Going to a PTQ saturday, have no budget constraints, what's the best deck to pick up and play this week in a meta of UWR, jund, and hexproof?
I would say Junk Reanimator. It is highly versatile. My meta mostly consists of the same (with me representing UWR the past few weeks) and Reanimator makes 3 of the top 4 every week (with the other being Jund).
Going to a PTQ saturday, have no budget constraints, what's the best deck to pick up and play this week in a meta of UWR, jund, and hexproof?
Jund. It has the answers to everything, my groups gauntlet testing brought jund out on top by a wide margin. I'm not sure what tech you want to bring in against the mirror but you have the board to beat hexproof and just generally are a headache for control.
I wanna win game day at my lgs. The meta is very diverse, with no clear deck the strongest. It will be the first standard deck I construct. Also, I can't buy cards, only trade (generally not a problem because there are so many people). My best standard cards are likely my 2 lili otvs, my 3 deathrite shaman and my 2 botos reckoners.
I'd like to stay 2 color, if possible. I have no specifically preferred play style.
I wanna win game day at my lgs. The meta is very diverse, with no clear deck the strongest. It will be the first standard deck I construct. Also, I can't buy cards, only trade (generally not a problem because there are so many people). My best standard cards are likely my 2 lili otvs, my 3 deathrite shaman and my 2 botos reckoners.
I'd like to stay 2 color, if possible. I have no specifically preferred play style.
Any ideas?
If you can, build Jund. It's the best deck right now. It has no great matchups but it has no real weak ones now either. Before Junk Rites was a bad matchup but with ooze in standard now, jund has adapted (like any best deck).
If you cannot afford Jund, I would recommend building RG Aggro with burning trees and hellrider. It is super fast but has some consistency issues. Still tier 1 however.
If you can, build Jund. It's the best deck right now. It has no great matchups but it has no real weak ones now either. Before Junk Rites was a bad matchup but with ooze in standard now, jund has adapted (like any best deck).
If you cannot afford Jund, I would recommend building RG Aggro with burning trees and hellrider. It is super fast but has some consistency issues. Still tier 1 however.
The problem with jund is the manabase. It's tough to get the shocks/innistrad duals required. Those two decks are the ones I've been tossing up. Could a well-built gruul aggro take home the playmat?
Hi, so I'm looking for a Standard deck to play. I haven't really played that much Standard (mostly EDH), but I'm starting to get into it. I'd like a deck that's reasonably budget, as I don't have all that much money to spend on it, and very fun a little bit quirky. Power is less of a concern for me, as long as it doesn't lose every game it plays. I don't plan to take it to any seriously competitive tournaments, just casual play and FNMs and the like. It would also be nice if some crucial part of it isn't going to rotate away with Theros block. To give you an idea of what I'm looking for, a Splinterfright kinda deck would be perfect for me were it not about to rotate in a month or so. Any suggestions?
WARNING: This ended up being a very long post, so I stuck it behind spoilers for viewing purposes + convenience to others reading the thread. I'd appreciate anyone willing to take the time to help out with my inquiry. Thanks in advance.
Alrighty, I've been going back and forth and back and forth on deck iterations, "theorycrafting," all sorts of junk and not jumped into the proper full on testing level 'cause I'm somewhat scared or afraid of the investment*. Which is odd, 'cause to be honest, I don't have a budget (I'm slowly piecing together a Voice of Resurgence playset, for example)... but I digress?
* I am not spending any money on Innistrad Block or Magic 2013 cards. I am only focused on Return To Ravnica Block, Magic 2014, and going forward on. *
So I want to build a deck to take to these weekly Sunday Type II / Standard tournaments. I guess they are FNM equivalent*, but I haven't been to one yet -- very relevant to the dilemma, 'cause I don't know the metagame, but that's not my actual issue. For the most part, I just wanna play and have fun and win... having fun is most important, but winning is a big enough deal to me to "wanna try harder" (note: 'placing' in Top 8 is acceptable to me, even if I bottom out there).
* The last tournament of every month, top prize is a booster box. Not sure if this is common / usual. *
Anyway, so I have been going back and forth on coming up with my own decklists, or seeing random ideas of decklists on the forums, and I've basically come down to (or commonly messed around with) -SEVEN- different decks. As noted before, I have not even considered snagging any cards before Return To Ravnica Block -- (not posting in the Competitive section, I believe) -- and would rather not do so.
That all said... these are the ideas / lists I've been messing around with:
> I feel like I'm really wanting a Control deck, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing that with White + Blue being my favorite color combinations or not, it's weird?
> Whenever I come up with a deck idea / list / anything, I try to make sure there are "at least three" roads to victory. (Example 1: combat damage, noncombat damage, decking / milling. Example 2: AEtherling unblockable, Jace, Memory Adept 0 mill ability, Assemble the Legion overwhelming / overruning somehow?)
