Hi guys, what is our prognosis against Ponza? I've played against it twice now and absolutely hate the deck. Any advice on how to play against them would be greatly appreciated Thanks in advance!
For reference, this is the list I'm running at the moment:
You should be a good match up game 1 but poor game 2 and 3 coz I play both affinity and ponza. You need etched champion and thoughtseize or spell pierce to be board in. The pierce and thoughtseize are for sweeper. Aside from that, just go faster. As a ponza player, I will board out my land destruction spells and board in sweeper and removal. Based on this knowledge, board accordingly. Welding jar is good in this match up.
Welding jar in the sideboard? Was thinking of boarding out the third memnite for a jar against stuff like jund, letting the deck keep some of it's explosiveness in games 2 and 3. I see these lists boarding out the 17th land and a memnite on the draw but I can't help but feel it makes the deck too top heavy.
Ponza has some good game against affinity, with bonfire being a problem plus postboard angers and ancient grudges.
Oh and how do we board against burn? Do we take out galv blast? Those seem good against eidolon and goblin guide though. I was thinking -3 galv +2 spell pierce +1 spellskite. Seems like we just want to race them here and try to stick vault skirge; don't want to dilute the game plan too much.
And what does spell pierce do that thoughtseize doesn't? i'm mapping out the sideboard now and i was gonna run 2x spell pierce and 2x dispatch, but i might cut those and just go with 2 or 3 thoughtseize instead. at first dispatch seemed great against death shaddow aggro, but now that i think about it, its pretty bad. i guess i could use dispatch against bant eldrazi but i don't really care about thought knot seer if i already dumped out my hand.
Posted this on the /r/spikes subreddit, but it may interest some of the people here. I started playing affinity on MTGO competitive leagues last week and gathered some data:
I am often bringing in both etched champions as well, this doesn’t seem to leave much room for any targeted hate of my own, so basically do I have too much anti hate in the board, could some be removed to free up more useful cards?
The Meta is nominally pretty varied with most of the Tier 1and 2 decks showing up in some numbers, GW Tron, Traditional and Death Shadow Jund, Elves, Burn and BW Tokens seeming particularly popular, there are always a couple of Abzan decks and a Hate Bears player too
I have been thinking about Pithing Needle (naming expedition map) and Dispatch specifically against Tron, but both with other uses. Seal of Primordium as an antistony silence option – though you’d need to get it down first of course, and its dead if they don’t have or don’t draw Stoney Silence
Thanks. And may as well post part of my sideboard plan. If a land or memnite comes out, this is presumably on the draw. Still not sure which land to always be pulling out, or how to sideboad for merfolk. Probably doesnt matter what sideboard I bring as I haven't played in a while and need to shake the dust off.
i noticed a zyrnak putting up some results on leagues. i don't understand the rule of law over ethersworn canonist. I usually do well with tron/valakut decks and cash all the time, but i'm bored of those, and the local meta has a lot of ad nauseam, infect, and eldrazi now, so it might be time to try out some affinity.
but yeah i usually hate playing affinity and storm, im such a bad affinity player, but once in a while the mood strikes me to play the deck
@Temeraire1798 I read somewhere that you don't want to board in wear/tear or grid against stony silence as most of our colored sources come from mox opal and spring leaf drum, which won't work anyway when stony silence hits the board.
against tron, your biggest problem is pyroclasm and o-stone. pyroclasm is kinda gone now thankfully.
How can you have a 100% winrate against Grixis Delver, Jund and Jeskai? Sounds pretty incredible to me, I always feel like I'm going to play against 40 removals decks when I play against those.
Regarding the sideboard, I've already stated my thoughts. I like the four MB Champions tho.
Small sample size is certainly part of it - I've only got 4 matches against Jeskai, 3 against Delver, and 1 against Jund. Can't really pick your matchups on MTGO and I'm not seeing much of those. However, against all of those decks they lose pretty hard to Etched Champion. The name of the game is to be fast to force them to respond to your stuff (while having lost a fair amount of life by making them fetch-shock a lot to stabilize the board) and then slam a Champ down when they can't answer it.
