The Epic Experiment variants of UR Storm might be able to get away with dodging the graveyard entirely Game 1, and all Storm variants will likely board in Empty the Warrens Game 2 to dodge Leyline of the Void harder. Keep your Cascade spells in hand.
Also board in enchantment hate for those variants that switch to Pyromancer's Swath.
Just my piece on this: Empty the Warrens is less of an issue, methinks. Since we never board out the Living End/cascade package, I feel like we have 7-8 answers to that card in the maindeck. Pyromancer's Swath is a litle trickier, though. Bring in Krosan Grip if you've got it (you will anyway, because of Pyromancer's Ascension), and keep in all of your Beast Withins!
As far as what to bring out, I've found I can ditch most of the creature LD. They'll always have two lands, and since they use rituals, they care not a whit about losing them.
So I am going to Grand Prix: Toronto this weekend. I will be playing Living End, really looking forward to seeing the pros and the plan (well the plan is to win) is to have fun and make Day Two. Here is the list I will be taking (tentatively, as I always welcome constructive criticism)...
As previously mentioned, Travis Woo and I discussed maindecking Leyline of the Void and came to the conclusion that it would be a great game 1 stealer against a number of decks. Because of having the Leyline maindeck, I do not need Faerie Macabre so that enables me to "toolbox" the sideboard to hit decks like Infect and Twin. Anyone with thoughts on this, please chime in as I am going to register on Friday, want to try an LCQ for some byes and make sure I get the cool playmat...lol Thanks!
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Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
So I am going to Grand Prix: Toronto this weekend. I will be playing Living End, really looking forward to seeing the pros and the plan (well the plan is to win) is to have fun and make Day Two. Here is the list I will be taking (tentatively, as I always welcome constructive criticism)...
As previously mentioned, Travis Woo and I discussed maindecking Leyline of the Void and came to the conclusion that it would be a great game 1 stealer against a number of decks. Because of having the Leyline maindeck, I do not need Faerie Macabre so that enables me to "toolbox" the sideboard to hit decks like Infect and Twin. Anyone with thoughts on this, please chime in as I am going to register on Friday, want to try an LCQ for some byes and make sure I get the cool playmat...lol Thanks!
Not much I can say, other than to please let us know how Rakdos Charm and Melira pan out. I'm not about to knock them until we see what they can do.
EDIT: You may also be able to get away with trimming a Brindle Boar from your sideboard, in case there was something else you wanted to run. My vote goes to a single Krosan Grip, because Tron decks love them some Rule of Law.
Not much I can say, other than to please let us know how Rakdos Charm and Melira pan out. I'm not about to knock them until we see what they can do.
EDIT: You may also be able to get away with trimming a Brindle Boar from your sideboard, in case there was something else you wanted to run. My vote goes to a single Krosan Grip, because Tron decks love them some Rule of Law.
Thanks for the reply! Would Beast Within not be good enough for Rule of Law? Brindle Boar is a 4 of as there seems to be a lot of Burn in the area, at least that is what I am seeing.
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Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
Thanks for the reply! Would Beast Within not be good enough for Rule of Law? Brindle Boar is a 4 of as there seems to be a lot of Burn in the area, at least that is what I am seeing.
Nah, nothing wrong wih Beast Within - just thought it would be nice to have one card that answers it that they absolutely, positively can't Remand.
I wouldn't bother making room for K-Grip if you predict a lot of burn, though. Full set of Boars is the right move there.
I was also thinking about Leyline of the Void in the main board, althogh I was mostly thinking about 3 main, 1 side. Faerie Macabre is vanilla against a lot of decks, and usully when she does shine you'd rather have Leyline anyways (the exception being Affinity, Leyline is too clunky against them). I think the transformative sideboards in general are really cool but too specific. It's completely a meta call, but in the right match-ups it ties up game 2 very well. On Melira, Sylvok Outcast though, how often would you rather land her than wipe the board anyway?
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The one catch the Faerie has over the Leyline however is the fact that you can draw/cycle into it and not necessarily have it be a dead draw, where as Leyline requires you to mull until you hit it (which is probably NOT what you're going to want to do game 1?). If anything, I'd probably agree on a 3/1 split as Bjamman suggested.
Maybe even 2/2.
