Guys, I got the flu and couldn't think about Magic for 5 days (I never go a day), I come back and Wizards makes me sick all over again with these reprints lol. Pretty brutal stuff, at least in the short term. With Chalice and Bridge at mythic, though, I'd expect prices to bounce back in a year or so. At least comparing MM17 trends from last March til now.
There is a lot of discussions about this. The 'value of your deck' dropping. Sure if you would like to move around decks I totally understand this, but what I do like is that more people have access. You never know when the next brewer could show up and be here and give us that extra edge we need! I try not to look at Magic as an investment, and that helps =).
Land, Gemstone, Ritual, Chalice, Ballista. Scry Land to bottom.
First I mulliganed Gemstone, SSG, Chalice, Rabs, Abrade, Slag, Moon. Then 5 Lands and a Chandra, so to 5 we go. I'm okay with this 5 though, why not? Gemstone. He plays courtyard, I still run out Ballista X=1 on Turn 3 - he Tidehollow snags the bridge. I draw Chandra.. get em' girl. Blast the Sculler get the bridge back and still have Ballista. He's got a Vile going and then that ***** Thalia shows up. He follows it up with Bob and I respond with a Slag to clean up both. Flickwisp snag bridge kill Chandra - ugh. Follows it up with Displacer, Flickerwisp blinkage for the win.
Juicy. So my style of hand. Hah.. probably all of us who play this would love to look at this hand... maybe drop a land for a ritual but either way. Curved out into Magus with spellskite protection on Turn 3 despite Thalia taxin' things. Then I got a bridge down and dropped Koth behind it. I Spyglassed saw a ton of white, Path in particular and Flickerwisp. He was off white completely from the turn 3 Magus. I shut off Vile with the Spyglass and rolled into a Koth Emblem opponent scoop.
Mulliganed 7 Cards no lands/ramp. Sculler took an SSG, Sculler took an SSG, I got a Gemstone in the meantime and a Blood Moon. I eventually get 3 lands, and drop Magus so I can get it pathed and I can pick up land 4 to get Chandra down. But he has an army of bob and sculler and that pro red guy. Beat downs commence and I am able to get one bridge down and unload the hand. Then Disenchant busts the last bridge and TKS with the crew successfully capture the throat.
Match 02 - Ad-Naus [2-1]
Game 01 - On the Play - L **Insert Salt Salt Salt Salt*** TeamNexusGaming*** Salt
Yeah they got really mad. Left the game with a "It's better to be lucky than good". It's fine... I'll sit by myself... It's cool.
Okay so there have been times when I needed a land, but didn't see PnK, so we can assume I would have not hit a land... Last match I was jammed and he knew it so he took my SSGs... why not take the SSGs though... I love them so much.
Of course I ripped the Gemstone dump PnK hah. Temple of Enlightenment comes down and I feel a hard Ad-Naus signal, so I get Rabs working. PUNT! I left damage on the table in Turn 2. I forgot the lucky counter was on the Gemstone, so instead of dropping Mutavault and getting it off SS I sent down a Mountain on turn 2. :-(. He gets down Unlife. If I had played it right, he should have been at 1 with a Ballista attack then sac to get him to 1, but that was 1 short of triggering Unlife and cracking back with lethal next turn. Bloom comes off suspend and you know how it goes from here.
Here's where I sometimes disagree with other mountainfolk. Seems the consensus is that Koth is an attrition win-con. What does Ad-Naus have to answer a Turn 2 Koth? or Turn 3? That's 8 points of damage hopefully compounded with some other threat that was applied in the meantime. Considering he has the ability to push out any other card (for the most part) he keeps the pressure on. Ultimately, I think that Koth can be used aggressively, so he stays in for my aggressive package + combo shutdown.
Game 02 W
Land, Spree, 2 Chalices, 2 Chandras. Scry Ballista to the bottom.
I mulliganed Land, 2 Gemstones, Ritual, SSG, Skite, Spree... where's the pressure? I kept thinking I do not want this game to go long. Hah... I probably just always think that lol. I can't believe I kept this looking back. Chalice to shutoff the Bloom - okay I see that. I have 1 mana source... lol. By turn 6 he has all 6 lands out and an Unlife. I got down Chandra and Rabs to put pressure and have him down to 5. I have no idea why he hasn't gone off yet. He had a Bloom on Suspension and I slow played the Chalice until it had 1 counter left on it. I swing with the crew and kill.
Sideboard: No Changes.
Game 03 W
Land, 2 Ritual, Chandra, Rabs, Magus. Scry Land to top.
Mulliganed SSG, 2 Magus, 2 Spree, Blood Moon, Chalice. Magus and Chandra got working against his 4 lands, including a basic plains, and an Unlife on the battlefield, he drop the Pentad - 2 counters, so he's got 2 mana up.... not enough... oh no... boo hoo... hit Chandra for +1 BANG Abrade... Let's go! He rips spoils and finds Ad-Naus 25 cards down and goes into Poison territory. Beat em' down while he's dry on lands. Comments that its better to be good than Lucky... Salt Salt Salt.
