Humans:
-2 Midnight Haunting
-3 Gut Shot (keep a few if they run more wheenies)
-2 Merfolk Looter
+1 Vapor Snag
+2 Dismember
+2 Timely Reinforcements
+2 Oblivion Ring
Wolf-Run:
-2 Merfolk Looter
-2 Midnight Haunting
-3 Gut Shot
+2 Phantasmal Image
+2 Dissipate
+1 Negate
+2 Oblivion Ring
Control:
-2 Vapor Snag
-3 Gut Shot
+2 Dissipate
+1 Negate
+2 Oblivion Ring
I'll have my FNM report up, where my only losses include not drawing any moorland haunts. I might be adding a fourth soon, as the card is simply ridiculous.
This deck seems like it also might get better in the future. Any suggestions on how to play it?
Get early board pressure. The deck will beat you in the midgame, no question, so do everything you can to keep them in the early game. This is a common tactic for fish-esque decks. This includes removing board presence, probing their hand to keep information on them, countering big plays (elspeth, etc), and racing for a quick finish once they have a board. Sword of war and peace is nuts vs them because, on a stalker, they don't have a way to race it. You get out of the gates relatively fast in this matchup, so anytime you cost them another turn vapor snagging something or countering a big play allows you to keep them off their main plan (living long enough to get to the mid-game). It's a slower version on U/W humans with less countermagic, so the same rules for that matchup apply here. You are the aggressor in this matchup and have a lot of tools to close the game before they get a foot in the door (Flipped Delver, Geist, any sort of equipment, Snapcaster for a clock and replaying any tempo plays, and moorland in the air to clean up).
Seems good vs u/w humans and WRR but so-so in the mirror and downright bad in the control matchup. If your meta is full of u/w humans, the mirror, or something like infect just run dismember instead. I think if you run stalker you'll find it easier to race decks without cards like these.
So I ran the gauntlet with a group of friends using this list. It really feels like some number of oblivion rings/timely should be main...but I know better then that. Also experimented with Phyrexian Metamorph over the two looter and, while successful in some cases, it was meh in others (similar to how looter plays out). I've also been pretty underwhelmed by Midnight Haunting in every match aside from the control match. If anyone wants my SB choices (Ins, Outs, Reasoning) let me know.
I'm only running 2 pikes in my build, as far as equipment is concerned, and I was looking to up my equipment count. Is Sword of war and peace the best thing to go there, or should it be more pikes, or should it be something else entirely.
2 Swords added, if possible. You'll win games flat-out with it, trust me.
I however Like haunting a lot more than stalker. without equipment they just seem to do more and let me play a bit permissive.
Stalker is better on the curve, can't be the target of enemy spells, and is unblockable. Haunting is better if you're behind but if this deck gets behind, you're already in a bad position. Stalker also makes any equipment drawn not only live, but complete blowouts.
Aside from the obvious Timely Reinforcements, how does everyone else handle this matchup? Side doj? More removal? Rings for swords/HotP? Honestly, I feel we have to draw pretty well vs them in order to have a good chance.
1/1s trade with 2/2s, snapcaster allows you to kill 2/2s with it (multiple, unlike gutshot), you can hardcast it if needed, and allows for plenty of combat tricks/etc at instant speed. Not the best card since you can't nuke delvers T1, but it's an interesting choice with pros/cons of its own.
So I'm having some issues vs Solar Flare/WRR assuming they have good draws. Specifically, Solar Flares ability to just drop Elesh Norn/Curse/Doj and set me back. Doj'ing 1-2 creatures isn't bad..but when it's my delver and stalker or my geist it hurts. Ghost quartering my moorlands only makes it worse. Does anyone have any suggestions for these matchups? Oring is basically my catchall to these huge titans/liliana sun titan engine that I can't otherwise deal with. I'm running SCG ATL's First place list card for card aside from the 2 ratchet bombs/2 phantasmal images in the board. I haven't been able to get ahold of them yet.
Having lord changes the answer slightly as does the matchup. Vs control decks you want some sort of early pressure under their countermagic followed by the ponder to flip/delver. The bear is almost always the correct answer, imo, because you really don't care if it eats gutshots/etc until you flip your delver. You also don't want to leave delver there unflipped because then it will die to nearly everything. Depending on your creatures, enemy early pressure, and how you play the matchups will be the deciding factor on what you do first.
