To be honest I haven't done a ton of testing with these cards but if you guys are looking for some late game reach in control heavy environments there are a couple that most people overlook especially in b/g
first up is Gravepurge, 3 mana for only drawing one card doesnt seem that good at first but it's essentially a regrowth for creatures that also lets you set up your draws for a while. Which means you can recycle all the threats theyve already had to find answers to turn after turn.
second guy to consider is Splinterfright, he can be a house as early as t4 and especially in the destroy heavier formats and lategame he just gets big fast and cannot be ignored, for 3 mana he is easily someone to consider.
Just a couple guys to keep in mind have fun brewing!
I can't say that I've play-tested it, but I actually like the idea of Gift of Orhzov. The casting cost is much less restrictive, and it has the potential to make an immediate board impact / life total impact.
I've been pondering testing Gift of Orzhova, but like mentioned earlier I prefer adding another body to the field to be honest. Maybe go with some Vampire Nighthawk in the main deck and have a couple Gift of Orzhova in the sideboard for those matchups where you want multiple Nighthawks (like against aggro, fliers, or planeswalkers).
It's the same casting cost in respect to a g/b deck?
What would to remove in its place? It's just simply not a good idea in comparison imo....
I dont run nighthawk, but there is no way I would run Gift of Orhzov over it. First off creature enchantments are always riskng that 2 for 1. Second, nighthawk demands removal and takes out most things it blocks along with the lifelinking. Third, after a terminus what would you rather topdeck?
I need to add, Garruk, Primal Hunter is great, I'm doing 23 lands and 2 garruk primal as it almost always is a positive when I see him. (with arbor elf getting 5 mana by turn 5 is not out of the question)
Probably the list I will copy. But I do have a few questions for you.
Has you (or anyone) considered Revenge of the Hunted at least in the SB? What about Bloodline Keeper? And also, even though I probably will have a different SB than most, I will be putting in a playset of Deathrites in. Just wondering what you would take out for them?
Been rather happy with the removal Tracker and Troll from the 75 entirely. Increasing the number of Dreg Manglers to 4, and adding in Devour Flesh has been great going into unknown metas. Also increasing Abrupt Decay to three increases consistency and improves game 1 matches against Boros Reckoner.
UWR
So against UWR Flash/Homebrew. This is from the last round of Standard (pre-Gatecrash), my friend piloting and brewing this deck hasn't been into standard lately and moving into more Sealed/Limited. I took both matches played against his deck. This deck contains Hellkite, Good Guy Geist (GoST), Resto Angel, Charms, etc.
Game 1
I don't have notes for Game 1, though I won through direct damage. SB: -1 Ultimate Price, -1 Devour Flesh; +2 Crushing Vines
Game 2
Again I lack notes here. However I was able to force him to concede the match. His deck was having a difficult time dealing with P. Ooze, hasty creatures and the removal suite. I did note I didn't draw any of my Crushing Vines.
Game 3
We kept the same sideboards as previously noted. I lost this game to not being aggressive enough. I played P. Ooze ahead of Dreg Mangler, the extra three damage a turn earlier would have won me the game.
Game 4
New pilot, more experienced player. We both undid any sideboarding. Deathrite Shaman + Rancor did lots of work, leading to another win.
Game 5
Same pilot from Game 4. We both sideboarded, I sideboarded +2 Crushing Vines in again. Even though I missed a T7 guildgate, I was able to win taking out his Restoration Angel with Ultimate Price and swing in for the win.
UWR feels like a very good match up for this style of deck. The next two reports are from last night. It was casual, and I lack notes.
The Aristrocrats
We played roughly five Game 1s, with the outcome being nearly 50/50, with one game ending in a draw (don't swing into Boros Reckoner without an Abrupt Decay handy!). The pilot didn't have his SB ready, and was fairly inexperience (had some difficulty with how The Stack worked). The games could become rather lengthy. Deathrite proved invaluable in these situations by gaining life and keeping me in the game. I feel as though siding in Bloodgift Demon (2 or even 3 of) would have done well against his fliers and given the extra card draw, put me back in the game sooner. This match up is 50/50 game 1, and given the correct sideboard easily winnable.
Mono Black Control (Splash Red)
This was piloted by an experienced builder and brewer, however after two games I had the match. (Unfortunately it was only one match.) This deck is much slower than most G/B lists, thus making match 1 winnable. Though like most control decks, it takes a few extra turns. Also the splash for Red seemed to be fore Slaughter Games. Didn't see anything else come up that needed Red mana.
