Could someone point to a solid sideboard strategy for humans? I'm playing Yuuyu's Bant Company list but don't know cards to take out against:
Gw tokens
Bant company
Bw control
Rites
Ramp
Just finished my first league 3-2 and the biggest issue I noticed was just not knowing how to sideboard, even remotely. And while I don't expect/need a complete sideboard guide, I was wondering if I could get a somewhat general overview of what cards to take out against which type of decks and which ones to bring in (Like do I bring in Westvale against control? Company decks? When should I be sideboarding out declaration in stone?)
Could someone point to a solid sideboard strategy for humans? I'm playing Yuuyu's Bant Company list but don't know cards to take out against:
Gw tokens
Bant company
Bw control
Rites
Ramp
Specifically I am unsure what to take out.
I haven't played the list against most of those but in W/U Humans I almost always took out Reflector Mage against B/W Control. The body is very relevant but three mana is too slow for what is essentially a 2/3, the effect has few targets unless you Company/flicker it out to hit a Shambling Vent (which is hilarious) some number of it should be replaced by counter magic. I feel like Rites is a pretty decent matchup for us, maybe take out the Inspectors for some Gryff's Boons since they gum up the ground pretty well. Generally though, 4 Dromoka's Commands make their life a living hell.
And then I have no idea what to do with the sideboard.
Well with the taplands and the mass of 1 drop Green creatures and no forests I imagine it'll be pretty rare for you to curve 1 drop to 2 drop etc. a lot of the time which is where an aggressive deck like humans wants to be, I've never been the best at mana bases though. Intrepid Provisionor is a weird card to top out on, if you really want a top end it should be an angel probably (Archangel of Tithes, Avacyn, Sigarda). Veteran Cathar is going to just be a 2/2 bear most of the time, and Cleric of the Forward Order is more sideboard tech, and even then only really if your meta's super aggressive. You should definitely find room for Gryff's Boon as dealing with blockers is super annoying. I would also consider some number of 2/1's (Dragon Hunter, Expedition Envoy) especially in the spot of Servant of the Scale and Honored Hierarch.
Just finished my first league 3-2 and the biggest issue I noticed was just not knowing how to sideboard, even remotely. And while I don't expect/need a complete sideboard guide, I was wondering if I could get a somewhat general overview of what cards to take out against which type of decks and which ones to bring in (Like do I bring in Westvale against control? Company decks? When should I be sideboarding out declaration in stone?)
yeah generally Westvale is where you want to go against control, though your matchup against those decks should be favorable. Likewise, against decks that don't provide many creatures like control or Season's Past Declaration in Stone and Gryff's Boon should be taken out for Westvale and Gideon to rebuild after a Languish which is the card you should fear the most from them (if Gideon resolves he's a big pain for control decks if they can't Anguished Unmaking him immediately) remember to not dilute your gameplan too much though, you're the proactive deck and you should keep it that way. For Company decks Hallowed Moonlight is the place to go, that's probably the only matchup it's useful in besides maybe Brood Monitor Combo (where it should also be brought in). Some number of Stasis Snare should come in too against Company, to answer Archangel Avacyn, not all of them tho, you don't want to dilute your hyper aggressive gameplan. For things like Ramp you want one or two Stasis Snare to answer the big guy they'll inevitably play but for the most part you should run under them provided they can't Radiant Flames you turn 3.
Ok thanks for all the suggestions. I just went 4-1 in the last 3 dailies I did so obviously it's working. That being said I'm still not sure what cards I should be sideboarding out in the aggro and ramp matchups. I've been sticking with KoTWO on the play and some number of 1 drops on the draw but I'm almost certain that's incorrect. Should we be taking any number of allway's watchings at any time, say against the GW decks (because of dromoka's command)
Ok thanks for all the suggestions. I just went 4-1 in the last 3 dailies I did so obviously it's working. That being said I'm still not sure what cards I should be sideboarding out in the aggro and ramp matchups. I've been sticking with KoTWO on the play and some number of 1 drops on the draw but I'm almost certain that's incorrect. Should we be taking any number of allway's watchings at any time, say against the GW decks (because of dromoka's command)
Against aggro, bring in Hanweir Militia Captain. If they're not sweeping your board aggressively then the Captain will take over games pretty quickly. Against Dromoka's Command decks, side in Gryff's Boon, that will give you extra insurance for your Always Watching, not to mention that a lot of those Command decks aren't running many or any flyers. At that point, Gryff's Boon might actually be better than Always Watching. Just thoughts from my experiences with the deck, hope that helps!
Does anyone have matchup data for the deck? I've been keeping track of my record with a Wu version and I'm curious to see how it compares to the standard and to other splash colors. The basic plan is the same, but with counterspells for sweepers and collected company after sideboarding.
Adding counterspells seems to take the company matchup from a (preboarded, thus no counterspells) ~55% matchup to an ~80% one. I win 75% of sideboarded games against all varieties of company decks, which is pretty crazy. I'm pretty sure all the match losses have come from the BG husk versions -- I'm not sure what that matchup % is in particular.
Ramp and GB based control decks don't put up much of a fight until they load up on sweepers after sideboarding. I expect that the maindeck gideons give this version a better chance in preboard games than the standard version. However, even with the counterspells, the sideboarded games are only 50%. Overall these two matchups are ~60%, which I think is better than the normal WW.
