Ok, so here's the deal; for whatever reason, I want to stick to RTR block constructed for standard play, at an FNM level. So I've been looking at various decklists for the archetype (RWU Control) and built what I thought was a good list, but every time I go (like tonight) I get destroyed. So, I was hoping to get some insight on what changes i need to make.
Granted, my current list is a bit different (haven't gotten all the cards yet) but for the most part that's what I have. I only have 2 Mortars (subbed for more Counterfluxes), down one Charm (subbed Dramatic Rescue), and only have one Gideon, paired with Ral Zarek. Only one Sphinx (2 Thoughtflares).
The sideboard is mostly for control matchups, which ended up not working tonight.
My matches today (the only ones I can remember):
BUG: First matchup, he played a Reaper of the Wilds, with Ordeal of Nylea, hexproofed it against removal, and I never drew a Verdict. When I dropped Aetherling, he used a Korozda Gorgon to force me to exile him by -1/-1'ing him after I made him 8/1. Second game was similar, but he dropped a couple of Cloudfins and once again I never drew a Verdict or enough mana to overload a Mortar. Lost 0-2
Esper Control: First game was a long grind until he landed Elspeth. I was able to Riot Control or Supreme Verdict my way through for several turns until I ran out and he used Elspeth's ultimate. Second game, I sided in most of my sideboard, he countered most of my D-spheres, Downfall'ed my Aetherlings, and countered Gideon. 0-2
R/U Burn: Basically a modified starter deck. First game I landed an Assemble the Legion and he didn't have an answer. Second game, I didn't play my verdict fast enough and lost. Third game, I landed Ral Zarek, ultimated him right after playing an Aetherling. Only got one extra turn, but that was enough. 2-1
Really, I'm snot happy with having spent a lot of money on a deck that doesn't produce. I know that you can''t buy victory in this game, but the point is, I'm not getting any returns on this investment, and it's not fun right now. So help is much appreciated.
PS, if this is in the wrong section, I apologize; this deck is for standard play, but it's still a Block Constructed deck, so I wasn't sure where to put it.
This belongs in the "previous block format discussion" subforum, but hey.
I have a few issues with your list, the biggest being the riot control's, which are awful, and gideon who is highly underwhelming especially when both jace and ral zarek are actually very good in the deck. If you wanted to play gideon here, he's basically filling the same role as aetherling (finisher that doesn't meaningfully affect the board), but aetherling's way harder to kill or be chump blocked, and you'd never play 4 aetherling anyway.
I wrote an article on full-block RTR UWR control here which you might like to check out. The list I highlighted was this:
I'm curious why you want to keep it block if you are going up against standard decks.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Thanks for the link; I haven't read all of it yet but I can tell it hS a lot of good info.
I actually really like riot control. I originally put it in for some life gain at a time when sphinxs rev was out of budget, and the fog effect has come in handy a lot of times. I haven't tested Gideon too much (I've only been able to resolve him once) but he seems like he could be a very strong finisher. As for ral, I've been using him for a long time and have been unimpressed. His ultimate is powerful, but keeping him alive long enough to get him to that point is difficult. And jace doesn't seem to be that great at all; granted I haven't played with him.
That said, I am very open to making some adjustments. I'm currently thinking about dropping the riot controls, and replacing them with turn/burns and an Aurelia's fury. Possibly drop 2 mortars and Gideon for 2 more walkers, possibly some combination of jace and ral.
I'm liking your list in general, but I don't see how you can justify playing 2 verdicts. That's something I'm not willing to do at all; running all 4 seems absolutely necessary.
And Cardfather, really it's just because I like ravnica better than theros.
for some reason I missed the part where you said you were playing this deck in the standard format, I thought your card group was still playing RTR block. As per cardfather, that seems insane but anyway. that deck was very tuned to an RTR block meta where decks like GW (with flash creatures and rootborn) and GB (with regenerating dudes) were well able to punish verdict so you were better off using targeted spot removal and counterspells on those threats. There was also quite a lot of control in the format.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how to tune a deck like that for a full standard meta with the deckbuilding restriction that you've put on yourself.
It's true, I made some sloppy mistakes. When my Aetherling died to Hero's Downfall, I was down on life, and I knew I needed something quick if I wanted to end the game. So I made a gamble, played him without enough mana to dodge removal. If I waited one more turn, I would have had enough and things might have gone differently.That was the first time that I had ever played a control mirror, so I didn't really know what I was doing, lol. As for losing to the Gorgon, I think I remembered that poorly; I didn't realize that was his ability at first, so he -1/-1'ed me, but I exiled it instead. I remember playing it differently on other turns... I can't remember how he actually got rid of it. I think he just outraced me, since I didn't draw any Verdicts.
I don't see a problem with Reckoner MB; At worst he's a 3/3 that's a nightmare to block, or a 3/3 that's a nightmare to attack into. Either way, he's a good card. If I was going to sideboard him, how many would you suggest?
As I said, I'm going to drop Riot Control for Turn/Burn and Aurelia's Fury.
I was running Syncopates earlier, I liked them but wanted to try Gideon. Not sure what I can remove to make room for them, or the additional lands. What do you recommend?