Match 03 - [2-0]
Game 01 W - On the play
3 Lands, Mutavault, SSG, Chalice, Moon.
Mutavault, Chalice on 1 Turn 1. Draw Rabs - ut oh. Opponent drops a tapped watery grave... oh please be Grixis Control. He taps out for Search on Turn 2. Blood Moon? Yup without counter magic fears. I play Rabs... he scoops.
I mulliganed 4 Lands, Gemstone, SSG, Ballista. Turn 1 cage. Turn 2 he taps out for Azcants and I land an unimpeded Moon. OOH NO! He taps out for Jace and yes... I curve into Boil so nicely on my main, all nice and safe. I enter in the chat after Boil resolves "Dreams do come true". I blast his two Islands and put him on two duals that are now mountains. I get Chandra down... YES Jace VS Chandra wars. I'm pretty much empty handed... he's got Jace at 5 and I have Chandra at 5. She flips be a Spellskite.... ata' girl! He can't advance his Jace and I'm pinging away... get a Magus down and now I can pressure Jace on the ground... He scoops.
I have two more matches that I want to write up but its time for the gym, and then work. I'll try to get the write-ups in at lunch because I want to run a friendly league tonight without PnK and up a Land.
Was that a boil that just ended the game on the spot that I just read about....? Yeah, now you get it.
Vs. death and taxes, keep in ballista. An early thalia can really hurt and ballista is a creature. It's our best way to get thalia off the board. Late game, a ballista can end the game, as thalia, Bob, flicker all have one toughness and the others have two.
Sick Russ. Thanks. I've a doc going that's an aggregation of all the sideboarding techs, reading the aggro/control position and general wisdom.
Finally... I'm on page 40 of the forum.... only ten pages left. I read 50-now to stay current. I read the beginning to forge my soul in the same investment as the greats. Reading the posts has helped me understand the decks intricacies and the genesis of the current card selections [and yeah Ray you can't expect people to read all the posts, but some of us are just that crazy and dedicated].
I feel myself ascending a mountain as a 3-2 Pyro Prison player with all the right gear. As I've ascended up the mountain, I've seen those that have fallen by the wayside and given up. I have seen players hit the wall with frustration and give up. I have seen some players take out their personal performance disappointment on our prophets. I have seen players challenge the laser like focus of the mountain and end up losing their own focus as they flutter through different decks, searching for some kind of connection, like a 22 year-old single sorority chick, your time has been squandered. I'm sweat soaked, blinded from the salt in my eyes, but the summit is on the horizon, the fire is bright, and from the distance I can hear Russell's New Jersey accent, so I know I'm getting close to the right party. Hah. I'll have the last two matches from my last league coming as a write-up this afternoon and tonight I'm going to jam a friendly league.
... the Boil... oh yeah.. and like I said... dreams do come true...
2 Mountains, 2 SSGs, Chalice, Chandra. - Scry Mountain to the bottom.
I mulliganed 2 Mountains, 1 Gemstone, 2 Rituals, Ballista, SSG. Turn 1 I chalice on 1 and he signals burn with a Mire into Foundry. He drops Eidolon on Turn 2. I took some beats from Eidolon, and held up on SSG exile into a Blood Moon. This would have been Turn 4 ish. He had the shrine down and Eidolon going. I didn't draw the lands to get a PW down and the moon was ultimately ineffective since he suspended Rifties thrice.
Damn can't believe I boarded like that and that I kept this...
4 Lands, 1 Ritual, 1 Magus, 1 Chalice
I made a severe misplay in this match. I thought I could Abrade his Shrine in response to the activation. Nope doesn't work like that and I paid for it. I could have shut off the Shrine earlier, when he was tapped out, but thought I'd let him think he had something working. Turn 4 he has Shrine on 3, Eidolon down and Swifty. I have Magus keepin' him red, I have chalice on 1 and I have Abrade... he's tapped out. I can blow the shrine with no worry, but IDK I wanted him to keep pumping it thinking i didn't have answer. He gets beats in and blows the shrine for 9 - aka Lethal. Sorry team... this match was an embarrassment.
Match 05 - [2-1]
Game 01 W - On the Play
3 Lands, 2 Chalice, 1 Moon - Scry land to Bottom
I mulliganed 4 Lands,Rabs, Ritual, Chalice. By Turn 4 the crew is Koth, Moon and Chalice on 1. He's got Township = Mountain and a basic Forest and Plains. Koth Beats commence. He builds a board, Voice and out of control Tracker to get down Koth. I have Rabs working with the tokens, but I need some sort of answer to stop the creature squad he's building. I have 6 mana. I rub Rabs into this Tracker and then follow it up second main with a Ballista that I only need 2 of the 3 pings to knock out tracker. He scoops.
I think my mindset was, resilient threats, wipe the board and hide.
Game 02 L
3 Lands, Chandra, Slag, Bridge - Scry Land to the Bottom.
I mulliganed, 1 Land, 2 Chalice, 2 Ritual, Haz, Slag. I start making land drops and he gets out Voice. On turn 3 I try to power out a Chandra via an SSG and it gets quelled. The right line, retrospectively, I think would have been to play Bridge, with 5 cards in hand, 3 Lands, Chandra and Slagstorm. That way if he did Quell anything I could slag it back. He negates my slag, gets Jace down and then pridemages my bridge for lethal.
