I originally had Darkslick Shores, but decided to drop them in favor of a third River of Tears and the three Reflecting Pool. Reflecting pool has been nothing short of amazing since it is almost always an untapped dual land. It does create the problem of making a hand with Mutavault and Reflecting Pool awful, but i have yet to have that happen, nor do i see it as much of a problem.In the end though, i can not recommend Reflecting Pool enough.
Im still not sure how I feel about Scion of Oona, sometimes I love him and other times i wish he would just go away. I do like the idea of siding between Scions and Vendilions though and may give that a try. My removal was pretty lacking and half the time people played creatures that Smother couldn't even target. I'm thinking of lower my counters and upping my removal to give me a wider range of options.
While i do agree that tri-color decks should be punished for there greedy mana base, I'm not sure that i agree with the suggestions of additional life loss. As stated already they take away about 1/4 (I feel that a fraction here really puts in perspective just how much that 5 life is) of there own life total from fetches and shocks, perhaps there is an option besides life loss to reasonably punish them.
So yesterdays Sunday night Modern went very well. It was four rounds, and i ended up 3-0 splitting prizes at the end. (3-0-1 if you would prefer)
I played the list i had posted earlier though i swapped a tectonic edge for a temple garden. DOLZero i was going to take your advice on going 3 forest and 1 plains, but forgot to switch before starting. Luckily it didn't come up as an issue, though i still plan on making the change.
I had no idea what my opponent was playing as i had never seen him at the shop before, and after the first few turns i thought it was just an entire deck of destroy target creature spells. The game went at a steady pace of me playing a creature and him killing it immediately. After i stuck 3 creatures on without him killing them he drew a timely Damnation and followed it up with Abyssal Persecutor and Viscera Seer to beat me down. I draw no answers and die to his 2 creatures.
I keep a hand of 2 land, Noble, Smiter, Crusader, Path, Vial. My game plan was set, turn 2 Mirran Crusader followed by a swift victory. I turn one noble, he turn one swamps and plays Despise taking my Crusader along with my hopes and dreams. Over the next few turns i get Smiter down and he plays Obliterator. After he taps out for Obliterator, i play SoLaS and attach it to my Smiter and proceed to go to town, he still only has black removal so there was no stopping my beats.
No sideboard changes
Game 3
I get in some early beats, but a Phyrexian Obliterator quickly stops me in my tracks. The game went on for quite a few turns with both of us unable to attack profitably (If he swings he dies, if i swing i sack a lot of permanents. While we are playing draw go however, I have a Township in play and activate at the end of his turn for several turns. Township gets my creatures large enough so i can attack in the Obliterator and he wouldn't be able to block enough to survive and that ends game 3.
2-1
1-0
Round 2 vs. U/G Infect
I'm not going to spend much time talking about this match as there really isn't much to say. I feel like infect is just a bad version of bogle and i can't seem to take it seriously as a deck. Game 1 he decided to race but Wilt-Leaf Liege just put me too far ahead. Game 2 he keeps one land which I Leonin + ghost Quarter, and as fast as game 2 started it ended.
4-1
2-0
Round 3 vs. Restore Balance
I will say now that vial is the only reason this match was possible. I had never played against Restore Balance before so this was definitely a learning experience.
Game 1
This was probably the longest game of magic i have ever played and probably the most intense. It lasted 35 minutes and at the end i had only 12 cards left in my library. Most of the game was spent top decking with vials on 2 and 5 (Baneslayer). I chump a gargadon for a while hoping to draw path which would be the last gargadon i would have to deal with. I end up vialing in a baneslayer when he attacks with gargadon and simian spirit guide. Chump the gargadon with noble and have angel block spirit guide to gain 5. After that my baneslayer can safely out race his gargadon and take the game. Mostly lucky draws on this one.
The sideboard plan here was simple, shut down the borderposts, which ultimately stops him from playing any Restore Balance. Though stony silence would turn of my vials it would also allow me to keep my lands and play creatures anyway.
