocked me, too. But, hey, free cards are good, so...
R4: 2-0 vs Goblins. Game 1, I allow a second Quest for GL, Leak some Goblin. He scooped at 8 life with Sphinx and Servitor on my board. Game 2, Turn 6 P/R for lethal.
R5: 2-0 vs UB Discard Control (same guy as before). Game 1 he hit his removal; lots of Doom Blades and ItR before succumbing to Sphinx damage. Game 2 was Draw-Go until he tapped out to drop Sphinx of Jwar Isle. I responded with P/R for the win. REVENGE!
R6: 0-2 vs Vampires. Game 1 was a spanking. Game 2 I SB'd out Control for spot removal and almost got him. A second Cunning Vampire game him lethal on the alpha strike the following turn.
Took 2nd, got a promo Rift Bolt and a free pack of M11, which had an Inferno Titan. Not bad.
As you can see, Drawing Dead has a some issues against Aggro (as I thought it might). Discard was problematic, as it is for most decks (that aren't Dredge). I am starting to remember why everyone hated my old Discard deck... and why I want to include Discard in the new Extended Mill. I'm still not sure how the Goblin deck failed so spectacularly, but I'm not complaining.
Not sure if I'm doing Game Day; I'm going to be operating on minimal sleep - if any - and I do have to work on the house I'm trying to sell (sanding, painting, patching, scraping more wallpaper off of a ceiling). Have to see how I feel ten hours from now.
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May your games be chaotic and your decks be Rogue.
I'm going to rock gameday with Photocopier, tried making a slaverlock deck for fnm last night, didn't work so well.
It's at least going to come first for mirran affiliation imo. Probably 1st-2nd normally as well. It's very awesome =p
Edit: Not nearly as good as I thought, got paired up against Artifact goblins, came down to game 3, and he had a stupidly nuts draw... (as in i was dead on t4 =p) and got paired with my mate playing elves who I have always been on a 50/50 with, he pulled ahead, and went on to win the game day, I came 8th, shame it was cut to top 4 otherwise I could have snuck in =<
So yesterday I had a draft, fun thing is, the cards were in English, so a lot of people didn't exactly know what the cards did, so that opened the field to me to draft a nuts deck.:rolleyes:
aside from a single copper myr, I think I didn't use anything else from sideboard.
Ok, the pool wasn't all that bomby, but I had enough removal to take down anything (liquimetal coating was specially useful for that:D), and kuldotha forgemaster became surprisingly useful given that I already had a bunch of myrs normaly with the smith, and then I could tutor whatever I usually needed at the moment (most of the time. the battlesphere), once I actually had to tutor up the coating as I was facing a skyrthix (or however that dragon is named), to slice it twain before it killed me.
Long story short, I came first and won a bunch of boosters, of wich I got an elspeth tirel!, necrotic ooze, chimeric mass, and darkslick shores, among others.
Enough said, it was a really good draft for me.:)
I also went to the Game Day. I did awesome! My Goblin deck was in rare form. I ended up coming in first! This is my second Game Day in a row that I've been the champion, so that has really been boosting my confidence. I got 10 packs for winning. I pulled a Venser and a Mimic Vat, so hopefully I can trade them for stuff that I can use to make some sweet decks.
In other news, I've started an internship at a local Arts Council. It's kind of boring (answering phones, making calls, moving large packages, etc.), but all of the women that work there are older, so they're all really nice. One lady makes me cookies every Friday! So, I guess it has its perks...
A 5-1 record for first place was okay, considering after Game 1 I was boarding out at least eight cards every time. And from the list, you should be able to get a rough idea of which eight.
Round 1: 0-2 vs uB Infect. Game 1 I stalled. Game 2 ended with an Ichorclaw equipped with LL, then targetted by Virulent Swipe, Distortion Strike and two Tainted Strikes. Needless to say, I learned quickly I should have gone much more aggressively in my build.
Most common changes after Game 1?
-4 SiB (every game)
-2 Strata Scythe
-2 Trusty Machete
+3 Vampire's Bite
+2 Livewire Lash
+3 Marsh Casualties/Memoricide (Game 3 saw both after also pulling Grasp)
Round 2: 2-? vs WG Ramp. I don't remember if he won a game or not, but I do remember that A) Doom/Grasp used against Joraga Treespeaker really slowed him down and B) when Elspeth hit the board, I didn't play any of the three creatures in my hand until after he wiped the board of the three creatures I had on the field.
