I have to say. This is my favorite card. When m11 was legal, i loved Destructive force. And this card reminds me of it. Sure it costs much more, but you know. Whatevr. I think that it combos well with Oblivion ring. And there are sweepers. Maybe an American control could work. but i dont know. Itll be fun to brew.
Well, I went 4-3 drop at States, but it wasn't because Solar Flare was the wrong choice. In fact, Solar Flare was the top seeded deck at the end of the Swiss, who happened to be my third round opponent... he didn't drop a game on his way to a cool 8-0.
Round 1 - U/W Blade
Game 1, my opponent starts off with a slow start, and I punish him with my Mana Leaks and Doom Blades. Sun Titan and Wurmcoil mop up a pathetic board position.
Game 2, again, Mana Leak proved it's worth. A turn 6 Sword of War and Peace on a Sun Titan locked the game away for me.
Round 2 - Benny Smith, Necrotic Ooze combo
Game 1, this game required super tight play, and with Reassembling Skeletons coming back over and over, it was hard to keep the pressure off while I tried to build board presence. However, eventually I was able to Go for the Throat on his Ooze, then untap and reanimate both a Sun Titan and Grave Titan in the same turn. The game ended shortly after.
Game 2, he stalls on no blue land, but his skeletons threaten to go all the way. A Wurmcoil Engine + a Sword of Feat or Famine eat him up rather quickly.
Round 3 - Solar Flare
Both games came down to him drawing Forbidden Alchemy and me not drawing any... he was able to assemble more threats, where I just played land go... in game 2 I came out quick with a Sword of War and Peace on a snapcaster, but ultimately his double Surgical on Alchemy and my own Surgical was enough to knock me out.
Round 4 - G/r Wolf Run
Game 1 I get a powerful start, and teamed with Mana Leak and Doom Blade, I ride a Sun Titan across the gates. Sword of Feat and Famine helped too...
Game 2/3 typical anticlimatical games where my opponent plays a Titan into a bunch of infect lands, then ramps em up and sends them hurling at my face.
Round 5 - Bant Flare
Game 1 goes 32 minutes, when I finally scoop because it's just that bad of a position...not unwinnable, but I wanted ample time to take games two and three. I was able to clinch game two off the back of a Sword of Feast and Famine, and then with 3 minutes left, we started game 3. He missed his fourth land drop and played a Bird, which I went for it's throat, then untapped and played a Sword, followed by a Wurmcoil Engine + equip, then swing swing, time, swing, swing game.
Round 6 - G/r Wolf Run
Game 1 I cruise to victory riding Wurmcoil's and a Sword.
Game 2/3 is again the typical games, where they Titan up some stuff and burn my face out.
Round 7 - W/u Geist Aggro
Game 1 he durdles with little guys for a while before I day and wipe him out with Grave Titan.
Game 2 he plays three Honor the Pure, and then he falls right into my Day of Judgment. Sun Titan takes the game easily once he's got no more business to attend too.
I dropped to sell cards and then I went home. All in all the tournament was fun, and I realized that I need some more help against the Wolf Run decks... if this deck continues to be popular, Flare might be a bad choice... here's the list I went with for the tournament.
Changes I would make if I could do the tournament over...
Main deck
-2 Ratchet Bomb
+1 Sword of Feat or Famine
+1 Doom Blade
Sideboard
-1 Day of Judgment
-1 Unburial Rites
-1 Surgical Extraction
-1 Oblivion Ring
-1 Celestial Purge
+2 Frost Titan
+1 Ratchet Bomb
+2 Ghost Quarter
If you guys have any questions, let me know. I think this is probably the best deck in the format hands down when built properly, and had my 'board been a little better I would have ended up x-1 vice x-3.
The problem with wolf run is the land. Since i added ghost quarter i have been 3-0 against it.
As for aggro decks (which were a difficult match up for me) i ended up putting in a day of reckoning. i already have 2 DOJ. and day of reckoning seems decent in the deck.
Against the mirror i am a total of 5-0 against the mirror. Geist on t3 wins the entire game.
ill post the deck in the morning. as it is late here and i am tired. but my deck is "odd" i guess. just a heads up
puresteel will be bonkers. its one of:
Mono white- gives it easiest mana base, although decently restricting
UW - Ponders, counterspells but shaky mana base
GW - seems decent. mentor of the meek + jade mage seems good?
UW control will probably see play
UB will be good.
Dredge (aka self mill) will see a lot of play (atleast in the begginning, because everyone will try to break it)
tempered steel - it doesnt lose much, still viable
RUG i think will see more play, either that or RG because Koth will be more viable without cawblade in the format, so will thrun
With basilisk collar rotating this deck is in an awkward spot. With collar in, and mentor, and paladin, I think the deck would be tier 1 for sure. However, I'm trying to find a reason to keep Mortarpod in the deck (its ok, but not completely insane w/o a source of reliable deathtouch) without a good death touch enabler in the format (assuming we don't get one in the remaining 100 cards of innistrad). I mean, there are options like Onyx Mage and Painsmith, but I feel those are getting a little loose for a tier 1 standard deck.
The main package is for sure 4 Puresteel and 4 Mentor. Both of these make all of your living weapons into draw 1 or draw 2 (if both are in play), this seems pretty strong. However, I'm torn on whether or not to go with blue for Trinket Mage (still good, but not as good w/o Collar to tutor for and set up the Collar+mortarpod combo) or not. I'm also trying to decide if Mortarpod is worth keeping in since there is nothing super strong to combo with it. Sure, its a pinger and a source of card draw - but I'd like to avoid making the deck into a "kill my engines and I lose" type deck.
