Stille_Nacht, I've found that Loam is just so much more useful than Thug most of the time. Thug is just worse Imp when you don't have Imp. Loam is so important to facilitating different parts of the deck that we want to minimize the times we don't have it. Yes, Thug technically finds the Loams faster, but 1 extra milled card is negligible.
Also, I think its worthwhile to trim a Creeping Chill in Jund/GBx matchups. We need to optimize relevant cards, and Scavenging Ooze can eat Chill on the stack.
On Creeping Chill, not only does it help the race, but it also is an uncounterable helix to face vs Jeskai and UW control. This can help when we drop them to <7 life right before they stabilize.
That being said, it makes us slightly worse to hand hate game 1. If the opponent thoughtseizes, they can choose to hit an initiator if we have it, or just take Creeping chill if there is nothing else. It gives them a way avoid making us discard a grave- relevant card. Maybe it's too corner case, but idk.
What I think this could help the most is versus combo. I found that I am always one turn off against valakut or another deck. If this speeds up our clock by a turn, I can see it being played.
My biggest question is what do we cut for this? I think the card isn't useful enough as only a 1 or 2-of, as it needs the density to swing life totals in a meaningful way. We could cut 1 horn (4 loot, 4 hug, 3 horn for initiators) and scourge devil too, but then we have at least one more slot to cut. It will certainly harm the deck's flexibility if it means we'll be going down on Darkblast or the like
Hello! I just finished building this deck (minus Cliffs), and I'm wondering how I should split my sideboard. Last time I was at FNM, it was filled with creature decks (Elves, Affinity, Spirits), combo (1 Eggs player, 1-2 Storm), and a splattering of midrange. My current sideboard looks like this:
Note: I can't afford LOTV, Leyline, or EE. I decided to run Revelry in place of EE to have an answer to enchantments because I'm scared of RiP/D-sphere. However, it doesn't answer a wide board-state like EE. Should I run Kozilek's Return or Sweltering Suns as a replacement board wipe for EE? Is it worthwhile to have Thoughtseize against combo? What happened to Blood Moon; was it just too clunky?
Between rally and devil, rally has the threat of activation going for it, rather than having to pay the mana upfront, which is very relevant against midrange and control. In a typical board, a larger part of the damage will have evasion (the narcomoebas and token spirit hit harder).
Now on a small board, if the opponent doesn't have too many decent blocks, devil will deal a lot more damage, but I would argue that in these situations you'll probably want to use your mana for different things (looting to get a bigger board, conflagrating and/or loaming to prepare for the next conflagrate).
I think you are discounting the occasional utility of Scourge Devil. I've found that I often get a board where it sort of becomes an improvised Driven//Despair. Either my opponent takes the damage and probably goes down to <6 life, or they spend 3+ cards (removal + blocks with the already few creatures they have) to prevent it. Likewise, the uncounterable I've found is great against blue decks where you need just a little bit more damage before they potentially stall out with cryptic and snaps. This forces them to deal with it, rather than the threat of it.
Also, sometimes you get to trigger an amalgam in the 'yard, then, if another amalgam dies when you attack, both will come back by the next turn.
In term of MUs, I'd prefer rally versus fair decks that tend to go fairly wide: Jund, ETron, Ponza, etc.
Devil though I find is better against GDS, UW, (some) Jeskai, etc.
So, as the finisher, is it better Driven to Despair, Scourge Devil or Rally the Peasants right now?
IMO,it depends entirely on the meta and your personal preference. Each card are have their own merits and there are very good arguments for each of them. As a result, I swap this slot out more and anything else in my 75.
Driven is good versus combo (Storm-ish, Ad Naus, Valakut, Saheeli). It disrupts whatever they're trying to assemble. This is important because combo is the 'paper to our rock' and a way to help our bad matchups is great. However, against creature-company decks this is not as useful because it doesn't kill stuff and they can still CoCo into a win. That being said, menace does help punch in for damage and helps can mess up the hands of fair decks. In this scenario, it isn't for the race. Instead of winning the game, it makes the enemy unable to win the game.
+ Helps combo, bad MU
+ Occasionally useful front side
* Meh versus creature dense decks
- Sorcery speed, hurts more than Devil because, if dealt with, you are put farther behind in an already grindy/ and time-dependant MU
Devil is good for races with decks that have a low density of creatures. (Infect, Burn, Bogles), and counter spell decks. Triggering Amalgam helps too.
