I'm not sure what his exact record was over the 3 events that he played but it wa something absurd. He place 5th after 10 rounds of Swiss at a trial, placed 1st at a 110-player side event, and was 1st seed going into the top 8 of the multi-day main event, losing in top 8. He might just be an insane player, but even then he could not have done that if the list had no merit. We should take note.
I saw the only stream I could find of him playing this deck. Only 1 match vs Bant Aggro. A top player in Spain and he's M@verick on TheSource. His curve and built is so low + disruption is so high, SFM makes a lot of sense there. I'm not sure I would personally switch over to vials -- I love GSZ so much. Nevertheless, he did a lot of downright nasty plays with Scryb/KotR/Wayfarer/Horizon Canopy tricks. It's definitely a throwback and shows how one of the original branches of Maverick's development is still viable.
Notice that his mana-fixers are 4 vial and 3 bop. Very interesting build overall. While others opt for more colors and variation, he kept the deck like the initial Maverick green-and-taxes build. Again, his playskill makes up for a lot of (IMO) questionable calls.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
I saw the only stream I could find of him playing this deck. Only 1 match vs Bant Aggro. A top player in Spain and he's M@verick on TheSource. His curve and built is so low + disruption is so high, SFM makes a lot of sense there. I'm not sure I would personally switch over to vials -- I love GSZ so much. Nevertheless, he did a lot of downright nasty plays with Scryb/KotR/Wayfarer/Horizon Canopy tricks. It's definitely a throwback and shows how one of the original branches of Maverick's development is still viable.
Notice that his mana-fixers are 4 vial and 3 bop. Very interesting build overall. While others opt for more colors and variation, he kept the deck like the initial Maverick green-and-taxes build. Again, his playskill makes up for a lot of (IMO) questionable calls.
Very curious to see the game.
Would you mind posting a link to the stream?
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
What's the proper # of Thalia in this deck? 3 or 4? Or less?
IMO I think 3 is the correct default amount. I can see the merits of 4 but that also assumes you have difficulty keeping her alive (because multiples of her is bad). 3 is the sweet spot for me and even then I've had awkward double-thalia-in-hand moments.
Punishing Maverick has to trim her down or cut her out of the MD entirely because she ruins the efficiency of the engine.
Dark Maverick is interesting because some people have had success hard-swapping her out for 4x discard. If you know you're going into a combo meta, I could realistically see Thalia AND discard in the MD to ensure you punch through. Nevertheless, Mav is weak to combo as a whole. If you knew the room was combo-heavy, I would design the MD as "i hate combo.dec" and move out from there.
Thalia is fantastic against decks that use a variety of cheap spells. Storm/Tide/reanimator come to mind. Just remember she's legendary and doesn't win the game outright.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Hey everyone! I've been having problems w/ Shardless BUG recently. Cascade is just crazy good in dominating the board. Can anyone teach me how to play against it? Thanks!
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
LEGACY:
G Combo Elves G GW Maverick WG GWR Punishing Maverick RWG GWB Dark Maverick BWG RUG RUG Delver GUR UWR Miracles RWU
What's the feeling about running a singleton Tarmogoyf? Seems no one does it and I was just thinking it might act as a nice heavy hitter on occasion.
Currently running 2x Ooze and don't feel like cutting them so 'goyf would be aside from the 2 Oozes
I recently picked up a Punishing Fire list (and played a little with a GW list, no experience with the GWb list), but I have to say, I'm not much fond of Goyf. Between Scavenging Ooze and Knight of the Reliquary, your threats are bigger than Goyf. He offers little utility, and only real perk is that he's a 2cc fatty.
So I got to play this list in a small (8-man) event on Saturday. 3 rounds, cut to top 4. Unfortunately, I got knocked out in the top, but it was still a good experience.
I also want to say that going up to the event I had 2 Jitte in the Main, and Sword of Feast and Famine in the board instead. Sword did *so* much work, both in the combo and control matchups; I wouldn't think of running without it now.
Round 1 - Cheeri0s
He starts going off on turn 2, but fizzles out. I dropped Thalia, and proceeded to Waste him out.
-Sideboard -4 Swords, -1 Jitte, +3 Mindbreak, +2 Pyroblast
I mulled to 6 to find a hand with 2 Mindbreak Traps. He tries to go off, and I trap the second Glimpse to buy me some time. Punishing Fire slowly started taking over the board, and Pridemage helped him from going lethal through Beastmaster's Ascension, and eventually Stoneforge grabbing SoFaF put an end to it.
1-0
Round 2 - Goblins
This was an interesting. Goblins splashing White (Thalia) and Black (Warren Weirding). Tarfire as well.
Game 1, I pulled out a punishing fire and a swords and was able to slow him down a bit, but I wasn't able to find a Grove. He landed Krenko, and it all ended there.
-Sideboard: -2 Thalia, +1 Jitte, +1 Maze of Ith
I was able to keep a hand with Mom, Stoneforge and Punishing Fire. Unfortunately, Warren Weirding, Tin Street Hooligan, Tarfire and Gempalm made things rough for me. I drew into my singleton Life from the Loam and started dredging, hoping to find a Grove, but unfortunately it didn't show up until the turn after he dropped Thalia. I was 1 mana short of keeping in the game at that point.
1-1
Round 3 - Esperblade.
I was really excited about this one.
Game 1, I pretty much just remember Ooze winning me the game. That guy did *so* much work. Punishing Fire kept him off his creatures quite well (I think it killed 3 Spirit Tokens, 2 Stoneforges, 1 Snapcaster and Jace). Ooze came down, ate graveyards, and took down Batterskull, then proceeded to win the game.
-Sideboard: -4 Swords, -1 Gaddock Teeg (unsure of this one), +1 Sigarda, +2 Choke, +2 Pyroblast.
Game 2, pretty much the same. He turn 1 ponders, turn 2 Thoughtseize. I believe I went turn 1 Noble, turn 2 Stoneforge grabbing SoFaF. Pyroblast stops his Snapcaster (presumably to Thoughtseize me again). Thalia and Choke locked him out pretty hard.
2-1
Top 4 - UR Painter
This did not end well for me. Both games, he had turn 1 Grindstone, turn 2 Painter.
-Sideboard: -4 Mom, +2 Ancient Grudge, +2 Pyroblast
Hate only helps if you draw it
All said and done, I think the only changes I really want to make is -1 Library, +1 Ooze, and maybe some tweaks to the sideboard.
