I want to include an alternate win condition to beat abzan company if they gain infinite life. With worldspine wurm they will deck themselves first, but with limited removal its hard to get to that point.
How do you guys feel about Spellskite? It does work against burn, affinity, splinter twin, not to mention it gives infect fits. Splash damage against bogles and helps protect our win conditions.
How do we feel about scavenging ooze a la Yuuya Watanabe? I've had some success with 2 main, 1 board. It's good against burn and aggro, and it's not great against control or the mirror, but it is another threat.
hey i'm kinda new to the deck, i'm playing andrew shrout's list and i was wondering if anyone could post a brief sideboarding guide. most of the time i know what to bring in but no idea what to side out.
Ok firstly I'd like to say that G/w is definitely not a "fringe deck" even though it has dropped off a bit lately. I still feel like it's a tier 1.5 deck at least.
But what I really want to discuss is what is our 60 wanting to look like in the following weeks, after seeing a lot of G/r monsters and U/w/x, especially with U/w being able to splash easier with Temple of Enlightenment? I'm most worried about a surge of U/w/r, as one of my teammates has played that deck for a while now and to be honest the matchup is miserable with things like Warleader's Helix and Assemble the Legion. And now that the deck has access to 8 scry lands I feel it will rise in popularity.
I definitely feel like 4 Bile Blight is necessary in the 75, as it is at least decent in most matchups anyways, and it will aid in racing Assemble the Legion since we have no actual answer for it.
I like Herald of Torment as a card, but I don't think it fits in this deck. I also feel like 3 Pack Rat main is where we need to be.
I actually have stepped away from the green splash for the time being, i like it a lot, but in my current meta, it was just a tiny bit inconsistent for my liking. I still have the cards for it, because on certain weekends i will want the splash, especially if everyone shows up with U/w.
Concerning the ooze, in the early stages of building this deck, it looked more like a rock deck, with caryatid and reaper instead of specter and Gary, and in that build, ooze thrives. But at this point moving forward, the only things i feel you should splash green for are decay and charm, and maybe unravel, although i feel Gild is just as good for exiling gods.
Both games I didn't draw very well and just couldn't keep up with his Walkers filling up his hand with dudes. Downfall, Decay, and Specter are important here to kill Planeswalkers immediately.
Round 2 - White Weenie 2-1
Game 1 my removal is too much for him, and Reaper of the Wilds is a brick wall for everything but soldier of the pantheon. Game 2 he gets there with Ajani and Brave the Elements. Game 3 curve out into removal, specter, demon, gary, and I basically killed him with specter and some of his own Daring Skyjeks.
Round 3 U/W Control 2-1
Game 1 is long and grindy, butI eventually get killed by Heliod tokens. Game 2 I side in charms and Mistcutter Hydra. He couldn't deal with Hydra and when he goes to verdict I charm for a blowout. Game 3 see game 2.
Round 4- G/W Auras 2-0
I don't remember much about this match except that he kept suiting up non hexproof creatures and I just killed them, Witchstalker is a little annoying though, but Reaper blocks well, I also traded reaper for Wurm tokens a couple times. Demon got there game 1, and specter with Unflinching Courage got there game 2.
Round 5 - R/w Devotion 2-1
I don't remember how these games went exactly, but I remember surviving 3 Dragons in a row just cause removal city. I played a Fanatic of Mogis for 1 to keep back Frostburn Weird. Gary and Doom Blade were instrumental in this matchup.
Quarterfinals- Mono B Devotion 1-2
Game 1 I flooded out pretty bad, game 2 I grinded him out with reaper, blowing up his connections with Abrupt Decay. Erebos is annoying btw. Game 3 I lost, which I blame on my inexperience with Pack Rat. I drew it turn 2 and decided to play it to draw removal out of his hand so Specter could stick next turn. Well he didn't kill the rat, so I'm like, "Cool, time to Pack it in." A few turns in, I decide to play my spells instead of making rats, which would have taken over the game, but unfortunately I didn't have enough faith in them at the time. He ended up Garying me to death with Erebos on the field, so my Garys weren't as good.
In conclusion, I'm very happy with the splash, with the only downside I see is losing access to Nykthos. Abrupt Decay is a beast, Golgari Charm is amazing, Reaper wins games, and I actually was never disappointed in the 1 Putrefy. It's like a 5th downfall that also kills Spears and Whips.
I'm playing Owen's list at an IQ this weekend, and I know there will be both blue and black devotion in droves. I'm thinking about taking out Peak Eruption in favor of Ratchet Bomb, as it provides utility against massive token armies which are rough to deal with sometimes. I don't expect to play against a lot of rock chaining. What do you folks think?