I get the turn 2 Moon down instead of Chalice on 1 because he already has Hierarch down after Turn 1. I follow with land draws and drop a Moon. He's got basic Forest, Island and Hierarch, so he's really unimpeded. He gets another Hierarch down and i use my 1/1 Ballista to ping to Jace to 6, then I rip a Slag to clear his mana dorks. Chalice still in hand, and I"m thinking of dropping it on 3 to cut off some of his big hitters. He's working it with Jace, I have Chandra down. He gets down a Tracker, I minus Chandra to kill it. I was afraid of the value it would create, and I assumed that would help him find an answer to my Hellbent Bridge. Chandra VS Jace wars again. I have a bridge down and now a Chalice on 1, 3 and 4. He's got Jace at 10, but I'm keeping it in check with Chandra and he has no double color for Green and Blue and no White at all. Get to the Chandra emblem... GGs.
Phew. Got it done. I'm excited for tonight. Thanks for reading and your feedback.
I don't think I need to comment on your burn match because you already acknowledged you sideboarded terribly, but I'm going to anyway.
Bridge is useless here. By the time you get bridge down, you've taken 6-8 damage from creatures and you're already dead. A better plan would be to side out the bridges (4) and the magus of the moon (2) and a walking ballista....7 cards
So what comes in? Spellskite, 2 anger, 3 eidolon, and 1 Hazoret. Eidolon is better than bridge because it blocks and can also do damage. Anger and spellskite are self explanatory.
If you have chalice on one and a moon out, be careful.....if you are at a low life total, then you don't want to play a creature. He can still cast rift bolt, eidolon, and skullcrack. If you play a creature, like rabblemaster, then you will also open searing blaze. I've lost quite a few times because I had him locked out, only to unlock searing blaze and lose. this match has a lot of play to it and you have to evaluate if your opponent has the blaze based on how the game is playing out.
Vs the Shrine burn, I would take out the other walking ballista and use ONE spyglass. you don't need two, as a single one will turn off all 4 shrines.
Agree with Russ. He has a sharp spidey-sense for when an opponent is sandbagging an artifact kill card or searing blaze. Not playing the corresponding target is the same as holding up countermagic or presenting a chalice of the void on the right number.
As for the Ad Nauseam match, I think we are in agreement on Koth of the Hammer. Keep that bully-titted bastard in, and run hard for the hooch [plus offers sped out spells/2nd win-con]. Also, Ad Nauseam is the 'exception to the rule' when it comes to a time clock. Do not feel rushed to beat this mousetrap. Normally, we hear a ticking clock when it comes to executing a kill against control/combo. Not here. This deck is so linear and narrow - yet explosive (pentad prism/simian spirit guide/lotus bloom) that it's best to direct all of your plays to shutting them down. The win can come later. Even if it's much later.
LASTLY: For sideboarding assistance, the Official Primer guide is up-to-date/post-unban for tips on piloting the 'stock list'.
Agree with Russ. He has a sharp spidey-sense for when an opponent is sandbagging an artifact kill card or searing blaze. Not playing the corresponding target is the same as holding up countermagic or presenting a chalice of the void on the right number.
As for the Ad Nauseam match, I think we are in agreement on Koth of the Hammer. Keep that bully-titted bastard in, and run hard for the hooch [plus offers sped out spells/2nd win-con]. Also, Ad Nauseam is the 'exception to the rule' when it comes to a time clock. Do not feel rushed to beat this mousetrap. Normally, we hear a ticking clock when it comes to executing a kill against control/combo. Not here. This deck is so linear and narrow - yet explosive (pentad prism/simian spirit guide/lotus bloom) that it's best to direct all of your plays to shutting them down. The win can come later. Even if it's much later.
LASTLY: For sideboarding assistance, the Official Primer guide is up-to-date/post-unban for tips on piloting the 'stock list'.
Ray is correct about Ad Nauseum. I lost to it online the last time I playing in a comp league. Had the dream....turn one rabblemaster off a mutavault and STILL LOST. He was on the play and dropped a turn three unlife, then turn 4 ad nauseum for the win. You CANNOT race this deck. It's a fools errand. Yes, the pressure is great and you need to close quickly, but if you don't have a lock piece and are just relying on pure aggression to get there, you won't. Learn from other's experience.
Gentlemen. Thank you. Yes Russ... yes... you're right, I know bridge should go, but I didn't do it... I don't know why, but I let the squad down there.
The Ad-Naus remarks are great. Seems to be popping up more frequently and I think we're well-positioned to beat this deck. Yes, I do hear the tick-tick in my head, but after watching the stream and considering your notes, I know you guys are right, it is linear, kill the combo is my primary objective, then let the kill follow.
Ray I used the primer and my own thoughts/notes to make my own sideboarding/strategy doc. I searched some decks in our thread and tried to gleen notes where I could. Its nice and alphabetized, based on the deck name I used, but either way, can I send it to you. I didn't wanna post it b/c it is nearly a regurgatation of the Primer, but I added stuff where I could. Let me know if I can send it to you via email, or should I just post it and hide the match-ups. Like I said it is the guide, I just added some notes where possible, and this is the paper I'll fwap open in between rounds.
