If you really need a transmutable answer to enchantments, Into the Roil >>> Boomerang, although neither are extremely good.
Yeah, but I like the versatility of Boomerang over Into the Roil. I guess the potential cantripping of Into the Roil gives it a leg up over Boomerang, but I would play Boomerang over Into the Roil regardless. Ratchet Bomb seems a little slow I suppose, but it's a really versatile answer and hits enchantments permanently. However, being an artifact and kind of slow that makes it vulnerable to hate and Pithing Needle. I'm really not sure which is better, but I don't want to be dead in the water to Luminarch Ascension, Bitterblossom and friends. I listed some answers I have in the deck for them, but they're slow and this comes down a lot sooner. I'm testing it in the deck right now so we'll see how it turns out.
The frequency of having a ready UU when it comes to it
Arguably, I'd say that Into the Roil is more versatile given the nice option to draw a card. As for Ratchet Bomb and the likes as an answer against Luminarch Ascension? I would prefer something like an Engineered Explosives instead.
The frequency of having a ready UU when it comes to it
Arguably, I'd say that Into the Roil is more versatile given the nice option to draw a card. As for Ratchet Bomb and the likes as an answer against Luminarch Ascension? I would prefer something like an Engineered Explosives instead.
-Bounces Maze of Ith, Kor Haven and Boseiju, Who Shelters All
-When on the play, provides tempo by bouncing opponent's lands. I've done this before with Crosis's Charm and then Cryptic Command followed and it always feels really nice.
-Bouncing my own Bojuka Bog to my hand to replay it. I've had to do this before and I would like knowing that I can do it again should I need to. I suppose the same could be said for protecting any lands I may need vs. a Strip Mine effect or bounce my Tolaria West.
I almost always have UU open, and they're always the first lands I fetch for so casting it doesn't really worry me. I also pay special attention to the way I tap my lands and making sure I always have the right mana open so I'm not too worried about the casting cost.
You make a good point about Engineered Explosives, I used to play it but I ended up cutting it although I'm not really sure why I did. I think that that would be the better option though, much faster.
If your looking at Boomerang, why not play Grixis Charm as well?
I don't know, I've thought about it but it doesn't really excite me. Especially because the creatures getting +2/0 is completely irrelevant. I'd rather just play UU for Boomerang than UBR for Grixis Charm.
Side note - Bitterblossom: Yes or no? Seems like a good card vs the bountiful control decks, easy tutor target for me and could be an alternate win condition I guess. I suppose I could just test it but I'd like to get some feedback on it first.
I'm still undecided about Boomerang though, I'm testing out Engineered Explosives and it will most likely fill that spot.
have you ever considered trying a mimic vat. That is card is pretty handy in edh
Funny you should mention that. I had just recently thought about it, it seems like it be pretty good. I play a lot of spot removal so I could see it coming in handy. I'll think about and maybe test it out, but I'm not sure if it's too "cute" or not.
I think bitterblossom is a must. With the sheer amount of counterspells you have, a turn 2 bitterblossom is like resolving a turn 2 bitterblossom in the faeries mirror. You just feel dirty doing it.
I decided against Boomerang and Into the Roil, and elected to go with Echoing Truth and Engineered Explosives, Echoing Truth's capability to hit tokens at instant speed (huge threat to Thrax) as well as enchantments made me pretty happy, I also had a pretty lengthy conversation with another Thrax player on MWS the other day and he had a lot of success with it so I elected to use that. Into the Roil's cantripping didn't excite me very much and Echoing Truth's ability to hit tokens won out over Boomerang. Oh, I also decided against Mimic Vat for the same reasons why I don't run Bribery, Knowledge Exploitation or any cute re-animator effects. I don't want to rely on other people's decks to win games. I also don't want to tap out to play it either. I would much rather rely on my own deck because I can control what my deck does, but not what my opponent's deck does.
I think bitterblossom is a must. With the sheer amount of counterspells you have, a turn 2 bitterblossom is like resolving a turn 2 bitterblossom in the faeries mirror. You just feel dirty doing it.
I've thought about it, but I don't want to ping myself to death. I run 9 fetchlands, City of Brass (recent readdition), Phyrexian Arena, Skeletal Scrying, Vampiric Tutor and Devour in Shadow. On top of that I'm going to be getting attacked throughout the course of the game while I'm setting up my hand and stabilizing. So, I think it will take a lot of convincing for me to put Bitterblossom in. However, I definitely see what you're saying about it.
