I had been playing Junk Mid before M15, but I feel in love with Apex BadAss. The deck already had a strong Walker presence with Ajani Mentor, Elspeth and Vraska, so I just took out my Archangels, Blood Barons and Obzedat in lieu of even more Walkers. Here is how the deck is ruining now:
The plan is to get out my mana acceleration ASAP, ramp into threats, and keep pressure on the entire game. A turn 5 Apex Predator is very common, and I have so much reusable destruction it makes friends angry. I know I need to touch up my land a little bit, but otherwise this is pretty much done.
In Garruk's Wake is way too expensive for Standard. By the time you have nine mana, you won't usually have any use for it. You won't reliably be able to cast Xenagos with only eight red sources counting Caryatid, and it isn't worth the hit on the mana anyway.
Yeah I agree with dropping red it isn't doing enough I have a deck similar to this and in garruks wake is fine as a 1 or 2 of this deck does amazing at clogging the board and most the time it flat out wins the game but my deck is only GB with Nissa so I have better ramp that's my 2 cents
Hey Gah-ruuuuuk! Really liking the deck. Here's some suggestions: As has already been stated, get rid of Garruk's Wake, Xenagos, the Reveler. You won't be able to reliably cast Xenagos and his abilities are redundant in your deck. You already have enough ramp as is, so his first ability is redunadant and not needed. And his second ability doesn't do anything that Garruk, Apex Predator and Elspeth, Sun's Champion can't do for you already. Plus Garruk and Elspeth's token generating abilities ADD loyalty counters. Xenagos's does not. Garruk's Wake is too slow, and by the time you have enough mana to cast it, you should already be winning the game, or are on the path to losing it. Plus you risk investing 8 mana into a spell that can be countered by a 2 or 3 mana counterspell, which is HUGE lose in resources at that point in the game, for too little gain.
Another card I'd consider taking out is Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. I realize you're using him predominately to search out other planeswalkers, but you already have a 16-17%% chance (excluding you keeping Xenagos in your deck) of drawing those planeswalkers on your own, not to mention Liliana can tutor for those planeswalkers as well on her own. Also, your deck has an EXTREMELY high mana curve. You're looking at a an average CMC of 4. It means that you won't be able to cast the vast majority of your spells AT LEAST until Turn 4. That's not good. You need lower CMC spells you can reliably cast earlier than. Ideally, you want to be able to cast a spell at least once per turn. 4 Thoughtseizes would fit nicely in place of Xenagos and Ajani. they are 1 CMC level spells that hate out a card that may be disruptive to your deck's overall strategy.
Get rid of Nykthos. You're not running a devotion deck and being able to tap for large amounts of green mana won't help you with casting other spells that require other colors in their costs. You want your mana base to be solid, so that you'll have the right colors when you need them to cast all your spells. I can even tell you how to set up your mana base if you like.
In Garruk's Wake: This card is such an amazing blowout. A) I can play it on turn 5, though in a match up where I want to I usually bring in Drown in Sorrow. 2) It sweeps the opponent's board only. C) My meta is predominantly mid-range and control. The card is often a side-out, true, and maybe its more of a sideboard than a main deck, but it has worked well so far.
Xenagos, the Reveler: Makes dudes. Makes mana. The ultimate is irrelevant, but meh. Rakdos's Return for 27 happened last night. So did Rakdos for 23.
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes: Does more work than you think. Gets more than just walkers. Need a fat body for blocking? Your opponent Abrupt Decayed your Courser to stop the life gain? Dig for another one. Your dorks/tokens/whomever can't block Scuttling Doom Engine? Dig for Genesis Hydra, dig for Courser, add some counters. And 100 life is just funny as hell...
On Thoughtseize: Meh. The card is a great one, don't get me wrong. But I have to take pay 4 life to use it turn 1, and I'd rather be dropping Mystic. On turn 2 I'd rather be on Caryatid or Courser. On turn 3 I'd rather be playing Courser or Xenagos or Vraska or Ajani... The CMC is a concern, sure, but the deck ramps incredibly well. The look on my opponent's face when I turn 4 a Garruk, Apex Predator.
On the mana base: Check. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is already out. I'm pretty comfortable with my re-worked mana base as is, but I'm open to a couple Mana Confluences if it trends to the difficult side of things.
