MTG Salvation

Quote from MrMan9879 »

I would certainly think this is more than acceptable for your fetchlands. While Marsh Flats does fetch all of your lands, the reason Misty Rainforest is played over it is basically just because it can fetch for a turn 1 forest for your mana dorks in matchups where your life total is under pressure. If you find yourself playing in a meta where this is a problem, you could probably just cut the two Marsh Flats for another Forest, and a 4th Razorverge Thicket (some lists only run 3). 8 fetches isn't quite as necessary as it used to be in the deck, since we don't get to play with Deathrite Shaman anymore.

But if that isn't the case, I see no real problem with running the 2 Flats.

Thanks for the clarification. My next question is why should I play this over Kiki-pod? I have heard it is better because you only need Kiki and Resto Angel to make the combo. I personally am pumped to play Abrupt Decay and Thoughtseize but I was wondering if there were any other reasons for playing on deck over the other.
Also, I was wondering what kind of match-ups Orzhov Pontiff is good for?

Hello everyone. I am about to assemble this deck and I am very stoked about it. Looks like so much fun to play.
On quick question: I have 2 Misty Rainforests, 4 Verdant Catacombs, 2 Marsh Flats. Is this an acceptable Fetch base for now? It seems that the Marsh Flats can fetch anything Misty could.
Preemptive thanks to whoever responds.

Went 4-0 last night. The deck is very fun and I have had good success in the last couple weeks.
I have replaced my Scoozes with Lightning Strike and so far they have treated me well. My meta has a planeswalker problem at the moment and Lightning Strike has been very good dealing with those threats.
Noteable uses of Lightning Strike that generated value for me have been killing Jace at EOT several times. Killing Kiora so my Stormbreath's don't get fogged. Killing Elspeth post Wrath.
Also twice last night I killed several blocking Advent tokens post combat damage.
All in all I have not missed Scooze and just thought I would put in my 2 cents.

Love the list. Admittedly I have been having some problems with my Lazav list.
I like a small Ninja theme, because I could not resist Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni and Silent-Blade Oni.
I took a few ideas from Weresquirrel (not trying to style-bite here, my deck needed some serious gas) and this is what I came up with:

Does anyone have thoughts on running less then 4 Blood Barons? I am torn.

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/recurring-nightmares-adjusting-to-m14/

List includes 3 Obzedats and 3 Blood Barons with 1 Assemble the Legion.
I like the idea of going to 3 Blood Barons and adding 1 Thundermaw or 1 more Obzedat.

I think Nighthawk grants us more utilization and more consistency of threat then Sin Collector. SC blanks against R/X decks more often and Lifelink on Nighthawk can help us keep our head above water.
After game 1, I would side them some number of them out and add Fiendslayer Paladin/Lifebane Zombie.

In my meta Nighthawk is better for me then Sin Collector, if I was going to a PTQ, GPT, SCG event I would consider Sin Collector as a superior choice.
I think we cannot just remove Nighthawk or Sin Collector and add removal, we run the risk of diluting the threat density of our decks.
I would love to run Liliana as a 2 of but with rotation coming I do not find it worth pursuing.

My question is: What is Mizzium Mortars being run for still? Pseudo-Wrath?
I cannot think of a creature we really want to kill, EXCEPT Blood Baron, that we cannot already kill with Doom Blade/Dreadbore/Warleader's Helix.
Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great card, I just wonder what most peoples utilization is.

Has there been any testing with Bloodgift Demon? Or is Underworld Connections better because it dodges more removal?

I think a couple of Unburial Rites would be helpful especially against Esper, which I struggle against.
I would run 2 of MB. Something like:

I really want to drop a land to 25. I run 26 and Faithless Looting but I feel like I draw too many lands as it is. Only problem is what to pick up for the land.
Sign in Blood? This is my first choice since I feel the I still need library manipulation to stay competitive. BB is more difficult to hit but not impossible and I have shifted my mana base to be more black oriented for Nighthawks, etc.
Rakdos's Return?
Olivia Voldaren?
Mizzium Mortars?
This would applicable to the list I posted a couple pages back.

