W 2-1 vs 5 Color Control
(Game 1 Turn 3 Silverblade Paladin Soulbond to the Loxodon Smiter with Rancor = 10 Damage)
(Game 3 almost the same)
W 2-0 vs BR Zombie
(Game 1 Turn 3 Arbor Elf, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Garruk Primalhunter
Turn 4 Collective Blessings and all of Zombie outclassed)
(Game 2 Turn 3 Silverblade Paladin Soulbond Arbor Elf, Miracle Revenge of the Hunted and slap Rancor to Silverblade Paladin = 20 damage)
W 2-0 vs Naya Aggro
(Win with Deadbridge Goliath soulbond with Wolfir Silverheart then Selesnya Charm to trampled )
W 2-0 vs BR Zombie
(Game2 Win with Turn 5 Silverblade Paladin soulbond with Wolfir Silverheart, and Rancor on Wolfir Silverheart)
(Game3 Win with 3x Strangleroot Geist and 2x Rancor)
then we go to semi final
L 1-2 vs BR Zombie (i am vs my 1st Round opponent, he once again have a great luck. he become the Winner of today GPT)
(Game 1 Lose: He topdecked Falkenrath Aristocrat 3x, can't win that)
(Game 2 Win: I got 2x Sigarda, Host of Herons)
(Game 3 Lose: yet again Falkenrath Aristocrat 2x, and Thundermaw Hellkite)
In the Final the Champion meet with Naya Aggro.
He yet got a great luck with topdecking Falkenrath Aristocrat 2x, then Hellrider Game 1
Game 2 topdecking 2x Thundermaw Hellkite
Wizards print good rares, players complain about cash grab. They print underwhelming rares, players complain that the cards suck. They spoil the best cards first, players complain about the insane prices of preorders. They spoil the meh cards first, players complain that this is the worst set ever.
So. I think I understand now.
As far as these forums are concerned, WotC can never do anything good because:
Card that is new and probably good = "pushed"
Card that is new and probably bad = "EDH/casual fodder"
Card that is a reprint = "lazy"
Card that is a better version of an older card = "power creep"
Card that is a weaker version of an older card = "worthless"
Tied game 1 with bant control and lost to Selesnya splash red because G3 he drew a Garruk, Primal Hunter and I didn't run into any draw so he was able to overwhelm me with threats...Overall though very fun resilient deck! The games I won were against Rakdos Aggro and American Midrange with full set of geist and 2 thundermaws....
The deck can also to some pretty big things....against the selesnya midrange I was at 2 life with a deadbridge goliath and 2 rancors for a 9/5 trample......he had a sigarda, thragtusk, and beast token....top decking bolas I was able to draw 9 and gain 9 which pretty much won me the game since after the bolas I drew into my 5th land drop and thragtusk to stablize further...
Match one: Opponent arrives half an hour late. Bye.
Match two: Win vs. American Control
Aristocrats, souls, and hellkites relentlessly assaulting made this matchup pretty easy.
Match three: Win vs. Human Reanimator
Won by twin hellkite damage game one.
Game 2 I slaughter game'd his angel and won with aristocrat and hellkite combo.
Match four: Loss vs. 5CC
Game one I played badly, keeping a hand with no green sources until my fourth turn.
Game 2 I slaughter game'd resto angel when he had a thragtusk and faithmender on board. Turns out he didn't have any. He drew into one of his two sphinx's revelation, d-sphere'd two of my angels and won.
FNM 1st Place Undefeated (6-0)1/18/2013
Took home the bacon last friday with Naya Midrange. Really no bad matchups all night, hardest one I encountered was Grixis Control. Local meta consists of alot of control type decks, and loads upon loads of Planeswalker love, thus going into the SB choices. Zero Reanimator for the last few weeks.
R1/G1: Naya vs R/G Werewolves. (2-0)
Game 1 he was on the play, and he got a nut draw forcing me down to 3 health before I stabilized with thrag, and blinking it with a resto angel. Once stabilized he didnt have a chance. R1/G2:
Im on the draw, he gets the nuts again though but manages to miss 4 triggers of flips, I rules lawyer'd him because he wanted to flip before declaring attackers. After that he passes the turn, I top deck a bonfire(miracles ftw) clear his board, and he just nerd rages. R2/G1: Naya vs Grixis (2-1)
G1 he blew me out pretty much, I stumbled on land, gave him the oppertunity to synco farseek, and by the time I got back on track Olivia was out of control and I drew blanks. R2/G2:
After sideboard things change completely, I start off with a aggressive draw, t1 pilgrim, t2 smiter, t3 huntmaster then land a kessig and ride it to victory. R2/G3:
Long grindy match, i brought in pithing needles from my sideboard to combat Olivia, and his planeswalkers but this game he slaughter games naming pithing needle (sb card takes out my SB cards!). In the end resto angel and a blinkd thragtusk netted me the win. R3/G1: Naya vs G/B zombies (2-0)
Game 1 im on the draw, and just steam rolled over him due to him getting no green and doing almost nothing til turn 4. R3/G2:
He gets out a lotleth and 3 dreg manglers, but I stabilize and bring him the win. R4/G1: Naya vs Esper Control (2-0)
Game 1 he mulls to 5 but the first game takes a life time, very annoying deck. R4:G2:
Game 2 goes a little quicker as i wasnt eating a verdict and cyclonic rift every turn. Loxodon was my all star of both games as everything else got countered or ate a UP R5/G1: Naya vs Rakdos/Vampire homebrew? (2-0) top 4 match
Game 1 nothing special happend, I was on the play and just dominated board presence, nothing stood out about the game didnt see much of his deck either. R5/G2:
Game 2 he muls to 4, plays 2 lands and dies before he gets to land 3. Again nothing special. R6/G1: Naya vs Esper Control (2-0) finals.
Game 1 ended so fast I dont know how it really happend. 3 smiters hit the board with a kessig, and by the time he did something it was too late. (kept a bad hand my guess) R6/G2:
Very long and grindy match once again, he gets close to milling me out and tokens were keeping the match going by chump blocking. He milled 1 of my kessigs, but when i was down to like 16 cards in deck I finally drew one, and brought home the win.
Overall deck preformed pretty good, had a game or two where mana was an issue but come next week that problem will be gone, and borderland ranger will never be seen in my list ever again, ever.
I did not really know what he was playing, though it was a very powerful deck. He accels into craterhoof with dorks and elvish archdruid.
Game one: Managed to beat him down to 3. He had me dead the next turn craterhoof but I dropped a boros reckoner. and he couldn't swing without killing himself.
Game two: Again, a really close game. Managed to beat him down to 11 life with Restoration Angel and Aristocrat. He had me dead the next turn, but I top-decked an aristocrat and closed the game.
Match two: Loss vs. Esper Control
Game one: Tried to go for the finisher with Aurelia and two restoration angels but he had a dissipate for Aurelia, then sweeped the board. He lands a Curse of Death's Hold (no more aristocrats!) and dealt with all my threats after that.
Game two: He dropped Blind Obedience. I did not draw my war priests. There was a cool moment where I Aurelia's Fury him on upkeep to stop a Supreme Verdict, but coolness does not always translate to victory.
Match three: Win vs. RDW
Game One: His series of one and two drops cannot compete with a Restoration Angel +Aurelia on board.
Game two: Turn 2 Boros Reckoner from me. Followed by turn 4 Thundermaw Hellkite.
Thoughts:
I really liked how this deck plays out. Almost every live draw is a bombastic threat that can win the game out of nowhere. The mana was pretty smooth, though additional green sources would have been welcome. It's a pretty hardcore deck that surprises many opponents with the diversity of threats.
That said, I think I need more war priests, as I straight out lose to blind obedience in a control shell. Perhaps -1 Aurelia in the SB and +1 War priest.
I want to try out Boros Charm in the main, but am unsure of what to cut. Every creature has such an important function that I can't cut any of them, while Searing Spear is necessary to ensure I don't die to an aggro nut draw (and to give me some more turn 2 plays).
25 lands might be a bit too much. I kind of drew a lot of lands against the esper matchup. Then again, I might have just straight out lost my other two matches if I did not hit my land drops on time.
I have to say that Aurelia's Fury and Auriela, The Warleader really won me many games. Being able to tap out opponents creatures with fury and alpha strike with Aurela is just so good.
I have to say that Aurelia's Fury and Auriela, The Warleader really won me many games. Being able to tap out opponents creatures with fury and alpha strike with Aurela is just so good.
Solid list, I like it a lot.
How do you like the boros charms in the sideboard? Essential?
How do you like the boros charms in the sideboard? Essential?
There is a lot of control in my meta which makes it necessary to have, at least in the sideboard. It saved me more than I would have thought. Might bring it down to 2 though.
I like Gideon against control. He smashes face so hard and is so difficult to remove. Especially if you play Aurelia. You could try him as your other planeswalker. I find him much easier to use than boros charm against control lists.
Match 1: Naya mirror 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/arbor elf. Turn 2 Domri Rade. Domri draws me 2 cards and allows me to profitably fight down his creatures. Game is really 1 sided since I have repeated removal and restoration angels kill him. Domri never goes ultimate but the removal allowed me to control the board which was really key as things could have ran away from me.
Game 2 - I side out the Domri's and side into searing spear and bonfires. I wind up curving a bit better off a pilgrim into huntmaster into restoration angel into thundermaw which ends up killing him because he cannot answer it in time.
Match 2: RDW 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and i shockland/pilgrim and he plays stromkirk noble. I play boros reckoner. He can't attack but plays 2 rackdos cacklers. I play domri rade and kill both cacklers. 2 turns later I searing spear a hellrider and that's game. ( edit, sorry - I didn't kill the hellrider this game with spear, that was game 2 sorry about the error. This first game was pretty much over once I had domri and reckoner because I kept fighting into his guys and attacking him)
Game 2 - I'm on the draw and I once again dork but this time end up hard casting a bonfire to wipe his board (he had 2 lightning maulers). (Edit - Turn 4 he drops a hellrider and I'm ready with searing spear.) A few turns later he's got a board - reckoner, ash zealot, and a 2/2 stromkirk. He swings into my tapped reckoner which I untap with restoration angel. He loses shortly after.
Match 3: America Tempo 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/pilgrim into Reckoner once again. He plays his 1 of Azurious Guildmage (I think intended to give GoST flying). I then play Domri and fight my reckoner into his Guildmage and swing. Most of this game ends up with him looking for ways to kill Domri. He drops a Reckoner of his own and I fight a smiter into it, hoping for the redirect on Domri so I can just play another onto the board and start upticking again. His sphinx's revelation for 4 isn't enough as I have at that point a Smiter, Huntmaster, Wolf, and Thundermaw. My following swing takes him low and the final swing is backed up with Kessig Wolf Run for the finish.
Game 2 - I take a risky muligan but my hand is shock and dork into Domri Rade again. Once again the pace of the game is set by Domri, reckoners, and a lot of fighting backed up by restoration angels and an eventual Thundermaw.
Math 4: Boros Humans (white splash red) 2-1
Game 1 - Once again I win the dice roll - actually, no, I lost this one. Which is bad because he opens with Sacred Foundry into Warfalcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade Paladin. OUCH. Thankfully I have a curve of my own with shockland into pilgrim into boros reckoner into domri rade. I kill his team and stabilize off a huntmaster which is backed up by a restoration angel. He isn't able to recover from there - his threats are too small.