Finally, the Wu deck is awful against typical WW decks, since you have always watching a much lower percent of the time, draw more lands, and don't curve 1 drop into 2 1-drops as often. I'm testing tragic arrogance and lands in the sideboard, but haven't run into the deck again yet, so I don't know if that plan will work. I tried 3 archangel of the tithes, but it's just not enough on its own.
The GW matchup feels pretty even (even though I have a winning record against them, I don't have many observations). Avacyn is a hell of a card. Stasis snare out of the sideboard doesn't seem to help the matchup very much -- it's at least as good as their plan of bringing in more little guys. The GWr matchup is bad though -- once the deck has access to radiant flames, it's just very difficult to combat. There's still a lot of variation in the lists too. Some have a lot of walkers, others have a lot of creatures. If I bring in stasis snare, it might be dead against their draw if they hit a lot of non-creatures, but if I bring in negate, it could be dead if they draw the creature half. Maybe clash of wills is the answer?
Anyway, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on different matchups, and to know if I'm actually bringing anything to the table by adding blue. Thanks.
Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
I recently returned to magic and was hoping to get some help with this deck.
My local store is out of Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Archangel of Tithes and Declaration in Stone. Knowing this I have put together this list, but was after some tuning feedback. The previously mentioned cards will be added when the store gets more stock, but for now I really want to get stuck in and play!
I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences from GP Minneapolis last weekend.
It was my first GP and since it was in my hometown, I had no excuse to miss it. My goal was to make day 2.
I win the roll with a very aggressive hand. He had 3 Evolving Wilds and couldn't get blockers out fast enough. Game 2 he has a Duskwatch Recruiter, double Dromoka's Command and 3 3-mana tempo creatures to put me away. Game 3 I have a great hand and he stumbles on mana.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Buzz on Atarka Red?
He is on a Mono red aggro deck splashing Atarka's Command. Game 1 my creatures come out faster and quickly grow bigger than he can handle. Game 2 goes a little better for him as we race. I try to avoid paining myself and go to 1 after two Exquisite Firecraft, but my Knights of the White Orchid are insane on defense and I eventually whittle him down to nothing.
2-0
Round 3 vs. Dustin on Bant Coco Humans with Eldrazi Displacer
He stumbled on his mana and didn't cast a Coco either game, I won both games very quickly.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Ryan on BGu control
I had the nuts game 1 on the play, he had mono kill spells into Languish into Kalitas game 2. Game 3 was very grindy. I had a needle spires + always watching and he is at 5. He chumps with his Hissing Quagmire, then uses Pulse of Murasa to replay it and gain enough life to survive a turn. He untaps and passes, I activate the spires and put the only Gryff's boon I had left in the deck onto it to fly over for the win.
4-0. I am super pumped to start 4-0 in my first GP! I am just hoping that I don't scrub out of day 1.
Round 5 vs. Joe on UW Humans
His deck is quite a bit bigger than mine with Ojutai's and Avacyn's. I have a huge board game 1 and he has less than 5 life when I pass to his turn 5. He slams maindeck Tragic Arrogance! and leaves me with only a 1/1 Anointer of Champions. He slams Ojutai into Reflector mage and I don't draw anything relevant. Game 2 is very grindy and I get early damage in putting him to ~6. We both have random humans and Always Watchings but he has both Avacyn and Ojutai. My dragon hunter is holding back ojutai, but I am taking 5 a turn from Avacyn. I return a Gryff's Boon to the wrong creature (not the dragon hunter) and he so trades his Ojutai, flips his Avacyn, wipes my board and attacks for lethal. If I put the Boon on the Dragon hunter he would have been forced to trade with Avacyn and then I can put him in the abyss needing a flyer every turn.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Tim on BG Gitrog
His first land is a BG dual and groan a little in my head, this will be difficult. He has two kill spells, but no sweeper. He plays a Gitrog on turn 5 but has to trade with my 6/6 Thalia's Lieutenant and my leftovers get the job done. Game 2 is quite a bit longer but I have removal for his blockers and kill before he gets any Gitrog shenanegans going.
5-1
I now have 3 win and ins for day 2, sweet. Unfortunately my 1st go is going to be an uphill battle.
Round 7 vs. Reid Duke on BG Midrange
Ugh! Top 25 ranked player with a sweet brew, this will be a struggle. I sat next to him a round or two ago, so I had a little scouting at least. Game 1 I have a great curve, he whiffs on his Transgress the Mind and I have the Declaration for one of his blockers (Sylvan Advocate I think?) on the last turn. Game 2 he has Grasp of Darkness into Ruinous Path into Kalitas, he kills some more and Languishes for 6 zombies and I whiff on the Declaration. Game 3 I keep a mediocre 7 with 3 land, 2 creatures, and 2 removal spells. He kills my first two threats and I rip 3 more lands off the top and cant put any pressure on him. He gets a few fatties out and I scoop to his Season's Past.
5-2
Round 8 vs. John on Grixis control
He has a Jace turn 2 on the play, He misses a third land so I declaration the Jace and pray he stays stuck, he does and I take game 1. Game 2 he has Radiant Flames, Languish, Kalitas, etc. Not close. Game 3 I am on the play and am chipping damage in damage. He taps out for a sweeper, but I can put him to 1 with my Needle Spires. He untaps and passes, so now I have a hard decision, I don't want to trade the spires with his Wandering Fumarole, so I play out 2 creatures from my hand, holding one more creature and a stasis snare in hand. He has a Kolaghan's command and another removal spell for my creatures. When I go to attack with the needle spires he has another kommand and that essentially puts me out of it. It drags on a few turns but I can't muster a threat to get the last point in.
