Concerning your findings on match-ups i really disagree on some of them. I find my WBR Midrange (or tradebinder) match-up to one of my best. This might be because i run 4 MD Firefist Strikers instead of Spike Jesters alongside the Mutavaults, which allmost always lets me run past the reckoners.
They seem to be a do nothing deck the first 3 decks, expect to stabilize with a reckoner, do nothing again and cast bloodbaron or obzedat. At least thats how most of my games against them go.
Boon of erebos which i run MD as a 4 off, helps dodge their removal, firefist strikers get around reckoners and blood barons, i've had good times attacking my single mutavault into blood barons backed up by boons =p
After side i usually switch 2 thoughtseizes for 2 act of treason.
As for the Mono-red decks i haven't really had too many problems with, we race just as fast, maybe faster unless they have the god draw of multiple Burning Tree's, but playing a 1 drop, firefist striker and mutavault in the first 2 turns does roughly the same imo.
After side i side out some of my self-shock effects for Pharika's Cure
Hmm, I will have to test against my friend who is running WBR, on paper I just think the match-up is bad for us. However, it does seem your deck is geared more for resiliency and mine is "all-in, hope to get there", so that may be why. Like I said, my reports are just my matches I faced, so it may just be only my opinion on those. Thanks for the feedback.
Do you mind sharing some sideboard strategy, under-/over-performers etc?
Sorry everyone, I was at work when I posted the first time and didn't have any of my notes with me. Now I have some time and can discuss my thoughts on the deck. I put everything in spoiler tags because there is a huge wall of text hidden in there.
Card Choices:
1 Drops:
Rakdos Cackler: The Premier 1-drop. Can be cast on turn 1 as long as you have a land, and is hasty with Exava in play.
Tormented Hero: For those who were asking, this guy is the reason Madcap Skills are MB. That little combo is very nice for knocking 6 points of life away from your opponent, and he is still 2 power for 1 mana. If you ran Purphoros instead of Erebos, you can replace this guy with Firedrinker Satyr.
2 Drops:
Spike Jester: 3 power for 2 mana and hastey. Gotta love the aggresiveness.
Rakdos Shred-Freak: Not quite as massive as the Jester, but is still hastey and this guy helps with your devotion as well.
Lightning Strike: Not quite a Bolt, but it is the premier burn spell we have, and it still does work.
Madcap Skills: I really don't see why more people are not running this card MB. You do need to play a little smarter when running this card (i.e. if Esper has Azorius Charm mana open, play another creature instead of the Madcap) but is still gets around alot of creatures that can cause us problems and.is a great source of extra damage. And honestly, it took ALOT of people by surprise, so if your meta doesn't expect it, they may not play around it. I wouldn't replace it currently.
3 drop:
Mogis's Maurader: I loved this guy everytime I played him. If you are running a black-heavy version, this guy is almost a neccessity. There were multiple occasions where a clogged board became a lethal swing just because I topdecked him.
Hellhole Flailer: This guy was sort of my own addition as I didn't see many lists running him, and I didn't regret adding him at all. A 4/3 for 3 mana that can shoot their face for 4 mana later is not something to take lightly. However, just like Madcap Skills, you don't want to run him out carelessly, so that is why I kept the count to 3, which I think is actually perfectly fine.
4 drops:
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch: There have been many people advocating that this would become the next Aristocrat after rotation. Though I knew she wouldn't be THAT good, I was one of the people saying she was going to be good. And she....is....good. There isn't alot out there that can profitably trade with a Smiter or Stormbreath Dragon, and she is one of them. I like 3 in the deck as well. She is legendary, after all.
Erebos, God of the Dead: When I saw the lists, my first reaction was "ERMAHGERD, EREBOS! That guy is sick!" After 8 rounds of casting Erebos, my conclusion is that he is good...but not as good as I thought he would be. The 5/7 body is massive, but if he is an active creature, I found out I was already winning the game at that point, making the large body somewhat irrelevant IMO. However, a card draw engine is still something you shouldn't take for granted in this deck, and the no lifegain clause is useful as well. I like him in the deck, but if there is something else that comes along, this would be my first cut.
Chandra, Pyromaster: I never got a chance to cast Chandra all day, however the theory behind her gives me enough reason to keep her in the deck. Keeping a large body from blocking and a point of damage is very nice, as well as the "card draw" she can give you. I actually like the idea of dropping Erebos entirely for 3 Chandra. Just some food for thought.
Sideboard:
Lifebane Zombie: Obviously a good card. Gets many problem guys for us (BBoV, Obzedat, Reckoner, Smiter, etc), has intimidate already, and is a massive boost to our devotion.
Thoughtseize: Just a good discard spell against every deck that might have something we REALLY don't want to see.
Rakdos' Return: I was a little iffy on having this card in the deck, but having 23 lands actually made this card somewhat relevant. When control taps out to take care of your attackers, a nice followup is this.
Pithing Needle: This is a card I actually want to cut. It is really only in for planeswalkers/Aethering, but I never felt like any decks actually had time to set up a planeswalker to really affect my gameplan. I would actually rather this be Skullcrack for more reach or Doom Blade for some better removal.
Dreadbore: Just a generally good kill spell. Bring this in against like G/R that have relevant creatures and Domri, as this can take care of both.
Burning Earth: Any 3 color deck should expect to see this card from a 2 color or Mono red deck. It has become a staple enchantment for red decks to board.
Mizzium Mortars: Overall great card to have. Can eliminate most creatures from your path, and can really turn the tables when the opponent overextends.