Game 2 - He plays Falcon into double Knight of Glory and is rocking my world fast before I can drop a reckoner. Reckoner eats an O-ring but I answer with thundermaw to kill his War Falcon. He plays zealous conscript and we go to game 3.
Game 3 - Welp, he does it again - War Falcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade. Thankfully my risky mulligan pays off and dork into reckoner into Domri saves the day. He manages to Oring the reckoner but I top deck a bonfire.
Thoughts on things:
1. Obviously I got very lucky. I won 3/4 dice rolls and played aggro decks mostly which is what I'm aiming to beat with my build.
2. I'm running the full package of 8 dorks, 4 Domri Rade, 4 Boros Reckoner, 3 Loxodon Smiter, 4 Huntmaster of the Fells, and 4 Restoration Angel which I wouldn't change. Exploding into a turn 2 powerful 3 drop is basically my game plan. Following that up with what I feel to be the 2 best 4 drops in standard is just icing on the cake.
3. Kessig Wolf Run > Gavony Township for what I'm trying to accomplish and where my games are often at when I would be using a spell land.
4. Rancor is amazing but doesn't fit with my game plan. I didn't run any this week which was the right move.
5. Boros Charm, Selesnya Charm, and Searing Spear are all deserving of mainboard positions. They provide me with a lot of flexible plays and can get me into a favorable board position. Selesnya Charm specifically has a lot of very good interactions.
6. Faith's Shield deserves a 1 of spot. It also interacts well (actually extremely well) with my game plan and can offer protection against 2 cards I feel are big problems: Zealous Conscripts and Abrupt Decay.
7. Oblivion Ring deserves a spot in the side board. There are a number of difficult to interact with cards at the moment - #1 being Boros Reckoner.
8. Bonfire of the Damned: What can I really say - this card is still amazing. I ran 1 main, 2 side and liked it this way better than any way I'd previously run it.
Last but not least:
9. Domri Rade won the day for me. I was fortunate to get him down on turn 2 or 3 in all of my game 1's which is obviously quite lucky but that's been the last 4 tournaments. He's insane for what he can bring to the field. Even if I only use him to remove a creature - I still feel as if I've gotten enough value from him since I'm light on removal. If I draw a creature that's even better. God forbid he sticks around and I am able to protect him. Even seeing what card is next is sometimes extremely valuable - for example, I've been able to setup bonfires with more dorks. I've also been able to play creatures better knowing I'd be hitting a Clifftop retreat the following turn which would allow me to drop 2 reckoners at once.
Match 1: Naya mirror 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/arbor elf. Turn 2 Domri Rade. Domri draws me 2 cards and allows me to profitably fight down his creatures. Game is really 1 sided since I have repeated removal and restoration angels kill him. Domri never goes ultimate but the removal allowed me to control the board which was really key as things could have ran away from me.
Game 2 - I side out the Domri's and side into searing spear and bonfires. I wind up curving a bit better off a pilgrim into huntmaster into restoration angel into thundermaw which ends up killing him because he cannot answer it in time.
Match 2: RDW 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and i shockland/pilgrim and he plays stromkirk noble. I play boros reckoner. He can't attack but plays 2 rackdos cacklers. I play domri rade and kill both cacklers. 2 turns later I searing spear a hellrider and that's game.
Game 2 - I'm on the draw and I once again dork but this time end up hard casting a bonfire to wipe his board (he had 2 lightning maulers). A few turns later he's got a board - reckoner, ash zealot, and a 2/2 stromkirk. He swings into my tapped reckoner which I untap with restoration angel. He loses shortly after.
Match 3: America Tempo 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/pilgrim into Reckoner once again. He plays his 1 of Azurious Guildmage (I think intended to give GoST flying). I then play Domri and fight my reckoner into his Guildmage and swing. Most of this game ends up with him looking for ways to kill Domri. He drops a Reckoner of his own and I fight a smiter into it, hoping for the redirect on Domri so I can just play another onto the board and start upticking again. His sphinx's revelation for 4 isn't enough as I have at that point a Smiter, Huntmaster, Wolf, and Thundermaw. My following swing takes him low and the final swing is backed up with Kessig Wolf Run for the finish.
Game 2 - I take a risky muligan but my hand is shock and dork into Domri Rade again. Once again the pace of the game is set by Domri, reckoners, and a lot of fighting backed up by restoration angels and an eventual Thundermaw.
Math 4: Boros Humans (white splash red) 2-1
Game 1 - Once again I win the dice roll - actually, no, I lost this one. Which is bad because he opens with Sacred Foundry into Warfalcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade Paladin. OUCH. Thankfully I have a curve of my own with shockland into pilgrim into boros reckoner into domri rade. I kill his team and stabilize off a huntmaster which is backed up by a restoration angel. He isn't able to recover from there - his threats are too small.
Game 2 - He plays Falcon into double Knight of Glory and is rocking my world fast before I can drop a reckoner. Reckoner eats an O-ring but I answer with thundermaw to kill his War Falcon. He plays zealous conscript and we go to game 3.
Game 3 - Welp, he does it again - War Falcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade. Thankfully my risky mulligan pays off and dork into reckoner into Domri saves the day. He manages to Oring the reckoner but I top deck a bonfire.
Thoughts on things:
1. Obviously I got very lucky. I won 3/4 dice rolls and played aggro decks mostly which is what I'm aiming to beat with my build.
2. I'm running the full package of 8 dorks, 4 Domri Rade, 4 Boros Reckoner, 3 Loxodon Smiter, 4 Huntmaster of the Fells, and 4 Restoration Angel which I wouldn't change. Exploding into a turn 2 powerful 3 drop is basically my game plan. Following that up with what I feel to be the 2 best 4 drops in standard is just icing on the cake.
3. Kessig Wolf Run > Gavony Township for what I'm trying to accomplish and where my games are often at when I would be using a spell land.
4. Rancor is amazing but doesn't fit with my game plan. I didn't run any this week which was the right move.
5. Boros Charm, Selesnya Charm, and Searing Spear are all deserving of mainboard positions. They provide me with a lot of flexible plays and can get me into a favorable board position. Selesnya Charm specifically has a lot of very good interactions.
6. Faith's Shield deserves a 1 of spot. It also interacts well (actually extremely well) with my game plan and can offer protection against 2 cards I feel are big problems: Zealous Conscripts and Abrupt Decay.
7. Oblivion Ring deserves a spot in the side board. There are a number of difficult to interact with cards at the moment - #1 being Boros Reckoner.
8. Bonfire of the Damned: What can I really say - this card is still amazing. I ran 1 main, 2 side and liked it this way better than any way I'd previously run it.
Last but not least:
9. Domri Rade won the day for me. I was fortunate to get him down on turn 2 or 3 in all of my game 1's which is obviously quite lucky but that's been the last 4 tournaments. He's insane for what he can bring to the field. Even if I only use him to remove a creature - I still feel as if I've gotten enough value from him since I'm light on removal. If I draw a creature that's even better. God forbid he sticks around and I am able to protect him. Even seeing what card is next is sometimes extremely valuable - for example, I've been able to setup bonfires with more dorks. I've also been able to play creatures better knowing I'd be hitting a Clifftop retreat the following turn which would allow me to drop 2 reckoners at once.
This week I actually went in with more thought than in previous weeks and that helped.
Deck Construction thoughts:
I want to be explosive and use a dork to accelerate. Our meta is very quick - you hit aggro decks constantly. At the same time, though, control is well represented at times and so is America Tempo. I'm actually ok with losing a dork to pillar of flame from a tempo deck - it's better than them having it for Huntmaster later to be honest. Although they'll probably just snapcaster it back. Regardless, the idea was to explode from a dork into 1 of the 11 3 drops and then follow up with either Huntmaster or Restoration Angel. To be honest I prefer Restoration Angel because it's such crazy value - you can blank a removal spell, combat trick, or just have mana open for a charm. The utility of Restoration Angel demanded I use 5 of 6 Spell slots for Charms. I've tested Rancor and more MB Bonfire but Charms are just great. I keep 1 Bonfire because I'm greedy.
Mana can be a major issue so I've built the mana base with that in mind. 8 dorks is great but Arbor Elf is inconsistent. I'm running 8 forest-shocks and 3 forests in the hopes that he can accelerate more frequently. It hurts my colors at time which can impact my ability to land a reckoner but I think it is worth the risk. 24 lands seems comfortable to me especially with the 2 Wolf Runs. I really need to be seeing all 3 colors in my opener due to a lot of color specific spells and I want to curve quickly into Hellkite.
My general game plans are:
Game 1: If I have no idea what the person is playing, hope for an opener with a dork and a 3 drop with a solid curve. Dropping Domri into empty board states scares me but it's usually clear if I'm facing a haste capable deck. I take nothing for granted in our meta and will ship away slow hands. It is too easy to get blown out turn 4 by some random aggro deck to take any chances. Aggro (R/x Decks and W/x Aggro):
Sideboard: Keep Domri in and hope to land him early with reckoner. -2 Thundermaw -1 Conscript -2 Boros Charm -1 Selesnya Charm +2 Pillar +2 Spear +2 Bonfire.
Reasoning: I'm basically using Domri as removal here and dropping my top end in favor of burning out their aggression and then beating them to death with creatures that cannot be conscripted to kill me.
Note: Rancor could be a reason to side out Domri in some matchups. Mirror
On Play: -1 Faith's Shield -1 Zealous Conscripts +2 Bonfire of the Damned
On Draw: -3 Domri Rade -1 Faith's Shield +2 Bonfire and +2 Pillar or +2 Spear if they're on Centaur Healer
Reasoning: Domri is considerably worse here on the Draw since we'll likely be behind on creature strength. We instead need to hope to favorably use a combat trick or slow their offense with burn, establish a stalled board, and bonfire them. Tempo
Sideboard: -1 Conscripts -1 Bonfire -1 Hellkite +2 Spear +1 Garruk (+1 Pithing Needle if they're on Staticaster)
Reasoning: Bonfire and Conscripts are bad here and Hellkite can be good or can be azorious charmed, leaving us tapped out and vulnerable. I'd prefer to grind this matchup on the backs of Domri and Garruk and hope to force them into bad use of their spells with Huntmaster. Oblivion Ring would also probably come in - if they are using Reckoner I'd prefer to not 2-1 myself. Control
Sideboard: -1 Conscripts -1 Bonfire -1 Faith's Shield +1 Pithing Needle +1 Garruk +1 Oblivion Ring (+1 Boros Charm if they're running Verdict) (keep Faith's Shield in versus Esper or Jund)
Option on the play: Keep Conscripts in and try to steal tusk for game. I don't really like this plan.. too risky.
Reasoning: A turn 2 Domri or turn 3 Garruk can really turn this poor matchup around. If they don't hit D-sphere they are in huge trouble, particularly if we can protect them in the air with a Restoration Angel. Overall this is a bad matchup and I've tried skullcrack to avert the Thragtusk -> Sphinx's Revelation but it doesn't fit our midrange gameplan and we aren't built to race that fast. Wolf Run on the backs of baby wolves and Restoration Angels is probably the most likely route to victory here.
