If you want the deck to feel more like R/b Dragons of DtK (which I dont blame you if you do), try populating the 3cmc slot with 2x Drana, liberator of Malakir and 2x Hanweir Garrison. They will not synergize with each other but do grow in two different directions. At 4cmc try 2x Dust stalker and 2x Fleetwheel. On turn 4 any combination of these threats can swing together.
And as I did with R/b Dragons, I will advocate for Forerunner of Slaughter. 4x. He can easily target himself or a Srounger at the very least.
There was an interesting read on SCG today. Deck is similar to the latest RB ones here, but had 3 Built to Smash over Keys, and 4 Lathnu Hellion over Pia with the intent of going extreme aggro game 1. Post board, the deck transforms - 3 Chandra and 2 Liliana, plus a bunch of removal. The plan is to nullify their boarded in removal, and have the walkers as win-cons instead, and "protect the queen" with extra removal spells.
I like the Forerunners, but I'm skeptical of Liliana out of the board. She isn't all that well positioned as it is, and the mana has a hard time supporting double Black. Kalitas is sketchy himself, but I suppose he's such a backbreaker in the dredge matchups that its worth the risk. But a card that might not even be very good on many board states and can't be cast 30% of the time in the first 5 turns isn't my cup of tea (actual probability).
The protect the Queen strategy is definitely valid (indeed essentially the same strategy I employed with my 13 card anti aggro package in those tournament reports), though I think Chandra is all you really need there. She will end the game faster than Liliana off an ultimate, trust me on that.
I also don't know how I feel about Hellion. That seems to be a card that goes way down in value when you cannot get a constant stream of energy to keep it on board. I think I'd consider a number of things before I ran Hellion, assuming I decided to cut Pia. Fleetwheel, Garrison, Bushwhacker are all cards I'd run before I went with Hellion.
This is the version of the deck that I've been testing for awhile. I elected to use Alms of the Vein over Incendiary Flow, as I think the madness synergy is just too damn good to pass up. If I had the room to run 4 Flow 4 Alms I definitely would, and I'm considering siding Flow simply because of how cost effective it is.
The lack of Pia Nalaar is something that I've gone back and forth between. On one hand, Pia is an undeniably good card. I'd be ignorant to say she's bad, as her track record very simply proves otherwise.
With that being said, I don't run her because I don't like her in a more madness oriented build. I'd much rather run Neonate, who works amazingly to get off Alms and Temper in the early stages of the game.
My basic game plan is to win with increments of 3 damage via Fiery Temper, Alms of the vein and Copter, with Scrounger and Apprentice helping if my opponent doesn't have any blockers. Pia is a great card, but I'd rather use the one drop Neonate. Some people tend to run Gorger as well, but it's such a specific interaction between the two that I don't think really benefits the deck all that much. Maybe if I ran another vamp in the main I'd consider Gorger.
If I was to modify the deck to add Pia, I'd probably ditch two of my Key's in favor of her, but at the moment I think 4 is nice, especially with Bloodhall sided in.
Also, I don't think Aether Hub is appropriate for Alms variants of the deck. Too many black spells.
There seems to be two distinct stock lists. The PT list which seems to be the most well established, and the list inspired by Eric Hawkins, which goes for a lower curve and runs Alms over Flow. Concerning the Alms list, I don't like the creature line up all that much and the fact that it doesnt run Flow, but I would like to find room for Alms somehow. That got me to thinking of a hybrid list.
Basically I've cut both Fleetwheel, went to 2 Pia, and cut the lands to 22 to make room for a full set of Alms. Otherwise, I'm running a shell that resembles more the PT deck than the Hawkins list, with Pia, 2x Key, no Gorger or Neonate, and a full set of Flow. I did not want to cut Pia entirely, but at 3 mana, it can be awkward to unload our hand quickly so we can activate a Bomat Courier. Forerunner has been strong for me, so I've kept him. Fleetwheel was also strong, but a bit slow at 4 mana. Extra Keys seemed unnecessary. You don't want multiples and we have plenty of discard outlets, especially post board. Gorger seems strong if we want to ensure an aggressive start, but 1 toughness is a big downside vs Weavers and Lilianas.
Edit: I've updated the main post with a stock Alms list as well.
Rount 1: BU Zombies 2-0
Not much to say here. They are a bit of a slower aggro deck. However, Incendiary Flow really throws a wrench into their engine. I managed to flow their Haunted Dead one game and an Amalgam the next. For sideboarding I took out a couple of Disintegrations for Priest. The spot removal is a lot less effective vs their threats, but Priest can shoot something every turn if you get it out.
Round 2: Temur Marvel 2-0
They were on the exact PT Top8 decklist. Both games they were just a turn off or so. Forerunner was huge in the first game. They Koz Returned my board, but I was able to follow up with a hasty Forerunner, which in turn hasted my reanimated Scrounger the next turn. Second game I had to mull to 5, and kept a no lander. Scry'd a land to the top and a good start with Apprentice into Bomat. I managed to snag a Marvel with Transgress the turn before they were going to cast it. They never found a Koz Return to stablize. They were able to delay me with he lifegain off a Puzzleknot, but were a mana short to get enough energy and cast Marvel. Sideboard here was fairly simple. I got rid of all my Disintegrates and Pias and loaded up on Transgress and Defiance.
Round 3: Jeskai Control 2-1
I believe it was the finalist list or very similar. Their sweepers were quite good in the first game to clear my board and leave me with an inactive copter. It looked pretty bad and I eventually conceded once he had some threats on board. Game 2 I put up some early pressure which he was able to kill eventually. However, after attacks once he had used removal, I would resolve a big threat like Chandra or Call of the Bloodline. He was able to deal with the first Chandra eventually, but I followed up with a second. It was Call of the Bloodline that won the game however. Game 3 played out similarly, but I had an aggressive draw. I was slightly light on lands but drew out of it. No sweeper to catch them up and that ended up being game. I sided in Transgress, Defiance, Call, and Chandra, cutting Alms, Disintegrate, and Key.
Round 4: UW Flash 2-0
One of the various UW flash control lists. This one ran Avacyn and Spellqueller, but seemed to have cut some of the lower end creatures. Game 1 I had a really good start on the play. They had removal but just couldn't keep up with the aggression. Game 2 they got stuck on 3 mana and that was essentially game. I done something different for siding, not know if if they were on Spirits. I sided in Chandra, Call, Priest, Transgress, and Defiance and sided out Copter, Alms, Pia, and Key. The idea was to mostly Burn them out while killing their spirits and eventually resolve an engines like Chandra and Call to help finish the job. Not sure if it was correct, as I got beaten in a friendly game with that side plan. I think on the Draw, Copter loses a lot of value vs control, as they can stay ahead of your threats with their removal and you end up with a useless Vehicle with nothing to pilot it.
Honestly, Alms felt very mediocre the whole night. Also, I didn't cut many threats from the other list (ran 16 creatures and 4 vehicles vs 17 and 6), but it was very noticable how threat light the deck is against the control decks. Maybe Alms has its place, but I think I would have rather had Cruiser or Pia each time I drew an Alms.
On DailyMTG today, the deck of the day is a RB Aggro deck, but where Nevelo has Forerunners, it runs Lupine Prototype, which is interesting... At that point, could it be worth going all in on the early aggro and getting some Built to Smash in there as well (say, in the Alms slot of Nevelos deck above)? I mean, an 8/8 trample for 2R isn't too bad...
Bushwhacker wouldn't have done what I wanted in that spot. I was a little constrained on mana (3 lands), but was able to haste the Forerunner after the sweeper and then haste the Scrounger after reanimation. Even on 4 lands, Scrounger reanimation isn't casting a spell, so I wouldn't be able to reanimate and then surge Bushwhacker. Bushwhacker is a strong card, but I think that Forerunner is more suited to the deck because of Scrounger and Copter.
I haven't tried Lupine Prototype but I have considered it. Knowing generally how long it takes for me to get Bloodhall Priest's trigger going, I think Lupine will take so long to get going that it isn't worth it.