Round 3: 2-1 vs UG Mass Polymorph. Game 1 he goes off with three Eldrazi tokens and Polys into Emrakul, Iona and Stormtide Leviathan. I scoop. Game 2 he has one Plant token and 7 poison and Polys into Emrakul. He passes. I drop Skittles with 5 lands and a Stinger out at 20 life. Oddly, I don't block Emrakul. Game 3 he has two Eldrazi tokens and four land the turn before I kill him with the Poly in hand.
Round 4: 2-1 vs R Aggro/Burn. No Goblins, just Bolt, Kiln Fiend, Staggershock... I think the game I lost was due to my creatures getting shot down as soon as I played them.
Round 5: 2-0 vs WU Control. Game 1 lasted 6 turns. Game 2 was Turn 2 Stinger, Turn 3 swing Stinger with 3x Virulent Swipe after no blocks, opponent scoops. The round lasted seven minutes, including shuffling.
Round 6: 2-1 vs GW Lifegain/Tokens. Game 1 is over fast. Game 2 I lose after 1 Land (Mull), 0 Land (Mull), 1 Land (Keep). I draw my second land after 6 turns. Game 3 lasts five turns due to the Stinger/Lash/Swipe trifecta. That, and a Doom Blade against Wall of Tanglecord to clear the road.
So, yes, the uB Infect game me my best lesson of the day: Infect is AGGRO. Then again, I did throw the early build together after being awake for 26 hours and four hours before the tournament started. So, having learned my lesson, the deck has been modified as such:
Poison works. It works better when you get in there more effectively. I think I'll annoy the "good" Magic players in my area for a while with this fairly inexpensive deck.
Interesting build eventide, though I think the uB seems to have a little bit more puff... a couple of notes that I am discussing with a mate on MSN about that:
Fox says (5:20 PM):
nah you need the blue man
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:20 PM):
the post is down the bottom
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:20 PM):
see, that's what im thinking.
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
you can cut painsmith, grasp and bladed pinions
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
in favour of distortion strike, mana leak and something else
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
probably 3 more land.
It doesn't have to be a strong splash, but Distortion strike as a debuff while you have all those other pumps etc with infect creatures is kind of massive, even without the lash being out. With the lash on a dude it's pretty much guaranteed GG.
Mana leak is your standard protection mumbo jumbo. You can get away with just using Darkslick Shores + Drowned Catacomb as UB sources, though Creeping Tar Pit might be nice given you can play it t1 with no hindrance to you, but later, an unblockable infect with minimum 4 damage (tainted strike) seems kind of cool. And the extra 3 land? Just to make up for running multiple colours and to improve land draw consistency. We want t6 hasty skittles if the game runs long
Also: I have been overflowing with various deck ideas, some of which are taking form, one being a mono black control style deck, the next is hardcore counter/lockdown merfolk. Using lullmage mentor as a method of playing land-go, while still building up a board presence to swing with for the win. We have a big enough pool of counters in standard that this actually seems like it could be viable, even having a reasonable theoretical matchup with Quest.dec, assuming you are on the play. Gogogogogogo spell pierce maindecked!
So far it has been failing horribly, from what I've seen unified will is bad unless you're winning anyway and infiltration lens suffers a similar problem, also, the deck has been too slow to face the strong decks of the format.
I think I'm going to change those cards for trinket mage + toolbox probably...
I can already see why you're having troubles. All your Merfolk require 3 mana or more to be effective. The Commander may be a 2 drop, but he needs at least 2 more mana to improve, and 4 more to hit his peak. Now, most of the Standard-legal 'Folk in the 1-2 CMC range are either Levelers, requiring Main Phase mana commitments, or they're virtually vanilla. However, this could be a good thing to help make your opponent wonder what you're up to.
Maritime Guard is boring, but it A) is a 2-drop 'Folk and B) has a big butt. Most people are going to ignore it as a threat, at least until you start dropping Commanders and Mentors. Enclave Cryptologist, though requiring some investment, can help dig for better cards.
Thada Adel can be useful, but against most Ramp variants and several WU/UB Control builds, it's a mostly dead card. I think you should move it to the SB. Unified Will is a similar scenario. Token decks can often outpace you on creatures, especially if they utilize new Elspeth. Cancel is still more reliable than this Will.
Just some observations that might give you a few ideas for your early game.
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May your games be chaotic and your decks be Rogue.