Final thoughts:
A lot of decks right now are championing the "good stuff" deck building strategy of just throwing together high value cards of a color combo and rolling with it. I'm playing Naya but I'm not going with that approach. The goal here very simple - consistency. You can see my result - nearly all games I'm dropping a dork into a powerful 3 drop that is designed to curb the early beat down. This proactive measure is mostly possible because of Reckoner and Domri Rade. I prefer this to being reactive and gaining health in response to aggression. My next step in my game plan is value - I force them into an unfavorable trade using Restoration Angel or I play Huntmaster which can dictate the conditions of the game going forward assuming they aren't able to power over the top of the wall we've established. To be honest, huntmaster is the weakest link in the Aggro gameplan or mirror because they could just go right over him. Chumping on this turn sucks and we're in a bad spot versus Aristocrat - gaining 2 also isn't very much these days. Thankfully we're running enough 3 drops that we can simply use this turn to drop a reckoner or smiter and keep a mana open for Faith's Shield - value! Alternatively you use burn to remove their next round of threats - the ones designed to drop you below 10 life. The next stage is inevitability backed up by charms to prevent anything from going wrong. Since they fail to get you in the red zone and their board is weaker, there is no need to follow with Thragtusk. The idea is to shift the tempo of the game hard and fast on turn 4 and change from defender right into aggressor.
Against Tempo and Control the idea is the same - land threats - hopefully walkers - so early that you overwhelm them before they can get their engine going. Tempo uses early burn and Control uses an early wrath but the idea is the same - stall the early pressure, stabilize, and then use card advantage to dictate the game. The 3rd step is where we attack their strategy - our walkers and many of our creatures are capable of disrupting this - Domri draws us cards, removes their chump blocking merfolks and snapcasters, Reckoner turns their burn against them or against their blockers, Smiter cannot be countered and can be Domri-Raded into Restoration Angels profitably, Huntmaster forces them to play spells during their main phase and requires 2 removal spells, and Restoration Angel can blank their spears or force an EOT counter so we can freely cast Hellkite the following turn (or a walker).
But again, the idea is consistency in the hands and the draws and using cards that compliment each other and allow for a very quick transition from defender to aggressor with a mainboard that is well rounded enough to win a game 1 versus an Aggro nutdraw or even outlast a control deck.
Deck Weaknesses:
Detention Sphere can be brutal and Zealous Conscripts can be really bad at the wrong times. Faith's Shield is a new inclusion because of this and also protects against Abrupt Decay on Domri and Reckoner who really need to be protected.
Combo will destroy this deck. If another deck manages to go infinite life or harvest pyre for 21, there is no answer. But I think that's the case for 90% of the decks out there.
Grinding matchups like big Naya, Bant control, Jund, or basically anything running Tusk and mass removal can be extremely difficult matchups that take an inordinate amount of time to settle. Blind Obedience could help us grind these matchups but I'm not sure if it's a game changer for us if we're already at that stage of the game. I imagine that these decks are already going to start including Blind Obedience, so the only way to combat that would be to run our own, so maybe starting early would be wise.
Anyone didn't do well with their lists? It would be great to see what people have learnt about their deck from not doing well and the information would benefit everyone.
Anyone didn't do well with their lists? It would be great to see what people have learnt about their deck from not doing well and the information would benefit everyone.
Although it still rustles my Jimmies to post a list I lost with, I'll certainly do so to help with the thread.
I went 2-3 (out of 5 rounds) with this list. This list was not my original as I would have done -2 Garruk, -2 Thragtusk for +4 Restoraion Angel and -2 Mountain, -2 Forest, and -1 Plains for +3 Sacred Foundry, +2 Stomping Grounds.
Game 1 I get mana-starved (mulliganing down to 5 cards nonetheless and not seeing 1 land or Cavern of Souls. I see no land after 5 draws and proceed to scoop.
Final Thoughts: 4 Cavern of Souls would deeply help with the color-fixing. I want to make room for 4 Boros Reckoner (and maybe Blasphemous Act as I've heard that combo has helped win FNMs). I need to make my side-board more Mid-rangey with cards like Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity and/or Aurelia, the Warleader. I also need to do something against Flyers and board-wipes. Boros Charm didn't appear once to save me from a board-wipe.
Match 1: 2-0 vs. Saito Gruul
Both games were the same. He played some small guys and I played guys bigger than him.
Match 2: 1-2 vs. G/W Aggro
He got the nuts in game 1 (pilgrim, smiter, silverblade+rancor). I managed to stabilize somewhat but he eventually caught on.
We both had slow hands in game 2. This deck beats any slow hand.
Game 3 I was going to win the game but he was on 5 life. I played around Faith's Shield by not attacking for lethal and leaving a 5/6 angel to block his Sigarda. He did indeed have the Faith's shield... and he also had the selesnya charm for my angel and a silverblade paladin to attack for lethal. Sigh.
Match 3: 0-2 vs. Boros aggro
Game 1 he dropped 3 boros reckoners and a thundermaw hellkite. There was little I could do.
Game 2 He attacked with lone creatures and madcap skills. I stabilized at 7 life by killing off his last guy and having some monstrosities on board, then he threw a boros charm and a searing spear at me.
Match 4: 0-2 vs. Collective Legion
We played a friendly before the actual match. He accelerated into t3 Assemble the Legion and t4 Collective blessing. With no enchantment removal it was easy game for him even when I started churning out 10/10 smiters and 9/10 angels.
Game 1 I kept a slow 6 with nothing to do until turn 4. He played 3 dorks and a smiter extremely quickly and Gavony Township'd his way to victory.
Game 2 he had a bonfire for my 2 arbor elves which I was relying on for mana. I never drew a 3rd land and was stuck with drawing 4 and 5 drops in my hand.
- I don't think Master Biomancer is worth building around. Collective Blessing seemed to be much better and less fragile. Biomancer does let you do some nasty things, such as stacking biomancers and giving all your guys +6/+6 once you drop the second biomancer. His effect is permanent though, and it's nice to save him occasionally with a restoration angel. And he's great for proclaiming "For Science!" when you add counters to your creatures. Fun, but perhaps uncompetitive.
- I tended to board out all my strangleroot geists, which might be wrong.
- I only had one real "mana screw" game, but that was because my elves died that game. None of the other decks really interacted with my elves. Not sure if manabase is stable, but it seems pretty good despite being on 23 lands. Saito's new version runs 22 lands but 4 farseeks, and I think that is much better as I was stuck on blue mana sometimes.
- MORE INTERACTION NEEDED. I really think some number of O-rings are needed maindeck. I board in both my o-rings every match, and they were not even on Saito's original list. That game with the 3 reckoners might have been much different if I had an o-ring for each of his reckoners, or at least one of them. But having too many spells also limits the effectiveness of biomancer. I think cutting garruks for the o-rings might be best.
- Speaking of which, Garruk was useless all day. But then again, I played against zero control decks. Maybe he belongs to the sideboard. Saito seems to think so too, as evidenced by his latest list.
- Bonfire seems pretty good if people are going to be ambitious and start replacing lands with dorks.
- Prime Speaker is not very good. Against aggressive decks, her draw effect does nothing much, especially in a deck like this which runs very little answers. I casted her twice today - once as an 8/8 and once as a 6/6. Didn't impress me. She chump-blocked a double-striking rancor'd smiter once and ate a selesnya charm the other time. I can envision against control decks she would be pretty boss IF you get her to go off, but the chances of that are slim. Control decks which are not able to keep your field clear of big hitters are losing anyway.
Well, I'll be running another Saito list tomorrow, and hopefully have a better result to report.
Went 0-2 drop friday with the list from 3 posts back. Lost both dice rolls, played against control both matchups, and mulliganned extremely heavily (mulled to 4 and 5 against the same guy). Ah well.
I piloted the deck to 3-1-1 before I had to win the final round to lock in top 8. Ultimately, I lost the game and finished 3-2-1, but I was still happy with how the list finished. I dont remember a lot of how the games went down, but these were my matchups.
Round 1: Jund Midrange (0-2)
Kept 2 hands in a row that I really shouldnt have and paid the price for it. Game 1 kept a hand with 4 lands, and Sigarda, Obzedat, and Garruk and figured I could draw into some early game. I didnt and my first card was played on turn 5. Jund is pretty slow, but you can't afford to give anyone that many time walks.
Game 2, kept a hand with 2 lands but a lot of early game. I only needed one more land to get things going and I never got it. I died before I drew my 3rd land.
Round 2: UWR Flash (2-0)
Game 1 I went nuts on him with a turn3 garruk, turn 4 sigarda, turn 5 obzedat + rancor on sigarda. By his turn 5, he only had 3 land and just couldnt stop it.
Game 2 he decided to go a bit more aggressive since he was on the turn and brought out his geists of st trafts, unfortunately he just didnt get enough cards to tempo me and my bigger/superior creatures just outclassed his.
Round 3: UWR Flash (2-0)
Game 1 I got off to a decent start, but not spectacular. He did what he was supposed to do, Azorius Charming my turn 2 Smiter, the he played an augur on his turn. He went draw/go on his turn and snapcaster maged his azorius charm on my smiter again, which I then blinked with an Angel. He was in a bad spot, but was able to get off a Sphinx's the next turn to try and get his verdict or an angel to stop mine. Next turn I played an Obzedat and swung in for 7. I guess he didnt get much off his 2 cards and all he could do was sphinx again next turn before he died.
Game 2 I went nuts on him with playing 5 drops on turn 3. Not much else to say.
Round 3: Prime Speaker Bant (2-0)
Game 1 we both had decent enough hands, but was the more aggressive deck and pretty much tempod him to death. My turn 2 smiter did tons of work, and just used Orzhov charm, and the Resto Angel/Fiend Hunter combo to keep his board clear. I finally ran out of removal and ended up playing an Obzedat while i still had the smiter, a fiend hunter, and a resto angel. He did end up playing his Prime Speaker with a Thragtusk out, but he tapped wrong and couldnt cast the resto angel he needed to stabilize. He scooped
Game 2: My sideboard killed him big time. We both mulled to 6, but he really kept a hand he shouldnt have while I had a hand with 2 Duress, some lands, and some ramp. The duresses hit a Sphinx's Rev and a Supreme Verdict, and those were the cards he was really counting on to get him in it. After that...all he had left was an Angel of Serenity and a Resto Angel, but he could only cast the resto. It wasnt enough to stop the cards I drew into and won it.
Round 4: Human Re animator (1-1-1)
This was actually a TERRIBLE matchup and I would have most certainly lost had we not agreed to draw.
Round 5: Prime Speaker Bant (0-2)
This was actually a guy I knew from the card shop I play on thursdays. I am used to seeing him play The Aristocrats and I thought I might have a good shot at that one. He surprised me with his homebrewed Prime SPeaker list.
Game 1: He went nuts on me. Resolved the first garruk after ramping into his mid game way faster than me. He built a commanding board presence and had huge card advantage on me as well. To make matters worse, his cards were every bit as good as mine. When I realized the game was unwinnable, we went ahead to the next game.
Game 2 went a lot like the last, only perhaps even worse. Not only did he get the first Garruk again, but he also got out Prim SPeaker with a thragtusk later in the game. I was getting land flooded at the same time but I tried to buy some time by playing Thragtusks to keep his attacks at bay. After a while he just D-SPhered my Thrags and the game was basically over.
