I went 2-1 in the regular rounds. Here are the matchups:
1st Round: Delver Fiend! 2-1.
He won the first match because I ran out of blocker early on and didn't have removal so he unleashed the Kiln Fiend for lethal. The 2nd and 3rd matches were easier for me as he didn't draw any creatures the 2nd game and kept a 1 land hand the 3rd and didn't draw anymore lands.
I boarded in Geth's Verdict and a couple Duress to help out.
2nd Round: Mono-blue Delver! 1-2.
1st game he beat me then the 2nd game I beat him. Our 3rd game was really long and in the end he Vapor Snagged me when I was at one life when I swung in for lethal.
Boarded in some extra discard and Echoing Decay for this match.
3rd Round: MBC Gray Merchant! 2-1.
He won the 1st game with a lot of Gray Merchants. 2nd game he mulled to 5 and I opened with a Dark Ritual to Chittering Rats then a T2 Hymn to Tourach and he couldn't handle it. 3rd game he got mana screwed and I won.
Boarded out my removal since it was useless and brought in my sideboard removal.
Top 4 matchup: Hexproof Auras! 1-2.
He destroyed me in the 1st game (which I expected as my main deck sucks in this matchup). 2nd game I opened with a Dark Ritual into Crypt Rats. I also had 2 Unearths in hand and a second Crypt Rat so I shut down his creatures and won. 3rd game I had a good opening had except it had 1 Swamp... I got greedy and kept it which was a mistake since I didn't draw into anymore lands. He took the win and I placed 3rd.
Boarded out my spot removal for Geth's Verdict and Duress.
Overall thoughts:
I was actually happy with the results since it was my first tournament. Overall my deck was great! Chittering Rats and Unearth were my MVPs! I made some changes to the main deck and sideboard and I hope to play again next week and see how it does.
Fantastic! I'm so happy for you! Very nice placing for a first time! Too bad there weren't more players; I hope it doesn't discourage the LGS from hosting future events.
Those all seemed like really close games. Seems like the people you faced are quite knowledgeable of the metagame, and played accordingly. That's good, because it will play to the strength of the control player earlier than if you were going into a blind meta.
For your deck, I would think about having main-deck Geth's Verdict. I'd probably replace the Doom Blades with those.
I also find that you're light on lands. I would consider adding two more swamps, as the deck is really mana-hungry (as you already know). I believe I would take out 1 Unearth and 1 Dark Ritual to make room for that.
From a strategic point of view, I don't find that Ritualing into Chittering Rats on turn 1 is a very good play. You spent a card to play your rats early, which puts you on par with card advantage instead of putting you ahead like it normally would. The fact that it creates a 2/2 body on turn 1 is good, but not uncommon. Black and other colours can play 2/2s for 1 mana that don't have the disadvantages of yours, like Phantasmal Bear, Carnophage or Nettle Sentinel. In a vacuum, a 2/2 on turn one is not all that impressive, so why spend another card to get it?
Aside from that, I find a lot of the changes you made in the sideboard make sense with what you saw. I think having Disfigures on top of Echoing Decay is maybe going a bit too much into that department.
On a more personal note, from my experience playing Pestilence, I love seeing Corrupt at least once every game, as it really turns the whole match in my favour. I always thought having 3 copies was perfect. Again, that's a personal preference of mine!
Thanks a lot! It did suck that there weren't more players but they had better turn outs the week before. Apparently a few of the other regulars had been out of town over the weekend for a higher up MTG event and were resting from that.
I'll definitely test out your suggestions for the main deck. As far as sideboard, is there anything you feel would be better than Echoing Decay/Disfigure? Everyone I played against ran the same decks the previous week so I have a feeling it'll be the same next time. I'd probably lose Decay out of the two since they're going by the Online banlist so Warrens isn't a problem. Should I use more Edicts or is there something else that you feel would help in this meta?
I definitely know the Ritual into Rats wasn't good, and normally I wouldn't have done it, but he had mulled twice and by the look on his face I knew his 5 cards weren't optimal. He's a young player so he doesn't have a good poker face, so I knew that play would break him and fortunately I was right. I just decided to hit his hand aggressively because I knew if he got Gary going he could have taken that match.
Overall it was the most fun I've had at a tournament in a long time. All the players were really skilled and had solid decks so each game was exciting!
I used to have Wrench Mind in the SB before I went to the tournament but removed it for other options since I have a decent amount of discard in the main deck and Duress in the SB. It doesn't seem like anyone will run combo so I don't feel I need so much discard outside of what I have. I might try out the other options though and see if it helps.
I made a slight change in the main deck. Instead of a third Corrupt I put Syphon Life in its place. I figured if I draw it early it'll give me some early life gain and with the addition of extra lands it will help turn any late game land draws into something proactive.
I like Syphon Life as a sideboard card, but it kinda clashes with other cards like Corrupt and Tendrils of Corruption. It's a good card, but it's a bit of a trade-off.
I took out a Ritual and Unearth for more Swamps, as suggested. Then I dropped a Morbid Plunder for and extra Tendrils and moved a Crypt Rats to the sideboard for another Corrupt.