And I've actually been thinking about Melira and how useful she is/can be in the Infect matchup. Unless we side the Ends out, we can't reliably cascade into her, so I'm not sure how good that would be. And even if we side all our Ends out, and Outburst into Melira in response to an attack, either we block, or they punch us pretty hard for like 7 regardless. I suppose the plan is to keep Melira on board and just 'wait' it out until we start casting fatties and they run out of steam with the pumps?
Do we have any other anti-Infect tech/strategy apart from Melira and our choice of Dismember/Sudden Death/Shriekmaw?
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Do we have any other anti-Infect tech/strategy apart from Melira and our choice of Dismember/Sudden Death/Shriekmaw?
Well, to be honest I think if we live to turn 3 with a violent outburst in hand, we basically win the infect match up unless they have sided in some tech thatll hurt us... I think attacking their main plan via melira doesn't actually hurt infect enough to count as a silver bullet unlike ethersworn cannonist against storm.
Being able to fetch dryad arbor for early blocks on infect can help, along with dismember and shriekmaw being good answers, t-1 dismember slows them down enough to last to turn 3 or 4 alive without any poison, and once again you win if you can cascade into a decent amount of power.
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Well, to be honest I think if we live to turn 3 with a violent outburst in hand, we basically win the infect match up unless they have sided in some tech thatll hurt us... I think attacking their main plan via melira doesn't actually hurt infect enough to count as a silver bullet unlike ethersworn cannonist against storm.
I agree. All Melira really does is "double" our life total against infect. One copy of her will slow them down, but we lose an unacceptable amount of speed by swapping out Living End for her. I say just play the Simian Spirit Guide list if you don't want to die to infect on turn 2. It's not pretty, but it'll do.
Been goldfishing all sort of variations and can't wait to properly playtest. I do have what may be a dumb question (been out of the game for a while). How exactly does Krosan Grip protect us against Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus? If we have priority, awesome. If not (which I'm guessing is almost always the case) aren't we hosed?
Been goldfishing all sort of variations and can't wait to properly playtest. I do have what may be a dumb question (been out of the game for a while). How exactly does Krosan Grip protect us against Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus? If we have priority, awesome. If not (which I'm guessing is almost always the case) aren't we hosed?
Oftentimes, opponents will sit on a Crypt or Relic (happens a lot more often with Relic, since they can just tap it every turn) and wait for you to try and combo out. Additionally, it's important to know that you can hold priority when you cascade. As long as you say "hold priority" or something similar when going to cast Demonic Dread or Violent Outburst, you can fire off your Krosan Grip on top of it before your opponent can respond.
It's also a lot easier to Grip a Relic than a Crypt. They tap it to make you exile a card, and you nail it in response.
PTQ season on MTGO finished and I took a break from the deck, and Modern, for a little bit. Coming back in, looking to shake things out. I'm glad I'm remembered.
I agree. All Melira really does is "double" our life total against infect. One copy of her will slow them down, but we lose an unacceptable amount of speed by swapping out Living End for her. I say just play the Simian Spirit Guide list if you don't want to die to infect on turn 2. It's not pretty, but it'll do.
Melira does jack here; Replacing Living Ends with a Fog effect will actually do more than Melira does. If Infect is the fear, go with SSG, Dismembers, and Ingot chewers. SSG will do wonders, at the sacrifice of popping Living End for seemingly very little gain, usually 2 MAYBE 3 dudes (c'mon STREET WRAITHS!). The point is wiping them out, at instant speed no less. Played and timed properly, this would always always always blow out Affinity players, and it will hose Infect too.
Melira does jack here; Replacing Living Ends with a Fog effect will actually do more than Melira does. If Infect is the fear, go with SSG, Dismembers, and Ingot chewers. SSG will do wonders, at the sacrifice of popping Living End for seemingly very little gain, usually 2 MAYBE 3 dudes (c'mon STREET WRAITHS!). The point is wiping them out, at instant speed no less. Played and timed properly, this would always always always blow out Affinity players, and it will hose Infect too.
This is why I posted and asked for feedback Thanks and I will take that in to consideration. I guess the next question is Sudden Death or Dismember? If I have Rakdos Charm for Twin, I don't think I need the split second, agree?