Not sold on Staticaster; pinging for one doesn't help me much, and I don't have a slot to put him in anyway...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So here's the list:
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Aetherling
Other Spells - 27
3 Detention Sphere
1 Assemble the Legion
4 Azorious Charm
2 Counterflux
4 Mizzium Mortars
2 Warleader's Helix
4 Riot Control
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Gideon, Champion of Justice
Lands - 25
4 Steam Vents
4 Sacred Foundy
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Azorious Guildgate
2 Boros Guildgate
1 Izzet Guildgate
3 Plain
3 Island
2 Mountain
3 Dispel
2 Hypersonic Dragon
3 Wear/Tear
2 Syncopate
2 Pithing Needle
2 Turn/Burn
1 Rest in Peace
Granted, my current list is a bit different (haven't gotten all the cards yet) but for the most part that's what I have. I only have 2 Mortars (subbed for more Counterfluxes), down one Charm (subbed Dramatic Rescue), and only have one Gideon, paired with Ral Zarek. Only one Sphinx (2 Thoughtflares).
The sideboard is mostly for control matchups, which ended up not working tonight.
My matches today (the only ones I can remember):
BUG: First matchup, he played a Reaper of the Wilds, with Ordeal of Nylea, hexproofed it against removal, and I never drew a Verdict. When I dropped Aetherling, he used a Korozda Gorgon to force me to exile him by -1/-1'ing him after I made him 8/1. Second game was similar, but he dropped a couple of Cloudfins and once again I never drew a Verdict or enough mana to overload a Mortar. Lost 0-2
Esper Control: First game was a long grind until he landed Elspeth. I was able to Riot Control or Supreme Verdict my way through for several turns until I ran out and he used Elspeth's ultimate. Second game, I sided in most of my sideboard, he countered most of my D-spheres, Downfall'ed my Aetherlings, and countered Gideon. 0-2
R/U Burn: Basically a modified starter deck. First game I landed an Assemble the Legion and he didn't have an answer. Second game, I didn't play my verdict fast enough and lost. Third game, I landed Ral Zarek, ultimated him right after playing an Aetherling. Only got one extra turn, but that was enough. 2-1
Really, I'm snot happy with having spent a lot of money on a deck that doesn't produce. I know that you can''t buy victory in this game, but the point is, I'm not getting any returns on this investment, and it's not fun right now. So help is much appreciated.
PS, if this is in the wrong section, I apologize; this deck is for standard play, but it's still a Block Constructed deck, so I wasn't sure where to put it.
I have a few issues with your list, the biggest being the riot control's, which are awful, and gideon who is highly underwhelming especially when both jace and ral zarek are actually very good in the deck. If you wanted to play gideon here, he's basically filling the same role as aetherling (finisher that doesn't meaningfully affect the board), but aetherling's way harder to kill or be chump blocked, and you'd never play 4 aetherling anyway.
I wrote an article on full-block RTR UWR control here which you might like to check out. The list I highlighted was this:
4 Boros Reckoner
1 Assemble the Legion
1 Aurelia's Fury
2 Azorius Charm
2 Counterflux
3 Detention Sphere
2 Izzet Charm
3 Jace, Architect of Thought
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Ral Zarek
3 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Syncopate
3 Turn // Burn
1 Warleader's Helix
2 Boros Guildgate
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Izzet Guildgate
2 Mountain
1 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Steam Vents
2 Angel of Serenity
1 Assemble the Legion
2 Blind Obedience
1 Cancel
2 Counterflux
2 Dispel
1 Keening Apparition
3 Mugging
1 Supreme Verdict
I actually really like riot control. I originally put it in for some life gain at a time when sphinxs rev was out of budget, and the fog effect has come in handy a lot of times. I haven't tested Gideon too much (I've only been able to resolve him once) but he seems like he could be a very strong finisher. As for ral, I've been using him for a long time and have been unimpressed. His ultimate is powerful, but keeping him alive long enough to get him to that point is difficult. And jace doesn't seem to be that great at all; granted I haven't played with him.
That said, I am very open to making some adjustments. I'm currently thinking about dropping the riot controls, and replacing them with turn/burns and an Aurelia's fury. Possibly drop 2 mortars and Gideon for 2 more walkers, possibly some combination of jace and ral.
I'm liking your list in general, but I don't see how you can justify playing 2 verdicts. That's something I'm not willing to do at all; running all 4 seems absolutely necessary.
And Cardfather, really it's just because I like ravnica better than theros.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how to tune a deck like that for a full standard meta with the deckbuilding restriction that you've put on yourself.
I don't see a problem with Reckoner MB; At worst he's a 3/3 that's a nightmare to block, or a 3/3 that's a nightmare to attack into. Either way, he's a good card. If I was going to sideboard him, how many would you suggest?
As I said, I'm going to drop Riot Control for Turn/Burn and Aurelia's Fury.
I was running Syncopates earlier, I liked them but wanted to try Gideon. Not sure what I can remove to make room for them, or the additional lands. What do you recommend?
Not sold on Staticaster; pinging for one doesn't help me much, and I don't have a slot to put him in anyway...