So far it has been failing horribly, from what I've seen unified will is bad unless you're winning anyway and infiltration lens suffers a similar problem, also, the deck has been too slow to face the strong decks of the format.
I think I'm going to change those cards for trinket mage + toolbox probably...
That was my initial list, I was half tempted to add Skywatcher Adept in there, purely for a 1drop dude other than Enclave, but a t1-t2 both of those should lead your opponent down the garden path. I'm kind of tempted to add him in there, and then add inexorable tide, free extra levels for the 3 levellers in the deck, but we will see where that goes.
Another thing I was thinking of is powering it with leyline of anticipation, EoT 'folk is part of what makes legacy folk so strong, they use Aether vial to make it uncounterable, but you gotta make do with what you have =p
There's a really rough version ... uh ... anyone have any ideas?
*edit*
Also, for those of you with 360's, Alpha Protocol is good, definitely worth the $13 I bought it for from Gamefly.
@ Fish: I've had some success playing Fish in Standard [not recently]. I would imagine, though, that the strategy is much the same as it was [only the meta's even kinder to you] - drop merfolk the first three turns and then ride them to victory. I played a WU version with all basic lands [for Sejiri Merfolk] and my only 1-drop was Enclave Chronologist: 8~12 counters, Emerge Unscathed, etc.
With Mono-Blue I'd probably play Narcolepsy as a 2 or 3-of, and Into the Roil as a 2 or 3-of. You need ways to answer your opponent's resolved permanents. I also think you're runnign too many lands.
I would NOT run Leyline in this deck - it's the wrong deck. You can't tap out for it profitably, so it's a dead topdeck: and casting merfolk instant speed doesn't -really- matter until turn 4 or so [most of your opponent's turn 2 or 3 plays are more setup than the bombs].
*edit*
Also, I can't edit the front post even with my super mod powers. Maybe I'll ask Nai.
my mouth is full of winsome lies -
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
When you are running 4x memnite + ornithopter, glint hawk is always work it, a 1cost 2/2 flier is nothing to laugh at.
As far as things go, that looks like a quest deck, just a couple more dudes and a lot more consistent Don't know about your meta, but for mine at the moment, it would get smashed, lots of RG valakut playing 4x pyroclasm main etc =<
So I'm pleased with the election results. But most of my peers aren't. Go figure.
Been successful with Mono B control on MODO for t2. Its basically the tier 1 U/B list but without the expensive blue stuff and + Mind Sludge. Also no Frost Titans and instead I use Wurmcoil Engine.
Ya.. I know it isn't as good but heavy discard is nice when no one runs Obstinate Baloth to punish you for it. Also its very cheap on modo....
So I'm pleased with the election results. But most of my peers aren't. Go figure.
Been successful with Mono B control on MODO for t2. Its basically the tier 1 U/B list but without the expensive blue stuff and + Mind Sludge. Also no Frost Titans and instead I use Wurmcoil Engine.
Ya.. I know it isn't as good but heavy discard is nice when no one runs Obstinate Baloth to punish you for it. Also its very cheap on modo....
I'd run -4 Memorcide and -4 Sacrament because they don't really do anything. I mean I guess 1 Memorcide is okay in maindeck. But the rest would be sideboard.
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I'd run -4 Memorcide and -4 Sacrament because they don't really do anything. I mean I guess 1 Memorcide is okay in maindeck. But the rest would be sideboard.
I completely disagree. Memoricide seriously hurts (if not destroys) any pyro, trap, dforce or valakut deck while sacrament hits eldrazi in addition to the aforementioned. It shuts down any combo decks, it hurts anything running Fauna Shaman, and can potentially hurt quest decks if you can get your spell off before their quest.
Mind you, sacrament has the problem that it doesn't hit anything in hand, but it also curves nicely into the memoricide because you cast it on 3, find out what they're playing and what can potentially be in their hand, and then follow up with the memoricide to take out what you need to take out.
Alrighty, so I'm running the next CC and I'm posting my rules for the Clan Council to decide whether or not to use them:
As this is an EDH contest, the basic concept of the decks starts off with, a General
So, each clan that signs up for this contest will begin by picking a general, that they will use to build a deck with. Once all the Generals are chosen, we move to the deck building portion.
The Categories for the deckbuilding portion are as follows (each category can be awarded up to 5 points):
1) Originality - This is key. The same old decks, with the same old boring generals, and the same old cards isn't something you want to see everytime.