Sideboading: -2 Ultimate Price, -2 Devour Flesh; +2 Appetite for Brains, +2 Duress. Taking out two UP was a big mistake. I lucked out and had one from the draw (the only one left in the deck), and was able to use it to nuke an early Nighthawk Vampire. AfB and Duress were all stars, letting me remove Griselbrand, Mutilate, Slaughter Games, etc. This really allowed me to get in for the kill. Abrupt Decay got some work in, removing early blockers.
I've been enjoying the deck and the new changes made to it. I haven't missed the loss of Tracker or Troll. And switching to using instant speed removal offers great flexibility and has been successful. I am looking at putting in Murder, or possibly Victim of the Night, though I'm hesitant to do so at the moment.
Sideboard
I feel that the sideboard is starting to build itself slowly. Though not set in concrete, I am currently looking at:
Most of the sideboard is self explanatory, and I'll keep tweaking it through play testing. I feel that overall it is positioned rather well. Perhaps one less each of Ranger's and Bloodgift to increase the numbers for Duress and Appetite.
I should have more play testing done on Saturday and be able to report back. Open to all critiques!
TL;DR: I talk about a few match ups I put my deck through.
I like the reporting on the games that you played, but a few problems:
UWR Flash is one of the best decks in the format, and is actually a terrible matchup for us with Azorius Charm, Snapcaster Mage flashing it back, and Restoration Angel getting Snapcaster Mage activations again. Throw in one of better early blockers in the format currently, Augur of Bolas, and a pure road block for this deck in Boros Reckoner if you don't draw the right removal or Rancor. I would reserve your opinion of that matchup until you play against a better tuned deck with a good player before you declare that a good matchup.
The Aristocrats is a pretty good matchup from my testing as well. It really comes down to has the better draw.
The mono-black decks are terrible.
Lastly, I don't have a problem with dropping Ulvenwald Tracker, I've pondered it myself, but still use two just for value right now. I think you are making a mistake not having Lotleth Troll in the deck though. Lotleth Troll is a bomb against Esper Control, aggro decks, Jund, etc. In fact, I really think it is one of the better creatures in the format. I'm not afraid to discard my whole hand to him agianst many decks because swinging with a 5/4 regenerator is really hard for many decks to deal with. I have won many games with Lotleth Troll (having trample is huge) swinging while Predator Ooze holds the fort down by blocking every turn.
Probably the list I will copy. But I do have a few questions for you.
Has you (or anyone) considered Revenge of the Hunted at least in the SB? What about Bloodline Keeper? And also, even though I probably will have a different SB than most, I will be putting in a playset of Deathrites in. Just wondering what you would take out for them?
I actually started this deck with 4x Revenge of the Hunted... And by using (revenge) it usually is enough to just go over the top on damage and I actually loved running it in my deck to be honest.....HOWEVER.... The deck lacked the consistency..... Now to be honest I have not yet tried out the bloodline keeper but I do like the idea and will look into it. And for the Deathrite Shaman, 4x copies is a good number (I only have 3x right now or I would have 4x in the SB.) but I usually SB him in against control decks, reanimator decks, and sometimes against RG that use blood rush. And this usually means that I take out the 4x Gravecrawler.
UWR looks bad on paper, but the pilot I went up against had been playing it consistently since RTR, and was deep into Delver/Snapcaster before that. I'm not sure the match up is as bad, especially post sideboard. I think with good speed, game 1 is winnable.
No idea about Esper Control (or Jund), played a friend on cockatrice before GP QC, but I think he got more screwed over by the cockatrice shuffler. Hopefully this weekend I go up against a few at a friend's draft.
On removing Lotleth, amazing. The deck feels more flexible and responsive to opponents' threats. I think Lotleth has good syngery with Grave Purge and Garruk PH. But without card draw to refresh your hand, the tactic doesn't quite work. I feel that increasing the decks flexibility will win more games, than smashing with a large Troll.
Revenge of the Hunted: Play as a three of. I used this during Mono Green Fight Club playing it T2 onto an Arbor Elf, rancoring it... Drop down to 3 and you'll see it come up when you're more apt to use it. Also Revenge onto a P.Ooze is just insane! Top off with Ranger's Guile for the win!
I would like the biggest body available to hold back fliers for multiple turns. Though the lifelink on the Nighthawk is very relevant. I think I would prefer Bloodgift in my deck for the card draw and the larger body.
Revenge is very fun, and gives the potential to simply top deck a win, or Mabye even a board wipe.
However IMO all it does is get that creature removed, or it turns up in places you really don't want it. It also became the first card to be sideboarded out so I dropped it.