Do you ever play multiplayer EDH? If so do you have an alternative decklist for Thraximundar which you use?
I actually don't have a multiplayer deck at all, just strictly 1v1. After the amount of money that Thrax gets I can't afford to put another large sum of money in to a multiplayer deck. That said, I have thought about using an alternative Thrax deck list but I think it would just require me to switch out way too many cards each match and I think i would much rather play something that isn't UBR haha. I think Thrax will be a nice money pit for a long time and I'd like to just primarily focus on making a single deck stronger and stronger than making a diluted multiplayer deck. I have seen a couple interesting multiplayer deck lists in the multiplayer forums though, if you're interested in Thrax for multiplayer you should hop over there and check em out
Tonight I participated in a 10 man EDH tournament at my local shop using the MTGSalvation 1v1 Banned List. $10 buy in with a Jace, the Mind Sculptor for 1st place.
I was expecting Hunter245's take on Godo when I first saw the general so I was mentally preparing myself for that, but his build was different than his. His was kind of a combination of aggro and land destruction, but didn't really focus too much on either. Fortunately for me however, I didn't see any of his LD in the games I played with him. Game 1 I landed a Null Rod, which pretty much shut Godo down, so I spent the rest of the game dealing with creatures. I stabilized at 5 life after being attacked repeatedly with various creatures. I stuck Thraximundar with Force of Will and Pact of Negation back up and he went the distance. Game 2 I can't really remember what happened but it involved Maze of Ith saving probably ~20 points of life for me while I was setting up, stabilizing and then ending it quickly with Thraximundar.
This was probably my most feared matchup at the tournament of the decks that were there. My opponent was a buddy of mine and he's a pretty good player with a pretty good deck. We had played probably a month or so ago and he absolutely stomped me both games we played. My deck has really changed a lot in the last month though and I felt like I had a lot better matchup, regardless though I was worried. Anyway, all I have written down for these games is this, "Wow. Game 1 stabilized at 7. Game 2 Punt. Game 3 stabilized at 4." The rounds were 60 minutes and we took 53 minutes. I can't remember exactly how I won, but it was a combination of Maze of Ith keeping the damage I was taking in control and shutting his card advantage down. He ultimately ran out of steam and Thraximundar finished things out for me.
I was pretty surprised to see a Drana deck this far in to the tournament so I was a little nervous as to what this player might have up his sleeve. Mono Black isn't really a hard matchup for Thrax unless they run heavy discard, then things might get a little rough. Game 1 I was pretty confident I was going to win when he played "Swamp go" for his first three turns. If a Mono Black deck is going to beat me, it has to be within the first three turns through heavy disruption. When he didn't do that I felt pretty good. He ended up getting a game loss for playing Necropotence (apparently he didn't really check the banned list before entering the tournament so he didn't realize it was banned.) Game 2 he's on the play and mulligans to 6 I think. My turn 2 I Hymn to Tourach him hitting Solemn Simulacrum and some equipment. He didn't really do much of anything from then on.
I got paired down pretty nicely because I was the only undefeated deck and other players had dropped. My opponent was a pretty nice guy and we had a good time playing despite his terrible draws and lack of land. Game 1 was pretty much a win from the get go after his mulligan to 5. Game 2 was a little better, he had a lot of artifact ramp but was quickly shut down by a Muddle the Mixture transmuted for Null Rod with only 4 lands in play. I played Thraximundar with Pact of Negation backup and sealed the deal.
The Drana player ended up making top 4 and we got paired up again. I think my deck is a pretty bad matchup for him as I don't really rely on creatures and his general is designed to kill them. Game 1 I can't remember what all happened, he got some better draws but did a lot of draw go which was fine with me. I won Game 1 after a little work. Game 2 I can't remember what happened either but he ran out of answers to Thraximundar, GG.