Game 2
This game starts off with me mulling to 5 keeping noble, tec edge, vial, smiter, EE. I'm on the draw so maybe i can get a miracle. I first turn tec edge play vial. He gets a second borderpost turn 2. I move vial up to one, play gavony township and pass. He plays land and o-rings my vial, which i respond by putting noble into play. The next few turns see little action from him while i get a second noble and 2 dual lands allowing me to EE for 3 taking out his borderposts. Now that i dont have to worry about Restore balance I commit more to the board and start bashing. He did play blood moon at one point but i had two vials on 2 & 3 so i wasn't worried. The game ends and he shows me 2 Restore Balance in his hand and flips the top card of his library which was also Restore Balance.
6-1
3-0
Round 4 vs. Fighting Polygon Team
....JK Split Prizes
After Thoughts:
I will start off by saying i wasn't playing against the best decks in the room and did get a little lucky with my pairings.
Aether Vial is my new favorite card. Hatebears are good, but uncounterable hatebears at instant speed are even better. It just allows so many awesome plays including vial in Wilt-Leaf Liege to change combat math, Vial in Ooze to exile cards with triggers on the stack, perhaps that new hatebear that stops card draw could be vialed in in-response to Sphinx's Rev. With vial the possibilities are endless.
Im definitely removing the Rest in Peace from the board as Ooze seems to keep the graveyard on lock down just fine. I will most likely fill the slot with Qasali pridemage as i fined myself missing him a lot. Im not sure if i want to cut the Kitchen finks from the main or add more, as weird as that may sound. Though i could move finks to the side and pull Qasali to the main. All things to consider.
So, tonight I will be returning to magic after a few months of not being able to play and am planning on pulling out my g/w hatebears. It was the last deck i left off playing so i think i'll have the best chance with it.
Im not sure how i feel about playing the vial version, how have you guys found it to perform? I like the idea of not having to worry about counts and doing cute tricks with instant speed hatebears, but im not quite sure if it's worth it.
Im considering switching Baneslayer Angel to Hero of Bladehold which would work better with ticking a vial up to 4 to play Wilt-Leaf Liege. I am certain that i would like something large like Baneslayer for late game to just put it away for me.
As for my sideboard, I feel that Sword of Light and Shadow would be an excellent fit for a creature based deck as this. Vials mean you have mana open to tap for swords without feeling like you have lost a whole turn doing so. Perhaps cutting the baneslayers and moving the swords to the main is a better option than the previously mentioned Hero of Bladehold? I also lack sideboard options for the U/W/R control match, and may need to consider some options to that end. Dauntless Escort came to mind as a nice vial trick for getting around those pesky board wipes, and still becomes large from Wilt-Leaf Liege.
Hey guys I just recently put together my first legacy deck, and as you no doubt have guessed it's Maverick. I was just wondering if there is a version of Maverick that splashes heavier into black. I have Bob, Bitterblossom, IoK so I was just wondering if there is a version that plays these or if i would have to look into going for more of a Rock style deck?
I am also wondering what equipment everyone finds best to run with SFM? I am currently using a jitte and a SoFaF main.
Imposing Sovereign also cripples Twin Pod, hampers Flash and Haste, and keeps guys from blocking for one turn. I like her more in Smiter-Liege builds because they're more aggressive.
I agree with Lectrys, though i would probably try it in the sideboard of less aggressive versions. Sovereign actually reminds me of a problem I've been running into, and that is removal. My meta seems to be packed with decks full of removal, or at least enough to deal with the hatebears i put down. I don't mean to sound like someone who thinks every creature sucks because it dies to removal, but hatebears generally have low toughness and tend to attract more removal because of their abilities.
Now my question is, should I just play cards like Brave the Elements or possibly look into adding a third color like blue for Kira, Great Glass-Spinner and Meddling Mage? Blue also gives access to low cost counters in the form of Spell Snare and Spell Pierce. Just something I am considering and would like to here everyones thoughts on.
This is far from what i would have liked it to be, but as stated before i played with what i could get my hands on. By next weekend i should be able to get my hands on the rest of what i need.
Changes so far:
Reduced the number of scions to 2.
Reduced the number of Swords MD to 1.