> I intimidate myself, mostly, but everyone / everything always indicates that the current state of Standard is just way too fast for most decks. While I'd love to "prove this wrong," I'm afraid of investing in a deck that can't stay alive for the first six turns. (Losing on the 7th turn is okay, though... in a weird way...)
> My favorite / "best" deck ever was around Invasion Block (... yeah), a U/G/b deck with lots of bounce, control, and answers to stuffs. Above all, it had "draw power." I feel uncomfortable with a deck that is purely luck of the draw gaming, where I have no way of controlling what I get next and or how fast I get it.
> My favorite Ravnica guild is Azorius. Runner-up is Boros. Honorable mention to Orzhov.
"IN CONCLUSION"
I'm not looking to build the cheapest deck ever, as I mentioned, there isn't really a budget. Just "criteria," so to speak. But with that in mind, I have maybe half of the cards (or more) for just about each one of the above decks. Maybe not playsets, but at least 1-ofs or 2-ofs. That said, this means once I pick a direction, the rest are all becoming trade fodder to funnel into the main idea I go with.
So, any tips, help, advice, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated!! The deck ideas are 'kinda sorta maybe' listed in order from ones I like or favor the most to the least, but then again, I haven't dived head first into any of them yet, still, so I'm not 100% confident in any single one yet (or have 100% faith in it accomplishing all I want it to)... just... not the cost of investment holding me back with worries, but the time or effort of the investment itself.
Either way, that's all I've got to say. Thanks in advance!
WARNING: This ended up being a very long post, so I stuck it behind spoilers for viewing purposes + convenience to others reading the thread. I'd appreciate anyone willing to take the time to help out with my inquiry. Thanks in advance.
Alrighty, I've been going back and forth and back and forth on deck iterations, "theorycrafting," all sorts of junk and not jumped into the proper full on testing level 'cause I'm somewhat scared or afraid of the investment*. Which is odd, 'cause to be honest, I don't have a budget (I'm slowly piecing together a Voice of Resurgence playset, for example)... but I digress?
* I am not spending any money on Innistrad Block or Magic 2013 cards. I am only focused on Return To Ravnica Block, Magic 2014, and going forward on. *
So I want to build a deck to take to these weekly Sunday Type II / Standard tournaments. I guess they are FNM equivalent*, but I haven't been to one yet -- very relevant to the dilemma, 'cause I don't know the metagame, but that's not my actual issue. For the most part, I just wanna play and have fun and win... having fun is most important, but winning is a big enough deal to me to "wanna try harder" (note: 'placing' in Top 8 is acceptable to me, even if I bottom out there).
* The last tournament of every month, top prize is a booster box. Not sure if this is common / usual. *
Anyway, so I have been going back and forth on coming up with my own decklists, or seeing random ideas of decklists on the forums, and I've basically come down to (or commonly messed around with) -SEVEN- different decks. As noted before, I have not even considered snagging any cards before Return To Ravnica Block -- (not posting in the Competitive section, I believe) -- and would rather not do so.
That all said... these are the ideas / lists I've been messing around with:
> I feel like I'm really wanting a Control deck, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing that with White + Blue being my favorite color combinations or not, it's weird?
> Whenever I come up with a deck idea / list / anything, I try to make sure there are "at least three" roads to victory. (Example 1: combat damage, noncombat damage, decking / milling. Example 2: AEtherling unblockable, Jace, Memory Adept 0 mill ability, Assemble the Legion overwhelming / overruning somehow?)
> I intimidate myself, mostly, but everyone / everything always indicates that the current state of Standard is just way too fast for most decks. While I'd love to "prove this wrong," I'm afraid of investing in a deck that can't stay alive for the first six turns. (Losing on the 7th turn is okay, though... in a weird way...)
> My favorite / "best" deck ever was around Invasion Block (... yeah), a U/G/b deck with lots of bounce, control, and answers to stuffs. Above all, it had "draw power." I feel uncomfortable with a deck that is purely luck of the draw gaming, where I have no way of controlling what I get next and or how fast I get it.
> My favorite Ravnica guild is Azorius. Runner-up is Boros. Honorable mention to Orzhov.
"IN CONCLUSION"
I'm not looking to build the cheapest deck ever, as I mentioned, there isn't really a budget. Just "criteria," so to speak. But with that in mind, I have maybe half of the cards (or more) for just about each one of the above decks. Maybe not playsets, but at least 1-ofs or 2-ofs. That said, this means once I pick a direction, the rest are all becoming trade fodder to funnel into the main idea I go with.