I was feeling pretty good coming off my undefeated streak and beating him the first time we played, but I knew he was a good player and I had to keep my head in the game. I really wish I could remember more about this match, it was kind of a blur. I know I took a lot of time setting up Thraximundar though, I wanted to make sure that when I played him he would stick. The key to beating Sygg is shutting down their card advantage. If Thraximundar loses the card advantage race, things aren't going to be looking very good for me. I really needed to...well, control the board. I waited until he had as few cards in hand as possible before sending Thraximundar out, and made sure to have the counterspell backup. Game 2 was pretty much the same, Maze of Ith seriously did work tonight. Probably saved me around 40 life throughout the night. I'm pretty sure the last few turns went as follows, I think I ripped Thoughtseize late game with a few cards in hand and I could feel that it was coming time to send Thraximundar out there for the kill. I can't remember what I took but he had Venser, Shaper Savant and Oona's Prowler in hand after I took whatever I chose. During his combat step he swung with Sygg, Voidmage Prodigy and Wretched Anurid. He has 4 lands and I know what's in his hand. I flash in Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and he sac's Voidmage Prodigy to counter Teferi, I Maze of Ith the 3/3 I think and take 1 from Sygg. My turn I untap with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, play a land and cast Cruel Ultimatum getting back my Teferi, drawing three cards and gaining 5 life. I think I sent out Thrax next turn to finish things up for me and the game was mine!
6-0 in Matches
12-1 in Games
After thoughts: I had a few MVP's tonight. They were definitely my transmute package, which I know like the back of my hand allowing me the ability to find whatever answer I needed. Maze of Ith was incredible for me, I loved having reusable psuedo removal each turn. It allowed me the option to spend my resources in other places instead of trying to find removal. Null Rod, awesome hate card. I cut all of my early artifact mana, added some lands and some hate. When I needed it it worked wonders for me. Really happy about that last minute addition. I upped my total land count to 42 now. Also a great decision as I think I only missed maybe 5 land drops throughout the entire night. Not bad in 13 games. Oh, I also hardcasted Dimir Infiltrator for the first time in my life tonight. I laughed when I did it, but I needed a chump blocker for Sygg. Gotta do what you gotta do. I also landed Phyrexian Arena a few times throughout the night, drawing two cards a turn is really good for Thrax (as it is for any deck, really). The list in my primer is the list that I ran tonight if anyone wants to look at it.
So there you have it folks, I'm not just full of hot air! I went undefeated, only lost 1 game the entire night and am now a proud owner of another Jace, the Mindsculptor!
Gratz on the win. Null Rod seems like a great addition. Youve really showcased thrax's potential!
Thanks man, you really helped me out a lot with the deck and I appreciate it! You gave me the whole 2cmc transmute package idea that I have fallen in love with and I couldn't be happier with it. Thanks again!
Also saying congrats on the win. You list looks a lot different from when I played you in the tournament. I especially like the fact you took the steps to accommodate Null Rod, which is a powerhouse, versatile hoser.
Also saying congrats on the win. You list looks a lot different from when I played you in the tournament. I especially like the fact you took the steps to accommodate Null Rod, which is a powerhouse, versatile hoser.
Thanks bud, I appreciate it. The deck has improved a thousand fold since that tournament, the curve is so much lower now. I cut a lot of the fat that used to be in it. The only mana intensive cards are Decree of Pain, Cruel Ultimatum, All Is Dust and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker now. Decree of Pain is usually cycled, I don't hard cast it very often. Cruel Ultimatum and All Is Dust are just too good not to run. I found myself not really wanting or willing to play Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker almost every time I saw him in the tournament, which I thought was interesting in hindsight. I suppose I don't really need him, but how many competitive decks get to play him? Not too many. MCR is constantly berating me telling me to cut him, but I just can't do it.
On Echoing Truth and Into the Roil: If you look at Into the Roil without the kicker, they do the exact same thing. The difference between the two, for me at least, is that Echoing Truth has the option to hit tokens at instant speed and Into the Roil does not. Granted it cantrips, but for four mana. I don't really want to spend that much mana on something that I could do for 2 mana, minus the cantrip. I don't know, Echoing Truth just suits my purposes more than Into the Roil does. In my opinion the cantripping isn't worth the potential token targets.
Great thread on thrax, I play him in a semi casual multiplayer setting. Your Transmute flexibility is pretty damn nice. Looking at how I can carry that into a more multiplayer fashion.
Great thread on thrax, I play him in a semi casual multiplayer setting. Your Transmute flexibility is pretty damn nice. Looking at how I can carry that into a more multiplayer fashion.
Also nice write up on the tournament.
Hey, thanks. I've seen your thread on Thrax over there, hopefully it works out for ya. You should take a look through gatherer for some stuff that might work out for you in multiplayer. I've seen some stuff that might look pretty cool/fun. I think you should probably check out red for it's sweepers though, that seems pretty good in multiplayer. Trasmute is a great ability, I would definitely try to incorporate it in to your deck. Thanks for checking out my list!