Im not really sure how you can claim that all it does is get the creature removed, considering we are talking about the deck that has the most durable creatures in standard right now..... (Strangleroot, Lotleth, Ooze) thats 12 targets that are very hard to remove.....now Im not saying that it should or shouldn't be played.... But if you are running GB Golgari and your creatures are being removed then you're doing it wrong
Revenge is very fun, and gives the potential to simply top deck a win, or Mabye even a board wipe.
However IMO all it does is get that creature removed, or it turns up in places you really don't want it. It also became the first card to be sideboarded out so I dropped it.
I prefer vampire nighthawk in terms of flyers. Death touch and lifeline for 3 mana is brilliant.
Bar ooze the revenge is still wasted though....
Personally I prefer cards that are good to see no matter what the board state, and revenge does not do this.
You pull a revenge against a reckoner and you are in trouble.
However if you pull an abrupt decay against a Reckoner then they are in trouble..... I agree that Revenge isn't for this deck.... All Im saying is that the creatures in this deck just survive....thats what they do.... You either outrun them with strangleroot, dreg mangler, and rancor. Or you simply out last and out smart them with Ooze, and Lotleth.
I think we are agreeing on the same point, I just could of worded my original quote a bit better
Btw guys, how are people sideboarding against control?
Predator ooze to me seems weak. Azorious charm is ruining my day!!
Alpha Authority is in my deck specifically for this. That on an ooze makes it damn near impossible to remove him from play barring Terminus/Tragic Slip or if they waste an abrupt decay on the alpha authority.. and maybe 1 or 2 other cards.
Slitherhead is pretty much unplayable garbage and Gravecrawler while posessing synergy with Dreg Mangler and especially Lotleth Troll is not realistically sustainable with 8 black sources on turn 1 and 12 on turn 2.
Actually, it's only 4 black sources on turn one, as Woodland Cemetery requires something else in play to come into play untapped, and Golgari Guildgate always enters play tapped, leaving Overgrown Tomb (unless you run some Swamps, which I wouldn't recommend at this point) as the lone first turn B source.
Gravecrawler is a good card, just don't see it being good in this deck.
As for Slitherhead, that card is a trap, don't play it. On the first turn I want to be playing my Arbor Elf, Deathrite Shaman, or Ulvenwald Tracker, or leaving mana up to Tragic Slip a one drop. Second turn you play the Lotleth Troll or Strangleroot Geist, and the three slot is filled as well. IF Scavenge could be used at instant speed, that would be a different topic, as it would easily be an answer to Pillar of Flame or other damage based removal if you have a Troll out.
The major problem with this card (Slitherhead) is that it requires you to have something else (Lotleth Troll) in play to make it have value if in your hand, as to where Lotleth Troll does have value because he is a real threat and regenerates. I don't want to be casting this guy, period.
Why hasn't Corpsejack Menace been mentioned? He has great synergy with the Troll, and even as a SB option, he needs consideration. Every creature you pitch to the Troll will net you 2x counters. Is it mana intensive? He could be dropped T4 consistantly & a 4/4 for 2:symb::symg: is a pretty good deal, not to mention a removal magnet to keep the Ooze on the field. Just some thoughts.
Running swamps is key, if you get Ghost Quarter'd, you're out a black mana source. Not being able to fetch a Swamp will hurt the game plan. Ghost Quarter is tech that we can build an advantage with. I've been using the Simple Land Calculator after factoring in dual and utility lands. Honestly, I don't want to get stuck with a Guildgate when a Swamp would have been better. One or two swamps can make a difference in the deck.
Corpsejack Menance feels too combo-y. I've tried it, and he's fun when the combo goes off. But you need to build a deck more focused on +1/+1 counters for him. Also, Deadbridge Goliath has a more relevant body at that cost. Scavenge late game can help bring the win home.
Slater has (you have) nailed it with Gravecrawler, he's good. Just doesn't interact well enough. Sure you can pitch and recast from the graveyard, but he best feeds a sac engine.
@Texeven: I would skip on the Revenge and run another Ranger's Guile. Ranger's Guile will maintain your board presence, which is more important than a large one off attack. Also Mark of the Vampire can become other removal spells. Being able to recast Rancor makes it much more potent than any other enchant.
Anyone try Vraska yet? I have a one of in my trade binder... She happens to be in our colours, so it might be worth checking out.
Anyone try Vraska yet? I have a one of in my trade binder... She happens to be in our colours, so it might be worth checking out.
She hits enchantments, plainswalkers, etc. but removal for 5cc seems kind of annoying in this deck. It is a tough call. I went from 2 to 0 in my sb, might go back to 1 against control.