I have tried Fiendslayer Paladin, it is good against R/X Aggro decks and Jund but other lists tend to run board sweepers and I have found that lacking true protection means he cannot block as profitably as we would like. I am keeping him in the SB for now.

I don't think Garruk, Caller of Beasts is a bad card to add at all. Our decks should be able to win without Mayael in play just as well as with her.
Plus he can be used in conjunction with Domri Rade and/or Worldly Tutor and/or Tooth and Nail to your set yourself up for plays.

Here is my list in case anyone cares. I have tried to focus on the early game as much as possible. Bloom Tender is an all-star despite being a fragile creature.

@ Mandriva: Kamahl discusses some Faithless Looting choices on page 147 and I imagine there are other such posts in the thread.

In other news...
I went 3-2 Friday. I tried out 2 Fiendslayer Paladin in my sideboard, which is the main thing I wanted to share with you guys.

I really enjoyed the Paladin, I sided it in against my round 1,2, and 4 opponents and he literally carried me to victory in 2 of the 3 matches.
Ratchet Bomb was great in the SB as well! I used it to good effect even though I never played Bant Hexproof.
I had Sin Collector main this week and Desecration Demon but I did not see them or they where ineffective. Sin Collector is going back to the SB. I am not writing Demon off entirely but I am going to try something a little different.


Round 1
1-2 Rakdos Midrange: A homebrew with Master of Cruelties, Thundermaw and Zealous Conscripts.
Game 1 I lost to an unexpected Conscripts that opened up a hole for Master of Cruelties to hit me.
Game 3 I did not find any removal for a Thundermaw.

Round 2
2-1 RDW: My friend and I are paired off. We had just built his deck.
Game 1 He gets there after some back and forth. I utilize Slayer's Stronghold and Rakdos Keyrune to push some damage in as a pseudo Ball Lightning so that was a fun trick.
Games 2 and 3 I side in Fiendslayer Paladin I land one game 2 and two on game 3 and and my opponent cannot do anything but burn me which does not prove to be enough and he scoops.

Round 3
2-1 Wg Humans: Game one I land Blood Baron and my opponent cannot answer him due to pro-white.
Game 2 Brave the Elements gets him there. Can't be mad really, it is a great card for the deck and I knew Mono-white would be a thing.
Game 3 Blood Baron saves the day again. Pro-white negates a Pacifism and allows the win.

Round 4
2-1 Gruul Aggro I misplay a bit game 1 and shock land myself at a bad time he gets me.
Game 2 I side in Ratchet Bomb and Fiendslayer Paladin, drop down to 2 life after using both Ratchets to clear the board. I land a Paladin and have WW, RR, and 2 Slayer's Stronghold allowing me to activate one Stronghold my turn and one his turn. I get back to 20 and he dies.
Game 3 I land Fiendslayer and Ratchet Bomb up to 2 counters and he pretty much scoops to that.

Round 5
Esper Superfriends 0-2 Most frustrating round ever. I think this deck can beat Esper but I did not. I got him down to under 5 life both games but I cannot clench it. Sin Collector's are responded to, Obzedat's are removed. He has his own Obzedat which I could not remove and/or find removal. It was good practice and I don't have anything against my opponent. But man, I hate playing that deck.

I think I will be taking some thing like this to my next event:


I am enjoying reading about all these events & decklists thanks everyone!!!

Celestial Flare could a possible answer for Predator Ooze

I am going to pack a couple in the SB for tonight.

I'm still trying to figure out how your opponent can cast a removal spell without open mana.

Slaughter Pact obviously!

Seriously, I could see VS making it into a SB in a mountain heavy meta. I think it is a bit "win more" versus aggro decks, but against Jund, Naya, or the mirror it could be great.

This is what I plan to try at FNM.



I have not been disappointed to see Rakdos Keyrune so far and I feel it helps us with our "four drop" issues so I am going to try one more MB and see what happens.
I am also am torn on what number of Shock/Pillar of Flame to run. Vampire Nighthawk/Sin Collector are other cards that may change.
Sin Collector is great against most decks but I feel it falls short against aggro.
The meta is a fair spread of decks with it leaning more on aggro decks but there is little to say what I will face.

Realistically, I doubt this will happen but I will never stop hoping we get a R/W Samurai General someday.