+ Triggers Amalgam
+ Another creature that needs to be blocked
- Bad in creature heavy MUs
Rally is good when you need to race hard and fast against decks like Tron, ETron, Valakut, etc. Keep in mind
These deck generally don't have much removal outside of board wipes so you can punch in for lots. Also, I've found its great in go-wide creature MUs like Merfolk, Elves, Humans, etc. because it lets each creature become a 3+ damage threat. I love being able to dredge loam, attack, and if enough creatures get through I can dome for a ton. If they don't then I can just loam and continue building towards Conflag.
++ Instant speed
+ Races hardest vs decks that don't interact and try to go tall
+ Makes each creature a potential killing threat
- Counterable
- Bad if there's too much removal
Squee, the Immortal
1RR
Legendary Creature — Goblin
2/1
You may cast Squee, the Immortal from your graveyard or from exile.
~ ~ ~ ~
I don't think we need the Phoenix. 2 extra (evasive) damage for 2R isn't needed if we already have 3 or more creatures. At that point I'd rather use Devil or Rally to get in for more damage. If it hardcast for the same price, then it could possibly be worth it to have a creature that's playable through hate (à la RB Hollowed One). Otherwise, I think it's too slow.
On the other hand, my boy squee is looking pretty stylish. He's slightly harder to cast at 1RR (not really since we already need RR for Conflag) and is a 2/1 without haste. However, there are no restrictions on when he can be cast, so he is still useful if we are behind. I can see situations where are are attacking with Ghasts and casting Squee as a blocker each turn.
Imp does the same job while also being a flyer with deaththouch, but Squee lets us dredge other cards in the meantime. This lets us build up for a large Conflag, have landfall every turn, or just go into topdeck mode to find a specific card. Also, he trigger amalgams.
Likewise, he's still useful in hand, and is useful in the face of hate. Particularly, if the opponent is looking to crack a Relic after we discard to Looting/Carthartic, we could pitch Squee + a dredger to still have an option. They may choose to wait until later, which could offer us some counterplay. The only weird interaction is vs. Scooze because Squee will keep making it bigger while also gaining the opponent life.
The problems I see in this scenario is whether we'll have the 3 mana to cast him, whether a 2/1 is more worthwhile to cast over a looting effect (we might have 4 mana to do both), or if the opponent even care that we'll get a 2/1 out of the deal.
I see him to be comparable to Haunted Dead. For 1 more mana we don't have to pitch two cards, which has its pros and cons. The discard lets us pitch Ghasts or Amalgams, but sometimes we don't the have cards or it makes our Conflags worse. Haunted Dead can also be activated at instant speed.
The biggest issue with Squee is his subpar stats. He is playable from every location, but maybe a 2/1 is not good enough.
I found that Haunted is best vs Anger decks (and also Ugin I guess), as it is an instant speed way for me to play around it. In my FNM, it's possible I'll face it more bcause of Jace, but my local meta is 50-50 midrange/blue decks vs. players with a dedicated deck. The latter half usually are a race. I've found that you either face one half of the meta or the other depending on if you win or lose the first two rounds. As a result, I decided that I won't play him tonight since I don't know if anyone can even afford to play him, and If I'm better than 1-1 I probably won't even face an Anger deck.
As for Rally/Devil/Despair, I plan on running Rally because it aids the race, is castable in the face of Blood Moon, and the instant speed lets me decide when to pop it if I'm vs a clogged board (which may happen with BBE shenanigans).
The only thing I'm curious about is whether I should try the MD Axe that other people have been doing. While people can't afford Jace, they can BBE. So, it may help kill Goyf and friends.
It uses Sedraxis Spectre and Extractor Demon to trigger Amalgams and fly over Deaths Shadow decks. Keep in mind, there aren't any cycling lands in the list because they were only just spoiled when he wrote this.
I do miss Lingering Souls, but I guess its unneeded if the unearth creatures already fly and if we can already clog the board.
How many Nature's Claims are competitive Dredge players bringing in G2? For example against Grixis, Jeskai, or Jund.
Not seeing what specific hate how much change are players willing to make?
In a large event in the dark, I would bring in the 3 claims if I'm on the back foot after G1. If you win g1 and are in the dark, hand disruption is my go-to. In a small event, do your homework and find out what people are playing against you and write notes. It helps you considerably in SB choices.
I don't play Dredge.
Answer still applicable. Some players who know the matchups will bring in all of them if they suspect the right hate. If they just don't know what some people bring in, then it's up to the player. I board in Thoughtsieze and Collective Brutality if I'm up a game. But if there's black involved, then I always suspect Leyline and board accordingly.
I was wondering about this when it comes to sideboarding. At the FNM I attend there is plenty of hate. In the scenario where my opponent sides in 3 Leylines and some number of Angers, should I look to have a Brutality on the play, and Claim on the draw?
