Game 3 - Skymarcher, Sorcerous Spyglass on The Scarab God, fight through tons of removal and counters. Eventually grind my way to saprolings and servos, and resolving a Huatli, Radiant Champion wins it through double Azcanta searches on consecutive turns looking for an answer.
Game 3 - Reasonable start: legion's landing into song of freyalise. Ramp into Shanna, Voice of Sissay and more servos. +6 on Huatli the turn she drops allows for a second turn ultimate and my boardstate gets crazy. He scoops.
Notes:
Song of Freyalise was awesome. My Match 3 opponent straight up said it blew him out. It doesn't always ramp into anything, but even just pumping for a swing makes it worth it.
Any time I landed a Huatli, I won. Moving to at least two mainboard, maybe three. From a Match 3 spectator: "What does Huatli's ultimate do?" **picks it up** "Oh, it wins the game." Opponent: "Yeah, it wins the game."
I was worried about the lack of one-drops, but eked out wins anyway without a ton of issue. Slow start in M2G2 may have been helped with more one-drops.
I sided out Benalish Marshall a lot, so only got to see him one game. I might take him out for dauntless bodyguards to ensure the curve and protect Shanna, Sisay's Legacy who turned out pretty sweet each time she got out, but he's the only three drop in the list, so I have to work on that. I ordered a third History of Benalia so that's probably going to take the spot.
Not having Settle the Wreckage in the sideboard was a big mistake; putting them in for the naturalizes probably.
In two games the opponent was two or three draws from a sweeper that probably would have swung the game. Heroic stops fumigate but not settle or golden demise so even though I won through a fumigate round one I feel like I need to incorporate more protection from board wipes. Any thoughts?
PPTQ Next weekend.
Anyone have any ideas on what can be done against Grixis energy?, I am concerned about that particular match, well that and grixis control.
I am not fast enough to go under and don't have a good enough long game to go with them. Scarab god is too strong.
I am looking at things like Saheeli or Hazoret that force them to use Varaska's contempt (That is easy to spell piece rather than Push and Harness lightning that I just can't seem to tag, (I have been losing the counter wars).
Maybe I should sideboard soul-scour mage? just to give them more push/lightning targets.. but its the kind of thing you need 4 of.
I have found a bit (not a ton) more success with more controlesque play and then swinging with Insult for one big turn's worth of damage once I have counter backup, or playing Fling in response to removal. I've also never gone better than 2-2 because of all the removal in standard right now (or the inability to deal with Carnage Tyrant or The Scarab God).
Warkite Marauder is one way to deal with The Scarab God, but it's pretty slow/crappy otherwise (and almost certainly gets removed). One option is to run 4x Unsummon to just bounce it until you can swing for the win.
Tempoing to a turn 6 huge swing is the best bet, I think, but after weeks of playing and loving the deck I am not sure how to refine it further..
So far so good. It's a heavy sweeper list because I fully expect tribal decks to be a thing in the meta. Also, Devastation hits hazoret.
Search for azcanta is both wonderful for the control plan and, for the sinergy with drake/serpent.
This list lets me to control the board, play a cheap threat and protect it/hold up mana to counter oppo's threats.
I'm eating tribal decks alive, while I expect jeskai approach to be a bad matchup.
Also, the 7 cycle spells work wonderful with drake/serpent.
I'm playing 3 copies of both for these reasons:
- drake better against aggro decks, but turns on fatal push and harnessed lightning
- serpent better against removals, sometimes a bit slow
I'm thinking about Lay Claim/Vizier of many faces in sb as anti-gods cards
I have been playing variants of this deck for weeks now, and I almost always end up 2-2 (because I play Temur Energy twice). I'm excited for tomorrow's FNM to see if it's any better. I agree that I'll probably switch in more sweepers, and I need to get two more Censor for a playset, but I don't know what to pull for it.
Here are some of my experiences; I'd love to hear what more experienced players think. I am not strategically minded enough for a control build, so I try for more aggro-ish play.
Search for Azcanta: I tried 2x main, then 2x side, and have since pulled them. They're obviously slower, but they also can't grab creatures, which is usually what I'm looking for lategame.
Soul-Scar Mage: I started with these, then pulled them for a few weeks because they suck as a topdeck, but have since tried them again. Usually good for 4+ damage if I can land one turn one or two, and they're always a removal target, which helps draw removal before the drakes or serpents come out. These might come out for Censor when I get two more.
