What's everyone else's feelings on Herald of Torment?
There are far better 2/3 drops. LBZ main deck is very viable right now given the amount of G/R running around. I had Specters in my old version and they worked ok. They demand removal immediately as always. I very much believe Ooze should have a place MD also. Won me many a game vs other T2 decks.
What's everyone else's feelings on Herald of Torment?
There are far better 2/3 drops. LBZ main deck is very viable right now given the amount of G/R running around. I had Specters in my old version and they worked ok. They demand removal immediately as always. I very much believe Ooze should have a place MD also. Won me many a game vs other T2 decks.
but i'm not sure if adding third color would work as i don't want to use sylvan caryatid.
Are you not running Caryatid currently in just BG? I'm not playing the control version but I would run at least 3 if I did. They help fix mana if need be, but helps getting ramp going and blocks a lot of relevant attackers.
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but i'm not sure if adding third color would work as i don't want to use sylvan caryatid.
Are you not running Caryatid currently in just BG? I'm not playing the control version but I would run at least 3 if I did. They help fix mana if need be, but helps getting ramp going and blocks a lot of relevant attackers.
Me, I'm running Elvish Mystic instead of Caryatid, because there are so many three-drops in this deck that it just makes sense to try to get one out on turn 2 and make it stick.
My problem is that I get hosed by Blood Baron, and I'm not sure if it's worth swapping out some of my spot removal in the sideboard (2 Ultimate Price, 1 Doom Blade) in favour of Devour Flesh in order to try to address it.
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Standard: RG Atarka Red GR
Modern: U Fish U RGW Burn WGR UBR Delver RBU BRGW Loam Pox WGBR BGR Dredgevine RGB
EDH: UB Wafer-thin Mints (Grimgrin, Corpse-Born) BU BR Blunt Instruments (Rakdos, Lord of Riots) RB UG All Dese (Prime Speaker Zegana) GU W Schwing! (Nahiri, the Lithomancer) W GR A.B.C. (Always. Beast. Calling.) (Ruric Thar, Unbowed) RG UBR Griefer Madness (Nekusar, the Mindrazer) RBU WUR Oprah Goes to Princess Auto (Zedruu, the Greathearted) RUW
Hi guys. I tested decklist of Ben Dugan from Nashville the last couple of weeks. I wondered how to play Courser of Kruphix in this decklist but I didn't figured out how. Maybe he isn't fit here. I also thought about Lotleth Troll by cutting some spells, but I think all those spells are very relevant. I'm not master of creating decks so I wanted advice from you. What do you think about this?
@ Momomoto: In my aggro version I run Mystic for the same reason, lots of 3 drops to get out early. However, I feel that if you're doing the Midrange-Control version then Caryatid will do better for you. Only time I'd side them out would be for the UWx matchups for most part.
@bloodsoul: I'm on my phone right now so I can't do a whole lot on the Forum with its tools, but check the last couple pages for my couple lists. Pretty good and pretty similar to that list except the Heralds. I tried them and personally didn't like them. I had Lifebanes in that slot, but I also had Trolls and Varolz as well.
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After today FNM I can tell that Herald of Torment is a very good and terrible card in one, ofc depends on match-up. I finished the tournament with a score 2-2. I had 2 lost games when Herald killed me dealing 1 dmg at the beginning of my turn. I received a lethal amount of damage -1 turn earlier :D. But I also won with him a couple of games. I'm afraid I might lose tempo turning it on Courser of Kruphix or Lifebane Zombie. I can also consider adding Gift of Orzhova (maybe 2 mainboard, 2 sideboard) and also 2 Polukranos, World Eater or Courser of Kruphix. There is also an option in Whip of Erebos but I'm not personally a fan of this card. What do you think?
My match-up today:
Red devotion 1:2
Big boros 2:1
U/W Control 2:1
RUG plainswalker 1:2
Maybe. I ran this (or a variation of) deck for the better part of 2 months, on MTGO and at FNM's and testing in kitchens. It just isn't consistent enough. It's very resilient, but I find it runs outta steam more often than not. I have tried Deadbridge Chant Trolls, Ooze, Corpsejack's, with and without Thoughtseize. Varloz is great, he commands removal and is probably the only card that was a mainstay throughout. I love the deck, but the last 2 sets really didn't give us much. Reaper is awesome on paper, but I find her meh. I hope she finds a home when the next set comes out.