I recently picked up a Punishing Fire list (and played a little with a GW list, no experience with the GWb list), but I have to say, I'm not much fond of Goyf. Between Scavenging Ooze and Knight of the Reliquary, your threats are bigger than Goyf. He offers little utility, and only real perk is that he's a 2cc fatty.
I think goyf is a sub par choice but not sure what else. Would like to try out a singleton Voice of Resurgence perhaps.
For pure GW there's Mirran Crusader (omfg) and Smiter (also strong). I'd gladly run those over Witness and the miser Mindcensor. If you are hellbent on a 2-drop, go with another proven card: ooze or QPM.
So I got to play this list in a small (8-man) event on Saturday. 3 rounds, cut to top 4. Unfortunately, I got knocked out in the top, but it was still a good experience.
I also want to say that going up to the event I had 2 Jitte in the Main, and Sword of Feast and Famine in the board instead. Sword did *so* much work, both in the combo and control matchups; I wouldn't think of running without it now.
All said and done, I think the only changes I really want to make is -1 Library, +1 Ooze, and maybe some tweaks to the sideboard.
Poppeleseed, congrats. I think 2x Ooze goes into any GSZ based list. It's THAT good lol. Sometimes I debate about buying a 3rd.
Some questions because I have a tourney this weekend and have been debating about options:
1. 2 DRS, 2 Noble....how was the mana?
2. With SFM in a splash-list, would you consider 2x Jitte + 1 sword? Or were you fine on equips? (and btw I am convinced SFM doesn't work in GW)
3. Sigarda do anything for you? I had a phase where I liked her but she's so big and clumsy in the curve....idk. If she lands, it's awesome. But usually you're so far ahead by that point.
4. Thalia x3 ruin your higher % of spells? I don't know what to do with Thalia right now if I splash. Because splash colors give me sweet options....but interfere with her tax.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
How would Domri Rade work in Pun Mav? It might be pretty good with high creature count and Sylvan Library.
Domri Rade could be really good in a hard aggro Pun Mav, but I don't see Pun Mav being that kind of deck. What would you take out? Most likely a creature.
Has anyone tried out Voice of Resurgence yet? I am really curious on how he would do in Maverick. Seems like a perfect fit to me.
Voice of Resurgence is a great card, but I don't think he is right for the deck. While he makes the opponent think twice about using a counter, most creatures in maverick contribute to the win condition with some sort of activated ability whereas VoR's ability is at the mercy (and normally avoided) by the opponent. Voice of Resurgence seems like a better fit for Junk or Bant.
Just my opinion, I traded for a playset of VoR at the prerelease just in case I'm wrong as I really, really like the card.
Also on other topic, I have been playing with traditional Maverick. I am starting to acquire the cards for a Maverick GWu with Geists as I see blue a necessity right now. Gaea's Cradle will come out for sure, but other wise I think the land base stays the same with some added Trops and Tundras. I was wondering what other blue spells are best fit? Spell pierce only? FoW is not the answer with little fodder to pitch to it, plus card disadvantage is not good for us.
Voice of Resurgence is a great card, but I don't think he is right for the deck. While he makes the opponent think twice about using a counter, most creatures in maverick contribute to the win condition with some sort of activated ability whereas VoR's ability is at the mercy (and normally avoided) by the opponent. Voice of Resurgence seems like a better fit for Junk or Bant.
Just my opinion, I traded for a playset of VoR at the prerelease just in case I'm wrong as I really, really like the card.
Also on other topic, I have been playing with traditional Maverick. I am starting to acquire the cards for a Maverick GWu with Geists as I see blue a necessity right now. Gaea's Cradle will come out for sure, but other wise I think the land base stays the same with some added Trops and Tundras. I was wondering what other blue spells are best fit? Spell pierce only? FoW is not the answer with little fodder to pitch to it, plus card disadvantage is not good for us.
I would keep cradle in, if possible. It really makes this deck over-the-top. If you have it, run it. If not, save $100 -- but I will say I've noticed a difference in playing with it over several events (multiple months time).
If you want blue-splash, a lot of people like geist and pierce. I think envelop is another home-run rescue spell needed for the deck. It shuts down all sweepers + terminus.
@Punishing:
If you wanna try things out, skip Domri. The upside isn't as strong as you think. I would personally consider bloodbraid or huntmaster as stronger GR aggro pieces. BBE gives you another spell -- often a creature or removal. Huntmaster is just a beating. THe +2 life is also relevant but making an army and flipping it is insane. It can literally burn out opponents and send you over the edge if that's the hard-aggro push you're looking to develop.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Some questions because I have a tourney this weekend and have been debating about options:
1. 2 DRS, 2 Noble....how was the mana?
Mana issues weren't really there. Deathrite Shaman was an include mostly because it can produce Red in a pinch. The fact that it works well with my wastelands, opposing fetches and I have a moderate fear of Waste/Loam just worked in my favor
2. With SFM in a splash-list, would you consider 2x Jitte + 1 sword? Or were you fine on equips? (and btw I am convinced SFM doesn't work in GW)
Right now, I've got the 1x Jitte and 1x Sword, with the second Jitte in the board. I found that the utility from the sword made me grab it more often than the Jitte, but then again, the matches where I saw my stoneforge were Cheeri0s and Esper, where the discard (and in the latter, pro Black. **** you, germ token ) worked out much better than Jitte would have.
3. Sigarda do anything for you? I had a phase where I liked her but she's so big and clumsy in the curve....idk. If she lands, it's awesome. But usually you're so far ahead by that point.
I brought in Sigarda against Esper, but really, she's there for the Show and Tell matchup. If I were playing straight GW with Cradle, she'd have a spot in the main, but right now, she's staying in the board,and only if I don't find something more suited.
4. Thalia x3 ruin your higher % of spells? I don't know what to do with Thalia right now if I splash. Because splash colors give me sweet options....but interfere with her tax.
Thalia actually caused me little pain over the day. It seemed that with the matches I played, either she was huge and things like Punishing Fire weren't as big of a factor, or she wasn't that big of a factor at all and I'd rather PF them out of the water than mess with a minor tax. Or she died immediately... that woman has a huge target on her head.
Went GWb and if people want a list I can post it. DRS is pretty strong. Paired 3x DRS with with 2x birds and the mana was solid. Duress in the board is the real deal guys. Helps A TON against many decks. Had bad breaks against Burn, RUG, and UWR tempo-ish landstill (yea, that's not a typo). I have a lot of faith in Maverick.
