Speaking of splashing, I really liked the idea of running Silumgar in a mainly G/B shell that appeared on two of the higher-ranked Pro Tour lists. I modified their versions slightly and it was testing so well, I took it to a PPTQ today and won it!
The deck felt really great, where it can sometimes beatdown or sit back and slowly land threats. If you like the G/B shell, I highly recommend trying out Silumgar. He's a great tutor target and I was stealing tons of great stuff like Chandra, Kalitas, and Linvalas every round. I run Seasons Past in the board for the grindy matches but would like to add a Dark Petition so I have access to the combo. Has anyone else tried blue splash?
The deck seems really sweet, but I can't afford Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. I know CMC is really important in this deck, so how good of an alternative is Pack Guardian? It helps if you draw too many lands, and the land discarded can be very easily brought back by Seasons Past. Plus, it kills faster than Kalitas. Thoughts?
Kalitas is a house. He shuts down graveyard strategies and eliminates death triggers. Turns off hangerback, game over vs aristocrats, can race ormendahl, and can claw your way back in a game with lifelink. When a quarter of your deck is removal, and then you recur it, the army of zombies he generates will close out a game faster than pack guardian. There is no substitute.
Took the Finkel's list to Game Day today. I did well, but I didn't rank high. I lost to my inexperience with the deck I guess. I had to do a lot of thinking, had two games end in a draw when I knew I could have won. It was a little disappointing, but I learned a lot about playing the deck and enjoyed the hell out of it. Thing is I did have one legit bad match which was the Esper Planeswalkers list from Protour. I'm not really sure what the plan is against a deck like that. Most of the removal was dead, and the sideboard wasn't that helpful either. Any ideas based from people with a little more experience?
On a side note, I myself am considering a white splash. One thing that was missing in the matchups was a way to close the game faster and Sorin really seems like he fits that.
Edit: I should note that I only lost three games out of four matches. Securely made it so that my opponent's couldn't win, but then couldn't win fast enough to get the points.
I took 6th, but it was down to me and my opponent to who won game day. He was playing Bant CoCo and first game was a bad keep, and second game was duress, transgress, infinite obileration, Languish, Dark Petition, Black, Forest. Draw, Ob Nix, draw, nissa renewal, draw, dark petition, draw, nissa renewal.....I was a little angry to say the least. We played a game after with pre sideboard after and I destroyed him when I got my land when it was supposed to come out! Oh well I guess that is some of the "magic" of the game. I am pretty happy with the deck I am going to keep testing this week and take it to GPNY.
The deck seems really sweet, but I can't afford Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. I know CMC is really important in this deck, so how good of an alternative is Pack Guardian? It helps if you draw too many lands, and the land discarded can be very easily brought back by Seasons Past. Plus, it kills faster than Kalitas. Thoughts?
Try Erebos's Titan, it will be better against control and is a very efficient clock or roadblock that lives through Languish. Kalitas is powerful but it has some tension with Virulent Plague, and in a match up like B/G Aristocrats you kinda want both which is a bit of a nonbo. I definitely think Kalitas is optimal, but there are some subtle advantages that offset the loss a little if you can't afford it. Although iirc budget discussion isn't allowed in here, generally.
Took the Finkel's list to Game Day today. I did well, but I didn't rank high. I lost to my inexperience with the deck I guess. I had to do a lot of thinking, had two games end in a draw when I knew I could have won. It was a little disappointing, but I learned a lot about playing the deck and enjoyed the hell out of it. Thing is I did have one legit bad match which was the Esper Planeswalkers list from Protour. I'm not really sure what the plan is against a deck like that. Most of the removal was dead, and the sideboard wasn't that helpful either. Any ideas based from people with a little more experience?
On a side note, I myself am considering a white splash. One thing that was missing in the matchups was a way to close the game faster and Sorin really seems like he fits that.
Edit: I should note that I only lost three games out of four matches. Securely made it so that my opponent's couldn't win, but then couldn't win fast enough to get the points.
vs the Esper Walkers list, you should rarely lose G1. They run 2 spell shrivel in the main as the only counters. Loop your discard, Path (PWs) and Kalitas with Seasons and either Obliterate/discard the Sphinx or double languish it. After board it gets a bit more difficult, but you play similarly. They really just board out removal and board in counter spells. I've put 2 Gaea's Revenge into my board too.