So, any tips, help, advice, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated!! The deck ideas are 'kinda sorta maybe' listed in order from ones I like or favor the most to the least, but then again, I haven't dived head first into any of them yet, still, so I'm not 100% confident in any single one yet (or have 100% faith in it accomplishing all I want it to)... just... not the cost of investment holding me back with worries, but the time or effort of the investment itself.
Either way, that's all I've got to say. Thanks in advance!
Play Esper. Three roads to victory (AEtherling, Drownyard, Jace MA out the board), your favorite guilds, great matchups against everything but Jund, almost all RTR block cards. Try building my sigged list.
I played a good bit back in college (04-09) then lost track of M:tG until recently. I'm trying to get back into it. Most of my cardboard is from the first Ravnica block, so I have a decent assortment of piecemeal Shock Lands, but mostly I played Blue, Black, White with splashes of green. Ohrzov and Azurious were my go-to guys.
I'd like to throw something together to start playing at a new local shop that just opened up. They'll be doing *unofficial* Standard FNM for a few weeks, then transitioning to *Official* FNM once they have all of their ducks in a row.
Anyway, I'm looking to get back into standard for a reasonable cost. I have a handful of Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a Breeding Pool or two floating around (all original Rav too ^_^). I've been playing casually with a couple of guys from work and have an extort deck that I've roughed in... but I don't think that the Phyrexian Reclamations, Oblivion Rings, and Phyrexian Arenas that I have chilling in there would exactly be Legal in the tourny nights. I've done some research and I'm really liking both the normal BWR and the BWG Aristocrats variants.
So, I guess what I'm asking is... Which direction would you guys point me for a deck to invest in that will still be worth playing post-rotation? Again, BW is home for me. I love a good control deck, but can play aggro pretty decently. Budget isn't a TERRIBLE constraint as I work a decent 9-5 and have some side cash coming in, but I'm also saving up for a down payment on a house, so I'd rather not shell out $400+ on a deck that will be done in 2 months.
****************
TL;DR
Deck that would be buildable now, but still functional post rotation.
Have Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a couple of other singles of shock lands floating around.
I like Junk Aristocrats... but worry about post-rotation viability since most of the deck rotates.
Would like to stay under a reasonable budget. Preferably under $100 before mana base, but flexible.
I played a good bit back in college (04-09) then lost track of M:tG until recently. I'm trying to get back into it. Most of my cardboard is from the first Ravnica block, so I have a decent assortment of piecemeal Shock Lands, but mostly I played Blue, Black, White with splashes of green. Ohrzov and Azurious were my go-to guys.
I'd like to throw something together to start playing at a new local shop that just opened up. They'll be doing *unofficial* Standard FNM for a few weeks, then transitioning to *Official* FNM once they have all of their ducks in a row.
Anyway, I'm looking to get back into standard for a reasonable cost. I have a handful of Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a Breeding Pool or two floating around (all original Rav too ^_^). I've been playing casually with a couple of guys from work and have an extort deck that I've roughed in... but I don't think that the Phyrexian Reclamations, Oblivion Rings, and Phyrexian Arenas that I have chilling in there would exactly be Legal in the tourny nights. I've done some research and I'm really liking both the normal BWR and the BWG Aristocrats variants.
So, I guess what I'm asking is... Which direction would you guys point me for a deck to invest in that will still be worth playing post-rotation? Again, BW is home for me. I love a good control deck, but can play aggro pretty decently. Budget isn't a TERRIBLE constraint as I work a decent 9-5 and have some side cash coming in, but I'm also saving up for a down payment on a house, so I'd rather not shell out $400+ on a deck that will be done in 2 months.
****************
TL;DR
Deck that would be buildable now, but still functional post rotation.
Have Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a couple of other singles of shock lands floating around.
I like Junk Aristocrats... but worry about post-rotation viability since most of the deck rotates.
Would like to stay under a reasonable budget. Preferably under $100 before mana base, but flexible.
Thanks for suggestions!!!
There's a BW Human deck that just won a standard open recently by AJ Sacher.
EDIT: I would look into the block decks from PT Dragon's Maze if you need help deciding on a deck for post rotation, but for now I would pick BW Humans or some red aggro deck with mutavaults.
I played a good bit back in college (04-09) then lost track of M:tG until recently. I'm trying to get back into it. Most of my cardboard is from the first Ravnica block, so I have a decent assortment of piecemeal Shock Lands, but mostly I played Blue, Black, White with splashes of green. Ohrzov and Azurious were my go-to guys.
I'd like to throw something together to start playing at a new local shop that just opened up. They'll be doing *unofficial* Standard FNM for a few weeks, then transitioning to *Official* FNM once they have all of their ducks in a row.