Bloodhall Priest is almost like a mono-green card in power and toughness when it gets played through madness so even if the ability never activates it still has good value. Lupine Prototype got played a lot early on in the deck testing phases as a cheap way to pilot vehicles. Unfortunately, things just didn't pan out that well for him.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Basically the list I 4-0'd with at FNM last Friday with a couple updates to the side. Cut Weaver for more Transgress and a third Chandra.
Top 4 at Gameday with this list. I lost to GR Energy. Land screw game 1 left me without the mana for the Disintegration in hand against a pumped and double strike Brawler. Game 2 won after he got stuck on lands too. Last game I kept a sketchy hand and drew really badly. I'm not sure if my sideboard plan was right either, but it's hard to tell.
Greetings fellow BR'ers. Here to report on my glorious failure at GP Providence. I am a sullen man today.
First off, I made some last minute edits to my original build posted previously to bring it more in line with most shells while keeping with sub-vampire theme and evasion.
Now when I say glorious failure, it isn't all bad. I started the day 5-1 with no byes. But unfathomably, somehow could not seal the deal and win ONE more match in the next three rounds(x-3s made day 2 due to attendance). It's a huge let down for me, bordering on infuriating. Especially going in with zero expectations and though not new to Magic by any means, my foray into standard has only recently begun again. And this is very reminiscent to my showing at a RPTQ for Honolulu, so there's some bad memories too! (4-1 start into a 4-3 finish, ugh)
Ok enough moaning. Round recaps (to the best of my memory), highlights, lowlights and what did we learn.
RD1 vs. Delirium, W 2-0
Hazy memory, it's been a long day. Win game one handily as he didn't seem to have much going for him. SB in 3 Legacy and rip all three game two decimating his library, exiling Emrakul, Ishkana's & Kalitas's 1-0
RD2 vs. UB Zombies, L 1-2
This matchup is simple. Did your opponent play Cryptbreaker t1? Y/N? If no, proceed to smash face with Heir and Olivia. If yes. Kill it. Oh you didn't kill it? Well then please understand Cryptbreaker is savage gas fueling the brush fire that is UB Zombies and you're gonna get pooped on. Couldn't handle the synergy, did not draw Kalitas. 1-1
RD3 vs. RW Vehicles, W 2-0
Incredibly close games won in part to a play mistake by my opponent (Disintegrated his Exemplar, he took the damage, put it in the GY, did not crew his Fleetwheel) My flyers break open any board stalls we have in the next game. 2-1
RD4 vs. Jeskai Control, W 2-0
Game one is very back and forth. I play stuff, some of it sticks, some of it doesn't. Standard operating procedure. I get him to 1 with me at 20. I'm hellbent and he stabilizes with Avacyn. Swing, 16. rip a flow, he counters, swing 12, swing 8, rip temper, he counters, swing 4. rip another temper, and it does him in. Game two he stumbles and I pounce on him. 3-1
RD5 vs. Grixis Control, W 2-0
Control decks in general don't seem to pose much of a threat to us. This match isn't much of a challenge, and it's topped off with getting him to 6 after an alpha strike which causes him to tap out to avoid dying, leaving a Neonate on the board. But I'm holding another one in hand along with two Tempers and bolt him twice. 4-1
RD6 vs. Jeskai Control, W 2-0
Similar to round four. He just can't stop the horde of creatures. But he does manage to ruin some of my fun when I attempt to Pia with Olivia on the board, setup for double discard triggers one of which was a Temper. Would of been 14 damage on t4. Copter, Olivia, Temper, 3/3 Hastey Pia, 2/2 Hastey Thopter. 5-1
And then Rome fell
RD7 vs. WR Vehicle, L 0-2
Honestly this match I drew like complete garbage and couldn't keep up. Pair that with a surprise visit by Nahiri to make Scrounger's life miserable and we have ourselves a loss. No big right? Two more shots. 5-2
RD8 vs. Delirium, L 1-2
Win game one with no problem, but holy hell this guy's sideboard tech was savage and decimated my early game. Natural State, Dead Weight, Flaying Tendrils. All realllllllllllllllly good against me. Game two I actually have to attempt to just burn him down after he deals with my Neonate, Copter and Heir (my hand was 3 Flow, Temper, Disintegrate at one point). Get him to 9 then Kalitas joins the party. Game three Looks very promising as I curve into Courier, Scrounger, Olivia. He Dead Weights the Oliva then Tendrils the following turn, completely destroying my follow up. Double discard trigger Pia into 5/5 double shocking haste Priest the next turn. I can not make a suitable comeback after the board wipe as he generates to much card advantage. I'm worried now. 5-3
RD9 vs. UW Flash, L 1-2
The lance through the heart. I can hear it on the wind after the match. The ghosts of a thousand former pro players whispering in raspy voices "Getttttttttttttt goooooooooood" /melodrama
Game 1 I nickel and dime his life away with a combination of burn, scroungers and thopter tokens (drew all 3 Pia's) Game two I have to mull to 5 and have an ok start. But anything more (Olivia & Priest) is shut down by Spell Quellers and any attempt to kill them is thwarted by either counters (including Wanderers), Rattlechains, Selfless Spirit, Avacyn. Pretty much the whole damn deck. Game three.... I mull to five again, roll my eyes, place the cards back on top of my library and say to my opponent. "My brain just broke" Draw my opening four, one land 2 Scroungers, Disintegration. If that doesn't sound like enough to you don't worry, your not wrong. I do draw the second land needed, but he curves out nicely and my day ends. 5-4.
The deck dominates control builds.
The deck holds it owns against other aggro builds. And this build in particular takes advantage of flying in extraordinary ways when facing it.
Did not play against any NRG or Aetherworks builds. But in play testing, playing against NRG seems like Vintage came to standard and is based solely on whoever draws the better opening 7. This analysis based off of the "infect" combo build of the deck not the midrange build. Aetherworks seems straightforward, pray game 1 then draw and cast your Transgresses and Legacy's game 2/3.
Going forward I can see UW being not only being a problem for us, but a popular choice for players in the future. It seemed to perform well today from my understanding. But we will have a better idea in the coming days when results come in.
I vastly underestimated Pia. On her own she was anywhere from solid to MVP tier. Pairing her with Olivia can be disgustingly powerful even off single discard trigger, presumably the thopter.
On the topic of Olivia, her absolute best friend is Scrounger. Do you know how many 4/3 haste Scroungers I dumped onto the battlefield today? Well, not that many, but when I did, it was sweet! Obviously haste doesn't always come into play as you will Scrounge at opponent EOT.
Priest was underwhelming. I may cut them for a third Olvia and a fourth Pia.
I cut Key at the last minute and honestly didn't regret it Though again, in this particular build, Neonate, Heir and Olivia are additional discard outlets, and Neo doubles up as a draw outlet.
Always get a second opinion from a second judge. One glaring instance today was a guy activating Shambling Vent then using Nissa's +1 on it. The first judge ruled the Vent became a 7/8, the second judge was like "wtf are you talking about 7/8?"
Watched a guy play 3 Metalworks Colossi in one turn. That was neat.
In the end, I can't help but be disappointed with the result. Coming within 3 points of day 2 and then just plummeting. Future looks bright though, and I'm definitely enjoying constructed after playing strictly limited for most of my career. Next up, Pittsburgh!
Hello everyone, I am taking the Jacob Hagen list from the first SCG Open to Game Day (since there is not enough time for me to get more cards to tweak it), and I would like to know if the following sideboard plans would be ideal for the following matchups based on what I have heard:
This is the decklist link for reference: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=108082
Grixis/Jeskai Control:
-4 Unlicensed Disintegration
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+2 Call the Bloodline
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
Temur Aetherworks:
-4 Unlicensed Disentegration
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
U/W Flash:
-4 Incendiary Flow
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
R/W Vehicles/Tokens:
-4 Smuggler’s Copter
-2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
-1 Reckless Bushwhacker
+2 Lightning Axe
+2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
+4 Galvanic Bombardment
+2 Call the Bloodline
For Mardu Vehicles, I am slso considering -1 Pia, and +1 Transgress the Mind in addition to the plan above.