On 20 lands/scourge/3 conflag/loam
That wasnt me doing a sideboard guide he plays jund, use this cut this. That was me asking what hate does that shell bring in, and what was his speed. If you all wish I don't mind going card by card and talking about if its good vs x, or Id likely side it in vs X, and what type of cards Id likely cut for it...
But a straight up guide would be far to simplified to use blindly and be successful I think.
For sideboard guides I would prefer a more general guidelines or discussions about what cards should or shouldn't be sideboarded.
On page 54, you made a basic guide on various matchups and listed the relevant cards. I believe it would be greatly beneficial to have something similar, but with more elaboration. For example, when do you cut Neonates instead of Hugs in certain matchups? Another would be why you would not add certain cards. Bant Eldrazi often runs some combination or split of Cages/ RiP's. On the list, you said to not include Claims/States as cards to consider, and I would like to know why.
Also, if we have too many cards to side in, what would be the order of importance of what to use?
What does everyone think about the newly spoiled card Relentless Dead?
I don't play Dredgevine, but I thought I might mention it here, it seems bonkers in the deck. It has the zombie subtype, has pseudo-evasion, and can make sure you always have one in play.
However, it does not work well with Gurmag, because you would need to pay 7 to return it.
Also, I think its worthwhile to trim a Creeping Chill in Jund/GBx matchups. We need to optimize relevant cards, and Scavenging Ooze can eat Chill on the stack.
That being said, it makes us slightly worse to hand hate game 1. If the opponent thoughtseizes, they can choose to hit an initiator if we have it, or just take Creeping chill if there is nothing else. It gives them a way avoid making us discard a grave- relevant card. Maybe it's too corner case, but idk.
What I think this could help the most is versus combo. I found that I am always one turn off against valakut or another deck. If this speeds up our clock by a turn, I can see it being played.
My biggest question is what do we cut for this? I think the card isn't useful enough as only a 1 or 2-of, as it needs the density to swing life totals in a meaningful way. We could cut 1 horn (4 loot, 4 hug, 3 horn for initiators) and scourge devil too, but then we have at least one more slot to cut. It will certainly harm the deck's flexibility if it means we'll be going down on Darkblast or the like
2x Big Game Hunter
1x Collective Brutality
2x Destructive Revelry
2x Fatal Push
2x Grim Lavamancer
2x Nihil Spellbomb
2x Thoughtseize
Note: I can't afford LOTV, Leyline, or EE. I decided to run Revelry in place of EE to have an answer to enchantments because I'm scared of RiP/D-sphere. However, it doesn't answer a wide board-state like EE. Should I run Kozilek's Return or Sweltering Suns as a replacement board wipe for EE? Is it worthwhile to have Thoughtseize against combo? What happened to Blood Moon; was it just too clunky?
I think you are discounting the occasional utility of Scourge Devil. I've found that I often get a board where it sort of becomes an improvised Driven//Despair. Either my opponent takes the damage and probably goes down to <6 life, or they spend 3+ cards (removal + blocks with the already few creatures they have) to prevent it. Likewise, the uncounterable I've found is great against blue decks where you need just a little bit more damage before they potentially stall out with cryptic and snaps. This forces them to deal with it, rather than the threat of it.
Also, sometimes you get to trigger an amalgam in the 'yard, then, if another amalgam dies when you attack, both will come back by the next turn.
In term of MUs, I'd prefer rally versus fair decks that tend to go fairly wide: Jund, ETron, Ponza, etc.
Devil though I find is better against GDS, UW, (some) Jeskai, etc.
IMO,it depends entirely on the meta and your personal preference. Each card are have their own merits and there are very good arguments for each of them. As a result, I swap this slot out more and anything else in my 75.
Driven is good versus combo (Storm-ish, Ad Naus, Valakut, Saheeli). It disrupts whatever they're trying to assemble. This is important because combo is the 'paper to our rock' and a way to help our bad matchups is great. However, against creature-company decks this is not as useful because it doesn't kill stuff and they can still CoCo into a win. That being said, menace does help punch in for damage and helps can mess up the hands of fair decks. In this scenario, it isn't for the race. Instead of winning the game, it makes the enemy unable to win the game.
+ Helps combo, bad MU
+ Occasionally useful front side
* Meh versus creature dense decks
- Sorcery speed, hurts more than Devil because, if dealt with, you are put farther behind in an already grindy/ and time-dependant MU
Devil is good for races with decks that have a low density of creatures. (Infect, Burn, Bogles), and counter spell decks. Triggering Amalgam helps too.
