I read through Jessup's article, and I'm not sure in the sideboarding plan why Walking Ballista is removed in any of the match-ups. That card can single-handedly win the game long term and I consider it to be one of the strongest cards in the deck. Control hates the card so much they actively remove it every time it hits the table. Temur hates it so much they Abrade it whenever possible. This is because every opponent recognizes it as a mana sink that will take over the game. So why board it out?
Other thoughts on his version of the deck. I still don't like Rishkar. I mean, I understand that a T2 Constrictor into a T3 Rishkar is very strong, and the extra mana can make for additional broken plays, but I just think he's clunky. It's often just a 3/3 for 3 mana dork because the other creature got removed. I'm still a huge fan of Rhonas in the deck, as again, most other decks actively hate Rhonas. He's hard to remove and provides evasion to any other creature, which then turns him online as a huge beater. I also think it's a mistake to not have any Aethersphere Harvesters, as there are so many match-ups where that card was clutch. Blossoming Defense helps out, as it can save a creature from removal and/or stop the "can't block" effects that make the red match-up so rough. Deathgorge Scavenger also helps, but is only semi-repeatable (as it's dependent on the what's in the GY) and easier to remove. Lastly, there's no artifact/enchantment hate in the sideboard. Should there be, or is there insufficient meta evidence of artifact/enchantment relevant cards to have some kind of hate in the sideboard?
- Ayestes
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Member for 9 years, 11 months, and 11 days
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2
DRay563 posted a message on The thread formerly known as GBX ConstrictorPosted in: Standard Archives -
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hoser2 posted a message on The thread formerly known as GBX ConstrictorUpdated primer with link to Andrew Jessup article on the deck including sideboarding.Posted in: Standard Archives
As for Hostage Taker cost, I feel ya bro! I borrowed a pair last night to complement my pair and run the stock deck. 3-0-1 for second was good for me, but I'll just be rocking my pair until the price comes down a bit. OTOH, if I had a PPTQ this weekend, I would pick up another pair in a hot second.
Coup seems like a decent idea, but UU is awkward for an already strained manabase.
Another budget way to go is with our traditional strengths. With Winding Constictors, our Bristling Hydras are better than Temur's and Verdurous Gearhulk is still a beating. Hostage taker is slow against Aggro anyway. Without Hostage Taker, I cut back on Blossoming Defense to become more threat dense.
I actually think our key card is Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. The card advantage that card provides is what allows us to get beyond one for ones. -
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kanoe1218 posted a message on Grixis Death's ShadowHow do you play against eldrazi tron? I have been having trouble against it unfortunately.Posted in: Midrange -
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A_E_I_Own_U posted a message on The thread formerly known as GBX ConstrictorPosted in: Standard ArchivesQuote from Ayestes »
The instant speed suite of cards comes in at a Blossoming Defense to keep my opponents on guard, 4 Fatal Push for any Aggro, and Vraska's Contempt to deal with much of what anyone can throw at us. It's got 4-7 cards dead against various Control, but that's always been the case. I'm not sure how well Control will survive though with Shapers' Sanctuary and Carnage Tyrant around. Main things I'm looking to deal with are Runamap Red, Temur Black Energy, God-Pharaoh's Gift, and some flavor of Dinos.
The creature core is based on the 4 of Winding Constrictor, Longtusk Cub, Walking Ballista, and Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. They've been a part of this deck since the inception and I don't think I'm ready to cut any of it. 4 Rogue Refiner coming with the deck once it's gone blue feels mandatory as well. This core alone is plenty capable of winning games via all the interactions and card advantage I can accrue. Now come the one of cards I'm just not certain of and need more than the 15 or so games of testing I've already done to decide whether I'm keeping them that way. The deck feels un-optimized with them there, but I'm not sure which way I want to proceed. Rishkar, Peema Renegade provides more +1/+1 counter support and can dump the deck into the field more effective with the mana ramp, Ripjaw Raptor feels like it has a place here with it's body and Enrage shenanigans, and Bristling Hydra has always been one of the more difficult to deal with cards in any Green based energy deck often ending games on the spot against Control. Hostage Taker is a great 1 for 1 or 3 for 1 when it works right. It either forces an answer or goes to the skies in card advantage. Also a funny way to deal with an artifact in the main board. Verdurous Gearhulk will end games if Constrictor is out or even it if isn't can spread out a bunch of power into play so it's definitely the primary 5 drop. Of course The Scarab God will flat out win games on his own against any other grindy deck that can't deal with him. This card is the reason you can beat dinos in a ground stall.