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Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
This is why I posted and asked for feedback Thanks and I will take that in to consideration. I guess the next question is Sudden Death or Dismember? If I have Rakdos Charm for Twin, I don't think I need the split second, agree?
Well, yes and no. If Rakdos Charm becomes your plan, you're already giving in to the possibility of your Twin answer being countered, so the split second tech isn't necessary. Sudden Death is if you want to kill their combo creature without giving them an out, Charm is if you want to win off of their combo but be open to counters, just like Dismember is open to counters.
I feel it's worth mentioning that there are cases where Rakdos Charm may not be able to kill them. If they get smart after the first time they make 1,000,000,000,000,000 tokens and end up taking that much, they can make many fewer copies that are just enough to kill you. In a world of Restoration Angels and Zealous Conscripts, that could be as few as 7 tokens. Even Pestermite only needs 10. Hell, if they have more life than you and you've got no blockers, they can even do it with Deceiver Exarch and Village Bell-Ringer.
Edit: Over the course of typing this post I've come to the conclusion that Rakdos Charm isn't a good idea, especially on MTGO where people don't ever make the infinite tokens 'cause they actually have to go through the motions. If they know we can do it, they can play around it soooo easily. It's just as counterable as Living End but at least that makes it so we can survive until the next turn, minimum. Maaaybe you can side in Charm for game 2 for a surprise win, but you're still relying on your opponent to make the mistake of making 15-20+ tokens (depending on shockland/fetchland damage) when in reality he probably needs a lot less than that. If you win a game 2 with this you'd have to side it back out for game 3, 'cause there's no way they'd make that mistake twice.
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Edit: Over the course of typing this post I've come to the conclusion that Rakdos Charm isn't a good idea, especially on MTGO where people don't ever make the infinite tokens 'cause they actually have to go through the motions. If they know we can do it, they can play around it soooo easily. It's just as counterable as Living End but at least that makes it so we can survive until the next turn, minimum. Maaaybe you can side in Charm for game 2 for a surprise win, but you're still relying on your opponent to make the mistake of making 15-20+ tokens (depending on shockland/fetchland damage) when in reality he probably needs a lot less than that. If you win a game 2 with this you'd have to side it back out for game 3, 'cause there's no way they'd make that mistake twice.
Yup. I just don't get the Rakdos Charm love. I've already been able to hose graveyards at will. Just doesn't seem worthy.
I've been testing Living End on cockatrice lately, and am pretty set on getting it built in time for my first Constructed PTQ in March. Most of the deck won't be an issue to get, other than Verdant Catacombs, so I might try to borrow those. I'm guessing none of the other fetches are a good replacement as they don't grab every land in the deck?
I've been testing Living End on cockatrice lately, and am pretty set on getting it built in time for my first Constructed PTQ in March. Most of the deck won't be an issue to get, other than Verdant Catacombs, so I might try to borrow those. I'm guessing none of the other fetches are a good replacement as they don't grab every land in the deck?
4 Verdant Catacombs usually does the trick. For a while I played around with a random Arid Mesa in there; but it's not worth it. The 4 spot for Catacombs gives you enough where you can 1) grab any shock 2) grab any basic, and 3) it's the right amount of the right land.
The deck's manabase is beautiful as it flows and curves so well. If you can land a t1 Fetch, you're pretty much set on what your next drop is. If it's a speed land Blackcleave Cliffs or Copperline Gorge, you've been given as much flexibility as possible to play any spell. The speed lands are wonderful in this deck because their early game duals, and they don't hurt us if they hit past turn 4 (cheap spells/abilities)
In that case, is our plan essentially to hold the Cascades until they tap out/swing with tokens a.k.a. what we generally do against control?
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Commander - Still Brewing BRGGyrus, Waker of CorpsesGRBURSaheeli, the GiftedRUWRJor Kadeen, the PrevailerRW
Yup. I just don't get the Rakdos Charm love. I've already been able to hose graveyards at will. Just doesn't seem worthy.
So I guess what you all are saying is, the Living End does it anyways, just go for the win that way and don't try to be cute with the Rakdos Charm damage win. I think I am over-thinking things at this point, just can't wait for Saturday...