2) Fun Factor - How much would you want to play this deck, how much would you enjoy it, how would your opponents feel about it, would it get an instant ban, or come to be an old favorite that people enjoy playing.
3) Competitiveness - Can this deck handle 1-on-1 and multiplayer games? And is it as good as it looks on paper?
So, once the decks are made, and then posted, we will move on to the voting phase.
In order to vote, each clan must pick 3 clans(that are not their own) to vote for. They will pick these clans in order from best to worst, award points to each clan based on how well they did in each category, and give a simple reason for why they voted that way.
So it doesn't get too confusing, let me break it down for you:
1) Clan #1
Originality - 4 points, the use of *random edh general* which is normally under powered was pretty cool.
Fun Factor - 5 points, the deck was really fun to play
Competitiveness - 5 points this deck is unstoppable
Total: 14 points
2) Clan # 2
Originality - 3 points the general is more common than before and pretty strong and not underrated
Fun Factor - 3 points kinda fun to play, but not great
Competitiveness - 3 points very middle of the line here
Total: 9 points
3) Clan # 3
Originality - 1 point *yawns* I play this general every week
Fun Factor - 2 points This deck was clunky and choppy and frustrating to play
Competitiveness - 2 Points This deck can win a match, maybe...:rolleyes:
Total: 5 Points
The clan with the most points wins! In the event of a tie, the clans in question will resubmit their decks and the voting will take place again, just for them.
Please keep in mind:
1) This is supposed to be fun
2) You are to help your own clan and no one else
3) Originality is a good thing
So what does the council think?
Memorcide and Sacrament don't affect the board. Just things they can potentially draw. And unless we are playing against a combo deck that relies on one card, the opposing deck will still continue to function.
For instance, Memorcide will not hit Valakut, Valakut also has multiple threats, Wurmcoil Engine, Primeval Titan, Avenger. You can't possible get all of them with Sacament. Not to mention some of them run Raging Ravine.
That is just one deck, I can name a bunch that simply have too many threats for you to deal with. I realize that getting rid of all the Primeval Titans seems great with just one card. But it still doesn't hit any of em that came into play. Still doesn't prevent them from just playing Valakut and / or lands manually.
Same goes for any other kind of deck. RUG, WW, U/B, U/R, U/W, Elves.
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Which would mean we'd have to an all artifact/colorless deck with absolutely no artifacts that have any colored mana symbols... I'd rather not try to make that deck. Not that it couldn't work, but it'd be difficult.
I want asmira, holy avenger, partly because she's white, partly because she's a cleric, partly because she's good for some recursion shenigans, but mainly because she's totally unexpected.:D
Well, this IS Clan ARD last I checked, so using an out-of-the-box General would make sense for us. Off the top of my head, two I can think of that are considered "lesser" without being "WTF?" are:
Norin the Wary: Could win indirectly via EtB effects. And there's always burn. Karona, Flase God: While giving your general away usually isn't a good call, five color tribal can be wicked fun.
Just some thoughts. I'm sure other members have some as well.
EDIT: We could also take the "Rogue" aspect a little more literally. Gwendlyn Di Corci: Plenty of options in a :symu::symb::symr: build. Sakashima the Imposter: Clone another General? Don't mind if I do. Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer: Maybe not so much, since this tends to lend to :symw::symu: Control builds.
FNM Report: 3-3-0
R1: 0-2 vs Elves. A hand full of land did not help Game 2, even after a non-Metalcraft Psyche (from one hand full of land to another).
R2: 0-2 vs UB Discard Control. The deck was not co-operating. And him hitting Duress or IoK for the first four turns of Game 2 really didn't help.
R3: 2-1 vs WU Precursor. Scooped Game 1 due to lack of any draw. Game 3 was Draw-Go, Turn 7 Psyche/Reverberate for 23.
Out of 17 people, they cut to Top 8 for prizes. With a 1-2 record, I figure I'm done for the night. Somehow, I was ranked 8th. Yeah, it shocked me, too. But, hey, free cards are good, so...
R4: 2-0 vs Goblins. Game 1, I allow a second Quest for GL, Leak some Goblin. He scooped at 8 life with Sphinx and Servitor on my board. Game 2, Turn 6 P/R for lethal.
R5: 2-0 vs UB Discard Control (same guy as before). Game 1 he hit his removal; lots of Doom Blades and ItR before succumbing to Sphinx damage. Game 2 was Draw-Go until he tapped out to drop Sphinx of Jwar Isle. I responded with P/R for the win. REVENGE!