Alrighty, so I played 4 rounds of Swiss tonight, and took out the white to streamline the deck. Added in some Dreadbore and Mizzium Mortars.
HATED it. The deck stagnates so very, very much without Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, and frankly its kind of boring to play without as many threats.
So I'm adding back in Elspeth and Ajani, and I'm debating on adding some white removal, like Devouring Light. I'll post a new decklist when I get a more firm idea of it.
I'm not 100% sold on my sideboard - I could use any help I can get against super fast aggro. I don't really love Banishing Light in the main, either... but It does go into play with Genesis Hydra, and that can be a big deal in the clutch moments. Again, thank you in advance for your ideas!
I'm not 100% sold on my sideboard - I could use any help I can get against super fast aggro. I don't really love Banishing Light in the main, either... but It does go into play with Genesis Hydra, and that can be a big deal in the clutch moments. Again, thank you in advance for your ideas!
I really like this deck and want it to succeed. I still believe that In Garruk's Wake is a useless card in this deck however. It's too slow and too costly. Plus it doesn't do anything that Golgari Charm, Drown in Sorrow, and Bile Blight can't already do for you. It sounds like what you need is maybe cheaper spot removal. Just looking at your sideboard, I feel like there's some fat to trim to help diversify the deck:
You don't need as many Golgari Charms because you already have many ways of getting rid enchantments. Bile Blight works at instant speed as opposed to sorcery speed like Drown in Sorrow does. Plus it gets rid of multiple copies of the same creature, while not hitting your creatures. Plus it costs 1 mana less than Drown in Sorrow lowering your mana curve. Dark Betrayal is to help deal with Mono Black Aggro/Devotion. You also don't need that many Stain the Minds. Chances are you'll only see one or two cards you'll need to "hate out" of your opponent's deck, and you'll never want more than one of these in your hand at any given moment. Doom Blade and Ultimate price serve as the cheaper removal you're looking for. Last Breath gets rid annoying power creepers like Firedrinker Satyr and the like.
Honestly, I'd maybe drop one Elvish Mystic and the definitely the 2 In Garruk's Wakes and mainboard 3 Hero's Downfalls. Also, I'd move the 3 Banishing lights to the sideboard if the deck is still running too slow maybe main a combination of Doom Blade, Ultimate Price, and/or Last Breath in their place. Banishing Light works better once you know what threats to look for, and work better as a Game 2 answers.
I'm starting to agree with you on In Garruk's Wake. My meta seems to be shifting to more aggro lately, when it had been pretty heavy mid-range. Along those same lines, Drown in Sorrow is very important against the Boss Slighs and the Selesnya Aggros. But Perhaps Bile Blight is the replacement for the sweeper. Perhaps the catch-all Doom Blade.
I did change up my sideboard in a small 10 person swiss tonight. Still got smoked by Pack Rat in the end, but did well in my other match-ups. Here was today's side:
Devouring Light is easy to cast instant removal, and I can use my blockers to convoke it to get rid of the largest threat.
Back to Nature hits my Coursers, sure, but in the match-ups I bring it in for (D-Sphere and Banishing light, BG Nighthowler GY decks, Hexproof Naya, and the like), I don't really mind losing Courser. It would hit Ram though, in the aggro match ups I bring ram into.
Devouring Light is easy to cast instant removal, and I can use my blockers to convoke it to get rid of the largest threat.
Back to Nature hits my Coursers, sure, but in the match-ups I bring it in for (D-Sphere and Banishing light, BG Nighthowler GY decks, Hexproof Naya, and the like), I don't really mind losing Courser. It would hit Ram though, in the aggro match ups I bring ram into.
I like Devouring Light over Banishing Light. The downside is that Devouring Light is harder to cast (because of it's double white mana cost). Banishing Light is easily more splash-able, but if your mana can support Devouring Light, by all means use it. Back to Nature... I wouldn't use. Courser of Kruphix is such an integral card to your deck (or any deck he's in for that matter). He edits your deck via his psuedo-scry ability, makes sure you never miss your land drops, and nets you life. You NEED him. Besides, again, you're already running a glut of enchantment removal. Not to mention that you also have spells that can kill enchantment creatures.
