[COLOR="Blue"]
[b][SIZE="4"]Keeping It Surreal[/SIZE][/b]
Blue. The color of counterspells, card draw, broken planeswalkers, bounce, and fishies. Standard has all those right now! Well, except for the fishy. Whattaya gonna do, right? Well, it seems the Wizards design team went a little loopy, because they decided they would present us with the greatest tribe in Magic's history:
[URL="http://magiccards.info/query?q=t%3A%22illusion%22+c!u+f%3Astandard&v=card&s=cname"]Illusions[/URL].
...okay, so maybe that list isn't promising. What would you do, if I showed you a card that pushed Illusions into the realm of viability? [URL="http://magiccards.info/query?q=lord+of+the+unreal&v=card&s=cname"]Bam.[/URL]
So, now that [URL="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/boab/154"]we've gotten Illusions recognized as a legitimate tribe[/URL], let's go over the 10 odd pages of discussion from standard.[/COLOR]
[spoiler=The Core]
There are the cards that you MUST include to have a successful build. Period.
[LIST]Lord of the Unreal 4 of, auto include. It's the only reason we're trying to run illusions, actually.[/list]
[list]Phantasmal Bear Regardless of the build, 4 of. It's above curve, and mitigates it's weakness. A fast, high priority threat, that requires them to waste resources? Yes please.[/list]
[list]Mana Leak Might not seem important in aggro, but we need a way to protect ourselves. Be it from Doom Blade, Primeval Titan, or Day of Judgment, this thing exists to save you.[/list]
[list]Phantasmal Image Total power house, and a 3-4 of in every list (usually 4). Great combo with Lord of the Unreal, and incredible synergy with Sun Titan. Great way to punish your opponent for playing bombs.[/list]
[/spoiler]
[color="blue"]
[b][SIZE="4"]Backup Dancers[/SIZE][/b]
There are a NUMBER of cards that are crucial to the build, yes, but none of those are as important to include as the 4 I listed above. They provide our best Beater, Lord, Protection, and Utility.[/color]
[spoiler=Support and Stability]
[list]Adaptive Automaton This thing provides for a very resilient illusion, a nice lord, and stylish synergy with Grand Architect. Certainly not mandatory, but it's a nice touch in a lot of decks.[/list]
[list]Grand Architect Another great lord, that shows up in many lists. It pumps most of your cards, lets you ramp a little bit, and can provide some EXCELLENT alternative win-con access. I'll list some support later in the Primer.[/list]
[list]Ponder Digging and lining up plays can be crucial in this deck.[/list]
[list]Gitaxian Probe Information, filter, and it's for free. Thing is amazing for maximizing the use you get out of dig.[/list]
[list]Forbidden Alchemy Valuable among dig spells for the Instant Speed, and the depth it digs to. Has proven to be a staple among U/w lists due to the synergy with Sun Titan, or even Skaab Ruinator if you choose to run it.[/list]
[list]Think Twice It generates Card Advantage, and at instant speed, but the cost is awkward, and the dig is shallow compared to other dig effects. None of our lists are "true," control, so we prefer the stability granted by deeper dig, generally speaking.[/list][/spoiler]
[color="blue"][b][SIZE="4"]Science![/SIZE][/b]
Our deck is starting to come together, so like any good salesman, I'm gonna tell you about the very flashy, very "hip," options.[/color]
[spoiler=Removal]
Alright, this is an entire section dedicated to the removal discussion. Let me go over the options first:
[list]Disperse The most versatile removal we have handy. Hits ANY (non-land) permanent, which is nice for keeping tempo and clearing the field.[/list]
[list]Vapor Snag A more aggressive option. It's cheap, it removes blockers, and it pings. The main advantage is that you can usually keep making plays after casting this. (For example; counter mana).[/list]
[list]Dismember A popular choice in a number of decks. It's cheap, it's only kill-spell we have, it's instant, only problem is the life loss. It can be dangerous to cast this thing twice, much less 3 or 4 times. Great 2-3 of.[/list]
[list]Oblivion Ring If you're running White, you're running O-Ring. It's hard to argue with.[/list][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Alternative Win-Conditions]
I know there's an entire SECTION of the primer dedicated to the decks built around these, but I feel like it would be most fitting to describe them individually.
