@kpal - Not sure about Skywhaler, afraid it will miss a lot of stuff but the Scry is very nice. I will try it out.
Overall, I think UW Approach is in good shape. Every matchup I felt like I could win. Most of the games that I did lose were because of bad draws or mulligans or me being tried and stupid (can't forget those). Going to add Opt main to see if that helps smooth some of that. Looking at the list of top 32 decks, none of those look unwinnable or we just fold too.
As far as splashing a 3rd color, I think it comes down to personal preference. A 3 color mana base is going to be a little clucky, at best. And after this weekend, feel like it would lead to more games that the deck just folds to itself. But the extra spot removal and more sideboard options may help win games that straight UW would drop when it does not draw the right answer. Short version, not sure if going to a 3rd color is worth the issues that the mana base may bring. 2 or 3 color Approach is really strong right now.
@Hobbits73 - Profane Procession is crazy good. A little slow but very good. It wrecks UB or Grixis. They can't interact with it except with Commit. But see what I wrote above about 3 colors.
-
- Hobbits73
- Registered User
-
Member for 6 years, 3 months, and 26 days
Last active Sat, May, 4 2019 12:59:51
- 0 Followers
- 58 Total Posts
- 4 Thanks
1
I tend to think the community will eventually figure out what the stronger decks are and those will get the most play. As a result, the best decks will ultimately be reflected in the meta-game percentages. I think UW Approach has two fundamental weaknesses: lack of ability to interact with resolved creature(s) early and post-board UB hate in the form of Duress, Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Doomfall, and Negate. I think Eric Froehlich referred to this as a "post-board horror show." Maybe over-stated but funny.
The two weaknesses reinforce each other; the lack of early interaction can leave the board in a sub-optimal state and we need a wrath to clean it up. If that gets negated or discarded at a key time it's a pretty big blow. UB Control is less sensitive to this because their board is in a better state because of Fatal Push and Moment of Craving.
The last major event win for Approach that I can remember is November's Atlanta GP with Alex Lloyd's Esper Approach. He went Esper to help with the early interaction problem. I think Black might help with the discard hate as well because those cards become available to us. I hope to test that on MTGO this week.
That said, you and pumpmonkey have gotten great results with UW Approach and it has consistently posted periodic 5-0 results on Competitive MTGO.
I'll take UW or Esper Approach to the Seattle GP next month!
1
Not sure who that was directed to X-Man, but probably an unnecessary comment. . .
1
I don't know how much to read into this but for the first time that I can remember UW Approach isn't listed in the mtggoldfish Standard Metagame:
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/metagame/standard/full#paper. Only four Esper.
I don't have enough black for Fatal Push. I really don't like what this does to my mana base and I don't have a good way to trigger revolt for Push but I'm clearly missing something because traditional UW seems to be waning. . .
1
@greyimp: I had 1 Torrential Gearhulk in the mainboard for a while but it never made an impact (probably because it was a 1 of). I eventually moved it out. Based on what you and @pumpmonkey said I’ll move 2 into the main. I’ve played a couple games at home that way and I think it has helped. Similar feedback from @pumpmonkey on the Sunscourge Champion so I’ll cut that number back a bit. . .
@kpal: I will look into the Settle the Wreckage/Fumigate balance. I have games where 3/2 seems the right number and others where 2/3 looks better. Would really like to find a way to have 3/3 of these. . .
@pumpmonkey: I play-tested your deck today. I really like it! The 3 Glimmer of Genius / 1 Pull from Tomorrow pattern is great; late in the game I was drawing 5 rather than 2. I’m going to copy that into my deck. =)
Re: Flex Slot. Have you considered 2 Duress as a pre-2nd Approach deck peek vs. an opponent with blue? Just curious. . .
Hope everyone’s FNM is going well!
~ Hobbits