Final Thoughts: I am still impressed by the raw power of cards played in this color pie. Obzedat as a 3 of was impressive and allowed me to consistently cast him in almost every game, which is exactly what you want. I was never sad to draw a 2nd 1 either, as he is a card you ALWAYS want out on the field so its not that bad to have a spare in case they Victim of Night him.
A card I wasn't very impressed with was Fiend Hunter. The resto angel combo with him is great, but its very rarely happens. Its also not a great idea to Fiend Hunter certain creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel, or Prime SPeaker. He also must be played as a sorcery so hes a bit clunky for removal. In a lot of games, he was pretty worthless as a creature too. I couldnt attack with him for fear of a bigger creature blocking, or because I always expected the Azorius Charm, and for the same reason its almost never a good idea to block with him against anything other than Boros (honestly, Boros would just spear him anyways). Overall, pretty underwhelming. The deck operates SOOOO GOOD in the mid game that the deck might be better served to take out the fiend hunters in place of more mana dorks. In games where I don't get an early Farseek or mana dork, I almost always lose. I would like to put Reckoner in here, but for obvious reasons, i think that may be a little overly ambitious. The fact that you must have WWW to cast him in a G/W/B deck makes that choice very very greedy.
Thats it for now. I'm actually thinking of taking this deck into a Dark Naya direction, seeing as one of the issues this deck has is removal, splashing red seems like a really good choice, and can expand the power card base to include Olivia Voldaren. Will probably make a decklist of that later. Thanks for the read and feel free to comment.
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Current standard decks:
Gruul Aggro
EDH General:
Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Modern
Jeskai Control
Jeskai Midrange
Affinity
Esper Teachings
Tribal Zoo
Went badly 3-4 at WMCQ with a list similiar to my previous
My initial thoughts from your decklist are 1. needs 4 Huntmaster 2. needs 4 Domri Rade 3. Selesna Charm over Searing Spear I like just playing slightly bigger and better dudes vs aggro, am happy to rely on Domri/Reckoner/Huntmaster/Mortars for removal, and want the charm as a way of killing 'over the top' fatties from the opponent (as opposed to Searing Spear, which is good vs other cheapies).
Let's see how the games play out:
When I stabilized and got rid of their Aristocrat, they put out KoI with Paladin and I have only white creatures. Or they put turn 3 Ooze with 2 Rancors next turn and I can't really race it. Things like this, all day long. So, sounds like Selesnya Charm would have been good...
Naya Humans 2:0
I easily beat him. First game he mulligans to 5 and is stuck on a land + mana dork. Not much of a competition. Second game he gets much better hand and draws and could even threaten to win it but he was bad player, he was doing worst blocks possible acutally helping me throught the match. Yay for the easy match vs a random opponent R1.
Junk Reanimator 0:2
Game 1 I burn all his dorks and trade my Reckoner for his Smiter (that was a mistake on my account). Finally I play T5 Hellkite on almost empty board. Despite having another one on hand I lose to AoS followed by Souls + reanimated Behemoth.
Game 2 I keep not good 6, but with a Selesnya Charm, Spear and Rest In Peace so I decide to take a risk, hoping to topdeck any aggresive creature. Unfortunately I topdeck bad and even though I put RIP turn 3 (he played dork and Grisly Salvaged Behemoth) he just Abrupt'd it and next turn Mulched Unburial Rites + AoS. Even though I exile the angel he beats me with Thragtusk to the death. To be expected, we are durdly midrange, and they match up very well vs us.
GB Aggro 0:2
Yup. That's right. I lost to that nondeck. Game 1 he played turn 3 Ooze followed by 2 Rancors on it and I have no real answer to that kind of beating. Even my Hellkites can't race it.
Game 2 I keep mediocre hand with Resto Angel, Searing Spear and 4 lands. It's just that I don't like mulligan to 5 because mull to 5 is often on-lander and this is often a game lost. Hand like this at least gives me hope. Unfortunately (again) I topdeck 4 lands and a Farseek in a row and he beats me from two lands with a Strangleroot Geist (he Ultimate Priced my Angel). WTF. Would Selesnya Charm have made a difference here?
Note: Now that you have two losses, there's not a whole lot else that you can conclude from subsequent matches, since you are eliminated from contention, and playing vs opponents who are similarly out of it.
Jund Zombies 0:2
I don't really remember the first game. What I know is that I misplayed and I didn't Pillar of Flame his Blood Artist which caused too big life swing in later game. I don't remember what I burned. You don't run Pillar main. Did you mean spear?
Game 2 was another absurd game where I topdeck nothing but at least he does the same. His board is literally Blood Artist, Gravecrawler and Diregraf Ghoul. I have to chump his Gravecrawler with Hellkite because I can't attack since I wouldn't win the race. We both topdeck lands for like 4 turns and he just drains me for 1 life. Eventually I draw AoS, slam it and realize that I have only 2 white sources (despite having like 8 lands or so). Then I lose next turn to something I don't remember. I think that 4 Huntmaster would have helped you a lot here (since 'doing nothing' and flipping Huntmaster are basically the same thing, but very advantageous for you). Also, is AoS something you want to bring in against them? I would have gone for Selesnya Charm, Pillar of Flame and Pacifism out of your board...
The Aristocrats 0:2
I don't remember the game really well. What I remember is that both games I somehow manage to get rid of Aristocrat (which costs me too much resources but really you have to get rid of her). And after I do so he just slams all other goodies he has and kills me. Ridiculous. Yep, this deck is really good.
Junk Reanimator 2:0
Another absurd game, this time for me. Game one I keep a six with Resto Angel, Resto Angel, Huntmaster and 3 lands. I topdeck a land and the other two Resto Angels :D. My opponent resurrects Obzedat turn 4. Then the life score goes something like 18/20/18/20/18/20. However after four turns I had 3 angels and my opponent didn't :D. That combo is even better when you have 4 Huntmasters in your deck....
Game two I have a start with mana dork and also kept a hand with Purify. I put out turn 2 Reckoner and start beatings. Purify is well timed and with addition of other threats of mine my opponent has no chances. Nice. This evens up with your R2 loss vs AoS, although you are 1-4 heading into this match, so maybe not...
UWR Control 2:0
Both games I put out T3 Domri, both games my opponent just struggles to get rid of him. The first game went a bit long even though because AFAIR I draw 3 Spears and 2 Mizzium Mortars during it without real threats. I mean Spears are okay but a bit slow against Sphinx's :D. Second game wasn't even close. I win still having AoS, Thragtusk and Hellkite on my hand. So, more Domri would be good?
SO.
To sum things up. I have really really mixed feelings about the deck. On paper it looks really solid. It has answers to most cards and decks.
It should wreck aggro with 6 removal main and extra 4 on side, with Reckoners and Smiters. It should, but even then, you have shaved the numbers on the lifegain cards.
It has enough answers for Reanimator: Purify the Grave, RIP, Selesnya Charm and value creatures of its own. I think that the key thing is exiling hard to kill creatures. Selesnya Charm and Oblivion Ring do the job.
It can win against control with help of Assemble the Legion, planeswalkers and hasty creatures. Assemble the Legion seems functionally equivalent to a planeswalker to me. I think I'd rather have Garruk. Flash creatures are also great vs control (Wolfir Avenger).
The only card I am reaaaaly afraid of is Falkenrath Aristocrat. And Fog. Fog decks wreck me like 9-1. Falkenrath Aristocrat is amazing, and I agree it's the single hardest card vs us. Oblivion Ring is the best card I can think of vs it.
But the deck does not win. I don't know why. For next Magic weekend (WMCQ + PTQ) I am taking Junk Reanimator, Aristocrats and Naya Midrange (maybe with an option to splash black). I am still not sure what to play, but I lose hope for Naya.
I think that the problem is that you weakened the deck vs aggo, but still struggled to deal with the hardened threats of opposing decks, particularly AoS and Aristo. After that I find Bant to be hardest to deal with (since they are also natural predators of midrange decks).
My plan is to prepare the MD vs aggro, but try and use cards which are hardened vs removal/control. So that means things like 4 Domri, 4 Loxodon Smiter, since they have uses vs control as well while still being good vs aggro.
Then make sure that the control matchup is decent by having good SB plans vs them.
Ran this at our last standard tournament. A couple explanations on a few iffy choices:
Restoration Angel - Pre-Ordered Advent of the Wurms, didnt arrive in time. It still performed well even with only one creature with an enter the battlefield effect. While rare, can be used with Silverheart for combat tricks by changing who he's soulbound with. Would still prefer Advent for the aggression, but Resto still works fine as a flash blocker, and having a flyer was actually quite relevant, especially while running Silverheart.
Centaur Healer - I wanted to try it maindeck over Reckoner for the BTE Synergy with Gyre Sage. Play Gyre Sage on turn 2, then follow up with BTE + Boar, Healer, or Smiter for two counters on Gyre Sage on turn 3. With Pig you can attack for 6 that turn (3/4 Sage, Pig with haste). The life buffer was somewhat relevant. Im going to try it with Reckoner this week, and in testing when I can. It's the question of Synergy or Better Creature. I never once whiffed on a turn 3 BTE Chain after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and that consistent turn 3 pressure felt better than having a Reckoner in play (I have used Reckoner a lot in the past).
Round 1 - Aristocrats
Game 1 I keep a hand of Land, Land, Gyre Sage, 2 Centaur Healer, 2 Loxodon Smiter. Play turn 2 Gyre Sage, which gets Orzhov Charmed. I never see land #3. Game 2 I nut draw him with turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE and Smiter. Follow that with a Volcanic Strenth, and I win shortly after. Game 3 I get an Unflinching Courage on a Pig and go to town. He gets a solid draw and negates the life gain. I keep my creature count low to dodge a Blasphemous Act blowout. He ends up Lingering Souls with flashback, followed with Mark of Mutiny on my Pig, then Blasphemous Act with a Reckoner out. I lose next turn. This is the only match I would have liked to have seen Reckoner to block the Blashpemous Act.
Round 2 - Simic
Really not much of a match. I get the nut draw game 1. Game two he mulls to 5 and gets mana flooded. I dont see this being bad anyways. Im far too aggressive early on for them to do much.
Round 3 - Bant Control
Kind of feared this matchup as Im used to running Dos Rakis or Jund Aggro, so I wasnt really sure what to expect without a ton of haste creatures. Do I go all out and cross my fingers and force them to have a turn 4 Supreme Verdict or lose? Do I go a little slower so I still have game after a Verdict? I wasnt sure, but with only 8 people showing up I figured a first round loss put me out of the top 3 no matter what, so no prize. I decided to go all out. It paid off. He had no Verdict turn 4, and the aggression was too much for his blockers/Azorius Charm to deal with. Ran 2 Plummet in Sideboard for Angel of Serenity since half of the store runs Rites, and it also hits Resto Angel. It was pretty fantastic killing a flashed Resto before it was declared a blocker. I can see losing pretty easily to a turn 4 Verdict, but trying to duck under it seemed right.
Centaur Healers synergy with BTE after a Gyre Sage was really really powerful. Still not sure if I prefer it over having Reckoner. Reckoner would have been fantastic against Aristocrats, but chaining off of BTE every time I had it (Ran 11 creatures that he can chain on turn 3, almost guaranteed to have one in hand if I have a BTE) wins games.