Removed Electrolyze entirely since it is a little to slow and the card advantage doesn't really make up for it.
Removed the Ancient grudge in the MD.
Removed the Mana Leaks.
Added 4 Spell Snare.
Added 3 Snapcaster Mage
Replaced 2 Conclaves with Mutavaults. (Finally!)
I will be testing the new list this week and see how it goes. I'm also considering Jace Beleren for card draw, and would love to hear some thoughts on him.
If i have time a may throw together a BUG list with Abrupt Decay, Deathrite, Maelstrom Pulse, and a few others and see how that goes.
So yesterday was Sunday night modern at my local shop, and i decided i would throw together faeries. My list was a little less then what i wanted to have, but i played with what i could get my hands on. I chose to go with U/R/g.
The green was only to make Engineered Explosives able to go up to three counters, and also for the flashback on Ancient Grudge. Sadly no one seems to have Mutavaults so i was forced to use two Conlcave in its place.
Round 1:
In the first round i'm paired against my nemesis, Tron. I have yet to win a game against Tron, so I wasn't really looking forward to playing this match. Though with Blood Moon in my SB i was a bit more hopeful.
Game 1:
I won the roll, and took the play. I counter his first Ancient Stirrings with a Spellstutter. After that he sits with Tron active waiting for a threat to put down. On turn 5 I play Vendilion at his draw step taking away his Karn, and then proceed to beat him down from 18 to 0 with a single Vendilion Clique.
Game 2:
He takes the play and on his turn 3 plays the third Tron piece to cast Wurmcoil. I go land pass the following turn. His turn 4 he tries for Karn but i have the counterflux, I take a hit from the wurmcoil and then he passes. My memory from here is a bit jumbled, But i get rid of the wurmcoil with a grudge, and then Mistbind Clique at his upkeep 6 turns in a row. My opponent wasn't very happy at the end of that game.
1-0
Round 2:
In this round I played against someone who came to the shop for the first time, but was not new to magic.
Game 1:
I win the roll and chose to play. His first turn he suspends a Search for Tomorrow, and I knew right away that he was on Scapeshift. I am unable to control him enough and end up taking 18 to the face.
-1 Ancient Grudge
-4 Bolt
+3 Blood Moon
+2 Counterflux
Game 2:
I slam Blood Moon turn 3, GG. He didn't know i would have Blood Moon, and therefore had no answer to it.
Game 3:
Game 3 was a fairly long game, mostly do to all the counter wars we had. On the turn he went for scapeshift it was something like, Him: Scapeshift>Me: Cryptic> Him: Negate> Me: Remand. After that i had the game in the bag.
2-0
Round 3:
This round was against tribal zoo which I knew would be tough since my deck isn't the best against an aggro deck.
To save time here i'll just sum it up and say my deck is too slow when it comes to playing against aggro decks.
2-1
Round 4:
Best round of the night. Mostly because my opponent seemed like he just wanted to have fun and play magic and not freak out when something goes wrong. He was playing a BUG deck that ran the usual suspects Goyf, Bob, Liliana, Snappy McSnapperson, Abrupt Decay etc. etc.
Game 1: (Final Round)
The first game was full of counter wars and removal from both sides. He ends up sticking a goyf, which i realized i have almost no single spell that can kill it except for EE, an it beats my face in with a little help from Creeping Tarpit.
Game 2:
He kept a one land hand with 2 Deathrite Shamans. I killed both shamans and he never found his second land.
Game 3:
This game was very close, but after tec'ing his only green source he was unable to play the Thrun and 2 Goyfs in his hand and i ended pulling though right at the end.
3-1
I was very happy with how the deck played for it being slightly incomplete, combined with me playing it for the first time. I did make a few play mistakes with Cryptic and Vendilion, but i expected to missplay a few times. The md Ancient Grudge was cute and that's about all it was. I'm also not sure if i liked having 2 swords main, or atleast 2 of the same ones, though i never had both at once.
As far as changes go i wouldn't mind trying out some other color combinations such as USA, BUG, or even Esper. I did pick up a playset of Spell Snare that i will add some amount of.