To the person asking why Rule of Law (and Rest in Peace) over their artifact equivalents - I want them precisely because they are not artifacts. The matchups where I want to bring those cards in they are even more soul-crushingly unbeatable than Stony is against us. Since they will all be siding in artifact hate, why should I make it easier for them to remove it? If I can slam a Rule of Law against Gifts Storm, I can just coast to an easy win - not so if I cast Cannonist which they can Shatterstorm/Shattering Spree. It's ability to stick around longer will be more useful than an extra 2/2.
I don't like Wear // Tear against Stony Silence exactly due to the reason that it's very hard to get mana to play it under Stony Silence. You need color man source and Mox Opal and Springleaf Drum don't do anything with it in the play so you basically need Glimmervoid to get rid of it and it's not super likely that you'll draw it. I've had lots of games with Stony Silence on the opposing side and no Glimmervoid so Wear // Tear wouldn't do anything if I had it. As I wrote I hope they don't have it, if they do they do but i wouldn't fill my sb slot for a card that can deal with hate card (although a very good hate card) if it's very possible that I won't be able to cast it at all with that hate card in play.
100% agree. Either get it before it lands with Thoughtseize/Spell Pierce or plan to play through a Stony Silence like it was guaranteed to happen on turn 2
I'm on the fence about Enchantment hate for Stony Silence. There's certainly a reasonable chance of drawing a Glimmervoid although there's not much chance of having mana to float in time if Stony comes down on curve. In a match-up where Stony is likely, Ghirapur Æther Grid comes in first for me and Thoughtseize second so that's already four slots. Spell Pierce might even be better than Wear // Tear in the match-up but I'm not sure about that either.
Sea Gate Wreckage is something I've not tested. Drawing cards is good but I really don't want to replace anything in the current mana-base and I don't like the idea of going up to eighteen lands. Undeniably, games sometimes go long and drawing cards - especially at instant speed - is good.
You should be a good match up game 1 but poor game 2 and 3 coz I play both affinity and ponza. You need etched champion and thoughtseize or spell pierce to be board in. The pierce and thoughtseize are for sweeper. Aside from that, just go faster. As a ponza player, I will board out my land destruction spells and board in sweeper and removal. Based on this knowledge, board accordingly. Welding jar is good in this match up.
Thanks for the advice I think I'm going to go up an Etched Champion, down the Chalices and then jam Welding Jar and a Spell Pierce into my sideboard. Maybe add another piece of removal too.
Postboard RG Ponza seems pretty annoying for Affinity given the fact how many good sb cards they have. Just being as fast as possible and hope they don't draw too much sb hate is the best thing to win the game.
It's like most Affinity matchups anyway-win game 1 which you should against most decks and then hope to steal one of postboard games.
The matches I've had have been very annoying. The players I've dealt with seem to run 10+ boardwipes mainboard + Blood Moon. Which is enough to deal with us. And then they still board in Creeping Corrosion! Inferno Titan is horrible...
I am often bringing in both etched champions as well, this doesn’t seem to leave much room for any targeted hate of my own, so basically do I have too much anti hate in the board, could some be removed to free up more useful cards?
The Meta is nominally pretty varied with most of the Tier 1and 2 decks showing up in some numbers, GW Tron, Traditional and Death Shadow Jund, Elves, Burn and BW Tokens seeming particularly popular, there are always a couple of Abzan decks and a Hate Bears player too
I have been thinking about Pithing Needle (naming expedition map) and Dispatch specifically against Tron, but both with other uses. Seal of Primordium as an antistony silence option – though you’d need to get it down first of course, and its dead if they don’t have or don’t draw Stoney Silence
Many Thanks
I've noticed an early chalice of the void is surprisingly back-breaking against the RG and BG Tron players at my LGS. Whipflare and Oblivion Stone are problem cards though.
