MTG Salvation

I don't like relying on GSZ (or playing the odds at 3cmc) as my only out to Countertop. You only have 4, and Miracles runs counterspells too. Every turn waiting to see a GSZ is another turn closer to Entreat the Angels, Jace, or Humility. On the other hand, most Miracles decks have no land destruction, so if you get a Cavern out (naturally, or tutored via Knight, say while he's on his way to the bottom of your deck), you're typically set in terms of casting the majority of your dudes.

Miracles doesn't rely on SCM as much as Stoneblade. Many decks don't even run him (I run 2). I wouldn't bring in GY hate just for SCM, and Ooze would be just fine at that (I usually side Ooze out).

I bring in a whole slew of cards against Miracles, some of which are still in the experimental phase:
2 x Enlightened Tutor
Gaddock Teeg
Armageddon
Life from the Loam
Krosan Grip
Aura Shards (testing in place of Harmonic Sliver or 2nd Krosan)
Luminarch Ascension
Stony Silence

Quote from razefire

Thanks for the reply Ruckus. Aren't you Koby, the inventor of Maverick? Anyway, thanks for input, it helps, trust me.

Quote from Lord_McDonalds

rukus/koby invented maverick? Well that's two people from the source that I can put on my list of "may have invented maverick" list

I am Koby (as my signature also alludes to), but I have never claimed to have invented the deck. I do take credit for tuning it for the American metagame and solidifying the strategy it needed to take during the early part of 2012. I don't think the metagame is ripe for Maverick right now, specifically because Miracles and RUG are still prevalent. This puts Maverick's matchups at around 35% and 50% respectively.

Hi everyone! Can anyone please help me out with D&T matchups? Here are my questions:
1. What is the gameplan G1?
2. Obviously, i'd be boarding out thalia and teeg, but what could i possibly board in aside from linvala?
3. Would pithing for vial or mangara help?
4. What about garruk relentless or elspeth, knight-errant?
5. How does surgical extraction fare in this matchup?
6. Any other card i should consider?

Thanks in advance!

Mom, planeswalkers, pithing, and a fast clock. Got it. Would try this tomorrow night. Thanks a lot!

If your really worried about death in taxes play curse totem and just don't use activated abilities.

Or wasteland karakas asap, aim to get mom online, linvala from the board for the beats, if your a list with a singleton revoker (don't ask me I saw some recently) add him in, etc.

If you stick a knight with enough protection they can't beat you. She offers too much attrition and gets too fat for them to handle.

Cursed Totem hurts you just as much as it hurts them you realize?

Quote from Lord_McDonalds

Cursed Totem hurts you just as much as it hurts them you realize?

KotR's still huge under totem, you still get exalted triggers might not be the best game plan, but isn't the worse. Dueling grounds is probably good against them and Glissa Sunseeker (although narrow) pithing needle are excellent hate cards for aether vial.

Fauna shaman is okay, underwhelming is really the word for her, but kind of like Tuktuk Scrapper, in goblins, you run her because you don't have much else to run in her place that does what you want her to do.

Quote from Kainemyte

Hey Guys,

My result with the Fauna Shaman is, that it's to slow and to predictable. The only creature that you want to search for is Linvala in Mirror, or maybe Goblins. In this case Eladamris Call is also playable. Thaila must be played in the first turns, so the shaman is to slow.

I'm going to go to a 40-50 people tournament in my town. The Meta is unpredictable.

I think that i play the following list.

luklinda's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4 Noble Hierarch 4 Mother of Runes 4 Knight of the reliquary 4 Thalia, guardian of thraben 2 Qasali Pridemage 2 Scavenging Ooze 1 Stoneforge Mystic 1 Armada Wurm 1 Scryb Ranger 1 Gaddock Teeg 1 Sword of Light and Shadow 2 Umezawas Jitte 2 Sylvan Library 4 Green Suns Zenith 4 Swords to Plowshares	3 Savannah 4 Wasteland 4 Windswept Heath 2 Wooded foothills 1 horizon canopy 1 gaeas cradle 1 karakas 2 cavern of souls 1 dryad arbor 1 plains 2 forest 1 maze of ith	SB: 2 Enlightened Tutor (->Toolbox) 1 Nevermore (Perish, EtA, S&T, Hivemind) 1 Pithing Needle (PW's, Krenko, Elves) 1 Sylvan Safekeeper (Teeg Protection) 1 Gaddock Teeg (Tezzeret Control, Hivemind, Miracle) 2 Oblivion Ring (Miracle also Enchantment and Artifact removal) 2 Tormods Crypt (Dredge, Reanimator) 2 Surgical Extraction (Canadian (Remove Tropical Island ;)), Dredge, Reanimator) 1 Bojuka Bog (Dredge, Reanimator) 1 Ethersworn Canonist (Storm, Elves) 1 Dueling Grounds (Gobbos, Merfolk)

I like the MD. It feels good to play. I'm not surw which SoXaY i should play. I like the Prot W from the SoLaS, but the effects of SoFaF and SoFaI are also very strong. What would you recommend tom play?

The Sideboard. I like the Etutor Sideboard very much. It solve many problem MU's. Sometimes i think to cut the Bojuka Bog. Against Dredge its maybe to slow, when i search it with Kotr.

Have you some ideas for improvements?

Agreed on your analysis with fauna shamman.