U/R Spells:
-4 Unlicensed Disintegration
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
+2 Call the Bloodline
+4 Transgress the Mind
I also love Olivia, the deck im working in is similar.
Let us know how it goes with her. I was eyeing here for a while since she is a 3/3 flier that does a lot if playing with cards that don't really care if they are in the Graveyard or not like Scrapheap scrounger. I never liked her in SOI / BFZ / Origins standard since she was fighting with Drana, Liberator Of Malakir. In this deck she's probably better because the mana fixing for double black is really rough on turn 3.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I have been following this thread for a while, but I did not change my own build much.
I have always been more of a midrange player, so I felt the madness sub-theme decks posted here do not suit my play style.
I enjoyed having cards in my hand, and play removals and burn spells whenever the need arises.
My deck employs the following lesser discussed cards: Collective Defiance - Proved vital in burning out last few points of damage, getting rid of most creatures (including Kalitas), replaced opponent's hand when you know opponent is going to combo off next turn. Night Market Lookout - Proved very useful in crewing vehicles, and against creature-less decks. This card usually deals 6-8 damage before being removed or suicide attack to bring back Scrapheap Scrounger. Rush of Vitality - Saved Copter so many times from Harness Lightning, Immolating Glares, and other removals. Lifegain saved me a couple of times too. Usually sideboarded out against BG delirium since they play Grasp. Looming Spires - The +1/+1 has won me so many games to deal the 20th damage. First strike was critical in one match as it allowed my Scrapheap Scrounger to attack into a Kalitas. Opponent chose not to block and I burnt him out for the win. Lathnu Hellion - Always sideboarded in against control decks and against decks that play Radiance Flames. Played 3 copies because the first always gets killed, but the second one feeds off the extra 2 energy from the first.
Cards I tested but did not like: Key to the City - I started testing with 2 copies, before going down to 1 copy and eventually replacing it with Rush of Vitality. Aether Hub - My build is too reliant on double red, or double black for sideboard. Aether Hub stumbled me so much during testing I ran Smoldering Marsh playset instead. Harness Lightning - Never felt the need to have more creature removal. Needed more creatures instead. Incendiary Flow - Same reason as Harness Lightning Reckless Bushwhacker - My build is not an all-in build. Card did not fit strategy.
Went 4-1 in Swiss for Games Day.
1st Match: WB Midrange (Won 2-1)
First game, opponent had very nice draws. Most creatures played got removed. Removed Kalitas & Avacyn but could not deal enough damage before losing to 2nd Kalitas.
Second game was won in a breeze. I could not recall much.
Third game, opponent kept a sketchy hand. After opponent played 3 turns only playing lands and Harsh Scrutiny, I played Trangress the Mind expecting a Kalitas. Hand was Succumb to Temptation, Bruna, Lost Legacy and 2 Lands.
I took Succumb to Temptation, and he top-decked a Liliana which was taken down promptly by Cruiser. He drew an Anguished Unmaking removing my Cruiser but my Copter was bringing opponent down to burn range. On turn 7, he played Bruna with 7 life remaining. I had a Night Market Lookout, Copter, and another 3-power creature. Lookout crewed Copter, attacked with both creatures, and escalated Collective Defiance took out both Bruna and opponent.
2nd Match: Mono-Blue Eldrazi (Lost 1-2)
First game was won in a breeze. I flooded the board with creatures.
Second game, I kept a slow hand and got killed by Spatial Contortions, Thought-Knot Seers, and 2 Reality Smashers.
Third game, after a mulligan, I kept another slow hand. Opponent removed my Copter with Spatial Contortion, casted Eldrazi Skyspawner, then Thought-Knot my hand, and then casted 2 Drowner of Hope.
I could not deal with the second Drowner and he tapped my creatures and beat me down.
3rd Match: Bant Midrange (Won 2-1)
First game, I mulliganed to 4 hands and could not recover. Either no lands or all lands hands.
Second & third game, Heir of Falkenrath did a lot of work flying over everything.
Saw Sylvan Adocates, Tireless Trackers, Reflector Mages, Spell Queller, Verdurous Gearhulk, but anything that could fly was removed for the win. Rush of Vitality helped in trades on ground creatures and I was never in low health.
4th Match: UW Flash (Won 2-0)
First game, we traded creatures for a while before I won with 2 Cruisers back to back.
Second game, Night Market Lookout did tons of damage against an empty board. Opponent lost about 9 life before he dealt with the Lookout. Rest was easy.
5th Match: RB Control (Won 2-0)
First game, everything I played got removed. Eventually brought him down to 9 life and was keeping 3 copies of Unlicensed Disintegration and 1 copy of Fiery Temper in hand with a uncrewed Copter in play.
His winning condition is Red and Black Gearhulks. Drew a Lookout, tried crewing and lost Copter to Grasp. Then he played black Gearhulk and removed the Lookout. Managed to draw a Scrapheap Scrounger and played Unlicensed Disintegration for 3 damage. He followed by playing another black Gearhulk on Scrapheap Scrounger. I brought Scrounger back and played Unlicensed Disintegration for 3 damage. Drew a Collective Defiance and burnt him out.
Second game, the pressure from Lathnu Hellions was good. After the Hellions died, they provided fuel to keep bringing back Scrounger. The removals could not keep up with the onslaught.
Quarters: WG Midrange (Won 2-0)
First game, I was seeded higher and went first. GW did not have much removal and Copter + Heir of Falkenrath flew over easily.
Second game, I kept a very slow hand (turn 3 Copter) and got into a damage race. Eventually, Opponent was at 13 life and I was at 10 life. I had a Copter and flipped Heir of Falkenrath. Opp had 5 lands, an Advocate and a Verdurous Gearhulk with 2 +1/+1 counters on each.
My hand was Pia Nalaar, Rush of Vitality, Inventor's Apprentice, and a couple of cards I cannot remember.
I took a risky play and it paid off. I play Inventor's Apprentice, crewed Copter and attacked with both Heir and Copter. Casted Rush to bring opponent to 6 life while my life is now at 14 but an open board.
I was hoping opponent did not have anything to add to the board. Opponent played a land and brought me down to 2 life. Next turn, I suspected an Avacyn, so I casted Pia Nalaar before combat with both flyers.
Sure enough, an Avacyn flashed in but I sac'ed the thopter to make Avacyn not block and won the game.
Semis: UW Flash (Won 2-0)
Was same opponent in 4th match.
First game, opponent could not deal with recurring Scrapheap Scrounger. Any Avacyn was promptly Unlicensed Disintegrated.
Second game, opponent mulliganed once and did not have much creatures to trade. After 2 Glimmer of Genius, he extended his hand.
Finals: WR Vehicles (Lost 2-1)
Opponent was first seed and chosen to play first.
First game, both of us was trading damage for a while. After I brought opponent down to 9 life, board became stalled.
I had a Copter, Heir and a thopter from Pia as flyers, while opponent had a Selfless Spirit.
I realized an opportunity after my opponent spent all but one mana to play Cruiser.
I had a Lookout on the board, casted another one and double crewed Copter to bring opp to 7 life. Played Looming Spires from hand to make Copter 4/4, sac'ed thopter to make Selfless Spirit cannot block and attacked with Copter and Heir for the win.
Second game, I mulliganed and kept a slow hand. Took lots of damage from Exemplar and Copter before I landed a Kalitas on turn 4. I was down to 7 life and facing a 5/5 Copter from Depala and Veteran crewing. Spent all my mana next turn to cast 2 Copters and I decided to attack with Kalitas. Opponent was eager to trade Depala & Inspector with Kalitas. Thinking back, I might have made a fatal error of attacking with Kalitas. Opponent attacked the following turn with 4/4 Copter crewed by Veteran Motorist, and I double blocked with both Copters. Opponent later took out my second Copter with Galvanic Bombardment. I haven't seen any of my removals and my opponent continued to draw gas while I drew lands. After opponent played Gideon, I started drawing my Galvanic Bombardments in succession but could not defend the board.