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Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
The last time I piloted this deck regularly, I was quite happy with it. This time around, I want to tinker around with it more. Here are some of the ideas I've got cooking under the hood.
Glassdust Hulk: Yes, you heard me. Him. I never gave him an honest chance in this deck because I stupidly chose to remember him as a 3/2 or something instead of looking him up again. 3/4 is worthy. W/U isn't as hard to swing in this deck as you'd think (more on this later).
Land Destruction: I've always only been half-in with the idea of Land D to disrupt the opponent. I've run mainboard Fulminators and Beast Withins, played with Avalanche Riders in the past, and even now I'm trying out running 2 Ghost Quarters main. But more decks than you think can handle pressure like that, and Land D certainly isn't a slam dunk against Tron variants. To this end, I've cut Fulminator from the deck entirely. Beast Within is still a part of the mix because of its versatility. Ghost Quarter gets a pass right now because its "free", doesn't really take a spot from anything else, and might do the trick just as well.
Leyline of the Void: I'm kinda sold on running this main. My current build has loaded up 4 from the get go. It often makes Jund Charm and Faerie Macabre look bad. There is almost no downside to it, from what I see.
Without further ado, this is what I've been testing lately...
- Mana base is really where the most changes are. No more Scars block duals. One basic left as a nod to Path to Exile and such. 4th Forbidden Orchard to cover not only the additions of White and Blue to the deck, but the 4th Demonic Dread as well. A Shock Land based system working off of Arid Mesa. If Ghost Quarter falls through, Temple Garden and Godless Shrine will take its place.
- I do not go for landcycling creatures or cycling 2 creatures. My goal is to fill up the yard faster, and spit it out faster (hence why I'm not running much Land D at all), and I can't do that paying 2 to cycle. Decks like Infect and Affinity scoop to you if you can get 2-3 in and out of the yard and shatter their aggro push. Tron decks will stomp you out if you let the game go too long, no matter how many dudes you get into the yard. And then there's yard hate; nothing like losing the last 2 turns of work to a Crypt or Relic.
-Simian Spirit Guide. Want to power out one more cycler? He's your man. Want to power out a turn 2 Beast Within to disrupt your opponent's plans? He's your man. Want to feint tapping out to Violent Outburst at their EOT but still want a red mana to pop off a Ricochet Trap if you have to? He's your man. I've even cast the ****er in some desperate, DESPERATE situations.
- 1 Angel's Grace in the side because **** YOU HIVE MIND. It breaks my heart, but I'm cutting back on Ingot Chewer to make room for Wispmare. Rest is Peace is a thing, bro. Grip is a good all arounder, with backup from Sudden Death to help with the Splinter Twin match up. 2 Loaming Shamans right now where I would've had 2 Bridle Boars or something. Loaming Shaman saves the day in any game that goes long. He allows you to repeatedly wipe away a board, something that may often make a huge difference. I'd bring him in against counter heavy decks (as you can fire off and worry not; even if they counter it, you'll get it back), aggro (keep trying to drop dudes, I'll keep wiping), and generally anything that outlast me through 5 turns or more without me already being dead (Burn, Storm, Hive Mind, etc.).
- I do miss Faerie Macabre and Jund Charm sometimes.
The last time I piloted this deck regularly, I was quite happy with it. This time around, I want to tinker around with it more. Here are some of the ideas I've got cooking under the hood.
Glassdust Hulk: Yes, you heard me. Him. I never gave him an honest chance in this deck because I stupidly chose to remember him as a 3/2 or something instead of looking him up again. 3/4 is worthy. W/U isn't as hard to swing in this deck as you'd think (more on this later).
Land Destruction: I've always only been half-in with the idea of Land D to disrupt the opponent. I've run mainboard Fulminators and Beast Withins, played with Avalanche Riders in the past, and even now I'm trying out running 2 Ghost Quarters main. But more decks than you think can handle pressure like that, and Land D certainly isn't a slam dunk against Tron variants. To this end, I've cut Fulminator from the deck entirely. Beast Within is still a part of the mix because of its versatility. Ghost Quarter gets a pass right now because its "free", doesn't really take a spot from anything else, and might do the trick just as well.