Matchups
I will say that I can only comment on the matchups that I faced, which were not alot since I didn't do alot of playtesting with the deck, but I willl do my best.
Esper: Very Good
I never had a problem against this deck when I played against it. I think the reason is that we are coming after them with multiple small creatures early that Azorius Charm and Far//Away can't keep up with, plus the mainboard Doom Blades that alot of their decks run are dead cards against us. Even after a Supreme Verdict, we can bring down one of our bigger guys such as Exava and keep beating their face in. A card many people were telling me they thought would be a problem for me that I discovered is basically just an "annoying itch" is Jace, AoT. He does reduce our damage we deal each turn, but by the time Jace comes down, we should have them down into the single digits, which usually just makes it one more swing and a Lightning Strike to finish them off.
After the board, the match-up gets a little tough. Blind Obedience is a major problem, as it is something we cannot answer unless we can Thoughtseize it. I will say that of the 3 Esper decks I played against, I saw two Blind Obedience and I was still able to fight through them, albiet being a little difficult. Also watch out for Blood Baron of Vizkopa, you don't want to face against that without some Mizzium Mortars.
This matchup is actually a little difficult for us. They act as a ramp deck to get big creatures out quick (Ember Swallower, Stormbreath Dragon, Polukranos, etc), which can put a hamper on our strategy, especially since they also have access to Shock and Lightning Strike. Just try and be faster than them and really rely on your bigger creatures to help you out.
After board, I actually feel like you can become more of the "control" deck in this matchup, as sometimes you just cant be fast enough to get them in Lightning Strike range. Rarely do I say this, but Mogis's Maurader comes out, as alot of their deck is red and can block our red guys, usually very profitably. Bringing in Mortars, Dreadbore, Thoughtseize, Return, and Lifebane are all very good options for us to take to fight them.
The only real red the deck runs creature wise is Stormbreath Dragon, so use Mogis's Maurader to your advantage here. Madcap Skills is also a house to get around their Smiters and mana dorks. Again, we are a faster deck than they are, but they are bigger. Smack away at their life total until they start clogging their board, then Mogis's your way to victory.
After board, not a whole lot changes besides us bringing in more removal and Lifebane. They get access to some burn and Anger of the Gods, which is a problem for us. Just fight through like before and you can get there.
I only played 3 games against this in testing, but I didn't like our chance in the matchup. Their creatures are bigger than ours, and Boros Reckoner is a house against us. All of their mainboard burn is usually just targeted at our creatures to keep our board empty while they go crazy with BTE and Fanatic. I feel like you just have to be lucky to win the game.
After the board, I still don't like our chances. We don't have much we can bring in to face them besides Mortars, but that doesn't trade very well with Reckoner anyway. Thoughtseize can be brought in to keep them off a nut draw.
I never faced this deck, but I just don't like our chances agianst it, as they have all the cards to hate us out: Anger, Reckoner, BBoV, Elspeth, and tons of spot removal. I think all we can do is attempt to fight them and throw in the white flag when it becomes truly hopeless.
After the board, we bring in all the discard we can. Lifebane, Thoughtseize, Return, and Mortars need to come in to have a chance at fighting them, and repeat the plan for Game 1.
So as Saturday came around, 32 players gathered at Fantasy Games to duke it out for the Indiana States title. Here are how my rounds went. I apologize in advance that I can’t give many specifics as my memory isn’t that great, but I will do my best to convey each match.
Round 1: Logan (R/B Midrange) W 2-0
This was the start to how well the deck was running. Game 1 I have his life total ticking down 2 at a time until I got him down to single digits, where it dropped to 3 quickly and went to Game 2, which ended much the same way. However, it didn’t help him that he was stuck on one red source in Game 2 with an Anger of the Gods in hand. I had lucky breaks like that all day.
Round 2: Jason (Esper Control) W 2-0
I sit down across local Jason and we make some small talk as we shuffle up. This game, we both got screwed on lands in our own way, with me not hitting any red until turn 5 or 6 and him flooding and not being able to take care of my couple creatures I put down. I had Tormented Hero and Rakdos Cackler being held back by his Omenspeaker. I eventually hit a Mountain, Lightning Strike’d his Omenspeaker, strapped a Madcap Skills to my Hero (which is an awesome two-card combo by the way) and that sealed the deal for Game 1. Game 2 had him fighting me very well with a turn two Blind Obedience and quite a few lifepoint swings on his end from two Obzedats and a Sphinx’s Revelation, but the pure power out of my deck was able to fight through all his threats.
Round 3: Brandon (Esper Control) W 2-0
This round was against another local that I have never met, but I have heard his name around. The only damage I took this match was shocking myself off of a Blood Crypt game 1, which had his life total going 20-18-16-12-6-dead. Game two was somewhat interesting due to the fact that Brandon saw 3 Far/Away and 2 Azorius Charm, but even with all that I was still able to chip his life total away to 0.
At this point, I started realizing how good the day was going for two reasons, the main one being that I realized how good the Esper matchup was for me and a lot of players were running Esper. The other reason was because I had a lot of people talking about the deck I was playing, so much so that after my Round 3 matchup, two of the judges came up and started talking to me about my deck and how intrigued they were by it. That put a little more confidence in me and all I could do is hope I kept running into Esper all day.