Am i the only one that runs Alpha Authority over Ranger's Guile? Any reason why Ranger's Guile is preferred? In the control match-up, Ranger's Guile can only be used once whereas Alpha authority is permanently on the creature.. sure it's not an instant and it costs 2 mana but when it sticks it's hard to remove.
Garruk, Primal Hunter is in, Wolfir Silverheart is out, Deadbridge Goliath is back in, Alpha Authority is moved to the SB. Gift of Orzhova is removed completely. Victim of night replaces Dreadbore and I've added Gravepurge into the SB for some playtesting... Might pay off against control decks mid-late game by pitching creatures to the troll, having Primal hunter out, then playing Gravepurge to load your hand back up with creatures. Should work well against mill decks too (provided it isn't one of the cards that gets milled). We'll see how it goes!
Running swamps is key, if you get Ghost Quarter'd, you're out a black mana source. Not being able to fetch a Swamp will hurt the game plan. Ghost Quarter is tech that we can build an advantage with. I've been using the Simple Land Calculator after factoring in dual and utility lands. Honestly, I don't want to get stuck with a Guildgate when a Swamp would have been better. One or two swamps can make a difference in the deck.
Corpsejack Menance feels too combo-y. I've tried it, and he's fun when the combo goes off. But you need to build a deck more focused on +1/+1 counters for him. Also, Deadbridge Goliath has a more relevant body at that cost. Scavenge late game can help bring the win home.
Slater has (you have) nailed it with Gravecrawler, he's good. Just doesn't interact well enough. Sure you can pitch and recast from the graveyard, but he best feeds a sac engine.
@Texeven: I would skip on the Revenge and run another Ranger's Guile. Ranger's Guile will maintain your board presence, which is more important than a large one off attack. Also Mark of the Vampire can become other removal spells. Being able to recast Rancor makes it much more potent than any other enchant.
Anyone try Vraska yet? I have a one of in my trade binder... She happens to be in our colours, so it might be worth checking out.
If you can name one deck (that is competitive) that plays Ghost Quarter, then I will admit that having the ability to fetch a swamp is a huge deal. Right now though, it doesn't see play so I wouldn't be "next leveling" for a card that doesn't see play. Granted, it's a solid card and is good enough to see play, but it doesn't.
I wouldn't run any other "creature" buffs other then Rancor at this time. If there was a good equipment card to run, that would be amazing. But with the hexproof guys that they printed last set, I don't think we will get good equipment again until the next set. If you wanted to run something similar to Rancor, Ring of Kalonia could be bad version of a number "5" Rancor (as all the creatures in this deck are G).
The problem with Vraska the Unseen is that she is for a different deck style. This deck wants to be playing a card(s) that wins the game the turn she would see play. Plus with most decks running 22 land, she might be hard to cast. I have been pondering switching up the sideboard a little to be honest.
What if we went with a transformative sideboard. What I mean is that against the other aggro decks, we can very easily get over powered. What if we went with cards that turn the deck into a midrange deck. Imagine pulling Liliana of the Veil, Garruk, Primal Hunter and/or Garruk Relentless (depending if one or more see main deck play), Vraska the Unseen and more removal out of your sideboard, would totally catch the opponent off guard. With the hyper aggresive decks not really running any removal these days (Giant Growth sees just as much play as Searing Spear in the Naya Human deck), Arbor Elf would allow you to ramp into these more powerful spells on a regular basis. It would almost become a Jund-style deck. We already (in my experience) have a good matchup against control, and pulling Liliana of the Veil out of the sideboard is a nightmare scenerio for them. Imagine going turn one Overgrown Tomb into Arbor Elf, turn two Liliana of the Veil, turn three Lotleth Troll and Deathrite Shaman, dumping the rest of your hand into the Troll and going to town with the discard ability of Liliana of the Veil, that seems like a really hard thing for any deck to handle, being attacked from multiple angles like that. Just talking about it makes me giddy, having a fatty, a planeswalker, ramp, and a Swiss Army Knife sounds amazing on turn 3 or 4.
How essential is Predator Ooze to the mix? I was thinking of running a far more flash-oriented version with Yeva and other cheap green fat - my meta is very control-oriented, with lots of Tamiyos and other planeswalkers floating around, so I feel as though the flash will help me circumvent their sorcery-speed effects while still giving me a solid haste-esque creature to attack with next turn.
Predator Ooze has been... well, I can't lie. It hasn't been helpful to me in test runs. It's not a bad card, but with the local games it always seems to be a straight board-out, along with Ulvenwald Tracker.
And I'll second the support for having at least one swamp to tutor for after a Ghost Quarter - control around here MD's those things if only to mess with a potentially fragile manabase (or to destroy Nephilia Drownyards in mirror matches), so I think that it's something to be prepared for at least.
