I was thinking the same thing with the Chord. He should've sided all 4 out and just brought in more creatures (like Aven Mindcensor). He brought in rest in peace and path too which I guess was OK (RIP got thoughtseized and Path got countered), but being on the play game 3 he should've gone all in on the creatures and just raced.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
Don't think you board in all the creatures there, pretty sure you just cut Vizier and Chord and shove the 3 Paths and 2 Chameleon Colossi in. Your game 1 plan is good enough for games 2 + 3 and the infinite combo is borderline impossible to assemble but now he's forced to respect it so you can just board it out.
I'd rather have mindcensor and scooze than PTE vs DS, especially on the play. I find I always have chump blockers for DS (especially with 2 Cham colossus in the side) and creatures just give us a much wider board state than they can handle. He also didn't need to worry about sweepers. The hatebird would also consistently ping for damage in a stalled board state, and DS as a ton of sac lands. I can see the benefits of path, but I also think it plays too defensively when we probably could've chump blocked anyway.
I was thinking the same thing with the Chord. He should've sided all 4 out and just brought in more creatures (like Aven Mindcensor). He brought in rest in peace and path too which I guess was OK (RIP got thoughtseized and Path got countered), but being on the play game 3 he should've gone all in on the creatures and just raced.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
Hey guys! I played elves at an FNM for the first time last night and went 3-1
It was awesome because one of my matches was a mirror and I have never seen sooo many elves on board and so much power haha
Anyhow, my one loss was against dredge which I was surprised because I figured that our deck would be able to race it. I also didn't run any hate in my sideboard because you don't see it often in my local area. Do you guys have any tips on going up against it?
Stain the Mind in the sideboard naming Conflagrate will go a long way.
Is Wolf-Skull Shaman a playable card? 60% chance for free 2/2 every turn, even though the token is not an elf, can still help us build board presence at a very good rate. Seems like it would shine in GBx matchups, and also when paired with Nissa, Steward due to the scry 2 - could almost guarantee a free 2/2 creature every turn.
While we're talking planeswalkers...for GB builds that use Blooming Marsh, fetches, and Gilt Leaf palaces...wouldn't either of the 3CMC lilianas be better value than nissa? I think last hope might be better for the -2/-1 and creature card back to hand
Was very clunky and I really missed Visionary. The cuteness of the combo didn't outweigh the efficiency of the GB list in my opinion. GW pilots may like the additional angle because they don't have the Shaman angle, GB pilots don't need it though because Shaman becomes the main plan in GB.
I thought the same thing when I was watching the stream. I think I'll stick with the GB + W sideboard I've been using. Appreciate the streaming, keep letting us know when they're posted so I can watch when I'm bored at work.
Hey I was wondering if anyone has played against Gifts Storm and how the matchup was? Are you able to race them and present lethal before they can establish the combo? And what sideboard cards are you guys running? The deck is semi popular in my area and I want to cover all bases before I bring it to a tournament lol
Matchup doesn't feel great, regardless of variant. I think the GW/Abzan lists have an edge because they're able to find Eidolon of Rhetoric. GB has to settle with Thoughtseize which does almost as much work, tbh, but isn't a decisive game winner like Eidolon can be.
In unrelated news, ended up getting killed in the semi's of a PPTQ today after a 5-1 run put me in 2nd seed. Matches were:
UW Control (L)
Jund (W)
4c Humans (W)
RG Tron (W)
UW Control (W)
Affinity (W)
QF: UW Control (R1 guy, W)
SF: UW Control (L)
Running really hot right now, and hope to maintain my current ~70ish % record (10-4 this season!).
Also, catch me playing the list I played for this PPTQ @ 0900 AEST/ 1600 PDT / 1900 EDT / 0000 GMT+1 - if you can't catch it then, you can watch it back when Twitch decides to save the upload.
What were your initial thoughts on the combo/Shaman build?
Did a stream this morning @ twitch.tv/syreal_ - I forgot to set it to upload past broadcasts, but I have it on for next time (whenever that is!) It'll likely be this Saturday around 1000 AEST [2000 EST, 1700 PST, 0100 GMT+1, 0900 JP] so if you wanna come watch some GB Elves and shoot the *****, feel free.
As an aside so it's not just a stream ad, I've been thinking about playing Abzan but finding the correct balance between playing the right amount of Shamans, and possibly having the combo in the deck has been quite a dicey proposition. However, I think I might have hit the balance with the following:
While I'm still uncertain about the combo overall, I think this is a great way to approach an Abzan list going forward, as it gives us everything we're looking for in a three colour list:
a) 9 black sources to cast Shaman and access to it (4 Cavern, 4 fetch, 1 Tomb)
b) 9 white sources independent of Cavern to cast Vizier and sideboard cards (3 Razorverge, 1 Horizon Canopy, 4 fetch, 1 Temple Garden)
c) no wasted flex slot lands due to a hungry mana base
It looks like the perfect storm of mana, tools and reach.
List looks really, really, ridiculously good. Personally I'd prefer a 2nd Canopy to the Pendelhaven, but that's just me. What would your sideboard look like?
4 Shard Volley is a dangerous game. I remember when it was necessary, however it no longer is.
I did a PPTQ over the weekend and was surprised at how much burn I faced (3 out of my 5 matches). I'm going to go ahead and rededicate some side slots to it. Lightning Helix makes a big difference in the mirror as well.
Here is my list going forward. I think it's close to what I'll take to September's Louisville.
This is more or less the deck I like. Why only 2 inspiring vantage? I feel like the odds of drawing one to be the 4th land seem small enough to enjoy the benefits.
I'd rather have mindcensor and scooze than PTE vs DS, especially on the play. I find I always have chump blockers for DS (especially with 2 Cham colossus in the side) and creatures just give us a much wider board state than they can handle. He also didn't need to worry about sweepers. The hatebird would also consistently ping for damage in a stalled board state, and DS as a ton of sac lands. I can see the benefits of path, but I also think it plays too defensively when we probably could've chump blocked anyway.
I agree with you on the SOTP too. Everyone in the stream was saying "That's why you play SOTP"...they clearly have goldfish memories though, as the round before he beat affinity 2-0 thanks to the infinite combo variant. I personally enjoy playing the BG version better, but seeing GW do well the last few big events is making me think about switching over.
Stain the Mind in the sideboard naming Conflagrate will go a long way.
I thought the same thing when I was watching the stream. I think I'll stick with the GB + W sideboard I've been using. Appreciate the streaming, keep letting us know when they're posted so I can watch when I'm bored at work.
What were your initial thoughts on the combo/Shaman build?
List looks really, really, ridiculously good. Personally I'd prefer a 2nd Canopy to the Pendelhaven, but that's just me. What would your sideboard look like?
With Boros Burn, I can't even count how many times I've lost when the opponent was at 1-2 life, and my life total was irrelevant.
Atarkas Command FTW, Nocatl for life.
This is more or less the deck I like. Why only 2 inspiring vantage? I feel like the odds of drawing one to be the 4th land seem small enough to enjoy the benefits.
True, but you can Chord and coco brain Maggot