R6: 0-2 vs Vampires. Game 1 was a spanking. Game 2 I SB'd out Control for spot removal and almost got him. A second Cunning Vampire game him lethal on the alpha strike the following turn.
Took 2nd, got a promo Rift Bolt and a free pack of M11, which had an Inferno Titan. Not bad.
As you can see, Drawing Dead has a some issues against Aggro (as I thought it might). Discard was problematic, as it is for most decks (that aren't Dredge). I am starting to remember why everyone hated my old Discard deck... and why I want to include Discard in the new Extended Mill. I'm still not sure how the Goblin deck failed so spectacularly, but I'm not complaining.
Not sure if I'm doing Game Day; I'm going to be operating on minimal sleep - if any - and I do have to work on the house I'm trying to sell (sanding, painting, patching, scraping more wallpaper off of a ceiling). Have to see how I feel ten hours from now.
It's at least going to come first for mirran affiliation imo. Probably 1st-2nd normally as well. It's very awesome =p
Edit: Not nearly as good as I thought, got paired up against Artifact goblins, came down to game 3, and he had a stupidly nuts draw... (as in i was dead on t4 =p) and got paired with my mate playing elves who I have always been on a 50/50 with, he pulled ahead, and went on to win the game day, I came 8th, shame it was cut to top 4 otherwise I could have snuck in =<
Proud member of ARD
Decks:
EDH:
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum :symb::symu::symw:
Type1-1.5:
:symr:Stax:symr:
Type2:
:symw::symu:Photocopier:symu::symw: (Top8 Finishes: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 1 8th)
:symb:MBC:symb:
Here's my drafted deck:
2 revoke existance
2 sylvok replica
1 myrsmith
1 darksteel sentinel
1 myr galvanizer
1 kuldotha forgemaster
1 myr battlesphere
1 slice in twain
1 copper myr
1 origin spellbomb
1 perilous myr
1 infiltration lens
2 horizon spellbomb
1 caparace forger
1 glinthawk idol
1 salvage scout
1 rusted relic
1 liquimetal coating
1 kemba's skyguard
8 forest
8 plains
aside from a single copper myr, I think I didn't use anything else from sideboard.
Ok, the pool wasn't all that bomby, but I had enough removal to take down anything (liquimetal coating was specially useful for that:D), and kuldotha forgemaster became surprisingly useful given that I already had a bunch of myrs normaly with the smith, and then I could tutor whatever I usually needed at the moment (most of the time. the battlesphere), once I actually had to tutor up the coating as I was facing a skyrthix (or however that dragon is named), to slice it twain before it killed me.
Long story short, I came first and won a bunch of boosters, of wich I got an elspeth tirel!, necrotic ooze, chimeric mass, and darkslick shores, among others.
Enough said, it was a really good draft for me.:)
I also went to the Game Day. I did awesome! My Goblin deck was in rare form. I ended up coming in first! This is my second Game Day in a row that I've been the champion, so that has really been boosting my confidence. I got 10 packs for winning. I pulled a Venser and a Mimic Vat, so hopefully I can trade them for stuff that I can use to make some sweet decks.
In other news, I've started an internship at a local Arts Council. It's kind of boring (answering phones, making calls, moving large packages, etc.), but all of the women that work there are older, so they're all really nice. One lady makes me cookies every Friday! So, I guess it has its perks...
Alliance of Rogue Deck Builders Member. Check us out!
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=157704
20x Swamp
Creatures (20)
4x Ichorclaw Myr
4x Necropede
3x Painsmith
4x Plague Stinger
3x Ichor Rats
2x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
4x Virulent Swipe
3x Doom Blade
3x Grasp of Darkness
4x Sign in Blood
Artifacts (6)
2x Trusty Machete
2x Bladed Pinions
2x Strata Scythe
3x Vampire's Bite
3x Marsh Casualties
3x Memoricide
2x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Contagion Clasp
2x Livewire Lash
A 5-1 record for first place was okay, considering after Game 1 I was boarding out at least eight cards every time. And from the list, you should be able to get a rough idea of which eight.
Round 1: 0-2 vs uB Infect. Game 1 I stalled. Game 2 ended with an Ichorclaw equipped with LL, then targetted by Virulent Swipe, Distortion Strike and two Tainted Strikes. Needless to say, I learned quickly I should have gone much more aggressively in my build.
Most common changes after Game 1?