[list]Phantasmal Dragon Clocks out the opponent on turn 9, not counting any other beats inflicted. Giant, evasive, and synergistic with the rest of the deck. However, it's not very good outside of Fish builds.
[list]Sun Titan The centerpiece of a U/w variant. It's simply amazing. Card advantage, big beats, and it brings back 90% of your deck (Including the infamous Sun Titan->Phantasmal Image on Sun Titan, repeat).[/list]
[list]Wurmcoil Engine Alongside Grand Architect, it can be surprisingly easy to get out. This thing terrifies many players, as it swings life totals, and is STUPIDLY resistant to removal. That, and it's really fun at times, seeing two players with 40+ life totals.[/list][/spoiler]
[color="blue"][b][SIZE="4"]The Final Countdown[/SIZE][/b]Your deck is coming together nicely now, so I think it's due time we supplement your Core with another; synergistic strategy, shall we?[/color]
[spoiler= Supplement Strategy: Grand Architect]
Alright, so you're running Grand Architect, probably as a 4 of. You're sitting there thinking, "Gee, I sure wish [I]I[/I] could cast some beefy artifact with my sexy, sexy Vedalken engineering major!" Or maybe you aren't. Regardless, let me cover ways to supplement the little Blue man.
[list]Wurmcoil Engine My favorite choice. A beefy, threatening, CA generating threat that can come down hard and fast (turn 3 on the nut-draw). Not a bad idea to toss in as a 2-of.[/list]
[list]Mindslaver Quick! List things that help an aggro deck! What's that? Someone not sweeping? Someone tapping out at random, then not casting anything? Done. You can drop this pretty early. It's not a bad thought as a 1-2 of in a Permission heavy meta.[/list]
[list]Solemn Simulacrum Raw card advantage right there. Comes down on turn 3, alongside the Architect (potentially), it's a nice beater, ramps, draws cards when it dies, overall fantastic, though it isn't as powerful as other targets, and lacks general synergy. If you're running Sun Titan and GA in the same deck, consider this, so that you can get Titan out more consistently.[/list]
[list]Steel Hellkite Swing for five, and eliminate relevant threats. Seriously, it's CA on a stick. Probably the only valid competitor with Wurmcoil Engine, and your choice should largely be a meta-call.[/list]
[list]Phyrexian Metamorph Another clone, and one that synergizes very well. Great as a 2-3 of MB/SB, even without Grand Architect.[/list]
[list][B]Summary[/B] There's nothing wrong with wanting to support a GREAT card with other great cards. The deck works smoothly, and allows an array of new options to be included.[/list][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Supplement Strategy: U/w Sun Titan] Alright, so you feel a little constrained by Blue. You want some more diverse answers, and some tools to get reach. The clear approach, is to splash. Looking around, a few synergies become immediately obvious, notably Phantasmal Image copying Sun Titan, so you decide to build a U/w control deck, with an Illusions package.
[list]Oblivion Ring If you're splashing white, this is in there. It zaps Planeswalkers, Enchants, Artifacts, Creatures, whatever you need dealt with. No brainer.[/list]
[list]Sun Titan So, you want reach. You want blunt win-cons. You want Card Advantage. You're splashing white. Look at this thing, then look at Oblivion Ring, Journey To Nowhere, Phantasmal Bear, Phantasmal Image, Lord of the Unreal, Grand Architect, and almost any other permanent you're running. By far the best reason to splash, and its Phantasmal Image synergy is borderline auto-win.[/list]
[list]Gideon Jura is a power house, as always. Generates crushing field advantage against any creature based deck (spoilers: 90% of them), and can win the game by himself against decks that aren't loaded to the brim with removal.[/list]
[list]Day of Judgement It's a sweep. We can fairly often be overwhelmed by more "dedicated," aggro lists. The solution? Sweep the board. Always good to have 3 or 4 between the MB and Sideboard.