+ Triggers Amalgam
+ Another creature that needs to be blocked
- Bad in creature heavy MUs
Rally is good when you need to race hard and fast against decks like Tron, ETron, Valakut, etc. Keep in mind
These deck generally don't have much removal outside of board wipes so you can punch in for lots. Also, I've found its great in go-wide creature MUs like Merfolk, Elves, Humans, etc. because it lets each creature become a 3+ damage threat. I love being able to dredge loam, attack, and if enough creatures get through I can dome for a ton. If they don't then I can just loam and continue building towards Conflag.
++ Instant speed
+ Races hardest vs decks that don't interact and try to go tall
+ Makes each creature a potential killing threat
- Counterable
- Bad if there's too much removal
Squee, the Immortal
1RR
Legendary Creature — Goblin
2/1
You may cast Squee, the Immortal from your graveyard or from exile.
~ ~ ~ ~
I don't think we need the Phoenix. 2 extra (evasive) damage for 2R isn't needed if we already have 3 or more creatures. At that point I'd rather use Devil or Rally to get in for more damage. If it hardcast for the same price, then it could possibly be worth it to have a creature that's playable through hate (à la RB Hollowed One). Otherwise, I think it's too slow.
On the other hand, my boy squee is looking pretty stylish. He's slightly harder to cast at 1RR (not really since we already need RR for Conflag) and is a 2/1 without haste. However, there are no restrictions on when he can be cast, so he is still useful if we are behind. I can see situations where are are attacking with Ghasts and casting Squee as a blocker each turn.
Imp does the same job while also being a flyer with deaththouch, but Squee lets us dredge other cards in the meantime. This lets us build up for a large Conflag, have landfall every turn, or just go into topdeck mode to find a specific card. Also, he trigger amalgams.
Likewise, he's still useful in hand, and is useful in the face of hate. Particularly, if the opponent is looking to crack a Relic after we discard to Looting/Carthartic, we could pitch Squee + a dredger to still have an option. They may choose to wait until later, which could offer us some counterplay. The only weird interaction is vs. Scooze because Squee will keep making it bigger while also gaining the opponent life.
The problems I see in this scenario is whether we'll have the 3 mana to cast him, whether a 2/1 is more worthwhile to cast over a looting effect (we might have 4 mana to do both), or if the opponent even care that we'll get a 2/1 out of the deal.
I see him to be comparable to Haunted Dead. For 1 more mana we don't have to pitch two cards, which has its pros and cons. The discard lets us pitch Ghasts or Amalgams, but sometimes we don't the have cards or it makes our Conflags worse. Haunted Dead can also be activated at instant speed.
The biggest issue with Squee is his subpar stats. He is playable from every location, but maybe a 2/1 is not good enough.
As for Rally/Devil/Despair, I plan on running Rally because it aids the race, is castable in the face of Blood Moon, and the instant speed lets me decide when to pop it if I'm vs a clogged board (which may happen with BBE shenanigans).
The only thing I'm curious about is whether I should try the MD Axe that other people have been doing. While people can't afford Jace, they can BBE. So, it may help kill Goyf and friends.
It uses Sedraxis Spectre and Extractor Demon to trigger Amalgams and fly over Deaths Shadow decks. Keep in mind, there aren't any cycling lands in the list because they were only just spoiled when he wrote this.
I do miss Lingering Souls, but I guess its unneeded if the unearth creatures already fly and if we can already clog the board.
I was wondering about this when it comes to sideboarding. At the FNM I attend there is plenty of hate. In the scenario where my opponent sides in 3 Leylines and some number of Angers, should I look to have a Brutality on the play, and Claim on the draw?
For sideboard guides I would prefer a more general guidelines or discussions about what cards should or shouldn't be sideboarded.
On page 54, you made a basic guide on various matchups and listed the relevant cards. I believe it would be greatly beneficial to have something similar, but with more elaboration. For example, when do you cut Neonates instead of Hugs in certain matchups? Another would be why you would not add certain cards. Bant Eldrazi often runs some combination or split of Cages/ RiP's. On the list, you said to not include Claims/States as cards to consider, and I would like to know why.
Also, if we have too many cards to side in, what would be the order of importance of what to use?
===
Perpetual Timepiece [2]
Artifact
T: Put the top two cards of your library into your graveyard.
2, Exile Perpetual Timepiece: Shuffle any number of target cards from your graveyard into your library.
===
What does everyone think about the newly spoiled card Relentless Dead?
I don't play Dredgevine, but I thought I might mention it here, it seems bonkers in the deck. It has the zombie subtype, has pseudo-evasion, and can make sure you always have one in play.
However, it does not work well with Gurmag, because you would need to pay 7 to return it.