Initial Impressions:
-4 Mana
-Doesn't generate card advantage
-No enter the battlefield effect
So...He's bad?
Well, not exactly. On his own, yes, Rafiq is pretty bad. But in the right deck, he is the ULTIMATE tempo general. How you ask? Well, read on!
Why Play Rafiq?
-You like tempo decks
-You like swinging with preposterously big creatures
-You like riding a Qasali Pridemage to victory
-You like saying cheesy catchphrases when you connect with a 8/8 doublestriking trampling Cephalid Constable
Why Not Play Rafiq?
-You like a much more linear path to victory
-You like a positive matchup against Animar
-You dislike praying they won't topdeck their land, will tap out for that threat you saw with Gitaxian Probe, and will play right into your mana tithe so you can tap out for Sword + Berserk and not get blown out by Snuff Out ...You get the point.
The History of the Deck
Magicror created the deck many moons ago, and since piloted the deck to consistent top 8 finishes in the various MWS / Cockatrice tournaments held online.
However, I thought the deck was pretty bad...ly situated in the Meta for a long time; specifically because of Edric. To make a long story short: 3 mana tempo general > 4 mana tempo general.
Below is the decklist Magicror piloted to a top 8 finish in the last French EDH tournament wherein Edric was still legal.
As you can see, the game plan was heavily diluted to deal with Edric (cards like Rushing River, Bant Charm, Man of War, etc.) And the deck still ultimately lost in the quarterfinals to Edric. Even worse, Rafiq was negatively impacted from splashover of hate decks were mainboarding to deal with Edric (Red Elemental Blast)
Things changed dramatically post the Edric banning. In a meta that dramatically slowed down, Rafiq was able to heavily streamline its game plan, and thus speed up in direct contrast to the rest of the meta. After some testing with Magicror (and maybe the slightest suggestions on improving the deck), we both became convinced the deck was probably one of the best. We thus resolved to both pilot the exact same decklist in the next upcoming tournament, because well...it's just the appropriate thing to do. Our dreams of a Rafiq vs. Rafiq finals never materialized, but my 1st place finish was a good runner up.
The deck operates like the traditional tempo deck
1) Early threat
2) Disrupt everything relevant they try to do
3) ??
4) Win
Well, not exactly. The added addition of Rafiq to the Command Zone puts a large twist on how the traditional tempo deck would operate. In a format like Duel Commander where decks are replete with general based synergy, tempo needs a huge boost to keep up - Rafiq is that boost! (He is the champion after all).
Rafiq does three very important things for this deck.
1) He turns your utility creatures into serious threats.
If you peruse the decklist, you'll notice that by far the largest segment of the deck is "utility creatures". Normally, this is bad: Qasali can only carry you so far until Karador manages to resolve Loyal Retainers one more time than the number of counters you have. With the addition of Rafiq to the battlefield, things change. Qasali goes from being a 10 turn clock, to a 4 turn one (3 damage per turn to 8). This means your clock has sped up by more than a factor of double.
2) He forces your opponent into making suboptimal plays.
You'll notice one of the subthemes of the deck is "3 mana creatures that do stuff" (articulate, I know). Normally, walking Edric, Cold-Eyed Sulkie, or Knight into removal or a counter is a pretty poor play. In Rafiq, its actually pretty good. The reason is that you want your opponent to be put in a situation where they have to decide between 1) Letting you swing with what you have in play 2) Letting Rafiq resolve. This is made all the more complicated by the number of tempo counters the deck plays, and how much damage Rafiq can do simply by giving his combat ability over to any of your creatures.
3) Controlling the tempo of the game
Much like Zur, the very presence of Rafiq in your command zone makes the game progress extremely differently. This is because your opponent is obviously aware of reasons #1 and #2 (or will be after losing), and will thus play his deck differently. This means that you'll often have much more time than you normally would to beat with a lowly snapcaster, simply because tapping out means Rafiq can resolve. This means that even a board state as unthreatening as Noble Heirarch and Llanowar Elves invalidates a superstar like Jace - Regardless of which ability they do,brainstorm, bounce, or fateseal, Rafiq next turn will ensure he gets one shot.
Matchups
Maelstrom Wanderer
All In Version
Very Favorable
If you can equip an equipment to Rafiq, they'll generally have under 5 cards in their deck that will save them, for which you can very easily save a counter. Overall, you can simultaneously disrupt their game plan of ramping, and apply immense pressure. Without any consistent way to deal with Rafiq, they'll just take too much damage.
Feel free to play aggressively, though watch out for key points on the mana curve (generally 4 (planeswalkers or big ramp spells), 6 (titans), or 8 (Maelstrom Wanderer).
Packin Pyroclasms
Even, Maybe Slightly Favorable
If the deck is really aiming to beat you, they'll at least be able to give you a run for your money. If they're playing a pyroclasm / disruption heavy version of Wanderer, don't rush Rafiq in - play much more defensively. Punish them for still playing little to no creatures, and get in for consistent damage the whole game with your early dudes.
Don't be scared of losing 2 - 3 guys to a pyroclasm, especially because the mana dorks get more useless as the game continues (you probably won't have time to re-cast Rafiq anyway). Make sure to save your counters for the real threats, which they'll have less of (since they're packing more disruption).
Animar
All In
Highly Unfavorable
Probably the worst matchup of all the generals. Your gameplan here is to have
1) A counter for turn 2 Animar
2) Removal for turn 2 Animar (basically Phantasmal Image)
3) A prayer
On the draw, your chance of winning is pretty poor, to be honest. Don't be afraid to mull aggressively.
If you can kill Animar once, your chance of winning goes up to even. If you can kill him twice (which is easier than the first time, since he costs more and you'll have time to prepare a counter), then your chance of winning goes up to very good; though obviously easier said than done.
Key to this matchup is knowing what to counter. Don't be baited into countering his many draw spells, or early guys. You can't waste the counters when you need to save them for the game ending spells (of which there are a lot). It's not a clean matchup, so don't try and make it one - let Animar grow huge, and deal with it.
Good Stuff Version
Favorable
You have a good matchup against pretty much all goodstuff decks, and this one is no exception. When you don't have to worry about a turn 4 combo, the fact that Animar is pro Rafiq is kind of irrelevant. You run plenty of beaters who can get past Animar, and giving Rafiq trample will override the protection anyway.
Zur
All In
Favorable.
You can apply pressure while keeping Zur off the board, and your general has immediate board impact, while theirs does not. You can also set up hilarious board situations, such as when you have a creature with Jitte or Sword of Fire and Ice: if they tap out for Zur, you tap out for Rafiq, an your double striking guy will kill Zur thanks to the equipment.
They also pack less sweepers in this version, so you have less fear when overextending
Control
Even
Mostly you're just worried about a plethora of sweepers, and playing slow will give them time to set up Zur with countermagic protection. They may also play more utility dudes, which slow you down by being able to block.
Iname
Unfavorable
Iname packs a lot of removal, no way of getting around it.
Your game plan here is to try and delay him until you can get a huge hit in. Take the risks when you need to as you need to get him low on life. When he gets below 6 or 7 life roughly, you get in a much better spot. At that point, it's much harder for him to get a conditional reanimate spell (Recurring Nightmare, Victimize, Dread Return) on Kuro, Pitlord and wipe your board, since it costs 1 life per activation if Horobi is out, and much more if he isn't.
Needless to say, Sword of Feast and Famine will also generally win you the game here.
Jenara
Enchantress
Favorable
Don't worry about most of the stuff they're doing. Even if they put a pacifism effect on Rafiq, you can still swing with other double striking guys, so it's not a big setback. You also don't really care if they have oodles of mana, since it takes 3 mana to cast Jenara, and 12 mana to pump her 6 times before she even does more than just trade with Rafiq.