Magicman, that was pretty much my thought on Back to Nature. Just needed to hear someone else say it. Banishing Light is staying in, but I did make some pretty decent changes to help out with my tougher match-ups:
Red Aggro: Any variation of red aggro can be problematic, though now that I've lowered the curve of my removal suite, game one got much better. I'm still the underdog, but no where close to as badly. The side board evens out the match, I think, with Ram coming in as a giant life-gaining wall and some board sweeping removal at CMC 2 and 3. I'm not 100% on siding out Devour Flesh, but I think turning it into a sweeper is the right call.
Out (on the play): 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion, 2x Banishing Light, 2x Garruk, Apex Hunter, 3 Devour Flesh
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow, 2x Golgari Charm
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
Selesnya Aggro: Same problem as Red Aggro, yet different. Here there are less attackers than the red aggro decks, but Selesnya's are significantly beefier. Here, where I sided out Banishing light against red, I need it to take care of voice. Same basic plan, though: bring in some fat-assed blockers that gain me life, and a low costed board wipe. Here Genesis Hydra comes out due to the varying power/toughness of Selesnya's threats. Versus red, all I need the hydra to be is a 2/2, for 4 CMC, and maybe hopefully hit a Caryatid or Ram for that all important extra blocker. Against Selesnya, I might make it a 3/3 to block and kill Fleecemane Lion, only to have them drop in Advent of the Wurm. Now my 5CMC 3/3 is just a speed bump.
Out (on the play): 3x Genesis Hydra, 1x Elvish Mystic, 2x Garruk, Apex Hunter
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Out (on the draw): 3x Genesis Hydra, 3x Garruk, Apex Hunter
In (on the draw): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Green Devotion: This deck has always been one of my easiest match ups. Against any mid-range deck I'm definitely favored (unless there's a blood baron in play, because pro-removal is the pits), but now that I've tweaked the deck to fair better against Pack Rat and aggro decks, there are definitely some side outs I need to make.
Out (on the play): 2x Bile Blight, 1x Banishing Light, 4x Abrupt Decay
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
RGx Monsters: This is a harder side board challenge now that I don't have Hero's Downfall, I don't love Devour Flesh in this match up. I *think* the right call is to leave in the Bile Blights to hit Xenagos tokens and their various non-Caryatid mana dorks. This is the one pairing i REALLY want Downfall for, to stop that damned Stormbreath Dragon.
Out (on the play): 3x Devour Flesh, 4x Abrupt Decay
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 2x Underworld Connections
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
Control: Another match up in my favor, ESPECIALLY if their only removal is enchantment exiles and Supreme Verdict. Something to be careful about, though, is going to time. I have to keep up the pace, including theirs, and make sure I win game 1. I have a lot of dead draws versus control but my token generation just keeps them on the back of their heels. Woe to them if their only win-con is Elspeth...
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 3x Devour Flesh, 1 Elvish Mystic
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x Golgari Charm, 2x Underworld Connections
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
RW BurnSo, what is the plan against Burn? I got smoked by it yesterday. Mostly cause he made it a HUGE focus to kill courser and negate my life gain. Do I bring in Ram for more life gain and to block mutavault? Obviously devour flesh is out in favor of Drown in Sorrow to sweep away all the pyromancer tokens.
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 3x Devour Flesh
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown in Sorrow, 1x Underworld Connections?
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
I built and played the following to a 4-0 finish at FNM last night. I've been practicing with it for about 3 weeks. Thought I'd throw it up to add to the discussion. Sadly I probably won't get another chance to play it competitively until post rotation which means...I might be moving on to something else.
Fated Retribution is basically just a last ditch effort to save the game when Nissa, Worldwaker decks when they get out of hand. Went 2-1 in all four matches.
R/G Monsters
Red Deck Wins
R/W Soldiers - using Preeminent Captain
U/W Heroic
Private Mod Note
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4 Elvish Mystic
4 Genesis Hydra
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
Spells:21
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Banishing Light
2 Xenagos, the Reveler
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
2 Liliana Vess
3 Vraska the Unseen
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Garruk, Apex Predator
2 In Garruk's Wake
1 Caves of Koilos
2 Godless Shrine
1 Llanowar Wastes
2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
3 Overgrown Tomb
3 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
1 Temple of Abandon
3 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Plenty
1 Temple of Silence
2 Deicide
4 Golgari Charm
3 Drown in Sorrow
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Stain the Mind
The plan is to get out my mana acceleration ASAP, ramp into threats, and keep pressure on the entire game. A turn 5 Apex Predator is very common, and I have so much reusable destruction it makes friends angry. I know I need to touch up my land a little bit, but otherwise this is pretty much done.
