Hey,Eric, I really enjoyed your writeup. While noble isn't a good card to topdeck, a 3 of and seeing it in the first 3 turns is nice
I think I may try your deck out tonight, minus a few things and the sideboard.
Do you find yourself missing that 4th Lilianna? What about maelstrom pulse? 1 fulminator seems lackluster
I mainly play jund so I only have 1 Marsh flat, which I hate, so I'll have to go 4 windswept and 1 marsh flat, which can be major against burn and aggro
Thanks,
I generally do not find myself missing the Liliana, but for the games where I want to make sure I hit one or multiple I side the 4th in. The fulminator in the main is basically a concession to not wanting three main deck Liliana but also wanting access to four fulminator and four Liliana. I also like having the fulminator in the main with the ghost quarter to help against man lands in affinity, infect, and jund/junk. If you are ok with only having 3 fulminator in your 75 then maelstrom pulse is a better card in the main. While I like the current configuration of my side board I am interested in what you would play. Good luck tonight.
I see that Junk is a "Tier Two" Deck now... interesting. Anyways this is the list I played to a 13th place finish at GP OKC a month or so back and played it to a lack luster 9th place at the recent RPTQ. I really like this list as it is right now and can not see myself playing another deck in the near future.
Main Deck
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Fulminator Mage
4 Siege Rhino
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Path to Exile
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
4 Lingering Souls
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Treetop Village
2 Twilight Mire
1 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
Sideboard
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Stony Silence
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Damnation
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Liliana of the Veil
I wrote about parts of the RPTQ in this article I just finished.
Please let me know what you think about the list and the article.
Thanks
Eric
Great write up! Really enjoyed the read (even the legacy part). Glad to see you running the Gavony/GQ split, as I definitely think its where we want to be right now with our utility lands.
Pile of questions incoming:
How were the Noble Hierarchs performing?
Would you change the maindeck Fulminator Mage going forward to something like Kitchen Finks? I've tried a maindeck Fulmi in the past and consistently found it lackluster.
Why three Fulminators in the board if you're already maindecking one?
Is Leyline of Sanctity really worth it to you over something like Kitchen Finks, Timely Reinforcements, or Feed the Clan? If so, why?
Also, if I could suggest a bit of formatting in the decklists both here on the forum and in your blog-post itself. Things like Lands: 24, Creatures: 17, etc. make it much easier to see the nuances of your list rather than having to count them ourselves.
Thanks for the write up! Hopeful for more Abzan reports from you in the future.
Thanks for the feed back, I will keep the deck list formatting in mind for the future. To answer your questions.
- Noble Hierarch as a three of in the deck is pretty important. You to you don't want to have more than one in your opening hand, so three gives us the number of maximizing having one while hopefully not having two. The difference between a turn two Liliana vs a turn three or a turn three Rhino vs turn four is a lot. Also a turn one Hierarch into turn two Goyf + discard spell is a very strong start as well. The ramp is important but so is the mana fixing because the mana in the deck is actually not that good. Exalted also helps you attack through other Goyfs and makes a singe lingering soul token a faster clock.
-As far as the Fulminator Mage in the main deck goes, I did not want 4 main deck Liliana but wanted access to both 4 Liliana and 4 Fulminator Mage. Some times it is lackluster, once in a blue moon you hit it on turn two on the play and your opponent gets color or mana screwed. I really like it in the main in conjunction with the Ghost Quarter. I really think having the two extra cards in the main deck helps a lot against man lands when playing against affinity, infect, and junk/jund
- As far as Leyline goes you might be correct. It might be time to put away the training wheels and put on my big boy pants as the burn match up is not even that bad. That said, I do think that leyline is a little easer to just cast if you draw it with Hierarch (granted most of the damage is already done by that point) and leyline is also an answer/sort of answer to a lot of random combos like Eggs, Ad Nauseam, Lantern Control, Storm and any combo decks relying heavily on discard. You can also just discard it to Liliana to grow your Goyfs.