Speaking of, been playing the deck now since the Pro Tour and have been having a ball. On one of my games days, I went 3-0-2 (drawing in time just when I had the game wrapped up vs GW tokens and an ID) finishing 2nd in swiss. Then made a massive misplay in G1 of the Top8 vs Naya Mid and drew nothing G2. The next day I ended up 10th after swiss with a record of 2-2-1, that day was full of misplays :/.
I have been using 2, siding a 3rd in if needed, and have not had a problem.
Side in more duress and transgress and disrupt the ramp and then manage the other aspects. You can get rid of googles if you dont hit it with trans or duress, with a sideboard removal. After playing it, its not any harder to beat then anyone else.
Took the Finkel's list to Game Day today. I did well, but I didn't rank high. I lost to my inexperience with the deck I guess. I had to do a lot of thinking, had two games end in a draw when I knew I could have won. It was a little disappointing, but I learned a lot about playing the deck and enjoyed the hell out of it. Thing is I did have one legit bad match which was the Esper Planeswalkers list from Protour. I'm not really sure what the plan is against a deck like that. Most of the removal was dead, and the sideboard wasn't that helpful either. Any ideas based from people with a little more experience?
On a side note, I myself am considering a white splash. One thing that was missing in the matchups was a way to close the game faster and Sorin really seems like he fits that.
Edit: I should note that I only lost three games out of four matches. Securely made it so that my opponent's couldn't win, but then couldn't win fast enough to get the points.
vs the Esper Walkers list, you should rarely lose G1. They run 2 spell shrivel in the main as the only counters. Loop your discard, Path (PWs) and Kalitas with Seasons and either Obliterate/discard the Sphinx or double languish it. After board it gets a bit more difficult, but you play similarly. They really just board out removal and board in counter spells. I've put 2 Gaea's Revenge into my board too.
Speaking of, been playing the deck now since the Pro Tour and have been having a ball. On one of my games days, I went 3-0-2 (drawing in time just when I had the game wrapped up vs GW tokens and an ID) finishing 2nd in swiss. Then made a massive misplay in G1 of the Top8 vs Naya Mid and drew nothing G2. The next day I ended up 10th after swiss with a record of 2-2-1, that day was full of misplays :/.
Well, game 1 I wasn't even remotely sure what deck my opponent might be on so I kept a hand full of hand disruption. He was on the play though and did the same. We basically spent the first few turns picking apart each other's hands and he drew into Jace, Unraveler of Secrets right after I had cast Infinite Obliteration naming Sphinx. After that I drew primarily creature removal. He landed a Sorin and began chipping away my life. I think I saw one ruinous path the entire game (directed at Sorin) then he drew and played another. By the end of the game I had a hand full of Ultimate Price, Grasp of Darkness, and a Dead Weight and he had Narset, Jace, Sorin, and Ob Nixilis on the board. That's how I lost game one. G2 I basically lost to flooding unfortunately. That and needing to vary the list some from the Pro Tour one as I think Gaea's Revenge is a great idea and more PW removal would definitely be too.
I ended up beating pretty much everything except bant company. One thing about my list that I really like is that the mirror is really easy.
I killed a surprising number of people with Damnable Pact.
@Tj Hunter Grasp doesn't deal damage to planeswalkers.
I seem to be having an issue with keeping nissa's renewal around, for some reason it always gets transgressed then Im without life gain, as Kalitas is great if he can actaully stay on the field...most of the time hit by any black removal, haha, and land explosion. Seems like if I can land a renewal its almost always game over. Seems like having 2 in the main is worth it.
I added an Ob Nixilis for a Read the Bones in the maindeck (compared to Finkel’s ProTour list), and took out a Virulent Plague for a Gaea’s Revenge in the Sideboard (I would have added a 2nd and took out a Dead Weight but I couldn’t find a 2nd before the tournament started).
So, I don’t really remember play-by-plays, but I can give you a good summary of each game.
Match 1 – Bant Company (W 2-1)
Game 1 I lost. Classic bad matchup. He had card advantage and too many guys for me to keep up.