I am curious why no Lightning Greaves? Seems like a good think with you 2 cmc tutor set, nice easy defense for Thrax making him all that much harder to deal with. Is it just because of Null rod? Do you basicly tutor for that first each game to neutralize any artifacts they maybe playing?
I am curious why no Lightning Greaves? Seems like a good think with you 2 cmc tutor set, nice easy defense for Thrax making him all that much harder to deal with. Is it just because of Null rod? Do you basicly tutor for that first each game to neutralize any artifacts they maybe playing?
Thraximundar already has haste and there are a number of countermagic options for removals, which negates its Shroud part -- besides, players can still destroy Thrax in response to the equip.
Also note that Null Rod has almost ZERO interactions with Lightning Greaves or most equipments for the matter given that equip is NOT an activated ability.
Awesome stuff xCHRISTIANx! I'm glad your deck worked out excellently for you to give you an excellent run to 1st. I know you've been working on Thrax for quite a while now, and it's great to see the hard work paying off. I was interested though in how you would have done against Azami though, but hey I'm not exactly complaining.
Also note that Null Rod has almost ZERO interactions with Lightning Greaves or most equipments for the matter given that equip is NOT an activated ability.
Anything with a colon in front of it is an activated ability. Null Rod does indeed prevent equipments from being equipped.
I am curious why no Lightning Greaves? Seems like a good think with you 2 cmc tutor set, nice easy defense for Thrax making him all that much harder to deal with. Is it just because of Null rod? Do you basically tutor for that first each game to neutralize any artifacts they maybe playing?
Fzian pretty much summed it up for me in his post. I don't really need Lightning Greaves. Thrax has half of Lightning Greaves stock and I almost always play him with counter magic backup so it just isn't worth the slot for me. I also don't really play enough creatures that would make good use of it, so I don't really need it. I also don't tutor for Null Rod every game, just the games where it would be beneficial to have it in play. Definitely nice having that silver bullet in my deck.
Awesome stuff xCHRISTIANx! I'm glad your deck worked out excellently for you to give you an excellent run to 1st. I know you've been working on Thrax for quite a while now, and it's great to see the hard work paying off. I was interested though in how you would have done against Azami though, but hey I'm not exactly complaining.
Thanks! The deck has changed so much since it's first incarnation; I think what I have now is pretty darn close to being optimal for Thraximundar. About Azami: The pilot of the Azami deck was a relatively new player without an optimized list or much experience piloting it. I was trying to avoid poo pooing him in my tournament report but I suppose it should be noted. There was another Azami player that had to cancel last minute that I had beaten fairly easily in practice a few days before hand. I think the meta Azami decks that I could have potentially faced would have been wins.
About Azami as a full fledged optimized list though: I've had mixed experiences playing against her. I think it depends on my draw to be honest. If I can draw enough counter magic, enough removal, and generally maintain card advantage I should be okay. I might add Volcanic Fallout primarily for this match up, but it is also good vs Gaddock Teeg, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Captain Sisay and Rhys the Redeemed to name a few. It's also really good vs numerous tokens that are always bad news for Thraximundar (which is why I run Pyroclasm). Azami is generally just a rough match up, but it can be won, and I run enough counterspells and removal that I can keep up. Azami is a pretty rough match up for a lot of decks, though.
Small announcement: I did a huge overhaul of the "Overview of Card Choices" section and the "Alternative Cards" section for anyone interested.
Just came on to give props to Christian for the hard fought battles. I was the dude playing Sygg My Nygg in the tourney and clearly he had the better tuned and built deck. However I'm just gonna throw this out there: Draw Maze of Ith against me more please? haha nah those were good games though...I look forward to a rematch!
BTW feel free to introduce me to the hot white girls on your fb bro ;-)
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Yeah, but I like the versatility of Boomerang over Into the Roil. I guess the potential cantripping of Into the Roil gives it a leg up over Boomerang, but I would play Boomerang over Into the Roil regardless. Ratchet Bomb seems a little slow I suppose, but it's a really versatile answer and hits enchantments permanently. However, being an artifact and kind of slow that makes it vulnerable to hate and Pithing Needle. I'm really not sure which is better, but I don't want to be dead in the water to Luminarch Ascension, Bitterblossom and friends. I listed some answers I have in the deck for them, but they're slow and this comes down a lot sooner. I'm testing it in the deck right now so we'll see how it turns out.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Arguably, I'd say that Into the Roil is more versatile given the nice option to draw a card. As for Ratchet Bomb and the likes as an answer against Luminarch Ascension? I would prefer something like an Engineered Explosives instead.