Don't be baited into countering anything but the game ending spells like moat (though even that is ok if you have a flyer), or Oath of Druids. Definitely a better matchup since Humility was banned.
Goodstuff
Favorable.
Whatever they're trying to do with their deck, your gameplan is much more consistent. Beware of losing to the same power cards you pack (Elspeth, Jace 2.0, etc.), but otherwise, this is a good matchup for you.
Clique
Very Favorable
Without access to mass sweepers, you can easily overcome their countermagic with low cast tempo threats. Mana dorks also help you easily outpace them, and force them to keep wasting their counters on Rafiq (who in this magic is basically just like a free "soak up 2 counterspells" card. If you can stick an equipment spell, its pretty much automatic game (though beware of getting blown out by a bounce spell - sword of fire and ice gives the creature pro, but the equipment itself doesn't have it).
Talrand
Favorable
Though not as good a matchup as Clique, it basically plays out the same way. Infinite dudes can prevent you from winning off of just combat damage, but you pack enough tricks to get past that. Talrand is also a valid target for your removal (unlique Clique), so you can deal with him even if he's resolved.
Radha
Unfavorable
Generally, Radha can burn your guys and deal lethal to you before you can stabilize. It doesn't help that pretty much your entire deck dies to bolt, so you're very vulnerable to the plethora of red burn spells they play. Radha is also much less likely to tap out (unlike a traditional extinction build like Griselbrand who has to tap out for ramp cards like Worn Powerstone) which makes it hard to ever land key spells like equipment, or rancor without getting 2 for 1'ed.
Alternate Deck Strategies
Infect Rafiq
Infect Rafiq is definitely deadly, but is overall too cute / a one trick pony for me to take it seriously. If there was something like 4-5 more playable infect creatures I would be all over that stuff, but there is sadly not. As a result, you're forced to dilute your game plan by pumping spells rather than simply more threats. This version of Rafiq may be slower, but its also more consistent (which is what you want when Griselbrand + co. are packing removal from here to France and back)
Gets you
1) Inkmoth Nexus (which is a 3 turn clock with just Rafiq in play, often a 1 turn clock with any number of pump spells
2) Gaea's Cradle
3) Cavern of Souls (Naming Human - which there are a fair amount in the deck
4) Sejiri Steppe (Will allow you to get through with a card like Cephalid Constable, or will make a card like Arrest fall off Rafiq in a matchup like Zur
5) Wasteland
Will add more once I think of other interactions that aren't obvious like Cephalid Constable -> One sided upheaval with Rafiq in play
This deck can't really take advantage of Survival (shocking I know), and putting in the cards necessary would overly dilute the game plan. Ultimately, setting up cool stuff with Survival sets you back so many turns its better to just win without it
Allow unpredictable wins with Rafiq, but also leave you vulnerable to a huge blowout, and as a tempo deck, you need every card to count (drawing dead cards like Rancor or Berserk is already a problem). Invigorate was the only interesting one, but that was only because in the Edric meta it allowed you to not be blown out by the plethora of Pyroclasm effects
For the most part, the most consistent 6 drop you need is Rafiq after he's been countered or killed once. No, seriously. He draws removal and counter magic like a magnet; which is good! You'll pretty much always have the mana to replay him, and having them waste cards only delaying the inevitable is ok when you already have board control. The Titans are immediate mulligans, and that's just not acceptable in this kind of deck.
A good all around card, but at 3 mana, is just too expensive. I've found 2 mana is the most you want to play for a multimode spell when its individual modes should cost {1}; see Simic Charm / Selesnya Charm
Super interesting for more aggro decks, but counter to Rafiq's game plan. You're never going to swing with a double striking Tarmogoyf over a double striking Cold-Eyed Sulkie, and vanilla big creatures hog spots better suited for more interesting creatures
A 2 for 1 that is also a 2 turn clock with Rafiq in play. Also trades much more favorably than its counterpart, Viridian Shaman, with bigger creatures. However, double {G}, and the lack of other infect creatures is holding this back. In addition, its a dead card if you have an equipment in play and they have no artifacts to target.
A good turn 3 drop, and when you don't have anything else to do End of their turn, you can pump her huge until Rafiq lands and makes her one shot. Definitely worth considering, though only doing lots of damage is sometimes not enough
Change Log
-Angelic Destiny
+Voice of Resurgence
After playing the Cockatrice Tournament, Angelic Destiny was deemed too cute. The fact it triggers on death of creature and not of the enchantment makes it infinitely worse than Rancor (which can come back even if Rafiq goes to the Command Zone). Meanwhile, Voice of "Value" is a sweet new addition to shore up bad matchups like Mono Red Burn.
Fluxuate gives away too much credit.
While I have spent much time on this deck on this deck in the past, it's his recent persistence in perfecting this list that has pushed it over the top.
He pilots it very well, and his results speak for themselves.
All that to say: congratulations on the 1st place finish! You definitely deserve it.
As far as the deck goes, I don't have anything else to add really. We've talked about and tested this deck so often, and I think it is very well placed in the meta.
Awesome, powerful decklist man. As you said, the threat of Rafiq, or rather the threat of Rafiq combined with one of the dangerous 3 drops, along with berserk, Jitte, etc, really changes the game and forces bad plays. It almost has the feel of a combo deck, being able to "go off" at any moment. And unlike other tempo decks it can *literally* end the game out of nowhere.
Props and thanks for sharing, hope to play you more on cockatrice.
Any consideration for Putrefax? I know how fast this deck kills normally so I doubt this would help with a clock, but a 6/6 double strike haste trample infect creature sounds ****ing scary. The trample being especially helpful I've found.
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French EDH BRGW Saskia the Unyielding BRGW GUWB Thrasios, Triton Hero // Tymna the Weaver GUWB B Braids, Cabal Minion B G Titania, Protector of Argoth G R Zurgo Bellstriker R
Founding Father of [Team Stepfathers]: We beat you and you hate us My Street Art
Its definitely an instant win under the right conditions, but those conditions are
1) The combined toughness of all their creatures is 2
2) They dont have any removal /counters
Its not a totally improbable situation, but it requires some setup. I dont think Putrefax works in a non-infect list, especially because any card above 3 mana is almost an instant mulligan in this deck
Good point, especially the mulligan point which I didn't even think about. I bring him up because that's the win condition in Mimeoplasm usually and I have the same problems you mentioned. However I hate using it because it's so dangerous. You literally have to be like 90%+ sure that it will kill, otherwise you lose a lot of tempo a majority of the time. I bring it up because you could make a case for switching it out with Sigarda who is the same cmc (but the Hexproof is so nice). I actually don't think you don't even need it, just thought I'd mention it.
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French EDH BRGW Saskia the Unyielding BRGW GUWB Thrasios, Triton Hero // Tymna the Weaver GUWB B Braids, Cabal Minion B G Titania, Protector of Argoth G R Zurgo Bellstriker R
Founding Father of [Team Stepfathers]: We beat you and you hate us My Street Art
Hey bro! I just wanted to thank you for all the help you had given me, your deck is amazing. With the new Dragon Maze have you considered Rendered Silent? It maybe mana intensive but it can completely shut down an opponent.
Hey bro! I just wanted to thank you for all the help you had given me, your deck is amazing. With the new Dragon Maze have you considered Rendered Silent? It maybe mana intensive but it can completely shut down an opponent.
Though Render Silent is interesting, 3 mana counters just aren't what this deck is looking for.
Ajani is strong, but doesn't curve into turn 1 -> dork, turn 2-> threat, turn 3-> Rafiq (which is why it was never added).
It works best in a meta with more control or removal heavy decks than other tempo / midrange ones (so Grand Arbiter and Griselbrand vs. Geist and Zur). If you felt like one of the 3 mana creatures wasn't cutting it, it could definitely be a good add.