I would love to hear some feedback.
Other than that, looks solid.
Another card I'd consider taking out is Ajani, Mentor of Heroes. I realize you're using him predominately to search out other planeswalkers, but you already have a 16-17%% chance (excluding you keeping Xenagos in your deck) of drawing those planeswalkers on your own, not to mention Liliana can tutor for those planeswalkers as well on her own. Also, your deck has an EXTREMELY high mana curve. You're looking at a an average CMC of 4. It means that you won't be able to cast the vast majority of your spells AT LEAST until Turn 4. That's not good. You need lower CMC spells you can reliably cast earlier than. Ideally, you want to be able to cast a spell at least once per turn. 4 Thoughtseizes would fit nicely in place of Xenagos and Ajani. they are 1 CMC level spells that hate out a card that may be disruptive to your deck's overall strategy.
Get rid of Nykthos. You're not running a devotion deck and being able to tap for large amounts of green mana won't help you with casting other spells that require other colors in their costs. You want your mana base to be solid, so that you'll have the right colors when you need them to cast all your spells. I can even tell you how to set up your mana base if you like.
EDIT: Spelling and card tags.
4 Elven Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
3 Genesis Hydra
Planeswalkers:
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
2 Vraska the Unseen
2 Liliana Vess
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Garruk, Apex Predator
Spells:
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Rakdos Return
2 In Garruk's Wake
1 Battlefield Forge
1 Godless Shrine
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Stomping Ground
1 Temple of Malice
2 Temple of Plenty
4 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 Slaughter games
3 Drown in Sorrow
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Golgari Charm
3 Banishing Light
Some notes on decisions:
In Garruk's Wake: This card is such an amazing blowout. A) I can play it on turn 5, though in a match up where I want to I usually bring in Drown in Sorrow. 2) It sweeps the opponent's board only. C) My meta is predominantly mid-range and control. The card is often a side-out, true, and maybe its more of a sideboard than a main deck, but it has worked well so far.
Xenagos, the Reveler: Makes dudes. Makes mana. The ultimate is irrelevant, but meh. Rakdos's Return for 27 happened last night. So did Rakdos for 23.
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes: Does more work than you think. Gets more than just walkers. Need a fat body for blocking? Your opponent Abrupt Decayed your Courser to stop the life gain? Dig for another one. Your dorks/tokens/whomever can't block Scuttling Doom Engine? Dig for Genesis Hydra, dig for Courser, add some counters. And 100 life is just funny as hell...
On Thoughtseize: Meh. The card is a great one, don't get me wrong. But I have to take pay 4 life to use it turn 1, and I'd rather be dropping Mystic. On turn 2 I'd rather be on Caryatid or Courser. On turn 3 I'd rather be playing Courser or Xenagos or Vraska or Ajani... The CMC is a concern, sure, but the deck ramps incredibly well. The look on my opponent's face when I turn 4 a Garruk, Apex Predator.
On the mana base: Check. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is already out. I'm pretty comfortable with my re-worked mana base as is, but I'm open to a couple Mana Confluences if it trends to the difficult side of things.
Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!
HATED it. The deck stagnates so very, very much without Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, and frankly its kind of boring to play without as many threats.
So I'm adding back in Elspeth and Ajani, and I'm debating on adding some white removal, like Devouring Light. I'll post a new decklist when I get a more firm idea of it.
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Genesis Hydra
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
Spells:21
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Banishing Light
3 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
2 Liliana Vess
3 Vraska the Unseen
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Garruk, Apex Predator
2 In Garruk's Wake
2 Caves of Koilos
2 Godless Shrine
3 Llanowar Wastes
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Temple Garden
4 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Plenty
1 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Deicide
3 Golgari Charm
4 Drown in Sorrow
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Stain the Mind
I'm not 100% sold on my sideboard - I could use any help I can get against super fast aggro. I don't really love Banishing Light in the main, either... but It does go into play with Genesis Hydra, and that can be a big deal in the clutch moments. Again, thank you in advance for your ideas!