-4 SiB (every game)
-2 Strata Scythe
-2 Trusty Machete
+3 Vampire's Bite
+2 Livewire Lash
+3 Marsh Casualties/Memoricide (Game 3 saw both after also pulling Grasp)
Round 2: 2-? vs WG Ramp. I don't remember if he won a game or not, but I do remember that A) Doom/Grasp used against Joraga Treespeaker really slowed him down and B) when Elspeth hit the board, I didn't play any of the three creatures in my hand until after he wiped the board of the three creatures I had on the field.
Round 3: 2-1 vs UG Mass Polymorph. Game 1 he goes off with three Eldrazi tokens and Polys into Emrakul, Iona and Stormtide Leviathan. I scoop. Game 2 he has one Plant token and 7 poison and Polys into Emrakul. He passes. I drop Skittles with 5 lands and a Stinger out at 20 life. Oddly, I don't block Emrakul. Game 3 he has two Eldrazi tokens and four land the turn before I kill him with the Poly in hand.
Round 4: 2-1 vs R Aggro/Burn. No Goblins, just Bolt, Kiln Fiend, Staggershock... I think the game I lost was due to my creatures getting shot down as soon as I played them.
Round 5: 2-0 vs WU Control. Game 1 lasted 6 turns. Game 2 was Turn 2 Stinger, Turn 3 swing Stinger with 3x Virulent Swipe after no blocks, opponent scoops. The round lasted seven minutes, including shuffling.
Round 6: 2-1 vs GW Lifegain/Tokens. Game 1 is over fast. Game 2 I lose after 1 Land (Mull), 0 Land (Mull), 1 Land (Keep). I draw my second land after 6 turns. Game 3 lasts five turns due to the Stinger/Lash/Swipe trifecta. That, and a Doom Blade against Wall of Tanglecord to clear the road.
So, yes, the uB Infect game me my best lesson of the day: Infect is AGGRO. Then again, I did throw the early build together after being awake for 26 hours and four hours before the tournament started. So, having learned my lesson, the deck has been modified as such:
20x Swamp
Creatures (20)
4x Ichorclaw Myr
4x Necropede
3x Painsmith
4x Plague Stinger
3x Ichor Rats
2x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
4x Vampire's Bite
4x Virulent Swipe
3x Doom Blade
3x Grasp of Darkness
Artifacts (6)
2x Bladed Pinions
4x Livewire Lash
1x Doom Blade
1x Grasp of Darkness
3x Marsh Casualties
4x Memoricide
2x Infiltration Lens
2x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Mimic Vat
-3 Sadistic Sacrament
+1 Memoricide
+2 Mimic Vat
Poison works. It works better when you get in there more effectively. I think I'll annoy the "good" Magic players in my area for a while with this fairly inexpensive deck.
Fox says (5:20 PM):
nah you need the blue man
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:20 PM):
the post is down the bottom
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:20 PM):
see, that's what im thinking.
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
you can cut painsmith, grasp and bladed pinions
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
in favour of distortion strike, mana leak and something else
Taron || Photocopier to rock the GG's $5k. says (5:21 PM):
probably 3 more land.
It doesn't have to be a strong splash, but Distortion strike as a debuff while you have all those other pumps etc with infect creatures is kind of massive, even without the lash being out. With the lash on a dude it's pretty much guaranteed GG.
Mana leak is your standard protection mumbo jumbo. You can get away with just using Darkslick Shores + Drowned Catacomb as UB sources, though Creeping Tar Pit might be nice given you can play it t1 with no hindrance to you, but later, an unblockable infect with minimum 4 damage (tainted strike) seems kind of cool. And the extra 3 land? Just to make up for running multiple colours and to improve land draw consistency. We want t6 hasty skittles if the game runs long
Also: I have been overflowing with various deck ideas, some of which are taking form, one being a mono black control style deck, the next is hardcore counter/lockdown merfolk. Using lullmage mentor as a method of playing land-go, while still building up a board presence to swing with for the win. We have a big enough pool of counters in standard that this actually seems like it could be viable, even having a reasonable theoretical matchup with Quest.dec, assuming you are on the play. Gogogogogogo spell pierce maindecked!