Round 4: Daniel (Bant Control) W 2-0
Daniel is an interesting guy from the local area. I know him from the EDH crowd here, and like me, he occasionally likes to get his hands dirty in Standard. His only problem is that he likes to play very fast, which can cause problems with a control player, and it showed here. Game one ended very quickly as he couldn’t find a Supreme Verdict to keep me in line. Game 2 was his major misplay. I led with a Cackler, he played turn 2 Fleecemane Lion, which I Lightning Striked and got in for 2. He followed with a Loxodon Smiter, which I just walked around with a Madcap Skills and laid another 1 drop down. He laid down another Smiter, swung with the other and passed. I laid down an Exava and swung in, which he Azorius Charmed my Cackler and let everyone else through. He left both of his Smiters up to block as he is down to 7 now. I bring down a Hellhole Flailer and with the haste it gets from Exava, swing with my team. He makes the mistake of thinking he can trade Smiter with Exava, forgetting she has First Strike, that mistake let me take the game when he couldn’t draw an answer to my lethal board state.
Round 5: Logan (Selesnya Aggro) ID
I go into this round ranked #1 and one of the two undefeated players. Obviously, me and Logan do the smart thing and ID to put each other at the top spots going into top 8. Obviously I am giddy as a school girl since this is the first time I have done so well at a tournament with a title on the line, especially running a budget deck like I am. Daniel and his opponent also drew, so we passed the round playing some EDH as we waited for the Top 8 to start.
Quarterfinal: Josh (Esper Control) W 2-1
Josh has been a regular in the area for far longer than me, and is a very good player in the area. I know what he is playing as I have passed by his table a couple times all day and I have a little confidence going in, but this was actually my toughest round all day. Game 1 I choose to play since I am 2nd seed, and have to mulligan to a less than stellar 6 card hand, which cost me this game. He was actually prepared for this kind of matchup as he had mainboard Blood Baron of Vizkopa, which scared me greatly. I got him to 16 when he stabilized and took the game. Games 2 and 3, luckily for me, went more in my favor. Game 2 I remember him mulliganing down to 6 and not liking his keep, which showed with his life total dropping rather quickly. Game 3 had my favorite finish of the day. I drew a Chandra with 4 mana up and 2 Lightning Strike in hand. I attacked and put him to 5, and had a strange feeling that he was going to Sphinx’s Rev at the end of my turn, though I really wanted to get the Chandra out. I decided to play by my gut, passed turn and……BOOM! He tapped out for Sphinx, I responded with the kill, and with that was off to the Semifinal match.
Semifinals: Zeke (Naya Midrange) W 2-0
This matchup showed how powerful Mogis’s Mauraders is for this deck. I led game 1 with a Tormented Hero, and he led with a Shockland and a mana dork. I took him to 16 with the Hero and passed. He shocked himself again to get a Smiter out, which I again walked around with a Madcap Skills, taking him to 8. I played another Hero and passed. He played a Centaur Healer on his turn, bring him back to 11. I Don’t remember what happened exactly after that, but he took 9 points of damage from me next turn and I ended it with Lightning Strike. Game 2 I brought down a Lifebane Zombie to get a look at his hand, which had Stormbreath Dragon, 2 Selesnya Charm, an Elvish Mystic (my only target) and a land. I get him to 12 before he had 2 Knight tokens off his charms and a Smiter. I had a total of 7 power on the board and slammed a Maurader, which brought him down to 3 since he couldn’t block. After surveying everything, he said he had no way to stop my Lifebane next turn and extended the hand.
We finished far quicker than the other match, so I was looking at my potential next two matchups: Selesnya or R/G. Between the 2, I would much rather face the Selesnya deck, as they don’t run the spot burn that can chip my guys away and I can Mogis’s my way through all their creatures, where I can’t do that against R/G as well. I didn’t have ALL the luck that day, as R/G ended up taking the match.
Finals: Jake (R/G Ember Swallower) W 2-1
Being in the finals felt awesome, but I knew I had my work cut out for me. Game 1 went exceptionally well, as his life total went 20-18-13-7-dead. I also remember him saying “What is this crap?! I’m sure I have this deck in a bulk box somewhere, and it’s destroying me!” Someone joked that I was gonna be a control deck games 2 and 3 and I joked back “Don’t threaten me, my board is built for that.” This actually scared Jake a little, I think. Game 2 I lost due to huge mana flood (12 lands is not what I my deck wants to have at once), but got an awesome 4 for 1 when he had 2 Sylvan Caryatid, an Elvish Mystic, and Stormbreath Dragon and I overloaded a Mizzium Mortars. However, that was the best I could do and he eventually got there. Game 3 I won because he kept a shaky 6 that left him stuck with 2 mountians, and I just beat him down without much trouble.
And that is how the day went! Match-wise, I went 7-0-1, game-wise I went 14-2, and I was extremely pleased with how well the deck ran. If you have a control-heavy meta, I would highly suggest sleeving this up. It has explosive power like you wouldn’t believe and the higher end creatures actually give the deck some resiliency. My only change would be to add some more reach in the sideboard in the form of Skullcrack or Shock for more control heavy meta, or some removal in the form of Doom Blade or Hero’s Downfall in more creature-heavy metas.
Let me know what you think of my analysis, as I am still trying to up my competitive game and want to see if my suggestions are valid/worthwhile or not. Thanks for reading everyone!
I think this thread would be pleased to here that this past weekend I took 1st at our 2013's States in Indiana with a Rakdos Aggro deck. I only dropped 2 games over the entire day, which consisted of 5 rounds of Swiss and a Top 8. Here is my list and my match-ups.