I really like this deck and want it to succeed. I still believe that In Garruk's Wake is a useless card in this deck however. It's too slow and too costly. Plus it doesn't do anything that Golgari Charm, Drown in Sorrow, and Bile Blight can't already do for you. It sounds like what you need is maybe cheaper spot removal. Just looking at your sideboard, I feel like there's some fat to trim to help diversify the deck:
2 Golgari Charm
2 Bile Blight
2 Last Breath
1 Dark Betrayal
2 Stain the Mind
2 Doom Blade
2 Ultimate Price
You don't need as many Golgari Charms because you already have many ways of getting rid enchantments. Bile Blight works at instant speed as opposed to sorcery speed like Drown in Sorrow does. Plus it gets rid of multiple copies of the same creature, while not hitting your creatures. Plus it costs 1 mana less than Drown in Sorrow lowering your mana curve. Dark Betrayal is to help deal with Mono Black Aggro/Devotion. You also don't need that many Stain the Minds. Chances are you'll only see one or two cards you'll need to "hate out" of your opponent's deck, and you'll never want more than one of these in your hand at any given moment. Doom Blade and Ultimate price serve as the cheaper removal you're looking for. Last Breath gets rid annoying power creepers like Firedrinker Satyr and the like.
Honestly, I'd maybe drop one Elvish Mystic and the definitely the 2 In Garruk's Wakes and mainboard 3 Hero's Downfalls. Also, I'd move the 3 Banishing lights to the sideboard if the deck is still running too slow maybe main a combination of Doom Blade, Ultimate Price, and/or Last Breath in their place. Banishing Light works better once you know what threats to look for, and work better as a Game 2 answers.
I did change up my sideboard in a small 10 person swiss tonight. Still got smoked by Pack Rat in the end, but did well in my other match-ups. Here was today's side:
3 Hero's Downfall
3 Golgari Charm
4 Nyx-fleece Ram
3 Drown In Sorrow
2 Soul of New Phyrexia
I just kind of slapped it together. The Soul is out... I'll do more testing tomorrow before FNM and settle in on something.
Devouring Light is easy to cast instant removal, and I can use my blockers to convoke it to get rid of the largest threat.
Back to Nature hits my Coursers, sure, but in the match-ups I bring it in for (D-Sphere and Banishing light, BG Nighthowler GY decks, Hexproof Naya, and the like), I don't really mind losing Courser. It would hit Ram though, in the aggro match ups I bring ram into.
I like Devouring Light over Banishing Light. The downside is that Devouring Light is harder to cast (because of it's double white mana cost). Banishing Light is easily more splash-able, but if your mana can support Devouring Light, by all means use it. Back to Nature... I wouldn't use. Courser of Kruphix is such an integral card to your deck (or any deck he's in for that matter). He edits your deck via his psuedo-scry ability, makes sure you never miss your land drops, and nets you life. You NEED him. Besides, again, you're already running a glut of enchantment removal. Not to mention that you also have spells that can kill enchantment creatures.
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Genesis Hydra
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Courser of Kruphix
Spells:21
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Bile Blight
3 Devour Flesh
2 Banishing Light
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3 Vraska the Unseen
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
3 Garruk, Apex Predator
3 Godless Shrine
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Temple Garden
4 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Plenty
3 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Pithing Needle
4 Nyx-Fleece Ram
2 Golgari Charm
2 Underworld Connections
1 In Garruk's Wake
2 Liliana Vess
2 Drown in Sorrow
Sideboard Plans:
Black Devotion: I have yet to win this match-up. Pack rat used to stomp all over my @$$. But that's why Bile Blight and Devour Flesh are in the main now.
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid
In (on the play): 2x Underworld COnnections, 1x Golgari Charm, 1x Pithing Needle
Out (on the draw): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 2x Banishing Light
In (on the draw): 2x Liliana Vess, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x Golgari Charm
Black Devotion, splash green: Same problems as above, but I have to play around Abrupt Decay. Banishing Light = bad. Pithing Needle also not as good.