Things that Boomerang does that Into the Roil does not, with Thraximundar in mind:
-Bounces Maze of Ith, Kor Haven and Boseiju, Who Shelters All
-When on the play, provides tempo by bouncing opponent's lands. I've done this before with Crosis's Charm and then Cryptic Command followed and it always feels really nice.
-Bouncing my own Bojuka Bog to my hand to replay it. I've had to do this before and I would like knowing that I can do it again should I need to. I suppose the same could be said for protecting any lands I may need vs. a Strip Mine effect or bounce my Tolaria West.
I almost always have UU open, and they're always the first lands I fetch for so casting it doesn't really worry me. I also pay special attention to the way I tap my lands and making sure I always have the right mana open so I'm not too worried about the casting cost.
You make a good point about Engineered Explosives, I used to play it but I ended up cutting it although I'm not really sure why I did. I think that that would be the better option though, much faster.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
I don't know, I've thought about it but it doesn't really excite me. Especially because the creatures getting +2/0 is completely irrelevant. I'd rather just play UU for Boomerang than UBR for Grixis Charm.
Side note - Bitterblossom: Yes or no? Seems like a good card vs the bountiful control decks, easy tutor target for me and could be an alternate win condition I guess. I suppose I could just test it but I'd like to get some feedback on it first.
I'm still undecided about Boomerang though, I'm testing out Engineered Explosives and it will most likely fill that spot.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Funny you should mention that. I had just recently thought about it, it seems like it be pretty good. I play a lot of spot removal so I could see it coming in handy. I'll think about and maybe test it out, but I'm not sure if it's too "cute" or not.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
I've thought about it, but I don't want to ping myself to death. I run 9 fetchlands, City of Brass (recent readdition), Phyrexian Arena, Skeletal Scrying, Vampiric Tutor and Devour in Shadow. On top of that I'm going to be getting attacked throughout the course of the game while I'm setting up my hand and stabilizing. So, I think it will take a lot of convincing for me to put Bitterblossom in. However, I definitely see what you're saying about it.
I actually don't have a multiplayer deck at all, just strictly 1v1. After the amount of money that Thrax gets I can't afford to put another large sum of money in to a multiplayer deck. That said, I have thought about using an alternative Thrax deck list but I think it would just require me to switch out way too many cards each match and I think i would much rather play something that isn't UBR haha. I think Thrax will be a nice money pit for a long time and I'd like to just primarily focus on making a single deck stronger and stronger than making a diluted multiplayer deck. I have seen a couple interesting multiplayer deck lists in the multiplayer forums though, if you're interested in Thrax for multiplayer you should hop over there and check em out
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
The generals present were:
Godo, Bandit Warlord
Horde of Notions
Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Cromat
Sharuum the Hegemon
Sygg, River Cutthroat
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
and two Thraximundar decks including mine
It's pretty hard for me to keep detailed notes and focus on the game at the same time so I'm just going to give a synopsis about each match over all.
Round 1 vs. Godo, Bandit Warlord
I was expecting Hunter245's take on Godo when I first saw the general so I was mentally preparing myself for that, but his build was different than his. His was kind of a combination of aggro and land destruction, but didn't really focus too much on either. Fortunately for me however, I didn't see any of his LD in the games I played with him. Game 1 I landed a Null Rod, which pretty much shut Godo down, so I spent the rest of the game dealing with creatures. I stabilized at 5 life after being attacked repeatedly with various creatures. I stuck Thraximundar with Force of Will and Pact of Negation back up and he went the distance. Game 2 I can't really remember what happened but it involved Maze of Ith saving probably ~20 points of life for me while I was setting up, stabilizing and then ending it quickly with Thraximundar.
1-0 in Matches
2-0 in Games
Round 2 vs. Sygg, River Cutthroat
This was probably my most feared matchup at the tournament of the decks that were there. My opponent was a buddy of mine and he's a pretty good player with a pretty good deck. We had played probably a month or so ago and he absolutely stomped me both games we played. My deck has really changed a lot in the last month though and I felt like I had a lot better matchup, regardless though I was worried. Anyway, all I have written down for these games is this, "Wow. Game 1 stabilized at 7. Game 2 Punt. Game 3 stabilized at 4." The rounds were 60 minutes and we took 53 minutes. I can't remember exactly how I won, but it was a combination of Maze of Ith keeping the damage I was taking in control and shutting his card advantage down. He ultimately ran out of steam and Thraximundar finished things out for me.