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The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
Ok, so I had been playing this deck for a couple of weeks getting ready for the IQ. Got tired of the B/g Devotion deck and wanted to play aggro rock again. I'd go back and forth on Varolz or Desecration Demon, whether I like Zombie main or Mistcutter main etc...here's the list I played:
38 people showed up the the Hickory, NC IQ. Might have had more if Fayetteville wasnt having one as well. Normally it's more aggro with a smidge of control so I was expecting RDW, GW, W/x, and Mono U, with some UWx and Black Devotion to show up. After friends had scouted, 10-12 people were playing Black Devotion and 8-10 were playing RDW, so we were off but it was too late to change anything at that point.
Rd 1 Dan with W/u Humans (1-0)
Game 1 he had gotten flooded with lands badly while all I saw was a Imposing Sovereign and a Precinct Captain. Game 2 He had really good start wit Soldier of Pantheon into Imposing Sovereign into Precinct Captain into Heliod. I was able to slow him down a bit with my own guys but he kept making freaking Clerics trying to break the stalled board. I land a Reaper and at the end of his turn I Golgari Charmed to get 7 Scry triggers. Best freaking feeling in the world right there... I beat him down shortly after playing Lifebane and seeing 2 Supreme Verdict in his hand (odd).
Rd 2 Cody with Black Devotion (2-0)
Local guy that plays whatever is the "Best" deck to play at the moment. Mostly sticks with Control though.
Game 1 I just come out way too fast him to deal with my guys. Game 2 I got him down to 2 but he stabilized with a Gray Merchant into another Gray Merchant then beat down with demon. Game 3 Took a little longer to play, we both started ok then drew into lands for a long time. I finally started drawing beaters and took the match.
Rd 3 Josh with R/w Devotion (3-0)
Game 1 I started fast and took it quickly. All I saw were Ash Zealots, Frostburn Weirds, and Chained to the Rocks so i was thinking aggro devotion. Game 2 I took my hand needing a 3rd land...yeah, never a good idea. I got beat down quick with Chandra killing my guys or making them not block. Saw a Stormbreath Dragon this time, but yet to see a Fanatic of Mogis (odd). Game 3 Back and forth the whole time, swinging and killing each others stuff. Came down to me having to topdeck a Removal spell or a boon satyr (bestow) to win. Heart of the cards man, didnt even look at it when I drew it lol.
Rd 4 Casey with G/W aggro (4-0)
Another local player...normally plays some sort of aggro deck
Game 1 Probably the best game I played all day and not just from my standpoint, but from both sides. Back and forth, strategic blocking and attacking from both sides. VArolz shined here, able to make my lifebane zombie a lil bigger and my other guys big as well. Casey made a mistake to Bestow a boon satyr onto a Wurm Token, instead of playing Banisher Priest on my Lifebane, tying up his mana. This gave me one shot that he couldnt Selesnya Charm the Zombie; so I killed one blocker, made dudes bigger and swung for the win. Game 2 was anti-climatic as he got stuck on 2 lands while I curved out very well.
Rd 5-6 Double ID (4-0-2)
Sweet, Top8 here I come...
Top 8 Jesse with B/g Devotion
Local that has been playing his deck for a few weeks, tweaking it from a list that I had played.
Game 1 I beat him down while he hit me a few times with Nightveil Specter, he didn't draw more removal. Game 2...Kept a hand with an Elvish mystic and 1 land to possibly have a fast start, but that didnt happen and he curved up to Desecration demon beats. Game 3 We were going back and forth, I was at 7 and he was at 6, then I started drawing lands. Awesome...so he knocks me out, but still a great day playwise.
So other than moving around SB and MB cards and a few tweaks, I'll probably stick with this deck for a bit. I know that I am going to try out Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord tonight to see how he works out. A recurring threat that has another angle to win might work out. I'll let you guys know tonight after FNM how he turns out.
This is the best deck I have seen in this thread. I copied it and just made some meta tewaks to it.
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The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
Wow, thanks Duxx...had an IQ this past weekend at my store that CVM, BBD and Brad Nelson played in. Great guys btw, anyways I decided to try a Jund midrange/control and it bit me in the butt. I was expecting way more aggro but Esper and BW midrange were everywhere. Should've just played the BG aggro, I think it would've done a lot better.
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Thanks for the answer. Yes, probably deck looks unreliable, yet the author regularly shows good results. http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/223951 And plus two finals ptq (Moscow 153 players, St. Peterburg 44 players).