5-3
Round 9 vs. David on Bant Company (with a morph package)
I open on the play with triple 1 drop, lieutanant and declation his blocker, his next blockers can't stop lethal. Game 2 he has Advocate, Reflector Mage, Bounding Krasis, a Coco, Den Protector for Coco and a Deathmist Raptor. I cant stop the value/tempo engine. Game 3 I have a god hand, and he mulls and get stuck on 2 land. Into day 2 at 6-3!
Round 10 vs. Ken on WU Eldrazi
This match was not very close. Game 1 he has Hedron Crawler, Thought-Knot Seer, Ojutai, Reflector Mage Always Watching, My board is too small to keep pace. Game two I Stasis Snare an Eldrazi Displacer, but Enlightened Ascetic makes short work of that. I can't deal with the Displacer and it runs away with the game. A rough start to day 2.
6-4, out of top 8 and likely money due to breakers but I decide to keep playing as the legacy event I'm considering playing in doesn't start for a few hours.
Round 11 vs. Jacob on Grixis control
Not much to say here, Game 1 I have the nuts and run him over while his read the bones draw air, game 2 he has sweepers into Kalitas and I die, game 3 he gets stuck on 2 land with a hand full of sweepers but doesn't draw out of it.
7-4
Round 12 vs. James on UW Spirits
His first play is a turn 3 Bygone Bishop, but my creatures start to grow and he has to chump for a few turns before he dies. Game 2 is a little more competative and he has a cute Essence Flux on Reflector Mage for a small tempo swing. I drop always watching and start attacking 3/3s into his 2/2s and 2/3s, he can't hold off my threats and doesn't draw a 4th land.
8-4
Round 13 vs. Matt on GW Tokens
I was surprised not to play this matchup yet and am generally not excited to play against it. He is on the play and has to Secure for 1 into Dromoka's Command to kill my Kytheon before it flips. He has Hangarback into Sylvan Advocate, but a pair of "top-Deck"larations in Stone put him away. Game 2 he curves a few blockers into Gideon, but I stasis snare a blocker and take out Gideon. He holds up a suspicious 5 mana, but I attack anyway and get 1 of my guys eaten by an Avacyn. I declaration the Avacyn and play out a Hanweir Militia Captain. He drops another Avacyn on his turn and flips it with a Hangarback for 0, thankfully my board stays partially intact thanks to a previous thalia's lieutenant, and I am able to force through the last few points past his angry Avacyn.
9-4
Round 14 vs. Stephen on BG Season's Past Ramp
I saw he had been playing a BG ramp deck while I was spectating random matches earlier in the day, so I keep a hand accordingly. He has a few Sylvan Advocates early but I kill the first when he makes a bad double block on a 3/3 Knight of the White Orchid and now the 2nd is too small to trade with anything. He doesn't draw anything relevant and I take game 1. Game 2 is a longer game, and at one point I have dealt him over 20 damage, but a Nissa's Renewal kept him alive. He is at 2 life with a Hissing Quagmire and a Blighted Fen among his 12ish lands to stop my flipped Gossipmonger and Kytheon, luckily I had been holding my 1 remaining Gryff's Boon and was able to fly over the manland for the last 2 points.
10-4. That win is good for a pro point! Not bad for my first GP, now lets try for one more!
Round 15 vs. Adam on 4 color Rites
Unfortunately I am too far back (table 59) to make the top 64, but lets see if I can get that 2nd Pro Point.
Game 1 I mull to 5 for the first time all weekend, but my hand is 3 1-drops, a Thalia's Lieutenant and 1 Plains. I scry a Plains to the top and draw a two drop into third land into two Always Watchings. He had only 2 creatures on board and when hit no creatures on his turn 4 Coco he scooped it up. In game 2 he puts up a bit more of a fight with a Reflector Mage and a few chump blockers off a Company, but then he draws 3 lands in a row and whiffs on a Duskwatch Recruiter activation. He can't come up with anything to hold back my creatures and dies shortly thereafter.
I finish the event at 11-4 and 84th Place. Much better than I had expected!
I had no issues with the main deck, and in the sideboard Needle Spires were great, Militia Captain and Stasis Snare as well. I think the only thing I would change about the deck would be to go back the the 3rd Gideon over an Archangel of Tithes, which didn't do much all weekend and maybe move some Militia Captains to the main over Anointer or Anafenza. I really liked the look of Max McVety's list from the Top-8, I will probably shift to a similar build moving forward.
Knight of the White Orchid seems pretty great for mono-white decks, but does anyone have any experience with it in W/x decks? Seems like if I end up with 2 Plains on turn 2, I wouldn't want a third one in lieu of my second color. Is it just as good late game or no?
Knight of the White Orchid seems pretty great for mono-white decks, but does anyone have any experience with it in W/x decks? Seems like if I end up with 2 Plains on turn 2, I wouldn't want a third one in lieu of my second color. Is it just as good late game or no?