Finally got the 5-0 again last night. I think it was because we had the main man himself join the stream....Raystack Calhoun! He's like a good luck charm. We took down our worst matches too! Starting with jund, then ponza. Our first three matches we're all vs bloodbraid elf decks. Ended the night taking out mono green Tron And bogles. I still need a good mic for streaming, so apologize to everyone for sounding like I'm in a fish bowl. But we can still win with this deck. And I think the land destruction matchup got easier post elf. They lean more on elf and less on big Planeswalkers, which means bridge is really good vs them now. Nothing like a 5-0 trophy to boost your confidence!
That's awesome Russ. I finally hit a rough streak. I am 1-2 in my friendly right now. I rallied from 0-2 in league matches, I'm in Game 03 and down to 2 life, opponent has 4 life, and 2 Eidolons on the board. I have 6 outs, and I haven't seen a PW or Haz in my top 20. I get the Haz, cast it dodging the Eidolon trigger and get in for lethal because he swung with both last turn to put me to 4.
In other news. My match-ups so far have been Burn, Colorless Eldrazi, Burn. I think I may have punted on this play, but I'd like to know thoughts.
Against Burn, post boarding, I'm on the Draw going into Game 3. I fan open, Rabs, Chalice, Land, SSG, 3 Rituals. So I can turn 1 get 5 mana out.
I think the right play may have been Chalice on 2 and hope for a land next turn to drop Rabs.
Or mulligan.
Or, what I did, Chalice 1 and drop Rabs turn 1 off the 5 mana. Of course you know how it went. Searing on the Rabs on his turn 2, and I don't draw lands. The leftover Goblin got in for 3/4 points of damage though, and that ended up being the deciding factor. I ended up winning this game and ultimately the match, but this play felt debatable.
Not sure if I took the right line there, but I def would like to open the play to discussion.
Congrats again Russ, I look forward to the stream... I haven't been watching much MTGgoldfish since you got on Twitch lol.
Dev, 100% correct call. You harnesses the power of the deck deck and it worked. I would have done the same thing. Remember, the power of this strategy are the blisteringly fast starts. You are not going to card advantage war and playing for the mate game is not a good plan. Chalice on one means they have exactly one out...searing blaze. No guarantee they draw it and rabble doesn't leave much time to find it
I remember reading an article about 15 years ago about a dude who did really well at a major tournament playing a super fast burn dexk. When asked how he deals with hate cards, this was his answer (stuck with me over since):
I don't worry about hate cards. My plan is to have them dead BEFORE THEY CAN DRAW THEM.
So, I agree 100% that turn one chalice into rabble puts them in a position where they need searing blaze and quick. Also, while they are wrestling with rabble, it buys you time. If he did have the answer, which he did, it takes his entire next turn anseaves behind a goblin to block something else....another turn . So, despite dropping your whole hand there, you bought yourself at least two more turns and potentially could have won right there nicely done.
Yes, this deck flies in the face of all the card advantage lessons you've learned since starting to play magic and sometimes playing all 7 cards to only get two permanents in play feels wrong, but more times than not, it'll work
Hah! You're a savage Russ. I had a ear-to-ear grin when I saw that I got the nod on that play.
In the moment I did completely consider stuff you had said. Take them off a turn and force them to answer it now. That was my mindset. If he does have it, then meh, and I get a token and another free draw. If he doesn't, it's over.
Retrospectively, I'd do it again, and be more comfortable about it now having hashed it out here with the crew.
Thanks man. I got the Twitch VOD running in the background now.
Hey I'm going to finalize my list for Sunday's Classic tomorrow. I'm running the stock list [the one Russ streamed 2/28/18] but I have some potential alterations I wanted to put out there before the tourney.
-1 PnK +1 Land
-1 Spree +1 Ratchet Bomb
I'm a little more sold on the Bomb coming in. I have often read Ray/Russ saying that in a big tournament you need many ways to win and PnK is certainly one - so I understand keeping if necessary. The ping machine and the evasive flyers - love it. The 4 CMC - not so much. I just will be livid if I'm holding a PnK and need a land. Then again, I'll be livid if I draw straight lands in a Bridge-based stare down thinking damn a 4 CMC threat would be great.
I lean towards the stock with no alterations, but certainly wanted some community feedback before I get everything squared away on the Launch Pad.
They should be saved to my twitch channel..... stickballruss is my twitch account.
Dec, stick with stock list. Affinity is a thing and is very popular in paper magic.
Stick with the parents because people side in negate and I've won many games where I ritual into PnK and my opponent let's ritual resolve thinking he's gonna negate Chandra and then I put three bodies on the board and proceed to win. Also, see above....affinity is popular in person, so keep it as is.
What is the concern with ratchet bomb? That are you looking to deal with? 4 anger effects post board is a good sweeper. Spree takes care of random artifacts. Don't really see a need. Correct me. What's on your mind.
Ratchet Bomb - I was thinking about a catch all and I thought it worked nicely but may be a little too cute. I don't know it can hit all types of annoying enchantments or weird permenants like clues.
I'm not confident enough in my MTG card knowledge to rip off a list of oh it hits this and Spree doesn't. I thought it might be an added benefit without a loss. I also have a ton of confidence in the list as is. I think the list is sick and well optimized, but of course I'm always keeping an eye out to see if I can help development.