I do not think that Russia's metagame is very different from the rest, wondering if I can find the last decklist PTQ.
And I am planning to play like this deck on the following weekend at a local tournament (60-70 players). Tell you later what happens)
And of course, we invite you to GP Moscow in June.
Open Trial last night, went 3-0-1 in swiss and lost the 1st round of Top 8 due to mulliganing down in game 1. Pretty much same aggro version I've been playing, just getting ready for SCG Charlotte Open next weekend.
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Mono-Black Aggro has started to become a thing. It's top 8'd this weekend's GP and was successful last weekend. I also played against it this past FNM. I think it's pretty good. However, I think a green spash could do it some good.
Maybe, add 2x Reaper, 2x Scooze, and Charm and pro-blue package for SB? Is Warrior's Lesson a standard playable card? Probably not. That card would seem to need something like a build-around-me card like Agent of Fates.
Hey guys, just left the Scg Open in Charlotte. Went 7-3 for 68th place, just outside the money. I will type out my list and do sometype of a report either later tonight or tomorrow. Just hungry and tired right now lol
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So, yeah...I am pretty sure this thread might be dead now. Anyways, sorry about not posting lately. Life and being sick hampered me quite a bit. Between 2 LGS tourneys this weekend I went 7-0. I promise I will have a list tonight though.
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I hope this thread doesn't die especially since JOU is about to be released. How does everyone feel about Pharika, God of Affliction in this deck? I have mixed feelings about it. When I play this deck, I normally don't get that many creatures in my graveyard. Maybe I'm too conservative in terms of pitching cards to troll and what not. Because of this, I even cut out scavenging ooze (only grows when it exiles creatures from graveyard!) and put in deathrite shaman. It helps against the control and RDW matchups. They muck up the board and we can just sit and shock them to death.
I’m guessing many (most?) Golgari players are moving on to Dredge. I may as well, but I really enjoy Reaper. I started out with a scavenge/Corpsejack Menace homebrew, but had very minimal luck and Reaper seems to have the extra boost I was looking for.
In the main, the largest mistake by far was the forest/swamp ratio. This was an unintentional build error and cost me at least one game. The Nighthowlers were a test and I really liked them in place of Witchstalker 3-4.
The SB was a conglomerate of what I had laying around. I’m historically bad at creating sideboards and perhaps even worse at actually implementing them. I do think I could have used another Whip, and Lifebane Zombies probably deserve a spot.
I took some notes and this is to the best of my recollection. If any of my opponents are on the boards and want to make corrections, I apologize in advance for my errors.
Round One was originally a bye, but after match-ups were announced a regular ran up and said he forgot to sign up. I came to play, so I was only mildly annoyed ;-)
Match 1 vs Hunter’s BUG Walkers
Game One: I kept a land heavy hand and only drew more. His early Caryatid’s blocked my Lotleth Troll all day and after he dropped Vraska I ended up scooping to 1/1 Assassin tokens.
Game Two: I dropped a turn two Troll and went all in by pitching three creatures in response to my opponent’s Drown in Sorrow. A few turns of both of us in topdeck mode meant that the Troll steamrolled walkers and Caryatid’s.
Game 3: I kept another mana heavy hand and flooded badly. I had no answer to Aetherling and it was quickly over.
Match 2 vs Noah’s Red Devotion:
Not knowing what I was up against, I kept a really bad hand. Turn one Thoughtseize, and two hero’s downfalls in hand. No green mana in hand and never saw one the entire game.
SB: +2 Ultimate Price, +1x Drown in Sorrow, +1 Varolz,
-2 Underworld Connections, -1 Devour Flesh, -1 Thoughtseize
(This probably should have been -4 Thoughtseize, or at least 2 TS and 2 UC)
Game two I again kept a solid removal suite with double Abrupt Decay, Drown in Sorrow and first turn Thoughtseize. Thoughtseized a Reckoner turn one. I had the option of turn 2 Decaying his dude or waiting for the Drown in Sorrow. I was not anticipating a turn 3 hastey attack, which meant I took too much early damage. I did 2 for 1 on turn three with the Drown, but he made up for it with two Burning Tree Emissaries and a Fanatic on the following turns.
I couldn’t draw a second forest and had a Witchstalker and an Ooze in hand (needed Ooze to be at least 3 toughness to block). I eventually dropped a Reaper and then a Whip when my opponent went into topdeck mode. One turn with the Whip in play and I would have stabilized my life total and probably taken the game. He ripped another Fanatic off the top, his third of the game (I think I Thoughtseized one somewhere).