[list][b]Summary[/b] Splashing White is a fabulous way to deal with the shortcomings of Mono-Blue. Gives you diverse removal, and excellent win-con access, noticeably Sun Titan. Who doesn't like burying the opponent in CA?[/list]
[SIZE="4"][B]Examples[/B][/SIZe]
The only oddity about Illusions regular [I]thisisnotmyname's[/I] deck is the high land count, which he does so that he only ever needs to use a dig effect to find answers or threats- never lands.
| Thisisnotmyname's U/W DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | |
|---|---|
|
//Lands: 26 12x Island 6x Plains 4x Glacial Fortress 4x Seachrome Coast 4x Phantasmal Bear 4x Lord of the Unreal 4x Phantasmal Image 3x Adaptive Automaton 2x Sun Titan | 2x Dismember 4x Ponder 3x Day of Judgment 4x Gitaxian Probe 2x Oblivion Ring 2x Gideon Jura |
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Supplement Strategy: Big Blue]
You like big dudes, and not in a mildly homoerotic way. You like 5/5 flyers for 4, you like 5/6 flyers for 3, and you like swinging for huge totals. You have your timmy moments, to be sure. But what if I told you that there was a way to Spike-out your fatties.dec? Big Blue aims to drop some of the most efficient threats in the format, and KEEP GOING. It's a midrange deck, aiming to start doing the real play from turns 3-6, with 1 and 2 being mostly setup.
[list]Skaab Ruinator Just...wow. 5/6 flyer for 3. And what does it do? It REWARDS you for vomiting threats onto the field! It may not be an illusion, but it's a Colorshifted Tarmogoyf more or less.[/list]
[list]Phantasmal Dragon This thing sees minimal play in other variants. It's not so bad, having a Phantasmal Bear die to Shock. You invested one mana and one card, he invested one mana and one card. Fair trade. But when you invest FOUR mana? Fear not though, in a deck loaded down with beefy **** like this, they can and will run out of answers. Oh, and there's this new card...[/list]
[list]Jace's Archivist This guy has uses all over the map. Shows up in Fish style builds to make Disperse a colorshifted Doom Blade, helps Big Blue lists power out Skaab Ruinator, and so forth.[/list]
[list][b]Summary[/b] Big Blue may not be as competitive as other Illusions variants, but it's fun as hell to run, with tons of gigantic dudes in Mono Blue.[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Mono Blue Fish]
Name a format defining Tempo-Aggro deck in Legacy, that happens to be Mono Blue. That's right, Merfolk, or Fish. They use efficient beaters with tons of lords, protected by Counterspells and other methods of protecting tempo.
[list]Aether Adept Believe it or not, this thing is hugely relevant as a 2-3 of in Fish lists. It can act as Time Walk on a stick at times.[/list]
[list]Jace's Archivist Okay, so most of your removal is just bounce. That may be great for tempo, but it's **** for CA, and it's not the best answer to titans. That's where the archivist comes in: it turns that Disperse into a Doom Blade, by bouncing it to their hand, having them discard their hand, then letting you draw one or two more cards.[/list]
[list]Phantasmal Dragon Actually sees play in Fish! It's good to connect with, since it's an evasive win-con with a short clock.[/list]
[list]Snapcaster Mage say hello to standard's new 2 CMC card of choice. If you don't understand why it's so strong, let me help you: Snapcaster, flashing back a Dismember, or Mana Leak, can swing tempo so hard that it may win games outright.[/list]
[list][b]Summary[/b]: Fish is the most competitive way to play Illusions right now, period. Mono Blue fish might not have the options open to U/w Fish, it still has the deepest, most nuanced play of any Illusions deck, and is certainly one of the most challenging, and rewarding, deck in Standard.[/list][/spoiler]
[spoiler=U/w Fish]
Mono Blue Fish is a tempo-aggro deck. U/w Fish is a tempo-aggro deck with much better tools for being aggro, and for shifting gears into control, as need be. It gives access to sideboard cards, removal, and one or two new ways to smash face.