Third game, I had to mulligan with a no land hand. My 6-card hand was decent so I kept and scryed. We traded creatures for a while until I started drawing lands and my opponent started drawing removal after removal and then Gideon. After a couple of Gideon attacks, I revealed my hand of lands and extended my hand.
Overall, I had a good run with the deck. Many of the audience I talked to after Finals told me both decks in Finals are good and they could not tell who will win until late game.
Some of the players thought RB Aggro was better than RW Vehicles after seeing the play out, but I suffered from bad draws in the last game.
After Games Day, I don't think I will change much to the main deck, but thought Galvanic Bombardment did not play out that well. Lost Legacy would likely be reduced as 1-of as I did not feel its importance as much.
I'm looking at Grasp of Darkness and Essense Extraction, but am worried of the double black mana.
Help on sideboard will be appreciated. Thanks.
Hello ecryone one. Just one question, what does Bomat courier does for us? It seems very weak.
1: it's a one drop. Even with its bad body, relevant one drops are always at a premium
2: It's an artifact. We want to have an artifact at all times for Nerd Ape and Disintigration
3: Refills our hand. If you get it out on turn 1, it will usually get at least 2 cards before it can't attack freely anymore. With the madness effects and general low cost of our deck, it can be pretty easy to empty our hand. Getting a couple cards off of Bomat once its time is up is sometimes game winning. Besides, this format can get grindy andw e don't have many ways to keep up on card advantage.
4: Madness synergy. We run Temper, sometimes Bloodhall, have Scrounger than can be played from the graveyard and some builds have even more madness going on. Good discard outlets are always nice to have
5: Not a dead topdeck. While the courier itself is bad, you can swing it in and sac it before blocks to get an extra card when you're hellbent. Not as solid as a clue, but still has its merits.
Obviously it's not a blowout card, but it serves a purpose.
So, I won Game Day 3 - 0 with the build listed above, winning myself the mat.
There was, however, one issue. I didn't technically run my actual deck-list in the tournament. I had been doing some casual playtesting the night before, so I accidentally ran the deck with:
-1 Bloodhall
-2 Bomat
+3 Transgress
This was a (sub optimal) side board that I had made in one of my test games, and had forgotten to revert the deck. So I essentially went into the tournament with a side boarded deck... and it kind of worked really well?
To be fair, I didn't really go against the most legit decks in the world.
R1 I played against a Red/Green combo deck reliant on using Silverfur Partisan and Zada, Hedron Grinder to put a ton of wolves on the field. It also had Mirrorwing Dragon in it, which was fairly annoying.
Beat him 2-1, transgress not really doing much for me except for making him dump Mirrorwing game 2, which was the game that i lost.
R2 I played against a Triskaidekaphobia deck. Beat him 2 - 0, nothing interesting.
R3 was where the main decked Transgress was actually really interesting. I was playing vs. Grixis Control, and the card is essentially the entire reason that I won G1.
I managed to get two Transgresses timed perfectly, giving me a constant view of his hand and letting me kill relevant removal/negation. I don't remember the exact cards that they wore (I know one of them was a void shatter), but getting rid of those let me keep enough advantage over him to beat him. The game finished with me at 3 life and him at 1 before I managed to get passed everything he had with Key to the City triggering a lethal Fiery Temper while also making my Scrounger unblock able.
G2 his deck did what it was meant to do and beat me in the long game.
G3 he had to mull to 5, and I cast a Transgress ditching Void Shatter while keeping my tempo up, winning by using Unlicensed on his Torrential.
I didn't really describe the games very well, as my memory is terrible, but the point is that I really enjoyed having the Transgresses in the maindeck. It's a cheap card that's useful against most decks, gives us a view of the hand, and is REALLY useful against a few specific decks that I've had trouble with in the past (Namely control variants and Temur Marvel, as well as RG Pummeler).
So, I've elected to start testing the deck with:
-2 Bloodhall
+1 Transgress
+1 Pia (now running it at 4)
A third Harsh Scrutiny is replacing the third Transgress that has moved from the sideboard to the main deck.
Tl;DR - Accidently ran 3 Transgress in my main deck, won Game Day with it. Electing to now run a single copy of Transgress in the main, as well as a fourth Pia, while ditching two Bloodhalls.
I'm sad to see that the RBx build seems to be the forgotten Flavor of Rx Copter aggro. Most of the Red aggro decks at the GPs were Mardu (which is basically the RW shell with a splash for Disintegration and Scrounger).
However, we did have a few lists in the Top 64 of GP Providence. The best finish was Steve Rubin, who ran back a list similar to what he played at the PT (also to a good constructed record). Even had a Chandra main.
After a diabolical Game Day with a control deck, I realise that I should have listened to my gut and gone with the mono-Red list that went 4-0 in it's last outing. Oh well... That said, I've made a few changes to the previous list, and I also like Steve Rubin's list. I'm going to be running the list below tomorrow. I want to try the Looming Spires as extra damage points, as it seems that my local store is getting very controlling, and nabbing damage where I can is going to be vital. Based on last week's outing, Castigators and Prodder were amazing, so the Prodders are up to a full set now, and Pia has gone for now. Sideboard is either geared to get a little more aggressive, or to go to a Chandra win-con and removal heavy. We'll see!
I'd like to make a case for Night Market Lookout. This guy seems pretty good for us. The rulings on crewing a vehicle are such that we can get multiple triggers off of multiple lookouts on a single copter at end of turn or before a block. It seems like with fiery temper, alms of the vein and maybe flame lash, we could get there with just direct damage and madness enablers...even when the board is clogged in other aggro match ups. I'm gonna test this week and report back.
I'd like to make a case for Night Market Lookout. This guy seems pretty good for us. The rulings on crewing a vehicle are such that we can get multiple triggers off of multiple lookouts on a single copter at end of turn or before a block. It seems like with fiery temper, alms of the vein and maybe flame lash, we could get there with just direct damage and madness enablers...even when the board is clogged in other aggro match ups. I'm gonna test this week and report back.
Am I just way off base here?
I completely agree, in fact i was just playtesting a similar idea. At one point i had 2 of them crewing a copter to get in that extra damage and life gain. Between those guys, alms of the vein, i was able to have just enough life to live from a big swing. Id usually finish off opponents with making guys haste from my Olivias, or a key to the city to make a guy unblockable. And restocking my hand with Bomats.
I'd like to make a case for Night Market Lookout. This guy seems pretty good for us. The rulings on crewing a vehicle are such that we can get multiple triggers off of multiple lookouts on a single copter at end of turn or before a block. It seems like with fiery temper, alms of the vein and maybe flame lash, we could get there with just direct damage and madness enablers...even when the board is clogged in other aggro match ups. I'm gonna test this week and report back.
Am I just way off base here?
I completely agree, in fact i was just playtesting a similar idea. At one point i had 2 of them crewing a copter to get in that extra damage and life gain. Between those guys, alms of the vein, i was able to have just enough life to live from a big swing. Id usually finish off opponents with making guys haste from my Olivias, or a key to the city to make a guy unblockable. And restocking my hand with Bomats.
Lookout's utility could be a great addition to the list. I even like the idea of attacking, getting a trigger and then hitting for one.
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And as I did with R/b Dragons, I will advocate for Forerunner of Slaughter. 4x. He can easily target himself or a Srounger at the very least.
4 Bomat Courier
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Forerunner of Slaughter
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
2 Hanweir Garrison
2 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
2 Fleetwheel cruiser
2 Dust Stalker
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
Lands 24
4 Foreboding Ruins
4 Smoldering Marsh
8 Mountain
8 Swamp
C Long Live Eldrazi C
Thoughts?
The protect the Queen strategy is definitely valid (indeed essentially the same strategy I employed with my 13 card anti aggro package in those tournament reports), though I think Chandra is all you really need there. She will end the game faster than Liliana off an ultimate, trust me on that.