*one of the biggest mistakes was not running 2x Scryb. And I had a solo Elspeth I never saw all day.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Went GWb and if people want a list I can post it. DRS is pretty strong. Paired 3x DRS with with 2x birds and the mana was solid. Duress in the board is the real deal guys. Helps A TON against many decks. Had bad breaks against Burn, RUG, and UWR tempo-ish landstill (yea, that's not a typo). I have a lot of faith in Maverick.
*one of the biggest mistakes was not running 2x Scryb. And I had a solo Elspeth I never saw all day.
Would love to see a list.
Along with card choice explanations, if you have the time.
Also wondering, What's the difference in playstyle between junk and GWb mavs? aside from having mom in mavs (along with other different card choices) is there any big playstyle changes between the two decks?
3 Deathrite Shaman
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Mother of Runes
3 Thalia
2 Stoneforge Mystic ---> felt sylvan library was doing nothing for me last night. this is the direct replacement.
2 Aven Mindcensor
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
*Apologies for incoherency it's been a long day and I'm moving out of my apartment tomorrow. Hurray summer break. These sentences are short-hand and not at all reflective of my usual ability to write.
R1 UR delver. Can't recall much. One game I won with 2x DRS, 2x Mom, nd birds x1 clogging up the board. DRS pinged for 12. stupid.
R2. G1 I do lots of nice tricks to my friend Rob who is new to legacy (and made T16 in today's very small crowd of 44. congrats to him). I beat him silly game 1. G2 he has me for exact-sies the turn before lethal. I can't gain enough life to push past lava spike on his turn and post-drawstep Fireblast on mine (Canonist in play). Just didn't have the ability to do anything or ooze for anything in the grave. Kicking myself because I intentionally didn't play wasteland the turn before. I could have killed arbor and eaten it for +1 life to be alive had I known he had that coming.
G3 I have a hand of thalia, plains, waste, jitte, jitte, GSZ, DRS. I never get the green and ultimately die because of that. 2 green spells in hand never got played. I tried equipping Thalia with Jitte to race....but artifact hate ate the jitte. This is the only game color-screw did me in. The third land I get is scrubs. Had that been bayou, I'd have a different story (or at least the glimmer of hope to live longer). Oh well. Rob and I were cracking dirty raunchy jokes all match. Made the day. And glad he did well overall.
R3: Drew was very nice as well. He starts G1 with cursecatcher to my mana ramp. He turn 2 drops silvergils. I drop mom or something the next turn and leave 2 mana open. He swings out, I bring in scryb and take over. Combat tricks are great as the game rapidly gets out of hand. A sword or two + aven seal things up (flash-killing is awesome btw).
G2 he bashed me hard. I stabilize at 4. I have literally no lands and eventually work off BoP and a plains. he has lords and muta. Somehow I luckily play thalia, ooze, thalia, and KotR off a short-lived cradle. I nearly come back but late game he pushes past my lone flying blocker BoP #2. He dropped to 1 to dismember the thing and hit me for lethal with Kira. *****es.
G3 I do something like DRS -> Jitte to his double vial. I abuse with Jitte while playing Ooze and Thalia. Game lasts longer than I want it to but we end with him scooping to a hardcasted batterskull down the stretch. Jitte had 3 counters. At some point I blocked 2 lords and 2 merfolk....using jitte and first-strike to basically wipe out his side.
R4: Really pissed because I died so miserably to RUG. Decent hands. Mulliganned correctly. G1 he leads delver. Burns anything that comes out on my side and rides that 3/2 bug pretty much wire to wire. Roughlife.
G2 I have BOP and then drop ooze. I waste his land. He shortly recovers with Rough (Rough/Tumble), which knocked out my Ooze and Arbor. FML. From there he drops a Mongoose (maybe a pair) and perhaps another delver that flipped. I linvala (somehow still staying alive). Submerge does me in. Both games are a blur of "so sorry, I won't let you even come close to being in this game". Not mad at the player, who obviously rolled me fair and square. But this game should have been....a game. Crap happens.
R5: I know he's on Sneak/Show.
G1: I mulligan a hand that's AMAZING but felt he would turn 1/2 me. Opening 7 had thalia, thalia, swords, land, land, stuff. Gut feeling said give the opponent more respect. I mull to 5 into land, GSZ, KotR, stuff. I thought if he show and tells, I got the KotR out. I zenith-ramp and never see the 3rd land. Grisseldaddy is angry off a sneak attack hard-casted (yea I had time to thalia! goddammit!). I die G1 with 3 KotR in hand. His last attack, I float 2 mana before Emmy wipes my table due to annihilator. I play Scryb, who stands no chance.
G2: I keep a very strong hand with Thalia and Teeg. I nearly die along the way but a turn 3 or 4 Karakas gives me well-needed insurance.
G3: Lady Luck felt bad. She gave me this game. I open with duress x2 and thalia alongside stuff. teeg was topdeck into the turn 1. I duress T1. Teeg T2 (due to lands I had). T3 duress #2 + Thalia. T4/5 Karakas. Thalia rides it out. I end the game with a small army of people. Duress made the difference as I took his filters (and he whiffed on the others). He ended the game with lands + 2 petals in play. 3 Emmy in hand. I had multiple outs if he ever got things online.
R6: G1 I die due to chained standstills. He has so many cards it's ridiculous. All 4 mishras were out alongside clique and snaps. I managed to knock out the mishras with QPM tricks + 2 wastes. Clique gets there over time.
G2 I just can't get going. I lose Thalia to Electrickery (seriously). Then I lose Arbor and Aven to overloaded Electrickery. I pounded and bullied him at 1 land. Suddenly the tables turned. Karakas can't hold back his clique and mishra. Can't linvala in time on the final turns. Then Elspeth comes online. Ugly.
--------------
Prior to the event, the store was sold out of both mindbreak trap and leyline of sanctity -- two cards that would have helped. Surgicals were a no-show all day. These should have been life-gaining things like Finks or something strong against blue like Smiter or the uncounterable Abrupt Decay.
I missed Elspeth all day. Never came up in any game. MIA sucks. She was the 61st card and played like she wasn't in the list at all.
Scryb ranger in this setup should be 2x. I really punted this one. He's so strong because players don't see the interactions. Everyone misplays him. I had a game against burn where I literally played things I shouldn't have due to mana-dorks untapping + recasting lands in play. When KotR or Thalia are involved in fights (or mom)....omg. Insane.
