- WhiteWisper
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Member for 12 years and 1 month
Last active Sun, Sep, 24 2017 05:04:09
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Feb 4, 2014WhiteWisper posted a message on Launch Giveaway!My favorite card would probably be Bonfire of the Damned. Even though miracles were not the best-received, I have won many of my matches due to a good top-deck and a mechanic that rewards you for that is absolutely delightful.Posted in: Announcements
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Pile A:
Scalding Tarn
Verdant Catacombs
Pile B:
Tarmogoyf
I know a Goyf is a Goyf but these fetches seem quite low but I'm concerned of Wizards printing them a 2nd time and hurting their long term price.
Ulamog often ate an Abzan Charm/Crackling Doom/Utter End and an Infinite Obliteration just made me lose. This gives me more headway against that sort of hate. Abzan Aggro is miserable though and I want a sideboard/main that can beat that deck.
2 Dragonlord Dromoka
3 Part the Waterveil
3 Nissa's Pilgrimage
3 Nissa's Renewal
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
3 Embodiment of Spring
3 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Flooded Strand
6 Forest
5 Island
2 Canopy Vista
2 Prairie Stream
3 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
3 Windswept Heath
4 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Explosive Vegetation
3 Planar Outburst
2 Plains
3 Den Protector
3 Gideon's Reproach
3 Surge of Righteousness
2 Gaea's Revenge
My primary issues I've noticed is that I either want a curve of:
Embodiment of Spring > Explosive Vegetation T3 > Nissa's Renewal > Part the Waterveil (Awakened)/Ugin/Ulamog
Some ramp > Ojutai/Dromoka/Ugin
Often times I side out the Part the Waterveil because, while it's good, I need to be even or ahead and does nothing to recover a bad board-state. I figure the bright thing to do is cut Ulamog but I can't really call myself Gx Ramp without Ulamogs. The lands are also in a spot where I don't know if I like them and I was looking for input.
2 Dragonlord Dromoka
3 Part the Waterveil
3 Nissa's Pilgrimage
3 Nissa's Renewal
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
3 Embodiment of Spring
3 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
2 Flooded Strand
6 Forest
5 Island
2 Canopy Vista
2 Prairie Stream
3 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
3 Windswept Heath
4 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
2 Kiora, Master of the Depths
3 Explosive Vegetation
3 Planar Outburst
2 Plains
3 Gideon's Reproach
3 Surge of Righteousness
1 Void Winnower
3 Negate
3 Dispel
I messed up because I thought Conduit of Ruin tutored the colorless creature to your hand but ruining my draws for an Ulamog I couldn't cast yet was bad. I fixed up the manabase a bit with fetches and battlelands and have only had 1 game where I had numerous dead ramp spells. Dragonlord Ojutai is a quick clock that can get absurd with extra turns. My sideboard is highly control/aggro based and I am thinking of turning the Gideon's Reproach into Horribly Awry.
3 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
2 Dragonlord Dromoka
3 Embodiment of Spring
4 Rattleclaw Mystic
3 Kiora, Master of Depths
3 Nissa's Pilgrimage
3 Explosive Vegetation
3 Nissa's Renewal
4 Part the Waterveil
5 Island
1 Plains
3 Prairie Stream
4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
4 Windswept Heath
Aggro is still next to impossible but Abzan Aggro gets better because I can set up life gain so I'm not dead to a rhino. 10 mana is the magic number that I need in my deck so I can awaken Part the Waterveil + Swing with my 6/6. I try to stick a threat before awakening but it doesn't always succeed.
My ramp threats are a little light, as you can tell. I ran Embodiment because Wild Slash is absolutely rampant and against aggro I'll often wait to pop it and if they use Draconic Roar then that's a Rattleclaw Mystic and Nissa that doesn't die.
For my sideboard I currently have this but don't like it:
3 Negate
4 Surge of Righteousness
3 Gaea's Revenge
1 Void Winnower
I want more staying power against aggro and Jaddi Offshoots proved poor in testing because I never got to block with them. Surge is primarily for red aggro and RB Control so I stopped auto-losing to Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury.