Game 2 I won. I basically kept him on his back foot, killing each creature as he was playing them. It got to the point where he was topdecking and playing cards right there. I was able to Languish after every Company, Kill off Jace after he flips and already wastes a Company in the yard. I can’t remember if it was game 2 or 3, but at one point he had no creatures in play and 4 exiled Collected Companies. Between Transgress the Mind, Duress, Playing then replaying with Jace; he used and reused all 4 Companies.
Game 3 I won. Again, it was a case of him emptying his hand while I refilled my hand with one card (Dark Petition for Seasons Past). It is a bad matchup, but if you can keep pace with the creatures coming down, and always having Languish post Company, the match isn’t unwinnable.
Match 2 – WU Humans (W 2-0)
This was an easy game for me.
Game 1 I won. He plays out guys, attacks, and buffs them with Thalia’s Lieutenant and Always Watching. Luckily, I had a turn 4ish Languish and his guys were all 4 toughness or less. After that, it was actually like playing a giant game of Solitaire Magic, where he’d play nothing, then draw a creature, play it, I’d kill it. ETC… it was just a matter of me finding Hissing Quagmires, Ruinous Paths, Kalitas or Nissa to actually get a creature in play. The only notable part of game 1 was when I played the Infinite Obliteration I drew, naming Thalia’s Lieutenant, and seeing that he ran blue with Avacyn and Ojutai. At the time, I only saw Plains.
Game 2 I won. This game was also bad for my opponent. Not only did I get to Obliterate his Ojutais on turn 3, but I got to rebuy the Obliteration and removed his Avacyn’s as well. Game 2 played out like game 1, just killed everything and slowly killed him with 2/2 Quagmires.
Match 3 – BG Aristocrats (L 1-2)
Game 1 I lost. I kept a bad hand, with a kill spell, lands and an Infinite Obliteration. I knew this guy and knew he was playing Aristocrats, so I kept the hand. I was able to turn 3 Obliterate his Zulaport Cutthroats, but he still overran me with creatures. Drew into more lands and never saw a Languish.
Game 2 I won. I was off to a slow start, and my opponent drops a turn 2, 3 and 4 Zulaport Cutthroat. I am just waiting to draw my 2nd Swamp (had 3 forests and 1 swamp in play), so I could Languish. He had 2 other creatures in play when I drew my 2nd Swamp. Played Languish, took 15 damage, and was at 1 life. I hung in there, was able to hold his topdecks down until I drew a Dark Petition for a Nissa’s Renewal. At that point, I took over the game and won.
Game 3 I lost. This game went on forever, and there was a whole group around our table watching. It felt like the finals of a pro tour. He had me down to 3 life, and I’m hanging in there. I have a Virulent Plague in play along with an Orbs of Warding. I am able to stifle the bleeding and try and get back on top. He’s at 20something life, and I’m barely holding on. I start attacking with Ashaya and Lands and I was almost there when he drew into a 4th creature, activated his Quagmire, taps 5 and sacks all creatures to flip Westvale Abbey and kill me. Great game, went long, but it was just an excellent set of games.
Top 4
Match 1 – Mono Black ? (W 2-0)
Game 1 I won. He was playing some type of control deck with Accursed Witch and other lifelink / Syphon Life effects. It was annoying and totally rogue. I had 2 Witches on me (as enchantments), getting drained for 2 life a turn. I was able to play Nissa’s Renewal twice, and then started beating him down with an Ashaya, and animated Forest, and a Quagmire for 10 a turn.
Game 2 I won. Game two was easier, especially with Naturalizes from the SB. There wasn’t much to game 2 other than I killed anything he was doing and just beat face with lands.
Finals
Match 2 – BG Aristocrats (W 2-1)
Same guy as Match 3 of Swiss.