Disil, what do you board in the Triumph of Ferocity in against? Everything else in the SB makes sense and mirrors mine, but I have 1 more Guile and 1 more Appetite than you in exchange for the Triumphs.
For all these Ghost Quarters that are seeing play, can someone post a link to a decklist from a recent tournament that has it? I sure can't find one.
As for that sideboard "plan", I was only suggesting it to the individuals that are running and a little bit more land a little higher curve, as they tend to have a little worse matchup against aggro because they are somewhere between an aggro deck and a midrange deck, might as well switch into an actual midrange deck to shore up that match. And against control, I think you are dismissing what Liliana of the Veil would mean to this deck. Sure, they have Planar Cleansing, but if you land her turn 2, they won't have enough resources to actually use that ability. And with them going away from Terminus right now, it makes our Lotleth Troll and Predator Ooze that much eaiser to ride to victory.
Kinda comboish, sweeper resistant, swing in for early beats and drain later. Messenger + BT + BA is a 12 point life swing, Essence Harvest randomly wins games.
first up is Gravepurge, 3 mana for only drawing one card doesnt seem that good at first but it's essentially a regrowth for creatures that also lets you set up your draws for a while. Which means you can recycle all the threats theyve already had to find answers to turn after turn.
second guy to consider is Splinterfright, he can be a house as early as t4 and especially in the destroy heavier formats and lategame he just gets big fast and cannot be ignored, for 3 mana he is easily someone to consider.
Just a couple guys to keep in mind have fun brewing!
Look for me on MTGO, sslater
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I dont run nighthawk, but there is no way I would run Gift of Orhzov over it. First off creature enchantments are always riskng that 2 for 1. Second, nighthawk demands removal and takes out most things it blocks along with the lifelinking. Third, after a terminus what would you rather topdeck?
I need to add, Garruk, Primal Hunter is great, I'm doing 23 lands and 2 garruk primal as it almost always is a positive when I see him. (with arbor elf getting 5 mana by turn 5 is not out of the question)
Probably the list I will copy. But I do have a few questions for you.
Has you (or anyone) considered Revenge of the Hunted at least in the SB? What about Bloodline Keeper? And also, even though I probably will have a different SB than most, I will be putting in a playset of Deathrites in. Just wondering what you would take out for them?
First the decklist
4x Arbor Elf
3x Deathrite Shaman
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Dreg Mangler
4x Predator Ooze
2x Wolfir Silverheart
2x Devour Flesh
3x Ultimate Price
3x Abrupt Decay
PLANESWALKERS
3x Garruk Relentless
ENCHANTMENTS
4x Rancor
1x Ghost Quater
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Golgari Guildgate
4x Woodland Cemetary
8x Forest
3x Swamp
4x Arbor Elf
3x Ulvenwald Tracker
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Predator Ooze
3x Dreg Mangler
2x Wolfir Silverheart
SPELLS - 5
3x Ultimate Price
2x Abrupt Decay
4x Rancor
PLANESWALKERS - 3
3x Garruk Relentless
LANDS - 24
4x Overgrown Tombs
4x Woodland Cemetery
4x Golgari Guildgate
9x Forest
3x Swamp
1x Duress
2x Appetite for Brains
2x Abrupt Decay
3x Sheltering Word
1x Ranger's Guile
3x Crushing Vines
3x Tribute to Hunger
Been rather happy with the removal Tracker and Troll from the 75 entirely. Increasing the number of Dreg Manglers to 4, and adding in Devour Flesh has been great going into unknown metas. Also increasing Abrupt Decay to three increases consistency and improves game 1 matches against Boros Reckoner.
UWR
So against UWR Flash/Homebrew. This is from the last round of Standard (pre-Gatecrash), my friend piloting and brewing this deck hasn't been into standard lately and moving into more Sealed/Limited. I took both matches played against his deck. This deck contains Hellkite, Good Guy Geist (GoST), Resto Angel, Charms, etc.
Game 1
I don't have notes for Game 1, though I won through direct damage.
SB: -1 Ultimate Price, -1 Devour Flesh; +2 Crushing Vines
Game 2
Again I lack notes here. However I was able to force him to concede the match. His deck was having a difficult time dealing with P. Ooze, hasty creatures and the removal suite. I did note I didn't draw any of my Crushing Vines.
Game 3
We kept the same sideboards as previously noted. I lost this game to not being aggressive enough. I played P. Ooze ahead of Dreg Mangler, the extra three damage a turn earlier would have won me the game.
Game 4
New pilot, more experienced player. We both undid any sideboarding. Deathrite Shaman + Rancor did lots of work, leading to another win.