I played (in order by round) B/R Midrange (2-0), Esper Control (2-0), Esper Control (2-0), Bant Control (2-0), Selesnya Aggro (ID into Top 8), Esper Control (Quarterfinals 2-1), Naya Midrange (Semifinals 2-0) and G/R Ember Swallower (Finals 2-1).
I really like the explosive-ness of the deck and how well it actually can hold up against some decks. The only difficult thing to deal with is anything with 5 toughness or higher (Obzedat, Wurm Tokens, Ember Swallower, etc), which is why I think the Erebos in the deck could easily become Purphoros and the sideboard could use some Doom Blade or the like. Overall, I was very pleased with the deck and highly recommend it to anyone facing a heavy control meta. Watch out for Blood Baron, though, as that is this deck's Achilles's Heel.
BTW, does it actually interact with As You Enter effects? I always thought Torpor Orb only stifled ETB effects...
Your correct, Torpor Orb only deals with "enter the battlefield" triggers. Things like Iona won't be affected by Torpor Orb.
I like the card, but it only fits in certain decks, as alot of decks start to nerf their own cards if they play this. It really shines in RDW, as the only creature it tends to affect is Vexing Devil, and it can actually be a benefit to leave a Devil down like that.
Hello, everyone. I was helping my LGS go through some cards and happened to come across this interesting gem:
I apologize for the incredibly small picture, but it should get the point across. This is a foil Overabundance from Invasion, and it has what seems to be "bleach" spots all over the front, and still has the foiling on those spots. I would've said this was damaged, but the card is very clean and in NM+ condition otherwise. If you look on the back, there isn't any signs where the card was water-damaged.
I don't expect this thing to be worth a whole lot. A regular foil is on SCG at $2, so I might put this at around $5 ish? But I wanted to get some other opinions to see if this is a common misprint or not and what the experts would price it at. Thanks for the help!
I have recently acquired 2 copies of (what I believe to be, please correct me if I'm wrong) German FBB Revised Hurkyl's Recall (name on the card is "hurkyls erinnerung"). However, I can't come across a solid market value for them, and people at my LGS value them anywhere from $5 each to over $30 each. I also attached some pictures of them as well, so can anyone give me a good number I can slap on these bad boys? (Conditions for them are NM-EX)
I collect Vizzerdrix. Everyone that knows me knows this, and knows what to pick up to get trades out of me. And the people that don't know me, the look on their faces when they turn to the back of my binder to pages of that lovable Rabbit Beast.....priceless!
I also recently started collecting old-border foil "shooting star" basics. I love the look of them and love to use them in all of my decks.
And just a suggestion, the two Praetors, Urabrask and Elesh Norn, seem a little out of place in your deck, especially since your only running 22 lands. A good card to replace Urabrask could be Blind Obedience, and to keep using Elesh Norn, you could try for a Gifts Ungiven package with Unburial Rites. That way you can reach Elesh Norn not only quicker, but most likely more consistantly.
I have a few good ones, all with my Kiki-Pod deck.
Played at GP Chicago. The best one is that I played against Infect 3 seperate occasions, and out of the 5 sideboard games I played, had Melira, Sylvok Outcast opening hand in 3 of those games, and was able to last minute topdeck it in a 4th game. Really pissed the guy off that I played in my win-and-in for Day 2 when he found out it was a 1-of in the deck.
The most memorable match for me was Round 8, where I faced off against Junk. Game 1 I wrecked him, game 2 he wrecks me. So we have a tense game 3, where I just have a less than perfect hand and I pass turn to him with 3 land and Birds of Paradise in play, Kiki-Jiki and Deceiver Exarch in hand. He flips Path To Exile off his Confidant trigger, so I knew he had removal to stop me. My only hope was for him to tap out and I draw a 4th land. He proceeds to cast Lingering Souls, and I completely expect him to just pass to me. Instead, he taps out, flashes back Lingering Souls. Here is how it played out.
Him: "Pass to you."
Me: "EOT Exarch?"
Him: *looks at his lands, look of dread appears* "Ok....."
Me: *untap, draw* "Rugged Prairie, Kiki-jiki, win?"
Had a good one at a local PTQ. Played against R/G Aggro that maindecked Blood Moon. Game 1, I'm surprisingly getting screwed on red mana, and he taps out to cast Blood Moon on his turn 3 (he was on the draw). I just looked at it a little puzzled then said "Main deck Blood moon?.....Thanks bro!" To which he just gave a look of utter confusion, until I EOT'd an Angel and then hard cast a Kiki-jiki with my new mountains I had.
As for sentimental/personal value, either my playset of Zendikar fetches and Shocklands. Love having a good manabase for whatever modern deck I feel like building/brewing.
Just saw a picture on SCG's Facebook page with part of the caption being "Over 2600 registered so far!". Looks like a record to me, if their facts are all in check.
Vizzerdrix here. Up to 45, including 2 foil ones. My goal is to have a playset of foil drix's, as for non-foil....limitless.
The best part is that I'm the only one in the area that collects them, so whenever someone that knows me finds one, the snatch it up and ship it to me!
No crazycat please point me in the direction. Thanks for being a women's ****** cleanse aka a douche
He isn't being a "vaginal cleaning device", as far as I know this is actually a rule on the forums to not double post when you can edit your own post to add info, something that you can get a warning or potentially an infraction for for multiple offenses. Keeps people from racking up post counts like a madman and keeps forums from getting cluttered up. You can find an edit button somewhere in your post so you can update it.
On topic, Desertion is a personal favorite of mine. "Gonna cast that big guy? Naw, bro, I'll just take that I think...."
EDIT: Edit button is in the right-hand lower part of the post box.