In a properly-built 2 color manabase, you can actually run cards with WW in the cost and cards with UU in the cost quite easily. Folks been doing it for years.
You can do it with the list you posted above.
In this stock 2 color manabase, I can actually run cards with WW in the cost and cards with UU in the cost quite easily. I've been playin' the colors for years. Next time, I'll be sure to point out the 6 colorless mana sources in the deck and how many dual cost cards I am running, as to prevent trolls from thinking their rebuttals are actually meaningful!
Mirror:
-4 Mana Leak
-3 Vapor Snag
-2 Midnight Haunting
+2 Divine Offering
+2 Oblivion Ring
+2 Phantasmal Image
+2 Timely Reinforcements
+1 Mental Misstep
On the draw I leave 2 leaks in.
Humans:
-2 Midnight Haunting
-3 Gut Shot (keep a few if they run more wheenies)
-2 Merfolk Looter
+1 Vapor Snag
+2 Dismember
+2 Timely Reinforcements
+2 Oblivion Ring
Wolf-Run:
-2 Merfolk Looter
-2 Midnight Haunting
-3 Gut Shot
+2 Phantasmal Image
+2 Dissipate
+1 Negate
+2 Oblivion Ring
Control:
-2 Vapor Snag
-3 Gut Shot
+2 Dissipate
+1 Negate
+2 Oblivion Ring
I'll have my FNM report up, where my only losses include not drawing any moorland haunts. I might be adding a fourth soon, as the card is simply ridiculous.
Get early board pressure. The deck will beat you in the midgame, no question, so do everything you can to keep them in the early game. This is a common tactic for fish-esque decks. This includes removing board presence, probing their hand to keep information on them, countering big plays (elspeth, etc), and racing for a quick finish once they have a board. Sword of war and peace is nuts vs them because, on a stalker, they don't have a way to race it. You get out of the gates relatively fast in this matchup, so anytime you cost them another turn vapor snagging something or countering a big play allows you to keep them off their main plan (living long enough to get to the mid-game). It's a slower version on U/W humans with less countermagic, so the same rules for that matchup apply here. You are the aggressor in this matchup and have a lot of tools to close the game before they get a foot in the door (Flipped Delver, Geist, any sort of equipment, Snapcaster for a clock and replaying any tempo plays, and moorland in the air to clean up).
Tl;Dr: Your main goal is to slow them down.
1 Plains
3 Moorland Haunt
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
9 Island
// Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Invisible Stalker
2 Merfolk Looter
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Runechanter's Pike
4 Mana Leak
3 Gut Shot
3 Vapor Snag
2 Sword of War and Peace
4 Ponder
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Midnight Haunting
1 Vapor Snag
1 Mental Misstep
2 Negate
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Divine Offering
2 Dismember
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Dissipate
So I ran the gauntlet with a group of friends using this list. It really feels like some number of oblivion rings/timely should be main...but I know better then that. Also experimented with Phyrexian Metamorph over the two looter and, while successful in some cases, it was meh in others (similar to how looter plays out). I've also been pretty underwhelmed by Midnight Haunting in every match aside from the control match. If anyone wants my SB choices (Ins, Outs, Reasoning) let me know.
2 Swords added, if possible. You'll win games flat-out with it, trust me.
Stalker is better on the curve, can't be the target of enemy spells, and is unblockable. Haunting is better if you're behind but if this deck gets behind, you're already in a bad position. Stalker also makes any equipment drawn not only live, but complete blowouts.
1 Plains
3 Moorland Haunt
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
9 Island
// Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
3 Geist of Saint Traft
3 Invisible Stalker
2 Merfolk Looter
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Runechanter's Pike
4 Mana Leak
3 Gut Shot
3 Vapor Snag
2 Sword of War and Peace
4 Ponder
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Midnight Haunting
1 Vapor Snag
1 Celestial Purge
2 Negate
2 Timely Reinforcements
2 Divine Offering
2 Dismember
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Dissipate
My question to everyone is how do they sb with this deck? I find I'm cutting probes often for other, relevent, spells.
In my opinion, it does not seem worth it at all.
Hopefully the feast and famine I sold him did him well.
TL;DR There is no black and white answer.
In this stock 2 color manabase, I can actually run cards with WW in the cost and cards with UU in the cost quite easily. I've been playin' the colors for years. Next time, I'll be sure to point out the 6 colorless mana sources in the deck and how many dual cost cards I am running, as to prevent trolls from thinking their rebuttals are actually meaningful!