As for SFM, in this list it worked. I counted it as Sylvan Library. Why? Because YES SFM ruins the flow of my game. But so does library honestly. I've watched library over the past few months blow up before my turn or be lackluster the turn or 2 it survived. On rare occasion where I play it changed the game. Took a gamble on SFM -- who is amazing in the late-game -- and it paid off more often than I thought it would. Batterskull is also strong, but I'd honestly pack SFM #3 and Bskull in the board next time. I almost always went for one of the Jittes as they are easier to cast. Bskull also stayed in, even if SFM were boarded out. Bskull is a nice 4/4 vig lifelinker. SFM at times needs to be pure removal or duress.
The mana was smooth. Only hiccup was against burn G3.
Aven Mindcensor....still not sold on them. These could be cut for Scryb and something else. Looking back, I should have also included decay into the list. And perhaps a 3rd black fetch. Verdant #3 would have helped. Go 3-3 split on heaths and catacombs perhaps.
The deck definitely survives as "pain in the ass hate-bears".dec....KotR, when I saw her, quickly ended games. Black opened me up to a little more nonbasic hate than normal, but the usual "good draws" were mucked up a bit. I LOVED the lower curve of the deck. I'd like to potentially drop elspeth entirely to go with a max of 3cc. From there, your zeniths top-out at 4 mana, which opens up many lines of play. For today's meta, mirran woulda been an awful call and Smiter would be SB only material. I'm still looking for the strong flash-anti-blue guy. The spider from DGM may be my meta-call for a blue-happy meta. Today was also a reminder to look at Finks again. +2 life and trading with attackers could have made all the difference.
Nevertheless, black-splash was interesting. Duress is 100% better than anything punishing could have offered. It hurts combo A LOT. I'd still run Thalia over discard in the main. And I'd still run duress over thoughseize (not picking them up again at the current price!). Duress is for anti combo/control, where TS isn't necessarily stronger. Just make sure you have the mana to cast it. Likewise, DRS stole a good 3 games for me. In 1 match, I had DRS deal like 12 damage in pings to close out the game on a stalled board.
A future build would somehow incorporate:
birds, drs, kotr, gsz, sfm, ooze, scryb in stronger numbers. thalia at 3 is fine. QPM is nice but I DO question if MD decays are stronger. I'd like to abrupt decay stuff. There's a lot of merit in playing them.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Wanted to try Silences tonight as I usually play a match or two against some storm deck (everyone knows me as the Maverick guy and abuses that). The local area is pretty legacy rich, so people are changing decks every week, it's hard to anticipate what you'll need. Ulvenwald Tracker is a powerful sideboard card that can take over a game, it might be right to cut him though. Bojuka Bog has been underwhelming for me lately as well, I've had very few matchups where I really want it - usually it comes in against RUG or other Tarmogoyf decks, but I'm never thrilled to have it. Dredge has been out of circulation locally, and Reanimator hasn't been seen in months.
I was just looking through cards and thought I might like to try a Rogue's Passage somewhere... just for the hell of it as a way to close out creature mirrors with just a Knight on board. I'd want to play Gaea's Cradle additionally. I don't think it's a good idea, and I'm not sure where I'd find the space, but it's a thought I want to explore because it'd be hilarious.
Played just a short Legacy event last night. 16 people, 3-rounds + top 8.
Round 1 vs Jund (2-0)
Game one he leads on Deathrite into a Dark Confidant and draws a few cards off that.
I have Hierarch into Scavenging Ooze and try to hold down the fort. I draw a bit late swords to get his Confidant, lose a Knight to an Abrupt Decay and eventually continue playing bigger dudes until he dies. Having 2 Oozes in the mainboard is great in this matchup.
Game two he Thoughtseize's away my GSZ then Hymn to Tourachs (hitting Savannah + Stoneforge?) me on turn 2. I miss a land drop, but he doesn't have much to follow up with. I drop big dudes and he can't find an Abrupt Decay. Knight grows to an 8/8 while he digs with a Confidant and I get a Jitte online and quickly put the game out of reach while he topdecks for an answer to both.
Round 2 vs RUG Delver (2-0)
I win the roll and don't have a turn 1 play. He leads on Delver and when it doesn't flip on 2 I flash in a Scryb to try and block. He blows a brainstorm and finds a Lightning Bolt to hit it, from there I build up a board, dropping to 9 from the Delver before I am able to wasteland his manabase and deal with the delver.
Game 2 goes pretty similarly, I bait out his counters and removal to land an Ooze and control the game. His lands during the game are 1 Volcanic, 3x Wasteland, then by turn 6 or whenever he finds another Volcanic - so one Wasteland on my part kinda screws him there and buys me plenty of time to lock the game up.
Round 3 vs Dredge (ID)
Top 8
Was paired against a buddy of mine on Deadguy Ale, we split prize and durdle around making some trades with the people left in the room.
Top 4 Split
Hi, can someone plz help me against Shardless BUG sideboard plan? I usually play Dark Maverick with DRS but not Liliana's/seize cause I'm more on the aggro plan and play GSZ/Thalias.
1) Which cards you use from SB?
2) Do you take Thalia out?
3) Is Choke viable?
Appreciate any help...
BUG decks have always given me trouble. Is this the shardless with delver or sans delver (god there are so many decks atm lol)? Choke isn't as strong as you think because they can have DRS + off-blue duals. Negates any choke progress. Sigarda is also nice against them, but I've found her higher cc to actually be an issue. God forbid they wasteland you, life gets hard rather fast.
I think Safekeeper and Mom are very strong here. I've also read about people experimenting with Lingering Souls against this matchup as a trump to Liliana and things to durdle-block goyf. Not sure if I entirely agree but soon Liliana will be able to chain together (legend/planeswalker rule update). One thing BUG has a legitimate problem with is Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Elspeth against a decent board position will push you over the edge and force them to either force of will (some decks run it, some don't for BUG) -- creating needed CA in your favor -- or Abrupt Decay your flying dude. Knight + Elspeth with some kind of protection can actually end games very fast.
One true SB card I tend to bring in against BUG is Surgical Extraction. Surgical can and will trump them playing big spells. It's possible to kill an early goyf and surgical the damn thing or hold them off blue for a while with the good old waste+surgical line early.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
That which nourishes me, destroys me
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
So I 5-0'd the most recent Legacy weekly at my LGS (same list as in previous weeks, haven't had much of an interest in updating it since I know it so well and it's been performing very well) and I noticed a few interactions that were very helpful to be aware of ...