What are we siding against burning earth? I like the idea of vraska but if she drops after burning earth we are eating 5. Golgari charm seems to be the go to, as it's good against aristocrats as well.
Bingo. There's no real way to tell what we'll get in that department once Theros hits, but it's fair to speculate that we will get some kind of dork or 2 cmc ramp spell, even though farseek is irreplaceable. I say don't worry about it, the meta will be drastically different then anyway.
I just bought this deck and played several games with it and loved it, it performed very well. But when i took it to a daily, i got absolutely wrecked by ur post and faeries. What is our game plan against those decks?
^ A lot of decks are running Caverns thanks to permission still lingering around. Most Jund lists have 2 mainboarded Caverns because of Sire.
What makes a RUG Flash deck is its unique presence of Yeva, and permission. That's it. Farseek won't take away from it, and in playtesting, only strengthens it. Being able to boost your Syncopates, and in particular, hitting six mana is huge: Dissipate/Avenger, Yeva/Izzet Charm, Huntmaster/Spear, Flashback Think Twice/Dissipate, the potential inclusion of the underrated Progenitor Mimic (which just plains ends games against multiple archetypes, either targeting your Huntmaster, or their Angel/Thragtusk) etc.
I would never play less than four farseeks, but I only mentioned two slots that I think farseek could easily replace in Hoogland's new list.
I target Think Twice because in general, two is often a good number in a deck like this. UWR, which is similar to RUG flash, often just runs two or three at most because you don't want too many overcosted cantrips (which is what Think Twice is). Yes, it has great synergy with Huntmaster, but so it goes with everything else in the deck.
Chucifer: Rift is a bit overcosted, which is I like Simic Charm. Its multiple modes, which Snapcaster can utilize make it ideal, and it can also protect stuff like Jace, Memoery Adept, which should be in people's sideboards if it isn't (flash be damned).
For reference, this is what I'll be tinkering with for FNM as I try to decide what RUG build to use for the SCG Open in Dallas/FTW (it probably looks a bit odd, but like anything else, you gotta playtest to know if it works or not):
I like the direction you are taking this list. Mimic is sweet tech which is actually pretty realistic right now, and i love the versatility of turn/burn, particularly against Sire, even if you only have 3 mana up. Simic charm also takes care of him if you bounce with the trigger on the stack, as well as making junk players slime their own lands.
What is your approach to the bant flash matchup, with their full set of advent and such?
Edit: Kind of a rare occurence but if you have Yeva in play and someone casts AoS, play Mimic in response to the etb trigger to exile their Angel as well as its targets and get another one on upkeep. Fun.
@and3h yes, gold cards with green in their cost count as green.
That being said, i do like Yeva. A lot. I considered her, but in my more controlling list, i can't really warrant a spot for her, especially since I would want 3-4 copies. In the more creature heavy lists i think she definitely deserves a slot.
I personally prefer Alchemist's Refuge in my list. I can use it with anything, including Farseek and Supreme Verdict. I find that invaluable.
This is my current list, splashing for wolf run. Not sure about the sideboard yet, i feel like there should be some number of Purify the Grave in there, as it's strictly better than crypt.
But what I really want to discuss is what is our 60 wanting to look like in the following weeks, after seeing a lot of G/r monsters and U/w/x, especially with U/w being able to splash easier with Temple of Enlightenment? I'm most worried about a surge of U/w/r, as one of my teammates has played that deck for a while now and to be honest the matchup is miserable with things like Warleader's Helix and Assemble the Legion. And now that the deck has access to 8 scry lands I feel it will rise in popularity.
I definitely feel like 4 Bile Blight is necessary in the 75, as it is at least decent in most matchups anyways, and it will aid in racing Assemble the Legion since we have no actual answer for it.
I like Herald of Torment as a card, but I don't think it fits in this deck. I also feel like 3 Pack Rat main is where we need to be.
Thoughts?
Concerning the ooze, in the early stages of building this deck, it looked more like a rock deck, with caryatid and reaper instead of specter and Gary, and in that build, ooze thrives. But at this point moving forward, the only things i feel you should splash green for are decay and charm, and maybe unravel, although i feel Gild is just as good for exiling gods.
My list is as follows:
4 Pack Rat
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Desecration Demon
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
Spells
4 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
3 Devour Flesh
1 Ultimate Price
4 Hero's Downfall
4 Underworld Connections
3 Golgari Guildgate
4 Mutavault
4 Overgrown Tomb
13 Swamp
1 Forest
2 Duress
2 Dark Betrayal
3 Golgari Charm
2 Pharika's Cure
2 Mistcutter Hydra
3 Lifebane Zombie
1 Doom Blade
I'm kind of iffy about the two dark betrayals, but I'm not sure what I would replace them with.
