With Marvel DOA, it's time to look for other ways to make fat creatures quickly. The main objective is to ramp to 10 as quickly as possible and slam Ulamog. It can get there on turn 5, but 6/7 is the usual. It's not just a single-issue deck tho - with a number of long game advantage cards in the mix it can win in a few different ways.
The mana base was the hardest part of the build, and I'm sure I've gone through a good half-dozen iterations tweaking to make it work. The mix I've settled on has been extremely consistent for me in testing.
I'm sure there are a few maindeck cards that will elicit some raised eyebrows, so let's look at the two most obvious ones to me. First up, Gift of Paradise. This slot has been many things. I finally settled on Gift because it serves two critical purposes: one, it ramps and colour fixes amazingly, which is a big help in casting the BB cards in the deck; and two, it's a lifegain buffer. Much like Woodweaver's Puzzleknot in Marvel, it's doing double duty to both speed up my gameplan and keep me alive to execute it. Next, Sandwurm Convergence. I wanted a non-creature win-con to ramp into, and this fits the bill nicely. The defensive part of it is just gravy (especially against Mardu and Spirits); the real draw is the free creature every turn. One-time investment for a long-term advantage is where it's at.
Sideboarding Plans
Gotta deal with the big threats in the room, and I want to actually be prepared so I'm not scrambling mid-match to determine all the ins and outs.
NOTE: The sideboard as listed might be outdated now due to Marvel ban. I haven't had time to test that aspect yet. The cards that I had for that matchup are Dissenter's Deliverance, Pick the Brain, and Summary Dismissal. Of those I think only Dismissal really doesn't have a place any more, but the other two options are definitely more situational now.
Weenie Aggro (Mardu, Spirits)
-4 Naga Vitalist
-1 Bounty of the Luxa
-1 Spring // Mind
-1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
[-2 Kiora, Master of the Depths (vs Mardu)]
+1 Blooming Marsh
+3 Liliana, the Last Hope
+3 Yahenni's Expertise
[+2 Dissenter's Deliverance (vs Mardu)]
Midrange (BG, Zombies)
-2 Kiora, Master of the Depths
-1 Nissa, Steward of Elements (vs BG) <or> World Breaker (vs zombies)
+3 Crush of Tentacles
U/x Control
-3 Baral's Expertise
-1 Nissa's Renewal
-2 (conditional)
+1 Blooming Marsh
+3 Liliana, the Last Hope
+2 Pick the Brain
1 Blooming Marsh
4 Botanical Sanctum
6 Forest
6 Island
2 Lumbering Falls
2 Sunken Hollow
2 Swamp
Creatures (13)
4 Naga Vitalist
3 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
2 Ulvenwald Hydra
3 Walking Ballista
1 World Breaker
2 Kiora, Master of the Depths
1 Nissa, Steward of Elements
1 Ob Nixilis Reignited
Enchantments (7)
3 Bounty of the Luxa
3 Gift of Paradise
1 Sandwurm Convergence
Instants & Sorceries (13)
3 Baral's Expertise
2 Disallow
2 Never // Return
1 Nissa's Renewal
2 Pull from Tomorrow
3 Spring // Mind
1 Blooming Marsh
3 Crush of Tentacles
2 Dissenter's Deliverance
3 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Pick the Brain
1 Summary Dismissal
3 Yahenni's Expertise
The mana base was the hardest part of the build, and I'm sure I've gone through a good half-dozen iterations tweaking to make it work. The mix I've settled on has been extremely consistent for me in testing.
I'm sure there are a few maindeck cards that will elicit some raised eyebrows, so let's look at the two most obvious ones to me. First up, Gift of Paradise. This slot has been many things. I finally settled on Gift because it serves two critical purposes: one, it ramps and colour fixes amazingly, which is a big help in casting the BB cards in the deck; and two, it's a lifegain buffer. Much like Woodweaver's Puzzleknot in Marvel, it's doing double duty to both speed up my gameplan and keep me alive to execute it. Next, Sandwurm Convergence. I wanted a non-creature win-con to ramp into, and this fits the bill nicely. The defensive part of it is just gravy (especially against Mardu and Spirits); the real draw is the free creature every turn. One-time investment for a long-term advantage is where it's at.
Sideboarding Plans
Gotta deal with the big threats in the room, and I want to actually be prepared so I'm not scrambling mid-match to determine all the ins and outs.
NOTE: The sideboard as listed might be outdated now due to Marvel ban. I haven't had time to test that aspect yet. The cards that I had for that matchup are Dissenter's Deliverance, Pick the Brain, and Summary Dismissal. Of those I think only Dismissal really doesn't have a place any more, but the other two options are definitely more situational now.
Weenie Aggro (Mardu, Spirits)
-4 Naga Vitalist
-1 Bounty of the Luxa
-1 Spring // Mind
-1 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
[-2 Kiora, Master of the Depths (vs Mardu)]
+1 Blooming Marsh
+3 Liliana, the Last Hope
+3 Yahenni's Expertise
[+2 Dissenter's Deliverance (vs Mardu)]
Midrange (BG, Zombies)
-2 Kiora, Master of the Depths
-1 Nissa, Steward of Elements (vs BG) <or> World Breaker (vs zombies)
+3 Crush of Tentacles
U/x Control
-3 Baral's Expertise
-1 Nissa's Renewal
-2 (conditional)
+1 Blooming Marsh
+3 Liliana, the Last Hope
+2 Pick the Brain
Please feel free to question, comment, etc.
PS Turn 5 Ulamog:
1. Land (1)
2. Land, Vitalist (3)
3. Land, Gift, Vitalist (6)
4. Land, Renewal (10)
5. (Land,) Ulamog