I also don't know how I feel about Hellion. That seems to be a card that goes way down in value when you cannot get a constant stream of energy to keep it on board. I think I'd consider a number of things before I ran Hellion, assuming I decided to cut Pia. Fleetwheel, Garrison, Bushwhacker are all cards I'd run before I went with Hellion.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Key to the City
Creatures - 16
4 Bomat Courier
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Alms of the Vein
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
Lands - 22
4 Foreboding Ruins
4 Smoldering Marsh
11 Mountain
3 Swamp
2 Bloodhall Priest
2 Call the Bloodline
2 Collective Brutality
2 Hijack
2 Lightning Axe
3 Transgress the Mind
2 Weaver of Lightning
This is the version of the deck that I've been testing for awhile. I elected to use Alms of the Vein over Incendiary Flow, as I think the madness synergy is just too damn good to pass up. If I had the room to run 4 Flow 4 Alms I definitely would, and I'm considering siding Flow simply because of how cost effective it is.
Alms, as a whole, makes Lightning Axe, Call the Bloodline and Collective Brutality much better cards then they already are, this idea also applying to the main decked Key to the City and Smuggler's Copter.
The lack of Pia Nalaar is something that I've gone back and forth between. On one hand, Pia is an undeniably good card. I'd be ignorant to say she's bad, as her track record very simply proves otherwise.
With that being said, I don't run her because I don't like her in a more madness oriented build. I'd much rather run Neonate, who works amazingly to get off Alms and Temper in the early stages of the game.
My basic game plan is to win with increments of 3 damage via Fiery Temper, Alms of the vein and Copter, with Scrounger and Apprentice helping if my opponent doesn't have any blockers. Pia is a great card, but I'd rather use the one drop Neonate. Some people tend to run Gorger as well, but it's such a specific interaction between the two that I don't think really benefits the deck all that much. Maybe if I ran another vamp in the main I'd consider Gorger.
If I was to modify the deck to add Pia, I'd probably ditch two of my Key's in favor of her, but at the moment I think 4 is nice, especially with Bloodhall sided in.
Also, I don't think Aether Hub is appropriate for Alms variants of the deck. Too many black spells.
4 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Bomat Courier
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Smuggler's Copter
3 Key to the City
1 Captain's Claws
4 Alms of the Vein
4 Fiery Temper
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
4 Foreboding Ruins
5 Swamp
8 Mountain
3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
4 Galvanic Bombardment
4 Weaver of Lightning
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
The deck felt very powerful and consistent.
There seems to be two distinct stock lists. The PT list which seems to be the most well established, and the list inspired by Eric Hawkins, which goes for a lower curve and runs Alms over Flow. Concerning the Alms list, I don't like the creature line up all that much and the fact that it doesnt run Flow, but I would like to find room for Alms somehow. That got me to thinking of a hybrid list.
4 Bomat Courier
4 Inventor's Apprentice
2 Forerunner of Slaughter
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
2 Pia Nalaar
Spells (22)
2 Key to the City
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Smuggler's Copter
4 Alms of the Vein
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
3 Smoldering Marsh
3 Swamp
4 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
8 Mountain
2 Lightning Axe
2 Call the Bloodline
2 Collective Brutality
4 Transgress the Mind
2 Bloodhall Priest
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Mountain
Basically I've cut both Fleetwheel, went to 2 Pia, and cut the lands to 22 to make room for a full set of Alms. Otherwise, I'm running a shell that resembles more the PT deck than the Hawkins list, with Pia, 2x Key, no Gorger or Neonate, and a full set of Flow. I did not want to cut Pia entirely, but at 3 mana, it can be awkward to unload our hand quickly so we can activate a Bomat Courier. Forerunner has been strong for me, so I've kept him. Fleetwheel was also strong, but a bit slow at 4 mana. Extra Keys seemed unnecessary. You don't want multiples and we have plenty of discard outlets, especially post board. Gorger seems strong if we want to ensure an aggressive start, but 1 toughness is a big downside vs Weavers and Lilianas.
Edit: I've updated the main post with a stock Alms list as well.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Rount 1: BU Zombies 2-0
Not much to say here. They are a bit of a slower aggro deck. However, Incendiary Flow really throws a wrench into their engine. I managed to flow their Haunted Dead one game and an Amalgam the next. For sideboarding I took out a couple of Disintegrations for Priest. The spot removal is a lot less effective vs their threats, but Priest can shoot something every turn if you get it out.
Round 2: Temur Marvel 2-0
They were on the exact PT Top8 decklist. Both games they were just a turn off or so. Forerunner was huge in the first game. They Koz Returned my board, but I was able to follow up with a hasty Forerunner, which in turn hasted my reanimated Scrounger the next turn. Second game I had to mull to 5, and kept a no lander. Scry'd a land to the top and a good start with Apprentice into Bomat. I managed to snag a Marvel with Transgress the turn before they were going to cast it. They never found a Koz Return to stablize. They were able to delay me with he lifegain off a Puzzleknot, but were a mana short to get enough energy and cast Marvel. Sideboard here was fairly simple. I got rid of all my Disintegrates and Pias and loaded up on Transgress and Defiance.
Round 3: Jeskai Control 2-1
I believe it was the finalist list or very similar. Their sweepers were quite good in the first game to clear my board and leave me with an inactive copter. It looked pretty bad and I eventually conceded once he had some threats on board. Game 2 I put up some early pressure which he was able to kill eventually. However, after attacks once he had used removal, I would resolve a big threat like Chandra or Call of the Bloodline. He was able to deal with the first Chandra eventually, but I followed up with a second. It was Call of the Bloodline that won the game however. Game 3 played out similarly, but I had an aggressive draw. I was slightly light on lands but drew out of it. No sweeper to catch them up and that ended up being game. I sided in Transgress, Defiance, Call, and Chandra, cutting Alms, Disintegrate, and Key.
Round 4: UW Flash 2-0
One of the various UW flash control lists. This one ran Avacyn and Spellqueller, but seemed to have cut some of the lower end creatures. Game 1 I had a really good start on the play. They had removal but just couldn't keep up with the aggression. Game 2 they got stuck on 3 mana and that was essentially game. I done something different for siding, not know if if they were on Spirits. I sided in Chandra, Call, Priest, Transgress, and Defiance and sided out Copter, Alms, Pia, and Key. The idea was to mostly Burn them out while killing their spirits and eventually resolve an engines like Chandra and Call to help finish the job. Not sure if it was correct, as I got beaten in a friendly game with that side plan. I think on the Draw, Copter loses a lot of value vs control, as they can stay ahead of your threats with their removal and you end up with a useless Vehicle with nothing to pilot it.
Honestly, Alms felt very mediocre the whole night. Also, I didn't cut many threats from the other list (ran 16 creatures and 4 vehicles vs 17 and 6), but it was very noticable how threat light the deck is against the control decks. Maybe Alms has its place, but I think I would have rather had Cruiser or Pia each time I drew an Alms.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
I haven't tried Lupine Prototype but I have considered it. Knowing generally how long it takes for me to get Bloodhall Priest's trigger going, I think Lupine will take so long to get going that it isn't worth it.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Top 4 at Gameday with this list. I lost to GR Energy. Land screw game 1 left me without the mana for the Disintegration in hand against a pumped and double strike Brawler. Game 2 won after he got stuck on lands too. Last game I kept a sketchy hand and drew really badly. I'm not sure if my sideboard plan was right either, but it's hard to tell.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
First off, I made some last minute edits to my original build posted previously to bring it more in line with most shells while keeping with sub-vampire theme and evasion.
3 Insolent Neonate
4 Bromat Courier
4 Heir to Falkenrath
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Pia Nalaar
2 Olivia, Mobilized for War
2 Bloodhall Priest
4 Fiery Temper
4 Incendiary Flow
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
4 Smuggler's Copter
Lands (22)
4 Foreboding Ruins
9 Mountain
9 Swamp
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
3 Lost Legacy
3 Transgress the Mind
2 Lightning Axe
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Now when I say glorious failure, it isn't all bad. I started the day 5-1 with no byes. But unfathomably, somehow could not seal the deal and win ONE more match in the next three rounds(x-3s made day 2 due to attendance). It's a huge let down for me, bordering on infuriating. Especially going in with zero expectations and though not new to Magic by any means, my foray into standard has only recently begun again. And this is very reminiscent to my showing at a RPTQ for Honolulu, so there's some bad memories too! (4-1 start into a 4-3 finish, ugh)
Ok enough moaning. Round recaps (to the best of my memory), highlights, lowlights and what did we learn.