I'm playing in a tournament tomorrow and the meta is fairly balanced, so any advice is super appreciado.
2 Pack Rat
4 Nightveil Specter
4 Desecration Demon
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
4 Reaper of the Wilds
Spells
3 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Putrefy
2 Devour Flesh
4 Hero's Downfall
3 Underworld Connections
2 Golgari Guildgate
2 Mutavault
4 Overgrown Tomb
13 Swamp
1 Breeding Pool
3 Forest
2 Duress
1 Devour Flesh
2 Doom Blade
3 Golgari Charm
1 Pack Rat
2 Pharika's Cure
1 Gaze of Granite
3 Mistcutter Hydra
Round 1- G/r Devotion 0-2
Both games I didn't draw very well and just couldn't keep up with his Walkers filling up his hand with dudes. Downfall, Decay, and Specter are important here to kill Planeswalkers immediately.
Round 2 - White Weenie 2-1
Game 1 my removal is too much for him, and Reaper of the Wilds is a brick wall for everything but soldier of the pantheon. Game 2 he gets there with Ajani and Brave the Elements. Game 3 curve out into removal, specter, demon, gary, and I basically killed him with specter and some of his own Daring Skyjeks.
Round 3 U/W Control 2-1
Game 1 is long and grindy, butI eventually get killed by Heliod tokens. Game 2 I side in charms and Mistcutter Hydra. He couldn't deal with Hydra and when he goes to verdict I charm for a blowout. Game 3 see game 2.
Round 4- G/W Auras 2-0
I don't remember much about this match except that he kept suiting up non hexproof creatures and I just killed them, Witchstalker is a little annoying though, but Reaper blocks well, I also traded reaper for Wurm tokens a couple times. Demon got there game 1, and specter with Unflinching Courage got there game 2.
Round 5 - R/w Devotion 2-1
I don't remember how these games went exactly, but I remember surviving 3 Dragons in a row just cause removal city. I played a Fanatic of Mogis for 1 to keep back Frostburn Weird. Gary and Doom Blade were instrumental in this matchup.
Quarterfinals- Mono B Devotion 1-2
Game 1 I flooded out pretty bad, game 2 I grinded him out with reaper, blowing up his connections with Abrupt Decay. Erebos is annoying btw. Game 3 I lost, which I blame on my inexperience with Pack Rat. I drew it turn 2 and decided to play it to draw removal out of his hand so Specter could stick next turn. Well he didn't kill the rat, so I'm like, "Cool, time to Pack it in." A few turns in, I decide to play my spells instead of making rats, which would have taken over the game, but unfortunately I didn't have enough faith in them at the time. He ended up Garying me to death with Erebos on the field, so my Garys weren't as good.
Tl;dr Pack Rat is good. Trust in the rat.
In conclusion, I'm very happy with the splash, with the only downside I see is losing access to Nykthos. Abrupt Decay is a beast, Golgari Charm is amazing, Reaper wins games, and I actually was never disappointed in the 1 Putrefy. It's like a 5th downfall that also kills Spears and Whips.
Bingo. There's no real way to tell what we'll get in that department once Theros hits, but it's fair to speculate that we will get some kind of dork or 2 cmc ramp spell, even though farseek is irreplaceable. I say don't worry about it, the meta will be drastically different then anyway.
I like the direction you are taking this list. Mimic is sweet tech which is actually pretty realistic right now, and i love the versatility of turn/burn, particularly against Sire, even if you only have 3 mana up. Simic charm also takes care of him if you bounce with the trigger on the stack, as well as making junk players slime their own lands.
What is your approach to the bant flash matchup, with their full set of advent and such?
Edit: Kind of a rare occurence but if you have Yeva in play and someone casts AoS, play Mimic in response to the etb trigger to exile their Angel as well as its targets and get another one on upkeep. Fun.
That being said, i do like Yeva. A lot. I considered her, but in my more controlling list, i can't really warrant a spot for her, especially since I would want 3-4 copies. In the more creature heavy lists i think she definitely deserves a slot.
I personally prefer Alchemist's Refuge in my list. I can use it with anything, including Farseek and Supreme Verdict. I find that invaluable.
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Restoration Angel
4 Thragtusk
2 Prime Speaker Zegana
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Snapcaster Mage
2 Detention Sphere
3 Azorius Charm
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Sphinx's Revelation
1 Think Twice
4 Farseek
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Alchemist's Refuge
3 Breeding Pool
4 Glacial Fortress
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
2 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Feeling of Dread
2 Negate
1 Counterflux
2 Psychic Spiral
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Supreme Verdict
This is my current list, splashing for wolf run. Not sure about the sideboard yet, i feel like there should be some number of Purify the Grave in there, as it's strictly better than crypt.