Match 3 vs DJ’s WUG walker/control/midrange
Game One: I kept another questionable hand and never saw a swamp. I didn’t see much of his deck, so I wasn’t sure how to sideboard.
SB: +2 Ultimate Price, +1 Herald of Torment (evasion to hit PW)
-3 Abrupt Decay
Game Two: Turn one Thoughtseize revealed Render Silent, Cyclonic Rift, and not much else. I pulled the Render Silent. He Rifted my turn three Underworld Connections, but that was just a stall tactic. He got mana flooded and my Reaper went the distance.
I was surprised by his counterspells and so -3 Elvish Mystic, +2 Mistcutter, and +1 Skylasher.
[In hindsight, I should have kept the Abrupt Decays for Detention Spheres.]
Game Three: He was stuck on one blue mana the entire game. Turn one Thoughtseize revealed Simic Charm, 2 Render Silent, Detention Sphere, Elspeth, and Caryatid. I pulled the Caryatid which really screwed his mana development. It ended pretty quickly.
Match 4 vs U/B Mill
My opponent was fairly young and was a bit off tilt due to his previous match. He tried Doomblade on my Witchstalker, when I told him it was hexproof, he moved to my troll. I was going to just regen him but re-read Doomblade and told him it was black. He hit my 1/1 elf. That was pretty much how that match went.
He dropped big blue walls, I overpowered them with bestowed creatures. It was one of the few games I felt like the deck was working. I was able to cast everything in my hand. I also got fantastic use out of Whipping a Nighthowler which he conveniently put into my graveyard for me: 32 point life swing ;-)
So 2-2 with some mana issues and a really bad game against Red Devotion.
I’m not sure if Dredge is simply better or if Reaper has some life left in her. Would love to see more discussion on how Journey may impact the deck, as well as if there is any hope post rotation. I must say Troll was probably my MVP—Trample AND Regeneration is pretty solid. Immunity to Doomblade and Ultimate Price is just gravy.
Edit: I think the deck really wants Temple of Malady as a four of. This makes 8 CIPT lands, but I think it's worth it to scry. I wonder if this would also mean Caryatid becomes > Mystic if we're dropping our acceleration on turn 2? Blocks better against aggro, although we give up the 1 power, which in a bestow build is not insignificant.
Got an IQ this weekend that I'm gonna test for this week. I'm thinking of trying Master of the Feast main over Lifebane Zombie to see how much of a risk it actually is. If anything, scavenging him via Varolz could be a little help.
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Went 3-1-1 in the Swiss of an IQ and split in the Top 4. Ended up not running Master of the Feast, Lifebane is still working too well for me to drop him yet.
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What's LBZ and Specters?
What's LBZ and Specters?
Lifebane Zombie, Nightveil Specter.
BG The Rock GB
UW Control WU
EDH:
RBU Nekusar UBR
Modern:
UNBDU
Are you not running Caryatid currently in just BG? I'm not playing the control version but I would run at least 3 if I did. They help fix mana if need be, but helps getting ramp going and blocks a lot of relevant attackers.
Me, I'm running Elvish Mystic instead of Caryatid, because there are so many three-drops in this deck that it just makes sense to try to get one out on turn 2 and make it stick.
My problem is that I get hosed by Blood Baron, and I'm not sure if it's worth swapping out some of my spot removal in the sideboard (2 Ultimate Price, 1 Doom Blade) in favour of Devour Flesh in order to try to address it.
RG Atarka Red GR
Modern:
U Fish U
RGW Burn WGR
UBR Delver RBU
BRGW Loam Pox WGBR
BGR Dredgevine RGB
EDH:
UB Wafer-thin Mints (Grimgrin, Corpse-Born) BU
BR Blunt Instruments (Rakdos, Lord of Riots) RB
UG All Dese (Prime Speaker Zegana) GU
W Schwing! (Nahiri, the Lithomancer) W
GR A.B.C. (Always. Beast. Calling.) (Ruric Thar, Unbowed) RG
UBR Griefer Madness (Nekusar, the Mindrazer) RBU
WUR Oprah Goes to Princess Auto (Zedruu, the Greathearted) RUW
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Reaper of the Wilds
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Boon Satyr
4 Herald of Torment
7 Forest
8 Swamp
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Bile Blight
2 Golgari Charm
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Thoughtseize
2 Pithing Needle
3 Lifebane Zombie
3 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Bile Blight
1 Doom Blade
2 Golgari Charm
2 Ultimate Price
I may add that I'm looking for some good deck for FNMs and I really like Golgari combination.