My sideboard feels horrible. It's got anti-graveyard, anti-control, anti-combo, anti-creature, anti-artifact, and anti-enchantment but it doesn't feel like it fits with what I'd side out yet. I've been super impressed with Shapers' Sanctuary though. The rest I think needs tweaking up or down, but without really knowing the meta and without enough experience yet I'm unsure which direction.
This is the list I've been trying as well. I found out I had to have rhonas for the trample or I just couldn't win against a lot of decks. They would stall me out and I could push thru. The refiner is less than optimal. He doesn't do much imo. Less of him is always better imo.
I have been playing the white combo version but it is very clunky. The glorybound inniate isn't where we wanna be. Also been trying a jund version which either gets blown out or does the stomping -
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lugger posted a message on RGx Energy AggroPosted in: Standard ArchivesQuote from SlaveToPhage »
Edit: The moderators should make a different thread for the aggro and the midrange decks, even if they share some similar cards.
Nope.
I'm not splitting this up into two separate threads negating any posting velocity.
This is not an invitation to argue. This is a statement of fact. -
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The Decepticon posted a message on RGx Energy AggroPosted in: Standard Archives
Id really want a 22nd land. Disintegration is best removal in format atm. Id cut the Lightning for 2 more. I like Cut // Ribbons but not sure it has a home here with double black & so few black sources to make the 2nd part pay off. SB: 3x Transgress, 3x Magma Spray, 1x Blossoming Defense, 2x Appetite, 2x Dispossess, and for the last 4, some combination of Sweltering Suns/Prowling Serpopard/Release the Gremlins/Prowling SerpopardQuote from Ayestes »I want to explore what cards we use for sideboarding against Zombies, Marvel, Mardu, Control, and Constrictor. Each splash offers unique ways at dealing with them, but I also am trying to figure out where we stand against some of them as the beatdown or the control deck. My intuition tells me I want to bring in anti-creature answers for Zombies, Mardu, and Constrictor and then try to go bigger or over them. Marvel I want to prevent the Turn 4 Ulamog, and if I can't do that then you'd have to certainly splash in order to deal with it resolved that early. Against Control I just go to my tried and true value plan of slamming Planeswalkers and Tireless Tracker. I'm sticking to black for now for Fatal Push, Unlicensed Disintegration, Dispossess, Transgress the Mind, and maybe Scarab Feast.