I love trying to figure out the stack when you get a bunch of search/draw/kill spells going on with this thing!!! You gotta play with a ton of counterspells to keep this guy around though, which makes the card even more fun!
But I can understand why people want to give every copy of this card to a raging inferno.
Went to a card shop and just fumbled through their $.50 box, and found quite a few goodies:
Foil Hall of the Bandit Lord Black Market Karmic Guide
and other goodies. I paid like $6.00 and got about $70 worth of stuff.
Hmm, I will have to test against my friend who is running WBR, on paper I just think the match-up is bad for us. However, it does seem your deck is geared more for resiliency and mine is "all-in, hope to get there", so that may be why. Like I said, my reports are just my matches I faced, so it may just be only my opinion on those. Thanks for the feedback.
Sorry everyone, I was at work when I posted the first time and didn't have any of my notes with me. Now I have some time and can discuss my thoughts on the deck. I put everything in spoiler tags because there is a huge wall of text hidden in there.
Card Choices:
1 Drops:
Rakdos Cackler: The Premier 1-drop. Can be cast on turn 1 as long as you have a land, and is hasty with Exava in play.
Tormented Hero: For those who were asking, this guy is the reason Madcap Skills are MB. That little combo is very nice for knocking 6 points of life away from your opponent, and he is still 2 power for 1 mana. If you ran Purphoros instead of Erebos, you can replace this guy with Firedrinker Satyr.
2 Drops:
Spike Jester: 3 power for 2 mana and hastey. Gotta love the aggresiveness.
Rakdos Shred-Freak: Not quite as massive as the Jester, but is still hastey and this guy helps with your devotion as well.
Lightning Strike: Not quite a Bolt, but it is the premier burn spell we have, and it still does work.
Madcap Skills: I really don't see why more people are not running this card MB. You do need to play a little smarter when running this card (i.e. if Esper has Azorius Charm mana open, play another creature instead of the Madcap) but is still gets around alot of creatures that can cause us problems and.is a great source of extra damage. And honestly, it took ALOT of people by surprise, so if your meta doesn't expect it, they may not play around it. I wouldn't replace it currently.
3 drop:
Mogis's Maurader: I loved this guy everytime I played him. If you are running a black-heavy version, this guy is almost a neccessity. There were multiple occasions where a clogged board became a lethal swing just because I topdecked him.
Hellhole Flailer: This guy was sort of my own addition as I didn't see many lists running him, and I didn't regret adding him at all. A 4/3 for 3 mana that can shoot their face for 4 mana later is not something to take lightly. However, just like Madcap Skills, you don't want to run him out carelessly, so that is why I kept the count to 3, which I think is actually perfectly fine.
4 drops:
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch: There have been many people advocating that this would become the next Aristocrat after rotation. Though I knew she wouldn't be THAT good, I was one of the people saying she was going to be good. And she....is....good. There isn't alot out there that can profitably trade with a Smiter or Stormbreath Dragon, and she is one of them. I like 3 in the deck as well. She is legendary, after all.
Erebos, God of the Dead: When I saw the lists, my first reaction was "ERMAHGERD, EREBOS! That guy is sick!" After 8 rounds of casting Erebos, my conclusion is that he is good...but not as good as I thought he would be. The 5/7 body is massive, but if he is an active creature, I found out I was already winning the game at that point, making the large body somewhat irrelevant IMO. However, a card draw engine is still something you shouldn't take for granted in this deck, and the no lifegain clause is useful as well. I like him in the deck, but if there is something else that comes along, this would be my first cut.
Chandra, Pyromaster: I never got a chance to cast Chandra all day, however the theory behind her gives me enough reason to keep her in the deck. Keeping a large body from blocking and a point of damage is very nice, as well as the "card draw" she can give you. I actually like the idea of dropping Erebos entirely for 3 Chandra. Just some food for thought.
Sideboard:
Lifebane Zombie: Obviously a good card. Gets many problem guys for us (BBoV, Obzedat, Reckoner, Smiter, etc), has intimidate already, and is a massive boost to our devotion.
Thoughtseize: Just a good discard spell against every deck that might have something we REALLY don't want to see.
Rakdos' Return: I was a little iffy on having this card in the deck, but having 23 lands actually made this card somewhat relevant. When control taps out to take care of your attackers, a nice followup is this.
Pithing Needle: This is a card I actually want to cut. It is really only in for planeswalkers/Aethering, but I never felt like any decks actually had time to set up a planeswalker to really affect my gameplan. I would actually rather this be Skullcrack for more reach or Doom Blade for some better removal.
Dreadbore: Just a generally good kill spell. Bring this in against like G/R that have relevant creatures and Domri, as this can take care of both.
Burning Earth: Any 3 color deck should expect to see this card from a 2 color or Mono red deck. It has become a staple enchantment for red decks to board.
Mizzium Mortars: Overall great card to have. Can eliminate most creatures from your path, and can really turn the tables when the opponent overextends.
Matchups
I will say that I can only comment on the matchups that I faced, which were not alot since I didn't do alot of playtesting with the deck, but I willl do my best.
Esper: Very Good
I never had a problem against this deck when I played against it. I think the reason is that we are coming after them with multiple small creatures early that Azorius Charm and Far//Away can't keep up with, plus the mainboard Doom Blades that alot of their decks run are dead cards against us. Even after a Supreme Verdict, we can bring down one of our bigger guys such as Exava and keep beating their face in. A card many people were telling me they thought would be a problem for me that I discovered is basically just an "annoying itch" is Jace, AoT. He does reduce our damage we deal each turn, but by the time Jace comes down, we should have them down into the single digits, which usually just makes it one more swing and a Lightning Strike to finish them off.
