Based on this build, however I went with a more midrange approach by jamming in 4 Master of Waves since the card demands an answer and can often pull you out of a tight spot. There also happens to be a lot of blue mana symbols between the Planeswalkers and Weirds.
The idea here is to establish a solid board presence with Planeswalkers, threatning creatures, and good multipurpose removal. So, a midrange strategy.
In my initial build I did without Anger of the Gods and paid for it dearly at FNM. Between aggro decks, mana dorks in G/R devotion, and Pack Rats and Nightveil Specters, AotG does some serious work. Master of Waves came down with anywhere from 3-5 creatures, and having him alongside Master of Cruelties really stretched my opponent's removal, not to mention making attacking (and blocking) quite the chore.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I'll have a lot of opportunities to test this against some of the better decks in the format over the next few days and will report back my findings.
1-3 at a store tourney. I essentially beat myself in two of the games by keeping really terrible hands against aggro, but overall I felt good about what the deck was doing. My mono-black matchup is actually great, and pulling Gray Merchant out with Slaughter Games makes the matchup much more difficult for the opponent. For Friday I plan on making the following changes:
-1 Mutavault No real need for this card, and a couple of times I really needed it to be a colored mana source. The mana base is too tricky to play it.
-2 Rakdos Keyrune These just didn't have the impact I was looking for. The ramp wasn't ever really that necessary.
4x Frostburn Weird
3x Master of Cruelties
4x Master of Waves
3x Thassa, God of the Sea
Planeswalkers (7)
2x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
3x Jace, Architect of Thought
1x Jace, Memory Adept
1x Ral Zarek
Artifacts (2)
2x Rakdos Keyrune
Instants (4)
1x Far / Away
2x Turn / Burn
1x Ultimate Price
3x Anger of the Gods
3x Dreadbore
1x Mizzium Mortars
1x Rakdos's Return
Lands (25)
4x Blood Crypt
4x Island
4x Mountain
1x Mutavault
4x Steam Vents
4x Temple of Deceit
4x Watery Grave
4x Duress
2x Slaughter Games
1x Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1x Rakdos's Return
1x Pithing Needle
1x Aetherling
2x Doomblade
1x Anger of the Gods
2x Dark Betrayal
The idea here is to establish a solid board presence with Planeswalkers, threatning creatures, and good multipurpose removal. So, a midrange strategy.
In my initial build I did without Anger of the Gods and paid for it dearly at FNM. Between aggro decks, mana dorks in G/R devotion, and Pack Rats and Nightveil Specters, AotG does some serious work. Master of Waves came down with anywhere from 3-5 creatures, and having him alongside Master of Cruelties really stretched my opponent's removal, not to mention making attacking (and blocking) quite the chore.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. I'll have a lot of opportunities to test this against some of the better decks in the format over the next few days and will report back my findings.
1-3 at a store tourney. I essentially beat myself in two of the games by keeping really terrible hands against aggro, but overall I felt good about what the deck was doing. My mono-black matchup is actually great, and pulling Gray Merchant out with Slaughter Games makes the matchup much more difficult for the opponent. For Friday I plan on making the following changes:
-1 Mutavault No real need for this card, and a couple of times I really needed it to be a colored mana source. The mana base is too tricky to play it.
-2 Rakdos Keyrune These just didn't have the impact I was looking for. The ramp wasn't ever really that necessary.
-1 Jace, Memory Adept This needs to be a 4th JAoT
-1 Rakdos's Return This is fine out of the board, but I'd rather have another piece of cheap removal at the ready.
+1 Izzet Guildgate I definitely want more fixing
+2 Nightveil Specter Helps devotion for Thassa and MoW, and with a three color mana base I can cast things from quite a few decks
+1 Jace, Architect of Thought
+1 Magma Jet Helps with the early turns, knocks down Planeswalkers if necessary, and fixes a couple of draw steps
That's my thinking going forward. I'll update with results over the weekend.