After watching the last stream, I'm certainly on board with PnK. The 5-0 was sick, and with the main man Ray on the scene, priceless.
If you're not sold on Bomb, I get it and I have been on board with the 2 Shattering Spree since I got into this deck. Just looking for any thoughts on why its not in.
Dev, I can give you one matchup where you might like Bomb over Spree: that Enchantress deck you have in your local meta. It's fringe AF, so if you're thinking of making the change before a big tournament, you're better off with Spree, but go ahead and pack that Ratchet ass Bomb at your next FNM! It also gets us out of a Worship/Rhonas lock, it's great against tokens, and it's a great way to stay in shape!
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There is a lot of discussions about this. The 'value of your deck' dropping. Sure if you would like to move around decks I totally understand this, but what I do like is that more people have access. You never know when the next brewer could show up and be here and give us that extra edge we need! I try not to look at Magic as an investment, and that helps =).
League 04:
Build
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Blood Moon
2 Magus of the Moon
4 Ensnaring Bridge
Accelerators
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Pyretic Ritual
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Pressure
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Koth of the Hammer
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Slagstorm
2 Walking Ballista
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Abrade
Lands
17 Snow-Covered Mountain
3 Gemstone Caverns
1 Mutavault
2 Shattering Spree
1 Hazoret the Fervent
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Boil
3 Eidolon of the Great Revel
1 Torpor Orb
1 Spellskite
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
No changes. Friendly League.
Match 01 - W/B DnT [1-2]:
Game01 L
Land, Gemstone, Ritual, Chalice, Ballista. Scry Land to bottom.
First I mulliganed Gemstone, SSG, Chalice, Rabs, Abrade, Slag, Moon. Then 5 Lands and a Chandra, so to 5 we go. I'm okay with this 5 though, why not? Gemstone. He plays courtyard, I still run out Ballista X=1 on Turn 3 - he Tidehollow snags the bridge. I draw Chandra.. get em' girl. Blast the Sculler get the bridge back and still have Ballista. He's got a Vile going and then that ***** Thalia shows up. He follows it up with Bob and I respond with a Slag to clean up both. Flickwisp snag bridge kill Chandra - ugh. Follows it up with Displacer, Flickerwisp blinkage for the win.
Sideboard: -3 Rabs, 2 Ballista, 1 PnK
+2 Spyglass, +1 Spellskite, +2 Anger, +1 Spree
Game 02 W
2 Lands, Gemstone, Muta, Spellskite, Magus, Koth.
Juicy. So my style of hand. Hah.. probably all of us who play this would love to look at this hand... maybe drop a land for a ritual but either way. Curved out into Magus with spellskite protection on Turn 3 despite Thalia taxin' things. Then I got a bridge down and dropped Koth behind it. I Spyglassed saw a ton of white, Path in particular and Flickerwisp. He was off white completely from the turn 3 Magus. I shut off Vile with the Spyglass and rolled into a Koth Emblem opponent scoop.
Sideboard: No Changes
Game 03 L
Land, 2 SSG, Magus, 2 Bridges... hmmm... Scry Koth bottom.
Mulliganed 7 Cards no lands/ramp. Sculler took an SSG, Sculler took an SSG, I got a Gemstone in the meantime and a Blood Moon. I eventually get 3 lands, and drop Magus so I can get it pathed and I can pick up land 4 to get Chandra down. But he has an army of bob and sculler and that pro red guy. Beat downs commence and I am able to get one bridge down and unload the hand. Then Disenchant busts the last bridge and TKS with the crew successfully capture the throat.
Match 02 - Ad-Naus [2-1]
Game 01 - On the Play - L **Insert Salt Salt Salt Salt*** TeamNexusGaming*** Salt
Yeah they got really mad. Left the game with a "It's better to be lucky than good". It's fine... I'll sit by myself... It's cool.
Okay so there have been times when I needed a land, but didn't see PnK, so we can assume I would have not hit a land... Last match I was jammed and he knew it so he took my SSGs... why not take the SSGs though... I love them so much.
Caverns, Mutavault, Ritual, Bridge, Ballista, PnK, Rabs
Of course I ripped the Gemstone dump PnK hah. Temple of Enlightenment comes down and I feel a hard Ad-Naus signal, so I get Rabs working. PUNT! I left damage on the table in Turn 2. I forgot the lucky counter was on the Gemstone, so instead of dropping Mutavault and getting it off SS I sent down a Mountain on turn 2. :-(. He gets down Unlife. If I had played it right, he should have been at 1 with a Ballista attack then sac to get him to 1, but that was 1 short of triggering Unlife and cracking back with lethal next turn. Bloom comes off suspend and you know how it goes from here.
Sideboard: -4 Bridge, -2 Slag, -1 PnK
+2 Eidolon, +2 Spyglass, +1 Spellskite, +2 Spree
Here's where I sometimes disagree with other mountainfolk. Seems the consensus is that Koth is an attrition win-con. What does Ad-Naus have to answer a Turn 2 Koth? or Turn 3? That's 8 points of damage hopefully compounded with some other threat that was applied in the meantime. Considering he has the ability to push out any other card (for the most part) he keeps the pressure on. Ultimately, I think that Koth can be used aggressively, so he stays in for my aggressive package + combo shutdown.