It is great if you are playing WU or WG (or Bant) since you can fetch Prairie Stream or Canopy Vista to fix your mana, as they both have the Plains subtype. If your splash is black or red, its less exciting, but it is still a 2-mana 2/2 that "draws a card" which is pretty great.
there are two Bant Humans lists in the top 8 of the SCG tournament this weekend. It looks like GW Tokens is a favorable matchup for it from what I've seen. In the featured match the tokens player was able to pull out a win with, like, seven consecutive top decks for just what he needed in two of the games. Anything less and the Humans would've ran right over him.
There's also a Boros Humans list in the top 8, which is just mono white humans splashing red for Needle Spires and Reckless Bushwhacker, which is a card I didn't consider in W/R Humans for some reason despite it making perfect sense and being an extremely powerful card.
This sequencing is very skill intensive, but Tom Ross is the Boss when it comes to these kinds of play (Infect King). We are not all at Tom Ross level and I would love to see the replay of his match against Cedric Philips' BW-control at SCGATL.
was that match not broadcasted? It seems like a match they'd have in the featured spot.
Also for my Bant Human bros what are your thoughts on Ulvenwald Mysteries in the sideboard? I know it was talked about a bit before. A couple players around my area play BW Control and I feel like it's a grindy enough card against them in some number. I was also considering Display of Dominance.
I have been having some difficulties with G/W Humans using Tom-Ross's list.
For side-boarding
Do you bring in the Bushwhacker + Needle-Spires package? Or just the Hanwier Militia Captain's + Gryffs Boon?
Thanks for any help!
Hanweir Militia Captain is generally very good in Human mirrors considering most other Human decks don't run too much removal and it can take over a game by itself very quickly. Another Gryff's Boon is also good to have since you can fly over blockers, as well as block their flyers. Another thing I'd consider is maybe the Silkwrap as Declaration in Stone 5, though that depends on how defensive you want to play.
I can see some number of Bushwackers being good, but I don't know what the deck you're struggling with uses and whether or not it would be relevant; generally though I can't see anything you'd want to cut for him, maybe Always Watching if you're getting blown out by Dromoka's Command? Needle Spires I feel comes as a package with the Bushwacker so you have more red to consistently cast him, and I don't really like Spires in a mirror considering how slow they are
Played this deck at a reasonably large GPT and drew into 1st seed. Deck is gross and does powerful things at every point in the curve.
Everything you do is efficient and with the purpose of getting your opponent dead quickly. You can beat a lot of stuff like Kalitas because you have big stuff that deals with it well and Reflector Mage makes 4 drops bad. You have a bit of trouble playing from behind but you can beat a lot of spells like Languish as well.
you're missing two cards from the list. port town?
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Some facts of magic:
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
2 W/r humans and 1 mono white humans in the Scg top 8.
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"Unfortunately, all of my test animals have died or escaped, so i shall be the final subject. I feel no fear. This is a momentous night."
--Laboratory notes, final entry
Hey frands; I ran my version at a small FNM, got 2nd/9 peeps w a bye
R1: Bye 1-0
R2: 1-0 vs The Great Aurora. Lose game 1, got him below 10 but he ramped out and went off. I CoCo'd into Kytheon and blocked Gaea's Revenge once. g2 Bring in 2 coco, 2 Secure, 1 boon, drop gossipmonger, 1 inspector, 1 dromoka warr, 1 always watching or so. beat him t4/5. g3 no change same deal 3 min game he gets no ramp and I smash. 2-1
R3: 2-0 vs BW control (killer build): He runs the dream of t4 Languish into t5 Reality Smasher and Linvala, the Preserver and other bombs, so lost g1. G2 bring in 2 coco 1 eerie, 2 surge, 1 stasis, drop 1 gossip, 2 inspector, 1 drom warr, 1 foremost 1 D.Command. Held him off for a while but he wins with drawing all of his smashers, hah. 0-2. Overboarded, I may have done it differently with more D command out but still dropped too many creatures.
R4: 2-1 vs my friend running my Rb Madness deck (spoiler below), lose g1 but was close, i think? g2 bring in 2 surge 1 boon drop 1 drom warr, 1 gossip 1 inspector, he was off black mana and couldnt recover, really. g3 no change out tempo him mainly. Had a dragon hunter D.Command a Avaricious Dragon so that was cool. 2-1.
I enjoyed it, for standard. Probably play it again, adding in another Eerie in the board, maybe drop a silkwrap for it. I'd like to fit in the 3rd Boon to the mainboard since they're crazy in white weenie esp if they can double strike.
Gw tokens
Bant company
Bw control
Rites
Ramp
Specifically I am unsure what to take out.
4 Servant of the Scale
4 Honored Hierarch
4 Thraben Inspector
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Cleric of the Forward Order
1 Veteran Cathar
4 Veteran Warleader
2 Intrepid Provisioner
4 Always Watching
Lands 22
4 Tranquil Expanse
4 Canopy Vista
4 Fortified Village
10 plains
And then I have no idea what to do with the sideboard.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
2 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
4 Anointer of Champions
4 Declaration in Stone
4 Dragon Hunter
3 Expedition Envoy
2 Gryff's Boon
4 Knight of the White Orchid
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
18 Plains
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2 Gryff's Boon
2 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Lantern Scout
3 Stasis Snare
3 Westvale Abbey
Just finished my first league 3-2 and the biggest issue I noticed was just not knowing how to sideboard, even remotely. And while I don't expect/need a complete sideboard guide, I was wondering if I could get a somewhat general overview of what cards to take out against which type of decks and which ones to bring in (Like do I bring in Westvale against control? Company decks? When should I be sideboarding out declaration in stone?)