I see that Junk is a "Tier Two" Deck now... interesting. Anyways this is the list I played to a 13th place finish at GP OKC a month or so back and played it to a lack luster 9th place at the recent RPTQ. I really like this list as it is right now and can not see myself playing another deck in the near future.
Main Deck
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Fulminator Mage
4 Siege Rhino
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Path to Exile
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
4 Lingering Souls
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Treetop Village
2 Twilight Mire
1 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
Sideboard
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Stony Silence
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Damnation
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Liliana of the Veil
I wrote about parts of the RPTQ in this article I just finished.
I picked up this deck for the first time for GP SeaTac and really enjoyed it. I finished 42nd out of 2014. This is the list I ran:
Main deck
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 Baleful Strix
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
3 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
2 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Hymn to Tourach
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Force of Will
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
2 Wasteland
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Forest
Sideboard
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
2 Arcane Laboratory
2 Disfigure
2 Chill
1 Null Rod
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Pithing Needle
1 Force of Will
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Golgari Charm
1 Nihil Spellbomb
Very nice write-up! Thanks for sharing. Congrats on your win and your personal best finish!
Thoughts on your deck build? Any cards you feel would make it stronger? Do you like it the way it is?
Thanks, I really like all of the cards in the deck for the most part. I was back and forth on playing the Swiftwater Cliffs or a 6th Island. I think the Swiftwater Cliffs was correct when considering all of the Red sideboard. Also, I did not bring in Smash to Smithereens once during the tournament, while that does not mean they should not have been there I wonder what the best sideboard strategy is for the mirror. The 3 life from Smash matters but Smash does not deal with a Darksteel Citadel. Other options would be Voyage's End, Force Away, and Sidisi's Faithful which cannot be countered with Stubborn Denial but can be killed with the exploit trigger on the stack.
I am trying to get in the habit of writing fairly regularly. Below is the first article I shared in a public forum and would really appreciate any constructive feedback anyone might have. The article is a tournament report from a resent PPTQ I won. Please let me know what you think.
I have played in 3 PTTQs this season and am not allowed to play in any more . The first two did not go so well but the third one I ended up winning. They where fairly small, ranging from 30-45ish players. Overall I think I am going to like the new system. PTQs in some parts of the world were hitting 300 players regularly. If any one is interested I wrote a tournament report on the one I did win: https://ericembrown.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/winning-with-abzan-aggro-a-pptq-tournament-report/
Thanks for the report! I have to throw a die to decide if I'm going to play almost the same deck as yours or basic Sneak & Show next sunday in GP Ghent trials. BTW should I always take draw when winning the die to get more fatties and combo pieces to my hand for turn1 win?
I was just wondering what happened here? If you both play Emrakuls don't they all (2 yours and 1 opponents) go to the graveyard after the Hypergenesis has resolved?
Yes, all permanents come into play at the same time when hypegenesis resolves. It appears that the two people playing in the mirror match did not have a full understanding of how the namesake card in their deck actually worked…
Despite the fact that actual print run information was not released for Unlimited, I believe it is estimated that there are upwards of 20,000 tournament-legal Black Lotuses printed. Naturally, that number is much smaller today. But if you go to any given Grand Prix, even a Standard or Limited one, you can find a hundred or so Black Lotuses in dealer cases despite Vintage not being a GP format (Oh, how I wish it was...I'd travel around the world for a Vintage GP).
I bought my black lotus at a GP... I believe there were about 4 total in all the dealers cases.
Thanks,
I generally do not find myself missing the Liliana, but for the games where I want to make sure I hit one or multiple I side the 4th in. The fulminator in the main is basically a concession to not wanting three main deck Liliana but also wanting access to four fulminator and four Liliana. I also like having the fulminator in the main with the ghost quarter to help against man lands in affinity, infect, and jund/junk. If you are ok with only having 3 fulminator in your 75 then maelstrom pulse is a better card in the main. While I like the current configuration of my side board I am interested in what you would play. Good luck tonight.
Eric
Thanks for the feed back, I will keep the deck list formatting in mind for the future. To answer your questions.