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards Lands (21)
4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Forest
4 Game Trail
2 Mountain
2 Sheltered Thicket
1 Swamp
Artifacts (4)
3 Heart of Kiran
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
Instants (8)
1 Blossoming Defense
3 Fatal Push
2 Harnessed Lightning
2 Unlicensed DisintegrationSorceries (5)
4 Attune with Aether
1 Cut // Ribbons
Planeswalkers (2)
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Creatures (20)
2 Glorybringer
4 Greenbelt Rampager
4 Longtusk Cub
1 Rhonas the Indomitable
3 Scrapheap Scrounger
2 Tireless Tracker
4 Voltaic BrawlerSideboard (15)
1 Fatal Push
2 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Transgress the Mind
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Appetite for the Unnatural
1 Dispossess
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Magma Spray
1 Glorybringer -
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Baad007 posted a message on Collected Company ElvesFriend is moving out to LA and there is a farewell dinner tonight. No stream tonight. I'll try to make up for it with an extra long one Saturday. >_<Posted in: Aggro & Tempo -
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Faelax1188 posted a message on [Primer] InfectI played in the Columbus Regional on Saturday and made top 8.Posted in: Aggro & Tempo
https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernMagic/comments/5scg59/scg_regionals_columbus_report_t8_with_ug_infect/
The link to my tournament report
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/05-02-17-nsK-infect/
The link to my list -
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ElCascador posted a message on RGx Energy AggroIt's clear that if the meta is full of ballista, pummeler combo is plain bad. Just don't play the deck in that case.Posted in: Standard Archives
The pummer deck normally is good agaisnt creature deck because they have less interaction and you can just combo them out. But now with the meta being Jeskai saheeli and BG Ballista I don't think the deck is good anymore. Midrange is the way. - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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1
4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Botanical Sanctum
3 Forest
1 Hashep Oasis
2 Ifnir Deadlands
1 Island
2 Swamp
Spells (12)
4 Attune with Aether
3 Blossoming Defense
4 Fatal Push
1 Spell Pierce
3 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Hostage Taker
4 Longtusk Cub
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Rogue Refiner
2 The Scarab God
4 Walking Ballista
4 Winding Constrictor
1 Appetite for the Unnatural
2 Vraska's Contempt
2 Negate
4 Duress
4 Deathgorge Scavenger
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
Took this to FNM and played against BW Tokens, Temur Energy, UW Approach, and Merfolk. Went 4-0, but I feel like it was only because the sideboard package is incredibly stacked at dealing with Control. Negate, Duress, and Spell Pierce combined are brutal. BW Tokens made me feel like I need a sweeper in the sideboard, but Longtusk Cub and The Scarab God managed to pull me through it regardless. Temur Energy is a fun one where I'm glad I have The Scarab God. Bristling Hydra is impossible to remove, but that's not a big deal when I can have a bigger threat and also hit their life total directly with Walking Ballista. Merfolk doesn't really feel like it did anything. Sure it had a bunch of smaller threats and was trying to tempo me out, but when your two drops are Walking Ballista and Longtusk Cub you just win that war. Hostage Taker did some hilarious things too in that matchup.
What I'd want to change going forward is getting that 4th Glint-Sleeve Siphoner back in. Those things make the deck feel super consistent. I'm just not sure what to pull out. I want to keep the spell package given the Spell Pierce is what saved me against UW Control. Double mainboard The Scarab God feels right against any other Midrange deck. I need a sweeper in the side, and I might want to go up on the Negate package. All the red players in my shop seem to have vanished, but I'm not sure I'll change anything about the list because of it. Deathgorge Scavenger is a card that works in many matchups and I'm not ready to drop it even if I managed to dodge the Gifts players this time around. I'd almost like to fit another Appetite for the Unnatural, but the sideboard is already compact and wants sweepers so I'm not sure where to bring that.
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4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Fetid Pools
4 Forest
1 Island
2 Swamp
Spells (12)
4 Attune with Aether
3 Blossoming Defense
4 Fatal Push
1 Spell Pierce
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Hostage Taker
4 Longtusk Cub
2 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Rogue Refiner
1 The Scarab God
4 Walking Ballista
4 Winding Constrictor
4 Duress
3 Negate
3 Deathgorge Scrounger
2 Vraska, Relic Seeker
2 Vraska's Contempt
1 The Scarab God
1
4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Botanical Sanctum
3 Forest
1 Hashep Oasis
2 Ifnir Deadlands
1 Island
2 Swamp
Spells (12)
4 Attune with Aether
1 Blossoming Defense
4 Fatal Push
3 Vraska's Contempt
4 Glint-Sleeve Siphoner
4 Longtusk Cub
4 Walking Ballista
4 Winding Constrictor
1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
4 Rogue Refiner
1 Ripjaw Raptor
1 Bristling Hydra
1 Hostage Taker
2 Verdurous Gearhulk
1 The Scarab God
2 Appetite for the Unnatural
2 Shapers' Sanctuary
2 Negate
3 Duress
1 Vraska, Relic Seeker
2 Never // Return
2 Carnage Tyrant
2 Sentinel Totem
The instant speed suite of cards comes in at a Blossoming Defense to keep my opponents on guard, 4 Fatal Push for any Aggro, and Vraska's Contempt to deal with much of what anyone can throw at us. It's got 4-7 cards dead against various Control, but that's always been the case. I'm not sure how well Control will survive though with Shapers' Sanctuary and Carnage Tyrant around. Main things I'm looking to deal with are Runamap Red, Temur Black Energy, God-Pharaoh's Gift, and some flavor of Dinos.