Mostly im interested in peoples thoughts on how to beat the aggro decks that seem to be coming up more often.
Fury of the horde seems like it should be in this deck as it will allow for a one in a million(so to speak) chance at a first turn win. After drawing 21 cards with Griselbrand you play to Fury of the Horde in one turn buy discarding red cards to play them for free, allowing for you to potentially attack for 21 in one turn.
Also would Dimir Charm work well here? The last option seems like a good way to dig and put Griselbrand into the grave. Just a thought.
I play a deck with the same idea, but instead i cheat Emrakul, the Aeons Torn into play. I would suggest you try him(or it?) out since a trun three Emrakul with haste is usually game over for your opponent.
I do have to agree with Izzetmage, in that Sakura-Tribe Elder is going to be better then Cultivate.
Also Naya colors would allow for Windbrisk Heights which is easy activated off your mana dorks.
I as well have considered running Searing Blaze. I feel that it's really strong to help push damage early by clearing blocker, but still doing player damage. I personally hate using bolts as removal and then later wishing i had it to throw to their face.
With the addition of Searing Blaze I do feel that Thalia will have to move to the sideboard. At that point should would be more self-destructive than beneficial.
I'll be testing these thoughts this weekend at my local shop and let you guys know what happened.
How do you guys/gals feel about your twin matchup?
Also, I would be interested to hear why you chose this deck over UWR?
Thanks,
Chromeshell
Sorry, typed this on my phone.
And here is the product of that:
3 Eternal Witness
2 Scavenging Ooze
3 Deceiver Exarch
2 Pestermite
4 Snapcaster Mage
Spells:
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Remand
2 Izzet Charm
3 Cryptic Command
2 Familiar's Ruse
3 Splinter Twin
4 Aether Vial
Lands:
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Sulfur Falls
2 Flooded Grove
3 Steam Vents
2 Breeding Pool
1 Stomping Ground
2 Reflecting Pool
2 Mountain
3 Island
1 Forest
Would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and concerns.
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion of Oona
3 Vendilion Clique
Spells:
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Thoughtseize
3 Cryptic Command
3 Mana Leak
3 Spell Snare
2 Spell Pierce
2 Smother
Lands:
4 Secluded Glen
2 Watery Grave
3 Reflecting Pool
4 Mutavault
2 Sunken Ruins
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 River of Tears
1 Swamp
4 Island
I originally had Darkslick Shores, but decided to drop them in favor of a third River of Tears and the three Reflecting Pool. Reflecting pool has been nothing short of amazing since it is almost always an untapped dual land. It does create the problem of making a hand with Mutavault and Reflecting Pool awful, but i have yet to have that happen, nor do i see it as much of a problem.In the end though, i can not recommend Reflecting Pool enough.
Im still not sure how I feel about Scion of Oona, sometimes I love him and other times i wish he would just go away. I do like the idea of siding between Scions and Vendilions though and may give that a try. My removal was pretty lacking and half the time people played creatures that Smother couldn't even target. I'm thinking of lower my counters and upping my removal to give me a wider range of options.
Just my two cents though.
I played the list i had posted earlier though i swapped a tectonic edge for a temple garden. DOLZero i was going to take your advice on going 3 forest and 1 plains, but forgot to switch before starting. Luckily it didn't come up as an issue, though i still plan on making the change.
Lets get this started...
Round 1 vs. B/R Homebrew
My opponents deck contained no burn spells, as far as i saw the red was only there to play Terminate. His deck was packed with removal in the form of Dismember,Victim of Night,Terminate, and Gatekeeper of Malakir. His finishers were Phyrexian Obliterator and Abyssal Persecutor.
Game 1
I had no idea what my opponent was playing as i had never seen him at the shop before, and after the first few turns i thought it was just an entire deck of destroy target creature spells. The game went at a steady pace of me playing a creature and him killing it immediately. After i stuck 3 creatures on without him killing them he drew a timely Damnation and followed it up with Abyssal Persecutor and Viscera Seer to beat me down. I draw no answers and die to his 2 creatures.