Game 5
Same pilot from Game 4. We both sideboarded, I sideboarded +2 Crushing Vines in again. Even though I missed a T7 guildgate, I was able to win taking out his Restoration Angel with Ultimate Price and swing in for the win.
UWR feels like a very good match up for this style of deck. The next two reports are from last night. It was casual, and I lack notes.
The Aristrocrats
We played roughly five Game 1s, with the outcome being nearly 50/50, with one game ending in a draw (don't swing into Boros Reckoner without an Abrupt Decay handy!). The pilot didn't have his SB ready, and was fairly inexperience (had some difficulty with how The Stack worked). The games could become rather lengthy. Deathrite proved invaluable in these situations by gaining life and keeping me in the game. I feel as though siding in Bloodgift Demon (2 or even 3 of) would have done well against his fliers and given the extra card draw, put me back in the game sooner. This match up is 50/50 game 1, and given the correct sideboard easily winnable.
Mono Black Control (Splash Red)
This was piloted by an experienced builder and brewer, however after two games I had the match. (Unfortunately it was only one match.) This deck is much slower than most G/B lists, thus making match 1 winnable. Though like most control decks, it takes a few extra turns. Also the splash for Red seemed to be fore Slaughter Games. Didn't see anything else come up that needed Red mana.
Sideboading: -2 Ultimate Price, -2 Devour Flesh; +2 Appetite for Brains, +2 Duress. Taking out two UP was a big mistake. I lucked out and had one from the draw (the only one left in the deck), and was able to use it to nuke an early Nighthawk Vampire. AfB and Duress were all stars, letting me remove Griselbrand, Mutilate, Slaughter Games, etc. This really allowed me to get in for the kill. Abrupt Decay got some work in, removing early blockers.
I've been enjoying the deck and the new changes made to it. I haven't missed the loss of Tracker or Troll. And switching to using instant speed removal offers great flexibility and has been successful. I am looking at putting in Murder, or possibly Victim of the Night, though I'm hesitant to do so at the moment.
Sideboard
I feel that the sideboard is starting to build itself slowly. Though not set in concrete, I am currently looking at:
2x Duress
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Ultimate Price
3x Bloodgift Demon
4x Ranger's Guile
2x Crushing Vines
Most of the sideboard is self explanatory, and I'll keep tweaking it through play testing. I feel that overall it is positioned rather well. Perhaps one less each of Ranger's and Bloodgift to increase the numbers for Duress and Appetite.
I should have more play testing done on Saturday and be able to report back. Open to all critiques!
TL;DR: I talk about a few match ups I put my deck through.
Bloodline Keeper: Good sideboard option against fliers. Needs testing.
Most enchantments (like Gift of Orzhov): 2 for 1 special. Rancor works well because if an enchanted creature, Rancor gets sent back to hand.
Garruk, Primal Hunter: I really like Relentless, he feels more versatile. I should give PH a spin.
Gravepurge: Interesting idea, worth trying in a sideboard slot.
UWR Flash is one of the best decks in the format, and is actually a terrible matchup for us with Azorius Charm, Snapcaster Mage flashing it back, and Restoration Angel getting Snapcaster Mage activations again. Throw in one of better early blockers in the format currently, Augur of Bolas, and a pure road block for this deck in Boros Reckoner if you don't draw the right removal or Rancor. I would reserve your opinion of that matchup until you play against a better tuned deck with a good player before you declare that a good matchup.
The Aristocrats is a pretty good matchup from my testing as well. It really comes down to has the better draw.
The mono-black decks are terrible.
Lastly, I don't have a problem with dropping Ulvenwald Tracker, I've pondered it myself, but still use two just for value right now. I think you are making a mistake not having Lotleth Troll in the deck though. Lotleth Troll is a bomb against Esper Control, aggro decks, Jund, etc. In fact, I really think it is one of the better creatures in the format. I'm not afraid to discard my whole hand to him agianst many decks because swinging with a 5/4 regenerator is really hard for many decks to deal with. I have won many games with Lotleth Troll (having trample is huge) swinging while Predator Ooze holds the fort down by blocking every turn.
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I actually started this deck with 4x Revenge of the Hunted... And by using (revenge) it usually is enough to just go over the top on damage and I actually loved running it in my deck to be honest.....HOWEVER.... The deck lacked the consistency..... Now to be honest I have not yet tried out the bloodline keeper but I do like the idea and will look into it. And for the Deathrite Shaman, 4x copies is a good number (I only have 3x right now or I would have 4x in the SB.) but I usually SB him in against control decks, reanimator decks, and sometimes against RG that use blood rush. And this usually means that I take out the 4x Gravecrawler.