Mizzium was worthless. This deck feels more like "My creatures are bigger than others for their cost, just attack and trade/force chumps to kill their creatures". Played 20 or so games last night with Advent over Resto, and Boros Charm over Mizzium Mortars. Boros Charm was never bad. Combining it with Ghor-Clan Bloodlust wins games by itself. Saving creatures from Bonfire, Blas Act, Verdict wins games too. Advent feels about equal with Resto Angel. It's bigger, but it doesnt fly, and it dies to Azorius Charm. It's definitely weaker against control, but stronger against beatdown.
Im also thinking about Hellkite at the 5drop. It's def amazing against control with it's haste. It's killing of spirit tokens, and guaranteed 5 to the face against Serenity is amazing too. Flying is amazing against aggro board stalls. There are soooo many options to choose from in Naya.
Pilgrim added to nut draws too. Should be obvious with basically 11 3 drops that he's good. Turn 1 pilgrim, turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE+ pig means if I have a third land, I can tap gyre for 2 and land another 3 drop. If its smiter, ill go into turn 4 with a 4/5 gyre sage.
Went in expecting the usual (disproportionate) amount of Aggro that the local meta has seemed incredibly unwilling to abandon, only to find that most of the usual Aggro players weren't there this week, and the shift to AEtherling-based Control had begun.
Slogging stompy Naya bigstuff through that Control quagmire wasn't easy, and I'm more-or-less happy with the way the deck performed. Especially considering that most of my prep and tweaking was done in anticipation of the usual Aggro-heavy meta.
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This deck idea is to go bigger than most creature with the same manacost.
Today i go to GPT to test my deck, and got the 3rd place (4-1)
Really not bad
4x Arbor Elf
4x Loxodon Smiter
4x Silverblade Paladin
3x Deadbridge Goliath
2x Wolfir Silverheart
2x Sigarda, Host of Herons
3x Rancor
4x Selesnya Charm
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
2x Collective Blessings
2x Revenge of the Hunted
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Selesnya Guildgate
4x Gavony Township
6x Forest
2x Plains
3x Garruk Relentless
3x Triumph of Ferocity
3x Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3x Strangleroot Geist
3x Selesnya Keyrune
I know this deck don't have Thragtusk and Restoration Angel. And it worked just fine.
5 Round:
L 1-2 vs BR Zombie (he have a really great luck)
W 2-1 vs 5 Color Control
(Game 1 Turn 3 Silverblade Paladin Soulbond to the Loxodon Smiter with Rancor = 10 Damage)
(Game 3 almost the same)
W 2-0 vs BR Zombie
(Game 1 Turn 3 Arbor Elf, Avacyn's Pilgrim, Garruk Primalhunter
Turn 4 Collective Blessings and all of Zombie outclassed)
(Game 2 Turn 3 Silverblade Paladin Soulbond Arbor Elf, Miracle Revenge of the Hunted and slap Rancor to Silverblade Paladin = 20 damage)
W 2-0 vs Naya Aggro
(Win with Deadbridge Goliath soulbond with Wolfir Silverheart then Selesnya Charm to trampled )
W 2-0 vs BR Zombie
(Game2 Win with Turn 5 Silverblade Paladin soulbond with Wolfir Silverheart, and Rancor on Wolfir Silverheart)
(Game3 Win with 3x Strangleroot Geist and 2x Rancor)
then we go to semi final
L 1-2 vs BR Zombie (i am vs my 1st Round opponent, he once again have a great luck. he become the Winner of today GPT)
(Game 1 Lose: He topdecked Falkenrath Aristocrat 3x, can't win that)
(Game 2 Win: I got 2x Sigarda, Host of Herons)
(Game 3 Lose: yet again Falkenrath Aristocrat 2x, and Thundermaw Hellkite)
In the Final the Champion meet with Naya Aggro.
He yet got a great luck with topdecking Falkenrath Aristocrat 2x, then Hellrider Game 1
Game 2 topdecking 2x Thundermaw Hellkite
4 loxodon smiter
4 deadbridge goliath
4 thragtusk
4 restoration angel
3 angel of serenity
3 disciple of bolas
2 sigarda host of herons
4 farseek
1 unburial rites
4 selesnya charm
2 rancor
2 triumph of ferocity
4 overgrown tomb
2 bloodcrypt
4 sunpetal grove
3 rootbound crag
1 kessig wolfrun
1 clifftop retreat
1 isolated chapel
1 forest
2 cavern of souls
3 slaughter games
2 bonfire of the damned
1 pithing needle
1 ray of revelation
3 centaur healer
2 oblivion rings
Tied game 1 with bant control and lost to Selesnya splash red because G3 he drew a Garruk, Primal Hunter and I didn't run into any draw so he was able to overwhelm me with threats...Overall though very fun resilient deck! The games I won were against Rakdos Aggro and American Midrange with full set of geist and 2 thundermaws....
The deck can also to some pretty big things....against the selesnya midrange I was at 2 life with a deadbridge goliath and 2 rancors for a 9/5 trample......he had a sigarda, thragtusk, and beast token....top decking bolas I was able to draw 9 and gain 9 which pretty much won me the game since after the bolas I drew into my 5th land drop and thragtusk to stablize further...
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Dreg Mangler
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thundermaw Hellkite
Spells (11):
2 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Farseek
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Lingering Souls
4 Blood Crypt
4 Clifftop Retreat
2 Dragonskull Summit
2 Forest
1 Mountain
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Temple Garden
4 Pillar of Flame
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Rest in Peace
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Slaughter Games
1 Collective Blessing
Match one: Opponent arrives half an hour late. Bye.
Match two: Win vs. American Control
Aristocrats, souls, and hellkites relentlessly assaulting made this matchup pretty easy.
Match three: Win vs. Human Reanimator
Won by twin hellkite damage game one.
Game 2 I slaughter game'd his angel and won with aristocrat and hellkite combo.
Match four: Loss vs. 5CC
Game one I played badly, keeping a hand with no green sources until my fourth turn.
Game 2 I slaughter game'd resto angel when he had a thragtusk and faithmender on board. Turns out he didn't have any. He drew into one of his two sphinx's revelation, d-sphere'd two of my angels and won.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Took home the bacon last friday with Naya Midrange. Really no bad matchups all night, hardest one I encountered was Grixis Control. Local meta consists of alot of control type decks, and loads upon loads of Planeswalker love, thus going into the SB choices. Zero Reanimator for the last few weeks.
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Rootbound Crag
2 Kessig Wolf Run
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Mountain
2 Forest
2 Plains
Creatures (25)
4 Thragtusk
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
3 Angel of Serenity
4 Loxodon Smiter
2 Borderland Ranger
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Spells (10)
4 Farseek
3 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Triumph of Ferocity
3 Pithing Needle
4 Centaur Healer
R1/G1: Naya vs R/G Werewolves. (2-0)
Game 1 he was on the play, and he got a nut draw forcing me down to 3 health before I stabilized with thrag, and blinking it with a resto angel. Once stabilized he didnt have a chance.
R1/G2:
Im on the draw, he gets the nuts again though but manages to miss 4 triggers of flips, I rules lawyer'd him because he wanted to flip before declaring attackers. After that he passes the turn, I top deck a bonfire(miracles ftw) clear his board, and he just nerd rages.
R2/G1: Naya vs Grixis (2-1)
G1 he blew me out pretty much, I stumbled on land, gave him the oppertunity to synco farseek, and by the time I got back on track Olivia was out of control and I drew blanks.
R2/G2:
After sideboard things change completely, I start off with a aggressive draw, t1 pilgrim, t2 smiter, t3 huntmaster then land a kessig and ride it to victory.
R2/G3:
Long grindy match, i brought in pithing needles from my sideboard to combat Olivia, and his planeswalkers but this game he slaughter games naming pithing needle (sb card takes out my SB cards!). In the end resto angel and a blinkd thragtusk netted me the win.
R3/G1: Naya vs G/B zombies (2-0)
Game 1 im on the draw, and just steam rolled over him due to him getting no green and doing almost nothing til turn 4.
R3/G2:
He gets out a lotleth and 3 dreg manglers, but I stabilize and bring him the win.
R4/G1: Naya vs Esper Control (2-0)
Game 1 he mulls to 5 but the first game takes a life time, very annoying deck.
R4:G2:
Game 2 goes a little quicker as i wasnt eating a verdict and cyclonic rift every turn. Loxodon was my all star of both games as everything else got countered or ate a UP
R5/G1: Naya vs Rakdos/Vampire homebrew? (2-0) top 4 match
Game 1 nothing special happend, I was on the play and just dominated board presence, nothing stood out about the game didnt see much of his deck either.
R5/G2:
Game 2 he muls to 4, plays 2 lands and dies before he gets to land 3. Again nothing special.
R6/G1: Naya vs Esper Control (2-0) finals.
Game 1 ended so fast I dont know how it really happend. 3 smiters hit the board with a kessig, and by the time he did something it was too late. (kept a bad hand my guess)
R6/G2:
Very long and grindy match once again, he gets close to milling me out and tokens were keeping the match going by chump blocking. He milled 1 of my kessigs, but when i was down to like 16 cards in deck I finally drew one, and brought home the win.
Overall deck preformed pretty good, had a game or two where mana was an issue but come next week that problem will be gone, and borderland ranger will never be seen in my list ever again, ever.
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Boros Reckoner
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, the Warleader
Spells:9
2 Aurelia's Fury
4 Farseek
3 Searing Spear
2 Blood Crypt
4 Clifftop Retreat
2 Isolated Chapel
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Rootbound Crag
2 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
2 Woodland Cemetery
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Blind Obedience
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Rest in Peace
2 War Priest of Thune
2 Slaughter Games
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
Match one: Win vs. Craterhoof Ramp.
I did not really know what he was playing, though it was a very powerful deck. He accels into craterhoof with dorks and elvish archdruid.
Game one: Managed to beat him down to 3. He had me dead the next turn craterhoof but I dropped a boros reckoner. and he couldn't swing without killing himself.
Game two: Again, a really close game. Managed to beat him down to 11 life with Restoration Angel and Aristocrat. He had me dead the next turn, but I top-decked an aristocrat and closed the game.
Match two: Loss vs. Esper Control
Game one: Tried to go for the finisher with Aurelia and two restoration angels but he had a dissipate for Aurelia, then sweeped the board. He lands a Curse of Death's Hold (no more aristocrats!) and dealt with all my threats after that.
Game two: He dropped Blind Obedience. I did not draw my war priests. There was a cool moment where I Aurelia's Fury him on upkeep to stop a Supreme Verdict, but coolness does not always translate to victory.
Match three: Win vs. RDW
Game One: His series of one and two drops cannot compete with a Restoration Angel +Aurelia on board.
Game two: Turn 2 Boros Reckoner from me. Followed by turn 4 Thundermaw Hellkite.
Thoughts:
I really liked how this deck plays out. Almost every live draw is a bombastic threat that can win the game out of nowhere. The mana was pretty smooth, though additional green sources would have been welcome. It's a pretty hardcore deck that surprises many opponents with the diversity of threats.
That said, I think I need more war priests, as I straight out lose to blind obedience in a control shell. Perhaps -1 Aurelia in the SB and +1 War priest.