-4 Leonin Arbiter
+3 Mirran Crusader
+1 Sword of Light and Shadow
Game 2
I keep a hand of 2 land, Noble, Smiter, Crusader, Path, Vial. My game plan was set, turn 2 Mirran Crusader followed by a swift victory. I turn one noble, he turn one swamps and plays Despise taking my Crusader along with my hopes and dreams. Over the next few turns i get Smiter down and he plays Obliterator. After he taps out for Obliterator, i play SoLaS and attach it to my Smiter and proceed to go to town, he still only has black removal so there was no stopping my beats.
No sideboard changes
Game 3
I get in some early beats, but a Phyrexian Obliterator quickly stops me in my tracks. The game went on for quite a few turns with both of us unable to attack profitably (If he swings he dies, if i swing i sack a lot of permanents. While we are playing draw go however, I have a Township in play and activate at the end of his turn for several turns. Township gets my creatures large enough so i can attack in the Obliterator and he wouldn't be able to block enough to survive and that ends game 3.
2-1
1-0
Round 2 vs. U/G Infect
I'm not going to spend much time talking about this match as there really isn't much to say. I feel like infect is just a bad version of bogle and i can't seem to take it seriously as a deck. Game 1 he decided to race but Wilt-Leaf Liege just put me too far ahead. Game 2 he keeps one land which I Leonin + ghost Quarter, and as fast as game 2 started it ended.
4-1
2-0
Round 3 vs. Restore Balance
I will say now that vial is the only reason this match was possible. I had never played against Restore Balance before so this was definitely a learning experience.
Game 1
This was probably the longest game of magic i have ever played and probably the most intense. It lasted 35 minutes and at the end i had only 12 cards left in my library. Most of the game was spent top decking with vials on 2 and 5 (Baneslayer). I chump a gargadon for a while hoping to draw path which would be the last gargadon i would have to deal with. I end up vialing in a baneslayer when he attacks with gargadon and simian spirit guide. Chump the gargadon with noble and have angel block spirit guide to gain 5. After that my baneslayer can safely out race his gargadon and take the game. Mostly lucky draws on this one.
-2 Baneslayer
-3 Aven mindcensor
+3 Engineered Explosives
+2 Stony silence
The sideboard plan here was simple, shut down the borderposts, which ultimately stops him from playing any Restore Balance. Though stony silence would turn of my vials it would also allow me to keep my lands and play creatures anyway.
Game 2
This game starts off with me mulling to 5 keeping noble, tec edge, vial, smiter, EE. I'm on the draw so maybe i can get a miracle. I first turn tec edge play vial. He gets a second borderpost turn 2. I move vial up to one, play gavony township and pass. He plays land and o-rings my vial, which i respond by putting noble into play. The next few turns see little action from him while i get a second noble and 2 dual lands allowing me to EE for 3 taking out his borderposts. Now that i dont have to worry about Restore balance I commit more to the board and start bashing. He did play blood moon at one point but i had two vials on 2 & 3 so i wasn't worried. The game ends and he shows me 2 Restore Balance in his hand and flips the top card of his library which was also Restore Balance.
6-1
3-0
Round 4 vs. Fighting Polygon Team
....JK Split Prizes
After Thoughts:
I will start off by saying i wasn't playing against the best decks in the room and did get a little lucky with my pairings.
Aether Vial is my new favorite card. Hatebears are good, but uncounterable hatebears at instant speed are even better. It just allows so many awesome plays including vial in Wilt-Leaf Liege to change combat math, Vial in Ooze to exile cards with triggers on the stack, perhaps that new hatebear that stops card draw could be vialed in in-response to Sphinx's Rev. With vial the possibilities are endless.
Im definitely removing the Rest in Peace from the board as Ooze seems to keep the graveyard on lock down just fine. I will most likely fill the slot with Qasali pridemage as i fined myself missing him a lot. Im not sure if i want to cut the Kitchen finks from the main or add more, as weird as that may sound. Though i could move finks to the side and pull Qasali to the main. All things to consider.