I really don’t remember much of these games because it was 1 am and I was tired. I had tight plays and Kalitas was involved in two of the three games, where I was just eating his guys and making tokens. I have to say that Virulent Plague is very good in this matchup. In all my games, I’m pretty sure I boarded in 1 Infinite Obliteration, 1 Orbs of Warding and 1 Virulent Plague. Why not side in Kalitas? Yes, he’s amazing in the matchup, but my opponent knew that and sided in Ultimate Prices and other spot kills for my Kalitas, so instead went with Infinite to take out his ‘combo’ pieces. In one of these last 3 games, I removed his Zulaport Cutthroats AND Nantuko Husks with Infinite Obliteration. Orbs works great as well, because the deck mainly runs 1/1s and 2/Xs, which negates regular attacks. Honestly, he had a whole army out and was only able to deal 2-3 damage a turn because of Orbs. As for Virulent Plague, that card is great in the matchup as well. Most tokens, even 2/2 zombies from Liliana and Kalitas are killed off. That leaves him with horrible 1/1s and 2/2s without getting any benefits from dead Blisterpods, Lilianas, Kalitas, and the BG Eldrazi guy who makes tokens.
So, the final matchup was fantastic, but I had the upper hand with tight plays and little misplays.
So there you go! Got 1st of 30 with the decklist, and I LOVE it. My changes were great, and the only other change I’d make is removing more Dead Weights, because, quite literally, they are dead weight (ba-dum, cha…). Honestly, I never wanted to include them, even though they help Delirium and cost 1. I’m beginning to think that 1 maindeck is okay, but removing them from the SB in lieu of better cards. Maybe a Sinister Concoction just to keep the 1cc cards rolling. Honestly, I’d rather have another Transgress the Mind, or Pick the Brain, or even another Infinite Obliteration rather than that. Yes, it kills things, but there are a LOT of creatures that card doesn’t do anything against.
-Yawg
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I ended up beating pretty much everything except bant company. One thing about my list that I really like is that the mirror is really easy.
I killed a surprising number of people with Damnable Pact.
@Tj Hunter Grasp doesn't deal damage to planeswalkers.
It's interesting to see I wasn't the only one who saw the potential of a singleton Hedonist's Trove in this list. I had just picked it up recently and hadn't had a chance to look through this thread yet so it was funny when I came to this page and saw two people mention it. If I had seen it in Game 2 of my losing match, I could have easily turned the game around completely.
I seem to be having an issue with keeping nissa's renewal around, for some reason it always gets transgressed then Im without life gain, as Kalitas is great if he can actaully stay on the field...most of the time hit by any black removal, haha, and land explosion. Seems like if I can land a renewal its almost always game over. Seems like having 2 in the main is worth it.
Regarding planeswalkers, I like 3 Ruinous Path - it's good enough right now to run all 4, but with all the Dark Petitions and recursion you're effectively running 5-6 copies already if needed. Against Chandra in particular, Virulent Plague shuts her down hard in game 2...just watch out for Nahiri removing it.
After having to double Languish a Sphinx, I hopped on the Blighted Fen train. It's the ideal answer against Sphinx, Ojutai, Gaea's Revenge, Ulamog, etc. because it's unpreventable (can't even make you discard it). When I played Esper Dragons in the previous standard I dreaded Fen, luckily people were too busy playing 3-4 colors to mess with it. As long as we're in 2 colors everyone should be running one, there's just no reason not to.
I don't understand how you can go 2-1 and then top 4 a 30 person event, seems like way too few rounds, but anyway congrats!
I think that your logic behind kalitas is flawed. The problem with it is that Kalitas is so good in that matchup that your opponent is forced to kill it or they will lose. If they have the ultimate price, oh well. If they don't you win! I would bring it in over the orbs. Orbs just seems really slow vs aristocrats.
I seem to be having an issue with keeping nissa's renewal around, for some reason it always gets transgressed then Im without life gain, as Kalitas is great if he can actaully stay on the field...most of the time hit by any black removal, haha, and land explosion. Seems like if I can land a renewal its almost always game over. Seems like having 2 in the main is worth it.
Regarding planeswalkers, I like 3 Ruinous Path - it's good enough right now to run all 4, but with all the Dark Petitions and recursion you're effectively running 5-6 copies already if needed. Against Chandra in particular, Virulent Plague shuts her down hard in game 2...just watch out for Nahiri removing it.
After having to double Languish a Sphinx, I hopped on the Blighted Fen train. It's the ideal answer against Sphinx, Ojutai, Gaea's Revenge, Ulamog, etc. because it's unpreventable (can't even make you discard it). When I played Esper Dragons in the previous standard I dreaded Fen, luckily people were too busy playing 3-4 colors to mess with it. As long as we're in 2 colors everyone should be running one, there's just no reason not to.