Proud member of ARD
Decks:
EDH:
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum :symb::symu::symw:
Type1-1.5:
:symr:Stax:symr:
Type2:
:symw::symu:Photocopier:symu::symw: (Top8 Finishes: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 1 8th)
:symb:MBC:symb:
4 merfolk sovereign
4 lullmage mentor
4 scroll thief
4 mana leak
4 unified will
2 jace the mindsculptor
3 infiltration lens
4 spell pierce
4 thada adel, acquisitor
20 island
3 dread statuary
So far it has been failing horribly, from what I've seen unified will is bad unless you're winning anyway and infiltration lens suffers a similar problem, also, the deck has been too slow to face the strong decks of the format.
I think I'm going to change those cards for trinket mage + toolbox probably...
I can already see why you're having troubles. All your Merfolk require 3 mana or more to be effective. The Commander may be a 2 drop, but he needs at least 2 more mana to improve, and 4 more to hit his peak. Now, most of the Standard-legal 'Folk in the 1-2 CMC range are either Levelers, requiring Main Phase mana commitments, or they're virtually vanilla. However, this could be a good thing to help make your opponent wonder what you're up to.
Maritime Guard is boring, but it A) is a 2-drop 'Folk and B) has a big butt. Most people are going to ignore it as a threat, at least until you start dropping Commanders and Mentors. Enclave Cryptologist, though requiring some investment, can help dig for better cards.
Thada Adel can be useful, but against most Ramp variants and several WU/UB Control builds, it's a mostly dead card. I think you should move it to the SB. Unified Will is a similar scenario. Token decks can often outpace you on creatures, especially if they utilize new Elspeth. Cancel is still more reliable than this Will.
Just some observations that might give you a few ideas for your early game.
That was my initial list, I was half tempted to add Skywatcher Adept in there, purely for a 1drop dude other than Enclave, but a t1-t2 both of those should lead your opponent down the garden path. I'm kind of tempted to add him in there, and then add inexorable tide, free extra levels for the 3 levellers in the deck, but we will see where that goes.
Another thing I was thinking of is powering it with leyline of anticipation, EoT 'folk is part of what makes legacy folk so strong, they use Aether vial to make it uncounterable, but you gotta make do with what you have =p
Proud member of ARD
Decks:
EDH:
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum :symb::symu::symw:
Type1-1.5:
:symr:Stax:symr:
Type2:
:symw::symu:Photocopier:symu::symw: (Top8 Finishes: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 1 8th)
:symb:MBC:symb:
4 Terramorphic Expanse
10 Island
10 Swamp
4 Viscera Seer
3 Bloodthrone Vampire
4 Aether Adept
4 Moriok Replica
4 Trinket Mage
3 Gravedigger
4 Doom Blade
4 Everflowing Chalice
1 Brittle Effigy
1 Elixir of Immortality
There's a really rough version ... uh ... anyone have any ideas?
*edit*
Also, for those of you with 360's, Alpha Protocol is good, definitely worth the $13 I bought it for from Gamefly.
@ Fish: I've had some success playing Fish in Standard [not recently]. I would imagine, though, that the strategy is much the same as it was [only the meta's even kinder to you] - drop merfolk the first three turns and then ride them to victory. I played a WU version with all basic lands [for Sejiri Merfolk] and my only 1-drop was Enclave Chronologist: 8~12 counters, Emerge Unscathed, etc.
With Mono-Blue I'd probably play Narcolepsy as a 2 or 3-of, and Into the Roil as a 2 or 3-of. You need ways to answer your opponent's resolved permanents. I also think you're runnign too many lands.
I would NOT run Leyline in this deck - it's the wrong deck. You can't tap out for it profitably, so it's a dead topdeck: and casting merfolk instant speed doesn't -really- matter until turn 4 or so [most of your opponent's turn 2 or 3 plays are more setup than the bombs].
*edit*
Also, I can't edit the front post even with my super mod powers. Maybe I'll ask Nai.
and eyes are full of death besides
but luckily the soul is wise -
it sees beyond my blindness and
forced failure makes a better guise,
so as i come again alive,
it feels like life's a decent plan
3 Indomitable Archangel
4 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Steel Overseer
3 Stonforge Mystic
4 Tempered Steel
2 Basilisk Collar
3 Mox Opal
3 Sword of Vengeance
I think I might need to throw in some more removal. Also, 4 Tempered Steel might be too many. Is Glint Hawk worth it in this build?
Alliance of Rogue Deck Builders Member. Check us out!