After the board, the match-up gets a little tough. Blind Obedience is a major problem, as it is something we cannot answer unless we can Thoughtseize it. I will say that of the 3 Esper decks I played against, I saw two Blind Obedience and I was still able to fight through them, albiet being a little difficult. Also watch out for Blood Baron of Vizkopa, you don't want to face against that without some Mizzium Mortars.
SB Games: +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Rakdos' Return, +2 Burning Earth -3 Hellhole Flailer, -3 Madcap Skills
G/R Ember Swallower: 50/50
This matchup is actually a little difficult for us. They act as a ramp deck to get big creatures out quick (Ember Swallower, Stormbreath Dragon, Polukranos, etc), which can put a hamper on our strategy, especially since they also have access to Shock and Lightning Strike. Just try and be faster than them and really rely on your bigger creatures to help you out.
After board, I actually feel like you can become more of the "control" deck in this matchup, as sometimes you just cant be fast enough to get them in Lightning Strike range. Rarely do I say this, but Mogis's Maurader comes out, as alot of their deck is red and can block our red guys, usually very profitably. Bringing in Mortars, Dreadbore, Thoughtseize, Return, and Lifebane are all very good options for us to take to fight them.
SB Games: +2 Rakdos' Return, +2 Lifebane Zombie, +3 Mizzium Mortars, +2 Dreadbore, -4 Mogis's Maurader, -4 Madcap Skills
Naya Midrange: Favorable
The only real red the deck runs creature wise is Stormbreath Dragon, so use Mogis's Maurader to your advantage here. Madcap Skills is also a house to get around their Smiters and mana dorks. Again, we are a faster deck than they are, but they are bigger. Smack away at their life total until they start clogging their board, then Mogis's your way to victory.
After board, not a whole lot changes besides us bringing in more removal and Lifebane. They get access to some burn and Anger of the Gods, which is a problem for us. Just fight through like before and you can get there.
SB Games: +2 Lifebane Zombie, +3 Mizzium Mortars, -3 Madcap Skills
Mono-Red: Unfavorable
I only played 3 games against this in testing, but I didn't like our chance in the matchup. Their creatures are bigger than ours, and Boros Reckoner is a house against us. All of their mainboard burn is usually just targeted at our creatures to keep our board empty while they go crazy with BTE and Fanatic. I feel like you just have to be lucky to win the game.
After the board, I still don't like our chances. We don't have much we can bring in to face them besides Mortars, but that doesn't trade very well with Reckoner anyway. Thoughtseize can be brought in to keep them off a nut draw.
SB Games: +3 Mizzium Mortars, +2 Thoughtseize, -4 Madcap Skills
Mythic (Dega) Midrange: Very Unfavorable
I never faced this deck, but I just don't like our chances agianst it, as they have all the cards to hate us out: Anger, Reckoner, BBoV, Elspeth, and tons of spot removal. I think all we can do is attempt to fight them and throw in the white flag when it becomes truly hopeless.
After the board, we bring in all the discard we can. Lifebane, Thoughtseize, Return, and Mortars need to come in to have a chance at fighting them, and repeat the plan for Game 1.
SB Games: +2 Thoughtseize, +2 Rakdos' Return, +2 Lifebane Zombie, +3 Mizzium Mortars, -4 Mogis's Maurader, -4 Madcap Skills
My Tournament Report
So as Saturday came around, 32 players gathered at Fantasy Games to duke it out for the Indiana States title. Here are how my rounds went. I apologize in advance that I can’t give many specifics as my memory isn’t that great, but I will do my best to convey each match.
Round 1: Logan (R/B Midrange) W 2-0
This was the start to how well the deck was running. Game 1 I have his life total ticking down 2 at a time until I got him down to single digits, where it dropped to 3 quickly and went to Game 2, which ended much the same way. However, it didn’t help him that he was stuck on one red source in Game 2 with an Anger of the Gods in hand. I had lucky breaks like that all day.
Round 2: Jason (Esper Control) W 2-0
I sit down across local Jason and we make some small talk as we shuffle up. This game, we both got screwed on lands in our own way, with me not hitting any red until turn 5 or 6 and him flooding and not being able to take care of my couple creatures I put down. I had Tormented Hero and Rakdos Cackler being held back by his Omenspeaker. I eventually hit a Mountain, Lightning Strike’d his Omenspeaker, strapped a Madcap Skills to my Hero (which is an awesome two-card combo by the way) and that sealed the deal for Game 1. Game 2 had him fighting me very well with a turn two Blind Obedience and quite a few lifepoint swings on his end from two Obzedats and a Sphinx’s Revelation, but the pure power out of my deck was able to fight through all his threats.
Round 3: Brandon (Esper Control) W 2-0
This round was against another local that I have never met, but I have heard his name around. The only damage I took this match was shocking myself off of a Blood Crypt game 1, which had his life total going 20-18-16-12-6-dead. Game two was somewhat interesting due to the fact that Brandon saw 3 Far/Away and 2 Azorius Charm, but even with all that I was still able to chip his life total away to 0.
At this point, I started realizing how good the day was going for two reasons, the main one being that I realized how good the Esper matchup was for me and a lot of players were running Esper. The other reason was because I had a lot of people talking about the deck I was playing, so much so that after my Round 3 matchup, two of the judges came up and started talking to me about my deck and how intrigued they were by it. That put a little more confidence in me and all I could do is hope I kept running into Esper all day.