I haven't played the list against most of those but in W/U Humans I almost always took out Reflector Mage against B/W Control. The body is very relevant but three mana is too slow for what is essentially a 2/3, the effect has few targets unless you Company/flicker it out to hit a Shambling Vent (which is hilarious) some number of it should be replaced by counter magic. I feel like Rites is a pretty decent matchup for us, maybe take out the Inspectors for some Gryff's Boons since they gum up the ground pretty well. Generally though, 4 Dromoka's Commands make their life a living hell.
Well with the taplands and the mass of 1 drop Green creatures and no forests I imagine it'll be pretty rare for you to curve 1 drop to 2 drop etc. a lot of the time which is where an aggressive deck like humans wants to be, I've never been the best at mana bases though. Intrepid Provisionor is a weird card to top out on, if you really want a top end it should be an angel probably (Archangel of Tithes, Avacyn, Sigarda). Veteran Cathar is going to just be a 2/2 bear most of the time, and Cleric of the Forward Order is more sideboard tech, and even then only really if your meta's super aggressive. You should definitely find room for Gryff's Boon as dealing with blockers is super annoying. I would also consider some number of 2/1's (Dragon Hunter, Expedition Envoy) especially in the spot of Servant of the Scale and Honored Hierarch.
yeah generally Westvale is where you want to go against control, though your matchup against those decks should be favorable. Likewise, against decks that don't provide many creatures like control or Season's Past Declaration in Stone and Gryff's Boon should be taken out for Westvale and Gideon to rebuild after a Languish which is the card you should fear the most from them (if Gideon resolves he's a big pain for control decks if they can't Anguished Unmaking him immediately) remember to not dilute your gameplan too much though, you're the proactive deck and you should keep it that way. For Company decks Hallowed Moonlight is the place to go, that's probably the only matchup it's useful in besides maybe Brood Monitor Combo (where it should also be brought in). Some number of Stasis Snare should come in too against Company, to answer Archangel Avacyn, not all of them tho, you don't want to dilute your hyper aggressive gameplan. For things like Ramp you want one or two Stasis Snare to answer the big guy they'll inevitably play but for the most part you should run under them provided they can't Radiant Flames you turn 3.
Against aggro, bring in Hanweir Militia Captain. If they're not sweeping your board aggressively then the Captain will take over games pretty quickly. Against Dromoka's Command decks, side in Gryff's Boon, that will give you extra insurance for your Always Watching, not to mention that a lot of those Command decks aren't running many or any flyers. At that point, Gryff's Boon might actually be better than Always Watching. Just thoughts from my experiences with the deck, hope that helps!
W Humans
Modern
G Stompy
EDH
GWU Rafiq
Here's my list and deck discussion: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/wu-human-aggro/
Here's my data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d2CvjeAiGLUcdoSg4zWdto_2Ah2rCrGcY6JUuAcOmiM/edit?usp=sharing
Adding counterspells seems to take the company matchup from a (preboarded, thus no counterspells) ~55% matchup to an ~80% one. I win 75% of sideboarded games against all varieties of company decks, which is pretty crazy. I'm pretty sure all the match losses have come from the BG husk versions -- I'm not sure what that matchup % is in particular.
Ramp and GB based control decks don't put up much of a fight until they load up on sweepers after sideboarding. I expect that the maindeck gideons give this version a better chance in preboard games than the standard version. However, even with the counterspells, the sideboarded games are only 50%. Overall these two matchups are ~60%, which I think is better than the normal WW.
Finally, the Wu deck is awful against typical WW decks, since you have always watching a much lower percent of the time, draw more lands, and don't curve 1 drop into 2 1-drops as often. I'm testing tragic arrogance and lands in the sideboard, but haven't run into the deck again yet, so I don't know if that plan will work. I tried 3 archangel of the tithes, but it's just not enough on its own.
The GW matchup feels pretty even (even though I have a winning record against them, I don't have many observations). Avacyn is a hell of a card. Stasis snare out of the sideboard doesn't seem to help the matchup very much -- it's at least as good as their plan of bringing in more little guys. The GWr matchup is bad though -- once the deck has access to radiant flames, it's just very difficult to combat. There's still a lot of variation in the lists too. Some have a lot of walkers, others have a lot of creatures. If I bring in stasis snare, it might be dead against their draw if they hit a lot of non-creatures, but if I bring in negate, it could be dead if they draw the creature half. Maybe clash of wills is the answer?
Anyway, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on different matchups, and to know if I'm actually bringing anything to the table by adding blue. Thanks.
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
I recently returned to magic and was hoping to get some help with this deck.
My local store is out of Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, Archangel of Tithes and Declaration in Stone. Knowing this I have put together this list, but was after some tuning feedback. The previously mentioned cards will be added when the store gets more stock, but for now I really want to get stuck in and play!
I am unsure what else to put into the SB
2x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
3x Consul's Lieutenant
4x Dragon Hunter
4x Expedition Envoy
2x Hanweir Militia Captain
4x Knight of the White Orchid
1x Odric, Lunarch Marshal
4x Thalia's Lieutenant
4x Thraben Inspector
4x Town Gossipmonger
3x Always Watching
3x Gryff's Boon
2x Stasis Snare
Land (20)
20x Plains
1x Bygone Bishop
1x Gryff's Boon
2x Hallowed Moonlight
2x Hanweir Militia Captain
1x Silkwrap
2x Stasis Snare
1x Tandem Tactics
I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences from GP Minneapolis last weekend.