Couple of questions:
1. Why not include skullclamp? You have enough mana dorks that you could clamp for some CA.
2. If not skullclamp, why not include Sublime Archangel? She applies pressure like Rafiq or Elspeth.
3. You mentioned burn from Radha a problem, have you faced a Jhoira list with counter & burn? If so, what's the game plan there? They typically control the board till she can suspend some nonsense.
Couple of questions:
1. Why not include skullclamp? You have enough mana dorks that you could clamp for some CA.
2. If not skullclamp, why not include Sublime Archangel? She applies pressure like Rafiq or Elspeth.
3. You mentioned burn from Radha a problem, have you faced a Jhoira list with counter & burn? If so, what's the game plan there? They typically control the board till she can suspend some nonsense.
Skullclamp is good, but I don't think what this deck wants to be doing. It's definitely good for turning your late game dorks into card advantage. But it also puts you in the position where you want your threats to die, while the deck itself is built towards protecting your threats.
To be honest, now that I think about it, it might be better than I had initially depicted it, and I might try and find a spot for skullclamp and see how it does.
This card just isn't good. If you can keep Rafiq in play for a whole turn and untap with him, you've probably already won anyway - Sublime Archangel is just overkill at that point. There are only two four drops in the deck - Elspeth and Jace 2.0 - and both are there because they're simply too good not to be.
Besides, you'd prefer a way to give Rafiq evasion anyway, rather than just deal more damage.
I don't think Jhoira is nearly as scary as Radha. Radha is strong because its not reliant upon its general at all - these kinds of decks severely disadvantage your many counters (especially the tempo ones) because there are no key spells you're looking to stop. Every card is functionally the same (kird ape, wild nacatl, goblin guide, etc).
Jhoira may play burn, but it also has a very disruptable game plan, which helps makes your counterspells not dead cards. The deck also is scared of playing Jhoira right into counters, so the pilot will often slow play, giving you time to set up a strong board position with your plethora of tempo creatures.
Radha won't give you this luxury, and will often force you to have to waste your tempo creatures chump blocking. The fact that your tempo creatures are often smaller than straight up aggressive creatures (grand abolisher vs. tarmogoyf) doesn't help either.
just lost 1-2 against Wydwen who seemed to be unwinnable unless having an opening hand with berserk, elspeth and 2 counters :/
Is that based off the 3 games against Wydwen you played? Or have you played more since? Was the decklist you played also the same as the one in the original post?
I ask because I've always found Wydwen to not only be winnable, but in fact even or favorable.
I think a lot has to do with how aggressively you mulligan, and how you play.
an opening hand with berserk, elspeth and 2 counters :/
To be honest, that's an extremely poor opening hand against Wydwen, and one I would probably entirely mulligan. Let's go card by card.
First, the win conditions in that hand
Berserk: You're not going for the combo win here; there's just no need. Wydwen is a 7 turn clock, and there's no reason to leave yourself open to a 2-1.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant: This seems great against Wydwen: its a planeswalkers, makes guys, what's not to love?
Well, actually, a lot. Imagine a theoretical game state of nothing in play. Maybe you have a mana dork. You cast Elspeth. Wydwen lets it resolve. You have no choice but to make a guy. Wydwen plays her general end of turn. On her turn, she bashes Elspeth down to 2, and passes.
How do you respond now? At 5 mana, Wydwen can most likely counter what you're doing, and Elspeth is helpless - she most likely dies next turn. That means you paid 4 mana and wasted a card for 2 1/1 soldier tokens; not great.
As for the counters...
Counters are only good if they can protect your win conditions. As described above, that hand doesn't really have any win conditions, so the counters are equally dead cards. Furthermore, wasting a counter on Wydwen is useless. Wydwen is irrelevant anyway if you have the proper board position, so you'd much rather have a threat in this matchup than a counter (except if you're protecting one of the best win conditions in this matchup).
The easiest way to win against Wydwen is to curve well. You want a turn 1 mana dork, and a turn 2 threat. On the play, it's pretty much impossible to lose after turn 1 guy into turn 2 equipment (sword of feast and famine for example).
Even if your turn 2 spell gets countered, you can then go turn 3 Rafiq. Even if that gets countered, you can now go play another guy turn 4, this time preferably with countermagic backup. And finally, you can re-play Rafiq on turn 5. This steady stream of threats is generally sufficient to overwhelm Wydwen.
The goal here is to play the aggressor. You don't care if Wydwen is ever resolved - what's it going to do? Trade with your double striking llanowar elves? The only thing you're worried about is what Wydwen can do to stop your game plan, which is generally much stronger.
I have a quick question. I understand this decklist is duel commander ,but I want to modify it for normal WOTC banlist. What would you reccomend cutting/adding in this case? Sorry if this is not a valid question ,but your decklist is by far the best out and I needed some advice. Cards I was thinking of adding was stuff like sol ring and possibly Divining Top
I have a quick question. I understand this decklist is duel commander ,but I want to modify it for normal WOTC banlist. What would you reccomend cutting/adding in this case? Sorry if this is not a valid question ,but your decklist is by far the best out and I needed some advice. Cards I was thinking of adding was stuff like sol ring and possibly Divining Top
+Sol Ring
+Trygon Predator
+Trinket Mage
+Relic of Progenitus
+Mana Drain
+Scavenging Ooze
+Ethersworn Canonist
Sol Ring for obvious reasons. Relic to combat Hermit Druid. Trinket Mage to get it (and Sol Ring). Scavenging Ooze is a better pick than Voice since you won't be facing many aggro decks. Geist isn't nearly as good (as a non-general) in a 40 life format, neither is Selesnya Charm or simic charm, and Sigarda is too slow when you'll be facing primarily combo decks. Trygon Predator comes in to fight the plethora of other sol rings, and delay gets upgraded by becoming mana drain. Finally, Ethersworn Canonist is good tech for combo decks, and is tutorable by enlightened tutor.
You might end up needing to make more switches to include additional "hate" cards. If so, I would cut Phyrexian Metamorph for Gaddock Teeg. There are probably even more hate cards, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.
To be honest, a 40 life format with the powerful mana accelerants unbanned is not a great environment for Rafiq. Having non-general aggro down as a (extremely viable) plan b is part of why Rafiq is good.
1. Why not include skullclamp? You have enough mana dorks that you could clamp for some CA.
As per your suggestion, I've been trying out Skullclamp in favor of preordain, and I've been pleasantly surprised.
It's sometimes not great (though the same can be said of preordain), but at the very least its like a mini shock if the equipped creature connects while double striking.
It also definitely helps with the bad matchups, like extinction builds such as Thraximundar, or aggro decks like Radha, so I think that alone warrants its inclusion.
I've started from netdecking your liste (scuse me, I needed a base to start :[).
Since I did changements :
-selsenya charm : : I found the boost a lil bit weak, the token isn't strong enough to justify the slot and the removal effect intervens too late.
I can see that. Selesnya Charm is awkward in that it doesn't change the number of hits with Rafiq you need to win off general damage (normally you go 8, 16, 24, Charm lets you go 12, 20, 28).
I've found the token to be good, especially against planeswalkers, but I could see why you'd want to cut it for Scavenging Ooze, especially in this meta.
-sigarda : our only 5CCM, I didn't managed to cast it often, and the only moment I did, my opp does wrath the turn after.
I think Sigarda is much stronger than you're making it seem. She's not meant to be played into a wrath, she's an incredible post wrath finisher that their remaining spot removal can't do anything against.
She's really good against decks like Iname or Griselbrand, and can help you deal the remaining points of damage in a game you have no place winning. She's also very good as a GSZ target, which is why I play her.
+sylvan protector : better than mother of runes most of the time.