Game 02 W
Land, Spree, 2 Chalices, 2 Chandras. Scry Ballista to the bottom.
I mulliganed Land, 2 Gemstones, Ritual, SSG, Skite, Spree... where's the pressure? I kept thinking I do not want this game to go long. Hah... I probably just always think that lol. I can't believe I kept this looking back. Chalice to shutoff the Bloom - okay I see that. I have 1 mana source... lol. By turn 6 he has all 6 lands out and an Unlife. I got down Chandra and Rabs to put pressure and have him down to 5. I have no idea why he hasn't gone off yet. He had a Bloom on Suspension and I slow played the Chalice until it had 1 counter left on it. I swing with the crew and kill.
Sideboard: No Changes.
Game 03 W
Land, 2 Ritual, Chandra, Rabs, Magus. Scry Land to top.
Mulliganed SSG, 2 Magus, 2 Spree, Blood Moon, Chalice. Magus and Chandra got working against his 4 lands, including a basic plains, and an Unlife on the battlefield, he drop the Pentad - 2 counters, so he's got 2 mana up.... not enough... oh no... boo hoo... hit Chandra for +1 BANG Abrade... Let's go! He rips spoils and finds Ad-Naus 25 cards down and goes into Poison territory. Beat em' down while he's dry on lands. Comments that its better to be good than Lucky... Salt Salt Salt.
Match 03 - [2-0]
Game 01 W - On the play
3 Lands, Mutavault, SSG, Chalice, Moon.
Mutavault, Chalice on 1 Turn 1. Draw Rabs - ut oh. Opponent drops a tapped watery grave... oh please be Grixis Control. He taps out for Search on Turn 2. Blood Moon? Yup without counter magic fears. I play Rabs... he scoops.
Sideboard: -4 Bridges, -2 Abrades, -2 Slags, -1 PnK
+1 Spellskite, +2 Spyglass, +2 Cages, +1 Hazoret, +2 Eidolon, +1 Boil
Game 02 W
2 Lands, SSG, Chandra, Moon, Boil - Scry Cage to top.
I mulliganed 4 Lands, Gemstone, SSG, Ballista. Turn 1 cage. Turn 2 he taps out for Azcants and I land an unimpeded Moon. OOH NO! He taps out for Jace and yes... I curve into Boil so nicely on my main, all nice and safe. I enter in the chat after Boil resolves "Dreams do come true". I blast his two Islands and put him on two duals that are now mountains. I get Chandra down... YES Jace VS Chandra wars. I'm pretty much empty handed... he's got Jace at 5 and I have Chandra at 5. She flips be a Spellskite.... ata' girl! He can't advance his Jace and I'm pinging away... get a Magus down and now I can pressure Jace on the ground... He scoops.
I have two more matches that I want to write up but its time for the gym, and then work. I'll try to get the write-ups in at lunch because I want to run a friendly league tonight without PnK and up a Land.
Hope you all are doing well.
Rev
Vs. death and taxes, keep in ballista. An early thalia can really hurt and ballista is a creature. It's our best way to get thalia off the board. Late game, a ballista can end the game, as thalia, Bob, flicker all have one toughness and the others have two.
Finally... I'm on page 40 of the forum.... only ten pages left. I read 50-now to stay current. I read the beginning to forge my soul in the same investment as the greats. Reading the posts has helped me understand the decks intricacies and the genesis of the current card selections [and yeah Ray you can't expect people to read all the posts, but some of us are just that crazy and dedicated].
I feel myself ascending a mountain as a 3-2 Pyro Prison player with all the right gear. As I've ascended up the mountain, I've seen those that have fallen by the wayside and given up. I have seen players hit the wall with frustration and give up. I have seen some players take out their personal performance disappointment on our prophets. I have seen players challenge the laser like focus of the mountain and end up losing their own focus as they flutter through different decks, searching for some kind of connection, like a 22 year-old single sorority chick, your time has been squandered. I'm sweat soaked, blinded from the salt in my eyes, but the summit is on the horizon, the fire is bright, and from the distance I can hear Russell's New Jersey accent, so I know I'm getting close to the right party. Hah. I'll have the last two matches from my last league coming as a write-up this afternoon and tonight I'm going to jam a friendly league.
... the Boil... oh yeah.. and like I said... dreams do come true...
Bloodshot eyes.
DR
League 04:
Build
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Blood Moon
2 Magus of the Moon
4 Ensnaring Bridge
Accelerators
4 Desperate Ritual
1 Pyretic Ritual
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Pressure
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Koth of the Hammer
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Slagstorm
2 Walking Ballista
1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
2 Abrade
Lands
17 Snow-Covered Mountain
3 Gemstone Caverns
1 Mutavault
2 Shattering Spree
1 Hazoret the Fervent
2 Anger of the Gods
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Boil
3 Eidolon of the Great Revel
1 Torpor Orb
1 Spellskite
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
Match 04 - Burn [0-2]
Game 01 L - On the play
2 Mountains, 2 SSGs, Chalice, Chandra. - Scry Mountain to the bottom.
I mulliganed 2 Mountains, 1 Gemstone, 2 Rituals, Ballista, SSG. Turn 1 I chalice on 1 and he signals burn with a Mire into Foundry. He drops Eidolon on Turn 2. I took some beats from Eidolon, and held up on SSG exile into a Blood Moon. This would have been Turn 4 ish. He had the shrine down and Eidolon going. I didn't draw the lands to get a PW down and the moon was ultimately ineffective since he suspended Rifties thrice.