Anyway, I'm looking to get back into standard for a reasonable cost. I have a handful of Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a Breeding Pool or two floating around (all original Rav too ^_^). I've been playing casually with a couple of guys from work and have an extort deck that I've roughed in... but I don't think that the Phyrexian Reclamations, Oblivion Rings, and Phyrexian Arenas that I have chilling in there would exactly be Legal in the tourny nights. I've done some research and I'm really liking both the normal BWR and the BWG Aristocrats variants.
So, I guess what I'm asking is... Which direction would you guys point me for a deck to invest in that will still be worth playing post-rotation? Again, BW is home for me. I love a good control deck, but can play aggro pretty decently. Budget isn't a TERRIBLE constraint as I work a decent 9-5 and have some side cash coming in, but I'm also saving up for a down payment on a house, so I'd rather not shell out $400+ on a deck that will be done in 2 months.
****************
TL;DR
Deck that would be buildable now, but still functional post rotation.
Have Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a couple of other singles of shock lands floating around.
I like Junk Aristocrats... but worry about post-rotation viability since most of the deck rotates.
Would like to stay under a reasonable budget. Preferably under $100 before mana base, but flexible.
Thanks for suggestions!!!
The two current decks that will keep the most after rotation are Red based aggro decks and UW based control decks.
Those are the two dominant decks in the block format, and both are contenders in Standard.
It sounds like UW would be a better fit for you, of course.
WARNING: This ended up being a very long post, so I stuck it behind spoilers for viewing purposes + convenience to others reading the thread. I'd appreciate anyone willing to take the time to help out with my inquiry. Thanks in advance.
Alrighty, I've been going back and forth and back and forth on deck iterations, "theorycrafting," all sorts of junk and not jumped into the proper full on testing level 'cause I'm somewhat scared or afraid of the investment*. Which is odd, 'cause to be honest, I don't have a budget (I'm slowly piecing together a Voice of Resurgence playset, for example)... but I digress?
* I am not spending any money on Innistrad Block or Magic 2013 cards. I am only focused on Return To Ravnica Block, Magic 2014, and going forward on. *
So I want to build a deck to take to these weekly Sunday Type II / Standard tournaments. I guess they are FNM equivalent*, but I haven't been to one yet -- very relevant to the dilemma, 'cause I don't know the metagame, but that's not my actual issue. For the most part, I just wanna play and have fun and win... having fun is most important, but winning is a big enough deal to me to "wanna try harder" (note: 'placing' in Top 8 is acceptable to me, even if I bottom out there).
* The last tournament of every month, top prize is a booster box. Not sure if this is common / usual. *
Anyway, so I have been going back and forth on coming up with my own decklists, or seeing random ideas of decklists on the forums, and I've basically come down to (or commonly messed around with) -SEVEN- different decks. As noted before, I have not even considered snagging any cards before Return To Ravnica Block -- (not posting in the Competitive section, I believe) -- and would rather not do so.
That all said... these are the ideas / lists I've been messing around with:
> I feel like I'm really wanting a Control deck, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing that with White + Blue being my favorite color combinations or not, it's weird?
> Whenever I come up with a deck idea / list / anything, I try to make sure there are "at least three" roads to victory. (Example 1: combat damage, noncombat damage, decking / milling. Example 2: AEtherling unblockable, Jace, Memory Adept 0 mill ability, Assemble the Legion overwhelming / overruning somehow?)
> I intimidate myself, mostly, but everyone / everything always indicates that the current state of Standard is just way too fast for most decks. While I'd love to "prove this wrong," I'm afraid of investing in a deck that can't stay alive for the first six turns. (Losing on the 7th turn is okay, though... in a weird way...)
> My favorite / "best" deck ever was around Invasion Block (... yeah), a U/G/b deck with lots of bounce, control, and answers to stuffs. Above all, it had "draw power." I feel uncomfortable with a deck that is purely luck of the draw gaming, where I have no way of controlling what I get next and or how fast I get it.
> My favorite Ravnica guild is Azorius. Runner-up is Boros. Honorable mention to Orzhov.
"IN CONCLUSION"
I'm not looking to build the cheapest deck ever, as I mentioned, there isn't really a budget. Just "criteria," so to speak. But with that in mind, I have maybe half of the cards (or more) for just about each one of the above decks. Maybe not playsets, but at least 1-ofs or 2-ofs. That said, this means once I pick a direction, the rest are all becoming trade fodder to funnel into the main idea I go with.
So, any tips, help, advice, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated!! The deck ideas are 'kinda sorta maybe' listed in order from ones I like or favor the most to the least, but then again, I haven't dived head first into any of them yet, still, so I'm not 100% confident in any single one yet (or have 100% faith in it accomplishing all I want it to)... just... not the cost of investment holding me back with worries, but the time or effort of the investment itself.