I ultimately decided against Sylvan Protector. This deck is closer to midrange than it is to aggro, and I really like keeping my lands (replaying Rafiq is really important). Protector is nowhere better than Mother, and it doesn't protect against wraths (which is what I find I'm generally most concerned about).
+tectonic edge : I sow only waste, and I put the couple in all my decks.
I don't particularly like Tectonic Edge. It's a bad move with your turn 4, and the deck often has some intense mana requirements (playing both Elspeth and Counterspell).
It also lets you recover really well from wraths, and can actually be good even when Rafiq isn't out (there are creatures that are threats on their own in the deck).
Mox : I don't like CDA and sometimes we don't want or we can't waste a land (opening hand with 1 land+mox, or land+cavern against monoU, ...) but it's still efficient to do Rafiq on turn two with an elf
Basically my line of thought. It fuels some really degenerate plays (I had turn 1 Cobra, turn 2 Sword of Feast and Famine one time). but is probably more risky than a consistent tempo deck like this wants. I might cut it.
cephalid constable : without the genral this guy is... a 1/1 for 3 very expensive isn't it ? and With the général, I prefere a creature with evasion or even just rafiq to get general damges, probably the next card that will go out from my list.
Have you found this from your testing? I ask because even if Constable looks "cute", I've found it to be really, really deadly. It's probably one of the few creatures in magic that only has to connect once to guarantee your victory (I have yet to lose a game when Constable connects, even if it only hits for {1}).
I often get told to cut it, but I think it really does merit its spot. It curves perfectly into Rafiq, and just having Constable in play can force them to have to play around the possibility of you casting Rafiq. Played turn 2 on the play, Constable is also basically as deadly as Survival of the Fittest or Oath of Druids
The deck also plays a number of ways to pump Constable without Rafiq, and the pump spells can often give you a victory out of nowhere.
I would encourage you to play some more before dismissing Constable so quickly.
Voice of resurgence : I thought this card was awesome, but concretly half of the time, it is just a 2/2 that churn out a token. Maybe Thalia or Gaddock would be better...
I think that's basically all I want. Voice of Resurgence is a really good card for the traditionally bad matchups, and I have had really fantastic results with it.
Thalia is definitely a bad call (it would hurt you as much as them), though Gaddock Teeg looks pretty interesting - even if it does turn off your 2 planeswalkers.
Nevertheless, it's important to note Teeg and Voice of Resurgence target different threats. Voice is really not that much for wrath effects; as you point out, a 1/1 isn't going to do much.
Voice really shines in matchups like Radha or Griselbrand, where it means one less removal spell for Rafiq if they kill it, or an army of tokens which can get very big if they try to ignore it. In those matchups, Voice can almost single handedly give you victory.
micheal / rory do you guys still play on cockatrice or did you move back to mws?
-phil
edit:
As for the deck, it seems weird to play judge's familiar and not cursecatcher. the familiar is better in the sense that it's easier to cast and has evasion, but I don't see how that's relevant when the only reason you play it is to delay their big spells by 1 turn. If tempo is your ultimate goal, I'd say play both or neither.
im also a bit skeptical on the mox diamond. I think I'd play boreal druid instead. you're off by 1 colored mana, but it may be a beater. and with that many equipments in the deck, a late-game druid is better than a late game mana artifact, especially in a deck with very low card-draw. they'll both be very good in your opener, unless youre colored screwed (at which point I'd question you about discarding a land to use the mox ...)
i agree with the entire counter suit. i was gonna suggest daze, but then reading happened. however i think i'd be more of a douche bag and play flusterstorm and disrupt as well. i dont know the 1v1 meta much, but im pretty sure you can screw someone good with these. worse come to worse, you can use and pay the disrupt on your own spell to draw!!! tech right there.
i agree with gitaxian probe. hand peek tech is best tech
I also agree with Tzark4n about the tectonic edge. I don't think that you should view the card as something to pop turn 4, but more as an out to a maze of ith or any annoying utility lands out there (which there are plenty). As for your color-intensive argument, adding tedge doesn't mean you have to remove a 2 color land, and even if you did, I doubt that one land you removed would be the difference between casting or not casting a card on turn 4. Like you could take out a basic land for it ( i see that you play 7, why? oh god why?). Between drawing a card that could potentially take out a threat/delay your opponent's spells and you having a very small chance of been color-screwed because of it, I'd go for utility.
also is there a good reason not to play treetop village, stirring wildwood and mutavault? like if anything cut basic lands for them.
also HOLY **** simic charms good... what the hell man
Glad to hear that! As I said earlier, I feel Rafiq has been tragically overloooked, but hopefully we can change that.
Yes !
one of my friend just say "rafiq is just lower to jenara, less well-curved, and you need top play bad cards to optimize it"
It was just before we play, and we had 6/1 for me against his Esper control (he isn't a bad player, he was in st nazaire's top 8)
Haha, glad to hear it.
To be honest, I maintain pretty respectable win ratios against pretty much every competitive deck in the meta (aside from all in combo Animar - sigh that deck). Not to exaggerate how good Rafiq is, but I actually don't think I've lost a best out of 3 to any of the competitive decks in the format in months (though maybe I'm just lucky; I do rock that Turn 2 Stoneforge more than is mathematically likely).
As for Mox Diamond, I agree with the criticisms the above posts have said on it, and I'm cutting it.
However, its replacement is a somewhat unconventional card - Piracy Charm (tech courtesy of Evergreen).
To make a long story short, I want to put in more Animar hate, and this is a less dead card than Dance of Many. It's actually removal against Animar, a way to make Rafiq unblockable against 9/10 top tier decks, a pump effect to get in more damage, or a way to make them discard their topdeck. I don't know how I haven't been playing this card, but it seems perfect.
As for Sigarda, I think I'm more open to cutting it, now that I've realized how much the meta has changed towards decks like Jenara, Animar, or Karador, but I'm unsure what I would slot in for it. I might put Scavenging Ooze in it's place. I think Sigarda is less relevant in the new meta than Selesnya Charm (which can exile Protean Hulk for example if you get lucky)
Have you tried Spawnwrithe? He's great too once he connected. And incredible with doublestrike. Once again, it might be too hard to connect him though. But I think that he deserves tests.
If Spawnwrithe connects, I now have three 2/2s in play, or the ability to swing for 6. Spawnwrithe on his own with Rafiq out swings for 6/6 (3/3 doublestrike).
The main problem is that making multiple guys is counterintuitive to Rafiq's exalted ability, so Spawnwrithe is unfortunately off theme (even if he has an ability that triggers on strike).
He also is weak to board wipes, and lacks impressive stats on his own. In a general sense, I also find damage dealing the weakest of abilities for my creatures in this deck to have. I'd much rather be drawing cards than dealing more damage.
First two are self explanatory. Third merits some explanation. Unfortunately, even having only metamorph and image left the Animar matchup unpalatable; I refuse to go below 2 outs to it in the deck - Piracy Charm and Rapid Hybridization will have to suffice.
Hopefully the 3/3 creature won't be too much of a pain, but we'll see.
Although it may not be as good againt Animar (but probably OK), it looks far better than Pongify against almost any other deck (no CDA, may be used to fight planeswalkers).
Psionic Blast is definitely a no-go for this deck
1) it costs 3 - not being able to tap out because I'm holding such expensive removal in hand will probably cost me a lot of games. This deck needs its removal at 1 mana.
2) Psionic Blast is bad removal: it does kill most generals, but I want unconditional removal. Its especially bad versus Animar. They know I dont play wrath effects, so theyll go all out. Animar will generally jump from 0 counters to more than 4 the turn he untaps. That means I need to have psionic blast in hand the turn Animar resolves.