I want to try out Boros Charm in the main, but am unsure of what to cut. Every creature has such an important function that I can't cut any of them, while Searing Spear is necessary to ensure I don't die to an aggro nut draw (and to give me some more turn 2 plays).
25 lands might be a bit too much. I kind of drew a lot of lands against the esper matchup. Then again, I might have just straight out lost my other two matches if I did not hit my land drops on time.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Aurelia, the Warleader
Spells (11)
3 Searing Spear
4 Farseek
2 Aurelia's Fury
2 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Rootbound Crag
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Clifftop Retreat
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Forest
3 Rest in Peace
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Triumph of Ferocity
3 Boros Charm
2 Ray of Revelation
I have to say that Aurelia's Fury and Auriela, The Warleader really won me many games. Being able to tap out opponents creatures with fury and alpha strike with Aurela is just so good.
Solid list, I like it a lot.
How do you like the boros charms in the sideboard? Essential?
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
There is a lot of control in my meta which makes it necessary to have, at least in the sideboard. It saved me more than I would have thought. Might bring it down to 2 though.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Match 1: Naya mirror 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/arbor elf. Turn 2 Domri Rade. Domri draws me 2 cards and allows me to profitably fight down his creatures. Game is really 1 sided since I have repeated removal and restoration angels kill him. Domri never goes ultimate but the removal allowed me to control the board which was really key as things could have ran away from me.
Game 2 - I side out the Domri's and side into searing spear and bonfires. I wind up curving a bit better off a pilgrim into huntmaster into restoration angel into thundermaw which ends up killing him because he cannot answer it in time.
Match 2: RDW 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and i shockland/pilgrim and he plays stromkirk noble. I play boros reckoner. He can't attack but plays 2 rackdos cacklers. I play domri rade and kill both cacklers. 2 turns later I searing spear a hellrider and that's game. ( edit, sorry - I didn't kill the hellrider this game with spear, that was game 2 sorry about the error. This first game was pretty much over once I had domri and reckoner because I kept fighting into his guys and attacking him)
Game 2 - I'm on the draw and I once again dork but this time end up hard casting a bonfire to wipe his board (he had 2 lightning maulers). (Edit - Turn 4 he drops a hellrider and I'm ready with searing spear.) A few turns later he's got a board - reckoner, ash zealot, and a 2/2 stromkirk. He swings into my tapped reckoner which I untap with restoration angel. He loses shortly after.
Match 3: America Tempo 2-0
Game 1 - I'm on the play and I shockland/pilgrim into Reckoner once again. He plays his 1 of Azurious Guildmage (I think intended to give GoST flying). I then play Domri and fight my reckoner into his Guildmage and swing. Most of this game ends up with him looking for ways to kill Domri. He drops a Reckoner of his own and I fight a smiter into it, hoping for the redirect on Domri so I can just play another onto the board and start upticking again. His sphinx's revelation for 4 isn't enough as I have at that point a Smiter, Huntmaster, Wolf, and Thundermaw. My following swing takes him low and the final swing is backed up with Kessig Wolf Run for the finish.
Game 2 - I take a risky muligan but my hand is shock and dork into Domri Rade again. Once again the pace of the game is set by Domri, reckoners, and a lot of fighting backed up by restoration angels and an eventual Thundermaw.
Math 4: Boros Humans (white splash red) 2-1
Game 1 - Once again I win the dice roll - actually, no, I lost this one. Which is bad because he opens with Sacred Foundry into Warfalcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade Paladin. OUCH. Thankfully I have a curve of my own with shockland into pilgrim into boros reckoner into domri rade. I kill his team and stabilize off a huntmaster which is backed up by a restoration angel. He isn't able to recover from there - his threats are too small.
Game 2 - He plays Falcon into double Knight of Glory and is rocking my world fast before I can drop a reckoner. Reckoner eats an O-ring but I answer with thundermaw to kill his War Falcon. He plays zealous conscript and we go to game 3.
Game 3 - Welp, he does it again - War Falcon into Knight of Glory into Silverblade. Thankfully my risky mulligan pays off and dork into reckoner into Domri saves the day. He manages to Oring the reckoner but I top deck a bonfire.
Thoughts on things:
1. Obviously I got very lucky. I won 3/4 dice rolls and played aggro decks mostly which is what I'm aiming to beat with my build.
2. I'm running the full package of 8 dorks, 4 Domri Rade, 4 Boros Reckoner, 3 Loxodon Smiter, 4 Huntmaster of the Fells, and 4 Restoration Angel which I wouldn't change. Exploding into a turn 2 powerful 3 drop is basically my game plan. Following that up with what I feel to be the 2 best 4 drops in standard is just icing on the cake.
3. Kessig Wolf Run > Gavony Township for what I'm trying to accomplish and where my games are often at when I would be using a spell land.
4. Rancor is amazing but doesn't fit with my game plan. I didn't run any this week which was the right move.
5. Boros Charm, Selesnya Charm, and Searing Spear are all deserving of mainboard positions. They provide me with a lot of flexible plays and can get me into a favorable board position. Selesnya Charm specifically has a lot of very good interactions.
6. Faith's Shield deserves a 1 of spot. It also interacts well (actually extremely well) with my game plan and can offer protection against 2 cards I feel are big problems: Zealous Conscripts and Abrupt Decay.
7. Oblivion Ring deserves a spot in the side board. There are a number of difficult to interact with cards at the moment - #1 being Boros Reckoner.
8. Bonfire of the Damned: What can I really say - this card is still amazing. I ran 1 main, 2 side and liked it this way better than any way I'd previously run it.
Last but not least:
9. Domri Rade won the day for me. I was fortunate to get him down on turn 2 or 3 in all of my game 1's which is obviously quite lucky but that's been the last 4 tournaments. He's insane for what he can bring to the field. Even if I only use him to remove a creature - I still feel as if I've gotten enough value from him since I'm light on removal. If I draw a creature that's even better. God forbid he sticks around and I am able to protect him. Even seeing what card is next is sometimes extremely valuable - for example, I've been able to setup bonfires with more dorks. I've also been able to play creatures better knowing I'd be hitting a Clifftop retreat the following turn which would allow me to drop 2 reckoners at once.
Could we see a list
// Lands
2 Cavern of Souls
3 Clifftop Retreat
2 Forest
2 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Slayers' Stronghold
4 Stomping Ground
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
2 Angel of Serenity
2 Aurelia, the Warleader
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
3 Boros Reckoner
2 Frontline Medic
2 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Restoration Angel
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
3 Thragtusk
2 Boros Charm
4 Farseek
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Selesnya Charm
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Domri Rade
4 Boros Reckoner
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Zealous Conscripts
3 Selesnya Charm
1 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Grounds
1 Clifftop Retreat
2 Sacred Foundry
3 Forest
2 Kessig Wolf Run
Sideboard:
2 Searing Spear
2 Pillar of Flame
1 Boros Charm
2 Ray of Revelation
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Garruk Relentless
1 Pithing Needle
1 Zealous Conscripts
Next week:
MB: -1 Selesnya Charm +1 Faith's Shield
SB: -1 Garruk Relentless +1 Blind Obedience
-1 Zealous Conscripts +1 Oblivion Ring
This week I actually went in with more thought than in previous weeks and that helped.
Deck Construction thoughts:
I want to be explosive and use a dork to accelerate. Our meta is very quick - you hit aggro decks constantly. At the same time, though, control is well represented at times and so is America Tempo. I'm actually ok with losing a dork to pillar of flame from a tempo deck - it's better than them having it for Huntmaster later to be honest. Although they'll probably just snapcaster it back. Regardless, the idea was to explode from a dork into 1 of the 11 3 drops and then follow up with either Huntmaster or Restoration Angel. To be honest I prefer Restoration Angel because it's such crazy value - you can blank a removal spell, combat trick, or just have mana open for a charm. The utility of Restoration Angel demanded I use 5 of 6 Spell slots for Charms. I've tested Rancor and more MB Bonfire but Charms are just great. I keep 1 Bonfire because I'm greedy.
Mana can be a major issue so I've built the mana base with that in mind. 8 dorks is great but Arbor Elf is inconsistent. I'm running 8 forest-shocks and 3 forests in the hopes that he can accelerate more frequently. It hurts my colors at time which can impact my ability to land a reckoner but I think it is worth the risk. 24 lands seems comfortable to me especially with the 2 Wolf Runs. I really need to be seeing all 3 colors in my opener due to a lot of color specific spells and I want to curve quickly into Hellkite.
My general game plans are:
Game 1: If I have no idea what the person is playing, hope for an opener with a dork and a 3 drop with a solid curve. Dropping Domri into empty board states scares me but it's usually clear if I'm facing a haste capable deck. I take nothing for granted in our meta and will ship away slow hands. It is too easy to get blown out turn 4 by some random aggro deck to take any chances.
Aggro (R/x Decks and W/x Aggro):
Sideboard: Keep Domri in and hope to land him early with reckoner. -2 Thundermaw -1 Conscript -2 Boros Charm -1 Selesnya Charm +2 Pillar +2 Spear +2 Bonfire.
Reasoning: I'm basically using Domri as removal here and dropping my top end in favor of burning out their aggression and then beating them to death with creatures that cannot be conscripted to kill me.
Note: Rancor could be a reason to side out Domri in some matchups.
Mirror
On Play: -1 Faith's Shield -1 Zealous Conscripts +2 Bonfire of the Damned
On Draw: -3 Domri Rade -1 Faith's Shield +2 Bonfire and +2 Pillar or +2 Spear if they're on Centaur Healer
Reasoning: Domri is considerably worse here on the Draw since we'll likely be behind on creature strength. We instead need to hope to favorably use a combat trick or slow their offense with burn, establish a stalled board, and bonfire them.
Tempo
Sideboard: -1 Conscripts -1 Bonfire -1 Hellkite +2 Spear +1 Garruk (+1 Pithing Needle if they're on Staticaster)
Reasoning: Bonfire and Conscripts are bad here and Hellkite can be good or can be azorious charmed, leaving us tapped out and vulnerable. I'd prefer to grind this matchup on the backs of Domri and Garruk and hope to force them into bad use of their spells with Huntmaster. Oblivion Ring would also probably come in - if they are using Reckoner I'd prefer to not 2-1 myself.
Control
Sideboard: -1 Conscripts -1 Bonfire -1 Faith's Shield +1 Pithing Needle +1 Garruk +1 Oblivion Ring (+1 Boros Charm if they're running Verdict) (keep Faith's Shield in versus Esper or Jund)
Option on the play: Keep Conscripts in and try to steal tusk for game. I don't really like this plan.. too risky.
Reasoning: A turn 2 Domri or turn 3 Garruk can really turn this poor matchup around. If they don't hit D-sphere they are in huge trouble, particularly if we can protect them in the air with a Restoration Angel. Overall this is a bad matchup and I've tried skullcrack to avert the Thragtusk -> Sphinx's Revelation but it doesn't fit our midrange gameplan and we aren't built to race that fast. Wolf Run on the backs of baby wolves and Restoration Angels is probably the most likely route to victory here.