Round 4: Daniel (Bant Control) W 2-0
Daniel is an interesting guy from the local area. I know him from the EDH crowd here, and like me, he occasionally likes to get his hands dirty in Standard. His only problem is that he likes to play very fast, which can cause problems with a control player, and it showed here. Game one ended very quickly as he couldn’t find a Supreme Verdict to keep me in line. Game 2 was his major misplay. I led with a Cackler, he played turn 2 Fleecemane Lion, which I Lightning Striked and got in for 2. He followed with a Loxodon Smiter, which I just walked around with a Madcap Skills and laid another 1 drop down. He laid down another Smiter, swung with the other and passed. I laid down an Exava and swung in, which he Azorius Charmed my Cackler and let everyone else through. He left both of his Smiters up to block as he is down to 7 now. I bring down a Hellhole Flailer and with the haste it gets from Exava, swing with my team. He makes the mistake of thinking he can trade Smiter with Exava, forgetting she has First Strike, that mistake let me take the game when he couldn’t draw an answer to my lethal board state.
Round 5: Logan (Selesnya Aggro) ID
I go into this round ranked #1 and one of the two undefeated players. Obviously, me and Logan do the smart thing and ID to put each other at the top spots going into top 8. Obviously I am giddy as a school girl since this is the first time I have done so well at a tournament with a title on the line, especially running a budget deck like I am. Daniel and his opponent also drew, so we passed the round playing some EDH as we waited for the Top 8 to start.
Quarterfinal: Josh (Esper Control) W 2-1
Josh has been a regular in the area for far longer than me, and is a very good player in the area. I know what he is playing as I have passed by his table a couple times all day and I have a little confidence going in, but this was actually my toughest round all day. Game 1 I choose to play since I am 2nd seed, and have to mulligan to a less than stellar 6 card hand, which cost me this game. He was actually prepared for this kind of matchup as he had mainboard Blood Baron of Vizkopa, which scared me greatly. I got him to 16 when he stabilized and took the game. Games 2 and 3, luckily for me, went more in my favor. Game 2 I remember him mulliganing down to 6 and not liking his keep, which showed with his life total dropping rather quickly. Game 3 had my favorite finish of the day. I drew a Chandra with 4 mana up and 2 Lightning Strike in hand. I attacked and put him to 5, and had a strange feeling that he was going to Sphinx’s Rev at the end of my turn, though I really wanted to get the Chandra out. I decided to play by my gut, passed turn and……BOOM! He tapped out for Sphinx, I responded with the kill, and with that was off to the Semifinal match.
Semifinals: Zeke (Naya Midrange) W 2-0
This matchup showed how powerful Mogis’s Mauraders is for this deck. I led game 1 with a Tormented Hero, and he led with a Shockland and a mana dork. I took him to 16 with the Hero and passed. He shocked himself again to get a Smiter out, which I again walked around with a Madcap Skills, taking him to 8. I played another Hero and passed. He played a Centaur Healer on his turn, bring him back to 11. I Don’t remember what happened exactly after that, but he took 9 points of damage from me next turn and I ended it with Lightning Strike. Game 2 I brought down a Lifebane Zombie to get a look at his hand, which had Stormbreath Dragon, 2 Selesnya Charm, an Elvish Mystic (my only target) and a land. I get him to 12 before he had 2 Knight tokens off his charms and a Smiter. I had a total of 7 power on the board and slammed a Maurader, which brought him down to 3 since he couldn’t block. After surveying everything, he said he had no way to stop my Lifebane next turn and extended the hand.
We finished far quicker than the other match, so I was looking at my potential next two matchups: Selesnya or R/G. Between the 2, I would much rather face the Selesnya deck, as they don’t run the spot burn that can chip my guys away and I can Mogis’s my way through all their creatures, where I can’t do that against R/G as well. I didn’t have ALL the luck that day, as R/G ended up taking the match.
Finals: Jake (R/G Ember Swallower) W 2-1
Being in the finals felt awesome, but I knew I had my work cut out for me. Game 1 went exceptionally well, as his life total went 20-18-13-7-dead. I also remember him saying “What is this crap?! I’m sure I have this deck in a bulk box somewhere, and it’s destroying me!” Someone joked that I was gonna be a control deck games 2 and 3 and I joked back “Don’t threaten me, my board is built for that.” This actually scared Jake a little, I think. Game 2 I lost due to huge mana flood (12 lands is not what I my deck wants to have at once), but got an awesome 4 for 1 when he had 2 Sylvan Caryatid, an Elvish Mystic, and Stormbreath Dragon and I overloaded a Mizzium Mortars. However, that was the best I could do and he eventually got there. Game 3 I won because he kept a shaky 6 that left him stuck with 2 mountians, and I just beat him down without much trouble.
And that is how the day went! Match-wise, I went 7-0-1, game-wise I went 14-2, and I was extremely pleased with how well the deck ran. If you have a control-heavy meta, I would highly suggest sleeving this up. It has explosive power like you wouldn’t believe and the higher end creatures actually give the deck some resiliency. My only change would be to add some more reach in the sideboard in the form of Skullcrack or Shock for more control heavy meta, or some removal in the form of Doom Blade or Hero’s Downfall in more creature-heavy metas.
Let me know what you think of my analysis, as I am still trying to up my competitive game and want to see if my suggestions are valid/worthwhile or not. Thanks for reading everyone!