Now that you mention Pulse again, I remember someone, maybe you, talking about it earlier in the thread. I never put it in and forgot about it!
I swapped one in for a Swamp, you probably don't want more than that just because Nissa's Renewal wants basic lands. You can Petition for it and recycle as needed.
A thought just came to me. White splash could play secure the wastes as a kick ass 1 drop to recur. Maybe replace the Ob Nix with a Sorin, and look for a few other cards.
I have tried that combo, seems ok, hard because if the opponent can take a land away your screwed, i.e.) all the World breakers and TKS (easy to hit Sorin at the right time). It may warent more testing as the meta progresses.
I have done testing against the Naya deck that won SCG...it's a scary deck! Not sure the best route to combat it. G2 virulent helps, and an extra ruinous path, duress, transgress, etc...
I have tried that combo, seems ok, hard because if the opponent can take a land away your screwed, i.e.) all the World breakers and TKS (easy to hit Sorin at the right time). It may warent more testing as the meta progresses.
I have done testing against the Naya deck that won SCG...it's a scary deck! Not sure the best route to combat it. G2 virulent helps, and an extra ruinous path, duress, transgress, etc...
Which SCG event? Asking because I'm not familiar with the list.
Not sure, I was wondering the same, I would guess gideon and chandra...that is how I tested the list at least.
On a side note, the Grixis control deck is scary, I think I am going to actually run that list for the GP this weekend. I love seasons past, but WOW, that deck is mean!
I haven't really had any problems with other control decks, with so much hand disruption, tutors, and cards like ruinous path you can take away all the scary things leaving them with a pile of dead removal in their hand.
Not sure, I was wondering the same, I would guess gideon and chandra...that is how I tested the list at least.
On a side note, the Grixis control deck is scary, I think I am going to actually run that list for the GP this weekend. I love seasons past, but WOW, that deck is mean!
I kinda figured the 2 of each was by design to avoid multiples, though I could see where multiples of Gideon at least would be alright, and since Chandra can effectively be 4RR destroy all creatures, maybe... I wonder if they'll realize the list is wrong and edit.
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2x Dragonlord Silumgar
2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
4x Sylvan Advocate
3x Tireless Tracker
2x Dead Weight
4x Grasp of Darkness
3x Languish
2x Ob Nixilis Reignited
2x Read the Bones
2x Ruinous Path
2x Transgress the Mind
3x Traverse the Ulvenwald
2x Ultimate Price
4x Evolving Wilds
4x Forest
1x Haven of the Spirit Dragon
4x Hissing Quagmire
1x Island
4x Llanowar Wastes
1x Lumbering Falls
1x Sunken Hollow
3x Swamp
1x Yavimaya Coast
1x Gilt-Leaf Winnower
2x Infinite Obliteration
1x Languish
2x Negate
2x Root Out
1x Seasons Past
2x Ultimate Price
2x Virulent Plague
The deck felt really great, where it can sometimes beatdown or sit back and slowly land threats. If you like the G/B shell, I highly recommend trying out Silumgar. He's a great tutor target and I was stealing tons of great stuff like Chandra, Kalitas, and Linvalas every round. I run Seasons Past in the board for the grindy matches but would like to add a Dark Petition so I have access to the combo. Has anyone else tried blue splash?
Standard: :symu::symb::manax:<a href="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/standard-type-2/deck-creation-standard/690915-primer-dimirdrazi-blue-black-eldrazi">Dimirdrazi</a>:xmana::symb::symu:
Modern: None currently, but would like to get into it.
EDH: :symr::symu::symg:<a href="http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/commander-edh/multiplayer-commander-decklists/217251-animar-soul-of-elements-combo#c1">Animar, Soul of Elements (non-combo)</a>:symg::symu::symr:
On a side note, I myself am considering a white splash. One thing that was missing in the matchups was a way to close the game faster and Sorin really seems like he fits that.
Edit: I should note that I only lost three games out of four matches. Securely made it so that my opponent's couldn't win, but then couldn't win fast enough to get the points.