No idea about Esper Control (or Jund), played a friend on cockatrice before GP QC, but I think he got more screwed over by the cockatrice shuffler. Hopefully this weekend I go up against a few at a friend's draft.
On removing Lotleth, amazing. The deck feels more flexible and responsive to opponents' threats. I think Lotleth has good syngery with Grave Purge and Garruk PH. But without card draw to refresh your hand, the tactic doesn't quite work. I feel that increasing the decks flexibility will win more games, than smashing with a large Troll.
Revenge of the Hunted: Play as a three of. I used this during Mono Green Fight Club playing it T2 onto an Arbor Elf, rancoring it... Drop down to 3 and you'll see it come up when you're more apt to use it. Also Revenge onto a P.Ooze is just insane! Top off with Ranger's Guile for the win!
I would like the biggest body available to hold back fliers for multiple turns. Though the lifelink on the Nighthawk is very relevant. I think I would prefer Bloodgift in my deck for the card draw and the larger body.
Im not really sure how you can claim that all it does is get the creature removed, considering we are talking about the deck that has the most durable creatures in standard right now..... (Strangleroot, Lotleth, Ooze) thats 12 targets that are very hard to remove.....now Im not saying that it should or shouldn't be played.... But if you are running GB Golgari and your creatures are being removed then you're doing it wrong
However if you pull an abrupt decay against a Reckoner then they are in trouble..... I agree that Revenge isn't for this deck.... All Im saying is that the creatures in this deck just survive....thats what they do.... You either outrun them with strangleroot, dreg mangler, and rancor. Or you simply out last and out smart them with Ooze, and Lotleth.
Garruk comes out....that is for sure...... and Ranger's guile comes in.... For me I find some way to bring in the Shamans
Alpha Authority is in my deck specifically for this. That on an ooze makes it damn near impossible to remove him from play barring Terminus/Tragic Slip or if they waste an abrupt decay on the alpha authority.. and maybe 1 or 2 other cards.
Rangers Guile seems like a better SB choice.
Mystery solved.
The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
Actually, it's only 4 black sources on turn one, as Woodland Cemetery requires something else in play to come into play untapped, and Golgari Guildgate always enters play tapped, leaving Overgrown Tomb (unless you run some Swamps, which I wouldn't recommend at this point) as the lone first turn B source.
Gravecrawler is a good card, just don't see it being good in this deck.
As for Slitherhead, that card is a trap, don't play it. On the first turn I want to be playing my Arbor Elf, Deathrite Shaman, or Ulvenwald Tracker, or leaving mana up to Tragic Slip a one drop. Second turn you play the Lotleth Troll or Strangleroot Geist, and the three slot is filled as well. IF Scavenge could be used at instant speed, that would be a different topic, as it would easily be an answer to Pillar of Flame or other damage based removal if you have a Troll out.
The major problem with this card (Slitherhead) is that it requires you to have something else (Lotleth Troll) in play to make it have value if in your hand, as to where Lotleth Troll does have value because he is a real threat and regenerates. I don't want to be casting this guy, period.
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The funniest thing about this particular signature is that by the time you realize it doesn't say anything it's too late to stop reading it....
Corpsejack Menance feels too combo-y. I've tried it, and he's fun when the combo goes off. But you need to build a deck more focused on +1/+1 counters for him. Also, Deadbridge Goliath has a more relevant body at that cost. Scavenge late game can help bring the win home.
Slater has (you have) nailed it with Gravecrawler, he's good. Just doesn't interact well enough. Sure you can pitch and recast from the graveyard, but he best feeds a sac engine.
@Texeven: I would skip on the Revenge and run another Ranger's Guile. Ranger's Guile will maintain your board presence, which is more important than a large one off attack. Also Mark of the Vampire can become other removal spells. Being able to recast Rancor makes it much more potent than any other enchant.
Anyone try Vraska yet? I have a one of in my trade binder... She happens to be in our colours, so it might be worth checking out.
Wait, you mean more Garruk comes out of the sb into the main deck because Garruk is the bomb against control!
She hits enchantments, plainswalkers, etc. but removal for 5cc seems kind of annoying in this deck. It is a tough call. I went from 2 to 0 in my sb, might go back to 1 against control.