The creature core is based on the 4 of Winding Constrictor, Longtusk Cub, Walking Ballista, and Glint-Sleeve Siphoner. They've been a part of this deck since the inception and I don't think I'm ready to cut any of it. 4 Rogue Refiner coming with the deck once it's gone blue feels mandatory as well. This core alone is plenty capable of winning games via all the interactions and card advantage I can accrue. Now come the one of cards I'm just not certain of and need more than the 15 or so games of testing I've already done to decide whether I'm keeping them that way. The deck feels un-optimized with them there, but I'm not sure which way I want to proceed. Rishkar, Peema Renegade provides more +1/+1 counter support and can dump the deck into the field more effective with the mana ramp, Ripjaw Raptor feels like it has a place here with it's body and Enrage shenanigans, and Bristling Hydra has always been one of the more difficult to deal with cards in any Green based energy deck often ending games on the spot against Control. Hostage Taker is a great 1 for 1 or 3 for 1 when it works right. It either forces an answer or goes to the skies in card advantage. Also a funny way to deal with an artifact in the main board. Verdurous Gearhulk will end games if Constrictor is out or even it if isn't can spread out a bunch of power into play so it's definitely the primary 5 drop. Of course The Scarab God will flat out win games on his own against any other grindy deck that can't deal with him. This card is the reason you can beat dinos in a ground stall.
My sideboard feels horrible. It's got anti-graveyard, anti-control, anti-combo, anti-creature, anti-artifact, and anti-enchantment but it doesn't feel like it fits with what I'd side out yet. I've been super impressed with Shapers' Sanctuary though. The rest I think needs tweaking up or down, but without really knowing the meta and without enough experience yet I'm unsure which direction.
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1
4 Aether Hub
4 Blooming Marsh
4 Forest
4 Game Trail
2 Mountain
2 Sheltered Thicket
1 Swamp
//Spells
4 Attune with Aether
2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
3 Fatal Push
3 Harnessed Lightning
3 Heart of Kiran
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
2 Unlicensed Disintegration
2 Glorybringer
4 Greenbelt Rampager
1 Hazoret the Fervent
4 Longtusk Cub
4 Scrapheap Scrounger
2 Tireless Tracker
4 Voltaic Brawler
1 Fatal Push
2 Unlicensed Disintegration
1 Harnessed Lightning
1 Lifecrafter's Bestiary
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2 Dissenter's Deliverance
1 Root Out
1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Magma Spray
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
Needs plenty more testing especially when the Mardu players show up and I will be trying an RG Gods variant, but two-drop focused Jund Energy has continued to treat me well. My sideboard feels like a scattered mess, but I managed to use most of it.
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Rush of Adrenaline is only for Pummeler builds. I'd rather just have a Shock in it's place. Kari Zev's Expertise has been doing some pretty good work against other Midrange and Marvel builds. I'm haven't quite convinced myself it isn't a win-more combination against Midrange though. I'm still testing it. Lathnu Hellion is definitely a sideboard card now for the Midrange build. Heroic Intervention really only protects us against Fumigate, given most of the real threats can ignore Radiant Flames. Besides, playing a board wipe into a board that has planeswalkers and vehicles is already soft countered. No need to overdo it, I'd rather have something hit the board afterwords to swing the Heart into. The one thing I think you are missing though is Tireless Tracker. It's not an energy card, but it's just too good to pass up. Between Chandra, the Trackers, and sometimes even a Nissa ultimate you can outgrind a lot of the Midrange and Control strategies out there right now.
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