Here is the list i'll be going with:
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Scavenging Ooze
3 Voice of Resurgence
4 Leonin Arbiter
4 Loxodon Smiter
2 Kitchen Finks
3 Aven Mindcensor
3 Wilt-Leaf Liege
2 Baneslayer Angel
Spells:
4 Path to Exile
4 Aether Vial
3 Horizon Canopy
3 Temple Garden
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Gavony Township
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Razorverge Thicket
2 Plains
2 Forest
2 Stirring Wildwood
1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
2 Pithing Needle
2 Stony silence
2 Rest in Peace
3 Mirran Crusader
3 Engineered Explosive
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Sword of War and Peace
Im not sure how i feel about playing the vial version, how have you guys found it to perform? I like the idea of not having to worry about counts and doing cute tricks with instant speed hatebears, but im not quite sure if it's worth it.
Im considering switching Baneslayer Angel to Hero of Bladehold which would work better with ticking a vial up to 4 to play Wilt-Leaf Liege. I am certain that i would like something large like Baneslayer for late game to just put it away for me.
As for my sideboard, I feel that Sword of Light and Shadow would be an excellent fit for a creature based deck as this. Vials mean you have mana open to tap for swords without feeling like you have lost a whole turn doing so. Perhaps cutting the baneslayers and moving the swords to the main is a better option than the previously mentioned Hero of Bladehold? I also lack sideboard options for the U/W/R control match, and may need to consider some options to that end. Dauntless Escort came to mind as a nice vial trick for getting around those pesky board wipes, and still becomes large from Wilt-Leaf Liege.
I am also wondering what equipment everyone finds best to run with SFM? I am currently using a jitte and a SoFaF main.
Thanks,
Chromeshell
I agree with Lectrys, though i would probably try it in the sideboard of less aggressive versions. Sovereign actually reminds me of a problem I've been running into, and that is removal. My meta seems to be packed with decks full of removal, or at least enough to deal with the hatebears i put down. I don't mean to sound like someone who thinks every creature sucks because it dies to removal, but hatebears generally have low toughness and tend to attract more removal because of their abilities.
Now my question is, should I just play cards like Brave the Elements or possibly look into adding a third color like blue for Kira, Great Glass-Spinner and Meddling Mage? Blue also gives access to low cost counters in the form of Spell Snare and Spell Pierce. Just something I am considering and would like to here everyones thoughts on.
Here it is:
2x Pithing Needle
1x Sword of Body and Mind
2x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Counterflux
3x Blood Moon
2x Firespout
1x Threads of Disloyalty
1x Ancient Grudeg
1x Spell Pierce
This is far from what i would have liked it to be, but as stated before i played with what i could get my hands on. By next weekend i should be able to get my hands on the rest of what i need.
Changes so far:
Reduced the number of scions to 2.
Reduced the number of Swords MD to 1.
Removed Electrolyze entirely since it is a little to slow and the card advantage doesn't really make up for it.
Removed the Ancient grudge in the MD.
Removed the Mana Leaks.
Added 4 Spell Snare.
Added 3 Snapcaster Mage
Replaced 2 Conclaves with Mutavaults. (Finally!)
I will be testing the new list this week and see how it goes. I'm also considering Jace Beleren for card draw, and would love to hear some thoughts on him.
If i have time a may throw together a BUG list with Abrupt Decay, Deathrite, Maelstrom Pulse, and a few others and see how that goes.
Thanks,
Chromeshell
And here's the list:
4x Scion of Oona
4x Mistbind Clique
4x Spellstutter Sprite
2x Vendilion Clique
Artifacts:
1x Engineered Explosives
2x Sword of Feast and Famine
Spells:
4x Cryptic Command
4x Remand
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Electrolyze
2x Mana Leak
1x Ancient Grudge
4x Scalding Tarn
4x Misty Rainforest
2x Steam Vents
1x Breeding Pool
2x Faerie Conclave
2x Mutavault
1x Mountain
1x Academy Ruins
1x Tectonic Edge
6x Islands
The green was only to make Engineered Explosives able to go up to three counters, and also for the flashback on Ancient Grudge. Sadly no one seems to have Mutavaults so i was forced to use two Conlcave in its place.
