I took this deck to a local standard tourney yesterday, and it did alright. The games were:
Vs. Mono Blue Devo - won in 3
This was a pretty solid matchup game one. He had a few too many lands in his opening hand, so my hand disruption completely dismantled him. Second game, I got completely mana flooded. Got an Eidolon of Blossoms out along with a Mana Bloom, and somehow managed to draw 7 lands in a row. After extensive shuffling, it was on to game three. Extinguish All Hope was the allstar of the final game, landing me a second win to claim the match.
Vs. B/W Midrange - lost in 3
Game one was exceedingly one-sided, and my opponent had no idea what I was doing until there was nothing he could do about it. This deck is pretty far in the rouge right now, especially for FNM, so he had to read every other card, and once again Extinguish All Hope is a massive blowout. Game two, I was swarmed by pack rats. After three rats and a mutavault, it's pretty much GG unless I have an Extinguish All Hope. Game three was a nail biter, though. He resolves a blood baron, which is a pain in the ass, but not the end of the world. I cycle a few times with Eidolon and Mana Bloom, finding an Extinguish All Hope that I can play next turn... and then he top decks a thoughtseize. It was over from there. Despite the loss though, there are some very minor tweaks that could be made to the deck that would've made it perform significantly better (namely the inclusion of Devour Flesh to the mainboard). It seems like a matchup that would ordinarily be in my favor most of the time.
Vs. Esper Control - lost in 3
Control definitely deserves the most sideboard attention. This matchup is horrible, as none of our threats are big enough to force a control player to preemptively play a supreme verdict, forcing us to overextend, and we all know what happens then. The best hope is post sideboard, where golgari charm becomes an all-star. Beyond that, flashing in boon satyrs EOT and bestowing are also good options.
Vs. Mono red devotion - won in 2
Two consecutive losses puts me deep into the loser's bracket, so I play against mono red for the last match. It was a fun game, but overall not very difficult for this deck to deal with. Most of his creatures were in range of abrupt decay, and Courser of Kruphix helped quite a bit.
Overall, I'm excited with the potential that this deck has to offer. My biggest concern is the control matchup as of right now, but there are still many other archetypes I've yet to play against. This was the list I used:
I definitely feel that Whip of Erebos deserves a slot in the sideboard; it helps against Boros Burn, which is pretty bad matchup game 1, as well as opposing midrange strategies in general. Also, has anyone given any thought to Font of Fertility in combination with Mana Bloom? Sylvan Caryatid is the other option for early game ramp, but personally, I don't like having it die to both our sweeper and an opponent's sweeper, and our aggro matchup is already plenty good, so trying to justify the Caryatid over the Font for that reason doesn't convince me.
Hello, my (user)name is Rorak (Row-rack) Kuroda (Ker-oh-duh). You can also call me Matt. I'm new to these forums, and fairly new to magic. I started around the time of the release of gatecrash, and have since invested a large amount of money, time, and thought into the vast universe that is this game. I enjoy most all formats, with Standard being at the forefront of my attention right now.
Aside from that, the reason I've joined MTGsalvation is because the discussions, articles, and community here caught my eye. I was once a huge participant in online communities for other games, but once the advent of college happened, I took a long reprieve from my usual online habits. I'm the type of person that likes getting into one game at a time, and when I do, I invest my entire focus into it.
I may not post much around here to begin with, but as time passes, I'm hoping to become more involved with magic and the community surrounding it.
If you take UltraLunch's advice about completing synergy by dropping cackler and scarhide, then yeah, drop Immortal Servitude as well. However, don't forget that cartel aristocrat and immortal servitude were necessities for a PT-winning deck, and I can see those two cards working with athreos in a similarly powerful fashion.
Sphere of Safety is generally a solid choice, at least in the sideboard if not main. That deck shuts down aggro strategies almost entirely, and can also assist against the creatures that you can't really deal with, like Blood Baron and Aetherling. You also really ought to mainboard Primeval Bounty. That card wins you games if left unchecked.
Vs. Mono Blue Devo - won in 3
This was a pretty solid matchup game one. He had a few too many lands in his opening hand, so my hand disruption completely dismantled him. Second game, I got completely mana flooded. Got an Eidolon of Blossoms out along with a Mana Bloom, and somehow managed to draw 7 lands in a row. After extensive shuffling, it was on to game three. Extinguish All Hope was the allstar of the final game, landing me a second win to claim the match.
Vs. B/W Midrange - lost in 3
Game one was exceedingly one-sided, and my opponent had no idea what I was doing until there was nothing he could do about it. This deck is pretty far in the rouge right now, especially for FNM, so he had to read every other card, and once again Extinguish All Hope is a massive blowout. Game two, I was swarmed by pack rats. After three rats and a mutavault, it's pretty much GG unless I have an Extinguish All Hope. Game three was a nail biter, though. He resolves a blood baron, which is a pain in the ass, but not the end of the world. I cycle a few times with Eidolon and Mana Bloom, finding an Extinguish All Hope that I can play next turn... and then he top decks a thoughtseize. It was over from there. Despite the loss though, there are some very minor tweaks that could be made to the deck that would've made it perform significantly better (namely the inclusion of Devour Flesh to the mainboard). It seems like a matchup that would ordinarily be in my favor most of the time.
Vs. Esper Control - lost in 3
Control definitely deserves the most sideboard attention. This matchup is horrible, as none of our threats are big enough to force a control player to preemptively play a supreme verdict, forcing us to overextend, and we all know what happens then. The best hope is post sideboard, where golgari charm becomes an all-star. Beyond that, flashing in boon satyrs EOT and bestowing are also good options.
Vs. Mono red devotion - won in 2
Two consecutive losses puts me deep into the loser's bracket, so I play against mono red for the last match. It was a fun game, but overall not very difficult for this deck to deal with. Most of his creatures were in range of abrupt decay, and Courser of Kruphix helped quite a bit.
Overall, I'm excited with the potential that this deck has to offer. My biggest concern is the control matchup as of right now, but there are still many other archetypes I've yet to play against. This was the list I used:
4 Brain Maggot
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Eidolon of Blossoms
2 Herald of Torment
2 Pharika, God of Affliction
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Ultimate Price
2 Extinguish All Hope
2 Hero's Downfall
3 Mana Bloom
3 Thoughtseize
2 Underworld Connections
3 Golgari Guildgate
2 Mutavault
4 Overgrown Tomb
6 Swamp
4 Temple of Malady
2 Bile Blight
2 Pithing Needle
2 Doomwake Giant
3 Duress
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
3 Golgari Charm
1 Devour Flesh
1 Deadbridge Chant
I definitely feel that Whip of Erebos deserves a slot in the sideboard; it helps against Boros Burn, which is pretty bad matchup game 1, as well as opposing midrange strategies in general. Also, has anyone given any thought to Font of Fertility in combination with Mana Bloom? Sylvan Caryatid is the other option for early game ramp, but personally, I don't like having it die to both our sweeper and an opponent's sweeper, and our aggro matchup is already plenty good, so trying to justify the Caryatid over the Font for that reason doesn't convince me.
Aside from that, the reason I've joined MTGsalvation is because the discussions, articles, and community here caught my eye. I was once a huge participant in online communities for other games, but once the advent of college happened, I took a long reprieve from my usual online habits. I'm the type of person that likes getting into one game at a time, and when I do, I invest my entire focus into it.
I may not post much around here to begin with, but as time passes, I'm hoping to become more involved with magic and the community surrounding it.