RD1 vs. Delirium, W 2-0
Hazy memory, it's been a long day. Win game one handily as he didn't seem to have much going for him. SB in 3 Legacy and rip all three game two decimating his library, exiling Emrakul, Ishkana's & Kalitas's 1-0
RD2 vs. UB Zombies, L 1-2
This matchup is simple. Did your opponent play Cryptbreaker t1? Y/N? If no, proceed to smash face with Heir and Olivia. If yes. Kill it. Oh you didn't kill it? Well then please understand Cryptbreaker is savage gas fueling the brush fire that is UB Zombies and you're gonna get pooped on. Couldn't handle the synergy, did not draw Kalitas. 1-1
RD3 vs. RW Vehicles, W 2-0
Incredibly close games won in part to a play mistake by my opponent (Disintegrated his Exemplar, he took the damage, put it in the GY, did not crew his Fleetwheel) My flyers break open any board stalls we have in the next game. 2-1
RD4 vs. Jeskai Control, W 2-0
Game one is very back and forth. I play stuff, some of it sticks, some of it doesn't. Standard operating procedure. I get him to 1 with me at 20. I'm hellbent and he stabilizes with Avacyn. Swing, 16. rip a flow, he counters, swing 12, swing 8, rip temper, he counters, swing 4. rip another temper, and it does him in. Game two he stumbles and I pounce on him. 3-1
RD5 vs. Grixis Control, W 2-0
Control decks in general don't seem to pose much of a threat to us. This match isn't much of a challenge, and it's topped off with getting him to 6 after an alpha strike which causes him to tap out to avoid dying, leaving a Neonate on the board. But I'm holding another one in hand along with two Tempers and bolt him twice. 4-1
RD6 vs. Jeskai Control, W 2-0
Similar to round four. He just can't stop the horde of creatures. But he does manage to ruin some of my fun when I attempt to Pia with Olivia on the board, setup for double discard triggers one of which was a Temper. Would of been 14 damage on t4. Copter, Olivia, Temper, 3/3 Hastey Pia, 2/2 Hastey Thopter. 5-1
And then Rome fell
RD7 vs. WR Vehicle, L 0-2
Honestly this match I drew like complete garbage and couldn't keep up. Pair that with a surprise visit by Nahiri to make Scrounger's life miserable and we have ourselves a loss. No big right? Two more shots. 5-2
RD8 vs. Delirium, L 1-2
Win game one with no problem, but holy hell this guy's sideboard tech was savage and decimated my early game. Natural State, Dead Weight, Flaying Tendrils. All realllllllllllllllly good against me. Game two I actually have to attempt to just burn him down after he deals with my Neonate, Copter and Heir (my hand was 3 Flow, Temper, Disintegrate at one point). Get him to 9 then Kalitas joins the party. Game three Looks very promising as I curve into Courier, Scrounger, Olivia. He Dead Weights the Oliva then Tendrils the following turn, completely destroying my follow up. Double discard trigger Pia into 5/5 double shocking haste Priest the next turn. I can not make a suitable comeback after the board wipe as he generates to much card advantage. I'm worried now. 5-3
RD9 vs. UW Flash, L 1-2
The lance through the heart. I can hear it on the wind after the match. The ghosts of a thousand former pro players whispering in raspy voices "Getttttttttttttt goooooooooood" /melodrama
Game 1 I nickel and dime his life away with a combination of burn, scroungers and thopter tokens (drew all 3 Pia's) Game two I have to mull to 5 and have an ok start. But anything more (Olivia & Priest) is shut down by Spell Quellers and any attempt to kill them is thwarted by either counters (including Wanderers), Rattlechains, Selfless Spirit, Avacyn. Pretty much the whole damn deck. Game three.... I mull to five again, roll my eyes, place the cards back on top of my library and say to my opponent. "My brain just broke" Draw my opening four, one land 2 Scroungers, Disintegration. If that doesn't sound like enough to you don't worry, your not wrong. I do draw the second land needed, but he curves out nicely and my day ends. 5-4.
The deck dominates control builds.
The deck holds it owns against other aggro builds. And this build in particular takes advantage of flying in extraordinary ways when facing it.
Did not play against any NRG or Aetherworks builds. But in play testing, playing against NRG seems like Vintage came to standard and is based solely on whoever draws the better opening 7. This analysis based off of the "infect" combo build of the deck not the midrange build. Aetherworks seems straightforward, pray game 1 then draw and cast your Transgresses and Legacy's game 2/3.
Going forward I can see UW being not only being a problem for us, but a popular choice for players in the future. It seemed to perform well today from my understanding. But we will have a better idea in the coming days when results come in.
I vastly underestimated Pia. On her own she was anywhere from solid to MVP tier. Pairing her with Olivia can be disgustingly powerful even off single discard trigger, presumably the thopter.
On the topic of Olivia, her absolute best friend is Scrounger. Do you know how many 4/3 haste Scroungers I dumped onto the battlefield today? Well, not that many, but when I did, it was sweet! Obviously haste doesn't always come into play as you will Scrounge at opponent EOT.
Priest was underwhelming. I may cut them for a third Olvia and a fourth Pia.
I cut Key at the last minute and honestly didn't regret it Though again, in this particular build, Neonate, Heir and Olivia are additional discard outlets, and Neo doubles up as a draw outlet.
Always get a second opinion from a second judge. One glaring instance today was a guy activating Shambling Vent then using Nissa's +1 on it. The first judge ruled the Vent became a 7/8, the second judge was like "wtf are you talking about 7/8?"
Watched a guy play 3 Metalworks Colossi in one turn. That was neat.
In the end, I can't help but be disappointed with the result. Coming within 3 points of day 2 and then just plummeting. Future looks bright though, and I'm definitely enjoying constructed after playing strictly limited for most of my career. Next up, Pittsburgh!
How you should approach every game of Magic.
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My Flawless Score MCC Card | My Other One | # Three!
This is the decklist link for reference: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=108082
Grixis/Jeskai Control:
-4 Unlicensed Disintegration
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+2 Call the Bloodline
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
Temur Aetherworks:
-4 Unlicensed Disentegration
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
U/W Flash:
-4 Incendiary Flow
-1 Pia Nalaar
+4 Transgress the Mind
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
R/W Vehicles/Tokens:
-4 Smuggler’s Copter
-2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
-1 Reckless Bushwhacker
+2 Lightning Axe
+2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
+4 Galvanic Bombardment
+2 Call the Bloodline
For Mardu Vehicles, I am slso considering -1 Pia, and +1 Transgress the Mind in addition to the plan above.
U/R Spells:
-4 Unlicensed Disintegration
-2 Key to the City
-1 Pia Nalaar
+1 Reckless Bushwhacker
+2 Call the Bloodline
+4 Transgress the Mind
Any amount of feedback would be welcome. Thanks!
Let us know how it goes with her. I was eyeing here for a while since she is a 3/3 flier that does a lot if playing with cards that don't really care if they are in the Graveyard or not like Scrapheap scrounger. I never liked her in SOI / BFZ / Origins standard since she was fighting with Drana, Liberator Of Malakir. In this deck she's probably better because the mana fixing for double black is really rough on turn 3.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Here is the decklist.
2 Insolent Neonate
4 Inventor's Apprentice
3 Night Market Lookout
4 Heir of Falkenrath
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
3 Pia Nalaar
Spells (11)
1 Rush of Vitality
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Collective Defiance
4 Smuggler's Copter
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
Lands (23)
2 Looming Spires
4 Smoldering Marsh
4 Foreboding Ruins
7 Swamp
6 Mountain
3 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Rush of Vitality
3 Transgress the Mind
2 Lost Legacy
1 Make Obsolete
3 Lathnu Hellion
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
I have been following this thread for a while, but I did not change my own build much.