Round 1:
In the first round i'm paired against my nemesis, Tron. I have yet to win a game against Tron, so I wasn't really looking forward to playing this match. Though with Blood Moon in my SB i was a bit more hopeful.
Game 1:
I won the roll, and took the play. I counter his first Ancient Stirrings with a Spellstutter. After that he sits with Tron active waiting for a threat to put down. On turn 5 I play Vendilion at his draw step taking away his Karn, and then proceed to beat him down from 18 to 0 with a single Vendilion Clique.
-2 Leak
-4 Bolt
+3 Blood Moon
+2 Counterflux
+1 Ancient Grudge
Game 2:
He takes the play and on his turn 3 plays the third Tron piece to cast Wurmcoil. I go land pass the following turn. His turn 4 he tries for Karn but i have the counterflux, I take a hit from the wurmcoil and then he passes. My memory from here is a bit jumbled, But i get rid of the wurmcoil with a grudge, and then Mistbind Clique at his upkeep 6 turns in a row. My opponent wasn't very happy at the end of that game.
1-0
Round 2:
In this round I played against someone who came to the shop for the first time, but was not new to magic.
Game 1:
I win the roll and chose to play. His first turn he suspends a Search for Tomorrow, and I knew right away that he was on Scapeshift. I am unable to control him enough and end up taking 18 to the face.
-1 Ancient Grudge
-4 Bolt
+3 Blood Moon
+2 Counterflux
Game 2:
I slam Blood Moon turn 3, GG. He didn't know i would have Blood Moon, and therefore had no answer to it.
Game 3:
Game 3 was a fairly long game, mostly do to all the counter wars we had. On the turn he went for scapeshift it was something like, Him: Scapeshift>Me: Cryptic> Him: Negate> Me: Remand. After that i had the game in the bag.
2-0
Round 3:
This round was against tribal zoo which I knew would be tough since my deck isn't the best against an aggro deck.
To save time here i'll just sum it up and say my deck is too slow when it comes to playing against aggro decks.
2-1
Round 4:
Best round of the night. Mostly because my opponent seemed like he just wanted to have fun and play magic and not freak out when something goes wrong. He was playing a BUG deck that ran the usual suspects Goyf, Bob, Liliana, Snappy McSnapperson, Abrupt Decay etc. etc.
Game 1: (Final Round)
The first game was full of counter wars and removal from both sides. He ends up sticking a goyf, which i realized i have almost no single spell that can kill it except for EE, an it beats my face in with a little help from Creeping Tarpit.
Game 2:
He kept a one land hand with 2 Deathrite Shamans. I killed both shamans and he never found his second land.
Game 3:
This game was very close, but after tec'ing his only green source he was unable to play the Thrun and 2 Goyfs in his hand and i ended pulling though right at the end.
3-1
I was very happy with how the deck played for it being slightly incomplete, combined with me playing it for the first time. I did make a few play mistakes with Cryptic and Vendilion, but i expected to missplay a few times. The md Ancient Grudge was cute and that's about all it was. I'm also not sure if i liked having 2 swords main, or atleast 2 of the same ones, though i never had both at once.
As far as changes go i wouldn't mind trying out some other color combinations such as USA, BUG, or even Esper. I did pick up a playset of Spell Snare that i will add some amount of.
Mostly im interested in peoples thoughts on how to beat the aggro decks that seem to be coming up more often.
Thanks,
Chromeshell
Also would Dimir Charm work well here? The last option seems like a good way to dig and put Griselbrand into the grave. Just a thought.
I do have to agree with Izzetmage, in that Sakura-Tribe Elder is going to be better then Cultivate.
Also Naya colors would allow for Windbrisk Heights which is easy activated off your mana dorks.
Hope that helps.
With the addition of Searing Blaze I do feel that Thalia will have to move to the sideboard. At that point should would be more self-destructive than beneficial.
I'll be testing these thoughts this weekend at my local shop and let you guys know what happened.
I'm also interested in your thoughts on Goblin Assault + Glory of Warfare?