Either way, that's all I've got to say. Thanks in advance!
Bant Enchant can't be done without Invisible Stalker. It's your number one win condition. The number 2 win con is just Geist of Saint Traft with Spectral Flight.
Jund can't be done without Thrag, Olivia, Huntmaster. They are all key cogs in the deck, unless you want to try Jund "Aggro," which needs other pieces like Falkenrath Aristocrat.
Some of those decks are not competitive. I would check the competitive forum here to find out what's doing well. You can also check somewhere on TCGPlayer.com I believe.
I would follow others' advice here and go in on RDW with Burning Earth or a UW control variant.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
My card shop happens to have lots of control decks -- UWr, Esper, Grixis, etc. basically lots of counterspells and sphinx's revs all about. What is the best deck in a control heavy meta? I play Jund Midrange right now (Thragtusk, Olivia, bunch of removal, etc.), but I haven't played against control with it yet, and not sure if I'm disadvantaged.
Also I need help with Sideboarding. What cards are good agaist control?
I would like to seek the advice of you, Standard players.
I wish to start organizing a control deck for post rotation. I'm a budget player, so I want to try and pick up the staple cards for my decided colours before they go up. I'm not really able to pick up 12 shocklands, but I'm likely to order 4 shocklands soon. I was thinking to get 4 Watery Grave, because it's what they have in stock and it's $8.50 USD each; cheaper than Hallowed Fountain and Godless Shrine. I also heard that Watery Grave is going to shoot up in price soon, though I can't remember what card(s) is/are causing this.
I need to decide between Bant, Esper, and Grixis.
I heard that Esper is getting a significant buff in Theros. I need some advice though; Which is the best choice? Which colours lend themselves best to an Aetherling as a win condition?
I would like to seek the advice of you, Standard players.
I wish to start organizing a control deck for post rotation. I'm a budget player, so I want to try and pick up the staple cards for my decided colours before they go up. I'm not really able to pick up 12 shocklands, but I'm likely to order 4 shocklands soon. I was thinking to get 4 Watery Grave, because it's what they have in stock and it's $8.50 USD each; cheaper than Hallowed Fountain and Godless Shrine. I also heard that Watery Grave is going to shoot up in price soon, though I can't remember what card(s) is/are causing this.
I need to decide between Bant, Esper, and Grixis.
I heard that Esper is getting a significant buff in Theros. I need some advice though; Which is the best choice? Which colours lend themselves best to an Aetherling as a win condition?
Anyway, after I get some advice I'll compile a list of some staples to pick up. Thank you.
I think Esper is the way to go.
I am also building Esper for post rotation and right off the bat my advice would be to use Blood Baron in the sideboard. Unless you are playing against a black or white deck, he is not that good. For the deck itself I would pick up two Obzedat, Ghost Council and three Sphinx's Revelation Sphinx's Revelation is one of the best cards for control period. So for esper shockwise, I would pick up a playset of Watery Grave, Hallowed Fountain and Godless Shrine. Hallowed Fountain may be expensive, but it is totally worth it. Also, I would suggest picking up two Jace, Architect of Thought OR two Jace, Memory Adept. Depending on what kind of deck you want to build. Personally, I feel that Mutavault isnt that great in Esper Control. I like Encroaching Wastes much more as a control land. You may want some of those. Also, I think you should check out the Esper Control thread under Established (Standard)
Abput the budget thing, I also play on a budget, I pretty much Trade for everything. The shocks are expensive and so are a lot of control staples, but in one FNM I can often pick up half of a deck!
Funny story about Obzedat: In 2006 when I played Yugioh and was 10 or so, I went to the Coldsnap prerelease. Not knowing how to play MTG, I lost all my games. The cards from that prerelease were sitting in a box until quite recently. Anyway, I had a Foil Counterbalance; sadly it was very damaged, but I managed to trade it in for 2 Obzedat which I was quite pleased with.
I've found a website that offers shipping to my country that also has cheap Shocklands. I was advised to sideboard some Jace, Memory Adept and rotate them in in a mirror match against another Control deck.
I'll see if I can pick up some Sphinx's Revelation; I just found a person selling it for $18 NZD which is rather cheap. I also like Encroaching Wastes, as it's a cheaper option and allows me to get rid of utility lands. Thanks for your help.
Please excuse the double post, but watching the Magic Cup Unified Team Standard, I'm really liking the look of Stanislav Cifka's UB Control deck.
As I'm more of a budget player, I feel that a 2 colour deck is more applicable to me and helps me save money with only 4 shocklands instead of 12. While it does have drawbacks, I like how it has more targeted removal than UW. I'm trying to find a decklist as I post this, will edit if I find one.