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Tormented Hero
4 Spike Jester
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Mogis's Maurader
3 Hellhole Flailer
3 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch
2 Erebos, God of the Dead
4 Lightning Strike
4 Madcap Skills
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
Land: 23
12 Swamp
7 Mountain
4 Blood Crypt
2 Burning Earth
2 Thoughtseize
2 Rakdos' Return
2 Lifebane Zombie
2 Pithing Needle
2 Dreadbore
3 Mizzium Mortars
I played (in order by round) B/R Midrange (2-0), Esper Control (2-0), Esper Control (2-0), Bant Control (2-0), Selesnya Aggro (ID into Top 8), Esper Control (Quarterfinals 2-1), Naya Midrange (Semifinals 2-0) and G/R Ember Swallower (Finals 2-1).
I really like the explosive-ness of the deck and how well it actually can hold up against some decks. The only difficult thing to deal with is anything with 5 toughness or higher (Obzedat, Wurm Tokens, Ember Swallower, etc), which is why I think the Erebos in the deck could easily become Purphoros and the sideboard could use some Doom Blade or the like. Overall, I was very pleased with the deck and highly recommend it to anyone facing a heavy control meta. Watch out for Blood Baron, though, as that is this deck's Achilles's Heel.
Your correct, Torpor Orb only deals with "enter the battlefield" triggers. Things like Iona won't be affected by Torpor Orb.
I like the card, but it only fits in certain decks, as alot of decks start to nerf their own cards if they play this. It really shines in RDW, as the only creature it tends to affect is Vexing Devil, and it can actually be a benefit to leave a Devil down like that.
I apologize for the incredibly small picture, but it should get the point across. This is a foil Overabundance from Invasion, and it has what seems to be "bleach" spots all over the front, and still has the foiling on those spots. I would've said this was damaged, but the card is very clean and in NM+ condition otherwise. If you look on the back, there isn't any signs where the card was water-damaged.
I don't expect this thing to be worth a whole lot. A regular foil is on SCG at $2, so I might put this at around $5 ish? But I wanted to get some other opinions to see if this is a common misprint or not and what the experts would price it at. Thanks for the help!
I also recently started collecting old-border foil "shooting star" basics. I love the look of them and love to use them in all of my decks.
Serum Visions and Sleight of Hand are about the best options for 1-mana cantrips right now in Modern. There is also stuff like Gitaxian Probe and Thought Scour.
And just a suggestion, the two Praetors, Urabrask and Elesh Norn, seem a little out of place in your deck, especially since your only running 22 lands. A good card to replace Urabrask could be Blind Obedience, and to keep using Elesh Norn, you could try for a Gifts Ungiven package with Unburial Rites. That way you can reach Elesh Norn not only quicker, but most likely more consistantly.
Played at GP Chicago. The best one is that I played against Infect 3 seperate occasions, and out of the 5 sideboard games I played, had Melira, Sylvok Outcast opening hand in 3 of those games, and was able to last minute topdeck it in a 4th game. Really pissed the guy off that I played in my win-and-in for Day 2 when he found out it was a 1-of in the deck.
The most memorable match for me was Round 8, where I faced off against Junk. Game 1 I wrecked him, game 2 he wrecks me. So we have a tense game 3, where I just have a less than perfect hand and I pass turn to him with 3 land and Birds of Paradise in play, Kiki-Jiki and Deceiver Exarch in hand. He flips Path To Exile off his Confidant trigger, so I knew he had removal to stop me. My only hope was for him to tap out and I draw a 4th land. He proceeds to cast Lingering Souls, and I completely expect him to just pass to me. Instead, he taps out, flashes back Lingering Souls. Here is how it played out.
Him: "Pass to you."
Me: "EOT Exarch?"
Him: *looks at his lands, look of dread appears* "Ok....."
Me: *untap, draw* "Rugged Prairie, Kiki-jiki, win?"
Had a good one at a local PTQ. Played against R/G Aggro that maindecked Blood Moon. Game 1, I'm surprisingly getting screwed on red mana, and he taps out to cast Blood Moon on his turn 3 (he was on the draw). I just looked at it a little puzzled then said "Main deck Blood moon?.....Thanks bro!" To which he just gave a look of utter confusion, until I EOT'd an Angel and then hard cast a Kiki-jiki with my new mountains I had.
Good times, gooooooood times......
As for sentimental/personal value, either my playset of Zendikar fetches and Shocklands. Love having a good manabase for whatever modern deck I feel like building/brewing.
The best part is that I'm the only one in the area that collects them, so whenever someone that knows me finds one, the snatch it up and ship it to me!
He isn't being a "vaginal cleaning device", as far as I know this is actually a rule on the forums to not double post when you can edit your own post to add info, something that you can get a warning or potentially an infraction for for multiple offenses. Keeps people from racking up post counts like a madman and keeps forums from getting cluttered up. You can find an edit button somewhere in your post so you can update it.
On topic, Desertion is a personal favorite of mine. "Gonna cast that big guy? Naw, bro, I'll just take that I think...."
EDIT: Edit button is in the right-hand lower part of the post box.
Eye of the Storm
I love trying to figure out the stack when you get a bunch of search/draw/kill spells going on with this thing!!! You gotta play with a ton of counterspells to keep this guy around though, which makes the card even more fun!
But I can understand why people want to give every copy of this card to a raging inferno.
Foil Hall of the Bandit Lord
Black Market
Karmic Guide
and other goodies. I paid like $6.00 and got about $70 worth of stuff.
Also went through their $.25 box and found some Shattering Spree and Steelshaper's Gift. Quite happy with those pulls