I also put Geth's Verdict in the main deck and decided to go with Grasp of Darkness over Victim of Night. Grasp kills pretty much anything I'll face, and while Victim does that also; it can't kill Scary Gary, so I opted for Grasp.
The sideboard is a bit different now also. I have 2 Crypt Rats there for some extra board control if needed and they also help against Hexproof along with the extra Verdict. Disfigure is for Delver and other Aggro decks. Doom Blade is for extra kills if needed and Wrench Mind and Duress will give me more discard options.
I actually never thought about them in my list. I know they're a big player in the Devotion builds, but I never considered them. They'd definitely give me extra reach since I can ping opponents as well. There was a match that I had an opponent at 3 life but I was top decking Swamps (which made me wish I ran Syphon Life in my deck and in my GY) but a Witches in play would've got it for me. I'll look into finding space for them. Maybe cut the Dark Rituals and Crypt Rats in my main deck for them?
I ended up placing in the Top 4 again with my current list Tuesday night. Went 2-1-1 then lost my match in the Top 4. I went 10 people showed up for it.
First round I faced Burn. He was a new player and using a friends deck. My Corrupts kept me going strong against him. I went 2-0.
Second round I played against one of my friends. He used his R/U Ire deck. It used Ire of Kaminari and Glacial Ray and other Arcane spells. Went 2-1 against him. Our first game was really close, but he won then I won the rest of them.
Third Round I played my other friends Green Stomp deck. I went 0-2. He was the opponent I got down to 3 life and couldn't win. Vines of Vastwood really hurt me in this match up.
Fourth round we ID'd since we were sure to get in the Top 4. He was running a U/G Delver deck that ran Basking Rootwalla and Wild Mongrel.
My Top 4 match was against MBC Devotion. 0-2. I was just having terrible draws in the games and couldn't get ahead.
Overall the changes were better, but I just had trouble with that fast aggro. If he didn't have Vines things would've been different, but that's a hard card for Black to work around.
I grabbed mt MBC deck and went. There were 8 players so it was 3 rounds then the Top 4. I actually placed in the Top 4.
The decklist:
20 Swamp
2 Barren Moor
Creatures
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Phyrexian Rager
3 Crypt Rats
3 Chittering Rats
Removal
1 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Doom Blade
3 Victim of Night
4 Unearth
1 Morbid Plunder
Other Goodies
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Dark Ritual
3 Sign in Blood
2 Corrupt
3 Wicked Akuba
3 Echoing Decay
3 Geth's Verdict
3 Vendetta
3 Duress
I went 2-1 in the regular rounds. Here are the matchups:
1st Round: Delver Fiend! 2-1.
He won the first match because I ran out of blocker early on and didn't have removal so he unleashed the Kiln Fiend for lethal. The 2nd and 3rd matches were easier for me as he didn't draw any creatures the 2nd game and kept a 1 land hand the 3rd and didn't draw anymore lands.
I boarded in Geth's Verdict and a couple Duress to help out.
2nd Round: Mono-blue Delver! 1-2.
1st game he beat me then the 2nd game I beat him. Our 3rd game was really long and in the end he Vapor Snagged me when I was at one life when I swung in for lethal.
Boarded in some extra discard and Echoing Decay for this match.
3rd Round: MBC Gray Merchant! 2-1.
He won the 1st game with a lot of Gray Merchants. 2nd game he mulled to 5 and I opened with a Dark Ritual to Chittering Rats then a T2 Hymn to Tourach and he couldn't handle it. 3rd game he got mana screwed and I won.
Boarded out my removal since it was useless and brought in my sideboard removal.
Top 4 matchup: Hexproof Auras! 1-2.
He destroyed me in the 1st game (which I expected as my main deck sucks in this matchup). 2nd game I opened with a Dark Ritual into Crypt Rats. I also had 2 Unearths in hand and a second Crypt Rat so I shut down his creatures and won. 3rd game I had a good opening had except it had 1 Swamp... I got greedy and kept it which was a mistake since I didn't draw into anymore lands. He took the win and I placed 3rd.
Boarded out my spot removal for Geth's Verdict and Duress.
Overall thoughts:
I was actually happy with the results since it was my first tournament. Overall my deck was great! Chittering Rats and Unearth were my MVPs! I made some changes to the main deck and sideboard and I hope to play again next week and see how it does.
New list:
20 Swamp
2 Barren Moor
Creatures
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Phyrexian Rager
3 Crypt Rats
3 Chittering Rats
Removal
2 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Doom Blade
3 Victim of Night
4 Unearth
Other Goodies
4 Hymn to Tourach
3 Dark Ritual
3 Sign in Blood
2 Corrupt
1 Crypt Rat
3 Disfigure
4 Duress
3 Echoing Decay
4 Geth's Verdict
Main: -1 Morbid Plunder, +1 Tendrils. I hope to get a 4th Chittering Rats soon for Main deck but my LGS is out of them.
Side: -3 Vendetta, -3 Wicked Akuba for +3 Disfigure, +1 Duress, +1 Geth's Verdict, +1 Crypt Rats.
