Good point. I was talking about testing online in real games. I have lost to storm because chalice on one turns into....oops, should have been more patient and saw what you were playing first.
I'm just gonna say... Walking Balista feels good sometimes
Stickballruss - you famous!
- The one that noticed you from SCG (or rather noticed the deck) was a great sport. Lil'Eldrazi. Got a clutch Bridge game 3.
And I can say I was the only one piloting this deck. But round 12, I had a croup watch every game. I guess you can only say turn one blood moon or rabblemaster so many times before people start to notice.
I'm from Texas, so very far from any events that ever happen. As for how MTGO is treating me. 3-1, 1-4 today. Sadness.
With a side note of 1-6 in the Pauper Challenge this past week (first try at Pauper). My win was from an opponent that never showed up... Ironically I am one of the Spikes at my local game store and usually do excellent there.
That was really cool! He had great things to say about you personally. Todd Stevens is a cool guy, and obviously he thinks the same about you. You're a great player as well. I think I speak for everyone when I say we're proud to have you on the mountain!
The most important thing one can learn from watching the SCG player of the year play our deck is this; it has an extremely high learning curve. He could've used your notes, Russ!
He really could have. Leaving in rabble master vs humans? That cants happen ever. However, it did illustrate one thing...the best players in the world are no better than we are. You gotta find a deck you love and practice with it a lot. You cannot just pick up a deck that someone else does well with and expect to win. The best players look like the best players because they are playing decks they know inside and out. Still, what a humbling experience. Now I have to at least make a trip to the team open in January just to say hello. It's only an hour from my house, so no excuse. Also, there's an IQ in NJ on January, the 27th. J
Hopefully some on this forum live close and can come out to play!
Russ, if you ever thought about streaming some leagues, it would be great to hear your thought process throughout matches. Such as the moment when you're able to assess what role you should take, how your game plan evolves from there, hitting your sb, and so on. Your write ups have been excellent so if streaming isn't your thing, that's cool.
Some of us grunts on the mountain hunger for training to help put this deck on the map XD. Which could bring more players to potentially improve the deck even further. I imagine Stevens was impressed by what he saw in Roanoke. And while he may not be proficient with a deck that he only just picked up, he's an amazing player and deck builder, so having players such as him putting time in could really bring a lot of innovation to Pyro Prison.
Did you see his stream? He was all over the place, and that alright. The list looks straight forward, but this deck is anything but. Yes, I will do a stream at some point. Playing modo on a 9 year old computer from Radioshack has had is frustrating moments. New computer, then stream. After seeing Todd play the deck, it needs to be done.
So far, I have only watched the first match [starting at 47 minutes] against Grixis Control. Notes on 1st Round only:
-- First Match: Perfectly fine. Tasigur crashed in on Turn 2, and he was without an answer.
-- Second Match: I was impressed by his perfect sideboard swaps. I would have kept that original hand which had a Turn 1 Goblin Rabblemaster followed by a Turn 2 Spellskite. If the opponent can't kill Rabbles, that's dangerously close to a win. I'd accept the all-in risk against even a deck rich in removal, because he most likely sided out some of his Turn 1 kill: bolts/push - and fatal push needs to activated off of a fetch to work (terminate will be too late). Tip: Be bold. Players, no matter who, have a hard time with T1 Rabble, and the whole point of our deck is to push out threats at x-for-1 costs. Can't be timid. Consider a worst case scenario. He kills the rabble. Then, we lay the Skite freely. Then whatever threat comes up next is protected which is particularly cool if its an ensaring bridge.
== 2nd hand, I would have scryed that Magus of the Moon to the bottom, since Moon was in hand. A turn 3 Magus against Grixis is weaksauce. Once the moon did hit the table, he definitely should have played out Eidolon instead of Magus. Magus is pure redundancy since Grixis can not kill enchantments.
Looking forward to seeing more, with the full expectation that mistakes will be made. I've watched Pros stream test games with decks they've never played a number of times before. It's not easy for anyone.
I'm doing this at work, so bear with me for the multiple posts. Game one, one the draw vs an unknown opponent, you pitch one of the rabblemasters. If you are against humans, affinity, or anything green, you just lose on the spot. one if one rabble doesn't get the job done, two won't either. The slagstorm is a hedge against an unknown opponent. Mind you, nothing would have won that game, just talking in general.
2nd game, hand is a 50/50 keep. I can totally see keeping turn one rabble into turn two protection. only 21 lands in the deck, so if you got three lands, early plays, and then the ability to play anything you draw, that could be a keeper.
Sideboard for this match....out: 2 abrade, 2 slagstorm, 2 ballista, 1 rabble. In: Hazoret, 3 eidolins, boil, skite, orb.
2nd match vs humans....the match-up from heaven...you side out 4 rabble, pia, and one magus. side in 2 anger, 2 spyglass, 1 skite, 1 orb, 2 spyglass. You are NEVER going to win this match with rabblemaster. You need to NOT DIE in the first 4 turns, so creatures out, control in. spyglass is for aether vial only. Blood moon makes it so they are Aether vial or bust. If you get two spyglass, they BOTH name aether vial. Siding out chalices is a HUGE maisake here. chalice on one is tremendously effective. stops future vials and mana dorks. if you get a chalice on one and a blood moon, they are locked out. If they already have a vial set to something higher than 1, they are locked out. Honestly, this match is so favorable, it's not even funny. They have to stick a thalia and hope you don't have enough lands to play anything.
Can confirm. I just went 4 - 0 against humans, affinity, some -1/-1 GB thing, and E tron.