- Noble Hierarch as a three of in the deck is pretty important. You to you don't want to have more than one in your opening hand, so three gives us the number of maximizing having one while hopefully not having two. The difference between a turn two Liliana vs a turn three or a turn three Rhino vs turn four is a lot. Also a turn one Hierarch into turn two Goyf + discard spell is a very strong start as well. The ramp is important but so is the mana fixing because the mana in the deck is actually not that good. Exalted also helps you attack through other Goyfs and makes a singe lingering soul token a faster clock.
-As far as the Fulminator Mage in the main deck goes, I did not want 4 main deck Liliana but wanted access to both 4 Liliana and 4 Fulminator Mage. Some times it is lackluster, once in a blue moon you hit it on turn two on the play and your opponent gets color or mana screwed. I really like it in the main in conjunction with the Ghost Quarter. I really think having the two extra cards in the main deck helps a lot against man lands when playing against affinity, infect, and junk/jund
- As far as Leyline goes you might be correct. It might be time to put away the training wheels and put on my big boy pants as the burn match up is not even that bad. That said, I do think that leyline is a little easer to just cast if you draw it with Hierarch (granted most of the damage is already done by that point) and leyline is also an answer/sort of answer to a lot of random combos like Eggs, Ad Nauseam, Lantern Control, Storm and any combo decks relying heavily on discard. You can also just discard it to Liliana to grow your Goyfs.
Eric
Main Deck
3 Noble Hierarch
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Fulminator Mage
4 Siege Rhino
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Path to Exile
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Dismember
4 Lingering Souls
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Treetop Village
2 Twilight Mire
1 Gavony Township
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Forest
1 Plains
2 Swamp
Sideboard
2 Zealous Persecution
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Stony Silence
3 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Damnation
1 Hallowed Moonlight
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Liliana of the Veil
I wrote about parts of the RPTQ in this article I just finished.
https://ericembrown.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/a-tale-of-two-tournaments/
Please let me know what you think about the list and the article.
Thanks
Eric
I picked up this deck for the first time for GP SeaTac and really enjoyed it. I finished 42nd out of 2014. This is the list I ran:
Main deck
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 Baleful Strix
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
3 Ancestral Vision
4 Brainstorm
2 Thoughtseize
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Hymn to Tourach
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Maelstrom Pulse
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Force of Will
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
2 Wasteland
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Swamp
1 Forest
Sideboard
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Night of Souls' Betrayal
2 Arcane Laboratory
2 Disfigure
2 Chill
1 Null Rod
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Pithing Needle
1 Force of Will
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Golgari Charm
1 Nihil Spellbomb
I wrote about some of the things I learned during the tournament in this article
https://ericembrown.wordpress.com/2015/11/13/a-tale-of-two-tournaments/
Please let me know what you think
Eric
Thanks, I really like all of the cards in the deck for the most part. I was back and forth on playing the Swiftwater Cliffs or a 6th Island. I think the Swiftwater Cliffs was correct when considering all of the Red sideboard. Also, I did not bring in Smash to Smithereens once during the tournament, while that does not mean they should not have been there I wonder what the best sideboard strategy is for the mirror. The 3 life from Smash matters but Smash does not deal with a Darksteel Citadel. Other options would be Voyage's End, Force Away, and Sidisi's Faithful which cannot be countered with Stubborn Denial but can be killed with the exploit trigger on the stack.
Eric
I am trying to get in the habit of writing fairly regularly. Below is the first article I shared in a public forum and would really appreciate any constructive feedback anyone might have. The article is a tournament report from a resent PPTQ I won. Please let me know what you think.
https://ericembrown.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/winning-with-abzan-aggro-a-pptq-tournament-report/
https://ericembrown.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/winning-with-abzan-aggro-a-pptq-tournament-report/
Yes, all permanents come into play at the same time when hypegenesis resolves. It appears that the two people playing in the mirror match did not have a full understanding of how the namesake card in their deck actually worked…
I bought my black lotus at a GP... I believe there were about 4 total in all the dealers cases.