Sideboard: -1 PnK, -1 Koth, -1 Blood Moon
+1 Skite, +1 Spree, +1
Game 02 L
Damn can't believe I boarded like that and that I kept this...
4 Lands, 1 Ritual, 1 Magus, 1 Chalice
I made a severe misplay in this match. I thought I could Abrade his Shrine in response to the activation. Nope doesn't work like that and I paid for it. I could have shut off the Shrine earlier, when he was tapped out, but thought I'd let him think he had something working. Turn 4 he has Shrine on 3, Eidolon down and Swifty. I have Magus keepin' him red, I have chalice on 1 and I have Abrade... he's tapped out. I can blow the shrine with no worry, but IDK I wanted him to keep pumping it thinking i didn't have answer. He gets beats in and blows the shrine for 9 - aka Lethal. Sorry team... this match was an embarrassment.
Match 05 - [2-1]
Game 01 W - On the Play
3 Lands, 2 Chalice, 1 Moon - Scry land to Bottom
I mulliganed 4 Lands,Rabs, Ritual, Chalice. By Turn 4 the crew is Koth, Moon and Chalice on 1. He's got Township = Mountain and a basic Forest and Plains. Koth Beats commence. He builds a board, Voice and out of control Tracker to get down Koth. I have Rabs working with the tokens, but I need some sort of answer to stop the creature squad he's building. I have 6 mana. I rub Rabs into this Tracker and then follow it up second main with a Ballista that I only need 2 of the 3 pings to knock out tracker. He scoops.
Sideboard: -4 Rabs, -2 Abrade, -1 PnK, -1 Koth
+2 Anger, +2 Spyglass, +1 Spellskite, +2 Cage, +1 Haz
I think my mindset was, resilient threats, wipe the board and hide.
Game 02 L
3 Lands, Chandra, Slag, Bridge - Scry Land to the Bottom.
I mulliganed, 1 Land, 2 Chalice, 2 Ritual, Haz, Slag. I start making land drops and he gets out Voice. On turn 3 I try to power out a Chandra via an SSG and it gets quelled. The right line, retrospectively, I think would have been to play Bridge, with 5 cards in hand, 3 Lands, Chandra and Slagstorm. That way if he did Quell anything I could slag it back. He negates my slag, gets Jace down and then pridemages my bridge for lethal.
Game 03 W
Another I can't believe I kept....
Gemstone, Ritual, Chandra, Chalice, Bridge, Ballista, Moon
I get the turn 2 Moon down instead of Chalice on 1 because he already has Hierarch down after Turn 1. I follow with land draws and drop a Moon. He's got basic Forest, Island and Hierarch, so he's really unimpeded. He gets another Hierarch down and i use my 1/1 Ballista to ping to Jace to 6, then I rip a Slag to clear his mana dorks. Chalice still in hand, and I"m thinking of dropping it on 3 to cut off some of his big hitters. He's working it with Jace, I have Chandra down. He gets down a Tracker, I minus Chandra to kill it. I was afraid of the value it would create, and I assumed that would help him find an answer to my Hellbent Bridge. Chandra VS Jace wars again. I have a bridge down and now a Chalice on 1, 3 and 4. He's got Jace at 10, but I'm keeping it in check with Chandra and he has no double color for Green and Blue and no White at all. Get to the Chandra emblem... GGs.
Phew. Got it done. I'm excited for tonight. Thanks for reading and your feedback.
DR
Bridge is useless here. By the time you get bridge down, you've taken 6-8 damage from creatures and you're already dead. A better plan would be to side out the bridges (4) and the magus of the moon (2) and a walking ballista....7 cards
So what comes in? Spellskite, 2 anger, 3 eidolon, and 1 Hazoret. Eidolon is better than bridge because it blocks and can also do damage. Anger and spellskite are self explanatory.
If you have chalice on one and a moon out, be careful.....if you are at a low life total, then you don't want to play a creature. He can still cast rift bolt, eidolon, and skullcrack. If you play a creature, like rabblemaster, then you will also open searing blaze. I've lost quite a few times because I had him locked out, only to unlock searing blaze and lose. this match has a lot of play to it and you have to evaluate if your opponent has the blaze based on how the game is playing out.
Vs the Shrine burn, I would take out the other walking ballista and use ONE spyglass. you don't need two, as a single one will turn off all 4 shrines.
Hope this helps.
Russ
As for the Ad Nauseam match, I think we are in agreement on Koth of the Hammer. Keep that bully-titted bastard in, and run hard for the hooch [plus offers sped out spells/2nd win-con]. Also, Ad Nauseam is the 'exception to the rule' when it comes to a time clock. Do not feel rushed to beat this mousetrap. Normally, we hear a ticking clock when it comes to executing a kill against control/combo. Not here. This deck is so linear and narrow - yet explosive (pentad prism/simian spirit guide/lotus bloom) that it's best to direct all of your plays to shutting them down. The win can come later. Even if it's much later.