I have always been more of a midrange player, so I felt the madness sub-theme decks posted here do not suit my play style.
I enjoyed having cards in my hand, and play removals and burn spells whenever the need arises.
My deck employs the following lesser discussed cards:
Collective Defiance - Proved vital in burning out last few points of damage, getting rid of most creatures (including Kalitas), replaced opponent's hand when you know opponent is going to combo off next turn.
Night Market Lookout - Proved very useful in crewing vehicles, and against creature-less decks. This card usually deals 6-8 damage before being removed or suicide attack to bring back Scrapheap Scrounger.
Rush of Vitality - Saved Copter so many times from Harness Lightning, Immolating Glares, and other removals. Lifegain saved me a couple of times too. Usually sideboarded out against BG delirium since they play Grasp.
Looming Spires - The +1/+1 has won me so many games to deal the 20th damage. First strike was critical in one match as it allowed my Scrapheap Scrounger to attack into a Kalitas. Opponent chose not to block and I burnt him out for the win.
Lathnu Hellion - Always sideboarded in against control decks and against decks that play Radiance Flames. Played 3 copies because the first always gets killed, but the second one feeds off the extra 2 energy from the first.
Cards I tested but did not like:
Key to the City - I started testing with 2 copies, before going down to 1 copy and eventually replacing it with Rush of Vitality.
Aether Hub - My build is too reliant on double red, or double black for sideboard. Aether Hub stumbled me so much during testing I ran Smoldering Marsh playset instead.
Harness Lightning - Never felt the need to have more creature removal. Needed more creatures instead.
Incendiary Flow - Same reason as Harness Lightning
Reckless Bushwhacker - My build is not an all-in build. Card did not fit strategy.
Went 4-1 in Swiss for Games Day.
1st Match: WB Midrange (Won 2-1)
First game, opponent had very nice draws. Most creatures played got removed. Removed Kalitas & Avacyn but could not deal enough damage before losing to 2nd Kalitas.
Second game was won in a breeze. I could not recall much.
Third game, opponent kept a sketchy hand. After opponent played 3 turns only playing lands and Harsh Scrutiny, I played Trangress the Mind expecting a Kalitas. Hand was Succumb to Temptation, Bruna, Lost Legacy and 2 Lands.
I took Succumb to Temptation, and he top-decked a Liliana which was taken down promptly by Cruiser. He drew an Anguished Unmaking removing my Cruiser but my Copter was bringing opponent down to burn range. On turn 7, he played Bruna with 7 life remaining. I had a Night Market Lookout, Copter, and another 3-power creature. Lookout crewed Copter, attacked with both creatures, and escalated Collective Defiance took out both Bruna and opponent.
2nd Match: Mono-Blue Eldrazi (Lost 1-2)
First game was won in a breeze. I flooded the board with creatures.
Second game, I kept a slow hand and got killed by Spatial Contortions, Thought-Knot Seers, and 2 Reality Smashers.
Third game, after a mulligan, I kept another slow hand. Opponent removed my Copter with Spatial Contortion, casted Eldrazi Skyspawner, then Thought-Knot my hand, and then casted 2 Drowner of Hope.
I could not deal with the second Drowner and he tapped my creatures and beat me down.
3rd Match: Bant Midrange (Won 2-1)
First game, I mulliganed to 4 hands and could not recover. Either no lands or all lands hands.
Second & third game, Heir of Falkenrath did a lot of work flying over everything.
Saw Sylvan Adocates, Tireless Trackers, Reflector Mages, Spell Queller, Verdurous Gearhulk, but anything that could fly was removed for the win. Rush of Vitality helped in trades on ground creatures and I was never in low health.
4th Match: UW Flash (Won 2-0)
First game, we traded creatures for a while before I won with 2 Cruisers back to back.
Second game, Night Market Lookout did tons of damage against an empty board. Opponent lost about 9 life before he dealt with the Lookout. Rest was easy.
5th Match: RB Control (Won 2-0)
First game, everything I played got removed. Eventually brought him down to 9 life and was keeping 3 copies of Unlicensed Disintegration and 1 copy of Fiery Temper in hand with a uncrewed Copter in play.
His winning condition is Red and Black Gearhulks. Drew a Lookout, tried crewing and lost Copter to Grasp. Then he played black Gearhulk and removed the Lookout. Managed to draw a Scrapheap Scrounger and played Unlicensed Disintegration for 3 damage. He followed by playing another black Gearhulk on Scrapheap Scrounger. I brought Scrounger back and played Unlicensed Disintegration for 3 damage. Drew a Collective Defiance and burnt him out.
Second game, the pressure from Lathnu Hellions was good. After the Hellions died, they provided fuel to keep bringing back Scrounger. The removals could not keep up with the onslaught.
Quarters: WG Midrange (Won 2-0)
First game, I was seeded higher and went first. GW did not have much removal and Copter + Heir of Falkenrath flew over easily.
Second game, I kept a very slow hand (turn 3 Copter) and got into a damage race. Eventually, Opponent was at 13 life and I was at 10 life. I had a Copter and flipped Heir of Falkenrath. Opp had 5 lands, an Advocate and a Verdurous Gearhulk with 2 +1/+1 counters on each.
My hand was Pia Nalaar, Rush of Vitality, Inventor's Apprentice, and a couple of cards I cannot remember.
I took a risky play and it paid off. I play Inventor's Apprentice, crewed Copter and attacked with both Heir and Copter. Casted Rush to bring opponent to 6 life while my life is now at 14 but an open board.
I was hoping opponent did not have anything to add to the board. Opponent played a land and brought me down to 2 life. Next turn, I suspected an Avacyn, so I casted Pia Nalaar before combat with both flyers.
Sure enough, an Avacyn flashed in but I sac'ed the thopter to make Avacyn not block and won the game.
Semis: UW Flash (Won 2-0)
Was same opponent in 4th match.
First game, opponent could not deal with recurring Scrapheap Scrounger. Any Avacyn was promptly Unlicensed Disintegrated.
Second game, opponent mulliganed once and did not have much creatures to trade. After 2 Glimmer of Genius, he extended his hand.
Finals: WR Vehicles (Lost 2-1)
Opponent was first seed and chosen to play first.
First game, both of us was trading damage for a while. After I brought opponent down to 9 life, board became stalled.
I had a Copter, Heir and a thopter from Pia as flyers, while opponent had a Selfless Spirit.
I realized an opportunity after my opponent spent all but one mana to play Cruiser.
I had a Lookout on the board, casted another one and double crewed Copter to bring opp to 7 life. Played Looming Spires from hand to make Copter 4/4, sac'ed thopter to make Selfless Spirit cannot block and attacked with Copter and Heir for the win.
Second game, I mulliganed and kept a slow hand. Took lots of damage from Exemplar and Copter before I landed a Kalitas on turn 4. I was down to 7 life and facing a 5/5 Copter from Depala and Veteran crewing. Spent all my mana next turn to cast 2 Copters and I decided to attack with Kalitas. Opponent was eager to trade Depala & Inspector with Kalitas. Thinking back, I might have made a fatal error of attacking with Kalitas. Opponent attacked the following turn with 4/4 Copter crewed by Veteran Motorist, and I double blocked with both Copters. Opponent later took out my second Copter with Galvanic Bombardment. I haven't seen any of my removals and my opponent continued to draw gas while I drew lands. After opponent played Gideon, I started drawing my Galvanic Bombardments in succession but could not defend the board.
Third game, I had to mulligan with a no land hand. My 6-card hand was decent so I kept and scryed. We traded creatures for a while until I started drawing lands and my opponent started drawing removal after removal and then Gideon. After a couple of Gideon attacks, I revealed my hand of lands and extended my hand.
Overall, I had a good run with the deck. Many of the audience I talked to after Finals told me both decks in Finals are good and they could not tell who will win until late game.