I lucked out on the E Tron match with 2 turn 1 blood moons followed by turn 2 rabblemaster the second match. First one I grinded him out with hazoret discard behind the bridge burn. Never saw a Chandra in either of the rounds. Pressure and lock is too much for their deck to handle.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern - Pyro Prison
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Good ol' E-Tron. After winning my first 3 matches against it, I've dropped 4 out of the last 5 for a record of 4-4 all time. Ending the game before they make 7 mana is how you win, otherwise it's tough. You aren't going to lock them down. It's a frustrating matchup, but I would say it's a coin flip, IMHO. Hazoret and Eidolons are good from the side to slap face, and as tempting as it seems, stay away from Damping Matrix. It shuts down too many things on our side, making it really hard to end the game from behind a Bridge.
Hey folks,? I am another incendiary player of our beloved Pyro Prison. I am Brazilian, so my English can be bad sometimes. First, congratulations Stickballruss, great job with the deck. I played with the same 75 on Saturday and made top8 in a league with 28 players, I lost the top8 to Valakut
Could you make a sideboard guide to your games? How to replace Pia and Kiraan, why not use Quicksmith Rebel? It has the "same" clock and the same curve. What do you think?
Quicksnity rebel might be pure genius. A fee pages back I posted a comprehensive sideboard strategy. I haven't had much time to test lately, but as soon as the holidays are over, I'll be back in full swing testing all sorts of stuff. We better stop having all this success with this deck, unless the mirror is a match you are looking forward to, HA! Anyway, great job on top 8. Small event, but still a win in my book.
I copy/pasted Russ' strategy&swap in/out guide from a few pages back, and included it as part of the "Sideboarding Guide" of the Official Primer on Page 1. It's well-written, conversational, and most notably speaks to the concept of transitioning from Aggressor to Defender or Vice Versa depending upon the opponent.
Stickballruss - you famous!
- The one that noticed you from SCG (or rather noticed the deck) was a great sport. Lil'Eldrazi. Got a clutch Bridge game 3.
With a side note of 1-6 in the Pauper Challenge this past week (first try at Pauper). My win was from an opponent that never showed up... Ironically I am one of the Spikes at my local game store and usually do excellent there.
The most important thing one can learn from watching the SCG player of the year play our deck is this; it has an extremely high learning curve. He could've used your notes, Russ!
Hopefully some on this forum live close and can come out to play!
Some of us grunts on the mountain hunger for training to help put this deck on the map XD. Which could bring more players to potentially improve the deck even further. I imagine Stevens was impressed by what he saw in Roanoke. And while he may not be proficient with a deck that he only just picked up, he's an amazing player and deck builder, so having players such as him putting time in could really bring a lot of innovation to Pyro Prison.
https://m.twitch.tv/videos/207016348#
So far, I have only watched the first match [starting at 47 minutes] against Grixis Control. Notes on 1st Round only:
-- First Match: Perfectly fine. Tasigur crashed in on Turn 2, and he was without an answer.
-- Second Match: I was impressed by his perfect sideboard swaps. I would have kept that original hand which had a Turn 1 Goblin Rabblemaster followed by a Turn 2 Spellskite. If the opponent can't kill Rabbles, that's dangerously close to a win. I'd accept the all-in risk against even a deck rich in removal, because he most likely sided out some of his Turn 1 kill: bolts/push - and fatal push needs to activated off of a fetch to work (terminate will be too late). Tip: Be bold. Players, no matter who, have a hard time with T1 Rabble, and the whole point of our deck is to push out threats at x-for-1 costs. Can't be timid. Consider a worst case scenario. He kills the rabble. Then, we lay the Skite freely. Then whatever threat comes up next is protected which is particularly cool if its an ensaring bridge.
== 2nd hand, I would have scryed that Magus of the Moon to the bottom, since Moon was in hand. A turn 3 Magus against Grixis is weaksauce. Once the moon did hit the table, he definitely should have played out Eidolon instead of Magus. Magus is pure redundancy since Grixis can not kill enchantments.
Looking forward to seeing more, with the full expectation that mistakes will be made. I've watched Pros stream test games with decks they've never played a number of times before. It's not easy for anyone.
2nd game, hand is a 50/50 keep. I can totally see keeping turn one rabble into turn two protection. only 21 lands in the deck, so if you got three lands, early plays, and then the ability to play anything you draw, that could be a keeper.
Sideboard for this match....out: 2 abrade, 2 slagstorm, 2 ballista, 1 rabble. In: Hazoret, 3 eidolins, boil, skite, orb.
I lucked out on the E Tron match with 2 turn 1 blood moons followed by turn 2 rabblemaster the second match. First one I grinded him out with hazoret discard behind the bridge burn. Never saw a Chandra in either of the rounds. Pressure and lock is too much for their deck to handle.
Modern - GW Tron
Modern - Mono G Tron
Modern - RWg Burn
Commander - Yisan, The Wanderer Bard cEDH build
Commander - Edric, Spymaster of Trest - Budget/Casual list - complete
Commander - Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis - $35 Budget upgrade
Commander - Edgar Markov - $150 upgrade
Could you make a sideboard guide to your games? How to replace Pia and Kiraan, why not use Quicksmith Rebel? It has the "same" clock and the same curve. What do you think?
It's FNM tonight, Clan! Let's start a fire.
Welcome Debei! Quicksmith Rebel is used in legacy and might be an option here. But, it's vulnerable. Similar to our other novelty drops: Jaya Ballard, Task Mage and Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh. All will have their moments, but are they consistent?