It was my first GP and since it was in my hometown, I had no excuse to miss it. My goal was to make day 2.
Here is the deck I registered:
2 Anointer of Champions
4 Dragon Hunter
4 Expedition Envoy
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
2 Anafenza, Kin-tree Spirit
4 Knight of the White Orchid
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
3 Gryff's Boon
4 Declaration in Stone
4 Always Watching
Land
14 Plains
4 Battlefield Forge
3 Needle Spires
1 Gryff's Boon
3 Hanweir Militia Captain
1 Eerie Interlude
2 Stasis Snare
3 Archangel of Tithes
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
Here is how the event went:
I win the roll with a very aggressive hand. He had 3 Evolving Wilds and couldn't get blockers out fast enough. Game 2 he has a Duskwatch Recruiter, double Dromoka's Command and 3 3-mana tempo creatures to put me away. Game 3 I have a great hand and he stumbles on mana.
1-0
Round 2 vs. Buzz on Atarka Red?
He is on a Mono red aggro deck splashing Atarka's Command. Game 1 my creatures come out faster and quickly grow bigger than he can handle. Game 2 goes a little better for him as we race. I try to avoid paining myself and go to 1 after two Exquisite Firecraft, but my Knights of the White Orchid are insane on defense and I eventually whittle him down to nothing.
2-0
Round 3 vs. Dustin on Bant Coco Humans with Eldrazi Displacer
He stumbled on his mana and didn't cast a Coco either game, I won both games very quickly.
3-0
Round 4 vs. Ryan on BGu control
I had the nuts game 1 on the play, he had mono kill spells into Languish into Kalitas game 2. Game 3 was very grindy. I had a needle spires + always watching and he is at 5. He chumps with his Hissing Quagmire, then uses Pulse of Murasa to replay it and gain enough life to survive a turn. He untaps and passes, I activate the spires and put the only Gryff's boon I had left in the deck onto it to fly over for the win.
4-0. I am super pumped to start 4-0 in my first GP! I am just hoping that I don't scrub out of day 1.
Round 5 vs. Joe on UW Humans
His deck is quite a bit bigger than mine with Ojutai's and Avacyn's. I have a huge board game 1 and he has less than 5 life when I pass to his turn 5. He slams maindeck Tragic Arrogance! and leaves me with only a 1/1 Anointer of Champions. He slams Ojutai into Reflector mage and I don't draw anything relevant. Game 2 is very grindy and I get early damage in putting him to ~6. We both have random humans and Always Watchings but he has both Avacyn and Ojutai. My dragon hunter is holding back ojutai, but I am taking 5 a turn from Avacyn. I return a Gryff's Boon to the wrong creature (not the dragon hunter) and he so trades his Ojutai, flips his Avacyn, wipes my board and attacks for lethal. If I put the Boon on the Dragon hunter he would have been forced to trade with Avacyn and then I can put him in the abyss needing a flyer every turn.
4-1
Round 6 vs. Tim on BG Gitrog
His first land is a BG dual and groan a little in my head, this will be difficult. He has two kill spells, but no sweeper. He plays a Gitrog on turn 5 but has to trade with my 6/6 Thalia's Lieutenant and my leftovers get the job done. Game 2 is quite a bit longer but I have removal for his blockers and kill before he gets any Gitrog shenanegans going.
5-1
I now have 3 win and ins for day 2, sweet. Unfortunately my 1st go is going to be an uphill battle.
Round 7 vs. Reid Duke on BG Midrange
Ugh! Top 25 ranked player with a sweet brew, this will be a struggle. I sat next to him a round or two ago, so I had a little scouting at least. Game 1 I have a great curve, he whiffs on his Transgress the Mind and I have the Declaration for one of his blockers (Sylvan Advocate I think?) on the last turn. Game 2 he has Grasp of Darkness into Ruinous Path into Kalitas, he kills some more and Languishes for 6 zombies and I whiff on the Declaration. Game 3 I keep a mediocre 7 with 3 land, 2 creatures, and 2 removal spells. He kills my first two threats and I rip 3 more lands off the top and cant put any pressure on him. He gets a few fatties out and I scoop to his Season's Past.
5-2
Round 8 vs. John on Grixis control
He has a Jace turn 2 on the play, He misses a third land so I declaration the Jace and pray he stays stuck, he does and I take game 1. Game 2 he has Radiant Flames, Languish, Kalitas, etc. Not close. Game 3 I am on the play and am chipping damage in damage. He taps out for a sweeper, but I can put him to 1 with my Needle Spires. He untaps and passes, so now I have a hard decision, I don't want to trade the spires with his Wandering Fumarole, so I play out 2 creatures from my hand, holding one more creature and a stasis snare in hand. He has a Kolaghan's command and another removal spell for my creatures. When I go to attack with the needle spires he has another kommand and that essentially puts me out of it. It drags on a few turns but I can't muster a threat to get the last point in.
5-3
Round 9 vs. David on Bant Company (with a morph package)
I open on the play with triple 1 drop, lieutanant and declation his blocker, his next blockers can't stop lethal. Game 2 he has Advocate, Reflector Mage, Bounding Krasis, a Coco, Den Protector for Coco and a Deathmist Raptor. I cant stop the value/tempo engine. Game 3 I have a god hand, and he mulls and get stuck on 2 land. Into day 2 at 6-3!