4x Courser of Kruphix
4x Deathmist Raptor
3x Den Protector
2x Dragonlord Atarka
4x Elvish Mystic
3x Genesis Hydra
1x Hornet Queen
2x Nissa, Vastwood Seer Flip
3x Rattleclaw Mystic
4x Sylvan Caryatid
3x Whisperwood Elemental
2x Woodland Bellower
2x Mountain
4x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4x Temple of Abandon
4x Wooded Foothills
3x Xenagos, the Reveler
1x Gaea's Revenge
3x Hornet Nest
1x Hornet Queen
2x Nissa, Worldwaker
3x Nylea's Disciple
2x Plummet
2x Reclamation Sage
1x Seismic Rupture
Round 1 - Abzan Control (Languish + End Hostilities)
I won the die roll and ended up hitting Woodland Bellowers on Turn 4 after a Turn 3 Xenagos. He kills my Bellower and Languishes my field but Xenagos puts pressure on too quickly. Sideboard I added Nissa Worldwaker, Gaea's Revenge. I get stomped Game 2 after he goes Elspeth into Languish. Game 3 he misses a color and between a T5 Atarka, a Nissa Worldwaker, and a Gaea's Revenge, he scoops. 2-1 Win
Round 2 - Red/Black Goblins
Game 1 I'm able to stabilize with 3 Courser of Kruphix and seal the deal after landing an Atarka. I knew he was on the Obelisk of Urd plan so I sided in Seismic Rupture, Reclamation Sage, Hornet Nest and Nylea's Disciple and took out Xenagos and Rattleclaw Mystic. Game 2 he relies on Obelisk and destroying it with Reclamation Sage plus Hornet Nest into Bellower + Hornet Nest with Rabblemaster out seals the game. Game 3 he starts out with the 1 drop that makes creatures unable to block and 2 tokens, he Roasts my 2 back to back coursers and I'm sure I'm dead. I rip Seismic Rupture off the top and wipe him, stick a Whisperwood Elemental next turn, and win the game. 2-1 Win
Round 3 - Green/Black Elves (Collected Company)
This player is easily the best in the shop and Game 1 he assembles about 6 elves, gets out Dwynen, then double Shamans from a Company after my 2 Whisperwoods gummed up the board. I side in Seismic Rupture and Hornet Nest and take out Rattleclaw Mystic. I end up getting destroyed because he flips Nissa while throwing elves faster than I can get creatures. 0-2 Loss
Round 4 - Abzan Control (End Hostilities + Crux of Fate with Raptor/Protector package)
He gets Game 1 off using Dromoka's Command repeatedly to kill Courser and trading Raptors for Whisperwoods and recurring them until he stuck Elspeth. Game 2 I side Gaea's Revenge, Nissa Worldwaker. I manage to use Bellowers to recur Raptors faster than him and had two Hornet Queens with mana open in case he wiped the field. Game 3 I won off 3 Whisperwood Elementals. 2-1 Win
Round 5 - Abzan Aggro
This round was awkward because the guy helped pay my entry fee because my bank card was acting up. He wanted to split into Top 8 but I was 90% sure he'd miss anyways while winning this would put me in top seed. We play and I get him Game 1 after going Raptor into Xenagos into Whisperwood Elemental into Bellower + Raptor. Game 2 I side in Hornet Nest and Nissa Worldwaker and Gaea's Revenge. I snag out Gaea on Turn 5 and my opponent had to Abzam Charm it rather than drawing cards he needed. That combined with sticking a Hornet Nest got me the match. 2-0 win
Top 8 - Green/Black Elves (Chord Version)
I play a new player who is getting back into Standard. Game 1 he Shamans me to death after some elf beats with Dwynen backup. I side in Seismic Rupture and Hornet Nest and Nylea's Disciple and Reclamation Sage. Game 2 I manage to win because Atarka cleaned up a majority of his board and he had no flying answers. Game 3 gets interesting. He has Obelisk and enough elves to severely impact our boards. Between Hornet Queen and Xenagos and 2 Whisperwood Elementals, I had the board gummed up and he ended up throwing elves away to stop the board regrowing. I was waiting for Atarka to finish things but I onew waiting was asking to die to Shaman so I swung with Hornet Queen and threw every creature I had into blocks so she could clean up. 2-1 Win
Top 4 Green/White Devotion (Mastery)
Game 1 was my nut draw with Turn 3 Xenagos, Turn 4 Whisperwood Elemental, Turn 5 Atarka and the game was over. Game 2 I sided in Hornet Queen and Reclamation Sage. He builds an absurd board and with 2 Whisperwood Elemental and Mastery of the Unseen, he has an overwhelming board. I do also but he top-decks Polukranos, wipes my field with his monstrosity and alpha strikes me. Game 3 I had Turn 2 Deathmist Raptor, Turn 3 Xenagos, Turn 4 Woodland Bellower + Raptor while he's on 1 Courser. 2-1 Win
Finals Red/Black Dragons
This match was not happy at all because my friend declined to split after being goaded into playing after wanting to split initially. Game 1 ends oddly. He is at 8, I have a 2/2 Genesis Hydra (played to up devotion because I was missing lands) ans 2 Satyr tokens. I had a Xenagos on the top of my deck with a Genesis Hydra in my hand but only had 5 mana. I made an observation (because I'll mutter to myself when playing games) and my opponent scooped prematurely even though I didn't have it. I let him know and he got incredibly pissed and said rude remarks about my integrity, blah blah. Judge gave me the win so it was time for sideboard. I sided in Plummet and Nylea's Disciple and Hornet Queen and took out a Bellower and Rattleclaw Mystics because although he had removal spells, he was very aggressive with his creatures and removal. He sideboarded into Rabblemasters that gummed the ground while Stormbreath and a dashed Kolaghan mucked the air (I killed Stormbreath but Kolaghan stuck after he Thoughtseized my Queen). Game 3 I side in Hornet Nest and take out Elvish Mystic. I mull to a crappy 5, hoping to go Nissa, Courser, then Whisperwood Elemental. I hit Nissa and have 4 lands but my opponent Thoughtseized my Courser. With me being unable to get a 5th land, Kolaghan and Stormbreath kill me quickly.