Those all seemed like really close games. Seems like the people you faced are quite knowledgeable of the metagame, and played accordingly. That's good, because it will play to the strength of the control player earlier than if you were going into a blind meta.
For your deck, I would think about having main-deck Geth's Verdict. I'd probably replace the Doom Blades with those.
I also find that you're light on lands. I would consider adding two more swamps, as the deck is really mana-hungry (as you already know). I believe I would take out 1 Unearth and 1 Dark Ritual to make room for that.
From a strategic point of view, I don't find that Ritualing into Chittering Rats on turn 1 is a very good play. You spent a card to play your rats early, which puts you on par with card advantage instead of putting you ahead like it normally would. The fact that it creates a 2/2 body on turn 1 is good, but not uncommon. Black and other colours can play 2/2s for 1 mana that don't have the disadvantages of yours, like Phantasmal Bear, Carnophage or Nettle Sentinel. In a vacuum, a 2/2 on turn one is not all that impressive, so why spend another card to get it?
Aside from that, I find a lot of the changes you made in the sideboard make sense with what you saw. I think having Disfigures on top of Echoing Decay is maybe going a bit too much into that department.
On a more personal note, from my experience playing Pestilence, I love seeing Corrupt at least once every game, as it really turns the whole match in my favour. I always thought having 3 copies was perfect. Again, that's a personal preference of mine!
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I'll definitely test out your suggestions for the main deck. As far as sideboard, is there anything you feel would be better than Echoing Decay/Disfigure? Everyone I played against ran the same decks the previous week so I have a feeling it'll be the same next time. I'd probably lose Decay out of the two since they're going by the Online banlist so Warrens isn't a problem. Should I use more Edicts or is there something else that you feel would help in this meta?
I definitely know the Ritual into Rats wasn't good, and normally I wouldn't have done it, but he had mulled twice and by the look on his face I knew his 5 cards weren't optimal. He's a young player so he doesn't have a good poker face, so I knew that play would break him and fortunately I was right. I just decided to hit his hand aggressively because I knew if he got Gary going he could have taken that match.
Overall it was the most fun I've had at a tournament in a long time. All the players were really skilled and had solid decks so each game was exciting!
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I made a slight change in the main deck. Instead of a third Corrupt I put Syphon Life in its place. I figured if I draw it early it'll give me some early life gain and with the addition of extra lands it will help turn any late game land draws into something proactive.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I'm probably going to the Tournament again tomorrow so I've made changes to the list.
22 Swamp
2 Barren Moor
Creatures
4 Ravenous Rats
4 Phyrexian Rager
2 Crypt Rats
3 Chittering Rats
Removal
2 Tendrils of Corruption
3 Geth's Verdict
3 Grasp of Darkness
3 Unearth
Other Goodies
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Dark Ritual
3 Sign in Blood
3 Corrupt
2 Crypt Rats
3 Disfigure
2 Doom Blade
4 Duress
1 Geth's Verdict
3 Wrench Mind
I took out a Ritual and Unearth for more Swamps, as suggested. Then I dropped a Morbid Plunder for and extra Tendrils and moved a Crypt Rats to the sideboard for another Corrupt.
I also put Geth's Verdict in the main deck and decided to go with Grasp of Darkness over Victim of Night. Grasp kills pretty much anything I'll face, and while Victim does that also; it can't kill Scary Gary, so I opted for Grasp.
The sideboard is a bit different now also. I have 2 Crypt Rats there for some extra board control if needed and they also help against Hexproof along with the extra Verdict. Disfigure is for Delver and other Aggro decks. Doom Blade is for extra kills if needed and Wrench Mind and Duress will give me more discard options.
Have you ever thought of using Cuombajj Witches? It is quite good against all manner of weenie/aggro decks.
UGTurboFogGU
BRSacrificial AggroBR
16The Paper Pauper Battle Bag16
EDH
BRRakdos, Lord of PingersBR
GTitania, Protector of ArgothG
UB Ramses OverdarkUB
Sig by Ace5301 of Ace of Spades Studio
I ended up placing in the Top 4 again with my current list Tuesday night. Went 2-1-1 then lost my match in the Top 4. I went 10 people showed up for it.
First round I faced Burn. He was a new player and using a friends deck. My Corrupts kept me going strong against him. I went 2-0.
Second round I played against one of my friends. He used his R/U Ire deck. It used Ire of Kaminari and Glacial Ray and other Arcane spells. Went 2-1 against him. Our first game was really close, but he won then I won the rest of them.
Third Round I played my other friends Green Stomp deck. I went 0-2. He was the opponent I got down to 3 life and couldn't win. Vines of Vastwood really hurt me in this match up.
Fourth round we ID'd since we were sure to get in the Top 4. He was running a U/G Delver deck that ran Basking Rootwalla and Wild Mongrel.
My Top 4 match was against MBC Devotion. 0-2. I was just having terrible draws in the games and couldn't get ahead.
Overall the changes were better, but I just had trouble with that fast aggro. If he didn't have Vines things would've been different, but that's a hard card for Black to work around.