3) It's otherwise a dead card: unlike a deck like Jenara where you're playing the waiting game, Rafiq wants to always be doing stuff. A game plan that Psionic Blast doesn't fit into. This deck also doesn't have particular trouble with planeswalkers (unless they're protected by a wrath effect, but then its not the PW thats the issue). Rafiq also only rarely stalls out with the opponent at 4 - you mostly go in huge damage intervals.
The General
Rafiq of the Many
Initial Impressions:
-4 Mana
-Doesn't generate card advantage
-No enter the battlefield effect
So...He's bad?
Well, not exactly. On his own, yes, Rafiq is pretty bad. But in the right deck, he is the ULTIMATE tempo general. How you ask? Well, read on!
Why Play Rafiq?
-You like tempo decks
-You like swinging with preposterously big creatures
-You like riding a Qasali Pridemage to victory
-You like saying cheesy catchphrases when you connect with a 8/8 doublestriking trampling Cephalid Constable
Why Not Play Rafiq?
-You like a much more linear path to victory
-You like a positive matchup against Animar
-You dislike praying they won't topdeck their land, will tap out for that threat you saw with Gitaxian Probe, and will play right into your mana tithe so you can tap out for Sword + Berserk and not get blown out by Snuff Out ...You get the point.
The History of the Deck
Magicror created the deck many moons ago, and since piloted the deck to consistent top 8 finishes in the various MWS / Cockatrice tournaments held online.
However, I thought the deck was pretty bad...ly situated in the Meta for a long time; specifically because of Edric. To make a long story short: 3 mana tempo general > 4 mana tempo general.
Below is the decklist Magicror piloted to a top 8 finish in the last French EDH tournament wherein Edric was still legal.
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mystic Gate
1 Flooded Grove
1 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Bastion
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Tundra
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Brushland
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 City of Brass
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Wasteland
1 Snow-Covered Forest
1 Forest
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Homeward Path
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Remand
1 Mana Leak
1 Cryptic Command
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Rancor
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Krosan Grip
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Crop Rotation
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Sylvan Library
1 Bant Charm
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Miscalculation
1 Force of Will
1 AEther Vial
1 Memory Lapse
1 Path to Exile
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Delay
1 Standstill
1 Spell Pierce
1 Daze
1 Command Tower
1 Brainstorm
1 Stifle
1 Condemn
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mental Misstep
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Rushing River
1 Force Spike
1 Tangle Wire
1 Plaxmanta
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Spellskite
1 Aven Mindcensor
1 Emeria Angel
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Trygon Predator
1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
1 Knight of the Reliquary
1 Man-o
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Bloom Tender
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Eternal Witness
1 Boreal Druid
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Cephalid Constable
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Viridian Corrupter
As you can see, the game plan was heavily diluted to deal with Edric (cards like Rushing River, Bant Charm, Man of War, etc.) And the deck still ultimately lost in the quarterfinals to Edric. Even worse, Rafiq was negatively impacted from splashover of hate decks were mainboarding to deal with Edric (Red Elemental Blast)
Things changed dramatically post the Edric banning. In a meta that dramatically slowed down, Rafiq was able to heavily streamline its game plan, and thus speed up in direct contrast to the rest of the meta. After some testing with Magicror (and maybe the slightest suggestions on improving the deck), we both became convinced the deck was probably one of the best. We thus resolved to both pilot the exact same decklist in the next upcoming tournament, because well...it's just the appropriate thing to do. Our dreams of a Rafiq vs. Rafiq finals never materialized, but my 1st place finish was a good runner up.
The Decklist
1 Marsh Flats
1 Mystic Gate
1 Flooded Grove
1 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Arid Mesa
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Tundra
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Brushland
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 City of Brass
1 Temple Garden
1 Breeding Pool
1 Celestial Colonnade
1 Sejiri Steppe
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Wasteland
2 Forest
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Glacial Fortress
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Command Tower
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Moorland Haunt
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Weathered Wayfarer
1 Eternal Witness
1 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Grand Abolisher
1 Meddling Mage
1 Mother of Runes
1 Aven Mindscensor
1 Judge's Familiar
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Voice of Resurgence
1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
1 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
1 Cephalid Constable
1 Looter il-Kor
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Fyndhorn Elves
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Lotus Cobra
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Remand
1 Mana Leak
1 Miscalculation
1 Force of Will
1 Memory Lapse
1 Delay
1 Spell Pierce
1 Daze
1 Mana Tithe
1 Counterspell
1 Force Spike
1 Spell Snare
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Sylvan Library
1 Detention Sphere
1 Rancor
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Skullclamp
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Path to Exile
1 Brainstorm
1 Nature's Claim
1 Selesnya Charm
1 Simic Charm
1 Berserk
1 Rapid Hybradization
1 Psionic Blast
1 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Steelshaper's Gift
1 Preordain
How The Deck Works
The deck operates like the traditional tempo deck
1) Early threat
2) Disrupt everything relevant they try to do
3) ??
4) Win
Well, not exactly. The added addition of Rafiq to the Command Zone puts a large twist on how the traditional tempo deck would operate. In a format like Duel Commander where decks are replete with general based synergy, tempo needs a huge boost to keep up - Rafiq is that boost! (He is the champion after all).
Rafiq does three very important things for this deck.
1) He turns your utility creatures into serious threats.
If you peruse the decklist, you'll notice that by far the largest segment of the deck is "utility creatures". Normally, this is bad: Qasali can only carry you so far until Karador manages to resolve Loyal Retainers one more time than the number of counters you have. With the addition of Rafiq to the battlefield, things change. Qasali goes from being a 10 turn clock, to a 4 turn one (3 damage per turn to 8). This means your clock has sped up by more than a factor of double.
2) He forces your opponent into making suboptimal plays.
You'll notice one of the subthemes of the deck is "3 mana creatures that do stuff" (articulate, I know). Normally, walking Edric, Cold-Eyed Sulkie, or Knight into removal or a counter is a pretty poor play. In Rafiq, its actually pretty good. The reason is that you want your opponent to be put in a situation where they have to decide between 1) Letting you swing with what you have in play 2) Letting Rafiq resolve. This is made all the more complicated by the number of tempo counters the deck plays, and how much damage Rafiq can do simply by giving his combat ability over to any of your creatures.
3) Controlling the tempo of the game
Much like Zur, the very presence of Rafiq in your command zone makes the game progress extremely differently. This is because your opponent is obviously aware of reasons #1 and #2 (or will be after losing), and will thus play his deck differently. This means that you'll often have much more time than you normally would to beat with a lowly snapcaster, simply because tapping out means Rafiq can resolve. This means that even a board state as unthreatening as Noble Heirarch and Llanowar Elves invalidates a superstar like Jace - Regardless of which ability they do,brainstorm, bounce, or fateseal, Rafiq next turn will ensure he gets one shot.
Matchups
Maelstrom Wanderer
All In Version
Very Favorable
If you can equip an equipment to Rafiq, they'll generally have under 5 cards in their deck that will save them, for which you can very easily save a counter. Overall, you can simultaneously disrupt their game plan of ramping, and apply immense pressure. Without any consistent way to deal with Rafiq, they'll just take too much damage.
Feel free to play aggressively, though watch out for key points on the mana curve (generally 4 (planeswalkers or big ramp spells), 6 (titans), or 8 (Maelstrom Wanderer).
Packin Pyroclasms
Even, Maybe Slightly Favorable
If the deck is really aiming to beat you, they'll at least be able to give you a run for your money. If they're playing a pyroclasm / disruption heavy version of Wanderer, don't rush Rafiq in - play much more defensively. Punish them for still playing little to no creatures, and get in for consistent damage the whole game with your early dudes.
Don't be scared of losing 2 - 3 guys to a pyroclasm, especially because the mana dorks get more useless as the game continues (you probably won't have time to re-cast Rafiq anyway). Make sure to save your counters for the real threats, which they'll have less of (since they're packing more disruption).