@bloodsoul: I'm on my phone right now so I can't do a whole lot on the Forum with its tools, but check the last couple pages for my couple lists. Pretty good and pretty similar to that list except the Heralds. I tried them and personally didn't like them. I had Lifebanes in that slot, but I also had Trolls and Varolz as well.
4 Forest
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Mutavault
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple of Deceit
1 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Silence
4 Scavenging Ooze
4 Pack Rat
2 Reaper of the Wilds
1 Desecration Demon
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Golgari Charm
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Devour Flesh
2 Read the Bones
1 Ultimate Price
3 Vraska the Unseen
1 Underworld Connections
1 Devour Flesh
2 Underworld Connections
3 Lifebane Zombie
3 Duress
1 Drown in Sorrow
2 Doom Blade
1 Bile Blight
2 Mistcutter Hydra
My match-up today:
Red devotion 1:2
Big boros 2:1
U/W Control 2:1
RUG plainswalker 1:2
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Reaper of the Wilds
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Boon Satyr
4 Herald of Torment
7 Forest
8 Swamp
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Bile Blight
2 Golgari Charm
3 Hero's Downfall
4 Thoughtseize
2 Pithing Needle
3 Duress
3 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Bile Blight
1 Doom Blade
2 Golgari Charm
2 Ultimate Price
I didn't have Lifebane Zombie this FNM yet but it would help only versus RUG (for Polukranos).
25 lands is too much. Drop one land and one Vrasks and add 2 Demons. I can't see this deck winning, but hey.........
The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
Even with the modifications you suggested?
The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
This is the best deck I have seen in this thread. I copied it and just made some meta tewaks to it.
The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
I do not think that Russia's metagame is very different from the rest, wondering if I can find the last decklist PTQ.
And I am planning to play like this deck on the following weekend at a local tournament (60-70 players). Tell you later what happens)
And of course, we invite you to GP Moscow in June.
20x Swamp
4x Mutavault
Creatures: 24
4x Pack Rat
4x Rakdos Cackler
4x Tormented Hero
4x Herald of Torment
3x Lifebane Zombie
3x Pain Seer
2x Mogis's Marauder
4x Hero's Downfall
4x Thoughtseize
3x Bile Blight
1x Ultimate Price
2x Erebos, God of the Dead
1x Whip of Erebos
2x Doom Blade
2x Devour Flesh
3x Dark Betrayal
2x Desecration Demon
3x Duress
Mono-Black Aggro has started to become a thing. It's top 8'd this weekend's GP and was successful last weekend. I also played against it this past FNM. I think it's pretty good. However, I think a green spash could do it some good.
Maybe, add 2x Reaper, 2x Scooze, and Charm and pro-blue package for SB? Is Warrior's Lesson a standard playable card? Probably not. That card would seem to need something like a build-around-me card like Agent of Fates.
Cards to drop: Pack Rat, for sure.
Keep this thread alive!
This is what I took to last week’s FNM:
4x Reaper of the Wilds
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Boon Satyr
4x Lotleth Troll
2x Nighthowler
1x Scavenging Ooze
2x Witchstalker
REMOVAL
3x Abrupt Decay
3x Hero’s Downfall
2x Devour Flesh
4x Thoughtseize
2x Underworld Connection
1x Whip of Erebos
4x Overgrown Tomb
2x Golgari Guildgate
8x Forest
10x Swamp
1x Duress
2x Mistcutter Hydra
1x Skylasher
2x Ultimate Price
1x Herald of Torment
1x Dark Betrayal
3x Golgari Charm
2x Gaze of Granite
1x Drown in Sorrow
1x Varolz, the Scar Striped
In the main, the largest mistake by far was the forest/swamp ratio. This was an unintentional build error and cost me at least one game. The Nighthowlers were a test and I really liked them in place of Witchstalker 3-4.
The SB was a conglomerate of what I had laying around. I’m historically bad at creating sideboards and perhaps even worse at actually implementing them. I do think I could have used another Whip, and Lifebane Zombies probably deserve a spot.
I took some notes and this is to the best of my recollection. If any of my opponents are on the boards and want to make corrections, I apologize in advance for my errors.