2-0 in Matches
4-1 in Games
Round 3 vs. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
I was pretty surprised to see a Drana deck this far in to the tournament so I was a little nervous as to what this player might have up his sleeve. Mono Black isn't really a hard matchup for Thrax unless they run heavy discard, then things might get a little rough. Game 1 I was pretty confident I was going to win when he played "Swamp go" for his first three turns. If a Mono Black deck is going to beat me, it has to be within the first three turns through heavy disruption. When he didn't do that I felt pretty good. He ended up getting a game loss for playing Necropotence (apparently he didn't really check the banned list before entering the tournament so he didn't realize it was banned.) Game 2 he's on the play and mulligans to 6 I think. My turn 2 I Hymn to Tourach him hitting Solemn Simulacrum and some equipment. He didn't really do much of anything from then on.
3-0 in Matches
6-1 in Games
Round 4 vs. Sharuum the Hegemon
I got paired down pretty nicely because I was the only undefeated deck and other players had dropped. My opponent was a pretty nice guy and we had a good time playing despite his terrible draws and lack of land. Game 1 was pretty much a win from the get go after his mulligan to 5. Game 2 was a little better, he had a lot of artifact ramp but was quickly shut down by a Muddle the Mixture transmuted for Null Rod with only 4 lands in play. I played Thraximundar with Pact of Negation backup and sealed the deal.
4-0 in Matches
8-1 in Games
Top 4 vs. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
The Drana player ended up making top 4 and we got paired up again. I think my deck is a pretty bad matchup for him as I don't really rely on creatures and his general is designed to kill them. Game 1 I can't remember what all happened, he got some better draws but did a lot of draw go which was fine with me. I won Game 1 after a little work. Game 2 I can't remember what happened either but he ran out of answers to Thraximundar, GG.
5-0 in Matches
10-1 in Games
Finals vs. Sygg, River Cutthroat
I was feeling pretty good coming off my undefeated streak and beating him the first time we played, but I knew he was a good player and I had to keep my head in the game. I really wish I could remember more about this match, it was kind of a blur. I know I took a lot of time setting up Thraximundar though, I wanted to make sure that when I played him he would stick. The key to beating Sygg is shutting down their card advantage. If Thraximundar loses the card advantage race, things aren't going to be looking very good for me. I really needed to...well, control the board. I waited until he had as few cards in hand as possible before sending Thraximundar out, and made sure to have the counterspell backup. Game 2 was pretty much the same, Maze of Ith seriously did work tonight. Probably saved me around 40 life throughout the night. I'm pretty sure the last few turns went as follows, I think I ripped Thoughtseize late game with a few cards in hand and I could feel that it was coming time to send Thraximundar out there for the kill. I can't remember what I took but he had Venser, Shaper Savant and Oona's Prowler in hand after I took whatever I chose. During his combat step he swung with Sygg, Voidmage Prodigy and Wretched Anurid. He has 4 lands and I know what's in his hand. I flash in Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir and he sac's Voidmage Prodigy to counter Teferi, I Maze of Ith the 3/3 I think and take 1 from Sygg. My turn I untap with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth in play, play a land and cast Cruel Ultimatum getting back my Teferi, drawing three cards and gaining 5 life. I think I sent out Thrax next turn to finish things up for me and the game was mine!
6-0 in Matches
12-1 in Games
After thoughts: I had a few MVP's tonight. They were definitely my transmute package, which I know like the back of my hand allowing me the ability to find whatever answer I needed. Maze of Ith was incredible for me, I loved having reusable psuedo removal each turn. It allowed me the option to spend my resources in other places instead of trying to find removal. Null Rod, awesome hate card. I cut all of my early artifact mana, added some lands and some hate. When I needed it it worked wonders for me. Really happy about that last minute addition. I upped my total land count to 42 now. Also a great decision as I think I only missed maybe 5 land drops throughout the entire night. Not bad in 13 games. Oh, I also hardcasted Dimir Infiltrator for the first time in my life tonight. I laughed when I did it, but I needed a chump blocker for Sygg. Gotta do what you gotta do. I also landed Phyrexian Arena a few times throughout the night, drawing two cards a turn is really good for Thrax (as it is for any deck, really). The list in my primer is the list that I ran tonight if anyone wants to look at it.