Try Erebos's Titan, it will be better against control and is a very efficient clock or roadblock that lives through Languish. Kalitas is powerful but it has some tension with Virulent Plague, and in a match up like B/G Aristocrats you kinda want both which is a bit of a nonbo. I definitely think Kalitas is optimal, but there are some subtle advantages that offset the loss a little if you can't afford it. Although iirc budget discussion isn't allowed in here, generally.
Esper Control
vs the Esper Walkers list, you should rarely lose G1. They run 2 spell shrivel in the main as the only counters. Loop your discard, Path (PWs) and Kalitas with Seasons and either Obliterate/discard the Sphinx or double languish it. After board it gets a bit more difficult, but you play similarly. They really just board out removal and board in counter spells. I've put 2 Gaea's Revenge into my board too.
Speaking of, been playing the deck now since the Pro Tour and have been having a ball. On one of my games days, I went 3-0-2 (drawing in time just when I had the game wrapped up vs GW tokens and an ID) finishing 2nd in swiss. Then made a massive misplay in G1 of the Top8 vs Naya Mid and drew nothing G2. The next day I ended up 10th after swiss with a record of 2-2-1, that day was full of misplays :/.
Side in more duress and transgress and disrupt the ramp and then manage the other aspects. You can get rid of googles if you dont hit it with trans or duress, with a sideboard removal. After playing it, its not any harder to beat then anyone else.
Well, game 1 I wasn't even remotely sure what deck my opponent might be on so I kept a hand full of hand disruption. He was on the play though and did the same. We basically spent the first few turns picking apart each other's hands and he drew into Jace, Unraveler of Secrets right after I had cast Infinite Obliteration naming Sphinx. After that I drew primarily creature removal. He landed a Sorin and began chipping away my life. I think I saw one ruinous path the entire game (directed at Sorin) then he drew and played another. By the end of the game I had a hand full of Ultimate Price, Grasp of Darkness, and a Dead Weight and he had Narset, Jace, Sorin, and Ob Nixilis on the board. That's how I lost game one. G2 I basically lost to flooding unfortunately. That and needing to vary the list some from the Pro Tour one as I think Gaea's Revenge is a great idea and more PW removal would definitely be too.
1 Dead weight
2 Duress
2 Transgress the Mind
3 Grasp of Darkness
2 Ultimate Price
3 Ruinous Path
3 Read the bones
1 Infinite Obliteration
4 Languish
1 Ob nixilis Reignited
4 Dark Petition
2 Seasons Past
1 Nissa's Renewal
1 Damnable Pact
2 Nissa, the vastwood Seer
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Gaea's Revenge
Lands:
4 Hissing Quagmire
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Llanowar Wastes
12 Swamp
5 Forest
1 Pick the Brain
1 Hedonist's Trove
1 Orbs of Warding
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Grasp of Darkness
1 Dead Weight
1 Virulent Plague
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Clip Wings
2 Naturalize
2 Duress
2 Flaying Tendrils
I ended up beating pretty much everything except bant company. One thing about my list that I really like is that the mirror is really easy.
I killed a surprising number of people with Damnable Pact.
@Tj Hunter Grasp doesn't deal damage to planeswalkers.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
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tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
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Yea I looked again I was thinking of languish, like you can ojatai but sorcery speed so no go.
3 Evolving Wilds
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Hissing Quagmire
5 Forest
12 Swamp
Creatures 4
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
Spells 30
1 Dead Weight
2 Duress
2 Transgress the Mind
2 Ultimate Price
4 Grasp of Darkness
1 Infinite Obliteration
3 Read the Bones
3 Ruinous Path
4 Languish
1 Ob Nixilis, Reignited
4 Dark Petition
1 Nissa’s Renewal
2 Seasons Past
3 Dead Weight
2 Duress
1 Ultimate Price
1 Clip Wings
3 Naturalize
1 Infinite Obliteration
1 Virulent Plage
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Orbs of Warding
1 Gaea’s Revenge
Match 1 – Bant Company (W 2-1)
Game 1 I lost. Classic bad matchup. He had card advantage and too many guys for me to keep up.