Final thoughts:
A lot of decks right now are championing the "good stuff" deck building strategy of just throwing together high value cards of a color combo and rolling with it. I'm playing Naya but I'm not going with that approach. The goal here very simple - consistency. You can see my result - nearly all games I'm dropping a dork into a powerful 3 drop that is designed to curb the early beat down. This proactive measure is mostly possible because of Reckoner and Domri Rade. I prefer this to being reactive and gaining health in response to aggression. My next step in my game plan is value - I force them into an unfavorable trade using Restoration Angel or I play Huntmaster which can dictate the conditions of the game going forward assuming they aren't able to power over the top of the wall we've established. To be honest, huntmaster is the weakest link in the Aggro gameplan or mirror because they could just go right over him. Chumping on this turn sucks and we're in a bad spot versus Aristocrat - gaining 2 also isn't very much these days. Thankfully we're running enough 3 drops that we can simply use this turn to drop a reckoner or smiter and keep a mana open for Faith's Shield - value! Alternatively you use burn to remove their next round of threats - the ones designed to drop you below 10 life. The next stage is inevitability backed up by charms to prevent anything from going wrong. Since they fail to get you in the red zone and their board is weaker, there is no need to follow with Thragtusk. The idea is to shift the tempo of the game hard and fast on turn 4 and change from defender right into aggressor.
Against Tempo and Control the idea is the same - land threats - hopefully walkers - so early that you overwhelm them before they can get their engine going. Tempo uses early burn and Control uses an early wrath but the idea is the same - stall the early pressure, stabilize, and then use card advantage to dictate the game. The 3rd step is where we attack their strategy - our walkers and many of our creatures are capable of disrupting this - Domri draws us cards, removes their chump blocking merfolks and snapcasters, Reckoner turns their burn against them or against their blockers, Smiter cannot be countered and can be Domri-Raded into Restoration Angels profitably, Huntmaster forces them to play spells during their main phase and requires 2 removal spells, and Restoration Angel can blank their spears or force an EOT counter so we can freely cast Hellkite the following turn (or a walker).
But again, the idea is consistency in the hands and the draws and using cards that compliment each other and allow for a very quick transition from defender to aggressor with a mainboard that is well rounded enough to win a game 1 versus an Aggro nutdraw or even outlast a control deck.
Deck Weaknesses:
Detention Sphere can be brutal and Zealous Conscripts can be really bad at the wrong times. Faith's Shield is a new inclusion because of this and also protects against Abrupt Decay on Domri and Reckoner who really need to be protected.
Combo will destroy this deck. If another deck manages to go infinite life or harvest pyre for 21, there is no answer. But I think that's the case for 90% of the decks out there.
Grinding matchups like big Naya, Bant control, Jund, or basically anything running Tusk and mass removal can be extremely difficult matchups that take an inordinate amount of time to settle. Blind Obedience could help us grind these matchups but I'm not sure if it's a game changer for us if we're already at that stage of the game. I imagine that these decks are already going to start including Blind Obedience, so the only way to combat that would be to run our own, so maybe starting early would be wise.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
Although it still rustles my Jimmies to post a list I lost with, I'll certainly do so to help with the thread.
I went 2-3 (out of 5 rounds) with this list. This list was not my original as I would have done -2 Garruk, -2 Thragtusk for +4 Restoraion Angel and -2 Mountain, -2 Forest, and -1 Plains for +3 Sacred Foundry, +2 Stomping Grounds.
4 Champion of the Parish
3 Frontline Medic
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Thragtusk
4 Silverblade Paladin
3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Bonds of Faith
4 Boros Charm
2 Garruk Relentless
1 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Clifftop Retreat
2 Kessig Wolf Run
3 Rootbound Crag
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
2 Mountain
2 Forest
First match I went 0-2 against a Bant (splashing Red) Ramp deck.
Game 1 my opponent does T1 Arbor Elf, T2 Somberwald Sage, T3 Angel of Serenity. I went T1 Champion of the Parish, T2 Mayor of Avabruck, T3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and proceed to watch in horror as my field is exiled. I stabilize into 2 Huntmaster of the Fells and a Frontline Medic as he's lowering my life with his Angel of Serenity (and I lack a Selesnya Charm) and drops another Angel of Serenity, I scoop.
Game 2 he does similar ramp (with me siding in 4 Searing Spear but failing to draw any) but instead does Thragtusk > Thragtusk > Restoration Angel > Angel of Serenity which overwhelms my board.
Match 2 (I went 2-1) was against a Naya Mid-Range deck running things like Boros Reckoner, Spark Trooper, Silverblade Paladin and Thundermaw Hellkite.
Game 1 I get mana-starved (mulliganing down to 5 cards nonetheless and not seeing 1 land or Cavern of Souls. I see no land after 5 draws and proceed to scoop.
Game 2 he slams he for 12 points of damage with a T1 Avacyn's Pilgrim, T2 Silverplade Paladin, T3 Spark Trooper, soul-bonded. I did T1 Avacyn's Pilgrim, T2 Champion of the Parish and Mayor of Avabruck, then T3 Frontline Medic. He places a Rancor on his Boros Reckoner which I proceed to exile with Selesnya Charm. Despite smacking me for 12 and gaining 12, he doesn't get creatures afterwards and I proceed to win.
Game 2 he gets mana-starved and I attack with an onslought of Champion of the Parish, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Frontline Medic and Mayor of Avabruck.
Match 3 I went 2-1 against a Naya humans deck (but taking out Frontline Medic for Boros Reckoner and Restoration Angel for Thundermaw Hellkite.
Game 1 he does the Boros Reckoner/Boros Charm/Life-link combo, I scoop.
Game 2 I get out Avacyn's Pilgrim, Champion of the Parish + Mayor of Avabruck, then Huntmaster of the Fells while he's only got a Silverblade Paladin. I win that match.
Game 3, same shtick except he gets mana-starved.
Match 4 I went 1-2 against an Esper spirit token deck.
The guy used token generators like Midnight Haunting and Lingering Souls plus anthems like Intangible Virtue and Favorable Winds. I got overwhelmed by flyers though I got him down because Thalia, Guardian of Thraben caused him to have to wait a turn to get out said anthems.
Game 2 I side in War Priest of Thune and do T1 Champion of the Parish, T2 Mayor of Avabruck, T3 War Priest of Thune, blowing up his Intangible Virtue, making his spirits useless. He scoops.
Game 3 he gets out 4 Spirit Tokens with Favorable Winds and Intangible Virtue, and I got bombarded in the air.
Match 5 I went 0-2 against my friends Esper Control/Mill deck (the same guy who was borrowing my Restoration Angels.
My friend's deck involves counters, whether it be Psychic Strike or Dissipate, employs 4 Snapcaster Mage, and enjoys a good Azorius Charm + Thought Scour. I lose Game 1 as he drops 2 Consuming Abberations and uses 2 Feeling of Dread to tap out my field.
Game 2 I side-board in Rest in Peace but don't see it as I get attacked in the air by Restoration Angel for game.
Final Thoughts: 4 Cavern of Souls would deeply help with the color-fixing. I want to make room for 4 Boros Reckoner (and maybe Blasphemous Act as I've heard that combo has helped win FNMs). I need to make my side-board more Mid-rangey with cards like Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity and/or Aurelia, the Warleader. I also need to do something against Flyers and board-wipes. Boros Charm didn't appear once to save me from a board-wipe.
4 Temple Garden
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Forest
1 Island
1 Plains
1 Gavony Township
Creatures:33
4 Arbor Elf
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Strangleroot Geist
4 Loxodon Smiter
3 Borderland Ranger
4 Master Biomancer
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
2 Prime Speaker Zegana
2 Selesnya Charm
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
3 Gideon, Champion of Justice
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Selesnya Charm
2 Ground Seal
1 Rest in Peace
2 Oblivion Ring
4 Centaur Healer
1 Silklash Spider
Match 1: 2-0 vs. Saito Gruul
Both games were the same. He played some small guys and I played guys bigger than him.
Match 2: 1-2 vs. G/W Aggro
He got the nuts in game 1 (pilgrim, smiter, silverblade+rancor). I managed to stabilize somewhat but he eventually caught on.
We both had slow hands in game 2. This deck beats any slow hand.
Game 3 I was going to win the game but he was on 5 life. I played around Faith's Shield by not attacking for lethal and leaving a 5/6 angel to block his Sigarda. He did indeed have the Faith's shield... and he also had the selesnya charm for my angel and a silverblade paladin to attack for lethal. Sigh.
Match 3: 0-2 vs. Boros aggro
Game 1 he dropped 3 boros reckoners and a thundermaw hellkite. There was little I could do.
Game 2 He attacked with lone creatures and madcap skills. I stabilized at 7 life by killing off his last guy and having some monstrosities on board, then he threw a boros charm and a searing spear at me.
Match 4: 0-2 vs. Collective Legion
We played a friendly before the actual match. He accelerated into t3 Assemble the Legion and t4 Collective blessing. With no enchantment removal it was easy game for him even when I started churning out 10/10 smiters and 9/10 angels.
Game 1 I kept a slow 6 with nothing to do until turn 4. He played 3 dorks and a smiter extremely quickly and Gavony Township'd his way to victory.
Game 2 he had a bonfire for my 2 arbor elves which I was relying on for mana. I never drew a 3rd land and was stuck with drawing 4 and 5 drops in my hand.
Assemble the Legion + Collective Blessing is pretty sick.
General thoughts
- I don't think Master Biomancer is worth building around. Collective Blessing seemed to be much better and less fragile. Biomancer does let you do some nasty things, such as stacking biomancers and giving all your guys +6/+6 once you drop the second biomancer. His effect is permanent though, and it's nice to save him occasionally with a restoration angel. And he's great for proclaiming "For Science!" when you add counters to your creatures. Fun, but perhaps uncompetitive.
- I tended to board out all my strangleroot geists, which might be wrong.
- I only had one real "mana screw" game, but that was because my elves died that game. None of the other decks really interacted with my elves. Not sure if manabase is stable, but it seems pretty good despite being on 23 lands. Saito's new version runs 22 lands but 4 farseeks, and I think that is much better as I was stuck on blue mana sometimes.
- MORE INTERACTION NEEDED. I really think some number of O-rings are needed maindeck. I board in both my o-rings every match, and they were not even on Saito's original list. That game with the 3 reckoners might have been much different if I had an o-ring for each of his reckoners, or at least one of them. But having too many spells also limits the effectiveness of biomancer. I think cutting garruks for the o-rings might be best.
- Speaking of which, Garruk was useless all day. But then again, I played against zero control decks. Maybe he belongs to the sideboard. Saito seems to think so too, as evidenced by his latest list.
- Bonfire seems pretty good if people are going to be ambitious and start replacing lands with dorks.
- Prime Speaker is not very good. Against aggressive decks, her draw effect does nothing much, especially in a deck like this which runs very little answers. I casted her twice today - once as an 8/8 and once as a 6/6. Didn't impress me. She chump-blocked a double-striking rancor'd smiter once and ate a selesnya charm the other time. I can envision against control decks she would be pretty boss IF you get her to go off, but the chances of that are slim. Control decks which are not able to keep your field clear of big hitters are losing anyway.
Well, I'll be running another Saito list tomorrow, and hopefully have a better result to report.