Animar
All In
Highly Unfavorable
Probably the worst matchup of all the generals. Your gameplan here is to have
1) A counter for turn 2 Animar
2) Removal for turn 2 Animar (basically Phantasmal Image)
3) A prayer
On the draw, your chance of winning is pretty poor, to be honest. Don't be afraid to mull aggressively.
If you can kill Animar once, your chance of winning goes up to even. If you can kill him twice (which is easier than the first time, since he costs more and you'll have time to prepare a counter), then your chance of winning goes up to very good; though obviously easier said than done.
Key to this matchup is knowing what to counter. Don't be baited into countering his many draw spells, or early guys. You can't waste the counters when you need to save them for the game ending spells (of which there are a lot). It's not a clean matchup, so don't try and make it one - let Animar grow huge, and deal with it.
Good Stuff Version
Favorable
You have a good matchup against pretty much all goodstuff decks, and this one is no exception. When you don't have to worry about a turn 4 combo, the fact that Animar is pro Rafiq is kind of irrelevant. You run plenty of beaters who can get past Animar, and giving Rafiq trample will override the protection anyway.
Zur
All In
Favorable.
You can apply pressure while keeping Zur off the board, and your general has immediate board impact, while theirs does not. You can also set up hilarious board situations, such as when you have a creature with Jitte or Sword of Fire and Ice: if they tap out for Zur, you tap out for Rafiq, an your double striking guy will kill Zur thanks to the equipment.
They also pack less sweepers in this version, so you have less fear when overextending
Control
Even
Mostly you're just worried about a plethora of sweepers, and playing slow will give them time to set up Zur with countermagic protection. They may also play more utility dudes, which slow you down by being able to block.
Unfavorable
Iname packs a lot of removal, no way of getting around it.
Your game plan here is to try and delay him until you can get a huge hit in. Take the risks when you need to as you need to get him low on life. When he gets below 6 or 7 life roughly, you get in a much better spot. At that point, it's much harder for him to get a conditional reanimate spell (Recurring Nightmare, Victimize, Dread Return) on Kuro, Pitlord and wipe your board, since it costs 1 life per activation if Horobi is out, and much more if he isn't.
Needless to say, Sword of Feast and Famine will also generally win you the game here.
Jenara
Enchantress
Favorable
Don't worry about most of the stuff they're doing. Even if they put a pacifism effect on Rafiq, you can still swing with other double striking guys, so it's not a big setback. You also don't really care if they have oodles of mana, since it takes 3 mana to cast Jenara, and 12 mana to pump her 6 times before she even does more than just trade with Rafiq.
Don't be baited into countering anything but the game ending spells like moat (though even that is ok if you have a flyer), or Oath of Druids. Definitely a better matchup since Humility was banned.
Goodstuff
Favorable.
Whatever they're trying to do with their deck, your gameplan is much more consistent. Beware of losing to the same power cards you pack (Elspeth, Jace 2.0, etc.), but otherwise, this is a good matchup for you.
Clique
Very Favorable
Without access to mass sweepers, you can easily overcome their countermagic with low cast tempo threats. Mana dorks also help you easily outpace them, and force them to keep wasting their counters on Rafiq (who in this magic is basically just like a free "soak up 2 counterspells" card. If you can stick an equipment spell, its pretty much automatic game (though beware of getting blown out by a bounce spell - sword of fire and ice gives the creature pro, but the equipment itself doesn't have it).
Talrand
Favorable
Though not as good a matchup as Clique, it basically plays out the same way. Infinite dudes can prevent you from winning off of just combat damage, but you pack enough tricks to get past that. Talrand is also a valid target for your removal (unlique Clique), so you can deal with him even if he's resolved.
Radha
Unfavorable
Generally, Radha can burn your guys and deal lethal to you before you can stabilize. It doesn't help that pretty much your entire deck dies to bolt, so you're very vulnerable to the plethora of red burn spells they play. Radha is also much less likely to tap out (unlike a traditional extinction build like Griselbrand who has to tap out for ramp cards like Worn Powerstone) which makes it hard to ever land key spells like equipment, or rancor without getting 2 for 1'ed.
Alternate Deck Strategies
Infect Rafiq
Infect Rafiq is definitely deadly, but is overall too cute / a one trick pony for me to take it seriously. If there was something like 4-5 more playable infect creatures I would be all over that stuff, but there is sadly not. As a result, you're forced to dilute your game plan by pumping spells rather than simply more threats. This version of Rafiq may be slower, but its also more consistent (which is what you want when Griselbrand + co. are packing removal from here to France and back)
Midrange / Control
See Jenara
Other Interactions
Weathered Wayfarer + Knight of the Reliquary
Gets you
1) Inkmoth Nexus (which is a 3 turn clock with just Rafiq in play, often a 1 turn clock with any number of pump spells
2) Gaea's Cradle
3) Cavern of Souls (Naming Human - which there are a fair amount in the deck
4) Sejiri Steppe (Will allow you to get through with a card like Cephalid Constable, or will make a card like Arrest fall off Rafiq in a matchup like Zur
5) Wasteland
Will add more once I think of other interactions that aren't obvious like Cephalid Constable -> One sided upheaval with Rafiq in play
Cards That Didn't Make The Cut
Survival of the Fittest + Fauna Shaman
This deck can't really take advantage of Survival (shocking I know), and putting in the cards necessary would overly dilute the game plan. Ultimately, setting up cool stuff with Survival sets you back so many turns its better to just win without it
Various Pump Spells (Might of Oaks, Invigorate, etc).
6 Drops (Sun Titan, Primeval Titan, etc.)
Cryptic Command
Bant Charm
Tarmogoyf
Potential Additions
Viridian Corrupter
Jenara, Asura of War
Change Log
-Angelic Destiny
+Voice of Resurgence
After playing the Cockatrice Tournament, Angelic Destiny was deemed too cute. The fact it triggers on death of creature and not of the enchantment makes it infinitely worse than Rancor (which can come back even if Rafiq goes to the Command Zone). Meanwhile, Voice of "Value" is a sweet new addition to shore up bad matchups like Mono Red Burn.
-Preordain
+Skullclamp
Card draw repeatedly > low filtering + card draw once
May 15, 2013
-Mox Diamond
+Piracy Charm
Mox Diamond is unreliable card disadvantage, and Piracy Charm is utility that kills Animar
June 23, 2013
-Phantasmal Image
-Phyrexian Metamorph
-Sigarda, Host of Herons
+Aven Mindscensor
+Rapid Hybradization
+Scavenging Ooze
September 14, 2013
-Scavenging Ooze
-Piracy Charm
+Elvish Mystic
+Psionic Blast
While I have spent much time on this deck on this deck in the past, it's his recent persistence in perfecting this list that has pushed it over the top.
He pilots it very well, and his results speak for themselves.
All that to say: congratulations on the 1st place finish! You definitely deserve it.
As far as the deck goes, I don't have anything else to add really. We've talked about and tested this deck so often, and I think it is very well placed in the meta.
Props and thanks for sharing, hope to play you more on cockatrice.
Though you know deck spots are tight when I can easily think of 3 cards to add, and can only think of 1 card I would ever cut.
BRGW Saskia the Unyielding BRGW
GUWB Thrasios, Triton Hero // Tymna the Weaver GUWB
B Braids, Cabal Minion B
G Titania, Protector of Argoth G
R Zurgo Bellstriker R
Founding Father of [Team Stepfathers]: We beat you and you hate us
My Street Art
Its definitely an instant win under the right conditions, but those conditions are
1) The combined toughness of all their creatures is 2
2) They dont have any removal /counters
Its not a totally improbable situation, but it requires some setup. I dont think Putrefax works in a non-infect list, especially because any card above 3 mana is almost an instant mulligan in this deck
BRGW Saskia the Unyielding BRGW
GUWB Thrasios, Triton Hero // Tymna the Weaver GUWB
B Braids, Cabal Minion B
G Titania, Protector of Argoth G
R Zurgo Bellstriker R
Founding Father of [Team Stepfathers]: We beat you and you hate us
My Street Art
Thoughts about Ajani, Caller of the Pride?