Round 10 vs. Ken on WU Eldrazi
This match was not very close. Game 1 he has Hedron Crawler, Thought-Knot Seer, Ojutai, Reflector Mage Always Watching, My board is too small to keep pace. Game two I Stasis Snare an Eldrazi Displacer, but Enlightened Ascetic makes short work of that. I can't deal with the Displacer and it runs away with the game. A rough start to day 2.
6-4, out of top 8 and likely money due to breakers but I decide to keep playing as the legacy event I'm considering playing in doesn't start for a few hours.
Round 11 vs. Jacob on Grixis control
Not much to say here, Game 1 I have the nuts and run him over while his read the bones draw air, game 2 he has sweepers into Kalitas and I die, game 3 he gets stuck on 2 land with a hand full of sweepers but doesn't draw out of it.
7-4
Round 12 vs. James on UW Spirits
His first play is a turn 3 Bygone Bishop, but my creatures start to grow and he has to chump for a few turns before he dies. Game 2 is a little more competative and he has a cute Essence Flux on Reflector Mage for a small tempo swing. I drop always watching and start attacking 3/3s into his 2/2s and 2/3s, he can't hold off my threats and doesn't draw a 4th land.
8-4
Round 13 vs. Matt on GW Tokens
I was surprised not to play this matchup yet and am generally not excited to play against it. He is on the play and has to Secure for 1 into Dromoka's Command to kill my Kytheon before it flips. He has Hangarback into Sylvan Advocate, but a pair of "top-Deck"larations in Stone put him away. Game 2 he curves a few blockers into Gideon, but I stasis snare a blocker and take out Gideon. He holds up a suspicious 5 mana, but I attack anyway and get 1 of my guys eaten by an Avacyn. I declaration the Avacyn and play out a Hanweir Militia Captain. He drops another Avacyn on his turn and flips it with a Hangarback for 0, thankfully my board stays partially intact thanks to a previous thalia's lieutenant, and I am able to force through the last few points past his angry Avacyn.
9-4
Round 14 vs. Stephen on BG Season's Past Ramp
I saw he had been playing a BG ramp deck while I was spectating random matches earlier in the day, so I keep a hand accordingly. He has a few Sylvan Advocates early but I kill the first when he makes a bad double block on a 3/3 Knight of the White Orchid and now the 2nd is too small to trade with anything. He doesn't draw anything relevant and I take game 1. Game 2 is a longer game, and at one point I have dealt him over 20 damage, but a Nissa's Renewal kept him alive. He is at 2 life with a Hissing Quagmire and a Blighted Fen among his 12ish lands to stop my flipped Gossipmonger and Kytheon, luckily I had been holding my 1 remaining Gryff's Boon and was able to fly over the manland for the last 2 points.
10-4. That win is good for a pro point! Not bad for my first GP, now lets try for one more!
Round 15 vs. Adam on 4 color Rites
Unfortunately I am too far back (table 59) to make the top 64, but lets see if I can get that 2nd Pro Point.
Game 1 I mull to 5 for the first time all weekend, but my hand is 3 1-drops, a Thalia's Lieutenant and 1 Plains. I scry a Plains to the top and draw a two drop into third land into two Always Watchings. He had only 2 creatures on board and when hit no creatures on his turn 4 Coco he scooped it up. In game 2 he puts up a bit more of a fight with a Reflector Mage and a few chump blockers off a Company, but then he draws 3 lands in a row and whiffs on a Duskwatch Recruiter activation. He can't come up with anything to hold back my creatures and dies shortly thereafter.
I finish the event at 11-4 and 84th Place. Much better than I had expected!
I had no issues with the main deck, and in the sideboard Needle Spires were great, Militia Captain and Stasis Snare as well. I think the only thing I would change about the deck would be to go back the the 3rd Gideon over an Archangel of Tithes, which didn't do much all weekend and maybe move some Militia Captains to the main over Anointer or Anafenza. I really liked the look of Max McVety's list from the Top-8, I will probably shift to a similar build moving forward.
It is great if you are playing WU or WG (or Bant) since you can fetch Prairie Stream or Canopy Vista to fix your mana, as they both have the Plains subtype. If your splash is black or red, its less exciting, but it is still a 2-mana 2/2 that "draws a card" which is pretty great.
There's also a Boros Humans list in the top 8, which is just mono white humans splashing red for Needle Spires and Reckless Bushwhacker, which is a card I didn't consider in W/R Humans for some reason despite it making perfect sense and being an extremely powerful card.
was that match not broadcasted? It seems like a match they'd have in the featured spot.
Also for my Bant Human bros what are your thoughts on Ulvenwald Mysteries in the sideboard? I know it was talked about a bit before. A couple players around my area play BW Control and I feel like it's a grindy enough card against them in some number. I was also considering Display of Dominance.
I have been having some difficulties with G/W Humans using Tom-Ross's list.
For side-boarding
Do you bring in the Bushwhacker + Needle-Spires package? Or just the Hanwier Militia Captain's + Gryffs Boon?
Thanks for any help!
I have been having some difficulties with G/W Tokens using Tom-Ross's list.