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=157704
As far as things go, that looks like a quest deck, just a couple more dudes and a lot more consistent Don't know about your meta, but for mine at the moment, it would get smashed, lots of RG valakut playing 4x pyroclasm main etc =<
Proud member of ARD
Decks:
EDH:
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum :symb::symu::symw:
Type1-1.5:
:symr:Stax:symr:
Type2:
:symw::symu:Photocopier:symu::symw: (Top8 Finishes: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 1 8th)
:symb:MBC:symb:
eds - or, you know, make a new thread
Been successful with Mono B control on MODO for t2. Its basically the tier 1 U/B list but without the expensive blue stuff and + Mind Sludge. Also no Frost Titans and instead I use Wurmcoil Engine.
Ya.. I know it isn't as good but heavy discard is nice when no one runs Obstinate Baloth to punish you for it. Also its very cheap on modo....
compared to getting Jaces.
Anyways Decklist!!
4 gatekeeper of malakir
2 wurmcoil
2 grave titan
4 vampire hexmage
4 inquestion of kozilek
4 doomblade
4 mindsludge
3 mimic vat
1 grasp of darkness
1 liliana vess
3 tectonic edge
2 dread statuary
20 swamp
So, why does that deck have 56 cards, it has a 4 of of super secret tech?;)
But more importantly, what happened whith melies moon?:o
I must admit though, that deck looks strange with the random 1 ofs, why 1 grasp and 1 liliana?
Liliana is like MindSludge #5 and the tutor function is pretty nice.
Um the missing 4 cards are 4 of Sign in Blood.
I decided to change my avatar. Dunno... haha.
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
4x Sadistic Sacrament
4x Memoricide
3x Gatekeeper of Malakir
3x Skinrender
3x Mimic Vat
4x Doom Blade
3x Grave Titan
2x Wurmcoil Engine
2x Consume the Meek
Proud member of ARD
Decks:
EDH:
:symw::symu::symb: Sharuum :symb::symu::symw:
Type1-1.5:
:symr:Stax:symr:
Type2:
:symw::symu:Photocopier:symu::symw: (Top8 Finishes: 1 1st, 2 2nd, 2 3rd, 2 5th, 1 6th, 1 8th)
:symb:MBC:symb:
I completely disagree. Memoricide seriously hurts (if not destroys) any pyro, trap, dforce or valakut deck while sacrament hits eldrazi in addition to the aforementioned. It shuts down any combo decks, it hurts anything running Fauna Shaman, and can potentially hurt quest decks if you can get your spell off before their quest.
Mind you, sacrament has the problem that it doesn't hit anything in hand, but it also curves nicely into the memoricide because you cast it on 3, find out what they're playing and what can potentially be in their hand, and then follow up with the memoricide to take out what you need to take out.
Or at least, this has been my experience.
Memorcide and Sacrament don't affect the board. Just things they can potentially draw. And unless we are playing against a combo deck that relies on one card, the opposing deck will still continue to function.
For instance, Memorcide will not hit Valakut, Valakut also has multiple threats, Wurmcoil Engine, Primeval Titan, Avenger. You can't possible get all of them with Sacament. Not to mention some of them run Raging Ravine.
That is just one deck, I can name a bunch that simply have too many threats for you to deal with. I realize that getting rid of all the Primeval Titans seems great with just one card. But it still doesn't hit any of em that came into play. Still doesn't prevent them from just playing Valakut and / or lands manually.
Same goes for any other kind of deck. RUG, WW, U/B, U/R, U/W, Elves.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. A colorless general would be really interesting. It might be a little slow is the only forseeable problem.
Any other suggestions?
Alliance of Rogue Deck Builders Member. Check us out!
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=157704
I'd vote for a cheap General, but I'd vote for Tuktuk the Explorer, with the help of Precursor Golem, Radiate, Heat Shimmer, and Pandemonium.
Winner of the First and Fourth Double Dare Single Elimination Contests
2009 July CCL: COMING THIS JULY
2008 December CCL: The Mechinations of Fate
Double Dare to Design: The 5th Single Elimination Contest
Double Dare That Designer: The 2nd Single Elimination Contest
Norin the Wary: Could win indirectly via EtB effects. And there's always burn.
Karona, Flase God: While giving your general away usually isn't a good call, five color tribal can be wicked fun.
Just some thoughts. I'm sure other members have some as well.
EDIT: We could also take the "Rogue" aspect a little more literally.
Gwendlyn Di Corci: Plenty of options in a :symu::symb::symr: build.
Sakashima the Imposter: Clone another General? Don't mind if I do.
Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer: Maybe not so much, since this tends to lend to :symw::symu: Control builds.