[list]Snapcaster Mage is one of the most important cards in U/w Fish, period. It may not be an illusion, but it generates Card and Tempo advantage. It also has unexpected synergy with Adaptive Automaton, since Lord of the Unreal and Snapcaster Mage (or SCM for short) are both Wizards.[/list]
[list]Moorland Haunt 90% of why you're splashing White. It puts out flying beaters, that can grow with an Adaptive Automaton.[/list]
[list]Geist of Saint Traft Not mandatory by any means, but it can make a nice addition to U/w Illusions in the slot that Phantasmal Dragon would occupy. It's a question of Power versus Synergy, and one with no clear answer.[/list][/spoiler]
[COLOR="Blue"][SIZE="4"][B]The Sideboard[/B][/SIZE]
You would have to be insane to think we can possibly have a positive win percentage against the entire field. Some decks just won't play nice. That's where Game 2, and the Sideboard, come in.[/color]
[spoiler=Sideboard]
[SIZE="4"]Birthing Pod[/SIZE]
This is a tough matchup, so you'll want to set aside 3-4 cards to help out, alongside some broad permanent removal like Oblivion Ring or Disperse.
[list]Steel Sabotage It's a cheap answer to Pod, yes. It is not, however, a BROAD answer to pod. I would advise this only as a solution to metas with at least 2 of the following in decent numbers: Puresteel, Tempered Steel, Tezzeret, Swords Based decks, or Birthing Pod.[/list]
[list]Torpor Orb By miles the best answer to Pod. It doesn't shut them down completely, but it slows them, and hurts their overall power. Has benefits of splash-hating Humans.[/list]
[list]Revoke Existence In U/w, you probably want this AND Torpor Orb.[/list]
[SIZE="4"]U/x Control: Swords Based.[/SIZE]
Against decks like the new Caw-Blade, or general U/w (or even Mono-W) control, you'll need to keep tempo. Phantasmal Image is great protection against their huge bombs too. Artifact/permanent removal is good against these decks.
[list]Phyrexian Metamorph Copying their swords can be useful. Same for their Sun Titans and [card]Hero of Bladehold[card]. Good to have 2-3 between the MB and SB anyway.[/list]
[list]Treasure Mage Steel Hellkite and Mindslaver are your silver bullets of choice. The former generates huge card advantage against the 3 cmc-centric lists (Mirran Crusader, Swords, Trepanation Blade, Oblivion Ring, Nevermore), and the latter is just good against Control.[/list]
[SIZE="4"]Humans[/SIZE]
A stable deck with tons of bombs, great synergies, and more, it can be tough to deal with. Tailor your playstyle; a hand with one creature, three lands, Dismember and [card]Mana Leak[card], and pretty much anything else can be considered keepable. Removal is useful, play control, remove their threats when possible, swing when safe. Tough matchup if you don't know what you're doing, but a skilled player can easily overcome the deck.
[list]Ratchet Bomb W/(g) humans decks rely HEAVILY on the 1 drop slot. Champion of the Parish, Avacyn's Pilgrim, and so many more.[/list]
[list]Treasure Mage:Wurmcoil Engine and Steel Hellkite are your bullets of choice. The former because they [I]are[/I] aggro, and the latter for the same reasons as Ratchet Bomb.
[list]Mental Misstep Not mandatory, and not a perfect choice, but it can throw them off their opening plays. Don't worry about the Lifeloss, just focus on Board State.[/list]
[list]Gut Shot A great all round sideboard choice, especially against Humans.
[size=4]Solar Flare[/size]
The deck was predicted to dominate the meta, and achieved varying levels of success. Don't over extend, play aggro, be prepared. Tough Matchup pre-board, but the deck is vulnerable to hate.
[list]Purify the Grave is useful if you're in U/w, since you can use it in response to Unburial Rights, causing the spell to fizzle. It's a massive tempo boost, to say the least.[/list]
[list][card]Surgical Extraction[card] Similar to Purify the Grave. It may not have flashback, but it's "free," doesn't require a splash, and gives you information.[/list]
[list]Nihil Spellbomb For those of you who want to wipe the slate clean.[/list]
[size=4]U/b Control[/size]
Nothing yet.
[size=4]G/w Tokens[/size]
The aggro deck of choice in the new meta, capable of playing efficient beaters and generating huge card advantage.