4x Arbor Elf
3x Ulvenwald Tracker
4x Strangleroot Geist
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Dreg Mangler
4x Predator Ooze
2x Deadbridge Goliath
PLANESWALKERS: 2
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
4x Abrupt Decay
2x Victim of Night
ENCHANTMENTS: 4
4x Rancor
LAND: 23
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Woodland Cemetery
4x Stomping Ground
2x Golgari Guildgate
3x Dragonskull Summit
6x Forest
3x Deathrite Shaman
2x Tragic Slip
2x Gravepurge
2x Alpha Authority
2x Golgari Charm
4x Slaughter Games
Garruk, Primal Hunter is in, Wolfir Silverheart is out, Deadbridge Goliath is back in, Alpha Authority is moved to the SB. Gift of Orzhova is removed completely. Victim of night replaces Dreadbore and I've added Gravepurge into the SB for some playtesting... Might pay off against control decks mid-late game by pitching creatures to the troll, having Primal hunter out, then playing Gravepurge to load your hand back up with creatures. Should work well against mill decks too (provided it isn't one of the cards that gets milled). We'll see how it goes!
If you can name one deck (that is competitive) that plays Ghost Quarter, then I will admit that having the ability to fetch a swamp is a huge deal. Right now though, it doesn't see play so I wouldn't be "next leveling" for a card that doesn't see play. Granted, it's a solid card and is good enough to see play, but it doesn't.
Corpsejack Menance is a win-more card, just as Revenge of the Hunted is.
I wouldn't run any other "creature" buffs other then Rancor at this time. If there was a good equipment card to run, that would be amazing. But with the hexproof guys that they printed last set, I don't think we will get good equipment again until the next set. If you wanted to run something similar to Rancor, Ring of Kalonia could be bad version of a number "5" Rancor (as all the creatures in this deck are G).
The problem with Vraska the Unseen is that she is for a different deck style. This deck wants to be playing a card(s) that wins the game the turn she would see play. Plus with most decks running 22 land, she might be hard to cast. I have been pondering switching up the sideboard a little to be honest.
What if we went with a transformative sideboard. What I mean is that against the other aggro decks, we can very easily get over powered. What if we went with cards that turn the deck into a midrange deck. Imagine pulling Liliana of the Veil, Garruk, Primal Hunter and/or Garruk Relentless (depending if one or more see main deck play), Vraska the Unseen and more removal out of your sideboard, would totally catch the opponent off guard. With the hyper aggresive decks not really running any removal these days (Giant Growth sees just as much play as Searing Spear in the Naya Human deck), Arbor Elf would allow you to ramp into these more powerful spells on a regular basis. It would almost become a Jund-style deck. We already (in my experience) have a good matchup against control, and pulling Liliana of the Veil out of the sideboard is a nightmare scenerio for them. Imagine going turn one Overgrown Tomb into Arbor Elf, turn two Liliana of the Veil, turn three Lotleth Troll and Deathrite Shaman, dumping the rest of your hand into the Troll and going to town with the discard ability of Liliana of the Veil, that seems like a really hard thing for any deck to handle, being attacked from multiple angles like that. Just talking about it makes me giddy, having a fatty, a planeswalker, ramp, and a Swiss Army Knife sounds amazing on turn 3 or 4.
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Predator Ooze has been... well, I can't lie. It hasn't been helpful to me in test runs. It's not a bad card, but with the local games it always seems to be a straight board-out, along with Ulvenwald Tracker.
And I'll second the support for having at least one swamp to tutor for after a Ghost Quarter - control around here MD's those things if only to mess with a potentially fragile manabase (or to destroy Nephilia Drownyards in mirror matches), so I think that it's something to be prepared for at least.
Disil, what do you board in the Triumph of Ferocity in against? Everything else in the SB makes sense and mirrors mine, but I have 1 more Guile and 1 more Appetite than you in exchange for the Triumphs.
As for that sideboard "plan", I was only suggesting it to the individuals that are running and a little bit more land a little higher curve, as they tend to have a little worse matchup against aggro because they are somewhere between an aggro deck and a midrange deck, might as well switch into an actual midrange deck to shore up that match. And against control, I think you are dismissing what Liliana of the Veil would mean to this deck. Sure, they have Planar Cleansing, but if you land her turn 2, they won't have enough resources to actually use that ability. And with them going away from Terminus right now, it makes our Lotleth Troll and Predator Ooze that much eaiser to ride to victory.
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My youtube channel:https://www.youtube.com/user/sslater22710
3 Forest
9 Swamp
4 Golgari Guildgate
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Butcher Ghoul
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Geralf's Messenger
4 Falkenrath Noble
4 Young Wolf
4 Blood Artist
4 Bloodthrone Vampire
4 Essence Harvest
4 Rancor
Kinda comboish, sweeper resistant, swing in for early beats and drain later. Messenger + BT + BA is a 12 point life swing, Essence Harvest randomly wins games.