Your MD looks pretty solid - but looking at your 75 - you have very few cards to trump "fair decks" or faster aggro decks. Linvala or Elspeth would really round that out - they pull A LOT of weight.

I've heard a lot (and with the minimal testing I've done tend to agree thus far) of good things about using 'ggedon to wreck control decks - likewise it's very common to see 1x LftL in the 75 - personal call IMO though.

I think you have a little too much GY hate - I know shoot me now. I'd try to squeeze another S.Ooze in the 75 and would honestly take out crypts. I've always found Bojuka Bog far, too slow to really be effective against any GY strategy. I mean, lets be honest - the decks you want yard hate against have a critical turn 2, turn 3 or turn 4 at the latest.

IMO the 5th MOM effect (sylvan safekeeper) is also weak, but that's because I cheat and only play 3 MOM's.

Armada Wurm seems really weak in the MD compared to other options - and if you're running E. Tutor package, I'd HIGHLY recommend CoP: Red. It will auto win burn match-ups and does work against goblins while stopping Progenitus in it's tracks (SnT hate).

Quote from Kainemyte

Why is Lftl good?

It gets back Wasteland.

I'm curious, has any one been playing Dryad's militant? Its an easily tutor-able answer to dredge and snapcaster. I can't imagine nobody having tested it so I'm just curious how it has worked out

Dryad Militant is a nice laser-focused hate bear. The decks its good against - Dredge, Storm (to a degree), and High Tide are where it shines while also providing a clock. Against fair decks... well its just lack-luster. I would consider playing 1 in the SB if you have a metagame that is highly vulnerable to its effect (Dredge, High Tide, and other g/y dependent spell decks).

Quote from Domantas

Also, I play Absolute Law instead of E. Cannonist because elves usually pack artifact removal. You could play one of each.

Not to be too picky, but what artifact hate does elves pack that doesn't hit enchantments? Viridian Shaman is the only card I can think of - while all other on color removal hits both.

Quote from Kainemyte

Why should i play Absolute Law against Elves?
Prot Red makes no sense to me.

What do yuo think about Garruk Primal Hunter? I think he's strong against Miracle and even good against Goblins, Merfolk. GGG shouldn't be a problem, with a Cradle.

Garruk's been discussed a lot over the past ~15 pages but to sum up what I've read/feel on him:

Pros
He can remove creatures
He makes creatures
He doesn't die to Terminus

Cons
Doesn't protect himself like elspeth (pump for ultimate)
He only eats small creatures
:symg::symg::symg:
Slower clock than elspeth

@ absolute law, I believe it's Rule of Law

Here's my current list I've been running. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated, my toughest MU in my Meta is vs Affinity.

Pretty solid MG, personally I don't like Path or fauna shaman but to each his/her own. If you want to wreck affinity, stoney silence is pretty good, but serenity is significantly better, and E tutor to find them t1.

Quote from One Two Taylor

Here's my current list I've been running. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated, my toughest MU in my Meta is vs Affinity.

dwchang's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
4x Mother of Runes 4x Noble Hierarch 4x Knight of the Reliquary 4x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 3x Qasali Pridemage 2x Scavenging Ooze 1x Gaddock Teeg 1x Scryb Ranger 1x Fauna Shaman 1x Stoneforge Mystic 4x Green Sun's Zenith 4x Swords to Plowshares 1x Path to Exile 1x Sylvan Library 2x Umezawa's Jitte	4x Windswept Heath 1x Misty Rainforest 1x Plains 2x Forest 4x Savannah 2x Horizon Canopy 1x Dryad Arbor 2x Cavern of Souls 4x Wasteland 1x Maze of Ith 1x Karakas	Sideboard 1x Linvala, Keeper of Silence 1x Gideon Jura 2x Ethersworn Canonist 2x Choke 1x Bojuka Bog 2x Crop Rotation 2x Faerie Macabre 1x Path to Exile 1x Life from the Loam 2x Stoney Silence

Other than the Fauna Shaman, your MD is similar to what I used to run. With that said, I never lost a match against Affinity (faced it at least three times), but I think that's because my SB is different. I ran 3 Krosan Grips in the side and with those, 5 removals and 3 QPMs, you usually have an answer for their Ravager or Cranial Plating. You also have KotR into Maze of Ith to Maze their biggest beater.

I haven't tried an Enlightened Tutor package SB, I just may have to give it a shot. Any suggestions on what to add?.

Quote from One Two Taylor

I haven't tried an Enlightened Tutor package SB, I just may have to give it a shot. Any suggestions on what to add?.

Stony Silence/Null rod/Serenity = Affinity
Serenity/Kgrip = artifact and/or enchantment heavy
Ethersworn Canonist/Thalia = anti-storm
Choke = anti-blue
Dueling Grounds = anti-tribal/swarm (one tactic)
Oblivion Ring = hits unfair 'cheat a big thing into play.dec' strategies hard. also hits PW'ers
Detention Sphere = bigger boom booms than O-Ring. Hitting blue may be problematic (but hierarch/shaman/birds/blue dual could aid this)
Any GY eater
Pithing Needle = stops specific problem cards (top, jace, etc)
Worship = decks that have difficulty removing this + a creature means you won't "die". Seen this in 1 or 2 lists as controversial tech of sorts

...hope that helps. It's not everything, but it's a majority of what you see.