Though Render Silent is interesting, 3 mana counters just aren't what this deck is looking for.
Ajani is strong, but doesn't curve into turn 1 -> dork, turn 2-> threat, turn 3-> Rafiq (which is why it was never added).
It works best in a meta with more control or removal heavy decks than other tempo / midrange ones (so Grand Arbiter and Griselbrand vs. Geist and Zur). If you felt like one of the 3 mana creatures wasn't cutting it, it could definitely be a good add.
If there's any key commanders I left out, just mention them and that might motivate me to get around to filling out the rest.
1. Why not include skullclamp? You have enough mana dorks that you could clamp for some CA.
2. If not skullclamp, why not include Sublime Archangel? She applies pressure like Rafiq or Elspeth.
3. You mentioned burn from Radha a problem, have you faced a Jhoira list with counter & burn? If so, what's the game plan there? They typically control the board till she can suspend some nonsense.
Thanks!
In regards to skullclamp
Skullclamp is good, but I don't think what this deck wants to be doing. It's definitely good for turning your late game dorks into card advantage. But it also puts you in the position where you want your threats to die, while the deck itself is built towards protecting your threats.
To be honest, now that I think about it, it might be better than I had initially depicted it, and I might try and find a spot for skullclamp and see how it does.
On Sublime Archangel
This card just isn't good. If you can keep Rafiq in play for a whole turn and untap with him, you've probably already won anyway - Sublime Archangel is just overkill at that point. There are only two four drops in the deck - Elspeth and Jace 2.0 - and both are there because they're simply too good not to be.
Besides, you'd prefer a way to give Rafiq evasion anyway, rather than just deal more damage.
On Jhoira, of the Ghitu
I don't think Jhoira is nearly as scary as Radha. Radha is strong because its not reliant upon its general at all - these kinds of decks severely disadvantage your many counters (especially the tempo ones) because there are no key spells you're looking to stop. Every card is functionally the same (kird ape, wild nacatl, goblin guide, etc).
Jhoira may play burn, but it also has a very disruptable game plan, which helps makes your counterspells not dead cards. The deck also is scared of playing Jhoira right into counters, so the pilot will often slow play, giving you time to set up a strong board position with your plethora of tempo creatures.
Radha won't give you this luxury, and will often force you to have to waste your tempo creatures chump blocking. The fact that your tempo creatures are often smaller than straight up aggressive creatures (grand abolisher vs. tarmogoyf) doesn't help either.
Sweet! And 4-1 is a pretty respectable finish I'd say.
Is that based off the 3 games against Wydwen you played? Or have you played more since? Was the decklist you played also the same as the one in the original post?
I ask because I've always found Wydwen to not only be winnable, but in fact even or favorable.
I think a lot has to do with how aggressively you mulligan, and how you play.
You mentioned only being able to win with
To be honest, that's an extremely poor opening hand against Wydwen, and one I would probably entirely mulligan. Let's go card by card.
First, the win conditions in that hand
Berserk: You're not going for the combo win here; there's just no need. Wydwen is a 7 turn clock, and there's no reason to leave yourself open to a 2-1.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant: This seems great against Wydwen: its a planeswalkers, makes guys, what's not to love?
Well, actually, a lot. Imagine a theoretical game state of nothing in play. Maybe you have a mana dork. You cast Elspeth. Wydwen lets it resolve. You have no choice but to make a guy. Wydwen plays her general end of turn. On her turn, she bashes Elspeth down to 2, and passes.
How do you respond now? At 5 mana, Wydwen can most likely counter what you're doing, and Elspeth is helpless - she most likely dies next turn. That means you paid 4 mana and wasted a card for 2 1/1 soldier tokens; not great.
As for the counters...
Counters are only good if they can protect your win conditions. As described above, that hand doesn't really have any win conditions, so the counters are equally dead cards. Furthermore, wasting a counter on Wydwen is useless. Wydwen is irrelevant anyway if you have the proper board position, so you'd much rather have a threat in this matchup than a counter (except if you're protecting one of the best win conditions in this matchup).
The easiest way to win against Wydwen is to curve well. You want a turn 1 mana dork, and a turn 2 threat. On the play, it's pretty much impossible to lose after turn 1 guy into turn 2 equipment (sword of feast and famine for example).
Even if your turn 2 spell gets countered, you can then go turn 3 Rafiq. Even if that gets countered, you can now go play another guy turn 4, this time preferably with countermagic backup. And finally, you can re-play Rafiq on turn 5. This steady stream of threats is generally sufficient to overwhelm Wydwen.
The goal here is to play the aggressor. You don't care if Wydwen is ever resolved - what's it going to do? Trade with your double striking llanowar elves? The only thing you're worried about is what Wydwen can do to stop your game plan, which is generally much stronger.
Hope that helps / made sense.
Are you talking about 1v1 or multiplayer?
Duel Commander
URG [Primer] Maelstrom Wanderer [Primer] URG
Duel Commander Current Projects:
RGWMarath, Will of the WildRGW
BRXMogis, God of SlaughterBRX
RWxIoras, God of VictoryRWx
WBxAthreos, God of PassageWBx
Created By: DarkNightCavalier
-Mox Diamond
-Sigarda
-Delay
-Selesnya Charm
-Geist
-Voice of Resurgence
-Simic Charm
+Sol Ring
+Trygon Predator
+Trinket Mage
+Relic of Progenitus
+Mana Drain
+Scavenging Ooze
+Ethersworn Canonist
Sol Ring for obvious reasons. Relic to combat Hermit Druid. Trinket Mage to get it (and Sol Ring). Scavenging Ooze is a better pick than Voice since you won't be facing many aggro decks. Geist isn't nearly as good (as a non-general) in a 40 life format, neither is Selesnya Charm or simic charm, and Sigarda is too slow when you'll be facing primarily combo decks. Trygon Predator comes in to fight the plethora of other sol rings, and delay gets upgraded by becoming mana drain. Finally, Ethersworn Canonist is good tech for combo decks, and is tutorable by enlightened tutor.
You might end up needing to make more switches to include additional "hate" cards. If so, I would cut Phyrexian Metamorph for Gaddock Teeg. There are probably even more hate cards, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.
To be honest, a 40 life format with the powerful mana accelerants unbanned is not a great environment for Rafiq. Having non-general aggro down as a (extremely viable) plan b is part of why Rafiq is good.
But perhaps you can make it work!
As per your suggestion, I've been trying out Skullclamp in favor of preordain, and I've been pleasantly surprised.
It's sometimes not great (though the same can be said of preordain), but at the very least its like a mini shock if the equipped creature connects while double striking.
It also definitely helps with the bad matchups, like extinction builds such as Thraximundar, or aggro decks like Radha, so I think that alone warrants its inclusion.
Its also another equipment, and having more options when searching with Stoneforge Mystic or Steelshaper's Gift is never a bad thing.
Rafiq could always use more converts!
I can see that. Selesnya Charm is awkward in that it doesn't change the number of hits with Rafiq you need to win off general damage (normally you go 8, 16, 24, Charm lets you go 12, 20, 28).
I've found the token to be good, especially against planeswalkers, but I could see why you'd want to cut it for Scavenging Ooze, especially in this meta.
I think Sigarda is much stronger than you're making it seem. She's not meant to be played into a wrath, she's an incredible post wrath finisher that their remaining spot removal can't do anything against.