Game 2 I won. I basically kept him on his back foot, killing each creature as he was playing them. It got to the point where he was topdecking and playing cards right there. I was able to Languish after every Company, Kill off Jace after he flips and already wastes a Company in the yard. I can’t remember if it was game 2 or 3, but at one point he had no creatures in play and 4 exiled Collected Companies. Between Transgress the Mind, Duress, Playing then replaying with Jace; he used and reused all 4 Companies.
Game 3 I won. Again, it was a case of him emptying his hand while I refilled my hand with one card (Dark Petition for Seasons Past). It is a bad matchup, but if you can keep pace with the creatures coming down, and always having Languish post Company, the match isn’t unwinnable.
Match 2 – WU Humans (W 2-0)
This was an easy game for me.
Game 1 I won. He plays out guys, attacks, and buffs them with Thalia’s Lieutenant and Always Watching. Luckily, I had a turn 4ish Languish and his guys were all 4 toughness or less. After that, it was actually like playing a giant game of Solitaire Magic, where he’d play nothing, then draw a creature, play it, I’d kill it. ETC… it was just a matter of me finding Hissing Quagmires, Ruinous Paths, Kalitas or Nissa to actually get a creature in play. The only notable part of game 1 was when I played the Infinite Obliteration I drew, naming Thalia’s Lieutenant, and seeing that he ran blue with Avacyn and Ojutai. At the time, I only saw Plains.
Game 2 I won. This game was also bad for my opponent. Not only did I get to Obliterate his Ojutais on turn 3, but I got to rebuy the Obliteration and removed his Avacyn’s as well. Game 2 played out like game 1, just killed everything and slowly killed him with 2/2 Quagmires.
Match 3 – BG Aristocrats (L 1-2)
Game 1 I lost. I kept a bad hand, with a kill spell, lands and an Infinite Obliteration. I knew this guy and knew he was playing Aristocrats, so I kept the hand. I was able to turn 3 Obliterate his Zulaport Cutthroats, but he still overran me with creatures. Drew into more lands and never saw a Languish.
Game 2 I won. I was off to a slow start, and my opponent drops a turn 2, 3 and 4 Zulaport Cutthroat. I am just waiting to draw my 2nd Swamp (had 3 forests and 1 swamp in play), so I could Languish. He had 2 other creatures in play when I drew my 2nd Swamp. Played Languish, took 15 damage, and was at 1 life. I hung in there, was able to hold his topdecks down until I drew a Dark Petition for a Nissa’s Renewal. At that point, I took over the game and won.
Game 3 I lost. This game went on forever, and there was a whole group around our table watching. It felt like the finals of a pro tour. He had me down to 3 life, and I’m hanging in there. I have a Virulent Plague in play along with an Orbs of Warding. I am able to stifle the bleeding and try and get back on top. He’s at 20something life, and I’m barely holding on. I start attacking with Ashaya and Lands and I was almost there when he drew into a 4th creature, activated his Quagmire, taps 5 and sacks all creatures to flip Westvale Abbey and kill me. Great game, went long, but it was just an excellent set of games.
Top 4
Match 1 – Mono Black ? (W 2-0)
Game 1 I won. He was playing some type of control deck with Accursed Witch and other lifelink / Syphon Life effects. It was annoying and totally rogue. I had 2 Witches on me (as enchantments), getting drained for 2 life a turn. I was able to play Nissa’s Renewal twice, and then started beating him down with an Ashaya, and animated Forest, and a Quagmire for 10 a turn.
Game 2 I won. Game two was easier, especially with Naturalizes from the SB. There wasn’t much to game 2 other than I killed anything he was doing and just beat face with lands.
Finals
Match 2 – BG Aristocrats (W 2-1)
Same guy as Match 3 of Swiss.
I really don’t remember much of these games because it was 1 am and I was tired. I had tight plays and Kalitas was involved in two of the three games, where I was just eating his guys and making tokens. I have to say that Virulent Plague is very good in this matchup. In all my games, I’m pretty sure I boarded in 1 Infinite Obliteration, 1 Orbs of Warding and 1 Virulent Plague. Why not side in Kalitas? Yes, he’s amazing in the matchup, but my opponent knew that and sided in Ultimate Prices and other spot kills for my Kalitas, so instead went with Infinite to take out his ‘combo’ pieces. In one of these last 3 games, I removed his Zulaport Cutthroats AND Nantuko Husks with Infinite Obliteration. Orbs works great as well, because the deck mainly runs 1/1s and 2/Xs, which negates regular attacks. Honestly, he had a whole army out and was only able to deal 2-3 damage a turn because of Orbs. As for Virulent Plague, that card is great in the matchup as well. Most tokens, even 2/2 zombies from Liliana and Kalitas are killed off. That leaves him with horrible 1/1s and 2/2s without getting any benefits from dead Blisterpods, Lilianas, Kalitas, and the BG Eldrazi guy who makes tokens.