[list]Ratchet Bomb is a sideboard card of choice, as it lets you sweep the field. It's not going to auto-win the matchup, but it helps Mono U lists.[/list]
[list]Revoke Existence Getting rid of Intangible Virtue can be very important.[/list]
[list]Day of Judgement For obvious reasons.[/list]
[size=4]Wolf Run Ramp[/size]
More to Come
[size=4]Red Deck Wins[/size]
More to Come
[/spoiler]
[color="blue"][b][SIZE="4"]Cold, Cold Denial...[/SIZE][/b]
Your deck is coming together, but I've been pretty vague about your counters. Lets go into details. Unless you don't care and just want the examples.[/color]
[spoiler=Counter Packages]
Alright. Counterspells; this is a [i]pretty damn important[/i] part of the deck. You need some way to keep the enemy Titan, Planeswalker, or Sweeper from hitting the board. We are in Blue, so we get to take D.A.R.E.'s advice; just say no.
[list]Mana Leak What can I say? A simple, cheap, versatile counter. Run in most every list.[/list]
[list]Mental Misstep I know it's mentioned in a line or two, but I have to highlight this thing. It is pretty much automatic 4-of in the sideboard, hurting a number of decks, notably aggro (an infamously bad matchup), and can help keep Pod decks off their early creatures; slowing them down.[/list]
[list]Steel Sabotage Is a good answer to swords in a Mono U build.[/list]
[list]Flashfreeze Early in the season, useless. Now, with Wolf Run Ramp all over the place? Pack it.[/list]
[list]Dissipate With all the GY shenanigans in Innistrad, probably worth a go, especially as a 2-3 of.[/list][/spoiler]
[color="blue"][SIZE="4"][B]Land Joke and/or Pop Culture Reference[/B][/SIZE]
You have most of your deck. Creatures, counters, support, utility, removal, it's damn near a deck. All that's left to cover? Lands.[/color]
[spoiler=Land]
Okay, so, with the loss of Zendikar, this isn't a huge section.
[list]Island The typical list wants 21-24 lands, most of which will be Islands.[/list]
[list]Seachrome Coast+Glacial Fortress Great for a U/w base as 4-ofs.[/list]
[list]Buried Ruin I can't imagine it would be useless in GA builds.[/list]
[list]Ghost Quarter Don't go shoe-horning it into an unstable deck, but it can win games againt WRR and Solar Flare.[/list]
[list]Drowned Catacomb If you're running Mono Blue, there's no reason you shouldn't, as it mitigates lifeloss to Dismember.[/list][/spoiler]
[COLOR="Blue"][SIZE="4"][B]In Conclusion,[/B][/SIZE]
Illusions rule, and this was the best primer ever. No really. In all seriousness, Illusions have made for a very interesting design process. It's been taken in so many directions, I genuinely struggled to include all of the ones I noticed (there were some U/G versions, but they were just plain weird, and not very good). Dedicated a good couple hours to this, though probably not enough to do this marvelous idea justice. Hopefully, you take my tips, put them to use, realize I'm just some guy who has too much time on his hands, build a deck for yourself, post it, and call me an A-Hole.
EDIT: Recent events really make me proud to have written this primer. The deck went from small Johnny project, to a varied and powerful deck that sees plays by new players looking for something fun, new, cheap and different, to Professionals, and the Excellent MTGS players in between. I thank you all for your hard work, and this is the least I can do. (That, and this thing gets plugged well outside the bounds of Standard).
SPECIAL THANKS: To everyone who's posted in any iteration of this thread. Seriously, you rock. There's too many to list, but I have to give a HUGE shout out to Thisisnotmyname, who has probably invested more time into this primer than I invest in eating, and thanks to tHe N4MEz YOSHi, for all his help with gathering lists, brainstorming, [URL="http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=7368306&postcount=172"]and for writing a mini-primer of his own.[/URL]
(Old banner by:[URL="http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=321644"]RCarlysle[/URL][/COLOR])
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Posted Oct 26, 2011-
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Posted Oct 12, 201123 Island
Creatures
4 Phantasmal Bear
4 Lord of the Unreal
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Grand Architect
2 Phantasmal Dragon
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Treasure Mage
4 Mana Leak
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
3 Think Twice
Other Spells
1 Mindslaver
4 Steel Sabotage
3 Dismember
2 Vapor Snag
2 Mental Misstep
2 Turn to Frog
1 Dissipate
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
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Posted Oct 4, 2011