Leyline of the Void: I'm kinda sold on running this main. My current build has loaded up 4 from the get go. It often makes Jund Charm and Faerie Macabre look bad. There is almost no downside to it, from what I see.
Without further ado, this is what I've been testing lately...
- Mana base is really where the most changes are. No more Scars block duals. One basic left as a nod to Path to Exile and such. 4th Forbidden Orchard to cover not only the additions of White and Blue to the deck, but the 4th Demonic Dread as well. A Shock Land based system working off of Arid Mesa. If Ghost Quarter falls through, Temple Garden and Godless Shrine will take its place.
- I do not go for landcycling creatures or cycling 2 creatures. My goal is to fill up the yard faster, and spit it out faster (hence why I'm not running much Land D at all), and I can't do that paying 2 to cycle. Decks like Infect and Affinity scoop to you if you can get 2-3 in and out of the yard and shatter their aggro push. Tron decks will stomp you out if you let the game go too long, no matter how many dudes you get into the yard. And then there's yard hate; nothing like losing the last 2 turns of work to a Crypt or Relic.
-Simian Spirit Guide. Want to power out one more cycler? He's your man. Want to power out a turn 2 Beast Within to disrupt your opponent's plans? He's your man. Want to feint tapping out to Violent Outburst at their EOT but still want a red mana to pop off a Ricochet Trap if you have to? He's your man. I've even cast the ****er in some desperate, DESPERATE situations.
- 1 Angel's Grace in the side because **** YOU HIVE MIND. It breaks my heart, but I'm cutting back on Ingot Chewer to make room for Wispmare. Rest is Peace is a thing, bro. Grip is a good all arounder, with backup from Sudden Death to help with the Splinter Twin match up. 2 Loaming Shamans right now where I would've had 2 Bridle Boars or something. Loaming Shaman saves the day in any game that goes long. He allows you to repeatedly wipe away a board, something that may often make a huge difference. I'd bring him in against counter heavy decks (as you can fire off and worry not; even if they counter it, you'll get it back), aggro (keep trying to drop dudes, I'll keep wiping), and generally anything that outlast me through 5 turns or more without me already being dead (Burn, Storm, Hive Mind, etc.).
- I do miss Faerie Macabre and Jund Charm sometimes.
Wow, that is radical to say the least. Wish I could test it in time for the weekend, but I have been practising with my build for months on end, so "dance with the girl you take to the prom" I would say. Have to try this out for future FNM's at my FLGS. I am going to the GP pre-game stuff (last chance byes, etc.) and what I see there will tell me what to do with my sideboard I think. Thanks for all your help and I will put out a tourney report early next week. Thanks again people!
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No problem, best of luck to you amigo. I'm still tinkering with the mana base to get it just right. Ghost Quarter probably won't make the cut; in a more normal version of this deck, sure. Here, I've got too much else going on for it. I'm also kinda feeling a hurt for life gain. A pair of boars (or baloths!) are going to find a way back into this list, I'm sure.
I like. When trying to get a feel for the pace of the deck initially, I often felt the yard just doesn't fill up fast enough. The difference between cycling for 1 and 2 is huge from the get go.
I like. When trying to get a feel for the pace of the deck initially, I often felt the yard just doesn't fill up fast enough. The difference between cycling for 1 and 2 is huge from the get go.
I like the ability to splash in white and blue, makes architect that much more powerful with the hulk, if there were more efficient blue and white cyclers or utility cards i'd love that, with a higher blue focus you can run dispels side board instead of ricochet trap... has the benefit of being able to stop more than counters in a pinch.
Tell me how it works out!
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That is not dead which may eternal lie, and with strange Aeons even death may die.
Just my piece on this: Empty the Warrens is less of an issue, methinks. Since we never board out the Living End/cascade package, I feel like we have 7-8 answers to that card in the maindeck. Pyromancer's Swath is a litle trickier, though. Bring in Krosan Grip if you've got it (you will anyway, because of Pyromancer's Ascension), and keep in all of your Beast Withins!
As far as what to bring out, I've found I can ditch most of the creature LD. They'll always have two lands, and since they use rituals, they care not a whit about losing them.