Insult: This card makes the deck IMHO. with Riddleform it's huge damage early on. Especially with Fling. I have had at least two Turn 6 Insult + Fling + spell pierce backups for lethal.
Here's the latest version, after probably 20 different tweaks:
I think I need more card draw, but it's so hard to adjust the numbers after tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. Anyone have any luck with a more aggro build? I also can't find anything in Rivals of Ixalan that helps much...
After 15 years away (stopped after Invasion) I have been really getting into Magic since the Hour of Devastation prerelease, making every FNM since then and accumulating a few decks to try. I found a great group of people to play against at a friendly LGS, and I've been testing all sorts of brews on XMage but I can't help but feel that I lose to control every single time. I do have fun regardless, but it's surprising to me how consistent it is: every single FNM winner since I've attended has been some form of control (lately UB) or Ramunap Red (just once)
I've tried Sunmare, Curse Control and a Nest of Scarabs/Hapatra deck. Curse control has given me my best ever FNM performances at 2-2.
I am not looking to win every FNM (or even a single one), I'd just enjoy the game more if it wasn't a control deck winning every single time... I always ask every player I play for feedback, and I have gotten some great info every match (almost) on how to improve, which is really nice of them. I know I am a beginner, but still: in the last 13 XMage matches I've played, I've gone 1-12, losing to UW Approach (6 matches) UB God-Pharoahs (3 matches), UWB control, Temur Energy (not control, I grant you) and UR control. The only victory was against a weird BG deck that didn't draw well.
TL;DR: I acknowledge this is a sort of whiny post, but please: how do I do better against control? Is there any option other than outracing it with Ramunap red?
I just want to make token vampires work when ixalan comes out..
4x Adorned Pouncer
3x Skymarcher Aspirant
2x Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
2x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
3x Benalish Marshall
Planeswalkers (1)
1x Huatli, Radiant Champion
Instant / Sorcery (16)
4x Appeal // Authority
2x Pride of Conquerors
2x Saproling Migration
4x Servo Exhibition
4x Sram's Expertise
Enchantments (6)
3x Song of Freyalise
3x Legion's Landing
4x Sunpetal Grove
4x Shefet Dunes
1x Hashep Oasis
3x Forest
7x Plains
2x Seal Away
2x Aethersphere Harvester
2x Naturalize
2x Lyra Dawnbringer
1x Huatli, Radiant Champion
2x Sorcerous Spyglass
2x Ixalan's Binding
Matches: (unfortunately don't remember the exact sideboards)
Match 1 - Jeskai Historic Control
Game 1 - Fast start, appealed a Shanna and won by turn 6.
Game 2 - Slower start with more back and forth and lots of Seal Aways, stabilized after a Fumigate with a Sram's Expertise into song of freyalise. Huatli, Radiant Champion wins the game.
Match 2 - UB Control
Game 1 - Legion's Landing, Servo Exhibition, Benalish Marshal, Skymarcher Aspirant was a fast start but everything got countered until he dropped a Karn, Liberated. Drew a counter with an adorned pouncer and then pride of conquerers for the win.
Game 2 - Sorcerous spyglass naming Karn...he took them all out for The Scarab God. Whoops; big punt on my part. He played 3 Cast downs and 3 fatal pushes, 3 disallows. I die to Torrential Gearhulk and my own Shalai, Voice of Plenty.
Game 3 - Skymarcher, Sorcerous Spyglass on The Scarab God, fight through tons of removal and counters. Eventually grind my way to saprolings and servos, and resolving a Huatli, Radiant Champion wins it through double Azcanta searches on consecutive turns looking for an answer.
Match 3 - Jeskai Thopter Vehicles
This deck looked super fun.
Game 1 - Perfect start: skymarcher aspirant, servo exhibition, song of freyalise, 4 saprolings, win.
Game 2 - Mull to five: 3 lands, a skymarcher aspirant and a Sram's Expertise. He builds a huge boardstate, I die to Pia, Thopters, HoK.
Game 3 - Reasonable start: legion's landing into song of freyalise. Ramp into Shanna, Voice of Sissay and more servos. +6 on Huatli the turn she drops allows for a second turn ultimate and my boardstate gets crazy. He scoops.
Notes:
Song of Freyalise was awesome. My Match 3 opponent straight up said it blew him out. It doesn't always ramp into anything, but even just pumping for a swing makes it worth it.
Any time I landed a Huatli, I won. Moving to at least two mainboard, maybe three. From a Match 3 spectator: "What does Huatli's ultimate do?" **picks it up** "Oh, it wins the game." Opponent: "Yeah, it wins the game."