Please excuse the double post, but watching the Magic Cup Unified Team Standard, I'm really liking the look of Stanislav Cifka's UB Control deck.
As I'm more of a budget player, I feel that a 2 colour deck is more applicable to me and helps me save money with only 4 shocklands instead of 12. While it does have drawbacks, I like how it has more targeted removal than UW. I'm trying to find a decklist as I post this, will edit if I find one.
The toughest part is the loss of Sphinx's Revelation. It is THE card in the mirror and great in every other matchup as well.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
Thats all good, UW is pretty fun, I wouldn't worry about Snapcaster and Geist, they are very expensive and may not be the best economic decision considering the impending rotation
I agree, it's incredibly strong and the results are noticeable when I play against it currently. However, I wouldn't be able to afford any if they stick around at the current price, so I would be unlikely to run it in the first place. I believe it may be viable for me to stockpile some strong Esper cards as I come across them for post rotation, and develop my UB and then change it into full on Esper when I am able to do so viably.
Thank you. If there is anything else you can add to help me, I would appreciate it very much, as I'm about to order some cards off a webstore. On that note, does anyone have Stanislav Cifka's UB control decklist? I've done some searching but I can't find it.
E: Thank you to TGA too. While both cards will probably retain some portion of their prior value for Modern decks, especially Snapcaster (Love that card), they lose their standard playabillity, and that's what is relevant to me at this time.
I agree, it's incredibly strong and the results are noticeable when I play against it currently. However, I wouldn't be able to afford any if they stick around at the current price, so I would be unlikely to run it in the first place. I believe it may be viable for me to stockpile some strong Esper cards as I come across them for post rotation, and develop my UB and then change it into full on Esper when I am able to do so viably.
I am doing the exact same thing at the moment.
Stanislav's Decklist
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but this is his world cup DL
Thank you, it's still a good base. I was looking for the Team Unified Standard decklist, the one where he runs a bunch of targeted removal and I think I saw Essence Scatter in there too.
Edit: I found the list, and the top 8 Team Unified Standard lists.
I would say Junk Reanimator. It is highly versatile. My meta mostly consists of the same (with me representing UWR the past few weeks) and Reanimator makes 3 of the top 4 every week (with the other being Jund).
Jund. It has the answers to everything, my groups gauntlet testing brought jund out on top by a wide margin. I'm not sure what tech you want to bring in against the mirror but you have the board to beat hexproof and just generally are a headache for control.
I'd like to stay 2 color, if possible. I have no specifically preferred play style.
Any ideas?
If you can, build Jund. It's the best deck right now. It has no great matchups but it has no real weak ones now either. Before Junk Rites was a bad matchup but with ooze in standard now, jund has adapted (like any best deck).
If you cannot afford Jund, I would recommend building RG Aggro with burning trees and hellrider. It is super fast but has some consistency issues. Still tier 1 however.
(246-174-26)
The problem with jund is the manabase. It's tough to get the shocks/innistrad duals required. Those two decks are the ones I've been tossing up. Could a well-built gruul aggro take home the playmat?
Most definitely. Just take a look at the most recent finishes.
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck_search_result.asp?deck_name=Gruul%20Aggro&Format=Type+II&latestset=DGM
(246-174-26)
* I am not spending any money on Innistrad Block or Magic 2013 cards. I am only focused on Return To Ravnica Block, Magic 2014, and going forward on. *
So I want to build a deck to take to these weekly Sunday Type II / Standard tournaments. I guess they are FNM equivalent*, but I haven't been to one yet -- very relevant to the dilemma, 'cause I don't know the metagame, but that's not my actual issue. For the most part, I just wanna play and have fun and win... having fun is most important, but winning is a big enough deal to me to "wanna try harder" (note: 'placing' in Top 8 is acceptable to me, even if I bottom out there).
* The last tournament of every month, top prize is a booster box. Not sure if this is common / usual. *
Anyway, so I have been going back and forth on coming up with my own decklists, or seeing random ideas of decklists on the forums, and I've basically come down to (or commonly messed around with) -SEVEN- different decks. As noted before, I have not even considered snagging any cards before Return To Ravnica Block -- (not posting in the Competitive section, I believe) -- and would rather not do so.
That all said... these are the ideas / lists I've been messing around with:
[1] W/U/r Control
-- wincons: AEtherling + Jace, Memory Adept + Assemble the Legion ?
[2] Selesnya Auras (W/G)
-- wincons: (Hexproof + Auras) + Voice of Resurgence ? + Unflinching Courage ?
[3] Maze's End (W/U/b/r/G)
-- wincons: Maze's End + Crackling Perimeter + Jace, Memory Adept ?
[4] Jund ... Something? (B/r/G)
-- wincons: (Sire of Insanity + Shrieking Affliction) + Deathrite Shaman ? + Vraska the Unseen ?