For side-boarding
Do you bring in the Bushwhacker + Needle-Spires package? Or just the Hanwier Militia Captain's + Gryffs Boon?
Thanks for any help!
Hanweir Militia Captain is generally very good in Human mirrors considering most other Human decks don't run too much removal and it can take over a game by itself very quickly. Another Gryff's Boon is also good to have since you can fly over blockers, as well as block their flyers. Another thing I'd consider is maybe the Silkwrap as Declaration in Stone 5, though that depends on how defensive you want to play.
I can see some number of Bushwackers being good, but I don't know what the deck you're struggling with uses and whether or not it would be relevant; generally though I can't see anything you'd want to cut for him, maybe Always Watching if you're getting blown out by Dromoka's Command? Needle Spires I feel comes as a package with the Bushwacker so you have more red to consistently cast him, and I don't really like Spires in a mirror considering how slow they are
4x Lambholt Pacifist
4x Duskwatch Recruiter
4x Thalia's Lieutenant
2x Knight of the White Orchid
4x Reflector Mage
4x Tireless Tracker
3x Dromoka's Command
1x Declaration in Stone
4x Collected Company
2x Ojutai's Command
3x Forest
1x Island
4x Evolving Wilds
4x Fortified Village
2x Canopy Vista
3x Prarie Stream
2x Yavimaya Coast
3x Den Protector
1x Stratus Dancer
2x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
2x Gryff's Boon
2x Negate
1x Clash of Wills
2x Tragic Arrogance
1x Sigarda, Heron's Grace
1x Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Played this deck at a reasonably large GPT and drew into 1st seed. Deck is gross and does powerful things at every point in the curve.
Everything you do is efficient and with the purpose of getting your opponent dead quickly. You can beat a lot of stuff like Kalitas because you have big stuff that deals with it well and Reflector Mage makes 4 drops bad. You have a bit of trouble playing from behind but you can beat a lot of spells like Languish as well.
Tireless Tracker is gr8.
-Terror is an emotion which, when experienced, results in death.
-The pox was a disease notorious for having killed one-third, rounded up, of Europe’s population. Smallpox, on the other hand, killed only a single person.
-A person riding a horse cannot be stopped by foot soldiers, large animals, walls, archers, or even catapults.
More facts of magic
--Laboratory notes, final entry
3 Canopy Vista
4 Fortified Village
13 Plains
// Creatures 27
4 Dragon Hunter
3 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Thraben Inspector
1 Town Gossipmonger
1 Consul's Lieutenant
1 Knight of the White Orchid
2 Dromoka Warrior
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Duskwatch Recruiter
4 Arashin Foremost
3 Dromoka's Command
1 Collected Company
// Sorceries
3 Declaration in Stone
// Enchantments
2 Gryff's Boon
4 Always Watching
2 Secure the Wastes
1 Gryff's Boon
2 Immolating Glare
2 Silkwrap
2 Surge of Righteousness
1 Eerie Interlude
2 Root Out
1 Stasis Snare
2 Collected Company
Hey frands; I ran my version at a small FNM, got 2nd/9 peeps w a bye
R1: Bye 1-0
R2: 1-0 vs The Great Aurora. Lose game 1, got him below 10 but he ramped out and went off. I CoCo'd into Kytheon and blocked Gaea's Revenge once. g2 Bring in 2 coco, 2 Secure, 1 boon, drop gossipmonger, 1 inspector, 1 dromoka warr, 1 always watching or so. beat him t4/5. g3 no change same deal 3 min game he gets no ramp and I smash. 2-1
R3: 2-0 vs BW control (killer build): He runs the dream of t4 Languish into t5 Reality Smasher and Linvala, the Preserver and other bombs, so lost g1. G2 bring in 2 coco 1 eerie, 2 surge, 1 stasis, drop 1 gossip, 2 inspector, 1 drom warr, 1 foremost 1 D.Command. Held him off for a while but he wins with drawing all of his smashers, hah. 0-2. Overboarded, I may have done it differently with more D command out but still dropped too many creatures.
R4: 2-1 vs my friend running my Rb Madness deck (spoiler below), lose g1 but was close, i think? g2 bring in 2 surge 1 boon drop 1 drom warr, 1 gossip 1 inspector, he was off black mana and couldnt recover, really. g3 no change out tempo him mainly. Had a dragon hunter D.Command a Avaricious Dragon so that was cool. 2-1.
4 Foreboding Ruins
13 Mountain
4 Smoldering Marsh
// Creatures 26
3 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Ravenous Bloodseeker
3 Asylum Visitor
4 Heir of Falkenrath
2 Sin Prodder
2 Avaricious Dragon
4 Incorrigible Youths
3 Lightning Axe
4 Fiery Temper
// Sorceries
4 Alms of the Vein
// Enchantments
2 Skin Invasion
1 Burn from Within
1 Fiery Impulse
2 Rending Volley
2 Avacyn's Judgment
1 Tormenting Voice
2 Self-Inflicted Wound
2 Transgress the Mind
2 Virulent Plague
2 Kolaghan's Command
3-1; 2/9. 4 packs.
I enjoyed it, for standard. Probably play it again, adding in another Eerie in the board, maybe drop a silkwrap for it. I'd like to fit in the 3rd Boon to the mainboard since they're crazy in white weenie esp if they can double strike.
Cube
Terricube
Modern
8Rack
Burn
Legacy
Oops, All Spells!
Pox