I was worried about the lack of one-drops, but eked out wins anyway without a ton of issue. Slow start in M2G2 may have been helped with more one-drops.
I sided out Benalish Marshall a lot, so only got to see him one game. I might take him out for dauntless bodyguards to ensure the curve and protect Shanna, Sisay's Legacy who turned out pretty sweet each time she got out, but he's the only three drop in the list, so I have to work on that. I ordered a third History of Benalia so that's probably going to take the spot.
Not having Settle the Wreckage in the sideboard was a big mistake; putting them in for the naturalizes probably.
In two games the opponent was two or three draws from a sweeper that probably would have swung the game. Heroic stops fumigate but not settle or golden demise so even though I won through a fumigate round one I feel like I need to incorporate more protection from board wipes. Any thoughts?
Siren Stormtamer? It either draws removal or prevents it. Also can target the player themselves if they settle the wreckage.
I have found a bit (not a ton) more success with more controlesque play and then swinging with Insult for one big turn's worth of damage once I have counter backup, or playing Fling in response to removal. I've also never gone better than 2-2 because of all the removal in standard right now (or the inability to deal with Carnage Tyrant or The Scarab God).
Warkite Marauder is one way to deal with The Scarab God, but it's pretty slow/crappy otherwise (and almost certainly gets removed). One option is to run 4x Unsummon to just bounce it until you can swing for the win.
Tempoing to a turn 6 huge swing is the best bet, I think, but after weeks of playing and loving the deck I am not sure how to refine it further..
Have you tried Baral, Chief of Compliance? Seems like it'd be good a slower control build.
I have been playing variants of this deck for weeks now, and I almost always end up 2-2 (because I play Temur Energy twice). I'm excited for tomorrow's FNM to see if it's any better. I agree that I'll probably switch in more sweepers, and I need to get two more Censor for a playset, but I don't know what to pull for it.
Here are some of my experiences; I'd love to hear what more experienced players think. I am not strategically minded enough for a control build, so I try for more aggro-ish play.
Search for Azcanta: I tried 2x main, then 2x side, and have since pulled them. They're obviously slower, but they also can't grab creatures, which is usually what I'm looking for lategame.
Soul-Scar Mage: I started with these, then pulled them for a few weeks because they suck as a topdeck, but have since tried them again. Usually good for 4+ damage if I can land one turn one or two, and they're always a removal target, which helps draw removal before the drakes or serpents come out. These might come out for Censor when I get two more.
Insult: This card makes the deck IMHO. with Riddleform it's huge damage early on. Especially with Fling. I have had at least two Turn 6 Insult + Fling + spell pierce backups for lethal.
Here's the latest version, after probably 20 different tweaks:
4x Enigma Drake
3x Cryptic Serpent
4x Soul-Scar Mage
Enchantment (4)
4x Riddleform
Instant (18)
4x Opt
3x Spell Pierce
2x Lightning Strike
2x Abrade
3x Dive Down
2x Fling
2x Invigorated Rampage
4x Chart a Course
3x Insult
Land (20)
4x Spirebluff Canal
2x Highland Lake
1x Ipnu Rivulet
7x Island
6x Mountain
2x Abrade
2x Negate
2x Essence scatter
2x Chandra's defeat
2x Crook of Condemnation
1x Vizier of Many Faces
2x Glorybringer
2x Sweltering Suns
I think I need more card draw, but it's so hard to adjust the numbers after tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. Anyone have any luck with a more aggro build? I also can't find anything in Rivals of Ixalan that helps much...
I've tried Sunmare, Curse Control and a Nest of Scarabs/Hapatra deck. Curse control has given me my best ever FNM performances at 2-2.
I am not looking to win every FNM (or even a single one), I'd just enjoy the game more if it wasn't a control deck winning every single time... I always ask every player I play for feedback, and I have gotten some great info every match (almost) on how to improve, which is really nice of them. I know I am a beginner, but still: in the last 13 XMage matches I've played, I've gone 1-12, losing to UW Approach (6 matches) UB God-Pharoahs (3 matches), UWB control, Temur Energy (not control, I grant you) and UR control. The only victory was against a weird BG deck that didn't draw well.
TL;DR: I acknowledge this is a sort of whiny post, but please: how do I do better against control? Is there any option other than outracing it with Ramunap red?
I just want to make token vampires work when ixalan comes out..