Okay so here is another deck me and some friends at the local are backing. It's similar to Mardu control, but aims to launch a game winning piece early as turn 1 then ride on that to victory.
The way this deck trys to win is by landing, ideally turn 1, BB or Blood Moon. This can happen fairly reliable in the case of BB. On the play against most decks its backbreaking.
Card choices:
Bitterblossom: This is the ideal turn 1 play. Control cant beat the constant flood of bodies it represents. Aggro cant deal with the steady flow of flying chump blockers. Combo doesnt want to see it because with just a few Seizes and IoK will disrupt them enough to give the little fliers a good chance to finish them off. If on the play there isnt much any deck can do to answer this.
Blood moon: This most often comes down turn 2 but can occasionally be done turn 1. ALWAYS USE YOUR FIRST FETCH TO GRAB A BASIC SWAMP! After that try to get a plains when you can afford it. A lot of decks simply fold to this when played super early.
Lingering Souls: we are in black and white so why not? Even when not playing things in turbo fashion, off of SSG, its hard to race this. Provides bodies to fill up the air, blockers for aggro, hard for control to keep up with, etc
Butcher: This is quite possibly the most pushed creature in years. No better creature exists at bashing up planeswalkers. Its effectively a 4 cost 5/4 flying haste in this deck. Only thing holding it back is the casting cost. But this deck doesnt mind it becase we are a bloodmoon deck. (Sounds crazy right?!?) Well because you are on bloodmoon your turn 1 play should always be fetch a swamp. After that your next goal is to fetch a plains. You'll have plenty of mountains. This guy closes out games on the fast. Against super fast decks gaining 5 is often the play. Shrinking your DS from a 12/12 to a 7/7 is definately acceptable.
DS: Oddly enough we are actually a DS deck. Doesnt look like it at fist glance, but the deck aims to reduce it's life total fast. The street wraiths and a few activatiins of fetches with thoughtseize puts this guy out with a healthy power and toughness very quickly. The added disruption of moons and flying guys is really to distract the oppinent while this guy comes in and outclasses everything on the field.
Simian Spirit Guide: is the reason this deck exists. Played around with the numbers and 3 feels right. We hate playing this as a body. And only want 1 in the first few turns of the game.
Thoughtseize: As stated above this is actually a DS deck with smoke and mirrors to distract the opponent. Controling their hand while getting you in range for a big DS is what this does.
IoK: seizes little brother. Good in all matchups. Helps mitagate the life loss.
Faithless Looting: Looks a little off in this build. It digs for lands, pitches moons when they aren't that great, digs for shadows and moons. It's an all star. Tossing a few souls in the yard for CA also works just fine. Sometimes its the play when you moon early.
Street Wraith: As said a few times now. This is a DS deck. This helps you build to it being a comparable force on the board, allows you to play less lands, in worse case scenarios you can play him as a decent body.
Lightning Helix: At first this was just bolt. A good argument can be made for it, however the deck does lose life pretty quickly. A surprise gain 3 can help you out in some games. Also aggainst extreme aggro sometimes its just better to helix the guide.
1 ofs. These are here because they are just all stars. If we could put in more we would. Opponent seeing them makes them believe you have more than one copy. More smoke and mirrors. While we do have more of most in the board for particular matchups where they are better than other cards. We have noticed that just their pressence and occasionally being played is good enough. Have ideas of how to put more copies of them in here? Then please post.
Lines of play: On the play against anything the correct play is turn 1 fetch swamp, remove SSG, play bitterblossom. Next turns vary. The pressence of Blossom can't ever be ignored by any deck in the format... (Merfolk maybe but thats a different topic.)
If this can't be done then turn 1 fetching a swamp and cycling wraiths is good when you combine with Iok or Seize. Control their action and set up a BB or BM. DS will come and clean things up.
When you have to play fair its hard for a lot of decks to compete against turn 1 discard. Turn 2 BB turn 3 Souls. Turn 4 DS or Butcher. Turn 5 discard, more DS, butcher, souls flashback, etc.
How this deck loses. Well not often if that is whats on your mind. Ive lost to lucky topdecks here and there. Sometimes control with draw a card and scy a wrath. Sonetimes traditional DS decks on the play can mount a force we cant stop. Usually its the opposite though.
SB goes back and forth. We havent decided on this board with occasionally the SS and RiP switching numbers and bolt push switching numbers. Some of us are trying to put more collective brutality in the board also. I love the card, but unfortuately it feels like the 75 best card here.
This deck has good matchups all around the board.
Tron, Jund, Abzan, and Affinity crusher
Even against Grixis, merfolk.
Bad matchups are usually mono red burn. That was the reason for Bolt switchhing to Heix as the 2 of in the main, Butcher going up to 2, and adding an Alliance in the board
I should note that the list is built for my meta. In aggro heavy environments you could easily start with more of the side in the main and swithmch it for midrange or control.
The mana base is challenging since our objective is drop blood moon as soon as possible. Another problem is that Blood Moon doesn't have sinergy with path to exile.
I'm not sure if I should run simian spirit guide.
What do you guys think about this list.
4 Bitterblossom
3 Blood Moon
THE TKO's
4 Lingering Souls
2 Butcher of the Horde
4 Death's Shadow
THE ENABLERS
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Thoughtseize
3 Inquisition of Kozilek
4 Faithless Looting
4 Street Wraith
2 Lighting Helix
1 Fatal Push
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Lightning Bolt
2 Swamp
2 Arid Mesa
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Shambling Vent
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Godless Shrine
1 Smoldering Marsh
2 Fatal Push
3 Lightning Bolt
3 Wear // Tear
2 Stony Silence
3 Rest in Peace
1 Blessed Alliance
1 Collective Brutality
The way this deck trys to win is by landing, ideally turn 1, BB or Blood Moon. This can happen fairly reliable in the case of BB. On the play against most decks its backbreaking.