Post thoughts - I've never topped a serious event like this so I was new to a lot of things. My success could be attributed to winning the die roll almost every game and being top seed but Bellower was always a 2 for 1 that either initiated a board wipe they were sitting on or made removal tricky despite beingthe most criticized card in the deck. Gaea's Revenge is no joke either, card was bonkers when it came out. Only changes I would make with my 77 is finding room for 4 Plummet and 2 Seismic Rupture. Every card did amazing and my deck was good to me. Long live devotion!
Against Abzan Round 2? Bile Blight, Ultimate Price, Silumgar's Scorn, an Ashiok and lands. Bile Blight took out a Fleecemane Lion but from there he slammed a Rakshasa Deathdealer with mana for numerous pumps and Ashiok ate a Downfall the next turn. The abzan deck was a collected company deck so it wasn't the more traditional version at least. Regardless, my jitters over the event were probably to blame and my opponents remarks didn't help me either. I'm pretty demoralized but I constantly find a way to come back every week so I'll just need to man up out of my slump.
I scrubbed out 0-2. Lost Round 1 to Abzan Megamorph. Game 1 I managed to stabilize into Ojutai after timing removal to hit Rakshasa Deathdealer, sided in Tasigur, Bile Blight, Foul Tongue Invocation, and Thoughtseize and died to him curving perfectly. Game 3 ended up a stalemate until Ugin cleared hia Rakshasa. I got him down to 1, he Collected Company for Anafenza on my end step and an attack with her and a top-decked Siege Rhino killed me.
Round 2 was against Atarka red but I didn't draw any Bile Blights and a Hall of Triumph killed me in the second game.
My opponent's attitude turned me off so much in the Abzan game that I bought a Siege Rhino to rip in half, dropped from the event, and I'm seriously contemplating selling my deck until Abzan rotates. I paid $25 to lose 0-2 (knocking me out of Top 8 contention where all the prizes were) and have nothing to show for it despite practicing for weeks. Screw Standard.
Unfortunately my card shop isn't selling cards the day of so I'm stuck with what I got. I added Tasigur to the board but cut an Ultimate Price (now I have 2 main, 1 Side) and a Self-Inflicted Wound (2 in the side). If you could sculpt a good opening 7 against Abzan, what would it look like to you?
If I decided to up my white sources to try to play Glare, what mana changes would you advise?
This is my new sideboard going forward:
2 Ultimate Price
2 Drown in Sorrow
2 Bile Blight
2 Glare of Heresy
3 Self Inflicted Wound
1 Thoughtseize
1 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Negate
Mainboard I did -1 Bile Blight and +1 Dragonlord Silumgar. I think losing 1 Bile Blight isn't the biggest deal and in my opinion, Bile is only amazing against Atarka Red. Duress doesn't hit everything that I want and 4 Thoughtseize post board feels more powerful than 3 Thoughtseize and 2 Duress so I made that change. I took the advice of you and the other poster so I'm running a foul tongue in my sideboard and a whopping 4 Ultimate Price between my 75. I'm not confident enough to outright cut the Glares but this tweak feels appropriate. Plus with the new Dragonlord that makes 5 dragons mainboard since ugin does not count sadly.