4 Violent Outburst
4 Demonic Dread
4 Street Wraith
4 Fulminator Mage
2 Mountain
2 Forest
2 Swamp
1 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Beast Within
1 Temple Garden
4 Pale Recluse
2 Avalanche Riders
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Dryad Arbor
4 Brindle Boar
3 Sudden Death
3 Ingot Chewer
3 Ricochet Trap
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
As previously mentioned, Travis Woo and I discussed maindecking Leyline of the Void and came to the conclusion that it would be a great game 1 stealer against a number of decks. Because of having the Leyline maindeck, I do not need Faerie Macabre so that enables me to "toolbox" the sideboard to hit decks like Infect and Twin. Anyone with thoughts on this, please chime in as I am going to register on Friday, want to try an LCQ for some byes and make sure I get the cool playmat...lol Thanks!
Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
Not much I can say, other than to please let us know how Rakdos Charm and Melira pan out. I'm not about to knock them until we see what they can do.
EDIT: You may also be able to get away with trimming a Brindle Boar from your sideboard, in case there was something else you wanted to run. My vote goes to a single Krosan Grip, because Tron decks love them some Rule of Law.
Thanks for the reply! Would Beast Within not be good enough for Rule of Law? Brindle Boar is a 4 of as there seems to be a lot of Burn in the area, at least that is what I am seeing.
Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
Nah, nothing wrong wih Beast Within - just thought it would be nice to have one card that answers it that they absolutely, positively can't Remand.
I wouldn't bother making room for K-Grip if you predict a lot of burn, though. Full set of Boars is the right move there.
You value knowledge, logic, and deceit. You love to pursue wisdom but also to manipulate and deceive. At your best, you are brilliant and progressive. At your worst, you are treacherous and cold. Your symbol is a water droplet. Your enemies are green and red.
Maybe even 2/2.
And I've actually been thinking about Melira and how useful she is/can be in the Infect matchup. Unless we side the Ends out, we can't reliably cascade into her, so I'm not sure how good that would be. And even if we side all our Ends out, and Outburst into Melira in response to an attack, either we block, or they punch us pretty hard for like 7 regardless. I suppose the plan is to keep Melira on board and just 'wait' it out until we start casting fatties and they run out of steam with the pumps?
Do we have any other anti-Infect tech/strategy apart from Melira and our choice of Dismember/Sudden Death/Shriekmaw?
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Well, to be honest I think if we live to turn 3 with a violent outburst in hand, we basically win the infect match up unless they have sided in some tech thatll hurt us... I think attacking their main plan via melira doesn't actually hurt infect enough to count as a silver bullet unlike ethersworn cannonist against storm.
Being able to fetch dryad arbor for early blocks on infect can help, along with dismember and shriekmaw being good answers, t-1 dismember slows them down enough to last to turn 3 or 4 alive without any poison, and once again you win if you can cascade into a decent amount of power.
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My god, where have you been? We missed you.
I agree. All Melira really does is "double" our life total against infect. One copy of her will slow them down, but we lose an unacceptable amount of speed by swapping out Living End for her. I say just play the Simian Spirit Guide list if you don't want to die to infect on turn 2. It's not pretty, but it'll do.
Oftentimes, opponents will sit on a Crypt or Relic (happens a lot more often with Relic, since they can just tap it every turn) and wait for you to try and combo out. Additionally, it's important to know that you can hold priority when you cascade. As long as you say "hold priority" or something similar when going to cast Demonic Dread or Violent Outburst, you can fire off your Krosan Grip on top of it before your opponent can respond.
It's also a lot easier to Grip a Relic than a Crypt. They tap it to make you exile a card, and you nail it in response.
PTQ season on MTGO finished and I took a break from the deck, and Modern, for a little bit. Coming back in, looking to shake things out. I'm glad I'm remembered.
Melira does jack here; Replacing Living Ends with a Fog effect will actually do more than Melira does. If Infect is the fear, go with SSG, Dismembers, and Ingot chewers. SSG will do wonders, at the sacrifice of popping Living End for seemingly very little gain, usually 2 MAYBE 3 dudes (c'mon STREET WRAITHS!). The point is wiping them out, at instant speed no less. Played and timed properly, this would always always always blow out Affinity players, and it will hose Infect too.
This is why I posted and asked for feedback Thanks and I will take that in to consideration. I guess the next question is Sudden Death or Dismember? If I have Rakdos Charm for Twin, I don't think I need the split second, agree?
Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
Well, yes and no. If Rakdos Charm becomes your plan, you're already giving in to the possibility of your Twin answer being countered, so the split second tech isn't necessary. Sudden Death is if you want to kill their combo creature without giving them an out, Charm is if you want to win off of their combo but be open to counters, just like Dismember is open to counters.
I feel it's worth mentioning that there are cases where Rakdos Charm may not be able to kill them. If they get smart after the first time they make 1,000,000,000,000,000 tokens and end up taking that much, they can make many fewer copies that are just enough to kill you. In a world of Restoration Angels and Zealous Conscripts, that could be as few as 7 tokens. Even Pestermite only needs 10. Hell, if they have more life than you and you've got no blockers, they can even do it with Deceiver Exarch and Village Bell-Ringer.
Edit: Over the course of typing this post I've come to the conclusion that Rakdos Charm isn't a good idea, especially on MTGO where people don't ever make the infinite tokens 'cause they actually have to go through the motions. If they know we can do it, they can play around it soooo easily. It's just as counterable as Living End but at least that makes it so we can survive until the next turn, minimum. Maaaybe you can side in Charm for game 2 for a surprise win, but you're still relying on your opponent to make the mistake of making 15-20+ tokens (depending on shockland/fetchland damage) when in reality he probably needs a lot less than that. If you win a game 2 with this you'd have to side it back out for game 3, 'cause there's no way they'd make that mistake twice.
Living End Contributor and Enthusiast
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Modern: BRGLiving EndGRB
Legacy: UBGShardless BUGGBU
BRGProssh, Tokenmaker of KherGRB
WURNarset NostalgicRUW
UBR"I like your deck better" JelevaRBU
UBlue BraidsU
GAzusa, Lost but RampingG
WBRAleshacratsBRW
UBRGrixis Pew PewRBU
URGYasova the ThreateningGRU
BGGlissa the ArticiferGB
WUSygg MerfolkUW
RSquee, Value NabobR
Yup. I just don't get the Rakdos Charm love. I've already been able to hose graveyards at will. Just doesn't seem worthy.
4 Verdant Catacombs usually does the trick. For a while I played around with a random Arid Mesa in there; but it's not worth it. The 4 spot for Catacombs gives you enough where you can 1) grab any shock 2) grab any basic, and 3) it's the right amount of the right land.
The deck's manabase is beautiful as it flows and curves so well. If you can land a t1 Fetch, you're pretty much set on what your next drop is. If it's a speed land Blackcleave Cliffs or Copperline Gorge, you've been given as much flexibility as possible to play any spell. The speed lands are wonderful in this deck because their early game duals, and they don't hurt us if they hit past turn 4 (cheap spells/abilities)
I really like this manabase for the deck:
1 Stomping Ground
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Blood Crypt
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Copperline Gorge
2 Forest
2 Swamp
2 Mountain
1 Kessig Wolf-Run
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
ex-Moderator
Legacy love.
In that case, is our plan essentially to hold the Cascades until they tap out/swing with tokens a.k.a. what we generally do against control?
xMage: Jankmaster
Commander - Now Playing
WUBSen Triplets - "If you shake my hand, better count your fingersBUW RHomura, Human AscendantR RGBorborygmos EnragedGR URMelek, Izzet ParagonRU
Commander - Still Brewing
BRGGyrus, Waker of CorpsesGRB URSaheeli, the GiftedRU WRJor Kadeen, the PrevailerRW
So I guess what you all are saying is, the Living End does it anyways, just go for the win that way and don't try to be cute with the Rakdos Charm damage win. I think I am over-thinking things at this point, just can't wait for Saturday...
Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
Glassdust Hulk: Yes, you heard me. Him. I never gave him an honest chance in this deck because I stupidly chose to remember him as a 3/2 or something instead of looking him up again. 3/4 is worthy. W/U isn't as hard to swing in this deck as you'd think (more on this later).