Round One was originally a bye, but after match-ups were announced a regular ran up and said he forgot to sign up. I came to play, so I was only mildly annoyed ;-)
Match 1 vs Hunter’s BUG Walkers
Game One: I kept a land heavy hand and only drew more. His early Caryatid’s blocked my Lotleth Troll all day and after he dropped Vraska I ended up scooping to 1/1 Assassin tokens.
SB:
+1 Duress, +2 Gaze of Granite
-2 Devour Flesh, -1 Whip
Game Two: I dropped a turn two Troll and went all in by pitching three creatures in response to my opponent’s Drown in Sorrow. A few turns of both of us in topdeck mode meant that the Troll steamrolled walkers and Caryatid’s.
Game 3: I kept another mana heavy hand and flooded badly. I had no answer to Aetherling and it was quickly over.
Match 2 vs Noah’s Red Devotion:
Not knowing what I was up against, I kept a really bad hand. Turn one Thoughtseize, and two hero’s downfalls in hand. No green mana in hand and never saw one the entire game.
SB: +2 Ultimate Price, +1x Drown in Sorrow, +1 Varolz,
-2 Underworld Connections, -1 Devour Flesh, -1 Thoughtseize
(This probably should have been -4 Thoughtseize, or at least 2 TS and 2 UC)
Game two I again kept a solid removal suite with double Abrupt Decay, Drown in Sorrow and first turn Thoughtseize. Thoughtseized a Reckoner turn one. I had the option of turn 2 Decaying his dude or waiting for the Drown in Sorrow. I was not anticipating a turn 3 hastey attack, which meant I took too much early damage. I did 2 for 1 on turn three with the Drown, but he made up for it with two Burning Tree Emissaries and a Fanatic on the following turns.
I couldn’t draw a second forest and had a Witchstalker and an Ooze in hand (needed Ooze to be at least 3 toughness to block). I eventually dropped a Reaper and then a Whip when my opponent went into topdeck mode. One turn with the Whip in play and I would have stabilized my life total and probably taken the game. He ripped another Fanatic off the top, his third of the game (I think I Thoughtseized one somewhere).
Match 3 vs DJ’s WUG walker/control/midrange
Game One: I kept another questionable hand and never saw a swamp. I didn’t see much of his deck, so I wasn’t sure how to sideboard.
SB: +2 Ultimate Price, +1 Herald of Torment (evasion to hit PW)
-3 Abrupt Decay
Game Two: Turn one Thoughtseize revealed Render Silent, Cyclonic Rift, and not much else. I pulled the Render Silent. He Rifted my turn three Underworld Connections, but that was just a stall tactic. He got mana flooded and my Reaper went the distance.
I was surprised by his counterspells and so -3 Elvish Mystic, +2 Mistcutter, and +1 Skylasher.
[In hindsight, I should have kept the Abrupt Decays for Detention Spheres.]
Game Three: He was stuck on one blue mana the entire game. Turn one Thoughtseize revealed Simic Charm, 2 Render Silent, Detention Sphere, Elspeth, and Caryatid. I pulled the Caryatid which really screwed his mana development. It ended pretty quickly.
Match 4 vs U/B Mill
My opponent was fairly young and was a bit off tilt due to his previous match. He tried Doomblade on my Witchstalker, when I told him it was hexproof, he moved to my troll. I was going to just regen him but re-read Doomblade and told him it was black. He hit my 1/1 elf. That was pretty much how that match went.
He dropped big blue walls, I overpowered them with bestowed creatures. It was one of the few games I felt like the deck was working. I was able to cast everything in my hand. I also got fantastic use out of Whipping a Nighthowler which he conveniently put into my graveyard for me: 32 point life swing ;-)
So 2-2 with some mana issues and a really bad game against Red Devotion.
I’m not sure if Dredge is simply better or if Reaper has some life left in her. Would love to see more discussion on how Journey may impact the deck, as well as if there is any hope post rotation. I must say Troll was probably my MVP—Trample AND Regeneration is pretty solid. Immunity to Doomblade and Ultimate Price is just gravy.
Edit: I think the deck really wants Temple of Malady as a four of. This makes 8 CIPT lands, but I think it's worth it to scry. I wonder if this would also mean Caryatid becomes > Mystic if we're dropping our acceleration on turn 2? Blocks better against aggro, although we give up the 1 power, which in a bestow build is not insignificant.