( ~ lots of removal like Dreadbore, Putrefy, Abrupt Decay, etc. ~ )
[5] Orzhov Life Drain (W/B)
-- wincons: (Tenacious Dead, with...) + Gnawing Zombie + Angelic Accord + Bubbling Cauldron
[6] Izzet Aggro? Midrange? Tempo??? (U/R)
-- wincons: Nivix Cyclops + Disperse / Cyclonic Rift + ... Jace, Memory Adept ?
( ~ maybe my least thought out design, though, if not the next one ~ )
[7] Defender Mill Thing (U/b/r/G)
-- wincons: Axebane Guardian + Doorkeeper + Psychic Spiral + Rakdos's Return ?
Some stuff I "think" I know about myself:
> I feel like I'm really wanting a Control deck, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing that with White + Blue being my favorite color combinations or not, it's weird?
> Whenever I come up with a deck idea / list / anything, I try to make sure there are "at least three" roads to victory. (Example 1: combat damage, noncombat damage, decking / milling. Example 2: AEtherling unblockable, Jace, Memory Adept 0 mill ability, Assemble the Legion overwhelming / overruning somehow?)
> I intimidate myself, mostly, but everyone / everything always indicates that the current state of Standard is just way too fast for most decks. While I'd love to "prove this wrong," I'm afraid of investing in a deck that can't stay alive for the first six turns. (Losing on the 7th turn is okay, though... in a weird way...)
> My favorite / "best" deck ever was around Invasion Block (... yeah), a U/G/b deck with lots of bounce, control, and answers to stuffs. Above all, it had "draw power." I feel uncomfortable with a deck that is purely luck of the draw gaming, where I have no way of controlling what I get next and or how fast I get it.
> My favorite Ravnica guild is Azorius. Runner-up is Boros. Honorable mention to Orzhov.
"IN CONCLUSION"
I'm not looking to build the cheapest deck ever, as I mentioned, there isn't really a budget. Just "criteria," so to speak. But with that in mind, I have maybe half of the cards (or more) for just about each one of the above decks. Maybe not playsets, but at least 1-ofs or 2-ofs. That said, this means once I pick a direction, the rest are all becoming trade fodder to funnel into the main idea I go with.
Either way, that's all I've got to say. Thanks in advance!
Play Esper. Three roads to victory (AEtherling, Drownyard, Jace MA out the board), your favorite guilds, great matchups against everything but Jund, almost all RTR block cards. Try building my sigged list.
Sig by Ace of Spades studio at http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=451747
I'm a child playing an adult's card game.
Esper CONTROL: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=10441008&postcount=239
I'm a Rules Advisor. Woo-hoo.
Gamer's Armory in Raleigh, NC. Best bad store ever.
I played a good bit back in college (04-09) then lost track of M:tG until recently. I'm trying to get back into it. Most of my cardboard is from the first Ravnica block, so I have a decent assortment of piecemeal Shock Lands, but mostly I played Blue, Black, White with splashes of green. Ohrzov and Azurious were my go-to guys.
I'd like to throw something together to start playing at a new local shop that just opened up. They'll be doing *unofficial* Standard FNM for a few weeks, then transitioning to *Official* FNM once they have all of their ducks in a row.
Anyway, I'm looking to get back into standard for a reasonable cost. I have a handful of Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a Breeding Pool or two floating around (all original Rav too ^_^). I've been playing casually with a couple of guys from work and have an extort deck that I've roughed in... but I don't think that the Phyrexian Reclamations, Oblivion Rings, and Phyrexian Arenas that I have chilling in there would exactly be Legal in the tourny nights. I've done some research and I'm really liking both the normal BWR and the BWG Aristocrats variants.
So, I guess what I'm asking is... Which direction would you guys point me for a deck to invest in that will still be worth playing post-rotation? Again, BW is home for me. I love a good control deck, but can play aggro pretty decently. Budget isn't a TERRIBLE constraint as I work a decent 9-5 and have some side cash coming in, but I'm also saving up for a down payment on a house, so I'd rather not shell out $400+ on a deck that will be done in 2 months.
****************
TL;DR
Deck that would be buildable now, but still functional post rotation.
Have Godless Shrines, Hallowed Fountains, Temple Gardens, and a couple of other singles of shock lands floating around.
I like Junk Aristocrats... but worry about post-rotation viability since most of the deck rotates.
Would like to stay under a reasonable budget. Preferably under $100 before mana base, but flexible.
Thanks for suggestions!!!
There's a BW Human deck that just won a standard open recently by AJ Sacher.
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1143231
Hope this helps.