So there you have it folks, I'm not just full of hot air! I went undefeated, only lost 1 game the entire night and am now a proud owner of another Jace, the Mindsculptor!
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Thanks man, you really helped me out a lot with the deck and I appreciate it! You gave me the whole 2cmc transmute package idea that I have fallen in love with and I couldn't be happier with it. Thanks again!
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
I'm not yet sold on Echoing Truth over Into the Roil, but it could be good.
Draft my Mono-Blue Cube!
lichess.org | chess.com
Thanks bud, I appreciate it. The deck has improved a thousand fold since that tournament, the curve is so much lower now. I cut a lot of the fat that used to be in it. The only mana intensive cards are Decree of Pain, Cruel Ultimatum, All Is Dust and Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker now. Decree of Pain is usually cycled, I don't hard cast it very often. Cruel Ultimatum and All Is Dust are just too good not to run. I found myself not really wanting or willing to play Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker almost every time I saw him in the tournament, which I thought was interesting in hindsight. I suppose I don't really need him, but how many competitive decks get to play him? Not too many. MCR is constantly berating me telling me to cut him, but I just can't do it.
On Echoing Truth and Into the Roil: If you look at Into the Roil without the kicker, they do the exact same thing. The difference between the two, for me at least, is that Echoing Truth has the option to hit tokens at instant speed and Into the Roil does not. Granted it cantrips, but for four mana. I don't really want to spend that much mana on something that I could do for 2 mana, minus the cantrip. I don't know, Echoing Truth just suits my purposes more than Into the Roil does. In my opinion the cantripping isn't worth the potential token targets.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Also nice write up on the tournament.
Hey, thanks. I've seen your thread on Thrax over there, hopefully it works out for ya. You should take a look through gatherer for some stuff that might work out for you in multiplayer. I've seen some stuff that might look pretty cool/fun. I think you should probably check out red for it's sweepers though, that seems pretty good in multiplayer. Trasmute is a great ability, I would definitely try to incorporate it in to your deck. Thanks for checking out my list!
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
Thraximundar already has haste and there are a number of countermagic options for removals, which negates its Shroud part -- besides, players can still destroy Thrax in response to the equip.
Also note that Null Rod has almost ZERO interactions with Lightning Greaves or most equipments for the matter given that equip is NOT an activated ability.
Anything with a colon in front of it is an activated ability. Null Rod does indeed prevent equipments from being equipped.
Whoops. I was under the mistaken impression that it was a Static ability. My bad
Thanks buddy! You know I always welcome a duel We need to get little miss Akroma out of the woodwork and sling some cards.
Fzian pretty much summed it up for me in his post. I don't really need Lightning Greaves. Thrax has half of Lightning Greaves stock and I almost always play him with counter magic backup so it just isn't worth the slot for me. I also don't really play enough creatures that would make good use of it, so I don't really need it. I also don't tutor for Null Rod every game, just the games where it would be beneficial to have it in play. Definitely nice having that silver bullet in my deck.
Thanks! The deck has changed so much since it's first incarnation; I think what I have now is pretty darn close to being optimal for Thraximundar. About Azami: The pilot of the Azami deck was a relatively new player without an optimized list or much experience piloting it. I was trying to avoid poo pooing him in my tournament report but I suppose it should be noted. There was another Azami player that had to cancel last minute that I had beaten fairly easily in practice a few days before hand. I think the meta Azami decks that I could have potentially faced would have been wins.
About Azami as a full fledged optimized list though: I've had mixed experiences playing against her. I think it depends on my draw to be honest. If I can draw enough counter magic, enough removal, and generally maintain card advantage I should be okay. I might add Volcanic Fallout primarily for this match up, but it is also good vs Gaddock Teeg, Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, Captain Sisay and Rhys the Redeemed to name a few. It's also really good vs numerous tokens that are always bad news for Thraximundar (which is why I run Pyroclasm). Azami is generally just a rough match up, but it can be won, and I run enough counterspells and removal that I can keep up. Azami is a pretty rough match up for a lot of decks, though.
Small announcement: I did a huge overhaul of the "Overview of Card Choices" section and the "Alternative Cards" section for anyone interested.
MTGSalvation 1v1 EDH Community Members List
BTW feel free to introduce me to the hot white girls on your fb bro ;-)