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 2x Banishing Light
In (on the play): 2x Underworld COnnections, 2x Liliana Vess, 1x Golgari Charm, 1x Pithing Needle
Out (on the draw): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 2x Banishing Light
In (on the draw): 2x Liliana Vess, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 1x Pithing Needle, 2x Golgari Charm
Red Aggro: Any variation of red aggro can be problematic, though now that I've lowered the curve of my removal suite, game one got much better. I'm still the underdog, but no where close to as badly. The side board evens out the match, I think, with Ram coming in as a giant life-gaining wall and some board sweeping removal at CMC 2 and 3. I'm not 100% on siding out Devour Flesh, but I think turning it into a sweeper is the right call.
Out (on the play): 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion, 2x Banishing Light, 2x Garruk, Apex Hunter, 3 Devour Flesh
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow, 2x Golgari Charm
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
Selesnya Aggro: Same problem as Red Aggro, yet different. Here there are less attackers than the red aggro decks, but Selesnya's are significantly beefier. Here, where I sided out Banishing light against red, I need it to take care of voice. Same basic plan, though: bring in some fat-assed blockers that gain me life, and a low costed board wipe. Here Genesis Hydra comes out due to the varying power/toughness of Selesnya's threats. Versus red, all I need the hydra to be is a 2/2, for 4 CMC, and maybe hopefully hit a Caryatid or Ram for that all important extra blocker. Against Selesnya, I might make it a 3/3 to block and kill Fleecemane Lion, only to have them drop in Advent of the Wurm. Now my 5CMC 3/3 is just a speed bump.
Out (on the play): 3x Genesis Hydra, 1x Elvish Mystic, 2x Garruk, Apex Hunter
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Out (on the draw): 3x Genesis Hydra, 3x Garruk, Apex Hunter
In (on the draw): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Green Devotion: This deck has always been one of my easiest match ups. Against any mid-range deck I'm definitely favored (unless there's a blood baron in play, because pro-removal is the pits), but now that I've tweaked the deck to fair better against Pack Rat and aggro decks, there are definitely some side outs I need to make.
Out (on the play): 2x Bile Blight, 1x Banishing Light, 4x Abrupt Decay
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 2x Drown In Sorrow
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
RGx Monsters: This is a harder side board challenge now that I don't have Hero's Downfall, I don't love Devour Flesh in this match up. I *think* the right call is to leave in the Bile Blights to hit Xenagos tokens and their various non-Caryatid mana dorks. This is the one pairing i REALLY want Downfall for, to stop that damned Stormbreath Dragon.
Out (on the play): 3x Devour Flesh, 4x Abrupt Decay
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x In Garruk's Wake, 2x Underworld Connections
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
Control: Another match up in my favor, ESPECIALLY if their only removal is enchantment exiles and Supreme Verdict. Something to be careful about, though, is going to time. I have to keep up the pace, including theirs, and make sure I win game 1. I have a lot of dead draws versus control but my token generation just keeps them on the back of their heels. Woe to them if their only win-con is Elspeth...
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 3x Devour Flesh, 1 Elvish Mystic
In (on the play): 2x Liliana Vess, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x Golgari Charm, 2x Underworld Connections
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
RW BurnSo, what is the plan against Burn? I got smoked by it yesterday. Mostly cause he made it a HUGE focus to kill courser and negate my life gain. Do I bring in Ram for more life gain and to block mutavault? Obviously devour flesh is out in favor of Drown in Sorrow to sweep away all the pyromancer tokens.
Out (on the play): 4x Sylvan Caryatid, 3x Devour Flesh
In (on the play): 4x Nyx-Fleece Ram, 2x Drown in Sorrow, 1x Underworld Connections?
Out (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
In (on the draw): Does this change at all from being on the play?
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Fleecemane Lion
2 Lifebane Zombie
3 Courser of Kruphix
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
Spells (7)
2 Golgari Charm
2 Setessan Tactics
2 Hero's Downfall
1 Bow of Nylea
2 Ajani Steadfast
2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 Garruk, Apex Predator
Land (24)
4 Forest
4 Plains
3 Temple of Plenty
3 Temple of Malady
3 Llanowar Wastes
3 Caves of Koilos
4 Mana Confluence
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
3 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Lifebane Zombie
2 Doom Blade
2 Golgari Charm
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Setessan Tactics
1 Fated Retribution
Fated Retribution is basically just a last ditch effort to save the game when Nissa, Worldwaker decks when they get out of hand. Went 2-1 in all four matches.
R/G Monsters
Red Deck Wins
R/W Soldiers - using Preeminent Captain
U/W Heroic