-Against Academy Rector decks (Aluren, Dream Halls, Omniscience), in case you were not aware of the graveyard-hate loophole, you can fetch Bojuka Bog with Knight of the Reliquary or activate Scavenging Ooze targeting the Rector in response to its death trigger, and the trigger will not resolve. My Aluren opponent walked into this and let me steal a bad matchup (only won game 3 by top decking my second and only remaining copy of Teeg, the turn I would have died, after he answered the first one).
-Against Emrakul decks, particularly the ones that rely on actually casting Emrakul and making Karakas look bad by getting the extra turn, finding Maze of Ith and Sigarda, while potentially difficult, can end up actually blanking their win condition. I played an epic game against Enchantress where my opponent locked me out of the game early with multiple Enchantresses, Solitary Confinement, and multiple Sterling Groves, but spent so much time and drew so many cards before casting Emrakul to kill me that I was able to sacrifice 6 permanents, Maze it to survive, untap and cast Sigarda, and effectively doom my opponent to death by eventually decking (his alternate win con was Sigil of the Empty Throne, rather than Words of War, and he had too few cards and too many Enchantresses to activate it without drawing his deck out). I know this interaction is probably not going to win me another game in 1000 matches of Magic but it was awesome to sideboard with it in mind, play to it as soon as I saw the lock developing across the table, and actually get my opponent with it.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Thanks to Gabgabdevo for the awesome sig image!
I'm always looking for foil Madcap Skills and Ghitu Fire-Eater, [trade thread link forthcoming]
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I saw the only stream I could find of him playing this deck. Only 1 match vs Bant Aggro. A top player in Spain and he's M@verick on TheSource. His curve and built is so low + disruption is so high, SFM makes a lot of sense there. I'm not sure I would personally switch over to vials -- I love GSZ so much. Nevertheless, he did a lot of downright nasty plays with Scryb/KotR/Wayfarer/Horizon Canopy tricks. It's definitely a throwback and shows how one of the original branches of Maverick's development is still viable.
Notice that his mana-fixers are 4 vial and 3 bop. Very interesting build overall. While others opt for more colors and variation, he kept the deck like the initial Maverick green-and-taxes build. Again, his playskill makes up for a lot of (IMO) questionable calls.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Very curious to see the game.
Would you mind posting a link to the stream?
http://www.twitch.tv/watchdamatch/b/401323718
you're welcome
EDIT: Top 8
http://www.watchdamatch.com/tournois/coverage/bom-day-4/
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
He is the father of the deck, will see that match, thanks for the link.
GBW NO Elves / Aggro Elves
GBWU Combo Elves
EDH Decks:
Duel Commander:
GG Thrun, the last Trolololol GG
GW The Captain WG
GWB Karadores BWG
GWU Jenara UWG
UWB Oloro-DD BWU
Regular EDH:
GBW Ghave the Enchanter WBG
IMO I think 3 is the correct default amount. I can see the merits of 4 but that also assumes you have difficulty keeping her alive (because multiples of her is bad). 3 is the sweet spot for me and even then I've had awkward double-thalia-in-hand moments.
Punishing Maverick has to trim her down or cut her out of the MD entirely because she ruins the efficiency of the engine.
Dark Maverick is interesting because some people have had success hard-swapping her out for 4x discard. If you know you're going into a combo meta, I could realistically see Thalia AND discard in the MD to ensure you punch through. Nevertheless, Mav is weak to combo as a whole. If you knew the room was combo-heavy, I would design the MD as "i hate combo.dec" and move out from there.
Thalia is fantastic against decks that use a variety of cheap spells. Storm/Tide/reanimator come to mind. Just remember she's legendary and doesn't win the game outright.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
G Combo Elves G
GW Maverick WG
GWR Punishing Maverick RWG
GWB Dark Maverick BWG
RUG RUG Delver GUR
UWR Miracles RWU
MODERN:
G Coco Elves G
I recently picked up a Punishing Fire list (and played a little with a GW list, no experience with the GWb list), but I have to say, I'm not much fond of Goyf. Between Scavenging Ooze and Knight of the Reliquary, your threats are bigger than Goyf. He offers little utility, and only real perk is that he's a 2cc fatty.
Have any questions or concerns? Come take a dip in my pool.
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Mother of Runes
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Sylvan Library
3 Punishing Fire
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Life from the Loam
1 Forest
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
1 Karakas
1 Plains
1 Plateau
3 Savannah
2 Taiga
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Choke
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Maze of Ith
2 Pyroblast
3 Mindbreak Trap
2 Ancient Grudge
I also want to say that going up to the event I had 2 Jitte in the Main, and Sword of Feast and Famine in the board instead. Sword did *so* much work, both in the combo and control matchups; I wouldn't think of running without it now.
Round 1 - Cheeri0s
He starts going off on turn 2, but fizzles out. I dropped Thalia, and proceeded to Waste him out.
-Sideboard -4 Swords, -1 Jitte, +3 Mindbreak, +2 Pyroblast
I mulled to 6 to find a hand with 2 Mindbreak Traps. He tries to go off, and I trap the second Glimpse to buy me some time. Punishing Fire slowly started taking over the board, and Pridemage helped him from going lethal through Beastmaster's Ascension, and eventually Stoneforge grabbing SoFaF put an end to it.
1-0
Round 2 - Goblins
This was an interesting. Goblins splashing White (Thalia) and Black (Warren Weirding). Tarfire as well.
Game 1, I pulled out a punishing fire and a swords and was able to slow him down a bit, but I wasn't able to find a Grove. He landed Krenko, and it all ended there.
-Sideboard: -2 Thalia, +1 Jitte, +1 Maze of Ith
I was able to keep a hand with Mom, Stoneforge and Punishing Fire. Unfortunately, Warren Weirding, Tin Street Hooligan, Tarfire and Gempalm made things rough for me. I drew into my singleton Life from the Loam and started dredging, hoping to find a Grove, but unfortunately it didn't show up until the turn after he dropped Thalia. I was 1 mana short of keeping in the game at that point.
1-1
Round 3 - Esperblade.
I was really excited about this one.
Game 1, I pretty much just remember Ooze winning me the game. That guy did *so* much work. Punishing Fire kept him off his creatures quite well (I think it killed 3 Spirit Tokens, 2 Stoneforges, 1 Snapcaster and Jace). Ooze came down, ate graveyards, and took down Batterskull, then proceeded to win the game.
-Sideboard: -4 Swords, -1 Gaddock Teeg (unsure of this one), +1 Sigarda, +2 Choke, +2 Pyroblast.
Game 2, pretty much the same. He turn 1 ponders, turn 2 Thoughtseize. I believe I went turn 1 Noble, turn 2 Stoneforge grabbing SoFaF. Pyroblast stops his Snapcaster (presumably to Thoughtseize me again). Thalia and Choke locked him out pretty hard.