Land Destruction: I've always only been half-in with the idea of Land D to disrupt the opponent. I've run mainboard Fulminators and Beast Withins, played with Avalanche Riders in the past, and even now I'm trying out running 2 Ghost Quarters main. But more decks than you think can handle pressure like that, and Land D certainly isn't a slam dunk against Tron variants. To this end, I've cut Fulminator from the deck entirely. Beast Within is still a part of the mix because of its versatility. Ghost Quarter gets a pass right now because its "free", doesn't really take a spot from anything else, and might do the trick just as well.
Leyline of the Void: I'm kinda sold on running this main. My current build has loaded up 4 from the get go. It often makes Jund Charm and Faerie Macabre look bad. There is almost no downside to it, from what I see.
Without further ado, this is what I've been testing lately...
4 Glassdust Hulk
4 Architects of Will
4 Monstrous Carabid
4 Deadshot Minotaur
4 Street Wraith
4 Simian Spirit Guide
Spells
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Beast Within
Engine
3 Living End
4 Demonic Dread
4 Violent Outburst
4 Arid Mesa
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Blood Crypt
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain
1 Angel's Grace
2 Loaming Shaman
3 Krosan Grip
2 Sudden Death
2 Wispmare
2 Ingot Chewer
3 Ricochet Trap
- Mana base is really where the most changes are. No more Scars block duals. One basic left as a nod to Path to Exile and such. 4th Forbidden Orchard to cover not only the additions of White and Blue to the deck, but the 4th Demonic Dread as well. A Shock Land based system working off of Arid Mesa. If Ghost Quarter falls through, Temple Garden and Godless Shrine will take its place.
- I do not go for landcycling creatures or cycling 2 creatures. My goal is to fill up the yard faster, and spit it out faster (hence why I'm not running much Land D at all), and I can't do that paying 2 to cycle. Decks like Infect and Affinity scoop to you if you can get 2-3 in and out of the yard and shatter their aggro push. Tron decks will stomp you out if you let the game go too long, no matter how many dudes you get into the yard. And then there's yard hate; nothing like losing the last 2 turns of work to a Crypt or Relic.
-Simian Spirit Guide. Want to power out one more cycler? He's your man. Want to power out a turn 2 Beast Within to disrupt your opponent's plans? He's your man. Want to feint tapping out to Violent Outburst at their EOT but still want a red mana to pop off a Ricochet Trap if you have to? He's your man. I've even cast the ****er in some desperate, DESPERATE situations.
- 1 Angel's Grace in the side because **** YOU HIVE MIND. It breaks my heart, but I'm cutting back on Ingot Chewer to make room for Wispmare. Rest is Peace is a thing, bro. Grip is a good all arounder, with backup from Sudden Death to help with the Splinter Twin match up. 2 Loaming Shamans right now where I would've had 2 Bridle Boars or something. Loaming Shaman saves the day in any game that goes long. He allows you to repeatedly wipe away a board, something that may often make a huge difference. I'd bring him in against counter heavy decks (as you can fire off and worry not; even if they counter it, you'll get it back), aggro (keep trying to drop dudes, I'll keep wiping), and generally anything that outlast me through 5 turns or more without me already being dead (Burn, Storm, Hive Mind, etc.).
- I do miss Faerie Macabre and Jund Charm sometimes.
Wow, that is radical to say the least. Wish I could test it in time for the weekend, but I have been practising with my build for months on end, so "dance with the girl you take to the prom" I would say. Have to try this out for future FNM's at my FLGS. I am going to the GP pre-game stuff (last chance byes, etc.) and what I see there will tell me what to do with my sideboard I think. Thanks for all your help and I will put out a tourney report early next week. Thanks again people!
Decks I am playing:
taking suggestions (Legacy)
Elf Company GW (Modern)
Abbot Aggro R (Standard)
Maralen of the Mornsong B(Commander)
I like. When trying to get a feel for the pace of the deck initially, I often felt the yard just doesn't fill up fast enough. The difference between cycling for 1 and 2 is huge from the get go.
I like the ability to splash in white and blue, makes architect that much more powerful with the hulk, if there were more efficient blue and white cyclers or utility cards i'd love that, with a higher blue focus you can run dispels side board instead of ricochet trap... has the benefit of being able to stop more than counters in a pinch.
Tell me how it works out!
EDH: Borborygmos Enraged, Sedris, The Traitor King
60 Card: Grixis Delver, Living End, Shardless BUG, Ninjas