Has anybody ever thought about a basic plains to go with wear/tear in the sideboard games against stony silence. Since stony decks are also decks with path. It fetches you your colored source for wear/tear?
Has anybody ever thought about a basic plains to go with wear/tear in the sideboard games against stony silence. Since stony decks are also decks with path. It fetches you your colored source for wear/tear?
There are alternate builds with Tempered Steel that run some W producers, but it's just not really a mainstream idea.
If I tried it, I would add some copies of Dispatch as well, but I probably wouldn't try it, to be honest.
I don't agree, can't do anything about that. I almost always draw one of the four colored lands and Wear // Tear can also be played in response to it like it could do spell Pierce, floating for white.
Anyway... is Sea Gate Wreckage a good SB option, or is it just a decent card?
I love SGW - Grindy match ups like the mirror, jund, abzan etc you are drawing 2 cards a turn - which you absolutely need to compwte with their own card quality/draw
okay so finally got some good matchups and cashed a small tournament. thoughtseize and spell pierce pulled a lot of weight. spire of industry helped me win a grind after a shatterstorm had already come down; just beat them down afterwards with manlands. rest in peace is awesome and i can see what that other guy is saying about rule of law over ethersworn canonist.
i'm probably the only guy who still doesn't like etched champion. and didn't draw ghirapur aether grid but i wonder if it's too slow at 3 mana. i also question the logic of boarding it in against stuff like control/midrange; if they're dropping a supreme verdict how do you have any artifacts left to tap? i guess you have some springleaf drums hanging around but it still seems tough. might add whipflare and a single blood moon to sideboard, possibly cutting grid and thoughtcast.
For reference, this is the list I'm running at the moment:
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Inkmoth Nexus
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Glimmervoid
1 Mountain
Creatures:
4 Ornithopter
3 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
3 Bomat Courier
4 Vault Skirge
4 Steel Overseer
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Etched Champion
4 Mox Opal
3 Mishra's Bauble
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Cranial Plating
2 Ghirapur Aether Grid
3 Thoughtseize
1 Whipflare
3 Spellskite
2 Ancient Grudge
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Dismember
Ponza has some good game against affinity, with bonfire being a problem plus postboard angers and ancient grudges.
Results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15KWGJL4GH82-Mt1yvtJfLRAqv4cOWcmLf6yhX4OBwo8/edit#gid=0
Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/596920#online
So far I've got 132 matches recorded with a 64.39% win rate, and I'm updating the spreadsheet whenever I play.
I wonder if I could ask for some help with my Sideboard,
1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
3 Glimmervoid
4 Inkmoth Nexus
Creatures
4 Arcbound Ravager
2 Etched champion
2 Master of Etherium
3 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
4 Signal Pest
4 Steel Overseer
4 Vault Skirge
4 Galvanic Blast
Artifacts
4 Cranial Plating
4 Mox Opal
4 Springleaf Drum
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Etched champion
2 Ghirapur Æther Grid
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Spell Pierce
2 Spellskite
2 Whipflare
2 Thougtseize
So far I feel guilty of over Side boarding, I seem to be bring in 6 anti-hate cards every match 2 Thoughtseize and 2 Spell Pierce to try and stop Stony Silence or similar, 2 Ghirapur Æther Grid, in case I can’t.
I am often bringing in both etched champions as well, this doesn’t seem to leave much room for any targeted hate of my own, so basically do I have too much anti hate in the board, could some be removed to free up more useful cards?