2-1
Top 4 - UR Painter
This did not end well for me. Both games, he had turn 1 Grindstone, turn 2 Painter.
-Sideboard: -4 Mom, +2 Ancient Grudge, +2 Pyroblast
Hate only helps if you draw it
All said and done, I think the only changes I really want to make is -1 Library, +1 Ooze, and maybe some tweaks to the sideboard.
Have any questions or concerns? Come take a dip in my pool.
He is not made for this deck. I can give a lengthy explanation but would prefer to save everyone time. He is just subpar in Maverick.
This
For pure GW there's Mirran Crusader (omfg) and Smiter (also strong). I'd gladly run those over Witness and the miser Mindcensor. If you are hellbent on a 2-drop, go with another proven card: ooze or QPM.
Poppeleseed, congrats. I think 2x Ooze goes into any GSZ based list. It's THAT good lol. Sometimes I debate about buying a 3rd.
Some questions because I have a tourney this weekend and have been debating about options:
1. 2 DRS, 2 Noble....how was the mana?
2. With SFM in a splash-list, would you consider 2x Jitte + 1 sword? Or were you fine on equips? (and btw I am convinced SFM doesn't work in GW)
3. Sigarda do anything for you? I had a phase where I liked her but she's so big and clumsy in the curve....idk. If she lands, it's awesome. But usually you're so far ahead by that point.
4. Thalia x3 ruin your higher % of spells? I don't know what to do with Thalia right now if I splash. Because splash colors give me sweet options....but interfere with her tax.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Domri Rade could be really good in a hard aggro Pun Mav, but I don't see Pun Mav being that kind of deck. What would you take out? Most likely a creature.
Voice of Resurgence is a great card, but I don't think he is right for the deck. While he makes the opponent think twice about using a counter, most creatures in maverick contribute to the win condition with some sort of activated ability whereas VoR's ability is at the mercy (and normally avoided) by the opponent. Voice of Resurgence seems like a better fit for Junk or Bant.
Just my opinion, I traded for a playset of VoR at the prerelease just in case I'm wrong as I really, really like the card.
Also on other topic, I have been playing with traditional Maverick. I am starting to acquire the cards for a Maverick GWu with Geists as I see blue a necessity right now. Gaea's Cradle will come out for sure, but other wise I think the land base stays the same with some added Trops and Tundras. I was wondering what other blue spells are best fit? Spell pierce only? FoW is not the answer with little fodder to pitch to it, plus card disadvantage is not good for us.
I would keep cradle in, if possible. It really makes this deck over-the-top. If you have it, run it. If not, save $100 -- but I will say I've noticed a difference in playing with it over several events (multiple months time).
If you want blue-splash, a lot of people like geist and pierce. I think envelop is another home-run rescue spell needed for the deck. It shuts down all sweepers + terminus.
@Punishing:
If you wanna try things out, skip Domri. The upside isn't as strong as you think. I would personally consider bloodbraid or huntmaster as stronger GR aggro pieces. BBE gives you another spell -- often a creature or removal. Huntmaster is just a beating. THe +2 life is also relevant but making an army and flipping it is insane. It can literally burn out opponents and send you over the edge if that's the hard-aggro push you're looking to develop.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Mana issues weren't really there. Deathrite Shaman was an include mostly because it can produce Red in a pinch. The fact that it works well with my wastelands, opposing fetches and I have a moderate fear of Waste/Loam just worked in my favor
Right now, I've got the 1x Jitte and 1x Sword, with the second Jitte in the board. I found that the utility from the sword made me grab it more often than the Jitte, but then again, the matches where I saw my stoneforge were Cheeri0s and Esper, where the discard (and in the latter, pro Black. **** you, germ token ) worked out much better than Jitte would have.
I brought in Sigarda against Esper, but really, she's there for the Show and Tell matchup. If I were playing straight GW with Cradle, she'd have a spot in the main, but right now, she's staying in the board,and only if I don't find something more suited.
Thalia actually caused me little pain over the day. It seemed that with the matches I played, either she was huge and things like Punishing Fire weren't as big of a factor, or she wasn't that big of a factor at all and I'd rather PF them out of the water than mess with a minor tax. Or she died immediately... that woman has a huge target on her head.
Have any questions or concerns? Come take a dip in my pool.
Went GWb and if people want a list I can post it. DRS is pretty strong. Paired 3x DRS with with 2x birds and the mana was solid. Duress in the board is the real deal guys. Helps A TON against many decks. Had bad breaks against Burn, RUG, and UWR tempo-ish landstill (yea, that's not a typo). I have a lot of faith in Maverick.
*one of the biggest mistakes was not running 2x Scryb. And I had a solo Elspeth I never saw all day.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Would love to see a list.
Along with card choice explanations, if you have the time.
Also wondering, What's the difference in playstyle between junk and GWb mavs? aside from having mom in mavs (along with other different card choices) is there any big playstyle changes between the two decks?
3-3-0 in 6 rounds
3 Deathrite Shaman
2 Birds of Paradise
1 Scryb Ranger
4 Mother of Runes
3 Thalia
2 Stoneforge Mystic ---> felt sylvan library was doing nothing for me last night. this is the direct replacement.
2 Aven Mindcensor
4 Knight of the Reliquary
2 Qasali Pridemage
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
2 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Batterskull
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 Wasteland
4 Windswept Heath
2 Verdant Catacombs
3 Savannah
2 Bayou
1 Scrubland
2 Forest
2 Plains
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Gaea's Cradle
1 Karakas
----
3 Oblivion Ring
3 Duress
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
1 Gaddock Teeg
R1: Win 2-1 UR delver
R2: Lose 1-2 Burn (Rob)
R3: Win 2-1 Merfolk (Drew)
R4: Loss 0-2 RUG Delver (Tibbits)....absolutely rolled me with 2 insane hands + nut drawing
R5: Win 2-1 Sneak/Show (Higgins)
R6: Lose 0-2 UWR Tempo-Geist Landstill (Judge Caffrey)
*Apologies for incoherency it's been a long day and I'm moving out of my apartment tomorrow. Hurray summer break. These sentences are short-hand and not at all reflective of my usual ability to write.
R1 UR delver. Can't recall much. One game I won with 2x DRS, 2x Mom, nd birds x1 clogging up the board. DRS pinged for 12. stupid.
R2. G1 I do lots of nice tricks to my friend Rob who is new to legacy (and made T16 in today's very small crowd of 44. congrats to him). I beat him silly game 1. G2 he has me for exact-sies the turn before lethal. I can't gain enough life to push past lava spike on his turn and post-drawstep Fireblast on mine (Canonist in play). Just didn't have the ability to do anything or ooze for anything in the grave. Kicking myself because I intentionally didn't play wasteland the turn before. I could have killed arbor and eaten it for +1 life to be alive had I known he had that coming.
G3 I have a hand of thalia, plains, waste, jitte, jitte, GSZ, DRS. I never get the green and ultimately die because of that. 2 green spells in hand never got played. I tried equipping Thalia with Jitte to race....but artifact hate ate the jitte. This is the only game color-screw did me in. The third land I get is scrubs. Had that been bayou, I'd have a different story (or at least the glimmer of hope to live longer). Oh well. Rob and I were cracking dirty raunchy jokes all match. Made the day. And glad he did well overall.
R3: Drew was very nice as well. He starts G1 with cursecatcher to my mana ramp. He turn 2 drops silvergils. I drop mom or something the next turn and leave 2 mana open. He swings out, I bring in scryb and take over. Combat tricks are great as the game rapidly gets out of hand. A sword or two + aven seal things up (flash-killing is awesome btw).
G2 he bashed me hard. I stabilize at 4. I have literally no lands and eventually work off BoP and a plains. he has lords and muta. Somehow I luckily play thalia, ooze, thalia, and KotR off a short-lived cradle. I nearly come back but late game he pushes past my lone flying blocker BoP #2. He dropped to 1 to dismember the thing and hit me for lethal with Kira. *****es.
G3 I do something like DRS -> Jitte to his double vial. I abuse with Jitte while playing Ooze and Thalia. Game lasts longer than I want it to but we end with him scooping to a hardcasted batterskull down the stretch. Jitte had 3 counters. At some point I blocked 2 lords and 2 merfolk....using jitte and first-strike to basically wipe out his side.
R4: Really pissed because I died so miserably to RUG. Decent hands. Mulliganned correctly. G1 he leads delver. Burns anything that comes out on my side and rides that 3/2 bug pretty much wire to wire. Roughlife.
G2 I have BOP and then drop ooze. I waste his land. He shortly recovers with Rough (Rough/Tumble), which knocked out my Ooze and Arbor. FML. From there he drops a Mongoose (maybe a pair) and perhaps another delver that flipped. I linvala (somehow still staying alive). Submerge does me in. Both games are a blur of "so sorry, I won't let you even come close to being in this game". Not mad at the player, who obviously rolled me fair and square. But this game should have been....a game. Crap happens.
R5: I know he's on Sneak/Show.
G1: I mulligan a hand that's AMAZING but felt he would turn 1/2 me. Opening 7 had thalia, thalia, swords, land, land, stuff. Gut feeling said give the opponent more respect. I mull to 5 into land, GSZ, KotR, stuff. I thought if he show and tells, I got the KotR out. I zenith-ramp and never see the 3rd land. Grisseldaddy is angry off a sneak attack hard-casted (yea I had time to thalia! goddammit!). I die G1 with 3 KotR in hand. His last attack, I float 2 mana before Emmy wipes my table due to annihilator. I play Scryb, who stands no chance.
G2: I keep a very strong hand with Thalia and Teeg. I nearly die along the way but a turn 3 or 4 Karakas gives me well-needed insurance.
G3: Lady Luck felt bad. She gave me this game. I open with duress x2 and thalia alongside stuff. teeg was topdeck into the turn 1. I duress T1. Teeg T2 (due to lands I had). T3 duress #2 + Thalia. T4/5 Karakas. Thalia rides it out. I end the game with a small army of people. Duress made the difference as I took his filters (and he whiffed on the others). He ended the game with lands + 2 petals in play. 3 Emmy in hand. I had multiple outs if he ever got things online.
R6: G1 I die due to chained standstills. He has so many cards it's ridiculous. All 4 mishras were out alongside clique and snaps. I managed to knock out the mishras with QPM tricks + 2 wastes. Clique gets there over time.
G2 I just can't get going. I lose Thalia to Electrickery (seriously). Then I lose Arbor and Aven to overloaded Electrickery. I pounded and bullied him at 1 land. Suddenly the tables turned. Karakas can't hold back his clique and mishra. Can't linvala in time on the final turns. Then Elspeth comes online. Ugly.
--------------
Prior to the event, the store was sold out of both mindbreak trap and leyline of sanctity -- two cards that would have helped. Surgicals were a no-show all day. These should have been life-gaining things like Finks or something strong against blue like Smiter or the uncounterable Abrupt Decay.
I missed Elspeth all day. Never came up in any game. MIA sucks. She was the 61st card and played like she wasn't in the list at all.
Scryb ranger in this setup should be 2x. I really punted this one. He's so strong because players don't see the interactions. Everyone misplays him. I had a game against burn where I literally played things I shouldn't have due to mana-dorks untapping + recasting lands in play. When KotR or Thalia are involved in fights (or mom)....omg. Insane.
As for SFM, in this list it worked. I counted it as Sylvan Library. Why? Because YES SFM ruins the flow of my game. But so does library honestly. I've watched library over the past few months blow up before my turn or be lackluster the turn or 2 it survived. On rare occasion where I play it changed the game. Took a gamble on SFM -- who is amazing in the late-game -- and it paid off more often than I thought it would. Batterskull is also strong, but I'd honestly pack SFM #3 and Bskull in the board next time. I almost always went for one of the Jittes as they are easier to cast. Bskull also stayed in, even if SFM were boarded out. Bskull is a nice 4/4 vig lifelinker. SFM at times needs to be pure removal or duress.
The mana was smooth. Only hiccup was against burn G3.
Aven Mindcensor....still not sold on them. These could be cut for Scryb and something else. Looking back, I should have also included decay into the list. And perhaps a 3rd black fetch. Verdant #3 would have helped. Go 3-3 split on heaths and catacombs perhaps.
The deck definitely survives as "pain in the ass hate-bears".dec....KotR, when I saw her, quickly ended games. Black opened me up to a little more nonbasic hate than normal, but the usual "good draws" were mucked up a bit. I LOVED the lower curve of the deck. I'd like to potentially drop elspeth entirely to go with a max of 3cc. From there, your zeniths top-out at 4 mana, which opens up many lines of play. For today's meta, mirran woulda been an awful call and Smiter would be SB only material. I'm still looking for the strong flash-anti-blue guy. The spider from DGM may be my meta-call for a blue-happy meta. Today was also a reminder to look at Finks again. +2 life and trading with attackers could have made all the difference.
Nevertheless, black-splash was interesting. Duress is 100% better than anything punishing could have offered. It hurts combo A LOT. I'd still run Thalia over discard in the main. And I'd still run duress over thoughseize (not picking them up again at the current price!). Duress is for anti combo/control, where TS isn't necessarily stronger. Just make sure you have the mana to cast it. Likewise, DRS stole a good 3 games for me. In 1 match, I had DRS deal like 12 damage in pings to close out the game on a stalled board.
A future build would somehow incorporate:
birds, drs, kotr, gsz, sfm, ooze, scryb in stronger numbers. thalia at 3 is fine. QPM is nice but I DO question if MD decays are stronger. I'd like to abrupt decay stuff. There's a lot of merit in playing them.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Scryb Ranger
2 Scavenging Ooze
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg
4 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Green Sun's Zenith
1 Life From the Loam
2 Sylvan Library
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Batterskull
1 Dryad Arbor
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Plains
4 Forest
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland
4 Savannah
1 Bojuka Bog
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Path to Exile
2 Silence
1 Crop Rotation
1 Ulvenwald Tracker
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
2 Oblivion Ring
Wanted to try Silences tonight as I usually play a match or two against some storm deck (everyone knows me as the Maverick guy and abuses that). The local area is pretty legacy rich, so people are changing decks every week, it's hard to anticipate what you'll need.
Ulvenwald Tracker is a powerful sideboard card that can take over a game, it might be right to cut him though.
Bojuka Bog has been underwhelming for me lately as well, I've had very few matchups where I really want it - usually it comes in against RUG or other Tarmogoyf decks, but I'm never thrilled to have it. Dredge has been out of circulation locally, and Reanimator hasn't been seen in months.
I was just looking through cards and thought I might like to try a Rogue's Passage somewhere... just for the hell of it as a way to close out creature mirrors with just a Knight on board. I'd want to play Gaea's Cradle additionally. I don't think it's a good idea, and I'm not sure where I'd find the space, but it's a thought I want to explore because it'd be hilarious.
Played just a short Legacy event last night. 16 people, 3-rounds + top 8.
Round 1 vs Jund (2-0)
Game one he leads on Deathrite into a Dark Confidant and draws a few cards off that.
I have Hierarch into Scavenging Ooze and try to hold down the fort. I draw a bit late swords to get his Confidant, lose a Knight to an Abrupt Decay and eventually continue playing bigger dudes until he dies. Having 2 Oozes in the mainboard is great in this matchup.
Game two he Thoughtseize's away my GSZ then Hymn to Tourachs (hitting Savannah + Stoneforge?) me on turn 2. I miss a land drop, but he doesn't have much to follow up with. I drop big dudes and he can't find an Abrupt Decay. Knight grows to an 8/8 while he digs with a Confidant and I get a Jitte online and quickly put the game out of reach while he topdecks for an answer to both.
Round 2 vs RUG Delver (2-0)
I win the roll and don't have a turn 1 play. He leads on Delver and when it doesn't flip on 2 I flash in a Scryb to try and block. He blows a brainstorm and finds a Lightning Bolt to hit it, from there I build up a board, dropping to 9 from the Delver before I am able to wasteland his manabase and deal with the delver.
Game 2 goes pretty similarly, I bait out his counters and removal to land an Ooze and control the game. His lands during the game are 1 Volcanic, 3x Wasteland, then by turn 6 or whenever he finds another Volcanic - so one Wasteland on my part kinda screws him there and buys me plenty of time to lock the game up.
Round 3 vs Dredge (ID)
Top 8
Was paired against a buddy of mine on Deadguy Ale, we split prize and durdle around making some trades with the people left in the room.
Top 4 Split
[Developing] 430+ Peasant Cube Thread --- [and on Cube Cobra]
BUG decks have always given me trouble. Is this the shardless with delver or sans delver (god there are so many decks atm lol)? Choke isn't as strong as you think because they can have DRS + off-blue duals. Negates any choke progress. Sigarda is also nice against them, but I've found her higher cc to actually be an issue. God forbid they wasteland you, life gets hard rather fast.
I think Safekeeper and Mom are very strong here. I've also read about people experimenting with Lingering Souls against this matchup as a trump to Liliana and things to durdle-block goyf. Not sure if I entirely agree but soon Liliana will be able to chain together (legend/planeswalker rule update). One thing BUG has a legitimate problem with is Elspeth, Knight-Errant. Elspeth against a decent board position will push you over the edge and force them to either force of will (some decks run it, some don't for BUG) -- creating needed CA in your favor -- or Abrupt Decay your flying dude. Knight + Elspeth with some kind of protection can actually end games very fast.
One true SB card I tend to bring in against BUG is Surgical Extraction. Surgical can and will trump them playing big spells. It's possible to kill an early goyf and surgical the damn thing or hold them off blue for a while with the good old waste+surgical line early.
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
-Against Academy Rector decks (Aluren, Dream Halls, Omniscience), in case you were not aware of the graveyard-hate loophole, you can fetch Bojuka Bog with Knight of the Reliquary or activate Scavenging Ooze targeting the Rector in response to its death trigger, and the trigger will not resolve. My Aluren opponent walked into this and let me steal a bad matchup (only won game 3 by top decking my second and only remaining copy of Teeg, the turn I would have died, after he answered the first one).
-Against Emrakul decks, particularly the ones that rely on actually casting Emrakul and making Karakas look bad by getting the extra turn, finding Maze of Ith and Sigarda, while potentially difficult, can end up actually blanking their win condition. I played an epic game against Enchantress where my opponent locked me out of the game early with multiple Enchantresses, Solitary Confinement, and multiple Sterling Groves, but spent so much time and drew so many cards before casting Emrakul to kill me that I was able to sacrifice 6 permanents, Maze it to survive, untap and cast Sigarda, and effectively doom my opponent to death by eventually decking (his alternate win con was Sigil of the Empty Throne, rather than Words of War, and he had too few cards and too many Enchantresses to activate it without drawing his deck out). I know this interaction is probably not going to win me another game in 1000 matches of Magic but it was awesome to sideboard with it in mind, play to it as soon as I saw the lock developing across the table, and actually get my opponent with it.
Thanks to Gabgabdevo for the awesome sig image!
I'm always looking for foil Madcap Skills and Ghitu Fire-Eater, [trade thread link forthcoming]