EDIT: I would look into the block decks from PT Dragon's Maze if you need help deciding on a deck for post rotation, but for now I would pick BW Humans or some red aggro deck with mutavaults.
(246-174-26)
The two current decks that will keep the most after rotation are Red based aggro decks and UW based control decks.
Those are the two dominant decks in the block format, and both are contenders in Standard.
It sounds like UW would be a better fit for you, of course.
Bant Enchant can't be done without Invisible Stalker. It's your number one win condition. The number 2 win con is just Geist of Saint Traft with Spectral Flight.
Jund can't be done without Thrag, Olivia, Huntmaster. They are all key cogs in the deck, unless you want to try Jund "Aggro," which needs other pieces like Falkenrath Aristocrat.
Some of those decks are not competitive. I would check the competitive forum here to find out what's doing well. You can also check somewhere on TCGPlayer.com I believe.
I would follow others' advice here and go in on RDW with Burning Earth or a UW control variant.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Also I need help with Sideboarding. What cards are good agaist control?
I wish to start organizing a control deck for post rotation. I'm a budget player, so I want to try and pick up the staple cards for my decided colours before they go up. I'm not really able to pick up 12 shocklands, but I'm likely to order 4 shocklands soon. I was thinking to get 4 Watery Grave, because it's what they have in stock and it's $8.50 USD each; cheaper than Hallowed Fountain and Godless Shrine. I also heard that Watery Grave is going to shoot up in price soon, though I can't remember what card(s) is/are causing this.
I need to decide between Bant, Esper, and Grixis.
I heard that Esper is getting a significant buff in Theros. I need some advice though; Which is the best choice? Which colours lend themselves best to an Aetherling as a win condition?
I'm fortunate enough to have 2 Aetherlings, and would like to try out Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker as a budget version of Blood Baron of Vizkopa.
Anyway, after I get some advice I'll compile a list of some staples to pick up. Thank you.
I think Esper is the way to go.
I am also building Esper for post rotation and right off the bat my advice would be to use Blood Baron in the sideboard. Unless you are playing against a black or white deck, he is not that good. For the deck itself I would pick up two Obzedat, Ghost Council and three Sphinx's Revelation Sphinx's Revelation is one of the best cards for control period. So for esper shockwise, I would pick up a playset of Watery Grave, Hallowed Fountain and Godless Shrine. Hallowed Fountain may be expensive, but it is totally worth it. Also, I would suggest picking up two Jace, Architect of Thought OR two Jace, Memory Adept. Depending on what kind of deck you want to build. Personally, I feel that Mutavault isnt that great in Esper Control. I like Encroaching Wastes much more as a control land. You may want some of those. Also, I think you should check out the Esper Control thread under Established (Standard)
Abput the budget thing, I also play on a budget, I pretty much Trade for everything. The shocks are expensive and so are a lot of control staples, but in one FNM I can often pick up half of a deck!
Hope this helps!
Signature and Avatar by Inkfox Aesthetics
Funny story about Obzedat: In 2006 when I played Yugioh and was 10 or so, I went to the Coldsnap prerelease. Not knowing how to play MTG, I lost all my games. The cards from that prerelease were sitting in a box until quite recently. Anyway, I had a Foil Counterbalance; sadly it was very damaged, but I managed to trade it in for 2 Obzedat which I was quite pleased with.
I've found a website that offers shipping to my country that also has cheap Shocklands. I was advised to sideboard some Jace, Memory Adept and rotate them in in a mirror match against another Control deck.
I'll see if I can pick up some Sphinx's Revelation; I just found a person selling it for $18 NZD which is rather cheap. I also like Encroaching Wastes, as it's a cheaper option and allows me to get rid of utility lands. Thanks for your help.
As I'm more of a budget player, I feel that a 2 colour deck is more applicable to me and helps me save money with only 4 shocklands instead of 12. While it does have drawbacks, I like how it has more targeted removal than UW. I'm trying to find a decklist as I post this, will edit if I find one.
The toughest part is the loss of Sphinx's Revelation. It is THE card in the mirror and great in every other matchup as well.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Signature and Avatar by Inkfox Aesthetics
Thank you. If there is anything else you can add to help me, I would appreciate it very much, as I'm about to order some cards off a webstore. On that note, does anyone have Stanislav Cifka's UB control decklist? I've done some searching but I can't find it.
E: Thank you to TGA too. While both cards will probably retain some portion of their prior value for Modern decks, especially Snapcaster (Love that card), they lose their standard playabillity, and that's what is relevant to me at this time.
I am doing the exact same thing at the moment.
Stanislav's Decklist
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but this is his world cup DL
Signature and Avatar by Inkfox Aesthetics
Edit: I found the list, and the top 8 Team Unified Standard lists.
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/wmc13/Top8Decklists