We'll see what happens with the remaining 100 spoiled cards, but I'm not counting on anything for the deck. I think the best way may just to be to move away from Metalcraft and focus more on a WW or W/x deck. Still getting good card draw from Mentor and Paladin, but not building the ENTIRE deck around puresteels two abilities. As other posters have recognized, there are great 1-2 power creatures (Mirran crusader comes to mind) - but unfortunately these guys make Puresteel much weaker than running more metalcraft/equipment.
Edit: the deck I am currently testing runs Kemba, Kha Regent, Puresteel, and Mentor as its big threats, alongside a package of Living Weapons and Swords to beef them up. It seems quite strong, but I can't decide what colors to splash - and whether or not to push for Metalcraft or not.
I think Kemba might be decent, but i feel like the deck would die to doj. because all of the tokens would die too. with purestell you can always hold options. And mortar pod is still really good, because of free equip you can sac all of your tokens and go for lethal. and as long as you play equipment you are pushing metal craft
I was thinking full on white weenie with this with Mirran Crusaders and Elite Inquisitors. Make it a human tribal weenie deck
[CARD]4x champion of the parish
4x elite vanguard
4x gideon lawkeeper
4x elite inquisitor
4x mirran crusader
4x mentor of the meek
4x gideon's avenger
4x oblivion ring
4x dismember
18x plains
4x isolated chapel[/CARD]
I'm not sure if honor of the pure's should be in since it messes up your mentor I believe. If you have a honor out and put downn a crusader, it comes in as power 3 and it doesn't work right?
I believe you are right that it doesnt work. However, if you need to outrace someone you can sb honor of the pure.?
yea true. I have really liked mentor in my WW puresteel. which seems good. WU is doing decent with him too. Im going to test GW puresteel because jade mage + mentor = 3G for a 1/1 and draw a card seems good.
Fiend Hunter seems more like a sideboard card in Puresteel though. because like previously stated, its bad early game.
This deck seems to abuse mentor and it seems... consistant? im really unsure about three colors, so im trying to figure out which color would be worth it, green adds more consistancy in late game with jade mage + mentor of the meek, but it seems expensive. thoughts?
Mentor of the meek will be BONKERS. It makes decks like puresteel an extremely consistant deck. it opens a lot more possibilities in the format for Aggro decks. So i expect that he will rise in price
I really am not a fan of the DFC's but just because they are out does not mean that you need to play them. Also, changes are always needed in each block because that is what makes the games fun. I am trying to avoid playing them but they really arent as bad as they appear.
are there non blu lists? like white 12 post? because maybe a different version has better success rates against aggro decks and such. i just started testing it and lost to zoo 2 out of 3 times
4 huntermaster of the fells
3 immerwolf
4 young wolf
3 wolfbitten captive
2 mondronen shaman
3 thalia guardian of thrabean ?
4 brimstone volley
3 moonmist
3 full moon's rise
4 rootbound crag
4 sunpetal grove
2 copperline gorge
2 razorverge thicket
10 forest
2 mountian
1 plains
The problem with wolf run is the land. Since i added ghost quarter i have been 3-0 against it.
As for aggro decks (which were a difficult match up for me) i ended up putting in a day of reckoning. i already have 2 DOJ. and day of reckoning seems decent in the deck.
Against the mirror i am a total of 5-0 against the mirror. Geist on t3 wins the entire game.
ill post the deck in the morning. as it is late here and i am tired. but my deck is "odd" i guess. just a heads up
EDIT: Day of reckoning = divine reckoning
But aggro may be able to outrace the Pods and control decks in the new format
Mono white- gives it easiest mana base, although decently restricting
UW - Ponders, counterspells but shaky mana base
GW - seems decent. mentor of the meek + jade mage seems good?
UW control will probably see play
UB will be good.
Dredge (aka self mill) will see a lot of play (atleast in the begginning, because everyone will try to break it)
tempered steel - it doesnt lose much, still viable
RUG i think will see more play, either that or RG because Koth will be more viable without cawblade in the format, so will thrun
I think Kemba might be decent, but i feel like the deck would die to doj. because all of the tokens would die too. with purestell you can always hold options. And mortar pod is still really good, because of free equip you can sac all of your tokens and go for lethal. and as long as you play equipment you are pushing metal craft
I believe you are right that it doesnt work. However, if you need to outrace someone you can sb honor of the pure.?
Fiend Hunter seems more like a sideboard card in Puresteel though. because like previously stated, its bad early game.
So far, i think that the list would look similar to this:
4 puresteel Paladin
2 Trinket mage
2 etched champion
2 jade mage
3 phyrexian metamorph
4 flayer husk
3 mortar pod
1 batterskull
1 sword of feast and famine
1 sword of body and mind
1 sword of war and peace
1 accorder's shield
4 dispatch
1 mox opal
1 slyvok lifestaff
3 ponder
3 sunpetal grove
3 hinterland harbor
8 plains
1 island
3 inkmoth nexus
3 sylvok replica
3 ratchet bomb
3 dismember
4 flashfreeze
2 nature's claim
This deck seems to abuse mentor and it seems... consistant? im really unsure about three colors, so im trying to figure out which color would be worth it, green adds more consistancy in late game with jade mage + mentor of the meek, but it seems expensive. thoughts?
just wondering.
i feel something like this would be better:
4 acidic slime ??
3 kitchen finks
2 eternal witness
2 fog
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
4 Primeval Titan
2 Sundering Titan
1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
3 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Karn Liberated
3 Amulet of Vigor
3 Beast Within
3 Expedition Map
4 Explore
3 Summoning Trap
4 Cloudpost
1 Eye of Ugin
6 Forest
4 Glimmerpost
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
4 Vesuva
i still need a sb. wanna help me out?