She's really good against decks like Iname or Griselbrand, and can help you deal the remaining points of damage in a game you have no place winning. She's also very good as a GSZ target, which is why I play her.
I agree Ooze has to come in, for basically all the reasons you mentioned, but infinitely more. No contesting here.
I ultimately decided against Sylvan Protector. This deck is closer to midrange than it is to aggro, and I really like keeping my lands (replaying Rafiq is really important). Protector is nowhere better than Mother, and it doesn't protect against wraths (which is what I find I'm generally most concerned about).
I don't particularly like Tectonic Edge. It's a bad move with your turn 4, and the deck often has some intense mana requirements (playing both Elspeth and Counterspell).
Lightning Greaves can sometimes be a dead card, but it absolutely, 100% has to stay in the deck. You play 3 equipment tutors (Enlightened Tutor, Stoneforge Mystic, Steelshaper's Gift), and Greaves is a tutorable out to Maze of Ith.
It also lets you recover really well from wraths, and can actually be good even when Rafiq isn't out (there are creatures that are threats on their own in the deck).
Basically my line of thought. It fuels some really degenerate plays (I had turn 1 Cobra, turn 2 Sword of Feast and Famine one time). but is probably more risky than a consistent tempo deck like this wants. I might cut it.
Have you found this from your testing? I ask because even if Constable looks "cute", I've found it to be really, really deadly. It's probably one of the few creatures in magic that only has to connect once to guarantee your victory (I have yet to lose a game when Constable connects, even if it only hits for {1}).
I often get told to cut it, but I think it really does merit its spot. It curves perfectly into Rafiq, and just having Constable in play can force them to have to play around the possibility of you casting Rafiq. Played turn 2 on the play, Constable is also basically as deadly as Survival of the Fittest or Oath of Druids
The deck also plays a number of ways to pump Constable without Rafiq, and the pump spells can often give you a victory out of nowhere.
I would encourage you to play some more before dismissing Constable so quickly.
I think that's basically all I want. Voice of Resurgence is a really good card for the traditionally bad matchups, and I have had really fantastic results with it.
Thalia is definitely a bad call (it would hurt you as much as them), though Gaddock Teeg looks pretty interesting - even if it does turn off your 2 planeswalkers.
Nevertheless, it's important to note Teeg and Voice of Resurgence target different threats. Voice is really not that much for wrath effects; as you point out, a 1/1 isn't going to do much.
Voice really shines in matchups like Radha or Griselbrand, where it means one less removal spell for Rafiq if they kill it, or an army of tokens which can get very big if they try to ignore it. In those matchups, Voice can almost single handedly give you victory.
Glad to hear that! As I said earlier, I feel Rafiq has been tragically overloooked, but hopefully we can change that.
This is why, as a university student, I play on Cockatrice.
-phil
edit:
As for the deck, it seems weird to play judge's familiar and not cursecatcher. the familiar is better in the sense that it's easier to cast and has evasion, but I don't see how that's relevant when the only reason you play it is to delay their big spells by 1 turn. If tempo is your ultimate goal, I'd say play both or neither.
im also a bit skeptical on the mox diamond. I think I'd play boreal druid instead. you're off by 1 colored mana, but it may be a beater. and with that many equipments in the deck, a late-game druid is better than a late game mana artifact, especially in a deck with very low card-draw. they'll both be very good in your opener, unless youre colored screwed (at which point I'd question you about discarding a land to use the mox ...)
i agree with the entire counter suit. i was gonna suggest daze, but then reading happened. however i think i'd be more of a douche bag and play flusterstorm and disrupt as well. i dont know the 1v1 meta much, but im pretty sure you can screw someone good with these. worse come to worse, you can use and pay the disrupt on your own spell to draw!!! tech right there.
i agree with gitaxian probe. hand peek tech is best tech
I also agree with Tzark4n about the tectonic edge. I don't think that you should view the card as something to pop turn 4, but more as an out to a maze of ith or any annoying utility lands out there (which there are plenty). As for your color-intensive argument, adding tedge doesn't mean you have to remove a 2 color land, and even if you did, I doubt that one land you removed would be the difference between casting or not casting a card on turn 4. Like you could take out a basic land for it ( i see that you play 7, why? oh god why?). Between drawing a card that could potentially take out a threat/delay your opponent's spells and you having a very small chance of been color-screwed because of it, I'd go for utility.
also is there a good reason not to play treetop village, stirring wildwood and mutavault? like if anything cut basic lands for them.
also HOLY **** simic charms good... what the hell man
Haha, glad to hear it.
To be honest, I maintain pretty respectable win ratios against pretty much every competitive deck in the meta (aside from all in combo Animar - sigh that deck). Not to exaggerate how good Rafiq is, but I actually don't think I've lost a best out of 3 to any of the competitive decks in the format in months (though maybe I'm just lucky; I do rock that Turn 2 Stoneforge more than is mathematically likely).
As for Mox Diamond, I agree with the criticisms the above posts have said on it, and I'm cutting it.
However, its replacement is a somewhat unconventional card - Piracy Charm (tech courtesy of Evergreen).
To make a long story short, I want to put in more Animar hate, and this is a less dead card than Dance of Many. It's actually removal against Animar, a way to make Rafiq unblockable against 9/10 top tier decks, a pump effect to get in more damage, or a way to make them discard their topdeck. I don't know how I haven't been playing this card, but it seems perfect.
As for Sigarda, I think I'm more open to cutting it, now that I've realized how much the meta has changed towards decks like Jenara, Animar, or Karador, but I'm unsure what I would slot in for it. I might put Scavenging Ooze in it's place. I think Sigarda is less relevant in the new meta than Selesnya Charm (which can exile Protean Hulk for example if you get lucky)
If Spawnwrithe connects, I now have three 2/2s in play, or the ability to swing for 6. Spawnwrithe on his own with Rafiq out swings for 6/6 (3/3 doublestrike).
The main problem is that making multiple guys is counterintuitive to Rafiq's exalted ability, so Spawnwrithe is unfortunately off theme (even if he has an ability that triggers on strike).
He also is weak to board wipes, and lacks impressive stats on his own. In a general sense, I also find damage dealing the weakest of abilities for my creatures in this deck to have. I'd much rather be drawing cards than dealing more damage.
This is what I'll be testing
-Sigarda
-Phantasmal Image
-Phyrexian Metamorph
+Aven Mindsencor
+Scavenging Ooze
+Rapid Hybradization
First two are self explanatory. Third merits some explanation. Unfortunately, even having only metamorph and image left the Animar matchup unpalatable; I refuse to go below 2 outs to it in the deck - Piracy Charm and Rapid Hybridization will have to suffice.
Hopefully the 3/3 creature won't be too much of a pain, but we'll see.
Although it may not be as good againt Animar (but probably OK), it looks far better than Pongify against almost any other deck (no CDA, may be used to fight planeswalkers).
1) it costs 3 - not being able to tap out because I'm holding such expensive removal in hand will probably cost me a lot of games. This deck needs its removal at 1 mana.
2) Psionic Blast is bad removal: it does kill most generals, but I want unconditional removal. Its especially bad versus Animar. They know I dont play wrath effects, so theyll go all out. Animar will generally jump from 0 counters to more than 4 the turn he untaps. That means I need to have psionic blast in hand the turn Animar resolves.
3) It's otherwise a dead card: unlike a deck like Jenara where you're playing the waiting game, Rafiq wants to always be doing stuff. A game plan that Psionic Blast doesn't fit into. This deck also doesn't have particular trouble with planeswalkers (unless they're protected by a wrath effect, but then its not the PW thats the issue). Rafiq also only rarely stalls out with the opponent at 4 - you mostly go in huge damage intervals.
If Pognify doesn't cut it, I'll try Vapor Snag in its place.