Modern: Jund Legacy: RUG Delver EDH: Captain Sisay
4x Avacyn's Pilgrim
4x Loxodon Smiter
3x Fiend Hunter
2x Silverblade Paladin
4x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
3x Obzedat, Ghost Council
1x Sigarda, Host of Herons
2x Garruk, Primal Hunter
Spells
2x Rancor
3x Orzhov Charm
4x Farseek
Lands
2x Gavony Township
3x Godless Shrine
3x Isolated Chapel
4x Overgrown Tomb
3x Woodland Cemetery
4x Temple Garden
4x Sunpetal Grove
1x Vault of the Archangel
2x Pacifism
2x Oblivion Ring
2x Illness in the Ranks
1x Ray of Revelation
1x Witchbane Orb
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Gideon, Champion of Justice
3x Duress
I piloted the deck to 3-1-1 before I had to win the final round to lock in top 8. Ultimately, I lost the game and finished 3-2-1, but I was still happy with how the list finished. I dont remember a lot of how the games went down, but these were my matchups.
Round 1: Jund Midrange (0-2)
Kept 2 hands in a row that I really shouldnt have and paid the price for it. Game 1 kept a hand with 4 lands, and Sigarda, Obzedat, and Garruk and figured I could draw into some early game. I didnt and my first card was played on turn 5. Jund is pretty slow, but you can't afford to give anyone that many time walks.
Game 2, kept a hand with 2 lands but a lot of early game. I only needed one more land to get things going and I never got it. I died before I drew my 3rd land.
Round 2: UWR Flash (2-0)
Game 1 I went nuts on him with a turn3 garruk, turn 4 sigarda, turn 5 obzedat + rancor on sigarda. By his turn 5, he only had 3 land and just couldnt stop it.
Game 2 he decided to go a bit more aggressive since he was on the turn and brought out his geists of st trafts, unfortunately he just didnt get enough cards to tempo me and my bigger/superior creatures just outclassed his.
Round 3: UWR Flash (2-0)
Game 1 I got off to a decent start, but not spectacular. He did what he was supposed to do, Azorius Charming my turn 2 Smiter, the he played an augur on his turn. He went draw/go on his turn and snapcaster maged his azorius charm on my smiter again, which I then blinked with an Angel. He was in a bad spot, but was able to get off a Sphinx's the next turn to try and get his verdict or an angel to stop mine. Next turn I played an Obzedat and swung in for 7. I guess he didnt get much off his 2 cards and all he could do was sphinx again next turn before he died.
Game 2 I went nuts on him with playing 5 drops on turn 3. Not much else to say.
Round 3: Prime Speaker Bant (2-0)
Game 1 we both had decent enough hands, but was the more aggressive deck and pretty much tempod him to death. My turn 2 smiter did tons of work, and just used Orzhov charm, and the Resto Angel/Fiend Hunter combo to keep his board clear. I finally ran out of removal and ended up playing an Obzedat while i still had the smiter, a fiend hunter, and a resto angel. He did end up playing his Prime Speaker with a Thragtusk out, but he tapped wrong and couldnt cast the resto angel he needed to stabilize. He scooped
Game 2: My sideboard killed him big time. We both mulled to 6, but he really kept a hand he shouldnt have while I had a hand with 2 Duress, some lands, and some ramp. The duresses hit a Sphinx's Rev and a Supreme Verdict, and those were the cards he was really counting on to get him in it. After that...all he had left was an Angel of Serenity and a Resto Angel, but he could only cast the resto. It wasnt enough to stop the cards I drew into and won it.
Round 4: Human Re animator (1-1-1)
This was actually a TERRIBLE matchup and I would have most certainly lost had we not agreed to draw.
Round 5: Prime Speaker Bant (0-2)
This was actually a guy I knew from the card shop I play on thursdays. I am used to seeing him play The Aristocrats and I thought I might have a good shot at that one. He surprised me with his homebrewed Prime SPeaker list.
Game 1: He went nuts on me. Resolved the first garruk after ramping into his mid game way faster than me. He built a commanding board presence and had huge card advantage on me as well. To make matters worse, his cards were every bit as good as mine. When I realized the game was unwinnable, we went ahead to the next game.
Game 2 went a lot like the last, only perhaps even worse. Not only did he get the first Garruk again, but he also got out Prim SPeaker with a thragtusk later in the game. I was getting land flooded at the same time but I tried to buy some time by playing Thragtusks to keep his attacks at bay. After a while he just D-SPhered my Thrags and the game was basically over.
Final Thoughts: I am still impressed by the raw power of cards played in this color pie. Obzedat as a 3 of was impressive and allowed me to consistently cast him in almost every game, which is exactly what you want. I was never sad to draw a 2nd 1 either, as he is a card you ALWAYS want out on the field so its not that bad to have a spare in case they Victim of Night him.
A card I wasn't very impressed with was Fiend Hunter. The resto angel combo with him is great, but its very rarely happens. Its also not a great idea to Fiend Hunter certain creatures like Thragtusk, Resto Angel, or Prime SPeaker. He also must be played as a sorcery so hes a bit clunky for removal. In a lot of games, he was pretty worthless as a creature too. I couldnt attack with him for fear of a bigger creature blocking, or because I always expected the Azorius Charm, and for the same reason its almost never a good idea to block with him against anything other than Boros (honestly, Boros would just spear him anyways). Overall, pretty underwhelming. The deck operates SOOOO GOOD in the mid game that the deck might be better served to take out the fiend hunters in place of more mana dorks. In games where I don't get an early Farseek or mana dork, I almost always lose. I would like to put Reckoner in here, but for obvious reasons, i think that may be a little overly ambitious. The fact that you must have WWW to cast him in a G/W/B deck makes that choice very very greedy.
Thats it for now. I'm actually thinking of taking this deck into a Dark Naya direction, seeing as one of the issues this deck has is removal, splashing red seems like a really good choice, and can expand the power card base to include Olivia Voldaren. Will probably make a decklist of that later. Thanks for the read and feel free to comment.
Gruul Aggro
EDH General:
Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Modern
Jeskai Control
Jeskai Midrange
Affinity
Esper Teachings
Tribal Zoo
I think that the problem is that you weakened the deck vs aggo, but still struggled to deal with the hardened threats of opposing decks, particularly AoS and Aristo. After that I find Bant to be hardest to deal with (since they are also natural predators of midrange decks).
My plan is to prepare the MD vs aggro, but try and use cards which are hardened vs removal/control. So that means things like 4 Domri, 4 Loxodon Smiter, since they have uses vs control as well while still being good vs aggro.
Then make sure that the control matchup is decent by having good SB plans vs them.
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Gyre Sage
3 Centaur Healer
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Restoration Angel
3 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Wolfir Silverheart
4 Mizzium Mortars
Lands: 23
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Grounds
4 Sacred Foundry
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Clifftop Retreat
2 Rootbound Crag
2 Forest
2 Mountain
Ran this at our last standard tournament. A couple explanations on a few iffy choices:
Restoration Angel - Pre-Ordered Advent of the Wurms, didnt arrive in time. It still performed well even with only one creature with an enter the battlefield effect. While rare, can be used with Silverheart for combat tricks by changing who he's soulbound with. Would still prefer Advent for the aggression, but Resto still works fine as a flash blocker, and having a flyer was actually quite relevant, especially while running Silverheart.
Centaur Healer - I wanted to try it maindeck over Reckoner for the BTE Synergy with Gyre Sage. Play Gyre Sage on turn 2, then follow up with BTE + Boar, Healer, or Smiter for two counters on Gyre Sage on turn 3. With Pig you can attack for 6 that turn (3/4 Sage, Pig with haste). The life buffer was somewhat relevant. Im going to try it with Reckoner this week, and in testing when I can. It's the question of Synergy or Better Creature. I never once whiffed on a turn 3 BTE Chain after a turn 2 Gyre Sage, and that consistent turn 3 pressure felt better than having a Reckoner in play (I have used Reckoner a lot in the past).
Round 1 - Aristocrats
Game 1 I keep a hand of Land, Land, Gyre Sage, 2 Centaur Healer, 2 Loxodon Smiter. Play turn 2 Gyre Sage, which gets Orzhov Charmed. I never see land #3. Game 2 I nut draw him with turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE and Smiter. Follow that with a Volcanic Strenth, and I win shortly after. Game 3 I get an Unflinching Courage on a Pig and go to town. He gets a solid draw and negates the life gain. I keep my creature count low to dodge a Blasphemous Act blowout. He ends up Lingering Souls with flashback, followed with Mark of Mutiny on my Pig, then Blasphemous Act with a Reckoner out. I lose next turn. This is the only match I would have liked to have seen Reckoner to block the Blashpemous Act.
Round 2 - Simic
Really not much of a match. I get the nut draw game 1. Game two he mulls to 5 and gets mana flooded. I dont see this being bad anyways. Im far too aggressive early on for them to do much.
Round 3 - Bant Control
Kind of feared this matchup as Im used to running Dos Rakis or Jund Aggro, so I wasnt really sure what to expect without a ton of haste creatures. Do I go all out and cross my fingers and force them to have a turn 4 Supreme Verdict or lose? Do I go a little slower so I still have game after a Verdict? I wasnt sure, but with only 8 people showing up I figured a first round loss put me out of the top 3 no matter what, so no prize. I decided to go all out. It paid off. He had no Verdict turn 4, and the aggression was too much for his blockers/Azorius Charm to deal with. Ran 2 Plummet in Sideboard for Angel of Serenity since half of the store runs Rites, and it also hits Resto Angel. It was pretty fantastic killing a flashed Resto before it was declared a blocker. I can see losing pretty easily to a turn 4 Verdict, but trying to duck under it seemed right.
Centaur Healers synergy with BTE after a Gyre Sage was really really powerful. Still not sure if I prefer it over having Reckoner. Reckoner would have been fantastic against Aristocrats, but chaining off of BTE every time I had it (Ran 11 creatures that he can chain on turn 3, almost guaranteed to have one in hand if I have a BTE) wins games.
Mizzium was worthless. This deck feels more like "My creatures are bigger than others for their cost, just attack and trade/force chumps to kill their creatures". Played 20 or so games last night with Advent over Resto, and Boros Charm over Mizzium Mortars. Boros Charm was never bad. Combining it with Ghor-Clan Bloodlust wins games by itself. Saving creatures from Bonfire, Blas Act, Verdict wins games too. Advent feels about equal with Resto Angel. It's bigger, but it doesnt fly, and it dies to Azorius Charm. It's definitely weaker against control, but stronger against beatdown.
Im also thinking about Hellkite at the 5drop. It's def amazing against control with it's haste. It's killing of spirit tokens, and guaranteed 5 to the face against Serenity is amazing too. Flying is amazing against aggro board stalls. There are soooo many options to choose from in Naya.
Pilgrim added to nut draws too. Should be obvious with basically 11 3 drops that he's good. Turn 1 pilgrim, turn 2 Gyre Sage, turn 3 BTE+ pig means if I have a third land, I can tap gyre for 2 and land another 3 drop. If its smiter, ill go into turn 4 with a 4/5 gyre sage.
Went in expecting the usual (disproportionate) amount of Aggro that the local meta has seemed incredibly unwilling to abandon, only to find that most of the usual Aggro players weren't there this week, and the shift to AEtherling-based Control had begun.
Slogging stompy Naya bigstuff through that Control quagmire wasn't easy, and I'm more-or-less happy with the way the deck performed. Especially considering that most of my prep and tweaking was done in anticipation of the usual Aggro-heavy meta.