Some of the players thought RB Aggro was better than RW Vehicles after seeing the play out, but I suffered from bad draws in the last game.
After Games Day, I don't think I will change much to the main deck, but thought Galvanic Bombardment did not play out that well. Lost Legacy would likely be reduced as 1-of as I did not feel its importance as much.
I'm looking at Grasp of Darkness and Essense Extraction, but am worried of the double black mana.
Help on sideboard will be appreciated. Thanks.
1: it's a one drop. Even with its bad body, relevant one drops are always at a premium
2: It's an artifact. We want to have an artifact at all times for Nerd Ape and Disintigration
3: Refills our hand. If you get it out on turn 1, it will usually get at least 2 cards before it can't attack freely anymore. With the madness effects and general low cost of our deck, it can be pretty easy to empty our hand. Getting a couple cards off of Bomat once its time is up is sometimes game winning. Besides, this format can get grindy andw e don't have many ways to keep up on card advantage.
4: Madness synergy. We run Temper, sometimes Bloodhall, have Scrounger than can be played from the graveyard and some builds have even more madness going on. Good discard outlets are always nice to have
5: Not a dead topdeck. While the courier itself is bad, you can swing it in and sac it before blocks to get an extra card when you're hellbent. Not as solid as a clue, but still has its merits.
Obviously it's not a blowout card, but it serves a purpose.
4 Bomat Courier
4 Falkenrath Gorger
4 Insolent Neonate
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Lupine Prototype
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Lightning Axe
4 Fiery Temper
Artifact (4)
4 Smuggler's Copter
Land (20)
16 Mountain
4 Foreboding Ruins
4 Tears of Valakut
4 Galvanic Bombardment
4 Borrowed Hostility
3 Key to the City
More of a Madness Aggro build with a really light splash for Scrounger.
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
2 Key to the City
4 Smuggler's Copter
Creatures - 14
2 Bomat Courier (TECHNICALLY - SEE BELOW)
1 Bloodhall Priest (TECHNICALLY - SEE BELOW)
4 Inventor's Apprentice
3 Pia Nalaar
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
Sorcery - 7
4 Incendiary Flow
3 Transgress the Mind (TECHNICALLY - SEE BELOW)
Land - 23
4 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
11 Mountain
4 Swamp
1 Bloodhall Priest (TECHNICALLY - SEE BELOW)
2 Bomat Courier (TECHNICALLY - SEE BELOW)
2 Weaver of Lightning
4 Galvanic Bombardment
2 Lightning Axe
2 Harsh Scrutiny
2 Hijack
So, I won Game Day 3 - 0 with the build listed above, winning myself the mat.
There was, however, one issue. I didn't technically run my actual deck-list in the tournament. I had been doing some casual playtesting the night before, so I accidentally ran the deck with:
-1 Bloodhall
-2 Bomat
+3 Transgress
This was a (sub optimal) side board that I had made in one of my test games, and had forgotten to revert the deck. So I essentially went into the tournament with a side boarded deck... and it kind of worked really well?
To be fair, I didn't really go against the most legit decks in the world.
R1 I played against a Red/Green combo deck reliant on using Silverfur Partisan and Zada, Hedron Grinder to put a ton of wolves on the field. It also had Mirrorwing Dragon in it, which was fairly annoying.
Beat him 2-1, transgress not really doing much for me except for making him dump Mirrorwing game 2, which was the game that i lost.
R2 I played against a Triskaidekaphobia deck. Beat him 2 - 0, nothing interesting.
R3 was where the main decked Transgress was actually really interesting. I was playing vs. Grixis Control, and the card is essentially the entire reason that I won G1.
I managed to get two Transgresses timed perfectly, giving me a constant view of his hand and letting me kill relevant removal/negation. I don't remember the exact cards that they wore (I know one of them was a void shatter), but getting rid of those let me keep enough advantage over him to beat him. The game finished with me at 3 life and him at 1 before I managed to get passed everything he had with Key to the City triggering a lethal Fiery Temper while also making my Scrounger unblock able.
G2 his deck did what it was meant to do and beat me in the long game.
G3 he had to mull to 5, and I cast a Transgress ditching Void Shatter while keeping my tempo up, winning by using Unlicensed on his Torrential.
I didn't really describe the games very well, as my memory is terrible, but the point is that I really enjoyed having the Transgresses in the maindeck. It's a cheap card that's useful against most decks, gives us a view of the hand, and is REALLY useful against a few specific decks that I've had trouble with in the past (Namely control variants and Temur Marvel, as well as RG Pummeler).
So, I've elected to start testing the deck with:
-2 Bloodhall
+1 Transgress
+1 Pia (now running it at 4)
A third Harsh Scrutiny is replacing the third Transgress that has moved from the sideboard to the main deck.
Tl;DR - Accidently ran 3 Transgress in my main deck, won Game Day with it. Electing to now run a single copy of Transgress in the main, as well as a fourth Pia, while ditching two Bloodhalls.
I'm sad to see that the RBx build seems to be the forgotten Flavor of Rx Copter aggro. Most of the Red aggro decks at the GPs were Mardu (which is basically the RW shell with a splash for Disintegration and Scrounger).
However, we did have a few lists in the Top 64 of GP Providence. The best finish was Steve Rubin, who ran back a list similar to what he played at the PT (also to a good constructed record). Even had a Chandra main.
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Pia Nalaar
3 Bomat Courier
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
Planeswalker (1)
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Sorcery (4)
4 Incendiary Flow
Instant (8)
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
2 Key to the City
4 Smuggler's Copter
Land (23)
10 Mountain
4 Swamp
3 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
2 Smoldering Marsh
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Smoldering Marsh
3 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
4 Galvanic Bombardment
1 Lightning Axe
2 Weaver of Lightning
4 Bomat Courier
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Inventor's Apprentice
3 Pia Nalaar
1 Insolent Neonate
Sorcery (3)
3 Incendiary Flow
Instant (8)
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Fleetwheel Cruiser
2 Key to the City
4 Smuggler's Copter
Land (24)
10 Mountain
4 Swamp
3 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
3 Smoldering Marsh
3 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
4 Galvanic Bombardment
1 Lightning Axe
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Transgress the Mind
4 Bomat Courier
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
4 Pia Nalaar
Sorcery (4)
4 Incendiary Flow
Instant (8)
4 Fiery Temper
4 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Key to the City
4 Smuggler's Copter
3 Fleetwheel Cruiser
Land (23)
4 Aether Hub
4 Foreboding Ruins
10 Mountain
2 Smoldering Marsh
3 Swamp
3 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Weaver of Lightning
2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Lightning Axe
4 Transgress the Mind
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
Modern: R Skred -- WBG Melira Co -- URW Nahiri Control
Legacy: R Mono Red Burn -- UWB Stoneblade
Commander: R Krenko, Mob Boss -- WUBRG Scion of the Ur-Dragon -- WUBRG Maze’s End
Other: R No Rares Red (Standard) -- URC Izzet Tron (Pauper)
3 Looming Spires
4 Aether Hub
16 Mountain
Creature (18)
1 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Goldnight Castigator
3 Bomat Courier
4 Sin Prodder
4 Inventor's Apprentice
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Vehicles (4)
4 Smuggler's Copter
Spells (14)
2 Key to the City
4 Collective Defiance
4 Fiery Temper
4 Incendiary Flow
1 Flame Lash
1 Mountain
2 Goblin Dark-Dwellers
2 Lightning Axe
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Weaver of Lightning
4 Galvanic Bombardment
Am I just way off base here?
I completely agree, in fact i was just playtesting a similar idea. At one point i had 2 of them crewing a copter to get in that extra damage and life gain. Between those guys, alms of the vein, i was able to have just enough life to live from a big swing. Id usually finish off opponents with making guys haste from my Olivias, or a key to the city to make a guy unblockable. And restocking my hand with Bomats.
Lookout's utility could be a great addition to the list. I even like the idea of attacking, getting a trigger and then hitting for one.