LASTLY: For sideboarding assistance, the Official Primer guide is up-to-date/post-unban for tips on piloting the 'stock list'.
Ray is correct about Ad Nauseum. I lost to it online the last time I playing in a comp league. Had the dream....turn one rabblemaster off a mutavault and STILL LOST. He was on the play and dropped a turn three unlife, then turn 4 ad nauseum for the win. You CANNOT race this deck. It's a fools errand. Yes, the pressure is great and you need to close quickly, but if you don't have a lock piece and are just relying on pure aggression to get there, you won't. Learn from other's experience.
The Ad-Naus remarks are great. Seems to be popping up more frequently and I think we're well-positioned to beat this deck. Yes, I do hear the tick-tick in my head, but after watching the stream and considering your notes, I know you guys are right, it is linear, kill the combo is my primary objective, then let the kill follow.
Ray I used the primer and my own thoughts/notes to make my own sideboarding/strategy doc. I searched some decks in our thread and tried to gleen notes where I could. Its nice and alphabetized, based on the deck name I used, but either way, can I send it to you. I didn't wanna post it b/c it is nearly a regurgatation of the Primer, but I added stuff where I could. Let me know if I can send it to you via email, or should I just post it and hide the match-ups. Like I said it is the guide, I just added some notes where possible, and this is the paper I'll fwap open in between rounds.
Can't wait to get on MTGO tonight.
Blazin'
DR
In other news. My match-ups so far have been Burn, Colorless Eldrazi, Burn. I think I may have punted on this play, but I'd like to know thoughts.
Against Burn, post boarding, I'm on the Draw going into Game 3. I fan open, Rabs, Chalice, Land, SSG, 3 Rituals. So I can turn 1 get 5 mana out.
I think the right play may have been Chalice on 2 and hope for a land next turn to drop Rabs.
Or mulligan.
Or, what I did, Chalice 1 and drop Rabs turn 1 off the 5 mana. Of course you know how it went. Searing on the Rabs on his turn 2, and I don't draw lands. The leftover Goblin got in for 3/4 points of damage though, and that ended up being the deciding factor. I ended up winning this game and ultimately the match, but this play felt debatable.
Not sure if I took the right line there, but I def would like to open the play to discussion.
Congrats again Russ, I look forward to the stream... I haven't been watching much MTGgoldfish since you got on Twitch lol.
dR
I remember reading an article about 15 years ago about a dude who did really well at a major tournament playing a super fast burn dexk. When asked how he deals with hate cards, this was his answer (stuck with me over since):
I don't worry about hate cards. My plan is to have them dead BEFORE THEY CAN DRAW THEM.
So, I agree 100% that turn one chalice into rabble puts them in a position where they need searing blaze and quick. Also, while they are wrestling with rabble, it buys you time. If he did have the answer, which he did, it takes his entire next turn anseaves behind a goblin to block something else....another turn . So, despite dropping your whole hand there, you bought yourself at least two more turns and potentially could have won right there nicely done.
Yes, this deck flies in the face of all the card advantage lessons you've learned since starting to play magic and sometimes playing all 7 cards to only get two permanents in play feels wrong, but more times than not, it'll work
In the moment I did completely consider stuff you had said. Take them off a turn and force them to answer it now. That was my mindset. If he does have it, then meh, and I get a token and another free draw. If he doesn't, it's over.
Retrospectively, I'd do it again, and be more comfortable about it now having hashed it out here with the crew.
Thanks man. I got the Twitch VOD running in the background now.
-1 PnK +1 Land
-1 Spree +1 Ratchet Bomb
I'm a little more sold on the Bomb coming in. I have often read Ray/Russ saying that in a big tournament you need many ways to win and PnK is certainly one - so I understand keeping if necessary. The ping machine and the evasive flyers - love it. The 4 CMC - not so much. I just will be livid if I'm holding a PnK and need a land. Then again, I'll be livid if I draw straight lands in a Bridge-based stare down thinking damn a 4 CMC threat would be great.
I lean towards the stock with no alterations, but certainly wanted some community feedback before I get everything squared away on the Launch Pad.
Thanks for your time.
DR
Dec, stick with stock list. Affinity is a thing and is very popular in paper magic.
Stick with the parents because people side in negate and I've won many games where I ritual into PnK and my opponent let's ritual resolve thinking he's gonna negate Chandra and then I put three bodies on the board and proceed to win. Also, see above....affinity is popular in person, so keep it as is.
What is the concern with ratchet bomb? That are you looking to deal with? 4 anger effects post board is a good sweeper. Spree takes care of random artifacts. Don't really see a need. Correct me. What's on your mind.
I'm not confident enough in my MTG card knowledge to rip off a list of oh it hits this and Spree doesn't. I thought it might be an added benefit without a loss. I also have a ton of confidence in the list as is. I think the list is sick and well optimized, but of course I'm always keeping an eye out to see if I can help development.
After watching the last stream, I'm certainly on board with PnK. The 5-0 was sick, and with the main man Ray on the scene, priceless.
If you're not sold on Bomb, I get it and I have been on board with the 2 Shattering Spree since I got into this deck. Just looking for any thoughts on why its not in.
DR