So, the final matchup was fantastic, but I had the upper hand with tight plays and little misplays.
So there you go! Got 1st of 30 with the decklist, and I LOVE it. My changes were great, and the only other change I’d make is removing more Dead Weights, because, quite literally, they are dead weight (ba-dum, cha…). Honestly, I never wanted to include them, even though they help Delirium and cost 1. I’m beginning to think that 1 maindeck is okay, but removing them from the SB in lieu of better cards. Maybe a Sinister Concoction just to keep the 1cc cards rolling. Honestly, I’d rather have another Transgress the Mind, or Pick the Brain, or even another Infinite Obliteration rather than that. Yes, it kills things, but there are a LOT of creatures that card doesn’t do anything against.
-Yawg
It's interesting to see I wasn't the only one who saw the potential of a singleton Hedonist's Trove in this list. I had just picked it up recently and hadn't had a chance to look through this thread yet so it was funny when I came to this page and saw two people mention it. If I had seen it in Game 2 of my losing match, I could have easily turned the game around completely.
I'd run a Pulse of Murasa before a second Nissa's Renewal, it's less top heavy and you're happy to draw/recycle both.
Regarding planeswalkers, I like 3 Ruinous Path - it's good enough right now to run all 4, but with all the Dark Petitions and recursion you're effectively running 5-6 copies already if needed. Against Chandra in particular, Virulent Plague shuts her down hard in game 2...just watch out for Nahiri removing it.
After having to double Languish a Sphinx, I hopped on the Blighted Fen train. It's the ideal answer against Sphinx, Ojutai, Gaea's Revenge, Ulamog, etc. because it's unpreventable (can't even make you discard it). When I played Esper Dragons in the previous standard I dreaded Fen, luckily people were too busy playing 3-4 colors to mess with it. As long as we're in 2 colors everyone should be running one, there's just no reason not to.
Esper Control
I think that your logic behind kalitas is flawed. The problem with it is that Kalitas is so good in that matchup that your opponent is forced to kill it or they will lose. If they have the ultimate price, oh well. If they don't you win! I would bring it in over the orbs. Orbs just seems really slow vs aristocrats.
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
MartyrProc
Daily Digest
MartyrProc. List citation is incorrect.
tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid
Now that you mention Pulse again, I remember someone, maybe you, talking about it earlier in the thread. I never put it in and forgot about it!
How many fen's and what did you replace?
Esper Control
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
MartyrProc
Daily Digest
MartyrProc. List citation is incorrect.
tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid
I have done testing against the Naya deck that won SCG...it's a scary deck! Not sure the best route to combat it. G2 virulent helps, and an extra ruinous path, duress, transgress, etc...
Which SCG event? Asking because I'm not familiar with the list.
Edit: Nevermind. Found it. Linking for convenience. Naya Midrange piloted by Bob Birdsall
So perusing this list. It's only 58 cards. What two cards are missing?
On a side note, the Grixis control deck is scary, I think I am going to actually run that list for the GP this weekend. I love seasons past, but WOW, that deck is mean!
Modern: MartyrProc (Control/Prison) Check out my Primer!
Commander: Karador
Pauper: Ub Reanimator
Legacy: Young Frankenstein/Dredge/The Spanish Inquisition
Casual: 5Color Zendikar Combo
MartyrProc
Daily Digest
MartyrProc. List citation is incorrect.
tWoo Brew off
twitter: @Dave_Cordeiro
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBizarroDavid
I kinda figured the 2 of each was by design to avoid multiples, though I could see where multiples of Gideon at least would be alright, and since Chandra can effectively be 4RR destroy all creatures, maybe... I wonder if they'll realize the list is wrong and edit.