Card choices:
Bitterblossom: This is the ideal turn 1 play. Control cant beat the constant flood of bodies it represents. Aggro cant deal with the steady flow of flying chump blockers. Combo doesnt want to see it because with just a few Seizes and IoK will disrupt them enough to give the little fliers a good chance to finish them off. If on the play there isnt much any deck can do to answer this.
Blood moon: This most often comes down turn 2 but can occasionally be done turn 1. ALWAYS USE YOUR FIRST FETCH TO GRAB A BASIC SWAMP! After that try to get a plains when you can afford it. A lot of decks simply fold to this when played super early.
Lingering Souls: we are in black and white so why not? Even when not playing things in turbo fashion, off of SSG, its hard to race this. Provides bodies to fill up the air, blockers for aggro, hard for control to keep up with, etc
Butcher: This is quite possibly the most pushed creature in years. No better creature exists at bashing up planeswalkers. Its effectively a 4 cost 5/4 flying haste in this deck. Only thing holding it back is the casting cost. But this deck doesnt mind it becase we are a bloodmoon deck. (Sounds crazy right?!?) Well because you are on bloodmoon your turn 1 play should always be fetch a swamp. After that your next goal is to fetch a plains. You'll have plenty of mountains. This guy closes out games on the fast. Against super fast decks gaining 5 is often the play. Shrinking your DS from a 12/12 to a 7/7 is definately acceptable.
DS: Oddly enough we are actually a DS deck. Doesnt look like it at fist glance, but the deck aims to reduce it's life total fast. The street wraiths and a few activatiins of fetches with thoughtseize puts this guy out with a healthy power and toughness very quickly. The added disruption of moons and flying guys is really to distract the oppinent while this guy comes in and outclasses everything on the field.
Simian Spirit Guide: is the reason this deck exists. Played around with the numbers and 3 feels right. We hate playing this as a body. And only want 1 in the first few turns of the game.
Thoughtseize: As stated above this is actually a DS deck with smoke and mirrors to distract the opponent. Controling their hand while getting you in range for a big DS is what this does.
IoK: seizes little brother. Good in all matchups. Helps mitagate the life loss.
Faithless Looting: Looks a little off in this build. It digs for lands, pitches moons when they aren't that great, digs for shadows and moons. It's an all star. Tossing a few souls in the yard for CA also works just fine. Sometimes its the play when you moon early.
Street Wraith: As said a few times now. This is a DS deck. This helps you build to it being a comparable force on the board, allows you to play less lands, in worse case scenarios you can play him as a decent body.
Lightning Helix: At first this was just bolt. A good argument can be made for it, however the deck does lose life pretty quickly. A surprise gain 3 can help you out in some games. Also aggainst extreme aggro sometimes its just better to helix the guide.
1 ofs. These are here because they are just all stars. If we could put in more we would. Opponent seeing them makes them believe you have more than one copy. More smoke and mirrors. While we do have more of most in the board for particular matchups where they are better than other cards. We have noticed that just their pressence and occasionally being played is good enough. Have ideas of how to put more copies of them in here? Then please post.
Lines of play: On the play against anything the correct play is turn 1 fetch swamp, remove SSG, play bitterblossom. Next turns vary. The pressence of Blossom can't ever be ignored by any deck in the format... (Merfolk maybe but thats a different topic.)
If this can't be done then turn 1 fetching a swamp and cycling wraiths is good when you combine with Iok or Seize. Control their action and set up a BB or BM. DS will come and clean things up.
When you have to play fair its hard for a lot of decks to compete against turn 1 discard. Turn 2 BB turn 3 Souls. Turn 4 DS or Butcher. Turn 5 discard, more DS, butcher, souls flashback, etc.
How this deck loses. Well not often if that is whats on your mind. Ive lost to lucky topdecks here and there. Sometimes control with draw a card and scy a wrath. Sonetimes traditional DS decks on the play can mount a force we cant stop. Usually its the opposite though.
This deck has good matchups all around the board.
Tron, Jund, Abzan, and Affinity crusher
Even against Grixis, merfolk.
Bad matchups are usually mono red burn. That was the reason for Bolt switchhing to Heix as the 2 of in the main, Butcher going up to 2, and adding an Alliance in the board
In this event I'd play something like this.
4 Bitterblossom
2 Blood Moon
THE TKO's
4 Lingering Souls
2 Butcher of the Horde
4 Death's Shadow
THE ENABLERS
3 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Thoughtseize
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Faithless Looting
4 Street Wraith
2 Lighting Helix
3 Fatal Push
1 Kolaghan's Command
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Swamp
2 Arid Mesa
2 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Sacred Foundry
2 Shambling Vent
3 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Godless Shrine
1 Smoldering Marsh
That looks like a good middle ground for still being good against the field.
I'm thinking to run this list.
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
3 Liliana of the veil
4 Lingering Souls
2 Gurmag Angler
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Thoughtseize
2 Collective Brutality
4 Fatal Push
3 blood moon
3 faithless looting
2 damnation
1 anguished unmaking
1 Dreadbore
3 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Marsh Flats
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Arid Mesa
2 Blood Crypt
2 Godless Shrine
2 Sacred Foundry
The mana base is challenging since our objective is drop blood moon as soon as possible. Another problem is that Blood Moon doesn't have sinergy with path to exile.
I'm not sure if I should run simian spirit guide.
What do you guys think about this list.