The Meta is nominally pretty varied with most of the Tier 1and 2 decks showing up in some numbers, GW Tron, Traditional and Death Shadow Jund, Elves, Burn and BW Tokens seeming particularly popular, there are always a couple of Abzan decks and a Hate Bears player too
I have been thinking about Pithing Needle (naming expedition map) and Dispatch specifically against Tron, but both with other uses. Seal of Primordium as an antistony silence option – though you’d need to get it down first of course, and its dead if they don’t have or don’t draw Stoney Silence
Many Thanks
DS aggro -3 galv -2 master -1 mountain / +2 rest +2 Tseize +2 etched
Affinity -2 etched -4 signal -1 blinkmoth / +2 ancient +2 grid +1 Tseize +1 Skite +1 Tcast
Bant Eldrazi -2 etched -1 blinkmoth / +2 Tseize +1 Spierce
Burn -3 galv -1 mountain -2 master / +2 spierce +1 Skite +2 etched
Abzan -3 galv -3 master -1 memnite -1 signal / +2 etched +2 grid +2 rest +1 Skite +1 Tcast
UrzaTron -2 etched -3 galv -1 darksteel / +2 Tseize +2 Spierce +2 ancient
Merfolk -2 etched -1 ravager -1 darksteel / +2 grid +2 Spierce
2 ghirapur aether grid
2 ancient grudge
2 thoughtseize
2 spell pierce
2 rest in peace
1 grafdigger's cage
1 spellskite
1 thoughtcast
but yeah i usually hate playing affinity and storm, im such a bad affinity player, but once in a while the mood strikes me to play the deck
against tron, your biggest problem is pyroclasm and o-stone. pyroclasm is kinda gone now thankfully.
Small sample size is certainly part of it - I've only got 4 matches against Jeskai, 3 against Delver, and 1 against Jund. Can't really pick your matchups on MTGO and I'm not seeing much of those. However, against all of those decks they lose pretty hard to Etched Champion. The name of the game is to be fast to force them to respond to your stuff (while having lost a fair amount of life by making them fetch-shock a lot to stabilize the board) and then slam a Champ down when they can't answer it.
To the person asking why Rule of Law (and Rest in Peace) over their artifact equivalents - I want them precisely because they are not artifacts. The matchups where I want to bring those cards in they are even more soul-crushingly unbeatable than Stony is against us. Since they will all be siding in artifact hate, why should I make it easier for them to remove it? If I can slam a Rule of Law against Gifts Storm, I can just coast to an easy win - not so if I cast Cannonist which they can Shatterstorm/Shattering Spree. It's ability to stick around longer will be more useful than an extra 2/2.
100% agree. Either get it before it lands with Thoughtseize/Spell Pierce or plan to play through a Stony Silence like it was guaranteed to happen on turn 2
Sea Gate Wreckage is something I've not tested. Drawing cards is good but I really don't want to replace anything in the current mana-base and I don't like the idea of going up to eighteen lands. Undeniably, games sometimes go long and drawing cards - especially at instant speed - is good.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
Thanks for the advice I think I'm going to go up an Etched Champion, down the Chalices and then jam Welding Jar and a Spell Pierce into my sideboard. Maybe add another piece of removal too.
The matches I've had have been very annoying. The players I've dealt with seem to run 10+ boardwipes mainboard + Blood Moon. Which is enough to deal with us. And then they still board in Creeping Corrosion! Inferno Titan is horrible...
I've noticed an early chalice of the void is surprisingly back-breaking against the RG and BG Tron players at my LGS. Whipflare and Oblivion Stone are problem cards though.
There are alternate builds with Tempered Steel that run some W producers, but it's just not really a mainstream idea.
If I tried it, I would add some copies of Dispatch as well, but I probably wouldn't try it, to be honest.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
I love SGW - Grindy match ups like the mirror, jund, abzan etc you are drawing 2 cards a turn - which you absolutely need to compwte with their own card quality/draw
i'm probably the only guy who still doesn't like etched champion. and didn't draw ghirapur aether grid but i wonder if it's too slow at 3 mana. i also question the logic of boarding it in against stuff like control/midrange; if they're dropping a supreme verdict how do you have any artifacts left to tap? i guess you have some springleaf drums hanging around but it still seems tough. might add whipflare and a single blood moon to sideboard, possibly cutting grid and thoughtcast.
Usually. Some of us run a Mountain main-deck which helps with Grid.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn