I've been crushing in TP on MTGO. And have 3-2 and 4-1 records in the 2 league runs I did with this deck.
Since there's a few differences with mine. I'll talk about some of those selections:
First, I'll address that it's 4 Colors... When I put it together - I thought it might be ambitious to have cards of 4 different colors in the 75. But in 30-40 matches - I've yet to run into issues casting cards (and i've faced some land destruction decks as well as people who stupidly bring in blood moon). I guess part of the reason is only 7 of the 75 require a color other than red.
Second, Champion of Wits. Is basically just a flashed back Faithless Looting with a body and it's own flash back like ability. In one match - I've been able to become immense it as it came into play which will almost never happen again; but when it does - it's nice to draw 8 cards lol
Third, Skaab Ruinator. Is not as light on casting cost as a Delve creature. However, the fact it can be cast from the graveyard (and thus a pitch target), and that it has flying, is what makes me currently value it over a Delve Creature.
Fourth, Flamewake Phoenix. I've seen this suggested here. So I don't think I have to cover it much. With all the 4+ bodies - it's very easy to recur. And I've won more games with 1-3 Flamewake doing the beatdown work than any other card in the deck.
Fifth, Bloodrage Brawler. Another 4+ body to recu the Flamewake that I just pitched to cast it. Or maybe we pitched Vengevine to him and faithless loot and get Hollow one for Free to recur Vengevine. Etc.
Sixth, Greater Gargadon. The good thing about suspend cards is that they are "cast" for free once the last time counter is removed. The bad thing about them is almost none of them become free of their suspend chains until turn 5. Greater Gargadon isn't much different (I don't think I've ever cast him before turn 5). But he has a few interesting interactions with this deck. 1) He allows us to save our creatures from Path/Anger or any removal (just sac them to his ability.) 2) He fills the graveyard with lands/creatures as needed. 3) If we draw more than 1 - the additional copies become easy discard fodder. 4) He interacts great with Flamewake or even Vengevine (if you have enough to recur him).
Seventh, Mogg Fanatic. Taking the place of Guide here. Outside of a Trigger for Vine - Can get rid of x/1's and fill the graveyard with another body if needed.
Eighth, Slaughter Games. I added this to the deck after my 4-1 run. I lost the final match to Ad Nauseam. I also lost one of the 3-2 matches against UR Storm. Slaughter Games is effective in both matchups (probably one of the most effective cards against both decks; especially since it can't be countered).
Just another deck; and a few more ideas to consider. I've been playing pretty much all versions though (including the Griselbrand/Vengeance version.)
I'm really in love with HollowVine decks right now. They're in such a good place in a meta full of removal and discard (both of which lose a lot of their effectiveness against us). And the fact I'm able to win games through graveyard hate isn't bad either. I played a match last night against a Grixis Delver deck. And I could feel the guys rage generating through the computer.... He threw everything he had my way; but absolutely nothing he did worked or mattered.
Quote from Skitzafreak »
Finally, I have a question for everyone. I may be able to record and upload some video of MTGO while I am at school, but those videos will not have commentary to them. Would you still be interested in watching? Would you want me to put music or something in the background? Or should I just record it with silence and you can add background noise yourself?
I don't know what your reasoning for not doing commentary is - but in general - videos without commentary get a lot less views. Even if obvious - people enjoy hearing why you're making moves you are and your thoughts while sideboarding, etc. If going the silent route - I'd go with example videos (of interactions, etc) instead of full matches (exception is if you 5-0 a tournament or something). That might be better to watch for viewers.
On the topic of Opals - they're the only reason I'm not trying out the gobots build right now. I'm not spending close to 200 tickets on a playset that could potentially be reprinted in a couple of months. I don't think they'll be banned if cheerios becomes a thing (it really hasn't yet despite all the hype). But if they aren't reprinted - I'll consider picking up a playset. However, if I had a playset – I’d be selling them into the hype.
Now for news: I have played 3 tournaments/leagues over the last 2 weeks on MTGO with a mono-red version of my turn 3 build.
Results:
3-2
4-1 (my final match was against Scapeshift which is normally a free win; but he crashed my dreams of 5-0 with sweepers galore)
3-2
I would go over each match; but that's a little more work than I feel like doing right now. I also can’t watch replays of the first 3-2 on MTGO because it was done before Revolt came out; and thus – I get an error when I try to watch the replays.
So I'll just post the deck (there's major changes I was trying out) and some notes:
Notes:
- I’ve removed Goblin Piledriver for right now to avoid situations where I can’t cast him during turn 1 or 2. I just noticed he gums up my hand a lot.
- Spark Elemental instead of Legion Loyalist? In this build – I feel like it might be the better call. In any other build – not so much so. Spark basically deals 6 damage off of a Fury cycle. I might figure out how to get Loyalist into the SB though for matchups against creature heavy decks.
- I tried out one Quest for Pure Flame; which in theory would do good in this deck. It is hit or miss. But of the 20+ games I won; it was only directly responsible for 2 wins (both in matches I eventually lost).
- Sylvok Lifestaff was a new addition to the sideboard. And…. It won me a matchup against burn and I brought it in against a zooish deck as well but never saw it.
- The reason I ran mono-red instead of the RW Kytheon version is mostly because of Fury. In a deck with a Fury plan: Memnite and Mutagenic Growth are basically required. Having 8 non-red cards is pushing it; but 10-11 is basically a recipe against having the fuel to push Fury.
- Another reason is that I take a lot less self-damage now. Which is relevant when playing against other fast decks such as burn.
- Final note: One of my wins in the final tournament came against WG Tron. I won game 1 pretty easily on turn 3. And he just conceded the match. I don’t know if he was on tilt or what; but first time I’ve ever seen that in a tournament setting.
- Overall – I walk away with 6 free Treasure Chests (18-20 tickets) and did good enough in each tournament to get my entry fee back in points. That's 4 straight tournaments entered where i finished above 50% win rate playing a turn 3 variant.
REDMAGE! THE LEGEND! (fanboy falls out of chair) Where the hell have you been good sir?! Goblins has evolved to be quite the power house during you long hiatus. Your turn three Chancellor & Furry combo helped me spawn Gobots. Ultimately, your combo pieces were removed to add more consistency to the deck. And, thanks to some powerful releases as of late Gobots has proven to win and win consistently. If that wasn't already good enough, we just hit another surge of great cards that seem to work well with Gobots. We are all waiting for some more Traditional Goblin cards to make a showing. Come on Wizards! lol But, in the mean time I can't wait to see how your signature deck evolves and anything else you brew up. -Cheers
Great news on Goblins gaining power Spec! And thanks for the welcome!
Yeah, I haven't been keeping up with Goblins in the last 6 months or so (which is weird for the guy who used to run a modern goblins website to admit). But I've played against it a few times. Never really saw the version that seems to be being talked about the last few pages here - but I did see someone running Bomat Courier in a traditional build. And it made sense to me that it should be included in my version.
I got kind of tired of playing goblins after a couple years of either modern or pauper goblins. So took a break. But today's decent showing in the tournament kind of gave me the itch to start playing goblins again.
I'll be away this weekend; but starting next week - I'll begin going over the pages and trying out many of the new ideas laid out. Maybe I'll continue to tune the Turn 3 version; or maybe I'll find your gobot deck (or another deck listed) to be better; time will tell. But I'm looking forward to crushing skulls with the little guys again!
Been a while fellas. Hi to all those who remember me. Been away from Goblins for a while as I've been working on mana wall based decks for the last 6 months or so. But this morning - I felt like taking my Turn 3 Speed Goblins into a MTGO league. Ended up going 3-2 (which gets you your entrance fee back + a treasure chest).
Sideboard was thrown together (aka: not at all optimized). But I did bring Boros Charm in just about every matchup. I don't think that means it belongs in the main deck; because the main reason I'm bringing it in is to combat sweepers. But it definitely belongs in the SB.
Match 1 (2-1) Vs. Grixis Delver. Game 1 he basically had removal for every creature I dropped. Game 2, I killed him on turn 3 with a chancellor token, legion loyalist and kicked Bushwhacker and that's with Fury of the Horde + 2 red cards in hand to pitch if needed. Game 3, he stopped a turn 3 kill by angering the gods. I was out of creatures and he was down to 8. I drew Kytheon and played him with Boros Charm and Goblin Grenade in hand. I draw Chancelor of the Forge and he Vendilion Clique's me when I attack which prompts me to cast Boros Charm (this loses my ability to make Kytheon indestructible but seemded worth it) . He for whatever reason chooses not to take any cards out of my hand and leaves the Goblin Grenade. He then casts Tasigur and on my turn Cryptic Commands my Foundry Street Denizen I tried to cast. This told me he must have more counters because wasting a counter on Foundry while you have Tasigur in play seemed bad. However, on my next turn I drew Legion Loyalist; played him and my opponent conceded.
Match 2 (1-2) Vs. Goblins! This is actually a really bad matchup for me. Any deck that produces enough creatures to block my dudes will eventually be able to take over the game. However, I think a lot of it came down to who went first. He went first games 1 and 3. I went first game 2. We won each game we went first in.
Match 3 (0-2) Vs. Burn This wasn't really a match and was a terrible matchup. I did 7 total damage in both games (he dealt a lot more than that to himself with Revel/Fetch lands).
Match 4 (2-1) Vs. Scapeshift Won game 1 on turn 3 with Chancellor token, Goblin Guide, Legion Loyalist, Goblin Bushwhacker kicked and Fury. He wins games 2 by me having to mulligan to 5 (something that is basically an auto lose for this deck) and hitting triple Valk and getting a Titan in play dealing lethal. Game 3, I killed him on turn 5 through not 1, but 2 Anger of the Gods.
Match 5 (2-0) Vs. UW Control Game 1 - he never played a card other than Wall of Omens. And I killed him on turn 4. Game 2 - I killed him on turn 3, but I will note it was with the help of 3 Chancellor Tokens. I feel like this is a great matchup since they're relying on Supreme Verdict to stop us; which if the deck does what it's supposed to - they'll never see a turn 4.
I was testing Bomat Courier out and think I like him enough to up the count of him. He has good synergy with this deck since we are running Chancellor and Fury (Chancellor is a dead card unless it's in our opening hand - Fury is a dead card unless we have 2 cards to pitch to it)
Anyway, I'll probably run it back through league again with a few minor tweaks to the main board and major tweaks to the sideboard. The fact both of my loses came to other aggro decks makes me think something like the pauper favorite Sylvok Lifestaff might be a good call.
1. Duskwatch Recruiter has been way better than I expected. I tried him as an expirement; but he is staying in the deck for sure. There have been multiple games where I had tons of mana by turn 4 and used his ability to get to a Craterhoof (or a Hydra into a Craterhoof.). He can get tutored via Bellower; so a 1-of is perfect.
And he is absolutely amazing if he's not removed/flipped. Definitely have been trying to figure out how to get him and Abbey into Devotion without watering it down. 1 of with Bellower seems like the correct move.
What are the pros of playing Genesis Hydra over Genesis Wave, I see a lot of you guys playing hydra over wave and i just don't see why. It only hits one permanent and can't hit lands. It also can't just win on the spot like wave can. Enlighten me please
1 strong reason I prefer it - while the body can be countered - the effect cannot.
Another reason: Any effect that can search for creatures or get creatures off the top of your deck, etc - can grab Hydra but not Wave.
Another reason: Hydra adds to devotion.
Another reason: Hyrda has a body attached.
Those are just a few reasons; could probably come up with 10 more. As well as 10+ for Wave over Hydra. They are both good; but probably belong in different decks.
So, I’ve been pushing the mono-green devotion/Tooth and Nail decks since I saw a version of it pop up about 6-8 months ago. Playing a lot of my matches in tournament practice room on MTGO - it seems everyone builds their decks to kill x/1, x/2, x/3 creatures. Thus, Voyaging Satyr and Arbor Elf normally were just “Eat Lighting bolt” fodder. AKA: The deck seems to fail when everyone likes to build their decks around the idea of controlling creature with “Deal 1, 2, 3 damage” type spells.
I decided to do something cute and drastic. Replace most of the regular ramp cards with walls that are “lightning bolt proof”. The results have been great (definitely winning 60%ish, and recently went 3-2 in league play). I’ve went from a mono-green budget version. To a Gruul version. To a current Selesnya version.
Here’s the deck I’m currently playing with. But note: the decklist changes about 2 times a week (little tweaks to about 5-10 cards; the base 50ish cards remain the same).
I don’t think I need to explain most cards. But let me explain the few I probably need to:
Perimeter Captain – Completely shuts down a lot of aggro strategies that don’t include fatties. I like to call him Stall Captain; as one of him will buy you a few turns against aggro. And multiples of him will normally buy you as much time as you need.
Staff of Domination – I have a stupid little deck that revolves around getting 5 or more +1/+1 counters on Gyre Sage or 4 +1/+1 counters on Viridian Joiner with Staff of Domination in play to go infinite with life/card draw. The deck is pretty bad (again because of all the 1,2,3 damage removal out there) but playing it has convinced me that Staff of Domination is not. It’s basically a jack of all trades card; and it works great in a deck that’s also a jack of all trades deck. It's a bonus that if you get this down with Overgrown + 4 creatures with defender, you can pull off the infinite combo. But I don't think that will happen enough to be relevant.
Mwonvuli Acid-Moss – I played pauper exclusively for a couple years and stole the wall base + these guys from Mono-Green Post. Ironically they’re here mostly because of the Modern equivalent to post… Tron. But not only are they good against Tron, they tend to be good against a lot of decks in modern as decks in modern like to cheat on mana and fixing (aka: we’re also very good against the stock version tooth and nail mirror). The ramp is pretty cool too.
Beast Within – Most of the walls can handle a 3/3 just fine. Beast Within is normally a liability to play but with this many blockers – it’s not nearly as bad.
The biggest threats to this deck are combo decks, infect, and control. So the sideboard is mostly dedicated to stopping those strategies.
It might look like overkill to have this many SB dedicated to stopping counterspells; but the MTGO tournament practice and 2-man rooms are cluttered with UW control decks – and they are vicious against the base deck. My strategy goes from pulling off the combo to getting either a Choke, or a Thrun to stick (and making sure I always have 2 mana up for regenerating through a Supreme Verdict).
Just throwing this out there as yet another version of mono-green devotion that may be worth looking into further. Try it out, make suggestions to try out, etc.
Sorry for the delay. My work has mtgsalvation blocked now so it never really occurs to me to get on here. I forgot I posted this; but was actually looking for my old decklist so googled this.
Yes, I'm still playing this deck. Yes, it's still winning. Funny Story: I decided to try to build this to be non-budget. It was GW(r) colors. Deck was about 200 tickets. And it performed MUCH worse than this silly budget version. So scraped the multi-colored version and am back to the old budget version. There's just something good about the simplicity of it.
Interesting observation: It's actually way cheaper (on mtgo) than it was when I posted this. It looks like it'll cost about 25 tickets now!
I'd guess my win % in some 200ish matches is close to 60% with it. As far as the comments:
Treetop Village Doesn't seem like a bad ideal. Will play around with 1-2; however, a little concerned about the "comes into play tapped" condition. There's SO MANY times that I'm on 8 mana with Tooth and Nail in my hand and need to top deck a forest. But I can see the reach it has. I also have considered Westvale Abbey.
Banefire as an extra wincon might be cool against counterspell decks. So I will consider it in my sideboard. We aren't normally hitting 10+ mana by the end of the game unless it's against a control deck; so that's why I don't want it in the mainboard.
carven caryatid is in my main build right now. Just as a 2 of. Comes out in a lot of matchups but is a real house in others.
The rest of the suggestions are cards I've already tried and didn't like or cards I don't see as having a place here. My current build:
I've been toying with this deck for about a week. In that time I've managed to go 11-2 with it on MTGO Tournament Practice. It basically uses mana producing walls + land destruction to stall games and produce enough mana to drop Tooth and Nail into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn + Xenagos, God of Revels (which has won everytime I've played it). I basically merged a pauper deck (mono green tron/post) with a modern deck (tooth and nail) and so far it's worked well.
On MTGO: 39 Tickets (10+ of that is Wall of Roots, which can be replaced with Vine Trellis for only a minor lose in consistency.)
This deck has amazing matchups against some of the top decks. Tron and Eldrazi to start with. Lots of aggro decks try to cheat on land (running 16-19) and I've ended a lot of games against them just by removing all their mana sources.
This is my second build. I originally had Assault Formation in the deck but it's really awkward to draw in a lot of games. Yes, it's cute to win with occasionally - but those wins were less frequent than needed to justify it's inclusion. That version of the deck is buried.
Questions? Suggestions? Comments?
All welcome.
Also: I read an article not too long ago written by a pro with rules for a ramp deck (stuff like "creatures must be able to survive board wipes", "must be able to stall game against faster decks" and "your win condition must be a guaranteed win condition to be worth ramping into") I was going to use that article to show how this deck was built, but cannot seem to find it now. Does anyone have any idea of the article I am referencing. Think it was written by Nvi.
Ok, so I got a chance yesterday to take Goblins through an 8 man, went 3-0 with it. But I'm going to be honest - I lucked out on the matchups. All were pretty much non-interactive in the "early" game decks. Here's what I was running
In match 1: I faced WB Eldrazi. Went 2-0 against him. Game 1: All he played was lands. Killed him on turn 3 game (Fury of the Horde after a sacing 3 lands to Devastating Summons + Reckless Bushwhacker).
Sided in: 1X Boros Charm. 1X Path to Exile. Sided out: 1X Fury of the Horde. 1X Mutagenic Growth. Game 2: I mulligan to 6. See Mountain on top - scry it to bottom as I have 3 lands in hand. He casts duress against me turn 1 (Im not sure why he has duress in a deck against goblins. Seems bad.) I'm holding 2 Goblin Guides and a FSD. That was about all he did. I drew Kytheon my next turn; goblin grenade the turn after that, and he was dead on turn 4.
In match 2: I faced WB Eldrazi again! Went 2-0 against him as well. Game 1: Was much like game 1 against the deck above. Except I think it was a turn 4 kill.
Sided in: 1X Boros Charm. 1X Path to Exile. Sided out: 1X Fury of the Horde. 1X Mutagenic Growth. Game 2: This one was a lot more tricky and it was bad playing on his part that won it for me.
His turn 1: He thoughtsiezes me. Sees Sacred Foundry X3. Mutagenic Growth. Foundry Street. Reckless Bushwhacker. Goblin Guide. He takes Goblin Guide.
My Turn 1: I draw Boros Charm. Play Foundry Street and pass the turn.
His turn 2: Plays a land and passes.
My Turn 2: I draw Fury of the Horde. I could Mutagenic on FSD and cast Reckless and swing for 12 with Fury. But I don't want to risk his having removal for FSD. So i attack for 1 and pass.
His turn 3: He plays Blight Herder (i have nothing in exile.)
My Turn 3: I cast Goblin Bushwhacker unkicked. Then cast Reckless Bushwhacker. Swing with all 3. He blocks my 4/1 Foundry with Blight Herder. I Mutagenic Foundry killing them both. He takes 4 and is down to 13.
His turn 4: He plays Ruin Processor. (again, i have nothing in exile.)
My turn 4: I draw and play Kytheon. I have Goblin Bushwhacker and Reckless Bushwhacker in play. But i pass the turn rather than attack.
His turn 5: He plays a land. Thinks for a while and then passes the turn.
My turn 5: I draw Simian Spirit Guide. I attack with all 3 of my creatures. He blocks Kytheon with Processor. I make Kytheon indestructible. He takes 3 from the bushwhackers. Kytheon flips. I make Reckless indestructible.
His turn 6: He plays Ulamog the Ceaseless Hunger. He exiles my flipped Kytheon & Goblin Bushwhacker (instead of Reckless which is mistake #1.) Then he passes the turn to me.
My turn 6: I draw Goblin Bushwhacker. I play Simian Spirit Guide and pass the turn.
His Turn 7: On his turn he attacks with both of his creatures (mistake #2, since he didn't do anything else and left the field open.). I block Ulamog with SSG so that i don't die.
My Turn 7: I draw Chancellor of the Forge. Kick Goblin Bushwhacker. Swing for 5. He doesn't respond which shows me he has no answer. So I pitch Boros Charm and Chancellor to Fury and swing for another 5. Game over.
Match 3: Beat Ad Nauseum 2-1.
Game 1: Steamrolled him on turn 3. Had 2 goblin guides, 3 memnites and a kicked bushwhacker coming his way.
Sided in: 2X Wear / Tear, 2X Skullcrack.
Game 2: He managed to drag out long enough with Pherexian Unlife and Angel's Grace to combo off.
Game 3: Was intense. On turn 3 - I attack with all my guys; it's more than enough to do lethal. He casts Angel's Grace and has Leyline of Sanctity in play. I have Skullcrack, Lightning Bolt, and Wear / Tear in my hand. I realize at that point that Skullcrack is bad in this matchup. It cannot stop angel's grace or Unlife (neither prevent damage). If my opponent happens to be playing Darkness - it can stop that, but not all Nauseum players play darkness. But i devise a plan. I Tear his Leyline of Sanctity on my turn with 1 mana untapped. He attempts to play Pherexian Unlife on his turn. I lightning bolt him; he concedes. GG.
Note: I quit playing Mono-Red and went back to Boros. I've been having way more success with it, which prompted me to enter the 8 man!
Note 2: I constantly think Fury of the Horde isn't good enough since it's a dead card about 50% of the time. But when analyzing results. It is responsible for a lot of kills. And a lot of them come out of nowhere on an unsuspecting opponent.
Note 3: This is my 6th 8 man I've taken goblins to. Since it's single elimination now - some of those are 0 and exits, some 1-1's. 2 where i went 2-1. But this is my first 3-0.
Note 4: I think I'm about ready to take this thing to a daily. Hopefully draw into matches vs. Eldrazi, Tron & Ad Nauseum. Hopefully avoid any kind of Izzet control or lifegain decks.
Note 5: I cheated a bit on the lands, but that's because I am running 8 2 drops instead of 10. It was never really a factor in any game.
I never make people play out their combos unless they're already showing themselves to be a super slow player. But it's not really a jerk move to do that.
I do have a similar story though but I was on the other end of a misclick. I don't remember the exact card as it was at least a year ago. But was playing some 8 man and one of the cards I played didn't trigger the way I expected it to. I 'thought' it was bugged as I had never played the card before. Basically it would have dealt the final damage to my opponent. But instead he was down to 1. I told him the card was bugged, that it didn't ask me who i wanted to target, and asked him to concede. He did (he didn't say anything in chat; he simply conceded).
On a sidenote: I compltely agree with the person who said that mtgo players seem to being the slowest ccg players on earth. I play a few other card games online (hearthstone and shadow era.) And it's amazing how much slower the average MTGO games takes vs. those games. I like to think it's because of all those pros who tell people to take their time and make the right play (but it's probably just people who can't make quick decisions).
Yeah Jwelt, that is terrible luck in your report. Flooding feels impossible when you look at the mana base; but it certainly happens. To have it happen like that - is terrible. I will say that playing 8 cantrips might contribute to that bad luck.
I played Goblins for the first time in 2 weeks yesturday on MTGO. I went 4-5 with the speed build. And 1-3 with mono-red lord goblins.
The meta on MTGO is TONS of decks that seem designed to beat creature strategies. Lots of people who turned their Splinter Twin decks into UR/b control decks. UW control seems to be on the rise too; although it's easier to beat than UR control (since UR has so many 2 for 1 cards).
Ad Nauseum is getting big online; seems to be the new "go to" combo deck. That's a good matchup imo; 2 of my 5 wins came against it (it beat me once too).
Reckless hits MTGO on Friday, so I'll get a chance to try him out. I feel like he's not as good as we originally thought though. 2 max will be going in my builds and that might end up being 1 or 0 by the end of it all.
AS far as Manamorphose vs. Gitaxian Probe vs. Mutagenic Growth. I prefer Gitaxian Probe 100% over Manamorphose. It's free and gives you information vs. 2 mana and some mana fixing.
Gitaxian Probe vs. Mutagenic is mostly build based. Mutagenic is better in builds with some mix of Swiftspear, Piledriver, Lords, and Fury. Gitaxian is probably more appropriate in all others (because all Mutagenic can save is Guide).
The biggest problem I'm having with sideboard with the turn 3 version is I can't decide that u want to sideboard at all. Anything I side in to disrupt my opponent means I am playing that much slower as well. I often feel like I just need to beat them first.ie if I'm on the play and can kill the twin player on turn 4 or turn 3 on the draw then I just win. If not I'm not sure disrupting their combo really helps me that much to get the eventual win.
I tend to only bring in SB cards if it's an absolute bomb against that deck. Or if the deck is a bad matchup without the sideboard card(s).
Example: Affinity card get down bigger blockers at the same speed we can get down goblins.
I find Shattering Spree + Forked Bolt can handle most of the blockers, and move the power back in our favor.
But for the most part - I bring in 1-2 sideboard cards a match; and take out something like 1 Mutagenic/1 Fury.
@ jwelt - I like your second list a lot. Might get around to trying it out today. Maybe even with a singleton Become Immense. As far as merging the two lists (that a couple of people are suggesting) - all I can suggest to people is to not play Chancellor of the Forge with Cantrips. It's in the deck because there's only something like a 5% chance of drawing it by turn 3 if it's not in our opening hand. Each Cantrip will bring that % up 2% or so.
As far as the bannings:
Kind of disappointed in the Twin banning. It was a good matchup for me.
Summer Bloom being banned is great though.
I'm going to predict a rise in lifegain decks unfortunately. A lot of them were held down by both of these decks.
Unrelated side note: Cloud of Faeries being banned in pauper might bright me back to that format.
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Steam Vents
2 Stomping Ground
4 Wooded Foothills
SPELLS
1 Become Immense
3 Cathartic Reunion
4 Faithless Looting
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Temur Battle Rage
2 Bloodrage Brawler
1 Champion of Wits
3 Flamewake Phoenix
4 Greater Gargadon
4 Hollow One
4 Insolent Neonate
3 Mogg Fanatic
1 Skaab Ruinator
4 Street Wraith
4 Vengevine
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Blood Moon
2 Destructive Revelry
2 Feed the Clan
1 Forest
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Slaughter Games
1 Stubborn Denial
I've been crushing in TP on MTGO. And have 3-2 and 4-1 records in the 2 league runs I did with this deck.
Since there's a few differences with mine. I'll talk about some of those selections:
First, I'll address that it's 4 Colors... When I put it together - I thought it might be ambitious to have cards of 4 different colors in the 75. But in 30-40 matches - I've yet to run into issues casting cards (and i've faced some land destruction decks as well as people who stupidly bring in blood moon). I guess part of the reason is only 7 of the 75 require a color other than red.
Second, Champion of Wits. Is basically just a flashed back Faithless Looting with a body and it's own flash back like ability. In one match - I've been able to become immense it as it came into play which will almost never happen again; but when it does - it's nice to draw 8 cards lol
Third, Skaab Ruinator. Is not as light on casting cost as a Delve creature. However, the fact it can be cast from the graveyard (and thus a pitch target), and that it has flying, is what makes me currently value it over a Delve Creature.
Fourth, Flamewake Phoenix. I've seen this suggested here. So I don't think I have to cover it much. With all the 4+ bodies - it's very easy to recur. And I've won more games with 1-3 Flamewake doing the beatdown work than any other card in the deck.
Fifth, Bloodrage Brawler. Another 4+ body to recu the Flamewake that I just pitched to cast it. Or maybe we pitched Vengevine to him and faithless loot and get Hollow one for Free to recur Vengevine. Etc.
Sixth, Greater Gargadon. The good thing about suspend cards is that they are "cast" for free once the last time counter is removed. The bad thing about them is almost none of them become free of their suspend chains until turn 5. Greater Gargadon isn't much different (I don't think I've ever cast him before turn 5). But he has a few interesting interactions with this deck. 1) He allows us to save our creatures from Path/Anger or any removal (just sac them to his ability.) 2) He fills the graveyard with lands/creatures as needed. 3) If we draw more than 1 - the additional copies become easy discard fodder. 4) He interacts great with Flamewake or even Vengevine (if you have enough to recur him).
Seventh, Mogg Fanatic. Taking the place of Guide here. Outside of a Trigger for Vine - Can get rid of x/1's and fill the graveyard with another body if needed.
Eighth, Slaughter Games. I added this to the deck after my 4-1 run. I lost the final match to Ad Nauseam. I also lost one of the 3-2 matches against UR Storm. Slaughter Games is effective in both matchups (probably one of the most effective cards against both decks; especially since it can't be countered).
Just another deck; and a few more ideas to consider. I've been playing pretty much all versions though (including the Griselbrand/Vengeance version.)
I'm really in love with HollowVine decks right now. They're in such a good place in a meta full of removal and discard (both of which lose a lot of their effectiveness against us). And the fact I'm able to win games through graveyard hate isn't bad either. I played a match last night against a Grixis Delver deck. And I could feel the guys rage generating through the computer.... He threw everything he had my way; but absolutely nothing he did worked or mattered.
I don't know what your reasoning for not doing commentary is - but in general - videos without commentary get a lot less views. Even if obvious - people enjoy hearing why you're making moves you are and your thoughts while sideboarding, etc. If going the silent route - I'd go with example videos (of interactions, etc) instead of full matches (exception is if you 5-0 a tournament or something). That might be better to watch for viewers.
Now for news: I have played 3 tournaments/leagues over the last 2 weeks on MTGO with a mono-red version of my turn 3 build.
Results:
3-2
4-1 (my final match was against Scapeshift which is normally a free win; but he crashed my dreams of 5-0 with sweepers galore)
3-2
I would go over each match; but that's a little more work than I feel like doing right now. I also can’t watch replays of the first 3-2 on MTGO because it was done before Revolt came out; and thus – I get an error when I try to watch the replays.
So I'll just post the deck (there's major changes I was trying out) and some notes:
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Chancellor of the Forge
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Akki Avalanchers
4 Memnite
4 Spark Elemental
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Mutagenic Growth
3 Fury of the Horde
1 Quest for Pure Flame
3 Leyline of Punishment
3 Sylvok Lifestaff
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Forked Bolt
1 Electrickery
2 Shattering Spree
Notes:
- I’ve removed Goblin Piledriver for right now to avoid situations where I can’t cast him during turn 1 or 2. I just noticed he gums up my hand a lot.
- Spark Elemental instead of Legion Loyalist? In this build – I feel like it might be the better call. In any other build – not so much so. Spark basically deals 6 damage off of a Fury cycle. I might figure out how to get Loyalist into the SB though for matchups against creature heavy decks.
- I tried out one Quest for Pure Flame; which in theory would do good in this deck. It is hit or miss. But of the 20+ games I won; it was only directly responsible for 2 wins (both in matches I eventually lost).
- Sylvok Lifestaff was a new addition to the sideboard. And…. It won me a matchup against burn and I brought it in against a zooish deck as well but never saw it.
- The reason I ran mono-red instead of the RW Kytheon version is mostly because of Fury. In a deck with a Fury plan: Memnite and Mutagenic Growth are basically required. Having 8 non-red cards is pushing it; but 10-11 is basically a recipe against having the fuel to push Fury.
- Another reason is that I take a lot less self-damage now. Which is relevant when playing against other fast decks such as burn.
- Final note: One of my wins in the final tournament came against WG Tron. I won game 1 pretty easily on turn 3. And he just conceded the match. I don’t know if he was on tilt or what; but first time I’ve ever seen that in a tournament setting.
- Overall – I walk away with 6 free Treasure Chests (18-20 tickets) and did good enough in each tournament to get my entry fee back in points. That's 4 straight tournaments entered where i finished above 50% win rate playing a turn 3 variant.
Great news on Goblins gaining power Spec! And thanks for the welcome!
Yeah, I haven't been keeping up with Goblins in the last 6 months or so (which is weird for the guy who used to run a modern goblins website to admit). But I've played against it a few times. Never really saw the version that seems to be being talked about the last few pages here - but I did see someone running Bomat Courier in a traditional build. And it made sense to me that it should be included in my version.
I got kind of tired of playing goblins after a couple years of either modern or pauper goblins. So took a break. But today's decent showing in the tournament kind of gave me the itch to start playing goblins again.
I'll be away this weekend; but starting next week - I'll begin going over the pages and trying out many of the new ideas laid out. Maybe I'll continue to tune the Turn 3 version; or maybe I'll find your gobot deck (or another deck listed) to be better; time will tell. But I'm looking forward to crushing skulls with the little guys again!
Here's what I ran:
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Mountain
4 Foundry Street Denizen
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Goblin Guide
4 Legion Loyalist
3 Goblin Piledriver
4 Chancellor of the Forge
4 Simian Spirit Guide
2 Bomat Courier
2 Memnite
2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Mutagenic Growth
3 Fury of the Horde
1 Stingscourger
3 Leyline of Punishment
2 Forked Bolt
2 Dolmen Gate
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Boros Charm
2 Wear/Tear
1 Legion's Initiative
Sideboard was thrown together (aka: not at all optimized). But I did bring Boros Charm in just about every matchup. I don't think that means it belongs in the main deck; because the main reason I'm bringing it in is to combat sweepers. But it definitely belongs in the SB.
Match 1 (2-1) Vs. Grixis Delver. Game 1 he basically had removal for every creature I dropped. Game 2, I killed him on turn 3 with a chancellor token, legion loyalist and kicked Bushwhacker and that's with Fury of the Horde + 2 red cards in hand to pitch if needed. Game 3, he stopped a turn 3 kill by angering the gods. I was out of creatures and he was down to 8. I drew Kytheon and played him with Boros Charm and Goblin Grenade in hand. I draw Chancelor of the Forge and he Vendilion Clique's me when I attack which prompts me to cast Boros Charm (this loses my ability to make Kytheon indestructible but seemded worth it) . He for whatever reason chooses not to take any cards out of my hand and leaves the Goblin Grenade. He then casts Tasigur and on my turn Cryptic Commands my Foundry Street Denizen I tried to cast. This told me he must have more counters because wasting a counter on Foundry while you have Tasigur in play seemed bad. However, on my next turn I drew Legion Loyalist; played him and my opponent conceded.
Match 2 (1-2) Vs. Goblins! This is actually a really bad matchup for me. Any deck that produces enough creatures to block my dudes will eventually be able to take over the game. However, I think a lot of it came down to who went first. He went first games 1 and 3. I went first game 2. We won each game we went first in.
Match 3 (0-2) Vs. Burn This wasn't really a match and was a terrible matchup. I did 7 total damage in both games (he dealt a lot more than that to himself with Revel/Fetch lands).
Match 4 (2-1) Vs. Scapeshift Won game 1 on turn 3 with Chancellor token, Goblin Guide, Legion Loyalist, Goblin Bushwhacker kicked and Fury. He wins games 2 by me having to mulligan to 5 (something that is basically an auto lose for this deck) and hitting triple Valk and getting a Titan in play dealing lethal. Game 3, I killed him on turn 5 through not 1, but 2 Anger of the Gods.
Match 5 (2-0) Vs. UW Control Game 1 - he never played a card other than Wall of Omens. And I killed him on turn 4. Game 2 - I killed him on turn 3, but I will note it was with the help of 3 Chancellor Tokens. I feel like this is a great matchup since they're relying on Supreme Verdict to stop us; which if the deck does what it's supposed to - they'll never see a turn 4.
I was testing Bomat Courier out and think I like him enough to up the count of him. He has good synergy with this deck since we are running Chancellor and Fury (Chancellor is a dead card unless it's in our opening hand - Fury is a dead card unless we have 2 cards to pitch to it)
Anyway, I'll probably run it back through league again with a few minor tweaks to the main board and major tweaks to the sideboard. The fact both of my loses came to other aggro decks makes me think something like the pauper favorite Sylvok Lifestaff might be a good call.
I've been playing this list the last few days: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/articles/much-abrew-coco-walls-modern
And he is absolutely amazing if he's not removed/flipped. Definitely have been trying to figure out how to get him and Abbey into Devotion without watering it down. 1 of with Bellower seems like the correct move.
1 strong reason I prefer it - while the body can be countered - the effect cannot.
Another reason: Any effect that can search for creatures or get creatures off the top of your deck, etc - can grab Hydra but not Wave.
Another reason: Hydra adds to devotion.
Another reason: Hyrda has a body attached.
Those are just a few reasons; could probably come up with 10 more. As well as 10+ for Wave over Hydra. They are both good; but probably belong in different decks.
I decided to do something cute and drastic. Replace most of the regular ramp cards with walls that are “lightning bolt proof”. The results have been great (definitely winning 60%ish, and recently went 3-2 in league play). I’ve went from a mono-green budget version. To a Gruul version. To a current Selesnya version.
Here’s the deck I’m currently playing with. But note: the decklist changes about 2 times a week (little tweaks to about 5-10 cards; the base 50ish cards remain the same).
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Wall of Roots
1 Eternal Witness
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Primeval Titan
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Staff of Domination
1 Harmonize
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
2 Primal Command
4 Tooth and Nail
2 Beast Within
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
10 Forest
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
4 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
I don’t think I need to explain most cards. But let me explain the few I probably need to:
Perimeter Captain – Completely shuts down a lot of aggro strategies that don’t include fatties. I like to call him Stall Captain; as one of him will buy you a few turns against aggro. And multiples of him will normally buy you as much time as you need.
Staff of Domination – I have a stupid little deck that revolves around getting 5 or more +1/+1 counters on Gyre Sage or 4 +1/+1 counters on Viridian Joiner with Staff of Domination in play to go infinite with life/card draw. The deck is pretty bad (again because of all the 1,2,3 damage removal out there) but playing it has convinced me that Staff of Domination is not. It’s basically a jack of all trades card; and it works great in a deck that’s also a jack of all trades deck. It's a bonus that if you get this down with Overgrown + 4 creatures with defender, you can pull off the infinite combo. But I don't think that will happen enough to be relevant.
Mwonvuli Acid-Moss – I played pauper exclusively for a couple years and stole the wall base + these guys from Mono-Green Post. Ironically they’re here mostly because of the Modern equivalent to post… Tron. But not only are they good against Tron, they tend to be good against a lot of decks in modern as decks in modern like to cheat on mana and fixing (aka: we’re also very good against the stock version tooth and nail mirror). The ramp is pretty cool too.
Beast Within – Most of the walls can handle a 3/3 just fine. Beast Within is normally a liability to play but with this many blockers – it’s not nearly as bad.
The biggest threats to this deck are combo decks, infect, and control. So the sideboard is mostly dedicated to stopping those strategies.
1 Choke
2 Thrun, The Last Troll
1 Autumns Veil
1 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Trinisphere
2 Spellskite
1 Creeping Corrosion
2 Leyline of Lifeforce
1 Back to Nature
It might look like overkill to have this many SB dedicated to stopping counterspells; but the MTGO tournament practice and 2-man rooms are cluttered with UW control decks – and they are vicious against the base deck. My strategy goes from pulling off the combo to getting either a Choke, or a Thrun to stick (and making sure I always have 2 mana up for regenerating through a Supreme Verdict).
Just throwing this out there as yet another version of mono-green devotion that may be worth looking into further. Try it out, make suggestions to try out, etc.
Yes, I'm still playing this deck. Yes, it's still winning. Funny Story: I decided to try to build this to be non-budget. It was GW(r) colors. Deck was about 200 tickets. And it performed MUCH worse than this silly budget version. So scraped the multi-colored version and am back to the old budget version. There's just something good about the simplicity of it.
Interesting observation: It's actually way cheaper (on mtgo) than it was when I posted this. It looks like it'll cost about 25 tickets now!
I'd guess my win % in some 200ish matches is close to 60% with it. As far as the comments:
Treetop Village Doesn't seem like a bad ideal. Will play around with 1-2; however, a little concerned about the "comes into play tapped" condition. There's SO MANY times that I'm on 8 mana with Tooth and Nail in my hand and need to top deck a forest. But I can see the reach it has. I also have considered Westvale Abbey.
Banefire as an extra wincon might be cool against counterspell decks. So I will consider it in my sideboard. We aren't normally hitting 10+ mana by the end of the game unless it's against a control deck; so that's why I don't want it in the mainboard.
carven caryatid is in my main build right now. Just as a 2 of. Comes out in a lot of matchups but is a real house in others.
The rest of the suggestions are cards I've already tried and didn't like or cards I don't see as having a place here. My current build:
1 Mountain
2 Wall of Mulch
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Overgrown Battlement
4 Wall of Roots
2 Carven Caryatid
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Primal Command
4 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
1 Rolling Spoil
1 Plow Under
3 Harmonize
2 Utopia Sprawl
1 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Back to Nature
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Hornet Nest
1 Choke
2 Beast Within
2 Creeping Corrosion
1 Acidic Slime
2 Eyes of the Wisent
1 Seed Guardian
Hard matchups: Anything faster than we are (infect; elves; burn). Control decks (counterspell based and discard based.) And that's about it...
Eyes of the Wisent has been an absolute blessing against blue based control decks.
I still pretty much get devoured by black based control decks though. That and infect are probably my worst matchups.
Anything else and it's a coin toss or better in my favor.
Here's the deck:
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Tooth and Nail
3 Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
2 Rolling Spoil
2 Plow Under
1 Reap and Sow
3 Harmonize
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Wall of Roots
2 Wall of Mulch
2 Acidic Slime
2 Eternal Witness
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
On MTGO: 39 Tickets (10+ of that is Wall of Roots, which can be replaced with Vine Trellis for only a minor lose in consistency.)
This deck has amazing matchups against some of the top decks. Tron and Eldrazi to start with. Lots of aggro decks try to cheat on land (running 16-19) and I've ended a lot of games against them just by removing all their mana sources.
All the walls are lightning bolt proof and all but one can survive an anger of the gods sweeper.
This is my second build. I originally had Assault Formation in the deck but it's really awkward to draw in a lot of games. Yes, it's cute to win with occasionally - but those wins were less frequent than needed to justify it's inclusion. That version of the deck is buried.
Questions? Suggestions? Comments?
All welcome.
Also: I read an article not too long ago written by a pro with rules for a ramp deck (stuff like "creatures must be able to survive board wipes", "must be able to stall game against faster decks" and "your win condition must be a guaranteed win condition to be worth ramping into") I was going to use that article to show how this deck was built, but cannot seem to find it now. Does anyone have any idea of the article I am referencing. Think it was written by Nvi.
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Battlefield Forge
3 Mountain
1 Windswept Heath
2 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Goblin Guide
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Legion Loyalist
2 Foundry Street Denizen
2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
4 Chancellor of the Forge
4 Memnite
2 Goblin Piledriver
2 Reckless Bushwhacker
4 Mutagenic Growth
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Fury of the Horde
4 Goblin Grenade
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Forked Bolt
2 Skullcrack
3 Wear / Tear
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Path to Exile
3 Boros Charm
In match 1: I faced WB Eldrazi. Went 2-0 against him.
Game 1: All he played was lands. Killed him on turn 3 game (Fury of the Horde after a sacing 3 lands to Devastating Summons + Reckless Bushwhacker).
Sided in: 1X Boros Charm. 1X Path to Exile. Sided out: 1X Fury of the Horde. 1X Mutagenic Growth.
Game 2: I mulligan to 6. See Mountain on top - scry it to bottom as I have 3 lands in hand. He casts duress against me turn 1 (Im not sure why he has duress in a deck against goblins. Seems bad.) I'm holding 2 Goblin Guides and a FSD. That was about all he did. I drew Kytheon my next turn; goblin grenade the turn after that, and he was dead on turn 4.
In match 2: I faced WB Eldrazi again! Went 2-0 against him as well.
Game 1: Was much like game 1 against the deck above. Except I think it was a turn 4 kill.
Sided in: 1X Boros Charm. 1X Path to Exile. Sided out: 1X Fury of the Horde. 1X Mutagenic Growth.
Game 2: This one was a lot more tricky and it was bad playing on his part that won it for me.
His turn 1: He thoughtsiezes me. Sees Sacred Foundry X3. Mutagenic Growth. Foundry Street. Reckless Bushwhacker. Goblin Guide. He takes Goblin Guide.
My Turn 1: I draw Boros Charm. Play Foundry Street and pass the turn.
His turn 2: Plays a land and passes.
My Turn 2: I draw Fury of the Horde. I could Mutagenic on FSD and cast Reckless and swing for 12 with Fury. But I don't want to risk his having removal for FSD. So i attack for 1 and pass.
His turn 3: He plays Blight Herder (i have nothing in exile.)
My Turn 3: I cast Goblin Bushwhacker unkicked. Then cast Reckless Bushwhacker. Swing with all 3. He blocks my 4/1 Foundry with Blight Herder. I Mutagenic Foundry killing them both. He takes 4 and is down to 13.
His turn 4: He plays Ruin Processor. (again, i have nothing in exile.)
My turn 4: I draw and play Kytheon. I have Goblin Bushwhacker and Reckless Bushwhacker in play. But i pass the turn rather than attack.
His turn 5: He plays a land. Thinks for a while and then passes the turn.
My turn 5: I draw Simian Spirit Guide. I attack with all 3 of my creatures. He blocks Kytheon with Processor. I make Kytheon indestructible. He takes 3 from the bushwhackers. Kytheon flips. I make Reckless indestructible.
His turn 6: He plays Ulamog the Ceaseless Hunger. He exiles my flipped Kytheon & Goblin Bushwhacker (instead of Reckless which is mistake #1.) Then he passes the turn to me.
My turn 6: I draw Goblin Bushwhacker. I play Simian Spirit Guide and pass the turn.
His Turn 7: On his turn he attacks with both of his creatures (mistake #2, since he didn't do anything else and left the field open.). I block Ulamog with SSG so that i don't die.
My Turn 7: I draw Chancellor of the Forge. Kick Goblin Bushwhacker. Swing for 5. He doesn't respond which shows me he has no answer. So I pitch Boros Charm and Chancellor to Fury and swing for another 5. Game over.
Match 3: Beat Ad Nauseum 2-1.
Game 1: Steamrolled him on turn 3. Had 2 goblin guides, 3 memnites and a kicked bushwhacker coming his way.
Sided in: 2X Wear / Tear, 2X Skullcrack.
Game 2: He managed to drag out long enough with Pherexian Unlife and Angel's Grace to combo off.
Game 3: Was intense. On turn 3 - I attack with all my guys; it's more than enough to do lethal. He casts Angel's Grace and has Leyline of Sanctity in play. I have Skullcrack, Lightning Bolt, and Wear / Tear in my hand. I realize at that point that Skullcrack is bad in this matchup. It cannot stop angel's grace or Unlife (neither prevent damage). If my opponent happens to be playing Darkness - it can stop that, but not all Nauseum players play darkness. But i devise a plan. I Tear his Leyline of Sanctity on my turn with 1 mana untapped. He attempts to play Pherexian Unlife on his turn. I lightning bolt him; he concedes. GG.
Note: I quit playing Mono-Red and went back to Boros. I've been having way more success with it, which prompted me to enter the 8 man!
Note 2: I constantly think Fury of the Horde isn't good enough since it's a dead card about 50% of the time. But when analyzing results. It is responsible for a lot of kills. And a lot of them come out of nowhere on an unsuspecting opponent.
Note 3: This is my 6th 8 man I've taken goblins to. Since it's single elimination now - some of those are 0 and exits, some 1-1's. 2 where i went 2-1. But this is my first 3-0.
Note 4: I think I'm about ready to take this thing to a daily. Hopefully draw into matches vs. Eldrazi, Tron & Ad Nauseum. Hopefully avoid any kind of Izzet control or lifegain decks.
Note 5: I cheated a bit on the lands, but that's because I am running 8 2 drops instead of 10. It was never really a factor in any game.
I do have a similar story though but I was on the other end of a misclick. I don't remember the exact card as it was at least a year ago. But was playing some 8 man and one of the cards I played didn't trigger the way I expected it to. I 'thought' it was bugged as I had never played the card before. Basically it would have dealt the final damage to my opponent. But instead he was down to 1. I told him the card was bugged, that it didn't ask me who i wanted to target, and asked him to concede. He did (he didn't say anything in chat; he simply conceded).
On a sidenote: I compltely agree with the person who said that mtgo players seem to being the slowest ccg players on earth. I play a few other card games online (hearthstone and shadow era.) And it's amazing how much slower the average MTGO games takes vs. those games. I like to think it's because of all those pros who tell people to take their time and make the right play (but it's probably just people who can't make quick decisions).
Turn 1: Land
Turn 2: Land + Overgrown Battlement or Wall of Roots
Trun 3: Land + Wall of Roots/Sylvan Caryatid
Access to 5 mana (6 with Wall of Roots).
http://www.mtggoldfish.com/price/Magic 2011/Leyline of Punishment#online
I can't find any reason for the price spike.
No results in any decks recently. Jumps from a .05 card to a $4+ card in a couple of days.
I played Goblins for the first time in 2 weeks yesturday on MTGO. I went 4-5 with the speed build. And 1-3 with mono-red lord goblins.
The meta on MTGO is TONS of decks that seem designed to beat creature strategies. Lots of people who turned their Splinter Twin decks into UR/b control decks. UW control seems to be on the rise too; although it's easier to beat than UR control (since UR has so many 2 for 1 cards).
Ad Nauseum is getting big online; seems to be the new "go to" combo deck. That's a good matchup imo; 2 of my 5 wins came against it (it beat me once too).
Reckless hits MTGO on Friday, so I'll get a chance to try him out. I feel like he's not as good as we originally thought though. 2 max will be going in my builds and that might end up being 1 or 0 by the end of it all.
AS far as Manamorphose vs. Gitaxian Probe vs. Mutagenic Growth. I prefer Gitaxian Probe 100% over Manamorphose. It's free and gives you information vs. 2 mana and some mana fixing.
Gitaxian Probe vs. Mutagenic is mostly build based. Mutagenic is better in builds with some mix of Swiftspear, Piledriver, Lords, and Fury. Gitaxian is probably more appropriate in all others (because all Mutagenic can save is Guide).
I tend to only bring in SB cards if it's an absolute bomb against that deck. Or if the deck is a bad matchup without the sideboard card(s).
Example: Affinity card get down bigger blockers at the same speed we can get down goblins.
I find Shattering Spree + Forked Bolt can handle most of the blockers, and move the power back in our favor.
But for the most part - I bring in 1-2 sideboard cards a match; and take out something like 1 Mutagenic/1 Fury.
@ jwelt - I like your second list a lot. Might get around to trying it out today. Maybe even with a singleton Become Immense. As far as merging the two lists (that a couple of people are suggesting) - all I can suggest to people is to not play Chancellor of the Forge with Cantrips. It's in the deck because there's only something like a 5% chance of drawing it by turn 3 if it's not in our opening hand. Each Cantrip will bring that % up 2% or so.
As far as the bannings:
Kind of disappointed in the Twin banning. It was a good matchup for me.
Summer Bloom being banned is great though.
I'm going to predict a rise in lifegain decks unfortunately. A lot of them were held down by both of these decks.
Unrelated side note: Cloud of Faeries being banned in pauper might bright me back to that format.